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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

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GIFT OF

William H. Owen

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THE CHURCH OF THE FIRST
DAYS.

THE CHURCH OF THE FIRST DAYS:

LECTUEES

ON THE

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

C. J. VAUGHAN, D.D.
DEAN Or LLANDAFF, AND MASTEB OF THE TEMPLE :
FORMERLY VICAR OF DONCASTER.

NEW EDITION

Hottfion :
MACMILLAN AND CO.
AND NEW YORK
1890
[All Mights reserved.]

Originally published in three separate Volumes.
I. THE CHURCH OF JERUSALEM.
First Edition 1864, Second Edition 1865, Third Edition 1873.
H. THE CHURCH OP THE GENTILES.
First Edition 1865, Second Edition 1S66, Third Edition 1874.
HI. THE CHURCH OF THE WORLD.
First Edition 1865, Second Edition 1866, Third Edition 1875.
First published in one Volume complete 1890.
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V4^s

CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED BY 0. j. CLAY M.A. & SONS
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

PEEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
rpHESE Lectures, like those formerly published on the
Epistle to the Philippians and the Revelation of St John,
were delivered in the Parish Church of Doncaster, in the
ordinary course of parochial ministration. They are, however,
somewhat different in their aim, and are published accordingly
in a cheaper and more popular form.
The whole course consisted of fifty-six Lectures, of which
the first was delivered on the 1st of June, 1862, and the last
on the 28th of February, 1864.
They are published as they were delivered, with the
omission of a few paragraphs, of merely local or passing
interest. It is needless to say, what will be obvious at a glance,
that they are designed for ordinary readers, and aim only at
awakening an intelligent interest in a particular Book of
Scripture, and showing how it may be made subservient
to purposes of instruction in godliness.
The work will be completed in three Volumes, under the
several titles of The Church of Jerusalem, The Church of the
Gentiles, The Church of the World. The first extends from

VI PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
the 1st to the 8th Chapter (inclusive) of the Acts of the
Apostles: the second from the 9th to the middle of the
17th; the third from the middle of the 17th to the end
of the 28th. It will be seen that the titles are (of necessity)
not accurately but only approximately appropriate.
There is no attempt at uniformity in the treatment of the
several parts. In some instances a single verse has furnished
the topic of an entire Lecture : in others a whole Chapter (or
even more than one) has been embraced in a comprehensive
survey. The interests of a Congregation had to be considered,
rather than the completeness of a subsequent publication.
Where the Authorized Version has been departed from
(as has been the case, more particularly, in the first two
Volumes), the translation has been generally made from
the 2nd Edition of Tischendorf s Greek Testament (Leipzig,
1849). In all matters of a topographical or historical nature,
reference has been freely made to such works as were readily
accessible; amongst which it is needless to particularize
Conybeare and Howson's Life arid Epistles of St Paul.

Doncaster, September 30, 1864.

PEEFACE TO THE NEW EDITION.

nnHE present Edition of this little work differs from the
three or four Editions preceding it, first by the three
Volumes being now collected into one, and secondly by a
careful revision of the readings and renderings of the original
text. These are now harmonized with those of the Revised
Version of the New Testament, except where the exercise of
a thoughtful judgment seemed to require a deviation.
It has been stated again and again in Prefaces to
like publications by the same Author, that he offers such
translations of the Greek Testament not at all as a rival
Version to that of the Authorized or even of the Revised
English Bible, but simply as an attempt (by no means in his
own judgment always successful) to photograph the beautiful
original for the inspection of persons ignorant of it and yet
keenly inquisitive about it. There are those to whom the
very baldness and strangeness of the dress in which they thus
see it presented have suggested reflexions which a smoother
and easier flow would have precluded.
v. b

Vlll PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION.
With this needful apology the entire work is again offered
to any in whose way it may fall, as one of several memorials
of a nine years' Ministry in one of the kindest and most
affectionate of the towns of northern England, and at the
same time as a contribution, however humble and unworthy,
to the intelligent and practical study of the treasures of
Inspired Scripture.

Llandaff, September 23, 1890.

CONTENTS.

I.
THE CHURCH OF JERUSALEM.
LECTURE I.
THE ASCENSION.
Acts i. 9 — 11. And when He had spoken these things, while they
beheld, He was taken up ; and a cloud received Him out of their
sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as He went
up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel ;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up
into heaven ? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go
into heaven. 
LECTURE II.
THE UPPEE ROOM.
Acts i. 24. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest
the hearts of all men, show whether of these two Thou hast
chosen. . 
LECTURE III.
PENTECOST.
Acts n. 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began
to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. .
62

CONTENTS.
LECTURE IV.
THE FIRST SERMON.

PAQE

Acts ii. 37. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their
heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, Men
and brethren, what shall we do ?  31

LECTURE V.
CHURCH LIFE.
Acts h. 42. And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine,
and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. . . 41
LECTURE VI.
CHURCH LIFE.

Acts ii. 47. And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should
be saved 

51

LECTURE VII.
THE FIRST MIRACLE.
Acts in. 19,21. The times of refreshing  The times of restitution. 61
LECTURE VIII.
THE GOSPEL BLESSING.
Acts in. 26. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus,
sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his
iniquities  _r

CONTENTS. XI
LECTURE IX.
THE FIRST TRIAL. PAGE
Acts rv. 19, 20. Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken
unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and
heard  81
LECTURE X.
PRIMITIVE WORSHIP.
Acts rv. 31. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where
they were assembled together : and they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. . 91
LECTURE XL
THE FIRST SIN.
Acts v. 1. A certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife. . 102
LECTURE XII.
FOUR CHARACTERS.
Acts v. 41, 42. And they departed from the presence of the council,
rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His
name. And daily in. the temple, and in every house, they ceased
not to teach and preach Jesus Christ  113
LECTURE XIII.
THE FIRST ORDINATION.
Acts vi. 15. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on
him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. . 125

xii CONTENTS.
LECTURE XIV.
LIVING ORACLES. PAGE
Acts vii. 38. Who received the lively oracles to give unto us. . 136
LECTURE XV.
THE FIRST MARTYRDOM.
Acts vii. 60. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. . . .146
LECTURE XVI.
GOSPEL JOT.
Acts viii. 8. And there was great joy in that city. . . 157
LECTURE XVII.
THE SIN OF SIMON.
Acts viii. 22. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God,
if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. . 167
LECTURE XVIII.
A SPECIAL MISSION.
Acts viii. 30. Understandest thou what thou readest ? . 177

CONTENTS. xiii
II.
THE CHURCH OF THE GENTILES.
LECTURE I.
THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION. PAGE
Acts ix. n. Behold, he prayeth. ... . . 191
LECTURE II.
THE NEW CONVERT.
Acts ix. 26, 27. They were all afraid of him, and believed not that
he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to
the Apostles. . . . . . . 202
LECTURE III.
QUIET TIMES.
Acts rx. 3 1 . Then had the Churches rest throughout all Judea and
Galilee and Samaria, and were edified : and walking in the fear
of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multi
plied. .  213
LECTURE IV.
THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN.
Acts x. 15. What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. . 223

XIV CONTENTS.
LECTURE V.
THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES. PAGE
Acts x. 33. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear
all things that are commanded thee of God. .... 234
LECTURE VI.
A HELPING HAND.
Acts xi. 23. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was
glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they
would cleave unto the Lord.  244
LECTURE VII.
A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH.
Acts xii. 5. Peter therefore was kept in prison : but prayer was
made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him. . . 254
LECTURE VIII.
THE SPIRIT'S CALL AND THE CHURCH'S MISSION.
Acts xiii. 2. The Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul
for the work whereunto I have called them. .... 265
LECTURE IX.
THE WORK OF LIFE AND THE END OF LIFE.
Acts xiii. 26. David, after he had served his own generation by the
will of God, fell on sleep  2*g

CONTENTS. XV
LECTURE X.
THE CONGREGATION AND ITS DISPERSION. PAGE
Acts xiii. 43. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of
the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas :
who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace
of God  ... 287
LECTURE XI.
GOD'S WITNESSES.
Acts xiv. 17. Nevertheless He left not Himself without witness. . 297
LECTURE XII.
THE REPORT OF THE MISSION.
Acts xiv. 27. They rehearsed all that God had done with them. . 308
LECTURE XIII.
THE FIRST COUNCIL.
Acts xv. 31. Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the conso
lation.  319
LECTURE XIV.
UNITY IN DISUNION.
Acts xv. 41. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the
Churches  33°
LECTURE XV.
A CRY FOR HELP.
Acts xvi. 9. Come over into Macedonia, and help us. . . 341

XVI CONTENTS.
LECTURE XVI.
THE GREAT PRELIMINARY.

PAGE

Acts xvi. 14. Whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto
the things which were spoken of Paul.  350
LECTURE XVII.
TERMS OF SALVATION.
Acts xvi. 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved  361
LECTURE XVIII.
THE HOPEFUL SIGN.
Acts xvii. ii, 12. These were more noble than those in Thessaloniea,
in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and
searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Therefore many of them believed.  372

CONTENTS. XV11
III.
THE CHURCH OF THE WORLD.
LECTURE I.
THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR.
PAGE
Acts xvii. 23. To the unknown God. . . . 385
LECTURE II.
Christ's secret ones.
Acts xviii. 10. I have much people in this city. . . . 395
LECTURE III.
transmission of truth.
Acts xvni. 27. Who, when he was come, helped them much which
had believed through grace.  406
LECTURE IV.
THE GOSPEL TEST.
Acts xix. 1. Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? . 417
LECTURE V
THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY.
Acts xix. 20. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. . 428
LECTURE VI.
THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT.
Acts xix. 25. Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. . 439

XV1U CONTENTS.
LECTURE VII.
A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY. PAGE
Acts xx. 7. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to
depart on the morrow ; and continued his speech until midnight. 449
LECTURE VIII.
A PASTORAL RETROSPECT.
Acts xx. 26, 27. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am
pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to
declare unto you all the counsel of God  460
LECTURE IX.
THE COMPARATIVE BLESSEDNESS OF RECEIVING AND GIVING.
Acts xx. 35. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said,
It is more blessed to give than to receive. ..... 470
LECTURE X.
COURAGE AND SUBMISSION.
Acts xxi. 13, 14. Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and
to break mine heart ? for I am ready not to be bound only, but
also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And
when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of
the Lord be done.  481
LECTURE XI.
CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE.
Acts xxiii. 6. But when Paul perceived that the one part were
Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council,
Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee : of the
hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. . . 4g!

CONTENTS. XIX
LECTURE XII.
THE SECRET LIFE. PAGE
Acts xxm. 1 1 . And the night following the Lord stood by him, and
said, Be of good cheer, Paul : for as thou hast testified of me in
Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. . . . 504
LECTURE XIII.
THE GOOD CONFESSION.
Acts xxrv. 14, 15. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way
which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers,
believing all things which are written in the law and in the
prophets : And have hope toward God, which they themselves
also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of
the just and unjust  514
LECTURE XIV.
CONSCIENCE.
Acts xxrv. 16. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a
conscience void of offence toward God and toward men. . . 524
LECTURE XV.
STIFLED CONVICTIONS.
Acts xxrv. 25. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and
judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for
this time ; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee . 534
LECTURE XVI.
THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY.
Acts xxvi. 14. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. . . 544

XX CONTENTS.
LECTURE XVII.
THE WORK OF MAN AND THE GIFT OF GOD. PAGE
Acts xxvi. 17, 18. I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them
from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. . . . 555
LECTURE XVIII.
FESTUS AND AGRIPPA.
Acts xxvi. 24 — 29. And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said
with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself ; much learning
doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble
Festus ; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For
the king knoweth of these things ; before whom also I speak
freely : for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden
from him; for this thing was not done in a, corner. King
Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? I know that thou believest.
Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a
Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou,
but also all that hear me this day, were both almost and alto
gether such as I am, except these bonds  565
LECTURE XIX.
THE SHIPWRECK.
Acts xxvii. 25. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer : for I believe God,
that it shall be even as it was told me.  576"
LECTURE XX.
THE GOSPEL AT ROME.
Acts xxviii. 24. And some believed the things which were spoken
and some believed not.  . . .3*

THE CHURCH OF JERUSALEM.

LECTURE I.
TEE ASCENSION.
Acts i. 9 — 11.
And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was
taken up ; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as He went up,
behold, two men stood by them in white apparel ;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up
into heaven ? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into
lieaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into
heaven. We have three narratives of the Ascension of our Lord, each of
which presents it in a somewhat different application. In that
record of it which clos.es St Mark's Gospel, the aspect of faith is
predominant. It sets before Christian people, in their life of
faithful labour, the form of Him who, though now out of sight, is
still and evermore working with them, and confirming His word,
both of promise and of precept, by signs following . They are not
alone. The eye of faith can pierce the veil which hangs between,
and show them, for their quickening, for their encouragement,
and for their comfort, Jesus Christ Himself standing for them at
the right hand of God. A second record, that of St Luke at the
close of his Gospel, presents to us the Ascension in its aspect of

2 THE ASCENSION.
love ; sets before Christian men and women, in their hours of
loneliness or of depression, the form of Him, who, when He left
this world, left it with hands uplifted in blessing ; of Him who,
though now out of sight, is the same yesterday and to-day and for
ever ; the same in His tenderness towards human weakness, the
same in His compassionate mercy towards sinful men. They have
not an High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of their
infirmities, but One who, having Himself on earth suffered being
tempted, is able in the fulness of that human experience, no less
than in the fulness of His Divine strength, to relieve and to suc
cour them that are tempted.
In considering that revelation which is here presented to
us of the same glorious event, we shall have to regard it in yet a
third aspect ; the aspect of hope.
As St Luke's Gospel closed with the narrative of the Ascen
sion, so his second work, the book of the Acts of the Apostles,
opens with a fuller description of the same event. The Ascension
was not more naturally the close of the Gospel than it was the
beginning of the history of the Church. It was the turning-
point between the earthly and the heavenly work of Christ. It
was that event which, while it withdrew Him from personal work
below, introduced Him into that life above, in the power of which
He works (in part at least) through others ; works through the
instrumentality of changed hearts, earnest words, and exemplary
lives. The Ascension was the last event in the ministry of
Christ : and the Ascension was the first event in the ministry of
His Apostles.
We will run through the opening words of this instructive
and beautiful Church History, that we may see what place the
Ascension ought to occupy in our teaching and in our thoughts.
The first treatise I made concerning all things, 0 Theophilus,
which Jesus began both to do and to teach. The first (or former)
treatise is the Gospel according to St Luke. Theophilus is the
person to whom that Gospel also is addressed by name. The
subject of the Gospel is described to be all that Jesus began both to
do and to teach (all that He did and taught as a beginning) until

THE ASCENSION. 3
the Ascension, as distinguished, we may suppose, from what
He afterwards did and taught through the Apostles.
Until the day on which, having commanded the Apostles —
through the Holy Spirit — whom He had chosen, He was received up.
This was the limit of the Gospel narrative ; the day on which He
was received up, after having, in the fulness of the Divine Spirit,
given His latest charges to the Apostles whom He had chosen.
To whom He also presented Himself alive after He had suffered,
after death, in many demonstrative proofs ; by many tokens of
His restored life, which admitted of no doubt or uncertainty ;
through [during) forty days from time to time appearing to them,
and speaking the things which concern the kingdom of God. He
was not living with them during these forty days ; but from time
to time He presented Himself to them, both in proof of His re
surrection, and for the purpose of explaining to them, as they
were able to bear it, the truth of God which was to be the subject
of their testimony to others.
And assembling with them, joining their company when they
were gathered together, He charged them not to depart from Jeru
salem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, the fulfilment of
that great promise, which, He said, ye heard from me : for John
baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized in (with) the Holy
Spirit not many days hence.
They then, the Apostles, having come together, asked Him,
saying, Lord, is it at this time that thou restorest, purposest to
restore, the kingdom to Israel? Is the fulfilment of the promise
of the Holy Spirit to coincide in time with the restoration of the
kingdom to Israel 1 Their minds were still running upon an
earthly kingdom, in which the Jewish people, under a conquering
Messiah, should be the chief and head of the nations. Our Lord
does not stay to correct these notions, which would soon be set
right for ever by the promised illumination of the Holy Spirit :
He only answers the question of time.
And He said to them, It is not yours, it belongs not to you, to
know times or seasons which the Father placed, once for all, in His
own authority. Taking their question in its most general form,
1—2

4 THE ASCENSION.
as an enquiry into the time of the end, He reminds them that of
that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the Angels of heaven,
but the Father only. And He then directs their attention to that
which is a matter of practical duty.
But ye shall receive power, the Holy Spirit having come upon
you ; and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and all Judea
and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And having said these things, He was raised (lifted) up from
the earth; and a cloud received Him — properly, came under and
so took Him — from their eyes. It is the fullest and most graphic
account which we possess of the Ascension. For some time He
rose gradually from the earth, and in their full view: then a cloud
came between, and intercepted the further sight. They saw the
bodily form, just such as they had seen it so often since the Resur
rection, so far as the confines of the world of sight and sense :
then they lost it : but they were witnesses that thus and not
otherwise did their Master quit the earth : it was not a mere
disappearance, a mere vanishing out of their sight : it was not
a mysterious removal, through flood or fire : and still less was it
a mere ceasing to come to them, a mere inference of departure
drawn from their vainly looking day after day for a repetition of
His visits to them : it was a simple and a solemn going away :
the Saviour Himself, in the integrity of His Person, the soul and
the body, rose, while they looked on, from a certain spot of earth
where He had just before stood and spoken with them, and by a
gentle and a gradual motion ascended as far upwards as the eye
could follow Him. Then a cloud came between, and they saw
Him no more.
And as they were gazing into the heaven while He went, while He
was thus journeying upwards, then, behold, two men were standing
by them, had already unperceived taken their place beside them,
in white apparel; the indication, as at the Resurrection, of an
angelic appearance : the men here, as there, were Angels in human
form : if an Angel, who is a spiritual being, is to manifest himself
to human eyes, it must be by assuming for the time a material
form.

* THE ASCENSION. 5
Who also said, Men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into the
heaven ? this Jesus, who was received up from you into the heaven,
shall so come in the manner in which ye beheld Him going into
the heaven. The words had their effect. Then returned they into Jerusa
lem from the mount which is called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,
a sabbath day's journey off. And when they came in to the city,
they went up into the upper room where were abiding the eleven
Apostles, and where they were all with one accord persevering in
prayer, together with certain women, and with Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with His once unbelieving but now faithful brethren.
We must not at present dwell further upon the scenes or occupa
tions of that memorable chamber, the cradle of the Gospel Church.
For the present we are occupied with the one fact of the Ascension.
And we are to regard it as a fact full of hope. The words of the
two men, that is, of the two Angels, give it this aspect. Why
stand ye thus gazing into the heaven, as though you had lost your
all? as though henceforth your one work must be a work of
memory, thinking of Him who is gone, as men think of some dear
departed friend whom they shall see again no more in this world?
Not thus should it be with you. You have been permitted to be
eyewitnesses of His Ascension, as before of His Resurrection.
Now therefore return, and discern its lessons.
And the chief of these is, that the posture of those who love
Christ must henceforth be one not more of retrospect than of
expectation. It is well indeed that you should treasure in your
mind the thought of Him as He was on earth. To live in His
wonderful works, in His perfect example, in His Divine words, is
the safe and blessed privilege of the faithful. And to look up
after Him into heaven, and see Him now by faith as He lives
there the Mediator and the Intercessor and the High Priest of
man; the Resurrection and the Life, first of the soul, and here
after also of the body, of each one of His people; to ascend
thither, in heart and mind, after Him, and with him continually
to dwell ; to seek and to set your affection on things above, where
Christ sitteth at the right hand of God; this is one great part of

6 THE ASCENSION.
the secret of the Christian life below: thus it is that men are
made strong for conflict, victorious over temptation, and at last
fit for heaven. But all this is a different thing from vain regret
and from idle contemplation. To gaze up into heaven after One
who is gone, is not the work of His Church below, f Rather is it,
to gaze up into heaven for One who shall come. And in those few
words lies the whole of the vast difference between two states and
lives; the state and the life of a true and wise and diligent, and
the state and the life of a dreamy and gloomy and torpid Christian.
To wait for the Son of God from heaven is one half of the abiding
condition of him who has first turned to God from idols to serve
the living and true God.
But how is it, some may ask, that the Ascension fosters this
hope or suggests this duty? The words of the Angels will answer
that question. This Jesus, who has now been received up from
you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye behold him go
into heaven. The spectacle of the Ascension, vouchsafed to the
disciples, was intended to make real to them the thought of His
return. He might have simply disappeared ; merely ceased to
visit them; and they might have been left to form their own
conjectures what had become of Him. Perhaps even then they
might have formed the right conjecture. Perhaps they might
have said, The risen Lord, risen, as we have seen Him, with His
body — though with a body gloriously transformed and only visible
to human eyes by an act of will and of condescension — must be
somewhere; must have a place and an abode and a home; and
we may fairly think and speak of Him as in heaven with God.
They might have remembered the words in which, while yet with
them, He thus spoke of Himself in reference to the time after
His departure: and thus they might have been preserved from
the folly of the sons of the prophets who, in spite of Elisha's
warning, sent to seek Elijah, after his glorious removal from
earth, on the mountains and in the valleys of the neighbourhood
from which he had arisen. But all this would have fallen far
short of the conviction inspired by the actual sight of the Ascen
sion. There would have been a mystery and a shadowless and

THE ASCENSION. 7
an unreality about His place and His state, which might well
have diminished the comfort and impaired the satisfaction of His
disciples in thinking of and in communing with Him. But now
they would feel that they could trace and track Him in His glory :
they would perceive which way the eye should be turned which
would discern Him : they would even look up to heaven, and by
faith behold the glory that should be revealed. They who had
seen Him go might expect Him to come. The sight of the Ascen
sion contained the faith of the Advent.
Nothing can be more remarkable than the personal hope of
the personal return of Christ, which cheered the first ages of the
Church below. And so long as men took their religion straight
from the Bible, they retained in all its freshness that living and
life-giving hope. This same Jesus, who is received up, shall so
come again in like manner. It was thus that our Lord Himself
spoke of His second coming. They shall see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Of
him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when He cometh in the
glory of His Father with the holy angels. If I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that,
where I am, there ye may be also. It was thus that the Apostles
described the one hope of the Church. The Lord Himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel,
and with the trump of God. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed
from heaven, with His mighty angels. He shall come to be
glorified in His saints. When the chief Shepherd shall appear.
At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all His saints.
When Christ, who is our Life, shall appear, then shall ye also ap
pear with Him in glory. Be diligent that ye may be found of Him
in peace. And now, little children, abide in Him ; that, when He
shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before
Him at His coming. Behold, the Lord cometh, with ten thousand
of His saints. Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall
see Him, and they also which pierced Him. Surely I come quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
It is no good sign when the language of the Holy Scriptures

b THE ASCENSION.
is all read as an allegory. It is always a sign of the decay of faith,
when men turn the plainest declarations of Scripture into parable
and into metaphor. It was in the dark and cold ages of the
Church, when even the wise virgins too often slumbered and slept,
that this definite hope of the Bridegroom's coming was obscured
and lost sight of. And was it not by a just retribution that they
who refused to infer the Advent from the Ascension, came at last
from denying the Advent to deny the Ascension also? How
many persons, do you suppose, now believe that Christ did actu
ally ascend ? How many, at all events, have retained to this day
that beginning of their confidence in this and other facts of the
Gospel history, which was really child-like and trustful? Who
has not heard, in our days, of symbolical meanings ? of these
things being all designed, not to teach a plain fact, but to teach
a moral lesson ? as if indeed a moral lesson could ever be learnt
through illusion, through deception, through falsehood ! And if
ever the faith of the Church is brought back to its simplicity in
matters of doctrine, it must be by its being brought back to its
simplicity in matters of fact. Take one of the Gospel miracles
by itself, and of course it is improbable. Take the Resurrection,
take the Ascension, by itself, and of course it is improbable.
But take each one of these in its connection ; take each one of
the wonderful works which Jesus did, or of the marvellous events
by which He passed to His glory, in connection with the proofs
He had given of His holiness, of His truth, and of His goodness,
and thus (by the combination of all these things in their perfec
tion) of His Divinity; in other words, take each of them with its
context; with the other things which we know of Him and the
other things which He came to do and to teach ; and we shall find
it not only credible, not only receivable upon evidence, but natural
also; consistent, harmonious, and to be expected: so that the
most entire faith shall be the most rational, and the simplest
believer the wisest, the most intelligent, and the most philoso
phical. Even thus is it with the hope of which we are speaking It
might be in itself strange, and hard to be understood, that God

THE ASCENSION. 9
should design to bring this Dispensation to a close by the per
sonal Advent of the Mediator in the character of the Judge of
man. But view that purpose, that design, that counsel of God,
in connection with all that has preceded; view the Judgment in
the light of the Incarnation, and the Advent in the light of the
Ascension; and all shall become symmetrical and of a piece.
The disciples saw Him go: why should it be incredible that He
should likewise come? The very cloud so often mentioned in the
prophecies of the Advent had place in the record of the Ascen
sion : a cloud received, Him out of their sight : even so shall a cloud
be the sign when they who look for Him watch His appearing.
These things were written to assist our failing faith; to enable us,
not only to believe God's Word that thus it shall be, but even
to understand in some measure how that Word shall be accom
plished. This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.
My brethren, what to us is the record, is the commemoration,
of our Lord's Ascension? Do we know anything of its comfort?
anything of the assurance that we have in heaven, living and
feeling and ruling, One who knows our frame and has felt our
infirmities? One who is concerned in our welfare, interested in
our work, bent upon our salvation? One who for this purpose
died that He might bear our sins; for this purpose ascended, that
He might intercede for us with God, might minister to us the
Spirit, might prepare a place for us in heaven? What know we
of the support which the Ascension ought to give to failing faith
and to flagging energy? If there is One, up there, who sees and
knows, who observes, records, and will judge; what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness/ how
brave ought ye to be in confessing Him, how devoted in serving,
how intent in watching for Him ! Yes, and, if He ascended, shall
He not also return? return as He went? yet not in the sight of a
faithful few, but in the sightof awondering and awe-stricken world?
Then shall the wheels of the world's business be stopped, and men
must find time to listen to a voice once despised. Then shall the
giddy round of pleasure be arrested in its course, and careless

10 THE ASCENSION.
women, as well as ungodly men, hear themselves without further
preparation summoned to a trial as of life and death. Then too
shall the man who has cared betimes for his soul, and for the
souls of his brethren, see the descending form, and recognize in
it the Lord of his choice and the Saviour of his hope and of his
love. Shall it not be said in that day — God grant that from
many in this congregation, awakening from the dust of death,
the cry may ascend — Lo, this is our God-; we have waited for Him,
and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him,
we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation i

LECTURE II.
THE UPPER ROOM.
Acts i. 24.
And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts
of all men, show whether of these two Thou hast chosen.
We live in a late age. The world has lost its youth; and the
times begin to wax old. We see this in all ways. The bloom and
freshness is worn off from everything. Even within our own
recollection this process has been rapidly going forward. Plea
sures which would have satisfied a lifetime are now exhausted in
childhood. The words of the prophet Daniel, Many shall run to
and fro, and knowledge shall be increased, have received a sort of
literal fulfilment in our day, with results by no means unim
portant. The multiplication of knowledge, and the multiplica
tion of movement, have been powerful agencies in that process of
sophistication and of weariness which all intelligent men observe
and all sober-minded men deplore.
This result is not observable in the things of time only. We
see it in reference to the concerns of the soul. Divine truth has
lost its freshness. Men have wrangled about it until they have
worked the very life out of it. And men have received it as a
sort of tradition, and professed it as a sort of propriety; a homage
done to God, and a decency due to the world; until it has lost
its savour of life and its healing virtue, and become, too often,

12 THE UPPER ROOM.
according to our Lord's expressive figure, a thing fit neither for the
land nor yet for the dunghill, but only to be cast out and trodden
underfoot of men. It reminds us of the expostulation of the
Lord by the Prophet Ezekiel with the shepherds of that day.
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture,
but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures?
and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the resi
due with your feet i As for my flock, they eat that which ye have
trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have
fouled with your feet. Such is the responsibility which attends
the possession of Divine truth. If we do not value, use, and
live by it, we are spoiling it; trampling, as it were, and fouling
it ; depriving it of its very life and power, for others as well as
for ourselves.Now in a state of things of which this account is no exaggera
tion but the true description, as all your consciences will bear me
witness, how refreshing is it to look back, across the ages, to a
time when the Gospel was new; bright with its original radiance,
instinct with its primeval beauty! When we are wearied and
discouraged by the long familiarity with a sophisticated age and
a divided and harassed Church, how reviving should it be to us
and how comforting to study the record of a period when our
Lord's footsteps still marked the earth, and when the eyes of His
people could still sometimes see Him standing at the right hand
of God ! To read of that first generation of the Christian Church,
and to read of it in the writing of an inspired narrator, ought to
be full of interest and full of improvement for us who are strug
gling in our day through a wilderness less bare perhaps of earthly
appliances, but far less brightly illuminated with the guiding
glory of the Lord.
It is in this hope that I shall ask you to dwell from time to
time upon the history of the earliest Church of Christ as it is
given in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles; a Book, of the
neglect of which, it is said, even Chrysostom, in the fourth cen
tury, complained, and which, we may well believe, is not to any
of us quite all that it might be, in point of understanding, in

THE UPPER ROOM. 13
point of interest, or in point of profit. May God Himself, by
His Holy Spirit, so open our understandings, and so influence our
hearts, that we may be the better, to the very end of life, for
having pondered together this portion of His holy Word 1
The Book of the Acts of the Apostles does not profess to be a
complete Church History even within the limits of time to which
it is confined. It partakes, in this respect, of the character of
Holy Scripture everywhere. The Gospels do not give a full
history of the life and words of Jesus Christ. There are also
many otlier things which Jesus did, so the Evangelist St John
concludes his narrative, the which if they should be written every one,
I suppose that even the world itself could not contain tlie books that
should be written. A sample is given; a specimen is given;
enough for use, not enough for curiosity; enough to guide our
steps, not enough to relieve us of a thirst for more. It is so in
the case of the Book which we are about to open. It is at once
full and elliptical. It gives us, here and there, a minute descrip
tion; one which makes us exclaim, as we read, the man who so
writes was himself an eyewitness : he speaks (like his Master)
that which he knows, and testifies that he has seen. But again,
in other parts, whole years are omitted, or lightly passed over, as
though to remind us that the object of all Scripture is instruction
not information, or else that the Word of God is no cunningly
devised fable but the simple and inartistic composition of common,
often of unlettered men, who thought more of revealing the
Saviour than of recommending or displaying themselves. We
preach, the very history seems to say, not ourselves, but Christ
Jems the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
The object of this Book is to furnish a justification of those
last words of one of the Gospels, They, the Apostles, after wit
nessing their Lord's Ascension, went forth and preached everywhere,
the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs
following. What was the word? and what were the signs by
which the Lord wrought with them to confirm it ? These are the
questions answered in this Book, for our satisfaction, admonition,
and encouragement.

14 THE UPPER ROOM.
We have already dwelt upon the account given us in the
opening of the first Chapter, of the great miracle of the Ascension
of our Lord and Saviour. The Ascension is the debatable ground,
so to speak — or, more correctly, the turning-point — between the
Gospels and the Acts. It properly ends the one: it properly
begins the other. It belongs to both. It closes the earthly life of
Christ : it opens the heavenly life of His Apostles. Though they
had yet to wait, after that event, for the crowning gift of the
Spirit, still that event contained in itself the pledge and foretaste
of the other. It is expedient for you that I go away: for, if I go
not away, the Comforter will not cotne unto you: but, if I depart, I
will send Him unto you. Till that departure, the words were still
true, The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not
yet glorified. The remainder of the first Chapter describes the employments
of that brief interval between the Ascension of Christ and the
descent of the Spirit. This will be our present subject.
The Ascension took place on the further (or Eastern) side of
the Mount of Olives. He led them out as far as to Bethany, is the
description of the place in St Luke's Gospel. In the passage
before us, they return to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet.
They had already a recognized meeting-place in Jerusalem.
St John tells, in his narrative of the appearances after the Resur
rection, of a place where the disciples were assembled, with closed
doors, on the occasion of two at least of their Saviour's visits to
them. And here we read of an upper room — the upper story,
no doubt, of some private dwelling-house — to which the little band
of disciples habitually resorted at this time as their place of
safety and seclusion, of worship and communion. In the courts
of the temple they still worshipped as Israelites : they had nothing
to renounce there : they were Israelites still : it was for the hope
of Israel that they still struggled and suffered : but in their upper
room they met as those who not only looked for a Redeemer of
Israel, but believed in their hearts that that Redeemer was come.
It was never intended that the worship of Christ's Church
should be restricted to an upper room in a common house. Once

THE UPPER ROOM. 15
that worship had to hide itself alike from persecuting Jews and
scoffing Gentiles. Now, thanks be to God, it is no disgrace to be
a Christian: and when once the rich men and the great men of
the earth bowed the knee to Jesus, it was right that wealth and
art should employ themselves in building and decorating His
sanctuaries. But the question, however obvious, must not there
fore be withheld: Are we substituting, or in danger of substi
tuting, an elaborate ritual for a spiritual service? the temple of
art and man's device for the temple of sincerity and of the human
soul? Christian worship needs no such appliances: it is right
that it should have them, but it needs them not : and those appli
ances of costly building and delightful music may overlay — they
need not do so, but they may — that true heart-deep devotion
which alone Christ values or God accepts.
The number of the disciples at the time we speak of, was
about a hundred and twenty. St Paul indeed tells us that that
was not, at the time of the Ascension, the total sum of Christ's
people. He speaks of an appearance of Christ after His resurrec
tion to a far larger number. After that He was seen of above five
hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this
present — some twenty-five years later, when he wrote from Ephe-
sus to the Corinthians — but some are fallen asleep. There is no
conflict between the two reckonings. The hundred and twenty
are those present in Jerusalem at the time of the Ascension : the
five hundred included many who had no doubt tarried still in
Galilee. Amongst these hundred and twenty, first and foremost were
the eleven faithful Apostles whose names are here once again
enumerated. There were also those pious women who had fol
lowed Jesus in life and ministered to Him in death. There was
Mary the mother of Jesus ; here mentioned yet once more, and
for the last time, before she disappears from the page of sacred
history. It was not intended that she should be placed so pro
minently before the eyes of the Church, as to give any sanction,
however slight or imaginary, to an undue reverence for her. She
was now an honoured Christian woman, and no more. Our Lord

16 the Upper Room.
Himself had said, that every one of His disciples might share
with her His regard and His love, who faithfully did the will of
His Father in heaven. Strange that such silence and such men
tion should have been capable of being perverted as they have
been! Strange that a large part of Christendom should have
paid, notwithstanding, to His human mother a reverence abso
lutely divine, and even allowed that reverence to outshine and to
obscure, in their worship, the honour due to the Father and to
the Son ! She whose place is now thus distorted below was con
tent, while Scripture still speaks, to worship amongst the hundred
and twenty, one of many believing servants of her Divine and
now glorified Son. These all continued with one accord in prayer
and supplication, with certain women, and Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with His brethren. For they also, His brethren, once
unbelievers and cavillers against Him, were now enrolled among
His devoted people.
And what was the work of His devoted people during these
remaining days of suspense ? They were fulfilling their Lord's com
mand not to depart from Jerusalem on their several missions of
toil and danger, until they should beendued with power from on high.
The interval was spent in prayer and supplication. They were
practising now the new work of Christian worship. They were
learning to think of their Master as unseen yet ever near. They
were learning to speak to Him and to commune with Him, with
out sight, out of sight. Much had they to learn in learning this.
Is it not one of our own chief difficulties, this speaking to the
Unseen, this seeing Him who is invisible ? Does it not take
most of us a whole lifetime to learn to do this as we ought;
undoubtingly, peacefully, profitably, successfully? Let us en
courage ourselves with the thought of those whose footsteps are
before us in that endeavour. They had seen Him ; they had
heard Him speak ; they had been His friends ; they tell us of
Him still in their writings, what He was and what He did ; for
this reason above all else, that we may be able to imitate them
in believing when they could no longer see, in trusting in the
dark One whom they had first known and lived with in the light.

the upper room. 17
This was their employment during the ten days between As
cension and Whitsuntide. They all continued with one accord in
prayer and supplication. The time for action was not yet. They
had not yet received the power from on high. Their position
resembled in one respect that of the separate state. The soul
dissevered from the body is resting, not acting. It is waiting to
be clothed upon, before it can resume its work for God. It is
waiting for that resurrection gift, that body as it hath pleased
Him, which God by the agency of His Holy Spirit will bestow in
due time upon each of the faithful. Even so were the disciples,
at the time of which we here read, waiting for that gift which
should qualify for action. Prayer and supplication, not yet
ministry and apostleship, this was their posture and their duty.
Just one thing they could do in this interval. They could
recruit their ranks, to be ready for the word of command. They
could review the gap which treachery had made in their little
army, and replace him who had played the traitor. And in this
way they could, as it were, assure themselves by experiment that
they were indeed in communion and contact with their Invisible
Lord. If their Master heard and answered, when they called
upon Him to fill the vacant place below, they might feel the more
confident in His nearness to them, in His care, and in His love.
It was therefore on one of those ten days that St Peter rose
amongst his brethren, and called them to notice the deserted seat
of Judas. He told them that prophecy had not been silent upon
that desertion. There was a verse in one of the inspired Psalms
of David which had waited until the fall of Judas for its literal
fulfilment. With the circumstances of that fall they were all
familiar. That fatal field, purchased with the reward of iniquity,
did not its very name recall the memory of that obstinate perfidy
and of that irremediable ruin? But the same Book which pre
dicted the breach directed also its reparation. It foretold the
occupation by another of the vacated apostleship. It said, His
charge, or office of oversight, let another take. What then was the
condition of such an occupation 1 What qualification must be
possessed by the new Apostle as by the eleven who remained ?
v. 2

18 THE UPPER ROOM.
He must be one of those who had accompanied Jesus on earth
through the days of His ministry. From first to last he must
have been a witness of His Divine life below. But for this he
would lack the characteristic mark of the Apostle, as a witness,
in the highest degree competent, of His resurrection. They who
had been with Him throughout His earthly ministry could best
tell whether the Risen and the Crucified were one. Three years
and a half of intimate knowledge, of constant companionship,
would suffice, as a shorter acquaintance would not, to make it
impossible that there should be mistake or error as to the identity
of the dead Man and the living.
The disciples heard and acted upon the counsel of St Peter.
From amongst their whole number they selected two persons
possessing the specified qualification ; Joseph called Barsabas, sur-
named Justus, and Matthias. And now the time was come for a
direct appeal to the guidance of Him who had promised to be
with them alway, to hear the petitions of even two or three per
sons met in His name, and who certainly would not fail them in
so solemn a decision. They prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who
knowest the hearts of all men ; Thou who knowest what is in man,
and canst alone distinguish infallibly between true faith and false
profession, between the hidden grace which qualifies and the
empty pretension which is valueless for Thy service ; show which
one of these two men Thou didst choose, in Thine eternal purpose,
to take the vacant place in this ministry and apostleship from
which Judas by transgression fell, to go to his own place, to the
fit and appointed home of the ungrateful, the hypocrite, and the
traitor. And then, after this earnest prayer for guidance, they
cast lots upon them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was
numbered with the eleven apostles.
I know not that I can add anything to the direct warning
and instruction conveyed in these words.
Each one of us has a place, yes, a ministry and a mission,
assigned to him, in the Church of the living God. Christ has
brought us near to Himself, by invitation, by instruction, by
sacraments, by ordinances of worship; by talents, few or many,

THE UPPER ROOM. 19
assigned; by opportunities, larger or scantier, of doing God ser
vice. We exaggerate to ourselves oftentimes the differences
between our advantages and those of the first disciples. If they
possessed what we cannot have, in the actual sight and contact of
the Word made flesh and dwelling among them ; on the other hand,
we must not forget how everything in the position and character
of Jesus of Nazareth went against their preconceptions of what
the Messiah would be. Little do we, when we thus judge, enter
into the great fundamental difficulty, of believing a Man to be
also God ; of seeing in one who was manifestly like themselves in
every feeling and in every infirmity of their nature, the very and
eternal Lord, by whom they themselves and all things were made.
Slowly and painfully must those convictions have been formed in
the hearts of any of them. Even the most open-minded and the
most frank-hearted of all the Apostles must have risen by slow
and gradual advances from the love of the Man to the faith of
the God and Man. We are spared this difficulty. We hear of
Christ as our Saviour, our Divine Saviour, as soon as we hear of
Him at all ; and the very absence of sight, creating one impedi
ment, removes and precludes another. If He is not near enough
to be realized, at least He is not near enough to be despised.
And I say that every one of us has given to him something of
the very ministry and Apostleship of Jesus. Need I tell any of
you what he might do — what he must either do or refuse to do —
as his Master's witness below ? Can you not so live — or might
you not once so have lived — as to remind people of Christ ; to
make them think of Him ; to make them feel His power and His
goodness ; or else, on the other hand, to encourage them and to
help them in forgetting Him 1 That then is your Apostleship ;
your ministry and mission below. If you love Christ yourself, if
you live always as in His sight and hearing, then you are confess
ing Him before men, and calling others also to come and follow
Him likewise.
And, if not — O, do we not see, before it is uttered, how false
we are to Him, how faithless, how treacherous? We read in
Scripture of persons who crucify to themselves the Son of God
2—2

20 THE UPPER ROOM.
afresh : are there none who betray the Son of God afresh ? betray
Him sometimes, like Judas, for money; for a paltry base gain
which they cannot forego though they see it to be dishonest?
betray Him sometimes for the sake of a vile lust, which they
cannot renounce though they see it to be ruin ? betray Him some
times like Judas, with a kiss; saying, Master, Master, even while
they bring upon Him the enemy that is to crucify Him ? And
then, after a life of this kind, they go, one by one, to his own
place : alas ! if the Scripture be true, it is so : and then a fresh
election, as it were, is held to fill their place : the ranks of Christ's
servants will not go unreplenished, by reason of our unfaithful
ness : even of the stones God could raise up true children to
Abraham ; and if the redeemed will not praise Him as they
ought, the very stones would immediately cry out. His charge,
his oversight, let another take. God grant us grace not thus to
forfeit our apostleship ! Let us confess our past unfaithfulness ;
the thousand times, the ten thousand ways, when and in which
we have been treacherous to our Master : and let us return to
Him, saying, We have sinned: heal Thou our backslidings. De
clare not our place yet vacant : give us grace rather to occupy it
ourselves for Thee. And at last, when we go hence and are no
more seen, let it be in repentance, not in remorse : let it be, not to
the home of the hardened and of the hypocrite, but to the abode of
rest and peace, where Thy servants shall indeed serve Thee ; where
we shall see Thy face, and follovi Thee at last whithersoever Thou

LECTURE III.
PENTECOST. Acts ii. 4.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost — such was the
Saviour's parting promise — not many days hence. The exact day
was not specified, and still less the precise nature of the gift
itself. A posture of expectation has always been the posture of
the true Church below. For ages and generations the expectation
was that of the Messiah's coming. And no sooner did the
Messiah appear in human form, than a new season of expectation
set in ; the expectation of His second coming, not in the humility
of the Word made flesh, but in the power and great glory of the
Judge of quick and dead. Nowhere is there, and nowhere ought
there to be, any such thing as mere retrospection, or mere satis
faction, on earth below. Many chief graces can only be fostered
or exercised by looking forward and by looking upward. When
once rest comes, entire rest, then will it be heaven, not earth.
And even heaven will have, we doubt not, its expectations as
well as its retrospects.
The condition of the disciples between Ascension and Pente
cost was one of expectation in a double sense. They were taught

22 PENTECOST.
by the Angels to begin at once looking for their Lord's return.
This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him
go into heaven. In that respect therefore they were even then as
we are now ; expectants of the Advent. But there was a near
return as well as one more remote. When our Lord said to
them, before His Passion, / will see you again, and your heart
shall rejoice, He said so, we believe, in no less than three senses.
He would see them again, within a few short days, in Resurrec
tion, His own Resurrection. He would see them again, after
whole centuries had passed away, in their resurrection; making
good to them the expressed hope of the Psalmist, / shall be satis
fied, when I awake, with Thy likeness; or of St John, We know
that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see
Him as He is. One of these two returns had already taken place.
They had seen Him again. They had been able to report one to
another, We have seen the Lord. Then were the disciples glad,
when even in a short occasional visit they thus saw the Lord
And now that this return was over, they were already beginning
to look for the greater, the final one. To wait for His Son from
heaven was henceforth one half at least of the whole duty of a
Christian. But between these two returns, the past return and the final
return, there lay, in near prospect, yet one return more: a spiri
tual but not therefore an unreal one; nay, perhaps, of all, the
most real and the most closely personal. The world seeth me no
more, but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also: this was the
kind of reunion with their Saviour for which, however little as
yet understood, they were now diligently and earnestly waiting.
We are to read of that great event now; God grant, not only as
of an event or fact in Christian history, and in the world's history,
of which the fruits remain unto this present; but also, and still
more, as one full of consequences for us, one in which, more than
in ought else, we are ourselves like them and one with them.
We have read how they spent that time of double suspense.
They all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.
And we have read of the one act which during that interval they

PENTECOST. 23
were qualified to perform ; that act which we have described as a
recruiting of their ranks to be ready for the word of command;
the supplying of the vacant place of Judas in the little army of
the Apostles. And now we find them, at the dawning of the Day
of Pentecost, gathered together, as their daily custom was, in one
place. We are not told that they had any intimation that that
day was to be to them the day; the day of spiritual baptism; the
day of grace and apostleship; the day of spiritual ingathering
into the communion and fellowship of their risen Lord. But, in
the retrospect, we can see that it was a fit day.
The feast of Pentecost was one of the three great festivals of
Israel; a day on which thousands were congregated at Jerusalem
from all parts of the known earth. It was called Pentecost (or
the fiftieth day) from one particular point in the celebration of
the Passover; the waving of the sheaf of the first-fruits of the
harvest on the morrow after the Passover-Sabbath. From that
day they were to number seven complete sabbaths, fifty days unto
the morrow after the seventh sabbath; and then arrived the feast of
weeks or of Pentecost: on which occasion, as at the earlier yearly
feast of the Passover, and as at the later yearly feast of Taber
nacles, all the men of the nation were required to appear before
the Lord at the place of His sanctuary in Jerusalem.
The feast of the Passover had already found its antitype in that
solemn season at which Christ the Paschal Lamb was sacrificed
for us. The feast of Tabernacles, the annual celebration of the
completion of the toils of harvest and vintage, and of the national
rest which followed upon the entrance into Canaan, is to find its
antitype, not on earth, but in heaven, even in that rest which
remains there for the people of God. The intermediate festival
of Pentecost was to have its antitype in that great gift which the
Chapter before us describes. The Jewish tradition marked out
the feast of Pentecost as the commemoration, year by year, of
the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. And in this respect —
though the reckoning by which it is established is less than
certain in its chronology — peculiar significance would be given to
the choice of the day for the giving of that new law, of the Spirit

24 PENTECOST.
of life, by which the commandments of God were to be written,
not on tables of stone, but as it were on the tablets of a renewed
and willing heart. At all events the festival of the first-fruits
was now to be fulfilled in that gift which St Paul describes as the
first-fruits of the Spirit; that is, the Holy Spirit as the first-fruits
of the heavenly inheritance; as the pledge and foretaste of that
eternal life which consists in the knowledge of Him, the one true
God, and of Jesus Christ whom He hath" sent.
Such was the festival which (as the first verse of the Chapter
describes it) was now fully come; or rather, perhaps, was on the
point, or in the act, of being fulfilled; just dawning, we may sup
pose, for the day to run its course. At the dawn of the Day of
Pentecost, the disciples were all with one accord in one place.
We are not told where : the words which follow might seem to
indicate their customary place of meeting.
And there arose suddenly, out of heaven, a sound as of a mighty
wind rushing ; and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven — or rather, distributed, or
parting themselves among them — tongues as if of fire; and it rested,
one of these tongues rested, upon each of thsm. And they, the
disciples, were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, in languages different from their own, even as
the Spirit granted to them to utter. Now there were dwelling in
Jerusalem — some perhaps resident there, and others having come
up thither for the festival — Jews, devout men, from every nation
under Iieaven; Jews, for the most part, not by birth, but by
religion. The list which follows shows this strong expression
to be scarcely hyperbolical. And this sound having taken place —
the rushing mighty wind described in the second verse— the mul
titude came together, and were confounded, thrown into astonish
ment and confusion, because that every one heard them speaking in
his own dialect; not only in the language, but in the very dialect
of the language, which was his own. And they were amazed, and
marvelled, saying, Behold, are not all these men who are speaking
Galilceans ? And how hear we, each one in our own dialect wherein
we were born— our own native tongue? And then follows an

PENTECOST. 25
enumeration of the various races to which they belonged. Each
one had its own tongue and its own dialect : and yet, however
many in number, however distant in position, however various in
race, we do hear them speak in our tongues the mighty works of
God. The subject thus brought before us is, in every point of view,
one of the most remarkable, one of the most serious, yes, one of
the most solemn, which can possibly engage the mind of man. I
must pause at the verse which we have reached, and would pray
God to give us some portion of that gift of which we are reading,
to make the fact and the doctrine impressive and salutary to the
hearts here open before Him.
Two things need to be here distinguished : the origin of the
gift, and the gift signified.
i. We all know how backward men are in understanding,
and how stubborn men are in disputing, the existence of what
we call spiritual or supernatural influences. You know how they
seek to resolve everything into workings of nature, of chance, or
of imagination; how they trace one thing up to enthusiasm, and
another to excitement, and another to fancy, and another to a
morbid condition of mind or body; and how impossible it is to
elicit from some lips the hearty, serious confession, It is the Lord:
surely the Lord is in this work or in this word; the hand of God,
the will of God, the Spirit of God, and not of man only. There
is no spiritual influence, however remarkable, which the philoso
phers of this age, nay, which the theologians of this age, would
not be able to explain away, to laugh down, or to resolve by
subtle argument into an operation either natural or else morbid.
It is well perhaps that the Gospel itself, with its doctrine of the
Saviour and its doctrine of the Spirit, was launched in the world,
and established in men's convictions, in an age of greater simpli
city and of less presumption.
But if in any age God would make it evident to man that He,
He Himself, is at work, I know not how it can be done without
that which, for want of a better term, we denominate miracle.
If our Lord would convince common men that He had all the

26 PENTECOST.
power of God in heaven and in earth, was there any mode so
really decisive as that which the Gospels describe to us; manifes
tations in act of His supremacy over nature, of His supremacy
over man, and of His supremacy over Satan? Those who had
actually seen Him still a tempest, raise a corpse, and cast out a
devil, must have felt that God had given them that sort of
evidence which nothing could shake of the Messiahship and of
the Divinity of His Son Jesus Christ. Even thus was it with
the coming of the Holy Ghost. Hearts might have been in
fluenced, lives might have been changed, the stream of habit
turned backward and the chain of sin inwardly broken; and men
might have ascribed all this to experience of consequences, force
of character, or strength of will. If it was to be made plain,
beyond further gainsaying, that the Holy Spirit of God had
Himself descended to make His abode and His temple in the
Church and in the hearts of men, there must be some sign, accom
panying that advent, of which the senses could take cognizance,
and from which no inference but one only could be drawn.
Such a sign was that marvellous power of which the passage
before us gives the first example. If unlettered men — fishermen,
perhaps, from the sea of Galilee — at best, men who could cast up
a reckoning and calculate the lawful gains of a receipt of custom
— were heard to utter sounds recognized by men of diverse nations
as words and sentences of their native speech; if the audience
was large enough, and various enough, and unwilling enough, to
make the evidence of the fact ample and infallible; what other
explanation could be given of so marvellous a phenomenon, save
that which St Peter gave on the day of its manifestation, This is
that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to
pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon
all flesh? It was evident that they who thus spoke were over
mastered, in the very organs of speech, by a presence and a
power within, which was not their own, but the very presence
and power of God Himself.
And is there anything irrational, except indeed to an Atheist,
in the supposition that God might design to bestow upon His

PENTECOST. 27
creatures a direct personal communication and influence from
His own holiness and from His own love; or, designing so to do,
should make it plain beyond contradiction whence that communi
cation and that influence was derived? It can be no reproach to
a Revelation, that its utterance is decisive, or of a kind intelligible
(as to its proofs), not only to the wise and prudent, but to the
judgment of unlettered men.
In the signs which accompanied the descent of the Holy
Ghost upon the disciples, we can recognize every one of the em
blems by which He had been foretold. There is the rushing
mighty wind, blowing where it listeth, audible in its sound, inscru
table in its source and destination, by which our Lord Himself,
in His earliest recorded discourse in the Gospel of St John, had
sought to typify and to illustrate the Spirit's work. Again, there
was the fiery flame — dividing itself amongst the individuals of
that assembled throng, till it rested upon the head of every one —
which had been taken from the first as the description of the
Saviour's Baptism, in its various offices of illuminating, purifying,
warming, cheering, enkindling, transforming, the human soul:
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. And once
more, the wind which struck the ear, and the fire which arrested
the qye, was followed by the appropriate sign of the voice which
bore witness to the informing, instructing, and counselling pre
sence within. The symbols were as appropriate as the testimony
was authoritative.
2. Such was that which we have described as the sign of the
gift. And now what, in itself, was the gift signified?
We read of it in its prediction, and we read of it in its expe
rience. Look, for the one, amongst many other passages, to the
14th, 15th, and 1 6th chapters of the Gospel according to St John.
Look, for the other, amongst many other passages, to the 8th
chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and to the 5th chapter of
the Epistle to the Galatians. Study those few chapters; and you
will see how little they can enter into the fulness of the great
promise, who either imagine it to have been designed for Apostles
only, or conceive of it, even in them, as consisting principally of

28 PENTECOST.
what we term miraculous gifts. The Holy Spirit was promised
as the Comforter, the Remembrancer, the Teacher, the Guide, the
inward Advocate, the very Representative of Christ, the very
Presence of God and of Christ, in the soul within : His coming
was to make it a gain even that the Saviour should depart — so
far better should it be to have the Father and the Son dwelling
in a man by the Spirit, than to have even the daily comfort and
happiness of the company and converse of the incarnate Son of
God below. And what then was the experience of this great
gift? How did they describe it, who had sought it and found it
for their own? Hear, my friends, yes, read and judge for your
selves, what St Paul, who was not present on the Day of Pente
cost, but only received the gift afterwards as any one of you
might receive it in answer to hearty heart-deep prayer — judge
for yourselves, as you read it in his own earnest words, what
St Paul found the gift of the Holy Ghost to be to him. Hear him
tell how the Holy Ghost within had set him free from the bondage
of sin and death; how He had turned him from having his heart
and affections set on things below to having them all set on things
above; how he had found the Holy Spirit to be indeed a Spirit
not of fear and dread, not of abject terror and instinctive shrink
ing from God, but the very Spirit of adoption, making him cry
evermore to God as his loved and loving Father; how he had-
found Him powerful to help his infirmities; especially when in
the endeavour to pray he had often found himself ignorant and
silent, and then had perceived the Spirit making His all-powerful
intercession in his behalf in those unuttered and unutterable
yearnings which God recognizes and accepts as the very breath
ings of His own Spirit in the heirs of salvation. Is there not
here just the experience, in one of its parts, of the state of each
one of us? and is there not here that experience, in the other part,
which each one of us needs to make him happy, to make him
peaceful, and to make him strong for God?
The gift of the Holy Spirit as here set before us is indeed the
very need of 'man. It is one half — I will not say the greater
half, for there is in these matters no possibility of comparisons of

PENTECOST. 29
less and greater — but it is one half of the whole need of man.
We need forgiveness first; the remission, the dismissal, of our
past sins, by an act of Divine pardon; an act performed not
because it is unnecessary, or comparatively unnecessary, but
because it is needed, urgently, indispensably needed; even be
cause we cry, Lord, be merciful to my sin: for it is great. That
is_ our first need : is it yet supplied to us ? Which of all this con
gregation has had his sins, or her sins, yet forgiven? And, alas,
if not, it is because we have not asked. O folly, O madness
beyond all expression, that there is forgiveness waiting for us,
and we will not ask ! But there is a second need behind, without
which even forgiveness itself would be a mockery. There is the
gift of the Holy Ghost also waiting for us ; pledged to us in our
Baptism; promised to us in God's Word of life; even as it is
written, Your heavenly Father will give His Holy Spirit to them
that ask Him. You have heard what the gift is, in its illuminat
ing, in its instructing, in its transforming, in its comforting, in
its strengthening and protecting and guiding power : do not you
want it? Are you wise enough, and strong enough, and happy
enough, and heavenly-minded enough, fit to live and fit to die,
without God's Holy Spirit? Alas, the very question mocks us.
No, we are ignorant, and we are poor, and we are weak, and we
are often sad, and we are always lonely in heart, unless and
until God's light rises upon us ; until the Sun of righteousness,
which is Jesus Christ Himself, rises upon us with that healing in
His wings, which is first the joy of a free forgiveness, and
secondly the joy of an indwelling Spirit. Let us learn, learn for
ourselves, God Himself being our Teacher, what is the support,
and what is the comfort, and what is the rest, and what is the
strength, which the Holy Spirit, humbly sought and waited for
morning by morning, brings into the heart and soul and life of
man. Never let us go forth to the occupations and the tempta
tions of any one day, till we have brought our empty vessel to be
filled at that well of salvation. Never let us start on our day's
journey, never let us begin our day's trivial round of duty, never
let us enter the ranks of our day's outward and inward conflict,

30 PENTECOST.
until we have humbly and earnestly asked of God the supply of
His Spirit's strength and the sweet comfort of His Spirit's pre
sence. Be we well assured that, if we are filled with the Holy
Ghost, as it is our Christian privilege and promise to be, the
other words of the text will not be unrealized in us ; we shall also
speak with another tongue, the Spirit giving us the utterance.
How transforming even now, even in these days, is the influence
of the Holy Spirit upon human lips ! Can we live with a man in
whom God dwells, and not perceive it in his words? Is the
Divine promise withdrawn or falsified, These signs shall follow
them that believe .. .they shall speak with new tongues? Let us all
pray, much and fervently, for the spiritual gift of that new, that
Divine speech, in the power of which he who once opened his lips
only to trifle, to defame, or to deceive, has begun to breathe the
sounds of love and joy and peace, of gentleness and goodness and
faith and meekness. Thus shall men take knowledge of us that
we have been with Jesus. Thus shall we bear that testimony,
not of word only but of sign, by which minds are convinced and
hearts opened, by which God's name is made known on earth,
His saving health among all nations.

LECTURE IV.
THE FIRST SERMON.
Acts ii. 37.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and
said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, Men and brethren,
what shall we do ?
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is based upon fact, and prompts to
action. It is not a system of doctrines, and it is not a code of
laws, and still less is it a fabric of fancies or theories : it is a
record of facts ; a narrative, established by adequate testimony,
of certain things done and suffered by real persons upon the sur
face of this real and solid earth. The Gospel tells of things done;
not imagined, not thought, not designed only or purposed, not
said only or talked of, but done, actually done ; and whatever
else the Gospel contains flows out of this source, as naturally, as
necessarily, as a stream of water out of its spring and fountain-
head. It is this characteristic of the Gospel which makes it at
once so satisfactory, and so universal. We can plant the sole of
the foot firmly upon it, and it will not fail us or fall nwa,j,for it
is founded upon a rock; and that rock is the rock of fact : we
believe, because something was done : nay, we believe that some
thing was done, and all else is the result of that belief. There
fore it is that the Gospel is universal in its application : not the

32 THE FIRST SERMON.
religion of a few philosophers, capable of arguing out deep truths
or of rising to lofty mysteries, but the religion of a world, as
suitable to the simple as to the learned, to the man of plain com
mon sense as to the man of intellect and of genius. We have
cause to praise God, every one of us, for the stability which He
has thus given to His revelation, by making truth rest upon fact,
and right doctrine upon certain evidence.
And as the Gospel rests upon fact, so also it prompts to action.
No sooner is the persecutor of the Church struck to the earth by
the bright light of the Divine presence in heaven than we hear
him asking, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do ? And no sooner
does the jailer at Philippi recognize in his prisoners the servants
and the apostles of the Most High God, than he falls down before
them with the practical question, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And no sooner does the astonished multitude hear from Peter's
lips on the Day of Pentecost the explanation of the marvellous
sign which has gathered them to listen — how that it was the
natural result of the Resurrection and Ascension of the Man
Christ Jesus — than they exclaim, in the first workings of that
new conviction, Men and brethren, what shall we do ? What they
heard was a narrative of facts : what they understood by it was a
summons to action.
God grant to us also, my brethren, as we listen this evening,
something of a like spirit ; a spirit of faith in Gospel fact, a spirit
of readiness for Gospel action.
The strange portent of which we last spoke — unlearned and
ignorant men speaking in divers languages the wonderful works
of God — produced various results in those who witnessed it. All
were amazed : all were in doubt, saying one to another, What
can this mean ? but upon some the impression wrought by the
scene was an impression of serious awe; while others perversely
ascribed the strange sounds which were in their ears to the ex
citing influence of excess and intoxication. Others mocking said,
These men are full of new wine.
Such was the motley multitude to which St Peter now rose to
address his first Sermon. In our days a Sermon is commonly the

THE FIRST SERMON. 33
explanation, enforcement, and application, of some particular text
of Scripture or topic of doctrine : it is thus that we endeavour to
arouse the interest or stir the activity of a congregation supposed
to believe. But our Sermons would be none the worse for a close
adherence in some respects to the Apostolical models given us in
this Book. Let us more and more repeat to ourselves, in making
preparation for the discharge, on each occasion, of our office of
public preaching, the two words, Fact and Action: the Gospel no
cunningly devised fable, but a record of true deeds and true
sufferings by a real Person ; the Gospel no mere sound of a
pleasant voice, no mere performance by one who can play well on
an instrument, but rather a trumpet-call to action ; the summons
of real men and women, short-lived yet immortal, to a certain
course of conduct, to a certain manner of life, having this one
plain characteristic, that it will bring them peace at the last.
St Peter, after a brief call to attention, and an indignant
refutation of the charge of drunkenness by a reference to the
hour of the day, the third only from sunrise, himself sets us the
example of reading or repeating a text for his Sermon. The
Bible then was the Old Testament. Out of it Christian teachers
were able to plead for God and to prove the Gospel. It was of
the volume of the Old Testament Scriptures that St Paul spoke,
when he said, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness. And again, From a child thou hast known the
Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus. In our thankfulness for
the New Testament we must never learn to despise the Old.
St Peter's text on this occasion was taken from the Prophet
Joel. That Book of Holy Scripture was probably composed as
early as 850 years before the birth of Christ. Even in those
ancient times the Prophet was instructed to foretell a coming
age — described in the general terms, It shall come to pass after
ward, or, as St Peter here quotes it, in the last days — when God
should pour forth His Spirit, or of His Spirit, that is, a;
effluence of His own Holy Spirit, upon all flesh : vprf^g$Sfi8p<$& t£
V.

34 THE FIRST SERMON.
a few favoured men, one in a generation, entrusted with a special
mission of rebuke or encouragement to their countrymen ; but
upon His people generally, without distinction of sex or age or
rank ; upon sons and daughters, upon young men and old, yea,
upon the very servants and handmaidens ; so that God's commu
nications should be, with all His true people, direct, immediate,
and personal, not passing through any human medium, but con
veyed to the very soul within by the agency of the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and Giver of life. That was the promise. And with it
is coupled, in the three following verses, the prophecy of the
coming of the last day. The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the
Lord come.
We have often occasion to notice that the Prophets of the Old
Testament were not instructed to reveal the long interval which
should elapse between the two Advents of the Saviour. They
often speak as though the coming in glory were the only coming;
or as though the establishment of the Redeemer's kingdom would
result at once from His first manifestation. The delay of the
second coming was not even a revelation of the Gospel. Each
age was to expect it. The taunt, Where is the promise of His
coming ? was to have scope to operate, because no generation was
to be made aware that the Advent might not take place within
its duration. And thus it is that the Prophet Joel here speaks
of the outpouring of the Spirit as a sign of the last days. The
Gospel age, however long it has continued or may continue still,
is the dispensation of the last times : after it comes none other,
and itself is to be viewed as one whole, from the redemption
which contained in itself not the promise only but the germ of
all, until the coming of the very kingdom of heaven in power and
great glory. In the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my
Spirit... And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs on the
earth beneath... before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of
the Lord shall be saved.
After this quotation the discourse addresses itself pointedly

THE FIRST SERMON. 35
to the audience. Ye men of Israel, hear these words. A man, as
you deemed Him, and as (in one part of His nature) He was, has
within these few weeks been put by you — by your nation, and by
some (it may be) even of those who listen — to a cruel and shame
ful death. You as a nation, some of you as individuals, seized
upon that Man, and by the hand of lawless (Gentile) men slew Him
by crucifixion. And yet that Man had God's mark upon Him.
He was approved of God unto you, attested and demonstrated by
God in the face of the nation and of the individuals of the nation,
by miracles (powers) and wonders and signs, which God wrought
by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. He could
not have done the works He did, if God had not been with Him.
And ye are His witnesses : you know that the things which I
say of Him are true. And yet you have been His murderers.
The blood of that Man, whom God attested before you as His
messenger and His minister ; the blood of that Man is at this
moment upon your hands.
But was then that murder effectual ? Did that cruel and
shameful death end that sacred life 1 No, God raised Him up,
having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible that He
should be holden ofit; mastered permanently and finally by death.
Not possible, by reason of His Divine nature. Not possible, for
this further reason also, that the voice of inspired Prophecy had
declared the contrary. It was of Him that David spake, when
he said in the 16th Psalm, I foresaw (saw in front) the Lord (Je
hovah) always before my face, as my Guide and Hope ; for He is
on my right hand, as my Protector also, that I may not be moved,
shaken from my standing, by any violence : and then follow the
significant words : therefore, in this confidence, my heart rejoiced,
and my tongue was glad ; moreover also my flesh shall rest (taber
nacle) in hope ; because Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Hades),
neither wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou
didst make known to me paths of life ; Thou shalt make me full of
joy with thy countenance. Could words like these have found
their full accomplishment in their human author ? Could David
say of himself, with literal truth, that God would not allow his
3—2

36 THE FIRST SERMON.
soul to remain in the place of the departed, or his body in the
tomb to see corruption ? David died and was buried, and to this
day you may visit the tomb in which his mouldering body awaits
the resurrection of the just. The words which David thus spake,
he spake as God's prophet. He knew that the promised Saviour
should be of his house and lineage ; and it was of Him, of that
Saviour, that he there wrote in the Spirit. For himself the words
could only express that assurance of a life beyond death, which is
the hope of the saints. But in relation to Christ the words have
a further and a fuller meaning. He was not suffered to remain
long enough in the grave, even to see decomposition or corrup
tion. His soul was recalled from its brief sojourn in Hades,
before it had taken up its abode there as a recognized inmate.
Of this revival from death, of this return in soul and body from
Hades and from the grave, we His Apostles are the witnesses.
We have seen Him risen. We have received Him, we have con
versed, we have eaten with Him, since He rose from the dead.
This Jesus God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Now therefore the event of this day becomes intelligible and
natural. The risen Saviour hath fulfilled His promise. He pro
mised to send — He hath sent — His Holy Spirit upon His dis
ciples. Exalted by the right hand, by the exerted and manifested
power, of God Himself ; restored to the glory which He had with
the Father before the world was ; He hath but received of the
Father the promised Holy Spirit for His disciples, and these won
derful gifts which ye see and hear are but the expressions and
indications of that Spirit's presence.
And hereunto agree those other words of the Psalmist, The
Lord (Jehovah) said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on my right liand,
in the place of glory and power, until I have made Thy foes Thy
footstool. That prophecy, like the former, points, not to David
himself, but to David's Son ; even to Him who is as truly the
Lord of David in right of His Godhead, as He is the Son of
David by reason of His manhood.
Let therefore every family of Israel kiww assuredly that God
made Him, by this one act of recognition, in resurrection and

THE FIRST SERMON. 37
ascension, both Lord and Christ — even this Jesus whom ye
crucified. Such was the discourse, to which a blessing was vouchsafed
such as has been granted to no other. Many a more eloquent
sermon has been preached since that day ; many a sermon as true
in its facts and as cogent in its reasoning. But probably no other
sermon, through eighteen centuries, has ever been the means of
converting three thousand souls. God works where and as and
by whom He will ; choosing oftentimes the weak things of the
world to confound the mighty, and the illiterate and ignorant and
humble to move the hearts, or else to put down the arrogance, of
the wise and prudent and noble. We may read St Peter's words
unmoved : we have done so many times, and found them but a
dead letter : we may even have thought how far more powerfully
he might have pleaded his cause, or arranged the materials at his
command. But not so did they to whom he addressed himself.
When they heard, they were pricked in their heart. Compunction
was the first fruit of his preaching. They had crucified the Lord
of glory. The Messiah had come to His own, and they had re
fused Him. As a nation, they had despised and rejected Him ;
as individuals, they were to this moment impenitent and unbe
lieving. Conscience now awoke. The sign which was before
them was a sign of power : how could this be, save by the hand
of God ? But beyond this, it was a sign foretold by Jesus ; by
One who in His lifetime had spoken to them the words, and
wrought among them the very works, of God. All things had
come to pass, even as He had said to them. And here before
them, in all boldness, in all the confidence of truth, and in all the
power of inspiration, stand these twelve men declaring themselves
to be witnesses of His resurrection. And their own Holy Scrip
tures, quoted largely and decisively in their hearing, correspond
in every point with this fulfilment. David foretells death and
resurrection, ascension and glory : Joel foretells the outpouring of
the Spirit : — yes, all is now clear and consistent, though the infer
ence is one of shame and condemnation for themselves.
When they heard, they were pricked in their heart, and said

38 THE FIRST SERMON.
unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, Men and brethren, what
must we do ? If this be our condition ; if we are the betrayers
and murderers of the Lord of glory ; what can we do to repair
this ruin, to make amends for this sin ?
We will not answer the question at this time : rather let it
press upon us as a question ; as a matter of personal anxiety, as well
as of deep moment, for ourselves. And let us not separate until
we have pondered, in a few last words, the two salient points of
the text itself ; compunction, and anxiety ; conviction of sin, and
enquiry after duty.
i. Hearing of Christ caused compunction. What they
heard of Him was extremely simple. It was nothing more than
what we have all heard ten thousand times ; just the story of His
death, not at all dwelt upon in harrowing detail ; just the fact
that He was crucified, and just the fact that He afterwards rose
and ascended. In them was fulfilled the words written of old by
the Prophet Zechariah, / will pour upon the house of David, and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of suppli
cations : and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and
they shall ¦mourn. They had pierced Him ; by the help of Gentile
hands, to which they could not wholly nor chiefly transfer the
guilt of that sin ; they had pierced Him, and now the arrow of
conviction pierced them. They were pricked in the heart.
I know not that any words of man could bring to our minds
the same conviction of sin against the Saviour. Certainly no
words could bring that conviction to our hearts, without the
grace of God by His Holy Spirit. And yet we do read of such a
crime as that of crucifying the Son of God afresh, and putting
Him to an open shame. The Epistle to the Hebrews contains
such a sentence ; and even says of such persons that it is impos
sible to renew them again unto repentance. God grant therefore
that, in its worst form, that of actual apostasy, I suppose, from
Christ, that of openly blaspheming the holy name, of renouncing
altogether the very profession of His service, none of us may yet
have committed it. But there are approaches to that crime.
There are those who make very light of the purposes for which

THE FIRST SERMON. 39
Christ died. There are those who contradict and go against the
very object of that death ; that He might put away sin ; that
He might redeem us from all iniquity. Is there no one here who
ever committed sin with another person ; helped, in other words,
to undo Christ's dying work in another person's soul ? And is
there no one here who ever tempted another person to commit
sin ; either by ridiculing his scruples, or by making the way to
sin known to him, or by suggesting to his mind sinful images, or
raising in his mind sinful desires? That man, whoever he is,
has done worse things than even the Jews who gave Jesus to be
crucified. Nothing, however cruel, done to the body, can be so
heinous as the least injury done to the soul. Alas ! there are
those now amongst us, we cannot doubt it, who have more cause
to be pricked in their heart when they hear of Jesus, than ever
had those men to whom St Peter preached on the day of Pentecost.
And if not in this gravest and worst sense, yet tell me, men
and brethren, which of you has not cause to be ashamed and
sorrowful when he thinks of his Lord and his God ? What is a
day to you — any day, the best of your days, this holy day, this
Lord's Day, if you will — but one succession of slights done to
your Saviour ? How did it begin ? Did your heart rise to Him
with the first dawn as to your heart's daystar, as to the very Sun
of your soul ? Had you not much ado to drag yourself to Him at
all? Was not your morning prayer a poor, cold, reluctant ser
vice ; full of wandering, or else hurried and perfunctory ; a duty
done, instead of a desire fulfilled, a longing satisfied? And so
the day went — yes, I know it too well — full of anything and
everything rather than the thought and the love of Christ ; full
of the world, full of vanity, full of self ; only not full of gratitude
and praise, not full of devotion and love, not full of heavenward
aspiration and of humble hope. Then have not you, have not we
all, cause to feel compunction ? Is there indeed any thought more
condemning to us than that of the dying love of Christ, or any
posture more desirable to us, when that thought at last comes,
than that of the self-abasing penitent, who cries, afar off, in the
distant sight of the cross, God be merciful to me a sinner ?

40 THE FIRST SERMON.
2. And this compunction may well work in us anxiety; the
conviction of sin the desire for direction. Men and brethren,
what shall we do ? It is the want of this desire which makes our
meetings for worship too often cold and lifeless. What would
preaching be, if it were in deed and in truth addressed to a
number of human hearts, every one of which was inwardly asking,
What must I do? Preaching, in so far as it is God's ordinance,
in so far as it is the work of a true minister, is a finger-post
marking the traveller's way, and saying to wayfaring men, as
they successively come up to it in life's weary pilgrimage, This is
the way ; walk ye in it. Let us come together, Sunday by Sun
day, in this spirit ; crying, in heart, to the ministers of Christ's
Gospel, Men and brethren, what shall I do ? and doubt not but
your cry will be heard : if man should fail you, God Himself will
be your Preacher ; your inward ear shall hear the voice of His
Spirit, warning, counselling, directing, comforting, according to
your need, according to His insight into your condition. Come
in that spirit, and verily thou shalt be fed. As the rain cometh
down, and the snow, from heaven, and returneth not thither, but
watereth the earth, and inaketh it bring forth and bud, that it may
give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater ; so shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper
in the thing whereto I sent it.

LECTURE V.
CHURCH LIFE.
Acts ii. 42.
And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Our last text was a question. A vast congregation had listened
to St Peter's discourse explaining the mystery of that great day
of Pentecost. He had represented it as the most natural thing
in the world that the risen and glorified Saviour should keep His
word, should fulfil His express promise, by thus baptizing His
disciples with the Holy Ghost. They knew from their own
Scriptures that an outpouring of the Divine Spirit was to be a
sign of the latter age, the age of the Messiah and of the Gospel.
They knew from their own observation by what tokens the
Messiahship of Jesus had been attested; they knew also how He
had been received by His own to whom He came. Thus far the
whole population were His witnesses. From that point the
evidence was less promiscuous, but not less really conclusive. It
had not been given to all the people to see Him after His resur
rection. It is not God's method to overwhelm with demonstra
tions those who have refused the light given. To those who
best knew Him; to those who had accompanied Him through
His ministry; to witnesses, in short, the most competent, and of

42 CHURCH LIFE,
ample number; to these, but not to the thoughtless and unbe
lieving multitude, God, having raised up His Son Jesus, showed
Him openly. The rest, who had Moses and the Prophets and
would not hear them ; who had seen what Jesus was, and would
not hearken to Him ; it was not to be granted that they should
see One rise from the dead, whom, even so rising, they would have
found excuses still for discrediting. Testimony, evidence, wit
nesses; an appeal to the understanding, the conscience, and the
will; not constraint, not compulsion, not a flash of blinding light,
or an intuition of irresistible proof; this was God's order with
men who had set aside the calm influences of words such as never
man spake, and of works such as no man could do except God
were with Him. These witnesses were now before them. Their
testimony begins to-day; the testimony of plain unlettered men,
saying, We saw Him die, and we have seen Him risen. Your own
royal Psalmist spoke of such a marvel; of One recalled from
Hades before His flesh could even see corruption; of One whom
he calls his Lord set at the right hand of God in heaven. That
prophecy was now accomplished. God hath made that same Jesus,
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
The effect of this address was instant and decisive. Multi
tudes were pricked in the heart with a godly sorrow, and began
to ask in earnest, Men and brethren, what shall we do ? And now
we are to trace that work of conviction and conversion into its
consequences. We are to see what primitive doctrine, and what
primitive practice was; by what means men were gathered into
Christ's fold, and how they went in and out there and found
pasture. St Peter's answer to the question last considered was short
but full. He said to them, Repent; change your minds towards
Christ, and towards God, towards sin and duty; deplore and
renounce the past, form new resolutions, cherish new feelings
and new motives : and let each one of you be baptized on the strength
of the name of Jesus Christ; that is, believing in the revelation of
Jesus Christ as that which He truly is in Person and work, in
office and will: unto remission (dismissal) of sins; and ye shall

CHURCH LIFE. 43
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. There is an outward ordinance
to be submitted to, the ordinance of Baptism, as the connecting
link between the individual soul and its redemption.
But that ordinance has two conditions; two features of mind
which (in the case of an adult) must be formed before Baptism;
repentance, and faith. First, you must change your mind as to
your sins; regret, renounce, forsake them: and secondly, you
must believe that Jesus Christ is the only and all-sufficient
Saviour of sinners. The former condition is here expressed : the
latter is implied in the words in the name of Jesus Christ : he who
would come to Baptism must believe that Christ is, and is that
He is. On these two conditions hang the benefits of Christian
Baptism. If by the nature of the case, as in the instance of
Infant Baptism, these two conditions cannot be made good before
Baptism, they must be made good after Baptism ; and then Bap
tism will not require to be repeated, but only as it were to be
rehearsed, appropriated, and made your own.
Again, as there are two conditions attached to right Baptism,
those of repentance and faith, so also there are two promises
annexed to it: first, the remission or dismissal of sins; God so put
ting away our sins that He remembers them against us no more:
and secondly, the gift of the Holy Ghost; that inward presence
of the Holy Spirit of God, which is the blessing of the Gospel
dispensation; as it is said, / will dwell in them, and walk in them,
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. We will come
unto him, and make our abode with him.
On this rock, my brethren, of condition and of promise, the
holy Church of Christ was founded below. Let me add two
remarks upon this elementary doctrine.
(i) Never seek to be wise above what is written, so as to
dispense with ordinances. Through Baptism men passed into the
Church on the great day of Pentecost, when, if ever, it might
have been dispensed with in the face of so marvellous an interpo
sition of Divine grace. Through Baptism men pass into the
Church still, and Iwly and humble men of heart are contented to
have it so.

44 CHURCH LIFE.
(2) Next, when we speak of conditions, do not imagine that
you are first to satisfy these, and then to come to God as it were
with the price of acceptance in your hand. These conditions are
as much made yours by God's grace alone, as the promises which
follow upon them. You must as much ask God for that first gift
of His Spirit, by which alone you can be made to repent and to
believe, as for that later and more glorious gift, by which you
possess God Himself to dwell in you through Christ by the Spirit
as the very Life of your life and Soul of your soul.
Then follows a very encouraging assurance as to the largeness
and amplitude of God's promise. For to you is the promise, and
to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the
Lord our God shall call to Him. Wherever the sound of the
Gospel penetrates, there goes with it the call of God. He calls
all men everywhere to Him; calls them to Him as to a forgiving
Father and a long-suffering Saviour and Redeemer. Place no
limitations, my brethren, for yourselves or for others, where God
has made none. You will want all the freeness of the Gospel
offer before you have done with it. You will find in yourself a
depth of defilement which will need all the amplitude of the
Divine mercy to keep you from despair. And depend upon it, the
only Gospel which has a charm in it for human wretchedness and
human degradation around, is a Gospel as open, as expansive,
and as unrestricted, as the range of Creation, as the domain of
the Omnipotent.
The words here written were but a part of the whole discourse
of the Apostle on this day of wonders. With many other words did
he protest to them and exhort them, saying, Save yourselves from this
untoward generation. The exact expression is, Be saved from this
crooked generation. Submit to be rescued. Let the salvation of
God reach you. You are not called to rescue yourselves; you are
not called to devise a plan of salvation, or to work out a plan of
salvation, for yourselves : you have but to accept, to welcome, to
submit to God's healing and saving hand : let Him work : only
resist not, only evade not, that outstretched arm of love. Re
member, there is danger, there is ruin, in remaining as you are :

CHURCH LIFE. 45
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all sin : you are a
sinner ; you need salvation : but God has found a ransom ; God
has found a Saviour: look to Him, while it is called To-day, and
be saved. They then that accepted His word were baptized: and on that
day there were added about three thousand souls.
It is fairly argued from this passage that Baptism by sprink
ling was not unknown to the first days of the Church. The
supply of water in Jerusalem would have been insufficient for the
performance, on one day, of three thousand baptisms by immer
sion: that mode of administering the rite is more significant in
its emblem of the spiritual death and burial, and of the Christian's
rising again to newness of life ; and our own Church permits and
authorizes its use : but it is not the quantity of water, we may
well believe, which constitutes this Sacrament, any more than it
is the quantity of bread or of wine which is of importance in the
other. Now we must not exaggerate to ourselves the condition in
which these three thousand persons were at once placed as saints
and servants of God. There was then indeed no temptation to a
false profession. To be a Christian was not then, as it is now,
the passport to respect and honour : it led to nothing then save
astonishment, exclusion, reproach, contempt. We may well hope
therefore that every one of those three thousand persons was a
true convert. But how much must they have had to learn and
to unlearn, changed as they had been in one hour from Jews to
Christians, from faithless to believing. And yet can we not
almost envy now that great, that sudden change ? What must
it have been to hear the Gospel for the first time ; to have it all
clean and fresh and fragrant, still moist with the very dew of
heaven, still unsoiled and unspoiled by the smoke and by the
mire of earth ?
Now the text tells us how these persons lived, in that first
bloom and freshness of the Gospel. They continued stedfastly in
the Apostles' doctrine; or rather, they gave themselves perseveringly to
the Apostles' teaching; and to fellowship one with another; to the

46 CHURCH LIFE.
breaking of the bread, and to prayers. Here are four particulars
enumerated. ( i ) They waited constantly upon the teaching of the Apostles.
There was much for them to learn. They knew nothing as yet
in detail of the doctrine of their new Master. The particulars of
His life; the words of warning and precept, of counsel and en
couragement, which He uttered; the spiritual insight given in
His discourses into the Law of God and into the Scriptures of
the Old Testament; the precious maxims of life and conversation
which fell from His lips in hours of comparative privacy when
He expounded to His disciples things spoken in parables to the
multitude; still more, the various items of that perfect example;
His meekness under provocation, His wisdom in answering cavils,
His patience in removing difficulties, His abhorrence of deceit
and guile, His tenderness towards the conscience-stricken and
repentant; above all, the incidents of that last week, of that last
night of all, now brought back to their remembrance by the Holy
Spirit, with many sharp pangs of sorrow for the share they them
selves had borne in adding to His sufferings ; and then the
reminiscences of visits paid to them again and again after the
Resurrection, when He was explaining the secrets of His kingdom
and fitting them to be His messengers and ministers in the world ;
how must the Apostles have busied themselves in recalling and
recounting these things to a congregation all but wholly ignorant
of them. How must they have told and told again, amidst breath
less silence or murmured satisfaction, words and deeds recorded
now and unrecorded in the Gospels; some written that we might
believe, others untold still, because, if 'written every one, the world
itself could not contain the books that should be written. It was
one part of the last charge to the Apostles that they should
baptize in their Saviour's name; that is, in that sacred name of
the Divine Trinity, which is all summed up in Christ. It was
another part of that last charge, that they should teach the new
disciples to observe all things whatsoever He had commanded them:
and it was this which remained to be done by patient and
repeated ministrations to those who for this purpose waited con
stantly on their teaching.

CHURCH LIFE. 47
My brethren, we are too ready to imagine that we have
nothing to learn now from public teaching. We sit in judgment
upon our teachers, as though we had all truth and all knowledge
already in possession. And most unwilling would your ministers
be to speak as though they had secrets to tell you from this
place; anything which you know not, or might not know, for
yourselves, from the pages of our holy Book. Nevertheless we
do believe that preaching is one of God's ordinances, and that to
it (in its place) belongs the emphasis of that solemn caution of St
Paul, Despise not prophesyings. It is still, we believe, one mark
of the true Christian, as it was in the days of old, that he waits
stedfastly upon doctrine; upon the teaching of appointed men,
whose responsible office it is rightly to divide to the congregation
the word of truth.
(2) In the second place it is said that they persevered in fel
lowship or communion; that is, in the formation and fostering of
that brotherly spirit of Christian love, which is described for us
in the Apostles' Creed as the Communion of Saints. It was a
thing to which they applied themselves, with all the energy of a
new affection, this habit of fellowship or of communion. The
three thousand converts of the Day of Pentecost did not separate
after their Baptism, each to his home, to live a life of pious
meditation in the seclusion of their own hearts with God. They
set themselves resolutely to a life of fellowship. We shall hear
presently some of the workings of that life : but, for the moment,
take it thus: The Christian is one of a community: alone, he is
but a limb cut off from the trunk : separately he must draw his
vital vigour from the Head, but that vigour must be used and
manifested, not in isolation, but in a self -forgetting fellowship.
He must never fancy himself the whole body ; either in being
independent of the Head from which he derives vitality, or in
being independent of the organized system in which he exercises
but one function of duty. That is the second mark of a Chris
tian. He attends perseveringly to fellowship.
I ask not how, but I would ask whether, the thought of
Christian communion has its place with us. Do we cherish in

48 CHURCH LIFE.
every possible way the feeling of membership in a body? Is
there anything that we do as Christians, in which we have
regard to other Christians; to the fact that, as it is written, Ye
are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
(3) They attended constantly, in the third place, upon the
breaking of the bread. I need not say to any Christian what that
expression means. Rather would I observe how instantly the
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper took its place among the marks
and tokens of the true Church; how from the very first it was
understood that a Christian is one who observes all that Christ
has commanded, and not least His dying charge, This do in
remembrance of me. Doubtless in the first beginning of the
Gospel the Lord's Supper was a daily celebration. And do you
suppose that any of the three thousand dared or wished to turn
their back upon it? Did they say, It is too sacred an ordinance
for frequent use? Did they say, It is meant only for established
Christians? Did they say, I will send for it when I am dying :
not yet, not yet ? Alas ! these questions can be answered but in
one way; but to scout them as suggestions of an impossibility:
and yet how many of us are knowingly, wilfully, and throughout
life, acting as if the charge, This do, had never been uttered, or
as if the Apostles only had ever been addressed by it.
And no doubt there are those who could not without pre
sumption or profaneness attend constantly on that breaking of
bread. But does not that inability, of itself, startle them? Does
not that conscious inability to approach the Lord's Table sound
in their ears the condemning sentence, Thou art none of Christ's:
thou art yet in thy sins ? In nothing do we see more plainly the
impotency of man to convince or persuade his brother, than in
the resolute indifference on the part of many to repeated warn
ings and exhortations on the subject of that holy Sacrament.
We would cease, if we durst, to urge it. The very summons is a
weariness; and we know it. But a necessity is laid upon us;
and conscience itself awakes within the sleeper to echo and to
enforce the call. O that something better than conscience, even
a heart penetrated and softened by the dew of God's grace, might

CHURCH LIFE. 49
at last make that call audible, make it powerful, and make it
persuasive !
(4) We have yet one stroke to add to this picture of the
Christian life. They were stedfast also in prayers. No doubt
they prayed in secret. No doubt it was a life of prayer. The
charge which is to us far beyond and above, so that we treat it
as hyperbolical if not exaggerated, Pray without ceasing, was to
them, in its spirit, a literal precept. Their life was now above,
hidden with Christ in God, and well might they exercise that life
in offices of perpetual communion. Christ was to them not a
name nor a doctrine, but a real and living Person, their Friend
and their Saviour, their Lord and their God. They could not
have too much of Him. They were as sure of His presence as if
He were amongst them in human form; as sure of His loving
care and guidance as if they saw His hand or heard His voice.
Therefore a life of prayer was to them a life of happiness. Why
should they not pray, pray constantly, pray without ceasing, to
One in whom every hope centred, and from whom all goodness
flowed ?
But the particular place occupied by the word prayers in the
text, leads us rather to think of public than of private prayer; of
the worship of the congregation rather than of the worship of the
secret chamber. It was a fourth mark of the Christian then,
that he was constant in the prayers of the Church. It was not
then, as it is now, that any little fluctuation of feeling, or any
passing accident of weather or of company, can thin a congrega
tion almost to nothing. It was not then the case, as it is now,
that everything is- more attractive than worship; an additional
half hour's rest, a walk into the country, a newspaper or a novel :
nothing felt to be so little worth exertion as the opportunity of
joining in the Church's prayers or listening to the Church's
teaching. Alas, my brethren, it is plain that we estimate diffe
rently from the early Christians the word privilege and the word
enjoyment. We like to keep this world while we can: they loved
to live in that world while still below. That which made them
happy was to commune with their Saviour: to commune with
V. 4

50 CHURCH LIFE.
Him, not alone, but in the company of those who loved Him.
They desired to lighten the pressure of things seen and temporal,
and to grasp more firmly realities unseen and eternal. We do
all we can to entrench ourselves in the present : and when at last
we are torn from it by the rude hand of sorrow, sickness, or
adversity, we leave its well-known haunts groaning and strug
gling, as though reality and life were here, shadow and gloom
and darkness there.
Let it not be for nothing that these plain common words have
been now spoken upon the Christian life of the first days of the
Gospel. We have gone almost as far (such must be our reflections)
from a primitive piety as from an original righteousness. The
Gospel salt has indeed lost its savour: who shall season it? Apo
stolical teaching, Christian fellowship, holy Communion, public
prayers, all are neglected; in comparison at least with the Scrip
ture model, in comparison at least with the practice of the saints.
O these languid, faint-hearted, listless gatherings, of a few from
among many, of worshippers with the world in their hearts, of sup
pliants not caring to kneel or to pray ! O for one hour of a brighter
and a more fervent devotion, stirred by a deep sense of need, stimu
lated by a sure hope of acceptance ! Let us set ourselves, beloved
brethren, to recover, for ourselves at least, something of that
which has decayed and is ready to die. Let us come hither as
for a purpose : let us not depart hence unheard or unblessed. Let
those of us whom unavoidable toils or duties do not bind else
where endeavour to keep alive through the week the flame of
God's altar; coming together day by day to hear God's Word, to
ask for things needful, and especially to remember in prayer the
suffering, the sinful, and the prayerless. And let us and all
remember that, as the fashion of this world passeth away, and
the only unchanging existence is that of Him which is and which
was and which is to come; so they only who live unto Him shall
abide for ever, or know anything of that profound, that unbroken
peace, which He, not as the world giveth, giveth to His people.

LECTURE VI.
CHURCH LIFE.
Acts ii. 47.
And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved.
Some few features are still wanting to complete the portrai
ture of the early life of the Church. We gaze upon it as a whole
with something of the same feeling which is awakened by stand
ing before the picture of a little child, whose later history has
been marked by sad and tragical incidents, or whose developed
character has been full of infirmities, faults, and sins. No one
imagined that that bright and beaming eye could always remain
undimmed, that frank and open countenance continue for ever
unclouded. And yet we might have hoped that the departure
from that original beauty would have been somewhat less abrupt,
or the fall from that original happiness somewhat less precipitate.
We gaze and gaze on, recalling the later history or the developed
character, till we can almost fancy that we see in the expression
of the child something of an anticipative sadness, or in the lines
of the young face something of an incipient debasement. And
yet this is fancy; a freak of the imagination, rather than a con
clusion of the understanding. Even so it is as we look, in the
first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, upon a scene too fair to
last. We would fain wing back our flight across the centuries
4—2

52 CHURCH LIFE.
that lie between, and find ourselves in days when profession was
all truth, and conduct all consistency. And yet perhaps in some
minds the doubt has already arisen, whether in deed and in truth
the condition of the primitive Church was so utterly unbke that
of the actual; whether there must not be symptoms even there of
that mixed condition which we behold here ; whether the infant
lineaments did not indicate in some respects the mature develope-
ment, and prepare us, in the exercise of a sober judgment, for the
divisions and distractions, the faults and follies, of a later and a
sadder age.
We dwelt last upon the collective life of the early Christians
in four of its main characteristics. We saw them waiting assidu
ously on the teaching of the Apostles, who were enlightened,
according to their Saviour's promise, to remember all that He had
said to them, and commissioned (by His last charge) to teach His
disciples everywhere to observe all that He had commanded
them. We saw them carefully cherishing a spirit of fellowship
or communion ; regarding themselves not as isolated units, not
as separate and self-contained bodies, but as members of one
body, of which the living Head was Christ, and of which every
single Christian was an essential part and limb. We saw them,
in the third place, diligently availing themselves of every oppor
tunity of breaking the sacred bread in the ordinance of their
Lord's Supper; treating it as at once His latest and most solemn
charge, and His latest and most precious legacy, to His people.
We saw them, in the fourth and last place, persevering in prayers,
not secret only or domestic, but social also and congregational.
By these four marks men in those early days could take know
ledge of one another that they were Christians indeed.
And now we shall endeavour by God's help to add some fur
ther particulars to this description; aided by the last five verses
of the chapter which is still before us.
i. The first of these is, the effect produced upon beholders
without. And fear came upon every soul. One explanation of
this may be found in the clause which follows : And many won
ders and signs were done by the Apostles. Proofs daily witnessed

CHURCH LIFE. 53
of the Divine power and presence amongst them could not fail to
strike fear into the hearts of those who looked on without obeying.
But there is more yet than this in the apprehension described.
We remember what was the effect upon the wicked king Herod
of observing the character of John the Baptist. We are told by
one of the Evangelists, that Herod feared John — little as he had
to fear from him in an earthly sense ; far as he was exalted above
him in rank and wealth and power — knowing that he was a just
man and an holy ; and observed him : nay, more than this : and
w/ien he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
So strong was the awe which rested upon him, that he even
obeyed many of the Baptist's exhortations, though there was one,
just one, the most important of all, which he could not bring
himself to regard. Herod feared John, because he was a just man
and an holy. So it was with the observers of the primitive
Church. Fear came upon every soul. This new kind of life, so
serious, so devout, so devoted, so holy, struck awe as well as
surprise into the beholders.
Christians do not always know their own power. They ever
take it for granted that they are the weaker party. What fears,
what anxious, what restless, what panic fears, do young Chris
tians, more especially, often experience, in the prospect of the
opposition, or contempt, or ridicule, of careless friends or sinful
companions. They are often saying to themselves, How can I stand
my ground against this taunt or that threat, against this jester or
that tempter? Alas ! it is the fear which makes the danger. Let
them try : let them commit the keeping of their souls to a faithfid
Creator, and then go forward in the path of duty holding fast the
word of truth, and they will find the saying again and again
verified in them, Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the
world. The difficulties in your path may seem insurmountable at
a distance; but as often as you face them manfully in the name
of Jesus, the words of the prophet Zechariah shall be made good
in you, Who art thou, 0 great mountain? before God's servant
thou shalt become a plain. They said among themselves, Who shall
roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when

54 CHURCH LIFE.
they looked they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very
great. My brethren, you have all of you the power of striking a
wholesome and perhaps a saving fear into the enemies of Christ.
It is done, not by you certainly, but through you, so often as you
are enabled to set a bright and consistent example in your own
conversation and in your own life. That is a testimony which
men cannot gainsay. All else they may laugh at : your persua
sions they may resist, your warnings they may despise, your
arguments in defence of the faith they may upset and triumph
over : but your example, at once self-denying and charitable, at
once strict and sensible, will make its way into their consciences:
you may never know it : they may, as they probably will, affect
to be indifferent : but not for nothing (even with a view to these
days) was it written, that, when men saw the Christian congre
gation continuing stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, and fellow
ship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers, fear came upon
every soul. That is the one weapon, which a woman, which a
child may wield, and which no coat of mail is close enough to
evade or strong enough to parry. God grant us all grace to use
it better. 2. There is a second circumstance to be noticed in the life of
those days. And all that believed were together, and had all
things common ; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted
them to all men, as every man had need.
In the first ardour of that new conviction, with hearts already
in heaven, filled with the daily anticipation of their Saviour's
return, they obeyed literally the direction to lay up for themselves
no treasures on earth ; to sell that they had, and give alms ; to for
sake all and follow Christ. They could not bear to have, while
another wanted. They saw too clearly the meaning and the
reality of a Christian brotherhood to make it possible for them to
be satisfied with giving thanks to God who made them to differ,
while that very difference involved in it distress and suffering to
any for whom, as for them, their Master had died. Nothing but
a real community of goods could satisfy the Christian instincts of

CHURCH LIFE. 55
that infant congregation. It was a beautiful and instructive
sight to see that blending of all ranks in one communion and
fellowship ; to see rich and poor, high and low, old and young,
not only practising charity but living in union. It was an ex
ample for all times, if not in form, yet in spirit.
Not in form. There is no inspired rule, applicable to all
cases, for a community of goods among Christian men. Our own
38th Article declares this, and the Scriptures prove it. We find
St Paul, for example, recommending in one of his Epistles a
liberal contribution, according to the circumstances of each man,
to the reHef of the poor saints at Jerusalem ; and in another, ad
vising that on the first day of each week every one should lay by
him in store for this purpose as God had prospered him. There
could be no almsgiving, and no treasuring up, week by week, of
the superfluity of that week's earnings, if in the Church of Corinth
to which St Paul then wrote, there had been established, as a part
of the Christian system, a compulsory or actual community of
possessions. If this had been so, certainly the congregation
alone, and not the individuals composing it, could have been
called upon to contribute to the wants of a distant and necessitous
Church. How different, my brethren, was this example of a community
of goods from anything which the world has since witnessed ! It
has been the dream of theorists of all kinds, religious and politi
cal, to see all distinction of ranks levelled, and a whole congrega
tion, or a whole nation, living in brotherly concord upon the com
mon property of alL We believe that every such scheme has
been based upon assumptions hasty in themselves and mischievous
in their consequences. In Christian bodies the attempt to estab
lish a system of communion has led more often to the exclusion
than to the consideration of the poor. Selfishness has entered in
to mar the work of charity; and the society framed on the prin
ciple of a voluntary mutual confiscation has been a society of the
rich alone, in which confiscation itself involved no sacrifice.
Among political speculators the principle of communism has been
too often absolutely anti-Christian; and a hatred of subordina-

56 CHURCH LIFE.
tion, which is in other words a refusal to accept the rule of God's
providence and to live in God's world as He has arranged it, has
been the secret spring of much professed zeal ior the rights of
man, and of much declamation upon the interests of society.
The example before us was of a widely different kind from
either of these. It was the spontaneous, the natural, and the
temporary effect of a fresh faith, a lively hope, and a genuine
charity. In its form it was not and it could not be permanent.
While it continued, it was a wonderful testimony to the strength
of the new religion in the hearts of those who believed. See how
these Christians love, might well be the comment of those who
looked on upon a scene so unlike the world of common life. If
the Gospel can make a man part with his all ; give to the com
mon stock that which he prized chiefly because it was exclusively
his own ; and be content to live like any poor man upon the daily
ministration of the alms of the Church ; at least there must have
been something in it : judge ye, my brethren, what there is, in
heaven or in earth, which would have made any one of us go and
do likewise. And though the form of that entire self-sacrifice may vary ;
and we believe that Christ our Master designed that it should
vary with the varying circumstances of the world and of His
Church ; let us not forget that the spirit of this life must be ours
also. If it be best on the whole for the true welfare of society,
if it be consistent therefore with the will of Him whose never-
failing Providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth,
that each man have his own store and his own purse ; that each
man be the possessor of the fruits of his own toil, and the uncon
trolled steward of his own resources ; if many high and Christian
purposes are answered by that gradation of ranks and that variety
of fortunes which, whether we will or no, certainly is the form of
human society under which God has placed us ; yet let us not
forget that one end, perhaps the chief end, to be answered by
this arrangement, is, that each man, working with his hands the
thing that is good, may thereby have to give to him that needeth;
that every one may be able to exercise his individual judgment,

CHURCH LIFE. 57
and (to a certain extent) his individual choice, upon various objects
of piety and charity proposed to him ; but certainly not that any
one may be at liberty to say, as a Christian man, I prefer keeping
to myself, and to my own, all that I possess ; I disown altogether
the character of Christ's steward and of Christ's dispenser ; I will
impart nothing, or I will impart sparingly to others, however
much they may be in need.
3. We will not return to the mention of points already enu
merated, and therefore we will pass lightly over the next words
of the passage, which tell us how the early Christians continued
daily with one accord in the temple, still keeping the appointed
hours of the national worship, and broke bread at home ; that is,
received the sacred bread of the Lord's Supper in the privacy of
their own body, in one or more of those houses, or upper rooms,
which still, as at first, though in larger numbers, sheltered their
devotion. But we must pause for a moment on the description
of their private and domestic life which follows ; how they did
eat their meat — partook of food is the exact expression — in glad
ness and singleness (simplicity) of heart, praising God, and having
favour with all the people.
The life of a Christian ought to be a happy life. The life of a
true Christian will be a happy life. His very food has a blessing.
He praises God over it. He partakes of it in gladness. It is to
him the token of a Father's love, the indication of » Father's
hand. He receives it, as out of God's hand, in his own. And
the heart which is glad is also described further as a single or a
simple heart. The word denotes properly smooth or level : it is
the epithet of a field or a road out of which the stones have been
carefully gathered, so that it presents no impediment to the plough
of the husbandman or the feet of the traveller. A stoneless heart
is one which has no impediments or obstacles in it ; one out of
which the roughnesses of temper and the stumblingblocks of sin
have been removed by grace, so that it is now level and even,
smooth in its course and gentle in its contact.
And these last words may explain to us how it should be that
a life of which we have just read that it inspired fear is described

58 CHURCH LIFE.
also as one of favour with all the people. The paradox is more in
sound than in sense. It is true that a Christian life, when it is
blameless and consistent, is a witness against the sinfulness and
the carelessness which surrounds it. It awakens slumbering con
sciences, testifying of realities above not to be forgotten without
danger. In this aspect, it inspires awe. But in another aspect
it is altogether lovely. The world around would be worse even
than we find it, if it failed to recognize as attractive that which
is true and honest and just and pure and lovely and of good report.
Let a man be in deed to others that which he would they should
be to him, and I say not that they will love him for his religion,
but I do say that they will love him in spite of it. It is written
of One who was Man and God also, that, as He increased in wis
dom and stature, He increased also in favour with God and man.
So is it with His people. Men often show their religion in the
most unattractive, the most repulsive form, and then regard their
own unpopularity as a proof of the world's hatred against religion.
Let them exhibit their religion in its aspect of a world-wide
charity, and they will find it otherwise. They will find that,
while it inspires awe as God's witness, their religion wins love
also as the friend of man.
4. Finally, let us fix our attention on the words of the text
itself. And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be
saved. We need not stay to vindicate this verse from the mis
constructions of a false theology ; or to show that there is nothing
here of a Divine selection fixing by an arbitrary sentence who
should and who should not be heirs of salvation. The words
themselves say, that the Lord added to the congregation of the
faithful day by day those who were in the course (in the process)
of salvation. Salvation, if in one sense a single act, is in another
sense a course of acts. A man may forfeit salvation: he may
grieve the Holy Spirit: he may quench the Holy Spirit: he may
fall away and never be renewed again unto salvation. These
things are possible : and while these things are possible, it is as
much as we can say of any man that he is in course of salvation.
And a great thing it is to be able to say this. We cannot say

CHURCH LIFE. 59
this of a man who is trifling ; or of a man who is a despiser of the
means of grace; or of a man who is cherishing any known sin.
And therefore it is not a light thing to say of a man that he is
being saved. God grant that we might be able to say it of all
who are gathered together to worship ! God grant that there be
none here who are not seeking salvation as the one thing need
ful; none who are not willing to give up all else for it; none who
are not using the means of grace with all diligence as the great
blessing and privilege of dying men and women in a world of
sorrow and sin; none who are not seeking to cleanse themselves
from all defilement of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the
fear of God.
We shall notice one or two plain truths in conclusion.
(i) It is the Lord who adds. The Lord is the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is at work in all that affects the well-being of His
Church below. If it were not so, who could endure, who could
hope? Without Him, without His Holy Spirit, what is man?
What would be Paul or Apollos or Cephas, could they return to
us from the dead — much more, what are we, poor, feeble, erring,
uninspired men — without -the living grace of the Holy Spirit of
God working with us or working without us in the hearts of the
congregation and of the world below ? It was He who opened
the heart of the first convert at Philippi, that she attended to the
things that were spoken by Paul. And it is He who opens hearts
now to attend to the things spoken by His ministers. O, which of
all of us asked Him for help and grace before we came hither this
evening? We need it more than some of you think. We want
new converts. We want new members of the real congregation
of grace. We want new communicants. We want new atten
dants upon the daily prayers of the Church. We want new
enquirers after the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And who can
add these to our number, save the Lord only? To Him therefore
let our eyes and our hearts be ever lifted up.
(2) It is to the Church that the Lord adds. It is not only
secret desires, secret resolutions, secret prayers, that we need
awakening in us : there must be an adding to the Church and to

60 CHURCH LIFE.
the Congregation. It is the object of these Sermons to awaken
within us a deeper sense of the meaning and importance of a
collective Christian life. We ought to be not only (though this
be a great thing) a pious people, not only a moral and religious
people, not only (though this be a great thing, and the root of all)
men and women fulfilling life's duties and satisfying life's rela
tions in the fear of God ; but also a people honouring God together,
walking to heaven together, together serving Christ, and together
working righteousness. Think of these things : shut not up your
religion in a selfish isolation, but stir up by mutual help the
grace that is in each singly.
(3) Lastly, I would bid you concentrate your thoughts on
the brief but significant word daily, or day by day. The course
of this world is a fleeting, a transitory, a rapid thing : we are here
to-day, and to-morrow there : to-day in health, to-morrow in sick
ness ; to-day in prosperity, to-morrow in distress ; to-day in life,
to-morrow in death. In the meantime can we say that there is a
daily progress in the things of eternity ? Can we say that we
are to-day in darkness and to-morrow in the light? to-day in
course of ruin, to-morrow in course of salvation ? Can we say
that each day adds some one to the true Church and fold of
Christ? The Lord's arm is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor
His ear heavy, that He cannot hear. Then why this stagnation ?
why this pause and intermission in the work of grace? Why is
it that a minister counts himself happy if in the course of a long
and faithful service he has seen but one or two souls gathered
into his Lord's true Church below ? What has become of the
word daily ? Can we afford, any better than the primitive Chris
tians, to lose time in this work of adding? Who has been
gathered to-day ? who yesterday ? who last week ? who last month,
or last year ? The world stops not for our loitering : sickness
and adversity stop not, life and .death stop not, while we linger :
God of His infinite mercy make us feel the value of time, and
count each day lost that has not added to His Church one that
shall be saved.

LECTURE VII.
THE FIRST MIRACLE.
Acts hi. 19, 21.
The times of refreshing  The times of restitution.
Two of the Apostles, Peter and John, went up together to
the Temple at one of the stated hours of the national worship.
Though they had now a new faith and a new devotion, they
did not therefore forget or forsake the old. The Gospel was
to them the fulfilment of the Law, not its instant abrogation.
They saw in it the hope of Israel, the promise made of God
unto their fathers ; and they never admitted that in becoming
Christians they had ceased to be Israelites : they could still
believe and still worship with their nation, though that nation
might refuse to believe and to worship with them. We are
the circumcision, they might say, which worship God in the
spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh. Thus they continued daily with one accord in the temple as
regularly as they broke bread in the ordinance of the Lord's
Supper at home. They still attended at the morning and evening
sacrifices, rejoicing in the sign of the one great Atonement, even
when the thing signified was already come. The day was draw
ing on, when God's own hand would abolish the Mosaic ritual by
the destruction of the city which He had chosen, and of the
House of which He had said, My name shall be there. Till then
Jew and Christian trod its courts together.

62 THE FIRST MIRACLE.
On the occasion of which we are now to read, Peter and John
visited the Temple at the ninth hour — three o'clock in the after
noon — the hour of the offering of the evening sacrifice. At the
entrance of the Temple-court, they fell in with what was in fact
a familiar and daily occurrence ; the carrying of a lame man,
lame from his birth, and now more than forty years old, to
occupy his usual station at that which was commonly called the
Beautiful Gate. There he was set or laid day after day to
attract the commiseration of the charitable as they passed him on
their way to worship. On this occasion he addressed his cry for
charity to the two Apostles ; common men, to all appearance ;
distinguished in no way by any outward sign, as pillars of the
new Church, or temples (in their own persons) of the Holy Ghost :
he addressed to them his usual petition, with no expectation of
any but the usual reply. But the day was to be an eventful one'
for him. Instead of giving or refusing to give, and passing on,
as others passed, into the Temple-precincts, the two men stopped
and fixed upon him an earnest gaze. Look on us, they said. His
attention was arrested. He hoped to receive something from
them. Long had his wishes been restricted to the hope of a suc
cessful day's begging : thoughts of health and vigour, of motion
and enjoyment, had all these years been crushed and mortified ;
all he looked for was his daily bread, and even that not earned
by wholesome toil but dependent upon a precarious pity. He
was compelled, under God's afflicting hand, to say (unlike one of
whom we read in the Gospel), To beg I am not ashamed. Men
learn at last to accommodate themselves to the most distasteful
circumstances : even hope, the most pertinacious of human feel
ings, bounds itself by probabilities ; and the cripple who never has
walked counts it an impossibility, and nothing less, that the
power of motion should ever come to him. What must be his
astonishment, if he hears two common passers-by address him in
the.se remarkable words, Silver and gold have I none : but what
I have, that I give thee : in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
rise up and walk. The first impulse surely must be not astonish
ment only but resentment; indignation at an unfeeling banter

THE FIRST MIRACLE. 63
which does but mock his woes. But no : the hand of the speaker
is extended ; it grasps his own ; a strange strength, unfelt before,
communicates itself to the foot and to the ancle ; he finds himself
able to spring from the ground, able to stand, able to walk ; a
moment afterwards he is entering with his benefactors into the
Temple-court, walking with a bounding step, and giving thanks
and praise to the God of his health.
The worshippers who crowded the place at that solemn hour
were witnesses of the scene. All the people saw him walking and
praising God : and they recognized him as the very man who sat
for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple : and they were filled
with wonder and amazement at that which had befallen him. He
was still clinging to the two Apostles in the first transport of
grateful attachment, when the whole multitude ran together to
them in that part of the sacred precincts which was called the
porch or colonnade of Solomon. It was there that Jesus Himself
had walked not long before, as we read in the ioth chapter of St
John's Gospel, in the winter season, at the festival of the Dedica
tion. There too, as one of the following chapters of this book
records, the company of the believers were accustomed to congre
gate, while a solemn awe rested upon the hearts of others, forbid
ding them to pretend or to intrude.
The moment was favourable for one of those impressive and
spirit-stirring addresses by which St Peter in these earliest days,
speaking under the inspiration of God, added so largely to the
numbers of the Church of Christ. His tone, on this as on a
former occasion, was that of one who can see nothing marvel
lous, nothing surprising, in a Divine Person proving Himself true
and proving Himself powerful. Why marvel ye at this man ? or
why gaze ye upon us, as though by any power or godliness of our
own we had caused that he should walk ? Is that the only expla
nation that you can give of the scene before you ? It is a great
thing, my brethren, when, we begin to feel it to be natural that a
living Saviour should also work. We have so long taken it for
granted that nothing can really come of the Gospel that it is
indeed as life from the dead when we see the reasonableness of

64 ' THE FIRST MIRACLE.
expecting Jesus Christ to fulfil His own word. That is St
Peter's argument here. Why marvel ye at this ? The real secret
is soon told. There is One above, exalted after humiliation,
glorified after suffering, alive after death, whose hand is here
working. The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the
God of our fathers — no new, no unknown God, but One whom
for years and generations you have owned and worshipped —
glorified His Servant Jesus : raised Him from the dead, and gave
Him glory ; declared Him to be His own Son with power by resur
rection from the dead ; and then glorified Him with His oum self
with the glory which He had with Him before the world was.
You indeed delivered Him up ; gave Him into Gentile hands,
praying that He might be crucified. You denied Him in the
presence of Pilate ; indignantly repelled from Him the appellation
of King of the Jews, and overbore by your violence the repeated
confession of the magistrate that he found no fault in Him. Thus
you denied the Holy One and the Just, and demanded a murderer
to be granted to you. Not this man, you cried, but Bar abbas ! and
Barabbas was a robber, and not a robber only but a murderer.
He had committed murder in the insurrection. It is true, you
did not with your own hands take that sacred blood : but God
sees through these sophistries, and counts as done by you that
which you got done. You killed the Prince (Author) of life: but
God raised Him from the dead, and we are His witnesses : we saw
Him dead, and we. saw Him risen.
And it is His name, through faith in His name, which made
this man strong, whom ye see and know : yea, it is the faith which
is through Him, faith in God through Jesus Christ, which gave
him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. His name :
He Himself, revealed as God and Man, as crucified and risen and
glorified ; He Himself, as that which He is, performed this cure ;
gave this miraculous, this perfect soundness of which you all are
witnesses. And as His name, which is He Himself, was the true
Author, so faith in His name, in that name which is He Himself,
was the true and only instrument of the miracle. In His name,
as His commissioned and accredited servants, we did that we did :

THE FIRST MIRACLE. 65
to Him we looked up ; from Him we drew the power : we who
wrought tell you how we wrought, by what means, in whose
strength. But for Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, we had
neither undertaken it nor succeeded. He lives, He works, He
hath all power in heaven and in earth : by Him, by Him alone,
and through faith in Him, doth this man stand here before you
whole. And think not, brethren, that we would bear hard upon you
for your part in that guilt of sacred blood, i" know that by
ignorance ye acted , even as He Himself prayed on the cross for
His murderers, and said, Father, forgive them, for they know not
tvhat they do. You ought to have known, but you did not. /
did it ignorantly in unbelief. And through that guilty yet ignorant
act of man there was wrought out a mysterious but most real
purpose of divine love. Things which God fore-announced by the
mouth of all the prophets, namely, that His Christ should suffer,
He so fulfilled. He brought unto good that which you meant
only for evil : through the murder of His beloved Son was accom
plished a world-wide redemption.
And yet there is room.
Repent therefore, and be converted (change your minds, and
turn ye) that your sins may be blotted out (unto the cancelling or
obliteration of your sins); that so there may come seasons of
refreshing from the pi-esence of the Lord, and that He may send
forth Him that hath been prepared for you, Christ Jesus, whom
lieaven must have received — must retain — until certain times of
restitution of all things, which God spake of by the mouth of His
holy prophets from eternity.
Here are (i) the conditions of salvation by Christ: repent
ance, and conversion; change of mind, and change of life; review
ing the past with true contrition, and turning to God with full
purpose of amendment : (2) the immediate result, forgiveness ;
the cancelling of sin ; the obliteration of the guilty record ;
the casting all our sins (as the prophet Micah says) into the
depths of the sea; the so passing by, the so dismissing, the sins of
those who truly repent, that He remembers them no more : and
V. 5

66 THE FIRST MIRACLE.
(3) the future result; repent and turn... that so there may come
from God's presence seasons of refreshing ; that so, the number of
His elect being at last accomplished, He may send Jesus Christ,
the Saviour, whom He hath prepared for you, and who is now in
heaven awaiting the arrival of those times of restitution, resto
ration, reparation of all things, which have been the great subject
of divine prediction from the first day that God spake to fallen
man even unto this hour. The arrival of the times thus described
is made to depend upon the repentance and conversion of man.
Repent and turn, in order that those times may come. Certainly
without repentance and conversion those times will never come
to you. But, more than that, those times will not come until
the number of God's elect be full. And St Peter tells us that
those times are even delayed lest any soul should be cut short in
its impenitence. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repent
ance. When those times do come, repentance will be precluded,
will be impossible. And the day of the Lord, however delayed,
will come, St Peter adds, as a thief in the night.
I would turn your thoughts, in conclusion, to the two aspects,
presented in the text itself, of the future which the Gospel
reveals to us. The period to be introduced by the second coming
of the Saviour, the period which we often describe by the
incorrect but expressive term ' eternity,' will be first a period
of refreshing, and secondly, a period of restitution.
1. A period of refreshing. The word thus rendered is pro
perly a revival by fresh air; the consequence of letting in a breeze
of cool and invigorating air upon one who has been long fainting
under a sultry and oppressive atmosphere. Such a revival as
that, will be the result of the second Advent of Christ to all who
look for Him and love His appearing; to all who are through
this life waiting and watching for Him, with the girded loins of
a Christian diligence, and with the burning lights of a Christian
vigilance. Times of refreshing. Do not we want such times ? Are we

THE FIRST MIRACLE. 67
not all conscious of the oppressive weight, as it were, of this
world's atmosphere? Do we not all feel ourselves oftentimes
fainting with the closeness and sultriness of the air we are forced
to breathe ? I speak of our hearts and souls, not of our bodies :
what a load seems here to lie upon them ! Who has not often
said with the Psalmist, 0 that I had wings like a dove . for then
would I flee away and be at rest ? It is not so much of the
oppression of unkindness or persecution that we now speak : that
is rather, as the Psalmist found it, a stormy ivind and tempest,
which may indeed shake our home, or scatter far and wide the
blossoms of earthly hope, but which has in it something of a
wholesome severity, preventing us from making our rest here,
and rousing our whole being (if we be Christians indeed) into a
more resolute and vigorous vitality. We speak rather now of
a sultry closeness ; of that stifling heat which at once indisposes
and incapacitates for exertion ; of that sense of breathing an
exhausted air, or living in a crowded cabin, which paralyzes
every energy, and at last forbids repose itself. Even thus it is,
in different degrees, with all Christians here below. How seldom
does the refreshing breath of God's Holy Spirit revive them into
the buoyancy of conscious life and health ! How seldom does the
sweet influence of the divine presence lift them into that upper
air, where no earth-born cloud darkens their sky, and no noxious
vapour damps or poisons their atmosphere ! They can tell the
times when this has been their bright experience. They remem
ber, once in a year, or once in a lifetime, a season of sweet
refreshment, when God was perceptibly near them, and they
breathed in perfect freedom the air of a heavenly communion.
But far more often they would have described themselves as per
sons sighing for light and air, hungering for food, thirsting for
water; just able to keep alive one spark of faith in the great
future, but living for the present in a murky dimness with which
the thought of heaven and of God was wholly incongruous
and uncongenial. The world seems to close us in with »
narrow and narrowing compression, until the very idea of an
expansive freedom becomes unnatural to us and unreal. In
5—2

68 THE FIRST MIRACLE.
prosperity, the air of earth is laden with a luscious perfume,
lulling us into a stupor which is no repose. In adversity, we
seem to be confined within the walls of a sick room, from which
worldly pleasure is banished, without the admission of a heavenly
visitant. These things may be called by some the morbidnesses of
a religious fancy : but none the less would we appeal to the
hearts of those here present before God, whether there is not in
the description a semblance at least of their own experience ;
whether they, as a matter of fact, do not desire, and do not
urgently need, that great change of which St Peter here speaks
as a season of refreshing ; when the souls of the faithful, delivered
from the burden of the flesh, shall be in joy and felicity ; or rather
(for it is to a further point still that our eyes are directed) when
the soul which has had its rest shall be reunited to the body
which has undergone its transformation, and when the entire
man, complete in soul and in body, shall be for ever in his
Saviour's presence, permitted to enjoy it, and qualified to enjoy
it, through the ages of the eternal age.
2. The same prospect is described further as a time of
restitution. What a tangled, disordered, inverted thing is the
world as we see it ! What a scene of departure from an original
arrangement ; of deterioration from any condition in which God
could ever have pronounced it to be very good. The whole crea
tion, St Paul writes, groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now : and not only they, but ourselves also, who have the first-
fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption. Only see, for example, how the rela
tions of life are disorganized. See what misfortunes, see what
sorrows, see what crimes, spring out of the affections. See the
hearts of fathers turned from their children, and the hearts
of children from their fathers. See the weaker and the more
trusting half of mankind made the sport and the victim of the
stronger and the less sensitive. See the distinction of ranks
now cruelly aggravated, and now violently obliterated. Is it not
the very scene of which it was written of old in God's Holy Book,
I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great

THE FIRST MIRACLE. 69
and dreadful day of the Lord...Elias verily cometh first and
restoreth all things... lest I come and smite the earth with a
curse ? And under the government of a righteous and holy God
can it be conceived that this state of things should be perpetual?
Is not the very extent of the ruin a prophecy of the restoration ?
Can it be that God should thus have made all things in vain, and
suffered His own beautiful handywork to be thus marred and
desolated finally? It has been the language of all prophecy,
St Peter here says, from the very first to the very last of that
goodly fellowship, that there shall be a time of restitution, a time
of reparation, of rectification, of restoration of all things. We,
the same Apostle writes in his latest Epistle, according to His
promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wlierein divelleth
righteousness. He who created can recreate: He who made man
in His own image can renew him in that image after His Son's
likeness. And shall it not be a comfort to the true Christian, sorely
vexed by the experience, and more sorely tried by the observation,
of a world thus perverted, to look forward to the arrival of that
time when the ways of God shall be finally justified to the
universe? How does it become us to see that we ourselves be
not adding to the confusion; be not introducing fresh discords
into the Babel of a fallen world. Although the restoration of all
things is not yet ; although no efforts and no prayers of ours can
make the ujicked here cease from troubling, or lull the suffering
world into a repose which belongs not to time ; yet let us
remember that there is a restitution, there is a reparation, there
is a reconstruction, which belongs all to time ; a repentance and
a conversion which, if not realized here, can be realized nowhere;
a renewal of soul, and an amendment of life, under the sweet
and powerful influence of the Holy Spirit, which is the condition
of our ever being admitted into the world in which dwelleth only
righteousness. It is easy for us to dream a poet's dream of
sweet pastures and sunny fountains and white-robed companies
and harpers harping with their harps ; it is easy to picture to
ourselves a scene of freedom and innocence and happiness, in

70 THE FIRST MIRACLE.
which cruelty and lust, sin and sorrow, are names unknown :
but these things are altogether apart from the work, in soul and
body, of men and women living this 'life as it is, traversing the
waste and howling wilderness towards a rest which remains
hereafter for the people of God. If we would ever enter heaven,
we must begin it here. If we would ever see the restoration of
all things, we must struggle day by day here for our own. We
are very far gone from an original righteousness : we have lost
the bright and clear mark, as in the forehead, of the divine
likeness : we have within us many a dangerous, many a fatal
seed of disease : we have formed in ourselves, or suffered, many a
habit, in thought and word, in act and will, most opposite to the
Spirit's teaching, most opposite to the Saviour's example : these
things must be got rid of, must be displaced, must be reversed,
by honest, humble, secret efforts, made day by day in God's
strength, and renewed day by day, after failure and defeat,
through God's longsuffering grace, if we would ever know
what it is to cross the great gulf between saved and lost, or to
have our part in the glorious manifestation of the sons of God.
God give us all grace to set ourselves earnestly to this task.
He who calls us is faithful, and He also will do it. Where He
bids us go, He leads : He prevents with His Spirit, He follows
with His blessing. To Him let us commit ourselves; to the
Father, to the Saviour, to the Spirit. What we know not now,
He will teach ; where we mistake, He will pity ; when we stray,
He will bring us back. Only resist Him not. Say not to Him,
your one Friend, Go thy way for this time ; when I have a con
venient season, I will call for Thee : but rather pray Him to
remain with you henceforth, till your change come : yea, say of
Him as He hath taught you, This God is our God for ever and
ever: He shall be our guide unto death; unto death, and through
death, and after death, through the years which have no number
through the life which knows no ending.

LECTURE VIII.

THE GOSPEL BLESSING.

Acts hi. 26.
Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him
to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
St Peter is accounting for a great miracle. A man well known
by sight and name to the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; a man
crippled from his birth, and supported from day to day by the
charity of persons visiting the Temple ; had suddenly risen, at
the command of two of the Apostles, in the fulness of health and
activity. Men say that miracles are not the most convincing proofs of
Revelation. We often hear that inward evidences are more
satisfactory to the mind of this age than outward. And we are
sometimes tauntingly reminded of those extraordinary phenomena
of animal magnetism, which have convinced so many intelligent
observers, and of which perhaps no intelligent observer ought to
deny the truth. But does any amount of proof, however con
vincing or unanswerable, make those phenomena into miracles?
Wonders, marvels, prodigies, they may be : but a miracle (in the
Christian sense) is a sign of something ; not a mere portent, but
a portent pointing to something, attesting something, calling

72 THE GOSPEL BLESSING.
men to believe something, to do something, to believe in some
One, and to give themselves to His service. These wonders, if
proved, must be accepted : the judgment, if it cannot doubt their
truth, must admit them among other facts, and wait to see what
place God designs them to fill among the experiences or among
the endowments or among the responsibilities of His creatures.
But they do not therefore either weaken the force or divide the
interest of the great miracles of the Gospel. We have much, no
doubt, still to learn as to the connection between mind and
matter, between the soul and the body, between the world of
spirit and the world of sense. And every new thing which we
learn concerning these things must be tested in the common way
by evidence, and not necessarily suspected as an enemy to
religion or to Christ. But how different from the most mar
vellous of these new fragments of discovery, is the smallest and
least striking of the miracles which attested the Gospel. They
were distinctly wrought in proof of the Messiahship and of the
Divinity of Jesus. Each one of them was an appeal to God's
Omnipotence to give testimony to the truth of His Son's mission
and Gospel. And if the God of truth, the God who hates a lie,
the God who abhors and unmasks imposture, gave that attestation ¦
if He exercised a superhuman and supernatural power at the
prayer of one who invoked it in the name of Jesus Christ ; what
beholder could fail to draw the inference that the revelation thus
attested was true, or to thank God for planting that revelation
on the rock of demonstrated fact, instead of leaving it for the
disputations of the wise or the speculations of the sceptic ?
The Gospel was designed for all men; for the poor and
ignorant many, as well as for the widely read and profoundly
thoughtful. And it suits that character, that its first evidences
should have been evidences of sight and sense. We may value
more highly evidences of a different kind : we may be more
struck by the adaptation of the Gospel to human want, or by its
transforming effect upon human characters and human lives.
We may feel that it has an echo within, which satisfies us
beyond all contradiction that its voice is the voice of the Creator.

THE GOSPEL BLESSING. 73
And we do well to treasure up these evidences, every one of
them, against that cloudy and dark day when any one of us may
want them all. But let us not be so unthankful as to disparage
that first evidence of power, of a power above man's, exercised
upon that part of man of which the senses can take cognizance,
which the miracles of the Gospels and of the Acts present to us.
Let us admit indeed that a religion of power only would be a
poor religion for a world of fallen men. Let us place side by
side with the power the wisdom also and the holiness and the
beneficence of Christ. Let us not disunite what God has joined,
or lay the whole stress of our faith upon what is but a part and
not the whole of God's demonstration. Yet let us all, let the
poor and humble amongst us more especially, thank God for what
He has vouchsafed to us in this evidence of miracle and of
outward sign. Let us place ourselves, in thought, amongst the
multitude who looked on here upon the man that was healed,
and recognized in the erect and vigorous form before them the
suffering and decrepit figure which had long lain for alms at the
Beautiful Gate of the Temple. Yes, my brethren, we should all
have been glad of that demonstration of the Gospel : we may all
be glad of it still, as it lies here before us in the simple history of
the first days of Christianity.
This was the text of St Peter's Sermon : well may it be also
sometimes the text of ours. Here is a fact before you : how do
you account for it ? St Peter says that it is easily accounted for.
Believe that God raised up His Son Jesus : believe that what
Jesus said was true, and that what Jesus did He did as God's
Christ : and all is intelligible, all is consistent, all is natural, at
once.. Did not your own Prophets foretell of these things?
What has been from the first the burden of all Prophecy ? Has
it not been the announcement of a new scene, a new order of
things, which should harmonize the confusions of the world, and
redress the inequalities of time ? And has not the promise of
this coming age of refreshing and restitution been ever associated
in holy Scripture with the person, the suffering, and the exalta
tion of a Saviour 1 Thus it was that, in the earliest days of our

74 THE GOSPEL BLESSING.
nation, the great Lawgiver of the first Dispensation was instructed
to foretell the coming of One greater and mightier than himself.
Moses himself said, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up
unto you from among your brethren, as He first raised me: Him
shall ye hear according to all things whatsoever He shall say unto
you. And it shall be, that every soul which shall not hear that
Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. It was thus
that God calmed the fears of the nation, as it stood trembling
before that visible mountain which quaked and burned with His
manifested presence. The prayer was, Let not God speak with us,
lest we die. The answer was, The day is come, saith the Lord,
when one shall come to speak with you, in whom the terrors
of Deity shall be exchanged for the sympathies of humanity; yea,
in whom God and Man shall so meet together and be at one,
that the fallen race may both trust Him without presumption
and worship Him without fear.
Yea, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow
in order — from the very beginning of the prophetic succession to
its close — as many as spoke, also announced these days. Even
those of the Prophets in whose writings there occurs no direct
prediction of the Messiah, yet bore a general testimony to the
work and counsels of God ; pointed onwards to a time, nearer or
more distant, of refreshing and restitution ; and kept alive in
men's hearts, through the darkest night of doubt and sorrow, a
sure faith in God's purpose to repair the breaches of His earthly
house, and to heal the stroke of His people's wound. Even
these more general predictions gave testimony to the plan of
His grace. Even they told of reparation after ruin, and thus
echoed the primeval declaration of a salvation to be perfected
through suffering : It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
his heel.
And ye whom I now address, men of Israel, children of the
stock of Abraham, ye are the sons of the prophets and of the
covenant (engagement) which God made toward your fathers, say
ing to Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth
You have entered, by God's Providence, into the

THE GOSPEL BLESSING. 75
inheritance of those blessings which Prophets and righteous men
of old foretold and longed after; even of that great comprehensive
promise made to the father of the faithful, that in One who
should be born of his seed according to the flesh, not one nation
only, but all the families of the earth, should find their rest and
happiness and blessing.
To you first God, having raised up His Servant, sent Him
forth blessing you in tlie turning away each one from your
iniquities. To you first. Among all nations, it was our Lord's parting
commission, beginning at Jerusalem. It was necessary, said
Paul and Barnabas to the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia, that
the word of God should first have been spoken to you : but seeing
ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting
life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. To you first : if you refuse it,
then to the Gentiles.
Having raised up. It is the same word as in the 22nd verse:
A PropJiet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, ifec. It
expresses the whole work of preparing, equipping, and presenting,
by which a Saviour or Deliverer is made available for and
introduced into His mission. But more especially may it be
understood of that raising up from death, by which our Saviour
passed into the fulness of His Messiahship and of His Priesthood.
Not until He had died and risen and ascended was He the full
and perfect Saviour of fallen and sinful man.
Sent Him forth. Not only or chiefly during His earthly life
and personal ministry below ; but rather as He now goes forth,
in His Word, by His ministers, and by His Holy Spirit, upon
the work of converting sinners and building up those who believe.
The mission began on earth, in His teaching and in His example :
but it continues still, in the exercise of all those offices of
intercession, mediation, and divine grace, by which the risen
Saviour gives efficacy to His Gospel, and in the results of which,
as it is written, He sees of the travail of His soul, and is satisfied.
Sent Him forth blessing you. The word is borrowed from
the promise made to Abraham, In thy seed shall all the families

76 THE GOSPEL BLESSING.
of the earth be blessed. To bless is properly to speak well of, to
pronounce good upon another. But, when God blesses, it is more
than speaking well ; more than pronouncing good : the word of
God is with power ; and along with the word goes also the act of
communicating good. To speak good of is also, in God, to do
good to. That then is the mission of Christ, as it is exercised
now from heaven. God sends Him forth blessing men. And
that blessing is not a mere word of commendation or satisfaction :
it is an act, it is a power, also. God sends Him forth communi
cating as well as speaking good.
And to complete the exposition of the text, we must ask also,
How ? how does Christ bless ? how does He communicate good ?
And the answer is, In the turning away each one of you from your
iniquities. That is how Christ speaks good of us, which is, in
other words, does good, communicates good, to us.
Such is our word of exhortation for this time. Let us ponder
together the account here given us of Christ's work, and of God's
work in Christ.
i. For that will be our first remark; that the work is not
described only as Christ's, but rather as God's work in Christ.
We are too ready to make a difference between God and Christ ;
to think of God (it may be) as all justice, and of Christ as all
love. In past days men have used a loose and unscriptural
language about Christ's calming God's wrath ; Christ interposing
between God the Judge of all and man the sinner. That is not
scriptural, and therefore not true or wholesome language. I
hope there is less of it now than there once was. The language
of Scripture is always this : God so loved the world, that He gave
His only-begotten Son. God loved us, and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. Let us hold fast that language. We
all need it. God having raised up His Son (or rather, His
Servant) sent Him to bless you. God was in Christ reconciling the
world unto Himself. What things soever the Father doeth, these
also doeth the Son likewise. What things soever the Son doeth,
these also doeth the Father likewise. There is but one will •
there is but one work : the Father raised up the Son, and sent

THE GOSPEL BLESSING. 77
Him to bless you. Never run away from God, but ever seek Him
and see Him in the Son.
2. Again, observe that Christ, already raised from the dead,
has a mission to us. God, after raising Him up, sends Him to
bless us. There is no thought more delightful, when we ponder
it, than that of the mission of Christ as He now is in heaven ; of
His having an errand, an apostleship (as we might render it), still
towards us. It is thus that in the Epistle to the Hebrews Christ
ians are addressed as partakers of a heavenly calling, and desired to
consider the Apostle as well as the High Priest of their profession,
Christ Jesus. We are all called to from heaven : that is the
meaning of partakers of a heavenly calling. We are all like Saul
of Tarsus when Jesus Christ spoke to him suddenly from
heaven, asking why he resisted Him, and then promising him
direction as to what he should do. That is what Jesus
Christ, in a less visible and audible way, is doing at this
moment to each of us. He is calling to us. In His Word,
by His minister, in conscience, yes, I trust, by His Spirit also.
And then, as we recognize this truth, we are told also to fix our
thoughts upon Him as the Apostle of our profession (or confession) ;
that is, as One whom our common faith teaches us to regard as
having a mission to us. God has sent, is sending, Him to us,
with a message, with an errand, with a commission, addressed to
each one of us separately. Surely there is great force, and great
beauty, and great attractiveness, in this view of Christ. It is a
personal, an individual view of Christ. Every one of you, the text
says : not a vague, general, promiscuous mission, but a direct and
a separate and a single one to each. God sends Jesus Christ to
you, and to you, and to you. You are not lost in a crowd. The
time and the place and the circumstances of your being were all
prearranged and foreordained for you ; and the mission of Jesus
Christ to you is addressed and adapted to your particular case
and need. If this be so, how, how indeed, shall we escape, if we
neglect so great (because so minute and so personal) a salvation ?
3. And, once more, a mission of what sort? an apostleship
of what form and kind ? Is the mission of Christ to us that of

78 THE GOSPEL BLESSING.
One who comes from the dead to appal and to terrify ? the
apparition of a reprover and a prophet of evil ? Hear the word
of the text : sent Him to bless you ; to speak well of you ; to
declare good to you ; and in the very act of doing so, to communi
cate the good of which He tells. Is not this the very notion of a
Gospel? A Gospel is joyful tidings. It is not a threatening, it
is not a reproof, it is not even a condition of acceptance, or a rule
of duty : it does not say, like the Law, Do this, and thou shalt
live : its essential character is that of an announcement ; tidings
of something done, already done ; the good news of some change
which God has made in our state and in our prospects. Let us
learn to see this in the Gospel ; to see this as the essence of the
Gospel : that it is not, in the first instance, a command, or a law,
or a revelation of duty, but an announcement of something on
God's behalf. And what is that something ? Surely this : that
God forgives us : whatsoever we are, He forgives us ; forgives us
freely, and bids us to believe ourselves forgiven, through the
merits and mediation of His own beloved Son. That is the
blessing which is Christ's mission. It is the speaking well of us ;
not as we are in ourselves, not as we ever shall be in ourselves,
or in our own attainments in grace, but as persons who are so
happy as to be forgiven freely ; persons whose state is made
delightful, after being most wretched, because God has blotted out
the handwriting of condemnation which was against us, and has
taken it out of the way, nailing it to Christ's cross. My brethren,
the longer we live, the more firmly shall we be persuaded of the
appropriateness of this one only Gospel to the state and need of man.
It is not the form in which man would have framed his Gospel :
he would have thought it dangerous — he often has thought it
dangerous — to begin with mercy before judgment. But wisdom
is justified by her children . and he that is of God heareth God's
words. God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him not to
curse but to bless; sent Him not to judge the world but to save.
4. But, finally, how is this mission of blessing made
effectual ? Is it a flattering of human vanity ? Is it a lullinc
of human indolence ? Is it the intelligence that God has forgiven

THE GOSPEL BLESSING. 79
and that therefore man may lie asleep in his sins? Is it the
announcement that, where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound, and that therefore we may continue in sin if only to
swell the triumphs of divine grace ? None of these things.
Sent Him to bless you — to speak good of you, and to do you good
— in turning away each one of you from his iniquities. Does
this description of Christ's work seem to militate against the
former? Does any one say, Then, after all, the Gospel is a law :
it is only the old story once again, You must be holy, and then
God will save ? 0 the ignorance and the hardness of these hearts
of ours ! Is there no difference between working for forgiveness
and working from forgiveness ? Is there no difference, real and
practical, between being holy because we are loved, and being
holy that we may be loved? Is there no difference, once again,
between the being commanded to turn ourselves from our sins,
and the being blessed by finding ourselves turned from them by
another? Your own hearts tell you that there is all the
difference. Which of us knows not something of the force of
gratitude? Which of us has not felt that it is one thing to
please a person as a duty, and another to please a person out
of love ? Which of us has not known the strange, the
irresistible effect of a word of kindness, of a simple unstudied
act of affection, from one whom we are conscious that we
have injured ? how it sometimes rolls away the whole barrier
between us and him, makes us ashamed of our ill-temper, and (as
St Paul says) heaps coals of fire upon our head 1 Even thus is
it with the man whom God has forgiven ; the man whom God
visited when he was dead in his sins, and made him feel the full
force of those words of blessing, The Lord hath put away thy sin:
thy siiis are forgiven thee. How did that man begin to enquire,
What reward can I give unto the Lord for all His benefits that He
hath done unto me ? and answer himself, saying, / will receive the
cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord : yea, I will
love much, having been much forgiven.
But there may be some here present, who cannot understand
the connection of the words, Sent Him to bless you, with the words,
in turning away each one of you from his iniquities. They may

80 THE GOSPEL BLESSING.
be saying, I know that my sins are wrong ; and I can understand
being required to part with them : but how can it be a blessing
to give up this pleasant thing which sin is to me ? That is, I well
know, the honest though sad answer of some hearts this day.
They think their sin is their happiness : at all events, they think
they can have no other happiness. They count over to themselves
the dull and toilsome hours of resistance, through which alone,
they think, they can pass to victory ; and they honestly confess
that they are not equal to the effort : they are sorry for it, but it
is so. 0, my friend ! let the question enter your heart to-night,
Does your sin make you happy ? Have you found the pleasure of
sinning as great as its anticipation ? Have you found the morning
after sinning a bright and pleasant awakening ? Have you never
known what it was to curse the fetter which bound you, and to
long (even without hoping) to be free 1 Have you not sometimes
looked back upon a past and now unattractive sin with bitter
remorse, with astonishment at your own infatuation ? Then that
experience has shown you what it would be to look back upon all
sin, upon a life of sin, from a world where it will be too late ever
to repent. A thing which has all these marks of misery upon it
cannot be happiness. If there is any power or any Person, in
earth or in heaven, who can set us free from this influence before it
is too late, the coming of that power or that Person may indeed
be said to be a blessing. Cost us what it may, it will be a
blessing if it succeeds. And when that victory is wrought
wholly through the power of love ; through an assurance of free
forgiveness ; through the agency of an inward influence as sweet
as it is constraining ; how much more may it be so regarded.
God grant that each one of us may know it for ourselves. God,
having raised up His Son Jesus, sends Him to bless us, in
turning away, not the world generally, but every one of us
individually, from our iniquities. Let Him bless us. While
others say of their sin, When shall I awake ? I will seek it yet
again ; let our language be, Thou of whose only gift ii cometh
that any man turns from his sin and is saved, 0 God, our own
God, give us thy blessing.

LECTURE IX.
THE FIRST TRIAL.
Acts iv. 19, 20.
Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you
more than unto God, judge ye.
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and
heard.The two Apostles were still speaking to the people in Solomon's
porch, when a forcible interruption occurred on the part of the
national authorities. The priests, and the captain of the temple,
and the Sadducees, came upon them, being indignant because of
their teaching the people, and announcing in (the case or person of)
Jesus the resurrection from among the dead. It is again, as it
was in their Master's case, a Jewish persecution. Even the
captain of the temple was a Jewish, not a Roman, officer. The
servant is not greater than the Lord. They who had despised and
rejected the Lord, they who by the help of Gentile hands had
wrought His death, will also hate and oppress the servant. So
had He foretold, and now we are to find it true.
The immediate cause is given in the words, And the Sadducees.
It appears from the following chapter that that sect was at this
time dominant. And a sect which denied the resurrection, a
sect of sceptics and materialists, was likely to resent a doctrine,
and still more a fact, which contradicted their views on a point
v. 6

82 THE FIRST TRIAL.
so vital. The announcement of the resurrection even as a doctrine
was offensive to them : but when the resurrection was announced
(as it is here written) in the case or person of Jesus, announced
as a fact which had already received its accomplishment, we can
still less wonder at their rage and violence. They laid their hands
upon them, and got them placed in custody until the next day : for
it was already evening. The Apostles had come up to the temple
at three o'clock in the afternoon: it was now, we may suppose,
approaching sunset; and the night must intervene before their
trial. These are the same men who, but two months earlier, had
been unable to stand their ground against the ridicule of a few
maid-servants ; the same men who had forsaken their Master and
fled at the first approach of violence even to Him. Now they
are bold to suffer for the truth's sake. From weakness they
have been made strong. How do you account for this change?
Men do not undergo rapid transformations of character by mere
chance or by mere progress of time. How was it in this
instance? If the Word of God is true, all is intelligible. They
had in the interval received the Holy Ghost. They had been
(according to their Lord's most true saying) baptized with the
Holy Ghost ten days after His departure. The Christian can
account for the change well enough. It is for the unbeliever to
find where he can another and a better reason.
Though the two Apostles are in prison, The word of God
is not therefore bound. Many of those who had heard the
word believed: St Peter's second discourse, like the former,
had brought in a large harvest of conviction and conversion :
and the number of the men was become about five thousand. In
the ist chapter, the number of names together were about an
hundred and twenty. In the 2nd chapter, there were added unto
them in one day about three thousand souls. In the 4th chapter
the number of the men is already about five thousand. Wonderful
tokens of the force of truth ! Where is there anything corre
sponding to this progress of the Gospel now ? And, if not — it is
a grave and personal question — where shall we seek the cause ?

THE FIRST TRIAL. 83
Now we have to read of the first trial of the Christians ; the
first instance — and not the last — of that experience concerning
which the same Apostle St Peter afterwards wrote, Yet if any
man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him
glorify God on this behalf. He who thus wrote had first acted ;
had first suffered himself as a Christian.
It came to pass that on the morrow there were gathered together,
of them (the Jewish enemies of the Gospel), the rulers, and the
elders, and the scribes, in Jerusalem; and Annas the high priest,
and Caiaplias, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of
the high priest's family ; and having set them (the two Apostles)
in the midst of the judicial circle, they enquired, In what power,
by the exercise of what sort of power, or in what name, in virtue
of whose authority or commission, did ye do this ? There is an
emphasis : ye, two common men ; ye, despised Galileans ; ye,
followers of a crucified Nazarene ; how did ye get the power,
whence did ye derive the commission, to work such a miracle ?
The fact was patent, and could not be challenged. But how and
whence did ye derive the power ?
Annas is spoken of as the high priest, whereas in the 18th
chapter of St John's Gospel that title is given to Caiaphas.
Annas is said to have been deposed by the Roman government,
but still perhaps recognized by a part at least of the Jewish
nation; so that the title of high priest might be given indiffe
rently to his son-in-law and to himself.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost — not in His habitual
indwelling only, but by a special communication for the emergency
now arisen ; according to the Lord's most true promise, The
Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to
say — Peter, thus filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them,
Rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we this day are
examined with regard to a benefit of (done to) an infirm man, in
whom, by whose power or authority, he has been saved, rescued,
that is, from his long suffering ; be it known to you all, and to all
the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom ye crucified, whom God raised from among the dead, even
6—2

84 THE FIRST TRIAL.
in it (in virtue of that name) doth this man stand here before
you sound. This is the stone, spoken of in the 118th Psalm,
which was set at nought, made nothing of, despised and thought
worthless, by you the builders there described, which became unto
(was made) the head of a corner, the prominent and conspicuous
feature in one of the principal angles of the building. That
stone of which the Psalmist wrote, in your own Scriptures, as
taken up and thrown aside by the builders as unworthy of being
used at all in their work, but afterwards exalted into the foremost
and most signal position of the whole building, that stone is
Christ. He it was who came to His own, to be by them despised
and rejected, but whom God has exalted as the Head over all
things to the Church, yea, as the Possessor of all power in
heaven and in earth, as King of kings and Lord of lords. And
there is not in any other that salvation for which we look : for
neither is there another name under heaven, which hath been given
among men, in which we must be saved.
Such was the defence ; brief, bold, and earnest. Impressive
in itself, it was made yet more so by the position of the speaker.
Observing the boldness (in speech) of Peter and John, and finding
that they were persons illiterate and ignorant, they marvelled, and
recognized them, if only by this very sign — by this combination of
boldness of speech with humility of position — that they were
(as having been) with Jesus, as His followers and His disciples.
Of Him in like manner we read in St John's Gospel, that, when
He went up into the temple, and taught, the Jews marvelled,
saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned ? To
be able to speak, with force and freedom, without an education
was a coincidence between Him and them which at once sug
gested the thought of connection and companionship. They
recognized them as having been with Jesus.
It was not without embarrassment that they could deal with
this case. On the one side, there was, as they would persuade
themselves, a dangerous error; dangerous at least to their
authority as masters in Israel. On the other side, there was an
unquestioned fact : seeing the man that had been healed, and whose

THE FIRST TRIAL. 85
case was so notorious, no longer lying at the temple gate, but
standing erect with them (the Apostles), they could say nothing
against it. So they commanded them to depart, or go aside, out of
the council, and conferred with each other, saying, What must we
do in regard to these men ? for that a known sign, a notorious
miracle, has come to pass through them (by their means) is manifest
to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it : but that it
(the mischief) may not be spread further among the people, let us
threaten them that they speak no longer to any man on the
strength of this name. And they called them, and charged them
not to speak (utter a sound) at all nor teach on the strength of the
name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto
them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you
rather than to God, judge ye; we leave you to judge : for roe are
not able not to speak — we, for our part, cannot refrain from speaking
— things which we saw and heard. Those things of which our
own eyes and ears were witnesses, we could not, even if we
would, conceal.
Such grace was given to the first believers and champions of
the faith in Christ. Their example, and their language, is in
many respects most instructive.
i. First of all, we must observe, whether the fact be
welcome to us or unwelcome, in what light the Apostles placed
the offer of life which is in Christ Jesus. Neither is there
salvation in any other. It is coming to be said, as well as
thought, among Christian people, that the Gospel is at most but
the highest and best of many forms of truth ; that for those who
can receive it it is well, it is perhaps best of all ; but that those
who cannot receive it may yet find an alternative both of rest
and safety. And indeed, my brethren, it is no duty, but the
very contrary, to spend our time in denouncing those who hear
not or receive not Christ's Gospel. With ourselves is our con
cern. Those whom the sound of Christ's call has never reached ;
men who lived and died before His coming, or who in these days
are as ignorant of His very name as if He had never come or
never risen; must indeed be left — and well may they be left —

86 THE FIRST TRIAL.
under the shelter of that all-embracing assurance, Shall not the
Judge of all tlie earth do right? We must not set ourselves in
His judgment-seat, or presume to say more than that whatever
is just He will do. Nor need we discuss the case, generally or
individually, of those who have heard Christ's name, have ap
peared to seek after truth, and yet have never accepted the truth
as it is in Him. There are doubtless malformations of mind as
of body : disease has no law : again we say, There is One that
knoweth and judgeth. But we dare not, as believers in Revela
tion, dispute or evade this certain fact; that Christ Himself, and
His Apostles taught by His Spirit, declare that the Gospel is not
one of many revelations, but the one and final revelation, of God's
will and of God's truth ; that, wherever the Gospel comes, he
that believeth is saved, and on him that believeth not the wrath of
God abides; in other words, that there is no salvation in any
other save in Christ only. We are in danger of washing out the
colour, and removing the landmarks, of Christianity, until it
shall become impossible for any man to say why or even whence
it came. We are in danger of so diluting the strength, and so
softening the terms, of the faith once delivered to the saints, as
to fall into that grave error, which our Church Article expressly
condemns, of presuming to say, that every man shall be saved by
the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame
his life according to that law and the light of nature. I fear that
this has come to be the doctrine, or at least the feeling, of many
members and even of some ministers of our own Church. And
for ourselves, do we not all need the full stringency, the deep
solemnity, of that truth which St Peter here enunciates before
the Jewish council, Neither is there salvation in any other ? For
us, at all events, it is true. If we put away from us the Gospel
offer, to whom else shall we go? If we cannot satisfy ourselves
of Christ's mission or of Christ's work, where shall we find a hope
strong enough to live by, firm enough to die upon? This is not.
a congregation of sceptics or philosophers, whose very learning
forms a stumblingblock in the way of their believing : we are
plain men; we are not embarrassed by the subtleties which

THE FIRST TRIAL. 87
destroy the faith or poison the happiness of some : and I do say,
that, if we are not Christians indeed, if we are dallying with
Christ, if we are unconvinced and unconverted, halting still
and to halt between two opinions on the vital truths of the
Gospel, it is not because of its deficient evidences, it is not
because it satisfies not our reason or commends not itself to
the soul within, but it is because we are lying asleep in sin,
it is because we are trifling, it is because we have other
guests within and do not choose to dispossess them for the
Saviour, it is because we are not yet convinced of the solemnity
of life, or the fearful importance of the four words, judgment and
eternity, hell and heaven. If St Peter's words could but be
made audible in the depth of our hearts this night, There is none
other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be
saved, there would be hope, there would be life, for us yet.
2. Again, we would leave with you those striking words,
They took knowledge of them that they had been ivith Jesus.
They saw the boldness of Peter and John in their testimony
for the truth ; they found that they were unlearned and common
men; and the strangeness of that combination seems to have
reminded them of their Master; they recognized them, by this
sign, as having been with Jesus. What a word is this for the
time that is ; for us, high and low, who are here assembled.
There is not a man, or a woman, or a child, in this congregation,
who may not be a witness for Christ in the selfsame manner.
But most of all, the poorest; most of all, the youngest; most
of all, the most ignorant and the most unlearned. Let men see
you manful in your confession of Christ, let them see that you
are not ashamed of Him ; let them see that you claim and find
the fulfilment of your Master's promise, that in every season of
difficulty the Holy Ghost shall open your lips in courage and in
wisdom ; and assuredly they will know — for in this respect
God never leaves Himself without witness — where you have
been and in whose presence : the very skin of the face will
shine, as of old in the Prophet and Lawgiver of Israel, from that
heavenly converse, and men shall take knowledge of you, alike

88 THE FIRST TRIAL.
by your meekness and by your boldness, that you have been with
Jesus. Thus, not least, is His name made known below, His
saving health among the fallen and the sinful.
3. Finally, let the words of the text itself speak to us in all
their power, and become to us more and more the rule and guide
of life. It has never happened to one of us to stand, as these
Apostles stood, at the bar of an earthly judge, and be forbidden
to speak at all in the name of Jesus. But there is a tribunal
before which we are always standing ; a tribunal below, and a
tribunal above. The tribunal below is that of the world,
whatever our world be ; the tribunal of public opinion, in
whatever way, or within whatever limits, public opinion acts for
us. Those limits may be extremely narrow. There are those,
possibly, here present, who know no human judgment-seat, prac
tically, out of their own doors. The censure which we dread is
oftentimes little more than that of brother or sister, wife or
husband, parent or child. Our trial may be conducted entirely
within the four walls of a parlour or a kitchen : no more formidable
authority is that to which we are practically amenable. But
which of us knows not, that, if this be all, there is a wonderful
force and power in it ? Many a life is lived day by day under a
prohibition like that laid upon the two Apostles; Whether the
Gospel be true or false, is not the question ; whether Christ ever
died and rose, whether Christ will ever judge, I care not; but
this I say, You shall not speak to me or before me in Christ's
name : I will not have the subject of religion mentioned in my
hearing; nor will I suffer anything to be done in this house on
the supposition that Christ lives and reigns, that Christ has
commanded or that Christ will punish. That, when framed into
words, is the condition of peace and quietness in many homes.
That, when framed into words, is, more than we would willingly
onfess, the stipulation of much that is called society. We do
not ask whether the Gospel be true : all we say is, the Gospel
shall not be brought in here. Now you see from the example
before us what we ought to be able to say in answer; what we
ought to be able to act upon in the face of this proscription.

c

THE FIRST TRIAL. 89
Whether it be right in the sight of God, to hearken unto you more
than unto God, judge ye: for we cannot but speak the things which
we heard and saw. Would to God that we could all speak thus
decidedly as to the grounds of our own faith. Would that we
could all say and all feel that in believing in Christ we are
following no cunningly devised fable, but simply accepting truth
on the evidence of fact. That which was from the beginning,
says the same Apostle St John, which we have heard, which we
have seen ivith our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands
have handled, of the Word of life... that which we have seen and
heard declare we unto you. If this Gospel be thus proved and
thus true, ought we not to confess it — not only when we meet to
worship, but in daily life and daily speech ? O for that spirit
which breathed in the Apostles, when they said, We cannot but
speak. They meant surely, Our hearts are full of these things,
and they will utter them : if we would suppress, if we would
conceal, if we would be silent, we could not. This is the faith
which does Christ honour. This is the faith which makes con
verts. Not that cold calculating principle, which makes a dry
and formal mention, in places and companies most unsuitable, of
the words and phrases of the Bible; but rather that overflowing
of the abundance of the heart, which is all natural, all genial, at
once brave and modest, at once serious and cheerful, at once
elevating and human. Yes, my brethren, in this as in all else
we must begin at the source: out of the heart are the issues of
life : first know Christ as your Saviour, and then let the light
that is within shine forth into that which is without also.
There is a tribunal below : and there is another tribunal
above. And these are contrary the one to the other — so that he
who would satisfy both cannot. The one is seen and temporal;
the other unseen but eternal. Who can doubt which of the two
we ought to live for? Who, when the question is stated in
words, would fail to reply, We ought to obey God rather than
man ? It cannot be right to hearken unto you more than
unto God. And many of us, I doubt not, if sinners would
entice them to an act of open wickedness, or if scoffers would

90 THE FIRST TRIAL.
draw them into a direct denial of their Saviour, would have
courage enough to give that answer. But not thus most often
does the question reach us : not thus most often is the question
answered. Not thus : but rather in a thousand demands for
little daily compromises, no one of which seems of itself to touch
the main issue between hearkening to the world and hearkening
to God. The trial is ever proceeding ; never, in this world,
decided. Yet is it, in reality, for life or for death ; and one day
we shall all hear the verdict. God give us in that day a safe
deliverance; that, having confessed Him here, He may confess
us there, and make us glad for ever with the joy of His coun
tenance.

LECTURE X.
PRIMITIVE WORSHIP.
4 Acts iv. 31.
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they
were assembled together ¦ and they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
How far more perplexing, if we knew all, is the path of the
sinner than the path of the just. If it is sometimes difficult, and
sometimes dangerous, to serve God, yet, on the whole, it is a
saving of trouble to have a single aim in life, and that single aim
the right one. If once our question can become, What is true ?
and what is right ? we avoid a thousand intricacies and a
thousand embarrassments to which the worldly-minded and the
double-minded are perpetually liable.
Mark the conduct of the Jewish rulers as it is set before us in
the narrative last dwelt upon. They did not care to enquire
whether by any possibility the disciples might be in the right ;
they did not attempt to dispute the fact of the recent miracle,
nor to explain that fact on any hypothesis of their own : they
only knew that their own authority depended upon upholding an
existing system, and that a great sacrifice must be made if they
would admit the Gospel to be true. And therefore they

92 PRIMITIVE WORSHIP.
determined not to admit the Gospel to be true. At all costs
they would prop the present system.
But even this required caution. The people — the plain
common men, who, when He was upon earth, had heard Jesus
gladly — were all glorifying God for the miracle of healing which
they had witnessed. Any punishment inflicted upon the Apostles
would be unwelcome and unpopular. Thus the course of
persecution itself by no means ran smooth. They might say, but
they could not do : they might threaten, but they could not
punish. They called the Apostles in, and charged them not to
open their lips in the name of Jesus. And even the manful
words of the two Apostles, leaving them to judge whether it
could be right in God's sight to hearken to them more than to
God, produced no impression : they only further threatened them,
and then let them go, finding no means of punishing them, because
of the people.
My brethren, if we would be happy men, or consistent men, or
(in the long run) respected men, we must seek and love the truth.
We must not ask, What is convenient? or what is advanta
geous ? or what is popular ? but, what is right ? We must
not say, I have a suspicion that there is something in this, but I
dare not go through with it : or, I should like to do this or that,
but I am afraid of what will be thought of it. We must simply
ask, Does this commend itself to my judgment ? is this ratified by
my conscience ? is this God's word or God's will ? and then go
boldly forward, assured that side-looks and by-ends and crooked
paths are as miserable as they are wrong, and that, while they
who love God's law have great peace, they that run after another
God shall have great trouble.
Set in contrast with the half-measures and paltry misgivings of
these scribes and elders, the noble courage and perfect peace of
the now discharged and enfranchised prisoners.
Being released, they came to their own, to the other Apostles
and Christians who were awaiting the issue of the imprisonment,
and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
The questions asked, the charges laid upon them, the threatenings

PRIMITIVE WORSHIP. 93
added in case of disobedience, all were rehearsed in this friendly
audience : and with what result ? Was the question debated,
whether, under circumstances so adverse, they could go forwards ?
Was anything said of forsaking Christ and fleeing, as they had
done when He was Himself led to His trial ? Was it proposed
to enter into any compromise, such as that of leaving the city and
carrying their new doctrine among the Gentiles ? None of these
things. Listen.
And they, when they heard, heard that danger was before them,
heard that preaching was forbidden, heard that punishment
would follow upon persistence, with one accord lifted up their
voice to God, turned to Him in their peril, called to Him in their
difficulty, confided to Him their anxieties and their distresses —
yes, but in what tone ? in the tone of fear and despondency, of
misgiving and alarm? Listen once again. They lifted up their
voice with one accord to God, and said, Lord — it is that word
which expresses absolute ownership and sovereignty ; the word by
which a slave addresses his master, and the subject his sovereign ;
as though to remind themselves of that entire right and dominion
over them which is the surest pledge of concern and guardianship
— Lord, Thou art He who didst make the heaven and the earth and
the sea and all things that are in them ; all the creatures, rational
or irrational, which inhabit each : see how the thought of the
Creator comes in to support and comfort the redeemed. Who by
the mouth of Thy servant David didst say, as we still read it
month by month in our 2nd Psalm, Why did nations boast them
selves — it is a figure taken from the neighing of spirited high-fed
horses — and peoples meditate vain things ? The kings of the earth
presented themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against
the Lord and against His Christ ; against God Himself, and
against the King whom He anointed, the King of kings and
Lord of lords. We see now, they say, the fulfilment of this
prophecy. For there were gathered together, in truth, in this city,
against Thy holy Servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, whom
Thou didst make Thy Christ, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with
nations and peoples of Israel, to do all things which Thy hand and

94 PRIMITIVE WORSHIP.
Thy counsel foreordained to come to pass. So weak is man when
he rises against his Maker. Even what he designs for evil is
overruled for good. The description of one of these divine
providences is the description of all; As for you, ye thought evil
against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is
this day, to save much people alive. The murder of Jesus is the
redemption of a world. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt
bruise his heel.
And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to Thy
servants with all boldness to speak Thy word, in the stretching forth
of Thy hand (while Thou stretchest forth Thy hand) for healing,
and (grant) that signs and wonders may come to pass through the
name of Thy holy Servant Jesus.
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were
gathered together was shaken, and all were filled with the Holy
Ghost, and spake the word of God with boldness. God, at this
moment of their need, gave a sensible sign of His presence : the
place of assembly was shaken as by an earthquake : a new and
special communication of the Holy Spirit both kindled and
comforted their hearts, and they went forth, with added boldness,
to the work of speaking and witnessing for God.
We have here, my brethren, an express record of a primitive
meeting for worship. No doubt there was something in it of a
special character. It was held at a moment of danger. The
disciples were threatened with punishment if they dared to speak
any more in the name of Jesus. There was that, therefore, in the
circumstances of the moment, from which God's mercy has spared
us. We come hither, week by week, to hear and to worship, with
all confidence, no man forbidding us. Let us ask ourselves, Should
we be here at all, were it otherwise? If we were straitly
threatened, by the voice of the world around us, should we be bold
to make answer, like these first disciples, that we must obey God
rather than men ? that we could not but speak and avow the
things of which our heart was full? Alas, if the effect of
persecution is to make the good better, the bold more bold, and
the faithful more faithful, what is its effect upon the double-

PRIMITIVE WORSHIP. 95
minded and the half-hearted ? Is it not, to make them fall away
entirely, and walk no more, even by profession, with Jesus ? I
should tremble to see the effect of that fiery trial upon this
congregation. Those of us who even in quiet times, when it is
respectable to be a Christian, cannot conquer indolence, cannot
forego inclination, cannot brave a smile or a sneer, in behalf of
Christ ; what would they do if the voice of the world turned (as
it might turn) altogether against Christ ; if even the profession of
Christianity became a reproach ? We half-Christians are afraid
of one another : what should we be if the world turned against
us? If a season of excitement, like that through which these first
Christians were passing, seems to us to account for the vigour
and liveliness of their devotion, we ought to ask ourselves what
effect such a season would have had upon our' devotion ; whether
it would not have put it out and destroyed it altogether ; whether
even the worshippers themselves would have been forthcoming :
and certainly our thanksgivings should arise to God for having
spared us from so fiery a trial ; for having permitted us to live in
quiet times, when, if faith be less believing, and devotion less
devoted, there is at least more of it; for the encouragement of the
feeble, if not for the strengthening of the strong.
And then we ought to set ourselves, every one of us, to make
our worship, when we assemble together in this place or elsewhere,
as much like theirs as by God's grace we can. We shall look,
therefore, at a few points in the example here set us.
i. When they heard that they were likely to have to suffer
for Christ, even as He, their Lord and Master had forewarned
them, they lifted up their voice to God viith one accord. Not their
heart only, but their voice. One said the words, but all echoed
them. Some have called this the first example of a Creed.
They have seen in it one of those joint utterances of a common
faith, which our Church has prescribed to us, for example, in the
Apostles' Creed. / believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth. Lord, Thou art God, which hast made heaven,
and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is. And they have

96 PRIMITIVE WORSHIP.
noticed that our own Church prescribes that the Creeds shall be
sung or said. The Psalms themselves shall be said or sung : the
Creeds shall be sung or said; as though the first notion of a
Creed were that not of a confession of doctrine, but of a song of
praise. According to this view, the first recorded worship of the
Church was the singing of a Creed.
Others have seen in this specimen of primeval worship the
proof of the existence of a Liturgy. They have said that, in
order to lift up their voice to God in these words, they must first
have known them. We will not enter into these arguments: they
at least want certainty. It will be enough for us to observe, that,
while one spoke, all followed : the well-known voice of St John
or St Peter led — the thoughts were the thoughts of all, the words
were simple and easy of apprehension — and they who, in that age
of hearing, were accustomed to think aloud ; they who, even when
they were alone, like the Ethiopian Eunuch, were not seen but
heard reading ; found no difficulty in adding a humble voice,
as well as a pure heart, to the words of supplication, accompanying
the speaker to the throne of the heavenly grace, and saying the
prayer after him. In this elementary point let us be earnest to
resemble them. If the heart is engaged, the voice will not be
withheld : you will rejoice to obey the call of your Church in such
rules as these, A general Confession to be said of the whole congre
gation after the Minister, all kneeling. The people shall answer
here, and at the end of all other prayers, Amen. The Minister
shall kneel, and say the Lord's Prayer with an audible voice;
the people also kneeling, and repeating it with him, both here,
and wheresoever else it is used in Divine Service. They lifted up
their voice with one accord to God, and said.
2. And now let us look at some of the particulars of this
early Christian worship, that we may endeavour to frame our
own after it.
(i) It is a reverent worship. How profound is the adoration
of God as the alone Great and Good and Holy. How solemn is
the sense of that rightful sovereignty over us and all things,
which breathes in the first word and in the first clause of the

PRIMITIVE WORSHIP. 97
prayer ! These men did not rush together as we do around the
Divine footstool — talking, jesting, smiling, whispering — as though
the visit were to an equal, or as though indeed the presence-
chamber were empty. Let not such worship think that it can
receive anything of the Lord. The least that can be looked for in
this House of Prayer is reverence; the feeling of the sinful ap
proaching the Sinless, the creature the Creator, the thing formed
Him that formed it. Bending low before His footstool on our
first entrance, let our one endeavour be to preserve, throughout,
the solemnity of the opening, and to say, in manner as in word,
Lord, Thou art God.
(2) Theirs was a Scriptural worship. They quoted Scripture
in it. They recognized a Divine Inspiration in the voice of man.
Tlie Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my
tongue. Wlio by the mouth of Thy servant David hast said. It
is not essential to prayer that it be in Scripture words, but it is
essential to prayer that it be founded on Scripture doctrine. It
is essential that our petitions be addressed to God as He is, and
not to God as we fancy Him. And we can only know God as
He is, by becoming acquainted with Him in His Word. There
is verily a fault in us in this matter. We are prone to imagine
that we know God well enough of ourselves ; that at all events
we know God so well already from Scripture, that we have no
occasion to study Him any more. And then we shut His Word.
or read it but as a, form, and lo, the living and true God is
gone away, and He is no more with us. A name, a shadow,
a phantom, is in His place. If we would pray aright, we
must ask ourselves the question, What is written? how reddest
thou ?
(3) Theirs was a believing worship. They rose above sight
and sense, and could see behind forms of flesh and blood the
Hand that moves the universe. Unbelieving men would have
seen only Herod and Pontius Pilate, only the Gentiles and the
people of Israel, banded together against God and against His
Christ. They would have said, What are we against the world ?
That faith, that worship, that Church, which lias to fight single-
v. 7

98 PRIMITIVE WORSHIP.
handed against principalities and powers in earthly and in
heavenly places, what chance, what hope, has it ? But their eye
was not thus bounded. Behind, amidst, above, all human agency
for evil, they saw the hand of God working wholly for good.
The murder of Jesus, what was it? In itself, a Satanic, a
diabolical act : this is your hour, and the power of darkness :
a calamity wrought by human prejudice and passion and cruelty :
a thing in which there was nothing of God ; only guilt, only
crime, only sin. But in its consequences, what was it? The
working out of God's counsel ; the revelation of God's righteous
ness ; the redemption of a world ; the restoration and salvation
of fallen man. You ask, how could man's sin thus redound to
God's glory 1 You ask » question for which the time is not yet ;
a question which must wait its answer till the world beyond
death. But, if you urge it as a difficulty in the way of the
Gospel, we answer that it is at least as much a difficulty in the
way of Providence as of Grace. God's will overruling man's will,
and turning man's acts whither he would not ; yet at the same
time man free to will and free to act, and responsible alike for
the willing and the acting ; these are the conflicting elements
with which we have to deal, and we must wait for their visible
reconciliation in a time not yet come. Meanwhile the Christian
could not live without this confidence, that all things are working
together for the glory of God, and for good to them that love
Him. The prayer of the Christian is a believing prayer ; because
he can add to every mention before God of things calamitous and
evil which befall him, For to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy
counsel determined before to be done.
(4) Theirs was also a practical worship. It dealt not with
feeling but with action; or, if with feeling, only in so far as
right and pious feeling is the soul of holy and Christian action.
If they called upon God to behold the threatenings of the enemy
it was in this connection ; that He might grant to His servants
the needful grace to stand against them. It is a great matter
when our prayers have a practical object. . We are too ready to
let them stop with themselves ; to be satisfied if a ray of comfort,

PRIMITIVE WORSHIP. 99
if a passing thought of peace, if a feeling of reconcilement and of
affiance, is left behind them ; to regard them only as soothers of
the conscience or enliveners of the affections. And therefore
they are this only. We have our reward, even as we prescribed
it. But that was not the aim of the worship here before us.
The worshippers of whom we here read looked to conduct, looked
to duty, looked to future trials of their faith and constancy, and
asked for grace sufficient to each of these. In the prospect of
affliction and persecution for the Word's sake, they pray that they
may not be offended ; that faith may not fail, nor courage, nor
constancy, nor energy ; that they may still speak boldly, as they
ought to speak. For this purpose, to quicken this zeal, to
strengthen this devotion, they pray that God's hand may still be
outstretched to heal ; that He will never leave them without
witness, but will give them daily proof that His holy Servant
Jesus is indeed strong to help, mighty to save. My brethren, we
ought in prayer to forecast the future. We ought to bethink
ourselves of coming trial ; and while we trust God implicitly
with the unforeseen, to ask His help expressly for that which we
can see before us. One word of definite request is worth
volumes of vague general aspirations. First, in itself ; because it
is real, because it means something ; because it is the address of
a living man to a living God on a topic which concerns life.
And secondly, in its effects ; because one thing actually granted
is a proof of being heard ; because it is God's own witness to His
own grace ; because it is a token for good, shown and proved,
encouraging confidence in Him who is not only the Giver of
single blessings, but the Fountain of all goodness, and the very
source of life.
3. We have spoken of the manner of the primitive worship,
and of its nature. One concluding word must be given to its
effects. An immediate sign followed it. The place was shaken where
they were gathered together. These things are of the past. These
things were suitable then, and necessary. Men looked for
outward signs ; and they wanted them, while the faith was
7—2

100 PRIMITIVE WORSHIP.
young. These signs shall folloiv them that believe; and the
spiritual was an inference from the sensible. In this age, there
is no outward sign which scepticism could not account for : signs
would not convince the infidel, and the believing ask not for
them. But has God, then, no sign for His people ? Has worship
no sign of its acceptance? Is there nothing now corresponding
to the altar-flame which attested God's regard to man's offering 1
Yes, there is an inward peace following upon Divine communion :
there is a glow of faith, and a comfort of love, and a joy of hope,
by which the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we
are sons of God. He who seeks God with all his heart, on any
occasion of worship, shall find Him, and know that he finds : he
shall feel it good for him to be here, and he shall be sent on his
way rejoicing. Filled with the Holy Ghost, by a conscious com
munication between his soul and God, he shall go forth hence to
speak tlie word of God with added boldness; to bear a more
manful and a more consistent testimony to that message of the
Gospel which Jesus Christ brought down from heaven, and
which He sealed with the outpouring of His most precious blood.
i. Expect, my brethren, great things from worship. Worship
will be, in great measure, what you make it ; what you make
it in your use, what you make it in your expectation. If you
look for much, you will also receive much : if you expect little,
you will also reap little. Ye are not straitened in God : ye
are straitened in your own affections. Open thy mouth wide,
He says, and I will fill it.
ii. Finally, carry your worshipping thoughts forth with you.
Let them not be dissipated by idle words, by foolish levity, just
outside or (alas, it may be) even within these walls. The great
enemy will watch you after this Service, that he may catch away
the seed sown : even among the sons of God (one Book of Holy
Scripture tells us) he comes and goes freely : we are not ignorant
of his devices. Look upward to Him who is greater than the
evil one, and can counterwork all his wiles. Pray that the good
thoughts here suggested, and the holy desires here fostered, may
live in you this night, to-morrow, and through the days to come.

PRIMITIVE WORSHIP. 101
Desire the sincere milk of the Word, not that ye may trifle with it,
but that ye may grow thereby. Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly. Yea, may He Himself, who is the Word, so abide
in us by His Spirit, that we may know Him for ourselves ; first
as the Life of the living, and hereafter as the Resurrection of
the dead.

LECTURE XI.
THE FIRST SIN.
Acts v. i.
A certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife.
There is an old saying, The corruption of the best is worst. The
better a thing is, the worse is its spoiling. The greater the
elevation, the greater the fall.
And this is true both of profession and of reality. When a
man who has talked loudly is at length unmasked as an impostor,
his exposure is more terrible than if he had never affected great
virtue. And when a man who has not only professed but felt
the truth and power of religion is, as, alas, he may be, overtaken
by the enemy and overcome, it is sometimes found that he gives
himself over more entirely to the grasp of evil than one who had
never known what it was to serve another master. If, after
they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the know
ledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning.
Our subject this evening brings before us the first great sin
committed within the Christian Church; shows us how it took
occasion from the very clevotedness and self-sacrifice of the first
Christians ; proves to us how very low a man may fall, who has
once risen very high in Christian attainment ; warns us that we

THE FIRST SIN. 103
must never presume upon the advantage even of Christian com
panionship, of being entirely surrounded by Christian characters,
as a safeguard against temptation or sin ; and, in short, bids us,
by a very serious example, lay well to heart the Apostle's warning,
Be not high-minded but fear : Let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall. We look upon this scene almost as we look
upon man's original Fall : we seem to be reading of a Paradise
regained, when we are suddenly shocked and startled by the
narrative of a Paradise for the second time forfeited.
For what indeed can be more like a description of a Paradise
below, than that which closes the last chapter and introduces
this ? The deep impression made by the act of worship of which
we last read, was no fleeting or evanescent feeling. The multi
tude of them that believed loere of one heart and of one soul (had
tlieir heart and their soul one): their union was not, as is too
often the case now, formal and nominal ; not the connection of
those who with the same voice can first bless God and then curse
man; can kneel together in the House of Prayer, and then go
forth to dispute and wrangle, to disparage and to defame : they
had one heart and soul. And no one said that any one of those
things which belonged to him was his own, but they had all things
common. Instead of standing up for individual rights, and going
to law (if need be) one with another to keep or to reclaim, they
regarded all they had as belonging equally to their brethren.
For a time this was so in that happy congregation : and even
when the form was changed, the spirit continued. Alas, where
is either the form or the spirit now ?
And with great power the Apostles rendered the testimony of
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus ; presented before the world the
subject of tlieir testimony, the thing which they had to testify,
concerning the resurrection of the Lord Jesus : and great grace was
upon them all; God's favour and blessing was largely bestowed
upon the whole community. And one decisive proof of this is
added. For neither was there aviong them any needy person : the
words express that even the charity of the Church was antici
pated, as it were, by the disappearance of poverty : there was

104 THE FIRST SIN.
not indeed any one that lacked: there was no room for giving,
because all were supplied — in the manner next described. For
as many as were beforehand possessors of farms or houses sold
them, and brought, one after another, the prices of the things sold,
and laid them at the feet of the Apostles : and distribution was
made to each, according as any one had need. And Joseph, who
ivas surnamed Barnabas on the part of the Apostles; which is
when interpreted, Son of encouragement ; that is, one to whom
God has given by His Holy Spirit a singular power of cheering on
others in the way of eternal life ; a Levite, a Cyprian by family ;
one descended from the tribe of Levi, but whose family lived in
the island of Cyprus ; having a field belonging to him, sold it, and
brought the money, and laid it at the feet of the Apostles. There
was an example of a genuine exercise of that self-devotion which
has been noticed.
And now we turn to its counterfeit. We are to see how the
great enemy, while men slept, came and sowed tares among the
wheat. But a man, Ananias by name, together with Sapphira his
wife — the two acted jointly in this business — sold a possession,
and appropriated a part from the price, his wife also being privy
to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the feet of tlie
Apostles. And Peter said, Ananias, why did Satan fill thine heart,
that thou shouldest deceive the Holy Spirit, that thou shouldest lie
to those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells for the very purpose of
guiding and ruling the Church of God, and that thou shouldest
appropriate a part from the price of the farm ? While it remained,
remained it not for thee ? so long as it was unsold, was it not thine
own? and, when sold, was it not (from the first) in thine own
authority ? There was no compulsion to sell ; no rule of the
Church required it : and after selling, the money got by it was
liable to no dictation from the Church as to its use : all was
voluntary ; to sell or not to sell ; to give or not to give ; to five
a part or to give the whole : but not to give a part and pretend
that it was the whole ; not to deceive, in a matter of piety and of
charity ; not to treat the living and heart-searching God as if He

THE FIRST SIN. 105
were even such an one as the creatures whom He hath made.
Why is it that thou didst set this deed in thine lieart, give this
wicked device room and lodgment within thee ? thou didst not lie
to men, but to God. The falsehood was not only to men : perhaps
it was not even uttered in words : but it was a lie in God's sight,
and it had special relation to God's matters.
And Ananias, as he heard these words, fell down, and gave up
the gliost : and there came great fear upon all wlio heard ; upon all
who were present and heard that which passed. And the younger
men present in the assembly rose up, and wrapped him up in his
garments, and bore him forth and buried him.
And there was an interval of about three hours, and then Ms
wife, as not knowing (because she knew not) what had taken place,
came in to the place where the congregation was still assembled,
in all the awe attending that terrible scene. And Peter answered
her, answered her first word or thought of enquiry as to the scene
before her or the looks with which she was received, Tell me
whether ye sold the farm for so much ? naming the sum paid in by
her husband. And she said, Yes, for so much. She adhered to
the falsehood, and made it her own. And Peter said to her,
Wliy is it that it was agreed between you to tempt the Spirit of
the Lord ; to try an experiment upon the discernment, upon the
penetration, of the Holy Spirit of God ; to see whether He could
and would unveil your hypocrisy, and visit your sin upon you ?
Behold, the feet of those who buried thy husband are at the door,
and shall bear forth thee. And she fell down instantly at his feet,
and gave up the ghost : and the young men came in and found her
dead, and bore her forth and buried her by her husband. And
there came a great fear upon the whole of the Church, and upon all
who heard these things.
Such is the history of the first entrance of sin into the Christ
ian community. And in reading it, observe,
i. There is such a thing as acting a falsehood. I do not
read here that Ananias expressly said that the sum he brought
was the whole price of his land. The question was distinctly
put to his wife, and she answered it by an express falsehood.

106 THE FIRST SIN.
But of Ananias we seem rather to read that he brought a certain
sum, and gave it to be understood that that sum was the whole sum
received. We have to do with a God of truth ; and where truth
is not, there in His sight is falsehood. We often guard and fence
our words, so that they shall be just susceptible of an interpre
tation consistent with the fact. We often think that, if we can
avoid saying the exact opposite of the truth, it is enough : we
cannot be guilty of falsehood, unless in so many words we tell
a direct lie. Learn then that, wherever deception is, there is
falsehood. Wherever the natural inference from our words
would be this or that which is not the case, there in God's
sight is the sin of lying. And how many of our words are of
this character ; ' an attempt to steer dexterously between the
truth and a lie.' Let us lay it well to heart that we are in
the presence of One who sees and knows all things, and who
will hereafter bring every word and every thought into judg
ment. But, even beyond this, there may be an acted falsehood.
Ananias, witnessing the honest self-devotion of others in throwing
all they possessed into the treasury of Christ, determines to win
for himself the same character. He too will seem to have counted
all things but loss for Christ. He gives it to be understood that
he is parting with his land out of zeal for the Gospel. The sale
is in private ; but soon he appears in the congregation with the
bag of gold or silver, which he takes care should be understood
to be the produce, and the whole produce, of the transaction.
Just as Barnabas of Cyprus brought the profits of his sale of land,
so does Ananias bring his. Every one gives him credit, and he
intends that they should do so, for a devotion which thinks only
of things above, and a self-forgetfulness which cannot enjoy so
long as others suffer. No word, it may be, is spoken : but the act
itself says all this, and the doer intends that all this should be
understood. It is then, in the midst of that acted lie, that the
light of God's countenance is fully let in upon the secret misdeed,
And terrible indeed to the hypocrite must have been that search
ing, that unanswerable question, Ananias, why hath Satan filled

THE FIRST SIN. 107
thine heart, to lie unto the Holy Ghost, and to keep bach part of the
price of the land ? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Alas, how much of the conduct of many of us is indeed no
better than an acted lie. How much is done to throw dust into
the eyes of others as to our real motive, as to our real self. 0
what would become of our piety, and what would become of our
charity, if God were to throw upon it, in the sight of our fellow-
men, the Ught of His Omniscient eye? Even apart from the
positive wish and purpose of deceiving, how impossible it is to
give others a true and just idea of us as we are. How does con
fession itself turn upon our lips into self-parade and boasting.
How must we all consent, whether we will or no, to go about
among our fellows rather masked than open. It is so, perhaps,
in mercy to others even more than to ourselves. We might draw
others downwards, if they saw how low are our own attainments :
we might tempt them to acquiesce in imperfections against which
God would have them struggle on in hope. But, if this be so to
a certain extent inevitably, let us take good heed not to multiply,
not to exaggerate, and not to love, this misconception. There is
all the difference, in God's sight, between him whom men will
overestimate in spite of his sincerity, and him who forces men to
overestimate him by his concealments and by his hypocrisies.
God save us all from the falsehood of the tongue, and from the
falsehood of the life ; from the lie acted, as well as from the lie
spoken. 2. What an illustration have we here of the saying of the
Apostle, The love of money is the root of all evil ; which while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. What was it which made
Ananias and Sapphira lie to the Holy Ghost? Was it not the
lust of money ? Was it not the wish to save something out of
the surrender of their all to Christ? Was it not the desire, if
not to get, at least to keep, a fragment of that perishable money
which at the very moment they were professing to cast away 1
Thus it was that Ananias and Sapphira lost both worlds ; even
by trying to gain both. They would be pious, they would be

108 THE FIRST SIN.
charitable, they would serve Christ, they would do good to man :
but they kept a corner in their hearts for Mammon : they trusted
Christ would not notice it : they felt sure that He must be satis
fied with what they gave Him ; that He could not grudge that
slight, that small reservation : had they not sold their all ? had
they not given Him all but their all ? would not that suffice ?
could they be blamed for making some little provision against a
change of times ? was it much to ask, that they might keep
back just this little ? Thus it was that in their hearts the little
dark spot grew and spread and darkened still, until it over
shadowed and at last poisoned all the rest. They lost both
worlds in the very act of gaining both.
My friends, the Scripture is very full — to some of us almost
unintelligibly, almost disproportionately full — of warnings about
the love of money. Judas himself, the traitor Apostle, was a
victim to the love of money : and 0 of such money ! of such little,
paltry, despicable sums as we should scarcely stoop to pick up.
It is not the amount, which makes the attraction. There are
men on earth, who will ' contrive the gain of a farthing : ' they
like the scheming, and the ingenuity, and the adroitness, which
the love of money in any shape demands and exercises : and it
grows upon them till the very heart is eaten out by it.
Ananias lost life and soul together for the sake of gaining
even from himself. He might have kept all : but he wanted to
give all and yet to keep back a part : and the Spirit of God found
him out in doing so. I would speak with all tenderness : but is
there a place in which the word of warning is more needful, or a
time at which it could be more seasonable ? What is it but the
love of money which creates some of the most characteristic evils
of a town like this ? I speak not now of that honest, honourable,
honoured industry in the business of a lawful calling, which is as
much the duty as it ever can be the interest of a Christian.
Would to God there were more amongst us of the love of money
in this one Christian sense ; more, I mean, of that quiet, steady
plodding in the work of the shop or of the office, by which a
competence, with God's blessing upon it, is gradually acquired,

THE FIRST SIN. 109
and handed down to those that come after. I speak, and your
own hearts go along with me in speaking, of those precarious,
those adventurous, those idle methods of gaining, upon which
God's blessing cannot be asked, and upon which (it is scarcely an
exaggeration to say) God's curse almost visibly rests. I speak of
wants created by an expenditure habitually exceeding income,
and supplied by the exorbitant profits of a single week in the
year. I speak of examples set to the young of unlawful ventures,
by which many a life has been drawn astray from the beginning,
and many a hopeful career cut short by crime and infamy. I
speak of a love of gain, which has made sons indifferent to a
father's command and a mother's happiness, reckless in destroy
ing the inheritance of sisters, and at last regardless even of a
country's laws and the terrors of a wrath to come. These things
have been, over and over again : the records of our courts of
justice are full of them : and earnestly and affectionately would
I warn those 'who hear me — the younger part, more especially, of
this congregation — of the fearful risks run by the first step into
the region of chance ; the first departure from that safe and
pleasant path of Christian diligence and uprightness, on which
alone God's blessing rests, and to which alone the promise
belongs, Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing which is
right : for that shall bring a man peace at ilie last.
3. What a responsibility is involved in being brought near
to God as members of His Son's Church below. Well may this
be recorded as the consequence of the fate of Ananias, that great
fear came upon all the Church, and upon ns many as heard these
things. Yes, there is » reality in our connection with Christ,
which must tell upon us for good or else for evil. These ordi
nances of which we make so light ; these means of grace, these
opportunities of worship ; the very sacrament of Christian
Baptism, in which all of us, singly and severally, have been
dedicated and devoted to God through Jesus Christ ; all these
things have a, meaning, whether we will or no, and we ourselves
are fearfully and wonderfully concerned in it. We cannot get
out of that presence. We must spend our lives, we must think

110 THE FIRST SIN.
our thoughts, speak our words, and do our acts, in the sight and
hearing of that God who has made us His own by the gift of His
Son. It is in vain that we say, We will be as the heathen. God
has set His mark upon us; Gocl has taken us for His people, and,
either in love, or else in fury poured out, He must rule over
us. I can desire nothing more for you and for myself, beloved
brethren, than that this thought might be deeply graven upon
our hearts. We are so light, so giddy, so trifling ; or else we
are so self willed, so presumptuous, so audacious ; in either case,
we are so independent of God and of His will, in our own eyes ;
that it would revolutionize the very life of all of us if we could
only begin to live it as in God's presence ; if we could only say
to ourselves, and live and move daily in the recollection of it,
/ speak and act not unto men, but unto God ; my faults, my sins,
are all not only open to Him, but done in relation to Him ;
Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy
sight, that Thou mightest be justified in Thy saying, and be clear
when Thou judgest. In the prospect of abounding temptations,
for some of those who hear me, in the week which today opens,
I could be satisfied, I could be secure, for the stability of any
one who will only set God always before him, commit to Him his
ways and his doings, and say to Him, night and day, in the
sincerity of his heart, Thou art near, 0 Lord: Hold Thou me
up, and I shall be safe.
4. Finally, let us learn by God's grace, from the history now
before us, the great practical lesson, how to cast out the fear of
one another by the stronger and more impressive fear of God.
Ananias and Sapphira committed this great sin in the hope of
purchasing to themselves the good opinion of the Christian con
gregation to which they belonged. And they would have suc
ceeded in this endeavour, but for one consideration which they
left out of sight. They would have succeeded in winning the
esteem of man, if they could only have kept God silent. If God
would but acquiesce, if God would but keep silence, they could
have done all. But God thought it necessary to show that
young Church, that He was in them and among them of a truth.

THE FIRST SIX. Ill
He saw fit to impress upon them all, by a terrible proof, the fact
that He has not deserted the earth, however much the earth may
set aside or forget Him. And the fearful fate of these two
persons made, as it well might make, a strong and salutary
impression upon the hearts of His people. They saw then that
to be brought nigh to Gocl by the blood of Christ does not imply
any impunity in sinning. It does not mean that God's holiness
is one whit less perfect, or His judgment one whit less strict, on
account of the atonement which He has made for all sin in the
sacrifice of Jesus. He who will trifle with God, he who will
tempt the Holy Ghost, by continuing in sin, or by deliberately
cherishing hi his heart the desire of some forbidden thing, shows
thereby that he is counting the blood of the covenant, wherewith he
was sanctified, an unholy thing, and that he has neither part nor
lot in that salvation which is as much unto holiness as it is all of
grace. And we also are daily tempted to live for the honour which
comes to us from one another, and not for that honour which is
of God only. When shall we begin to care more for the approval
of Christ, than for the approval of men that shall die? When
shall we give up this fatal habit, of asking, at each turn, What
does the world say ? what does the world do 1 my world, I mean ;
the world of my family, my friends, my neighbourhood ; and
enquire rather, Is this right ? does Christ approve ? if I go there,
shall I be throwing myself into temptation? if I enter into this
amusement, shall I not be risking the falling again into that old
snare in which I was once and for so long entangled 1 Let me
look up to Christ for direction. Let me ask Him to guide. Let
the whisper of His Spirit be my voice of admonition. And let
me in all things thank the Lord for giving me warning. Let me
count it no hardship, but the highest honour, the purest joy, to
have the Lord so near me that, when I would do this, He Him
self shall say to me, Do it not. Do it not — why ? Because He
"¦radges me enjoyment? because He would have me dull and
spiritless and fainthearted? Nay, but because He loves me;
because, giving me Himself, He gives me all; because, having

112 THE FIRST SIN.
shed His own blood for me, He may be trusted with my all ;
and because He has Himself promised me, that, where He is,
there at last shall I His servant be.
May He thus draw us to Himself with the cords of a man, even
with the bands of love. In His presence, even now, is fulness of
joy. Let us not forfeit that joy, for the sake of any other. Let
us be assured that whatever draws us another way must be our
misery. But, above all, even if we must suffer for Him ; even if
friends shall look coldly on us, or the whole world deride and
pass us by ; still it must be well with us, if we are His. May
He give us grace to make that choice, and to abide by it, and to
find it more and more our chief and our one happiness ; so that
at last we may understand all that is included in the words
written of old by one in whom the Spirit of God was, The Lord
Himself is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup... He is
on my right hand, therefore I shall not fall. . Thou shalt show me the
path of life: in Thy presence is the fulness of joy: and at Thy
right hand there is pleasure for evermore.

LECTURE XII.
" FOUR CHARACTERS.
Acts v. 41, 42.
And they departed from the presence oj the council, rejoicing
that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And
daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach
and preach Jesus Christ.
Times of trial are also not seldom times of triumph. What we
ought to dread above all things, as Christians, is stagnation ; a
condition, within or without, of indolent quiescence and sus
pended animation. It would be far better that the worshippers
in this Church should come together through the taunts and
sneers of a scoffing populace, and go hence to stand oftentimes
alone in their testimony for the truth amidst friends and rela
tives, than that they frequented God's house because it was
customary and fashionable to do so, and were marked by no
difference and no singularity in their confession of Christ at
home. The truth is, a fallen world can never be a resting world.
If there is no struggle, there can be no victory : if there is no
suffering for the Gospel, there will be no earnestness in its cause
and no experience of its power.
Mark, in this aspect, the scene here presented for our con
templation. See what the Gospel was, while it was still fresh
V. 8

114 FOUR CHARACTERS.
and young. See how it wrought ; how it fermented, like leaven,
in the society into which it was first thrown ; how it made com
mon men, who had but a few days before received it into their
hearts, bold to speak and strong to suffer. O for something of
the same faith and of the same zeal in these cold hearts and these
sluggish lives of ours !
The Church, that is, the company and congregation of the
faithful, had received a startling proof of the nearness of God to
them, and of the perilous responsibihty involved in being a
Christian. It is indeed playing with edge-tools to be a worshipper
or a believer by halves. First to draw nigh to God in sacraments
and services, and then to trifle with Him ; first to profess to
believe in a heart-searching God, and then to try experiments
upon His penetration ; this is a fearful risk indeed. This is what
Ananias and Sapphira dared to do ; and their awful history is
told in Scripture for the admonition and warning of every later
and latest age. That was a picture of the Church from its inner
side ; of the Christian body in its relation to Christ its Head.
And now we are to view again its outer aspect ; towards the
world that looked on ; and looked on with varied feelings, of
respectful awe, of admiring gratitude, of bitter hostility, or of
candid observation.
By means of the hands of the Apostles many signs and wonders
took place among the people. A wonder, or miracle, is a simple
surprise; something out of the course of nature, as we speak : a
sign or signal is a wonder which points to something ; a departure
from the course of nature which intends to call attention to a
hand or to a person out of sight. All the Christian miracles are
signs also. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch:
that was the mustering place, the head quarters, of the community,
in public. And of the rest, of those who did not yet believe, no
one presumed to attach himself to them. A sort of sanctity hung
visibly about them, which warned off idle intrusion. It was not,
as now, that whoever was nothing else called himself a Christian ;
or that people could come and go to the Christian's assembly and
to the Christian's worship unquestioned and unchallenged : there

FOUR CHARACTERS. 115
was a meaning then, a felt meaning, in the profession of faith ;
and the recent example of Divine severity, the exposure and the
fate of two pretenders, two intruders into the camp of the saints,
added doubtless, to that awe which, like the pillar of fire and
cloud in the Exodus, separated between the army of Israel and the
host of Egypt.
No one presumed to attach himself to them without believing :
but the people magnified them ; the common people paid them all
reverence and honour : and more even than before were there
constantly being added to them persons believing on the Lord,
multitudes both of men and women.
There was a general impression of the power and of the
beneficence of the new faith and its professors ; so that even into
tlie streets people carried out the sick and placed them upon couches
and beds, that, as Peter came along, even his shadow might over
shadow some one of them. Like the believing touch of our Lord's
garment, the lying for a moment under Peter's shadow sometimes
availed for restoration where there was the mind of faith. It
needed not a touch, it needed not a word ; it was enough if the
very shadow rested upon the sick man as the great Apostle went
by. It was not necessary, if Gocl was pleased to work, that He
should work in this mode rather than in that : the touch was but a
sign, the word was but an indication, of the outcoming of the
healing virtue : it was not necessary that either should be em
ployed : the shadow, if He wills, may do as well. And there came
together also daily the multitude (population) of the cities round
Jerusalem, carrying sick persons and any troubled (molested) by
unclean spirits ; who were healed all of them.
Such an excitement could not but attract the renewed atten
tion of the enemies of the Gospel. The high priest rose up,
prepared himself for an act of vigour, and all who were with him,
his assessors and advisers, that which is the party of the Sadducees
— these deniers of spirit and of the resurrection were then in the
ascendant — and were filled with jealousy at the success of the new
religion, and laid their hands on the Apostles, and got them placed
in public custody. But an angel of the Lord by (in the course
8—2

116 FOUR CHARACTERS.
of the) night opened the doors of the prison, and led them out, and
said, Go, and taking your stand in the temple speak to the people
all the words of this life ; of this heavenly, this eternal life, with
the announcement of which you are charged. And when they
heard this, they entered at daybreak into the temple, and began to
teach. And the high priest, having arrived at the usual place of
meeting — in a hall (it is said) adjoining the great gate of the
Temple — and they that were with him, called together the coun-
'cil, and all the elderhood of the sons of Israel — the assembly
known as the Sanhedrin, or religious council of the seventy
elders — and sent to the prison for them to be brought. And the
officers that came there found them not in tlie prison; and they
returned and reported, saying, The prison-house we found closed,
locked and barred, in all security, and the guards standing at
the doors ; but when we opened it we found no one within. And
when both the captain of the temple — the Jewish officer who com
manded the Levitical guard — and the chief priests, the heads and
leaders of the priestly body, heard these words, they were at a
loss concerning them what this thing might become, to what result
all this might come. And some one arrived, and reported to them,
Behold, tlie men whom ye caused to be placed in the prison, are
standing in the temple, and teaching tlie people. Then the captain
of the temple departed with the officers, and brought them, not with
violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned ; and
they brought them, and set them in (before) the council. And the
high priest questioned them, saying, We strictly charged you not to
leach on the ground of this name ; and behold, ye have filled Jeru
salem with your teaching, and wish to bring upon us the blood of
this man. But Peter answered, and the Apostles, and said, We
must obey God rather than men. If He lays a charge upon us, we
must fulfil it, come what may. The God of our fathers raised up
Jesus, whom ye dispatched by hanging Him on a tree : Him did
God exalt as a Prince and a Saviour by (with) His own right
hand, by the exercise of His Almighty power, to give repentance
to Israel and dismissal of sins. And we are witnesses of these
words, of the truth of these facts, ami the Holy Spirit also

FOUR CHARACTERS. 117
whom God gave to those who obey Him. The descent of tlie
Holy Ghost on the great day of Pentecost was God's own
witness borne along with the human evidence of tilings actually
seen and known.
A nd they when they heard were cut to the heart — literally,
were sawn asunder, as it were, by the violence of their rage and
fury — and they wished to slay them. But there rose one in the
council, a Pharisee, by name Gamaliel — and we all recognize the
name as that of the instructor in early days of St Paul himself —
a teacher of the law, honourable in the judgment of all the people,
and urged them to put the men out for a short time, that the dis
cussion might be more freely carried on ; and, when this was
done, said to them, Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves with
regard to tliese men vjhat ye are about to do. This is. in one sense,
not the first case of the kind, with which you have had to deal.
Some time ago there was Theudas, a man of large professions, who
collected a body of four hundred followers, and you saw what
it all came to : he was put to death, and his party dispersed and
annihilated. Then there was Judas of Galilee — the same thing
again — first a brief success, and then utter ruin. Therefore I
counsel calmer measures. Ref ram from tliese men: let them alone.
If their plans and their proceedings are of men only, depend upon
it, the enterprise will come to a natural end : it will meet the fate
of all human enterprises against law and order. But if it should
so happen, that in this one instance we have a work of God to
deal with, all your efforts to put it down will be in vain ; and
you must take good care lest, in opposing it, you should be found
to be fighting against God. The weight of a great name, and
(we may well suppose) the manifest wisdom of the counsel itself,
prevailed over prejudice and exasperation. They obeyed him,
and calling the Apostles in they beat them — though uncondemned,
though virtually acquitted by their judges, they must still (like
their Master before them) be put to this pain and ignominy — and
then charged them not to speak on the ground of the name of Jesus,
and released them. They then went their way rejoicing from the
presence of the council, because they were deemed worthy to be

118 FOUR CHARACTERS.
disgraced in behalf of the Name, ¦ the great and sacred Name of
their beloved Lord : and throughout every day, in the temple, and
at home, they ceased not to teach and to proclaim the glad tidings
of the Christ as being Jesus ; as having come in the person of
Jesus ; to declare one to another, and in the hearing of Israel,
that the Messiah, promised of old, was come, and come in the
person of Jesus of Nazareth, first crucified, now risen. We have
found Him, of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, did write,
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
The use which I would make of the passage thus summarily
glanced at, is as an exhibition of various characters by which we
may test and judge our own.
i. And first, there is the character of the chief priests and
elders ; faithful still to their conduct towards Christ Himself ;
persecuting the servant as they before had persecuted the Lord.
One new feature there is in this persecution. It is, more dis
tinctly than in the Gospels, a Sadducean hostility. Among the
impugners of our Lord's own doctrine the Pharisee is unquestion
ably the more conspicuous : the severest words of all uttered by
the Saviour are directed against the Pharisee ; it is he who is
ever at hand to catch something out of His mouth ; it is he whose
hypocrisy of heart made him dread Christ's discernment and
Christ's holiness, and whose very orthodoxy on some vital points
of doctrine gave a self-sufficiency to his judgment peculiarly
unfavourable to the real reception of the truth. But no sooner
has Christ left the earth than the opposite party rises into more
prominence as assailants of His Gospel. And most natural it
was that a Gospel built upon a resurrection should irritate most
strongly the sect which denied that great hope of man. While it
was a mere tenet of doctrine, they bore it with composure : when
it became a statement of fact, it was at once a struggle for life
and death. Thus there were occasions, of which this book in its
later chapters will tell, when the Pharisee, confessing the resur
rection, lends his aid to the faith which is suffering in that behalf.
And great as were the faults of the Pharisee, severe as his
condemnation was from the lips of Him who is truth, he had yet

FOUR CHARACTERS. 119
in some respects a shorter path to traverse if once his steps should
be turned in the direction of Christ's kingdom. The Sadducee
was a cold, scoffing, irreligious materialist. It would be an affront
to any sect within the Christian Church to compare it with such
a model. Nevertheless if there be a body of professed Christians
who seek to divest the Gospel of all its supernatural character ;
who cut out of it every element of Divinity, whether in the form
of miracle or of inspiration ; who resolve its whole system of duty
into respectability rather than holiness of conduct, and good
nature rather than charity towards other men ; who practically
make their nest here, and leave out of sight, while they may, the
revelation of a world to come ; then that body is the type, im
perfect but real, of the Sadducee of other days : and those who
have seen anything, in detail, of the working of that spirit in
men who call themselves Christians, will be at no loss to under
stand how the Sadducee should outrun even the Pharisee in the
bitterness of his hostility to all that is distinctive and charac
teristic in the Gospel.
Nor need we look to other sects or other Churches for
examples of enmity to the cross of Christ. The spirit of the
Sadducee is in all of us by nature, struggling in us for the
mastery with that of the Pharisee and the Herodian. Each one
of these is but the developement of one attribute of fallen nature.
What is the Sadducee but the man who avows his disbelief in
mysteries of which we all have too feeble a grasp ? I might ask,
which of us has a firm hold of those particular revelations, the
denial of which would make a Sadducee of him by profession ?
Which of us really and truly expects the resurrection, or can say
with any consistency in the words of our Creed, I look for the
resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come ? And
if the best of us rather gropes amidst these things in the dark
than walks among them as in the light of perfect day, what
shall we say of those who have accustomed themselves to treat
everything lightly till nothing is serious, nothing is grave to
them ; who have a jest ready for every revelation, and a scoff for
every demand of duty, till at length they can neither tremble at

120 FOUR CHARACTERS.
God's terrors nor believe in God's love ? O the bitterness of the
scoffer, towards one who possesses a hope which he has flung
away ! O the acrimony -with which he exposes a weakness, and
watches for a fall, in one of Christ's servants ! These things are
not of the past : they are of the present. The Sadducees of our
day do not gather themselves together in council and conclave, to
try and to judge the disciples of the Lord : they themselves use
the same name, and would be indignant at the denial of the title.
But they hate, none the less, and they disparage, and they
persecute too, those who truly believe ; point at them as ignorant,
as old-fashioned, as righteous overmuch, as slaves of the letter,
as exclusive and positive and self-sufficient ; and many a life is
embittered still, many a heart is disquieted and dejected, many a
man feels himself an alien and an outcast from the society which
he loves and the sympathies for which he yearns, because he will
take Christ at His word, and will live and die in the faith as
it was once delivered to the saints. The persecutors of the
Christian are amongst us still, and oftentimes they are per
secutors in conduct because they are first Sadducees in spirit.
May such persons, if any such there be amongst us, ask them
selves seriously this one question, Am I certain that I shall
never want Christ myself ; want Him in loneliness and sorrow,
want Him in age and sickness, want Him in the hour of death,
and in the day of judgment? If I know not this, and know it
not for certain, let me take heed how I now make it impossible
that I should ever seek Him then.
2. And when we turn from this extreme of hostility to the
cause of Christ, through the various stages which separate it
from an entire devotion, are we not struck with the existence in
these days of many a Gamaliel ; of many a man who is at once
observant and candid, anxious to do nothing rashly, waiting,
rather, to examine credentials, or even to see the end, before he
pronounces himself decisively either for or against the Gospel?
These men have much in them that is attractive, and at first sio-ht
all that is reasonable. What can we desire more, we are ready to
ask, than 'that a person be open-minded and calmly judging ; an

FOUR CHARACTERS. 121
adviser of caution, a hater of precipitation, in decisions for
eternity ; a man reminding the powerful of the rights of the
humble, and the prejudiced of the supnemacy of truth 1 What
but good can come, we might enquire, of that prudent and
sensible reminder, in a time of religious excitement and enthu
siasm, If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, and see lest haply ye be
found even to fight against God? 0 for a voice, we say, so calm
and so judicial, to mediate and to moderate in the dissensions of
party zeal ! And no doubt such a voice is useful ; useful in the
counsels of rulers, useful on the bench of justice. Happy the
nation which has such men amongst its counsellors, when an act
of hasty tyranny is in danger of treading out the spark of grace
and truth. Such a man is far removed from the enemies of
Christ, if he be not yet enrolled amongst His friends. This was
the part of Nicodemus, when the case of One greater than the
Apostles was at issue, and he reminded his impetuous colleagues
of that first maxim of equity, Doth our law judge any man before
it hear him and know what he doeth ? Not long afterwards, he
who at first came to Jesus by night, and who even at this stage
in his history is a timid and doubting ally, is found tending the
lifeless corpse from which the Apostles have fled panic-stricken,
and testifying a love and a devotion refused by men who owe
to Christ their all.
But yet we must not overrate a quality which has so much
in it of good. Candour, moderation, an open mind and a calm
judgment, these are useful qualities ; these, at certain times, may
rise even into great virtues. But we dare not say that any one
of them, or that all of them together, will suffice to save a soul.
There are just a few great questions on which minds ought to be
made up ; on which if the evidence we possess be not sufficient
for conviction, it is our first and most bounden duty to seek and
to obtain more. Such a question, above all others, is that of the
truth and power, of the person and work, of the Messiahship and
Divinity, of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To be candid
on this subject is better indeed than to be prejudiced, scoffing, or

122 FOUR CHARACTERS.
hostile : but there is a third alternative besides these two ; and
he who is merely candid concerning Christ is in danger of a life
long suspense, of an ultimate indifference. L Men of mere candour,
admirable and beautiful as that gift is, are commonly men who
in great emergencies disappoint, and in critical decisions are even
worse than foes. Their presence is fatal to generous impulses, to
noble enthusiasms. Erasmus was the Gamaliel of the Reforma
tion ; calm, critical, deliberative, discerning : but where would
the Reformation have been, if beside Erasmus there had not been
a Luther ? If all had waited to see whether this counsel or this
work was of men or of God, by watching for its issue, the blow
for truth had never been struck, and a reformed faith had never
emerged from the mists of Papal darkness. In details, or on
subjects of minor moment, it is harmless, it is right, to be
Gamaliels : but on the one great question, of having or not
having a Saviour, of being or not being redeemed and pardoned
and justified, that man is a fool who postpones his decision, a lost
man who dies without making it.
3. I would have distinguished, did time permit, a third
character among those here presented ; that of the common
people who magnified the believers though they durst not join
them, and who gladly used, though it were but from a distance,
their beneficent and healing power. These too have their
counterpart amongst us. There are men, and there are women,
now in the midst of us, who reverence religion with all their
hearts ; who count the Christian alone happy ; who delight, as it
were, to gather the crumbs beneath the sacred table, to profit by
Christian converse and to record the triumphs of the Gospel;
but who yet shrink from counting themselves very members of
that holy fellowship ; never think themselves worthy even of an
approach to the sacramental feast ; and if they should die in this
state, would die with faintest hope of attaining to the inheritance
of the saints in light. Such persons are not against Christ, yet
neither are they yet quite with Him. They are something more
than candid enquirers; something far, far beyond men waiting,
like Gamaliel, to see the end, and to j udge from a point wholly out

FOUR CHARACTERS. 123
of sight, a point unattainable on earth, of the testimonials and
credentials of the Gospel. Would that they could be induced to
take just that one step' which divides them from every hope and
every comfort of a Christian. Would that they could be led, by
God's grace, to cross bold'y that narrow margin, and become not
spectators only but inmates of the sacred porch of Solomon.
Believe only, not that Christ died for some, but that He died for
thee ; believe only, not in the abstract doctrine of forgiveness, but
in the fact of the forgiveness of thy sins : and thou art one with
the Christian fellowship ; no longer an admirer but a partaker of
the promises, yea, a fellow-citizen with the saints, and of the very
household of God.
4. Finally, the text itself, and the passage now reviewed,
tells us of a fourth character; that of the not almost but
altogether Christian. Hear his creed as it is rehearsed in this
record. I believe that I ought to obey God rather than men. I
believe that Christ died for our sins, and was raised again for our
justification. I believe that God has exalted Him to be a Prince
and a Saviour. I believe that the very purpose of that exaltation
is, that He may bestow repentance and bestow forgiveness. I believe
that God for His sake gives His Holy Spirit to all who set them
selves in His strength to obey. What is this but the faith of our
own Church, handed clown to us from days when Peter and Paul,
when John and James, yet trod the earth ? This is the faith of
which it was written, If thou shalt confess ivith thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised Him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. This was the faith which
enabled Apostles to brave persecution, nay, to rejoice to be
counted worthy to suffer shame, or even death itself, for the name,
the one sufficient name in which alone is salvation. My brethren,
who can doubt which of these four characters is the one which
it would be happiest to live with, safest and most glorious to
possess in death ? Believe only, and it shall be yours. It is not
far off from thee, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up to
heaven for me, that he may fetch it and give it ? or, Who shall
go over the sea for me, and bring it to me, that I may take it

124 FOUR CHARACTERS.
and wear it ? Nay, it is very nigh thee ; offered thee freely, made
thine by prayer : whosoever will may have it for the asking.
God of His infinite mercy endue us all' with it ; that earnest
faith, that bright hope, that generous love, that noble courage.
Then, come life or come death, it must be well with us : for we
are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

LECTURE XIII.
THE FIRST ORDINATION.
Acts vi. 15.
And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw
his face as it had been the face of an angel.
In the early Church all was movement. In these few pages,
while the annals of the Church are still journals, what have we
not read of? Signs and wonders, first from above, and then
(yet more decisively) within ; numerous, sudden, but most real
conversions ; persecutions bravely endured ; public testimony
nobly borne ; hypocrisy and deception instantly unmasked and
detected by a gift of discernment as infallible as it was intuitive ;
these were the marks of a Church that had life in it, of a Church
in which God Himself was still dwelling and working. It ought
to be a solemn and heart-searching process, with all of us, to read
of these things in our days and in our congregations. God grant
that it be not all in vain.
Now see the Church adapting itself to new wants, and facing
new difficulties.
And in those days, while the disciples were multiplying, there
arose a murmuring of tlie Hellenists against the Hebrews, that
their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration. The
Hellenists were those Jews who spoke the Greek language, and
whose ordinary abode was out of Palestine. They were com-

126 THE FIRST ORDINATION,
monly looked down upon by the Hebrews, who prided themselves
upon having adhered to the national language, and (for the most
part, though not exclusively) to the national home. This jealousy
found its way even into the Christian body. Out of that common
fund, of which we have read in former chapters, there was a daily
distribution, in the form of food or money, according to the wants
of each person or each household. A suspicion arose that this
distribution was not fairly made. You all know how common
such misunderstandings and such imputations are in all .charitable
ministrations. Human nature is the same in all times ; and here
we read of its first outbreak in a blessed and holy society. The
Hellenists considered that their widows, the desolate and destitute
members of their section of the Church, were overlooked in the
daily distribution. And see how wisely and how considerately
the complaint was met.
And the twelve, the Apostles, who till now appear to have been
the sole rulers and the sole managers of the affairs of the com
munity, called to them the multitude of the disciples, and said, It
is not satisfactory that we should desert the word of God and serve
(minister to) tables. The labour of providing for the support of
the poor was now becoming so onerous, in the increased numbers
of the community, as grievously to interfere with the spiritual
functions of those who were charged with the ministry of the
Word. And this, they say, is not pleasing ; not consistent with
the will of God, or of those whose heart is set upon higher duties.
Look ye out then, brethren, seven attested men from among you,
seven men of good report or character, full of the Spirit and of
wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business : and we will
adhere to prayer and the ministry of the word. The ministry or
service of the word is set in contrast with the ministry or service
of tables : it is the same expression in the two cases.
And the word, the proposal, pleased, was satisfactory, in the
sight of all the multitude : and they selected Stephen, a man full of
faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and
Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of
Antioch. Judging by the names alone, we should suppose them

THE FIRST ORDINATION. 127
to have been all Grecians or Hellenists ; leaving the Hebrew
section to be cared for as before. Whom they set before the
Apostles ; and tliey (the Apostles) prayed and then laid on them
their hands. The choice was made by the whole Church : but the
solemn act of consecration was performed by the Apostles.
Thus was a complaint remedied, and an impediment to effec
tive action removed.
And tlie word of God grew on, and the number of the disciples
multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly, and a great company of the
priests obeyed the faith. A marvellous testimony to the truth and
power of the Gospel ! The very priests, whose interests and
prepossessions were all strongly against it, now began, in large
numbers, to add themselves to the Church of Christ.
And now our attention is to be fixed for some time upon one
person ; one eminent member of the new order.
And Stephen, full of grace and power, a man largely endowed
with that grace, that favour and blessing, of God, which is the
strength of man, was doing great wonders and signs among the
people. But there arose some of those who belonged to the synagogue
which was called that of the Libertini, and of the Cyrenians, and
of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing
with Stephen. The Libertini were the class of Roman freedmen,
or enfranchised slaves. A Roman historian tells of the addiction
of this class to Jewish superstitions, and of their banishment, in
consequence, from Rome, fourteen or fifteen years before this
time, by a decree of the Senate under the Emperor Tiberius.
Four thousand of them were sent to the island of Sardinia, and
the rest were to leave Italy unless before a certain day they
renounced their religious rites. This fact sufficiently accounts
for their having now a synagogue in Jerusalem. Cyrene and
Alexandria, cities of Africa, were great centres of Jewish
residence. Thus Egypt, and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, are
especially mentioned as furnishing Jewish visitors to Jerusalem
on the great day of Pentecost. Cilicia, of which the chief town
was Tarsus, and Asia (in its more limited sense, of a district on
the Western side of Asia Minor) also gave names, as we are here

128 THE FIRST ORDINATION.
told, to two at least of the 460 or 480 synagogues of which we
read as existing at this time in Jerusalem. These were the
leaders of the opposition to the holy and devoted work of him
who was destined to be the first martyr for the cause of Christ.
And they had not strength to withstand the wisdom and the
Spirit by which he spoke. I will give you, such had been our Lord s
promise to His people, a mouth and wisdom which all your
adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
That which could not be done fairly must be done by artifice.
Like his Master before him, Stephen must fall under false
evidence. And in both cases the false evidence is of that
particular kind — the most difficult of all to answer — which
consists in the distortion of truth : the literal words given, but
the context and scope of the words wholly misrepresented and
belied. Then they suborned men saying, they prepared or pro
cured men privily to give this evidence, We have heard him speak
blasphemous (calumnious) words as to Moses and as to God. And they
stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and set upon
him, and seized him, and brought him to the council, the Sanhedrin,
or council of the Seventy, of which we have read in earlier
chapters, and set up false witnesses saying, This man ceases not to
speak words against this holy place and the law : for we have heard
him say that this Jesus of Nazareth, this Jesus, of whom we have
lately heard so much — there is a mixture of impatience and
contempt in the form of the expression — shall destroy this place,
and change the customs which Moses delivered to us, gave us by
transmission (such is the force of the expression) from the mouth
of God. And all who took their seats in the council, when tliey had
fixed their gaze upon him, saw his countenance as if the counten
ance of an angel.
And let us too, my brethren, fix our gaze upon the scene here
presented. We shall find in this opening passage of the record of
the first Christian martyrdom, much to instruct us in the wisdom
of God, and to guide us in the way in which we should go.
1. And first we will say a word upon the manner in which
Christ, the great Head of the Church, has fulfilled His original

THE FIRST ORDINATION. 129
promise, Lo, I am with you ahvay. It has not been by fixing
one rigid immovable framework of law and discipline, with which,
amidst all conceivable varieties and variations of circumstances,
human affairs must be forced into consistency. We read tonight
of what is commonly called the institution of the diaconate, of
the order of deacons in the Church of Christ. The word deacon
does not, I believe, occur with reference to these first seven
officers. The only one of them whose name occurs in the sub
sequent history is described as Philip the evangelist, which was
one of the seven. And we have already noticed, by implication at
least, that the word from which the terms deacon, deaconship,
diaconate, are derived is just as much used here of the work of
the Apostles as of the seven delegates : the ministry (or deacon-
ship) of the word is set in contrast with the ministry (or deacon-
ship) of tables. What do I draw from this 1 Two remarks.
(i) We must be careful not to be slaves of words. We
must not be quite sure that, because we have the name deacons
in our Church system, therefore we have the exact thing so
designated in Scripture ; or (to take another example) that,
because we read of bishops in the New Testament, therefore the
Church officers whom we so describe hold precisely the same
place, or exercise precisely the same functions.
(2) How beautifully does God adapt His measures, in the
government of His Church, to the circumstances in which, as the
God of Providence, He from time to time sets that Church ;
thereby giving us an added reason for believing that the God of
Providence is also the Lord and God of the Church. Trace the
observation through the narrative here before us. In the first
days of all, there were no Church officers at all save the Apostles.
They were the teachers, they were the rulers, they were also the
bankers and the treasurers, the almoners and the distributors, of
the Christian community. By degrees their work becomes over
whelming. Secular business — for such in fact it was — has
encroached upon, and is in danger of absolutely engrossing, time
and strength needed for higher purposes. The rapid growth of
numbers, and the self-denying sacrifices of property for Church
v. 9

130 THE FIRST ORDINATION.
uses, occasioned by the devoted zeal of first convictions, have
together created a whole department of duty which cannot be
neglected without injury of one kind, nor attended to without
injury of another. Complaints are arising that the interests of
one section of the disciples are being postponed to those of another
section. Under these circumstances how does the indwelling
Spirit of wisdom guide and counsel ? In other words, how does
the everliving Lord of the Church direct and guard its course ?
A new emergency demands a new expedient. Let the functions
of administration be divided. Men of equity and good sense are
enough for the discharge of one ; the apportionment of the funds
of charity. This work requires not the higher gifts of inspiration,
and would rather hinder their exercise. Sometimes inferior
endowments do even better for this lower and humbler duty.
Let then the Church itself — that is, the whole body of believing
people — select a few persons — say, seven in number — to relieve
the Apostles of the daily distribution. This is good counsel : the
Church will be the better for it. And then the Apostles can
return with less distraction to their great spiritual duties; prayer,
and the ministry of the Word. The inference we draw from this
narrative is, not the necessity of having always seven men in
every congregation charged with the work of deacons ; nor even
the necessity of having in every truly Apostolical Church an order
of men so denominated, without reference to the particular duties
which they may be set to fulfil ; but rather, the importance of
looking changes of Church circumstances full in the face, and
meeting them with faith and firmness, with an earnest purpose
and an unshaken courage.
We say indeed, in the Preface to our Ordination Services,
that it is evident to all men diligently reading the holy Scripture
and ancient authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been
these Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church; Bishops, Priests,
and Deacons. There have been in all times three departments of
duty, needing for their right discharge three orders of Church
officers. There has been the work of ruling ; of ordering with
authority details of practice in the congregations, and of exer-

THE FIRST ORDINATION. 131
cising discipline over such as do amiss. And there has been the
work of the regular Pastor ; the work of leading the worship, of
conducting the instruction, and of superintending the daily life,
of the congregation; of visiting the sick, teaching the young, and
seeking to reclaim for Christ the wandering and the outcast.
And there has been in the third place the work of seeking out
the poor and needy, of providing for their relief, of gathering the
alms of the congregation, and of assisting in its services by all
such means as do not imply either authority to govern or
authority to teach. We believe that our own Church has adhered
to the Apostolical model in so distributing its ministerial duties.
We believe that a Church which seeks to combine all these offices
in one is wanting, at least in this respect, as much in wisdom as
in humility. But it is not the possession of the name which
secures to us the thing. Theory is seldom identical with practice:
it may depart from it very widely. And we must not hesitate to
confess that in practice our Church has too much lost, under the
pressure of circumstances, one at least of her three Orders. The
rapid and unequal growth of our national population, the obsolete
yet unchangeable distribution of our Parishes, and the poverty
(I do not fear to say it) of our ordinary Church endowments,
have compelled us, in most cases, to use our Deacons almost as
Priests : in other words, it has been better to allow the higher
office to be encroached upon by the lower, than to leave our
Churches without pastors, or to acquiesce in the assumption of
the pastoral office by unordained men.
We speak of this necessity as an evil : doubtless it has caused
a departure in practice from the rigid theory of our Church
constitution. But do we say that even these circumstances are
not of the Lord 1 Do we say that this unavoidable modification
of our Church system, arising out of causes beyond our control,
has been a thing to mourn over as a sin? Nay, my brethren, we
read with more intelligence — or think we do — the opening words
of this Chapter, And in those days, when the number of the disciples
was multiplied. We see in those words the encouragement of the
Church of all time, to hope that her exigencies have a notice in
9—2

132 THE FIRST ORDINATION.
heaven, and her efforts to meet them an approval from One who
is with her alway. What has been the issue — what, we may
humbly say, the design — of our present difficulties ? We have
been compelled to use for higher work men invested only with the
name of deacons : and both they, and we of the middle order, are
in danger of being constrained too much to leave the Word of
God and serve tables : we find ourselves week by week, in our
large towns, too much called off from sacred employments to
manage charitable funds, to superintend the daily distribution,
even to assist in the formation and superintendence of institutions
merely benevolent : these things are all against us ; we are
tempted to complain of them as simply adverse, entirely calamitous.
But what should the answer of God say to us ? Shall it not
remind us that in every emergency His Spirit can suggest a
remedy for that which His Providence has permitted ? Shall it
not bid us take counsel with ourselves and with one another as
to the remedies, as to the correctives, at least as to the palliatives,
which we may apply to the diseases of our times ? And may it
not remind us of the blessings which have resulted, and which
may still more largely result, from the necessity which has been
upon us of looking more to the congregation, to brethren and
sisters moving in common life, set apart by no act of ordination,
but giving themselves first to the Lord, and then to us by the will
of God, to aid us in those parts of our pressing duty which it can
be no profanation for a layman to discharge ; more especially in
that serving of tables, that care for the bodily wants of the poor,
which in the first days caused the establishment of a new order
in the ministry, and which in all times must be one of the first
anxieties and first responsibilities of a Church which, like its Lord,
would go about upon earth doing good ? It may not be by the
help of new statutes or new canons ; it may not be by the enact
ment of rulers whether in Church or State ; but, God helping us,
it shall be by the spontaneous and not less Christian growth, in
our several Parishes, of a spirit of devotion and self-sacrifice, that
we will meet the wants of our times, looking out among us men
and women of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom,

THE FIRST ORDINATION. 133
whom we, with the strictest regard to propriety and Church order,
will set over this part of the business to which we are unequal, if
so be, for your sakes and for our own, we may with the less dis
traction give ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.
While others are looking this way and that, to Convocation or to
Parliament, for new names and new rules by which the wants of
the world may be met and the disorders of a Church system
redressed ; let us rather see what we, each of us, can do for the
place in which our lot is cast, and by the help of Church-Wardens,
of Scripture -Readers, of District -Visitors, and of voluntary
School-teachers, do rather than discuss the work which Christ
in every age looks for from His Church and from His people.
It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God and serve
tables : help us then, every one of you, to whom God has given
the will and the power, in carrying out more successfully the
noble determination, We will give ourselves continually to prayer
and ta the ministry of the Word.
2. Do not say, beloved brethren, that the topic thus brought
before you is wanting in practical edification. It is not so, if
God give the grace to entertain and to apply it. But we will
not separate without an earnest effort to learn something, as from
the institution which introduces to us the history of Stephen, so
also from the account of his life and the record of his spirit.
He was a man full of grace and power. Yes, grace is power.
He who has the favour of God with him, and the blessing of God
upon him, cannot be weak, must be strong. Men much mistake
the way to power. They think place will give it : or they think
fame will give it : or they think a vehement manner, a noisy,
pushing, obtrusive forwardness, which will let nothing be clone
without their help and presence, will give them power. 0, much
do they mistake in these ideas of it ! Commune much with your
own heart ; be still in the solitude of your chamber ; lie low
before God's footstool in penitence and prayer : and then come
forth to your work and to your labour ; fill your assigned place,
high or low, as God's consecrated one, in all lowliness and in all
meekness ; and you will be a man of power too. Men will take

134 THE FIRST ORDINATION.
knowledge of you that you have been with Jesus ; and in that
connection, that companionship, with Him, is everlasting strength.
Who that has lived even to middle age has not been struck
with the position which true grace holds in the life of this world ?
At first sight we have thought a good man feeble : we have seen
him using a courtesy and a humility and a self-forgetfulness and
a preference of others, which we have hastily associated with the
idea of weakness. But we have looked again, years afterwards,
and that man has accomplished works not given to the strong.
It is he who has effected great things for God : it is he who has
regenerated a Parish, it is he who has overcome opposition and
lived down obloquy, it is he whom enemies respect and strong
men follow. Not in vain are the words written, Blessed are the
meek: for they shall inherit the earth. The meek-spirited shall
possess the earth, and shall be refreshed in the multitude of peace.
They who by faith see the Invisible are men not more of faith
than of power. And one day they shall be owned as such, when
he that overcometh shall inherit all things.
The text seems to tell us of a power in the very look of faith.
Stephen stood before the council, charged with blasphemy against
God and God's law, charged with profaneness towards the temple,
and impiety towards Him who dwelt there. Around and before
him were his judges ; full of prejudice and animosity, prepared to
condemn, and, if to condemn, to execute. And yet, as they gazed
on that face, they could not but own that it shone as with angelic
lustre : the heavenly calm, the profound peace, the entire trust,
the perfect patience, written on that brow so that he who ran
might read, betokened the presence of one who had beheld the
very face of God, of one of those messengers who excel in strength,
who fulfil God's commandment, hearkening to the voice of His
words. Before he spoke, he was heard. God was in his coun
tenance before He was on his lips. O the power of that wondrous
instrument, the human face, for good or else for evil ! O the
persuasiveness of that eloquence of the good man's countenance,
which needs not breath to make it vocal ! 0 the transparency of
that eye which knows not deceit ; the repose of that brow which

THE FIRST ORDINATION. 135
communes much with heaven ! Before it, ^.gain and again, vice
has slunk away ashamed, and the word of impurity and profane-
ness died upon the lips unspoken. Yes, the tale of a life is
recorded on our faces ; insensibly we reveal it. The skin of
Moses' face shone after communion with God : he veiled it in
condescension to the sinful. It is a true parable. Let a man be
much with God, and his very face will show it. God grant that
more of us may bear this most undesigned, most unsuspicious
testimony, to the certainty of things hoped for, the reality of
things not seen.

LECTURE XIV.
LIVING ORACLES.
Acts vii. 38.
Wlw received the lively oracles to give unto us.
There are those who confess themselves unable to discern in
St Stephen's defence before the Jewish Council anything directly
bearing upon the accusation which it sought to refute. They
only read it as a rehearsal of his creed as a believer in the Jewish
Scriptures. They suppose him to have desired to ingratiate
himself with his audience, by reciting to them the history of
God's dealings with their nation, and showing himself a true-
hearted Israelite, incapable of doing despite to the Law or to the
Temple. And no doubt it is the speech of a simple and perhaps
unlettered man, not the composition of a master of rhetoric or an
experienced debater. No doubt also its opening paragraphs are
so expressed as to avoid prematurely irritating his judges by an
avowal of the personal application which lies beneath all and at
length bursts from his lips. We may suppose also, if we will,
that the address was rudely interrupted before it had reached
that orderly close which might have given clearness and con
sistency to the whole.
But, with all these abatements, which of us may not admire
in this defence a real and true fulfilment of the Saviour's promise,
/ will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries
shall not be able to gainsay nor resist ?

LIVING ORACLES. 137
For what, let us remember, was the crime imputed to him?
What was the indictment, as we read it in the last chapter?
Then they suborned men, who said, We have heard him speak
blasphemous words against Moses and against God. They brought
him to the council, and set up false witnesses, who said, This man
ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and
the law : for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth
shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses
delivered us. Irreverence towards the Law of Moses and the
Temple, shown in predicting that the time was at hand when the
Lord and Saviour would bring both to an end, this was the offence
of the prisoner as defined by the accusers and substantiated by
their witnesses.
Now could any line of defence be more suitable than one
which, while recognizing to the full the divine mission of Moses,
the divine origin of the Law, and the divine institution of the
Temple, should yet show that these thmgs were all supplemen
tary in their introduction and parenthetical in their design ?
That the promises of God, as made to the forefathers of Israel,
were entirely independent, both in place and time, of those
institutions which were now regarded as their sole depository
and shrine ? That the call of Abraham was made far away from
Canaan, and that whole centuries even of the later national history
were passed in other lands ? That the great Lawgiver himself
was not only refused and disobeyed by his people, but himself
prophesied of the coming of a greater and mightier than himself ?
That this Temple on which they prided themselves, on which they
threw the whole stress of their faith and dependence, had not
only been late in its erection, but was also spoken of by their own
prophets as never (in the highest sense of all) the dwelling-place
of God? And that, finally, no amount of confidence on their
part in the clearness of their discernment or the justice of tlieir
judgment, on » question of religion or of revelation, could be the
slightest indication, in reality, of truth or right ; every prophet,
in his generation, having been set at nought and persecuted, not
excluding even the Messiah Himself, of whom, while professing

138 LIVING ORACLES.
daily to look for Him, they had themselves been now the
betrayers and murderers ? I know not that any line of argu
ment, any amount of premeditation or any art of eloquence, could
have touched more exactly the very point at issue, or entered
more thoroughly into the hidden principles which gave interest
and importance to the decision.
It is not my intention to break up this discourse into por
tions, and to go minutely into the details of the history which it
recapitulates. But let me run through the topics as they occur,
and briefly indicate their connection with the accusation and
defence. In so doing, I shall seek to express by a brief para
phrase what I understand to be the purport and sequence of the
whole discourse.
You charge me with disparaging the local character of our
religion. You say that I speak of this Temple as destined to an
overthrow predicted by my Master. Let me remind you then how
far, and how far only, the faith of our fathers is bound up with
local conditions. The original home and cradle of our race was
not Palestine, but Mesopotamia, in the far East, on the other side
of the great river, tlie river Euphrates. It was there that the voice
of God was first heard calling to fallen man. The God of glory
appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia,
before he even dwelt in Haran ; before even that first migration
which landed him not in Canaan but in a temporary restingplace.
Hence in due season He removed him, by the same Divine call, into
this land in which ye now dwell. But how did he enter it ? As
an owner ? as a conqueror ? as a sovereign ? Nay, he possessed not
in it land enough to set his foot on. And yet the promises were all
his even then; and the Divine favour and protection; and the
Divine communion and friendship. Judge ye tlierefore how far
God's blessing is local. Judge ye, even in this first and greatest
example, how far God is a respecter either of place or form.
And tlmt independence of place which was first exemplified in
Abraham was indicated no less in the prediction of his children's
fortunes. In a strange land should they sojourn for centuries
and yet be God's people and God's chosen still. See how that

LIVING ORACLES. 139
prophecy was fulfilled ; by what sins, through what sufferings, of
man; by what providences and what interpositions on the part of
God. Behold the young brother sold as a slave by foes of his own
household . see him carried into a remote and unfriendly land ; him,
the best a-nd noblest of tlie sons of Israel : see him cast out of his
father's home as one despised and forsaken, and yet, through vicissi
tudes as strange as they were sudden, raised to the pinnacle of
greatness, while his father's sons bowed down to him. Does the
thought occur to you, that in the varying fortunes of Joseph may
have been prefigured the suffering and glory of a later and a
mightier One ? May not your own hands be red with the blood of
a Brother after the flesh, who is also after the spirit your Lord and
your Judge ?
Trace then yet onward the course of the national history, and
see the whole family of Israel seeking refuge out of Canaan : see
generation after generation toiling on in Egyptian bondage ;
excluded from the land of promise, yet losing thereby no one mark
of their ancestral privilege ; still recognized, in heaven if not upon
earth, as God's people, beloved for the fathers' sake. And yet, all
this time, nothing was theirs in Canaan but a buryingplace, and
century after century was wheeling its slow course over their exile.
Mark then how the national fortunes were sunk to their lowest level;
tlie very permission to live sought in vain for their sons from their
oppressors ; when at last he arose, guarded by God's special Provi
dence from a threatened similar fate, who was to be first the
deliverer from bondage, and then (under God) the founder of a new
Dispensation. And observe, when he came, late in time and mature in age ;
came with thoughts and words of kindness, seeking to reconcile or
to avenge his brethren ; how he was received and dealt with. Who
made thee (it was said to him) a ruler and a judge over us? If he
whom you so much reverence was once thus despised and rejected of
his countrymen, may it not perhaps have been so with One whom
God sent to supersede him ? Can you urge as an argument against
tlie mission of Jesus that general reproach and rejection, which
would have been equally fatal to the authority of Moses ? For forty

140 LIVING ORACLES.
years lie was in exile ; a double exile ; not from Canaan only, but
from Egypt also. At last his call came; came, once more, not in
the land of promise but in the wilderness ; came too on the ground
not of a new but of an old relationship ; not as to the founder of a
new religion, but as to the inheritor of a patriarchal covenant.
Forget not Abraliam in Moses. Never allow yourselves to date from
Sinai a possession which was' yours from Mesopotamia and from
Haran. In your zeal for a Levitical law, lose not sight of a
patriarchal promise. The God who appeared to Moses in the
burning bush of Iloreb was already the God of his fathers, the
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
This Moses whom your ancestors refused, the same did God send
to be their ruler and their deliverer. He brought them out. And
do I disparage his high mission, by declaring that he was neither
the first nor yet the last of God's messengers ; that his Dispensation
came in but by tlie way, between the Patriarchal and the Messianic ?
Listen to his own words. A Prophet (he said) shall the Lord, your
God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me ; Him shall
ye hear. He himself pointed the eye of faith onward to One who
should come; like himself as to the human nature ; yet greater than
himself in proportion as the forerunner is less than the fore-
announced, the servant of one nation than the Lord of all. I then
am but echoing the voice of Moses, when I declare that the customs
which he delivered were not designed to be indestructible or final.
This is that Moses : and how did you receive him ? He was
with the Church in the wilderness : with him was the Angel of the
Divine Presence : to him were delivered those living oracles by which
God communicated with His people : how did you treat him ?
Again and again you thrust him from you, and in your hearts
turned back again into Egypt : little did you think then of that
jileasant land which you would now make the whole of your
inheritance and of your hope : yea, in the very wilderness you
committed idolatry, and drew down upon you, before you entered
Canaan, tlie threat of a second exile, of a national dispersion.
You charge me with blasphemy against the Temple. What have
I said of it? I have said, it may be, that the Temple was no more

LIVING ORACLES. 141
God's first or God's last dwellingplace below, than the Dispensation
of Moses was either God's earliest or God's latest revelation. I have
said that before the Temple was a Tabernacle ; a Tabernacle
fashioned wider Divine direction; and exhibiting in solemn type
realities which have their place in heaven. That was the centre of
the Divine presence with Israel at the time when Joshua conquered,
and through all the generations from Joshua to David. Does that
consist with the idolatry of this Temple, as though without it God's
presence would be imp>ossible ? Nay, have not your own Prophets
declared that no temple made with hands can contain or enclose
God ? that heaven is His throne and earth is His footstool, and
the very house which you build for Him already His handywork ?
But with what hope can I urge upon you suggestions of reason
or arguments of revelation ? There is in you a tradition of
resistance to the divine and the spiritual. Ye do always resist the
Holy Ghost : as your fathers did, so do ye. As they did to the
servants, so have ye done to tlie Master : they slew the heralds of the
Just One, and ye have been now His betrayers and murderers. 0
blessed and privileged — knew ye but your happiness — above all
nations ! possessors of a Law, in the promulgation of which on
Mount Sinai the very principalities and powers in heavenly places
exercised a solemn and terrific office I and yet not keeping it ;
trifling ever with God's day of visitation, until at last your house
is left unto you desolate !
Thus far I have sought to trace for you the order of St
Stephen's defence ; supplying here and there a link of thought
perhaps intentionally left obscure, and passing lightly over many
details, both of history and of argument, which seemed less than
essential to its understanding as a whole. I trust there may be
those amongst us whose reverence for God's Word may be
heightened or quickened by our present study of one of its parts.
And now, before we pass to our conclusion, I will address one
earnest word to persons who may have noticed with anxiety in
this chapter, or who may have heard it noticed by others in a
tone of cavil or disbelief, that in one or two minor points the
account here given of the Jewish history seems to vary from that

142 LIVING ORACLES.
contained in the narrative of the Old Testament. For example,
the history in the book of Genesis tells us that the buryingplace
bought by Abraham was in Mamre or Hebron, not at Sychem ;
and that it was bought by him of Ephron the Hittite, Jacob (not
Abraham) being the purchaser of the ground at Shechem of the
sons of Hamor, Shechem's father. My friends, can you really
suppose that a difference of this nature has anything to do, this
way or that, with the substantial truth of the Gospel Revelation?
I declare to you that I would not waste the time in endeavouring
(if I were able) to reconcile such a variance. It is to be regretted
that Christian persons, in their zeal for the literal accuracy of our
Holy Book, have spoken and written as if they thought that
anything could possibly depend upon such a question. We
all know how easy it is to get two witnesses in a court of justice
to give their stories of an occurrence in the same words : we all
know also how instant is the suspicion of falsehood which that
formal coincidence of statement brings upon them. Holy Scrip
ture shows what I may indeed call a noble superiority to all such
uniformity. Each book of our Bible is an independent witness ;
shown to be so, not least, by verbal or even actual differences on
some trifling points of detail. And they who drink most deeply
at the fountainhead of Divine Truth learn to estimate these
things in the same manner ; to feel what we might describe as a
lordly disdain for all infidel objections drawn from this sort of
petty, paltry, cavilling, carping, creeping criticism. Let our
faith at last, God helping us, be strong enough and decided
enough to override a few, or a multitude, of such objections.
We will hear them unmoved : we will fearlessly examine them :
if we cannot resolve them, then, in the power of a more majestic
principle, we will calmly turn from them and pass them by.
What we know not now, we may know hereafter ; and if we
never know, we will believe still.
For indeed the lively oracles of which the text speaks to us
were given for other purposes than that of a, merely intellectual
satisfaction. What St Stephen says of the Law or of the books
of Moses, what St Paul says of the Old Testament Scriptures

LIVING ORACLES. 143
in general, we shall all be prepared to claim as the description
of our two Testaments, and of that Holy Bible which contains
them both. That Book, as a whole, is our oracle : in it are
comprised the living oracles, the oracles of God.
An oracle is the answer of a God. In days of old, days of
heathen superstition, men went with their difficulties to obtain
an answer at some recognized utterance-place of their God. If a
man was going to undertake an enterprise of any kind, if a king
was about to make war upon another king, if a private person
was at a loss upon any subject of domestic concern, he went,
as it was said, to consult an oracle ;' to ask for an inspired
direction whether he should go or not go, whether he should act
or whether he should forbear. These days are past. It was a
natural wish — one which we have all felt a thousand times — to
have some finger-post erected for us at one of the ambiguous
turning-points of life, saying, This is the way, not that : this is
the path of safety ; this is the way of duty : take this road, and
thou shalt be safe ; take not this, and thou shalt do well. In
days of oracular responses, the answer was so framed, by the
craft and fraud of priests, that, whichever way the event shaped
itself, the answer could scarcely be found wanting : all was
ambiguity, all was double-tongued : the credit of the oracle, not
the welfare of the consultor, was the thing aimed at and guarded.
Now tlie oracles are dumb : men found them out, and a more
excellent way was opened.
The Bible is God's oracle. It is a living oracle, not a dumb
or dead one. It has a voice for every man in every circumstance.
Men gather round it day by day from East and West, men of
diverse race and lineage and speech, of various tastes and habits
and circumstances; and to each one it speaks audibly ; to each
one it speaks individually, and it speaks decisively. All our
difficulties, all our perplexities, all our intricate and secret dis
tresses, we may bring them to the Bible, and we shall find our
way. But how does it do this ? Are we, like the superstitious of
other days, to open our Bible at random, and take the first verse

144 LIVING ORACLES.
which meets us as our guide ? Or is one who has neglected his
Bible through long clays of prosperity, to read it for the first time
in his trouble, and be sure of a clear and loud response ? God
cares more for us than to give us this sort of ready-made indolent
direction. The oracle itself is vocal only to the wise ; only, that
is, to those who daily visit it, and seek to frame life and speech,
thought and action, habitually by its rule. If a man complains
that he gets no good from his Bible, depend upon it, that man
does not read it ; does not read it regularly, or does not read it
upon his knees. It is by visiting our oracle daily, even as we
daily need guidance ; it is by coming to it as to God's presence,
not superstitiously indeed, but reverently and devoutly ; it is by
living much in that heavenly atmosphere, becoming used to it so
that its tone and its air shall be ours, its mode of judging of men
and things familiar and at last habitual to us; it is by so reading
God's Word as that what it reveals it reveals to us, and what it
enjoins it enjoins upon us, and what it promises it promises to us;
it is in this way that the dead page starts into life, and the black
ink into a voice, and the written word into a quickening spirit, so
that at last its principles are our principles, and its judgments
our judgments, and its ways of thinking (which are God's ways)
ours : and then insensibly we begin to view each particular
occurrence as God views it, and to hear each call of duty as God
utters it : the things that are seen shrink into their due dimen
sions beside things that are not seen, and time becomes as
nothing in the light of eternity, and misfortune which has
chastened is honestly felt to have been a blessing, and disap
pointment which makes earth blank makes heaven bright to us :
and on the other hand, sin which has brought its pleasures is
looked upon as a twofold evil, and duty which has had its
hardships is welcomed as a double good : and then at length the
soul which has learned God's language is fitted to converse with
Gocl, and the life which has been transformed is ready to be
transplanted, and a well-known voice is heard saying, Come up
hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.
God grant, my brethren, to each one of us, so to use this

LIVING ORACLES. 145
treasure which is in our hands, whether hitherto shut or open,
that we may find it vocal to us in His name. And to those who
have it not, or who use it not, or from ignorance cannot use, ye,
who have freely received, as freely give. That so, in God's good
time, we may be a people fearing Him and working righteousness ;
a Church and a Nation to which the promise has at length been
verified, / will dwell in them and walk in them, and they shall be
my people, and I will be their God.

10

LECTURE XV.
THE FIRST MARTYRDOM.
Acts vii. 60.
And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
The subject which lies now before us is the record of a martyr
dom; the violent and suffering end of the first Christian man who
was called to give his life for the testimony of Jesus.
As they heard these things, they were cut to the heart — sawn
asunder in their hearts is the exact expression — and they gnaslied
(or ground) their teeth against (upon, or at) him. But being full
of the Holy Ghost — and the word used implies not that he became
so for once, but that he was already and habitually so — heflxed
a stedfast gaze upon the heaven, and saw a glory of God, a bright
light such as that which in the tabernacle of old betokened God's
immediate presence, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.
And he said, Lo, I behold the heavens opened asunder, and the Son
of Man standing on the right hand of God. And they cried with
a loud voice, and stopped their ears, that they might escape the
sound which they deemed blasphemy, and rushed with one accord
upon him, and having cast him out without the city tliey proceeded
to stone him. And the witnesses, those of whom we read in the
6th chapter as suborned to charge him with blasphemy, laid
aside their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul.
It was the rule of the Law of Moses, At the mouth of two

THE FIRST MARTYRDOM. 147
witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put
to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put
him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. And so
in this case the letter of the Law was strictly kept, while its spirit
was so cruelly outraged.
The exertion of stoning required that the loose outer garment
should be .thrown off; and in this instance it is specially recorded,
for the instruction of the Church of all time, that the person who
took charge of the clothes of the witnesses, during this terrible
execution, and thus proved himself to be the partisan and abettor
of the deed, was a young man named Saul ; now first mentioned
in the sacred story, but destined to fill afterwards its largest and
most illustrious page, under the new name and in the new cha
racter of the blessed and holy Apostle St Paul.
And they stoned Stephen — it was a long and dreadful process,
and they went through with it ; first the witnesses, and then the
excited and infuriated crowd — while he called upon — the word
God, you observe, which follows in our Version, is not in the
original ; and the remainder of the sentence bids us rather to
supply the name of our Lord Jesus — while he called upon (invoked)
and said, Lord Jesus receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, in
the midst of that cruel hail of missiles under which his life was
gradually sinking, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, weigh not to
them, place not in the scales against them, this sin. And having
said this, he fell asleep.
God give us grace to lay to heart some of these touching and
solemn lessons.
i. We are called to notice one effect of Divine truth upon
sinful men. We are apt to suppose that, where truth does not
save, it does nothing. We are in the habit, ourselves, too often,
of listening to God's Word with the outward oar, without giving
it any entrance. In this manner many of us have heard, I dare
say, a thousand Sermons in the last ten years, of which not only
We retain no impression, but we never received any. The preacher
might gather hope from hearing that a Sermon had made one of
his audience angry. There are those whom God's truth faithfully
10—2

148 THE FIRST MARTYRDOM.
spoken ought to make angry. Those whom it does not instruct
it ought to irritate. This torpid lifeless acquiescence, which is
the common spirit of hearing, is a terrible sign, when we compare
the hearing with the living. It was not so always. When an
Apostle preached, some were converted, and the rest were angered.
That was because there was a reality in the message. It came
home. It could not be quietly stowed away amongst other neg
lected lumber in the memory or in the conscience. It was felt to
have a life in it, and, where it did not quicken, it stung.
Observe the strength of the expression here used in describing
the effect of Stephen's defence upon his accusers and his judges.
They were cut to the heart. But it is even more than this : they
were sawn asunder in their hearts. In the list of martyrdoms
recorded in the i ith chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, this
phrase occurs ; tliey were sawn asunder. It was one horrible kind
of martyrdom to which saints of old were subjected. But here
the martyr himself is said thus to torture his hearers. As tliey
heard, they were sawn asunder in their hearts. It is just the
description of the effect of the ministry of the two witnesses in
the figurative language of the nth chapter of the Revelation of
St John. They that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them,
when they are at last slain, and make merry, and shall send gifts
one to another ; because these two prophets tormented them that
dwelt on the earth. The word of God spoken by their lips had
been as fire and sword in the hearts of the unbelieving. They
were sawn asunder in their hearts, and they ground their teeth at
him in their fury. Wherever else in Holy Scripture this figure
occurs, the grinding or gnashing of the teeth for pain and rage,
it is in connection with the future punishment of the wicked.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is as though the
very torment of hell were begun on earth beneath the faithful
and powerful ministry of the Divine Word. There is gnashing
of teeth at it already.
And is that the word which we hear, which we preach ? O it
is a grave question both for us and you ! Well do you know that
this is not the effect which the minister would desire, in this

THE FIRST MARTYRDOM. 149
beloved congregation, for the word spoken. Not this : the very
opposite of this. But only we would pray God that the effect be
not nothing ; powerful neither way ; merely negative, merely
nugatory, merely soporific. If we cannot see fruits of life, we
would rather see anything come of it than nothing. But, to do
this, the word must be first true, and next it must be brought
home. The mere proclamation of sin and salvation, in general
terms, will not anger any man ; neither perhaps, in these days,
will it arouse any man. We must pray for grace to speak as
St Stephen did, plainly, sometimes severely, always without
regard to prepossessions and prejudices, be they ever so universal
or ever so inveterate ; to tell, as he did, of that hardness of heart
which is ever resisting the Holy Ghost ; of that coming demolition
of all human hopes and human trusts, which will try every man's
work, as by fire, of what sort it is; and more especially of that
spiritual worship, and that spiritual life, which alone Gocl, who
is Spirit, can accept or bless, when He comes, year . after year,
seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and alas, too often, too often,
finding none.
2. There is one figure, more especially, in this motley throng,
on which the eye must dwell for a moment before we fix every
thought on the central form itself. That young man whose name
is Saul ; an educated, reflecting, moral man ; familiar with God's
Law and God's Word from his childhood ; living already, living
habitually, as he afterwards tells us, in all good conscience
towards God and man ; and yet an unbeliever in Jesus ; and
yet a hater of the light ; and yet a persecutor of the saints : what
a study is he for the thoughtful ; what a warning, in one sense,
to the religious. You see what the force of prejudice is ; what
the strength of early habit, of long association, of general opinion
in the particular world (great or small) which is our world. Even
conscience, you perceive, is not an infallible guide : conscience
itself may be culpably unenlightened ; left by our own fault
uninformed as to things true, as to facts and occurrences which
should change the whole course of our being : and if this is so,
then we may walk each day by the light of conscience, and yet

150 THE FIRST MARTYRDOM.
be all the time a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious ; a waster
of the true Church of God ; and have to speak, in after life, if a
total change should have been vouchsafed to us, of sinners of
whom I am chief. Saul, the moral, the conscientious ; the diligent
student, the scrupulous worshipper ; was consenting at this time
to the death of Stephen, and keeping the raiment of tliem that slew
him. Let us all pray, as for a clear, so also for an enlightened
conscience. Can we not enter into the feeling with which
Paul the Apostle, looking back upon the earlier life of Saul the
persecutor, prayed for his converts, that they might prove things
that differ, and approve things that are excellent; that they might
be filled with the knowledge of God's will, in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding, that so they might walk worthy of the
Lord, unto all pleasing ? For lack of this he was still fighting
against that God whom he daily worshipped and daily sought to
serve. 3. And now let us devote the moments which remain, to the
contemplation of that saint and servant of the Lord whose cruel
yet glorious end is here set before us. Let us strive so to enter
into his faith and hope and charity, that we may all follow him,
in life and in death, even as he first followed Christ.
His testimony is now all but ended. But one chapter before,
we heard of him for the first time, as a man full of faith and of
the Holy Ghost, full of grace and power, set apart, by the choice of
the congregation, and by the laying on of the Apostles' hands, to
a humble but blessed office in the ministry of the infant Church
of Christ. We know not how long he laboured in that service ;
less, we are left to suppose, than one whole year : and yet those
few weeks or months, what a trace have they left behind them;
what a trace, and what a testimony. We seem already to see
something of the meaning of those words of St Peter, One day is
with the Lord as a thousand years. It is a great encouragement
to activity while it is called Today. There may be scarcely a
tomorrow for us below : then let today be vigorous. Put nothing
off that can be done for Christ. Complain, if you will, of the
shortness of your day, but never of its weariness. Think how

THE FIRST MARTYRDOM. 151
Stephen, just because he was full of grace and therefore full of
power, did great wonders and miracles among the people, though
his career was to be cut short as in a moment, by an end which
seemed to speak only of disappointment and of defeat.
That was the testimony of his life ; his brief Christian life,
and his humble Christian ministry ; in itself a mere serving of
tables to lighten the Apostles' toil. And now for his death : how
did he who had magnified Christ by life magnify Him also by
death, and both alike in his body ?
(i) First then, he never lost faith. He did not say to
himself, All these things are against me. He did not say to
himself, If Christ had designed to own my work, He would not
thus have cut it short. He did not say, If this be the manner in
which Christ's cause prospers below, how can I believe that He
Himself lives and reigns above? None of these things. Never
was his faith so strong, or his vision so unclouded, as in that last
clamorous riotous scene in which life itself was to be sacrificed.
While his enemies are rushing upon him with one accord, his eyes
are fixed stedfastly on heaven : he is rapt above earth and
earthly things, and privileged to behold in clear and bright vision
his beloved Master Himself standing in manifested glory at the
right hand of God. He sees Him, not seated in royal dignity,
but standing as in act to succour; and bears one last, one
crowning witness to His risen life, to His resistless power, to His
omnipresent grace. He said, Behold, I see tlie heavens opened,
and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.
(2) And then with what a hopefulness of mind, and with
what a quietness of spirit, does he address himself to this sudden,
this cruel, this shameful suffering. In the midst of the uproar
of angry voices, and of the flight of blinding stupefying crushing
stones, he has a majesty of meekness and a power of prayer not
given to others in seasons of tranquillity and of repose. All the
time, he is calling upon his Master, and saying, Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit. Not in the manner in which men use that
sacred name, of God or of Christ, as a mere expression of pain or
disquietude or weakness ; or in the ignorant ejaculations some-

152 THE FIRST MARTYRDOM.
times heard from a sinner's deathbed, when for the first time he
feels himself in the grasp of a mightier power, which must be
propitiated by abject invocation : not thus, but in the tone of
one who knows in whom he has believed, and is persuaded that He
is able to keep that deposit, which he has long ago committed to
Him, against the day of His appearing and His kingdom. Lord
Jesus — my Master, my Lord, my Ruler and my Possessor, already;
long known, long trusted in, and now not doubted ; Thou who
didst bear my nature, and undergo more than all my suffering ;
Thou who wast named Jesus at Thy birth below, in testimony
that Thou conldest save Thy people, first from the death of the
soul, and then also at last in and from the death of the body —
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Today let me be with Thee in
Paradise. Into Thy hands, as Thou once upon the cross into Thy
Father's, / commend my spirit, for Thou hast redeemed me, 0
Lord, Thou God of truth. And so shall I ever be with my Lord.
So then, my brethren, we may speak to Christ as to God.
Whatsoever we would ask of the Father, we may ask of Him.
And when we come to die, we may set before our mind's eye the
person of the Son of God and Son of Man, and be assured that in
leaning upon that arm of power, in trusting in that heart of love,
we are but following His direction and obeying His command
who would have all men honour the Son even as they honour the
Father. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
(3) And as we dwell upon the two other attributes, of faith
and hope, so may we notice, in the last place, the example here
given us of an exhaustless charity. As the end approaches ; as
the buffeted tortured mangled frame begins to totter to its
dissolution ; the dying martyr kneels down upon the blood
stained earth, and collects every energy of soul and body for
one last, one crowning act of worship. That posture with which
we allow any little excuse to interfere, that reverent bending of
the knee in God's worship, which many of us never practise even
in God's House, which few of us would practise in a season of
pain or sickness, he deemed the fittest attitude even for a dying
man : he would honour God with his body as well as with his

THE FIRST MARTYRDOM. 153
spirit : and then, with a loud voice, the last utterance below of
that testimony to which life had been devoted, he cries aloud, in
the hearing of his enemies themselves as they stand with uplifted
hands around, still thirsting for his blood, Lord, lay not this sin
to their charge. He prays not, as some have done, that the
murderers may find out their sin one day in punishment : he
prays not even that the blood shed this day may produce a speedy
and an abundant harvest : but he prays that that cruel deed
which is still running on to its accomplishment may never be
weighed in God's balances against the souls of its perpetrators.
Thus he prayed ; and in one case at least we know that his
prayer was heard and answered. There was one at least among
those murderers, to whom God afterwards granted the grace of
repentance unto life, and who now for many centuries has rested
with his victim, loved and loving, in the everlasting joys and the
perfect charities of heaven. The prayer of the dying, we may
well beHeve, is not the least but the most fruitful in legacies of
conversion and salvation to the living. O let us, in life and in
death, be diligent to use, one for another, the availing arm of
intercession. (4) And when he had said this, he fell asleep. What a word
to apply to a death so violent and so suffering. He fell asleep.
He was laid to rest. He was lulled to slumber. The word itself
is enough to take the sting from death. If that is all that death
is to the Christian, surely we may fear it too much. But, alas,
the use of a word is not enough to deprive the king of terrors of
his power to harm. We have all caught this tone about death.
We speak indiscriminately of men going to their rest. Our word
cemetery is borrowed from the same Greek term which is here
employed to .express the death of Stephen, and means literally a
sleeping-place, a place of slumber and of repose. And yet dare
we hope that all who are laid in that burial-ground are indeed
sleeping in Jesus ? Is that the hope which truly comforts every
mourner, as he turns away from the grave in which his buried
treasure lies ?
The case of St Stephen himself may assure us that no circum-

154 THE FIRST MARTYRDOM.
stances of death can prevent its being this to a Christian. No
anguish of pain, no confusion of surrounding sights and sounds,
no mocking taunts and no assailing hands. It matters not
whether the cause of death be disease or accident, the weapon of
war or the stroke of the executioner. It matters not whether the
scene of death be the house or the road-side, the field of battle or
the desolate prison-house. These things do not either make or
mar the true cemetery, the true sleeping-place of the Christian.
When St Stephen at last breathed out his soul from a bruised
and disfigured and mangled body, amidst shouts of execration
and hands raised in murder, it is written of him in the words
now before us, that he fell asleep.
Now it is a profitable question for our last this evening, For
whom is death a sleep ? Who amongst us can look forward to an
end thus described? Let us ask the question, each one of
himself, and also answer it, while to do so may still be salutary
and not terrifying. There are three conditions of such a death.
i. It must be a rest from labour.
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord : Even so, saith the
Spirit; for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow
them. An idle desultory self-indulgent life has earned no rest.
Night may come to such a life ; but not the sweet sleep of the
diligent, not the profound dreamless repose of the healthily
wearied labourer.
Again, a rest from what labour ? Not from common worldly
occupations, such as have their reward (if anywhere) here, and
have nothing stored up for them in the world unseen. Not from
the eager pursuit of riches or pleasures or honours, which,
whether found or not found, are at least bounded and limited by
the horizon of earth. Not from these labours does he rest in
death, who, like the blessed saint before us, then falls asleep.
He who would rest in Christ must first have wrought in Christ.
It is Christ's labourer, not the world's, who, when he dies, falls
asleep. Now therefore are we, in the present, working for
Christ? Is He daily called in to bless our toil? remembered
each morning at the outset of toil, as the alone Guardian and

THE FIRST MARTYRDOM. 155
Guide and Lord ? remembered each day in the midst of toil, as
its sustainer, its object, and its sanctifier? remembered each
night at the close of toil, as its alone end and rest and exceeding
great reward? If this be so, day by day; if this principle be
thoroughly acted upon, in what it prompts and in what it
precludes, through the days of health and activity ; then indeed
we may hope, when we die, not to perish, but to fall asleep.
ii. Again, it must be a rest with Christ.
When St Paul thought or spoke of dying, it was always in
this connection. / have a desire to depart, and to be with Christ,
which is far better. While we are at home in the body, we are
absent from the Lord. We are willing rather to be absent from the
body, and (as a necessary consequence) to be present with the Lord.
He who falls asleep in death must go, consciously and believingly,
to be for ever with the Lord. Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt
thou be with me in Paradise.
iii. Finally, it is a condition of sleep that it be a rest unto
rising. The chief reason for its being a name of death is, that the
Christian's death implies and involves a resurrection. Jesus and
the resurrection was the sum of St Paul's doctrine. The hope of
Israel he called it ; the hope of the promise made of God unto the
fathers. A sleep not to be again broken is death, not sleep. A
sleep only to be broken by terrific suffering is no sleep : it is a
frightful dream, a horrible nightmare. Such is the death of the
wicked ; of him who through life has kept and loved his sins, and
dies to give account to Him who is the Judge of quick and dead.
God keep us all from such a life, and from such an end. May
He give us rather such a deathbed as we have seen erenow in
the exercise of our ministry ; a protracted season, it may be,
of acute bodily torture which rests not night nor day, yet, withal,
of so sweet a peace, of so deep a joy, of so overflowing a thank
fulness, that to enter that chamber is to lift the latch, for a
moment, of the very gate of heaven, and to hear by anticipation
the echoes of that world, in which the work of praise is the
enjoyment of the blessed, and in which every tongue has learned

156 THE FIRST MARTYRDOM.
the new song, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and
blessing. Of that man, when he dies, the words will indeed be
verified, He served his generation by the will of God, and then fell
on sleep. When he had said this, he fell asleep. Which one of us
shall not answer — God grant that it be truly said of each one of
us when our great change comes — Lord, if he sleep), he shall do
well ?

LECTURE XVI.
GOSPEL JOY.
Acts viii. 8.
And there was great joy in that city.
The servants of Gocl live though they die. And this, not only in
reference to that world which they then first enter ; but also in
reference to this world which they then finally quit. What is
said of one of these, is true more or less of all, He, being dead,
yet speaketh. It was so with that remarkable man whose life and death
have occupied us on three late occasions. The passage before us
illustrates the old saying, that 'the blood of the martyrs is the'
seed of the Church.' Stephen, after that unjust accusation, that
bold defence, and that cruel execution, of which we have been
reading, is not yet done with : that sacred stream did but water
the soil on which it was poured, and a tenfold harvest of good
soon waved and whitened, ripened and was gathered, on the
ground now wet with that blood which was his life.
The first words indeed of this 8th chapter tell of nothing but
calamity to the young Church of Christ. But calamity itself, in
God's hand, may be anything rather than an unmixed evil : and
so it was here.
And Saul was consenting to his slaughter. He uses the same
word himself, in the 22nd chapter of this book, in converse with
his Lord and Master, with reference to this very time. When

158 GOSPEL JOY.
the blood of Thy martyr Stephen was being shed, I also myself
was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of
those who were slaying him. It is a very strong word, expres
sive of hearty approval and thorough sympathy. It is the word
by which the same Apostle describes the worst sign of all in the
heathen world in its lowest degradation ; who, knowing well
the sentence of God, that they who do such things are worthy of
death, not only do them, but even consent unto (have pleasure in)
them that do them. In this sense it is written here, that Saul was
consenting unto (taking pleasure in) the murder of the holy Stephen.
What he saw of his fervent faith, his deep piety, and his mar
vellous love, produced at the time no impression. Hard indeed
is man's heart till God softens it. And marvellous is the change
which God can work and does work in the hardest heart, when
He is pleased to command the light to shine out of darkness.
That time, for Saul, was not yet.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the*,
Christian congregation in Jerusalem. This first taste of blood
only whetted the appetite of the persecutors. That day was the
beginning of a changed order of things for the infant Church.
Hitherto there had been no general feeling against it on the part
of the people. The very rulers had had to think twice before
they lifted a hand against the Apostles. But human nature, as
it acts in masses, is a very capricious thing : with Christ Himself
it had been, in that selfsame populace, Hosanna now, tomorrow
Crucify : and as with the Lord, so was it to be in all things with
His servants. The martyrdom of Stephen was the signal for a
general persecution.
And they all were dispersed tlvroughout the regions of Judea and
Samaria ; and further still, as we shall presently learn ; except tlie
Apostles. They remained for the present at head-quarters, to be
the central authority, the general referees, and the wise and
watchful counsellors, of the whole body.
And devout men buried Stephen, and made a great lamentation
(wailing) over him. This word devout is applied in St Luke's
Gospel to the aged Simeon. The same man was just and devout.

GOSPEL JOY. 159
It is applied, in the narrative of the day of Pentecost, to the
persons who were gathered together by the rumour of the great
miracle. There were, dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men,
out of every nation under heaven. The same term is used in the
Epistle to the Hebrews, in reference to our Lord Himself praying
in His agony in the garden of Gethsemane ; He was lieard in that
He feared; heard, as it might more exactly be rendered, from
(in consequence of) His devoutness. There is no reason therefore
for restricting it here, as some would do, to Jewish proselytes not
yet converted to the Gospel; though it might well be that, as
Stephen appears (from his name, as well as from circumstances
attending his appointment in the 6th chapter) to have belonged
to the Hellenistic rather than the Hebrew portion of the Church,
so the task of doing honour to his lifeless body may have been
undertaken by persons of the same section ; that, namely, which
was composed of Greek-speaking Jews, and not of Jews who had
adhered to their national home and tongue.
We love to believe, at all events, that these devout men were
believers, like him whom they mourned ; and that we see here the
sanction of Apostolical times given to that mourning over deceased
friends, which nature prompts and which grace should only
regulate and soften. There are Christian tears over the dead,
as well as tears of uncontrolled passion : there is a sorrowing as
without hope, and there is a sorrowing full of hope, a sorrowing
bright with immortality.
The sacred record will not let us forget Saul. Soon he is to
become its chief topic : and it is as though the force of that
contrast must be heightened by every just aggravation of his
previous condition and character. While the lamentations of
the devout are still resounding over the humble grave of St
Stephen, Saul was the chief actor in a widely different scene.
But Saul was making havoc of the congregation; was maltreating
and outraging, by all manner of violence, the members of the
Christian Church at Jerusalem; entering into their several houses;
and dragging (away) both men and women gave them over into
custody. There was no pretence of legality in such proceedings :

160 GOSPEL JOY.
but he had the rulers with him in this mad career, and could rely
confidently upon their connivance. We can never read these
narratives of the persecutions of other days, without asking
ourselves with all seriousness, (i) whether, if the profession of
the Gospel- involved such consequences for us, we can at all
imagine ourselves maintaining our constancy as Christ's disciples ;
and (2) whether we ever remember to give God thanks for secur
ing to us of this land and age the peaceful exercise of our
religion ; for so ordering by His Providence the course of tins
world, that His Church now may joyfully serve Him in all godly
quietness, no man forbidding them.
And now we are to see a Divine hand overruling for good
all this suffering.
They then that were dispersed went about proclaiming the glad
tidings of the word. The word is God's message ; the announce
ment which God makes when, as in these last days, He speaks to
us in His Son. And this word is described as a Gospel: those
who proclaim it proclaim glad tidings. Is that our idea of
preaching and of hearing ? Do we speak and do we listen, as if
that which is being said were, as it ought to be, something not
only true, not only important, but attractive and joyful too 1
For a short time now the attention is to be directed to a
new actor.
And Philip came down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed to
them the Christ. This is not Philip the Apostle, but that Philip
who (together with Stephen) was one of the seven men chosen in
the 6th chapter to assist the Apostles in the daily distribution.
At a later time, in the 21st chapter, he is described as Philip the
evangelist, who was one of the seven. He came down, from
Jerusalem the capital, to the (or, according to another reading
of the sacred text, to a) city of Samaria ; and there began to
proclaim to them, as with the voice of a herald, summoning
men to the Christian race and the Christian prize — such is the
force of the original expression — began to act as the herald to
them, not of a mere doctrine or a historical fact, but of a Person ¦
even of Him, whose coming was the one hope of the world, the

GOSPEL JOY. 161
Messiah or Christ, the anointed Prophet and Priest and King of
Israel and of the world. That was his subject. He preached
Christ unto them.
And not without success. And the multitudes, who formed
the population of the city, attended to the things spoken by
Philip, with one accord, as they heard his words and saw the
signs which he did. As it is said of the first convert at Philippi
some years afterwards, when Paul was the preacher, the Lord
opened their hearts, that they attended to those things which were
spoken. It was not a mere assertion to which they listened.
Not in word only, but also in power and in demonstration of the
Spirit, did Philip speak now, as Paul afterwards. The people
not only heard his word, but they saw the signs which he did.
For many of those who had unclean sp>irits — the sentence is
broken — they (the unclean spirits) crying with a loud voice, in
token of reluctance and of compulsion, came out : and many para
lyzed arid lame persons ivere healed. Thus Gocl gave testimony in
this new place to the word of life. Persons tortured by the actual
possession of evil spirits, were delivered from them in virtue of
that voice which used the all-availing name of Christ. Sitting at
the feet of their deliverer, clothed and in their right mind, they
became witnesses to all men of the presence of His grace before
whom the devils themselves tremble. And bodily cures also, in
the form of deliverances from lameness and from paralysis,
accompanied the other ; that the very senses of men might be
able to attest the reality of the Divine working.
And there arose much joy in that city.
Now let us gather up the chief topics of these few words.
i. It is the will of God to propagate His Son's Gospel. It
is His intention that it should spread ; and in all ways, through
circumstances adverse to it or favourable, He gives it free
course. Sometimes it is by opening the commerce of nations,
so that the messengers of salvation may occupy new fields, and
(in a larger sense than before) sow beside all waters. Sometimes
it is by suffering a shortlived triumph to the enemies of the
truth ; so that some spark from a martyr's pile may kindle a
V. 11

162 GOSPEL JOY.
fire, in a land or in a heart, which by God's grace shall never
be put out. It has been thus in all times. And great as has
been the effect of the protection and patronage of kings and
queens as the nursing fathers and mothers of the Church below,
we may boldly say that it has been as nothing, in the long run,
in comparison with that constancy of faith even unto death, of
which all great epochs of the Church have furnished examples,
even as the history of St Stephen himself was its first and most
memorable instance. They who were dispersed abroad, in tlie
persecution which arose about Stephen, went everywhere preaching
the word. And by degrees the story of his life and of his death
became incorporated in the word which they preached ; and men
were emboldened by that great example to look up to heaven in
their own sufferings for the truth, and by faith to see that
heaven opened, and Jesus Himself standing at the right hand
of God. This was all that remained of the effects of the first
Christian persecution ; an added testimony, a wider circulation,
and a more decided devotion.
Though we a.re not called, in these quiet times, to give our
bodies to be burned for the testimony of the truth, yet we are
called every one of us to assist in propagating the Gospel, not
only by such offerings of gold and silver as are from time to time
asked of us in that behalf, but even more, by so living and so
dying as that others may take knowledge of us that we believe
that which we profess, and love that which we believe. This is
the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us. It is His will to
propagate His Son's Gospel, from land to land, and not less from
heart to heart.
2. But what is this Gospel ? It is described in two expres
sions. (i) First it is called the word. They went everywhere preacli-
ing the word. What is a word ? It is the utterance of a mind.
It is the communication of something first conceived. It is the
expression of thought, of intention, of purpose, of determination.
In its simplest and most general definition, it is, reason communi
cating itself. Do we indeed believe that the Gospel is this ? the

GOSPEL JOY. 163
expression of God's mind concerning us? the communication of
His will, of His purpose, of His thought, so far as it affects us
His human creation ? It is a grand and glorious view which is
thus opened. God has spoken ; spoken concerning us, and spoken
to us. That silence which had lasted from Creation is at length
broken. That mystery which for ages and generations had enve
loped the ulterior designs of the Almighty Creator touching His
rebellious creatures is at last revealed, unveiled, disclosed, laid
open. God has spoken ; and what He has spoken is a Word.
He has announced to us the forgiveness of sins through a Medi
ator and a Sacrifice. He has announced to us the sanctification
of sinners, their recreation in His own lost image, by means of
an indwelling Holy Spirit, Himself Gocl and from Gocl. He has
announced to us that prayer, which is only speaking to Him in
the heart, is the one connecting link between us and these two
unspeakable gifts. And He has announced to us that it is His
intention, when the fulness of the time shall come, to raise the
dead and to change the living, so that the one and the other may
be capable of an immortal existence, the character of which, for
happiness or misery, will depend upon the mind here formed in
us, and the life here led by us, as individual beings, capable of
choice, and responsible for making it. These things are amongst
the disclosures embodied in that word, or message, or com
munication from God, which these dispersed disciples preached
throughout Judea and Samaria, and which we, if we be faithful
to our commission, are preaching still and still hearing.
(2) But, as they preached the word, so Philip preached Christ.
He went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ
unto them. There was no contrariety, no difference, between the
two Gospels. Christ is the Word. In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus Christ is so designated because He is the utterer, the
communicator, the Revealer of Gocl. No man hath seen God at
any time: the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father, He hath declared Him. The Word is Christ. To preach
Christ, in His person, in His character, in His work ; in His
11—2

164 GOSPEL JOY.
example and in His atonement, and in His priesthood ; in His
two comings, and in His three comings ; His coming to bear the
sin of the world, His coming by the Spirit to the individual soul,
and His coming in glorious majesty to judge the quick and the
dead, and finally to establish His kingdom which is righteousness
and peace and joy ; this is to proclaim God's Word also, in its
simplicity, in its fulness, and in its strength.
Is this the Gospel which we preach ? Is this the Gospel
which ye have received and wherein ye stand ?
3. And now, thirdly, as to the credentials of this Gospel :
how is it proved ?
When we preach the Word, or (which is the same thing)
when we preach Christ, in a new place, or in one which has long
had the light of life, how do we establish it? To what do we
appeal as its basis of proof? No doubt we go back to the
evidences : we speak of God's triple seal, of goodness, wisdom,
and power, as set to the words and works below of Jesus Christ
our Lord. These arguments are never worn out : nor can it ever
be safe to disuse them, so long as one unbeliever remains, uncon
vinced and unconverted, amongst our people. But when our
Lord said, These signs shall follow them that believe, He taught us
to look for more than a mere historical proof, on which to build,
for practical purposes, the fabric of our demonstration. When
Philip preached in the city of Samaria, certain results followed :
evil spirits came out of many, palsied limbs regained strength,
and the lame man (in the language of ancient prophecy) leaped as
an hart. Thus he could appeal to effects, and say, Judge ye
whether a doctrine which brings with it these infallible signs, be
indeed of man or of God. We are in one sense less fortunate.
These visible tokens do not now attend our preaching. Not, as
we hope, from any fault in the message or (necessarily) in the
messenger, but of God's all-wise will, are these demonstrations of
His power now withheld. We ought not to want them : and if
we hear not Moses and the prophets, if we refuse the holy doctrine
of Christ and the Apostles, neither should we be influenced by
any outward sign ; neither should we be persuaded though one rose

GOSPEL JOY. 165
from the dead. These are not the signs for which we look and
would pray in our hearers. But a changed life, an altered spirit;
the leaving off of known sins, the correction of evil tempers, the
eradication of hurtful lusts ; the formation of Christian habits,
and the diligent use of Christ's ordinances ; the table of devils
deserted, and the Table of the Lord frequented by humble and
thronging worshippers ; these are the true proofs of the Gospel
Word in our days ; by these things other men take knowledge of
its power and of its virtue ; in them do unbelieving men read the
sure record of their condemnation, and the trembling fearful
conscience the assurance of a free forgiveness for all who will
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. God give us in this
place clearer signs, such as these, of the truth of the word
preached, and make that word more and more identical with the
proclamation of Christ Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the
Life. 4. Finally, the text itself tells us what ought to be the effect
of the proclamation, in any place, of the true and lively word.
There was great joy in that city. It is long, we may fear, since
in any whole place there was joy on account of the Gospel. One
here, and another there ; it is much if a long ministry shows fifty
or even ten souls really brought to peace, and so to joy, by means
of the preaching of the Word in any one Parish. We must go to
humbler things, if we would speak probably. Let me ask then
as to the individual soul, Which of you, my friends, knows what
joy is in things spiritual ? Which of you, in days of health and
prosperity, finds any portion of his happiness simply in Christ ?
Which of you, in days of sickness and disappointment, in days
when the lights of earth are darkened, does not find to his conster
nation that the light of heaven is gone out too? Not only in the
city therefore, but in the heart also, there is no real joy, not even
any real comfort, in the Word, in Christ. Joy is a very strong
word. It is the overflowing of happiness. It is the exuberance,
the redundancy, the efflorescence, of a comfort and a tranquillity
habitually felt within. O where is Christian joy in these hearts
of ours? such joy as that of which St Paul wrote, when he said,

166 GOSPEL JOY.
Rejoice in the Lord alway ; and again I say, Rejoice ? or St John,
These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full? or our
Lord Himself, These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy
might remain in you, and that your joy might be full ? Levity
there may be, and too much of it ; wit pungent or boisterous,
sporting sometimes even with holy things ; cheerful spirits in
some, domestic happiness in some, contentment and even thank
fulness in a few : but where amongst us is that grace of Christian
joy which seemed to flow so naturally, in other days, out of the
very first reception of the tidings of a Saviour ? He went on his
way rejoicing. There was great joy in that city. Behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Let us
pray, as for the first elements and rudiments of a true Christian
faith, so also for its clevelopement in us, and for its perfection ;
its perfection in a sober, a chastened, yet an abiding joy ; in a
happiness not only felt within, but expressed in every look and in
every step and in every word without. Such joy lies nearer to
any one of us than we imagine : sin forgiven, an evil spirit
expelled ; the atonement believed in, embraced, lived upon ;
the Holy Spirit sought, cherished, rested in for strength and
grace ; it is the natural effect of these things to inspire joy also :
ask of God the power to grasp them as realities, and joy will
enter with them ; a joy not of this world, a joy the very foretaste
of heaven.

LECTURE XVII.
THE SIN OF SIMON.
Acts viii. 22.
Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if
perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
In God's hand, we have seen, all things work for good. Pros
perity and adversity, honour and dishonour, life and death, all
alike serve Him.
If persecution springs out of martyrdom, still His overruling
hand can make both the one and the other a help to the Gospel
and a testimony to the truth. They that were scattered abroad
upon the persecution that arose about Stephen went everywhere
preaching the word.
Samaria was the first field thus opened. Philip the evangelist,
one of the seven, went down thither and proclaimed Christ to
them. We have heard what his message was, how supported,
and by what signs followed. Diseases of body and diseases of
soul fled, as ever, at the healing word of Christ. And there was
great joy in that city.
Now we are to see the Gospel in one of its conflicts ; one of
those unexpected and insidious attacks, which try most severely
the strength of the truth, but out of which God's overruling hand
ever brings victory for those who trust in Him and fear not.
But a certain man, by name Simon, was already in the

168 THE SIN OF SIMON.
city practising sorcery, and astounding the nation of Samaria,
saying that he himself was some great one ; to whom they attended
— it is the same word used in the 6th verse with reference to the
effect of Philip's preaching, the people with one accord gave heed
(or attended) to those things which Philip spake — -from small to
great, all ranks and all ages alike, saying, This man is that power
of God which is called great. If we may believe the fragments of
information which we have concerning this Simon, he seems to
have given himself out as an incarnation of the Almighty power
of God. And they attended to him, because for a long time he had
astounded them by his sorceries. But when they believed Philip
announcing the glad tidings concerning the kingdom of God and
the name, the revealed character, of Jesus Christ, they were bap
tized, both men and women. They passed under a new and
mightier influence, and were unable to resist the call, He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
A strange result followed. And Simon himself also believed ,
and having been baptized he attended constantly upon Philip, he
remained stedfast in his attendance upon Philip's ministry — it is
the same expression which occurs in the 2nd chapter with regard
to the converts on the day of Pentecost, they attended constantly
upon the Apostles' doctrine (teaching) — and beholding signs and
great miracles, manifestations of power, taking place he was
astounded. Here was conviction, confession, attention, acqui
escence in loss of power and precedence, change of opinions,
change of habits : what lacked he yet ?
And the Apostles in Jerusalem — all were scattered abroad, the
1st verse of the chapter told us, except tlie Apostles, who remained
in Jerusalem, ready for any such emergency as now arose — on
hearing that Samaria had received the word of God, sent unto them
Peter and John, on a special mission of enquiry and action ; who
went down, from the capital, and prayed concerning them tliat they
might receive the Holy Spirit: for not even yet was He fallen upon
any one of them, but only they were already baptized into the name
of the Lord Jesus. They were already possessed of the elementary
grace of the Spirit ; they had repentance unto life ; they had faith

THE SIN OF SIMON. 169
in Christ, and the spirit of prayer ; but they had not yet received
the Pentecostal gift, with its higher and deeper indwelling, as
well as its outward manifestation in signs of power. Then laid
they tlieir hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Now let us observe the effect of this event upon one professed
member of the Church.
And when Simon saw that by means of the laying on of the
hands of the Apostles the Spirit was given — was being given, given
in one case after another — lie offered them money, saying, Give me
aho this authority, this which I see to be your peculiar endow
ment, that on whomsoever I may lay my hands he may receive the
Holy Spirit. He desired to purchase with money the Apostolical
power of communicating (instrumentally) the gifts of the Holy
Ghost. Thus was brought out, in a form not offensive only but
blasphemous, the mercenary spirit of the man. Money was his
god. He judged of others by himself ; sought to bribe the
Apostles to share their commission with him ; and indicated
by an infallible sign the gross earthliness of his whole conception
of the work and of the character of God.
But Peter said unto him, Thy money be with thee unto destruction
— away with thy money, thy mammon of unrighteousness, intrud
ing itself into the affairs of God and eternity ; may it perish, as
thou wilt except thou repent — because thou didst think to acquire
by means of money the gift of God. Thou hast not part nor lot,
neither share nor inheritance, in this word, in this matter in
question ; for thy heart is not straight, is not direct, straight
forward, upright, but crooked and insincere, before (in the sight
of) God. Repent therefore from — so as to turn away, to escape,
from — this thy wickedness, and pray tlie Lord, if then — if. as the
result of that prayer — the device of thy heart shall be dismissed
(forgiven) for thee : for I see that thou art unto (involved in) a
very gall of bitterness, a concentration and focus of bitterness ;
even of that state of sin, which, however it may regard itself, is
indeed an evil thing and bitter — and bond (fetter) of iniquity.
I see that thy case is one of deadly disease ; that thou canst not
deliver thy soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

170 THE SIN OF SIMON.
Thy only chance is prayer ; prayer for a free forgiveness, prayer
for a renewing Spirit.
And Simon answered and said, Pray ye — the ye is emphatic,
ye, not I—for me to the Lord, that nothing come upon me of the
things which ye have said.
They then, having protested (earnestly declared or asseverated)
and spoken the word of the Lord, set out on their return to Jeru
salem, and on their way evangelized (preached the glad tidings to)
many villages of the Samaritans.
i . On a general view of this passage, notice first the difference
between the Gospel miracles and those of a mere magician like
this Simon.
Power by itself is an ambiguous sign. There are other
powers in the world besides God's. Powers which have broken
loose from God. Powers which oppose God's. Powers which
God permits, for a time, for the trial of His people, and for the
overthrow of those who will not be His people. Such a power
was that exercised by this sorcerer. It came, we may say, by
itself ; as a disjointed isolated thing ; for the exaltation of a
creature ; to make beholders say, This man is the great power of
God. It did not come to attest anything. It did not come to
say, I have a message for you from God ; and if you ask how you
are to know that it is from God, this is the sign. That is the true
use of power, in connection with Divine truth. It ought to come
as the third part of God's triple seal : first goodness, then wisdom,
then power. That was the use which Jesus Christ made of power.
He did not come to startle men into acknowledging Him as the
great power of God : His work did not begin there, nor end there.
He began by showing forth in daily life a perfect holiness; an
entire self-control and self-devotion ; a spotless unimpeachable
righteousness of act and word. He fulfilled every relation, He
endured every trial, of human life, as no mere man ever did or ever
could fulfil or endure each. He drew from his very enemies the
confession, Never man spake like this man. And then, along with
these two (we may presume to say) higher and more unequivocal
signs, He also wrought miracles of power ; healed disease with a

THE SIN OF SIMON. 171
word, stilled wind and wave at His pleasure, cast out devils,
raised the dead. At last, He raised Himself from the dead.
Now this has never been the order of an impostor. He may
astound men, like Simon, by his sorceries ; he may avail himself
of Satan's strength, and in that strength do many wonderful
works: but you may be quite sure that he will never use the
power of Satan to overthrow Satan's kingdom : nor can he gain
from all the powers of darkness skill to clothe himself in the
armour of light. He may bewitch men with sorceries : but he will
never succeed in counterfeiting those other parts of God's seal,
which the truly candid and the truly wise will wait for before they
call either him or his the great power of God.
We are all in danger of too much worshipping power. Money
is power, and talent is power, and rank is power, and office is
power, and knowledge (above all) is power. But all these things
are of the earth, and will perish with the earth. Be not ye led
astray. Power-worship is too often devil-worship : this Simon,
with all his show, was a creature grovelling and crawling and
creeping among things of time and sense. Let the power you
worship be all God's power. You will know it by its signs. You
will know it by its pointing upward; by its drawing you towards
holiness, towards good, towards charity, towards heaven, towards
God ; you will know it by its making the unseen world real to
you, and the world of show and semblance less attractive. That
is the effect of God's power, as it is reflected even in the poor
imperfect characters of His children below : how much more, as
it shines in the Holy Book, or streams upon us from the mercy-
seat above in the face of Jesus Christ.
2. Again, we must recognize in this narrative what we are
all slow to acquiesce in, the existence amongst us, by Christ's
intention, of a Visible as well as an Invisible Church.
We see how men fight against this truth. We have all heard
of Christian people endeavouring to make for themselves a circle
within a circle, a, Church within a Church ; a little community,
inside the great Church of the baptized and professing Christians,
which shall be all sincere, all consistent, all holy, all saved. That

172 THE SIN OF SIMON.
has been the origin of most sects in the Church : men have been
weary of the formality and hypocrisy and heartlessness which had
taken possession of the visible fold below, and have sought to go
apart with a few, of whose consistency and devotion they could
be assured. And men will scoff at our Church of England, as
having held to the belief that the time for judging is not yet, and
the test of judgment in God's hand not ours. If we bury a
careless, worldly, or sinful man with words of hope and blessing,
because he has never been cast out of the Church by a formal
sentence, and must therefore be construed as still belonging to it,
however unworthy ; you know the outcry which is raised against
us by many who ought, we think, to know better ; ought, we
think, to remember that even in the first days of the Gospel there
was a Simon Magus baptized by Philip the Evangelist, and
recognized as a member, though an unworthy member, of the
Christian community by two of the Apostles themselves. Let
both grow together until the harvest is the rule of Divine wisdom
as much as of Divine forbearance. If you attempt to judge, you
will err both ways : you will often be taken in by loud profession,
you will oftener be driven into uncharitableness, into harshness,
into injury of souls. Simon was allowed to be baptized, because
he said that he was convinced by Philip's miracles that Jesus was
Christ. Simon was allowed to attend upon Philip's ministry, and
to partake in all the ordinances of Christian communion, on the
strength of his own profession, and in the expectation of a higher
and a truer judgment.
We do well to allow this latitude to others, and we do well to
claim it for ourselves. While the day of grace lasts, we must
shut out from hope and from privilege no one who desires and
claims either. And if others were to sit in judgment upon us,
where should we be ? How often have we been inconsistent,
worldly, careless, sinful. How often must even a human judg
ment upon us, if it was to be, have been unfavourable, severe,
condemning. And yet it would have been the worse for us to be
shut out prematurely • we have been the better, every one of us,
or we might have been, for that forbearance which has given us

THE SIN OF SIMON. 173
time and space for amendment : till the curtain falls upon life's
little drama, man is bound to hope, because God has not yet
spoken in judgment. May He give us grace to use the oppor
tunity thus vouchsafed.
For indeed we know that, under all this profession, all this
which man is bound to respect, and to treat (while he can) as if it
were genuine, there is an eye upon the heart. It is not that this
unchallenged profession really implies a favourable issue. There
is One who sees all our false ways, and that which is highly
esteemed among men is often an abomination in the sight of God.
Yes, we need patience, but we need severity too ; patience from
others, severity from ourselves, and a union of both from God.
We are bold, and we are also timorous ; bold in sinning, then
timorous in repenting : and we need both the ready baptism of
the Evangelist, taking us on our profession, and also the stern
rebuke of the Apostle, bidding us to repent deeply of our wicked
ness, if perhaps the thought of our heart may be forgiven us.
3. Once more, let us ask ourselves what was this particular
sin which required in the case before us so stern a reproof. Simon
offered money to the Apostles to share their gift with him. He
would purchase the Holy Ghost with money. The very idea is
blasphemy. We all shrink from it. The law of this land calls a
particular offence, that of trafficking in the care of souls, of
buying and selling sacred offices in the ministry, by a name
derived from that of this man, Simony. It were well if that
offence were more clearly defined, more strictly interpreted, and
less easily evaded. But need I say that this is not the only nor
the chief sense in which we can be guilty of the sin of Simon ?
We are not tempted to offer money in purchase of God's spiritual
gifts : but we are tempted, many of us, to that state of mind out
of which Simon's sin, in his ignorant condition, naturally sprang.
Simon had that mercenary mind which St Paul calls the root of
all evil. He thought that money could do anything. He deified
money. Knowing what it was to him ; how he taught for money,
and practised sorcery for money, and aimed at popularity for
money, and set himself up as some great one for money ; he took

174 THE SIN OF SIMON.
it for granted that every one else regarded money in the same
way : he came to two Apostles, and assumed that they, like
himself, thought nothing too great and nothing too holy to be
bargained about and trafficked for. Alas, let him that is with
out sin among you in this matter cast the first stone at him. Alas,
what an idolatry of money is there in a Christian land, in the
Christian Church. What revelations are daily made of the light
in which we look at money. If there are none now who seek to
buy God's gifts with money, at least are there not some who
consent to sell their own souls for money 1 O these dishonesties
in trade, in speculation, in trusts, yes, even in charity ! If we
really cared for God's gifts, I can even fancy that some of us
might offer money for them. If we do not offer money for God's
gifts, is it not because we care ten thousand times more for things
which money can purchase? Money can get a luxurious table, a
well-furnished house, a gay equipage ; or, if there is not enough
for these, at least it can buy us a humbler or a coarser kind of
bodily indulgence : it can do more ; it can buy consideration, it
can buy flattery, it can buy fawning and cringing, it can buy a
thousand attentions while we live, and a few crumbs of gratitude
when we lie low in death. But I will tell you what no money
can buy : it cannot buy any one of God's highest gifts ; it cannot
even buy health, or eyesight, or comeliness ; it cannot buy the
affection of one human being ; it cannot buy repose of conscience,
hope in death, or a single ray of the sweet and secret and support
ing love of Gocl. And therefore a man who learns by long habit
to think that money is everything is as much what the Scripture
calls a fool as he is what the Scripture counts a sinner. That
thoroughly mercenary mind is one of the very lowest and most
debased types of the fallen human character. That is the real
sin of Simony. It is the state of one who has allowed every trace
of the Divine to be eaten out of him by the perishable. It is the
state of one who thinks that religion itself is a sort of separable
external gift, a thing which may be got whole, and put on and
worn as a sort of cloke or girdle. The idea of a change of heart
of a new creation, of a gradual, a growing, at last a complete

THE SIN OF SIMON. 175
transformation of the mind and soul after God's image, after
Christ's likeness ; of this he has no conception. If, when he lies
on his deathbed, he can command the services of a clergyman, as
he can command the services of his lawyer and his physician, that,
he thinks, is enough to fit him for his long journey : Give me also,
he says, this poiver, that I may receive, without having sought,
the gift of acceptance with God and eternal life. This is the very
sin of Simon. It is the being altogether of the earth, and yet
expecting to have heaven too. It is the bringing all that is base
and mean and corruptible, and expecting to receive — not in
exchange for it, but along with it — all that is spiritual and
eternal and Divine. To such a spirit it may well be said, Thou
hast neither part nor lot in this matter : Repent therefore of this thy
wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may
be forgiven thee. Yes, pray God: He is very pitiful, and of
tender mercy : He can unwrap from the soul its long habit of a
grovelling worldliness, and give even to the covetous and the
mercenary His unspeakable gift of repentance unto life.
4. You have heard to-day the announcement — always one
of interest and anxiety in parochial life — of an approaching
Confirmation. The passage now before us tells of a laying on of
hands, with special prayer for the gift of God's Holy Spirit, at a
time subsequent to Baptism. The Evangelist could baptize : but
this imposition of hands was reserved for the Apostles alone.
We do not say that that imposition of hands was exactly our
service of Confirmation. A Bishop is not an Apostle ; and the
supernatural gifts which then followed, are now neither asked
nor given. Still we say that at least a suggestion is here made,
which our Church has done wisely to act upon. It is a practice
strongly commending itself to right reason as well as to Christian
experience, that, when a person has been dedicated to God by
others in an ordinance of Baptism administered in infancy, he
should be called upon at a later time to make that unconscious
dedication his own by choice ; should be required, after due
instruction, to say, before Christ and the Church, whether he
desires to be a Christian indeed ; and should then be solemnly

176 THE SIN OF SIMON.
commended to God's perpetual care and guidance by the chief
officer of the Christian body, with an earnest invocation upon
him of all the manifold gifts of grace. That is Confirmation.
It is the coming of age of a Christian man. It is the sealing
upon him of all the privileges and all the responsibilities of
Church membership. It is his gate of admission to the Sacra
ment of Holy Communion. It is the entrance upon a conscious,
a deliberately chosen, Christian life. That is Confirmation. God
grant that it be this, all this, to many amongst us at this time.
I would charge it upon all who have children or servants not yet
confirmed, and of a suitable age for that act of consecration, to
lose no time in sending their names to their ministers, and then
to be careful in securing to them every opportunity of attending
the course of preparatory instruction soon to be begun. And let
the prayers of the congregation go up, week by week and day by
day, from this time forward, that Gocl may be pleased so to bless
both the preparation and the service, that many new members
may be added to our worshippers and our communicants, and
many souls gathered also into that invisible community, of which
it is written that it is a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, offering
up spiritual sacrifices, and showing forth, in word and deed, the
praises of Him who hath called it out of darkness into His marvel
lous light.

LECTURE XVIII
A SPECIAL MISSION.
Acts viii. 30.
Understandest thou what thou readest ?
The Apostles Peter and John had set out on their return to
Jerusalem. In those villages of the Samaritans, upon one of
which St John, in the days of his ignorance, had proposed to his
Master that they should call down fire from heaven to consume
them for their unbelief, the same blessed Apostle and Evangelist
was now preaching the glad tidings of a Saviour crucified for
their sin and risen again for their justification. What a change
have two short years wrought in that man. Two years before,
his Master had had to turn and rebuke him, saying, in words of
unusual severity, to him and to his brother, Ye know not what
manner of spirit ye are of. Now he did know. Now he had fully
drunk of that Spirit, whose fruits axe first pure, then peaceable.
Meanwhile Philip, of whose ministry as the Evangelist of
Samaria we have been lately reading, receives a new commission
full of interest.
And an angel of the Lord (Jehovah) spake unto Philip, saying,
Arise — the usual call to exertion — and go southwards to the road
which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza : it is desert.
The mode of communication is not stated, and we have no
other guide than the words themselves. One of those ministering
spirits who are sent forth, the Scripture tells us, to minister to the
v. 12

178 A SPECIAL MISSION.
heirs of salvation, was employed to convey to Philip, whether
in sleep or by a waking summons, the intimation of duty. He
was to go southwards, till he fell into a road leading from
Jerusalem to Gaza, a Philistian city, near the coast of the
Mediterranean, south-west of Jerusalem. The road is described
as desert. Geographers say that there were two roads from
Jerusalem to Gaza ; one through towns and villages, the other
taking a shorter cut across the desert. It was necessary, if so,
that the message should specify one of these. And the one
specified was (as is often the case in God's commissions of duty)
the less probable of the two. What work could an Evangelist
find in a wilderness? Send him to towns; bid him preach the
word in cities ; there he may find large audiences, and hope for
great successes : but in a desert — what shall he find there of work
for Christ? He will see. Through obedience comes enlighten
ment ; in obedience is success.
Philip was of this character. He stumbled not at the word
being disobedient. Therefore he had his reward.
And he arose and went. He struck into the road indicated
in the message, and was left, perhaps, to traverse it for some time
ignorant of the cause wherefore he was sent.
And behold, there was an Ethiop>ian, an eunuch, a chief officer
of Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure,
who had come to worship at Jerusalem, and he was now returning
towards his own country, and seated on his chariot, arid he was
reading the prophet Isaiah.
That he was a proselyte to the Jewish faith is evident; he
had visited Jerusalem on this occasion as a worshipper ; and he
was engaged in reading the Old Testament Scriptures. This is
all we know. What opportunities he had had, on this or any
previous visit to Jerusalem, of hearing of Jesus Christ ; how far
he had been guilty of turning a deaf ear to previous calls of the
Gospel ; this we know not : and in the absence of any such
information we do well rather to dwell upon the lineaments of
his character, as it is drawn for us in this narrative. We see him
a serious, enquiring, candid man; a student of God's Holy Word-

A SPECIAL MISSION. 179
not ashamed on a journey to be seen and heard reading it ; not
pleading business or rank or office as an excuse for neglected
worship or preoccupied thoughts.
Isaiah must have been to all pious Israelites the Gospel of the
Old Testament. It opened a glorious prospect of Him that
should come, and of the latter days of Israel and of the Church.
To him our Lord turned for a text for His first discourse at
Nazareth ; The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because He hath
anointed me to preach the Gospel to tlie poor ; and said of it, This
day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. And the Ethiopian,
who would know God better than he knew, took the same Prophet
for his teacher, and in studying him found himself unexpectedly
taught of God. Very precious are these links between the old
and the new ; very sacred the associations which gather round
that blessed page in which holy and righteous men of old found
themselves initiated beforehand in the mysteries of faith and of
the Gospel.
And now Philip's work is opening before him, and he is to
find in his own experience that God does nothing and commands
nothing in vain.
And the Spirit said to Philip, Approach, and join thyself to this
chariot. Let it not escape thee : keep close to it : it is to be thy
pulpit and thy Church this day. See how near the Spirit is to
God's messengers, to Christ's servants ; how distinct and how
minute were His directions and His prohibitions to them of old :
if He speaks not now with equal precision, it is (in part at least)
because we walk not with Him as closely.
And Philip ran up to it, and heard him reading the prophet
Isaiah. The Ethiopian was a stranger to him and a foreigner ;
in rank and wealth and consequence he was by far his superior :
but what then ? he had a message to him, a Divine message, and
it must be delivered. But not rudely, not abruptly : he takes
occasion from his occupation, and begins with a question, not of
trifling things, the news or the weather, yet still in a tone of
courtesy, and as one who would rather counsel than command.
And he said, Understandest thou what thou readest ? And the
12—2

180 A SPECIAL MISSION.
other said, Why, how could I, unless some one shall guide me?
And he besought Philip to get up and sit down with him.
Every one notices the humility, candour, and courtesy, which
breathed in the answer and in the request accompanying it. As
if he had said, I am but an ignorant man in divine things : my
work has lain in matters of earthly business ; and though I
worship God and read His word, yet I need instruction and an
instructor : by thy question I perceive that thou art beyond me
in the things of God : give me thy company on the way, and we
will commune together upon the word of truth. My brethren,
we lose much by our reserve towards strangers : if in entertaining
strangers some have entertained angels unawares, so in communi
cating with strangers, in the house and by the way, some have
found either another's soul to save, or else an Evangelist to
enlighten their own. The Ethiopian might have repelled Philip's
question as an intrusion and an impertinence : in welcoming him
as a teacher and an expositor, he found salvation come to his
house and to his soul.
Now the section of the Scripture which lie was reading was this :
you can read it still in our beloved 53rd chapter of Isaiah : As a
sheep was He led to slaughter, and as a lamb voiceless before his
shearer, so He openeth not His mouth in complaint, in murmuring,
or in remonstrance : in His humiliation His judgment was taken
away; that is, in the season of His self-abasement and submission
He was deprived of the commonest conditions of a fair trial :
His generation who shall describe ? who shall tell the wickedness
and the violence of the men of that generation which rejected and
slew him ? for His life is taken away from the earth. The words
are difficult and ambiguous : taken from the Septuagint Version
of the Old Testament, they differ in some respects from the
Hebrew original, and therefore also from our Authorized Trans
lation : even as they here stand, some would render them differ
ently. But our business now is rather with their general sense
than with their minute interpretation.
And the eunuch answered Philip and said — that is, said in
reference to the words read from Isaiah — / pray thee, of whom

A SPECIAL MISSION. 181
doth the prophet say this? of himself or of some one else ? The
question strikes us as an ignorant one : but, alas, how many, even
in our own day, even in a Christian Church, are still asking it !
And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, told
him the glad news of Jesus. So then there was no doubt in those
days what the 53rd chapter of Isaiah meant. It was not thought
impossible then that holy men of God should speak as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost. It has been reserved for these times
to discard from the evidences of our faith both miracle and
prophecy. Let us not seek to be wise above wha,t is written, but
cling with thankful hope to all that God has given us in proof of
His Son.
And as they went on tlie way, they came to some water — not
a common object on that desert journey — and the eunuch saith,
Behold, here is water : what hinders my being baptised ? It is
natural to suppose that Philip, in preaching Jesus, had mentioned
His ordinance of Baptism ; had quoted, perhaps, to him the well-
known promise, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved :
and in the growing confidence of his new faith, the Ethiopian
would fain satisfy at once the outward as well as the inward
condition of salvation : when, if not now, could he hope for either
a Christian teacher or a Christian baptist ?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou
mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. It is more than doubtful whether this verse is
really a part of the text. It is not found in the best manuscripts.
And we may thank God that we are not dependent upon it for
any doctrine. We know well, from other passages, what was the
one requisite for Christian Baptism ; the confession of faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as the Son of Man.
Whether therefore the words before us be in or out, we shall
equally know that the Ethiopian did confess the faith of Christ
before his Baptism, and was admitted, on the strength of that
profession, to the sacrament of Christian incorporation.
And he commanded that the chariot should stop ; and they went
down, both of them, into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and

182 A SPECIAL MISSION.
he baptized him. And tvhen they came up out of the viater, the
Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no
longer ; for he ivent on his way rejoicing. Whether by a sudden
inward summons to depart, like that by which he had been
commanded to come ; or by a miraculous withdrawal, such as God
could employ, in this or any other case, at His pleasure ; further
communication was precluded between the convert and his
evangelist : the work was done for which Philip came ; the work
of faith with power, the work of an abiding conversion, the work
of love and hope and great joy : the Ethiopian saw him no more ;
and it mattered not ; he stayed not to seek or to murmur ; for he
went on his way rejoicing. And Philip was found at Azotus:
when next he was seen, it was there, twenty miles northward
from Gaza; and passing through, he evangelized all the cities,
proclaimed his glad tidings in every place through which he
journeyed, till he came to Ccesarea. There, at a distant day, we
shall hear of him again.
Meanwhile let us gather up some of those truths which he
being dead yet speaks to us in this history.
i. And first one brief word as to the practical care of God
for the individual souls of men.
The object of all this whole transaction ; this call, this journey,
this preaching, this baptism ; was one single conversion, one
single salvation. Surely we see in it a proof, not only that God
will have all men to be saved, but that He will have each man
separately to be saved. With thankfulness may we rest, as upon
the universality, so upon the minuteness, of God's love and of
God's care for us. None of us can say that he is too insignificant
for God's regard. See what God did for this stranger ; how He
raised up an Evangelist for him, and marvellously threw him in
his way, on purpose that he, he personally, he individually, might
see salvation. The course of human life is still full of these
interventions, of these special calls and missions. Look into
your own life, and can you not see some such dealing of God even
with you ?
And then we should notice how it is through such single

A SPECIAL MISSION. 183
several agencies that the work of God, His chief and most
abiding work, is ever wrought in our world. The Gospel has
some, yea, many influences of a more general nature upon human
life and human affairs. We do well to recognize these, and to
give thanks for them. But the truest, highest, deepest work of
God is wrought through the thorough inward change of individual
hearts. Each soul that is really brought thus to God becomes in
its turn a little centre of light and life, from which shines forth
the truth and the grace, the illumination and the persuasion,
which is to draw others also after Him. We must never count
any time wasted, that is spent upon the instruction and the
conviction and the correction of one human being. That work,
if it be genuine, if it be heart-deep, is a work, not of a narrow
isolated character, but of extended, it may be of large and wide
influence, upon the cause of Christ and of the Gospel in the world
around. And let no man count his own soul's culture a thing of
trifling moment. He too, if he be indeed brought to Gocl, may be
in his turn the Evangelist, if not of a nation, yet at least of a
family, at least of some one precious human soul. Thus, even
thus, does God work : happy are they who thus, even thus, can
work with Him
2. Secondly, as to the importance of being always ready for
duty. Your feet shod, St Paul writes, with the preparation of the
Gospel of peace. It is one part of the Christian armour ; a Gospel
readiness for action. Philip had to take a long journey in quest
of one convert. Nay, without knowing beforehand that he was
to make one convert. He was told to go and strike into a road
which was desert. O what excuses, what answerings again,
should we have made in reply to such a call ! How should we
have urged the disproportion between the means and the end ; the
distance, the difficulty, the improbability, the waste of strength
and time ; till at length we should have gone one degree further,
and persuaded ourselves that we never were called to it, that there
had been a mistake, that God had not spoken. It was not thus
with the blessed Evangelist before us. He went forth, not know-

184 A SPECIAL MISSION.
ing whither he went. He only knew that the call was clear, and
that God was allwise.
God does not now speak to us by an Angel, or say expressly
by a voice within, Go here or go there. Yet, besides His more
obvious commands as to the fulfilment of duty and as to the
avoidance of sin, you all know that there is often something
within you which says, There is such or such a person whom you
might benefit in soul or body, such or such a friend whom you
have lately neglected, such or such a poor neighbour whom you
might visit for comfort or cheering or counsel. These monitions
are akin (though in a humble degree) to the call which reached
Philip, Arise, and go toward tlie south. And these inward
promptings are easily resisted. They do not come to us exactly
in the form of injunctions or prohibitions. They are rather
suggestions, optional suggestions, which it is not apparently a sin
to put aside. In the same degree are they the better tests and
touchstones of our Christianity. They say to us, Here is some
thing which you might do for your Saviour. Perhaps it may fail;
but there is a chance also of its succeeding. If you feel your debt
to Him as you ought, you will go and do it. At the same time
I do not say that you will sin if you do it not. And this alterna
tive, this liberty to go or not to go, this absence of command and
yet suggestion of a possible good, shows an honest man what he
is. If he always finds an excuse for putting it aside ; if he always
persuades himself that he is not called to it ; if he is glad when
something occurs to make it for the time impossible ; if he
rejoices in discovering that weather or business or health has
taken off from him the burden of present duty ; then he should
indeed suspect strongly the nature or the vitality of his faith ; he
has upon him at present the mark of the unprofitable servant,
who was satisfied to dig in the earth, and hide his Lord's money.
On the other hand, how frequently — not always, but frequently
- — is an effort of this kind consciously rewarded ! You have
roused yourselves to leave your warm fireside ; you have walked
through rain or snow to the poor man's cottage, or you have
dragged yourself, indisposed and weary, to the home of some dull

A SPECIAL MISSION. 185
and uncongenial acquaintance ; and you regarded it all as a pen
ance, or as a good deed to be put down to your reckoning : how
often have you found that that day was one on which your visit
was singularly seasonable ; it was a day of peculiar distress, of
unusual loneliness, of absolute destitution, to the person whom
you sought out : or else it was a day on which the heart long
closed was opener than ever before to the word and to the love of
Christ, and it was your happiness to be an evident instrument in
God's hand for the refreshment or encouragement or restoration
of a human soul for which Christ died and rose. These things,
not indeed to be reckoned upon or looked for, yet are God's
occasional means of giving to him that hath, of drawing onward
in the path of love one who has just set his first foot upon it, of
showing us that His service is perfect freedom, that in keeping of
His commandments there is great reward.
3. And next as to the importance of being always in pursuit
of good. Philip was ready to go : the Ethiopian was prepared to receive
him. He was studying and musing over God's Word. He was
trying to make it out and to put it together ; trying to read on
till he should understand ; eager to hail a new teacher, however
humble his rank or however alien his race. To him that hath
shall be given. That is God's rule. If we would have, we must
use. This man had an Old Testament. You scarcely know,
possessing the New Testament also, how dark the sayings of the
Old must have been to him without it. Many of us would have
said — for we say it now — I can make nothing of the Old Testa
ment. It only puzzles me : it makes my darkness darker, and
my ignorance more ignorant. I will let it alone. But so did not
the Ethiopian nobleman. He, like Simeon, like Nathanael, like
older saints still of whom we have the record in the Bible, desired
to look into the mysteries of the ancient Scriptures, searched with
themselves what or what manner of time, what or what manner
of event, the inspiring Spirit did signify, when it testified before
hand of things that should be hereafter, and pointed men's
thoughts onward to the expectation of One that should come.

186 A SPECIAL MISSION.
And therefore they saw what to others was mere confusion.
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day ; and he saw it, and
was glad. Half the revelations of God depend upon the piety
and reverence of him who receives them. There is a growth in
knowledge proportionate to a growth in grace.
Many of us err grievously, at last err fatally, in this respect.
We have no patience, and we have no humility, in the things of
God. When we are asked, Understandest thou what tlwu readest?
we answer confidently, / see, and therefore our blindness becomes
permanent. How can I except some man should guide me ? how
hopeful, and how rare, is that answer. No : we take it for
granted that in God's truth a thing must either be self-evident or
unimportant. In this one, this greatest science of all, we consider
study superfluous. And yet there is probably no part of God's
revelation, which is intelligible (spiritually, I mean) to a super
ficial study. When first we enter that sacred chamber, fresh from
the glaring lights and tinsel vanities of this world, all is darkness;
we can discern nothing ; we are ready to say there is nothing to
discern. Wait awhile. Habituate your eye to that shade. By
degrees a faint glimmering of light will reward your patience.
In an hour you begin to distinguish objects, and to move amongst
them freely. If you had gone out at once in your first disap
pointment, what would you not have missed ? Read on now in
that holy page ; new light will be thrown upon it day by day : in
a year you will marvel at your first incredulity : and when the
question comes again to you, Understandest thou what thou
readest ? you will be ready to answer, Not I, but the grace of God
which is with me.
Thus are the words verified in every age, Thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto
babes. Again and again has the Bible been its own interpreter
to those who studied it as in God's presence. Wonderful are the
reports of those who have seen, in foreign lands or in our own,
what the unaided Book can do for the humble and the earnest-
minded. God shines upon the page by His Spirit, and there
comes forth from it at last a marvellous light. Not to supersede

A SPECIAL MISSION. 187
the human teacher, but to prepare the ground for him ; to give
him the joyful surprise of saying, This hath God done, perceiving
that it is His work; for the confirmation of his faith as of all who
shall hear his testimony ; it is found again and again that God
has thus, by His own Scriptures alone, out of the very mouth of
babes perfected strength, that He may still the arrogant pride of
the enemy and the avenger.
4. Lastly, the narrative before us illustrates the import
ance, both for strength and for comfort, of holding a simple
Gospel. Many of us pass through life without one single experience of
the effect of the Gospel upon this stranger. We are so mistaught,
or else so slow to learn ; we are so afraid of presumption, and so
fond of adding something of our own to the work and word of
God ; that we never reach anything that can call itself the glad
tidings of Jesus, or send us forth on our way rejoicing. What
Philip preached, what the Ethiopian received, was something
which needed but one conversation for its statement, and but one
hour for its reception. Evidently it was the simple declaration
of a Saviour; a Saviour complete in His work for man; a Saviour,
Himself our Propitiation, our Righteousness, and our Strength ;
our Sacrifice for sin, our Example of holiness, our Almighty
Enabler and Renewer by His holy and indwelling Spirit. This
is what Philip preached. 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. That is the Gospel, as
God sent it, as Christ ratified it, as the Evangelists and Apostles
preached it. Out of this Gospel flows all peace and all strength.
Alas, we have added to it, and we have subtracted from it, till
its vital energy is lost. God give us grace, ere it be too late, to
call it back. There is none other. Any other Gospel is destitute
of God's strength, because destitute of God's wisdom. No other
Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.
By that test shall ye know the precious from the vile. Take Christ
wholly for your Saviour : see yourself lost, see Him an entire
Propitiation ; ask of God to receive you as you are, and to look

188 A SPECIAL MISSION.
upon you only in Christ : and upon you, in the same proportion,
will arise in no long time a glorious light: in you will be ful
filled, as in thousands before you, the memorable words, Surely,
shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength...
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall
glory.

II.
THE CHURCH OF THE GENTILES.

LECTURE I.
THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION.
Acts ix. ii.
Behold, he prayeth.
Conversion is a word on many lips. And it is a good word ; it
comes from the Holy Scriptures, and it denotes a transition from
death to life.
We are to read of a conversion now. Let us ponder it well.
Let us mark its beginning, course, and end ; its first sign, and its
last ; Behold, he prayeth; and, If any man be in Christ, he is a
new creation; old things are passed away, behold, they are
become new. Conversion is first a change of mind, and secondly
a change of life.
The conversion of which we are now to read, was an event
concerning us in no common degree. To it we of this land
probably owe our Christianity. Let us hope that we owe more
to it than even this : not only a light around, but a light within ;
not only the knowledge of a Gospel, but the possession of a
Saviour. We have heard of the person before. At the cruel execution
of Stephen he was a consenting and approving bystander. He
kept the raiment of them that slew him. No ray of conviction
seems to have visited his mind in consequence of what he then
witnessed. The words of Stephen, his calm and bold defence, his

192 THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION.
dying prayer for his murderers, his dying testimony to the
manifested glory of Christ, as he saw Him standing in the opened
heaven at the right hand of God, none of these things then moved
him : he still made havoc of the Church ; he still persecuted the
Church of God, and wasted it; he still persecuted them oft in every
city, compelling them to blaspheme. And yet in all this he was
but acting ignorantly in unbelief. He was fulfilling our Lord's
prophecy, Yea, tlie time cometh, when he that killeth you will think
that he doeth God service. But there was an eye over him through
all this ; a hand controlling, and soon to coerce ; a voice saying,
in a tone not to be withstood, Thus far shalt thou come, and no
further. The narrative is introduced in contrast with a different spirit
and a different journey. Philip had been sent on a commission,
not from the Sanhedrin, but from God Himself ; not to persecute
Christ's people, but to add to them ; not to carry chains and
death, but to convey peace and joy into a burdened and benighted
heart. But Saul, unlike him, still breathing of threatening and murder
against the disciples of the Lord, came to the high priest, and asked
from him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, addressed to the
officers of the various Jewish synagogues in Damascus, that if he
found any persons to be of the way, both men and women, he might
bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
The state of Saul's mind at the outset of this journey is
described in very strong terms. He was still breathing of threat
ening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. His every
breath was menace and murder. To such lengths may prejudice
and self-opinion carry even a conscientious man.
The object of his journey was to discover any persons belong
ing to tlie way. This is an expression often met with in the Acts.
Sometimes it is called tlie way of salvation ; sometimes the way of
the Lord; sometimes the way of God ; sometimes, as here, more
briefly, the way. True religion, it reminds us, is not idleness, but
exertion ; not sitting still, but going forwards. We are all on
our way somewhither; and in that way we have a Master, a

THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION. 193
Guide, a Leader, under whose care and protection we shall find
salvation, we shall find rest and a home at the last.
And as he journeyed, it came to pass that he was drawing near
to Damascus, on the 5th or 6th day perhaps of his journey, and
suddenly there shone around him a light out of the heaven.
In one of his own later narratives of the event he says that
it was at mid-day that this light gleamed upon him ; and that it
was distinguishable even from the blaze of an Eastern noon ; it
was above the brightness of the sun. His attention was to be
arrested, and the Creator of light and of the sun knew how to do
this effectually.
And lie fell upon the ground, and heard a voice saying to him,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? We are told, in his own
fuller narrative, that the voice spake to him in the Hebrew tongue.
It was no mere fancy : the words were distinctly audible ; they
were the words of a known language ; and they asked a question
with reference to the errand on which he had come. Saul, Saul,
why persecutest thou me ? He is known by name in heaven. His
life is open there. His commission, his purpose in this journey,
every secret of his heart, is read above ; and he is asked why he
thus persecutes Him who suffers with and suffers in every affliction
of His people. How strange, how mysterious a question ! A
man whose whole life is given to treading out this spark of what
he deems fatal error, this catching and spreading flame of a (to
him) falsely so called Gospel, is asked from heaven what he is
doing and why : what has this Person who speaks clone that He
should be thus hated, thus opposed, thus injured ? May not the
same question sound in some heart amongst us? What has Jesus
Christ done that we should thus neglect, thus despise, thus sin
against Him, personally, or in His little ones? Testify against
Him this day, how has He injured thee ? Has He not shed for
thee His own blood ? Why should it be that, the more abundantly
He loves, the less He is loved ?
And he said, Who art Thou, Lord ? And He said, I am Jesus,
whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee — so the common Version
proceeds, though probably this clause is inserted from the fuller
v. 13

194 THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION.
narrative in the 26th chapter — to kick against tlie goads. He who
often spake in parables below, speaks still in proverbs above. It
is hard for thee, it is a folly and a cruelty to thyself, thus to kick
against the goad that drives thee : it can but make the iron enter
more deeply into thy flesh ; it can but increase the pain of thy
pursuit and of thy capture. What a Sermon might be preached
on those words ; on the sinner fighting against his God ; refusing
mercy, resisting grace, and bringing upon himself by his own
perverseness a ruin which God would have averted.
Again a clause follows in our English Version, drawn, in
substance, from the fuller narrative of the 22nd chapter, where,
if life be spared, we shall meet it hereafter. The shorter text
here stands thus, without interruption : / am Jesus whom thou
persecutest: but rise and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee
what thou, must do. Space must be given for conviction to have
its perfect work, before the new life could profitably begin, or the
new trust be safely undertaken. We are always for precipitation :
when a new idea presents itself, we rush, fit or unfit, to act upon
it : but God is a God of patience : He proceeds calmly and
therefore surely to His ends : in due time is written upon all His
works, and therefore none has to be recalled or done again.
Enter into the city, and there, in due time, it shall be told thee what
thou must do.
And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing
the voice, but beholding no one. In St Paul's own narratives of
the event, in the 22nd and 26th chapters, he says, Wlien we were
all fallen to the earth ; and again, They that were with me saw
indeed the light, and were afraid ; but they heard not the voice of
Him that spake to me. These varieties, for contradictions they
are not, prove one thing ; that the descriptions of the sacred
writers are free and independent : they have one great mark of
truth upon them, that they are not studied and servile ; they do
not echo each other's words, they tell each its own story ; there
is none of that elaborate guarding and fencing of expressions,
none of that careful reconciliation of statement with statement,
which every court of justice regards with strong suspicion as a

THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION. 195
sure indication of design and falsehood. Easy would it have been
for St Luke, the writer of this history, to compare the 9th chapter
with the 22nd and with the 26th, and to bring the three into a
rigid verbal consistency. That he did not do so is a proof of his
veracity, of his single-mindedness, of his confidence in the force
of truth. We can all reconcile for ourselves : it is a waste of
time to dwell upon the probable suppositions, that (1) they who
first fell afterwards stood, or they who first stood (that is, stopped
their journey) then fell terrified to the earth : or again, (2) that
those who heard the sound of a voice did not hear the words
spoken, and that those who saw the light yet saw no one, no
person — ;the form of the Speaker was visible to Saul, and to him
only. These are the mere easinesses of a popular narrative. The
Word of God is not so unstable as to dread exposure from varie
ties which rather turn to it for a testimony.
And Saul arose (or was raised) from the ground, and when his
eyes were opened, he saw nothing : ' blinded with excess of light,'
he sought in vain to distinguish objects : but leading him by the
hand they brought him into Damascus. And he was for three
days without sight, and ate not nor drank.
Who can imagine the thoughts of remorse and anguish which
filled his mind during those days of darkness ? A whole lifetime
must have been lived again : every opinion, every principle, every
feeling, had to be reviewed and reversed : that which he had
loved, now he hated ; and that which had been highly esteemed
was now becoming an abomination. Did not the figure of the
dying Stephen now haunt his memory? What would he now
have given for the counsel and comfort of him whom he had
helped to murder ? But it is vain to enlarge upon these topics :
the silence of Scripture is more eloquent than man's words, and
we can but ponder in our hearts that brief yet most expressive
saying He was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor
drink. God sees, my brethren, what man is so slow to see, the value
of a season of spiritual suffering, to those more especially whom
He destines for a high place in His ministry and in His glory.
13—2

196 THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION.
All the greatest lights of His Church in all ages have had such a
kindling. Without this, it is scarcely possible for some colours of
beauty and holiness to be burnt into the character. If any one
here present is in trouble of this kind; walking in doubt and
darkness, and seeing no light ; I would counsel him already to
srive God thanks for it : whatever it be, however much or however
justly you may blame yourself as the cause of it, yet, so far as it
is suffering, know you certainly that it is God's visitation : bear it
meekly, as the punishment of sin ; bear it bravely, as the sign of
discipline ; and out of it, in His own time and way, God, if you
look to Him and faint not, will surely, will infallibly work out
good. Let us hear how it was with him whose wonderful con
version is before us.
Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus, by name
Ananias. We know not how he came there ; whether he was
one of the converts of Pentecost, or one scattered on the per
secution that arose about Stephen: this only we know, that he
was placed there by God's Providence, which ordereth all things
both in heaven and earth, to be ready for that blessed and
honoured office now to be entrusted to him, as the Evangelist and
the Baptist of the great Apostle St Paul. And the Lord, Jesus
Christ Himself, said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he said,
Behold, it is /, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Arise, and go
into the street which is called Straight — Christ knows the very
names of our streets ; yes, and the very house in which each one
dwells — there is a sanctity therefore in human habitations, how
ever humble, if the Lord vouchsafes to notice and to name them
from heaven — and seek, in the house i of Judas — how would it
startle us to hear Christ name the master of one of our houses,
and specify the penitent or the saint who dwells therein ! — one
Saul by name, of Tarsus. I know no verse in Holy Scripture
more pregnant with solemn and comforting truths than this.
There is still to be seen in that ancient city of Damascus, so
travellers say, just such a street, perhaps the very street here
spoken of; a long straight street, running from the gate at which
Saul probably entered, till the eye loses it in the distance : and

THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION. 197
here Jesus Christ names that street ; names it from heaven ;
speaks of a particular house in it, just as insignificant, probably,
as one of our own humble dwellings; calls the house by its
master's name, and describes not only the name but the country
of the stranger who was lying, blind and miserable, within its
door. Surely He who thus spake then, and who is tlie same
yesterday and to-day and for ever, has His eye and His ear still
open towards us, marks our words and our deeds in the privacy
of our dwellings, and could at any moment, if it so pleased Him,
interpose in our lives with an authority which would constrain
conviction. If He does not ; if we, more than ever, are to walk
now by faith not by sight, at least, God helping us, let us not
walk with Him by neither, neither by faith nor by sight. O let
us treasure that which we know of Him, and behave towards
Him, in our daily conversation, according to that which we say
of Him in our worship.
Seek out in the house of Judas — such is the command — one
called Saul, of Tarsus ; for, behold, lie prayeth, and saw a man,
Ananias by name, come in, and place his hands upon him, that
he might recover sight. Thus to-day again, as before in the
case of the Ethiopian convert, we mark the double preparation
for the communication and for the reception of truth. Saul sees
in a vision the man who is to minister to him ; and the messenger
is shown in a vision the work to which he is called. But there is
an obstacle to be overcome.
But Ananias answered, Lord, I heard from many persons
about this man, how many evils he did in Jerusalem to Thy saints :
and here lie hath authority — he has a commission to this city —
jrom the chief priests, to bind all that call on Thy name. A
Christian is briefly characterized as one who calls on, who invokes,
who calls in to his aid, the name of Christ ; that is, Christ in His
revealed character, as the Son of God, the Saviour of sinners.
Will that, my friends, describe our life? that it is a constant
calling in of Jesus Christ to our help, and to our guidance, and to
our protection, and to our consolation ?
But the Lord said to him, Go ; for this man is to me a vessel of

198 THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION.
selection, a chosen implement, for the purpose of bearing my name,
of carrying the revelation of me, in the presence of both Gentiles
and kings, and sons of Israel ; in the presence, that is, of both
classes of mankind, Gentiles with their rulers, as well as Israel
ites : for I will indicate to him, I will give him as it were a hint
or glimpse of what is before him, enough at least to make him
understand the nature of his mission, how many things he must
suffer in behalf of my name, of me as revealed for the life and
healing of the nations.
And Ananias departed, and entered into the house ; and after
placing upon him his hands, said, Saul my brother, the Lord hath
sent me — Jesus, who appeared to thee in the way by which thou
camest — that thou mightest recover sight, and be filled with the Holy
Spirit. And immediately there fell off from his eyes as it were
scales, and he recovered his sight, and arose, and was baptized.
It is now more than a century since an English nobleman,
well known to fame both in politics and literature, published
a work on the Conversion and Apostleship of St Paul, avowing
himself to have been brought back from infidelity to Christianity
by the study of that event which has occupied our thoughts this
night. Did he exaggerate its importance as a proof of the
Gospel ? There is scarcely one man in all history of whom we
have so intimate a knowledge as of this blessed Apostle whose'.
'wonderful conversion' is before us. We know what had been his
education, what his prejudices were, what was the strength of his
character, what the vehemence of his endeavours in the cause
which he deemed to be that of truth and right. Was he a man
likely to be influenced by a mere fancy, a chance dream, or (as
some would persuade us) by a flash of lightning and a peal of
thunder? Is that enough to account for so entire and so
permanent a reversal of a man's whole career and aim of life ?
Must we not enquire what he himself said of an occurrence the
consequences of which were so patent and so notorious ? Again
and again he refers to this event as an actual manifestation
to him of the person of Jesus Christ. Have I not seen Jesus
Christ our Lord ? is his question to those who would dispute his

THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION. 199
Apostleship. Last of all, He was seen of me also, as of one born out
of due time, is his last item in the catalogue of the appearances of
the risen Jesus. In consequence of this belief, we see him
addicting his life to the service of the Gospel which once he
laboured to destroy. We see him, as it has been well said, in the
prosecution of this purpose, travelling from country to country,
enduring every species of hardship, encountering every extremity of
danger, assaulted by the populace, punished by the magistrates,
scourged, beaten, stoned, left for dead; expecting, wherever he
came, a renewal of the same treatment and the same dangers,
yet, when driven from one city, preaching in the next ; spending
his whole time in tlie employment, sacrificing to it his pleasures,
his ease, his safety ; persisting in this course to old age, unaltered
by the experience of perverseness, ingratitude, prejudice, desertion ;
unsubdued by anxiety, want, labour, persecutions ; unwearied by
long confinement, undismayed by the prospect of death. Such was
St Paul.... The question is, whether falsehood was ever attested
by evidence like this. Falsehoods, we know, have found their
way into reports, into tradition, into books ; but is an example
to be met with, of a man voluntarily undertaking a life of want
and- pain, of incessant fatigue, of continual peril; submitting
to the loss of his home and country, to stripes and stoning, to
tedious imprisonment, and the constant expectation of a violent
death, for the sake of carrying about a story of what was false, and
of what, if false, he must have known to be so ?
For the present, we must be contented to have just seen the
commencement of this life of self-devotion. We have seen what
it was which started St Paul on this new career; what it was
which turned him round from one direction to its very opposite ;
what it was which made him who entered Damascus to persecute
stay there to preach. I believe it to be far more irrational
to doubt his account of it than to receive it. I believe that
Jesus Christ Himself did present Himself to the eye of Saul
of Tarsus, as He exists now in Heaven, as He showed Himself
alive to His disciples after His passion by many infallible proofs ;
that He spoke to him from heaven; that He promised him

200 THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION.
direction and guidance as to his future life; that He sent him
that first instruction by the message of Ananias ; that He
communicated with him ever after, and from time to time
more particularly, by the living agency of the Holy Ghost the
Comforter ; that He took him into His service, stood by him in
danger, supported him in depression, gave him courage for his
testimony, and (in every sense of the words) made His oum
strength perfect in his weakness. And if this be so ; if there be
nothing contrary to right reason in accepting these facts as true ;
then I would say that it is irrational to doubt, and madness to
trifle with, the revelation of the Gospel. If St Paul's conversion
(with its circumstances) is a fact, then there is such a Person as
Jesus Christ our Lord, once crucified for our sins, then raised for
our justification, to be our Advocate, our Mediator, our Intercessor,
our High Priest with God. See, if this be so, that ye refuse not
Him that speaketh.
The three words of the text will tell us what must be the
firstfruits of this new conviction. Behold, he prayeth. So spake
the Lord to Ananias of him whom He was beginning to accredit
as a chosen instrument. Behold, he prayeth. Had Saul of Tarsus
never bent his knees in prayer before ] Could he say, if this were
so, that he had lived in all good conscience before God from his
youth up ? Had he never prayed seriously, earnestly, devoutly ?
Had he not prayed that morning when he went to the chief
priests for his commission to persecute Christ's people ? Had he
not prayed during the days of his journey? on that memorable
last day of his journey, when he drew near Damascus? Yes, my
brethren : we do not read here any denial of it. But there were
two or three points of difference between this and any prayer
which he had before uttered.
First of all, it was the first prayer he had ever breathed with
a knowledge of the plague of his own heart. It was the first time
that he had seen himself as God saw him ; as poor and destitute
and miserable and blind ; as a man needing a Sacrifice for his
sins, a Mediator to intercede for him with God, and a Divine
Spirit to make his heart His temple. It was the first time that

THE WONDERFUL CONVERSION. 201
he had ever prayed as a penitent ; as a man to whom all the past
is but as a heap of worthless rags ; as a man whose whole fabric
of self-righteousness has toppled down, and who desires henceforth
to be nothing, and to have nothing, and to do nothing, but from
God and with God and in God. i" have heard of Thee by tlie
/tearing of the ear ; but now mine eye seeth Thee : wherefore I
abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. It was the first time
— more than all else — that his prayer had ever made any mention,
save in scorn and contempt, of that holy name in which alone a
sinner can approach God. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ as
necessary to salvation, as a Divine Person whom truly to know is
eternal life, now first had place in his supplications. Doubtless
with many bitter tears and many contrite confessions did he now
bewail his past treatment of Jesus. Now his one cry was for
that all-merciful Saviour to become his Propitiation and his
Righteousness ; the Guide of his way, and the Hope of his end.
And therefore, if for no other reason, it could now be said of him,
as never before, Behold, he prayeth.
How will our prayers bear these tests? Are they the prayers
of the humble and the self-accusing 1 Are they the prayers of one
hungering and thirsting after a righteousness not of man but of
God ? Are they the prayers of one who knows but of one only
name under heaven, given among men, whereby he can be saved ?
Try yourself by these tests, and God give us no rest until by His
grace it can at last be said of us, in these senses, in heaven above,
Behold, he prayeth.

LECTURE II.
THE NEW CONVERT.
Acts ix. 26, 27.
They were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was
a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the
Apostles.History is made up of epochs and eras. An epoch is a stop or
pause in the sequence of events ; a marked moment, at which the
reckoning of time rests and begins anew. An era is the interval
between two epochs ; the period, longer or shorter, which inter
venes between two of those marked moments, of those milestones
of history, by which the memory assists itself in keeping count of
time. Common history has its epochs, and sacred history has its
epochs. The life of nations has its epochs, and the life of
individuals has its epochs. Sometimes an epoch of individual
life is an epoch also of collective life, and a church or a nation
dates by something which has happened to the life or the soul
of a man.
In all good histories the epochs are strongly marked, and it
is enough if the eras are more faintly indicated. Give the great
turning-points of a life, its decisive impulses, its momentous
changes, and we can almost fill it up for ourselves. Mark well
the epochs, and the eras may mark themselves.
Thus it is in the best of all histories, those of the Bible. Last
Sunday evening the events of three days fully occupied us :

THE NEW CONVERT. 203
to-night we can pass lightly over the events of three years. That
was an epoch : this is the beginning of an era. The Conversion
of St Paul is a pause and a signal memorable for all time : the
years which follow, while he is a learner even more than a
teacher in Christ's school, need but a briefer notice, though one
full of instruction for us who ponder it thoughtfully.
Saul arose from his three days' fast and blindness, and received
Baptism forthwith at the hands (we may suppose) of his Evangelist,
the humble but faithful Ananias. His faith, however recent, was
beyond question. He did believe— well might he believe — in the
risen life of One who had spoken to him by his name from heaven.
No exemption was either asked or given from the appointed mode
of entrance into the Church of Christ. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved : the call of Christ Himself did not super
sede or modify those two conditions.
If there be any one here present, not yet baptized, let me pray
him or her to lose no time in seeking that ordinance which even
a converted Apostle did not disdain.
And having received food he was strengthened. And he
became with, he joined the company of, the disciples at Damascus
during some days. And immediately in the synagogues he began
to proclaim Jesus, that He is, as being, the Son of God. First to
the Jews ; first in the synagogues, to which he had brought
letters of authority to persecute ; must he avow his new convic
tions. He had a recantation to make, as well as a testimony to
bear. He had to say, and it must be said publicly, This hand
hath offended. The natural character of St Paul aided this duty.
He was a man of candour ; a man of honest thoughts and frank
words : and therefore he goes first to those with whom his new
faith will gain for him no credit and no respect. Not satisfied
with making new friends, he must also explain himself to old ones :
it may be that in doing this, he will win at least a few souls to
Christ. And all who heard were amazed, and said, Is not this he who
made havoc at Jerusalem of those who call on this name, the name
of Jesus, and had come hither for this purpose, that he might bring

204 THE NEW CONVERT.
them, those who here call on this name, bound to the chief priests ?
But Saul was more (increasingly) strengthened, and confounded the
Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this is the Christ;
showing, as we shall often hereafter find him, from their own
Scriptures, that all the prophecies of Him that should come meet
and have their fulfilment in Jesus of Nazareth.
And when many days were being fulfilled, were in course of
completion, the Jews took counsel to kill him. But their plot was
made known to Saul. And they watched also the gates of the
city, both by day and night, that they might kill him. But the
disciples took him, and by night through the wall, through the
window, perhaps, of a house built into or overhanging the city
wall, they let him down, by lowering him in a basket.
And on his arrival in Jerusalem, he endeavoured to join
himself to the disciples ; and they all feared him, as not believing
that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took hold of him, took him
(as we say) by the hand, came to his aid, and brought him to the
Apostles ; and related to them how on his journey he saw the Lord,
and that He spoke to him, and how in Damascus he spoke boldly in
the name of Jesus. And he was with them going in and going out
at Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord ; and he
spoke and disputed with the Hellenists, the Greek-speaking Jews ;
and they attempted to kill him. But the brethren, discovering it,
brought him down to Cossarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
There still remain one or two points of some interest in
connection with this brief narrative.
St Paul himself adds to it some particulars in the ist ehapter
of his Epistle to the Galatians.
(i) He states that three years elapsed between his conver
sion and this first visit to Jerusalem as a Christian. The history
in the Acts speaks only of many days. But so consistent is Holy
Scripture with itself, even when it appears at first sight to involve
a contradiction, that we are able to show distinctly from a passage
in the Old Testament that the two forms of expression are in this
instance perfectly consistent. In the 2nd chapter of the 1st Book
of Kings, which contains the record of the beginning of the

THE NEW CONVERT. 205
reign of Solomon, we read that Shimei, being warned by the
king not to quit the city on pain of death, dwelt in Jerusalem
many days : and then the next verse opens thus ; And it came to
pass at the end of three years. The expression many days is large
enough to cover a period of three years. So it is here. St Luke
says it was many days before St Paul went to Jerusalem ; and
St Paul himself tells us in one of his Epistles that it was three
years. The two forms of expression are perfectly harmonious.
Observe, my brethren — for indeed in these days we ought not
to omit the warning — how easy it is for rashness and ignorance
to find inconsistencies in Holy Scripture, which a calmer enquiry
will entirely explain and remove. Learn a greater reverence for
God's Holy Word ; and be assured that in divine things reverence
is but another name for reason.
(2) In the same Epistle St Paul mentions a journey into
Arabia, of which we have here no notice. Before he went up to
Jerusalem, he went, he says, into Arabia, and returned again unto
Damascus. During that three years' stay in Damascus he made
a journey into Arabia. The region intended is differently under
stood : it may have been that Arabia which borders very closely
upon Damascus itself. And the purpose of his journey is not
mentioned ; whether it was undertaken as a first missionary
enterprise, or whether (as we would rather believe) it was
designed to afford him a season of secluded meditation, greatly
needed both for the review of the past, and for communion with
his Lord in reference to the life now before him. St Luke leaves
room, we have seen, for this journey, but does not mention it.
His account of St Paul's life is full of omissions, except during
that part of it in which he was himself with him. We are
thankful for what he tells ; and we are glad to supplement
it from other sources ; from the Epistles, that is to say, of St
Paul himself.
(3) Once more, the same passage of St Paul's own writings
tells us the length of his stay at Jerusalem on this occasion, and
with which of the Apostles he then became acquainted. Then
after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode

206 THE NEW CONVERT.
with him fifteen days. But other of the Apostles saw I none, save
James the Lord's brother. Now the things which I write unto you,
behold, before God I lie not. Why this earnestness of expression?
Because St Paul is vindicating in that passage the independence
of his own Apostleship. He did not receive his Gospel at second
hand : he was taught it by the Lord Himself. Doubtless, in the
seclusion of his Arabian retirement, he was enlightened by
direct communications of his Master's mind and will. It was
three years before he saw one of the Apostles : when he at
length visited Jerusalem, it was but for fifteen days, and during
the whole of that visit he saw but Peter and James the Lord's
brother. Thus were the words verified, Paul, an Apostle, not of
men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father who
raised Him from the dead. I certify you, brethren, that the
Gospel which was preached of me was not after man. For even
I received it not from a man, nor was taught it, but by the
revelation of Jesus Christ.
The twelve verses which form our text this evening must
leave something behind them. God grant it.
i. We are told what St Paul's subject was from the first day
of his ministry. Straightway he preached Christ in the syna
gogues, that He is the Son of God. We preach not ourselves, he
said some years afterwards, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. Christ our Subject;
that ought to be the motto of all preachers. St Paul never
found it necessary to change his subject. It lasted him for his
life. But what was it in his hands, on his lips ? Was it the dry
monotonous repetition of one doctrine — of the truth of the Atone
ment through the one Sacrifice ? Was his preaching the perpetual
harping upon one string, without variety and without life ? Need
I ask this question of any reader of his Epistles ? Well may he
speak there of the unsearchable riches of Christ ; of all the fulness
of the Godhead dwelling in Christ bodily. He found it so,
evidently, to himself. He found in Christ an inexhaustible
wealth of comfort, of sympathy, of help, of strength; an abso
lutely unlimited supply of grace in the present, and of hope for

THE NEW CONVERT. 207
the longest future. And this was what he sought to communicate.
Like one of his fellow Apostles, he could say, That which we have
seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellow
ship with us ; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with
His Son Jesus Christ. That is true preaching ; the endeavour
to unfold and to divulge a reality first felt and prized within ;
the endeavour to call others in to share a happiness, or to join in
a pursuit of happiness, felt to be the only restingplace of the life
and of the soul of man. And can we not all say this — that we
do want such a restingplace ; and that we do believe it to be,
could we but reach it, only in the knowledge and love of God
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ? This was St Paul's
subject when lie preached Christ. May it be more and more — and
O that it might be so for the same reason — our subject and your
delight. 2. In its simple fact he could do this at once : he could
straightway preach Christ in the synagogues, that He was the Son
of God. He could tell, as a matter of plain proof, of direct
evidence, that he, he himself, who had come out, on this occasion,
to persecute and to destroy, had been arrested by a stronger hand
as he approached the city, and constrained to confess that One
whom he had scouted as a crucified and dead man was indeed
living in the fulness of strength at the right hand of God in
heaven. But we are not therefore to suppose that St Paul's
knowledge was at once complete, or his spiritual life perfected.
We read in the Gospel history, in a higher example still, the need
of delay and of preparation before the exercise of a sacred calling.
And we attach, in this respect, great value to that addition
which St Paul himself makes to the narrative as here written ;
namely, his journey into Arabia, and the interval of three years
between his conversion and his return to Jerusalem. Doubtless
it was during this interval that he both learned and suffered
many of those things of which he has left the record in his
Epistles. Many of those revelations of the Lord, of which he
there speaks as made personally to himself, were no doubt
communicated then. And may it not have been, that that deep

208 THE NEW CONVERT.
experience of the conflict with indwelling sin, which he details so
strikingly in the 7 th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, was
then especially gained ? It is a great error, and one pregnant
with mischief, to suppose that an Apostle, because he was
specially called, and specially equipped for his high office, was
therefore raised out of the ordinary experiences of the Christian
life within ; was exempted from the trials, and excused the
struggles, which other men endure in rising from the death of
sin to the life of righteousness. This notion deprives us of more
than half of the comfort and benefit to be derived from their
words and from their history. They are no longer men of flesh
and blood, men of like passions with us, able to feel with us in
our sorrows, and in the same degree to encourage us by their
victory. And the same error runs on into a province in which it
is not a mere loss of comfort, but a grave and sometimes fatal
deception. Men talk as if conversion were the whole of a, Chris
tian life ; as if a person, brought to see the guilt and the sin
of his doings, and to seek forgiveness and cleansing in the blood
of Christ, were thenceforth not only safe from condemnation but
secure from sin ; called not only to trust but to rest ; not only to
look to Christ for all, but even to dispense with that looking. We
all know what has again and again come of this ; in the sincere and
honest-hearted, distress, disappointment, and perhaps despair ; in
the less scrupulous, carelessness, presumption, at last a hardened
heart and a seared conscience. Conversion is a great thing ;
God's best gift to His sinful creatures : but let conversion itself
be tried by these tests : first, is it the commencement of a
change ? and secondly, is it the commencement of a progress ?
A conversion which begins and ends with itself lacks every sign
of that which Scripture so designates. A conversion trusted in
as a security for salvation usurps the very place of the Saviour
Himself, and becomes at once a delusion and a snare. A con
version which forgets and loses itself in Christ ; which brings
a man to the cross, and teaches him -to abide there; which brings
a man to the risen Saviour, and teaches him to draw from Him
daily life and daily strength through the Holy Ghost; is a

THE NEW CONVERT. 209
blessing indeed above all price ; a blessing for which there
shall be everlasting thanks and praise in heaven.
3. How life-like are the lessons of Scripture ! Which of us
cannot understand that shrinking (of which the text tells) from
the new convert, in the recollection of his former deeds? He
assayed to join himself to the disciples : he felt himself, in heart
and soul, one with them ; he longed to exchange with them that
sympathy which only Christians know, and which it is misery to
them to be constrained to hide ; he longed, too, to tell them his
bitter self-reproaches for injuries once done to them, and to speak
of that longsuffering love of Christ which had spared and sought
out and reconciled even him, the blasphemer and the persecutor,
yea (in his own judgment at least) the very chief of sinners.
But they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a
disciple. It was natural : the memory of their beloved Stephen
at whose cruel death this man had assisted, and of many others,
hunted down by his relentless rage against the Gospel, and com
pelled or at least tempted to blaspheme, could not but rise
within them at the sight of him, and make it difficult to believe
that the professed change was real. These things, in the retro
spect, turn to the Gospel for a testimony : the thought of what
Saul was only increases the miracle of what he is : such a change,
so thorough, so astounding, is one of the standing evidences of
Jesus and the Resurrection. But at the time it was hard to
credit : they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a
disciple. This was the punishment of long hostility to the truth
and to the Saviour. Doubtless he bore it meekly : doubtless he
confessed that it was his due. But ought not the record of that
suspicion, of that coldness towards a holy and blessed saint, on
the ground of what he once was, to make us all fearful of dis
couraging and daunting the nascent faith of others? Let me
speak plainly ; and let me speak especially to the young. Some
of you are thrown together in large bodies ; associated in trade or
manufacture, where there is sometimes no eye over you to check
the freest expression of thought and feeling : and you know that,
in these days more especially, such freedom is sure to run on into
V. 14

210 THE NEW CONVERT.
licence ; you hear things said against Christ and against God s
Word, which are deeply painful to the believing ; and you have
found by experience that argument on such subjects seldom
succeeds in convincing, and more often tends to provoke to more
ungodliness : you have learned therefore to keep silence ; to
preserve your opinion and your faith by meditation rather than
by controversy : and amongst other securities against being
shaken in your religion, you have adopted that of considerable
isolation ; you keep to yourselves, you avoid needless communica
tion, you repel the advances of unbelieving or doubtful men. It
is hard to blame you. You have a difficult and trying part to
play : God help you to play it well and wisely. But remember
one thing : there may be amongst you, though you know it not,
men whose minds are more than half open to a better influence ;
men who through weakness only, not from deliberate choice of
evil, are falling into a snare of the devil ; men who, whatever
they may say or not say in the company of the wicked, have yet
a misgiving in their hearts as to the life they lead, and an open
ness to conviction as to the very truth with which they trifle.
Take heed not to quench the smoking flax by your treatment of
such a condition. Take heed not to be blind and not to be indif
ferent to the existence of such cases. If not yet disciples, these
men are at least among those for whom Christ died : they have a
claim therefore upon your assistance in turning to Him : and it
would be a cruel selfishness if you allowed them to fall utterly
from Him, from a fear lest perhaps they should hinder or distress
you in your own faith and service.
4. Take then to your heart the example here presented of the
conduct of the faithful Barnabas towards a still mistrusted disciple.
We heard of him in an earlier chapter as receiving his name from
the Apostles, in token, no doubt, of something in his character
which suited the title of a son of consolation. How well does he here
justify that appellation. We know not whether he was previously
acquainted with him whom he here befriends. Saul was of
Tarsus in Cilicia, and Barnabas of the not very distant island
of Cyprus ; so that there may have existed some such earlier

THE NEW CONVERT. 211
intimacy, as should explain the one acting (on two occasions in
this history) as the helper and introducer of the other. But this
we know, that Barnabas was a Christian man : he had drunk
deeply of that Holy Spirit which is love, long-suffering, goodness,
as well as peace and joy and gentleness. He knew the whole
history of the new disciple : he knew how he had seen the Lord
in the way, and how the Lord had spoken to him, and how Saul
had at once avowed boldly the strength and certainty of his new
convictions. And therefore he lost no time in mediating between
him and those who doubted him. He brought him to the
Apostles, and declared to them his history. Thus, like one of the
original Apostles, St Andrew, he acted as the encourager and the
helper of another in coming to Jesus. It is a blessed office, my
brethren, this of the peacemaker ; more especially when the peace
made is not of earth only ; when it affects the soul also, whether
in its dealings with Christ Himself, or in its relations to Christ's
servants. I could desire nothing better for one of those whose
present difficulties I have been describing, than that he might be
the means of clearing the path for another, weaker perhaps and
less resolute than himself, towards Christ and towards heaven.
Look not every man, in this sense, on his own things, but every
man also on the things of others.
And is not this, my brethren, the very office of some of those
who hear? What is the aim of a Visitor of the poor, in its
highest aspect ? Is it not this — to bring to the Apostles — in other
words, to bring to Christ Himself — those who, but for such aid,
might be lost sight of, might be left in disregard, in suspicion, in
darkness ? How often has the work of Christian charity been
privileged to perform this highest office ! How often has the
ministry of the body gone on, under God's blessing, to be a
ministry of the soul ! Many a man has been first drawn to Jesus
by finding himself cared for, in bodily things, by one on whom he
felt himself to have no claim ; by one whose service to him he saw
to be wholly disinterested, wholly prompted by Christian love.
God has knit together in a wonderful manner His various gifts
of grace. He puts it into the heart of a Christian man or a
14—2

212 THE NEW CONVERT.
Christian woman to undertake this ministry to the poor. He
leads others to give of their abundance, that the hand of the
visitant may not be empty. He guides the steps to some poor
man's home, where there is one who deems himself forsaken, and
has begun to acquiesce in that neglect which is nevertheless para
lyzing to the soul. In the surprise of this new solicitude, he
begins to ask himself what is this motive which has wrought in a
stranger's heart to do him this service. And he can assign no
reason for it but this only ; that there is a power in Christ's
Gospel, which is mighty to overcome sloth and self, and to seek
out, in the Saviour's name, those who were lost and sunk in sin.
Then the heart is opened to attend to the things spoken, and the
sleeping soul awakened from the fatal lethargy which bound it.
This has been : God grant it may yet again be amongst us. A
Christian care for the body may be made available to save the
soul. It is thus that God's works are wrought below. It is thus
that His grace penetrates into new homes, making men's hearts
willing in the day of His power. In every such sowing, beloved
brethren, expect the reaping ; and pray, as you give, that the
highest of all blessings may accompany your offering, guiding it
not only to the healing of the body but to the saving of the soul.

LECTURE III.
QUIET TIMES.
Acts ix. 31.
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judcea and Galilee
and Samaria, and were edified : and walking in the fear of tlie
Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
The right use of quiet times is a great secret of Christian living.
Human life is made up of alternations of storm and calm, of
trouble and rest. It is so with individual life, and it is so with
collective life ; the life of a nation, or the life of a Church.
The earlier part of this chapter indicated a time of trouble
for the Christian community. Persecution was hot against them :
even unto strange cities they were followed by threats of violence.
But now the chief persecutor has himself felt the force of truth ;
a stronger than the strong man armed has interposed, and he who
was entering Damascus to make havoc of Christ's people is now
preaching the faith which once he destroyed.
Other causes may have contributed to the change indicated
in the text. It is said that the Roman Emperor Caligula, who
in the year 38 succeeded Tiberius, was making an impious
attempt to place his own image in the temple at Jerusalem ;
and that the attention of the Jewish authorities was wholly
occupied with plans for frustrating his design. They had no
time to persecute. Thus even the fierceness of man may turn to
God's praise, and the remainder of wrath be restrained by His
overruling hand.

214 QUIET TIMES.
The church then throughout the whole of Judcea and Galilee
and Samaria had peace, being edified, gradually built up and
strengthened ; and walking by the fear of tlie Lord, as their rule
and direction, and by the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, by
His comforting and quickening influence, both in the hearts of
the disciples and in the ministry of the Apostles, was multiplied.
There were added to the Church daily, not in Jerusalem only, but
through the length and breadth of the land, such as should be
saved. And the sacred history goes on to tell how particularly by the
ministry of one man, the blessed Apostle St Peter, this enlarge
ment of the Church in Palestine was effected. He made it his
business to go hither and thither, strengthening all the disciples.
Specimens of his ministry are given, in the two cases of Lydda
and Joppa. In each of these a signal miracle attested the grace
given to him. At Lydda there was a man, who had lain for eight
years on a couch paralyzed, and who, at the authoritative word
of Peter, Jesus Christ healeth thee : arise, and make thy own bed,
arose straightway, and contributed largely, by the notoriety of
his miraculous cure, to the spread of the Gospel, both in his own
town, and in the adjacent plain of Sharon.
At Joppa there was a, Christian woman, of eminent piety; her
life one continued succession of charitable and beneficent deeds.
She was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. With
her own hands she ministered to the bodily wants of the poor.
She busied herself in providing clothing for such as were in need.
What a simple and instructive picture of the Christian women of
all times. She lived in a place not larger probably at any time
than many an English town : and there was nothing magnificent,
in any sense, in her deeds of charity : but with God great and
small are names unknown, and it has pleased Him to leave on
record for all ages the history of this humble yet bright example.
Let no Christian woman think for one moment that her charities
are unnoticed or unregarded in heaven. If they spring out of
genuine love, first to Christ and then to His people, they are all
written there, though it is neither needful for others nor good

QUIET TIMES. 215
for themselves, that they be paraded in the book of the Church
below. At last the day of death arrived. She fell sick, and died.
The usual offices were paid to the lifeless corpse; and then it
was laid out in an upper chamber. But it pleased our Lord
Jesus Christ to show Himself in this instance by the agency of
another, as before on earth by His own, the Lord of life and death.
The disciples at Joppa heard that a holy Apostle was within ten
miles of them at Lydda ; and whether from a desire for his
comfort at a time of sorrow, or from a vague undefined hope that
he might even remove the cause of that sorrow, they sent him an
urgent message, not to delay to come to them. He obeyed the
summons ; not knowing (it may be) the precise work before him,
but possessing that grace of which we have lately spoken, the
preparation (readiness) of tlie Gospel of peace, and desiring to lose
no opportunity of applying his Master's hand, whether in its
consolation or in its strength.
He arrived in Joppa. And there a sad scene presented itself.
There was the poor lifeless body, made ready for its burial ; and
the room in which it lay was thronged with mourning friends, all
recounting what they had lost, and showing the practical proofs
of piety in garments made for the poor by those busy industrious
hands which are now (as they deem) for ever still in death. The
Spirit of the Lord came upon the Apostle, and suggested to him
a miracle above miracles ; the restoration of this loved disciple to
a longer life in the body. He put them all out, desiring, like his
Master before him, an entire calm from distracting sights and
sounds, that he might bring together every energy of his soul
for that wrestling with God in prayer, which could alone give
strength for a work so stupendous. Then he knelt down, and
prayed. At last he turned to the body, and calling the departed
person by name bade her (in one brief decisive word) arise. She
opened her eyes once more upon the familiar scenes around, saw
her restorer, and was by him presented alive to the little com
munity which was bewailing her. Well can we understand that,
when this became known throughout Joppa, many believed on the

216 QUIET TIMES.
Lord; and thus a large work, both of preaching and guiding,
was opened before the Apostle, which constrained him to abide
many days in Joppa in that humble dwelling from which he was
to be called forth in God's Providence to a yet more significant
use of the keys of the heavenly kingdom.
I have sought, my brethren, to lay before you in one view the
inspired instruction here given, as to the use of a season of tran
quillity such as that which lasts, for us, by God's blessing, all
our life long, and which may still continue — we know not — as
it has still continued from generation to generation. Whether
indeed there will ever again be a period of actual persecution for
the truth's sake, it is not given us to know. The offence of the
cross has not ceased, within or without : it is in us all, as well as
around us, still. But whatever contempt may be secretly enter
tained for those who truly believe and preach the Gospel, there is
at all events no absolute persecution. What there is of perse
cution is within doors ; from foes of a man's own household,
reproved by his example and impatient of his scrupulosity. As
a Church, as professors of the Gospel of Christ, we are in peace :
no man oppresses and no man forbids us. Let us see then what
we ought to be; what is the proper character and the proper
work of a Church or a Congregation thus living in quietness from
fear of evil.
The churches had peace : how did they use it ? Did it make
them indolent, unfruitful, unfaithful, inconsistent, quarrelsome ?
Two things are said of them : first, they were edified ;
secondly, they were multiplied.
i. Edified. The figure is taken from the rise and progress
of a building.
(i) The whole Church, of all lands and times, is a building ;
one building ; planned by one Architect, carried on by one
Builder, designed for one end, to be the eternal habitation of
God Himself when at last (as a Prophet has written) the liead-
stone is brought forth with shoutings. It is not easy to apprehend
this unity. Only He who sees the end from the beginning can see
the Universal Church as one. But the thought, however faintly

QUIET TIMES. 217
conceived, is full of comfort. It puts each one of us in his place;
it shows us how small is the place of each one ; and yet also it
shows us that each one has his place, and that, if the place of any
one be not filled, there is a chink, a fissure, a blank, be it ever so
small, in the finished work. Is not that honour enough, and
importance enough, for a creature and a sinner ? Does it not say,
loudly enough, and also persuasively enough, to each one of us,
See that thy place in the • universal temple be not a blank, or
worse ?
(2) Again, the Church of each land and of each age — let
me say (for the time is short) the Church of each town in each
generation — is a building. Yes, it may be but a fragment, but
one corner, or one buttress, or one pinnacle, of the Universal
Church ; but you all know how any building, how this Church in
which we are assembled, would look if one buttress fell or if one
pinnacle were dislodged from it; and therefore you will not count
it a small thing if some such humble position as that, or a position
humbler still, be all that belongs to this our little community as
it exists this year or this day in the sight of an all-seeing and
all-regarding God. I say that this congregation of ours is a
building : and is it then being edified, that is, built up ? is it
making any progress? is it rising, in solidity, in unity, in beauty?
is it giving signs, more and more, of its destination as a habitation
of God, as a place in which Christ Himself is to dwell and to
walk, to be adored and beloved, throughout eternity ? God grant
it. We want more amongst us still of this collective feeling, of
this sense of union and of unity, as a Church : if we would be
edified, we must cherish it.
(3) And then, yet once more, each -human soul, taken
separately, is a building. Your body, St Paul says, addressing
individual Christians, is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is
in you, which ye have of God. Each one of us is a building.
How much we lose sight of this ; living from day to day without
one thought of the progress and of the unity of that personal
being, which must be fit, when we die — if we would not be for
ever miserable — to be God's abode, God's dwellingplace, God's

218 QUIET TIMES.
temple, through an eternal age. What a question is it, for each
one, How is that building getting on, which is I myself ? Are the
foundations deeply and soundly laid, in the faith of Christ my
Saviour? Is the superstructure rising day by day, gradually,
regularly, quietly, yet consciously, perceptibly, visibly ? In other
words, Am I growing in grace? more and more prevailing over
evil tempers, and sinful passions, and carnal lusts ? better able
to do as unto God the work which He has given me, and to
overcome, in the strength of God, the temptations which assail
me? Whose building is not either standing still, disfigured by
unsightly materials, or actually unsound and rotten in its founda
tions ? Times of tranquillity ought to be times of edifying : alas,
too often they are times of suspended energy and of deep
defilement. 2. Another thing is said of the congregations here described.
They were edified : they were also multiplied.
A time of peace ought to be a time of outward as well as
inward progress ; a time of extension as well as a time of
edification. It was so of old. Believers were the more added
to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women. How is it now ?
How is it with the outskirts of the Church, with lands in which
only Missions can operate ? Is there zeal at home, in founding
and in reinforcing such institutions? Is there a real interest
in the reception of tidings from the Church's workmen abroad,
as to the success of their labours ? Alas, you know, my brethren,
how impossible it is to gain even a hearing for such matters.
You know, that, with much philanthropy, there is little Gospel
zeal amongst us ; that, where a thousand pounds can be gathered
for a work of charity, it is hard to collect ten for a work of
piety ; hard to gain any response for a call to aid the Church's
Missions, or to extend into new regions the knowledge of a
Lord and Saviour. The Church is scarcely in this sense multi
plying : new lands are not being evangelized ; the Gospel net is
scarcely spreading itself at all over the distant, the untracked
waters. And at home, how is it ? Here, in this town, is the Church

QUIET TIMES. 219
at all multiplying ? I trust so ; but these results are not wrought
without means, without honest and hearty efforts on the part of
those whose own hearts are first won for Christ. Can we point,
by tens, or by fives, or by units, to new persons brought to be
worshippers, and brought to be communicants, by agencies now
working amongst us ? Let us pray for this, and let us labour
too ; not for our own glory, but for God's ; not in our own
strength, but in Christ's only ; that individual victories may be
won for Him on His enemy's soil, and that this sign of vitality
may be largely vouchsafed to us, that the Church which is
Christ's body is not being edified only, but multiplied.
We are not left in the dark as to how this may be done ;
what influences are mighty, through Gocl, to this enlargement of
His Son's fold. The Church multiplies, by its own progress in
two things; walking (i) in the fea/r of the Lord, and (2) in the
comfort of the Holy Ghost.
(1) Tlie fear of the Lord is the fear of Christ. More than
once we have been led to this topic. Our Lord Jesus Christ
deserves not our love only, but our fear also. Does that seem
strange to any one ? Is He not our merciful and faithful High
Priest, ever living to make intercession for us ? Is He not
described as the Propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world ? Blessed be God, the
words are His own ; written for our comfort, and for our attrac
tion towards Him. But they are not written to encourage us in
evil. They are not written to make us careless about sin. They
would not be God's words for us, if that were their effect. I
suppose there is nothing which so solemnizes and so awes the
mind of man, as the thought of an absolutely disinterested and
an absolutely unbounded love. It says of itself, How shall we
escape if we neglect so great salvation ? The greatness of the
salvation is the measure of the danger.
To trample under foot the Son of God, to count the blood of the
covenant, wherewith we are sanctified, an unholy thing, must
indeed be of all crimes the blackest and the most fatal. And
that is what men do every day for want of this very fear of

220 QUIET TIMES.
which the text speaks; the fear of the Lord, of Jesus Christ.
Let us learn to regard Him as not only dying for sin but
abhorring sin ; hating it with a perfect hatred, as warring
against that will of the Father which is man's deliverance and
sanctification. My brethren, it is a dangerous thing when there
is a prevalent laxity, in a congregation, or in a house, or in a
soul, as to this fear of Christ ; when all is resolved into that
sort of love (falsely so called) which is mere easiness and
weakness ; when the whole of religion is resolved into feeling,
and that feeling not one of reverent awe, but of presumptuous
trust. To walk in the fear of Christ is one half of Christianity.
(2) And then, so walking, there is room also for the other
characteristic ; and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. These
things are given in explanation of the churches multiplying ;
given, that is, in illustration of the effect produced upon by
standers and lookers on. To see a Christian fear Christ tends to
multiply the Church. There is an awe about it, which is no
repulsion. To see that a man lives every day in the remembrance
of his Saviour ; gives up what He forbids, loves what He
commands, sets Him always before him, is jealous for His honour
and personally seeks His glory ; this, if in one sense alarming, is
in another winning too ; it is marvellously impressive, in a world
like ours, so selfseeking and so godless, to see a man really
living for another, to see a man really looking not at the things
which are seen and temporal, but at the thi-ngs which are unseen
and eternal. But if, in addition to this walking in the fear of
Christ, there be also a visible walking in the comfort of the Holy
Ghost ; if a man is not watchful only but happy too ; if it is
evident that he has meat to eat which man knows not of, and a
spring of life within with which no stranger can intermeddle ;
it is scarcely possible that this should have no effect, under God,
in multiplying His Churches : we may doubt whether any man
ever so lived, without having been the means of adding to the
Lord at least one soul that should be saved. The comfort of the
Holy Ghost is not a mere soothing influence within; it is a
cheering power without also. The same word is rendered by

QUIET TIMES. 221
comfort and by exhortation. The son of consolation is a son also
of exhortation. The comforts of God are all powers too. God
comforts by cheering on ; by encouraging to action ; by giving a
new impulse to the life within, so that it shall spring forth to
higher hopes, nobler efforts, and greater attainments. Therefore
he who walks in the comfort of the Holy Ghost is evermore a
partaker of that Spirit which is one of power as well as of love
and of a sound mind. We may try the reality of our comfort,
by this one test : does it stir me up and spur me on to action ?
does it make me vigorous as well as peaceful ? does it say, in the
depths of my soul, not, Rest from work, but, Rest in working ?
If the latter, it is, we may humbly hope, of the nature of that
comfort in which when the Churches walked, they were multiplied
as well as edified.
3. Finally, we shall regard a time of outward tranquillity
as one peculiarly favourable to the exercise of Christ's ministry.
And when I speak of Christ's ministry, I desire to include in
that description not only an official but a personal service ; quite
as much the ministry of her whose humble leisure was filled with
almsdeeds for Christ's poor, as of him who passed through all
quarters ready to heal the sick or to reanimate the dead. How
ungrateful is it if, because God casts our lot in quiet times,
we are to enjoy a selfish and thankless ease, doing nothing for
Him and nothing for our brethren ; nothing to spread the know
ledge of Christ, or to draw others, at our own doors, in our own
homes, to follow Him., What are we doing — let each one ask
himself, let each one ask herself, What am I doing — to show my
thankfulness for the blessings and the hopes of a Christian?
And if any heart be aroused by these reflections to a sense of
idleness and of ingratitude, remember that he must be a drowsy
and negligent shepherd who cannot find you work to do, much or
little, for his Master's sheep that are (all around us) scattered
abroad, and that no comfort could be greater to those who here
watch for your souls, however imperfectly, as they that must give
account, than to see one and another coming to them for work to
be done for Christ; nor any hope more certain, than that the desire

222 QUIET TIMES.
for Christian work will be always twice blessed, blessed as much to
those who do it as to those in whose behalf and in whose service
it is done.
What am I doing, such is the question, to show my thankful
ness for the blessings and hopes of a Christian ? If nothing else,
am I at least caring for the poor? There are those who feel
themselves unequal to any other, any more directly spiritual
source. Then let them begin with this. Let them, in the
privacy of home, work, like this Christian woman, for Christ's
poor. Instead of saying, all through life, to the needy, Depart in
peace, be ye warmed and filled, let them see what little can be
done, in their own kitchen or by their own hand's toil, to procure,
for a few at least, those things which are needful for the body.
And let them consecrate every such offering by humble self-
abasing prayers to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let their own hope
and faith rest firmly on Him. So when they come to die, if not
mourned, like her of whom we have read to-night, by the tears of
many who have here lived by their bounty, at least they may
have Him with them whose love can illuminate even death and
the grave, and whose voice shall at last be heard in the darkness
and stillness of each separate sepulchre, saying, Awake thou that
steepest, and arise from the dead: yea, come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world.
Grant this, we beseech Thee, 0 merciful Father, through Jesus
Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer.

LECTURE IV.
THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN.
Acts x. 15.
What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
The history which comes before us to-night may be regarded as
the prelude to the ministry of St Paul. He was to be the Apostle
to the Gentiles ; and the conversion of the first Gentile is our
subject this evening. St Paul was not the agent in that conver
sion. He was still at Tarsus, his native place, making preparation
for that life of labour in Christ's service which will soon occupy
our chief attention in the study of this Book. God works as He
will, and by whom He will : Paul or Cephas, Paul or Apollos, it
matters not : all have one end, each has his own work, and God
alone gives the increase. It was well, too, that Peter, the
Apostle of the circumcision, should be thus early committed to
the evangelization of the Gentiles. There must be no schism in
the body : it must not be said, even falsely, that Paul and Peter
had different opinions on the question whether in Christ Jesus
there shall be henceforth circumcision or uncircumcision, one God
of the Jews and another of the Gentiles. Truth is one ; and the
Apostles of the truth must be one also.
We read in the Gospels of a centurion whose faith put to
shame that of the children of the kingdom. The first Gentile
convert was in like manner a centurion ; an officer in the Roman
army ; resident at Csesarea, the head-quarters of the Roman
government in Palestine. A soldier may be a good man. Some

224 THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN.
of God's most eminent servants have been officers in the army.
The centurion in the Gospel drew an argument for faith in Christ
from his own experience of discipline. If I, a mere man, can say
to a soldier under me, Go, or Come, or Do this or thai, and be-
sure of his obedience ; how much more can this Person, in whom
God is, say to a fever or a palsy, Depart, or, Be healed, at His
pleasure. It was a just argument. The habit of subordination,
and the habit of command, acquired in military service, has often
been an aid, under God's blessing, to the regulation of the life
without, and to the disciplining of the soul within. It was to a
man in this position and of this character, that it pleased God to
send, first of the Gentiles, the gift of eternal life.
The description of his character is remarkable.
(i) He was already a devout man, and one that feared God.
He was acquainted with the true God : he was no idolater : he
had learned, perhaps from his residence in Judea, to fear and to
worship one God only, his Maker and Preserver and Benefactor.
In this sense he was a proselyte ; a proselyte of the gate, as it
was called, though not admitted by circumcision into a closer
connection with Israel, or into the higher position of what was
termed a proselyte of righteousness.
(2) His influence was all for good. He feared God, with all
his house. He took care to regulate his household well, and to
instruct them in his own religion. He did not, as is too common
even among professed Christians, wrap himself up in selfish
security, and take no concern for the safety of those around and
beneath him. His religion was a family as well as personal
religion. He feared God with all his house. And therefore, when
he wanted a fit messenger on a religious errand, he had no
difficulty in finding a devout soldier among tliem that waited on
him continually. It is a great blessing, and it might be a
common blessing, to have a pious as well as faithful servant,
to whom even the affairs of the soul might on occasion be no
secret. (3) And it was not only within doors that his influence
wrought. His charity, like his piety, began at home, but it did

THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN. 225
not end there. He gave much alms to the people. Though he
seems to have been among strangers, only quartered in Cassarea
on military duty, yet he did not make that circumstance an
excuse for disregarding the wants that surrounded him. He
cared for the poor. He not only sanctified his own comforts by
thanksgiving, but also acted upon the principle laid down by
Him whom as yet he knew not, But rather give alms of such
things as ye have, and behold, all things are clean unto you.
(4) In the last place, the secret of his life is disclosed to us ;
how it was that he was thus reverent, and thus exemplary, and
thus charitable. He besought God always. He was continually
praying. Praying, doubtless, for more light ; praying also for
grace to act faithfully according to the light he had. And there
fore to him the promise was soon to be fulfilled, To him that hath
shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.
On one of these occasions of prayer, during the ninth hour of
the clay, three o'clock in the afternoon, he was surprised by the
visit of an Angel, calling him by his name, and telling him that
his prayers and his alms had gone up, like the sweet savour of a
sacrifice, for a memorial before God. It is a remarkable and a
beautiful expression. The prayers and the alms of Cornelius had
a record, as it were, in heaven. It is like the saying of the
prophet Malachi, Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to
another ; and tlie Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of
remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the
Lord, and tliat thought upon His name. The prayers and the
alms of the humble and waiting soul are entered in the book of
remembrance which is written in heaven.
And entered there not as an idle or a boastful record, but as
a plea for more light and clearer guidance. The direction sent to
Cornelius, as the reward (we may truly say) of his consistency
and devotion, is, that he send to Joppa to summon to him a new
teacher, who shall tell him what he ought to do ; tell him words
as we read afterwards, whereby he and all his house shall be saved.
God's comforts are all encouragements too ; not a mere soothing or
satisfying, but rather a wakening up and an urging on. So it
V. 15

226 The first gentile christian.
was here. God rewards by improving ; shows His love by adding
light. Cornelius lost no time in acting upon this direction. Like
Saul of Tarsus, he was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.
As soon as the Angel departed, he called two of his household
servants, and that devout soldier of whom we have already spoken,
made them acquainted with the cause, and sent them off to
Joppa ; a journey of about five and thirty miles.
But we have often had occasion to notice how God, designing to
send one of His servants on a special mission, first prepares and
instructs his mind for a work to which otherwise he might have
felt repugnance. It was so with Philip and the Ethiopian : it
was so with Ananias and Saul : it is so again with Peter and
Cornelius. Peter was a man full of prepossessions and prejudices
on the subject of religious differences. The middle wall of
partition between Jew and Gentile was for him an impassable
barrier : he could not imagine a Gentile being brought into God's
Church otherwise than through the sacrament of circumcision.
Nothing less than a direct intimation of the will of God could
suffice to make him obey the call of one who was no Israelite.
We may blame him ; we may call it bigoted and narrow-minded ;
but perhaps before we close the book this evening we may have
seen that, without his excuse, we are all too ready to imitate his
example. The God whom we serve is a considerate as well as a com
passionate God. He takes thought for His servants. He does
not suffer them to be surprised into disobedience. If He is about
to send them an unexpected and an improbable commission, He
sends them first a notice of it and a key to its meaning. Thus it
was here. The men sent by Cornelius were approaching the end
of their journey, about noon on the day following that of his
vision, when Peter went up to the housetop for a season of
seclusion and prayer. There he was, alone upon the flat Eastern
roof, looking only upon sea and sky, his mind filled with those
holy and magnificent thoughts which are so congenial to the
contemplation of those two grandest features of nature. As time

THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN. 227
went on, he became conscious of hunger; and while food was
preparing for him, he fell into a trance. In his trance he saw a
vision. From the open sky there came down the appearance of a
great sheet-like vessel, let down by its four corners till it rested
upon the earth. As he gazed upon its contents, he saw all
manner of beasts and birds and creeping things, herded indis
criminately within it. At the same moment a voice came to him,
bidding him, in his hunger, to kill and eat. The Apostle remon
strated against such a breach of the Levitical Law. Not so,
Lord, he pleaded : lay not upon my conscience such a burden : for
I never so transgressed the Mosaic statutes as to eat anything
common (defiled) or unclean. But the voice replied, What God hath
cleansed, that call not thou common. Three times this strange
scene was repeated ; the same command, the same remonstrance,
and the same reply ; and then all disappeared, and Peter was
left to muse alone upon the purport of the vision. While he was
thus engaged, the Holy Spirit announced to him that it was but
the prelude to a call of duty. Three men were already seeking
him ; he must arise, and go down, and set out with them on a
journey, assured that He, the Spirit of God, had sent them.
It was even so. He found at the gate the messengers of
Cornelius, and on hearing from them a brief account of their
errand — how Cornelius a centurion, a just and God-fearing man,
bearing a high character among his Jewish neighbours, had been
warned of God by a holy Angel to send for him to his house and
to hear words from him — he at once invited them in, entertained
them for the night, and on the morrow started with them for
Csesarea. The history is full of lessons for us : some of them we have
already indicated.
i. There is the duty of one who is as it were watching for
the morning ; waiting for a clearness of faith and hope which as
yet he has not. Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it. Whereunto
we have already attained, let us walk by it: and whatsoever we
lack, whether of knowledge or of comfort, God, in His own good
time, shall reveal even this unto us. In the way of Thy judgments
15—2

228 THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN.
liave we waited for Thee. If any man will do His will, he shall
know of the doctrine. Cornelius used his light, and prayed for
more. Cornelius was already just, already reverent, already a
worshipper with his house, already liberal and charitable, above
all, he was already earnest and constant in prayer, before he
knew anything of the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. What,
my brethren, are we who know? Which of his characteristics
does not condemn us ? Prophets and righteous men of old desired
to see the things which we see : we see them, and heed them not.
Which of us carries his household with him in his fear of God ?
Which of us disperses abroad and gives to the poor ? Which of
us — for that is the test of tests — prays to God always? Alas,
while we are as we are, the light that is around cannot shine
within, and the eye that should see it is gradually losing its
power. 2. But, while the example of Cornelius thus condemns, let
us not lose the recollection that he still needed a conversion.
How can men read this history, and talk of it as the record of
the first Gentile conversion, and yet go their way to think a
Gospel faith needless ? Which of them would not count a
Cornelius of this day safe for heaven 1 Which of them would
not consider that a just man, and a godly man, and a charitable
man, and a devout man, was all, perhaps more than all, that can
be required for salvation? It is becoming the fashion now to
claim what is called a wide latitude for opinion and doctrine,
and to say that, if a man only walks according to the light he
has — or rather, if a man only lives morally and does his duty
— we need not trouble ourselves about his faith : he can't be
wrong, whose life is in the right. We must indeed think the
conversion of Cornelius a strange misnomer; we must indeed
regard the whole record — the visit of the Angel, the mission to
Peter, the vision from the housetop, and the double journey — a
mere waste of strength and trouble, needless for its object and
unworthy of God ; if we do not simply believe that there is
salvation in none other than Christ ; that there is none other name
under heaven, given among men, save His alone, whereby we must

THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN. 229
be saved. Not for the sake of judging others, but certainly for
our own warning and quickening in the life of God, do we need,
all of us, to remember that he whose conversion is before us was
no scoffer, no profane person, no libertine, no profligate, but one
who already feared God with all his house, gave much alms to the
people, and prayed to God alway. Do I address any to-night
— alas, it must needs be — who are practically resting for their
salvation upon a moral or at least a decent life ? men of middle
age perhaps, immersed in life's toils and cares ; or men past
middle age, sinking into the dulled perceptions and blunted
enjoyments of the old ; but' who, in either case, have no real hold
upon the revelations of the Gospel, no lively sense of their need
of a Saviour's blood, no true habitual communion with God their
Father through the Holy Spirit? My brethren — I would say,
with all earnestness and with all tenderness also, to such men —
think of God sending a holy Apostle to the blameless and
exemplary Cornelius, to tell him words whereby he and all. his
house might be saved. Does not this of itself teach you, that a
man's soul, even a blameless man's soul, needs saving, saving
from sin and death, and saving in Christ only ? Whatever you
are, you can scarcely be a better man than Cornelius : and yet he
needed Christ, and the knowledge of Christ, and the possession
of Christ's Spirit, to save his soul. The same word which was
miraculously sent to him is yours all the time : this Book of God
contains it : O study it ! neglect it not all your life long ; but
so apply yourself to it, with the simplicity and the earnestness
which God loves, that, before you die, you may see its glorious
light, and be guided by it into the haven where you would be.
3. Thus the example of Cornelius on the one hand, and the
conversion of Cornelius on the other hand, may admonish us
according to our need. And shall we not learn something also
from the Apostle's vision, by which he was made willing in the
day of Christ's power, to open the door of faith to the Gentiles ?
What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
(1) The words were spoken, first of all, of persons. Those
Gentiles, who are as much God's creatures and God's children as

230 THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN.
are the natural seed of Abraham ; those Gentiles, whom it is His
pleasure now at once to receive into equality of position and
equality of acceptance with the Jews, on the ground of the same
faith in Christ Jesus which alone can enable a sinner of any race
to draw near to God ; think not of these, and speak not of these,
and act not towards these, as though they were excluded from
thy sympathy by a mere difference of blood and lineage. Be
ready for that call which is now instant, to go to a Gentile home
as its first Apostle and Evangelist. Such was the meaning of
the text, as it first fell upon the ear of St Peter in his vision on
the housetop.
But what does it say to us ? We are in no danger of needing
its first lesson. We ourselves are Gentiles, and know that our
one hope lies in the abolition of Mosaic ordinances, and the
admission of all nations of men into the fold and Church of
Christ. And yet we are for ever making to ourselves new
distinctions, less excusable and far more arbitrary, on the ground
of which we refuse to other men our sympathy and our charity.
Such, for example, are those differences of opinion and obser
vance which divide the Christian Church itself into parties within
and sects without. How slow are we to give the right hand of
fellowship to all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.
How apt are we to scrutinize the precise forms of words in which
others express themselves, and to judge harshly and speak un
charitably of any who do not frame their ideas of truth exactly
on our model. May we not apply to such cases the warning
voice of this vision, What God hath cleansed, by His own for
giving act, and by His own indwelling Spirit, that call not thou
common ? Frame not new conditions of Christian unity, beyond
faith in the same Saviour and the visible fruits of the same
Spirit. Who art thou that judgest another m.an's servant ? to his
own master lie standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up : for
God is able to make him stand. Let every mam be fully persuaded
in his own mind. Let us follow after tlie things which make for
peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. Heist thou
faith ? have it to thyself before God.

THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN. 231
But we might almost wish that our divisions sprang only or
chiefly out of differences of doctrine. At least it would show
that we were interested and anxious about the things of God,
however mistaken in our use of them. Alas, I fear it is more
often from other causes that we disapprove and despise our
brethren. How prone are we to make our own little circle, and
then disparage all who are out of it. How ready to say, Such a
person is beneath my notice ; too low in birth or too humble in
station to be fit company for me and mine. And thus even
amongst those who are dwelling side by side in the same street
of the same little town, and whom a stranger might imagine to
be not far at least from an equality of position, there will be
found parties within parties and distinctions within distinctions,
severing them altogether from anything like unity, and splitting
up the body of Christ, even in its smallest portions, into shreds
and fragments as minute as they are arbitrary. Well may it be
said to such creators of differences, What God hath cleansed, that
call not thou common. Be broad and generous in your sympathies,
and love not to exclude but to combine.
And thus it is yet more visibly, when we reach the thought
of the more destitute members of Christ's body. In what a
contemptuous spirit do many deal with the poor. How slow
are they to remember the Apostle's question, Who maketh thee
to differ ? what hast thou which thou didst not receive ? How
commonly do we think and judge of the poor, as though there
were something wrong in being in need ; as though the presence
of poverty, apart from any question as to its cause, were not
painful only but almost contaminating ; as though it did away
with the nominal unity of all human beings in a common Father
and Redeemer and Sanctifier, and justified a tone and a manner
altogether disparaging and contemptuous. My brethren, these
things ought not so to be. What God hath cleansed, what He has
not thought beneath the notice of His Providence and of His
salvation, ought not surely to be below the regard of those who
owe everything themselves to His bounty : what God hath
cleansed, that call not thou common. We are all one, in the

232 THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN.
aspect of His creation and of His redemption : let us be one also
in the aspect of our own sympathy, our own charity, and our
own love.
(2) Finally, the words of the text have an application, just
and true, not to persons only, but to things.
There is in all of us a strong tendency to disparage the
sacredness of earthly life. We are apt to call it common. Some
have done so in a religious but a morbid spirit. The light of
eternity, presented perhaps in the midst of a career of thought
lessness or sin, has dazzled the eye which was unused to it. The
question, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? has been answered
to their ear, not as Christ would have answered it ; not by
bidding them do for Him what before they had done for them
selves ; not by bidding them, in the calling wherein they were
called, therein henceforth to abide with God; but rather by a call
to go out of the world, to frame for themselves a new set of duties
and of interests, and to run away from temptations which ought
rather to be met and conquered. What God has cleansed, His
servants have sometimes called common. They could not under
stand how God has provided for each one of us a sacred calling
in a common one ; how the trivial round, the common task, may
be so elevated and so sanctified by an all-pervading and all-
constraining love of Christ, as to become that very circle of
good works, which God has before prepared that we should walk
in it. Others, again, and more, we fear, in number, have called the
occupations of life common, and in calling have made them so.
It is easy enough to keep God out of our earthly life ; far, far
easier than to bring Him into it. God has cleansed it. He has
given, and He has sanctioned, and He has blessed, and He has
sanctified, all the relations of life and all its duties and all its
offices, its work and its relaxations, its intercourse and its
companionships, to be a daily offering, of innocence, of thank
fulness, of happiness, of usefulness, to His honour no less than to
our good. It is not of Him that it is common. But any one of
us can make it so. We have only to follow inclination, we have

THE FIRST GENTILE CHRISTIAN. 233
only to let ourselves alone, we have only to make no effort and
use no means ; and life will be common, every part of it, for us,
even though in itself, and as God gave it, and as some actually
find it, it is indeed none other than the house of God, none other
than the very gate of heaven.
This then is our struggle : how, without going out of the
world, we may be kept in it from the evil. And this is the very
happiness of knowing Christ. He who has passed through all,
and has died to sanctify all, can both feel with our infirmities,
and also raise us out of them. Miss not, Christian brethren,
through neglect, procrastination, or sin, the attainment of this
great salvation. Seek ye the Lord, while He may be found. The
night cometh : then let the day be well used. The night cometh :
then let it not find you among those who, so far as the soul is
concerned, have stood all the day idle. The night cometh : then
let it be to you a night of rest after toil, and not of gloom or
confusion, not of fatal surprise, and not of outer darkness. Seeing
ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in
peace, without spot and blameless.

LECTURE V.
THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES.
Acts x. 33.
Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all
things that are commanded thee of God.
Would that this might be the spirit of us also, my brethren,
who are here assembled this night. Would that we might all
regard ourselves as gathered together to receive a message ; a
message from God, and a message to the soul.
We have heard already of that twofold preparation which
God made for the first preaching of the Gospel to a Gentile; how
he was prepared to receive, and how an Apostle was prepared to
communicate, under these new circumstances, the word of eternal
life. To-night we are to read how and in what form the com
munication itself was made, by which the middle wall of partition
was effectually broken down, and the whole world entered upon
an inheritance hitherto confined and restricted to a single nation.
The hasty and impetuous Peter had now become, under the
influence of transforming grace, a considerate and a self-governed
man. He allowed a night to intervene before he set out on his
new commission. Doubtless it was a night of much communing
with himself, and of much prayer to God also. Since the great
day of Pentecost, seven or eight years before, he had known no
crisis so momentous. That flinging back of the golden gates of
the kingdom, by the application of the Apostolical key, to admit
men of every race and tongue and creed, on the simple condition

THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES. 235
of faith within and of baptism without, was an event, difficult
indeed for us to marvel at, but for him, educated as he had been,
and prepossessed as he had been, nothing less than a revolution
in the eternal counsels of God. But Peter, though he had lost
his impetuosity and was fast losing his prejudices, had not lost
his vigour for action, nor his readiness to give effect to conviction.
After one night of calm reflection, diligent search, and earnest
prayer, he was ready to set forth on his errand ; accompanied,
not only by the three messengers of Cornelius, but also, in con
sideration no doubt of the gravity and interest of the occasion,
by certain members of the infant Church of Joppa.
The journey safely accomplished, by the afternoon of the
second day, Peter is received at the house of Cornelius by an
expectant company of the kinsmen and near friends of its master.
At the door, Cornelius meets him, with an act of homage to the
exalted character of his visitor, which was already familiar to a
Roman in the case of his Emperor, but which the Apostle, mind
ful of his Master's solemn charge, refused as an act of superstition
and idolatry. Stand up : I myself also am a man. The minister
of Christ, even if he be an Apostle, is still but a man : in that
identity of nature with his people lies as much his strength as his
weakness. Compassed, like them, with every infirmity, he can
both feel for the sins and the weaknesses of others, and also
comfort them in all their tribulation with the comfort wherewith he
himself is comforted of God.
He entered the house talking with him, and at once addressed
himself to the company whom he there found assembled. First
of all, he reminds them of the deep-rooted principle from which
he is departing, in coming to them at all. A Jew could only
associate with those whom first he has brought over not only to
his own religion as a matter of opinion and doctrine, but also to
his own religion as a matter of ritual and ceremonial. But God
has showed him that he should not call any man, any human being,
common or unclean. It needed God's own teaching, the teaching
of a divine vision and a divine voice, to write upon his heart this
(to us) elementary lesson; that every human being is in the sight

236 THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES.
of God of equal value ; that He looks not upon the nominal creed
or the religious enlightenment, any more than He looks upon the
rank or the wealth or the colour, as giving or withholding a share
in the universal sonship and the universal brotherhood of man.
Let us, who have learned the lesson, or who scarcely needed
to learn it, see that we also remember, and that we also prac
tise it.
Now therefore, having come to them without gainsaying, as
soon as he was sent for, he must know for what intent they have
sent for him. Cornelius answers by recounting the story of his
vision. Four days ago he was keeping the ninth hour in prayer
in his house, when suddenly there stood before him a man — that
is, one in the form of a man, but described before as an Angel
of God — in bright apparel. In words few but most encouraging,
this messenger of God assured him of the acceptance of his
prayers, and of the remembrance before God of that self-denying
bounty to the poor by which he attested the sincerity of his
devotion. To him who thus had, more should now be given.
Send therefore, it was said to him, to Joppa, and call hither a
man named Simon, whose surname is Peter : he is lodging there,
in a particular house — of which the owner and his trade are
expressly mentioned — by the sea-side. Send for him, and listen
to .him. Immediately therefore I sent to thee ; and thou hast
well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here
present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of
tlie Lord. Ten verses comprise the whole of St Peter's answer ; the whole
of that revelation which was to be the eternal life of Cornelius
and his house. Not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but by
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, was the first Gentile
conversion wrought, and the gate of the heavenly kingdom set
wide open to mankind.
Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that
God is no respecter of persons ; but in every nation he that feareth
Him and worketh righteousness is acceptable to Him. God looks
not on the race or the profession or the outward ritual : He does

THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES. 237
not accept a man for being a Jew, or reject a man for being a
Gentile. That is what St Peter says. He does not say, as some
would pervert his words, that it matters not what a man believes,
provided his life is moral, and his conduct consistent with his
knowledge and his principles. The brief answer to such a
construction of his words is found in the fact of his being there
to utter them. If Cornelius was safe in his prayers and his
almsgivings, why was St Peter sent to tell him words whereby he
and all his house might be saved ? The stress lies on the words
in every nation. No longer amongst the Jews only, but in every
tribe and race of man, those who are willing to know God's will,
those who are sincere and candid and conscientious, are called
and are chosen and are fitted to receive health and salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Light is come into the world:
and lie that doeth truth cometh to that light, that he may walk in
it and be saved. He that is of God heareth God's words : he that
feareth God and (according to his power) worketh righteousness
is accepted with Him as a hearer of Christ's Gospel, and an
inheritor, whether Jew or Gentile, of every hope and every
blessing of the faithful. In Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor
Greek, circumcision nor uncircumcision. In Christ Jesus neither
circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but a new
creature... but faith which worketh by love.
Now therefore St Peter can boldly speak to this Gentile the
word of eternal life.
The word (or communication) which He sent unto the children
of Israel, preaching (proclaiming the glad tidings of) peace by
means of Jesus Christ ; peace with Gocl, after estrangement and
enmity, through Jesus Christ : He is Lord of all ; not of Jews
only, but of the whole race of men ; Lord, as St Paul expresses
it, both of the dead and living : ye know, I say, the word : or
rather the thing ; just as in the Gospel of St Luke the shepherds
say one to another, Let us go now even unto Bethlehem, and see
this word (thing) which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made
known unto us : it is so here : ye know the thing, the fact, the
event, which came to pass throughout all Judea, having begun from

238 THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES.
Galilee after the baptism which John proclaimed ; even Jesus of
(from) Nazareth, how God anointed Him, made Him the Christ
or Messiah — it is the same word — with the Holy Ghost and with
power. The sentence is often broken. It all depends on the
words, Ye know. First we have, Ye know the communication
which God sent. Then, Ye know the thing which took place
throughout Judea. Then, Ye know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God
anointed Him. The word (communication) of the 36th verse,
and the word (fact) of the 37th verse, are said in the 38th verse
to be identical with the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He is the
word, He is the fact, which constitutes the Gospel.
And now read the brief account of His life and of His work.
Who went about doing good. Benefiting is the exact expression.
His whole ministry was that of a Benefactor. And healing all
that were oppressed (tyrannized over) by the devil: for God was
with Him. The devil is man's tyrant : he uses them as mere
subjects and creatures, and treats them with all the insolence of
a despot. That is one remark upon the words. Do not count
yourself free until Christ has made you so : till then you are a
slave, under the despotism and tyranny of one who is stronger
than you, though there be One and but One who is stronger even
than he. And again, this bondage to the devil is a state of
disease : Christ heals those who are oppressed of the devil : it
is health to be a Christian ; and it is disease to be the slave of
sin. And we are witnesses of all things that He did both in the land
of the Jews and in Jerusalem. We can tell you of these things,
because we ourselves saw them. That which we have seen and
heard declare we unto you. It is a matter of fact, of which we
are eye-witnesses.
Whom also they slew by hanging on a tree, on the malefactor's
cross. Him God raised from death on the third day, and showed
Him openly (gave Him to become manifest); not to all the people,
but unto witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and
drank with Him after He arose from among the dead : and He
charged us to proclaim to the people and to asseverate (literally, to

THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES. 239
protest, or assert with strong protestation and appeal) that it is
He who has been ordained (marked out) by God to be the Judge
of quick and dead; of those who shall be alive, and of those who
shall be already dead when He comes again in His glory.
To Him all tlie prophets bear witness, that every one wlw
believes on Him receives (as a single act) remission (dismissal) of
sins through His name.
While Peter was still speaking these words, there fell the Holy
Ghost upon all who were hearing the word (communication). Arid
all the believing Jews who came with Peter were astonished, for
that even upon tlie Gentiles the gift of the Holy Ghost is (hath
been) poured forth : for they heard them speaking with tongues,
in various dialects and languages, and magnifying God. Then
answered Peter, said in reply to their expressions of amazement,
Can any one hinder the water of holy Baptism, so that these men
should not be baptized ? persons who received the Holy Ghost even
as also we ? we who on the day of Pentecost were made partakers
of that marvellous gift? And he ordered that they should be
baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay on
for some days.
i. Such, my brethren, was the Gospel, in the days and on
the lips of the Apostles. It was a record of facts; and out of
the facts grew the doctrines. It was not a mere lesson of
morality. It did not say, Do your best, and God will accept you.
It did not say, Care not about opinion, care not about doctrine,
if only your life is right. Cornelius, whose life was blameless and
exemplary, still needed Christ, and the Holy Spirit too, for his
salvation. His diligent use of the light he had, brought him
more light : such is God's rule : but it did not enable him to
dispense with it. What showed God's acceptance was, God's
teaching, God's illumination; not God's acquiescing in his con
dition, and leaving him as he was. And when that teaching,
when that illumination came, what was it ? It was a narrative :
it was a history : it was a testimony of certain things which had
happened, which had been done, upon this earth of ours : in
short, it was the account of a Person; of One who,, though

240 THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES.
Himself man, had altogether changed and reversed man's condi
tion; had shown Himself superior to the whole power and
empire of evil; had broken the yoke of sin and Satan in
instances numerous enough and decisive enough to show that He
could do it in all ; had lived a life such as never man lived, and
spoken words such as never man spake ; had then given His very
life as a ransom for many ; had died upon the cross to take away
sin, and after dying had also risen again to be the living High
Priest, the Mediator and the Advocate with God, of all who
believe ; to be both the Judge of human kind, and also the
Atonement and the Propitiation for human sin. Such was the
Gospel as preached by an Apostle to the first convert of our
Gentile world. It was a narrative of facts : it was the history of
a Person. It was our Apostles' Creed which formed the original
Gospel to the Gentiles.
And is it not so still 1 Is it not the faith of a Person, even
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which still removes mountains, still
converts, regenerates, strengthens, purifies? This is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that over-
cometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God ?
Purifying their hearts by faith. The Gospel of our salvation is
the revelation of a Saviour.
And has that Gospel now lost its savour? Must we look out
for some other because the first is worn out? So the world
judges, and the Church has too much caught the infection. We
fear that even Christian Sermons are too much estimated now by
their eloquence or their novelty, and too little by their proclama
tion of Christ Himself as the Redeemer of the lost and the Life
of the dead. In the same degree are we in danger of losing sight
of. the Apostolical maxim, and with it of that which makes the
whole fire and force of our ministry, We preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus the Lord ; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
God help us all, my brethren, if it be so — us in our place, and you
in yours — to come back to the simplicity and (with it) to the
strength of St Peter's first Sermon to the Gentiles !
2. God in a remarkable manner bare it witness. While

THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES. 241
the brief narrative was still proceeding, the very gift of Pentecost
was poured upon the hearers. The fire of the Lord fell, and
attested the sacrifice. By an inversion of which we possess no
other record in Scripture, the inward gift preceded the outward
dedication. Elsewhere Baptism went first, and the gift of the
Spirit followed. Here it is the gift of the Spirit which demands
and justifies the Baptism. God is a God of order, but He is not
restricted by His own laws. Nothing less than the Pentecostal
sign would have furnished an irresistible argument for this first
Gentile Baptism. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift
as He did unto us who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was
I, that I could withstand God ? When they heard these things, they
(the objectors) held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then
hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Yet, lest any should draw from this inversion an argument
against the importance of forms, it was required that the outward
sign should follow, since it could not precede, the inward grace.
Though the Holy Spirit had already fallen upon them, still they
must be baptized in the name of the Lord. How presumptuous
then, in later times, to say, 'Because the form is not all, therefore
the form is nothing : if I have the Spirit, I may dispense with
the baptismal water.' There is too much of this tendency in all
of us, to argue and cavil where God has spoken. God has been
pleased, in His two holy Sacraments, to remind us that in this
life we are body as well as soul, and that the two elements of our
being are wonderfully and fearfully commingled. The body acts
upon the soul ; the soul, in all its volitions, must act through the
body. God knows this : God made it so to be. In the two
Sacraments therefore, of Baptism and of the Lord's Supper, He
has been pleased to recognize the use of the body in the things of
the soul. He has been pleased to testify to realities unseen
through the medium of things material and corporeal. The
washing of water must accompany the word in our admission, and
the participation of the bread and the wine must assist the
spiritual communion in our support and sustentation.
Those who talk slightingly of forms are seldom those who
V. 16

242 THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES.
know most of the Spirit. Not without form, though not by
forms only, can the work of Christ, which is the work of human
salvation, be carried forward in the world. It has been truly
said that, if the doctrine of the Gospel had been launched in the
world without the institution of a Church — that is, a society
cemented by ordinances — to give it body and substance in the
face of the world, it might have waxed fainter and feebler,
generation by generation, until at last it actually died out and
vanished away. The Church is called in Scripture the pillar and
ground of the truth. The Church — that is, the congregation of
faithful men united by the possession of God's Word and Christ's
Sacraments — is that which supports and bears up the whole
fabric of truth and revelation. And we all know, from our own
experience, how much our faith, whether it be weak or whether
it be strong, owes to the possession amongst us of a house of
prayer, regular seasons of worship, and a standing ministry to
lead and to guide and (as God enables it) to quicken our devotion.
Take away all these things, or any of these things, and where
should we be? Destroy this temple, to rise no more from its
ruins ; make its services slovenly, rare, or repulsive ; let there be
no one to go in and out before you in the exercise of a regular
ministration ; let there be no visitation of the sick, no care for
the poor, no catechizing of the young, no word of comfort, advice,
or warning, to such as stand in need of each ; and who does not
know how serious would be the loss to himself and to the cause
of good in the place in which our lot in life has fallen ? I know
not whose faith would stand the test of an utter denial of all
help either from public worship or from private ministrations;
an absolute removal of that candlestick, the Church, which is not
indeed, but which yet holds, the light of the word, the lamp of the
truth. Let us not lose, my brethren, by supineness or lethargy of
soul, the advantages which God has given us. Freely indeed we
have received : let us thankfully use, let us freely give. Thou, 0
God, sentest a gracious rain upon Thine inheritance, and refresh-
edst it when it was weary. Thy congregation shall dwell therein :

THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES. 243
for Thou, 0 God, hast of Thy goodness prepared for the poor.
May He of His infinite mercy give us first that preparation of
the heart, and then also that answer of peace and grace, both of
which, alike and equally, are from above, coming down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of
turning.

16—2

LECTURE VI.
A HELPING HAND.
Acts xi. 23.
Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad,
and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave
unto the Lord.
So great an event as the admission of the first Gentile into the
Church of God, could not pass without notice, enquiry, and even
complaint. We all know what the force of prejudice is : and of
all prejudices none was ever so deeply rooted as the spirit of
religious exclusiveness in the heart of a Jew. He could not
understand how there could be any other way of entrance for a
Gentile into God's favour, save only through the narrow door of
proselytism and of circumcision.
Accordingly, when St Peter returned to Jerusalem after that
solemn scene at Csesarea of which we read last Sunday, he was at
once met by the indignant remonstrances of what may be called
the narrow party in the Church of the capital of Judaism. Thou
wentest in, we hear, to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with
them. As usual in all cases of misunderstanding, where there
is a real good will and good intention on both sides, a simple
statement of the facts cleared up everything. St Peter told them
of his vision at Joppa, and of the voice that followed and
expounded it. What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
His mind thus prepared for some relaxation, he knew not what,

A HELPING HAND. 245
of ceremonial rigidity — for some extension, he knew not what, of
the sympathies and charities of a Christian — he finds already at
the door of the house three persons summoning him to Csesarea.
A divine intimation within bids him to accept the call. Taking
with him a competent number of impartial witnesses, to attest
the circumstances which might be about to unfold themselves, he
journeys to Csesarea. There he hears of a vision, the very
counterpart and index of his own, by which the summons to
himself had been suggested and inspired. He begins to 'speak.
He has just touched upon the Gospel history ; has told of the life
of Jesus and of His death, of His resurrection and manifestation,
of His office as the Judge and of His office as the Propitiation.
While he yet speaks, the infallible sign of the Divine presence,
the visible and audible proof (familiar to him from the great
Pentecost) of the Holy Spirit's working, is vouchsafed to those
who listen. He remembered the Saviour's promise, Ye shall be
baptized ivith the Holy Ghost : and how could he doubt that the
gift of that Baptism justified the administration of the other?
that the presence of the inward grace demanded the application
of the outward sign ? Can any man, he had asked aloud in the
house of Cornelius, forbid the water ? What was I, he asks now of
the gainsayers at Jerusalem, that I could forbid God — the word is
the same in the two cases — that these should 'not be baptized, who
had received the Holy Ghost as well as we ? The question was its
own answer. Prepossession and prejudice could not stand before
it. When they heard these things, they held their peace, and even
glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted
repentance unto life.
Thus was the main question decided. The Gentiles must be
recognized as members, equally with the Jews, of the Church of
Christ. On what terms they should be thus recognized ; whether
on condition of keeping the Law as well as believing the Gospel ;
was a question not yet opened, but destined to exercise a power
ful influence on the peace of the Church in days of which we
shall presently read the record.
Simultaneously, or nearly so, with this great event, the con-

246 A HELPING HAND.
version of Cornelius, a wider work of good was going on, under
God's Providence, beyond the region of Palestine. We have
read of the great scattering which arose on the death of Stephen.
The 8th chapter told us that the whole Church at Jerusalem,
except the Apostles only, was scattered abroad throughout the
regions of Judcea and Samaria. And here we read that the
dispersion and its consequences spread more widely still. Through
Phenice, or Phenicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean, north
of Palestine — through the neighbouring island of Cyprus, and
even to the great city of Antioch, the metropolis of Syria —
journeyed far and wide these heralds of the Gospel, causing even
the fierceness of persecuting man to turn to God's praise. Up to
this time they had confined their ministry to the Jews. But
some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene — we read, you
remember, in the 2nd chapter, of the parts of Libya about Cyrene
as furnishing some of the strangers in Jerusalem, and doubtless
also some of the Christian converts, on the great day of Pentecost
— who, having come to Antioch, began to speak unto the Greeks,
or (according to another reading) to the Grecian Jews, preaching
the glad tidings of the Lord Jesus.
If the Grecians spoken of were only the Greek-speaking Jews
— the Jews resident in foreign lands, and using as their ordinary
speech the Greek language — there would be nothing new in the
event described : for from the very first there had been in this
sense, as we read expressly in the 6th chapter, Grecians as well
as Hebrews within the pale of the Christian Church. But the
remarkable thing was, that now, not only in the single instance
just read of at Csesarea, but in more distant parts of the Empire,
Gentiles were beginning to enter the Church without passing
through the gate of Judaism.
And tlie hand of the Lord was with them, with these preachers
to the Gentiles : God set His seal to the work, by giving them
the Holy Spirit even as He had done to the Jewish believers :
and a great number which believed turned unto the Lord.
Tidings of this important work reached erelong the ears of
the Church at Jerusalem ; and in pursuance of their usual

A HELPING HAND. 247
practice — of which the 8th chapter gave us an example — they
sent out a special representative to observe and report upon the
facts. In this instance the messenger of the Church was that
holy man of whom we read in the 4th chapter that he gave the
first instance of entire self-devotion to the cause of Christ and
His people by selling his land for the benefit of the Christian
community. Here we learn more of his character. They sent
forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch : who, when
he arrived, and saw the grace of God, saw God's favour and
blessing so evidently and so largely bestowed, was glad, and
exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave to
the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost
and of faith. And a large multitude was added to the Lord.
And he went Jorth to Tarsus to seek Saul ; and having found him
he brought him to Antioch. And it happened to them even for a
whole year to be assembled in the congregation, and to teach a large
multitude : and it happened that in Antioch first of all the disciples
were called Christians.
A prediction of coming famine conveyed to the Church of
Antioch by a prophet named Agabus, and fulfilled not long
afterwards during the same reign of Claudius, led the disciples
of that place, in a true spirit of Christian charity and believing
forethought, to begin at once a collection for the expected
sufferers in Judsea. And this collection was carried to the
managing elders at Jerusalem by the hands of Barnabas and
Saul. 1. Barnabas was a good man : not one of those stern, rigid,
unloving men, who think their work done when they have just
borne a testimony ; but a kindly, benevolent, and beneficent
man ; one who had first given up his all for his brethren, and
then, as the best of gifts, as that without which the other would
have been valueless, gave himself. How beautifully every part
of the description hangs together. What he had done, and what
he was now doing, is explained and accounted for by what he
was. A good man, and full of the Holy Ghost, of that Divine
Spirit which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be

248 A HELPING HAND.
entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and
without hypocrisy ; full also of faith, of that power of looking
above and beyond earth, of apprehending the future and beholding
the invisible, which makes sacrifice easy and the heavenly mind
natural. That was his character, his Christian character. What
ever he may have had from nature — perhaps a kindly disposition,
an amiable temper, a loving heart — we know not — he certainly
had not from nature his fulness of the Holy Ghost and of faith.
2. And now as to his work. When he came, and saw the
grace of God, he was glad. There are persons who are not glad
when they see the grace of God. Sometimes it only reproves,
convicts, and therefore irritates them. As taking pleasure in the
wickedness of others is the last stage of sin, so a genuine delight
in the holiness of others is perhaps the highest step in grace.
To many of us, I fear, the sight of another's goodness is not a
cause of joy. If this is so, we ought indeed to suspect ourselves.
We who pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, ought to be
glad when we see the faintest sign of either. If we are not glad,
there must be an unsoundness somewhere; a want of zeal at least,
if not a want of sincerity.
He was glad, and exhorted them all that with pu/rpose of heart
they would cleave unto the Lord. Barnabas was so named by the
Apostles to express his character. He was a son of consolation.
But that word consolation is the same, in the original language,
with exhortation or encouragement. He exhorted them all, might
be rendered, he consoled or he comforted them all. We have often
remarked that the Holy Scriptures know of no such comforting
as stops with itself. To comfort is, in God's language, to
encourage, to cheer on, to animate to nobler efforts and a more
pure devotion. That was what Barnabas, Son of consolation, did
when he saw the grace of God at Antioch. He consoled by
exhorting, by encouraging, by cheering on. How opposite is
this to the teaching of many. A cold chilling statement of
duty, or a stern and repulsive reproof for disobedience, this is,
too often, all that we get from those who are charged with
our oversight in a family or in the congregation. But that

A HELPING HAND. 249
exhortation is not Christian, which is not an encouragement, a
cheering on ; a saying, Thus far have you come : now press on to
this beyond.
The holy Apostle of whom we are reading was able to feel,
with regard to the converts at Antioch, that they had indeed
found Christ. And therefore his exhortation, his encouragement,
could be safely and surely this, As ye have received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in Him : as ye have turned to the Lord, so
with purpose of heart cleave to Him. It is the same word by
which our Lord Himself expressed the attendance upon Him of
the multitudes who had followed Him into the wilderness. I
have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me
now three days, and have nothing to eat. They had been cleaving
to Him for three days in a desert place. In a higher, a spiritual
sense, it is so here. The business of one who has come to Christ,
is to continue with Him. The business of one who has joined
himself to Christ, is to cleave to Him ; to wait upon Him for the
daily guidance, the daily supplies, the daily healing, and the daily
strength. And do not the words themselves say to us, that there is a
difficulty in doing this ? that there is a temptation to look off
from Christ, to leave Him, to walk no more with Him ? Yes, we
all find that, hard as it is to come to Him, it is harder still to
stay with Him. It is difficult to bend the stubborn will, to bow
the proud neck, so as to stoop to accept Him as the Saviour of
the lost and of the vile. But it is yet more difficult, when that
first humbling is accomplished, and when hope and comfort have
reentered the soul through the sacrifice and the mediation of
Jesus Christ, then to remain. We seem to have got what we
came for : why should we stay ? It needs a long and often a
bitter experience to make a man feel his own weakness and his
own dependence. We are all too much like children, eager to
walk alone, till repeated falls bring us back humbled to the
guiding hand of which we had thought to be independent.
And we remark how opposite are the causes which lead us to
walk carelessly or intermittently with Jesus. Sometimes it is

250 A HELPING HAND.
the self-confidence of a little strength gained; the ungrateful
treatment, by one to whom Christ has shown mercy, of the very
Benefactor from whom he has received iti. Sometimes it is the
mere weariness of hope long deferred : we have waited long upon
Christ, and He has not seemed to look upon us. Sometimes it is
the vexation of one who finds himself perpetually falling, and is
tempted to say, What is the use of praying? my life is even more
sinful than before I first called upon a Saviour : I will trifle with
Him no more; I must walk alone, and guard my own steps as
I may. And need I say that it is sometimes the presence of
direct temptation, which makes us walk loosely and negligently
with Jesus ? the influence of the world, closing us in on every
side, and making us say even as it says ; calling evil good, and
good evil ; calling the seen real, and the temporal eternal : or
else the power of the flesh, making some desired indulgence so
necessary to us that we must have it (we say) if we die for it ;
some evil desire or sinful lust so fixing itself in our bosom that
we cannot even pray to be rid of it : or else, once again — for this
too is possible — the subtle whisper of the devil himself, suggest
ing doubts to the inmost soul as to the power or the very being
of Christ or of God; saying in the secret ear, Yea, hath God said?
or, God doth know that it is not so ; or, Ye shall not surely die :
on the contrary, Ye shall be as gods ? This earliest and most
often repeated temptation, embracing in itself the two other, and
giving them their edge and their sting, is evermore drawing
souls away from Him who is their life, and necessitating- again
and again the very exhortation of the text, that they who have
once turned to the Lord should with purpose of heart cleave to
Him. The words seem to have a special application to those younger
members of the Church who are about to seal upon themselves
the vows of their Baptism. O for the persuasive word of an
Apostle, O for that Divine grace which alone made even an
Apostle's word effectual, to keep those faithful to Christ who are
now about to come to Him ! May we see in them the steady
frequenters, while life lasts, of God's House and of Christ's Table.

A HELPING HAND. 251
May we see in them examples of that true godliness which has
the promise of this life and of that which is to come. And that
it may be so, God grant to them that blessed spirit of watchful
ness and holy fear, that mistrust of self and that trust in Him,
that earnestness not to fail or come short of the heavenly calling,
of which it is the sure effect to keep them close to Him whose
grace is sufficient for the most sinful, and whose strength is made
perfect in weakness.
3. It is one beautiful trait in the character of Barnabas,
that he was ever helping forward those whose position in the
Church of Christ was less clear or less established than his own.
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem three years after his conversion,
and the disciples were all afraid of him, not believing that he,
so lately a persecutor, could indeed be one of themselves ; it was
Barnabas who took him and brought him to the Apostles ;
declaring how he had seen the Lord in the way, and had already
preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And here
also, when a new field of labour was so marvellously whitening
to the harvest, we find Barnabas, before he could set himself
to the reaping, going forth to Tarsus to seek Saul ; remembering,
no doubt, the energy and devotion of his character, and also
(it may be) those intimations which had already been vouch
safed to him of a special mission and apostleship to the Gentiles.
The Scriptures are full, and the records of the Church in all times
are full also, of the effects of a helping hand given at critical
moments to promising but undeveloped characters. It was thus
that Aquila and Priscilla took to them Apollos, when he knew
only the preliminary baptism of John, and expounded to him the
way of God more perfectly. It was thus that in the earliest days
of the Gospel Andrew found his own brother Simon, saying to
him, We have found the Messias, and brought him to Jesus.
Alas, how much have we to answer for, the very best of us,
in discouragements, or at least in a want of attraction and
encouragement, to the weaker faith or colder temperament of
others in the things of God. It is easier, no doubt, for a
Christian to live in his own little circle of congenial friends,

252 A HELPING HAND.
of persons already one with him in conviction and manner of
life, forgetful of the unleavened mass or of the imperfect and
half-formed elements around him. And 'some men even avow
the principle : they do not even profess to mix with any but
decided Christians. And we well know that each man is bound
to be considerate of his own safety : he is not to throw himself
wilfully amidst evil influences, on the plea that he would counter
act those influences and turn them into good. There are perhaps
those who are as yet scarcely ripe for influencing, and must take
good heed lest they rather learn evil than communicate good.
But assuredly he is no Christian, who cares not to draw others
after him in Christ's service. Barnabas departed to Tarsus, for
to seek Saul ; and the result was, that by their joint labours they
did what no single-handed toil could have accomplished, in the
instruction and edification and enlargement of the Church.
Surely our language, sometimes at least and to some one, ought
to be that beautiful invitation of the lawgiver of Israel, We are
journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it
you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord
hath spoken good concerning Israel. And it shall be, if thou go
with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the Lord shall do unto
us, the same will we do unto thee.
4. Finally, the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
That name which it is now an affront to refuse to any man, was
once a term of distinction and even of reproach. St Peter speaks
(in one of the three passages of Holy Scripture in which the name
occurs) of a man suffering as a Christian; that is, undergoing
shame and even punishment for the crime of being a Christian.
Thus wonderfully has God established in the earth that holy
religion which sprang originally from an obscure corner of a
disregarded and despised land. What might it not have been
now, if its own orders had been even faintly obeyed, and they
who bore the name of Christ had indeed gone into all the world,
and preached the Gospel to every creature ?
For ourselves, my brethren, let us ask before we separate
this evening, Who is a Christian? Who rightfully bears that

A HELPING HAND. 253
honoured name which was given, first, perhaps in mockery, at
Antioch? The disciples were called Christians. Then, first we
must be disciples of Christ. And what then is a disciple ?
(i) He is a learner, he is a follower, he is a scholar, of
Christ. He is one who comes to Christ to be taught, and con
tinues with Him, cleaves to Him, to learn. Does not that
description condemn some of us? Are we as yet even learners
in Christ's School ? Do not some of us say, I know enough : I
have no need to learn ? Do not some of us leave the books of
that Divine school quite unopened ? the book of Nature, the book
of Providence, the book of conscience, the book of reflexion and
of self-knowledge, the book of the Word of life ? Which of us
came hither to-night to learn ? Which of us goes away having
learned something? A Christian is Christ's scholar; and Christ's
scholar is one who is learning of Christ.
(2) But a Christian is more than a learner of Christ. He
is one who belongs to Christ ; one who is of Christ's party, on
Christ's side, in the world ; one who is not ashamed of Christ,
but regards and uses His name as his own chief honour and chief
joy. It is true of all of us, that (in the words of the Gospel)
Christ has taught in our streets ; but the question will be, in the
day of judgment, Hast thou done the things which He said ? Hast
thou had in thee the mind which was in Him ? Hast thou been,
like Him, self-denying and self-forgetting, meek and peaceable,
poor in spirit and pure in heart ? Hast thou lived because He
lived ? by virtue of a daily spiritual communication between thee
and Him? Hast thou set thyself day by day to walk as He
walked, and couldest thou say, in any sure sense, like St Paul,
It is no more I that live, but Christ liveth in me ?
By these and suchlike questions may the honest judge them
selves, that they be not judged of the Lord. God give us all
grace so to try and condemn ourselves now, that we may at last
have confidence, and not be ashamed before Christ at His coming.

LECTURE VII.
A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH.
Acts xii. 5.
Peter therefore was kept in prison : but prayer was made
without ceasing of the Church unto God for him.
We have seen the Church in conflict with religious bigotry : now
we are to see it assailed by open ungodliness. This chapter gives
us the account of a royal persecution. We see it in its beginning,
in its progress, and in its end. We see it in its success, in its
failure, and in its punishment. We have before us a whole
career, in its pride and its humiliation, its triumph and its
discomfiture, its short-lived arrogance and its frightful dismay.
That is one aspect of the chapter. That is its aspect towards
them that are without. Another is its aspect towards the
Church within. It shows what danger is, and what anxiety is,
and what death itself is, to the Christian ; just how much, and just
how little ; enough to bring out great graces, enough to exercise
faith and patience, a spirit of dependence and a spirit of suppli
cation; not enough to cause one real misgiving, or to make a
single true heart doubt where happiness lies, where safety, where
strength, where victory.
Let us look first on the dark side of this picture. There is
a king putting forth, or laying on, his hands, to vex, that is, to
harass and injure, certain of the Church ; certain of those who
belong to God's congregation, to God's assembly, gathered out of

A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH. 255
a world lying in wickedness into a body in which He Himself,
through His Son, by His Spirit, continually dwells.
The name of this king is Herod. He is one of that Idumean
or Edomite family, which by vigour and ambition, by servility
and flattery, by unscrupulous scheming and (when it suited them)
merciless cruelty, contrived to fill a conspicuous page in the
history of the chosen people. Herod the king of whom this
chapter tells was grandson to that other Herod the king some of
whose deeds are recorded in the 2nd chapter of St Matthew's
Gospel. The father of this Herod, Aristobulus by name, was son
to the other Herod, and was murdered, like others of his family,
by his own father's command. The Herod of this chapter,
known as Herod Agrippa, had contrived, by a succession of
manoeuvres, to possess himself of all the dominions held by his
grandfather. He was a man of address and artifice, little likely
to scruple at any crime by which he might ingratiate himself
with the people over which he ruled.
His first act of aggression upon the despised and hated
Church, was directed against the Apostle James. He killed
James the brother of John with the sword. Such is the short
record of the first Apostolical martyrdom. And it is the only
Apostolical martyrdom of which we have any record in Scripture.
Far more was told of the martyrdom of the deacon Stephen.
Such is the character of the historical Scriptures everywhere.
One thing is dwelt upon, and another briefly told. Simplicity,
naturalness, undesignedness, absence of rhetorical trick and stage
effect, this we notice throughout, and we think we can see it to
be of God.
Thus then one of those who from the beginning were eyewit
nesses and ministers of the Word; one of those who had seen with
their eyes and handled with their hands the Word of Life ; who had
been with Him through His ministry, had beheld Him die, and
had also seen Him risen ; passed away early from his work to his
reward. It was scarcely fifteen years, I suppose, since he had
first heard that little word on the sea of Galilee, which had
changed him from a fisherman into & fisher of men , had brought

256 A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH.
him into daily converse with the Lord of men and of Angels, and
made him count all things but loss that he might win Christ. He
had been one of the favoured few in various' striking occurrences
of the Saviour's life and ministry ; in the death-chamber of Jairus'
daughter, on the holy mount of Transfiguration, and in the
mysterious agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had been
one of two brothers, who, in days of ignorant zeal, had proposed
to call fire from heaven upon a Samaritan village which refused
them entrance ; and who, again, in days of a no less ignorant
ambition, had asked to sit on His right hand and on His left
hand in their Master's glory. Boanerges, sons of thunder, He
had named them, in days when the impetuosity of nature had
not yet been checked by the influence of grace ; and when the
sterner lessons of a deep self-knowledge had not yet matured into
humility a character too self-asserting and self-confident for
heaven. But now this was past ; past too the mighty transfor
mation of Pentecost, and the noble, the self-governed, the devoted
years of the ministry which that day had opened. To him, first
of the brothers, is that prophecy fulfilled, Ye shall drink indeed
of my cup of suffering, and be baptized with the baptism of blood
that I am baptized with.
And see, then, we say, how lightly the inspired record passes
over that great transition. He killed James the brother of John
with the sword. Not one word of the circumstances ; of the
length of the notice, or the manner of the preparation. No
deathbed scene, no dying testimony ; save indeed that best of
testimonies which the death itself afforded. He had given his
life in one sense : now he gave it in another. He had sacrificed
self, now he offers life, upon Christ's altar. Nothing is made of
it. It was natural that he who had really given the one, should,
when it was demanded, really give the other. No word of
lamentation is bestowed upon the exchange of life for immor
tality, of the temporal for the eternal. He did his duty; he
flinched not from a whole service : in him prophecy was fulfilled;
and to him, as a matter of course, belonged the recompence of the
reward. They who looked upon that early martyrdom, from

A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH. 257
amidst the labours and trials of the Apostolical life below, were
not likely to feel regret for him who was so much the gainer.
But so it is : Gocl appoints, and man submits : man, Christian
man, can say with sincerity, whichever or whatever be his portion,
Thy will, 0 God, not mine, be done.
The fate of the next destined victim is widely different. He
too seems to be marked out for martyrdom. The appetite for
blood is ever whetted by its indulgence : and thus Herod, because
he saw that the murder of James pleased the Jews, added to take
Peter also. He apprehended him, and put him in prison, giving
him in charge to four quaternions of soldiers, to four sets of four
soldiers each, to guard him, intending after the passover, which
was now going on, to bring him up, for trial and execution, to, or
rather for, before, in the sight and for the gratification of, the
people. It was a crowded time in Jerusalem : strangers from all
parts of the world flocked together to the festival : and the
spectacle of an Apostle's execution was to be their sport and
pastime in the intervals of religious duty. Such is religion,
when it is once possessed and saturated with bigotry, fanaticism,
and party zeal.
All seemed to promise well and surely for the persecutor and
his people. Peter then was kept in the prison . by night and by
day he is the one care of sixteen armed men : the four watches of
the night are parcelled out amongst them : between two of them,
an arm chained to each, he even sleeps ; and two others keep the
entrance, the one of the cell, the other of the prison. Surely
nothing can elude such vigilance? Surely the prey is secure,
and the captive marked for the slaughter? So might man
well judge. There is one, there is but one, impediment. Peter
therefore was kept in prison : but there was prayer earnestly going
on, by the Church, unto God concerning him. Is there not great
meaning in that little word But ? Peter was safe in the prison ;
all had prospered thus far ; Herod and his flatterers might well
promise themselves an easy triumph : hut there was prayer going
on earnestly. The Church, God's congregation, God's assembly,
below, was calling in, by night and day, a help, not of man,
v. 17

258 A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH.
to counteract man's design. Little would Herod or his friends
account of that ; they might point to the iron gate, the massive
bolts, the four quaternions : but faith, in spite of, and in full
view of, all these things, still prays ; prays earnestly, prays
believingly, prays waitingly and watchingly ; and therefore no
Christian can account the deed done : to-morrow's dawn may be
fixed for the execution ; but He who neither slumbers nor sleeps
has Israel in His keeping, and let no man presume to say, apart
from Him, what one day or one night may bring forth.
The last night is come, but not gone. Peter sleeps, while
the Church prays : it is their time for action, it is his for repose.
His work now is to rest : in quietness and in confidence shall be
your strength : cast all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.
His heart is established, and does not shrink : what if his martyr
dom is to follow close upon that of the faithful James, and they who
were so lately partners in the cares of a fisher's calling on the sea
of Galilee, and have since been associated for a few short years
in a noble ministry and Apostleship, are to be speedily reunited
in a blessedness not of this world ? lovely and pleasant in their
lives, and even in their deaths not divided ? The same night Peter
was sleeping : on each side of him a soldier, and two without,
guarding the prison.
And behold, an Angel of the Lord (God) stood near, presented
himself, and a light shone in the cell : it was no mere dream ;
there was a light, betokening a divine presence, and testifying of
reality : and he smote Peter on the side, and roused him, saying,
Arise quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. There is
to be no sign of haste or precipitation. Every part of his prepara
tion is to be made in order : the departure is to be no flight : the
girdle and the sandals, the tunic and the cloke, all are to be in
place : and not until all things are ready is the word of command
uttered, to follow the Angel from the prison.
Peter obeys, but with the half-consciousness of one who walks
in sleep. He wist not that it was true (real) which was done by
the Angel; but thought he saw a vision. Yet, all the time, the
deliverance is real : they pass a first guard and a second, till they

A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH. 259
reach the iron gate, closing in the prison-precincts, and actually
leading into the city : that gate opens for them, without key or
force ; and then, after guiding him along one street, the purpose
of the intervention being now accomplished, the Angel forthwith
departed from him. God does nothing in vain : He begins where
man must end, and ends where man can begin.
The deliverance thus achieved, reflection follows. Thus far
Peter has been stupefied with the suddenness of the revulsion :
death was staring him in the face, and lo, he walks free through
the streets of Jerusalem. Who does not feel the naturalness of
the description ? He comes to himself. He had been (such is the
figure) out of himself ; his self-possession (as we speak) had been
disturbed and shaken ; now he is himself again . and what can
his inference be, from all that has occurred and from that which
now is, save that the Lord must have sent forth His Angel, and
rescued me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation
of the people of the Jews ?
And whither shall he now betake himself \ He knows the deep
anxiety with which the Church of which he is a pillar must have
regarded his imprisonment : so he bends his steps first to one of
those homes of the Church, one of those private houses in which
the congregation met for worship while the Church was still
young and militant, that he may relieve the distress which he
knows must have befallen them, and carry in person the first
tidings of safety and deliverance. The whole scene is vividly
before us. His knock brings to the door a maiden of the house
hold ; not at once to open — for they were hard and evil times,
and peril might lurk in the admittance of a stranger — but to
hearken to the voice which should tell its errand, and report upon
it to those within. The voice which calls to her is one well
known. She had heard it often, we doubt not, leading the
devotions of that pious home : she knew it at once for Peter's,
and for very joy ran in before she opened. Her tidings were
incredible. They said unto her, Thou art mad. But she persisted
in affirming that so it was. And then they said, It is his Angel ;
it must be one of those ministering spiirits who have in tlieir
17—2

260 A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH.
charge the heirs of salvation, and who, in the character of the
Angels of Christ's little ones, do always (as He Himself said)
behold the face of His Father who is in heaven. But no : there is
no mistake here, and no apparition : the Angel's office is ended,
and Peter himself, in flesh and blood, is seen, when they open, to
stand before the gate. Silencing with a motion of the hand their
eager and wondering exclamations, he tells his own story, and
bids them, while he departs elsewhere for security and conceal
ment, to carry the report of his miraculous deliverance to the
surviving James, the Lord's brother, and to the brethren at the
head-quarters of the Church.
The sacred narrative would be incomplete without a painful
record of the end of the persecutor and of his enforced instruments.
Just as, in the ancient Church's history, when the faithful three
were thrown by the order of the Eastern king into the burning
fiery furnace, the flame of the fire slew those men who acted as his
executioners ; even so the captivity of Peter was fatal to the
soldiers to whose charge he had been consigned. When the day
broke, the day which was to have shown the spectacle of his
execution, and the prisoner himself was found to have vanished
from the prison-house ; vain were the asseverations of his keepers
to screen them from the charge of negligence or of collusion :
when Herod had sought for him and found him not, he examined
the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death.
These are the tender mercies of the wicked. Disappointed rage
must have its victim. If it cannot be an Apostle, it must be an
Apostle's keeper. But the retribution ends not there.
Herod himself goes down from Jerusalem to Csesarea. There
was at this time an angry feud between him and the people of
Tyre and Sidon on the frontier of his dominions. They were ill
able to part with his friendship, because, as in ancient times,
they were dependent upon supplies of corn furnished from
districts under his rule. They came to him therefore in solemn
embassy, and gaining over first to their interest the king's
chamberlain, they implored reconciliation and amity. This was
the crowning point of Herod's triumphs. With an ambition

A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH. 261
glutted with success, and a vanity inflated by flattery, he appeared,
on a set clay, in royal apparel — the historian Josephus tells us
that it was a tissue of silver thread, which shone like the light in
the rays of the morning sun — and made an oration to these
submissive auditors. Flattery ran on into impiety, and they all
with one accord shouted, It is the voice of a God, and not of a
man. This cry was the signal of the Divine punishment.
Immediately an Angel of the Lord (God) smote him, because he
gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the
ghost. Thus the chapter before us becomes an epitome of all history.
In it the world and the Church are arrayed on opposite sides, the
hosts of God and of Satan being marshalled for the encounter.
On the one side there is rank and dignity and kingly power ; a
great name, a lawful authority acting by the appliances of guards
and prison-houses, of implements of torture and preparations for
execution. On the other side there is poverty and obscurity and
insignificance ; a prisoner unknown to fame, and a sentence which
will bring after it no reproach of injustice. The world will have
it all its own way ; and the world's applause will follow the
world's action. In the beginning all is success : the first victim
falls unheeded, and tyranny is emboldened to add the second.
No sign of opposition is yet visible : to-morrow shall be as this
day, and the execution is as sure as the sentence which commands
it. There is but one obstacle, and that is not worth mention. A
few obscure men and women are praying in some humble home
for God's interposition. They ask Him to put forth, as and
when He will, the arm of His strength ; to show that He is with
them ; to let it be seen that Christ's Church is His Church, and
Christ's cause His cause on the earth. Little can this do to stay
the world's chariot in its career of victory ! And yet, when we
look again, the prey is taken from the mighty, and tlie lawful
captive delivered. The prison is still shut, and the keepers stand
without and within for its security : but he whom they guard is
o-one from them. He is gone forth, to resume his labours for
Christ, in teaching and guiding, in administering and ruling ;

262 A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH.
and the world has lost its triumph. Presently, not disappoint
ment only, but punishment, overtakes the enemy of God : sin has
found him out, and a loathsome putrefying corpse is all that
remains of Herod in the palace of Csesarea. And tlie wm-d of God,
all the time, is growing and multiplying. Its offer of pardon and
life, of grace and sanctification, is entering new lands and pene
trating other hearts. Its quiet toils, whether of piety or of
charity, are still working their way : Barnabas and Saul have
fulfilled their ministry at Jerusalem, and returned to Antioch :
the waters have closed over the enemy's triumph, and the silence
of dismay and despair has succeeded to the boastings of impiety
and unbelief. The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth
keep silence before Him.
The practical lesson for all of us is, that we learn the power,
and practise the grace, of that effectual fervent prayer which
availeth much. Peter was kept in prison, but constant prayer was
being earnestly made by the Church unto God for him. Which of
us would not have thought that the time for prayer was past? A
few short hours must run their course, and then the prisoner will
be led out to his execution. Even now he lies within stone walls
and iron gates : he is chained, hand and arm, to his keepers ; and
he lies at this moment in the helpless inactivity of sleep. Why
prolong the vain struggle? Why trouble ye the Master any
further ? The will of God is plainly spoken : our friend is
appointed unto death : look off from the spectacle : think not of
the doomed, but of the surviving. Thus speaks that spirit of the
world which lingers even in the regenerate : we judge tlie Lord by
feeble sense, and, where we see not a way, we conclude at once
that there is none. And yet, even while we thus argue, there
stands within that prison an Angel of Gocl. A light shines
around, and a voice speaks of exertion and of escape. With
senses but half awake, yet with a quietness of resolution which
confesses the Divine mandate, the prisoner is already dressing
himself for his departure. A spell is upon the keepers that they
raise not a finger, not a voice, for his detention. My God hath
sent His Angel, and hath shut the very lions' mouths, that they have

A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH. 263
not hurt me. The first ward is safely passed, and the second : the
iron gate leading to the city has opened for him of its own accord :
he walks abroad, in the chill night air, and is at large from fear
of evil. Soon will his knock startle you in your dwelling, and
for very gladness you will scarcely believe that it is he himself.
My brethren, these things were ivritten for our admonition ,
for our reproof, and for our encouragement. If this be the
power of prayer ; if it be the appointed, the divinely appointed
link, between the will of God to bless, and the actual bestowal of
the blessing ; where is our faith if we try it not, if we test not its
efficacy 1 Which of us is not an unbeliever, if not in his creed,
yet in his prayers? Which of us truly feels that prayer is
speaking to God ? that prayer is the communication between
the needy and the All-sufficient, between the sinner and the
All-holy, between the child that wants everything and the
Father who is able and willing to supply all ? Which of us
is not scanty, hasty, perfunctory, unbelieving, in his prayers
for himself? And which of us is not yet more so in his prayers
for others ? Who prays as he ought for temporal blessings ; for
bread to eat, and raiment to put on ; for a helping hand in need,
and a sympathizing voice in sorrow 1 Even in these things,
ye have not, because ye ask not. But O, tenfold more in things
spiritual : tenfold more in the matter of sins which want con
quering, and duties which want fulfilling ! Where is he amongst
us who wakens himself morning by morning to hear God's voice
and to seek God's help ? Where is he who sets himself to the
day's employments in the spirit of one who prays without ceasing?
Where is he who long before midday has not lost altogether the
dew of the morning, or who comes back to the fountain of grace
to renew his strength, that, having done all, he may be found at
eventide still standing ? And where, O where, is he, who has
ever tried amongst us, as these early disciples tried it, the grace
of intercession ? How narrow and bounded are our conceptions
of the Omnipotence of God ! how carnal and earthly our inter
pretation of the eternal promise, which bids us ask and liave, seek
and find ! Let us try it for one another, as we have never yet

264 A SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH.
tried it. If any soul be tied and bound by its sin, let us pray
God earnestly, and not faint, that He will open the door of that
prisonhouse, and set the captive free ; that His light may shine
in the darkness, and the voice, not of an Angel, but of His own
Holy Spirit, bid him gird himself and follow. If these things be
done, assuredly the Lord's arm is not shortened that it cannot save,
nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear. The prayer of faith can
still (as it is written) save the sick ; and they who pray one for
another, earnestly, constantly, and in the name of Christ, shall
still from time to time, through God's grace, save a soul from
death, and hide in the Saviour's blood a multitude of sins.

LECTURE VIII.
THE SPIRIT'S CALL AND THE CHURCH'S MISSION.
Acts xiii. 2.
The Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the
work whereunto I have called them.
Hitherto this Divine Book has had many subjects : henceforth
it will have but one. The life of him who, next to the Divine
Master Himself, is the great example of all ministers, and more
especially of all missionaries ; their example in simplicity and
purity of doctrine ; in singlemindedness, earnestness, charity, and
self-devotion ; in all that can ennoble man, recommend religion,
honour Christ, or glorify God ; is from this point onward to the
very close of the Book to be the one yet varied subject of
the whole narrative : and even then we shall be constantly
reminded how much of it remains untold ; how many deeds
and words of St Paul are left unwritten ; enough told to show
him as he was, not enough to satisfy curiosity or to supersede
research. The first missionary journey, described in the 13th and 14th
chapters, was limited to the island of Cyprus and a small part of
Asia Minor. Its chief interest centres in a specimen, contained
in this chapter, of St Paul's manner of addressing a Jewish con-

266 THE SPIRIT'S CALL
gregation, and in a sample, contained in the following chapter,
of his method of dealing with an audience of Gentiles. But for
to-night we must be contented with the opening portion of the
narrative ; telling of the commission itself under which he acted,
and of the new powers and capacities with which that commission
armed him.
We have already considered the circumstances of that won
derful conversion which transformed Saul of Tarsus, the bitter
and relentless enemy of the Gospel, into a believer and a
Christian. We have traced his steps subsequently from Damas
cus, the scene of his change and of his Baptism and of his early
preaching, into the wilderness of Arabia ; thence back to Damas
cus ; thence, three years after his conversion, to Jerusalem ;
thence home to Tarsus ; thence, under the friendly guidance of
Barnabas, to the great city of Antioch ; thence on a charitable
mission from that Church to Jerusalem ; thence finally (in the
last words of the 12th chapter) again to Antioch, where a large
work of usefulness had opened before him in the regular instruc
tion and supervision of a promising Christian community. It is
in the midst of this work that the 13th chapter takes up the
thread of his history.
The congregation at Antioch was under the instruction of
several prophets and teachers. A prophet, in Scripture language,
is not necessarily a predicter or foreteller of coming events : he is
one who speaks for God, under God's special inspiration, whether
for reproof or exhortation or simple instruction. A prophet was
an inspired preacher. The gift of prophecy in this sense, and the
gift of teaching which is here associated with it, were among the
special powers communicated by the Holy Spirit in His super
natural working in the first age of the Church.
Among these prophets and teachers at Antioch were Barna
bas, of whom we have read and shall read in this history ; three
other persons, of whom we know nothing for certain besides ;
and one, greater than all, who was to be the blessed Apostle of
the Gentiles, St Paul himself.
On a certain occasion, as the Church at Antioch was engaged

AND THE CHURCH'S MISSION. 267
in a solemn service of prayer and fasting, an intimation was
given, probably through one or more of the prophets then present,
which directed the special designation of two of their number to
the Apostolical office. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted,
the Holy Ghost said, Separate ye now for me Barnabas and Saul
unto the work to which I have summoned them.
The Holy Ghost said. My brethren, these words show us that
we do not err in regarding the Holy Ghost as a Person ; not
a mere effluence or influence from God, not a mere power or
operation of God, but a Person ; One who has a will and an
action of His own, even as St Paul himself says in his ist
Epistle to the Corinthians, But all these worketh that one and the
selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will. We
do not err in saying Sunday by Sunday, / believe in the Holy
Ghost, The Lord and Giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father
and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is wor
shipped and glorified, Who spake by the prophets. 0 God the Holy
Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, have mercy upon
us miserable sinners. The Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas
and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Separate them for the work. The word is, Mark them off, as
by a boundary-line, from all others. It was this injunction of the
Holy Spirit which made Barnabas an Apostle. He was not one
of the twelve. He was not, like Matthias, added afterwards to
supply a vacancy. And yet we call him, and keep an annual
festival in memory of him as, St Barnabas tlie Apostle. The title
is from Scripture. The 14th chapter says, Which when the
Apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of, they rent their clothes, &c.
Barnabas was made an Apostle by this special call of the Holy
Ghost. His companion was an Apostle by a double title. (1) He
was already qualified for that office, in its original form and
sense, by having seen Jesus Christ in His revelation to him at the
moment of his conversion; and (2) he had received his desig
nation to the office in the very words used by the Divine' Master
in announcing the purpose of that revelation. In the passage

268 THE spirit's call
now before us we have a special call and a particular mission.
The messenger is ready : here is his message. Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
The work. The ministry is a business. It is not, as some
have made it, an amusement or a pastime. It is not, as some
would represent it, a title or a profession. It is a work. It
was so to Barnabas and Saul. It is so in all times to all who
understand it. For what, brethren, was Paul's work ? What
was it, I do not say in its circumstances, but in its aim and end ?
Was it not, to turn men from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan unto God ? Was it not, to bring men, individual
men, into the obedience of faith ? Was it not, so to warn and so
to teach men in all wisdom, as to present every man in the end
perfect in Christ Jesus ? What less, what else, is the aim of the
ministry of this place, of this Church ? St Paul had to pursue
his object amidst opposition and ridicule, amidst obloquy and
persecution, amidst danger and suffering : we have a quieter
office ; to live amidst friends and neighbours, amidst civilities
and kindnesses, amidst religious professions and proprieties of
worship : but have these things indeed affected the end and aim
of our ministry ? Have they made the quickening of consciences,
the reformation of lives, the salvation of souls, less of a work
than it was to prophets and to Apostles? Nay, are there not
difficulties now to be overcome which had no existence then ?
difficulties arising out of that very softness and civility and
complaisance, which at first sight seems to have diminished
them? Brethren, the ministry, like the Apostleship, is a work : the
minister, like the Apostle, is, or ought to be, a working man.
Will you not help him in his business ? not by flattering, not by
ministering to vanity or self-conceit, but, on the contrary, by
setting before yourselves the object which he has in view for you,
the so bringing every thought into obedience to the will of Christ
that you may be counted worthy to escape all those things which
shall come to piass, and to stand before the Son of Man ?
Separate me Barnabas and Saul. The minister is one with

AND THE CHURCH'S MISSION. 269
you in all the weaknesses and temptations and difficulties of
man : he has no exemption, himself, from any infirmity, of body
or mind, of soul or spirit, to which the humblest and the most
imperfect are liable : but nevertheless he is, in one single sense,
a separated man : there is a mark upon him, there is a boundary-
line round him, which testifies to his having a definite calling, an
express commission, without which he would feel it a presumption
and an impertinence to stand where he stands or to speak to you
as he speaks. I say not that any of us who now minister could
plead a miraculous call or summons of the Holy Ghost designating
us for the work of guiding and helping souls. But I do say that
I hope there has been something of a real, though less emphatic,
utterance of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of those who have
undertaken it; something enabling them to answer, honestly
however humbly, the first question addressed in our Church's
Service to all who are Candidates for the ministry, Do you trust
that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon yon
this office and ministration, to serve God for tlie promoting of His
glory and the edifying of His people ? And I hope also that there
has been to each of us a real meaning in that solemn act of
Ordination, by which we have been separated from all other
callings, to the office of ministers of Christ and stewards of the
mysteries of God. God give us grace to feel that office more and
more deeply as a work, and to understand more and more fully
how and in what sense we are separated to it.
Again and again we are reminded in Scripture that God is
a God of order; not the Author of confusion, but of peace, in all
Churches of the saints. The converts in the house of Cornelius
were still to have the form, though they already had tlie sub
stance, of Baptism ; still to claim the washing of water, though
they were already baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
Even so it is here. Even the express designation of the Holy
Ghost does not supersede the outward form of Ordination. While
they ministered and fasted, the Divine call came : they fasted
again and prayed, they laid on their hands in solemn benediction,
before they sent forth the new Apostles to their work. Let us

270 THE spirit's call
not sever what God has joined. He who knows what we are,
and deals with us as He knows, will have the outward sign as
well as the inward grace. We are body and spirit : and they
who remember this, in religion as well as in business, are wisest
in that wisdom which is from above. Then, having fasted and
prayed, and laid their hands upon them, they let them go.
There must ever be something affecting in the departure of a
missionary to his work. There is much in the thought of what
he leaves, there is even more (when rightly viewed) in what he
seeks, to impress and solemnize the minds of those who look on.
If that man is not a mere idle dreamer, there must be something
real in things unseen. That man is taking with him no instru
ments of art or of husbandry ; he is not seeking fame or fortune
in foreign lands ; he is not a disappointed man, hiding himself
from reproach or contempt in scenes where the eye of man will
not follow him : none of these things : he believes himself to be
entering upon a work ; he believes himself to be carrying a
message ; he believes himself to be engaged in a living Master's
service, and to be bearing a humble part in the establishment
of an everlasting kingdom. Unless these things be all cunningly
devised fables, that man's going preaches a solemn sermon to us
who stay.
But surely of all missionary departures this upon which we
look to-night is one of the most momentous. One of these men
has seen Jesus Christ; has been turned from one course into the
opposite by that sight ; has been commissioned by Him to carry
forth His name and His Gospel into every part of the earth.
And both of these men have received a special summons from
the Holy Ghost speaking by men's lips, and then a special
ordination for the work on which they go forth. If this be not
all a falsehood, we ought indeed to attend to the things which
they say.
Starting from the city, followed no doubt by many earnest
prayers and blessings from those who stay behind, they take the
road towards the sea, and find themselves, after a sixteen miles'
journey, at the fortified sea-port of Seleucia. From thence they

AND THE CHURCH'S MISSION. 271
sailed to Cyprus, the native country of Barnabas ; and landed at
Salamis, the eastern port and former capital of the island.
There, in conformity with the original commission and the
constant practice of the Apostles, they addressed themselves
first to the Jewish inhabitants of the city. They preached the
word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They were accom
panied by a younger kinsman of Barnabas ; known to us from
the preceding chapter as John whose surname was Mark; but
known to us better still as the writer of the second Gospel, the
briefest of all in its actual extent, but, of all the Gospels, the
most full perhaps of those lively and graphic touches which
indicate the recollections (whencesoever derived by him) of an
eye-witness, as well as of a loving and devoted friend. In this
first missionary journey St Mark acted as the minister or assistant
of the two Apostles ; especially, we may suppose, in the task
of baptizing those who by their preaching had been brought to
believe. They passed through the whole island, so well known from
early clays to one of the travellers ; and from the eastern capital
arrived at length at the western, the city of Paphos, at that time
the seat of the Roman government, and as such the residence of
Sergius Paulus the Proconsul of the province. The character of
this Roman magistrate is described in favourable terms. He was
a prudent man, a man of capacity, intelligence, and good sense.
He showed his candour and freedom of mind by desiring to hear
the message of these unwonted visitors ; which many men in his
position would have regarded as only some new variety of that
Jewish superstition which was treated with so much contempt
alike by the rulers and by the philosophers of the time.
But there was an influence at work beside him, adverse to the
entrance of the Word of God. We constantly read in those
times of persons professing to possess powers of sorcery and
supernatural wisdom, and exercising an extraordinary influence
over the great men both of the Republic and the Empire. We
all know how king Saul, when he felt that God had departed
from him, sought the aid of witchcraft to fill the void : and just

272 THE SPIRIT'S CALL
so was it with men who had never known the true God, when
their faith in idol-worship was utterly shaken, and in the instinc
tive feeling of their own absolute weakness they wanted counsel
and strength for the ambiguous turning-points and critical emer
gencies of life.
Thus it was that even a prudent man, like this Proconsul of
Cyprus, had with him, at the time here spoken of, a certain
sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew by descent, whose interest it was
to turn away the mind of his patron from the reception of the
faith. There they stood before him, the Apostle of truth and the
emissary of falsehood ; like Moses and the magicians in old times
before Pharaoh king of Egypt ; each professing to have with him
the great power of God, and prepared to bring the controversy to
the decisive test, If the Lord be God, follow Him , but if Baal,
then follow him. Was not this an occasion worthy of Divine
interposition ? Could any argument be so convincing, under such
circumstances, and before that particular audience, as one which
should give instant and undeniable proof that the one combatant
was in the power of the other ; that He who was with the Gospel
was greater, in act and in deed, than he who was against it?
Accordingly we find St Paul using here for the first time that
miraculous power with which Christ had invested him for the
assertion and maintenance of His cause below. And now, behold,
the hand of the Lord (God) is upon thee; and thou shalt be blind,
not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him
a mist and a darkness; and he went about, seeking some to lead
him by the hand. The solemn and fearful scene had its due effect.
Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being
astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
This was that supernatural power, of which St Paul speaks
not unfrequently in his Epistles, as committed to him for the
punishment of bold offenders against the truth of God or the
holiness of His Church. In the exercise of this power, in
Churches subsequently founded, he speaks of delivering such an
one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the soul might be
saved in the day of the Lord Jesus ; and warns a congregation, of

AND THE CHURCH'S MISSION. 273
which he has cause to stand in doubt, that, if he visits them
again, he will not spare. The words, and the things spoken
of, may strike us as severe, as unlike the gracious and loving
Gospel : but let us rather accept them as proofs of the danger as
well as the sinfulness of sin ; as warnings, merciful if they reach
us in time, of the certainty of a coming judgment, and of the
terrible fate of all those who live and die in their iniquity.
If there be any truth in the great verities of judgment and
eternity, of heaven and hell, we shall learn to estimate differently
all those chastisements, and even all those punishments, by which
God, whether in the first days or in our own, has sought to save
His people from being finally condemned with the world. Surely
to leave us altogether unwarned ; to allow a man to run to every
excess of riot, with health unbroken and conscience quiescent ;
to suffer strength and prosperity, a good name and a worldly
success, to continue, to the end of this life, to be the portion
of those who are treasuring up unto themselves urrath against the
day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God ; to
send, in other words, no special warning of danger, until warning
itself had ceased to be of value ; all this, on the supposition of the
truth of a future retribution, must surely be far more stern, and
far more awful, in reality, than any number or any weight of
Divine inflictions sent upon us while to listen may be to live.
We may count St Paul harsh and unfeeling for putting forth his
Apostolical powers in the punishment of obstinate sinners: yet
surely, if we reflect, we shall deem it a more anxious and a more
fearful condition still, to be living, as we live, in an age when no
such signs of danger are visible, and when we may, if we will, sin
on till we die, till the mercy-seat is empty and the thrones are
set for judgment. These days, in which God seems so far from
the earth, are more full of terror, to the thoughtful and reflecting
soul, than any nearness of His presence testified by personal
inflictions of suffering.
The Church itself sought for some centuries to fill the place
towards her members, which the departure of Apostles had left
vacant. In one of our own Services we are taught to look back
V. 18

274 THE spirit's call
with regret upon times when Church discipline was not yet
nominal. In the primitive Church, says our Commination Service,
there was a godly discipline, that at tlie beginning of Lent such
persons as stood convicted of notorious sin were put to open penance,
and punished in this world, that their souls might be saved in the
day of the Lord; and that others, admonished, by their example,
might be the more afraid to offend. Those days are passed.
Where civil punishment does not reach a man, neither will the
censures of the Church touch him. And we believe that He who
promised to be with His Church alway has not even in this point
left her destitute of His guidance. If the voice of public opinion,
informed and influenced (though not yet absolutely swayed) by
the voice of God, cannot restrain us, in these days of universal
notoriety, from deeds of shame and darkness ; neither should we
be persuaded though Apostles rose to judgment, or an act of open
penance were the consequence of every transgression and disobe
dience disclosed.
It is well thus : we believe it. But this very absence of
punishment is, we say, to the right-minded, the most formidable
of terrors. We fear, and have cause to fear, lest the being thus
left unpunished should be a sign of the being let alone. We fear,
and have cause to fear, lest we be only, like fallen spirits, reserved
for punishment unto the judgment of the great day. We fear, and
we have cause to fear, lest we be hardened in sin by present
impunity ; and lest the warning voice of conscience and of the
Word, so long unheeded, should change, without our knowing it,
into the verdict of condemnation and the sentence of death.
God grant that this be not so with any of us who now listen.
We must hear, and fear. We must judge ourselves, that we may
not be judged. In particular, let us accept with humility and
thankfulness any intimations which God gives us in our national,
domestic, or personal life, of the certainty of His observation,
and of the reality of His cognizance. If sorrow comes, if sickness,
if anxiety, if distress, if pain, if bereavement, if misgiving and a
heart failing for fear ; let us bless God, even while we suffer, and
say, I thank Thee, 0 God, that Thou hast caused my sin to find

AND THE CHURCH'S MISSION. 275
me out now, while suffering may be to me amendment, and
chastisement repentance. We must look inward and look upward
for ourselves, since none can come back to us from the dead to
scare us from the place of torment. We must accept God's signs,
as they meet us in the still small voice of conscience and of the
Spirit ; that so we may not be dismayed when the sign of the Son
of Man is seen in heaven, and they only can stand who have loved
His appearing.

18—2

LECTURE IX.
THE WORK OF LIFE AND THE END OF LIFE.
Acts xiii. 26.
David, after he had served his own generation by the will of
God, fell on sleep.
Our subject to-night is St Paul's first sermon.
It was delivered at a place called Antioch, in the district of
Pisidia in Asia Minor.
From Paphos, the western capital of Cyprus, he had sailed to
the north-west, and landing on the coast of Asia Minor, first
visited Perga, a place six or seven miles inland in the district of
Pamphylia. At this point, John surnamed Mark, who had started
on the mission as the companion and minister of the two Apostles,
left them and returned to Jerusalem. It was a sign, no doubt,
of faintheartedness or lack of zeal ; and as such St Paul at a later
time remembered it with sufficient displeasure to make him refuse
at all costs to accept him as his companion again.
It is comforting to know that in days later still the breach was
healed. In the Apostle's first imprisonment at Rome, the same
person, described as Marcus, sister's son (or rather cousin) to
Barnabas, was one of the few, the very few, persons, of whom
St Paul writes to the Colossians that they were his fellow-workers
unto the kingdom of God, and a comfort to him. So that, my

THE WORK OF LIFE AND THE END OF LIFE. 277
brethren, in this world of change, there is sometimes a change for
the better, God be praised for it ; a change to greater resolution,
greater self-devotion, and greater constancy. Though it is pro
verbially hard to retrace our steps, and recover the steep uphill
path which alone leads to glory; yet that ichich is impossible with
men is possible with God, and He who desires not the death of any
sinner can fulfil even this for us. And thus even the declension,
even the unfaithfulness, even the backsliding of Mark on this
occasion, while it warns all, need not discourage any : there is a
sin not unto death; and they who seek the grace of recovery shall
by God's mercy find it.
The two Apostles, saddened perhaps by the defection of their
comrade, but none the less strong in their own earnestness and
constancy, bent their steps further inland, and reached at last, at
a distance (I suppose) of nearly a hundred miles, the town of
Antioch in Pisidia. It is said that the site of this place had long
been lost to human knowledge, until, within the last thirty years,
an English traveller, guided by landmarks which could not mislead,
reached a position precisely corresponding with the descriptions of
ancient geographers, and felt, as he looked on the superb ruins
around, that he was really on the spot consecrated by the labours
and persecution of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas.
Following that orderly course which they always prescribed to
themselves, the two Apostles, on reaching this city, quietly waited
for the return of the Sabbath, and then bent their steps towards
the synagogue of the Jews. They took their places among the
worshippers, and the regular service proceeded. The roll of the
Law and the Prophets was brought, according to custom, out of
the Ark ; a chest placed in every synagogue on that side of the
building which was nearest to Jerusalem : the regular lesson was
read, first from the Law and then from the Prophets : and
afterwards the rulers or presidents of the synagogue sent a
message to the two strangers, inviting them to address to the
congregation anything which might occur to them in the way
of exhortation. Upon this St Paul rose, and after motioning with his hand

278 THE WORK OF LIFE
for silence, opened the message which he had come so far
to deliver. Men of Israel, he said, and ye that fear God, Israelites by
birth or Israelites by religion, listen. And to what 1 To a
formal treatise on Christianity? to a stirring appeal to feeling,
or a convincing demonstration of truth ? Not this. Rather,
a simple rehearsal of- God's dealings with His ancient people,
a calm recital of the leading topics of the national history, as
though to bespeak a favourable hearing, and to give an assurance
that his doctrine was old, not new ; a fulfilment, not an innova
tion : and then a brief and simple statement of the actual arrival
of tlie promised Saviour, in the very form and under the very
circumstances ascribed to Him by the Scriptures in which they
believed. We can scarcely read this address without thinking of the
defence of Stephen. When St Paul heard that address, he was
still an infidel and a blasphemer ; he had listened to it at the
time unmoved ; or, if moved by it, only to increased obstinacy in
rejecting and maligning the truth : now lie is himself the speaker:
and must he not have derived some encouragement in bearing his
testimony from the thought of that which he had once despised?
Might he not say to himself, If I, a person prepossessed and
prejudiced in no common degree, a person who even carried
bigotry to the length of bloodshed, was at last convinced and
converted by the faith which formerly I destroyed ; may it not
be so with others ? May not some of those who hear me be won
to-day ? May not some, even of those who to-day hear in vain,
yet repent themselves hereafter, and come to the knowledge and to
the acknowledgment of the truth ?
What could he do better than follow St Stephen's model?
He is speaking to Jews : shall he treat them as if their religion
was a mere figment of men ? as if the Gospel had no connection
with it, was not built upon it, did not presuppose, recognize, and
spring out of it ? Not so. Such a method would be at least as
untrue as it would be injudicious. Let a Christian teacher rather
seize any elements of good which he may find ready in his audience.

AND THE END OF LIFE. 279
Let him say, if he can, Thus far have ye attained : now follow me
onwards. Let him say, Your premises are true : now draw the
conclusion. That is just St Paul's language. He says, first of
all, You are not wrong in regarding God as in iv peculiar sense
your God. I am not going to teach you that Israel had no
advantage and no prerogative. The God of this people did, it
is quite true, choose our fathers. You have received no vain
fable in the record of the Egyptian bondage and the great Exodus.
For forty years God in a marvellous way fed and nurtured your
fathers in the desert. Yours is a peculiar people. God had it
under His charge, in a sense in which He took charge of no
other nation. He ruled it, He appointed and He changed its
rulers, according to His good pleasure, and for a definite and
special end. He cleared Canaan j "or you: He raised up judges for
you: and when at last you would have a king, He found you one;
and when for his sins He had removed him, still He chose for you
another: and to him He gave testimony ; called him a man after
His own heart, and jyromised that of his seed, as concerning the
flesh, the Deliverer promised from the beginning should eventually
and effectually come.
God has kept that promise. Of the house and lineage of David
He lias raised you up a Saviour in the person of Jesus. He gave
you notice of Him; a notice near at hand, as well as a notice in
the long distance. He sent a prophet before His face, to preach a
baptism of repentance, and to tell, in express terms, of One greater
than himself who should follow.
Then, as if warmed by his subject, and resolved not to let
them miss the glorious offer which he brought them, he proceeds
in this strain of direct expostulation.
Brethren, he says, brothers in descent from Abraham, and
from Israel ; and ye too, who, though not sprung from the root
of Jesse, are yet incorporated in the worship and in the ordinances
of our people ; to you was the message of this salvation sent forth
from your God. Be not ye rebellious, like that rebellious house, of
which it must be said, He came unto His own, and His own
received Him not. For they who dwell in Jerusalem, and their

280 THE WORK OF LIFE
rulers, ignorant of Him and ignorant also (as to any spiritual
understanding) of the voices of the prophets, which are read, among
them as among you, every Sabbath day, fulfilled them by condemn
ing Him. Though they knew it not, they were fulfilling by their
own act the prophecies of a suffering Messiah. And though they
found against Him no cause of death, they yet besought Pilate that
He might be slain. And when they had thus accomplished all things
written concerning Him — so little had their cruelty availed, that
they had at last but fulfilled what had always been written, and
unwittingly identified Jesus of Nazareth with the promised Saviour
and Redeemer — they took Him down from the cross, and placed
Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from among tlie dead.
And He appeared, for several days, to those who had come up with
Him from Galilee to Jerusalem; persons therefore well acquainted
with Him, and incapable of being deceived by a mere illusion or
semblance of Him ; who are now His witnesses unto the people.
And we declare to you, as they to the people of Judsea, glad
tidings as to the promise made unto the fathers, how that God
hath fulfilled it to their (or our) children by raising up> Jesus,
as it is also written in the second Psalm — or, as some read, in tlie
first Psalm; for what we call the ist Psalm was originally a sort
of prelude to the whole Book — My Son art Thou: I have to-day
begotten Thee. The resurrection of Christ is the solemn attestation
of His Sonship. Declared to be the Son of God with power, St
Paul writes to the Romans, by resurrection from the dead. And
so the same Apostle calls the resurrection of the body the adoption
of Christians. Waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of
our body. The sonship was theirs before : it was Christ's before :
but Resurrection sets the seal to it. The 2nd Psalm is one of our
Psalms for Easter day. Then first was God's King set upon His
holy hill of Zion, when God, in raising Him from the dead, had
as it were said to Him before men and Angels, Thou art my Son :
this day have I begotten Thee.
And to show that He raised Him from among the dead as no
longer to return to corruption — to show, in other words, that
Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more — He hath thus

AND THE END OF LIFE. 281
spoken in holy Scripture, / will give to you, my people, the sure
mercies of David; or more exactly, those holy things of David,
those sacred deposits of mine in the hands of David, which are
faithful, which can be relied upon, which will never pass away,
because the word of God Himself is pledged to them. Wherefore
He saith also in another Psalm, Thou wilt not give Thy holy One to
see corruption. Of whom could such words be spoken in their literal strictness 1
Not surely of a man, that should die the common death of all men,
and lie for an indefinite period in that grave which is the end of
all tlie living; but rather of One whose coming is not after man ;
who, though He be very Man, is also, no less, very God; and
who, though He may be crucified through weakness in regard
to His humanity, must yet rise again from death in the power of an
endless life. For David, after serving a generation of his own by
tlie counsel of God — or else, as the words might be rendered, after
having, through a generation of his own, served the counsel of God;
referring, if so, to the words above, a man after mine own heart,
who shall fulfil all my will — fell asleep, and vxis added unto his
fathers, was laid as an additional member in the burying' place of
his fathers, and saw corruption: his body underwent the common
lot of mortality, and passed through every process of dissolution,
decomposition, and decay. But He whom God raised saw not
corruption. The words of David in the 16th Psalm were prophetic
words. They not only expressed, as all believing men might
express, a sure confidence in the reality of a life beyond death,
in which they themselves should hereafter, in God's good time,
find a place and an inheritance : they had also a directly prophetic
reference to Him that should come ; and the Resurrection of
Jesus Christ claimed them and justified them as written before
hand of Him.
Be it known therefore to you, brethren, that through this man a
dismissal of sins is announced to yon; and from all things from
which ye could not be justified in (through) a law of Moses, in Him
every one who believes is justified. See then lest there come upon
you that which is said in the prophets, Behold, ye despisers, and.

282 THE WORK OF LIFE
wonder, and vanish; for I viork a work in your days, a work
which ye will by no means believe, if one should narrate it to you.
So then, my brethren, the discourse which begins with Israel
ends with Christ. It may be well to avoid needless offence ; well
to carry our hearers with us, to accept what they are, and lead
them forward to what they should be ; but the end is one, and
but one : they must be brought to Christ : the Gospel must be
set before them as the one, the only hope of fallen, sinful, dying
man. Let us look at St Paul's way of preaching Christ ; let us
look at the Christ whom he preached ; and pray God to write
upon all our hearts the bright and blessed hope which is bound
up in His name.
Through this Man, Jesus Christ, is preached unto you the
forgiveness of sins; or more exactly, a dismissal of sins.
You see what the statement is.
(i) There is the fact of sin. All men, old and young, rich
and poor, have sinned. We have left undone that which we ought
to have done , and we have done that which we ought not to have
done. That is sin. Sin is the thing which contradicts God's will
and God's command. And sin is a thing which cannot be made
not to be. Sin is a fact ; a fact true of each one of us : and no
regret and no resolution and no effort of ours can make that true
fact untrue again. We have sinned. Sin is a fact, and we
cannot reverse it.
(2) That fact of sin is not only irreversible, but it also affects
us and binds us still. There are many facts, in history for example,
which, though true, and therefore unalterable, have no consequences
for us. But our own sins are not of this nature. Sin committed
still hangs, still adheres, to the sinner. It shall come (to use the
remarkable phrase of the Psalmist) into his bowels like water, and
like oil into his bones. It becomes as it were a part of him : he
cannot divest himself of it. Not only in its infectious character ;
not only because it is its nature to spread like leaven through all
parts of the being, till the whole is leavened by it : but also in its
guilt ; in the fact that there is upon him, there is incorporated
with him, that guilty thing which cannot go unpunished. And

AND THE END OF LIFE. 283
let me add. that Nature, and Providence, and conscience, and the
experience of human life, do not, either singly or altogether, give
any sure intimation of the probable or possible disseverance of
guilt from punishment. There is far more, in each and in all of
them, to awaken fear than to inspire hope on this subject. As
sin, past sin I mean, still hangs to the sinner, accusing, con
demning, prophesying punishment ; so, for anything that the
voice of Nature in any of its utterances can say to us, we might
and we ought to anticipate that its grasp, its binding and clenching
power, would be perpetual, would be without repentance. I say
this, in all . truth and in all duty, before I add to the other
two particulars — the fact of sin, and the adherence of sin —
the third point which St Paul's discourse adds to these, namely,
(3) The forgiveness, or dismissal, of sins through Christ.
This announcement is the Gospel. That which, the Law could not
do, that of which Nature could give no hope, that which all else
seems rather to contradict than to confirm, yet that without
which man must be a debtor and a prisoner and a convict for
ever, Christ has done — God has done through Christ — He has
forgiven, He has remitted, yea, He has dismissed sins. So that
he who was bound is now free. He who was in his sins is now
out of them. He to whom sin clung, as a load and a burden too
heavy for him to bear, is now, at the sight of Christ's cross,
relieved, lightened, disburdened ; ready to run the race that
is set before him, to enter upon that service which is perfect
freedom. How needful, how reasonable, the inference, How shall
we escape, if we neglect so great salvation ? Behold, ye despisers,
and wonder, and perish.
The text itself, though earlier in order, yet, in its Christian
application, gives the conclusion of the whole matter. It tells us
the duty and the end of him who has first known the blessedness
which David himself by anticipation described, when he said,
Blessed is he whose iniquity is forgiven, and whose sin is covered :
blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (1) The
duty, and (2) the end.
(1) He serves his own generation by the will of God. Or, /;/,

284 THE WORK OF LIFE
his own generation he serves the will of God. The expressions,
whichever be adopted, mean the same thing. We may take that
of our Authorized Version.
It may seem a humble thing to do : but what else is there for
the greatest of us ? To serve a generation. We are full perhaps
of great projects. We think we can make an impression upon the
world. We think that our view of truth, or our way of express
ing it, is something original, something novel, something which
will affect thought and expression after us. Or we think that the
effect produced by our influence, in the things of time or else in
the things of eternity, is something which will be permanent :
future ages will bless us, and our names will live. I speak
the language of the great men of the earth, not as though we
ourselves were of them. And it is for the sake of correcting that
language. All you can do, the greatest of you, is to serve your
own generation. The next generation will have its own ways of
thinking and acting. If anything of yours should survive, it will
be but to be criticized, disparaged, incorporated and lost in the
new. Do not hope to outlive your time. Be satisfied if you can
serve your own generation : and when we have put a very narrow
construction upon the word generation; when we have made it
mean only your own town, or your own parish, or perhaps your
own family ; you must be satisfied still. It is not for the creatures
of a day to affect either universality or permanence.
To serve your own generation. Not, observe, to lord it over
your generation : not, to stamp your mind or your will or your
example upon your generation : but to serve it. How humbling,
yet how salutary a description ! The greater a man is, the more
has he to serve. A Sovereign is but a servant. How much
more a tradesman, a lawyer, a physician, a clergyman. My
brethren, are we setting ourselves to this service? If it is a
humble, it is also an honourable, and even a sacred service. To
do good to, to help forward, to promote the present and eternal
happiness of, the men and the women and the children with whom
or amongst whom it has pleased God that we should spend our
few days or years on earth. That is the meaning of a generation.

AND THE END OF LIFE. 285
It is, the people living at one time. To serve our generation is to
promote the welfare, the best welfare, of the persons who happened
to live, or rather, whom God's Providence has appointed to live,
at the same time with ourselves below. What a summons is this
to every possible work of charity ! What a motive does this give
to diligence in visiting the poor, in supporting Schools, in trying
to set forward every effort and enterprize of good ! Let me
anxiously bespeak your help and enlist your sympathies.
(2) Then finally, after serving his own generation by the will
of God, the forgiven man at last falls on sleep. We have dwelt
upon this expression in commenting upon the death of Stephen.
When he had said this, he fell asleep. Sleep is the Christian name
for death. Why ?
i. Because it is a gentle thing. It has already lost its sting,
by reason of the forgiveness of sins. The sting of death is sin;
and he whose sins have been dismissed is set free also from the
fear of death.
ii. Because it is a refreshing and a restoring thing. The
weary man wants rest. And the forgiven man, who, in the
strength of that forgiveness, has for many years been serving his
generation, needs rest : he must renew his strength before he enters
upon the occupations of that world ; the world of resurrection and
of eternal life.
iii. Lastly, and above all, because it has a waking: because
death, to a Christian, is only the gate of life : because, after a
pause, he will awake, and be satisfied, when he awakes, with God's
likeness. Therefore he who has served his generation according to God's
will, when he comes to die, only falls on sleep. He may be laid
unto his fathers, and see corruption : that is the common lot of
all men ; that is the penalty of the universal transgression : but
the soul sleeps not ; the soul departs to be at once with Christ :
and neither shall the body sleep for ever; it too shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and when it hears shall live.
Seek forgiveness now. Seek it humbly, seek it earnestly, seek
it as the free gift of God. Set yourself, in the faith of that gift,

286 THE WORK OF LIFE AND THE END OF LIFE.
and in the power of the Holy Spirit who seals it within, to serve
your own generation, through the days of your appointed time,
by the will of God. Then, when you die, yours shall be a sleep
of repose, of refreshment, and unto waking: you shall enter into
peace: and if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even
so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

LECTURE X.
THE CONGREGATION AND ITS DISPERSION.
Acts xiii. 43.
Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews
and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking
to tliem, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
We have been reading an address delivered by St Paul, during
his first Apostolical journey, at the town of Antioch in Asia
Minor. That address occupies a middle place amongst the
recorded discourses of the same Apostle. We shall find him, in
the next (as also in the 17 th) chapter, addressing a heathen
audience, to which he could only speak on the basis of reason and
Nature. And we shall find him in the 20th chapter addressing
a congregation not only of Christians but of Christian ministers,
to whom every part of the Gospel was already familiar. Here,
on the contrary, he speaks to a Jewish assembly ; an audience
with whom he might reason from the Old Testament, proving, by
a comparison of Scripture with fact, that Jesus was Christ. He
has done so. He has connected his teaching with the history of
Israel. He has made David his text — the words of David and
the promise to David — and has shown those whose glory it was
to belong to his race and to his kingdom, that David himself had
pointed to Jesus Christ and to His redemption. At last he draws

288 THE CONGREGATION
his conclusion. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren,
that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.
Beware therefore lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the
prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish.
The close of the chapter gives us an account of the effects of
that address upon those who heard it, upon those who heard of it,
and upon the fortunes of the Apostles themselves.
And as they, the Apostles Paul and Barnabas, were going out
from the synagogue where Paul had thus spoken, they (the hearers)
entreated that on the next sabbath these words might be spoken to
them. The contrast drawn in our English Version between the
Jews and the Gentiles does not seem to be warranted by the best
manuscripts. There was a general wish to hear the subject dis
cussed again. But we are reminded by the words of the next
verse, that which has been read to you as the text, that there is
sometimes a general wish to hear, without an individual earnest
ness in following up the things spoken.
And when the synagogue, the congregation there assembled,
was released from its attendance upon the duty of worship, many
of the Jews, and of the devout proselytes, those who were Jews not
by blood but by religion — we have not yet read of any Gentiles,
strictly so called — followed Paul and Barnabas, eager to hear
more, and to verify by private enquiry the declarations uttered
in public : who (the two Apostles) speaking to them, conversing
with them, urged them to adhere to, to wait upon, to remain
constant to, the grace (favour) of God now made known to
them. And on the next sabbath almost all the city was assembled in the
synagogue, to hear the word, of God. And when the Jews saw
the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and began to contra
dict the things stated by Paul, blaspheming (or reviling). And
Paul and Barnabas spoke plainly and said, To you it was necessary
tliat the word of God be first spoken: but since you repel it, and
judge not yourselves worthy of the eternal life, behold, we turn to the
Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, I have set Thee —
thus the Father, in the language of the prophet Isaiah, addresses

AND ITS DISPERSION. 289
the Messiah — for a light of Gentiles, that thou mightest be for
salvation as far as the extremity of the earth. Their own Scriptures
warned them that it was the purpose of God to extend the light
of salvation beyond any national barriers. The Gospel was
designed to be no local or limited religion, the privilege of one
nation and of such other persons as might individually join them
selves to that nation by obedience to a ceremonial law: it was
sent as the religion of all nations, coextensive in its mission with
the boundaries of earth itself.
And the Gentiles present in the synagogue, hearing the words
of the Apostles, rejoiced, and glorified the word of God ; ascribed
to it its true importance and its true dignity as a message
from the living God ; and believed, that is, became believers, by a
solemn act of confession and allegiance ; so many, that is, as were
appointed unto eternal life. And the word of the Lord was carried
about through the whole of the region.
Success, as usual, provoked opposition. Persecution now set
in. But the Jews incited the devout women who were of honourable
rank, and the foremost men of the city, and raised a persecution
against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their borders.
And they shook off tlie dust of their feet against them, as a solemn
protest against the impiety rather than the cruelty of their con
duct, and came to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy
and with the Holy Ghost. So much, and so little, can persecution
do. It may put obstacles in the way of progress ; but it only
stirs into liveber exercise the graces of those who believe.
As many as were ordained (appointed) to eternal life believed.
By whom ordained, by whom appointed, to eternal life 1 Surely
there is but One, of whom the words can be written. They
belong to the same class of expressions with those of our Lord
Himself, No man can come unto me, except the Father who hath
sent me draw him. My Father which gave them me is greater than
all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I
pray for them : I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou
hast given me; for they are Thine. There is a great depth here,
which cannot be entirely fathomed. This is no doctrine of human
v. 19

290 THE CONGREGATION
invention, but one which lies at the bottom of Divine Revelation.
It is one of those secret things which belong wholly to the Lord our
God; except so far as it is needed by each one of us, and therefore
recognized in Holy Scripture, for the correction of human pride
and the awakening of human earnestness. Every man who is
saved will have to confess that there was something at work for
him before his own free will. He could no more have taken the
first step than he could have taken the last step without God. It
was of God that he sought God. It was of God that that first
spark of desire within was kindled which made him even a seeker
of eternal life. Yes, my brethren, the true Christian knows this
well. If God had not had a purpose of love towards him, he had
never been able to rejoice in His love. All good in man is of God;
as much the first stirring of good, as its latest or its largest exer
cise. This is that truth, that needful, that man-humbling, that
God-exalting truth, which the text recognizes. That no flesh
should glory in His presence. None can say, I made up my mind
to be saved, and therefore I set out, of myself, from that city of
destruction which is self, which is sin, which is hell below. God
was at work before me, and shall be at work after me. This is
that doctrine which brings a man to his knees. Yes, which says
to each one of us, If you would be saved, you must ask God to
save you. If you are not yet saved, it is because you have not
put yourself into God's hands for salvation. It is He who gives
the first impulse, and they who read the Word or hear Sermons
in the expectation that the act itself will benefit are leaving God
out of His own work, which none can' do and live. No man can
come unto me, except tlie Father who hath sent me draw him: then
let us ask for that drawing. Depend upon it, we are building
upon the sancl, except so far as we recognize God's will and God's
work in the matter of our own salvation. To wait idly till God
draws is folly, is madness, is blasphemy : but to pray for God's
drawing is reason, is obedience, is man's place, man's comfort,
and man's one hope. As many as were appointed to eternal life
believed. God grant that this brief hint be not lost upon us.
When the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and

AND ITS DISPERSION. 291
religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas ; who, speaking to
tliem, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. I would
propose this to you, my brethren, this evening, as your test, as
your model, and as your encouragement.
i. Now, first, there is a congregation before us. It is a
wonderful thing, when we reflect upon it ; a congregation of
worshippers. It differs from every other gathering of human
beings, in some important particulars. It is a mixed assemblage.
Persons of all ages and of all ranks are here. Persons who meet
nowhere else meet here. Persons, alas, who have a grudge against
one another, who would avoid one another, who would pass one
another by, or speak only to dispute, elsewhere, meet here, and
meet without discord. Old and young, rich and poor, learned and
unlearned, glad and sorrowful, all are mingled here. The house of
mourning and the house of feasting alike contribute their quota
to this one gathering. The more you think of it, the more
remarkable the scene becomes. In this one place, there is silence,
except from certain authorized speakers, or at certain prescribed
points in the proceedings. To the words of a man, one of them
selves in nature and in infirmity, all are bound, if they come here,
to listen in respectful silence. The first inference which all must
draw from such a scene — and it is a scene to be witnessed this day
in thousands of thousands of places on this earth's surface — must
be, that there is a consciousness in man's heart of a great universal
want ; and that want is the knowledge of God, communion with
God, directions from God how to live here so that an immortal life
beyond may be a life of happiness and not of woe. To that want
every congregation bears witness. The poorer and the less attract
ive the service, the louder and not the fainter becomes the voice
of that testimony. Men cannot do without a religion, and that
religion must have its exercises. Man must worship ; as a form,
if not otherwise : yet, if as a form, because there is a deep want
within which must at least be glossed over, at least lulled, at
least pacified, if it cannot be met and comforted and satisfied.
Now therefore let us accept, at least thus far, the witness of
the congregation. It is a remarkable thing, this meeting. It
19—2

292 THE CONGREGATION
could scarcely be accounted for — this habit, so iuveterate, so
widely spread, of meeting together for worship — except on the
supposition that there is a God, whom to reverence is man's first
duty, whom to know is eternal life. And this one supposition
condemns us. We do -not (it may be) know God, and we do not
— alas, it is too probable — in heart and life reverence God.
What the congregation does, the individual does not. The want
is in him as in them : but it is there as a want neglected, it is not
there as a want satisfied.
We may well form a high estimate — we cannot form too high
an estimate — of this great institution, which is also the expression
of an instinct, of assembling ourselves together in a house of wor
ship. What is done here tells upon the life ; yes, upon the eternal
life. What is learned here, what is confessed here, what is asked
here, what is impressed here, ought to have consequences ; nay, it
has consequences, whether we will or no. Carelessness of thought
here, idleness of attention here, the entrance of the world and the
devil into the heart here, still more the habit of irreverence and
of open trifling here, does tell, does bear fruit, does involve
consequences, of which none can set the limit or predict the end.
When we come together, as St Paul says, in one place, it must be
either for the better, or for tlie worse. O, it is not the listening to
music, and it is not the criticizing a Sermon, that will answer the
purposes or fulfil the responsibilities of this gathering. It is a
serious work, this meeting in the congregation : a work in which
Angels take an interest, and in which, we can well believe, the
spirits of evil are busy with their wiles and with their seductions.
2. But the text speaks of the breaking up of the congregation.
When the congregation was broken up. He who watches from this
pulpit the dispersion of the congregation ; sees tlie gradual emptying
of this holy place after the words of final benediction, and pictures
to himself, ever so roughly, the various scenes to which the
worshippers are returning ;¦ may well look after them anxiously,
and wonder in himself where and how the seed sown is to have
its developement ; in how many it will be caught away before it
has taken root ; in how many it will find a shallow and therefore

AND ITS DISPERSION. 293
but a temporary resting-place ; in how many it will be choked, as
it grows, by cares and pleasures ; in how many — God grant it be
in some — it will healthfully spring and grow, and bear its harvest
whether it be of the thirty, the sixty, or the hundredfold. When
the congregation is broken up this evening, whither will the All-
seeing eye track its dispersion ? Shall there be any deed of darkness
done this night by one who is now sitting before me to hear the
word of God ? Shall there be this evening around any (that should
be a Christian) hearth thoughts of unkindness, or words of dispute
and bitterness, to mar the sacred calm of a blessed English Sunday?
Or shall there be this night any lying down to sleep unblessed by
prayer and thanksgiving, any last thoughts unfit for the Spirit's
presence, or any meditations upon the bed in the night-watches
such as cannot be acceptable in the sight of God our Strength and
our Redeemer ? Surely, if the sight of a congregation has its
solemnity, the sight of its dispersion is more solemn and more
anxious still. Ye cannot be partakers of tlie Lord's table, and of
the table of devils: alas, are there none who do hold in unholy
combination the form of God's service with the reality of a service
most inconsistent and most opposite ?
In the case here before us, an Apostle had been the preacher ;
the topic of the Sermon was a new Gospel ; and the impression
made had been such that the audience would fain bespeak the
same Sermon for their next Sabbath gathering. And yet even
when Paul preached, even when One greater than Paul preached,
the words were still again and again verified, Some believed the
things that were spoken, and some believed not. It was so then,
even as it is now, with the Gospel. When the congregation was
broken up, many — but not all — of the worshippers followed Paul
and Barnabas to receive a fuller light and a more profound
impression. The test of the individual effect was the individual
following. Those who were satisfied with the hearing went away
when the congregation was dismissed : those who desired to live
by it stayed behind and sought a closer converse with the speaker.
Is there nothing now to correspond with this distinction 1 On a
Sunday evening, when no special attraction of weather or spectacle

294 THE CONGREGATION
draws another way, this Church is largely filled with worshippers :
the word spoken is received reverently, and the appearance of
many a listener is that of one almost persuaded to be a Christian.
The preacher is encouraged to hope things that accompany salva
tion, and the casual observer draws a favourable inference as to
the state of religion in this parish and in this town. But apply
the test here presented. How many of the congregation stay to
follow up the impression? On Sunday morning, still more on
Sunday afternoon, yet more still at our week-day Service, the
Church is little frequented : the farm and the merchandise, the
pleasures of home or the pleasures of society, are found, as of old,
sufficient reasons for declining the invitation of the Gospel : this
one Service, bright with cheerful light, and varied with beautiful
music, is the whole of the religion, to judge by its visible signs,
of many of those who now listen. Where amongst us are the
religious proselytes who follow the ministers when the congregation
is broken up ; use, in other words, the opportunities afforded them
for a more private and personal instruction, link together the
Sunday services by a chain of holy effort and assiduous devotion
in the week between, and thus set themselves with all earnestness
to grow in knowledge, to grow in seriousness, and to grow in
grace ?
Paul and Barnabas felt that an attentive congregation, though
a great blessing, is an ambiguous sign. They knew the precarious-
ness, as well as the importance, of the spiritual life, and never
rested satisfied with one symptom or one evidence of a serious and
strong impression. They spoke to these new disciples, and
persuaded them to continue in tlie grace oj God. It is a great
thing to set out well : it is more to run well : it is more still
to end well ; to reach the goal of the race, and to grasp the
promised crown. We are all reminded from time to time of this
anxious difference. A hundred and fifty, it may be, of our young
Parishioners have devoted themselves in one body to God in the
vow of Confirmation : a large proportion of that number have
followed the promise to its natural sequel in the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper : but how many of these, we ask and we cannot

AND ITS DISPERSION. 295
answer, will be found willing to obey the call addressed to them
afterwards, from time to time, to gather together for further
instruction in the Word and ordinances of the Gospel, so that
they may carry on the work begun, and fulfil the covenant
entered into between them and God ?
Alas, my friends, it is easier to promise than to perform ;
easier to make one effort than many ; easier to dedicate ourselves
once at the Lord's Table, than to carry on to its completion the
vow thus registered in heaven. Some who knelt at those altar-
rails a month ago in seeming earnestness may have defiled them
selves already with the world or with the flesh ; and, when we
would persuade them to continue in the grace of God, will reply
to us, whether in sorrow or in indifference, that they never really
cared for it ; that they have already gone back and are walking
no more with Jesus. These are among the discouragements of
the Christian ministry: but the Christian minister who knows
himself confesses that he can understand it and marvels not.
May God grant to us who are here assembled His great, His
crowning grace of perseverance. Well do we all know, the
youngest of us, the snares which are spread on this side and on
that for unwary steps. Lusts of the flesh — lures of the world —
wiles of the devil — it needs more than one renunciation to overcome
all or any one of these. In some new guise, in some unexpected
or unsuspected form, each one reappears, lies to us, and bids us
run the risk, if it be even to sin and die. Where is he whose
armour is proof at all points ; who can both discern the real
enemy in the professed friend, and also set him at defiance in the
strength of One before whom he once fled and for ever trembles ?
Let us urge you, and more especially our younger companions in
the race of eternal life, to continue in the grace of God; to adhere
tenaciously to every habit of good once formed ; to prayer public
and private, to the study of God's Word, to self-examination, to
Holy Communion ; that so you may not only set out rightly but
also end successfully. Let us not turn aside from any ordinance
or from any pledge by which we may bind our unstable souls
more securely to the Lord. Let us look upon all these things

296 THE CONGREGATION AND ITS DISPERSION.
as helps to good. And may He, by whose grace alone any
one of us can endure to the end, by whose appointment and
ordinance alone any of us can attain eternal life, so bless and
prosper our course that it may also bring us to our goal ; so
be with us in our pilgrimage, that we may also reach our rest ;
and enable us so to pass through things temporal, that we finally
lose not the things eternal.

LECTURE XI.
GOD'S WITNESSES.
Acts xiv. 17.
Nevertheless He left not Himself without witness.
This Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel,
and for a sign which shall be spoken against ; that the thoughts of
many hearts may be revealed. It was thus that the holy Simeon
spoke of the Divine Child, whose presentation in the Temple
he had lived to witness. And the ministry of our Lord, both
personally and by His Apostles, was a perpetual commentary
upon that prediction. By men's treatment of Christ they show
what manner of spirit they are of. They who love the light come
to the light. They who are of the truth receive the truth. They
who are of God hear God's words. They who are living in sin,
they who are crooked-minded and false-hearted, they who trust
in themselves that they are wise or righteous or holy, will not
come to Christ that they may have life. The thoughts of men's
hearts are revealed by the touchstone of the Gospel.
And the Gospel is a Gospel for all nations, for all times, and
for all characters. These two chapters, the 13th and 14th of the
Acts of the Apostles, give us specimens of the way in which
the Gospel addresses itself to all manner of states and conditions
of men. The educated Roman magistrate, and the designing
self-interested impostor; the Jewish audience trained in the
Scriptures, and the heathen mob grovelling in superstitious
idolatries ; to each and all the Apostle has his suitable word of

298 god's witnesses.
conviction and correction ; his appropriate reason for believing,
and his effectual demonstration that God is with him and in him
of a truth.
Another long journey, of about ninety miles, has brought the
two Evangelists (for in this character they were acting) from
Antioch to Iconium. The same scene was there enacted again.
They first seek out the synagogue, and address themselves to
those who need only the developement of truth ; those who
already possess in the germ that knowledge of which the expan
sion is the Gospel. Christ tlie end of the Law is the text for these.
And persuasively was it handled. A great multitude believed.
But here, as before, persecution followed upon success. The
bitterest enemy of the Gospel was still the Jew. The Gentile
outcast knew his blindness, and was thankful for healing : the
Jew could say, I see; and therefore his sin remained.
For a long time the Apostles stood their ground. The Lord
bore testimony to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders
to be done by their hands. The whole city entered, on the one
side or the other, into the great question. Men could not
then sleep upon the Gospel. It came into a town as a fire;
a fire to blaze and to roar, or else to cheer and to illuminate.
At last a decisive moment came. Jews and Gentiles, headed
(to their shame) by the magistrates of the place, made a positive
assault upon the Apostles to use them despitefully and to stone
them. This was their signal. When they persecute you in one
city, flee ye into another. They took refuge from the storm
in the smaller and ruder towns of the neighbouring district.
And there they preached the Gospel. The Christian is to be bold,
but not foolhardy. If actual violence is threatened, he ought, if
he can, to carry his word where it is yet unknown.
The site of Lystra is not ascertained. Possibly, like that
of the Pisidian Antioch in recent years, it may be disclosed
to the patient search of some Christian traveller. But the
name of Lystra, and one little chapter of its history — the most
important, in God's sight, of all — this is known to us, and we are
to revive the recollection to-night.

god's witnesses. 299
There was a man in the town of Lystra who had been
afflicted from his birth. He was a cripple, and had never
walked. On one occasion when Paul was preaching Jesus
in the street or market-place — for it does not appear that Lystra
had a synagogue — this poor lame man sat full in his view. He
attracted the eye of the Apostle, who discerned in him not
attention only, but interest too in the things spoken, and
that spirit of faith also without which there is no place for
healing. Suddenly, and with the voice raised to a tone of
authority and of command, Paul addressed himself to this poor
and pitiable object, saying to him who had never known the
power of motion, Stand upon thy feet upright. To the astonish
ment of every spectator — most of all, doubtless, to his own — the
strength to obey was given in the effort. He leaped up, and
walked. The effect upon the population was magical. Uneducated
and uncivilized countrymen, incapable of abstract reasoning, and
fast bound by the chains of a degrading superstition, they could
yet understand and appreciate a fact : they could see that a
miracle is an intervention, that it bespeaks a presence, and
that it has an end : and in their own ignorant way they proceeded
to argue from it. The gods, they said, are come down to us in
the likeness of men. Such visits from their deities were events
celebrated in their mythology : Jupiter, the chief of the heavenly
powers, and Mercury, the attendant and messenger of the gods,
were said, in the tales of the country, to have travelled before
through that region : and they lost no time in appropriating one
of these names to each of the two Apostles. Mercury was the
god of eloquence, and Paul was the chief speaker; therefore
he must be Mercury, and then Barnabas Jupiter. Next, tliese
supposed deities must be received with divine honours. It appears
that there was a statue, or rather temple, of Jupiter before their
city ; outside its chief gate, as the patron and protector of its
fortunes. And this temple ha.l its priest : so, when the rumour
of a divine visit spread though the city, it was the business of the
priest of Jupiter to receive his patron with due reverence ; and
he brought animals for sacrifice, and garlands to decorate the

300 god's witnesses.
victims, to the gate (probably) of the house to which the Apostles
had retired, and prepared to do sacrifice with the people. The
sound of these proceedings at last penetrated within : and the
two Apostles, rending tlieir clothes in horror at the frightful
impiety, rushed out among the people, loudly protesting and
remonstrating against the idolatry of which they were the
objects. In few and vigorous words, they plied the heathen
crowd with arguments drawn entirely from what is called
natural religion. Anything else would have been unintelligible.
To speak of Jesus and the resurrection at that moment would
indeed have been a casting of pearls before swine. There is no
wisdom in flinging the Gospel headlong before minds and hearts
incapable of it. A man who has brought oxen and garlands to
do sacrifice to a fellow-man must be reproved out of the book of
nature, must be turned inward upon his reason, must be brought
face to face with conscience, and not presented with an atonement
which he will despise, or a Saviour whom he will tread underfoot.
Listen then to an Apostle preaching to the idolaters of Lystra.
Sirs, he said, why do ye these things ? we also are men, human
beings, in like case, of like nature and infirmities, with you;
preaching to you — properly, evangelizing you, that is, bringing
you glad tidings — that ye turn from these vain things, from
these profitless and senseless idolatries, to a living God; to a
God, not of wood and stone, and not, like us, of mortal dying
mould, but to Him who lives and who gives life, the immortal,
eternal, self-existent God ; who made tlie heaven and the earth and
the sea, and cdl things that are in them; who in the past generations
permitted all tlie nations to walk in their own ways; interposed
not by any visible judgment, or by any world-wide revelation,
to put a stop to human error and to human wickedness : and yet,
though I thus speak, as if God had suffered man to walk unwarned
or unpunished in his own evil ways, He left not Himself without
witness, doing good to the creatures of His hand, giving you rain
from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food
and gladness.
And by these sayings they with difficulty stopped the multitudes

god's witnesses. 301
from sacrificing to them. The scene will soon change : with them,
as with tlieir Master before them, it was but Hosanna now,
to-morrow Crucify: but for to-night we will leave them in this
momentary lull of suffering, while we think of their words as here
recorded, and see whether there is anything for a Christian
audience to learn from that elementary view of truth which the
text itself presents to us. Whosoever he be to whom the Word
of God comes ; however little he may know, however little he
may believe ; whatever be his past history, whatever his present
standing-place before God or man ; the words are of unquestion
able truth, and the words are of incomparable importance, which
say to him, as they once said on an Apostle's lips to the idolaters
of Lystra, Nevertlieless, even to you, God has not left Himself without
witness. It has been perhaps too much the fashion to leave out this
topic from our Christian teaching. The Christian minister's
business, I know — his one business — is, to preach Christ. He
has no right to stand where I stand to-night, except in some true
sense he bear Christ's commission. But is he therefore bound,
has he therefore any right, to narrow his teaching to some one or
two alone of all Christ's doctrines? I do not find our Lord
Himself, and I do not find our Lord's Apostles after Him,
refusing the topics of what is called (more or less correctly)
the religion of Nature. And let me say, there are men who
listen unmoved to the persuasions of the Gospel strictly so
called, who will yet tremble (like Felix) when a man reasons
with them of righteousness and temperance and judgment to
come. These things are the avenues of the Gospel. Less than
saving if they stop there, they are yet salutary, and the way to
saving. God has not left Himself, St Paul says, without witness.
Even to a heathen man, without or before revelation, God gave
witness, gave evidence, gave proof, of His own being, and of His
own character. It is an old topic, but. not therefore done with.
The same commandment, St John says, may be both old and

302 god's witnesses.
new ; old in date, and new in power ; old in communication,
and new in conviction. May it be so now, and with us.
i. St Paul says very distinctly that Nature is God's witness.
The invisible things of God, he writes to the Romans, from tlie
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by tlie
things that are made, even His eternal power and Godliead ; so
that they who despise or deny Him are without excuse. Men may
argue themselves out of anything : and so they may argue them
selves out of the belief that this fair world, with its bright lights
and its fruitful seasons, its ordinances of day and night, of life
given and life replenished, is a proof of a personal Creator : they
may say, and with some logical plausibility, that the old argument,
inferring a Designer from a design, proceeds in a vicious circle :
they may enthrone chance in God's seat, or invest nature with
God's attributes, or profess to leave all in doubt, and with a
misplaced and spurious humility pretend that they have not
the faculty for such research ; that they can detect the fallacies
of Theism, but are incompetent to replace falsehood by truth :
these things may be, for they have been ; and such reasonings
are as attractive to the self-complacent, as they are distasteful
and distressing to the humble-minded. But we believe that,
however difficult to frame into an exact order of premises and
conclusions, there is a truth, and an irresistible truth, in the
evidence of the things that are seen to the being of an invisible
Creator : we can heartily echo the wise saying, Nature could no
more have made me, than Fashion could have made the coat I
wear: we can still look up to the starry sky, and say, It must
have had a Maker ; we can contemplate the mechanism of a
human body, or reflect upon the endowments of a human mind,
and say, That wonderful, that fearful existence, is not self-
constituted nor self-endowed ; it owes its structure and it owes
its origin to something, to some One, out of itself; and to that
something, to that some One, I give, because I cannot help it,
the reverence and the fear and the worship of the thing made to
Him who made it.
2. And Providence too is God's witness. There can be no

god's witnesses. 303
question on which side Providence is, in the great question
between sin and righteousness. We can say with perfect confi
dence to any young man whose course in life is still undecided
for good or evil, There is no doubt that that power, whatever it
be, which presides over the course of the world and of human
life, is a power which loves righteousness and hates iniquity.
If you live morally and religiously, you will live, on the whole,
happily ; if you live carelessly and immorally, you will infallibly,
in the long run, be miserable. Act as if there were no God, or
no righteous God, or no Omniscient, or no Almighty God ; and
though you may not believe that He has anything to do with
the matter — though you may ascribe results to accident, to
misfortune, to fate, or what you will — those results will most
certainly be all against you : you will live to curse the day when
you first gave way to temptation, you will live to call (by contrast
at least) righteousness happiness and religion peace. Such an
experience — uniform, I believe, in its main features, in human
life — is a witness of inestimable power on the side of Gocl.
Somehow or other, trace it to what cause we will, human life
is so ordered that in the long run it is well with the righteous
and ill with the wicked. Sin, in a wonderful manner, finds us
out. Great crimes bring even the vengeance of society after
them : secret sins destroy health, undermine success, cause
perpetual terror, and seldom fail, in the end, to entail disgrace :
even little sins, even neglected faults, even omitted duties, make
conscience a tormentor, and introduce an element of discord
and disquietness into the whole fabric of being. Could we
wish for a surer practical demonstration of the personal existence
and of the holy character of a Creator and a Governor of the
universe ?
3. And who shall deny that God, the God of holiness and
the God of truth, has a witness also in the human conscience ?
What is this strange thing within me, which presumes to sit
in judgment upon me myself ? which undertakes to say to me,
This is the way, walk thou in it ; and, if I walk not in it, goes
on to pronounce, yea, to execute, within me a sentence of au-

304 god's witnesses.
thoritative condemnation? This thing which is at once I and
not I myself ; which intimately knows, searchingly scrutinizes,
and severely judges, yet which has some one to know and to
scrutinize and to judge ; this thing which certainly I did not
place there, and which however I may disregard and disobey
I cannot wholly dethrone ; what can I call it but God's witness ?
It is something which He left within me when I went into
the far country ; it is something through which He still com
municates with me, still censures, still threatens, still punishes :
may it not be, may not this thing which I call conscience be
designed to inform me, that there shall be one day a setting of
the thrones and a solemn Advent and Epiphany of the Judge ?
We have touched, very summarily, and in what some may
call an old-fashioned way, upon those evidences which God
brings, even to a natural man — in a measure, even to a heathen
man and an idolater — in attestation of His own being and
character. We have spoken of Nature, of Providence, and
of conscience, as instances and exemplifications of the saying
of tlie text, in which St Paul declared to his rude audience
at Lystra, who knew not the Scriptures, and had never heard
the holy names of Christ and of the Spirit, that nevertheless
God had not left Himself, even to them, without witness.
Tliese elementary evidences are sometimes too much left out
or slurred over in our modern teaching. And they lie under
all that is more distinctively Christian. It is only a man with
a conscience, to whom Christ can call. It is only a man whom
Nature has instructed and Providence has disciplined, who can
feel the mercy of a Gospel or see any beauty in a Saviour that
he should desire Him. My brethren, have we all learned these
elementary lessons ? For these also, like the Gospel, may be
set aside; may be first disregarded and at last denied. And
then, with them, goes all else ; all living sense of responsibility,
all godly fear, all quickening and sustaining hope. I address
some to-night who have perhaps dabbled in infidelity; have
touched at least with their first lips the sorcerer's cup, and
thought it a manly or an enlightened thing to doubt whether

god's witnesses. 305
they had a Maker and whether they shall have a Judge. It
is a great point gained if they can be brought to see that what
they have accounted their glory is indeed their shame. A man
who deifies Nature, a man who believes in chance, a man who
is blind to Providence and deaf to conscience, is sunk, by his
own admission, not only below the least and most despised in
the kingdom of lieaven, but below the very idolaters of Lystra,
to whom (whatever else He might have withheld) God had at
least not left Himself without witness.
4. Nor has God, my beloved brethren, left Himself without
witness to you. If you cannot read the countenance of heaven
and earth, and infer from the things that are seen the power
and glory of the Creator ; at least, I am persuaded, you can, in
your better moments, see that there has been a hand over your
life inward and outward ; you can, in adversity if not in pros
perity, in sickness if not in health, hear a voice within saying
to you, There is an eternity beyond, and eternity must be entered
through a judgment. These things, if nothing higher, are God's
evidences to you. There has been a hand over you, whatever
there may have been in Nature or in the world. Yes, there
has been a thought for you, and a care for you, and a guidance
for you, altogether out of and perhaps in spite of yourselves.
You did not bring yourselves into being, nor can you preserve
for one day, by any choice or any providence of your own, the
very spark and seed of life. And as the gift, and as the continu
ance, of being, so also the things which have befallen you ;
sickness and health, sorrow and joy, failure and success, danger
and deliverance, neglect and love ; have been rather ordered for
you than chosen by you. And not only so ; but something
within tells you, I am persuaded, how tenderly and how forbear-
ingly you have been dealt with ; that you have not been forgotten
in trouble, nor let alone in sin, nor rewarded entirely according
to your wickednesses ; the lot assigned you has been even more
medicinal than penal, and yet more evidently considerate and
personal than either. These things your better self confesses to
you ; and the experience of life has been to you God's witness.
V. 20

306 god's witnesses.
To the testimony of nature, and the testimony of Providence, and
the testimony of conscience, we add confidently in the last place
the testimony of experience.
He left not Himself without witness. Witness to what ? We
have said, To His own being, and to His own character. To
the fact that there is a God, and that He is this and not that ;
a God of truth, not of falsehood ; a God of holiness, not of evil ;
a God of love, not of hatred. You remember how often these
words close a paragraph of the Old Testament prophecies ; And
ye shall know that I am the Lord. Sometimes they end a pre
diction of judgment ; more often still perhaps a prediction of
restoring and reviving mercy : but, in either .case, this is the
end of God's dealings, as there described, with His nation or
with His world, Ye shall know that I am the Lord. Even so
it is with those evidences of which we have to-night spoken.
They are evidences of God Himself. They are to make God
known to man. And for what purpose ? As a point of theory
or of doctrine? as though men were debating concerning the
origin of Creation, and a decision was to be given to the question
by a sign from above? As a display of Divine greatness, for
the manifestation of Him, to end with itself, as possessed of
attributes altogether inalienable and incommunicable to man?
Not so, my brethren : but for this rather ; for this end, which
is worthy of God ; for this end, which is wholly beneficent as
well as magnificent in its working ; This is life eternal, that
they might know Thee : That by tliese ye might be partakers
of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in
the world through lust. This knowledge can be communicated
only through Jesus Christ; only by the Holy Spirit of God
working in man's heart as the Spirit of the Eternal Father
and of the Eternal Son. But there are preliminaries and
postulates to this knowledge : there is a vestibule as well
as a shrine to the heavenly temple ; and its first approach is
through the gate of faith in a personal Creator, an individual
Preserver, and an all-just Judge. Thus far might a heathen
penetrate ; let us see that we lag not behind him in the race

god's witnesses. 307
of truth. And when we reach that first outwork of the holy
precincts, and stand there in full view of the unapproachable
glory, trembling in the conviction of guilt, and confessing the
equity of an expected condemnation ; then it is that there conies
forth to us from the heavenly portal One like unto the Son of
Man, One made in all things like as vie are, yet without sin;
holds forth to us the sceptre of mercy, and bids us enter and
fear not ; saying to each one as he draws nigh in the full as
surance of faith, Son, thy sins are forgiven thee : By me if any
man enter in, he shall be saved : He that heareth my word, and
believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.

20—2

LECTURE XII.
THE REPORT OF THE MISSION.
Acts xiv. 27.
They rehearsed all that God had done with them.
Never continueth in one stay is as much the description of
human nature as of human life. There is but One in whom
is no variableness neither shadow of turning. There is but One
the same yesterday and to-day and for ever. Fluctuation, vacil
lation, alternation, oscillation, these are the proper terms of
superscription for the character as much as for the fortunes
of frail, fallible, fallen man. He who was yesterday worshipping
may to-morrow be blaspheming. Out of the same mouth pro-
ceedeth blessing and cursing. He who was yesterday praising,
extolling, deifying the messenger of the Gospel, may to-morrow
be disparaging, reviling, persecuting him. It was so in the
life of Jesus : and the disciple is not greater than his Lord. Alas,
it is too much so even in the Christian's history. This infection
of nature, by which nothing human is constant, doth remain,
yea, even in the regenerate. A man who was to-day half in
heaven may be to-morrow the victim, the prey, the very sport,
of sin. Let the thought convict, humble, abase us, according
to our need.
The inhabitants of Lystra, headed by the priest of Jupiter,
had brought oxen and garlands to the gate of the house in which
Paul and Barnabas were resting. A wonderful work of healing
had created what is now called a sensation in that rude city.

the report of the mission. 309
Divine honours were the least that could be given to beings
thus omnipotent. These two men must be gods in disguise.
It was at this moment of popular excitement, terrible far more
than flattering for the Evangelists of a pure and spiritual
religion, that the address on which we dwelt last Sunday was
delivered. Appealing to nothing more than a heathen and
almost a barbarian could appreciate, St Paul spoke of a God
of creation, who, though He might not constrain man's will,
yet desired and deserved man's reverence, and had taken care
not to leave Himself (in the darkest times) without a witness
in human life and in the human conscience. In nature, in
providence, and in conscience — nay, even in the experience
of the individual progress through the wilderness of life to
the dark river which bounds without terminating it — God has
a witness, and no silent or doubtful one, in the heart of every
child of man. The witness may be disregarded, may be gagged,
at last may be choked and stifled, in any careless, obstinate,
and at last obdurate bosom: but there it is: amidst its remon
strances, or over its remains, man rushes on to the commission
of that sin, the end and the wages of which is death.
The calm appeal to that inner witness had its effect at
Lystra, and will have its effect, amidst heathens or Christians,
wherever it is firmly and gravely made. The act of idolatry
was prevented : scarcely, with difficulty, yet prevented. The
oxen were led back from the house-gates, reserved for another
occasion and another object. And now a new influence begins
to work. There came in some Jews from Antioch and Iconium —
perhaps on purpose to counteract and malign the Gospel ; in
that spirit of religious bigotry which at last makes persecution
a profession, and leads men to spend precious time and undertake
long journeys in quest of objects of violence and cruelty — and
having persuaded the multitudes, proverbially fickle and treach
erous in that region, and having stoned Paul, in some tumultuous
manner in one of the streets or open places within the town,
dragged him out of the city, thinking that he was dead. Once
was I stoned, he says of himself in his 2nd Epistle to the

310 THE REPORT OF THE MISSION.
Corinthians, referring to this occasion. He who in earlier days
had assisted at St Stephen's martyrdom, abetting that murderous
hail of missiles under which he gave his life for Jesus, was now
himself the sufferer, and (strange to say) in the same cause.
Stephen fell asleep under that violence. But Paul had work
yet to do for his Master; and therefore, though his assailants
thought him dead, and so left him, nevertheless when the disciples
had circled him round, with words of tenderness, and efforts
(no doubt) to restore animation, he rose up, as they looked on,
and entered into the city. He who had been dragged out as
a corpse, reentered as a living man. God had work for him,
and therefore God brought him back from the very grave and
gate of death. The life of Jesus was, in a literal sense, made
manifest in his mortal flesh. And so, after a night's rest and
retirement, observed or unobserved of those who thought they
had taken his life, he went forth on the next day with Barnabas
to Derbe. At that place we read of no special sufferings. The
description may seem rather to imply an undisturbed as well as
successful labour. Having evangelized that city — the tense implies
a successful and somewhat complete work of communicating
the glad tidings in this new place — and having made disciples of
many, they turned back to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
Prudence is not cowardice. They had withdrawn for the moment
from those places ; but they returned thither. In each place
they had made disciples : those disciples must be revisited ; not
left to fight their new fight alone, or find their way unaided
into a life of consistency and devotion. They returned therefore
to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of
the disciples in each place visited before, encouraging them to
continue in the faith, and urging that it must be through many
afflictions that we enter at last into the kingdom of God. And
while they thus used the opportunity of their personal presence,
for exhortations and encouragements which might by God's
grace for ever be remembered, the Apostles took care also to
provide for that continuous shepherding of the flock, without
which even an Apostle's preaching might have but a precarious

THE REPORT OF THE MISSION. 311
and passing hold. He gave some, it is written in the Epistle
to the Ephesians, as evangelists, as the first heralds of the Gospel;
and some as pastors and teachers, to feed the Church of God,
and to build it up in all integrity of faith and practice. So
we read that Paul and Barnabas, on this second visit to places
already evangelized, elected (or appointed) for them, for the
new believers, elders (or presbyters) congregation by congregation,
and then, after praying with fastings, after a solemn farewell
service of prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord,
Jesus Christ, on whom they had believed. That was the real
safeguard. Men might do something for them : Apostles might
plant, elders might water, but the Lord alone could either
preserve, or give the increase. And so they passed through
Pisidia, and, bending their steps southward from Antioch,
came into Pamphylia : and there having spoken the word in
Perga, they came down (to the sea coast) to Attalia; and thence
sailed back to Antioch in Syria, from whence they had been
surrendered to the favour and blessing of God for the work
which tliey had now fulfilled. And having arrived, and gathered
the congregation together, they reported all the things which God
did with them — cooperating with them — and how that He
opened, by their instrumentality, to the Gentiles a door of
faith ; how God had made an opening for the Gentiles to
believe. And they spent no short time with the disciples at
Antioch. They rehearsed all that God had done with them. This was
the first missionary report ever presented. Of late years these
rehearsals have been common. Every year at this season meetings
are held to receive such reports. And it is well that it should
be so ; provided that the accounts are truthfully given, and
provided that the results be anxiously weighed. But let us
observe for our instruction to-night what was the nature of
that work as two Apostles wrought and as God did it with
them. i. What was its object ?
You all know how ill any work must be done which has

312 THE REPORT OF THE MISSION.
not a definite aim. What would a carpenter's work be, or
what would a builder's work be, or what would a lawyer's
or a physician's work be, without some end set before it?
without having something proposed to it, as the object to
be gained by success or lost by failure ? If the piece of furniture
be properly made, if the house be firmly and commodiously
built, if the health be reestablished or if the cause be won,
then there has been good work performed, and the toil has
not been wasted or thrown away. Now too often, in religious
matters, this first condition of good work is left out of sight.
A clergyman, as it is said, ' performs duty : ' that is, he has
gone through the public service, he has prepared and preached
his sermon, he has visited the sick, he has inspected the school,
&c. But was that his end? was that the object which he
proposed to himself? or were these things only so many means
to his end ? A serious question : a question of life and death
as to a clergyman's own state and hope in the sight of God.
Far too often we do make these duties ends : if we can perform
our duty (as it is sometimes said) creditably, if we read distinctly,
if we preach intelligibly, if we have spent so many hours in
visiting our parishioners, if we have got through so many cases
of sickness in the day or in the week, we are ready to say, I
have done my duty ; I have gained my end. And so far is
this sort of clerical labour better than idleness, that we can
almost account it a clear gain if one in whom we are interested
has even thus far discharged his office diligently. But who
does not see that no amount of labour, thus accomplished,
necessarily implies any the slightest sense of the real work
of the ministry ? Where is the end, in all this ? No builder
— to resume the former comparison — would satisfy his employer
by merely being seen so many hours each day at his work : if
nothing came of it, or nothing but crooked walls, leaking roofs,
and shapeless windows, it would be no satisfaction to the owner
that the tradesman had spent so many days upon his toil, or
that health had been sacrificed, or life itself lost, in an under
taking so futile and disappointing. It is even so in things

THE REPORT OF THE MISSION. 313
spiritual. He is not a good workman, or a workman who
can look, for his wages, who has nothing to show for it but
his toil. True, in these matters, unlike the other, man cannot
by any skill or any devotion secure his object : God gives,
and God withholds ; and he who thinks that his own labour
or even his own prayer can guarantee success has not yet
learned his first lesson in the school of Jesus Christ. But
it is one thing to have an object, and another to gain it. Now
therefore we would ask again, What was St Paul's object in
this or any other Apostolical journey ? Could it be more clearly
or more forcibly expressed than in his own words at Lystra,
That ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God?
To turn souls — to turn men, in body and soul — to God, to
the true God, the real God, the living God — that was his object.
Turning, conversion, was and still is the end of the ministry.
A clergyman's end is, now as then, to turn men to God. He
does not talk of preaching as an end, or of reading prayers
in the congregation as an end, or of visiting the sick or of
instructing the young as an end : these things, if they are
worth anything, are means, not ends : and he who counts
himself to have attained because he has been diligent in offering
or applying the means of grace, is guilty of the great folly of
forgetting the caution which we may read in Scripture, Let not
him tliat girdeth on his harness boast himself as lie that putteth it
off My brethren, if this is indeed the meaning of our office, and
this its responsibility, and this its risk of mistake and failure, can
any exhortation be more needful than that which bids you to
remember its object and to aid its work ? If its end is, to turn
you, you yourselves, living men and living women, to Gocl Himself,
yours surely will be the chief loss and the chief misery if it fails !
If the workman who has forgotten or missed his aim shall utterly
lose his reward, is not that because you, his charge, are in jeopardy,
and because the happiness and the safety of your souls is hanging
and trembling in the balance ? If the minister is condemned, it
will be because you, his charge, are not saved.

314 THE REPORT OF THE MISSION.
The end of the ministry is to turn men to God. If God
wrought with Paul and Barnabas, it was proved by the result :
men were turned to Him.
2. Now can we add anything as to the method of this
ministry 1
We are struck by its unity ; and we are struck also by
its variety. St Paul appears to speak quite differently to the Jews at
Antioch and to the idolaters at Lystra. With the one he argues
from the Scriptures ; with the other only from the book of Nature.
And how can it be otherwise, if a man is in earnest? Has a
physician one remedy, and but one, for all cases? Does he
proceed, without enquiry, to apply one mode of treatment
everywhere, and expect the recovery of health — which is his
object — to reward such promiscuous, such unreasoning, such
headlong efforts? Even so it is with the physician of the soul.
His first business is to ascertain where men stand ; what men
know ; what men really believe already ; how they have used
that knowledge, how they have conducted themselves towards
that belief, hitherto : till he knows or can guess something
upon tliese points, he can only employ the bow at a venture,
a sort of tentative treatment, an if and a peradventure, less than
impressive in its effect, because less than authoritative in its tone.
To speak to a man of salvation, when he has never been conscious
of danger ; to offer a man forgiveness, who has never trembled at
sin ; is to heal the wound of a corrupt nature slightly, to cover
up the mischief instead of extirpating it, to comfort a man in his
sins instead of rescuing him from them. Till the people of Lystra
knew that there was one God ; till they saw that men were not
fit objects of worship ; till they read in the face of Nature the
unity and the majesty and the holiness of a Creator ; it was idle
to say to them, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin
of the world. On the other hand, those who already possessed,
not the evidence of Nature only, or of Providence, or of reason,
or of conscience, but the evidence also of a Divine Revelation ;
those whose fault it was to count themselves safe because God

THE REPORT OF THE MISSION. 315
had taught in their streets, and because they had duly honoured
Him with a ritual and a ceremonial worship ; must be instructed
out of that Revelation itself as to the sinfulness of sin and as to
the impotence of nature, as to the need and the promise and the
coming of a Saviour, and told, in the language of a messenger
from God in whom they believed, Be it known unto you therefore,
men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the
forgiveness of sins : Beware therefore lest that come upon you which
is spoken of in the prophets.
More than half the failures of our ministry arise from
inappropriate teaching and from inappropriate hearing. There
is a man here in the congregation, as there once was when
Jesus Himself was the Preacher, possessed by the spirit of an
unclean devil. He comes hither, drawn perhaps by custom, by
the usage of others, and by his own ; perhaps by a wish to gloss
over his lost state ; perhaps by an instinctive longing to lull the
disquietude of his soul. This man, like the demoniac to whom I
have referred, meets Jesus here. Would that it were with him
as with the man in the Gospel ; a meeting with Jesus unto contact,
unto healing, unto dispossession. But too often it is only a hearing
of the sound ; a confused buzz of words and names ; something
about guilt, and something about atonement, and something
about the mercy of God, and something about the love of Christ
towards the fallen and the sin-laden : and the man goes away as
he came : what he has understood he has misapplied ; what
ought to have been condemning has been encouraging ; what
ought to have been the conviction of sin has been to him the
permission to sin on and not die for it : that is what he carries
away : the unclean spirit is still there ; soothed, calmed, lulled,
like the surfeited snake till its next fit of hunger ; and when that
fit comes, there is the unclean devil still, still alive, still awake,
still omnipotent over the impulses of the mind and over the
members of the body. That man ought to have been told of
God in conscience, before he was told of God in redemption,
of God in grace, and of God in compassion and in exhaustless
love. He ought to have been told of a God not left without

316 THE REPORT OF THE MISSION.
witness even in him ; a God whose wrath is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness ; a God who hath appointed a day in which
He will judge the world in righteousness. Till he knows and feels
these things, till he has trembled at judgment to come, till he has
cried out against himself as a poor condemned slave tied and
bound with a chain which is dragging him to ruin, he can
scarcely profit, he may even be fatally injured, by the offer
of a pardon which he wants not, or of a Saviour whom he
will only crucify afresh.
What cannot be done by the preacher — for lie is here to
proclaim Christ and salvation ; he must tell of pardon ; woe
is unto him if he preach not the Gospel — must be clone for himself
by the individual hearer. Let a man ask himself, Is that word
for me ? Does that suit my case ? Have I any right to take to
myself that comfort ? Are my sins so grievous to me that it is
life from the dead to hear of a free forgiveness? Let me take
heed : would not that promise, in my dead state, be poison, not
medicine ? Do not I rather need the Law than the Gospel 1 Do
not I require to be shaken in my sleep, if so be I may escape,
with life in my hand, from the devouring flame ? God give me
the spirit of wisdom in hearing, lest that which should be for my
health be to me the occasion of falling.
3. Two brief words remain.
The work which God did with the two Apostles had, as
we have seen, a definite end, and had, as we have seen, a various
though consistent method. It had also a careful regard to the
carrying on of that which was well begun, both (1) in the form
of regular supervision, and (2) in that of well-instructed expecta
tion. (1) They ordained elders in every congregation. It is no
mark of enlightenment, but the very contrary, to despise the
standing ministry of the Church of Christ. He who is turned to
God still needs training. Even he is liable to forgetfulness, to
coldness remaining or returning, to ignorance of mind and ignor
ance of heart, in the things which concern his salvation. It is a
comfort to us to be assured that even Apostles recognized this

THE REPORT OF THE MISSION. 317
tendency. It is a comfort to us to believe that our assemblies in
this place for worship and for instruction had their counterpart,
nay, their origin, in the institutions of the primitive Church.
We all want reminding, and we all want quickening, and we all
want instructing also, in the way of salvation. It is not the one
reception of the one great truth, which will secure us from the
risk of falling away, or from the risk of being utterly ill instructed
unto the kingdom of heaven. My brethren, as we, I trust, feel
more and more the responsibility of teaching, so do you, after the
example of these early congregations, feel more and more the duty
of learning. The minister has to learn ; and if he do not learn,
if he be not daily a learner in the school of God, his ministry will
soon become vapid, soon become a vain repetition, soon become a
barren and a wearisome form, both to himself and to those who
hear him. Even so is it with the congregation. They too have
need to learn in the school of God : and the services of this place
are designed to help them in learning. God grant that they may
ever be furthered by His blessing, without which knowledge only
puffeth up, and they who are ever learning are never able to come
at last to the knowledge of the truth.
(2) Finally, when Paul and Barnabas revisited the places
where before they had preached the Gospel, it was to exhort
their disciples that it is only through many afflictions that we can
enter into the kingdom of God. I have called this, the carrying
on of the work of grace in a well-instructed expectation. Neither
our Saviour nor His Apostles ever misled men as to the nature of
the Christian life below ; that it must be a life of conflict, and
therefore a life (in some sense) of affliction.
Sometimes outwardly. I address some to-night, whose foes
are they of their own household. By opposition, by ridicule,
by hindrances thrown in the way of worship and of obedience,
there is still much which the enemies of truth can do to thwart or
even to quench the faith of Christ's little ones. Remember, my
brethren who are thus tried, that word must. We must through
much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. It is necessary;
it must needs be — to look no further than this one point — even for

318 THE REPORT OF THE MISSION.
yourselves. A salvation all easy, all smiling, all flowery, all
triumphant, would be none at all. It is through trial that faith
is brought out strong, clear, and pure, in the day of account.
No trial, no salvation : no cross, no crown. Have you not found
it so ? Do not all these things drive you to God ? Do not all
these things wean you from earth, and fix your eye on heaven ?
But, if all these things were withdrawn, still tribulation would
not cease with them. Because from within, out of the heart, out
of the life which is secret and hidden from all but God — thence,
if thence only, proceed trials enough to verify the word here
written. What is outward opposition, outward obloquy, outward
ridicule, compared with the anguish of an indwelling, an obstinate,
an ever reviving and ever struggling lust or sin 1 Which of us,
who has ever known such an enemy, would not purchase its
defeat at the price of any wrestling with flesh and blood ? Yes,
my brethren, it is there, it is in the deep of the heart, that
affliction has its home. Who cannot feel with us in that
irksome, that miserable, that ever old, ever new distress? Fight
on, fight on — brother, sister, in the struggles and in the hopes of
the heavenly race — and at last God will give the victory. Lift
up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.
Yield not, or you lose the past : yield not, or you forfeit the
future. Yet a little while — and then, even as it is written,
through many afflictions you shall enter the kingdom. And
When the shore is won at last,
Who will count the billows past ?

LECTURE XIII.
THE FIRST COUNCIL.
Acts xv. 31.
Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
Lo, I am with you alway. Such was our Lord's parting promise.
It is expedient for you that I go away, He had said to His
disciples ; for, if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you : but, if I depart, I will send Him unto you.
And as for other purposes, so also for this ; to guide the
disciples into all truth ; to give them a right judgment in
all things, and to enable them so to steer the holy Ark of
the Church through the waves of a troublesome world, that
it might faithfully represent its Master's character in the three
great features of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
We are to read to-night of a most important discussion
within the Church itself. And though that discussion has
now for many ages been settled and laid to rest, so that it
is difficult for us even to enter into its great significance,
yet we can still admire in these pages the spirit in which
Apostles entered into controversy, and the grace which guided
them to a right conclusion : we can still learn from their words,
and learn from their arguments, and learn from their judgments :
we can still gather for ourselves lessons of calmness and mode
ration and wisdom, and perceive the reality of that Divine
presence which prompted and justified the solemn claim here
asserted, It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us.

320 THE FIRST COUNCIL.
For many generations one country had been the sole reposi
tory of Divine truth. If any Gentile wished for spiritual
light, he could obtain it only by becoming a Jew. We must
endeavour to grasp this strange paradox, or we cannot make
due allowance for the difficulties presupposed in this chapter.
The first idea of the Jewish Christians was that Christianity
was only a developed Judaism, and that only through Judaism
could any one arrive at Christianity. They could understand
a Gentile becoming a Christian, just as they could understand
a Gentile becoming a Jew : but no more, and not otherwise.
When therefore a large admission of Gentiles into the Christian
body was becoming every year a more and more marked feature
of the new faith, it was not to be wondered at if, as the first
verse of this chapter teaches us, the congregation at Antioch
was visited by certain persons from Judea — members, no doubt,
of the Christian Church at the head-quarters of Judaism —
calling upon the believing Gentiles at Antioch to accept the
Law of Moses, ceremonial as well as moral, and saying to them,
Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be
saved. The consequence was a serious dissension; out of which
grew the wise and Christian resolution to have the question
calmly discussed and decisively settled. Let some representatives
of the congregation which had been thus disturbed — and at
the head of them those two eminent men whose labours among
the Gentiles had been so preeminently blessed — go up to Jeru
salem, and there bring the matter to a final issue in the presence
and by the judgment of the Apostles themselves.
On their way from Antioch to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas
had many opportunities of relating their recent experience of
missionary work among Gentile populations. Thus they prepared
the way in many Jewish congregations for the reception of that
which they felt to be a vital truth. And indeed, my brethren,
we can all understand that in that decision which was then
pending, the very Gospel itself was at stake. What would
have become of Christianity as a religion for the world, if

THE FIRST COUNCIL. 321
it had been tied for ever to the ceremonial law, and made a
mere offshoot of Judaism ? And so it might have been, but
for Christ's guiding hand and the Spirit's enlightening presence.
It was an open question then. And though Paul and Barnabas
on their arrival at Jerusalem were favourably listened to, when
they told of the work which God had done with them among
the Gentiles, yet there were those, at Jerusalem as before at
Antioch, who openly maintained that the Gospel could not
be severed from the Law, and that those who would be saved
by Christ must first be circumcised, and subjected to every
precept of the Levitical Dispensation.
It was therefore an anxious moment when the Apostles and
elders came together to consider of this matter. An earnest and
protracted discussion kept the issue long in suspense. We can
imagine the feelings of at least one person during this debate.
With St Paul this was a struggle of life and death for truth.
Once append any condition to the faith of Christ ; once say
that the work of Christ was incomplete without some addition
(it scarcely matters what) of outward observance or of human
merit ; and the Gospel is made void : a half Saviour is none :
a salvation which must be completed by man might as well
be a salvation originated by man. Either all is Divine, or
nothing. God be praised, even by us of this day, for having
given such grace to His holy Apostle St Paul, as to set the
Gospel of His Son for ever upon a footing of free grace and
of unconditional salvation.
But let us praise God also for this ; that, though there
may have been a difference of opinion on this question in
the Church, there was none among the Apostles ; and that,
though one Apostle may have had at this time more experience
than another of the course of the Gospel among the Gentiles,
all the Apostles were enlightened to see that the Gospel was
for the world ; a light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as the
glory of God's people Israel. Hear what St Peter said on this
occasion. Brethren, ye — the word is emphatic — ye know that from old
V. 21

322 THE FIRST COUNCIL.
days God made choice among you that by my mouth the Gentiles
should hear the word of the Gospel and believe. It was in that
same audience at Jerusalem, that St Peter had related and
justified his own conduct on the memorable occasion of the
conversion of Cornelius. He could appeal now to that occur
rence as familiar to the assembly which he addressed. And
the heart-knowing God— a. solemn and searching word — bare
witness to them as accepted with Him, by giving them the
Holy Spirit, even as to us also on the great day of Pentecost;
and put no difference between us and them, having purified their
hearts by the faith, by the Gospel received of them in faith.
Now therefore why tempt ye God, why do ye try experiments,
as it were, upon His mercy and forbearance, to put a yoke —
that is, by putting a yoke — upon the neck of the disciples, which
neither our fathers nor we had strength to bear ? But through
the grace (free favour) of the Lord Jesus we trust to be saved
even as also they. It is through the free favour of Christ, and
not by the help of the Law, that we Jews hope for salvation :
the Law will not save us — why put it upon them? A noble
testimony ! Some presume to speak of St Peter as having
had a different Gospel, or a different view of the Gospel, from
St Paul : how unjust ! Read his Epistles ; read this speech
in the Council ; and say if it be not indeed the same Gospel.
Nay, hear his express words at the close of his second Epistle.
Even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom
given unto him, hath written unto you ; as also in all his Epistles,
speaking in them of these things. The indwelling Spirit, as
He wrought in the Apostles by His holy inspiration, is one
Spirit, not many.
The way thus cleared, it remained for Paul and Barnabas
to give publicly, as they had already done in more private
converse, the narrative of their own Gentile ministry, and of
the testimony which God had borne to it. Signs and wonders
were not then disparaged as they are now. They were felt
as God's testimony : a testimony suitable to the age ; withdrawn
when unsuitable ; but, whether seen or read of, accepted by

THE FIRST COUNCIL. 323
the children of wisdom as proofs, reasonable and conclusive,
of God's working and of God's presence.
After this plain but unanswerable statement, it needed but
one authoritative voice to bring the matter to its right con
clusion. There rose one — probably not of the original Twelve,
but possessing considerable weight as the president of the
Church in Jerusalem, and known in all time as the author
of the general Epistle of St James — as if to sum up the argu
ments, and place the question clearly and finally before its
judges. He begins by referring to the address of St Peter.
Symeon (Simon) related according as (gave an account in accord
ance with the manner in which) God first visited (interposed)
to take from among the Gentiles a people for His name ; to show
forth, that is, the praises of Him who has thus called them out
of darkness into His marvellous light. And then he reminds
his audience that this was no more than had been predicted
in their own Scriptures. The prophet Amos had spoken of a
rebuilding of the fallen tabernacle of David, which should have
the designed effect of making the residue of men, all the Gentiles,
seek the Lord. It was never intended that the Jewish election
should be final, or the Gentile exclusion perpetual. Through
Israel the God of all men would seek and reclaim His wanderers.
And this, St James says, is now being fulfilled. What then?
Must we so deal with the Gentiles as though they could only
find God through Judaism ? God forbid. Let us not — such
is my judgment — trouble those who from the Gentiles turn to God ;
let us not lay upon them the weight of Israel's Law, or mislead
them as to their proper place and footing in the Church of the
redeemed : let us only charge them to abstain from such practices
as are either morally wrong in themselves, or at all events in
compatible with a friendly communion between both sections
of the Church. Fornication — a sin lightly regarded among
Gentiles — will need to be specially prohibited : there must be
no mistake, and therefore no silence, on that matter : it must
not be said afterwards that that sin was a thing indifferent :
the Gentile Church must receive once for all its law and its
21—2

324 THE FIRST COUNCIL.
commandment on all questions of moral purity or defilement :
and in addition to this, let us enforce also upon them such
elementary precepts of a positive nature as are essential to
the friendly intermixture, in social gatherings, of the Jewish
and Gentile elements within the body of Christ's Church.
Things offered to idols, though not substantially affected, as
materials of common food, by that offering, had better, for
the sake of peace, be avoided by the Gentiles. It is well
too that they should thus be kept from all approach to those
idolatrous rites from which their former life has suffered so
cruelly both in its morality and in its worship. When to
these we have added the prohibition of blood, and of animals
in which (by the nature of their death) the blood remains,
we shall have done all that is required for the entire fusion
of the two branches of our Christian community. Less than
this would not suffice ; for the Law of Moses is ever sounding
in the synagogues, and with it a perpetual memento of the
obligations and prohibitions of Israel.
Thus ended that memorable Council, on the result of which
hung the destinies of Christianity. A decree was drawn up in
exact accordance with the resolution of St James. It was couched
in the form of a circular letter to the Gentile Christians in the
districts of Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. It rehearsed the occasion
of its promulgation ; an unsettlement of mind on the ceremonial
question, arising from the unauthorized representations of persons
belonging to the Church at Jerusalem. Referring its readers for
fuller information to the verbal statements of those by whom it
was conveyed, Barnabas and Paul, Judas and Silas, it simply
enumerated the four special prohibitions suggested in the resolu
tion of St James, and ended by a solemn release from all other
ceremonial restrictions whatsoever.
Such was the great charter of the Church's liberties, as finally
settled by the mother Church of Jerusalem. Happy had the
universal Church been, if a spirit of equal wisdom had always
presided in her councils, or a spirit of equal simplicity been
everywhere diffused through her congregations.

THE FIRST COUNCIL. 325
Had ours been a different audience, we might have dwelt, not
without advantage, upon some grave questions of Church govern
ment ; upon the importance, yet the precariousness, of ecclesiastical
assemblies for defining the faith, ordering the worship, or control
ling the irregularities in doctrine or practice, of the universal or
of any national Church. In this congregation such questions
could scarcely be so treated as to promote godly edifying. It is
with humbler and more practical questions that we are here
concerned. i. And first of all, as to the subject here under discussion.
How grave a question ! how different from those matters of
ceremony and ritual, or from those abstruse metaphysical niceties
in the definition of doctrine, which have too often occupied the
deliberations, in later days, of the Church and of its world !
Here the enquiry was neither less nor other than this, What
must men do to be saved ? Is the Gospel of the grace of God all
that a man need believe? Was the work of Christ alone, in
undertaking our sins and becoming the Mediator and the High
Priest of man, all-sufficient, or only partially sufficient, for
justification and life ? What can be a more solemn or a more
engrossing enquiry? The Gentile world, of which we all are
members, was waiting as it were around that Apostolical council-
chamber, to know, for all time, the terms of eternal life. And
God guided His first servants to a true definition ; a definition
which has been the stay and the solace of ten thousand hearts in
every generation from theirs to ours. Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, was the response of that first
Council. We believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ we shall be saved even as they. We are accounted righteous
before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. O, if
the answer had been ought else than this, what a yoke had been
laid upon the neck of later ages and distant lands ! What a
schism would have rent the one body, what a discord would
have been introduced into the trumpet's most certain sounds !
How would the Church of Paul, and the Church of Apollos, and

326 THE FIRST COUNCIL.
the Church of Cephas, and perhaps the self-styled Church of
Christ, have had each its own watchword, its own Scriptures of
truth, and its own framework of worship ! But He who pro
mised to be with His Church alway, was with her on that day,
and made her decisions only merciful, only wise, and only true.
2. It follows naturally to ask whether we are holding fast
this decree of the Apostles, setting men free from the yoke of the
Law, and turning our whole trust to the grace of Christ. I know
that none of us is looking to the Levitical Law for justification.
But we must not so treat the Holy Scriptures as if the form and
the substance, the sign and the thing signified, were wholly and
always one. Trust in the Law of Moses is now a thing antiquated
and gone by : but not therefore has it become impossible to look
off from Christ, or to seek to add something to His one work of
atonement and reconciliation. It is not in days of health and
prosperity that we can best judge of the groundwork of our
eternal hope. So long as life smiles upon us, a mixed and tangled
tissue of faith and works, of unchallenged professions and tradi
tional doctrines, is enough to keep off the eye of the soul from
detecting the shallowness and the hollowness within. And a
dread of morbid self-suspicion, and a right desire rather to do
than to feel, and a kind of teaching which deals little with the
heart and only superficially and perfunctorily with the life itself,
may prevent many well-meaning and well-reputed persons from
entering closely into judgment with the plea which they purpose
to urge hereafter at the bar of God. Some of those who hear me
know already, by painful experience, how different is the confidence
of health from the confidence of sickness, the religion of a lifetime
from the religion of a deathbed. They have seen earth vanish;
they have felt its show fallacious, and its pleasures and riches and
ambitions a dream : have they not seen also, in that trying
moment, that heaven was less real to them than they had
imagined it, and that the loss of one world is by no means
necessarily the gaining of the other? Tliese cases, numerous
enough in every congregation to be used confidently as warnings,
prove to us all the absolute necessity of shaping and defining to

THE FIRST COUNCIL. 327
ourselves the personal hope; of being able to make answer to
ourselves in life and strength, as we must hereafter make answer
in distress and death, as to the way of salvation, and as to the
ground of a sinner's hope towards God. It is well that every
prayer breathed by any of us in secret should contain in it
the deep heart-felt expression of the plea which we intend to
present when we stand before the great white throne. Let us
put that plea into words, while yet it can be reconsidered, while
yet it can be revised, while yet it can, if necessary, be reversed.
Yes, my brethren, let us say now in words, when we kneel down
to pray, either this or that. Let us say, if that is our true feeling,
0 God, I depend, for acceptance with Thee, upon my freedom from
gross sins, upon my innocence of any injuries to my neighbour in
word or deed, upon the punctuality of my Sunday worship, upon
my liberality in relieving others according to my power, upon my
general obedience to Thy law, and reverence towards Thy name and
word and house. On these things I rely for acquittal and absolution
in Thy judgment. On these things ; not, of course, without Christ's
work, but as making that work available for my individual safety
and justification. The very framing of the words will make us
shrink from them, I trust, with abhorrence. But, alas, I have
only uttered what thousands say even on their deathbeds. Let
them say it now, say it openly, say it in prayer to God ; if so be
they may learn to repent of it, and to say something better and
truer and more Christian. And let others say this; say it because
it is what they mean and what they feel ; say it because it is what
they would live by and what they would die upon ; 0 God, my
one hope is in Thy mercy; not in anything that I have or in
anything that I am; not in what I have done, or in what I have
abstained from doing ; not in my good works, or right motives, or
pious feelings ; not even in my faith, and not even in my repent
ance ; but o-nly in this, that Thou of Thine infinite mercy didst
send Thy Son Jesus Christ into the world to bear our sins ; that
He by His obedience and by His sacrifice did perfectly accomplish
the work of human redemption, and that He now and ever liveth to
be tlie Mediator and the High Priest, tlie Saviour and the Life, of

328 THE FIRST COUNCIL.
all who come unto Thee by Him. For His sake, on His account,
because of Him, God be merciful to me a sinner. Few com
paratively have this entire simplicity of view, this entire unity of
trust, and few therefore know all the peace and all the strength
involved in the Divine, the heaven-sent salvation which is in
Christ Jesus.
3. And thus, finally, we are brought to a single reflection
upon the text itself. When they had read the decree, they rejoiced
for the consolation. What was there to rejoice in ? Where was
the consolation in that brief, summary, business-like epistle?
There was this. It set the Gentile Christians free to rejoice
in Christ Jesus without having and without seeking and without
wanting any confidence in the flesh. It taught them that the
Saviour preached to them was a complete Saviour ; that, if they
could but confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe
in their heart that God had raised Him from the dead, they should
be saved. Who now rejoices in that consolation? We rejoice
if we hear of an accession of wealth, an increase of honour, or a
new spring of pleasure : we rejoice in human esteem, human
affection, human love : but which of us can even enter into
spiritual joy 1 which of us really cares for the offer of a free
forgiveness, for the assurance that he is complete in Christ, for
the good hope through grace of holiness here and of heaven
hereafter ? These things we relegate to a death-bed : we care not
to walk now in that heavenly sunshine ; we are contented with
the dim twilight of reason, if we love not better still the outer
darkness of indifference, folly, or sin. 0 that there were such a
heart in us, as could be stirred into joy by the consolation of
a Gospel ! Awake, thou that steepest, and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall give thee light.
Purifying their hearts by faith. Faith alone, which is the
sight of the invisible Saviour, can really deliver us from that
corruption which is in the world through lust. God grant it to
each one of us. Then will all that is hateful in us become
hateful to us, and the grace of the Holy Spirit will subdue
and conquer it for us. Then shall we indeed love what God

THE FIRST COUNCIL. 329
commands, and desire what God promises. Then at last, among
the sundry and manifold changes of the world — amidst cares and
distractions, amidst trials and sorrows, amidst losses and separa
tions, beside the bed of the dying and at the open grave of
the departed — our hearts will there be surely fixed, where true joys
are to be found, and in the revelations of a Saviour's love and a
Father's home we shall still be enabled, whatever betide, to rejoice
for the consolation.

LECTURE XIV.
UNITY IN DISUNION.
Acts xv. 41.
And lie went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the
Churches.
A brief and at first sight painful passage lies before us this
evening. A difference between two Apostles ; a contention,
and a separation. Nevertheless even here, as in human life
everywhere, side by side with sorrow springs up comfort. God's
work goes on, and a deep unity lies under all Christian variances,
and at last comes that profound calm, in which all shall rest
and all be at one for ever.
We have read of the journey of Paul and Barnabas to
Jerusalem, for the decision of that great question, How shall
man, whether Jew or Gentile, become just with God ? Shall
Christ suffice, or shall Christ only assist ? Shall we be complete
in Christ, or only set by Him in the way to salvation? The
answer to these questions was bold and strong. Christ is all.
By grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God. A decree was drawn up in this spirit,
and its reception in the Church of Antioch was followed by
great joy. When they read the letter, they rejoiced for the
consolation. For some time Paul and Barnabas resumed the quiet though
laborious office of stationary pastors of the Church of Antioch.

UNITY IN DISUNION. 331
But the words of his Divine commission, Depart: for I will
send thee far hence unto the Gentiles, were still ringing in the
ear of Paul, and he began to propose to himself new journey ings
in the work of an Apostleship which had the world for its
diocese. After some days Paul said to Barnabas, Let us return
now and visit (inspect) the brethren in every city of all those
in which we before announced the word (message) of the Lord
Jesus Christ, how (in what state) they are. And Barnabas
wislied to take with them also John who was called Mark. But
Paul demanded not to take with them him who in their former
journey withdrew from them from Pamphylia and went not
with them to the work. And there arose a provocation (irritation,
or sharpness), so that they were parted from each other, and
Barnabas, taking Mark with him, sailed forth to Cyprus. But
Paul chose Silas — or Silvanus ; one of the two messengers from
the Church at Jerusalem ; who, having accompanied Paul and
Barnabas to Antioch, and thus fulfilled his special mission,
seems to have remained there in the exercise of his duties as
a Christian prophet — and went forth, surrendered to the grace
and blessing of the Lord by the brethren at Antioch. And
he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening (establishing)
the congregations.
Various thoughts will here suggest themselves.
i. St Paul's proposal to revisit the congregations was a
proof of his sense of the precariousness of the Christian life.
Throughout his Epistles to the Churches we have the expression
of the same spirit. He has scarcely left a place, when his
anxiety about the wellbeing of his converts becomes too painful
for him to bear. He sends back his only companion, and
consents to be entirely solitary in a strange and unfriendly
city, if he may but gain the desired tidings as to the stability
of those whom he has left behind. It was so already at this
early point in his ministry. He says to his former associate
in the toils and perils of their common Apostleship, Let us
return and inspect our congregations, that we may see how

332 UNITY IN DISUNION.
they are. It is a good thing to extend the field of labour, and
preach the Gospel where Christ has not yet been named. It
is a good thing to form new plans, originate new machineries,
and carry the ministrations of the Church into homes and
haunts which they have not yet penetrated. But in all this
we must take heed lest we be chargeable with not well follow
ing up a work which has been well begun. Whether that
work be in a house or in a church, in a sick-room, in a school,
or in a congregation, it will not be done by one effort, it may
need many efforts before one impression is made; and when
that impression is by God's grace secured, still it may fade
and flag and at last disappear, if it be not vigorously and
earnestly and constantly renewed. Therefore the call, Let us
go again and see how they do, is the call as much of good sense
as of godly zeal. Let us get up early to the vineyards, says the
inspired Song ; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender
grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth. We can all
admire the ardour with which a burning zeal carries its possessor
across seas and deserts to make one proselyte to the Gospel.
But they who know themselves, who know, in other words, the
infirmities of nature and the deficiencies of grace, will respect
far more that quiet, unostentatious, plodding steadiness which
leads a Christian man or a Christian woman, regardless of
discouragement and regardless of dulness, to walk day by day,
and week by week, and year by year, the round of some un
attractive duty ; to be found always at the same place at the
same hour, plying over again the task oftentimes defeated,
and seeking no reward, either of publicity or of excitement,
if but the work once undertaken may be faithfully done, and
the promised benediction at last heard, For my name's sake
tlwu hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Most of all is this
seen in the most directly spiritual ministrations. O how pre
carious is the work of grace in the most promising of us all !
What snares does Satan lay for the young, the newly confirmed,
the just awakened, the recently reformed and repentant ! Well
may it be written by the great Apostle, as a reason why a

UNITY IN DISUNION. 333
kind as well as firm treatment should be used towards the
penitent," Lest Satan get an advantage over us : for we are not
ignorant of his devices. And well may every minister, follow
ing however humbly or however distantly in his steps, seek
by all means to maintain and strengthen in those committed
to him any work of good which he may hope that he sees begun.
So soon is the ground once cleared again overgrown ; so soon
is the impulse once communicated checked and impeded;, so
soon is the seed once sown snatched away, or scorched in
its first budding, or choked finally in its growth ; that there
is need daily, both with regard to ourselves, and with regard
also to those to whom we are set to minister, to say in the
words here before us, Let us go again, let us visit, let us
examine, let us inspect the work, in that heart or in that
house, and see how it does.
2. We pass to the result of the proposal on the occasion
here described. Barnabas shared St Paul's feeling : he too was
anxious about the congregations : he too was ready to make
exertion, and to encounter peril, and, if necessary, to face
death, in their service. But in settling the details of the
enterprise a grave difference presented itself. Barnabas pro
posed that his young kinsman, John surnamed Mark, should
accompany them on this their second journey. We can imagine
many reasons for this suggestion. There was a very natural
partiality for his own relation. It would be a comfort to him,
on a journey full of discomfort and of privation, to have the
society of one bound to him by double ties, of nature and grace ;
always ready to give the help of a younger man to his elders,
and to cheer a difficult work by his sympathy and cooperation.
Doubtless also Barnabas would urge the importance of a gentle
and forgiving treatment towards one whose religious character
was still rather forming than established. He might speak
confidently of his kinsman's regret for past lukewarmness, and
of his earnest resolutions for the future. He might say, Let
us not repel the freewill offer of service, nor quench the reviving
flame of grace. We must not, in our admiration for St Paul's

334 UNITY IN DISUNION.
more rigid rule of duty, refuse our sympathy to St Barnabas's
natural feeling and more indulgent hopes. In themselves the
two arguments may seem almost equal. In the one justice,
in the other mercy predominated. In the one the Apostle,
in the other the man. In the one the interests of the mission,
in the other consideration for the person. If St Paul, so tender
towards the infirmities of others, so anxious not to break the
bruised reed, so fearful of driving repentance into despair, saw
here a case in which it was necessary to press a measure of
severity, we are inclined to suppose — and the Church of Antioch
seems to have considered — that he was in the right : but at
least it was a case in which both sides had something of right,
and in which a difference of opinion ought not to have run
on into a variance of spirit. Yet so it was. The words, the
contention was so sharp between them, may somewhat exceed
thp strength of the original expression, which is, there arose
a provocation, or, as you have already heard, an irritation or
at most a sharpness of feeling, so that they separated from each
other. But certainly we are designed to see in the statement,
however it may be modified, an undue warmth of feeling,
and an undue tenacity of opinion, and an undue strength of
expression, on both sides ; a position in which the man got
the better of the Christian, and in which consequently, which
ever of the two was most in the right, there were faults more
or less equal, on both sides ; faults of temper and spirit, faults
of feeling and of expression. Both were Christian men, and
yet both were in this instance exemplifying the Fall.
The faults of Christian people fill a large page in human
history and in human life. Even in Holy Scripture, where
is the man exhibited as free from all sin, save indeed One
only ? One who was not only Man, but God also ? It is never
concealed from us that the +aint of nature doth remain, yea,
in them that are regenerate. The theory of perfection is not
a Scriptural, because it is not a true theory. A Christian
is one in whom the Spirit of the living God, the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, lives and moves and works.

UNITY IN DISUNION. 335
But that Divine influence does not overbear man's will, nor
does it destroy man's nature. As long as we are in this world,
the natural may have put on, but it is not yet lost in, the
spiritual. And yet this is not so true as to palliate human
fault, or to reconcile men to their own infirmities. In so far
as these infirmities work, a man is not yet renewed ; his struggle
is not over, because his victory is not yet won.
The narrative before us exhibits human infirmity in its
working in the regenerate. Much might be said for Paul's
view, and much might be said for Barnabas's view, on the
practical point before them : yet both could not be right in
their conclusion, and neither could be right in making it a
matter of quarrel. Paul and Barnabas were both in training
for perfection : neither of them had as yet reached it. Many
years later one of them wrote — both would to the end have
confessed it — Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.
But three things I would notice in this history, lest en
couragement be given to a state of mind and of life most
unchristian. (i) The first of these is, that the subject of this dissension
of Paul and Barnabas was a Christian subject.
They were at variance as to the best way of prosecuting
Christ's work. One thought that that work required severity :
the other thought that that work was compatible in this
instance with indulgence. One thought that a man who had
once shown a cold and indifferent spirit towards eternal things,
a man who had once put his hand to the plough, and then looked
back, was not fit to be the companion in future of Apostles :
the other thought that a man who regretted that indifference,
and was willing to repair it by future earnestness, should be
invited and encouraged by all the tendernesses of the Gospel.
This was the question. It was not, like most variances among
Christians now, a dispute which of the two could gain most
of the good things of this life. It was not a quarrel arising
out of this, that one of the two had gained, what both could

336 UNITY IN DISUNION.
not have, of the riches or honours or pleasures of the world.
It was not that one had disparaged the ability or the probity
or the spirituality of the other, and that this must awaken
in the natural mind a resentment to be shown in retort or
cherished in malice. None of these things. It was just a
difference of opinion as to the best way of serving Christ ;
a difference of opinion too warmly expressed, too stoutly main
tained, and too far followed into its consequences. Happy
should we be, most happy, if our faults were only those of
an excess of zeal and an excess of tenacity in reference to
the work of Christ and the interests of souls.
(2) In the next place, that infirmity, that error, that
fault, of which we have spoken, was redressed in the wisest
and best of ways.
It was with the dissension of two Apostles, as with the
dispute of two Patriarchs in the earliest times. Abram said
unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and
thee ; for we be brethren . Is not the whole land before thee ?
separate thyself, I pray thee, from me : if thou wilt take the
left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to
the right hand, then I will go to the left. Where no divine
law compels coexistence, separation is oftentimes the best cure
for discord. There is but one relation of life in which severance
is sin : in every other, if men cannot agree, let them live
apart. It may be a painful necessity ; itself a standing witness
of the corruption which is in all : but they who cannot do
God's work together may for the present do it apart : the
world is wide enough ; let them live and let live. Barnabas
will have Mark with him : let it be so. Paul cannot think
it right : be it so : let him find another. Difference is not neces
sarily variance, nor disagreement strife. If two of God's servants
cannot see things alike, let them agree to see them differently.
If they cannot act together, they can at least believe together,
and hope together, and together love. It is thus with conflicting
parties and conflicting sects. It is not necessary that they should
fight out their differences : let them differ and be at one. If each

UNITY IN DISUNION. 337
has Christ's work and Christ's cause and Christ's glory at heart,
they will all be reconciled by the great reconciler : death, which
is the gate of heaven, will make tlie crooked straight, and the
rough places plain.
(3) And yet once more. In the history now before us
we are not left to the great future of all for our hope of
reconciliation. Separation was in this case followed — we know
it — by concord.
In St Paul's ist Epistle to the Corinthians, written from
Ephesus some five or six years later than the event which
we are now considering, St Paul speaks of his brother Apostle
in terms fully expressive of their substantial unity ; a unity
not only in the essential doctrine of the Gospel, but also in
the details of their ministerial life. And of Mark we have
two notices in St Paul's later Epistles ; the one written during
his first, and the other during his second imprisonment at
Rome. Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, is spoken of, in his
Epistle to the Colossians, as one of his few fellow-workers
unto the kingdom of God, who had been a comfort to him
in his bonds. And in his 2nd Epistle to Timothy, the latest
of all his Epistles, these words occur, as though for the purpose
of leaving one latest record of this change and reversal of
his earlier opinion, Take Mark, and bring him with thee : for
he is profitable to me for the ministry. He, -who was once
rejected as having departed from the work, is now declared
to be profitable for it, and chosen by St Paul himself as the
companion of his last sorrows and the witness of his latest
testimony. Time is a great healer : and when time is seconded
and enforced by an indwelling spirit, in each, of Christian
devotion and Christian love, what may it not do for the re
conciliation of those whom circumstances have formerly divided
in the service of a common Master ?
3. And now that history which we have viewed in its
bearing upon man, has its aspect also towards the things of
God ; towards His Word, and towards His Providence.
(1) The Holy Scriptures are no flattering tale. It is no

V.

99

338 UNITY IN DISUNION.
part of their object to write (in the human sense of the expres
sion) the lives of saints. There is no screening, and there is
no palliating, of the infirmities of holy men. The sin of
Abraham, and the sin of Jacob, and the sin of Moses, and
the sin of David, and the sin of Elijah, and the sin of Hezekiah,
each is told plainly ; told in its full culpability, and told in
its bitter consequences. Even thus it is in the New Testament.
The denial of Christ by one Apostle, and the mistrust of Christ
by another, and the desertion of Christ by all ; the dissimulation
of one Apostle, and the error of another Apostle, and the
dissension and discord of other two Apostles ; each is told
simply, told naturally, and told without palliation and without
excuse. It is taken for granted that truth alone is in view,
and that truth implies the recognition of human infirmity
and the disclosure of human sin. If men will make mischief
of it, they must. If men will say either, Because a saint
did this, therefore it cannot be sin; or else, Because such a
man did this, therefore he cannot be a saint ; they are left
to do so. The business of the Holy Scriptures, in these respects,
is with facts, not with inferences. They intend to describe
men as men; frailty as frailty, sin as sin, and grace as grace.
They are not so much bent upon enabling us to judge decisively
upon the character and destiny of the persons whom they
delineate, as upon teaching us to hold up the mirror to our
selves, and to see how God judges, and how God punishes,
and how alone God forgives and repairs and washes away
that sin which is in all of us. And it turns to them for a
testimony. That Book which paints not men as either demons
or heroes ; that Book which tells me just what is true, and
teaches me how to rise out of this which is truly the natural
man into this which is as truly the Christian man ; how to
mourn over myself without despairing, and how to deal justly
with others and yet not condemn ; that I call a true Book :
I see there man as he is, and God as He is : I see there a
light to my steps, because it describes truly the wilderness
which I traverse, and because it shows me how and by what

UNITY IN DISUNION. 339
guidance I can traverse it in safety. And if I see that the
Book describes all else truly, because according to my daily
experience of man and of man's world, then I can believe
it when I see that there is one Person, just one, and one
only, whom it paints as indeed without sin; perfect Man,
as much in the blamelessness of His life, as in the complete
ness of His nature. It had been easy to represent Paul as
perfect, and John as perfect, and Peter as perfect ; just as
easy in itself as to represent our Saviour Jesus Christ Himself
as perfect. To do so, would have thrown a sort of lustre
upon the Gospel, as capable of perfecting holiness below, and
making sons of Adam, by an entire transformation, into sons
of God. If I see that this is not done ; if I see that conversion
is not perfected save by a gradual and a growing sanctification ;
then I can believe that a Book so truthful respecting the
Christianity of the Christian is no less truthful in reference
to the Divinity of Christ.
(2) Finally, this passage sets before us, not in word but
in act, the doctrine and the reality of an all-working and
all-ruling and all-restoring Providence of God. Out of evil
comes forth good. Out of human infirmity there grows divine
strength. The unity of the work is broken. It is sad ; it
is discouraging. We say, God has forgotten, or He could not
permit such a breach in that temple which is to be all holy.
We look again, and out of the one divided there has sprung
a twofold completeness. The fountain-head is parted into two
streams ; of which one compasses one region, and one another.
Paul and Barnabas set not forth as one. What then ? Barnabas
has taken Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus. There he is to wage
Christ's battle against the obscene rites and foul immoralities
of the Paphian idolatry; and Christ is glorified in it. And
Paul? is he thrown back upon a compulsory idleness or a
melancholy isolation ? Nay, he too has set forth, and not
alone. He has chosen Silas, a worthy companion in the work
of missions ; and, being recommended by the brethren unto the
grace of God, he is going through the regions of Syria and Cilicia,
22—2

340 UNITY IN DISUNION.
confirming the Churches. And in him too, in him yet more
visibly than in the other, Christ is glorified : we shall read
the narrative of his triumphs, and admire the hand of Him
who vouchsafed them. Thus in the Gospel cause God works,
and man is His instrument. If the infirmity of man hinders
here, God will find a way there. Happy they, and they only,
who in that cause are willing to be fellow-workers with God.
Fellow- workers, first in receiving, and then in giving : first
in giving entrance to the word of life, and then in recom
mending, adorning, and diffusing it.
He went through Syria and Cilicia confirming the congrega
tions. O for that strengthening hand, that animating voice,
amongst us ! The light which he carried is ours too : the
object is as great, the need as urgent, the argument as powerful,
and the means the same. Where then is the difference? Is
it not in the devotion of the messenger, and is it not in the
simplicity of the hearer? Do we speak, like St Paul, as from
God, for God, in God, to God ? manifesting in our mortal flesh
the life of the risen Jesus ? And do we hear as men seeking
to be informed, willing to be guided, earnest to be saved?
May that grace of God, to which St Paul was recommended,
be with us also ; touching with its holy fire the lips that speak
and the hearts that hear. Then shall the words at last be
verified in us, God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

LECTURE XV.
A CRY FOR HELP.
Acts xvi. 9.
Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
The Chapter before us is a Missionary Chapter. It tells us of
missionary work, and traces to their source missionary hindrances.
It tells of the education of a missionary, and of his character, and
of his call. It sets before us the real end proposed to him, and the
beneficent nature of the influence to be exercised on those who
believe. Paul and Silas had set forth from Antioch recommended by
the Church of Antioch to the grace of God. The primary object
of the journey was to revisit the congregations of Asia Minor,
already converted and established by the previous ministry of
Barnabas and Paul. But we shall see that God designed greater
things than these for this journey. Now for the first time the
Gospel of His grace was to cross into Europe, and to be brought
into contact with new races and a different civilization. But
with this we are concerned only by anticipation this evening.
We begin with the now familiar names of Asiatic towns. For
the second time St Paul enters Derbe, for the third time Lystra ;
enters with a new companion, but in the power of the selfsame
Spirit. At one of these two places — for the sacred narrative
says not expressly in which — he finds a certain disciple named
Timotheus. If St Paul had a human affection, it was for this

342 A CRY FOR HELP.
younger friend. It is one of the many links of natural sympathy
which bind us to the great Apostle, to observe how earnestly and
how faithfully he cherished to the very end of life the tie now
formed, addressing to Timotheus the very latest of all those
inspired utterances in which he still communicates with the
militant Church below.
Timotheus, you observe, was already a disciple; that is, a
Christian. St Paul always addresses him as his own son in the
faith ; and therefore we must conclude that he was one of those
firstfruits of Asia which his former missionary journey had
gathered. We are introduced, by the joint help of this narrative
and of St Paul's later letters, into the family home in which the
childhood of Timotheus was nurtured. There is a Jewish and
Christian mother — the Epistle supplies the name, Eunice — one
who having trained her son carefully from his childhood in the
Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, had herself too, no doubt
under St Paul's ministry during his former visit to her city, been
led to a humble and earnest faith in a Saviour revealed in the
Gospel. The father belonged to a different race : he was a Greek,
or Gentile ; at most a proselyte of the gate, not one of the
circumcision : but it may well have been that he too was a
believer in Christ, and that thus there was no jar whatever in
the unity of a pious and a peaceful home. The group is completed
for us in St Paul's 2nd Epistle to Timotheus by the addition of
the name and character of a yet older member. / call to remem
brance, he says, the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first
in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice ; and I am
persuaded that in thee also.
Every saved soul has its history : and that history is doubtless
as various in various instances as the features of the human
countenance. Some, with every disadvantage of birth and
education ; neglected, or worse than neglected ; led astray by
the example of parents or by the influence of bad companions ;
are yet plucked at last as brands from the burning, and trusted *
with great commissions in the army of the living God. If we
knew all, we should probably find that the noblest and most

A CRY FOR HELP. 343
courageous of Christ's servants belong to a different class. No
where is there found so clean a life, so pure a heart, or so true a
devotion, as in those, who, like Timotheus, have grown up from
the first in the sanctities of a godly home, have known from a
child the holy Scriptures, and have seen those Scriptures exemplified
in the most unostentatious yet most persuasive form, the faith and
piety of two generations. These things do not, of themselves,
secure salvation ; nor does the want of these advantages, blessed
be God, necessarily forfeit it. But where these things are, there
(the grace of God being added) faith is more stable, feeling more
equable, and obedience more consistent.
The character of this young disciple was attested by the
concurrent voice of two (if not three) congregations. Thus, if
there was something of human preference in the feeling with
which St Paul regarded him, it was at least no foolish fancy ; it
had a sound basis of conscientious approval, and it had also a more
decisive seal in the inward promptings of the Holy Spirit. We
read in the same Epistles to which I have so often referred, that
there were prophecies going before upon him ; that is, no doubt,
express and authoritative intimations, given to St Paul or others,
of the will of the Spirit of God that Timotheus should be set apart
and dedicated to the ministry of the Gospel ; even as in St Paul's
own case there had been a special designation to his first apostolical
journey, when the Holy Ghost said, by the voice (apparently) of
certain of the Christian prophets at Antioch, Separate me Barnabas
and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Nor does the parallel end there. As that Divine nomination
did not supersede, in the case of Paul and Barnabas, the imposition
of human hands — When they had fasted and prayed, they laid
their hands on them — so also it was here. Neglect not, might St
Paul say to Timotheus in the later days of his ministry, the gift
that is in thee, which was given thee by jyrophecy, with the laying on
of the hands of the presbytery. Those elders of whom we read in
the 14th chapter as ordained by Paul and Barnabas in every
church of Asia Minor, were employed in this solemn office of
Ordination. The Divine reality is attested by the human sign,

344 A CRY FOR HELP.
and he who has been designated by the choice of God is sent away
to his work with the blessing and with the commission also of
man. These things we learn from the Epistles. In the history we
read only of St Paul's will that Timotheus should accompany
them on their mission ; and of a preliminary which he deemed
necessary in order to his acceptance and usefulness.
With the strong prejudice already existing in Jewish minds
against St Paul's supposed disparagement of the Law of Moses, it
would have been most unwise — unless absolutely required by
truth and by the Gospel — to take with him as his companion one
not even incorporated in the Jewish covenant by the ordinance
of circumcision. Now, had Timotheus been, like another disciple,
Titus, only and altogether a Gentile — a Gentile by both parents —
St Paul would doubtless have refused to consent to his being
subjected to an ordinance, the only meaning of which, for him,
would have been, that, except a man keep the Law of Moses, he
could not be saved. We know from the Epistle to the Galatians
that that was St Paul's conduct in the case supposed. Titus,
being a Greek — a Gentile, we may conceive, by both parents —
was not compelled — St Paul refused to allow him to be compelled —
to be circumcised. The case of Timotheus was different. He had
one Jewish parent. By one side he was of the natural Israel.
And St Paul never forbad a Jew to be circumcised. Though no
longer necessary, the Law was not for him antichristian. It was
optional whether he should be circumcised : the choice must be
decided by circumstances. He must not trust in the Law, but he
might submit to it. If then his usefulness would be fatally
compromised by the exercise of his freedom in favour of his
Gentile parentage, it was his duty to use it in favour of the
Jewish. They knew all that his father was a Greek : they would
be suspicious therefore of his preference, under St Paul's tutelage,
of Gentilism : it was needful, consequently, if he would be a
minister in any sense to Jews, that he should disarm this
prejudice. In all this, St Paul was as consistent with himself
and with his own practice and principle, as he was tenacious of

A CRY FOR HELP. 345
his great, his celebrated maxim, / am made all things to all men,
that I might by all means save some.
One great part of the work of this Mission was the delivery
to the congregations of the decree of the Council at Jerusalem,
setting free the Gentile Churches from all obligations to Judaism
and to circumcision : in other words, publishing throughout the
length and breadth of the earth that Jesus Christ is all, that we
are complete in Him, and that they who are in Him are justified
from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of
Moses. The effect of this proclamation of a free and unlimited
Gospel was what it had been elsewhere : the churches were es
tablished in the faith, and increased in number daily. They saw
that the Gospel was a world-wide Gospel, and they saw that in
Jesus Christ is a full salvation.
In the course which they took, they were guided by express
intimations of the mind of the Spirit. They passed through
the region of Phrygia and Galatia. Then was accomplished
that work of evangelization to which the Epistle to the Galatians
in later years bears testimony. Then was it that Jesus Christ
was set forth before their eyes as though crucified among them.
Then was it that they began to run well. Then was it that they
received St Paul as an Angel of God, even as Christ Jesus ; and in
the ardour of a new affection would even have plucked out their
eyes (if it had been possible) and given them to him. Not yet
were manifested those symptoms of being hindered that they
should not obey the truth ; of regarding him as become tlieir enemy,
because he told tliem the truth ; of being entangled again with the
yoke of bondage, and so of being fallen from grace ; of which he
speaks with so bitter a disappointment in the Epistle afterwards
addressed to them. Thus far all had prospered. They preached
throughout tlie region of Phrygia and Galatia.
Then arose hindrances. Their way was accurately defined for
them by Him in whose name and strength they journeyed. They
were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. They
assayed to go into Bithynia ; but the Spirit suffered them not.
Other work was before them ; and it was as though they were

346 A CRY FOR HELP.
concluded, shut up, unto it. Passing by Mysia, they came down
to the sea coast at Troas. And there the cause of this constraint
and of this compulsion began to unfold itself. At Troas a vision
appeared to Paul in the night : there stood a man of Macedonia,
proved to be so by the words which he uttered, beseeching him,
and saying, Cross into Macedonia, and help us. When he saw
(had seen) the vision, immediately we sought to go forth into
Macedonia, we began to look out in the harbour of Troas for
a vessel bound thitherward, concluding tliat God had summoned
us to evangelize them, to preach His Gospel to the inhabitants of
that region. And that region was in Europe.
The form of the petition contained in the text, and which we
may declare without exaggeration to be addressed to all of us in
the periodical call of Christian Missions, places in a very attractive
light the work to which it refers. Come over into Macedonia, and
help us. The Gospel which we possess, the Gospel which we are
called to hand on, is designed by its Author, and is felt by its
true disciples, to be the help of man. Easy would it be to speak
upon this topic, and ready would be the response to such an
exhortation, if we ourselves, we who speak and we who hear, had
had experience of the thing spoken of. You would be surprised
to observe how full the Bible is of this aspect of the Gospel, and
of this view of Him from whom the Gospel is derived. Man
wants help ; and God, God alone, God in Christ, offers him help,
sends him help, ministers to him help day by day.
(i) Instruction is help. We all speak of the helplessness of
the blind. See a blind man groping his way from room to room,
or from street to street : mark the vacillation of his step, mark
the uncertainty of his hand, mark the indefinite, tentative,
purposeless way in which he reaches forth for this or that : see
how a little child, how a dumb animal, how a lifeless staff, is
welcomed as the guide and as the support and as the helper
of one thus afflicted : and you will understand what is meant by
saying that the light of day, that the sight of the eyes, is scarcely
more a pleasure and a comfort than it is an assistance and a help.
Now what the light of the Sun is to one who has to move and to

A CRY FOR HELP. 347
work among the things and the persons of this world, that
knowledge is, true knowledge, to a man who has to find his way
through the mysteries and through the perils and through the
obstructions of this life into an eternal state either of misery
or of happiness beyond it. Do not say that there is no helpless
ness in spiritual blindness. Do not say that a man can walk
firmly or act intelligently or journey safely in the things of
the soul, of God, of eternity, unless he has some light from
above to tell him what those things are, how to be apprehended,
and how to be dealt with. Well can you imagine yourself sending
a message to an Apostle, or crying aloud to the Saviour Himself,
in the very words of the text, Come over to me, and help me !
Help me by telling me for certain what I am and where ; who is
He above me, and what the life beyond ; how I can so pass
through things temporal that I finally lose not the things eternal.
While I am ignorant, I am also helpless. O help me first of all
by teaching ! I want certain knowledge, of things vital to the
soul, from One who can say, We speak that we do know, and
testify that we have seen.
(2) And comfort is help. See how the Psalmist cries out
for help in his hours of distress. Hear him saying, Show me
a token for good : that they who hate me may see it and be
ashamed, because Thou, Lord, hast holpeu me and comforted
me. Holpen, and comforted. The two things are one. If I
could only feel that some one has cared for my soul, it is
help at once. It is neglect, it is indifference, it is displeasure
and alienation, on the part of One who is everything to me,
it is this which disheartens ; it is this which makes me feel
myself helpless. Let me know, on sure evidence, by infallible
proof, that God whom I have displeased yet loves ; that God
whom I have neglected, dishonoured, contemned, yet desires
that I should be saved, is yet my Father, waits for me with
outstretched arm, and even before I call is answering ; and I
can bear anything, I can do anything : the cloud is at once
breaking, the palsied limb moves, and the hardened heart softens
at that touch into gratitude, hope, and love. It is so for once :
it is so when first the Gospel is apprehended as indeed a message

348 A CRY FOR HELP.
of peace from God. And it is so again day by day, often as
the cry of the self-accusing rises into God's presence, and finds
there a Father and a Saviour and a Comforter, with whom
is mercy and forgiveness, and the kiss of a free unbought com
passion. The Gospel which says, On earth peace ; the Gospel
which says, In Him we have redemption, even the forgiveness
of sins ; the Gospel which sets forth J esus Christ, the Saviour
of sinners, crucified among us, and for us risen ; is indeed
help for the helpless and life from the dead.
(3) But I well know that there are hearts in this congre
gation, of which the inward thought is, The help I need most
of all is not mere instruction, and not mere comfort, but rather,
in the simplest sense, assistance ; aid against difficulties, aid
against enemies, aid against temptations, too many and too
sore and too strong for me : tell me of a help against these,
and I will indeed confess it to be a Gospel. Yes, here we
touch the vital point. Is there, in heaven or in earth, a help
against our own sins? not so much against the back-reckoning
of sin ; not so much against its remorse, against its misery,
against its punishment, but against its power ; its prevailing
strength ; its malignant, subtle, importunate assaults ; its force
of repetition, its force of revival, its force of holding in bondage,
and its force of retaking into captivity, the poor, struggling,
yet impotent and at last despairing soul ? I well know, my
friends, that your hearts are too honest to be satisfied to call
anything less than this a Gospel. I know that you say, If I
cannot get free from sin, it is a mockery to tell me that I
am free from guilt : if I cannot conquer sin, I am sure that
I shall be condemned for sin. Therefore the sacred season
which we are now celebrating, the season of Ascension and
of Whitsuntide, becomes the practical test of our Christianity.
If Easter leads to Pentecost ; if, that is, the redemption from
guilt is followed by a redemption from sin ; if the forgiveness
of sins through Jesus Christ is accompanied by the gift of
the Holy Spirit to make me free from the law of sin and
death ; then the Gospel is a Gospel indeed : then I feel that
the Gospel is not a comfort only, but a help : then I see

A CRY FOR HELP. 349
myself set at liberty for that service which is perfect freedom,
and preparing for that state of sinless holiness which is the
inheritance of the saints in light. Therefore, in addition to
the help of instruction, and in addition to the help of comfort,
I want also a help (in the simplest sense) of strength.
Brethren, beloved brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling,
bring your Gospel, every one of you, to this test. Has it
helped you, is it helping you, to be holy ? Do you find, when
you have taken to heart its comfort, when you have prayed
earnestly for its forgiveness, that you are stronger against
sin ? against your sin, be it what it may ? against that hasty
temper, against that suspicious, that morose spirit, against that
foolish, trifling, worldly disposition, against that uncharitable,
that censorious tongue, against that secret, that malignant,
that obstinate lust 1 It ought to be so : it was meant to
be so : it has been ever so with true Christians : is it so
with you ? The cry for help must never stop short with consola
tion : it must run on to strength. And the honest heart knows
this. What makes a true Christian love his Gospel is, that he
finds strength in it. Desire earnestly to have it so, and it shall
be so to you.
Then will you understand, and then will you welcome, that
cry from the uttermost parts of the earth, a cry often uncon
sciously uttered, yet audible and persuasive in the ear of the
true Church, Come over to us, and help us. Then will you
rejoice and bless God if He enables you to bear any the
humblest part hi answering that call. You will not seek to
evade, you will hail the opportunity : you will say to yourselves,
So much from so little ? Souls helped, perhaps saved, by an
almsgiving which costs me nothing? Nay, by God's help, it
shall cost me something. I shall be the richer by how much
soever I am the poorer. He who is permitted to give to the
destitute, lends to the Lord : will the Lord deal deceitfully
in his repayment? God give us grace not to bargain with
Him and not to barter ; but to give Him first the offering of
a free heart, and then the offering of a cheerful giver.

LECTURE XVI.
THE GREAT PRELIMINARY.
Acts xvi. 14.
Whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the
things which were spoken of Paul.
We read last Sunday of the first summons of the Apostle
into our own Europe. In the visions of the night St Paul
saw the figure of a stranger, proved by the words uttered
to be a Macedonian, standing and praying him, in terms brief
but emphatic, to come over into Macedonia and help them.
Without this express call, there might have been some hesitation
in undertaking so remote and so uncertain a mission. But he
whose work was altogether God's work, and whose life was
committed entirely into God's hand, saw in this incident an
intimation of duty which he could not and certainly would
not resist. When he saw (had seen) the vision, immediately
we sought to go forth into Macedonia ; concluding tliat God had
summoned us to evangelize them.
In this quiet and unobtrusive manner we are first made
aware, by the mere change of a pronoun, that we are hence
forth (though with large intervals) reading the narrative of an
eye-witness. Immediately we endeavoured. St Luke then joined
Paul and Silas on this occasion at Troas. In common literature
we much admire a biographer who keeps himself in the back
ground, and lets his subject speak. Shall we do less when an

THE GREAT PRELIMINARY. 351
Evangelist is the author? We shall respect him for his silence
about himself ; and we shall draw from that modesty an addi
tional confidence, rather felt than argued, in the trustworthiness
of the narrative and the simplicity of the intention.
We owe much, every one of us, to St Luke the Evangelist.
But for him we should never have heard, humanly speaking,
of Simeon and Anna, waiting for the consolation of Israel ; of
the raising of the widow's son at Nain ; of the woman tliat was
a sinner in the Pharisee's house ; of Mary and the one thing
needful ; of the Parables of the unjust steward, of the rich man
and Lazarus, and of the prodigal son ; above all, of the penitent
dying malefactor, of the disciples journeying to Emmaus, and
even (as to any of its graphic details) of the Ascension of our
Lord Jesus Christ. These were among his special contributions
to the Gospel history. And but for him what should we have
known of the early history of the Church ? Who but he tells
us of the great day of Pentecost, of the conversion of St Paul,
or of the admission of the first Gentile convert? And who
but St Luke gives the narrative of that wonderful life now
before us? the life of one who counted not existence dear to
him, save in so far as it enabled him to win souls to Christ,
and to accomplish by an unexampled self-devotion the ministry
which he had received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of
the grace of God? It is in this last character, as the inspired
biographer of an inspired Apostle, that we are now especially
to contemplate him.
What we know of his personal history (apart from that of St
Paul) is briefly told. It is summed up in St Paul's own words in
the salutations which close the Epistle to the Colossians, written
during his first imprisonment at Rome, Luke the beloved physician,
and Demas, greet you. I know not that tradition has added much
that is certain to that brief designation. Our own Church is
contented with that one feature in his history, when in the
Collect for St Luke's Day she has instructed us to pray to God
as having called Luke the Physician, whose praise is in the Gospel,
to be an Evangelist and Physician of the soul ; and to ask of God

352 THE GREAT PRELIMINARY.
that, by tlie wholesome medicines of tlie doctrine delivered by him,
all the diseases of our souls may be healed. The most real bene
factors to the Church have not always been the most obtrusive.
Oftentimes we owe most to him of whom we know least. It is
thus in this instance.
Now therefore for the first time St Luke is added to that
sacred company of which it is written that the risen and ascended
Jesus gave some as Evangelists. We gather that God hath called
us to evangelize them. We sought to go forth: we looked out in the
port of Troas for a vessel bound thitherward. The vessel is found ;
and Paul, Silas, Timotheus, and Luke, set forth in quest of new
labours in a world unknown.
The lofty island of Samothrace, known in heathen mythology
as the abode and watchtower of gods, is passed in their short and
prosperous transit between the coasts of Asia and Europe. The
next day Neapolis, a Macedonian town, the haven of Philippi ;
and from thence, at ten miles' distance, the important position of
Philippi itself ; are successively reached by these first heralds of
the Gospel. Philippi, known in all history as the scene of the
last overthrow of the Roman Republic before the Roman Empire,
is described as a colony ; that is, one of those military stations by
which Rome protected the frontiers of her dominion, and in which
the constitution and government of the sovereign city were faith
fully, though on a small scale, imitated and reproduced.
And we were in this city, St Luke says, passing the time —
something perhaps of tedium and of hope deferred may be
detected in the expression — certain days. At length the door is
opened. And on the sabbath day we went forth outside the gate,
beside a river, where we understood that there was a place of
prayer; and we sat down, and began to speak to the women who
had come together for the purpose of worshipping. What an
example, my friends, for ministers of the Gospel, and for all
persons engaged in any work of good, not to count any audience
too small, or any circumstances too discouraging, to admit of the
prosecution, on a particular occasion, of their labour of love.
St Paul, if he had been as one of us, might have said, as he

THE GREAT PRELIMINARY. 353
looked round his little congregation at Philippi, Only a few poor
women ! It is not worth while to spend my strength in such
paltry toil. But St Paul had his Saviour's Spirit in him, and
counted nothing small by which he could benefit one person or
save one soul. And therefore he had his reward.
And a certain woman, by name Lydia, a seller of purple, of tlie
city of Thyatira, a worshipper of God, was on this occasion a hearer
of our words. Among this little Jewish congregation, consisting
entirely, on this particular day, of women, was one person, not a
native of Philippi, but belonging to the Asiatic city of Thyatira ;
a place famous for its purple dye, in which it carried on an exten
sive trade with foreign and distant lands ; yet more famous to a
Christian student for that record which stands among the Epistles
to the Seven Churches in the Revelation of St John, and which
teaches us how rapid may be the decline, in a Church or in a soul,
from grace once given and from light once received. It may have
been in the exercise of her worldly calling — such is the mystery of
G od's Providence — that this person had been brought to Philippi
for the saving of her soul. She was already a worshipper of the
true God, according to the Law and Scriptures of Israel : and on
this occasion she had gone out, as was doubtless her custom, for
the sake of joining in the Jewish worship. In the way of Thy
judgments have we waited for Thee. He who would find God
must seek Him. He who would receive new light must use the
light he has ; and he who puts himself out of sight of heavenly
things has himself to blame if he does not see them.
This person was a listener while Paul spoke. Mark what
follows. Whose heart the Lord Jesus Christ opened, to attend
(give heed) to the things which were being spoken by Paul, (i)
There were others hearing, but she attended. (2) That attention
was a gift of grace. The Lord opened her heart to attend.
(3) And once more, having said that the heart was opened to
attend, there is no need to add that the heart was opened to
believe. To attend to that which is true, and which brings proof
of its truth, is to believe it. It was thus afterwards at Beroea.
They received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched
v. 23

354 THE GREAT PRELIMINARY.
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so : therefore many
of them believed. We pass at once, in the case now before us,
from the attention to the baptism. Her heart was opened to
attend ; and then she was baptized, and her household.
The question is asked, and I think reasonably, Were there no
children in that household? Does not the language imply the
faith of the parent dedicating the children rather than the separate
act of several consenting minds ? We just point to it, without
dwelling upon the question, as affording, like many other passages,
a reasonable confirmation of our Church Article which says, The
Baptism of young children is in any wise to be retained in the
Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ.
The first fruit of the new conviction was kindness, hospitality,
charity. When she was baptized, and her household, she entreated,
saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, if you have
been so far satisfied of my sincerity and of my faith as to admit
me to the ordinance of incorporation, come into my house, and
stay: and she constrained us. She would take no denial. The
strangers to whom she owed her very soul, must be made welcome
to the comforts of a Christian home in that foreign and for them
disconsolate city. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for
thereby some have entertained Angels unawares.
Soon that home was to be exchanged for a prison. But
the Christian confessor must be prepared for either fortune : he
must enjoy what God gives, when and while he can, and find
in that refreshment of spirits strength for the alternative of
suffering. These are the vicissitudes of life : most of all, in those
who give most to Christ ; who have devoted themselves to a Gospel
service, and whose only desire it is that they may finish tlieir
course with joy. Let us, who know no such vicissitudes, at least
enquire of ourselves whether in the comforts of society and of a
home we are honouring Christ by the devotion of a heart and of
a life. This then was the origin of the Church of Philippi. This was
the nucleus of that community to which St Paul addressed, some
ten years later, one of the most beautiful and one of the most

THE GREAT PRELIMINARY. 355
comforting of all his Epistles. You see how much, under God's
hand, may spring out of how little. One poor woman, and she a
foreigner and an alien in that city, has her heart touched by Divine
grace in listening to a Gospel sermon. She gives the first house
and the first household to the Church in that place. From her
and hers the light spreads, till it illuminates a whole region.
Who knows but that from her also may have sprung the evange
lization of her native city ? and that thus two Churches, Philippi
and Thyatira, may have been the eventual produce of this one
river-side conversation ? It is thus in all times : the real work of
God is done in individual hearts ; and then it spreads forth, from
mind to mind and from soul to soul, till, as it is written, the
Saviour can think upon Rahab and Babylon, upon them of Tyre
with the Morians, among them that know Him. Very animating,
and very admonitory too ! It is not in splendid gatherings of the
half-hearted, it is rather in some secret wrestling with Satan hand
to hand in the lane and in the chamber, that the minister of God
is most sure that he is doing God's work, and most hopeful that
He who sees the end from the beginning may be pleased to bring a
whole family or a whole congregation of the saved out of that
obscure, that generally discouraging labour.
Whose heart the Lord opened. So then, besides the work of
the minister, and besides the work of the hearer, there is also
another work necessary, without which the other two will be of
no avail. I am not about to enter into any doubtful or unprofitable
speculations. I am not about to discuss the difficult questions of
free grace and of free will, in such sense as to adjust the balance
between the two agencies, the agency of man and the agency of
God. Still less do I purpose to enquire how we are to reconcile
God's omnipotence with God's justice on the one hand, or with
God's goodness on the other. Least of all shall we ask what is
the numerical proportion between the saved and the lost, between
those who are rescued through grace and those who are ruined
through sin. It is a very grave and a very practical point
to which I would direct your thoughts, beloved brethren, to-night.
23—2

356 THE GREAT PRELIMINARY.
If there be any such thing as a Divine agency in man's heart,
essential to man's salvation, it must be important that we should
recognize it, that we should seek it for ourselves, and that we
should so seek as that we may also find.
It is said of this first hearer of the Gospel from St Paul's lips
at Philippi, that the Lord Jesus Christ opened her heart to attend.
Thus attending, the result was faith ; and that faith led at once
to baptism and to a Christian life.
i. The Lord opened her heart. Then the heart was before
closed. What does that mean? Surely that there is a natural
indisposition to the things of God. An indisposition not incom
patible with much that is amiable and lovely and of good report.
Not implying, as a matter of course, habits of open sin or a
noticeable spirit of frivolity and trifling. These things may be
or may not be. Inclinations vary : what is one man's pleasure
would be another's pain : what would be self-indulgence to one is
self-denial and self -mortification to another. We cannot judge
conclusively, by these signs, of a man's state towards God.
Under the moral man's respectability, under the amiable man's
affection, under the outwardly religious man's worship, there may
lurk a deep, settled, at last inveterate, repugnance to God Himself ;
an unchanging resolution to keep God out of sight while it can
be done ; a fixed determination not to come to close quarters with
that sword, of the Spirit which must pierce and wound before it
can be safe to heal. Among the hundreds who compose this
congregation this evening, I dare not think how many may, while
I speak, be listening with closed hearts ; listening, that is, without
any real desire to give the word entrance ; listening with some
thing inside their hearts which must go if God comes, and which
they are not willing to dismiss or to let go. In short, there are
men and women here present with a bosom sin ; cherishing some
habit which they know to be immoral, or some feeling which they
know to be idolatrous, or some temper which they know to be
unchristian. And these persons, though, like her of whom we are
reading, they hear ; and though perhaps they go so far as to
listen ; and though perhaps they go so far as to approve what

THE GREAT PRELIMINARY. 357
they hear, and to like what they hear, and to praise what they
hear ; yet never let the word in : there is an inner secret self,
inside the one which is listening, at which the word never arrives
and into which it never penetrates. Thus they come, and they
go ; and they come again, and again they depart ; and the heart
never opens. Christ knocks at the door, but they leave Him
outside : they will not rise for Him nor let Him in. They do
not open to Him, because they are enlightened enough to know
His terms, and honest enough with themselves to decide against
them. And without this, without this definite reason for disliking
Christ, there are other influences at work in keeping the door
of the heart closed against Him. In one there is a spirit of
levity which makes all serious reflection irksome : the world has
not yet turned to bitterness for him, and he would fain enjoy him
self while he can. Not yet, not yet, is his cry to the Saviour and
to His Gospel : when I have a convenient season, in other words,
when sorrow comes, or sickness, or the near prospect of death,
then I will call for thee. And without any calculation or any
resolution of this kind, there is in the heart of man a postponing
and a suspending power, a strength of practical procrastination,
which is enough of itself to keep the heart closed against Christ :
the very absence of resolution against Him assists the practical
exclusion. A man is so nearly a Christian, so little hostile, so
little unfriendly, to the Gospel, that he writes himself not far
from the kingdom, able at any moment by a single step to cross
into it. Thus he too has a closed heart ; a heart closed by the
very idea of its openness.
And then, to pass over a thousand forms and shades of differ
ence, there is yet one other case, by no means uncommon, as
I believe, among the hearers of the Gospel. I mean the case of
those described in one of St Paul's Epistles as - ever learning
and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. I speak of
these with all tenderness, with much sadness. There are some
who, with a real desire to be saved, can never grasp, throughout
life, the simplicity of Christ's salvation. They have either never

358 THE GREAT PRELIMINARY.
heard, or never apprehended, the gracious freedom of the Gospel
offer. They have mixed together the promise of life with the
necessity of repentance : they have been told that it is in vain to
come to Gocl without repentance ; that they must first repent
and first believe, if not first amend and first be holy, and then
God will receive them ; that, so long as they feel sin, or the love
of sin, strong in them, they are only mocking God and deceiving
their own souls by seeking Him : and by this medley of things
true and false, by this inversion at least of important truths, by
this mixture of conditions and preliminaries and prerequisites
with the Gospel of free grace, they have been so perplexed, and so
put off, and so discouraged and daunted, that the work of faith
has been impossible : they stand afar off, wishing and waiting,
instead of taking the kingdom of God, as our Lord says, by force,
and pressing into it with a resolute conviction. This has been
the effect of erroneous doctrine : in this case a misapprehension
of the Gospel has kept the heart closed. O for a voice to sound
in the depths of that soul the true, the everlasting, the Divine
Gospel ! to say, The Gospel is this : not that, if you will do some
thing, Gocl will do the rest : not that, if you will bring repentance,
God will give pardon ; if you will bring faith, God will give grace :
but that, even as you are, dead (it may be) in sin, God loves you ;
that, however far from home, God is your Father; that, however
guilty, however sinful, however unworthy of the least of all His
mercies, still you are God's child ; and that the work of your
redemption and of your salvation is already done for you in
Christ. Take Gocl at His word : believe Him when He says
that He has laid all your sins upon Christ : try the experiment
of coming to Him on that basis : and to you, as to thousands
before you, the promise shall be fulfilled : in the very act of
stretching out the hand, the strength will be given : in the
reception of the glad tidings, the stony heart will be taken away,
and a heart of flesh shall replace it : out of the Gospel, not
before it, will spring repentance and reconciliation : and the
heart, closed against all else, will yield to the inward summons
of an atonement already made and a peace already purchased.

THE GREAT PRELIMINARY. 359
2. We have passed insensibly into the second half of the
subject ; the opening of the heart which before was shut. This
opening is ascribed here to the Lord ; that is, to our Lord Jesus
Christ, acting through the instrumentality of Him whom He
promised to send to His disciples from the Father. I will not
enlarge upon the method of this opening. Its methods indeed
are various as God's agencies and God's attributes. In the case
before us, the first hearing sufficed. As the Jewish proselyte sat
and listened, her heart was opened to attend. And it has been
so with others. The first sound of the Gospel has entered some
hearts. More often, perhaps, the opening is gradual. These
hearts are very hard, very obstinate, very incredulous, very un-
impressible. If God gave but one chance, who could be saved?
But He who desires not the death of a sinner ; He who will have
all men to be saved ; He who will do anything for our salvation,
except that one thing which would vitiate it altogether, namely,
a constraint and compulsion of conversion ; that God, I say, is
patient with us, bears long, and tries many means : sometimes a
sudden influx of blessing, of earthly, human, domestic blessing,
has brought with it a softening of the heart and a turning of the
whole man to give thanks and to glorify his Benefactor : some
times, more often doubtless, the discipline of life in its sterner
aspect has wrought reflection, and sorrow for sin, and earnest
calling upon God ; and he who was bold and reckless in pros
perity has been brought home to his Father, penitent and
humble, by the stroke of a chastising rod. These things are
all various. But, amidst them all, one thing varies not. There
is a Divine Spirit, the Holy Ghost, one with the Father and
with the Son, proceeding from the Father and from the Son,
who works the great change wherever it is wrought ; who
alone touches the very spring of being, and quickens the dead
soul into newness of life. Wherever a heart is really opened, it
is the Lord who opens it, and He opens it by the Spirit.
My brethren, among the many reproaches which lie upon
the Church of Christ, this surely is of all the greatest, that it
has almost lost out of its first elements of truth the doctrine
and the faith of the Holy Spirit. The idea of an Atonement

360 THE GREAT PRELIMINARY.
is familiar to all : we are all jealous for it : and how indeed
can a sinner be otherwise? how, save in the blood of Jesus
Christ, can we find either hope or cleansing? But who really
believes in the Holy Ghost? Who really expects, who really
prays for, who consciously experiences, the inward working,
still more the inward abiding, as a perpetual safeguard and
a perpetual comfort, of the Holy Spirit of God? Easter we
all feel to be something to us : but this blessed festival of
Whit Sunday, who thinks anything of it? Its holy doctrine
is far above us, and therefore we let it lie far below ; we
disregard, we trifle with, we do despite to it.
God grant that it be not so with us ! I do not believe that
there is any comfort comparable to that of this one revelation.
I do not believe that there is one soul here present which is not
conscious of its need of it. Which of us even fancies that he
can either teach himself, or guide himself, or convert himself,
or comfort himself? Which of us does not know by bitter
experience that, when he would do good, evil is present with him ?.
that, when he would attend to the things which concern his
peace, his thoughts fly off to any trifle ? that, when he would
pray, his heart is silent? that, when he would believe, he
doubts, and when he would be holy, he is then most sinful ?
These experiences should make us value above gold and precious
stone the promise, the express, the long-tried and ever-faithful
promise, I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever. That is what
we want : a holy, an Almighty, a patient and loving Friend, to
live in us ; to take charge of us in mind and soul and spirit ;
to be as near to us as a man's soul is to himself ; to preside over
every step and regulate every thought; to recall us when we
stray, and to raise us when we falter ; to be in us a spring
of water bounding up, day by day and hour by hour, into
everlasting life. O, put not from you this which would be
strength to you and peace and happiness at once and for ever.
There is no condition but one. Your heavenly Father will give
His Holy Spirit, not to them that deserve, but to them that
ask Him.

LECTURE XVII.
TERMS OF SALVATION.
Acts xvi. 31.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
In one sense the Bible, and each Book of the Bible, is a complete
whole. It has a unity of purpose and plan ; and to parcel it
into minute portions is to detract something from its perfection.
In another sense, each portion, however minute, of the sacred
history has its completeness, and the more microscopic the
inspection, the more satisfactory will be the result.
It is thus with the passage now before us. It is in itself
an epitome of the whole history of the Gospel. This one scene
at Philippi represents to us what the Gospel is in its operation
in all time upon the hearts and minds of men, whether of
those who are saved or of those who perish.
You heard on Whit Sunday of the first conversion at
Philippi. A woman from Thyatira was a member of that
little congregation by the river-side, to which an Apostle did
not think it beneath him, or a waste of time, to preach the
word. As she listened, the Lord opened her heart. The first
result was attention ; the attention of the understanding, and
the attention of the spirit. The second result (if indeed it can
be separated from the first) was conviction : she believed ; she
felt the truth of what she heard ; it commended itself to her
conscience ; and she was not one of those who, when conscience

362 TERMS OF SALVATION.
speaks, let the still small voice pass by them as the idle wind,
which they regard not. She believed, and therefore obeyed.
She brought her household with her, and was baptized into
the Church of Christ.
There is great interest for a minister, and surely for his
people also, in observing what is here presented to us, an
Apostle waiting for openings. St Paul could not command
success. St Paul had to drop the precious seed of the Word
at random, not knowing whether should prosper, either this or
that. He was not listened to by admiring crowds, rushing
to destroy their idols and to give themselves for ever to the
Lord. One woman was the firstfruits of Philippi : if more
are to follow, it must be through circumstances and oppor
tunities not yet disclosed.
It happened that there was at Philippi one of those unhappy
persons who were under the influence, and indeed subject to
the possession, of an evil spirit. There has been much specu
lation upon the nature of this possession. A glimpse is given,
in the very expression itself, of the nearness to us all of a
kingdom of evil ; and a solemn warning surely with it of the
wisdom and happiness of being so preoccupied, all of us, by
the Holy Spirit of God, that the devil, when he cometh, may
(as it is written of One greater than man) have nothing in
us. I cannot doubt that it is the intention of Holy Scripture
to convey the idea, in these cases, of an actual possession : not
of mere delirium, not even of madness in its most aggravated
form, but of possession ; of a condition in which the bodily
and mental organs of a human being were held in thrall by an
evil spirit ; so that the voice should be the voice of a man, and
yet the words the words of an unclean devil. It is not for me
to say how nearly present experience may give us the knowledge
of this terrible phenomenon. Doubtless in many living men
and women there is now something of this double personality.
Wherever there is an over-mastering passion, whether of in
temperance or evil lust, there is ever found this disunion and
discord within : the person would do good, and yet evil is so

TERMS OF SALVATION. 363
present with him that he cannot. Sin brings division wherever
it comes : it destroys that unity within, which is the peace
of the soul : it makes a man at war with himself, because lie
is first at war with his God. Therefore I say — and the ex
perience of many who hear me will confirm the word — that
we can even now go a long way towards the understanding of
that Satanic possession of which the Scriptures tell. The notion
of possession is not strange to us, whatever the doctrine of
possession may be. And certainly nothing could have so brought
to issue the great strife between Christ and sin, nothing could
so have proved to ignorant or scoffing bystanders the power
of Christ over the whole empire of evil, as those miracles of
His and of His Apostles after Him by which a demoniac
was delivered from his possessor, and brought, out of raving
and torturing madness, to sit at the feet of Jesus, clothed,
tranquillized, and in his right mind.
Such a person was that damsel at Philippi who met Paul
and Silas as they went to the place of prayer by the river-side.
The wickedness of man had turned her unhappy condition to
a mercenary account. The evil spirit which possessed her was
a spirit of divination. It enabled her (as we should say) to
tell fortunes. And her owners— for she appears to have been
a slave, and not only so, but the slave of a body or company
of masters — had contrived to make a large gain of this power :
it was a speculation, and a successful one ; so that they were
directly interested in the continuance of that miserable con
nection with the kingdom of evil from which the power itself
was derived.
Alas for the selfishness of men ! What is agony to one
is the gain of another : and where is he who can forego in the
smallest particular his own gain, that he may benefit, or that
he may refrain from injuring, the soul or the body for which,
as for his own, Christ Himself died?
This poor maiden used to follow Paul and his companions
on their way to the place of prayer, crying, These men are
servants of tlie Most High God, who announce to you a way of

364 TERMS OF SALVATION.
salvation. Just as the devils are said by St James to believe
that there is one God, and tremble ; just as the demoniacs in
our Lord's lifetime below were wont to cry before Him, /
know Thee who Thou art, tlie Holy One of God ; even so it was
now. The maiden possessed with a spirit of divination loudly
proclaimed the mission of these heralds of salvation. There
was an overmastering influence at work within, which testified
to the grace which it refused and repelled;
But this sort of testimony was bitterly painful to one in
whom the Spirit of God dwelt. This Gospel preached by an
evil spirit, this confession of truth by one for whom truth
comes too late, this constraint of mere power and mere terror
making one who is lying in chains of darkness proclaim to
others how to escape from them, wounded the holy and loving
heart of St Paul more than any opposition or any cruelty.
He turned at last, and in the name of his Divine Master bade
the evil spirit to come out. He came out, and with him all
hope of future gain for those who had made a traffic of the
possession. Her masters saw tliat the hope of their gains was
gone. Instead of rejoicing that the fatal snare was broken
and an immortal soul delivered, these men could only look
at their own selfish interests and count over the loss of base
lucre which the change had brought with it for them. Such,
my brethren, is selfishness, when it is finished ; when it has
reached its full developement, and is seen in the repulsive
flower, or in the bitter nauseous fruit. Such is selfishness.
A thing which makes a man regret another's salvation. A
thing which makes a man first traffic in another's ruin and
then mourn over another's escape. God keep us all from its
first risings : for indeed it is a fearful thing to know its later
effects. Nothing could now be done by these selfish, these wicked
men, but to revenge themselves upon the human instruments
of this miraculous cure. They seized upon Paul and Silas,
and brought them before the magistrates, on the double charge
of creating a disturbance in their city, and of introducing

TERMS OF SALVATION. 365
innovations in tlieir religion. The population of the place was
easily excited against two Jewish strangers ; and the magis
trates gave sentence that it should be as they desired. They
themselves rent off the prisoners' clothes, and issued the cruel
order to their officers to inflict upon them the disgraceful and
savage scourge. Then, all bruised and bleeding, they were
handed over to the jailor with a special charge for their safe
keeping. The jailor acted duly upon his instructions : he thrust
them into the inner prison, and forced tlieir feet into the stocks.
Thus, under a false charge and without a trial ; with all the
sense of injustice fresh upon them, and all the misery of present
suffering to keep the wound open ; they are left to pass a night —
and they know not how many nights may follow it — in the cold
and darkness and hunger of a Roman prison, and to ponder alike
the danger of their position and the discouragement of their work.
There must be something in the Gospel, and something
in the love of Christ and the consolations of His Spirit, if
two men, like ourselves by nature in body and mind, could
endure patiently, much more endure joyfully, circumstances
so painful and so depressing. The well-known words, And at
midnight Paul and Silas in their dungeon prayed and sang
praises unto God, have a sweet music in them for anxious
and troubled souls. The thought of those songs in the night;
verses, perhaps, from our own sacred Book of Psalms, so full
of appropriate words for the prisoner and the captive ; of
those prayers in the jail of Philippi, which have been the
example and model of so many Christian confessors and mar
tyrs in all times in their long hours of patient suffering for
the truth's sake ; may well both encourage and shame us ;
encourage us by its testimony to the living grace of Christ,
and yet shame us by the comparison of our luxurious softness
with their noble endurance and their bold confession.
The prisoners heard them. The original language says, were
listening to them. Strange unwonted sounds must those have
been, those prayers and those hymns, in a heathen prison-house :
well might they listen. Their attention thus fixed on the

366 TERMS OF SALVATION.
remarkable, the unearthly character of these two inmates of the
prison, they could not but connect with them and their fortunes
the extraordinary scene which followed. Suddenly there was a
great eartliquake; the very foundations of the prison were shaken;
every door was opened, and every fetter loosened. The jailor
himself, awakened out of his sleep and seeing the prison-doors
open — aware of the consequences to himself of what he could not
but think inevitable, the escape of his prisoners — flew directly,
as Romans were apt to do, to the thought of suicide as the
readiest escape from the troubles of that only world in which he
believed. He drew his sword, and was about to kill himself It
was one of those prisoners themselves who kept him from
executing his purpose. Instead of profiting by the confusion
to effect his escape, St Paul could look also upon the things of
others, and use the precious moment to save a life and to save a
soul. Do thyself no harm, he cried, for we are all here. The
extraordinary thoughtfulness which thus expressed itself ; the
terrible excitement of the moment, stripping off all the disguises
of habit and education, and bringing the soul itself face to face
with reality and with destiny ; and amidst and above all, the
grace of God working of His good pleasure ; wrought in a
moment the work of years, and made this rough Roman soldier,
using the phrase of a religious and spiritual earnestness, ask of
these his own prisoners the question ever accompanying salvation,
Sirs, what must I do to be saved? He addresses them as his
masters — so profound was the impression of their connection
with the strange events of the night — and he speaks of himself
as a lost man needing salvation. To suppose less than this, to
imagine him to enquire only what he must do to escape from the
danger of the earthquake and of the opened jail, is to make the
narrative as incoherent as it would be trifling. The answer
shows, if nothing else, that, along with and by the help of the
terrors of the outward scene, there was working in this man's
heart, ignorant as it was and hitherto careless and selfish and
sin-bound, that first doubt, that first consciousness, and that
first stirring of life, which makes a man aware, as never before,

TERMS OF SALVATION. 367
of the reality of a judgment, an eternity, and a wrath to come,
and eager to find some way of escape from a future which he
feels to be all ruin for one who has died in his sins. What must
I do to be saved ? We can all fill up that question. We can all
see that it means, How can I be saved from a condemnation
which must light at last upon all sin ? How can I a wicked man
stand before God in the day of judgment? How can I hope to
escape that everlasting fire, of remorse and anguish, which must
consume in tlie end those who have all their lifetime fought against
conviction, against repentance, against grace, against God ? Is
there any hope — if I find it betimes — -for a sinful man to become
just with God? Is there any thing that I can do to get rid of
this overwhelming load of guilt which lies like a mill-stone about
my neck, and threatens to sink me like lead in the mighty waters
of a righteous judgment ? And 0, if there be such a thing as a
forgiveness for past sin, is there, is there any such thing as an
escape out of the bondage of sin into the freedom of holiness ? out
of the death of nature into the life of God ? What must I do to
be saved ?
So cries the hardened transgressor in the day when judgment
first flashes upon him. So cries the thoughtless lover of the
world in the day (and does not the day come?) when pleasure
turns to ashes in the mouth, and vanity to bitterness in the soul.
So cries many a human heart, in childhood and youth, in man
hood and age, in the day when the still small voice speaks
within, and reminds of a Father's love slighted and a Father's
home deserted. What must I do to be saved ? And there is an
answer to that question : an answer still vocal, still audible,
eighteen centuries after it was first uttered and listened to in
the Apostle's jail at Philippi : an answer still effectual, if it be
received with the heart ; but capable, like all truth, of being
negligently accepted or idly trifled with or unthankf ully trampled
underfoot by those who will : the very answer contained in the
text, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
and thy house.
Then indeed it was listened to. The soil was prepared for

368 TERMS OF SALVATION.
the seed : and in the ground of a quickened earnestness, a devout
attention, and a reverent and godly fear, the seed took root
downward and bare fruit upward unto life eternal. As the
jailor heard the word spoken in that inner prison, by men whose
feet the night before, as he thrust them in with violence, he had
rudely hurt in the stocks; heard it with his family gathering
around, that the good work might spread and have free course
and be glorified ; a sure though secret operation of the Divine
Spirit gave energy to the word ; opened the understanding to
understand it, and opened the heart to attend and to believe ;
and that very dungeon which had resounded with prayers and
songs amidst distress and torture now witnessed the first offices
of Christian charity, and the administration to many persons of
the initiatory rite of Christian baptism. He took them in that
hour of the night, and washed them from their stripes , and was
baptized, himself and all his, straightway.
Some tardy feelings of a reasonable compunction, or perhaps
the experience of the earthquake and the tidings which reached
them from the prison, led the magistrates who had hastily
condemned, as hastily to reverse the decision of yesterday. They
sent in the morning to order the release of the two prisoners.
But Paul, who was as firm on occasion in asserting his rights of
Roman citizenship as he was patient in submitting on occasion
to their infringement ; who knew, in short, when to press and
when to relax his human rights as God's Providence and God's
Spirit pointed in this direction or that ; now declined to accept
a secret and surreptitious release from a place marked by God's
hand for a glorious triumph of the Gospel. The discharge itself
was a confession of injustice : let the Gospel, let Christ Himself,
be openly honoured in it. Let the magistrates come themselves,
and supplicate the indulgence of their prisoners. They have
done a cruel wrong : let them at least say, in the face of the
people, that the messengers of the Gospel are no malefactors,
and that the word which they preach is no message of insubordi
nation or of immorality. When the world is brought for once
to the foot of the cross, it becomes not the ministers of Christ to

TERMS OF SALVATION. 369
forego the avowal of His triumph. The magistrates feared when
they heard that they were Romans, and came and besought them,
and requested them to depart from the city.
The work of God was well begun there. The seed was cast
into the ground, and men might sleep and rise, night and day,
secure that that Divine seed would now spring and grow up,
though they knew not how. The Church of Philippi was now
safely planted : and therefore they might now say, like their
Divine Master Himself, Let us go into the next towns, and preach
there also : for therefore came I forth. With all quietness and all
dignity they chose their own time : they came out of the prison,
and entered into the house of Lydia ; and when they had seen the
brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
What must I do to be saved ? Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved. We have touched upon the
question : let us not separate without an endeavour to under
stand the answer.
My brethren, there are those who tell us that the Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ is a worn-out creed ; a religion which has
had its day, and must be replaced by one more suitable to this
later age and to this advanced civilization. Alas ! that we
cannot all rise, even in a Christian congregation, and say as
with one voice, The Gospel is not obsolete, for it has saved and
regenerated me. That would be the best of answers to the
infidel's taunt : and it is just the answer which we cannot
return. O for that inward power which alone in any age opens
hearts to listen ! O for that grace preventing and following,
which alone turns the dead page into a living and a quickening
spirit ! It is not the Gospel which is obsolete : it is we who
have lost the key to it. It is not the cross of Christ, or the
risen life of Christ, which has lost its power : it is we who make
the one an excuse, and the other a phantom. Let the keen
two-edged sword cut deep ; let the fabric of a self-righteous
morality break down within ; let a sinner, about whose sin there
is, to himself at least and before God, however it may be in the
eyes of the world, no mistake and no evasion, have to look
V. 24

370 TERMS OF SALVATION.
death in the face, and to settle, once for all, whether there is
for him personally any hope or none ; let these things be, as they
are, for one or another, taking place every day in every town
and every village of England ; and you will soon see whether
the healing virtue is gone away out of the blood of Christ : you
will find that, in those crises and emergencies of the spiritual
life, it is- as much wanted and as available (blessed be God) as
ever : what the insolence of youth and the presumption of
prosperity has spurned is life from the dead to him who knows
the plague of his own heart and the defilement of his own nature :
again and again, as each year runs its course, the balm of Gilead,
the consolation of the Gospel, is tried over and over in cottages
and in palaces, and when truly tried, never found wanting : it is
found by experience, though of necessity that experience is not
public but private, not gregarious but individual and personal,
that a sense of guilt, an accusing and condemning conscience,
which nothing else could soothe, has been soothed by the blood
of sprinkling ; and that a fetter of evil habit which nothing else
could break off, has been broken off, as by the earthquake in the
jail of Philippi, by the grace of Christ's cross and by the power
of Christ's resurrection. The question, What must I do to be
saved ? has been answered again and again by the brief exhorta
tion of the text, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved. But for one who either asks that question earnestly, or
receives that answer decisively, thousands put off the one, and
thousands play with the other. Of all those whom I address in
this house of God this evening, how many have really settled
that great, that chief question, Have I any hope for eternity ?
and what is it? The very knowledge of the answer, the very
orthodoxy of our creed, the very familiarity of our faith, make it
more than ever a temptation to postpone seeking salvation.
What can be done any time is done never. That Gospel which,
to be worth anything, must be a free Gospel ; a Gospel for the .
most guilty, and a Gospel for the most sinful ; is made nugatory
for us by its very f reeness : 0, we say, a deathbed will be time

TERMS OF SALVATION. 371
enough ! And thus that which would be life to us now is made
death to us by its abuse : and the Gospel itself, the glorious
Gospel of the grace of God, is made despicable to the doubting
and scoffing world by the fault and the sin of us its professors.
If a congregation like this could say, collectively and individually,
The Gospel has saved us: the Gospel has saved me; the world
could not stand against it. But we come here week after week
to dally and temporize and trifle with the Gospel ; at best, to
keep our hold upon it; at best, to prevent its utterly escaping
us ; at best, to secure a sort of claim upon its deathbed consola
tions : and what is the effect ? What can be the effect, save
this? that the world calls our Gospel worn out, because it
evidently does not save, beoause it evidently has not transformed
us ; because we its professors are just as worldly, just as selfish,
just as sinful, as the worst of its impugners ; because the
children of this world are wiser, far wiser, in their generation
than the children of light ; because the harvest is past, the summer
is ended, and we, we ourselves, are not saved. For the Gospel's
sake, for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, if not for our own sake,
wipe out the reproach. Come to Him who casts out none who
come to Him earnestly, that you may drink of that water which
is life to the soul, and be emancipated for that service which is
perfect freedom.

24—2

LECTURE XVIII.
THE HOPEFUL SIGN.
Acts xvii. ii, 12.
These were more noble than those in Thessaloniea, in that they
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of
them believed.
He gave some, it is written of the gifts of Christ to men, as
evangelists ; and some as pastors and teachers. And the work of
the two is different. The Evangelist comes first. How beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace. He comes where Christ is not yet named,
to gather out of the unbelieving world a people for His name.
And then he is followed by the pastor or teacher, who carries on
by daily ministration the work which the Evangelist has begun.
Now St Paul was acting on this journey as an Evangelist.
He had a wide field to cover. Persecuted in one city, he must
flee to another ; or else the publication of the Gospel to all
nations will never be made before the Lord come. As an
Evangelist, he publishes the glad tidings, and hurries on : as
an Apostle, he ordains in every city those pastors and teachers
who are to build up the Church upon the one foundation once
laid. The time came, indeed, when he was to be stopped in his
work : but that hindrance must come in the direct course of
God's Providence, and not by any imprudence or by any rashness

THE HOPEFUL SIGN. 373
of his own. St Paul could trust himself not to be cowardly : it
was a grace therefore in him to be prudent.
Driven from Philippi, as we read last Sunday, after shame
and suffering ; but leaving behind him there the nucleus already
formed of that happy and holy congregation to which he ad
dressed, ten years later, one of the tenderest and most comforting
of his Epistles; he took his journey, as the ist verse of this
chapter tells us, through Amphipolis and Apollonia, and came to
Thessaloniea. Thessaloniea, unlike some other places of which we read in
the Scripture history, has retained its importance, and almost its
name, to this very clay. It is an imposing city, rising tier above
tier on a steep ascent fronting the sea; and contains still some
seventy thousand inhabitants, of whom many, now as in St
Paul's days, are Jews by race.
In this city stood what is here called the synagogue of the
Jews : I suppose, the synagogue of the district : in Philippi, you
heard, there was none ; only, a customary place of prayer by the
river-side. So Paul, according to his custom, first entered the synagogue ;
claimed his right to the national privilege, asserted his adherence
to the national faith, and used the basis of a common belief in
the Old Testament Scriptures as the means of building up the
superstructure of a Saviour's doctrine. We read that for three
sabbaths he discoursed to tliem from the Scriptures ; opening to
them that Book which was as yet closed and sealed from them
as to its true meaning, and alleging, adducing evidence out of
that Book itself to show, that it was necessary that the Christ,
the Messiah, the promised Saviour, should suffer, and rise from
among the dead; and that this Person is the Christ, even Jesus
whom, he said, / announce to you. Necessary that the Christ
should suffer; because the Scriptures had so said, and because
the Scriptures must be fulfilled. It is the very same argument,
and the very same word, which our Lord Himself used to the
two disciples on the evening of His resurrection. Ought not
Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory ?

374 THE HOPEFUL SIGN.
And then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He in
terpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning
Himself. It is thus here with His Apostle. He shows, as he
showed in detail, in the 13th chapter, at Antioch in Pisidia,
first, that the Scriptures speak of a suffering Messiah, a Saviour
dying and rising; and secondly, that these Scriptures all meet
and are fulfilled in the proved and established history of Jesus
of Nazareth. And some of them were persuaded. Some : even when St
Paul preached, not all. The heart must be opened to attend, or
even an Apostle reasons and expostulates in vain. Some believed,
even in that Jewish audience, and attached themselves to Paul
and Silas; following up, as we read (in the 13th chapter) of
some of the hearers at Antioch, the public teaching by private
converse, and seeking to improve to the uttermost their brief
opportunity of profiting by an Apostle's presence. And of the
devout Greeks, the worshipping Gentiles, that is, the proselytes
to Judaism from among the Gentile inhabitants, a great number,
and of the chief women not a few.
Thus the Gospel fire was thoroughly kindled ; and that fire is
a fire of division as well as of enlightenment. The Jews became
jealous, and took to them some worthless men of the idle sort — pro
perly, of the frequenters of the market-place; of those idle loungers
who are the plague of every town, destitute of proper occupation,
and refusing that honest labour which is man's safety and man's
glory — and having made a mob they threw the city into disturb
ance ; and besetting the house of Jason, where the Apostle and
his companions were lodging, they sought to bring them before the
people; before the public assembly, which acted both as the
legislature, and (in important cases) the tribunal also of the city.
Failing to find the Apostles, they dragged Jason, the owner of
the house, and some brethren, some of the new Christian converts,
before the magistrates. It was the old charge again. These men
had turned the world upside down by their new doctrines. They
were acting in the face of the decrees of Cozsar, of the Roman
Emperor, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. The

THE HOPEFUL SIGN. 375
disciple is not greater than his Lord. This was the charge
against the Saviour Himself. Whosoever makeih himself a king
speaketh against Caesar. The superscription of His accusation
was written over: This is Jesus the King of the Jews. In vain
is it answered, My kingdom is not of this world. In vain is it
urged that the spiritual kingdom is consistent with, is a friend
to, is the sure support of, every earthly throne : where there is a
will to oppose, there will not be wanting a pretext : and the
orderly and peace-loving Gospel is represented as a disloyal, a
factious, a revolutionary innovation.
By an iniquitous sentence, Jason and his companions were
bound over by due securities to preserve the peace of the city ;
and the Evangelists of the Lord and Saviour were in consequence
banished from its walls. By night they were got out of the
city, and after a journey of 50 or 60 miles they reached
Bercea, a town of less size and importance, but which has
furnished the Christian reader in every subsequent age with
a far brighter and more profitable example.
On their arrival they went forth into the synagogue of the
Jews. And these were more noble, more generous and more
ingenuous, than those at Thessaloniea : for they accepted the word
spoken by Paul with all readiness of mind, daily examining the
Scriptures, whether these things were so as he said ; whether his
arguments from the Old Testament were valid, in the two points ;
the prediction of a suffering Messiah, and the correspondence
of that prediction with the life and the word, the character
and the history, of Jesus. Many therefore from among them
— even here not all — believed.
Thus have we presented to us, within the compass of a few
verses the history of the evangelization of two places ; Thessalo
niea and Bercea. In each there are points of resemblance ; and
there are also, between the two, points of difference.
The points of resemblance are, (1) the mode of the preaching,
and (2) its twofold result : some believed the things that were
spoken, and some believed not. It was so everywhere. But,
looking at the two places generally and in summary, it is

376 THE HOPEFUL SIGN.
noticed that there was a contrast; a difference in their way
of hearing and in their manner of enquiring into truth, even
when (unhappily) the result of enquiry was not favourable to
the Gospel.
i. It is deeply interesting to be able thus to individualize
some of the congregations to which St Paul ministered. We
all know that there are such differences now between different
places and different congregations. There are personal varieties
of character, and there are also local varieties. Between one
country and another, between one part of one country and another
part, between the North and South, between the East and the
West, of our own country, there are many noticeable differences.
A Clergyman settling in a new Parish is struck very speedily by
some characteristic peculiarities even in the religious condition
and disposition of his people. These characteristics are the
result of many various and long-working influences. Often the
ministry has to be blamed or praised for them. A town in which
a faithful and exemplary pastor has long been at work, bears
the impress of his hand for a generation or two after he has
departed. And the absence of such a ministry ; the defects
of a man's preaching, the faintness of a man's zeal, or the
inconsistencies of a man's life ; will leave an opposite stamp
for years to come upon the state and character of his congre
gation. These things are matters of experience, and they are
noticed for our admonition.
Most safely are they noticed, when we can turn for them
to the Scripture. Who that reads the Epistles of St Paul
could for one moment confuse or interchange the spiritual
characteristics of the Churches of Corinth, of Philippi, of Galatia,
of Thessaloniea ? Take the last of these. We have heard the
disparagement of Thessaloniea. Bercea was more noble, because
it received the word frankly, and searched the Scriptures for
its confirmation or else for its refutation. In the same degree
there is a reflection upon Thessaloniea. It was less noble
in this respect. But there were those, even in Thessaloniea,
who had all the nobleness of Bercea. Look at St Paul's Epistles

THE HOPEFUL SIGN. 377
to them ; his two Epistles ; written the very first of all his
Epistles, and not many months probably after he had first
quitted them. Look at his account of that congregation from
which he was so early separated. We scarcely know a more
beautiful or a more encouraging portraiture. I commend it to
your study. How it fills up the gaps in the sacred narrative !
How it peoples with living men and women the somewhat dry
and summary record on which we have been dwelling !
(i) Observe there how St Paul had treated them : with
what loving tenderness : like a father, he says ; we exhorted and
comforted and charged you, as a father doth his children : and
then, lest that should not be enough, like a mother also ; we
were gentle among you, even as a nursing mother cherisheth her
own children. What a picture of the true pastor ! not a lord
over God's heritage, not one having dominion over their faith,
not one who rules and censures and threatens, but just a loving
friend ; as he himself says elsewhere, a helper of their joy ; the
kind father, yea the gentle mother also, of his people.
(2) Notice too, in another point, his conduct among them.
Ye remember, he says, our labour and travail : for labouring
night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of
you, we preached unto you the Gospel of God. St Paul was
a very diligent man. He was no idle lounger. He was not
a man of society, affecting the manners or mingling in the
amusements of the higher ranks of his people. He worked
at his own trade, and set an example to all men of the duty
as well as the honour of fallen man eating bread in the sweat
of his brow. If we, my brethren, by changes of times, and, as
we trust, by God's overruling goodness, are exempted from
the necessity of working for our bread in the exercise of this
ministry, let us at least take heed that that toil which is
saved from the one be given to the other ; that nothing be
more plain concerning us than that we work hard and work
long ; that we have indeed a calling, and a duty, and a toil
too, amongst you, in which we may at once set an example
and also cheer your way.

378 THE HOPEFUL SIGN.
(3) It is more profitable to remember what it was which
St Paul taught his people. We have a full though incidental
record of it in those two Epistles.
First of all, it was a Gospel. That was its character through
out. It was a message of comfort and joy to fallen man. It
brought him the assurance of God's love. It told him that
his sins are forgiven him for the Lord's sake. But it did
not leave him even there. I know of no mockery so great,
as that which tells a man of forgiveness and cannot tell of
cleansing. What is it to me to be told that God forgives, if
you cannot add that God will take away from me my heart
of stone and give me a heart of flesh ? yea, will give me His
Holy Spirit to live in me and to work in me effectually ? This
then was St Paul's doctrine : a free forgiveness first, and then
also a free spirit.
And in the strength of that offer, of that promise, he was
not afraid to preach to them of duty. He knew that, the
higher the attainment proposed, the more comforting is the
assurance implied. He who says, Stretch forth thine hand, says
by implication, / will enable thee. Hence the true comfort
of a call to holiness. God does not mock us, whatever man
may do, by His summons to holiness and to freedom. This
is the will of God, even your sanctification: and if it is His
will that we should be holy, certainly He will give His Holy
Spirit to them that ask Him. Hence flow all those particulars
of duty of which the last chapter of that ist Epistle to the
Thessalonians contains so large a detail.
But St Paul knew — he was taught of God to know — that,
if you would inspirit a man for duty, you must inspire a man
with hope. Therefore he fixed their eyes upon a coming; a
personal coming; an Advent of the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ; which should be to mankind the reparation of all evil
and the introduction of all good : an Advent in which blessed
and holy is he who shall have part, and. in which moreover no
man shall lose his interest by having died before it. We which
are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not

THE HOPEFUL SIGN. 379
prevent (anticipate) them that are asleep. Therefore sorrow not,
he said to them, concerning them that are asleep, even as others
which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with
Him (Jesus).
He seems too, when he was with them, to have darkly
foreshadowed to them some of those destinies of the Church
and of the world in later time, into which even now we can
but peer with doubt and guessing. The revelation of the Man
of Sin, with his foregoing hindrances, his precursors and con
comitants, must have formed an anxious and formidable accom
paniment to the prediction of that Advent which is to consume
him. And these things are or ought to be as much our expec
tation as theirs. For us, as for them, these things are still
future ; we dare not say, still distant. God keep us faithful
to that twofold work of the Gospel in the Thessalonian converts,
Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and
to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead,
even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come.
(4) There is yet one point to be noticed, before we turn, in
the last place, from Thessaloniea to Bercea. And that is, the
rapidity of the work of God in the congregation of which we
have spoken. For three Sabbath days, St Luke here says, St
Paul reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. He almost
leaves us to the conclusion that three short weeks filled up the
measure of St Paul's stay amongst them. But suppose it to
have been prolonged beyond this narrowest limit. Still a few
weeks at the very utmost must have comprised it : then he left
them, and in the two Epistles he speaks only of what had passed
in that one visit : he had never seen them again since he first
parted from them by night to set forth to Bercea. And yet — for
this is the point of notice — what an account does he give of the
work already wrought in them ! Remembering without ceasing
your work of faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our
Lord Jesus Christ. Nay, ye were ensamples to all who believe in
Macedonia and Achaia. My brethren, it is our own fault if the

380 THE HOPEFUL SIGN.
Gospel of the grace of God works in any of us slowly, or works
in any of us indecisively. A few short weeks are enough, in
God's hand, not only for the first great transition from darkness
to light, but even for a complete transformation of the heart and
of the life. In a few short weeks, three or more, these Thessa-
lonians had been turned in some cases — for so the words imply —
from worshippers of dumb idols into servants of the living God
and expectants of His Son from heaven. It pleases God now
and then to give us, even us, a glimpse of the same possibility
because of the working of the same power. The season of
Confirmation has been blessed erenow — I humbly hope that it
was blessed recently in some instances — to this great and glorious
result. The man who confesses his sins heartily may find mercy
at once : and the man who prays honestly for God's Holy Spirit
may find himself at once made strong through Him unto a
complete change of life.
(5) Yet let us not lose the force of that solemn admonition,
that he who thinketh he standeth must always take heed lest he fall.
Scarcely had St Paul left Thessaloniea after this marvellous
experience of the converting and transforming grace of God,
than he sends back Timotheus, in the extremity of his loving
anxiety, to see lest by any means the tempter had tempted them, and
so his labour should be in vain. We are still in an enemy's
country, however armed. We are still in the region of death,
however full of life. Even from our Lord Himself, after His
great temptation, the devil departed but for a season : let us
take heed, every one of us, lest confidence breed presumption,
presumption sin, and sin, when it is finished, in us bring forth
death. 2. And now, my brethren, one last word must suffice for
the example of the other place brought before us this evening,
the city of Bercea. Its application is different from the former.
In speaking of Thessaloniea, we have spoken of the Christian
congregation there gathered out of a world of Judaism or of
heathenism. In speaking of Bercea, we are to think of the
proper treatment of the Gospel on the part of those who have

THE HOPEFUL SIGN. 381
not yet been convinced by it. The nobleness of the Berceans was
shown, not in their way of acting upon a Gospel already believed,
but in their way of trying the credentials of the Gospel first
heard. They carried St Paul's statements to the standard which
they already possessed. Believing, as Jews or proselytes, the
Old Testament Scriptures, they went to those Scriptures for
information, and they acted upon those Scriptures as their
guide. They did not refuse the Gospel because it contradicted
their previous opinions ; neither did they, in an excess of
credulity, receive it because it was presented to them. They
listened to it with the readiness of a candid spirit, and they
daily examined their Scriptures to see whether its language
and their language were the same. Many therefore of them
believed. We, my brethren, are not exactly in their case, and yet we
have much to learn, every one of us, from their example. If
the teaching of this place were carried back by all of you to
your Bible ; if when we urge upon you any particular duty, or
press upon your attention any feature or any side of the truth,
you would receive the word, like these Berceans, and in the same
sense only, with all readiness, and then examine your Old
Testament and New Testament Scriptures to see whether what
you have heard has God's sanction for it, or no ; how interesting
would become the work of hearing and (let me add.) the work of
teaching. You would feel that you were engaged in a pursuit
of truth ; that it was not a question of pleasure or of natural
interest in the things spoken, but a question of right and wrong,
of truth or error, and therefore also of life and death : you
would come hither not to criticize, but to learn ; and you would
go hence, not to discuss but to digest. You would go back to
your Bible, to compare spiritual things with spiritual, and, ac
cording as you should find, so to judge and so to act. And we
on our part should feel that we were furnishing matter for the
most serious pondering and for the most important decisions ;
that we were aiding you in settling the most momentous
questions, and that the words here uttered were indeed, under

382 THE HOPEFUL SIGN.
God's blessing, full of grave consequences both in hearts and
lives. May it be so more and more. Be assured that out of such
enquiries and such reasonings within springs forth a full-flowing
stream of satisfaction, strength, and peace. The word here
written speaks of an examination, a daily examination, of God's
holy Book. It is the same expression which denotes the exami
nation of a witness, or the trial of a challenged life. Let us thus
put the Word of God upon its trial. Let us not treat it as a
dead, unmeaning, monotonous thing ; to be carried in the hand,
or read at Church, or suffered on the table ; but rather as a
living person, to be questioned, to be interrogated, to be heard
and listened to and judged. Let us say to it, What sayest
thou ? What dost thou tell me ? What hast thou to offer in thine
own behalf, or concerning another? Speak to me, answer me, be
not silent; but speak, and hold not thy peace. So treated, the
Bible will become to us a voice, not a page only. So treated, we
shall at last be able to say, Thy Word is tried to the uttermost,
and thy servant loveth it. So treated, the consequence for us, as
for the Berceans of old, will be this at last, They searched tlie
Scriptures daily; therefore many of them believed.

III.
THE CHURCH OF THE "WORLD.

LECTURE I.
THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR.
Acts xvii. 23.
To THE UNKNOWN GoD.
A Gospel should be a word for all men. It is one test of a
real Gospel, that it can overleap all barriers placed between man
and man by age and condition, by race and circumstance, by
character and education, and find its way into that innermost
kernel and heart's core of nature which makes the whole world
kin. It is so, we believe — it is so, we have proof — with our Gospel.
Already in this one Book we have seen it dealing with the Jew,
and we have seen it dealing with the Gentile : we have seen it in
Palestine, and we have seen it in Asia Minor : we have seen it in
Asia, and we have seen it in Europe : we have seen it at Antioch,
we have seen it in Cyprus, we have seen it at Lystra, we have
seen it at Philippi, we have seen it at Thessaloniea, we have seen
it at Bercea : everywhere it has found some hearts into which it
entered as a healing balm, some lives which it was able to
penetrate with transforming power. And tonight we are to
see it at Athens.
We must not stay to describe St Paul's progress toward that
city. Though the people of Bercea were in general more honour
able than those of Thessaloniea in their first treatment of the
Gospel ; not condemning it unheard, but searching the Old
V. 25

386 THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR.
Testament Scriptures to see whether those things were so; yet
they did not all believe : there were many unconvinced — it always
is so — by Gospel evidences ; and these unimpressed or undecided
hearers were open to the evil influences of more designing and
malignant men. Jews from Thessaloniea followed in the track
of the Apostle, and stirred up the same excitement at Bercea
which had already driven him from amongst themselves.
Such was the immediate cause of that visit to Athens which
brought St Paul for once into direct contact and conflict with
the most refined and enlightened forms of Greek civilization.
Leaving his companions Silas and Timotheus to complete his
work at Bercea, he had been escorted by some new friends, the
firstfruits of his ministry there, to that great and far-famed city
which has left an indelible impress upon the arts and upon the
literature and upon the philosophy of the world.
He was left there, for a time, alone. The Berceans who had
accompanied him were gone, and Silas and Timotheus were not
yet come. The Epistle to the Thessalonians tells us that he had
longer to wait for them than the history seems to say. He
thought it good to be left at Athens alone, while Timotheus went
back to see how it fared with the Thessalonian congregation. At
all events, he was now alone in Athens. Some of us know that
sinking of the spirits which is occasioned by loneliness in a
strange city. They have felt what it is to be cut off from every
loved and familiar face, and to be compelled to move through
crowded streets with a desolateness only aggravated by numbers.
They can understand something — but I fear they can scarcely
understand all — of that which St Paul felt in his lonely sojourn
in Athens. St Paul was a man of quick feeling, of lively
emotion, and of the gentlest affection : in these things he was
not only one of us, he was far before us all. But even these
were not the causes of his chief distress during this stay in
Athens. St Paul's life was given to one work, and his whole
heart was in it. Many a Christian man — such as we now call
Christians — has tarried in a superstitious or idolatrous place, and
seen nothing in it but the antiquity of its associations or the

THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR. 387
curiosity of its monuments. But wherever St Paul was, there
was his entire devotion, his earnest faith, his burning zeal, his
self-forgetting love. At Athens, where the traveller feels nothing
but a thrill of historic and poetic interest ; where it would be
judged by many a mere narrowmindedness to remember the
Gospel, and a mere loss of time to be communing with Christ ;
St Paul was just what he was everywhere : not unmoved, it may
be, by recollections of an heroic patriotism, or by sights and
scenes of indestructible beauty ; but a man of God, a servant of
Christ, still : he could not dissever the magnificence of a temple
or the perfection of a statue from the remembrance of the idolatry
which it served and of the souls which it debased : and so it is
written, that, while Paul waited for his friends at Athens, his
spirit was stirred (provoked or irritated) within him as he beheld
how the city was idol-ridden, filled and occupied by idols.
St Paul's irritation was not, as is too often the case with us,
a merely vexing and annoying thing, torturing to himself and to
all about him : on the contrary, it stirred him to action ; it set
him considering what he could do to remedy (in whole or in part)
the evil which he deplored. At Athens, as elsewhere, there was
a Jewish synagogue : there at all events he might find some to
sympathize with his horror at idolatry ; there too he might at
least argue from the common ground of Scripture, and assume
both the unity of the Godhead and the expectation of a Christ.
He discoursed, or reasoned, in the synagogue with the Jews and
with the devout persons ; that is, as before, with the proselytes to
Judaism. How successfully, we know not : topics of still greater
interest demand our attention. The Jews he had with him
always : the Athenians he met but for once : this was their clay,
the season of their visitation.
Accordingly we read that in the market-place also — the far-
famed Agora of Athens, with its marvellous works of art and
records of greatness — he discoursed, or reasoned, daily with those
who met with him. St Paul was not too proud, or too reserved,
or too indolent, or too half-hearted, to seize opportunities of
conversing with strangers. He felt that no man was a stranger
25—2

388 THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR.
to him : a man with a soul to be saved or lost must have, for
him, a ground of interest and a point of contact. Thus the next
verse tells us that in these daily conversations there encountered
him some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, who had in
Athens the birthplace and the capital of their several schools of
science. The Epicureans were the Atheists, and the Stoics the
Pantheists of antiquity ; the one dreaming of a world made by
chance, the other of a world containing the Deity : the one
bidding man to eat and drink because tomorrow he dies, the other,
to wrap himself in his virtue and to count it the height of human
attainment not to feel. Strange collision, that of tliese philo
sophies with the Gospel ! Strange meeting, between a man who
lived but for duty, yet found that duty in love divine and human,
and those who either denied the existence of a duty, or else made
duty another name for hardness ! We can imagine — the discourse
which follows will help us to do so — the sort of converse between
these philosophers and the Apostle : how he would avail himself
of any shred and fragment of the truth in the creed of each, and
show exactly where it lost itself in error : how he would urge
alike upon each the reality of a personal God in direct relation
to a personal man ; of a God to whom man's state is not in
different, and a man who must give account of himself to God :
how he would do battle, on grounds even of a natural religion,
alike with the pride of the Stoic and with the pleasure-worship
of the Epicurean ; to the one exposing man's weakness, to the
other presenting God's law : how he would lay the one low before
God, and seek to lift the other from the earth on which he was
grovelling. Very brief, yet withal very graphic, is the account here given
of the treatment of the Gospel by the Athenian philosophers.
Some said, What would this babbler say ? What is that which
this mere picker-up and retailer of nothings would express to us
if he could? No language could be more contemptuous. It
represents the Apostle as a mere reporter of idle tales picked up
from others, and as a man incapable even of expressing the
follies which he has adopted. Others took a more serious view

THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR. 389
of the case. He seems to be an announcer of strange (or foreign)
divinities ; a sort of travelling missionary of false gods, desiring
to add new names to an already overflowing Pantheon. Whence
this idea? Because, St Luke adds, he preached the gospel of
Jesus and the Resurrection. The names of Jesus and the
Resurrection occurred so frequently in his conversations, that
they, interpreting him by themselves, ran to the conclusion
that they were the names of two deities whom he sought to
incorporate in the national religion. And if this were so, it was
a case requiring the cognizance of the great religious court of
Athens; that ancient and august tribunal which was named
from holding its sessions on the Areopagus, or hill of Mars.
They took hold of him and led him to the Areopagus ; saying, Can
we know, art thou able to inform us, what this new doctrine
which is spoken by thee is ? for thou introducest some strange
things to our ears : we wish then to know what these things would
fain be; what is the meaning and import of these things. A
brief word of comment on the Athenian character is here intro
duced by the narrator. All Athenians and the sojourning foreigners
had leisure for nothing else than to tell or to hear anything at all
new. It was the complaint of their own orators. When they
ought to have been taking vigorous measures for the welfare or
protection of their own state, still the love of news predominated
over every other principle, and they who should have been acting
were ever talking still. There are some in every congregation
to whom this reproof belongs : they spend their time in nothing
else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. What will
these do when the light of eternity rises upon them? when the
world's news will have died out with the world, and nothing,
nothing survives for them but a soul lost if not saved 1
Thus then St Paul stood before that famous court of which
the poets and orators of Greece tell such proud things. It does
not appear to have been a formal trial. It does not seem that
life or death hung upon the issue. Rather we may think of it as
of a preliminary proceeding, designed to settle the question of a
criminal prosecution. Something might be founded upon it : but

390 THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR.
for the present it was a hearing only for information; only to
clear up suspicions, or else to darken and fix them. Observe now
the skill and the courage with which he spake. Never more
clearly were the words verified, / will give you a mouth and wisdom,
which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too super
stitious. Another and perhaps truer rendering of the words is this,
I observe that in all things ye are more religious than others. It
is a question which can never be decided, which of these two was
really the Apostle's meaning. The word itself has both senses ;
religious, and superstitious. It seems to be more in St Paul's
manner, to start from a point of agreement than from a point of
variance with his hearers. He would carry them with him if he
could. And he selects this one characteristic as in itself hopeful.
They have evidently had a sense, and a strong sense, of a superior
power. They have filled their city with recognitions and mementos
of a hand above them. It is better — may we not say it ? that a
man should feel his dependence, and that a man should seek to be
in communication with One above him, than that he should do
neither. That religious instinct, if it can only be rightly guided,
is far better than an utter insubordination and insolence of self-
trust. Thus St Paul opens his discourse with one word of limited
praise. / observe that you are a religious race.
For in passing through and reviewing your objects of reverence,
I found also an altar on which was inscribed, To an unknown God.
Lest after all their care, after all the multiplication of their altars
and temples, any one superior being should at last have been over
looked ; lest there should remain in heaven or earth or sea one
deity unnamed and unhonoured in the devotions of the nation;
they had adopted the singular expedient of an anonymous altar,
which might at least deprecate the vengeance of a disregarded and
slighted God. This altar St Paul, with a wisdom and a skill
above man's, takes as the text of his sermon.
That then, that thing, that divinity, which ye in ignorance
reverence, this I announce to you. I am come, he says, to give a
name to that anonymous altar. I am come to you from an un-

THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR. 391
known God, to enable you to fill up that blank spot in your
devotions. And who then is He ? Is He indeed one and but one
among many objects of worship ? Will one altar suffice Him, one
among many, so that He shall be merely added to the gods many
and lords many whom a heathen world worships ? Listen to the
sublime answer to that enquiry.
The God wlw made the world and all things that are in it, He
being already, being originally and by the right of creation, Lord
of heaven and earth, Sovereign and supreme Possessor of heaven
and earth, as having Himself brought them into being, dwelleth
not in temples made with hands; nor by human hands is served
(ministered to) as needing anything more than is His by virtue of
universal ownership, Himself giving continually to all life and
breath and all things ; and made out of one (person or thing) every
nation of men to dwell upon every face of the earth, upon the earth
in all its aspects, north and south and east and west ; having defined,
marked out as by exact limits, assigned seasons of national and
individual existence, and the limitations of their habitation.
One God made the world. He is the Owner of the universe :
how can He be limited to one spot in it? He is the Giver and
Preserver of human life : how can He require material offerings,
as though to support His own? He is the one Creator of all
races : there is not one God of this nation and another of that :
to each race He assigns the time and duration of its being, and
the exact place of its habitation : and with what object ? Why
does He thus regulate man's being ? Why does He thus keep a
sovereign hand over all circumstances of human existence ? What
would He have men do, as the result of this Divine reign 1 The
27 th verse gives the answer.
To seek God ; if perhaps they might feel after Him, as men
grope in the dark after some lost object, and not only feel after
Him, but find Him too ; even though indeed He is already, is
from the first, is before they seek Him, not far from each one of
us : for in Him we live and move and exist ; it is in Him, it is in
virtue of His all-including and all-embracing presence, that we
exercise any power of life or motion, or possess indeed any being :

392 THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR.
as some also of your own poets have said, For we are also His
offspring. He quotes from a Greek poet of Tarsus in Cilicia, his
own native city ; as though claiming for himself a new link of
connection with his audience, and exercising a sort of fellow-
citizenship with Greece, as before (and subsequently too) with
Rome. Being then already, being by origin, an offspring of God, we
ought not, even for our own sakes, to think that the Godhead is like
unto gold or silver or stone, gravure of a man's art and devising.
If we ourselves are, as your own poets say, God's offspring, it is
derogatory even to man's nature to represent God under material
and inanimate forms. Let the very dignity of man cry out against
the disparagement of God.
The times then of the great ignorance God having overlooked
now sends word to men (mankind) that they should all everywhere
repent; inasmuch as He set a day, appointed it once for all in
His secret counsels, in which He is about to judge the world in
righteousness in the person of a Man whom He marked out, having
afforded a pledge to all by raising Him from among the dead.
There was a time, a long and dreary age, during which God
seemed as it were to acquiesce in the spiritual ignorance of His
creatures. He interposed not by any act of authority to cut
short the season of their blindness. But now He has interposed.
Now He sends through the world a call to repentance. And that
call is backed by a threatening as well as a promise. There is a
day of judgment. It is a fixed day, though we know it not.
And that judgment will be a righteous judgment. All sin will
quail before it. And that judgment will be conducted by a
Man ; even by One who is as truly Man as He is truly God.
And the proof of His investment with the office of the Judge, is
the fact of His own resurrection already accomplished.
Well can we understand that there was that in this address
which was at once trifling and shocking in Grecian ears. When
they heard of a resurrection of dead men, some mocked. What ?
they might say, even the more thoughtful, give us back a body
when we are at last released from it ? Give us back tlie body which

THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR. 393
has clogged the pure soul, and dragged downwards the heavenly
aspirations, and infected with the very leprosy of sin a nature that
was akin to God's ? Nay, let us hope better things than these ! Tell
us of a conquest of the body, tell us of a deliverance from the body,
and we will listen : but not of a restoration of the body from the
dust of death ; not of an impossibility, and not of an injury and a
torment. Others listened with a deeper attention, and said when
he concluded, We will hear thee, again also, concerning this.
And thus, for this time, he departed from among them : he
quitted the place of hearing, and mingled again as before, we
doubt not, with the various groups which loitered in the gathering-
places of the city.
Not in vain had he spoken even this once. One man,
described as the Areopagite, an officer probably or assessor of the
court of Areopagus, was a convert to the word spoken. He,
and others also, clave to the Apostle, and believed. They were not
ashamed to be in his company, even in those high places of learning
and of arrogance. And not in vain certainly had St Paul spoken
for all time, leaving on record for ever a glorious example of a
Gospel to the heathen. Well had it been, my brethren, if the
same wisdom had ever taught in the world's dark places ; if a like
recognition had always been made, of a Divine witness in man,
a Divine seed and spark of light, waiting only the hand of
Revelation to kindle it into a pure and steady flame ; if, instead
of trampling upon man as he is, or flinging headlong before him
that pearl of great price of which he knows not yet the value,
Christian teachers had begun by drawing from within that latent
instinct, and stirring into activity that dormant conscience, by
which man, however debased, however degraded, does to the end
differ from the beasts that perish.
There is, my brethren, in every heart an altar with this
inscription, To the unknown God. It is there, if there be nothing
better, in you. You know that your conscience witnesses in
you of God, and you know that your heart does at times cry out
for Him. You know that there is no rest out of Him, and you
desire, in the end if not now, to find rest in Him. My brethren,

394 THE ANONYMOUS ALTAR.
I would help you to replace that anonymous inscription by one
which Revelation has given you. I would have you know Him
whom as yet you know not. Know Him first as the author and
sustainer of being, as the assigner of your place and of your
time, as around you and with you everywhere, as so near to you,
in His own holy presence, that in Him you actually live and
move and have your being. Feel after Him even thus : send
forth after Him the cry of your voice and the hand of your soul,
and be assured that He is always more ready to hear than you
to pray. But stop not with the God of Nature : go on to think
of Him as the God of judgment, and go on to think of Him as
the God and Father of that Saviour who is to be the Judge.
Seek Him through Jesus Christ ; and be well assured that He
who is near to you as the God of your life is nearer still to you
as the God of your soul and as the God of your salvation.
The times of ignorance God no longer winks at : the Sun of
righteousness has risen upon us, and whosoever will may have in
Him the light of life. We beseech you in His name that ye
receive not the grace of God in vain.

LECTURE II.
CHRIST'S SECRET ONES.
Acts xviii. io.
/ have much people in this city.
The city here spoken of was Corinth. We have read of the
Gospel at Athens : tonight we are to hear of it at Corinth.
The two places were not many miles distant : but they were
very different. Athens was the seat of learning : Corinth was
the centre of business, of commerce, and of government. Athens
was a city of loungers ; a place of indolent curiosity and of
leisurely speculation. Corinth was a city of men of business, a
meeting-place of nations : its two ports fronted the one towards
Asia, the other towards Europe ; and it was as if the two
worlds met there and trafficked. Corinth was also a city of
great luxury and of notorious vice. To play the Corinthian was
a proverbial expression for being a man of pleasure, addicted to
dissipation and debauchery.
These few strokes may suffice to set Corinth before us
sufficiently for the present purpose. Such was the change
involved in those first words of the chapter, After these things
Paul departed from Alliens and came to Corinth.
My brethren, the Gospel is for all nations, and of none. It
is equally suitable and equally unsuitable to all sorts and condi
tions of men. It would be hard to say which natural disposition
most dislikes it ; the pride of philosophy, the worldliness of

396 Christ's secret ones.
business, or the frivolity of pleasure. And yet for each one of
these it has a message, and to each one of these it has a mission.
Each one wants it ; each one is unconsciously athirst for it ; and
to each one it conveys that gracious call which is the voice of
our Lord Jesus Christ to the nations, If any man thirst, let him
come unto me, and drink. Blessed be God, everywhere some
listen, even if everywhere more refuse.
We will first briefly recount the few marked incidents of this
first stay at Corinth.
St Paul arrived there alone. Silas and Timotheus, left at
Bercea, had not yet (it appears) rejoined him. We know how
this was. Though at first he had sent word to them to come to
him with all speed, yet on reflection he had desired one at least
of the two to revisit Thessaloniea before he did so. He thought
it good to be left at Athens alone, and sent Timotheus back to the
Thessalonians to establish them and to comfort them concerning
their faith. Some suppose that Timotheus had actually rejoined
him, and was sent back to Thessaloniea from Athens : others,
and perhaps more correctly, that it was by a message sent from
Athens that he was instructed thus to proceed.
The result was the same. St Paul was again a stranger in a
strange city. What [Christian companionship )was to him, and
what the desolateness of Christian isolation, we know well from
his writings : our Lord Himself sent His disciples not one by
one, but two and two, before His face, and even divine faith needs
for its fullest, enjoyment the interchange of human love.
The Providence of God/ ever caring for those that are cast
down, fountT forTnrn a new friend. An edict of the Emperor
Claudius had banished all Jews from Rome. This iniquitous
act was overruled for good in at least one instance. A Jew
named Aquila, of Pontus by family, but resident (for purposes of
business) in Rome, had arrived at Corinth with his- wife Priscilla,
and was there engaged in the business of tent-making ; preparing,
that is, tents for travellers in the East, out of that coarse cloth
of goats' hair, for which St Paul's own country, Cilicia, was
famous. Now St Paul himself, according to the wise and pious

Christ's secret ones. 397
custom of his age and country, had been taught this trade. He
was a learned man, brought up under the best and most cele
brated of masters, and certainly (we must conclude) of no
indigent family : yet he had been taught a trade : the reverses
of life are many ; the accidents of foreign travel, in those clays
as in these, manifold and diverse ; and it was thought no dis
paragement to the social position of a young Israelite, to be
acquainted with a manual trade, and thus enabled to support
himself, if need were, by the labour of his own hands. What a
blessing it is, my friends — let me say, my young friends, more
especially — to have an honest calling ! No wise man will teach
you to be ashamed of being able, if it be necessary, to support
yourselves. O the misery which grows in this world out of
idleness ! out of compulsory idleness oftentimes ! A man would
work, and cannot get work to do. See that this misery be not
your own fault ; the result of a foolish pride, refusing to learn a
business. If it come in the way of Providence, it must be borne,
like other trials : but indeed, I believe, it is one of the hardest
and most disconsolate of all.
St Paul entered this populous and busy city : and what could
he have done, if he had not been able to support himself ? There
were in those days no ' livings ' as we call them : an Apostle had
no maintenance but what he worked for : and how could he have
hoped to gain acceptance for his Gospel in a strange and unbeliev
ing city, if he had had to begin by asking men to feed and clothe
and lodge hiin ? if he had had to begin by asserting his claim to a
free subsistence, and thus by disparaging the disinterestedness of
his own motives ? He must be an honest man before he could be
a religious man : he must be able to supply his wants, before he
could preach to other men of the necessities of their souls. There
fore he took up his abode with Aquila, and worked with his own
hands at the trade of tent-making.
And yet no one, my brethren, has more strongly asserted than
St Paul, the right of a Christian minister to live of the Gospel.
Every thing in its own place and time. In a nation already
calling itself Christian, and recognizing therefore the work and the

398 Christ's secret ones.
position of a Christian ministry, it is right that men should be set
free from manual labour for a higher and (let me say) a far more
responsible and a far more difficult and arduous service. But
St Paul himself, labouring for Christ in a world still rejecting
and blaspheming Him, would not use tliese things, lest any should
say that he was idle, or lest any should say that he was mercenary.
He abode with them, and wrought : for by their trade they were tent-
makers. On the Sabbath all work was laid aside : and on that sacred
day, week by week, amidst the scoffs and jeers of a heathen
populace surrounding them, the Jews of Corinth, as the Jews
wherever scattered, entered the place of worship, to read the Law
and the Prophets, and to address their worship to the God of
Israel. Thither St Paul too bent his steps ; and there he dis
coursed in the synagogue every sabbath, ano\_j2ersuadeH (sought to
persuade) both Jews, and any Greeks who worshipped with them.
At last Silas and Timotheus arrived from Macedonia. Till
now St Paul had been heavy in hearti on account of those beloved
congregations which he had left behind him there in an enemy's
land. How heavy in heart we know from himself ; from his
^xst Epistle, to the Thessalonians. And how much relieved and
lightened in heart now, we know also from himself ; from the
same Epistle. A weight was taken off from his spirit which few
of us have ever felt ; that weight which rests upon the soul of
a Christian while he_jtaiids in doubt of some one whose salvation
is. dear to him as his own. NowHEherefore we read in the
5th verse that Paul was pressed or constrained by the word:
his zeal was a positive pain to him : it was as though he
felt the word of God within urging and compelling him to
give it utterance : exactly according to those well-known expres
sions of righteous men and prophets of old, / am full of words ;
the spirit within me constraineth me : and again, / am pained at
my very heart, I cannot hold my peace : His word was in mine
heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones ; and I was weary with
forbearing, and I could not stay. The relief of his anxiety about
the Macedonian churches left him free to give all his thought to

CHRIST'S SECRET ONES. 399
the wicked and idolatrous people around him. He was straitened
in himself, he was actually pained and coerced, by that zeal to
preach Christ which could no longer be held in.
When he found that the Jews as a body were obstinately set
against the truth, he followed his Master's rule, and, with a sign
expressive of a deep sense of their danger, turned from them to
the Gentiles. He had done what he could : life was short, eternity
at hand: his work must be done, his commission must be dis
charged : they who will not hear must at last be left to forbear.
He selected a new place of meeting. There was a proselyte
named Justus, himself now a convert to the Gospel, whose house
was contiguous to the synagogue. Thither St Paul transferred his
conferences with such as would listen. And now a great work
began. Crispus, the ruler (or presiding minister) of the Jewish
synagogue, now became a convert. A great effort it must have
cost him ; but it was made : he too joined the little company in
the house of Justus ; and we learn from the ist chapter of the
ist Epistle to the Corinthians that he was one of two or three
persons whom St Paul baptized at Corinth with his own hands.
Many now of the Corinthians heard, believed, and were baptized. It
is often so. The coldest hour is the last before the dawn : just
when all is opposition, obloquy, and indifference, a new impulse
is given, we know not from whence — and yet we do know — and
a great interest is awakened where before all was torpor, darkness
and death.
And St Paul was not left in any doubt as to the presence of a
higher help than man's. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself spoke to
him in a night-vision, and said, Be not afraid, but speak on, and
be not silent . because I am with thee, and no one shall set on thee
to hurt thee, because I have much people in this city. Thus cheered
and emboldened, he continued there a year and six months, teach
ing the word of God among them.
The appointment of a new Roman Governor, Gallio by name,
was the signal for a more decisive outbreak. Gallio is one of
those men whose character we can read by two lights ; the light
of man, and the light of God. He was brother to a famous

400 CHRIST'S SECRET ONES.
Roman moralist, and uncle to a famous Roman poet. The former
of these describes him as a man of remarkable sweetness of dis
position and great popularity. These gifts, attractive as they are,
have often been serious snares : and they were so in this instance.
An amiable person is often weak in principle : he cannot stand
alone : he cannot do or say a strong thing, even where duty is
most clear and imperative. And a popular person cannot hear to
risk that favour : if he must take a side, he will be found on that
of the multitude, and not on the side of God. Such was Gallio.
His very virtues were weaknesses. If he refrained from doing
wrong, it was rather to save himself trouble than to obey con
science or to please God. And often a man of this character
awakens the hopes of the wicked, even where he does not gratify
them. That easy, good-tempered, compliant person, surely (men
say) we can make a tool of him ; he has not the resolution to
resist us : and thus he invites wrongdoing, and multiplies
around himself those circumstances of difficulty to which he is
most unequal. The character of Gallio tempted the Jews of
Corinth to drag Paul before his judgment-seat. Theirs was a
tolerated religion ; and they would place him outside that pale.
His, they said, was an illicit offshoot from Judaism : the Empire
which protected them was bound to punish him. For once the
very indifference of Gallio was of service. He saw an escape for
himself out of an embarrassing position. The charge was out of
his jurisdiction. If it were an act of crime or wickedness, of
which he was asked to take cognizance, it would have been only
reasonable that he should bear with the tediousness of the in
vestigation. But if, as he now perceives, or thinks he perceives,
the question is one of mere doctrine, of names and terms, of a Law
purely Jewish, tolerated by the Empire, but not adopted or
recognized ; if this be all, they must see to it themselves : he does
not choose to be a judge of such matters. So he drove them from
the judgment-seat, and turned to matters more important or less
wearisome. He must get through the day's business, and then
turn to pleasure. The proceeding had a singular corollary. The
mob, always unfriendly to Jews, and generally showing a sort of

Christ's secret ones. 401
rude sympathy with the falsely accused, seized upon Sosthenes,
the ruler (or one of the rulers) of the synagogue, and beat him
before the judgment- seat ; in retaliation, it should seem, for his
part in the frivolous charge against another. The name of Sos
thenes occurs in the ist verse of the ist Epistle to the Corinthians,
as the name of a Christian brother uniting with St Paul in that
communication to the Church of Corinth : whether the person
spoken of in the Acts afterwards became a convert, or whether a
different person is intended, we know not, and must submit to
doubt. The narrative, thus far pursued, of St Paul's first sojourn at
Corinth, has suggested one or two reflections which must suffice
for this evening.
i. Let us take fully into view the character of Gallio. Like
Demas, the lover of this world ; like Diotrephes, the lover of
pre-eminence in the Church ; like Agrippa, the half-persuaded to
be a Christian ; Gallio has become a byword of the Gospel, as the
type of the indifferent and the let-alone bystander, who, whether
this doctrine be true or false, whether this conduct be right or
wrong, whether this soul perish or be saved, cares for none of
these things. We have just touched, in passing, upon the
mischief done by such characters to others and to themselves.
They tempt men to tempt them. They encourage hopes in the
wicked, even where some conflicting yet still unworthy motive —
such as the love of ease or the dread of inconvenience — prevents
them at last from satisfying them. But what shall we say of the
character itself? What shall we say of one who, in a world of
sin and suffering, lives on frivolous and indifferent ? of one who
is never roused by human distress or by human danger to any
higher feeling than that which is altogether of self and of earth
and of time and sense ? Is it possible to conceive of any cha
racter more exactly opposite to the one perfection which is set
before us in Christ Jesus? O where should we have been, the
best of us, if that had been the mind of God ? if it had been
enough for Him to dwell in the high and holy place, caring for
none of those things which were happening and to happen upon
V. 26

402 Christ's secret ones.
His earth below ? Is there indeed any sign of evil more decisive
than that light, that indifferent, that trifling or else scoffing
spirit, which nothing can arouse either to rejoice with them that
rejoice, or to weep the tears of sincerity with them that weep?
And is not this too much the characteristic of our own age, of
our own world ? What is the popular literature of the day, but
a light and ludicrous portraiture of human life ? What spark is
there amongst us either of a generous enthusiasm or a noble
indignation ? Alas, we have spent long before maturity every
impulse of a warm-hearted sympathy ; we have adopted a jesting
or bantering or sneering tone, at first as an affectation of manli
ness ; and now it has grown upon us into a second nature. And
thus the young man of this day is one who has pretended not
to care for any of these things, until the care itself is smothered
and at last eradicated within. O for the entrance of that
life-giving Word which corrects the selfishness of nature and
kindles the fire of Divine grace ! Then at last, then only, will
men learn what true greatness and what true honour is. Then
does the dignity of the Roman magistrate, with the lictors, and
the fasces, and the curule chair, and the jurisdiction of a
province, and the power of life and death — yet the iron fetter
within upon the soul, of a disgraceful selfishness, a deep ungodli
ness, an inveterate vice, or a degrading fleshly lust — grow faint
and pale before the lustre of a spirit not of this world ; the spirit
of a devoted piety, and the spirit of a large-hearted and a
self-sacrificing humanity. These are the lessons of the school of
Christ ; nowhere else learned, and yet, when learned, commanding
the respect and the reverence even of the world which looks on.
2. Set in contrast with Gallio St Paul himself. What a
singular history ! What a problem for the unbeliever ! How
inexplicable, in all its bearings, save on one hypothesis ; that the
Gospel is true ! What an epitome is his life of all Christian
experience, in its lights and shades ! There is a man working
all the day at a common manual trade. He sits close at it. To
all appearance he is a man earning a livelihood ; and nothing
more. Day dawns upon him, and night closes; and still these

CHRIST'S SECRET ONES. 403
hands (as he once said elsewhere) are ministering to his necessities;
working out by hard, steady, ignoble toil, the support of the
body, the supply for himself of shelter and fuel, of food and
clothing. That is what appears. A man might look in upon
him in his humble dwelling many times in the day, and see
nothing but this. And yet those very hands have wrought
miracles. They have been instrumental, under God, in healing
the sick, in giving sight to the blind, in casting out devils ; yea,
in communicating the blessed and life-giving Spirit of God. It
is of these very hands that it is written, When Paul had laid his
hands upon tliem, the Holy Ghost came on them ; and they spake
with tongues, and prophesied. And those eyes which are now
intently fixed on the coarse tent-cloth which he is stitching into
an accommodation for desert-travellers, those eyes have often been
wet with tears of repentance and of charity ; even as it is
written, Out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto^
you with many tears ; and again, Of whom I have told you often,
and now tell you even weeping ; and again, / cease not to warn
every one night and day with tears : yea, far stranger still, those
very eyes have seen Jesus Christ our Lord, and blinded with
excess of light were closed afterwards for three days in a darkness
as profound as it was typical. And even now, even from this
house of Aquila in Corinth, he is writing letters which for
eighteen centuries afterwards shall be read as portions of the
inspired Scripture in all the congregations of the East and of
the West. His two Epistles to the Thessalonians were written
at this time and under these circumstances. Therefore it is no ,'
fancy and no illusion to say that we know what he was thinking
of as he wrought at that trade of tent-making. Read the two
Epistles to Thessaloniea : ponder the joys and sorrows, the
anxieties and the reassurances, there described : mark the direct
revelations of divine truth there disclosed ; the prophecy of the
Resurrection, of the Apostasy, of the Man of Sin, of the glorious
Advent of the Lord and Saviour : and then you will understand
something of that contrast and of that combination on which we
are dwelling ; something of that mysterious twofold life, the
26—2

404 Christ's secret ones.
outward and the inward, the bodily and the spiritual, of which
he spoke himself when he said afterwards in writing to this very
Church at Corinth, We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that
the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us : we are
troubled on every side, yet not distressed ; we are perplexed, but
not in despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; east down, but not
destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the
Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus, His risen life, might be
made manifest in our body.
3. Finally, the passage before us presents one other Person,
one other character, and one other life. Our Lord Jesus Christ,
though taken up from us into heaven, is yet not far from every
one of us. With His servant St Paul, in the solitude of a
crowded city, amidst the occupations of a humble calling, amidst
the distresses of an often depressed spirit, and the discourage
ments of an often despised and rejected ministry, Jesus Christ
Himself was, always really, sometimes visibly or audibly, present,
suggesting just those thoughts and offering just those consolations
which he saw to be suitable to his case and need. Be not afraid,
but speak, and hold not thy peace ; for I am with thee. I have
much people in this city. Thy work here is not wasted. There
are those in this city, and many of them, whom I am purposing
by thy ministry to add to the congregation of such as shall be
saved. Trust thy work with thy God : through clouds and
storms He will clear and shape thy way : immortal till thy work
be done, thou shalt here see much fruit of thy labour ; and when
the earthly day ends, still thy work shall follow thee.
I have much people, in this city. They were not to be seen as
yet. There was a veil over them. But they were there ; and
Christ could see them though man saw them not. May it be so
here, and with us. May each Sunday's Services and Sermons,
may each Communion and each Confirmation, be the means, in
Christ's hand, of disclosing and revealing them. And even if
we never know them ; if their faith and love be still veiled from
us ; if they are known (to the end) only to One who seeth in
secret ; known only to Him who marks their souls' struggles,

Christ's secret ones. 405
counts up their sorrows, and puts their tears of contrition and
repentance into His bottle ; still may they be there ! May they
be amongst us, redeeming a sinful and ungodly place from the
condemnation of a total apostasy from Christ. Help, every one
of you, in yourselves first of all — in your own hearts, and in
your own lives — to prove and to make true the saying, / have
much people in this city. And so at last, when earth's toils and
sorrows are ended, and the glorious harvest and the awful
vintage have alike been gathered in, may it be given to us to
rejoice together, loved and loving, in that eternal joy, in that
unbroken peace, in that heavenly rest, which remaineth for the
people of God.

LECTURE III.
TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH.
Acts xviii. 27.
Who, when he was come, lietyied them much which had
believed through grace.
Scripture is a storehouse of character. The Word of God
teaches largely by example. It shows us truth in action,
principle in practice, and faith in works. And it shows us the
opposite of tliese things. It holds up the mirror to fallen as well
as to renewed nature ; and exhibits ignorance, unbelief, idolatry,
worldliness, and the love of sin, in its working : as though to
say this to us, Choose now which you will be ; this, or that : I
have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
therefore choose life.
Sometimes a single glance is afforded us, and the picture is
instantly withdrawn. A man is presented, to teach us a single
lesson : one phase of his character is exhibited, and the rest is
veiled : the Word of God only wants him to point one moral,
and then he is dismissed : as though to teach us, alike by what is
given and by what is not given, how much and how little is man
in God's hand ; important, if God deigns to use him ; insignifi
cant, utterly insignificant, when God has done with him and let
him go.
At other times a person is kept long in view. We are
allowed to see him through and through, whether he be good or

transmission of truth. 407
whether he be evil. Saul in the Old Testament, and Paul in
the New, stand as it were for days and years upon the stage of
that theatre which is human life, and before that vast body of
spectators which is the human family on its way to eternal life
or eternal death. Gallio appears but for a moment : his slight
lesson is soon taught : the man ' sweet ' to his friends, the man
popular with the world, the man of amiable impulses and shallow
principles, stays but to show us how many, in their inmost souls,
care for none of these things ; care not for the conduct of others,
care not for the happiness of others, care not for the wellbeing
of others in eternity or in time ; care not for God's truth or
God's kingdom or God's will, but only for their own little
pastimes, paltry interests, or selfish gratifications.
Gallio has left the place of judgment : we read no more of
him in Scripture. But the word of God, and he who does the
will of God, abide for ever. St Paul is still in view : he stayed
on there, at Corinth, yet many days, and then took his leave of the
brethren, and sailed away from Cenchrese. How much had been
done in those eighteen months ! When he entered Corinth, he
was alone and a stranger : his first efforts had been little success
ful ; the Gospel made way slowly, and seemed at times on the
point of being overborne and extinguished : now he leaves
behind him a flourishing Church ; there are those in that city
whom he can call brothers ; and he takes with him not recollec
tions only, but associations and affections too, which will exercise
an undying influence upon the fortunes of the Universal Church.
Out of that stay at Corinth sprang afterwards, for all time, two
precious heirlooms of Revelation; the ist and 2nd Epistles of
St Paul to the Corinthian congregation itself.
On this voyage St Paul was accompanied by his new friends,
Aquila and his wife Priscilla. One little incident of the departure
has occasioned much controversy. Was it St Paul himself, or
was it Aquila, who had a vow upon him which came to an end
at Cenchrese ? Having shorn his head in Cenchrece : for he had a
vow. It is impossible to decide the question absolutely; and
persons will be guided in their opinion chiefly by their idea of

408 TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH.
the probability of the case. Was it likely — and the question
answers itself differently in different minds — that St Paul, on
any occasion of danger by land or sea, should have made a vow
to God in case of deliverance ? a vow indicated, like the Nazarite's,
by suffering the hair to grow uncut during its continuance, and
now terminated by the sign here described? We know from
the 2 ist chapter that St Paul did not consider such a vow wrong:
he was still a Jew, and the observance of the Law, iu any of its
ceremonies, was not wrong for him : we can only say that the
form of the sentence is ambiguous in the original, and that the
word having shorn might be connected either with the nearer
name (Aquila) or with the more remote.
Crossing the ^Egean sea — a voyage of from ten to fifteen days
— they reached the harbour of Ephesus. His companions were
to remain there : he himself stayed only so long as to hold one
conference with his Jewish countrymen on the all-important
questions which engrossed his life. Interest was awakened
by this one discussion ; and though he was unable to remain
longer on this occasion, he promised, in taking leave of his
hearers, to return to them if it were the will of God. St Paul
did not use that expression lightly. St Paul saw God's hand in
all that befell him ; and the words, if God will, had for him a
real and a simple significance. Let us, my friends, whether we
use the words or no, at least cherish the thought. Let no plan
be ever formed, for a work or for a journey, but in the serious
recollection that life itself is in God's hand, and that without the
concurrence of His Providence we can accomplish no purpose of
our hearts.
He sailed from Ephesus to Ca^sarea; went from thence by
land to Jerusalem, and, after saluting the Church there, returned
to Antioch, so long the head-quarters of his ministry. Thence he
started on a third Apostolical journey, beginning as before with
Asia Minor, where he visited for the second time the districts of
Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
It was while St Paul was thus occupied, that a new teacher
arrived at Ephesus. A certain Jew, Apollos by name, an Alexan-

TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH. 409
drian by family, an eloquent (or else a learned) man, came to
Ejyhesus ; being also a man mighty in the Scriptures. He was
already instructed in tlie way of the Lmxl ; and being fervent in
spirit, he spake and taught accurately the things of the Lord,
knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly
in the synagogue.
You see with what precision the state of his knowledge is
described. He could teach, and he made it his business to teach,
tlie things of tlie Lord. He had been instructed in the way of the
Lord. We must suppose that he was not only aware that the
Messiah had appeared, but was acquainted with our Saviour's
earthly history, with the fact of His death, and even with the fact
of His resurrection. Less than this could scarcely justify the
description. He knew accurately, because he could teach accu
rately, the things of the Lord.
And yet, it is added, he knew only the baptism of John. He
was in the state of those twelve disciples at the same place,
mentioned at the beginning of the next Chapter, who, when
questioned closely by St Paul, were found to have received no
other baptism than that of repentance, as administered by our
Lord's forerunner, John tlie Baptist, who could only point to the
Lamb of God without being able to communicate the gifts of
grace. In short, the deficiency indicated in Apollos, as in them,
at the time here spoken of, was an ignorance of the true doctrine
of the Holy Spirit. He, like them, had not so much as heard
whether there was any Holy Ghost ; not ignorant indeed of the
name and of some of the operations of the Holy Spirit — the
Psalms of David, and other parts of the Old Testament Scriptures,
would have taught him that — but ignorant that the Holy Spirit
had (in the Christian sense) yet been given : he had not yet
heard of that full outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as the Light
and the Guide and the Strength and the Comforter and the
very presence of God within, which was the distinctive promise,
and which is the characteristic gift, of Christ to His servants,
old and young, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, in these latter
days, under this Dispensation of the Gospel.

410 TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH.
St Paul's friends, Aquila and Priscilla, were of course fre
quenters of the synagogue worship : and there they heard this
earnest and eloquent, though as yet only half -enlightened, cham
pion of the faith of Christ. They were struck, no doubt, alike
by what he had and by what he lacked. They took him to them,
and explained to him the way of God more accurately. The way is
an expression often used in this Book for the Christian doctrine
and the Christian life. In both of these, Apollos, with all his
gifts and with all his zeal, was a mere beginner. If any man
have not tlie Spirit of Christ, lie is none of His. And though
Apollos was a sincere man, and an earnest man, and a bold and
fearless preacher of the truth so far as he yet knew it, still, not
knowing that Baptism of the Holy Ghost which alone brings a
man into Christ and Christ into him, he not only had much to
learn, but (in a very important respect) he was in darkness even
until now. They therefore, this husband and wife, these two
private Christians, took him to them, eminent as he was in
comparison with them, and powerful in the Scriptures, and
probably admired and followed already for his eloquence ; they
took him to them — received him with great kindness, with all
regard and even reverence for what he was, and with a longing
wish to see him that which as yet he was not — and set out
before him, in conversation, with all patience and loving per
suasiveness, that part of the way of God, of the truth of Christ
and the life of a Christian, which till now he knew not. His
heart was right with God ; and therefore he was a humble as
well as honest learner. That which he knew not Gocl now
taught him. And soon he was equipped for the prosecution
of his ministry in regions beyond. When he wished to cross
into Achaia, that province of which Corinth was the capital,
the brethren, that is, the Christians at Ephesus, encouraged him to
do so, and wrote to the disciples in Achaia, and particularly at
Corinth, to receive him. And when he arrived there, he helped
much (contributed much to) those who had believed through tlie
grace of God : for he vigorously confuted the Jews publicly, showing
by means of the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. We have

TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH. 411
found Him, he might say to them, of whom Moses in the law, and
the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph.
Thus were the words fulfilled, which St Paul wrote afterwards
from Ephesus to the Church at Corinth, I planted, Apollos watered;
and God gave the increase.
And what if there were some in that Church of Corinth, who
sought to separate what God had joined, and to set up him who
planted and him who watered as heads of rival and conflicting
sects ; one saying, I am of Paul, and another, / am of Apollos ?
yet did no such antagonism divide the hearts of these good men
from each other : the very same Epistle tells us in its last chapter
how St Paul, instead of grudging to Apollos his influence at
Corinth, was urging him to return thither ; and how Apollos,
instead of courting opportunities of extending and cementing
that influence, was the one to abstain of his own free will from
giving scope to its exercise. As touching our brother Apollos,
I greatly desired him to come with the brethren : but his will
was not at all to come at this time ; but he will come when he shall
liave convenient time.
And now let us turn to ourselves, and enquire what we may
learn from the brief narrative thus presented.
i. First, we are struck by the illustration here given of the
Providence of God over human lives. Here are persons, born in
the most remote regions of the world, separated from each other
by every variety of circumstance, yet brought together, in the
changes and chances of this mortal life, to affect one another
in the deepest sense of all, and with reference to the very highest
interests. Take only these three persons; Aquila, Apollos, and
St Paul. One from Rome, one from Alexandria, and one from
Tarsus. Europe, Africa, and Asia, each contributes an element
to this combination. Can we doubt, when we consider how much
hung upon that conjunction, not for themselves only, but for
generations and ages to come, that it was, in a true, in a real
sense, of God ? God, who can do nothing certainly except He do
all things really, arranges the various movements and associations
of human life, making all conduce to our discipline, to our trial,

412 TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH.
to our improvement (if we will have it so) and our sanctification,
or else (if we will not have it so) to our self-exposure, humiliation,
and fall. If we at all knew the momentous interests involved in
every human life ; the worth of the soul, the certainty of the
judgment, and the awfulness of eternity ; or if we at all knew,
on the other hand, the weight of that influence which association
with others exercises, for good or evil, upon the state of the soul,
and consequently upon its final destiny ; we should not hesitate
to ascribe to God a Providence in these matters as minute as it
is absolute ; we should love to trace that Providence in the lives
of others, we should love to acknowledge and to give thanks for
it in our own.
2. Again, we are reminded, in the passage before us, of the
progress which there is and ought to be in every Christian life
from a less to a greater measure both of light and grace. Our
condition on earth is not a stationary but a growing life. There
is no such thing, with reference to any part of our being, as a
standing still. To stand still is to go backwards. Most of all is
this so in the things of God. It is a terrible sign when we are
satisfied where we are in the spiritual life. We have all, the
wisest of us, much to learn. We have all, the best of us, much to
attain. It was so with that good man of whom the text speaks.
Apollos was already mighty in the Scriptures when he came to
Ephesus. Already he was able to teach accurately the things of
the Lord. And yet he was ignorant at that time of one whole
department, the deepest and the most vital, of Christian truth.
He knew nothing then of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. If he
had not been open to instruction, if he had thought himself too
wise to learn, if he had said or thought that, being already a
teacher, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, it was not
for him to receive help from others, yes, even from a Christian
woman, you see how ill it would have been for him : he would
have lived and died only half a Christian. Yes, there is a pro
gress for all of us still, however far we have already journeyed,
or however great may be our attainments in the Church and
school of Christ.

TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH. 413
3. But a third remark is, that, though we have all of us still
much to learn and much to attain in the Christian life, we must
earnestly use that which we have already received. We do not
yet know all that we shall know, nor are we yet all that we shall
be. But that is no reason for keeping to ourselves, or for hiding
under a bushel, the light we have. It is in using that we acquire.
It is in standing fast that we go forward. It was by teaching in
the synagogue what he already knew of Christ, that Apollos put
himself in the way of those who could teach him more. A sense
of deficiency is no excuse for idleness. Nor is a consciousness of
imperfection any plea for reserve and concealment as to those
Christian convictions which God has already implanted in us. It
is to him tliat hath — and the context of that verse shows us that the
meaning is, to him that useth that which he hath — that more is
given. 4. Again, the passage before us teaches a serious and surely
an encouraging lesson to more advanced Christians as to the
proper treatment of persons in a less mature or a less enlightened
condition. You observe how Aquila and Priscilla felt and acted
towards Apollos. They heard him utter in the synagogue what
they must have felt to be a most imperfect doctrine. They saw
that there was not only an omission, but what they regarded as a
most important, a fatal, omission, in his public teaching. He had
not so much as lieard, evidently, whether there was any Holy Ghost
yet given. And we all know how many Christians in our day
would have behaved towards a teaching thus defective. They
would have gone home to criticize, to deplore, or to condemn.
They would have stamped the man at once as a teacher of error,
or at least no teacher of the truth. They would have deserted at
once the ministry of that man, and sought out for themselves one
more enlightened, more in accordance with their own convictions,
or (as they might justly have said) more profitable to their own
souls. Not so did those good Christians of whom we read here.
Recognizing to the full the natural gifts and the spiritual graces
of this new teacher, and yet deeply feeling the serious deficiencies
of his knowledge and of his doctrine, they sought him out carefully

414 TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH.
in private, gave him their confidence and accepted his, and in
calm serious conversation laid before him those deeper mysteries
of Christian truth which were the life of their souls, and which
they desired to make also the life of his. I am sure, my brethren,
that the word has a lesson for these times, and for us who are here
assembled. We ought to be ever on the watch for opportunities
of leading onward those who are now behindhand in the doctrine
or in the life of Christ. Instead of shrinking as we too often do
from close personal communication with others upon the things of
the soul and of eternity, we ought to make it our business to seek
it. There are those who are longing for it ; those who are sadly
complaining that Christians, true Christians, are always ready to
talk of anything but of the one thing ; those who greatly miss,
and deeply deplore the want of, that real and effectual sympathy
which only heart can give to heart in the daily difficulties and
struggles of a Christian life on earth. And instead of pronounc
ing such or such a person a man of defective or erroneous opinion
in the things of Christ, and there leaving him ; instead of con
sidering it a sufficient reason for avoiding close contact with him,
that we see him or imagine him to be at present destitute of some
integral portion of that truth which is our own stay and comfort ;
we ought to think how differently Aquila and Priscilla dealt with
Apollos, and how richly rewarded was that self-denying patience
with which they sought to lead him onward into the clear light
and full happiness in which they were already dwelling and
walking. 5. I will add yet another application of the subject. How
simply does the office of a Christian towards others — whether it
be the office of a Christian pastor, or of a Christian layman, or of
a Christian woman — resolve itself into a work of helping ! We
read of Apollos, that, when he had been more fully instructed in
Christian doctrine by the kind agency of these two Christian people,
and had himself, at the entreaty of those who knew his great gifts,
passed on into Achaia to minister to the Church of Corinth, he
helped much, by the grace given to him, them which had believed.
It is a beautiful and instructive expression. How mucli is in-

TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH. 415
volved in it ! What an idea does it convey of the obstacles which
a Christian has to encounter ! There are great rocks in our path,
threatening to obstruct our progress, and too heavy oftentimes
for our unaided strength to roll out of the way. What a real
assistance, in such cases, may another hand afford us ; the helping
hand of a fellow-Christian who has known and faced and sur
mounted the same difficulty himself. And how intricate some
times is the choice of paths, as we thread the labyrinth of life !
What a real assistance, in many eases, may the voice of a friend
afford us, if he can say, / liave tried many of these jxiths, but this
is the right one : do not follow that ; it will lead you into a morass:
do not follow that ; it will lose you on the dark mountains : take
this : this is the way, walk thou in it. And how heavy some
times is the weight which we have to carry ; how it oppresses
our frame, how it bows down the back, how ii makes us faint and
cry out for weariness as we totter along the way ! What a real
assistance, at such times, is the offer of a Christian friend to share
the weight with us ; to relieve us by his brotherly sympathy, and
thus to fulfil the law of Christ. And how arduous sometimes is
the work which has to be done ! What a multitude of separate
duties, no one of which can safely be neglected, does the opening of
a new day sometimes unfold to us ! how unequal sometimes is the
strength, bodily, mental, or spiritual, to cope with all these ! And
then what a real assistance it is, if some known and tried voice
will offer to divide them with us ; will say, / think I can do this
for you : let me go here for you or go there ; and between us, per
haps, we can accomplish that to which, alone, you are unequal.
And how difficult, sometimes, is the discernment of truth ! how
puzzling the adjustment — for a thoughtful mind, bent upon truth
and impatient of darkness — of the conflicting elements of Scripture
doctrine ! how painful to be obliged to say, It is too hard for me :
I must give it up : all is confusion . there is no light I What a
real assistance, at such times, may be the voice, in public or in
private, of the well-instructed and the sympathizing teacher, who
can bring into the dark chamber the lamp of discernment and of
revelation, unravel the tangled web, draw harmony out of discord,

416 TRANSMISSION OF TRUTH.
reconcile the jarring elements, and justify the ways of God
to men. Yes, in all senses, the office of Christians towards each other
is a work of helping. If they are not there to do it, there is a
Holy Spirit who can work alone. But it is their business to be
there. It is the business of each one of us to help another. O,
if we looked with a Christian's eye upon the scene around us ; if
we rightly understood the momentous issues of life and death
contingent upon earthly existence ; if we really felt what
ignorance is, what temptation is, what sin is, in itself and in its
consequences ; if we could at all put ourselves in another's place,
and feel everything as we should feel it if it affected ourselves ;
how great a difference would be made in our thoughts, in our
words, and in our conduct. What a definite purpose would be
given to our now desultory life. What a tender interest should
we feel in distresses and dangers which we now pass by unre
garded. What a privilege should we think it to be permitted,
much more to lie commanded, much more still to be specially
commissioned, to give help one to another. What zeal would be
given to our efforts for the relief of pain and sorrow, for the
communication of knowledge, for the cure of sin. Let the
words sound in our ears, until at last God plants them in our
hearts, My work on earth, whatever I am in station, is a work of
helping : and it is the same work which Christ Himself, which the
Holy Spirit Himself, came and comes to perform.
Happy are we, if any one can call us, even as St Paul called
those two persons of whom we have spoken, his helpers in Clirist
Jesus; if there be any one upon earth, who owes to us the
removal of one obstacle, or the lightening of one burden ; much
more, his conversion from error and the saving of his soul ; his
first and decisive turning from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan unto God.

LECTURE IV.
THE GOSPEL TEST.
Acts xix. 2.
Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?
A searching question, my friends ! God grant that it may
press upon us as it ought.
It was first put by an Apostle; and we must see what it
meant on his lips.
St Paul, after a circuit through the congregations of Galatia
and Phrygia, briefly mentioned in the preceding chapter, at last
reached Ephesus. He had promised this visit, and was received
(we cannot doubt) with expectation and with respect. Two
friends were there awaiting him, Aquila and Priscilla. They
had been preparing his way by private influence : and in one
instance at least, they had been permitted to equip a faithful
soldier for the army of the Lord Jesus Christ. Very probably
St Paul at Ephesus, as before at Corinth, abode with them and
wrought. He reminds the Ephesian Elders, in his address to
them subsequently at Miletus, that his own hands had ministered
to his necessities during that prolonged abode in their city of*
which we are to read the beginning tonight.
But it is upon his ministry, not upon his circumstances, that
our eyes are now to be fixed. How did that ministry begin?
What was the nucleus of that community, to which and of which
V. 27

418 THE GOSPEL TEST.
such excellent things are spoken in the great Epistle to the
Ephesians ?
St Paul was (in the best of all senses) a 'waiter upon
Providence.' He did not rush into a city with a ready-made
lecture or sermon, and deliver it amidst scoffing and mocking
crowds in the chief place of concourse. When he reached a new
scene of labour, he thoughtfully surveyed the opportunities
which it afforded to his Gospel. Was there any family, or any
body of persons, in that place, prepared in any degree for its
reception ? Who was there who already believed in the one
true God ? Who was there already in possession of that inspired
Scripture, which, even in its earlier and darker half, is able by
God's grace to make men wise unto salvation ? To that house, or
to that community, he first applied himself. Jesus, he said, had
come from that God ; Jesus, he said, had fulfilled that Scripture :
He was the promised Saviour, the expected Redeemer : they
were looking for Him, and He was come : by such signs — of
power and of wisdom and of holiness, of words above man's and
works above man's, of a life such as man never lived, and then
of a victory over that grave which is the end of all living — by these
things he proved Himself to be man's hope and man's rest and
man's satisfaction, strength and life : and I, I who speak unto
you, am His witness : I have seen Him alive after death : I have
seen Him, and He has spoken to me, and He has sent me. That
was St Paul's method wherever he found himself. His object
was not to create a nine clays' wonder, but to lay a solid
foundation for a real and abiding superstructure ; a foundation
of unassailable truth, and a superstructure of unassailable faith.
To him twelve men, really convinced and thoroughly changed,
were worth whole crowds of surprised and amazed and admiring
auditors, who came to wonder and departed to forget.
. The Church of Ephesus was founded on this principle.
Twelve men formed its nucleus. And we are told exactly in
what state St Paul found them, and exactly how he dealt with
them. They were already disciples. They used the name of Jesus :

THE GOSPEL TEST. 419
they not only knew of a Messiah, but they believed that the
Messiah was come. Here then all was prepared for the Apostle's
teaching. Here was more than a synagogue ; more than the
possession of the Old Testament Scriptures : what lacked they
yet? He came among them with a single question ; and it was the
question of the text. Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye
believed? or more precisely, Did ye receive the Holy Sjnrit after
believing ? Did ye, after coming to faith in Christ, receive that
outpouring of His Holy Spirit which is the sign and seal of His
chosen ? That was the question. It was a very definite question.
It referred to a gift which could not come without their knowing
it. And it referred to a gift which ought to have come, not
only in a marked way, but at a certain particular time ; as we
shall see presently.
The answer was as plain as the question. They said, We
have not so much as heard, or, IJre did not even hear, we were not
even told, when we first believed in Jesus Christ, whether there
be any Holy Glwst.
Now it was impossible for any reader even of the Old
Testament Scriptures to be ignorant of the existence of the Holy
Spirit of God. The very second verse of the Bible speaks of
Him. Creation itself presupposed and demanded Him. Darkness
rested upon the chaotic deep, till the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters, and brought discrimination, order, and
beauty, out of the formless and shapeless and lifeless mass. And
the devotions of holy men of old recognized more than the mere
existence of God's Holy Spirit. It was the prayer of the
Psalmist, Create in me a clean heart, 0 God, and renew a right
spirit within me . Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take
not Thy holy Spirit from me : Restore unto me the joy of Thy
salvation, and uphold me with Thy free Spirit : and again, Teach
me to do Thy will ; for Thou art my God: Thy Spirit is good;
lead me into the land of uprightness. All that is good in man
has ever been the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore these
disciples at Ephesus could not literally mean that they did not
27—2

420 THE GOSPEL TEST.
know, that they had not even heard, whether there was any
such Person as the Holy Spirit. What they say is, We did not
even hear, when we believed, whether tliere is such a thing, in the
Gosjjel sense of the words, as the Holy Spirit; whether, that is,
the great promise of God to the Church, as conveyed by His
Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Joel — the promise of a
special outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church of the
Messiah — is yet accomplished and fulfilled.
If any doubt could otherwise have rested upon the meaning
of this question and its answer, it will be removed by a reference
to the 7th chapter of the Gospel according to St John ; where,
after the record of our Lord's great proclamation at the Feast of
Tabernacles, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink:
he that believeth on me, as tlie Scriptare hath said, out of his
inward part, from his innermost being, shall flow forth rivers of
living water; the Evangelist adds, But this spake He of the
Spirit, which they tliat believe on Him were to receive: for the
Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet
glorified. The word given, you will observe, is in italics : it is
no part of the original text : it is added for the sake of explana
tion. The original is just as here ; for the Spirit was not yet — or,
for not yet was there, in the distinctive Gospel sense of the words,
a Spirit — because Jesus was not yet glorified. The great promise,
of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church and in the
days of the Messiah, was not yet fulfilled ; even as our Lord
Himself said, It is expedient for you that I go away; for, if I go
not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but, if I depart,
I will send Him unto you. The Holy Ghost was not yet come,
because Christ was not yet gone.
Even so it is here. These disciples at Ephesus had not yet
heard of the great day of Pentecost. They had heard of Jesus ;
of His ministry, of His death, probably of His resurrection.
They believed in Him as the Saviour : but they had not yet
heard of the fulfilment of His great promise of the Holy Spirit
to be the Light and Strength and Life of His people.
Not to have heard this proved them to be ignorant of the

THE GOSPEL TEST. 421
very elements of Christian truth. Unto what then were ye
baptized? Christian Baptism is a Baptism into the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Christian Baptism
is the appointed way of admission into that Church in which, as
its very chiefest possession, the Holy Spirit dwells, for the
participation and use of each one of its members. Into what
then were ye baptized, if you have not so much as heard whether
there be any such Holy Spirit 1
The answer explained all. They had only received the
Baptism of John ; that is, of John the Baptist, the forerunner of
Christ ; of him who pointed to Jesus as He walked, and said,
Behold the Lamb of God; but who stood himself outside the
gate of Christ's Church, insomuch that it was said of him,
Notwithstanding lie that is least in the kingdom of heaven, in the
Gospel Church, is greater, in privilege and in possession, than he,
the greatest of the prophets. This Baptism was a Baptism of
repentance, and a Baptism of preparation. It spoke of sin and
defilement ; it spoke and prophesied of cleansing ; it bade all
men prepare themselves for His coming who was the very
Paschal Lamb, the actual Light of the world, the Redeemer and
Saviour of Israel and of man. But it was designed only as a
temporary and a preliminary ordinance; inasmuch as after it
came a Baptism not of water only but of fire ; not of repentance
only and reformation, but of the personal presence of the Holy
Ghost. When tliey heard this, they were baptized into the name of the
Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the
Holy Glwst came upon them; and, as the sign of His inward
grace — a sign needed then, but now withdrawn — they spake with
tongues, and prophesied. And they were, in all, about twelve men.
Thus were fulfilled in them those words afterwards addressed to
the same Church from a Roman prison, In whom (Christ) also,
after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the
promise ; who is the earnest of our inheritance, unto (to secure) the
actual redemption, by resurrection, of the purchased possession,
unto the praise of His glory.

422 THE GOSPEL TEST.
I have sought, my brethren, to explain honestly the original
sense and application of the text, as spoken to the twelve
Ephesian disciples. They were not ignorant of the name or of
the influence of God's Holy Spirit in that sense in which He is
the Author of all good in the hearts of men. What they were
ignorant of was His special communication of supernatural gifts
and of distinctively Christian graces to ' the Gospel Church of
God. It is a humiliating thing to say ; but I can almost fear
that this distinction itself is beyond some of us. I fear that, to
make the matter at all suitable or at all intelligible to our hearts,
we must disregard the difference which has now been pointed
out, and say, in any sense, the very humblest of all, to those who
are here present this evening in the sight of God, Have ye
received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? Happy if any of us
can return a better answer to the enquiry than (in its literal
sense) that which is here written, We have not so much as heard
whether there be any Holy Ghost.
The miraculous gifts of the early Church are withdrawn.
Withdrawn, we believe, chiefly because they had done their
work. Withdrawn, because it became Him, who doeth all things
wisely as well as graciously, not to retain as wonders things
which had lost their necessity as signs. They who will not hear
Moses and the Prophets, Christ and His Apostles ; they who
will not be convinced by the experience of Christian lives and
Christian deaths witnessed through eighteen long centuries of
the Church's history ; they who will not be awed by God's terrors,
nor drawn by God's mercies, as they feel the one and the other
in the course of His Providence, the workings of conscience, the
revelations of His word, and the strivings of His Spirit ; neither
would they be persuaded, however they might be startled or
stupefied, if foreign tongues were to be spoken, unlearnt, by
modern Missionaries, or sudden predictions of an impending
Advent were to interrupt Sunday by Sunday the utterance of
the Minister or the devotions of the congregation. These
miraculous gifts are gone by : and we could neither pray for
their revival, nor even reproach our faithlessness with their

THE GOSPEL TEST. 423
cessation. It is in His ordinary rather than in His extraordinary
gifts that we trace the hand of God now. No man is left
altogether destitute of God's gifts, who has the Spirit of repent
ance, of faith, and prayer. That man has a power, the greatest
of all powers, with him and in him still. That man may well
say that he has received even the gifts of the Holy Ghost since
and because he believed. But the miraculous gifts are with
drawn. Now as there is a gift which none of us in these days possess,
so there is a gift with which all members of the Christian com
munity are endowed, till they utterly quench and sin it away.
We do believe that Christian Baptism is not in any case a mere
idle form. We pray in that Service for the regenerating influence
of the Holy Ghost : and though we cannot define the nature of
the answer, we do believe that there is an answer ; that no
baptized person is exactly in the position of the unbaptized,
either in point of advantage or in point of responsibility. Certain
we are that God's promises are personally sealed upon him, in an
ordinance of Christ's appointment : certain we are, that at least
God is accessible to that person, regards him as a child of the
covenant, and is ready to bestow upon him (in answer to his
prayer) every one of the manifold gifts of grace.
I wish to put aside these two applications of the text ; the one
as impossible for any, the other as certain for all ; the miraculous
gifts of the Spirit as gone by, the baptismal gift of the Spirit
(whatever it be) as ours without question ; and thus to clear
the way for the practical and most solemn enquiry, Have ye
received the Holy Ghost, in His graces, in His individual and
personal influences, in those things which all may have now
and yet which not all now possess, since ye, ye yourselves,
came to believe ? It is in reference to these graces, most certainly,
most distinctively, of all, that the words of the great Apostle
were written, Now if any man have not tlie Spirit of Christ, he
is none of His.
I need say to no one here present, that in this respect the
Holy Spirit is only where He acts ; and that, where He acts, He

424 THE GOSPEL TEST.
shows that He is acting ; and that, where He shows His operation,
it is by signs of a certain particular nature, written down for us
(that we may all know them again) in Holy Scripture. Thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and
whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit. And
you are all familiar with one place in Holy Scripture, where the
chief signs of the Holy Spirit's working in a man are brought
together and as it were counted over. That passage is found in
the 5 th chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians. I cannot
enumerate tonight all those qualities which together are there
called the fruit of tlie Spirit, and contrasted in detail with the
works of the flesh; the signs of Divine renewing grace, with
the indications of fallen and corrupt nature. I will select almost
at random just three of them, to serve as heads of enquiry, when
we are asked by St Paul, and by One greater still, Have ye
received — hast thou received — that Holy Spirit, which all who
believe in Christ were to receive ?
1. The fruit of the Spirit is joy. Are you happy ? the text
says. You do not look so. Your brow is often overclouded ;
you seem anxious ; you seem ill at ease ; you are often irritable,
hasty, discontented, almost quarrelsome. I know that you have
an excuse for this : you say your circumstances are perplexing ;
trade is bad ; a livelihood precarious ; the sky of the future dark
and lowering. St Paul might have said many things of this kind.
When he begins to speak of his life, you would almost think he
was of all men most miserable : he did not occupy a home, he had
no loving wife, he had no prospect of a time of rest when, after
many troubles and tossings, he might sit down in peace and
expect a tranquil end. In every respect but one, I will venture
to say, St Paul was worse off than you. And yet St Paul could
say when he was asked, Hast thou received the Holy Ghost I Yes,
for I have joy : I am filled with joy : I am exceeding joyful :
yea, I can glory in tribulations also. The fruit of the Spirit
is joy. If a man has the Spirit of Christ, in the same degree he
is a happy, yes, a joyful man. My friends, do not put away from
you this first test. If at first sight it is a strange one, or if you

THE GOSPEL TEST. 425
think it one of the latest and most exceptional signs of the Spirit,
still on reflection you will find it worthy of all acceptance : for
could anything so recommend the Gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, to a man living in a troublesome world, as this fact, that
it offers him joy? joy at once? joy every day? joy in sorrow?
The man who has knelt down to pray disconsolate and sad in
heart shall not rise again, if he prays through Jesus Christ, and
if he prays for the Spirit, without having felt his burden unloose
itself and roll off from him ; without being able to say, in some
real though humble manner, Yes, the fruit of the Spirit is joy.
And if the glory fades again ; if the world comes in upon him, or
sin, or the devil, and overcasts and overclouds this bright day
within; at least he knows whither to come back to regain his
joy : he must kneel down again, and pray again, until at last
he can say, Now I can obey the charge, Rejoice evermore, because I
can understand that other charge, Pray without ceasing. The fruit
of tlie Spirit is joy.
2. Again, the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. Are you kind?
Do you think of the feelings of others ? most of all, of those of
your own house ? Do you never allow in yourself that miserable
excuse, It is only my way: I know that I am sharp and hasty and
unreasonable and provoking : but it is only the manner ; it is only
the outside : I do not mean it ? We read again, and let us think
of it, Tlie fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. There are other words
in the list, of the same character. The fruit of the Spirit is love.. .
The fruit of the Spirit is longsuffering . . .Tlie fruit of the Spirit is
goodness... The fruit of the Sjnrit is meekness. Yes, not only this
passage, but every part of the Gospel, is full of this topic. And
how bright would human life be, by comparison, if it also were
full of this maxim, The fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. Alas,
where is the house in which some ungentle spirit is not more
or less marring the general tranquillity? Even good manners,
even refinement of mind, even the polish of social intercourse
and high breeding, cannot succeed in doing thoroughly this work
of the Holy Spirit. Other things break down somewhere : they

426 THE GOSPEL TEST.
who are courteous to strangers are not always courteous at home :
they who are agreeable to equals are not always considerate to
servants : there is a want and an inconsistency somewhere in all
these : it is only that power which dwells within, that Divine
Spirit which touches the very spring of being, which can make
gentleness uniform, make it genuine, and make it heart-deep.
The fruit of the Spirit is gentleness.
3. Finally, the fruit of the Spirit is temperance. It is a
larger word in the original : self-control, self-command, self-
mastery, self-rule. It is not one appetite only which it rules :
it is all the appetites. It is not that counterfeit spurious
virtue which casts out one evil spirit by the help of others,
and compounds for pride and contempt and self-righteousness
and utter ungodliness by deifying one single abstinence into
man's sole virtue. It is the grace of self-rule. It is the power
of saying No to inclination. It is the not being brought under
the power of anything, save the law of God, save the love of
Christ. It is the firm resolution, and the strength to act upon
it, to do nothing and to say nothing and to think nothing which
reason and conscience and revelation discountenance or disapprove.
And who shall say that this too is not a fruit of the Spirit?
Who has got this without being a Christian ? Yes, I know there
are abstemious men, and temperate men, and regular men, and
moral men, without a spark of true Gospel light or love within
them : but I say that even such men break down somewhere :
either they are proud, or they are selfish, or they are cold, or
they are unloving, or they are uncharitable : they are not men of
self-control, when that word is made to include all duty and all
virtue : for without godliness there is (in the Scripture sense)
no such thing as temperance : he who is absolutely to rule himself
must, first, be redeemed by Christ Jesus, and, secondly, possessed
by the Holy Spirit. 'Tlie fruit of the Spirit is temperance, and
temperance, being interpreted, is the grace of self-control.
My friends, I commend to your earnest study the three tests
briefly touched upon this evening. Ask yourselves, be not afraid

THE GOSPEL TEST. 427
to ask yourselves, Have I received the Holy Ghost ? Remember,
the gate is not yet locked and barred against you ; the gate of
promise, which is the gate of prayer. Blessed for ever in the
congregations be His Holy Name, who has made this, and this
only, the condition of His unspeakable gift,
To HIM THAT KNOCKETH IT SHALL BE OPENED.

,1 .1,

• It

LECTURE V.
THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY.
Acts xix. 20.
So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
Some persons are ever on the watch for points of difference.
They feel an unamiable pleasure in thinking themselves wiser or
better than another : and even when they would do good, they
do it chiefly by finding fault. The sense of superiority is grati
fied, and the honest desire to win souls is not in them.
How unlike him whose ministry is portrayed for us in this
Book ! St Paul, when he taught, ever started from some point
of agreement ; and when he would correct, always began with
something which he could commend.
The remark is appropriate tonight. Observe his course at
Ephesus. We saw him, last Sunday evening, looking round (as
it were) on his entrance into the city, and arranging for himself
the order of his operations. Is there any one in Ephesus who
agrees with him entirely ? any one whom he can live with and
work with altogether as a Christian brother? Yes, there is his
new friend Aquila : with him and his excellent wife he can
share every feeling : perhaps here, as at Corinth, he even abode
with them and wrought. Who next ? Who goes some way, if
not the whole way, with him, in religious faith and practice?
Are there any persons in Ephesus already called disciples ? Yes,
there are twelve men, who know something of the way of the

THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY. 429
Lord : to them he will first address himself, treat with them on
common ground, and lead them on into the higher doctrine of
Christian Baptism and of the Holy Spirit. Thus the way is
made sure as far as it goes. A man who would do God's work
must first see how far Gocl has done it to his hand. If there is
one who is only defective, he must not be treated as if he were
outside the pale : he must be taken up where he is, and carried
onward. Next, there are those who, though not believers, in
the Christian sense, have yet a true knowledge and a true faith
so far as God Himself is concerned. There are those who have
the Old Testament Scriptures, and think that they possess in
them the materials of eternal life. To their synagogue therefore,
in the third place, St Paul wends his way, and for three whole
months is chiefly occupied in arguing with them, out of their
own Scriptures, that Jesus is Christ. The Hope of Israel is come,
and I am His messenger. It is not until the Jews as a body
have decisively taken their line, and have begun openly to
calumniate the truth of Christ before the multitude, that he
departs from them and separates the disciples, transferring his
daily instructions concerning the kingdom of God to the school of
one Tyrannus ; probably a teacher of rhetoric or philosophy to
the youth of Ephesus. Henceforth the Church and the syna
gogue are two, not one : the Jews of Ephesus, like the Jews of
Jerusalem, have had their opportunity : they have not known the
time of their visitation, and now, if they enter at all, they must
enter as a remnant, enter as individuals, and enter with the crowd.
For two years this continued, until the word of the Lord Jesus
was preached throughout all Asia ; spreading, by the ministry
both of St Paul himself (it is probable) and of his immediate
converts, through the whole of that portion of the western coast
of Asia Minor to which the name of Asia (in its most limited
meaning) was appropriated, and in which were now beginning to
be planted those seven Churches of Asia to which the last
revelation of the risen Saviour was communicated some years
later by the beloved disciple St John.
I stop you, my friends, for a moment, at this point, to ask

430 THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY.
your attention to two single expressions in the verses just
touched upon.
The subject of St Paul's persuasions in the synagogue of
Ephesus was a thing called the kingdom of God. It was the
establishment of this kingdom ; its nature, its laws, its privileges
and immunities, most of all, its Sovereign and its subjects;
which St Paul took for his constant text before that audience
of three months' duration. Tlie kingdom of God. That same
kingdom for the coming of which we pray whenever we utter
the Lord's own Prayer. Thy kingdom come. That kingdom of
which our Lord said, It is within you; and St Paul himself to
the Romans, It is righteousness, peo-jce, and joy in tlie Holy Ghost.
Surely no question can be more urgent for a Christian congrega
tion than this, Am I inside that kingdom in heart as well as in
form ? Is God my King, in the sense of One who is within me by
His Holy Spirit, working in my heart His great yet secret work
of righteousness and peace and joy ? If not, I may be called a
Christian, but Christ's own word tells me that I am none of His.
And then there is another name for the thing to which St
Paul called them. His opponents, the unbelieving Jews, spake
evil of that way, more exactly, of the way, before the multitude.
The Christian doctrine and discipline is called a way ; a road, or
a journey. Our Lord Himself calls it a narrow way, to be entered
upon through a narrow gate. But take it as a way ; a road of
some kind ; and your life as a journey — a journey of some kind —
along it. I do not ask now what its characteristics are ; steep
or level, rough or smooth, short or long, easy or difficult. I only
ask, Are you in a road? Are you taking a journey? Yes, I
know life without Christ is a journey ; a journey with circum
stances, and a journey with events ; a road marked by its
milestones, and a road with a grave for its end. But evidently
Christ's way is something more than this common one; something
definite and distinctive, which only true Christians tread. In
short, a Christian has not only to get through the life of this
world, bearing its troubles as he may, and by slow stages
reaching its close : but he has a rule to travel by ; the rule of

THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY. 431
Christ's word and Christ's will : and he has an end to make for ;
the recompense which Christ has promised, the rest which God
has prepared in heaven for His people. Are you aware of any
such difference between yourself and a person who knows only
the life of this world ? Are you living by any rule of Christ's, or
making for any destination on the strength of Christ's promise ?
In this way we must try ourselves whether we are in any sense
in the faith.
A singular scene now opens.
Every great city has its peculiarities. We have noticed on
former occasions the characteristics of some of those cities to
which the Gospel came by the hands of St Paul. We have seen
how it faced the philosophers of Athens, and the merchants and
voluptuaries of Corinth. Ephesus was a different place from
either of these. It was an Asiatic, not a European city. It
was a city with one dominant superstition, the worship of the
goddess Diana ; and with a host of smaller superstitions growing
out of it. In particular, it was the head-quarters of magical art.
All sorts of charms and incantations were devised and sold there.
Amulets which were to preserve men from bodily danger, and
formulas which were to ward off demoniacal fascination, con
stituted no unimportant part of the very trade of Ephesus.
Mysterious symbols, called Ephesian letters, copied (I believe)
from inscriptions on various parts of the great tutelary idol, were
purchased and carried about as a safeguard to the possessor from
perils ghostly and bodily. ' The study of these symbols was an
elaborate science : and books, both numerous and costly, were
compiled by its professors.'
Here then was a new field for the operations of the Gospel.
When Moses was confronted with the magicians of Egypt, he
first beat them on their own ground, and then led the way where
they could not even pretend to follow. Up to a certain point we
read that the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments ;
imitated and rivalled his wonders : at last they endeavoured, but
they could not ; and then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This
is the finger of God. It was somewhat thus with the sorcerers of

432 THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY.
Ephesus. A credulous age was caught by their pretences : the
world was full of vagabond exorcists : every eye was turned to
prodigies and their interpretation : the natural consequence, at
all times, of the loss of that true spiritual communication which
is with God only. Generals, statesmen, and kings, of that
generation, might have used the language of Saul when he made
his unholy application to the witch at Endor, God is departed
from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor by
dreams : therefore I liave called thee, that thou mayest make known
unto me what I shall do. A truer art has' taught us where and
how alone the guiding hand can be sought and found. But to a
race sunk in such superstitions it was needful that the Gospel
too should assert its miraculous strength. Just as scrolls and
rhymes were thought powerful against calamity, even so it pleased
God to work in this one place special miracles — powers, the
original language calls them, not the ordinary — by tlie hands of
Paul: marvels of supernatural healing, wrought, without word
or even presence, by means of handkerchiefs or aprons brought
from his body. Just as the hem of our Lord's garment was on
one occasion the medium of conveying a medicinal virtue to a
distressed and suffering woman ; so here also the instrument of
healing was not a voice or a hand, not even, as we read in the
5th chapter, the shadow of an Apostle passing by ; but clothes
brought from his body, the application of which gave health to
the sick, and deliverance to the possessed.
And why not ? God wrought by the hands of Paul : when
God works, who shall let ? If He works by means, if He works
without means, if He works against means ; alike in every case He
works with wisdom, works with authority, and works with success.
Let us not cavil, but adore. Let us learn, and not judge. He hath
done all things well.
It was natural that imposture should try its hand at a work so
remarkable. Evidently the name of the Lord Jesus was St Paul's
one charm. St Paul never left it in doubt whence his power
came : it was God's power, not his : it was used in Christ's name,
not his own. Thus some of the vagabond Jewish exorcists — some of

THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY. 433
those professed wonder-workers who wandered about the cities of
Asia, making a trade of their sorcery in the pretended disposses
sion of evil spirits — attempted to name over those who had the evil
spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus
whom Paul proclaims. They tried the effect of this all-powerful
name, when uttered by their own unbelieving lips. My friends,
it is playing with edge-tools to preach a Gospel — still more, to try
practical experiments with a Gospel — which we ourselves do not
believe. It was so with these Jews. One particular family, of
seven brothers, sons of a person described as a Jewish chief priest
— that is, we may suppose, the principal Jewish priest residing at
Ephesus — is mentioned as having attempted this spurious exorcism.
But on one occasion, when two of them were using the sacred
name over a man possessed, they were answered in awful tones
by the evil spirit itself, Jesus I know, and Paul I know : but who
are ye ? The possessed man, with the united strength of a mad
man and a demon, flung himself upon the two brothers, and drove
them from the house naked and wounded. The rumour of this
defeat spread through Ephesus ; carrying with it the assurance
that this was no new superstition added to the already crowded
wonder-market of Ephesus, but a serious and superhuman power
which it was alike fatal to counterfeit and impossible to resist.
And where persons who had already been brought to believe the
Gospel had still continued, even as Christians, to practise the un
lawful arts of sorcery, they now came forward, under the impression
of this terrible event, confessing their deeds, and making a public
renunciation of a traffic to which till then they had clung. And
not only was this the case with the converts of Ephesus : many
of those who had practised curious (magical) arts brought their
books together — -the scrolls upon which the mysterious characters
were inscribed — and burned them before all men, in recantation
of a lucrative but (as it was now seen) unlawful profession ; and
when they attempted to make a computation of the value of the
mysteries thus sacrificed, they found that it amounted to no less
than fifty thousand pieces of silver ; something more than two
thousand pounds of our money.
V. 28

434 THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY.
So mightily grew tlie word of the Lord and prevailed. It was
not a mere skulking creeping progress ; it was not a mere gradual
acceptance, by one and another, of a religion commending itself to
the hearts and minds of men : it was, for once, a mighty — the word
expresses almost a forcible and victorious — growth of the Word :
a great battle had been fought, between the power of truth and
the power of error, and the saying had been verified once again to
the very senses of men, Great is truth, and shall prevail.
The passage on which we have dwelt is singular, as well as
interesting. It seems to inculcate one or two lessons, applicable
to all time, and appropriate to this time and to this occasion.
i . The Word of God, my friends, never tells us that there is
no power and no subtlety in the devil and his agents. On the
contrary, we are prepared to find much craft, and much worldly
wisdom, and much marvel, and much strength too, in the spiritual
powers of darkness. The man in whom the evil spirit is may be a
very strong man; he can overcome and prevail against other men:
there is but one stronger, even Jesus Christ Himself, and the man
in whom the Spirit of Christ is. The revelation of the Man of
Sin, as predicted in the 2nd chapter of the 2nd Epistle to the
Thessalonians, is expressly said to be made amidst all power and
signs and lying wonders, as well as with all deceit of unrighteous
ness for them that perish. Never look, for a test of God's working,
to mere power or to mere wisdom. There is a third element
in God's triple seal ; and if that be lacking, the other two come
not from God, but from God's enemy ; and that third part of
the seal is goodness ; holiness, likeness to God Himself in
His moral nature. Your eye may be caught, in this nineteenth
century, by many a dazzling meteor of wonder and sign : science
itself has its miracles, and designing men will persuade you that
those miracles are just as great and just as divine as any that
first or last authenticated the Gospel : tell them, my friends,
in answer, that such arguments are beside the mark for two
reasons ; (1) because the wonders of science, be they never so
marvellous, come to attest nothing ; are not wrought by One
professing to come from God with a revelation, and appealing to

THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY. 435
them as the proof of His mission ; (2) because they are accom
panied by no such attributes, in the doer, of words above man's
wisdom, and a life above man's holiness, as could alone complete
the triple seal, or prove anything decisively as to their Divine
origin. The Gospel brings all signs of God's working ; not one
only, nor two. Its wonders are not powers only, nor prodigies,
nor miracles : they are signs : they point to God's hand, and they
summon to God's footstool.
2. Jesus I know, and Paul I know : but who are ye ? So speaks
the evil spirit to those who would counterfeit against him the
authority of Jesus. A terrible rebuke, my friends, in all time, to
those who presume to intrude themselves into Christ's ministry
without His faith and without His commission ! Some persons
would turn the whole force of the warning against unauthorized or
self-constituted teachers ; against those who take to themselves
the office of the ministry without being lawfully ordained to it in
this our established Church of England. And no man can value
more than I do the sense of rightful Ordination ; the feeling that
I neither sent myself, nor took to myself this office, but was
appointed, according to the due order of this realm, to the ministry
of tlie Church. It gives a man great strength, if he knows how to
use it, to be a lawfully ordained man : he may well thank God for
it and take courage. But I dare not make this the whole, or
indeed the chief part, of the lesson to be drawn from this terrible
example. A man had better be a self-ordained man with faith,
than the most orderly of ministers without faith. A man wants,
for the due discharge of his ministry, something more than a
parchment title : Satan and his evil spirits do not flee before
that: they can consent to it, and give it place, and yet hold
their own in the very teeth of it. Sincerity, earnestness, zeal
— faith in Christ, hope towards God, love to man for Christ's
sake — these are the indispensable conditions of a successful
ministry : these ought ye to have, and not to leave the other
out. Let us be sure that we ourselves are rid of Satan's posses
sion ; let us see to it that we ourselves not only use the name but
possess the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ dwelling and working
28—2

436 THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY.
within : and then the badge of our commission will be a reality
and a strength : no retort will paralyze our efforts, and no traitor
in the camp of the heart turn our own weapon against ourselves.
Jesus I know, and Paul I know : and ye, even ye, in a later and
a colder and a more scoffing age, may yet be treading in those
sacred footsteps, and recognized, on earth and in heaven, as
ministers by whom men believe.
3. We read here of certain persons, who, though they already
believed, had not yet, not until now, confessed and shown their
deeds. In that great city of Ephesus — if we rightly read the
sacred record — there were for a time men who worshipped God
through Christ, men who came together to break bread with the
faithful, men who shared in the privileges of the Gospel and
professed to be bound by its laws ; but who yet practised their
curious arts ; still carried on in secret the sale of their supersti
tious scrolls, and made what was for them an unlawful gain out of
the credulity, the ignorance, and even the vice, of their neighbours.
It was not until a very startling occurrence broke in upon their
security, that they came forward to say what they had all this
time been doing in secret. When they did come to thorough
repentance, then they showed it by denouncing publicly their
illicit practices, and burning publicly their superstitious books.
They lost money by this, but they gained comfort. It cost them
more than two thousand pounds : money which was thrown (as we
say) into the kennel, and which might . have procured endless
enjoyment for them and theirs : money which (some would say) it
was a sin to waste, for it might have been even used to God's glory.
They judged otherwise. They saw that a critical time had come ;
a time when a man must take his line, and be altogether what he
is to be at all. Therefore the first thing to be done was confession;
and the second thing to be done was conflagration ; the destruc
tion, root and branch, of the cherished but forbidden thing. My
friends, have we yet, all of us, done likewise ? Is there anything
in our hands or in our homes — any practice in our shop or our
office — which we should not like the congregation to see ? anything
(to come closer still in our enquiry) in our hearts or in our lives,

THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY. 437
however secret, which we should blush for man to know, and
which we cannot but be aware that God does know? Young
men, have you all (literally) burnt your bad books? Have
you nothing concealed or locked up, which can minister only
to lascivious and lustful thought? Yes, the precepts of the
Word of God, even in its less obvious parts, are very clear
and practical : and sometimes it is the very unexpectedness
of the admonition, its occurrence in a place where we thought
there was nothing but history and narrative, which makes
it so impressive and so startling. Count not the cost : be it
in money, or be it in feeling ; be it in pain, or be it in difficulty,
or be it even in shame ; come, and confess, and show your deeds :
then go and burn your books : part for ever with the bad habit
or the unlawful gain : and then, then at last, then with a humble
heart and a quiet conscience, then come and offer your gift.
4. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. Yes, if
the Word has sometimes its level and uneventful seasons ; its
years, and its quarters of centuries, of stillness or even of
stagnation in a place or in a Church ; it has also, blessed be
God, from time to time, its resuscitations and its triumphs.
For a while it lurks in corners and in secret homes ; carrying
on, even there, its beneficent work, in hearts penetrated and
purified, tempers corrected and mortified, and duties of life
gently and unobtrusively fulfilled. Even there, even then, the
Gospel has its beauty and its glory : it is still God's witness,
it is still God's presence and God's power below. But these
are not precisely what the text speaks of. It tells rather of shoots
and starts made by the Word ; of battles openly fought, and
victories unmistakeably won. At its darkest moments the Church
has seen a rekindled light : some new champion has caught up the
soiled and trampled banner, and sprung forward to plant it on the
topmost battlement of the enemy. Then a host of men leap
from their lethargy, and a revival and reformation of religion
spreads through a land and a generation. Those are critical and
responsible times ; times indeed of God's visitation, when he who
is not with Christ is felt and seen to be against Him. How is it

438 THE WORD GROWING MIGHTILY.
with us ? how is it at this moment in this town ? Is there any
thing to be called a kindling of the torch of truth amongst us ?
Is there any shaking amidst the dry bones in the valley ? any
rising and returning to tlie Father of our spirits, in deep repentance,
and in earnest purpose of amendment of life 1 May it be so ! It
is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life : and the life
spoken of is the life of an endless age.

ry

,\y

LECTURE VI.
THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT.
Acts xix. 25.
Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
St Paul was an Apostle and an Evangelist : he was not a Pastor
and Teacher. He was the wise Architect, who made the plan of
the great building, saw its foundations strongly laid, and visited
the work now and then in its progress : but he did not with his
own hands shape the separate stones, or fit them into their exact
place in the spiritual temple. It was not in many places that he
stayed so much as a year : to Thessaloniea he gave but a few
weeks, to Corinth a year and six months, to Ephesus from two to
three years. He was in the hands of God in all these things.
Where God opened a door, he entered : while the door stood
open, he stayed. But, with a world for his diocese, he could not
become the resident minister of any one city.
Thus, after almost unexampled successes, the time drew on for
his quitting Ephesus. His immediate object was a second visitation
of the congregations of Macedonia and Achaia ; including no
doubt among these Philippi and Thessaloniea, Bercea and Corinth.
His further view extended to the mother Church of Jerusalem;
and beyond that again, in the remote distance, to the metropolis
of the world, Rome itself.
¦ His preparation for this new circuit was the sending on before
him of two of his companions, Timotheus and Erastus. One
special object of their mission, though not here mentioned, was

440 THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT.
the forwarding of a charitable collection for the poor Christians
of Jerusalem among the Churches of Macedonia and Achaia.
We shall hear more of this hereafter.
To give time for their operations, and doubtless to complete
his own work at Ephesus, he remained himself for a time in Asia.
In his ist Epistle to the Corinthians, written about this period,
he says, / must tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost : for a great door
and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
It was in this interval, after the departure of two of his more
intimate associates, that an event occurred to which St Luke
devotes the remaining verses of the chapter.
There arose at that time, he says, no small stir about the way.
The way is the Gospel. The road in which Jesus Christ teaches
us to go. The Christian's itinerary, or guide of the road, through
earth to heaven. We have read in this book of many such stirs
about the way. At Jerusalem, at Philippi, at Corinth — wherever
the Gospel came — it roused into fierce opposition some element or
other of the fallen nature. It might be vice, it might be super
stition, it might be the pride of reason, it might be the prejudice
of a bigoted religion. In this instance it was a very definite, a
very powerful, though a very low and base motive ; the mere love
of gain ; the selfishness of a sordid cupidity.
There was a magnificent temple in Ephesus, which ranked as
one of the wonders of the world. A former structure on the same
site had been burnt to the ground, by a noticeable coincidence,
during the birth-night of Alexander the Great. It had been
rebuilt with extraordinary splendour : we read of its hundred and
twenty-seven lofty columns, each one the gift of a king : the
Ephesian ladies had given their jewels to its restoration : Alex
ander himself was not permitted — so jealous was the pride of the
place — to inscribe his name upon the temple, though he would
have purchased the honour at the price of all the spoils of the
East. We who know what a fine church may be to a town can
imagine in some faint degree what a temple like theirs must have
been to the Ephesians.
A heathen temple had of course its deity. Inside the temple

THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT. 441
of Ephesus, placed in its shrine and veiled by a curtain, stood a
celebrated image, saved from the conflagration of the former
building, and believed to have originally fallen from the sky.
It was not the graceful figure of the classical Diana, goddess
of archery and of hunting, which was here represented as the
object of worship : it was rather the shapeless form of an Indian
idol, contrasting strangely by its wooden material with the
magnificence around, and exhibiting in repulsive imagery the
genial influences of an all-sustaining Nature. Yet this rude
and (to our conception) hideous object was the centre and
rallying-point of all that was sacred in the associations of
Ephesus. And superstition in Ephesus had also, as elsewhere,
yet more than elsewhere, its mercantile value. There was a
whole trade, and a thriving one, supported by Diana of the
Ephesians. Small models of the "temple, and of its presiding
deity, were manufactured in precious or commoner metals, and
sold to residents and visitors, as at once sacred mementos and
infallible charms. These are the silver shrines of Diana spoken
of in this passage. Out of this apparently incongruous cause
sprang the tumult which seems at one time to have threatened
the very life of St Paul.
A silversmith named Demetrius, employing a large number
of artisans in this lucrative trade, called together his workmen
and other interested persons, to direct their attention to that
new influence which was beginning to undermine the very
foundations of their system. He briefly reminded them —
eloquence is not wanted where there is self-interest ready to
be inflamed — how they derived all their wealth from this traffic
in shrines, this manufactory of idols ; and how this Paul had
already perverted large numbers, not in Ephesus only, but
throughout all that Asia of which Ephesus was the capital, into
a disbelief of the national religion, saying that they are no gods
which are made with hands. My friends, the paradoxes of one
age are the axioms of another. We can almost smile at the
credulity which could suppose otherwise; which could even
imagine a silver shrine or a silver idol to be in any sense a

442 THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT.
god. Let us be thankful that we live in other days and under
other influences ; and let us pray God, every one of us, that we
may be enlightened to see our own delusions in the form of other
idols, which, if they be not embodied to us in the shape of images
or temples, are only on that very account the more insidious and
the more dangerous.
It is a strong testimony to the extent of St Paul's influence
at Ephesus, that this master-manufacturer should thus describe
the perils to be apprehended from his Gospel. Not only is this
our trade in danger of coming into disgrace, of being exposed as
a mere idolatrous superstition ; but also the temple of the great
goddess Diana is in danger of being despised, and she herself of
being destined to be put down from her magnificence whom all
Asia and the world worshippeth.
So much had the religion" of an obscure Jewish peasant (as
men speak) already effected, its enemies themselves being judges.
It was easy to kindle into excitement a prepared audience.
The hint of pecuniary loss will turn a reasonable man into a
madman. When they heard these sayings, they were full of urrath,
and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. It was a
relief to them to remind themselves and one another of the
majesty of their idol, and to pledge themselves yet again in
express terms to the maintenance of its supremacy.
The excitement soon spread from the workshop of Demetrius
through the whole city. It is astonishing how crowds collect in
a great city : one man fixing a steady gaze upon a single object,
no matter how common or how insignificant, has been known to
fill in a few moments a whole street or square with sympathetic
gazers : how much more when a cry runs through a population of
some slight done to their honour, or some injury impending over
their trade or their merchandise.
The theatre was the gathering-place of the mob of Ephesus :
soon that spacious area was thronged in every part, and the
stone seats, rising tier above tier, in ample circumference, were
everywhere crowded with excited spectators. They had hurried
along with them, in their rush towards the theatre, two of St

THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT. 443
Paul's remaining companions : he himself would have been with
them, to take his share in the danger, and to seize the opportunity
(should it be afforded him) of a word for his Master, but for the
earnest remonstrances of his friends, amongst whom were not
only the Christian converts, but also some of the Asiarchs, or
presidents of the sacred games of Asia, who possessed under that
title a high place among the influential men of the city and the
province. The assembly was one of those tumultuous gatherings,
only to be described in the words of the sacred historian himself :
Some cried one thing, and some another ; and the more part knew
not wherefore they were come together. Such is the contagion of
excitement. An electric spark runs through a whole multitude :
they have one pulse, one feeling, for the moment one soul : and
yet, if you ask any one why he is there, he cannot tell.
The Jewish population of Ephesus seem to have been anxious
to set themselves right with this tumultuous assembly. They
knew that the Christians were too often regarded as a mere sect
of the Jews : at all events they too were by profession and
practice foes to idolatry : a tumult roused against one body
might turn against another : it was desirable that they should
explain, and that they should repudiate, as they might. They
put Alexander forward ; (was it perhaps that Alexander the
coppersmith, of whom St Paul speaks, writing to Ephesus in the
2nd Epistle to Timothy ?) and Alexander would have defended
himself and his countrymen from the imputation of complicity
with the Gospel. But when the audience recognized him as a
Jew, and therefore an enemy to their goddess, they refused to
hear his defence, and, catching up the cry of Demetrius's work
men, could only ejaculate for the space of two hours, Great is
Diana of the Ephesians.
There was one sensible man in office amongst them, and he
gained a hearing at length for the counsels of reason. He
reminded his audience first of all that no one could possibly be
ignorant of the identification of their great city with one cele
brated faith and worship. They need not fear any shock being
given to the national superstition. It was the proud title of

444 THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT.
Ephesus, to be the worshipper — or, more exactly, the temple-keeper
and servitor — of the great goddess Diana, and of her celebrated
heaven-sent image. There was no need therefore for this
vehement assertion of a notorious fact. We can almost fancy a
tone of irony in the magistrate's expostulation. No one will
suspect you, he seems to say, of being lukewarm or indifferent to
that superstition which lodges and clothes and feeds you. This
being so, why this heat and rashness ? Who are these culprits
wliom you have brought to this summary justice ? Have they
robbed your famous temple ? Have they reviled your illustrious
goddess ? If Demetrius and his artisans have any injury to allege
against them, there are assizes periodically held, and there is a
Roman proconsul to hear and judge. If other questions, questions
of order or public peace, are at issue, carry them to tlie lawful
assembly. A tumultuous meeting of this nature not only exposes
your city to censure, but may lead to a formidable interposition of
the imperial power of Rome. By such arguments, of adroit
compliment mixed with cautions not to be trifled with, the
experienced man of authority tranquillized and dismissed the
assembly. At first sight some of those who are here present may
perceive little that is of Christian edification in the long para
graph now brought before them. We are apt to pass over the
addresses of Demetrius and the Ephesian registrar, as containing
no matter of self-application or instruction in righteousness.
And yet, my friends, even this section of God's Word will be
found to teach us something about ourselves, and something also
about Him.
What a selfish being is man ! How he regards everything in
its bearing upon self! Demetrius does not enter into the
question, What is true ? or, What is right 1 or, What is reason
able ? or, What will please God, and bring a man peace at the
last? He only says, Ye know that by this trade we have our
wealth, and ye see that here is an influence spreading which will
gradually destroy it. Upon this one argument all proceeds. A
thing which will make a man one whit poorer in the wealth of

THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT. 445
this world must be opposed, must be put down, must be
punished, whether it be true or whether it be false ! And we
read the argument here, and wonder at its transparent folly.
Yet, my friends, suffer the word of exhortation : it is the duty
of your ministers to hold up the glass to you, that you may see,
in any respect in which it is discernible, your own likeness in the
men of old time. For this purpose were the historical Scriptures
of the Old and New Testament written, that they may give us
types and ensamples of human character as it is in all time. So
let us use them now in this instance.
Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. The
. words have been echoed in every age ; yes, and in our own.
The fallen woman, who plies her weary and wretched trade in
the weakness and wickedness of man, will tell you that it is her
wealth : who will employ her ? but for this she will starve. And
the man who lives by no honest calling ; the man who makes
chance and speculation his business ; the man who makes gain
out of other men's inexperience, and builds his house out of
materials plucked from another's ; will he listen to you when you
speak to him of piety or charity ? Will he turn a ready ear to
the remonstrance which bids him think of God and think of
man, think of the soul and think of eternity ? Is not this, in
substance, his answer to every call addressed to him by the
Gospel, Ye know that by this craft I have my wealth ? A man
must live : and this is my living ? And the publican who suffers
men to drink themselves drunk in his house, and youths and
maidens to dance there night by night till folly perfected has
brought forth vice ; what has he to say but that other men may
afford to be scrupulous, but, as for himself, he has but a poor
living, and he cannot sacrifice ought of it ? By this craft he has
his wealth. And the tradesman, who habitually gives light
weight and short measure ; who cares not if he be paid twice
over, or paid for work not done ; what is his answer to the call
of conscience, when it plies him over and over with the unwel
come admonition, to remember the end ? Is it not this ? It may
be wrong, but every one does so: it may be wrong, but I cannot

446 THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT.
afford to be scrupulous : it may lose me heaven, but I am not rich
enough, or not brave enough, or (perhaps he will say) not good
enough, to sacrifice earth. And so we run on, and run upwards,
from the lower to the higher ranks of our society, and we propose
to each the same question, Are you quite sure that this which
you are doing is lawful ; lawful by the laws of man or of God 1
Are you quite sure that this part of your domestic gains, that
this point in your professional practice, is strictly right, is
perfectly honourable, is absolutely just as between man and man,
is entirely pure and honest as between a man himself and his
God? And we hear, over and over again, in the mutterings of
self-excuse, or even in the throbbings of conscience within, the
selfsame answer : and it is that of Demetrius and his craftsmen,
/ know not whether it be right, but I know that it is convenient :
yes, I know, and you know, that by this craft I have my wealth.
And hence, my friends, ten thousand obliquities, which turn
a man out of the straight forthright path of rectitude and virtue.
It is just these unsettled, undecided, unexamined questions of
right and wrong, which keep many a Bible shut, and many a
knee unbent night and day before God. When shall we be
persuaded that nothing can be in the long run expedient, which
is not also right? that, as the God of the Bible is also the God
of Providence, as the Judge of all the earth is also its Ruler,
as the Lawgiver of the Church is also its Saviour and its
Redeemer, it must be well with those who are on His side?
He can prescribe nothing which is not for our good, and He
must in the end make it to be ill with the wicked and to be well
with the righteous. What a dishonour is done to God, to His
holiness, to His power, to His wisdom, yea, to His love, by
keeping these questions day after day out of His court ; out
of the sight, if it might be so, of His Omniscience ; out of the
cognizance, were it possible, of His law and of His judgment !
We love not to talk too often of godliness having the promise of
the life that now is — in the sense of worldly prosperity being
commonly the reward of the righteous — lest we seem to be
encouraging that bargaining spirit which says to God Himself,

THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT. 447
Deal Tlwu well with me, and I will pay Thee my vows. But we
do well to treasure up instances, which must be familiar to all of
us, of a visible and material blessing vouchsafed to a youth of
innocence and to a manhood of self-sacrifice. I love to recall the
image of one who in his youth, in a house of business in a great
commercial town of England, being called upon to violate what
he felt to be the sanctity of the law of the Sabbath, resigned his
place and his emolument ; began life afresh, casting himself only
upon the promise of a faithful God ; and lived to find himself the
possessor of an ample fortune, which he used in every part to
the honour of God and the furtherance of his Saviour's Gospel.
Another man might have made the same sacrifice, and not
reaped the same recompense below. God giveth not account of
His matters. His promises are now (blessed be His Name)
spiritual and heavenly, not transitory and earthly. But one
thing every man will reap even below, who has the grace to
give up houses or lands, prospects or emoluments, simply and
honestly for the sake of doing God's will and obeying his
Saviour's precepts. That one thing is a quiet conscience ; the
comfort and the dignity and the strength which follows inwardly
upon a truly disinterested act : I call that a fulfilment of the
promise of the hundredfold now in this time : how much more,
when we take in the full significance of the words which follow,
And in tlie world to come eternal life.
And have we not all seen the opposite result ? Have we not
all seen the man who thought only of his craft — the man who
cared not how much he oppressed or neglected the poor ; how
much he disregarded the rule of right ; how much he swerved
from the path of honour undetected ; how much he used, and
how much he extended, inch by inch, the accommodating stan
dard of a worldly morality in worldly business; how much he
slighted God, if he could but plead custom or authority or (what
he timidly and unbelievingly calls) compulsion for doing so —
have we not seen that man go downhill as he went onwards ?
Have we not seen him grow more and more hard and cold and
preoccupied, more and more unamiable and less and less loved,

448 THE LUCRATIVE CRAFT.
more and more passed by and disregarded even in the world for
which he had flung away heaven ? have we not seen his old age
the old age of the unhappy, and his deathbed the deathbed of
the hopeless ? Yes, if that man ever remembers himself then of
the maxim which was his polar star in life, This must I do, this
must I keep, because by this craft alone I have my wealth ; surely,
surely, he curses the day when he began to walk by it : surely he
would fain exchange it, were it not now too late for him — surely
he will entreat his children, with tears and prayers, to exchange
it betimes — for that blessed, that golden rule of the word of
eternal life, Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing that
is right: for that, and that only, shall bring a man peace at the
last. I am not the conscience-keeper of this congregation : in that
matter no man may deliver his brother, nor make agreement with
God for him. But I am appointed to quicken, by the ministry
of God's Holy Word, and in dependence upon God's Holy Spirit,
the operation, in each bosom, of that conscience which is God's
voice within. And I charge it upon each one who hears me to
look well this night into his way and into his doing ; to try and
examine himself as to his mind and as to his conduct in the very
sight of God ; and to cast out of each that which he finds to be
lurking there unhallowed and unblessed, by the help of a prayer,
written surely, of old time, by the inspiration of the All-merciful,
Search me, 0 God, and know my heart : try me, and know my
thoughts : and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me
in the way everlasting.

LECTURE VII.
A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY.
Acts xx. 7.
And upon tlie first day of the week, when the disciples came
togethm- to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart
on the morrow ; and continued his speech until midnight.
When a life is devoted to one work, with no side-aims or crooked
motives, what a simplicity and what a dignity is given to it !
If the work be but a human work, the duties of a profession,
or the service of a country, a single-minded devotion to it will
ensure and command respect. But if the work is God's work,
if the object of life is God's glory, and if the management of life
is God's direction, then its dignity becomes a sanctity, and the
respect due to it passes on into reverence. Then, too, that
observation of Providence which in commoner cases sometimes
shocks us as superstitious becomes a truth and a reality : the
accidents of such a life become signals; its openings for useful
ness become Divine intimations, its sorrows a Divine discipline,
its disappointments a Divine correction.
Such was the life of which we are reading. The tumult at
Ephesus was not a danger only, it was a token. Tlie cloud was
taken up from the tabernacle ; the rest was over, the journeyings
must begin anew.
After the uproar was ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and
exhorted (or comforted) them, and then, having embraced them,
V. 29

450 A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY.
went forth to go into Macedonia. When they persecute you in one
city, flee ye into another : such was the Saviour's order, and thus
persecution itself became one of those signals, those Divine
signals, of which we have just spoken.
The narrative is in this place singularly concise. Just ponder,
my friends, the extent of journeying which these few words
indicate, and the circumstances (as learned from St Paul's own
letters) under which these journeys were accomplished.
He was now acting upon a resolution expressed in the
21st verse of the preceding chapter. Macedonia, Achaia, then
Jerusalem, then Rome ; this was the order which he had pre
scribed to himself for his new travels. And all came to pass :
because these things had all (as it is written) been purposed in
tlie spirit. But how differently, both in order and method, from
that which had been designed !
The historian was not with St Paul in this part of his
wanderings. And so natural, as well as so truthful, is the
narrative of God's Word, that, when St Luke is not present,
we have but a very brief and concise summary of the occurrences
which befell his friend. But for St Paul's own writings, we
should have no idea of all that was wrapped up in this one
journey. Having written his first Epistle to the Church of
Corinth before leaving Ephesus, with a heart full of anxiety
concerning the manifold errors of doctrine and practice which
had already crept into that gifted but unstable community, he
hoped to have met at Troas, before he crossed into Europe, that
faithful friend whom he had commissioned to bring him word
again how his rebukes and remonstrances had been received and
regarded at Corinth. He reached Troas, and the hand of Gocl
was with him. A door, as he expresses it, was there opened to
him of the Lord. But his heart was too anxious to allow him to
enter it. What a touch of humanity is there ! The Apostle
himself is too much depressed to work. Yes, my friends a
touch (we say) of humanity : but might we not say with equal
truth, a touch of divinity? What was that depression? Was
it one of the thousand causeless or trifling despondencies which

A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY. 451
affect and too often paralyze our daily life? Nay, it was a
sorrow about souls ; the souls of others ; of others unconnected
with him save by official ties ; an anxiety about the spiritual
condition of a congregation which was no more to him than any
other; a congregation too which had ill requited his love, and
which many a Christian minister would have renounced almost
with indifference. St Paul could not work at Troas, because he
was unhappy about Corinth. He was human ; grief stopped
his labours : but that grief was a Christian grief ; that human
sympathy was itself divine.
He pressed on into Macedonia, that he might the sooner meet
Titus on his return from Corinth. He did meet him in Mace
donia, and his tidings were full of consolation. The Corinthians,
as a Church, were penitent and obedient. There were still
diseased members : but the body was sound. This was the main
question. All else could wait : the Church was loyal. Under
the first impression of this good report, St Paul wrote, from
Macedonia, perhaps from Philippi, his second Epistle to the
Corinthians. Read it afresh in this connection. Think of him,
whom you have learned to know and to love from the history in
the Acts, sitting down to dictate to his amanuensis those words
of love and tenderness, not unmixed with tones of bold and
manly severity, which lose much of their interest when they lose
their key.
With equal brevity St Luke speaks of his going through those
parts ; implying, no doubt, an extended tour through the regions
of Macedonia and Illyricum ; many a Church revisited, and
many a new Church established ; and then coming into Greece ;
where, on this occasion, he spent three months. Nothing is said
here of Corinth ; nothing of that visit which was to fulfil the
denunciations of his late Epistles — / write to them which heretofore
have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not
spare; of that visit which was to be the opportunity of setting in
order all that was irregular, and reasserting his Apostolical
authority by proofs of Christ speaking in him ; nothing of that
one still surviving memorial of this particular sojourn at Corinth,
29—2

452 A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY.
the Epistle to the Romans, for which the Universal Church has
to thank God throughout its generations, and by which we may
yet learn, concerning St Paul himself, what lofty meditations
and what profound reasonings occupied his inner mind, while he
was sojourning there in the house of Gaius, and prosecuting in
the place and neighbourhood the ministry of the Gospel of Christ.
The writing of this great Epistle, the chief storehouse of what is
distinctively called Christian doctrine, corresponds with this 3rd
verse of the chapter now before us. He came into Greece, and
there abode three months.
It had been his purpose to sail, as before, from the port of
Corinth, and without any intermediate visits to make his way
direct to Syria. But his old enemies, the Jews, bent upon filling
up their sins alway in opposition to the Word of truth, laid a
plot for his destruction, which could only be baffled by an entire
change of route. He therefore retraced his steps by land north
wards, and found himself once more amongst his beloved friends,
the Christian congregation of Philippi.
There too he rejoined his biographer St Luke, as we learn by
the resumption of the first person of the pronoun in the 6th
verse, after its disuse from the close of the 16th chapter. St
Luke appears to have been left at Philippi when St Paul quitted
it after his first visit, and not to have accompanied him again
on his journeyings until the close of that other (probably his
third) visit to Philippi of which we are now reading the brief
record. We sailed away from Philippi after the days of un
leavened bread. The rest of his companions had preceded them
to Troas. From this point onwards we shall have the guidance
of an eye-witness to the end.
One incident of the stay at Troas will furnish us with an
instructive topic of meditation in the words which follow.
Seven days, in all, were spent there. The last of these was
the first day of the week; the day on which we are now assembled
for purposes of Christian instruction, prayer, and praise. Let us
see what a Sunday was at Troas, in the first days of the Gospel,
with St Paul for the preacher, the leader of the devotions, and
the minister of the Sacrament.

A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY. 453
And upon the first day of the week ; not the Jewish Sabbath,
but the day following it ; when we were gathered together to break
bread — I need not tell you what that bread was, which was thus
broken as an act of worship — Paul discoursed to them, being
about to depart the next morning; and he extended the discourse
up to midnight. The dread of long Sermons had not yet fallen
upon the congregations. Their hearts were full of the subject :
and there was a sympathy between the preacher and the hearer,
which made the time of listening pass quickly. From towards
evening, until a late midnight, St Paul was still speaking to
them the words of eternal life. Well can we imagine, from his
recorded Sermons, and from Epistles still in our possession, what
some of his topics were. How would he detail to them, first of
all, the revelations which he had also received, concerning Christ
crucified and Christ risen. How would he set before them one
and but one object of trust; a Saviour dying for our sins, and
raised again for our justification. How would he show them,
again and again, the lost state of man without Christ, and the
completeness of him who possesses Christ. How would he
expose to them the secret workings of their own sins, and the
utter futility of all human efforts, apart from Christ and from
grace, to conquer or eradicate them. How would he point them
to the cross of Christ for pardon, and to the Spirit of Christ for
renewal and life. And then how would he draw out before
them the particulars of Christian duty ; beginning with its work
within, in habits of earnest and life-long prayer ; and passing on
to its work without, in a faithful discharge of every relation, and
in the fulfilment of the all-embracing, the all-explaining, the
royal law, of love to God and love to man. Beyond this, how
would he warn them against the thousand perils and snares
which would ever beset their onward steps, and commend them,
with prayers and tears, to that omnipotent grace of Gocl which
alone would keep them from falling. We who know what was
St Paul's sense of the precariousness of the spiritual life in man,
can trace for ourselves the outlines at least of that discourse
which prefaced, through long hours, the celebration of the Holy

454 A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY.
Communion eighteen hundred years ago in that upper room at
Troas. The whole scene is before us. The room itself is on the third
story of a common dwelling-house : and from it there projects a
recess or balcony over the street or court below. The night
grew dark, and a number of lamps or torches illuminated the
apartment where the congregation was gathered. In the recess,
on a sort of window-seat — the window, or rather the shutter,
open for coolness — sits a young man named Eutyehus, a convert
and a disciple. The heat, and the lights, and the late hour, and
the long listening, bring on drowsiness : the head drops, the
muscles are relaxed : gradually he sinks unnoticed, for every eye
is bent upon the speaker : at last he falls through the open
window — falls from the third story, and is taken up dead. In
the alarm and confusion which follow, Paul himself goes down
that outside staircase which commonly communicated between
the balcony and the street ; and then, finding life extinct, he
follows the example of the Prophets of old, of Elijah and Elisha
after him, and with earnest faith, and doubtless with a solemn
appeal to the God of the spirits of all flesh to give efficacy to the
act, throws himself upon the body, feels the breath come again,
and announces in the name of Christ to the agitated spectators
that his life is in him : the accident was not unto death, but for
the glory of God, that tlie Son of God might be glorified tliereby.
And they brought the lad alive, and were not a little comforted.
Let us see, I said, what a Sunday was at Troas.
i. A Sunday at Troas. What is Sunday? It is not the
Jewish Sabbath ; not a day of gloom and bondage, of restrictions
and penalties ; not a day of meritorious observance or sancti
monious austerity. Sunday is the weekly festival, as Easter is
the annual festival, of our Lord's Resurrection. It is the day on
which we commemorate, to ourselves, to one another, and to the
world around, that greatest of all events, by which earth was
ennobled and glorified, and life and immortality were brought to
light by tlie Gospel. Already in the Acts of the Apostles, in the
Epistles of St Paul, and in the Revelation of St John, we find

A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY. 455
this day marked with a peculiar distinction, as at once the most
sacred and the most joyful. The very place of the fourth com
mandment, standing in the midst of moral rules, of rules
forbidding idolatry, profaneness, murder, adultery, theft ; com
manding reverence and devotion and duty and holiness ; proves
conclusively that there is a moral principle involved, as well as
a positive precept ; proves, in other words, that man needs a
periodical rest for body, mind, and soul, and that God requires of
him as a sacred duty the solemn separation and the religious
observance of such a periodical rest throughout his generations.
The Sabbath is an ordinance of Divine humanity ; an ordinance
testifying of the origin in the result, of the source in the stream,
of the Giver in the gift. Man's restlessness, and man's selfish
ness, and man's cupidity, and man's irreligion, being what they
are, how should man have invented, how should man have
enforced, how should man have consented to or acquiesced in,
the consecration of one day in seven to a solemn rest from
labour, if One greater than man had not originated and had not
prescribed it? Little does the working man, and little does the
poor man, know his own interest, when he secularizes and
profanes the Sunday. Once destroy the sacredness of the day,
and the liberty of the day will follow. Once give the impression
that you have no sense of religious duty in keeping the Sunday,
and, depend upon it, irreligious and unbelieving employers will
soon find reasons for engrossing it, till God's gift perishes from
the earth through the ingratitude of those to whom He gave it.
It may not be true that the day of the Sabbath was ever
expressly or formally changed from the seventh to the first : it
may not be true that the day which we keep is precisely the
Jewish Sabbath, or that we keep our Sunday in direct obedience
to the law of Sinai : but this I say, that the moral law prescribes
a day of religious rest, and that Sunday is, for us, the day so
prescribed. It may be quite true that for a time both the days
were kept, both the Sabbath and the Sunday, in Jewish Christian
congregations ; or it may be that the first Christians, in the
fervour of a new devotion, needed not to keep either, seeing that

456 A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY.
the commonest working day was to them, in those first moments
of an ardent piety, all and more than all that the holiest of
Sundays can ever be to us. But this I say, that to us, living
where we live, and when; so circumstanced, so surrounded, so
influenced, and so tempted ; Sunday is practically a necessity of
existence, if we are ever to win or fight our way through this
world to a better. And this I say, that, as it is a necessity, so
it is also a duty ; that no man can neglect the Sunday and be
blameless : the fourth commandment lives and speaks and
enforces itself still : so long as earth is earth, and so long as
man is man — so long as it is a sin to swear or to kill or to steal
— so long I believe that the consecration of a portion of time, of
one day in seven, to special religious purposes, will be a duty,
and its desecration a sin : he who profanes the Sunday by
business or by dissipation or by idle frivolity, will not be
blameless; will be guilty of sin against God, will be. guilty of
unkindness and cruelty towards the best and highest interests of
man. And he who asks the question, Is it in the bond ? is there
any law of God which binds me under express peiuilties to keep
holy tlie Sunday ? shows himself as incapable of entering into the
spirit of the Gospel, as of estimating the blessings of God's
Providence, and the claims of a far-sighted and a large-hearted
philanthropy. Before the latest of the Apostles had yet ex
changed earth for heaven, the day of which we speak, the day
of which we are reading, the day on which we and the congrega
tions of Christ's Church everywhere are now assembled, was
known already, without ambiguity and without discussion, as
the Lord's own day. / was in the Spirit, St John says, on the
Lord's day.
2. And now as to the employments of this day. Sunday,
we have said, is our periodical rest; enforced, in spirit at least,
by the Divine Law ; endeared, to us all who believe, as the
standing festival of our Lord's resurrection. But it is not
designed to be a day of mere inactivity. The body rests by
repose : the soul rests by action. The weariness of the soul is
its prohibition from its own appropriate pleasures. The weariness

A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY. 457
of the soul consists not in over-work, but in cramping and
compulsory restraint. While the body works, while the mind
works, the soul is coerced and confined : it cannot turn to its
subjects, it cannot rise to its home, it cannot refresh itself in its
relaxations. Therefore that day of rest which the body wants
for relief from labour, and which the natural mind wants for
relief from labour, the soul wants rather for occupation ; for
that occupation which is at once its business, its food, and its
repose ; intercourse with God Himself ; expatiation in the things
of God ; communion with the people of God on earth and in
heaven. i. The congregation at Troas came together, as a matter of
course, on the first day of the week. They came together, no
doubt, for worship. They did not forget that special promise
which is attached to united prayer ; to the concordant requests
of even two or three persons assembled in Christ's name. My
friends, I am persuaded that we need in this place to be brought
back to the simplicity of common prayer. I often wonder — nay,
from the experience of a fallen nature I scarcely wonder —
whether indeed we are praying in common. Two things go to
this : (i) that each one pray, and (2) that each one pray as one
among many ; pray, that is, not his own selfish prayers, but his
part in the prayers of the congregation. If I do not see all
kneel, if I do not see every face buried in profound seclusion, I
can scarcely hope that hearts are engaged : but even where these
signs are not wanting, so subtle is the spirit of evil that I can
almost fear still lest there be no earnest communication with
God going forward ; lest the heart be running on its own little
affairs of business or pleasure, and no contribution be offered
from that quarter to the work which (to be worth anything)
must be the work of many concurrent hearts, of many concordant
and sympathizing souls. God grant that the reflection be brought
home powerfully to some, What is my worship when I come
hither with the congregation on this first day of the week?
ii. The Christians at Troas came together also to hear
preaching. I know you will say, It would be easy to listen if

458 A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY.
St Paul were the preacher : it is because the preacher has
nothing interesting, certainly nothing new, to say to us, that we
find his words wearisome and his Sermons long. Do not think,
my friends, that the preacher's task is an easy one : least of
all, in these days of excitement, of itching ears, of impatient
audiences, and ever changing as well as abounding interests. A
Sermon has become in these days synonymous with dulness : to
preach to a person is another expression for uttering tedious
commonplaces to an unlistening ear. Every newspaper has its
jest at preaching : he is a bold man who enters a pulpit, knowing
that his very office has become a reproach. Nevertheless there
are those who believe that preaching is still, as of old, an
ordinance of God ; believe that the Gospel, familiar as its
central truth is to us, still needs enforcement ; believe that the
earnest words of a faithful man have instruction in them and
carry a blessing from on high after them. There are those who
have found by experience that they are the better for preaching ;
that still, in its humbler measure, preaching, like the earlier and
higher gift of prophesying, is enabled from time to time to search
the hearer's heart and reveal to him its secrets, to carry light
into its dark places, and bring a man to his knees before the
judgment-seat and before the mercy-seat of God. The humble
and earnest hearer shall not go away ashamed ; nor will he go
away to scoff at that instrumentality, poor though it be, because
human and sinful, by which, from Sunday to Sunday, the instruc
tions of Christ are ministered afresh to the congregation.
iii. But, besides united worship, and above listening to
preaching, there was one special object of the Christian gathering
at Troas. The disciples came together to break bread. In the
first instance (if we rightly read the record of Scripture) the
reception of the Lord's Supper was a daily act of the congre
gation. Continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house. Long did it continue the
badge and the privilege of Christians to partake of that sacred
bread and that divine cup once in each week, on its first, its
consecrated day,

A PRIMITIVE SUNDAY. 459
How shall we dare to touch on this subject in a modern
congregation? How many suffer months and years to slip by
without one participation in that ordinance of Christian faith
and love — how many, of those who most need its reproving and
comforting power, of those whose lives are most suffering from
the very want of this close, this personal contact with Christ !
Worship may be disregarded by many : the streets of a town
may be full of loiterers even while the Christian congregation is
worshipping : Sermons may be disliked, despised, ridiculed : few
may be deeply moved by them ; many, even of those who
worship, may go away to criticize or to jest at them. But even
worship, even preaching, is practically honoured far above Com
munion : the Church may be half empty for worship, it is
emptied again before Communion : a little handful, out of all
the congregation, gather for that sacred feast in one corner of
the building, and the bulk of the Church goes its way, bold and
unabashed, before the bread and wine are uncovered upon
Christ's Table. My friends, these things ought not so to be.
They would not be, if one spark of living light were communi
cated to our souls in answer to believing prayer : they would not
be, if our eyes could look onward to judgment, or upward to
our Saviour's throne in heaven. Let us all pray tonight, that
again amongst us, as of old, worship may become a reality, the
word of God a guiding light, and Christ's Holy Supper a
refreshing stay.
He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver ; and He shall
purify the sons of Levi, that tliey may offer unto tlie Lord an
offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and
Jerusalem be pleasant unto tlie Lord, as in the days of old, and
as in former years.

LECTURE VIII.
A PASTORAL RETROSPECT.
Acts xx. 26, 27.
Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from
the blood of all men.
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel
of God.
The Sunday at Troas was ended. Till midnight first, then till
break of day, Paul had preached and talked to those who grudged
not the time to listen. The fall of Eutyehus from the balcony
on the third story, and his restoration to life by the Apostle's
hands, had secured an everlasting remembrance for that farewell
service. When morning dawned, the strangers departed : Gaius
and Timotheus, with the rest of the Apostle's companions, in
cluding St Luke himself, leaving Troas by sea ; St Paul taking
the first stage of the journey in solitude and by land. Even one
whose heart is in heaven needs seasons of retirement. Even one
whose work is all sacred — nay, surely he most of all — needs the
periodical refreshment of his own soul by converse with a Father
and a Saviour in heaven. The twenty miles' walk from Troas to
Assos furnished, we doubt not, such an opportunity to the holy
man whose life we are studying.
Following the windings of that jagged and indented coast
southwards ; sometimes passing and sometimes visiting those

A PASTORAL RETROSPECT. 461
island and mainland towns which mythology and history have
combined with nature herself in making beautiful and famous,
but with an eye (we may well suppose) rather for Gospel
openings than for picturesque or classic scenes ; the little company
at last reach Miletus, on its projecting headland opposite the
mouth of the Mceander. They had passed near Ephesus, without
stopping, the day before. St Paul was afraid of being tempted
to stay, if he allowed himself to revisit that scene of so much
toil and so much interest. He was anxious to reach Jerusalem,
this year, in time for the feast of Pentecost. Last Pentecost he
had been at Ephesus : at Corinth he had wintered : at Philippi
he had spent his Easter : now, by exertion, he might just reach
Jerusalem for Whitsuntide : and at that great gathering of his
nation from all parts of the earth, in the old mother city, he
might hope for work, as he knew himself to be destined to
suffering, in his Master's cause. He preferred therefore to keep
himself away from Ephesus, as though he could scarcely trust
himself within reach of its strong attractions.
But he could not find himself thus within twenty or thirty
miles of that city and its congregation without seizing the
opportunity of some direct communication. He therefore sent
word of his arrival to the elders of the Church of Ephesus, and
requested them to come to him at Miletus to receive his parting
counsels. We see thus early in the Church's history — nay, we
saw it at an earlier point still — how careful a provision was
made by the Apostles for the regular instruction and oversight
of the Christian congregations. The institution of pastors and
teachers is no modern fancy : it is a necessity of Christianity.
The Gospel itself would soon die (humanly speaking) out of
many hearts, if they had not these holy days, and these means
of grace, these prayers and sermons and sacraments, to carry on
from week to week and from year to year the work of good once
begun. Despise not these things : trifle not with them : procras
tinate not : they are for your life.
The passage which follows is one of the most affecting in all
Scripture. It sets before us an Apostle, one who had seen Jesus

462 A PASTORAL RETROSPECT.
Christ our Lord, recapitulating his own work in a particular city.
Incidentally it tells us what the true work of an Apostolic
ministry is in all times and in every place. Thus it gives to the
minister a touchstone of his fidelity. Is this my Gospel ? Is this
my object ? Is this my teaching, and this my manner of life ?
He has to stand before his congregation, as hereafter (nay, as
already) before his Master, to be compared with this standard.
Terrible scrutiny ! fearful ordeal ! God make it less fearful, less
condemning, for us, year by year !
And do not think, my friends, that the shortcomings or
inconsistencies of the minister are any advantage, any cause of
triumph, for the Church, for the temple of God, which temple ye
are. If the ministry is blamed, it is you who suffer. If the
minister is punished, it is because your blood is upon him : it is
because he has dealt unfaithfully with your souls, which are still
in jeopardy of their salvation. Let us then seek, God helping us,
to read these words together, as persons alike and equally con
cerned in them : and may not your ministers, as they read,
address you in that brief, that pregnant saying of the same great
Apostle, Brethren, pray for us?
The first portion of the address will suffice for this evening.
I will give it you, with some accuracy, as it stands in the
original. Ye know — ye, without my telling you— from the first day from
which I set foot in Asia — in that small district of which you hear
so often as bearing distinctively the name of Asia, the district of
the seven Churches of the Book of Revelation, with Ephesus for
their chief and capital — how, in what manner, / was with you, I
behaved myself among you, during the whole time. He appeals
to them, as he does elsewhere to the Thessalonians, as to the
manner in which he had conducted himself during his abode
amongst them : ye know what manner of men we were among you
for your sake.
Serving the Lord. This was the principle of his life. Doing
service, a real and definite and consistent service, to the Lord
Jesus Christ. What a reality is there in the expression ! Does

A PASTORAL RETROSPECT. 463
it not set before us a living Person, the Master of a great
household, the work of which, in all its several departments,
may be done, and has to be done, by living men, as for Him,
under His eye, according to His will, and for His glory ? Serving
the Lord with all humility: not in an arrogant, self-satisfied,
self-asserting spirit, but as one full of infirmity and full of sin,
who can count nothing that he does perfectly done, and who has
every day to confess and bewail many an omission and many a
failure in duty. And with tears: tears of repentence, and tears
of sorrow ; repentance for sins of my own, and sorrow over souls
that will not be saved. And with trials which befell me in the
plots of the Jews. St Paul was everywhere a man plotted against.
His life was never safe. Again and again the Jews drove him
from amongst his congregations by actual designs upon his life.
At Ephesus, in particular, he mentions in the ist chapter of his
2nd Epistle to the Corinthians some tremendous danger to which
he had been exposed. And in the ist Epistle to the Corinthians
he uses a very strong metaphor to express the same or a similar
peril, and speaks of himself as having even fought with wild
beasts at Ephesus. Some of these things are doubtless indicated
in the words now before us : trials which befell me in the plots of
tlie Jews. Ye know then, he says, in what manner I behaved myself
among you in the midst of these trials. How I shrank not, drew
not in, used no reserve, as to any one of those things which were
profitable, from announcing it to you, and teaching you in public
and at your homes, protesting both to Jews and Greeks, asserting
and pressing upon them with all earnestness, repentance toward
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus, (i) He used no reserve :
that is his first statement. He did not consider what would be
palatable, or what would be popular ; how far he could safely go,
and where he must pause, in declarations of truth or enforce
ments of duty. He kept back nothing. His question was not,
What will man like? but, What has God said? (2) Again,
what he was in public, he was also in private. He did not
satisfy himself with preaching, in the synagogue or in the school

464 A PASTORAL RETROSPECT.
of Tyrannus, once or twice a week, a bold and faithful doctrine :
he taught also in their houses : there he expounded to the
half-enlightened the way of God more perfectly : there he brought
home to his less willing auditors truths and duties which they
would fain lose sight of : there he ministered to the sick,
comforted the sorrowful, and bound up the brokenhearted.
Publicly, and from house to house : neither only ; both alike, both
equally. He was in earnest, not only to do his duty, but to
effect a work. (3) And then, his subject. What was the sum
of his teaching? We know, from his own words and writings,
that it was a varied teaching. It was not the dull and monoto
nous repetition of a text or two of Scripture, or of a formula or
two of doctrine. It was a rich and copious stream from a
perennial and an exhaustless spring. But still its main purport,
its direct end, what it sought and what it came to, could be put
into words : and no words so full or so expressive as these,
Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Gospel, when it comes into a man ; when it passes, in any
heart, from a buzzing sound into a living voice ; changes the mind
(for that is repentance) towards Gocl and God's enemy : makes a
man hate as well as dread his own particular, his own besetting
sins ; and makes him desire above all things, not to pacify, but
to please Him, who, notwithstanding all his sins and all his
provocations, has yet had mercy upon him personally in Christ
Jesus. And the same Gospel, thus apprehended, makes a man
believe in Christ : Ye believe in God; believe also in me : makes a
man say and feel, There is such a person as Jesus Christ, who died,
who rose, who lives for me: makes a man live as in His sight, and
see Him who at present is invisible. That sort of sight, that sort
of life, is faith, as the other particular was repentance. The two
together made up St Paul's summary of doctrine, as everywhere,
so at Ephesus.
There are many persons willing enough to hear Sermons ;
admirers of eloquent words, forcible arguments, or lively illustra
tions : but, of these, a large proportion wince, and draw off, and
go back, when the plain demand of repentance comes home to

A PASTORAL RETROSPECT. 465
them, and when the direct test of personal faith in Christ is
closely and powerfully applied. Is it so with any who now hear
me ? Do you repent of your sins as sins against Gocl ? And do
you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Saviour and
Redeemer and Lord 1
And now, behold, I, bound in the spirit; my spirit constrained
and coerced, as it were, thus to encounter all that may be before
me ; am going to Jerusalem, though I know not the things which
shall there meet me; except that the Holy Spirit protests to me
everywhere, city by city, saying that bonds and afflictions await
me. But I make my life of no such account, I regard not my life
as so precious to myself, as I do to complete (in comparison with
completing) my course, and the ministry which I received from the
Lord Jesus, to protest (to assert earnestly) the Gospel of the grace of
God, the joyful tidings of the free favour of God.
And now, behold, I know that ye all, amongst whom I went
about proclaiming the kingdom, shall no longer see my face. My
abode amongst you is ended. Never again will you see me going
about amongst you as your daily counsellor, friend, and guide.
Wherefore I protest to you this day, tliat I am clear from the blood
of all : for I shrank not from announcing to you all the counsel of
God. I can scarcely conceive of any one as reading these words
without a sense even of alarm. For what do they say to us 1
Surely this. God has a will and a purpose concerning men. He
has sent us word of it in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They who
receive that message, embrace God's mercy as there revealed, and
walk day by day in the light of that revelation, shall be saved.
They who refuse it must perish. If it be through their own
rejection of the word faithfully communicated, theirs alone shall be
the punishment. If the messenger himself have been unfaithful, he
too must perish in their ruin. I know these are unwelcome
truths : many in this nineteenth century call them narrow and
old-fashioned : but, till we get a new Bible, we must hear them
in our Churches ; and let us beware lest haply, in despising them,
we be found even to fight against God.
v. 30

466 A PASTORAL RETROSPECT.
We will not think of others : we have enough to do with
ourselves. Let the Judge of all the earth, who must do right,
deal, as His wisdom shall determine, both with the nations
which have not heard of a Saviour, and with the multitudes
who, in a Christian land, live as though that Saviour were
not. Let us look within, not around. Tell me, my friends,
how it is with you. Is it not true still of you, that the
thoughts of your hearts are revealed (as Simeon said of old) by your
treatment of Christ? that, just in proportion as you are strug
gling against your sins, and feeling after God, and diligent
in daily duty, you are also inclined to the thought of Christ,
and to the sense of His mercy, and to the desire for His
salvation? and that, on the other hand, when you are care
less and worldly, when you are unamiable and perverse, still
more, when you are cherishing any bosom sin, then, and in
the same degree, you lose all interest in the Gospel, and at
last even take a positive dislike to Christ? The words are
dreadful to utter : but they are no exaggerated words. The
sinner, who will nurse his discontent, who will neglect duty,
who will (cost what it may) keep his sins, does, by no figure
of speech, feel within himself a real repugnance, a conscious
hostility, to Jesus Christ. He addresses Him in the very lan
guage of the demoniac, Let me alone : I know Thee who Thou
art : come not thus to torment me before tlie time. I say not
how it may be in the secret closets of philosophers and learned
men. I ask not how far they may be described in the language
just uttered. It is not to such men that we minister in this
place. If there be any of them who can reject Christ and
yet love holiness ; if there be any of them who find no con
nection between the revelation of the Gospel and the victory
over sin ; I can only say, their case is not ours : they need
a different treatment, not of this place or time. For us, plain
men, living in the haunts of common life, busied in its trades
and professions, vexed by its changes and buffeted by its temp
tations, I am persuaded that I speak truth when I say that
Christ and religion come and go together ; the question lies,

A PASTORAL RETROSPECT. 467
for us, between carelessness and Christ, between ungodliness
and Christ, between sin and Christ ; lies practically thus, and,
for us at least, thus only.
And therefore I say that, in our case, at all events, the
alternative is as serious, as awful, as St Paul here makes it.
To refuse the Gospel is to refuse life and to choose death.
To trifle or to procrastinate with the Gospel is to trifle or
to procrastinate with the destinies of eternity. To put aside
Christ is to choose sin : and the wages of sin is death. It
is not with the refinements of modern criticism, and it is not
with the intricacies of modern science, that we are concerned
here. The question of faith or unbelief is, for us at all events,
the question of godliness or sin.
Now if they who are charged with the office of elders in
this Church must either be pure from the blood or chargeable
with the blood of its individual members, it must be because
your blood — that blood which is the life, the life of immortal
souls — is critically and fearfully involved in the vital accept
ance of the Gospel. That which is for them so anxious and
so personal an alternative, is only such because it is so anxious
and so personal an alternative for you. They are bound to
declare to you the whole counsel of God : but that is because
the whole counsel of God is connected and concerned with
your salvation.
O, my friends, our interests are indeed one : never let us
put them asunder. Never let us speak or feel as though it
were our office to say, and yours to do ; or as though (on the
other hand) it were our business to find you out, and yours
to escape from us and elude the search. The minister and
the people are more one than you think. He has all your
infirmities, all your difficulties, all your temptations, and some
(he often thinks) of his own besides : some infirmities, and
some difficulties, and some temptations growing out of his
office, and rendering his path yet more steep and narrow
even than yours. He can feel with you in all the distresses
which are common to man : and can you not feel, without
30—2

468 A PASTORAL RETROSPECT.
his saying it, that he must have others also which are all his
own? Think what it must be to him to have to declare to
you, on pain of death, all the counsel of God. Can you not
enter into the trembling anxiety with which he has first to
learn and then to unfold it? Think what it must be to him
to have to speak with authority, where he feels perhaps that
his proper place is that of a learner and of a novice still. Can
you not enter into some of those misgivings which make his
heart fail him as he rises in the congregation to speak with
feeble or stammering lips to some from whom he might hope
rather to hear wisdom? There is no comfort for him, and
no refuge, but in the recollection, as of a strength perfected
in human weakness, so also of a community of interest to be
expressed in an entire sympathy. Let him feel that you are
running, with him, the race of eternal life. Let him feel that
your prayers ascend with his to the throne of the heavenly
grace. Let him feel that it would be no pleasure to you to
hear of his halting, no joy to you to think of his at last
missing his crown. Let him know that you are aware of
his responsibility, and that you sympathize with his anxiety.
And then let him help you. Not for that we have dominion
over your faith, writes even an Apostle, but are helpers of your
j°y •' for ty faith ye stand. The office of the minister is an
office of helping. His life is given to the one work of aiding
others, as God shall enable him, in the work of reaching
heaven. If he rebukes sin, it is because sin would keep you
out of heaven. If he urges faith, it is because witliout faith
it is impossible to please God. If he calls to self-examination,
it is because, if we v>ould only judge ourselves, we should not
be judged. If he pleads for the poor in earthly things or in
spiritual, it is because thus you may lay up for yourselves
treasure in heaven, and find it after many days. Thus in all
things, rightly understood, the ministry of the Gospel, in its
humblest offices and in the meanest hands, is a work of help
ing : a work in which the end and the motive and the means
are all alike Christian faith, Christian trust, Christian charity,

A PASTORAL RETROSPECT. 469
Christian love. Surely then we should all labour together,
that all may at last rest together and be at peace in God.
O that a double spirit of life and love may be poured out
upon the ministers and upon the people ! If the one might be
endued with St Paul's spirit, the other would respond with a
primitive devotion. And without it, we deeply feel, we some
times bitterly feel, no multiplication of means of grace, no
frequency of Sacraments, no iteration of doctrine private or
public, can avail anything. Prayer and pains, prayer and
patience, prayer and waiting, prayer and humility, and prayer
again, these are God's instruments for great works below. Where
these are, God is : and where God is, there is energy and there
is strength. Let us not be overhasty to say, / am pure from the
blood of all men. Where is he who has so prayed and so
ministered, so entreated and so warned, so guided and so led the
way, as that he shall have right to lay wholly upon his flock the
bloodguiltiness of their own ruin ? Rather would we ask of God
such a spirit of self-abasement and of self-accusation and of
self-despair, as shall drive us at last in utter helplessness to the
footstool of His grace, of whom it is written, They that wait
upon tlie Lord shall renew their strength : they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall
walk, and not faint.

LECTURE IX.
THE COMPARATIVE BLESSEDNESS OF
RECEIVING AND GIVING.
Acts xx. 35.
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more
blessed to give than to receive.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves — so the discourse proceeds
from the point reached last Sunday — and to all the flock, in
which the Holy Ghost set you as overseers, to shepherd the Church
of God, which He purchased by His own blood.
Take heed to yourselves, and to the flock. Take heed, writes
St Paul to his beloved Timothy, to thyself and to tlie doctrine:
continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and
them that hear thee. A Christian minister must look to himself,
to his own soul, first, or he cannot give heed to others. All
must move, or all stand still, together : it is only by beginning
at home, by beginning within, that a man can go on, effectively
or even safely, to help and to save another.
The flock. How familiar a figure, yet how expressive ! It is
our Lord's own figure. / am the good Shepherd: the good
Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. The flock is Christ's flock,
and they who minister to it are Christ's under-shepherds. The
Holy Ghost, St Paul says, set them as overseers, overlookers,
guardians, in this flock. They are in it, before they are over it.
They are themselves a part of the flock ; and their own safety

BLESSEDNESS OF RECEIVING AND GIVING. 471
depends, even like that of any other member of it, upon their
being themselves faithful, docile, tractable followers of the one
Divine Shepherd. While they are so, they may regard them
selves as set where they are by the Holy Ghost Himself. His
working within them stirred the desire for this ministry ; and
His grace, pledged to them over again at their Ordination,
qualified, and qualifies them daily, for its discharge.
Their office, as here described,- is that of feeding, or more
exactly, shepherding, the Church of God; God's congregation,
God's assembly, gathered, in any place, by the call of the Gospel,
to hear, to worship, and to obey. To sheplierd tlie Church of
God: to guide them to the right pasture, and also to lead the
way ; to be to them, both by word and by example, both by life
and by counsel, counsel public and private, stated and occasional,
their helpers and their encouragers in the right way that leadeth
to eternal life.
The Church of God, which He purchased by means of His oum
blood. Some read here, the Church of the Lord; afraid, perhaps,
of the unwonted strength of the expression, which speaks of God
as purchasing tlie Church with His own blood. We are not left
to a single phrase or two in the Bible, to prove the glory and
greatness of our Saviour, as being Very God no less truly than
Very Man : we will not cling to any doubtful or ill-supported
authority for the sake of propping up a doctrine which wants
no such ambiguous aid : what Christ is, in His proper Divinity,
we know, not from two or three passages, but from all parts, of
God's Word : and if the Lord rather than God be the correct
reading here, we will close with it without a misgiving. If,
however, it be the case — as many thoughtful and learned men
believe — that our Version is right; that it does stand in the
original the Church of God; then we thank God for it as one
added bulwark of the faith once for all delivered to the saints; we
thank God, I say, for it, and we take courage.
Gather up, before we pass on, the brief yet weighty topics of
this one verse, (i) Take Jieed, so the elders or pastors of Ephesus
are solemnly charged by one who knew, to yourselves. (2) Take

472 THE COMPARATIVE BLESSEDNESS
heed to the flock : to all the flock. (3) You are overseers in it.
Guardians, watchmen, over Christ's flock. Yet not only over it :
in it first. (4) The Holy Ghost set you there. (5) Your business
is to do for the Church what a shepherd does for his flock : to
guide and to lead, to feed and to water, to watch and to protect.
(6) This flock of Christ is also God's Church: and God Himself
purchased that Church with His own blood. If this one verse
were engraven on the heart of each minister, high and low,
young and old, in our own Church of England, what would it not
effect in the advancement of God's kingdom below?
There follows a serious warning as to approaching corrup
tions of the true faith. / know that after my departing grievous
wolves will enter in among you, find their way into your office
and ministry, not sparing the flock. And even from among your
selves will men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them. How soon and how gravely these prognosti
cations of evil were fulfilled, the Epistles addressed by St Paul to
Timothy at Ephesus, the Epistles of St John written probably
from Ephesus, and the address of our Lord Himself to the
Church of Ephesus in the Revelation of St John, bear too full
and too sad a testimony. It is a terrible thing when the
dangers of any Church arise from within it; when, in addition
to the ordinary perils of Christian faith and Christian practice
in a world still too much lying in wickedness, any of the Church's
own teachers become unfaithful to their high trust, and help to
shake the foundations of that building which they ought to be
evermore adorning and strengthening. Such was the misfortune
of the Church of Ephesus : is it in any sense our own ?
Therefore watch. If from within, as well as from without,
such dangers as these are imminent, it well becomes the pastors
of the flock to be ever diligent and ever wakeful. Remember,
St Paul says to them, my example. Remember that by the space
of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with
tears. There must be something serious in life, and something
formidable in eternity, if this kind of perpetual, personal, sor
rowful warning was judged necessary or reasonable by St Paul.

OF RECEIVING AND GIVING. 473
And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace,
which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance
among all them that are sanctified.
There are times when we feel that nothing can support, and
nothing help, and nothing strengthen or soothe, but the one
thought of God Himself as a near, an ever-present, an Almighty,
and an ever-gracious Friend. / commend you to God. I place
you in God's hands. Words soon spoken, but how full of
meaning at certain times ! Times of great anxiety, when man
has tried all, and failed ; times of extreme peril, when life or
fortune hangs on a thread ; times of intense sorrow, when the
iron enters into the very soul, and the voice of the earthly
comforter sounds in our ear like an impertinence and a mockery ;
times, most of all, of bitter parting, when the long-tried pastor
must leave his flock for ever, or when the father or the mother
of a family lies on the bed of death, and sees around it a number
of little children who must learn henceforth to tread the path
of life and face the storms of life all alone. Then indeed the
Apostle's words, And now I commend you to God, have a force
and a reality absolutely all-sustaining.
To God, and to the word of His grace. It is not a vague
trust which is thus exercised. God has spoken ; spoken a word
of favour and blessing to His sinful and helpless children. /
commend you to God and to the word of His grace : that is, to
God who has made a promise ; to God who will have all men to
be saved; to God who sent His Son into the world to save
sinners ; to God who promises His Holy Spirit to them that ask
Him. He is able to build you up : able to raise upon the good
foundation the good superstructure : able at last to give you
your inheritance among all those whom He has first consecrated
and sanctified.
Such, he says, are my deepest, my truest, heart's desires.
I have no selfish, no worldly aims. Silver or gold or apparel
of no man did I covet. Ye yourselves know that to my wants, and
to those who were with me, tliese hands ministered. I showed you
all things, or rather, In all things I gave you a pattern, the

474 THE COMPARATIVE BLESSEDNESS
pattern of my own example, how that so labouring ye ought to
help tlie weak, to give a helping hand to those who on any
account need it, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus,
how tliat He Himself said, Blessed is it rather to give than to
receive. And when he Imd thus spoken, he kneeled down with them all,
and prayed. And they all wept sore, and fell mi Paul's neck, and
kissed him; sorrowing most of all for the word which he had
spoken, that tliey would behold his face no more. And tliey
escorted him to the ship.
Could any last words be more deeply impressive 1 Could
any parting charge leave a more indelible mark upon heart and
life, than this which sent back the elders of Ephesus to a life
of responsibility and of self-sacrifice with the words of Christ
ringing in their ears, It is a more blessed thing to give than to
receive ?
St John says at the very end of his Gospel with reference to
the works of Jesus on earth — and has not the same saying a
reference also to His words? — that, if they should be written down
one by one, the world itself would not hold the books written.
Enough was written, to record the great facts, to fix the leading
doctrines, to indicate the main features of the Saviour's character :
enough was written, to prevent the Church from being the sport
of an oral tradition, necessarily losing year by year something of
its precision, and encumbered year by year with more, and more
yet, of human and fanciful and at last erroneous accretion :
enough to inform, enough to enlighten, enough to guard and
to warn and to guide : not enough to exhaust the Divine store
house of the deeds and words, the incidents of the life and the
utterances of the mind, of the Lord Jesus Christ as He dwelt
and walked below.
Now the text gives us an example of these unrecorded
sayings. You will not find it in the Gospels. It was one of
those maxims of truth and wisdom, which our Lord's immediate
followers had treasured up from His lips. Who can doubt that
James and John, that Philip and Peter, had many such remi-

OF RECEIVING AND GIVING. 475
niscences of those three years of converse and companionship ?
Here is one, nowhere else recorded in Scripture, yet current
doubtless everywhere in the Churches, as the expression of the
Saviour's mind and the summary of His Divine example, It is
more blessed to give than to receive.
We might easily picture to ourselves occasions on which
these words may have dropped from His lips. They may have
checked the entreaties of His disciples that He would for once
think more of Himself and less of others. They may have
answered some kind and friendly remonstrance when He turned
aside from an untasted meal to attend to the sorrows and sick
nesses which ever thronged the doors within which He rested.
They may have explained on any occasion the secret of His
perpetual self-sacrifice ; of His multiplying food for famishing
crowds, while He refused to turn one stone into bread for His
own sustenance ; of His turning aside from all solicitations of
personal want or weariness, so long as there was within reach
but one sufferer whom He could relieve, one mourner to be
comforted, or one sinner to be reclaimed or saved. At any
such moment, more than once (it may be) on such occasions,
may have been heard these words from the lips of our Lord
Jesus, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Were they not indeed the key to His whole life ? Was not
this the secret of His humiliation ? The superior blessedness of
giving above receiving, was it not this which made Him lay aside
His glory, and come down to be the Minister of the sinful, and
the Saviour of the lost? And when He had thus humbled
Himself, did not the same principle originate every act and
prompt every motion ? It is more blessed to give than to receive :
therefore did He take upon Himself the condition of the poor
man, the lonely, and the despised, not that of the rich, the
prosperous, and the powerful. It is more blessed to give than to
receive : therefore did He, the Lord of all, submit to a life in
which He had not where to lay His head ; no domestic love in
which to find solace, no public pomp or show in which to display
His greatness. It is more blessed to give than to receive ,- therefore

476 THE COMPARATIVE BLESSEDNESS
did He make Himself the servant of all, coming not to be min
istered unto but to minister, and to give His very life a ransom for
many. How bright a light does this one expression throw upon the
whole character of Jesus Christ ! There have been great men
upon earth who left behind them on record but one single saying ;
one maxim of sententious wisdom, which the world took up and
made its own for ever. Suppose that our Lord Jesus Christ had
been personally known to later generations but by this one brief
sentence. Would it have been possible to repress the admiration
which every noble and generous heart must have felt for Him ?
Should we not all have framed to ourselves instinctively some
conception of that character which thus expressed itself, of that
life which this principle must have moulded? What an intui
tion must He have possessed, who thus spake, into the real secret
of greatness, the true dignity of man, and the essential character
istic of God.
More blessed to give than to receive ? More blessed to be
communicating than participating ? More blessed to be constantly
becoming poor, than to be perpetually growing rich ? More blessed
to face labour and privation and suffering, than to live in a
luxurious home, surrounded by loved and loving faces, and with
much good laid up in sure prospect for many years ? More
blessed, asks the selfish old man, to have an empty coffer than a
full one ? More blessed, asks the young man of pleasure, to admit
another than myself to the desired scene of gaiety? More blessed,
asks the calculating man of business, the successful statesman,
the self-contained and self-engrossed student, to stand aside and
let others pass me in the race of gain or fame or knowledge, than to
reap the fruit of my own skill or perseverance or genius in a life
of what is to me enjoyment, and perhaps an immortality of repute
and honour? Nay, let me hear that, however painful, the loss
must be submitted to ; that, though insufferable to flesh and blood,
it is a condition of the kingdom; tliat, though every step in such
a life must be a step of degradation and a step of distress, yet it
must be taken, and repeated, and re-repeated, till at last painful

OF RECEIVING AND GIVING. 477
use shall become (if it ever can become) a second nature : speak
thus, and I can understand you : but say not that there is any
happiness, any blessedness, in such a life of mortification: say not,
for it is unreal language to say, that it can ever be more blessed to
give than to receive. Such, my friends, is ever the true feeling
of a fallen and unrenewed nature : there was an inspiration in
the words before us ; and till He who spake also inspires, we
shall hear them still and read them as exaggerated or unmeaning
words. And yet, if more blessed means, in other words, more Divine,
more Godlike, is not the saying at once proved true ? God, who
possesses all things, cannot receive : God, who upholds all things,
is ever giving. To receive is to be a creature : to give is, in
whatever measure it is realized, to be so far a partaker of the
Divine Nature.
We will illustrate the saying in one or two particulars.
i. I take the commonest and most obvious of all applications.
Money. Money has many uses. It purchases many pleasures.
It has in itself many powers. With limitations, it can even buy
knowledge. It is allowed sometimes to buy rank. It can always
command, from some quarters, submission and subservience. If
it cannot buy love, it can buy some substitutes for it, and
many counterfeits. Therefore it is idle to say that money is
not an advantage. The rich man is better off than the poor
man. Not happier, necessarily ; certainly not better : but better
off; more fortunate; speaking of this life only. Now can we
possibly say of money, these being its advantages, that it is more
blessed to give than to receive ? Few men seem to find it so.
What an eagerness is there to get money anyhow ! What a
pleasure in finding it multiply ! What an eagerness to lay by,
to invest, to get good interest, to have it out on good security !
What a desire, in some bosoms, to die rich ; though they know
that they cannot take it with them, and though they have none
perhaps to leave it to ! At last it becomes a passion. Scraping,
and hoarding, and counting, and bequeathing, it grows at last
into a business, and into an appetite, and into a disease. Every

478 THE COMPARATIVE BLESSEDNESS
gain is a joy, a happiness, a blessedness. It is too late perhaps
then to gain an audience for the Divine saying, It is more blessed
to give than to receive.
But let us try it betimes. Is there nothing in human nature
which responds to it ? I can fancy a very common man — a man,
I mean, quite of average virtue — saying, My chief pleasure in
money is in paying it away. I rejoice in going round among my
tradesmen, and feeling that I owe no man anything. I have a
positive pleasure in wiping out a debt ; in thinking that that man,
who has served me, is tlie better for me; tliat that family derives (in
part) its comfort from my custom: yes, I enjoy paying away at
least as much as receiving. This is a poor and faint image of the
glorious principle of the text : but it is well to show that
Christianity is not all transcendental, far above out of our
sight, but that it seizes upon something which is in all of us
till we are utterly hardened, and raises it into a region where
approval at least and admiration may follow it.
But I do not believe that the hearts of this congregation, or
indeed of any congregation, will ever be changed into the love of
giving, save by the entrance into them of the light of the Gospel,
and of the Spirit of Christ. Then they will. When once the
world is seen as it is, and heaven as it is ; when once we perceive
that we are not our own, but bought with a price; when once the
example of Christ, who left heaven for us, and the faith of Christ,
who opened heaven to us, are felt by us as real motives ; then we
shall be changed into the same image from glory to glory; we shall
value the wealth of this world chiefly for its power of relieving
distress, healing disease, and spreading the Gospel ; we shall find
that, with reference to this, the lowest yet withal the most
tangible of all its applications, the Saviour's saying is verified, It
is more blessed to give than to receive. Do good, and lend, hoping
for nothing again , and your reward shall be great, and ye shall
be the children of the Higliest ; for He is kind to tlie unthankful
and to the evil.
2. I pass from the basest to the highest of possessions ; from
money to love. There are those amongst us whose nature is

OF RECEIVING AND GIVING. 479
athirst for love. Life is a wilderness to them without love.
If there were but one person who loved them with a disinterested
and devoted affection, they feel that they should be happy. And
it conies not. They are still lonely, still disconsolate, still restless,
because still unloved. Or, to change the supposition, they have
love, but it is not the love ; the love which they desire, and for
which tliey would give all. Every one loves them, except the
one person. These are among the acutest of life's sorrows : they
are no fancies, they are no sentimentalisms ; they are the realities
of life. We cannot but think that our Saviour has a word, has
a voice, for these. We cannot but think that the text speaks to
them, and says, Little as you may think it, it is more blessed, in
this respect, to give than to receive; more blessed to love than
even to be loved. Give freely of your affection, and look not for
a return. Even thus did Christ. He came unto His own, and
His own received Him not. He loved the world, and the world
hated Him. It is more blessed, because it is more Godlike, to
love than to be loved. To be loved is human : to love is Divine.
To love, and therefore to do good ; to love, and therefore to be
willing to spend and be spent, though the more abundantly I love,
tlie less I be loved ; to love, and therefore to devote yourself, time
and strength, patience and self-denial, life and death, to the
service of another, hoping, if so it be, for nothing again ; this is
what Christ did : this is what the Master endured : and the
disciple is not greater than his Lord.
One thing you can say even now, if you be His ; that you
would not exchange the lot of the unloved for the lot of the
unloving. You would not part with the power to love; with
that warm heart, that generous impulse, that spontaneous, un-
bought, uncalculating affection ; even for the sake of being free
from its disappointments, free from its aching voids or its rough
repulses. Purify and refine your affection, more and more, by every
argument and every motive of the Gospel; wash out of it all
earthly stains, burn out of it all human corruptions : and then
cherish it, use it, give it, yea, lavish it : give as your Saviour

480 THE COMPARATIVE BLESSEDNESS, ETC.
gave, without a bargain, and without an expectation, and without
a repining, and without one backward look : and in the end you
shall be able to echo His words, as well as to remember and to
live by them, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
May He who said the words, also make them profitable.
They point to a way of life which is not after the manner of
men ; a life of onward striving and of upward looking ; a life
of which the beginning alone is here, a life of which the con
summation and the crown is hereafter.
Who is amongst us, capable of such aspirations 1 Who is
amongst us, willing to wait, and tolerant of postponement?
Who is amongst us, satisfied with unseen treasures, and ready
to give largely for a remote, an eternal recompence? To him,
to her, is that call sent, which is not for the unbelieving and
the worldly, but for those who would follow Paul even as he
followed Christ,
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said,
It is more blessed to give than to receive.

LECTURE X.
COURAGE AND SUBMISSION.
Acts xxi. 13, 14.
Then Paid answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine
heart ? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at
Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The
will of the Lord be done.
We have passed from Ephesus to Ccesarea.
The parting from Ephesus, or rather from Miletus, had been
a sad one.
A Christian, my friends, does not lose feeling, he rather
gains feeling, in becoming so. He has all his old feelings, rather
sharpened than blunted by the change. He feels slights from
those he loves, quite as sensitively ; he has the same delight in
companionship, the same shrinking from separation, which were
his before : nay, in all these things, there is an edge and a life
which there was not before : in proportion as self has passed
away, a new man has been gradually forming in him : and that
new man is all love ; love first to God, love then for God's sake
to man. Men do not always remember this in judging a Christian.
They do not see the inward struggle by which he keeps down
the rising retort or the rebellious resentment : they do not
witness the secret conflict by which alone he can keep himself
from idols, nor yet the prayer and watching by which he acquires
v. 31

482 COURAGE AND SUBMISSION.
that self-mastery which the world (even of his friends) calls
coldness. The feeling itself is still there ; the feeling of natural
affection, which makes loneliness still formidable, and parting
still difficult.
St Paul was as natural as he was spiritual.
Twice in this paragraph we read of painful partings; partings
as of a brother from brothers ; nay, as of a mother resigning a
beloved son to exile or to the grave.
The sea-shore at Miletus, and then the sea-shore at Tyre, was
wet with tears : Christian tears ; tears of intense feeling, of
bitter grief, yet withal of resignation and of submission too.
This was over now. The voyage had been resumed from
Miletus : Coos, with its vineyards and its purple ; Rhodes, with
its historic associations (past or future) and its already ruined
Colossus ; then the Lycian Patara, town and port and oracle of
Apollo ; had each in turn been reached in safety : then a tranquil
and rapid run across the open sea, leaving Cyprus on the left ;
and Tyre, dethroned, but not yet desolated, is made a seven days'
resting-place in Christian converse with its disciples.
Already in his address to the Ephesian elders, St Paul had
spoken of tlie Holy Ghost witnessing in every city that bonds and
afflictions awaited him. At Tyre, the disciples, speaking in the
Spirit — by revelation from above — repeat this prediction. They
said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go on to
Jerusalem. The prediction was of the Spirit, the prohibition
was their own. Or, if not their own, it was overruled in St
Paul by a stronger intuition of duty ; by a voice within, saying,
This is the way, walk thou in it, though it be to thee, as it will
be, a path of danger, suffering, and bonds. The spirits of the
prophets, St Paul himself says, are subject unto the prophets.
That which they spake in the Spirit he could yet judge in
the Spirit, and their revelation must at last be tried and tested
by his own.
How often in difficult decisions do we see the appropriateness
of that comforting and most true saying, God has many bests. It
might not have been wrong for St Paul to turn back ; to desist

COURAGE AND SUBMISSION. 483
from his cherished purpose of visiting Jerusalem : that had been
the counsel of prudence, and zeal itself might not have disowned
it. But a mightier power within pressed upon him the alterna
tive. The nobler and the bolder and (in the end) the wiser
determination was to go forward. In the Spirit he overruled the
Spirit, and God was with him in doing so.
Learn from this remarkable example, my friends, the duty of
comparing Scripture with Scripture, Spirit with Spirit, voice
with voice. God never so speaks as to overbear exertion. God
never so speaks as to supersede judgment. If one voice of God
seems to say this, see whether perhaps another voice does not
say that : then lay them together ; and by prayer and counsel at
last judge between them, and act.
Thus then there was to be a second comfortless parting.
The seven days were ended, at Tyre as at Troas : then the ship,
waiting not an Apostle's convenience but only the unlading of
lier burden, is to pursue its course southwards : wind and tide
wait not : the disciples of Tyre, with wives and children — that
the last view of the holy man might be impressed even upon
their little ones — escort him and his companions out of the city ;
and then on the bare sea-beach they all kneel and pray. A late
traveller has almost sketched the spot for us. He speaks of an
open space still to be seen on the western shore of Tyre, between
the houses and the sea, where may still be enjoyed, in all its
luxury, the cool sea breeze, and the dashing of the surge upon the
rocky shore. That perhaps was the oratory of the parting
friends : there they took leave of one another ; the missionaries
to take ship, the residents to return home again. These are
among the touches of real life, which make the Acts of the
Apostles a picture of the true human Church for ever.
Landing at the next port, Ptolemais or Acre — so famous in
English story, both in the wars of the Crusaders, and in a
struggle more recent and more gigantic still — St Paul and his
company went on, probably by land, a distance of some thirty or
forty miles, to the great city of Ccesarea.
Csesarea was a magnificent but a shortlived city. Its great-
31—2

484 COURAGE AND SUBMISSION.
ness was due to king Herod, who rebuilt it in remarkable
splendour, in the short period of twelve years, as a memorial of
his gratitude to the then Cajsar. Under him it became, for all
civil and military purposes, the capital of Palestine. We have
heard of it as the abode of the centurion Cornelius. In that
city the gates of the kingdom were first flung open to us Gentiles.
Here the younger Herod, in the very amphitheatre of his father's
city, was stricken by the Angel because he gave not God the glory.
We shall read of Csesarea again in St Paul's onward history.
Here he was tried before Felix : here he recounted the tale of
his life before Festus and Agrippa : here for two years he was
imprisoned : hence he sailed in bonds, for shipwreck, and for
Rome. Now, and for centuries past, Csesarea is not. An old
castle marks its site. Its ruins spread around : a few vessels of
the country still water there : but the high road itself has
deserted it, and few travellers turn aside to see what was once
so great and must ever for Christians be so sacred. The period
of Csesarea's grandeur is almost exactly bounded by the limits
of the sacred story.
It was not with Cornelius that St Paul stayed on this
occasion in Csesarea. In the changes and chances of a soldier's
life, Cornelius may have been ordered elsewhere : we know not.
But there was a remarkable person to receive him ; Philip the
Evangelist, who was one of the seven. The reference is obviously
to him of whom we read in the 6th chapter as one of the seven
persons chosen to assist the Apostles in the daily ministration ;
and again in the 8th chapter — after being for the time lost in
the greater fame of Stephen — as the Evangelist of Samaria itself,
and as executing a more deeply affecting ministry to the Ethio
pian nobleman. We owe, for all time, to this Philip, that inter
pretation of the 53rd chapter of the prophet Isaiah, which may
God give grace to His Church ever to believe and ever to preach.
You will remember that at the close of that narrative Philip
is left where we now find him. Passing through he preached
in all the cities, till he came to Ccesarea. Whether he remained
there at that time, we know not. Whether he exercised a

COURAGE AND SUBMISSION. 485
diligent ministry in the towns and villages of Palestine, only
making Csesarea his head-quarters, we know not. Whether his
office was a permanent or a temporary one ; whether in other
words the Ordination described in the 6th chapter was the
establishment of an order of ministry, or only an expedient,
sanctioned by Divine wisdom, for the time then present ; all this
we know not. Here, at all events, we find him, years later,
occupying a house in Csesarea — we entered into the house of Philip
tlie Evangelist — and surrounded by a family. It is especially
mentioned, though without any incident to be explained by it,
that Philip had four virgin daughters endowed with the gift of
prophecy. Thus was literally fulfilled the saying of the prophet
Joel, It shall come to pass in the last days, that I will pour out of
my Spirit upon all flesh ; no longer upon a favoured few, in
whose light alone others can see light, but upon persons of every
age and rank and name ; and your sons and your daughters shall
propliesy. New omens of danger followed. Agabus, that Prophet of
whom we read in the nth chapter as predicting the famine, now
arrived in Csesarea from Jerusalem, and by a speaking sign
intimated to St Paul that he would not only be imprisoned by
the Jews, but (which was perhaps a new feature in the case)
delivered by them, like his Master, into the hands of Gentiles.
So express a declaration of coming trouble could not but aggra
vate the earnestness of all who loved him, to prevent his prose
cuting his journey. When we heard these things, both we, and
they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. The
text gives us first St Paul's answer, and then the pious ac
quiescence of the disciples in a sorrow which they foresaw but
could not prevent.
Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break my
heart ? The original text is clearer. What do ye weeping and
breaking my heart ? What are you about, in thus afflicting me
by your entreaties and your tears? For I am ready not only
to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord
Jesus. And when (since) he would not be persuaded, we ceased,

486 COURAGE AND SUBMISSION.
we held our peace, after saying this only, The will of the Lord be
done. Let not the twofold example be lost upon us : (i) the example
of his courage, (2) the example of their submission.
1. Courage is, in some senses, a natural gift. I do not
suppose that a man by any effort of the will can make himself
out of a constitutionally timid a physically brave man. Men
differ beyond limit in their sensibility to pain. Great men — men
whose career was singularly bold as politicians or statesmen —
have been found incapable of bearing an operation : they have
died with a wound unprobed. It was not cowardice : it was a
nervous temperament of singular sensibility. There have been
soldiers who lacked physical courage : they have had to lash
themselves to a battle by the bare sense of duty or by the less
noble yet not contemptible dread of disgrace. We ought to
respect tenfold a man who has triumphed over such obstacles.
He may have mistaken his calling : but that man's bravery was
worth all the hardihood of those who knew what it cost and
could laugh at him. If there be a choice, I respect even more
the man who recanted his true creed to avoid the fire, and then
in the death which at last he faced held his right hand separately
in the flame as though to punish its weakness, than the readier
and more instant resolution of his brave fellow-martyrs, who at
once sealed their faith with their blood and rejoiced that they were
counted worthy to suffer shame for truth.
Courage in a physical sense is a gift. I say not that even in
this sense it may not be gained, or almost gained, by resolute
training. But to the very end men must differ, and differ widely,
in the facility or the difficulty of endurance. God gives, and
God gives not : what hast thou, the bravest of us, which thou
didst not receive ?
But I do not know that St Paul's courage was of this nature.
The few hints which reach us seem rather to point an opposite
way. Was he not describing some real characteristic, when he
wrote to the Corinthians, / was with you in weakness, and in
fear, and in much trembling ? I picture him to myself as of a

COURAGE AND SUBMISSION. 487
feeble rather than a herculean frame ; as a man whom men
would call timid, nervous, shrinking, sensitive, rather than as
one who overawed by his presence or struck terror by his speech.
And yet when was ever a courage more courageous ? When did
St Paul ever shrink from danger? When did he ever avoid
a place because it was full of enemies ? When did he ever
decline a duty, whether of word or action, because it might bring
risk to position or liberty, to life or limb 1 What a catalogue is
that which he gives us of physical endurances in the nth chapter
of the 2nd Epistle to tlie Corinthians ! Of the Jews five times
received I forty stripes save one : thrice was I beaten with rods,
once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day
I have been in tlie deep : in journeyings often, in perils of waters,
in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by
the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in
perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and
painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
often, in cold and nakedness. If St Paul was not made for
courage, at least he had learned it.
And how learned it ? The secret is told in a few words of
the text.
We have all heard of the strength which a weak woman will
put forth in saving a loved child from flood or fire ; of the
bravery with which a wife will encounter perils for a husband,
when his life is threatened or his honour jeopardied. Such
examples are not instances of changes of character : but they
show the force of circumstances in raising character above
its common level. Yet suppose now that this transforming
cause were constant in its operation : would that love which has
wrought wonders under sudden impulse be less powerful, think
you, if the demand upon it were repeated, were perpetual? Love
is stronger than death, stronger than the fear of death, stronger
than the present sense of any pain however depressing or however
agonizing. Just such was that motive which St Paul here indi
cates — that motive of which his life was the result — when he
speaks of being ready to be bound and ready to die for the name

488 COURAGE AND SUBMISSION.
of tlie Lord Jesus. The love of Christ constrained him. Above
the pain of any isolation, of any torture, of any execution,
towered high aloft the name, that is, the revelation, the cha
racter, the person, of Him who while he was yet a sinner had
died for him and risen ; of Him who had once spoken to him
from heaven, and taken him by an act of free compassion for
His messenger and His witness. It was this which raised him
out of himself, and made it easier to him to suffer, easier (if need
be) even to die, than once to forget or forsake or deny the
Person who was dearer to him than the very life itself. This
was the spring of Paul's courage ; and it carried him through the
toils and pains and sorrows of a life which he could only describe,
in his own strong way, as a daily death.
There must be something in a Gospel which can thus work :
something, let me rather say, in a Saviour who can thus perfect
strength in weakness.
We are not called, in these calm easy days, to feats of bodily
courage in that Saviour's service. It is well. We might find
ourselves all unequal to such enterprises. I know not where
there is to be found amongst us one equal to an Apostle's life or
a martyr's death. The courage to which we are called is known
rather as a moral courage. It is that independence, of judgment
and action, which befits one who must stand at last alone to give
account of himself to God. It is the power to avow now what
we shall feel then ; to be now what we shall wish to have been
then. And where is it ? Where, amongst us, is that ability to
stand alone, to face (if it be necessary) an adverse world, in the
name and for the love of the Lord Jesus ? Alas ! in this aspect
the brave are cowards, the strong weak, and the great little. We
had rather follow a multitude to do evil, than bear a taunting
reproach or a disdainful smile. Life therefore is a perpetual
compromise, and death a desperate plunge. Timid even more
than we are wicked : cowardly, the best of us, where we would
be brave. 2. There was a decision in the tone, which at last silenced
importunity. When he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying,

COURAGE AND SUBMISSION. 489
The will of the Lord be done. Courage wrought resignation. The
Apostle was brave, and therefore the disciples were submissive.
The will of tlie Lord, they said, be done.
The words might be read either as a prayer or as an
acquiescence. And it is only they who can -use them as the
one, who can rightly utter them as the other.
It is a very common ejaculation, when all efforts are vain,
God's will be done. So speaks the mourner, when all hope of
restoration has fled from the bed of sickness. So speaks the
bankrupt, when his last card is played, and the game has gone
against him. So speaks the convicted criminal, when sin is found
out, and the fabric of proof is at last complete against him.
But in all these cases God's will be done is not a prayer at all.
It is the last cry of human weakness when it has vainly entered
the lists against the Lord of Sabaoth. It means only, Woe is
me ! for I am undone. The thing formed has risen against its
Maker, and the struggle has been too sore for it. We learn at
last to suspect the words. They so often express, not the
bending, but the crushing, of the self-will under the resistless
will of God.
Therefore let us try to pray the words. We have them in
the Lord's Prayer. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Who wishes that ? Who honestly wishes that God's will should
be entirely done below ? done with him, done in him, and done
by him, even him himself ? The same is a perfect man. What ?
No place left for that crooked practice, for tliat perverse temper, for
that darling lust ? No room at all upon earth for that pastime
which I so much enjoyed, for that sin which I so much loved?
No . I did not mean that : I did not quite wish that ! Therefore
out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant.
Thine own prayer — that prayer which thou hast said ten times
this one day — condemns thee and finds thee out.
Resignation is no virtue except so far as it is the product
of obedience. Add, St Peter says, to temperance patience. Be
God's first in act : then shalt thou be His too in suffering.
(i) Some of us have of late broken quite loose from God.

490 COURAGE AND SUBMISSION.
We have taken His substance — His air and light, His gifts of
reason and speech, His blessings of health and enjoyment — and
wasted them, like the prodigal, in riotous or at least in careless
living. This week has been, to many, a lost week for the soul.
And some have been cut off in it ; miserably, horribly, in their
sins. We survive. God has been merciful, not willing that we
should perish. Bethink yourselves tonight of the example of that
holy man who, after days of feasting and excitement, rose up
early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings for all the
revellers ; saying, It may be that my sons liave sinned, and cursed
God in their hearts. Come back to God this night, ye wanderers,
and pray Him for His Son's sake to grant you repentance and to
grant you life. Try to pray the words, from the heart, Thy will,
0 God, be done.
(2) Others have done so. They have made sacrifices — I
know it — this last week for conscience sake. They could not
do something in faith : and without faith they knew that it
would have been sin. They have foregone some profit : they
might have been richer tonight, by ten pounds or twenty, than
they are. I feel for them : and yet I envy them. They are the
richer : richer in heaven's goods, if not in earth's ; richer for
eternity, if not for time. They are more men for it : strength
ened in courage ; more erect, more vigorous, for the self-denial.
May God bless them, and show them the light of His countenance.
Yet not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy name give the praise.
They have tried to do God's will : rightly or wrongly, they have
so understood it, and therefore they have so done. Others judged
differently ; and to their own Master they also stand or fall.
This we know, that no man ever yet left house or lands, no man
ever yet sacrificed a gain or bore a loss, no man ever yet endured
a cross or despised a shame, honestly and simply for Christ's sake
and the Gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this
time — peace, and strength, and a good conscience, and a brighter
hope, and a nobler courage — and in the world to come eternal life,
through His merits who to this end both died and rose and revived,
tliat He might be Lord both of the dead and living.

LECTURE XI.
CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE.
Acts xxiii. 6.
But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and
the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren,
I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection
of the dead I am called in question.
There was on record a charge given by the Lord Himself ; a
charge already (when these words were spoken) some thirty years
old, but still fresh and young in the power of the Divine life ;
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves : be ye
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. And there was
a promise too, appended to that rule of conduct. But when they
deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak : for it
shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is
not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in
you. I purpose to show you this evening, in a few brief examples,
how this charge was obeyed, and how this promise was fulfilled,
in the case of St Paul.
When we last drew our subject from this interesting and
instructive Book of Holy Scripture, we dwelt upon St Paul's
courage. What mean ye, he said to his distressed friends, as
they stood around him, entreating him to spare himself from
the foreseen and foretold dangers of an intended journey, What
mean ye to weep and to break my heart ? for I am ready not
to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of

492 CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE.
the Lord Jesus. And they themselves, finding that he would
not be persuaded, and constrained to admire the boldness and
constancy of their beloved leader, even while they- trembled at
its consequences for him, at last abandoned their fruitless re
monstrances, and said, with a submission scarcely less admirable
than his heroism, Tlie will of the Lord be done. Tonight our
subject is of a different, I had almost said, of an opposite,
kind. We are to read of St Paul's prudence, of his discretion
in avoiding idle risks, of his skill in extricating himself from
hostile snares. Be ye wise as serpents, was the charge which
he remembered : it shall be given you, in the hour of peril,
what ye shall speak, was the promise pleaded and fulfilled.
You will perceive by the place of the text, that I propose
to you this evening a very rapid survey. From the middle
of the 21st chapter to the end of the 23rd is the field from
which our topics are to be chosen.
St Paul made the journey on which he had resolved. From
Csesarea, where we left him, to Jerusalem, he travelled un
molested. He had with him the proceeds of that collection
which he had everywhere been making for the poor Christians
at Jerusalem. He was kindly received, on the night of his
arrival, by the brethren whom he visited. On the next day
a more public reception awaited him. All the elders of the
Church, under the presidency of St James the resident Apostle,
came together to hear his report of his eventful ministry among
the Gentiles. Their interest was lively, and their thankfulness
hearty. But they foresaw that danger out of which was to
spring captivity and exile. Among the Christian converts were
thousands of Jews. Though believers in Christ, they were also
zealous of the law. They could not take in the idea of its
abrogation. Christ the end of tlie law — its terminus and its
termination — -was a truth as yet dimly seen. A salvation aided
by Christ, a salvation eked out by Christ, they could under
stand : but that salvation must be still, they thought, as of old,
a salvation earned by human obedience to a law given by Moses.
Now they were right in supposing that this was not St Paul's

CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE. 493
doctrine. He always said that salvation must be all of Christ,
or none of Christ. Grace, or debt; human merit, or Divine
grace ; one or other, not both. Salvation is too great a thing
to be a thing of shreds and patches ; here a stripe of merit and
there a daub of grace. They were right in supposing that St
Paul preached the abolition of the Law, so far as it could
avail for man's salvation. But they were wrong in supposing
that he preached the abrogation of the Law for Jews, so far
as its outward observance was concerned. A Jew might be
a Jew still ; might still observe the Law, still practise its
circumcision, keep its feasts, and bind himself (if he choose)
by its vows. He must not indeed trust in these things ; but
neither need he abjure them. A Jew might be a Jew still,
and yet be saved through Christ : a Gentile must not become
a Jew, or he is fallen from grace.
The assembled elders, knowing what St Paul was and was
not, and aware too of this general misconception of his teaching,
recommended to him the following expedient. Let him show,
by a practical proof, that he did not object to a Jew being a
Jew still. There were four men, Jewish Christians, at that
moment in Jerusalem, bound by a Nazarite's vow. That vow,
made commonly at a time of personal danger by land or sea,
by disease or accident, bound the person undertaking it to
abstain from wine and to let his hair grow uncut for a certain
period, at the end of which particular sacrifices were to be
offered, which were not always within the command of a poor
man's purse. It was by no means unusual for richer men
to bear the expense of those sacrifices in behalf of the poor.
The Christian elders recommend St Paul to do this ; to include
himself for a few days in the Nazarite's vow of these four
Jewish Christians, and then to pay the cost of the prescribed
offerings for all. Be at charges for them, the 24th verse says,
that they may shave their heads: that is, bear the charge, pay
the expence, of those sacrifices which must be offered before
they can rid themselves of their vow and cut the hair of their
heads in sign of its termination. The advice was friendly,

494 CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE.
and St Paul followed it. He who had said in one of his
letters, To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the
Jews, acted now upon that principle. He had never made
it a principle of doctrine that Jews should abandon their cere
monial Law : lie was a Jew : therefore he might perform one
of those ceremonies with a safe conscience, if by so doing he
might conciliate his countrymen, and thus by God's grace save
some. In things indifferent, my brethren, the motive is every
thing : and we know his.
The expedient thus adopted was partially successful. For
seven days he showed himself in the temple-courts, in the com
pany of the four Nazarites, awaiting the moment of the proper
offering. That moment was almost come, when a furious tumult
was roused against him by some Jews who had come up from
the province of Asia to be present at the feast of Pentecost.
They declared that an Ephesian whom they knew by sight,
Trophimus by name, one of St Paul's companions in travel,
had been brought by him, though a Gentile, into that part
of the temple-precincts which was accessible only to Jews. On
this pretext, probably false as well as futile, the whole of that
excitable and fickle population threw itself upon St Paul ; drag
ged him out of the court of the Israelites, while the great gates
of that court were closed after him by the Levites ; and pre
pared to take his life, either by stoning, or by a more summary
process of throwing him from the precipice of the temple. At
this moment the Roman officer, commanding from his tower
of Antonia every occurrence within the sacred courts below,
brought down his armed force, stopped the tumult, and took
forcible possession of the person of the Apostle. Unable to
ascertain the facts from the incoherent answers of the crowd,
he ordered the prisoner to be carried up into the fortress, which
communicated by a staircase with the cloisters of the temple.
On those stairs, forced upwards by the pressure of the angry
multitude, he was permitted at length by the chief captain to
address a few words of explanation and remonstrance to the

CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE. 495
people below. To the surprise of the chief captain, who had
imagined him an Egyptian outlaw, he had addressed himself
to him in Greek : now to his countrymen he speaks in their
own loved and sacred tongue, and tells them, at first amidst
a great silence, the narrative of his youth and of his change.
By birth a Jew ; brought up here, in their own holy city,
amongst all the associations of Judaism ; taught by their own
most celebrated master, the wise and learned Gamaliel ; zealous
for their law like any of them ; nay more, an ardent persecutor
of Christians even to the death ; commissioned by the Sanhedrin
to carry their persecution even to strange cities ; surely they
might listen to him. Surely they might believe that all his
prepossessions, all his prejudices, all his early and deeply rooted
principles, pointed once in a direction entirely their own, and,
if changed, could have been changed only by some resistless
force of reason, of which, if they will hear him to the end, he
will give them the account.
He tells them of his conversion : of that sudden arrest, at
noontime, near Damascus ; that supernatural light, that articu
late voice, that calm remonstrance, that authoritative direction ;
then that gracious message, sent by one of themselves — Ananias,
a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the
Jews which dwelt there — which had restored him to sight, sum
moned him to baptism, and brought him back to this same
city a witness of the faith which once he destroyed.
Thus far he had been listened to, if not with approval, yet in
silence. It was not till, in recounting a subsequent communica
tion made to him in Jerusalem by his new, his Divine Master, he
reached the offensive, the hateful name Gentile, that the storm
broke forth anew, and the threatening cries from below con
strained the Roman commander to hurry his removal into the
fortress which was to be his prison. Bewildered and baffled by
the conflicting accounts of him, the chief captain now resorted to
that cruel expedient of the Roman law, an examination by
torture. St Paul was already bound, for the application of the
torturer's lash, when the mention of his Roman citizenship alarmed

496 CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE.
the authorities, and wrought an instant change in his condition
and prospects.
The chief captain now desires to obtain a clearer insight into
his prisoner's case, by subjecting him to a formal trial before the
Jewish Sanhedrin. After a night passed in the fortress, St Paul
stands before the high priest and elders. And here, after one
earnest gaze upon the countenances of his judges, he opens his
defence with the serious assertion of his entire conscientiousness.
From his youth till this day he has lived in obedience to
conscience. A solemn and an instructive word for us ! Which
of us can say that which St Paul declares of himself even with
reference to his days of darkness and error? Irritated by this
calm and dauntless bearing of one whom he has prejudged as a
heretic and a criminal, the high priest commanded those that
stood by to smite him on the mouth. And St Paul, as if to show
us that, with many a bright, we have but one perfect example, is
betrayed into a retort, which, however just, stands in marked
contrast with the immovable silence (under the like provocation)
of his Divine Master, and for which afterwards he himself
apologizes, whatever be the exact import of those difficult words,
I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest (whether an
infirmity of sight had betrayed him into mistaking the person ;
or whether / wist not means / did not reflect, I did not consider,
I did not remember, as I ought to have done, that lie was the high
priest), with the recitation of the words of the Law itself, It is
written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
It is at this point that the text occurs. Perceiving himself
to be standing before a prejudiced tribunal ; one which would
not be influenced by the force of truth ; one to which he would
vainly address the language of argument, remonstrance, or
expostulation ; St Paul avails himself, with consummate skill, of
the notorious division of opinion on the most elementary points
of doctrine among the judges themselves, and enlists on his side
the approval of one half at least of his audience, by the words
before read to you, Brethren, I am a Pharisee, tlie son of a
Pharisee : of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in

CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE. 497
question. As though he had said, What question can be so
fundamental as that of a future state of being ? Till you can
agree upon that, why waste your strength in trying minor heresies?
Settle that among yourselves, and then turn your thoughts to me.
The effect of the words was magical. It broke up the
hearing. There arose a great cry. The materialist Sadducee,
denying alike the resurrection of the dead and the existence of
spirit, was diverted from the case before him by a prior and
deeper difference with his colleague on the judgment-seat. The
Pharisee, right thus far in his creed, that he held the immateri
ality of the soul and the resurrection of the children of Abraham,
found in the prisoner an unexpected ally, and claimed him as his
associate in his ancestral feud with the Sadducee. And thus,
this trial, like the former, ending only in confusion and violence,
the puzzled Roman must again take back his prisoner, and make
out, as he can, for himself, who he is and what he has done.
But the disappointed foe has adopted a readier and more
wicked stratagem. More than forty Jews bind themselves under
a horrible curse to take Paul's life before they will either eat or
drink. They intend to induce the chief captain to bring him
once again before the council, as if to make some further
investigation of his crime ; and they, before he reaches the place
of hearing, are ready to kill him. The plot is made known to
Paul by a young relative, here only known to us, his sister's son;
and is communicated, under his direction, by the same person to
the chief captain himself. The result is a hurried night-journey,
under a strong armed escort, from Jerusalem to Csesarea. There
the Roman governor holds his court ; and the matter must go
before him. A letter from the chief captain accompanies the
prisoner, explaining how much and how little Claudius Lysias
has been able to ascertain concerning him. Felix reads the
letter, and, after an enquiry as to the Apostle's birthplace,
reserves him for the accusers' coming, and commits him for safe
keeping to the prsetorium of Herod. The Christian home of the
Evangelist Philip, where St Paul's last visit to Ccesarea was
passed in comforting communion, is exchanged now for a rougher
V. 32

498 CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE.
home and a less congenial converse. With Csesarea our sketch
tonight began, and in Csesarea it terminates.
Our last subject was courage: our present subject is prudence.
. Are the two qualities entirely antagonistic ? Is one man courage
ous, and another man prudent, and no one man (unless it be St
Paul himself) both at once ? I trust we shall see, in the few
moments which remain to us, that prudence and courage are but
two sides of one character ; two expressions, under varying
circumstances, of the same Christian mind ; two workings, in
opposite states, of the same Holy, Divine, and indwelling Spirit.
(i) You have seen St Paul taking part in a Nazarite's vow,
that he might disarm the unreasoning hostility of his countrymen.
(2) You have heard him putting forward in his own defence
every term and every circumstance most likely to conciliate
towards him the mind of his Jewish audience. (3) You have
heard him availing himself of his Roman citizenship to avoid the
infliction of a cruel and unjust torture. (4) And you have seen
him taking advantage of the doctrinal dissensions of his judges,
to make his escape from a verdict certain to have been con
demning. In all these ways he showed prudence. I can fancy
some critics accusing him even of finesse. I can imagine some
censors calling him timid, shifty, disingenuous, evasive. Happily
his whole life is before us, his whole mind disclosed, his conduct
under all manner of circumstances legible as in the sunbeam.
And therefore such cavils or such criticisms are not likely to
damage. We know too much of St Paul to believe them. It
only shows us how often we may misjudge a character by not
knowing more of it : how often we may pronounce a man
cowardly, because we only see him (as it were) dividing a
tribunal by sowing some seed of discord, or evading a penalty by
pleading some accidental or technical exemption. God in His
good Providence has kept us from thus judging, for lack of
evidence, His good and holy servant St Paul. Now therefore,
using his example, let us lay down two or three rules of Christian
prudence. 1. Christian prudence has place only in things lawful.

CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE. 499
Where there is nothing wrong in doing either this or that, we
may do this rather than that, because the one would be safe and
the other dangerous. St Paul was a Jew ; and the four men
were Jews : therefore there was nothing wrong, according to his
most constant and earnest principles, in their having a Nazarite's
vow. But if any one of the five had been a Gentile instead of a
Jewish Christian, no fear or favour would have induced St Paul
to be at charges with them. We have an exact illustration of
this, in both its. parts, in St Paul's own history. Timothy, his
friend and comrade, had a Jewish parent. It was optional
therefore with him to be either Jew or Gentile. St Paul caused
him to be circumcised before he took him as his companion. He
had always said that a Jew might keep the Law, and Timothy
was a Jew by his mother's side. Uncircumcised, he would have
been useless : the Jews would not have tolerated him : to gain
the Jews, he must be circumcised, and no principle forbade it.
Another friend and companion, Titus, was a Gentile : he had no
Jewish parent : and therefore to have allowed him to be circum
cised, whatever the temptation on the ground of expediency or
of usefulness, would have been a dereliction of duty ; a departure
from the great principle of St Paul's ministry, the entire and
absolute freedom of the Gentile from the yoke of the Levitical
Law. St Paul, we are expressly told, would not allow Titus to
be circumcised. The form of the example is obsolete ; but not
its spirit. There are those, my friends, among us modern Chris
tians, who worship prudence ; who do not see the difference
between prudence on principle, and prudence without or against
principle ; whose only idea is conciliation, and who end by
sacrificing everything to a sort of vague and unmeaning com
plaisance. Remember, it must always be wrong to do wrong,
whatever be the motive : to say a wrong thing, or to do a wrong
thing — to refrain from saying the right thing, or to refrain from
doing the right thing — in the hope or on the plea of winning
others to you, must always be sinful, let who will be the doer,
and let what will be the end proposed. Prudence has only place
in things lawful. If one of you says, / wish to gain or to retain
32—2

500 CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE.
a hold upon such a one, and tlierefore I will go with him to a
place or into a society which I feel to be against my conscience,
that person is not exercising Christian prudence, but he is
practising a sinful compromise.
2. Again, Christian prudence must be tried by its motive.
It is easy to be prudent — far easier, to most natures, than to be
imprudent — in religious things ; easier to sit still, easier to keep
silence, easier to say smooth words and to refrain from earnest
reproofs, than the contrary. But the question is, Why ? Why
do we become all things to all men, in things lawful or indifferent?
Is it to save ourselves trouble? Is it to avoid the reproach of
being righteous overmuch ? Is it to make ourselves popular, the
friend of all men, the person whose company is liked by the
careless and the sinful? Is it to gain the character of a moderate
and sensible and calm-minded person ; a man of good judgment ;
which too often means, a man of no earnestness and no zeal?
That was not St Paul's prudence. Hear his own account of it,
as it is written in the 9th chapter of the ist Epistle to the
Corinthians : Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain
the Jews , to them that are under the law, as under the law, that
I might gain them that are under the law : to the weak became
I as weak, that I might gain the weak : I am made all things to
all men, that I might by all means save some. You see what
a motive there was, what a noble, what an unselfish, what a
divine motive, in all that St Paul did to conciliate others : it was
not that they might approve, applaud, or admire him ; it was not
that they might load him with honours or gifts ; it was not that
they might call him a sensible guide, a wise teacher ; far less,
a man of the world, a man of large experience of human nature,
and of ready sympathy with human failings : it was, that he
might gain them, gain them for Christ, gain them from hardness
to faith and from the power of Satan for God : it was that he
might by all means save some, rescue them from darkness and sin,
and secure the safety of their souls in the day of the Lord. It
was for this that he went for those seven days to the Temple
with the four men whose vow he thought needless : for this, that

CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE. 501
he reminded the Jewish mob of his Judaism, pleaded his Roman
citizenship to the Roman, and divided the Sanhedrin by calling
himself a Pharisee. My friends, the question of motives is
always a trying one : we cannot settle it for others, we cannot
always settle it for ourselves : so many things enter into the
composition of our best motives ; so hard is it to shut out self
even from our religion ; so fertile are we in excuses for following
inclination, and then clothing inclination in the garb of duty.
Nevertheless by motives will be decided the last great judgment,
and God even now leaves us not without some plain insight into
them. Christian prudence, like Christian zeal, must be tried by
its motive : if we would be (in any right sense) all things to all
men, we must see that the object is, not to serve ourselves, but
to gain them. If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of
Christ. Know ye not that the friendship of tlie world is enmity
with God?
3. And therefore, in the third place, let us say that there
can be no such thing as a Christian prudence, where there is not
also (in its place) a Christian courage. Thus the two parts of
the subject are brought together at its close : St Paul's courage
last time, St Paul's prudence now. The two things are not only
capable of combination : they are necessarily combined. One
man is all fire, all energy, all zeal : he cares not for the world,
he will set all right, he will correct abuses, he will rebuke sin :
he fears not : he is all courage. Well, wait a while : see how it
goes on : see how it ends. The wrath of man worketh not the
righteousness of God : a spirit like his scarcely reminds us of the
lowly Saviour, scarcely breathes anything of the love of God.
When the motive comes to be disclosed, perhaps there was more
of nature than of grace in that vehemence : we know not what
God may have thought of it, or how He will deal with it.
Another was all for quietness : every line of distinction was to
be erased, every sharp corner rounded off, every colour shaded
into every other : sins were always excused, punishments (Divine
or human) disliked and deprecated : there was no backbone in
his religion : you knew not why anything at all was this rather

502 CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE.
than that : you began (as you listened) to doubt the clearest
definitions of truth and error, of right and wrong. Prudence
had here degenerated into timidity ; and that charity which is
based on truth, into a goodnature which merely avoids and
dreads trouble. My friends, St Paul's courage and St Paul's
prudence were parts of one whole. Take either away, and the
Christian fabric was shaken. / am ready not to be bound only
but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus : and
therefore it is that / am made all things to all men, even that by
all means for His dear sake / may at last save some. The courage
of the Gospel, and the prudence of the Gospel, are, alike and
equally, ingredients of the mind which was in Christ Jesus. In
Him, and in all who are like Him, courage is a courage of love,
and prudence is a prudence of devotion.
4. Finally, there is a prudence wholly of good : a prudence,
yes, a twofold prudence, to which no limits need be set, on which
no conditions need to be imposed. A prudence lest we do harm
to others, and a prudence lest we ourselves fall unawares into
sin. (1) How many, calling themselves Christians, are careless
lest they offend Christ's little ones ; careless how much they give
occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully ; how much they
cause the Gospel which they profess to be calumniated or blas
phemed. They take no pains to provide things honest in tlie sight
of all men. They go to the very edge of the precipice of evil, and
think it enough if they just fall not over it. Meanwhile others
are scandalized by their temerity, or encouraged by it and em
boldened to do evil. This is for lack of a Christian prudence ;
for lack of that grace of which St Paul wrote, If meat or drink,
if my doing or my forbearing to do, make my brother to offend, I
will eat no meat while the world standeth, I will take no freedom,
I will allow myself in no indulgence however innocent, however
wholesome, lest I make my brother to offend.
(2) And as with regard to others, so also for ourselves, there
is a prudence wholly of good : a prudence in regard to spiritual
evils : a prudence which foresees, which avoids, which guards

CHRISTIAN PRUDENCE. 503
against, known and experienced temptations ; temptations which
will assail, because they have assailed ; and which, even because
they have prevailed against us, can be ascertained in the future,
anticipated, and provided for. Here indeed courage and prudence
coalesce and are at one. Here bravery is fear, and the timid man
conquers. Here the chief enemy is self, and therefore he who
rules his own spirit hath already taken the city. It is written,
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God ; and he tempts God who
runs a risk needlessly. There is a foolhardiness which is the
worst cowardice : to flee from evil is the first point of courage.
The intemperate man ought to tremble at wine ; the licentious
man ought to close the very eye which is the inlet of evil. He is
a fool who knows not his own weakness ; and he is presumptuous
who goes with ten thousand against twenty. God give us all this
prudence ! for with it He gives courage, with it strength, and
with it victory.

LECTURE XII.
THE SECRET LIFE.
Acts xxiii. ii.
And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of
good cheer, Paul : for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so
must thou bear witness also at Rome.
How refreshing, after a day of cloud and storm, to see a
sunset of perfect calm ; to have one hour at evening beautifully
tranquil, the warring elements pacified, the air still and fragrant,
the sky itself, as it were, swept and garnished in token of a
peaceful night and a glorious dawn. How refreshing (to change
the figure from the aspect of nature to the experience of human
life) after a long day spent in the strife of tongues, whether
amidst the rivalries of common business, or the ceaseless contra
dictions and wranglings of a court of justice, to return at its close
to the well-loved home, where the sweet or playful greeting of a
long-tried affection in one moment smooths the knit brow and
relaxes the painful tension of the overwrought brain.
Such is the contrast between the day and the night here
presented to us. The day has been one of anxious exertion.
The morning saw St Paul standing before the council, defending
himself under a false accusation before a prejudiced and blood
thirsty tribunal. There had been more than the common pain
fulness of such a position. The judge had ordered the prisoner,
at his first words, to be smitten on the mouth. And the
suddenness of the assault had drawn from the injured man a

THE SECRET LIFE. 505
retort which on reflection he regretted. We all know how
bitter, to a conscientious man, is the remembrance of such a
deviation, momentary though it was and speedily atoned for,
from his entire Christian consistency. The only real pain is
that which we inflict upon ourselves : where there is no self-
reproach, all else is tolerable. As the day went on, a fierce and
angry storm had raged in the Sanhedrin : it was not till there
was danger of his being actually pulled in pieces by contending
factions, that St Paul was rescued from the council-room and
brought back to his prison within the fortress.
Such had the day been : a day of exertion, a day of discomfort,
a day of danger, of rebuke and blasphemy. And the prospect was
as gloomy as the present. A long imprisonment, a tedious
separation from Christian friends, and a vexatious interruption
of Christian duties ; more than probably, a confessor's sufferings
and a martyr's end ; these were the things before, as the other
were the things behind.
Now it is in the night between two such days that the words
of the text come in. The chief captain has commanded the
soldiers to go down, and to take him by force, and bring him into
the castle. And the night following this scene of commotion and
violence, tlie Lord Jesus Christ Himself stood by him, or presented
Himself to him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul : for as thou hast
testified of me at Jerusalem, so must tlwu bear witness also at Rome.
What a contrast to the rough voices which have lately raged
around him ! To be spoken kindly to, to be thought worthy of
any consideration or any regard ; much more, to hear a word of
encouragement, to be told to take comfort, to be of good cheer ;
even this would have been something : when a man has been long
treated with contempt and insult, it has been known to bring the
tears to his eyes to be but saluted in the street by a passing
stranger : how much more, to be visited in the prison by Christ
Himself, to hear His voice speaking to him ; the same voice
which called once to him from heaven to convert and to com
mission ; the same voice which he had heard once again when he
was praying in the temple, sending him far hence unto the Gentiles;

506 THE SECRET LIFE.
the same voice which in the distant Corinth had commanded him
to speak and not hold his peace, because Christ was with him, and
had much people in that city ; the same voice which had once
answered his prayer for relief from suffering, with the far better
assurance that his Saviour's grace should be made perfect in his
weakness ; to hear that voice calling him now by his name, and
bidding him to take courage, what must this have been to him ?
how must it have wiped from his mind every trace of irritation
and of weariness ; how must it have rekindled his hope and
reanimated his courage ; how must it have brought to his re
membrance the words, uttered in distress- and suffering, of his
Master Himself, And shall leave me alone... and yet I am not
alone, because the Father is with me.
To be visited by Christ, and to hear the voice of Christ, this
was enough : but what words were those. Tlwu hast testified of
me at Jerusalem. The original is stronger still, expressive of a
bold and public protest, a persistent calling to witness in behalf of
Christ. So then his Master had accounted him faithful. His
Master had heard all that passed ; heard and approved. That
for which other men wait, and wait still, and die without
receiving, a verdict of Divine acquittal, St Paul has now, has
from the lips of his Judge : Christ counts him faithful, Christ
approves his work, Christ accepts his testimony. O recompence
ample and glorious for any toil, for any suffering ! Christ says
He accepts : who is he that condemneth ?
But more yet than this. As thou didst maintain my cause at
Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. It is on record,
in his own Epistles, how much St Paul had longed to visit Rome;
with how warm an affection he already regarded that congregation
which was gathered in the metropolis of the Empire and of the
world. Now his Master tells him that he shall go there : not
perhaps as he had intended ; not in the exercise of his own free
will, planning for himself and executing for himself the enter
prises of the Apostolic calling : but he shall go there : he shall
minister to that congregation : yea, in the camp of the Roman
soldiers, and in the palace of the Roman Emperor, his voice shall

THE SECRET LIFE. 507
be heard, his testimony shall be borne, and Christ shall be
¦magnified in his body, whether by life or by death.
To us, who know not the motive and feel not the impulse of a
burning Christian zeal, the promise may seem to speak rather fear
than hope : it opened before a weary man the prospect of labour,
before a suffering man the prospect of suffering : it said, Think
not that the battle is ended; think not that rest is earned; dream
not of a brief inactivity, and then a happy entrance into an eternal
home. Far otlier is thy portion. Thou hast laboured, and thou
slwlt labour : thou hast journeyed, and thou shalt journey : thou
hast struggled, and wrestled, and suffered, and not fainted ; and
for my name's sake thou shalt do even thus again. We must call
in St Paul himself to be his own interpreter, and hear him say, /
am in a strait betwixt two ; having a desire to depart, and to be
with Christ, which is far better : nevertheless to abide in the flesh is
more needful for you : and having this confidence, I know that I
shall abide and continue with you all, for your furtherance and joy
of faith. I know it, and I am willing.
We have been called on late occasions to dwell upon various
features of St Paul's regenerated character. His devotion, his
wisdom, his courage, his tenderness, his endurance, his prudence ;
many opposite and at first sight contradictory qualities, which
yet enter, every one of them, into the composition of that mind
which is really according to Christ Jesus ; have been presented
to us by turns, as we have studied the pages of this Book of
Holy Scripture. And St Paul himself seems to recognize as a
profitable occupation the study of his Christian example. Be
ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ. They glorified God
in me. The only fear is, lest we should ever forget Christ in
His servant ; lest, in our admiration of the man, we should
lose sight for one moment of the grace which wrought in him ;
that Divine influence and inworking of which he spoke himself,
when he disclaimed all personal merit and all separate strength,
and said, / laboured more abundantly than they all ; yet not I,
but the grace of God which was with me. We must take care
to glorify God in him.

508 THE SECRET LIFE.
And therefore I am glad that this evening's subject, following
so naturally from that of last Sunday, takes us into a higher
region than that of any human character ; traces the river to
its first spring, and shows it to us, not in its derived and too
often turbid windings, but in its original sparkling freshness
as it proceeds out of the very throne of God and of the Lamb.
We see tonight, as we do in every page of his writings, what
made St Paul that which he was. The history and the Epistles
in this as in every point harmonize and are at one. The Epistles
give us his inner mind : the history gives us his mind in action ;
shows how that principle which is necessarily a secret with the
man himself comes out and works in the life that is seen. Here
and there — the text is such an instance — something occurs even
in the narrative, to give a momentary glimpse into that inmost
being, with which the stranger doth not intermeddle.
It is easy to direct the attention, and even to attract a
large tribute of admiration, to St Paul's wonderful gifts ; his
extraordinary self-devotion, his profound humility, his great
patience, his dauntless heroism. But the moment we pass within,
and seek to apprehend the moving spring of all this, to under
stand what his secret soul was busied in and possessed with
and supported by, then we feel ourselves powerless ; we are
speaking mysteries, not to others only, but to ourselves. We
are out of our depth : we are using words, not so much to ex
press, but rather to veil and to perplex. I would that it might
be otherwise this evening with some who hear. For indeed
the effort must be made, if we would not disparage instead of
glorifying God in him.
Let us at least then dare to say this — and his own words
best say it — that to St Paul to live was Christ. There was
not an act, and there was not a word ; not a feeling, and not
an effort; into which Christ did not enter. In saying this,
we say all. And you cannot open any one chapter of any one
of St Paul's Epistles, without seeing that this at least is true.
St Paul trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of his sins. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,

THE SECRET LIFE. 509
of ivhom I am chief. For this cause I obtained mercy, that in
me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering.
St Paul trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for continued
acceptance. It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again ; who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.
St Paul trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for the daily
supply of grace. He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for
thee. I will glory therefore in my infirmities, tliat the power
of Christ may rest upon me.
St Paul trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for guidance.
God Himself and our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ direct
our way unto you.
St Paul trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for comfort. As
tlie sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also
aboundeth by Christ.
St Paul looked to the Lord Jesus Christ for the relief of
trial. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might
depart from me.
St Paul looked to the Lord Jesus Christ for approval. If
I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
St Paul looked to the Lord Jesus Christ for success in work.
/ thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, putting
me into the ministry.
Christ was his subject. We preach not ourselves but Christ
Jesus the Lord. Whom we preach.
Christ was his Master. / bear in my body the marks of
the Lord Jesus.
Christ was his boast. God forbid that I should glory, save
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ was his hope. Which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory. The Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.
Christ was his life. Ye are dead, and your life is hid with
Christ in God.
Christ was the one object of his expectation and of his
aspiration, in reference to the state beyond death. I have a

510 THE SECRET LIFE.
desire to depart, and to be with Christ. And so shall we ever be
with the Lord.
Christ was his present Friend and Comforter, in the emer
gencies of the life that now is. You have heard it in the text
o of this evening.
Let me earnestly add, even before I pass on, that St Paul
never so spoke of Christ as to leave out of sight the blessed
revelation of the Father, or the comforting and inspiring agency
of the Holy Ghost. To him God was in Christ. He that hath
seen me hath seen the Father. And to him the Holy Spirit was
the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. He never forgot, as some
Christians have done, the Unity of the Godhead. Christ was
God with us: and the Holy Spirit was to him Christ in us.
But I would ask with all seriousness, Is not this our radical
defect, as professed Christians, that Christ is nothing to us ?
When we have said that His death atoned for our sins, is any
thing left? Are we not, at the best, what good men were
under the Old Dispensation ? What know we of Christ as
the Lord our Righteousness, as the Lord our Strength, as the
Lord our Master, our Friend, and our Hope 1
And if not, why not?
i. There is sometimes, in these latter days, a great ignor
ance of sin. That deep sense of personal guilt, which breathes
so impressively in the Psalms of David ; that consciousness
of the present weight of sin as of a sore burden too heavy for
us to bear; that fearful apprehension of a soul cut off from
God, by reason of its defilement with that which God abhors;
this is an experience rare amongst us : the words remain — a
man can scarcely worship without using them — but the thing is
lost : When I consider, I am afraid of Him, is a combination
of ideas, scarcely of this century. We have agreed together
not to be afraid of God : we have softened down the revelation
of justice and judgment, till now it speaks but the refined
language of a luxurious age, and ceases altogether to awaken
in us any feeling corresponding to that which St Paul designates
as the terror of the Lord. We scarcely see now why we want

THE SECRET LIFE. 511
a Saviour : surely the mercy of God, interpreted by man's
shrinking from punishment, will do as well as the more assured
hope of a pardon purchased for us through suffering ? God
grant us grace so to learn betimes the lesson of our sin, that
we may not have to awaken to it for the first time, when
it flashes upon us in the light of eternity, or in the vision of
the great white throne.
2. Again, the even tenor of a calm uneventful life is against
our appreciation of the Lord Jesus Christ in some of His chief
and most attractive offices. One clay is so like another, and
each day is so tranquil and so unsuggestive of danger, that
we are never stirred to the depth : a surface life is all our
life : the profound Ocean within lies all asleep, and scarcely
a wave breaks upon the shore of our monotonous and untroubled
being. Such a state is unfavourable to religion ; most unfa
vourable to a strong and vigorous hold upon the revelation
of Christ. If trouble came, if distress, if pestilence, if famine,
if war ; if the windows of heaven were opened, and God's four
sore judgments broke suddenly upon a forgetful earth ; then
we should see what Christ means : then the idea of a living
Saviour, controlling the winds and waves, guiding the thunder
bolt of judgment, and setting in the cloud (the while) the
rainbow of mercy; a Saviour present with His people, and
soon to come again to victory and to judgment; would'become
once more a reality and a hope : men would read St Paul's
Epistles with a quickened sympathy, and his history with a
sense of its reality and of its strength. When thy judgments
are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righte
ousness. And must we wait for these things ? Must we resign ourselves
to this spiritual torpor, and say that only the hand of judgment
can break it ? God forbid ! If we would judge ourselves, we
should not be judged. We must strive, God helping us, to stir
the stagnant pool of a commonplace life by turning into it the
stream of that river which, always and in all times, makes glad
the city of God. In other words, we must strive, and we must

512 THE SECRET LIFE.
watch, and we must pray, that we ourselves may so enter into
the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in all His manifold offices
of grace and love, that we may neither need the stroke of
judgment, nor yet be dizzied by it if it comes. Begin this night
to call upon Jesus Christ as that which St Paul found Him.
Begin to live the life that you now live in the flesh by faith in that
Son of God who transformed and glorified his. If you do not all
at once consciously find Him; if you have often to gaze upon
Him in the darkness, and to pray to Him through the cloud ;
still persevere : struggle on : rest not till your life is a Christian
life, as much in its secret as in its outward workings. Determine,
God helping you, to rely upon Christ, even if you cannot yet see
Him. Believe in His Atonement, in His Intercession, in His
Advent ; believe, above all, in His life. Be sure that He is
there ; there, in the place whither your prayer goes ; there,
where God is : there, in all the truth of His manhood ; there, in
all the power of His Godhead. Pray towards Him : pray on
the strength of Him : pray through Him : and ask Him, of His
infinite mercy, not to leave you for long without a token, without
an evidence, of His being.
3. And then let your life, like St Paul's life, be His witness.
As thou didst utter thy protest concerning me at Jerusalem, so
must thou bear witness also at Rome. Yes, that is the third
thing — the only other which I will mention — interfering now, as
indeed in all times, with the distinctively Christian faith. It is
the looseness of our Christian walk. We do not feel more
because we do not practise more ; because we do not carry our
warfare into all its parts ; because we do not seriously set our
selves to be holy as Christ is holy. Brief and perfunctory is our
daily worship; hasty and superficial our evening self-examina
tion; slight the hold of our religion upon our life; ready the
excuse, ready and plausible, for keeping just this, and just that,
out of the reach of conscience, out of the sight of God. And
then the sowing has its reaping : the faith which is thus trifled
with becomes a mere opinion ; the principle which would not
practise becomes a dead letter ; and the Saviour whom we have

THE SECRET LIFE. 513
often prayed to depart withdraws Himself, reluctantly but
irrevocably, out of our coasts. Change that prayer, beloved
brethren, this night; from a prayer to depart, into a wrestling
with Him to stay. Protest for Him at Jerusalem, and He will
make you His witness also at Rome. Let your daily life be
lived as in His presence ; as reminding others of Him ; as con
fessing Him and witnessing to Him in the life that now is : and
He will make that witness evermore brighter, stronger, and more
consistent, till faith is swallowed up in sight, and hope lost in
fruition. To those who have long waited for Christ, and walked with
Christ, and witnessed for Christ, the text itself has at length a
true, if not a literal fulfilment. When they want Christ, they
shall have Him. The night following the Lord stood by him.
Yes, the night following: not in the glare of day, not in the chief
places of concourse, but in the stillness of night and in the
solitude of the chamber, Christ visits them that are His, and
adapts His consolations to their individual case and need.
Trouble may be upon them ; care, want, bereavement : harder
still to bear, ingratitude, undutifulness : unnatural neglect and
coldness : it may be, suffering for His sake, because they would
not follow a multitude to do evil, because they would reprove sin
and strive after holiness : even then, even there, shall Christ
come, and with His own calm voice, bringing its witness with it,
bid them to be of good cheer, and assure them of His abiding
presence. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord: no vain
vision, no fallacious fancy, picturing Angel forms and counter
feiting Angel voices to the mere novice (if even a novice) in the
life of God; but a presence felt within, and a consolation
ministered personally in the sober promised influence of the
Divine Spirit.
Seek, my friends, that presence : cherish that influence : and
life itself will take a new colour from the hopes and joys beyond.

v. 33

LECTURE XIII.
THE GOOD CONFESSION.
Acts xxiv. 14, 15.
But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call
heresy, so worship I tlie God of my fathers, believing all things
which are written in tlie law and in the prophets:
And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow,
that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and
unjust. How striking, and yet how simple, are the contrasts of Scripture;
the cases in which (as must often happen in real life, and therefore
also in true history) two persons appear together on the stage,
exhibiting, in speech or action, a totally opposite principle, spirit,
and character.
The chapter before us opens with such a contrast.
We left St Paul in custody at Csesarea. After that hurried
night-journey, under a strong military escort, of which we glanced
at the details on a former occasion, he had been presented before
the governor Felix with the letter describing his case, and then
remanded for a fuller hearing when his accusers also should
come. His enemies at Jerusalem lost no time in following him.
Within five days the high priest Ananias, accompanied by a
deputation from the Sanhedrin, and by one of those professional
advocates who practised in the provincial courts of Rome, arrived

THE GOOD CONFESSION. 515
in Ccesarea to lay their information against Paul before the
tribunal of Felix. It is almost startling to read the language of
adulation in which the orator Tertullus addresses the presiding
magistrate. Felix was a man conspicuous even among Roman
governors for violence, rapacity and licentiousness. He was of
low birth, raised from a servile position ; and the historian
Tacitus says of him that in the practice of all manner of cruelty
and lust lie wielded the powers of a king with the temper of a slave.
With a certain degree of vigour in the suppression of tumults
and robberies he combined a meanness of personal revenge which
led him to procure the murder of a high priest by paid assassins
in the very sanctuary of the temple. His wife Drusilla he had
enticed away from a lawful husband by the aid (it is said) of a
magician. When at last he quitted the province, he was
followed to Rome by the accusations of his subjects, and was
indebted for his escape from justice to the personal interest of
his brother, a freedman and favourite, with the Emperor Nero.
This was the man whom the orator Tertullus, overacting his
part, represented, in his opening address, as a model of bene
ficence and clemency. How different in all times the flattery of
the worldly from the courtesy of the Christian.
The charge brought against the prisoner seems to have
included three particulars.
(i) He was guilty of sedition ; and so of disloyalty to the
Roman government. (2) He was guilty of heresy; the ring
leader of a sect; and so a renegade from Judaism. (3) He was
guilty of profaning the temple ; and thus of affronting a worship
which was under the patronage and protection of Rome.
The charges were the old ones : familiar to us already in the
case of Stephen, and in the history of One greater and holier
still. The time came for the Apostle's defence. And this was the
substance of it, as preserved for us in the record of his friend and
companion St Luke.
He begins by selecting the one only ground on which he could
count himself fortunate in being tried before Felix. He could
33—2

516 THE GOOD CONFESSION.
depend at least upon his acquaintance with the rites and customs
of Judaism. Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many
years a judge unto this nation, I cheerfully answer for myself;
because thou canst know for certain — thou art able to recognize
this as a matter of evident fact — that it is not more than twelve
days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem. Felix knew the
day of that feast of Pentecost for which St Paul had gone up
to Jerusalem. He knew that it was but twelve days since.
Twelve days : it was a short time to account for. A short time
for the commission of this triple crime; sedition, heresy, and
sacrilege. Twelve days : and already five of them in prison.
How had the other seven been spent?
And neither in the temple did they find me disputing with any
man, or causing the onset of a multitude, nor in the synagogues,
nor about the city ; nor can they prove to thee the things whereof
they now accuse me. But this I confess unto thee, that after the
way which they call a sect — in accordance with that doctrine and
that system to which Tertullus in his accusation has given the
contemptuous title of the sect of the Nazarenes — so serve I the God
of our fathers. Not a new God : not, as they would represent it,
some novel Deity, unknown to my nation, and imported from the
regions of imagination and invention : no ; the God of my fathers ;
the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob ; the God of prophets and
kings and righteous men along the whole line of Israel and of
David. So serve I the God of our fathers, believing all things
which are according to the law, and which are written in the
prophets ; having hope toward God, which these men also them
selves accept, that there is to be a resurrection both of just and
unjust. A hope, St Paul calls it : what do we ?
But let us take the passage as a whole.
i. And first, a single word upon the manner of his address.
He stands before a wicked ruler ; a profligate man in private, and
a tyrant in public life. Yet he pays to him the respect due to his
office. It is the same man who wrote lately from Corinth to the
Roman Christians, Render therefore to all their dues; fear, to

THE GOOD CONFESSION. 517
whom fear ; honour, to whom honour. There is all the difference
in the world between servility and courtesy ; between the flattery
of Tertullus and the manly respectfulness of St Paul. Insolence
to rulers, however irreligious or however immoral, is no part of
the religion of Christ. Render unto Ccesar, our Lord said Him
self, the things which are Cmsar's ; and unto God the things that
are Gods.
2. The reverence of his answer strikes us : so does also its
cheerfulness. / cheerfully answer for myself. He was here in
prison ; tossed from one judgment-seat to another ; surrounded
by violent opponents, hated, maligned, and plotted against. The
issue of the trial was doubtful : this only he knew from the
revelation of the Lord Himself, that he had a testimony to
bear to Him at Rome. The present was dark, the future was
ambiguous : and yet he answers for himself cheerfully. Is it a
needless or an exceptional lesson which I draw from these words;
the lesson of a Christian cheerfulness? If we are in Christ's
hands ; if we are on Christ's side in the great conflict ; if we
have committed the keeping of our souls to Him; if we in any
sense know in whom we have believed; what circumstance, what
danger, what accusation, what anxiety, is enough to justify
despondency? Pain of mind or body, want, weakness, anguish,
impending death ; all shall be well : for / am Christ's, and Christ
is God's. Leave despondency to the unbelieving : yet leave not
even him in it. Tell him of One who died and who lives ; of One
who is nearer than the nearest friend, and merciful as He is true;
and bid him also cast away his burden at the foot of the cross, and
rise at Christ's bidding to joy and newness of life.
3. When we turn from the manner to the matter of the
defence, we find two of the three charges calmly and earnestly
repelled. The charge of sedition, and the charge of sacrilege, are
refuted by an appeal to fact. None can dare to say of him, that
his time, his brief time, in Jerusalem had been spent in creating
disturbances, or even in holding disputations. His supposed
desecration of the Temple was not only untrue ; it was the
very opposite of truth. For a very different purpose had he

518 THE GOOD CONFESSION.
frequented its courts; to show (in its proper place) his respect
for the Law, and his sense, if not now of its necessity, yet at
least of its innocence for Israel.
4. But there is just one of the three charges which he rather
qualifies than repels. The accusers had called him a sectarian : a
ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. And this, he says, I
confess to thee, that after the way, the system or rule of life, which
tliey call a sect ; the word is the same (in the original language)
in the accusation and in the defence ; after the way which tliey
call a sect, a new party and a new schism in the original Church
of Israel, so worship I. The thing is true. If it be a schismatieal
thing to be a Christian, if it be heresy to believe the Gospel, I am
guilty of it. According to the doctrine and the practice of the
way — that way of which we have read so often as a term for the
Gospel system — so worship I. I avow and I glory in it.
Are we, my friends, equally clear and equally plainspoken in
the matter of our worship ? Do we all know after what way we
serve God ; by whose rule we shape our prayers and fashion our
life 1 Of course we all answer, By the rule of Christ. But then
we must enquire further, Is there anything distinctive in our
religion ? anything which shows and proves that it is Christ's
religion, rather than the religion of Moses, or of nature? You
all see that I am struck by this consideration : that St Paul
worshipped God according to a particular system ; not vaguely as
the Creator and Preserver, not merely as the Lawgiver and the
Judge, but definitely and precisely as revealed in Christ. St
Paul had thought it necessary to come out from the prevalent
worship of his time, though that worship was founded on a
revelation from God, in order that he might worship according
to that way which his countrymen as a body called and persecuted
as a heresy. What is there, I seriously and earnestly enquire of
you, to mark our confessions, our prayers, our praises, our
thanksgivings, as offered according to the way, which is, the
way of Christ ? Does our Lord Jesus Christ find a real place
in all 1 Do we think of Him, do we trust in Him, do we enter
through Him, on the ground of His sacrifice and of His inter-

THE GOOD CONFESSION. 519
cession, whensoever, in public or in private, we endeavour to
approach God? And O, let me add, Is there anything in our
manner of life, in our habits of speech and action, which
recognizes and which can remind men of our faith in the way,
the way of Christ 1
5. St Paul repudiates the charge of sedition and the charge
of profanation : he in part confesses the crime of heresy. If it be
heresy to be a Christian, he is a heretic. But observe how he
claims for himself, all the time, the position of the truly orthodox ;
how he asserts that his enemies, and not he, are the real dis
senters from Israel's faith and from Israel's hope : the God
whom he worships is the God of the fathers, and his grasp of
the Law and the Prophets is as tenacious as it was ever. He
believes all things written in the Old Testament Scriptures, and
it is just because he does so that he is a Christian. If they
really believed Moses, they also (like him) would have believed
Christ. The true revelation of God, my brethren, is never at variance
with itself. Everything which God has ever spoken, is true
still, and will be true for ever. His voice in nature, His voice
in reason, His voice in conscience ; His voice to the Patriarchs,
His voice in the Law, His voice in the prophets, His voice in
the Gospel ; are all, in reality, consistent and harmonious.
Each one of these adds something, completes something, fulfils
something, in the one before it; but it destroys and it contra
dicts nothing. The education of the world, like the education
of the man, is indeed progressive : some things are taught in
type and shadow then, in plainness and in substance now : some
things are given as commands at one time, as principles and
reasons later : some things are kept back from one age, because
it could not bear, because it is unprepared for them, and com
municated to an age that follows : nay, our Lord Himself
tells us, that some things in the Mosaic Dispensation were
allowed, for tlie hardness of men's hearts, which neither were so
from the beginning, nor are left so in the dispensation of the
fulness of times. Is not this just the system of a wise parent,

520 THE GOOD CONFESSION.
adapting his disclosures of knowledge, and even (in some re
spects) his requirements of duty, to the age in years, and to the
moral stature, of the son whose eventual perfection is his object ?
Yet, none the less for these qualifications, the God of the Chris
tian Apostle was the God of the Israelite fathers : and all things
written in the Law and the Prophets, when the interpreting light
of a more perfect day is thrown back upon them from the Gospel,
are believed still in the Church of Christ, forming at once the
basis and the complement of the faith delivered in Christianity
to the saints. He who affects, unlike St Paul, to despise the
Old Testament Scriptures, proves himself by that contempt to
be not a full-grown man but a very babe in Christ. Let him
become a fool, that he may be wise.
6. We have reached now that latest portion of the text,
in which St Paul claims for Israel under the Law a glimmering
at least of that hope, for which, as a Christian and an Apostle,
he was himself bound with his chain. I have hope, he says,
toward God, a hope which these men, my accusers, themselves also
accept, that there shall be hereafter a resurrection of tlie dead, both
of the just and unjust.
It was Christ, he says in one of his Epistles, who brought life
and immortality to light by the Gospel. And any one who seeks
his proofs of immortality in the Pentateuch, or even in the
Prophets, is going back from the surer to the more doubtful,
from the plainer to the more ambiguous. Yet St Paul says that
for those who lived before Christ there was such a hope ; the
hope of an immortal existence, basing itself upon the specific
words or upon the general sense of Scripture. Because the
Pharisees held the doctrine of the existence of spirit, and of the
general Resurrection, he condescends to say himself, as he stands
before the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee. And
One greater than St Paul answered the infidel Sadducee, upon
this very tenet, out of the pages of the Old Testament ; saying,
Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when
he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and
the God of Jacob : for He is not a God of the dead, but of the

THE GOOD CONFESSION. 521
living : and that is not the life of man, which is the life but of
one half of man : a disembodied soul wants an essential part of
the integrity of man's life : if a man is to live for ever, he must
live as the whole of a man : there must be a resurrection of the
body, as well as an immortality of the soul.
It suited the occasion and the purpose of this heroic defence,
to trace the hope of the Resurrection to a Dispensation earlier
than the Christian. And we too must accept the declaration,
and give thanks for it, that even the Old Testament is not silent
as to this great refreshing and restitution of all things. We can
read still in those sacred pages the burst of human trust and
of Divine Inspiration with which prophets and righteous men
asserted their personal expectation along with the predicted
glory of Him that should come. Though not for himself alone,
nor for himself most literally, yet surely for himself also, David
(to take one familiar instance) says in the 16th Psalm, My flesh
also shall rest in hope; for Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell... In
Thy presence is fulness of joy, and at Thy right hand there are
pleasures for evermore. And Isaiah, in words to which one
interpretation only can be given, Thy dead men shall live,
together with my dead body shall they arise : Awake and sing,
ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and tlie
earth shall cast out the dead.
7. But it is still more important for us to observe the terms
in which the Resurrection is here spoken of, and to ask how far
we ourselves can enter into them.
It might have been a natural, though a false, view of the
Resurrection, to confine it to the revival of the Christian. The
resurrection of the just is an expression used by our Lord, and to
that extent at least His disciples would readily have accepted it.
Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. But He
stopped not there, nor can His Church stop there, in the enun
ciation of this stupendous mystery. The hour is coming, in the
which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice — the voice of
the Son of Man — and shall come forth ; they that have done good,
unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the

522 THE GOOD CONFESSION.
resurrection of damnation. I saw the dead, says the Apostle who
recorded that saying of his Master, 7" saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God... And the sea gave up the dead which were
in it; and death and hell delivered up tlie dead which were in
them : and they were judged every man according to their works.
There is a resurrection of the unjust, as well as a resurrection of
the just. The prospect before none of us is annihilation.
Gladly would the sinner exchange that neutral, negative,
insensate doom, for the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is
not quenched. But not such is the alternative before us. An
immortality of blessedness or of misery is the prospect of that
world into which sin once entered, and death by sin.
The words themselves are alarming : who shall paint the
thing signified ?
And yet St Paul calls it a hope. I have hope toward God, &c.
My friends, the Resurrection must be either the hope, or the fear,
of each one of us. And which ? which of the two ? a hope, or a
fear ? for you ? for me ?
We are in danger of having all Christian doctrine washed out
and washed away. The expectation of the Resurrection is no
longer (practically) the expectation of Christians. They look
rather for a reunion with departed friends in a state almost
independent of Gospel faith and Gospel holiness. They have
begun to dream of a change begun and ended in death, such as
shall transform the earthly into the heavenly, the sensual and
the devilish into the spiritual and the Godlike. We want
bringing back to the primitive touchstone : Art thou just, or
art thou unjust ? Such, for thee, will be the Resurrection. Art
thou now washed and justified and sanctified, in the name of the
Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God? Then shalt thou be at
the right hand in the great gathering. Then shall the King say
to thee, Come, thou blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom
prepared for thee from the foundation of the world. Then shalt
thou be numbered among tlie children of God, and thy lot shall
be among the saints. Then is the Resurrection to thee a hope
not a fear : a bright and blessed reversal of all earth's sorrows

THE GOOD CONFESSION. 523
not a bewilderment and a condemnation and a torture for
ever. But art thou still living in sin ? Is the world still thy god ?
Art thou athirst for its pleasures, its riches, its honours ? Is
the flesh still thy master ? Does it rule thee with a rod of iron,
bidding thee take thy fill of sense, bidding thee sin, and sin on,
and sin on, though thou die for it ? Is thine eye set upon things
below, counting nothing so bright or so desirable as the smile of
man that shall die, the applause of the son of man that shall soon
be as the dust from which he was taken? Then hast thou
altogether forfeited the Christian hope, and must take in its
stead the world's terror. For thee the Resurrection must be an
expectation, but it cannot be a hope ; a horrible dread, not a
soothing comfort.
God grant us that mind which was in Christ Jesus ; who for
the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. Then shall all
sorrow, all pain, all loneliness, all distress, be as nothing ; and
the future, the long, the eternal future, be all in all. Then shall
we be able to say, Come loss, come sorrow, come bereavement, come
solitude ; only be mine the hope of the faithful, mine at last the
resurrection of the just.

LECTURE XIV.
CONSCIENCE. Acts xxiv. 16.
And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience
void of offence toward God and toward men.
Every word is weighty. Conscience — a conscience void of
offence — offence toward God and toward men — I exercise myself,
herein, to have it so — these are the elements of our grave subject.
We must first separate, and then combine them.
i. The keynote of the whole sentence is that word con
science. What is conscience ?
It has been sometimes defined as a moral memory. But it is
more. Conscience has to do not with the past only, though with
it chiefly. In that sense poets and moralists have dwelt finely
and sternly upon its operations. This is twice living, to enjoy
life past ; to be able to reflect upon the days that are gone, with
satisfaction and with self-approval. On the other hand, Tlie first
and foremost punishment of sinners is to have sinned : fortune may
adorn a crime with Iter gifts, as if protecting and vindicating it ;
but it goes not unpunished, since the scourge of the crime is in tlie
crime itself. In such applications, conscience is a moral memory.
But it is more. Conscience, the word I mean, denotes a
fellow-knowledge ; a knowledge shared with another, and yet that
other oneself. St Paul says, in one of his Epistles, / know
nothing by myself: it is properly with myself: I have no fellow-
knowledge with myself of anything to be ashamed of. That

CONSCIENCE. 525
fellow-knowledge is conscience. Conscience is a man's privity
to his own conduct, in thought and word and deed. Out of this
all its workings and all its effects spring. I know with my
self. I am so made that I cannot help this fellow-knowledge.
I must, perforce, take cognizance of my own actions, and
sit in judgment upon my own secret thoughts. This is con
science. The word conscience occurs more than thirty times in the
New Testament, and of these more than twenty are in St Paul's
unquestioned writings.
(i) It is to the conscience of man that he says he addresses
his Gospel. By manifestation of the truth commending ourselves
to every man's conscience in the sight of God. Let each man's
fellow-knowledge, each man's privity to himself, feel, as he listens
to my Gospel, that it is a word of truth and soberness ; a word
worthy of God, and a word wholesome for man. We are made
manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your
consciences. (2) To his own conscience he appeals for testimony. / say
the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing 'me witness,
bearing witness with me, in the Holy Ghost. His own fellow-
knowledge, his own introspection, his privity to himself, assures
him of sincerity, of perfect truthfulness, in that which he is about
to utter. (3) He speaks more than once of a good conscience. I luive
lived, he says of himself before the council, in all good conscience
before God until this day. He bids his friend to hold faith and a
good conscience; and adds that some, having parted with the
latter, have made shipwreck also upon the other. The deacon
must be one who in like manner, holds the mystery of the faith in
a pure conscience. The fellow-knowledge, the self-privity, must
be good, must be pure — clean and not defiled — if a man would
keep a firm hold even upon sound doctrine.
(4) In other places he speaks of a weak conscience ; of one
whose self -judgment is timid and overscrupulous, unenlightened
as to the extent of his Christian freedom, but who yet, while it is

526 CONSCIENCE.
so, must respect and follow it, at the risk of losing altogether the
guidance of the one inward light of man.
(5) On the other hand, St Paul tells of an evil or bad
conscience; of a self-knowledge which is a knowledge of evil,
testifying to the inmost being of sins done and sins unrepented
of, creating a discord within, and raising an impassable barrier
between man and God.
(6) And so, step by step, we reach that which St Paul
describes, in his Epistle to Titus, as a defiled conscience ; a self-
knowledge which is privy not only to particular acts of trans
gression, but to a thorough choice and love of evil. Unto tlie
pure all things are pure; but unto tliem that are defiled and
unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is
defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny
Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work
reprobate. (7) From these there is but a step, if one, to the state
described as characteristic of some in the latter times, who have
their conscience seared with a hot iron; actually branded and
cauterized with an obdurate and an indelible mark and stain of
evil. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. From
that last and most fearful condition may God in His infinite
mercy save all who hear me.
2. Now the conscience which St Paul here describes himself
as striving after is one void of offence. The exact word is free
from stumbling-blocks. It is applied to a smooth and level road
which presents no obstacles for the traveller to stumble over.
St Paul desires to have a conscience, or self-privity, free from
stones or rocks with which the man might come into collision as
he traverses the past or treads the present of his life. The
figure is most expressive. He does not speak here of preserving
his life from stumbling, but his conscience : not therefore of the
act or the word or the idea of evil, but rather of the effect of
such things upon his self-cognizance, upon his inward view and
review, upon his feeling and his consciousness as he looks

CONSCIENCE. 527
behind or within. He is determined, God helping him by the
grace of His Holy Spirit, that his introspection, his perpetual
judgment upon himself, shall not find itself impeded and embar
rassed in its course by stumbling-blocks of evil done and good
left undone ; shall not trip here over a hasty or uncharitable
word, and there over a neglected duty, and there over an injured
soul, and there over a corrupt or polluting imagination : the
straight and smooth and unstained surface of the life and soul
shall present nothing for the self-cognizance to dash against as
an upbraiding, accusing, or condemning object. This is the
figure. The conscience, not the life only, must be kept void of
offence. He would be able to say, I know nothing by (against)
myself. 3. And he adds that there are two chief departments of
this unstumbling conscience ; corresponding to the two great
divisions of human duty. A conscience void of offence, toward
God, and toward man. When the thought of God is presented,
the self-judgment is not staggered : and when the thought of
man is presented, still the self-cognizance, the inward privity, is
not beset by monuments of reproach or evil.
We are speaking of great things here. Where is he amongst
us who can bear the application of St Paul's test ?
Some men are not afraid of the second table. Like the rich
young ruler in the Gospel, they can stand up before Christ, and
say, All tliese commandments have I observed from my youth.
They have done no harm, they can say it sometimes on a death
bed, to any man : their conscience is clear. It is not a good
sign, this confidence : dying Christians generally express them
selves quite differently : they feel themselves sinners, and their
hope is fixed on a Saviour of sinners. But at least when the
attention of the inward judge is turned to the first table — to
that law which bids man love the Lord his God with all his
heart and mind and soul and strength — then surely the self-
deceiver will be unmasked to himself : the conscience is not void
of offence : its course, as it hears the case, is not smooth but
stumbling : God has not been loved with half the love bestowed

528 CONSCIENCE.
upon self and upon the creature : and the verdict must be, Yet
lackest thou one thing ; and that one thing lacking was tlie one
thing needful.
4. I hasten to St Paul's account of his own effort after the
attainment of this clear, this unstumbling conscience. Herein,
he says before Felix, his unscrupulous and immoral judge, herein
do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence.
Herein. In this matter, of the faith and the hope avowed in
the preceding sentence; a faith based upon the old Scriptures,
and the hope of a general resurrection. St Paul's faith was not
an indolent taking for granted : his hope was not a listless
waiting for a prize of which he was certain : that resurrection
which was the hope of Israel, which is the hope of the Church,
stirred him to perpetual efforts, and reconciled him to a severe
self-discipline. In this matter I exercise myself; or, more exactly,
/ myself also, I, who might be thought safe of it, I, who might
be considered as placed by my call and my Apostleship above
the risk of failing or falling short of glory, I myself also
exercise. The word is remarkable. It is the term applied to the
training of an athlete. It expresses that long course of dis
cipline by which alone a man could be prepared for a gymnastic
feat. Every man that striveth for the mastery, every man who
engages in an athletic contest, is temperate, exercises self-control
and self-discipline, in all things. I train myself to have a con
science void of offence.
We are apt to think that, whatever other difficulties the
Apostles had to contend with, they had none within. We
know that they were exposed to perpetual privations, perse
cutions, and sufferings : but we take it for granted that their
enemies were all outward, and that a constant and even rap
turous devotion secured to them an entire immunity from
what we feel to be the greatest difficulties and the worst dangers
of a Christian life.
How strongly does St Paul combat this error ! Hear him
as he writes to the Corinthians, using the figure so familiar

CONSCIENCE. 529
to his readers from the spectacle of their Isthmian games.
I therefore so run, as not uncertainly ; so fight I, as not beating
the air: but I keep under my body — the word is far stronger
in the original — / buffet my body — I meet it day by day, as
it were, in pugilistic encounter — and bring it into subjection
(servitude) ; lest that by any means, when I have preached to
others, I myself should be a castaway. Could any language
express more forcibly the identity of his daily struggle with
that of the commonest man ? His nature was our nature ;
the cravings of his body as imperious, the rovings of his fancy
as capricious, the desires of his mind as eager, as our own : some
troubles he had, and some temptations, even greater and more
obstinate than ours : and while he had daily to lead others
to the battle, he was compelled to engage in it himself for
life or death. It did not come naturally to him to have a
conscience void of offence. He had to train himself for it,
by daily bufferings of his own body, mortifications of his own
inclination, and crucifixions of his own will. The hope of a
glorious resurrection bore him up, and in Christ's strength he
went forward conquering and to conquer.
The subject is its own application.
(i) Ye see your calling, brethren. The Christian life is not
easy. St Paul found it a severe life. He had to train for it.
He had to fight with his own body day by day. His enemy
was (in one sense, though not in another) flesh and blood.
He knew what weariness was, what languor was, what an
ailing body was, what a lonely saddened spirit was, what
a hardly bestead and tempted heart was. We must be men,
if we would be Christians. While we call in the arm of grace,
we must also lift up the hands which hang down, and confirm
the feeble knees. The Christian conflict is not a dream : it
is a reality. Every one is against us, except One. The flesh
is against us; making duty a daily difficulty, and nature itself
a daily snare. The world is against us; our own little world
— small and insignificant, but not weak for us — the world of
our own acquaintance, our own household, our own nearest
v. 34

530 CONSCIENCE.
and most chosen friends. All, in their own way, are a snare
to us; either making heaven less real, or the world more real,
than it would be without them. But what then? Brave men
are only roused by difficulties : if the Gospel demands courage,
it is all the more a Gospel for men. Ours is no languid, dreamy,
delicious religion ; lying still now, and to rest for ever then !
It is a religion of activity, of enterprise, of ambition ; a religion
which wears armour, and which wields weapons, and which
points onwards to a crown. In the very same degree it is a
religion which takes men as they are, and which offers to make
them what they ought to be. / train myself, St Paul says,
for my high calling.
(2) Secondly, and most obviously, learn the place of con
science in the Christian scheme. It is not enough for a man
to be what is commonly called a conscientious man. Cornelius
was that, and more, before his conversion. St Paul was that,
and more, before his conversion. Yet the one must send men
to Joppa for one who should tell him words of salvation. And
the other must see Jesus Christ Himself, showing him to his
own heart as the chief of sinners, and then disclosing to him
a more excellent way. But though obedience to conscience
(apart from Christ) is not salvation, yet there is thus much
of connection and continuity between a life before and a life
after conversion, that it is still conscience which guides, only
conscience itself has widened its field of vision and gained
a new criterion of judgment. The revelation of Christ and
the revelation of the Spirit make it a matter of conscience to
trust in the One and to seek the other. When St Paul wrote,
after his conversion, And herein do I exercise myself, to have
always a conscience void of offence ; it meant something different
from what he could have said equally before his conversion,
/ have lived in all good, conscience before God until this day.
The latter was consistent with the persecution of the Church :
the former had as its first principle affiance in Christ and
devotion to His service. And yet, in the one as in the other,
conscience was the guide ; dark in the one state, light in the

CONSCIENCE. 531
other. A man is not a conscientious man now, unless Christ,
as well as God, is in all his thoughts.
(3) I speak to some this evening who have not yet sullied
the transparency of conscience. They have in them, indeed,
the taint of the original Adam : and they have acted that
defilement (who has not?) in definite transgression. The young
est child here present has sinned : how much more we who
are children no longer ! Still there is a difference, and a marked
difference, between the conscientious and the wicked ; between
those who regard duty, and those who heed not the voice and
the light within them. How can I express, as St Paul here
teaches us, the importance of attending to conscience? O, it
is a sensitive and a delicate thing, this gift of human self-privity
and self-cognizance and self-judgment ! In early day it speaks
and is heard : a little disobedience, a little untruthfulness, a
little selfishness and ill temper, will lie like a leaden weight
upon the young conscience : it cannot rest without confession,
it can scarcely forgive itself even when forgiven. Look on
but a few years, and the child who trembled at an undutiful
word, is a young man who can make a mock at sin. He has
gone from step to step, first in the knowledge, then in the
tolerance, at last in the touching and tasting and handling of
evil : and now a sin which ought to lay him in the dust is
done and remembered and jested at and revelled in : conscience
has lost its edge : it stumbles not at the grossest form of evil.
This instrument, this measure, this test, of right and wrong,
may be spoilt, may be ruined, by careless and irreverent hand
ling : and what is a man then ? What is a ship without a rudder,
or a mind without reason and without soul? I say then, to
all here present who are either too young, or else too thoughtful,
to have yet thrown away their compass, See that nothing tempt
you to go against conscience. If a thing seems to you to be
wrong, flee from it. If you have fallen into it unawares, confess,
forsake, abjure it. If something within says to you, This is
right, let nothing induce you to swerve from it. Keep innoceney,
34—2

532 CONSCIENCE.
and take heed unto the thing that is right: for this shall bring
a man peace at the last.
(4) Finally, it is too much to suppose that every member
of the congregation can take to himself the last exhortation.
A Christian minister cannot address himself only to the inno
cent. He has a Gospel for the sinful, or he would be a traitor
to his Lord. / came not to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance. They that are whole need not a physician, but tliey
tliat are sick. Let my latest thought this night be for those
who may be amongst us with what the Scripture calls a bad
conscience : men and women who may have within them tonight
a restless spirit, an accusing voice, ringing in their inward ear
a knell of reproach, and making their heart sink with what
an Apostle has called a certain fearful looking for of judgment.
Let me take from the Word of God last quoted an augury of
hope for these. Having our hearts, it is written, sprinkled
from an evil conscience. Do you feel that you have sinned ?
Has this last week witnessed your fall ? Have you begun to say
within yourself, It is in vain ? I resolve in vain, I struggle in
vain, I pray in vain : let me alone : I must work out my destiny,
and sink like lead in the mighty waters ? Yes, there are here,
in this place tonight, immortal souls thus desponding : and
probably the text of this Sermon, and many of its details,
have rather daunted than elevated them : now therefore at its
close I place those inspired, those inspiring words of the Apostle
to the Hebrews, and say, Get your hearts sprinkled from an
evil conscience. And do you say, Wherewith ? I answer from
the same Epistle, With the blood of Jesus , even that precious
blood, which cleanseth from all sin. Yes, to this end Christ
died, that He might purge your conscience from dead works,
and so set you free to serve the living God. Put not from you
that hope. There is no man who kneels before God as a sinner,
self-accusing, self-condemning, self-despairing, who may not look
upwards to the merey-seat in heaven, and say, For Thy Son
our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, forgive me all tliat is past. It
may be great sin, it may be foul sin, it may be presumptuous

CONSCIENCE. 533
sin: the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Get your heart sprinkled from an evil conscience by faith in
the universal propitiation. And then start afresh. Go forth
from God's presence as a forgiven man, to live and to act upon
that forgiveness. And if you fall again, come back again.
Never will you cease to want that sprinkling — and never will
the power of that sprinkling be worn out — until you are out
of reach of temptation, out of reach of the world and of the
flesh and of the devil for ever. This is not Antinomian doctrine :
this is the doctrine in which resides the very hope of holiness,
and its reality, and its humility, and its blessedness. Let no man
say, My conscience is defiled past redemption : such language is
treason against the cross of Christ. Let no man say, My con
science is seared past feeling : if it were so, you would not know
and you would not feel it. Still is the living fountain open for
sin and for uncleanness : still may all who will, gather around
that sacred spring, and buy there forgiveness and sanctification
without money and without price.

LECTURE XV.
STIFLED CONVICTIONS.
Acts xxiv. 25.
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment
to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time :
when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
It is always interesting, as well as instructive, to see Christianity
brought face to face with heathenism. More especially, to see
a Christian prisoner brought to trial before a heathen judge ;
brought to trial for being a Christian ; for having turned aside
from Judaism into Christianity ; from what the judge regards
as a despicable superstition, into something yet more contemp
tible and degraded still. We can see the smile of disdain with
which the whole controversy is listened to. When the accusers
stood up, says one of these judges, tliey brought none accusation
against him of such things as I supposed ; but had certain questions
against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which
was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. The great example
itself was ever reenacted : the bewilderment of Pontius Pilate,
who had to decide, at a moment's notice, that strangest and
most momentous of all cases, when the Son of God Himself
stood at the bar of a human judge, is seen over again in every
one of these trials ; the half misgiving that something deeper
than his knowledge may be involved, struggling with the hard
ened and scoffing indifference which has learned to treat all
religions as alike convenient and alike untrue.

STIFLED CONVICTIONS. 535
Even thus was it here. Antonius Felix, once a slave, now
a ruler ; a profligate, an oppressor, and an assassin ; is brought,
for once in his life, face to face with the Gospel. We have
heard the opening of the defence. St Paul, offering to the
Roman magistrate no hollow compliments, yet paying the respect
due to his office, has congratulated himself on standing before
a judge who is no stranger to the circumstances to which he
appeals in his defence. A nine years' acquaintance with the
country will enable Felix to understand the bearing of points
which might otherwise have seemed irrelevant. It is now only
twelve days since he went up to Jerusalem ; a short time —
considering how a large part of it has been occupied, in a
journey to Csesarea as a prisoner — a short time for the com
mission of the triple crime with which he is charged ; sedition,
heresy, and sacrilege. His object in coming up to Jerusalem
was to worship ; to be present at one of the three great annual
festivals of the Jewish religion. He was also on an errand of
charity. He came to bring alms to his nation and offerings.
He had been engaged for many months (as we learn from several
of his Epistles) in making a collection among the Gentile Churches
for the support of the poor and suffering in Judea. At Jeru
salem, so far from offering any insult to the established religion,
he had even consented to go through a rite of purification accord
ing to the Jewish Law. That was the object of his presence in
the Temple. Tliey found me purified, in the Temple, neither with
multitude nor with tumult. And where, he asks, are the whV
nesses ? A goodly array of prosecutors : but where are the Jews
from Asia on whose evidence they rely? No; his real crime
is not apostasy from the faith of his fathers ; not irreverence
towards the ritual or the religion of his nation ; but on the very
contrary, a strict adherence to a hope which that nation has
forgotten, though its own Scriptures record it ; the hope of a
resurrection of the dead, built upon the attested fact that the
promised Messiah has Himself risen.
Such is the substance of the defence. Two points in it have
already secured by their importance a separate consideration;

536 STIFLED CONVICTIONS.
(i) St Paul's doctrine of a twofold resurrection; and (2) St Paul's
perpetual self-discipline to have a conscience void of offence.
But by this time the cold impartiality of the magistrate, set
to decide between what he regards as rival tenets of two sects of
a superstitious religion, has satisfied itself that there is either no
case against the prisoner, or certainly no urgency in its adjudi
cation. Let both parties wait. When Lysias the chief captain
shall come down, by whose authority the prisoner was sent to
Csesarea, Felix will resume the hearing. Meanwhile there need
be no severity of treatment. Paul may have all freedom that
is compatible with his detention, and may see any of his friends
who care to visit him. But Felix went further. In this interval
he sent for Paul, and, in company with his wife Drusilla, who,
whatever her conduct, was still by profession as well as by birth
a Jewess, heard him concerning the faith in Christ. It is at this
point that the words of the text occur.
1. First then, what subjects did St Paul select as those
most appropriate to his hearers? He reasoned (or discoursed)
concerning righteousness, and temperance, and judgment to come.
Many persons would have expected him to go at once to the
Gospel ; to open before these sinners, in their day of confidence
and of unconcern, the blessed prospect of a free forgiveness, an
entire sanctification, and everlasting life. We hear much said
against what is called moral preaching. And certainly a moral
Sermon may be a miserably dry and lifeless thing. And a
Sermon which leaves Christ out of sight must be a dry and
lifeless thing to a Christian congregation. But a moral Sermon
need not leave Christ out of sight. A moral Sermon may be
most deeply Christian. And, let me say, a moral Sermon — •
which knows its place, and desires to be as the schoolmaster
unto Christ — may be powerfully awakening. Many a careless
heart, which treads underfoot the precious pearl of the Gospel,
has been shaken to its foundation by the exhibition of moral
consequences, by that reasoning which shows the wrath of God
against sin, and reiterates in the inward ear the solemn admo
nition, Be sure your sin will find you out. There are first

STIFLED CONVICTIONS. 537
elements of universal truth, which must be declared, and must
be enforced, and must be felt, before even the announcement
of a Saviour can by possibility be valued. And it is just because
we have learned these first principles so imperfectly, so confusedly,
or so superficially, that our own course has been oftentimes so
vague and inconsistent, our appreciation of the Gospel so inade
quate, our love of Christ Himself so faint and cold and dead.
To a heathen governor, a cruel and licentious as well as
unbelieving man, St Paul could not without folly have begun
by proclaiming the fulness and freeness of the grace of Christ.
There was as yet no accusing conscience at work within, to make
the promise of forgiveness acceptable or indeed intelligible. It
would have been indeed a casting of pearls before swine, a giving
that which is holy unto tlie dogs, to tell a man, in the moral state
of Felix, of a God who passes by iniquity, transgression, and sin,
and keeps mercy for thousands of the fallen. St Paul began at
the other end of truth. He sought to lay a deep foundation,
rather than to rear on the sand a showy superstructure. He
selected three topics for this first discourse.
(i) He spoke of righteousness. Righteousness, in this sense,
is the giving to all their due. It is the fulfilling of every relation
in which we stand to others. It is the being a perfectly faithful
son or father, brother or sister, husband or wife, subject or ruler,
servant or master, or whatever else we may be, by duty and
position, towards any other living person ; yea, and towards God
also. What a subject for discourse — how large, how deep, how
instructive, how condemning ! St Paul no doubt told Felix (as
he had told him, by implication, in his earlier defence) that he
had a monitor within, a natural conscience, telling him, in the
great leading features at least, what was his bounden duty in
every particular of inward and outward, of domestic and public
life. His conscience told him that, when he tempted away the
wife Drusilla from her husband Azizus king of Emesa, he was
doing a wicked and a criminal act, for which, sooner or later,
an account was to be rendered. His conscience told him that,
when he brought about the murder of Jonathan the high priest

538 STIFLED CONVICTIONS.
because he was offended with his unwelcome counsels, he was
doing a treacherous and a barbarous act, for which, sooner or
later, he must expect to give account. He was violating, in
every such case, one of those relations in which God, the univer
sal Creator and the universal Judge, had placed him towards his
brother men. In enunciating to him the first principles of
morality in this one respect, St Paul was laying a deep and
solid foundation for whatever he. might afterwards have to say
to him of the Gospel. So long as conscience was either asleep
or silent upon such topics, there was no room for the safe or
salutary entrance of a Gospel of forgiveness and Divine grace.
Would to God, my brethren, that this part of St Paul's
address to Felix were wholly superfluous in a place calling "itself
Christian ! Which of us needs not, in some particular, the
trumpet-call to righteousness ? to a fulfilment of life's relations ?
to a rendering to all their dues, and even to God the things that
are God's ? Where is he amongst us, who is so without sin, in
these first elements of faithfulness, that he could dare to cast the
first stone at another ? And yet we write ourselves Christians,
and think that all we can need now is the consolation of the
Gospel. St Paul reasoned of righteousness.
(2) He went on to temperance. The word is important in
its most obvious sense. 0 the miserable homes, O the yet more
miserable hearts, in this town, at this moment, by reason of this
one want, the want of temperance ! Intemperance, as we com
monly use that word, is of all vices the most degrading. It
levels man with the beasts that perish : nay, -far more, far worse,
than this ; for the brute creation obeys instinct, and instinct
points to use, not to abuse. But the word temperance, as now
used, falls below the meaning of the word employed by St Paul.
That of which St Paul reasoned with Felix was the larger virtue
of self restraint, of self-command, generally. He taught him —
still occupying the ground rather of nature and reason than of
Revelation and the Gospel — that every man ought to be able to
command himself ; to say No to appetite when it passes its just

STIFLED CONVICTIONS. 539
limit ; to bridle inclination ; to coerce lust ; to say to himself,
This I will do, because it is right, and, This will I not do, because
it is wrong. This is temperance. It is the holding of the reins
of conduct in the hand of the will, and the regulating of that
will itself by the ordinance of reason and of God. The absence
of this power, or the loss of it, is the cause of all the sins and of
all the miseries which have made this world a scene of suffering
and of desolation.
And yet, my brethren, I must again ask, even in a Christian
congregation, which of us all holds the reins of action in his own
hand, and guides them as religion or even as reason prompts ?
Alas, the weakness, the bondage, of the will is the very malady
from which man suffers. We cannot do the things tliat we would :
we are the slaves of another, even of that watchful, that ever
restless enemy, who desires not our happiness but our ruin, and
uses our own selves to work it out for each of us. Let us
examine the question, each one of us, with reference either to the
organs of our own body or to the faculties of our own mind, and
too many of us must confess, with Felix, that we are not our
own masters ; that we have not the absolute control either of
thought or speech or act, but do every day things that we would
not, and leave undone the things that we would.
St Paul reasoned of temperance.
(3) And then to one thus self-condemned ; thus lying under
the double charge of violating the relations of life in a thousand
instances both of omission and of act, and also of having dropped
the reins of the inner being, and forfeited that self-control which
is the very life of man's life ; the Apostle, advancing one step
further, utters that terrible message, which the conscience within
instantly re-echoes, of a judgment and a wrath to come. It may be
doubted whether the expectation of a judgment is more a point of
natural or of revealed religion. Certainly, if Revelation declares,
conscience ratifies. Conscience reads in the revelation the
confirmation of its own misgivings, and sets to its seal that God is
true. The very scheme of this world, as we see it apart from
Revelation, would be most imperfect, utterly incomprehensible,

540 STIFLED CONVICTIONS.
without a judgment. There must be some future rectification of
existing inequalities : there must be some state or some time in
which the neglect of God, and the defiance of God, shall reap its
fruits ; in which the sufferings of His servants shall be redressed,
and the triumphings of the wicked discomfited. But that truth
which seems to us, in the retrospect, to have been an instinct
and an intuition is at least revealed and attested in the Gospel.
God hath appointed a day, St Paul said before the Areopagus at
Athens, in (he which He will judge the world in righteousness by
that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given
assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the
dead. 2. Such was the discourse of St Paul in this first interview
with Felix. And what was its effect ? As he discoursed of
righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled,
and answered, Go thy way for this time : when I have a convenient
season, I will call for thee.
Felix trembled. The magistrate, the judge, the oppressor,
the profligate ; before the prisoner, the powerless, the despised,
but the man of God. Yes, the truth has great power. The
voice of God, whether it be the voice of God in the Law or in the
Gospel, in conscience or in Revelation, has great power. Men
wonder it has not more. If it were indeed God's voice, they
say, it must have more. Doubtless it has often a hindrance in
the human utterer. He presses it not as he ought : he exem
plifies it not as he ought : he even utters it not as he ought. A
poor, confused, lifeless thing is all that reaches the congregation
from what ought to be the very storehouse of God's oracles : and
he who takes the life out of it in his preaching takes also the power
out of it in his life. And thus the Gospel has oftentimes not even a
chance. But it is very wonderful — it is a mark, I must think, of
its Divine origin — -that it has the power it has. Think what the
strength of resistance to it might be expected to be. Think
what the influences of time and sense are : think what it is to be
surrounded by a gay and giddy world : think what it is to have
every energy tasked to the uttermost in the discharge of business

STIFLED CONVICTIONS. 541
or in the pursuit of pleasure : think what it is to have passions
clamouring within for their gratification, and making it the
direct interest of a human soul to forget God, to deny Christ, to
disbelieve eternity : and then wonder only — for it is indeed a
cause for wonder — not that the Gospel has so little power, but
that it has so much ; wonder that so considerable an influence is
exercised by it over human conduct ; wonder, not less, that so
many, who do not obey, fear the Gospel ; that so many, as the
minister of Christ reasons with them of righteousness and
temperance and judgment to come, still, like Felix, tremble.
But this trembling is not a certain sign of good. It admits
of being (as a Prophet has said) healed slightly. Many have
trusted in the trembling. They have had convictions, they say,
and they take conviction for conversion, and conversion for the
whole of grace. They lay all the stress upon the having trembled.
It made the Gospel pleasant to them : they received it with joy :
and there the work ended. Alas, it was but begun. Little do
they know of the Christian life, with its joys and sorrows, its
turnings and windings, its falls and risings again, its anxieties,
its ambiguities, its continual precariousness : they expected to
arrive without a journey, to win without a race, to conquer
without a battle.
Felix trembled. But he found a short way — a way often
trodden — to relief and respite. He said to the Apostle, For the
present go thy way: when (or if) I get an opportunity, I will
summon thee. Thus he cut short the pain which he would not
make remedial : and when he next met his teacher, a meaner
thought had taken possession : he sent for him, but it was in the
hope that he would give him money ; that the prisoner might
fee his judge for freeing him : and with such a motive at work,
no wonder that the charm of the Gospel was counteracted : the
sordid desire of gain, and from such a source, could not coexist
with any aspiration after heaven : his chance was gone ;
forfeited by himself and sinned away. He proceeded on his
downward course. Soon he was summoned to give an account
to his imperial master of his unfaithful, his dishonest stewardship.

542 STIFLED CONVICTIONS.
And then he and his instructor parted, we must suppose, for
ever : the light had gleamed once upon his path, but it now died
away, and left the darkness thicker yet and gloomier and more
hopeless than before.
It is a true parable. Every man has his opportunity ; and if
he misses it, it comes not again. Ours is the present : let us
grasp it, and use it, and live by it, while we may.
Felix vanishes from the page of Inspiration : yet has his
converse with the man of God left an impress upon that page for
ever, and thousands and tens of thousands owe their first convic
tions to the record of his opportunity and of his obduracy.
Dare we hope, my friends, that all of us have listened and
feared? have felt conscience pricked and stirred within, and
have not, like Felix, deferred to act upon conviction ? Which
of us all has never said to the troublesome admonition, outward
or from within ; to the monitor, visible or invisible, who uttered
it ; Go thy way for this time ? Has no Sermon ever sounded in
our hearts with convincing force, and yet we have gone away to
forget, to trifle with it, and to disobey ? How have we reckoned
upon prolonged life, upon renewed and repeated opportunities of
fetching back at will the discarded rebuker or exhorter ! When
I get an opportunity, I will summon thee. Not now ; not now .
I am busy, I am at ease, I am indisposed, I am unfit : I have
bought a piece of ground, I have married a wife : the occupations
of life, or the cares of life, the affections of life, or the pleasures of
life, are too strong for me at present : but soon perhaps the oppor
tunity will come : I shall be less busy, or I shall be less happy, or
I shall be less prosperous, or I shall be less careworn : perhaps I
shall be sorrowful some day ; perhaps some day I shall be sick :
then will I call for thee. Yes, so it is : such is the tale of life
throughout its generations. Soon, but not now : not while time is
ours ; not while it can do any good to listen ; not while it might
guide the life, while it might mitigate care, while it might counter
act or overbear temptation : but some day, some fancied day, when
I shall be ill, and yet not too ill — when death will be in sight, and
yet at some distance — then will I turn to God: tomorrow not

STIFLED CONVICTIONS. 543
today ; peradventure, not for certain : no, not for certain ; for
what is certain on earth save the moment that is ? Behold, now is
the accepted time ; behold, now is tlie day of salvation.
Be sure that whatever awakens a serious thought in us, even
for a moment, is a voice from God ; and that to trifle with it, or
to delay acting upon it, is to trifle and to procrastinate with God.
Be sure too, that, in what form soever the call come to us,
whether as a warning or as an invitation, whether as a reproof
for sin or a promise of blessing, it is equally in either case, if we
will listen to it, a call of love, and he who puts it away or puts it
off puts away or puts off his own happiness.
God grant that this may not be a last opportunity, and a lost
opportunity, for any of us. How many such opportunities has
God already given to each one of us ! Nothing can bring back
to us those that have been wasted : let not this one be wasted
too.

LECTURE XVI.
THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY.
Acts xxvi. 14.
It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Porcius Festus succeeded Antonius Felix in the government
of Judsea. Two years already had St Paul been a prisoner at
Csesarea : and the change of governor made no immediate change
in his condition or circumstances. He seems, however, to have
passed from the hands of a magistrate at once immoral, mean,
and unprincipled, into those of an equitable and not unamiable
man, desirous to protect him from violence, and to recognise the
rights of his citizenship. After three days spent at Csesarea, the
seat of the civil government, Festus paid a visit to Jerusalem ;
the centre of chief interest, in reference alike to the history and
to the religion of the remarkable people over which he was set to
rule. There he was beset by applications regarding the case
of St Paul. The unsleeping malice of the Jewish persecutors,
hoping something from the inexperience of a new governor,
planned a petition for the prisoner's removal from Csesarea to
Jerusalem, as if for a further and more convenient hearing ; in
reality with a view to his assassination by the way. Festus
could see no reason for the change of place. The accusers might
accompany him to Csesarea in a few days, and there he would
investigate the case without delay.
But this renewed trial ended like the former. A number of

THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY. 545
unproved charges were brought against the prisoner : charges, as
before — to judge by the answer — of crimes against the Law of
Moses, against the Temple, and against the Emperor ; in other
words, of heresy, of sacrilege, and of treason. But the utterance
of the charmed words, 7 appeal unto Cassar, transferred the case
from the subordinate to the highest tribunal : a Roman citizen
had claimed to be heard before the Roman Emperor : and Festus,
after some conference with his assessors on the only possible
question — whether there was anything in the particular case
to exempt it from the operation of the general rule — closed the
matter by the decisive judgment, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar?
unto Gozsar shalt thou go. The prisoner was remanded into
custody, until an opportunity should occur for sending him to
Rome. In the- interval Festus was visited by a person well qualified,
by position and education, to throw some light upon a case full
of perplexities for Festus. King Agrippa, a great grandson of
Herod the Great ; son of that Herod whose persecution of the
Church and whose mysterious end are related in the 12th chapter;
arrived at Csesarea with his sister Bernioe : and after many
days — for the despised Christian prisoner must wait till there
was nothing else to be spoken of — when they had been there many
days, Festus mentioned Paul's case to his illustrious guest, and
described the difficulty which he had found in bringing to it an
intelligent judgment. When the accusers stood up, they brought
against him none accusation of such things as I supposed; but
had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of
one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. The
curiosity of Agrippa was awakened by the description. / would
also, he said, hear the man myself.
I fear we must divest our minds of all traditional interest in
the character of this king Agrippa. He was a cold-hearted
voluptuary. His long life — for he lived till Trajan's reign ;
outlived by many years the fall of Jerusalem ; outlived all but
one, if not every one, of the Apostles — presents no point on
which the Christian eye can fasten with hope or with satisfac-
v. 35

546 THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY.
tion. The character of the almost persuaded, of the almost
Christian, however common, finds (as we shall hereafter see) no
real type in him. Roman satirists are busy with the terrible
scandals of his private character. If he knew, if (as St Paul says)
he believed, the Prophets, it was the worse for him. If he knew,
he did not.
And the life of his companion who shall describe 1 The
briefest summary is the most decent. Bernice was first married
to her uncle, Herod king of Chalcis. After his death she lived
under circumstances of great suspicion with her own brother,
this king Agrippa. She was a second time married, to Pole-
mon, king of Cilicia ; but soon left him, and returned to her
brother. She afterwards lived, in unholy union, with the
Emperor Vespasian, and with his son, the Emperor Titus.
These were the people before whom St Paul was here called,
to make his defence. Strange, marvellous contrast, between the
prisoner and the judges ! It was needful to indicate it, that we
might understand the full meaning of that courtesy, of that
patience, of that earnestness, with which the cause is pleaded
and the subsequent dialogue maintained.
Festus summons Paul before Agrippa, that he may have
something to say in his despatch to Nero. Agrippa would wile
away an hour of a somewhat tedious visit by listening to a
curious story. The profligate Bernice, worthy sister to the
adulteress Drusilla of whom we read in the 24th chapter, would
display her vanity before a distinguished concourse, and amuse
herself with a tale of sufferings in which she has no concern.
Paul alone of all that assembly has a clear purpose in this life,
and a bright hope in regard to that which is to come.
With the same truthful courtesy which we noticed in him
before Felix, he begins by acknowledging the competence of his
principal hearer. King Agrippa knows by long use the customs,
and is experienced in the questions, of the Jewish nation. He
can enter with intelligence into matters which without such
training would be meaningless. For the second time we have
here from St Paul's own lips a narrative of his life and of his

THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY. 547
change. In speaking in the 22 nd chapter before a tumultuous
audience at Jerusalem, he naturally and skilfully puts forward
such points as would rather conciliate than outrage their pre
possessions and prejudices. The narrative is the same in sub
stance, yet differently presented. Such is the naturalness of
Holy Scripture that it seems as though it were indifferent about
a superficial consistency. So it is ever with truth : its harmony
is often veiled and hidden ; while falsehood sometimes betrays
itself, to a practised ear, by a studied and ostentatious uni
formity. He begins, however, here as there, by a strong assertion of
his original and of his persistent Jewish orthodoxy. After the
straitest sect of our religion I lived in youth a Pharisee. And
now, he proceeds, even now, it is for the national hope that he is
here brought to trial. It is not he who has been a renegade.
He is an Israelite still ; tenacious of a hope and of a promise
for which others are ignorantly, vainly, blindly looking, because
they will not see that it is come. Such was he once : he thought
once, like them, that duty called him to oppose Jesus of Nazareth.
No persecutor of the Christians so keen once as he. Many of the
saints did I shut up in prisons. When tliey were being put
to death, I gave my vote against tliem. I punished them oft in
every synagogue. I sought to compel them to blaspheme. Nay,
unsatisfied with home efforts, I persecuted them even unto strange
(foreign) cities.
Such was his course — known and notorious — till the very
moment of his great change. He was at that moment on a
persecuting journey. Charged with a public mission from the
chief priests of Israel, he was at that time on his journey to
the far Damascus, to bring the Christians there bound unto
Jerusalem. What changed him ? Was any sudden impulse of
tenderness, any weak vacillation, any lurking hesitation about
truth or duty, likely to upset resolutions so fixed, or to convert
him to a new opinion offering nothing (to him) but reproach,
disgrace, and ruin? The supposition is monstrous. Never was
a man so pledged, so committed, to a particular course : and
35—2

548 THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY.
never was a revolution so complete as that which changed him to
the opposite.
How was it then wrought ? By no deception of the senses,
such as dream or nightly vision might bring with it: the hour
was noon, and the place was the neighbourhood of a city. A
light, distinguishable from the midday glare of an Eastern sun,
was visible both to him and his companions. All were stricken
to the earth by the blaze of that glory. And then he alone— all
heard a sound, but to him alone by himself did the voice
intelligibly address itself — lie heard a voice speaking to him —
speaking in a known language, even the sacred Hebrew tongue
— and saying, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? It is hard
for thee to kick against the goad. Who art Thou, Lord ? was his
terrified answer : and the voice spake again, and said, / am Jesus
whom thou persecutest.
We cannot hurry — even if it be for the third time — through
the deeply instructive narrative of a Conversion to which the
world itself owes (under God) its Christianity. And therefore
I pause for this night upon the few words read to you as the
text, and contained (as we have now heard) in the first call of
Jesus Christ from heaven to a blasphemer and a persecutor
below, It is hard for thee to kick against the goad. When we
look into them, we shall find much that is suitable to ourselves,
and appropriate, I think, to the first Sunday evening of a new
and as yet undeveloped year.
The first glance at the words shows us a proverb. Even
from heaven, God, if He speaks at all, must adapt His speech to
man's usages. The risen and ascended Saviour spake, not on
earth only — He speaks also from heaven — in proverbs, in parables,
in dark sayings. His thoughts are not as our thoughts : but His
words, if they are to carry instruction in them, must be even as
our words.
And the proverb before us is taken from common, from the
very commonest life of man. Like so many of our Lord's
similitudes in the Gospels, it is derived from agricultural life ;
from the experience of a husbandman ploughing or driving cattle.

THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY. 549
With a goad in his hand, headed by a long sharp spike of iron,
he drives before him the reluctant animal which would loiter or
deviate from its way. In the obstinacy of an untamed will, the
bullock unaccustomed to the yoke will even kick against his driver;
and then the iron, otherwise harmless, enters, and enters deeply,
into the recalcitrant foot. Which of the two is injured by it?
Where is the folly, the harm, the pain ? Not in the driver, but
in the driven : the animal suffers for his rebellion against the
will which, unresisted, meant only good.
Even thus it is in that region which the parable symbolized.
In human life, in the affairs of the soul, in the things of moral
and spiritual good and evil, there is a hand which directs, and
there is also a will which it seeks to guide. The directing hand
is God's, and the directed will is man's. So long as the human
will moves along the straight furrow of duty, obeying the revealed
Word and yielding to the Holy Spirit of its Maker, so long the
goad of punishment is unfelt, because there is a unity between
the Divine purpose and the human conduct. But if man will
refuse the Divine influence, and stop or hedge aside from the
direct forthright of obedience, the guiding impulse must become
a painful goad of discipline, and resistance must be coerced and
(if necessary) punished into acquiescence.
It is hard for thee, a creature and a subject, to kick against
the goad of Divine discipline : hard for thee, infatuated, and
suicidal ; inasmuch as the hand over thee is stronger than thou,
and, if not in love and tenderness as He would, then with fury
poured out as He would not, must God rule over thee.
Such is the maxim by which our Lord once arrested from
heaven the mad career of a persecutor, and turned him, under
the influence of grace, into a servant and an Apostle. May its
application be so blessed this night, as to correct some rebellious
will, and bring back some resisting spirit into that docility and
that obedience which is evermore happiness, rest, and peace.
r. The way of transgressors is hard. So speaks Solomon,
son of David, king of Jerusalem. He had found it so. Bitterly
no doubt had he contrasted the promise of his beginning with the

550 THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY.
fulfilment of his end. And so speaks the Lord Jesus Christ in
a proverb communicated from heaven. It is hard for thee to
kick against the goad which drives.
The young man thinks it a sign of independence, thinks it a
mark of freedom, to forget God that made him, and to walk in
the way of his own heart. He learns to forsake the rule of his
father, and to despise the law of his mother. He forms new
associates : his habits become more and more such as a Christian
parent would mourn over, such as a Christian home must cast
out. Is he happy ? Does he find his new life a freedom ? Are
his new ways ways of pleasantness, are his chosen paths peace ?
He tries to think them so : he calls them so in his hours of mirth :
he doubts not that they will be so as he becomes more at home
in them. But somehow — he cannot account for it — he feels
himself in reality to be more in bondage than ever. The old
rules of his home, the primitive principles of his parents, if they
were restraints, at least had no sting in them : burdensome
perhaps in their observance, certainly they never tormented him
with after remorse. But now, these pleasures of sin, not only
are they shortlived, they are anxious in the indulgence, and they
are torturers in the retrospect. His conscience is never quiet in
him : it is ever warning, ever reproving, ever lashing him. And
when sickness comes, when grey hairs are upon him, when death
is imminent ; how then ? Does he not become painfully conscious
that he has broken the law of his being ; that he has not shaken
off the yoke of creation, but only driven sharply into his foot the
goad of a rule which was too strong for him ? Yes, it is the old
tale once more repeated : sin becomes a cruel tyrant to the soul
which yields to it : conscience wields a scourge qver the back
that is turned upon it : and judgment, even in this life, asserts
the supremacy of right, and prophesies the coming of a time
when in God's heaven and earth shall dwell only righteous
ness. Young men — young women — whose course is yet unshaped
as for good or evil, be persuaded of this ; that, for mercy or else
for judgment, there is a God over you ; if you will have it so, a

THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY. 551
God of love ; if you will not have it so, then at least a God of
power. It is hard for thee now, as well as dangerous eventually,
to kick against the pricks.
2. Yet more nearly do we approach the first application of
the proverb, when we speak of those who are kicking against the
goad of a fatherly discipline. If those who resist God's Law find
it an evil thing and bitter to have done so, not less they who
resist that individual guidance which through smooth paths or
rough is directing them towards an end.
There are many in this congregation who do not understand
and do not love the method by which God is training them for
Himself. They are denied many things which they desire : they
are subjected to many things which they dislike. The very gifts
which they most value, be they what they may ; gifts of fortune,
or of person, or of affection, or of success ; are either never in
their view, or are snatched away just as they would grasp them.
Do not say that this is no trial. A large part of human suffering
is made up of cruel disappointment. When they seemed to have
even attained, the prize was wrenched from them. When they
even did attain, the coveted fruit has turned to ashes in the
mouth. By these means the world was made a world of nothing
ness to them. Perhaps they were too eager for it. They were
of that nature which would have been satisfied to sit by the
fleshpots and eat bread to tlie full. And therefore the discipline
needful for them was an Exodus. Desert life, a wilderness alone
with God, Sinai with God speaking from it, was necessary to
their soul's safety. And yet scarcely were they in it, when they
began to find fault. There was no bread : their soul loathed this
light bread, the bread of eternity and of the spirit. There was
no water : the smitten rock yielded only a spiritual supply ; and
they were athirst for something sweeter, more luscious, more
earthly. Thus again and again they were rebellious against the
hand that guided, and forced it to become a hand that drove.
God would not let them alone. He would guide, or He would
coerce. Why ? Even because He had a favour unto them. To
kick against that hand, even if it was forced by their wayward-

552 THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY.
ness to hold a goad, was rebellion as much against happiness as
against strength.
I address some tonight who are in definite trouble. They
are under a providence which they cannot understand : they
have lost a friend who was all to them : they dwell in a clouded
home : tlie light is darkened in the very heavens thereof. Yet,
my friend, it is the Lord. I form tlie light, and create darkness :
I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
Sliall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast tlwu
made me thus ? or thy work, He hath no hands ? Humble your
selves rather under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt
you in due time. It is hard for thee, painful now, eventually
ruinous, to kick against the goad.
3. There is yet a further use of the Divine proverb before us ;
and it is that in which it was originally spoken to St Paul himself.
St Paul was not a transgressor, in the sense of a lover of sin
or a violator of conscience. He was entirely moral, thoroughly
conscientious, living after the strictest sect of his religion, yea,
compassing sea and land to make one proselyte. How could
he be said to be kicking against the goad ? For this one reason :
that he was refusing the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He saw not his own sinfulness. He knew not his own want
of a Saviour. He was not willing that others should trust
in One whom he knew not. It was for this sin that he was
accused of persecuting Jesus ; arrested on his way to Damascus ;
stricken to the earth in deep penitence ; and at last led forward
into life by a way that he knew not.
Can there be any here present, whose sin is the sin of Saul
of Tarsus? Certainly there are those in this age — and many
of them — who are willing to take everything of the Gospel
save the very Gospel itself ; moral men, conscientious men,
earnest men, self-denying and laborious men ; men who love
goodness of life, and cherish purity of heart, and admire God's
holiness, and even recognize with all honour the character and
the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ; yet who suffer themselves
to repudiate altogether the revelation of the forgiveness of sin

THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY. 553
through the atonement made for us by a Saviour, and of the
renewal of the heart within by the personal operation of a Holy
and Divine Spirit. These things are foolishness to them. And
the very same man who is all gentleness and all charity in
every other aspect will sometimes become all suspicion and all
bitterness towards those who preach and receive these Gospel
revelations as the very life of the life. The morality of the
Gospel, and the devotion of the Gospel, and the charity of
the Gospel, these he will receive ; because reason itself and
conscience, if they could not originate, can at least echo and
confirm them : but that which lies under these, that which,
if Scripture and experience can be trusted, furnishes the security
for morality, and the impulse to devotion, and the motive for
charity — even the sense of obligation to a crucified and living
Saviour, the love of a Person who was dead and whom Paul
affirms to be alive, the reconciliation of the heart and will to
God by the acceptance of the proclamation of a free forgiveness
— this he cannot comprehend, cannot see the need of, and will
not receive. That Paul did wrong in persecuting, we can
understand : but that Paul should have needed conversion
when he was already conscientious, or could honestly call
himself the chief of sinners merely because at that time he
knew not of a Saviour, this, if we speak plainly, is an offence
to us; exaggerated language, or else mystical and unreal.
My friends, depend upon it, even you, while you are thus,
are, like St Paul, kicking against a goad. You do want a
Saviour; want Him for complete forgiveness, want Him for
entire cleansing of the conscience, want Him for strength
and comfort and grace in daily life. And He is, and has His
eye upon you and His hand over you, and is guiding your
destinies, and (if you be such as I have imagined you) is
preparing you, I would fain hope, for a glorious illumination,
if you only submit yourselves to it and refuse it not. Why
then will you keep out of your heart that bright light? Why
will you compel Him to drive, who would lead and guide ? Why
must the foot pierce itself upon the compelling and coercing
goad, when to you the words might be fulfilled even now in

554 THE SINNER HIS OWN ENEMY.
all their tenderness and in all their sweetness, Thou art with
me : Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me ? Bow yourself
to that discipline of the heavenly wisdom, which, if at first
it be mortifying to human pride and humbling to natural
intellect, soon brings after it a sense of harmony to the soul
and tranquillity to the life, attesting its origin from above by
its suitableness to the wants of man. Prefer not a life of
doubt and of loneliness, when the Sun of righteousness is ready
to arise upon you with healing in His wings, and to fulfil in
you the words of His own most blessed promise, I am the
light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Holy Scripture gives us examples of every kind of direction,
from that of the driving goad to that of the guiding eye.
Mark the order, (i) There is the sharp iron for the refrac
tory. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (2) There
is the bit and bridle for the unreasoning. Be ye not as the
horse or as the mule, which have no understanding, whose
mouths must be held in with bit and bridle. (3) There is the
voice of the shepherd, known and loved by the docile flock.
When he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before tliem,
and the sheep follow him : for they know his voice. (4) There
is the guidance, not even of voice, but of the eye only, which
suits the ready, anticipating will of the entirely tractable and
sympathizing child. / will guide thee with mine eye. To kick
against the goad is the extreme of disobedience ; to watch
the guiding eye, to wait not for the word or the sign, much
less for the spur of authority, is the perfection of obedience.
In all senses, may that last be ours. Let us watch the
Saviour's eye ; let us be beforehand with the word which
commands, much more with the bridle which enforces, or with
the goad which compels. Let ours be the sympathy of affection ;
the gratitude which loves much, because it has been much for
given. So shall the journey of life be for us tracked by mercy,
and its end rest with Him whom, not having seen, we have loved
with a love stronger than temptation, stronger than sin, stronger
than death.

LECTURE XVII.
THE WORK OF MAN AND THE GIFT OF GOD.
Acts xxvi. 17, 18.
I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness
to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may
receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among tliem which
are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Much preaching and much hearing is utterly wasted, for lack
of a clear purpose and a definite aim. We do not set before
ourselves a goal which must be reached, or a prize which must
be won. We speak for the chance of doing some good : we
listen for the chance of getting some good : but what that good
is, or how that chance can be calculated ; by what appointed
means we may attain what proposed and destined end ; are
questions which too little exercise the thoughts either of the
minister or of his hearers.
Let the words spoken eighteen centuries ago by Jesus from
heaven — words which made Paul an Apostle, and which are
still preserved for our own guidance in the Scriptures of truth
— be profitable, under God, this night, for making our vagueness
definite and our vacillation resolute.
You have heard that remarkable proverb, spoken from heaven
in a language of earth — spoken by Jesus to His persecutor ; by
the risen Saviour to the ignorant but zealous Pharisee, Saul

556 THE WORK OF MAN
of Tarsus, now entering Damascus on a mission of sword and
fire — It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Hard for
thee, a creature, to fight against the Creator; hard for thee,
a sinner, to persecute the Saviour ; hard for thee, a man with
a conscience, to stifle the voice and to quench the light within ;
hard for thee, a dying man on his way to judgment, to treasure
up unto thyself wrath against tlie day of wrath and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God.
The work of years is undone in a moment, and the bold
self-righteous persecutor is become as a child in the grasp of
a giant. Who art Thou, Lord ? It was a Person who spoke ;
and if a Person speaks from heaven, then must it be important
to know who He is and why He speaks. Who art Thou, Lord ?
And He said, I am Jesus whom tlwu persecutest.
It was needless for St Paul, speaking before his present
audience, to distinguish accurately between that which was
spoken outside the city on the instant, and that which was
communicated afterwards whether by the message of Ananias
or personally to himself. In the narrative of the 9th chapter,
the words are, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told
thee what thou must do. Here, in a more condensed account
of the transaction as a whole, the commission is given at once,
and the disclosures of three days are (as it were) crowded into
one. But rise and stand upon thy feet : for I appeared unto thee
for this purpose, to prepare (or appoint)' thee as a minister
(servant), and a witness both of the things wherein thou didst
now see me (both of the circumstances of thy present sight of me)
and of the things wherein (as to, or for the communication of)
which I will appear unto thee. An Apostle must be a witness.
He is not sent to say what he thinks, or what he has discovered
by reflection and reasoning, concerning Divine truth and human
duty : he is sent to give evidence ; to say, Thus and thus have
I seen ; I speak that I do know ; I have seen Jesus Christ, He
has spoken to me, and I speak from Him. St Paul was to give
evidence, wherever he went, a living man to living men, of what

AND THE GIFT OF GOD. 557
he had now seen, in this first revelation to him of the Saviour,
and of what he should hereafter see of Christ in further and
fuller communications with Him as time went on.
Delivering thee out of the hands of the people of Israel, and of
the Gentiles; rescuing thee, by my protecting presence, from the
perils which shall beset thy ministry whether among Jews or
Gentiles ; unto whom I send thee, to open their eyes, that they
may turn from darkness to light and from the authority (rule) of
Satan unto God, that they may receive dismissal of sins and
inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith in me.
We have here three things.
i. And first, the direct work of the Christian ministry. I
send thee to open their eyes. The work is described, and the
power is in the sending. Christ is all. He mocks not, by
sending sinful man to sinful men, weak and unaided and alone.
If He sends, He will also give the power. Therefore we may
look at the work, and not be perpetually repeating that it is a
work above man. / send thee, to open their eyes.
So then, before Him who looks on it from heaven, humanity
lies as it were sleeping. The eye is closed : the eye of the
understanding, the eye of the heart, the eye of the soul. Very
remarkable is the contrast between this state and the tempter's
promise. God doth know, he said as he first tempted, tliat in the
day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be
as gods. He prevailed : man did eat : and it came true. The
eyes of them both were opened. But to what ? They knew that
they were naked. That opening of the eyes was to a conscious
ness of shame. To everything else, to everything save wretched
ness, it was not an opening but a closing. As Christ looks on
from heaven, He sees man not open-eyed, but blind. He sends
Paul to open tlieir eyes. That was his office. That, if we be at
all Christ's ministers, is our office too.
It was the first thing done for Paul himself in his Conversion.
Ananias came, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive
thy sight. Look up, the word is : see again. And the same hour
I looked up upon him. What Saul needed, what Saul received,

558 THE WORK OF MAN
that (scarcely in figure) man needs now : to be bidden, in Christ's
name, to look up; to see again; to have his eyes opened.
The same eye may be opened to some things and closed to
others. The very clearness of its vision for some things — say,
for near objects — may be a mark of its dulness as to others, as to
the more distant. A man may be quick to discern his own
rights, his own interests, his own comforts and pleasures, in the
life that is ; and yet utterly mistaken, or absolutely indifferent,
as to his highest interest, as to his truest happiness, as to his
plainest duty, as a being born for immortality. O how dull
oftentimes is the man of business, the man of politics, the man
of literature or of philosophy, when the thing presented to him is
the work of Christ or the hope of heaven ! He too needs to have
his eyes opened.
And this is the office, we here read, of the Christian ministry.
This is the object of preaching. This is the end proposed to the
diligent pastor, as he visits the whole or the sick placed under
his charge. I send thee to open their eyes.
And this, you see further, by a testimony ; as Christ's
witness. If he cannot say, as St Paul could say, Listen to me,
for I have seen Jesus Christ; at least he should be able to say,
Listen to me, for I know Jesus Christ; I have heard His voice in
my soul, I have talked with Him in my soul, and He by His
Spirit has set meffree from the law of sin and death. Yes, it is
here that we fail. We bring a hearsay message. We have read
of this, we have been told of that : others have said that it was
so, and that they have tried it, and that they were saved by it :
but we have not felt it ourselves, we have not tried it and found
it effectual ourselves, and therefore we have no evidence to
bring of facts known, of things seen. Alas, it is too much
with us as it was with those prophets of old who prophesied out
of tlieir own hearts, followed their own spirit, and had seen
nothing. But St Paul had seen Jesus Christ, and was sent by Him to
the work ; the work of opening eyes by giving evidence con
cerning Jesus Christ. Whoever listened to him received sight.

AND THE GIFT OF GOD. 559
The light was offered, was presented to him, for acceptance or
else for rejection.
My friends, in a sense, and in a true sense, all of us have at
least seen the light. In a Christian land, within a Christian
Church, it can no longer be said of us that, if we are blind, we
have no sin. Light, the true light, is come into the world, and
even upon us it has shined. But the Gospel tells of some who
loved darkness ratlier than light : and it also tells us why ;
because their deeds were evil; because they would not let the
light shine into their dark corners, and make the whole heart
and the whole life (as the Scripture says again) to be full of
light. Thus we pass to a second point.
2. The work is, opening the eyes by a communication of
light ; by a testimony concerning Christ. But that work itself
has a further object; in which not the minister, but the hearer,
must be the agent. It is expressed thus. That they may turn
from darkness to light, and from the authority or rule of Satan
unto God.
That they may turn. Turning, or conversion — for it is the
same word — follows upon the opening of the eyes. The com
munication of light, by the faithful preaching of the Gospel, is
the work of another : but this turning is (under God) a man's
own work. A minister may enlighten, but he cannot convert.
That is (under God) an act of the will, of the individual will,
consequent upon conviction. / see that this is true. I see that
Christ died, that Christ lives. I see that sin is sinful, and that
holiness is duty. I see that forgiveness is promised, and tliat the
Holy Spirit is promised. I see that prayer is man's privilege, and
that whosoever asks shall Imve. Now therefore, seeing the light, I
must turn to it. The impediment is in me, and the power to
remove it is offered. Therefore I awake and arise, and Glirist
shall give me light. This is conversion. It is the man himself
turning from darkness to light. By a strong effort, the whole
ability for which is of God, but is given in the using, the man
says, and acts upon it, This which is false and deceptive and
wicked shall be mine no more. This which is true and holy and

560 THE WORK OF MAN
good shall be mine (in the strength of Christ) henceforward. I
will walk in this light which He has brought to me. I will accept
this blessedness which He offers me : this twofold blessedness, of a
forgiven piast and a cleansed future. That is conversion. 0 how
unlike the dreams of many ; who have mistaken (at the very
best) the opening of tlie eyes for the turning to the light; more
often, a startled, feverish, fleeting feeling, for a deliberate self-
surrender, self-dedication, self-sacrifice to a forgiving Saviour
and a holy God. Conversion without change is a contradiction
in terms. But we must not exaggerate man's power, or forget the
difficulty of that change to which the Gospel calls us. And
therefore it is written further, and from the authority of Satan
unto God. We bless God for the merciful sympathy which
breathes in that word. Yes, Satan has great authority. Let a
man honestly turn from darkness to light, and then, if never
before, he will become conscious of the strong gripe of evil.
Habits of life, habits of mind, habits of feeling, are not changed
in a day. The conviction may be strong, that thus it should be :
but, alas, the first day of a Christian life reveals to a man his
fallen state, as years of careless living have never revealed it.
When he would do good, evil is present with him. Hitherto he
thought himself free. He thought that he lived thus and not
thus because so it pleased him. Now he sees that that fancied
freedom itself was a bondage, and that a gilded chain may be a
chain of iron still.
Let him turn then, not only from the darkness to the light,
but also from the authority of Satan unto God. There is a
stronger, just One stronger, than the strong man armed : to Him
let him come, with Him let him abide, and he shall be made and
he shall be kept free. 0 Thou who didst cause the light to shine
out of darkness, shine first in our hearts; and then cause Thou us
to turn to the light from all darkness, and to Thee Thyself, who
art both Light and Strength, from the bondage of that hard
taskmaster who has too long kept us under his cruel yoke. Lift
Thou up upon us the light of Thy countenance, and deliver us

AND THE GIFT OF GOD. 561
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of tlie
children of God.
3. That they may turn : and then, that tliey may receive.
But the two things are not so much consecutive as coordinate.
The one expresses man's part ; the turning of the will and of the
life to light and God. The other expresses God's part in the
work of salvation; that tliey may receive, as soon as they turn,
in the very act of that turning, two things ; forgiveness of sins,
and inlieritance among the sanctified.
(1) Forgiveness, remission, dismissal, of sins. I know how
lightly sin can sit upon the conscience of a transgressor. He
has only to keep out of the light, to stand aloof from God, to
close his eyes alike to the Word and to the Hand which he is
resisting ; and a sinner may travel smoothly enough along a
considerable stage of life's journey. But let the light penetrate ;
let sickness come, let pain, let sorrow : nay, even these things
may not do it ; but let conviction come, let one of the thousand
arrows which are abroad in God's spiritual kingdom pierce him
sharply between the joints of his harness : and then see whether
it is an easy thing to bear, or an easy thing to escape, that
sense of sin ; that living burning presence of accusing thoughts ;
that flaming searing catalogue of evil things done and good left
undone. If it be true, as men say, that nature has no forgive
ness of sins ; that the body of man and the life of man must still
and for ever be found out by iniquities long past, long repented
of, or long forgotten ; how much more does this magnify the
unspeakable gift of God in His Gospel, in which the gracious
proclamation stands first and midst and last also, Be it known
unto you, men and brethren, that through this Man, Jesus Christ,
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. He who heartily
turns receives at once forgiveness, yea (for it is the very meaning
of forgiveness) dismissal, of sins. That which he has done
wrong shall not be remembered against him. His iniquity is
forgiven, his sin is covered. God has hidden His face (as it were)
from his sins, and blotted out all his iniquities.
Friends and brethren, is it not worth your while to accept
v. 36

562 THE WORK OF MAN
such a Gospel? Where, save in Christ, will you find a dismissal
of sins? Who else, save Christ alone, even professes to have
borne your griefs and carried you/r sorrows ? to have made
reconciliation for iniquity, and purchased for sinners a perfect
righteousness 1
(2) This in the present : this, in the time that is. And
even the second thing spoken of is not all future. An inheritance
among the sanctified. Dismissal of the past : and now an in
heritance. Properly, a lot; and so an allotment; a portion
falling to one by lot. It may remind us of those chapters of the
Book of Joshua, in which we read of the assignment by lot to
the tribes of Israel of their inheritance in the land of Canaan.
And so we read in the Book of Psalms, by an employment of the
same figure, The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground : yea, I
have a goodly heritage. A portion then among the sanctified. It
is almost the very expression of the 20th chapter : Able to build
you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are
sanctified. Giving thanks unto the Father, St Paul says to the
Colossians, who hath made us meet to be partakers — more exactly,
qualified us for our share — of the inheritance of the saints in light.
The inheritance itself waits to be bestowed : but there is an earnest
and a foretaste of it now. Ye were sealed, St Paul says to the
Ephesians, with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of
our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession ;
until the actual redemption, by resurrection, of the bodies (as
already of the souls) of His people.
A lot, or portion, then, among the sanctified. A secure place
among the saints. And meanwhile, at once, an earnest of that
blessedness ; even the possession of that Holy Spirit in this life,
of whom it is written, once again, in the 8th chapter of the
Epistle to the Romans, If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the
dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit tliat
dwelleth in you. May we not say then, briefly, that the twofold
gift here spoken of as the reward of turning to God, is (1) the
gift of a free forgiveness, and (2) the gift of the sealing Spirit?

AND THE GIFT OF GOD. 563
The kingdom of God itself is righteousness and peace and joy in
the Holy Ghost.
And who then are tlie sanctified ? The sanctified are, in other
words, the consecrated ; those whom God has taken to be His
own ; " to be His wholly ; free from the contaminations of sin,
and from the profanenesses of the world. My friends, the thing
spoken of is not an attainment of man, but it is a gift of God.
The word denotes not those who have made themselves holy, but
those whom God has set apart for Himself by anointing them, as
His kings and priests, with the Holy Ghost. This is that of
which St John writes, in the ist chapter of the Revelation, Unto
Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father;
to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. We all have
received the sign and pledge of His consecration in Baptism :
which of us has the reality of it ? Which of us is so living as if
he belonged to God only ? refusing the suggestions of the devil,
mastering the solicitations of the flesh, rejecting alike the flat
teries and the mandates of the world, because he feels himself to
be another's; because he desires to live, only and wholly, to Him
who died for him and rose again? That man — is he not here
tonight? — has upon him not only the name but the reality of
God's consecration : the anointing oil is fresh upon his brow, the
unction of the Holy One is full upon his heart.
And there is yet one thought, and one word, more. By faith,
our Lord says, that is in me. By faith in me. Wonderful words !
We may read them with sanctified; sanctified by faith in me: or
we may read them with receive ; receive forgiveness and inheritance
by faith in me. He who speaks from heaven, still, even as when
He spake on earth, makes faith everything. From faith to faith.
Therein (in the Gospel) is the righteousness of God revealed, from
faith to faith, as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Is it
not so ? Is it not according to our faith that we grow in grace ?
Is it not according to the vitality or else the deadness of our
spiritual sight of Christ — for that is faith — that we either
conquer sin, practise love, rise above earth, live for eternity ; or
36—2

564 THE WORK OF MAN, &C
else, the opposite of these things, are tied and bound with the
chain of sense, and grovel hopelessly among the things that are
but for a moment ? Yes, if we could but live in the sight of the
Invisible One, we should also live our consecration. This is the
victory that overcometh tlie world, even our faith.
The words now dwelt upon might have filled many Sermons.
A poor superficial survey of them is all that I have attempted.
But they have in them the very kernel and substance of the
Gospel. The Fall and the Redemption ; man as he is by nature,
and man as he is by grace ; the work of the minister, the work
of the hearer, and the work of God ; the end proposed, a
heavenly inheritance, and the means of attaining it, faith in a
Saviour ; all this, and more than this, lies here, hidden or else
unveiled, before us : He that hath an ear, let him hear what tlie
Spirit saith unto the Churches.

LECTURE XVIII.
FESTUS AND AGRIPPA.
Acts xxvi. 24 — 29.
And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice,
Paul, thou art beside thyself ; much learning doth make thee mad.
But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus ; but speak forth
tlie words of truth and soberness.
For the king knoweth of these things ; before whom also I speak
freely : for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden
from him ; for this thing was not done in a corner.
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? I know that thou

Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be
a Christian. And Paul said, I woidd to God, that not only tlwu, but also all
that hear me this day, were both alnwst and altogether such as I am,
except these bonds.
We have here before us three characters strongly marked, and
characteristically expressing themselves. Hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of Sermons have been preached on that long text
which I have just read to you, making these their three heads of
description and application, The careless scoffer — The almost
Christian — The man of God.
And there are indeed in all times these three classes of men
living upon earth, and probably present in the congregation.
And they ought to be defined, addressed, dealt with, for their

566 FESTUS AND AGRIPPA.
own edification, or for that of others. That discernment of
spirits which is no longer a gift for exposure is still a gift for
introspection : and it is one office of the ministry so to depict,
from Scripture and from experience, the shapes and forms of
human character, that, without presuming to say to the individual,
Thou, or thou, art the man, the secrets of the heart may yet be
made manifest within it, and the hearer falling down on his face
may worship God, and confess that He is still, as of old, present
in His Word and in His Church.
A closer examination will modify the ordinary view of one at
least of these three characters. God grant that, if it be so, the
lesson to be derived from it may only be changed, not lost.
St Paul has been explaining himself before Festus and
Agrippa, in preparation for being transferred to the hearing of
the Emperor. Festus wishes to have something to say about
him in the despatch which he must send with him to Rome. He
knows that Agrippa is intimately acquainted with Jewish
superstitions ; himself, by profession, a believer in the Jewish
Scriptures. He hopes for assistance from him in understanding
the case. And Agrippa, with something perhaps of that well-
bred complaisance which leads people on a visit to affect an
interest in that which interests their host, and something (it may
be) also of a more genuine curiosity as to the story of an
eccentric and extraordinary man, lends himself to the wish of
Festus, and, with much of the pomp and circumstance of a
regular trial, calls upon the Christian prisoner to answer for
himself. We must not enter again into the particulars of that defence.
It contained first of all a strong assertion of Jewish orthodoxy.
It is I — it is not my accusers — who adhere to the faith of my
fathers. For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
Once I interpreted that faith as they do. None so bitter once as I
against the name and the discipleship of Jesus. I was a persecutor.
I took long journeys to persecute. I was on a persecuting mission
at tlie moment of my great clmnge. How that change came to me,
you shall hear. I was not predisposed to it : every single habit of

FESTUS AND AGRIPPA. 567
my life, every fixed and rooted principle of my mind, was against
it. Yet I was convinced, I was converted, I was changed. And
Iww ? By the direct intervention and interposition of Him whom
I was declaring to be a dead man. He stopped me, He spake to
me, He commissioned and He sent me. Take into account the man
and the life; take into account the circumstances preceding,
attending, and following ; remember what I was, and what I am;
see me changed from a persecutor into an Apostle ; behold me giving
ease and fame, liberty and life, in the maintenance of a faith which
once I set myself to destroy ; and you cannot say there is nothing
in it. Now you liave what you wanted: somewhat to write about
me to your lord. These are the causes of all this hostility. It is
for believing what I know, and witnessing what I have seen,
concerning Christ the hope of Israel, that the Jews seized and would
kill me. But God has thus far helped me. I continue unto this
day firm in the revelations of Moses and the Prophets concerning
Him who by resurrection from the dead should become both a light
to lighten the Gentiles, and also the glory of His people Israel.
It is at this point that the dialogue of the text interrupts the
progress of the defence. It was prophesied of Christ in His
earliest infancy that the effect of His coming would be that the
tlwughts of many hearts should be revealed. It is by men's
treatment of Christ, even more than by aught else, that they
show decisively what manner of spirit they are of.
i . And first, then, Festus. What is the effect upon him of
this argument ?
He rudely interrupts the speaker, with raised voice and
contemptuous sneer, saying (with even more of insolence than
our English Version conveys), Thou art mad, Paul : much learn
ing doth make thee mad. To the rough ignorant Roman the
narrative just ended is a mere jargon of unmeaning sounds.
Jesus and the Resurrection; a turning of mankind from darkness
to light and from the power of Satan unto God ; a heavenly vision
changing a life, and a zeal for souls shown in perpetual journey-
ings, toils, and sufferings ; all these things are to him the mere
ravings of a fanatic, unworthy of the notice of a sensible man,

568 FESTUS AND AGRIPPA.
and only to be explained on the supposition of long secluded
dreamings over philosophical books or mystical speculations.
Much learning doth make thee mad.
What a charge to bring against a man whose labours were
beyond those of any man ; one who traversed sea and land,
visited city and country, wrought with his own hands at a
common trade, and turned every doctrine into an exhortation to
practice. St Paul maddened by much learning ? Festus might
have found some more plausible, more possible, charge than that.
But so it is still. No charge is too foolish against a devout
Christian. His life may be diligent, may be active beyond that
of other men : he may go in and out day by day, with a blame-
lessness not to be gainsaid, and a laboriousness not to be over
looked : yet, just because he is a man of faith, because he believes
in a world above, and endures as seeing One who is invisible, he
must be an enthusiast, a visionary, a fanatic : if not much learn
ing, then perhaps much praying, doth make him mad.
Strange to say, these Festuses are sometimes found in our
congregations. They will kneel and pray to an invisible God
through an unseen Saviour. They will utter the words which
give thanks for Redemption and invoke the Divine Spirit. And
yet tomorrow in their business, tonight in their houses, they will
not so much as argue— they will even take it for granted — that
nothing is real but that which is seen, that all is visionary which
is not material. They have no more real apprehension of the
necessity, or of the possibility, of holding converse with God, of
receiving strength from Christ, of being renewed and inhabited
by the Holy Spirit, than if these things were the dreams of
enthusiasts or the ravings of madmen. And strange to say, the
modern Festus, like his original, will affect to talk of these first
principles of the Gospel, as though they were the inventions
of learning; as though they were derived from the speculations
of indolent students, and utterly unworthy of the notice of the
vigorous sound-minded man of the world. Men calling them
selves Christians, indignant if that title be denied them, will
look you in the face and say, Nothing is real but morality, and

FESTUS AND AGRIPPA. 569
nothing is important but the conduct. And if you seek as far as
possible to agree with them, and only beg to extend the term
conduct into the inner life ; to interpret it as including a heart
right with God, affections set on things above, gratitude to Christ,
and trust in the Spirit ; still you find, to your sorrow, that they
meant what they said literally : to have done no harm to any one
(as they count harm), to have been just to all (as they define
justice), alas, sometimes — it is no imaginary picture — to have
paid their way and kept themselves respectable, this is the sum
and substance of their religion : anything higher, anything deeper,
they simply put aside and think scorn of : and if you ask them
what will remain after death of these boasted payments of earthly
dues; what the soul will carry away with it of this earthly
respectability ; how they will occupy eternity, or what indeed
they can do in heaven ; you find them prepared to risk all that :
they will take their chance : God will not condemn the decent
liver : perhaps even the indecent liver may not find himself quite
shut out. Men who so talk are the Festuses of Christendom :
and men who so judge, so presume, and so hazard, are (it must be
feared) one ten times more numerous than they who avow and
utter it.
We should ill copy St Paul's bright example, as it lies here
before us, if we treated scornfully this state of feeling. How
dignified, how majestic, because how calm and how courteous, his
brief reply ! / am not mad, most noble Festus ; but speak forth
words of truth and soberness. Yes, the servant of the Lord must
not strive, but be gentle unto all men; in meekness instructing those
that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repent
ance to the acknowledging of the truth. He who so wrote so did.
He makes no compromise indeed with error. He does not
hasten to explain away his convictions, or beg Festus to believe
that he is one with him all the time in principle. Firmly, yet
with all respect for office, does he repudiate the charge of madness,
and declare that his words are words of truth, his faith as sober
as it is profound.
The world of all time, of Christian times not least, delights to

570 FESTUS AND AGRIPPA.
arrogate to itself the two titles, sensible, and practical. On a
spiritual life, on a heavenly mind, on an earnest zealous devotion,
it sits in judgment half kindly, half scornfully. It understands
it all : it has taken the measure of all : it could be the same any
day: but it is too sensible and too practical to think of it. A calm,
moderate, rational religion ; in other words, a religion which can
combine the conveniences of this life with the hopes of another ;
that is the aim — we could almost say, more and more the aim — ¦
of many of the most respectable and the most amiable of our
countrymen. They take out of the Gospel all that makes it
pungent, angular, or unamalgamable ; and then they praise it for
its adaptation to human life ; compliment it upon its versatility ;
and quote perhaps, with a volubility almost profane, that verse
of St Paul which says that godliness liath the promise of the life
that now is as well as of that which is to come. It is not in that
sense that St Paul wrote it : it is not in that sense that he here
declares before Festus that the words of his Gospel are words of
truth and soberness.
Rather does he say this : and may God write it upon all our
hearts. It is no madness to believe what God has spoken, to trust
what God has revealed, or to expect what God has promised.
To love Him with all my heart is no enthusiasm ; to devote
myself entirely to Christ is no fanaticism. Soberness is the
spirit of a sound mind : that mind only is sound, which moves
altogether where it moves at all, and carries out into daily action
principles received as true. He is the madman, who calls Christ
Lord, and does not the things which He says ; who professes to be
seeking a heavenly home, and never sets forth one foot towards
it. If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him.
We fools, shall Festus say of Paul in the day of the great re
awakening, We fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be
without honour; how is he numbered among the children of God,
and his lot is among the saints.
2. Turn to the other chief auditor : to king Agrippa.
From the rude and hopeless Festus St Paul appeals to the more

FESTUS AND AGRIPPA. 571
cultivated and enlightened assessor. The king knoweth of these
things. He must have heard surely, living in Palestine, and in
constant communication with its people, the great story of the
life and ministry, the death and resurrection, of Jesus of
Nazareth ; if not (for to this also the words may refer) of the
wonderful conversion and devoted labours of his late-found
disciple and Apostle. Before him I speak freely. I am persuaded
that no one of these things is hidden from him. This thing —
whether the Saviour's work, or His servant's conversion — this
thing has not been done in a corner. But was there not, in
Agrippa's case, a preparation for these great events? Did he not
read, in Scriptures which he accepts, predictions, neither few nor
doubtful, that thus it must be ? King Agrippa, believest thou the
prophets ? I know that thou believest.
It is difficult to imagine a more touching or persuasive appeal.
We feel as though it must have told. And this feeling may have
led to the adoption of that rendering of the king's answer which
yet, we fear, a sounder criticism must modify or set aside.
Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a
Christian. The words have been commonly read as grave and
serious ; the reply of a man moved by the Apostle's question, and
balancing the claim of duty which it presented. Almost thou
persuadest me : shall I yield, or shall I procrastinate ? And an
instructive commentary has been drawn from them, Behold, now
— not tomorrow, but today — behold, now is the accepted lime:
behold, now is the day of salvation.
The lesson is seasonable, whencesoever derived : but the scope
of the king's answer is not this. That cold scoffing spirit was
not thus suddenly solemnized : that profligate half-hearted time-
server was not thus turned on the instant into a serious enquirer
after truth. No, Agrippa says this rather — and in a tone either
of playful banter, or of scornful sarcasm — With but scant per
suasion thou wouldest make me a Christian. A Christian — name
abhorred alike of Jew and Gentile — name of reproach and obloquy
wherever named — to become a Christian — to forfeit perhaps for
tune and rank and royal title, and become the disciple of a

572 FESTUS AND AGRIPPA.
desjnsed Nazarene — the brother and tlie fellow of an outcast like
thee — That's somewhat sudden —
thy words must needs be persuasive if tliey counsel that. To part
with all, as the result of a few moments hearing ; as the conse
quence of listening, in chance carelessness, in a casual visit, to a
poor prisoner's self-defence; that surely thou canst scarcely ask for?
Wait a while : give time and place, interval and opportunity, at'
least : propose not an act so momentous, on a summons so slight
and short. Such sudden changes may do for thee ; an inferior, a
common Jew, an enthusiastic, impulsive, hasty man; converted by
a sunbeam, by a voice, by a vision : they are not for me.
It is impossible to say, all proof being denied us, what may
have been the innermost feeling of the mind which thus expressed
itself. Some have supposed that the cold ironical answer was
but the cloke of a spirit ill at ease ; that the unexpected question
of the Apostle had wrought a conviction within, which could
neither safely be expressed nor altogether disavowed. It may
have been so. But we who know anything of that case-harden
ing which is the punishment below of convictions long stifled,
and more especially of fleshly lusts long cherished, must fear that
the simpler aspect of the words is the truer, and that a conscience
long skilled in parrying the home-thrusts of conscience, is here
seen turning aside the very sword of the Spirit by that triple
coat of mail which is the last vesture of the obdurate.
At all events, we do best to draw our lesson rather from
what is seen than from what may be hidden. And therefore we
say this of Agrippa's answer ; that it is the plea of more
enlightened, as the other was of more ignorant minds, for
putting aside the Gospel call. Festus called spirituality mad
ness : Agrippa calls decision rashness. The one says, To talk of
things unseen ; of matters which thou canst neither touch nor taste
nor see nor smell ; is, at once, enthusiasm and folly. The other
says, To bid me alter all in a moment ; to bid me give up rooted
opinions, life-long principles, and imperious habits, at the call of a
despised man's history ; to persuade me, by a few brief words, and

FESTUS AND AGRIPPA. 573
in a few fleeting moments, to forsake all and follow thee ; this is
unreasonable, this is trifling, this is ridiculous. At least I must
have time.
0, my friends, if there are Festuses among us, are there not
Agrippas 1 Is not this the very answer, almost in words, of ten
thousand times ten thousand? It is too sudden — too abrupt — ¦
too startling ? What will this friend think, and that enemy ?
Wliat will become of this inveterate habit, and of that delightful
darling lust ? 0 no ! A little while hence — when I have just
paved the way — when I have had a little conversation with wife or
husband, when I have got out of my path this temporary obstacle
and that formidable foe — then — then — but not now. How nearly
is the lesson, when we study it attentively, that of the Gospel
narrative. Jesus said unto another, Follow me. But he said,
Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto
him, Let the dead bury their dead. Yes, the Agrippa says the
call is too sudden : he must do one or two little things first, and
then — : but Jesus says, If the word is true, if tlie call is from God,
it admits of no delay : rather let the dying die without thy presence,
and the dead go forth to his burial without thy following, than lose
the opportunity — tlie one day, or the one hour, of thy visitation —
by pleading that the world is urgent with thee, and that therefore
God must wait.
O, we know well, we know too well, the inconvenience of
being hurried in the things of God. It is very inconvenient —
it is intolerably burdensome — to be told to go at once, to go
today, to go this moment, and serve Christ. If it might only
wait one day ! Why dost Thou come, Lord, before the time ? I
would have opened to Thee tomorrow: but there Thou standest
knocking, knocking, knocking — and wilt take no denial. In too
brief a time, on too sudden a summons, Thou wouldest have me to
be a Christian.
What says His servant? What saith he who could only
advise, who could not give, decision? / would to God — yes, the
original says, I would pray to God — that, whether in a short space
or a long, not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, might

574 FESTUS AND AGRIPPA.
become such as I am — except these bonds. The beautiful delicacy,
and the touching courtesy, of this reply, has been the subject of
admiring comment in all times. Except these bonds. I would
not have you like me in my privations, or like me in my sufferings:
but I would lw,ve you like me in my faith, like me in my hope, and
like me in my joy.
Whether in a short space or a long. Agrippa says ironically,
In a short space, with unreasonable suddenness, thou wouldest
make me into a Christian. St Paul takes the word from him, and
answers, What I seek is tlie result. Be it soon or late : be it on the
sudden, or on long reflection : be it by my brief words, or by any
other process, longer or shorter, which God may see fit in His
wisdom and in His mercy to employ : I would see thee a Christian
at last. I would see thee walking in the light into which I have
been admitted; enfranchised with that liberty wherewith Christ
has set me free. I would have it so ; and I will pray for it.
King Agrippa, like Felix and Festus, like his ancestors in
the sacred story, flits now from the scene. Nothing came, we
believe, of this strange interview between light and darkness,
between sin and the Gospel. Agrippa kept his useless idle faith
in Jewish Scriptures, kept too his heart's lust, his obscene idol,
his earth-bounded life. Times of trial drew on : in the last
Jewish wars he sided with the Roman ; and then retired to drag
out an inglorious age through thirty uneventful years, with a
titular royalty and in real servitude, under the imperial shadow
at Rome. In the year of our Lord ioo, being the third year of
the Emperor Trajan, he died there ; the last prince of the
bloodstained race of Herod. Yet, like all whose names, for good
or for evil, are once stamped upon the holy page, Agrippa
remains to all time for the edification and instruction of the
Church which he despised.
Shall it be said of any of us, that we, without the excuse of
Festus, are scoffers at the spiritual life ? or that we, without the
excuse of Agrippa, are dalliers with the trumpet-call of a Chris
tian decision ? O, God forbid ! I would summon you, in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, so to improve (more especially)

FESTUS AND AGRIPPA. 575
that holy season on which we have this week entered, that it
may be to you a time of serious self-examination, earnest heart-
deep resolution, and true spiritual refreshing and revival. We
need these mementos of judgment and eternity, every one of us :
I have sometimes feared that we need them more than ever. Is
there not amongst us an almost growing indifference, an almost
growing intermixture and confusion between the Church and the
world? if not a tardier step towards the sanctuary, at least a
more wistful backward look towards the city of sin and of
desolation? Judge ye, my friends, judge ye. And may the
gracious parable be fulfilled yet again in every one of us, While
he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand... the Lord being
merciful unto him... and said, Escape for thy life ; look not behind
thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain,
lest thou be consumed.

LECTURE XIX.
THE SHIPWRECK.
Acts xxvii. 25.
Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer : for I believe God, that it
shall be even as it was told me.
Thrice I suffered shipwreck : a night and a day I have been in
the deep. Thus St Paul wrote to the Corinthians more than two
years before the events related in this chapter of his life. Of
those earlier shipwrecks we have no record. They occurred,
doubtless, in some one of those many gaps in the history of the
Acts, of which his long residences at Tarsus in the 9th chapter,
at Antioch in the nth, 12th, and 14th chapters, at Corinth
in the 18th, and at Ephesus in the 19th, will furnish a few
examples. But tonight, in our progress towards the close of our long
course, we are to study the detailed account of a fourth ship
wreck ; that which befell him on his way from Palestine to Italy,
whither he was sent as a prisoner exercising his right of appeal,
as a Roman citizen, to the personal hearing of the Emperor.
St Paul's long detention at Csesarea is now ended. His
hearing before Festus and Agrippa had resulted in a full recogni
tion of his innocence. It should almost seem as if his appeal to
the Emperor had been a, mistake, so far as his personal prospects
were concerned. Agrippa had said to Festus, at the close of the
last chapter, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had
not appealed unto Ccesar. But all things work together for good

THE SHIPWRECK. 577
to them that love God : and it was thus that the way was opened
for that important ministry at Rome, to which he had so long
and so earnestly looked forward.
The time was come. One of those merchant vessels, on
which in those clays even generals and princes had to depend for
transit from one part to another of the great Empire, was now in
the harbour of Csesarea, bound for Adramyttium on the coast of
Mysia. It was expected, no doubt, as it happened, that an
opportunity would be found of exchanging this vessel, in some
port of Asia, for one more directly bound for Italy. Paul, and
some other prisoners with him — each with his own burden of
care and fear, he an ambassador in bonds for Christ — were placed
under the charge of a centurion named Julius, and began the
tedious navigation of the seas of Syria, Cilicia, and the further
shores of Asia Minor.
One day brought them to Sidon. There, as elsewhere, was
already a Christian community : and the courtesy of the centu
rion, interested (it should seem) thus early in his prisoner,
allowed Paul the opportunity of visiting the place and the
Church. What these glimpses of Christian friends were to him,
we might guess from his character, and we know from his
letters. Contrary winds began thus early to retard the progress of his
voyage. It was necessary to change the usual direction, sailing
under the lee of Cyprus — that is, in this case, along the east and
north (instead of the southern side) of the island — and coasting
along the shores of Cilicia and Pamphylia, until they reached the
port of Myra in Lycia. There they lighted upon an Alexandrian
cornship — driven perhaps by the same stress of weather out of
its straighter course to Italy — and the prisoners, with their
centurion and other passengers, were transferred into it to
prosecute their voyage thither.
It was still and increasingly a tedious passage. The wind,
west or north-west, compelled them, after leaving Cnidus, at the
south-west corner of the coast of Asia, to take the unusual and
less desirable side of the great island of Crete, passing under
V. 37

578 THE SHIPWRECK.
Salmone its eastern headland, and then along its southern shore
as far as an anchorage called (and still called) Fair Havens, in
the neighbourhood of which,' St Luke stays to notice, was a town
named Lasea.
For the moment they were in safety. There had been great
loss of time ; and now that season had set in, which sailors knew
to involve, in those seas, especial danger. Tlie fast was now
already past : the fast, that is, of the great day of Atonement or
Expiation, occurring (like our Michaelmas) at the end of Sep
tember, and used, like it, as a common date of time. To advance
further, so late in the season, and in the face of obstinately
adverse winds, was an act of imprudence against which St Paul
ventured earnestly to remonstrate. He foresaw, he said, that
their onward way would involve great risk, not only to the
cargo and the vessel, but also to the numerous persons — soldiers,
sailors, and passengers — on board. Two hundred and seventy-
six souls (if that be the true reading of the 37th verse, which
is doubtful) formed an aggregate of human life not lightly to be
thrown away. The warning was unheeded. Not yet had the
full value of that inspired counsellor been felt and owned among
them. The master (or pilot) of the ship, and the owner of the
cargo, were listened to before the prisoner. The harbour was not
commodious to winter in ; and there was a better, could they but
reach it, within forty miles, sheltered from those particular winds
which were at present most to be dreaded.
The decision to proceed was taken, and for the moment all
seemed to favour it. Instead of the troublesome westerly and
north-westerly winds from which they had suffered, there blew
from the south a gentle breeze, which enabled them, after
rounding the cape, four or five miles to the westward of Fair
Havens, to start with every advantage, along a shore bending
now to the northward, for the desired haven of Phcenix.
Triumphant, no doubt, over the cowardly prudence of the
Apostle, they advanced a few miles, in good hope and high
spirits, along the sheltering shore of Crete.
But a sudden change came. A tempestuous wind, called

THE SHIPWRECK. 579
Euraquilo, blowing from the north-east, came down upon the
ship from the high lands of the island. There was nothing now
to be done, but to submit. The shijj was caught, and we let her
drive. It was not without difficulty that they even could take
up the boat which was in tow astern, and which might become
so necessary for the safety of the crew. They then passed
cordage tightly round the timbers of the ship, to prevent the
risk of their starting asunder under the violence of the sea.
Other precautions were taken (described in the Authorized
Version as striking sail, in the Revised Version as lowering the
gear) to avoid their being carried, as the direction of the wind
threatened, upon the famous quicksand, or Syrtis, of Africa.
All must be done to keep well to the westward. The next clay
they lightened the ship of a portion of its cargo ; the day follow
ing, of all its spare tackling.
And now it is impossible to imagine a more dreary or
dispiriting scene than that which tlie sacred writer, St Luke,
himself an eye-witness of all, so graphically presents. No one,
writes a recent author already repeatedly referred to, who has
never been in a leaking ship in a long-continued gale, can know
what is suffered under such circumstances. The strain both of
mind and body — the incessant demand for the labour of all the
crew — the terror of the passengers — the hopeless working at the
pumps — the labouring of the ship's frame and cordage — tlie driving
of the storm — the benumbing effect of the cold and wet — make up a
scene of no ordinary confusion, anxiety, and fatigue. But in the
present case these evils were much aggravated by the continued
overclouding of the sky, which prevented tlie navigators from
taking the necessary observations of the heavenly bodies. When
neitlier sun nor stars, St Luke says, shone upon us for many days,
and no small tempest lay on us, thenceforth all hope that we
should be saved was taken away.
To the gloom and despair everywhere prevailing was added
the exhaustion of long abstinence. Ceaseless toil and utter
despondency had precluded the thought of food. There was
among them but one person now capable of command. It was
37—2

580 THE SHIPWRECK.
the Christian prisoner : unheeded till danger pressed ; but now
the one leading and sustaining and animating spirit. He re
minds them, yet without reproaches, of their disregard of his
warning. The remembrance might make them listen now : too
late to avoid, but not too late to mitigate, the evil. And then
he gives the solemn assurance, in the name of his God, that
there shall be no loss of life. There stood by me this night the
Angel of that God whose I am and whom I serve, saying, Fear
not, Paul, thou must stand before Ccesar : and lo, God hath
granted thee all tliem that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of
good cheer ¦ for I believe God, that it shall be even so as it hath
been told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.
For the time there was no relief, no respite. The fourteenth
night of that tossing upon the Adriatic was now come, when
some sounds, indicative of approaching land, struck upon the
practised ear of the sailors. The first notice was soon confirmed.
The sounding line, which reported first a depth of twenty fathoms,
soon changed to fifteen fathoms : and now an imminent danger
arose of being wrecked upon the outlying rocks of some unknown
shore. Nothing could be done, save to throw a number of
anchors from the stern of the vessel, and then idly to wish for the
day. 0 how many a weary watcher, through a long night of
sickness of body or anguish of soul, has had to do that, and could
do nothing more : just to wish for tlie day.
Before dawn, a new peril had shown itself. The selfish
sailors, thinking only of their own lives, had formed the project
of escaping in the boat, and leaving the soldiers and passengers
to their fate. They pretended to be letting down the boat
for another purpose ; to carry out in it some anchors to steady
the prow or foreship, as had already been done for the stern.
It was again the Christian Apostle, whose ready discernment
and calm promptitude averted the danger. Paul said to the
centurion and the soldiers, Except these, the sailors, abide in
the ship, ye cannot be saved. As if he had said, There is work
present, and work before us, which will need a mariner's skill
as well as a soldier's courage. The hint was enough. The

THE SHIPWRECK. 581
soldiers used their swords, and the ropes of the boat were cut
before the sailors could enter it. One boat could have availed
little in present emergencies : and the help of the sailors was
indispensable. Yet once more, before the last crisis of the shipwreck, is
St Paul's voice heard : and it is in the same calm and constant
tone which has made him the commander, not in name but in
right, of all who sail with him. He foresees that the last
struggle of all will be trying and formidable, and that exhaus
ted frames can ill meet it. Instead therefore of exciting still
further, by spiritual demands, minds already strung and taxed
to the uttermost, he uses an argument altogether calming and
fortifying, and prays them to take some food, necessary to
health and even to safety ; in the assurance that, however
imminent the peril, life is secure. Secure, on God's word, and
by special grant to God's servant. By precept first, and then
by example, he summons them to this humble duty. When he
had said this, he took bread., and gave thanks to God in the presence
of tliem all: and he broke it, and began to eat. Then were they
all of good cheer, and themselves also took some food.
After this, in the prospect of a speedy end, for good or evil,
of their present suffering, they threw overboard the remaining
(and probably damaged) wheat, that the vessel might be light
ened for its last grounding. Morning dawned upon an unknown
shore. But it was their one chance : and presently they could
discern, through the early twilight, an opening in the cliffs,
disclosing a sandy or pebbly beach upon which it might be
possible to run the vessel aground. They took up the anchors,
loosed the rudders from their fastenings, hoisted the main or
(more probably), the fore sail to the wind, and made toward
the shore. The spot on which they lighted proved to be a
promontory, or in reality (it is supposed) an island scarcely
separated from the coast, and forming a spot, St Luke says,
where two seas met; upon which the vessel was so driven, that,
while the forepart stuck fast, and remained immovable, the hinder
part was broken with the violence of the waves.

582 THE SHIPWRECK.
At this last moment a formidable danger threatened the
life of St Paul. It was the cruel counsel of the soldiers,
hardened by long use to an utter unconcern for human life,
to kill the prisoners ; lest, in the confusion of this general
struggle for self-preservation, any of them should escape from
custody by swimming. And the suggestion was only frustrated
by the care of the centurion Julius for that one Christian
prisoner who from the first appears to have awakened his
interest, and who by his conduct during these trying scenes
must have gained a firm hold upon his confidence and esteem.
As it was, a more humane order prevailed. The centurion
commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves
overboard first, and get to land : and the rest, some on boards,
and others on some of the things from the ship. And so it came
to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
The details of the sacred narrative, and the curious and
interesting questions which spring from it, are for another
time and place. But it was impossible without this brief survey
of it to bring into view that one thing with which we are all
deeply concerned; the example here afforded of the exercise
and the influence of a Christian mind in circumstances of trial,
agitation, and pressing danger.
We have seen St Paul in many positions. We have noticed,
at various times, .in the course of these Lectures, his activity,
his boldness, his wisdom, his faith, his charity, his devotion,
his skill, his patience. But the point before us tonight is
different from all these : might I not say as truly, is a com
bination of them all? his conduct and character as tested and
probed by a long-continued season of imminent peril.
Danger is always a test of character. One man is daunted
by danger. Another man is bewildered by danger. Another
man is irritated by danger. Many a man is rendered selfish
by danger. Read the history of a sudden alarm of fire in a
crowded building : the impulse of self-preservation is so strong
as to defeat itself ; and a heap of crushed or burnt corpses
will attest both the predominance and the infatuation of a

THE SHIPWRECK. 583
spirit of selfishness in the heart of man in a time of great and
sudden jeopardy.
And this even in Gospel days. The diffusion of Gospel
light does not of itself destroy this selfish principle in man.
There are indeed three influences of unequal strength, but
each powerful, which may under given circumstances counter
act it.
(i) A sense of honour. The captain of a burning or sink
ing ship will count it his duty to be the last to quit her. He
will maintain his place to the end, and perish (if need be)
himself alone. A regiment of soldiers will keep guard on deck,
over order and life ; and count death itself but the just forfeit
of a profession which is the soul of honour.
(2) And humanity alone has sufficed to make martyrs.
A man worthy of the name will fling himself into deep water,
in cold winter, to rescue a drowning woman.
(3) How much more will love — personal love — the love
of husband or wife, of sister or child — counteract the force of
selfishness, and make timidity for the moment brave. These
things are the instincts of original or of second nature. I
scarcely know that we can connect them closely — certainly
not inseparably — with the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour.
But how different are these things, at their highest point,
from the sustained calmness and commanding wisdom of him
whose long trial is here drawn out before us. None but a
Christian — nothing but the Gospel — nothing but the living grace
of a living Saviour — could have thus done and thus spoken.
Notice (1) the tranquillity. This man belongs to God. God,
he says, whose I am, and whom I serve. Nothing can come
amiss to him. He is the property of One, to whom to belong
is to be immortal. To live on, is to see the fruit of his labour.
To die, is to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better.
Notice (2) the elevation. This man is in communication
with God. This night the Angel of God stood by me. A man
like this is just the converse of Jonah. To have him in the
ship is a safeguard. See how a child in a thunderstorm will

584 THE SHIPWRECK.
feel himself safe with a pious parent. Nay, more than children
have known the comfort of having a righteous man under their
roof in days of popular excitement or raging pestilence. A
visit from God's Angel — the abiding presence of the Lord of
Angels — is enough to make a mean man a giant, a weak woman
a tower of strength.
Notice (3) the faith. This man believes God, that it shall
be even as it was told him. In his case, indeed, that which
was told him was a special prediction of safety. Thou must
stand before Coesar. Thou art on thy way to the Emperor's
tribunal ; and as thou hast maintained my cause in Jerusalem,
so must thou bear witness also at Rome. This necessity, pleasant
or painful, is thy safe conduct. Immortal till thy work be done,
thy work is not done. And, lo, God hath given thee all tliem
that sail with thee. Yes, the one faithful shall thus far gua
rantee the faithless. Where he is who is on God's business,
there are they safe, in body at least, who are on their own.
In these days we know not these things. The child of God
is early taken away from the evil to come : the wicked rage on,
and are confident. Yet is the same spirit of faith, even where
the same form of faith is not. He who, whether he live, lives
to the Lord, or, wliether he die, dies to the Lord, may well be
trustful amidst surrounding dangers, and even against hope
believing. Notice (4) the judgment. This man, the despised Christian,
is at once pilot, and shipmaster, and centurion. He is the one
to foresee danger. He counsels prudence. He advises delay
where safety is ; and he shows how a danger which might have
been averted can yet be mitigated. It is he who finds out the
secret treachery of the sailors ; it is he who recruits failing
strength, by timely food, for tomorrow's labours. Yes, there
are times when men who have scoffed at the Christian as a
visionary, come to recognize his value. It is something in this
selfish world, to be convinced of a man's disinterestedness. It
is something, in this fickle and unprincipled world, to know
that a man is honest, and that he has an aim. And at least

THE SHIPWRECK. 585
in that hour when the world is receding from our view, and
we care for nothing which is not both of God and to God,
then, if never before, in that time of failing spirit and faint
ing heart, we send for him, and we desire and we tolerate
him, and him only, of whom we are assured that he will speak
to us the words of God, and guide us, as in God's sight, into
the one haven where we would be.
Notice yet again, (5) the authority. Who is this man ? He
is a prisoner : a prisoner of a despised race, the Jewish : a prisoner of
an untolerated, an outlawed sect, the Christian. What is he, that
he should speak with authority ? Yet no sooner does danger
threaten, than he is the man of authority. Pilot, owner, cen
turion, all are silent in the face of these warring elements. One
alone speaks, who is at peace with the God of Nature, who has in
him the God of grace. It is he who speaks now, and says, Do
this or that. It is he who speaks then, and says, Ye ought to have
done this: now repair the error, and do that. And strange to
say, they listen. There is now no high priest to say to them
that stand by, Smite him on the mouth. Euroclydon and Boreas
have stopped that. He stands forth now, before sailors and
soldiers, face to face with Nature and with Nature's Gocl. The
friend of God is the man listened to, when God's arrows go
abroad. The day of God's judgment is the day also (even in this
life) of the manifestation and the recognition of tlie sons of God.
Notice lastly (6) the love. This man, if he were a natural
man only, would have been simply depressed, merely isolated,
misanthropical, and self-contained. What matters it to him who
eats or eats not? What matters it whose lives are given him,
and whose left and lost ? Yet he makes common cause in every
thing with the heathen soldiers who guard, and with the heathen
centurion who is to hand him over. He cares for their cheerful
ness as well as for their safety. He prescribes for their health,
and he counsels for their hopefulness. Surely the love of Christ
constrains him. Surely he has drunk deeply of that spirit which
was also in Christ Jesus.
My friends, it may not be given to us, or it may not be laid

586 THE SHIPWRECK.
upon us, to be driven for fourteen nights up and down in Adria,
as prisoners, confessors, and martyrs, for the testimony of the
truth. Yet none the less is it given us, or else laid upon us, to
cultivate betimes that spirit which St Paul here manifested in
extreme danger. No man knows how he may be tried, even
now, even in these still days and in our common life. Now and
then a contagious sickness comes, when selfishness clamours
within, and all but the true Christian look out for themselves.
Let a few cases of deadly fever, or of some new and foreign
disease, occur (as they have occurred) in this town ; and you will
see who among rich or poor has anything of St Paul's spirit and
anything of St Paul's charity. Where is then that Christian
man, or that Christian woman, who is both brave with St Paul's
boldness, wise with St Paul's prudence, and tender with St Paul's
love ? It is only he who communicates with God by night, who
can carry about with him God's comfort and God's authority by
day. And there are dangers, Christian friends, more formidable,
just because more subtle, than any that beset the body. There
are temptations potent with souls ; infections and contagions
of evil more deadly than those of plague or pestilence. In these
things also, he only is either wise to counsel or strong to com
mand, who has tried in himself the arms which he would wield,
and vanquished in himself the enemies against whom he would
guard others. Be Christ's first yourself, and then shall you win
others to Him. Like St Paul, first be God's, and then serve
Him. The sling and the stone of an honest heart-deep sincerity
shall be weapons more availing in the world-wide and the life
long battle, than the showier helmet and sword and coat of mail
which have been girt upon you by another unproved. Be yours
first the girdle of truth: then the shield of faith: and then the
sword of the Spirit.

LECTURE XX.
THE GOSPEL AT ROME.
Acts xxviii. 24.
And some believed the things wjiich were spoken, and some
believed not.
The persons thus spoken of were Jews, who had been listening
at Rome to St Paul's argument from Scriptures that Jesus was
Christ. The effect upon them was that which has been the effect
of the like reasoning in all ages : some believed the things that
were spoken, and some believed not.
St Paul's shipwreck had occurred on the coast of Melita, or
Malta. There he had been received with kindness ; and two
incidents of the visit had changed that kindness into reverence.
The first of these was a personal escape. Out of a faggot,
gathered for burning, there came a viper, which fastened on his
hand. At first the inhabitants took this as a proof that Paul
was some malefactor — a murderer, they said — whom, though
rescued from the sea, justice suffered not to live. But when they
saw that he was able to shake off the reptile without any harm
happening to him, tliey changed their minds, and said that he was
a god. So slight and inconclusive are human reasonings, when
they endeavour to draw inferences from life's accidents. It is
not always that the tower in Siloam falls upon the eighteen

588 THE GOSPEL AT ROME.
guiltiest of the inhabitants of Jerusalem : nor is the prosperity
of men always a proof of their virtue. The time of retribution,
for good or for evil, is not yet. To interchange Providence and
Judgment is one of the gravest mistakes that man can fall into.
The other incident was of a different kind. The father of the
chief man of the island, in whose house Paul stayed for three
days, was ill of a dangerous sickness : and it was granted to the
Apostle, through prayer and the laying on of his hands, to be
the instrument of his miraculous restoration. This led to other
applications. All others also who had diseases in the island came,
and were healed. Thus the Christian prisoner — for such he still
was — became the object of general honour, and many marks of
grateful veneration attended his departure.
Three months had thus passed, when another Alexandrian
cornship, which had wintered in a port of the island, and was
now about to complete its voyage to Italy, gave the opportunity
of ending this tedious detention. By Syracuse, and Rhegium,
they at length reached Puteoli in the Bay of Naples, and
remained there for seven days in the society of Christian friends.
From thence it was a land journey. Along a road, every step of
which is familiar to the classical student, they went towards Rome.
At two places on the road they were greeted by visitors from the
capital ; assuring them that, whatever danger or suffering might
be in prospect, Christ had much people in the great city ; and
that there would at least be sympathy, if there was not protec
tion. Arrived in Rome, the centurion, Julius, delivered up his
prisoner to Burrus, prefect of the prsetorian guard. Here too
the same interest which St Paul everywhere awakened was
shown in every possible mitigation of his position. He was
allowed to hire a lodging, apart from the camp, and to occupy
it unmolested, save by the perpetual presence of a soldier to
whom he was chained. Henceforth for two years was realized
to the letter that title in which he learned to glory, An ambassa
dor in bonds; or, more exactly, an ambassador in a cluiin. They

THE GOSPEL AT ROME. 589
who sought him out now must not be ashamed of his chain.
Whether he ate or slept, conversed or preached, wrote or prayed,
a rude Roman soldier, the native perhaps of some remote semi-
barbarous province, must be the companion of every act, the
sharer of every confidence, the witness of every utterance whether
in the ear of man or God.
Thus was he learning his highest lessons in the school of Gocl.
He was enduring hardness, not in the form of great enterprises,
but rather in that of a compulsory inactivity, as a good soldier of
Jesus Christ.
Yet even here he is the witness, not in word but by ex
ample, to that marvellous truth, that there is no condition of
life, absolutely none, in which he who wishes to find work for
God is debarred from doing so. Many a man who has preached
half in vain from his pulpit has preached with authority and with
acceptance from his sick-bed. Those who had scoffed at the call
to hear him preach have been melted at the summons to see him
suffer. Three days only had passed since his arrival in the great city,
when he finds means — true to his system and to his Master's
orders — to speak his Gospel first of all to the Jew. By the
help of St Luke, of Timotheus, of Demas, or some other of
his companions not in bonds, and still more perhaps of some of
the Christian residents in Rome, he found means to call together
the chief of the Jews, and to protest to them both his innocence of
any criminal or even unpatriotic conduct, and also his devout
adherence to that hope of Israel, the great doctrine of a Messiah
and a Resurrection, for which he always declared himself to be
thus outcast and suffering. For the hope of Israel I am bound
with this chain. The answer was more civil than ingenuous.
His auditors declared that they had heard nothing against him
by word or letter from their countrymen in Judea. They only
desired to hear from his own lips what he had to say concerning
this new sect which is everywhere spoken against. They spoke as
persons open to conviction ; waiting only to be convinced.

590 THE GOSPEL AT ROME.
A day was fixed for a full discussion of this momentous
question, the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth. From every
part of the Old Testament St Paul drew his arguments ; opening
and alleging no doubt (as at Thessaloniea) that it was necessary
that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead; and
that this Jesus, whom I proclaim unto you, is Christ. From
morning till evening the disputation lasted. Even enemies to
the truth were then in earnest, and counted not the minutes, no,
nor the hours, of a discourse on the things which professed to be
for their peace.
The result is expressed in the words of our text. After which
there remains only, before we reach the last sentence of the Book,
that solemn one word with which St Paul at last unwillingly
dismissed the gainsayers ; even that passage from the vision of
Isaiah, which is more often quoted in the New Testament than
any other clause of ancient Scripture ; the voice of Divine
judgment upon the indolent and dishonest hearer, whose
punishment shall be the inability to hear aright; the sealing
upon him, finally and for ever, of that deafness, that blindness,
that obduracy, which he has chosen. From such a judgment —
for it is of all time — may God in His mercy keep us.
God's word will always have its hearers. If these should hold
their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. Children of
Abraham there will ever be, if even the stones must furnish
them. Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvation of God is
sent unto the Gentiles : they will listen also to it.
Last of all the sacred history records in briefest summary
the length of St Paul's first imprisonment in Rome, and its
occupations. He abode there two whole years in a hired dwelling
of his own, and received all that went in to him ; preaching the
kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the
Lord Jesus Christ, with all freedom of speech, no one forbidding
him. No words, alas, could be more suitable to a modern Christian
congregation, none certainly more appropriate to the close of

THE GOSPEL AT ROME. 591
more than a year and a half's course of Sermons, than those
which describe the mixed results of Divine instruction even when
an Apostle — nay, even when Christ Himself — was the preacher.
There is a truthfulness as well as a pathos in the sound, a
correspondence with experience as well as a presage of conse
quences, to which we shall do well to give betimes a serious and
an earnest heed.
Some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed
not. i. So then the Gospel itself prepares us for its own
disappointment. If men say to us, How is it that a Revelation,
supposed to be true, does not command a universal assent ? how
can God speak, and yet not convince ? how can men refuse to
Divine statements a credence which no sane person withholds from
facts adequately proved by human testimony ? and then proceed to
argue that therefore the Christian Revelation is not adequately
proved ; we answer, that at all events the record itself led us to
expect the result which is complained of ; warned us that its
acceptance would not be universal; and bade us seek the
explanation of this phenomenon elsewhere than in the deficiency
or inconclusiveness of its proof. It is at least a remarkable
thing, that a religion which speaks so authoritatively, which
claims so confidently for itself a heavenly and a Divine origin,
should yet declare itself to be come into the world, not for
triumph, but for division ; should inscribe on its pages the
admission that of the earliest witnesses of the Resurrection some
doubted; should give directions for the treatment of refusers as
well as of accepters of the message ; should state this as the
effect of a long and detailed argument in its behalf on the part of
its most earnest and persuasive advocate, that some believed the
things which were spoken, and some believed not. We say of such
a religion, that at least it has taken the sting, by anticipation,
out of the argument from failure, and uttered a true prediction
as to the degree and measure of its own success. Here, as
elsewhere, we recognize that transparent truthfulness about

592 THE GOSPEL AT* ROME.
itself, which is one of the distinctive badges of the pure original
Gospel. 2. On the other hand, it cannot be said that Christianity
regards with indifference this various, this chequered result. It
is the wish of some persons — the wish sometimes of idle unconcern,
sometimes of human charity — to represent the Gospel simply as
an offer ; the presentation of something higher and better than
nature dreamed of ; the disclosure of a more excellent way for
such as can walk in it ; for the chance, as it were, of its finding,
here and there, a tribe or an individual, whose sense of want or
whose instinct of good it may either satisfy or stimulate. They
will speak, or they will act, as though it were a good thing to be
a Christian if you can, but not a fatal loss to be incapable of
that attainment. To take pains to evangelize a new continent,
or to press the Gospel upon a careless friend ; to express a fear
for the unbelieving, or to doubt the eternal repose of a soul gone
to its account faithless ; these things are looked upon as the
baseless anxieties of superstition, or the uncharitable suspicions
of self-righteousness. The Gospel is the luxury of the few, not
the necessity of all.
It ought to be enough, in a Christian audience, to recall men
to the plain words of Scripture-; to say, The Gospel does not
thus offer itself as for the equal "alternative of acceptance or
rejection ; does not stand amongst men 'in the form of an inviting
suppliant, having nothing but smiles and caresses wherewith to
win the devotion of an admiring but thoughtless multitude;'
does not pretend to be without terrors for the rejecter, or
ignorant of the doom of him who shall have received this grace of
God in vain. The Gospel, if it speaks truthfully — much more, if
it speaks truly — does predict wrath as well as promise mercy : it
misleads, ignorantly or else intentionally, if there be not as really
an eternal punishment as a life eternal. The Gospel is not
indifferent, though it be distinctly prescient, as to this believing
and believing not.
3. When we strive to look below the surface, and to

THE GOSPEL AT ROME. 593
discover why one believes and another believes not ; why that
proof which is equal for all should convince one and fail with
another; why it is that God's rain and God's sunshine fertilize
this spot and leave that barren ; why reason and conscience,
mind and soul, equal (in two instances) in vigour and capacity,
should view with different eyes the selfsame disclosure ; we are
in the midst, at once, of those indeed secret things which belong
wholly to the Lord our God. And we must be willing, unless we
would make shipwreck at once of faith and charity, to leave all
judgment in His hands, who, being the Lord of all, will assuredly
do right. But in the midst of many speculations there is one
thing practical. I would ask each member of this congregation,
whether he does not find in himself a close connection between
the state of his faith and the state of his life ; whether he
cannot, almost accurately, put together cause and effect, in such
sense that, when he is at peace with his conscience, he is also
most favourably disposed towards the Gospel; in other words,
when he is living as he knows he ought to live, then he is not
least but most convinced of the truth of Revelation, of the
reality of Christ.
There are indeed cases — saddest and most perplexing of all —
in which a good life seems to have parted company altogether
with that faith which first perhaps reformed it. Cases, in which
men of blameless lives, of honest endeavours and searchings after
truth, nay, even of earnest prayers for the Divine teaching,
cannot lay hold — or (more sorrowful still) have lost their bold—
upon the distinctive revelations of the Gospel. But, pardon me
if I say it positively, this is not your case. These are cases
which do not occur once in a generation in common life. They
belong to the seclusion of learned study : perhaps that seclusion
itself may more than half explain them. Perhaps, if these
doubts had been early dragged into action; if they had been
brought face to face with the stern realities of a poor man's
cottage, still more of sorrow and bereavement, of sickness and
impending death ; even they might have been dissipated : the
38

594 THE GOSPEL AT ROME.
necessity of Christ might have been felt more than His distance,
and the theoretical doubter might have become a practical
Christian. I say it again, This rare case is not your case. You, if you
answer the question truthfully, in the secret of your own bosom,
will say this ; There is a connection, in me, between unbelief and
sin. When I am neglecting duty, when I am cherishing an evil
temper, when I am unfaithful to life's relations, when I am
yielding to some besetting temptation, when my conscience is not
clear, nor my mind submissive, nor my heart clean, then it is that
I put from me the faith of Christ ; then it is that I feel doubts
about God's Word ; then it is that I become loose in my ideas of
truth, and slack in my hold upon the things unseen. In short,
when I am not good, then it is that I believe not. Could any
words more strongly express the evidence which the Gospel
brings with it to us ? If there be this practical connection, for
us, between faith and virtue, then, without looking at others —
without saying how it may be with nations which have not heard
or with minds which cannot embrace the Gospel — we may at
least understand how, for ourselves, not to believe is to be in
peril, and to die unbelieving is to perish and to be condemned.
The heart and the life have at least as much to do with faith
as the understanding.
4. In the face of these unaccountable differences between
man and man ; some believing, and others (with advantages at
least equal) believing not ; we come, more and more as life
advances, to rest, simply and trustingly, upon the declaration of
Scripture, that faith itself is God's gift, the work of His Spirit,
and commonly the direct answer to persevering prayer. We
presume not, we believe it to be at present impossible, to state or
to define to ourselves the logical coherence of the two funda
mental doctrines of grace and responsibility. How, if God alone
can give, man is condemned for not having ; how, if some are
chosen unto life, others are yet accountable for not finding it ;
how, if God works in us to will and to do, man must yet work out

THE GOSPEL AT ROME. 595
his own salvation with fear and trembling. But, whatever may
be the logical difficulty, there is little or no difficulty of practice
or of the heart. If God gives, man must ask : if God promises
to give to him that asks, he who asks not cannot complain if he
has not.
And thus, for all practical purposes, it is enough to rest the
case here. Are you asking ? asking as of a real Person for a real
gift ? Do you deeply feel that you cannot give yourself faith ?
that faith, I mean, which is now in question? not a convinced
understanding only, a mind familiar with Christian evidences,
and contented to acquiesce in the received opinion of Christen
dom, but a heart resting upon Christ, and a life carefully
conformed to His teaching? and feeling this, do you honestly
and earnestly apply to God to give it you?
I do not believe in unanswered prayers. I do not believe in
a man really and earnestly and humbly seeking God, and seeking
Him in vain. I can understand his being kept waiting ; waiting,
that is, for a comfortable consciousness of being listened to ;
waiting for a bright light and for an assured hope. But I do
not believe in a man dying an unbeliever, who has constantly
and patiently prayed for faith. It would make me anxious
about the truth of Christ, if I could believe it. But it wants
proof. Yes, in spite of all assertions to the contrary, I believe
that such a case yet waits for an example. Every one that asketh,
our Lord says, receiveth ; receives at last, if not instantly ;
receives, if he still prays on (as He Himself has taught us to do)
and faints not ; receives enough at least for safety, if not enough
for peace. On that rock I will build : and when I am taunted
with the doctrine of sovereign grace, or of Divine election, as
introducing an idea of injustice, or even of inequality, into God's
dealing with His creatures, I shall still say that practically the
difference is made by a man praying or not praying; that he
who believes is a praying man, and that he who believes not
prays not.
5. It must be plain to every one here present, that, even

596 THE GOSPEL AT ROME.
among professed Christians, there are still believing men and
unbelieving. When the Scripture says, Some believed the things
which were spoken, and some believed not, it does not speak of that
sort of believing which consists only in an assent of the under
standing. With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. It is
not every one here present who does that. We have listened,
not without attention, to a course of fifty or sixty Sermons on
this one Book of Scripture. And some have gone home, week
by week, to review the passage commented on, to examine its
details, to store up its instruction, and to take a livelier interest
than before in this inspired history of the early fortunes of the
Church of Christ. But O, my friends, is this enough? Does
this, of itself, say anything as to the faith of the heart? Does
this, of itself — yea, if it be multiplied a thousandfold — give any
promise as to hope in death, as to happiness in eternity ? Still,
even among these — these our more attentive hearers — there may
be some who believe the things spoken, and some who believe
not : in other words, some who pray, and some who pray not ;
some, who cannot live without communion with God ; some,
whose daily struggle it is to enter into the holiest, where God is,
by the blood of Jesus; and others, who are well contented to
enjoy God's gifts, as in a far country, without one yearning
after Him, without once saying in the deep of the heart, I
will arise and go to my Father. Therefore, my brethren, it is
still with us, as it was in the first days of the Gospel, an
anxious, a fearful enquiry, Do we yet believe? If we do,
we cannot sleep in indifference, we cannot rest in the world,
we cannot live in sin. To believe is to see ourselves lost by
nature and redeemed by the blood of Christ. To believe is
to live no longer to ourselves, but to Him who died for us and
rose again. To believe is to declare plainly, by our whole spirit
and conduct, that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth,
seeking a better country, that is, an heavenly. To believe is to
have our affection set on things above, our very life hidden with
Christ in God.

THE GOSPEL AT ROME. 597
O God, grant that we may not be among those self-deluders,
who shall say to Christ in the judgment, We have eaten and
drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets ; to
whom nevertheless He shall answer and say, I never knew you.
May we all so live, as in Thy sight ; so know Thee now by
faith, that after this life we may have the fruition of Thy glorious
Godhead.

THE END.

CAMBBIDGE : PBINTED BY C. J. CLAY, M.A. AND SONS, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

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