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SEEMONS.

SERMONS

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

BT TUB LATK

EEV. C. W. HAWKINS, B.A.,

Minister of tlie Methodist Cluirch of Canada,
(Ijondoih C'oiifereiiceJ

COLLECTED FROM HIS MANUSCRIPTS BY HIS

WIFE.

f I

WITH INTRODUCTION

BT THE

REV. W. J. MAXWELL,

GUELIH.

TORONTO :

WILLIAM BBIG^S, METHODIST BOOK ROOM.
1880.

■i

?■

ANNEX
iTAQI

V '

\ ,

INTRODUCTION.

,F making many books there is no
^ end." This little volame kindly
asks a place alongside its predecessors.
It asks the reader to criticise mildly. It
resembles the temple in one particular.
He who collected the material was not
allowed to finish the work. The author,
Kev. C. W. Hawkins, B.A., died while
but a youth in the ministry. He left
behind scores of spiritual children. They
can say of him, " My father ! my father ! "
In this book they may find the sermon or
sentence that won them for Christ, or
warned them " to flee from the wrath to
come." Should the reader pronounce its
utterances simple, then are they more
Christ-like ; axe they lacking in profun-

IXTUODUCTIOX.

dity, forge b not that by the seeming
" foolishness " of this preaching men
have been saved. The sentences of this
book were consecrated to God's service,
at their birth, in prayer. The mind
from whence they came was pure. The
lips from which they fell were touched
with ** the live coal." They were radiant
with a Pentecostal fire. Thijy will be
remembered by the inhabitants of St.
Catharines, Thorold, Grimsby, Oakville,
Beamsville^ and other places where they
were preached. Eegarding them as
weapons that had good service in them,
his friend has gathered them from the
manuscripts, and now begs to put into
the hands of the public this unpreten-
tious volume, with the hope and prayer
that the Sermons here contained may do
the Master's work, and that Kev. C. W.
Hawkins, being dead, may continue,

through them, still to preach.

W. J. M.

■MVP

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

I. A Covenant Service 1

"And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord
God of their fathers with all their heart and
with all their soul."— 2 Chron. xv. 12.

II. A New Year's Sermon 20

" So teach us to number our days, that we may apply
our hearts unto wisdom." — Psalm xc. 12.

III. The New Birth , 40

" Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born
again."— Jb/tH iii, 7.

IV. The Law of Revivals 56

*• Lord, revive thy work."— //«&, iii. 2.

V. Confession of Sin 74

" If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness." — 1 /o/tn i. 9.

YI. Profit of Godliness 89

"Godliness is profitable unto all things."— 1 Tim.
iv. 8.

VII. Spiritual Development 108

" Grow in grace. "—2 Peter iii. 18.
VIII. Christ Precious 124

" Unto you therefore which believe He is precious."
— 1 Peter ii. 7.

Viii CONTENTS.

PAOB.

IX. Religion Reasonable 137

*' Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
Lord." — Isaiah i. 18.

X. Epistles — Written and Studied 166

"Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known
and read of all men," &c. — 2 Cor. iii. 2, 3.

XI. I^ukewasmness 175

** So then because tliou art lukewarm, and neither
cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
— JRev. iii. 16.

XII. Dives AT Home 191

"There was a certain rich man," &c. — Luke xvi.
19-31.

XIII. Sowing and Reaping 207

*' Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'
—Oal. vi. 7.

XIV. Wheat Harvest Day 223

** Is it not wheat harvest to-day?" — 1 Sam. xii. 17.

XV. Educational Sermon 239

"Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not
good." — Prov. xix. 2.

XVI. Trial, Fortitude, Faith 257

" The archers have sorely gi'ieved him, and shot at
him, and hated him," &c. — Gen. xlix. 23, 9A.

XVII. Faded Leaves] 275

" Wo all do fade as a leaf." — Isaiah Ixiv. 6.

SERMONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS.

% €abtnmxt Strbia*

"And thev entered into a covenant to seek the Lord
God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all
their soul." — 2 Chron. xv. 12.

'tWT is said that history repeats itself. If this
^ is true of the civil history of nations, it is
much more true of the history of God's people.
To one who has been a diligent student of
Bible history, and an attentive observer of the
course of many who profess to be serving God
to-day, there is a very marked resemblance be-
tween them. More than that: many who are
themselves striving to serve God, and who
diligently read their Bibles, cannot well have
failed to notice a resemblance between their
own experience and the history of God's
people in the past — how many partial re-
formations there were — how frequently we
1

SERMONS.

read of the idol groves being cut down,
the high places and idols being destroyed !
Influenced by some Divine chastisement because
of their sin, their repentance seems genuine and
the work permanent. We are ready to think
they will never again fall or need to be punished ;
but a few years pass, a new ruler comes on
the stage, and again we read of the law of God
forsaken, of idols of groves and of high places.
Then there is a fresh punishment and another
apparent reformation. Their reformations were
but partial. Some seed of evil was left un-
destroyed, and from this seed a crop of the
weeds of sin soon sprang again. Their back-
slidings were numerous and grievous. So, my
friends, many an apparent reformation in an
individual or in a community in modern times
has been but short-lived. A time of revival has
come to a community. God's word has proved
as a two-edged sword, pieicing to the " dividing
asunder of soul and spirit," revealing the secret
thoughts and intents of the heart. As men have
seen the wrath of God revealed from heaven
against all unrighteousness of men, they have
stopped in their sin — have repented of it — it
has seemed as though a very great and very
lasting change had come. But our congratula-
tions and rejoicings are scarcely over when they
are mingled with regret and disappointment.

A COVENANT SERVICE.

There are soon evidences that in some at least
the cure was but partial, and the disease again
commences to spread. They lose sight of the ex-
ceeding sinfulness of sin, and forget the wrath
of God, and return, as the sow that was washed
to her wallowing in the mire. The history of
Christianity in many a community, and in many
a heart, has been, as with the Jews of old, a
series of advances and retrogressions, of ebbs
and flows. The cause then, I believe, was what
the cause now, I believe, is, that the reforma-
tions are but partial. Every vestige of idolatry
was not destroyed ; some excuse would be used
to save something that would soon prove a
temptation and a snare to the people. So now
every temptation to sin is not avoided. Some
little, appa.rently trivial sin has been spared, and
it has proved the fruitful source of a flood cf
evil. While at all times there should be a
watchful care over our own experiences, yet the
history of the Church proves the need of peri-
odical heart-searchings and of periodical re-cove-
nantings.

I. As an essential condition of the acceptance
of our consecration of ourselves to God, there
must be a separation from sin (v. 8). No soul
can be accepted of God while there is conscious,
wilful clinging to sin. Sin is that which se-
parates people from God — which causes God to

SERMONS.

forsake His people. And the first step in coming
back to God is the abandonment of sin. The
most gracious promises of God's word are
coupled with requirement to put away sin. God
says, " Wash you, make you clean, put away the
evil of your doings from before mine eyes ; cease
to do evil, learn to do well." Then, "Come
and let us reason together; though your sins
be as scarlet." "Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous his thoughts." Then
sin, consciously and wilfully indulged, invali-
dates all covenants of the past, as far as God's
fulfilling the covenant engagements are con-
cerned, for it is a breach of the terms of the
covenant, and it unfits for covenanting in
the future while it is retained. God will not
enter into covenant relationship with you while
you are in alliance with His foes. A nation
could make to-day a friendly treaty with Russia,
and yet be an active ally of Turkey. A nation
might pretend friendship with one, while secretly
being bound by treaty to the other. Yet, it is
impossible for us to enter into a covenant
with God which He will recognize, unless we
enter the deadly exterminating war against
sin. The utter incompatibility, the deadly
antagonism between the service of God and
sin must be fully recognized by the soul en-
tering into covenant with Him. It is well

A COVENANT SERVICE.

for US attentively to study the terms of the
covenant — the conditions on which God will
enter into covenant with us. To attempt to
covenant with God while we are consciously,
wilfully clinging to sin is a most awful mock-
ery and sin. To do it unconsciously and un-
intentionally is to have in the heart that
which will prove a temptation and a snare.
Let us then, in the first place, examine our-
selves. Let us not conclude, because we have
been for years professors of religion, that there-
fore we may neglect this careful scrutiny. Have
not our grievous departures from God, in heart
if not in life, been proofs that something has
been allowed to creep in which is unfriendly
to Christ ? Has not our want of success in
winning men to Jesus been caused by some-
thing retained in the heart? As a preacher,
have I permitted sin to exist unreproved in
our midst ? As parents, have you in your
households permitted some conformity to the
world to prevail ? Are there any customs
which our fathers condemned, and which the
pious in all ages have condemned, and which
our consciences, enlightened by God's word,
condemns, arising among us ? The abominations
which the Jews permitted to creep in with
idolatry do not prevail ; but, my friends, in un-
holy customs, or pestilent literature, or unholy

SERMONS.

associations permitted about our homes, there
may be that which is as offensive to God. As
all good housekeepers find it necessary to periodi-
cally cleanse their houses, so it is well for
us to periodically cleanse our churches, and
to cleanse our homes and our hearts. Look
about you ; look within ; gather all that is offen-
sive to God, and destroy it in His presence.

II. A consecration of ourselves should in-
clude a consecration of our worldly goods
(v. 11). The tithes and offerings of the Jews
were not merely gifts to the temple service,
but recognitions of his proprietorship in all
that they had. So, my friends, our covenanting
with God is not merely to perform certain
spiritual duties, but to include all we have.
When a man gives himself to God, everything
is included. There is nothing a Christian has
on which he can lay his hand and say, "This
is mine. The Lord has no part in this." The
more distinctly we recognize God's claims, even
in our temporal affairs, the more intelligently
we enter into covenant with Him. In the
management of our business, and in the dis-
posal of our property, as well as in the manage-
ment of our spiritual affairs, God's will must
be consulted, and, as far as known, must be
obeyed. A Christian is not to suppose that
merely what he directly gives to the Lord's

A COVENANT SERVICE.

cause belongs to the Lord, but also what he
retains for the support of his family and the
carrying on of his worldly i terests. Some
persons seem to suppose that when they have
given a certain portion to God's cause they
have no need to consult Him, or refer to
His will with reference to the rest. Your
Mondays as well as your Sundays belong to
the Lord. All the difference is, one is more
directly employed in spiritual things than the
other. So your wealth employed for other
purposes belongs to God as well as that which
you devote more directly for spiritual work.
You need money for your own clothing, and
comfort, and sustenance, and if parents, for the
clothing, education, etc., of your children, and
God is willing you shall have it, as well as also
for prudent provision for the future, and for
the carrying on of your business. But you
and I must remember that in all these we
are but stewards, and for the way in which
we dispose of our wealth are responsible to
God. In all these things we must dispose of
our wealth so as to please God. God has in-
tended that the industrious and the careful
shall have abundant supplies. The provisions
of nature are, it seems to me, evidences of
this. While God is the author of our worldly
supplies, and gives us so bountifully, surely we

SERMONS.

should not, in our managing of that which
He has enabled us to acquire, forget the
claims of His cause. While the Christian is
in duty bound to make such provision as he
can for his family, he is also in duty bound
to make such provision as he can for the
claims of charity. The poor, where there are
such, must be remembered. The spread of the
Gospel must also be regarded. He would
not be acting rightly who, by his giving, left
his family unprovided for. He would not be
acting rightly who, in providing for his family,
left the cause of God un7rovided for. Both
are legitimate claimants. x>[either can be justly
overlooked. In making disposal of his means,
a man should seek to so adjust matters that
all claimants, whether for the cause of God or
any other, should get its proportion. Let a man
adjust these claims intelligently, and in the
sight of the God who really has a right to all.
In the Old Testament the claims were adjusted
for the people, and by law a tenth was devoted
to God. I do not think we have any such
law in our dispensation. If a man were com-
pelled to give a certain amount, his giving
would be no real criterion of his love for God or
His cause. It would be just as the taxes paid,
a matter of necessity. Every man must do
as he purposeth. But let him remember that

A COVENANT SERVICE.

are

what he purposeth and what he giveth are
an evidence to God and to man of his interest
in God's cause. But surely, in a dispensation
of greater light and greater privilege, we should
not make use of the liberty God gives us to
withhold from what he claimed from others
in a less privileged generation. There are
few matters about which there is so great a
difference. Some, it seems to me, must give
to-day more than a tenth, and some, I fear, give
scarcely a hundredth. Let every man, in cove-
nanting with the Lord, arrange the matter
according to the light he has, and guided by
God's word and his own conscience. Many say,
if I were but rich I would give. The best way
to test yourselves is to ask how you do now.
Those who are miserly when poor, almost always
grow more so when rich.

III. A covenanting should include a binding
of ourselves to the performance of spiritual
duties. There are, in this age in which we
live especially, men who, perhaps, come up to
the requirements of God's law in the particu-
lar I have just been adverting to. They give
liberally of their means to support God's cause
but utterly neglect spiritual duties. By these
I refer to the attendance on public worship, read-
ing God's word, private prayer, self-examina-
tion. In all these ways we should covenant

vr^

SERMONS.

to seek the Lord with all our heart and with
all our soul. If we neglect these, the tone of
our piety will decline inevitably, and our re-
ligion will degenerate into a form. We should
bind ourselves to attend the public Sabbath
ministrations. I am glad that our people do
as well in this respect as they do. With a few
exceptions, the regularity is all that I could
ask. If there is one here who has neglected
this matter in covenanting with the Lord, re-
solve, as a matter of duty, to attend to this.
Then remember the mere coming to the house
of God is not all our duty. We come to hear
God's word expounded, and to apply it to
ourselves. Have you received the truth in the
love of it — not merely that truth which may
be pleasing, but that which has condemned
you ? Have you resolved to act on the light
God gives — to do your duty when it is made
known, no matter how much you may naturally
feel disinclined to it ? Or have you reserved
to yourself the right to cull the truths of
God's word — to accept and act on those which
suit you, and to reject and refuse to be guided
by those which do not suit ? In covenanting with
God, let us have this distinctly in view. We
are not to choose what commands we can obey,
and which disregard ; we covenant to obey, by
the grace of God, those which are opposed to our

A COVENANT SERVICE.

natural inclinations as well as those which are
not. Then, again, our attendance at the sanctu-
ary from Sabbath to Sabbath is not merely to
hear an exposition of God's word. That is
a mistake into which the Church seems to
have fallen. The great object is to hear a
sermon. Too frequently other parts of the ser-
vice are ignored. The idea of worship seems
too much to be lost sight of. What little wor-
ship there is, is done by proxy. The preacher
prays, and the choir sings, and the congrega-
tion look on or listen — too frequently, I fear,
with impatience — to a part of the service in
which they should engage. In the Church of
England prayers, the people are expected to
join. We reject that as too formal. In the
olden times of Methodism and of Israel, it
seems the people said, Amen. We reject that
as savouring of enthusiasm ; and in our en-
deavour to escape formality on the one side
and enthusiasm on the other, I fear we have
sometimes fallen into a worse mistake than
either — that of losing both the form and the
spirit. If in these respects we have been err-
ing in the past in covenanting with the Lord,
have these mistakes in view. When the min-
ister prays, let us, in heart at least, say Amen.
When the choir sing, let us answer the Psalm-
ist's prayer when he prayed, "Let the people

SERMONS.

praise thee ; yea, Lord, let all the people praise
thee." Then there are other duties to the per-
formance of which you bind yourselves. There
is the public meeting for prayer. Have you
been as regular in your attendance at this ?
Alas! there are numbers who are never seen
there. There may be excuses, but surely there
are none for constant absence. A lack of in-
terest in these, in a church or in an individual,
shows a low state of piety. If we could but
see our praj-er-meetings again attended by all
our people seeking the Lord, then we might
confidently look for times of refreshing. Then
there is the study of God's word. I rejoice
at the increased interest in the study of the
Bible manifest in our schools, but we must
remember it is not merely a text-book for
our Sabbath-schools, to be laid aside when we
leave. It is the chart of the narrow way.
It contains all the rules of holy living, and
numerous illustrations from actual life of
those rules. It contains the will of our
Heavenly Father, and the Christian's title to
His heavenly inheritance, and the only descrip-
tion we have of that inheritance. It is an
exhaustless store of instruction and of comfort,
of warning and reproof. Have you studied
and searched the Scriptures ? Not have you
read a few hurried verses at family devotions,

il_

A COVENANT SERVICE.

or a chapter now and then on a Sabbath after-
noon when almost in a doze, but have you
looked for instruction and help from this word ?
Again, have you attended to private devotions ?
A man's private devotions are a better criterion
of his piety than his public. In public we
may be influenced by the customs of society —
we may merely be conforming to the require-
ments of the Church we belong to or attend;
but in private, uninfluenced by the opinions
of men, our devotions are very nearly an exact
expression of our religious life. There is power
in real prayer ; there is enjoyment in real
prayer. Have we realized them ? Another
duty is frequent self-examination ; not by the
standard of morality prevailing in the com-
munity around us, but by the requirements of
God's word. Do we excuse shortcomings by the
weakness of humanity or the customs of society
or do we condemn them in ourselves just as
sternly as God's word condemns them ? Are we
striving after the perfect pattern left us in
God's word ? Are the rough places in us being
made smooth ? the unholy tempers being de-
stroyed. Are the crooked ways being made
straight ? the disposition, everything like guile or
deceit being taken out ? While we are anxious
about others, about church work, let us be
careful to have our own hearts right. The

SERMONS.

want of the Church may be expressed by one
word — that is, spirituality. That includes or
implies everything else.

IV. It implies taking upon ourselves solemn
obligations. " They sware unto the Lord." My
own experience and judgment leads me to say,
make as few solemn vows as possible. There
is danger lest the frequency of the act lessen
the feeling of solemnity or obligation. Then
there is, perhaps, greater danger that if it be
done frequently it will sometime be done
rashly. Many a man with reference to some
small thing has made a vow, and afterwards
repented of it. Two rules I would lay down
with reference to this matter of vowing: 1st.
Never make a solemn vow unless it be a matter
of importance. If in every small duty sepa-
rately we enter into a solenm covenant, we run
run the danger I have already pointed out, of
some day binding ourselves in some matter with
reference to which we may afterwards change
our mind, and we lessen by the frequency our
feeling of solemn obligation. The feeling of
awful obligation we realize when we make
a solemn vow, is a feeling we should reserve
if I may so speak, for the most important
work. 2nd. Never, except it be the clearest
case, make a vow. Now, the claims of the
service of God answer both these. It is im-

A COVENANT SERVICE.

portant — more important than we can well re-
alize. To attend to such a matter, we do well
to bind ourselves by the strongest possible
bonds. There are times when the importance
of this matter does not appear to us. If at
such a time, in the hum of business, in the
hurry of life, some temptation comes suddenly
upon us, even as we have resolved to serve
God, the strength of an ordinary resolution
is not enough to keep us. It will be well to
be bound by the strong cable of the most
solemn vows. Then, again, it is not only a
matter of vast importance, but also of great
clearness as to duty. You need have no fear
of ever having a doubt about your duty to
serve God or gain heaven. With reference to
many minor particulars you may change your
mind — Church relations, etc. There are many
who, year by year, have known the vast im-
portance, have felt their duty to be clear, yet
do not act. Not rashly, but calmly, delibe-
ately, intelligently, enter into obligation to serve
God. The greatness of the Being with whom
you are covenanting, the infinite importance
of the interests involved, add to the solemnity
of what under any circumstances is solemn.

V. The result of the covenanting — " The people
rejoiced at the oath." It is a solemn thing, yet
a most blessed thing — the privilege of enter-

SERMONS.

ing into covenant with the great God. When
you sincerely do enter into covenant with God,
He does with you. While your part of the
covenant is expressed by giving up yourselves
— ^repentance, obedience, faith, etc. — He on His
part promises to be your God. God's part of
the covenant is expressed by all the promises,
which are intended for all His people. Think
of the promises. How rich your heritage the
moment you enter into covenant with God !
He is pledged to guide, protect, to save. The
day you avouch the Lord to be your God, that
day he avouches you to be His people, and all
the blessings of the covenant are yours. The
atonement of Jesus cancels your sin ; the blood
of Jesus cleanses your guilt ; the Spirit of God
helps your infirmities ; the arm of God will
lift you to heaven.

The result of covenanting — " The people re-
joiced at the oath." The covenant is solemn,
but not necessarily gloomy or productive of
unhappiness. In fact, it is possible for our
moments of deepest solemnity to be our mo-
ments of deepest happiness. To be permitted
to enter into covenant relationship with God
is a great privilege. To think that when we
sincerely covenant to be His, He does promise
to be ours; to think of all the promises that

A COVENANT SERVICE.

are ours, which expresses God's side of the
covenant ; to be able to sing,

" 'Tis done, the .precious ransom's paid,"

there is a satisfaction deeper and more abiding
than the satisfaction that comes from any other
transaction, just as the interests involved are
more important than any other. If I am my
God's, He is mine in all the wealth of blessing
He promises to His people. From the moment
I sincerely give myself to Him, I stand in a
new relationship to Him. The atonement of
His Son covers my guilt ; the blood of His
Son cleanses my sin; the Spirit helpeth my
infirmities; his almighty arm is pledged to
support me here, and to lift me to heaven here-
after. As the act of consecration is entire,
the realization of acceptance is clear, and joy
and peace will flow into the soul. My friends,
you may sometimes be inclined to ask why
your religion furnishes you so little enjoyment.
One frequent, perhaps general, cause is a want
of a covenant to be the Lord's. When a man
has bound himself by solemn obligation to be
the Lord's, the first feeling may be one of
awful solemnity ; but as he rests on the promises,
the solemnity is mingled with deepest joy
as he realizes the wealth of an inheritance
which eye hath not seen nor ear heard. The
blessed Spirit will show him the treasures, the
2

■'! I

I 11

SERMONS.

riches of the saints, even as he himself had
not before realized. If there was joy when
the woman had found one of the pieces of
silver she had lost, surely there will be joy
when r, man finds that priceless treasure, sal-
vation, which he had lost— a treasure he now
finds to be, even in this world, more valuable
than he had conceived it to be. Then with
the feeling that you are accepted you will
feel that you have a freedom of access to
God's throne you before had not ; the freedom
a child has in approaching its father. A servant
may approach a master with fear, but a child
will approach a father with confidence. With
this feeling of confidence in approaching God,
comes a feeling of quiet trust not before enjoyed,
and with this trust comes rest. " The Lord gave
them rest." So gives He the Christian rest
from many a troublesome foe. If you would
know what deep soul rest is, then enter into
covenant with God.

Not alone to professed Christians do I speak.
There are others to whom I would speak. The
terms on which God will enter into covenant
with you are known. The offer still stands
open. Who this night, without reservation,
will enter into covenant relationship with God
— take upon himself the obligation, not in his
own strength, but in the strength of the Lord ?

j I'l

A COVENANT SERVICE.

If your names are not found there at last,
you have neither part nor lot in the matter.
I invite you seriously to come to-night. Come,
and let us srive ourselves to the Lord in an

everlasting covenant.

I [

II.

" So teach us to number our days that we may apply
our hearts unto wisdom." — Psalm xc. 12.

I^HAT schoolboy has not written or tried to
write an essay on Time ? The brevity
and uncertainty of time are so frequently dwelt
upon that they seem trite ; yet, after all, there
is reason to fear most of us are not influenced
by these truths as we should be. In these days
of rapid and improved means of travel, a man
may be hurried across a continent almost with-
out realizing he has been travelling at all.
Dining at a table, sleeping in his palace car,
conversing with companions, reading the news-
paper, miles of space may whirl past almost un-
noticed. Let him look out at objects as they
go sweeping by — let him take out his guide-
book, search the position on the line of the last
station he heard called, then he will begin to
realize that he has been hurried thousands
of miles from home and friends. We, my
friends, are sailing on the current of the rapid

A NEW year's sermon.

stream we call " Time." It flows from the ocean
o£ an eternal past to the ocean of an eternal
future. With some of us the bark glides
so smoothly along with the swift current
that we scarcely realize that we are being
hurried away. To some of us life's engage-
ments are so pressing — attending to our busi-
ness, supplying the wants of our household —
we forget at times that we are being swept
onward by the flood. In the quiet of the last
Sabbath evening of the year let us, so to speak,
take out our guide-books and note how far
along life's journey we have travelled. There
is something almost awful in the thought of
our world — this globe on which we live — rush-
ing through space at the rate of hundreds of
miles every minute, and of hundreds of millions
of miles every year. To the watchers above
our world contains a grander and more awful
spectacle. There are millions of beings, each
having in himself a world more valuable than
the world on which we live, and each hurry-
ing toward an eternal destiny of happiness or
misery. That our thoughts may not degenerate
into mere sentiment, it is well to have them
solemnized and stimulated by the thought of
the awful eternity toward which we are hurry-
ing, and the priceless treasure we carry within
us. We have almost crossed that portion of

/ ~tf

'■ : I

t i

SERMONS.

our lives men call 1877. Thirty-three such
portions make the average of human life —
seventy make the allotted age. Some of us
have almost reached the average, and almost
half the allotted age. Some have gone far
beyond the average, and are almost at the end.
Some are just commencing. Time is of un-
certain length to each of us. How many never
reach the average ! How few reach the allotted
age I Go back to boyhood. How short the
time seems, and yet how numerous the changes !
Where are our boyhood's playmates ? Where
are those who played with us when young ?
And if the changes appear so great to us, what
must they seem to one who has passed threescore
years and ten ? This is called a psalm of Moses,
the man of God — generally supposed to be Moses,
the law-giver. He seems to have been musing
on the transitory nature of things earthly. He
was an old man. Perhaps he had been reviewing
the scenes of his life. He had thought of the
royal family of Pharaoh, with whom he had
been brought up, and was doubtless familiar.
They have long since sunk as lead in the
mighty waters. He thought of Korah, Dathan,
and Abiram, and many others who were his
contemporaries, who had stood by his side, and
had started with him for the promised land;
but they and well-nigh all that generation have

▲ NEW year's sermon.

passed away, consumed by the wrath of the
Almighty. He thought of the generations
rising, each with its bright hopes and large
ambitions, and each cut down with little of its
hopes realized and few of its plans executed.
They appear like the grass which groweth up.
Life seems like a dream when one awaketh — as
a tale that is told — as a watch in the night.
Then, with this fleeting life, he contrasts the
eternity of his God, and he sings : " Lord, thou
hast been our dwelling-place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or
even thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
even from everlastino- to everlastinof thou art
God."

The influence with some is to sadden. As
they think of the uncertainty, the unproduc-
tiveness of life, they grow gloomy and despon-
dent. It paralyzes. Our view of the brevity
of life has had an injurious effect if it has only
done that for us. There is a great deal of
gloomy sentiment, floating in the name of
poetry, that only enervates. If our medita-
tion only does that, we had better turn from
it. Life here is short, uncertain, and disap-
pointing if taken alone ; but God's word views
it not alone, but in connection with another.

There are two influences which meditation
of this kind usually has on men of this world.

SERMONS.

The conclusion of one class is expressed by the
Apostle : " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow
we die." Let us drown all thought of the
shortness and uncertainty of life by a mad
delirium of pleasure. There are many reek-
less prodigals whose lives seem one constant
effort to drown sorrow — to make the most of
the life that now is by living only for its
enjoyments. One such life and its consequences
is vividly painted by the greatest English poet
of our times. He describes to us one who has
chosen pleasure as his portion. First entranced,
then enslaved, he plunges into the wildest vor-
tex of pleasure. Like a madman whose boat
has been caught in the rapids, he adds to the
force of the current by rowing downward
toward the cataract. He goads the swift
courser, Time. Very soon he has reached a
premature old age. He is a gap-toothed, grey-
haired old man, and still we hear him, in his
midnight revelries, madly singing —

" Fill the cup and fill the can,

Have a rouse before the morn —
Every moment dies a man,
Every moment one is born."

" Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."

My friends, few, I trust, of us go so far, yet
there are more who are making that really

A NEW YEARS SERMON.

their motto than suspect it. If you try to
drive away serious thoughts by light reading,
by light company — if you say, " Oh, well, life is
short and uncertain, but let us have as much
enjoyment of this world as possible" — if you
think that the wisest thing a man can do is
just to enjoy the present, then you are of that
class, even if you do not plunge into wild ex-
cesses. But you say it is a law of our natures
that we must seek enjoyment. Yes; but it is
a law of our nature, made clear by human ex-
perience and by God's word, that he who seeks
only for present enjoyment soonest exhausts his
inheritance of happiness, and has far the least
of it. Have it now if you will, but remember
there will be little of it. It will soon be past,
and will leave a sting behind. You are not
numbering your days aright if a consideration
of the brevity of time leads you more eagerly
to drink of every offered cup of pleasure. The
young man who„ says " I care nothing for an
education ; I care nothing for learning a useful
trade ; I mean to drink of pleasure, to have a
good time" — will soon get to the dregs. The
good time will soon pass. He will be in life a
useless vagabond, and come down to an old
age of poverty and disgrace. Even if there
were no world beyond, wisdom would teach us
moderation in the enjoyments of this world.

'I"

_« J-

SERMONS.

The elder son who lived at home and managed
his estate, got more real enjoyment from the
simple pleasures of home, and the sense of con-
tentment which almost always comes from con-
stant employment and an easy conscience, than
his prodigal brother did in the fevered, spas-
modic draughts of his life of riot ; and beside,
he spared himself the sting of remorse — the
poverty and disgrace of the brother. He is so
numbering his days as to apply his heart unto
madness and folly who lives for present enjoy-
ment only. My friends, there is too much epi-
curean sentiment about most of us in this age.
The cry of old and young is for present enjoy-
ment, and in our very eagerness we squander
more than we get. We are frequently cheated
out of it after we have paid the price. Surely,
when we think of the eternal future, with its
exhaustless store of happiness or misery, present
enjoyment or present suffering is of little ac-
count if we may but grasp the eternal happi-
ness and escape the eternal pain. " No matter
which our thoughts employ." My friends, it is
only when we combine with the thought of the
fleeting nature of things present, the thought
that this fleeting present is a preparation for an
endless future, that it has a beneficial influence.
If I merely told you of the fleeting, unsatis-
factory nature of the present, you might take

A NEW YEAR S SERMON.

your choice and indulge in gloomy sentiment,
and relax all effort, or you might plunge wildly
into sin ; but when I come and tell you that
this life, though short, is endless in its influence,
you ought to feel that this fleeting life is too
important to be squandered in mere fleeting
pleasures, and that you have no time for gloom.
It should teach us that while much that we do
here seems unimportant, yet the smallest act is
clothed with measureless importance because of
its influence on an eternal life. It should teach
us to hoard our moments as we would golden
sands.

I need not tell you that the wisdom to which
the Psalmist would apply his heart is not the
wisdom of this world — not a knowledge of
science, important as it may be. It consists in
a knowledge and application to our own lives
of the truths that God's word reveals — truths
that relate to the world that is to come. There
is a distinction between knowledge and wisdom,
which it will be well for us to remember here.
Knowledge refers to truth stored in the in-
tellect; wisdom, to truth used in the life. A
man may have a great deal of knowledge, yet
a very little wisdom. Wisdom is the right
application of knowledge to a man's life. Many
a man applies his intellect to the truth of God's
word who does not apply his heart unto wis-

SERMONS.

dom. Many a man may be a very good theo-
logian but a very poor Christian. While we
rejoice in the dissemination of the truths of
God's word taking place through the various
agencies used — while we recognize the impor-
tance of this, let us never forget that the appli-
cation of those truths to the heart and life is
vastly more important. You so number your
days as to apply your hearts unto wisdom, when
you take the truths you learn from the Bible
from the sermons you hear, and apply them to
your life. Here, my friends, we easily see
whether we have been applying our hearts unto
wisdom by asking ourselves have those great
truths relating to salvation, with which from
childhood we have been acquainted, had their
designed influence on our lives. It is folly for a
man to have in his intellect an important truth
relating to his interests, and yet to refuse to be
influenced by that truth. It is the extreme of
folly for a man to go in direct opposition to the
truth he holds. If a man knows that a certain
manner of investing his funds will lead to ruin,
and yet persists in that way, it is the height of
folly from a financial standpoint. If a man
knows that a certain manner of living produces
ill-health, it is the height of folly, from a sani-
tary point of view, for him to persist in that
course. If a man holds the truth that a certain

ill

A NEW YEAR S SERMON.

course of living leads to spiritual ruin, yet per-
sists in that course, surely it is the height of
folly spiritually. Yet, my friends, can I not
justly charge many of you with that folly ?
Are there not many in this congregation who
hold the great fundamental truths of Christi-
anity with as firm and intellectual faith as I do,
yet are influenced by the truths they hold but
to a very little extent ? Men in spiritual things
manifest frequently a folly which never marks
them in the affairs of this world. " The children
of this world are in their generation wiser than
the children of light." Will you follow me while
I briefly refer to truths we all hold with the
strongest conviction, and ask how far have
those truths been influential in our lives ? Thus
we may know whether we have applied our
hearts unto wisdom in the past. We all believe
in the atonement of Jesus. We all believe that
the steps by which the benefits of that atone-
ment are secured to us as individuals are repen-
tance and faith. We all understand by repen-
tance a godly sorrow for sin, which manifests
itself in the abandonment of sin — confession of
sin — humbling ourselves on account of it. Let
me ask, Have you applied your hearts unto
wisdom by the application of that knowledge
you have had of the nature of repentance, ever
since a boy or girl in the Sabbath-school, to

SERMONS.

your own lives ? Believing it essential to salva-
tion, have you, before your God at least, con-
fessed; have you humbled yourself; have you
given it up ; have you shaken it off as a poison-
ous viper that was clinging to you; have you
given it up when it seemed very pleasant and
very lucrative ? Or have you rolled it as
a sweet morsel under your tongue ? As a
physician finds it necessary sometimes to probe
a wound to cleanse it, so would I with search-
ing questions probe your consciences. I do it
not to pain, but to prepare you for a cure. An
evil that is cloaked is an evil that will not be
healed. What I ask you I would ask myself.
Let us sincerely ask for the light of the Spirit
while we do it. Let us this last Sabbath evening
pray, " Search us, O Lord." Run your eye back
over the days of the year, and as far as memory
calls up the past, ask how far has my know-
ledge of the necessity of repentance influenced
my life? Have I been holding this truth in
unrighteousness ? Have I been running in the
face of a truth that has fastened itself firmly
on my conscience ? If so, then have you been
applying your heart unto folly ; and in view of
the greatness of the interests involved, how
great the folly ! Have you taken the next step,
and committed your soul in simple faith into
the hands of its Redeemer? Or, believing in

A NEW YEAR S SERMON.

His love to you, His power to save you, and
your need of Him, have you gone on as
though you knew nothing of Him ? If so,
your folly only appears the more manifest
because of the knowledge you have; and,
in view of the greatness of the interests in-
volved, how great that folly ! Again, there are
many of you who believe as firmly as I that
this life is the seed-time of a harvest that will
be eternal — that " whatsoever a man soweth " in
this world he shall reap in the world to come.
Has that momentous truth had its influence in
your lives ? Or have you been sowing here what
you know, according to the laws of your being,
must yield only misery and pain in the world
to come, if so, you have been applying your
heart unto folly? Is it not strange that men
should believe truths most firmly, that relate
most intimately to their interests, and yet not
be influenced by them — utterly ignored ? It is
something you will not find men doing with
reference to anything else but salvation — with
referen3e to nothing but salvation, the most
important of all interests. Surely it would be
better to be so unwise in reference to a. 'thinsf
else. My friends, if your review of the past
shows you that you have been holding truth
intellectually which you have persistently been
diametrically opposed to in your lives, your

SERMONS.

I H

own reason must condemn you. And while
reason and conscience and the Word of God
forbid it, it will be folly for you longer to pursue
your course. As you calmly look at the matter
this Sabbath evening, do you not see that it is
the height of folly to go on thus ? To-morrow,
nay, to-night, commence to let the truth you
hold influence your life. Offer the prayer of
our text, "So teach us to number our days
that We may apply our hearts unto wisdom."
Commence now to apply the truth you have
so long believed to yourself. Never for a single
hour live directly contrary to your convictions.
By the brevity of time — by its rapid, constant,
noiseless flight — by its uncertainty — by the
value of the soul, and the unending duration
that awaits you, I urge the prayer of my text
on your acceptance.

He does not wisely number his days who
does not provide for the future as far as
possible. The butterfly, flitting from flower to
flower, enjoying the present, making no pro-
vision for the future, must perish the first chill
autumn storm. The man who lives, as the say-
ing goes, from hand to mouth — unless, as in the
case of the Apostles, he has Divine warrant for
his course — is acting equally unwisely, and will
probably perish, or be fed by the hand of
charity the first storm of adversity that blows.

A NEW YEAR S SERMON.

who

So, spiritually, the man who makes no provision
must perish when the winter of death comes.
" Go to the ant, thou sluggard," is a reproof that
is needed for the spiritual sluggard as well as
the physical sluggard. Creatures not endowed
with intellect — the little squirrel, the bee, the
ant — as they provide for the future, preach a
sermon to the spiritual sluggard. We cannot
forecast the future, but the ordinary course of
nature — the ordinary experience of man — may
indicate with sufficient clearness what our need
in the future, with reference to temporal things,
will be ; and while from nature we have but a
dim light as to what our eternal need will be,
God's word comes in and shows us clearly the
kind of provision required — most clearly it
teaches that our provision for the eternal future
depends to some extent on ourselves. We are
" to lay up for ourselves in store a good founda-
tion against the time to come, that we may lay
hold on eternal life." We are to provide our-
selves bags that wax not old ; a treasure in
the heavens, where no thief approacheth nor
moth corrupteth. God has most manifestly
laid on us the responsibility of providing for
the future. Of course the great provision has
been made, but the appropriating to ourselves
the benefits of that provision is a personal

SERMONS.

.':

matter. Men plead their ignorance, and puzzle
themselves about many things it is not necessary
for them to know. We are ignorant, but we
have the light necessary ; and if at last we are
found not having used the light we had, how
can we consistently complain that we had not
more ? Men plead their weakness, and take
refuge in voluntary humility. We are weak,
but God does not require more of us than we
can perform.

Some of you are endeavouring to make pro-
vision. You have fled for refuge to the Rock
of Ages ; for supplies, to the exhaustless store.
To you I say, "Hold fast to what you have
attained, but still press on." Have you been
a babe, needing constantly the care of the
household of faith — needing to be treated care-
fully — to be supplied while you do nothing to
get it for yourselves or others ? Lay aside the
things of childhood — commence to be a help
instead of a hindrance. Every man who is
saved himself, should begin to try to save
others. Let us look again at the character of
our Pattern. What features have we failed
to copy ? His self-sacrifice — constant devotion
for others ? In the years to come, if spared, we
will meet with opportuniLIes of doing something
for others. Encouragement, warning, sympathy

A NEW YEAR S SERMON.

will be needed. Let us be prepared to give
them. Be on the watch for opportunities of
usefulness. We ought to rescue others. Let us
watch for souls intelligently, prayerfully, con-
stantly — as those that must give an account.
He who is most anxious about others is likely
to be the safest himself.

The new year will have trial and temptation
for us. Perhaps great trial — great temptation.
He is a wise man who provides not only for the
ordinary experiences of the future, but, as far
as possible, for its exigencies. The charmer may
charm more sweetly, the tempter may smile
more blandly, the syren song may be more
melodious than ever before; you may, if not
careful, find yourself in love with what before
you loathed, and inclined to do what before you
despised. Temptation may put on the stern
look of necessity. In the battle of life, supply-
ing your own wants and perhaps those of others
— driven by force of example — driven by the
close competition of these days — driven by your
business difficulties — driven by your own wants
— driven, perhaps, by the needs of those whose
sustenance nature has placed upon you — you
may seem almost, yet only almost, forced to
do what conscience and God's word condemn ;
as, if conscience is not kept awake, temptation

SERMONS.

to your dimmed moral vision may assume the
form even of duty; nay, say to you, as it
d a yn another occasion, " Command that these
stone-, --'d made bread." You ave brought
into difficulties you could not avoid — necessity
kncv,,s no la^'^. Out your way through as
best you can. \7ell it will be for you if, as
Christ did, you can fall back on the word of
the Lord, which is tried. You are not mak-
ing a right use of your ti Jie unless you are
accumulating force for the trial. Because men
think it wise to provide, as far as possible, for
sudden disaster, which experience shows to be
possible, a kind of business has sprung up and
flourishes in our day, almost unknown a hun-
dred years ago. Men know that it is possible
some kind of property may be destroyed by
fire, and they insure against fire. As a con-
sequence, cities may be burned up, and in a few
weeks, as if by magic, new and improved cities
spring up from their ashes. Men have their
property devoured by the hungry flames, and
yet are not impoverished. Men know that
their lives are in danger ; they may be sud-
denly cut down ; wife and children may be
left to the charities of a heartless world — so
they insure their lives ; and many a time they
have placed their families in better circum-

A NEW YEAR S SERMON.

stances after their death than they could ever
have hoped to do during their lives. Without
entering into a discussion of some questions
that may arise, we at least must commend the
principle that underlies all this — a desire to
provide, as far as possible, for the exigencies of
the future. That country is most likely to
have peace that is best prepared for war; so,
spiritually, keep your armour bright. Make
yourself skilful in the use of the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God. Keep your-
self as a man of God, "thoroughly furnished
unto all good works." Above all, by prayer,
keep open the communication between yourself
and the Captain of your salvation. Let Him
direct your steps, and you will not be led into
the snares of the adversary. If He does per-
mit you to be assailed, He will strengthen you
for the onset. With Jesus, with God on your
side, you have on your side Omnipotent power.
It is astonishing, how a vessel may sail through
the storm when she has been prepared for it.
The winds that howl through the rigging may
be singing the requiem of whole crews that
have gone down from other ships, but no dirge
is needed in her. The angry waves that beat
against her side may have swallowed whole
crews from other ships, but not a corpse from

111

SERMONS.

hers. So with spiritual storms. Let the gales
of temptation blow through a community, or
the storm of persecution beat against a Church,
the man who has been preparing, the house
built on the Rock, will stand. How many a
man, who has hoarded for years for old age
or a stormy day, loses the hoardings of years
in some financial crisis ! How disheartening !
But what loss is comparable with the loss of a
soul ? He is doing a safe business who so man-
ages his affairs that any day he can settle up his
affairs and pay every creditor. He who is not
so managing is not doing a safe business. Good
intentions cannot take the place of safe prin-
ciple. Some sudden disaster may happen and
overturn all his calculations. My friends, if
it is hazardous in the comparatively trivial
affairs of this world, it surely is with reference
to eternal things ; and risk, where infinite value
is at stake, is risk of infinite loss. Where so
much care is taken of temporal interests, he
only applies his heart unto wisdom ; who
guards with equal — yea, greater — care his eter-
nal interests. You have insured your property
— you boast that any day you could close your
business and pay all your debts. Are you man-
aging your spiritual afiairs as wisely ? It may
be during this year some day a messen^^cr will
come for you, and will say: "Render an ac-

A NEW year's sermon.

count of thy stewardship, for thou mayest he
no longer steward." Have you your account
ready ? Has the deht been cancelled ?

Is there weight in the considerations I
present? Will they lead any to "so number
their days that they may apply their hearts
unto wisdom ; " or will we leave this house feel-
ing it has been but a reiteration of old truths —
a presentation of claims you have learned too
well to put aside ?

III. .

" Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born
again." — John iii. 7.

•^E read, " There was a man of the Pharisees,
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews ;
the same came to Jesus by night." The reason
for his coming by night is generally supposed
to be fear of man. It perhaps is as reasonable
— it certainly is as charitable — to suppose that
he came by night because he would then have
a better opportunity for conversing with the
Master when the multitudes had retired, and
Jesus was alone. He seems to have been con-
vinced of the divinity of the mission of Jesus.
" We know that thou art a teacher come from
God." He does not, however, seem to have had
a belief at this time in his Messiahship, or if he
had he seems to have had a mistaken notion
of the object of the Messiah in coming into the
world. Nicodemus seemed to think the great
need of the Jews was light — knowledge — and
that the great work of Christ was to give that

THE NEW BIRTH.

light — " Thou art a teacher^ Christ at once
struck at the root of the error — " Ye must be
born again." There is a deeper need than the
need of light — the need of life. There is more
important work than the enlightening of the
judgment — the renewing of the heart. Men to-
day are falling into the same mistake. The cry-
is Light ! light ! give us light ! And it is well.
Yet they need to be reminded of a deeper need
— the need of life. "Ye must be born again."
If a man was able to unravel all the mysteries,
with reference to religious subjects, that perplex
men, without the new life it would profit him
nothing. On the contrary, if a man has this
he may have very little knowledge, yet it
matters little. Our Lord here drew the atten-
tion of Nicodemus to one of the most important
truths of revelation — a truth that guards the
way to the kingdom of heaven, as the flaming
sword of old guarded the way to the tree of
life. This is an obstruction Nicodemus had not
expected to meet with. He had perhaps grown
grey in the observance of Jewish rites and
ceremonies, never suspecting that anything
more was necessary. Now the truth flashes
across his mind, he has been mistaken on the
most important of all subjects. Startled, he
inquires, " How can these things be ?" If there
is anything will startle a man, it is to find that

I I

SERMONS.

the hopes of a lifetime have been built on the
sand. The deep spirituality of God's law is
somethin<^ we are all too apt to forget. Men
are satisfied with a religion of forms. God
looks at the heart. The truth, " Ye must he
horn again" needs constant iteration in our
ears. The change here spoken of is, (1) a
necessary change, (2) a mysterious change, (3)
a manifest change.

I. Kecessary. "Ye must" — "verily, verily"
— intimating not only that it is a truth of great
importance, but also giving emphasis to the
certainty of that truth. Although not referred
to in exactly these terms, yet it is referred to
and insisted on in other terms in various parts
of the word of God. In the Acts of the
Apostles, we hear Peter exhorting the people
to repent and be converted, referring to this
change. Paul to the Romans speaks of Chris-
tians as "being dead with Christ," "walking
after the spirit," as having the " old man cruci-
fied." To the Corinthians he speaks of Chris-
tians as " new creatures in Christ Jesus ;" to
the Galatians, as those who had " received the
adoption of sons ;" to the Ephesians, as " being
quickened," made alive, " who were dead in
trespasses and sins ;" to the Colossians, as being
" risen with Christ," " delivered from the power
of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of

THE NEW BIRTH.

his clear Son." In Titus he speaks of Christians
as being " saved by the washings of regeneration
and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." In
Peter's Epistle he speaks of Christians as " be-
gotten again to a lively hope by the resurrec-
tion of Jesus Christ from the d- ad." In John,
Christians are said to have " passed from death
unto life."

The ground for this necessity is found in the
doctrine of the "fall." "In the day thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die," said God. Man
ate. As a consequence, he died spiritually.
When our Saviour says, "Ye must be born
again," he simply says the life you lost must
be reintroduced — the image of God must be
restamped — the soul must be new-modelled,
made again a "habitation of God through the
Spirit." The honour of the divine government
requires it. If the work of God in the soul of
man has been laid in ruins by Satan, can God
reinstate man in his lost position until the ruin
has been rebuilt ? To allow this would be to
allow Satan to triumph. If, as a consequence
of the withdrawal of the spiritual life, man
became alienated from God, can he be allowed
the position of a loyal subject while he has a
rebel's heart? The ceremonies of the Jewish
priesthood, the teachings of the Old Testament
scriptures, ought to teach the necessity of this

1 1

SERMONS.

change. Our Saviour justly asks of Nicodemus,
" Art thou a teacher in Israel and knoweat not
these things ?" The justice of the divine
government requires it. If the angels were
banished from heaven because of sin, can God
admit man while remaining in sin into heaven ?
The holiness of God requires it. Can God, a
holy Being, admit man, in destitution of holiness
and polluted by sin, into heaven ? The divine
wisdom requires it. Would it be wise to admit
one morally diseased to the pure atmosphere
of the New Jerusalem ? Could it then be said
of heaven, " There the inhabitants never com-
plain that they are sick," if moral disease was
permitted to enter ? God designs heaven as a
place of freedom from all sorrow. Would it
be wise to admit the source of all sorrow — sin
— tlxere ? The truth of God requires it. The
fiat has gone forth, " Except," etc. God is not
a man that he should lie. All the attributes
of the Godhead require it. Some persons
speak of mercy in a way that would array it
against all the other attributes. Justice must
bend — holiness must be tarnished — truth must
be laid aside, to make a way for mercy. But
no. The divine attributes are all in harmony.
They all unite in closing the door against the
unrenewed.

Again, man's obedience requires it. The per-

THE NEW BIRTH.

feet obedience God's law requires cannot be ren-
dered without this change. Outward obedience,
springing from wrong or imperfect motives, can-
not be acceptable to God. Man's happiness
requires it. Sin, when allowed its course, pro-
duces misery here. Sin and holiness are antago-
nistic principles. An unrenewed soul would
be out of sympathy with the holiness of heaven
— would be miserable where nothing but holiness
prevailed. This is the wicket gate to heaven ;
there can be no other entrance. It is the pass-
port to the promised land ; it can have no
substitute. Let this thought sink into our
hearts — there is no heaven without the change.
There is no favouritism shown here. Rich and
poor are on the same level. To all alike the
Master's words are, "Ye must be born again."
Nicodemus, the law-abiding ruler; the moral,
earnest, inquiring rich young man need it as
much as Mary Magdalene or the thief on the
cross.

II. A mysterious change. " Canst not tell
whence it cometh and whither it goeth." Look-
ing at it from the merely human standpoint,
it is mysterious as to the agent. We see many
changes taking place among men around us,
many of them beneficial, by the agency of
natural causes. The intemperate become re-
formed, the profligate become virtuous, the rude

ill

SERMONS.

become refined. But this is such an entire
change in the affections, and will as no natural
or human agent can produce. In the word of
God it is spoken of as a new creation. In the
vegetable kindgom, man can cause to degenerate
or to improve by cultivation. But he cannot
change the species. The thorn cannot be made
"to bring forth figs, nor the bramble bush
grapes." So, amid all the changes in character
among men, the alienation of heart from God
can only be removed by a supernatural agent,
the Holy Spirit. Multitudes of men since the
days of the Saviour profess to have passed
throufjh the change wh'ch the Saviour here
speaks of. Three theories might perhaps be
advanced to account for the experience. It
may be attributed to delusion ; it may be
allowed that a real change has taken place,
but only as the result of natural causes ; or it
may be attributed to a direct act of the Divine
Spirit.

As the result of persistent effort in the gradual
formation of habits, men are able wonderfully
to change their characters. Does the change
through which many men have evidently
passed arise in this way ? The first objection
to this is, that in multitudes of cases the change
has been too sudden to admit of such a theory.
Look at Saul of Tarsus. There is no striving

I: I

THE NEW BIRTH.

after this experience. On the contrary, all the
force of a mighty will, all the powers of a well-
trained intellect, are set against it. His life,
like a mighty current, is rushing in one direc-
tion, when suddenly, with no time for the
slow formation of habits that would be like a
new channel for the current of his life, that
current rushes just as impetuously in the
opposite direction. Certainly no ordinary pro-
cess could account for this change. Again,
those who pursued the course which we have
indicated of striving after this experience have
found it unsuccessful. Look at Luther. Long
and earnestly he strove, but to no purpose,
until by an act of faith the Spirit's power was
brought in.

Is this experience the result of a delusion ?
Men have been always liable to delusion — some-
times have been the dupes of very transparent
delusion. But we notice that if a delusion, it
has held a long sway over human minds. For
eighteen hundred years it has been believed in.
To-day, amid the disposition that prevails to
eliminate the supernatural, it is believed in,
not only as a possible experience, but is claimed
as an actual experience by thousands. The
length of time the characters of those who have
professed forbids the theory. That thousands of
men, of all ages, temperaments, position, climes,

SERMONS.

for eighteen hundred years, should profess
themselves to have had a certain experience, is
surely a remarkable delusion. If a delusion,
it has had a wonderfully beneficial influence.
Delusions usually have a deleterious influence ;
but those communities where the belief in the
necessity and possibility of this change is the
strongest, furnish proof that it benefits men
morally and socially. The beneficial results
forbid us to think it a delusion.

Again, the permanency of the influence of
the experience forbids us to attribute it to
delusion. If we had been with onlookers on
the day of Pentecost, and seen the apparent
confusion, we might have joined in the assertion
of others, " these men," etc., or " these men are
mad." But when day after day and week after
week has passed, and we find them still filled
with love to one another and all men, meek
under reproach, calm under trial, steadfast in
the midst of diflficulties, it is too much to
attribute it to delusion. Excitement, delusion,
does not have either such blessed or such
permanent efiect. If we had been at Damascus
when Saul arrived — if we had heard him relate
his strange experience, we might have said, It
is the result of a fright, or of some accident,
a stroke of lightning, etc. But as we follow
him through succeeding years — see him most

THE NEW BIRTH.

earnestly pursuing a course directly opposite
to his previous course — making herculean efforts
to spread the faith he once despised in spite
of the strongest opposition and criticism, that
must again and again have forced him to look
into his experience, and test the genuineness
of tlie work, it is too much to attribute it to
delusion. Some mightier power has reached
the soul of Paul, and lifted him to a higher
position and given him a new experience.
There are many in the world to-day who claim
the experience, and whose lives bear testimony
to some real change. I might tell you of a
Lincolnshire collier who has, with wonderful
simplicity and candour, told the story of his
conversion and previous life. He was an intem-
perate, violent man — one who frequently en-
gaged in drunken brawls and fights — one who, as
he acknowledges, once raised his own arm to
strike his aged mother as she prayed for him.
Conviction of sin seized the man ; at length, as
he prayed one day in a sand pit, he realized the
change. From that time on, through years at
least of his life, he was a reclaimed man. His
temper among his fellows, his whole life
show3d the change. In describing the death
of his child, he gives us a look into his home,
and at the same time into his heart. Called
suddenly from the mine one day, he finds his

SERMONS.

child dying. As he stands beside her couch, the
tears making furrows down his soot-begrimed
cheeks, the little sufferer looks up and asks
him to sing. So he struck up —

" Here o'er the earth a stranger I roam ;
Here is no rest, is no rest."

Then he breaks down, but the little one pleads
with him to sing on. Again he commences —

" Here are afflictions and trials severe,
Here we must part with the friends we hold dear.
Here is no rest."

Again he breaks down, and again, urged by
the dying child, sings of heaven and the happy
meeting. As we think of the dying child who
has evidently learned the way, of that father
smoothing her dying pillow with songs of the
better land, of his own tender feelings, we feel
it is too blessed a change to attribute to delu-
sion. Some mightier power has transformed
that life, evoked those tender feelings, bound
that family by such strong affections.

If we reject the agency of the Holy Spirit,
it is a stream without a source — an effect with-
out a cause. The Scriptures everywhere speak
of it as the result of the Holy Spirit's agency.
Christ here speaks of being bom of the Spirit.
It is spoken of as the " renewing of the Holy
Ghost." He who moved on the face of the

THE NEW BIRTH.

deep when our earth was without form and
void, when the materials from which our earth
has been constructed lay in confusion, and
formed our beautiful world, He it is who
must move on the darkness and chaos of the
unrenewed heart, and must breathe again the
breath of life divine therein.

Then while we impress the necessity of the
change, we would with equal earnestness impress
the truth that only a divine agent can effect it.
There is no heaven without the change — there
is no change without the Spirit. You may
work as earnestly as Wesley, and be as free
from sin as Paul, who tells us that " touching
the righteousness which is in the law he was
blameless," yet the power of the Spirit must
be exerted to produce the change in you. We
are fallen; only Almighty power can lift us.
We are dead ; only Almighty power can quicken
us. No turning over a new leaf, no surface
change will do. By earnest prayer, offered in
strong faith in Jesus, we must look to God for
the accomplishment of this work. But when
the Agent is known, the manner of His operation
remains a mystery. But though the manner is
a mystery, the fact need not be in uncertainty.
We notice it is —

III. A manifeat change. We cannot perhaps
know the origin of the wind, yet we need

1^'a

SERMONS.

have no doubt of its existence. We see it in
the waving tree-top or in the fluttering leaf —
we feel it as it fans our brow in the summer
breeze, or freezes our blood in the winter storm
— we hear it as it murmurs in the zephyr, or
as it howls in the tempest. So, although we
may not know the manner of the Spirit's
operation, we may be assured of its reality.
We may know it by the peace realized within>
by the love that manifests itself in streams
of benevolence, by the Spirit's cry heard in the
soul — " Abba, Father"

The change is manifest to the soul experienc-
ing it, frequently at least, by the direct influence
of the Spirit. God, who has given us hearing
and sight and speech by which we can com-
municate with one another, has not left Himself
without an avenue by which He can approach
the human soul. The soul itself does not
understand how, but in some way the soul
feels assured the work is done. As a proof
that this belief has scriptural support, listen
to Paul : " We have not received the spirit of
bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adop-
tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Again,
" Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the
Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father." To illustrate the truth from
experience, let me refer you to the experience

THE NEW BIRTH.

of Mr. "Wesley. Speaking of his conversion,
he says: "In the evening I went to a meet-
ing in Aldersgate Street, where our minister
was reading Luther's preface to Paul's Epistle
to the Romans. About a quarter before nine,
while he was describing the change which God
works in the heart through faith in Christ, I
felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did
trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation, and
an assurance was given me that He had taken
away my sins, even mine, and saved me from
the law of sin and death." Others have had a
more remarkable experience ; others, a less. To
some the truth has come as the gradual dawn-
ing of the day ; to others, as the sun bursting
from behind a dark cloud. Mr. Spurgeon, in
rising to preach one morning, some years ago,
said: "Six years ago as nearly as possible, at
this very hour, I entered a place of worship.
The minister arose and announced the text I
have announced, ' Look unto me and be ye
saved,* and that moment I looked."

Then, that the soul may not be deceived by
mistaking some passing feeling for the witness
of the Spirit, the inward witness is to be
accompanied by fruit in the outward life.
First, there is love, especially to the children
of God. " By this," said Jesus, " shall all men
know that ye are my discip? 3, if ye have love

i\i

SERMONS.

one to another." "We know that we have
passed from death unto life, because we love
the brethren." It will show itself in delight
in prayer and a more conscious communion
with God. By power over sin : " He that is
born of God overcometh the world." By con-
stant effort after purity: "He that hath this
hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is
pure." It will show itself in subjection to God.

By these and other marks may we know
whether we have been born again. We be-
lieve it is the privilege of all God's people to
have a satisfactory experience. But we must
earnestly make use of the means by which
God reveals Himself — prayer — the study of His
word. How many live in careless uncertainty
on this point ! How few have a clear evidence !
How indifferent men are ! If a title to an
earthly estate were in dispute, what anxiety,
what effort to have the matter made clear !
Yet men are content to leave eternity in awful
suspense ! Are there not many who are not in
suspense or uncertainty, but feel sure they have
not passed from death unto life, yet are care-
less ? With danger near which they clearly
see, and a refuge near which they can reach,
they refuse to fly.

Great as is the need, mysterious as is the
change, the means to be employed are simple.

THE NEW BIRTH.

Our Lord does not close His discourse with
Nicodemus without pointing them out. "As
Moses," etc. Could there be a simpler means
of cure for the serpent-bitten Israelite ? Could
there be a simpler for the sin-stricken soul ?
Though the pulse has grown feeble, and the
life-current has almost ceased to flow, when
the Israelite lifted his eye to the serpent, the
pulse grew strong and the blood of health com-
menced to flow through the veins. So when
the sinner looks with faith to Christ, the
divine life is reimparted. Repent and believe.
Cast away your sins and come to Christ, and
He, the great fount of life, will impart it to you.

1 i ,

• \

, \

IV.

CIjc f iifo of itfaifaals.

" Lord, revive thy work." — Heh. iii. 2.

'HE prophet Habakkuk has in a previous
chapter been predicting the judgments
about to descend on God's ancient people, be-
cause of their sins and departures from God.
The Chaldeans were to come and spread desola-
tion through the land. After uttering the in-
spired prediction, he himself seems alarmed at
the terribleness of the calamity about to over-
take the people, and he raises his heart i ip-
plication to God that He would mingle l rcy
with judgment. " O Lord, I have heard tliy
speech and was afraid : Lord, revive thy work,
in the midst of the years, in the midst of the
years make known; in wrath remember mercy.'
Without stopping further to notice the connec-
tion in which the words occur, let us proceed at
once to see how far this prayer is suitable to
ourselves.

I. What is a revival ? It is important that
we should have as clear ideas as possible of the

THE LAW OF REVIVALS.

blessings for which we ask, that it may not be
said of us, "Ye know not what ye ask." As
Methodists, we have been so much in the habit
of holding revivals in connection with special
efforts of one kind or another, that they have
come to be regarded merely as one and the same
thing. When we think of a revival, we think of a
special effort. It is true, indeed, that these seasons
of effort have been in scores of instances seasons
of revival, or means of promoting a revival.
When God's people have laid aside their ordinary
avocations, and for days or weeks made the pro-
motion of his work their great aim, the Head of
the Church has again and again been pleased to
accept the sacrifice — the Holy Spirit has been
poured out from on high, and sinners have been
converted, and believers have been built up.
Such results have followed — such results will,
we doubt not, continue to follow these efforts.
But blessed as they have been, honoured as they
still are, we think it an erroneous and an in-
jurious idea to suppose that we cannot have a
revival except in connection with these. Such
an idea tends to weaken the faith of God's
people in the ordinary means of grace. Now,
we should look for and expect God's blessing in
connection with the ordinary as well as in
connection with extraordinary means. These as
well as the others may be made means of pro-

i I

SERMONS.

moting revivals. It was'so in the early history
of our Church. God's Spirit came down in con-
nection with nearly every ordinary mean — and
sinners were converted, and believers were
sanctified, and the work went steadily on. Is
this not one reason why the ordinary means are
not more useful ? We seem to act as though
nothing could be done except in connection with
special means. Christians seem to suppose that
the only time Satan's kingdom can be invaded
is while special means are being used — during
four or five weeks in the year, or four or five
weeks in four or five years. During the rest of
the time Satan is suffered too much to keep
his goods in peace. The Church grows cold,
some backslide — sinners go their way to death
— still we do but little, and seem to think but
little can be done until a special effort. It
is not as though the farmer should, after four or
five weeks of arduous toil in the spring-time
putting in his grain, neglect to take care of
them. Weeds might grow, fences be blown
down, cattle might trample on his grain, mean-
while he would look on with folded arms, and
perhaps lament the desolation, but do nothing
until the time to make a special effort again.
Would it not be better constantly to look for
the reviving influence of the Holy Spirit ? I do
not speak against special efforts. As I have

THE LAW OF REVIVALS.

already said, they have been and still are
honoured by God, and what God honours we
should be careful not to condemn. (1) I believe
we still should engage in such efforts, and do so
heartily ; but we should be careful not to depend
too much to them — not to allow dependence on
them to lead to neglect of the ordinary — not to
think that they are absolutely necessary to a
revival. There have been special means with-
out a revival — there have been revivals without
the special means. Why is it that we so seldom
see persons uniting with us ex jept in connection
with such means ? Is it not partly because per-
sons think they are only welcome at such times ?
The doors of the church on earth, like the
gates of the New Jerusalem, should be kept
constantly open. Some, again, have erroneous
notions about the essential characteristics of a
revival. Some think all enthusiasm and excite-
ment are out of place in connection with religion.
Such persons would do well to remember the
day of Pentecost, when onlookers said " these
men are full of new w^ine" — so great was the
apparent confusion. Others, again, seem to
think that order and decorum are incompatible
with a true revival. Such would do well to re-
member when Elijah was in the mount. There
was an earthquake, but God was not in the
earthquake ; there was a fire, but God was not

I ■

SERMONS.

in the fire ; there was a wind, but the Lord was
not in the wind ; there was a still small voice,
and it was so that Go<^ was in the voice. Let
us not then attempt to dictate to the Holy Spirit
as to the way in which he shall manifest Him-
self ; let us rather pray, Send by whom thou
wilt ; send as thou wilt ; but " Lord, revive
thy work." Thus far, however, we have rather
spoken of what a revival is not, than of what it
is. What is a revival ? To revive means to call
back to life, to reanimate, to rouse, to refresh.
By nature we are all dead in trespasses and
sins. Now, when one such dead soul is brought
back to spiritual life — in other words, when one
is born again — that is, in the truest and best sense
of the word, a revival. Even if it goes no fur-
ther, it is a revival. Again, to revive means to
rouse or to refresh one who is weary or faint.
When a Christian who has become weary in
well-doing — cold, lukewarm — has his love re-
kindled, his zeal again inflamed, that is, to him
at least, a revival. Some of you have felt many
such revivals, I doubt not. You can remember
when in heart, if not in life, you were returning
again to the world — the warmth and glow of
spiritual life was well-nigh gone, but, by the in-
fluence of the blessed Spirit, in some way you
were led to see the dangerous condition into
which you were relapsing, and in answer to your

THE LAW OF REVIVALS.

earnest prayers, your zeal and love have been
rekindled — the things that were ready to die
have been strengthened — you have been re-
vived. But by a revival we generally refer to
something more extensive than this. We
generally refer to a time when there is a greater
interest than usual m spiritual things through-
out an entire community — when many sinners
are converted — when believers are sanctified —
when, in connection with the services of the
sanctuary, —

" Heaven comes down our souls to meet,
And glory crowns the mercy-seat," —

when religion seems the common topic of con-
versation. But whether it is the conversion of
one sinner, or the quickening of one believer, or
tho general awakening of a whole community,
that which is essential in every case is the
presence of the Holy Spirit. A revival is an
influence of the Holy Spirit producing more of
the life of God in the soul of man. What I
wish especially to emphasize is the need of the
presence of the Spirit. Without this we may
have all the outward evidences of a revival, but
we cannot really have a revival. When the
Spirit is present, producing the results I have
referred to, it is a revival, whatever may be
the attendant circumstances. It is a revival,

SERMONS.

whether it take place in the grand cathedral
of the city or in the log school-house of the
back-woods — whether at the little fireside
prayer-meeting or among vast multitudes in
the leafy groves — whether it comes as a still
small voice or as a rushing mighty wind —
whether the people are filled with

" The solemn awe that dares not move,
And all tlie silent heaven of love,"

or there is a shout as of a King in the camp.
Then, when we pray for a revival, let us pray
for a downshedding of the Holy Ghost. Let us
lay aside all preconceived notions as to the way
in which the work shall take place. It may be
that to humble our pride the Spirit will mani-
fest itself in ways and through means which we
had not anticipated; for God frequently uses
the weak and foolish a id despised things of the
world to humble the pride of man.

II. Do we need a revival ? This we regard
as an important question, for the earnestness
with which we ask for any blessing is usually
proportioned to our realization of need. If we
are but little impressed with our need, we will
be but little in earnest in asking. If we are
deeply impressed with our need, we will be
earnest in asking. First, we say the whole
Church needs a revival. There never was a

THE LAW OF REVIVALS.

time when the operations of the Church were
carried on on a vaster scale than at present.
Missionary Societies, Tract Societies, various or-
ganizations in connection with the Church, are
manifesting a zeal suoh as the world has not
before seen, and doubtless much good is being
accomplished. Far be it from us to disparage
or undervalue the work thus done. Still, the
question forces itself upon us, are the results as
great as we would have been led to expect con-
sidering the means used ? The success of all this
vast machinery depends on the presence of the
Spirit. All these organizations need to be per-
meated by the influence of the blessed Spirit.
The Church in all its divisions needs to be
baptized by the Spirit, and clothed with power
from on high. Then will she appear fair as the
moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army
with banners. The different branches of the
Christian Church need a revival, a downshedding
of the Spirit, that they may be prepared to
work together harmoniously in the great work
of human evangelization. When love to God
becomes the ruling principle in either Churches
or individuals, minor differences disappear,
and they are enabled to see their essential
oneness. The bond which is to unite all Chris-
tians in one great brotherhood is, it appears to
me, not to be a common name, or a common

l!i

I i

'1 '

SERMONS.

Church government or organization, but their
common love for a common Saviour. I say, in
proportion as the Churches are baptized with the
spirit of love, will they be led to see their
essential unity. The whole Church needs a
revival, as a reproof to the spirit of scepticism
that is abroad in the world. We have proof
ample that Christianity is not a cunningly
devised fable — proof so ample as to stamp un-
belief with the character of perversity. Never-
theless, the world needs proof — may we not say
the world has a right to demand proof ? — not
only that the Divine presence was with the
Church at its establishment, but also that we
still have that presence. These are times in
which men are disposed to take very little for
granted. Now, it seems to me that genuine
revivals, both in the circumstances that attend
them and in the consequences that flcfw from
them, are among the strongest proofs we have of
the Divine presence. The standard of morality
among professed Christians of the present day,
is not as much in advance of the morality of
the world as it should be. In order that the
Church may retain her power over the con-
sciences of men, she must maintain a higher
standard than that of the world. This stan-
dard must be seen not only in her creeds, but
also in the lives of her professors ; and in order

THE LAW OF REVIVALS.

that men may be raised above the world they
need a revival. But do not we, as one branch
of the Church of Christ on earth, need a re-
vival ? While encouraging progress has been
made, and is still being made in many respects
— while the number of our Church edifices, and
their costliness, is steadily increasing — while the
liberality of our people is commendable, it is
still a grave question whether we have the
same marked evidence of the Divine presence
with us that our fathers enjoyed. Are conver-
sions as frequent ? Are experiences as clear ?
Do the same Divine influences and holy joy
accompany us in our various means of grace ?
It seems to me that as a Church we are
peculiarly dependent on the influence of the
Spirit. Many of our distinctive peculiarities
are built, if I may so speak, on the idea that
the Spirit is present with us. Our class-meet-
ings, our fellowship-meetings, become insipid,
positively distasteful to us, if we lose the
presence of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit
has departed from a Church, you may write
" Ichabod" on her walls — the glory has departed.
All the outward signs of prosperity may be
there, but the life is gone. She is like a body
without a soul. Instead of being a living
organism sending forth healthful influences,
she becomes a noisome carcase sending forth

1 u

SERMONS.

I !

;! ;

malaria and death. Have we not, in the past
history of the Church, melancholy proof of this ?
She has at times become corrupt both in doc-
trine and practice, till her influence has been
seemingly hurtful rather than beneficial. She
has been at times only an instrument in the
hands of designing men for promoting their
own selfish and unhallowed schemes. But as
an individual Church we need a revival. Death,
removals, backsliding, will constantly decimate
the ranks of any Church, unless in some
way the ranks are being filled up. Additions
to our ranks without the influences of the Holy
Spirit moving those who unite with us, are not
to be sought. They will diminish rather than
increase our power. But let us inquire, with
reference to ourselves as individuals, do we not
need revivals ? There are sometimes persons
who attend our services, who are openly wicked
and profane. Usually, such persons are only
reached by an extraordinary outpouring of the
Holy Spirit. In order that these may be
saved, we need a revival. Then there is a large
and very important class of persons who are
half decided, almost persuaded to be Christians.
Brought up in Christian families, in the Chris-
tian Sabbath-school, they linger around the out-
skirts of the Church, feeling an attachment to
its institutions, an interest in its progress, and

;i : I

THE LAW OF REVIVALS.

yet, not one with us. They may be amiable,
moral, may contribute to the funds of the
Church ; but still, while our Saviour's words,
" Except a man be born again he cannot see the
kingdom of heaven," remain unrepealed, they
need something more. The very interest they
manifest in the cause of Christ only places us
under greater obligation to try and lead them
to the Saviour. Much as we may desire to
have them with us, it is still more important
that they should be born again ; and in order to
this, they need a revival at least in their
own hearts. Then there are formal Church
members — persons who do not enjoy religion.
Many such, it is to be feared, are with us ; and
while we welcome to our fold all who desire to
flee from the wrath to come, converted or un-
converted, yet these are not as useful as they
might be ; they are not happy, they are not
safe unless they are born again. Then I trust
there are some in all our congregations who
enjoy religion. Do not these need a revival ?
Ah ! how many of these have to say " it is not
with me as it once was." Then the ministry
— do not they need it ? Oh, I think they of all
men, if they are men of God, will pray, "
Lord, revive thy work." They need more than
anything else the constant influence of the Holy
Spirit to accompany them. Without this, no

SERMONS.

I''

matter how eloquent, how learned, they will be
but as a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
With this, how often have the simple utterances
of unlettered men come with mighty power !
But where is there one that does not need a re-
vival ? The young need it, that they may be
prepared for life's temptations ; the old need it,
that with Simeon they may say, '* Now lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes
have seen thy salvation ;" the people need it,
that they may keep their garments white amid
a world of pollution ; the ministry need it, that
their lips may be touched with a live coal from
off the holy altar, and utter words of burning
energy ; the Church needs it, to equip her for
the war ; the world needs it, to prepare them for
judgment. Do you feel your need ? If you do,
from the depths of your burdened spirit let
the cry go up, " O Lord, revive thy work."

III. Can we have a revival ? This, it seems
to me, is an important question ; for our earnest-
ness in asking depends not merely on our sense
of need, but also on our probability of obtain-
ing. If we have but little probability of obtain-
ing, we are apt to have but little faith or earnest-
ness in asking. There are some blessings for
which we must ask conditionally. We know
not whether God will see fit to bestow them or
not. Some persons seem to suppose a revival of

THE LAW OF REVIVALS.

religion is of this class ; some even seem to sup-
pose that the causes that lead to a revival are
fluctuating and uncertain — sometimes they will
act, sometimes not. Such ideas are dishonour-
ing to God, and greatly injurious to the faith
of the Church. Remembering that we have
defined a revival as a result of the operation
of the Holy Spirit, we believe we can have a
downshedding of the Spirit quickening them-
selves whenever they sincerely and earnestly
desire it, and with faith ask for it.

" If what I ask is good,

And suits the will divine,
By eartli and hell in vain withstood —
I know it shall he mine."

With reference to God's willingness to bestow
the Spirit we have the strongest assurances
of the word of God. "If a son ask bread of
any of you that is a father, will he give him
a stone ? If ye then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much
more will your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to those that ask Him ? " Then, as far
as a revival of the work of God in the hearts
of His people is concerned, they may have it
at any time. The experience of God's people
in this respect, in all ages, has verified the
Saviour's promise. In reference to the ingather-
ing and conversion of others, God will, in answer

SERMONS.

to the prayers of His people, pour out His
Spirit on these also ; but whether they yield to
the influence of that Spirit, is a matter de-
pendent on themselves. We believe God has
given men the power of resisting the mightiest
influences of the Spirit, but usually when God's
people co-operate with His Spirit thus poured
out in answer to their prayers, sinners will be
converted as well as believers built up.

IV. How shall ive secure a revival ? God
could doubtlessly, if He saw fit, carry on His work
independently of human means. But He has
, seen fit to make His Church mainly the agency
through which He acts in bringing the world
unto Himself. As this is the case, much de-
pends on the purity, the holiness of the Church.
God will have a holy people, and very much in
proportion to their holiness will be their use-
fulness. You remember, with reference to God's
ancient people, that while they remained faithful
to Him, they were constantly victorious ; their
foes were driven like chaff before the wind ;
but when they were unfaithful, became idolators,
they were constantly defeated. Their cities all
lay desolate ; their children wept in chains. We
believe that just as in ancient times God re-
fused to go out with His people, because of
some departure from Him ; so now, because of
unfaithfulness, or of some unrebuked sin in

THE LAW OF REVIVALS.

connection with them, He has not blessed them
with success in some efforts to promote His
work. It is necessary that a revival shall
commence with God's people. It is manifestly
inconsistent for iis to ask God to revive His
work and convert sinners, while there is sin in
connection with ourselves. God said to His
ancient people, " My arm is not shortened that
I cannot save, nor my ear heavy that I cannot
hear ; but your sins have separated between you
and your God, and your iniquities have hidden
His face from you." And has He not said the
same to His Church in modern times ? In times
of religious dearth, people are inclined to doubt
the Divine faithfulness ; but we must remember
it is His people that are failing in the fulfil-
ment of the conditions, and not God failing in
His promise. Then the first need is for prayer
for the downshedding of the Spirit, purifying
the hearts of God's people, and thus fitting
them for His use. Then the love of God in
the hearts of his people will be a mighty im-
pelling power, leading them to go out to the
highways and hedges of sin, to compel the
people to come in. It is necessary that we
should have our own hearts warmed before we
are prepared to work. David seemed to have
this in view when he prayed, " Restore unto me
the joys of Thy salvation, and uphold me by

■m

SERMONS.

Thy free Spirit ; then will I teach transgressors
Thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto
Thee." In this work hoHness is power ; and if
we would be useful, we must be possessed of
this power. This power in our own hearts is
only secured by prayer. The Holy Spirit is
only promised to those that ask for Him, and
our prayers must be marked by earnestness.
" In the day," etc. And our prayers must be
accompanied by earnest effort.

Shall we have a revival ? We look back on
the days of Pentecost, and we say. If I had
lived in those days, I might have believed for
a revival. We look forward to a good time
coming, when the Spirit shall be poured out
from on high, and think that if we live in
those days we might pray with faith for a
revival. But what reason have we to suppose
that God was more willing to bless then than He
is now ? What reason to suppose that He will
be more willing in some future time ? What
right to limit the Holy One of Israel, who
changeth not ? Although, on account of the un-
faithfulness of the people, proofs of the saving
power of the Gospel are not as frequent as
they should be, yet we have, even in our own
days, proofs abundant of the mighty power of
the Gospel. During the past year a revival of
great extent and power has prevailed in Scot-

THE LAW OF REVIVALS.

land, and thousands have been brought to
Christ. The same earnestness and faith will
secure the downshedding of the Spirit here.
Oh ! I am persuaded that the Church has a
power in her hand greater almost than she
realizes. But when the whole Church shakes
herself from the dust — looses herself from the
bands of her neck — puts on the whole armour of
God — then her light shall break forth as the
morning, and her health shine forth speedily ;
then she shall ride upon the high places of the
earth ; then she shall arise and shine ; then revi-
val, like mighty tidal waves, shall sweep over
the earth, and the glory of God shall cover the
earth as the waters cover the great deep.

1 3!-

S m

n^,"

Confession of Sin.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." —
1 John i. 9.

other book, perhaps, presents a darker
picture of what human nature is than the
Bible does. Yet no other book presents a
brighter picture of what human nature may-
become than the Bible does. It paints man as
spiritually diseased in every part : " the whole
head is sick, the whole heart is faint, and
there is no soundness in us ; nothing but
wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." It
points us to a physician at whose rebuke
disease will fly; who has but to speak the
words, " I will, be thou clean," and the leprous
spots of sin will be purged ; who can restore
us to perfect soundness, so that we may at
length be admitted into that city where the
inhabitants never complain that they are sick
either spiritually or physically, so that neither
spot, nor wrinkle, or any such thing will be

CONFESSION OF SIN.

found on us. Yes, his case is represented as
worse than diseased — as spiritually dead, and
rapidly passing from spiritual to eternal death.
Death has passed on all men ; in Adam all die.
It points to a Saviour whose words once pierced
the ears of death — at whose command the dead
came forth. It tells us that His word can call
us back to newness of life. We are debtors
who have nothing to pay, in danger of being
shut up in prison till we pay the uttermost
farthing. Yet this book points us to One who
has paid the debt, and it offers us a discharge
on most rea,sonable conditions. We are sink-
ing in the mire and the clay close by the
dark river of death. The Bible points us to
a throne where the light of God's countenance
ever rests ; to a crown of glory that fadeth not
away; to garments pure and white, and says,
" All these shall be thine if thou wilt obey my
instructions." In our text we have a most
gracious offer of God's mercy. On either side
of it are very emphatic declarations of our
sin. The eighth verse says, " If we say that
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and
the truth is not in us." The tenth, " It we
say that we have not sinned we make Him
a liar, and His word is not in us." The rain-
bow seems the brighter, the darker the cloud
against which it is hung. So the promise of

h II

SERMONS.

our text seems the sweeter because of the
mournful words that stand on either side of
it. The Gospel nowhere presents the folly
of offering bread to those who are full, or
medicine to those who are well. Its offers
of help are mingled with its proofs of our help-
lessness. Its offers of pardon accompany proofs
of our guilt ; of safety, proofs of our danger.
So here the offer of pardDn and cleansing stands
connected with proofs of our guilt and pollu-
tion.

I. The condition — " If we confess." The con-
dition is most reasonable. A man who does
not acknowledge his guilt is not prepared to
appreciate a pardon. Go to one whom you feel
has injured you, but who is not willing to
acknowledge it, and tell him you pardon him,
and he will laugh at you for your pains and
tell you he does not need your pardon. So
men are not prepared to receive the pardon
of their sins till they are sorry for them and
confess them. Here is the difficulty with the
pardon of sinners. It is not the difficulty
of procuring pardon for penitent transgressors,
but the difficulty of getting men to become
penitent — of getting men into a position where
they would be prepared for forgiveness. Ap-
parently, confession of sin is a very easy act, and
an act vr y frequently performed. To one who

.ONFESSION OF SIN.

is really penitent it is easy ; but because there
are not many really penitent, it is not common.
It must be evident that every kind o£ con-
fession will not do. Let us try to separate
the false from the true ; the spurious from the
genuine. There are three or four kinds of
confession that are very commonly practised,
yet which are not scriptural.

1st. There is the Romish. This duty of con-
fession, like many others, has been wrested
by the Komish Church to serve the purposes
of a system. One of the means, as it seems
to us, by which that Church is able to
keep her followers in such abject submission
is the confessional. You can scarcely place
yourself under the power of another more
completely than by making him acquainted with
all the sins of your life. Our text, it may be,
has been made to do service in support of the
svstem ; but we observe, there is not a word
here of confession to a fellow-man. True, St.
James says, " Confess your faults one to an-
other;" but you observe it is mutual confession.
There is no mention of one class to whom the
confession is to be made. Probably, too, the
faults referred to by St. James, and which
are to be confessed, d,re wrongs committed
against a fellow. If we have wronged an-
other in his ^^eelings, property, or reputation, it

SERMONS.

is our duty to confess to him. It would have
prevented many an unseemly quarrel had men
done their duty in this respect. A false pride
has frequently prevented men from doing it,
even when they have been sorry for it. Many
an unnatural quarrel has resulted from men
being unwilling to acknowledge wrongs of this
kind. That there may be circumstances in
which it is the duty of a man to confess sin
to his fellow, we admit ; that there may be
benefit in obtaining advice, we admit ; but that
God has made it the duty of one class to state
in detail all their sin to another class, we
regard as unscriptural. It is wrong in its object.
The object of Romish confession is absolution
or forgiveness, but we regard it as the preroga-
tive of God only to forgive sin. It is wrong
in its effect on both him who makes and him
who hears the confession. It is an unnecessary
act of humiliation before a fellow. It must
engender an abject spirit in those who make
it. It would place a power in the hands of
the confessor over the confessing whicii few
men can be safely trusted with. It must tend
to engender pride in the confessor. He al-
ways sees others at a disadvantage. All their
sins are uncovered to his gaze, while his are
hidden from them. A man compelled to look
constantly on the worst part of the lives of

CONFESSION OF SIN.

even good men needs a great deal of grace
indeed to resist the lowering tendency.

2nd. Then there is a general confession, which
nearly all who dwell in Christian lands make,
or are willing to make, when they acknowledge
themselves sinners. This general confession
of sinfulness from the lips of most men is not
accompanied by humility„ It is an excuse for
sin — a palliation of sin — rather thar a sorrow
for it, or a purpose to give it up. The feeling,
I fear, of many is that they are so much the
less responsible for sin because they are sinners.
The feeling is, " I have a fallen nature ; it is
therefore, no wonder if I sin, nor is it any
reason for severe self-condemnation." Such a
confession, which serves to quiet the conscience
and encourage a life of sin, is surely not the
confession my text speaks of. It implies neither
sorrow for sin, nor humiliation on account of it.

3rd. Then there is the formal confession —
such as may be heard in the churches every
Sabbath, and in which the congregations are
supposed to join: "All we like sheep are gone
astray;" "We have left undone the things
which we ought to have done, and we have
done the thinors which we oug-ht not to have
done ; " " All our unrighteouness is as filthy
rags," etc. Now, such language, so far as our
hearts enter into it, is good and proper. No

SERMONS.

language can be more appropriate than the
language of Scripture ; but from the frequency
of its repetition there is danger of our using
them in a meaningless way. The exprsssions
are useful so far as they afford a channel for
the expression of our real feelings, but when
they come to be used as a form, they serve to
take the place of what might have been a
useful, and of what is a most reasonable duty.
We may join in these formal confessions with-
out either sorrow for our sins or purpose of
amendment. Mere formal confession cannot be
what our text requires.

4th. There is what, for want of a better term,
I may call the apologetic confession. There are
many persons who have got into the habit of mak-
ing what sound at first like very candid confes-
sions, but lose all meaning, and lack the qualities
of genuine confession, by being always coupled
with an excuse or a palliation. Have you
never heard one make a statement somewhat
as follows: "I know I have an ungovernable
temper. Under provocation I will fly into a
passion. I am very sorry for it. It gives me a
great deal of trouble, but I was not born with
the meek disposition of some ; and then one
needs a little temper to be able to hold his own
in this world." Really, they are as proud of
their temper as a peacock of his colours.

CONFESSION OF SIN.

Again, you have heard a man say: "I have
been very wiM in my time. I have done a good
many things that were not, to say the least, very
pious ; but every one must sow his wild oats."
Or again, you have heard one say : " I confess
I am pretty sharp in a bargain; but a man
needs to be wide-awake if he is going to suc-
ceed. You must do as others do." (These are
what we have termed apologetic confessions,
and they are very common.) " I know I don't
do right," says another, " but I own right up to
it. I put the worst side out. I am not one of
your canting hypocrites. If there is anything
I hate, it is hypocrisy." The man imagines it
is a virtue to make an avowal of wickedness
while he continues to live in it. Because he
has the boldness to flaunt his sins, and is not
ashamed of them, he takes credit to himself
for his candour. It may be candid, but it is
sadly lacking in the qualities of humility and
sorrow for sin. It may sound courageous ; but
while we think of Him against whom sin is
an offence, the boldness assumes the form of
impious daring. Instead of fitting for pardon,
they only aggravate the guilt. They imply
a blindness to the worst aspects of the case.
A man never is disposed to speak lightly of
his sins, or excuse them, when he makes genuine
confession.

IhM

SERMONS.

5th. Genidne confession. "We have examples
of genuine confession in the 32nd Psalm and
also in the 51st, and in the cases of the prodi-
gal and of the dying thief. Every genuine
confession of sin implies at least an acknow-
ledgment of God's right to rule. It may seem
at first that that is a very simple matter, and
that all would acknowledge God's right to rule.
But there has been in all ages a disposition
to dispute this right, or at least to circumscribe
the region over which God has a right to rule.
Sin is insubordination to the Divine govern-
ment. Every man who is living in the habitual,
wilful violation of the Divine law sets his own
judgment, or his own desires, up against the
Divine government. Genuine confession im-
plies an acknowledgment of the absolute right
of God to rule. If a man pleads evil tenden-
cies, or the example of others, in excuse or
palliation, he has not the conception of God's
authority he ought to have. Sin is an attempt
to be independent of God's government. Men
have lived so long in sin, have so habitually
set aside the authority that ought to have
ruled them, that they are scarcely conscious
how far they are f rom ■ f ufilling the divine re-
quirements. There is in men who live in sin a
constant disposition to narrow the region over
which religion rules — to lessen the restrictions.

CONFESSION OF SIN.

The cry is for liberty. Many exclude God from
much they do, and are scarcely conscious of
it. Because in this way men scarcely realize
how far the divine requirements extend, they in
many things sin without compunction. Men
are not prepared to confess sins where they
do not realize that they have committed them.
Then again, habitual violation of any law
gradually weakens the sense of obligation. The
habitual liar has not that sense of obligation
to truthfulness which a veracious man has.
The habitual swearer has not that sense of
obligation to keep' the command " Thou shalt
not take the name of the Lord thy God in
vain," that others have. The habitual thief
or the habitual cheat gradually loses a sense
of the obligation to honesty. There are num-
bers of men throughout even Christian lands
that have lived in violation of nearly all the
commands, yet who sleep soundly. Habitual
transgression has weakened the sense of obliga-
tion. And what is a man's sense of obligation
but his sense of the right God has to rule.
Frequent violations of God's law, in any par-
ticular, gradually lead to a weakening of the
conviction that God has a right to rule in that
particular. Now, a man who has lost a con-
viction that God has a right to rule is not
prepared to confess his sins, because confession

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SERMONS.

of sin implies a conviction of God's right to
rule.

Again, our sense of obligation to obey is weak-
ened by our associations. " I am a man of un-
clean lips, and dwell among a people of unclean
lips," said the prophet Isaiah ; so we may say
we are men of unclean hearts, and dwell among
a people of unclean hearts. The customs, the
opinions of men are tending to weaken our
sense of obligation to God. You all know that
to dwell where any sin is treated as a small
matter, gradually leads to our regarding it as
a small matter. The moral atmosphere we
breathe is not calculated to strengthen our con-
viction of obligation to obey God. All these
influences are at work, tending to weaken our
sense of obligation to obey. Our sense of ob-
ligation to obey is the correlation of our sense
of God's right to rule. Owing to all these
causes, there are few men who have that deep
conviction of the absolute right of God to
rule they ought to have. The holiest man on
earth has probably but a weak conviction of
God's right to rule, compared with the con-
viction of those bright beings who surround
His throne and wait to do His bidding. I
repeat, confession of sin implies a conviction
of God's right to rule ; and because of these
tendencies I have pointed out, there are multi-

CONFESSION OF SIN.

tudes of men who have not this conviction to
the degree necessary to confession. Our view
of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and con-
sequently our disposition to confess it, will
depend on our sense of obligation to obey God,
and our sense of obligation will correspond
exactly with our conviction of God's right to
rule. If we would increase our abhorrence of
sin, strengthen our sense of obligation to obe-
dience, deepen our conviction of God's right to
rule, there are a number of duties I would urge.
1st. Obedience. As every act of disobedience
weakens the sense of obligation to obey, so every
act of obedience strengthens it. As you strive to
obey God, you will feel the obligation more and
more. 2nd. Reflection. Think of God's claims as
Creator, as Preserver, as Redeemer. Think how
beneficent and wise all His laws are proved
by experience to be. Think of your life — in
how many points it has been a violation of
God's law — of how much better it would be
for you if you had obeyed. 3rd. Read the
Scriptures. Study God's character and His gov-
ernment as it is unfolded there. Neglect of
these points accounts for the carelessness of
many. Pray for enlightenment — ^for the Holy
Spirit. The effect of a constant effort after
obedience, of frequent and earnest thoughtful-
ness, of the study of God's word, will be to

SERMONS.

produce an abiding sense of obligation, which
is usually called conscientiousness; but the
Holy Spirit can, in a moment, give a man
conviction on these matters — a view of his
obligation, of God's claims, of sin's exceeding
sinfulness — which nothing else can. Genuine
confession for sin springs from a conviction in
the conscience. That conviction will be pro-
duced on every mind willing to be enlightened
by the Light which lightens every man that
Cometh into the world. Such confession implies
faith in Jesus.

Then the promise. The faithfulness of God
is pointed out as assuring the pardon of those
who . thus confess. In condescension to our
weakness, God has seen fit to bind himself
(I would speak reverently) by His word. Here,
by his servant, he reminds us of that, to
strengthen our faith. In Proverbs xxviii. 13
we read, " He that covereth his sins shall not
prosper ; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh
them shall find mercy." Paul says that " God,
willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs
of promise the immutability of His counsel,
confirmed it by an oath : " (see Heb. vi. 17-20.)
So here, that all who penitently confess their
sins may have comfort, he reminds them of His
promise. He is not a man that he should lie,
nor the son of a man, that he should repent,

CONFESSION OF SIN.

i.e., change His purpose. If you have sin-
cerely and penitently confessed your sins, the
word of the Lord has gone forth — that word
which is sure as the pillars of heaven — that
word which shall not pass away, though heaven
and earth pass away. Can you doubt that
word?

Again, the justice of God is spoken of as
requiring your pardon when you confess. As
fa.r as we as individuals are concerned, justice
would call for our punishment. We have never
done anything, we never can do anything, to atone
for our sins ; but since our Surety has paid the
(Jel)t — since the atonement for us has been ac-
cepted, God can, in accordance with strict
justice, forgive. We are in the habit of think-
ing of justice as engaged alone in the work
of punishment. Justice bolts the prison door
when the criminal is condemned to suffer the
penalty of the law. Justice lifts the lash and
smites. Justice draws the bolt and launches
the culprit into eternity. But we should not
forget that it is the work of justice to unbar
the door and unloose the chain when the debt
has been paid. Justice releases the criminal
when the surety has suffered in his stead. So
here the wrath of God against sin has been
shown. The debt has been paid. Now, let us
remember, to the glory of God as well as for our

i4'

SERMONS.

own encouragement, that the forgiveness of the
humble, sincere penitent is an act of justice as
well as of mercy. God does not need to lower
the demands of the law to pardon you, for the
demands have been satisfied. The honour of
the divine government is not tarnished.

A man in despair thought the justice of God
shut up every door of hope. A minister visited
him and pointed out this verse. The very jus-
tice that apparently awakened his fear should
encourage his hope. The justice of God was
pledged to pardon.

VI.

Urafit of (lotrlimss.

" Godliness is profitable unto all things." — 1 Tim. iv. 8.

:^.

^OES it pay?" is a question often asked in
'^'^^^^ this practical age. It is the simple test
which men of common sense apply to ascertain
the value of everything. That which cannot
make good its claim by an affirmative answer
will soon be discarded, no matter how strongly
recommended it may be. We have no disposi-
tion to dispute the fairness of the test. He
who in the market pays more for an article
than it is worth, or who buys an article which
is of no worth to him, is a foolish man. He who
invests his money, his time, his intellect in a
business, without first ascertaining that it pays,
is a foolish man. The religion of Christ asks
no escape from any reasonable test. If it
makes claims on our acceptance and obedience,
it does so on reasonable grounds. "Come and
let us reason together," is the language of
religion to men in all ages. We have no cause

SERMONS.

to fear a candid investigation of the claims of
religion. During eighteen hundred years it
has undergone the most searching scrutiny. It
is undergoing the closest scrutiny to-day. We
confidently claim that the more searching the
scrutiny, the more clearly will the claims of
Christianity appear. We recommend religion
to you to-night on the ground of its profitable-
ness. The Apostle said eighteen hundred years
ago, "Godliness is profitable unto all things, hav-
ing promise of the life that now is, and of that
which is to come." Can we still make good the
claim of religion on this ground, or has it lost
its adaptation to the wants of men ? Has the
world outgrown it ? We confidently claim
that, when looked at in this as well as in other
respects, the claims of religion will but appear
stronger. The experience of the past makes
faith in the declaration of the Apostle an easy
matter.

First let us be agreed on what we mean by
godliness. If a man in buying an article has
a sham, a counterfeit, palmed off on him as the
real article, his judgment of the article ought
not to be formed from the counterfeit. Many
a man has been led astray in judging religion
by mistaking for it that which was a sham.
By godliness I do not understand the mere
holding of a number of beliefs on religious sub-

PROFIT OF GODLINESS.

jects, called orthodox. I do not mean merely
belonging to some branch of the Christian
Church. By godliness I understand being in
our degree like God. Man, at creation, we
read, was made in the image of God — i.e., in
his moral image — loving those things God
loves, and hating those things God hates. I
do not understand merely the punctilious per-
formance of a certain round of duties, though
that may be included; nor the regular atten-
dance on Church ordinances, though that may
be included. Religion, one has defined as the
conformity of the soul with God, and the con-
formity of the life to His law. It implies the
restoration of man to the likeness of God, in
which he was created. Godliness is literally
God-likeness. A man is a godly man only in
so far as he is a God-like man. Men are in
the habit of judging of religion by its pro-
fessors. While I acknowledge that to some
extent they are right in doing so, yet I would
remind you that among professors you have
but a very poor exemplification of what it
really is. It is very imperfect in the best ; in
some it is but a caricature. Very few have
submitted themselves fully to the influence of
the gospel. You can form but a poor idea
what a building will be while the scaffolding
is up, and many parts are incomplete; so you

SERMONS.

get an imperfect idea of the Christian here,
because his character is incomplete. Although
God is the master-builder in Christian character,
yet men themselves are the workmen, and the
perfectness of a work depends not only on the
perfectness of the plan, but on the perfectness
of the execution. We have a perfect plan, and
human character, if built exactly according to
that plan, would be a perfect exemplification
of godliness, and would, by its attractiveness, do
much in drawing men to Christ ; but alas ! the
perfect plan is marred in the hands of unskil-
ful workmen — yea, many a time, of disobedient
workmen. You may criticise us Christians
severely — and we deserve it ; but don't blame the
plan — don't blame the Master-builder. You may
blame us servants, but don't, we beseech you,
blame the Master. There is many a man pro-
fessedly a Christian who has gone utterly astray.
In judging the skill of a physician, it would not
be fair for you to take one who professed to
go to him for a cure, yet who, after having
gone, evidently was neither taking the medicine
nor following the directions. So in judging re-
ligion, don't take one who merely professes to be
following Christ, yet really is not. To return
to the figure of a building. It would be un-
fair in you to condemn the plan of an architect,
because the work of the builder was imperfect

PROFIT OF GODLINESS.

unless you felt sure that the buildiDg was
according to the plan. First ascertain that the
building was in strict accordance with the plan,
and then it would be just to condemn the
plan if the building was defective. So before
rejecting or even before judging Christianity,
be sure that the exhibition of it is according
to the plan, and the plan you have here in
God's word. If you would know what godli-
ness is, don't judge alone from the lives of men.
Take God's word ; study its requirements ; ask
yourself, " If I followed those, would I not be a
gainer? If the world followed those, would
there not be great gain?" We have one perfect
exemplification of godliness, and only one. God
has given us that one for our guidance. Study
the character of Christ in His humanity, in
those qualities which it is possible for us to
imitate, and ask yourself again, " If I possessed
those would I not be a gainer ?" Yet, although
I have thought it necessary to remind you that
in the Church you have but an imperfect exem-
plification of godliness, I still believe that even
in the imperfect exemplification we can see
abundant proof that godliness is profitable unto
all things. Although our profiting has not
appeared to all men as clearly as it should, yet
most solemnly we avow that we have found
godliness profitable. It has lifted us to a

! 'I

SERMONS.

higher and purer moral atmosphere. Imperfect
and faulty as we with shame acknowledge we
are, we would be more imperfect and more
faulty still but for the religion of Christ. Not
only have we found benefit in the past, but
we find in religion that which has a constantly
improving influence. It is not merely some*-
thing which is useful for a time and then loses
its influence, but it is constantly useful. The
motives it uses are as powerful in old age as in
youth. Thus we recognise in religion that which
will go on through this life at least. We recog-
nise in the perfect adaptation of the religion of
Christ, an additional proof of its divine origin.
Believing it of divine origin, we believe that
God will help our weakness; and imperfect
though the work in us now may be, we confi-
dently anticipate the time when the top stone
shall be brought on with shouting. Though,
through our own waywardness, the work is im-
perfect, yet even in this imperfect experience
we get foretastes of a joy unspeakable — of a
peace that passeth all understanding — our tran-
quillity increases, our happiness increases, as we
more ardently aspire after godliness. Thus the
profit we receive here gives us hope of greater
profit when the work is complete.

I. The Apostle asserts that it "is profitable
for all things, having promise of the life that

PROFIT OF GODLINESS.

now is." If we appeal to individual experience
or to history, we think we can get abundant
proof of this first proposition. Godliness ia
conducive to health. In this world our physical
and our spiritual nature are so bound together
that they constantly act upon each other. Every
man who has observed the matter at all, must
know that bodily health has an effect — has an
influence on his spiritual nature. A man may
have a strong provocation to sourness — ill
temper — in his bodily state. Now, the converse
is just as true. Cheerfulness of spirits, peace
of conscience, any physician will tell you, is con-
ducive to bodily health. Godliness forbids, is
inconsistent with, those vices which are among
the most influential causes in sapping physical
health. Go to almost any burial-ground in
our country, and you will be pointed to many
a grave that might still have been without an
occupant had men been possessed of godliness.
I could take you to-day — I have visited in the
past week one at least who is probably hurrying
to the grave, who would have been well had
he been possessed of that godliness which is
spoken of in my text.

Again, godliness promotes health, by making it
a duty to guard it. In no land is suicide so much
condemned as in Christian lands. The heathen
seem in some doubt about the morality of the

SERMONS.

I li

act. Some would even seem to have applauded
it. Godliness promotes teTnporal prosperity.
It makes industry and frugality duties. To be
diligent in business is a duty as well as to be
fervent in spirit. While it forbids all those
means of acquiring property which amount to
robbing others, it encourages and commends
that industry by which a man adds to his own
wealth and the wealth of the community at the
same time. It forbids and condemns that insa-
tiable greed for gain which marks so many in
our own day — a greed which leads men to disre-
gard the interests of others, to raise themselves
up by pulling others down — a greed which, be-
cause of its very eagerness, prevents a man
from enjoying what he has acquired — a greed
which in a few instances leads to immense
fortunes, but in many leads to immense failures.
It encourages and commends that steady in-
dustry and careful husbanding by which a man
can steadily raise himself, at the same time that
he does not at least interfere with the raising
of others. It teaches him to regard himself but
as the steward of that which he acquires. It
teaches him to use it not selfishly, but for the
good of others as well as himself. It will be
found on investigation that the wealth-produc-
ing classes — the classes whose industry increases
the national, wealth are the God-fearing classes,

.4 b

PROFIT OP GODLINESS.

As a proof that godliness promotes prosperity,
I refer to the fact that the lands where godli-
ness has most influence are the wealthiest lands.
Travel through our country, and you will
find that those communities where the people
respect God's day most, and read His word most,
have an air of thrift others have not. I have
heard of an infidel who was starting a village
in the West, and so impressed was he with the
beneficial influence of Christianity that he him-
self initiated a Sunday-school. Again, godliness
makes a man a better citizen. Its command
is not only " Fear God," but also " Honour the
king." It teaches us to see in human govern-
ment a representation of the divine govern-
ment. It makes subjection and obedience to
tho powers that be a part of our subjection to
God. It commands, " Let every soul be subject
unto the higher powers, for there is no power
but of God ; the powers that be are ordainad of
God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power,
resisteth the ordinances of God." Godliness
makes a man a better member of society ; gives
him broader views, a kindlier sympathy ; makes
him more disposed to help his fellows — to bear
their burdens. How could it be otherwise
while the godly man strives to imitate that
perfect exemplification of godliness given us ?
The man who professes to be a godly man, and
7

■ ']

SERMONS.

yet is not sympathetic and charitable and kind,
has missed one of the most prominent qualities
in his pattern. Study that exhibition of God
which He has given us in His parables. Study
the parables of the good Samaritan and of the
Prodigal. Study that exhibition of God-like
qualities seen in His life and acts. All His
miracles, with perhaps one exception, were per-
formed to help the suffering or the needy.
Study the life of Christ from the first to the last,
from the manger of Bethlehem to the cross of
Calvary, and you will find it all expressed by
one of his sayings, "The Son of man came to seek
and to save that which was lost." My friends,
while I recommend to you godliness as profit-
able I would not have you overlook the chief
feature of godliness. Here godliness comes
into the most direct opposition to the spirit of
the world. The spirit of the world is a selfish
spirit ; of the gospel of godliness, a self-sacrific-
ing spirit. Just in proportion to the degree to
which you have this spirit are you a better
member of society. Notwithstanding the fact
that men have not profited as they should from
this feature of godliness, yet the profit is mani-
fest on the large scale at least. Benevolent
institutions are an outgrowth of Christianity.
Godliness fits a man for all the relationships
he is called upon to fill in life. You cannot

PROFIT OF GODLINESS.

find one in which a man is not prepared better
to act his part by godliness. It makes better
servants ; for one of its commands is, " Servants,
obey your masters, not with eye service as men
pleasers, but with goodwill." Do you tell me
that men professing godliness are not better
servants ? I say then they are not, in that
at least, possessed of godliness. It makes better
masters ; for it commands, " Masters, give unto
your servants that which is just and equal,
knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven."
If they are not, then, in that respect at least,
they are not godly. It makes obedient children.
"Children, obey your parents." It makes better
parents. " Fathers, provoke not your children to
anger, but bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord." There is no relation-
ship of life that is not benefited by godliness.

But you may object to much that I have
said. You may tell me that many whose godli-
ness you have most confidence in are not
prosperous, but have barely enough to supply
life's necessities. I admit it, yet maintain what
I have said. Even in the case of the man who
is not prosperous in worldly afiairs, godliness
does much to enable him to bear the ills of life.
If condemned in some instances to poverty, it
enables him to bear it more cheerfully than
others. It teaches him that " a man's life con-

100

SERMONS.

sisteth not in the abundance of the things he
possesseth." A dinner of herbs may be better
than a stalled ox, if there be contentment with
it. I can take you to houses of poverty, where
there is more real enjoyment from the little the
Lord gives them, than is found in many of the
palaces of princes. Oh ! many of the most
decidedly godly are doomed to a life of afflic-
tion. Yes ; but godliness has an antidote. It
hangs a bow of promise on the darkest cloud*
for it teaches its possessor that ''these light
afflictions, which are but for a moment, work-
eth for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory." A poor woman, expressing her
thanks over a crust of bread, was asked why
she was so thankful, when she replied: "All
this, and Jesus !" This brings us to a profit of
godliness which none can judge of but its pos-
sessor — a profit beside which all those I have
mentioned are small indeed. Godliness brings
with it a consciousness of the promise of divine
favour — of forgiveness of sin. To know the full
profit of godliness in this world, you must know
the feeling of a soul consciously in harmony
with God — of a soul consciously enjoying mani-
festations of the divine favour. There is no
joy so deep, no pleasure so satisfying, no peace
so calm, as that of a soul renewed after the
divine likeness — ^that is, of a soul possessing God-

PROFIT OF GODLINESS.

101

likeness. You must know the feeling of a soul
consciously at variance, not in harmony with
God. There is no mor dreadful feeling than
that of a soul fully awake to the awfulness of
being unlike God and at variance with God.
To feel that one does not love what He loves —
that one has run counter to the will of the
great God — no feeling of disquiet, of alarm,
can equal it. You must feel that removed, and
then will you know the feeling of the soul not
only at peace, but adopted — a child of God.

There are many God-fearing persons who
know nothing of the profits of godliness, but
such as naturally flow from a life of integrity —
an honest, constant effort to do all their duty.
But even in this world there are richer treasures
of profit God gives to His people — to those who
not only in their outward life, but also in their
hearts, are Godlike. If you would have that
richer experience, know that greater profit, you
must seek for that operation of the Spirit by
which the divine likeness is restamped on the
soul. Godliness is not merely the harmony oi
the life with God's law, but the harmony of the
soul with God. The first may apparently take
place without the second. The second never
takes place without the first. The first may
be the result of the ordinary grace God bestows
on all men ; the second is only the result of the

I i

I!
if

if.

102

SERMONS.

special operation of His Spirit. I would not
undervalue a godly outer life. I would that
there was more display of godliness in the
outer life of God's people. To this life of con-
formity to God's law there is profit ; but to the
entire conformity of both heart and life to
God's will, I understand the second part of the
promise alone to refer. In other words, a man
must be bom again to have the life to come.
You will be infinite gainers if you have that
God-likeness which results from a renewal in
the divine image ; you will be infinite losers if
you have it not.

II. Hath the promise of the life to come. The
promises of God to the godly, cover the whole
of their existence. In this world there is the
promise, " No good thing will He withhold from
them that walk uprightly." In the next, there
is fulness of joy in His presence for evermore.

Godliness implies harmony with God — simi-
larity of feeling with God. Now, reason joins
revelation in teaching that if I am in harmony
with God I shall prosper. Reason joins revela-
tion in teaching that if a man is in opposition
to God he must fail — be baffled. If a man
should choose to act in defiance of natural law,
he sooner or later suffers for it. If a man
chooses to live in violation of the laws of health,
his constitution will in time give way. So if

PROFIT OF GODLINESS.

103

a man chooses to act in violation of spiritual
law, he must just as certainly suffer for it.
Some weeks ago, in preaching to you, I en-
deavoured to show that if a man lived in viola-
tion of the moral laws it led toward ruin even
in this world. To-night I have endeavoured to
show that if man obeys moral law it leads to
profit even in this world. In this world we
have light enough to show that righteousness
pays and is profitable, and to show that sin is
unprofitable, and ruins. By the effects of sin
on the one hand and of righteousness on the
other, in this world, we may form an opinion
of the consequences of sin and of righteousness
in the world to come. Believing in our God, we
would naturally be led to believe that the great
principles of His moral government are the
same in this and in all other worlds. All the
accumulating evidence of scientific investiga-
tion proves that natural law is the same through-
out the universe. The laws of gravitation oper-
ating on this earth on which we dwell are
found to be the same as the laws of gravitation
regulating the course of the moon or the
planets. So, my friends, I say we have reason
to suppose the great principles of moral govern-
ment are the same everywhere apart from
revelation. As other texts of Scripture prove
that the effects of sin in this world, leading to

104

SERMONS.

ruin, are followed by effects similar in kind, but
infinitely worse ; so my text this evening,
joined with others, ^ roves that the profit of
godliness in this world is followed by profit in
the next, but infinitely greater.

That there is a life to come is the plain teach-
ing of God's word — a teaching that is cor-
roborated by the belief of all lands. It is also
the teaching of God's word, that the state of
the soul in that life to come is unchanging ; and
further, we believe that the state of the soul in
that unchanging, endless life to come is the
same as its state at death — proving, on the one
hand, that a state of sin, of alienation from God,
is a state of constant loss ; a soul entering the
endless life to come in alienation from God is
eternally a loser ; so, on the other hand, a soul
entering that eternal state in harmony with
God is an eternal gainer. As the consequences
of sin in this world are severe enough to be a
warning to all who will be warned, but not
sufficient to crush; so the profit of godliness
is sufficient to allure. The pain and loss conse-
quent upon sin, and the profit consequent upon
godliness, are sufficient to corroborate and give
additional force to the teachings of His word ;
but we must not for a moment suppose that
the loss on the one hand, or the gain on the
other, are at all to be compared with the loss

■

PROFIT OF GODLINESS.

105

and gain in the life to come. If the conse-
quences of sin, on the one hand, were more
marked than they are — if every act of sin
were followed by immediate retribution, loss in
every respect — if every act of godliness were
hallowed by immediate reward — if no apparent
prosperity were given to the wicked, and no
apparent adversity were given to the godly,
this life would cease to be a state of trial.
Self-interest would force a man to choose the
right and abandon the wrong. There would
be no trial to give up that which brought only,
and evidently, disaster. But in a world like
ours, where adversity sometimes apparently
overtakes the righteous, and success sometimes
apparently attends the wicked — where there is
yet sufficient light to show God's disapproval
of the wicked, and approval of the righteous,
it is evidently adapted as a scene of trial. But
when we have passed through the life of trial,
we will enter on one that will be a life of
reward, and only reward, on the one hand, and
one of punishment, and only punishment, on the
other.

Friends, godliness is profitable. Beside that
I place the other truth, not mentioned in my
text, but with it equally taught in God*s
word — sin is unprofitable. If that were only
so of this life, I might feel I had little influence

, f.

".,, i

106

SERMONS.

with some of you. A man might say, " I prefer
what you call the loss of sin, mingled with a
kind of pleasure, as I know by experience.
You may prefer the profit of godliness, if you
will, mingled, as you admit, with some trial."
I might feel I had no way of meeting you ; but
when I can come, and, on the authority of God's
word, tell you that the loss of sin here which
you feel in some pangs of conscience, or in some
other way, is to be unmingled and unending
loss in the world to come, and that the gain of
godliness is to be unmingled and unending
gain in the life to come, I feel that I have an
argument that ought to influence every reason-
able man.

We must all go hence to be here no more.
About the other world we may not know much ;
but reason ought to tell us that if we go hence
in harmony, at peace with, and having God-like
characters, we have nothing to fear. Again,
reason ought just as emphatically to tell us that
if we go hence with wills and natures opposed
to God we have everything to fear.

I present you with profit on the one hand
and loss on the other. I tell you of threaten-
ings and frowns of God and eternal punishment.
I tell you of promises covering all the way
from your espousals to Christ, from your choos-
ing of godliness as your portion, to your

PROFIT OF GODLINESS.

107

entrance to the presence of God. I promise
that even the afflictions of your life shall add to
the weight of your glory. I tell you of reward
infinite and eternal, and I ask how long halt ye ?
Does a life of sin pay? No. Experience
says no. God's word says no. It causes infinite
and eternal loss. Does a life of godliness pay ?
Yes. Experience says yes. The word of God
says yes. It yields infinite and eternal profit.

VII.

" Grow in grace." — 2 Peter iii. 18.

,ROWTH, gradual approach to perfection
or maturity, seems to mark most if not
all the works of God. The world on which we
live gradually assumed the form and condition
in which it now is. It is the result of growth.
" In the beginning," we read, " the earth was
without form, and void." The power of God
gradually evolved from the shapeless mass our
beautiful earth, fixing a bound for the seas
which they should not pass, causing the land to
bring forth grass and herb, and the seas to
swarm with fishes. The researches of modern
scientific men make it probable that the period
during which the earth was gradually approach-
ing its present condition was very lengthened,
each day of the six representing vast periods of
time. Revelation itself — the Word of God — was
not at first given in its completeness. First the
books of Moses. Gradually the prophets and

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.

109

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inspired historians and holy men added each his
portion, until the volume is complete — a suffi-
cient revelation of God's character and will — a
sufficient indication of man's duty and destiny.
The Church, even as it exists at present, is the
result of growth, and still it is growing, and
will continue to grow until the whole earth is
embraced in the widening circle of its influence.
So is it in the natural kingdom. We have first
the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in
the ear ; or, first the little plantule with its short
root, its two green leaves just protruding above
the ground, then the little shrub, then the sap-
ling, then the mighty tree. So in the animal
kingdom. There is among human kind, first the
infant, then the child, then the youth, then the
matured man. And it seems the same is true
in the spiritual kingdom. Our Lord in various
parables teaches the gradual development of
the spiritual seed. We hear St. Paul speaking
of some as babes in Christ. St. John writes to
little children, to young men, and to fathers.
Why this growth should, thus characterize the
works of God in the three kingdoms — the
natural, the animal, and the spiritual — we can-
not tell. God could doubtless have caused
our world to appear at first in its present form
and revelation in its completeness ; but He has
seen fit in His wisdom to adopt this method. In

SERMONS.

the spiritual world, our growth, it appears, de-
pends on ourselves, otherwise there would be
no need for the exhortation of our text. In
the spiritual as in the animal kingdom, the
three great essentials of growth are life, food,
and exercise.

I. In order to growth there must be life.
This is as true in the spiritual kingdom as in
the animal or vegetable. We must be certain
there is life before we can expect growth.
You have, perhaps, gone in the spring-time to
the forests for a shrub or sapling. You have
brought it home and planted it in your garden.
You have covered its roots with the richest
earth, and have thought in a few years that
will become a beautiful shade tree — an orna-
ment to my grounds, and a cool retreat from
the summer sun. But the days and weeks
pass; the spring sun shines in its brightness,
the spring rains descend in abundance ; yet the
tree does not bud nor put forth tender shoots.
You have gone and examined it, and you have
found it dead. Then you need not that one
should tell you the cause of its not growing.
It is dead. So is it in the spiritual kingdom.
Many an one has been brought into the Church
— or if you will allow the figure, has been trans-
planted into the garden of the Lord. The Sun
of Righteousness has shone on all around. The

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.

Ill

dews of divine grace have descended, but the
Church member does not grow. After weeks,
and months, and years have passed, there are
the same imperfections of temper, the same
shortcomings in duty, that marked him before.
The buds of grace do not appear — love and joy
and peace, long-suffering, patience, etc. The
minister wonders how it is. He, however, soon
surmises the truth. The man is spiritually dead.
He is borne with for a time, is warned, and
at length his name is struck off the Church re-
cords. The plant that had been transplanted
into the garden of the Lord is dead, twice
dead, and now plucked up by the roots. I re-
peat, in order to growth there must be life. A
man may attend all the means of grace — may
visit regularly the table of the Lord — but he
will not grow in grace unless there is the vital
principle within. You might as well expect a
dead plant to grow by heaping rich earth
around its roots and supplying it with moisture,
as to expect a dead soul to grow by means of
grace. Then the first question for us to settle
is, Have we spiritual life ? We easily detect
vegetable or animal death. We detect it by the
absence of those manifestations that always
accompany life. If we had passed the barren
fig tree which Christ cursed ; if we had seen its
withered leaves, its dead branches, we would

112

SERMONS.

have had no hesitancy in pronouncing the
cause. It is dead ! Why ? Because we know
that green leaves are a manifestation of life
in the vegetable kingdom during the summer
season. If we had gone with Martha and Mary
to the tomb of Lazarus, and seen the stiffened
corpse ; no smile of recognition passing over
the pale face ; no arm extended to embrace the
weeping sister, we would have had no hesita-
tion in assigning a cause. He is dead ! Why ?
Because we know that motion of the limbs, a
change of expression in the countenance, are
manifestations of human life wherever it exists.
How shall we know a dead soul ? By the same
means — by the absence of those manifestations
that always accompany spiritual life. If we
see one who gives little heed to the divine
warnings by trying to escape the danger pointed
out — little heed to the divine invitations by try-
ing to embrace the offered mercy, we cannot be
much astray if we come to the conclusion that he
is dead. As one has said, " When a man's heart
is cold and unconcerned about religion ; when
his hands are never employed in doing God's
work ; when his feet are not familiar with God's
ways ; when his tongue is seldom or never em-
ployed in prayer and praise ; when his ears are
deaf to the voice of Christ in the Gospel ; when
his eyes are blind to the beauties of the king-

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.

113

dom of heaven ; when his mind is full of the
world, and has no room for spiritual things, the
right word to use about him is, Dead." Have
you spiritual life ? other wise you cannot grow.
" Well," says one, " I know I was converted. I can
never forget — never doubt that." I will not dis-
pute your conversion, nor will I lower its impor-
tance. But have you retained the spiritual life
imparted at conversion ? Spiritual life comes from
Christ. " I am come," said He, " that they might
have life, and that they might have it more abun-
dantly." Christ is the great fount of spiritual
life, and it is only as we are united with Him
and draw from Him that we live spiritually.
Living faith alone unites us to Christ, who is
the life. " I live," says Paul, " yet not I but
Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God."
Life, whether in the vegetable, the animal, or
the spiritual kingdom, is a mystery. The wisest
philosopher in the world cannot fully explain to
you what it is that enables the plant to
change the particles of the earth and air and
water into the fibre of the stem, the green of
the leaf, or the gorgeous colour of the flower.
Cut the plant down — in other words, take away
its life — and although the earth and air, sun-
shine and moisture, may all be as abundant as
ever, yet they are no longer converted into
8

114

SERMONS.

green leaves, or fibrous stalk, or beauteous
flowers. The plant no longer grows. Why ?
Because there is no longer life. So in the
animal kingdom. That subtle, mysterious thing
which no one is able to understand or explain,
is absolutely essential to growth. So is it of
spiritual life. Again, we notice that where
there is an absence of life, the very causes that
promoted growth before now promote decay.
The moisture, the sunshine, that are so essential
to vegetable growth during the continuance of
life, are the causes of more rapid decomposition
when death has supervened. So the means of
grace, the preaching of the Word, may be the
cause of spiritual decay when spiritual life
has departed. Again I ask. Have you spiritual
life ? While we cannot create it ourselves, yet
the fault is our own if we have it not, for
" Christ has come that we might have life, and
that we might have it more abundantly." Ah !
it is Christ's intention that we shall have this
life abundantly. Not a feeble, flickering,
dying sort of life, but buoyant, joyful, strong ;
not the life of an invalid, but of a strong
vigorous man. If you have this abundant life,
you will grow. Vegetable and animal growth
are promoted by the sunlight. Plants and
men that live shut out from the sunlight are
pale and sickly. So, spiritually, we need the

^'^:

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.

115

light of the Sun of Righteousness. One who
seldom or never feels the warming, gladdening
presence of the Sun of Righteousness will not
grow very rapidly. There is this difference,
however, between animal or vegetable life and
spiritual. They cannot continue. The plant
must die; the leaves will droop and fall, the
stem and branches will decay. So of animal
life. These bodies of ours must die, and return
to earth. As there is a limit to life, so is there
to growth. But there is no limit either to
spiritual life or spiritual growth. If the life
has commenced, it need never die — it may
parallel the existence of God. " He that liveth
and believeth in Me shall never die." So our
growth may continue forever, we believe.
Those graces that are peculiar to us as probation-
ers may continue to grow while we are in this
world. The wings of faith may become stronger
and stronger till we can dwell constantly in the
sunshine above the clouds. Our hope may wax
brighter and brighter, and bloom more and more
with eternal life. Our love may ever grow, we
believe, as eternal ages pass. Life is absolutely
essential to growth, and faith is absolutely
essential to life. So if we would grow, we must
cultivate faith.

II. Food, nourishment, is the second essential
of growth we notice. The shrub may have life,

116

SERMONS.

but unless it is furnished with food from the
soil and the moisture it will not grow — nay, it
will soon die. So in the animal kingdom there
may be life, and healthy life too, but there can-
not be any increase of bone and muscle and
blood, unless there is a supply of food. So is it
spiritually. There may be life, but the Christian
cannot grow unless that life is nourished by
food. It is a blessed thing that while food is so
necessary, it is ^provided in such abundance.
Think of the supply of food for our bodily wants.
Every morning some twelve hundred million
mouths to be fed, together with the fowls of
the air, the beasts of the field, etc. But while
the supply is great for bodily wants, it is
greater for spiritual. None need perish for
want of the bread of life. Yet while it has
been provided in abundance, we are not to sup-
pose that we have nothing to do in securing that
supply. God has made abundant provision for
our physical wants in nature. He has given
man seed, which, when sown in properly pre-
pared soil, will, with God's blessing, in connection
with the rain and sunshine, bring forth an
abundant harvest. But suppose that mankind,
for a single year, should refuse to cultivate the
soil and to sow the seed — the result would be al-
most universal starvation, probably. " But," says
one, " you do not pretend to say that our supply

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.

117

of spiritual food, like our supply of bodily food,
depends on labour." Well, the cases are not so
different, perhaps, as most are ready to suppose.
Our Lord commands us to " labour for the meat
that endureth unto everlasting life." God has
made an abundant supply in nature for our
bodily wants, but in order that we obtain that
supply we must comply with certain conditions.
God has made an abundant supply in grace for
our spiritual wants, but in order to obtain that
supply also we must comply with the conditions,
and one of those conditions it seems is labour.
What we mean by food is, whatever nourishes
and strengthens the soul. One of the greatest
sources of the Christian's strength is the Word
of God. It is an exhaustless storehouse of food
for the Christian. It is like the widow's cruise —
it does not grow less with our frequent applica-
tions to it. After years of perusal, the Christian
finds its promises as precious as ever. Or it is
like the five barley loaves and two small fishes
among the five thousand. Just as the disciples
were sent forth among the multitudes, so minis-
ters of the gospel in thousands, every Sabbath
morning, go forth each with his portion to break
to the people. And there is a supply for every
class of hearer — from the hardened sinner to the
confirmed Christian. It would be well if Chris-
tians went more to this storehouse of food — this

118

SERMONS.

What one gets

fountain of the water of life,
from good books and from sermons may be all
very well ; but the spiritual food is, so to speak,
second-hand. Go to the storehouse for yourself.
I fear that in this age of good books the Bible
is neglected. It is like all God's works — it
can have no equal. It should have no substi-
tute. " Give me the Book !" said Sir W. Scott,
when dying. " What Book ?" said his friend.
" There is but one Book," said the dying man.
" Let me be a man of one Book," said John
Wesley. But in order that we may obtain
spiritual food from the Word of God, we must
study it — not merely glance over its sacred
pages. " Search the Scriptures ; for in them
ye think ye have eternal life: and they are
they which testify of Me." Every Christian
should every day read at least a small por-
tion of the Word. Then, good books doubt-
less furnish us with spiritual food ; and these,
through the labours of pious men, have been
supplied in such abundance, and are so within
the reach of all, that every Christian may
have a supply of them. And in seeking food
in books, we must remember it is not the
quantity so much as the quality that is to be
regarded. I feel persuaded that in this age we
read too much, and do not keep a practical end
in view as we should. And while the age in

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.

119

which we live has furnished many useful books,
yet I question whether the books that contain
most spiritual food are not those of an early
day. Such works as those of Wesley are
admirable for this purpose. It is a pity our
people do not read the works of the founder of
Methodism more. Then there are such works as
Baxter's " Saint's Rest," the " Imitation of
Christ," etc. — works that no one need read who
is seeking merely for amusement ; but if one is
seeking stimulation, food, help, let him read
them. If we should every morning store our
minds with good thoughts, it would be a source
of strength and growth to us. Again, religious
conversation, whether in the class-meeting or
the social circle, may furnish spiritual food.
My friends, our souls have wants that must be
supplied as well as our bodies. Christ has
taught us to pray, " Give us this day our daily
bread," and we should use it every day. Can
we wonder that we do not grow, when we think
how careless even the best of us are in partak-
ing spiritual nutriment ? Let this thought be
fixed — there can be no growth without food.

III. The third essential I notice is exercise.
We all know the influence of exercise on the
human system. See the brawny muscle of the
blacksmith's arm. Exercise has given it a de-
velopment it does not receive with most men.

V;",

(>Mi

120

SERMONS.

That exercise is necessary to the development of
our powers of mind and body is easily demon-
strated. What mother would expect her child
to grow, if she kept it wrapped for years so
that the limbs could not be used ? When she
removes the bandages, and tells the child to
walk forth, the little weakling would not be
able to stand alone. There would be no de-
velopment of muscle on the limbs to brace the
body against the slightest breeze ; so mentally,
if the spontaneous activity that usually charac-
terizes the mind of a child could be repressed,
mental imbecility would be the re suit. Activity,
exercise, the use of our powers is essential to
their development and growth. This is as true
spiritually as mentally or physically. The
exercise of the spiritual life God gives us is
absolutely necessary to its growth. For this
cause many are weak and sickly amongst us.
For this cause ministers have too often to adopt
the tone of the Apostle when he said : " And
I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes
in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not
with meat, for hitherto ye were not able to bear
it, neither yet now are ye able." Many linger
in a state of spiritual infancy all their lives ;
many lapse again into a state of spiritual death.
One of the first promptings of the spiritual life,

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.

121

when it is given a man, is to do something.
But too frequently that prompting is repressed
until it ceases. If we love God and our fellows,
that love naturally seeks some manifestation,
and unless it is manifest it will soon cease.
Who are those who become pillars in the temple
of God — cedars in Lebanon ? They are the
men who have used the grace given. Look at
that man who has been moving as a spiritual
giant for the last year or two among the churches
of Great Britain and Ireland, who has led thou-
sands to the feet of Christ, who is stirring the
masses of the world's greatest city as no one
has since the days of Whitefield and the
Wesley s. What has given him such spiritual
power ? What enables him to stand like Saul
of old, head and shoulders above his fellows ?
It is not natural talents, although I am not at
all certain but he has more than the ordinary
amount of natural ability. Yet there are
doubtless thousands of equal if not greater
abilities in the churches of America to-day,
who will live and die and their influence
scarcely be felt. I think we will find the secret
of his power if we go back to the early days of
his Christian life, and see him gathering a class
for the Sabbath-school — speaking to those
whom he met about their soul, until in Chicago
they called him " crazy Moody." God had given

HiMiiiaiMiMp

122

SERMONS.

him spiritual life, and he used it, notwithstand-
ing the sneers of the ungodly, and I doubt not
the coldness of formal Christians. As a conse-
quence, he rapidly developed to spiritual man-
hood, and to-day, as a mighty man of God, he
has scarcely a peer on earth. " Them that honour
Me will I honour." " To him that hath shall be
given." Imagine Moody as a young Christian
repressing his zeal, consulting flesh and blood —
he would doubtless to-day, in that case, have
been a spiritual dwarf or a backslider. Spiritual
inactivity is the great cause of spiritual weak-
ness and feebleness. Every Christian should
have some work to do for God. Nor need any
lie idle for want of a field. There are moral
deserts all around us that might be made to
blossom as the rose. There are fields that are
white unto the harvest. If you want a field of
labour, you can find it anywhere. If we are
willing to do anything the Lord would have us
do, there is plenty of room for us in the vine-
yard. How many opportunities of spiritual
exercise we have in our ordinary occupations !
Every temptation to anger affords an opportu-
nity of cultivating the grace of forbearance ;
every temptation to revenge, an opportunity
for cultivating love. Little opportunities of
usefulness present themselves every day al-
most ; and in improving them we will not only

>]l

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.

123

be a blessing to others, but will greatly pro-
mote our own spiritual growth.

In conclusion, are you growing in grace ? It
is a Methodistic saying, grown almost trite by
repetition, " there is no standing still in re-
ligion." It is an established truth, however.
In rowing against the current, if a man ceases
to row he will be carried backward. If a
man has a fortune and does not use it, does not
increase it, he is very apt to be eating up the
principal. The plant of grace is not the natural
production of the heart. It is an exotic — comes
from a foreign soil. This world is an unfriendly
clime. The sirocco that comes from the desert
of unbelief around us may parch it. The chilling
blasts that come from the Arctic seas of cold
formality will retard its growth — the canker
worm of worldly care and anxiety is ready to
rob it of its strength — and even as it approaches
maturity the mildew is ready to blast it in the
ear. How often has the farmer thought, while
waiting through the cold chilly days of a back-
ward spring, " there will be no harvest this year.
My labour will be lost." Yet God always gives
a harvest. So in the spiritual world ; there will
be growth if we use the means till we all come
to the stature of men in Christ — till we shall
at length be gathered as a ripe shock of corn
in season to the Master's garner on high.

I !

,*<'I

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VIII.

€l^mt

xmauB.

" Unto you therefore which believe He is precious." —
1 Peter ii. 7.

NE proof of the divine origin of Chris-
tianity is the universality of its adapta-
tion. Superstitions are found suited to a
particular race, but unsuited to others ; flourish
in one stage of civilization, but are unable to
endure a more advanced stage. But Chris-
tianity, coming down through eighteen cen-
turies, has proved itself suited to all the varied
stages of human progress, from the savage to
the most enlightened. It has just as firm a
grasp — ^yes, a firmer grasp of the human mind
in the most enlightened nations, than it has
on the comparatively ignorant. Again, Chris-
tianity bears the same blessed fruit in one
age as another ; in one race as in another.
St. Peter, writing to the strangers scattered
throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia,
and Bithynia, gives them all one test by which

CHRIST PRECIOUS.

125

they might judge of the sincerity of their faith
— presents them all with one mark by which
they might judge the genuineness of their
religion : " To you that believe He is precious."
The Christian to-day may take this mark, or any
other mentioned by the Apostles, and he will find
that which corresponds in his own experience.
The Christian thus has a proof that others
have not of the divine origin of Christianity.
The converted Hottentot, or the converted Euro-
pean of to-day, finds religion giving rise to
the same joy and peace to-day in his heart as
it gave rise to in the heart of Paul eighteen
centuries ago. Now, as of old, "To you that
believe He is precious."

What is it to believe ? Faith, to many per-
sons, seems one of the greatest mysteries —
really, it is one of the simplest and most
spontaneous acts of the mind — so simple that
to attempt to explain it seems only frequently
to darken counselby words. It seems to me
a striking illustration of the goodness of God,
that He has suspended the blessings of the
gospel on a condition which can be complied
with as easily by the young - by the old — by
the poor as by the rich. The life of a child
is largely a life of faith, with reference to the
affairs of this world. How little that the child
knows is the fruit of experience! As the

126

SERMONS.

years pass, the circle of experimental know-
ledge widens; yet all through life how much
of what we claim to know with assurance, can
we know in such a way that when occasion
requires it we can act on that knowledge with
the utmost confidence ! How many of us know
from actual experience of the existence of such
cities as London or Paris ? yet if business or
some other necessity required us to-morrow to
set out for either of those cities, we would do
so with the utmost confidence that there were
such places. Our knowledge of the existence
of such places is founded on faith in the testi-
mony of others. To . come nearer home — how
many objects in nature, how many of the pro-
ducts of man's skill and toil exist all around
us, which we have never seen, yet of the ex-
istence of which we have not the slightest
doubt ! How much of the business and afifairs
of life is managed by faith in the testimony of
others! The merchant regulates his prices, in
buying and selling, by his faith in prices as
quoted in the morning paper. From the highest
to the humblest — from the richest to the poorest
— from the youngest to the oldest, there is
not one whose faith is not called into daily ex-
ercise. Put a stop to the exercise of faith — let
men in the ordinary affairs of life be influenced
only by what they know from experience, and

CHEIST PRECIOUS.

127

you would put a stop to the wheels of progress,
that would be like stopping a train under a full
head of steam. Faith is one of the mightiest
forces by which the world is kept moving.
Now, this principle which finds so large an
exercise in ordinary life is that which God
requires especially to be exercised in the matter
of salvation. That same faith which is neces-
sary to life in the affairs of this world is still
more necessary for spiritual life. God's word
presents us with certain truths. In order that
we may be saved we must have firm belief in
these truths, and allow them to have their
legitimate influence, just as men do in the ordi-
nary affairs of life. Saving faith implies some*-
thing more than intellectual assent. Intellectual
assent must be allowed to have its legitimate
effect before it becomes saving faith. In the
ordinary life mere assent to any truth will be
of no benefit to a man. Faith only becomes a
mighty principle as it is allowed to have its
legitimate influence on us. For instance — a
monied man is told that by investing his means
in a certain way he will realize great profits.
He may have perfect confidence or strong faith
in what he is told ; but unless he allows his
faith in the advice to lead him to invest as
directed, his faith of itself will not secure him
a share in the profits. It will be all the same

128

SERMONS.

>,«;

to him as though he had not believed. A man
sick with fever may believe what the doctor
says when he tells him that in order to be well
he must leave the low country where he is
living — where the marshes exhale malaria — and
move up on to the mountain slopes, where there
is a pure, bracing atmosphere. But his belief
will not effect a cure ; while he remains where
he is, it will be the same to him as though he
had not believed. So, spiritually, our faith is
only saving as it is allowed to have its legiti-
mate influence on us. A man may have a
belief as orthodox as the Apostle Paul's, and, as
far as intellectual assent is concerned, may
believe as firmly as Paul, and yet may go to
hell. Of what consequence is it to a man to
believe in one God, the Creator of all things,
while he refuses that subjection and obedience
which he, as Creator, has a right to demand?
Of what benefit to believe in the Holy Spirit
as the Sanctifier, unless he goes to Him for
sanctification ? Of what consequence to believe
in Jesus as a Saviour, unless he goes to Him
for salvation ? " Thou believest there is one
God, even Christ;" and "To you that believe
He is precious."

But there are many who believe in that way,
yet do not feel Christ precious. Our belief, I
say, must be allowed to have its legitimate

CHRIST PRECIOUS.

129

influence on us. Now, what is the legitimate
influence of ' belief in the truths God's word
reveals? It tells me I am a fallen sinner — a
truth my own experience corroborates. It tells
me that as such I am exposed to dreadful
danger, yet Christ has opened a way of safety.
Now, the legitimate effect of faith in these
truths will be to lead me to turn from the
danger toward the safety. A man's belief in
the truths of God's word is beginning to have
its legitimate effect when it leads to repentance.
Still, when the soul takes this step, a new
phenomena presents itself. He finds a power
dragging him down toward evil — condemnation.
He finds distrust of God. He does not love
God. How is all this to be changed? Here
we come to the exercise of what is usually
called saving faith. Christ offers a cure on the
simple condition of trust. Faith is not only
believing Christ can and is willing, but is actu-
ally placing the soul in His hands for a cure,
and trusting Him for that cure now. Still
many persons, perhaps, must realize at some
time a great difiiculty in performing the act
of faith which links the soul to Christ. This
arises in many cases from unwillingness to give
up something that must be sacrificed. All a
sham. In other cases, from an actual difficulty
of believing that God will forgive offences so
9

I I

130

SERMONS.

great and so oft repeated. We find it so diffi-
cult to cease judging God by ourselves. But
we must remember God is not governed in His
'sposition toward us as our fellow-men are.
" His thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor His
ways as our ways." Or the difficulty arises
from expecting the result of faith before the act
of faith has been performed. " If I felt so and
so, I could believe."

"To you that believe He is precious." The
original means " of value." He is precious from
the very fact of their believing in Him. Faith,
as I have endeavoured to explain it, implies
committing our eternal interests into the hands
of Christ. Let a man invest all his funds in
a certain undertaking, and that undertaking
becomes precious to him from that circum-
stance. In travelling, you can tell in what a
man has money invested by watching him when
he receives the morning paper. He will look
first to that column where he will find the
price of that in which he is interested. A
wife, at marriage, places her interests in the
hands of her husband. Her future for joy or
sorrow is linked to his. If he rises, so does she.
If he fails, she fails with him. From that cir-
cumstance he will be to her from that hour
what no one else is. In the hour when we
believed in Christ, we linked our destinies to

CHRIST PRECIOUS.

131

Him. From the fact that we have placed
everything in His hands He becomes precious
to us. In fact, this very figure of marriage
is used with reference to Christ and His Church.
He is the bridegroom — the Church is the bride.
How could He be other than precious to the
believer ? The believer's interests are more
closely united to Christ than to any other.
Christ says, " He that loveth father or mother
more than Me is not worthy of Me." How
close our relationship to the members of our
own families ! How many the ties that bind
us ! To most men you could not offer a greater
insult than to speak a word against father or
mother ; yet the ties that bind the believer to
Christ are closer, stronger. Let a man join a
political party — work, canvass for it. Just in
proportion to the amount of interest he has
taken will he feel that his reputation is at
stake with that of the party. Sharply criticise
any act of the party, and see how quickly he
becomes annoyed. The fact that he has recom-
mended it — bound his interests up with it —
makes it precious to him. But more particu-
larly is Christ precious to the believer for what
He has done for us, and the love He has shown
to us. "We love Him because He first loved
us." There is nothing so calculated to call
forth affection as affection. There was a great

i^wl

132

SERMONS.

deal of wisdom said to be given by a little child
when asked "why every one seemed to love
her." Her reply was, " I don't know, unless it
is because I love every one." I have read of a
son who had quarrelled with his father. He
believed his father hated him, and he hated his
father. At length the father sickened and died.
The son came and saw the corpse, cold and still in
death, but not a tear did he shed. He attended
the funeral. Heard the earth rumble on the
coffin-lid — " earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust
to dust " — but no emotion was seen on his face.
He came to hear the will read. He heard read,
" I will and bequeath " to this one and to that
one so much, until at last it was read, " I will
and bequeath to my son William," — then he
broke down. He never thought his father cared
for him, and the evidence that his father really
thought of him touched his hard heart — moved
the fountains of feeling within him. So Christ
is precious to His people, because of the evi-
dence of His love, although they are so un-
worthy of it. There is no one who has given
us stronger proof of love than Christ has — no
one who has such claim on our love. There
is no class loved more than mothers, and rightly
so — there are none to whom we owe so much.
How many times have they negl?^cted their own
wants in attending'Jto ours ? How many sleep-

CHRIST PRECIOUS.

133

less nights ! What anxiety ! What solicitude !
How unfaltering the devotion ! Yet Christ has
loved His people with more than a mother's love.
Love led Him to forsake a throne in heaven
— to spend nights in prayer — love wrung the
sweat as it were drops of blood from His body,
till it fell to the ground — love caused Him to
give His life a ransom for us. We neve" can
measure the love of Christ to us. St. Paul
uses in one place what seems like a strong
expression : " If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha."
(Let him be accursed.) Yet when we think of
the claims of the Saviour, we realize that which
justifies the expression. He must be a wretch
indeed who does not love his mother, who has
done so much for him. Yet what shall we say
if he love not Him who has done more ?

Two years ago, I remember reading of an
heroic girl giving her life for her little brother.
He had fallen through the ice. She heard his
cries, or in some way became aware of his
position, and ran to his rescue ; but in attempt-
ing to save him the ice broke, and she was
precipitated into the river. Clinging to the
ice, she told her little brother to climb up over
her and escape. He did so, but she was
drowned. What would you say of that brother
if he grows to manhood and has no affection

.-^

■&ix

^'^

134

SERMONS.

for his sister — could even speak slightingly of
her ? Yet Christ has given his life for us. We
sometimes hear it asked what a moral person,
who is destitute of the religion of Christ, lacks?
" If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ,
let him be accursed." They love Him for what
He has wrought in them. Before they believed
in Him there was guilt — condemnation. Now
there is no condemnation. " Being justified by
faith, they have peace with God." He has given
them truer happiness than they ever knew before
— a well-spring of joy. No matter how dark the
day, there is always a bright spot to the believer.
No matter how dire the calamity, everything
is not swept from the believer. Christ is pre-
cious to them because, by believing, their eyes
are opened to see the loveliness of His character.
To the unbeliever there is no form nor comeli-
ness ; no beauty that they should desire Him.
To the believer He is the fairest among ten
thousand, and the one altogether lovely. Their
characters are assimilated to His. They are pre-
pared to appreciate Him. We love those whose
characters or dispositions are like our own. Have
you never found persons who are enchanted
with the oratory of some one for whom you
feel no especial admiration ? His mode of
thinking, or his feeling, was so different from
your own, that you lacked a bond of sympathy.

CHRIST PRECIOUS.

136

of
We

fson,

jks?

[rist,

3ved

•

He cannot call forth a response from you be-
cause of that dissimilarity. He grows im-
passioned in eloquence, or waxes indignant
in denouncing some great wrong, or pathetic
in describing some great sorrow ; but the only
effect on you is, perhaps, to excite a laugh of
wonder, or, perchance, a smile of contempt.
There are some great writers that others are fond
of whom you do not appreciate. So among your
friends — you love those most who feel as you
do— who can enter into sympathy with you.
The believer has passed through a change by
which he is brought into sympathy with Christ.
He loves purity ; in Christ he sees spotless
purity; in Christ he finds the perfection of
all he loves and longs for. It is the affection
of kindred minds that is strongest. We love
Him because our hopes are centred in Him*
When the gathering darkness of death comes
around, and earthly friends must leave us —
when sight grows dim and hearing has left us,
we expect Him never to leave us — we expect
Him to buoy our heads in Jordan's chilly waves.
II. In what respects is He precious ? His
name is precious. It brings joy and peace. We
love His cause. His cause is ours. We will
do what we can to help it forward. We will be
grieved when any one brings dishonour on it.
We will love His people because they love Him.

136

BEllMONS.

Tou have felt attached to a man because you
found him attached to some friend of yours.
You cannot more surely recommend yourself to
that mother than by telling her of your love
for her son who has passed away. We feel we
have a bond of sympathy with all who love
Jesus. Our union with Christ has brough ' us
into sympathy with them. Our different d< >s
of refinement may separate us — our different
education and viewo ; but still there remains a
very strong bond. " By this shall all men know
that ye are His disciples." We will love His
word — there His character is depicted — there
His will is made known — there His promises
are recorded. We will love fellowship with
Him. Is Jesus precious to you ? What evidence
do you give of it ?

yovL

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I to
ove

we
love
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rent
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His
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IX.

Ilcligion Reasonable.

« Come now, and let ua reason together, saith the Lord ;
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool." — haiah i. 18.

i|®|ERCY is God's delight. Judgment is his
^ strange work. Through the darkest
clouds of wrath that gather over the heads of
men in this world there are gleams of the light
of mercy. In this chapter there are scathing
denunciations and awful rebukes for a people
who had offered great insult to God by their
sins and frequent rebellion. Yet where will
you find a more tender or pathetic invitation
or a more gracious promise than the words of
our text contain ? The word of God scarcely
presents stronger encouragement to the flagrant
sinner. How many a despairing soul has been
cheered, how many a scarlet-dyed sinner has
been led to penitence and prepared for pardon
by these words !

" How amazing the condescension as well as

I ...

138

SERMONS.

the mercy of God !" saith the Lord. These
are the words of the Creator to the creature.
If there is a controversy between two nations,
we expect the weaker to make the first over-
tures of peace. After late victories we would
have been surprised if Russia had been the
first to make overtures of peace, or proposals
for a conference. Yet God, the Creator, pro-
poses to hold conference with his sinning
creature to reason the case with him. God
seems to lay His majesty aside, to overlook the
infinite distance between Himself and His
creature man. He condescends to reason the
case with him. It was condescension for God
to talk with His creature in the days of his
innocency. How much more in the time of
his deepest guilt and darkest rebellion to oflfer
to reason with him ! Again, man is mani-
festly in the wrong when God invites him
to come and reason with Him. If we have a
disagreement with a fellow, and we regard him
as wrong, we are apt to say " he is wrong ; I am
right. It is his place to make the first ad-
vances." But God, the holy, just One, makes
the first advances. How wonderful the con-
descension !

I. Men who are living in sin ought to be
prepared to give a reason. Surely it is beneath
the dignity of a being endowed with intelli-

RELIGION REASONABLE.

139

gence to pursue a course contrary to reason, or
without reason. In matters of worldly busi-
ness men do not do this. Even if, at times,
they do adopt a course that is unreasonable,
it is because thej'^ do not Fee it to be so.
They try to use their intelligence. Go to any
man doing business in the village, and you will
find he is endeavoring at least to be guided by
his intelligence in this matter. You may differ
from him in your views about the way in
which the business ought to be managed, and
may tell him so, and you will find him, if
you approach him courteously and are pre-
pared to discuss the matter intelligently,
quite willing to argue the case with you. He
may be wrong, but he is not ashamed at least
to maintain that he is governed by reason.
He has probably thought it over many times.
He has studied it quietly by himself. He has
discussed it with his associates. He has read
whatever books he could find on the subject.
But with reference to religion, you may find in
the* village, probably, many men who would
not for a moment pretend to be governed by
reason. It is a strange fact, yet I believe an
established fact, many men have laid their
reason aside with reference to spiritual things.
" My people doth not consider," was God's com-
plaint of His ancient people ; and might it not

140

SERMONS.

justly be brought against many now ? Reason,
the hand that should hold the helm of man's bark
across the sea of life, is thrown overboard, and
caprice or feeling now holds the helm. Ask
many men, "Why do you not attend to this
matter ?" and in a majority of cases the reply is,
" I don't feel like it." Feeling was given us
as a stimulus, as a propelling power, not as a
guide. It is well for a man in any right un-
dertaking when he has the stimulus of .feeling
to help him. It is a pity when a man's hands
are engaged in a work in which his heart and
feeling are not engaged — worse still when his
feeling is directly opposed to him. Yet every
successful man has sometimes to push his work
without feeling — sometimes in the face of feel-
ing. He first settles the question, " Ought I to
engage in it ? Will it pay ? Does my business
require it ?" Then he engages in it. If he feels
like it, it is well ; if he does not, it is his mis-
fortune. And his will rises to the task with-
out feeling — perhaps in opposition to feeling,
^^^hy not act in the same way with referencfe to
spiritual things ? Why, but because man in
these matters is astray. How many men are
there who have calmly, quietly studied this
matter, and resolved that reason should lead
them to act according to the best light they
could get. My hearers, sin is an unreasonable

RELIGION REASONABLE.

141

thing. It will not bear the investigation of

reason. It will not even submit to the tests of

common sense. Let a man, before committing

an act of sin, retire and take with him his

Bible, his conscience, his experience, his reason.

Let him use his skill in arguing for sin, and

give their full force to all the arguments — let

then common sense present the case against, and

reason must give in a decision adverse to sin.

It will take a skilful lawyer, indeed, to make

out a case for any sin in the court where reason

is allowed to speak for God and right, and

where conscience is the judge. You cannot

defend any bad action by good reasons. Sin is

folly, is madness as well as crime. Sin is an

offence against human reason as well as against

the divine law. Two weeks ago, in speaking of

the prodigal, we noticed that his repentance is

called, " Came to himself." All along up to that

time, feeling, evil desire had held the rein, and

had been driving on furiously, madly, in pursuit

of liberty, of happiness, of satisfaction. He

intended to start for a country where no galling

yoke was on the people's neck — where all those

fierce desires of his youthful heart would find

full and constant satisfaction. When he gave

the reins to desire, he travelled rapidly. He

soon reached the "far country." But the

rapidity with which he travelled only made it

■..'#

i
I

142

SERMONS.

SO much the worse, for it was exactly in the
wrong direction, and the " far country" was the
very antipodes of the country he intended to
reach. In the experience of the prodigal in
the " far country," we see the result of laying
reason aside, and of taking feeling, or desire, as
the guide in spiritual matters. And similar re-
sults must always follow such a foolish course.
Nor is this to be wondered at. If a man in his
business should lay reason aside, and let his
desires guide him, how soon would financial
ruin be the consequence ! There are many
bankrupt to-day, because they did not hold
their desires in check by reason. Yet the
wildest and most visionary schemes of specula-
tors are not, in their unreasonableness, to be
compared with the course of a man who, while
professing to believe the Bible, yet persistently
lives a life of sin. The business man thinks he
is following a reasonable course^ and if his
judgment is not very sound or clear, perhaps he
is not responsible; but for the man believing
God's word, yet going deliberately on in sin,
there is no such excuse. He cannot even pre-
tend to be guided by reason. I speak now of
those who accept the Bible ; and I say those
living in sin are pursuing an unreasonable course.
They do not think or reason. They dare not.
They shut their eyes to consequences, and plunge

RELIGION REASONABLE.

143

in and risk consequences. Either in worldly
or in spiritual matters, the man who pursues a
course that he is unwilling to submit to reason
is on the road to ruin. You know that it is so
in worldly matters, and it is just as true in
spiritual matters. Yet there is not a reason for
living in sin that will bear the light of day.
Am I not talking to some who are pursuing this
foolish course ? If you wish to realise the truth
of what I say, let me ask you to take a few
hours. Retire from the world. Think the
matter calmly over. Write down all the excuses
and reasons for a life of sin which you can
invent. Then submit them to reason and con-
science, enlightened by God's word. Do not
hoodwink reason, or close your ears to any line
of arguments. Cross out those that are worth-
less. Then see if you are willing to risk your
soul on those that remain. Ask yourself, with
these as my defence am I prepared to pass
through the gates of death and go up to the
throne of God ? I think I can reverently say
that God would listen to a good reason if such
could be found. But, my friends, you could not
find reasons even that would satisfy yourself.
You must feel, the more you think of it, that
every argument is only an excuse — lame and
weak at that. And if our own poor weak
reason and dimmed moral sense is not satisfied,

144

SERMONS.

as surely the infinitely holy God will not be.
Let me urge the claims of religion as reasonable
claims, and object to sin as unreasonable. The
service of sin requires a man to ignore his own
intelligence — to go in opposition to his own
reason. Whatever leads me to lay reason aside,
degrades me. Self-respect should lead one to
abandon a course that is unreasonable. Self-
interest certainly should. An unreasonable
course leads to ruin. O that I could persuade
you to abandon a course which your reason con-
demns, and which experience proves ruinous !

II. The claims of God and of religion are
reasonable claims. God is willing that, as far as
human reason is capable of judging the claims
of religion, the laws by which He governs men
should be submitted to reason. I say, as far as
it is necessary for us to know, and as far as we
are capable of judging. I do not say that there
are not mysteries in the divine government
which the mightiest mind cannot fathom.
There may be perplexities. But that is not to
be wondered at. That the plans of the Infinite
should reach away beyond the narrow region in
which human thought is confined is surely to be
expected. When the human mind has spent
thousands of years exploring the divine govern-
ment, there will still be regions beyond for
eternal investigation. There are some that,

RELIGION REASONABLE.

145

in our present ignorance, we cannot under-
stand, yet which will all be plain in the future.
And probably there is much we will never
know. But I say that that part of the divine
government which it is necessary for us to
understand, and which we are capable of under-
standing, is evidently in agreement with the
highest reason. Many of the brightest minds,
that have spent years in the study of the divine
government, have gladly joined in the chorus of
the skies, " Just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints." But there are and always
have been proud men, who, with an arrogance
that amounts to blasphemy, reject that in the
divine government which they cannot under-
stand. Because it is above human reason, they
are ready to declare that it is contrary to human
reason. There are those who reject or neglect
religion, because there are mysteries connected
with the past or the future which they cannot
understand. There are mysteries connected
with the origin of evil about which men have
troubled themselves. There are difficulties con-
nected with the future about which men have
and still do trouble themselves. What is going
to become of the millions who live and die in
ignorance of the plan of salvation? Infidels
scoff and sneer, and many learned men have
racked their brains to construct theories to ex-
10

'<, '■'

If.

«...

146

SERMONS.

plain these mysteries. They may throw some
light on these subjects, but, after all, there are
mysteries just as dark as ever. But I console
myself with this thought : we do not need to
understand these things. If I can escape from
having the guilt of sin hung as a millstone
around my neck to sink me in perdition for
ever, I need not trouble myself to know how
it originated. If a man is awaked from his
slumbers in a sinking ship, he will be anxious
to secure a life-preserver or to get a place on
the boat that is pushing off from the vessel's
side. He certainly would not stand and say,
" Now, I mean to understand just how this dis-
aster originated before I take a single step to
escape." Yet, this is the course of those who
refuse to attend to religion because there are
mysteries connected with the subject. First
perform the duty which conscience and reason
point out. It may be that from the shore of
safety we will be permitted to review the past,
and investigate more minutely the cause of the
disaster. The claims of God and of religion are
reasonable — are agreeable to our reason as far
as we are capable of judging them. There are
few men but will admit that submission to the
claims of God's law in this life is right — that it
promotes the interests of the individual and of
society. Yet there are those who would excuse

■i

RELIGION REASONABLE.

147

V some
lere are
console
need to
pe from
illstone
ion for
»w how
om his
anxious
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his dis-
step to
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First
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e of the
gion are
a as far
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1 to the
—that it
[ and of
i excuse

themselves because of mysteries in the eternal
future, or the eternal past. Imagine a traveller
inquiring the way to a distant city he wishes to
reach. The way is shown him, and, as far as he
can see distinctly, it agrees in direction and
other respects with the way he should travel.
But he commences to object to the guide : " I
shall not travel this way until you explain cer-
tain things to me. I must know how the road
crosses a certain gorge farther back, and I
must know how it crosses those mountains
which seem to rise to the skies yonder in the
distance." The reply, I think, would be : " As
for the gorge farther back, that does not at
all concern you ; and as for the mountains that
seem to shut up your way in the distance, it will
be time enough for you to understand how the
road crosses that when you get there." There
are men who ought to be travelling the narrow
way toward heaven, but who are troubling them
selves about questions that never have been and
perhaps never will be important for them to
understand. If they do not bestir themselves
and make haste, the darkness of an eternal
night will settle around them. Then it will not
matter to them whether the mysteries are un-
ravelled or not. There is, I think, great danger
on this point in these days. Men have been
thinking about the question of eternal punish-

148

SERMONS.

r.'

ment, and there are those who say it does not
look reasonable. Now, I say this is one of the
questions that is above human judgment. What
the punishment of sin should be, surely we are
not qualified to judge. The only question for
us is, what has God said ? Whether it agrees
with the views of men whose judgments are,
compared with Infinite Wisdom, so weak — whose
views are so narrow — is a small matter. In
those parts of the divine plan which it is
necessary for us to understand, and which we
are capable of understanding, all is in agree-
ment with reason. In those matters which
are beyond our comprehension, it is pre-
sumption and rebellion for us to allow
our weak reasons to rise in opposition to
God. Just think of the absurdity and wicked-
ness of man, who is but of yesterday, as-
suming to judge the decrees of the Almighty !
" Who art thou, vain man, that repliest against
God ? Shall the thing formed say to Him who
formed it. Why didst thou make me thus ? "
These things are not to be brought into the
conference to which God invites His creatures.
We are not to pretend to say what our sentence
shall be if we continue in sin. Imagine a
sovereign calling his rebellious subjects to a
conference to settle what their punishment
shall be ! I can imagine a merciful king calling

es not
of the

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agrees
its are,
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ich we

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agine a
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ishment
y calling

RELIGION REASONABLE.

149

rebellious subjects to a conference, in which he
will unfold to them his merciful designs if
they will submit and return to loyalty, but the
other I cannot imagine.

I would not dare to stand here and attempt
to explain away any doctrine of God's, even
though it should appear to men unreasonable.
God's wisdom and knowledge are infinite.
There are heights to which the human mind
in an eternity cannot soar. There are depths
to which the human mind in an eternity cannot
fathom. There are breadths o'er which in an
eternity the human mind cannot travel. How
presumptuous for man, who appeared but yes-
terday, and will be gone to-morrow, whose
range of thought is so narrow and limited, and
so liable to err even in those narrow limits, to
assume to prejudge the justice of God!

Then some one will say, " You would impose
barriers in the way of investigation ; you would
muzzle inquiry." No, I place no bounds to
human investigation but such as God has. Let
men push their inquiries as long as they have
clear light and firm ground on which to tread.
But when they enter the mists where all is un-
certain, let them not dare to oppose their guesses
and conjectures to the word of the Lord, which
is tried.

But I have been led away by a current of

?,!•

iKi'

,■:

150

SERMONS.

thought which is sweeping through Christendom
to-day. I have said that a course of sin is an
unreasonable course. God uses various methods
to bring men to feel this. God reasons with men
in His word. The reasoning is simple, yet
powerful. With reference to those truths which
it is essential for us to understand, the argument
is so simple that the most untutored can under-
stand it ; yet so powerful, that all ought to be
moved by it. A clear light is shed on the way of
duty, and motives of infinite importance urge us
along that way. God reasons with men by His
providence, and through their experience. The
argument from human experience is, that the
history of individuals and of nations proves
that it is an evil and a bitter thing to sin against
God ; therefore, we are to pass by it. ^^ \j^'
the lines of appeal may be classifle'
peals to our gratitude ; to our b . o. ^tic
to our self-love.

God reasons with us to serve Hii on the
ground of gratitude. An argument of this kind
is addressed to each of us every day. He ap-
peals to you by the glad light of these
beautiful spring days; He appeals to you
by the bounties with which He has spread
your table to-day — ^by all the enjoyments
of life which are His gifts — by the health
which enables you to participate in all these

RELIGION REASONABLE.

161

.tic

enjoyments. But the strongest appeal to your
gratitude is in His word, where He tells you of
His infinite gift and boundless love. How all
these things tell us of His love ! Surely, One
who loves us so has a claim on our love and
our obedience. O, it seems to me the argu-
ment of love, the appeal to your gratitude,
should reach you — should move the most obsti-
nate, and soften the most obdurate. It is said
that years ago, before the abolition of slavery, a
wealthy gentleman from the North was travel-
ling through the slave states. At New Orleans
he happened to be present at an auction of
slaves. He th3re saw a young mulatto woman
awaiting her turn to be sold, weeping. He
inquired the cause, and she replied that "she
had been the slave of a kind master, but he had
died, and now she was to be sold, and she knew
not who her master mighlt be." He inquired the
price, and was told it was $600, or something like
that. He thought, " It is a large sum, but liberty
is of more value to that girl." So he paid the
price. He went and told her ; gave her money
to take the steamer and go North, where she
would be free. Again she burst into tears. He
inquired the cause, and found they were tears
of gratitude. She wished to go North with
him, and serve his wife and children all her
days. The servitude she dreaded under a harsh

r — ^r

152

SERMONS.

tyrant, she was willing voluntarily to take
upon hei jelf under a kind master. If it is a sin
to transgress the laws of One who has a right
to rule over us, it is a greater sin to transgress
His laws when He loves us, and all His laws
promote our interests. Every fresh proof of
God's love is a fresh proof of our sinfulness
if we disobey Him ; every fresh proof of God's
love is a fresh reason why we should turn from
sin.

He appeals to our sense of justice. He is our
Creator, and surely has a right to rule His
creatures. "Hath not the potter power over
his own clay ?" He is our Provider ! From His
storehouse come all our supplies. He has but
to speak, and the streams of blessing would all
dry up. Surely He who feeds us, who supports
us, has a right to govern us.

He also appeals to our self-interest. Every
promise of future reward, every threatening of
future punishrient, is an appeal to our self-love ;
every pang that comes to the sinner from re-
morse of conscience ; every misery that comes
to the licentious from disease of body; every
effort to reform that is overcome by the strength
of evil habit, is a voice reasoning with us, say-
ing to us, " It is an evil." He that sinneth against
God wrongs his own soul ; therefore, turn from
it.

RELIGION REASONABLE.

153

The promises of the Word are an inspiration
of hope, and an argument for repentance.
What a strong reason for repentance and sub-
mission to God there is in the promise of my
text to-night ! As long as a man fears he will
not be forgi/en, though the arguments for
amendment may be strong, he may refuse. He
may say, " It is no use ; I know I am wrong ; but I
have sinned so long, I cannot be forgiven."
There are various refuges of lies which Satan
lias constructed to shield men from the arrow
of conviction — the force of the reasoning God
employs. This is usually the last resort. As long
as a man is living carelessly, Satan whispers,
"Ye shall not surely die. There is no such
great danger. Sin is not such an awful thing, and
God is merciful." But the force of the Divine
reasoning begins to be felt, and the man begins
to realize that sin is an awful thing, and con-
science whispers of the justice of God and of
the awful punishment of sin. Then Satan con-
structs another refuge — another defence : " It is
too late ; you have sinned too long ; you may
just as well sin on and make the most of it."
My text comes to-night and demolishes this last
defence, and leaves you without excuse. It is
unreasonable for you to go on in sin, for it
brings disaster to the soul here and hereafter.
It is unreasonable, because it is a transgression

mrj..

154

SERMONS.

of the laws of a lawful King — unreasonable,
for it arrays you, a weak mortal, against the
Omnipotent Jehovah, because He must, if you
persist in opposiig Him, lift His almighty arm
in punishing you — unreasonable, because you
may escape these awful consequences by turn-
ing.

Scarlet sins ! Surely they are those of the
men who have sinned against the clearest light.
Scarlet is the colour most difficult to remove ;
yet the mercy of God reaches those farthest
off — it stoops to those lowest down. We delight
to speak of the mercy of God, and in the Word
we have wonderful representations of it ; but I
am afraid men sometimes get impressions of a
mercy that would interfere with justice. There
is no conflict betweeti justice and mercy. They
are both attributes of the Divine Being. Any-
thing which lessens our view of the awfulness
of sin and the inflexibility of justice, lessens
our view of the value of pardon. The teacher
who always pardons every offence will have his
authority despised, and his constant clemency
will be despised too. Men talk of the mercy of
God, as though God could at any time, and with-
out any satisfaction, forgive sin if He saw fit.
I do not know that. Justice is an attribute of
God as well as mercy. God cannot do wrong.
Let us beware how we undervalue an offer of

RELIGION REASONABLE.

155

divine mercy. The ofF^r of our text is one that
we believe has cost the blood of the Son of God.
By the infinite cost of this pardon, as well as by
the unreasonableness of sin, I urge you to
accept the offer. If you reject it, you reject
what all the gold of earth cannot purchase. I
urge you to turn now. I speak as unto wise
men. It your judgment is convinced ; if your
interests would lead you to repent ; if your
eternal destiny may hang on the decision of the
hour, " how long halt ye ?"

if >

^pBikSf Winttm nntr Stxitrtictr.

" Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and
read of all men ; forasmuch as ye are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us,
written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living
God ; net in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the
heart."— .2 Cor. iii. 2, 3.

[NE of the strongest arguments for Chris-
tianity is the fruit it bears. " By their
fruits je shall know them," is a text not only
that may be applied to teachers, but to their
teaching. The system of religion that bears
the best fruit must be the best system. Taken
on the large -^cale, no system of religion has
brought forth better fruit than has Christianity.
The missionary of the Cross to-day, in visiting
heathen lands, can point back to Christian lands,
to the beneficial effects of the Gospel manifest
there, and say, " These are our letters of recom-
mendation;" or "These are the credentials of
Christianity as she comes and claims acceptance
of you." The Apostle here refers to the Corin-
thians as evidence of the benefit of his labours.

EPISTLES, WRITTEN AND STUDIED. 157

They, in the great change that had come over
them through his preaching, were his letters of
recommendation. " Ye are our epistle, read and
known of all men." Your transformed lives,
which are seen of all men, are our recommenda-
tion as we pass from place to place. A man
the fruits of whose work has been seen by men
all around, does not need to carry a certificate
of his ability about. His work speaks for
itself. Happy the minister who can see the
fruit of his preaching in the godly lives of his
people — who can see the seed spring up and
bring forth a glorious harvest — who can see
seals to his ministry all around — who can see
God's stamp of approval affixed to his ministry
in the conversion of the ungodly — in the quick-
ening development and maturing of Christian
character of his people — in their honesty in busi-
ness — in their charity, purity, kindliness — in
their deepening interest in all that relates to the
kingdom of Christ in this world ! Happy the
community where these epistles of Christ are
found, and read and known of all men ! Yet Paul
does not speak boastfully, or represent himself
as the sole agent in this work. He is but the ser-
vant. Christ and the Holy Spirit are really the
effective agents. " Ye are manifestly declared
to be the epistle of Chirst ministered by us."
An epistle is a means of conveying the thoughts

158

SERMONS.

fl-f; :

or wishes of the writer to the parties to whom
it is sent. Christian lives are a means used by
God for conveying His designs, His wishes to
the world, and one of the most effective ways.
The best translation of the Scriptures, one has
said, is the translation into men's lives. Thou-
sands will not read the Scriptures written with
ink, but they will read them written on the
heart, written in character. Many will not
come to church to hear a sermon, who cannot
escape that most powerful sermon preaching,
a consistent life. " Ye are my witnesses, saith
the Lord, that I am God."

We would notice here that there are three
agents concerned in writting this epistle. Christ
is the author, the inditer ; Paul is the- instru-
ment in Christ's hand (" ministered by us ") ;
the Holy Spirit makes the epistle legible.
Further, we wish to show you three marks
that ought to characterize an epistle — clearness,
unity or consistency, and strength. We wish
further to speak to you of three places where
the epistles are read — in the business world, in
the social circle, and in the home. I. The
agents. II. The characteristics. III. The places
where it is read.

I. The Author of the epistle is Christ.
Christian life ought to be to the world a
representation of the wishes, the thoughts of

EPISTLES, WRITTEN AND STUDIED. 159

Christ. While our hearts are to receive the
impress of Christ's will, and our lives are, so
to speak, the parchment where men are to read
that will, we are not passive. We become
epfstles only by consent. Our lives are not
formed in a certain mould, and stamped with
certain characters independently of our will.
The word of Christ dwells in us, and is mani-
fest through us ; the ministrations of His servants
are effectual to us, and the impress of the Spirit,
is received by us only so far as we are willing.
As this is so, it is necessary that we should
have correct ideas of the will of Christ, which
is to be made known by us. The will of the
Gospel of Christ is to be transcribed into our
lives. We must study that Gospel — make our-
selves familiar with it. We must have correct
ideas of the scheme of redemption. Then we
must incorporate the truths we have learned
in our lives. A mere intellectual impression
of the truth does ;iot enable us to become
epistles read and known. We must live the
truth we know. For example, Christ, in His
sermon on the Mount, uttered what is called
the beatitudes. " Blessed are the poor in spirit,"
he said. Now, it is possible for us to proclaim
that beautitude over again in our lives. So
of each of the others. By being poor in spirit,
meek, hungering after righteousness or desir-

IGO

SERMONS.

ing spiritual food — by being merciful, pure in
heart — by being peace-makers and not peace-
destroyers, we may exhibit, in a form which all
men may see, the blessedness of these traits.
Our lives will be epistles of Christ to the
world only so far as we get our ideas of life
from Christ. Here is where the epistles of
Christ to the world are distorted and changed,
so as to fail to give a real representation of
His will. Christians to-day are incorporating
a great deal into their lives not found in
the teaching of Christ. If, in transcribing an
author, the transcriber should incorporate and
try to amalgamate with it sentiments from
other authors, it would not be fair to represent
the result as the teaching of the author he pro-
fessed to transcribe. There are few Christians
whose lives are a correct representation to the
world of the will of Christ, because there are
few Christians really who accept the teaching
of Christ on all points. This charge may ap-
pear to you severe and unjustifiable, but look
at it calmly. Take the teaching of Christ with
reference to forgiving injuries. It is, I think,
a fact that many Christians do not even very
seriously try to follow the teaching of Christ.
As a consequence, their lives are an imperfect
representation of the will of Christ in that
respect. Again, take the teaching of Christ

EPISTLES, WEITTEN AND STUDIED. 161

with reference to meekness and humility. Are
there not many, even professed Christiana, who
think a man unmanly so far as he is meek ?
Here again is an imperfect and an untrue repre-
sentation of the mind of Him who is the
Author of the epistle written in the heart.
Again, is it not the teaching of Chi^ist that
he is really the greatest man who does the
most service ? " Whosoever will be great among
you shall be your minister, and whosoever of
you will be the chiefest shall be servant
of all." When men show the road to greatness,
they show a steep and slippery path, where men
ascend largely by pulling their fellows down;
but when Christ shows the road to greatness.
He points to the way that leads down through
the humble vale of service — a road where men
become great by helping others up. Have not
the majority of professing Christians either mis-
understood or failed rightly to represent the
will of Christ in this respect ? Here is a point
where we will do well to be careful that we
represent the teaching of Christ aright. Let
the epistle written in our lives, which men are
reading daily, not misrepresent the Master here.
Again, let me say, that if our lives are to be
faithful epistles from Christ to the world, we
must be impressed with the importance of His
teaching. The teaching of Christ on many
11

162

SERMONS.

points is contrary to the course of this world (as
in the points I have referred to), and because
of that, it will be difficult for us to transcribe it
into our lives or to live it. It is not enough
that we be convinced of the truth of the teach-
ings of Christ — our lives will continue to mis-
represent them, even after we believe them true,
unless we are deeply impressed with their
importance. One business of the minister, who
is one instrument used by Christ, is to impress
the minds of men with the importance of the
truth. It seems to me this is one of the chief
ways in which the epistles of Christ are to be
written by us on your hearts. In these days most
men are theoretically acquainted with the truth.
You do not need so much a man to explain
as to enforce the truth — keep its importance
before your minds. By appeals to conscience,
to your hopes and fears, he is to stir you to
live the Gospel — to take of the things of
Christ and show them to men — to urge by all
lawful motives that men follow the teaching
of Christ — to reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
long-suflFering and doctrine. The preacher is
to be an amanuensis for Christ, in writing the
epistles in men's hearts. But all our efforts,
joined to the efforts of those to whom we
minister, will only produce a blurred misrepre-
sentation if alone. There is another Agent — an

EPISTLES, WRITTEN AND STUDIED. 163

Agent absolutely essential that the epistle may
be legible — "written," says the Apostle, "not
with ink, but with the Spirit of the living
God." The tables of the law were written by
the finger of God on tables of stone; the law
of this dispensation is written by the Spirit
of God on the fleshy tables of the heart. All
efforts of preachers ta impress the truths of
the Gospel, to induce men to live their religion,
will fail — all efforts of men to live as God's
law prescribes are failures, until the Sprit writes
the law on the heart. When the Spirit writes
the law within, the life becomes an epistle of
Christ, "read and known of all men." You
have tried to live so that your life would bear
witness for Christ. But as you have looked
back on the records of the past, you have found
them so blotted by sins, so obscured by in-
consistency, that you have felt ashamed of it.
There are many people who are failing here;
they do not give that prominence to the work
of the Spirit which they ought. Struggling
in their own strength, they find many things
in life that turn them aside. Their testimony
is not clear. Their hearts seem less susceptible
of receiving and making known the law of
God than did the tables of stone of old. Is
there any way by which our characters may be
made to receive the impress of Christ's will ? I

»;■«■

,ul

? V

; |.

164

SERMONS.

answer, Yes. The Spirit of God can do it.
God has promised to do it for His people.
Ezekiel's prophecy was, "I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and give you
a heart of flesh." Jeremiah said, '* I will put
my law in their inward parts, and write it in
their hearts." When a man thus has the law
by the Spirit written within, his whole life
will witness for Jesus — will be an epistle of
Jesus to men. Have you ever seen one who had
submitted fully to the Spirit's impress ? How
the life from that time speaks for Christ, The
very face seems stamped with a message of glad
tidings. The eyes beam with the love of Jesus.
The tongue becomes as the pen of a ready
writer to make known the power of Jesus.
The hands are employed for Jesus — the feet
hurry along the narrow way. The whole life
is an epistle of Jesus to men. The Spirit, in
various ways, makes the writing of Jesus legi-
ble. Sometimes the fiery trial brings out the
graces. I have seen a piece of apparently blank
paper held near the flames, when writing has
appeared, brought out by the heat. So, by the
fire of affliction, has the work of Jesus in
men's hearts been made manifest. Can men see,
in your lives, a testimony for Jesus ? I pass to
notice the three characteristics that should
mark an epistle.

EPISTLES, WRITTEN AND STUDIED. 165

(a) Clearness. An epistle should not be am-
biguous — should not be capable of two mean-
ings. You frequently read sentences capable
of two interpretations. Perhaps you have seen
whole paragraphs of that kind, so indefinite
you scarcely knew what they meant. The
same ought to characterize the epistle written
in your hearts. It should be clear — definite.
Men seeing you from day to day should not
be in uncertainty as to your convictions — not
in uncertanity whether you have any convic-
tions or not. Your life should give no uncertain
sound. If there is need X)f definiteness in the
teaching of the pulpit in these days, there is
also need of clearness in the teaching of the
life. A pulpit not clear in its teaching on the
great fundamental doctrines will not have much
influence on men. So a life that leaves men
uncertain whether the rewards and punishments
of eternity — the promises &.id threatenings of
God's word — the existence of heaven and hell
are believed in by us, is not an epistle for
Christ. It will not be necessary for us to
make a parade of our opinions or a show of
our religion. Where the law has been clearly
written in the heart, it will clearly manifest
itself in the life. My friends, clearness in the
experience gives clearness to the testimony of
the life. A clear experience is the only thing

166

SERMONS.

that will enable a man's life to be a perfectly
clear epistle for Christ. An epistle that is clear
will produce a definite impression — will be more
easily remembered — will be more likely to have
an effect than one tViat is indefinite. Haze and
clouds in one's experience is apt to give indefi-
niteness to one's testimony. If we look back
on our own experience, and ask ourselves what
Christian examples have had the most influence
on us, I think we will find it is that of persons
who walked in the light — whose testimony had
the ring of assurance in it. Scores of Chris-
tians we have met and mingled with have
left no particular impression on us — have given
no particular impulse to us, because their ex-
perience was not clear. Away back in child-
hood's day, we remember the experience of a
teacher in the Sabbath-school, so full of calm, of
assurance, so definite in its testimony of pardon,
of the cleansing power of Jesus' blood. Though
she has long since gone home, it has left a clear,
defined memory with me, and has, I think,
been a stimulus, and furnished a goal of ex-
perience to which I aim. It has been one of
the factors that have entered into my ideal of
a Christian. There was nothing demonstrative,
but quiet, modest, unobtrusive ; yet the clearness
has left a memor}'^ and an influence through a
score of years — will leave a memory and an

EPISTLES, WRITTEN AND STUDIED. 167

influence while life lasts. Would you have
an influence for Christ that will last when you
are gone ? It may be you have no great talent.
You are unsuited in many ways for producing
an impression on society. Yet the Spirit of
God can give you an experience so clear, so
definite, so marked, that you may have an influ-
ence which, others of higher position, of greater
talent, can never wield. What Christian has
not read "The Dairyman's Daughter," written
by a clergyman of the Church of England, of
a Methodist — though he does not mention that ?
It has shed a fragrance that has floated out
through the Christian world. It has, with its
touching simplicity, woven a network of at-
traction that has drawn many a reader to Christ.
She was not eminently fitted by talent to wield
such an influence, but her clear, sweet, definite
experience, apparently, first attracted the atten-
tion of the clergyman, and induced him to
write the experience for the world. In our
social means of grace, the experience that lingers
in memory with us is the one that was clear ;
so in the business of life men bear testimony.
There are ways in which, without intending it,
men get an intimation of your inner life. It is
well when this is clear.

{h) An epistle should be marked by unity,
or consistency. The teaching of one part

rli

Ir^i

168

SERMONS.

must not contradict that of another. This
is important in the epistle written in your
life. The teaching of some men's life seems
clear. Their experience seems definite enough.
They can tell you where and when they
were converted, and how it came about ; but
the life is not consistent with the testimony.
One part does not agree with another. C'm
Sunday the teaching of the 1^* 3eems orthodox
enough, but on the week-day it is of quite a
different kind. The other world first on Sun-
day ; this world first in the week. The moral
law is a Sunday standard; the customs and
maxims of the world are the week-day stan-
dard. " Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do ? "
is the question on Sunday. " Business, pleasure,
what will ye have me to do ? " is the question
during the week. They seem possessed of two
characters, and can assume either to suit the
occasion. Friends, one of the greatest para-
lyzers of Christian influence is inconsistency.
Before our lives can be epistles for Jesus, in
which men will read His mighty power and
mighty love, the testimony of our lips and the
testimony of our lives must be made to harmon-
ize. An inconsistent Christian frequently does
work for the devil and leads souls astray. A
ship's crew found themselves out in their reckon-
ing — astray from the course they desired to

EPISTLES, WRITTEN AND STUDIED. 169

follow. On searching, the cause of the error
was found. The carpenter had driven a nail
near the compass. The nail had influenced
the direction of the needle. That on which
they were depending for guidance became a
snare, and might have led them on the rocks.
So many a professor to whom the world looks,
and has a right to look, for an example, by in-
consistency may become a snare. Let us aim to
make our lives a consistent epistle for Jesus.

(c) And here, my friends, I would observe that
the third characteristic of an epistle is strength.
Clearness and consistency add to the strength.
Yet you have seen men whose lives are con-
sistent, whose testimony is clear, yet who are
feeble. No one doubts their sincerity — no one
denies their consistency — but there is no force.
They do not act earnestly, energetically, in
spiritual things. We want to show men that
we are terribly in earnest. Energy depends
somewhat on natural character. Some men,
when unconverted, are ringleaders in sin — ap-
parently cannot be anything else. So, when
converted, we look for the same force of cha-
racter to show itself ; and if a man has a great
deal of energy in worldly matters, a^ d is a
drone spiritually, it is a suspicious circumstance.
Some men, when unconverted, are very energetic
in anything chey undertake. But religious

II I

170

SERMONS.

energy does not depend altogether on natural
character, but on the amount of grace. Your
natural character cannot be altered, but the
amount of grace can be. If there is a defect
in the construction of a steam-engine which
prevents its effectiveness, you cannot, it may be,
alter that, but you can alter the amount of
steam. So while the natural character may
be almost unalterable, the amount of grace is
not. And th^ grace of God would put energy
into many a sluggish Christian, and unloose
many a stammering tongue, and warm many
a cold heart. It would enable many, who now
consider themselves unabl e, to take up the cross
and speak a word for Jesus. Let the testimony
of your life be clear, and consistent, and strong
for Jesus. If every Christian's life testimony
was of that kind, what an induence there would
be in the Church I We notice, in the last place,
where these epistles are read —

III. They are read in the business world.
There are many business men who never read
the epistles of the Apostles, but they cannot help
but read the epistles written in the heart and
manifested in the life. Their sharp, criticising
eyes are on the professing Christian. Doubt-
less, many times they are prejudiced against
Christians and Christianity. They are disposed
to find fault. Imperfections they magnify into

EPISTLES, WRITTEN AND STUDIED.

171

natural
3. Your
but the
a defect
e which

may be,

lount of

ber may

grace is

t energy

unloose
Qi many
v^ho now
the cross
istimony
i strong
istimony
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Lst place,

world.

s^er read

not help

art and

•iticising

Doubt-

against

disposed

ify into

sins. Ordinary prudence and energy they con-
sider evidence of the same selfishness and
worldliness which govern themselves. V/hile
this is the case, we should be careful to give
them no just cause of complaint. They have
a right to expect honesty, truthfulness, straight-
forwardness in the Christian. A Christian man,
if his life among business men is to bear witness
for Christ, must utterly reject anything like
duplicity or sharp practice, by which so many
in business take advantage of the necessities
or the ignorance of others. The conduct of
the Christian business man should be such, that
all candid men could see he is governed by
right principles. Recreancy to strict integrity
and truthfulness, we have reason to believe, is
too common in the business transactions of the
day. Men plead that they must do as others
do, or fail. Such an excuse should be insufficient
for the Christian. The strongest allurement in
worldly gain is not a sufficient cause for the
slightest infringement of the moral law. It
doubtless requires firmness — it doubtless requires
sacrifice ; and if Christians strictly adhere to
honesty and truthfulness, doubtless sometimes
they will have the mortification of seeing others,
for the time, apuarent gainers by their conscien-
tiousness ; but we must remember, if there
were no temptation to wrong-doing, there would

172

SERMONS.

be no virtue in right-doing. In the cars we
sometimes see little racks containing Bibles. For
the convenience of those disposed to read it is
useful. As a warning and a rebuke to the wicked
it is useful. It would be well if in every shop
and grocery store there could be a Bible kept. It
might help to purify business. But best of all
is the epistle written by the Spirit of God on
the heart, and manifest by the grace of God in
the life. Get your hearts filled with the grace
of God. Carry it with you into the business of
life, and you will be an epistle for Christ. In
spite of their captious criticism, men will feel
that he has something which I have not. He
walks as the voice of conscience within me tells
me I ought to walk. Many a man has un-
consciously, by his integrity, convinced others
of their sinful condition.

Again, these epistles are read in the social
circle. It is difficult to bear consistent witness
for Christ in the business world. It is more
difficult in the social circle. When a disposition
to please and to be pleased p -evails, to dissent
from a friend on principle, to condemn what is
wrong, to frown or uncharitable or unkindly
remarks, requires even greater strength of prin-
ciple than honesty in business. To place your
Christianity first and your gentility second ; to be
willing to offend the feelings or the false taste

EPISTLES, WRITTEN AND STUDIED.

173

I cars we
bles. For
read it is
he wicked
fc^ery shop
! kept. It
Dest of all
if God on
)f God in
the grace
usiness of
hrist. In

will feel

not. He

a me tells

has un-
ed others

bhe social
t witness
b is more
isposition
o dissent
what is
unkindly
L of prin-
lace your
nd ; to be
alse taste

of friends rather than oifend God — in no point,
perhaps, is it more necessary for us to be watch-
ful — in no point, perhaps, are we more apt to
be off our guard. We naturally relax in the
social circle, and many a time the Christian
appears to poorest advantage there. There has
been a great deal of discussion about where
a Christian may go. An easy method of de-
ciding all cases is to go nowhere where you
cannot take your religion with you. We find
Christ accused by the Pharisees of being a
friend to publicans and sinners. They were
displeased to see Him go with them. It may
1)3 the publicans and sinners were just as much
displeased to see Him go with the Pharisees ;
but wherever He went, He was faithful. The
publicans and sinners were led to amendment
by Christ's visiting them, and the proud Phari-
see had his own evil heart unveiled by the
guest that sat at his table. It might be con-
sidered ungenteel, but Christ had a higher
standard for conduct. So now, it does not
matter so much where you go, if you are pre-
pared to act the Christian there. Take your
principles with you, and maintain them un-
impaired by busineso temptations and by social
blandishments. Thus will men .see that you
have been with Jesus. Religion was meant
for ali life's lawful employments and enjoy-

174

SERMONS.

ments. It is a sad thing when it will not stand
the tests that come in these.

The epistle will be read in the home. Strange
as it may appear, I believe this the severest task
of all. The little vexations and worries of life
will entrap a man who has resisted the tempta-
tions of business and society, but fails more or
at less home. It is well when those who know
him best, who have an opportunity for ca'reful
scrutiny, see strong evidence of the working
of the grace of God. It is a sad thing when
a man fails here — when his children, who have
a chance to read his motives pretty thoroughly,
have no confidence in his religion.

Men look to professors as illustrations of the
power of grace. They have a right to do so.
They will see in us either evidence that will
confirm the claims of Christ and Christianity,
or that which will throw discredit on them.
We who have been professed Christians occupy
a responsible position. Let us strive by well-
doing to put to silence those who would make
false charges against us ; that whereas they who
strive to speak against us as evil-doers, may, by
our good works, which they shall behold, glorify
God in the day of visitation.

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XI.

WnkdmxmntBB.

" So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold
not hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."— i2cu. iii. 6.

of the strongest proofs we have of
human depravity is found in the tendency
there is, even in those who have tasted the good
word of God, and the powers of the world to
come, to backslide— to turn again to the weak
and beggarly elements of the world, or at least
to become cold and formal in religion. Even
in the days of the Apostle John, while there
still were some who had seen the Lord, while
there still were eome who had been baptized by
the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, while
miraculous gifts still continued to attest the
divine presence, we see evidence of this ten-
dency. In his epistles, dictated by the Spirit,
to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, he finds
it necessary to administer reproof to several of
them. Error was beginning to creep in. Some
of them had forsaken their first love. But the
state of none of the others seems so sad, so

176

SERMONS.

lamentable, as that of the Church at Laodicea.
In the case of the other Churches commendation
was mingled with reproof, or at least it was
intimated that the reproof did not extend to
all. In the case of the Church at Sardis the
reproof was very sharp, but it was said " Thou
hast a few names even in Sardis which have
not defiled their garments, and they shall walk
with me in white, for they are worthy." But
with reference to the Church at Laodicea there
seems to have been no mitigating circum-
stance. There is no intimation that the picture
drawn is not suited to the whole Church.
They were neither cold nor hot — neither
earnestly religious nor decidedly irreligious.
No particular crimes are mentioned as blacken-
ing the character of the Church, no particular
heresy as tarnishing the purity of her doctrines.
No particular disease afflicted her, but a general
languor and lassitude, a sort of spiritual decline
had come over her. In the description here
given of the Laodicean Church, many a modern
Church may see her own character depicted.
And if the description does not suit a Church as
a whole, there are few modern Churches in
which some of the members may not see a
description of their character here. May we
not all learn something from the description here
given of the Chu vch at Laodicea ? Where is the

LUKEWAUMNESS.

177

earnest zeal, that warm love that should mark
us ? We need frequently to examine ourselves
lest this spiritual decline come over us. As we
have no longer inspired men as of old standing
in our midst to describe our characters, it is all
the more needful for us frequently to examine
ourselves by the Word and Testimony. We
direct your attention this morning to the symp-
toms, the consequences, and the cure of luke-
warmness.

I. Symptoms. One of the most common
symptoms of this spiritual consumptive is indo-
lence and indifference. There is usually remiss-
ness in performance of duty, and a general lack
of interest in things spiritual. "I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot." This
doubtless refers to their whole conduct. There
is a tendency among us to attach too little
importance to the outward life. Religion, it is
true, has its seat in the heart, but it has its
manifestation in the life. "By their fruit ye shall
know them," said our Saviour — a rule which,
while it does not authorize us to pass harsh or
rash judgment on any, does authorize us to take
the outward life in general as an indication of
the state of the heart. But let us particularize.
Attendance at the means of grace has been
regarded as a duty by God's people. "Not
forsaking the assembling of yourselves together,"
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178

SERMOXS.

says the Apostle. Lukewarm Christians are
usually marked by remissness in this duty.
They will attend the house of God when there
is some unusual attraction, but on ordinary
occasions a very small circumstance will furnish
wiem with an excuse for staying away. They
come to the house of God not hungering for
spiritual food, but looking for entertainment ;
and if they are not furnished with that by the
preacher, or some circumstance in connection
with the service, the hour drags tediously
by. What wonder that they are easily detained
from the house of God? They are somewhat
indisposed, or the weather is somewhat un-
favourable; or failing these excuses, they can
read a better sermon at home. Quite true,
perhaps ; but the hearing of a sermon is not the
only object of attendance on the sanctuary. We
meet publicly and unitedly to worship God —
publicly and unitedly to acknowledge our in-
debtedness to Him for past blessings, and our
dependence on Him for future good — especially
to ask for His spiritual blessing. There are pro-
mises specially made to the assemblies of God's
people : " Where two or three are gathered to-
gether in my name, there am I in the midst of
them ;" "All with one accord were in one place."
Where men are hungering and thirsting after
righteousness, small obstacles will not keep them

LUKEWAKMNESS.

179

from the house of God. They will come look-
ing for spiritual food, and will not be dis-
appointed. Times of spiritual prosperity are
always marked by the increased interest of
God's people in the means of grace. The
attractive power of the cross draws men to the
house of God. As a Church becomes lukewarm,
the attractive power of the cross ceases ; other
means are used to take its place. Eloquence
takes the place of unction. Human logic, the
place of the demonstration of the Spirit. Elo-
quence and learning are not to be despised,
but when we trust to them to do the work of
the Spirit we are leaning on a broken reed.
Lack of interest in the prayer meeting and the
class meeting, the more social means of grace,
is another symptom of lukewarmness. These
means have always been highly valued by the
pious in our Church. But the lukewarm have
no conscious communion with God, and, what
is more, no very keen desires for spiritual bless-
ing. What wonder they feel no interest in
the prayer meeting ! As for class meeting, they
have no news of fresh conquests — no glad
experience of a Saviour's love. It is the old,
old story of their conversion away in the
distant past. Their conversion is the one little
oasis in all the desert of their experience, and
that they have long since passed, and now all

''^,

180

SERMONS.

is cold, and dead, and barren. They have no
living faith which enables them with joy to
draw water from the wells of salvation. The
blasting simoom of unbelief has swept over
them, withering every plant of grace, and chok-
ing with its drifting sands every fountain of
joy. Again, lukewarm Christians seldom con-
verse about spiritual things. It is a sad com-
ment on our religion that so little of the
conversation among even professed Christians
relates to the things concerning the kingdom
of heaven. Is it not an evidence that we think
little about these things? — ^for what we think
most about we usually delight to talk about,
at least where we find a congenial spirit. How
many hours of social intercourse pass between
professed Christians without one word about
religion ! Every other topic of importance, and
some of but little importance, is discussed with
interest and animation — religion seems a for-
bidden topic, and he who introduced it would
be considered as displaying a lack of taste at
least. But in the performance of the more
private duties of the Christian life, especially,
will lukewarmness show itself. Private prayer
will be to the lukewarm little else but a form.
They will know nothing of wrestling like Jacob
with the Angel of the Covenant. Their prayers
are few and short, and cold and languid, and

LUKEWARMNESS.

181

consequently unanswered. Nothing, perhaps,
would surprise them so much as to receive an
answer. Lukewarm Christians do not delight
in perusing God's word. Its blessed truths
have grown stale and tame to them. It is the
Christian's chart across the ocean of life, but
they do not study it. Its promises are a store-
house of strength, but they, though weak as
other men, feel no need of strength, as they are
not struggling against sin. The word of God
contains the will of our Heavenly Father, and
of the Christian's inheritance, and of his title to
it. But the lukewarm places little value on
that inheritance. If his title to an earthly
inheritance were in doubt or dispute, he would
be anxious; but about his title to a mansion
in the skies, an inheritance incorruptible, un-
defiled, he is little anxious. He seldom ex-
amines himself to ascertain his spiritual position.
Like the Jew of old depending on his descent
from Abraham, he depends on his connection
with the Church. This is all the title he has
to show — a title that will not be recognized at
the gates of heaven. The lukewarm Christian
feels little interest in the salvation of others.
Professing himself to be walking in the way of
life, he seems utterly careless whether others
walk that way or not. His acquaintances —
brothers, sisters, children — may be out of Christ,

I
I

!*^ i

182

SERMONS.

but it gives him little concern. Perhaps by
his carelessness and inconsistency he is stand-
ing in their way to life — a hindrance rather
than a help. If a fellow-man is in danger from
sickness, he is not slow to express solicitude and
to offer help. If a friend has what he conceives
wrong ideas with reference to politics, he will
spend hours labouring to enlighten him. But
with reference to spiritual matters, he says, by
his conduct, " Let others do as they choose, I have
as much as I can do to attend to myself." But
in addition to these sins of omission, there^ will
usually be sins of commission. The command,
" Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," is
usually one of the first the lukewarm Christian
violates. Sabbath visiting is indulged in. He
sees no need for being so tight-laced. The
Sabbath was intended as a day of rest, and he
makes it a day of rest and of recreation, but he
forgets to keep it holy. He reads the political
newspaper, discusses parties, markets, prices, etc.,
and if nothing more interesting, the gossip or
scandal of the day. His Sabbath is far from
being an emblem of the rest that remains to
the people of God. The lukewarm Christian
has a great dread of being called a Puritan
fanatic. He is easily, and in a sense Paul never
thought of, " all things to all men " — pious with
the pious, a worldling with the worldly. In

LUKEWARMNESS.

183

matters where liis own views do not agree with
the rules of the Church, he does not consider
himself bound in conscience. If he does not
transgress, he will go to the utmost length
in countenancing amusei^ents which are con-
demned by his Church. If he does not dance
himself, he will not hesitate to encourage
others to do so. A very common symptom
of lukewarmness in a Church is unfriendliness
or ill-feeling between Church members. Envy,
jealousy, quarrelling, are ulcerous sores that
show the diseased condition of the spiritual
body. Love to one another is one of the proofs
of discipleship. Where this is wanting, some-
thing must be wrong. These things are noised
abroad in the world, and the Church is scandal-
ized and her power paralyzed. This leads to
another mark of a lukewarm Church — it is not
a soul-saving Church. But all these symptoms,
like the symptoms of bodily disease, point within.
The physician will tell you that the hacking
cough, the hectic flush, or pallid cheek, point to
a weakness within ; the lungs are disordered, or
some of the vital organs are weak. Just so with
these symptoms of spiritual disease. They tell
of weakness within. The love of God is not
shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost,
and love is the very life-blood of religion. The
blood nourishes every part of the body. Any

i ': \

HI
m

184

SERMONS.

disorder in the blood causes weakness through-
out the entire system ; so where love grows cold,
all the manifestations of the spiritual life soon
commence to show it. The joy of the luke-
warm is not joy in the Holy Ghost. They
speak of a hope, but not bright and blooming ;
not a star that lends its cheering light, and
guides along life's pathway, like the star in the
East pointed the way to the city where the
Saviour dwelt, but an ignia fatuus, which
leads to bewilder, and dazzle, and blind. They
speak of faith ; but when closely examined it
proves to be the counterfeit — presumption, and
not the pure gold — faith. But the worst symp-
tom is ignorance of their own state. You know
that hidden dangers are the worst dangers.
There may be rocks and shoals along that
vessel's course, but if the captain knows it the
danger is greatly lessened. Those diseases are
most dangerous which make their way stealthily
to the citadel of life. The young man pursues
his work unsuspicious of the fact that dise&se
is drinking up life's vital forces, and that the
sappers are at work undermining his constitu-
tion, until all at once the terrible truth rushes
upon him that consumption has fixed its unre-
lenting grasp on him. The lukewarm are fre-
quently unwilling to know — like many per-
sons with bodily disease, they are unwilling

LUKEWARMNESS.

185

to know the worst. They do not like to have
the lamp of truth flash its light into the con-
science with a — " Thou art the man !" Take an
illustration. A company of men have crossed
the plains towards the gold fields of the West.
Winter overtakes them ere they reach their
destination. Struggling through the mountain
passes, down deep gorges, up steep ascents,
climbing over rocks, one of their number,
overcome with fatigue and numbed with cold,
lays himself down, as he imagines, to rest. His
companions realize his danger, and try to arouse
him by presenting bright pictures of the golden
treasures for which he left his home. All their
efforts are met by a pettish request to be left
alone. Numbness is commencing to seal up his
senses. The chilled blood flows slowly through
his veins, and Death, with his long icy fingers,
is feeling for his heart-strings. Visions of his
distant home, it may be, come flitting before his
disordered fancy. He imagines himself seated
by his own fireside, and his little prattling
children clustering around his knee, while his
wife prepares the evening meal. Thus, while
the storm is covering him with sheets of purest
white, he falls into a slumber — a slumber so
deep that only the resurrection trump will
arouse him. Is not this a picture of what
frequently takes place in the Church ? Allured

186

SERMONS.

by the bright prospect placed before him in the
Gospel, or alarmed by the threatenings of the
law, the Christian has started toward the New
Jerusalem. For a time he struggles manfully
with the diflSculties of the way. When he has
been tempted to give up, the thought that to
do so was certain death has nerved him with
new vigour, and the sweet promises have in-
spired him with fresh courage. At last, how-
ever, a spirit of lukewarmness commences to
creep over him, and to seal up his spiritual
senses. He runs less eagerly the Christian way.
Conscience is gradually lulled to sleep. The
promises fail to allure, the threatenings to arouse.
If you hint that he is not as earnest as he ought
to be, he is offended. "He feels and knows
that all is well."

II. Consequences of lukewarmness. "I will
spue thee out of my mouth." This implies the loss
of spiritual power. All the ordinary machinery
of the Church may be kept in operation, but
without results. The world encroaches on the
Church, instead of the Church gaining accessions
from the world. If special means are used, they
too fail of the result desired, and that used to
follow ; and all this because of the withdrawal of
the Spirit's influence. You might as well expect
to see the engine rush along the track without
steam, or the cold iron flashing a message with-

LUKEWARMNESS.

187

out electricity, or the cannon sending the ball
without powder, as to see the Church saving the
soul without the Spirit. Of old, when Israel
went forth to war without God, she was con-
quered. So now ; our failures are to be attrib-
uted largely to the fact that God is not with us.
The attempt to account for the success of the
Church by the fact that sinners are Gospel
hardened is, frequently at least, a mistake.
People of the world fail to see that earnestness
in us which they have a right to expect. Are
there not some who make no profession, who,
by their regularity at the means of grace put to
shame some who profess ? Lukewarm Christians
are the greatest inconsistencies in the world, and
men of the world are quick to notice any incon-
sistency, and they stumble over the lukewarm
professor. The greatest obstacle to the progress
of the Church is not the infidelity of Christian
lands or the superstition of heathen lands, but
the lukewarmness of the Church. See the
small band of followers Christ sent out. Yet
how rapidly they spread! So in the days of
Wesley. Is not this to be accounted for in a
great measure by the fact that so large a per-
centage were earnest Christians ? To the indi-
vidual this implies the withdrawal of the witness
of the Spirit — the rejection of the individual
as a child of God. In the destruction that has

188

SERMONS.

come to the Church at Laodicea, we see an
explanation and fulfilment of the prophecy.
It would seem as if the finger of God had
written death and desolation over the whole
scene. Where once was heard the hum of
busy commerce, and the tread of feet, that beat
the murmuring walks like autumn rain, now
the wolf and fox prowl amid the loneliness and
desolation. A faint picture of what is included
to the soul in the words, " I will spue thee out
of my mouth." 0, to have the soul that was
designed for an abode of the Holy Spirit, and
to be beautified by the graces of the Spirit,
become the abode of evil spirits and a dwelling-
place of foul passions ! It implies banishment
from heaven with its glories, sinking to hell
with its sorrows. But the rejection has not
yet taken place with reference to you.

III. The cure of lukewarmneas. "Buy of
me gold." Seek for religion that will bear the
most trying test, even of fire. Do not mistake
the dross for gold — the form for the substance.
Be satisfied with nothing less than the love
of God — living faith in Jesus — a clear evi-
dence of acceptance — a joyful hope of heaven.
" White raiment " — that is, holiness. Our robes
are to be made white in the blood of the Lamb.
Seek earnestly for a fresh application of the
blood that cleanseth. No matter how stained

LUKEWARMNESS.

189

our garments may be, they may be made white.
" Anoint thine eyes with eye salve." One of the
worst symptoms is ignorance of our danger ; one
of the things most necessary for a cure is to have
our eyes open to realize the position. We must
pray for the light of the Spirit — we must be
willing to be aroused. The Spirit's power will
enable the lukewarm to realize their danger
and the importance of spiritual things. Com-
ing as at first, through penitence and faith,
they shall be quickened into new life. Jesus
will come in and sup with them. The enjoy-
ment of religion will again be their portion.
Religion is calculated to be a source of joy
such as nothing else is. The language of luke-
warm experience is always mournful — a dirge
rather than a song of praise. But as their love
is rekindled, God will enable them to sing songs
of joy> even amid affliction and trial. Ever
remember, the disease has its seat within. The
remedy must work within. The wise physician
tries to reach the root of the disease. All
mere checking of symptoms is temporary and
deceptive. So, spiritually, all mere outward re-
formation is temporary and deceptive. The
Great Physician, and He alone, can reach the seat
of the disease, and cleanse the foul heart. The
Holy Spirit alone can rekindle the fire in the

190

SERMONS.

heart that will send warmth and glow to all
the religious life.

When we have our own hearts warmed, an
influence will go out from us ; zeal will take
the place of apathy, and " God, even our own
God, shall bless us. Brethren, when we think of
the value of souls — of our own souls as well as
the souls of others — of the love of Christ — of the
shortness of time, are we not all too lukewarm ?
Let us be zealous and repent. Let us open our
hearts. On the one hand is rejection with loath-
ing, " I will spue thee out of my mouth." On
the other, the friendship and love of Jesus, " I
will come in," and exaltation to him that over-
cometh. In this world the difference may not
appear great ; in the next, it will be measured
by the distance from the throne to the pit — from
fellowship with Jesus to fellowship with the
lost. Be zea ous, therefore, and repent. Ex-
amine yourselves — prove your ownselves. Buy
the gold, the raiment, the eye salve; and see
your home — be clothed with its garments of
righteousness, and be rich in its faith, its hope,
its charity. This do and live.

all

XII.

§iks nt Pome*

" There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in
purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day.
— Luke xvi. 19-31.

ff OST men have felt a desire to have some
more definite information about the future
world. Many of our friends have entered it.
We will soon follow. Yet it is a land from
which no traveller returns. For the most part,
viewing it, or rather looking toward it from the
standpoint of this life, it is " a land of deepest
shade." Here the Saviour for a moment draws
aside the veil, and permits us to look in on its
awful mysteries. The subject is too solemn to
be approached with idle curiosity. As the
world unseen will soon hold us all, it should be
to us a subject of intensest interest. If circum-
stances compelled us to go to some distant part
of the world to spend the remainder of our
days, how anxious we would be to learn some-
thing about that country, especially if the in-
formation we gained was likely to help us pre-

X^tHi

192

SERMONS.

pare for enjoyment, and help us avoid suffer-
ing in that country. Here the two regions of
the world of spirits are unveiled — in one of
which we will spend eternity. The Saviour, we
may rest assured, did not make this revelation
to gratify speculation. There are instructions
given how we may escape the world of misery,
and how we may secure the world of bliss.
May I ask you to follow me in the careful study
of this deeply interesting parable,

" A certain rich man." We do not under-
stand that there was any sin in his being rich.
Abraham, whom in the latter part of the para-
ble we find in heaven, was rich in cattle and in
herds. Job was rich, yet he was a good man. If
this man's riches were obtained honestly, it was
nothing to his discredit ; if obtained by his
careful industry, it may have been to his credit.
Eiches dishonestly gotten are witnesses against
a man. " Behold," says James, " the hire of the
labourers who have reaped down your fields,
which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth ; and
the cries of them which have reaped are entered
into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth." There
are doubtless many to whom it is a sin to be
rich, for the cry of those whom they have de-
frauded rises to heaven against them. Every
day a man holds that which belongs rightfully
to another, he is guilty as the day he took it, if

iSi

DIVES AT HOME.

193

it is in his power to restore. The mere fact of
a man's being rich does not prove anything
against his moral character ; yet the Saviour
seems to have designed this as a special warn-
ing to rich men. Even when honestly gotten,
and, as the world goes, honestly spent, riches are
a source of temptation to man — a temptation
through which many have fallen. Our Saviour
knew human weakness infinitely better than
we, and He asks, " How hardly shall they that
have riches enter the kingdom of heaven ?"
Again, we are told they that will be rich fall
into temptation, and a snare, and into many
foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in
destruction and perdition.

" Clothed in purple and fine linen." Neither
do we understand that this was his sin — pride of
dress. Purple was a colour worn by princes
and persons in high position. Possibly his rank
required it. Christ, you remember, when mocked
as king, was clothed in purple. A beggar's rags
as well as a prince's robes may cover a proud
heart; yet needless display is doubtless a sin.
It is possible for us to think too much of
adorning these poor bodies. Multitudes doubt-
less do. I am not sure but one of the com-
monest sins of the day is this fondness for dis-
play — leading to extravagance, and thence in
many cases to debt and bankruptcy. There is 9,
13

', 1

194

SERMONS.

tendency among all classes to live beyond their
means. In needless luxuries and needless dis-
play men squander the gifts of Providence,
till many a time conveniences and even neces-
saries are wanting ; then frequently they turn
and commence to complain of unfruitful seasons
and hard times. Much depends onia man's rank
and financial position, but not everything. A
man, because he is wealthy, has no right to
squander his wealth in what neither adds to
his comfort nor his appearance, but simply is a
display of wealth. Are there not those who
purchase costly attire, not because it is really
more serviceable or more beautiful, frequently,
but because its costliness is an indication of
wealth ? It is, wherever they go, an advertise-
ment of wealth.

*' Fared sumptuously every day." Some peo-
ple have a banquet occasionally — on some feast
day or birthday — but this man had a feast every
day. The best that the times and the land
afforded were found constantly on his table.
Still, I am not sure that this points out his sin.
I am not sure that he was either a glutton or a
drunkard. Yet, here again is one of the weak
points in human nature, and here, I think, is
another of the sins of the age. To secure
healthful, nutritious food, is a duty ; but is there
not a tendency unduly to exalt creature com-

DIVES AT HOME.

195

forts ? In the newspapers, in the last week, I
noticed the bill f fare of our new Governor
and lady, on a certain occasion, detailed with
great minuteness. I reflect neither on the party
nor on those who provided for them ; but that
such a matter should claim so much space in the
public prints indicates that our generation are
inclined to overvalue them. To be at great ex
pense to please the palate, while no nutriment
is added to the system — or, as with many, to be
at great expense to please the palate with what
poisons the system — is a sin. The glutton and
the drunkard sink the spiritual and exalt the
animal — that which God intended to be lower
in us, they make higher. Those appetites God
intended as servants, they have made masters.
To think of men binding reason and conscience,
and giving the reins to appetite ! What an
insult to our Maker, who has made us in His
own image ! Can we wonder that some of the
most terrible punishments come to such ? Look
at, the victim of deliriurn tremens — perhaps the
best illustration of the misery of the lost our
world affords. In him you see the scathing,
withering rebuke of the Almighty of this sin
of exalting the animal. God has made us a
combination of the physical and the spiritual.
He intends the spiritual should be first. To put
the physical first is to invert His order. To

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196

SERMONS.

invert God's order is to sink, instead of rising —
is to degrade, instead of exalting — is to travel
toward wreck and ruin, instead of toward glory,
honour, immortality, and eternal life. I am not
sure that any of these are intended to point out
this man's sin. If we would feel the force of
the Saviour's teaching, we must see clearly the
character He delineates. If you lay the stress
on any of these points, I think you miss what
was, I believe, intended as the principal feature.
If he was dishonest, proud, or gluttonous, these
were merely sprouts that grew from a root
buried deeply in his character. Even already
we have enough to lead us to suspect his
besetment ; but we leave it for the present, as
it comes out more clearly in a later part of the
parable.

" And there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of
sores." Neither was there any virtue necessarily
in this man's poverty, or affliction, or humble
fare. Many, I fear, are poor, and perhaps afflicted
as Lazarus, who are travelling a road that will
lead from affliction and suffering here to suffering
greater still hereafter. Poverty, which comes
from slothf ulness or waste, is a sin, or the result of
sin. We must not think that poverty and afflic-
tion are in themselves any necessary preparation
for heaven. " Blessed," said Christ, " are the poor

DIVES AT HOME.

197

in spirit." But, alas ! many are poor in purse
who are not poor in spirit. It is difficult to say
whether the temptations of extreme poverty or
extreme riches are greater. While the rich are
tempted to pride, self-indulgence, self-sufficiency,
the poor are tempted to murmur, to repine, to
be envious. The moral character a man develops
amid the temptations of poverty, or those of
riches, are what will settle his doom. Beneath
the beggar's rags, and beneath the purple and
fine linen, there was a heart that would
settle the doom. If the grace of God dwelt
there — if the blood of Christ had been applied
there, the beggar's rags would not disqualify
for heaven ; and if not, a prince's purple would
be no recommendation.

" And desiring to he fed" Ah ! there you
say, perhaps, is the rich man's sin. Some sup-
pose that the expression, " desiring to be fed,'
intimates that he was not fed. I am not sure of
that. It rather seems to be the fact that he is
spoken of as being regularly laid there, which
would not have been the case if he had ob-
tained nothing. Then, afterward we hear the
rich man desiring Lazarus to be sent, intimating,
perhaps, that he thought Lazarus under obliga-
tion. The expression " crumbs " may mislead.
It means what fell from the rich man's table —
the leavings, the fragments. Doubtless Lazarus

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SERMONS.

did not receive all that his necessities required,
or all that the rich man could easily have
given, ^et, probably, there was no unusual
selfishness or want of charity. Quite likely, he
thought himself very liberal in allowing the
beggar to share with his dogs — especially in
allowing one loathsome with sores to lie at
his gate. Probably the rich man did offend
here, but I do think this is the principal point
to be noted in his character. Those who are
prosperous are too apt to forget those unfortu-
nate or less successful. We are apt to attribute
our superior success to our own industry,
superior wisdom in managing our affairs, etc. —
and I would not say a word to encourage the
thought that success comes in any other way —
but who gave us the superior wisdom or energy ?
Who blessed us with health, or screened us from
disasters that have kept many a man as wise
and as energetic as ourselves from success ? A
want of sympathy for and of kindness toward
others is one of the ways in which the rich
man's besetment nearly always shows itself.
If we are troubled in this way, we have need
to fear we, too, are troubled in the same way.

" Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores"
Here, then, are the two pictures drawn in strong
contrast. A beggar clad in rags — filthy with
sores — compelled to beg even for the necessaries

DIVES AT HOME.

199

ired,
have
usual
y, he
the
l.y in
e at
ffend
point
) are
brtu-
ibute
istry,

5tc.

e the
ay—

from

of life — an object probably of disgust almost to
his more fortunate fellow-creatures. As they
pass in and out of the rich man's gate, some,
perhaps, cast scornful looks, and wonder that
the rich man should allow such an object to
disfigure his grounds ; some, of a more sympa-
thising turn, drop a few pence in his feeble,
trembling hand, or speak a kind word. The
dogs, apparently his kindest friends, gather
round and lick his sores. Thus the days, as it
would appear to us, drag by. On the other
hand is one whose coffers are full — clad in
softest, gayest attire — feeding on costliest,
daintiest fare. Friends attentive and numerous
doubtless he has, for the rich have many friends.
Servants wait to do his bidding. All the rough
places in life seem smoothed for him ; all the
harsh experiences are softened. There are
rough rubs and hard hits for others in the
business of life; but the rich man seems to
have the ijight of way everywhere. Others step
aside to let him pass. Thus, attending to his
estate, gathering his revenues, or administering
the duties of his office if a ruler, his days glide
pleasantly along. As you gaze at these two pic-
tures, which do you prefer? Wealth, ease, respec-
tability ; or poverty, suffering, neglect ? Looking
merely at the outside, we wonder not that one
should prefer the brighter picture. To be able

200

SERMONS.

to choose wisely, we must )ook beneath the sur-
face. Already there have been circumstances in
the rich man's case that awaken suspicion.
The outward beauty and attractiveness are like
the rainbow hung on a black cloud-^beautiful
without, dark and stormy within.

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died.'*
We don't read that he was buried, but common
decency would require that. But there would be
very little mourning. It would be a very sim-
ple affair. They

" Rattle his bones over the stones ;
He is only a beggar who nobody owns."

Thus the earthly scene closes. But look now as
our Saviour draws aside the curtain — " Was
carried^* It is all dark on this side — it's all
bright on the other side. He is honoured with
the best society now. He is wealthy now —
happy now. How great the change ! We don't
read that the angels came to carry him. It is
simply said, "was carried." It seems as if
they have been by him all the while. Perhaps
he has not been so neglected as he seemed ; per-
haps he has, like the Master on one occasion,
had food to eat the world knew not of. Angels'
hands, it may be, have broken the bread of life
to his soul. His bodily wounds were, perhaps,
unbound. Angels* hands, it may be, bound up

DIVES AT HOME.

201

spiritual sores really more painful and more
dangerous than bodily. His spiritual diseases
have all been healed. Companionless he ap-
pears, but there has been a Friend by his side.
Our bodilv diseases are sometimes hard to bear,
but it does not matter much if our souls are
healthy. The cravings of hunger are hard to
bear, but it does not matter much if our souls
are fed. It is hard to be friendless in this
world, but it does not matter much if we have
the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

" And the rich man died also" — riches can't
bribe Death — " and was buried." There would
be a pompous funeral — there would be great
lamentation. Hired mourners at Eastern fune-
rals were common, but doubtless there would be
real ones. We have noticed no gross crime is
laid to his charge. He doubtless was respected,
and now many kind things would be said of
him. His generous hospitality, his elegant
furnishings, perchance his courtly manners — all
would be discussed and applauded. Now, let
us again, in solemn reverence, draw nigh as
our Saviour draws aside the curtain. Listen !
" In hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments.'*
How these awful words break amid the anxious
strifes, the gay festivities of this world. Oh !
that they might awaken thoughtfulness. Is
there not something more important about life

;

202

SERMONS.

than we have been in the habit of thinking ?
Amid the hurry of business, or the whirl of
pleasure, men forget that " it is not all of life
to live, nor all of death to die." The voice of
the Saviour to-night sounds solemnly in our
ears; but remember, they are the Saviour's
words, the words of One who knows just what
life means — what death means — what eternity
means for us. It was all bright before — it is all
dark now. Yet, friends, we have reason to
believe his position was not so enviable as it
appeared. The more I study God's word, and
the more I study human experience, the more I
am convinced that the heaven or the hell of
the future are the natural outgrowths of our
experience in this world. As we proceed in the
further study of the case, I think we will see
how his course in this world naturally led to
his fate in the next. We notice the rich man
is in torment. There is in the human mind
natural shrinking from the thought of future
torment. There is a disposition to be sceptical
about it. I simply say these are the words of
the tender, compassionate Saviour — the same
Saviour who uttered the promises and the invi-
tations. He would not have uttered the words
if it was not necessary for us to hear them.
The pain is represented as intense. Whether
there is literal fire or not, it is not important

DIVES AT HOME.

203

for us to discuss. This much the experience
of men in this world makes clear — one of the
acutest pains man can suffer is from a guilty
conscience. Listen to the words of a learned
man, himself a sceptic, with reference to future,
everlasting punishment : " From my own ex-
perience, I know the remorse which comes from
conscious violation of my own integrity — from
treason to myself and my God. It transcends
all bodily pain, all grief at disappointed
schemes, all anguish which comes from sick-
ness — aye, from the death of dear ones prema-
turely taken away." These are the words of
one, I say, who was himself sceptical. When
we have the clear teaching of Christ, and that
teaching is interpreted and enforced by an ex-
perience of our own hearts, we should not
hesitate — it is a truth.

"Father Abraham.'* He was a Jew then.
He had spiritual privileges. Whatever his sin
may have been, it was aggravated by the fact
that he had light. It is possible for children of
godly parentage, of many privileges, to perish.
Abraham does not deny the relationship —
" Son, remember ! " There we have an
eternal scourge of the guilty pointed out —
Memory — of folly, sin, warnings neglected, in-
vitations rejected. Every time a man sins, he
unwittingly ties another lash to memory's

m ^
IP

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204

SERMONS.

scourge. "Son, remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good things, and like-
wise Lazarus evil things." Here, it seems to me,
is the clearest light that shines on this character.
He was a man who just lived for this world.
His riches, his good living, his goodly apparel,
his friendships, his honours — these were his
good things. How to get the greatest enjoy-
ment out of this world was the great ques-
tion. His plans, his ambitions, his thoughts
were all bounded by the narrow horizon of this
world. His affections were all entwined around
things of this world. He had grown fast to
the earth. He is not a representative of what
are usually regarded as flagrant transgressors.
He was a very common type of a man — a re-
presentative of a large class. There is this
peculiarity in the teaching of Christ, its applica-
tion was not local and temporary. It applies to
multitudes the world over, and in all the ages.
My friends, are there not any of us who belong
to this class ? Worldliness is a sin, not accord-
ing to their opinions disgraceful, but according to
the teachings of Christ just as ruinous. To
be successful in business, to move in good
society, to have the best in food and clothing,
to have as much of the pleasures of this Tv'orid
as is possible — are these your good things —
life's great objects to you? Then do you belong

i^mm^

DIVES AT HOME.

to this class. To you the subject has solemn
warning. You are making the mistake of leav-
ing the most important part of your existence
unth ought of, unprovided for. The rich man
maketh good provision for his bodily wants, and
apparently for this life. But the soul has a
hunger also ; for that he had no food. The soul
needed clothing. When the body, fed and
cared for so carefully, died, what then ? When
he passed away from the pleasures and the
treasures of earth, what then ? Why, he found
himself a pauper — his starving soul crying out
for food — his naked, unprotected soul cowering
away from punishment — now, alas ! unavoid-
able. He was in torment — he could not be
otherwise. The suffering of the other world
was the natural fruit of the neglect of this
world. If you neglect the soul, it must at last
suffer. To live just for self, and for the present,
is a fatal mistake.

My friends, the warning comes from one who
is wise and good. To save us from this fate
Christ came to our world. " If they hear not
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded though one rose from the dead." We
have not only Moses and the prophets, but Christ
and the apostles. With Him to warn and in-
struct, if we do not heed, neither would we if
one should rise from the dead. I think I hear

206

SERMONS.

I .

some one ask, " Will we have to think and plan
about things of the world, if we succeed ?" Are
we to go out of the business world, as hermits
did in olden times, and spend our time in mor-
tifying the flesh, in praying and meditating ?
No ; the hermits found thty could not so easily
shake off the world. The trouble is not in the
world, or its business, but in ourselves. A man
may be earnest and successful in business, and
yet not live alone for this world. You cannot
drive out th^ love of the world unless you
supplant it by something else. The human
heart cannot be a vacuum. The only way of
driving out wrong affections is by having them
supplanted by right affections. Let love to God
become the ruling power — then worldly business,
worldly friendships, worldly enjoyments of a holy
kind will not cease to exist ; but they will all
be regulated by that which is designed as the
great regulator of our affections and lives — love
to God. Multitudes are guilty of this folly ;
conscious that eternal duration awaits them —
knowing that at infinite cost it has been made
possible for them to get ready, they remain
unprepared. Oh ! may God arouse you !

XIII.

" Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
-Gal. vi. 7.

^E may perhaps say we have two revelations
of the character and will of God. In the
first place, we have a dim and somewhat indis-
tinct and consequently imperfect revelation in
the works of God, and in the course of His provi-
dence. The stars that shine in the fi. ament,
the trees that grow in the forest, the animals
that roam over the earth, the flowers that deck
the plain — all these show the power, the wis-
dom, and the goodness of God, in creating, in
arranging, in sustaining. St. Paul refers to
this revelation in the works of God. In his
Epistle to the Romans he says (1st chap., 20th
verse), " The invisible things of Him from
the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even
his eternal power and Godhead." But in the
Bible we have a fuller, clearer, and more blessed
revelation.

208 SERMONS.

" Part of thy name divinely stands,
On all thy creatures writ ;
They show the labour of thy hands,
Or impress of thy feet.

" But when we view thy strange design
To save rebellious worms ;
Where vengeance and compassion join
In their divinest forms :

" Here the whole Deity is known,
• Nor dares a creature guess
Which of the glories brightest shone,
The justice, or the grace."

It is a strong proof that the Bible is the book
of God, that it does not contradict that revela-
tion in hii works. So far from contradicting,
they support each other. Truths that are
dimly, indistinctly taught in nature, are fully
revealed in the Bible. Many things that
appear mysterious or even contradictory in
nature, are reconciled in the Bible. On the
other hand, the truths of the Bible are many
times confirmed, or are beautifully illustrated
by the works of God. This is the case with the
truth St. Paul wishes to teach in our text. The
truth he seems to be teaching is, that the
government of God is one of fixed and settled
principles. We are not to expect that our

reward or punishment is to be a matter of

chance — that the wicked will in some cases go

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SOWING AND REAPING.

209

unpunished, and the righteous unrewarded. To
illustrate this truth with regard to God's
spiritual government, he refers to a law of his
natural government — that each particular sort
of grain will, when sown, produce its kind.
" Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap."

Now, the regularity and uniformity of the
laws of the natural world — the regular return,
for instance, of cold and heat, summer and
winter, spring-time and harvest, day and night —
is a matter in which men universally have the
strongest faith. See that man casting his seed
into the soil. Go and ask him why he does it;
and he will tell you it is because he believes
that, under the influence of the summer sun and
of moisture, each handful of grain he scatters
will produce many handfuls — each bushel many
bushels. But you ask how do you know there
is going to be any summer ? He will tell you it
has always been so. The laws of nature in this
respect have never been known to fail. Ask him
then how he knows that the seed will produce its
kind ; may it not produce some noxious weed in-
stead of the useful grain he scatters ? He would
say such was never known to be the case since
the world began. Questions of this kind would
be regarded as foolish. And why? Just be-
cause the laws of nature in this respect have

i-, ^

210

SERMONS.

never been known to fail. Men have the
strongest faith in this, but they do not appear
to have as strong faith in the regulation of the
laws of the spiritual kingdom. You may see
many men sowing to the flesh — ^that is, living a
life of sin — and yet expecting to reap of the
Spirit life everlasting. Now, the Apostle calls
in this strong witness, if I may so speak, from
the natural world, to prove that such conduct
is unreasonable. In the spiritual as in the
natural world, "whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap." The light of nature
should be sufficient to teach men the folly
pf expecting an eternity of happiness after
a life of sin. The laws of the spiritual
kingdom are just as fixed and regular as the
laws of the natural kingdom. It is true God
is a God of mercy, and means have been pro-
vided by which one who has sinned may be
saved. But we must remember how this mercy
is extended to us. God shows His mercy not in
breaking His own laws, but in strict conformity
to them. God's mercy will not lead Him to
break His own laws in order to save any man ;
and a man might just as well think that after
having sown tares in his field, the Almighty
would in His mercy give wheat or some useful
grain, as to suppose that, after living and dying
in sin, God would from His mercy save him. If

SOWING AND REAPING.

211

a man has sown one kind of grain in his field,
and he afterward wishes for another kind of
harvest, the only way for him to obtain that
harvest from that field is to plough up, destroy
that which he has sown, and put in that which
he wishes to reap. Now, just so spiritually.
If a man wishes to reap the fruit of holiness
after he has been sowing the seed of sin, those
plants of iniquity must be destroyed and the
good seed must be cast into his heart ; in other
words, he must be converted. And for this pro-
vision has been made, and in this way God may
be merciful.

But not only in the natural world do we see
illustrations of this — we see them also in our
own characters and conditions in this world.
True, men do not always reap the fruit of their
own doings in this world, but they frequently
do; and in this again we have a faint fore-
shadowing at least of the more perfect working
of this law in another world. Our various con-
ditions of riches or poverty, sickness or health,
respectability or disgrace, frequently arise from
ourselves. Go to that man who is wealthy and
inquire how he got his wealth, and you will
usually find it was by industry, economy, fru-
gality. Go to the man who is suffering from
poverty and want, and you will generally find
it is from either sloth, or waste, or carelessness,

212

SERMONS.

or all combined. Both of these are reaping what
they themselves have sown. The man who enjoys
the respect of the community will generally be
found to have acquired it by his uprightness, by
his honesty, by conducting himself in such a way
as to be worthy of respect ; so, on the other hand,
those who are in disgrace usually have brought
it on themselves by their misconduct. These
again are reaping what they have sown. And
the same may be said of those who are suffering
from sickness or enjoying health.

But we see illustrations of this also in the
habits and characters of men even in this world.
You know that it is a law of our nature that
any act frequently repeated becomes gradually
easy — natural. In this way habits are formed,
and our habits have much to do in forming our
characters, and our characters fix our destiny ;
so that in this we see how we shall reap what
we sow. Our acts lead to the formation of our
characters. Our characters, then, to a great
extent, are the fruit of our own sowing ; and as
our doom flows from our character, our doom is
the reaping of our own sowing. It is said that
Nero, the Eoman emperor, when a boy, took
pleasure in killing flies. The cruel character
thus fostered produced one of the most execrable
of tyrants. We might refer to many examples
to show that our habits are the fruit of our

SOWING AND REAPING

213

own sowing.

Look at the miser, who clutches
his gold even in death. That unnatural love
for money began perhaps years ago, when he
hoarded his pennies as a boy. He encouraged
and fostered it, until at last he is governed by
it : all he thinks of is money. Dearer to him
than the interests of humanity is his gold. He
drives the beggar from his door. Dearer is it
to him than the cause of religion. He gives
nothing, or but little, even for the holiest cause.
Dearer in some instances has this passion
become than wife or children, or even than life
itself, and he has starved or frozen to death
hugging his gold. He is reaping what he
sowed. Look at the man who has the habit
of using that weed called tobacco. He began at
first with a distaste for it ; but through persever-
ance in acquiring such a noble habit he succeeds
— habit conquers. Look at the drunkard. He
began by taking one glass. That was the seed
from which all the terrible harvest he reaps
sprang. He sowed appetite, he reaps appetite,
until at last the appetite becomes his master,
and a cruel master it is. Though he sees
friends going, health going, respectability going,
prosperity going, his soul going, on, on, on he is
driven by this cruel master he himself has made.
Hear that man mingling oaths with almost
every sentence he utters. How did he acquire

ii ii

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214

SERMONS.

such a fearful habit ? He, too, is only another
exemplification of the law, "whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap." Trace
his history back, and you will probably come
to a time when he never swore. Perhaps he
was brought up in a Christian family. Perhaps
in his boyhood he attended a Sunday-school.
But he heard his companions swear, and for the
sake of being like his fellows, or of appearing
what he considers manly, he utters his lirst
oath. He is almost startled — frightened at the
sound of his own voice. His first attempt is
awkward. He is not yet skilled in the language
of profanity. His conscience, too, reproves him.
His first oath was the seed. Now he is pro-
ficient in this language of the pit. He inter-
lards oaths with all his conversation. If he
wishes to impart more than usual force to any-
thing he is saying, he uses an oath. If he
wishes to spice up an indecent story, he uses an
oath. If he wishes to give point to a joke, he
uses the name of the holy God. Do angry
passions swell in his breast against his fellow-
men or against some poor dumb brute, he gives
relief to his rage in profaning the name of that
God who might in a moment call him to an
account. He is already reaping what he has
sown. But there is a more fearful reaping yet
to come. We sometimes meet with melancholy

'^^WRRe. Ik.

SOWING AND REAPING.

215

examples of this in the liar. Some persons
seem so to have addicted themselves to lying
that they scarcely know when they are telling
the truth, and it would almost seem as if to stop
lying they must also stop speaking. Then there
are habits of thought. By encouraging any
particular train of thought it becomes habitual.
But there are good habits as well as bad — habits
of temperance, honesty, and virtue, as well as
habits of intemperance, dishonesty, and vice.
This law of habit is a benefit or an injury accord-
iig as we use or abuse it. Our good habits tend
to lead toward heaven, our bad habits tend to
lead toward hell. There is not one of us who is
not more or less under the influence of habits ;
in other words, there is not one of us who, even
in this world, is not to some extent reaping
what he has sown. Every time we indulge in
them we strengthen them. If they are good,
we are forming a golden chain which will tend
to lift us toward heaven. If they are bad, we
are adding link to link to an iron chain which
is to bind us hand and foot. Thus we go on
through life, forming habits that carry us
further and further from God, or habits that
bring us nearer and nearer to Him. And after
death have we any reason to suppose this law
will cease ? I think not. We are certain, how-
ever, that death will not change our character.

I!''

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216

SERMONS.

We are all throuorh life forming a character,
and we will carry it with us into the other
world. But there are two changes that will
probably be made by death : 1st. The law will
operate more regularly and more swiftly. In
this world are many things that prevent the
perfect working of this law. The wicked do
not descend as rapidly as they would, because
of many restraints that are mercifully thrown
around them. The righteous do not improve
as rapidly as they would, because they ari
subject to the temptations and allurements cf
a sinful world and the devil, and are yet in a
clay tenement, which sometimes clog them in
their progress.

2nd. We notice, that in the other world
there will be no change of character. Here,
a man who is to-day sowing the seed of sin,
may to-morrow be sowing the seed of hali-
ness. But there the law is, " He that is holy,
let him be holy still; he that is filthy, let
him be filthy still." Now, supposing this law
to go on operating, as we believe it will, for ever,
what a future it opens before us ! Suppose one
abandoned to those evil propensities which he
has formed through life, every hindrance with-
drawn, so that these evil passions may have full
scope — ^how solemn the thought ! Even in this
life evil habits bring misery. Those abandoned

SOWlNa AXD RKAPINO.

217

to those passions he has chosen and fostered —
forever sinning and becoming more sinful —
forever hating and becoming more hateful —
evil ever growing, and as it grows heaping
up new misery. Suppose a company of such.
Suppose a man freed from all sin, possess-
ing only those dispositions and desires the
word of Ood enjoins. What would there be to
mar the happiness — the love to God and man,
ever increasing — the joy, ever abounding more
and more — the river of peace that flows through
the happy soul, ever widening and deepening ?
Suppose a company of such. Forever they are
getting new views of God's power, and wisdom,
and love, and this would forever call forth new
delight, and call forth new songs of sweeter and
louder praise to Him that hath loved us and
washed us from our sins in His own blood ;
their harps of gold would ever send forth new
harmonies, their happiness would be forever
augmenting, growing nearer and nearer to God
— forever sowing, forever reaping. Thus there
is endless progression, either upward or down-
ward.

Now, we have heard it asserted that the
happiness of the saved is all to arise just in
this way. Being possessed of all those virtues,
from which happiness springs, and free from
all that could disturb, they must be happy. On

218

SERMONS.

the other hand, the wicked, being given entirely
up to evil, will from that very evil suffer all
their punishment. In other words, virtue is to
be its own reward, and vice its own punish-
ment. Now, it is doubtless true that virtue
brings happiness, and vice misery; yet we
believe that this is not to be all the punishment
on the one hand, nor all the reward on the
other. God, we believe, will render to every
man a reward or punishment which shall, in
the eyes of infinite justice, be proportioned to
the merit or demerit of his acts. And this, it
seems to me, appears the more necessary when
we consider that, in addition to the influence
we are having on our own character, we are
also influencing others ; while we are sowing seed
in our own hearts, we are sowing seed in the
hearts of others. Each one of us is exerting an
influence that will tell for good or evil on those
around us. Each one of us is, so to speak, a
centre of influence from which radiate forces that
will elevate or lower our fellows. That influence
is felt most by those with whom we are most in
contact — our relatives, those of our own house-
hold, our neighbours, the community in which
we live. The influence of some great men is
easily traced. What a mighty influence Wesley
exerted ! The religious condition of England —
may I not say of the world ? — was raised by

SOWING AND REAPING.

219

him. He was a centre from which have radiated
beams of light on all the world. On the other
hand, how marked the influence for evil of such
men as Voltaire, Hume, Paine. They scattered
a moral contagion which has not yet ceased to
curse mankind. And each of us, no matter how
feeble, is exerting some influence — influence, too,
that extends much further than we would at
first imagine. You have perhaps on a calm day
stood over a body of water and dropped a little
pebble into its placid bosom. A succession of
wavelets in circles has been started. One has
followed another, continually widening, and as
they widened becoming more and more indis-
tinct, till perhaps they have passed entirely
from view. Yet, philosophers tell us that these
little circles still go on until the last rippling
wavelet breaks on the shore. It is thus with
our influence. Dropped into the sea of life, it
goes on spreading till the last wave of influence
breaks on the shore of eternity. We are start-
ing influences that will live while time con-
tinues. The word flies from our lips ; if it be a
word of sin, it carriers a curse. It may be an
oath which is thus first i,i-aght to a youth who
listens. He learns to swear. In turn he teaches
others, and they others. On the other hand, if
it was a holy word it may awaken serious im-
pressions, give rise to holy desires, and be the

220

SERMONS.

I 1

means of leading a soul to Christ. He in his
turn may lead others. That one word may be
a blessing while time continues. The influ-
ences we are thus exerting for weal or woe can-
not well be recalled. You stand on the side of
a mountain. Before you the ground slopes away
in a steep descent. At your feet lies a loose
fragment of rock. With your foot you set it in
motion. At first it moves slowly ; you scarcely
know whether it will descend the hill or not ;
you might easily arrest it ; but now it is rush-
ing, bounding, crushing down the hillside, carry-
ing, it may be, death and destruction to the
dwellers in the plain below. 'Tis thus with our
influence. We start some scheme. At first we
do not know whether it will succeed. But soon
it begins to take. Now it is rushing along. If
it is an unholy one, it will continue carrying
misery down the steeps of time to the latest
generation. Who started the first gambling
saloon ? Or, as an example of the opposite kind,
think of Wesley starting the Praying Club.
With difficulty the project was carried out,
amid jeer and taunt. From that came the
Methodist Church, and now the influence is
moving more rapidly than ever, bearing away
all opposition. The little rill that on the moun-
tain top might be turned by a mere trifle, grows
and grows till mighty fleets float on its bosom.

SOWING AND KEAPING.

221

It may be thus with your influence. We some-
times hear it said, It is a solemn thing to die.
May we not ask, Is it not a solemn thing to live ?

To the sinner these words are a solemn warn-
ing. You must not think to escape the judg-
ments of God. How many are hardening their
hearts while professing to be trusting in God's
mercy? " Because sentence against an evil work
is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of
the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil."
(Ecc.viii.il.) But "be not deceived; God is
not mocked ; for whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap." You have the strongest
confidence in the laws of nature. Why not
have the same in the laws of the kingdom of
heaven ? Oh ! as you see the seed springing
up and growing — as you see the golden ears
wave in the summer's sun — as you see the
garner harvested, let it be reminding you of
this law of the kingdom — " Whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap."

To the Christian this is a word of encourage-
ment. You have scattered seed many a time,
and it would seem as if it were lost. You have
prayed for some blessing ; yet it does not come.
But God is not slack concerning his promises.
" Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap." How often has the weary toiler to say
with the prophet, " Who hath believed our re-

222

SERMONS.

port ? " Let this strengthen your faith, " What-
soever." He who takes notice of the little grain
that is cast into the soil and causes it to grow,
will not forget the seed you sow ; therefore be
not weary in well-doing.

" Sow in the mom thy seed,
At eve hold not thy hand ;
To doubt and fear give thou no heed,
Broadcast it o'er the land.

" Sow near all waters, sow ;
The highway furrows stock ;
Scatter where thorns and briers grow.
Broadcast it on the rock.

" Thou canst not toil in vain ;
Cold, heat, and wet and dry,
Shall nurture and mature the grain.
For garners in the sky.

" And when the glorious end,
The day of God shall come ;
The angel reapers shall descend,
And heaven sing harvest home."

" Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap."

XIV.

lall he also

Mkat liatk^t San.

" Is it not wheat harvest to-day T — 1 Sam. xii. 17.

.OD speaks to us through nature. Not so
clearly as through His Word, it is true.
He would be a foolish man who would lay
the volume of inspiration aside to learn from
nature — as foolish as he who, needing clear light
for his work, should prefer starlight to sunlight.
Yet in the ever-shifting panorama of nature there
are sights and experiences that suggest and
impress lessons of the Word. In these days
men are discovering that what was learned
through the ear can be more deeply impressed
by being learned through the eye. Hence, in
our Sabbath and day-schools, what is taught
by word through the ear is as much as J)ossible
taught over again through the eye in pictures
on the board, or in the paper, or in objects
presented to the eye. So, it seems to me, God
deals with us. Nature is the board where God
presents to the eyes of man what has already

224

SERMONS.

been taught through the ear. Each season
presents us with a picture. Autumn, with its
yellow leaves, its decaying verdure, its sighing
winds, its sobbing storms, followed by cold
winter with its winding-sheet of snow, tells
us of old age, of decay, and death. Spring,
with its bursting buds, its springing flowers, its
warbling songsters, tells us of a resurrection
from the tomb — when

" Saints now rising from the tomb,
With lustre brighter far shall shine,
Kevive with ever-during bloom,
Safe from diseases and decline."

Summer, with its golden grain and its luscious
fruit, tells us of the reward, the abundance of
our heavenly home. Each season has a voice.
Autumn winds seem to say, " All flesh is grass,
and the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth and the flower thereof
fadeth away, but the word of the Lord en-
dureth forever," And winter storms seem
sounding forth a dirge at the grave of buried
nature, and as we listen we hear them say,
" Thou turnest men to destruction, and sayest,
Return, ye children of men." Spring, with glad
voice, seems to be calling " Mountains and all
hills, fruitful trees and all cedars, beasts and all
cattle, creeping things and flying fowl, kings

WHEAT HARVEST DAY.

225

of the earth and all people, princes and all
judges of the earth, both young men and
maidens, old men and children, let them praise
the name of the Lord." And summer catches
up the strain and sings, " Praise God from
whom all blessings flow." We to-day would
strive to learn the lessons taught by the season.
Harvest should remind us of God's goodness.
Every day, tables spread with plenty remind us
of it. Every draught from the clear stream
tells of it. But as summer pours her wealth of
treasure into our garners, and fills our barns
with the finest of the wheat, then a voice seems
to speak with unusual emphasis, " God is good
unto all, and His tender mercies are over all
His works. He crowneth the year with His
goodness. His paths drop fatness." It reminds
us of God's constant oversight. There is a
tendency in these days to think of God
as far off" — as having set the machinery of
nature in motion, and then left our world to
the government of natural law; but when we
think what a nice adjustment of nature's forces
is necessary to a fruitful harvest, it seems to me
we see evidence that God overrules nature's
forces and adjusts them so as to supply the
wants of His favoured creature, man. If the
winter's frosts had been a little more severe,
or had continued a little later, where would the
15

226

S£RMONS.

^ fc

harvest be ? If the spring rains had not come,
if the summer showers had not been so well
timed, would there have been such an abundant
harvest ? Too much heat would have withered
the young plants. Too much wet would have
been equally injurious. If there had been a
very great extreme in either way, our barns
had been empty, and ere another summer's
sun had goldened the harvest, the children
in many a home would have cried in vain for
food. Has it been the work of blind chance
that things have been so arranged ? Surely the
wonderful balancing of nature's forces is evi-
dence that an intelligent Being superintends
our world, and the abundant blessings that
flow from this adjustment of nature's forces
are evidence of His goodness. Let sceptics
quibble as they will, we, as Christians, see the
hand of our God reached down to us filled with
bread for His children for another year.

Again, in this harvest we see evidence of
God's faithfulness. The promise is, " While the
earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, cold
and heat, and summer and winter, and day and
night shall not cease."

Again, the harvest reminds us of our depen-
dence. During last summer you broke up your
fallows — with harrow and plough you carefully
prepared it. It cost you a great deal of bodily

WHEAT HARVEST DAY.

227

5S IS evi-

toil — a great deal of anxious thought to get
it ready. At length you cast in the seed. You
had the field just right, as you thought. Yet
when you had done your utmost, how dependent
you were ! There was in the early autumn
a time of drought. Long some of the seed
had been sown before a green blade appeared.
How anxiously the farmer looked for the rain !
God was teaching you your dependence on Him.
After a time the rain came, but with winter
months you looked for snowy sheets to cover
the grain. You said, " The harvest will be small
unless we get snow." Again God was repeating
the lesson of your dependence on Him. The
spring months came, and you were anxious for
warm showers to revive the wheat after its long:

struggle

with the frosts. And through the

early weeks of summer, how anxious lest there
should be too much rain, or too much heat, or
not enough. It seems to me that men ought
thoroughly to have learned that lesson — their
utter weakness and dependence. Is your little
child, just learning to walk, too confident of its
own strength ? Let it try to walk alone, and
soon the numerous mishaps will teach it to
be glad for the hand of father or mother. So
when for a time God withdraws His hand,
apparently, we learn our need of help.

God's goodness, as manifest in the abundant

?.("

'4^

228

SERMONS.

harvest, should call forth our gratitude. The
seven years of plenty were not more directly the
gift of God in the land of Egypt, than is this year
of plenty the gift of God to us. Our Govern-
ment usually sets apart a day of thanksgiving for
the province, but our incense of grateful praise to
the Lord of the harvest should go up all the year.
As the farmer draws the golden sheaves to his
bam, as he threshes the grain, he should send
up the incense of gratitude — thanksgiving and
praise — to the Giver of all good. His goodness
calls not only for gratitude, but also for obedient
service. When Joseph, under God, fed the
people during the seven years of famine, they
gave up everything — cattle, farms, and finally
themselves — and became Pharaoh's servants.
God has fed us, not only for seven years, but
during our lives. Surely God has a right to us.
Our bodies have been made of food He has
given. See that ye glorify Him in them. This
harvest reminds you that you are not your own.
See that " you glorify Him in your bodies and
spirits, which are His." Your property is not
your own. You point to your well-filled barns
and say, " Look at the fruits of our toil."
I say, nay, rather look at the fruits of God's
goodness. The Government that protects you in
the possession of your property claims tribute
of you. They say, " But for our protection,

WHEAT HARVEST PAY

220

bands of marauders might have robbed you
of your harvest, and we demand tribute from
you." Has God not a right to tribute — He whose
rain has watered your growing crops — whose
sun causes them to spring up, first the blade,
then the ear, then the full corn in the car ? My
friends, God's kingdom will demand your sup-
port in its missionary efforts. While you render
to C89sar the things that are Caesar's, see that
you render to God the things that are God's.

Again, God's faithfulness, as seen in the
regular returns of the seasons, should teach
us trust. He who never breaks His promises
in nature, never breaks them in grace. His
care for our temporal wants is but an emblem
of His care for our spiritual needs. " No
good thing will He withhold from them that
fear Him." Not one of all the good things He
has promised shall fail. Again, the harvest is
a rebuke to our pride and our selfishness-
When God is so good to us, notwithstanding our
unworthiness, surely we should not shut up our
bowels of compassion from any of the children
of men. We see God sending His rain on the
evil and the good, on the just and on the unjust.

II. These are some of the lessons that ought
to be impressed on us by the natural harvest.
There are several spiritual harvests to which
we wish to direct your attention. Harvest is

1 r

'■

:,!

■1 : I

230

SERMONS.

used figuratively, to denote the season of oppor-
tunity God gives to us to secure salvation.
This is the signification of the passage, " The
harvest is past, the summer is ended." Does
God give us in the circle of the seasons a time
of barrenness — of sterility ? H- first gives us
the summer, with its producti ss. Is there
coming the winter of death ? God first sends
the harvest of opportunity to provide for it.
In this sense, with most of us, is it not harvest
to-day ? We are, most of us, in the enjoyment
of health and vigour. We live in an age of
glorious opportunity. There never was a time
when information on religious subjects was
more generally diffused. Churches where the
word of God is expounded are within easy
reach of all our homes. Bibles are found in
almost every house. Religious influences are
abroad in society. The Spirit's striving is felt
in our hearts. It is ours to use the opportu-
nities. If we feel an interest in spiritual things,
we should foster it till the interest grows to
anxiety, and the anxiety compels us to urge
our plea till God grants us salvation. God, who
is so rich in His goodness in nature, is also rich
in grace. He is not more willing to give
supplies for our bodies to the farmer than He
is to give us sustenance for our souls. It is
harvest to-day, Some of you are just in the

WHEAT HARVEST DAY.

231

midst of it — just at the best time for using
the influences. Some of the youngest are, per-
haps, just entering the field. Some are, it may
be, just about to leave. To all I say, the pro-
vision you have for the coming winter of death
will depend on yourselves. God causes His
Sun of Righteousness to shine and the rain
of spiritual influence to descend, but there will
be no supply for you unless you labour for
the meat that endureth unto everlasting life.

A lesson we have learned from the harvest is,
God's goodness does not make our personal
efforts unnecessary. God's goodness in nature
makes it possible for man to obtain supplies,
but God's goodness does not provide the supplies
independently of man's efforts. In order to
obtain supplies from nature, you must become
a co-worker with God — you must work with
His rain and His sunshine. So in spiritual
matters, you must be a co-worker with Himself.
God's goodness will not save you, except as you
make use of the opportunities which His good-
ness places within your reach. It would be
considered a strange argument if I should go
to the farmer toiling in the harvest-field till the
sweat dropped from his sun-browned face to
the ground, and say, " God is good ; He will
supply your wants. You need not toil so hard."
He would say, " Yes j God is ^ood. His good-

232

SERMONS.

: I !..

ness has blessed me with an aburidant harvest ;
but that does not make effort the less necessary,
but rather the more. I£ God had not been
good, had sent no showers or warmth to my
fields, then there would be no use for toil."
Men seldom are so foolish with reference to
natural things as to argue that because God is
good they need not exert themselves. If a man
should be so foolish, and should fold his arms
through harvest, God's goodness would not
gather the fruit for him. The stooks of corn
would rot in the field, and pinching poverty
next winter would probably correct his reason-
ing. Yet the children of this world are, in
their generation, wiser than the children of
light, or men are wiser about temporal things
than about spiritual. There are thousands
throughout the land to-day doing little or no-
thing about spiritual matters, and if I should
go and ask " Why don't you 'bestir yourselves ?
Why are you not earnestly seeking salvation ? "
they would say, if they expressed the real
thought of the heart, " God is good. He will
not be so strict with us poor creatures, and
salvation is of grace." I come to you to-day
with this lesson from the natural harvest, and
ask you to apply it to the spiritual harvest.
God's goodness was never intended to take the
place of your efforts. God is good — one of the

^mM^ m.

WHEAT HARVEST DAY.

233

most glorious truths we have to proclaim. His
goodness has provided an inexhaustible supply.
It has given you opportunities for securing that
supply. He is so good that He willeth not the
death of him that dieth. But there are some things
you cannot expect God's goodness to do for you.
If you neglect the opportunities of this harvest,
you cannot reasonably expect that God's good-
ness will keep you from hunger and want next
winter. So if men will neglect the harvest
of golden opportunities, they will look in vain
for God's goodness to provide for them in the
eternal future. Men are making strange use
of the goodness of God. They argue that God's
goodness will not allow men to perish. Look
around and see do not men suffer and even
perish when they neglect opportunity.

It is harvest to-day. Be up and doing.
Seize every opportunity. Lay up in store for
yourselves a good foundation against the time
to come. Lay hold on eternal life. Many men
will come through this harvest looking like those
who have passed through a severe sickness — so
worn and weary. The earnestness with which
men improve the time of natural harvest is a
rebuke to their indifference with reference to
the spiritual. May none of us have to take
up the lamentation, "The harvest is past, the
summer is ended, and I am not saved I "

1 1

234

SERMONS.

f i mv

Again, there is another spiritual sense in
which the word " harvest " is used in Scripture,
li is as of the gathering of souls into the
Church on earth. Our Saviour said, " Lift up
your ej'^es and look on the fields, for they are
white already unto harvest," meaning that there
were many souls ready to receive the truth. John
the Baptist first began to break up fallow ground
for Gospel seed. Jesus came and continued the
work, and cast in the seed of truth. On the
day of Pentecost there was a gathering of three
thousand souls to the Church on earth, and
most of them, we trust, were gathered at length
to the Church in heaven. All through those
early days there was an abundant yield to the
seed of truth, in some thirty, in some sixty, and
in some an hundred fold. Since then the sow-
ing has gone on, and many a glorious harvest
has there been. Agencies are employed in
scattering the seed of truth unknown to the
early Church. Tract Societies, Bible Societies,
Missionary Societies are sowing it in many a
wilderness and many a desert of sin. Slowly
the harvest is being gathered — more slowly than
it ought. Not because God does not send the
rain and the sunshine, but because the Church is
not faithful. Oh, what glorious harvests might
be gathered if every Christian was as he should
be ! If it is jiot, it ought to be harvest to-day.

■^WW«^ ^

WHEAT HARVEST DAY.

235

In nature, our sowing and reaping are separated.
" Are there not four months ? " He had just
sowed the seed, and already it was producing
fruit. So we should carry on both processes
every day. We should sow for the future and
reap for the past. Every Sabbath the minister
should go forth bearing precious seed, and expect
at nififht to brina: sheaves with him. Woe to the
Church or the minister that has no harvest of
souls! He certainly would be a poor farmer
who every spring went forth scattering seed,
but never in the harvest garnered any sheaves.
A few such experiments should convince him
that he had missed his calling. Surely in this
Christian land we have a right all the time to
look for harvest. If in heathen lands the min-
ister, for the first time, to-day stood and ex-
plained the plan of salvation to a little company
whose mind hardly yet takes in the glad tidings,
it would not be much matter of surprise or dis-
couragement if he retired without gathering any
fruit. But in this land there are many who to-
day listen to the invitation and its explanation
urged for the thousandth time — many more
who have listened for hundreds of times —
and if we toil on Sabbath after Sabbath without
results, it ought to gi^e rise to serious ques-
tioning. Every Sabbath the preacher should
go to h.is people, the Saibbath-school teacher;'

)!: I

2^0

SERMONS.

to his class, feeling " surely there will be harvest
to-day." Friends, is it not time there should be
harvest here — an ingathering of souls ? For three
years my predecessor faithfully sowed the seed.
For more than a year I myself have endea-
voured to sow. Surely there should be harvest.
In some of your hearts the seed of truth was
cast long years ago. A mother told you of
Jesus and His love. Sabbath-school teachers
have spoken to you. The Spirit has striven
with you. He would fain help you to break up
the fallow ground of your heart. But no ; you
have refused. Your heart, it may be, is the
soil of the wayside — hard, unproductive. We
notice that where the farmer has broken up
the soil and cast in the seed, but there is no
harvest, there is probably a greater crop of
weeds than anywhere else. The ground that
drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it,
and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by
whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from
God ; but that which beareth thorns and briers is
rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to
be burned. But perhaps the fault is partly
with those who ought to be reapers. Many
a sheaf has been lost through the carelessness
of the Church. We have need to pray the
Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers
into the harvest. He that reapeth receiveth

'^MMtiu ifc,

WHEAT HAKVEST DAY.

237

wages and gathereth fruit unto eternal life.
Who is willing to join in this work, and trust
God for the wages ? The fields are all ripening,
and labourers are wanting. As Kuth gleaned
in the fields of Boaz, so do you go forth in the
Lord's great harvest-field. Do not despise the
meanest. Remember, every soul is of great
value, and the reward will be great.

Again, there is the harvest of Death. And
surely in this sense we may ask is it not harvest
to-day ? Yes, every day is harvest with Death.
Every day some become fully ripe for heaven —
they are gathered to the garner above. Every
day some, alas ! become fully ripe for the abodes of
the lost. Soon, perhaps, he will come for some
of us. We cannot tell when. We should al-
ways be ready. Then when the sickle's stroke
falls on us we shall be garnered in heaven.

There is just one more harvest, that of
eternity, with its rewards and punishments. For
that harvest we are sowing. You and I have
cast some seed in the soil to-day that will bear
fruit there. The habits we are forming are
seeds that will bear eternal fruit. The influ-
ences we send forth are seed. It is a pleasant
thing to be popular — to be surrounded by
friends. But if sowing the seeds of sin, it is an
awful thing. The phonograph storing up the
tones of the voice is wonderful; but by some

238

SERMONS.

more wonderful process all our lives are to re-
produce themselves. We will reap what we
sow. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap." The farmer does not reap oats
where he sowed wheat. Some time ago I met a
gentleman from Vancouver Island. He told me
that there are getting to be a great many Scotch
thistles there. A gentleman desirous of having
the emblem of his native land, planted some
in his garden. What a fearful thing to have
all eternity sown with the seed of sin, and to
be compelled eternally to reap ! There is enjoy-
ment in the soul of a child of God, indepen-
dently of its position. Here is the secret of the
songs of praise heard swelling on the midnight
air from the walls of the prison at Philippi.
Here the secret of the tranquillity, calmness, holy
joy, sometimes triumphant, of the martyrs.
Their souls were filled with sweetest music,
amid the curses and jeers of the mob. Theirs
was the joy of being in perfect harmony with
God.

It implies a divine relationship and compa-
nionship. Christ dwells in the believer. God
deigns to commune with him. Truly says the
Apostle, " Our fellowship is with the Father, and
with His Son, Jesus Christ."

XV.

^biuiitioiiai Strmon.

" Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not

good." — Proverbs xix. 2.

^E live in a remarkable age — not more re-
■ markable for anything than for the
increase that is daily being made to the stock of
human knowledge, and the wide diifusion of that
knowledge among the masses. It would seem as
though especially in this age the key of know-
ledge were given to men, and secrets locked up
from the foundation of the world are being
made known. In every direction men are push-
ing their investigations, and every day almost
wonderful discoveries are being made. In dig-
ging down into the bowels of the earth, men
have found that the strata of rocks which gird
our earth round and round are a book of myste-
rious inscriptions, in which are written, as by the
finger of God, characters which, when rightly
interpreted, will give the history of creation; in
other words, geologists profess to be able, from
animal remains and various indications on the

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240

SERMONS.

rocks, to tell something as to the mode of their
formation, the period of their formation, and the
state of the earth at the time. In studying
these footprints on the rocks, men doubtless have
made many mistakes ; yet doubtless they have
also arrived at many correct conclusions. Search-
ing among the waters, they find them teeming
with life — life that dwells in such minute forms
as to escape the unassisted eye. Searching the
starry heavens above us, they have ascertained
the distances, sizes, motions of many, and almost
the very composition of some of those worlds
that are so far removed from earth that they
but twinkle in the vault of night. Equally mar-
vellous with these vast acquisitions of know-
ledge is the general diffusion of that knowledge.
Learning, which was in former ages only within
the reach of the privileged few, is to-day, in
civilized lands, the common heritage of all.
Through the invention and wonderful improve-
ment of the printing-press, books, which are the
storehouses of human knowledge, are seen
crowding the shelves of the peasant's cot as well
as the library of the prince's palace. Ignorance
is no longer an inevitable result of poverty.
The humble sons of toil may almost vie with the
children of royalty in the acquisition of know-
ledge. Many of the schoolboys of our day have
more correct information on many subjects than

EDUCATIONAL SERMON.

241

the wisest philosophers of antiquity ever attained.
It woiildr seem as though the age predicted by
Daniel had come, of which he said, " Many shall
run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
Although there are some things connected with
the learning of the day that look ominous, still
we can rejoice that on the whole this diifusion of
knowledge is a blessing, for our text says "That
the soul be without knowledge, it is not good."

Man is a compound being, consisting of soul
and body — of a spiritual and a physical nature.
By the body he is allied to the earth — he is of
the earth, earthy; by the soul he is allied to
those bright intelligences above, angel and arch-
angel, cherubim and seraphim — yea, to God Him-
self. When God made man, we read that He
made him in His own image. Doubtless that, in
part at least, in which man resembles God, is the
possession of a spiritual, intellectual, immortal
nature. Man thus stands at the head of creation
in this world. As one has said, " On earth there
is nothing great but man, and in man there is
nothing great but mind." This mind, which is
our noblest part, is not only destined to live as
long as God endures, but is also capable of
growth probably during the entire of its exist-
ence. He who has endued us with minds thus
capable of improvement, has also furnished us
with the means of that improvement. He has
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SERMONS.

not only given us a capacity for knowledge, and
a desire for it, but also the means of acquiring
that knowledge, and has thus made it our duty to
acquire knowledge, declaring in His word, " For
the soul to be without knowledge is not good."
Our growth of soul, both as to knowledge and
piety, God has left largely in our own hands.
The mind which God gives a man is like the
untilled soil given the husbandman. It may
become a desert waste, barren, sterile, or bringing
forth only noxious weeds ; or it may be a garden
blooming with beautiful flowers, and yielding
needful food and delicious fruit. Which it will
be rests with ourselves. He, the husbandman,
must prepare the soil, destroy the weeds, and
cast in good seed ; so we must carefully cultivate
the mind God has given us, storing it with that
knowledge which is good for the soul. Knowledge
improves the condition and increases the enjo^'-
ment of man. God, who has given us capacities
for knowledge, has made the filling of those capa-
cities a pleasure. Every fresh acquisition, every
fresh conquest of the mysteries of nature, affords
pleasure. Apart from religion, the pleasure
connected with the acquisition and possession of
knowledge are among the purest and best. They
are most in accordance with our high destiny and
our noble endowments. As we descend in the
scale of intelligence, pleasures become more of

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248

the animal kind. The higher we rise, the more
refined the pleasures we are capable of. The
benefits of knowledge are seen in the improved
condition of the people, wherever the spread
of knowledge becomes general. When we
think of the numerous improvements, the
useful inventions and discoveries that have
resulted from the spread of knowledge, we see
proof of the declaration of our text. Knoiv-
ledge brings poiver. What a vast increase in
the power of man has taken place during the
last century ! Man was intended as the lord
of this lower world, but it is only as he in-
creases in knowledge that he really enters into
possession of his heritage. It has enabled him
to draw lightning from the clouds, and to
make it his newsboy — so swift a messenger that
in communicating with our fellows space is well-
nigh annihilated. Knowledge has enabled him
to utilize the mighty power of steam, and he
harnesses it to his chariot and it whirls' him
across the continents, or he binds it in his ships
and it paddles him across the seas. Who will
compute the increase of power, the increase of
comfort, the elevation of position which man
has received in all civilized lands from the
spread of knowledge ? Knowledge promotes
good government. We «pc evidence of this in
the improved civil condition of the masses in

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SERMONS.

lands where the people are educated. As the
masses rise in intelligence, and are able to judge
for themselves of public measures, no tyrant
can bind them down as of yore. They see that
liberty is their birthright, and they claim it.
Liberty is the offspring of knowledge. With-
out knowledge people are not prepared for
liberty. Liberty in the ignorant means un-
bridled licence, which ends in anarchy. The
tyrants of the past were at once a result and
a necessity of the ignorance of the people.
Knowledge gives wider views and clearer con-
ceptions of the Divine government. We hear
the psalmist saying, " The heavens declare the
glory of God, and the firmament showeth His
handiwork. Day unto dr i .h speech,

and night unto ni^^t p' .ii nowledge."
Even to the ignorant ai, ti igl of the star-
bespangled heavens, or the moon pursuing her
way across the vaulted arch )f night, or the sun
flooding our world with light, cheering it ith
warmth, beautifying it with life, aff'^ a
wonderful display of the Creator's powc and
wisdom, and goodness. But when he \ lows
that most of these stars are worlds larger than
our own — when he learns that the telescope re-
veals many others that are invisible to the naked
eye — when he thinks of all these worlds pursuing
their noiseless way through the trackless depths

EDUCATIONAL SERMON.

245

of space, without conflict or confusion, how
much enlarged are his views of the knowledge
and power of Him who created and arranged,
and who now upholds and superintends this
vast machinery ! The beauties of nature, the
diversities of the landscape, hill and dale, lake
and stream, are calculated to fill, even the un-
tutored mind with admiration at the skill and
power of the Divine Architect ; but when he
enters into a more minute investigation of the
works of God, and finds that even a drop of
water is the abode of life, that every blade of
grass and every leaf of the forest is formed
by a process no philosopher can understand,
no skill can imitate, how much his wonder and
admiration are increased ! To the ordinary ob-
server, the human body is a wonderful piece
of mechanism ; but to one who is acquainted
with its anatomy, with the number, the in-
tricacy, the adaptation of its parts, there is
evidence of a wisdom that is divine. This
knowledge should assist the devout soul in
forming a conception of the Deity; it should
also assist us in offering Him worship. The
psalmist had evidently been studying the works
of God when he wrote some of his beautiful
psalms. Knowledge teaches us to find

" Tongues in leaves, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything."

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SERMONS.

Knowledge of the vastness and the wonders
of creation should make us humble. Says the
psalmist, " When I consider Thy heavens the
work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars
which Thou hast ordained, what is man that
Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man
that Thou visitest him ?" Knowledge of the
Creator's power and goodness should teach us
confidence in Him. This is the use to which our
Saviour directs us to apply it : " Consider the
lilies of the field how they grow, they toil not,
neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you,
that even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so
clothe the grass of the field which to-day is, and
to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not
much more clothe you, O 3 e of little faith ? "

These are some of the benefits of secular
knowledge. We are quite willing to admit that
not the enlightening of the intellect, but the re-
newing of the heart, is man's greatest need. We
are quite willing to admit that the intellect may
be stored with knowledge, while the heart re-
mains impure and unregenerate. The acquisi-
tion of knowledge does not necessarily lead to
change of heart. Learning and piety are two
different things. One may exist without the
other. An idea has prevailed — and perhaps it
still prevails to some extent — that learning and

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247

piety are opposed to each other. That idea, it
may be, has given birth to the saying, "Ignorance
is the mother of devotion ; " but we repudiate
the assertion. Knowledge is the handmaid of
the Christian religion. Other religions may
flourish in the dark — Christianity flourishes in
the light. Other religions cannot bear scrutiny —
Christianity courts investigation. The Christian
religion promotes the increase and spread of
knowledge. As an evidence of this we point to
the fact that in Christian lands, principally, the
great increase of knowledge has taken place.
Heathen lands are to-day in much the position
they were in thousands of years ago, or even in
a worse position. Superstition is an incubus, a
weight, a clog to the wheels of progress.
Christianity is a help — an impulse. While the
great glory of the Christian religion is, and ever
has been, that it brings spiritual light, it also
brings or helps to bring intellectual light ;
while its principal glory must ever be that it
emancipates the soul, it also helps to emancipate
the intellect. The great truths it brings are
calculated to stir the most torpid faculties, and
to awaken the most dormant powers. Christi-
anity has ever proved herself the friend of
learning. If at any time a corrupt Christianity
has imposed barriers in the way of learning,
she has done so contrary to the teacliings of

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SERMONS.

that book which is her professed guide ; for the
Lord declares, " For the soul to be without know-
ledge is not good." " Wisdom is the principal
thing ; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy
getting, get understanding." Any contest be-
tween learning and the Bible is an unnatural
contest — as unnatural as a contest between
parent and child. It is true that knowledge is
an instrument that has been as frequently used
against the truth as for it. Knowledge is a
fountain that may send forth either pure or
impure streams. It is a sword in the hands of
a fiend — it is a wand of peace in the hands of
an angel. The most learned men have some-
times been the worst men, and the greatest foes
of Christianity. As the richest soil can bring
forth the rankest weeds, so the most cultivated
intellect may produce the rankest weeds of sin.
Knowledge unsanctified by the grace of God
may become a curse. There is opposition to
Christianity manifest in a great deal of the
learning of the day. This arises, doubtless,
rather from evil hearts than from learned heads.
In the corrupt state of the heart we find, un-
doubtedly, the great cause of the oppositions of
science of which St. Paul speaks. But the fact
that bad men abuse their knowledge is not an
argument against the value of knowledge, any
further than the abuse of any other blessing is

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249

an argument against the value of that blessing.
Which one of the good creatures of God has
not been abused ? Wealth is a blessing, yet men
have abused it in transgressing the laws of the
Giver of every good and perfect gift. They
have used it in feeding pride, and gluttony, and
passion. Life itself, which is an unspeakable
blessing to the Christian, has been so abused by
many, that, in accordance with the teaching of
God's word, it would have been better for them
not to have been born. So knowledge, which
the word of God declares " it is not good for
the soul to be without," has been a curse to
many. Men have frequently turned it as an
engine against the impregnable ramparts of
truth. But the friends of Christianity need
have no fears as to the efforts of such. The
Bible has endured fierce attack 5 from other foes
in the past. It has come unscathed from the
contest. Its early foes have passed away, and
are almost forgotten. A later race, the Voltaires
and the Paines, are gone, and their modes of
attack are abandoned ; but the Bible survives,
teaching the same doctrines, proclaiming the
same glorious truths, offering life and salvation
to all. We need have no fears from the foes
of the present. Digging down into the bowels
of the earth, they shall not move the Rock of
Ages, the tried stone, the sure foundation which

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God hath laid in Zion. Searching among the
stars, they shall not change the course of the
Star o£ Bethlehem. That star shall move on
till multitudes are led to Him who once was a
babe in Bethlehem's manger. Men may shut
their eyes to the light, but they cannot dim the
glory of the Sun of Righteousness. He shall
shine on till the light that now gilds the moun-
tain peaks shall flood the valleys with millennial
glory. It is not knowledge which is to be
guarded against, but the abuse of knowledge.
Let our schools of learning be schools of piety
as well — let the truths of science be taught in
conjunction with the truths of religion — let the
heart be cultivated at the same time the intellect
is being cultivated, then will knowledge be a
blessing. For Christians to fear the progress of
learning, is to betray distrust in the word that
has come from God.

Partial views of truth is another cause of the
opposition between science and revelation. Truth
can never be opposed to truth. The truths of
science, when fully known, must agree with
the truths of revelation. The book of nature
and the book of revelation come from the
same hand; we need have no fear but their
teachings will ultimately harmonize. When
the mists of error shall be lifted from the fair
face of truth, then will it be seen that all truths

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251

agree. This is, perhaps, more than can be hoped
for in the present world, for now we at best see
through a glass darkly — now we know only in
part, but the time is coming when we shall
know even as we are known. As one has said,
" The grandest truths that science reveals are
but glimpses of a larger truth yet to be re-
vealed." It is these partial glimpses of truth
that sometimes lead to seeming opposition be-
tween religion and science. Ignorance, not
learning, is what Christianity has to fear. An-
other reason for this opposition is, that men
have at times tried to push their investigations
beyond the legitimate bounds of human inves-
tigation. God has placed bounds beyond which
we may not pass. Secret things belong to the
Lord — things that are revealed to us. I am
disposed to think that even theologians have
been guilty, at times, of trying to transgress
these bounds, especially in their discussions
of Divine foreknowledge and human freedom.
Again, another reason is that the Bible has
been taken to teach what it was never designed
to teach — scientific truth. It was given for
instruction in righteousness, not science.

But I have hitherto spoken principally of
secular knowledge. I have dwelt on this at
some length, as I thought proper on the
present occasion. But there is a higher and

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SERMONS.

still more important kind of knowledge —
spiritual knowledge. Perhaps to this princi-
pally the wise man refers in our text. Where
he speaks of wisdom and knowledge, he speaks
of them usually in a spiritual sense. Hence
he tells us, "The fear of the Lord is the be-
ginning of knowledge ;" and again, " The Lord
giveth wisdom, and out of His mouth cometh
understanding." A knowledge of the truths
that relate to salvation is especially necessary
for the soul. Secular knowledge is good for
this world ; spiritual, for the world to come as
well. Of this kind of knowledge the wise
of this world are too often ignorant, " for God
hath hidden these things from the wise and
prudent, and hath revealed them unto babes."
If a knowledge of the works of God, which
shall pass away, is important, how much more
a knowledge of the word of God, which en-
dureth forever ! Many of the truths of science
are of no practical importance to us — have no
very manifest influence on our happiness. Many
persons pass happily through this world and
safely to the next with very little worldly
wisdom. But the truths of God's word will
affect us through the illimitable future. The
Bible contains the chart for the voyage of this
life, and the laws by which we are to be judged
in the life beyond. If a study of the works of

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253

God gives us some conception of His character,
we get a much clearer conception from His
word. From the works of God we may learn
something of His power and wisdom, but in
His word we learn what it most concerns us
to know — his love.

" Part of Thy name divinely stands,
On all Thy creatures writ ;
Tliey show the labour of Thy hands,
Or impress of Thy feet.

" But when we view Thy stranj^e desij^n.
To save rebellious worms ;
Where vengeance and compassion join
In their divinest forms ; —

" Here the whole Deity is known,
Nor dares a creature guess
Which of the glories brightest shone —
The justice or the grace."

It was a contemplation of the plan of salvation
that caused the Apostle to exclaim, " Oh, the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are His
judgments, and His ways past finding out."
Nature with all her wealth of instruction,
science with her wondrous truths, failed to
reveal to us any truth half so precious as
the simple declaration, '* God so loved the

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SERMONS.

world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth on Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." Well may
the poet exclaim :

" Moat wondrous book ! bright candle of the Lord !
Star of eternity ! the only star
By which the bark of man could navigate
The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss
Securely ! — the only star which rose in time,
And on its dark and troubled billows still.
As generations drifting swiftly by
Succeeded generations, threw a ray
Of heaven's own light, and to the hills of God,
The eternal hills, pointed the sinner's eye."

But there is a knowledge, more important still,
that can only be obtained by experience. It is
one thing to have heard of God's love by the
hearing of the ear ; it is another thing to have felt
it shed abroad in the heart. When science tells
me of the millions of worlds that roll through uni-
versal space, I am overwhelmed with the thought
of the power, the vastness, the majesty of Him
who created and who sustains these. When the
Word tells me that this Being gave His Son,
who is equal with the Father, co-eternal, to die
for the world, I am overwhelmed with the view
of infinite love ; but when, by a personal revela-
tion to my heart, that Being is made known as

EDUCATIONAL SERMON.

255

my friend, as loving me, even me — as blotting
out my sins, even mine — when

" I can with confidence draw nigh,
And boldly, Abba, Father, cry,
And know myself His child,"

then my heart is filled with rapturous joy no
tongue can express ; then I know, as never
before, the breadth, and length, and depth, and
height of the love of God, which passeth know-
ledge. This knowledge removes the guilt of past
transgression ; for there is no condemnation to
them that are in Christ Jesus. It brings peace ;
for being justified by faith, we have peace with
God. It removes anxiety for the future ; for He
who withheld not His own Son, but freely gave
Him up for us all, shall with Him freely give us
all things. It removes the fear of death ; for we
know that if the earthly house of this taberna-
cle be dissolved, we have a building of God, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. It gives confidence in view of judg-
ment ; for if God be for us, who can be against
us ? It is God that justifieth, who is He that
condemneth ? It makes known to us our high
dignity and rich inheritance ; for we are chil-
dren of God, and if children then heirs. It
brings strength ; for we are strengthened by
His Spirit's might. He who has this experi-

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SEKMONS.

mental knowledge really knows more of God
than the learned theologian who has it not ; for
the true knowledge of the glory of God is
seen in the face of Jesus Christ. It is not
taught in the schools, but by the Spirit, and
even the dullest may acquire it, for a " wonder-
ful fashion of teaching He hath." This know-
ledge especially is good for the soul ; without
it the soul can neither be happy nor safe.
Have you this knowledge ? If not, I present it
as your privilege. Certainty may take the
place of doubt, until you can adopt the confi-
dent language of the Apostle, " We know that
when the earthly house of this tabernacle is
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
Brethren, grow in grace, and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; then
shall ye know, if ye follow on to know the
Lord.

XVI.

Crial, Jortitek, Jfaitlj*

" The aicliei'.s have sorely grieved him, unci shot at liiiu,
iiiul hated liiiii. But his bow abode in strength, and tlie
arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the
mighty God of Jacob." — Genesis xlix. 23, 24.

."y HESE words are found in the blessing pro-
"^ nounced by Jacob on his favourite son,
Joseph. Jacob's life had been a long and, appar-
ently for the most part, a stormy day. In youth
we find him a fugitive, flying from home, and
from a brother's wrath. In later years, again,
we find him flying from his father-in-law. Then
the death of Rachel, the misconduct of his sons,
the loss of Joseph, the seven years' famine, seem
to make his life one long disaster. But his
evening has burst from behind the clouds.
Joseph is found. Jacob is permitted once more
to look on his son — to find him a prince in the
land of Egypt. He himself is honoured with an
interview with the king, and is assigned the part
of the land of Egypt best suited to liis occupa-
tion as a shepherd. But his long and eventful
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SERMONS.

life is drawing toward a close. For one hundred
and forty-seven years he had wandered up and
down, and now he feels that death, the messenger
that never forgets any of us, has come for him.
He calls his sons to his side, and, in language of
wonderful simplicity and beauty, describes the
character of each, and predicts the future of
their descendants. The language seems to be
inspired poetry, some of the beauty of which
may still be seen, though much, doubtless, has
been lost in the translation. The patriarch pre-
sents the character of each son in a picture — a
picture so life-like that a child can easily dis-
tinguish the traits of each. Judah is a lion's
whelp, denoting the strength, courage, and war-
like qualities of the tribe. Issachar is a strong
ass couching between two burdens, represent-
ing, perhaps, the disposition of the tribe to bear
burdens, or, perhaps, the situation of their terri-
tory, lying between two mountains. Dan is a
serpent, denoting the craft and wisdom of the
tribe — wisdom not joined with the harmlessness
of the dove, but with the treachery of the adder —
"an adder in the path, that biteth the horse
heels, so that his rider shall fall backward."
Joseph's future, or that of his descendants, is
represented by a vine springing up by a well, and,
consequently, abundantly supplied with moisture,
and running over a wall, representing the wide

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TRIAL, FORTITUDE, FAITH.

259

hundred
d up and
lessenger
for him.
guage of
ibes the
iture of
IS to be
I which
less, has
Tch pre-
5ture — a
illy dis-
a lion's
nd war-
a strong
present-
to bear
ir terri-
>an is a
I of the
lessness
adder —
e horse
kward."
ants, is
bU, and,
oisture,
iie wide

domain to be occupied by his descendants.
Two tribes were descended from him, and two
portions in the land were assigned them. Then
he refers to his past history, his trials, by com-
paring him to an archer shot at by other archers.

I. Joseph's trials : " the archers have sorely
grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him."

II. His fortitude under trial : " his bow abode in
strength." III. The source of his fortitude: "the
arms of his hands were made strong by the
hands of the mighty God of Jacob."

I. Joseph's Trials. — He was tried by the
envy and hatred of his brethren. They hated
him because he was his father's favourite, and
because of certain dreams he had related, which
seemed to indicate an ambition to rule over
them ; but probably the chief cause of their
hatred was his uprightness. He had felt it his
duty to make known their misdeeds to his father.
The character of a tale-bearer has nearly always
an odium connected with it. Yet, the dutv of
making known the evil deeds of others, may be as
binding, and the performance of it as commend-
able, as any other, when it is performed from a
right motive. To perform such a duty toward
brothers whom he loved, and to be hated by them
in consequence of it, must have been extremely
trying. If there is any place where we look for
confidence and affection surely it is at home ;
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SERMONS.

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but even Joseph's father seems to have suspected
him of an evil ambition, for he says, " Shall I
and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come
to bow down ourselves to thee, to the earth ? "
So stronf]f did the hatred of his brethren at
length become that they were about to imbrue
their hands in his blood, and were only restrained
by their greed for gain. They embraced an op-
portunity to sell him as a slave. He is carried
down to Egypt. Can you imagine anything
more crushing to the tender feelings of young
Joseph than to be hated with such a cruel hatred ?
To be sold as a slave by his brothers I What
could be more disastrous to either the temporal
or eternal prospects, than to be surrounded by
the most degrading influences, mental and moral,
which always accompany slavery ? Surely,
Joseph's lot appeared a hard one ! If he looked
back on the past, there was only the memory of
unkindness, and cruelty almost diabolical — and
that, too, from brothers. If he looked forward,
continued degradation, accompanied by con-
tinued cruelty, seemed his only prospect. No
sooner did appearances commence somewhat to
brighten, than from his very integrity fresh
trials sprang. Calumny fixed her dark stain
upon his character. He is cast into prison ; be-
comes again the companion of the debased.
Well might Jacob say, " the archers have hated

TRIAL, FORTITUDE, FAITH.

261

ipected
Shall I
d come
arth ? "
iren at
imbrue
trained
an op-
carried
lything

young
latred ?

What
^mporal
ded by
\ moral,
Surely,
looked
nory of
il — and
orward,
y con-
;t. No
vhat to
-f fresh
i stain
in ; be-
ebased.
) hated

him, and shot at him." God's people have often,
apparently, been left as a target for the adver-
sary. They have frequently been compelled to
say, " All thy waves and thy billows are gone
over me." Yet, even this Is done in wisdom and
in goodness ; for in the daytime God has com-
manded his loving kindness, and in the night
his song has been wdth them, and the song has
been sweeter, and the loving kindness has seemed
more tender and compassionate, because of the
severity of the trial through which he has
passed.

The circumstance that must have made his
trials doubly severe was, that they had arisen
from his intregity, or from circumstances over
which he had no control. Had he been less
faithful in reporting his brothers' misdeeds, they
would not have hated him with such a cruel
hatred. As for the dreams, they had come un-
bidden, and had been related in the simplicity of
his heart. As for his father's favouriti.six>, he was
not to be blamed for that. Had he been less
pure he would not have been cast into prison.
It is hard, under any circumstimces, to submit to
trial. It is doubly so when we feel that it arose
from no fault of our own, or from our uprightness.
If there is anything that tries a man's faith in
God, it is to be endeavouring to serve Him, and
yet have that attempt lead to misfortune — we

I r

i'l

!<•

262

SERMONS.

are so apt to think that when we do right, God
should prosper us even in our temporal affairs.
The friends of Job argued that his misfortunes
were proofs of his wickedness ; but the argu-
ment was based on a false assumption. The
righteous are promised no exemption from trial ;
rather, it is intimated that their very ri':;'iiteous-
ness may give rise to crial. " Many," says the
Psalmist, " are the afflictions of the righteous."
Again, we read, " If we receive chastisement,
God dealeth with us as with sons." Trials are
a discipline needful, and wisely ordered. Yet, in
the hour of trial it is difficult for us to look at
it in that way, especially when they arise from
our uprightness. The very foundations of our
faith will then ])e tried. The enemy will taunt-
ingly whisper, " Where is now thy God ? " If
God approves of righteousness, and smiles on all
efforts to serve Him, why am I thus ? Here are
bad men all around, Joseph might say, guilty of
the crimes of which I am falsely accused, yet they
go free, while I am punished. Frequently have
God's people to endure a somewhat similar trial.
A man of integrity fails, while he sees the dis-
honourable around rising. The Psalmist was
troubled by this thought. He saw the wicked
flourish as a green bay tree ; not in trouble as
other men, nor plagued like other men ; there
were no bands in their death. Wo are to be

;ji

TRIAL, FORTITUDE, FAITH.

263

argu-

to be

tried so as by fire, and one of the most fiery of all
trials is to be overwhelmed by calumny and
misfortune when striving to do right — ^to have
our good evil spoken of, to have our fidelity lead
to disaster. We do not attempt to give a reason
for this now, but simply remark, that to expect
a worldly reward for righteousness is a mistake.
The time is coming when men shall return and
discern between the righteous and the wicked
— between him that serveth God and him that
serveth Him not — but that time is not yet.

Another circumstance in the trial was, that it
tended to shake his confidence in men. One of
the greatest shocks a man's moral nature receives
is when he is first compelled to believe that men
are bad and not to be trusted. The tendency is
so strong: to lower ourselves to the moral stand-
ard of those around us. Others do it ; I will have
to if I succeed. In my business with others I am
constantly met by dishonesty. I must meet dis-
honesty by dishonesty, and deception by decep-
tion, or I must go to the wall. Self-interest will
give apparent weight to a very feeble argument,
and overbalance conscience. Thousands are
bolstering themselves up in disho lest practices
in that way. The conviction that tlieir fellows
are bad has too much influence over them.
Looked at merely from a vrorldly standpoint, it
does not always seem that honesty is the best

III:

IIIH

III

264

SERMONS.

policy. There is many a dishonest man who
makes and keeps a great fortune. There is many
an unscrupulous public man who makes and
keeps popularity. Be willing to fail in the
eyes of men, that you may succeed before God.
We must not as Christians base our action on
any maxim of worldly prudence. We must
take higher ground. The man who is deter-
mined to be a Christian must not make succes.^
in life his great object. Fidelity to God and
duty must be paramount, regardless of its in-
fluence on our worldly success. His (Joseph's)
trials tended to shake his faith in God and in
man. He foujid hatred where he had a right to
expect love ; treachery where he had reposed
implicit confidence ; and vileness where he had
the best right to look for purity. His upright-
ness does not appear to meet with smiles from
God. The unprincipled prosper, while he was
overwhelmed with disaster. His brothers enjoy
the comforts of home, while he was a w^a.nderer
and a slave. His false accuser riots in luxury,
while he lanoruishes in a dunojeon. How strong
the temptation to give up all eftbrt for godliness
and to rush into sin ! Yet how frequently have
vice and wickedness hvtm apparently triumphant,
while virtue and honesty are oppressed. How
often has God looked down on scenes like this,
yet no thunderbolt of justice has smitten the

w n

TRIAL, FORTITUDE, FAITH.

265

• i-l.

oppressor, or vindicated the cause of the right-
eous. Strono; faith alone will bear one throuofh
such trials.

But Joseph was not only tried by the severest
misfortune, but also by the greatest prosperity.
By one of those mysterious revolutions which
sometimes take place in human affairs, he is
suddenly raised from the lowest strata of society
to the highest — from a prison to a throne — from
slavery to lordship. This is, perhaps, a greater
trial even than the first. Many a man has proved
equal to the temptations of poverty who could
not withstand those of wealth. Poverty and
lowly position help to keep many of the evils of
the heart in subjection, while wealth gives them
loose rein. The temptation is especially great
to those who rise suddenly. Few men can sud-
denly be raised to the high places of the earth
without being made dizzy with the elevation.
Pride, self-indulgence, and impiety are usually
the result. If one is bent on .saving his soul, it
seems to me the temptations of po\erty are
preferable to those of wealth. Perhaps the
prayer of one of old is better, " Give nie neither
poverty nor riches, but feed me with food con-
venient for me." With all the history of the
past to warn us, is it msc to be as anxious for
worldly prosperity as most people are ? Such

l!lS

266

SERMONS.

were Joseph's trials ; surely they were neither
few nor small.

II. Joseph's Fortitude under Trial. — "His
bow abode in strength." The fidelity of the
sacred penmen in depicting character has often
been remarked. There is no cloaking the faults
of its best men. In fact, remarkable prominence
is sometimes given to them. Yet there is no
stain left on the character of Joseph ; and this,
too, in spite of the severe trials to which he was
exposed. His character stands out as one of the
purest and noblest on record. We must remem-
ber, he did not live in the clear light in which
we live. He was not fortified by all the holy
examples that support us. He lived at a
heathen court in times of corruption. As trees
in the forest seldom feel the fury of the storm,
because of being surrounded by others ; so we
in this nineteenth century seldom feel the
mightiest gales of temptation, because of others
who surround us, from whose example we re-
ceive support and protect 'on. The very isolation
of Joseph's position makes his steadfastness the
more remarkaf)le. Temptation resisted strength-
ens character. Temptation acquiesced in weak-
ens character. The business man who has pissed
safely through many times of financial embar-

ra.-<sment comes out a stronger man-

-stronger

because of the energy developed and the wisdom

TRIAL, FORTITUDE, FAlTH.

267

gained. The tree that on the hilltops has been
most exposed to the gales, has struck its roots
most deeply into the soil, and entwined them
most firmly about the rocks ; so Christians,
who, like Joseph, have been exposed to rude
blasts of temptation, when they have resisted,
are most firmly grounded on the Rock of Ages.
It is said to be the belief of certain savage
warriors that the spirit of every foe they con-
quer enters into themselves ; and thus they
accumulate strength for the day of battle. This
is true spiritually ; every foe conquered pre-
pares us for the next. Physically, the man who
has borne the heaviest burden is the strongest
man. The boy at school who gets all the diffi-
cult passages in the classics translated for him,
and all the difficult problems solved for him,
may pass very well at school, but he is not
developing brain power. Says one of the
popular and observing writers of the day : " It
is the misfortune with many young persons of
to-day that they begin life with too many ad-
vantages. It is not the so-called blessings of
life that make men, but the rugged experiences."
Is not this tr le spiritually ? The Christian who
has no trials because he runs around the cross
never develops to a strong Christian. Does it not
appear strange that the noblest men are found
away back in patriarchal times ? So in modern

>>i i 1 1

I i

SERMONS.

times the strongest men spiritually are those
who have a covenant of great tribulation.
Wesley and Luther and Knox were not only men
suited to the times, but men made by the times.
There are thousands of Christians who are
languishing spiritually for want of a little per-
secution or opposition. Blessed is he that en-
dureth temptation even in this world. The
spiritual weakness of many professed Christians
is at once the cause and the result of their cow-
ardice. As they never throw themselves into
any spiritual contest, they never develop any
spiritual strength.

Again, trials test character. They bring out
the strong points and the weak points. A man
never knows himself till he has been put to the
test. Many a man in the day of trial has dis-
covered a weakness where he little suspected it.
Two vessels are sailing on the deep ; they appear
equally well built, equally well manned. But a
storm arises ; the mad winds lash the ocean into
foam, and the waters rise in mighty waves. The
crew of one prove themselves masters of the
position ; the ship rides proudly over the deep ;
she weathers the gale, and safely reaches the
harbour. The other proves unseaworthy, and is
wrecked. The storm has tested them. Two
firms are doing business in the same street ; they
appear equally reliable. But a financial panic

TRIAL, FORTITUDE, FAITH.

269

ihose

tion.

men

tmes.

are
per-

en-
The

comes. One suspends payment ; it is seen that
all along her fomidations were not sound. The
other survives, and is proved to bv'^ reliable. I
say trial reveals character. The house built on
the sandy foundation of man's own righteous-
ness appears just as strong as that built on the
Rock of Ages, till the rain descends and the
winds blow. Many a man will have to thank
God for ever for the trial that has revealed to
him his weakness. We sometimes speak of the
solemn Day of Judgment ; it will be so. But
we should never forget that it is preceded by an
equally important day — the day of trial. The
decisions of the Day of Judgment are to be in
accordance with the characters revealed in the
day of trial. " Judge yourselves, that ye be not
judged." Every trial we suffer gives us an
opportunity of forestalling the Day of Judg-
ment, of so ascertaining our weakness and our
sins that we may become penitent and be for-
given, and thus saved from the judgment of
condemnation at last. Notice the strong points
in Joseph's character, brought out by his trials :
(a) Fidelity. Notwithstanding his tidelity in
his father's house met with such poor return, he
was just as faithful to his master in Egypt.
Honesty is the best policy. Some are honest
from policy. Not so Joseph. He was honest
from principle. When his uprightness brought

, il

270

SERMONS.

apparently only trouble, he was just as upright.
He would do right from principle, without refer-
ence to earthly reward. His trials brought out
another grace —

(b) A Forgiving Spirit "Be kind one to
another ; " " Forgive us as we forgive." These
were not written in the outward law in the days
of Joseph, but they were written by the finger
of God on the fleshy table of his heart. Where
will you find a fuller exemplification of these
New Testament precepts than in the conduct of
Joseph ? Where, in human act, anything that
so nearly approaches the Saviour when he
prayed, "Father, forgive them ?" Nothing could
be baser than the conduct of his ' brethren.
Now, at length, he has it in his power to make
them feel the weight of his resentment. To
fallen human nature, revenge is sweet. He
might have said, " If I do not take revenge, I
will not return my brotherly love. I will treat
them w^th cool indifference." But no ; his love
seems just as warm as ever. You can scarcely
find a more touchinor scene than the meetintj of
Joseph and his brethren. (Gen. Iv. 1-5, 13, 14.)
How kindly he interests himself in securing an
abode for his brethren ! How different from the
spirit manifest in the world — alas, too often
manifest in the Church to-day ! How men
treasure up the memory of every little injury !

TRIAL, FORTITUDE, FAITH.

271

Years after, they seem to take a malicious
pleasure in stirring up their resentment by a
recital of their wrong. You have met a man
who once occupied high positions of public trust.
He has endeavoured, as he believes, faithfully
to discharge the duties of his trust. But the
tide of popular favour turns. He is hurled
from his eminence, and now he is never tired
talking of the ingratitude of men. His spirit is
soured toward men. Joseph's spirit was neither
rendered haughty by elevation nor soured by
misfortune.

(o) Humility. His superior abilities, courtly
manners, the unpopular employment and lowly
condition of his brethren — these did not make
him forget them. How quickly superior abili-
ties, or greater wealth, or higher position make
us act haughtily toward those with whom we
once were familiar, as if made of finer clay !
Then

(d) His FoAth. What a wonderful exhibition
of the graces required in New Testament times !
As we study his noble character, so pure, so
faithful, our estimation of human nature as
renewed by the grace of God rises. Away in
the dim light of the distant past he lived a life
that is a pattern for us. Like some mountain
peak that pierces the clouds and bathes its brow
in the clear sunlight, unshaken by the dark

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272

SERMONS.

storms and unstained by the diist-laden atmos-
phere of this lower world ; so the character of
Joseph towers before us unstained by surround-
ing impurity, unshaken by direct temptation —
a monument of God's wondrous grace.

III. The uciirce of Joseph's Strength. — Faith
in God. " The arms of his hands were made
strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob."
Here is the secret of his strength. During all
those dark, dark days when fidelity only seemed
to lead to fresh disaster .Joseph was leaning on the
faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God. It re-
quired strong faith to sustain him during those
dark days. It is easy trusting when things go
well with us, when friends flock round us, when
the sun shines brightly on us ; but not so easy
when the fig-tree does not blossom, when friends
forsake us, and "joys are withered all and dead "
— when, as to Paul and the voyagers of old, for
days neither sun nor stars appear, when our
frail bark seems drifting before the storm to-
ward some desolate shore, then it is not so easy.
Joseph had learned to trust the divine faithful-
ness, and resting there his foundation was as
secure as the throne of God. In youth he com-
menced to build aright. The conscientiousness
he displayed there revealed the origin of the
noble character he afterwards developed. Let
me recommend you to the religion of Joseph,

TRIAL, FORTITUDE, FAITH.

273

and the faith of Joseph. We live in a world
where much that happens to ourselves and
others is mysterious. Have faith in God.
" What we know not now we shall know here-
after." Clouds and darkness are round about
Him, yet righteousness and judgment are the
habitation of His throne. Righteousness must
in the end be triumphant, and sin must be over-
thrown. Joseph's trials were a preparation for
his triumphs. So will ours be, if faithful. In
Joseph's elevation we see a representation of
what will take place in all God's children. They
are to reign. The time is coming when every
child of God shall be exalted. The trials of
earth are a fiery furnace where God's people are
being purified. Trust in Christ as a personal
Saviour, and in God's promises, which will
strengthen as nothing else will.

If in His furnace He refines thy heart

To make it pure,
Then only ask for grace to trust his love,

Strength to endure.
And if tierce storms beat round thee, and the heavens

Be overcast,
I know that He will give his weary one

Sweet peace at last.
Strong in faith, tread thou the uneven ways,
And bare thy head unshrinking to the blast,
Because thy Father's arm is round thee cast ;
And if 'thy way seems rough, then only clasp
The hand that leadeth thee with firmer grasp.

274

SERMONS.

Have you faith in Joseph's God? It is this
alone that, like an anchor, will keep your soul
from drifting amid the storms of life. Trials
strengthen, but only those who have faith in
God. The shores of the sea of life are strewn
with wrecks of those who went forth trusting
to their own strength. How many have found
their mistake when too late ! Scarcely a day or
hour but some wail of lament goes up from
some who have rejected the help which the
religion of Christ ofters.

jf-^

3 this
' soul
Frials
th in
rewn
isting
■ound
ay or
from
I the

XVII.

Jfabi;b iCtafaes.

" We all do fade as a leaf" — Isaiah Ixiv. 6.

.OD speaks to us through Nature as well as
through His Word. The clearer revela-
tion is doubtless through the Word. Yet that
Word is illustrated and made clearer still, and
more impressive, by the teachings of Nature.
It is not only important to have ears to hear
what God says to us through the Word, but to
have eyes to see the lessons He stamps for us on
the canvas of Nature as the seasons pass by. It
seems but a very little time ago since we were con-
sidering the lessons of the harvest time. Now
we are almost at the close of autumn, and winter
is just at our doors. To-day we turn your atten-
tion to lessons Nature has been teaching for
weeks past : Human frailty — life's brevity.
" We all do fade as a leaf."

I. The prophet, it may be, uses the expression
in a spiritual sense. The prophet has been con-
fessing the sins of the people. " But we are all
18

I (

• t

276

SERMONS.

as an unclean thing — we all do fade as a leaf,"
i.e., the colour and life of our piety has departed.
Instead of being full of life as it should be, it
was as a withered faded leaf. In this sense we
may apply it to many among us. Arc there not
some who but a little time ago, under affliction^
made good resolutions and solemn promises ? and
already these promises and resolutions have
faded from memory, or ceased to influence the
life. Their iniquities, like the wind, have taken
them away. As the autumn gales have torn the
leaves from the branches and swept them away,
so the ga^'^s of temptation have swept them
away from pious resolve and holy desire. Short
as is the period from green leaves to withered
foliage, the duration of the piety of some is
shorter still. There are some who, a few
months ago, united with the Church ; but to-
day their efforts have ceased. Their goodness
was like the morning cloud and the early dew.
To-day, spiritually, they are faded leaves.
Faded leaves usually are easily shaken from the
branch ; so persons whose piety has lost its life
are usually easily shaken from the Church. Yet
are there not some whose piety is fitly repre-
sented by withered leaves, who yet have not
gone so far as to leave the Church ? Once there
was life and vigour in their piety. To-day it is
a lifeless form. To-day, here and there you

FADED LEAVES.

277

may see a tree covered with faded leaves
that still cling to the branches with won-
derful tenacity. The autumn blasts, and even
in some cases the winter storms fail to shake
them off. So sometimes is it with profoasors.
They cling to the Church after they have
ceased to derive or confer any benefit. They
have lost vital connection with Christ. My
friends, are there any of us whose spiritual
condition is illustrated by faded leaves ? Once
we were conscious we had life. We drew it
from the great spiritual vine, Christ Jesus.
You felt the current of spiritual life coursing
through your being. Prayer was a delight.
What you did for the cause of God you did
gladly, for the life within prompted you to it.
You not only derived benefit from religious
services, but you were a benefit in them. Your
glad experience, your fervent prayers, your con-
sistent life, were a blessing to the Church. Now
prayer is formal. The life is neither earnest
nor consistent. Duty is an irksome task. The
profession is a faded leaf. My friends, in order
that our Church connection may benefit us, we
must maintain connection with Christ. Life
flowing from Him will permeate your being.
The Psalmist describes the righteous as " a tree
planted by the rivers of water .... his leaf
also shall not wither." Seek to be planted by,

278

SERMONS.

to drink of, the river the streams whereof make
glad the city of God ; in other words, live near
to Christ ; by faith, every day draw from Him.
You have noticed that trees which grow along
the banks of perennial streams are screen and
beautiful in the dryest summer. Isaiah pro-
phesies that a man shall be as rivers of water in
a dry place. Those who live near to Christ are
near a perennial stream. Times of spiritual
drought come to the Church, but such Christians
live and thrive, while others are like the faded
leaf. How cheering it is to meet a Christian
who dwells near the river — whose leaf of pro-
fession does not wither ! How discouraging to
meet one who is like the barren fig-tree Christ
cursed — nothing but the leaves of profession,
and those withered ! Sometimes we hear it
said of a professor, " You will find him, after
years of acquaintance, just the same. In every
emergency you may lean on him," How much
benefit such are to the Church ! — eternity alone
will reveal it. By their prayers, sympathies,
consistent lives — by their means, to the extent of
their ability, they help the cause of God — trees
planted by the rivers of water, whose leaf does
not wither. Of others it is sometimes said, " You
may depend on them while things are prosperous,
but when things are dull they will forsake you."
Oh ! how like a broken reed such prove. Like a

FADED LEAVES.

279

» near
Him.
along
and

thorn in the foot — ^hindrances rather than helps.
My friends, if you would be as trees whose leaf
does not wither, you must dwell by the streams
that flow from the Rock of Ages. If you sup-
port your religious profession on feeling, or on
the state of the Church, you will be like the
faded leaf sometimes. We sometimes hear of
persons being kept alive on stimulants. So
there are some who are kept alive on spiritual
stimulants. If such a thing as constant spiritual
excitement was possible, there might be hope
for them ; but as it is, they soon fade. I have
no objection to excitement when it leads to the
river of the water of life ; but when the stimu-
lant takes the place of the water of life it is an
injury. Doctors tell us there is benefit in
stimulants in certain cases of extreme weak-
ness. Not that there is any nutriment in the
stimulant. The theory is something like this.
The stimulant arouses nature's forces ; when
thus aroused they may be made to take in food
that has nutriment in it. Many foolish men,
however, have made the mistake of supposing
there is nutriment in the stimulant, but at last
they always find it is poison. So, spiritually,
excitement may arouse the spiritual forces, within
you ; may awaken conscience to activity. When
so awakened you may be led to the water of
life. But, alas ! here again some have mistaken

280

SERMONS.

the stimulant for food, fiut it will not do ; the
leaf soon fades. Have we not all reason, more
or less, to apply the test spiritually to ourselves ?
Is there the fervour about our piety that there
once was — that there should now be ? Do we
feel that there is anything in this interpretation
of the text that applies to us ? Broken resolu-
tions, lifeless professions, empty forms, faded
leaves.

" Oh, who shall thus the Master meet,

Bearing but withered leaves !
Or who shall at the Savioui^'s feet,
Before the awful judgment seat,

Lay down for garnered sheaves

Nothing but leaves ]"

II. Another more common interpretation of
the text is to apply it to our natural life. In
this respect there seems at first one point of
strong contrast between the fading leaves and
the failing of our strength. The}" seem all to fade
at once. As we looked on the mountain side a
few weeks ago, we saw millions of leaves all
fading at once. It is not so among men. This
contrast has struck the fancy of the poetess who
sings —

" Loaves have their time to fall,
And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath, "
But oil — thou hast all seasons for thine own, oh Death."

Yet it is not a perfect contrast even in this

FADED LEAVES.

281

the

■more

ves?

here

respect. There is more resemblance even here
than at first appears. Many a leaf has withered
before the autumn frosts. Many a leaf has been
scorched by the summer's sun. Many a leaf
has faded, torn from the stem by summer storms,
or broken by foot of bird, or robbed of the vital
sap by insect plunderers. If you look through
the forests, even before the frosts have done
their work, you will notice the foliage is not so
dense, the shadows are not so deep, as in early
summc^r. Ten thousand causes have thinned
out the leafy covering. Silently, unnoticed,
thousands of leaves have floated to the earth.
All the time from spring to autumn they have
fallen. So all the way from the cradle to three-
score years and ten men are falling. The fact
that there is a contrast rather than a resem-
blance in this respect should only make the
subject more impressive. A much larger pro-
portion of the race of men than of the race of
leaves perish before autumn. But few reach
the allotted age. Speaking, as I do, to a con-
gregation composed principally of the young, I
am reminded that but very few of you will
reach the allotted age. At all points between
this and that you will fade. Some of you, per-
haps, by swift disaster, may be hurried away.
You will go out in the morning, perhaps, full of
hopes — as full of plans for the future as ever.

1 1

I i

282

SERMONS.

Suddenly the brittle thread will be snapped,
earthly hopes will fade. I have sometimes
watched the leaves fall after a shot from a
huntsman's gun, cut as by a lightning stroke
from the stem. So is it with many a man. A
crash of a railway car, an entangling of gar-
ments in the swift revolving machinery of a
workshop, a flash from a carelessly handled gun,
a fall of the ill -built scaffolding, and almost in
an eye's twinkling the man is in eternity. So
suddenly may some one of us be called away.
The fading leaves cut by accident in the sum-
mer months preach, " Be ye also ready."

But many, perhaps most, like the leaf, fade

gradually. Gradually the effiects of age and

infirmity come to some. The hair a little more

silvered ; the brow a little more furrowed ; the

form a little more stooped ; the step a little less

elastic. Thus, as the leaf, a generation of the

older people is passing away. Soon they will

fall by some slight accident or sickness they once

would scarcely have noticed. Yes, and many

will fade gradually, before old age, beneath the

hand of disease. Some we have watched pass

gradually thus away : some in raging delirium

of fever; some in numb unconsciousness of

paralysis, have faded slowly away. In some

loved ones we have watched the red rose of

health gradually fade into the white lily of

FADED LEAVES.

283

death, as that stealthy miner, consumption, has
sapped the foundations of health. As it has
been, so will it be. It may be there are grey
hairs upon some of us now, and we know it not.
How blind men are to the evidences of deccy !
We don't like to think our time has come, and
only the loudest knockings of Death convince us
that he is in earnest. Death and a man — so runs
the story — once made a bargain ; the man stipu-
lating that Death should send him so many
warnings, that he might not be taken unawares.
One day, years after, to his surprise, the King
of Terrors stood before him. Death had broken
the bargain ; so said the man, clinging to life ; he
had sent no warnings. No warnings ? His eyes
were dim, his ears were dull, his gums were
toothless, spare and thin were the locks on his
bent and palsied head. These were the warn-
ings ; they had been sent, yet all in vain. My
friends, we have all had warnings. We cannot
say when the end comes that we were unwarned.
That sharp pain was a warning. That cold was
a warning. That accident was a warning. See,
then, that you are ready.

We notice some leaves grow more lovely as
they fade, and some more unlovely. A few
weeks ago the mountain side was one gorgeous
picture. Nature sometimes, like a wealthy lady
we have read of, puts ^on her most beautiful

284

SERMONS.

robes at death. Thus should it be with the
Christian. As we pass away we should be robed,
not in costly robes of earth's manufacture, but
in the more costly and more beautiful robes
washed in the blood of the Lamb. We were
made in the image of God. Affliction and decay
should but restamp that image and bring out
more clearly the God-like features. Some of
the most lovely Christian characters have been
those of persons fading beneath the hand of
disease. Some very commonplace leaves be-
come resplendently beautiful when touched by
autumn frosts. " I did not think she could die
so," said a husband of his wife, a modest, quiet
Christian, who had passed away triumphantly.
Very frequently the last days of Christian
people show a marked increase in all that is
lovely and attractive. The biographer of Wesley
notices how his character mellows as old age
approaches. Perhaps in the vigour and energy
of life he was almost severe at times. He was
so busy with the hard, earnest work of life that
he had hardly time for cultivating or manifest-
ing anything like a forbearing spirit. But there
was beauty in his soul, and as his end drew near
it -shone out more and more through his life.
What more beautiful scene in his life than its
close, when he exclaims, " The best of all is, God
is with us." There are many scenes in the life

FADED LEAVES.

285

of Paul where the grandeur of his character
shines out, but where does the brightness and
beauty shine out more clearly than just at its
close ? He is a prisoner ; a prisoner in near pros-
pect of death. His life since his conversion has
been one of many trials and sacrifices. This is
to be its close. Any man who could meet a fate
like that without murmuring, without distrust,
must have the pure gold in his character. Now
hear the man of God : ' I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of righteousness." We dread affliction, trial,
decay of strength ; yet these to the Christian are
autumnal frosts that bring out more clearly the
lovely giiices of the Spirit. Some of the love-
liest faces we have seen have been those made
so by the calm submission, the patience, the
resignation, the trust, stamped slowly by afflic-
tion as they have faded toward the grave. Of
such the poet sung,

" Fourscore ! Yet aoftly the years have swept by thee,
Touching thee gently with tenderest care ;

Sorrow and death they did often bring nigh thee,
Yet they have left thee but beauty to wear."

We had an example of the opposite kind last
Sabbath evening. All the beauty of Saul's
character is seen in his younger days. As old

286

SERMONS.

age drew near he became unhappy, melancholy,
unamiable. Everything attractive dies in him.
He goes from bad to worse, and the last scene is
the darkest of all — he ends his life as a suicide.
It is a sad thing when a man feels the best has
passed. What more natural than that such a
one should grow melancholy and miserable ?
Another, referred to last Sabbath evening, sung
in words often quoted,

" Mv life is in tlie withered leaf."

My friends, if your last days are to be your
brightest, you must keep the grace of God in
your hearts. Life's trials apart from the grace
of God are apt to mar the character and make
it unlovely, Like the heavy blows of the
sculptor's hammer, which bring beauty out of
the rough stone, the painful experiences of life
are intended by the Divine Architect to shape
our characters after his own image.

The leaves fade to make room for others.
Before one generation of leaves passes away
another exists at least in embryo, ready to take
their places under the influence of the summer's
sun. So one generation of men fades to make
way for another. There is a generation treading
in our footsteps, ready to take our places. Many
a man in the pride of his heart imagines when

FADED LEAVES.

287

he passes away he will leave a gap ; but ten
thousand men drop out of the ranks of the
living every day, yet the ranks are kept full as
the race marches on. This world is a testing
place for human beings. All the race could not
dwell here at once ; so one generation comes and
fades to make way for another.

Each race of leaves as it fades and falls en-
riches the soil from which others are to spring.
So the influence of our lives will go down the
ages and help form the characters of generations
yet unborn. We are to-day developing in an
atmosphere enriched or poisoned by the influence
of the generations that preceded us. The gene-
ration of the present is very much what the
generations of the past have made them. So the
generation that succeeds us will be formed
largely by the influences we leave. It is a truth
that does not aflect men much, vet a truth that
ought to do so. Our influence will live after us ;
it will be a stream of healthful influence or a
poisonous stream, a curse or a blessing, according
to our character. Most men seem to have the
false idea that their course in life will affect
themselves alone ; but it is not so. Your influ-
ence is not only contemporary with you, but
will live long after you — perhaps after you
are forgotten. If you live a holy life, you will
have an influence for good not only on the

288

SERMONS.

next generation, but probably to the latest
generation. If unholy, the influence you exert
will, of course have a tendency to evil. "It
will be all the same a hundred years from now,"
is a favourite saying with some ; but it is not
true. Every influence we send out into the
world is destined to be permanent. The world
may be worse or better a hundred years from
now, according as your influence is good or bad.
It may be difficult or impossible for us to dis-
tinguish what flows from the influence of an
individual. Yet there is One who can trace the
stream back to its source, even when it has flowed
through hundreds or thousands of years. And
when the sum is added up, we shall find that life
was not the meaningless thing we thought it as
we trifled it away. As we gaze on its grand,
awful results, we will realize how solemn a thing
it was to live.

The slender stem which supports the leaf is a
fit emblem of the frailty of human life. How
slight an accident severs the leaf from the
branch. A falling limb, a child's hand, a bird's
foot, a breath of wind may do the work. So
feeble is our hold on life. A neglected cold, a
slight wound, a grain of poison, a little slip, and
the brittle thread is snapped. Well may we
exclaim,

" On what a slender thread hang everlasting things ! "

FADED LEAVES.

289

Yes, this brittle thread of life is all that keeps
our eternal interests from bei g settled. "As
the tree falls, so shall it lie." Eternal interests !
How imperfectly can we grasp the thought.
Yet all that keeps many from eternal loss is
life's brittle thread. Death every day is cutting
it. Any day he may do his work with us. In
view of this, how careful should we be to have
our eternal interests secure. You may do it.
The steps to be taken are pointed out in the
Book. A man invests a few thousand dollars in
a house for himself ; at best he can enjoy it but
a few years. Even if he lose it, his strong hands
and strong will may build him another. But he
says, "I don't know what day the hungry
tongues of flame may lick it up," and he insures.
Yet a man knows that ten million years are
hanging on this brittle thread, and day after
day he puts it ofi*; he means to have it done, but
not yet ; till some day a gust of wind comes, the
leaf falls, the soul is lost.

A writer unknown to me has a parable some-
thing as follows : A man is shut up in a fortress
under sentence of perpetual imprisonment. He
is obliged to draw water from a reservoir into
which no fresh supply is ever poured. How
much it contains he cannot tell. He knows not
that the quantity is great ; it may be very smalh
He has already drawn a considerable supply.

290

SERMONS.

Imagine how he would feel. Not as if he had
a perennial stream to draw from. "I have a
reservoir, I may be at ease." No, " I had water
yesterday, I have to-day, but my having it yes-
terday and to-day is the very cause that I shall
not have it on some day that is approaching."
Man is the prisoner ; Time is the reservoir. The
reservoir has already lost much. The fact that
we had it yesterday is a reason why we shall
not have it some future day. The reservoir may
not contain enough to sustain us another week.
Let the fading leave remind us of our frailty,
and urge us to prepare to meet our God.

} as if he had
I. "I have a
" I had water
having it yes-
36 that I shall
approaching."
eservoir. The
The fact that
why we shall
reservoir may
another week,
of our frailty,
r God.