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THE RISEN REDEEMER:
THE GOSPEL HISTORY FROM THE RESURRECTION
TO THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
THE RISEN RED
THE GOSPEL HTSTO
FROM THE
'§,(mxxtdwn ia t^t gag of '^mUtant
BY
F. W. KRUMMACHER, D. D.,
AUTHOR OF " ELIJAH THE T18IIBITE."
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY JOHN T. BETTS,
SEitf) tf)c Sanction of ttc author.
NEW YORK:
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS
No. 5 30 BROADWAY.
1863.
PEEFACE.
The bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead is the fun-
damental basis of Christianity. " If Christ be not risen
from the dead," exclaims the apostle, " then is your faith
vain/' So long as the hostile critic does not succeed in
effacing that fact as a fable from the page of history, all
efforts to subvert the supernatural basis of our faith and
hope are in vain ; and however zealously the rash work of
destruction has been prosecuted, it has, up to the present
hour, been a failure. The miracle of the third day has
resisted all levers and engines exerted against it by refined
subtilty, as completely as if they were no more than the
jugglery of a paltry legerdemain. This one miracle, well
sustained, bears, supports, and accredits all the others to
which the gospel bears testimony ; and it stands still, and
will continue to defy, every assault.
It is worthy of observation, that even David Strauss, the
renowned chief of the most recent assailants of Heaven, finds
himself constrained openly to admit, that the notion that
the first disciples of Jesus, the apostles, were not themselves
fully convinced of the truth of His bodily resurrection, is
PEEFACE.
utterly untenable, and must be given up. This declaration
ap23ears in his recently-published work upon the writings of
his intellectual progenitor, Reimarus.
We attach importance to this confession of an arch enemy
of all sacred history the rather, because the only and last
shift by which he seeks to find an excuse for his infidelity is
truly absurd; for he endeavours to persuade himself, and
this undoubtedly in opposition to his better knowledge and
conviction, that the disciples confounded a beautiful phan-
tasy with a historical fact. Thus doth the Lord take the
wise in their own craftiness, and, as we suggest, renders the
cleverest men, ere they are aware of it, sport for children.
In the present work, the author, in his endeavour to pro-
mote edification, unites also an apologetic aim, and hopes,
with the Divine blessing, to assist in strengthening the faith
of the conscientious doubter by clearing away his difi&culties
in a sympathetic spirit. This work, published [in Germany]
under the title of " The Easter Manual," forms, with his two
l^receding works, the book for the season of Advent, and
that for Passion-week, a devotional trilogy, for these three
ecclesiastical epochs. It will be gratifying to find this work as
favourably received as the preceding ones. It treats of the
loftiest and most delightful subject of contemplation that can
occupy us here on earth. May the Spirit of the Lord seal
the testimony as true to many a heart, however feeble the
form in which it is presented !
DR F. W. KRUMMACHER.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
DISCOURSE I.
EASTE&-EVEN 1
DISCOURSE II.
THE MIRACLE OF EASTEB 12
DISCOURSE III.
THE EMPTY GRAVE 27
DISCOURSE IV.
Christ's first appe.\rance 41
DISCOURSE V.
THE RISEN ONE APPEARS TO THE WOMEN AND TO SIMON 65
DISCOURSE VI.
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAL'S. FIRST MEDITATION 67
DISCOURSE VII.
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAIS. SK( OND MEDITATION 86
DISCOURSE VIII.
THE PRINCE OF PEACE IN THE EVENING ASSEMBLY 96
DISCOURSE IX.
THOMAS Ill
(Vii)
Vlll CONTENTS.
PAGE
DISCOURSE X.
THE APPEARANCE AT THE LAKE 127
DISCOURSE XI.
Peter's love to christ tested 140
DISCOURSE XII.
Peter's way 154
DISCOURSE XIII.
THE RISEN SAVIOUR SEEN OF MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED WITNESSES AT
ONCE 1 70
DISCOURSE XIV.
THE RISEN SAVIOUR AND JAMES , 183
DISCOURSE XV.
THE APPEARANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN . . 195
DISCOURSE XVI.
THE ASCENSION 212
DISCOURSE XVII.
THE TIME OF WAITING 228
DISCOURSE XVIII.
THE DAY OF PENTECOST 241
DISCOURSE XIX.
THE ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST . 260
DISCOURSE XX.
THE PENTECOSTAL COMFORTER 273
DISCOURSE XXI.
THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY 285
I
EASTEE-EVEN.
" If Christ be not raised," exclaims the apostle, (1 Cor. xv.
17,) "your faith is vain." Truer words were never uttered
than these, and never was their truth more distinctly and
palpably manifested than in our own day. Human wisdom
has exhausted itself in speculations, and has set every engine
in motion to obtain a final settlement of the question, " To
be, or not to be?" What has been the result ? Our philo-
sopiiic inquirers, wearied with their flights of thought, have
ended in confessing that the prospect of a personal existence
after death becomes more and more obscure to their investi-
gations. There remains therefore the one, but (God be
praised !) the far more than sufficient, pillar of our hope —
that great historical fact, the memorial of which we celebrate
at Easter. To this event, the most teeming with promise of
any within the range of universal history, we would devote
a fresh series of meditations, and may your heartfelt sympa-
thies not fail us whilst we seek to lay them before you. Our
purpose is restricted to the strengthening of your conviction
of the reality of the great event, so as to render your faitli
immovable ; and then to lead you on to the joyful and be-
lieving appropriation of this most consolatory of all miracles.
iMay the Lord graciously give me success in both attempts,
and may He cro\\n that of Easter-even, to whicli I now in-
vite you, with His blessiuij; 1
EASTEE-EVEN.
Matt, xxvii. 62-66.
" Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief
priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying. Sir, we remember
that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive. After three days I will rise
again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the
third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say
unto the people, He is risen from the dead : so the last error shall be worse
than the first. Pilate said unto them. Ye have a watch : go your way,
make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure,
sealing the stone, and setting a watch."
Be not dismayed when you see the Lord of glory treated
as a malefactor even at the grave. What His enemies there
dared to attempt turns out, under God's guidance, only to
His own glorification. It is a guard of honour with which
they unwillingly surround His resting-place. They are
actually constructing Him a throne, whilst they purpose only
to erect a pillory on which to disgrace Him publicly, and to
brand Him as a deceiver. They design to perpetuate Good
Friday, and they underlay the glory of Easter with a foil
upon which it develops itself the more brilliantly. Let us
in thought draw nearer to this extraordinary scene. After
contemplating the involuntary celebration of Easter-eve by
His adversaries, let us with very different sentiments perform
its proper celebration at the holy sepulchre, which may God
bless !
I The soul-deserted body of the Lord has rested the first
night in its narrow stone chamber, but His murderers, the
members of the Sanhedrim, have not. We already meet
them at early dawn moving about restlessly, and the expres-
sion of their features betokens anything rather than triumph
and inward peace. Have they seen a departed spirit in the
nioht ? Yes ; wherever they go or stay He whom bodily they
slew on the cross presents Himself, and follows them like a
spectre. They have murdered Him, but they have not got
rid of Him. Tliey are fully conscious tliat tliey have dragged
EASTER-EVEN. 3
an innocent, guiltless man to execution, but tlie awakened
conscience is not to be lulled witli lying subterfuges, as if
He had attacked Moses, had reviled the temiDle, and had led
the people astray. Wliat they witnessed at Golgotha, the
glorious termination of the righteous One's career, the public
confession of the lieathen centurion, and especially the mani-
festation of the Almighty by the darkened sun, the earth-
quake, and the opening of the graves, served but to render
them more sensitive to the lashes of that scourge which the
judge within their breast incessantly inflicted on them. What
marvel then if the Crucified One, in the form of a bloody
spectre, was ever present to them, chasing away sleep from
their eyes ? Assuredly there is not a man amongst us who
has decidedly rejected Christ that can ever wholly banish
Him. Such a one, though he decline to confess it, lives
ever in a secret feud with his conscious inner life. The soul
within him cannot avoid recognising the superimman exalta-
tion of Jesus, and at the same time His just claim to the
homage and subjection of all. However earnestly he may
combat and strive to silence this inner self, it will incessantly
whisper, "Thou rejectest thy liege Lord and only Saviour."
He hates the preaching about Christ, not because it is, as he
pretends, senseless and superstitious, but because there is, as
has been said, a something unconquerable within him, which,
notwithstanding all his unbelief, believes, counsels, and
prompts him to render the homage due, while the man re-
bels and will not consent that He should reign over him,
wlio gives His followers and disciples to anticipate through
life self-denial instead of enjoyment, and a cross instead of
honour and renown.
But there was another heavy burden which weighed upon
the high priests and scribes besides the ban and curse of
conscience. It was a gloomy solicitude lest the crime which
they had jierpetrated on the Nazarene should after all,
4 EASTER-EVEN.
tliroiigh some new marvel, entail on them the brand of in-
famy, and cause them to be for ever pilloried in history.
True it is, they did not verbally express as much, but their
tone was as if they feared that some feigned miracle invented
by the followers of the murdered man should prove prejudi-
cial to them. They recollected perfectly well that Jesus had
expressly and repeatedly intimated that He should die by
murderous hands, but that on the third day He should rise
again. Hypocritically concealing their real anxiety, they say
amongst themselves, " What if the disciples of the Galilean
should conceive the purpose of secretly bearing away the
body from its tomb, and then persuade the people that their
l^Jaster had come to life again ? What would the effect of
this be upon us ? Every precaution must be used to prevent
such a fraud as this." And they all concur in this sugges-
tion. But in what mode could they successfully prevent the
disciples from following this course ? They take counsel to-
gether, and their practised subtlety in all the arts of lying
soon discovered the means.
I here observe, in passing, that several critics have ques-
tioned the historical truth of the whole story, because they
did not see how it could be possible that such members of
the high council as a Nicodemus, a Joseph of Arimathea,
and a Gamaliel, should ever have yielded their assent to so
malignant a scheme as the one there planned. And, indeed,
I myself likewise have held this to be impossible. But, in
the first place, we do not read that these transactions were
resolved on in a regularly-convened, full assembly of the
Sanhedrim, but, on the contrary, everything Avould seem to
indicate rather a tumultuous meeting, not of the whole body,
but of a part, and that indeed made up of the most malevo-
lent members of the council. For, doubtless, the two first
named, Nicodemus and Joseph, would, together with their
public formal protest against the judicial murder, have
EASTEE-EVEN. 5
solemnly sent in their resignation as members, and would
hence have no longer been present at the deliberations, or
been cognisant of the subsequent jirojects of their former
unrighteous associates. In this way the above-mentioned
doubt is simply and easily cleared uj-), and it will be no less
easily solved should it arise again in reference to a later
transaction — I allude to the bribery of the guard appointed
to watch the sepulchre.
The chief priests and elders repair to the governor. Not-
withstanding the undoubtedly early hour, Pilate, who like-
wise had passed a sleepless night, granted them at once the
desired audience. Upon his inquiry as to their prayer, they
disclose their project, and say, with feigned loyalty, " Sir, we
remember that that deceiver, of whose presence we, with
your approval, have freed the country, while he was yet alive,
expressly declared that he would, after three days, rise again."
Beloved, let us pay great attention to this speech of the elders
of Israel. Jesus, then, really said that He would rise again
on the third day. Let us take note of this testimony from
His enemies and most bitter opponents. It must be of
great importance to us to hear it attested and confirmed as
a notorious fact, that our Lord really, and in the most un-
equivocal manner, announced beforehand the glorious issue of
His martyrdom. The members of the Sanhedrim further say
to Pilate, " Command therefore the sejKilchre be made sure
until after the third day, in order that his disciples may not
come and steal the body, and subsequently say to the people,
He is risen from the dead ; so the last error shall be much
worse than the first." Now, we have already learnt how to
interpret this language, and to supply what is not expressed.
They require the guard much less with reference to the dis-
ciples, than with relation to our Lord himself. Pilate will-
ingly grants their prayer, for to him the assurance would be
rather alarminfc that the man who, when standino- before
6 EASTEE-EVEN.
his bar, so powerfully impressed liim, should have spoken of
His resurrection with such precision. " Take the guard,"
says the governor, (referring, as it appears, to his own body-
guard ;) and adds, " go, make the grave as sure as you can."
And they did so. The guard is taken to Joseph's garden — ■
it is placed before the sepulchre of the Crucified One — the
stone which closes the tomb is sealed, in order that any vio-
lent opening of it may be punished as sacrilege ; that is to
.^ay, as the violation of a sanctuary, which would subject
the perpetrators to criminal proceedings.
You will now understand in what sense I characterised
these precautionary measures of the euemies of Jesus as an
involuntary preparation by them for the celebration of Easter.
In the midst of their misgivings and apprehensions, Christ
actually arose. After all that they had seen and experienced
respecting Him, they would fain have withheld from them-
selves all conscious acknov/ledgment of what they really
thought Him to be, as indeed the man who possibly might
suddenly raise Himself alive again from His death-chamber.
And thus, whilst wearing the hypocritical mask of resolute
unbelief, they, through the powerful impressions which His
own personality had graven into them, rendered Him invo-
luntary homage as a hero possibly superior to the king of
terrors, to deatli itself. They unwillingly paid homage to
the Prince of Life. Let our preparation, however, for the
feast be of a better character.
n. We enter Joseph's garden, and are seized with the
tremor of a foreboding awe. There lies the holy sepulchre,
surrounded by the armed watch. The stone door is firmly
remented and sealed. But what matters this ? The firmer
the bolts, the more conspicuously will it be shewn who broke
them, and even here could make for Himself a free passage.
The world has ofttimes seen the Lord Jesus imprisoned and
immured in a spiritual sense. Imperial seals, as that of
EASTEE-EVEN. 7
Julian the Apostate ; philosophical seals^ as that of Spinoza,
and many others after him; republican seals, which recall the
formal abolition of Christianity at the time of the French
Revolution ; — these made the dungeon, in which it was fondly
thought Christ was shut up, to appear closed for ever, as if
no power could possibly break it open. But ere they were
aware, He, whom they thought had been got rid of for ever,
burst all the prison-cells, as He has in our own days that of
Rationalism, in which they insanely fancied Him entombed,
r-i;l He now stands victor upon the arena, crowned both in
the Church and in the seats of learning. Who can confine
There, in the dark vault, lies the body of the Lord of hea-
ven, soulless ! Oh, what depth of humiliation ! But let us
not overlook the briglit torches which God has placed beside
Him ; first of all, in the prophetic passage of Isaiah liii. 9,
" And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich
in his death;" and then that in the words of the royal
Psalmist, " Thou, Lord, wilt not suff'er thy Holy One to see
corruption," (Ps. xvi. 10.) And what do we read, with the
eye of the spirit, on the stone which closes the entrance of
His sepulchre? His own fingers inscribed it, and it runs
thus : — " Verily, verily I say imto you. Except a corn of
wheat fall into the ground and die, it abidcth alone ; but if
it die, it bringeth forth much fruit," (John xii. 24.) Oh, do
but wait, the great harvest-day is at hand !
The rocky tomb of our Lord would become a reef on
which our entire faith in Providence would founder, if we
regarded Christ's appearance here on earth as simply on His
own account, and not rather as the head and representative
of humanity. In that case He would never, as expiator of
sin, have shared the lot of man even to death ; or we should,
with Him, have seen the whole Divine administration sink
likewise, and even God himself, as a Person and the righteous
8 EASTER-EVEN.
Ruler together, annihilated and entombed for ever ! But as
His tomb now gives irresistible testimony to His mediatorial
position, so it transforms the tombs of His people into sta-
tions whence they make their transition to new and more
blissful spheres of life. For the path taken by the Head is
necessarily that followed by the members ; and that which
the first Adam bi^ai^ht down to the dust with himself, the
second restores in clis own person out of the ruins. It is true
that our flesh, corrupted by sin, is not saved from the trans-
muting process of decay. The Almighty has uttered His
sentence with reference to us, '' Dust thou art, and to dust
shalt thou return.'"' But no less authoritative than the pre-
ceding is the following one, " It is sown in corruption ; it
U raised in incorruption." An atom, though invisible to
mortal eye, is preserved by the Almighty as the germinal
frame of our undying body, on which at some future day the
Divine agency will be made manifest, by which He, as the
Scriptures declare, "makes all things subject unto Himself"
The stone-vault before which we stand contains only the
body of our Lord. Where is His spirit? We have heard
Him give the dying thief the solemn assurance, " To-day
shalt thou be with me in paradise.'' In 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20;
the apostle testifies that "after Christ had been put to
death in the flesh," — that is to say, in His humanity, — He
was " quickened in the Spirit," and raised to a higher, less-
restricted, and freer sphere, and that " in this Spirit also
He ivent and 2^reached unto the spirits in pi^ison, ivho some-
time luere disobedient, when once the iGng-suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark teas preparing"
In the Apostles' Creed we find the passage, " He descended
into hell," following the word " buried." This latter testi-
mony manifestly refers to the above quotation from Peter ;
and not only so, but it is based upon it. Therefore the
expression, " hell" is liere used as synonymous with the
EASTER-EVEN. 9
word *' prison." But it is impossible that the latter can be
identical with the " paradise " which is spoken of in 2 Cor.
xii. 2-4, as being one and the same with "the third heaven.''
And again, paradise, though a sphere of bliss, appears to be
different from that higliest heaven where God is seen face
to face, and which our Lord had in His eye when in His
later testimony He says, *' / have not yet ascended to my
Father;'' it is subordinate, or at least secondary, to this ;
and we must therefore conceive of a heavenly vestibule where
the redeemed had to wait the real ascension into heaven, the
bodily one, of their glorified Mediator, in order to enter with
Him the open gates of the city of God, and to attain the full
possession of their eternal inheritance. To this antechamber
Christ in spirit, while His body remained in the tomb, led
the penitent thief, and then presented Himself to preach to
the spirits in prison. We are left utterly without intimation
where this latter place is situated ; but still it is not to be
confounded with the abode of the damned. The great re-
former, Calvin, thought he could avoid the descent into hell
altogether, whilst he explained the passage in Peter thus : —
Christ had exhorted Noah's contemporaries to repent, whilst
they luere yet in the flesh, through the Holy Ghost by Him
imparted to Noah, the preacher of righteousness. This ex-
position, however, is too artificial to commend itself to an
impartial mind. It is invalidated at once by the expression,
" He descended," which cannot well betoken anything other
than local motion, as it does afterwards in the 22d verse of
the chapter alluded to. We have no intimation of the topics
upon which He preached to the " spirits in prison," whether
repentance, or His own triumph. But it may, however, well
be presumed that amongst the souls that were hurried away
by the flood, there were not a few who, if not converted, were
nevertheless not far from the kingdom of God. Wcis the
way to full regeneration now opened up to them ? This is
1 EASTEE-EVEN.
conceivable. But under any circumstances, that descent of
Christ in spirit was not associated with His state of humilia-
tion, but already formed the transition to His state of exalta-
tion : still less is it to be viewed as a complement of His
mediatorial and propitiatory work, for this had seen its full
accomplishment just prior to the moment when, commending
His spirit into His Father's hands, He victoriously exclaimed,
''It is finished.'" But we should grasj^ at more than would
become us, were we, from a fact of which Peter gives so mys-
terious an intimation, to deduce consequences which might
to some extent paralyse the zeal with which we ought to
strive, on this side eternity, to make preparation for heaven.
A subject of consolation for the heathen to whom God's
Word has never come on earth, may be drawn from this
consideration, but certainly none for us who -have the gospel.
Thus we have not to seek the Lord himself in His tomb,
but only His human frame, His earthly pilgrim's-garment.
He is traversing in the spirit other regions. Is His resur-
rection, therefore, nothing more than the reunion of the Son
of God with His entombed body ? Yes, it is so, only He
reassumes this body in a glorified condition. It is true that
it irf difficult, nay impossible, for our short-sighted faculties
to realise this representation. The bodily organisation de-
stroyed by crucifixion must first be reinstated by creative
power, and, beside this, be spiritualised as the organ of the
God-man, who was now disconnected from the sublunary
sphere of life. Indeed, this actually was accomplished, but
the mode in which it was so remains an unsolved problem.
I might here adduce something similar and analogous to the
reunion of the spirit with the body previously deserted by
Him. The condition of the clairvoyant, in whom all the
bodily functions are suspended, as in death, whilst the mind
for a season wanders as spectator and observer through dis-
tant scenes, and then returns in one moment to its deserted
EASTEE-EVEN. 1 \
body, might be adduced as one analogous to, and corre-
sponding with, the reunion of His spirit with His previously
deserted body. But let us be careful, lest we confound the
natural and the supernatural with one another. The sub-
ject in question being the resurrection of Christ, we are in
the province of miracles; and precisely as Scripture teaches
that it is only " by faith that we understand the worlds were
made by the word of God,^' so the miracle of the resurrec-
tion of our Lord, in all its parts, is given only to our faith.
The great day, however— the greatest which the world
has seen— knocks at the stone door of the holy sepulchre.
Now let us for a short time ponder over the Almicrhty's
plan of redemption, as revealed by Moses and the prophets,
in its connexion. From so elevated a point of view the
resurrection of the Mediator will appear to us a necessity,
imposing silence on all our doubts. After this day's pre-
paration, we shall with childlike simplicity, and with unem-
barrassed, joyous hope, prepare ourselves for that immea-
surably happier one which awaits us, and shall say with the
Moravian poet : —
" Jesus, of all life the Lord,
Shall He in death decay ?
Jesus, the Holy One of God,
Shall He corruption see ?
Morning's fragrance !
Easter breeze !
E'en now I feel Thy gentle motiou.
^d w !i rise again ! Amen."
12 THE MIEACLE OF EASTEfi,
IL
THE MIRACLE OF EASTER
" Easter is God's Amen and the Hallelujah of hiimamty."
It is scarcely possible that the lofty significance of the glo-
rious event to the close consideration of which we this day
draw near, can be more strikingly indicated than by this
well-known expression.* This truth is sown broadcast
throughout Scripture, and especially in the utterance of the
apostle Peter, (Acts v. 30, 31,) where it is clearly attested,
— '' This Jesus, luhom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him
hath God exalted luith his right hand to he a Prince and
a Saviour," — that is to say, has publicly accredited and
crowned Him as such. By the miracle of Easter the
Almighty stamped an imperishable seal — one the splendour
of which shone throughout the universe — upon the dignity,
words, and work of His only-begotten Son, and uttered
His " Yea " and " Amen," confirmatory of the testimony of
the Son that He was "the way, the truth, and the life," and
of His triumphant exclamation, "It is finished!" intelligibly
to heaven, earth, and hell. Humanity finds that it has
attained the object of its boldest expectations and longings.
Infinitely more has been prepared for it, and secured to it,
than it ever dared to hope. After its eternal redemption
had been accomplished, it was then actually declared, by the
authority of the Most High, to be perfected. There thence-
* From the late Bishop Draesecke, of Magdeburg,
THE MIRACLE OF EASTER. 13
forth remained to the highly-favoured race of man nothing
further than a never-ending hallelujah — "Now unto Him
that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think !"
In these few words we see hastily sketched those truths
which will constitute for a season the green pastures in
which the Good Shepherd will feed our souls. Isaiah pre-
dicted that " the redeemed of the Lord should come up to
Zion with songs." This prediction is fulfilled since the
announcement, " The Lord is risen/' has resounded through-
out the world. " He is really risen ! " May it find a full
echo in our hearts !
Matt, xxviii. 1-4, 11-15.
" In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of
the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
And, behold, there was a great earthquake : for the angel of the Lord
descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,
and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment
white as snow : and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became aa
dead men." ..." Now, when they were going, behold, some of the watch
came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that
were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken
counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye. His dis-
ciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come
to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took
the money, and did as they were taught : and this saying is commonly
reported among the Jews until this day."
" Shine, oh shine, thou Easter sun,
Deep into my heart ;
Dissipate the heavy shades
Of its care and smart !
Shine with ray of j ui'est light,
Flashing death's dark vale upon ;
Brightly gild my soul's dark night —
Easter sun, shine on ! shine on !"
This, beloved, is the key-note of the feelings with which I
hail the great event, and whicli are called forth by the Gospel
1 4 THE MIRACLE OF EASTER.
just read. How few and how simple are the words in which
it is conveyed to us. But they remind us of a fresco by a
great artist, when, by a few bold and rapid strokes, to our
astonishment we perceive the creation of an entire and ani-
mated painting. Yet no human art can compete with the
divine truthfulness of colouring which here strikes the eye.
We at once see that we stand on the sure basis of historical
fact Let us, with thoughtful spirits, approach still nearer
to the most exalted and consolatory fact in the world's his-
tory, and consider the miracle, first, in its historical details;
secondly, as to its j^erfect credibility; and lastly, as to its
high and glorious imjwrt
As a blessing upon our meditations, may the words of the
Psalmist be fulfilled in us — " The voice of rejoicing and sal-
vation is in the tabernacles of the righteous : the right hand
of the Lord doeth valiantly, the right hand of the Lord is
exalted ; the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly !" (Ps.
cxviii. 15, 16.)
I. A beautiful Sunday morniug here dawns, and scatters
its pearls of dew on the springtide flowers. The world still
lies in deep slumbers, never dreaming what a sun is about to
rise upon the horizon of its life. But our Lord's disciples
and friends have not closed their eyes throughout the night ;
they have passed it in weeping and lamentation, and partly
in preparing to discharge the most painful service of love
on their return to the garden, which they had left at the
beginning of the Sabbath. In spirit we anticipate their
arrival. A profound solemn stillness reigns all around,
broken only by the tread of the guards as they pace back-
wards and forwards before the tomb of the crucified Prince
of Peace. The second night since Good Friday has passed
without any disturbance , apparently there is as little prob-
ability of a resurrection of the deceased as tliere is of an attack
by the adherents and friends of the Crucified One. The
THE jMIRACLE of EASTER. 15
.irrave lies mute and closed before us ; its seal remains un-
broken. It would seem tliafc the reign of the pretended new
King of Zion was gone by for ever. But what now ! On
a sudden the earth begins to tremble — the rocks are rent
asunder all around with fearful crash — sujjerhuman forms,
bright as lightning, and in garments white as snow, glide
down from the heights of heaven to the garden. They are
holy angels, like those who appeared at our Lord's nativity,
and who came to minister to Him after His victory over the
tempter in the desert. One of these gracious messengers
approaches the tomb, touches the mass of rock which held
it closed, and in a moment the seals are burst, the ponderous
stone is rolled away, and from the opened portal of the grave
there steps forth, radiant with heavenly glory, He who was
dead ! — and, behold, " He lives, and bears the keys both of
hell and of death ! " The guards, indeed, scarcely discern the
Eisen One. The dazzling robe of light which He wears hides
Him from their bewildered sight. The only object they dis-
tinctly see is the seraph-form sitting in triumph on the
rolled-away stone, as if it were a throne of state ; and then,
with inexpressible consternation, trembling in every limb,
they start up end hasten away to report to their superiors in
Jerusalem the unheard-of prodigy that had occurred. Into
what excitement the whole city would have been thrown by
their report, had not the noiseless calm of early dawn rested
on its deserted streets ! They only knock at the doors of the
rulers, and we shall soon learn what was devised in that con-
clave to stifle the strange report in its birth. But the new
life of the Risen One was mightier than all the craft and
malignity of His adversaries, and escaped, as before from the
grave, so now from the hold of falsehood within which they
would fain have once more confined it. Though they con-
trived by the meanest expedient to stop the mouths of the
living reporters, yet the dead arosp as witnesses to the Easter
16 THE MIRACLE OF EASTEE.
miracle. Many of the pious dead, tlirouf2;h whose bodies a
flash of returning life had thrilled at the moment when the
powerful Victor's cry, " It is finished !" resounded from the
cross, came forth from their graves with the Prince of Life,
awakened by His death- subduing power, " and went into the
holy city, and appeared unto many," (Matt, xxvii. 53.)
What do we say to this great and unique event ? It must
be understood that we employ here a different standard from
that of our limited every-clay experience, a higher one that
stands above the earthly order of nature. We find ourselves
in the domain of miracles. That which is here presented to
our field of vision comes direct from the power and majesty
of the Most High. From the earthquake, the rending of
rocks, and the visit of angels, down to the appointed place
in which, as the evangelist John reminds us, (John xxviii. 7,)
the napkin and the linen clothes were seen, neatly wrapped
together, in the empty tomb — all are the immediate working
of the omnipotence of the personal and living God, whose
pleasure it was that through these tokens His only-begotten
Son should, after He had endured the ignominy of the cross,
be honoured and glorified before the whole world. The
greatest of all wonders, however, is the Risen One himself.
Who can comprehend the change which suddenly had passed
upon Him ? Who can fathom the mystery of His glorified
nature, of His new being? There He stands before us
reunited to the body which, two days previously, He had
left on the cross inanimate. It is the same body which we
saw bleeding on the tree, and yet no longer the same. A
spiritual change has likewise taken place in Him, of which
His subsequent appearances do not permit us for one moment
to doubt. Where He presents Himself, He does so as the
result of a definite voHtion. Without this, His new nature
would have been veiled to mortal eyes. After He had
assumed a i^lorioiis body. He ate and drank, but He did not
THE MIRACLE OF EASTEE. 17
lo SO from necessity, but, doubtless, in the same mysterious
manner in which we saw Him, under the well-known title
of "the Angel of the Lord," together with His attendant
angels, eat in the grove at Mamre, when the Lord a^^peared
to Abraham. Let no one now ask where the Risen One
obtained the mantle with which He appeared invested at
His exit from the tomb. This question remains an open
one for our shortsighted understandings, like that of the
snow-white garments of the angels. Hardly were they the
product of a loom worked by man. Nor let us inquire where
the Lord afterwards tarried when He did not manifest Him-
self to His disciples. We must ever remember that, after
His resurrection, He had entered into the spliere of a higher
nature, and, indeed, such an one that the earthly has nothing
corresponding to place beside it. Moreover, the other mat-
ters connected with the Easter marvel, which, to our veiled
eyes, appear enigmatical, will not embarrass or disturb us
in the least, from the moment we hold the miracle itself to
be, beyond all contradiction, a grand historical fact. That
it is such a fact does not admit of one moment's doubt when
viewed apart from all prejudice. We wish to convince all
honest seekers for truth in the crowd of doubters around' us.
that Jesus Christ is really risen from the dead : but what
eft'ect do our arguments produce upon you ? Calmly follow
us in the discussion of the subject which we are prepared
to enter upon with you, in order to elicit the truth, and then
say what historical event was ever confirmed with more
striking proofs than that of Christ's resurrection.
II. At Jerusalem, we find the high priests and elders
already assembled before the first cock-crowing. The tidings
brought by the watch have roused these terrified rulers from
their beds like an alarm-trumpet. It is true they are not
all assembled ; Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathca, and pos-
sibly some others like-minded, are absent. What measures
B
] 8 THE MIRACLE OF EASTER.
must be employed now ? If the rumour of what happened
to the watch be spread, the last error will be worse than the
first, and the Galilean has triumphed even after death.
Good advice is not at hand, and, in its stead, they adopt an
expedient every way bad. As at the private audience on
the Friday morning they meanly practised bribery, so now
they employ the same means. The members of the council
engage themselves to pay large sums of money to the guards
upon their solemn promise to spread the report among the
people, that during the night, and whilst they, the guards,
were asleep, the disciples of the Nazarene came and stole
away the body of their Master. But what if it should come
to pass that the Dead should actually present Himself among
the people? Well, even then, there remained this evasion,
that He was only apparently dead when laid in the sepulchre,
and that, by the employment of secret but effective means.
He had been recalled to life. But what if the governor be
informed of the bribery practised? The members of the
council took upon themselves the responsibility of pacifying
him on this head, and, moreover, engaged so to manage
matters, that the guards should incur no punishment for
their dastardly fliglit from the grave. Upon this, the guards
took the wages of iniquity, and did as had been suggested
to them. Since the Eisen One did not again shew Himself
to the people, the story of the robbery of the tomb was, as
the evangelist says, " commonly reported among the Jews,"
and, indeed, Matthew adds, "until this day." We, however,
may apply this expression to the present age, for not only
do Jews, but with them there are likewise thousands of
nominal Christians, who still concur in making the same
" common report." Bur the thought that Christ is actually
risen from the dead is indeed so great, and attended with
such exceedingly happy results, that we incur danger, as did
the apostles of old, in not believing "for joy." Nevertheless,
THE MIRACLE OF EASTER. 19
it is impossible to deny tlie event of Easter-tide, witliout at
the same time flying in the face of all history; without
accoutring one's-self in triple brass, to repel the most cogent
})roofs ; without entirely renouncing all sound understand-
ing ; and without stifling and annihilating in oneVself the
last sparks of susceptibility for historical truth. If it be
certain that there ever lived a Eoman emperor who bore the
name of Augustus, — or that a people existed called the Jews,
who, after th.ey had crucified Christ, were scattered as chaff
to the four winds of heaven, — or that, once upon a time, the
Dagon of the Philistines fell before the ark of the covenant, —
or that the gods of Greece and Rome were hurled from their
altars before the gospel of the publicans, the fishermen, and
the tentmakers, — we have still more conclusive evidence i>f
that fact which, raised as it is immeasurably higher, abo\e
and beyond all doubt, the whole Church on earth is wont to
celebrate at Easter with sound of trumpets and son^i- — t^.e
mircicle of the resurrection of Jesus.
Eirst of all, survey with me the far-reaching chain of
unequivocal predictions which, link within link, stretches
through the four thousand years prior to the appearance of
Christ. Or, will you dare deny that the ancient patriar^^h^
of the human race, together with the entire Jewish nation,
from their origin, placed their hopes on a Messiah who
would bring salvation, peace, and redemption to them, and
to the whole human race? Indeed, were you to do so, every
Jew would enter the lists against you, and would reproach
you as both blind and stupid. Open the sacred records of
that people, and fix your eye upon the sublime form of the
Saviour which will present itself to you in almost every
pas(e. Learn in those sacred writings how, when, and where
" He who should come " was to appear. Beliold Him in the
representations of prophecy, as if He were already incarnate,
walking-, act'U'^, c^oinr; si'^ps a'lc^ A^'jrd-^r;. J^>ehold Him,
20 THE MIRACLE OF EASTEE.
further, in that mirror, rejected by His own people, num-
bered among the transgressors, suffer, bleed, and die, and
hear the propliet's explanation of it — " for our transgressions,
for our iniquities." Observe, further, how in the great pro-
phetic vision, after He has given up His life as a sacrifice,
has been " taken from judgment," released from death, He is
at length crowned with honour and glory, and raised to be
the foundation and corner-stone of a new kingdom — the
kingdom of grace ; how He then " should prolong His
days," and how " the pleasure of the Lord should prosper
in His hands/' Then take up the New Testament, and read
first the four Gospels. What do you discover there? A
man is born into the world at the precise time, at the fixed
spot, and of the very family in v.'hich, according to prophecy,
the ^Messiah should be born. This man, who thus appeared
publicly, declares Himself to be " He of whom Moses and
the prophets s^^ake/' He accomplishes all the works and
wonders of the prophetic type. He corresponds in every
feature with the Messiaii of the Old Testament. He becomes
the Lamb that bears the sin of the world. He says that
He is fore- ordained to suffer and to die ; that He shall not,
however, remain in death, but shall rise again on the third
day : and He suffers, sheds His blood, and dies, and — " does
not rise again ! " That were inconceivable, more so even
than if the trunk of a sound tree, whicli is in the course of
progressive development, should suddenly be arrested in its
growth, and remain a stunted stem, without any head-growth
or crown at all. The connexion of the prophecy and its
fulfilment, as well as the gradually progressive course of the
consecrated, sinless life of the incomjDarable personage of
whom we speak, demanded a resurrection from the dead as
an absolute necessity. If this had not followed, the life of
Christ would Lave been the most insoluble riddle in the
whole history of the world. It would have been like a build-
THE MIEACLE OF EASTEE. 21
ing framed in all its jDarts most carefully and perfectly, but
in which the key-stone had been most unaccountably omit-
ted; or like a painting, executed with marvellous ability,
but from which, however, the hand of the artist was re-
moved, just before its completion, by the Lord God himself,
leaving us in astonishment at the mystery of His providence.
If Scripture did not aver anything concerning the resurrec-
tion of Jesus, the assertion that part of the gospel must
have been lost would be j^erfectly reasonable and warranted.
The resurrection of Christ thus presents itself as the indis-
putable sequence of His existence and life up to the time of
His death.
But let it be supposed He did not rise again, wdiere could
the Dead One have remained? Search through the whole
wide world, and you will discover no place which could have
concealed Him. YV^as He in the custody of the Jews ? Im-
possible ! Would they not subsequently, and especially at
the splendid triumph of the gospel on the day of Pentecost,
ha\c brought forth the Dead from His hiding-place, and, by
t]-.o simple exhibition of His body, have achieved with one
blow the downfall of this hated Christianity. Was his body
deposited by His disciples in some remote and secret sepul-
chre ? The Jews allege this even to the present hour, cer-
tainly in a very dubious manner, feeling, as they must, that
no one will believe that the disciples would have been able
to kindle within themselves enthusiasm sufficient to cause
them to stake not only property, fame, and honour, but even
dear life itself, for one by whom they had been most wickedly
deluded and deceived in those blessed hopes which He him-
self had awakened in them. There remains therefore to
unbelief, in the tliird place, only this supposition, that Christ,
after He had distinctly foretold that He should die, and
after three days rise again, wlien taken from the cross was
not really dead, but only in a deep trance, from which He
22 THE MIRACLE OF EASTER.
awoke exactly on the third day purely by accident. But no
one can put forward such an opinion without rendering him-
self liable to be considered as one who merely, to evade the
pressure of the fact, does not consider the most absurd sup-
position too irrational as a last resource against his con-
science and better knowledae. In order not to be oblio-ed to
surrender the citadel of his unbelief, such a man blows him-
self up together with his reason and his logic ! Not to say
that it would have been wonderfully like a miracle if the
Lord had awoke from His rigid trance exactly on the third
day, the one which He had appointed for His return to life ;
the Ee-a-Aakened One would soon have had to go the way of
all flesh, that is to say, must have died : and where could
He have expired so secretly and obscurely, that neither
friend nor enemy, Jew nor Christian, should have discovered
anything about His death ? Perhaps He plunged into the
depths of the sea, or repaired to some remote uninhabited
island. You see into what contradictions, what absurdities,
that man falls who refuses to believe the miracle of the
resurrection. Sound reason does not deny this miracle ; but,
at its cost, and in opposition to it, a perverse will does,
refusing to do homage to Clirist, and to submit to His
sceptre.
The day of Pentecost is an historical fact. This is beyond
all question. Believe the baptism of fire by the Holy Spirit
to be what you will, it is certain that the disciples of Christ
at Pentecost received such a baptism, and that then and
there, by the organising of the congregation at Jerusalem,
the Cliristian Church on earth was founded. This fact no
one will controvert. It was Christ, however, who foretold
this day of Pentecost in the most definite manner, and added
to this prophecy the important assertion, that, by the out-
pouring of the Holy Spirit, He should give the first visible
sign of His elevation to the riorht hand of the Father. This
THE I\riEACLE OF EASTER. , 23
sign, therefore, followed. And in the presence of such world-
wide manifestations of life by the Prince of Peace, as well as
of unheard-of miraculous operations, by means of wliich He,
in so short a time, by a handful of poor Galileans, drew tlie
whole Eoman Empire to His banner, called into existence a
new spiritual world, in the ordinances, customs, views, and
ideas of which we all now live, will any one still doubt
whether this Christ be risen from the dead ? Why should
you not, then, at once doubt all history, in which — I boldly
afhrm it — hardly anything recorded is so fully confirmed
and verified as the fact, the memorial of whicli we celebrate
at Easter. The First Epistle to the Corinthians was written
by Paul, the contemporary of Christ and of all the other
apostles. This is beyond all contradiction. Even our most
unbelieving critics do not dare seriously to call it in question.
But what do we read in this epistle ? Loudly and openly
before all the world the apostle here testifies, (chap. xv. 6,)
that the Lord Jesus Christ, after His resurrection, "was
seen of above five hundred brethren at once ; of whom the
greater part remain unto this prese];it, but some are fallen
asleep." Any one zealous for the truth, who then doubted,
might have arrived at certainty in the shortest and surest
way. But the reality of the resurrection was seriously called
in question by scarcely any one in the earliest centuries of
the Christian epoch. On the contrary, the lapse of time
served but to increase the number of the adherents to the
Divine Prince of Life. And will you still doubt? Why
then? Because death is death, and nobody ever returned
from the grave. So, indeed, you are taught by the history
of natural science, and hence the common saying of unbe-
lievers, that the latter will in time entirely unhinge and dis-
place Christianity. But whence do you derive authority to
impose a limit upon the development of creative j^owers by
tho Author of nature, saying, " Thus far shalt thou go, and
24i THE MIEACLE OF EASTER.
no further," and to regard those laws by which nature is
now sustained as fetters by which the Creator's hands are
bound ? Poor jDurblind mortals ! Because in the present
day no sinful child of Adam rises from the dead, do you
conclude that the Son of God, the Sinless One, could not
vanquish that death which He incurred on our account ? A
more foolish conclusion than this I cannot conceive. Away
with it ! You wilfully blind your eyes that you may not
see, because you feel that, to be consistent, you must accept
not only the resurrection of Christ, but many other things
likewise ; that you must not only give up and renounce
much, but must give to your whole life another, a higher,
and a more spiritual direction.
III. And that you doubtless must. For if Christ rose
ngain from the dead on the third day, He is your divinely-"
accredited King and Lord ; and so long as you withhold from
Him homage, and do not render Him obedience, both in
body and soul, you are rebels, obnoxious to punishment,
without excuse. The confirmatory seal of the Most High
shines upon all that He has revealed, taught, and ordained,
and those who delay even for one moment to bow beneath
His sceptre, are stigmatised as rebellious subjects. Did the
Eternal Euler raise His Son, crowned with glory and honour,
from the dust of death ? — then this latter is by such glorious
exaltation proved to be the Eedo'^ir.er of the world with
power; and at the same time our natural condition is repre-
sented to be so hopelessly h?>i. chat it could be relieved only
by the unexampled manifestations of grace. But who would
be concerned for such a sinner? for he strives with all his
might against the requirement that he should be simply in-
debted for his salvation to the merits of another, to the
righteousness of a Mediator. And precisely because men
have an idea of the consequences incident to faith in the
resurrection of Christ, they reject it ; and maintain, in oppo-
THE MIKACLE OF EASTER. 25
sition to the voice of truth sounding loudly within them,
that the sun in clear broad day, though brightly shining
overhead, is not to be found in the heavens at all.
But it is to be hoj^ed you are not among the number of
those who wilfully evade a truth which is fitted to transform
this earthly valley of the shadow of death into the portal of
Paradise. I assume that your need of grace, peace, and a
certain liope of everlasting life has made your eye single,
and quickened your apprehension of the reality and glory of
the Saviour's resurrection. Ye blessed ones ! what a stream
of comfort and of joy issues for you from the open grave in
Joseph's garden ! Oh say, after what are your aspirations ?
Is it after a Prince of Peace, whose brow God himself has en-
circled with the diadem of honour ? — a Kedeemer who, under
His own hand and seal, has attested that He has " blotted
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, and
taken it out of the way?" (Col. ii. 14) — a Friend quite as
powerful as He is condescending, in whom you may im-
plicitly confide, on whose breast you may gently lean, into
whose bosom you may shed your tears, and from whose love
you may always indulge the highest hopes ? — a Surety who,
from His own experience, can satisfy you that death to the
believer involves nothing further than being raised to the
vision of God and glorification in the heavenly state ? All
this you have, and infinitely more, in Him who hails you
from the ruins of His riven tomb, with His " Peace be unto
you ! " — the first morning salutation of a new life. Oh, fall
at Ris feet in adoration and homage, whose resurrection ,
already spreads the dawn of a heavenly day over your earthly '
existence Open wide — and surely this can be no diflScult
matter — the portals of your heart to Him, that He may enter
therein with the plenitude of His Easter consolations ; and
whithersoever you go or stay, released from cares, and liav-
ing banished fears, with your inner soul attuned to perfect
26 THE MIRACLE OF EASTEE.
harmony by the exulting message, " The Lord is really
risen," re-echo the trium23hant song of the poet : —
" The Lord is risen again !
Where is now the death-sting?
Where, grave, the victory ?
Thanks to God, and praise and blessing,
Christ for us hath risen —
Christ, that lives in heaven,
Hath to us the victory given !
To the skies
See Him rise !
There, through Him, we follow !
Faxewell, death and sorrow I Amen.*''
THE EMPTY GEAVE. 27
THE EMPTY GRAVE.
The mere existence of the Christian Church is the mightiest
evidence of the truth of the resurrection of Christ. It would
not have existed if Christ had not risen ; and he who denies
the resurrection believes in an absurdity, and accepts effects
which have no causes. No doctrine of the Christian Church
so clearly shews that the root of unbelief is to be found
oftener in the heart than in the understanding, as that of the
resurrection of Christ. Dispute with unbelievers concerning
every other doctrine or fact of the Christian religion, and it
is possible that, even though the point be not settled, you
may leave off peaceably and pleasantly. But if you urge
upon them evidences of the historical truth of the resurrec-
tion, they will part from you embittered and angry. Why
this ? Because they cannot escape the painful feeling that
here all the weapons of their critical acuteness refuse to do
them service, and the inward judge inexorably sentences
them as men who wilfully shut themselves out from the
truth against their better knowledge and convictions. When
Peter, in his defence before the council, as reported in Acts
V. 30, reminded them of Jesus' resurrection, and, in discuss-
ing its truth, appealed to his own ocular testimony as well
as that of his fcUow-disciples, and likewise to the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit, by which latter event the Lord had prac-
tically authenticated His exaltation to be '' a Prince and
28 THE EMPTY GRAVE.
Saviour of Israel," his judges were "cut to the heart/' — that
is to say, they were enraged, and combated that which they
were unable to resist, with insolent defiance and wilful obdu-
racy. Gamaliel alone perceived that this was not the right
way to combat, but that where truth held the field it wavS
more becoming to bow to her, whatever it might cost. May
the honesty which characterised Gamaliel be, by God's grace,
imparted to us, and may it accompany us throughout the
whole course of our Easter meditations ! May it not be
denied us to-day !
Matt, xxviii. 5, 8; IMat^k xvi. 1-8 ; Luke xxiv. 1-12 ; John xx. 1~11.
" Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, when
it was yet dark, came Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and
Salome, and others with them, unto the sepulchre, bringing sAveet spices
which they had prepared that they might embalm him. And they said
among themselves, Yf ho shall roll us away the stone from the door of the
sepulchre ? But when they looked, they saw that it was rolled away, for
it was very large. And they entered in, but found not the body of the
Lord Jesus. And, as they were much perplexed concerning it, behold,
there stood by them two men in shining garments ; and they saw a young
man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment ; and they
were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth. But the angel an-
swered and spake to the women, Fear not ye ; I know ye seek Jesus who
w\as crucified. But why seek ye the living among the dead ? He is not
here : he is risen, as he said. Come see the place where the Lord lay.
But go quickly, tell his disciples and Peter that he is risen from the dead.
Remember how he spake to you when he was yet in Galilee : The Son of
man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and
the third day rise again : and behold he goeth before you into Galilee ; there
shall ye see him. Lo, I have told you. And they remembered his words,
and went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre ; for they trembled and
were amazed : neither said they anything to any one, for they were afraid.
But they told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest ; but
their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
Mary Magdalene cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom
Jesus loved, and said unto them, They have taken the Lord away out of
the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter there-
fore went forth, and that other disciple, and they came to the sepulchre ;
and so they did V'oth run together, but tliat other disciple did outrun
THii] e:.ipty oeave. 29
Peter, and came first to the sepulchre ; and he stooped down, and looking
in, he saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Then cometh
Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the
linen clothes lie, and the napkin that had been about his head not lying
with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then
that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, went in also, and he
saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must
rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again together."
The primary incidents in connexion with our Lord's
deserted tomb are tliiis narrated in the combined accounts
of the evangelists, reported partly from their own observa-
tion, and partly from that of the female disciples. Where
are now the irreconcilable discrejiancies in their representa-
tions, which, according to the utterances of unbelief, annihi-
late the doctrine of the inspiration of the sacred writers,
and expose them so palpably, that, at least with reference to
the report before us, we are no longer on historic ground ?
I am unable to discover these contradictions. That ^Matthew
and Mark only mention one angel as having spoken, whilst
Luke and Joim speak of a second as having done so like-
wise, will hardly be considered a contradiction by any one.
Mark's deviation from the other accounts aj)pears more im-
portant, in stating that the women, when hastening back,
told no one, whereas the other evangelists distinctly say that
they told the disciples all that had happened to them. But
let it be only supposed that the women told their secret to
no one whom they met on the way — that they at first, partly
from consternation, partly from joy, concealed it for a while
even from the a2)ostles; in this case Mark's account is no less
accurate than that of Matthew, Luke, and John. But the
.i:reatest difficulty is presented in the circumstance that jMary
Magdalene, who at early dawn joined the women going out,
neither, saw the angels at the same time as they did, nor
heard their message, nor learned their errand. But the
solution of the enigma is at hand, if we only — and what
so THE EMPTY GEAVE.
should binder us? — present the matter to ourselves in the
following manner. Assuredly Mary Magdalene went out of
Jerusalem with the other women, but, prompted by her quick
temperament and impulsive habit, she rushed on before the
others, taking probably some nearer bypath. Immediately
upon her entering the garden, she, to her great consterna-
tion, observed that the sepulchre was shattered; and without
tarrying for a moment, she hastened back to the city by the
same path by which she had gone there, and told Peter and
John that the body of our Lord had been carried off; hav-
ing done which, she at once returned to the tomb with the
two disciples. It was during this interval that those inci-
dents transpired which happened to her friends in the garden
of Joseph. They may, indeed, have left our Lord's tomb
before Mary Magdalene and her companions had reached it.
When the latter, to their no small grief, had convinced them-
selves that Mary Magdalene's report was correct, they forth-
with returned to Jerusalem, whilst she, abandoned to grief,
stopped at the tomb ; and it was then and there that she was
favoured w^ith the sight of the Risen One, concerning which
we shall hear more anon. This appearance was followed by
that described in Matt, xxviii. 9, 10, in which her friends
w^ere cheered by our Lord's presenting Himself to them, the
meeting taking place probably in a spot near the city. Or,
in the above-mentioned passage, did Matthew only concisely
relate that of which John gives a more detailed account?
(chap. XX. 11-17.) And, in his short narrative, did Matthew
assign to all the women those incidents w^hich occurred to
Mary Magdalene only ? Many accept this version, and with
its adoption the wdiole narrative of the evangelists is cleared
from all perplexity. But, indeed, so it is without it. If we
only can conceive the collocation of events to have been such
as we liave just represented, the harmony of the fourfold
testimony is firmly cstnblislied against all objections.
THE EMPTY GEAVE. 31
Now let us pcass in review the different features of this
liighly suggestive picture. And first of call, let the mind's
eye be attentively directed to the luomen setting out at
early dawn; secondly, to the incidents which befell them at
the sepulchre; thirdly, their report to the assembled dis-
ciples; as also, fourthly, the issue of their communication.
You remember that when the corpse was deposited in
Elisha's tomb, it revived. In a spiritual sense, may we
experience something similar ! with this difference, however,
that the effect wrought in us may be as much greater as the
tomb we are now about to visit is greater, more sublime, and
Iiolier than was that of the prophet of Abei-Meholah.
I. Night still rested upon the holy city, and a gleam of
dawn was visible in the distance, when by its aid a heart-
affecting sight is presented to us in its quiet, deserted streets.
It is the approach of the veiled procession. We recognise
it as consisting of the female disciples of the crucified Lord.
They move along with heads bowed low and eyes red with
weeping. They have passed the night sleepless, or disquieted
with unpleasant dreams ; and now, as the Sabbath is over,
they are silently moving towards the garden of Joseph, with
their fine linen, their wreaths, and their spices, in order to
render the last offices of love to the dear remains of their
departed Friend, which had been interrupted when He was
laid in the tomb. Most of them are already known to you.
You see among them Johanna, wife of Chuza, an official of
Herod the king ; Salome, the richly blessed mother of Zebe-
dee's children, the two apostles, John and James ; the three
Marys — Mary, wife of Cleopas, and mother of James the
Less and of Joses ; another Mary, perhaps Mary of Bethany,
sister of Lazarus and INIartha ; and Mary Magdalene, who
had been saved as a brand from the fire, and now burns with
more fervent affection than all tlie others for her beloved
Saviour. jMary, the mother of the Lord, is not in the
32 THE I'MPTY GRAVE.
funeral procession. Crushed l)y the terrible blow whicli she
lias experienced, this sorely-afflicted one remains bathed in
tears under the roof of lier adopted son, John. But we
rejoice that our last view of her is not in this liour of sorrow.
"We find her on the day of Pentecost abundantly comforted ;
happy once more, truly happy ; and when she shortly after-
wards disappears from our view, we will know where to look
for the " highly-favoured one."
The sorrow-stricken women move silently along. It is
not until they have nearly reached the garden that a petty
care unseals their lips, and we hear them say, " Who will
remove the stone for us from the mouth of the sepulchre ? "
Thus all their wishes and desires resolved themselves into
this trivial solicitude. Considering the unequivocal pro-
phecies which they had repeatedly heard from the mouth of
their Master, this seems hardly conceivable. But the fearful
and bloody end of His life must have fallen like a terrific,
devastating hailstorm upon the harvest-field of their hopes
and recollections. Even supposing the inexpressible con-
sternation into which they had been throv>m to have left
them adequate opportunity and self-possession to remember
what He had heretofore said most unequivocally, in reference
to His resurrection after His previous crucifixion, yet they
must have reo^rded it as a settled matter that they were
only authorised to give it a spiritual meaning, or, at the
utmost, to apply it to the resurrection at the last day. For
the present, and for all time. He figured in the range of their
gloomy and veiled notions but as one of the dead — an
inanimate corpse. Hence they restricted all their affectionate
solicitude to one (jbject — gently and reverentially to commit
His remains to their long sleep in the bosom of the earth.
Alas ! how many are there now-a-days who, like the women,
need to have the stone rolled away from the door of their
Saviour's sepulchre ! To how many who are baptized in
THE EMPTY GRAVE. 33
and called by His holy name, is Christ but a corpse still !
Were they but equally distressed and anxious for salvation,
as were these female disciples now on their way to His tomb,
surely we might trace an analo;,^ in their .subsequent expe-
rience^. But our ri.sen Lord to this hour witlidraws Himself
from all who will not feel their need of Him, from all who
are satisfied with their own righteousness. Yes ! their be-
setting self-love and self-sufficiency work their delusion; they
are ever seeking the living among the dead, whilst, on the
contrary, the Church of our Cod never ceases to ring with
hallelujahs, simply because He is risen ; and instead of re-
joicing with believers, sayino-, ''Jesus lives, and I too live
in him," and seeing heaven opened to them, they must
needs repeat the disconsolate commonplace, " No one has
ever returned from the realms of the dead." Poor souls !
how are they to be pitied !
11. When these mourners reached the garden, they were
still occupied with the anxious desire to know " who should
remove the massive stone from the entrance to the tomb."
What do they perceive there? Oh! what can it mean?
Behold ! the stone has already been moved aside, and the
interior of the tomb lies exposed. But the spectacle plunges
them in fresh perplexity, The weakness of their faith sug-
gests that some violence had been practised upon His dear
remains. Trembling with fearful anticipation, they draw
near the sepulchre ! Lo ! suddenly there gleams forth from
it a beam of light like lightning, and by its marvellous bril-
liancy they discover two figures, young men clad in glittering
garments, in whom they immediately recognise two beings
from another world, two angels of Cod. Do not marvel that
the resurrection should have been accompanied by such
extraordinary appearances as these. AVithout such, as some
one has truly observed, the resurrection of Christ would
have been a spring without flowers, a sun without rays, a
34 THE EMPTY GEAVE.
victory without a triumphal wreath. It was right that the
majesty of the Almighty should be revealed in every possible
way in connexion with it, and holy angelic beings are truly
some of the most lovely rays of His glory. Yet they were
not present for the sake of pageant or parade, but, as on
every other occasion, so likewise on this, for the sake of
those who are heirs of salvation. They had been sent as
heralds, to communicate a message. Scarcely had the women
recovered from their first astonishment, when one of the
angels opened his gracious lips, and speaking to the sorrow-
ful party from within the tomb, said, " Fear not ye : for I
know that ye seek Jesus, who was crucified. Why seek ye
the living among the dead ? He is not here. He is risen,
as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
There you have one of the most blessed messages ever yet
heard on earth. The plain simple form in which it presents
itself to us at once stamps it with the impress of truth ! The
mere poet or mythologist would have made the messengers
of God proclaim more emphatically and ostentatiously an
event which lighted up earth's dark valley of death with a
starry firmament of the brightest hopes. But the heavenly
messengers were intent only upon informing mankind of the
historical fact, and they left it to the highly-favoured ones
themselves to celebrate the wonderful event in psalms and
songs of praise. It cannot escape you that the mode in
which the angels express themselves proposed nothing be-
yond announcing, with due emphasis, the reality of the re-
surrection of Christ, and placing it beyond all doubt. The
" Crucified One," say they. He whom the women seek in the
grave, is risen from the dead. Yes ! He Himself arose, and
that, too, bodily, as He was buried. Here from the place
where He lay has He raised Himself. Through this open
stone doorway has He gone forth again alive. " Fear not
ye." With liow much stronger emphasis might that " Fear
THE EMPTY GEAVE. 35
not ye" be proclaimed in this sinful world, than on that
sacred night when the shepherds on Bethlehem's plains were
greeted with the same salutation ! For now fear, care, terror,
and doubt were utterly banished from every secret hiding-
place. "Who would now be disposed to accuse, or who to
condemn? and what now remained to oppress and terrify
the poor heart of man ?
Whether Jesus Christ be really the only-begotten Son of
the Father, whether His work of mediation be held in the
Father's eyes to be fully perfected and sufficient for the ex-
piation of our sins, whether the way of salvation which He
has pointed out to us be the one leading there surely and
infallibly, and whether death has been really vanquished
and paradise regained for us by Him, — all these and many
other glorious truths beside are now placed by the resur-
rection beyond doubt. Their affirmation was decided; it
was most clearly confirmed by the seal of the Most High.
There is no longer any distressing condition upon earth to
which the " Fear not ye" of the angels, together with the
j^owerful grounds of consolation on which that utterance is
founded, may not be applied. It brightens the darkest
nights of sorrow with divine gleams of hope, and banishes,
at least, the horror of despair from the gloomiest vales of
life.
The women feel conscious of the profound significance of
the angel's exclamation ; but again they are so overcome by
the greatness of the joyful news thus intimated, that at first
they can only rejoice with trembling. They stand there
dumb with wonder. But the heavenly messenger rouses
them from their torpor, commanding them forthwith to go
and tell the disciples of the Lord, and especially Peter, that
their Master had risen, and is alive again. Truly a more
glorious errand than this was never committed to any mor-
tal ! That which makes our office, the office of ambassadors
36 THE EMPTY GRAVE.
for Christ, the most deliglitful on earth, is, that the charge
committed to the minister of Christ is analogous to that
given to the women. How enviable would the preacher of
the gospel be, if the message which he has to declare were
everywhere and at once believingly received ! How happy
would the world be made by his presence, dispelling on all
sides the shadows of sorrow, spreading sunshine over the
beds of the sick and the dying, and transforming the grave
itself into a peaceful place of rest, nay, rather, into the gate
of heaven! He would be the angel of humanity; peace
and joy would ever attend his steps. But, in a majority of
cases, how long have we to knock at the fast- closed doors of
the heart, ere it be opened to receive our message ! This
may be salutary for us as an exercise of humility and of
prostration in the dust, but the world only excites our
commiseration. In God's own gracious time, however, we
are ever and anon encouraged by a specific message to indi-
viduals, as were these good women who were desired to an-
nounce a fact to the eleven and to Peter. It was cordially
received by them all, but especially by Peter. What could
be more touching, and, at the same time, more elevating,
than this special mention of the poor fallen disciple ? " Tell
it to Peter." It shall be first announced to him ; before all
others to him, weeping in retirement, overcome with peni-
tence and shame. No one was so near to the heart of the
risen Saviour as he was. I ask again, could there be any-
thing more touching, and, at the same time, more consola-
tory, than this more than motherly tenderness of the Lord of
lords for His contrite, broken-hearted Simon ? Together with
the notification of the resurrection, the women were desired
to remind the eleven of a previous utterance of their Master,
according to which He engaged that, after His resurrection'
He would go before them into Galilee. The angel expressly
told the women this, and emphasised His words, adding,
THE EMPTY GEAVE. 37
"Lo, I have told you i' These female disciples, agitated
with inexpressible emotions, and perliaps yet doubtful whe-
ther they were awake or only under the illusion of a pleasant
dream, hasten back to the city. They encounter several
persons on their road, but, maintaining strict silence, they
hasten by them, keeping their secret locked up in their
breasts,
III. But we will leave them for a few moments, and turn
our attention to another incident. We know already that at
early dawn, when the women had scarcely reached the pre-
cincts of the city, ]\Iary Magdalene, whose temperament most
resembled Peter's, had hastened before them, on wings of
impatience, by a shorter road. To see the open and empty
tomb, and to hasten back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples
the alarming news, were to her but oioe operation. She met
John, and his friend Peter, in the city, and gave them as a
sad morning salutation the sorrowful news, " They have taken
away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where
they have laid him," (John xx. 2.) At this news the two
hurried away to the garden ; and JMary Magdalene returning
scarcely was outrun by them. They arrived there just as the
other women had left the sacred spot ; they actually found
everything as Mary had informed them. The stone was
rolled away, and the grave was empty. John arrived there
first ; but either from tender awe, or fear that his feelings
would be too much for him, he did not enter the tomb,
though, from a little distance, he looked into it, and saw the
linen clothes in which the beloved remains had been wrapped.
Peter, on the other hand, to search out the matter, entered
the sepulchre, and we know what there met his eye. Folded,
as by a careful hand, lay the napkins and linen clothes in
one place, and in another, folded also smoothly and carefully,
lay the napkin which had been bound round our Lord's
bleeding head. Then John wished to see it also, and rever-
•58 THE EMPTY GRAVE.
ently, as if his foot were on holy ground, entered the sepul-
chre. Certainly the napkin thus neatly folded would have
seemed to them to indicate anything rather than a violent
abstraction of the body ; but this circumstance was inade-
quate to suggest more than a fleeting thought of the real
bodily resurrection of the Lord. This seems incomprehen-
sible to us, but it actually was so. The Gospel says, "For
as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again
from the dead." And truly they did not know it. If they
had ever read anything about the victory over death to be
achieved by the expected Messiah, or had they ever heard
anything concerning it from the mouth of their Master
himself, like Mary and Martha just before the ai^proaching
resuscitation of their brother Lazarus, they lost and dissi-
pated the real sense by assigning a subtilised and spiritual
one. They returned despondently from the garden of Joseph
to Jerusalem, but without their friend Mary Magdalene, who
could not yet tear herself from His grave who w"as to her all
in all.
The two had just returned home to the other disciples,
when, possibly some few moments after their arrival, the
women, whom in our narrative we accompanied for some
distance on their way home, arrived likewise. We see them,
in a state of the highest excitement, join the circle of the
disciples. Here, likewise, their lips are for a while closely
sealed. Will anything so wonderful be believed? Lideed,
the fact, as narrated, and \^\1q\\ they had to repeat, was to
them of overwhelming import, and in itself transcendently
glorious. But joy presently unsealed their lips, and we now
hear them each vying with the other in animation, relieving
their full hearts by telling of the ^marvellous things which
they had seen and heard. They report that they had been
favoured with a vision of angels, and then deliver the trans-
porting message which one of the heavenly heralds had com-
THE EMPTY GRAVE. 3D
mitted to them for tlie disci2:)lGS. And they have yet some-
thing mucli more important still, to which we shall recur
later. For they insist upon it, that they have personally
seen the Lord himself. The discii)les hear, but scarcely
trust their ears. " Angels in their Master's tomb 1 And
assurance from the lips of one of them that the Master is
risen ! Nay, more than that, an interview with the Eisen
One himself: Oh, that all this had not transpired under
the veil of twilight, and that the message had been delivered
by other lips than those of excited and credulous women !
Jb'or John and Simon were both there too, and they saw and
heard nothing of it." With such thonghts as these the
eleven are exercised, and they do not believe ; or rather let
me sa}^ they strive against belief. It was just so with the
other disciples when they heard of it. " Por the words of
the women," according to historic record, "appeared to them
Hs idle tales." Poor men ! how little confidence do they
shew in the power and love of the living God ; how little
ability have they to grasp the divine scheme of salvation to
be wrought out by Christ ; how limited was their aj^prehen-
sion of all that they had heard, during three whole years,
from the mouth of the JMaster himself, as to the real object
of His mission to the world ! Indeed, it is difficult to say
how far the natural man is carried away from belief in a
living God constantly operating creatively ; he gets entangled
in what we style *' the unchangeable laws of nature." And
up to this very day we cannot get absolutely clear of secret
doubt, as to whether the resurrection be not a fable, though
the most cogent arguments for its historical truth be brought
home to^the understanding, unless the Holy Spirit has per-
fected in us the work of Divine illumination, and has, with
the pangs of the new birth, thoroughly convinced us that we
are irrecoverably lost, without a God-man Mediator sacri-
ficed as a sin-offerino- for us, and then raised airain from the
40 THE EMPTY GRAVE.
dust of death to the glory of a new life. But if the light of
Pentecost dispel our dariaiess, it will then truly appear in-
comprehensible how we should ever have given room to the
slightest doubt as to an event distinguished by more confir-.
niatory seals than any other in universal history. May the
Lord help us likewise, in the way above indicated, to a right
belief of the resurrection, and loose the tongue of our hearts,
so that we may shout with the sacred poet —
" Emmanuel's glory pledged to me,
All in all I now possess ;
Above He keeps a heavenly home
For my soul in readiness ;
Though sin and curse hang o'er me still,
I conquer'd have, and conquer xdll.
** Through the world I joyous travel,
With Christ my strength I'm glad at soul
Happy now though waves of trouble
Still across my bosom roll !
Happier when, life's voyage o'er,
My bark shall rest for evermore f *
CHRIST'S FIKST APPEARANCE. 41
IV.
CHRIST'S FIRST APPEARANCE.
That the risen Saviour should, as the apostle Peter ex-
pressly observes in Acts x. 41, " have appeared not to all the
people, hut only unto luitnesses chosen before of God!' has
excited in many surprise, and shaken the faith of others. It
is not difficult, however, to perceive why it was so. In the
first place, the Lord had brought His ministry to a close; and
to a generation that had wilfully and obstinately resisted the
truth proclaimed by Him, the aj^pearance of the Risen One
would have been a matter of indifference, and without results.
On the other hand, if He had shewn Himself again to a
hostile people, the proverb would only have been verified in
their experience, which Christ, in the parable of the rich
man and poor Lazarus, put in Abraham's mouth — "If they
hear not Moses and the i^rophets, neither will they be per-
suaded though one rose from the dead." Moreover, had it
come to pass that the people were constrained to admit the
Risen One was neither a phantom, nor one merely awakened
out of a trance, but really risen from the dead, the fruit and
effect of the conviction thus attained would have been but
idle astonishment, or a blind enthusiasm, or a disjDosition
excited in them to make Him a king ; but without a believ-
ing surrender of the heart to Him. Finally, the purpose
involved in our Lord's manifestations of Himself during the
forty days, was simply to crown the faith of believers, to
42 cheist's fiest appeaeance.
spirituLise still more the communion into which they had
already o.itered with Him as their Divine Head, and to give
it a hccivanly glorification. This was a purpose which, from
its nature, could not extend to the great masses who were
ruled by a worldly spirit. Here that law was brought into
exercise, " that to him that hath shall be given, and he shall
have more abundantly." The scenes reported as having
transpired during the forty days, unveil the outskirts of
paradise. Here a barrier had necessarily to be erected, and
the profane were warned to keep their distance. Our Lord
rejected the service of an extorted faith ; that which He
accepted was the spontaueous affection of a soul feeling its
need of salvation. And He did not look around for such in
vain. We shall presently have an opportunity of convincing
ourselves of the fact.
John xx. 11-18.
" But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping ; and as she wept,
she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in
white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body
of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ?
She saith vxnto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know
not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned
herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus saith unto her. Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?
She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him. Sir, if thou have
borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him
away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him,
Eabboni ; which is to say, Master, Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not ;
for I am not yet ascended to my Father : but go to my brethren, and say
unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father ; and to my God,
and your God. IMary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had
seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these thmgs unto her."
Might we not, whenever this Gospel is read, imagine that
we were listening to a hymn of praise of ecstatic harmony
in connexion with the resurrection, rather than a narra-
tive of the event. What object can be more charming,
CHRIST'S FIRST APPEAEANCE. 43
affecting, and tender, than the scene which is here brouglit
under our observation? A. higher world here stands out
from the lower one, in which all that we prize as most beau-
tiful and noble uj^on earth is presented to us as lighted
up with heavenly glory ; and from thence a light beams on
us, in the wondrous radiance of wiiich every gloomy care in
our own course is dissipated. In its light, the way through
tlie valley of our pilgrimage, stretching beyond death and
the tomb, lies disclosed before us as a peaceful path bloom-
ing with the most exalted hopes. Let us contemplate this
attractive story from a nearer point of view, and may our
spiritual energies be increased by meditation iqjon the first
appearance of the risen Prince of Peace. In Marys grief
lue shall recognise the indispensable condition of all true
joy in the resurrection; and in the personal revelation of
the Prince of the Resurrection, we shall find the end of all
earthly sorrows. May that happiness be again experienced
in our midst which was then realised by Mary Magdalene.
The Lord of His mercy grant it !
L The rising sun is just about to gild the tops of the
mountains of Judea with the first roseate tints of dawn. It
is spring, and day breaks beautifully over the realm of
nature, whilst One incomparably more beautiful breaks over
the spiritual world. You will see nothing of the latter at
the moment we are entering Joseph's garden. On the con-
trary, our eye at once fixes itself upon a scene which forms
a harsh contrast to the cheerful festive dress with which
newly-awakened nature is adorned. Look yonder ! do you
not see, between those shrubs in front of the open sepulchre,
the veil of mourning waving in the breeze ? Who is she
who, all alone, has found her way here so early, whose eyes
are swimming in tears, and who, with her head leaninir on
tlie stone, seems ready to faint with agony and grief? You
know her. It is that disciple whom you saw, at the Pharisee's
44 Christ's fieoT appearance.
house, a while ago, wash her Divine Master's feet with her
tears and dry them with the hair of her head, — she who
once went so far astray, and was so fearfully possessed, — she
whom her Lord liberated from the power of seven devils,
and in a peculiar manner rescued as a brand out of the fire.
Much had been forgiven her, and therefore she loved and
still loves much. How happy was she then, so gloriously
saved ! But, alas ! her sun declined, and the day of her
peace, according to all appearance, was never likely to dawn
again. What she, when sobered down from worldly intoxi-
cation, once desired, with passionate impatience, whether
men call it truth or assurance, — that God would restore her
to favour, confer power to overcome Satan and the world,
and the hope of eternal life, — all these, and much more
besides, Mary Magdalene had found in Jesus her Prince of
Peace. Through His instrumentality, she saw her past
merged in the sea of oblivion ; the blissful rays of His grace
and love to sinners brightened up her present and her future.
Whenever she contrasted her present with her past, she felt
as if she must join in the holy Virgin's anthem — " Behold,
from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." But
now, all that beautiful world, in which she was once so
happy, lies shattered before her. Its foundation's are broken
up. Her Surety for all that she had accepted as eternal
truth, had sunk in death, and was still held by death. And
had only His lifeless corpse still been there, Mary would
certainly have bathed even this with her tears. But then —
What! would she then still hope in a resurrection? I
will not precisely maintain that ; but the contrast between
the S23otless innocence of her Divine Friend, and the dreadful
termination of His life, are presented to her mind in such
glaring, yea, in such appalling contradiction, that it seems to
her the world must sink in ruins, unless there be a har-
monious settlement, unless there be a satisfactory explanation
CHRIST'S FIRST APPEARANCE. 45
of the dreadful mystery. She has no longer any clearly-
defined ground of hope, especially now that His dear remains
have disappeared. But why does she perpetually repeat those
prying glances into the empty sepulchre ? A certain some-
thing, which at least borders on hope, lingers and lives in the
depths of her soul. It is, however, only like a slender flame in
a room where the draught from the door or window makes it
flicker to and fro, and threatens every moment to put it out.
But did not the disciple deserve a severe rebuke for her
excessive grief, since she was not bereft of everything ? Her
Master's teaching and His bright example were still left to
her. To put such a question as this, betrays in the speaker
a very superficial notion of what is needed above everything
else by sinful humanity. What could Christ's teaching be
to Mary, if the teacher, instead of being accredited, were
repudiated by God ? What the value of all His engagements
and promises, if the Eternal left Him v/ithout the attesting
seal? What His mediatorial redemption, if the closing
scene in the life of Him who assumed to be the surety of
th.is redemption, stamped it as a failure? What the hope
of future bliss, if He who suggested it Himself remained,
under the power of death ? She saw her whole salvation
strictly connected with the personality of the man ; and in
this she was perfectly right. She needed a propitiator and
mediator accredited of God, who could be her representative
before the Judge of the living and of the dead, who could
secure to her the Divine favour, who could give her eternal
life. Without such a one, she wanted everything that could
set her soul at ease. She had believed that she had found
him : according to present appearances, however, her faith
had been but a beautiful, blissful dream. Will you still
doubt whether she had good reason for shedding those tears
before the empty sepulchre? Assuredly you would not,
were you to place yourself in her position.
46 CHRIST'S FIRST APPEARANCE.
But be assured there is no Easter joy in the resurrection
to the man who, the instant he conceives the Mediator as
having been removed, knows nothing of Mary's anguish,
who does not feel himself to be unhappy, helpless, and
wretched, with an intensity of feeling like hers. The first
condition of participation in the joy of the resurrection lies
in this, that after a man has been thoroughly convinced of
his lost state, he passionately thirst for the grace of God and
the assurance of eternal life, — that he feel and confess all the
world can oflPer to relieve this craving is inadequate. As it
was with Mary Magdalene in the instance before us, so he
will never attain inward peace until he have met One who
came down from heaven to earth, not only to announce in
God's name pardon to sinners, but who confirmed the cheer-
ing; messaoe in a manner that commended itself alike to
both head and heart. And this One has appeared. The
soul which finds itself in despair as to all human counsel
and comfort, and yearns for some fixed grounds of hope,
will infallibly and speedily discover Him in the Lord of the
resurrection, and having done so, will ask nothing further of
heaven or earth.
Mary bends down again, and tries once more to pry into
the sepulchre, as though it were inconceivable that the dear
remains should have disappeared from within it. She sees
two noble forms in white garments, the one sitting at the
head, the other at the foot, where the body of Jesus had
lain. We know who these living antitypes of the cherubim
standing upon the ark of the covenant were. you who,
having turned aside from the faith, still follow your own
ways, learn here to have some perception, though imperfect,
how happy they are, even on this side the grave, to whom
the gospel is a truth in their inmost souls. AU terrors are,
for them, removed ; the heavenly world rises before their
view as one of glory, and imparts its glory to this earth ;
CHRIST'S FJEST APPEAKANCE. 47
even from the tomb they are hailed by the divine heralds of
peace, with transporting announcements of immortal life.
" Woman, why lueepest thou ? " One of the heavenly
^Yatchers at the sepulchre addresses in these words a female
disciple dissolved in tears. It is still uncertain whether she
recognised the angels as such, or whether she thought them
mere men. But granting that she recognised the angels to
be such, it was not they of whom she was in search, but a
totally different Being ; and even the highly encouraging
question, " Woman, why weepest thou ? " would only have
tended to wound her more deeply, for it must have been
unintelligible to her why any one should inquire the cause
of her tears. " They have taken aiuay my Lord," she re-
plied, sobbing, '' and I know not ivhere they have laid him."
How affecting are these words ! and how much faith gleams
through that expression, " My Lord," notwithstanding all
her other unbelief ! Whatever may have become of Him,
He remains, now as before, her Lord, and she His humble
and devoted handmaid and disciple. She still convulsively
clings to the dead, like one suspended over a yawning abyss,
who clutches the last holdfast he could seize in the act of
fallmg. If she must give up the Master for lost, a whole
host of holy angels, however friendly their approach, would
have failed to compensate for His absence. And this feeling
of hers is neither unfounded nor illusory. What could the
angels offer her, who needed a Mediator, to reunite the
broken ties between her and the thrice Holy One above, and
to present her, a sinner fallen under the curse of the law,
justified before God?
II. ]\Iary Magdalene, after this sliort interview with the
angels, resigns herself again to grief. Anon she hears foot-
steps behind her. Turning hastily round, who is it that
stands before her tear-bedimmed eyes ? One whom she
supposes to be Joseph's gardener. But what was he to her ?
48 cheist's first appearance.
She leans her head back on the stone, and her tears again
flow more abundantly. You need not be surprised that she
did not know Him, though she looked Him in the face. Only
remember her poor suffused eyes, and that v/orld filled with
images of mourning and of death to which her spirit was
confined, and which had no room for the living. Indeed she
might rightly call the Unknown One a gardener. He was
so, — a heavenly one, who now drew near to restore and raise
again, with tender hand, a flower that had been beaten down
and nearly broken off the stem by the storm. Whoever
weeps after Him He is not far from, no matter where the
spot may be. The supposed gardener opens His gracious
lips, and says, " Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest
thou?" These, then, were His first words after His resur-
rection. Oh matchless morning salutation ! — a greeting of
comprehensive import for the whole body of believers ! The
expression, " Whe^^efore this lueeping ? why these tears V
removes every cause for them, and is equivalent to that com-
mand in the Book of Eevelation, uttered in the exercise of
Divine authority, " Weep not ! the Lion of the tribe of
Judah hath prevailed." Whatever they may seek, — whether
it be truth, whether it be peace, whether it be consolation in
life and in death, — that expression, "What seekest thou?''
instructs them that they might long since have found it,
since God hath prepared it abundantly in Him in whom lie
hidden '' all the treasures both of wisdom and knowledge,"
as well as those of " grace and salvation." Mary, at any
rate understand that ! " Why weepest thou ? whom seekest
thou?'' But, enveloped in the web of her gloomy fancies,
she hears in that which was an unmingled promise only an
idle, if not an insulting question. Foolishly, though with
touching simplicity, she replies, " Sir, if thou have borne
Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will
take Him away." How lieart-stirring this word ''Him"
CHRIST'S FIRST APPEARANCE. 49
is, as uttered by her. At first she thinks it would be super-
fluous to mention His name. She thinks that all the world
must know of whom she speaks. She speaks of Him, the
only one who fills her whole soul, and in whom is bound up
all that she thinks it worth while to inqnire for. ''• Hast thou
home Him away .?" Yes, Mary, He has done so. Oh, if
she ]iad but a surmise of this mystery ! " Tell me luliere
thou hast laid Him, and I loill take Him away'.' And
indeed, had He but told her, she would, without calculatinof
her strenoth, have started at once on the errand, even thoufrh
the spot named should have been miles off. Had this at-
tachment to the person of her Master been an error, it
would, at this stage, have been the Master's duty to have
rectified it. Correcting her views. He would have said,
" Mary, let the Man go whose loss thou bewailest, since thou
liast His promise to save thee, which is all that is necessary."
But such an expression never escaped His lips. He, on the
contrary, put the stamp of His approbation upon her linger-
ing affection for Him ; for He satisfied it, and gave Himself
back to her wlio had mourned His loss.
What a scene is now opening upon us ! The condescend-
ing One can no longer refrain. His bowels of mercy yearn.
He must release the sobbing mourner from the prison of
her gloomy thoughts. And in what an inimitably tender
manner does He do this, the mode suiting itself to the pro-
foundest cravings of her heart ! Well, you already know it.
He again opens His gracious lips, and there issues from them
what may well be called the most transporting sound that
ever fell on human ear and heart, and which no mortal lips
may ever rival in sweetness of utterance. It was a word, an
utterance, in which the speaker expressed all His grace and
love. Yes ! the infinite was hidden in it ; possibly it gives
us a presentiment of the language of heaven, where speech
is the expression and impress of perfect truth and harmonj^,
D
50 cheist's fiest appeaeance.
and where a world of sacred thoughts and blissful feelings is
developed by one word or tone. He calls her, who stood
before Him dissolved in tears, by name, with that gracious
intonation to which her ear had been accustomed in earlier
days. In merely human friendly relations, how much com-
fort and encouragement may be thrown into the tones with
which the closely-allied address each other by name, is not
unknown to you. And in this instance there was much more
than a human friend ! " Mary ! " He says, with uplifted voice,
as though He would fain say, " Thou richly-blest, thou highly-
favoured one, dost thou droop the head ? dost thou mourn ?
dost THOU weejJ V But all effort would be vain that should
attempt to render, by any corresponding expression, the
genial, cheering sense, the plenitude of promise and blessed-
ness involved in that one word, " Mary !" It is only in some
restricted measure, and but faintly, revealed to one susceptible
of the feeling. In that "Mary !" pealed all the merry chimes
of Easter-tide at once. All the blessedness that stands asso-
ciated with the resurrection radiates from it upon us. The
word " Mary," thus intoned, floats through the air far beyond
the disciple herself, and is indeed a congratulation addressed
by the Divine Conqueror over death to His ineffably-favoured
Church.
" Mary ! " Joyfully startled at the sound of her name,
she turns round ; and who stands before her ? Can she be-
lieve her eyes ? or does some sweet dream mock her ? " Is
it Thou? art Thou really He V Yes, Mary, it is He! To
recoo^nise the Risen One, and to fall at His feet in adora-
tion, is, on the disciple's part, the act of one moment ; but
to express the agitated feelings which move her heart at this
moment, she finds none other than the suddenly -extorted
exclamation, " Rabboni !"— that is, "My Lord and Master \"
Whatever of filial reverence, of unreserved devotion, of sacred
passionate affection, and superhuman joy can enter into the
CHRIST'S FIEST APPEARANCE. 51
poor human heart, is here presented to us in a co iressed
form by the one word " Rabboni ! '' This word E >oni is
an open vessel from which exhales fragrance like tl.j odours
of paradise. It mirrors to us the radiant form wivli which
tlie love of Christ can glorify the inner man. It i5- ihe cry
of homage, of adoration, and of unconditional suijjection ;
but first, and above all, a cry of joy and rejoicing. And how
well this rejoicing is warranted ! For He is alive again who
died on the cross, an<l in His appearance Mary sees — and we
do so likewise — the end of all the cares, pains, and troubles
of this mortal life. For as His whole doctrine, and especially
His testimony to the superhuman dignity of His own per-
son, now sliine for the first time in the full splendour of
divine confirmation, so likewise it is only now for the first
time actually placed beyond all doubt, that He has finished
His work of salvation to the highest satisfaction of His hea-
venly Fatlicr, — that the latter has accepted, as fully justi-
ficatory, the ransom paid for us, — that the debt is paid for
all who through faith become one with Him, the second
Adam, — that riiiliteousness has been wrouo-ht out, — that
heaven has been taken possession of for us, — and that the
world, death, the devil, and hell have been finally and for ever
vanquished. Yes, at Easter the redeemed Church celebrates
the coronation of its Mediator, Surety, and Representative.
The apostle intimates it by his triumphant appeal in Romans
viii. 3-i, "Who is he that condenmeth ? " primarily based
upon our Lord's death on the cross, but supplemented and
supported by the sentence, '' Yea rather who is risen again,"
by Christ's resurrection, the miracle of the third day.
The disciple, prostrate, seems, in her joyous excitement,
as though about to have embraced her Master's feet. And
then it was that she received that rebuff which has ever ajD-
peared so mysterious to expository — " Touch me not," says
the Lord, "for I am not yet ascended to my Father." This
52 cheist's fiest appeaeance.
saying will not appear so difl&cult if I — and the original text
fully warrants my doing so — change our translation, " Touch
me not," into, " Do not cling to me,'' or, " Do not clasp me
tightly." Thus our Lord's purpose, in the first place, is re-
stricted to decline, in the most tender manner, the exube-
rance of human feeling with which the disciple greets His
reappearance, and to give her to understand that the pre-
vious intercourse of His followers with Him would thence-
forth have to yield to one higher and more spiritual. He
tacitly reminds her of His own declaration, (John xii. 32,)
" And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men
unto me." In the next place, that the disciple should not
dream that she had already met her Lord and ]\Iaster in
heaven, and that the mode of His reappearance, in which
she at that moment rejoiced, would be a lasting one. He
suggests that He has not yet ascended, and that she had
still a great tract to traverse through the vale of pilgrimage
ere faith would be changed to sight. Whether He finally
gave her to understand that she need not endeavour anxi-
ously to cling to Him, since He did not stand before her as
a fleeting vision from another world, but that for a while He
was about to sojourn upon earth, and that He should meet
her again here below, — whether this be the true import of
the expression, may remain undecided. Some attach the
latter sense to His words, and there may be ground for
that opinion. Mary was not to be grieved by the bearing
which the Lord assumed with reference to her, but only
brought back from her excitement to clearer, calmer self-
possession ; and hence the Lord adds to His address, which
was of a nature to calm her strong feelings, that comforting
message, so full of promise, and disclosing, as it does, such
glorious prospects for the future — " Go to mi/ brethren, and
say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God." What a lalness of most blessed
meaninof there is in this utterance! His "brethren!" He
Christ's fikst appeaeance. 53
had never specially addressed them so before. He first gives
them this honourable name just as He is about to enter on
the inheritance. Let us congratulate ourselves upon this
circumstance. But let our mutual felicitations be still
greater upon that equality \yitli Himself, transcending our
boldest expectations, with wliich He honours His redeemed
ones in the words, " I ascend to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God!' For what does He thereby ex-
press, unless it be that the Almighty, after Jesus had suc-
cessfully carried out our suit before Him, was, so far as
affection and love were concerned, as much our Father as
His. He here repeats that which He had already said in
His prayer as High Priest to His heavenly Father, " Thou
lovest them, as thou lovest me," (John xvii. 23 ;) and we
afterwards hear its echo in the words of the discij^le who
lay on Jesus' breast, ''As he," the Son of His love, '■' is, so
are also we in this luorldj' It is, at the same time, unmis-
takably our Lord's intention to remit the disciple again to
the Church, and thereby to preserve her from the thought
that she stood in some extraordinarily favoured position with
reference to Himself ; therefore He sends her to the " breth-
ren," and says to her, she being comprised with the others,
" to your Father," and " to your God.'"'
Abundantly consoled and overflowing with joy, Mary
hastens from the spot to execute her Lord's command. Ere
she reached the assembled disciples, she, with a beaming
face, shouts out her most joyous message from the distance,
"/ have seen the Lord, and He has spoken to me." Your
Jesus lives 1 This sufiices her, and she is right, in that she
allows herself to be content with that fact. As long as
there was any doubt as to what had become of the corpse,
the whole human race had urgent cause to stand weeping
before the tomb, awaiting in the most intense excitement
what the third day should bring forth. This day had now
consummah d in ono event all that was needed by humanity
54 Christ's first appearance.
for its salvation and peace for time and eternity. The day
brought Him back alive from the dead : it presented Him
to lis absolved of God from all our sins ; Him crowned with
glory and honour, having representatively endured our curse.
Easter-day brought us, in the resurrection of Jesus, God's
confirmatory Yea and Amen to all our Lord's testimony;
God's seal of eternal Son ship affixed ; God's receipt, in full,
for the sum total of the debt of our race paid by Him ; the
declaration that both Head and members were in the highest
degree worthy to enter the Father's house ; the revelation of
the triumph achieved over death and over him who has the
power of death, even the devil ; the indubitable certainty
that death in the fellowship of the Prince of Life is the
highest gain ; and, finally, sure guarantee that the bodies of
His people are not lost in their graves, but slumber, await-
ing a glorious issue to life and everlasting glory. Oh ! what
unrivalled and radiant hopes the resurrection has poured
forth upon our earth ; it illumines with a transforming
heavenly sunshine the darkest spots, the most sombre cham-
bers of sorrov/, and the blackest nights of care in the vale of
our pilgrimage. Brother, does it beam on thee ? or do the
dark clouds of doubt still envelope thee ? Oh, that thou
mightest inquire after Him with the passionate longing of
Mary Magdalene ; then, indeed, He would ere long call thee
also by name, and thou shouldest stammer forth in ecstasy
and homage thy '' Eabboni." May God's grace bring this to
pass, and may we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, one and
all, presently be enabled to make that hymn to the Lord of
the resurrection our own —
" Jesus my Redeemer lives !
Christ my trust is dead no more ;
In the streijgth this knowledge gives,
Shall not all my fears be o'er ?
Calm, though death's long night be fraught
Still with many an anxious thought.
THE RISEN ONE APPEARS TO THE WOMEN, ETC. 55
V.
THE EISEN ONE APPEARS TO THE WOMEN AND
TO SIMON.
The apostle Paul having just exhorted his companion and
helper Timothy to arm himself for the fight against the
hostile powers of the world, and having encouraged him to
endure the cross perse veringly, has exhausted the subject,
exclaiming, in the well-known passage in 2 Tim. ii. 8, " Re-
memher that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead." He
seeks to impress him with an image that shall permanently
stand in the foreground of his soid, presenting itself ever
clearly defined there. The figure is that of the Lord Jesus ;
in fact, tlie radiant form of the risen Saviour. With refer-
ence to this, the apostle held that the direct contemplation
of this victor form upon every field of battle would lead his
beloved f liend to speedv and certain triumj^li. He held such
an anticipation to be justified by his own experience. Hear
him, immediately after the above-quoted passage, declare that
" he suffered for the gospel of the risen One even unto bonds;"
and from how many other passages in his epistles does it un-
equivocally appear that a lively remembrance of Him who
was dead, and is alive again, proved to the apostle an inex-
haustible source of energy, courage, and peace. Paul felt
sure that Timothy's experience would, provided he followed
his advice, be coincident with his own. From the contem-
plation of the risen Saviour by the enlightened mind, there
56 THE EISEN ONE APPEAES
arises a blissful and fortifying influence which nothing else
can supply. That so many amongst us., in the struggles of
life, but too readily despair and succumb, is solely attribut-
able to the fact that the risen Saviour has not yet presented
Himself to them in the right light, or that they do not know-
how to retain Him fixedly and steadily in view. If we, who
minister in the Word, would shew ourselves " helpers of the
joy'' of our congregations, let us preach to them the miracle
of the resurrection. What could I desire more than to
succeed, by these our Easter meditations, in imprinting upon
your minds and hearts, in ardent characters of love, and -that
indelibly, the sublime form of Him v/ho vanquished sin,
death, and hell ! May He in mercy grant it, who alone has
the power to do so, whom we are about to see reward the
fidehty of those elect women, who, to the disgrace of the
men, remained His stanch adherents, without wavering,
previous to the time of His resurrection, up to His latest
breath, in sj)ite of contumely, and at the peril of their lives.
Matt, xxviii. 9, 10 ; Luke xxiv. 34.
" And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying,
All hail ! And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid : go tell my brethren that they
go into Galilee, and there shall they see me." " The Lord is risen indeed,
and hath appeared to Simon."
** Ye blissful forty days
To me are forty years ;
In them, my Saviour,
I silence all my fears.
Henceforth be my heart's employment,
All absorb'd in Thy enjoyment."
Thus sang a pious poet. From the depths of our soul we
join in with the sentiment. The forty days are to us the
light of a new and glorious world. And God be praised,
that the end of the world v/as not coincident with that of
those days : it exists to this hour ! That which we here see
TO THE WO.AIEN AND TO SIMON. 57
befall the women, and then Peter, equally happens to believers
still. Let us dwell on this topic for a while, and consider,
first, the meeting luith the female disciples, and then that
with Simon. May the Lord vouchsafe us, in the course of
our meditation, a simikxr revelation to that with which they
were favoured !
I The women to whom our attention is first directed are
ah^eady known to us. We also know where they went at
early dawn. They had been to the tomb of their souls'
Friend ; and with what joyous excitement and with what a
message had they just returned! They have to report, not
upon human testimony, but from the lips of holy angels,
nothing less than this — that the omnipotent voice of the
living God, and not the hand of enemies, as they had feared,
had burst their Master's tomb ; and that He who was dead,
having raised Himself triumphantly out of the dust, is alive
auain. However, they feel so much astonishment in this
great matter, that they are constrained to ask themselves
again and again whether they merely dream, or be really
awake. Just like the apostle in the Gospel, who, walking
upon the foaming billows, reeled, and began to sink, so was
it with their faith. " Oh that He would but present Himself
but once to us,'"' say they, " and all doubt would be dissi-
pated!" And as they are thus thinking, what happens?
Suddenly a friendly greeting, with no ordinary intonation,
is addressed to them. Startled, they turn round, and — oh
the astonishment ! — there He stands before their eyes ; — yes,
He himself, all radiant with circumambient glory ! They
fall prostrate at His feet in adoration; inward aniaz ent
holds the balance between transport and joy. How could it
be otherwise ? What an exalted personage have they before
them now in the Risen One ! He no longer represents a
divinely- accredited prophet announcing God's judgments,
nor the mere Saviour of sinners, who, after His work had
58 THE RISEN ONE APPEAES
been perfectly finished, was crowned by His Father with
glory and honour, — but in the character and glory of Him
who was at once manifested as the only-begotten Son of the
living God, and actually the King of glory exalted to the
throne of the universe. Is it, therefore, any marvel that the
first impression which His reappearance created in them
was an almost bewildering and prostrating one ? The Lord,
however, hastens to reassure their agitation. And how does
He calm their minds ? Does He endeavour in some way to
lower the tone of their conceptions of the superhuman dignity
of His person, and of the unbounded importance of His re-
surrection, as too bold and unmeasured ? No ! far from
that. He knew Himself, with the most perfect distinctness,
to be not only the Person whose whole doctrine was authen-
ticated by the seal of the Most High confirming it with a
world-wide splendour, and whose work of salvation was rati-
fied to endless ages by the Amen from above ; but to be
Him whom the heavenly Father had adorned, in the face of
heaven, earth, and hell, with a diadem as King of kings and
Lord of lords, and whom He had, in the most solemn man-
ner, proclaimed and placed before the sight of a redeemed
world as the conqueror of sin, death, and the devil. Accord-
ingly He does not forbid the women to render the worship
which they offer Him, though He controls the anxious
tremor which His presence and mnjesty impose. " Fear
not!" says He to them. That "Fear not!" which first
resounded at His birth from angel lips, received at this
moment its first full confirmation. Why should they fear
any longer, now that the crowned Head of all principalities
and powers is, at the same time, the Saviour of sinners;
and that the glory awarded Him was so less as to the eter-
nal Son than in a special and more peculiar manner to the
Son of man, who interposed in our stead, and acquired the
full right to lead the people whom He had redeemed with
TO THE WOMEN AND TO SIMON. 59
His blood, ever henceforth wielding over them the sceptre of
grace and condescension?
It may seem remarkable that our Lord, on this occasion,
permits the women to do that which, with His " Touch me
not !" He had forbidden to Mary Magdalene. But He is "the
Searcher of hearts," and weighs the mind and disposition
in His own balances. The feelings with which the women
in the place cited from the Gospel before us fall before Him,
were diflferent from those by which Mary Magdalene was
moved when she addressed Him. Theirs were feelings of
the most reverential worship demonstrated before the face of
the glorified God-man ; whilst Mary's feelings were those of
passionate joy at the human reappearance of her Saviour and
Protector. ]\Iary needed, therefore, an elevation to higher
spiritual views of the future relation of the redeemed to their
glorified Mediator ; whilst these needed, above everything,
a confirmation that they really saw in Him the same Lord
and Master bodily before them whom they had carried to
the sepulchre three days previously, and not an appearance
from another world. Such tender consideration is vouch-
safed by the Lord to His people with reference to their
peculiar idiosyncrasies ; He does not rule them by any rigid
plan, but tempers His dealings by a regard to their peculiar
dispositions and their most inward necessities. Hence the
great variety in the leadings of His providence with be-
lievers, whilst their inward principle is one and the same.
He, however, brings them all, though each one by a different
path, through a course of humiliation, of inward mortifica-
tion, and of continuous growth in Him who is the Head.
To this the apostle Paul refers in Eph. iii. 10, where he
speaks of " the manifold wisdom of God being made known
to the churchy
Our Lord connects with His encouraging address, "Be
not afraid," the commission, " Go tell my brethren, that they
60 THE EISEN ONE APPEARS
go into Galilee, and there shall they see me." A glorious
mission which He confided to them ! Whilst some will
think, " Alas ! but to whom was the post of ambassador
committed?" But this hypocritical " Alas ! " condemns the
man who utters it, for it shews him to be but a pitiable
victim of the evil spirit of unbelief, which governs and fetters
our self-deluded age. For has it to-da}^ ceased to be an
historical fact, that One came, who nailed our bond with its
obligations to the cross, who disarmed death for us, and
brought life and immortality to light ? I may almost say
that it is more so now than it formerly was, since it has
been maintained eighteen hundred years in the experience
of the best and noblest of the sons of earth, and has
thoroughly vanquished all the cavils of sophistical philo-
sophy. But what prevents us fromi appropriating to our-
selves the blessed message which the women were to publish ?
Nothing but a wretched and wholly inexcusable •unbeliefs
by which we wilfully rob ourselves of precious treasure.
But, God be praised, we have not all done so. On the
contrary, there are not a few amongst us who, by the Lord's
mercy, can utter with full emphasis that passage of the poet —
" Oh, into every highway haste
To call the wanderers home ;
With outstretch'd hand and joyous voice
Invite them all to come.
" For now 'tis heaven on earth with us,
Bid sinners all draw near ;
And if they will with us believe,
A welcome waits them here."
The women, in a joyous transport, promptly hasten to exe-
cute the delightful command of their risen ]\Iaster. Indeed,
they have little more to announce to the disciples than the
authentic, joyous intelligence that the Lord is really risen
from the dead. Tliey were sensible of the high and blissful
TO THE WOMEN AND TO SIMON. 61
importance of His resurrection, but their conceptions of it
were confused and unsettled. It was not until after Pente-
cost that clearness and light came to their relief, and raised
their twilight to bright broad day. How many are there
who now live in a frame of mind analogous to that of the
women at this time. A lively anticipation of the exaltation
of Christ, of the blessedness of a life in communion with
Him, pervades their hearts, whilst they do not definitely
and clearly realise what is involved in their relation to Him.
This was at first to them like an object but faintly seen in
the distance. Their state may, at least in some respects, be
compared with that which befell Paul, when, near Damascus,
the light from heaven shone round about him, and the Lord
first appeared to him in glory, but at a distance. They
need that something similar betide them, which subsequently
occurred to the same apostle, when, upon Ananias laying
his hands upon his eyes, the scales fell from them, and he
then, filled with the Holy Ghost, saw clearly in every direc-
tion what a fulness of salvation and life was treasured up in
Christ.
It is easy to divine what motive determined the Risen
One to assign Galilee as a rendezvous for His disciples, and
as the tlieatre upon which He purposed still further to
reveal Himself. Irrespective of the fact that Galilee was
the land of- His youth, whilst Judea was only that of His
nativity, Galilee remained, in a peculiar and nearer sense.
His native country, for He had found greater susceptibility
for the reception of the salvation which He brought amongst
the Galileans, (a frequently misjudged people, and who, on
account of their being a more mixed race, and their greater
intercourse with foreigners, were esteemed a nation of
heretics,) than amongst the inhabitants of Judea, wholly
under the influence of Pharisees and scribes. With the
exception of those occasions on which He went up to Jeru-
62 THE EISEN ONE APPEAES
salem to the feasts, Christ had restricted both His teaching
and His miracles to Galilee ; and as His twelve apostles were
all Galileans, so likewise were the great majority of His
other disciples. What wonder, therefore, that He likewise
selected Galilee for the site of the celebration of His great
victory, and that He thereby practically confirmed the sub-
sequent dictum of His apostle, "that base things of the
world hath God chosen," (1 Cor. i. 28.)
II. It would seem that the joyous message delivered by
the women proved inadequate thoroughly to convince the
disciples of the reality of the resurrection. For when they,
in the afternoon of the great day, were hailed by the two
disciples who had been to Emmaus, with the jubilant ex-
clamation, "The Lord is risen indeed!" they appealed for
the truth of the joyful news, not to the testimony of the
women, but only to that of Peter. "He has appeared to
Peter," said they. What was it, however, that inclined
them to attach such great credit to Peter's evidence ? For
this brother had not hitherto given any extraordinary proofs
of discretion, moderation, and keenness of judgment. But
they had seen him in poignant grief and contrition at his
fall, and knew that he would then accept consolation from
no quarter ; but that now he was suddenly the subject of
consolation so powerful that it found expression in his
countenance, which beamed with joy, — the only assigned
cause for the change being, as he assured them, the fact that
the Lord had appeared to him, and had Himself pardoned
his offence, after which they had no longer any reason to
doubt of it. His eyes sparkling with joy vouched to them
the truth that the Lord is alive again ; for it would have
been utterly inconceivable by them that Peter could have
allowed himself to be comforted and set at ease by any mere
phantom, or by any illusory appearance.
The Gospel does not tell us when or where the Lord ap-
TO THE WOMEN AND TO SIMON. 63
peared to Peter on the day of His resurrection. It is known
with what tender precaution the Kisen One had by the angel
instructed the women, when at the empty sepulchre, to
notify to Peter that his Master was alive again, before they
did so to the others, — whence the disciple might draw the
comfortable conclusion that the Lord was again kindly dis-
posed to him ; and the apostle was now at least so prepared
for a personal interview with the Risen One, that, whenever
it actually took place, it could no longer overwhelm him
with stupifying and prostrating amazement. We have al-
ready seen him, much more terrified than cheered by Mary
Magdalene's notification, hurry away to Joseph's garden, but
there again, sorely disappointed, return from it to Jerusa-
lem. And he may possibly just have arrived there when
the other female disciples appeared, and delivered their mes-
sage. Now, I imagine that Peter may have again started
on the road to the holy sepulchre, and that it was on this
second journey that the Lord revealed Himself to him.
How willingly would we have the veil raised from this
appearance of the risen Saviour ! But scenes transj^ire in
the kingdom of God, the exceedingly tender, sacred, and
heavenly nature of which wholly defy representation or com-
munication ; nay, which cannot be laid bare to vulgar, mor-
tal sight, without actually damaging to some extent the
glorious enamel, as it were, with which they are covered.
The first meeting of our Lord with His intensely grieved
and contrite Peter must have been a scene of this kind. Let
us, therefore, not presume to attempt a description of it.
If He do not Himself narrate it to us, the angels, who wit-
nessed it with emotion, will one day do so in heaven. Suf-
fice it, the Prince of Peace has, with ineffable kindness,
wiped away the tears from the eyes of His deeply agitated
disciple lying there before Him in the dust, and has hailed
hill), no less solemnly than condescendingly, with His resur-
64 THE EISEN ONE APPEARS
rection (Easter) benediction, " Peace be unto you ! " and that
with an intonation which still echoes blissfully in the dis-
ciple*s soul to this hour, Peter rose, from that most glorious
moment of his earthly existence, as if born anew, or rather
as if raised from death to life. It must remain an unsettled
point, whether he were at that time fully and clearly in-
formed U23on what ground the Lord had granted him abso-
lute forgiveness. But he implicitly confided in the simple
assurance of lips from which a falsehood had never pro-
ceeded. And although the mysterious connexion between
his Master's absolution and His bloody passion had not been
fully manifested to him, since the day of Pentecost was not
yet arrived, he knew, nevertheless, that he had received mercy,
that he wns pardoned. But when he subsequently wrote his
epistle, the groimd of his final justification before God was
no longer a mystery to him. Por then he could with full
utterance announce to the brethren, " Ye are redeemed, not
with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the pre-
cious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot." " Christ," he declared, " has himself borne
our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, who are dead
to sin, should live to righteousness. By his wounds ye are
healed." Prom this moment the full importance of the re-
surrection of Jesus, in every point of view, was disclosed to
him, " Through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ,"
he writes, " God has of his abundant mercy begotten us again
unto a lively hope ;" and he indicates the resurrection of
Christ as ihe foundation for " the answer of a good con-
science towards God," Now, it was clear to him, and he
was perfectly conscious of the fact, that the Mediator having
been raised by the Father, he, the sinner, was proved to be
justified, Christ having voluntarily assumed his sins,— that
Jesus had received solomn testimony from His Pather that
His priestly, vicarious work was perfectly finished, approved,
TO THE WOMEN AND TO SIMON. 65
and accepted by Him. Beyond all question it was now valid
for Peter, since the justification of the Surety extended to
the whole body of the redeemed, for it was their debts which
He, on their behalf, had paid, and their sins which He ex-
piated, and for which He gave satisfaction to the Majesty on
high.
The resurrection of the Lord is but seldom estimated now-
a-days by Christians as of this high importance, although
God's Word distinctly attaches to it the very greatest weight.
Paul, for example, when he triumphantly exclaims, " Who is
he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died ;" then imme-
diately adds, wdth great emphasis, " yea rather, that is risen
again!' And it will no longer appear enigmatical to us why
he so specially rej^oses his consciousness of not being ob-
noxious to condemnation upon Christ's resurrection. The
acquittance, if I may so speak, which the Almiglity granted
by the resurrection to the Son as to the debts discharged by
Him, was placed to the credit of the apostle, as it likewise was
to that of all those who through faith should become one with
the Son, this second Adam. The payment itself, indeed, was
made upon the cross, but the actual declaration that it was
acknowledged as perfectly valid and accepted on the Most
High, this was first shewn to a sinful world on Easter-day.
It is said in Scripture that " Christ died for our sins, and
rose again for our justification," — (that is to say, as a proof
that God has acquitted us of our debt, and beholds us as
righteous in Him.)
Oh, let not, then, this strong consolation of the resurrec-
tion be to any one of us like a treasure hidden in a field, as
is, alas ! the case with so many at this time, and seems likely
to continue so. The way to the attainment of the incom-
parable peace-inspiring treasure, is the same which Peter
trod. In the first place, we tread that way when we get a
thorough knowledge of our natural alienation from God :
66 THE RISEN ONE APPEAES TO THE WOMEN, ETC.
we tread that way when we absolutely condemn self ; we
tread that way when we feel utterly ashamed of all our self-
righteousness. If we once travel on that road which leads
to utter repudiation of self, then a mere general notion that
we may reckon on God's grace, exhibited for Christ's sake,
will prove insufficient to give us peace. We inquire upon
what grounds the expectation rests, and shall most certainly
not declare ourselves satisfied, until we have both document
and seal to shew that our heavenly Advocate has triumph-
antly carried our suit before that throne whose foundations
are justice and judgment. But His glorious resurrection
gives us this guarantee. The apostle says, '' If Christ be
not raised, ye are yet in your sins." What is deducible
from this? Nothing less than that, since He is risen, we,
provided we may assume that we are numbered amongst His
people, are, with reference to the tribunal of God, free, and
discharged from our sins. What a disclosure is this ! The
Lord give it a living and clear echo in our hearts, and help
us with the whole heart to imite in the old Easter- song of
the Church : —
" Christ the Lord is risen again !
Christ hath broken every chain !
Hai'k ! the angels shout for joy.
Singing evermore on high,
Hallekijah !
" He who skimber'd in the grave
Is exalted now to save ;
Now through Christendom it rings
That the Lamb is King of kings !
Hallelujah !
" Now He bids us tell abroad
How the lost may be restored,
How the penitent forgiven.
How we too may enter heaven.
Hallelujah ! "
Lyra Germanica.
THE DltSCIPLES AT EMMAUS. C7
VL
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
FIEST MEDITATION.
" Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see ! for
I tell you, tha* many prophets and kings have desired to see
those things which ye see, and have not seen them ; and to
hear those things wliicli ye hear, and have not heard them."
This saying of our Lord (Luke x. 23, 24) is well known to
you. May its apjolication, in the whole breadth of its mean-
ing, be realised by all of you ! Nevertheless, how many
born in Christendom know as yet nothing of the new glo-
rious kingdom, which is erected by God's grace within the
old one ! Separated from the other, as it were, by a wall
as high as heaven, they still live in this one as they pre-
viously did, as if every other were but a dream, and though
delightful, yet the offspring of delusion. They make their
way through the gloom of the valley of tears, having the
fetters of a worldly spirit riveted upon them, " nay, sold
under sin," and " through fear of death they remain all
their lives long subject to bondage;" whilst others, their
immediate neighbours, as children of God, and freemen,
journey through life with blissful hopes, and in sunshine,
and exultingly triumph over death, the devil, and every
other hostile power, as over enemies beaten and for ever
disarmed. Does a world really exist where such a triumph
68 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
would be authorised, and is it, not a beautiful land of
dreams, but an actual and permanent abode? But who
needs still to propose such a question as this ? The passage
upon which we are just about to meditate, excellent beyond
all comparison, will so elevate you, that, looking over the
wall of partition, you may have a glimpse of the brighter world
beyond, and it will, at the same time, should you desire it,
point out the safe way by which you yourself may arrive
there.
Luke xxiv. 13-35.
"And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called
Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And
they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it
came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus
himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that
they shovild not know him. And he said unto them. What manner of
communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and
are sad ? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said
unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the
things which are come to pass there in these days ? And he said unto
them, \Yhat things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of
Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and
all the people ; and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be
condemned to death, and have crucified him. Bat we trusted that it had
been he which should have redeemed Israel ; and beside all this, to-day is
the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also
of our company made \is astonished, which were early at the sepulchre :
and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also
seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of
them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as
the women had said : but him they saw not. Then he said unto them,
O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken :
ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded tmto them in
all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh
unto the village, whither they went : and he made as though he would
have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us ; for
it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry
witli them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took
bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 69
opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And
they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he
talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found
the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The
Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what
things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking
of bread."
Without this gospel, no Easter ! But like nature in re-
turning spring ever renewing itself, and like the starry vault
of heaven, which discloses fresh splendour to the eye that
continues to gaze on it, so this passage of Scripture is sug-
gestive of fresh and varied thought. The fragrance of inward
truth which exhales to us from it, by which it interests us so
delightfully, and operates upon us with such wonderful benefit,
is an antidote to every enfeebling doubt ; above all, we are
struck with the clear view it grants us of the new spiritual world
which Christ has i:)lanted in the old world of death, and the
distinctness with which it lays open the way by which we may
see an entrance possible for ourselves into this world of peace.
Let us take this pleasing narrative into closer consideration,
and let us, in spirit, accompany the two disciples in their
blessed journey. At first they appear to us involved in a
night which, if Easter-day had not risen, would have en-
shrouded us all; we then find them in the daiun of ti^ansi-
tionfrom this starless darkness into the bright lovely scenes
of Easter ; and, finally, in the full noontide sj^lendour of
the Easter Sun. Every one of us may see himself, and the
reflected image of his own inward state, in the two disciples,
at one stage or other of their journey. May the last stage
we have indicated be the lot of all of us, and then what hap-
piness will be ours !
Our narrative transports us to the afternoon of the day of
tlie resurrection. We are at Jerusalem. The city is in great
commotion. Priests and scribes are hastening: from house to
70 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
house, to give consistency to the report that the disciples of
the crucified Galilean had, during the last night, secretly
broken into Joseph's garden, and whilst the guard slept had
stolen their Master's corpse, and concealed it in some un-
known place. The small body of disciples of the Crucified,
dispersed by the horrors and terrors of the blood-stained
Friday, are reassembled, but in small desponding groups.
We meet them just as they are excited to the utmost by the
declaration of the women, who insist that they have seen a
vision of angels, and to crown that, they protest that they
have even been favoured with an interview with their Risen
Master. This intelligence has produced upon them rather a
jDassing amazement than any real comfort and tranquillity.
They ascribe this consoling communication to the excited
fancy of their credulous sisters, and even the hearts of the
more susceptible among them oscillate between deep gloom
and faint trembling hope. Some of them, and Thomas is of
this number, have, with perfect resignation, retired into soli-
tude. The two with whom we are now engaged, and who,
doubtless, are numbered amongst the seventy, are just about
to do the same. Prostrated, and wxll nigh in despair, be-
cause they consider themselves to have made shipwreck of
all their hopes for time and for eternity, they return to their
homes in the village of Emmaus, in order to prosecute their
usual avocations as soon as their spirits would permit them.
But why in such haste? Why not first i3ut the women's
declaration to the test ? Why is the circumstance, that the
linen clothes and the napkin were found by Peter and John,
upon their arrival at the empty sepulchre, carefully folded
and laid aside, not more narrowly scanned ? And above all,
why was not the '' loord of jjrophecif interrogated as to
the course of life and mode of death of the promised Mes-
siah ? and then why were the tablets of their memory, in-
scribed as they were with the early expressions of their
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 71
Master, not searched for intimations of His death and resur-
rection? Why liad they ah^eady seceded from the circle
over which the promise liovered — "I will not leave you
orphans; I will come again unto you?'' Oh! how often
might we now stop many amongst us in their way and put
similar questions : Why in such haste ? Why so soon ? when
we see them yielding to the objections of a sceptical wordly-
wisdom, desert their colours, surrender the gospel cause, and
retreat into the camp of the unbelievers. If these unhappy
persons would but give themselves time and opportunity for
closer examination and investigation, assuredly they would,
by degrees, be perfectly convinced that those discoveries
which, emanating from a so-called "advanced mental cul-
ture," whether in natural science, history, or criticism, had
been announced to threaten the continued existence of Chris-
tianity, are not actually so dangerous as popular clamour
would fain have them esteemed. They unwisely conclude
that they must yield the field to armed hosts, and flee before
mere phantoms and airy forms, which, before the torch of a
closer examination, resolve themselves into mere vapour.
Thus, upon the loveliest day which ever lightened the
world, our two disciples are groping as in the gloom of
night. It is true, they were not distinctly conscious of the
extent of the loss they had sustained in being deprived of
their JMaster ; but they felt what they did not clearly know,
and experienced most sensibly the truth of the apostle's de-
claration, " If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye
are yet in your sins ;" and, "then they also which are fallen
asleep in Christ are perished,'' (1 Cor. xv. 17, 18.) Who
now stands surety for them, that God will accept the sinner,
and exercise grace and not justice? Without an intercessor,
without a mediator, without a saviour, they see themselves
cast upon their own resources. Without mast and without
rudder, their little bark of life is fast driftino- amono- the
72 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
breakers. Where shall it gain the shore? who shall pre-
serve it from total shipwreck ? He is no longer at the helm
on whom all their hopes leaned ; He has ceased to be their
Advocate with God ; He will no longer prepare them man-
sions in heaven ; nor, when their last hour shall strike, will
He invest them with that wedding garment of righteousness
in which they may securely abide the judgment. Oh, how
wretched are these two orphan souls, so severely smitten, so
deeply impoverished ! But are you less so, though you do
not yet feel it so profoundly, — you who have permanently,
deliberately resigned yourselves to that unbelief into which
these fell, but for a moment, through weakness ? Oh, cer-
tainly not ! you are utterly stripped of hope, and more justly,
because you belong to an age of higher mental culture. It
cannot have escaped you that the wisdom of the natural
understanding, with all the expenditure of its investigations
and labour of thought, exercised during thousands of years
up to the present hour, upon the real destiny of man, and
especially upon his existence after death, has brought to
light no reliable result. The two disciples philosophise
justly when they resolve, " If Christ be held by death, then
the aim and end of human life is fixed on this side the
grave." Oh, my friends, do not deceive yourselves ! All
that you are wont to inscribe, for your own consolation,
upon the tombs of your departed loved ones, of their being
gone home, of glory, of heavenly crowns, and of meeting
again, all this falls irrecoverably away like the "baseless
fabric of a vision" with the removal of that pillar upon
which alone it rests securely — the historical fact of the
resurrection of Jesus. With the denial of the miraculous
event of Easter, the brightest star in the firmament of life is
extinguished — the star of hope ; and no Plato, no Aristotle,
nor any other of the wise men of this world, no matter with
how many laurel wreaths fame may have encircled his name,
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 73
is able to rekindle its sj^lendoiir. But liow comes it to pass
that they who set their sails full in the gale of unbelief do
not go through life, like the disciples of Enimaus, sighing
•with downcast heads ? Because for a while they succeed in
busying themselves in the element of the temporal and per-
ishable, and in forcibly ejecting from their minds all anxiety
respecting the world beyond. Only wait a while ; for them
also dark cloudy days are in store, since they must needs
confirm in their own experience the truth, that where there
is no Lord of the resurrection, there night reigns, and man
must pass through a desert of inconsolable despair.
But to return to our pilgrims ; — there they go ! The
hilly road to Emmaus brings them near the tombs of the
Judges. " Ye ancient heroes," might they say to themselves,
" full many a year have ye lain there ! But do ye sleep in
hope? Who is there now to assure you that you do so?"
Throughout their journey, nature presented herself to the
two travellers in all the glory and beauty of spring. But
smiling nature only discovers her charms to the cheerful,
whilst she leaves the afflicted still disconsolate. But it must
not escape us that a few rays of comfort, as if from some
distant star twinkling before their tearful vision, slightly
lessened tlieir mental darkness. These rays emanated partly
from the message brought by their dearly- loved sisters,
though their reception of it was mingled with so many
doubts, and partly from their not having wholly forgotten
their Master's declaration with reference to the reconstruc-
tion of the temple on the third day after it had been broken
in pieces by the hands of His adversaries, (John ii. 19 ;) but,
above all, from the sublime figure of the Master himself
which they could not recall without the question forcing
itself on their attention, whether it were possible to conceive
that God, the holy and righteous, should really have given
up this, His obedient, sinless, and v.holly blameless One,
74 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
abandoning Him as a permanent prey to death. And does
not the same experience occur at times to unbelievers even
now ? Do they not see, darting suddenly through the night
in which they walk, flashes of lightning which reveal to
them, momentarily at least, the superhuman majesty and
glory of Jesus Christ ? When a lively recollection awakens
up within them how that Christ, of whom they desire to
know nothing, has conquered the world, and impressed it
with an essentially different form, — when as from one
mighty choir all the jubilant shouts of the believing hosts,
who through faith have, during eighteen centuries, van-
quished the world, sin, distress, and death, strike upon their
e?.rs, — when their eye settles upon the interminable line of
honourable monuments which, in the form of temples, chari-
table institutions, works of artistic genius, and every other
tribute of grateful affection, have been raised to that " Son
of man" by those who, living and dying, had in Him found
peace, — or occasionally when the churches, by their holiday
chimes, seem to say, " Behold millions throughout the world
crowding our gates, either with a clearly-defined purpose, or
from involuntary habit, to join those who with songs of
praise and homage bow the knee in worship to Him who
lay in the cradle, hung on the cross, and burst the bands of
the grave ; " — does not sheet-lightning from the highest
heavens at such a moment blaze upon the infidel darkness
of the deniers of the Bible and of Christ, forcing on them
a conviction of the superhuman majesty of the Lord Jesus,
and strong enough at least to rob them of every ground of
excuse for a fresh relapse into their old unbelief ?
But let us listen to the dialogue of our two travellers. It
is, on the one hand, affecting to notice how zealously they
are engaged in reconstructing, if possible, the mansion of
peace, laid in ruins by their Master's death, in w^hich tliey
Lad been so happy : and, on tlie other hand, how from fear
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 75
of renewed, and tlierefore more painful illusion, they strive
against any incipient hope, as soon as it is presented to their
consciousness ; and how, even in spite of their own better
convictions, they wilfully reject the message from the tomb
brought by the women, and try to pronounce that to be in
some wajT" a natural appearance, which the apostles declared
that they had seen there. Would that all who do not believe
now, should find themselves similarly disposed, so that the
still prevailing scei)ticism within them should be accom-
panied by a sufficient love to gospel truth to waken up
solicitude, lest a notion so eagerly embraced should subse-
quently prove but a mere delusion ! AVe might then an-
nounce to them with all confidence that the hour was not
far distant when, having overcome all the stumbling-blocks
in their way to the kingdom of God, and perfectly assured
of their interest therein, they would at length enter it
rejoicing and exulting. But to the majority of our unbe-
lievers that plaintive as well as complaining utterance of our
Lord, with reference to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, is,
alas ! more applicable, " How would I Imve gathered thee as
a hen her cliickens under her wings, but ye would not!"
11. A strong sensation of pleasure pervaded the minds of
the two pilgrims at the thouglit that their Master, really
raised to life, might meet them again. But they seek, as
has been suggested, energetically to ward off such a delight-
ful idea, as being only too well calculated to render them
doubly sensible of their desperate condition. They walk on,
overpowered and benighted by the dark imagery of the
crucifixion. When, lo ! a tliird person, with friendly saluta-
tion, suddenly joins them. They return his greeting, and
liastily scan him from head to foot, but without recognition ;
they suppose that he is one of the pilgrims who had been
up to the feast, and is now returning home from Jerusalem.
It hnd been so ordered that they should not yet know him.
76 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
For the wisest of purposes, " their eyes were holden," (Luke
xxiv. 16.) Yes, theirs were ; but why not ours also? AVith
throbbing hearts we chant our Easter Hallelujah to the
veiled Stranger. All our salvation, all our hope, rests upon
this Man, as we see Him there, standing before us in His
new life. Suppose Him withdrawn, and there we are for-
lorn and with no security for our future destiny. But who
can be unaffected by the Shepherd's faithfulness, which has
impelled Him in this instance to follow these two scattered
sheep of His fold ! Oh, how frequently is this confession
heard in the circle of believers : " Long ere I knew Him,
He condescendingly followed me, woke me out of my dreary
state at such a spot, with His saving hand drew me back,
with His gentle voice warned me of the impending abyss.
At one time He sent me an angel as a companion in the
guise of a friend ; at another He j^laced a book or letter in
my hand which recalled me to my senses just at the right
moment; again by some incident He constrained me to
reflect upon the nothingness of all worldly objects ; by some
event or other He intelligibly appealed to me by name."
You honest doubters, who really thirst after truth, when
you shall come to the knowledge of it, will recognise His
footsteps everywhere throughout your past career, " who
came to seek and to save that which was lost," and you will
from your own experience be able to confirm the saying that
He is truly one who " will not break the bruised reed nor
quench the smoking flax. ''
In order to open the conversation, the stranger asks the
kind and sympathetic question, what they are so earnestly
conversing about on the way, and why they are so cast down
and sorrowful. The manner in which they open their hearts
to him and begin to relate their whole sad story, is quite
affecting. Lideed, they can scarcely forbear expressing some
decree f;f vexation that their companion should be the only
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 77
one of all those who liad come to Jerusalem to the feast
that knew nothing of what had occurred during the last few
days. And who would blame them for wondering at this ?
In the account which they give, they call their Master "a
prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the
people." This was but an inadequate confession of their
great Master ; still we note with joy this their description
of His appearance. They thus attest from their own expe-
rience, not only the publicity, but also the reality of His
miracles. We also hear with delight the words, " But we
trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed
Israel." For whatever may have been their conception of
redemption, the great hopes which they entertained of their
Lord give us a sure indication of the superhuman majesty
by which they must have seen Him surrounded, even whilst
He still lived in the form of a servant. Further, it is of
importance to note that they unwittingly confirm the saying
of the women, concerning the aj^pcarance of the angels at
the empty grave of Him who " was delivered up by the
chief priests and scribes to death," and that they evidently
know something of " a third day" and its associated hopes.
Therefore, that which they assign to be the subject and cause
of their sorroiu conduces only to strengthen and confirm our
belief, and we gladly accept them as two important witnesses
to the truth of the gospel, despite their own unwarrantable
doubts. It is for this reason that their unknown companion
does not interrupt them in the outpouring of their hearts.
Even in that which is a2)parently a testimony against their
IMaster, they thus only witnessed for Him, and defended
His honour. But when they had unburdened their hearts,
the stranger considers it time for him to break silence, and
at once to awaken the sorrowing ones from their melancholy
and idle fancies. But what proceeds from his lips ? Is it
some word of tender sympathy or of compassionate encour-
78 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
agement? Notbino- of the sort. Suddenly a shrill trumpet-
blast strikes upon their ear. " fools," says the stranger
to them, " and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have spoken : ought not Christ to have suffered these things,
and to enter into his glory ? " What shall we say to' this
passage ? Let us grasp it with all our might. It is a pas-
sage of the greatest and most encouraging import. Observe,
first, 'that the mysterious Personage here brands and con-
demns as a " folly " tho.t unbelief which in our days is
extolled as enlightenment, and we may rest assured that He
calls things by tlieir right names. Observe, in the second
place, that He expressly gives to the prophets the honour of
being tlie infallible organs and interpreters of divine revela-
tion, and demands implicit belief for all that they have
spoken in the name of God. But, above all, do not let it
escape you that He here represents the sacrifice of His life
as a necessity springing out of God's plan of redemption, as
the indispensable condition of His exaltation, i.e., of the
glorification of Him who was God-man, Saviour of the
world. Sovereign of the kingdom of grace, and Head of
His spiritual body the Church. These are extremely im-
portant truths. Hoard them like precious jewels in the
casket of your heart !
The discij^les did not clearly understand the words which
they had just heard. Surprised, amazed, confounded, they
looked now at one another, now at the wonderful stranger.
But the startling appeal, which penetrated their inmost souls,
had done its work. It has shaken them out of their brood-
ing melancholy, and inclined them to give further heed to
the stranger. Would that the same might one day be said
of you, ye doubters in our midst ! May you also begin to
seek, and to inquire, and thoroughly scrutinise the matter,
which, though scarce looked at even superficially, you now
dare to deny ! The majority of your party desist too quickly
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 79
from the search after truth, and remain, like indolent sailors,
fast aground on the sandbank of unbelief. We read further
in the Gospel, that the unknown one, beginning at Moses
and all the proi)hets, expounded unto them in all the Scrip-
tures the things concerning Himself. See here the guide
■who will conduct you safely to the end of your journey.
Because you do not knoiu the Scriptures, therefore you do
not believe. If you could only determine to plunge heart
and soul into them, how soon would your heart burn within
you, like the two disciples', with joyful admiration of all the
glories with which you would find yourself surrounded !
How sacred is the ground on wliich we now tread ! How
wonderfully sublime the new world which here receives us !
What a different atmosphere do we breathe, even on the very
threshold of this book, from that which is around all other
WTitings, even the productions of the greatest and most gifted
minds 1 We seem to be transplanted at once from the noise
and bustle of a profane market-place to the holy quiet of a
sacred palm-grove, from the workshop of daily life into the
precincts of a sacred temple, as soon as that mysterious book,
wliich has given a new form to the world, is opened before
us. What holy, sacred personages meet us here ! The
jiatriarchs walking constantly before the face of Jehovah !
Those heroic forms clad in divine panoply ! The prophets
on their spiritual watch-towers, elevated by the distinct con-
sciousness that they speak not according to their own im-
pulses, but in the name and by the connnission of the
Almighty ! And then their prophecies and testimony !
Who is there who, reading them with an unprejudiced mind,
does not perceive at the first glance the impress of their
supernatural origin, which they carry on their brow? These
streams of lioht which rellect the brightness of the everlast-
ing throne ! These gold-mines, unfathomable and inexhaust-
ible ill their treasures and gems ! These echoes of paradisai-
80 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
cal harmonies, elsewhere entirely unknown ! And then that
sublime plan of redemption, disclosed to ns by these wit-
nesses of the Spirit ; and the adorable, unchanging faithful-
ness with wdiich God conducts His sublime purpose to its
final completion! On the entrance of sin into the world,
the curse is fulminated ; but, at the same time, in order to
incline the hearts of the fallen ones to return to the Lord,
there is the promise of grace and of divine forgiveness.
Then when, despite this warning, the stream of corruption
rose higher and higher, a peculiar people is selected to carry
down the revelation of the means of salvation for a world,
which, without such provision, would have perished. The
careful, providential mode in which this elect nation is led,
disciplined at one time by severity and at another by cle-
mency ; the awakening of their consciences to a sense of guilt
by the delivery of the law at Sinai ; and then the ever-
increasing definiteness of the promises of redemption, by
means of symbols, of typical personalities, of transparent and
unequivocal prophetic utterances, — setting forth with aug-
menting clearness and completeness the exalted person of
the great Messiah, who Himself should bring in the redemp-
tion. This Saviour rises before us, as a child, bearing the
titles of "Prince of Peace" and of " The Eternal Father;"
as a " Priest-king," whom David calls his Lord ; as a " com-
forter of all who mourn," a " deliverer of them that are
bound;" as the "Lamb of God," who bears the sins of the
world ; as a hero who rescues the prey from the old ser|)ent,
the arch-enemy of God and man, whom He treads under foot.
The mirror of prophecy represents Him as authenticating
His divine mission by siiins and wonders ; as the Good
Shepherd who goes after His lost sheep ; as giving His life
as a sacrifice for them ; as having been taken from judg-
ment, and crowned with honour and glory ; as living ever-
more, and claiming the nations for His inheritance. Ages
THE DISCirLES AT EMMAUS. 81
before His appearing He was already known, as if He bad
been already seen upon earth. And when, at length, He
really does appear, prophecy and fulfilment, type and anti-
type agree, not only in the main and essential features, but
also in the most minute incidents. Could this comport with
the natural course of things ? By no means ! Here is most
obviously the direct hand of that God who immediately
interferes with and manages all things. Sceptic ! turn to
the Sacred Scriptures ; thou groper in darkness, intently
study them, — so shalt thou soon see the morning dawn over
thy head, as it did over those two disciples, when the Un-
known One, walking with them in the way, led them in
spirit through Moses and the prophets, and from their
prophecies declared to them the future mighty " Prince of
Peace."
III. Let us accompany them further. Who can describe
their agitation of mind ? They can no longer question, even
for a moment, that their crucified Master is other than the
Pedeemer of the world, described by and prefigured in Moses
and the prophets. Everything, from the cradle to the cross,
was fulfilled in Him to the letter. But does this fulfilment
cease at the crucifixion ? Is there no further coincidence ?
Should there not be a keystone, and is this keystone want-
ing ? Does this pyramid of life want the topmost stone ?
Does the healthy, vigorous tree, instead of developing its
leafy crown, abruptly terminate in a stump ? To the two
disciples this appeared inconceivable. Hope revives within
them. Of a truth, every line of the picture in their memories,
stroke for stroke, had been reproduced in Him. And shall
the last, the only remaining feature, — that of victory over
death in the resurrection, — be alone wantino* ? If death
held Him, where then was the body? They, the disciples,
had not carried it away. Had His enemies, perhaps, done
so ? Impossible ! For had He been in their hands, would
F
82 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
they not publicly have exhibited the corpse, and have tri-
umpheil, saying, " See ! here is your vaunted Prince of
Peace, on whom all your hopes are fixed." These thoughts,
or similar ones, may have been \Yeighed one after another in
the mental scales of the good men, and we understand wjiat
they mean when we afterwards hear them say, "Did not our
hearts burn within us, while He talked with us by the way?"
They arrive at Emmaus. The Unknown made as though
He would go further and part from them ; but their fervent
wish is that He should not, and they begin to beg and con-
strain Him, saying, ''Abide with us, for it is towards even-
ing, and the day is far spent.'' Who is not familiar with
this earnest request, this pathetic appeal, which, though not
always rightly understood, finds an echo in the hearts of all
who ever heard it ? It contains incomparably more than the
words seem to express. This was no secret to their com-
panion. It was whilst they walked with Him, and He led
them through the writings of Moses and the proj)hets, that
they first became convinced how imperatively poor sinners
like themselves, condemned by the law, needed a Saviour, a
proj^itiator, and an intercessor between them and the Lord
God. But what if a more blessed thing still could happen
to them, if their unknown friend had also in reserve for them
the message that their Master really was alive again ? The
very thought of this might make them shout aloud for joy.
Heaven is opened to them by this possibility. For then
their Jesus would really be the Saviour whom they needed.
Then, before the whole world, the everlasting Father would
have accredited and crowned Him in this character. Then
neither Moses, nor Satan, nor their own conscience could
accuse them anymore. Tliey saw themselves "accepted of
God in the beloved." Wliat an intimate friend would then
have been restored to them in Him ! what a surety, not only
for their personal existence after death, but also for their
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 83
future glorious cliauge and exaltation in their Father's house !
Do you still wonder that you hear them intreat so urgently,
so pressingly, "Abide with us, abide with us?" Learn
from this why the eyes of the disciples were " holden that
they should not know Him." Wliat would it have profited
them if their companion had revealed Himself to them when
they first met ? Truly they would have been overwhelmed
with joyous astonishment, but it would have been astonish-
ment without light and without clearness of apprehension.
They would have hailed their risen Saviour vehemently, ex-
ultingly, but they would not have had any just appreciation
of the real import of His resurrection. Meeting them, as
He now does, after they have been enlightened by the word
of God, they know what they have in Him ; their joy has a
firm foundation ; their rejoicing has a well-defined object.
" Abide with us." These words bespeak blissful anticipa-
tion and expectation ; we see in them the first blush of that
spiritual dawn which rose upon their minds towards the end
of their walk, and preluded the glorious noon-tide of Easter-
day. You are now in a position to appreciate the joy of the
disciples when the companion who joined them on the way
yields to their entreaties to stay. They take Him to a rustic
cottage, the home of one of them, and, bidding Him a hearty
welcome there, hasten to prepare a simple meal. When the
table is s^Dread, and they are all seated around it, the guest
rises to officiate as master of the house. " Oh," they both
think, " that is just as He used to do when He lived and
walked with us." But they do not yet perceive who it is
that is standing before them. He takes the bread. What
sorrowful but sweet recollections arise in their souls at the
sight ! He gives thanks. Wliat do they then experience ?
do they dream? The tone! the spirit! the unction! — all,
all are just as He used to pray ! He breaks the bread —
exactly so He was wont to do ! He ofiers it to tliem ; but
84 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
let others take it. They stand as though petrified ; for all
of a sudden their eyes have been opened — " Yes, it is He ! "
it is He himself — " Assuredly He lives/' They are in the
act of prostrating themselves and clasping His feet ; but
they may no longer do so. Their previous intercourse with
Him now yields to another higher and more spiritual. Ere
they could realise the fact, the risen glorified Messiah, for it
was He, had vanished out of their sight. But why had they
not long previously divined who it was that had borne them
company? They cannot even account for it themselves.
''Did not our hearts hum within us," we hear them cry,
" while he talked luith us hy the way, and while he opened
to us the Scriptures ?" But now, without a moment's delay,
they hasten through the still night on the wings of joy back
again to Jerusalem. In what different terms do they now
hail the sepulchre of the ancient judges from those in which,
when passing, they saluted it as they sallied forth from the
city ; and in what a totally diflferent light does the whole
world appear to them now, though still outwardly sunless,
for the Eisen One is henceforth their Sun ! Arriving at
Jerusalem, they go to the house of John ; they no sooner
join the circle of the disciples there than they are greeted
with the joyful exclamation, " The Lord is risen indeed, and
hath appeared to Simon." The two highly-favoured ones
can confirm this triumphant testimony by what they have
both seen and heard. Every countenance beams with over-
flowing joy. But after their surging feelings had somewhat
subsided, the brethren from Emmaus had to narrate what
they had experienced, and they related most minutely all
that had happened to them on their homeward journey, and
" how He was known of them in breaking of bread."
Thus have our two pilgrims entered the glorious sun-
illumined Easter world, where death has lost its sting, where
the head of the old serpent is crushed, the paradisaical
THE DISCIPLES AT E3IMAUS. 85
sonship to God is renewed, and the Angel of Hope again
consoles tlie child of the dust, as he walks by his side.
Blessed indeed are all they for whom a place is prepared in
this world, illumined by the Easter Sun ! And such a place
is open to you all ! From the dcjjths of your soul, let such
a prayer rise as that of the disciples of Emmaus ; because
it is likewise night with you, and then the sun of a false
peace and of an imaginary security will hasten to decline.
In the breaking of the heavenly bread of inward peace with
God by Him, you would recognise in Him your only Saviour,
and the author of your bliss. And if you did but learn,
from the deepest inmost conviction of your heart, to say
with the patriarch, " I know that my Eedcemer liveth," you
would immediately, like him, be raised above the mighty
ones of this earth, and would unite triumjjhautly in the old
Easter hymn : —
" On this day, most blest of days !
Let u.s keep bigli festival,
For our God hath shew'd His grace.
And our Sun hath risen on all.
And our hearts rejoice to see
8in and night bcfoio ITim flee.
Hallelujah ! "
Jjuther, translated by Miss WinJcworA.
86 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
VII.
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
SECOND MEDITATION.
High up the Missouri river in North America, just beyond
all the settlements, and where a vast tract of country is as
yet undisturbed in its primeval state, there is a double sign-
post standing in a boundless prairie. It indicates on one
of its arms, " To Mexico," on the other, " To California."
How many a wanderer, following one or other of these
waymarks, has been lost, and has perished in the pathless,
unpeopled wilderness for want of signposts further on ! The
ministers of the Word would be like that signpost, if they
contented themselves by calling out in general terms, "Ye
must repent and believe, if ye would attain eternal life."
Their duty is rather to raise signposts here and there on the
road to safety and to heaven, and with the prophet (Isa. xxx.
21) to declare unto you, " This is the way, walk ye in it,
turninoj neither to the rioht hand nor to the left." The
peerless Gospel of Easter-day, v/hich we are now about to
consider for the second time, is in itself a sufficient guide,
shewing practically, stej) by step, the way of salvation, with
such accuracy that whoever does not wilfully blind himself,
cannot overlook, mistake, or miss it.
Luke xxiv. 13-34.
Let us return once more to this beloved Gospel ; but
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 87
not as if we deemed it possible to exhaust the fulness of
thought contained in it, for it is inexhaustible ; but simply
because we wish to bring nearer to your understandings, as
well as to your hearts, several topics upon which we could
touch but slightly in our first meditation. To carry this out,
let us in the first lAtxce see who there is amonrjst us luhose^
tone of mind corresponds luith that exhibited hy the disciples
of Emmaus ; secondly, in what manner there may he an
essential coincidence of experience in that luhich may hetide
us in our iKith of life, and in that luhich occurred to the
two travellers on theirs to Emmaus ; and, thirdly, luhen the
moment aii^ives, that it may also he justly said of us, that
the Easter sun is risen upon us.
Oh, that whilst thus mutually engaged, this Sun would
burst forth upon us with His blissful heavenly rays !
I. The two disciples, whom we see leave Jerusalem late in
the afternoon of the day of the resurrection, had suffered
shipwreck in their faith. Unhappily we meet in the present
day with niany who resemble them in their experience and
its results. Since the two disciples had seen their Master
grow pale in death, it seems as though they had for ever
given up His cause, with all the comfort also which they had
derived from it, and all the hopes which they had based
upon it. Alas, thousands in our own day might say to them,
" We have done that long ago." But among those who have
fallen away to unbelief, important differences exist. There
are, in the first place, numbers who never did believe. Pious
parents have never raised the tiny hands of these pitiable
ones in prayer. The well-known verse —
" Expand Thy wings, Jesus !
And nestle me, Thy little one,"
has never sounded from their lips. Perhaps at school they heard
this and that about Jesus, about His teaching and His miracles;
88 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
but probably, what they did hear of Him came to them only
in a diluted or stunted form, or only as a mere letter without
spirit and life. It did not warm their hearts ; it did not
kindle within them a longing for a nearer view and a more
living apprehension. It awakened no blissful anticipation in
them, like that which elicited the exclamation from the man
in the Gospel, " Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the
kingdom of God." From their infancy upwards they have
never known any other kingdom than the kingdom of this
world, where no interest scarcely is felt beyond the trivial
matters, "What shall we eat? what shall we drink? or
wherewithal shall we be clothed ? " These spiritually-ne-
glected ones, to whose worldly, prejudiced consciousness the
gospel is as though it were not, and who have no idea of
the splendour of that world of glory which Christ has re-
vealed to His people, wholly differ in their moral bias from
the disciples of Emmaus, and we can only commend them to
Almighty God, and intreat for them His free grace. Others,
indeed, have once had a holier, happier time, though only in
childhood. They were amongst the children who sang
" hosannas " to the Lord Jesus. They were deeply interested
in all that they heard of Him, and especially in the fact that
He had shewn himself so good and so gracious. They rejoiced
that He, having little children before Him, had said, " Suffer
little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of
such is the kingdom of heaven." And how joyously and hope-
fully could they then raise folded hands heavenwards, when
aught awakened solicitude ; were it that they commended a sick
father or mother, or any other sufferer in their family circle,
to God ; or were it a petition to the throne of grace for some
other desired blessing. But now they are grown up, they
have become " enlightened," and have read newspapers and
clever books, and loftily boast that they have climbed the
heights of modern culture, and that with their childish habits
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 89
they likewise cast away tlieir former faith, hope, trust, and
prayer. Theirs is a lost j^iradise. But with a smile of
fancied superiority, they now say that there was a time when
they well-nigh might have relied upon that " beautiful legend
of the gospel"' as though it had been a real world. Between
such objects of commiseration as these and the two travellers
to Emmaus, there is nought akin ! We have still less hope of
them than of those first described. Severe visitations of Pro-
vidence only are calculated to bring about a change of mind
■ in their case.
But now let me introduce to you a third class. To it be-
long those who also look back to a beautiful past which has
disappeared, because they had become far more at home in
the world of gospel belief, and had drunk far richer comforts
and joys from its wells than the last-mentioned ones ; but to
them that world has no less sunk in ruins under the assault
of a new teaching hostile to the faith, and for them no longer
exists any supernatural revelation, nor a Son of God veiled
in the flesh, nor a Prince of Peace raised from the dead, be-
cause they fancy it has been irrefragably demonstrated by an
"advanced science" that nothing of the kind can be believed
without setting at defiance all the laws of thought which
reason has determined. In their denial of the truth they
certainly occupy the same stand-point as those represented
above ; nevertheless, these essentially differ from the former,
in that they do not look back upon their lost Eden with
wanton thoughtlessness, but with sadness and silent grief,
and would be indeed happy if they could believe the possi-
bility that their once beautiful and much-loved dream might
turn out to be a reality, — if they could, from its ruins, recon-
struct the ideal kingdom which kindled the enthusiasm of
their simple childhood. These doubters are, indeed, akin to
those disciples going to Emmaus, who also had given up the
gospel as lost, since their Master had died, and His corpse,
90 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
as they tlionglit, had been carried away by His sworn foes.
But, oil ! with what yearnings did they recur to those days,
now gone for ever, and how would they have rejoiced had
they been able to find any sure ground of conviction that
the Crucified One was nevertheless Lord of heaven, their
Saviour, and Author of their bliss, and that as a proof He
had not ceased to be so, He had really risen again from the
dead. Hear them conversing by the way ' Every word
breathes the deepest longings for the restoration of their
shattered paradise. But when such a frame of mind accom-
panies scepticism, however outspoken it may be, we consider
ourselves fully authorised to entertain the most favourable
opinion as to the issue.
II. There go our pilgrims. Lo ! a third has joined them.
We know who it is. But it must still remain concealed from
them. After the stranger has induced them to reveal to Him
the cause of their sorrow, He first arouses them from their
gloomy dreaminess and stupor by rebuking them as "fools
and slow of heart" because of their unbelief, and then He
expounds to them all the Old Testament prophecies, from
Moses downwards, which refer to the great Messiah, to His
wonderful life on earth, and also to His passion, death, and
resurrection. Then their hearts begin to burn within them,
although they have no idea who it is that is speaking to
them. The like is still experienced among unbelievers, pro-
vided they belong to the more serious and thoughtful doubters.
Quiet hours of contemplation and reflection overtake us, when
whole trains of thought pass through the soul ; the man knows
1. t himself whence they come, but they seem like the exhorta-
tions of an invisible friend who would turn us from unbelief
to faith. The question then, perhaps, arises within us, " Is
Christianity really the work and invention of man V — Chris-
tianity, that spiritual power whicli has morally transformed
the world, changed the face of the earth, opened the heaven
THE DISCIPLES AT EJVIMAUS. 91
above it, and even in the present clay does what no human
science or art can ; for, as by enchantment, within a very
short time, it not only rescues savage nations from their
barbarism, but imparts gentleness and civilisation ; it trans-
forms lions into lambs ! — Christianity, which raises man
above himself, presents to him the ideal of a higher destiny
than ever before entered into any human heart ; it reveals to
him a sanctity of which no philosopher of this world ever
dreamed, and to which the noblest characters recorded in the
history of the last eighteen hundred years owe their being
and their inmost life. Can that possibly be of earthly origin
and the offspring of the human brain? And was Christ
himself really but a man, — He who had indisputably de-
clared Himself openly and publicly to be He who had come
down from heaven ? Apart from the testimony of the Bible,
are we not assured of it by the tradition of the Jews, down
to the present time, that He was crucified by their fathers
because He made Himself equal with God ? Is it conceiv-
able that His contemporaries should have falsely attributed
to a mere man the divine miracles, and that divine splendour
of glory in which, for example, the fourth Gospel represents
Him to us ? But that this Gospel was written by a contem-
porary and disciple of Jesus, by John, is now placed beyond
all doubt. And assuming that which is inconceivable,
namely, that the miracles of Jesus were only fictitious, who
amongst those who saw Jesus bodily moving among them
would ever have believed such fictions? But it is an un-
deniable fact that, within a short time, thousands from their
own observations really believed that the man of Nazareth
was the only-])egotten Son of the Father, and that they
acknowledged Him, for time and for eternity, as the Saviour
of their souls, accredited by God, And can it be denied that
He unequivocally foretold that He, with His fishermen and
publicans, should conquer the world, and that He would
92 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
build on the ruins of the old temple a new one, made of
living stones, — a spiritual temple, which should be co-exten-
sive with the whole world ? And has not this prophecy been
literally fulfilled? And His resurrection — is this really
nothing but a fable ? Where then was the corpse laid ? Put
out of the way by the Jews ? Impossible ! For how could
these infuriated adversaries have foregone the opportunity of
destroying at a blow the kingdom which they so much hated,
by exhibiting at the right moment His bloody corpse ? Did
the apostles then carry Him away ? Well, then, their enthu-
siasm would have been shewn for one now dead, who had,
whilst living, most bitterly deceived them ; they would then
have joyfully staked everything, even blood and life, for a
false Messiah ; they would then fain have won over the
highly-cultured natious of Greece and Rome to the banner
of one who, manifestly, had been branded as a blasphemer
by God himself. And Paul would then, in his First Epistle
to the Corinthians, which no one in the present day presumes
to deny to be his, have borne testimony, which he boldly
does, that any contemporary of the apostle, to whom the great
fact might have appeared difficult of credit, might meet with
numbers then living, both ocular and oral witnesses of it, for
Christ had, subsequently to His resurrection, presented Him-
self to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom but few
harl then died. And as to His portraiture by the prophets —
is there room for doubt when it is revealed in the person of
Jesus to the minutest features? And how clearly is the
divine plan of redemption revealed to us in the writings of
the Old and New Testament. Did it not demand the death,
and also, as a confirmation of the now completed work of
redemption, the resurrection and glorification of Him who
carried out the divine decree? These, and like considera-
tions, are wont to press tl^.emselves on thoughtful persons
who are in a state of unbelief. Unexpectedly, and as from
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 93
the clouds, they dart like lightning through the soul. Their
" hearts burn within them." Their inner man is a battle-
field. Their whole soul is in the greatest commotion. The
entire edifice of their unbelief is suddenly shaken to its very
foundation, and they feel themselves heaving with great pre-
sentiments and hopes. In them the experience of the dis-
ciples going to Emmaus is repeated. At such moments the
Lord is S2)eaking to them by His Spirit, though they are as
yet unconscious that He is so near. Truly, they do not find
themselves transported at once into the region of perfect faith,
but, at least, the possibility is evident to them that they may
yet find themselves entirely at home in the domain of faith.
III. From the extraordinary discourse of their unknown
companion, whilst journeying to Emmaus, it appeared to our
two disciples that an eventuality was suggested, the bare
idea of which transported them. How intently and hope-
fully they listen to every word which falls from His lips !
But see, they have reached their journey's end. Their friend
makes as though He is going further. But how beseechingly
do they beg and pray, " Abide with us : for it is towards
evening, and the day is far spent/' In these words the point
of time is indicated in which the rising of the Easter Sun
may be expected with certainty by every one. When even-
ing gloom comes over our life, then morning will soon dawn,
but never before. The evening shadows already draw on,
when, with just light enough to discover the insignificance
of our former life, we begin to feel the mental vacuity
experienced in all that the world offers us : when the sigh
which escaped the heart of Solomon bursts forth from ours
— "Vanity of vanities! all is vanity!" and that which we
once called pleasure now appears so insipid, and worldly
honour only a child's toy. When we are troubled by the
thought that we have wholly missed the aim of existence,
because life has been consumed in the merest trifles, when
94 THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.
our way becomes more and more isolated, because tbe
churchyard sod covers those we love best, the world appears
stranger, colder, and more desolate, and the tree of hope
sheds one withered leaf after another. Oh, then it is
that our day seems " far spent !" And if, then, thoughts of
eternity, awakening dread, gather around our soul, and we
have to account to ourselves as to what we have to shew as
lasting gain and profit from our former life ; if we have to
ask ourselves, in the event of death knocking at our door,
either to-day or to-morrow, what grounds we have to antici-
pate a favourable sentence when arraigned before the Judge
of the world, and what the real state of the case has been,
and is now, about our " loving God with all our heart," and
about our " being faithful in that which is least as in that
which is greatest ;" if our own conscience, as an inexorable
accuser, finds us guilty of the most decided alienation from
God, and it seem as though all openings through which a
ray of comfort or hope could penetrate to us, were closed ; —
when overtaken by that bitterness of reflection which is
inspired by the feeling that life with us has missed its aim,
which state of mind is so far beyond relief by all worldly
wisdom, that it but exposes its naked impotence by attempt-
ing it, and when utter despair in all that is called human
consolation or human help extorts from the heart the cry of
distress, " wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver
me from the body of this death ? " — yes, then evening has
overtaken us ! And oh, what would then be to us such a
Friend as the gospel exhibits ! But now that our necessities
are brought to our knowledge, to which such a Friend per-
fectly corresponds, behold a Friend who declares to sinners
the forgiveness of sins ; to doubters, the pledge of everlasting
life, by pointing them to His own resurrection ; to the gaze
of weary travellers, the blessed rest of heaven in sure and
certain prospect ; and who discloses to the poor in spirit,
THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS. 95
and those 'wlio are mentally famishing here, a beautiful
world, replenished with the experience of heavenly joys, and
who promises to the solitary and bereaved an everlasting
reunion with the loved ones whom they mourn. Oh, now
the eye of faith can see its way, and it will be easy for the
heart to repeat in faltering accents the prayer of the disciples
of Emraaus — ''It is noiu evening, and the day is far spent;
deserted hy all, Thou who art my last refuge, abide with
me." And however timorously the yearning spirit may
utter it at first, it will not be long before the scene at
Emmaus will be repeated. The Lord breaks to us the
bread of His comfort, of His peace ; and this heavenly food
once tasted, we shall immediately be illumined with the
Easter Sun, and joyfully exclaim, "Jesus lives, and with
him I Kkewise." By God's grace, may this happen to us
all, and may the risen Prince of Peace say His "Yea and
Amen," whilst we pray with the poet —
" Then break through our hard hearts Thy way,
Jesus ! conquering King !
Kindle the lamp of faith to-day,
Teach our faint hearts to sing.
For joy at length,
That in Thy strength
We, too, may rise, whom sin had slain.
And Thy eternal rest attain."
Lyra Gerrmnica.
96 THE PKINCE OP PEACE
VIII.
THE PKINCE OF PEACE IN THE EVENING
ASSEMBLY.
We hear the royal singer^ in Psalm Iv. 7, utter the sigh,
" Oh that I had wings like a clove ! for then would I fly
away, and be at rest." Do not these words sound wonder-
fully stirring ? Do they not awake in us feelings like those
that moved the heart of the Psalmist ? There is an innate
longing in man to escape beyond the narrow limits of this
imperfect world into higher regions. Anxiety about vulgar
and common objects may to all aj^pearance stifle the emo-
tion, but even where man is not sunk so low, it not unfre-
quently lies for a length of time dormant within him. But
it is remarkable that this tendency of the soul is wont to
revive just when the most beautiful, pleasing, and exalted
objects in nature are presented to us. It is when we walk
in the awful stillness peculiar to the heights of mountain
ranges, or stand lost in admiration of the majestic spectacle
of sunrise or sunset, or indulge ourselves in the glorious
season of spring, surrounded by the divine creative breath
as we walk about its blooming scenes, or, again, allow our
ravished eye to wander through the far-sparkling host of
stars : it is on such occasions that, ere we are aware, we
breathe forth in tender and gentle accents proceeding from
the inmost soul, " Oh that I had wings like a dove ! " It
seems to me as though, in all the beauty which surrounds
IN THE EVENING ASSEMBLY. 97
US, we saw but the reflection of the dawn of somethino:
incomparably more glorious ; but from which we are sepa-
rated by an immeasurable gulf. Yes ; and with this dim
remembrance of a lost paradise is mingled the thought, that
though we were long ago deprived of it, nevertheless it is
not lost to us for ever. We have a dim presentiment of
the existence of an ideal world, and feel it to be that for
which we were created and born. In the longing language
of, "Oh that I had wings!" the soul breathes forth its
aspirations after it, and would fain burst through all barriers
in order to soar up to it, to take its place amongst the angelic
liost ; and with them, in the light of God's countenance, to
discover the solution of all problems and the unsealing of
all mysteries. The perfect satisfaction of this deep-seated
and mighty longing, at some future time, is faithfully pro-
mised to the friends of God. They will be furnished with
" the wings of a dove ; " yes, heaven will come down to
earth, and they will blend together into one world. If ever
a delicate, fragrant prototype of that future, worthy certainly
of the warmest desires, has appeared on earth, it was during
those forty days when the Prince of Peace, raised again
from death to a new life, connnuned with His disciples, clad
in His glorified body. We will now revert in spirit to that
delightful period which has, and not without reason, been
said to represent a foreshadowing of that j^erfect kingdom of
God upon earth which is revealed in prophecy. Who would
not like to linger on the spot where the " Oh that I had
wings ! " should be silenced for a season ? because we should
feel as though the passionate impulse which promj)ted its
utterance had received already its full satisfaction.
Mark xvi. 14; Luke xxiv. 3G-48; John xx. 19, 20.
" Then the same clay at evening, behig the first clay of the week, when
the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the
Jew.s, came Je.sua unto the eleven, as they sat at meat, and .saith unot
G
98 THE PEINCE OF PEACE
them, Peace be unto you ! But they were terrified and affriglated, and
supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he upbraided them with their
unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had
seen him after he was risen ; and he said unto them, Why are ye so troubled?
and why do thoughts arise in your hearts ? Behold my hands and my feet
that it is I myself : handle me, and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and
bones as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them
his hands and his feet. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the
Lord. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said
unto them, Have ye any meat ? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish
and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. And he
said unto them. These are the words that I spake unto you, while I was
yet with you : that all things must be fulfilled which were written in Moses
and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened he
their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. And said
unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to
rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name among all nations. And ye are witnesses
of these things."
The scene now brought under our consideration is of the
highest importance. It crowns all the manifestations which
our Lord made of Himself upon the day of the resurrection ;
the first real celebration of Easter by the company of the
redeemed discii^les, the concentration into one focus of all
the single rays which the miracle of the third day had up
to that time thrown upon the night of the world, and under
its powerful working, the faith of the little flock in the resur-
rection advanced much nearer to its "full maturity.'' Let
us contemplatively approach the scene so full of meaning,
and observe, in the first place, the Easter greeting of the
risen Saviour ; then the manner of His appearing ; and,
lastly, His Easter testimony. ^lay the Spirit of the Lord
illumine us with His light, and likewise crown our words
with a lasting blessing !
L Let us return to that late evening assembly whither we
conducted the disciples from Emmaus. There we find the
disciples and the women still engaged in earnest conversation
IN THE EVENING ASSEMBLY. 00
with each other. But the lateness of the hour suggests no
thought of departure or of sejiaration. Easter-day is already
dawning brightly above them ; yet many of them, unaffected
by the full sunshine of evidence, still grope in the mists of
doubt and faintheartedness. Joy in the ascendant certainly
ruled the spirits of the cordially attached company ; but it
still was in some measure restricted and depressed with many
a fear and anxiety. The brethren who brought such glad
tidings might still possibly liave been deceived and mistaken.
And even if they were not so, it was quite conceivable that
tlie risen Saviour might not again appear to them, that they
would be left in ignorance as to His person and their own
future. Moreover, who could assure them that the Jews,
fearing lest the disciples should make the people believe that
their Master had really left the grave alive, would not fall
stealthily upon them ; and taking their lives, would not en-
deavour to root out of the earth the scarce germinating seed
of the infant Church of Christ ? The closely -barred doors of
the room in which we find them assembled prove that the
tliought of this eventuality had made them anxious.
What a dismal and horrible thing is fear ! It hangs like
a leaden weight on our energies ; and like a concealed but
destructive worm, it gnaws away all we cherish as happiness,
joy, and peace. It covers our sky with blackness, and renders
the air which surrounds us so dense that breathing becomes
difficult. It nails us to a cross of deep inward discomfort,
and in the diffident and retiring man it quenches his love,
together with his cheerfulness and serenity. And is not this
destroyer the hereditary portion of us all? It lurks from
our very birth in the lieart of every human being. It may
doze ; but the rustling of a leaf suffices to rouse it. It reposes
in the brea^>t of every one lilce a lightly-sleeping lion, and the
boldest hero will not maintain that he knows nothing of this
monster. Think only of the amount of dark superstition
100 THE PEINCE OF PEACE
still found in the civilised world ; of the horror of appari-
tions, from which few are entirely free ; of the choice of lucky
days on which anything is to be undertaken ; of the idolatry
practised with amulets, talismans, charms, and magic for-
mulas ; as well as of the importance attached to a hundred
sorts of so called " signs or prognostications," but which are
indeed in themselves destitute of all significance. Whence
comes all these ? Fear, the lamentable and universal dowry
of our fallen nature, is the parent of all these things. How
truly does Job speak when he says, " Is there not an appoint-
ed warfare to man upon earth ? And are not his days also
like the days of an hireling?" and Paul, also, when he ex-
claims, " Without were fightings, within were fears." Ob-
serve mankind. Is not their prevalent tone of mind that of
one who every where discovers powers conspiring against him,
from which he must protect himself, against which he must
arm himself ? At one time he sees himself threatened with
the loss of property, at another he fears injury to his health ;
at one time he dreads the loss of influential patronage, at
another he is afraid of the dissolution of the dearest ties of
love and friendship. And if these things, or such as these,
do not rob him of his rest, yet he is terrified by the incessant
flight of time, by the perception of the transient nature of
all earthly things, the feeling that old age is hastening on
like a hurricane, and close behind is the dusky figure of the
king of terrors, the inevitable angel of death lying in wait
for him ; his conscience, moreover, murmurs more than lie
likes to hear about a judgment to come, and however ear-
nestly he may strive to silence it, he never succeeds in the
attempt. This hateful inmate is intractable, and scorns every
attempt to bribe' or stupify him. Thus the poor offspring
of Adam is always and everywhere trying to escape, and
nobody will wonder that he dislikes to be alone, and seeks
to foro-et himself and to avoid self -reflection in a whirl of dis-
IN THE EVENING ASSEMBLY. 101
sipation. And should this device succeed for ca while, fear, that
gloomy demon, always makes a path for itself, and its power
increases in pro})ortion as man is thoroughly relieved from
falsehood, and as he advances in the line of truth. I do not
need to remind you in what degree, or to what extent fear
rules the minds of men in our days. How frequently do we
hear it said, and that in the gravest manner, " What will be-
come of society, for the world is at its wits' end ? " With
what are we menaced by these dark clouds, or by those wliich
beset our horizon ? In our day there are assuredly not a few
among us who will feel themselves to be more nearly related
to the disciples assembled within the barred doors, than they
ever previously did, in this one respect at least, and will
more truly than ever envy them the greeting which suddenly
resounded throughout the evening gathering, and in one mo-
ment transformed all their anxieties and cares into the purest
delight.
What greeting ! listen to it ! Whilst the disciples, in the
greatest perturbation, are still discussing the events of the
day, over and over again expressing their doubts, and then
checking them, communicating to each other their apj^rehen-
sions, and again suggesting their hopes, suddenly through
their midst is heard, in heart-stirring accents well known to
them, a distinct, "Peace he unto you!" The din of conver-
sation is hushed into solemn stillness. The disciples, taken
by surprise, look round, and, lo ! who stands before them ?
Dare they trust their eyes? Yes, it is He! Who shall
depict their joyous amazement? He himself, the Master
who was dead, and is alive again, stands in their midst.
" Peace " is the first word with which He hails them ;
''peace," sweet, blessed sound! What is ''peace?'' It is a
calm in tlie inmost soul, — not the calm of one asleep or
dreaming, but when wide awake ; it is cheerful self-com-
posure, not only in the bare possibility of danger menaced,
102 THE PRINCE OF PEACE
but realised in its very presence ; it is the deep harmony of
the soul, not only in sunshine, but when the tempest rages
above us and all around. But does this peace dwell in the
valley of tribulation and of tears? Praised be God that
thougli for a season it was banished, nevertheless it has
returned to us again. It breathes upon you from more than
one manifestation in the history of Divine providence exer-
cised here on earth. Its voice is heard from more than one
mortal mouth speaking gently and soothingly to you. Truly
no human wisdom can assist you to this peace. By no per-
sonal efforts can you attain it — no earthly incantation can
obtain it for you. But there is One who alone can both
wish it may be yours, and iikev/ise confer it. Behold, it is
He who has just appeared here wlio, with a word, has dis-
pelled all fear and solved all doubts ! Do you know Him ?
Oh, believe it ! He is the Prince of Peace. Do you ask how
He became so ? Observe Him and His whole demeanour ;
He entered that chamber, not only to proclaim i^eace to His
disciples, but to present a sensible nianifestation of it.
II. The disciples see Him standing before them. " But,"
says the narrative, with reference to the majority at least of
them, " thei/ were terrified and affrighted, and supposed
tJtat they had seen a spirit." For a moment they held Him
to be an apparition from another world, who, in order to
manifest Himself, had temporarily assumed the human form.
It seems also to be beyond all question that the Lord had
entered the chamber without any one of the bolted doors
having been previously opened. Some able commentators
jiave certainly been of opinion that the evangelist John only
added the observation "tuhen the doors ivere sJtiit," to cor-
roborate his assertion tliat the disciples were assembled in
great fear. They think that the door was opened by one
of the disciples from Emmaus, who heard Him knock, and
first recognised His voice. But the tenor of the Gospel nar-
IN THE EVENING ASSEMBLY. 103
rative clearly indicates a miracle ; and as such the entrance
of Christ into this evening assembly corresponds exactly with
tlie peculiar manner in wliich He usually did appear after
His resurrection. Truly, a bodily form subject entirely to
tlie will and beck of the mind, and freed from the limita-
tions of space and time, is wholly beyond our luunan com-
prehension. But how many other things are there, the
denial of whose existence on this account merely would be
the grossest folly ?
Our Lord, immediately upon His manifestation, expresses
Himself in terms of serious reproach, exactly as He had
done with the disciples of Emmaus. He reproves the un-
belief and hardness of heart of His disciples in not having
believed those who had seen Him since His resurrection,
and says to them, " Why are ye troubled, and why do
thoughts arise in your hearts T' This rejDrehensory "why"
they had deserved. After all that they had heard and expe-
rienced throughout that day, their spirit of incr-^lidity was
perfectly unjustifiable. But a rebuke administered with the
decision and energy of the most profound and most vivid
conviction is even now, generally speaking, more calculated
to reclaim sceptics from their unbelief in evangelical truth,
than the adoption of an indulgent sympathy with the tissue
of scruples and doubts frequently woven merely to promote
self-gratification. The spark of belief from the inmost soul
of the speaker, flashing with electric velocity through the
hearer, will far more probably eflPect conviction and conver-
sion than the most ingenious argnments and subtle apologies.
Did not the apostles, during their missionary labours, exert
the most convincing influence by the involuntary exhibition
of their extreme surprise and righteous anger at the blind-
ness of those who heard their testimony, and still persisted
in their unbelief? Every one felt that those heralds of Christ
were thoroughly convinced of the truth of what they pub-
1 04 THE PEINCE OF PEACE
lislied ; and this very feeling caused the strongest defences
to totter and give way, which had until then resisted the
gospel of whicli they were the witnesses.
The decided expression, " Why come such thoughts into
your heai^ts ? " did not, we may rest assured, fail of imme-
diate effect upon the assembled disciples, and at least, it
quickly dispelled the idea of a mere ghostly apparition.
With His wonted kindness, our Lord still shews Himself
condescendingly towards them who now found themselves
suddenly transported into a world to which they were not
accustomed ; for, to calm their amazement He condescended
even to stretch out His hands that they might touch them,
and, pointing to the marks in His feet and His side, to say,
"It is I myself: handle me and see ; for a spirit hath not
flesh and hones as ye see me have." Evidently our Lord
admits here, though indirectly, the possibility of the visible
return of departed persons from the other world into this ;
for otherwise would He .not rather have said, "Ghostly
apparitions belong to the realms of phantasy ? " He would
then have branded as deceptions the appearance of the
departed Samuel before Saul, as also those of the prophets
Moses and Elijah on Mount Tabor. It was our Lord's
immediate purpose to convince the disciples th^.t He had not
for the moment assumed a mere unsubstantial form, but
that He really stood before them in the very same body in
which He had been consigned to the grave. His resurrec-
tion was to serve to His disciples as a type, a pledge of their
own future resurrection ; and so it came naturally to be a
matter of the utmost importance that the reality of it should
be placed beyond all doubt. This subject again presses upon
us all the qucr ''ous concerning the nature and constitution of
a glorified body, and here more especially where we see the
risen Saviour taking bread — inquiries which will probably
never be satisfactorily solved in this present world. Has such
IN THE EVENING ASSEMBLY. 105
a body really "flesh and hones '^ " or does the Lord simply
condescend to our powers of conception when He thus ex-
presses Himself? Has tlie glorified body really "flesh and
bones" in such fashion that it can not only be seen, but
also handled by organs not yet glorified? Can such a body
receive earthly food in the same manner as our own ? And
if so, must not the food undergo a perfectly different process
from that which we know to be the usual one? Or was
the glorification of His body but incipient and progres-
sive at the moment when Christ presented Himself to the
evening assembly? and is it to be conceived of by us as
only perfectly complete on the day of His ascension ? We
are here confronted by mysteries which no mortal eye can
ever penetrate. But let us not be uneasy on this account.
By how many phenomena in creation does the most learned
philosopher unhesitatingly coiifess himself mastered, saying,
"This and that are indisputable facts, but it is utterly im-
possible to explain or account for them ! " Why, then,
should not the invisible spheres, which belong to those who,
after death, are born again to everlasting life, conceal within
themselves equal, if not far greater, mysteries and problems ?
Let us but have patience ! The time will come when we
shall see all veils removed, all contradictions solved, and
Avith prayerful admiration shall we behold the mysteries of
God revealed to us in all their depths.
When the disciples at Jerusalem see the cicatrised wounds
in our Lord's hands, feet, and side, they then necessarily
believe that the same Master stands before them who but
lately lived in their midst. But their faith is, nevertheless,
again about to waver, and now, indeed, as the narrative
informs us, "for very joy." If we but reflect a while, it will
not be difficult for us to realise their frame of mind. If
Christ really were alive again, as the conqueror of death,
then what grand and inexpressibly blessed consequences
106 THE PRINCE OF PEACE
necessarily followed from this fact. Then they who up to
that time had been so distressed saw a paradise of peace and
hope suddenly opened to them, in which they might for ever
forget that which had been once lost through Adam. The
joy experienced uuder such circumstances was almost too
much for them. The thought in which they were absorbed
was, *' such abundant grace to us poor sinners ! Impossible!"
It was, indeed, the unjustifiable surrender of their privileges
which tended to prevent the disciples from believing. But
the riches of divine compassion should not, however, have
been dimmed to their apprehension by the feeling, only too
iustly entertained, of their own personal unwortliiness. If
the great God once substituted grace for justice, it is to be
expected that He will do so superabundantly. Were the
measure of His benefits limited by that of our desert, what
might we anticipate ? Nothing at all. But we may expect
everything, even the highest, since He has determined that
free grace shall prevail.
Our Lord commiserates those who are still faint-hearted
and despondent. ''Have ye here any meatV says He. At
His request a piece of broiled fish and an honeycomb is set
before Him. And He takes and eats it before them ; and
now, indeed, there is no longer any doubt of the reappearance
of the Master. John says, " Then were the disciples glad
when they saw the Lord" Yes ; not until now had their
Easter feast been rung in with a full peal. They feel as if
they had risen again from the dead themselves. An inex-
pressibly blissful peace penetrates their hearts ; and they all
could then unitedly exclaim, with still more fervent ardour
than Peter on Mount Tabor, " It is good for us to he here ;
let us erect tabernacles" How far they then surmised the
intimate and mysterious connexion of the peaceful greeting
of their Master with the marks of His wounds which He
exhibited to them, it is difficult to say. Perhaps, in the
IN THE EVENING ASSEMBLY. 107
latter, tliey recognised at tlie time no more than the proofs
of His triumi^h over the last enemy, the king of terrors.
Subsequently, they learned to think more highly of these
scars of their Eodeemer, and to recognise in them both the
pledges and the seals of the perfected atonement, and, con-
sequently, the special sources and fountains from which
flowed all their peace.
III. Observe, lastly, the testimony which our Lord bears
to His resurrection before this evening assembly. It is con-
cise, but couched in highly significant terms. " These are
the luords," He begins, " which I spake unto you while I
was yet luith you'' He hereby intimates that His earthly
ministry is henceforth complete, and His mission as the
"Servant of God" is finally fulfilled and discharged. ''For,"
He continues, "all things must be fulfilled luhich are luritten
in the laiu of Moses, and in tJie prophets, and in the Psalms,
concerning me!' . Observe how, under these three heads, the
second of which comprehends the historical books, and the
last the writings of Solomon and Job, the whole of the Old
Testament canon, in the form in which we now have it, is
comprised, and how He has affixed to it the seal of indis-
putahle Divine revelation. How, can any one be still dis-
posed to deny that this Holy Volume really contains pro-
phecies, unless they desire to accuse the Lord of glory, not
only of fanaticism, but also of lying, nay, of the grossest
deception. Alas ! that in our days even believing theolo-
gians should occasionally be found who are so imposed upon
by the ruling spirit of defection, that they are not ashamed
to reduce the Divine prophecies in Scripture to mere human
prognostications, thus reducing the real and living God to a
level with a dumb idol. What further witness do we need
that those dreadful days are at hand of which the Saviour
said, that if it were possible, " even the elect" should be led
astray? To us, as it appears to me, Jesus Christ remains
] 08 THE PEINCE OP PEACE
the authority which ranks high as heaven above every other
claiming to be such here on earth. The canon, which is
accredited with His seal on the face of it, stands superior to
all the defects alleged by short-sighted human criticism, and
by a vainly boasted science of carnal wisdom. It is, indeed,
natural to man to err, but whoever follows Him who could
say, " I am the truth," will never, never go astray.
Our Lord "then opened their understanding, that they
might understand the Scriptures." He not only opens up
the Scripture to them, but He, moreover, opens their heart
to the Scripture, making the way to it easy. And what is
it that He presents to them from the rich treasury of the
Divine word ? What forms the substance of His last words
to His disciples ? According to the view which many enter-
tain of His mission, it would have consisted of rules of virtue
and directions for a holy life. But after His resurrection
we nowhere hear Him saying to His disciples, " Observe
that which I have commanded you, and follow in my foot-
steps ; " but as in this passage, so likewise in every other,
do we find Him pressing home evidence from the prophetic
writings, insisting, as He did upon nothing else, that it was
God's plan and determination that He should suffer and die ;
and it is well known that all the selected passages from the
Old Testament which treat of the passion of the future
Messiah, do so as a mediatorial, vicarious, and p>ropitiatory
tuork. During those forty days He never preached morals
and law. Certainly, as often as He appears before His dis-
ciples. He indicates by the emphatic annunciation to them
of His greeting of " Peace," that they should ever henceforth
walk before God with free and unburdened consciences,
seeing that the reconciliation was now accomplished. No-
where does He commission His apostles to go out into the
world to present to all the picture of virtue which His life
portrayed^ thereby to stir up their hearers to a moral enthu-
IN THE EVENING ASSEMBLY. J 09
siasm which should make them worthy of heaven. But we
hear Him say "that repentance and remission of sins"
shouhl be preached in His name among all nations, begin-
nino; at Jerusalem. He nowhere makes the vow of " moral
and religious self-improvement " the first condition of en-
trance into the kingdom of heaven ; but appoints the sacra-
ment of baptism as the initiatory act of admission into this
kingdom, by which the forgiveness of sins is promised to all
those who penitently receive it, not by way of reward for
good works previously done, but presented gratuitously, as
an earnest and a necessary preliminary of all good works.
Thus our risen Saviour ever places His offices as Mediator,
Propitiator, and Prince of Peace in the foreground, in order
that we may rest assured that our relations, as those that
are saved with Him the Saviour, do not originate in our
choosing of Him as a pattern, but in our apprehension and
acceptance of Him as our Saviour and Redeemer. First,
reconciled by Him, and then transformed into His gracious
image ! He is first our HigJi Priest, our Mediator, and
then our Pattern, our Guiding-star. This is the order of
salvation, the inversion of which is diametrically to 02:)pose
God's plan of salvation. The experience of the grace of God
in Christ Jesus within us, first renders sanctification pos-
sible : for a perception of the love of God to us kindles
recijH-ocated love to God, and this is " the fulfilling of the
laiu." The apostles were to witness to this truth, and they
did so. What is their whole gospel, but a testimony of the
work of redemption finished by Christ, and of the justifica-
tion of the sinner by grace through faith alone, without any
act of merit on his part ?
Would that we likewise heartily rejoiced in this gospel !
The peaceful greeting of the Easter Prince still to this day
resounds throughout the world, but it is a sound heeded but
by few, unheard by the majority, though the world was
110 THE PKINCE OF PEACE, ETC.
never more destitute of peace than at this very time. False-
liood closes both its ear and heart. In direct opposition to
conscience and better knowledge, men would suppress the
acknowledgment of the fact that sin in all its forms is an
accursed and detested abomination in God's sight ; that the
Lord God is the holy and righteous Judge ; and that the
apostle spoke the truth when he declared, " It is appointed
unto men once to die, and after death the judgment" The
world does not now need that its acuteness should be less
keen, as many in their ignorance believe, but that its judg-
ment should be enlightened and quickened to a percep-
tion of the fact, that in Christ is salvation. The advice
best suited to the present generation is that given to the
Church at Laodicea — "Anoint thine eyes luith eyesalve,
that thou may est see;" and the petition that may be recom-
mended to them as the best is that of David, " Bring my
sold out of jwison, that I may i^raise thy name.'' All ye
who still struggle against unbelief, use this prayer ; and may
the Lord in His mercy enable you shortly, ay, very shortly,
to unite in singing Luther's jubilant and triumphant resur-
rection song with the fullest assurance of faith : —
" Now oui' Pasclial lamb is He,
And by Him aloue we live,
Who to death upon the tree
Foi' our sakes Himself did give.
Faith His blood strikes on our door,
Death dares never harm us more !
HaUelujah!"
Lyra Germanica.
THOLIAS. Ill
IX.
THOMAS.
" The Lord weiglieth the spirits," (Proverbs xvi. 2.) If, on
tlie one hand, tliis passage of Solomon excite alarm, there
is, on the other, a consolatory and encouraging aspect in
which it may be viewed. Therefore, boast not of success
in thy courtship of the world, for the world's applause is
anything rather than a trustworthy admeasurement of thy
true worth. It may come to pass that the world shall heap
its honours upon thee, whilst the sentence given above with
reference to thee, shall be, '' iveighed and found tucmting !"
But, conversely, it may also happen, that whilst the world
passes the harshest judgments on thee, the order is sent
down from heaven in thy favour, " Touch not the apple of
mine eye!" The judicial eye of Omniscience, incorruptible
in its nature, looks through a man's exterior and sounds the
depths of his heart, and pierces searchingiy the inmost re-
cesses of his soul, and it may come to pass, in defiance of a
censorious world, that a man as deeply prostrate as David
shall be indicated and commended as "a man after God's
own heart ; " or one like Peter, outrageously denying his
Lord, shall become the object of the most tender Divine
love, whilst another, who goes about with the nimbus of a
saint shall be branded and cast off by God as a '' whited
sepulchre." And as it may be the case that one who fre-
112 THOMAS.
quently has backslidden may stand higher in the sight of
God than many another who appears to have walked in the
way of the commandments blamelessly, so it is not to be
confidently affirmed that he who makes a good confession
shall always rank in the judgment of God before the doubter,
nor even the believer, before him who is still wrestlmg with
the unbelief of his heart.
In that passage of the Gospel which is about to engage
our attention we have an instance of a strong utterance of
unbelief ; but, at the same time, we find therein an excellent
opportunity to appreciate the comfort flowing from the fact
that " God weigheth the spirits," and that God's scales
differ from those of the short-sighted children of men who
usually judge only according to appearances.
John xx. 24-29.
" But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them
when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said uuto him. We have
seen the Lord. But he said unto them. Except I shall see in his hands
the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and
thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days
again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them : then came Jesus,
the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be uuto you !
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands ;
and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side : and be not faith-
less, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him. My Lord and
my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou
hast believed : blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
What rich abundance of matter for spiritual contempla-
tion is displayed in tliis passage of the Gospel 1 Where
shall we begin to con&'ider its treasures of thought, and
where shall we end ? It would be advisable to limit our-
selves to the consideration of that part of it which par-
ticularly corresponds with our necessities, and which will,
therefore, have a direct practical importance for us. Let
us consider, then, first, how the story of Thomas confirms
THOMAS. 113
aneiu the truth of the resurrection of Christ; then, luhat
a comfortinrj prospect it reveals to the conscientious doubters
amongst us ; afterwards, luhat a new and brilliant light it
sheds on the superliuman dignity of the person of Christ;
and, lastly, how it enlightens us as to the nature and essence
of saving faith ! It has often happened that this story of
the experience of Thomas has, whilst under consideration,
insensibly been reproduced upon those engaged in its medi-
tation. May God in mercy grant that this may now be the
case !
I. Many may have been rendered uneasy by the surmise,
that the first witnesses through whose testimony the resur-
rection of Christ has been made known to us might have
believed too hastily, might have been led astray by their ear-
nest desire that their blaster should live again, and might
thus have been led to mistake a mere dream of their fancy
for a real manifestation. The story we are now enoao-ed
upon cuts away the foundation for the existence of such a
tliouglit. We here see a man who certainly could not be
taxed with being guilty of credulity. Thomas was no
dreamer, but a man in whom scrutinising thought predomi-
nated over imagination, in whom reflection outweighed feel-
ing, and withal of a hut, passionate temperament, somewhat
inclined to melancholy. He must needs comprehend that
which he was to receive as truth ; and ere belief could reach
his heart, it had to break through a whole redoubt of
arguments and scruples. Thomas was inclined to look at
everything rather from the dark than the bright side. Eecall
for a moment the scene in John xi. 8, and foUomno- verses,
where our Lord decidedly opposed the anxious dissuasions of
His disciples, with reference to His return to Judea, the land
of His enemies. Who was it that broke forth in those words
characterised by melancholy resignation, " Let us also go,
that we may die with Him V It was Thomas, who, in the
H
114 THOMAS.
event of his Master's going, saw nothing but ntter destruc-
tion in 23rospect, together with the annihilation of their
hopes. And who was it subsequently, (John xiv. 4,) when
the Lord said unto His disciples, " Whither I go, ye know,
and the way ye know," that said most disconsolately, and
not without a touch of ill-humour and of melancholy fro-
wardness, " Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how
can we know the way?" The same disciple again. Did it
inot seem as though he wished to reflect upon his Lord for
acting thus mysteriously with His disciples ? and were not
his words to this effect — " > e cannot understand what you
really mean, and it is almost impossible for us to remain
firm to your cause?"
Thomas was at Jerusalem on the day of the resurrection,
and with the disciples when they received the report of the
women as to our Lord's vacated tomb and the vision of
angels, which they insisted upon having seen. But from all
that was reported to him, he only considel-ed himself justi-
fied in inferring a knavish trick on tlie part of the enemy,
and in ascribing the pretended vision of angels solely to the
lively imagination of the excited and credulous women.
Overwhelmed by hopele^ss sorrow, he had soon, mucli too
soon, withdrawn himself from the circle of his fellow-
apostles, and, with grief bordering on despair, had gone
into retirement. By so doing, however, he had deprived
himself of the intense joy of being present at that evening-
assembly, in the midst ot whicli, when the doors were sluit,
our Lord presented Himself, — when, by His exclamation,
"Peace be with you!'' He had, in the most condescending
and gracious manner, liberated the disciples from all sus-
pense and doubt. This is wliat Thomas lost by his over-
hasty sej^aration ; and every oth.er wilful separation from the
"holy catholic Church of Clirist," and from " the communion
of saints," will avenge itself similarly. He who determines
THOJIAS. 1 1 5
on such a step renounces blessings for ^vhicll he will never
find compensation. He no longer perceives the " manifold
ivisdom of God in the Churchy He does not rejoice when
one member of it in this or the other place is signally hon-
oured. He has no share in the blessed efforts put forth by
the great brotherliood in the field of missions, in Bible
societies, and otlier works of faith and love ; he no longer
commemorates with the Church its victories and triumphs.
Innumerable sources of encouragement, adapted to strengthen
his faith and excite holy joy, are closed to him. His soul is
exposed to a gradually-withering process, like that of a limb
to which a ligature has been applied. He becomes one-
sided, contracted, narrow-minded, and destitute of love.
Sequestered from the great body of the Church of Jesus,
there can be no happiness, no prosperity. The members of
Christ's Church are by its constitution brethren, a closely-
united household, nay, a living organisation, wherein one
member is attached to another, each helping the other,
according to the gift which has been imparted to him, in
order that "the body may grow up into Him who is its
Head, making increase of the body unto the edifyinii of itself
in love."
On that hallowed evening, then, Thomas was no 'onj,er in
the circle of the brethren. The day following, or perhaps,
even the same night, his brethren sought him in his retire-
ment, and, with beaming countenances, made known to him
what great and glorious things they had experienced. Now,
indeed, he will have believed, and have opened his heart to
joy ! One would have thought so. But no ; look at him !
Instead of exulting in the resurrection, there is something
in his manner which seems to say, "Are you indeed dream-
ing? I am not to be entertained with a child's tale ! " But
did Thomas really and seriously think their report to be
such. Far be it from me to say he did. He rather seemed
116 THOMAS.
to desire purposely to combat his glimmering faith, for fear
of a repeated, and hence more bitter, disappointment ; and
when I hear him give expression to the daring words, " Ex-
cept I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put
my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand
into His side, I will not believe," I cannot forbear the sus-
picion that a secret vexation at the preference which his
fellow-disciples had experienced, a sort of envious feeling
towards them, rather than unbelief, may have caused this
obstinate outbreak. We are, however, pleased to meet this
disciple in the Easter narrative. He met the report of the
resurrection with all those doubts which make belief so diffi-
cult to very many in the present day. Now if this sceptic
be at length convinced and constrained to believe, will not
his conversion necessarily be considered as a leading evidence
of the historical truth of the Easter miracle ? Most certainly.
But how is it possible that he ever should be convinced ? It
will be difficult ; but the harder it is, the greater weight will
his conviction throw into our scale.
II. Let no one be mistaken in the character of our Thomas.
He was ^lot a doubter of the common and ordinary stamp,
from want of love to truth, or from a vain longing to acquire
the reputation of being " a man of superior intelligence," or
from a secret aversion to Christ and His cause. No one in
the world would have been happier than he had he been able
to discover a valid reason for opening his heart to the faith
of his fellow-discij^les. However bold and defiant the ex-
pression, " Except 1 shall see in His hands the print of the
nails," &c., may sound, it burst forth, bathed in tears, from
the depths of his inmost soul. The matter in question seemed
to him of such great and glorious consequences that he would
not yield himself to the belief of it, until he felt perfectly
sure that he should not be hurled down from a heaven of
happiness into an abyss of most dreadful disappointment.
THOMAS. 117
He was a doubter, and we have still many such, but he
was not one of that very numerous tribe who are insin-
cere, malevolent, and wdlful sceptics, or tainted with most
contemptible indifference to the whole matter. The honest
doubter is one who really seeks after truth, and fully acknow^-
ledges that the position of those w4io yield unconditional
faith to the gospel of Christ is most enviable, and sympa-
thising with the man at Jerusalem who exclaimed wishfully,
"Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God I"
he frequently says the same. But reason, with its aversion
to all which lies beyond the limits of natural ideas and con-
ceptions ; worldly wisdom, with its fallacious arguments and
bold dictatorial utterances, usurping rule over a province
which is entirely beyond its scope and above the judgment
of a worldly man ; the authority of so-called j^uhlic opinion,
which in these degenerate days is (in Germany) so thoroughly
impregnated with antichrist and unbelief; the illusion of a
sophistical and juggling criticism, which labours to cast sus-
picion upon the Holy Scriptures ; the imposing example of
men distinguished by their knowledge, culture, and mental
endowments, who stand out conspicuously in their denial of
divine revelation ; and, lastly, the fear, partly of the disgrace
of appearing as though left behind in the progress of modern
culture, and partly lest they should be found trusting in a
kingdom that might prove to be but a castle in the air, and
which would then expose the soul to all the bitterness of an
awakening from an agreeable self-illusion ; all this is well
calculated to subvert the faith of many, nay, more, to deter
them from accepting the most self-evident truths. Hence
they stand aloof, and, as from a distance, regard the kingdom
of Christian comforts, hopes, and expectations, as a paradise
to which they are attracted, but from which they are sepa-
rated l)y a wide gulf. Oh that a bridge were but thrown
over by which they might safely reach the beautiful world
118 THOMAS.
on the other side ! They would indeed be thankful for it !
But this bridge cannot be built of human materials, though
they should be the very noblest. Nevertheless there is a
"master-builder" who, in His own good time, knows well
how to help such doubters as we have described to get across.
A week has elapsed since the day of the resurrection.
We are again mentally transported to Jerusalem, and indeed
into the same circle of disciples, whom our risen Lord had
surprised by that evening visit which brought all their grief
to an end. And, behold, Thomas has again renewed his
relations with the brethren ! nay, he could no longer exist
withdrawn from their fellowship. Solitude had become more
intolerable to him than the closest incarceration ; and the
atmosphere of the world, alienated from God and inimical
to Christ, in which he moved, had threatened entirely to
stifle all his affections. He who has ever lived in the fellow-
ship of saints, who has ever drunk of the streams of love
and comfort which flow there, knows there are two worlds, —
an old one, and a new one created by Christ. And he will
never again feel at home in the old one. He must live
''among his oivn people'' or he feels sad and desolate. Ask
our Thomas whether it be not so with him, and he will de-
clare that it is, in the strongest terms. We find the disci-
ples in the same house, and in the same room, where, a week
before, the revelation of the risen Saviour had been vouch-
safed them. As they did then, so they do now, — they keep
the doors shut, — and, precisely as might have been anticipated,
they have but one topic of conversation — the Eiscn One, and
the resurrection of Him who "was dead, and behold He
liveth, and beareth the keys of hell and of death." Thomas
listens with the greatest interest, but in perfect silence, to
the eager conversation of his brethren. He had found leisure
in the week's interval to pass his doubts in review once more,
and there is no question but that he had bewildered himself
THOMAS. 119
in examining the foundation of some of them. Hence belief
was to him as yet impossible. What would he not give to
be enabled to believe ! Suddenly, throughout the assembly,
the greeting, so well known to most of them, " Peace be with
you ! " resounds again ; and when they, joyously surprised,
look np, there He stands again, bodily before them. He,
the highly-exalted One, the desired One, again sheds, from
His countenance npon those favoured ones, rays of com-
placency and love. And to whom does He draw near after
that He had so gracionsly greeted the assembly ? To whom
does He address Himself so kindly, so affably ? May we be-
lieve our eyes? The unbelieving, perverse disciple is this
time the object of His prevenient and most condescending
marks of attention. Petrified with astonishment, reverence,
and shame, Thomas sees Him approach ! The erring disci-
ple; who had in so daring a manner expressed his unbelief,
may well cast down his eyes, trembUng and blushing. Never-
theless he has nothing to fear ! The dreadful day is not yet
come when thousands, like him, will stand before the Lord,
trembling with far greater reason than he, because in Him,
of whom tliey once rebelliously said, " We luill not have this
man to reign over us," they now, to their utter consternation,
and for the first time, recognise the King of kings, the Lord
of lords, and the Judge both of the living and the dead. To
unbelieving Thomas our Lord still came as the Prince of
Peace. Thomas, whose heart was still attached to Him, had
remamed, even whilst astray. His beloved disciple. Were
he sick, then certainly it was his Master's office to be his
physician. Though Thomas did not believe, the heavenly
spark of love still faintly glimmered within him, and there-
fore the oil of his faith could not be entirely exhausted. Our
Saviour addresses him, and literally repeats Thomas's own
words, ''Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be
120 THOMAS.
not faithless, hut believing. " What must have been the
disciiDle's exjoerience at this moment ? He might fain have
hid his face — nay, have cre^^t into the very bosom of the
earth. But how was this salutary shame alleviated and
sweetened by his Lord's infinite kindness and compassion !
Thomas has not touched the wounds of his Lord, — those
signs of His victory over death, the grave, and hell, — but he
has read in them his everlasting redemption, and from this
hour he no longer doubts that his Master is really alive.
And it was also his Lords desire that His apostle should be
thoroughly convinced of the historical truth of the great fact,
to which he was to testify — it being the basis of all Chris-
tianity. And this His aim was now most fully attained.
Let us adore the condescending love with which the
Easter Prince met His unbelieving disciple, and let us
realise in it comfort in reference to those among us, who,
driven about by many a storm of doubt, cannot yet rea,ch
the port of the kingdom of God. If they desire in good ear-
nest to reach that haven, and if with their daubts there be
associated a secret feeling of the enviable blissful state of
those who already have attained to faith, and if withal
there be united a v»^ell sustained wrestling for truth, and
fervent prayer for illumination, they may rest assured that
they are not only taken into the affections of the " Good
Shepherd," but likewise into His charge and guidance. For
these also the time is at hand when their experience will be
coincident with that of their brother Thomas ; the Lord will,
in some mode or other, come to their help, or, by some un-
mistakable manifestation of His wondrous and peace-inspir-
ing nearness, will remove the veil from before their eyes. It
is precisely on the ground of such happy experiences with
which He surprises them, and which put an end to all
uncertainty, that He gives the solemn injunction, " Be not
faithless, but believing."
THOMAS. 121
III. Overcome with awe, amazement, and veneration,
Thomas stands for some moments motionless before his Lord.
But then, raised far above himself in a moment of supernatural
enlightenment, with his knees bending to the dust, his heart
pours forth a confession, higher, richer, and more compre-
hensive than any that had ever, till then, been uttered by
mortal lips. All the rays of celestial grandeur which Thomas
had ever seen stream from the person of his IMaster, as well
as all the intimations of His superhuman dignity which,
clinllenging admiration, had ever forced themselves upon
liini whilst listening to His sayings, or witnessing His won-
drous acts, now met and combined as in a focus. " My Lord
and my God ! " he exclaims — an utterance of the clearest,
deepest, and liveliest convictions. Indeed, it would be erro-
neous to suppose that Thomas's conceptions of the divinity of
Christ were already so clear and ample that he could at once
have moulded them into an accurate dogmatical form. His
utterance was the expression of a deep, living perception and
feeling, which, although he was hardly conscious of it him-
self, involved nothing less than the dogma of the real unity
of the only-begotten Son with His Divine Father. The words
of Thomas, moreover, do not admit of doubt ; they leave no
room for misconstruction. They testify clearly and decidedly
to the divinity of Christ, and form one of the mighty rocks
on which those who will not believe Christ to have been
more than man, and who even pretend that the Bible is on
their side in this matter, must see their opinion totally
wrecked. Let the adversaries of our faith call in to their
aid all the acuteness and wit which they possess, and ex-
haust all their arsenals of learning and criticism, the expres-
sion, " My God," stands there now as it has done from the
beginning, and certaiuly allows of no other explanation than
that which the letter demands. Many, in despair, have be-
come almost desperate about this, and hnve not been ashamed
1 22 THOMAS.
to endeavour to extricate themselves from their difficulties
by the absurd pretence that Thomas did not call Jesus his
Lord and his God, but that, adopting the very bad practice
of modern days, he, in this expression, only gave vent to his
surprise at the reappearance of his Master, — as if such an
abuse of the Divine name had been as general then in Judea
as it is now in Europe, and as if an Israelite would not have
recoiled with horror from so frivolous an abuse of the sacred
name — "My Lord and my God" — as from a blasphemy
wdiich deserved stoning ! But thus does God abandon those
who wilfully oppose His Word, and faith in it, to the mad-
dest, wildest conceits. Even at the present time they are
visited with this preliminary judgment, that they render
themselves ridiculous in the eyes of all reasonable men ;
nay, more, absurd in those of children. ^Enough, Thomas
had, in an unequivocal and becoming manner, done hom-
age to the Lord Jesus as his Divine Lord, and as the
heavenly King, whom all the prophets had most explicitly
pointed out as the future Messiah. In his confession, Tho-
mas most justly places the risen Saviour upon the throne of
the eternal Majesty, and assigns to His pierced hands the
reins of universal government as belonging to Him the Lord
of all. And what is our Lord's bearing when the disciple
falls at His feet with this mighty testimony ? Does He de-
cline the lofty title reverentially addressed to Him by the
disciple as one too high, and not justly employed with refe-
rence to Him ? Does He recoil from the disciple who thus
acknowledges Him, as did Paul and Barnabas afterwards
from the Lystrians, with the words, " Thomas ! thou blas-
phemest ! thy Lord and thy God is in lieaven, and I, like
thyself, am but His servant?" By no means. The Lord
accepts the testimony in its full scope and weight, and does
so with exalted calmness ; nay, He even corroborates it by
THOMAS. 123
saying, " Now, Thomas, believest thou ? " Be, then, con-
vinced that it was with good reason that we said our story
would throw a new, refulgent light upon the person of the
Lord Jesus, and His more than earthly dignity. It most
certainly appears from it that the titles Lord and God are
ap2)licable to Him in their full and unimpaired import ; for
if it were not so, Thomas must have been mad to have bowed
the knee whilst saying it ; and Jesus himself would have
been guilty of blasphemy, a crime punishable with death, in
receiving such homage. This is the alternative ; and there
remains nothing o'pen to us more rational than to bow the
knee to Him also, and to unite in the reverential exclama-
tion, "Ml/ Lord and my God!''
IV. Our Lord, in reply to Thomas's confession, says, " Be-
cause thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are
they ivhich have not seen, and yet have believed /" A reply
full of meaning, but which, nevertheless, involves something
that at the first glance might astonish us. Was Thomas,
then, who only believed because he had seen, not blessed?
Truly, indeed, we see him in an ecstasy of joy and delight at
the sight of his risen Master. But the word "blessed"
signifies far more than such an exhibition of rapturous joy.
It indicates perfect content in the absence of all desire —
sabbatic peace ; now the state of mind in which our disciple
found himself difi'ered from this, inasmuch as Thomas,
from want of a thorough perception of his own need of
salvation, was unable to perceive the real aim of Christ's
incarnation, and could not appreciate what he really possessed
in a living Saviour. If his consciousness of his condemna-
tion before God had been more thorough and comprehensive
than it now was, and if he had had a deeper insight into the
nature of sin, as well as into the holiness of God, and of His
inviolable and irrevocable law, ho would never have been
1 24 THOMAS.
scandalised by the sufieiings and death of his Master, but
would, on the contrary, have recognised and seen it to be an
absolute necessity for the expiation of the sin of the world,
and for the mediatorial redemption of the common guilt of
the human race. The sacrifice of the Mediator under the
curse of the law would long since have appeared to him to
be an indispensable requisite of the Divine work of redemp-
tion, and even before the notification of the resurrection had
reached him, he would have been thoroughly confident that
the Lord had risen ; nay, that He must live again, because
it was perfectly inconceivable that God should allow the
Shej^herd of the sheep to be imprisoned in the tomb, after
He had blamelessly fulfilled His saving mediatorial work on
the cross. If the risen Saviour had then met hiin, he would
have greeted Him with inexpressible joy, but w^ithout being
surprised at His reappearance, or, at least, without conster-
nation. The disciple would have been sure the Eedeemer
had risen even before He presented Himself in person to
him ; and if Thomas had read in the healed wounds of the
Messiah, as out of divinely-attested documents, the intelli-
gence of the finished work of redemption, accomplished for
his sake, he would only have rejoiced to find himself thereby
strengthened in consolations which he had before participated
in and enjoyed. Thus, you see, had Thomas, under the
circumstances suggested, believed before he saw, when faith
w^as turned to sight, he would have been truly blessed,
whereas we now see him only intoxicated with joy, and
almost lost to self-possession through ecstatic emotion.
Our Lord's declaration, " Blessed are they that have not
seen, and yet have believed'' admits of no application to us,
save as it confirms and blesses the conditions of belief which
are now usual and normal, and leaves us without a motive
for envying those who once saw our Lord personally and
THOMAS. ] 25
bodily livino- upon earth. The faith of Christians of the
present day is not based upon their senses. It rests on the
threefohl witness of the Word, of the Holy Ghost, and of
inward spiritual experience ; and its operation is thereby
rendered only so much the more certain and efficient. En-
lightened by the Holy Ghost, we feel ourselves to be poor
sinners, needing grace, mediation, and redemption. But this
iieed is met by the gospel message in the Saviour's invita-
tion — " Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy
laden, and I luill give you rest." To see Him in spirit, to
hear His voice, to perceive the aim of His mission, and to
feel in the inmost soul, " Thou art my Saviour, or there is
none," are one and the same thing. We feel ourselves cast
on Him, and we recline confidently on His heart ; and as
we recognise the sun by the bright, warms rays which issue
from it, to illumine, fructify, and quicken, so also do we
recognise Him as the Son of God and our Mediator, by the
heavenly peace with which He refreshes our fainting souls,
the sanctifying grace and power which He infuses into us,
and by the courage for life and death with which He arms
us. Thus do we believe luithout seeing, and that which we
are permitted to behold, either in remarkable answers to
prayer, or in wondrous providential aid, or even in trances
and visions, we gratefully welcome as a refreshing, vivifying,
and strengthening addition to our faith. But our faith is
not founded upon it; it subsists without it, resting on stronger
and firmer pillars.
May the Lord assist us, where the work has not already
been done, to that faith which is a fruit of the right percep-
tion of that which ought to be believed ! John says, " It is
the Spirit that beareth luitness, because the Spirit is truth"
May the deep meaning of these words of the apostle be dis-
closed to us all by i)pv^< -ni] oxporionro ! The key to all the
126 xflOMAs.
treasures of grace is prayer. Let us, therefore, heartily join
in the longing desire which rings in the beautiful words of
the old hymn: —
" Yet grant the eye of faith, Lord !
To pierce within the Holy Place,
For I am saved and Thou adored,
If I am quicken'd by Thy gi-ace.
Behold, King, before Thy throne
My soul in lowly love doth bend.
Oh, shew Thyself her gracious Friend,
And say, ' I choose thee for mine own.' "
W. C. Dessler 1Q^2.—Lyra Germanica.
THE APPEARANCE AT THE LAKE. 127
THE APPEAEANCE AT THE LAKE.
*' Ye a7'e not of the luorld, hut I have chosen you out of the
world!' Thus did the Lord address His disciples in John
XV. 19 ; and in so doing all who belong to Him. They are
in the world, but no longer of the world, since they have ex-
perienced a thorough spiritual transformation. They form
a. new race, though commingled with the old one. Not as
though they had been withdrawn from the condition and re-
lations of secular life. In their domestic, professional, and
social engagements you will hardly be able to distinguish
them from the better part of the children of the world;
nevertheless they walk, as these dimly perceive, as strangers
among them. In their opinions, sentiments, and bias of such,
they differ essentially from them. Baptised and imbued with
another spirit, they love and suffer, reason and determine,
work and rest, mourn and rejoice, in a totally different man-
ner. Where they act the same as their brethren in the flesh,
still what they do is totally different in character. They
travel a higher road, they breathe a different atmosphere.
An opportunity will now be given us to take a broader view
of that new divinely-transformed life ; and God grant that
we may be attracted by it, and personally enjoy it !
John xxi. 1-14.
" After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the
sea of Tiberias ; and on this wise shewed he himself. There were together
123 THE APPEAEA^CE AT THE LAKE.
Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and N"athanael of Cana in
Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon
Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say nnto him, We also go
with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and
that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come,
Jesus stood on the shore ; but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat ? They answered
him. No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the
ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore ; and now they were not able
to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus
loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now, when Simon Peter heard that
it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and
did cast himself unto the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship,
(for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) drag-
ging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they
saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith imto
them. Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up,
and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three :
and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith
unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples dvirst ask him,
AVho art thou ? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then coraeth, and
taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third
time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples after that he was risen from
the dead."
What can be more tender, significant, and touching than
this Gospel? The reflection of another world is spread over
it. It is no fiction — it is historical — and bears in all its fea-
tures the impress of truth, stamped with a distinctness tran-
scending that of almost every other history. But, notwith-
standing this, the historical incidents present at the same
time to the spiritually-enlightened eye an allegory, rich in
thought, in whicli the object symbolised is notliing less tlian
the whole Christian life, in all its most essential outlines and
relations. And it is from this point of view that we purpose
treating the engaging story. The life of believers is revealed
to us in it— 1 St, as one issuing in eternal results ; 2dly, as
one of a holy brotherhood ; 3dly, as a life of cheerful con-
tentment with our earthly lot ; 4thly, no less than one of
THE APPEARANCE AT THE LAKE. 129
uninterrupted heart-elevating expectancy ; 5tlily, as a life in
which faith is alternately tried and victorious ; and, Gthly, as
a life of blessed anticipations, witli reference to both this
•world and the next. Let us contemplate this life of faith in
these aspects, and may God grant that the longer we live
the more we may realise it !
I. The scene is in Galilee, where our Lord desired His
disciples to meet Him, and probably in the fishing village of
Bethsaida. What great things can we have to seek here ?
More indeed, beloved, than the un imposing place would lead
us to expect. We behold a spiritual Pleiades, a constella-
tion which will one day spread its enlightening and vivify-
ing splendour over the whole world. In Simon Peter and
his six companions we see the members who constitute
this constellation. Listen to the topics upon which this
small circle of friends are engaged in such animated conver-
sation. It is true they incidentally speak about their nets,
the fish which they have caught, about the market, and the
earning of their daily bread ; but besides these, and with far
deeper interest, they talk of something else. What have
these intimate friends of Jesus of Nazareth, who died, slew
death, and brought life and immortality to light, not gone
through ! What incomparable treasures of the soul, com-
prised in elevating recollections of the past, in a hapj^y
consciousness of their present filial relation to God, and in
thrilling expectations for the future, do they cherish \ If
ever man's life may be said to have been full of instruction,
tiien — who will dispute it? — theirs vfi\^. In how infinitely
hi-^dier a deoree was theirs such, than the life of thousands
amongst us, judging from the tone of conversation pervading
our social meetings. But all that, in the possession of which
these friends at Bethsaida rejoiced, is essentially the in-
heritance of the whole Church, which has attached itself,
and will continue to attach itself, to these disciples, as to a
I
130 THE APPEARANCE AT THE LAKE.
spiritual centre of crystallisation. I do not merely mean the
Chnrch of the orthodox, but also of all the hearty believers
baj^tized into, and imbued witl], the spirit of Christ ; in
whose diaries are to be found the records of something be-
yond their mere secular experience and engagements in
every-day life ; where, in a parallel column to the history of
their earthly bodily life, there is another of higher im-
portance — the history of their souls. They have to tell one
another of matters relating to an invisible world in wdiich
they live, — of views of eternity wdiich delight their souls, —
of divine leadings and revelations in answers to prayer, aud
in wondrous providential aids vouchsafed them, — of the
possession of more than earthly treasures, as, for instance,
the impression of divine grace within them, — a joyful, child-
like confidence in the Almighty, of a powerfully germinating
seed of future perfect sanctity implanted in the very centre
of their being, — and of many other things incomparably de-
lightful ! Enough; the life of faith alone has a real im-
perishable purpose, worthy to be striven for by man, created
as he is for immortality. Where faith is wanting, the most
sjDlendid earthly lot is poor and empty, and the most valuable
caro^o with which our bark of life can be freighted is but
empty chaff to be driven before the wind.
II. The men whom we find at Bethsaida, besides Simon
Peter, are Thomas, Nathanael, John, James, and two whose
names are not recorded. In them is rej^resented — albeit in
the germ — the communion of saints, which essentially difiiers
from what the world calls friendship and fraternity ; and of
its fervour and depth no one has any idea who has not him-
self been ac'mitted to it. When the whole human race shall
belong to this communion, the golden age will have come.
There is much talk in our days about a great "bond of
brotherhood," in which the whole world should combine,
thougli there never before was so much hatred, discord, and
THE APPEARANCE AT THE LAKE. 131
party-spirit to be met with on earth as there is just at this
time. Men dream of bringing about this universal frater-
nisation without Christ and His gospel ; and it never occurs
to them that such a hope is an attempt to " gather grapes
of thorns and figs of thistles," (Matt. vii. 1 6.) The natural
man deceives himself, when he imagines that he is able to
seek something other than himself, and what beloiiors to self.
His strongest impulse to undertake and to carry out any
enterprise is, and remains, " egoism," which is no more to be
banished by good resolutions than by grand and high-sound-
ing words. Tell us, you who are still growing on the
natural trunk, whether you have any idea of a community in
which all struggle is at an end, except the contest who shall
deny himself most for our Saviour's sake, or who shall outvie
the other in unreserved submission to Him, — of a community
in which all its members are divested of envy, save envy that
a better opportunity had been given to others than to us to
practise their active self-denial, — of a community in which
no desire more rules the soul than this one, that Christ
should increase and we decrease ; and where the brethren
are no longer known according to the flesh, but are lovingly
embraced as participators in a common salvation, as those
who with us rest in the bosom of the same love, and are
journeying hand-in-hand with us towards the same common
liome, the same Father's house, — a community from which
lying and deceit, the bane of worldly friendships, are for
ever banished, — a fraternity in which all that a man has is
looked upon as a divine loan, interest on which is payable in
services of love. Here, indeed, ivhat of earthly good has
fallen to the lot of any man is accepted gratefully ; but in
comparison with the " treasure in heaven," it is reoarded
only as a fund to defray expenses in our sliort journey
through the vale of tears Be assured that this is no fond
imagination, no unattainable ideal, glimmering from afar •
132 THE APPEARANCE AT THE LAKE.
but an organisation existing within the range of fact and
reality, which throughout all ages is recognised by the
initiated as the heavenly and imperishable kernel which is
preserved within the shell of the visible Church, and forms
the germ of that glorified race of men, in whom hereafter
the saying will be fulfilled in its highest and most glorious
sense : "Man is become as one of us;" and the saying of
John, ''As He is, so are we in this world." The new crea-
ture, created after God " in righteousness and true holiness,"
has not now to be discovered for the first time, but has
already long existed, though at present only in a state of
development, and is found in all those who are truly "in
Christ Jesus."
HI. The evening is closing. Then Peter says to his com-
panions, " / go a-fishing." " We also go tuith you," was the
rej^ly ; and no sooner said than done. Until they receive
further instructions, tliey resume their former simple occu-
pation. And why should they not willingly take to their
nets again, if such be their Lord's will ? The Christian life
of faith is here represented to us as one of cheerful content-
ment luith our earthly lot and calling. Whatever be the
honest business and work in which we are engaged, we pro-
secute it with cheerful spirit and energy. For, in the first
place, we shall, whilst performing it, regard it as but for a
season, from the consciousness of our far higher destiny.
But then it mil be performed in the name of the Lord
Jesus, who assigns to every man his post, and measures out
to each his field of labour, who can be served just as well by
the day-labourer as by the discharge of any other duty, and
whose name can be praised and glorified in the most circum-
scribed sphere. Furthermore, duty, where incumbent, is to
be performed without desiring fame or acknowledgment ;
for liow does all honour with which the world could reward
us fade before that which we already possess, " whose names
THE APPEAEANCE AT THE LAKE. 133
are written in heaven !" And lastly, we work at it without
grief or anxiety, as if the apostle's encouraging declaration
were still heard by us, " He that spared not his own Son,
hut delivered him up for us all, hoiu shall he not with
him also freely give us all things T' Listen to what trans-
pires in the houses and cottages around you. Oh what ill-
huuiour, discontent, sighing, murmuring and complaining is
there everywhere ! What is the cause of all this ? Simply
because people have missed the gospel source of joy and
peace. It is not the outward situation in which any one is
placed, no, unbelief is the first and most efficient cause of all
the misery in the world, and the real, inward, cancerous
afiection which preys upon the whole human race.
IV. It is a question whether all the disciples at Bethsaida
were fishermen. But they all go willingly on the lake.
"What wonder ? Not only does their Master's promise,
^' After that I am risen, 1 luill go before you into Galilee,"
still ring in their ears, but they are attracted more powerfully
by the remembrance of all the glorious incidents which they
had previously been permitted to witness on the lake to which
they are now about to go. The confession may not mutually
be made aloud, but, individually, they are preoccupied with
the thought that possibly something they have longed for
may now take place. Thrilling anticipations course through
their hearts, and all true Christians of the present day
experience similar emotions. The life of faith is one of
uninterrupted heart-elevating expectancy. Of what ? Do
they also expect their Lord to present Hhnself to them
bodily? Far from it. But, relying on His word, that He
will be with His own even to the end of the world, and on
many other definite promises and assurances, they are ever
more or less anxious to observe how He will help and deliver
them, — here through His word, or in some other way, giving
them counsel ; in other cases, undoing the tangled knots in
134 THE APPEARANCE AT THE LAKE.
life, — in noting how He will promote the work nndertaken
for His gloiy, and crown it with success and blessing ; how
He will overcome this and that hindrance to the prosperity
of His kingdom ; or in what other manner He will reveal
His gracious presence, and prove His mercy and His love.
How pleasant it is to anticipate the visit of a valued human
friend ! What must they have felt when expecting Him who
reigns supreme in heaven as being about in some way or
bther to display His favour and power to them ! What could
l>e more elevating and delightful ! It is to occupy a fixed
position in the vestibule of the heavenly throne-room, and to
stand constantly waiting expectant before Immanuel's door.
And what does king David say from his own experience?
''They that wait on the Lord shall not he put to shame ;"
and Solomon, prompted by the Holy Spirit, adds, " The hope
of the righteous shall he gladness."
Yes, it is so. But it does not always happen at the very
time that we could have wished it. Our fishermen cruised
about the lake the whole night ; but they take nothing in
their nets, nor is any appearance vouchsafed them, as they had
secretly hoped. But the Christian has to maintain his self-
composure under heavier trials than these. It may some-
times appear to him, as though he were wholly disregarded
by the Lord, and as though his deeds, prayers, and sufierings,
were so likewise. Such experiences are indeed bitter, but
they are salutary. Ask the believers of every age when they
have become most thoroughly conscious of their un worthiness
in the sight of God, and when they have most fervently and
ardently repeated the words of the Canaanitish woman,
" Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from
their master's table ;" ask them, when they have been wont,
in the exercise of bare faith alone, to cling to the sure word
of prophecy, and when their heart vented itself in the words
of David, " Unless thy laiu had heen my delight, I should
THE APPEAEANCE AT THE LAKE. 135
then have perished in nuj affliction" (Ps. cxix. 92 ;) ask when
they first experienced in themselves not only the pain, but
likewise the blessing, and healing powers of wrestling with
God as did Jacob ; when they were first able to resign
themselves in perfect submission to the will of God with an
unconditional surrender ; ask all this, and they will all, with
one voice, answer, " Not when the Lord allowed everything
to fall out as we wished, but then, when He hid His face
from us ; when we, with other tears than those which the
poet of this world sheds, ' sat weeping on our bed through-
out the wearisome nights ;' nay, when we seemed as the
forsaken and rejected, 'those whom the Most High had wholly
deserted.' " But they will also add, with countenances beam-
ing with delight, " The time of divine consolation has always
returned." The life of believers is one in tvhich faith is
alternately tried and victorious.
V. Early day is dawning over the lake of Gennesareth.
There emerges from the morning mist the form of a man on
the distant shore. Our fishermen take him to be a fish-dealer,
one of those who daily come out at dawn from the town to
meet the boats, and make their purchases. But lue know the
mysterious stranger better. He is the omnipresent and
eternal Guardian of Israel. Everyw^here and ever at hand,
with His beloved ones whilst traversing the sea of life.
"Children" cries the unknown one familiarly to the fishermen,
" have ye any meat ?" He asks as to their success in fishing.
The answer is abrupt and quite despondent, " No." A ques-
tion addressed to us by God himself lies involved in every
trouble that befalls us, and if we iuimediately answer as in
the sight of God, " Ko, lue have nothing" we have already
advanced one step towards our peace. The stranger calls to
them, " Cast the net on tlie right side of the sltip, and ye
shall find." With what assurance does He desire them to do
so. Might not the fishermen by this have recognised the
136 THE APPEARANCE AT THE LAKE.
speaker ? They indeed throw their net, and, as it would seem,
heedlessly, as though thinking, if they gained nothing, yet
they would lose nothing. But who shall describe their aston-
ishment, when, upon endeavouring to pull it up again, they
find their utmost efforts unequal to raise it, "for the multi-
tude of fishes." The circumstance is immediately suggestive
of an intimation to the mind of one of them. And to whom
does it occur ? Why, to him who understood our Lord's
manner best, and who was adorned with the most beautiful
title that mortal ever bore ; namdy, that of the disciple whom
Jesus loved, " and ivho leant on Jesus breast." John, with
sparkling eyes, whisj^ered to his friends, " It is the Lord !"
Upon this, another, whose ardent temperament will not per-
mit him to wait till the boat was brought to shore, girding
his fisher ';5 coat quickly about him, boldly leapt overboard.
With energetic strokes he divides the waves and swims before
the vessel towards the point where stood the wondrous Per-
sonage. Who this hastily-resolved person was, I scarce need
say, for who could it be but Simon Peter ? What prompted
him to do so? It was undoubtedly his ardent love to his
Lord and Master. Ay, but he had moreover another especial
reason. He was already pardoned, but whether he had re-
gained the full confidence of his Lord and Master was to him
a matter of doubt, so long as our Lord had not reinstated
him in his forfeited apostleship. He had been forgiven on
the early morning of the resurrection-day. But w^as the sin
which he had committed lesMy forgotten ? Until Peter be
assured of this, he has no peace, he cannot look up joyously.
He will be both the first and the last to lie at the feet of the
risen Saviour, until the blissful declaration is made to him,
" Yes, thy sin is for ever blotted out ! " " It is the Lord."
Oh ! do not doubt it, this cry resounds over and over again
in the life of believers ; and what a day of rejoicing beams
upon us when, after protracted and deep gloom, the long-
THE APPEAKANCE AT THE LAKE. 137
desired Prince of Peace again, and suddenly, appears, with
help, comfort, and kindness ! And He always does return.
" Light," sings David, " is sown for the righteous, and glad-
ness for the upright in heart."
VI. The disciples in the ship, dragging the full, heavy net
after them, arrive with beating hearts at the landing-place.
Yes, John was right ; it is the Master. His present appear-
ance certainly differs from what it was when living amongst
them ; He wore the form of a servant. But they already
behold Him in His glorified body, and to no one of them
does it occur to ask who He is, and to grieve Him again by
unbelief. And what do you see near Him ? A glowing fire
of coals, and on it, preparing for their early repast, fish and
bread. This is wonderful ! But did He ever appear, during
these forty days, save in some wondrous fashion ? Of all
marvels, He is personally the most marvellous. We are here
again convinced that He belongs no longer to the earth, but
to another sphere of life, to another order of things. After
His resurrection, therefore, it is not recorded of Him, as be-
fore, " He came;'' but, " He sheiued himself" (John xxi. 1 ;)
that is, coming forth from the invisible world. He entered
the visible one, from which He retired again as soon as He
had accomplished His purpose. " Bring of the fish which ye
have now caught,'' says He. Again it is Peter, who is first
at the vessel, pulling the net to land, and who fetches some of
the great haul of fish. And Jolni, an eye-witness, observes,
" The fishes luhich they had caught luere an hundred and
fifty and three," great ones ; " and for all ther^e ^^ere so many,
yet was not the net broken" " Come," continues our Lord,
kindly inviting the disciples, " Come and eat." They circle
round Him. He then takes the bread Himself, and hands
it to them to eat, and fish likewise. On every occasion upon
which our Lord presented Himself to the disciples subse-
quent to His resurrection, it appears to have been His design
138 THE APPEARANCE AT THE LAKE.
first to convince them that He was again there before them
Himself, personally and bodily, and then to free them
from the delusion that He would continue the same social
relations with them which He previously had sustained. In
the scene now brought under view, the former aim prepon-
derates. It is, moreover, pregnant with real and holy sym-
bols. It contains j)romises, concerning the apostolate, that
they should never see the spiritual net which they were about
to cast torn ; furthermore, assurances of the never-failing
providence of God in those seasons when His servants go
forth armed to the fight ; and, above all, a significant sym-
bolical representation of the ultimate result of the whole
voyage of life, when He, in like manner inviting His chil-
dren to a far more bounteous feast, after all the gloom and
weariness of their earthly existence, will welcome them to
the other shore, and give them the crown of life. Truly the
life of believers is one of most blissful prospect for the world
that now is, and of perfect happiness for that which is to
come.
I take it for granted you are convinced that there is, even
on earth, anotlier life which differs in all respects from our
every-day existence, passed in earthly trouble, earthly joys,
and earthly cares — a life under the opened heaven already
illumined by the splendour of eternity — a life which even
from its outset has a glory more than earthly. The life of
men spiritually crucified, and now risen with Christ, in
whose lips the following passage is a realised truth — " For
our conversation is in heaven, from tuhence also we look
for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,'" — the life of all
those to whom the words of the apostle are apj)licable,
" Your life is hid luith Christ in God; when Christ, luho
is your life, shall apjjear, then shall ye also appear with
him in glory." May no one of us be condemned eternally
THE APPKAEANCE AT 'JIIE LAKE. 139
to view this life only wistfully and from a distance, as one
strange to us. On the contrary, may it, by God's grace,
become our own !
** Lo ! Tliy presence filleth now
All Thy Church in every place !
To my heart, oh enter Thou;
See, it thirsteth for Thy grace !
Come, thou King of glory, come,
Deign to make my heart Thy home 1
There abide and rule alone,
As upon Thy heavenly throne 1 **
14jO petee's love to cheisi tested.
XL
PETER'S LOVE TO CHRIST TESTED.
The apostle in 1 Cor. xiii. 13, having first placed faith and
hope side by side Avith love, says, " But the greatest of these
is love,'' (charity.) It may be asked, Why the greatest?
First, because, unlike faith, which will be converted into
sight, and, unlike hope, v/hich will be converted into fruition,
both thus undergoing change, love, being in its nature divine,
will pass over unaltered into the world of glory, in order
that, freed from all earthly shackles and dross, it may there
become perfect ; secondly, because love, as the noble blossom
of faith and hope, may be said to comprise them both — a
statement which cannot be made with equal truth of either
faith or hope with reference to love ; and, lastly, because love
is the fulfilling of the law, since he who loves God no longer
considers His divine precepts as literal commands external
to himself, but has them in himself as constituting the prin-
ciple of his inmost life. But however true all this may be,
we should better hit the meaning of the apostle if we accept
that he calls love " the greatest," because we, through love
divesting ourselves of self, become wholly God's, are brought
into union with Him who is love, and are assimilated to
Him ; and whilst in believing and hoping we are rather
passive, and resign ourselves to be influenced by Him, by
love we are raised to fellowship with His divine working, or,
as the apostle says in another place, " We then are made
Peter's love to c heist tested. 141
worhers luiih Him." What a precious treasure then is the
love which the apostle here has in view, and which forms
the foundation of tlie new life of those who are born of
Ood ! AYe shall now have a further opportunity afforded us
to speak and to hear more of this love. Ought we not all
most heartily to rejoice in it ?
John xxi. 15-17.
" So when they had diued, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord ;
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He
saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ?
He saith unto him, Yea, Lord ; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith
unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son
of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him
the tliird time, Lovest thou me ? And he said unto him, Lord, thou
knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him.
Feed my sheep."
A touching narrative, my brethren ; nay, more than
touching. How often have our hearts been stirred within
us when meditating upon it ; but does it not seem ever new,
like the opening spring, the starry vault of heaven at even-
tide, or sunrise amid the rosy hues of the dawn? The
oftener we examine it, the more its beauty grows upon us ;
and the more we attempt to fathom its treasures of thought,
the richer do they appear. Truly this GosidcI sj^eaks to us
in exceedingly tender tones, and needs a delicate and prac-
tised mind fully to apprehend it. In spiritual life, there are
many grades of susceptibility, and many stages of culture.
Not all who have experienced the loving-kindness of God
see with equal clearness, and enter with equal depth and
fervour, into spiritual matters. It occurs but to few to lean
with John on Jesus' breast, and to watch the lightest pulsa-
tioi]s of His divine and tender heart. May such delicacy of
perception not be wanting to us whilst we are engaged in
meditating upon this narrative. Yet this Gospel contains
142 petee's love to christ tested.
enough of that which can be easily conceived and compre-
hended by all, to relieve ns from solicitude, lest any should
wholly fail to profit by the study of it. To what shall we
then specially direct our attention ? I think that the ques-
tion of the risen Saviour respecting love to Him ought to be
the single subject of our present contemplation. Let us
observe then, first, that love to Christ furnishes us with the
measure of all true human luorth ; then how does this ques-
tion point out to us the roots and foundation of all new
divine life ; and lastly, ho^u it shews and reveals to us the
luay to the most honourable and blessed position. May the
Lord in mercy acknowledge our word, and may the Holy
Spirit lead us into all truth !
I. Let us return to the shores of the Sea of Galilee. A
beautiful spring morning illumines the scene before us, and
is quite in harmony with it. Lo ! yonder stands the risen
Saviour ! How sublime and gracious is His bearing ! The
seven disciples, happy beyond measure at the gracious con-
descension He has vouchsafed towards them, surround Him,
their host, at this extraordinary entertainment. Their coun-
tenances beam with joy. One alone stands with downcast
looks, depressed. His clothes, still dripping, render it easy
for us to recognise him. He it is who, in order to be first
at his Lord's feet, by swimming outstripped the slow progress
of the ship. What is it then that still lies so heavily upon
his heart ? Was it the lamentable transaction in the court-
yard of the high priest's palace? Doubtless the crushing
remembrance of that will never be entirely extinguished in
his soul. But he likewise will never forget that glorious
incident, wholly unparalleled in its nature, on Easter-morn,
when suddenly the Master, whom he had so disgracefully
denied, stood before him, glorified as the conqueror of hell,
death, and the grave, and personally assured his contrite
heart of full forgiveness. Peter's absolution, pronounced by
PETEK'S love to CHRIST TESTED. 143
Him whose pardon he knew was as valid in heaven as it is
upon earth, would not have been exchanged by him for a
kingly crown. The declaration received then still remains
his most precious treasure — a jewel he will never part with ;
for it guarantees to him nothing less than the future fcivour
of God and everlasting blessedness. But is Simon then not
yet set at ease ? No, no ; not yet. His Lord has not yet
restored him to the apostleshij), which he lost by his triple
denial ; and imtil this be done, he cannot breatlie freely. But
is it possible for one who has fallen so low to find courage
to make such a request? Oh! do not judge too hastily;
enter fully, if possible, into the disciple's feelings. He truly
cares not for his reputation in the eyes of the world, but
solely for a valid pledge that he again possesses the whole
heart, the undiminished confidence, the entire affection, of
his glorious Lord. But such a pledge he could only recog-
nise by his Lord's recalling him to apostolic service. He
dares not say as much, but he does not doubt that the
Searcher of hearts will read this latent desire in his soul.
Do you not herein begin to perceive in what true love to
Christ consists ? This love shews itself in an intense lono-incr
to be firmly and confidently assured of the love of the Lord
Jesus towards us. So long as we only slavishly endeavour
to fulfil our Lord's commands, in order that when He comes
to judge the quick and the dead at the last day, He may
have no very great sin to upbraid us with, it is very question-
able whether a spark of love to Him gleam in our hearts.
It is possible that, notwithstanding a moral striving such as
this, which is entirely opposed to the Christian character,
we may stand in no personal relationship to the Lord ; rather
in secret alienation from Him, feeling only sullen ill-humour
and discontent at the " too heavy yoke " with which He bur-
dens our flesh by His precepts and ordinances. We do not
love Him until we feel the assurance of His love to be the
144 PETERS LOVE TO CHEIST TESTED.
most precious thing which we could possibly desire. But if
it be asked how, and by what means, we know that the Lord
really loves us, let the sequel serve as a reply. A lively, sin-
cere desire to rest in His love may serve as an indication and
pledge to us that the heart of the Friend of sinners is already
graciously inclined towards us. But His gracious disposition
is especially to be seen in the way in which He leads us, sup-
plies our most urgent wants, listens to our sighs, and answers
our prayers. May our attention ever be most solicitously
fixed on these points ! We often pray for this and that,
which, when granted, leaves us so wholly occupied with the
aid afforded, and the material benefit received, that the gra-
cious answer to prayer therein experienced is entirely lost
sight of by us. In a blindness that is incomprehensible we
forget the Giver in the gift, and thus lose the noblest and
best blessing comprised in the benefit vouchsafed us.
Our Lord, with a seriousness tempered by kindness, looks
at His disciple, and questions him respecting his love to Him.
And the same question He puts to us, and to all the world
too. The question involves a high sense of personal worth.
The inquirer recognises in himself the individual to whom
the devoted attachment of all mankind is due as tribute. At
the same time this question indicates to us the rule by which
all true human worth is to be measured. If you do not love
Jesus, it is clear and evident that, notwithstanding all the
outward shew of respectability and virtue which you may
make, your moral worth is nothing, because you characterise
yourself as a creature whose inner life is stifled and dulled
to such a degree that there is no faculty left to receive the
reflection of the Sun of righteousness. For beyond every
attribute, Christ bears in Himself the perfect image of God.
From Him there beams on you all the fulness of Him who
is the eternally true, good, and beautiful. Yes, even Jioliness
itself, and consequently the ideal of humanity, is in Him
PETER'S LOVE TO CHRIST TESTED. 145
come down from heaven to eartli. If yon do not love Jesns,
neither do you love light, but are a child of darkness. Then,
despite your name of Christian, how far are you behind that
wise heathen of ancient times, who perceived and confessed
tliat "virtue would never be tauglit by precepts, but that it
would tlien first be rendered intelligible when it appeared on
earth in a living person, who would incline the world to love
it ; " and who, had lie met with Christ, would doubtless have
fallen at His feet with ardent devotion ?
If you do not love Jesus, you are blind with regard to your
oivn real condition to the same extent as you are with re-
gard to every moral object really noble and great. Were
you enlightened, ay, did you but know one-half of what you
truly stand in need, you would immediately give your whole
lieart unreservedly to Him who announces Himself with the
assurance, " The Son of man is come to seek and to save
that which is lost." The indifference manifested by you to
this Divine Physician, Redeemer, and Mediator, condemns
you at once as most grossly infatuated, lost to all truth, and
entangled in lies, illusion, and self-deception. You think
yourself in health, whilst labouring under a fatal malady;
free, whilst in slavish fetters ; righteous, whilst guilty of the
whole law. AVould you not declare a man insane if, havino-
lost his way in a desert, he turned his back upon a person
who offered to be his guide ; or who, when dying of thirst,
should scornfully repulse the friend who came to shew him
a spring? Such a one however, or a shipwrecked mariner
tossed about by the winds and waves, yet disdaining to enter
the life-boat approaching to save him, would be far less
foolish than the wandering sinner who carelessly passes by
Jesus, the Saviour from all distress. We should call the
conceit of such a man, which makes him think that he can
do without tlie heavenly Prince of Peace, absurd and ridicu-
K
146 petee's love to christ tested.
lous, were it not that the ruin which it will bring upon him
is so fatal and tragic.
If you do not love Jesus, you betray, lastly, a want of
spiritual elevation, which strips you of the last remnant of
moral dignity. Your inability, not only to recognise the
divinity which shone forth in Him, but also to appreciate
the numerous favours and privileges for which, despite your
unbelief, you have to thank Him, is glaringly exposed. Tell
lis whence comes that political order under which you feel
yourself so secure? whence that dear domestic life which
encircles you as with a hedge of roses ? whence the refined
manners which adorn your social life? whence that sound
mental culture in which you so much rejoice ? vfhence the
higher view of the purpose and ultimate aim of the existence
of the earth, in which you have been instructed from child-
hood? and whence those elevating images of an invisible and
ideal world, which, thouHi dimly seen, like stars fJiinino; afar
off, have nevertheless found their way to your mental vision ?
Whence all these things ? Did not Jesus create and organise
them ? And you do not love this Jesus ! Besotted, blinded,
mortal ! say where can we look in you for that spiritual and
moral worth which will entitle you to a claim on our esteem ?
II. We say further, that the question of our love to Christ
is one and the same as that concerning the foundation and
nature of the neiu life begotten of God. With everything
that might otherwise decorate the man, the very germ of the
divine nature is wanting where that love has not yet been
kindled. Therefore, Simon Peter is first prompted to look
for this sacred spark in his soul ; and not until he has dis-
covered it, is he justified or enabled to expect anything good
for his future life.
Let us now look at the remarkable trial which he has to
undergo. The Lord begins to speak to him. They all hang
on His lips, but no one so intently as Simon himself. Oh,
Peter's love to christ tested. 147
thinks he, would that He may act but forbearingly towards
me! Tlie Lord begins, " Si)iion, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me more than these?" What does this question mean,
wliich all at once re-oj^ens the scarcely-healed wound in his
conscience ? Like the stab of a knife, it gashes, his already
poor and dejected heart. Every word in it, every syllable,
is crushing — "Simon, son of Jonas.'' How strange, how
chilling, does this appellation sound ! That is his old name
again, the name which he bore in the days of his blindness
and estrangement from God ; and not his new one, not
" Cephas " or " Peter," his name as a disciple and apostle !
How can this designation imj^ly any good to him? And
then the ''Lovest thou me more than these do?" Simon
understtinds but too well this reference to the past. The
"Lovest thou me more ?" threatens almost to annihilate him.
Once he had imagined that he indeed did so. ''Though
all men should he offended luith thee," once li.^htly escaped
his lips, "yet willl never be offended; though I should have
to die ivith thee, yet luill I not deny thee;'' and only a
few hours afterwards, alas, how had he fallen ! What a
recollection ! — a draught more bitter than gall, and here
poured out for him by the Master himself ! Simon's whole
soul bleeds once more, and the comfort of the pardon which
had been granted him is dissipated like water on a heated
surface. He is sad, sad almost to death. But the Master
asks, and it is but seemly that Simon answer. What ! in
the same terms, " Yea, Lord, L love Thee . 7nore ?" No,
never ! never again ! Well then, " No, Lord, not more than
these do?" Nor this either. It will never occur to him
again to compare himself with others. Shall he then say,
'No, Lord, I love TJiee not ?" All that is in his heart would
revolt against that as against the blackest lie. Shall he then
directly and freely testify, " / love Thee truly, my Saviour V
His inn-iost feeling would stamp this testimony as true and
148 PETER'S LOVE TO CHRIST TESTED.
well founded ; but such an expression would die upon his
lips ; for he would remember, the high-sounding asseveration
which he allowed to escape him on the way to the Mount of
Olives was not hypocrisy, but sprung from his inmost soul,
and yet only rested on most grievous self-deception. The poor
disciple is in deep distress. He would have preferred to give
his soul vent in silent tears. Bat speak he must, for the
Master has put a question to him. Yielding to the melan-
choly pressure, his troubled mind makes way for itself, and
Simon answers with great tact, whilst most truly, and with
deep emotion, " Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee."
It is, then, " Yea," and rightly so. This '' Yea " came from
the very inmost depths of his soul. But, nevertheless, he
cannot bring it out simply, unreservedly. Fearful lest he
again prove the victim of self-deception, he invokes the co-
operation of the Searcher of hearts, to aid him in the
examination of his own, and that He may search into its
very inmost recesses. " Lord," says he, " Thou knowest " —
But what comes next? Is it, luhetJier L love Thee? He
might have wished to say so, but the spirit of truth within
him opposed the "whether" as a false and affected humility,
and substituted the word "that." And thus a confident,
"Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee," escapes from
Simon's lips. "Oh, see Thyself," is the meaning of his
words, '' how all my longings, hopes, and desires, would, like
tendrils, clasp and hail Thee, who art my only One, my
All!" His Lord owns it, and, with infinite gentleness,
hastily raises His profoundly-dejected disciple, and gives the
royal mandate, " Feed my lambs ! " which was tantamount
to saying, ''Now, he my ajjostle again!" Simon hardly
dares to trust his ears. Seldom has any one experienced
a more rapid transition from the deepest compunction to
the most blissful joy than he. Just before he was a worm
crawling on the ground, and in a moment he sees himself
Peter's love to christ tested. 149
raised again to one of the twelve thrones which shall far
surpass those of the most brilliant of eartlily nionarchs. He
conkl call npon heaven and earth to help him to render
llianks, and to rejoice.
But what fresh incident is about to befall him ? Simon
arms himself for a new struggle. Yes, it sometimes happens
that sudden and speedy reverses occur in the life of believers.
Simon experiences this in the most astounding manner.
The Lord fixes His eyes upon him once more, and, as it
appears, more earnestly than before, and says, with still
lireater emphasis, "Simon, so7i of Jonas, lovest thou meV
Simon noticed that the Lord this time laid special stress on
the word " lovest," as if He would say, " This is no slight
matter ; the love which I demand is perhaps quite a different
thing from what thou hast been accustomed to call by that
name. It is more than a mere natural flickering, flaring
fire ; more than a mere fleeting paroxysm of enthusiasm,
kindled by the miraculous splendour which adorns my
life ; more than a sentimental admiration of my moral
beauty, or of the elevating thoughts of eternity with which
my word has overspread the darkness of earth as with a
starry heaven ! " Simon perceives the great scope of his
Master's question, and at the recollection of the love which
he had once so loudly boasted, he could anew for very
shame have hid his face. Again he looks searchingly into
his soul, and, if I am not mistaken, I hear the following
soliloquy going on there : — " How, wretched sinner, do
matters now stand with thee ? Wliat is it to love Him ?
what does it mean ? Is it to find no rest but in Him, not
to be able to remain where He is not, to know notliing
sweeter than His name, and to prefer never to have been
born rather than 'to be obliged to live without fellowship
with Him ? Is it to see heaven in the gracious expression
of His eye ? to feel indifferent to every person and every-
1 50 PETER'S LOVE TO CIIPJST TESTED.
thing in heaven and on earth, if we have but Him and His
consolations? Is that loving Him? Oh, then, the Master
himself may be my witness, that at least some small spark
of love glows in my heart towards Him, in spite of all
obstacles." Thus he thinks, whilst devotedly and fervently
issues from His lips the assurance, " Yea, Lord, Thou
knowest that I love Thee I" And the Lord, confirming it,
says a second time, ''Feed my lambs." Then Simon is
again raised, intoxicated with joy, above all the heights of
this earth, and is well-nigh dissolved in gratitude and
delight.
Has this scene of trial come to an end ? Not yet. Love
to Christ is an important topic, and one not lightly to be
disposed of. A third time the Lord, stirring the very
depths of the disciple's soul, says, " Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest THOU meV — and now the word ''thou'' is obviously
the one emphasised. Simon stands dismayed. Why marvel?
By this third question it was palpably our Lord's design to
remind him of his thrice-reiterated denial. Simon, again
ejected from his high heaven of joy, thinks, "Truly, Lord, if
my asseveration, weighed by Thy balance, has ceased to be
of value, I, faithless boaster, have fully deserved it ! " Oh,
wliat sorrow invests his soul ! But he quickly resumes his
courage, thinking, " If my love were once a lie and a decep-
tion, it is no longer so to-day. I am at least convinced that
Thou, Lord, art the sole object of my affection, the only
Rock on which I trust. Thou mayest slay me, but I shall
never leave Thee again. Wert Thou to consign me to hell.
Thou wouldst still be the magnet to which my soul is
attached." So he thinks ; and looking at his Lord, how
tumultuously does his heart beat and throb ! How could he
refrain from making a renewed and strohger testimony of
his love? As if he would say, "Be Thou thyself witness
between Thee and me, Tiiou who searchest the heart and
PETER'S LOVE TO CHRIST TESTED. 161
triest the reins/' he says, overcome with sadness, but, never-
theless, with great decision and confidence, " Lor^d, Thou
knowest all things; Thou knoiuest that I love Thee.'' And
now the Lord gives free course to His own love too. All
His purposes are attained. Simon's threefold denial has
been revoked by His threefold confession. Simon is restored
to the brethren, and the bretliren are restored to Simon ;
and, what is far more to him, his Lord is restored to him,
and he to Himself. The Prince of Life looks upon His
disciple, refined by the fiery trial to which he had just been
subjected, with ineffable kindness, and addressing him in a
tone which manifestly proved his final rein:?tatenient in
apostolical functions, He says to him, ''Feed my sheep''
Happy disci [)le ! What a treasure is that which tliou hast
gained ! Thou knowest that thou really lovest Jesus thy
Saviour, and this love is the foundaticm of the new life,
begotten of God, the root and source of all sanctification,
truly acceptable to God; the ''fulfilling of the law," as
Scripture testifies, and the sign-manual put on the children
and heirs of God.
III. Wlien will it come to pass, my friends, that we also
shall, unitedly and severally, be able to answer the question,
''Lovest thou meV with truthfulness as deeply felt, and
with the same depth of meaning, as did Peter, " Lord, Thou
knowest all things ; Thou knowest that I love Thee." As long
as we are without this love, our existence is meaninoless,
our heart a wilderness, our whole life a parched tract, which
will at least bear no fruit for heaven. Without the love of
Christ, we are like a vessel without mast and without rud-
der, tossed on the ocean of life ; without this love, no tie
unites us to the heavenly world, and we have laid up no
treasure for eternity.
The heart can never rest until it repose in tlie love of
Jesus ; nnd neither shall w^ be tru1v lovod, nor shall we love
152 PETEE'S LOVE TO CHRIST TESTED.
our brethren, until the love of Jesus is shed abroad in our
hearts. This love im23lants within the bosom an Eden of
quiet bliss, whose flowers are unfading. It sheds upon our
earthly career a gleam of the glory, a faint reflection of the
unseen world which awaits us above ; it confers a nobility
which the mists of the poorest temporal circumstances can
never obscure. Yes, if we love Jesus w^e have re-attained
to the true original dignity of man ; we have been restored
to the most honourable position, and really raised again to
the same elevation on which our first parents stood before
the fall in paradise. We are received again into fellowship
with God, are embraced and sustained by the love of God,
and once more love what is divine and everlasting. We
soar on wings of blissful hope above the heights of earth,
have conquered the world, sin, flesh, and the devil, and are,
no less than Peter and his fellow-apostles, each one in his
own degree and in his own way, appointed to be the salt,
the light, and the benefactors of this world, which we are
traversing, indeed, as pilgrims and strangers, but cheerfully,
under the fatherly eye of God, in the consciousness of His
Divine complacency, and under the guardianship of angels,
being well assured that we shall reach our home at last.
If, then, love to Jesus be so great a matter that it alone
can give meaning to our life and warrant to our hope, how
can we rest until we feel its holy fire glowing within us?
But this love cannot be gained by working ; it must, as the
apostle says, ''he shed abroad in our hearts hi/ the Holy
Ghost." We make room for this love, we prepare a place
for it, when we first brinoj ourselves into the liiilit of God's
countenance, and become fully conscious of the lost estate,
of the absolute alienation from Him, into which we all, with-
out exception, originally fell. The first tear of godly sorrow
which trickles down the cheek may be considered as a pledge
that the moment is not far distant when the love of Christ
PETER'S LOVE TO CHRIST TESTED. 1 53
shall cheer thy heart likewise. Love to Jesus takes its source
in the conscious apprehension of His redeeming love. This
experience, of all others the most desirable, must, however,
remain unknown to us, until we have been awakened from
that most wretched and pernicious of all dreams, the dreura
of self-righteousness. Let us, then, most earnestly implore
the Lord to deliver us from that bewildering enchantment
which by nature enchains us all, and pray as in these
words —
" If Thou, True Life, wilt iu me live.
Consume ichntcer is not of Thee ;
Cue look of Thine more joy can give
Than all the world can offer me.
Jesus, be Thou mine for ever !
Nought from Thy love my heart can sever-^
That Thou hast promised in Thy Word !
. Oh, deep the joy whereof I drink,
Whene'er my soul in Thee can sink,
. And own her Bridegi'oom and her Lord."
Sinold, 1710. — Lyra Germanica.
The hour will come to each and all of us when, from the
mouth of Him wlio will award the final sentence as to our
eternal destiny, the question will, with most solemn intona-
tion, be addressed to us, " Lovest thou me '? " The Lord, by
His Holy Spirit, help us then to answer, with as much
truth as did Simon Peter of old, "Lord, Thou knowest all
things ; Thou knowest also that I love Thee." Amen.
154» petek's WAi.
xn.
PETER'S WAY.
" He that taketh not his cross, aiid foUotueth after me, is
not worthy of me!' Thus spake the Lord in Matt. x. 88.
Whom does this passage not terrify ? He has often repeated
it with emphasis, has placed it, as it were, at the head of His
programme. Nowhere does He make it more apparent that
He neither aimed at organising a political party, which should
bear Him aloft with acclamations as its glorious chief, nor,
like the wise men of this earth, at forming a school which
should trumpet its Master's name throughout the world,
than when He makes such a demand as the above the indis-
pensable condition of admittance into His kingdom. What
does the word cross signify but a combination of the last
degree of ignominy with the most intense suffering. And
this is the mode in which He enlists all those who are dis-
posed to devote themselves to His service ! They must
whilst living not only make death an element in their cal-
culations, but reckon upon suffering continuous shipwreck of
their plans and fortune, as also of all their worldly projects,
desires, and aspirations. We see that our Lord can only
avail Himself of the services of disciples who have the salva-
tion of their souls more at heart tlnm anything else, and who
are so deejDly and overwhelmingly convinced of their lost
condition that to them no sacrifice, by which they might
obtain grace and forgiveness, appears too great, not even
PETER'S WAY. 166
were it the most precious and the dearest they possess. But
these large demands, which our Lord makes of all those
who are anxious to attach themselves to Him, justify us,
however, not only in confidently inferring that His own self-
consciousness, as the only Saviour, is clear and certain, but
also that the blessedness which He has to offer, in compensa-
tion for a life of self-renunciation and self-denial, is truly
great. However much the flesh may be alarmed at the terms
of the passage, "He that taketh not his cross, and followeth
after me, is not worthy of me," it is nevertheless, wlien closely
scanned, rich in comfort and promise ; and we shall see that
it was received as such by a disciple, to whom it was applied
with most especial and terrifying emphasis.
JoEN xxi. 18-23.
" Verily, verily, I say unto thee. When thou wast young, thou girdedst
thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest : but when thou shalt be old,
thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry
thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death
he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him,
Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus
loved following ; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said. Lord,
which is he that betrayeth thee ? Peter seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord,
and what shall this man do ? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry
till I come, what is that to thee ? "
This is the concluding scene of the manifestation of the
risen Saviour at the Sea of Tiberias. What a wondrously
bright picture does it present, and how powerfully are we
again struck by the fragrance of historical truth ! That
wiiich is here narrated can be no fiction. Art cannot sj^in
and weave such delicate threads as here present themselves ;
life itself alone could. Observe especially these last historical
incidents of the gospel narrative, and say whether you con-
sider it possible that the imagination, even of the most gifted
human poet, could have devised such a scene as the one before
156 petee's way.
us, in which everything is so evidently not of this world, and
yet breathing the living freshness of unec^iiivocal reality.
What a variety of wholesome truths are here presented to
us, most simply attired, and covered only with the slightest
veil ! Come, let us listen attentively to our Lord's continued
conversation with His disciple Peter ; and let us notice
first, the intimation made to Peter; then, the question
which the disciple addresses to our Lord; and finally, the
ansiuer received in reply to the question. The narrative in-
volves much more than is expressed. May the Lord assist
us throughout our meditations, revealing that which shall be
j)rofitable to us !
I. Peter is abundantly comforted. Our Lord has re-
instated him in his apostleship, a dignity previously forfeited
by his denial of his Master ; our Lord did so upon his con-
fession, "Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee" — a confession
made in the deepest humiliation, yet with firm confidence.
Our Lord, as it were, restores the sword to Peter, having
already pardoned his former desertion. Peter has attained
the pinnacle of happiness. But our Lord's tender care for
His disciple extends still further. It is His purpose to free
him from solicitude as to whether he will remain steadfast
in his love ; to arm him for the days of combat on which he
is about to enter, with the conscious assurance that he will
remain faithful even unto death ; and at the same time so
to forewarn him, that when again overtaken by trial, he shall
never allow it to surprise him, or to cause his faith to give
way. Moreover, He designs to clip the wings of his too
easily excited feelings, in order to preserve him from fleshly
vain-gloriousness, and to place as it were a monitor in his
heart, which at every step he took should bid him ejaculate
a prayer, tempering his fiery character by the companion-
ship of a salutary sadness. Our Lord accomplishes all this
by a prophetic announcement wliich was enough to make
Pj:TF/i SWAY. 1 57
him stagger, following, as it did so closely, his reinstatement
in the ajDOstolic office.
He begins with a " Verily, verily ! " You know this
His form of asseveration, which impresses on whatever
follows it a seal that stamps any one who would call its
truth in question with the guilt of high treason. In the
use of this word " verily," He engraves that which He is
about to say on the apostle's mi^mory as with a brazen style.
With an echo that will never become fainter, he will hear it
resound throughout life. And when that which was now
shewn him in the distance should actually befall him, that
word " verily " would serve to support the consolatory con-
viction that the Lord, cognisant of his future destiny, had
not averted it, simply because He foresaw that it would be
advantageous and salutary for him. Peter then knew that
whatever hai)pened to him formed an indispensable part of
His gracious leadings, and that nothing in the world gives
so firm a footing as a w^ord from the mouth of the '' true
and faithful Witness." Let us also rejoice that the most im-
l^ortant revelations and teachings of Holy Scripture are
confirmed by our Lord's asseveration, " Verily, verily." Not
only does this expression, "verily," place them in an elevated
position like beacons, but our Lord, at the same time, pledges
for their truth the glory of His divine mission — ay, all His
prophetic and moral honour. *' / say unto thee," the Lord
proceeds to declare to Peter, " When thou luast young, thou
girdedst thy self, and ivalkedst tuhither thou 7Uouldest." In a
wider sense this declaration is true of man's youth generally.
In the full consciousness of his expanding vital power, the
young man fancies himself able to make his way through all
obstacles, and, were it requisite, to move mountains. But
our Lord has our condition by nature especially in view,
which is one of alienation from all fellowship with God,
since man, listening to no other suggestions than those which
1 58 PETER'S WAY.
his selfish interests dictate, steers through life by a capri-
ciously-selected course, and unfurls his sails to no winds
save those which favour his own plans and desires. A man
then says, " It is my will and pleasure to do so and so," and,
in the absence of all restraint, imagines himself to be per-
fectly free ; whereas in reality he is only the slave of his
passions, if not, indeed, of a dark and gloomy spirit, of which
he himself is at present entirely ignorant. Man, moreover,
has no idea that he is being led about in leading strings,
and not only so, but that every creature, even that which
struggles the most against it, is in the same plight — led about
by Him who does as He wills both in heaven and on earth.
A Nebuchadnezzar unwittingly indulged his pride while in
the fetters of Omnipotence, and a Cyrus, utterly unconscious
of it, only executed His behests. On being brought into
a state of grace, man resigns his natural freedom, which
is only an illusion and a lie, to the sovereign will of the
Lord of lords, submitting himself unconditionally to His
guidance. Not, how^ever, until we are thus subject to Him
are we really free ; for man, delivered from the snare of the
devil, and from the dominion of sin, is, in the ardour of his
love, willingly subject to the Lord, and ready to execute his
commands. There is a stage, however, in the state of grace
likewise, to which our Saviour's address to Peter may be
applicable. The period in which "a man girds himself,
and walks tvhither he luould," is likewise that which we are
wont to designate as that of first love, and we do so willingly,
though the designation be not strictly accurate. We then
spread wide our sails in all the joy of faith. All that wc
desire is realised, and whatever we undertake for the honour
of God succeeds. Answer upon answer crowns our prayers.
In profession and in action we venture everything, and every-
thing succeeds. It would seem as though the Lord had ^
placed all the riches of His gifts, His power, and His aid at
PETEE'S WAY. 159
our command. Of these we almost dispose at pleasure.
Assured of success, we apply ourselves, now in this way and
now in that, to the furtherance of the kingdom of God, and,
under the Divine blessing, everything prospers. At this
season it seems as though the Lord wished to bring us near
to Himself, and, by the successful experiences with which He
favours us, to provide a viaticum for our further journey.
But this course of things will not last always. To days of
such continued joys — to such eagle flights — there generally
follow days of another complexion, when, in the words of
the prophet, a man's soul seems to be " even as a weaned
child," and he has to prepare himself for a future similar to
that which our Lord disclosed to Peter.
" But luhen thou shalt be old," continues the Lord. " Yes/'
think ye, " old age will preserve us from too rash enterprises,
and is only too well fitted to temper and to quell the inso-
lent ' I will.' " But, my friends, do not anticipate the future ;
rather listen to our Lord. " But when thou shalt he old,"
He says, " tJiou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another
shall (jird thee, and carry thee vjhither thou wouldest not!'
How does Peter receive these words ? You will not do him
injustice to suppose that, startled at first, he shrank back at
the words, ''and carry thee whither thou wouldest not;"
for such is the experience of all who walk in the way of the
Lord ! Man would then fain do this, but he must do that
Inclination points this way, l>ut the path to be trod lies in
the opposite direction. Israel would fain go to Canaan, but
they are ordered to go to Marah. We had hoped to gather
roses, but thonis and thistles tear our hands. Is not, then,
the will of the regenerate in harmony with that of God ? It
is ; but though restrained, the old nature still lives along
with the new, and for the former the cross is variously
shaped. The spirit willingly accedes to this crucifixion, but
the flesh trembles and recoils from it. Nor is it always the
160 PETERS WAY.
natural will which has to be denied. It is not unfrequently
imposed u^^on us to deny the will of the regenerated spirit.
Fain would we attain sanctification with the rapidity of
flight, and yet we see our goal ever receding from us. Fain
would we stand fast in the faith, and the Lord allows whole
swarms of the most painful doubts, like locusts, to settle
upon us. Fain would we ever feel the flame of devotion
burn on the altar of the heart, and breathe even now the
balmy air of paradise, in the full enjoyment of Immanuel's
presence ; and we find ourselves in a wilderness, sufl'ering
the most trying spiritual deprivations, and w^e starve, despite
all the promises by which we should be comforted. To pro-
mote the glory of God, we would fain attempt great and
praiseworthy things innumerable, and yet are constrained to
see our fairest, noblest plans, one after the other, wrecked.
What could be more painful than all this ? But what was
there aimed at in it by God's counsel and will ? We must
learn to yield up ourselves fully and unconditionally to the
Lord, and to rest satisfied with His grace. The more we
are thus exercised, the more freely and the more richly will
the powers of Divine grace develop themselves in us, and
the more useful shall we become as instruments in the hands
of Him who wills not only that His name shall be glorified
in us, but likewise through us.
Not for a moment does Peter doubt whether our Lord's
mysterious address was merely intended to prepare him in a
general way for a life of trouble, but he holds it to have
been intended to convey a distinct intimation of the mode of
death by ivhich (as the evangelist expresses it) " he shoidd
glorify God." The words, " When thou shalt he old, thou
shalt stretch forth thine hands, and another shall gird thee,
and carry thee whither thou vjoiddest not," had already de-
picted to him in the clearest characters the public issue of
his earthly pilgrimage. " Thou shalt stretch forth thine
Peter's way. 161
hands." How well does he forebode both the mode and the
design! ''Another shall gird thee/' Who is the other 'i
" Yes," thinks Peter, " it is He above, without whose will
not even a sparrow falleth to the ground ; but besides Him
— the imperial Roman executioner !" He ''will gird thee !"
Peter knows right well why he will do so. "And carry
thee ichither thou luouldest not." What other spot j^resents
itself to the mind of Simon than the bloody mount of cruci-
fixion ? Had his interpretation of his Master's address been
other than that which he felt bound to give it, all hesitancy
as to his right apprehension of it was removed by its ex-
pressive final clause, " Folloiu me!' It was now clearly re-
vealed that Simon would one day share his Master's bloody
fate. The end of his earthly journey was to be marked by
a cross ; and if from this time it spread a dark shadow over
his whole life, if a settled melancholy tempered the confi-
dence of his faith, if all the splendour of this world lay bare
before him in all its nothingness, who will marvel at it?
When subsequently we hear this blessed disciple speak, or
when we read his epistles, frequently it will occur to us that
the cross is clearly present to his mind, and that the sight of
it deeply moves and touches him. It is true the cross would
secure him the desired opportunity of covering and obliter-
ating his sad denial by a noble confession. Simon was to
''glorify God in his death," — i.e., he should not only seal
and confirm his faith as having been wrought of God, but
become an object in whom God would glorify the power of
His grace in rendering it equal to the terrors of death. He
was to travel in the same path as his heavenly King, and
follow Him, not only as far as the disgraceful and torturing
death of the martyr's stake, but go, at the same time, further
still, into the realms of bliss. What a prospect is this for
him ! How it must have raised liim, and have sweetened all
that awaited him ! But, nevertheless, there it was on record,
L
] 62 petee's way.
" They shall carry thee whither thou wouldest not" His
human nature strove and qucailed. In the meanwhile,
Simon, be assured it is thy Saviour who has fixed all that
shall betide thee, and who will never leave thee nor forsake
thee !
Our discij^le knows this, too, himself, and though not
exulting, nevertheless goes on steadily in the way which is
assigned him. " But," I hear you say, " a cross, the reward
of the disciple's unreserved resignation to his Lord and
master ! An appointment to the scaffold, the earnest of his
renewed apostolate V Be not perplexed by this, my friends I
Thousands of times you will see the children of God walk-
ing in far more difhcult paths than most of the children of
this world. He who seeks a smooth path and shuns thorns,
had better give up following the Lord at the outset. The
poet sings, " God's ordinance is sure, and remains for ever
unmoved. When the conflict is over, His friends and wed-
ding guests shall be made happy ;" and in another verse of
the same hymn, "Those who dwell in Salem's walls shew
their crowns of thorns." The Lord is only concerned that
His children be prepared here below to be "vessels of
honour," and fit for tlie heavenly life. Hence the flesh
must be crucified, that the spirit may have room for its free
and unbounded flight.
IL After our Lord had raised the veil from the closing
scene of His disciple's earthly pilgrimage, He turns round
and leaves the spot. Simon does so too, as though he would
at once typically fulfil the command, "Follow me." And he
follows, not only with his feet, but with all his heart. How
absolutely freed from all earthly ties does Peter feel himself
by the revelation just made to him ! and how wholly is he
thereby cast to depend alone upon the Lord ! As if the
bloody hour were already come ; and just as a child keeps
near its mother when danger threatens, so would he fain
PETER'S WAY. 163
cling to the Bridegroom of liis soul with all the grapplings of
his mind now melted in silent grief. And it is so with our
hearts too, after havinii: been Ions; cheered with the sunshine
of Divine complacency, when we behold the dark shadows of
sorrow or of approaching death settling on our life. If love
to the Lord have for a while lain dormant and inert within
us, how does it waken up again with renewed energy, and
how intensely and sensitively conscious do we once more
become that He is our only comfort and our only refuge in
life and in death ! Our affectionate yearnings and our affiance,
developing themselves afresh, clasp Him with all their young
tendrils, and are in harmony with the deep truth expressed
by David in the words, " Hoiu excellent is thy loving-kind-
ness, God ! therefore the chikWen of men jout their trust
under the shadow of thy tuings." " Thou hast beeri my help.
My soul foUoiueth hard after thee : thy right hand uphold-
eth me."
But what does Simon still desire of our Lord ? Nothino-
but that he may be permitted to remain near Him. Were
fiery billows surging between him and Jesus, Peter would
swim through them to Him, as he^once before had swam to
Him throus^h the waves of the sea. What wondrous mao-netic
influence has the person of Christ upon a sinner thoroughly
aware of his poverty and helplessness ! There is nothing in
the wide world which equals the attractive and enchaining
power, which He exercises upon a contrite soul convinced of
sin. It is then first learned that the climax of future bliss
will consist in seeing Him as He is, and in dwelling ever
near His throne ; and the words of Asaph, " Whom have I in
heaven hut thee ? and there is none on earth that I desire
beside thee!'' most happily express the feelings of the swell-
ing heart.
Simon, following the Lord, had advanced but some few
steps, when he looked suddenly round. In search of whom ?
164) Peter's way.
Next to the Saviour himself there was, as you know, no one
so near his heart as the friend whom he at this moment
saw at a distance following the Lord likewise. It is John,
who here acjain introduces himself under the charminoj and
significant title of which he is so fond. He describes him-
self as ''the disciple tvhom Jesus loved." Yes, the love of
Jesus to him, of which he had received so many and such
delightful proofs, — Christ's love to him, and not his love to
Christ, — was his boast, as it also was the source of all his
comfort and of all bis hope. But why is it that John pre-
cisely here makes mention of that affectionate intimate re-
lation with which his Master honoured him ? The motive is
so much the more pleasing as it is truly touching. He there-
by manifestly seeks to invalidate the charge of forwardness
which might have been raised against him for having
ventured to follow his Master, when he was in the act of
leaving, without waiting for an invitation to do so. It is as
if he would say, " / dared to do it, as the disciple who lay
on Jesus' breast. I dared to do it all the more readily, since
on that evening when Christ declared, 'One of you shall betray
me,' I knew the corruptioil and the weakness of the human
heart sufliciently to distrust myself, that if the storm of
temptation should burst, and I were not upheld by grace, I
myself might be hurried away to commit that crime, and
hence, therefore, was the first to say in astonishment, ' Lord,
is it IV Is it then unpardonable in me, if I too, as well as
my brother Simon, heartily desire to hide myself under the
gracious protection of the Lord who is my only rock and
sure defence, as a chicken under the wings of the parent
bird?" Perhaps John wished to give us to understand this,
by recalling an incidental scene at the Last Supper.
The ties of friendship which bound Simon and John to
each other were closer than those which in days of yore
PETER 'S WAY. I55
united David and Joiiatnan. Oast but a glance upon the
pages of New Testament history, and you will almost always
find these two together — the character of each respectively
being so beautifully the complement of that of the other.
And would you read Peter's life without the blemishes which
here and there, in the other three Gospels, mar the portrait
of that apostle, who is so deserving of love, read it in the
fourth, where nearly everything which could be alleged
against John's beloved friend, is alluded to in the most
sparing manner, and covered with the mantle of love. And
without prejudice to historical truth, there is here thrown,,
even upon Peter's denial, a softer light, because John takes
a part of his friend's guilt upon himself by his mention of
another " disciple " who had introduced Simon into the high
priest's palace, and who had therefore brouglit him to the
fatal snare ; and this '' disciple " is, beyond doubt, no other
than John himself.
Now when Simon, most profoundly moved by the recent
announcement, looking back, sees his friend John, what train
of thouglit stirs within him ? " Ah ! " thinks he, " were
you only to remain with me, and were it permitted us to
fight and die for the Lord together !" And with his mind
so occupied, every sorrow seems ligliter — even the dreadful
cross itself appears less terrible. We can appreciate the
feelings which involuntarily suggested the question, ''Lord,
and tuJicit shall this man do?" — a question which has no
other meaning than this, " What path in life will he have
to pursue? will he be my companion, and share my lot?'*
And surely such a feeling cannot incur our censure. It is
so human, and is based only upon tender, brotherly love.
The bitterest trial is alleviated when shared by a congenial
friend. And what a friend and companion he had in John !
To Simon abundant comfort and encouraoement were in-
166 PETER'S WAY.
volved in the thought that our Lord would grant him his
heart's desire in uniting the path of his bosom friend with
his own. But how does our Lord answer him ?
III. His answer is not severe, neither does it put His
disciple to shame. He knows the poor human heart, and
compassionates our weakness. But Simon is not spared a
well-meant repulse. A salutary lesson was conveyed by his
Master's answer to him, and to ns likewise. Our Lord says,
" 7/ / will that he [John] tarry till I come, tuhat is that to
thee ? follow thou me!' An utterance of majesty, intoned
and delivered as from the throne of the Most High ; but per-
fectly becoming in Him, to whom, after He had fulfilled His
great work, all power in heaven and on eartli was given. In
sovereign omnipotence, He freely disposes of all that have
breath, but especially of their lives and destinies whom He
has bought with His blood. At His sacred pleasure He
determines the plan of their lives, and, unshackled. He leads
and calli^ one in this v/ay and another in that. His will is
universal law ; to it every creature is subject, and one day
all tongues will be constrained to confess that He is Lord, to
the glory of the Father. The time is coming when those
who blasphemed His holy name, with Satan and Antichrist
at their head, shall lick the dust from off His feet, and trem-
blingly acknowledge " Him whom they pierced."
'If I luill," says our Lord. How is the great armada of
contradictions and objections to His Godhead dashed to
pieces upon tliis His royal word ! How shall they, who pre-
tend that Jesus never declared Himself to be anything higher
than one of us, save as He was mentally and morally pre-
eminent, get over this passage, " If I will," without laying
down their arms? How can they manage with this passage,
who, with shameless audacity, make the random assertion
that Christ never challenged for Himself any other sway than
that wliich He exerted upon earth by His own example, and
PETER'S WAY. 167
by the spirit of His teacliing ? Oli, what a different estimate
will they one day form of His power and dominion ! If He
only "luiU," He can in a moment destroy, by the liglitning of
His anger, the whole band of His opponents ; but He can
just as quickly, without effort, and by almighty grace, change
tlie lion into a lamb, and raise up from stones children to our
father Abraham.
'' If I will that he tarry till I come," says Jesus ; and we
reply, " Yes, Lord, if Thou wilt, John shall not die, but shall
remain to the last great day ! " But the Master does not
intend to extend His disciple's life until that time. Many
indeed have understood these words to signify that John
should never die ; and this opinion prevailed even to the
time of Augustine, for we find the legend, that at that day
it was currently believed John had been indeed buried, but
that he was only slumbering in his grave, and that any one
carefully observing it might see the earth over him gently
heave mth his breathing. But John himself corrects this
misconception in his Gospel. In it, speaking of this subject,
he expressly says, "Jesus said not unto Simon, He shall not
die ; but, If I tuill that he tarry till I come, luhat is that to
thee ? " But how are we to understand these words ? Our
Lord evidently referred to His impending judgment over
Jerusalem. This overthrow, which attained, in the destruc-
tion of the temple, its dreadful, and in every way important,
consummation, both symbolical and historical, was — as it
involved the final abrogation of the Old Testament economy
— of the greatest importance to the kingdom of Christ and its
development. This event, which laid the foundation of a
new epoch in the Church of God on the ruins of the former
one, which was removed but to make way for the new era,
John survived and witnessed. But the view entertained by
those who said, " This disciple shall not die," nevertheless
approved itself true in a deeper and moro ,^])iritual sense.
IC)S Peter's way,
Jolin lives among us in his writings and in his character
even to this hour, and will continue to do so, to the joy of
all God's children, to the end of time.
But the lesson which Simon and all his future companions
in the faith should derive from our Lord's response is clear.
The Lord leads each of His people as in His divine wisdom
and love seems to Him best, each in his own peculiar way.
He appoints to every disciple his lot, as each severally has
need ; and, educating one in this way, another in that. He
makes them meet for everlasting life. This is the meaning
of His words — " If I will that John should arrive at his
destination by a smoother path than thou, Simon Peter,
what is that to thee? resign thyself to my guidance, and
' follow thou me.' "" Peter has now thoroughly understood
his Master, and assuredly will never ask again, " What shall
this man doV but vv^li make the words of David his own,
'As the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their
masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her
mistress, so shall my eyes wait %ipon thee, Lord ! "
With confiding humility, he is contented to submit himself
wholly to the guidance of Him whom he loves, and never
will he allow the " Follow thou me " to slip from his memory.
And, in fact, he did follow his Master even to that mount
where he stretched out his hands, another girding him
and leading him whither the incHnation of the flesh most
certainly "luoidd not." Tradition reports that he was crucified
A.D. C4, during Nero's persecution, but with his head down-
wards, because he refused to die in the same position as his
Lord and Master had done, as being an honour far too great
for him. Peter has been honoured, and not unreasonably so,
with the name of the "Apostle of Christian hope." Since
our Lord, as we have seen, had fixed Peter's horoscope, a
ileep inward longing for heaven pervades all his discourses, as
rETKlfs WAY. 169
well as his two epistles, and the object of his sight, thought,
and expectation, is everywhere the "day of the Lord."
May the expression, " What is that to thee '^ follow thou
me I " be brought home to our hearts also, and may we be
contented and bappy when we but know that we are under
His guidance. That which the sacred hymnologist, Gottfried
Arnold, sung more than a century and a half ago, originating
in his own rich, heartfelt experience, still remains true, and
will continually receive fresh testimony : —
" How blest to all Thy followers, Lord, the road
By which Thou lead'st them on, yet oft how strange I
But Thou in all dost seek our highest good,
For truth were truth no longer couldst Thou change.
Though crooked seem the paths, yet are they straight,
By which Thou draw'st Thy childi-eu up to Thee,
And passing wonders by the way they see,
And learn at last to own Thee wise and great. Amen."
Lyra Gennanica.
170 THE KISEN SAVIOUR SEEN OF MORE THAN
XIII.
THE EISEN SAVIOUR SEEN OF MOEE THAN
FIVE HUNDRED WITNESSES AT ONCE,
When the apostle John (chap. xxi. 25) conchides his Gospel,
or rather his narrative of the manifestations of the risen
Saviour, with the words, " There are also many other things
vjhich Jesus did, the which, if tliey sliould he loritten every
one, I supijose that even the world itself coidd not contain
the hooks that should he written,'' \yq are not to explain it
away as mere hyperbole or exaggeration. The word in the
original * is not to be understood as referring to space, but
to spiritual comprehension. In this latter sense, we must
also accept the same word in Matt. xix. H — "All men
cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given ; "
and in the verse immediately following, " He that is able to
receive it, let him receive [i.e., comprehend] it." We know
what the scriptural designation " cosmos " (jcoaiio^) means —
viz., the world. What John intends to say amounts to
this — If all that the Lord had said and done upon earth,
especially in His glorified form, had been recorded in
detail, of what advantage would it be ? Enough has been
narrated for those who are anxious for salvation, and
for believers. The eyangelist says this himself in another
passage, (chap. xx. 30, 31,) — ''And many other signs truly
♦ x^priaai, receive; figuratively, comprehend. In Luther's version it is
rendered hegreifen.
FIVE HUNDRED WITNESSES AT ONCE. ] 71
did Jesus in tJie presence of his disciples, ivJiich are not
written in this hook: hut these are written, that ye mir/ht
helieve that Jesus is the GJiiist, the Son of God; and that
hclievinrj, ye might have life through his name!' A more
ample, a more extended narrative would opjDress rather than
elevate, would suggest difficulties rather than convert, since,
without doubt, far more wonderful incidents than those
related, belonging to the now glorified life of the risen
Saviour, and extending far beyond our every-day experience,
and the limits of the laws of nature as known to us, mioht
have been given. That which lias already been reported
excites thoughtless and sceptical astonishment enough, among
the children of this world, to make them shake their heads,
and is more than sufficient to exasperate their sinful preju-
dices. To have increased the number of these incidents, by
the addition of fresh manifestations, still further beyond the
field of human vision and experience, miglit possibly have
transcended the comprehension and the faculty of spiritual
digestion even of the better disposed, nay, even of real
believers. But it has nevertheless pleased the Holy Ghost
to inform us, through the apostle Paul, of some things con-
cerning the forty days which are not found in the Gospels.
That this must have been done with some special design is
very apparent. This design will unfold itself to us as we
more closely examine the apostolic communications in ques-
tion. Let us begin with the consideration of an Easter
scene, which sgldom receives the attention of which it is in
the highest degree worthy.
1 Cou. XV. G.
" After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once ; of
whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen
asleep."
Repeatedly had our Lord intimated to His disciples,
172 THE EISEN SAVIOUE SEEN OF MOEE THAN
"After I am risen again, I will go before you into Gali-
lee." We know, from the apostle's declaration, that " God
hath chosen base things of the world, and things which are
despised, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought
things that are ; that no flesh should glory in his presence,"
(1 Cor. i. 28.) The inhabitants of Judea, and especially
those of the Holy City, looked down with pride and haughti-
ness upon Galilee as spiritually and morally degraded. But
what does Scripture say ? — " Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound." To our Lord it seemed that there was
no place so needing His help and salvation as Galilee. What
wonder, then, that our Lord, at least until the formation of
the Pentecostal Church at Jerusalem, obtained the majority
of His disciples from the Galileans. And this explains why
He selected this province to be the principal theatre of His
personal manifestations after His resurrection. It is to one
of the last of these — that on which He vouchsafed to present
Himself to more than five hundred brethren at once — that
we are now about to direct our attention. All that is re-
ported to us concerning it seems, at first, like the frame
without the picture. But when examined more closely, the
painting itself will likewise disclose itself to us : and, in the
first place, the scene throius a corroborating light on the
ministry of Jesus ivhilst on earth ; then it serves as afresh
confirmation of the i^esurrection ; and, lastly, it gives a clear
idea of the great results of Christ's resurrection.
May we become more fully conscious of it, and, by our
meditation, promote our own peace and welfare !
L Our Lord appeared to "five hundred brethren" — i.e.j
to five hundred believing disciples — " at once." This account
fills us with surprise. We could hardly have dared to cal-
culate upon so rich a result from His labours. During His
earthly career, we had imagined that the hundred and twenty
faithful ones, whom we find assembled in the porch of the
FIVE HUifDRED WITNESSES AT ONCE. J 73
temple shortly before the feast of Pentecost, constituted the
total gains of His ministry of love. During the three years
of His public labours, we have seen Him, with the exception
of the twelve and the seventy, almost ever surrounded by
decided enemies, or by crowds who only shouted their hosan-
nas to Him as long as they were held by the illusion that in
Him their carnal ideal of the Messiah would be realised. In
the measure in which this idea was dissipated were their
loud plaudits silenced, and the " Crucify him :" of the scribes
and Pharisees was substituted as the watchword of public
opinion. Even the sick and impotent, whom our Lord mira-
culously healed, but very seldom give us reason to hope that
they recognised in their Deliverer from bodily infirmities
Uim whom, had they been anxious for salvation, they would
have embraced with eagerness as the Physician and Saviour
of their immortal souls. Of the thousands whom He had
miraculously fed in the desert, more than a few certainly did
continue for a while to follow Him. But why ? Simply " for
the sake of the meat luhich perisheth," as He himself up-
braided them. Of the ten lepers whom He relieved of their
frightful disorder by His creative fiat, only one returned to
thank Him for the ineffable benefit which they had all re-
ceived. Whether Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, whose
little daughter was raised to life by Jesus, ever became His
disciple and follower, we know not. Nay, we read nothing
of the kind with reference to the two blind men at Jericho
to whom He restored their sight ; and we even hear Him
saying, with an accent of serious warning, to the man whom
He had relieved at the pool of Bethesda of a disease of eight
and thirty years' standing, when He afterwards met Him in
the temple, "Behold, thou art made whole ; sin no more, lest
a worse thing come unto thee." After such notices, the little
company which Jesus gained to His banner during His earthly
course could be but very insignificant in point of luimbers,
I 74 THE RISEN SAVIOUR SEEN OF ]\IORE THAN
and would seem but as a drop in a bucket ; and this might
easily, in some measure at least, diminish the high idea which
we had cherished of the power of Christ's personal influence,
and of His superhuman glory breaking forth through the
veil of His outward form of a servant, as also of the irresis-
tibly attractive power of His gracious and love-breathing
nature. Suddenly, however, a multitude of Galilean con-
verts attract our notice, of whose existence we had not pre-
viously the remotest idea. They are more than five hundred
in number, and in a moment the danger is over of our enter-
taining unworthy conceptions of the sublime form borne by
the only-begotten of the Father before His exaltation. Those
believers all saw and knew the Lord Jesus personally ; they
had careful!}^ observed and followed Him in all the most
varied circumstances and relations of life. As they had seen
Him in mere human fashion discharge all the duties of social
life, as son, brother, friend, as the guest of His friends, and
as a Teachor of Israel, so had they likewise been witnesses
of His superhuman deeds and wonders, and had ever had
the best opportunity of hearing His incomparable addresses
and teachings. And the total impression which His person-
ality made upon them was so great and overpowering, that,
without a moment's hesitation, they submitted to Him for
time and for eternity, not only as the Lord of heaven and
the Kino; of kings, but ratlier as that Being in whom alone
they recognised the Surety of their future bliss, and the only
Saviour of their souls, who most perfectly corresponded to
their holiest as^^irations. But this is also of the very highest
importance to us. A radiant splendour is poured over all the
life and actions of our Lord, even prior to the hour of His
exaltation, when we draw the inferences — which we are justi-
fied in doing, from the sudden presentation to our notice of
a body of disciples which had previously been wholly con-
cealed — that there wore other similnr ones in the country,
FIVE HUM DEED WITNESSES AT ONCE. I'S
equally quiet and liidden, of wliicli history makes no men-
tion, and that there were, moreover, very many more such at
the time when our Lord closed His earthly career. At the
same time, the account with which Paul here surprises us is
quite calculated to make the present appear to us in a more
consolatory light. Throughout modern Christendom, the
greater part of which is in a backsliding state, there may
yet likewise be, apart from tliose who let the light of their
confession and of their lives sliine in tlie darkness, a com-
pany of Christians, veiled and hidden, which will be brought
to light as soon as the great sifting of the nations, which
assuredly is imminent, shall take place ; and then, from the
mouth of another tlian that of Moses, this cry will be heard,
"Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me," (Exod.
xxxii. 26.)
II. Those brethren, exceeding five hundred in number,
whom the apostle mentions, were now likewise in Galilee,
when the manifestation of their risen Master was vouchsafed
to them. In what place He discovered Himself to them we
do not learn. Doubtless, the scene of this heart-cheering
meeting was some solitary, unfrequented spot, possibly a
mountain or a desert, where the friends had assembled to
avoid the persecution of their countrymen. We are not in-
formed whether they met there in consequence of some
influential suggestion that they should do so, or whether they
had agreed upon this meeting, for the purpose of general
edification, mutual encouragement, and confirmation in the
faith. We only learn in a general manner, that the risen
Lord revealed Himself to them, and to them all at once.
Nothing transpires concerning the manner of this revelation.
It must have been a very impressive scene. Imagine this
numerous assembly of true believers, gathered together under
the open canopy of heaven, joyfully excited by the news
which had reached them from Judea, burning with desire to
176 THE EISEN SAVIOUK SEEN OF MOKE THAN
hear it more distinctly confirmed. And lo ! suddenly, ere
they are aware of it, He, who fills their whole soul, Himself
stands in their midst in all the splendour of His new life,
and salutes them with His sweet Easter greeting. What im-
portant communications He must have had to make to them,
and how must every countenance have been lighted up with
more than earthly joy ! Truly indeed, if fancy, developed in
poesy or myth, had had any share in the composition of the
New Testament scriptures, this scene would not have been
passed by without being embellished in every possible way.
Here, to an extent transcending all that could be found else-
where, seem to be materials for description and for painting.
But how simply, how unadorned, how soberly, and almost
dryly is the grand and elevating occurrence related ! It is
communicated to us in the plainest chronicle style, without
the least mixture of poetic embellishment ; so that it is at
once evident, that here there was no other purj^ose than that
of simply reporting what had been really seen and heard.
But this most firmly establishes the authenticity of the Holy
Scriptures, and more especially that of the New Testament.
Eead it wherever we may, the inevitable impression, and that
which strikes us beyond everything else, with reference to
its authors, is, that we have, in them all, to do with sincere
and upright men. At every step of their narrative we are
met with the fragrance of artless truth and simplicity.
It might, indeed, be asked, why the apostle did not report
that wondrous manifestation of our Lord to this body of
more than five hundred disciples in a less circumscribed and
more detailed manner to us, since he, undoubtedly, was in a
position to do so. Let this answer suftice, that whenever he
took up the pen, he was under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, who ever knows what is profitable, and how rightly to
apportion it. The necessary light has been shed on the fact
and fi'uits of the resurrection of Christ, by the more detailed
FIVE HUNDEKD WIINESSES AT ONCE, 177
accounts of tlie four evangelists. Those narratives do not
allow us even for one niouieiit to doubt that Christ really
left His tomb, and that in a glorified body. They further
supply us with the most consolatory proofs that He, in His
iiiiijesty, may still be looked upon by us as the same kind
and condescending friend of sinners which He ever was be-
fore ; that it was not until He had thus fulfilled His work of
redemption, that He honoured His believers with the endeared
appellation, and one so full of i)romise, as " brethren.'' And
lastly, they assure us that, though unseen, He will remain with
us just the same that He was before His ascension, even to
the end of time. What then do we further need ?
Too much cannot be said in attestation and confirmation
of the historical truth of the resurrection for us who are weak
in the faith. And because this miracle forms the foundation
upon which all Christianity is based and supported, the Holy
Ghost condescends to our necessity with especial munificence,
and has been willing to do that for its maintenance which I
might designate as an act of supererogation. Hence it was
that He moved our apostle to this supplementary communi-
cation of the scene of which we now treat ; and, indeed, this
announcement serves to crown all the proofs of the reality of
the resurrection of Christ. Paul wrote his First Epistle to
the Corinthians about A.D. 54, and it is a fact incontrovertibly
established, one no longer denied even by the most sceptical,
that Paul of Tarsus, and no other person, really is the author
of that epistle. And since this man, who bears the stamp
of sincerity on his brow, publicly states before all the world,
that the risen Saviour upon one occasion appeared to more
than five hundred brethren at once, of whom some only were
fallen asleep, whilst the majority were still then living, he
must, of course, have been prepared, on this disclosure being
made known, to see himself assailed on all sides by the
question, where these witnesses were to be met with. But he
M
178 THE EISEN SAVIOUR SEEN OP MORE THAN
was also perfectly prepared for these inquiries, and was ever
quite ready to answer the inquirer with still more expKcit
statements. Thus every one who was disposed to do so,
saw, in the love of truth, and the something more than a
tincture of enthusiasm by which Paul and his fellow-disciples
were characterised, enough to warrant his placing his confi-
dence in them ; and saw likewise enough of the way already
open by which they might arrive at the fullest conviction of
the historic truth of the resurrection. Such a one only needed
to resolve to go round and visit the friends, whom Paul would
willingly have more definitely pointed out to him, in order
to hear from the most temperate, and, at the same time,
the most credible witnesses, the unanimous assurance, '' Cer-
tainly, He is alive again, the Lord who died upon the cross.
We saw Him with our own eyes standing bodily before us,
and He said so and so to us ! " But in my opinion the
apostle himself here figures as an adequately sober and reli-
able witness. It is impossible that he should be a fanatic,
who says with all calmness and self-possession, " What I tell
you really took place ; but I do not desire that you should rely
upon my testimony alone. There are others, more than five
hundred of them ; go and ask them, and they will all confirm
by oath what I tell you." This apostolic appeal to a company
of witnesses, of whom, at the time when he appealed to
them, the greater number were still alive, must for ever free
us from the slightest doubt concerning the greatest, and, as
to its results, the most important event in the history of the
world. The apostle's assertion is of no less weight to us
than would be the corroborative testimony of the five hundred
brethren, had we questioned each one personally ; and nothing
is more certain than this, that much obstinacy and wilfulness
are involved in withholding belief of the resurrection of
Jesus ; whilst but a few grains of the love of truth are needed
FIVE HUNDRED WITNESSES AT ONCE. 179
to enable us joyfully to meet the exclamation of the Scripture
witnesses, ''The Lord is risen!'' with the response, "Truly,
He is risen atjain."
III. The apostle writes, " Some " (namely, of the above-
mentioned witnesses) " are fallen asleep.'' It is evident that
he purposely and deliberately employs this consolatory expres-
sion instead of the harsher one, " Thei/ are dead;" thereby
designating the fruit of Christ's resurrection and the opera-
tion of faith in it. Through it death is swallowed up in
victory. To characterise death as sleep, and dying as falling
asleep, would previously have been strange and unusual to
the Israelites, and, indeed, to the world at large. We first
meet with it here, in the mouth of our Lord, when the death
of Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary of Bethany, had
been notified to Him ; He then informed His disciples of it
in the words, " Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." But they,
His most intimate friends, did not then understand Him ;
for in reply they uttered a trite and commonplace truth,
inapplicable to the facts, and said, " Lord, if he sleep, he
shall do well." At the announcement that Jairus's daughter
was dead, our Lord calmly observed, " The maid is not
dead, but sleepeth ; " whereupon the messengers, who flat-
tered themselves upon their superior information, laughed
Him to scorn. After the resurrection, however, this very
consoling mode of expression became, and very properly so,
more current in Christian circles. ^lodern philosophical
criticism has not ineftectively assailed the arguments, based
upon reason, used to prove the immortality of the soul ; now,
the arguments that conclusively establish a continuous per-
sonal existence after death, especially those employed in our
days, in favour of the immortality of the soul, involve no-
thing more than is comprised in that one argument which
is based upon the fact of Christ's resurrection. The apostle
180 THE KISEN SAVIOUR SEEN OF MOKE THAN
likewise is of the same opinion, and expresses it in the words,
" If Christ be not risen, then is your faith vain, and the
dead rise not." But that one argument is amply sufficient
to convince us that dying is only a falling asleep to awake
again ; an awakening, however, that will only prove blissful
to him who through faith has become one with Christ.
Here the argumxcnt is, " Does the head abandon its member,
and not draw it after itself?" And herein is the apostolic
declaration fulfilled, " Christ, the risen Saviour, has become
i\\(i first-fruits of them that sleep/' " Christ the first-fruits,
aftei^wards they that are Christ's."
We are all hastening onward to that time w^hen it will be
said of us too, " This night thy soul shall be required of
thee !" How truly are we to be pitied, if we do not then
have Him with us, whom the " more than five hundred "
saw face to face, and who caused all their nights, not except-
ing even the last one, to shine as bright as day. Without
Him, in the shadows of the dark valley we shall be exposed
to questions exciting horror and despair, like flashes of forked
lightning : '' Whither am I going, now that the poor dream
of my sliort earthly existence has come to an end ? Shall I
live ? or am I threatened with annihilation ? If the former,
how shall I stand at the last great day ? How shall I justify
myself for a life spent in utter alienation from God, and
frittered away on the merest trifles? And how can I vindi-
cate the humblest claim to the favour of the righteous
Judge, holding the scales -of justice, and to the bliss of those
who surround His throne above?" Questions these that
will make a man shudder, and to which the wisdom of this
world, even from the height of its pretended sapience, can
only reply by evasive modes of expression, or by profound
impotent silence ! But as soon as He who has robbed death
of its power appears before the eye of our faitli, as a well-
FIVE HUNDRED WITNESSES AT ONCE. 181
known friend, those dark and aojonising problems are all
solved in the most glorious manner. In Him we see the
Surety, who, by His going before, has given us absolutely a
guarantee that death is only a change, and that to die is
merely to fall asleep. In Him we see the Lamb who bore
and expiated our sins ; and in the act of His resuscitation
from the dead in our stead, we see Him divinely acquitted
and justified of all our guilt. In Him we trust, as the all-
prevailing Intercessor and Advocate, who in His own righte-
ousness, wrought on our behalf, appears in our stead before
the Father, who pronounces the final sentence. In Him we
embrace the royal Friend, who is empowered to introduce
His beloved ones, as His own peculiar inheritance, into the
paradise of heaven, however poor, unworthy, and sinful they
may be. And what do we need more ? Nothing remains
for us but to triumph with the apostle, " death, where is
thy sting? grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to
God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ."
Let us render thanks unto the Lord of lords, for that He
has settled the saving truth, which we should receive with
our whole heart, on firm foundations, which leave no sort of
exculpatory pretext to those who still do not believe. For a
man to reject the gospel against himself, is, in fact, now no-
thing else than to oppose to that confirmation of it which
the Eternal has a hundred times given to it, a silly or demo-
niacal denial. Let us, moreover, be assured, that when the
final injunction shall be addressed to us, ''Set thy house in
order'' we shall find all doors bolted and barred against us,
provided He remain a stranger to us who bears the keys,
not only of death and hell, but also of paradise and of the
throne of God. May He then become to us also " the Cap-
182 THE KISEN SAVIOUR n^'en; B^
tain of our salvation/' av ' i^^^ic icau uo, on? ^^ . .*,^ren,'
to glory, and may He ^ ,Iously hear . "hen we prayer-
fully sing— ;; ^ ^^
" risen Lord ! conquering ^ .x^g !
Life of all that live !
To-day that peace of Easter bring,
Which only Thou canst give !
Once death, our foe,
Had laid Thee low ;
Now hast Thou rent his bonds in twain,
For Thovi art risen who once wast slain !
** Yes, let us triily know within
Thy rising from the dead,
And quit the grave of death and sin,
And keep that gift, our Head,
That Thou didst leave
For all who cleave
To Thee through all this earthly strife ; —
So shall we enter into life,"
/. H. Bohnier, 170Q.—Lym Germanica.
^ fiisi:^: SAViouK and james. 183
V-
XIV.
THE RISEN SAVIOUR AND JAMES.
In Psalm cxviii. the royal singer praises the Lord for the
benefits conferred, and especially for victories granted him.
But it cannot escape even the superficial reader that the
psalm not only admits of, but demands an interpretation
which extends far beyond the immediate cause of its com-
position, and which stamps it, at the same time, as a pro-
phetic lyric. We can appeal to the very highest authority
to justify this view of the psalm, since Christ himself ex-
pounds it as being a prophecy of Himself, and of His life
on earth. In Matt. xxi. 42, Christ says : ''Did ye never read
in the Scriptures, TJie stone luhich the builders rejected, the
• ' -^le is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's
f^ny^' '-'ji^^^'Ss marvellous in our eyes V In these words
i »'i^ • 22d and 23d verses of our psalm. And
wSS* ' ""/ V^ ^v J, rejoicing, and scattering palm branches,
accompanit ^esus to Jerusalem, with the acclamation of
the 2#th verse of this psalm, "Blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the Lord,'^ the circumstance clearly i)roves
that its Messianic signification was undoubtedly received by
the Jews.
It is difficult to say to what extent, and how clearly, the
holy psalmist himself was conscious of tliis meaning of the
inspired effusion of his heart. But assuredly it cannot have
escaped him that the Holy Spirit's influences were upon
184 THE EISEN SAVIOUE AND JAMES.
hiin wlien this effusion flowed from hi. heart, and gave his
words that prophetic form which he, the singer, himself had
not designed. Eesurrection-music pervades the psahn. In
David's victories are celebrated, in types of much smaller
proportions, the glorious triumph over the world, sin, death,
and hell, achieved b}^ the future branch of the house of David.
In those forty days during which the Saviour still re-
mained on earth, and revealed Himself, now here, now there,
to His own, the prophetic details of the psalm, from the 15th
to the l7th verse, were fulfilled. "'The voice of rejoicing
and salvation was then heard in the tabernacles of the
riohteous" to this effect : " The rio;ht hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly." . ..." I shall not die, but live, and declare the
works of t-!0 Lord." We have listened to varied utterances
of this forty days' rejoicing in the resurrection, and have
heartily united in it. We are now about to approach the
house of a " righteous " man, from whom the resurrection
elicited but a monosyllable ; but his feelings were deep, and
his interest in it intense.
1 Corinthians xv. 7.
" After that he was seeu of James."
A fresh manifestation of our risen Saviour is thus briefly
noticed without illustrative comment ; but it is, nevertheless,
of the greatest interest and importance to us. And it is so
of and for itself alone ; for the greater the amount of testi-
mony the better ! It is, moreover, interesting with reference
to the person to whom it was vouchsafed. Let us first be-
come better acquainted with him ; and then let us consider
more closely the manifestation which was granted to this
highly-favoured discijDle ; and, lastly, let us contemplate the
fruit which it bore. May the Spirit of tlie Lord guide us
to-day again unto all truth, and crown our hearing and our
teaching with His lasting blessing !
THE FJSEN SAVIOUR AND JAMES. 185
I. The })erson who is now about to engage our attention is
James, siirnamed " the less." He must not be confounded
with James the elder, brother of the apostle John, and
son of the excellent Zebedee, the fisherman of the sea of
Galilee, and of his wife Salome, that earnest, noble- hearted,
and willingly self-deuying follower of our Lord. Thiis latter
— one of the two apostles whom our Lord once called the
" sons of thunder/' not as a term of shame and reproach,
but in reference to their fiery, impetuous, and determined
nature, and to their energetic, aspiring cliaracters — was,
according to Matt. iv. 21, early called to leave his nets and
follow Jesus ; and he, together with his brother John and
Simon Peter, were by Him honoured with truly extra-
ordinary confidence. Subsequently set apart as an apostle,
he, as it appears from Matt, x., was in constant attendance
on our Lord, and was not only an eye-witness of the trans-
figuration on Mount Tabor, but likewise of His passion in
the garden of Gethsemane. And to our Lord's question,
"Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and
to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
he, together with his brother John, immediately, and with
manly determination, replied, " Yea, Lord, we are able."
And, for his part, he performed all he engaged to do ; for
he was the first of all the apostles who sealed his confession
with his blood. Conspicuous among the leaders of the
young Church, and acting as head of the congregation at
Jerusalem, he drew down upon himself the especial hatred
and wrath of King Herod Agrippa. When, a.d. 44, a
bloody persecution broke out against the Christians, James
was seized, and, as we are informed in Acts xii., was sen-
tenced to death by the sword. He walked resolutely to the
block, considering it a high favour and honour to be the
first of the apostles to finish his course decorated with a
martyr's crown. A tradition which we meet with in the
1 86 THE RISEN SAVIOUR AND JASIES.
second century relates the following : When the accuser of
our disciple saw him approach the bloody scaffold with
heroic composure, nay, with joy, he suddenly, and with
deep emotion, broke out into the exclamation, " I also
believe on the Son of the living God, and confess Him ! I
also am a Christian." And when he also, in consequence of
this his undaunted confession, had been likewise sentenced
to death, and was being led with James to the place of
execution, he earnestly implored the apostle's forgiveness,
who not only granted it, but sealed it also with a kiss of
brotherhood, adding cordially, "Peace be with thee, my
brother/'
We must then distinguish this James tlie son of Zebedee
from him whom the apostle refers to in our text. This latter,
" the less," who was early honoured with the name of " the
just," was the son of Alph?eus, and has been called the brother
of Jesus. We are told in John viii. 5, concerning the brothers,
i.e., the cousins of Jesus, that they had not believed on Him.
But we are by no means, however, to receive this as a proof
of decided imhelief, but merely as shewing a deficiency in
enlightened and perfect faith. If they had not recognised,
ill their great relative, at least a prophet endowed by God
with superhuman power, why sliould they have pressed Him
so violently, during the time of their so-called unbelief, to join
Himself to that procession of pilgrims who were journeying to
the Feast of Tabernacles at Jerusalem, and thus at length to
lift the veil and disclose His glory, that all the world might
see His works, and no longer withhold the homage which was
His due ? But it was long before they could pay Him that
honour which was due to Him as the Son of the living God,
and the promised Saviour of the world ; and this was their
great difficulty — they had seen Him growing up from child-
hood among them, in every respect so purely human, though
entirely free from sin. Our Lord's declaration, "A prophet
THE RISEN SAVIOUR AND JAMES. 187
is not without honour save in his own country/' appears
enigmatical, but it is r.mply verified in every-day experience.
Under like circumstances we should probably have acted
precisely in the same manner as did these members of the
family amongst whom Jesus grew up.
We first make the personal acquaintance of the apostle
James in the Acts of the Apostles. The evangelists merely
mention his name. Thus much, however, we do know of him
at an early period, that he was, " as touching the law, blame-
less ;" and that he was an earnest, pious Jew, who had even
taken upon himself the vow of a Nazarene, which was strin-
gently ascetic, and persistent in renunciation of the world,
whence he early received from the people the honoured title of
the " Just." But precisely this his Old Testament legal piety
would render it especially difficult for him to recognise in
Jesus, who, instead of preaching up the commandments, spoke
but of pardon and liberty, the expected Messiah, since He
so little resembled the lawgiver of Sinai, and instead of the
law, preached only grace and freedom. But it must have
been considered as likely to promote the kingdom of God
greatly if this serious, earnest man, whose character was so
stable, and whose whole soul seemed devoted to God, should
be won over to the banner of the cross. This desired
revolution doubtless was being brought about in the "dis-
ciple whilst Jesus lived upon earth. Probably, however,
he did not decide for the Lord until after His resurrection,
and not until the moment which Paul has chronicled in the
words of our text.
II. The risen Saviour appeared also to him. How, when,
and where, we are not told. Doubtless it happened in Gali-
lee, and at a moment when the disciple was alone. It must
have been a great and important moment when James saw
Him who had been slain upon the cross suddenly standing
alive before him. in the splendour of His superhuman glory.
188 THE RISEN SAVIOUR AND JAMES.
The first impression whicli this unexpected appearance made
upon him was probably one rather of tumultuous astonish-
ment and confusion than of pure joy ; but when he heard
our Lord's voice addressed to him, his eyes were quickly
opened. The straitened coat of mail, made of legal meshes
interwoven, which had all too tightly compressed his heart,
began to loosen, and heart and tongue, liberated, were free
to confess, "Yes, Thou art He for whom my restless soul
has, thouoh unwittinoly ah, how lono- ' been piiiino;/' James
was not a man of easily excitable temperament, but first
deliberated, with intelligent and sustained thought, what
principles he should adopt. But then, however, they took
root all the more firmly and deeply in his soul, and anything
which should afterwards have to displace them must indeed
be strong and mighty. It would seem that in James a long-
time was needed before the Jew yielded to the Christian — to
the child of the new covenant. Nevertheless, the leaven of
the gospel at length permeated his austere nature to its very
depths. This peculiarity of disposition, liowever, was not
incompatible with the fact of his carriage and bearing being
essentially that of an Israelite, stamped with a nobility and
a tone which advantageously distinguished him from the
other apostles. His reverential awe in contemplation of the
infinite holiness of God and His commands, together with
his childlike confidence in our Lord, were in him most
marked, and formed the peculiar fundamental features of
his spiritual character. He was, therefore, the very man to
form, as it were, a bridge for his brethren according to the
fiesli to pass over from Judaism to Christianity, especially
since he saw in the latter the ripe heavenly fruit in which
the promising bloom of the former had resulted. In the
same manner, no other at a later period would have been
more competent than he to prevent the already threatening
rupture between the Jewish and the Gentile Cliristians, and
THE RISEN SAVIOUR AND JAMES. 189
to maintain peace in the Cliurch of Christ between those two
contending parties. And it is evident that he was specially
selected by our Lord for this purpose ; and it is no marvel
that we see him occupy the place of his namesake who had
been beheaded, and become a most distinguished leader, nay,
the bulwark, or, as Paul calls him, the ''pillar" of the Chris-
tian churches of Jewish proselytes in Palestine. Simon
Peter foresaw this future conspicuous position of the son of
Alphgeus, as recorded in Acts xii., where we find him prisoner
together with James, the son of Zebedee ; for when, after
James's execution, Peter was miraculously delivered from his
danger by an angel, he then charged his fellow-disciples, say-
ing, "Go shew these things unto James," (viz., to James the
Less) "and to the brethren." In Acts xv., where, at the
solemn apostolic council, they are endeavouring to settle the
contention which has already broken out between the Jewish,
and Gentile Christians, and to adjust tjie dissension between
the former, who were so bound by their legal conformity,
and the latter, who insisted upon their evangelical liberty in
matters of faith, James appears with Peter as the leader of
the assembly, and he it is who, as principal speaker, settles
the dispute by moving that neither circumcision nor the ob-
servation of any of the Levitical statutes should be enjoined
upon the believers from among the Gentiles, but that their
only burden should be the observance of the so-called laws
of Noah, — that they should " abstain from meats offered to
idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from
fornication," (Acts xv. 20.) This advice and proposition,
which were joyfully received by the Gentile Christian
churches, were now also thoroughly approved by the Jewish
Christians, and were, moreover, not founded on doo-matic
views and principles, and had but a moral signification,
aiming merely at the restoration of peace between the con-
tending parties. We everywhere find James viewing all
190 THE ETSEN SAVIOUR AND JAMES.
matters of faith from tlie same standpoint as the apostle
Paul; and if, now and then, Jewish Christians, asserting
that belief in Christ did not release them from circumcision
and the observance of the Levitical laws, appealed to James,
they did so seriously misunderstanding James's character,
which certainly w^as peculiarly Jewish, and likewise the
special call which this apostle had received to aim at the
conversion of Israel. James, therefore, in order to prevent
this misinterpretation, protests in the strongest terms against
it, and calls those teachers who had persuaded the churches
that the apostles still urged the necessity of circumcision and
the observance of the Levitical law, "men who subverted
souls," (Acts XV. 24.)
It has been observed that there is scarce an indication to
be found throughout the wdiole narrative of the apostle
James's career, or in his discourses, of his ever having been
honoured by our Lord with a personal manifestation of Him-
self. But if he had not really seen the risen Saviour in the
flesh, how came it to pass that he who was once so true a
disciple of Moses, cast, as it were, in the mould of legality,
should have advanced such lengths in New Testament free-
dom ? and how came we to see him invested with the greatest
authority, and even considered as a pillar of the Church of
Christ by the college of the apostles ? It is true that he
never expressly mentions the appearance which had been
vouchsafed to him, neither does he specially allude to our
Lord's resurrection. Speaking of himself, in his epistle
addressed to the Jewish proselytes, he styles himself, "a
servant of the Lord Jesus Christ," and characterises the
Christian faith as "the faith of Jesus Christ, the Lord of
glory ; " he speaks of " the return of the Lord to judge the
world," and likewise of " the croivn oj life ivhich the Lord
Jiath i^T^omised to them that love him" May we not, in
these few expressions, still see the full reflection of the gio-
THE RISEN SAVIOUR AND JAJMES. 191
rious rays which beamed on him at that ever-memorablo
moment when he heard, who shall say with what ecstasy, the
words, " Peace be with you !" addressed to him by the Victor
over the world, death, and hell ? The scope and design of
Ills epistle gave him no opportmiity of referring to Christ's
resurrection and His mediatorial work. The dispersed
Jewish Christians, to whom the epistle is more immediately
addressed, did not so much need dogmatic as practical moral
instruction and advice. They were in danger of disassociat-
ing f\iith from the life, whereas the indispensable sign of
true and saving faith is, that it should penetrate the luhole
life, renewing, sanctifying, and glorifying it. Where it does
not effect this, it is a shadow of faith, and not the thing
itself. This is what the apostle emphatically represents to
the churches, as in the passage (James ii. 24) where he
writes, " Ye see then how that by luorks a man is justified,
and not by faith only '/' and so it happens that occasionally
he seems on the verge of contradicting the doctrine of justi-
fication, as it is set forth in the other parts of Scripture,
and especially in St Paul's writings. But from more than
one passage in his epistle, we sufnciently perceive how far
James was from wishing to deny this doctrine, or even to
weaken or invalidate it. It is most apparent, e.g., that in
chap. ii. 23, he most decidedly testifies that the faith of
Abraham was imputed to him for righteousness, and because
of his faith alone was he called "the friend of God." And
just as unmistakably is he speaking in the 24th verse
only in vindication of faith, i.e., of the justification of the
man declared righteous by God ; not only befo?'e God, but
before men, and in the facts of Ids personal history ; and
^/iw justification is undoubtedly only attained by luorks, i.e.,
by a holy life and a blameless course.
In what degree James had really experienced the power
of the resurrection of Christ his end shews ; of which we
192 THE EISEN SAVIOUE AND JAMES.
nre indeed not informed by the Holy Scriptures, but by the
Jewish historian, Josephus, who was a contemporary of our
apostle, and by Hegesippus, who died in the year 180 A.D.
According to this latter, James, who is here also called "the
Just," after he had, in a most self-denying manner, devoted
liis whole life to the difficult work of the conversion of his
countrymen, was seized by the High Priest, Ananias ; and
then, at the urgent demand of the enemies of Christ who
were assembled at the passover, he was set on the pinnacle
of the temple, and there challenged to declare explicitly, and
in the presence of the multitude assembled below, his belief
concerning the person and works of Jesus. The apostle,
without hesitating for one moment as to what was the right
thing to do, cried with a powerful voice to the surging mob
below, and quite within their hearing, "I am asked about
the Son of man. He is now sitting in heaven, at the right
hand of the Majesty on high, whence He will come again in
tlie clouds!" Hardly had this bold and faithful testimony
been uttered, however, when the multitude below burst forth
in loud homage, crying, " Hosanna to the Son of David!"
On the other hand, the Scribes and Pharisees exclaimed,
" You see that even ' the Just ' is entangled in the blas-
phemous delusion ;" and hastening with their assistants
up to the pinnacle of the temple, they hurled the faithful
witness down from the dizzy height above upon the pave-
ment below. Here they stoned him ; and his death-blow
was given with a club. The more thoughtful saw in this
murder the culminating guilt of the Jews, and augured evil
consequences. In fact, the accumulated iniquities of this
stiff-necked, obstinate race were full to overflowing. The
last attempt of saving love, in the faithful efforts of one of
the ttoblest sons of Israel, was thus wickedly repulsed by
this people, and rendered fruitless by their ol)Stinacy. The
scourge of Divine justice was now exercised upon them.
THE RISEN SAVIOUK AND JAMES. 193
Judgments were launched against them. But a few years
later, Jerusalem was a heap of stones and ashes, and the
degenerate seed of Jacob was scattered like chaff by the four
winds of heaven.
Sucli a one then was our James — a Cliristian to the
inmost soul, only with a preponderating ethical basis, — a
preacher of the old inmiutable law, written, however, in the
heart by the spirit of love, and thus constituted the laiv of
liberty. He stood in somewhat the same relation to Paul as
Melancthon did to Luther ; to the apostle John as did Cal-
vin, wlio organised and arranged the scheme of Christian
Institutes, to Luther, the man of fervid soul ; for Calvin's
character, like that of James, was stamped with the gravity
and severity of the old covenant. " Manifold, and yet one,"
is the device of the kingdom of God on earth.
" Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
your own selves/' This is the theme and the pervading
fundamental thought which runs through the apostle James's
ministry, which therefore takes a supplementary part in the
clionis of the apostolic voices. Whilst other apostolic epistles
have especially aimed at shewing how, out of the natural tree,
the dead and degenerate one to which we originally belong,
a good one, well pleasing to God, may grow, James brings
its fruits to view, wliich will tend to justify the good tree
in the eyes of the world. But James knows no other root
of the good tree but living, earnest faith in "Christ, who
was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our
justification." Thus the unity and the perfect harmony of
the apostolic writings are placed beyond all doubt, and
characterise all Scripture.
" Thy word, Lord, like gentle dews,
Falls soft on hearts that pine ;
Lord, to Thy garden ne'er refuse
This heavenly balm of Thine.
N
194} THE EISEN SAVIOUE AND JAMES.
"Water'd from Thee,
Let every tree
Bud forth and blossom to Thy praise,
And bear much fruit in after days.
** Thy word is like a flaming sword,
A wedge that cleaveth stone ;
Keen as a fire, so burns Thy word,
And pierceth flesh and bone.
Oh ! send it forth.
O'er all the earth,
To shatter all the might of sin,
The darken'd heart to cleanse and win !
" Thy word, a wondrous guiding star,
On pilgrim hearts doth rise ;
Leads to their Lord who dwell afar.
And makes the simple wise.
Let not its light
E'er sink in night,
But still in every spirit shine.
That none may miss Thy light divine."
Lyra Qemumica.
THE APPEARANCE OJs THE MOUi^TAIN. 195
THE APPEARANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN.
We read in the history of our country of commanders of
fortresses who, after being challenged by the besiegers to
surrender, because their king had been totally defeated, and
had lost his kingdom, have remained courage ousty on their
bastions, and re])lied to the enemy, "For tlie time being we
are kings in this fortress : take the town, if you can." But
it was long before they could take it. Let us behave like
those generals, for in our day there are those who urgently
press on us to surrender the strong fortress of biblical Chris-
tianity, since it has been undermined and untenable by the
great advance of science. Let us not be terrified by them,
but answer them with all calmness, " There is no danger yet I"
Whoever shall assail the rock on v/hich we stand, as any one
may read in Matt. xxi. 44, '" shall by it be ground to powder."
, Yea, what shall I say ? You, for instance, who would rob
us of our belief in the divinity of Christ, have in your own
hearts, were you but to look to it, the strongest evidences of
the truth against which you strive. You deny Christ's super-
human j)Ower and sovereign authority, and lo, it makes itself
felt at every moment in your own soul ! Christ rules in your
moral consciousness, which has become very different from
that which you natura'ly inherited, and which, stamped with
His image, remains indelibly impressed with it. He reigns
in your conscience, rendered keen in its perceptions and
1 96 THE APPEAEANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN.
purified; and it often accuses you of things whicli your
reason would endeavour to persuade you are innocent ; and,
though you may intensely desire to do so, you cannot succeed
in silencing the judge that is within you. Christ rules over
you, in that He binds you so closely to Christian morals that
you cannot violate them without drawing down upon your-
self the condemnation of your own heart, as well as that of
public opinion. Yes, He exerts a sovereign influence over
all your views of life, your aims, and your contemplations of
death, eternity, and judgment. You find yourself unable to
get fully rid of those ideas which have taken hold of you,
and which are now indelibly impressed upon you. In the
quiet hours of meditation they inevitably rise again in your
consciousness, and they assuredly will do so when the last
enemy knocks at your door. With heavy cares and anxieties
in their train, they break through everything behind which
you thought to have intrenched yourself, and mock at the
free-thinking sophisms on which you had placed so much
dependence.
It has often been seriously determined to root out and to
do away with Christ, and all that He has established in the
world, — the Church, Sunday, marriage, the domestic consti-
tution, the " powers that be " as a divine institution, and
many things beside. Vain endeavour ! Within a short time
did He, although a war of extermination had been declared
against Him, raise up everything from its ruins, and the re-
bellious knaves were put in the pillory of public contempt.
It has been attempted to undermine Christian morals, to
emancipate and enthrone the flesh, to pronounce sin pure,
which Christ's law condemns, and to render virtues ridicu-
lous, which He, with divine authority, commends and insists
upon. But what has become of those who presumed to form
such designs as these ? They have come to shame with their
abominable literature, and nothing remains for them but to
THE APPEAllANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN. 1 97
gnash their teeth in those dark phices to -which tliey have
been driven back, and to exchiim, with the apostate emperor,
" Thou hast conquered, Galilean ! " It lias been pkinned
to supersede the gospel by "Humanism/' i.e., the ideas of
liuman reason. In His righteous anger the Lord allowed
tliis attempt to be carried on for a long time. Then pride,
selfishness, irreligion, and disobedience, these weeds grew up
so rankly, that the exclamation has now for a longtime been
spreading, and is heard both in the Church, in the seats of
learning, and in private houses, " Oh that Christ would but
rule the world again ! For who but He breaks down selfish-
ness ? Who instils piety and love, who plants the germs of
all that is noble, good, and beautiful, but He alone ? "
What great cause have we then to stand our ground, look-
ing in faith to Christ, and to allow nothing in the world to
perplex us concerning the gospel as the "power of God."
The Easter scene, which, in the course of our meditations,
we are about to approach, will yield us a fresh harvest
of powerful calls and encouragements to do so. The Lord
grant that they may be welcomed and entertained by us 1
Matt, xxviii. 16-20.
" Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain
where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they wor-
shipped him : but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them,
saying. All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye there-
fore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you ; and, lo, I am with you alvvay, even
unto the end of the world."
The forty days are well-nigh spent, that deliglitful period
in which possibly a faint type and reflected image is brought
before us of that intercourse which the Lord purposes to
vouchsafe to His people on earth during the thousand years
in which Satan will be bound, when He will manifest Himself
198 THE APPEARANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN.
to them personally, appearing now here, now there, occasion-
ally meeting them with his salutation of " Peace ! " It is our
Lord's last manifestation hut one before His ascension which
will now engage our attention, and incontestably likewise
the most important and sublime of all, rendered so by the
didactic and preceptive address which He then delivered. I
do not doubt but that you will follow me with joy to the
scene, especially in these dark, tumultuous, and eventful days,
when in the uproar of the wildest party struggles, and in
the revolutions of one nation after another, the world is
almost beginning to faint for fear of the things which shall
come to pass, and even to believers the question occurs most
oppressively, for it is not concealed from them that " Satan is
very wroth,'' and is preparing for the last decisive struggle for
dominion over the world. Who shall be master of the future ?
Shall Satan, the prince of dar!:ness, or Christ, the Lord of
glory ? In the Gospel before us we receive the decisive and
conclusive answer to this question, involving so much solicitude.
Here He stands before us, to whom undoubtedly, after all the
tumult and confusion, the crown will devolve, as His ever-
lasting inheritance ; and by whom would you rather that it
should be worn in heaven and on earth, than by Him ? May
the announcement descending from heaven soon resound
through the earth, ''• I have set my king upon my holy hill ! "
Our Gospel renders us a threefold valuable service. In
the first place, it sets the j^e'i^son of Jesus clearly forth be/ore
us ; secondly, it discloses to us the luorld's future ; and,
lastly, it enlightens our present darkness. Let us convince
ourselves more thoroughly of these things, and may the
Lord grant us a rich draught of refreshment and encourage-
ment from the well of consolation which here springs up
again for us irrepressibly and inexhaustibly !
I. The scene of the transaction under our consideration
was a solitary mountain-top in Galilee ; and our Lord's
THE APPEARANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN. 1 99
manifestation there must neither be confounded with that
wliich took place, immediately before His ascension, on the
Mount of Olives, nor with that we have already considered,
which was vouchsafed to more than five hundred brethren
at once in Galilee. It occurred after the latter, and before
the former, and I do not doubt but that the apostle had this
one in view in the passage contained in 1 Cor. xv. 7, "After
that, he was seen of all the apostles." Our Lord had ex-
pressly directed His apostles to meet Him at this particular
place, and we may well imagine with what high expectations
they were assembled there ; and lo ! suddenly, our Lord
stood again before them, radiant with all His triumphal
glory, seeing which they immediately fall down and worship
Him. But how runs the narrative? ''Some," we read,
" doubted." This seems strange ; it is, however, but another
proof of the truth of the evangelical report. No mythical
fancy would ever have suggested the recurrence of uncer-
tainty and doubt to the apostles, when they had already
seen the risen Saviour so many times, neither would it have
marred the picture by the contradiction of simultaneous
worship and doubt. But the evangelist tells us plainly and
simply, like a chronicler from his personal observation, what
had occurred, and is hence quite unconcerned as to whether
his narrative appear contradictory or not. But is there not
really a contradiction here ?, Undoubtedly ; but such a
one as frequently meets us in real life, and as often trans-
pires in our own souls, as, for instance, when we feel con-
strained to exclaim with the afflicted father of the tormented
child, ''Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief;" or even
to join in the words of Job, " If I had called, and he had
answered me ; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened
unto my voice." There appears to be no reason why the
passage should not be understood in this sense, that those of
the eleven who doubted, did so because they hesitated as to
200 THE APPEAEANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN.
whether they really saw a glorified form presented to their
eyes, or whether they themselves were but dreaming. But
the question might for a moment flash through their minds,
whether He really were their Lord and Master, since the
mode of His manifestation to them was with the rapidity of
lightning, and whether He were not possibly a phantom,
an angehc being from the invisible world ; and so much the
more readily might they do so since we have reason to
know that the manifestation of the Prince of life was more
perfectly divested of all that is earthly, in proportion as the
time drew nearer for Him to return ; His form became more
spirituaHsed, and of greater splendour. But our Lord
hastens to free those from their foolish ideas who were
alarmingly surprised at the spirit-like mode in v/hich He
presented Himself before them. With His wonted con-
descension. He commands those who were prostrate in the
dust to rise, and He speaks to them in order to raise the
veil which had hitherto concealed from them His person
and His superhuman dignity and majesty. Before He
departed from them, they were to have their last doubt
removed in reference to Him in whom they had trusted
and now placed their confidence. On this head, my brethren,
we likewise must be perfectly clear. All our peace depends
upon it. Christianity is not mere doctrine, but the prac-
tical realisation of the work of redemption. It is the
history of the divine scheme of man's salvation, and as such,
wholly depends on the person of the Saviour. Its truth
hinges upon His having been the right and qualified man,
born to achieve the great work, which He, as such, fully
accomplished. Well do I know the strange point of view
taken by numbers of our contemporaries, who would not
soil their lips with the assertion that Christ was nothing
more than a mere man ; who nevertheless endeavour, with
extraordinary shyness, to evade the question that continually
THE APPEAEANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN. 201
presses upon them, AVho then was He ? It is as if they had
not the courage to look strai,<;lit at the inevitable conse-
quence of their protests a,i!;ainst an unbelief which, with
reference to the person of Christ, refuses to recognise Him
as being more than man, or to allow their vacillating and
irresolute conception of the person of Christ to be moulded
and consummated in the acknowledgment, that if He be of
a higher order than mortal man descended of Adam, and
not an angel, but the Lord and ruler of angels, then He
can have been no other than God himself, the only-begotten
and essential Son of the everlasting Father. But they
shrink back from this representation as though it involved
the suggestion of some most audacious proposition. They
get a distant peep into the Christian paradise, where they
see the tree of life in all its splendour, but never enjoy its
fruits. They think that whatever is contradictory to reason
may never be appropriated. But what is there contra-
dictory to reason in this great mystery, which indeed sur-
passes the range of human comprehension, that the all-
sufficient and inscrutable God should, before the foundation
of the world, without prejudice to His own fulness, have
shared His Divine glory with another "I myself," begotten
of Himself, who became Himself objectively ? what is there
incoticeivable in the "mystery of godliness," that that Son
of God, existing prior to creation, should become man in the
person of Christ, since this miraculous way appears to be
the only one by which the salvation of the human race from
eternal ruin was possible ?
But let us listen to Him who came down Himself from
licaven to us. He will not pass through our midst as a Being
of a questionable nature, but wills that we should see Him in
definite and distinct outline and form. He who views His
person with but indistinct impressions, will likewise have but
fiuctuatins ideas as to his soul's welfare and bliss without
202 THE APPEARANCE ON THE MOU^TAIN.
really attaining them. He who throngli indecision and in-
distinctness of apprehension has but confidence to exclaim,
" Tliou glorious Being ! Thou superhuman Being !
Thou ineffable Being ! " and does not boldly come to the
decision of Thomas, when he cried, " My Lord and my God ! "
will likewise never inherit the blessing of Thomas. But hear
how He himself prepares the way for this heroic faith : " All
jjoiuer," says He, ''is given unto me in heaven and on earth.''
What do you say to this declaration ? Does it involve less
than the proclamation issued just before the enthronement of
the King of kings and the sovereign mandate, tliat before His
]\Icijesty " every knee should bow, of things in heaveji and
of tbino-s on earth ? " Were it but less decided, and to the
effect, "Poiuer is given unto me," or even "All power on
earth," His declaration would have admitted of a weakened
interpretation, and could have restricted its import with re-
ference to the spiritual influence which Christ would exercise
by His teaching. Now, however, there is no opportunity
given for a subtilised and meagre construction. This pas-
sage stands like a rock, against which all assaults upon the
divinity of Christ must founder. Like a hurricane, it pros-
trates all the Babel towers of doubts and contradictions.
Unbelief might indeed desire to intrench itself behind the
question, whether this important testimony really proceeded
from the lips of Jesus. But is it only to be found there,
alone and isolated? Has not our Lord virtually said the
same thing in many other places ? Did He not say, in Matt,
xi. 27, " AH things are delivered unto me of my Father ? "
Does He not, in His prayer as High Priest, testify that the
Father had given Him power ove?^ all flesh? (John xvii. 2.)
And does He express anything less than this, when He claims
the same honour for Himself that is due to the Father, which
He has done repeatedly, and enumerates the final resurrec-
tion, the holding of the last judgment, the award fixing the
THE APPEARANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN. 203
eternal destiny of mortals, and the creation of the new
heavens and the new earth, as included amongst His ojSices
and kingly prerogatives? But He nowhere testified so
directly, so expressly, and so plainly, whom He desired Him-
self to be considered, as in the farewell salutation to His
apostles, in which we hear Him say, "All poioer is given
unto me in heaven and on earth" It is true that He says,
" is given to me," and by this He means that it is as acknow-
ledged to be His, as the Son of man, after He had carried out
for us the great work of mediation. Not until then could all
power be given Him. He was invested, as King of Peace,
with absolute power, and it was covenanted, in connexion
with His propitiation, that He should be so. He did not
possess it until He had fulfilled this work ; not until then
could He bind Satan, extend the limits of His kingdom from
pole to pole, or blow with the creative breath of His reviving
Spirit upon " the dry bones " of humanity, dispensing grace,
and opening heaven to poor sinners, where Moses most right-
eously condemned. He can now act most freely. Eternal
justice nowhere obstructs His path. He exercises joint
authority with His Father, and the goal of universal history
is the*world's subjection to His sceptre of peace.
What must the eleven have experienced when this grand
announcement from the lips of their risen Lord sounded in
their ears ? The declaration must ever have remained pre-
sent to their minds. We find the whole apostolic Cliurch
upon their knees before Jesus. The question whether Christ
be to be worshipped or not was never mooted until modern
times, until these days of weak faith and morbid doubts.
Throughout all ages His Church had considered this a matter
of course. The eleven, whom you see bow before Him yon-
der on the Galilean mountains, formed the first link of that
chain of wor.shippers which has uninterruptedly extended
through eighteen centuries down to the present day, and
204 THE APPEAKANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN.
amongst them you will find the best, the most enlightened,
and the noblest of every age. Of this; chain, which loses
itself in the cloud of witnesses of whom the world was not
worthy, strive ye also to be links. May that which you see
but darkly, and that which you believe but imperfectly, by
the warrant of the testimony now brought before you, be
confirmed in clear, manly, and fixed assurance. Acknow-
ledge with the Jews that you are constrained to pass sen-
tence of death upon Jesus as the worst of all blasphemers if
you hesitate to bow the knee to Him as the co-equal Lord
of heaven. The former you will not wish to do. Well, then,
decide consistently to do the latter, and especially since in
our time the most terrible spirits of darkness struggle for
the dominion of the world. Heartily rejoice that "all power
in heaven and on earth " is given to Him whose name is
Immanuel, and who, in the passage of the Gospel before us,
throws the veil entirely aside.
II. The hojjc of the world rests on this foundation — that
He fills the throne of power. Did I not know this, I should
doubt as to the world's future, notwitlistanding my belief in
the existence of a personal God. What other course of action
remained open to God, holy and righteous, with reference to
mankind perishing in sin and in audacious rebellion against
Him and His sacred government, but to abandon them to
their own ruinous courses, and to resign them to the dark
spirit to which they had sold themselves to everlasting death?
Now, however, I know that this night-clad earth, Avitli its
growth of thorns and thistles, is committed to His charge
to whom the eternal Father has confided the great work of
mediation between Himself and sinners ; and now here
below, in this curse-laden valley of death, He meets me, and
says, " The Son of man came not into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through him might be saved ;"
whereupon, with the high priest Joshua, I defy him who
THE APPEARA^XE ON THE MOUNTAIN. 205
goeth about as a roaririf,^ lion, and say, " The Lord rebuke
thee, Satan ! even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem,"
(Zeeh. iii. 2.) Now, comforted in spirit, I steer my little
bark of hope through all the hellish noise and tumult of the
dark abyss which at present encompasses me, and in spirit
anchor on the shores of a future whose bright and peaceful
splendour far transcends the glory of the lost paradise.
A royal commission is issued by our risen Lord, following
upon this proclamation of His majesty. Hear Him ' There-
fore, (because all power is given to me,) ''go ye into all
the world, and teach [literally, make scholars and disciples
of] all nations, baptizing them [in tlie original, whilst ye
baptize them] in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever T have commanded you.'' The conmiission is,
indeed, concise; but one more kinglike or more grand was
never heard on earth. What commanding confidence breathes
in these words ! What certainty of victory is disclosed by
them ! They contain the governmental programme of the
Prince of the kings of the earth — one wholly worthy of Him
and pe(fuliarly His own. Do but consider who they were
whom He thus addressed. There stand the poor, illiterate
men, bred in poverty, and destitute of all worldly tact ; these
are they to whom He exhibits the wide, wide world, with its
millions lapsed to the powers of darkness, whom He charges
them to conquer for Him. What a commission ! And who
will doubt that He seriously purposed it? To Himself,
indeed, the injunction appeared by no means so gigantic.
How, otherwise, would His delivery have been so calm,
so quiet? What unparalleled sublimity in the words,
" Go ye ! " They are equivalent to the word of command,
"Forward :" when given on the battle-field ; and how trans-
parently do they disclose our Lord's self-consciousness ! He
intends not only to carry the banner Himself before His
206 THE APPEARANCE ON THE SLOUNTAIN.
agents, but likewise to vrield the sword of tlie Spirit in their
hands. They will conquer, because He will clothe them with
His min^ht, will arm and equip them wdth His strength. And
have they not triumphed in point of fact ? At our Lord's
word these weak and despicable witnesses went forth. Before
them lay Greece, intoxicated with the idolatry of the crea-
ture, and entangled in the enchantment of material and
sensuous beauty ; before them was Eome, in all its insolence
of wide-sjDread dominion and self-applauding culture ; before
them was Egypt, which, by its all-powerful priestly castes,
seemed apparently ensnared for ever in the worship of
nature ; and before them were how many lands beside, still
wrapped in blackest darkness, to which they were now
directed ! But they went ; and how long was it before the
idols of the world everyvvdiere bowed themselves before the
crucified God whom these messengers proclaimed, as Dagon
once did before the ark of the covenant? and ere long, the
banner of the cross, though regarded by the world as the
most contemj)tible it had ever known, waved as a triumphant
standard from the pinnacles of the proudest pagodas and of
W'orld-renowned halls of philosophy.
We shall refrain from a more particular exposition of our
Lord's sublime charge to His disciples, and not entering on
the deeper signification of baptism, shall consider it merely
as the mode of initiation into Christ's Church ; we shall con-
tent ourselves wdth taking the passage, in its most general
sense, as a divine commission for the spiritual conquest of
the world. And we shall find the world's future fully dis-
closed with prospects the most consolatory. The foundation
of an empire of peace which shall embrace the wdiole world
is involved in His plan, whilst all power is His too ; hence
the establishment of this kingdom must necessarily come to
pass, oppose it what may. He will not have engaged in this
hot w^arfare with the world in vain. It shall be transformed
THE APPEARANCE 01^ THE MOUNTAIN, 207
into a mirror of the Aliiiighty's splendour, into an Eden in
whicli " mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and
peace kiss each other." It shall come to pass that everything
that hath breath shall bow to Immanuel's sceptre ; and that
kings shall cast down their crowns at His feet ; that selfishness
bhall everywhere give place to pure love, and all government
shall proceed from Zion ; nny, that after Satan has been
bound in the pit, the whole human race shall become one
fold under one Shepherd, and every house shall be formed
into "a tabernacle of God tuith men." This is the "new
earth " of which we hear the Lord say, by the prophet Isaiah,
Ixvi. 22, it ''shall remain before me." This is the everlast-
ing Jerusalem which shall come down from heaven to earth.
The sublime injunction, " Go ye" still resounds. Nay, it is
now heard throughout the earth more loudly than heretofore.
And He who gives the word of command knows assuredly
that the Father will put all His enemies under His feet, and
tliat the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
HI. But when will this happen? The Father hath put
the " hour " in His own power, (Acts i. 7.) And when that is
come our Lord will " speedily " accomplish all that remains
to be done. " Can you still ignore that He, to whom all power
is given, is now already every day at His work ? Have you
run in the wrong direction with your eyes fixed on some dark
corner, unconscious of what was going on behind you ? Do
not the triumphant shouts of His heralds and standard-
bearers already reach your ear from distant heathen lands ?
Is it not even now a great fact that at this moment there
are more than six thousand witnesses baptized with the Spirit
of Christ, at twelve hundred different stations, who preach
the doctrine of the cross to perishing Christless souls? —
tliat nearly a million or converts who, some few decades
since, lay in darkness and in the shadow of death, now join
with us in worship at the feet of the Lamb?— that upon the
208 THE APPEARANCE ON THE SIOUNTAIN.
most moderate computation, some ten or twelve thousand
souls are annually brought from amongst the heathen to our
Lord, as fruits of the travail of His soul ? — that the numbers
of heathen children who are being educated in Christian
schools, the seed-corn of a glorious future harvest, can scarce
be numbered ? — that large tracts of land and whole islands,
which, but a short time since, were mantled with the blackest
night of sin and delusion, now illumined by the liglit of
Christianity, emerge from their darkness as lovely gardens
of the Lord's own planting ? And can you overlook the im-
portant events which are now transpiring in the very crown
of the old father of lies, in India and in China ? Have you
not heard how the Lord, by varied instrumentality, is opening-
breaches, dic-ging trenches, cutting roads, in order to make a
W'ay for tiiui kingdom which, with the still small voice, shall
follow the storm, the earthquake, and the fire that preceded
it ? The immediate circle by which we are surrounded offers
us, indeed, far less cause for consolation. It rather seems as
if everything connected with the kingdom of God were with
us receding. At least there is much which might tempt us
to be perplexed with the testimony, '' All 2^0 wer is given unto
me!' But if we look into things more closely, we shall not
fpjl to discover, even in the chaotic commotion in which we
live, the heavenly Architect, and shall find, now here, now
there, the bright traces of His ceaseless energy. And how
should it even be possible for Him to leave us, since He once
for all has unequivocally assured all His people, however few
their number, "that the little flock should not fear ; for it is
their Fathers good pleasure to give them the kingdom;" and
who likewise said and still says, '■ Lo, I am luith you alway,
even unto the end of the ivovld !"
How much there is occurring precisely at this time which
is obviously clearing the way for the triumph of the Lord
Jesus and His gospel amongst us. How palpably is it de-
THE APPEARANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN. 209
monstrated, and tliat in the most varied modes, that positive
evangelical Christianity is the sole pillar upon which both
law and order in society rest ; and most certainly not upon
negative Christianity and pretended illumination, which are
already condemned by their fruits. The longer we reflect
upon it, the clearer is it, that all education which excludes
the gospel, however it may glitter, is but illusory and hollow,
and that there is but a step from it to barbarism ; that re-
volt from Christ, as at present in vogue amongst us, inevi-
tably involves nothing less than the gradual decay and ruin
of all true, moral consciousness ; that the nations of the
earth can only escape the abyss of social and moral ruin by
following that path which shall restore them to the banner
of Immanuel ; that he who looses his grasp of revealed
truth must inevitably fall into that enchanted circle in
whicli,he can no longer distinguish good from evil ; that he
who once oversteps the limits of the gospel falls into a
sphere where nothing is left for him but belief not only in
blind chance, but likewise in the annihilation of man's
identity in death, and consequent utter hopelessness and
despair. These are disclosures for which we are indebted
to the present day, and which are no longer to be concealed
from the most obtuse, the most prejudiced, and the most
malevolent. And shall we, out of consideration for them, be
precluded from asserting that the Lord has since interfered,
as He previously did in the beginning of the plan, and that
He even now is organising in our midst preparations whereby
to glorify His name afresh ? And consequent upon this con-
viction, and irrespective of much that is encouraging at this
juncture as to the Church and theology, does it not seem
that the midnight gloom of the present time is about to
be suddenly irradiated, and that in the most auspicious
manner ?
But that the Lord, faithful to His promise, really is with
210 THE APPEAKANCE ON THE MOUNTAIN.
His ovni i^eople " daily," you who are His may prove by the
plainest vouchers drawn from your own personal experiences.
Tell the imbelieving world, then, of the answers to prayer
which you have experienced, of the aids and deliverances
which continually challenge your surprise ; of the comfort
and peace which the Lord has breathed into your heart in
times of distress, and of the powers of the w-orld to come,
with which He then refreshed you. Shew the unwilling
sceptic how He cheers you with hope, with patience in afflic-
tion, and that it is your faith which gives you the victory
over the world. At the same time tell them of your friends,
who have already shaken oft' the dust of their pilgrimage,
and have departed this life not only peacefully, but even
triumphantly, that it may be known by all, that He not
only is with His own people, but that He remains with them
unto the end. Your diary is the best certificate of the truth
of His great word of promise. Even though the whole
world around you deny that Christ is risen, and ascended
into heaven, that " He might fulfil all things," you remain
firm ; He is your own ; and no critic, no sophist shall be
able to rob you of Him ; for your " daihj experience " is
your evidence.
Since, then, the Lord Jesus Christ really is that which He
has declared Himself to be in the sublime announcement
upon wdiich we now have meditated, why do we still hesi-
tate to bow the knee to Him, and to devote body and soul
to His service ? He has all power to condemn as well as to
save; to exile to hell as well as to open the portals of bliss.
But His heart is inclined to bless, and to gladden. Let us
yield to His gentle yoke, and become Christians indeed,
whose Christianity is not merely a Sunday dress, or holiday
suit, but their inmost, deei)est life ; something possessed just
as the continuous silent functions of respiration and circula-
tion, never belying itself even in the most insignificant
THE APPEAKAXCE ON THE MOUiNTAIN. 211
actions or utterances ; so that the Christian is always a
Christian whether asleep or awake, in rest or in action,
whether silent or speaking, and ever dififuses the fragrant
odour of that Spirit with which he has been inspired from
on higli. Of such ;is these is the retinue which the King of
kings wills to have around Hiui. They live, yet not they,
but Christ lives in them. May creative grace grant that we
may all become such Christians ! and to this end, let us
never cease to repeat the prayer of the sacred lyrist : —
"Lo ! Thy presence filleth now
All Thy church in every place.
To my he.art, oh, enter Thou ;
See, it thirsteth fur thy grace !
Come, Thou King of glory, come,
Deign to make my heart Thy home,
There abide and rule alone.
As upon Thy heavenly throne !
"Partmg, do Thou bring Thy life,
God, and heaven, most inly near,
Let me rise o'er earthly strife,
As though still I saw Thee here ;
And my heart, tiaii?planted hence.
Strange to earth and time and sense,
Dwell with Thee in heaven e'en now,
Where our only joy art Thou ! "
Ttrsteegin. — Lyra Gcrmanico,
212 THE ASCENSION.
XVL
THE ASCENSION.
What a glorious festival is that of the ascension of our
Lord, the crown of all our Church festivals ! Its glory is
reflected not only from the lives of the apostles, but from
their whole appearance. How were they transformed by
the miracle which they witnessed on the Mount of Olives !
Henceforth they need nothing, though the earth refuse them
all it has to offer. They calmly watch, in the flight of years,
their rapidly- waning life, for they know well the shores to
which their life's bark is bound. They pass erect through
the storms and tempests of their pilgrimage ; for, ere long, a
sun will shine on them which no cloud shall ever dim, and
Avhich shall never set. They weep as though they wept not ;
for possibly the morrow may land them where the last tear
shall be wiped away from their eyes. They possess as
though they possessed not, for how valueless is all earthly
good when compared with that which they call their own
elsewhere ! They go on their course free and cheerful, for
who can rob them of their riches ? Their souls are now de-
tached from all that is subject to change. The treasures,
which they really prize are inaccessible to every earthly foe.
Their life is safe, for it is concealed and hidden with Christ
in God. Nothing, nor any one, shall ever separate them
from their friends again ; for they know that their associa-
tions are eternal. It is not possible to disturb their peace,
THE ASCENSION. 213
for it no longer rests on a temporal basis. Their feet still
traverse the valley of death ; but in heart they walk in light
the fields of immortality. Their bark of life may still rock
to and fro on the surging waves, but the anchor is already
cast in the harbour "within the veil." When overshadowed
by the cloud of death's dark hour, they then only see Elijah's
chariot, which they also soon will enter. And even the
funeral bell seems to them merely an harmonious peal sum-
moning jthem to a festival held near their much-loved home.
Happy indeed are they! But how did they attain so en-
viable a position ? Hear the answer to this question in Heb.
vi. 19, 20, where one of these blest mortals speaks in the
name of all : " Which hope lue have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that with-
in the veil ; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even
Jesus." Do you understand ? Their hope is founded on the
ascension of their Lord and Master. We are now about to
contemplate this great event attentively. " Put off thy shoes
from off thy feet ; for the place whereon thou standest is
holy ground," (Ex. iii. 5.)
Mark xvi. 19; Luke xxiv. 50 52 ; Acts i, 9-11.
" And he led them out as far as Bethany ; and after that he had
spoken with them, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came
to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up
into heaven, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And he sat on
the right hand of God, And they worshipped him. And, while they looked
Btedfastly towards heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them
in white apparel ; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing
up into heaven ? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then
returned they, with great joy, unto Jerusalem from the mount called
Olivet, whicii is from Jerusalem a sabbath-day's journey."
These are the circumstances under which we stand with
reference to the great event whicli has burst open tlie prison,
secluded within which we were shut up to tlio be.iio.irly scenes
214? ' THE ASCENSION.
of time, and which has transformed the gloomy gate of death
into a sunny and radiantly-illumined porch of glory. By it
we who had been exiled from the Father's house are recalled
home.
Let this heart- elevating point of view be that from which
we may more closely examine it. We see, in the first place,
liow our Lord in His ascension points to us the road to the
far-off heavenly tuorld; and then how He, anticipaii7ig our
arrival there, has taken possession of it for us.
May He himself be near, and prepare the way for the re-
ception into our heart of the most gladdening of all truths,
the truth of the ascension !
I. The delightful period of the forty days is past. The
eleven, at their Master's command, have returned from
Galilee to Judea. We find them on the T\Iount of Olives,
the spot which their Master had appointed for them to meet
Him. Let us join them. Here a spectacle is about to be
presented to us which promises unbounded satisfaction to
one of our soul's most pressing wants. What will then be
disclosed to us here? That land, my friends, about which
we are ever ready to seek information. We desire first to
learn the direction in which to look for it, and then, as much
of its nature and constitution as we are able to comprehend
while here on earth ; and we desire, moreover, to be abun-
dantly provided with all that may aid us to complete our
pilgrimage, "rejoicing in hope" With the heart touched
by Christ, the heavenly magnet, there is no longer any true
repose for us here on earth. We are from that moment
impelled by a holy longing, which, ceasing from all that is
sublunary and imperfect, presses forward to the perfect, and
by it we are stimulated to cast anchor in a haven situate on
other shores, irradiated by another sun than that of earth.
We pilgrims and sojourners have indeed known hours of
heavenly transport like those experienced on Tabor, in which
THE ASCENSION. 215
we might have exclaimed with Peter, " It is good for us to
be here; let us here erect tabernacles'/' These, however,
are but hours ; whilst we long for eternities. Yes, whilst
here on earth, we may be esteemed happy, as those who are
nursctl in the lap of divine grace ; but it is by faith alone
that we here come to the knowledge that we are so securely
sheltered. But we pant for sight. The consciousness that
through Christ our sins have lost their damning power is to
us a subject of intense delight. But sin itself cleaves to us,
and impedes us whilst we would so fain live entirely to the
Lord and to His glory. Much that is delightful is indeed
offered to us here, in communion with the brethren, and in
the fellowship of saints. But ah ! there are hours of sepa-
ration, and tears at parting, and, besides these, many mis-
understandings here below, and the accursed strife of those
who are agreed in matters of faith, but who fight for opinions,
or even for mere matters of form I We pine for intercourse
with the "just made perfect" in that light which neither
sin, death, nor Satan shall be able to dim with their blended
shadows. Yes, there is a something alive within us which,
at one time with silent yearning, at another with passionate
eagerness, seeks a land where the Lord no longer dwells in
darkness — where the alternation of day and night has given
place to a cheerful and eternal spring-like morning — where
no grave-mound ever again shall indicate the melancholy
termination of our happiest associations, nay, of all our joy
in lifC; — where, on the contrary, the hand of eternal Love
shall wipe tlie last sweat of conflict and tribulation from our
brow, and shall dry the last tear from our eyes. Such is the
land we seek and long for. Does it really exist ? Where
are we to look for it ? Shall we ever reach it ? And when,
oh ! when shall we anchor there ?
You are not ignorant of the kindly manner in which our
Lord cntertaino.l this earnest question of our heart. We
21 6 THE ASCENSION.
have His assurance that the land really exists. He has told
lis of that paternal home which is beyond this sphere, and
which comj^rises many mansions. And He has consoled us
with the prospect of a future blissful occupation of them.
But the general intimation, that a home such as we desire is
there awaiting us, is inadequate for us poor mortals. We
long for more distinct views, for clearer and more definite
conceptions of this future world. Fain, whilst in the body,
would we in spirit settle there ! Nothing but a thoroughly
intelligible idea of that other country would meet our wishes.
We long to gaze into it, and to be definitely informed not
only in which direction the land lies, but likewise, especially,
whether we are justified in thinking of life there as real and
personal, and not as a mere absorption into an ocean of
spiritual existence — as shadowy life without reminiscence or
recognition, or without even self-consciousness. All these
secret wishes of our heart are fully satisfied on the Mount of
Olives, and this is the chief reason why we, with exultant
hallelujahs, should welcome the Feast of the Ascension as
a joyous festival of the first and highest importance.
Our risen Saviour has just met the circle of the eleven
with His wonted greeting, " Peace he with you !" Even now,
yonder He stands on the scene of His conflicts, of His tears.
But the former are now terminated in most glorious victory,
and the latter are for ever dried up. He has ere He leaves
them still many important suggestions both of consolation
and instruction for His disciples. He repeats His command,
to remain together in Jerusalem awaiting the outpouring of
the Holy Ghost according to the promise of the Father. At
the same time He renews the great commission in compliance
with which they are to go out into all the world, and, by
teaching the nations, to gain them over to His banner, and
by baptizing to incorporate them into His kingdom. After
He has thus once more solemnly and finally declared to them
THE ASCENSION. 217
His last injunction, ^Yllat occius tlicrc ? Like a High Priest,
He spreads His liands over His chosen ones to bless them ;
and in this si^-nificant posture, all heavenly favour and grace
beaming in His <^lorified countenance. He rises visibly before
the eyes of His disciples, who are overwhelmed with adoring
wonder, seeino- Him soar from earth and advance with silent,
noiseless majesty towards heaven. He is not carried up, as
once Elijah was, in a chariot of fire ; He is not, like Lazarus,
borne up by angels' hands. As it became the dignity of the
Son of God, He ascends by His own unassisted power. In
adoring silence the disciples watch Him in His flight. They
hardly know if they dare trust their eyes. They indeed knew
before of another world, the dwelling of the blest ; but its
existence had never previously been brought home to them
so closely, so really, so palpably, and so sublimely, as at this
moment, when they see their Master bodily ascending thither.
Never until now had the other world assumed to them a
material form and a definite shape. And how fresh, how
blooming and vigorous is the hope which now wakes up
within them, how wonderfully near does that in an instant
appear which had hitherto loomed but dimly and obscurely
in the distance. It is almost to them as if they too were
on their way to heaven, in attendance on their soaring-
Lord. And shall we not feel the same, when we see the Son
of Man and Mediator ascend on high ? Will not that be the
first moment to us, likewise, in which the great fact of the
other world will be [)ersonally realised ? We are now con-
vinced that heaven is a habitable and inhabited sphere, ex-
isting not only in the mirror of iuiagination, but also within
the compass of realities, — no hazy region dissolving like a
phantom into nothing at the approach of day, but a real
territory which has its boundaries, and to which we journey
just as we travel to any country of our own globe. The
as(?ension of Christ sliews us the direction in which we are to
218 THE ASCEX ION.
seek that heavenly Canaan. It lies on the other side of yon
azure sky, beyond that which we are wont to term the firma-
ment, and the stars above us a,re but the outposts of the
blessed land, if not indeed the .stations on our homeward
w^ay. It is, therefore, not without reason that when praying;
w^e raise our eyes upwards — not without truth that in silent
nights of sorrow we gaze upwards to the stars with ardent
longings and intense desire as to the lights of our Father's
home. Nay ; the land of the blest presents itself in such
reality, that had we wings to bear us as far as our soul's
longings stretch, even we should also, like our Lord, wing
our flight to it beyond the stars, leaving tlie dust of earth
behind. You will say these representations of the other
world are bold and daring ; but we poor mortals need pre-
cisely such, successfully to combat the terrors of death, which
likewise are by no means imaginary, but intensely real. And
the visible ascension of Christ really proffers them to us.
With thankful joy we appropriate them, and willingly leave
spiritualism to others who, alTecting a false superiority, sub-
tilise and volatilise the heavenly world to such a degree "that
nothing remains of it but easily-dispersed mist and vapour.
"But are we, then, to accept the so-called ascension of
Christ as an historical event ?" Can you still doubt it ? I
do not indeed deny that there is a strong temptation to
doubt. Without much effort, however, w^e can here come to
the aid of wavering faith. Consider, in the first place, that
the narrative is either historically related, by all the evange-
lists and apostles who were themselves eye-witnesses of the
sublime event, or had heard it reported from the lii3s of
credible and corroborated witnesses, or (as in the case of the
apostle Paul) specially confirmed ; or it is treated as being
publicly known and acknowledged, and as such, raised above
all contradiction. In the second place, do not omit to notice
that the ascension of our Lord, no less than His resurrection
THE ASCENSION. 219
from tlie dead, had been repeatedly and most unequivocally
foretold and prophesied by Himself, and for a,ocs previously
by the old prophets ; a circumstance which must conduce to
bring the matter home to your belief. Reflect farther, that
the ascension of Ciirist ensues just as necessarily and natu-
rally as the development of the flower when plant, stalk,
leaf, and bud, are already in existence. Look at the con-
nexion of His whole career, how He was sent down from
His Father, in order, as God-man, to fulfil His work of
mediation and redemption ; how He, obeying, suffering,
bleeding, and dying, really did fulfil it ; thus perfectly dis-
charging the commission intrusted to Him, and then judge
for yourselves, whether it may not be confidently expected
that the holy, righteous Father in heaven would set His seal
to that felicitously-finished work of His only-begotten Son,
not only by raising Him again from the dead, but by causing
Him also to return in visible triumph to heaven, whence He
had descended to us. One step in the life of Jesus de-
manded and required the next. Without the ascension His
life were a torso, a fragment, an inexplicable enigma. Take
this, moreover, into consideration that, with the sole exception
of John, who would have been ready with joy to do the like,
all the apostles willingly sealed their belief in the resurrec-
tion and ascension of Clirist witli their blood. How could
these clear-witted, discreet, and intelligent men have re-
solved \\])0\\ this, if they had not been as certain of both
these facts as of their own existence? Besides, consider that
the resurrection of Christ absolutely obliges us to accept
His ascension also. For where* could the risen Saviour have
remained if He had not returned to His Father? He must
necessarily have tarried somewhere on earth in His glorified
body ; or, what is still more inconceivable and contradictory,
have died a second time under circumstances that precluded
any eye from witnessing it. But, finally, fix yonr atlcnliou
220 THE ASCENSION.
npon that wliicb, as bcino" of permanent importance, im-
peratively challeno-es it, the authoritative seal of historical
truth which He affixed Himself, in the presence of the whole
world, upon the fact of His ascension, by the outpouring, on
the tenth day after His return to heaven, of the promised
Holy Ghost. If anything be fitted to remove our last doubt,
it is the day of Pentecost.
But look, once more, at the order of the historical incidents
in connexion with His ascension, as related in the narratives
of the evangelists. Can you mistake the strong impress of
truth with which it is stamped? The Lord rises from the
scene of His deepest humiliation to the throne of glory.
The crown of honour was presented to Him by His Father on
that very site where, like a worm lying in the dust, He had,
for the propitiation of our sins, drunk the cup of His most
bitter sufterings, even to the very dre^s — practical evidence
that He actually received it as the well-merited reward of His
finished work of mediation. What are the incidents which
transpired at the ascension r Had it been fiction, we should
doubtless have seen it clothed in the form of a sentimental
parting scene. But we do not find even the slightest trace of
this. Our Lord does not speak like one who is taking his last
farewell ; but, on the contrary, in a tone corresponding with
His exalted position, as one who will henceforth, for the first
time, really be with His disciples, and will manifest His
power on earth. Line by line, all that is reported to us is
so thoroughly simple, and in its very simplicity so sublime,
so entirely in unison with the deep meaning of His return
to heaven, so in accordance with the nature and character of
the departing Saviour, that it is absolutely inconceivable that
any other pen than that of the most objective truth, should
have inscribed this narrative. With dignified composure, as
the Conqueror of all oppo.sing powers, and as perfectly cer-
tain of the triumphant future of His cause, He spreads
THE ASCENSION. 221
out His liands to bless His disciples, and rises beiore their
eyes until a cloud receives Him oat of their sight. The aim
of His visible return was attained precisely at that moment.
The disciples knew where their Master abode, and therefore
the curtain which had been raised might again drop to every
mortal eye. But is not the assumption that we should be
expected to believe so extraordinary a miracle extravagant?
The miracle is not greater than the whole life of the Son of
God. The deliverance of the fallen world could only I'c
achieved by means of a chain of miracles. " But," say you,
"in accepting Christ's ascension as a fact, is there not an in-
terruption of continuity in tlie laws of nature ? " What laws
do you mean? You are probably thinking of the law of
gravitation; then of the immeasurable distance of those
stars which mortal eyes can reach ; and after that of the
nature of ether in which no human being is able to breathe-
But permit me to suggest that the worM of glorified creation
has its own peculiar laws, which are indubitably essentially
different from those which govern the material world, to
which we still belong; and do not overlook the fact that
our measures of space and time, our ideas of the possible
and impossible, cease to be applicable there. There is no
doubt but that, beyond that cloud, which received our Lord
out of His disciples' sight, the ascension was continued with
far greater rapidity than during those moments when the
disciples were still permitted to behold it. How swiftly
does a ray of liglit, or Hash of lightning, though belonging
to tlie tilings of this world, traverse the greatest distances !'
Might not a glorified body, like that of our risen Saviour,
fly on the wrings of thouglit? and do not many of our Lord's
manifestations during the forty dnys oreatly favour sucli an
assumption? But to the inquiry, whether a creature is still
capable of breathing in air excessively rarified or dense, we
answer, that everything depends on its organisation. Docs
222 THE ASCE^'SION.
not the fish breathe in deep waters, where a thousand other
beings would immediately die ? and does not the lark chant
forth her song in spheres where our blood-vessels would
instantly burst ? The restrictions, conditions, and limits to
which earthly creatures are subject do not influence spirits ;
and we who are immured in the earthly and material, can
form no sort of conception of the nature of a spiritualised
body. Conseqaently, all objections to the ascension based
upon the laws of nature are without weight. We shall one
day behold a sphere of creation of whose organisation we
had not the slightest idea while here on earth.
11. The fact of the ascension is, then, historically sure. But
what happened beyond tiie cloud which concealed the risen
Saviour from mortal eyes ? This has not remained entirely
shrouded in mystery. In other passages of Holy Scripture,
and more especially in the Rev^elation of the apostle John, the
veil has been raised. We there see far beyond that cloud ;
and, oh, what "glory beams upon us there! We behold the
shining hosts of angels hastening to meet the approaching
King with loud exultant songs of homage, and the old word
of prophecy is verified, " God is gone up with a shout, the
Lord with the sound of a trumpet," Y/e see the companies
of the just made perfect, whom no man can number, at the
gates of the Holy City fall down and worship the glorified
Mediator, and we hear them shout their hallelujahs to Him
from the inmost de[>ths of their grateful hearts. And He,
with gracious salutations passing through their midst, ap-
])roaches the throne of the everlasting Father. And in the
hand of the latter, the "Ancient of Days,'' is seen a book
written within and without, and sealed with seven seals.
And a strong angel approaches, proclaiming with a loud
voice, " Who is worthy to open the book, [it is the book of
God's decrees,] and to loose the seals thereof?" And no
being equal to the task is found, either in heaven or on
THE ASCENSION. 223
earth. And one of the four and twenty elders standing
aioiind the throne takes up the word, and says, "Behold, the
Lion of tlic tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed
to open tlic boolc, and to loose the seven seals thereof/' And
the everlastin*;- Son, the veritable High Priest, apjDroaches,
and takes the scroll out of the right hand of Hiui that sits
upon the throne. Then the elders, with their harps and
golden vials full of odours, fall down worshipping before
Him who is both Priest and Lamb in one, and they sinor the
new song, " Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open
the seals thereof ; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us
to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings
and priests ; and we shall reign on the earth." And a chorus
of many thousand angel voices with triumphant joy confirm
the same, saying, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honour, and glory, and blessing." And, like a rushing of
many waters, the loud " Amen " resounds throughout the
Holy City. And behold, He who was like unto a son of
man takes possession of the seat of honour prepared for
Him at the right hand of the Father, on the throne of uni-
versal dominion, opens the seals of the wondrous book, and
" the i)leasure of the Lord prospers in his hand." Here,
then, some of those things which transpired beyond the
cloud are disclosed to your view\ It is, indeed, disclosed to
us in typical representation ; but that which is thus ren-
dered intelligible to our poor human comprehension, is
nevertheless real and actual. In this exaltation of Him
who was fairer than the children of men, we rejoice, in the
first place, on His own account; but do not forget in how
exceedingly joyous a sen^e we also share in this His triumph.
In Him who is thus so highly exalted, we are to see, not
merelv the Son of God, but likewise the second Adam, our
224 THE ASCENSION.
Advocate, Surety, and Representative. On the day of His
ascension, He took jDossession of heaven, not only for Him-
self, but also for us. Remember the mysterious relation in
which He had entered with us, and the wonderful exchange
W'hich He had made with us. By imputation, He assumed
our o-uilt as well as our oblioatious. Havino; done so, heaven
was, by His own admission, closed even against Himself
whilst in this state of humiliation. The cherub stationed at
the gate of paradise refused even Him admittance, for he saw
that His entrance into it was likewise coupled with the in-
dispensable condition that He, in our stead, should, under a
thousand severe trials, yield perfect satisfaction to the in-
flexible law, and at the same time should suffer and die to
expiate those sins on account of wdiich the curse of the law
rested on humanity. He had accomplished both when, on
the cross, bowing His head in death. He uttered the trium-
phal exclamatiou, " It is finished !" Every barrier w^as now
removed, and the gate of the Holy City was once more open
before Him. He entered into heaven, not merely, how^ever,
as the only-begotten Son of the Father, but as the man who
had become a Surety, and who had paid all that was due.
Since the obligations which He fulfilled were ours, the right
of entrance into the world of glory awarded Him was like-
wise so to us. He took possession of henYen for us, — that is,
for as many of us as are become one with Him, and foi^ us
He ever holds it, constantly interceding for us before the
Father with His own righteousness.
" But by wdiat road may w^e hope to enter into this hea-
venly Jerusalem ? " This no longer need excite our solici-
tude. It lies indeed through the dark valley of death ; and
though without human attendant, it is not solitary, neither
are we left alone. You already know what a prospect the
Lord revealed to His disciples in His farewell address to
them. After the assurance that He was going to prepare
THE ASCENSION. 225
mansions for them, He said: "And i^I go, I will come
arjain and receive you unto myself; that luliere I am, there
ye may he also." And ^vliat hnppened to the disciples on the
Mount of Olives, whilst, willi adoring' astonishment, they gazed
after their ascending Master? '' Behold," the narrative in-
forms us, " two men stood by them in luhite apparel, [shin-
ing angels,] ivhich also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand
ye gazing up into heaven ? this same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as
ye have seen him go into heaven.'' These words referred,
indeed, first of all to a remote future, and announced that
the Prince of Peace should one day visibly return to consum-
mate His kingdom upon earth. But nevertheless the disciples
were justified in accepting it as a promise for their last hour,
as though our Lord had addressed them, as would a mother,
■when starting on a journey, saying to her little ones who
sorrowfully look on, " Be liapny ! I am not going away for
ever ; I am coming back, and shall see you again very soon."
And, doubtless, He will appear at the very time when the
anxiety of our hearts shall be the most intense ; and then,
although unseen, in a manner never before experienced, shall
we realise His presence and help. It may be that at the very
entrance of the harbour a storm shall try our faith. But
even if a great strug-gle should take place at the separation
of body and soul, still, how is it possible that we should not
come off easy victors, if in the last conflict we hear His greet-
ings, and recognise His hand as that which soothes our last
suffering. And were that hour arrived when our weeping
friends, standing around our bed, shall whisper to each other,
"He has breathed his last — he has ceased to struiio-le ;" then
we too shall have commenced that journey, which we here
have seen undertaken by our great Forerunner and Pioneer.
And when our earthly tabernacle is consigned to its last
resting-place, — a "seed sown of (lod to ripen unto the day of
22G THE ASCENSION.
the harvest/' — then shall we already have entered the golden
streets of the eternal heavenly city, led by the hand of our
Eedeemer. And that which surrounds us there is not some
stranoe and unknown world, in which we feel like lost and
deseri cd children ; but our arrival there will be as our return
home from travel to meet again father and mother, brothers
and sisters. Just as, at our birth into this world, we found
the place in every respect prepared for us, — the little cradle
ready standing there, shelter, food, and clothing all provided,
while father and mother welcomed us most cordially, — in like
manner shall we find everything in the heavenly world in a
state most perfectly prepared for us. We have long been
known there, we have long been called by our name, and
expected with joy. And we may believe that we shall feel
infinitely more at home in the beautiful world, free from
night and sin, than w^e ever were whilst on this earth ; and
there will be inscribed upon every joy which we there ex-
perience, and on every association in w4iich we feel our
happiness involved, the one precious word — the word eter-
nal. There w^ill be no more occasion to complain, '"' This it is
that pains me, that it is that vexes me, that I cannot suffi-
ciently love Thee ; ' but our heart will overflow with fervour,
and we shall never waut breath to unite with our fellows in
glory and happiness, in singing to our full heart's desire the
great hallelujah in His praise, who has loved us so far beyond
all expression, and who has so exalted us.
Such, then, brethren, are our prospects for the future.
But whilst I call them ours, I can of course only think of
those amongst us who really belong to the company of be-
lievers. You others are going another way. But can you
wish to tarry longer on that road ? Are our paths really hence-
forth and for ever to be divergent ? God forbid it ! Come
i.nd travel with us. If the path which you traverse with us
be riio-ged and steep, it is, nevertheless, lovely, and winds
THE ASCENSION. 227
along under the rustling palm-trees of hope. Gather with
us around the banner of the cross, render with us homage
to tlie glorified Prince of Peace, and unite with us in the old
joyous, and hopeful song of our pilgrimage —
" A pilgrim here I wander,
On earth have no abode;
My fatherland is yonder,
My home is with ray God.
For here I journey to and fro —
There in eternal rest
Will God His gracious gift bestow
On all the toil-oppress'd."
Lyra Qermaaiiofk
228 THE TIME OF WAITING.
XVIL
THE TIME OF WAITING.
"The hope of the righteous shall be gladness," says Solomon
in Proverbs x. 28. A consolatory passage indeed, if we but
rightly interpret the designation "righteous.'' We are not
to understand by this, righteous according to law ; for where
would such be found among the children of Adam but in
those who have been justified by grace, who, although still
sinners in the eye of the law, nevertheless have with their
whole heart yielded themselves up to God the Lord, and have
seriously determined to live and die for Him ? Such as these
are, for Christ's sake, considered blameless in the sight of
God. But these, however confidently they may repose in the
love of God, nevertheless still have to bide their time. All
that which they long and pray for does not immediately
fall into their lap. How long had an Abraham, in all the
fulness of divine promises which had been vouchsafed him,
to exercise his patience before even one of them was fulfilled !
How many sighs and tsars were offered by Hannah, Samuel's
pious mother, before her heart's wish was granted ! Think,
further, of the author of the thirteenth Psalm, the " man after
God's own heart," and remember how often he prayerfully
sighed, " How long wilt Thou forget me, Lord, for ever ?
how long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me ? " as likewise of
Paul, that ''chosen vessel," and of his constantly-recurring
p:'tition, apparently unheard so long by the Lord, that he
THE TIME OF WAITING. 229
might be relieved from the thorn in his flesh, and from the
messenger of Satan, who had been sent to buffet him. But
none of these cast away their confidence, but waited and
waited on, though often with anxiety and discouragement.
But the Lord will never put even the weakest faith to shame.
The hope of those saints issued in gladness.
Yes, and so it will ever be. By expectant hope we honour
the Lord, we glorify His name before men, we practise hu-
mility, that cardinal virtue of the true Christian, and uncon-
sciously attune the harp-strings of our souls to a still more
fully intoned hallelujah against that time when that which
we believe, and faithfully persevere in believing, shall cer-
tainly come to pass. We shall realise that proverb of Solo-
mon, " The .hope of the righteous shall be gladness," and
likewise the well-known declaration of the Psalmist, " They
looked unto him, and were lightened ; and their faces were
not ashamed," (Psalm xxxiv. 5.)
We are about to enter a circle of praying and expectant
believers, who will be able, though such is not always the
case, within a few days to confirm and indorse from their
own experience the saying of Solomon. Let us in spirit
join these beloved brethren, and may the Lord graciously
tune our hearts in harmony with theirs !
Acts i. 12-26.
" Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
which is from Jerusalem a sabbath-day's journey. And when they were
come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and
James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and
Matthew, James the son of Alphseus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the
brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and sup-
plication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his
brethren. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples,
and said, (the number of names together were about an luuidred and
twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled,
wliich the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning
Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered
230 THE TIME OF WAITING.
with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Xow this man purchased
a field with the reward of iniquity ; and falling headlong, he burst asunder
in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all
the dwellers at Jerusalem ; insomuch as that field is called in their pro-
per tongue, Aceldama, that is to say. The field of blood. For it is writ-
ten in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man
dwell therein : and his bishoprick let another take. Wherefore of these
men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went
in and out amongst us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that
same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a wit-
ness with us of his resurrection. And thc}^ appointed two, Joseph called
Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and
said. Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of
these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and
apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to
his own place. And they gave forth their lots ; and the lot fell upon
Matthias ; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."
The Sunday (Exaudi^) which intervenes between the
Day of Ascension and Whitsuntide has, and not without some
truth, been called the " orphan child " among the Sundays of
the ecclesiastical year. The Lord has ascended into heaven,
and His manifestation on the day of Pentecost is still to
come. This Sunday stands thus isolated between the two
festivals ; the orphan child, however, bears a precious trea-
sure in its little casket, — the promise, " I will pour out of my
Spirit upon all flesh," — and says, prayerfully and hopefully,
Exaudi! — i.e., "Hear my prayer." In days of yore, this
Exaiidi formed the key-note in tlie hearts of the believers
during the intervening time. We feel powerfully attracted
to them. It is edifying, consolatory, and instructive to
linger in their midst. Well, let us in spirit join their com-
pany, and consider, in the first place, the state of soul of the
disciples at this juncture ; then, the address of one of their
number ; and, lastly, the act which they perform : and let
us gratefully accept, as from the Lord, all spiritual profit
* Psalm cxliii.
THE TIME OF WAITING. 231
and blessing which may be vouchsafed to us whilst medi-
tating upon this apparently destitute Sunday !
T. The disciples, in returning from Mount Olivet to Jeru-
salem, did as our Lord before His ascension had commanded
them. We here find them in one of those upper chambers
of those buildings which surrounded the temple, and which
were daily open to all those who wished to retire for prayer
or pious conversation. And what an assembly it was ! As
far as outward appearance and splendour are concerned, it
was poor. Were all the kings and emperors, all the men of
science and learning, all the poets and artists in the world,
to be gathered together in congress, they would never form
an assembly so important, so pregnant with reference to the
future, and so rich in promise for the progress of the world,
as that assembled there. Therefore, let no one ever judge
from mere appearances ; and specially, be on your guard
against being imposed upon by what are styled majorities.
The company assembled in the jDorch of the temple numbered
but a hundred and twenty souls ; but to whom was the
future of the world committed ? To this handful of insigni-
ficant Galileans, divested of all external respectability ? or to
the millions in Judea and Jerusalem who looked down upon
them with a scornfully-affected superiority ? Were not the
former right in every respect? and did not the surging,
raging multitude, however proudly it might raise its head,
go entirely astray, bound with the fetters of delusion and
blindness ? In society, uniform opinion and similar modes
of expression constitute what we are wont to designate " the
prevailinii; tendencies of the times," or "public 02:>inion ;" and
how frequently are these checked and brought back to the
point from which they started by the sentiments, boldly
stated and firmly maintained, of one resolute public man !
For it then happens that, for a time, this one man will, as a
spiritual despot, rule over hosts of his contemporaries, who
232 THE TIME OF WAITING.
then appear in the miserable and despicable character of his
servile copyists and train-bearers. I say, however, emphati-
cally, for a time. In the last century only, how many
philosophical and political doctrines and systems, streams
issuing from the fountain-head of error and deception, have
for a time inundated the whole world, and then subsided !
And doubt not, that the muddy torrent which overspreads
the world at present under the ostentatious name of ''ad-
vanced science and culture," will also, in its time, j^ass away.
The gospel, however, remains, and emerges entire and unin-
jured from every wdiirlpool which threatened to ingulf it.
Why ? Because it has an incorruptible advocate in con-
science, seated in the human breast, from which it cannot be
dislodged, nnd which perpetually proves itself to be, to every
one inclined to trust it, a " power of God," calculated not
only to bless, but to sanctify. Therefore, as to the gospel,
there is no cause of apprehension. It is true that believers
are now in the minority. But what matters that ? In which
camp does the Lord abide ? We have His promise, " Where
two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I
in the midst of them," (Matt, xviii. 20 ;) and again and again
has He stamped the impress of His seal upon this His
promise, by its fulfilment in the experience of thousands.
Amongst the hundred and twenty who were assembled at
Jerusalem, the sacred narrative specially mentions the women
— those who had never left their Lord and Master, not even
at His cross and grave, and whose heroic love put the men
to utter shame. The Holy Ghost here erects a new tablet
of honour to these faithful ones, in order that their faith and
constancy may be spoken of even to the end of time. Their
names are written in the book of life as well as on these
sacred pages. Adorned with the heavenly crown, they have
long surrounded the throne of God. Oh ! my sisters, to
whom I now more specially address myself, come and asso-
THE TIME OF WAITING. 233
ciate yourselves with these disciples as companions in their
faith ! You can attain to no higher honour here on earth
than to belong to their choir. In the apostolic narrative,
Mary, the mother of our Lord, is again specially mentioned
among the women. Looking upon this quiet circle, the eye
fastens upon her ; no longer, however, as the broken-hearted
one whom we saw standing at the foot of the cross ; for,
since His resurrection and ascension, her soul, which had
previously been pierced as with a sword, was now for ever
healed, and her mourning for the son of her body converted
into exultant joy in Him as her Mediator and Saviour. For
there is no doubt but that she knew herself to be a poor
sinner in God's sight, even as others. Therefore she is not
in this assembly engaged as an intercessor for them; but, on
the contrary, i^rostrating herself in the dust together with
them, she implored intercession with the Father of the only
and everlasting High Priest, who had been raised to the right
hand of the Majesty on high, in common with them all. It
appears that, soon after the day of Pentecost, she entered the
Jerusalem above. What a spectacle must this meeting have
been to the denizens of heaven I
The eleven, with whom, as His most intimate friends, our
Lord was wont to be surrounded, were the choicest part and
centre of this assembly at Jerusalem. Who shall describe
the feelings of these men ? What prayerful desires, blissful
hopes, and great expectations gushed like a torrent throuo-h
their minds ! We here find them already freed from much
error and misapprehension, to which they previously had
been subject. By their Master's death, resurrection, and
ascension, their conception of the constitution of God's king-
dom upon earth had undergone a thorough purification.
Their apprehensions of their Lord's person had, through the
influence of these evients, almost ceased to be clouded. Since
they wlio were invested with the apostolic office liad it im-
234 THE TIME OF WAITING.
posed on them, as a duty paramount to every other, to publish
the fact that the work of atonement had been wrought out,
they needed an increase of light and elevation to render
definite the vague perceptions of it which had up to this
period filled their minds. They needed also to be thoroughly
enlightened as to the meaning of Christ's having disabled
Satan, and His having taken away the sting of death ; as also
of His mediation between a sinful world and a holy God.
And how greatly did they need to be endowed with courage,
with power from on high, and with a plenitude of other gifts,
in order that they might really be strong enough to become
pillars of the new kingdom of peace on earth ! Their hearts
were like a well-tilled field, but in which the crop was
languishing for want of rain and sunshine. Though on
former occasions they had not always received the intimation
of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them with due
interest, how deeply did they feel its importance now, and
lona: for the moment of its fulfilment I Their whole soul
was prayer, and they irresistibly brought their fellow-believers
to entertain the same views. We find them daily assembled
in that quiet apartment of the temple, where they "con-
tinued," as the narrative relates, "with one accord in prayer
and supplication." sublime assembly, soaring on eagle's
wings above the heights of earth ! We see in it the seed of
a new nature implanted by God, and feel that, since what
their souls pant for relates solely to the imperishable and
eternal, their desire cannot fail to be realised.
II. Thus whilst the little flock awaited with the greatest
anxiety that which was about to happen, it came to pass one
day that while they were again met for prayer, suddenly one
amongst them arose to submit an important proposition to
his brethren. It v.-as Simon Peter. Deeply affected, he first
reminded them of the tragic end of their ftllow-a])ostle Judas.
The last thing that would have occurred to the disciple, upon
THE timl: of wajting. 235
whose eyelids a teau treinbleti at his own denial, would have
been to make mention of that wretched man, if it had not
been opportune for him to found the proposition which he
was about to make to his brethren on a text of Scripture.
" Accordino; to Scrii)ture," he begins, and probably is think-
ing especially of the words in Psalm xli. 9, " He who did eat
of my bread hath lifted up his heel against me," which the
Lord himself ha< I expressly applied to the traitor, — "Judas
became a guide to them that took Jesus ; for he was num-
bered with us, and had obtained a part of this ministry.
Now this man," continues Peter, "purchased a field with
the reward of iniquity, [i.e., it was owing to him that a field
was bought with the price of blood, that for which he
betrayed his Lord, in which his body was buried after his
death ;] and falling headlong, [when the cord with which
he had hung himself broke, and the branch of the tree, as
though with horror and aversion, shook ofi" its accursed
fruit,] he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels
gushed out." We learn from these words that the field in
which he had been interred was the same spot where this
miserable man committed suicide, and which he, falling
headlong, had covered with his body, and had literally seized
and taken possession of as an inheritance. He had preferred
the earthly to the heavenly, and, now he possessed it ; a dread-
ful irony of Divine justice was involved in this gloomy fiite.
Peter continues — " And it was known unto all the dwellers
at Jerusalem, insomuch as that field is called in their proper
tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood," (in re-
membrance of the bloody end of the traitor, and of the in-
nocent blood which he had betrayed.) This field, however,
was situate in the valley of Hinnom, — which was never men-
tioned by the Jews but with horror, — in which in former days
children had been sacrificed to Moloch, and which was re-
garded as laden with the curse of the Almighty. Peter in
236 THE TIME OF WAITING.
his speech then refers to Psahn Ixix., where David, as the Old
Testament type of the Messiah, curses his enemies, and
especially adduces, (ver. 25,) " Let their habitation be deso-
late, and let none dwell in their tents." He applies these
words to the dreadful desolation and waste of the field in
which Judas was interred, and then quotes Psalm cix. 8,
which contains the same meauiuo-, expressed in the words,
'•'His bishoprick [ie., the office which had been intrusted
to him whom God had now rejected] let another take."
By this text he specially establishes the necessity that the
apostolic charge of Judas should be transferred to another.
You have here again the opportunity to observe what the
sacred writings of the Old Testament were to the apostles.
They recognised no difference between the Scriptures and
the Word of God in Scripture. The whole Scripture was
God's word to them, and they rested on their Master's as-'
sertion, "The Scripture cannot be broken." Let persons but
continue, as they are v/ont now-a-days publicly, to declaim
that the Scriptures are not God's Word, but that it must be
submitted to the judgujent of reason what portion shall be
held to be divine and what to be human ; the common man
will then but too quickly, and others with him likewise, logi-
cally deem that God's word in Scripture is restricted to that
which man shall be pleased to admit as such. If the authority
of the Bil)le in the world be thus continuously undermined,
you will in a short time see human society, with all its regu-
lations and institutions, shattered in such a manner as will
make many a man's hair stand on end.
After Peter bad thus adequately supported and based his
proposition on Scripture, he addressed them as follows : —
" Wherefore of these men luhich have companied with us all
the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among uSy
her jinni}i(j from the baptism of John, unto that same day that
he was taken up from us, must one he ordained to he a
THE TIME OF WAITING. 237
ivitness with us of his resurrection." Mark well these words.
Ocular and auricular testimony of our Lord's entire public
life, up to the time of its glorious issue, is here set forth as
the first and most indispensable condition associated with
induction into the apostolic cliarge. Hence you may see on
liow firm and sure a foundation this belief rests. Amonfy
the apostles whose writings have been handed down to us,
Matthew, John, Peter, and James fully met this claim ; and
Paul likewise bad, to say the least of it, with his bodily eyes,
seen Christ after His resurrection and exaltation. At the
same time, observe what a high importance the apostles
attach to our Lord's resurrection, and to the historical credi-
bility of this miracle. And this they were fidly warranted
in doing. Upon this one event, if truly established as d, fact,
everything must of necessity be shattered, which ever has
been, or ever shall be, adduced against Christianity. Do not
doubt, our Church stands on a roch, and the gates of hell, as
they have not prevailed, so likewise they never shall prevail
throughout eternity, against it.
III. Peter's proposition carried conviction to the minds of
tliose who were assembled at Jerusalem ; and so much the
more, since, in accordance with the express command of our
Lord, the apostles were to aim, in the first place, at the con-
version of Israel, and, following the old chiefs of the twelve
tribes as types, were to form the twelve patriarchs of the
new and spiritual Israel. It was therefore necessary that
their number of tiuelve should be complete. Paul, also, was
afterwards an apostle, but not one of the twelve. These
represented specially the Cbii:c'i v\liich sprang from the seed
of Abraham. There was lik^w i m- involved in this number
twelve, a sublime promise for a remote future. ^loreover,
Peter did not address his speech merely to his ten fellow-
apostles, but in his "Men and brethren" had in his eye, all
the disciples who were present in the assembly. They all.
238 THE TIME OF WAITING.
as an integral body, promoted to the high office Joseph
called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias —
men who had, by their approved piety and spiritual endow-
ments, shewn themselves better qualified for it than the rest.
Doubtless both were among the seventy. We likewise here
already see the body of believers exercising ecclesiastical
functions as a church, which they were divinely authorised
and called upon to perform ; of course in a regular manner,
grounded on individual faith. After having made this
appointment, the assembly united in prayer to God. " And
they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, ivhich knoiuest the hearts
of all men, sheiv luhether of these two thou hast chosen, that
he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from
•which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his
own place." There is no doubt that the '* Lord, who knew
the hearts of all men," to whom they addressed their prayer,
was none other than the Lord Jesus, whom they had like-
wise already worshipped at the time of His ascension ;
and there is likewise also no doubt but that he who can-
not pray to Jesus has never yet known Him. Having
prayed, they cast lots, in humble acknowledgment of their
circumscribed powers ; for it belonged to the dignity of
an ai30stle that he should have been elected and set apart
immediately by the Lord himself. The lot fell upon Mat-
thias, and our Lord afterwards practically confirmed that it
had been " cast " in His name. Matthias perfectly fulfilled
his office as an apostle. Scripture, it is true, does not relate
anything concerning it. Tradition speaks of the success
which crowned his labours, first in Judea, and afterwards
in Ethiopia; from which latter country, he entered the
" Church triumphant " above, adorned w^ith a martyr's crown.
It is true that some recent commentators maintain that the
disciples had exceeded their autliority in thus choosing an
apostle ; that they wilfully anticipated our Lord's appoint-
THE TIME OF WAITING. 239
ment, who afterwards refused to sanction that of Matthias,
and introduced Paul in his stead, as twelfth in the circle of
the apostles. But there is not the slightest ground for such
an assertion. The sacred narrative, on the contrary, repre-
sents the act of election as extremely solemn and sacred,
and as such, most certainly, pleasing in tlie sight of God. It
is also inconceivable that our Lord should not have responded
to the faithfulness of purpose, and to the humble submissive
devotion with which the disciples prayerfully referred the
decision to Him. Had He refused to recognise it. He would
certainly have informed them of it in some manner ; which,
however. He never did. Besides, we nowhere learn that when
Paul had subsequently to strive so much with the Jewish
Christians concerning his right to the apostleship, it ever
even occurred to him to object to the election of Matthias,
and to claim for himself to be placed the twelfth among the
apostles. He simply declares that, notwithstanding the pre-
cedence of the twelve, wdio were first ordained to lay the
foundation of the kingdom of God, he likewise was an apos-
tle, and that by divine vocation and endowment he stood
ojfficially their equal.
Thus, then, were the vessels prepared at Jerusalem, into
which the streams of the new divine life could flow unim-
peded. The number of devout believers undoubtedly in-
creased from day to' day, and when the day of Pentecost
dawned, it may certainly be assumed that the five hundred
brethren, to whom our Lord manifested Himself after His
resurrection, were amongst them. Would that the suscepti-
bilities of those praying disciples were vouchsafed to us also,
in our contemj^lation of the day of Pentecost ! Li that
assembly at Jerusalem, you see nothing less than the anti-
type of those whom the ark of Noah once bore so safely
across the billows of the universal deluge, the former being
indeed immeasurably more blessed. In it, you see the
240 THE TIME OF WAITING.
o-enealo^ical root of tlie new Israel of God, which will remain
to the end of time. It is only as we are ingrafted with
those who were thus awaiting the day of Pentecost, that we
shall ever flourish in the courts of our God, May the Lord
be pleased to bind us up with them "in the bundle of life,"
(1 Sam. XXV. 29,) and graciously hear us when we implor-
ingly cry with the poet —
"Oh, touch our tongues with flame
When speaking Jesus' name,
And lead us up the heavenward road 1
Give us the power to pray,
Teach us what words to say,
Whene'er we come before our God.
highest Good ! our spirits cheer;
When raging foes are strong and near.
Give us brave hearts undimm'd by fear.
" golden rain from heaven
Thy precious dew be given
To bless the churches' barren field !
And let Thy waters flow
Where'er the sowers sow
The seed of truth, that it may yield
A hundred-fold its living fruit,
O'er all the land may take deep root.
And mighty branches heavenward shoot."
Lyra Germanka.
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 241
XVIIL
THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
What a glorious and sionificant festival is the feast of
Pentecost ! It is the feast of the union of heaven and
earth, the feast of God's betrothal with redeemed man, the
birthday feast of the New Testament Church, the harvest
home of those who have been " brought nigh by the blood of
Christ/' What would all the other festivals of our Churcli
be without this one? They would be only messengers ex-
tolling acts of beneficence in which we ourselves might never
hope to share ; heralds, inviting us to a marriage supper, the
entrance to which we could never find. Whitsuntide en-
ables us to enjoy those splendours which the other feasts
liave disclosed to our view. Whitsuntide brings to us the
cupbearer, as it were, who first crushes the divine grapes of
Christ's merits in the goblet, and presents it to us as a
restorative draught. Let us therefore congratulate our-
selves upon the joyous harvest-day of the new covenant, and
may the Lord attune our souls to higher songs of gratitude
and ])raise !
The old prophets, and amongst their number, Isaiah in
chap, xliii. 18, led the world to anticipate by prophecies re-
peated over and over again, that tlie Lord would "do a now
thing" on the earth. That which was then in their mind's
eye, w;is not merely in a general manner, the founiling of a
new covenant, ns a covenant of grace, but more especially
242 THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
that wMcli forms the subject of our feast of Whitsuntide —
the day of Pentecost, with its imineasureably blessed results.
In what does this miracle consist ? What was this event of
world-iuide importance through all time, which occurred at
Jerusalem on that great Pentecostal day ? It is the answer
to this question to which we now address ourselves. The
Lord grant that we may find the right one !
The signification of all other Christian festivals is more
or. less obvious to us all. Each has its own peculiarity and
novelty. If Christmas be the festival of the manifestation of
the incarnate God, the theme of Passion-week is " Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us." Good Friday fully relieves us from conscious guilt
by means of the great Sacrifice. At Easter we see Him " who
was delivered for our offences raised again for our justifica-
tion." On Ascension-day He ascends as our Head and Fore-
runner, to open to us the world of glory, to take possession
of it on our behalf, and to prepare a place for us there.
And Whitsuntide ? You say " at Whitsuntide the Holy
Ghost came ! " Quite true. But did the Holy Spirit not
come till then ? Have we not heard King David say, " Take
not thy Holy Spirit from me ? " AVell then, wdiat transpired
at Whitsuntide that w^as strictly new, and before unknown ?
That is precisely what v/e are now about seriously to inquire
into.
Acts ii. 1-13.
" And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with
one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven,
as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and
it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,
and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And there were dwelling at Jeri\salem Jews, devout men, out of every
nation under heaven. Now, when this was noised abroad, the multitude
came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them
si>eak in his own language. And they were all amazed, and mar\'elled.
THE DAY OF PEJS'JECOST. 243
Baying one to another, P.oliold, are not all those which speak Galileans?
And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born ?
Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia,
and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pam-
j.hylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of
I'ome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians, we do hear them s})eak
in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed,
and were in doubt, saying one to another, "What meaueth this ? Others
mocking, said, Thi^se men are full of new wine."
This is the history of Whitsuntide, as wonderful in its
meaning as it is phiin and simple in its description. It
reminds us of the history of creation, and is it not such
it.«ic]f ? It informs us, indeed, of nothing Jess than of the
establishment of a new moral world. Come, let us consider
more closely the history of the entrance of the Holy Spirit !
IIoiu did He enter ? and who is He that thus enters ? in what
sense may it be said of Him, that He came first miracidously
on the day of Pentecost ? And how do we become personally
conscious of His saving operation ? May the Lord grant
us the guidance of His light and His truth, to enable us to
solve these points.
I. Prophetic annunciations, pregnant with importance,
hud been published throughout ages which preluded the day
of Pentecost. Prophet after j^rophet gave the believers in
Israel reason to hope for a time when the same Spirit, who
;it creation moved ui)on the face of the waters, should power-
fully maiiifest Himself on earth in a manner j^reviously un-
heard of. John, the herald of the Messiah, spoke to those
who came to be baptized with water by him, of a wondrous
baptism of fire which w^as even then imminent ; and you
know full well how repeatedly and emphatically our Lord
gave expression to the promise of " another Comforter "
whom the Father would send in His name. What marvel
is it then that the disciples so anxiously expected the hour
^yhen the ])ros]»ect thus disclosed to them should be realised?
244! THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
On the early morning of Sunday, the fiftieth day after
Easter, we again visit Jerusalem in quest of the disciples.
The holy city, swarming with strangers and pilgrims from
far and near, glitters in the festive garb of the feast of first
fruits. We again find the little flock, "with one accord,"
assembled in one of the spacious halls of the temple for
prayer and supplication, intent but upon one thine/, and that
one not of this world. They all alike and strongly feel the
need of preparation and endowment from above, without
being distinctly conscious what it was that they thus needed.
They wait — and wait ! AVhat occurs? Though the sky is
clear and cloudless, a mysterious sound, like that of " a
mighty rushing wind," is suddenly heard over the city,
almost reminding us of Jehovah's approach to Mount Sinai
at the giving of the law, as described by Moses ; slowly and
majestically it continues its course, and whilst the people,
astounded, rush out into the streets, it approaches the
tem23le on Mount Zion, and, suddenly halting there, it filled
all the house in which the disciples, met for prayer, were
sitting. At first, indeed, they were not a little terrified, but,
nevertheless, being by this time somewhat versed in symbolic
annunciations, they soon anticipate what is about to happen ;
and the last doubt is entirely dissipated, when the " rushing
mighty wind" discharges a glittering shower of tongue-
shaped flames, of which one rests upon each of their heads;
and, at the same moment, their hearts burn with a holy glow
of feeling such as they never before experienced. With what
energy that celestial fire flashes through their souls ! The
stream of love, light, and joy that rushes into their souls
is miraculous ! The narrative informs us, " They luere all
filled luith the Holy Ghost;'' and so it was. With exultant
shouts of praise they respond to this salutation of power and
blessing, which was the first vouchsafed them from their
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 245
Master since His ascension to tlie right hand of God ; and
then, obeying an irresistible impulse to bear their testimony,
they present themselves to the crowd outside, which, led by
the mysterious, whirlwind-like murmur, had followed it to
Mount Zion, summoned as by a celestial tocsin^ and there
stood without in feverish expectation.
And of what are we next informed ? The apostles begin
to speak, and, with fervent inspiration, declare to the moving
masses, — to the thousands of the inhabitants of the holy
city, as likewise to the pious foreigners, jjilgrims from all
parts of the w^orld, — the " vjonderful ivorks of God " (Acts
ii. 2) in His plan of man's redemption. And in what lan-
guage do they proclaim them ? Observe the surprise, nay,
more, the amazement, with which the multitude listen to
their words. They whisper to each other, " Behold, are not
all these which speak Galileans ? And how hear we every
man in our own tongue, luherein we tuere horn?" And
now they recount the nations amongst whom they dwell, and
their vernaculars, and add, " We do hear them speak in our
tongues the wonderful works of God." The narrative pro-
ceeds, "And they were all amazed, and were in doubt;"
i.e., they did not know what to say to it, and, moved with
a])prehension, they spake one to another, " What meaneth
this?" But some — probably the inhabitants of Jerusalem —
who, by reason of their continued wilful opposition to the
])0wcr of truth, were visited with hardness of heart as a
judgment, mocked, saying, " These men are full of new
vjine."
But did the inspired disciple really speak in the tongues
of all the different nations which are here mentioned ? How
can any one still doubt it ? We read that each foreigner
heard his own vernacular language. The Mede heard
Median ; the inhabitant of Egypt, Egyptian ; the Roman,
246 THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
Latin ; the native of Asia Minor, Greek. But perliaps it
was a mere belief on their part that they heard their mother
tongue, though it was not actually spoken. In that case,
what here affects us with astonishment took place in the
ears of the hearers, and the miracle is only transferred, but
is not set aside. It is, however, perfectly evident that the
inspired narrator represents the miracle as having taken
place in the mouths of the speakers. But how could these
ignorant fishermen and publicans so suddenly clothe their
thoughts in forms of speech which they had not only never
learned, but some of which, at least, they had never even
heard ? Truly it is necessary, in order not to be staggered
at the circumstances reported here, to believe in the existence
of a personal and living God, ruling the universe in the exer-
cise of unlimited power. But how can any man who is not
an atheist raise an objection contrary to Christ's express
assurance, that, " luith God all things are possible 1 " The
Pentecostal miracle of tongues is not greater than all others,
but in its effects it was certainly only momentary and transi-
tory. At least, we have no proof that the discij^les con-
tinued to be masters of all those foreign languages. To
what purpose, then, was this miracle ? In the first place, it
attested the creative power of the Holy Ghost, who had now
come in a manner which was obvious to every one. Secondly,
it served to give a palpable demonstration of the fact that
barriers within which the Jews had hitherto been encircled,
excluding the rest of the world, were now removed, and that
the time had arrived when all nations should be called into
the kingdom of God. And, lastly, it was a sublime typical
representation of i\iQ surrender of the keys of the whole
world into the hands of the apostles, and bore prophetic re-
ference to the future which so surely lay before them, when
" at the name of Jesus every knee should how, and every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
THE DAY (W PENTECOST. 247
of God the Father." To this very day wc have those who
are akin in spirit to those Jewish libertines who made the
miracle wrought at Pentecost a subject of derision ; but they
cannot succeed in deceiving; us, since by their mockery they
but seek to hide their embittered anger and their secret
desi:)air. They acutely feel the highly prophetic and sym-
bolic meaning of this miracle, and can no longer conceal
from themselves that the very worst is henceforth most
certainly to be apprehended for the kingdom of the father
of lies, under whose banners they serve.
II. Thus the Holy Spirit descended, under the significant
types and figures of wind and fire ; the former being the
great purifier of the atmosphere, and the latter the refining
and warming element. " 117^0 is the Holy Ghost V Let
us not remain satisfied with that which the world now-a-days,
in its self-inflicted kindness, is wont to understand by the
designation "Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is something
totally dirlerent from what we apprehend by hallowed inspir-
ation. It is something different, likewise, from the ''spirit
of the Church ;" by which expression is indicated the style
of thought, feeling, and action peculiar to the Christian
Church. Neither, likewise, is the being of the Holy Spirit
yet recognised where He is only apprehended as an illumin-
ating and vivifying influence proceeding from God. He is
more than an unpersonal Divine energy. Let us see what
explanation Holy Scripture gives us concerning His nature.
As you know, our Lord Christ announced the Holy Spirit
as " another Comforter," who, sent from Him and His
Father, should, after His return to heaven, supply His place
to His disciples, — should guide them into all truth, — should
remind them of all that their Lord had declared to them, —
should convince them of sin and of their need of redemption,
— should glorify Him, the fairest of the children of men,
hroudiout the world, — and should transform and renovate
248 THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
everything. In the baptismal formula the King of truth
places the Holy Spirit side by side with the Father and
Himself, the Son, as possessing equal authority and dignity.
When the apostles implore the blessing of God upon the
churches, they supplicate it in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and as expressly distin-
guish the supreme Three from one another as they likewise
expressly maintain their unity. They distinguish no less
unequivocally between the Holy Spirit and His operations
and gifts. Among other passages, we read, in the First
Epistle to the Corinthians — " There are diversities of gifts,
hut the same Spirit ;" and then again — "All these worketh
that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every rtian
severally as he luill;" further — '' The Spirit sear cheth all
things ;" in another place — ''No man can say that Jesus is
the Lord, hut hy the Holy Ghost;" and — " We know not
wliat lue should pray for as we ought ; hut the Spirit itself
maketh intercession for us." The Holy Spirit is, then, pre-
sented to us in the Scriptures as a coequal Divine Person-
ality. Only extreme blindness or wicked perverseness can
disallow it.
This is the position in which we stand with reference to
the mystery of the Holy Trinity, which forms the basis of all
Christianity. If, at the first blush, here and there, one
amongst us should recoil in surprise, we shall not be dis-
posed hastily to rebuke him severely, since there is no other
doctrine of Scripture so utterly beyond the range of our
natural mental apprehension. But beware here of misappre-
liension and false interpretation. Scripture nowhere imposes
on us belief in that which is contrary to reason, as would be
the case, were they required, that we should at one and the
same time believe one to be three, and three to be but one.
In point of nunjber, there are indeed three; but again, in
essence, the three are one. Not as if the Father were a God,
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 249
and t^ie Son a God, and the Holy Spirit a God, as though
tlicre were three different Gods ; but as thousjh the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Gho.^^t were all God, i.e., of divine
essence and nature. But again, the equality of tlie three
must not be exaggerated. Although the Son and the Holy
Ghost are equal to the Father in divine nature and essence,
the latter differs from the other two with regard to the
fatherhood, since the Son was begotten of the Father, and
the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father and the Son.
The three constitute, however, but one Triune God, not only
because of the love which unites them, but likewise by the
unity of their majesty, their will, and their action. Our
world offers nothing properly analogous to this relation. In
order to bring this subject nearer to human apprehension,
we have indeed been called upon to conceive of an eminently
gifted and highly intelligent artist, who should succeed in
expressing and rendering visible, in an exquisite masterpiece,
all the sublime, the ideal, and the divinely-beautiful which
filled his imagination, and in which his whole inspired soul
lived and moved. Then we might conceive this figure, on
issuing from the artist's hands, to be suddenly endowed with
life, and with the capability of receiving and reciprocating
love. Were this realised the great artist would be visibly
and objectively transferred into his statue as into an cdter-
erjo, a second self ; then here again there would be tiuo, yet
only one. This figure displays to us only one aspect of the
truth, namely, that the eternal and all-sufficient God, in
whom no mutableness, but an impulse emanating from the
fulness of His Godhead, acting from all eternity, and before
creation, must have moved Him to the self-origination, as it
were, of a second self : He reproduced His own image as the
only worthy object of His love and His complacency, whom
He essentially and practically endowed with His own ador-
able attributes ; and this personal reflection of the Divine
250 THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
glory is the only-begotten Son. There is, however, nothing
sublunary that corresponds witli the procession of the Holy
Ghost from the Father and tlie Son, since His personality is
co-equal. Thus, then, the Holy Trinity, though involving
nothing contradictory in itself, remains an inscrutable mys-
tery to human apprehension, (I do not say to our experience.)
It has, however, been revealed to us by God the Holy Ghost
himself, whose province it is to discover '' the deep things of
God." It was not, however, announced to us in order that
we might speculate about it idly, and with no definite result,
but that we might profit by it to our salvation. It is
enough that we, enlightened by the operation of the Spint,
believingly embrace the Son as poor sinners, and come to the
Father through the Son. I will just observe, in passing, that
the doctrine of the Trinity of the Godhead is not only dimly
foreshadowed in the Old Testament, but is to be met with,
though in a corrupted form, in the theological systems of all
the ancient nations. Doubtless, this doctrine was amongst
the primary divine revelations which, though corrupted and
masked by sin, were, in Christ, restored to their original
purity.
But how can it be said of the Holy Ghost that He came
first on the day of Pentecost? Was it not He who, from
the beginning of the world, Himself evinced His power as
the medium of God's revelations to man, equipping and
arming the heroes of Israel, enlightening and pervading the
minds of the old Jewish prophets, so that it could be said of
them, "They spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost/'
Yes, indeed ! But, nevertheless, we hear the apostle John
say, in the seventh chapter of his Gospel, " The Holy Ghost
was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified."
The question will then naturally arise, whether the Holy
Ghost, which operated under the old covenant, was not
essentially another from Him who made His solemn entry
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 251
ainongst us on the cLay of Pentecost ? But this question we
must decidedly answer in the negative. He was the same
Spirit, and only entered into more intimate, cordial, and, at
the same time, more encro-etic connexion with the redeemed
world of sinners, after Christ had matured His work of
mediation ; and we are as fully justified in saying that the
Holy Spirit first came to us at the Feast of Pentecost, as we
are in saying we only admit of Christ's advent upon earth
having taken place when He was born in human form,
though previously, in the days of the old covenant, the Son
of God had appeared upon earth. According to divine
appointment, made in the exercise of divine sovereignty, He
then only first came to fix His abode 2^6rmanentli/ with us
in the character of King in Zion. Whereas in the old cove-
nant He appeared rather as the Advocate of God with men,
He appears in the new as the Advocate of redeemed humanity
with God. If, under the former dispensation, it was pecu-
liarly His province to found the kingdom of light and truth
in all its length and breadth, it has, under the latter dispen-
sation, been more esjDecially His to mould, seal, and protect
each individual of those who had been bought with the
blood of the Lamb. Though His primary and leading
motive was, so to speak, the Father's decree and plan of
government, yet is He now mainly moved by love to us, in
whom the divine counsels of peace have, through Christ, been
consummated. Just as the training of man for that salva-
tion which was about to be introduced, was that which He
then had most at heart, so noiu does He exert Himself in
imparting to a sinful world all the fulness of that salvation
which Christ by mediation has obtained. How great and
manifold were the things denied to believers in the days of
the law ! Their consciences had not even been quickened.
And still less was the doctrine of justification by faith fully
realised by them, but rather dimly perceived. As yet they
252 THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
could not with full conviction say with the apostle, "The
love of Christ constiaineth us, because we thus judge, that if
one died for all, then were all dead." Confiding prayer in
" the name of Jesus "' was not yet practised by them. Even
the holy of holies was yet hidden behind a thick veil, and
tlie way to it was " not yet made manifest," (Heb. ix. 8.)
And how far they were from being able to testify, as Paul
afterwards did — " I live, yet not I, hut Christ liveth in me."
The Holy Ghost was "not yet given" to accomplish so
creative and thorough a work of redemption in the inmost
soul of man. Not until the great Sacrifice had been offered
on the altar of the cross, and Christ had been glorified, did
this effectual, regenerating, and renewing work of the Holy
Ghost begin. It had now not only become possible, but it
was likewise in perfect harmony with the divine decrees,
that the Spirit of Christ should essentially glorify Christ in
Christ's members, and make them share the nature of the
Son of God. If you desire to render the difference of the
Spirit's working under the law and under the gospel obvious,
compare characters such as Moses, Elijah, or even David,
with John, Peter, or Paul. All these men are consj^icuous
for their piety as men "after God's own heart," and yet how
different is the stamp they bear. There is discoverable in
the latter class an inner life, holier, and more deeply rooted
in God, whilst at the same time more full and solid, than in
the former. You immediately feel that what our Lord said
with regard to His redeemed ones, could in no wise be
applied to the Old Testament believers — ''He that helieveth
on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
" This," adds the evangelist, at this passage, " spake he of
the Spirit, tvhich they that believe on him should receive ;
for the Holy Ghost luas not yet given." It will also now be
evident to you what our Lord's meaning was, when He, in
reply to the question of the two "sons of thunder'' — "Lord,
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 253
wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven,
and consume the ungrateful Samaritans?" — rebuked them
in these terms : " Ye know not luJiat manner of spirit ye
are of."
III. Thus much with reference to the Holy Spirit, and
His entrance into the world at the feast of Pentecost ! You
will now desire to acquire a knowledge of His practical
manifestations in human life, and to learn how we may-
become personally conscious of His operations. You know
that His luondrous works are very namerous. We will,
however, specify but three, of which the two first already
belong to history, but the third continues uninterruptedly to
the present hour. I put, in the first place, the production
of the Holy Scriptures, the origination of the Word of God.
What a structure is here presented to us ! More than a
thousand years elapsed before its completion ; and yet what
unity there is in the 'plan on which it is based, in the spirit
which pervades it, and in the thoughts, views, and doctrines
which are treasured up in it ! If we only enter upon the
study of it calmly and collectedly, we shall soon feel com-
pelled to exclaim with the patriarch, " How dreadful is this
place ! This is none other but the house of God, and this is
the gate of heaven ! '' We are here withdrawn from all the
lower spheres of life, an i breathe an atmosphere which meets
us nowhere else. With what solemnity does it impress us !
We feel ourselves within the precincts of a temple, and near
the throne of God. And now let us interrogate this won-
drous book on all the questions of vital importance to
humanity, let us listen to its solutions, which are calculated
as much to enlighten the mind as to pacify the heart ! Whence
is the universe? " God created it out of nothing." Whence
is sin ? " Man, though created sinless and free, fell by his
own fault." Whence came the misery that is in the world ?
"Sin has begotten it." What is the original destiny of
254 THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
man ? " Likeness to God.'' But how can sinful man attain
to this ? " God has helped and helps us still, because He is
a living God, and love itself." But how has He helped in
times past ? how does He help now ? " He sent a Mediator
and the spirit of regeneration." What is the issue and end
of the regenerate ? " They change the ijilgrim garb of this
mortal body for a robe of heavenly glory." Traverse the
whole world, and knock at the doors of all the schools of
philosophy, and where will you meet a solution of any one of
those great problems which so perfectly satisfies both head
and heart as is conveyed to you in this sacred Word ? No-
where ! And is this Vv^ord man's composition ? Shall it be
held to be a production of that people on the banks of the
Jordan, of so little repute in the world, so far surpassed both
in science and art by the Greeks and the Eomans ; and,
moreover, naturally so foolish, so obstinate, and so constantly
prone to idolatry ? Impossible ! From whatever aspect you
may regard the Bible, it ever l^ears the stamp of God's Word
in itself, palpably and obviously. It is a w^ork of the Holy
Spirit ; and those who have uttered or written the word, all
testify with the apostle in perfect heartfelt truth : " We have
received, not the spirit of the loorld, but the Spirit luhich is
of God; that we might knoiu the things tvhich are freely
given us of God. Which things also lue speak, not in the
words which mans wisdom teach eth, hut which the Holy
Ghost teacheth; comparing {i.e., judging and explaining)
spiritual things with spiritual.''
If you desire me to shew you another miraculous work of
the Spirit, look at the multitude of disciples after the feast
of Pentecost, and compare the condition in which they once
met you. Even on the day of His ascension they were but
as mere children in understanding, full of foolish thoughts
as to their Master's real plan, and likewise concerning their
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 255
own vocation ; and, moreover, how dependent they were ;
how utterly spiritless. Humanly speaking, hardly anything
could be expected from them. But look once more upon
these poor fishermen and publicans after they have received
the Pentecostal baptism. Do you recognise them? There
they stand, beacons to the world, pillars of the kingdom of
heaven, more intelligent than the greatest of those whom this
world calls wise, more intrepid than the boldest heroes of
■whom history makes mention. Animated by a loftier sj^irit,
tliey win over to the banner of the cross those who were
most opposed. They were stimulated and imi^elled by such
love, devotedness, and such contempt of the world and of
death, as had never before been seen on earth. And is this
sudden transformation to be accounted for as the eftect of
natural causes? The apostles are ''miracles," just as the
prophets were once so called in the Old Testament. They
laud the creative power of the Holy Spirit in all they have
within them, and with all that they possess, and are His
living monuments and instruments recognisable from afar
But our necessities are not provided for by the mere con-
templation and recognition of the operations of the Holy
Spirit. We must be personally conscious of His wondrous
operations within us. The Holy Ghost must meet us in the
little laboratory of our own heart. And can that be? It
can and must ! Hear what the apostle says — " We have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God."
Blessed Paul I Would that we all were able to boast the
same ! By nature we have the spirit of the world, which is
nothing less than the innate and natural mode of thought,
feeling, judgment, and action by which one may indeed, as
measured by the standard of the world, be perfectly moral,
true to duty, and accomplished ; but we want that faculty
fur the apprehension of divine things, that sanctified in-
256 THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
terior, nay, all that is termed in Scripture, " The hidden
man of the heart, which is in the sight of God of great
price!' The head is full of error, the heart overgrown with
the weeds of evil passions, the conscience slumbers, and the
will is enslaved by the flesh. A man in this state does
nothinp^ from pure love to God, and yet will not even hear of
the estrangement from God in which he is living ; he has no
conception of the holiness of God's nature and will, and
really understands nothing of God's Word. He misinterprets
Peter's exclamation, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no
respecter of persons ; but in every nation he that feareth
him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." The
divine tribunal excites no fear, because he imagines God
will not 1.0 strict to mark iniquity. He indulges in anger,
he hates, he envies, he is covetous of all vain glory, he
idolises mammon, he follows his own fleshly lusts ; and yet
it does not occur to him to condemn himself for it, nor
does it even weigh upon his conscience. These are the
features that characterise the man in whom no other spirit
has yet ruled save the natural one, the spirit of this world.
If you are still such a one, even before you are aware of it,
a most wonderful change may take place in you. Where-
ever and whenever it may happen, whether whilst you are
reading or hearing God's Word, or during heavy trials, or
aught else which may befall you, a light suddenly bursts
upon you, as if scales fell from your eyes. That which in
yourself you once held to be a mere failing, appears as sin
worthy of punishment ; your good deeds, as fruits matured
by selfism ; your life, hitherto as one, which even if it
has not been squandered in mere inanities, has at least
only been exhausted upon self ; and your hope of an antici-
pated favourable sentence from the world's great Judge, as
an unfounded imagination of your own infatuated mind.
THii DAY OF PENTECOST. 257
You discover that you have hitherto lived without fellowship
with God. A silent and ever-increasing sorrow gradually
overspreads your mind. You begin to long for grace, for a
filial relationship towards God, for release from the bonds
with which you are fettered ; and the same sigh will escape
your soul as did that of Paul when he exclaimed, "Oh
wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death ? " Then gradually Jesus of Nazareth
rises before your soul in a light in which you never beheld
Him. "Yes,'' exclaims your heart, panting for salvation,
" Thou art He ! Thou art my Helper, my Redeemer, and
my only Saviour ! " With earnest longing you incline to
Him, and confidingly surrender yourself to Him. Pre-
viously you had not the slightest conception of what you
now experience. It belongs to a region which is closely
veiled to the natural eye, and personal experience alone can
disclose its mysteries. The assurance becomes ever more
and more vivid that the Man of Sorrows whom you behold
is your Helper, your Saviour. You now understand Him ;
you understand His invitation, " Gome unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I ivill give you rest."
AVith unlimited confidence you cast yourself with all your
cares upon Him. And what is the consequence ? By the
l)0wer of His mediation, and relying upon His unfailing
assurance, you now look up to a reconciled God, and a new
life springs up within you ; a life of love to God ; of freedom
from tlie slavery of sin, of recovery from the old blindness, of
heavenward progress in tlie strength of those most sure and
blessed hopes which have been vouchsafed you. And this
all-pervading change which you experience, is the work of
tlie Holy Spirit in the microcosm of your heart. You have
begun to keep the feast of Pentecost, and now continue
unceasingly to celebrate it, for the Holy Ghost ever abides
E
258 THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
upon you, nay, even dwells luithin you, sustaining, admonish
ing, and warning, stimulating to all that is good, and raising
you above yourself.
All we who have been born in the lap of Christianity, and
have received baptism, have been, in greater or less degree,
moved and breathed upon by the Holy Ghost. Without
being conscious of it, we owe much to the Spirit ; especially
a keener moral consciousness than that which dwells within
the most enlightened heathen, and more correct ideas of man's
dignity, and of his higher destiny. But this does not enable
us to boast the possession of any of His gifts. He himself
must dwell within us, and penetrate our whole inner man
with His regenerating and renewing power. We must be
able to say with the apostle, " We have received, not the
spirit of the world, hut the Sjnrit ivhich is of God ; that we
might know the things that are freely given to us of God."
If we have attained this, we may joyfully, on the ground of
present living experience, make the other raying of the
apostle our own, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man, the tilings which God
hath prepared for them that love him''
May, then, for us a true feast of Pentecost be rung in ! ^ I
call upon you, my friends, to sound, by means of prayer, the
chimes of salvation and of bliss. Let us from our deepest,
inmost soul unite in the fervent utterance of the sacred
poet : —
"Thou fieiy glow of Love !
Let us Thy ardours prove,
Consume our hearts with quenchless fire !
Come, Thou trackless Wind !
Breathe gently o'er oui- mind;
Let not the flesh to rule aspire ;
Help us our free-born right to take.
The heavy yoke of sin to break,
And all her tempting paths forsake.
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 250
■' Be it thine to stir our will ;
Our good intents fulfil;
Be with us when we go and come;
Deep in our spirits dwell,
And make their inmost cell
Thy temple pure, Thy holy home f
Teach us to know our Lord, that we
May call His Father ours through Thee,
Thou pledge of glories yet to be ! "
Schmolck, 1115.— Lyra Oermanica.
260 THE ADDKESS AT THE JBEA«T OE PEiNTECOST.
XIX.
THE ADDEESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.
" We are labourers together with God,'' says the apostle, (1
Cor. iii. 9,) and he is fully conscious of the high dignity
which he hereby confers on himself and his fellow-disciples.
How elevating is the thought to act as a co-worker with the
Lord of the universe, to share in His interests, and to sub-
serve His plan of government ! This expands the whole
soul, and affords an inward satisfaction complete in itself.
The secret dissatisfaction which so frequently steals upon
millions of mortals, and seizes their souls most forcibly wheu
they retire from the whirl of dissipation into solitude and
quiet, has in the majority of instances its real foundation in
the feeling, though possibly not recognised, that they, when
closely scanned, are aimless in life, or are pursuing an end
unworthy of the dignity and true destiny of man. Many
have this source of uneasiness aggravated by the mournful
accusation of conscience, that they not only have occu23ied
themselves with the merest trifles, but that they have striven
with all their might against God : by word and deed they
have destroyed where God built, and, in opposition to Him,
would either have suspended His sacred purpose, or, if pos-
sible, would have frustrated it. How much are these men
to be commiserated who wilfully prepare for themselves a
secret hell already here on earth, Avhilst they might have
rejoiced in a foretaste of heavenly peace had they but taken
THE ADDEESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST. 261
part in the plans of the Almighty, — of which the issues are
certain, — and had they but associated witli His labourers in
constructing the bnhvarks of His spiritual Zion !
There is no greater cause of satisfaction than to know that
we are ''labourers tor/ether with God," however great our
weakness may be. It compensates for all that we may inci-
dentally lose ; for it has associated with it that which abun-
dantly indemnifies us — the elevating consciousness that we
fill in society a position in some measure worthy of our being,
and do not exist as mere parasitical plants hanging on the
bouf;:hs of humanity, having to anticipate a sentence similar
to that passed upon the fig-tree in the Gospel parable, which,
^liough boasting luxuriant foliage, remained year after year
without rendering the fruit which the Lord of the vineyard
sought, and concerning which He said ultimately, " Cut it
down ; luhij cumhereth it the ground ? "
In the following scripture we shall meet with a labourer
together with God, whom we may not indeed expect to rival.
But the Lord looks at the sincerity of our purpose and effort,
without reference to its amount ; and the results lie in His
hand, not in ours.
Acts ii. 14-41.
" But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said
unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this
known imto you, and hearken to my words : for these are not di'unken, as
ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that
which was spoken by the prophet Joel : And it shall come to pass in the
last days, (saith God,) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh : and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams : and on my servants, and on
my handmaidens, I will pour out in those days of my Spirit ; and they shall
prophesy : and I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth
beneath ; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke : the sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the
Lord come : and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words;
Jesus of Nazareth, a man aftproved of God among you by miracles, and
"32 THE ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.
wonders, and signs, whicli God did by him in the midst of you, as ye your-
selves also know : him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified
and slain ; whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death :
because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David
speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face ; for
he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved : therefore did my
heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad ; moreover also, my flesh shall rest
in hope : becaitse thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou
suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me
the ways of life ; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David,
that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise
up Christ to sit on his throne ; he, seeing this before, spake of the resur-
rection of Christ, that his sovil was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see
corruption. This Jesus hath God raised vip, whereof vre all are witnesses.
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of
the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which
ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended mto the heavens : but he
saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel
know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard this, they were
pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles.
Men and brethren, what shall we do ? Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remis-
sion of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the pro-
mise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as
many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he
testify and exhort, saying. Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized : and the same day
there were added unto them about three thousand souls."
Our feast-days and Sundays are the lights of the year, the
greater and the lesser lights to rule the day and the night.
How dismal would the year be without them 1 How sombre
and desolate our life, if the starry heaven of these festal days
did not illuminate it with its splendour ! Whitsuntide is one
f f tlip most glorious of these feasts — the memorial of a new
THE ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST. 263
creation, wliicb, tliougli indeed spiritual, will one day obtain
a splendid embodiment. The Creator is the Holy Ghost.
^Ye have already heard much of His nature and of His opera-
tions. Of tlie latter we shall learn more whilst meditatino-
upon the address of the apostle Peter at the feast of Pentecost.
Let us look first at the contents of it, and then at its results.
May the precious Comforter witness to us of Himself during
our meditation !
I. Tlie scene is now laid at Jerusalem, hard by the temple.
A multitude, so numerous that it extended further than the
eye could reach, is in motion, excited to the utmost. In
front is Peter, the fisherman, a man who in time j^ast had
greatly erred, and who at the outset had comprehended but
little of His Lord's work, and of the aim of His mission. It
might have puzzled him for a long while to tell why he spe-
cially had received the surname of ''Cephas," that is, "Eock."
But our Lord had from the beginning recognised the sturdy
manliness of his character, which only needed regeneration
and sanctification, and wisely adjudged him, therefore, to be
the first to be exposed to the refining fire in the palace of
the high priest, and, as we are accustomed to say, " to be
proved there." Now his naturally decided character had.
received divine consecration. He steps firmly, boldly, and
confidently forth from the circle of the apostles, and raises
his voice like a trumpet. Look well at the texture of his
speech, truly worthy of admiration as a logical masterpiece,
marvellous in a man who had never had the advantages of
worldly culture, but who by his dexterity in weaving it made
his Master's words true — viz., " from henceforth thou shalt
catch men." The Holy Ghost teaches the best system of logic
and dialectics, and furnishes His heralds and interpreters,
not only with the subject of their proclamations, but likewise
with the most suitable and corresponding forni of expression.
In order to obtain a liearing, Peter commences his address
26^ THE ADDEESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.
in a conciliatory strain, and, after having greeted the thous-
ands before him as Jewish brethren, he introduces the speech
with the request, " Hear these words /" You remember how
he used violently to resent the least thing by which he felt
himself annoyed. How at that time he could have launched
forth against that band of scoffers who had dared to accuse
not only himself, but all those who had been baptized with
the Holy Ghost, of drunkenness. But now, however, there
does not escape liim one single word either of rebuke or me-
nace. On the contrary, he is now so far master of himself,
that he limits himself to repudiate the noisy, senseless imputa-
tion, by the simple remark, that it was but the third hour of
the day, i.e., nine o'clock in the morning, when no one would
think of drinking wine " No," says he, " drunkenness is on
this occasion wholly out of the question. That which you
have just witnessed is totally different. It is that which
your great prophets have repeatedly and most unequivocally
announced." And after having said this, he recalls the
prophecy of Joel, a seer well knov/n and highly esteemed
by all the Israelites: ''It shall come to jjass in the last
days, saith God, I will pour out my Holy Spirit upon all
flesh," &c.
The term latter, or " last days'' as used in Scripture,
means the closing period of the kingdom of God upon earth,
and of the present dispensation. According to the views
and representations developed in Scripture, this latter dis-
pensation commences with Christ's appearance, and esjDecially
upon the completion of His work of redemption, in the out-
pouring of the Holy Spirit at Whitsuntide ; because after
that the longing of the world was set at rest by Christ's
advent, provided it will appropriate that which has been
done and accomplished for it. Again, this latter dispensation
is brought to its close by the second coming of Christ to
judgment ; and in the creation of a new heaven and a new
THE ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST. 2(*5
earth, ''these latter and last days'' have already extended
throiiuli a cycle of eighteen centuries, and that which awaits
mankind in its future experience will absorb the interval
between the present time and its end. Nothinpr essentially
new will ever again happen under the sun ; all that we have
in prospect, that is either great or glorious, is but the deve-
lopment and sequence of that which is already in j^rogress.
The kingdom of God has been established once for all, and
is now, by strife and victory, only becoming more and more
fully developed until it shall attain its final completion.
Thus in the Bible-perspective, the beginning and the end,
are often brought into juxtaposition, even though thousands
of years may lie between them. Both the prophet Joel and
the apostle Peter, when announcing the miracle at the feast
of Pentecost, connect with it allusions to the "great and
terrible day of the Lord,^' when, amidst wonders in heaven
above and signs in the earth beneath, with other terrific
phenomena, final judgment will be pronounced on man.
When Peter Ijad declared to the people, " That which you
now see and hear is what was foretold by the prophet Joel,"
he literally repeats the words of this prophet : " And it
shall come to j)ass in the last days, saith God, I ivill pour
Old of my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your
daug] iters shall p)rop]iesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams : and on my
servants and on my handmaidens I ivill pour out in those
days of my Spirit, and they shall p>ro2)hesy." And to these
words, which lead all to expect in their share of the jDromised
divine blessing, together with the removal of all barriers and
walls of 23artition, whether of age or condition, perfect
equality likewise, the prophet adds, now that the future lies
unveiled before his spiritual vision, the following fearful
words: "And I ivill shew wonders in heaven above, and
signs in the earth beneath ; blond, and fire, and vapour of
266 THE ADDEESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.
smoke : the sun shall he turned into darkness, and the moon
into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord
come." Deeply agitated, the surrounding crowd listen to these
])rophetic words. But the speaker does not conceal from
them that which is added to the prophetic, but at the right
moment exclaims, with heightened emphasis, "And it shall
come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be saved."
In this last passage, Peter now extends the field of his
operations. His hearers are naturally just about to inquire,
" AVho is the Lord whose name we must invoke to escape
condemnation?" But the speaker still judiciously withholds
a direct answer to this question, and leaves it to themselves
to discover who the Lord is, who alone can assure them
against the terrors of judgment. He contents himself at
first with reminding them of the m.arvellous life of Jesus of
Nazareth, of which they had been to some extent eye-wit-
nesses, and presses upon them to consider whether it would
have been porjsible for Him to perform the signs and won-
ders which He did unless the Almighty had been with Him.
The listeners now begin to think whether Jesus be really the
Lord upon whom they should call. Then again, he makes
another step towards his goal, reminding them at first of the
bloody end of this mysterious Personage whom they had
seen walking in their midst. But he proceeds most carefully
with his work ; he avoids everything that might possibly
exasperate them, and is immediately intent upon removing
the scandal which was, as far as they v/ere concerned, in-
volved in the terrible issue of our Lord's life, and to meet
the doubt whether one, who terminated His career in such a
mode, could possibly be the Lord of heaven. He says, " Him,
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknow-
ledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain!' Thus the heavy accusations raised
THE ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST. 267
in these words a^-ainst the Jews are not without extenua-
tion, thoiioli still leaving the sting rankling in their con-
sciences. For it must constantly have recurred to them to
say, " We, we are they who murdered Him." At the same
time, the thought must liave obtruded itself upon them, that
God must inevitably have regarded the sufferings and death
of Jesus as requisite and necessary to the completion of His
(the Father's) purpose in the mission of His Son. And let
it not be liere unnoted with what clearness tlie same disciple,
who on a former occasion would violently have obstructed
liis Master's progress to Jerusalem and tlie cross, now appre-
liends the high importance of tlie " cross of Christ.'' Who
wrought this in him ? who initiated him all at once into the
great mystery, but precisely that Holy Spirit who now led
him into all truth?
The multitude, becoming every moment more thoughtful,
listen with increasing attention to the speaker, audit possibly
occurred to many of them to think that of him which was
said of his superior, though his speech was most simple, and
totally destitute of oratorical pretension, still it was that of
" o)ie having authority, ami not as the scribes." Peter pro-
ceeds: ''litis man approved of God was crucified and slain;
hut the luicked who nailed him to the cross, have not, how-
ever, attained their end, God hath raised him up, having
loosed the pains of death." How tliis declaration must have
astonished the multitude ! " Eeally raised to life again ? "
they may liave secretly asked themselves ; '' is this an ascer-
tained fact? But if He were the man from God, why was it
necessary that He should have yielded to death at all, and
have been miraculously restored to life?" Whilst thoughts
and questions like these were passing through their minds, I
think many a passage in the old prophecies must have flashed
across their memory whose uniform tenor indicated that the
future Messiali should "make His soul an offering for sin,"
268 THE ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.
and then that by God He shonld be taken from judgment, and
raised on high. But that which presented itself to them as
dim and fleeting, was rendered definite and fixed by Peter's
selection of some of those prophetic passages, particularly
those in the Psalms which refer to the Messiah ; and he lays
special stress on that passage in which the royal Psalmist
prophesies concerning the great One that vms to come, whom
he calls " his Lord," who should indeed die, but neither see
corruption nor remain in the grave, but rise again in trium-
phant glory. The excitement of his hearers constantly in-
creases. Presently the speaker, raising his voice, continues :
" Yes, it luas concerning Jesus of Nazareth that your king,
David, moved by the Spirit of God, prophesied in those
Psalms. Jesus obviously bears all the marks ascribed to
him there, for he died, and God hath raised him again;
whereof we are all witnesses." The great boldness and en-
thusiasm with which Peter spake, and which all the other
disciples mrnifested before the 23eople, were adequate evidence
that their belief in the resurrection of their Master was no
mere conceit, but rested on a basis as firm as a rock. There
was written upon the beaming countenances of these men, in
characters that all could read, that He who had been dead
was really alive again, and had the keys of death and hell.
" And the man whom ye would not recognise," adds this
Pentecostal preacher, " is more than risen. 'He is raised hi/
the right hand of God ;' and this also in accordance with the
prophecies of David, who says, in Psalm ex. : ' The Lord said
unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine
enemies my footstool' " But did this sublime declaration
leally refer to Jesus ? Peter says, " Is it not perfectly obvious
to you, that it is applicable to none but Him ? Here is the
practical proof of it ! Noiu He is exalted to sit at the right
hand of God," cries the apostle to the multitude before him,
■yvho were excited to the utmost ; and proceeds, "and having
THE ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST. 269
received of the Father the jy^omise of the Hohj Ghost, He
hath shed forth this luhich ye noiu see and hear." The
assembled multitude are not only' amnzed, but terrified.
What can they further object to this conclusive proof that
Jesus is the Lord of heaven, the promised Llessiah ? Truly
He is the Lord ; it must be He ^vhom God purposed to send
into the world as its Saviour. And how had He been treated ?
Li spirit th^y see themselves already judged, and made His
footstool. Their thoughts conflict within them like an armed
host, accusing and excusing them. Peter has the draught
which he so earnestly implored, already in his net, and all
that now remains to be done is to draw the net together over
them. It is done. " Therefore," he continues, " let all the
house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that
same Jesus, whom ye" (and now he utters the plain and simple
truth, which must pierce their very hearts) " have crucified,
both Lord and Christ!'
Such is Peter's Pentecostal sermon, as striking as it is con-
cise, as pithy as it is simple, and as enlightened as it is con-
vincing. Is it not in itself a practical proof of the advent
of the Holy Ghost ?
II. But the operation and result of Peter's sermon afford
a still more evident proof of this. Observe the emotion
which pervades the crowd ; the expression of intense appre-
hension on all countenances. " Noiu tvhen they heard this''
continues the narrative, " they were j^ricked in their heart."
It shook the very foundations of their being ; it utterly pros-
trated them by depicting the whole magnitude of their
blood-guiltiness ; it made them tremble and shudder at the
thought of His tribunal who has said, " Vengeance is mine,
I luill repay!' Filled with concern, and panting for deliver-
ance and salvation, they cry to Peter and his fellow-apostles,
" Men and brethren, what shall we do ?" And what answer?
Concise in its terms, but again testifying to the divine illu-
270 THE ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.
mination of the speaker, for he exhausted the whole scheme
of salvation in a few syllables: "Repent, and he baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remis-
sion of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of t'le Holy Ghost.
For the j^^^oniise is unto you and your c-aldren, and to
cdl that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God
shall call." And much that is not related did Peter add to
this, concluding with the exhortation : " Save yourselves
from this untoiuard generation^' i.e., from the multitude,
who obstinately close tlieir heart against belief, and will not
see the light, although it be reflected upon them. And
they are willing to be saved. Three thousand joyftdly
accept the word, and are baptized, thereby devoting them-
selves soul and body to the Lord Jesus as their true Saviour
and only Mediator and Redeemer. At one cast of the gospel
net three thousand souls are taken, and quickened with the
Spirit from on high ! Peter ! how perfectly true were
our Lord's words, when He gave thee the assurance that
thou shouldst become a ''fisher of men!''
But v,diat had really occurred to those three thousand on
the great day of Pentecost ? A generation were born again ;
a race of essentially renewed individuals ; new not indeed as
to the body, but in their minds and hearts ; perfect, though
not at once so, in their development ; but the faculty was
there of becoming so, and a germ involving the ple(]ge of a
most glorious development. The Church of Christ was
founded. Had you but been able to look into the inmost
soul of those three thousand, you would indeed be astonished
at the transformation which took place so suddenly within
them. The gulf lying between them and even the most
noble of those who are still in a state of nature is vast and
boundless. They now look at everything from a totally
diff'erent stnnd-point from the world ; for they regard every-
thing as liaving reference to Cod, His government and His
THE ADDRESS AT THE FEASI OF PENTECOST. 271
kingdom. They measuie everything by a totally different
standard from that previously employed by them ; for now
their only standard is God's Word. All that they now
undertake, is carried out differently ; for the love of Christ
constrains and guides them. Even in rejoicing, their motives
for doing so differ from those of the world, for, resting on the
bosom of His grace, they joy in a disburdened, free, and
happy conscience. And how differently do they bear and
suffer, knowing that they drink only the cup mixed, pre-
pared for them by their God, in all kindliness of purpose
and in the exercise of a wise providence ; and thus they also
love differently : for they love in God, who will also have
compassion on their brethren. They now aim at other ends :
their oljects are high — nothing less than holiness, likeness to
Ood, and communion with Him. The life they lead is unto
the Lord. They cast all that gives them concern upon God.
Though the world may not see it, their walk and conversa-
tion is already in heaven. With silent joy they listen to the
music of the other world ringing in their ears ; and death,
when he beckons to them holds out a crown of glory.
Such were the Pentecostal converts, having indeed to fight
whilst here below, but their warfare is a spiritual one Such
are they who are new create I by God's Holy Spirit: the
sanctified, who though as yet disguised, are, in the inmost
features of their character already transformed into the
image of Christ. Were the world filled with such men,
theU; as you must perceive, peace would dwell on earth, and
earth would again be a paradise. And we may all become
such, and must do so, would we secure our souls and be as-
sured of our future. The way to this end has been pointed out
to us ; and even if it had not been so before, it is disclosed
to us in the narrative. Baptized with water we are indeed
already. With many of us, however, baptism is only borne,
as are the royal arms by deserters n]X)n their epaulets, only
272 THE ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.
to mainfest their shame and condemnation. By deciding to
surrender our hearts unconditionally to Jesus Christ, let us
allow the baptism which we once received to become truth.
The Moral Ruler of the world who came and dwelt amongst
us on the day of Pentecost will then immediately mould us
into members of His kingdom : the effect of which will
assuredly be to enable us, at least in some degree, to say
confidently with the ajDOstle : " But we all, with oj^en face
beholding as m a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from, glory to glory, even as hy the
Sjnrit of the Lord." May the Lord in His great mercy help
us all to attain this ! He will do it if our hearts be attuned
to tones as pure and lovely as those found in the sacred song
of our old poet Tersteegen : —
" fount, Spirit, who dost take and show
Things of the Son to ns — who crystal clear
From God's throne and the Lamb's dost ceaseless flow
Into the quiet hearts that seek Thee here —
I open wide my mouth, and thirsting sink
Beside thy stream, its living waves to diink.
" 1 give myself to Thee, to Thee alone,
From all else sunder'd. Thou art ever near;
The creature and myself I all disown.
Trusting with inmost faith that God is here !
God, Spirit, Light of life, we see
None ever wait in vain who wait for Thee."
Tersteegen, 1731.— Zym Oermanica.
THE PENTECOSTAL COMFORTER 273
XX.
THE PENTECOSTAL COMFOETER
" I tell you the truth ; it is expedient for you that I go away :
for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto
you; hut if I dejyart, I will send him unto youJ' Thus did
our Lord (John xvi. 7) address His disciples, when their
hearts were filled with sorrow at the intimation He had just
given of His approaching departure. Since the Lord of
heaven says, " It is expedient for ijou," and couples with it
the asseveration, "/ tell you the truth" that must, indeed,
be something great and glorious which He holds forth in
jDrospect to them. And truly nothing more precious could
have been promised them than the sending of the Holy
Ghost. Were the Holy Spirit here represented hut as ''He
who should convince the luorld of sin, of righteousness, and
of judgment," that would suffice to indicate His preliminary
work ; which is simply restricted to make known the channels
by which the streams of salvation, comfort, and peace, are
conveyed to man, and with which He comes to bJess humanity.
Whilst engaged in this meditation, may the Lord deign to
revive us with jilenteous draughts from these streams ! And
He will do so if He but find us amongst those who thirst for
them, and to whom the invitation has gone forth from the
lips of the Most High : "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come
ye to the boaters ; yea, come, huy wine and milk ivithout
money and luithout 2>rice."
274 THE PENTECOSTAL COMFOETEE.
Acts ii. 16-18.
" But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel ; And it shall
come to pass in the last days, (saith God,) I will ponr out of my Spirit upon
all flesh : and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young
men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams : and on my
servants, and on my handmaidens, I will pour out in those days of my
Spirit ; and they shall prophesy."
However charming the word Whitsimtide may strike upon
the ear, because the exhilarating image of spring, decked in
all her bridal attire, is associated with this festival, still it is
difficult to speak intelligibly of the importance of the holy
day of Pentecost to a general modern assembly. But why
is it so ? Because, alas ! so little of the Holy Spirit is to be
found in the churches, that it remains but too true which the
apostle said, " The natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto liim, neither
can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned''
Is it then most advisable to say nothing at AVhitsuntide of
the signification of this festival? By no means ! For, in the
first place, the Holy Ghost avails Himself of the j^r^^'ohed
word to open the understanding of the hearers with reference
to their own character, provided He finds in them the least
trace of susceptibility for heavenly things ; and, moreover,
there can scarcely fail to be individuals who are first-fruits
of the Spirit in any Christian assembly. I hope, then, that
it will be the desire of all of you, that the import of this
great festival, especially its consolatory feature, niay present
itself to you in a more ample manner than it ever previously
(lid, wliiist, guided by the prophetic passage quoted by Peter,
I take a rapid glance at that new period of the kingdom of
God which dates from that marvellous day. What will you
then be enabled to perceive? In the first place, you will see
tiie frontiers of the divine kingdom extended to the ends of
the earth; secondly, the Holy Ghost appointed to remould
THE PENTECOSTAL COMFORTER. 275
the world ; thirdly, the whole human race assigned to Him
for exaltation in heaven ; fourthly, a new family tie formed
by Him amongst the children of Adam ; and finally, the
foundation of a general j^riesthood of believers.
Let us fix our attention for a while on each of these sub-
jects ; and may the witness of the Spirit of truth not fail us
whilst so enoaoed !
I. I do not need first to depict the stirring scene in which
Peter addresses to us the prophetic words which we have
just heard from the book of Joel as having been just then
fulfilled, as far, at least, as their j^rincipal meaning was con-
cerned. You are already, in thought, in the midst of that
grand scene, and you share the astonishment of the thousands
assembled on Mount Zion, at the miraculous signs of the
mysterious '' miglity rushing ivind," the cloven tongues of
flame on the heads of the hundred and twenty disciples who
were baptize I with the Holy Ghost, as well as at the foreip-n
languages which they spake, and at the marvellous unction
and power with which you suddenly hear those poor fisher-
men, publicans, and sailors, declare the wonderful works of
God their Saviour. The greatest indignation seizes you,
that at the time when all around burst forth into an exclama-
tion of most intense amazement, "What meaneth this?" a
band of disorderly fellows should have vented the vulgarity
of their minds in mockery, saying, " These men are full of
new wine." And how your reverence for those holy and
inspired men increases when you hear one from among them
indignantly, but with calm composure, repudiate the dis-
graceful accusation, and explain quietly and clearly to the
assembled multitude the true meaning of v/hat they see and
hear, saying, " This is that luhich was siyoken by the proi^het
Joel : Thus saith God, It shall come to j^ctss in the last days,"
{i.e., in tlie period of the completion of God's kingdom,
which began with the day of Pentecost,) "/ will pour out of
276 THE PENTECOSTAL COMFOETEE.
my Spirit upon all flesh.'' Do you hear ? — " upon all flesh /"
You have now the first novelty which is introduced here.
Up to that time, the limits of God's kingdom did not extend
beyond those of the one chosen people. Divine revelation
was made to Israel alone, and upon the Jews only did the
Holy Ghost exercise His moulding and training agency.
God allowed all other nations, as it is said in the Psalms,
" to go their oimi ways.'' In them, mankind were first to try
their own strencith, and thus to prove, as it were, how far
they were able to advance in knowledge of the truth and
self-improvement. For thousands of years they strove — and
who will deny that, despite their degeneracy, they succeeded?
— I might say, in presenting themselves, in more than one
respect, and especially in works of mind and genius, as »
race of fallen kings. By which of our men renowned for
earthly wisdom has the heathen Plato been surpassed ? By
which of our politicians the heathen Pericles? By which of
our orators, the heathen Demosthenes? By which of our
artists, the heathen Phidias? By which of our poets, the
heathens Homer and Sophocles? By none. And never-
theless, those nations that had made the greatest progress,
and were the most civilised, had shewn themselves so incap-
able of raising themselves to any extent from their religious
and moral decay, that at the time of the eventful day of
Pentecost, all the nations of the world, with the exception of
the Jews, were on the verge of total moral corruption and
dissolution. Their misery cried to heaven. But it was
right and necessary that they should first be made sensible
of their need of salvation and help, in order that the intended
redemption of the world should not find all hearts entirely
closed against it. The needed assistance came. On the day
of Pentecost, tlie Lord God removed the barriers that encir-
cled Israel, and extended the limits of His kingdom from
pole to pole. K( nceforih the unsealed fountain of life should
THE PENTECOSTAL COMFOETER. 277
send its streams into all lauds, making even the deserts to
bloom. This has happened, and will come to pass again ;
and our anxiety for the future of the world and of our race
is so far dissipated, since we know that whoever wills not to
remain in death, may live.
II. Let us hear something more concerning the compas-
sionate purpose of our God. "/ ivill pour out" says He in
His promise, " of my Spirit upon all flesh." How consola-
tory does this sound ! And yet it seems as though He here
only promised to impart isolated spiritual gifts. The per-
sonality of the Holy Spirit is less apparent. But, on the
other hand, we know well how strongly it is emphasised in
other passages of Holy Scripture. I do not need to remind
you again either of the passage in John xiv. : " / ivill pray
the Father, and he shall (jive you another Comforter ;" or
of His word — " The Comforter, luhich is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, what-
soever I have said unto you;' or of the passage in John
xvi. : " Howbeit luhen he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth;'' or of the other one — "He
shall not speak of himself, but luhatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak : and he luill shew you things to come. He
shall glorify 'me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall
shew it unto you.'' Just as little occasion have I to recall
well-known passages in the epistles in which the Holy
Ghost is most unequivocally distinguished from the Father
and the Son, where operations and works purely personal in
their character are ascribed to Him, and the same dignity
and honours are attributed to Him which are due to the
Father and the Son. If divine revelation did not most
explicitly represent the Holy Ghost as a being, a personality
equal to, God, how could the Christian Church have made
the triple personality of the Godhead (if I may make use of
278 THE PENTECOSTAL COMFORTER.
this expression) the very foundation of Christianity ? It is
indeed a matter of faith. But we are not required to be-
lieve anything which we cannot directly perceive in the way
of our own personal experience, Enongli that after Christ
had fulfilled His great work of atonement, the Holy Ghost —
who, exercising creative power, now moves over the wilder-
ness and desert of the moral world, as He did in the be-
ginning of days over the waters of the earth, vv^liich was still
without form and void — has come down to us in order, in
Christ's name, to occujoy Himself in the exalted office of
spiritually moulding and creating degenerate man anew.
What a consolatory thought this is ! We know that another
spirit than the Holy Ghost likewise rules upon earth, and
that he too has selected man as the material, o]ierating upon
which, he strives to reproduce himself and his character.
He likewise has his personality ; true it is, he is but a crea-
ture ; but armed with miglity power, and endowed with
great cunning and subtlety. He is the fallen morning star,
once the most distinguished of all spirits which proceeded
from the hand of God ; now, however, God's sworn enemy,
and the most bitter opponent of the kingdom of God, and of
all that is good. His dominion is so extended and so great,
that the Scripture concedes to him not only the title of
"prince,'' but even calls him the " god of this 'world''
Satan is his name. What would become of us, if we stood
alone opposed to him, and to his legions of angels, thrown
back upon our own defensive powers ? But, praised be
God ! a mightier One now contends with hiiu, who laughs
his power and his machinations to scorn, and who will
infallibly keep the field. The Spirit of Pentecost, this
communicating Agent of heavenly powers to us mortals,
this Creator of life and Liberator from bonds, undertook,
from the day of Pentecost, to guide, educate, and instruct
the whole human race. What can we desire more ? What
THE PENTECOSTAL COMFOKTER. 279
hopes may we not clieiisli with reference to the further
development of onr race ? Actino- upon fallen human nature,
He will know how to make something to the glory of God!
Whitsuntide inspires courage. Though for a while falsehood,
crime, and ungodliness cover the earth as waters cover the
bed of the sea, tlie day of Pentecost prevents despair and
iipprehension. Taken collectively, we are not going down
hill, but, on the contrary, are rising higher. Jerusalem is
being built. Tlicre shall be a new earth as well as a new
heaven in which righteousness shall dwell. Nothing is
more certain than this. The rule of tlie Spirit of Pentecost
assuredly guarantees it to us.
III. " 1 will pour out of my Spirit upon all fiesh." Why
does the Lord thus express Himself in His promise ? Partly
in order to intimate the extensive sphere of the operations of
the Holy Ghost at the time of the new covenant ; partly in
order to indicate that, as the rain and dew refresh the vege-
table world, so the Spirit from above will penetrate man's
whole nature, vivifying and transforming him. We already
know that the Holy Ghost operates differently under the
new covenant from what He did under the old. Your at-
tention has been already directed to the difference between
His operations subsequent to the feast of Pentecost, and
those which were wrought prior to that day. You will
admit that, during the legal dispensation, such characters
were never brought under your observation, (subsequent to
Pentecost,) as you discover in a John, in a Peter, or in a
Paul, who were so wholly dead to the suggestions of the old
man, in whom holiness pervaded their being to its very core,
and whose walk and conversation were already in heaven.
The Holy Spirit, moreover, works by means of the Word,
and never luUliout it. His primary workings are indeed of
a painful character. He begins His work by dispelling
many favourite delusions in which we may have involved
280 THE PENTECOSTAL COMFORTER.
ourselves. Acting as guardian, before His wards are aware
of it, the " good God " in whom they had implicitly looked
for comfort is transformed into a thrice-holy majesty, the
much - loved seat of the universal Father into a dread
tribunal, glowing with fiery flame'-s and His " beautiful
heaven " into a holy of holies to which only the consecrated
and righteous may obtain admittance ; His law, which they
thought so easy to fulfil, becomes a most relentless accuser,
if violated but in one point, and that whether it be by overt
act, or only by latent desire or inclination. A burning and
shining light, such as they have never heretofore seen, then
rises before them, disclosing their real state. Their peace
of mind is gone. They tremble at the thought of the day of
account. Liit now the Spirit continues His work within
them ; for He glorifies Christ in them, revealing the treasures
of compassion which lie concealed in Him, teaching them to
believe in the propitiatory power of His blood, and bearing
testimony with their spirits that they also are children of
God through the mediation of their everlasting High Priest.
And, together with peace in believing, He inspires love in
the heart, filial love to God the Lord, and to all that is God's;
and with love He implants hope, which enables them to see
the world, death, and the grave, placed beneath their feet,
and soaring on eagle's wings far above the heights of earth,
joyfully to attain that abode which is prepared for them on
high. Thus they journey, God's pilgrims and His citizens,
cheerfully performing what is required in the service of the
Lord, and happy in the blissful prospects which they see
disclosed before them. The Holy Ghost transforms all the
poor children of Adam who confidingly submit themselves to
His care, into such men, living to the Lord ; and He never
more forsakes them, but helps their weakness, arms them for
the fight that shall issue in victory, against all the powers of
darkness, expands their heart and gives enlargement and
THE PENTECOSTAL COMFORTER. 281
fervency in prayer, and renders them unceasingly the most
splendid services and powerful assistance, by a thousand
secret modes, instructions, warnings, and intimations, often
before they are aware. Such is the transformation which
the Pentecostal Spirit imparts to those who are under His
guardianship here on earth.
IV. But to whom does the Spirit thus reveal Himself?
In the days of the old covenant he generally held intercourse
only with the pillars and dignitaries in God's kingdom, en-
lightening them, and delivering His messages to them.
Since His entry into the world at Pentecost, however, He
has designed His loving care indiscriminately for all sinners,
just as the Mediator's blood was shed for all. The declara-
tion of the prophet Joel must have struck the ears of the
ancients with wonder : " Your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and
your old men shall dream dreams : and on my servants and
on my handmaidens I luill jjour out in those dags of my
Spirit.'' This did not mean indeed. They shall all receive
direct revelations from God ; its signification was rather
this : The Spirit will subject them all to His operations, and
according to His purpose, make them partakers of a new
life. And we now see tliis fulfilled. Old and young,
learned and unlearned, high and low, masters and servants,
and maidens too, experience a new birth, which influences
their mind, temper, and understanding, their heart and their
conversation : the external distinctions of superior and in-
ferior continue in the meanwhile, such being God's will and
ordinance ; but they are inwardly, and with reference to the
Sjjirit, upon a perfect equality as to rank and training. A
nobility is instituted, novel in its kind, ranking immeasurably
higher than one proceeding from mere birth and descent. I
meet n:ien amongst those who have been baptized in the Spirit,
who go about in working-men's dress, "who, if we speak of
282 THE PENTECOSTAL COMFOKTER.
deeds, would be found to be men who have overcome the
world — who, as to education, ju;lge all the things of this
world immeasurably more soundly and profoundly than
thousands of learned men — who, as to their minds, possess
much deeper conceptions than* those of the greatest philo-
sophers, where these latter have but drawn from the re-
sources of their own minds — and who, as to morals, may
boast that they exhibit a tact much finer and more delicate
than any dictated by a mere worldly sysfem of fasliions, in-
asmuch as theirs is peculiarly their own, and not borrowed
from others. He who gives free scope to the Holy Spirit
will be raised by Him to a degree of general moral refine-
ment to which no human art or science can possibly elevate
him. I know men in the highest rank of society who, be-
cause they share in the Holy Spirit, feel themselves more
closely, nearly, and intimately connected with their converted
servants, than with their equals, in a worldly point of view,
in culture and rank. And this feeling of relationship is
maintained among all genuine children of the Spirit. Thus
the Holy Spirit forms a new family tie among the children
of Adam, which will ever extend further and further, until
at length it shall embrace all mankind as one flock under
one Shepherd. " For by one Sjnrit" says the apostle, (1 Cor.
xii. 13,) comprehending all true believers with himself in
one body, "are we all haiJtized into one body, tuhether lue be
Jews or Greeks, whether we be bond or free ; and have been
all made to drink into one Spirit ;" and in Gal. iii. 28 :
" There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus."
V. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are manifold. They are
not all necessary to salvation. Some of them, such as the
ability to preach, the qualifications of a pastor, of church
government, and the like, only serve to the perfecting of the
x'HE PENTECOSTAL COMFORTER. 1'63
kingdom of God. Under the old covenant these were
associated with particular offices. The Spirit now dis-
tributes these to such in the Church of Christ as He wills ;
*' But the manifestation of the Spirit is given,'' says the
apostle, " to every man to profit withal ;" and the " universal
•priesthood'' of believers is based upon this fact, without
detriment to the ordinances and offices established by God in
the Church, nay, accommodating and making tlicmselves
subject to them, they are all called, as endowed each severally
according to the measure of His gift, to co-operate in the
perfecting of the kingdom of God. There is not one amongst
them who is not authorised, and to whom it is not likewise
conceded to appear before the throne of God with suitable
intercession for others ; to win souls to the Lord by words
mighty to convince, plain and simple though they be ; and
to light the way to the divine havens of refuge, to those
who have gone astray, and have wandered from the right
path, by the quiet shining light of their own example.
''He thai helieveth on me," saith our Lord, ''out of his helly
shall floiu rivers oflivinrj tuater." Wiiat a promise is this!
True believers are not only blessed themselves, but, wherever
they are, they are springs of blessing for all around them,
which iiow unceasingly, and yet are never exhausted, so that,
whether silent or speaking, at rest or in action, they are ever
exerting an influence, now awakening, now quickening, now
enlightening, and now calming and solacing. They are as
" trees planted by the rivers of luater, ivhose leaves shall not
tuither," nay, '' serve for the healing of the nations." But all
this is through the Holy Spirit, who, dwelling in them, has
cliosen them to be His vessels and His instruments. If we,
then, my friends, have not yet assumed this priestly character,
there is no reason why we might not have done so, and that
long ago. We are all called thereto. The Divine Com-
forter, with His wondrous unction, has Ions; stood at the door
284 THE PENTECOSTAL COMFOETEE.
of our hearts. Oh that we would but admit Him, and grant
Him free and unbounded scope for His operations ! our moral
atmosphere would soon be filled with Divine quickening and
saving powers ; and even though " lightnings and thunder-
ings and voices'' should not proceed from us, our whole
appearance would breathe a something which would revive
the withered, refresh the wearv, and reanimate the sick.
Oh, when will it come to pass that the prevailing want of
spirituality shall cease from amongst us, when there shall be
an efficacious remedy for our drooping faith, and that the
Divine creative fiat shall resound to awaken the dead by
whom we are encompassed : " Gome from the four winds,
breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live ? "
When shall we be able to say of our churches: " Lo, the
tvinter is past, the rain is over and gone, the floiuers appear
on the earth ; the time of the singing of birds is come, and
the voice of the turtle is heard in our land f "' It would soon
come to pass indeed, if our souls did bat really thirst for it,
and if tlie holy flame of prayer, which so delightfully and
fervently meets us in the sacred song, were never extinguished
on the altar of our hearts : —
" Holy Ghost ! Thou fire divine !
From highest heaven on us down shine.
Comforter, be Thy comfort mine !
Oh, cleanse our souls from sinful stain.
O'er desert hearts Thy blessing rain,
And heal the wounded from their pain.
And may we live in holiness,
And find in death our happiness,
And dwell with Thee in lasting bliss ! "
Lyra Oermanica.
THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY. 285
XXL
THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY.
In Ps. XXV. 1 6, David breaks forth thus, " / am desolate ! "
In one sense it was truth, in another it was not so. He felt
desolate ; but our feelings deceive us thousands of times.
He was never deserted for a moment. The Lord was with
him even when concealed ''behind the ivalV "/ am deso-
late I " This is a lamentation that is heard more frequently
than any other in the " tabernacles of the righteous." But we
should not be too hasty. Let us remember that such a com-
plaint makes God a liar, for He has said : '' The angel of the
Lord encampeth round about them that fear him;" and
Jesus a liar, for He saith, " Lo, I am with you ahuay, even to
the end of the luorkV And as this latter is the Aljoha, so
likewise is He the Omega, and as the first, so likewise is He
the last. Many complain, in contemjDlation of the guidings
in Providence, of the path in which they are constrained to
go, " / am desolate ! ' But were it really a fact, that the
Lord is leading thee by a way trodden by no second in-
dividual, would that be a misfortune ? I think, if He but
lead us, tliat ouglit to be enough for us. " SJiull the thing
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made
me thus? and the clay to his jiotter, What makest thou?"
And no one can say with truth, in reference to the path by
which he is led, " / am desolate ! " Many travel the same
road, though we are not aware of it. Search Scripture, and
286 THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY.
you will certainly find some one there, and upon closer survey
you will find amongst your fellow-pilgrims, some in whose
experience you may recognise your own. And it is un-
doubtedly consolatory and encouraging to meet brethren
amongst the saints of God, whose experience in folloTving
the Lord agrees with ours. " I am desolate !" exclaims many
a one with reference to the faith which he confesses, and
according to which he lives. I believe things, thinks he,
which millions of my fellow-men have long since rejected as
idle tales, such as (amongst others) Christ's Godhead, re-
demption through Christ's blood, His miracles, and signs.
And in connexion with such a perception arises the doubt
whether he be the only one that is in the right, and whether
all those millions be in the wrong. thou who art tor-
mented by such a doubt, know that assuredly those millions
err, and that thou, though thou wert alone in thy belief, art
right, for thy foundation is the Word of God. But thou
lookest at the matter far too gloomily when thou supposest
that there are but so few who hold thy faith. The number
of those who have not bowed the knee to Baal is innumerably
greater than thou of "little faith'' dost imagine. And,
moreover, cease to judge the race of mortals who surround
thee to be the whole world of intelligent beings, and this
earth, but as the drop of a bucket, as God's whole universe.
Left up thine eyes and see whether thou art really desolate.
Look at the ten thousand times ten thousand standing be-
fore the throne of the Almighty, and at the multitude of just
men made perfect, whom no man can number, in white
robes and with golden harps in their hands. These are thy
fellow-believers who bear their testimony to thy faith, and
who, interceding for thee and for thy cause, pray day and
night, and adoringly cry, " Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain to receive honour and glory and blessing for ever and
ever V But, as we have said, there are numbers here now
THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY. 287
who hold the same faith, who serve the same Lord, who
walk the same path, and who fight and suffer with thee, and
who, unknown to thee, bear thee upon prayerful hearts. And
be assured they are amongst the very noblest wdio breathe
upon earth, they are the light and the salt of the world.
Believe in the "fellowship of saints!' Thou thinkest,
*' Oh, would that there were such a church somewhere upon
earth, as that first at Jerusalem baptized by the Holy
Spirit !" Well, that also has not yet disappeared. And we
are now just about to treat of it.
Acts ii. 42-47.
" And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship,
and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul :
and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that be-
lieved were together, and had all things common ; and sold their possessions
and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they,
continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from
house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added
to the church daily such as should be saved."
Oh what a charming spectacle is that presented to us,
and found not in the ideal world of poesy, but in reality !
Christianity recognises in it the portrait of her spiritual
youth. It was thus that she looked when brought into life
by the creative breath of tlie holy Spirit as the Pentecostal
Church. Does she still recognise herself in this portrait, or
does she shrink back from the mirror, blushing and con-
fused ? 1 do not say that this Church has disappeared from
the world. Nay, this lovely temple might again be recon-
structed in our day, though the living stones of which it
would be composed would be found far asunder. The
Christian Church, however, is no longer this temple, and
assuredly scarce any church could be found which might
compare with tliat primary one at Jerusalem. This latter
288 THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY.
is and remains a type and pattern upon which every subse-
quent church has to be moulded. It must, therefore, be of
the highest interest for us to devote our intelligent considera-
tion to the appearance of the Church of Christ in its original
and typical constitution. *Let us look upon that Church,
then, in the first place, in its positive characteristic features ;
and in the next, in its operation upon the luorld surround-
ing it. May the beautiful picture excite us to more earnest
emulation ! May the Lord bless our meditations !
I. You know the constitution of the Church which is now
brought before us. Who would have thought that so noble
a production could have been formed out of sucli crude and
refractory materials as was the Israel of that time. You saw
the well-known vision of the prophet Ezekiel realised on the
day of Pentecost, A field covered with the bones of the
spiritually dead hsy before you. And to these the summons
issued, " ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." Peter
then pro2:)hesied to them in the name of the Lord. Then
began a noise and shaking on the wide and desolate field ;
and when the "wind" — i.e., the Holy Ghost — was com-
manded to " Come and breathe upon these slain, that they
might live;' breath came into them, and they rose, and lived ;
and sinews and flesh grew upon them, and they acquired a
form. And there was an exceeding great army of them :
three thousand in number. This was a miracle indeed of
which the meaning was most consolatory and rich in pro-
mise 1 After the Spirit has once made an entrance, how
quickly does He eiiect the most surprising and glorious
transformation, even in the most uncouth and perverse
nations ! How this cheers our prospect for this world and
quickens our hope for the future I The three thousand j^ro-
selytes immediately joined themselves, as members of one
body, to the believers who were already in Jerusalem ; and
thus, resplendent in all the living freshness of youthful
THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY-. 289
beauty, the first Christian church stood forth, the model for
all those which should ever afterwards be formed. This
community is minutely described to us in all its essential
characteristics. We hear of their faith, of iheu fellowship,
of their heavenly frame of mind, of their hold confession,
and of the jwevailing temper and disposition of the members.
" They continued," thus we read, in the first place, "in the
apostles doctrine.'' Happy indeed were they to have been
able to cultivate the field of their Christian knowledge under
the immediate direction of the holy apostles ! We, however,
are not much less highly favoured. That which was com-
municated and disclosed to them orally, we have before us
in the text of the apostolic epistles. But the belief of the
first Christians in the doctrine of the apostles is highly im-
portant to us. It throws a great weight into the balance
of our own convictions. The apostles preached to them that
which is now delivered in their writings to us, — the divinity
of Jesus Christ, the all-sufiiciency of His mediation, justifica-
tion by grace on the ground of His merits, and all that stands
connected with the doctrines of grace. The believers in the
apostolic message opened their hearts, utterly divested of all
suspicion, to the Christ to whom they were now directed in
all their difficulties — the majority of them having known
Him whilst living and moving bodily in their midst. This
circumstance places it beyond doubt that they had themselves
received impressions concerning His person in perfect har-
mony with those great and glorious things which they now
learne<i of Him, and with the design of His mission ; the
one truly confirmed tlie other. It would occur to them,
" Why should not we consider the sublime things which you,
His confiucints, proclaim to us concerning the nature, the
dignity, and the works of the Son of Man, as worthy of all
acceptation? His whole deportment tended to prove that
He was precisely such a one as you have depicted Him,
290 THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY.
and that He really would accomplisli great and marvellous
things. We, moreover, saw His glory, the glory as of the
only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth ! " But
the intimate convictions which you, the contemporaries of
Jesus, the eye and ear witnesses of both His deeds and words
have formed, must materially contribute for ever to dissipate
all remaining scruples in ourselves. Your faith sustains ours
— nay, is even calculated to remove every prop, stay, and pre-
text for unbelief.
The fellowship of the first Christians has become cele-
brated. The word in the original has a twofold application.
It betokens mutual help in the distribution of earthly gifts,
and in the exchange of spiritual ones ; and it likewise means
intimate fellowship, and hearty interchange of sincerely re-
ciprocated affection. The devil had not then sown the seeds
of bickering and strife in the field of the Church which now,
alas ! flourish so luxuriantly. Possibly even then diversity
of views and apprehensions may have been manifested
amongst Christians. But they were perfectly agreed in all
fundamental articles — on those, for instance, concerning the
Divine yet human person of the Redeemer, His work of
atonement as the sole ground of accej^tance with God, salva-
tion by faith alone, — faith, however, which does not remain
fruitless, but whose inevitable consequence is sanctity of life,
— the sacraments as priceless divine means of grace and
salvation ; — and this agreement, founded on common experi-
ence both of heart and life, w^as ever growing more deeply
rooted, and proved more than adequate for the foundation
of the most sincere and endeared relations between them.
They knew that they were all bought with one blood, quick-
ened by one Spirit, and called to one inheritance of the
" saints in light." How could they but have felt as a family
most intimately connected, associated for eternity, whose
head was their exalted and g-lorified Master?
THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY. 291
And they gave practical and symbolical expression to this
feeling by frequently breaking bread in each other's houses
and tents, doing so in small companies composed of different
members ; taking their simple meal together, and thus re-
calling the sacred table at which our Lord supped with His
disciples. This, of course, took place after the heat and
burden of the day, for we are not to imagine that they were
idlers. You know how the disciples, after the resurrection
of our Lord, returned to their nets during the short time
they had to wait ; and again, how Paul afterwards, though
preaching during the day, passed part of the night at the
loom in order to earn his own bread. Their Lord, indeed,
was no longer present at these social family repasts. But
though not visibly with them, He was nevertheless essen-
tially so, in the sweet peace, the inward heavenly joy, and
the brotherly love, which He had shed abroad in their hearts.
And He was still more intimately present with them in the
significant solemnity which was ever united to these love-
feasts, which was, indeed, the real aim of these meetings at
the board, — I mean, in the communion which, in His ab-
sence, so fully indemnified them for the loss of His presence,
— in the enjoyment of the Lord's Supper, the elements of
which had been blessed by Him himself, — the consecrated
bread and wine, those seals of His grace, those pledges of
His personal presence. How far were they elevated above
the heights of earth, and how did they experience the truth
of His promise, " Where two or three are viet together in my
name, there am I in the midst of them .'"
And do not marvel when it is further related concerninor
the members of this church, that they "had all things
common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted
them to all men, as every man had need." The feeling of
Christian fellowship was in them so powerful, that they
naturally considered the worldly goods which had fallen to
292 THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY.
the lot of any as belonging also to the poor brethren who
formed the greater part of the community ; and their frame
of mind was so heavenly, that their appreciation of the
gracious spiritual gifts which they had attained through
Christ was such as to make all earthly property appear un-
worthy of notice. Their hearts were entirely detached from
it. But you are by no means to consider that this " having
all things common " was imposed as law, or as an ordinance
embodied in their ecclesiastical regulations. Each freely
gave, and 2^^ freely retained, that which his own heart dic-
tated. Neither did they purpose to equalise the disparity in
their possessions in an external and mechanical manner. We
are, on the contrary, specially informed that they parted them
according as ''every man had need," — i.e., at the time and to
the extent which his necessities demanded. Nor would we
have you less attentively observe that no one laid claim, no
one demanded, but every proprietor felt self-constrained to
impart to the brethren ; so that this exercise of active love
formed a decided contrast to that which we are now accus-
tomed to term commimion. Moreover, finally, the peculiar
mode and style in which the enthusiastic love of the primitive
Christians actively demonstrated itself was not intended to
serve as a prescribed legal precedent for all successive
Christian churches. Besides, we nowhere find this style of
beneficence exercised subsequently in the apostolic churches.
But the spirit which, from a free, self-emanating impulse,
invested that form at Jerusalem, is, and remains, the indis-
pensable stamp of Christianity to this hour. We are to
emulate the first Christians in sincere, practical, and self-
denying cheerful brotherly love; and if we come short of
their example on this point, nothing is more certain than
that their faith and heavenly-mindedness differed in some
respects from ours.
It was an imperative necessity with them to confess the
THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY. 293
faith, in which they were so happy, aloud to the whole world ;
and that which ranked next in point of urgency was to put it
in action. It was not sufficient for them to pour forth their
whole soul before the Lord in the privacy of the chamber,
which they did incessantly, but they felt constrained likewise
to testify aloud of Him who was to them their all in all, and
this they did either to those who w^re as yet uninformed of
our Lord, or to those who were unwilling to know Him.
Following the custom of the more pious among their nation,
they engaged daily in united prayer, but in their instance
they offered prayer in the name of Jesus, to whom, as to their
Friend in heaven, they boldly sung praises in the temple too.
The temple was still God's house, as it had ever been ; it
was only according to the natural course of things that it
should have been transformed into the first Christian
cathedral, had the entire Lsraelitish nation, chiefs and people,
done homage to Him in whom the shadows and types of the
temple were all fulfilled. Now, indeed, it was devoted to
destruction. But as long as it stood, it was even to Chris-
tians a sacred spot which served to elevate their souls, and
where, moreover, they might reckon upon meeting with souls
susceptible of evangelical impressions. Most justly does the
Lord attach high importance to a frank and d^ecided confes-
sion of His name. Men may say what they please, but the
absence of profession is an indication that Christianity has
not yet been taken up in good sober earnest. But confes-
sion is something more than a Christian formula. It springs
from a cheerful impulse of the heart, and is based upon
conviction, fixed as firm as a rock, and precisely hence is it
an open and undaunted declaration of the colours and ban-
ners to which a man has sworn fidelity. It is the discovery
of the sacred mark and seal which Christ has stamped on the
forehead of all of us w^ho are His disciples ; a discovery
which a man, moreover, feels himself inwardly constrained
294 THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY.
to make precisely there wliere silence is equivalent to
acquiescence in worldly unbelief ; and where plain speaking
is not insured against the danger of being retorted upon with
scorn, derision, or with even worse than these. Shame upon
that cowardly reticence ani] silence I How frequently are
Christians guilty of it, and how much does it serve to dis-
grace and cast obloquy upon our Lord's cause, with vv^hich
they are identified ; and to what profound grief does it not
bring those Christian brethren of whom they are the repre-
sentatives !
And when, finally, it is said of the primitive Christians,
that they ''did eat their meat with gladness and with
singleness of hearth' w^e thereby get a glimpse of their
prevailing tone of mind. Free from every trace of con-
strained and painful asceticism, and without the gloom of
conventual life, they were truly cheerful, bright, and inoffen-
sively joyous folk. And how could they w^ell have been
otherwise, they who knew, that through the blood of Christ
and the grace of the Holy Spirit, they had a conscience void
of offence before God and all the world, and that they w^ere
children of their heavenly Father's family, for the present
travellino: too-ether to the Jerusalem above ? There was no-
thing artificial, nothing forced or affected about them, but
everything bore the stamp of originality and truth. Never
hesitating as to their line of action, and ever exercising that
tact which is the gift of the Holy Spirit, they uniformly chose
the right, and thereby proved themselves to belong to the
"righteous'' for whom there is "no laiu given," because the
law of God is engi-aven upon their hearts. And though, in
contemplation of their heavenly inheritance, there was not
one of them but couhl say w^ith the apostle in reference to
earthly things, " I have learnt in ivhatsoever state I am there-
with to be content, and am instructed both to befall and to
be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." Nevertheless,
THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUKITY. 295
the least temporal advantage Avitli which they saw themselves
blest, sufficed to animate them with innocent, child-like joy,
because they recognised in it a renewed mark of God's favour,
who had taken upon Himself to provide for their wants,
both of soul and body, and who kept the very hairs of their
heads numbered. And hence it was that at table they
praised God, ''and did eat their meat luith gladness and
singleness of heart'' no longer tormented with scruples as to
what was permitted, and what not ; moreover, they felt
themselves to be in the temple of the Lord, not only upon
Mount Moriah, but likewise in their dwellinsjs and houses,
and everywhere else.
Such, my friends, were the characteristics of the first
Christian Church. You will admit that if it had but spread
itself over the whole world, there would have been no prisons,
no workhouses, no courts of justice, or similar institutions
upon earth. The steel of our swords would have been
wrought into ploughshares, and the metal of our cannon
would have been converted into church-bells. Goodness and
truth would everywhere have embraced each other, and
righteousness and peace would have kissed each other.
II. It may readily be imagined that a church, the funda-
mental features of which were such as those which we have
just depicted, must necessarily have shone forth with won-
drous effect upon a world wholly estranged from the faith.
It is said with reference to its members, that " they had
favour ivith all the i^eople!' This is saying much. It
astonishes us. Modern believers have not been so happy
in their experience. And why not ? Much might be said
in reply to this question ; and in enumerating some of the
reasons, I have to observe that the majority of men of the
world regard evangelical professors with mistrust, because
they find so many among them who are self-convicted of
insincerity, and to be of those who liold indeed the word of
296 THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY.
truth, but not the truth of the Word ; for they assume the
externals of Christianity but that they may please men, or
out of respect to prevalent fashion, or from political interests,
because Christianity is conservative, or out of affection to
the party to which they stand j^ledged, and in whose pro-
gramme the article of a positive faith is inscribed. Again,
it is to be regretted, that of true believers, those are ever
becoming more rare who are wholly what they seem, who
know how to keep themselves clear of morbid developments,
of morbid deformities of one kind or another, — such as a
censorious spirit, haughty self -exaltation, a striving after
empty honours flimsily masked with a feigned liumility,
affected unction, a mere sham, and occasionally untruthful-
ness. Were all believers, in their moral features, like those
children of the Spirit at Jerusalem — if all they said and
did breathed only humility and love — were their life but
to preach the glory of the gospel practically as much as
they do it orally, — then indeed the respect of all and the
love of many would be fully assured to them likewise ; and
they would also serve, as did their prototypes there, not only
as lighthouses to the dismasted and rudderless tempest-tossed
vessels on the sea of life seeking a port of refuge, but they
would be joyously hailed as beacons indicating the course to
be followed, and, by the influence of sincere personal holi-
ness, purely reflecting peace, they would exert irresistible
powers of attraction for the morally noble, beautiful, and
sublime. The effect wrought by their presence would
assuredly be similar to that produced at Jerusalem, (where
''fear came tipon every soul,") at which there is no ground for
marvel ; for, contemplating themselves in the mirror of such
a regenerate race, they would feel terrified at the loss of their
security, and they would inwardly feel themselves sentenced
and condemned for their own personal alienation from God,
and for their worldly-mindedness. But this would not pre-
THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY.
vent the reoccurrence to believers of the very same experi-
ence which is reported of those who, baptized with the Spirit,
were the first-fruits of the kingdom of Christ, viz., " They
had favour ivith all the people. And the Lord added to
the Church daily such as should be saved."
Would that the loving church of Pentecost, the beautiful
conception of which we retain to this hour, might again
somewhere present itself, that we, at least, might confidently
affirm of some one spot upon earth, " Th&re, if you desire to
see it. vou will find a church, exhibiting, in its carriage,
genuine and living Christianity ! "' All that we can do, in the
meanwhile, to satisfy tlie desire of those who clierish such a
wish, is to select individual impersonations of it throughout
the world, and to bring the latter as an imaginary body be-
fore them ; but the time will come when it will be other-
wise. The historic manifestation of the first Christian church
was at once both prophetic type and Divine promise for the
future. The prophecy of the seer Joel is as yet but in in-
cipient accomplishment. Another Pentecost of all-absorb-
ing proportions is in the distance. May this ardently-hoped-
for time presently dawn upon this our night, when Immanuel
shall begin to wield exclus''--'- s^'''e»:eignty upon earth, when
Satan, bound, shall be committed to the abyss, and humanity
shall form one fold under one Shepherd; and it shall be
said, in perfect truth, to every Church, " In everything ye
are enriclied by Him ; in faith, in utterance, in knowledge,
in all diligence, and in love, so that ye come behind in no
gift ; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Conqueror, conquer ! Euler, reign !
King, assert Thy sovereign right,
Till no slavery more remain !
Spread the kingdom of Thy might !
Lead the captives freely out,
Through the covenant of Thy blood,
^d THE PENTECOSTAL COMMUNITY.
From our dark remorse and doubt.
For Thou wiliest but our good.
" Draw us to Thy cross, Love !
Crucify with Thee whate'er
Cannot dwell with Thee above ;
Lead us to those regions fair.
Courage ! long the time may seem.
Yet His day is coming fast !
We shall be like them that dream
When our freedom dawns at last."
Gottfried Arnold, 1696.— Lyra Germanica,
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IN U. S. A.
BS2428.K94
The risen Redeemer: the gospel history
Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library
1 1012 00013 3738
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