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CHRIST AND THE OHUECH. 
 
 SERMONS 
 
 ON 
 
 THE APOSTOLIC COMMISSION. 
 
 (Matt, xxviir. 18-20.) 
 
 >^ 
 
 BY 
 
 ADOLPH^SAPHIR, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "lectures ON THE LORD'S PRAYER," 
 •'CHRIST CRUCIFIED," ETC. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET. 
 
 MDCCCLXXIV. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The last words of our Lord, as recorded in the 
 Gospel of Matthew, contain a brief summary of 
 Christian doctrine — a concise but majestic 
 statement of Church-truth, of the blessings of 
 the new covenant. 
 
 In the following Sermons, delivered before a 
 newly-gathered congregation,! have endeavoured 
 to unfold to some slight extent the rich treasure 
 of instruction and consolation contained in the 
 apostolic commission, in the earnest hope that 
 our beginning may be in the fulness of the 
 blessing of the gospel of Christ, and that as a 
 Church we may hold fast the truth and joy of 
 our Lord. The central position of Christ, whom 
 the Father hath exalted " Head over all things 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 to the Churcli " — the paramount importance of 
 the Scripture and of the ministry of the Word — 
 the perfect revelation of God in the new c6ve- 
 nant as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — the new 
 obedience of the gospel, as distinguished from 
 the dispensation of law — the relation of the 
 Church to the world, as well as her character, 
 organisation, and mission to those around her 
 and to the heathen — the real presence of Imma- 
 nuel, such are the topics which the words of 
 the Saviour set before us. 
 
 1 have endeavoured in my exposition to 
 teach according to Scripture, and the proportion 
 of faith. My special desire was to encourage 
 and confirm young believers, that they may 
 diligently and faithfully search the Word of 
 God, so as to be fortified against the errors of 
 the day ; that, avoiding the false churchism, 
 and the pseudo-spiritual individualism, which 
 -5 always appear at the same time, they may 
 devote their lives to the service of Christ in the 
 Church, and that they may learn to live in the 
 '^: world, and yet to be crucified to it, to honour 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 and love all that the Father has created for 
 Christ, giving thanks continnallj, and over- 
 coming the wicked one. 
 
 I commend this book, with its many faults 
 and imperfections, to the blessing of God and 
 the kindness of my readers. May we know 
 Immanuel. He who died for us is with us, and 
 He who is with us will soon come. 
 
 A. S. 
 
 March 1874. 
 
*■ 
 
 
 ■-U/ 
 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON PAGE 
 
 I. THE OMNIPOTENCE OF THE EISEN SAVIOUR . . 1 
 
 II. THE OMNIPOTENCE OF JESUS ON EAETH ... 31 
 
 III. THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL CHARACTER OF THE 
 
 CHURCH 67 
 
 IV. THE NAME OF GOD 117 
 
 V. THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF THE OLD AND OF 
 
 THE NEW COVENANT . . , . .153 
 
 VI. THE NEW OBEDIENCE 219 
 
 VI. THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD .... 277 
 
 VIII, LIFE IN THE CHURCH . . . . .325 
 
 IX. HEATHENISM 353 
 
 X- THE REAL PRESENCE 393 ♦ 
 
I. 
 
 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF THE 
 RISEN SAVIOUR. 
 
 A 
 
" THEN THE ELEVEN DISCIPLES WENT AWAY INTO GALILEE, INTO 
 A MOUNTAIN WHERE JESUS HAD APPOINTED THEM, AND 
 WHEN THEY SAW HIM, THEY WORSHIPPED 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 THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM 
 IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE 
 HOLY GHOST; TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS 
 WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU : AND, LO, I AM WITH 
 YOU ALWAY, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD. AMEN." — 
 
 MATT, xxviii. 16-20. 
 
PftOP^'- 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 THE OMKIPOTENCE OF THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 
 
 *' All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." — 
 Matt, xxviii. 18. 
 
 None but Jesus could have uttered these words, 
 and Jesus only after His death and resurrection. 
 It is true that in the days of His humiliation 
 He had said, ^^ All things are delivered unto 
 me of my Father " (Matt. xi. 27) ; and again, 
 that " the Father had given Him power over 
 all flesh " (John xvii. 2). It is true, that dur- 
 ing the years of His obedience on earth He 
 lived in the full consciousness of the glory 
 which He had before the world was, and knew 
 that the Father had given all things into His 
 hands (John xiii. 3). But it was only after 
 He had accomplished His decease at Jerusalem 
 that by His resurrection He was declared 
 
4 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 (Rom. i. 4) to be the Son of God with power, it 
 was after His death on the cross that the Father 
 highly exalted Him, and that, as the Son of 
 man, He was invested with the omnipotent 
 government of the whole world. 
 
 ^^ All power is given unto me in heaven and 
 in earth." Thus spake our risen Lord, the 
 man Christ Jesus, the only Mediator between 
 God and man, our royal High Priest, who is 
 set on the right hand of the throne of the 
 Majesty in the heavens, angels and authorities 
 and jDowers being made subject unto Him 
 (Heb. viii. 1 ; 1 Pet. iii. 22). Thus spake the 
 incarnate Son of God, the appointed Heir of 
 all tluDgs, crowned with glory after His obedi- 
 ence unto death. Thus spake He on earth 
 before His ascension, to announce His spiritual 
 presence and reign, during the times of His 
 bodily absence ; to announce His royal preroga- 
 tive on earth until the times of the restitution 
 of all things (Acts iii. 21), when He shall 
 establish His kingdom, and rule visibly over 
 the nations. (Comp. Dan. vii. 13 and 14) ; 
 
 His words are full of divine mystery ; they 
 possess heavenly massiveness and grandeur, and 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 5 
 
 yet are they full of peace, consolation, and hope 
 to every Christ-loving heart. The Lord an- 
 nounces His omnipotence ; but when He says, 
 ^^All power is given unto me," He reminds us 
 that His power is the gift and reward of His 
 Father after His obedience and death of love. 
 He speaks in the tone of absolute sovereignty 
 and authority, as Jehovah commanded Israel to 
 observe all His precepts and statutes (Deutero- 
 nomy passim) ; but listening to the command 
 and promise of the risen Saviour, we feel that 
 His yoke is easy and His burden light, and that 
 in the revelation of the triune Name, He gives 
 all-sufficient strength for service and victory. 
 And when finally He assures us of His omni- 
 presence, how blessed is the promise of His 
 nearness all the days and among all nations ! 
 We are revived by the same fragrance, which 
 in His name Immanuel is our delight and en- 
 couragement. 
 
 With peaceful joy we listen to the words of 
 our Divine Lord. 
 
 The words are majestic and gracious, they 
 are also comprehensive in their simplicity and 
 brevity. Here is the mystery of the mediatorial 
 
6 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 kingdom — Christ, the God-man,'"' Lord of hea- 
 ven and earth to the glory of the Father. Here 
 is a summary of divine revelation and Christian 
 truth — The name of Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost. Here is the description of Christian 
 life and service — Observe all things whatso- 
 ever I have commanded you. Here learn the 
 character, history, and mission of the Church — 
 To evangelise all nations, and to build up the 
 faithful in the knowledge and obedience of God. 
 And here is the hope and prospect of Christ's 
 people — The Master's presence with us until 
 the end of the world, and His return to fulfil 
 all things. 
 
 So brief and weighty is the style of the 
 heavenly Sanctuary, so much and sp great 
 things has Christ expressed in few words, that 
 we and our children may remember them easily, 
 and repeat them frequently, and meditate on 
 them with grateful hearts. 
 
 * This expression does not occur in Scripture ; yet, as Stier 
 remarks, is almost literally contained in this passage, as well as 
 in Col. ii. 9. 
 
 + " Until the end of the world," — T shall be with you always 
 till that time, and shall never be absent from you after it. — 
 Greg. Xaz. 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 7 
 
 It is true of tliis Scripture what Martin 
 Luther said, that in the Bible every flower is a 
 garden, and every tree a forest. 
 
 All the commandments and promises of Christ 
 have their root and source in His adorable 
 Person. He gives what He commands ; He is 
 what He gives ; giving Himself, He bestows all 
 blessings. Hence in all His epistles to the 
 Churches, He first reveals Himself, and the 
 manifestation of His Person is the foundation 
 on which His commands and counsels rest, as 
 well as the fountain from which strength and 
 renewal flow (Rev. ii., iii.) Thus here also the 
 Lord first reveals Himself as possessing all 
 power in heaven and earth. 
 
 It is as the risen Saviour that Jesus speaks. 
 
 I love to think of that mysterious moment, 
 very early in the morning, when the Father 
 raised up His holy child Jesus from the grave. 
 No human eye witnessed it. Again the blessed 
 feet of Jesus touched His blood-redeemed earth, 
 and He went forth to appear unto His brethren, 
 and to declare unto them anew the name of the 
 Father. Perfect was His peace, unspeakable the 
 calmness of His repose, infinite His joy, in- 
 
8 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 vincible His strength, triumphant His thanks- 
 giving. His was a new blessedness ; for ended 
 are now the fears, the sorrows, the sufferings of 
 David, the son of Jesse i henceforth He will 
 only sing the praise of God in the midst of the 
 Church (Ps. xxii. 22). The yesterday of His 
 humiliation and the cross is past ; the steep 
 ascent on the rugged path of obedience is 
 finished ; His conflict with the powers of dark- 
 ness is ended ; that small moment — infinite in 
 its depth of agony, and longer than all 
 thousands of years — that small moment when 
 the Father hid from Him His countenance, 
 it is past. Christ descended into the lowest 
 depth, and the light of His love to God and 
 man came forth only with greater brilliancy 
 and sweeter radiancy. He saved the lost 
 sheep ; He tasted the bitterness of death ; He 
 bound the jailer hand and foot ; He triumphed 
 over principalities and powers. All is finished, 
 all is gained. Sin and death, the grave and 
 hell, lie behind Him. He died unto sin once ; 
 He liveth now unto God for evermore. The 
 Father is glorified, the Church is purchased ; 
 earth is redeemed, even heaven is transfigured — 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 9 
 
 and He Himself is exalted, the Head, the Heir 
 of all things. 
 
 This is, indeed, not merely the first day of 
 the week, but the first day of the world ; for 
 beautiful as was the light of the first creation, 
 beautiful as was the light in which the first 
 Adam, created in the Divine image, beheld the 
 glory of God, and worshipped in love and 
 humility, its duration was brief, and soon it 
 was succeeded by the night of sin, sorrow, 
 and death. But the day which began on the 
 Kesurrection morn is endless, and its light is 
 eternal and invincible. Our Sun of Righteous- 
 ness can never set. He is Light of light, and 
 God of God. Out of the night of weeping, 
 into which the Holy One entered in His 
 infinite and free love, is born a joy of morning 
 which can never end. Have you not heard, 
 have you not joined, the Apostle's hymn — 
 " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who of His abundant mercy hath 
 begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the 
 resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to 
 an inheritance incorruptible, and that fadeth 
 not away ! " The true light now shineth ; the 
 
10 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 darkness is past. We have entered on the day 
 which the Lord hath made : let us rejoice and 
 be glad in it. 
 
 During forty days Christ appeared unto His 
 disciples. He revealed Himself unto them, the 
 same i^ Jesus who was crucified, full of grace 
 and truth, love and sympathy, power and 
 majesty. As true man He spake, He reasoned, 
 He opened to them the Scriptures (Luke xxvii. 
 27) ; they touched His sacred body (John 
 XX. 27); He ate with them (Luke xxvii. 43). 
 But while they beheld His true humanity, they 
 also beheld the glory of the only-begotten 
 of the Father ; they learned to call Him Lord 
 and God with deeper humility and awe (John 
 XX. 28) ; they adored Him as the Son of God 
 (John XX. 19), the Prince of peace (John xx. 
 17), the Shepherd of the flock (John xxi. 16). 
 
 Jesus taught them the mystery of the cross 
 and the glory. He prepared them for the 
 descent of the Holy Ghost, and for the 
 intermediate period of testimony and suffering 
 before His second coming. 
 
 We do not sufficiently enter into the sorrow 
 of the disciples. They had lost Christ accord- 
 
THE KISEN SAVIOUR. 11 
 
 ing to the flesh. The human friendship which 
 existed between the Lord Jesus and them — the 
 earthly sweetness of this relationship — was gone 
 for ever. The days of human companionship, 
 bright and fragrant as childhood, were over. 
 That sharp sword which pierced the heart of 
 Mary, when on the cross she lost Jesus as her 
 Child, went through the disciples' souls like- 
 wise. As He said to Mary Magdalene, so He 
 said to them all^ '* Touch me not." Hence- 
 forth they were to know Christ no longer accord- 
 ing to the flesh. But they were to know Him" 
 more truly and fully ; they were to enter into 
 more real fellowship with the Lord of Glory, 
 the risen and glorified Head of the Church, the 
 Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor. iii. 17), and in 
 that fellowship to realise that His love and 
 tenderness had remained as deep and sweet as 
 in the days of His earthly ministry. 
 
 The forty days after His resurrection were 
 the gentle transition, during which the blessed 
 Master, in His infinite wisdom and grace, pre- 
 pared the disciples for the future, with its new 
 light and spiritual power. 
 
 He did not dwell with them, but He appeared 
 
12 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 unto them. The high priest and the rulers of 
 Jerusalem could take no cognisance of these 
 meetin2:s between the risen Lord and His 
 disciples. To them He was dead ; He was non- 
 existent. ''■ The world seeth me no more." 
 Symbolic fact ! Jesus still meets His believing 
 disciples. There is a congregation with which 
 no earthly jurisdiction can interfere, and which 
 no earthly philosophy can discover. Jesus still 
 teaches, blesses, guides, and rules His servants ; 
 but the world seeth Him no more, because it 
 cannot receive the Spirit of Truth. The world 
 knows not the Father (John xvii. 27) ; nor 
 the Son (1 John iii. 2) ; nor the Spirit (John 
 xiv. 17,22). 
 
 A new life began to dawn in the hearts of 
 the disciples. Old things had passed away. 
 The mists of darkness and doubt were dis- 
 appearing. They began to understand the 
 Scriptures. They beheld the glory of Christ. 
 Their hearts were established. Waiting for 
 fuller light and greater power, looking forward 
 to Pentecost, they carried about with them in 
 this mysterious interval between the Resurrec- 
 tion and the Ascension a wonderful and blessed 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 13 
 
 secret ; they possessed a knowledge, a peace 
 and a dignity, of which the world had no con- 
 ception. The secret was — Jesus lives! the 
 peace — He is our Lord ; the dignity — He calls 
 us His brethren, and His God and Father is 
 our God and Father. And yet even this was only 
 a preparation for the full manifestation of the 
 mystery — the union of Christ and the Church, 
 which is His body. 
 
 Five hundred disciples were thus linked 
 together, and formed a fraternity such as 
 earth had never beheld before. The knowledge 
 of Jesus, the risen Saviour, separated them 
 from the world, and bound them one to another 
 in strong and tender fellowship. They knew and 
 followed the Lord of Glory, whom the princes of 
 this world rejected. The centre of their circle, 
 the magnet which attracted their hearts, the 
 source of their new life and hope, was the 
 blessed Master, in whom they had believed in 
 the days of His flesh, whom their faith had 
 well-nigh lost during the awful hours of His 
 sufferings and death ; but who had, according 
 to His promise, returned to them, to be theirs 
 for evermore. They belonged now to Him in a 
 
14 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 fuller and more exclusive sense. His deatb 
 had separated them also from the world, from 
 the flesh, from the hopes and thoughts of the 
 first Adam. A Man rejected by Israel, and 
 crucified by Jews and Gentiles, but acknow- 
 ledged and exalted by the Father, was their 
 Lord and King. In Him was their life ; hence 
 it was the life of resurrection. They expected 
 from Him all guidance and command, all 
 blessings and gifts, all promises and rewards ; 
 it was therefore in an other-worldly, heavenly 
 region that henceforth they were to move. 
 Christ was risen, and they were risen with 
 Him. The corn of wheat had died, and now it 
 is no longer alone ; the second Adam is the quick- 
 ening Spirit; the Son of God, risen from the 
 dead, becomes the Firstborn of many brethren. 
 They did not know as yet the mystery of the 
 Church. The Holy Ghost had not yet descended, 
 and the marvellous secret, which in other ages 
 was not made known unto the sons of men, had 
 not yet been disclosed to them. Only dimly 
 could they as yet understand the mystical 
 union between Christ, the risen Head, and the 
 Church, which is His body. 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 15 
 
 But though their understanding was not yet 
 fully enlightened, and the day of Pentecost 
 not yet fulfilled, — in true and vital faith, in 
 heaven-born and lively hope, in fervent, solemn, 
 adoring love, they belonged to Jesus. The 
 Lord had appointed them a mountain in Galilee 
 where He would meet them. He had spoken of 
 this before His death, and the angels recalled 
 it to the memory of the disciples after Christ's 
 resurrection. Thus, according to the Master's 
 word, the disciples met, led by the eleven 
 apostles, chosen by the Lord as the elder 
 brethren and guides of the future Church. No 
 stranger, no enemy, no unbeliever, can disturb 
 them or intrude into this hallowed circle. 
 Was it that the angels of God encamped round 
 about them, and that the Father thus surrounded 
 them with bright and strong, but unseen walls 
 and gates ? Or was it that the glory of the 
 risen Saviour insulated thera, according to a 
 spiritual law, from all whose hearts had not 
 yet been touched by divine grace ? 
 
 He appeared, and they worshipped. Some 
 among them doubted ; for the heart of man is 
 slow to believe. But the Lord, like Joseph to 
 
16 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 his astonislied brethren, went near, and then 
 declared His divine majesty and infinite 
 power.* 
 
 " All power is given unto Him in heaven 
 and earth." Once, in the days of His flesh. 
 He was taken up into an exceeding high moun- 
 tain, and all the kingdoms of the world w^ere 
 shown unto Him, and the glory of them. And 
 the tempter said, " All these things will I give 
 unto Thee." But Jesus, the holy Child of God, 
 meek and lowly in heart, in the spirit of obedi- 
 ence said, '^ Get thee hence, Satan, for it is 
 
 * The following remarks on the passage are from Andrews' 
 "Life of Our Lord: " — " This meeting, having been appointed 
 by the Lord before His death, and recalled to the memory of 
 the disciples by the angels, must be looked upon as the chief est 
 and most significant of all His manifestations. There can be 
 little doubt that it was identical with that mentioned by Paul, 
 1 Cor, XV. 6 — 'After that He was seen of above five hundred 
 brethren at once.' Although Matthew speaks only of the 
 eleven disciples as present at the mountain, yet his silence 
 respecting others would not exclude them, as in his introduction 
 to the Sermon on the Mount he speaks only of the disciples as 
 His auditors, although great multitudes beside were present. 
 That he should mention only the eleven is wholly consistent 
 with his general purpose, and with the peculiarities of his 
 Gospel. But in his own brief account there is a hint that 
 others were there beside the eleven. . . . Upon this occasion, 
 the words seem to have been spoken which are recorded by 
 Matthew xxviii. 18-20, and Mark xvi. 15-18." 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 17 
 
 written, Thou slialt worship the Lord thy God, 
 and Him only shalt thou serve." 
 
 Given to Him by the Father. Once — 
 only a few weeks ago — all things were taken 
 from Him. Who was ever as poor as Jesus 
 when He lived on earth ? '^ Foxes have holes, 
 and fowls of the air have nests, but the Son of 
 man hath not where to lay His head." But 
 what was left Him when they nailed Him to 
 the cross ? His nation rejected Him ; His 
 beloved Jerusalem cast Him out ; His disciples 
 forsook Him; they took His very garments 
 from Him. Nothing was His but the cross 
 and the crown of thorns. He laid down His 
 life. And one thing He had dearer than life — 
 that where He had garnered up His heart. His 
 Father's love, the assurance of His favour, the 
 light of His countenance, behold the Father 
 withdrew from Him the sense of His love. 
 Christ had nothing on the cross but weakness, 
 suffering, and the burden of our sin. 
 
 And therefore it is that God hath highly 
 exalted Him, and given unto Him all power in 
 heaven and in earth. For unto which of the 
 angels said He at any time, '' Sit Thou at my 
 
 B 
 
18 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy 
 footstool ? " To whom, but to the incarnate Son 
 Jesus, doth He sslj, '^ Thy throne, God, is for 
 ever and ever ; a sceptre of righteousness is the 
 sceptre of Thy kingdom." " Thou hast loved 
 righteousness and hated iniquity ; therefore 
 God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with 
 the oil of gladness above thy fellows." 
 
 Angels worship Him, the Lamb of God ; and 
 in loving obedience to Him they minister unto 
 His disciples, who shall be heirs of salvation. 
 Jesus is God ; — 
 
 * * The glorious bands 
 Of golden angels sing 
 Songs of adoring love to Him, 
 Their Maker and their King." 
 
 The angels marvelled and rejoiced when the 
 Word was made flesh. When God created the 
 heavens and the earth, the angels and morning 
 stars beheld His glory, and shouted for joy. 
 But greater was their amazement, and deeper 
 their rejoicing, when, on the eve of Christ's 
 nativity, they descended from their golden 
 bowers to the plains of Bethlehem, and sang 
 the new song — " Glory to God in the highest ; 
 peace on earth, good-will to men." 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 19 
 
 As it is theirs to guard helpless infants and 
 to watch at the morning gates of childhood, 
 with what astonishment would angels, always 
 beholding the face of God in heaven, see the 
 reflection of His image in the child Jesus ? Did 
 they witness with awe and intense grief the 
 subtle assault of Satan in paradise, and the fall 
 of man, created in God's image, oh ! with what 
 unspeakable interest did they behold Jesus, 
 tested by the adversary in the wilderness, and 
 with what alacrity and loving zeal did they 
 minister unto Him, and refresh His weary and 
 exhausted humanity after His victory over 
 the foe. And as they always saw Jesus, the 
 Lord always beheld them. Unto Nathanael He 
 spoke of the heavens opened, and the angels 
 of God ascending and descending upon the Son 
 of man. When sinners drew near unto Him, 
 and repented, he saw the angels rejoicing over 
 the sheep, that was lost and found. When He 
 teaches His disciples to pray, He reminds them 
 of the obedience and blessedness of the angels, 
 who do the will of our Father in heaven. When 
 He opens to His disciples the mysteries of 
 the kingdom, He always speaks of the angels, 
 
20 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 who will come with Him in glory, and execute 
 His commandments and judgments. When 
 He speaks of little children, and when He 
 speaks of the death of Lazarus, He reveals to 
 us the ministry of angels. In that last 
 night, too. He beheld the legions of angels, 
 which the Father could send Him. But 
 He wished to be made lower than the angels ; 
 and there appeared an angel — never-to- 
 be-forgotten ministry ! — to strengthen Him in 
 Gethsemane. What a bond of thrilling tender- 
 ness is between Christ, the exalted Son of man, 
 and the angels. In Christ they behold the 
 glory of God, and through the incarnation and 
 death of the Lord Jesus they also have been 
 brought nearer unto the Father, and have 
 received a deeper knowledge and a greater 
 love. 
 
 All power is given unto Him in heaven. He, 
 who descended, is the same that ascended far 
 above all heavens, that He might fill all things. 
 (Eph. iv. 9, 10.) He is far above all princi- 
 palities and powers, and might and dominion, 
 (Eph. i. 21.) So it pleased the Father, according 
 to the eternal purpose which He purposed in 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 21 
 
 Himself. This is the revealed mystery of 
 divine love, that the incarnate Son of God, that 
 the crucified Jesus, should be the Lord of all ; 
 that in Him the Father^s glory should be mani- 
 fested, and that in Him all things should be 
 reconciled in heaven and in earth. The Son 
 of man is on the throne of God ; He who was 
 born of the Virgin Mary, who took upon Him 
 the form of a servant, who by Himself purged 
 our sins, who overcame the sharpness of death, 
 is at the right hand of the Father. 
 
 Jesus has all power in heaven. So highly is 
 Christ exalted. Lord of all, above principalities 
 and powers, that the Church on earth should 
 constantly and steadfastly look away from all 
 that is human and temporal, and know of no 
 other mediation, strength, guidance, and com- 
 fort, but the power and love, the wisdom and 
 faithfulness of her one only Master and Head. 
 He is high, to be visible and accessible to the 
 least of His disciples in the lowliest valley 
 of his weakness and ignorance. From His 
 heavenly throne, and from no lower source, 
 descends the gift of the Spirit in various 
 manifestations ; no church, whatever may be its 
 
22 THE OBINIPOTENCE OF 
 
 boasted antiquity or spirituality, is to direct the 
 poor and need}^, the dry and thirsty to herself 
 as the dispenser of the Holy Ghost and of His 
 gifts. On the heavenly throne, and nowhere 
 else, is the Priest by whom we draw near and 
 are accepted worshippers. Looking unto Him 
 we are holy brethren, and partakers of the 
 heavenly calling. 
 
 Behold Him, the Son of man, seated at the 
 right hand of the Father. And in His majestic 
 rest and peaceful dignity behold the perfect 
 assurance of our acceptance and of our blessed- 
 ness. He sat down on the right hand of God, be- 
 cause He had offered Himself a sacrifice for sins, 
 because by one offering He has perfected them 
 that are sanctified. He is set down at the right 
 hand of the throne of God, because He is the 
 Author and Finisher of faith, who, for the joy 
 that was set before Him, endured the cross, 
 despising the shame. He is our Lord, our 
 Righteousness, our Advocate with the Father. 
 We are at Salem, in peace. 
 
 Behold Jesus in heaven, and remember that 
 in Him divine omnipotence is united with the 
 tender sympathy of perfect humanity. He was 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 23 
 
 made like unto His brethren in all things, that 
 He might be a merciful and faithful High 
 Priest, touched with the feeling of our infir- 
 mities, able to succour them that are tempted ; 
 so that we can come with confidence unto the 
 throne of grace, and pour out our hearts before 
 Him, who is not merely our Lord, but our 
 elder Brother. 
 
 Behold Jesus in heaven, invested with all 
 power. His intercession is all-prevailing. The 
 Father himself loveth us, according to the 
 merciful assurance of Him who, as the true 
 Mediator, always reveals and magnifies the 
 Father, of whom are all blessings. But it is in 
 and through Christ, and as beholding and 
 accepting Him, that the love of the Father 
 rests on those who believe in Jesus. And such 
 is the glory and power of the Son, that He, 
 according to His promise, gives whatever we 
 ask. He has received gifts for the children of 
 men. The blessings which He has purchased 
 with His death are dispensed by the exalted 
 Saviour. Our great High Priest sends down 
 from heaven the power of His atonement, 
 purging our consciences from dead works, and 
 
24 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 sanctifying us unto obedience and newness of 
 life. 
 
 Behold Jesus in heaven, and seek the things 
 which are above. His are all spiritual bless- 
 ings in heavenly places. From Him descend 
 all healthful influences, all spiritual gifts, 
 all quickening and renewing power, all true 
 and everlasting consolations. The Church 
 through all ages is filled with His fulness. 
 The unsearchable riches of Christ, inexhaustible 
 in their fulness, and all-glorious in their sub- 
 stance, are ours, that we, knowing our own 
 poverty, and having died unto the world and 
 all that is in it, may continually set our affec- 
 tions on the things which are above. 
 
 Behold Jesus in heaven, and be of good 
 comfort. He presents unto the Father all the 
 petitions and thanksgivings, all the labours 
 and sufferings, all the words and works of 
 His people, and they are accepted and well- 
 pleasing in His sight. And while we mourn 
 over the sins of our holy things, the coldness 
 of our prayer, the lukewarmness of our praise, 
 the selfishness which mingles with our service, 
 the imperfections in motive and in execution 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 25 
 
 which characterise our works, let us remember 
 that Jesus, as a High Priest, presents all with 
 the incense- of His intercession, and that thus 
 our offerings ascend to the Father a sweet- 
 smelling savour. Through Christ we present 
 ourselves, our bodies, in which we live this 
 earthly life, a living sacrifice unto God, which 
 is our reasonable service. 
 
 Lift up the eyes of your heart continually to 
 heaven. As an eminent teacher of the Church * 
 used to say, ^' Jesus in heaven, the heart in 
 heaven : Jesus in the heart, heaven in the 
 heart." 
 
 ** God filial pleased to condescend, 
 And be our all-sufi&cient Friend, 
 And though exalted to His throne, 
 The dear relation still to own, 
 And send the boundless source of grace, 
 The Spirit, to supply His place."t 
 
 We lift up our eyes to heaven, from whence 
 cometh our aid. We behold the heavens open, 
 and Jesus, who loved us to the end, appears to 
 us, our Lord and Saviour, our omnipotent and 
 all-merciful High Priest. In Him we behold 
 the Father, His and ours ; from Him we receive 
 
 * Bengel. f Bishop Ken. 
 
26 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 the Holy Ghost, by whom we are grafted into 
 the Living Yine. And as we behold the cove- 
 nant-God in heaven — as in the peaceful light of 
 the ascended Saviour we see the glory : " God 
 is love ; " so we behold all angels and princi- 
 palities and powers subject unto Him. They 
 cannot separate us from the love of God which 
 is in Christ Jesus. They behold with adoring 
 joy the wondrous salvation. In Christ we are 
 brought nigh unto them also, and they minister 
 unto us during our earthly trials and struggles. 
 From heaven descend all our blessings — all 
 things which pertain unto life and godliness. 
 To heaven ascends our life, with its tears and 
 joys, its words and works, even as in heaven is 
 our inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, that 
 fadeth not away. Heaven is ours, because 
 Jesus is ours ; the First and the Last, the 
 Living One ; He who died once, and is alive 
 for evermore (Rev. i. 18). Rejoice when 
 you hear the risen Saviour say to you also, 
 '^ All power is given unto me in heaven and 
 in earth." 
 
 When you think of the majesty of Christ, of 
 His power and glory, are you able to draw near 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 27 
 
 with confidence, and to trust in Him as your 
 gracious Saviour and loving Friend ? 
 
 Or, do you see Jesus as a great, golden, 
 all-glorious Door, and yet not know liow the 
 Spirit, the Porter, openeth this gate to sinful 
 and weak men? You see Christ's power and 
 exaltation, Christ's perfect work, and Christ's 
 infinite love, and yet you know not how to 
 take hold of Him ? Oh ! there is a latch where- 
 with to open this Door. This latch is neither 
 of gold nor silver nor precious stones. It is a 
 great contrast to the magnificence of the Door. 
 If you have sin, as red as scarlet — if you have 
 guilt and unworthiness, which keeps your eyes 
 sunk to the ground, and your conscience trou- 
 bled and burdened, this is the latch wherewith 
 to open the Door : His name is Jesus. Where 
 sin abounded unto death, grace doth much more 
 abound unto life eternal. Or if you feel your 
 utter powerlessness to lift up your soul, which 
 cleaveth to the dust, to turn away from idols 
 to the Living God, take this latch : With man 
 it is impossible, but with God all things are 
 possible. Jesus is exalted a Prince and a 
 Saviour, to give repentance and remission of 
 
28 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 sins. He is able to save to the uttermost them 
 that come unto God by Him. 
 
 If you have sorrow which lies too deep for 
 human ministry — if you are weary and heavy 
 laden — if your soul is sick, and longing after 
 health and peace — if you have tasted of the 
 water of this life, and yet your heart is athirst — 
 if you need a divine Physician and everlasting 
 Consolation, behold this is the latch — '* If any 
 man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." 
 If you are weak and afraid, because the way is 
 narrow, the day is far spent, the enemy is 
 strong, tribulation increasing, love waxing cold 
 — oh ! use your weakness as the latch, and come 
 unto Him who saith, ^' In the world ye shall have 
 tribulation ; but be of good cheer, I have over- 
 come the world." 
 
 Little children, and you young and inexperi- 
 enced, make your youth the latch, and say unto 
 Him — Thou lovest little children to come unto 
 Thee, wilt Thou be the guide of my youth. 
 
 Behold Him ! Jesus Christ, once crucified for 
 sinners, is highly exalted, and yet a Saviour ; 
 He is the mighty God, with all power in 
 heaven and earth. His is the omnipotence of 
 
THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 29 
 
 love and of grace — the omnipotence which can 
 give life and strength to the bruised reed, and 
 light and joy to the smoking flax. His is an 
 omnipotence not to be dreaded, but to be em- 
 braced with adoring love, as it is written, " Kiss 
 ye the Son; blessed are all they that trust in 
 Him." 
 
II. 
 
 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF JESUS 
 ON EARTH. 
 
SERMON II. 
 
 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF JESUS ON EARTH. 
 
 " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." — 
 Matt, xxviii. 18. 
 
 From our earliest childhood we are taught that 
 God is Almighty. But have we ever fixed our 
 minds on the wonderful thought of omnipot- 
 ence? 
 
 Did it ever strike you, that the thought of 
 omnipotence without holiness would be appal- 
 ling to the pure and spotless angels ? To them 
 the holiness of God appears as their strong 
 and sweet safeguard, the foundation of their 
 peace, and the only assurance of their blessed- 
 ness and joy. The thought of omnipotence 
 without holiness would be to them fearful. 
 The thought of the perfect holiness of God, His 
 justice and truth, enables them to rejoice in the 
 omnipotence of God, and to rest in it with 
 perfect security. 
 
34 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 But the very combination which is a source 
 of peace and confidence to the holy angels, is a 
 source of fear and dread to fallen and guilty 
 man. The omnipotence of a holy and just God 
 is a thought of terror to us. Omnipotence 
 without holiness would be unbearable to pure 
 and spotless spirits ; omnipotence and holiness 
 without mercy would be crushing to sinful and 
 polluted men. 
 
 But the thought, that all power in heaven 
 
 and in earth is given unto Jesus Christ, the 
 
 Lamb in the midst of the throne, is full of 
 
 peace and consolation. Here we behold the 
 
 divine love of righteousness and hatred of 
 
 iniquity, and we are not afraid. Jesus died, 
 
 the just for the unjust ; and He, who was offered 
 
 for our transgression, is now exalted as our 
 
 Lord and Advocate. Here we behold mercy 
 
 and compassion, love which was stronger 
 
 than death, grace which brought salvation to 
 
 those who had no merit, and possessed no 
 
 attraction. And here we behold — greatest of 
 
 all marvels — the sympathy of a brother, and 
 
 the remembrance of tears and sorrows amidst 
 
 the glories of heaven. The hands which 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 35 
 
 grasp tlie reins of government of the whole 
 Universe are omnipotent ; but we love to think 
 of them, once tiny and feeble hands of the 
 infant Jesus, once used to labour and toil in 
 humble Nazareth ; used to heal the sick, and 
 touch with gentle affection little children ; 
 once nailed for our sakes to the cross. Worthy 
 the Lamb, thus all that is within us exclaims, 
 to receive power and dominion for ever ! 
 souls that have no Master, hearts that have 
 not found their Lord, sheep without the loving 
 Shepherd, there is a throne in heaven, and 
 on that throne is exalted the man Christ 
 Jesus, and unto all who come to Him He 
 gives blessing and life eternal, grace and 
 glory. 
 
 Jesus is invested with all power in heaven and 
 in earth. Scripture reveals to us the grandeur 
 and the simplicity of God's plans. There are 
 many circles, but only one centre — Christ. There 
 are many manifestations of the Godhead, but 
 only one Mediator — the Son. By Him all 
 things were created, and He is appointed the 
 heir of all things. By Him sinners are redeemed, 
 and the kingdom of evil is conquered ; and 
 
36 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 therefore is all power given unto Him, as the 
 incarnate Son of God. 
 
 He is from all eternity the brightness of the 
 Father's glory, and the express image of His 
 person. As He is the beginning of the creation 
 of God, and as He is the end and the purpose 
 of all things ; so during all the ages He is the 
 centre, in whom all things consist, and by whose 
 power they are upheld. He, who was thus 
 centre and head of creation, in whom God 
 revealed Himself by visible manifestations in 
 the old dispensation, became in the fulness of 
 time man, and having purged, by Himself, our 
 sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty 
 on high. Only the Son of God could reveal the 
 Father, only He could save us from our sins ; 
 and it is according to the eternal counsel of 
 God, and according to all the rights and pro- 
 prieties of the heavenly Sanctuary, that to Him 
 in human nature, and as reward of His death 
 on the cross, should be given all power and 
 dominion. He emptied Himself, He was made 
 flesh ; now He is crowned with glory, and He, 
 the Lord, is that Spirit (2 Cor. iii. 17.) He was 
 obedient unto the death of the cross ; out of the 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 37 
 
 grave, from the dead God raised Him, and set Him 
 at His own right hand, in the heavenly places, 
 far above all principality and power, and might 
 and dominion, and every name that is named, 
 not only in this world, bnt that which is to 
 come. From the lowest region of weakness, 
 darkness, and defeat. He was raised to the 
 highest place of power, light, and triumph. He, 
 who gave np everything, who became absolutely 
 poor, who was crucified, dead, and buried, hath 
 received now, and because of His sacrifice, all 
 things, and is Head over all to His beloved 
 and ransomed Church. 
 
 Thus we behold the humanity of Jesus 
 exalted and glorified. The incarnate Son of 
 God, by His life and obedience, culminating in 
 His expiatory sufferings and death on the cross, 
 is now enthroned at the right hand of God, and 
 invested with all power in heaven and in earth. 
 The highest angel beholds and adores now the 
 infinite and incomprehensible God in the Lord 
 Jesus, the image of the Invisible, the mani- 
 festation of the Father, the Mediator of the new 
 covenant, and Minister of the heavenly Sanctuary. 
 They behold now the glory of God in the Lamb 
 
38 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 that was slain. And in Him the counsel of God 
 is made manifest unto them also ; for they 
 behold Him as the Head of the Church, and 
 themselves as ministering spirits unto the heirs 
 of salvation. The world to come, which the 
 * Father hath not put in subjection unto the 
 angels, but unto Jesus, the Son of man, and 
 unto the Church, which is His body, is the 
 great consummation towards which all things 
 tend. For one great purpose all things work 
 together in obedience to one Will, in loving 
 submission to one Head. In Him all creation is 
 summed up, even as in Him and by Him all 
 thins^s were made and all thino:s consist. In 
 Him men and angels are united. Having 
 made peace through the blood of His cross, the 
 Father hath reconciled all things to Himself, 
 whether they be things in earth or in heaven. 
 Because He is from eternity the Son of God — 
 because He is the Mediator of creation, and the 
 upholder of all things — because He is appointed 
 heir of all things, it was possible for Him to 
 redeem us from our sins, and to deliver us from 
 the power of Satan and death. According to the 
 Father's counsel, and according to His own 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 39 
 
 infinite love, He gave Himself for us. The Son 
 of God became the Lamb of Grod, that beareth 
 the sins of the world. 
 
 Thus, according to the Father's infinite wis- 
 dom and power, the Lamb that was slain is the 
 centre of all things, the adoration of angels, the 
 salvation of sinners, the regeneration of the 
 world, and the perfect and eternal manifesta- 
 tion of His glory. Jesus reigns, and all tongues 
 confess that He is Lord, to the glory of the 
 Father. 
 
 In the power and glory of Jesus in heaven 
 is the source of our peace, strength, and joy. 
 Let us then lift up our eyes. Man's prerogative 
 is to look upwards to heaven. He alone from 
 this earth lifts up his eyes, and beholds the 
 heavens above him. Even our earthly experi- 
 ence teaches us that all blessings come from 
 above. The air we breathe, the sunlight in 
 which we live, the dew and rain which fructify 
 the earth, are all remembrances and symbols of 
 the truth that heavenly influences and powers 
 are indispensable and needful to us, the chil- 
 dren of earth. God created heaven and earth ; 
 and though sin separates them at present, the 
 
40 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 time is coming when God's will is done in 
 earth as it is in heaven, and when men on 
 earth shall see and know the transfigured saints 
 and their King Jesus, and when the angels 
 shall be seen descending and ascending on their 
 errands of mercy. Meanwhile the eye of faith 
 beholds heaven very near. The great High 
 Priest is seen by believing hearts, and the 
 breastplate on which our names are engraven. 
 He intercedes for us, and He sends to us all 
 blessings we need, and strength for every duty 
 and trial. 
 
 We think too little of the heavenly Sanctuary 
 with its ceaseless and perfect worship, and of 
 the bond of divine love which connects heaven 
 and earth. Our Saviour always beheld the 
 heavens open ; He always beheld and declared 
 the one great kingdom ; He spake of the Father 
 and Himself and the holy angels, and the 
 salvation of sinners and the future glory ; of 
 the one great kingdom of divine manifestations 
 of love and power. When His eye rests on 
 little children. He sees them surrounded by 
 angels, who behold the countenance of the 
 Father in heaven. When He receives repent- 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 41 
 
 ant sinners. He beholds the angels rejoicing in 
 the courts above. When He announces His 
 return to earth, He declares that He will come 
 in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him 
 (Matt. XXV. 31). When He promises to confess 
 His faithful disciples on that day. He places 
 the angels beside Himself and the Father — 
 ^' Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, of him 
 shall the Son of man be ashamed when He 
 shall come in His own glory, and in his Father's, 
 and of the holy angels " (Luke ix. 26). It is 
 the angels who shall come forth and sever the 
 wicked from the just ; they shall gather together 
 the elect of God from the four winds, from one 
 end of heaven to the other. So closely and 
 inseparably is earth's history connected with 
 heaven ; so all-comprehensive is the circle of 
 which Christ is the centre. 
 
 And this is one consequence of man's fall, 
 that he is isolated from the heavenly world ; 
 and that his eye rests on the lower horizon, and 
 too often is fixed on the ground, denying his 
 heavenly origin, and forgetful of his heavenly 
 destiny. Sin has separated man not merely 
 from God, but also from heaven ; it has intro- 
 
42 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 duced not merely strife and discord between man 
 and man, but it has made a rent and a chasm 
 in that one great kingdom, in which all God's 
 creatures were to dwell in harmony, fulfilling 
 in their various gradations of life and power 
 the will of God, and aiding one another in love 
 and unity. And this is the object of redemp- 
 tion, to sum up together in one all things in 
 heaven and earth, to restore the lost harmony 
 in a new and more wonderful union through 
 the blood of Christ, in that new joy, which 
 angels feel over pardoned sinners, in that new 
 righteousness and life which the incarnate Son 
 of God gives to His brethren. 
 
 Meanwhile we are taught by Jesus to realise 
 by faith the unseen and heavenly world. We 
 are no longer circumscribed in our thoughts 
 by the limits of earth and the visible. We 
 have come to Mount Zion, and to heavenly 
 Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of 
 angels, and to the spirits of just men made 
 perfect. We, who live at present in the outer 
 court, are in spirit continually looking to the 
 Holy of Holies ; we pray to our Father in 
 heaven. In the Sanctuary above, we believe, 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 43 
 
 is the full and all-glorious revelation of tlie face 
 of God in Christ Jesus. From heaven, through 
 the mediation- of angels and powers, the com- 
 mandments of God are executed, and His pur- 
 poses fulfilled. God the Father has united in 
 Christ all angels and saints to form one body, 
 in which the various members serve one another, 
 and through their obedience and service are 
 made partakers of the blessing, which Love 
 through love brings unto all. Thus angels 
 carry out the will of God in nature ; they are 
 agents in the history of the world, and find 
 their highest mission in ministering unto the 
 heirs of salvation. And hereby are they made 
 partakers of our joy, and beholding the Church, 
 they obtain new revelations of the divine 
 glory. In the Cliurch the stronger are to help 
 the weak, enriching them in knowledge, up- 
 holding and comforting them out of the abund- 
 ance of grace which God hath given them ; so 
 that by the ministry of Love, they that are 
 exalted condescend to the low, and both they 
 that give and they that receive are satisfied, 
 and thanksgiving abounds unto God. The 
 Church, again, is to give unto the world light 
 
44 THE OSINIPOTENCE OF 
 
 and love and priestly intercession, to manifest 
 the Father's generosity, and the meekness and 
 self-sacrifice of Christ, and thus to bring the 
 lost and the perishing into the fold of Christ, 
 until at last all things on earth, and even the 
 creature, shall rejoice in the reign of humanity, 
 and be delivered from the bondage of corruption 
 into the glorious liberty of the children of 
 God. Thus, from earth to the heavenly Sanctu- 
 ary, all His works in all places of His dominion 
 shall bless the Lord : Christ, the God-man, 
 being the Mediator, through whom the glory of 
 God is manifested unto angels, and the Church, 
 and the nations, and the whole creation. 
 
 When we believe this, the world appears 
 indeed beautiful. Heaven is near us, and in 
 the midst of things seen and temporal we 
 behold the things which are unseen and eternal, 
 the real, substantial life and power, growth 
 and action, manifestation and progress of love. 
 We also, like Jacob, behold the hosts of angels 
 meeting us on our journey, and like Elisha, 
 know that fiery chariots are around us. 
 
 We believe that above the inanimate powers 
 of nature are the living, intelligent, loving 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 45 
 
 angels who move and rule them (Ps. civ. 4, 5 ; 
 John V. 4 ; Rev. vii. 3). These are the wheels, 
 not unconscious, hut full of wisdom and adora- 
 tion ; instinct with light and power, full of eyes 
 and full of love. And these unseen, but not 
 invisible, angels, which are around us continu- 
 ally, and by whose ministry and agency all 
 nature breathes and moves, are all the mes- 
 sengers of Jesus. They love us, because the 
 Son of God took upon Himself our nature. 
 And for His sake they take charge of us, and 
 keep us in all our ways, and shall finally carry 
 our souls into paradise. And thus it is God's 
 will and Christ's teaching, that when we pray, 
 and when we think of our Father in heaven and 
 of our Redeemer, we should remember the my- 
 riads of holy and strong angels who have never 
 sinned, and yet are meek and lowly — who are 
 pure and spotless, and yet shrink not from the 
 most polluted, but rejoice over the salvation of 
 one poor sinner — who excel in strength, and yet 
 delight in watching over helpless infants — ^who 
 have the wisdom and experience of centuries, 
 and yet vail their faces before the Presence. 
 Them we are to remember that we may approach 
 
46 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 the Father and the Lord Jesus with deeper 
 reverence and more solemn awe, that we may 
 feel more truly the high end of our calling, to 
 be as the bride of the Lamb, even nearer the 
 throne, but associated with the angels in worship 
 and service, and that the more courageously 
 and cheerfully we should continue our service 
 on earth, however obscure and difficult it may 
 appear. 
 
 The thought of the angels teaches us some- 
 thing of the majesty of that Lord whom they 
 continually worship and serve.* It encourages 
 us in a fallen world, where our enemies are 
 many, and evil seems to be strong and victorious, 
 to think that the mighty hosts of angels are 
 on our side, and, like fiery chariots, round about 
 God's faithful people. It increases our watch- 
 fulness to know that we are made a spectacle to 
 angels, and that their holy eyes are bent upon 
 us. And it often soothes our drooping and 
 troubled spirits to remember that, at God's 
 command, the angels are guarding us, and 
 
 * R. Hooker, when on liis deathbed, roused from silent 
 thought, said " he was meditating the number and nature of 
 angels, and their blessed obedience and order." 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 47 
 
 ministering unto us in the midst of danger 
 and trouble ; even as an angel unbarred the 
 gates of Peters prison, and stood and comforted 
 Cornelius. 
 
 Such blessings will be ours when we think 
 of the angels, that family 
 
 " Of wondrous beings, who, ere the world was made. 
 Millions of ages back, have stood around 
 The throne of God ; they never have known sin. 
 But through those cycles all but infinite 
 Have led a strong and pure celestial life, 
 And bore to gaze on th' unveiled face of God, 
 And drank from the eternal Fount of truth, 
 And served Him with a keen, ecstatic love." 
 
 And thus shall we also learn to form a sober 
 and just estimate of men and earthly things. 
 Kemember the Lord Jesus Christ. What were 
 to Him the power of Herod and Pilate, the wis- 
 dom of the scribes, the spiritual dignity and 
 influence of Pharisees and priests, the applause 
 and enthusiasm of the multitude? He, be- 
 holding the Father and the angels and the 
 heavenly realities, both present and to come, 
 allowed Pharisees to murmur and accuse Him 
 of blasphemy, rulers and princes to despise and 
 judge Him, the people to turn away from Him 
 and His kingdom of the cross ; He received 
 
48 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 sinners, and ate with them ; He chose the 
 humble fishermen, and trained them; He exalted 
 little children as the model citizens of the 
 heavenly kingdom ; He laid aside what is 
 strong and wise, and good and powerful in 
 the sight of men, that which is earthly, and of 
 man, as being utterly useless for His purpose, 
 for heavenly life and glory, choosing things 
 which are weak, yea, things which are not, to 
 make them a new creation, which liveth for 
 evermore. Thus during His life on earth was 
 He always in heaven ; and now from His throne 
 of glory He exerts divine power throughout 
 all the dominions of Grod — Divine, and therefore 
 not recognised by the world. 
 
 Jesus has all power in heaven, and there- 
 fore, also, all power in earth. At present, only 
 believers know this ; at Christ's second coming 
 all the world shall acknowledge it. Men fancy 
 that Jesus has only spiritual power and in- 
 fluence, that He is Head and Lord of ministers 
 and evangelists and devout disciples, and do 
 not know that He is Lord of all, that the 
 Father hath delivered unto Him all things, 
 that by Him princes reign, and kings rule, and 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 49 
 
 philosophers think and discover — that He is the 
 life and light, and strength and beauty of all 
 that is living and true, and strong and beauti- 
 ful — that by Him all things consist. They do 
 not know that Christ is the Almighty, who was, 
 and is, and is to come ; that the whole world 
 and its history have but one centre and one 
 purpose ; that in Him are fulfilled all the coun- 
 sels and ways of God. At present He, whom 
 God hath highly exalted, who is the Lord of 
 Glory, and the Prince of the kings of the earth, 
 who is Head over all things to the Church, and 
 under whose feet the Father hath put all 
 things, rules and governs in silent and calm 
 omnipotence, unknown and unrecognised by the 
 world. All earthly events and historical move- 
 ments, all battles and conquests, all triumphs 
 of skill and knowledge, all discoveries of 
 science and developments of human life, are 
 under His government and the power of His 
 sceptre ; all things are subservient to the great 
 purpose of His death, and preparatory to His 
 second advent. The world seeth Him no more. 
 His name is scarcely mentioned. His presence 
 and His power in history, in the world, are 
 
50 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 never dreamt of. But while He lias thus 
 clothed Himself with the garment of obscurity, 
 concealing the brightness of His glory, and 
 issuing in silence His commands. He reveals 
 Himself to His Church, gathering into His 
 fold the lost sheep, quickening the dead unto 
 repentance and faith, renewing and sanctifying 
 the hearts of the contrite, and conforming them 
 to His image, until the number of His elect is 
 accomplished, and He, w4io is now hidden, 
 shall appear, and His glorious power and 
 divine authority as Son of man shall be mani- 
 fest to all the world. 
 
 Of this spiritual power of Jesus on earth, by 
 which He gathers a people to Himself, and pre- 
 pares His second coming, let us now think. 
 
 (1.) Jesus has power on earth to forgive sin. 
 When Jesus said to the man sick of the palsy, 
 '^ Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven 
 thee," the Pharisees thought within themselves, 
 Who can forgive sins, but God alone ? They 
 knew that only He, against whom sin is com- 
 mitted, is able to pardon. But they did not know 
 the Son of man, Jesus the Christ, the incarnate 
 Son of the living God, who can give repentance 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 51 
 
 and tlie remission of sins. The sinner feels 
 that although he has wronged his fellow-men, 
 yet his sin is chiefly a transgression of God's 
 commandment, and therefore he says, "Against 
 Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this 
 evil in Thy sight." Who can turn away the 
 anger of the Lord? who can satisfy divine jus- 
 tice ? Who can cancel guilt, and wash away 
 the defilement of sin? Who can silence the 
 accusing adversary, and lift us above the dark 
 clouds of Sinai, the mount of condemnation, 
 and show us the bright blue of heaven, the 
 mercy of God ? Jesus only. He who has 
 entered into the Holy of Holies by His own 
 blood, is now before the Father, the Advocate 
 and Eighteousness of sinners who trust in Him. 
 And He has power to forgive sin on earth, 
 and the conscience is at peace, the heart that 
 was heavy laden is at rest. Penances, tears, 
 and vigils, pilgrimages and fastings, self-denial 
 and costly offerings, are of no avail; as little 
 will knowledge of Scripture doctrine give peace 
 to the soul. The living Saviour alone, beheld 
 and believed in by the power of the Spirit, 
 Jesus, forgives siu. You remember the story 
 
52 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 of Martin Luther. Feeling the burden of his. sin, 
 he prayed and fasted; he tried to observe all 
 commandments, and to climb the steep hill of 
 holiness. His burden became only heavier, 
 until he discovered in Scripture that man had 
 no righteousness for God, but that God had 
 provided a righteousness for man ; that the 
 love of God meant God's love to us, and not 
 our love to God ; that Jesus died for sinners, 
 and that trusting in Him, the sinner had par- 
 don, perfect, immediate, and eternal. Then he 
 said with joy what so many say with their lips 
 only, " I believe in the forgiveness of sin." 
 And knowing the power of Jesus on earth to 
 forgive sin, he feared not the power of pope 
 and emperor, but declared it, to the consolation 
 of thousands who were convinced of sin, that 
 in Jesus is forgiveness and plenteous redemp- 
 tion. 
 
 The omnipotence of Jesus to forgive sins is 
 the joy of the Saviour and the marvel of angels. 
 The pardon of a sinner is a greater wonder than 
 the creation of a world ; for the one is the 
 result of a divine fiat, the other is the fruit of 
 the incarnation and death of the Son of God. 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 53 
 
 The pardon of one sinner is a manifestation 
 of greater power than the judgment and the 
 destruction of Grod's enemies. It is a greater 
 power which can heal the bruised reed, and 
 give it health, than the power which postrates 
 the proudest oak. And Jesus exerts this power 
 so gently, and with such tenderness ; as gently 
 as the light comes down from heaven, and as 
 the dew falls on the flowers of earth. We look 
 unto Him, and we are healed. 
 
 ' ' As when the Hebrew prophet raised 
 
 The brazen serpent high, 
 The wounded looked, and straight were cured, 
 
 The people ceased to die : 
 So from the Saviour on the cross 
 
 A healing virtue flows ; 
 Who looks to Him with lively faith 
 
 Is saved from endless woes." 
 
 The woman who was a sinner drew near to 
 Jesus. She spoke no word, and Jesus also was 
 silent. But as the Saviour understood her 
 tears, so the very presence of Jesus spoke 
 peace to her heart. For in that Jesus did not 
 shrink from her touch, and allowed her to kiss 
 His feet, she knew that she was accepted. 
 Only draw near to Jesus ; only appear before 
 
54 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 Him, and He will say, '^ Go in peace ; thy sins 
 are forgiven." 
 
 Power to forgive sins — here is omnipotence 
 and love; only that infinite sacrifice of love 
 on Calvary gives Jesus power to pardon and 
 remove our innumerable sins, our unspeakable 
 guilt. Only because Jesus is the Son of God 
 He can say, " I, even I, am He that blotteth 
 out thy transgressions for my name's sake, and 
 will remember thy sins no more." 
 
 (2.) Jesus has power to renew the heart. Jesus 
 only. It is only His dying love that melts the 
 heart. It is only Christ lifted up who draws men 
 unto God. While the wintry and keen blasts of 
 the law make us wrap the cloak of self-right- 
 eousness and opposition to God more closely 
 and firmly around us, the Sun of Righteousness, 
 the mercy of God, moves us to lay aside our 
 pride, our sin, our hatred and forgetfulness of God. 
 Who can renew the heart? Who can make us 
 love God? Who can change us, after our 
 many years of sinful and ungodly lives ? Jesus 
 only ! He baptizes with the Holy Ghost, and 
 we are changed, renewed, born again. Do you 
 remember the experience of the African Angus- 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 55 
 
 tine? All his knowledge and genius, all his 
 philosophy and ambition, could not give him 
 the victory over sin and the fierce power of evil 
 within him. Astonished at the pure and 
 beautiful life of simple and unlearned Chris- 
 tians, he felt vexed at his own weakness and 
 inability to conquer sin, until Jesus appeared 
 to him. For, walking in trouble of heart and 
 conscience in his garden, and hearing the voice 
 of a boy, who, playing a common game with 
 his companion, cried, ^' Tolle lege," he opened 
 the Scripture, and read the words — ^^The night 
 is far spent, the day is at hand ; let us cast off 
 the works of darkness, and put on the armour 
 of light." Then Jesus took possession of his 
 heart. Sin was conquered. The bondage of 
 Satan was broken. He, who had been sold 
 under sin, was free and strong. He became a 
 burniog and shining light, a teacher, bishop 
 and father in the Church of Christ. 
 
 (3.) Jesus has power on earth to quicken the 
 dead. It is His divine prerogative to give life. 
 Who but God can kill and make alive again? 
 The Fountain of life for fallen and guilty sinners 
 is with God(Ps. xxxvi. 9, comp. Ps. cxxx. 4; John 
 
56 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 i. 4 ; V. 21), even His Son, wlio was in the begin- 
 ning with God, and unto whom the Father hath 
 given to have life in Himself, and to quicken 
 whom He will. Jesus is not merely a teacher 
 or prophet : He is not a restorer of law. It is 
 not instruction merely or principally that we 
 need. If a law could have been given, by 
 which life could come into dead and God- 
 estranged hearts, the advent of Jesus would not 
 have been needed. But the Lord himself came, 
 that we might have life (John x. 10 ; Gal. iii. 
 21.) By this He became our Good Shepherd, 
 that He gave His life for the sheep. Not by 
 His doctrine, nor by His example, but by His 
 death, the erring and lost sheep were saved and 
 brought into the fold of peace. And therefore 
 is it impossible for any human image to show 
 forth adequately His pastorate. '^ My sheep hear 
 my voice ; I know them, and they follow me." 
 The earthly symbol suffices here ; but dropping 
 the image, and ascending to the sublime height 
 of His own unparalleled love and power, the 
 Saviour adds, '' And I give unto them eternal 
 life." This is the divine power of Jesus, that 
 by the Holy Spirit He gives life to us ; the life 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 57 
 
 of light and knowledge, life spiritual and 
 eternal, life in communion with Him — ^nay 
 more, life flowing from His own life. He livetli 
 in us. We are branches in Him, who is the 
 True Yine. " Jesus is the Life of my life," * 
 is the hymn of the Christian, as the Apostle 
 Paul exclaimed, '^ To me to live is Christ." As 
 sin is the cause of death, so righteousness is 
 the channel through which life was brought. 
 On the cross of Christ we were delivered from 
 death, and by His resurrection Jesus became 
 the quickening Spirit. The law and death are 
 behind us ; in union with the crucified and 
 risen Saviour we have life, the life of sons ; we 
 are born again of incorruptible seed, of the 
 Father's will, by the Spirit's power, through and 
 in Jesus Christ. This is the power of Jesus on 
 earth, that He gives life, and that He is the 
 life of His disciples. 
 
 (4.) All power is given unto Jesus on earth 
 to keep His people in faith and love amidst 
 all the temptations and afflictions, conflicts 
 and struggles, giving them the victory over 
 their enemies, and presenting them finally 
 
 * Jesu, meiues Lebens Lebeu. 
 
58 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 unblamable in body, soul, and spirit before the 
 Father. 
 
 Given unto Christ from all eternity, the Good 
 Shepherd, whose own the sheep are, by the 
 election of the Father, by the self-sacrifice of 
 His infinite love, by the indwelling and sealing 
 of the Holy Ghost, keeps them in His omni- 
 potence. He guards them and protects the new 
 and tender life against the hostile and adverse 
 influences by which it is surrounded. He could 
 easily secure their safety by transplanting them 
 at once into the kingdom of everlasting peace, 
 where no conflict disturbs the rest of God's 
 saints; but it is His desire that they should 
 remain on earth, growing in grace, labouring in 
 His vineyard, and glorifying the Father. And 
 while in heaven He is continually interceding 
 on our behalf, that our faith fail not ; so on 
 earth He is continually shielding us with the 
 power of His love, and keeping us by the 
 influence of His Spirit. 
 
 The more we know of the power of sin, of 
 our weakness, and of the strength of the 
 adversary, the more truly do we feel that divine 
 power alone is able to keep us, and that only 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 59 
 
 divine love and patience can bear with onr 
 continual forgetfulness and unbelief. In the 
 great work of the saints' preservation, as in all 
 works of divine grace, Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost are manifested in blessed union. It is 
 because the Father and the Good Shepherd are 
 one that none can pluck us out of Christ's 
 hands. It is because the Father purgeth the 
 branch in Christ that it brings forth more 
 fruit. We rest in the bosom of Him who is in 
 the bosom of the Father ; we are Christ's, and 
 Christ is God's (John x. 29, 30; xv. 1, 2; 
 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23). 
 
 It is by the Spirit that the Father and Son 
 come and take up their abode within us. By 
 the Spirit we are joined with Christ, and kept 
 in Him ; sealed with the Spirit of promise, we 
 possess the earnest of our inheritance, until the 
 redemption of the purchased possession. 
 
 But while Christ reveals and brings to us the 
 love of the Father and the indwelling of the 
 Holy Ghost, we look to Him as the Kock on 
 which we are built, the Vine in which we are 
 grafted, the Head from whom cometh our life, 
 the Bridegroom who is our sunshine and joy ; 
 
60 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 and we rejoice that all power is given unto Him 
 on earth ; all power to protect, to guide, to 
 bless ; all power to keep us from falling, and to 
 present us faultless before the presence of His 
 glory with exceeding joy. 
 
 Why is it, that when we possess a Saviour, 
 whose power and love are infinite, we are so 
 often filled with fear and despondency, and so 
 frequently need the exhortation, " Lift up the 
 hands which haDg down, and the feeble knees : 
 gird up the loins of your mind, be strong in 
 the Lord, be not afraid nor dismayed ; for the 
 Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou 
 goest." We are wearied and faint in our minds, 
 because we do not look steadfastly unto Jesus, 
 the Author and Finisher of faith, who is set 
 down at the right hand of God ; unto Him whose 
 omnipotence embraces both heaven and earth, 
 who is strong and mighty in His feeble saints. 
 While we remember our weakness, we forget 
 His all-sufficient power. While we acknowledge 
 that apart from Christ we can do nothing, we 
 do not rise to the height or depth of Christian 
 humility : I can do all things through Christ, 
 which strengtheneth me. While we trust in the 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 61 
 
 power of the death of Jesus to cancel the guilt 
 of sin, we do not exercise a reliant and appro- 
 priating faith in the omnipotence of the living 
 Saviour to deliver us from the bondao-e and 
 power of sin in our daily life. We forget that 
 Christ worketh in us mightily, and that, one with 
 Him, we possess strength sufficient to overcome 
 every temptation. We are apt either to forget 
 our nothingness, and imagine that in our daily 
 path we can live without sin — that the duties 
 and trials of our everyday life can be performed 
 and borne in our own strength ; or we do not 
 avail ourselves of the omnipotence of Jesus, 
 who is able to subdue all things unto Himself, 
 and to keep us from the daily infirmities and 
 falls, which we are apt to imagine an inevitable 
 necessity. If we really depended in all things 
 and at all times on Christ, we would in all 
 things and at all times gain the victory 
 through Him, whose power is infinite, and who 
 is appointed by the Father to be the Captain of 
 our salvation. Then all our deeds would be 
 wrought, not merely before, but in God. We 
 would then do all things to the glory of the 
 Father in the all-powerful name of Jesus, who 
 
62 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 is our sanctification. Remember tliat unto Him 
 all power is given in heaven and on earth, and 
 live by the constant exercise of faith in His 
 power. When anxious to follow the Saviour, 
 remember that Christ the Rock is following 
 us, that, being refreshed and strengthened by 
 Him, we may be able to walk after Him. He 
 is the Beginning of all and the End of all; He 
 himself is the Way ; of Him is our fruit found, 
 and His strength is made j^ierfect in weakness. 
 Christ's oninipotence is glorified not merely in 
 the heroic deeds and sufferings of His saints 
 and martyrs, but in the daily strife and obedi- 
 ence of His lowliest members. Let us learn to 
 look unto Him ; to lean not on our own strength 
 and resolutions ; to expect nothing from our 
 fortitude, and our remembrance of past mercies ; 
 instead of being angry with ourselves, vexed 
 and desponding on account of our slow progress 
 and our constant failures, let us most fully 
 believe that we have and are nothing, that 
 with man it is impossible, that in ourselves we 
 have no life which can bring forth fruit, but 
 that Christ is all, that, abiding in Him, and 
 His words dwelling in us, we can bring forth 
 
JESUS ON EAKTH. G3 
 
 fruit to the glory of the Father. Is not Jacob 
 called "worm Jacob?" and is not God His 
 everlasting strength ? 
 
 The exalted Saviour, in all the epistles 
 which He sent from the heavenly Sanctuary to 
 the Churches, encourages by great promises 
 him that overcometh. But to no Church is 
 His promise so exceeding precious and glorious 
 as to lukewarm Laodicea. " To him that over- 
 cometh'' — this is the promise to lukewarm 
 Laodicea — " will I grant to sit with me on my 
 throne, even as I also overcame, and am set 
 down with my Father on His throne." 
 
 Is it that the lukewarm, wavering, slumber- 
 ing heart needs the most loving encouragement, 
 and the most stimulating promise ? Oh ! then, 
 if we feel the weakness and lassitude of our 
 spirit, and the drowsiness of the enchanted 
 ground ; if we have forsaken our first love, and 
 have lost fervour and zeal ; if, in the midst of 
 much knowledge of high mysteries and abund- 
 ance of spiritual privileges, our hearts long for 
 the simple faith and childlike love to Jesus 
 which was ours in former days, let us hear 
 what the Spirit saith to us. Christ will grant 
 
64 THE OMNIPOTENCE OF 
 
 US to sit with Him on His throne. If it is 
 life and peace to touch the hem of His garment ; 
 if it is blessedness to weep at His feet, and to 
 hear His voice of pardon ; if it is unspeakable 
 honour and joy to sit at the table which Christ 
 has prepared for us in the wilderness — who can 
 conceive or describe the full import of the pro- 
 mise that we shall sit with Him on His throne ? 
 We shall be like Him then : the children of the 
 Resurrection, arrayed in white robes, which no 
 sin or earthly dust can stain ; crowned with 
 life, and partakers of His power and glory. 
 But while we are not able to endure the bright- 
 ness of this prospect, let us remember, that if 
 Christ's throne is the end, Christ's path of 
 obedience is to be our path. 
 
 To him that overcometh — Christ's throne, 
 even as to Christ, that overcame, the Father's 
 throne. Is the servant above the Master ? or 
 could you wish to be different from Christ? 
 He, who is now on the Father's throne, began 
 His earthly life in the manger, and ended it on 
 the cross. He was a man of sorrows, acquainted 
 with grief. He bore ingratitude and contempt. 
 He was wounded in the house of His friends. 
 
JESUS ON EARTH. 65 
 
 He was despised and rejected. Men hated Him 
 without cause. Yet He only loved, blessed, 
 ministered, prayed. He was tempted, and by 
 faith and the Word of God He resisted. He 
 conquered. He came not to do His own will, 
 but the will of the Father that sent Him. Look 
 unto Him and follow. He is the Way, and the 
 end is life and glory everlasting. 
 
 Great is the struggle ; great is the victory ; 
 infinite is the power of our loving Lord in 
 heaven and in earth. Lean on Him, and be 
 faithful. Whatever our sphere and our position, 
 it is one which Christ has assigned to us, and 
 which He thinks not beneath His notice, un- 
 worthy of His companionship and of eternal 
 recognition. 
 
 Meek souls these are, who little deem 
 Their daily strife an angel's theme, 
 Or that the rod they take so calm 
 Shall prove in heaven a martyr's palm. 
 
 " Compassed about with so great a cloud of 
 witnesses" — of angels and of glorified saints — 
 " let us lay aside every weight, and the sin of 
 unbelief which doth so easily beset us, and let 
 us run with patience the race set before us, look- 
 
 E 
 
QQ THE OMNIPOTENCE OF JESUS ON EARTH. 
 
 ing unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith, 
 who, for the joy set before Him, endured the 
 cross, despising the shame, and is set down at 
 the right hand of the throne of God." 
 
 Ye have need of patience, ye have need of 
 consolation, ye have need of encouragement ; 
 hear, therefore, the voice of Jesus — '' All power 
 is given unto me in heaven and in earth." 
 You are safe and blessed in His hands ; abide 
 in Him. 
 
III. 
 
 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 
 
SERMON III. 
 
 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL CHARACTER OF 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 " Teach all nations." — Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 
 What man or angel, I ask again, could utter 
 such words ? Jesus saith, that all power is 
 given unto Him in heaven and in earth. High 
 above all earthly thrones and heavenly domi- 
 nions, He speaks of Himself as the Son, equal 
 with the Father and the Holy Ghost. All 
 nations, from the rudest to the most cultivated, 
 and throughout the whole course of time, are 
 to sit as disciples and learners at His feet ; 
 through Him they are to enter into covenant- 
 relationship with the Triune God. In this 
 highest economy of divine grace and power His 
 commandments have absolute and exclusive 
 authority; and as the presence of Jehovah was 
 with the children of Israel in the wilderness, 
 and with Joshua in the promised land, so this 
 
70 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 divine Lord assures His disciples of His pre- 
 sence with them to the end of the age. 
 
 Such is the dignity, power, and glory which 
 Jesus claims. He who is meek and lowly in 
 heart, who never sought His own honour, whose 
 words were always words of soberness and 
 truth, full of power and reality — He always is 
 what He says, possesses what He claims, gives 
 what He promises. 
 
 Eemember, how only a few weeks before He 
 uttered this heaven-high and world-wide com- 
 mission. His cause had, to all human judgment, 
 and according to all outward appearance, 
 failed; His plans had been completely frus- 
 trated ; His work had ceased. Never had man, 
 according to the world's view, been so entirely 
 and irrecoverably defeated. After His ministry 
 of three years, what was the result of His words 
 and works ? His nation rejected Him, and 
 preferred to Him Barabbas, who was a robber. 
 The highest spiritual authority of the land pro- 
 nounced Him a blasphemer. The Scribes, the 
 Pharisees, the High Priest, the representatives 
 of the law of Moses, of the covenant, and of the 
 temple, judged Him worthy of an ignominious 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 71 
 
 death. Roman justice thought Him too unim- 
 portant to protect Him against the hatred of 
 His enemies, and to provoke the displeasure of 
 the people they sought to conciliate. So Pie 
 was crucified between two malefactors. His 
 very disciples forsook Him and were scattered. 
 The world rejected Him, and saw, in His death 
 on the cross and in His burial, the conclusion 
 and final destruction of His work and mission. 
 Remember this, and then listen to the words 
 of the risen Jesus. With what royal and calm 
 emphasis He asserts His omnipotence in heaven 
 and earth. In perfect assurance of victory, He 
 sends messengers, not merely to His own 
 people, whose language He had spoken, whose 
 Scriptures He unfolded and fulfilled, who had 
 witnessed His miracles and listened to His 
 words, but to all the nations of the world, to 
 bring them into the obedience of His faith. 
 And consider whom He entrusted with this 
 work. The very disciples who had been 
 offended in Him, and had deserted Him in the 
 hour of trial ; Peter, who had denied Him 
 thrice ; Philip, who knew so little of Him, 
 though He had been so long time with them ; 
 
72 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 Thomas, so full of gloomy doubt and obstinate 
 unbelief; such disciples, weak and ignorant, He 
 sends forth, relying on them as strong and 
 invincible. And what are the weapons with 
 which they are to conquer ? The sword is the 
 Word ; the foolishness of preaching, the message 
 of Christ and Him crucified. And all the pro- 
 tection He gives them is a hostile world ; all the 
 resources He places at their disposal are not 
 power or wisdom, not wealth or eloquence, but 
 His own hidden yet perfect omnipotence, His 
 real spiritual and all-sufficient Presence. 
 
 Truly Christ's kingdom is not of this world. 
 Here is the weakness of God, which is stronger 
 than man. The sheep whom Jesus sent forth in 
 the midst of wolves are protected by an unseen 
 Lamb, and they gain the victory with weapons 
 which man's reason can neither discover nor 
 appreciate. The commission which the risen 
 Saviour gave to His disciples,* which no worldly 
 
 * " A century and a half after the Incarnation, Celsus ridicules 
 the idea of a universal religion as a manifest folly. . . . Christ 
 founds a world-wide religion, and He promises to be the present 
 invigorating force of that religion to the end of time. Are we 
 not too accustomed to this language to feel the full force of its 
 original meaning ? How startingly must it not have fallen 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 73 
 
 ear heard, and whicli would have appeared to 
 Jew and Greek an idle dream and foolish pre- 
 sumption, has now been tested by eighteen 
 centuries. But I trust you believe its divine 
 truth and power not on account of the evidence 
 of history — that is, because you see — but because 
 by the Holy Ghost you know, that Jesus is 
 Lord to the glory of the Father ; because by 
 faith you see Him, whom the world seeth no 
 more ; because you have experienced in your 
 hearts, that Christ is exalted a Prince and a 
 Saviour. 
 
 There are two aspects of the command of 
 Christ, Go and teach, or disciple, all nations, 
 which claim our attention. (1.) The univer- 
 sality — all nations. (2.) The spiritual character 
 of the commission — teach, instruct, make them 
 disciples, learners, in my school. 
 
 I. When Jesus was on earth, He did not go to 
 all nations, but confined His ministry to Israel. 
 While He was with His disciples, He said unto 
 
 upon the ears of apostles ! . . . Can we imagine such a 
 command of our Lord upon the lips of the best, of the wisest 
 men whom we have ever known ? " — LiDDON, " Bampton 
 Lectures/' p. 117. 
 
74 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 them, " Go not into the way of the Gentiles, 
 and into any of the cities of the Samaritans 
 enter ye not/' You remember how very 
 emphatically He dwelt on the limits of His 
 commission when the Syrophenician woman 
 implored His help, and He replied, " I am not 
 sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 
 The exceptions which He made in obedience to 
 the guidance of His heavenly Father, and the 
 spirit of love and joy with which He received 
 the Gentiles, who were thus brought to Him by 
 God, explain to us sufficiently the nature and 
 reason of the limitation. It was according to 
 the divine purpose, according to the method of 
 God's dealings with Israel and the nations, that 
 Jesus should first go to His own people, preach- 
 ing to them the gospel of the kingdom, and 
 endeavouring to gather them under the wings 
 of His mercy and holy love. He was Israel's 
 Messiah and King. He was sent first of all to 
 the children. He was a minister of the cir- 
 cumcision, to fulfil the promises made unto the 
 fathers. He visited the vineyard which God 
 had planted. The angel of the covenant came 
 to His temple. But Israel itself was chosen in 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 75 
 
 Him for the salvation of the world. And even 
 during His earthly ministry in Israel, Jesus 
 thought with joy and love of the Gentiles who 
 should come to the light, and enter the fold of 
 divine peace. There is something very marked 
 and thrilling in all the instances (recorded in the 
 gospel) of Gentiles received by Jesus. 
 
 Have you not noticed how the Lord marvelled 
 at the faith of the Roman centurion, and of the 
 Syrophenician woman ? With astonishment He 
 exclaimed, '^I have not found such faith, no not 
 in Israel." With intense gladness and wonder 
 He said, " woman ! great is thy faith. ^' 
 Have you not noticed with what trembling 
 emotion His soul is filled when He hears of 
 the Greeks who had come to the feast, and who 
 wished to see Him ? '' The hour is come,'^ He 
 said, " that the Son of man should be glorified.^' 
 Has it never struck you, how, in the tone of con- 
 fiding friendship. He said plainly to the woman 
 of Samaria what He had not said so simply 
 to Israel — *^I that speak unto thee am He "? 
 And have you not felt the afi'ectionate yearning 
 in His words — ^' Other sheep I have which are not 
 of this fold ; them also I must bring " ? 
 
76 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 Jesus loves Israel with a special love. No- 
 thing — not even their unbelief and rejection of 
 the Messiah — can change the peculiar position 
 of Israel in God's plan and kingdom. Jesus 
 is Israel's Messiah and King; His relation to 
 them is peculiar and unique. But it is for the 
 sake and for the benefit of the whole world 
 that Israel was chosen. And now the time 
 had come. The gospel of salvation was to be 
 preached to the whole world; He, who had 
 formerly said '^ Go not," now utters the com- 
 mand, ^^ Go ye into all the world, and preach 
 the gospel to every creature." He throws open 
 Samaria and all regions, even to the uttermost 
 ends of the earth. The rejection of Israel's 
 Messiah results in a twofold dispersion. In 
 judgment, the Jews are scattered among all 
 the nations of the earth ; in love and mercy, in 
 blessing, the Church is sent to all peoples and 
 tongues. 
 
 '^ All nations." The words, and the concep- 
 tion of universality, have become very familiar 
 to us. 
 
 This comprehensiveness, this universality of 
 thought, love, and design, is from above ; it is 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 77 
 
 not human, but divine. No human mind ever 
 rose to the height of this conception, no human 
 heart ever expanded to the comprehensiveness 
 and breadth of this affection, no human ima- 
 gination ever dreamt of a union so vast. Let 
 us not be mistaken. In modern times un- 
 believers have decked themselves with borrowed 
 ornaments ; the Egyptians have beautified them- 
 selves with Israel's glory. The true ideas of 
 fraternity and equality come exclusively from 
 revelation. Only Israel, of all nations of 
 antiquity, knew the true dignity and the true 
 purpose of humanity. Only the Church, since 
 the advent of our Lord, possessed the true 
 spirit of humanity and character of catholicity. 
 Let us remember the Bible facts and teaching ; 
 let us believe the testimony of the sure Word, 
 the simple and grand truths of revelation, 
 which must outlive the errors and theories 
 which, under various forms, rise against them 
 in every age. 
 
 The Bible, and the Bible only, taught firmly 
 and clearly the unity of the human race. 
 
 " Grod, who giveth to all life and breath 
 and all things, hath made of one blood all 
 
78 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 nations of men for to dwell on the face of the 
 earth, and hath determined the times before 
 appointed, and the bounds of their habitations." 
 Thus Paul preached at Athens. Significant is 
 the place where the apostle made this declara- 
 tion, for Athens represents the wisdom of 
 the world ; and in every age the highest earthly 
 wisdom needs to be taught by the Word of God. 
 We believe in the unity of the human race on 
 the testimony of Scripture; whether science 
 assents or contradicts is a matter of indiffer- 
 ence to us, as far as our faith and knowledge 
 and certainty are concerned. We are one race. 
 Scripture teaches, and in this fact are involved 
 wonderful and important truths. 
 
 First, as we are the children of Adam, all 
 human beings are equal, created in the image 
 of God, forming one family of mankind, called 
 to light and holiness and blessedness. As all 
 truths, this great truth is confirmed and illumi- 
 nated by the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him there is 
 neither Jew nor Greek, Scythian nor barbarian. 
 There is no inferior race, stamped to servitude 
 and ignorance. The whole world of humanity, 
 descended of Adam, loved by the Father, has its 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 79 
 
 centre in the man Christ Jesus. All families 
 on earth are to be blessed in the Son of man. 
 
 This equality is, alas ! also an equality in sin 
 and in condemnation. The whole human race, 
 forming a unity, fell in Adam. By the sin of 
 one man, the many were constituted sinners. 
 It is the whole world which is lost. Mankind, 
 even the whole family of Adam, has departed 
 from God, and is in a state of sin, condemna- 
 tion, misery, and death. In Adam all have 
 sinned, and death has come upon all. Here 
 alone we have disclosed the solution of the 
 marvellous fact of the universal prevalence of 
 sin and misery; here we behold the source of 
 the many rivers of selfishness, pride, lust, of 
 moral evil, which run through the whole terri- 
 tory of human history. 
 
 But, thirdly, the unity of the race is a blessed 
 fact, when we remember that the Son of God 
 became man. He entered our circle. He took 
 upon Him our nature : the Word was made 
 flesh. Let, therefore, the whole world rejoice ; 
 every one that is descended of Adam, that bears 
 the human image, let him take courage, let him 
 breathe hope, let him say with gratitude and 
 
80 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 jo}% '^ Unto US a Child is born, a Son is 
 given." 
 
 Man is created in God's image; the whole 
 race is one family, fallen in Adam. Unto the 
 whole race Christ is sent : He is given unto 
 man as man ; a new centre to the whole family 
 of mankind. 
 
 Now Scripture, and Scripture only, teaches 
 this grand truth about mankind. Here alone is 
 the true idea of humanity ; here alone is true 
 catholicity. 
 
 The foundation is in the five books of Moses 
 and the Prophets ; the fulfilment is in Christ, 
 as revealed by evangelists and apostles. 
 
 Who can read the first three chapters of 
 Genesis without feeling : no human wisdom 
 discovered, no human imagination invented 
 this sublime history. Contrasted with heathen 
 mythologies and with modern speculation, how 
 simple, and grand, and full of light are the 
 disclosures of the Scriptures ! Here we see the 
 source of the manifold streams of sin and 
 misery which meet us in history. The universal 
 prevalence of sin is accounted for, and through 
 the awful darkness and enigma of sin shines 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 81 
 
 the original dignity and higli destiny of man, 
 and the still more glorious and sublime promise 
 of redemption. 
 
 Moses explains to us the diversity of the 
 human race. The sons of Noah are Shem, Ham, 
 and Japhet, and the whole history of the world 
 was foreshadowed in the inspired prediction of 
 Noah. The dispersion of the nations at Babel 
 (a fact, of which historical evidence is continu- 
 ally increasing in strength and variety) is the 
 preparation for the election of a peculiar people. 
 But never is the unity of the race, or the 
 world-wide love of Grod, lost sight of. The 
 purpose of God is constantly announced — ^^ The 
 whole earth shall be filled with my glory." 
 And not merely is the history of Israel con- 
 nected with the history of the race, and Abra- 
 ham traced back to Noah and Seth and Adam ; 
 but before the history of the chosen people 
 commences, God takes a farewell record of the 
 nations, inscribing the names of their tribes in 
 the Scriptures — thus assuring us, that though for 
 a season He permits them to go their own way 
 during the times of ignorance, yet He is also 
 the God of the Gentiles, and hath foreordained 
 
82 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 their ultimate blessing and incorporation into 
 His kingdom on earth. The Book of Genesis 
 is the true book of humanity. The promise to 
 Abraham is, "In thy seed shall all the families 
 of the earth be blessed." The glory of Shiloh, 
 as predicted by Jacob, is, " To him shall the 
 nations be gathered." The jubilant tone of all 
 psalms and prophets is, " Praise him, all ye 
 nations; Messiah is a light to lighten the 
 Gentiles. Distant isles shall know His truth ; 
 all heathen people shall forsake their idols, 
 and walk in the light of Jacob." Israel is the 
 central nation ; Israel's Messiah, Centre of 
 Israel and of the world ; Jerusalem, not Rome, 
 is the God-chosen centre of catholicity. 
 
 The purpose of God, world-wide in its final 
 aim, appears at first hidden in the election of 
 one nation. 
 
 Israel was separated from all other nations ; 
 God isolated them. He fenced them round by 
 His marvellous dealings, and by the peculiar 
 law which He gave them. They dwelt apart, 
 in every sense of the word. They were not 
 sent forth as ambassadors of God's truth. 
 Their mission was not to be aggressive. The 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 83 
 
 light was to burn in Judea with an intense 
 and concentrated brightness, and the promise 
 given to Israel was that all nations would be 
 attracted by Jerusalem's glory, and come to 
 worship Israel's God. 
 
 The nations of the world, for whose sake 
 Israel was choseu, await yet the restoration of 
 God's people, through whom they are to be 
 blessed. When Israel returns unto Jehovah 
 and their King David, then the ancient pre- 
 dictions shall be fulfilled — all lands and king- 
 doms will be filled with the knowledge of God ; 
 the reign of the Son of man shall commence, 
 and from the river to the great sea the Lord 
 shall be worshipped and glorified. JSTot till 
 then shall the kingdoms of the world become 
 the kingdoms of God and of His Christ. Then 
 shall the Lord be King over the whole earth ; 
 the will of God is done on earth as it is in 
 heaven ; the whole family of mankind serves 
 Christ ; Israel is the firstborn, the elder brother 
 of many nations. 
 
 Such is the purpose of God, as revealed in 
 the prophets before the advent of Christ. Such 
 was the expectation of all faithful Israelites. 
 
84 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 They waited for Messiah, who would redeem His 
 people, and be a light to lighten the Gentiles ; 
 who would bring all nations to join Israel in the 
 worship and obedience of Jehovah. That they 
 themselves, as a nation, would reject the 
 Messiah, and that between the first advent in 
 humility and the second in glory a long inter- 
 val would intervene, was hidden to their view. 
 The two events appeared to them as one ; they 
 expected Messiah to come and reign, to usher 
 in the last days of fulfilment. As two mountain 
 heights seen from afar merge into one, the long 
 distance between them being concealed, so they 
 beheld only one advent. The mystery of the 
 Church was not revealed as yet. 
 
 Israel's rejection of the Messiah must have 
 appeared to human reasoning as the frustration 
 of God's plan, as a dark enigma, as a sad and 
 fatal termination of the history of God's king- 
 dom. But Israel's unbelief cannot make void 
 the promises of God. The fall of Israel becomes 
 the occasion of a new and more wonderful mani- 
 festation of divine grace and power and wis- 
 dom. God hath not cast off His people. The 
 gifts and callings of God are without repent- 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 85 
 
 ance. All Israel shall be saved, and then 
 from Zion, as a central source, streams of 
 blessing shall flow into all lands. But during 
 the period of Israel's national rejection, God's 
 merciful purposes are carried out through 
 a new creation of His love and power — the 
 Church of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Simultaneous with the rejection of the gos- 
 pel by Israel is the origin of the Church. 
 Not, as even apostles at first imagined, are 
 Gentiles added unto Israel, and incorporated 
 into the nation ; but the Church is the body 
 of Christ ; gathered from among all nations 
 by the Holy Spirit, and united with Him, 
 who is the Head, the glorified and exalted 
 Redeemer. In the Church is neither Jew 
 nor Greek. Chosen from among all nations 
 and tribes, the Church is in the world a light 
 and a witness, testifying of the grace of 
 God bringing salvation, which hath appeared, 
 and of the judgment and glory which shall be 
 manifest at the second advent of our Lord. 
 The object and mission of the Church is to 
 gather, through her testimony of truth and 
 love, a people who by faith are saved, and by 
 
86 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 the Holy Ghost are separated from the world, 
 serving God, and waiting for the return of 
 Jesus. 
 
 The Church is in and for the world, yet not 
 of it. She has been delivered from this "evil 
 age." She is to be and labour among all 
 nations ; yet she is above all nations, having 
 her citizenship in heaven, and waiting for the 
 manifestation of the kingdom of Christ. 
 
 She is to benefit the world as light, as salt, 
 irradiating the darkness of God - estranged 
 humanity, and preventing the rapid develop- 
 ment of its intrinsically evil character ; yet the 
 Church always remains to the end of this dis- 
 pensation distinct, and in reality opposed to the 
 nations among whom she lives, and whom she 
 blesses. Like her divine Master, she is not of 
 the world. God has chosen her out of the 
 world. There are many Christians among the 
 nations ; according to the divine purpose there 
 will be Christians among all nations. But 
 there are no Christian nations. There is no 
 nation during this dispensation, who in re- 
 pentance and faith and renewal has died to the 
 spirit of the world, who in meekness of heart, as 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 87 
 
 cliildren of God, inherit the earth, who believe 
 Grod's truth and seek God's glory, who pursue 
 spiritual and holy methods, and prize heavenly 
 and substantial realities. The Church of Christ 
 is born out of the death of natural life. She is 
 rooted in Golgotha. She commences with the 
 first day of the week in the power of a new, a 
 resurrection life. The natural man loves his 
 own Adamic life ; he savours the thinscs that 
 are of man ; he has confidence in the flesh ; he 
 clings to his own righteousness and strength, 
 cherishes and cultivates his own wisdom and 
 beauty, and is not willing, by losing his life, to 
 gain the eternal Christ-life. How can nations, 
 the majority of whom are not regenerate, and 
 whose whole spirit, aim, and method are 
 worldly and not heavenly, ever be regarded as 
 Christian ? How can we so far forget the 
 character and dignity of Christ, as to imagine 
 that during the last centuries the kingdoms of 
 Europe have fulfilled the promise of Christ's 
 reign on earth, of the Father's kingdom, in 
 which His name is hallowed, and His will is 
 done? 
 
 Throughout this dispensation the Church is 
 
88 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 hated by the world, as Jesus predicted it — " Ye 
 shall be hated by all nations for my name's 
 sake." The Church is at present a widow and a 
 stranger; she is called to witness, to suffer, to 
 endure reproach, and yet to rejoice in her Lord, 
 and to gain victories with spiritual weapons. 
 She knows from the testimony of the Word, that 
 the kingdom's advent is preceded by times of 
 unbelief and rebelliousness, that in the latter 
 days men shall become more opposed to the 
 truth of God, and more alienated from a life 
 of godliness. Yet is the Church full of power, 
 love, and hope. She teaches the nations in all 
 ages, gathering from among them the citizens 
 of the heavenly kingdom, and blessing even 
 those who yield not to her entreaty. The 
 Church is strong by her weakness ; she con- 
 quers the world by keeping herself unspotted 
 from it. Her only security is in humility, and in 
 the remembrance of her heavenly character and 
 calling. Like the Master, she must resist the 
 temptations of Satan to give her the kingdoms 
 of the world, preferring obedience and divine 
 sonship, fasting, shame, and poverty to the 
 treasures of Egypt. She must set her face 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 89 
 
 steadfastly towards Jerusalem — that is, the cross 
 
 of Christ. She must go with Christ outside 
 
 the camp, bearing the reproach. She is a 
 
 widow at present, and not a queen. She fills 
 
 up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ. 
 
 As He was in the world not known, not loved, ^ ^.^ 
 
 not obeyed, the Son of man in loneliness, and 
 
 the Friend of sinners, so is the Church. 0. '^^'^ 
 
 For though not of the world, she loves the cXv-c^ 
 world; like her heavenly Master, she loves all. 
 She despises not the weak and ignorant; 
 affectionately and reverently she gathers the 
 children, the poor and lowly ones, who have 
 no wealth or wisdom, no skill or beauty; for 
 she knows how the Father and Christ and 
 angels rejoice over one poor and lost sheep that 
 is brought into the fold. She despises not, 
 neither turns away in haughty pride and disgust 
 from the most degraded and loathsome, know- 
 ing that it is the glory of the Only-begotten 
 to save the chief of sinners, that the blood of 
 the Son of God cleanseth from all sin, and that 
 the Holy Ghost renews and sanctifies the 
 rebellious and God-estranged heart. She is not 
 terrified or chilled by the criticism, erudition, 
 
90 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 and subtlety of human wisdom, by the power 
 and splendour of human thrones and domi- 
 nions ; she is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, 
 knowing that He is the wisdom and power of 
 God, and that He is able to abase all pride, 
 and to bring down everything that is lofty by 
 the sweetness of His light and dying love. 
 She loves all nations ; she yearns over all 
 human beings, whatever their age, condition, 
 culture. She instructs kings, and teaches wis- 
 dom, judgment, and equity to senators. She 
 testifies to the rich of mercy and humility and 
 charity. She ministers especially unto the 
 lonely, the sorrowful, and the afflicted, direct- 
 ing them to the true Fountain of peace and of 
 consolation, to the only Rest and Strength of the 
 weary. And in the exercise of her heavenly 
 and catholic mission she is independent of 
 outward position and circumstances. The blood 
 of the martyrs became the seed of the Church ; 
 and from the catacombs, where the persecuted 
 disciples of the Crucified met, His name went 
 forth victorious, to destroy idolatry and heath- 
 enism, and to subdue thousands of hearts to the 
 only blessed Master. The Church of Christ can 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 91 
 
 speak in simplicity to the most ignorant and 
 degraded tribe, and bring the light of divine 
 love to illumine the night of barbarism and 
 superstition ; and she is able to enter into the 
 thought of the most cultured; and, possessing 
 the wisdom which is from above, she is able 
 to interpret aright the elements and presenti- 
 ments of truth, and to satisfy the nobler aspira- 
 tions and longings which, amidst the errors 
 and sins of humanity, testify alike of our fall 
 and grandeur. The Church is all things to all 
 men, because she is in, and for and above the 
 world. And though few believe her report, 
 and she expects that the spirit of the <5iL^ ^< 
 world, opposed to God and Christ, will yet . >r 
 manifest itself more fully and intensely, she is 
 full of hope, knowing that the kingdom and 
 the power and the glory are God's, that Christ 
 shall appear and reign with His saints, that all 
 nations shall praise the Lord, and the whole 
 earth be filled with His glory. 
 
 II. The spiritual character of the commission — 
 
 " Teachino: them."* 
 
 * 
 
 'MadrjTeveiv, make disciples. There is uo contrast between 
 
92 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 Men are to be taught. The Word is the 
 sword of the Spirit. By the Word the heart is 
 conquered, and the Word is the bread which 
 nourishes and strengthens the soul. Truth is 
 the element which separates or sanctifies the 
 people of God, even as it is by the Word of 
 truth that they were first begotten to be the 
 first-fruits of His creatures. The apostles received 
 the Word ; " Thy Word," as the Lord Jesus says 
 to the Father, " which I gave to them." Jesus 
 has not entrusted us with ceremonies and rites ; 
 He has not invested His apostles with an official 
 authority, by which to excite men's fears, and 
 
 fxadrjre^eip and dtddcTKeiv ; the one is only the commencement 
 and initiation of the other. It is only by the Word that we are 
 brought as learners and disciples unto Christ. What else but 
 the preaching of the gospel, the voice of the Shepherd, brings 
 men into the school of Christ, there to be instructed and 
 trained. In what other way did Christ gain the apostles, or the 
 apostles gather the first congregations in Jerusalem and in the 
 house of Cornelius, among Jews and Gentiles ? We are told 
 that the three thousand continued steadfastly in the doctrine 
 {didaxv) oi the apostles ; yet it was that very doctrine which had 
 discipled them. They that had gladly received the word of 
 TeteT {tou \6yov auroO) were baptized. (The idea of instruction 
 is in the term, as for instance, Matt. xiii. 52 — " Every scribe 
 which is instructed {[ladiqTevdeis) unto the kingdom of heaven is 
 like unto a man that is an householder, which brought forth 
 out of his treasure things new and old.") 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 93 
 
 persuade them to blind submission. He bas 
 not commissioned us to bestow benedictions 
 and apply remedies which are not understood 
 by the people, deriving their efficacy from the 
 human mediators, and exerting it in a magical 
 manner. Christ said to Peter, " Feed my 
 sheep." But He never said to the flock, 
 '^ Obey Peter." He said to His apostles, " He 
 that heareth you heareth me." But in these 
 words He gave a new promise; He did not 
 institute a new legislation. Nowhere does 
 Christ say to the Church, '^ He that heareth 
 the apostles heareth me." For whereas the 
 faithful and obedient apostles are comforted by 
 the assurance that their word is not their own, 
 but the Master's who sent them, the people, who 
 through them obey the truth, feel the authority 
 of Godj hear the voice of the Shepherd^ see the 
 countenance of Christ, Heavenhigh above all 
 apostles and ministers, visible and accessible 
 to all, even the youngest and weakest disciple, 
 is the Head of the Church — the Lord Jesus 
 Himself. The commission is. Teach them. 
 Make them learners. Tell them as plainly and 
 simply as human language can express it, the 
 
94 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 mysteries of the kingdom. Keep back nothing 
 that is profitable, testify of me ; preach the 
 gospel ; you have no other instrument, influence, 
 or power. 
 
 Thus it was always with God's people. There 
 is no book like Scriptm^e in which men are so 
 constantly exhorted to think, to consider, to 
 reason, to learn, to meditate, to remember. 
 There is no book so opposed to all blind obedi- 
 ence and assumption of external authority. 
 There is no book so opposed to the pride and 
 selfishness of an esoteric school, keeping the 
 people in subjection and partial ignorance. God 
 teaches Israel. What no human wisdom or 
 ingenuity could have discovered, God reveals 
 to them ; but His words are simple and clear. 
 He commands them to listen, to read, to repeat 
 it frequently, to teach it to their children, to 
 make it the subject of meditation and topic of 
 conversation. Kead especially the Book of 
 Deuteronomy, the Psalms, the Book of Proverbs, 
 and you will see that from the beginning God 
 made His children disciples, learners. In no 
 language are there so many and so profound 
 words for knowledge, judgment, understanding. 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 95 
 
 and meditation as in Hebrew, and all nsed in 
 connection with the Word of God, 
 
 If it be said they had ceremonies, I replj^, 
 The expression is ambiguous. They had no 
 ceremonies in the sense of rites performed by 
 a privileged class, who alone possessed the 
 knowledge of their significance, or outward 
 observances, which, instead of channels, were 
 substitutes for knowledge and inward possession 
 of truth. God appointed in Israel symbols, and 
 they were explained in His Word; and the 
 prayer of God's saints was, '^ Open Thou mine 
 eyes, that I may behold wonders : the secret, 
 hidden, and essential meaning of Thy law." 
 
 The statutes and commandments of the Lord 
 were given to the whole nation. Every father 
 was commanded to teach and explain them to 
 his household. When thy son asketh thee, 
 " What mean the testimonies and the statutes 
 which the Lord our God has commanded us ? " 
 then instruction is to be given, that from early 
 childhood men may know and understand the 
 Word of God. 
 
 What a contrast is this to the media3val 
 Church, which withheld the Scriptures from the 
 
96 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 people,* and fed the souls of men with self- 
 invented and complicated rites, performed in a 
 language which was not understood hy the 
 multitude ! And how thoroughly false and 
 unscriptural is the thought, which sees in this 
 fearful apostacy and transgression of the divine 
 will a wise adaptation to the rudeness and 
 ignorance of the nations among whom the 
 Church was planted ! How far below the level 
 of the Old Testament spirit are the priestly 
 assumption and ritual method of the Papal 
 Church ! The Jews believed that the entrance 
 of God's Word giveth light, it maketh wise the 
 simple ; and among them was many a Timothy, 
 who knew the Scriptures from a child, because the 
 
 * Bengel, "Apophthegmata ; " — ''Fredericus Fulgentius, theo- 
 logian in Venice, preached on the words, ' Have ye not read ? ' 
 (Matt. xii. 10). ' If the Saviour were to ask this question to-day, 
 all the people would have to reply, "'No, we have not read, 
 because we are forbidden to read." I have sought truth in the 
 desert, in the cities, in society, in monasteries, at the Court of 
 the Pope, who calls himself infallible, and have not found it 
 anywhere. Yet at last I did find it, even in this book ' (pro- 
 ducing a New Testament, but putting it immediately back into 
 his pocket) ; ' but you must not seek the truth there, for it is 
 forbidden to read it.' " 
 
 The undeniable fact that the Church of Kome keeps the 
 Scriptures from the people, ought to be quite sufficient to 
 indicate her true character. 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 97 
 
 Word of God is able to make even the most 
 ignorant and feeble wise unto salvation. And 
 this, as the greatest and fundamental blessing, 
 was the promise of God — ^'And though the 
 Lord give jou. the bread of adversity and the 
 water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be 
 removed into a corner any more, but thine 
 eyes shall see thy teachers." Where the autho- 
 rity of Jehovah, of the Lord Christ, is fully 
 acknowledged. His servants are not lords over 
 God's heritage, but stewards of divine mysteries, 
 teachers and witnesses of the truth. 
 
 When the Lord commanded His disciples to 
 teach all nations, the apostles understood His 
 meaning; the Old Testament and the example 
 of Christ had prepared them for their future 
 work. Jesus came as a prophet to Israel. He 
 taught by word, and His works also were signs, 
 showing forth His character as well as His 
 power ; teaching the nature of the kingdom, as 
 well as announcing and attesting the authority 
 of His mission. The disciples had listened to 
 Christ's teaching ; so clear and simple, so pene- 
 trating, convincing, and comforting. He spoke 
 with authority, but not with the authority de- 
 
 G 
 
98 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 manding blind and inert obedience, but the 
 authority of light, truth, love, which establishes 
 a throne in the heart and conscience, and 
 wields a sceptre of righteousness and constrain- 
 ing affection. His authority was divine, and 
 therefore bringing liberty, light, and peace to 
 all who submit themselves to Him. His 
 authority separated not Him and His people, 
 but linked them in strong and sweet bonds of 
 fellowship ; it was not external, oppressing 
 them as a weight, but enabling them to mount 
 as with eagle's wings into the region of divine 
 life and blessedness. And the great channel 
 of His authority, and quickening and renewing 
 power, was the Word. 
 
 The apostles continued the ministry of the 
 Word. Remember Peter's preaching on the 
 day of Pentecost. How easy would it have been 
 for him to assume authority, and to dispense with 
 teaching ! How easy would it have been for him 
 to point to the miraculous manifestations, and 
 to claim obedience to the accredited messengers 
 of the Messiah, and thus use the excitement of 
 the astonished multitude to bring them under 
 the sway of priestly domination ! Instead of 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 99 
 
 this, instead of any assertion of authority 
 and power of the keys, the Apostle Peter 
 teaches, and reminding his countrymen, to whom 
 pertained the Divine oracles, of the Prophecy 
 of Joel, of the 16th Psalm, which testifies of 
 the Holy One of God conquering death and the 
 grave, of the 110th Psalm, in which, by the 
 Holy Ghost, David calls his son Lord, and 
 beholds Him at the right hand of God — he 
 declares the mystery of Christ's cross and 
 resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy 
 Ghost. He taught the Scriptures. He first 
 analysed the prophecies, and having brought 
 before His brethren, as it were, the syllables 
 into which the great Word, the all-comprehen- 
 sive message, had been divided, he gathers them 
 up in the full announcement of the great salva- 
 tion. Thus was the Church founded throuofh 
 the teaching of Scripture. Men believed by 
 the Holy Ghost the testimony of truth, the 
 apostolic teaching of God's revealed and fulfilled 
 promises. How different from the self-styled 
 successors of Peter, who keep the Word of God 
 from the people, and with " blind mouths " 
 usurp authority over God's heritage ! 
 
100 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 Look at the Bereans. They are commended 
 in that they received the Word with all readi- 
 ness of mind, and searched the Scripture daily 
 whether these things were so. The apostles 
 preached ; the people examined. They did not 
 believe the gospel on the authority of the 
 apostles ; no such authority or mediatorial 
 position was claimed by the messengers of 
 Christ. They declared the Word of God, and 
 the people of Berea are commended for their 
 earnestness, activity, independence of mind, or 
 rather dependence on God, in that they searched 
 the Scriptures to convince themselves of the 
 truth and reality of the glad tidings declared to 
 them. It is not an assertion of the right of 
 private judgment, of the authority or sufficiency 
 of reason ; but an assertion of the only and all- 
 sufficient authority of God, of the Scriptures, 
 which are given by inspiration, and by which 
 the Lord speaks to the hearts and consciences 
 of men. Thus did the apostles make men 
 learners in the school of Christ. Thus did they 
 bring men under the immediate influence of 
 divine teaching and authority. Thus it was 
 that they never said, Believe us, believe the 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 101 
 
 Church. The Church of Christ never speaks of 
 her own authority; the moment she does so, 
 she denies her character as a witness and 
 bride. Christ is the Sun ; the Church derives 
 all her light from Him. 
 
 And to show that there is no exception to 
 this rule and method of teaching, we have both 
 the record of the apostolic history, and the 
 experience of modern missions, proving that no 
 nation is so sunk in idolatry and vice, so 
 degraded and ignorant, but the Word of God is 
 able to penetrate the darkness with enlighten- 
 ing and healing power. The Word is the sword ; 
 let it not be sheathed, and rendered powerless in 
 the ceremonies and traditions and concealments 
 of human adaptation and policy. The truth 
 can make all men free; we have no right to 
 bring them into an intermediate region of 
 tutelage and bondage. How flimsy appear the 
 defences of pictures and ceremonies when con- 
 sidered in the light of Scripture ! Did the 
 apostles, coming to idolatrous, rude, and uncul- 
 tured tribes, find it necessary to have recourse 
 to images and ritual ? did they think it wise 
 and right to keep the people in a state of 
 
102 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 infantine passiveness and mechanical obedience ? 
 "Were not the people of Ephesus superstitious 
 heathen worshippers of the golden image of 
 Diana, which, they said, had fallen down from 
 heaven ? Did they not practise sorcery and 
 magic ? Were they not enthusiastic and ardent 
 in their idolatrous practices ? And how did the 
 Apostle Paul treat them? How did he adapt 
 himself and his message to their condition and 
 capacity ? Did he present to them half-truths, 
 and give them a scanty instalment of the 
 doctrines of life ? No, he declared to them the 
 whole counsel of God ; and as you may see from 
 the epistle which he wrote to them afterwards, 
 he taught them the mystery of the love of God, 
 of the election of the Father, the Headship 
 and glory of Christ, the oneness of the risen 
 Head and the believer who is sealed by the 
 Holy Ghost. God's truth is for all nations, 
 and it alone can bring light to the mind, peace 
 to the conscience, and the life of love to the 
 heart. 
 
 The Church was founded by the Word of God. 
 The apostles had received the Word from the 
 Lord, from the Son, who is the perfect mani- 
 
CHAKACTER OF THE CHURCH. 103 
 
 festation of the Father, in whom all previous 
 revelations find their fulfilment, by whom 
 grace and truth come to all, who have learned 
 to feel themselves poor and needy in the school 
 of Moses. Given to the disciples by Christ as 
 the Father's Word (John xvii. 14 ; viii. 28), 
 and brought back to their remembrance by the 
 power of the Holy Ghost, who guided them 
 unto all truth, and glorified Christ, they 
 preached the Word of God, which is now, in the 
 dispensation of the Spirit, essentially promise, 
 gospel, salvation (1 Pet. i. 25). The Word is 
 seed, spirit, and life ; by and in the Word, the 
 Holy Ghost quickens, purifies, and sanctifies. 
 He causes the Word to dwell richly in the 
 hearts of God^s children, and to build them up 
 (1 Pet. i. 23 ; Acts xx. 32). The congregations 
 which had been called into life by the Word 
 needed nothing else for their preservation, 
 growth, and comfort, but the Word; hence the 
 apostles always commended them to the Word 
 of grace, and exhorted them to let the Word of 
 Christ dwell in them richly, while they took 
 care to appoint faithful men, apt to teach, in 
 order that the testimony of truth may be con- 
 
104 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 tinued, and the Word of God grow and be 
 glorified. 
 
 All means of grace have the character of the 
 "Word of God. Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 
 which the apostles delivered unto the congre- 
 gation as having received them from the Lordj 
 are His Word, showing His covenant, revealing 
 His gracious purpose and wondrous acts, de- 
 claring and sealing saving truth. Singing 
 psalms and hymns and spiritual songs is also 
 the Word of God, whereby saints teach and ad- 
 monish one another. So spiritual according to 
 the will of Christ and the teaching of the 
 apostles, is the idea of the Church. To form 
 the true and scriptural, idea of the Church, we 
 must start, not from the believer, or the con- 
 gregation, or the complex of congregations, but 
 from Christ the Head, who, by the Holy 
 Ghost, gathers living souls round Him, and 
 unites them with Himself to be His body. 
 The Church is the communion of believers, who, 
 by the Holy Ghost, are one with Christ the 
 Head. She is the body of Christ, the building 
 of God, the spiritual house, the bride and wife 
 of Christ (Eom. xii. 5; 1 Cor. xii. ; Eph. i. 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 105 
 
 23; 1 Cor. iii. 9; Eph. ii. 21; ix. 23; 2 Cor. 
 xi. 2; Rev. xxi. 9.) Only saints, believers, the 
 elect, are members of tbe Church; for the 
 foundation of God standeth sure, having this 
 seal, " The Lord knoweth them that are 
 His." 
 
 True, that the outward and visible associa- 
 tions of professed believers are like nets, which 
 embrace both good and bad fishes, like fields 
 in which tares grow among the wheat, like a 
 large house, in which there are vessels to honour 
 and some to dishonour. But although this is 
 evil and sad, yet the wisdom and long-suffering 
 of Grod are revealed also here. The true 
 Church of Christ is thereby kept vigilant and 
 humble, believers are stirred up to self-examina- 
 tion and earnestness, they take oil in their 
 lamps ; and through the faithful and spiritual 
 ministry of the Word, there are added continu- 
 ally unto the true Church, not merely from among 
 the Jews and heathen, but from among the 
 dead and worldly, who only outwardly belong 
 to the congregation of Christ. And the more 
 fully we cling to the spiritual and heavenly 
 character of the Church — the more distinctly and 
 
106 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 faithfully we declare that only the regenerate, 
 who are joined by the Holy Ghost to the Head, 
 are members of the mystical Body, the greater 
 will be our influence on those who, although 
 among us, are not yet of us — the more shall we 
 experience the present power and grace of our 
 Lord, who raiseth the dead unto newness of life, 
 and giveth light.* Although Christ warns us 
 against judging hastily, and separating between 
 tares and wheat (Matt. xiii. 24), He has on 
 the other hand established discipline in His 
 Church. Not merely Peter, but all the apostles 
 — not merely the apostles, but the congrega- 
 tions of Christ, as such, have, according to 
 the Word of the Lord, power to bind and loose 
 (Matt, xviii. 17, 18; John xx. 23; 1 Cor. v. 
 11; 1 Tim. i. 20). 
 
 And thus our position is essentially the same 
 as that of the apostolic Churches, The circum- 
 stance that the proportion of mere outward 
 professors of what is called ^^ Christianity " is 
 immensely increased, does not alter the character 
 and aim of the Church of Christ. Her character 
 
 * Compare Sermon VIL, on the Kelation of the True Church 
 to the actual Professing Church. 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 10 
 
 >f 
 
 is that she is not of the world, but Spirit-born 
 and Spirit-inhabited ; that she is one with 
 Christ; that she is heavenly, and waiting for 
 the coming of the Lord. 
 
 In a world of sin and unbelief she is the 
 witness and light sent by Christ. And the 
 Word which she has received from her Lord she 
 giveth unto the world. Men may think little 
 of the Word, and think the Church poor and 
 weak, which possesses no other riches, weapons, 
 and glory. But Christ is with us, and works 
 through us by the Word. 
 
 Where the Word of God is, there is worship 
 in spirit and truth; there are priests, who, 
 through the eternal and blessed High Priest, 
 live in the presence of God, offering unto Him 
 the spiritual sacrifices which are holy and accept- 
 able. Where the Word of God is, faith, love, 
 and hope abound ; believers grow in grace, and 
 in the knowledge of our Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 Where the Word of God is, souls rejoice in the 
 assurance of their salvation. By this Word of 
 Truth souls are born again unto eternal life ; 
 so that Christ sees of the travail of His soul, and 
 is satisfied. And His word, though it appear 
 
108 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 contemptible in the eyes of Goliath, is the 
 power by which God's Spirit convinces and 
 enlightens the mind, and brings the proud 
 thoughts and imaginations of man into sub- 
 jection to the wisdom and truth of the living 
 God. As Luther says, " Of all the sacred 
 gifts bestowed on the Church, the Word is 
 the first and greatest. It is the Word, also, 
 which baptizes and blesses, which binds and 
 looses." All things are given to us by that 
 Word, of which Christ, the Eternal Word, is the 
 spirit and life, and through which the Holy 
 Ghost reveals and glorifies the Saviour. 
 " Christ only," and the " Word of God only," 
 is the watchword of the little flock to whom 
 pertain the promises of God. 
 
 Let nothing beguile you from the simplicity 
 which is in Christ Jesus. Let not the boast of an- 
 tiquity, of comprehensiveness — let not the appear- 
 ance of grandeur, vastness, splendour, disturb 
 your minds ; listen not to the voice of her who 
 sits as a queen ; who is enthroned, and exercises 
 authority, and by human power, cunning, and 
 fascination subdues many hearts and kingdoms l 
 who speaketh constantly of her authority, and 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 109 
 
 honouretli not tlie Lord and the word of His 
 testimony ; who promiseth great things to those 
 who submit themselves to her, instead of point- 
 ing men to the Lamb of God, the only Lord 
 and Bridegroom of the soul ; who boasteth her- 
 self to be the guardian of the truth, and the 
 only administrator of the blessings of the new 
 covenant, and persecuted unto death the wit- 
 nesses of God's grace and the true pastors, who 
 had compassion on the multitude, and taught 
 them the salvation of Jesus. When they say, 
 " Lo, here is the Church ! " believe them not ; 
 for the true Church always says, " Look unto 
 Christ ; lift up your eyes, and behold your God ; 
 look unto the Saviour, all ye ends of the earth." 
 When they teach you the commandments of men, 
 when they speak to you of time-hallowed cere- 
 monies and sacred institutions of the Church, 
 believe them not ; for in like manner did the 
 Pharisees make void the commandments of God 
 by their own tradition, and we know that One 
 is our Master, even Christ, and that we are all 
 brethren. We know that the mystery of iniquity 
 began even in the days of the apostles, and that 
 in the dark pilgrimage of earth, not antiquity, 
 
110 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 but the sure word of prophecy, is the light and 
 strength of Christ's people. 
 
 The Church is where the "Word of God is.* 
 
 * The Reformers spoke very clearly and emphatically on the 
 true character of the gospel ministry. " See to it," thus Luther 
 writes in the preface to his Shorter Catechism — " See to it, pas- 
 tor and preacher ; our ofl&ce has become something quite differ- 
 ent from what it was under the Papacy ; it has become now 
 serious and salutary, and therefore brings with it more toil and 
 labour, danger and temptation." And from other writings of 
 his we notice the following declarations — " The Church consists 
 not of worldly, visible things, as places, buildings, goods ; but the 
 Church is a Christian, holy people, and holiness is where the 
 Holy Ghost gives to men faith in Christ, and thereby sanctifies 
 them ; that is, He gives to them a new heart, and writes the 
 commandments of God in hearts of j&esh. To call those who 
 preach the Word and administer the sacraments priests, was 
 done in a pagan spirit, or remained from the Jewish law, to the 
 great injury of Christendom. The office and ministry of the 
 Word pertain to all Christians and disciples (1 Pet. ii. 9, and 
 elsewhere) : but the Word is the highest of all priestly functions ; 
 with it we bless, baptize, bind, loose, judge. And since all 
 Christians are to preach, to all belongs likewise the whole 
 priesthood, the only New Testament sacrifice (Rom. xii, 1 ; 
 1 Pet. ii. 5) ; wherefore it is not right that one person should 
 usurp it, but the right of the congregation demands that one 
 or more persons should be chosen, set apart and accepted, to 
 exercise the office instead and in the name of the others, to 
 prevent fearful disorder. Hence he speaks not of priestly 
 indelible marks, but of elders and ministers, bishops and 
 stewards," &c. This important aspect of truth must be com- 
 bined with another, not contradictory, but supplementary — viz., 
 that the Church is an organism, in which there are leaders, 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. Ill 
 
 And though the false church call schismatics 
 the simple disciples who are gathered round 
 Christ by the Word, and who know of no Priest 
 but JesuSj and no authority but the Scriptures, 
 and no worship but the worship in spirit and 
 in truth; who have no other Head but the 
 ascended Saviour, and no other apostles but 
 teachers and pastors, who give themselves to 
 prayer and the ministry of the Word — they are 
 the true Church, the chosen saints of God, who 
 are blessed of God in the conversion of souls 
 and upbuilding of believers, who shall come 
 with Christ in glory and share His throne. 
 The true disciples of Christ, the successors of 
 the apostles, have always been persecuted, tor- 
 mented, and put to death by the false church. 
 Like a bright gleam of sunshine in the midst 
 of soul-oppressive darkness, the gospel, tran- 
 slated into the vernacular by Peter Waldus, 
 brought peace and joy to the people, to the 
 poor, to artisans and peasants. They medi- 
 tated on God's Word, and talked about God's 
 marvellous works and promises on their 
 
 teachers, shepherds, and rulers, given by Christ and deriving 
 their authority from the Head. Compare Sermon VIII. 
 
112 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 journeys, in their workshops, in their leisure 
 hours at night, and the melody of the evangel 
 was heard in their lowly homes ; a band of 
 evangelists, filled with the Holy Ghost, and 
 abundantly furnished with the Word of God, 
 went forth into many villages and cities and 
 lands, a true Church and Brotherhood. The 
 Word of God had made them great ; the false 
 church, with cruel hatred, put them to death. 
 
 What was the treatment experienced by the 
 apostolic Wicklef, who, feeling the power and 
 blessedness of the Word, evangelised and sent 
 forth disciples, to teach plainly the truth of 
 God and love of the Saviour. Why was the 
 apostolic Huss persecuted and burned ? Can we 
 forget the cruelties, persecutions, banishments, 
 tortures, deaths, with which the so-called church 
 pursued and punished the followers of Jesus in 
 proportion as they honoured and preached the 
 Word of God ? Or can we forget the miserable 
 fables, the insipid traditions, the mechanical 
 observances, the empty chaff with which for 
 centuries the people were fed, and the artifices 
 by which the simplicity of Christ crucified was 
 withheld from burdened consciences and aching 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 113 
 
 hearts ? And when the reformers Martin 
 Luther and John Calvinj and their like-minded 
 brethren in England and Scotland, magnified 
 the Word and evangelised the poor — when they 
 abolished both the unscriptural thought and 
 expression of priesthood within and above the 
 universal priesthood of believers, and declared 
 unto all men the Scripture given and applied 
 by the Holy Ghost as the sole and all-sufficient 
 standard, basis, and fountain of truth — can 
 we look on with indifference while men try to 
 rebuild the walls of Jericho, which fell not by 
 human might or power, not through human 
 eloquence and philosophy, but by faith, through 
 the trumpet-blast of the Word, which abideth 
 and endureth for ever ? 
 
 Let us continue steadfast in the doctrine of 
 the apostles ; let us follow them in faith and 
 love. Let the Word of Christ dwell among 
 you richly in all wisdom. Grow in grace and 
 the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. You need nothing else but the Word 
 to be thoroughly furnished unto every good 
 work. You require no other consolation in 
 sorrow and guide in perplexity. 
 
114 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL 
 
 Take the testimonies of God as a heritage 
 for ever, and let them be the rejoicing of your 
 heart; let them be your counsellors, and take 
 heed to your ways according to the Word. 
 
 Is it dark around you ? Remember the Word 
 shineth in a dark place ; it is a lamp unto your 
 feet and a light unto your path. Is Satan a 
 subtle tempter? Remember Jesus used this 
 weapon — " It is written." Is affliction over- 
 whelming you ? It is good for you to be 
 afflicted, that you may learn God's statutes. 
 Have you toiled the whole night, and caught 
 nothing? Hear again the Word of God, and 
 begin anew in faith. Is the heart slow and 
 languid? Nothing will make it burn within 
 you but Christ opening to you the Scriptures. 
 The Word which we teach is all-powerful in the 
 Spirit's hand. By the Word lepers are cleansed, 
 and broken-hearted sinners are comforted. By 
 the Word men walk through the sea as on dry 
 land, and have bread in the wilderness, and their 
 garments and shoes wax not old. By the Word 
 men are made wise unto salvation, through 
 faith which is in Christ Jesus ; and by the 
 Word a godly man's steps are established, and 
 
CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH. 115 
 
 all that lie doeth shall prosper. Let that Word 
 be your delight and your meditation ; prize it 
 as a treasure greater than gold, and it will be 
 sweeter to you than honey. Be a doer of the 
 Word, and you will understand the wisdom of 
 God, and the secret of the Lord shall be with 
 you. Above all, sit at the feet of Jesus the 
 Master ; for He is the Lord, which teacheth us 
 to profit, and giveth that love without which 
 knowledge puffeth up and is unavailing. Oh 
 to be in the school of Christ ! Welcome are 
 all who know their ignorance, who are poor in 
 spirit. Jesus receives them willingly as His 
 disciples, and the first word He teaches them is 
 '^ Blessed," for He came to save. God sent 
 Him to bless us, by turning every one of us 
 from his iniquities. 
 
 Unto us, fallen children of Adam, banished 
 children of Eve, Jesus, who is the Son of 
 the Most High, the Wisdom of God, speaketh 
 in the sweet gospel of peace — " Now therefore 
 hearken unto me, ye children, for blessed 
 are they that keep my ways. Blessed is the 
 man that heareth me, watching daily at my 
 gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For 
 
116 THE CATHOLIC AND SPIRITUAL, ETC. 
 
 whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain 
 favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth 
 against me wrongeth his own soul : all they 
 that hate me love death." Oh that we may 
 he disciples, children of the Wisdom which 
 is from above, the ever-blessed Son of God! 
 Amen.* 
 
 * Ps. cxix. ; Matt. iv. 4 ; Luke v. 8, xxiv, 32 ; Matt. v. 3 ; 
 Acts iii. 26; Prov. viii. 32. 
 
IV. 
 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 " Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost." — Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 
 The knowledge of God which the apostles of 
 the Lord Jesus brought unto Jews and Gentiles, 
 was a knowledge of life and power, through 
 which grace and peace came into the heart, and 
 men were made partakers of the divine nature. 
 It was not a theory or speculation ; they used 
 no abstract words. The term " Trinity," which 
 in the subsequent history of the Church became 
 universal, never occurs in their addresses and 
 epistles ; but they declared the name of the 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; their disciples 
 were brought to know the grace of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellow- 
 ship of the Spirit. The apostles preached 
 Jesus, and men beheld, worshipped, and loved 
 
120 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 the Father in His only-begotten Son, and they 
 received from Jesus the Holy Ghost, the Com- 
 forter, by whom they were grafted into the 
 Living Vine. God manifest in the flesh — 
 Jesus declaring and bestowing the love of the 
 Father — the Spirit uniting the believer with 
 Christ — such was the knowledge and the experi- 
 ence of apostolic Christians.-^ 
 
 The knowledge of the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost is the knowledge of a covenant relation 
 in which we stand and live. We are not merely 
 taught this name, we are baptized into it.* We 
 are lifted up above the region of works and 
 time, into the region of grace and eternity. 
 
 * The emphasis is not on " baptize," but on the perfect and 
 full revelation of the divine name. The apostles of Christ were 
 familiar with baptism, both as a symbol of purification and 
 renewal (Isa. lii. 16 ; Ezek. xxxii, 25), and as the divinely- 
 authorised initiation into discipleship used by John the Baptist- 
 All the blessings and privileges of the new covenant are signed 
 and sealed in baptism ; God is declared to be our God through 
 cleansing of the blood of Christ and renewal of the Holy Ghost. 
 And whether received in infancy, by right of the promise and 
 position given to believing parents, or after the intelligent 
 reception of the truth, we possess in this ordinance confirma- 
 tion and comfort for the weakness and sadness of our hearts, a 
 seal and assurance of the faithfulness of God and the all- 
 sufficient gifts of redemption, and the pledge of the resurrection 
 of the body and our eternal blessedness and glory. 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 121 
 
 In tlie diviDe covenant of Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost, pardon, renewal, and all things which 
 pertain to life and salvation, are given unto us. 
 
 Here is the source and the vitality of all the 
 believer's activities and enjoyments. And to 
 enter into this covenant, nothing is needed but 
 to know our ignorance, guilt, and helplessness, 
 and to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
 Son of God. This simple confession sufficed in 
 the estimation of the apostles, and upon it they 
 gladly baptized men ; for all who put their trust 
 in Jesus as the Saviour are immediately within 
 the new covenant. Jesus brings them at once 
 unto the Father, and fills them with the Spirit. 
 Believe in Jesus, and you are the child of the 
 Father, the bride of Christ, the temple of the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 But having become a disciple, having entered 
 the school and Church of Christ, it is for us to 
 grow in the knowledge and experience of the 
 fulness of that grace, love, and power in which 
 we stand. To know and to love the name of 
 God is the first of all petitions, and the sum 
 and substance of all blessedness. This is our 
 life-work, and the blessedness of eternity will 
 
122 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 be our ascribing, with adoring joy and gratitude, 
 glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 Is it not a true and right desire to know 
 whom we worship ? Can a vague feeling of 
 awe and reverence be called worship, or can it 
 suffice to give peace to the conscience, and to 
 purify and elevate our lives ? Should Athen- 
 ians, who erect an altar to the Unknown God, 
 not listen gladly to the stranger of Benjamin's 
 tribe when he declares to them Him whom 
 they ignorantly worship ? And is not Samaria's 
 daughter, awaking from the sleep of sin and 
 death to the thirst after the water of life, 
 taught immediately that outside Israel men 
 worship they know not what, for salvation — 
 and blessed be God, salvation means the know- 
 ledge and worship of Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost — is of the Jews. 
 
 In Judah God is known. Here He revealed 
 Himself, and the revelation of Himself is His 
 name. All the dealings of God with His 
 people. His manifestations of power, goodness, 
 and truth, the methods and marvels of His 
 educating grace, the gifts and blessings, the 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 123 
 
 chosen priests, prophets, and kings, the laws 
 and statutes which He gave to Israel, are but 
 partial and successive unfoldings of His great 
 and holy name. In all His words and acts 
 His great object was to teach Israel to know 
 Him, to know the name of their covenant- God. 
 Wherever a new name of God occurs in the 
 sacred history, it invariably marks a crisis, 
 the commencement of a new era, the ratification 
 and condensed summing up of previous pro- 
 mises and gifts, and the beginning of a new 
 and fuller revelation of God. 
 
 Thus Israel received, and anxiously inquired 
 into, the gradually unfolded name of the Lord. 
 When God appeared unto Jacob, the patriarch 
 exclaimed, '^ Tell me, I pray Thee, Thy name ! " 
 Moses said unto Him, who manifested Himself 
 in the burning bush, " When I come unto the 
 children of Israel, and shall say unto them. The 
 God of your fathers sent me unto you, and they 
 shall say unto me. What is His name ? what shall 
 I say unto them ? " Where the name of God is, 
 there He himself is present.* The new names 
 of God are not mere changes and variations of 
 
 * Name stands for God himself, Lev. xxiv. 11, original. 
 
124 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 titles, but new revelations of His presence — 
 new and fuller unfoldings of His character and 
 covenant-grace. Hence He helps and blesses 
 by His name. His people put their trust in 
 His name ; thej live and act in it, as it is 
 written, " And I will strengthen them in the 
 Lord; and they shall walk up and down in 
 His name, saith the Lord " (Zech. x. 12). 
 
 Jehovah is the name of God as the covenant- 
 God of Israel. This is His proper name, which 
 cannot be given to any beside Him (Isa. xlii. 
 8). It denotes not merely His eternity, but 
 also His unchanging love and faithfulness ; it 
 declares Him to be the Saviour yesterday, to- 
 day, and for ever. It denotes not merely that 
 He is the living One, but that He manifests His 
 life among a chosen people, that He visits and 
 redeems Israel by His word and by His works. 
 This name, Jehovah, is God's name for ever 
 (Exod. iv. 14) ; it is the seal of all His 
 commands and promises. Round this name as 
 a centre we behold all other names and mani- 
 festations of divine power, sovereignty, wisdom, 
 truth, and holiness ; and because God is known 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 125 
 
 as Jehovah, His people can rest and rejoice in 
 His infinite perfections. 
 
 But glorious as was the revelation of God in 
 His name Jehovah, the name which in and by 
 Christ Jesus is revealed to us is more glorious, 
 of more transcendent brightness, and full of 
 grace and truth. For in the face of Jesus 
 Christ we behold the glory of God. Jesus is 
 Immanuel, and in the lowly humanity of our 
 Saviour we behold the true God and eternal 
 life. He who dwells in light that is unapproach- 
 able, and in glory such as no man can see and 
 live, has revealed Himself to us in His own 
 Son; the Only-begotten, who is God of God, 
 hath declared to us the Father. The Word was 
 made flesh, and is the true Tabernacle, in which 
 dwells the presence of the most High. The Son 
 declares the name of God perfectly ; in Him we 
 worship and love the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost as our covenant- God. 
 
 In was in great simplicity and gentleness 
 that Jehovah appeared among His people, that 
 the Dayspring from on high visited Israel. 
 Attracted by the sweetness of His love, the 
 perfection of His doctrine and life, the fragrance 
 
126 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 of His holiness and mercy, the first disciples 
 found in Him the Messiah of whom Moses and 
 the prophets had written. They beheld the 
 Lamb of God ; they adored the King of Israel, 
 the Son of God ; they felt unable to leave Him, 
 who had the words of eternal life. Jesus him- 
 self attracted them, and convinced their hearts 
 that He was their Lord. In His society they 
 felt the peace and solemnity, the holy rest and 
 joyous communion after which their souls 
 thirsted. They felt that Israel's God was with 
 them. That condescending, loving, holy One 
 who appeared unto Abraham in the tent, who 
 spake unto Moses, and as the Angel of the 
 Covenant, the Presence of God, went with 
 their fathers through the wilderness, the God 
 whose glory was beheld by Isaiah and Ezekiel 
 — Him they beheld in Jesus, even Immanuel, 
 the Christ, the Son of the living God ; Lord 
 and Friend, divine in His majesty. Brother in 
 His humanity. 
 
 As in His very coming and birth the love of 
 the Father and the power of the Holy Ghost 
 were manifest, so divine glory shone forth with 
 increasing brightness throughout His life. See 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. ] 27 
 
 Him on Jordan's bank, receiving baptism from 
 John, in order to fulfil all righteousness. Our 
 eyes are fixed on Jesus, the centre, the Mediator, 
 the Son of God incarnate. Above Him is the 
 Holy^ Ghost, descending as a dove from heaven ; 
 and out of the excellent glory is the voice of 
 the Father — " Thou art my beloved Son, in 
 whom I am well pleased." 
 
 Jesus is the Son of God — equal with the 
 Father, and yet subordinate. In all His words 
 and works Jesus reveals and glorifies the 
 Father, for He is Son ; He reveals and glorifies 
 Himself, for He is the eternal, only-begotten, 
 and infinite Son of God. No angel or prophet 
 ever showed forth his own glory ; but Jesus re- 
 veals His glory, for He is God. He who did 
 and spoke nothing of Himself, but who was 
 always living in and by the Father, yet speaks of 
 Himself as the Lord, the Giver of life, of rest, 
 of living water, the Dispenser of pardon, the 
 Fountain of resurrection, the Sender of the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 Think of such declarations as these: — " I give 
 unto my sheep eternal life." " If any man thirst, 
 let him come unto me and drink." " Come unto 
 
128 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and 
 I will give you rest." " I will raise him up at 
 the last day." " I am the Resurrection and the 
 Life." Who but God can speak thus ? (John 
 X. 28 ; vii. 37 ; Matt. xi. 28 ; John vi. 4 ; xi. 
 25). 
 
 Jesus in word and work showed forth His 
 own glory. ''He bore witness of Himself" 
 (John viii. 18). Different from all other pro- 
 phets, Himself was the subject, the centre of 
 His testimony. While manifesting Himself as 
 the Son of man, the second Adam, the perfect 
 servant of God, the Holy One of Israel, He 
 revealed Himself likewise as the eternal Son of 
 God, the Lord from heaven, God over all. He 
 speaks of Himself as the Son of man : but in 
 this very name is implied that He is more than 
 man, and His disciples understand His question 
 — ''Whom do men say that I the Son of man 
 am?" Jesus is, according to His own testimony, 
 the Son of man, who is in heaven, the only One 
 that came down from heaven (John iii. 13 comp. 
 Prov. XXX.) He is a true Son of Abraham, and 
 yet He speaks to the Jews of " their father 
 Abraham," and with divine majesty declares, 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 129 
 
 '' Before Abraham was, I am " (Jolm viii. 58). 
 He gives thanks unto the Father for the gift 
 of lowly-hearted disciples ; but He also asserts 
 His equality with the Father — " All things are 
 delivered unto me of my Father : and no man 
 knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither 
 knoweth any man the Father, but the Son, 
 and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him " 
 (Matt. xi. 25-27). He knows He is the Christ, 
 the Son of David; but He also knows that 
 David, by the Spirit, called Him Lord (Matt, 
 xxii. 42). In short, Jesus is the Son'of man, the 
 Messiah, because He is the everlasting Son of 
 Grod, the Word, which was in the beginning, 
 because He is the only-begotten, and had ^' glory 
 with the Father before the world was " (John 
 xvii. 5). 
 
 On that last evening which He spent with 
 His disciples before His sufferings, and in His 
 parting discourses, which, as a most precious 
 and sacred legacy, have been recorded by the 
 beloved disciple, Jesus, comforting and strength- 
 ening the hearts of the sorrowing apostles, 
 summed up most clearly His previous teaching, 
 and revealed to them most fully the name of 
 
130 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Then He spoke 
 to them plainly, and revealed unto them His 
 glory ; and this is His glory, that He is the 
 manifestation of the Father, and that through 
 Him the Comforter is sent to His disciples. 
 Most explicitly He speaks to them of His God- 
 head, and of the glory which He had with the 
 Father before the world was. He speaks of 
 Himself as the Son loved of the Father before 
 the foundation of the world. He assures His 
 disciples that the Father had sent Him, in 
 order that in Him they might behold the 
 Father, and that in loving Him they might be 
 beloved of the Father. He comforts them with 
 the promise, that in going to the Father He 
 was not leaving them — that He, who was one 
 with the Father, was also inseparable from His 
 believers, that by the indwelling of the Holy 
 Ghost the Father and Son would take up their 
 abode in their hearts. He reveals to them the 
 final end and consummation, when Jesus, the 
 Son of God, who is one with the Father, would, 
 by the Holy Ghost, dwell in His Church, and 
 the same love wherewith the Father loved 
 Him rest on His people. '^ I in them, and 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 131 
 
 Thou in me, tliat tliey may be made perfect in 
 one — the love wherewith Thou hast loved me 
 in them, and I in them." 
 
 Jesus had thus revealed the name of Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost in this last self-manifes- 
 tation. Himself as the Word, the Son, the 
 Eedeemer, the Heir must be central, for He is 
 the Mediator. Yet He testifies of the glory of 
 the Father as pre-eminent and ultimate, and of 
 the power and indwelling of the Holy Ghost as 
 essential. In the fourteenth chapter He speaks 
 of Himself as revealing and glorifying the 
 Father. He goes to the Father's house ; He is 
 the way to the Father ; His disciples shall do 
 greater works because He goeth unto the 
 Father. Their prayers in His name shall be 
 heard, in order that the Father may be glorified 
 in the Son ; the Comforter shall be given by 
 the Father. Christ loves the Father, and mani- 
 fests this love by obeying the commandment, 
 and asks His disciples to rejoice, because 
 through His death He was returning to the 
 Father, ^' who is greater than I." 
 
 While the Father's majesty and glory, and 
 tlie Father's priority in the counsel of redemp- 
 
132 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 tion, are thus set forth in the fourteenth chapter, 
 in the next chapter the Triune name is again 
 declared, and here Christ, as Mediator and 
 channel, is brought forward prominently. Christ 
 is the Yine, and only by abiding in Him can 
 the branches live and bring forth fruit. The 
 disciples are to abide in Christ's love, even as 
 His joy is to remain in them. He loved them 
 unto death, calls them friends, has chosen and 
 ordained them. The world hated Him, and in 
 hating Him they hated also the Father. Christ 
 sends the Spirit, and the Spirit and the dis- 
 ciples are to testify of Him. 
 
 Declaring again the Triune name, in the 
 sixteenth chapter the Lord directs the minds 
 of the disciples specially to the Holy Ghost. 
 The world, which knows neither the Father nor 
 the Son, persecutes the Church. But the Spirit 
 convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and 
 judgment while He glorifies Christ, and shows 
 unto the disciples the things which are Christ's, 
 and the Father's.* 
 
 * " As Lavater says somewliere of these last discourses of our 
 Lord — 'If the gospels were lost, and only those chapters re- 
 mained to us, we would still possess the complete, sublime, pure 
 system of Christianity — the Father in Christ, Christ in the 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 133 
 
 Thus were the disciples prepared to under- 
 stand the great and glorious commandment of 
 the risen Saviour — " Baptizing them in the name 
 of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost." 
 And when, according to the promise, the Spirit 
 descended on the day of Pentecost, and led 
 them into the whole truth, they preached the 
 whole counsel of God, and testified continually 
 of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love 
 of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy 
 Ghost. In all their discourses and epistles 
 this golden threefold cord shines with bright- 
 ness, speaking peace and comfort to the heart. 
 They bore witness that He, whom they had 
 heard and seen with their eyes, was that 
 Eternal Life which was with the Father, and 
 was manifested unto them (1 John i. 1-3) ; 
 that their communion was with the Father and 
 the Son ; that Jesus Christ was true God and 
 Eternal Life (1 John v. 20). They always 
 
 Church, all perfected in one ; ' so we can assert with greater 
 accuracy that, if all other Scripture proofs were taken from us, 
 these chapters alone contain a simple and cogent declaration of 
 the complete, orthodox creed — Christ one with the Father, and 
 yet distinct from Him ; the Spirit one with Him, and yet dis- 
 tinct from the Father and the Son." — Stier, Andeutungen i. 301. 
 
134 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 speak of Him as Lord, Jeliovah ; He is Alpha 
 and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the 
 First and the Last. They continually remind 
 us that He came from above, and never speak 
 of His poverty, humility, obedience, death, 
 without pointing out His infinite condescension 
 and love, which caused Him, who is Lord above 
 all, and one with the Father, to become our 
 Redeemer. Of His humanity and divinity 
 they love to speak at the same time, thus 
 revealing to us the perfection and fulness of our 
 salvation. He, who is the son of David accord- 
 ing to the flesh, is mightily declared to be the 
 Son of God ; He, who came of Israel, is God over 
 all, blessed for ever ; in the exalted Jesus dwell- 
 etli the fulness of the Godhead hodily (Rom. i. 
 3, 4 ; ix. 5 ; Col. ii. 9). And equally clear and 
 emphatic is their testimony that the Sou was 
 sent by the Father, and that our salvation is of 
 the Father, and unto the Father's glory. The 
 tone of all apostolic teaching is — Christ is the 
 Lord, to the glory of the Father. 
 
 Only by the Holy Ghost can we call Jesus 
 Lord, and God Father ; only the Spirit can 
 reveal to us the things which are given to us 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 185 
 
 freelj^ of God and in Christ. He alone brings 
 light that we see, and power that we take hold 
 and possess.* 
 
 As the Messiah, according to the prophecy of 
 Isaiah, was sent by the Lord and His Spirit — as 
 the Spirit is presented in the old covenant 
 writings as a Person whom Israel grieved, so 
 the apostles teach most clearly the personality 
 of the Holy Ghost. Christ had thus most 
 distinctly spoken of Him as another Comforter 
 speaking, teaching, hearing, reminding, wit- 
 nessing, convincing, guiding; One who, equal 
 with the Father and the Son, takes out of the 
 infinite and eternal Fulness, and reveals and 
 appropriates to the disciples (John xiv.-xvi.) 
 The Spirit, according to the apostles' teaching, 
 speaks (Acts x. 19 ; xx. 23 ; 1 Tim. iv. 1) ; 
 wills (Acts xvii. 6; 1 Cor. xii. 11); testifies 
 (Rom. viii. 16); searches (1 Cor. ii. 10); 
 helps, intercedes, and groans (Rom. viii. 28) ; 
 feels (Eph. iv. 30) ; by Him alone we have joy 
 and peace in believing ; by Him alone we have 
 access to the Father, by the Lord Christ. The 
 
 * 1 Cor. xii. 3 ; ii. 11, 12 ; comp. my Lectures v. vi, vii. in 
 
 " Christ Crucified," 
 
136 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 Father and the Son are with us and in us by 
 the indwelling of the Spirit. And thus through- 
 out the whole apostolic testimony the name of 
 Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost is declared. 
 Not the names, but one name ; for the Lord our 
 God is one God. Not a single name, but a three- 
 fold name ; for God is Father, Son, and Spirit. 
 The gospels, and especially the epistles, are 
 an unfolding of the words of Christ — ^' In the 
 name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost." The apostolic words with which, ac- 
 cording to a true and deep instinct, our con- 
 gregational worship is concluded, contain at 
 once a distinct and practical summary of the 
 Faith — " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and the love of God, and the communion of the 
 Holy Ghost, be with you " (2 Cor. xiii. 
 13). Thus Peter salutes believers as elect 
 according to the foreknowledge of God the 
 Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, 
 unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of 
 Christ (1 Pet. 1, 2). Thus the Apostle Paul 
 shows us the source of the unity of Christians, 
 in the one Spirit, one Lord, one God and 
 Father (Eph. iv. 4, 6). 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. - 137 
 
 And thus the Church of Christ hath con- 
 stantly declared the ever-blessed name, and 
 only by declaring this name can she fulfil her 
 mission ; for here is light for the mind, peace 
 for the conscience, love for the heart. 
 
 Speak not of obscurity, for here is God mani- 
 fest in the flesh — ^^ Zion, behold thy God." 
 The Son of God appeared ; no longer need we 
 say, " Seek ye Jehovah," for Jehovah has 
 come — Jesus the Son of Mary. God dwelleth 
 no longer in darkness, and in heights unat- 
 tainable to the vision of human hearts. We see 
 Jesus the God - man; and He reveals the 
 Father, who loved the world, who sent His Son, 
 and who, by the death of His Son, reconciled 
 sinners to Himself. Jesus also reveals the 
 Spirit, who testified of Him through the 
 prophets, who anointed Him, in whose power 
 He lived and died, who enlightens and con- 
 verts the heart, who dwells within us, and 
 assures us of God's love, and keeps alive our 
 faith, love, and obedience. 
 
 Jesus, by the name of God, reveals to us 
 creation. For by Him, the Word of God, were 
 all things made ; and by the Spirit the Father's 
 
138 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 purpose and tlie mediation of the Son 
 were actually accomplished in perfection and 
 beauty. 
 
 Jesus, by the name of God, reveals to us 
 eternity. Not a lonely, quiescent God, as 
 neither mind can conceive nor affection grasp, 
 but a God in whom, from all eternity, there 
 was fulness of life and love and blessedness, 
 the Father loving the Son, and the Spirit know- 
 ing the depths of the Godhead. 
 
 Yet if it be said. It is mysterious, I 
 answer : It is the mystery of light and not of 
 obscurity; the mystery of life and motion, and 
 not the unhomely mystery of blank abstraction 
 and vagueness ; the mystery of grandeur, but of 
 ineffable peace and blessedness. The god of 
 the Unitarians, Mohammedans, and of the un- 
 believing Synagogue, a cold, abstract unity, is a 
 mysterious conception ; still more colour — and 
 lifeless, and without love, is that impersonal 
 All or Nothing into which the wisest heathen 
 nations, and many modern thinkers, resolve 
 the thought of Deity. But our God is Life, is 
 Love, is Blessedness : we think of Him as 
 eternal and infinitely blessed in Himself, and 
 
THE KAME OF GOD. ISO 
 
 yet even in eternity loving ns, and beliolding 
 us in holiness and glory. We see Him in 
 creation, absolute, sovereign, calling forth 
 thiDgs which were not, not out of some fabled 
 primeval and eternal matter, but according 
 to His own eternal thought out of the fulness of 
 the Word, the beginning of the creation of God. 
 
 We see Him in providence; not a God 
 enthroned in self-contained isolation, and sepa- 
 rate from the great universe which He called 
 forth, but upholding all things, and present in 
 all things by that very Word of Power, by and 
 for whom they were created, and animating, 
 guiding, restraining, blessing through the life- 
 giving Spirit, who is equal with the Father 
 and the Son. 
 
 We know God separate and above the world, 
 yet within the world ; eternal, and yet cotem- 
 poraneous ; infinite, yet numbering the very 
 hairs of our head, and watching even the fall 
 of a sparrow; God and Redeemer and Sancti- 
 fier, and in the very Godhead we behold the 
 Man Christ Jesus — 
 
 " God with God dominion sharing, 
 And man with man his imaore bearing." 
 
140 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 In Him, who is our Saviour and Friend, 
 dwelletli the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 
 Through Him is the world sustained and ruled. 
 The Holy Ghost is sent by Him. All heavenly 
 influences and angels are under His control. 
 The whole universe is one. Even inanimate 
 matter stands no longer distant from God, 
 who is Spirit; for in the glorified body, which 
 was born of the Virgin Mary, and nourished 
 by bread and water of the earth, Jesus is 
 on the throne, one with the Father and the 
 Spirit. 
 
 We are told that Augustine, the great teacher 
 of the Church, was walking one morning by the 
 sea-shore, meditating on the doctrine of the 
 Trinity. And as he tried in vain to comprehend 
 the mystery, he noticed a little child, holding 
 in its hand a small sea-shell, scooping a hole in 
 the sand, running to the waves, filling it with 
 water, returning to the hole, and emptying it. 
 When asked what he was doing, the child 
 replied, '' I am going to pour the sea into this 
 hole." The thought immediately struck Augus- 
 tine that this was a picture of himself ; — 
 standing on the shore of time, by the ocean of 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 141 
 
 that infinite and unfathomable Majesty, lie was 
 endeavouring to comprehend it with his finite, 
 limited mind. 
 
 Thus the Apostle Paul, distinguished even 
 among the chosen apostles for his wisdom, 
 confesses that we are like children, and know 
 only in part. The light of revelation discloses 
 to us, only more fully, that God is infinite and 
 incomprehensible. A God whom we can com- 
 prehend and explain could never be the object 
 of everlasting adoration, of love and con- 
 templation, which grows in fervour and reverence 
 throughout the endless ages. " Who is like unto 
 Thee ? " is the exclamation of angels and saints 
 throughout eternity. We rejoice that it is so. 
 For the God who is high above us is near us in 
 His marvellous condescension of self-manifesta- 
 tion and mercy. And this is His self-manifesta- 
 tion, that He is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 The mystery of the Trinity is like an ocean in its 
 eternal grandeur, in its transcendent majesty, 
 in its unfathomable and infinite depth ; but it is 
 like the sea, when the sweet blue of heaven and 
 the lovely light of the sun make it speak, with 
 multitudinous smiles, peace and joy to our hearts. 
 
142 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 To one who has been brought up in a mono- 
 theism, which proclaims only the unity of a 
 super-mundane God, the revelation of the Trinity 
 is like a lighthouse, which, fixed in depths 
 unseen, and firm as a rock, sends forth the calm 
 and hope-inspiring light of safety and love to 
 the frail, imperilled bark on the tempestuous 
 and dark sea. Or like a garden sweeter and 
 fairer than Eden, or a city more noble and more 
 beautiful than Jerusalem. For here we behold 
 God living and loving. We rejoice in Imma- 
 nuel, God manifest in the flesh. We give thanks 
 to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 We behold and are gladdened by the pure river 
 of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out 
 of the throne of God and of the Lamb.* 
 
 * Nitzsch, in his *' Essay on the Doctrine of the Trinity," says — 
 " There is a fulness of eternal Hfe and love in God : even before 
 in creation by the Son, and for His own and the Son's glory and 
 manifestation, He reveals His thoughts of infinite wisdom and 
 power ; before He shows forth His goodness unto angels and 
 men, or discloses the counsel of mercy \anto a sinful world. 
 There is one God ; but to believe in the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost is no Tritheism. This alone, on the contrary, is the Chris- 
 tian thinker's safeguard, not merely against Polytheism, of 
 which there can be no more mention, but Pantheism. His- 
 tory proves, in the case of Mohammedans and Jews, as well as 
 in that of like-minded children of modern enlightenment, that the 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 143 
 
 (2.) Here the conscience finds rest. Only in 
 a triune God is perfect atonement and reconci- 
 liation. God was in Christ reconciling the 
 world to Himself. The Father, against whom 
 we sinned, sent the Son to be the propitiation 
 for our sins. When Jesus died for the guilty, 
 God commendeth His own love. Jesus reveals 
 to us the Father's love as the source of our 
 salvation. He came to do the Father's will ; 
 and when He laid down His life for the sheep, 
 He fulfilled the commandment which He had 
 
 idea of the isolated one-personed God cannot satisfy men's 
 thirst after a full fountain of life and love, and allows them to 
 relapse into heathenism, which deifies the All of nature. Their 
 idea of God is so vague and dead, and apart from all life, that 
 they long after something new that can be felt and enjoyed by 
 heart and imagination. But we know and adore the triune 
 God, the divine life of eternal, holy love ; our God is high 
 above us, and yet near and present, and dwelling within us. The 
 defects of worship are, that the idea of God is not sufficiently 
 sublime and elevated, or not sufficiently good and holy, or not 
 sufficiently near, omnipresent, and penetrating. All these defects 
 are overcome, and that at once, by the revelation of the Triune 
 name. We notice, but merely as a shadow of truth, the fact, 
 that the number three is so deeply, and in such a variety of 
 ways, impressed on the laws of nature and human reason, that 
 it appears everywhere, especially in Asiatic heathenism, as 
 symbol of perfection, and that the poets and thinkers among 
 Hindoos, Egyptians, and Greeks, always single out three names 
 out of their world of deities." 
 
144 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 received of the Father. G-od, who is the Author 
 of our salvation, is glorified in the death of 
 Jesus, and in our redemption. We are brought 
 by Jesus to the Father, in the truest, fullest, 
 and most absolute sense. 
 
 And He who brings us to the Father is the 
 Son. Because Jesus is the Son of God, His 
 blood cleanseth from all sin. Because He and 
 the Father are one, therefore the sheep for 
 whom He died are safe, and have everlasting 
 life. The Church was purchased with the blood 
 of Him who is God ; and when Christ, by His 
 own blood, entered into the Holy of Holies, we 
 are represented by Him, and complete in Him. 
 In the Father's sight we are holy and un- 
 blameable. Because Christ is the propitiation. 
 He is the righteous Advocate ; and because He 
 is righteous, we are righteous and accepted. 
 
 But the conscience also, and not merely the 
 Mercy-seat, must be sprinkled with blood. The 
 Holy Ghost, also, is essential to our peace. 
 Through Christ, the Son of God, we are brought 
 unto the Father; in Christ we possess the 
 Father's pardon and love ; but Christ is ours 
 only by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is He 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 145 
 
 who creates in our souls both the sense of our 
 need of a Saviour, and faith in His power and 
 willingness to receive us. And it is the Spirit 
 by whom Jesus dwells in the heart, and who 
 testifies to us that we are the sons of God. 
 In the covenant of grace the Holy Ghost is 
 coequal with the Father and the Son : because 
 the Father, through Christ, forgiveth our 
 iniquities, and remembers our transgressions 
 no more, therefore and thereby a new heart is 
 given unto us, and God's Spirit is put within 
 us. Jesus is the Advocate above; the Holy Ghost 
 is the Comforter within. Jesus presents us 
 before the Father as righteous ; the Holy Ghost 
 sprinkles our consciences with the blood of 
 atonement. And thus we are at peace, because 
 by the Spirit we lay hold on Christ, in whom 
 we possess the love of God. 
 
 But our peace of conscience would not be 
 true if the Spirit of God did not purge the con- 
 science (1 Pet. i. 2). The sanctification of the 
 Spirit is unto obedience and sprinkling of the 
 blood of Christ. He is the Spirit of life and 
 of holiness. He applies to the believer Christ's 
 death unto resurrection. He makes us par- 
 
 K 
 
146 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 takers of Christ ; and having been reconciled by 
 the death of God's Son, we are saved by and in 
 His life (Rom. v. 10). By the power of the 
 Holy Ghost we know and experience the power 
 of the blood of Christ, by which we are brought 
 nigh unto the Father. Without the atonement 
 of the Son, and the indwelling of the Holy 
 Ghost, the conscience may be soothed, but 
 cannot be purified ; it may be lulled, blunted, 
 deadened, but it cannot be quickened and 
 purified. 
 
 And here, in this mystery of the Triune 
 name, is love for the heart. Sweet is the word 
 " love,^' and sweet beyond expression the know- 
 ledge and assurance that God is Love. Truly 
 this is the heaven of heavens ; and though the 
 world understands not the love of God, yet is it 
 good that the very sound of divine love should 
 be attractive to the human heart, which can 
 never find rest except in God. It is only when 
 we know the Father, and the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost, that we know that God is Love ; that 
 love is not one of His attributes merely ; that 
 love is not merely called forth in Him as the 
 Source of creation and of His bountiful and 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 147 
 
 merciful providence : but that He is Love from 
 everlasting to everlasting; that from all eter- 
 nity God, who lives, loves ; that in Him the one 
 Godhead — the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 are united in ever-blessed communion of love. 
 
 How simple, and how full of unutterable 
 blessedness, is the declaration of Christ — '' The 
 Father loveth the Son, and hath given all 
 things into His hand ! " From all eternity the 
 Father's infinite love rested on His only-be- 
 gotten Son — on Him who is the brightness of 
 His glory and the express image of His being. 
 Here is infinite love — a boundless ocean. Infi- 
 nite knows no gradation; and yet — strange con- 
 tradiction ! thought inconceivable ! yet grasped 
 by the heart — Jesus tells us — '' Therefore doth 
 my Father love me, because I lay down my 
 life for the sheep." In that infinite and per- 
 fect love with which the Father loved the Son, 
 Christ reveals to us a yet greater depth, more 
 wondrous fulness, sublimer height, more inef- 
 fable sweetness. He, who is infinitely dear to 
 the Father from all eternity, became yet more 
 dear, more beloved, more rejoiced in ; and that, 
 which has made infinite love and joy more 
 
148 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 infinite, as it were, was — marvel of marvels ! — 
 occasioned by our fall, our sin and misery. It 
 was tlie love of Jesus to the guilty and lost 
 children of Eve ; it was His obedience unto 
 death, even the death of the cross. 
 
 Overwhelmed with a sense of our guilt and 
 unworthiness, and overpowered by a sense of 
 the infinite condescension and the unspeakable 
 sufierings and agony of Jesus, the Lord of Glory, 
 there are moments when the soul, even in the 
 midst of gratitude and the joy of salvation, 
 feels a deep sorrow that the Son of God should 
 have had to taste such bitterness. Then this is 
 our consolation : it came out of infinite love, 
 and has made infinite love still more infinite 
 and blessed. We behold the reward — all-euffi- 
 cient and perfectly adequate — which Jesus has 
 received. We see it in that wonderful assurance — 
 " Therefore doth my Father love me, because I 
 lay down my life for the sheep." 
 
 We rest in the love of Jesus, who, after sav- 
 ing lis with His precious blood, folds us in His 
 omnipotent and tender arms, and takes us into 
 the heavenly Sanctuary, unto the Father, unto 
 the eternal and boundless love of Godhead. 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 149 
 
 In Jesus, one with ns by the indwelling 
 Spirit, we are sons of the Father, beloved by 
 Him in the Only-begotten. We who are in 
 the hand of Christ, are also in the Father's 
 hand. We who rest in the bosom of Jesus, 
 greater than Abraham, rest in the Father's 
 bosom, where Christ is resting. Believing in 
 Jesus, we are, as it were, surrounded by divine, 
 essential, eternal love. Christ, our crucified and 
 glorified Redeemer, is one with the Father. 
 Nothing can therefore come between us and 
 the Father's love in Christ. Christ the Lord, 
 by the Holy Ghost, is one with us ; hence 
 nothing can separate us from the Saviour who 
 loved us, and gave Himself for us. 
 
 " So near to God, so very near, 
 Nearer I cannot be ; 
 For in the person of His Son, 
 I am as near as He. 
 
 " So dear to God, so very dear, 
 More dear I cannot be ; 
 The love wherewith He loves the Son, 
 Such is His love to me." 
 
 Let us ever hold fast with adoring hearts the 
 faith in three unions which the Church of 
 Christ has confessed in all ages. First, we 
 
150 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 behold Jesus, G-od and man, two natures in one 
 Person; the Lord of Grlory, Immanuel, God 
 with us. Beholding Christ, God and man, we 
 see the Father and receive the Spirit. 
 
 Thus we learn to adore, secondly, the eternal 
 and essential union of Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost. The Saviour reveals to us the eternal 
 love of the Father ; we know Christ as the 
 Word by whom all things were made, as the 
 Only-begotten, loved before the foundation of 
 the world. We know Him also as the Heir, 
 who shall inherit all things. Accepted in the 
 Beloved, and seated with Him in the heavenly 
 places, we adore the love of the Father who 
 chose us in Christ, and look forward to the 
 glory which the heirs of God and the joint- 
 heirs with the Son shall possess. 
 
 And we know and adore also the Holy Ghost, 
 one with the Father and the Son in eternity, in 
 creation, and in redemption, by whose power 
 and gracious indwelling the Father's love and 
 the Saviour's grace are revealed and communi- 
 cated to our souls unto eternal life. 
 
 And thus we know also, thirdly, the union, 
 which, according to the will of the Father, sub- 
 
THE NAME OF GOD. 151 
 
 sists between Christ and the Church. Of God 
 are we in Christ : the Father is the Husband- 
 man, the Son incarnate is the Vine, we who 
 believe are the branches. The Father is 
 supreme Lord and King, the Son incarnate is 
 the Bridegroom, and we who trust in Him and 
 love Him are the bride. We are members of 
 the Body of which Christ is Head ; and the 
 Head of Christ is God. By the Holy Ghost 
 Christ and the Church are one ; He is in them, 
 and they are inseparable from Him in life 
 and death, in time and eternity. 
 
 We believe these unions, though we cannot 
 comprehend and fathom these great and blessed 
 mysteries. We have a knowledge and experi- 
 ence of them in our hearts and lives, an assur- 
 ance and consolation continually flowing from 
 these eternal depths, and we wait with calmness 
 and hope for the bright and perfect knowledge 
 which shall be ours when we see face to face. 
 Through the incarnate Son of God, the man 
 Jesus Christ, we trust with adoring gratitude 
 and joyous contemplation in the name, Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost ; we take hold by faith of 
 the deep and comforting mystery of our union 
 
152 THE NAME OF GOD. 
 
 with Christ, and not measuring it by our feel- 
 ing, find in it peace and encouragement amid 
 all the doubts and sorrows, sins and failings 
 of time, and in the prospect of death and 
 eternity. 
 
 Oh to be disciples of Him, who not merely 
 teaches, but who bestows the blessings of the 
 new covenant, the knowledge and love of God, 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ! The way is easy, 
 the door is open ; for Jesus Himself, who died 
 for the guilty, is the Way and the Door. The 
 end is all-glorious, union and communion with 
 Christ — here in grace, and afterwards in glory. 
 Eternity only will unfold how blessed they are 
 whose God is the Lord. While we rejoice in 
 the hope of the glory of God, let us remember 
 with humility and contrition that He by whom 
 alone we stand in the new covenant of Trinity- 
 blessing is Jesus, who shed His precious 
 blood for our salvation, that thus we may 
 continually sing the new song — ^^ Worthy is the 
 Lamb that was slaio." 
 
V. 
 
 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF THE 
 OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 
 
. SERMON V. 
 
 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF THE OLD AND 
 OF THE NEW COVENANT. 
 
 " Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost." — Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 
 He who possesses a genuine love of Scripture 
 can bear the attempt to separate the J^ew from 
 the Old Testament as little as that mother who 
 appeared before King Solomon could endure 
 the thought of her living child being divided 
 by the sword into two. '^ In nowise slay it! " 
 was her eager exclamation. To divide is to slay. 
 And thus is it with the living child of God's 
 Spirit — the Scripture. It is one. The same 
 God, who hath spoken in those last days by 
 the Son, spake at sundry times and in divers 
 manners by the prophets unto the fathers. 
 The foundation of the temple of revelation is 
 Moses ; the superstructure, the prophets, evan- 
 
156 THE NAME OF GOD: THE GLORY OF 
 
 gelists, and apostles ; Jesus Christ himself 
 being the chief Corner-stone. 
 
 Two portions constitute the sacred record — 
 the word of promise and preparation, and the 
 word of fulfilment. But the one Spirit which 
 inspired, also pervades them. They are not 
 merely indissolubly connected — they not merely 
 dwell together in harmony ; but such is their 
 mutual impenetration, that the one cannot live 
 without the other. These two witnesses are 
 one. '^ When I listen to the accordant voice of 
 all the holy prophets and the apostles of our Lord 
 and Saviour, methinks I stand at Jerusalem, 
 at our Lord's triumphant entry, and hear the 
 multitudes of those who go before, and of those 
 who follow after, crying, " Hosanna to the Son 
 of David ! blessed is He that comethin the name 
 of the Lord to save." 
 
 We cannot truly understand the fulfilment, 
 and rejoice in that which is perfect, without 
 knowing the promise, and the gradual and 
 fragmentary preparation of the great redemp- 
 tion. As Israel, so do we all need to be taught 
 by the law the nature of holiness, and the 
 guilt and condemnation of sin. Jesus is the 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 157 
 
 Christ — this is the sum of saving knowledge. 
 But what is meant by Messiah is to be learned 
 only from the prophets. 
 
 Hence, to understand the gospels, we must 
 know the dealings of God with His people from 
 Abraham to David, and to the Babylonish 
 captivity (Matt, i.) — we must know the Scrip- 
 ture which must needs be fulfilled in Jesus of 
 Nazareth. The sufferings of Christ, and the 
 glory that should follow, comprise the whole 
 scheme of redemption ; but the risen Saviour 
 Himself declares the whole counsel of God out 
 of Moses and the prophets. Law and gospel, 
 Adam and Christ, works and grace, nature and 
 the Holy Ghost, are the two great contrasts 
 which evangelical teaching illustrates ; but in 
 the Epistles to the Eomans and to the Galatians 
 the ancient Scripture forms throughout the 
 basis and starting-point of instruction. And 
 the great and peculiar glory of the new cove- 
 nant dispensation is seen by the light of the old. 
 Is not the Epistle to the Hebrews an exposition 
 of this comparison and contrast ; unfolding the 
 glory of Christ, the true Melchisedec, and the 
 eternal High Priest ? It is in order to under- 
 
158 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 stand, and to accept tlie fulness of gospel bless- 
 ings, that we must know Moses and the pro- 
 phets. Thus, in searching the Scriptures to 
 which the Saviour referred, we enter on an 
 essential and most salutary study ; for without 
 the knowledge of these sacred writings we do 
 not know the height and depth, and breadth 
 and length, of that full salvation which is in 
 Christ Jesus. 
 
 The name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is 
 revealed by the Lord Jesus and in the apostolic 
 writings with a clearness, simplicity, and fulness, 
 which could not exist before the incarnation of the 
 Son of God. But the same God, who now speaks 
 to us by His Son, spake to the fathers by the pro- 
 phets ; and Israel knew the true and living God, 
 Jehovah, and the mystery of His threefold name 
 was gradually revealed unto them. 
 
 Man lost the knowledge of God through sin. 
 Knowing the existence of God, men did not 
 glorify Him as God, neither were thankful. 
 Through sin they fell into ignorance and super- 
 stition. Traces of the primeval revelation, vague 
 and confused reminiscences, distorted and corrupt 
 traditions of truth once known, are among the 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 159 
 
 nations. They had some knowledge of divine 
 rule and Paternal power; some presentiment 
 of divine Sonship, as the centurion exclaimed 
 at the cross — " Surely this Man was the Son of 
 God ; " some perception that all great and beauti- 
 ful things owed their existence to a supernatural 
 inspiration and celestial influence. The heathen 
 nations, in their slumber of sin and worldliness, 
 were not unvisited by dreams of higher and 
 better things. But the interpretation of the 
 dreams is only through Joseph and Daniel of 
 the chosen race. God revealed Himself to Israel. 
 The truths, which appear as so simple, were never 
 discovered by man : — " In the beginning God 
 created heaven and earth." " Hear, Israel, the 
 Lord our God is one God!" ^^Thou shalt not 
 make thyself any image to worship it." '' The 
 Lord is gracious and merciful, long-suffering, 
 and abounding in goodness and truth." ^^ Holy, 
 holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts!" '^Thou shalt 
 love the Lord with all thy heart, and all 
 thy strength, and all thy soul." These are 
 divine words ; light which was sent from the 
 heavenly Sanctuary to fallen man on earth ; the 
 revelation of the God of salvation, who in His 
 
1 60 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 infinite love visited and redeemed His people. 
 God revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob, to Moses and the children of Israel. And 
 it is owing to this gracious manifestation that 
 the darkness and ignorance of heathenism are 
 dispelled. This God of Scripture is indeed 
 different from the God of the philosophers.* 
 Here is no vague, abstract, impersonal power, 
 but God is the God in covenant relation with 
 His people ; they know His name, they possess 
 His law, they enjoy His guidance and protection. 
 He is their God, and they are beloved by Him. 
 And yet they know Him as the God who created 
 heaven and earth, to whom belong all angels 
 above and nations below, whom no man hath 
 seen at any time, and whom no finite mind can 
 fathom. While Israel knows God as their God, 
 
 * The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not the God of the 
 philosophers. — Pascal. " To speak with reverence, He whom no 
 man hath seen at any time, nor can see, has condescended to 
 become an historical Personage. All attempts to eliminate His 
 being and operation from the scriptural history of the Jewish 
 people must eternally prove nugatory ; the natural and super- 
 natural are so closely interwoven, and so intimately pervade each 
 other, that it is utterly impossible to remove Jehovah and leave 
 the undoubted facts of Israel's history explicable at all," — Dr J. 
 Duncan. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 161 
 
 while they call Him by His name, they also 
 know that God is incomprehensible, unsearch- 
 able ; they stand in awe before Him, who is 
 eternal, infinite, and awful in majesty and 
 glory. He meets with them in the tabernacle 
 and in the temple, and yet they know that the 
 heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. He 
 reveals Himself, and yet they say, " Thou art a 
 Grod that hidest Thyself." He manifests Himself 
 in signs and wonders, and He reminds them, 
 " Thou hast not beheld any likeness or simili- 
 tude." "Where else do we find such a con- 
 ception? So infinite, and yet so definite and 
 personal ; so vast and comprehensive, and yet 
 so national and familiar ; so spiritual, and yet 
 so real ; so majestic and awful, and yet so 
 merciful and loving. This God, holy, and yet 
 gracious; eternal and infinite, and yet guid- 
 ing His people from day to day, ordering their 
 very steps, and regulating their life down to 
 the detail of food and dress ; unsearchable, yet 
 their light, and the Hearer of their prayers ; self- 
 subsistent and blessed in Himself, and yet 
 yearning after their love and fellowship — this 
 God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the true 
 
162 THE NAME OF GOD ; THE GLORY OF 
 
 and living God, and as He saith Himself, '^ There 
 is no other; I know not any." Do not confuse 
 this God with what the world calls God. Out- 
 side Israel God is anonymous; in Israel He is 
 Jehovah, in the Church He is Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost. It is in God's school that little 
 children are made wise, and wise men become 
 little children, and know and worship God. 
 
 In the divine revelation to Israel from 
 Abraham to the Exodus, and from Moses to 
 the last prophets, we can trace the following 
 lines of education, which all converge in the 
 advent of the Lord Jesus, and in His full reve- 
 lation of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 
 I. Scripture teaches us that no man can see 
 God, and Scripture speaks at the same time 
 of God appearing. In paradise the voice of 
 Jehovah (God) was heard walking in the garden 
 in the cool of day. Unto the Fathers the Lord 
 appeared as the angel or messenger of the cove- 
 nant. He appears first unto Hagar, speaks unto 
 her as the Lord, who is almighty, and is called 
 Lord by her and by the sacred historian.* 
 
 * Gen. xvi. 10, 13 : When the angel of the Lord said unto 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 163 
 
 When God appeared "Qnto Abraham, only 
 one of the three men whom he received in his 
 tent is called Lord.* The angel who stayed 
 the hand of Abraham when he was about to 
 sacrifice his son Isaac, speaks of himself as 
 Jehovah, and confirms the promise with his 
 oath.f The angel who appears unto Jacob in 
 a dream calls himself the God who appeared 
 unto him in Bethel, J and the dying patriarch 
 spoke of God and of the angel who redeemed 
 him from all evil.§ This was He with whom 
 
 Hagar, * ' I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not 
 be numbered for multitude," does He not announce Himself 
 as the Lord, the Author of life and Creator of spirits ? Here 
 we find, in the 13th verse, that the historian calls Him "The 
 Lord, who spake unto her," and Hagar called His name, " Thou, 
 God, seest me." 
 
 * Gen. xviii. 20-33 — " And the Lord said, Because the cry of 
 Sodom and Gomorrah is great ... I will go down now. . . . 
 If I find in Sodom fifty righteous men, I will spare all the 
 place for their sakes. . . . And the Lord went His way." 
 
 t Gen. xxii. 11-17 — "And the angel of the Lord called unto 
 Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself 
 have I sworn, saith the Lord . . . that in blessing I will bless 
 thee," &c. 
 
 X Gen. xxxi. 11-13 — "And the angel of the Lord spake unto 
 me in a dream, ... I am the God of Bethel." 
 
 § Gen. xlviii. 15, 16 — "The God which fed me all my life 
 long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all 
 evil," &c. 
 
164 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 Jacob wrestled, and of whom lie said after- 
 wards, '' I have seen God face to face, and my 
 life is preserved."* Thus Hosea calls him 
 Angel and Grod.f 
 
 This was the angel of Jehovah who appeared 
 unto Moses on Mount Horeb, and spoke of 
 Himself as Lord, and is called by Moses Lord.J 
 The messenger of Jehovah is none else than 
 Jehovah manifest, the angel in whom is God's 
 name, the presence and countenance of God. 
 He went with Israel through the wilderness. § 
 
 * Gen. xxxii. 30 — " Peniel, I have seen God face to face." 
 
 + Hos. xii. 3-5 — *' Jacob, ... by his strength he had power 
 with God : yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed ; 
 he wept, and made supplication unto him : he found him in 
 Bethel, and there he spake with us ; even the Lord God of 
 Hosts ; the Lord is his memorial." 
 
 X Exod. iii. 6, 14, 15, and iv. 5 : The angel of the Lord 
 appeared unto Moses, and calls himself, " I am the God of thy 
 father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Moses, in 
 replying, calls him Lord, and Moses, as the historian, also 
 designates him as Lord. 
 
 § Exod. xxiii. 20, 21 : In this remarkable passage God 
 declares of the angel, " My name is in him.'' Most clearly 
 is the union between God and the angel revealed in such ex- 
 pressions, " If thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that 
 / speak." Is not this the same in existence which the incarnate 
 Son describes when He says, " The Father is in me, and I in 
 Him ; the Father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works " 
 (John X. 38, xiv. 16). If possible, still more explicit is Exod. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 165 
 
 ^' In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the 
 angel of His presence saved them ; in His love 
 and in His pity He redeemed them ; and He 
 bare them and carried them all the days of 
 old " (Isa. Ixiii.) Truly the Eock that followed 
 them was Christ (1 Cor. x. 3). 
 
 Joshua beheld Him on the eve of battle, and 
 worshipped before the Captain of the host of 
 the Lord (Joshua v. 13-15). The same God- 
 manifest appeared unto Manoah, declared His 
 name to be Pele, wonderful, and Manoah knew 
 he had seen the Lord (Judges xiii. ; specially 10, 
 22). The evangelist John teaches us that it 
 was Christ's glory which Isaiah beheld,* when 
 
 xxxiii., where the angel who had been promised (Exod.xxxii. 34) 
 is called by God, " My presence — ''^3 — my countenance ; " or, as 
 Isaiah, in obvious reference to this chapter, says, " The angel of 
 His countenance," as the Apostle Paul speaks of " the glory of 
 God in the face of Jesus Christ " {iv TrpoaioTrcp l-rjaov Xpiarov) 
 (2 Cor. iv. 6). 
 
 * " Isaiah had, in his inmost being, in some way unimagin- 
 able to us who have not beheld it, seen the Holy Trinity in 
 their unity of essence, and that in the person of the Son, who 
 said of Himself, ' He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father.' 
 It was a human form which he beheld sitting enthroned as the 
 Judge, and receiving the worship of the glowing love of the 
 seraphim. He had seen Him in His own glory and the glory of 
 the Father, transfiguring the likeness of that human form, which 
 is now with the Father, the Light of heaven, which amid the un- 
 
1 66 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 in the year of King Uzziah's death he saw the 
 Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, 
 and His train filled the temple (Isa. vi. ; John 
 xii. 41). 
 
 The testimony of Scripture concerning God 
 revealing Himself in the angel, who is also God, 
 appears for the last time most emphatically in 
 the concluding books of the prophets. 
 
 Thus also Ezekiel beheld the manifestation 
 of God. And above the firmament, that was 
 over their heads — was the likeness of a throne, 
 as the appearance of a sapphire stone ; and 
 upon the likeness of the throne was the like- 
 ness as the appearance of a man upon it. In 
 the Book of Malachi we read — '' The Lord, 
 whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His 
 temple, even the messenger of the covenant, 
 whom ye delight in : behold, he shall come, 
 saith the Lord of Hosts V (iii. 1). How dis- 
 tinct is this designation. He is the Messiah, 
 sought and desired with vehement affection by 
 Israel. He is the Mediator of the covenant 
 
 created light, which God is, illumines heaven also with an un- 
 created light (as St John says, * The Lamb is the Light thereof ') 
 because in Him dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead bodily." — 
 Pusey on Isaiah vi., Oxford Lectures, 1860. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 167 
 
 between God and His people. He is both Mes- 
 senger and Lord, even as Jesus constantly 
 spoke of Himself as sent by the Father. And 
 this divine Messenger or Angel had a fore- 
 runner — '' Behold I will send my messenger, 
 and he shall prepare the way before me." This 
 was fulfilled in John the Baptist, as Zacharias, 
 filled with the Holy Ghost, truly expounds the 
 prophecy of Malachi — '^ And thou, child, shalt 
 be called the Prophet of the Highest : for thou 
 shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare 
 His ways " (Luke i. 76). Israel knew God as 
 Jehovah revealing Himself, the Messenger or 
 Angel, sent by God and one with God, His re- 
 presentative, face, and image ; in whom divine 
 glory was manifest, and to whom divine adora- 
 tion is due.* 
 
 * The passages of Scripture seem so very clear and strong, 
 especially if viewed in connection, and considered in the light 
 of the gospels and epistles, that it seems strange that in the 
 Church of Christ there should have been any difference of 
 opinion as to the identity of the Angel with the Word or Son 
 of God. Is it conceivable, or in harmony with Scripture, that 
 divine names, honours, and functions should be attributed to 
 a created being, however exalted ? No truth is perhaps so often 
 and 80 solemnly stated and impressed by Moses and the pro- 
 phets as the infinite distance between God and the creature; 
 the jealousy of Jehovah, not to give His glory to another : and 
 
168 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 Blessed are we wlio know more clearly and 
 fully the mystery of godliness ; wlio know the 
 name of Jesus, who is before Abraham was, 
 whose glory was beheld by Isaiah, who was the 
 Eock that followed Israel in the wilderness — the 
 Lord, as the apostles constantly and emphati- 
 cally call Him, who is one with the Father, 
 and in whom is fulfilled the petition and 
 desire of all true Israelites — " Show ns the 
 Father." 
 
 Thus Israel knew not merely God the Creator, 
 infinite and incomprehensible — Him whom no 
 
 the supposition of a created angel, appointed to be a represen- 
 tative manifestation of God, is surely a very dangerous one, 
 and may we not say, one which would be rejected by a simple 
 mind which had received the fundamental truths of the Word 
 of God. When John, the beloved disciple, fell down to worship 
 before the feet of the angel which showed him these things, he 
 said unto him, " See thou do it not." The Angel of the Covenant 
 accepts worship : created angels are ministering spirits, sent 
 forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. None 
 of them can be called Lord. The Mediator between God and 
 man — this seems the central truth to which all prophetic and 
 apostolic teaching converges — is the Lord, uncreated, eternal, 
 infinite, appointed from all eternity, whose goings forth are of 
 old, finally made manifest, when the Word was made flesh, the 
 man Christ Jesus. It was, however, only gradually that Israel 
 connected the thought of the revealing God with the Messiah. 
 But that they had come to this knowledge is evident ; for 
 example, from Mai. iii. 1. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 169 
 
 man hath seen at any time, or can see,* — but 
 they knew Jehovah as their God, who had 
 chosen and revealed Himself to the Fathers, 
 who had remembered the afflictions of His 
 people in Egypt, who had delivered them out 
 of bondage by a strong hand and a mighty 
 arm, who was their King, and who manifested 
 Himself among them, that they might love, 
 worship, and serve Him. 
 
 II. But while God came thus nigh unto 
 them, He revealed the infinite distance which 
 separated between Him and the sinful nation. 
 God is holy, and of purer eyes than to behold 
 iniquity; justice and truth are the pillars 
 of His throne. But Israel is sinful and guilty. 
 Yet God dwells among them. When He loved 
 the people. He came with a fiery law in His 
 right hand. And yet Israel hopes in the 
 Lord, for with Him is plenteous redemption. 
 For they knew that God, the holy and just 
 Lawgiver, was also God the Redeemer, the 
 
 * Compare John i. 18 — " ]^o man hath seen God at any 
 time ; the only-begotten God {fJLovoyevrjs deos, " Tregelles' New 
 Test."), who is in the bosom of the Father, hath declared 
 Him." 
 
1 70 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 covenant- God, who saitli — " I, even I, am He 
 that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own 
 sake, and will not remember thy sins." It was 
 God who clothed Adam and Eve after their 
 disobedience ; it was Jehovah who, according 
 to the testimony of the prophets, clothes His 
 people with the garments of salvation and the 
 robe of righteousness. This pardoning and 
 restoring Jehovah is what in the language of 
 fulfilment is called God in Christ ; or the 
 God and Father of our Lord and Saviour. And 
 while the source of forgiveness can only be in 
 God, against whom sin is committed, there 
 runs throughout Scripture a line of predictions 
 in which an atoning and justifying Mediator is 
 promised, who is divine, and who is called the 
 Lord our Eighteousness. When Moses inter- 
 ceded in behalf of Israel, the Lord said unto 
 Moses, " Whosoever hath sinned against me, 
 him will I blot out of my book " (Exod. xxxii. 
 33). In the 49th Psalm we are reminded that 
 no man can by any means redeem his brother, 
 nor give to God a ransom for him.* When 
 the prophets, therefore, speak of one who is 
 
 * Ps. xlix. 7. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 171 
 
 perfectly sinless and holy, who is wounded for 
 our transgressions, and upon whom the Lord 
 hath laid the iniquities of us all — whose soul 
 shall be made an offering for sin, and who shall 
 justify many by His knowledge, for He shall 
 bear their iniquities — it is evident that this 
 suffering and atoning, this justifying and saving 
 Mediator is one with God ; it is a divine One 
 who says, '' Thou hast made me to serve with 
 thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine ini- 
 quities. I, even I, am He that blotteth out 
 thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will 
 not remember thy sins." The Redeemer is God, 
 and yet distinguished from God ; He is God of 
 God, the Lord whom we worship, as the incar- 
 nate Son was called Jesus, because He saves 
 His people from their sins. 
 
 And as God forgives, so God renews and 
 sanctifies. Unto Israel pertaineth the glory, 
 the presence, and the manifestation of the Lord. 
 Between the cherubim, and above the mercy- 
 seat, the glory of God appeared. It filled the 
 temple. This is fulfilled when the Word was 
 made flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we 
 
172 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 beheld the glory of the only-begotten of the 
 Father. 
 
 But the times of fulfilment are predicted in a 
 more distinct manner : a time is coming when 
 Jehovah shall be in the hearts of His people, 
 when His Spirit shall be poured out, when the 
 Holy Ghost shall descend and renew the heart, 
 and all shall be taught of God. For the pardon 
 of sin and the renewal of the heart ; the forgive- 
 ness of transgression and the entrance into the 
 presence of the Most High ; the redemption by 
 righteousness or atonement, and the outpour- 
 ing of the Holy Ghost — were gifts always com- 
 bined in the promises of God. Salvation em- 
 braces not merely the blotting out of our trans- 
 gressions, but the slaying of the enmity, the 
 circumcision of the heart. The Messiah and 
 the Spirit are continually placed together before 
 Israel. This is the blessing of the new cove- 
 nant, that God will put His Spirit within them, 
 and give them a new heart ; that God himself 
 shall dwell within them, and that they shall 
 be all taught of God. As there is no other 
 Saviour but Jehovah, so there is no other quick- 
 ening, renewing, and comforting Spirit but the 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 173 
 
 Holy Ghost. This was symbolised by the holy 
 anointing, like to which none might be made 
 on pain of death. The priests and prophets and 
 kings which were anointed with that holy 
 unction were only types (might we say, tem- 
 porary and imperfect instalments and anticipa- 
 tions ?) of that perfect Eevealer, Atoner, Euler, 
 who is anointed with the Holy Ghost, who pos- 
 sesses the Spirit in His sevenfold plenitude, 
 in whom the Spirit has His perfect abode, and 
 through whom the Spirit would be given to 
 God's people to dwell in them. Thus, as the 
 forgiving Jehovah sent Jehovah the Atoner, 
 the Holy Ghost is the third revelation of 
 ^^ I am Jehovah, which sanctify you" (Ezek. 
 i. 26). 
 
 A just God and a Saviour, a holy God and a 
 sanctifying Spirit, were manifested unto Israel, 
 or in other words, the name of Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost. 
 
 III. These two lines of prophecy are com- 
 bined in the hope of Jehovah's rending the 
 heavens, and coming down to redeem and glorify 
 Israel. The coming of the Lord God is the 
 
174 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 theme of Psalms and Prophets. Grod is ex- 
 pected to establish His throne, and to be King 
 over all the earth — Then shall He sit upon the 
 throne of His holiness, and rule over all nations. 
 Israel shall rejoice, and serve Him in truth and 
 love; all peoples shall walk in the light of 
 Jacob. Then the daughters of Judah and all 
 the world shall say, This God is our God for 
 ever and ever. He maketh wars to cease, and 
 the word of the Lord goes forth from Jerusalem 
 to all ends of the earth. What is this expec- 
 tation of Jehovah seen, beloved, ruling on a 
 restored earth, else but the expectation of the 
 Lord Jesus, who in the Book of Kevelation 
 calls Himself Alpha and Omega, the Beginning 
 and the Ending, the Lord which is, which was, 
 and which is to come, the Almighty? The 
 invisible God manifest, the Holy God among 
 a forgiven and renewed people — such is the 
 hope of Israel. 
 
 IV. I must now direct your attention to 
 another apparently opposite line of prediction. 
 It does not descend from heaven earthwards, 
 but from earth heavenwards. Its starting- 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 175 
 
 point is not the throne of holiness, but the 
 earth under a curse, and the woman, who 
 was first in the transgression. You know what 
 series of promises I allude to. The seed of the 
 woman, who is to bruise the serpent's head ; the 
 seed of Abraham, the only and beloved son of 
 promise, type in the miraculous beginning of 
 his existence, as well as in his obedience unto 
 death ; the son of Judah, called Shiloh ; the son 
 of David, who is to rule over the house of Jacob 
 for ever, king and shepherd in righteousness, 
 peace, and love; lastly, the servant Israel, the 
 true and perfect and spirit-filled Israel and 
 servant of God, in whom His whole character 
 is revealed, and all His will fulfilled. Now 
 the Seed, the Son, the David, the Servant, the 
 Israel, is the Redeemer, the Light of the nations, 
 the Restorer and glory of His people. And as 
 He is man, and born of the virgin-daughter of 
 Zion, He is also God. Divine names and 
 attributes and works are ascribed to Him. He 
 is called God with us, the mighty God, Jehovah 
 our Righteousness. He is called Jehovah — 
 '' The voice that crieth in the wilderness, Pre- 
 pare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in 
 
176 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 the desert a highway for our God." He is born 
 in Bethlehem Ephratah, but His goings forth are 
 of old, even from everlasting. He is David's 
 Son, and David in the spirit calls Him Lord. 
 He is the Messenger of the covenant, in whom 
 Israel delights, and yet He is called the Lord 
 whom ye seek. 
 
 This Anointed is the Son of God, whose 
 enemies must perish, while all they that trust 
 in Him are blessed (and yet " cursed is he who 
 trusteth in man"). This branch out of the root 
 of Jesse is Lord, who shall smite the earth with 
 the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of 
 His lips slay the wicked (Isa. xi., comp. 2 Thess. 
 ii. 2 ; Eev. i. 16). Isaiah describes Him, not 
 merely as the servant of Jehovah, perfect in His 
 obedience ; but He presents Him also as the 
 divine mediating Lord, the salvation and glory 
 of His people, the full manifestation and 
 infinite delight of God. Zechariah, whom 
 Luther calls Ausbund der Propheten, testifies 
 that the Shepherd who is smitten and pierced 
 is none other than the Lord, who sends the 
 Spirit, the Man who is my Equal ; the branch is 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 177 
 
 priest and king, king of Zion, and of the whole 
 world, one with God in majesty and glory 
 (Isa. xl.-lxvi.j and Zech. passim). 
 
 Thus Israel was taught that the Son of 
 David, the Messiah, was God manifest in the 
 flesh ; Eevealer of the Father and the Lord, 
 who can baptize with the Holy Ghost. Does 
 not the Messianic prophecy declare the name of 
 the triune God? 
 
 y. This mysterious God-man is seen in 
 heaven and coming down from heaven. He is 
 evidently one with the Jehovah, of whom I 
 spoke before, coming to establish His kingdom, 
 and reveal His glory on earth. David beholds 
 Him (Ps. ^cx. 1), who is his Son, sitting 
 at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 
 The prophet Zechariah beholds the divine 
 Lord pouring upon the house of David and 
 the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of 
 grace and of supplications (Zech. xii. 10) ; and 
 He who descended from heaven is none other 
 but He who ascended, even He who was pierced 
 by His brethren, the Man whom Jehovah calls 
 
 M 
 
178 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 His equal. =^ Daniel beholds tlie Son of man 
 coming with the clouds of heaven, and there 
 was given to Him an everlasting dominion 
 that shall not pass away, and a kingdom 
 that shall not be destroyed (Dan. vii. 13, 14). 
 Ezekiel prophesies that David, God's servant, 
 shall be king over His people, and they all 
 shall have one Shepherd. Then God's taber- 
 nacle shall be with them — " Yea, I will be their 
 God, and they shall be my people. And the 
 heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify 
 Israel, when my tabernacle shall be in the midst 
 of them for evermore" (Ezek. xxxvii. 24-28). 
 
 Mysterious predictions ! The Lord who de- 
 scends from God's throne in glory, and with the 
 
 * A Jewish commentator on Zechariah has the f ollt)wing inter- 
 esting remarks, in which truth is strangely mixed with error : — 
 *' I will do yet a third thing, and that is, they shall look unto me ; 
 for they shall lift up their eyes unto me in perfect repentance, 
 when they see Him whom they pierced, that is, Messiah, the Son 
 of Joseph ; for our Rabbis, of blessed memory, have said that 
 He will take upon Himself all the guilt of Israel, and shall then 
 be slain in the war to make an atonement, in such a manner, 
 that it shall be accounted as if Israel had pierced Him, for on 
 account of their sin He has died, and therefore, in order that it 
 may be reckoned to them as a perfect atonement, they will 
 repent and look to the blessed One, saying, There is none beside 
 Him to forgive those who mourned on account of Him, who died 
 for their sin." — Alshech, quoted by 3I'CauL 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 179 
 
 clouds of heaven, to judge the earth, to pour out 
 the Holy Ghost on Israel, to receive an everlasting 
 kingdom, to sanctify the chosen people, and to rule 
 over the whole world, is the Son of man, the Son 
 of David, the Servant of God, the Shepherd who 
 was smitten, whose hands were pierced. This is 
 He of whom it is written in the Book of Revela- 
 tion — "Behold He cometh with clouds, and every 
 eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced 
 Him ! " It is Jesus who is the Son of man, who 
 is also " Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and 
 the Ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which 
 was, and which is to come, the Almighty." 
 
 YI. Hitherto we have considered the his- 
 torical manifestations of God in Israel, and the 
 promises of the future, final manifestations of 
 God. But the thought of Israel was led also 
 beyond history and creation into the region of 
 eternity ; and the mystery of the Trinity, which 
 is fully revealed in the apostolic writings, 
 especially of John and Paul, is foreshadowed 
 in the teaching of the Book of Proverbs. God, 
 who reveals Himself as triune, is triune — such 
 has been the confession of the Church in all 
 
180 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 ages. And Israel before the Advent possessed 
 some knowledge of tlie eternal Word and Spirit; 
 for who can fail to recognise the identity of the 
 Wisdom spoken of by Solomon in the Book of 
 Proverbs, and the Word, who the beloved 
 disciple teaches us was in the beginning, and 
 was with God, and was God, by whom all 
 things were made, who is the beginning of the 
 creation of God. This Wisdom is not a personi- 
 fication of a divine attribute. Attributes and 
 actions are ascribed to her : she invites the 
 simple to make a covenant with her, she 
 promises to pour out '^ my spirit," and she 
 announces death as the portion of all who do 
 not yield themselves in faith and obedience to 
 her voice. This Wisdom, which appears among 
 men, and dwells especially in Israel, is eternal — 
 with God in the beginning of His way, before 
 His works of old, from everlasting — before the 
 earth was and the heavens were brought forth. 
 There are no expressions more emphatic or 
 explicit to describe the premundane, eternal 
 character of the Word. And this eternal Wis- 
 dom was with God — object of His contemplation, 
 love, and delight — His equal in glory. Such 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 181 
 
 language describes in a variety of ways what 
 is impossible for human language to describe 
 adequately, even the transcendent mystery of 
 eternal generation. Wisdom is set up from 
 everlasting, brought forth ; or, as the Church 
 expressed it, God of God, begotten, not made ; 
 beyond and above all creation ; to be distin- 
 guished from God, and yet worshipped in the 
 Godhead. When Solomon says that God pos- 
 sessed wisdom in the beginning of His way, 
 does he not bring before us the beginning 
 which is before creation ; even as the Apostle 
 Paul, speaking of the Son of God, by whom all 
 things were created, says. He is before all 
 things, and again. He is the beginning (dpxn) 
 (Col. i. 17, 18). And as the Lord calls Him- 
 self, ^^The beginning of the creation of God" 
 (Rev. iii. 14). 
 
 Bearing in mind the Jilial hypostatic character 
 of Wisdom, we understand the remarkable pas- 
 sage in chap. xxx. — " Who hath ascended up 
 into heaven and descended? Who hath gathered 
 the wind in His fists ? Who hath bound the 
 waters in a garment? Who hath established 
 all the ends of the earth ? What is His name. 
 
182 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 and what is His Son's name, if then canst 
 tell?" 
 
 YII. We may now consider passages in which 
 we think reference is made to the plurality in 
 the ever-blessed Trinity, and which will not 
 appear as isolated, but inwoven into the whole 
 history of Israel, and harmonious with all the 
 divine teaching. 
 
 In the very commencement of Genesis we are 
 taught that God, who created all things, created 
 all things by the "Word, and that the Spirit of 
 God moved upon the face of the waters. The 
 Word and the Spirit are constantly combined — 
 " By the word of the Lord were the heavens 
 made, and all the host of them by the breath 
 of His mouth " (Ps. xxxiii. 6). And in like 
 manner the countenance, or presence, and the 
 Spirit— ^^ Cast me not away from Thy presence, 
 and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me " (Ps. 
 li. 11). ^^ Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, 
 and whither shall I flee from Thy presence ? " 
 (Ps. cxxxix. 7). 
 
 The prophet Isaiah gives a compendious sum- 
 mary of the divine gracious dealings with 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 183 
 
 Israel (Isa. Ixiii.) ; and in this beautiful and 
 sublime prayer be speaks of the Lord, of the 
 Angel of His presence, and of the Spirit. 
 Throughout the prophecy of this evangelist 
 of the old covenant, the Servant of God, the 
 Redeemer, who is divine, is represented as sent 
 by God, and anointed with the Holy Ghost — 
 '^ From the time that it was, there am I, and now 
 the Lord God and His Spirit hath sent me."* 
 Most important and fundamental is the 
 blessing with which, according to God's com- 
 mandment, Aaron blessed the people. This 
 benediction, given by inspiration, contained the 
 sum and substance of divine teaching. The 
 whole revelation of the covenant- God, and the 
 fulness of covenant-blessing, are here summed 
 up, not by man, but by God himself. The 
 question, therefore, is not what and how much 
 Moses and the people could have understood or 
 known of the mystery. Out of this divine revela- 
 tion, so full and glorious, so august and consol- 
 ing, they continually derived, by the aid of the 
 Spirit, light and peace, inquiring into its depths, 
 
 * Isa. xlviii. 16 ; compare Stier on this important passage 
 Jesaias nicht Pseudojesaias. 
 
184 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLOHY OF 
 
 and meditating on its vast disclosures, even as 
 we, who have received the fuller and clearer 
 revelation, remain constantly learners, and 
 know only in part. 
 
 That the benediction consists of three co-ordi- 
 nate parts, that the name of the Lord is men- 
 tioned three times, is surely significant. But 
 the threefold blessing corresponds most fully with 
 the threefold manifestation of God, with the 
 triune name. God the Father is the Author and 
 Source of all blessing — ''He hath blessed us with 
 all spiritual blessings in heavenly places " (Eph. 
 i. 3). He it is by whom His people are kept — 
 "The Lord is thy Keeper " (Ps. cxxi. 5 ; 1 Pet 
 i. 5), kept by the power of God. ''The Lord 
 bless thee, and keep thee." God the Son is the 
 Face of God shining upon us ; in Him the 
 Father receives us graciously — " God was in 
 Christ, reconciling the world." This is the 
 second benediction — " The Lord make His face 
 shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee." 
 The Father's love and the grace of the Lord are 
 brought unto us by the Holy Ghost, and when 
 they are received by Him, the result is peace. 
 This is the third blessing — crown and consum- 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 185 
 
 mation of the two — '^ The Lord lift up His coun- 
 tenance upon thee, and give thee peace."* 
 
 This blessing, so venerable, so holy, so 
 glorious, of which both the substance and the 
 outward expression, the pearl and the casket 
 have God for their Author, was no doubt unto 
 thousands of God-fearing Israels a compendium 
 of theology, as well as a cordial in days of 
 sorrow and conflict. And what they saw dimly 
 was declared fully by Him who is above Aaron, 
 by the great High Priest, even the Son, our 
 Lord, Jesus Christ, when He commanded His 
 disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Isaiah the prophet beheld the glory of 
 Christ, and heard the song of praise which 
 ascends from the seraphim to the throne of God. 
 As in the heavenly Sanctuary the Lord is called 
 holy, so the Old Testament evangelist speaks 
 continually in his prophecy of the " Holy 
 One of Israel, "t -^^^ as Isaiah heard the 
 
 * Comp. John xx. 21, 22 ; Rom. xiv. 17 ; Luke ii. 14. 
 
 t It forms, Delitzsch says, an essential part of Isaiah's dis- 
 tinctive prophetic signature. The only other passages in which 
 the word occurs are three times in the Psalms and twice in 
 
186 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OP 
 
 trisagion of the seraphim, which doubtless, 
 like that of the cherubim (in Rev. iv. 8), 
 referred to the ever-adorable Trinity, so the 
 whole prophecy, which by divine inspiration 
 was given to Israel, reflected, although in 
 broken rays, the glory of that perfect revelation 
 which in Jesus has been vouchsafed to the 
 Church. 
 
 Children of God, who live in the days of ful- 
 filment, and in the dispensation of the Spirit, 
 who know the name of Jesus, the incarnate Son 
 of the Father, and who by the Holy Ghost are 
 members of the Body of which the exalted 
 Christ in heaven is Head and Lord, do we 
 know and use the blessings of the new, the 
 everlasting covenant, of which baptism is the 
 sign and seal, and in which God is our God, in 
 time and eternity ? 
 
 First^ as to worship. Israel worshipped the 
 only true and living God. They knew Him, 
 the Lord who had revealed Himself to their 
 fathers, and redeemed them out of Egypt. 
 
 Jeremiah, and that not without an allusion to Isaiah. In 
 Isaiah it occurs twenty-nine times. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 187 
 
 They knew His name in many manifestations ; 
 His character and His purposes of grace were 
 revealed unto them at sundry times and in 
 divers manners. They knew the way of access 
 unto God in the sacrifices and offerings, 
 the Sabbaths and festivals, their priests and 
 Levites. God taught them to approach Him, and 
 to receive from Him forgiveness of sin and 
 purification of heart. The Holy Ghost also 
 taught them in their souls, and the recorded 
 prayers and thanksgivings of the saints before 
 the Advent are most precious evidences that 
 Israel worshipped in the same Spirit in which 
 we now draw near to the throne of grace. 
 Broken-hearted contrition for sin, self-loathing 
 and self-condemnation in God's sight, hope in 
 His mercy, and exclusive reliance on His 
 righteousness and covenant-promise, joy in 
 His salvation, and desire for the manifestation 
 of divine glory on earth — all these features of 
 the renewed soul are most distinctly and 
 beautifully expressed in the Psalms of David 
 and the prayers of the prophets. 
 
 And yet, great as is the glory of the Old Testa- 
 ment worship, greater is the glory of the New 
 
188 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 Testament worship. For then the way into the 
 Holiest of all was not yet manifest ; whereas 
 now Christ by His own blood has entered in once 
 into the Holy place (Heb. ix. 8-14). Then Israel, 
 although taught and guided by the Spirit, had 
 not received the Holy Ghost as we receive the 
 Spirit from our glorified Saviour, Jesus Christ 
 (John vii. 39). The incarnation of the Son, the 
 death and resurrection of Jesus, and the out- 
 pouring of the Holy Ghost, have brought unto 
 us fulness and liberty of worship which the Old 
 Testament saints did not enjoy. 
 
 Whereas the world worship they know not 
 what, approaching God without the mediation 
 of His Son, and offering up petitions according 
 to the thoughts and desires of an unrenewed 
 h^art, the Church worships the God of Israel in 
 the brightness, peace, and power of His perfect 
 self-manifestation. * 
 
 "It is impossible to separate true spiritual 
 worship and communion from the perfect 
 offering of Christ to God. When the Holy 
 Spirit leads us into real spiritual worship, it 
 leads us into communion with God, into the 
 
 * Spirituality is not so much a quality inherent in the wor- 
 shipper, it is the reflection of the object worshipped. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 189 
 
 presence of God, and then, necessarily, all the 
 infinite acceptability to Him of the offering of 
 Christ is present to our spirit; the acceptance 
 of that sweet savour is that in which we go to 
 Him. We are associated with it, it forms an 
 integral and necessary part of our communion 
 and worship. We cannot be in the presence of 
 God in communion without finding there the 
 perfect favour of God in which an offered Jesus 
 is. It is, indeed^ the ground of our acceptance, 
 as well as of our communion."* 
 
 In Jesus, and by the indwelling of the Holy 
 Ghost, we call upon the Father, The Son has 
 declared Him. We adore Him, who, from all 
 eternity, is the Father of our Lord ; we trust 
 and love Him, who in Christ has given unto us 
 the adoption of sons. The Father's character 
 was fully revealed by Jesus; He declared His 
 name. The coming of Jesus, His sufferings and 
 His death, glorified the Father, and showed 
 forth His boundless love to sinners. The 
 Father sent Him, the Father spared Him not, 
 but gave Him up to die ; and as the Father's 
 love is the eternal source of our salvation, so 
 
 * "On Worship," by J. N, D. 
 
190 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 the knowledge and love of the Father is the end 
 of all the words and works of Jesus. 
 
 By His death and resurrection the Saviour 
 became the firstborn among many brethren ; 
 and through the Holy Ghost we receive the 
 filial spirit, so that we draw near to God, " as 
 dear children to their dear father." '"' The glory 
 of the Father is the end of the way, which is 
 Jesus. When Jesus speaks of His death for our 
 salvation. He reveals unto us the Father s love ; 
 when He draws us unto Himself, He draws 
 us unto the Father. The more we love Christ, 
 and rejoice in Him as our Lord and Saviour, 
 the more do we glorify the Father (Phil. ii. 11), 
 who spared not the Son, but gave Him up unto 
 death, and exalted Him the Head of the Church. 
 We praise and magnify the Father; for in 
 Christ we behold the Father's glory, we are 
 blessed with the Father's love. 
 
 And not merely has Christ revealed to us the 
 Father, and reconciled us with God, but by 
 virtue of our regeneration, our union with the 
 Only-begotten, we have become in reality, in 
 nature, so to say, the children of God, and as 
 
 * Luther's Catechism. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 191 
 
 the brethren of Christ, as the new-born children, 
 we say, Abba. 
 
 As we worship the Father, we call also Jesus 
 Lord. We worship Christ. This is a mystery 
 which the world cannot understand. They know 
 not that Jesus is the Lord of glory. But those 
 into whose hearts God hath shined, to give the 
 light of the knowledge of the glory of God in 
 the face of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. ii. 8 ; 2 Cor. ii. 
 4, 6) adore Jesus in whom the fulness of the 
 Godhead dwelleth bodily, the Son, who is the 
 brightness of the Father's glory and the express 
 image of His being. And as Israel knew the 
 divine dignity of the messenger of God, the 
 children of God worship Jesus, God manifest in 
 the flesh. The wise men from the East wor- 
 shipped the Child, the new-born King of the 
 Jews, and brought to Him gold, frankincense, 
 and myrrh, for they knew that He was Lord 
 (Matt, ii.) The blind man whose eyes Jesus 
 opened believed in the Son of God, and wor- 
 shipped Him (John ix. 35-38). Thomas fell 
 down when he beheld the merciful and loving 
 Saviour, and exclaimed, ^^ My Lord and my God " 
 (John XX. 26-29). 
 
192 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 All the apostles worshipped Him when they 
 saw Him ascending into heaven (Luke xxiv. 52) ; 
 and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 
 and praised and blessed Grod, because Jesus, 
 their Saviour, was their almighty and adorable 
 Lord. All Christians in the primitive church 
 worshipped Jesus. Thus Ananias, speaking to 
 the Lord Jesus, describes believers as the saints 
 of Jesus, who call upon His name (Acts ix. 14). 
 The Church of God, which was at Corinth, and 
 all the churches, according to the testimony 
 of the Apostle Paul, called upon the name 
 of Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor. i. 2). 
 
 As all saints on earth worship Christ, so all 
 the saints in heaven and all angels. The four 
 living beings and four and twenty elders fell 
 down before the Lamb. John the evangelist 
 heard the voice of many angels round about the 
 throne, and the living beings and the elders, 
 and the number of them was ten thousand 
 times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 
 saying, with a loud voice — ^' Worthy is the 
 Lamb that was slain, to receive power and 
 riches, and wisdom and strength, and honour and 
 glory and blessing." 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 193 
 
 While we adore Jesus, in whom dwelleth the 
 fulness of the Godhead bodily, we are filled 
 with sweetest joy and confidence when we 
 remember His humanity. He is a merciful 
 and compassionate High Priest, touched with 
 the feeling of our infirmity. He remembers 
 His sufierings and temptations on earth. He, 
 who became like us in all things, sin excepted, 
 is even now not ashamed to call us " brethren," 
 and He still possesses all the sympathy and 
 tenderness which He manifested on earth, and 
 which His experiences here below, even to His 
 death on the cross, drew forth and perfected. 
 Thus we worship not merely with reverence and 
 awe, but with great joy and boldness, with 
 that feeling of perfect confidence which enables 
 us to '^ say all," ^^ to pour out our hearts be- 
 fore Him, and to confide all our sorrows and 
 fears to One who still saith to us, '' 1 call you 
 friends." As He is the only Son of God, so is 
 He the only Son of man, the only one who 
 knows all that is in man, and in whom every 
 one can find rest and light, help and guidance, 
 perfect sympathy, and all-sufficient love. 
 
 * Trapprja-ia. 
 
 N 
 
] 94 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 Calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus, 
 thus our Christian life commences ; so may it 
 terminate, as the first martyr beheld the Son 
 of man at the right hand of God, and invoked, 
 saying, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit ; " 
 and again, '' Lord, lay not this sin to their 
 charge." 
 
 And we adore also the Holy Ghost, who 
 proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who 
 eearcheth the deep things of God, and by 
 whom the Father and the Son dwell in our 
 hearts. 
 
 The glory of God is revealed to us in eternal 
 love ; in the Lamb that was slain and is now 
 enthroned, the counsel of God is made manifest. 
 We worship God, Creator, Redeemer, Sancti- 
 fier, the God of our salvation. The more we 
 behold of His adorable greatness, the nearer are 
 we brought to Him in faith and childlike con- 
 fidence ; the more He manifests to us the mar- 
 vels of His power and the sweetness of His 
 love, the more overwhelmed are we with the 
 sense of His infinite majesty, and the unsearch- 
 able depth of His wisdom and power. And 
 this is the blessedness of heaven, in which 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 195 
 
 alone the soul's thirst can be satisfied — adora- 
 tion and love. 
 
 In the union and interpenetration of these 
 two elements is eternal blessedness. An adora- 
 tion without love ; a sense of divine majesty, 
 power, and truth without trust, gratitude, joy, 
 affection, without the knowledge that God is 
 our God, is not true adoration, for it does not 
 reach the acknowledgment of God as He is, it 
 does not attain to the central light — God is 
 Love. A feeling of love and peace, without a 
 sense of the awful majesty and holiness of the 
 Most High, is not true spirit-born love ; for 
 only by the blood of Christ are we brought 
 nigh unto the Father. In Christ Jesus we 
 behold God, and worship. His love is the full 
 manifestation of His glory. The more we 
 trust, the more we are filled with awe ; the 
 nearer we approach, the higher do we behold 
 the Lord — God above all, blessed for ever. 
 
 We worship the true God, and we worship 
 God in spirit and truth. We have received 
 the Spirit of Christ as a Spirit of grace and 
 supplication. The Spirit himself helpeth our 
 infirmities in prayer. We pray in the Holy 
 
196 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 Ghost. And it is thus that through the 
 mediation of Christ we draw near unto the 
 Father. For not merely are we brought nigh 
 by the blood of Christ, and accepted in Him, and 
 not merely is the great High Priest ever inter- 
 ceding for us, and presenting to the Father our 
 praise and our petitions, but by the indwelling of 
 the Holy Ghost we possess the mind of Christ, 
 and pray in Christ's name, asking the blessings 
 which Christ the Lord has purchased for us, and 
 which His love desires us to obtain.* Thus are 
 all things of God; thus of our worship the source 
 and end, the way and strength, the light and joy, 
 are in the ever-blessed Persons of the Godhead. 
 
 * ** We are one with Christ, He lives in us ; by the Spirit we 
 are joined unto the Lord, and the Spirit teaches us to pray in His 
 name ; for what is the cry of the Spirit ? He utters the same 
 prayer as Jesus had taught — 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit of Christ 
 creates within us the filial Spirit. He conforms us unto Christ, 
 so that we seek God's glory, are jealous for His honour, long for 
 His kingdom, and desire not to do our own will, but His. He 
 works in us that calm, believing rest in God, who supplies our 
 daily wants, and delivers us from the feverish anxiety and 
 timorous thought of the future. He makes us forgiving, 
 patienty and gentle toward all men, and dreading and hating 
 nothing but temptation and evil. Or, in other words, He prays 
 and fulfils in us the Lord's Prayer J^ — My Lectures on "The 
 Lord's Prayer," p. 92. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 197 
 
 Secondly^ Do we remember the name of 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as the foundation 
 of our Christian knowledge and experience ? Do 
 we rest in the love of the Father, which is ours 
 by the grace of His only Son ? Do we call Jesus 
 Saviom* with the appropriating faith which the 
 Holy Ghost gives ? Do we live in the bright, 
 clear sunshine of the day which in Christ 
 has come unto us ? Do we see the fatherly 
 heart of God, which in Christ Jesus He has 
 revealed to us ? Do we trace and transfer to 
 the Father all the features of condescending 
 love, pity, and tenderness which we behold in 
 the countenance of the Lord Jesus ? Do we 
 remember that Jesus is the Father's counten- 
 ance, that in Jesus we behold the Father; that 
 the Father's infinite love is manifested and 
 given to us in His Son ? Do we rest in the 
 sweetness of His name Father ? Or do we not 
 sometimes need the assurance of Christ — ^^ The 
 Father himself loveth you ? " Is there not a 
 secret thought lurking within us as if the 
 Father was not as gracious and as near to us 
 as the Lord Jesus ? Or that the reason why 
 God loves us is because Christ died for us, 
 
198 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 instead of seeing in the death of the Saviour the 
 result as well as the manifestation of the 
 eternal Father-love. We do not honour the 
 Son, we do not truly understand and receive 
 His salvation, we do not truly avail ourselves 
 of His mediation, unless by Him we come to 
 the Father^ and rest in the infinite love which 
 through Christ is ours. And this love is all- 
 comprising. Because He is our God and Father, 
 who hath given us the Son, He will with Him 
 freely give us all things. 
 
 Again, do we glorify the Father in the Son ? 
 Do we constantly think of the Father as in 
 Christ ? Do we view and receive His gifts 
 and blessings. His creation and providence, as 
 in and through the Word, our Lord Jesus ? Do 
 we constantly hear the voice from the most 
 excellent glory — "Hear Him." Do we re- 
 ceive " all things," material, intellectual, 
 moral, spiritual, out of the once-pierced hands 
 of " the Son," to whom the Father hath 
 given them ? Do we see them purchased with 
 the blood of atonement? Is redemption the 
 basis of our life? Is Christ to us Alpha and 
 Omega, because the Father is in Him and 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 199 
 
 He is in the Father ? Do we know the name 
 Son? 
 
 Do we know the Holy Ghost? The Father 
 is God above us and for us, the Son is God 
 with us, the Holy Ghost is God in us. As 
 the Spirit of Christ, the glorified Son of man. 
 He descends into our hearts, and brings to us, 
 with quickening and renewing power, the love 
 of the Father and the grace of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Through Him Christ lives within 
 us, and is our Light, our Strength. Through 
 Him God works in us both to will and to 
 do of His good pleasure. Do we rely con- 
 tinually in humility and gladness on His help 
 and on His power ? Do we enter into the ful- 
 ness of covenant-blessing that God the Father 
 will dwell in us, and take up His abode in 
 our hearts ? Do we know that we are anointed, 
 and thus one with Him who is the Christ; or 
 do we not often attempt to know and trust the 
 Father and the Son without the light and strength 
 of the Spirit, by whom alone divine life is kindled 
 and sustained in the heart of man ? The Spirit 
 is Christ's gift and the Father's promise. God's 
 thoughts and works are fulfilled by Him. 
 
200 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 As our Christian life and growth are thus 
 connected with the knowledge of the name of 
 God, so the separation in our thoughts, heart, 
 and life of the ever-blessed and glorious Three 
 is the source of all error and weakness. To 
 speak exclusively of Christ, ignoring the election 
 of the Father and the work of the Holy Ghost, 
 is dangerous, and leads men to substitute an 
 imaginary Christ for the true Lord, and a self- 
 wrought faith for the faith which is the gift of 
 God. To dwell exclusively on the election of 
 the Father and the work of the Spirit (and 
 by exclusively I mean viewing Christ in a 
 secondary and subordinate manner to these) is 
 to conceal Christ as the open Door, the Saviour 
 of the lost, the Fountain free and Open to 
 '^ whosoever." To dwell on the Father's love 
 and the Saviour's grace, and not on the fellowship 
 of the Holy Ghost, is the source of that want of 
 assurance or fulness of faith which is always 
 seeking for testimony and confirmation in that 
 which is changeable, instead of recognising the 
 testimony of God's Spirit to our spirit that we 
 are the children of God. It is also the source 
 of a low standard of obedience and service. For- 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 201 
 
 getting that we have received the Spirit, that 
 we may walk in the Spirit, we rest satisfied with 
 our languid and unfruitful condition ; and in- 
 stead of living in newness of life, and doing 
 the works of Christ, we walk as men, and the 
 power of Christ's resurrection is not manifested 
 by us (1 Cor. iii. 3). 
 
 Very awful and very blessed is the mystery 
 of the Trinity. For now we can say. The Lord 
 is our God. He not merely gives us blessings, 
 and bestows upon us gifts, but He himself is 
 ours. Even in nature God is near us in a 
 most incomprehensible manner, for in Him 
 we live and move and have our being. He is 
 the life of our souls, and the animating power 
 of our spirits. But by grace, in the perfect 
 self-manifestation of the divine name. He is 
 ours in a sense far deeper and more wonder- 
 ful. He gives us righteousness ; yea, Christ 
 himself is our righteousness. He gives us life ; 
 yea, Christ himself is our life. He sheds abroad 
 His love in our hearts ; yea, the Holy Ghost 
 himself dwells within us. He strengthens us ; 
 yea. Himself is our strength. God — Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost — is our God; He is our 
 
202 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OP 
 
 light, our rigliteousness, our holiness, our 
 peace. He, as the Spirit, is our prayer ; by 
 Him we long after Him ; by Him we thirst 
 for Him, who is the ever-living Fountain. We 
 are ^'of God," for God dwelleth in us. All 
 that is within us is continually influenced, 
 guided, strengthened by Him ; not merely as the 
 God above us, but as God dwelling in our 
 hearts, working in us, both to will and to do. 
 The Father and the Son have their abode 
 within us, even by the coming of the Holy 
 Ghost, and thus we also dwell in God. How 
 awful is the Christian's life ! Hidden, indeed, 
 from the sight of the world, and often from 
 the weak perception of our own faith, so that 
 we need continually to be reminded, " Know 
 ye not that your life is hid with Christ in 
 God — that Christ and the Father are hid in 
 your hearts, even in the Spirit, who is given to 
 you — that you are the temple of the Holy 
 Ghost — that according to the blessing of the 
 new covenant, God is, dwells, walks in you, and 
 you in Him ? 
 
 Thirdly^ Let us consider our character in the 
 light of the name. We are children of the Father, 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 203 
 
 and therefore exhorted to be followers of Him. 
 Christ exhorts its to be generous, bountiful, 
 forgiving, to love the ungrateful, to give for 
 the sake and joy of giving, ta cherish kind 
 thoughts and benedictions towards our enemies, 
 that we may be the children of our Father 
 which is in heaven, for He maketh His sun to 
 rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain 
 on the just and on the unjust. And He adds 
 the great word, ^' Be ye therefore perfect, even 
 as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect."* 
 Be, not become. It is not a gradual process 
 of self-improvement ; it is not a slow ascent 
 of our own exertion, to which the Lord here 
 exhorts us. By virtue of our adoption and en- 
 grafting into Christ, we are to behold continu- 
 ally the Father, and at all times to walk in the 
 Spirit and not according to the flesh. Nature 
 calls that good which is imperfect; but grace 
 calls none good but God, and cannot rest 
 satisfied except in the divine image. The very 
 thought of the Father should fill the heart with 
 sweetness and love, and should make us fatherly 
 and godlike. 
 
 * Matt. V. 43-48 ; Eph. v. 1. 
 
204 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 We are called to be sons. " Behold what 
 manner of love [the Father hath bestowed on 
 us, that we should be called the sons of God." 
 We are one with Christ; therefore we are to 
 be Christ-like. And this is to be Christ-like, 
 to possess and manifest the filial Spirit. He 
 sought the Father's glory in the salvation of 
 man. His life was a mission. He obeyed unto 
 death. To Him service was liberty and joy. 
 He was Neighbour to all who needed His help 
 and consolation. He went about doing good. 
 He published the glad tidings, the acceptable 
 year of the Lord. He had only one aim, and was 
 always about His Father's business. Harm- 
 less and undefiled, holy and perfect. He was the 
 Friend of sinners, and the Consoler of the peni- 
 tent. He saith to His disciples (on ten different 
 occasions) "Follow Me." And His path is so 
 clear and shining, that we cannot mistake it. He 
 went down from glory to humiliation, from hea- 
 ven to earth, from power and riches to weakness 
 and poverty, from the throne to service ; thus 
 lower and lower He descended until He reached 
 the lowest depth — the death of the cross. The 
 Father exalted Him. Thus are we to follow, 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 205 
 
 and to go outside the camp, bearing the reproach 
 of Christ. Thus are we to serve and wash the 
 disciples' feet, and in our afflictions and trials 
 learn the fellowship of His sufferings. And 
 like Christ, we are to see by faith the joy that 
 is set before us, the glory which follows. Let us 
 remember that we know the name of the Son 
 of God, and that we are called to be like 
 Him, to be sons of God, who honour, love, 
 and obey the Father, and who are strangers 
 and pilgrims on earth, waiting for the heavenly 
 inheritance. 
 
 We are called to be Christians, that is, men 
 anointed with the Holy Ghost. We are separated 
 from the world by the Spirit as well as the 
 blood of Christ. Often we forget that we are the 
 " children of the Spirit " (Luke ix. 55). We 
 are gloomy and desponding, and forget that we 
 have received a free and royal Spirit. We speak 
 our own words, and are anxious, trusting in 
 our own wisdom and prudence, and forget that 
 we have received the Spirit to speak in and by 
 us. We do the works of the flesh, and forget 
 that the fruit of the Spirit is the manifestation of 
 Christ's life and power. We have received the 
 
206 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 Spirit of power and of love and of a sound 
 mind. It is written, ^^ The Spirit and the 
 bride," because the Church is to be like the 
 Spirit, even as she is conformed unto Christ. 
 The presence of the Holy Ghost ought to be 
 felt in our presence, even as the assembly of 
 apostles, elders, and brethren realised so fully 
 His influence and power, and were so filled 
 with His light that they were able to write : 
 '' It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us" 
 (Acts XV. 28). We are called spiritual* because 
 the Holy Ghost dwelleth in us. 
 
 Thus are we not merely to trust in the name 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but to sanctify 
 and to represent that name in our characters 
 and lives. 
 
 And when at the end of our earthly pilgrimage 
 we look back on our innumerable and grievous 
 sins, the imperfections and stains of our highest 
 moments and best words and deeds, the frag- 
 mentariness of our services, the incalculable sum 
 of our omissions, the irreparable neglect of op- 
 portunities of sowing and labouring in the field 
 of God — when in the light of the name of God 
 
 * 1 Cor. passim. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 207 
 
 we behold our sins, our failures, our unwortliiness 
 — when we feel abased by the contrast between 
 our calling and privilege, as Sons of the Most 
 High, Bride of Christ, Temple of the Holy Ghost, 
 and our actual life and walk on earth, then may 
 we again become little children, and bringing 
 nothing with us but utter weakness and depend- 
 ence and sinfulness, out of which nothing 
 can come that is good and well-pleasing in 
 God's sight, may we hear the blessed name of 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and be anew 
 baptized into the name of the covenant God, 
 and with deepest humility and most assured 
 confidence say, '^Salvation is of the Lord." 
 
 Note. — The doctrine of the Trinity and the 
 modern Synagogue. 
 
 The doctrine of the Trinity is the great 
 stumbling-block to modern Jews. It is the 
 boast of the Synagogue of recent times that the 
 great mission of Israel is to testify of the unity 
 of God among the nations of the world, and 
 they represent this as the treasure committed 
 
208 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 to their guardianship, to teach the one supreme 
 God. The claim has no solid foundation, and 
 rests upon important misconceptions. 
 
 The apostles of the Saviour, brought up in 
 the Scriptures, true Israelites, proclaimed the 
 name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost among 
 Jews and heathen, without fear of coming into 
 collision with the monotheism of their own 
 brethren, or of being mistaken by polytheis- 
 tic pagans ; so deeply rooted was their doc- 
 trine in the teaching of Moses and the pro- 
 phets, so thoroughly in harmony with the 
 divine manifestations given unto the fathers, 
 and with the true spirit of worship in God's 
 ancient people ; so thoroughly distinct from, 
 and opposed to, every species of polytheism, 
 so strong in its assertion of the unity of the 
 Godhead. 
 
 And the Gentile nations, who since the dis- 
 persion of Israel to this day have given up 
 idolatry, and learned to adore the only true 
 God who spake to the fathers by the prophets, 
 have derived their knowledge, not from the 
 synagogue, but from the Church; and the 
 name of Jesus, the attractive power of His 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 209 
 
 dying love, has been the influence wliicli has 
 brought light and love to the hearts of them 
 who sat in darkness and in the shadow of 
 death. Thus Israel ought to learn from his- 
 tory, that the central power which, according 
 to prophecy, is to attract and renovate the 
 heathen world, is not in the Synagogue, which 
 rejected Jesus, but in that very Jesus, the 
 rejected Nazarene, who is Lord, the Light to 
 lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His 
 people Israel. 
 
 But not only is it the triune name of God 
 by which the unity of God has been proclaimed 
 among all the nations of the earth, but Israel 
 has, by the rejection of Messiah, lost the 
 knowledge of Jehovah, for in the latter days 
 they shall seek the Lord and their King (Hosea 
 iii. 4, 5). The Synagogue lays emphasis upon 
 the unity of God (or rather, to use a word 
 of Coleridge, unicity, for the Church is con- 
 stantly testifying of the one Godhead). How 
 different from their abstract idea of One is the 
 God of Scripture, the God of the fathers, of 
 Moses and the prophets. He is the covenant- 
 God, living with and among His people ; He 
 
 
 
210 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 reveals Himself as the Redeemer ; He influences 
 tlie heart by His Holy Spirit; He promises and 
 prepares fuller self-manifestation, the new cove- 
 nant of forgiveness of sin, and the indwelling 
 of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 The Lord God and Israel had a history, pro- 
 gressive and living ; and the true people of 
 God waited for the coming of the Lord and of 
 His Spirit. Since the rejection of Jesus, Israel 
 has been in the wilderness, without prophecy, 
 without high priest, without temple. Tradition 
 and scepticism have reigned among them. The 
 phrase, Israel's mission is to proclaim the unity 
 of God, is shallow. In rejecting the Lord Jesus, 
 and hardening themselves against the Messianic 
 predictions quoted by the Church, the Jews 
 rejected also the opinions and testimonies of 
 their fathers. Such an expression of Raschi 
 as the following is by no means isolated — "Our 
 Rabbis have expounded it of the King Mes- 
 siah " (Ps. xxi.), "but it is better to expound 
 it further of David himself, in order to answer 
 heretics,'''' Thus Ps. ii., xlv. ; Isa. ix. ; Zech. 
 xii., and other passages in which the divine 
 dignity of the Messiah is declared, were rightly 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 211 
 
 interpreted by tlie ancient Synagogue.* Alas ! 
 modern Jews as a rule do not understand the 
 force of the Saviour's question — " How does 
 David call Him Lord ? " 
 
 The testimony of Jewish writings to the 
 doctrine of the Trinity is not inconsiderable. 
 In the Targumim, we find that Israel under- 
 stood the teaching of Scripture concerning 
 wisdom and the Word. For instance, Gen. i. 
 1 is translated Bechukmetha — " by wisdom God 
 created heaven and earth," identifying wisdom 
 with the beginning. Again, Exod. iii. 8 — "God 
 redeemed Israel by the Word" (memra). Again, 
 Num. xxiii. 21 — " The word of Jehovah is their 
 help, and the Shechina of their King is among 
 them," and another Targum renders it " the 
 shout of their King Messiah." 
 
 That Israel retained the knowledge of a 
 plurality of divine Persons — of the Mediator, 
 the Word or Wisdom, the Metatron, by whom 
 and for whom all things were made, that 
 they connected this Word with the Messiah 
 
 * Compare the late Dr M'Caul's most interesting and in- 
 structive tract, " The Doctrine of Isaiah liii," Also his work, 
 "Rabbi David Kimchi, Commentary on the Prophecies of 
 Zechariah." 
 
212 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 and with redemption, appears from many 
 passages of the Sohar and other Jewish writ- 
 ings. It is taught that the Metatron is the 
 image which was erected by Grod ; that this 
 Word or Wisdom is the Mediator between God 
 and man ; that He is called the Angel of the 
 Lord, who went before Israel — the Gate by 
 which the righteous enter. Of Him it is said, 
 ^^ And Jehovah went before them" (Exod. xiii. 
 21). He is spoken of as the oldest in the 
 house of God, the beginning of the creation, 
 who rules above all, who restores peace in the 
 heavens (Job xxv. 2), who comprises in Him- 
 self all gradations of creation, and is the bond 
 of all. He is represented as the exact manifes- 
 tation of the hidden God. As God is, so is the 
 Shechina, or the glory of God. 
 
 The following is a specimen of Jewish 
 speculation on the divine name : ^ — " Hear, 
 Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. 
 The Holy One, blessed be He, is called 
 One ; but the expression of His name is in 
 three letters. How do I know that He is 
 one, and that all His names and praises are in 
 
 *Zunz, "Gottesdienstliche Vortrage," 168, quoted byDelitzsch. 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 213 
 
 threefold form ? Because His name is three- 
 fold — Jehovah, our God, one Jehovah ; behold. 
 His name is threefold. Jehovah, Jehovah, God 
 full of mercy (Exod. xxxiv. 6) ; behold. His 
 name is threefold. Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah 
 of hosts (Isa. vi. 3) ; behold. His praise is 
 threefold. Great is Jehovah, and worthy to 
 be praised, and His greatness unsearchable ; 
 behold. His praise is threefold. Then sang Moses 
 this song : I will sing ; behold His praise is three- 
 fold. And thus the Song of Songs consists of 
 song, and of two songs, a threefold song." 
 
 On the divinity of the Messiah, the Sohar says 
 — " Thou art the Son, faithful Shepherd ; of 
 Thee it is said, ^ Kiss the Son.' Thou art the 
 Lord of Israel, the mighty One on earth, 
 Lord of ministering angels. Son of God and 
 of the Shechina, which is Mercy." In an- 
 other place we read — ^' The question was 
 asked. What is the Messiah's name ? Eabbi 
 Aba bar Cabana said. The Lord ; for the Scrip- 
 ture saith, ^ And this is the name by which He 
 shall be called. The Lord our Righteousness' " 
 (Jer. xxiii. 6). Another Rabbi said on this 
 passage, " And who is it that will speak to 
 
214 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 Jerusalem to comfort her ? Is it not the Lord 
 our Righteousness, is it not the King Messiah ? " 
 The following old midrasch on the suffering 
 Messiah is translated literally by Delitzsch, 
 and is most interesting, as showing the circle of 
 thought in which Jewish minds moved — " In 
 Thy light we see the light, saith the Psalmist. 
 It means the light of the Messiah. When 
 Scripture says, God saw the light that it was 
 good, it teaches thereby that the Holy One, 
 blessed be He, even before the creation of the 
 world, thought of the Messiah and His works, 
 and that He hid under His throne of glory 
 the primeval light for the Messiah and His 
 age. Then said Satan before the Holy One, 
 blessed be He, For whom is the hidden light 
 Tinder Thy glory throne ? He answered. For 
 Him who shall one day conquer thee, and con- 
 found thee with shame. Then Satan asked to see 
 the light ; and when he saw it, he trembled, and 
 fell on his face. Yes, verily (he exclaimed), 
 this is the Messiah, who shall hurl me and all 
 who are heathenish into hell. For it is written, 
 He shall destroy death for ever, and God the 
 Lord shall wipe all tears from their faces 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 215 
 
 (Isa. XXV. 8). . . . The Holy One began to 
 make a compact with the Messiah after He had 
 created Him, Those who are to be preserved 
 with Thee shall bind Thee in iron bands by their 
 sin-gnilt : they will cause Thee to suffer like a 
 calf, whose eyes become dim, and put Thee to 
 death by their unrighteousness. And on account 
 of their iniquity Thy tongue shall cleave to the 
 roof of Thy mouth. Art Thou willing to under- 
 take it? The Messiah asked, How long is 
 this suffering to last ? The Holy One replied, 
 One week (Dan. ix. 26) I have assigned to 
 Thee ; after Thy soul has endured the utmost 
 agony, I shall deliver Thee from all woe. 
 Then exclaimed the Messiah, Lord of the world. 
 With rejoicing of heart and thanksgiving I 
 undertake the suffering on condition that none 
 of Israel shall be lost, not only of the living, 
 but those who in my day shall have died, and 
 those who shall afterwards be created by Thee." 
 These passages,* and many more might be 
 added, show that amidst much darkness, imper- 
 fection, and confusion, the Jews, both before 
 
 * Delitzsch, in "Sant auf Hoffnung," ix. p. 84. Ausziige aus 
 dem Buch Sohar. Berlin, 1857. Philosophie der Hebraer v. 
 Otinger. 
 
216 THE NAME OF GOD : THE GLORY OF 
 
 and since the Christian era, possessed some 
 knowledge of the mystery of the Father, and 
 Son, and Spirit, of the Word of God, the 
 Mediator, the Messiah, and of the nature of 
 His work. 
 
 May the Church of Christ, with ardent and 
 longing love and with continual prayer, re- 
 member the Jews, still beloved for the Father's 
 sake, and still reserved for great mercy and 
 spiritual and national restoration. Christians 
 owe them not merely a debt of gratitude, 
 but a debt of restitution for evils inflicted. 
 I refer not to the cruel persecutions which 
 the Jews have had to endure, but to the mis- 
 representation of Christian doctrine, which 
 alienated them from the gospel and prejudiced 
 them against it. The Church of Kome, with her 
 Mariolatry and image-worship, could only 
 fortify the Jews in their opposition (though in 
 the marvellous mercy of God the truth, even 
 in spite of so many grievous errors, has in that 
 communion also been blessed to Israelites in all 
 ages); the scepticism and rationalism and 
 deadness of Protestants has exerted a most 
 pernicious influence on them, so that many 
 
THE OLD AND OF THE NEW COVENANT. 217 
 
 have given up faith in revelation and in all 
 objective truth. While we are bound to make 
 every possible effort to declare unto Israel the 
 name of their God, Father, Son, and Holy- 
 Ghost, let us constantly look up unto Him who 
 has promised to have mercy and pour out upon 
 His chosen people the Spirit of grace and suppli- 
 cation. For the veil which conceals from them 
 the glory of Jehovah in the face of Christ is 
 upon their heart; and who can touch the heart, 
 but God only ? The time is drawing nigh when 
 God shall arise and have mercy upon Jerusalem, 
 and all Israel shall turn to Jehovah and be 
 saved. But even at this present time there is 
 a remnant according to the election of grace. 
 
VI. 
 THE NEW OBEDIENCE, 
 
SERMON VI. 
 
 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 ** Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
 commanded you." — Matt, xxviii. 20. 
 
 We must first know the name of God, before 
 we can love God and keep His commandments. 
 We must first enter into tlie blessedness of 
 the new covenant, before we can bring forth 
 fruit and glorify the Father. Jesus reveals to 
 us first the name of God, the Son's free and all- 
 sufficient grace, the eternal and unchangeable 
 love of the Father, and the sovereign and omni- 
 potent, renewing and sanctifying influence of 
 the Holy Ghost; and then, after through the 
 knowledge of God, there have been given unto 
 us all things which pertain unto life and God- 
 liness, He teaches us to observe all things 
 whatsoever He hath commanded us.* 
 
 * "Da, quod jubes, et jube quodvis, Deus meus. "—Augus- 
 tine. 
 
222 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 Jesus reminds His disciples in these words 
 of what He had so emphatically taught them 
 before — " One is your Master, even Christ " 
 (Matt, xxiii. 8). 
 
 The Jews felt it their pride and glory to be 
 the disciples of Moses. Can we wonder at it ? 
 Like a sublime mountain height, Moses towers 
 above all the servants and saints of God who 
 preceded the advent of our blessed Saviour. 
 Whether we regard his marvellous history from 
 the little ark of bulrushes to his mysterious 
 death on Mount Nebo, or his unique position in 
 the kingdom of God as mediator of the old 
 covenant, or his wondrously Christ-like char- 
 acter, we feel constrained to exclaim, " There 
 arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto 
 Moses, with whom God spake face to face, 
 until He appeared, who is over all, God blessed 
 for ever, the Messiah of whom Moses testified, 
 the only Son of the Father, and only Master of 
 the new covenant- Church." 
 
 Moses was the mediator of the old dispensa- 
 tion. Dedicated to God by believing parents, 
 in whom the faith of Abraham was burning 
 with the fervour of heroic courage and hope. 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 223 
 
 guarded by the unseen hand of loving Omnipo- 
 tence on the cruel cradle of the Nile, sheltered 
 and trained by Pharaoh's daughter, and in- 
 structed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians — by 
 a free choice of faith, which had grown with his 
 growth, Moses, the only free man of his nation, 
 espoused the cause of his brethren, because they 
 were God's people, and esteemed the reproach 
 of Christ greater riches than the treasures of 
 the world. And after the earthborn elements 
 of his fiery zeal, in the premature manifestation 
 of the royal spirit with which God had endowed 
 him, had been subdued by the stillness and 
 discipline of his shepherd life in the wilderness 
 of Midian, he was called by the God of his 
 fathers, who revealed Himself as Jehovah, to 
 deliver His people out of the house of bondage. 
 By faith he obeyed. And during forty years he 
 was faithful as a servant over all God's house. 
 God spake to him face to face ; through him He 
 gave the law to Israel, and the commandments 
 and statutes which they were to keep ; into his 
 hands He intrusted the guidance and govern- 
 ment of the people. With him as a mediator, 
 God spake and dealt, and by his intercession the 
 
224 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 wratli of God was turned from His disobedient 
 and rebellious children. Moses united the pro- 
 phetic, priestly, and royal dignity; the name, 
 the favour, and the will of God, were declared 
 by him to the people of Israel. 
 
 How much in this history and position of 
 Moses reminds us of our Lord. He also as an 
 infant was the object of the cruel hatred and 
 persecution of a heathen prince. He also was 
 protected miraculously, and sheltered in the land 
 of Egypt. "Voluntarily Christ, who was rich, 
 made Himself poor, and without hesitation or 
 struggle rejected the temptation which offered 
 Him all the kingdoms of this world, and in 
 obedience and reverence He chose the path of 
 suffering and reproach. " A prophet like unto 
 me shall the Lord raise up unto you from among 
 your brethren." Such was the description of the 
 Messiah Moses could give. And in that God 
 spake unto Moses as a man speaks with his friend; 
 in that Moses possessed the spirit of self-sacri- 
 fice and love, which regards only God's glory 
 and the salvation of his brethren ; in that Moses 
 was meek above all men, and lowly in heart; 
 in that Moses was both prophet and priestly 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 225 
 
 king, wliom God appointed to be obeyed impli- 
 citly, lie is an eminent type of the Saviour. 
 
 But even more striking than the points of re- 
 semblance are the points of contrast. The one is 
 called Moses, or saved from the water ; the other 
 Jesus, or the Saviour, who, needing no redemp- 
 tion Himself, is the Author of salvation to all 
 who believe in Him. The one runs before he is 
 sent, and his zeal is partly carnal ; the other, 
 born of the Spirit, is filled with the love of God, 
 and no admixture of earthborn self-love for a 
 moment disturbs the purity of His aim and the 
 humility of His heart. The one prays to die 
 instead of his people ; the other is both able 
 and willing actually to lay down His life, and 
 shed His blood for the lost, whose nature He 
 has taken upon Himself. Moses dies in the 
 wilderness ; he cannot lead the Israelites into the 
 promised land, because his heart failed to rise to 
 the height of God's pardoning love, to comprehend 
 the depth and breadth of the divine thought of 
 forgiveness. He did not sanctify the name of God 
 before the people, when, instead of announcing 
 simply the loving-kindness of Jehovah who freely 
 and tenderly forgives, and delighteth in mercy, he 
 
226 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 was angry, and rebuked the transgressors. Jesus 
 declared the name of God fully : when He died 
 on the cross, He revealed the hatred of God 
 against sin, but Himself absorbed and exhausted 
 the fearful cloud in His own person. Towards the 
 people who crucified Him, towards the penitent 
 thief who appealed to His help, towards the 
 world of sinners. He declared nothing but love 
 and perfect redemption. Therefore is He the 
 true Joshua, who leads us out of Egypt's bondage 
 into the land of perfect peace and blessedness. 
 
 But the chief contrast between Moses and 
 Christ is this — that the law was given by 
 Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.* 
 
 * The law was a shadow of future things. The very name 
 Jehovah refers to the future manifestation of God. The signi- 
 ficance of the law was not so much for the time of the law as 
 for the time of the gospel, to which it is not merely a contrast, 
 but of which it was also a shadow, an outline in bold and marked 
 characters, although also a veil, concealing its brightness. As 
 Ziegler says, " Moses, the first mediator, the beginner of 
 law, predicted Christ the second Mediator, the Author of faith 
 and End of the law. Moses, who spoke to God face to face, and 
 beheld Him in His appearance, testified of Him who stood infi- 
 nitely nearer to God, to whom he was related as the house to its 
 builder, as the servant to the son of the house ; he could 
 exclaim with joy, ^^DD V^^^, a prophet like unto me. As 
 Adam is the type of Christ in the universal region of humanity; 
 BO la the special field of revelation Moses and Christ are both 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 227 
 
 Moses was a servant ; Jesus is the Son. 
 Moses speaks in the name of God ; Jesus says, 
 ^'Verily, verily, I say unto you." Moses brings 
 the law written on tables of stone ; Jesus, by 
 the Holy Ghost, writes the law of God on 
 renewed hearts. Moses has the ministry of 
 condemnation ; Jesus gives remission of sins 
 and eternal life. The law declares the sinner 
 must die ; Jesus declares that He has died, 
 the just for the unjust. There is no grace for 
 them that are under the law; there is no con- 
 demnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Jesus has left the world, but He has not left 
 His disciples in darkness. When Moses, the 
 mediator of the old covenant, left Israel, and 
 ascended Mount Sinai, the people forgat God, 
 and fell into idolatry and sin. When Jesus 
 left His disciples and ascended up to heaven, 
 they returned to Jerusalem with joy; and in 
 prayer and supplication they glorified God with 
 one accord. And when Moses returned, the 
 children of Israel could not steadfastly behold 
 
 contrasts and parallels, heads in which all humanity, as far as 
 it is reached by revelation, is comprised." — "Gottl. Oflfenbarung, 
 151. 
 
228 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 his face for the glory of his countenance. And 
 yet what was that glory compared with the glory 
 of the Only-begotten? But Moses could not 
 communicate life and light and love to the 
 people. Between him and them was only the 
 law, engraven in stones ; and the law could not 
 give life, — the letter killeth : it was the ministra- 
 tion of death and condemnation. But between 
 Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and 
 His disciples, is the fiery stream of God's 
 Spirit ; the Holy Ghost, whom Jesus sends 
 from the Father, is the bond of union; and 
 looking up to heaven, we can now truly say, 
 " With Thee is the fountain of life, and in Thy 
 light we see light." 
 
 The law is holy, just, and good. It is based 
 upon the revelation of God. The knowledge of 
 His character and of His redemption forms the 
 basis and is the source of the commandments. 
 " I am holy, be ye holy. I am the Lord thy 
 God, which has redeemed thee, and brought 
 thee out of the land of Egypt." The law which 
 God gave to Israel is no abstract system of 
 ethic, it is the manifestation of the character 
 and will of that living and loving God who 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 229 
 
 had adopted Israel as His people. His* autho- 
 rity is the foundation on which it rests. The 
 law is summed up in what is exactly opposed 
 to law, and can never be obtained and called 
 forth by law : in love, love to God, undivided, 
 with all thy heart, deep and all-penetrating, 
 with all thy soul, continuous, active, and co-ex- 
 tensive with all the energies and relationships 
 of life, with all thy strength. And this love 
 to God in thought, word, and action is inse- 
 parably connected with love to man, for God's 
 sake and in God. Israel was to be kind and 
 considerate to the stranger, to the blind, to the 
 helpless, because " I am the Lord thy God." 
 On these two commandments, essentially and 
 inseparably connected, hang all the law and the 
 prophets. 
 
 Love to God and to man is the sum and 
 substance of the law. This is the centre. But 
 
 * On the commencement of the Decalogue Ziegler says, "We 
 see God begins His law not rationaliter , not with universal, 
 cosmopolitan, or abstract a priori words, but in a very limited, 
 special, historical, and at the same time religious, dogmatic 
 manner. The whole morality of the law is based on dogma 
 and history ; she is the daughter of both ; that the one-sided, 
 abstract, rational moralists, who are opposed to positive religion, 
 may learn at last to be ashamed of their shallowness." 
 
230 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 the circumference of the law embraced the 
 whole social and political life of the Jewish 
 nation. Separated from all idolatrous nations, 
 dedicated unto Jehovah, they were to be a 
 priestly people, serving God as their King. 
 Israel was a kingdom in which God was King, 
 and in which, therefore, all laws were divine 
 commandments. The whole civil and ceremo- 
 nial law was therefore essentially moral. In 
 all the details of life, in their food, in their 
 garments, in their method of cultivating the 
 land, in all their occupations and relations of 
 life, they were to sanctify the Lord their God ; 
 they were to remember and show forth that 
 they were separate from the nations, dedicated 
 unto Jehovah ; whether they ate or drank, or 
 whatsoever they did, all was under the law of 
 God, and unto His glory. 
 
 So perfect, comprehensive, and homogeneous 
 was the law which God gave to His people. 
 And as it was exceeding broad, it was also 
 exceeding deep. Outward signs were only 
 representatives of inward realities ; outward 
 observances only symbols, mementoes and 
 seals of inward acts. Israel knew that God 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 231 
 
 desired truth in the inward part, that the true 
 burnt-offering, the truly accejDtable sacrifice, was 
 a broken and a contrite heart, the surrender of 
 the will to God in loving obedience ; they knew 
 that the real worship of God was in spirit and 
 in truth, and that from the utmost corner of 
 the land the voice of prayer would reach His 
 ear; they knew that there was a circumcision 
 made without hands, even the renewal of the 
 heart by the Lord himself. The law, which 
 was so comprehensive and multiform, was also 
 most concentrated in its depth, most sublime 
 in its height. It reached down into the inmost 
 source of human life, the heart ; it reached to 
 the very throne of God, and demanded right- 
 eousness in the sight of the Holy One. 
 
 The unity of the law, proceeding from one 
 Author, pursuing one object, animated by one 
 spirit, renders a perfect obedience necessary. 
 " Cursed is he who remaineth not in all the 
 commandments of the law to do them. If a 
 man shall keep the whole law, and yet offend 
 in one point, he is guilty of all." If this appear 
 harsh and severe, a few moments' reflection will 
 show that it is inevitable and necessary. For the 
 
232 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 law is built upon the authority of the holy and 
 perfect Lawgiver. We obej, not because the 
 command approves itself to our reason, our con- 
 science, our moral sense, but because we recog- 
 nise the voice of Him who is Lord and God, 
 whose right it is to command. Hence, what- 
 ever command we transgress, we disregard the 
 authority of Him whose honour is the aim of 
 the whole law. We have broken, not one law, 
 but the law ; we have transgressed, not merely 
 the law, but we have offended the majesty of 
 the Lawgiver.* Again, infinite wisdom, ever 
 mindful of the chief and central end of the law, 
 and always regarding the good of the whole, has 
 so framed the law that it forms an organic unity ; 
 
 * The whole point and glory of the law is our relation to the 
 Lawgiver. " This is to fulfil the law : to fall on our knees before 
 the Lawgiver, and say, Thou alone art He whose right it is to 
 command ; for me it is to obey. This is the sublime grandeur 
 of the true moral relationship between God and man : that man 
 in his poverty and littleness — and were he the highest he is still 
 little, and were he the richest in gifts he is still poor — can look 
 up to the eternal God, and bring his life and action into harmony 
 with His holy right, and be in concord with the eternal Majesty, 
 which is the only supreme rule as long as creation lasts. But 
 this true sublimity of heart-morality can be felt only by him 
 who recognises a living, personal God as the Source of law." — 
 
 KOTHE. 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 233 
 
 and as the sufferings and disease of one mem- 
 ber disturb and affect the health and well-being 
 of the whole body, it is not possible to break 
 one of the commandments without transgress- 
 ing the whole law.* And thirdly, he who 
 transgresses one law has thereby rendered 
 himself unable to observe the rest. For to have 
 favourite commandments is only a different 
 form of expression for having favourite sins. 
 So inexorable, by the very nature of the case, 
 is the demand of the law for an entire and 
 perfect obedience. 
 
 Such are the most obvious features of the 
 law which God gave unto His people by Moses. 
 And what was the purpose of the law ? The 
 law was perfect, holy, and good, but men are 
 fallen, sinful, and impure ; they are carnal, and 
 sold under sin. The heart, which is to love 
 God, is cold and hard, estranged from God and 
 desperately wicked ; the soul, which is to cleave 
 to God, cleaveth unto the dust, and is in dark- 
 
 * Comp. James ii. 10, 11 — " For whosoever shall keep the 
 whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all," &c., 
 with evident reference to the Lord's saying, Matt, v., " Whoso- 
 ever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments/* 
 
234 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 ness and death ; tlie will, which is to choose and 
 serve God, is captivated and fettered by sin. 
 The law demands righteousness ; but through 
 the law there is no righteousness possible to 
 fallen man. The whole object of the law 
 was to convince man of sin, to show him his 
 wretched and guilty condition, to pronounce 
 judgment and condemnation against him — in 
 short, to leave him hopeless, speechless, help- 
 less in the sight of God. The object of the 
 law is to kill and to wound. And in propor- 
 tion as men attempted to keep the law, this 
 object was attained. 
 
 The Pharisees, who first overlooked the 
 spiritual meaning and depth of the law, who 
 regarded merely the surface of the command- 
 ment and rested satisfied with an outward ob- 
 servance of regulations, never looked into the 
 bright mirror and never beheld their own 
 image. Hence they were at peace and con- 
 tented ; they imagined themselves righteous — 
 nay, they had even the infatuation that they could 
 do more than God commanded, and acquire a 
 measure of merit. They were sound and whole- 
 hearted, and needed no physician. They thanked 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 235 
 
 God that they were not like other men, and 
 approached Him without crying out of the 
 depths. And it would be to out- Pharisee the 
 Pharisees were we not to add that such is the 
 contented state of most people among ourselves 
 and in our day. They are so little at home in 
 the secret chambers of their hearts, they so 
 little reflect on the true character of their lives 
 and the inner motives of their conduct, they so 
 little reflect on their relation to God, they so 
 little measure themselves by the standard of 
 God's law, that, though they admit their faults 
 and imperfections, they do not feel that they are 
 guilty and sinful and polluted in the sight of 
 God, that they are vile and wretched like 
 lepers, and that there is not merely uncertainty 
 as to their future state, but that there is most 
 certainly, even now, the wrath of God resting 
 upon them. No wonder that the piercing cry 
 is not uttered by them, " What shall I do to 
 be saved ? " The law has not killed them yet. 
 
 As the law brings condemnation, so there is 
 nothing in the law to renovate the soul, to 
 strengthen and vivify it, to enable it to rouse 
 itself to obedience. That young man who fancied 
 
236 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 he had kept all the commandments of God from 
 his youth, and who wished to do some great and 
 extraordinary thing to insure God's reward, 
 went away sorrowful. And why ? Because he 
 loved riches. His strength failed him. With 
 eager impatience he demanded a high aim, a 
 difficult task, a great exertion, worthy of his 
 amhition and exalted sanctity. And when 
 Christ tested him, and asked him to give up 
 all for God, he went away in sadness, because 
 while conscience understood the demand, the 
 heart would not yield. The law left him i)Ower- 
 less to serve God. 
 
 And this was the twofold experience of Saul 
 of Tarsus, who in most emphatic and heart- 
 touching language explains to us the true nature 
 of the law in many of his epistles. He found 
 that the law was not the death of sin, but the 
 strength of sin. He did not know what sin 
 was until the law came and said, *^ Thou shalt 
 not covet." The commandment which was 
 ordained to life he found to be unto death. He 
 expected to obtain righteousness by the works 
 of the law. He found that the law pronounced 
 judgment. And as the law revealed sin and 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 237 
 
 death, it revealed nothing else. It could not go 
 
 beyond. Moses did not enter Canaan; so the 
 
 Law left him in the wilderness. It could neither 
 
 remove the curse nor give life. It announces 
 
 condemnation, but utters no message of pardon ; 
 
 it reveals death, but possesses no quickening 
 power. 
 
 And yet how important and great is the 
 mission of the law ! When we are reminded 
 of what the law cannot do, we are apt to ask. 
 Wherefore then serveth the law ? It is indeed 
 the forerunner of Christ ; the schoolmaster 
 who prepares us for Him who, as the Son, 
 maketh us free. But it is this chiefly by 
 leading us to a knowledge of sin, by con- 
 vincing us both of our unrighteousness and our 
 pollution, by showing us that with man, out of 
 his own resources of strength, it is impossible 
 to be saved. The preaching of the law is very 
 different from the preaching of morality ; and 
 the preaching of the law remains without effect 
 until the Holy Ghost applies it to the con- 
 science. Without the Holy Ghost the law 
 does not kill, even as without the Spirit the 
 gospel does not quicken. The Pharisees pos- 
 
238 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 sessed the law, and yet when Christ came, who 
 is the End of the law, He did not find them 
 poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering and 
 thirsting after righteousness ; they did not 
 take the last place, the position of a sinner sup- 
 plicating mercy. And as they knew and felt not 
 the curse of the old covenant, the gentle voice 
 of the Shepherd, who declared the blessedness 
 of the poor and needy, attracted not their 
 hearts. Saul of Tarsus knew not the power of 
 the law until Jesus appeared unto him. He had 
 been alive, in peace and strength, walking in the 
 commandments and statutes of the law blame- 
 less ; and not until, through the appearing of the 
 Lord Jesus, there had been revealed to him the 
 true character of his past life, and the true con- 
 dition of his soul, did he know that he was car- 
 nal, sold under sin, condemned and helpless, that 
 he was without righteousness and life in the 
 sight of God. 
 
 All approaches of God are blessed. It is 
 better to be killed by the law, than to be alive 
 without the knowledge of sin and fear of God. 
 It is better to be wounded by the darts of 
 divine justice and holiness, than to roam in 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 239 
 
 the low valley of earthliness with an unbroken 
 heart and a blind conscience. It is better 
 to see ourselves dwelling in a strange land, 
 very far off from the Home of love and light, 
 and separated by mountains which seem im- 
 passable, than to dwell at ease in Babylon, and 
 forgetful of heaven, feel satisfied with earth. 
 Second to the blessedness of consolation and 
 joy in Christ is the blessedness of godly 
 sorrow, contrition, and fear. And why ? 
 Because it is God who kills and wounds. 
 True, the soul is in the depths, but out of the 
 depths the soul cries unto God. The very 
 depths are deep because the height from which 
 we are fallen, and for which God has created 
 us, is so great — because the Love against 
 which we have sinned yearns over us with 
 such infinite, tender, and holy jealousy. And 
 as we feel humbled and abased by the 
 law of God, we do not feel degraded; with a 
 deeper reverence, and with a more solemn love, 
 though overwhelmed with sorrow and contrition, 
 we think of ourselves, and of our fellowmen, as 
 created in the image of God, and this only appears 
 ta us degrading, that so long we have been 
 
240 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 content without the knowledge, love, and obe- 
 dience of God, that we have denied our royal 
 nature, and forgotten our heavenly origin and 
 calling. Nor is the fear of punishment, of 
 God's displeasure and wrath, to be thought 
 ig-noble and self-centred ; there is in this fear 
 the element of reverence and of love, the 
 acknowledgment that in and with God alone 
 is blessedness, and that it is a bitter thing to 
 depart from the Fountain of life, peace, and 
 
 joy. 
 
 All men are under the law, whether they 
 are conscious of it or not. There is only One 
 who can deliver us from the law, from its 
 curse and power, who can bring us out of the 
 wilderness into the glorious liberty of the 
 children of God. No man can do it. Grace 
 and truth come only by Him who is the Son 
 of God, Lord over all. Who buried Moses ? 
 God buried Moses. And thus no man can 
 bury the law, or make us free from the 
 law. Men may forget and ignore the law ; 
 or, entirely misunderstanding the teaching of 
 Scripture, men may say that because they are 
 living in the Christian dispensation they are 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 241 
 
 not under the law, but under the gospel. 
 We can be freed from the law only by God, and 
 only through death. Through the law we must 
 die to the law, that we may live unto God. 
 Through the death of Christ we have died to 
 the law, and are now married to Christ, and 
 serve God in newness of Spirit (Gal. ii. 19 ; 
 Eom. vii. 4). Without union with Christ by 
 the Spirit, without regeneration which is a 
 resurrection out of death, no man is delivered 
 from the authority, condemnation, and rule of 
 the law. There are only two covenants : the 
 law was given by Moses, but grace and truth 
 came by Jesus Christ. 
 
 The law itself, given in mercy, and by the 
 same Lord who had revealed to the fathers the 
 promise of life, according to the eternal purpose 
 of His grace — the law itself contained the gospel, 
 so that the broken-hearted might be healed and 
 comforted until the true Consolation of Israel 
 appeared. God's mercy and covenant-salvation, 
 like the bright-blue sapphire sky above the dark- 
 ness and clouds of Mount Sinai (Exod. xxiv. 
 9, 10), continually irradiated the old economy, 
 and in the sacrifices, festivals, and chosen 
 
 Q 
 
242 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 representatives and types of the Messiah con- 
 firmed the promises of grace and of redemp- 
 tion. They, who were truly convinced of sin, 
 grasped the promise of forgiveness, reconcilia- 
 tion, atonement ; they longed after that per- 
 fect restoration in which the sinner is brought 
 nigh unto God, and renewed by His Spirit. 
 Thus there is a twofold element in the law, 
 condemnation and the promise, type and instal- 
 ment of redemption. Both elements were given 
 in love ; in both the purpose was one of mercy. 
 But when the primary object of the law had 
 failed, when men remained proud, self-satisfied, 
 cherishing and excusing sin, without humility 
 and repentance, men failed also to see and enjoy 
 the comfort of this promise, the meaning and 
 substance of the Type. Thus they who walked 
 in all the commandments and ordinances of the 
 Lord blameless were the very Israelites who 
 waited for the redemption in Jerusalem ; they 
 honoured the law, and therefore longed for the 
 gospel (Luke i. 5, 6 ; ii. 25, 37, &c.) Christ is 
 come ; and now instead of condemnation behold 
 grace, instead of shadow and type behold per- 
 fection and fulfilment, that is truth (John i. 17), 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 243 
 
 And first of all, let us remember that iu 
 Christ only the law of God found its realisation 
 and fulfilment. It had hitherto been only an 
 idea seeking embodiment, a problem awaiting 
 its solution, an outline looking for substance 
 and life. The holy and perfect law of God 
 descends out of the sphere of love, and can- 
 not but demand that which is only to be at- 
 tained in the region where love reigns, where 
 the Spirit breathes, where liberty is order and 
 obedience is filial. They who seek to obey the 
 law arrive at last at the painful knowledge of 
 the corrupt root, the defiled source from which 
 nothing good and clean can proceed. They find 
 that the law demands of them, not merely to do 
 good, but to be good. The deepest confession of 
 the contrite heart is the exclamation, Behold 
 I was born in iniquity ! 
 
 The children of the first Adam cannot fulfil 
 the law. But God in His marvellous love hath 
 sent His own Son, born of the Virgin Mary, 
 conceived by the Holy Ghost. A new begin- 
 ning is given unto us, a second Adam, through 
 whose obedience life cometh unto all who be- 
 lieve in Him. The holy child Jesus, the incar- 
 
244 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 nate Son of the Most High, was under the law. 
 It was written on the tablets of His heart. 
 We learn the will and character of God chiefly 
 by contrast. For we start with the knowledge 
 and love of sin and the world. Chiefly by 
 negative commandments, by forbidding sinful 
 works, words, thoughts, and feelings, does the 
 law address us, the God-estranged children of 
 Adam. But Jesus started with the knowledge 
 and love of God. It is this world which 
 appears to Him a strange thing, which gradu- 
 ally reveals itself to His astonished mind as 
 opposed to God and alienated from Him. 
 Such was His mind from His earliest child- 
 hood, and from the very commencement of 
 His life the will of God was His joy. '^ How 
 is it that ye have sought me ? Must I not be 
 in the things of my Father ? ^' In these words 
 He expresses the radical difference between 
 Himself and mankind. He starts with the know- 
 ledge, love, and joy of God, and thus meets the 
 world. We start with the knowledge and love 
 of sin, and thus meet the law of God. Hence 
 we, in reading the commandments of God, are 
 inclined to look at the sinner's difficulties, 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 245 
 
 taking his part against God, contracting the 
 dimensions of God's requirements according to 
 the narrow thoughts of our heart. Jesus, with 
 the eyes of His heart, saw the law in its breadth 
 and depth ; He jo3^fully filled the entire outline ; 
 His willing mind, His loving heart. His filial 
 Spirit entered into the whole mind of God, 
 and penetrated to the depth and substance of 
 God's Word. 
 
 And as He perfectly understood and loved 
 the law of God, so in His life, in His words and 
 works and sufferings. He fulfilled it. For He 
 manifested God's name (John xvii. 6). And 
 is not this the highest fulfilment of God's law ? 
 — "Be ye holy, even as I am holy." His life 
 was love, love to the Father and love to man 
 — a love which infinitely transcends the love 
 demanded by the law ; for it was the love of 
 God, eternal and infinite, love of His enemies, 
 love of self-denial and self-sacrifice, a new love, 
 which, having its source in eternity, manifested 
 itself on earth in the midst of sin and sorrow, 
 showing its divine fulness and glory wrought 
 into all that is sinlessly human, and revealing 
 through the death of the cross the boundless and 
 
246 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 secret love of God, which embraced, "before the 
 foundations of the world were laid, the guilty and 
 fallen. And as in His whole life He was a burnt- 
 offering, giving Himself for us a sacrifice to God 
 for a sweet-smelling savour (Eph. v. 2) ; so His 
 obedience culminated in His death on the cross, 
 when He became the sin-offering, and laid down 
 His life as a ransom for many. He who fulfilled 
 the law bore the curse of the law in our stead 
 (Gal. iii. 13). As for our sake the Son of God 
 had humbled Himself, and taken the position of 
 a servant, fulfilling all righteousness ; so in our 
 stead, and for our acquittal, He suffered the 
 penalty of the law we had transgressed. By His 
 obedience we are made righteous, by His death 
 we are acquitted; or, as the apostle teaches us, 
 we have died in Him to the law. The hand- 
 writing of ordinances, which was against us, 
 which was contrary to us, is blotted out, and 
 taken out of the way — it was nailed to the 
 cross. Christ has redeemed us who were under 
 the law, that we might receive the adoption of 
 sons. 
 
 Christ Jesus is our righteousness. As Luther 
 used to say, " Christ took my sin; nay, I was 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 247 
 
 His sin, and He is my righteousness. He took 
 what was mine, and gave me what is His." 
 We believe, and Christ is to us the End of the 
 law for righteousness. The gift of God, free 
 and unmerited without the works of the law, is 
 eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thus 
 are we justified freely by His grace through 
 faith. The law condemns ; the gospel brings 
 deliverance and salvation. The law begins 
 with commands, and speaks of blessings which 
 are afar off on mountain-heights, which fallen 
 and guilty man is not able and willing to reach. 
 The gospel begins with the promise of eternal 
 life ; it announces pardoning grace and redeem- 
 ing love ; it bestows perfect, divine righteous- 
 ness. The law demands justice ; the gospel de- 
 clares acquittal : we are justified through Christ, 
 who satisfies divine justice ; we are accepted in 
 Him, and now ours is the righteousness which 
 is by faith in the Son of Grod. Henceforth we 
 are no longer under the law ; we are made the 
 righteousness of God in Christ. And yet we 
 do not make void the law, but we establish it ; 
 for the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in 
 us. The law could not give life ; it could not 
 
248 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 minister unto us the Holy Ghost. Christ hath 
 quickened us, and by His Spirit dwells in our 
 hearts. And therefore we are able to love. 
 Love is the fulfilment of the law. And as the 
 law could not attain it, so the love which our 
 Lord gives us is something higher and deeper 
 than the law demanded or foreshadowed. 
 
 It may be asked, What can be higher than 
 the love which God demands in the law — love 
 with all our heart, all our soul, and all our 
 strength ? Nothing can be higher in the region 
 of creation. No angel can do more than give 
 God undivided and uninterrupted love, mani- 
 festing itself in obedience. But through Christ 
 we are raised into a higher region than that of 
 creation. The incarnation of the Son of God 
 has invested us with a new nature, and elevated 
 us to a new and infinitely higher element. ^^A 
 new commandment I give unto you, that ye 
 love one another." Why doth He call it new? 
 Not because the family of God is now among 
 all nations, not because the spirit of bondage 
 which characterised the old dispensation has 
 given way to the spirit of adoption. The com- 
 mandment is new because the love is new ; it 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 249 
 
 is the love which flows from the cross, and 
 which is wrought in ns by the Spirit of the 
 glorified Jesus. ^^ As I have loved you." This 
 is the source, the measure, and the strength of 
 the love which Christ commands and gives to 
 His people ; it is not merely loving our neigh- 
 bour as ourselves, and that for the sake of God 
 and in God, but loving our neighbour as Christ 
 the Son of God in His infinite mercy and con- 
 descending and self-denying love, loved us. 
 
 Great is the glory of the law, but it is a dif- 
 ferent and an inferior glory when contrasted 
 with the glory of the gospel. We are to love 
 with the love wherewith God loved us. That 
 which was foreshadowed by the gospel part of 
 the Mosaic dispensation, and predicted by the 
 prophets, has been given to us — the Lord came 
 with blood and spirit, and now we are raised 
 to a height to which the law never could rise. 
 Let this mind be in you, which was also in 
 Christ Jesus, even from all eternity, who, being 
 in the form of God, thought it not robbery 
 to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, 
 and took upon Him the form of a servant, and 
 was made in the likeness of man ; and being 
 
250 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 found in fashion as a man. He humbled Himself, 
 and was obedient unto death, and that the death 
 of the cross." This mind is to be in us. And this 
 mind can be in us, first, because we through this 
 very love, through the infinite condescension 
 of the Incarnation, and the infinite sacrifice of 
 the cross, have been reconciled to God ; and 
 secondly, because this very love of Christ is 
 implanted in us by the Holy Ghost — the Spirit 
 of God and the love of Christ come together. 
 '' For hereby know we that we dwell in Him 
 and He in us, by the Spirit whom He has 
 given unto us." And again, '* Hereby know we 
 that we dwell in Him, because we love one 
 another." The beloved disciple, whose gospel 
 sets forth most distinctly the glory of the Son 
 of God, and the love of the Father, and the 
 person and work of the Holy Ghost, explains 
 to us in his epistle that God is love, and that 
 the Spirit dwelling in us is love dwelling in us. 
 And this accords with the whole teaching of 
 Scripture. For the law could not produce in 
 our hearts what it demands — love ; nor could it 
 minister unto us the life-giving Spirit. The 
 gospel implants in us love, by giving unto 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 251 
 
 ns, through Christ, the Holy Ghost. '^ By the 
 Holy Ghost, which is given unto us, the love of 
 God is shed abroad in our hearts" (Rom. v. 3). 
 The love whereby we dwell in God, and God in 
 us, is His Spirit. God is love ; and this is the 
 blessing of the new covenant in Christ the 
 incarnate Son, that He hath given us the Spirit, 
 in whom is bestowed the love which is the ful- 
 filling of the law. 
 
 Such is the law of Christ, if law it may be 
 called, that being redeemed by His divine love, 
 we should be filled with His love, and united 
 to Him by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, 
 love as He loved, and, like Him, seek the glory 
 of God in the good of our brethren. The law, 
 which was to convince men of their sin, and 
 which was given parenthetically by reason of 
 man's transgression and pride, necessarily 
 emanated from a lower height; the gospel, as 
 the apostle continually reminds us, has its source 
 in the eternal counsel of God. The promise of 
 life was in Christ before the world began. The 
 righteousness which the law demands is truly 
 fulfilled in us ; and yet it is a better, a higher 
 righteousness, for it is God's own love and 
 
252 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 Spirit dwelling in ns, and bringing forth in us 
 and by us fruit, which is the fruit of Christ the 
 Vine ; so that it is no longer we who live but 
 Christ in us. 
 
 The obedience of the Christian is thus in 
 every respect new and better than the righteous- 
 ness which is of the law. It consists in a 
 divine love, it jDroceeds from the reception of 
 redeeming love, it is formed after a divine 
 pattern, and it is shed abroad and kept in the 
 heart by the Holy Ghost. All the exhortations 
 of the apostolic epistles set this forth in clearest 
 light. We are not to continue in sin, because 
 we are not under the law, but under grace. We 
 are to have our fruit unto holiness, because we 
 are alive unto God through Jesus Christ, and 
 having died to the law by the body of Christ, 
 are married to another, even to Him who is 
 raised from the dead.'"" We are not to lie one 
 to another, not merely because the law forbids 
 falsehood, but because we are in Christ mem- 
 bers one of another. The Christian is to live in 
 chastity and purity, mindful that the body is 
 the temple of the Holy Ghost, and that he is 
 
 * Horn. vi. vii., specially vi. 14, vii. 4-6. 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 253 
 
 in vital union with the Lord Jesus. Thus our 
 holiness in life and our walk before God are 
 uniformly based on the redemption of Christ 
 and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, and not 
 on the commandments of the law, although the 
 child of God reverences and loves the law, 
 meditating on its breadth and depth, and 
 deriving from it instruction and guidance. 
 Between Christ the Vine and the fruit-bearing 
 branches the law of Moses cannot intervene. 
 Not law, but the Holy Ghost is the connecting- 
 link between the Saviour and the disciple, even 
 as the manifestation of the new life is called 
 fruit of the Spirit. And as the Apostle Paul 
 explains in his epistles (especially to the Romans 
 and Galatians) that righteousness is the gift of 
 God in Christ Jesus, received by faith, bestowed 
 freely in grace on all who believe, that it is 
 not through the law or of works ; so he likewise 
 emphatically teaches us that it is the grace of 
 God and not the law which now disciplines us 
 to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to 
 walk soberly, righteously, and godly in this 
 present world ; that it is Christ in us, that it is 
 the Holy Ghost by whom we bring forth fruit 
 
254 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 unto holiness ; that ours is the life of faith in 
 the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself 
 for us ; the new life in the power of Christ's 
 resurrection, in whose death we have died, and 
 who was raised up by the glory of the Father, 
 that we should walk in newness of life. Isaac 
 and Ishmael, Sara and Hagar, Jerusalem which 
 is the mother of us all, and free, and Jerusalem 
 which now is, and is in bondage with her chil- 
 dren, are contrasts ; it is impossible to combine 
 them. Christ is the End of the law, both as 
 righteousness and sanctification ; and thus the 
 law is fulfilled and a brighter and fuller light 
 shineth in the new covenant-righteousness and 
 in the new covenant-life of which both Moses 
 and the prophets witnessed, and which has now 
 been given unto us who know the accomplished 
 redemption in Christ Jesus. Moses and Elijah 
 vanish, and we behold Jesus only; John the 
 Baptist points to the Lamb of Grod ; in hearing 
 the Son, in listening to His voice, in following 
 the guidance of His Spirit, the righteousness of 
 the law is fulfilled in us. 
 
 Notice the marvellous unity ; in Christ 
 is all that we need. The very nature of the 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 255 
 
 new obedience is the source of our strength to 
 render it. Christ loved ns, and the constant 
 remembrance and enjoyment of His unmerited 
 and infinite love gives us strength and renews 
 our strength. The bread which we break, and 
 the cup of communion which we bless, show 
 forth love received, and by the renewed recep- 
 tion of love we are replenished with love. It is 
 our feet which Jesus washed, and therefore we, 
 to whom much is forgiven, constantly forgiven, 
 generously and tenderly forgiven, can love and 
 forgive another, and bear one another's burden.* 
 What does Jesus command but that we should 
 receive His love, and have our life constantly 
 renewed by the life which He gave for us ? 
 "What does He ask us to give unto Himself and 
 to the brethren but His very own love, which He 
 
 * The example which Jesus gives us is not merely a pattern 
 which we are to imitate, in which case it would be only law 
 symbolically or dramatically represented. Christ washes His 
 disciples' feet ; herein is not merely condescension which we 
 are to imitate, but condescension to us, love which pities, par- 
 dons, cleanses, which stoops to serve, which turns not away 
 harshly and contemptuously from our defilement, but in holy 
 compassion and tenderness cleanses us from our sins. It is the 
 gospel in this act which explains the very essence, as it supplies 
 the very spirit, of the commandment. We love, forgive, and 
 help our neighbour with the love of Jesus. 
 
256 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 has bestowed on us, and is ever bestowing on 
 us ? What other yoke and burden does He put 
 on us but His yoke and His burden, of which 
 the agony and darkness were all His, the sweet- 
 ness and the rest all ours ? 
 
 Christ is our Master. We are taught to 
 observe all things whatsoever He has com- 
 manded. What a wonderful honour and dig- 
 nity to be the disciples and servants of the 
 Lord Jesus. All that is within us rejoices 
 and magnifies His holy name, that in His 
 unspeakable and gracious condescension He 
 saith to us, " Follow me," and that He permits 
 us to be His disciples, and to live under His 
 loving and righteous rule. For He is the Son 
 of man. In Him we behold the faultless and 
 all-harmonious ideal of beauty and righteous- 
 ness. In Him the divine idea of man is perfectly 
 realised. He is the true King, the true David, 
 whose heart was not lifted up above His brethren, 
 who, as a Shepherd-King, rules in the right- 
 eousness of grace and meekness. In Him are 
 united holiness and mercy, strength and tender- 
 ness, zeal and patience, courage and lowliness. 
 He is the fairest among the sons of men, He is 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 257 
 
 altogether lovely. Who would not love to 
 follow Him? who would not be thrilled with 
 deepest joy to be numbered among His people ? 
 He is our Master, who was tempted in all 
 things as we are, and yet without sin; the 
 Conqueror at all times, strong and invincible 
 in the purity of His love ; who suffered, who 
 endured contradictions from sinners, who was 
 tried by sorrow, and the unfaithfulness and 
 ingratitude and hatred of the world, who 
 learned obedience even unto death. All His 
 experience on earth, and all the manifesta- 
 tions of His perfect love here below, draw us 
 to Him as our only and blessed Lord and 
 Master. 
 
 And when we remember, as we can never for 
 a moment forget, that He is God manifest in 
 the flesh, that He is the Son of God, who in 
 His infinite love for our salvation became man, 
 the glory of His humility and obedience, and 
 of all His human perfection, shine forth with 
 irresistible brightness, and we adore Him our 
 Lord and our God. He is the only Master, 
 good and perfect, for He is the Son of the Most 
 High ; our Master, for in His wondrous love 
 
 E 
 
258 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 He became ours, He became our Brother to be 
 our Head. 
 
 He is our Master, for as the Father has pre- 
 destinated us to be conformed to the human 
 image of His blessed Son, so Christ, by His 
 indwelling presence, is our life and strength ; 
 He who commands is, by His Spirit, the power 
 within us to obey His Word and to imitate 
 His perfect example. He draws us, that we 
 may run after Him ; He is always ministering 
 unto us, that we may serve Him out of the ful- 
 ness of His grace. 
 
 Christ the Son of God, the Son of man, the 
 glorified Head of the Church, is our Lord. How 
 blessed are we to be His ! 
 
 '^ All things what^ever He has commanded." 
 As the law is one, indivisible and harmonious, 
 an organic unity, pervaded by one Spirit, so 
 are the commandments of Christ essentially 
 and inseparably connected. ^^ Be ye holy, for 
 I am holy." This is the golden thread which 
 connects all the injunctions of the law of Moses ; 
 this is the heart-life which pulsates in all its 
 precepts. Christ himself is the Spirit of all 
 commandments ; all His words are Spirit and 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 259 
 
 life; all His precepts are the manifestations of 
 the filial relation and the new resurrection-life 
 and power in which we are to show forth the 
 Lord, who is our righteousness and strength. 
 Call no commandment unimportant, for in what 
 we think least, the most central and vital 
 principle is involved. Call no command out- 
 ward, for in all that Jesus commands us con- 
 cerning our words and works, He desires truth 
 in the inward part, and points to the heart, out 
 of which are the issues of life. If we are one 
 with Christ, then the inward unity of all His 
 commandments will be increasingly clear to us, 
 and as one has said,* "We shall know the 
 warm life-blood, which, as the soul, flows 
 throughout all Christ's precepts ; we shall taste, 
 I might almost say, their indissoluble unity." 
 Yea, we shall see the one undivided Christ, 
 who was crucified for us, the one Love which 
 has redeemed us, and which desires to form us 
 after its blessed image. 
 
 Christ is our Master. He commands by re- 
 vealing Himself. When He shows us His love, 
 we are drawn, and run after Him. When He 
 
 * Rothe. 
 
260 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 reveals to us His face, the Spirit conforms us to 
 His image by our beholding Him. " When we 
 shall see Him as He is, then shall we be like 
 Him." The perfect knowledge of His love is 
 one with the perfect obedience of His will. Thus 
 His precepts are not less precious and loving 
 than His promises. In both He gives us Him- 
 self; in both He sets forth our inseparable union 
 by the Holy Ghost. Blessed are they who have 
 left all to follow Jesus ; who have died to self, 
 to their own righteousness and strength, to sin 
 and to the world ; who gaze on the beauty of 
 Jesus, and are filled with His love. 
 
 The commandments of Christ are full of 
 light, easily understood and easily remembered. 
 They bear the impress of their heavenly origin. 
 In their lucid simplicity, and in their compre- 
 hensiveness and depth, they appeal at once to 
 our reason and conscience. We assent to them 
 immediately, and we never forget the precept 
 after we have heard it once, so strongly and 
 instantaneously do we feel that it is right, 
 that it is from above. And the heart also re- 
 sponds. It is good, it is loving; in keeping 
 thereof there would be great peace. 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 261 
 
 The commandments of Christ may be summed 
 up according to the various aspects of the inner 
 and outer life. 
 
 If we look at the heart, the root and source 
 of life and action, all Christ's commandments 
 are contained in His most touching appeal, 
 '' Abide in me J''' Leave me not. I am yours. 
 In the glorious union of my Godhead and man- 
 hood, in my death on the cross, in my resurrec- 
 tion peace and power, in my faithful and 
 all-prevailing intercession, and in the constant 
 and uninterrupted outflowing of the Holy Ghost 
 into you, I am yours. Abide in me. Let 
 neither doubt nor presumption, neither fear nor 
 sorrow, neither sin nor temptation, neither duty 
 nor rest, disturb you, and beguile you to leave 
 your only Haven and Heaven — me. Abide in me, 
 and then all my words shall abide in you. n 
 the inmost sanctuary of the soul this is the 
 whole secret of life, peace, and power. 
 
 If we look again at the manifestations of 
 life, all Christ's commandments are summed 
 up in His simple words, '' Follow me.^^ That is, 
 copy and imitate Christ ; let Christ's whole life 
 and walk on earth be before the eyes of your 
 
262 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 heart and imagination, the sweet image of His 
 humility and saving obedience, and let Christ 
 guide you in your daily path. Let Him choose 
 your task and your work ; leave it to Him to 
 select your cross and trial. Let Jesus go first, 
 and never leaving Him, trace His footsteps. 
 
 If we look at our relation to God, prayer, 
 meditation, and communion, Jesus' command- 
 ments may be summed up in one word — in 
 secret; ^^ Enter into thy closet, and shut the door." 
 Banish the multitude of thoughts which crowd 
 the chamber of the heart and mind, and seek, 
 even when with other believers, to realise the 
 presence of Him after whom the soul thirsteth. 
 Thus speaking to Him in prayer, and hearing 
 His voice in the Scripture, the light of the Father 
 will shine on thy heart and path. For the 
 Father seeth in secret. He regardeth the heart, 
 He seeketh worshippers in Spirit and in truth. 
 Alone with God — this is the true source of sin- 
 cerity, and the only condition of peace and 
 strength. 
 
 If we consider our relation to the world, the 
 commandments of Christ are summed up in one 
 word — mission. " I send you; as the Father hath 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 263 
 
 sent me, so have I sent you ; " "Ye are the light 
 of the world," " Go and teach all nations that 
 are without ; " " Be fishers of men ; " give no 
 offence, but adorn the doctrine of the gospel 
 of grace. As the Son himself came not to do 
 His own will, as He remembered and revealed 
 the Father in all His words and actions, seek- 
 ing only His glory, thus are we to the apostles 
 of Jesus, His representatives on earth, His 
 message to the world. We are His epistles, 
 declaring the power of His love ; we are to 
 reflect His image, and, walking as the sons of 
 God, win the souls of men to the only-begotten 
 of the Father, the only Lord and Saviour. 
 Jesus sent us, "Occupy till I come;" and as 
 He was always in the things of His Father, 
 always sowing the seed, and working while 
 it was day, so our mission is only ended when 
 the Master calls us home. 
 
 If we look again at the aim and purpose of 
 our energies and lives, it is summed up in the 
 word heaven — " Lay not up for yourselves trea- 
 sures on earth, but lay up for yourselves trea- 
 sures in heaven ; " " Set your affections on 
 things that are above ; " "Be rich toward 
 
264 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 God ; " '' Be ye perfect, even as your Father 
 wliicli is in heaven is perfect." Seek to attain 
 to the resurrection from among the dead. Give 
 up all, that in the regeneration of the world ye 
 may receive the reward of Christ. 
 
 If we ask, What does Christ command us with 
 regard to our sinful self? the commandments 
 are summed up in the word death — " If thy 
 right eye offend thee, pluck it out ; if thy right 
 arm offend thee, cut it off; " '' He that loveth 
 his life shall lose it ; he that loseth his 
 life for my sake shall find it ; " " Crucify the 
 old man;" "Mortify the members which are 
 upon earth;" "Die daily." 
 
 Christ says unto us, " Give." The very sim- 
 plicity and apparent vagueness of the command 
 invest it with comprehensiveness. We are not 
 told to whom to give, because we are debtors to 
 all, and called to be imitators of God, who causeth 
 His sun to shine on the just and the unjust. 
 We are not told when to give, because as long 
 as we are below, stewards of the gifts of God, 
 and members of the Church of Christ — as long 
 as there are the sick, the poor, the lowly, the 
 helpless, it is both our duty and blessedness to 
 
THE KEW OBEDIENCE. 265 
 
 give. We are not told what we are to give, for 
 all that we have, from the cup of cold water 
 to the gold and silver, and all that we are, our 
 affection and sympathy, we are to give. We 
 are not told how to give, because we are to give 
 simply for giving's sake, hoping and looking 
 for nothing to recompense us, as God giveth 
 because He delighteth in giving. 
 
 ^' One is your Master, even Christ." He had 
 nothing on earth, yet He gave constantly until 
 He gave Himself. He had not merely com- 
 passion, but He fed the multitude. He not 
 merely wept over the city, but went into its 
 wretchedness and ministered unto the needy. 
 He saith unto us, ^^ Grive." And if, like 
 Philip, we are discouraged because we have so 
 little to give, and the multitude is great and the 
 need manifold, let us learn faith, and then see 
 the marvels which a gracious Lord is pleased to 
 work through the ministry of His disciples. 
 Let us give what we have — time, strength, 
 money — above all, and in all, love. And at the 
 end of our journey, when Jesus saith to us, 
 '^ While I have been with you have you lacked 
 anything ? " we shall reply, ^^ No, Lord, never." 
 
266 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 Nay, whatsoever by His grace we were able to 
 give unto Him in His Church is ours : it be- 
 comes a rich treasure : it produces an abundant 
 harvest; for though we give Him of His own, 
 yet it pleaseth Him to reward and crown us 
 with joy everlasting. 
 
 Jesus is our Master. Let us enter fully into 
 this solemn and precious truth. How many, 
 and how strong and sweet, are the claims 
 which He has on our obedience ! With how 
 many links are we bound to Him ! He who 
 loved us, and gave Himself for us ; the good 
 Shepherd, whose own the sheep are, and who 
 laid down His life for their redemption; He 
 who has brought us nigh unto the Father, and 
 given unto us His Spirit, is surely our Lord, 
 whom it is our duty and joy to obey with fer- 
 vour and zeal, out of the abundance of a grate- 
 ful and adoring heart. The more we know and 
 love Jesus — the more clearly we perceive His 
 grace, and the salvation He has brought us — the 
 more shall we acknowledge Him as our Master, 
 and realise the blessedness of obedience. Is 
 His name Jesus — Saviour ? Do we believe in 
 His name, that He saves us from our sins ? 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 267 
 
 Do we rejoice, in that He has bought us with a 
 price ? It is that henceforth we are not our 
 own ; that being redeemed with the precious 
 blood of Christ, we should pass the time of our 
 sojourning here in fear ; that like the Apostle 
 Paul we should serve Him, whose we are. For 
 what purpose has Christ come, but to destroy 
 the works of the devil, to bless us by turning us 
 from our iniquities, to give unto us spiritual and 
 abundant life, to be the Vine, that we may bring 
 fruit unto the glory of the Father ? To obey 
 Christ is the very blessedness unto which His 
 grace, by His life, death, and resurrection, 
 raises us. 
 
 Love must precede obedience ; faith must 
 precede love. Or in other words, grace comes 
 first. God gives all, and of Him is our fruit 
 found. But we must not merely dwell on the 
 distinction between the root and the fruits ; we 
 must also, and that continually, bear in mind 
 the vital and essential connection between the 
 love of faith and the obedience of love. " If any 
 man ia in Christ, he is a new creature." If 
 we are born again as the children of God, as 
 the brethren and disciples of Jesus, as anointed 
 
268 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 with the Hoty Ghost, we must walk in newness 
 of life. Men may lay a false stress on good 
 works,* but we cannot attach too great import- 
 ance to them. Our Lord himself, who came 
 to save, whose whole message was love, who 
 gave Himself to be our life, our all in all, 
 continually and most solemnly reminds us 
 that the true reception of His grace, the true 
 jDOSsession and enjoyment of His rest and of 
 His life, must manifest itself in obedience, 
 in good works, in fruit. " Not every one that 
 saith unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the 
 kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of 
 my Father which is in heaven." Again, ^'If ye 
 know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." 
 Again, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." 
 Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command 
 you. And the disciple who dwells most on the 
 mystery of our new birth, and of that Eternal 
 Life which was with the Father, and was 
 
 * " We are calumniated," says Melauchtbon in the "Apology/' 
 * ' as not teaching good works. We not merely insist on good 
 works, but also show hoio they can be done." No preaching is 
 practical except the preaching of free grace and justification by 
 faith ; for, as John Berridge quaintly remarked, " He preached 
 morality till there was not a moral man in his parish." The 
 love of God in Christ Jesus is the only power of obedience. 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 269 
 
 manifested unto us, speaks most simply and 
 fully — " Let us not love in word, neither in 
 tongue, but in deed and in truth. And this 
 commandment have we from Him, that he who 
 loveth God love His brother also." Likewise 
 the Apostle Paul, who so clearly distinguishes 
 between law and gospel, and so boldly declares 
 the liberty and perfection of grace, exhorts us in 
 all his epistles to walk in Christ, to be zealous 
 of good works, to have our fruit unto holiness.''^ 
 The Epistle of James explains to us in solemn 
 and piercing language that we are to be doers, 
 and not merely hearers of the Word, and that we 
 who are begotten again of God's own will by the 
 
 * "Oh, it is a living, mighty, busy, active thing, this faith, 
 that it is impossible it should not do good continually! It does 
 not ask many questions, what good things are to be done ; but 
 before you ask the things are done, and faith is always doing. 
 But he that doeth not good works is a man without faith, 
 and knoweth not what faith is, and what are good works, though 
 he may talk about them. Faith is a living, joyous confidence 
 in God's grace, so certain, that it could die for it a thousand 
 times. And such confidence and knowledge of divine grace 
 makes us joyous, vigorous, and courageous before God and man, 
 so that without compulsion man becomes willing and cheerful 
 to serve his neighbour, and to suffer all things, only to please 
 and praise God, who has shown his soul mercy ; so that it is 
 impossible to separate faith and works, as little as you may 
 separate light and heat from the fire." — Luther. 
 
270 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 word of truth, are to be, as it were, first-fruits 
 of His creatures, living in the spirit and power 
 of holiness and glorj. 
 
 It is just because nothing can take the place 
 of Christ Jesus as the Foundation ; it is for the 
 very reason that there can be no substitute for 
 the renewal of the heart and the indwelling of 
 Jesus by the Holy Ghost, that the absence of 
 good fruit is so alarming, for " every good 
 tree bringeth forth good fruit " (comp. Matt, 
 vii. 15-27). 
 
 We are always brought back to the feet of 
 Jesus, to His dying love and quickening grace. 
 Rooted and grounded in His love, we live and 
 bring forth fruit. For have you not discovered 
 yet that Christ's commandments are channels of 
 blessings, that they are gifts and privileges ? 
 Christ asks us to give, in order that He may 
 enrich us with the true treasures, and reward 
 us hereafter with a plenteous harvest. He asks 
 us to serve and labour, in order that our souls 
 may have the true Sabbath, and be refreshed 
 with the meat which alone can strengthen. 
 When He tells us to go and bring forth fruit, 
 it is that we mav abide in Him, and be more 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 271 
 
 rooted and grounded in love. When He bids 
 us welcome reproach and suffering, when He 
 insists on our denying and abasing ourselves, it 
 is that we may more abundantly possess the 
 royal spirit of God's children and heirs. We 
 are peaceful and joyous, strong and rich only 
 in obeying our one Master. Christ's command- 
 ment is a canopy of love over us. It was thus 
 that Jesus himself abode in His Father's love, 
 by keeping His commandments. Is it not too 
 much our habit to seek rest, peace, and enjoy- 
 ment in another way ? Do we not dwell exclu- 
 sively and arbitrarily in the promises of the 
 Saviour, building to ourselves an arbour, weaving 
 garlands of beautiful and fragrant flowers, and 
 then taking rest and comfort and encouragement 
 to ourselves? Yet is this Christ's rest? Is it a 
 true peace, which flows like a living river, in- 
 creasing in breadth and fulness, fertilising the 
 shores on either hand, and issuing in the bound- 
 less ocean of divine love ? Is it the rest which 
 Christ has connected with His yoke and His 
 burden? Is it the repose which makes us 
 strong, able to bear the reproach of the world, 
 the storm of affliction, the assaults of the wicked 
 
272 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 one : visrorous in the active service of God and 
 ministry of Christian charity ? We are at pre- 
 sent sowers. Now men do not sow flowers, 
 but seed. And Jesus is the Sower who w^ent 
 forth bearing precious seed. He himself was 
 the seed. He gave all, He gave Himself. He 
 loved, and He died. And they who are His 
 learn to give themselves unto the Lord and th^ 
 brethren ; and while they give they are blessed, 
 and at Christ's coming they shall reap abun- 
 dantly, and in fulness of joy. 
 
 If our conscience says. It ought to be so: 
 if the heart responds, Oh that it were thus 
 with me ! let our will also, enlightened and 
 influenced by the Holy Ghost, say, I will obey 
 Christ. For Christ is not Moses bringing us 
 commandments engraven on tablets of stone ; 
 He, by the Holy Ghost, dwells within us, and the 
 disciple is able to do all things through Christ 
 who strengtheneth him. 
 
 If we are not our own because Christ is our 
 Master^ we find we are not our own because 
 Christ is our life, He liveth within us. Came 
 the law of God to us before, and found another 
 law striving in our members, which was enmity 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 273 
 
 against God ; cometh the law now, it findeth. 
 another love, another power, another person 
 within US, — One who is divine, the Lord Jesus 
 himself. Our actions, as far as they are good, 
 are not our own, but Christ's. They are 
 wrought in God; He, as Isaiah saith, hath 
 wrought all our works in us. He is the light 
 within us, and through Him we see. Our good 
 words are not our own, but the Spirit of our 
 Father which speaketh in us. Do we feel 
 burdened, and groan for the light and joy of our 
 heavenly home ? even the fainting of our spirits 
 and the longing of our souls are the unutter- 
 able groaning of the Spirit. Cometh a more 
 fervent, childlike, loving wave of devotion upon 
 us, we feel that it descends from above and lifts 
 us up, who are sluggish, and prone to cleave to 
 the dust. Are there any bowels of compassion ? 
 is there any liberality and joy of bestowing our 
 goods on the poor ? — it is the love which is in 
 Christ Jesus which has flowed into us, and is 
 rushing back again into the infinite Ocean. 
 Who but Christ makes our hearts burn within 
 us on our narrow evening path ? Who but He 
 gives us to will and to do ; and that not by His 
 
274 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 mere power and command, but by dwelling 
 within us, by being around us like a garment, 
 by being within us as a guest, and the life of 
 our life ? 
 
 Choose ye then anew, I beseech you, the 
 obedience of Christ, the indwelling of Christ. 
 One is your Master; crucify self, renounce sin, 
 flee temptation, give up the world, abjure covet- 
 ousness, which is idolatry, forsake mammon. 
 Serve Christ, and He, who is your Master, will 
 be the Bridegroom of your soul, and His banner 
 over you will be Love. Serve Christ, and He, 
 who is your Master, will dwell in you, and your 
 affections, your thoughts, your energies, your 
 health and your wealth, all that you care for and 
 that you have, will by Him and in Him be 
 consecrated to God, and your fruit will remain 
 for ever. 
 
 But if you have not the Spirit of Christ, if 
 Christ dwells not in your heart, if your path is 
 not narrow, without self-denial and sacrifice — if 
 you are a tree which has the leaves of Scripture 
 knowledge, devout frames, and Christian habits, 
 but bringeth forth no fruit, beware lest the most 
 
THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 275 
 
 fatal of all deceptions have ensnared you, 
 and Jesus whom you delight to call Lord 
 and Saviour appear to you on that day a 
 stranger, and instead of the voice of welcome, 
 which shall be remembered by the saints 
 through eternity, ye hear from His lips the 
 awful words, " Depart from me, ye workers of 
 iniquity. " 
 
 Look unto heaven ; behold, Jesus is for you a 
 merciful, compassionate High Priest; Jesus is 
 with you, strong and all-victorious by the power 
 of His Spirit. The unprofitable servant wraps 
 his talent in a napkin ; his only thought is 
 himself, his safety, his comfort ; he does and 
 gives and suffers as little as is consistent with 
 absolute necessity. It is because in his heart 
 of hearts he has never seen the countenance of 
 Jesus he thinks Him a hard Master, austere 
 and exacting ; he does not know that He is 
 Love, that He is only a Giver, a Saviour ; that 
 with all His commandments He sends forth the 
 quickening Spirit to all who trust in His mercy. 
 But let us lean on Jesus, and hear the gentle 
 voice of the gospel in all His precepts. Your 
 
276 THE NEW OBEDIENCE. 
 
 Master is none other but He who died for you, 
 who loves you with so deep and fervent love, 
 that He has become the Life of your life. 
 
 *' Take His easy yoke and bear it, 
 Love will make obedience sweet." 
 
VII. 
 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
SERMON YII. 
 
 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy- 
 Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I 
 have commanded you." 
 
 The ascension of our Lord into heaven is not 
 narrated by the evangelist Matthew. The last 
 view of our Lord which is given us in this 
 gospel is Christ on earth, surrounded by His 
 disciples, and the last accents of His blessed 
 voice which are recorded contain the assurance 
 of His presence with us unto the end of this 
 dispensation. The truth which is thus im- 
 pressed on us is that our Lord, although 
 ascended and seated at the right hand of the 
 Father, is still on earth, that in His disciples 
 He continues His work and mission, that His 
 Church is identified with Him, that through 
 His believers, as the members of His body. He 
 
280 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 exerts His power and maDifests His grace 
 among the nations of the world. The Church 
 is the representative and the continuation of 
 Christ. ^' And now I am no more in the 
 world, but these are in the world." Apart from 
 Christ the Church has no light or life ; unless 
 His presence go with us, we cannot continue 
 our pilgrimage in the wilderness. Christ is 
 with and in the Church. As He promised, so 
 the Church has experienced it. In coming 
 down from heaven He never left the Father, 
 and in going up to heaven He never left the 
 Church.* Wherever two or three are gathered 
 in His name, wherever disciples go forth to 
 preach the glad tidings and to teach the counsel 
 of God, wherever the Church of Christ is, there 
 is Immanuel, the real presence of our divine 
 Lord. 
 
 As Christ was sent by the Father, so is the 
 Church sent by Christ. Jesus was sent to be the 
 Eevelation and Kepresentative of the Father, to 
 testify of Him, to declare Him, to do His will, and 
 to finish the work. He was a true and faithful 
 
 * Stier calls Christ's last parting with His disciples — '* Ein 
 Abschied der kein Abschied war."" 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 281 
 
 witness ; He was the perfect Servant, whose 
 meat it was to do the Father's will ; He 
 declared the name of Grod, and finished the 
 work. Now Christ sends us into the world that 
 we may show forth His life, that we may be 
 His witnesses, that His light and love may 
 shine, attract, and bless men through us, that 
 men may behold in us Christ, as they beheld 
 the Father in Him. As Christ was, so are 
 we in the world. The Church is so iden- 
 tified with Christ, that she is called Christ. 
 '' As the body is one, and hath many members, 
 and all the members of that one body, being 
 many, are one body ; so also is Christ." How 
 clear and wonderful is the position of the 
 Church on earth ! She is sent, she is entrusted 
 with a high mission, she has only one aim and 
 object — to represent, imitate, obey Christ ; nay, 
 more than this, one with Christ by the Holy 
 Ghost, Christ dwelling in her by faith, it is 
 Christ whose testimony is to be heard through 
 her, whose energy and love saves, gathers, 
 comforts, and builds up the souls of men unto 
 eternal life. 
 What is the foundation on which the Church 
 
282 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 of Christ rests ? What is the basis, peculiar, 
 distinctive, and all -glorious, on which she is 
 built ? What is that marvel and joy which 
 prophets and kings desired to see and hear but 
 which was reserved for the last days ? It is 
 nothing less than the incarnation of the Son 
 of God. The Word was made flesh, and taber- 
 nacled among us. The Life which was from 
 all eternity with the Father was manifested, and 
 we have seen it. Divine perfection was wrought 
 into everything that is sinlessly human. The 
 Son of God became man to be our Brother and 
 Lord. When Simon, the son of Jonah, con- 
 fessed, " Thou art the Son of the living God," 
 Jesus replied, " On this Eock will I build my 
 Church;" or, viewing the Church as a tree, an 
 organism, her Root and Source is in heaven : 
 it is Jesus, the Son of God, exalted on the 
 throne of God. Hence the distinction between 
 the saints of God who lived before the Advent 
 and the New Testament Church. Their faith 
 and hope rested on the same salvation. They 
 are taught by the same Spirit. They also 
 suffered the reproach of Christ. But the 
 Incarnation had not yet taken place. The Son 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 283 
 
 of God had not yet offered Himself as a sacrifice 
 for our sins. Jesus, the Lord, was not exalted 
 and glorified at the right hand of God, and 
 therefore the Holy Ghost was not yet given. 
 The Church is the body of Christ, the Son of 
 God in human nature, exalted after His suffer- 
 ings to be our Head. We are the sons of God 
 in Christ, the only-begotten of the Father. 
 Our sonship is based on the death of the 
 cross ; it springs out of the resurrection of 
 Jesus ; it is given unto us by the Holy Ghost, 
 whom the Father sends us through His Son. 
 The peculiar glory of the Church is sonship. 
 Her peculiar mission is to show forth the 
 character and life of the sons of God, who, 
 born of the Spirit, are by Him united with the 
 only-begotten of the Father. The Church is in 
 the world, as Jesus was in the world, who in 
 the lowliness of His humanity revealed His 
 divine glory in love and obedience. 
 
 The Church is in the world. This position 
 is assigned to her of God according to the 
 prayer of Christ, ^* I pray not that Thou 
 shouldst take them out of the world, but 
 that Thou shouldst keep them from the evil." 
 
284 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 The reason is threefold. The first reason is, 
 as always, the glory of God. As Jesus was 
 sent by the Father, that in the face of Christ 
 the glory of God might be manifested ; so the 
 Church is to reflect the image of her unseen 
 but overliving Lord, and thus show forth the 
 glory of God. We do not think sufficiently of 
 this first fundamental and central object of 
 the Church's existence. To glorify God is not 
 merely the chief end of man, but it is the 
 great end which God has set before Him in 
 all His acts and revelations. Not merely 
 creation, but redemption has this great end — ■ 
 the manifestation of God. To the praise of the 
 glory of His grace we are chosen, saved, and 
 blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly 
 places in Christ. It is to the glory of the 
 Father that Christ is exalted, and that all 
 tongues shall confess that He is Lord. By the 
 Church the manifold wisdom of God is to be made 
 known unto all angelic hosts. Throughout all ages 
 God is glorified in the Church by Christ Jesus. 
 
 And it is by reason of her sonship, of her 
 union with Jesus, that the Church glorifies 
 God. Christ, the Image of the invisible God, 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 285 
 
 revealed to us the glory of the Only-begotten. 
 He was the true Temple, the manifestation of 
 God, the Presence or Shechina. In Him was 
 seen the brightness of the Father's glory. The 
 Church is the manifestation of Christ. He is 
 no more in the world, but the Church is in the 
 world, and Christ is seen in her. The wife is 
 the glory of her husband ; the husband is the 
 head of the wife. The Church is the glory of 
 Christ, who is her Head. The Head of Christ is 
 God, and Christ is the glory of God (1 Cor. xi. 3). 
 The Church reflects the glory of the Only-begot- 
 ten, who is the brightness of the Father's glory. 
 Nearer than angels to the throne and the Lamb, 
 it is given unto her to glorify God, to declare 
 His name on earth, and to show forth the 
 marvellous love of Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost. The heavens declare the glory of God ; 
 but the greatest and brightest manifestation of 
 God is the Church on earth, chosen by the 
 Father, redeemed by Jesus, and dwelt in by the 
 Holy Ghost — the bride and body of Christ. 
 
 The second reason why the Church is in the 
 world is, that she may follow Jesus, who 
 though a Son, yet learned obedience, and was 
 
286 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 made perfect tlirough suffering. Called unto 
 glory and a heavenly inheritance, chosen to be 
 joint heirs with Christ, and to sit with Him on 
 His throne, the Church is first to learn wisdom 
 and patience of the saints, to know the fellow- 
 ship of Christ's sufferings, being made conform- 
 able unto His death. In temptation and sorrow, 
 in conflict and trial, in hardship and grief, the 
 disciples of Christ are to grow in grace and 
 knowledge, to become strong in meekness, in 
 love, in faith, and to be conformed to the 
 image of Christ. It is necessary that through 
 much tribulation we should enter into the king- 
 dom of glory. 
 
 The third reason why the Church is in the 
 world is, the conversion of sinners. Through her 
 testimony men are to be brought to the know- 
 ledge of Christ. God may reveal His grace to 
 the soul directly. Thus Jesus appeared unto 
 Saul of Tarsus ; but notice that even Saul, who 
 was converted by the Lord himself, was, accord- 
 ing to Christ's command, linked unto the Church 
 by Ananias, and baptized by him, and thus 
 brought into the congregation of disciples, in 
 which it pleases God to reveal His grace on earth. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WOELD. 287 
 
 The Church is to be the witness of God, and 
 mother of the faithful. Herein is the love of 
 God, the Source of all blessedness, who draws 
 into the circle of giving and blessing all His 
 angels and saints. As God is Love, and as 
 mercy and blessing are His delight; so it is 
 His love that all should partake, according to 
 their several position and capacity, in this joy 
 of love, this delight of giving. Angels, therefore, 
 minister unto the heirs of salvation ; apostles, 
 evangelists, elders, deacons, all disciples, are 
 called to be workers together with God, to go 
 forth sowing, that they may rejoice with Him 
 who giveth seed to the sower, and shares His 
 joy of harvest with the labourers, whom His 
 grace permitted and enabled to work for and 
 with Him. And thus all things are of Him and 
 through Him and to Him, and He is Love. Of 
 the Father as the Source, through Christ as the 
 Mediator, and by the energy of the Holy Ghost, 
 the Church is gathered in, angels and saints 
 obeying His command and fulfilling His will, 
 and the blessings which thus descend ascend 
 again through the Spirit and by the Son to the 
 Father in thanksgiving and adoring joy. 
 
288 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 We read that Messiah shall see of the travail 
 of His soul, and yet Paul the apostle writes, " My 
 little children, of whom I travail in birth, let 
 Christ be formed in you;" and the beloved dis- 
 ciple writes, '' I have no greater joy than to hear 
 that my children walk in the truth." Blessed 
 union ! Christ and the Church are one, the 
 Light of the world, the Sent of the Father. 
 Through the Church Christ seeks and saves that 
 which is lost; through her He speaks peace and 
 comfort to the weary and heavy laden. The 
 sinners whom His grace has redeemed and His 
 Spirit renewed. He sends forth as His ambas- 
 sadors, and they beseech men in His stead. He 
 makes them fishers of men ; they win souls. 
 And when the chief Shepherd appears, He 
 crowns the nnder-shepherds with glory and joy, 
 even with the children, who through their testi- 
 mony were born unto eternal life. 
 
 We have thus seen that the Church is in the 
 world, according to God's will and the petition 
 of Christ ; that thus God is glorified, the saints 
 prepared for the inheritance, and sinners con- 
 verted unto eternal life. The Church is in the 
 world, this is her mission, her task; and to 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 289 
 
 fulfil this mission she has the presence and 
 power of Christ and the Spirit, the favour and 
 guidance of the Father and the Word of Truth. 
 But alas ! the world is also in the Church. 
 This is her sin, her danger, the source of con- 
 stant failure. It is her duty as well as safety 
 to put away the evil thing from the midst 
 of her, to separate herself from the world, 
 and to honour her Lord and Master in the 
 discipline of. His house. To remember both 
 her duty to and her danger in the world is 
 difficult ; and experience shows that the Church 
 is apt, either to take a narrow view of her 
 mission, and to fail in aggressive courage and 
 breadth of love and sympathy, or to be dazzled 
 by a superficial success, and conforming herself 
 with this present world, increase her numbers 
 with those who, being dead and unrenewed, 
 are without the Spirit, and therefore without 
 the love of Christ. 
 
 The Church and the world form a contrast, 
 and they are also opposed to each other. In 
 one aspect, the Church and the world are a 
 contrast, but not antagonistic. In another, the 
 Church and the world are opposites. The 
 
290 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 world hates the Church, and the Church, 
 delivered from this present evil world, con- 
 stantly overcomes it. The world is made 
 for the Church. The Church is sent to the 
 world. The world is loved of God, and Jesus 
 is the world's Light. But world and Church 
 form a contrast. The one is in the sphere of 
 nature, the other is in the sphere of Spirit. The 
 world's life is based upon the work of God in 
 creation, the Church is founded by the outpour- 
 ing of the Spirit on Pentecost. The world is 
 of the first Adam, who (even before the fall) 
 was of the earth earthy ; the Church is born of 
 the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, the 
 spiritual man. Viewed as creation, the world is 
 good, beloved of God, and made for the Church. 
 It is the mission of the Church to enter into 
 every department of human life. We must re- 
 member that all the relationships of the family 
 and the state are instituted by God. They are 
 of the Father, and therefore for Christ and 
 the Church. Jesus changes the water, which 
 is God's creature, and good, into wine, which 
 is a better and higher gift. Body, soul, and 
 spirit are to be sanctified to the service of God. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 291 
 
 Man's intellectual and social life on earth — all 
 that humanity is and possesses — is the territory 
 and sphere upon which the Church should exert 
 her power. Here the Church may not be agres- 
 sive enough. She may not enter into the wide 
 range of applications which belong to the Word 
 of her Master — " I am not come to destroy, but 
 to fulfiL" She may not possess sufficient in- 
 sight, patience, and courage of love to go into 
 the world and attract those who are drawn by 
 the Father and seeking after Him, though as 
 yet they are in darkness and in sin. She may 
 mistake an outward and mechanical separation 
 for the true holiness which Jesus manifested. 
 He came eating and drinking, and went to the 
 Pharisees who invited Him to be their guest. 
 It is no doubt much easier to follow the method 
 of John the Baptist than to imitate the example 
 of our blessed Lord, who in the fulness of 
 spiritual power and love lived among men. For 
 we must never forget that wherever Jesus went 
 He was about His Father's business, fulfilling 
 the mission for which He was sent, and testi- 
 fying of the kingdom. It was as a prophet 
 that He was invited, and He always appeared 
 
292 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 as a preacher of righteousness ; He always 
 declared the truths of salvation ; He reproved 
 sin, He refuted error, He preached the gospel. 
 He converted every social feast into a solemn 
 assembly, in which the divine message was de- 
 livered, and heavenly blessings were unfolded. 
 He never was a passive spectator of worldly 
 and God -forgetting, insipid and unprofitable 
 society. He was always Jesus, the Son of the 
 Father, the Light of the world, the Lover of 
 men's souls. If we quote His example as 
 an authority for our social habits, let us 
 examine ourselves whether we are imitating 
 and even striving to imitate His ways. For 
 only the Son can make us free. The liberty 
 of the Christian is the liberty of the filial 
 spirit, the liberty of a loving heart, and of a 
 strong and God - subdued will. The world 
 must be conquered in the heart, the Father's 
 love must reign joyously and strongly within, 
 if we are to go forth " eating and drink- 
 ing, using the world as not abusing it," and 
 realising the apostolic word, ^^ All things are 
 yours." But if we are indeed Christ's, and our 
 citizenship is in heaven, then we do not require 
 
THE CHUECH AND THE WORLD. 293 
 
 the rules and restrictions, ^^ Touch not, taste 
 not, handle not," by which men seek to secure 
 for themselves a safe transit through the realm 
 of earthly occupations and society, fancying that 
 external barriers will prevent the spirit and the 
 contamination of the world from penetrating 
 into their mind. We shall then learn that 
 every creature of God is good, and nothing to 
 be refused if it be received with thanksgiving, 
 for it is sanctified by the Word of God and 
 prayer (1 Tim. iv. 4, 5). We shall then be 
 able to distinguish between nature as God's 
 creature and nature as corrupted by sin.* We 
 shall then understand how the Scriptures 
 teach that Satan is the god of this world, and 
 yet everywhere assert that '^ the earth is the 
 Lord's, and the fulness thereof." We shall be 
 able to see, and enjoy unto profit and edifica- 
 tion, that which is truly wise and beautiful in 
 literature, in poetry and art. And while unto 
 them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing 
 is pure, all things are pure unto the pure, unto 
 them that see God in the face of His Son Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 * " Natura in quantum Natura est, bona est." 
 
294 THE CHURCH A2sT> THE WORLD. 
 
 The Christians are thus prepared and gifted 
 to explain and interpret the world. They are 
 taught by Scripture to praise the Lord in all 
 His works, in all places of His dominion. 
 They can recognise and enjoy beauty in art as 
 well as nature. They can trace the hidden 
 longings after God's salvation and light ; they 
 love to find in Athens the altar with the 
 inscription, '' To the unknown God ;" they love 
 to quote the testimony ^' of your own poets." 
 They are called to befriend and cherish what- 
 soever things are true and venerable, just and 
 pure, lovely and of good report. They are 
 commanded to seek out ^' them that are 
 worthy,'' and bring to them the gospel - sal- 
 vation of peace. 
 
 The Church of Christ, in its best and healthi- 
 est days, never despised learning and culture, 
 but received it with thanksgiving and diligent 
 care, judging all things by the Word of God, 
 and measuring all things by the standard of 
 revelation. * 
 
 * The Reformers everywhere encouraged education. They 
 planted schools wherever they founded churches. While they 
 spoke very strongly on the " blindness of human reason," they 
 did not confound fanatically the regions of nature and grace, 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WOELD. 295 
 
 But the world must be viewed in another 
 light, sad, but equally true. The world lieth in 
 the wicked one. Humanity is fallen ; we live in 
 an evil world. And what the evil of the world 
 is in which we are, we may easily know by 
 the evil of the world which is in us. Selfish- 
 ness, pride, lust, covetousness, trust in that 
 which is outward, and unbelief in that which 
 is spiritual and real, seeking our own glory, 
 and all manifestations of departure from God. 
 Against this world the Church must continually 
 fight. She must assert the opposition between 
 nature and grace, flesh and spirit, anti- Christ 
 and Christ, Satan and God; she must assert 
 the great distinction between the best works, 
 and the most beautiful and noble products of 
 man's spirit and the new creation of the Holy 
 Ghost. She must declare the judgment by 
 which the Prince and the spirit of the world are 
 already condemned, and the wrath which is to 
 come on the enemies of God, and must exhort 
 
 they were tinged by no false asceticism and Manichseism. 
 Many beautiful passages might be quoted from Luther, whose 
 love for music, poetry, logic, and all useful knowledge and 
 science was comprehensive and healthy. 
 
296 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 men to separate themselves from the world, 
 to save themselves from this untoward gene- 
 ration. She must not allow her testimony to 
 be so indistinct, her life and walk so colour- 
 less, her discipline so lax, that unrenewed men 
 can fancy themselves to be members of the 
 mystical body of which Christ is the Head, 
 or that they, who are strangers to the grace 
 and power of Christ, can presume to take part 
 in the guidance of the Church, or in the mini- 
 strations of Christ's heritage. Much evil has 
 arisen from the indistinct and erroneous views 
 which have prevailed from an early period of 
 Church history, on the character and position 
 of Christ's flock in the present age, the times 
 of Gentiles. The distinction between the 
 Church and the kingdom was forgotten. The 
 Scripture teaches clearly, that until the return 
 of our blessed Lord Jesus the Church is a 
 little flock without outward strength and glory, 
 hated and persecuted by the world ; and her 
 hope is in the Father's counsel and power, 
 her eye is directed to the future, where by 
 divine interference the kingdom will be given 
 to her. Christ has delivered us from this 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 297 
 
 present evil world, of which Satan is the 
 Prince. The wisdom of this world is not able 
 to recognise the truth as it is in Jesus. When 
 we become enamoured of this world, we forsake 
 the apostle and His Master (1 Cor. i. 20 ; 2 Tim. 
 iv. 40). The world, as our Saviour has foretold, 
 shall hate us. The more we show forth Christ's 
 image, the more closely we follow Him, and tes- 
 tify for Him in word and truth, the more shall 
 the enmity and the persecution of the world 
 among all nations rest on us ; for the world 
 loveth its own, and hateth what is not of the 
 world, but from above. And as the hatred 
 of the world to Christ on earth increased in 
 bitterness, cruelty, and self-consciousness, till 
 at last they nailed Him to the cross ; so the 
 word of prophecy reveals to us that the history 
 of the Church, the Bride, will resemble that 
 of her divine Lord, that the world in the latter 
 days will hate God and His Anointed, and 
 persecute unto death the saints of the Most 
 High who confess and believe His truth. The 
 last development of the so-called Christianised 
 nations is the manifestation of anti-Christ, 
 the open and self-conscious rebellion against 
 
298 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 the Father and the Son. The end of this age 
 is judgment. The monarchies of the world are 
 destroyed, and become like the chaff of the 
 summer thrashing-floors (Dan. ii.) Christ and 
 His saints appear in glory ; the Son of man 
 begins His reign, and in His kingdom the 
 nations of the earth honour and obey God, 
 and the Father's will is done here as it is in 
 heaven. 
 
 The Church soon forgot the position which 
 God has assigned to her, and the object which 
 she was continually to bear in view. Instead 
 of being a witness, continuing the ministry of 
 Christ, endeavouring to save the lost sheep, and 
 to gather those who were of the truth into the 
 fold; instead of relying on her spiritual weapons, 
 the influence of the Word, the converting and 
 renewing power of the Holy Ghost, the attrac- 
 tion of love and holiness, the Church was daz- 
 zled by the outward Christianisation of kings 
 and princes, and relying on the influence of 
 worldly power, legislation, and fashion, rejoiced 
 in the strong numerical accessions which soon 
 changed the Church from being a field of wheat 
 in which there were some tares, into a field of 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 299 
 
 tares in which there is some wheat. The 
 papacy is, in its inmost essence, a false antici- 
 pation of the kingdom, a confusion of Church 
 and the Christocracy. As a German writer 
 says, " Rome usurped as a harlot the position 
 and rights which the Bride of the Lamb shall 
 possess in love and holiness.'^ 
 
 ■ But it was not merely the papacy which fell 
 into this error. The Churches of the Reformation, 
 which began in the Spirit, soon relapsed into 
 carnal and worldly thoughts and methods. They 
 failed to perceive clearly the peculiar spiritual 
 character of the Church in this dispensation, 
 and its antagonistic character to the spirit and 
 power of the age. The protection of princes and 
 nobles was accepted in a hasty and vague man- 
 ner. The world became Christianised in such 
 an external and superficial way, that very soon 
 Christianity became worldly, diluted, falsified. 
 The inherent spirit and character of the masses, 
 as well as the dominant genius of the nations, 
 has not been subdued and renewed by the Holy 
 Grhost, and the true character of so-called Chris- 
 tian nations and (multitudinous) churches is 
 beginning to manifest itself. 
 
300 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 The real source of the evil is a latent Pela- 
 gianism, which forgets, that what is born of the 
 flesh is flesh, and that we must be born from 
 above. It expects the world to become gra- 
 dually better, as if the world, any more than an 
 individual, can by gradual amelioration get rid 
 of ungodliness, and be conformed to the image 
 of God. It forgets that the progress of civili- 
 sation will only hasten the development of the 
 radical, inherent ungodliness and opposition to 
 Christ. Though history teaches us that as 
 civilisation advances wars become more flerce 
 and fearful, men, and even Christians, dream 
 that the age of peace and prosperity has dawned 
 on us. They forget that only Jesus shall make 
 wars to cease on the earth, and that only His 
 Parousia, and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, 
 will, after the judgment on His enemies, renew 
 all things, and regenerate the world. 
 
 If we hold fast these truths, our position in 
 the world is clear, and our aim distinct. The 
 object of the Church is not to Christianise the 
 world. " Simeon hath declared how God at the 
 first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them 
 a people for His name " (Acts xv. 14). '' This 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 301 
 
 gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all 
 the v^ovld /or a witiess unto all nations, and 
 then shall the end come" (Matt. xxiv. 14). 
 While the tabernacle of David is in ruins, while 
 Jerusalem is trodden down of the Gentiles, 
 while instead of the theocracy there is the wit- 
 nessing and suffering Church, God is taking 
 out from the nations of the earth a people to 
 know and serve Him. The Church is an elec- 
 tion ; its character is elective, and not universal ; 
 exceptional, and not general ; we are the few, and 
 not the majority ; strangers and pilgrims, and 
 not established and dominant, waiting for the 
 absent (yet spiritually present) Lord and Bride- 
 groom, who will return and build again the 
 tabernacle of David, and reign in peace and 
 truth. 
 
 Our hope is Christ's return. We are not 
 expecting days of peace and sunshine, but of 
 storm and tempest ; we are not looking forward 
 to times of safety, of godliness and of truth, but 
 to perilous times, in which worldliness and error 
 shall become strong, attractive, and violent. We 
 expect the days which preceded the Flood and 
 the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We 
 
302 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 believe God will gather many from among Jews 
 and Gentiles into the Church, and bless His 
 testimony to multitudes, ere the judgment 
 comes. But our hope is nothing less and no- 
 thing else than the Lord himself, who shall 
 return to take to Himself the kingdom accord- 
 ing to the will of the Father. Our only anxiety, 
 therefore, ought to be to remain faithful and 
 loyal to Him ; to maintain truth in its fulness, 
 and in the spirit of love to seek not high or 
 worldly things, but like Jesus himself to" rejoice 
 and give thanks when the Father reveals His 
 Son to "babes," and when sinners, however 
 few and obscure, draw near to hear the beloved 
 gospel of divine grace. , 
 
 How is the Church to fulfil her mission to 
 the world, and to keep herself pure ? The purity 
 of the Church is not by isolation, but by aggres- 
 siveness ; and the victory of the Church is not 
 by world-conformity, but by purity. The more 
 aggressive the Church is, the purer she will 
 remain. The more courageously she attacks 
 the world, the less injury she will receive from 
 the poisonous atmosphere of unbelief and sel- 
 fishness around her. If the Church wishes to 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 303 
 
 keep herself unspotted from the world, and to 
 ^row in grace and heavenly-mindedness, she 
 must enter into the mind of her Lord, who, sent 
 by the Father, came to seek and to save that 
 which is lost, who went about doing good, and 
 declared to all, Pharisees and publicans, the 
 evangel of divine love. The Church, who feels 
 no compassion for perishing souls, who is not 
 constrained by the love of Him who died for 
 the guilty, who does not walk in the footsteps 
 of the great Deacon who came to minister unto 
 others, has already become worldly ; the spirit 
 of selfishness and unbelief has already entered 
 into her heart, and is endangering her very 
 life. 
 
 The safety of the Church is in warfare. If 
 she does not attack the world with the peaceful 
 yet powerful weapons of the Spirit, she loses the 
 faith which is the victory that overcometh, and 
 the love which constrains the members of Christ 
 to be ambassadors of the divine gospel. If the 
 light does not shine before men, it will soon be 
 extinguished ; if the salt does not benefit the 
 mass, the salt itself will soon be worthless and 
 trodden under foot. The man who obeys not 
 
304 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 the command of his leader, and in cowardice 
 and ignoble sloth stays away from the battle, 
 does not merely deprive himself of a share in 
 the joy and reward of victory, but is in danger 
 of losing the approbation of him who has called 
 him to be a soldier. 
 
 Thus we find that when the Church was most 
 active she was most prayerful, most fervent in 
 love, most concentrated in her aim, most 
 heavenly-minded and spiritual. Rejoicing in 
 mercy, she was merciful to the needy and sor- 
 rowful, the ignorant and guilty ; triumphing in 
 love, she was constrained by love to testify of 
 the Saviour, and to direct the erring and perish- 
 ing sheep to the Good Shepherd. True inten- 
 sity of love and devotion, and true expansive- 
 ness and work, go together. There may be an 
 appearance of activity and influence, a sem- 
 blance of energy and laborious zeal, without 
 inward coUectedness, prayer, and love. There 
 is sometimes an appearance of devotion, spiri- 
 tuality, and fervour, without the ministry of 
 of love and the works of mercy. But where 
 the true light shines within, and the true 
 love dwells in the heart, the Father seeth that 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 305 
 
 wliich is in secret, and the world beholds good 
 works ; it is when the joy of salvation reigns in 
 the Church that sinners are taught God's ways, 
 and transgressors are brought to repentance and 
 faith. 
 
 The Church resists the world by conquering 
 love. She keeps herself pure by going into the 
 world preaching glad tidings by word and work. 
 And in this aggressiveness she is strongest when 
 she is most pure. When loyal to her heavenly 
 Bridegroom, she keeps herself unspotted from 
 the world, she is most skilful and most blessed 
 in gaining souls. She loves the world most, 
 and is her true benefactor, when most obedient 
 to the apostolic precept, " Love not the world." 
 She cannot influence unless her standpoint is 
 heavenly. As Archimedes said, '' Give me where 
 I can stand, and I will move the earth," the 
 Church can attract and conquer only when she 
 remembers her heavenly position and character. 
 When we seek the praise, and yield to the spirit 
 of the world, our light loses its light, our salt 
 its savour. David cannot fight with Goliath in 
 Saul's armour. Our sufficiency is of God; our 
 weapons are spiritual. 
 
306 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 Let US remember, then, whose we are. Chil- 
 dren of the Father, whose philanthropy has ap- 
 peared in the Lord Jesus Christ ; the redeemed 
 children of Jesus, who is the Friend of sinners ; 
 the children of the Holy Ghost, who in the 
 Bride calls unto the world, Come ! Let us 
 remember that God dwells in us by His love, 
 that Jesus lives in us, when, as His represen- 
 tatives, we continue His mission on earth. Let 
 us beware of morbid quietism and of superficial 
 activity. Sentiment may be dead, as much as 
 works which proceed not from the love of a 
 living heart are lifeless, and without value in 
 God's sight. Let us abide in Christ, and, up- 
 held and nourished by Him in secret, the Father 
 will reward and acknowledge us openl}^ The 
 faith of our heart will manifest itself in doing 
 the works which Jesus did when He was on 
 earth. Sinners will draw near to hear us ; the 
 grace of God will be magnified, and many will 
 rejoice and say, Here is Immanuel, the true 
 and loving presence of Jesus on earth. 
 
 Very comprehensive are the comparisons of 
 Scripture to illustrate the wonderful position 
 of the Church of Christ in the world. It is 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 307 
 
 surely not accidental that these various com- 
 parisons comprise the universe, all the various 
 spheres of the creation of God. Beginning with 
 the inanimate, the Church is compared to the 
 heavenly bodies, to the celestial luminaries — 
 the Church is called the light of the world, and 
 her ministers stars (Matt. v. ,; Rev. i. ; Dan. xii.) 
 She is compared unto precious stones, reflect- 
 ing light in beauty ; for by the electing love of 
 God, the redemption of Christ, and the trans- 
 forming power of the Holy Ghost, the saints, 
 who were once children of wrath and disobe- 
 dience, living in darkness, and without the 
 hope of glory, are now filled with the Spirit, 
 and beautified with the righteousness of Christ, 
 whose image they bear. The Church is com- 
 pared to a building, believers being living 
 stones, the Saviour himself the foundation. 
 For in the Church is strength and harmony ; 
 and while some are pillars able to sustain 
 heavy weight, and chosen to be prominent and 
 attractive, the exercise of love unites all, and 
 renders the whole strong and fortified against 
 the assaults of enemies, and the imtoward and 
 inclement influences of a hostile atmosphere. 
 
308 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 Between this lowest kingdom of creation and 
 the kingdom of plants, on the boundary line 
 between organic and inorganic, we notice salt 
 and leaven. The Church has power to preserve 
 the world from corruption, and to enter as a 
 chemical, transforming power into the various 
 developments of human life. Rising to a 
 higher sphere, to show that the Church has 
 life, an inherent vitality which manifests itself 
 in growth and in fruit, the Church is compared 
 to a vine, thus showing also, that while each 
 member or believer has individuality, the 
 Church forms one organism, and is vitalised by 
 the same principle and spirit. Ascending still 
 higher, the Church is compared to the net of 
 fishes, the enclosure which out of the waves of 
 the ocean rescues the homeless ; to the flock of 
 sheep, emblem of a community guarded by the 
 faithful Shepherd, watched over in love and 
 tenderness. But all these illustrations do not 
 suffice to show forth the true character of the 
 Church. She is therefore compared to man, that 
 wonderful organism, himself a microcosm — 
 to man, created in the image of God. Christ 
 is the Head, the Church is His body. And 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 309 
 
 in order more clearly to manifest tlie fulness 
 and greatness of the Church, the various 
 human relationships which God has instituted 
 are used as sj^mbols. Thus marriage is a 
 symbol of the great mystery, Christ and His 
 people, whom He loved and redeemed, and 
 with whom He has betrothed Himself, dwel- 
 ling in them now by His Spirit, and pre- 
 paring them for His second coming in glory. 
 The Church is compared to a family in which 
 there are new-born babes, children, young 
 men, fathers ; God himself is the Father ; 
 Christ the Elder Brother, as well as the Head ; 
 apostles and evangelists, fathers in Christ, as 
 well as children and brothers ; — a family in 
 which love rules, in which all obey the one 
 Father, and are called to the same inherit- 
 ance ; in which the parents lay up treasure for 
 the children, in which the strong confirm and 
 comfort the weak. The Church is compared to 
 a great household, and to a kingdom, in which 
 faithfulness, diligence, loyalty, and energy bene- 
 fit the whole, bring glory to the supreme Ruler, 
 and reward to the stewards and messengers of 
 the King. 
 
310 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 To unfold the idea of the Church, the 
 Scripture coraparisons begin from the lowest 
 sphere and end in the highest, and that in the 
 noblest, fullest, and most developed manifesta- 
 tion, thus teaching us that all the thoughts of 
 God in creation are summed up and transfigured 
 in the Church. Light and purity, beauty and 
 strength, life and love, unity and wisdom, all 
 that the creature can be, shines forth in the 
 Church, chosen of the Father, redeemed by the 
 blood of Christ, and born of the Spirit. And 
 this because the Church is a new creation. 
 She is not of the world ; she is from above. 
 She is not the efflorescence of humanity. But 
 Christ, the Lord from heaven, Jesus, who was 
 conceived of the Holy Ghost, is her second 
 Adam. She is born in the resurrection of Jesus, 
 who died for her. And hence the Church is 
 compared with Christ himself — '^ As the Father 
 hath sent me, so have I sent you." We are the 
 sons of God. As He was, so are we in the 
 world. We are to represent and reveal Christ, 
 even as He represented and revealed the 
 Father. 
 
 As love is the new commandment of Christ, 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 311 
 
 SO the Cliurch ought to be the home of love — 
 '' By this shall all men know that ye are my 
 disciples, if ye love one another." The world is 
 not able to understand deep doctrines, and to 
 judge of orthodoxy ; nor is it able to enter into 
 the fervent feelings which the disciples of 
 Jesus have when the Saviour manifests unto 
 them His grace. But Christ assures us that 
 love is understood, that the presence of love 
 is felt, that men hear its voice and admire 
 its beauty. He, as love incarnate, went about 
 doing good ; He healed the sick, He drove out 
 devils. He conquered evil. And His Church 
 will spread blessings and bring peace and con- 
 solation in proportion as she is filled with the 
 love of Jesus, and with the spirit of His min- 
 istry. Sound words, fervent feelings, laborious 
 work, are nothing unless we have love, unless 
 we are actuated by the Spirit of Christ. We 
 are not justified by doctrines ; neither are we 
 justified by works or sentiments. Christ is our 
 Kighteousness, and Christ is our Life. Hence 
 Scripture never speaks of Christianity as a 
 creed or system of doctrine, or even as a prin- 
 ciple, but speaks always of Jesus, who in love 
 
312 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 died for us, who rose again, and sends the 
 Spirit into our hearts. It speaks of Christ 
 dwelling in us, and of our new resurrection- 
 life in Him. '' We live, yet not we, but Christ 
 liveth in us." 
 
 The primitive Church dwelt much on the 
 gospels and the Apocalypse. The Church of the 
 Reformation gave great prominence to the 
 epistles.* Let us return to the gospels, and 
 read them in the Pentecostal light of apostolic 
 teaching. He only who has died with Christ, 
 and is risen with Him, can follow the Saviour 
 in His life and walk. The natural, unrenewed 
 man cannot follow Jesus ; but when we know 
 the grace of the Saviour, and the power of His 
 resurrection, we understand the lessons of His 
 life, and having received the Spirit of Christ, 
 we can live and walk as the sons of Grod. 
 
 '' From the life of Jesus," said the old Ger- 
 
 * " I have certainly more of the Pauline epistles than of the 
 four gospels in my nature .... These epistles presuppose the 
 gospels having been sent to those churches that possessed the 
 materials of the letter. Hence, though for the balancing of 
 truth there is nothing like the Pauline letters, for vitality 
 and freshness there is nothing like the facts of the gospel." — 
 J. DuNAU, "Colloquia Peripatelica, " pp. 43, 44. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 313 
 
 mans, "we can learn all things."* We can 
 learn Christ ; and to know Him is to know all 
 things that pertain unto life and godliness. Let 
 lis then continually study Him as the Model ; 
 we must represent Christ in our lives. 
 
 (1.) And first let us remember the object of 
 Christ's life. He was sent. He never forgot that 
 He came not to do His own will, but the will 
 of the Father that sent Him. He teaches most 
 emphatically and impressively that He had only 
 one aim, one absorbing and dominant idea, one 
 all-pervading law and rule. It was simply to 
 do His Father's will. He subordinates His own 
 individuality, if we may so speak ; He came not 
 to do His own will. Motives which in them- 
 selves are pure and legitimate, and by which 
 our minds may be naturally and sinlessly actu- 
 ated, such as benevolence and piety, and interest 
 in the progress of God's kingdom, disappear 
 before the all - important and central desire 
 
 * " Jesus ! let Thy whole walk on earth stand before my eye, 
 that I may continually be renewed thereby, and that I may be 
 a savour of life, filled with the fruits of righteousness to them 
 with whom I live and for whom I pray, to the praise and glory 
 of God." — (Etinger. 
 
314 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 to honour the Father by obeying His com- 
 mand. Jesus spoke the words which He heard 
 of the Father ; He did the works which the 
 Father showed Him ; He spake and acted when- 
 ever He knew that '' the hour was come," the 
 hour which the Father had appointed. Thus 
 was He constantly the Servant of God, the 
 Eepresentative of the Father, continually and 
 in all things showing forth the glory of God, 
 and executing His command. Thus we are sent 
 by Jesus ; and all that we are and have^ all our 
 words and works, are to be viewed in the light 
 of mission and service ; we are Christ's, even as 
 Christ was sent of the Father. 
 
 In this unity and concentration of purpose 
 was the strength of Jesus. His heart was united, 
 as the Psalmist says, to praise God. ^' One 
 thing I do," was in the fullest sense of the word 
 true of the Saviour. And it was this exclusive 
 reference to the Father, this living before Him 
 and unto Him, which rendered the character 
 and acts of Jesus enigmatic and obnoxious to the 
 world, and sometimes unintelligible and mys- 
 sterious to His own disciples. How difficult is 
 it for us to understand Him, who even in the 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 31^ 
 
 good wliich He did sought not His own delight, 
 and followed not His own thought, but simply 
 the Father's glory and honour, the accomplish- 
 ment of His will and purpose ; who went into 
 sufferings and death simply that the Scripture 
 should be fulfilled, that the Father's com- 
 mandment should be obeyed. The Church of 
 Christ is to live as sent by Christ, to be subor- 
 dinate and obedient, and entirely consecrated 
 to the Master, as He was to His heavenly 
 Father. 
 
 (2.) Jesus came in lowliness. Although 
 He belonged to the royal house of David, He 
 was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem. 
 His birth, infancy, childhood, and youth are 
 characterised by the emblems of poverty and 
 obscure humility. What a contrast between the 
 power and splendour of Caesar Augustus and the 
 glory of the Roman Empire, and Bethlehem, the 
 small town of Judea, and the Infant who was 
 born there of the poor and humble daughter 
 of David. She offered a pair of turtle-doves, 
 because she was not rich enough to bring a 
 lamb (Luke ii. 24 ; Lev. xii. 8). Jesus was 
 
316 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 called Nazarene, brought up in the despised 
 Nazareth, that thus the whole tenor of pro- 
 phecy might be fulfilled, which described Him 
 as a root out of a dry ground, as coming in 
 lowliness, without earthly pomp and power. 
 Between the manger of Bethlehem and the 
 humble home of Nazareth and His death on the 
 cross, when He was numbered with the trans- 
 gressors, we find nothing else but humility, 
 poverty, and lowliness. " Foxes have holes, and 
 birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man 
 hath not where to lay His head." 
 
 What are we to learn from this ? Are we not 
 to follow the Master ? We may not be poor, 
 but we are to love poverty. We ought not to 
 trust in earthly riches and honour, in the things 
 which the world esteems and pursues ; we ought 
 to remember that our influence and our power 
 are spiritual, and that the garment of the true 
 Church is that of a servant, of a stranger and 
 pilgrim. When the Church becomes rich and 
 strong, esteemed by the world, and dominant, 
 the salt is in danger of losing its savour ; 
 spiritual objects are sought in a worldly spirit. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 317 
 
 and the mystery of the cross is obscured and 
 forgotten. 
 
 For to the end of this dispensation the 
 Church is as a widow, desolate and despised. 
 She is hated of the world. But it is poor and 
 persecuted Smyrna which, by her Christlike 
 poverty, maketh many rich. The glory of the 
 Church is inward ; the King's daughter, the 
 bride of Christ, is all-glorious within. 
 
 (3.) Jesus was the Son of God. He came 
 from above. He was poor, and yet all things 
 were His ; He was lowly, and yet all power 
 was given to Him in heaven and earth, for 
 He was the only - begotten of the Father. 
 The Father was always with Him, and heard 
 Him always. Thus the Church is born of 
 God, of incorruptible seed. Her life is none 
 other but the life of Christ, the risen Head, the 
 life of the Spirit who dwelleth in us. "We exert 
 influence and power in the world simply by 
 our being blameless and harmless, the sons of 
 God, living Christ's life (which comes only out 
 of the death and the crucifixion of the old man), 
 manifesting the divine nature of which we are 
 partakers who have escaped the corruption that 
 
318 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 is in tlie world through lust (Phil, ii.,2 Pet. i.) 
 The Church declares every Lord's day that the 
 resurrection of Christ is her birthday, the source 
 of her life and hope, and thus preaches to the 
 world both the condemnation of the flesh, the 
 utter helplessness of the first Adam and his 
 seed, and the new and heavenly life, which in 
 the only-begotten of the Father, and the first- 
 beo:otten of the dead, has come to all believers. 
 (4.) In this lowliness and in this power with 
 love and sympathy the Church is able to go 
 to the whole world, announcing substance 
 in the midst of emptiness and vain shadows, 
 eternal life and consolation in the midst of 
 death and sorrow, peace to the heavy-laden 
 conscience, love to the aching and thirsting 
 heart, forgiveness and renewal, health and 
 joy to the wounded and contrite. And while 
 she loves all and intercedes for all, she is 
 filled, like her Master, with a special love, in- 
 tense and tender, for the brethren, towards His 
 own who are in the world, and who are gathered 
 to the Bishop and Shepherd of souls. Thank- 
 ing God, as Jesus did, for the disciples whom 
 the Father gives, she watches over the young 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 319 
 
 aDd inexperienced, tlie weak and tempted, the 
 lonely and afflicted. She seeks to build up, to 
 cherish, and to gladden the heritage of God, the 
 fellow-heirs of life eternal. 
 
 The Church is Christlike — sent from above, 
 having one aim and motive, in lowliness, in 
 divine power, in love and ministry. ^^ He that 
 hath seen me hath seen the Father." Likewise 
 ought we to be able to say. He that hath seen 
 the Church hath seen Christ. 
 
 Christ is all in all, yet every member of 
 the body, every Christian, has an individual 
 life, work, calling, a name of his own, a posi- 
 tion and talent assigned to him, for which he 
 is responsible to the Master. Let your light 
 so shine, saith He who is The Light. He 
 means the light which God has given to each of 
 us individually, according to our natural dispo- 
 sition and experience ; the special charisma 
 which we have received, be it knowledge or 
 patience, or strength or skill, be it intellectual, 
 or moral, or social. In each of us Christ is 
 formed. We possess some feature of His 
 character, some gift of His Spirit, some power 
 
320 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 and influence out of His fulness. Each of us is 
 placed in a position, surrounded by opportuni- 
 ties and endowed with gifts. Each one is indi- 
 vidual, peculiar; no one else can do what the 
 Master, the great Householder, has appointed 
 and given him to be and do. Let us remem- 
 ber that we are to let our light shine. We are 
 never taught in Scripture to sever our privi- 
 leges and our gifts from our responsibility, or to 
 forget in our high position the dangers with 
 which we are surrounded^ and the faithfulness 
 which the Lord expects from us. Hence, when 
 Christ calls us the light of the world, He im- 
 mediately adds the command; when He calls us 
 the salt of the earth. He immediately adds the 
 most solemn warning. We are a chosen gene- 
 ration, a royal priesthood, that we should show 
 forth the praises of Him who hath called us. 
 
 Let us resemble the blessed Master in His 
 loving wisdom, which directed men to what 
 is easy and simple to understand. Only the 
 eye of faith can see that which is secret, 
 spiritual, and rooted in the heart; but all 
 can see the manifestations of love. Perhaps 
 we dwell too much upon one aspect of the 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 321 
 
 truth, according to which the world is not 
 able to understand the mystery of godliness ; 
 but certainly Christ has not sent us into the 
 world to present something to it that it cannot 
 understand. It is perfectly true that until the 
 Spirit of God opens their eyes men do not see 
 Jesus ; but in one sense they are able to see, to 
 judge, to appreciate; the world is able to un- 
 derstand our message, and to see our good 
 works ; they can acknowledge the influence of 
 God in our lives and conduct; and the Lord 
 Jesus says, that our great object ought to be so 
 to let our light shine before men, that they may 
 behold our good works, and glorify our Father 
 which is in heaven. 
 
 When meditating on the Church, we are 
 always in danger of forgetting our own duty. 
 Let us remember that, although the Church 
 forms a unity, this unity is so wonderful that 
 each part of the Church is, as it were, again a 
 whole. Let us avoid any feverish impatience 
 or indolent waiting for a sign from heaven. 
 Let us rather believe that the Lord is doino- 
 His work, and carrying out His purposes of 
 
 X 
 
322 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 
 
 wisdom and love. Our own duty is clear before 
 us. As the apostle says, " We are God's work- 
 manship, created in Christ Jesus unto good 
 works, which He hath before ordained that we 
 should walk in them." Our individual duty is 
 not a matter of choice. It is as little a matter 
 of choice as was our birthplace. Fixed from 
 all eternity, the path of obedience comes down 
 from the throne of God, close to our very feet. 
 The sphere of action has been prepared for us, 
 the good works which we are to perform have 
 been ordained before, and there in that path 
 the Lord manifests Himself secretly unto each 
 of His disciples. If a man loves Him, and keeps 
 His commandments, Jesus has promised that He 
 and the Father will love him, and that they will 
 come and manifest themselves unto him. Al- 
 though this is a secret path, it is luminous. When 
 we walk in the good works which are ordained for 
 us from all eternity, then are we the lights of 
 the world. While we are thus each one walk- 
 ing separately, as it were, alone, let us remem- 
 ber that we are compassed about with a cloud 
 of witnesses, and that all the children of God 
 are with us on the same path, that we are up- 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 323 
 
 held by their sympathy, remembered in their 
 prayers ; all the different activities, all the 
 manifold sufferings, of the members of the 
 Church of Jesus Christ are blended in perfect 
 harmony, until at last the blessed consumma- 
 tion shall be made manifest, when Jesus and 
 the Bride shall be revealed in glory. 
 
 In that eternal home, communion with God 
 and communion with all saints and angels are 
 blended together in such perfection as transcends 
 our present knowledge, because as yet we know 
 so little of the depths of that blessed and fun- 
 damental truth — God is Love. 
 
VIIL 
 LIFE IN THE CHURCH; 
 (THE CHURCH VISIBLE AND ORGANIZED). 
 
SERMON VIII. 
 
 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; 
 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
 commanded you." — Matt, xxviii. 19,20. 
 
 The history of the apostolic Churcli is the 
 guide-book of the Church of every age. The 
 Holy Ghost has not given us a record of the 
 subsequent history of Christ's people, and we 
 are convinced that the description of the apos- 
 tolic Church given to us by the Spirit is all that 
 we need for our instruction and encouragement. 
 In reading this book, we feel both sorrow and 
 shame. It seems like reading of a ^^ paradise 
 lost," of a beautiful garden, fragrant and fruit- 
 ful, from which we are banished. And yet 
 there is something morbid in this feeling. God 
 loves us as truly and tenderly as He loved His 
 
328 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 disciples then, and the Holy Ghost, who is 
 mentioned fifty times in this book of the fiftieth 
 (the Pentecostal) day, is ours also, dwelling in us, 
 and abiding with us according to the Saviour's 
 assurance. We ought, therefore, to read this 
 book, not merely with sorrow and shame, but 
 with gratitude and joy, and with the full and 
 hopeful purpose of a living and spiritual imita- 
 tion. 
 
 The great error one is liable to fall into is, 
 that our age and our circumstances are so dif- 
 ferent from those of the primitive churches that 
 comparison is inappropriate and imitation im- 
 possible. It began with miracle, but it is con- 
 tinued in a natural way. Truth and error are 
 mixed in this. The word miracle is ambiguous. 
 It began with and in the Spirit , and it is to 
 continue thus. The Church is herself a miracle, 
 miraculous in her life, strength, and influence. 
 Let us always confirm each other in this : the 
 Church is a tree, whose Koot is in heaven and 
 not on earth ; our vitality is the Holy Ghost. 
 
 What were the characteristic features of the 
 apostolic Church ? 
 
 We read that the Pentecostal congregation of 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 329 
 
 Jerusalem continued stedfast in the apostles' 
 doctrine, and in fellowship, and in breaking 
 of bread, and in prayers. Deeply rooted and 
 grounded in the knowledge and love of Christ, 
 they cast forth their roots as Lebanon, their 
 branches spread extensively ; there were con- 
 tinually added to their number true believers. 
 The Church extends when she is intense in her 
 spiritual life ; she spreads when she deepens ; 
 she expands by concentration. He that seeth 
 in secret acknowledges and rewards His people 
 openly. When God is in the midst of us, then 
 the power of His presence and love will be felt 
 by the world around us. 
 
 We are told that the Church of Jerusalem 
 was regarded by the people with awe and with 
 favour. This twofold, and apparently contradic- 
 tory, impression is very instructive. It shows 
 that the Church manifested both the holiness 
 and the love of God. Lo, God is Love ! let us 
 adore. When God reveals Himself, reverence 
 and awe fill the heart of man. But the Holy 
 One of Israel is also our Redeemer, and the 
 sunlight of peace, pardon and favour fills our 
 souls with hope and joy. As the inner circle 
 
330 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 of the Church thus adores in love, the outer circle 
 of hearers and inquirers receive the twofold 
 impression. They are solemnised, yet attracted ; 
 fear falls upon them, but not a petrifying and 
 sterile dread, but the fear with which the ele- 
 ment of affection, longing, and repentance is 
 blended. 
 
 The apostolic Church was full of joy and 
 peace in believing, by the power of the Holy 
 Ghost. They had received the "Word gladly 
 (Acts ii. 4), and this feature of rejoicing faith 
 characterised them also afterwards. For can 
 faith be without joy ? Is not assurance of 
 acceptance not so much an efflorescence as an 
 inherent essential element of faith? Is not 
 thanksgiving the necessary and immediate con- 
 sequence of accepting the unspeakable gift ? 
 The reality of apostolic faith explains their joy- 
 ousness and their heavenly-mindedness. It was 
 evident that they were walking in the light of 
 God's countenance, and that they were glad 
 because the good news filled their hearts with 
 peace and hope. It was evident that their affec- 
 tions were centred in Jesus, who delivered them 
 from the wrath to come, and whom they were 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 331 
 
 expecting to return from heaven, to give unto 
 them the inheritance. Faith is trust, and 
 surely not doubt. It is a confiding, peaceful, 
 and rejoicing rest in Jesus. It is a calm but 
 sure and lively hope of seeing Him, and 
 being with Him. Little faith is to be treated 
 with kindness and patience, yet not to be 
 encouraged, but upbraided, according to the 
 Lord's example, and to be brought to the 
 firm rock of divine promise. But doubt- faith, 
 the product of a languid, world-conforming age, 
 is not to be tolerated. It is self-contradictory, 
 and it is often a cloak to conceal the undecided 
 and divided state of the heart, which in reality 
 has not repented, and has not accepted the 
 Saviour. The apostolic Christians believed, 
 they trusted in Jesus ; and they knew Him 
 in whom they believed, and rejoiced in Him 
 who was their loving Redeemer, and who was 
 coming again to give them the kingdom. 
 
 The apostolic Church was the home of Love. 
 Jesus was their centre. In Him they were one. 
 The Lord's Supper was the continual expression 
 and confirmation of this family union. Their 
 fellowship was with the Father and the Lord 
 
332 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 and with one another. The filial spirit is also 
 fraternal. A brotherhood, a community of in- 
 terests, a co-operation and harmonious blending 
 of gifts and power, such as the Church mani- 
 fested, had never been realised by statesmen, or 
 even imagined by political and social reformers. 
 In the realm of instinct, the only parallel is the 
 bee-hive : there all are one, labouring together, 
 having no separate interest, and no self-centred 
 skill or diligence. Our own body is another 
 illustration. For if one member suffers, the 
 whole body suffers, and the whole organism is 
 animated by the same spirit. Thus is it in the 
 Church. Christ is the Head, from whom the 
 whole body, fitly joined together and compacted, 
 by that which every joint supplieth, according 
 to the effectual working of the measure in every 
 part, maketh increase of the body unto the 
 edifying of itself in love. Where Christ's 
 Spirit is, there love dwells and reigns. Love, 
 rooted in the heart, strong, sweet, and tender ; 
 love in deed and in truth, manifesting itself in 
 the words of consolation, counsel, and encourage- 
 ment, and in the deeds of help and self- 
 sacrifice. 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 333 
 
 It is only a proof of the genuineness of 
 apostolic faith, joy, and love that their life was 
 calm. There was no feverish excitement, no 
 violent alternations of joy and grief, of strength 
 and lassitude. '' They did eat their meat with 
 gladness and singleness of heart." As a well of 
 water, not stagnant, jet not boisterous, clear 
 and free, strong and spontaneous, even and per- 
 ennial — thus was the spiritual life in the early 
 Christians. 
 
 But it may be asked. Is it right to forget, in 
 describing the apostolic Church, the failings 
 and sins, the imperfections and grievous blem- 
 ishes, which are narrated in the Acts of the 
 Apostles and in the epistles ? It would be 
 indeed wrong to omit the consideration of these 
 facts, so faithfully worded for our instruction ; 
 but this will only add strength to what has 
 already been said. 
 
 We read, indeed, of sins and abuses in the 
 apostolic Churches. As immediately after the 
 entrance of Israel into the promised land there 
 was the sin of Achan and the divine judgment 
 on the transgressor ; so at the very commence- 
 ment of the apostolic Church, we read of the 
 
334 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 sin of Ananias and Sapphira, and of tlie holy 
 anger of God, who punished them with His sore 
 displeasure. From the exhortations which the 
 apostles addressed to the various congregations, 
 it is evident that most lamentable offences and 
 grievous sins needed to be rebuked. But how 
 strong and vigorous must have been in the Church 
 the life of faith and the realisation of Jesus ! 
 Apostles never recede from the high ground and 
 the spiritual method of the gospel. They never 
 lower the standard of gospel liberty, nor intro- 
 duce the restrictions and methods of a legal 
 spirit to check sin. When they rebuke the sin of 
 uncleanness, it is by reminding the Corinthians 
 of the highest Christian mystery, the fullest and 
 deepest gospel blessing, viz., our union with 
 Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. 
 To the same high and heavenly source is 
 traced the command, " Lie not one to another." 
 The abuses which had crept into the celebration 
 of the Lord's Supper are not met by any outward 
 discipline and regulation, by advising the less 
 frequent observance of this Christian feast, but 
 by a renewed exposition of the solemnity and 
 nature of the in<stitution. Thus did the 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 335 
 
 apostles exercise full confidence in the strength 
 and intense vitality of the faith of their converts. 
 Thus did they with noble courage and wisdom 
 discard all external and legal methods, and rely 
 exclusively on the power of the Holy Ghost in 
 the Church, on Christ dwelliug in the hearts 
 of believers. It were a very shortsighted mis- 
 take to measure the real soul-condition of apos- 
 tolic Christians by the blemishes and spots which 
 appeared among them. Often the radical evil 
 of unbelief and apathy co-exists with the out- 
 ward forms of propriety and decorum. 
 
 Another peculiarity of the apostolic Church, 
 and intimately connected with spirituality, is 
 the combination of liberty and order. As the 
 apostles were commissioned to teach all that 
 Christ had commanded them, so they were espe- 
 cially careful not to add any commandments of 
 their own, and to watch that the precepts of Christ 
 were obeyed in the spirit of liberty, as unto the 
 Lord, and from an intellisrent and lovino^ con- 
 viction. They left, therefore, everything to the 
 power of truth, and relied on the testimony 
 of the Spirit, and not on their authority. 
 Thus the Council of Jerusalem did not issue an 
 

 336 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 edict legislative in its tone, but expressed the 
 view to which the meeting of apostles, elders, 
 and brethren had come under the guidance 
 of the Holy Ghost, leaving it to the same 
 Spirit to convince the Churches, and to produce 
 an harmonious conformity. In the same manner 
 the question of the observance of days was 
 treated — in short, all questions which did not 
 involve the vital truths of Christ's salvation. 
 
 As to the meetings of churches and the 
 preaching of the gospel there was likewise 
 diversity, individuality, freedom. All gifts 
 were encouraged ; evangelists and deacons went 
 forth to preach and to baptize. But yet there 
 was no disorder. The unity of the Church was 
 always remembered. There is one body and one 
 Spirit. When Saul of Tarsus was converted 
 by the direct intervention of the Lord, he was 
 directed to go to Ananias, and to be baptized 
 by him. Christ honoured the Visible Church. 
 When the evangelist Philip preached in Sa- 
 maria, and many received the gospel there, the 
 apostles went down from Jerusalem, and the 
 new community was linked to the Church of 
 Jerusalem. 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 337 
 
 If in modern times we find it difficult to com- 
 bine order and unity with liberty and indivi- 
 dualism, it is because we do not sufficiently 
 rely on the inherent power of the Spirit of God, 
 and the deep bond of union which connects all 
 believers, and because we do not sufficiently 
 feel the paramount importance of love. Our 
 want of union is not owing so much to our 
 overrating the importance of our differences, as 
 to our not estimating sufficiently the all-im- 
 portance of the vital points in which we are 
 agreed. 
 
 Looking from earth heavenward, all believers 
 are priests, and through their divine Mediator 
 and High Priest they have access by one Spirit 
 unto the Father, and offer up spiritual sacrifices, 
 acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 
 
 But while there is no intervening priesthood 
 or mediation between earth and heaven, the 
 Lord Jesus blesses, feeds and rules the flock 
 through the ministry of believers, chosen and 
 set apart for the solemn work. Equal as all 
 believers are as to their acceptance with God, 
 and the blessings and privileges of the new 
 covenant, they differ as to wisdom and strength. 
 
338 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 AccordiDg to the very nature of things, and 
 the distinct teaching of Scripture, the Church 
 consists of teachers, rulers, shepherds, overseers, 
 and of the believers who are taught and ruled 
 over. Jesus himself commanded Peter and the 
 other apostles to feed the flock. The Apostle 
 Paul appointed in every church elders, men who 
 were apt to teach, and whose character and gifts 
 qualified them to take charge of the congrega- 
 tion. He commanded Timothy to follow this 
 example everywhere. And while the bishops 
 and elders are exhorted to remember the high 
 and solemn work to which they are set apart, 
 the congregations are continually reminded to 
 obey and honour those who labour among them, 
 and watch for their souls, and who must give 
 an account of their stewardship to the Lord, 
 who appointed them. 
 
 Nor is it sufficient to look upon this institu- 
 tion as arising merely out of the necessities of 
 the case, or commending itself to our wisdom 
 and prudence. We must regard it as a divine 
 appointment, as the will and gift of our ador- 
 able Saviour. For the perfecting of the saints, 
 for the work of the ministry, for the edify- 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 339 
 
 ing of the body of Christ — that is, for the 
 highest, most essential, and glorious purposes, 
 and till we all come in the unity of the faith, 
 and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 
 unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the 
 stature of the fulness of Christ — that is, until 
 the return of Jesus in glory, Christ gives to the 
 Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, 
 and teachers (Eph. iv. 4-16). The foundation 
 on which the Christian ministry rests is the 
 command of Christ ; its source is the ascended 
 Lord. He holdeth the seven stars in His 
 right hand. The object of the ministry is the 
 ingathering of souls, and the edifying of the 
 body of Christ. The permanence of the 
 ministry comprises the whole dispensation. 
 The existence of the ministry does not merely 
 not militate with the unity and equality 
 of believers, but it is for the very purpose of 
 promoting and strengthening it. It is because 
 there is one body, one Spirit, and one Father 
 and the Church is ultimately to be a perfect 
 man, that Christ gives various ministers and 
 stewards to His house. 
 
 It is men whom He gives. He does not send 
 
340 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 apostolic, prophetic, pastoral, evangelistic, and 
 teaching gifts to the congregation en masse^ 
 manifesting themselves in one individual to-day, 
 and in another member on some other occasion. 
 The Church is not a uniform mass, in which 
 some part is an eye to-day, and only for the day, 
 and then sinks back into a less noble or impor- 
 tant position. The Church is a body, in which 
 there are eyes and ears and hands, in which 
 various members have assigned to them various 
 positions and functions, for the benefit and 
 health of the whole. Christ gave some men to 
 be apostles, pastors, evangelists, &c. There were 
 rulers, known and acknowledged and obeyed. 
 They may have been more or less faithful and 
 vigilant, they may have been remiss and for- 
 getful, and needing sometimes the exhortation 
 to attend to their ministry ; but their position 
 was definite, even as their responsibility was. 
 It is true that the apostles, and all God-sent 
 ministers, evangelists, elders, never think 
 of having dominion over the Christian's faith, 
 but only wish to be helpers of their joy. It is 
 true that all their authority and influence is 
 spiritual, by the Word and in love, and that 
 
LIFE IN THE CHUECH. 341 
 
 their discipline is in the spirit of brotherly- 
 union. But while they bring the flock continu- 
 ally into contact with the Lord, with His voice 
 and His command — while their object is to 
 commend themselves to the conscience and 
 heart of the people, and to beseech and influ- 
 ence them by the mercies of God, their autho- 
 rity is not derived from the Churchy hut from 
 Christ. They rely on the Spirit proving their 
 apostleship to the congregation ; but they 
 themselves know who sent them, who gave 
 them the message of reconciliation, and who 
 entrusted them with the oversight of God's 
 heritage. 
 
 Jesus is Lord and Head of the Church. All 
 fulness dwells in Him. Of Him is all ministry. 
 He is the true Apostle sent of the Father (John 
 xvii. 18; Heb. iii. 1). He is the Prophet of 
 whom Moses spake as the perfect, ultimate, and 
 royal Teacher of God's people (Acts iii. 22). 
 He is the Evangelist, who announces the good 
 tidings of great joy (Luke xxiv. 4). Who but 
 He is the Shepherd, the good Shepherd, the 
 great Shepherd, the chief Shepherd? (John x. 
 10; Heb. xii. ; 1 Pet. v.) Christ therefore. 
 
342 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 tlirougli His servants, ministers to His people. 
 And as the men who minister are given and 
 upheld by Him, so His Spirit authorises and 
 endears them to the hearts of the people, and 
 establishes a strong and tender bond of confi- 
 dence and affection. If even the Apostle Paul 
 referred to the spiritual power and result of his 
 ministry as his apostolic authority against gain- 
 sayers (though he also asserted the divine mis- 
 sion which he had received from Christ), may 
 not we in like manner say. Whoever doubts our 
 position in the Church of Christ, those among 
 whom we labour know who hath sent us ? And 
 is not this in accordance with the spiritual 
 character of the New Testament dispensation ? 
 We have no Levitical priesthood, no authority 
 derived by physical or ecclesiastical descent; 
 the apostolic succession is of the Spirit, who 
 breatheth where it pleaseth Him, and whose 
 work can only be spiritually discerned. 
 
 In the apostolic epistles we find full and 
 minute directions given concerning the character, 
 conduct, duties, and responsibilities of presby- 
 ters or bishops, and of deacons. We find no 
 directions concerning apostles and prophets. 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 343 
 
 From tliis we infer that the episcopate or elder- 
 ship, and the diaconate, are permanent and 
 normal offices in the Church, and that in this 
 respect the apostolic model ought to be copied 
 in all Christian congregations during this dis- 
 pensation. In Jerusalem, in everj^ church 
 which was founded by the Apostle Paul, we find 
 elders who directed the congregations, ruled 
 over them, watched over their spiritual welfare, 
 instructed them in the Word of God. Chosen 
 for their zeal and eminent knowledge and de- 
 votion, they were charged to walk as en samples 
 to the flock — to exhort, rebuke, encourage — to 
 visit the sick, and to take heed to the con- 
 gregation over whom the Holy Ghost placed 
 them as overseers. As their duties and respon- 
 sibilities were most grave and solemn, the 
 people are exhorted then to honour them, and 
 to render them affectionate obedience. 
 
 This institution of elders or overseers, which, 
 based on Old Testament indications, was estab- 
 lished in the synagogue, was thus introduced 
 by the apostles, and is in harmony with the 
 whole spirit of Scripture, while it obviously 
 is adapted to the necessities and wants of the 
 
344 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 Church, both as regards her inner development 
 and her relations to the world. The various 
 gifts V7hich are needed for teaching, for dis- 
 cipline, for the ministration of counsel, comfort, 
 or rebuke, are thus exercised by men who have 
 approved themselves to the Church ; and ques- 
 tions of difficulty and delicacy are considered 
 and decided by those, who possess the confidence 
 and esteem of the people, and who, set apart 
 by prayer, are upheld by the constant prayer of 
 the flock. And while there are thus elders or 
 guides, the development of gifts in the Church 
 is part of their duty, as well as their joy and 
 reward. Their aim and object is to present 
 every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Their 
 joy is to see children born, and the new-born 
 children grow and become strong, and young 
 men become fathers and pillars in the 
 Church. 
 
 Let us value all divine ordinances and apos- 
 tolic methods. He who has instituted the 
 family has also ordained the congregation. 
 True, He blesses every individual apart, and 
 the lonely Christian will receive from the gra- 
 cious Head of the Church all needful grace. 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 345 
 
 But it is His will that, as a family, as a 
 brotherhood, as an organised congregation in 
 fellowship one with another, and with the 
 whole Church, we should worship, grow and 
 labour, that thus we may continually give and 
 receive, exercising the ministry of love, and 
 receiving one another in the name of Christ. 
 
 What is the work of the Christian congrega- 
 tion ? 
 
 The first great object of the Church is worship. 
 Grod is the hearer of prayer — "• All flesh shall 
 come unto Him." But while all men are 
 encouraged and commanded to cry unto the 
 Lord, it is only the Church who worships in 
 spirit and in truth ; it is only believers who 
 are a holy priesthood, offering up spiritual 
 sacrifices which are acceptable to God by Jesus 
 Christ. The Church alone enters into the Holy 
 of holies. In her alone God is praised, for in 
 her alone God, the Triune, is known and adored. 
 God is worshipped in heaven by the angels 
 and by the perfected saints, and on earth by 
 those who, by the power of the Holy Ghost, 
 believe in the Lord Jesus. There is a special 
 blessing promised to believers met in the name 
 
346 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 of Jesus. The Saviour himself is with them, 
 praising the Father in the midst of the congre- 
 gation. The meetings of believers on earth cor- 
 respond thus with the never-ceasing and perfect 
 worship in heaven. The worship of the Church 
 is the only worship on earth. It is one with 
 the adoration of the heavenly Sanctuary. In 
 union with all angels and perfected saints, we 
 praise God, and worship the Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost ; as in heaven, so on earth the 
 song is heard — '' Worthy is the Lamb ! " 
 
 Worship ought to be our chief object and joy 
 in our meetings. For worship is the character- 
 istic feature of the Church. The spirit of wor- 
 ship ought to manifest itself in all things con- 
 nected with our assemblies. Solemnity and 
 joy ought to mark our very entrance into the 
 meeting of God's saints. The presence of 
 Christ realised will vitalise oar song and 
 prayer, our reading of God's Word, our preach- 
 ing and hearing of the gospel. Those who are 
 yet strangers to God's grace will feel that God 
 is indeed in the midst of us. Adoration will be 
 the undercurrent of all our acts. The declaration 
 of God's message will also be a magnifying of 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 347 
 
 God's name ; it will be received witli thanks- 
 giving and supplication, and the traditional 
 " amen " at the end of our sermons will be the 
 outward expression of the solemn prayer- 
 character which all true preaching ought to 
 possess. 
 
 It is from worship, from communion with 
 the Father and the Son, that the congregation 
 is to go forth into the life of the week, with its 
 duties and trials, and with its opportunities of 
 witnessino: for Christ and showino^ forth the 
 Saviour's love. 
 
 The Church, renewed every Lord's day in her 
 resurrection-life, will then during the week live 
 and work for the Master. None will be isolated. 
 Friendship will be irradiated by a heavenly 
 light, and consecrated to the furtherance of faith 
 and growth in grace. In answer to prayer, paths 
 of usefulness will be opened, and the various 
 gifts of grace will be used in seeking the lost and 
 cherishing the lambs within the fold. 
 
 In the Church is endless variety. Not every 
 believer is like a stately cedar or majestic oak, 
 but the tiniest flower shows forth God's praise. 
 The gold of Sheba and the cup of cold water are 
 
348 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 alike to the glory and joy of God. Some have 
 the gift of knowledge, profound wisdom in meek 
 and lowly hearts, others excel in the ministrj'' 
 of love, in acts of kindness and brotherly help. 
 Some have the gift of prayer and the priestly 
 heart of intercession ; others are sons of con- 
 solation to the afflicted. Some are led into 
 deep views of sin and high views of divine 
 sovereignty and grace ; others walk in the 
 lower yet divine valley of the peace-breathing 
 promises of the Saviour's grace. Here we have 
 manifold life and beauty ; the hosannahs of 
 little children and the wisdom of Paul the 
 aged ; Peter, the man of rock-like firmness 
 and strength ; John, leaning on the Saviour's 
 bosom in loving adoration. Mary anoints the 
 body of Christ for His burial, and the Master 
 pronounces her praise, " She hath done what 
 she could." Onesiphorus refreshes Paul, and 
 is not ashamed of his chain. All glorify Him ; 
 one Spirit inhabits them ; they are constrained 
 by one love. 
 
 In the Church there is constant growth. The 
 natural year has four seasons, but the year of 
 grace has many more. Here is an infinite 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 349 
 
 variety of life-processes, seed-times and har- 
 vests. And as in a garden there is a con- 
 stant succession of life-manifestation engaging 
 the interest and care of the gardener, so the 
 Church presents a wonderfully multiform his- 
 tory. Here are also constant accessions. From 
 the wild moorland, from the barren wilderness, 
 new souls are brought and planted into the 
 garden of Christ. Into the true Vine and the 
 goodly Olive-tree sinners are grafted by the 
 Spirit of God. The peaceful and sacred shelter 
 of God's love receives continually new inhabi- 
 tants. 
 
 The Church is God's delight and His un- 
 remitting care. The Father's eye is always 
 watching it in loving-kindness ; the Saviour's 
 high-priestly intercession is never-ceasing ; the 
 Holy Ghost is continually watering and renew- 
 ing it. But there are special seasons of refresh- 
 ing from before the presence of the Lord. Then 
 we feel that Jesus has visited us. We hear His 
 voice, ^' I am come into my garden." When the 
 north wind awakes, and the south wind comes 
 and blows upon the garden, and the hearts of 
 God's people are full of thanksgiving and prayer 
 
350 LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 — when the Word of God is precious, His promise 
 sweet, His command sacred — when prayer is 
 spiritual, preaching real, and fellowship among 
 saints loving and faithful. " It is the Lord ! ' 
 says every leaf and every flower. "It is the 
 Lord ! " say faith, and love, and hope. "It is 
 the Lord ! " exclaims the minister of the Word, 
 as new light and love fill his soul. " He is 
 come into His garden," respond the people, with 
 hearts burning within them. Duty neglected 
 says, "It is the Lord ! " and rises with new 
 vigour ; confession of sin, long silent, now 
 bursts forth, melted by the rays of divine 
 mercy ; love to a crucified Redeemer, which lay 
 sleeping, now awakes. "It is the Lord! " say 
 the children of God, and the beauty of God 
 shines upon them. The world sees the Church, 
 and is attracted by it. 
 
 How many new errors, theoretic and practical, 
 are around us ! Our wants and difficulties seem 
 complicated and perplexing. But we have only 
 one remedy — to follow Christ ; and only one 
 method — to be filled with the Spirit. 
 
 There is a craving in man for something 
 solemn, festive, joyous. If God's Spirit is 
 
LIFE IN THE CHURCH. 351 
 
 poured out upon us, the services of the Lord's 
 day, born out of the life and loving fellowship 
 and fervent prayer of the week, will be solemn, 
 joyous, festive. Meeting in the name of Jesus, 
 and expecting the divine answer to prayer, mini- 
 ster, office-bearers, and members of the Church 
 will have a feast. It need not be said of them, 
 '^ They have no wine." His love is better than 
 wine : as true Christians they are anointed with 
 the oil of gladness ; and to their number God 
 will add many, even as many as are ordained 
 to life eternal. 
 
 Let us elders thus feed the flock of God 
 which is among us ; and when the Chief Shep- 
 herd shall appear, we shall receive a crown of 
 glory that fadeth not away. Let us all con- 
 tinue steadfast in the apostles' doctrine, and in 
 fellowship and in prayers and in breaking of 
 bread. Let us serve the Lord with gladness, 
 and let us remember His dying love till He 
 come. 
 
IX. 
 
 HEATHENISM. 
 
SEEMON IX.* 
 
 HEATHENISM. 
 " Teach all nations." — Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 
 These words bring before us tbe subject of 
 heathenism, and the relation of the Church of 
 Christ to the heathen world, f The words of our 
 Lord are our authority as well as our encourage- 
 ment for engaging in the great work of heathen 
 mission. He himself is the Sender. It is a 
 work which is essential ; it is, in one aspect, 
 and if we take a wide enough view of its mean- 
 ing, the work of the Christian Church. Christian 
 congregations are the result of apostolic obedi- 
 
 * This sermon was preached on the day set apart in the 
 English Presbyterian Churches for prayer and collection on 
 behalf of the mission in China and India. I have left it unal- 
 tered, which accounts for some allusions, and for the hortatory 
 style of address. 
 
 t The mission of the apostles to Israel is included in these 
 words of Christ, and needed no special mention here. Comp* 
 Acts i. 8 . 
 
356 HEATHENISM. 
 
 ence to Christ's command ; the Church continues, 
 expands, and flourishes by abiding in the 
 missionary spirit, attitude, and activity. 
 
 The Word of God does not give us light 
 merely about the central question of salvation. 
 The Word of God, in revealing God in Jesus Christ, 
 throws light upon all the circumference of which 
 the salvation in Christ Jesus is the centre. 
 
 Heathenism is revealed to us in Scripture in 
 its origin and in its nature. The history of 
 humanity is not, as some imagine, a gradual 
 ascent, a gradual emerging out of the night of 
 barbarism and idolatry into a clearer and purer 
 knowledge, and into a more refined and culti- 
 vated state of existence ; but the history of the 
 human race, apart from the interference of the 
 grace of God, is a downward descent, accelerated 
 often by a crisis, by a judgment, brought on by 
 the more full manifestation of the opposition 
 which is in the heart of man against God and 
 His truth. There are revealed to us in Scrip- 
 ture three catastrophes at the very commence- 
 ment of the history of our race — the fall of 
 Adam and Eve in Paradise, the deluge in the 
 time of Noah, and the destruction of the Tower of 
 
HEATHENISM. 357 
 
 Babel, and in the record of these three catastrophes 
 and judgments, at the beginning of our history, 
 we possess a clue which enables us to unravel, 
 to some extent, the difficulties presented to us 
 in the history of the world. The fall of Adam 
 in Paradise accounts for the general prevalence 
 of sin and of death. The Deluge, and the rescue 
 of Noah and his family, account to us for the 
 physical condition of the earth, which God has 
 promised to preserve until the judgment by fire, 
 giving to us in the rainbow a pledge of His 
 never-failing faithfulness and clemency, and 
 upholding those seasons of summer and winter, 
 and alternations of heat and cold, and of day 
 and night, which are necessary for our well- 
 being. The building of the Tower of Babel, 
 and the judgment with which God visited the 
 insurrection of man against His authority, ac- 
 count to us for all national history, for the 
 origin of languages and of nations, and for that 
 multiform existence in which human thought 
 and life has since shown itself. Without the 
 record of these three catastrophes we should not 
 be able to understand the universal prevalence 
 of sin and suffering, the present state and 
 
358 HEATHENISM. 
 
 destiny of the earth, and the history of 
 nations. 
 
 God created man in His image. God taught 
 man in His wisdom and in His love. Man was 
 not left in some far distant corner of the realm 
 of God, gradually and slowly to find his way 
 out of the darkness and night into the sunshine 
 of divine favour. But he was brought up with 
 God, and as the Lord Jesus tells us in the 
 parable, he was the younger son. who, having 
 known the Father, and having enjoyed all the 
 bounty of the Father, in proud independence 
 left the Father's house, and took all that be- 
 longed unto him into a far country, and, as a 
 necessary and inevitable consequence of this 
 mother-sin, fell into transgression and vice, 
 into pollution, misery, and wretchedness. Men 
 knew God at the beginning, because God had 
 revealed Himself unto them ; but because they 
 did not honour God, and were not thankful, 
 they failed to retain the knowledge of God in 
 their hearts ; and thus it is that they sank 
 into ignorance and darkness, and lapsed into 
 barbarism and degradation. " The nations," 
 as the psalmist says, ^'forgat God." God had 
 
HEATHENISM. 359 
 
 given them light, but they apostatised from 
 God ; and this is the origin of heathenism. 
 The history of the world begins in a state of 
 civilisation and culture, begins with knowledge, 
 begins with the manifestation of God in light 
 and in love. It goes, on account of the sin- 
 fulness of man, from this beautiful mountain- 
 height down into the dark and low valley of 
 man's own thought, and of man's own will. 
 With the Tower of Babel began heathenism, 
 as well as nationalism ; and" it is one of the 
 significant peculiarities of the Hebrew language 
 that the same word means nations and heathen. 
 All the nations originated in heathenism. That 
 unity of language which the world possessed, 
 before the Tower of Babel, was only a symbol 
 of the inward unity which was rooted in the 
 conscience and heart, in their allegiance to 
 the one God who created the heaven and 
 the earth. From being simply a union of 
 families and of tribes, humanity became 
 divided into nations and languages. It was 
 because they had lost that only point of 
 union, and that only central force which can 
 bring and keep together all the children of 
 
360 HEATHENISM. 
 
 Adam as one harmonious and loving house- 
 hold — even as on the day of Pentecost the very- 
 first manifestation of the SjDirit which came 
 from the exalted Saviour, the second Adam, the 
 glorified Son of man, was this, that it united 
 the people of different languages to hear and 
 understand the heavenly message, the Word of 
 God, the Father's salvation, and to praise God 
 in unity of heart and in harmony of voice. 
 
 The Tower of Babel is, therefore, the begin- 
 ning of heathenism. From that time God left 
 the nations to themselves. Now began the times 
 of ignorance. Babylon is the beginning and also 
 the representative of heathenism. Have you 
 not noticed that as soon as Babel is judged and 
 destroyed, Abraham is elected. As soon as the 
 children of Israel, on account of their disobedi- 
 ence, deserve to be chastised, Babylon again in 
 the person of Nebuchadnezzar appears in power ; 
 and only when that last Babylon of which we 
 read in the Scripture, the concentration and 
 consummation of man's opposition against God, 
 shall be finally judged, shall all the nations of 
 the earth, as David and the prophets by faith 
 anticipated, join the chosen people of God, 
 
HEATHENISM. 361 
 
 Israel, and worship Him in the beauty of 
 holiness. 
 
 Now, with regard to the times of ignorance, 
 there are three elements which modify the dense 
 darkness which covers the earth. In the first 
 place, there is the reminiscence of the primeval 
 revelation. All the ancient traditions of 
 nations, however diverse those nations may be 
 in their geographical situation, in their language, 
 and in the degree of cultivation which they have 
 attained, show a wonderful harmony in the 
 reminiscences which they possess that man was 
 once in a state of blessedness, that man by his 
 guilt fell out of this state of felicity, that a 
 great Kedeemer, Eestorer, Deliverer, will be 
 sent into the nations, who will bring back unto 
 us purity, peace, and prosperity. That first 
 promise which God gave to Eve and Adam in 
 Paradise, about the seed of the woman that 
 should bruise the head of the serpent, finds 
 itself, though obscured and mixed up with 
 error, in all the traditions of nations; and so 
 there were left unto them, as it were, fragments 
 of divine truth. 
 
 The second element which in some degree 
 
362 HEATHENISM. 
 
 alleviates the great oppressiveness and gloom of 
 their ignorance is that, as Sophocles expressed 
 it, " There are the unwritten laws of heaven 
 in the hearts of men, which are not of to-day 
 or yesterday, whose birthtide is not known to 
 any man/' * 
 
 God has implanted within man (as we say, in 
 the conscience) a knowledge of justice, of truth, 
 of purity, of equity. So distinct is this voice, 
 so powerful and authoritative is this testimony, 
 that God says that the heathen nations are 
 without excuse ; because, although they have 
 not the written law, yet, according to their own 
 conviction and conscience, they have the 
 unwritten law, which no human power can 
 obliterate; and whose righteousness no human 
 sophistry can gainsay, f 
 
 * " It was not Zeus who heralded these words, 
 Nor Justice, help-meet of the gods below. 
 *Twas they who ratified those other laws, 
 And set their record in the human heart. 
 
 The unwritten and unchanging laws of heaven, 
 
 They are not of to-day or yesterday ; 
 
 But ever live, and no one knows their birthtide." 
 
 — " Antigone," p. 448, &c. 
 f "When the nations were dispersed from the Tower of 
 Babel, they took few traditions with them ; it seems as if they 
 
HEATHENISM. 363 
 
 The third element is this, that God by the 
 Holy Ghost, who bloweth where He listeth, 
 had His work among the Gentile nations. I 
 need only remind you of Melchisedek, who 
 was a priest of the Most High God ; of Job 
 in the land of Uz, who feared the Lord and 
 walked in His commandments ; of the Mne- 
 vites, unto whom the message of Jonah was 
 sent. These are only instances and samples of 
 many others to whom the Lord in His sove- 
 reignty, and by His Holy Spirit, revealed Him- 
 
 commenced their wanderings by drinking out of Lethe. , , , 
 But the fundamental features of religion are so deeply grounded 
 in the actual relation of man to God, that even when forgotten 
 for a while they assert themselves again. Man feels the presence 
 of the All-governing Spirit, and his own distance from Him, as 
 well as a longing to appease the punishing power of deity, and 
 to obtain peace. He feels that sin is sin, and subject to divine 
 judgment, that it can only be removed by suffering, and that 
 only by humiliation, self-surrender, and willing self-sacrifice we 
 can be lifted out of the depth of our condition. Such are the 
 original fundamental thoughts of the sacrifice for sin in its 
 manifold manifestations. 
 
 " The fountain-head of religion is not in the reasoning mind, 
 but the voice of God in the conscience, not the excited and 
 anguished imagination, but the instinct of gratitude and 
 loyalty to the Giver of all good. Faith in God's existence is 
 not left to man's free choice, but man possesses it ere he 
 chooses, and can suppress it only by a criminal eflfort." — 
 Thiersch. 
 
364 HEATHENISM. 
 
 self, and whom He drew by the cords of His 
 love. Yet the times before the Advent were 
 the times of ignorance ; darkness covered the 
 earth, and gross darkness the people. 
 
 While we cannot cultivate sufficiently the 
 spirit of humility, which is always a spirit of 
 tenderness, compassion, and love, we must not 
 regard the judgments that are denounced in 
 Scripture against heathenism and the nations 
 that forget God as unjust and hard. Nothing 
 in the Bible is harsh and severe. I do not 
 admit for a single moment that there is any- 
 thing else in the Bible but candour and justice 
 and generosity, and a wonderfully bountiful and 
 tender love. The light in which heathenism 
 is revealed in Scripture, although it is truthful, 
 is also affectionate. What more ideal view can 
 we take of heathenism, than that view which the 
 Apostle Paul propounds when he is speaking to 
 the Athenians. With the insight of love, he 
 seizes on all the vestiges of moral light and 
 life which could be traced in their literature and 
 temples ; and while declaring to them their 
 ignorance, and stating to them the fundamen- 
 tal truths concerning God the Creator, the 
 
HEATHENISM. 365 
 
 spiritual nature of worship, the unity of the 
 race, and the redemption in Christ Jesus, he 
 willingly acknowledges that among them also 
 there had been heart-longings and presentiments 
 — souls thirsting after the living water. 
 
 The Bible is full of truth, and full of affec- 
 tion. Whatever there is pure and lovely and 
 ideal among the heathen nations, think not 
 that it is our interest, or that it is the spirit of 
 Christianity and Scripture, to ignore it, or to 
 make little of it. Even the wild-flower has its 
 beauty, and God is the God of all, and there is 
 nothing good or beautiful but it has its ori- 
 gin in God's Spirit. Jesus is the desire of all 
 nations. And as for the judgment of the hea- 
 then, let our sceptics and cavillers only know 
 this truth, that it will be more tolerable for Sodom 
 and Gomorrah, and for Tyre and Sidon, in that 
 day, than for our wise philosophers who reject 
 the light of the gospel, and when the crucified 
 Jesus is preached unto them, turn away from 
 Him as foolishness. God will judge the whole 
 earth in righteousness and in mercy — with 
 calmness, truth, and justice. 
 
 During the times of ignorance, when, accord- 
 
366 HEATHENISM. 
 
 ing to divine wisdom, tlie Gentile nations were 
 left to themselves, God raised up a bright 
 light in Israel. Israel then became the chosen 
 nation, and to Israel was given the light of reve- 
 lation. 
 
 Let me briefly remind you of what Israel 
 knew. Israel knew that there was God. Do 
 you think that a small thing ? Oh, how much 
 is embraced in that knowledge that there is 
 God ! Think not that the essence of heathenism 
 consists in polytheism — in having many gods. 
 That is merely an accident. Whether it be that 
 there are many gods worshipped, or that there 
 is only one created element deified ; or that, even 
 without this being done, the whole spirit which 
 breathes in the universe is placed upon the 
 throne of divinity, as is done by our modern 
 pantheists — it is idolatry, it is heathenism. 
 Heathenism consists in this, that the created is 
 deified.* But Israel knew that there is God ; not 
 
 * " The essence of heathenism consists not in polytheism, but 
 its dark mystery is the deification of the creature. Whether the 
 creature is viewed and worshipped in its totality, or whether one 
 being of nature is made the object of religious service; whether 
 the spirit who pervades all, and who becomes self-conscious in the 
 human mind, is elevated to the throne of deity j or a material ob- 
 
HEATHENISM. 367 
 
 a god — God, the absolute, the One who in 
 Himself is infinitely blessed, self-existent, 
 eternal — who is His own place and His own 
 time and His own canse — of whom and to 
 whom are all things. And while they knew 
 this God, who is, as it were, outside and beyond 
 and above all that is in time and in space, they 
 did not know Him as one that was afar off, but 
 as a God of condescension, as a God who is 
 present with us from day to day, as a God with- 
 out whose will not even a sparrow can fall to 
 the ground, as a God whose eyes try and watch 
 the children of men. Where but in Scripture 
 do we find such an idea, so sublime, majestic, 
 and holy, and yet so full of love — so simple, 
 homely, and sweet ? 
 
 While Israel knew this God, they necessarily 
 knew also what sin was. Abraham had no law, 
 and yet he knew what it was to follow God, 
 because the character of God, the presence of 
 God, the very idea of God, is a bright light 
 
 ject is adored as symbol of tlie nature-power — a shapeless block, 
 a wbite elephant, a beetle of the Nile mud, a spear of the warrior 
 — these are mere differences in culture and mental tendencies ; 
 the sin of idolatry remains the same." — Thiersch, " Kirche im 
 Alterthum,"p. 5. 
 
368 HEATHENISM. 
 
 which reveals to us the dark spots and staina 
 which defile our soul. Hence, without the ten 
 commandments, and without law, Abraham 
 walked before God, and was perfect. Where 
 there is the knowledge of God, there is the 
 knowledge of the obedience, love, and purity 
 which God requires. Unto His people Israel 
 God gave His law, to reveal sin more clearly. In 
 His wonderful condescension He took notice of 
 all the different sinful tendencies of man, and 
 He made a hedge round His people, showing 
 unto them in the law, as in a mirror, all that 
 He requires of us, and all that men ought to 
 be. The whole life of Israel was thus, as it 
 were, taken possession of by the holy and 
 merciful God. Into all the ramifications of his 
 personal and of his social and of his national 
 existence the will of God entered. The very 
 way in which the land was to be sown, the 
 very manner in which their garments were to be 
 prepared, the very regulations which are given 
 unto them about their time and about their 
 food : everything showed that there was a will 
 of God in which He was to be glorified. They 
 knew what sin was, and therefore there are in 
 
HEATHENISM. 369 
 
 Israel those heartrending confessions of sin, of 
 unworthiness, of transgression, of iniquity, 
 which overwhelm the Israelite who is in the 
 bright presence of Jehovah, and make him 
 exclaim that he is undone — a man of unclean- 
 ness. As they knew the guilt and evil of 
 sin ; as they had been taught to know them- 
 selves in the light of God's holy and righteous 
 love, and in the mirror of His perfect law ; as 
 they had felt the sorrow of repentance and the 
 deep anguish of the contrite heart : so there 
 was also revealed to them the redemption which 
 Cometh from above, and brings true peace and 
 restoration. The heathen nations had a con- 
 fused and distorted idea of sacrifice, and of 
 methods of appeasing the offended deities and 
 averting their judgments. But Israel knew 
 redemption according to th^ idea of God, which 
 was afterwards fully revealed in Christ Jesus. 
 Not a compromise ; not that God was to abate 
 some part of His justice, and that man was to 
 deny himself to some extent the indulgence of 
 sin ; but a real reconciliation, a true mediation, 
 in which justice is satisfied, in which holiness 
 is exalted, in which the law is vindicated, in 
 
 •e A 
 
370 HEATHENISM. 
 
 which God reveals Himself a^s the true and 
 holy One, and in which the sinner receives not 
 merely perfect peace, but a renovation, a re- 
 newal, a cleansing, in which he is actually 
 brought nigh unto God, into communion with 
 Him in light and in love. 
 
 When God reveals Himself, man sees not 
 merely the character of God, the nature of sin, 
 the merciful redemption by which God saves 
 and restores the sinner, but in the light of the 
 idea of God he understands also humanity and 
 history. Not Herodotus, but Moses, is the 
 father of history.* It is only by God that we 
 are taught that the human race is a great 
 family, and that it is guided by the wise and 
 unerring hand of our Father ; that there is a 
 purpose of eternal wisdom and love, an ultimate 
 point, a bright coast, towards which Omnipotent 
 Goodness is steering us. Israel rose to the 
 conception of humanity. They knew, as you 
 have seen often in the books of the prophets 
 and in the Psalms, that the Desire of all 
 nations would come, that the Redeemer and 
 
 * Compare a very instructive chapter in Baumgarten's 
 "Acts" — I. on chap. xvii. 
 
HEATHENISM. 371 
 
 Eestorer of mankind would be sent, that Israel 
 had a bright future before it, and that all the 
 isles and all the nations afar off will receive 
 the blessing of the Most High when He shall 
 utterly abolish the idols, and make wars to 
 cease upon the earth, and when all iniquity and 
 abomination shall be subdued under the mild 
 and yet righteous sceptre of the God-man, the 
 King whom God hath anointed on His holy 
 Mount Zion. How different from the Gentile 
 nations. When their civilisation (as apart from 
 the leaven and the salt of the grace of God it 
 necessarily did) entered into the phase of moral 
 decay and dissolution, they only sighed and 
 lamented over the golden old times, and did not 
 know that there was glory coming, when the 
 Lord God shall hear the sigh of the prisoner, 
 and shall send forth His salvation. 
 
 All this Israel knew — God, sin, redemption, 
 restoration, history, and the future blessedness 
 of the world ; and all this they knew by grace, 
 by the revelation which God in His sovereign 
 mercy vouchsafed unto them. 
 
 How different is the Bible from any other 
 
372 HEATHENISM. 
 
 book — from any other history. The Bible never 
 praises man. " 6^6>(3^ appeared unto Abraham : " 
 " God spake unto Moses:" " God appeared unto 
 Israel on Mount Sinai." ^^ The word of the 
 Lord came unto the prophets." Israel of and by 
 itself knows nothing, and is nothing. All things 
 are of God. And as it is all of God, so notice 
 another distinction between Israel and the na- 
 tions. You know the proud way in which the 
 Greeks looked down upon barbarians. You know 
 the haughty way in which the Romans regarded 
 all the other nations of the earth as being- 
 created for them to subjugate. There is no such 
 contrast in Scripture between Israel and the 
 nations. On the contrary, Israel exists for the 
 benefit of the world. " In thy seed shall all the 
 families of the earth be blest." ^' Rejoice, ye 
 nations^ with my people," saith God. This is the 
 joy of the harp of David, this the jubilant re- 
 joicing of all the prophets — that all ends of the 
 earth shall be blest with the same light, and 
 with the same strength and glory as the servant 
 Israel whom God hath chosen. 
 
 Such was the light which God himself kindled. 
 But Israel was never commanded to go forth 
 
HEATHENISM. 373 
 
 and spread this light. It was not to be 
 aofo^ressive. When Jonah was sent to the 
 Ninevites, that was a mere exceptional case, 
 very valuable and very precious, to keep the 
 Israelites always in remembrance that they 
 were chosen only for the benefit of others. 
 But the Jews were not commanded to go forth 
 among all nations. God intended them to be 
 insulated. God had put a wall round about 
 them to keep them separate ; and even when 
 our blessed Lord Jesus came, He never left 
 Israel. He told His disciples not to go into the 
 city of the Samaritans. Only occasionally, and 
 when a special providence, so to say, relaxed 
 the limitation, Jesus brought the gospel unto 
 those that were not Israelites. 
 
 These exceptional cases are most interesting, 
 not merely in themselves, but on account of 
 the light which they shed on the world-wide 
 character of the prophetic word. 
 
 There was the woman of Samaria — to begin 
 with what is nearest Israel — to whom Jesus 
 told more plainly than He ever announced it 
 at Jerusalem — '* I am the Messiah;" and so 
 great was the Saviour's joy over this lost and 
 
374 HEATHENISM. 
 
 found sheep, in which He beheld a type of 
 Samaria's conversion, that He required nothing 
 else to refresh and to strengthen Him after 
 His weary journey. With great gladness and 
 wonder His eyes dwelt upon the fields that 
 were white for harvest, seeing in them a picture 
 of the ingathering of all the nations into the 
 house of God. Next we read of the Roman 
 centurion. Jesus marvelled at his faith, and 
 said, " I have not found such faith — no, not in 
 Israel." In the Gospel of John we are told of 
 Greeks who came to the feast to worship ; and 
 when Jesus heard that they had expressed a 
 desire to see Him, His soul was filled with joy 
 and solemn anticipation, because He was yearn- 
 ing to be baptized with the fire of suffering in 
 order that the corn of wheat may bring forth 
 much fruit, that the times of the Gentiles might 
 come. And that Syrophoenician woman, never 
 to be forgotten as long as the Church lasts — 
 that heroic woman, who overcame all difficulties 
 and all obstacles, and proved herself to be a 
 true daughter of Jacob, who wrestled with God 
 and prevailed — with what deep marvel and ad- 
 
HEATHENISM. 375 
 
 miration did Jesus say unto her, '' woman, 
 great is thy faith! " 
 
 Look at these exceptions as proving that 
 the Jewish heart of Jesus, in harmony with 
 all the prophets, was full of love to the Gen- 
 tiles. See also Shem, represented by the 
 woman of Samaria ; Japhet, represented by the 
 Koman centurion and by the Greeks ; and Ham, 
 represented by the Syrophoenician woman, all 
 are to be brought into the fold of the great 
 Shepherd, into the embrace of divine love. 
 All these cases had been influenced more or less 
 by Israel. The centurion had become a pro- 
 selyte, and built the Israelites a synagogue ; 
 the Greeks had come to Jerusalem to worship ; 
 the woman of Samaria had retained not merely 
 the ^ve books of Moses, but also the knowledge 
 that there was a Messiah coming who would 
 reveal all truth ; and the Syrophoenician 
 woman, though belonging to a tribe which was 
 peculiarly hostile to the chosen people of God, 
 yet had learnt something from Israel, for she 
 called Jesus the Son of David. 
 
 But after Jesus was risen. He then com- 
 manded His apostles to go forth into the whole 
 
376 HEATHENISM. 
 
 world, to ^' make disciples of all nations, bap- 
 tizing them into the name of Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost." I have often thought, when 
 Jesus, the risen Saviour, gave that command 
 unto His disciples, to go forth, not merely 
 unto Israel, but unto all the heathen, where 
 was that chosen apostle of the Gentiles who 
 was to carry the gospel in all its fulness and 
 liberty to the nations, and by whom the mystery 
 of the Gentile dispensation, the mystery of the 
 Church, where there is neither Jew nor Greek, 
 was to be revealed and unfolded? Clearer 
 than the eleven was his knowledge of the 
 commission they received, even as he laboured 
 more abundantly than they all. He was at 
 that time still ignorant of the righteousness of 
 God, sitting at the feet of Gamaliel, and most 
 probably never spending a thought, save a 
 thought of contempt, on Jesus of Nazareth, 
 who was crucified between two malefactors. 
 
 The messengers of Jesus went forth with the 
 blessed gospel unto the heathen nations, de- 
 claring unto them the Messiah. What a task ! 
 When we think of heathenism — so power- 
 ful, ancient, vast, and deeply rooted — it must 
 
HEATHENISM. 377 
 
 appear to us as a huge mountain ; and this 
 mountain, by the simple preaching of the Word, 
 is to be cast into the sea, so that the place 
 thereof shall know it no more, and that for all 
 coming ages it shall be buried in oblivion. 
 
 When we think of heathenism, we are over- 
 whelmed and appalled. Think of its antiquity. 
 Think of the thousands and thousands of years 
 it has reigned upon the earth. Think of the 
 extent of its territory. It once covered nearly 
 the whole face of the globe, with the exception 
 of that little Palestine. And remember what a 
 large proportion of the earth is still inhabited 
 by those who do not know the true and living 
 God. Think of the wonderful minds which 
 have been captivated and enslaved by heathen- 
 ism. The Greeks are still our masters in logic, 
 in rhetoric, in poetry, in architecture, in govern- 
 ment. We have never yet exceeded the works 
 of thought and art that have been handed down 
 to us from those venerable ages. What a 
 wonderful thing it is, that from the rudest and 
 most savage tribes up to the most cultivated 
 and gifted nations, there has been this fearful 
 ignorance of God and of His truth. Think of 
 
378 HEATHENISM. 
 
 the evil of idolatry. Idolatry is not one evil ; 
 it is not a great evil ; you cannot even call it 
 the greatest evil. It is the evil ; it is the 
 mother of all evils ; it is the root of all evil. 
 As the first commandment is, ^^ I am the Lord 
 thy God, which brought thee out of Egypt, out 
 of the house of bondage ; thou shalt have no 
 other gods beside me," and as this is the first 
 petition, " Hallowed be Thy name ; " so the 
 knowledge and worship of God is the only 
 source of everything that is grand and true, and 
 noble and holy ; and when men have departed 
 from God, they have departed from the Fountain 
 of living water. I know that our modern 
 civilisation fancies that men can be good with- 
 out God. This is a sign of the latter days. 
 This is a sign that the chariot- wheels of judg- 
 ment are coming near to us, that the mystery of 
 ungodliness is developing with appalling rapi- 
 dity. God is the Source of all light and love. 
 The knowledge of God is the source of all truth, 
 purity, and righteousness. They that make 
 idols are like unto them. To sever morality 
 from the root, the knowledge and fear of God — 
 to assert the independence of the river of love 
 
HEATHENISM. 379 
 
 and mercy toward man from the Fountain-liead, 
 the love of God, is an indication of a deep 
 estrangement from God, an enmity of the mind 
 against the Lord, deification of self. The 
 nearer we approach the end, the more universal 
 and the more snhlimated will heathenism be- 
 come as the great anti-Christian enemy.* 
 
 And not merely is heathenism the mother of 
 all evils, but think of the wretchedness and the 
 misery of heathenism. It is a very superficial 
 view of antiquity when people talk of the bright 
 days of sunshine and joy in ancient Hellas. 
 Yes, there was brightness and beauty. That 
 people was gifted with a marvellous sense of 
 the beautiful. There was within them a won- 
 derful depth of thought ; they were endowed 
 with great powers of speech, of government, 
 with great artistic feeling and skill. But those 
 who are well acquainted with heathenism and 
 antiquity know the deep-seated melancholy, 
 the gloom, the cloud of darkness, which was 
 only temporarily and superficially dispersed. 
 
 * It seems as if so-called Christian nations, heathen nations, 
 and unbelieving Jews will yet unite against the Lord and His 
 anointed. 
 
380 HEATHENISM. 
 
 Those among the heathen who were indeed 
 noble and true were oppressed with the weight 
 of the dark problems of life — with their ignor- 
 ance of the mysterious, portentous future which 
 was before them. The Apostle Paul, with that 
 wisdom which God had given him, and by that 
 marvellous insight by which he entered into 
 everything, said that the heathens were atheoi — 
 atheists, '' without God, and without hope.'''' 
 This is the best characteristic of heathenism — 
 short and graphic ; infinitely sad. 
 
 And therefore, as heathenism is so great an 
 evil, and so sad an evil, ought we not to be 
 anxious to send unto them the messengers of 
 God's truth ? 
 
 Yet this is not, after all, the highest ground. 
 We think of men, and we pity them — and we 
 cannot pity them too deeply ; but when you 
 think of heathenism, do you ever think of God 
 — how it affects Him ? When you see drunken- 
 ness, or any degrading vice, do you ever think 
 of the pain God feels, the disgrace and dis- 
 honour it is to His name? When you think 
 of heathenism, with its abominations, with its 
 infanticide, with its cruelty, with its lust, with 
 
HEATHENISM. 381 
 
 its ignorance and misery, it is good, it is right, 
 it is human, it is Christian, that you should 
 compassionate them. But oh ! what does God 
 think of it ? God, who created man in His 
 image, and formed unto Himself a temple, that 
 there He might be adored, worshipped, and 
 loved — God, who honoured humanity so much 
 that His own Son took upon Him our nature — 
 what does God think when He sees human 
 beings forgetting Him, and creating unto them- 
 selves gods ? * What a description is given 
 to us in the Word of God that He looks 
 down on earth, where there is nothing but 
 purity and blessedness and glory and love. 
 He who is adored by myriads and myriads 
 of angels, so intelligently, so lovingly, so un- 
 swervingly — that this God looks down from 
 heaven, His dwelling-place, and all the iniquity 
 and cruelty, and wickedness and abomination 
 and filth of earth is beheld by Him. He says, 
 " The wickedness of this great city Nineveh 
 is come up before me." Only imagine it — 
 
 * Whether it be a four-footed beast, or the Hegelian philo- 
 sophy, it remains all the same ; it is man falling down and 
 worshipping the work of his own skill. 
 
382 HEATHENISM. 
 
 those million beings that were in Nineveh, 
 all their wretchedness, all their degradation in 
 thought and feeling, in imagination, in word 
 and work — millions and millions of sins — they 
 all coalesce, they all meet, and they rise up like 
 one dense, dark pillar of abomination from this 
 earth straight to the very throne of God. '' The 
 sin of Nineveh has come up before me." And 
 if of Nineveh, then of all China, and of all 
 India, and of all the islands, and of all the 
 nations where God is not known, and where His 
 law is not honoured. What a dishonour to 
 God ! What grief, to speak after the manner 
 of men, to our Father ! Let us compassionate 
 men, but let us be in sympathy with God. Let 
 us pity wretched sinners, but do have some 
 regard for the holiness and for the glory of 
 Jehovah, who spared not His only-begotten 
 Son, but gave Him up unto death, that His 
 glory should fill all the earth, and that all 
 nations should know that He is God, and that 
 there is none beside Him, and that in Him 
 there is an abounding love for every one that is 
 needy, and an abounding power of forgiveness 
 and life to cleanse and to vivify all who have 
 
HEATHENISM. 383 
 
 departed from Him. '^ Go forth and make dis- 
 ciples of all nations," because they are sunk in 
 evil — because they are sunk in wretchedness — 
 because God's name is dishonoured. 
 
 Difficult indeed is this task when we remem- 
 ber what we wish to do. I was greatly struck, 
 in reading the life of that prince of missionaries, 
 Henry Martyn, with the experience which he 
 describes. When in England he read of Moham- 
 medanism — when he studied the Koran — when 
 he acquainted himself with the history of Islam, 
 he thought that it would be an easy thing to 
 refute their errors, to point out their absurdities, 
 to uproot their superstitions. But when he 
 went and met them face to face, he found that 
 an erroneous system is not refuted in pro- 
 portion to its erroneousness. There is no 
 greater mistake than this — to imagine that, in 
 proportion to its erroneousness or absurdity, 
 will it be easy to convince people to give up a 
 system and a method of life. No, it requires 
 the power of the Holy Ghost — it requires the 
 touch of the hand of God — it requires the 
 attractive magnet of the love of Jesus to 
 abolish idols, and to lead men unto the Lord. 
 
384 HEATHENISM. 
 
 Do we want to convince a Hindoo or a China- 
 man, or any heathen, that the idols are 
 nothing? Is that in itself a great object 
 attained? Rather would I have a man to be 
 possessed of some reverence, of some fear, of 
 some superstitions awe, if you will, than be a fool 
 like some of our Europeans, who say in their 
 heart, ^' There is no God." What is it that 
 we wish ? Is it for the heathen nations to say, 
 '^ Oh, we do not require these sacrifices which 
 our fathers have offered ; we do not need these 
 ablutions and ceremonies." Rather would I see 
 a heathen who does feel the need of sacrifices 
 and ritual purifications, than one of those self- 
 conceited, unbelieving Europeans who think 
 that there can be remission of sin without 
 shedding of blood, and that the transgression 
 and iniquity of which men are guilty require 
 no atonement and no expiation. Our desire is 
 that men may come to God. We do not merely 
 wish them to give up their idols, but to bow 
 down before the living and true Lord. We 
 want them not merely to be delivered from 
 their superstitions, and from the sacrifices of 
 their own invention, but to come with a contrite 
 
HEATHENISM. 385 
 
 and broken heart to the cross where Jesus died, 
 the just for the unjust. This we aim at ; this 
 we pray for ; this is the object of our labour ; 
 and without the Holy Ghost it is impossible for 
 us to succeed. 
 
 Great is the work, and glorious ! Pray, there- 
 fore, that God himself may bless and strengthen 
 those who have gone forth. Is there any one 
 here who does not take an interest in missions 
 to the heathen ? You pray, " Our Father which 
 art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name ; Thy 
 kingdom come ; Thy will be done on earth as it 
 is in heaven,'^ and does this great mission of 
 the Church not possess your heart's affection ? 
 Has not our blessed Saviour given us this com- 
 mandment, so clear, so explicit, so unmistak- 
 able ? Nay, how can any one think that Jesus 
 is with him, or that Jesus is with the Church, 
 who does not obey His commandment — '^ Go 
 and make disciples of all nations." It is in this 
 connection that the promise is given — '' I will 
 be with you always, even unto the end of the 
 age." We cannot separate the precept from the 
 promise. We dare not neglect the command, 
 
 2 B 
 
386 HEATHENISM. 
 
 and rest in the comfort and assurance of the 
 Saviour's presence. 
 
 But the mission is not merely Christ's com- 
 mandment ; it is Christ's Presence. Jesus 
 speaks of Himself to the Jews as the good Shep- 
 herd, and then He adds, '^ Other sheep I have, 
 which are not of this fold;" other sheep, not 
 Jews. Others I have. They are my property, 
 they belong to me ; they are scattered among all 
 the nations of the earth. Yonder one is bowing 
 down before a hideous image. In some other 
 village another is tormenting himself, lacerating 
 his body, thinking thereby to please an offended 
 deity. Afar off, on some mountain height, there 
 are others living perfectly careless and wild, as if 
 every spark of human reason and feeling had 
 been extinguished within them ; they are mine. 
 ^^ Other sheep I have." God the Father has 
 given them unto Him from all eternity ; and 
 when He died upon the cross. He thought of 
 them also. They are the Saviour's, scattered, 
 perishing. 
 
 Them also I must bring. Oh blessed neces- 
 sity ! It is the Father's will, it is the love of 
 the good Shepherd, who died for the lost, which 
 
HEATHENISM. 387 
 
 make it necessary that the other sheep should 
 be brought. The necessity is founded in the 
 eternal counsel of God. But when I hear the 
 Saviour's voice saying, ^' Them also must I 
 bring," I can only think of His boundless com- 
 passion, of His love, dying on the cross, and of 
 the yearning of His glorified humanity for the 
 sheep who are perishing. 
 
 But how can He bring them, seeing that He 
 is seated now at the right hand of the Father ? 
 The missionaries whom we are constantly re- 
 membering in our prayers, and of whom we 
 think specially this day, they are the feet of 
 Jesus, with which He has gone to China ; and 
 their lips are the lips of Jesus, with which He 
 speaks unto the idolaters ; and when they rejoice 
 over one poor sheep that has come out of dark- 
 ness and ignorance and sin and heathenism to 
 worship God, it is the heart of Jesus that 
 rejoices. It is through them that Jesus brings 
 the sheep ; it is He who gathers and saves them. 
 ^' They shall hear my voice." 
 
 See here the real presence of Jesus upon earth. 
 Let us know and value, with rejoicing gratitude, 
 the reality of the great and central promise 
 
388 HEATHENISM. 
 
 given to the Church. When we, as the mouth 
 and hands and feet and heart of Jesus, as His 
 representatives, as His body filled with His 
 Spirit, go forth speaking His truth, manifesting 
 His character, feeding His poor, comforting His 
 afflicted ones — we have, nay, we are^ the real 
 presence of the Lord ; He who is with us is in 
 us, and works by us. Thus in the mission to 
 the heathen you behold Jesus fulfilling His word 
 — "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold, 
 them also must I bring, and they shall hear my 
 voice." It is the work and presence of our be- 
 loved Saviour that is brought before us in the 
 mission work. Oh, how solemn, and yet at the 
 same time how delightful and encouraging ! 
 
 I ask you, then, who are Christians, whether 
 you are in sympathy with the Father, who has 
 said, " As I live, saith the Lord, the whole 
 earth shall be filled with my glory ; " whether 
 you are in sympathy with Jesus Christ, who 
 came into the world to save sinners, and who 
 died upon the cross, not merely for Israel, but 
 for the other sheep who are scattered abroad 
 among all nations ; whether you are in sym- 
 pathy with the Holy Ghost, who goes forth, 
 
HEATHENISM. 389 
 
 sent by the Father and His Son, to convince 
 men of their need of God, and to bring them 
 unto the feet of that Saviour who can give rest 
 unto all that are weary and are heavy laden ; 
 whether you are in sympathy with Abraham and 
 the prophets, who rejoiced to see the day when the 
 heathen nations should glorify God; whether 
 you are in sympathy with the apostles who 
 went forth, and who did not count their lives 
 dear, but planted the standard of the cross wher- 
 ever they were sent in the providence of God. 
 Oh ! then, your hearts, your praj^ers, your con- 
 tributions, must be given unto this great work 
 of the mission ! . . . 
 
 It is surely not in a spirit of pride, not in a 
 spirit of haughtiness, that we think of the hea- 
 then, rather in a spirit of humility and self- 
 accusation. How great is our responsibility, for 
 much has been given to us ! How great is our 
 sin, our apathy, our selfishness ! How many 
 instances among the heathen of conscientious- 
 ness and zeal, of faithfulness and love, cherish- 
 ing very scanty elements of knowledge, put us 
 to shame. It is not in the Pharisaic spirit that 
 we think of heathenism. Are we free from ido- 
 
390 HEATHENISM. 
 
 latry? When our blessed Saviour says to us 
 that we are not to be like the Gentiles — that we 
 are to be free of care and anxiety — that we are 
 not to be worldly but heavenly minded — that 
 we are not to lay up for ourselves treasure on 
 earth ; and when the Apostle Paul teaches us, 
 *^ Covetousness is idolatry," — who among us can 
 say, ^^ I have kept the first commandment : I 
 have kept myself free from idolatry. I do be- 
 lieve that there is only one God, the Lord, who 
 has redeemed me, in whom alone I trust, and 
 whom I love above all things, and whom I serve 
 with all my strength ? " No, dear friends, if it 
 were not for the cleansing blood of Jesus, the 
 sin of idolatry would crush every one of us. But 
 if there is any one here who has not yet given 
 his heart to Jesus Christ, oh ! let me ask him, 
 Do you not think that the heathen nations will 
 rise up in judgment against you? Those who 
 have never heard the truths of salvation, and 
 those who, feeling the burden and weight of 
 sin, are undergoing much suffering and pain, 
 and making great sacrifices of money and of 
 comfort in order to appease the gods — do 
 you not think that they will stand up against 
 
HEATHENISM. 391 
 
 you who are so untroubled and unconcerned 
 about your sins, and about the way of access 
 unto God? Look unto Jesus Christ, the Image 
 of the invisible God. '' God was in Christ, 
 reconciling the world unto Himself." " There 
 is one God, and one Mediator between God and 
 man, the man Christ Jesus." Turn from idols — 
 from the love of self, from the love of sin, from 
 the love of the world — turn from idols to serve 
 the living and the true God, and to wait for 
 the coming of the Lord Jesus from heaven. 
 
 And now I beseech you to unite in prayer 
 for this great work. Read the reports which 
 are sent by our missionaries, that you may know 
 their difficulties — that you may rejoice with 
 them whenever God blesses them ; and if your 
 heart is interested, then I have no doubt that 
 it will be unto you, not a sacrifice, but a joy, 
 an offering unto the Lord, an expression of 
 praise, when in any way you help this great 
 labour of love. 
 
X. 
 
 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
SERMON X. 
 
 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 " And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
 world. Amen." — Matt, xsviii. 20. 
 
 Jesus is omnipresent as well as omnipotent. 
 He, to whom all power is given in heaven and 
 in earth, is with His disciples among all na- 
 tions, and all the days even unto the end of 
 the age, when He shall come again to receive 
 them nnto Himself. The Lamb who was slain 
 is in the midst of the throne, the centre and 
 Lord of all : the government is upon the 
 shoulders of the Child that was born, the Son 
 that was given us (Isa. ix. 6). From the 
 heavenly Sanctuary our royal High Priest 
 sends down the Holy Ghost, and all spiritual in- 
 fluences and blessings ; He commands all angels 
 to go forth to minister unto His brethren, 
 the heirs of salvation ; He controls and guides 
 
396 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 all events and movements of history, in order 
 that the number of His elect may be accom- 
 plished, the creature itself in mysterious sym- 
 pathy waiting for His return ; while the powers 
 of darkness and evil are already judged, and 
 the gates of hell not able to prevail against 
 the little sheepfold founded on the invisible 
 Rock, and surrounded by the Lord himself as 
 with a wall of fire. 
 
 Jesus is omnipotent, and therefore omnipre- 
 sent. He is Lord of space and time. All ages 
 belong to Him who is the everlasting Father, 
 the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. As 
 He is eternal, so He is with us from day to day ; 
 and as He hath ascended far above the heavens, 
 60 He filleth all things.* 
 
 Do you recognise the voice of Jehovah in 
 these words, " Lo, I am with you always ? " 
 
 * " Although Christ in His body has ascended above all 
 heavens, we must not forget that, consistent with His omnipre- 
 sence, there are various kinds of presence which belong to His 
 human nature, viewed either in itself, or in relation to His 
 person. In the former aspect He is at present in a certain 
 locality (though above time and space), yet in a local limitation, 
 as is the case with the transfigured saints. In the other aspect, 
 Christ, by virtue of the union of the two natures in one Person, 
 and by virtue of the communicated glory and majesty, is present 
 to all creation no less than the Logos." — OEtinger, ** Idea Vitse." 
 
t THE REAL PRESENCE. 397 
 
 Is not this He who said unto Moses, " My 
 presence shall go with thee ? " the Angel of the 
 Covenant who led Israel through the wilder- 
 ness, the Eock that followed them? Is not 
 this He who said unto Joshua, " I will be with 
 thee," and who so often comforted His afflicted 
 people by saying, " When thou passest through 
 the waters, I will be with thee, and through the 
 rivers, they shall not overflow thee ? " When 
 in the fulness of time the Lord visited and re- 
 deemed His people, the Evangelist Matthew 
 reminds us that the name of the Virgin-born 
 Child is Immanuel — God with us. What com- 
 menced with His birth is perfectly fulfilled in 
 His ascension. It is the risen Saviour who 
 now as our Head and Hepresentative announces 
 to us His name, '^ Lo, I am with you alway." 
 
 The name is awful, for it reveals to us that in 
 Christ dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead 
 bodily ; it is full of peace and consolation, for 
 it assures us of His love and grace, which can 
 never leave or forsake us. 
 
 Jesus is with us. Let us not weaken the 
 meaning of this assurance. The incarnate Son 
 of God, who is at the right hand of the Father, 
 
398 THE EEAL PRESENCE. 
 
 is our constant Guide and Conapanion. As 
 truly as He saw His martyr Stephen, and rose 
 from His throne to succour and receive him ; so 
 truly do His human eyes rest now upon each 
 of His disciples ; so truly is He present wher- 
 ever two or three are gathered in His name ; 
 so truly does He enter with the assurance of 
 His peace into every heart that loves Him. 
 Jesus is with us, for the Holy Ghost has not 
 come to supply Chrisfs absence, but to accomplish 
 His presence. And as Jesus is God and man, so 
 with human sympathy and tenderness is the 
 Lord of glory with us. 
 
 This Presence is mysterious ; for the world 
 seeth Him no more, yet we see Him. It is spi- 
 ritual, because the Spirit brings the presence of 
 the Lord unto our souls. But is it therefore 
 not most real ? 
 
 ^' I am with you." Here is our guidance. 
 "Follow me" is the sum and substance of all 
 commandments. Christ has not merely given 
 us words and precepts, but He is the Lord 
 our God, " which teacheth us to profit, which 
 leadeth thee by the way which thou shouldst 
 go" (Isa. xlviii.) 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 399 
 
 " I am with you." Here is our safety. If 
 He be with us, who can be against us ? Here 
 is our strength. Leaning on Christ, our difficul- 
 ties vanish. " Have not I commanded thee," 
 said God unto Joshua; ^^ be strong, and be of 
 good courage ; be not afraid, neither be thou 
 discouraged, for the Lord thy God is with thee 
 whithersoever thou goest." 
 
 Jesus is with us, this is our joy. " How 
 can the children of the bride-chamber fast while 
 the Bridegroom is with them ? " We hear His 
 voice, the words of eternal life — the promises, 
 which are yea and amen in Him — the command- 
 ments, which are so many channels of commu- 
 nion and bonds of peace, and we rejoice. Our 
 eyes see the King in His beauty and the land 
 that is afar off — His glorious divinity, His per- 
 fect humanity, above all His dying love, and 
 we rejoice. When we walk through the valley 
 of the shadow of death, in affliction, in bereave- 
 ment, in spiritual loneliness and darkness, even 
 there He is with us. His rod and His staff com- 
 fort us ; when we cannot see Him — 
 
 " Jesus, the very thought of Thee, 
 With sweetness fills the breast." 
 
400 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 The presence of Jesus is the secret of the be- 
 liever's life. As Enoch walked with God, so 
 all disciples walk in the light of God's coun- 
 tenance, even with Christ. The Saviour sustains 
 the inner life. He is ever giving them His 
 peace. And from His presence are all sanc- 
 tifying influences, and that faith which over- 
 cometh the world. 
 
 Jesus is with us in the days of prosperity 
 and joy. God sends sunshine as well as rain ; 
 God, who afflicts and chastises, giveth us also 
 all things richly to enjoy. He who wept at 
 the grave of Lazarus was a guest at the mar- 
 riage of Cana. He who foresaw the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem and its temple gazed with 
 delight on the lilies of the field, watched the 
 merry, light-hearted birds, and the innocent 
 games of children in the market-place. The 
 Lord, who was oppressed with the thought of 
 men's unbelief and ruin, rejoiced in Spirit over 
 the babes who believed in Him. Jesus was a 
 man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, but 
 never did man rejoice in all that the Father 
 hath given us to rejoice in as the Lord. He de- 
 lighted with thanksgiving in nature and friend- 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 401 
 
 ship and the blessedness of work. Remember, 
 then, the presence of Jesus in your prosperity, 
 and in the circle of blessings and enjoyments in 
 which you live. Where Jesus cannot be your 
 companion and your confidant, you ought not to 
 be. Never leave Immanuel. 
 
 Jesus is with us in our affliction. His is 
 more than divine compassion ; His is brotherly, 
 human sympath3^ He remembers His earthly 
 experience ; He understands the tears and fears 
 of human hearts. While we are suffering 
 below, Jesus is upholding us by His priestly 
 intercession : high above, where sin and sorrow 
 cannot enter, lives our God and Brother. But 
 He is also with us, sustaining us with the 
 assurance of His grace — watching over us, 
 that the branch may be truly pruned to bring 
 forth more fruit — guiding us, while our thoughts 
 are overwhelmed within us, and we know not 
 our way. This is He who was seen in the 
 fiery furnace as the fourth man ; and as the three 
 believers came forth out of the raging flames 
 unhurt and unsinged, their very garments un- 
 injured by the hostile element, thus shall the 
 whole multitude of believers come out of the 
 
 2 c 
 
402 THE REAL PRESEITOE. 
 
 great tribulation, so young, strong, beautiful, 
 and joyous, as peaceful and fresh as little chil- 
 dren, and yet bearing — what angels might 
 covet — a resemblance to Him, whose followers 
 they were in suffering. 
 
 Jesus is with us when the soul feels deserted. 
 When our soul is cast down and disquieted 
 within us, when the waves threaten and the 
 wind is boisterous, when the Master appears to 
 us to have forgotten us, and to lie asleep, not 
 caring whether we perish — " ye of little 
 faith ! " Jesus is Immanuel — lo ! open the eyes 
 of your hearts and look — He is with us. 
 
 When we are slow of heart, and cannot be- 
 lieve that He is risen, and walk in sadness, Jesus 
 is with us. !No road so narrow but there is room 
 for Jesus to join you ; no sorrow too heart-deep 
 but He can say, ^' Let not your heart be troubled." 
 Jesus is with us when, like Thomas, we say 
 in obstinate moroseness — " Unless — I will not 
 believe." Jesus is with us when, like Peter, 
 we deny Him. Oh, how quickly and tenderly 
 will He look, and with His eye guide us into 
 repentance (Ps. xxxii.) Jesus is with us, 
 though He listen not to thrice-repeated suppli- 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 403 
 
 cation to remove the tliorn in the flesh. He is 
 with us, and will say at last, ^^ My grace is 
 sufficient for thee." 
 
 Jesus is with us when we think we are cast 
 out from His presence, in the utmost corner of 
 the land, and in the darkest hour of the night. 
 blessed Presence ! from which we cannot flee. 
 ^' Though we make our bed in hell, or ascend into 
 heaven — though we take the wings of the morn- 
 ing, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 
 even there shall God's hand " — that is, Christ 
 — "lead me, and Thy right hand" -that is, 
 Christ — " shall hold me " in perfect safety (Ps. 
 cxxxix.) He is Immanuel. 
 
 The Lord's Supper is the expression of the 
 real presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 
 incarnate Son of God. " The cup of blessing 
 which we bless, is it not the communion of the 
 blood of Christ? The bread which we break, 
 is it not the communion of the bodv of Christ?" 
 
 We receive in the broken bread and in the 
 cup of the New Testament the special signs and 
 seals of the covenant of grace ; nay, more, a 
 very special, present renewal of Christ's union 
 with us. 
 
404 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 Let US consider now the words of our Lord 
 in their bearing on the history of the whole 
 Church. 
 
 You who believe in the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Ghost, believe also that there is the 
 Holy Catholic Church, and you rejoice in the 
 communion of saints. As creation is the 
 Father's work by the eternal Word and the 
 energy of the Holy Ghost — as redemption is 
 the work of the Son according to the will of the 
 Father, and in the fulness of the unction of the 
 Spirit ; so the Church is born of the Spirit, by 
 whom the Father gives unto Jesus disciples, 
 and who gathers and builds up the saints unto 
 life and glory everlasting. 
 
 We rejoice in knowing that we belong to a 
 vast and united community, that we are branches 
 of the Vine, and members of the household of 
 God. For our hearts are enlarged and strength- 
 ened by sympathy ; we suffer with greater 
 patience, we fight with more sustained courage, 
 when we remember that we belong to a nume- 
 rous, glorious, and victorious army — that our 
 prayers, our sorrows, and our conflicts are 
 shared by an innumerable multitude, even as 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 405 
 
 our final glory will be in communion with all 
 the eleot of the Father. To belong to an illus- 
 trious nation, and to fight under a great and 
 wise leader, is a thought animating and en- 
 couraging ; how much greater and nobler is 
 the knowledge that we belong to the Church of 
 Christ, the Son of God, that we are members 
 of the body of which He is Head ! 
 
 True, at mj given period of history the Chris- 
 tians seem a little flock. But the very same 
 chapter which begins with the complaint, '' Who 
 hath believed our report?" concludes with the 
 declaration that Christ shall see His seed, that 
 many and the strong shall be subdued and saved 
 by His love. When they shall be gathered to- 
 gether from the north and south, the east and 
 west — when all the redeemed who have heard and 
 received the example of peace shall meet in the 
 Father's house, who shall be able to number the 
 multitude of saints, clothed in white robes, with 
 palms in their hands, beautified with the Lord 
 Jesus, their righteousness and glory ? 
 
 When Jesus said, " Lo, I am with you all 
 the days, even to the end of the world," He was 
 looking forward to the future, to the Church 
 
406 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 which He was about to build on the rock of 
 His divine Sonship. But Jesus was the Re- 
 deemer of God's people from the beginning. 
 He who said, '^ Lo, I am with you," had uttered 
 the significant and majestic word, " Before 
 Abraham was, I am." The Church, strictly 
 speaking, began on Pentecost ; but the congre- 
 gation of saints commenced with the first gos- 
 pel, declared by Jehovah himself in Paradise 
 after man's fall. He who was the Lamb of God, 
 slain from before the foundation of the world, 
 was the Saviour, the light and strength of all 
 the chosen race throughout the ages before His 
 advent. 
 
 In all these centuries God the Lord was the 
 dwelling-place of His people. They were per- 
 secuted and called to suffering, from righteous 
 Abel, the first type of the martyr-shepherd, to 
 Zechariah, whose blood was shed in the temple. 
 But God always preserved a people on earth. 
 After the death of Abel God raised up Seth ; 
 the golden thread of believers and confessors 
 was ever continued by the omnipotent mercy of 
 God. Egypt had well-nigh destroyed Israel ; 
 their enemies had well-nigh swallowed them up 
 
THE KEAL PRESENCE. 407 
 
 quick when their wrath was kindled against 
 them ; but I AM was with His people, He was 
 on their side. He delivered them out of the 
 house of bondage ; He divided the Red Sea ; He 
 led them through the wilderness, and brought 
 them into the land which, according to His 
 eternal counsel. He had promised and prepared 
 for them. All the days of sunshine and tem- 
 pest, of danger and of evil. He is with them, 
 and they are safe. 
 
 But more dangerous and formidable than the 
 enemy from without is the enemy which arises 
 within the congregation — her own languor and 
 unfaithfulness. The enmity of Pharaoh was 
 cruel and powerful ; but the worldliness, the 
 idolatry, the ingratitude and sin which crept 
 into Israel, were far more insidious and deadly. 
 Well might Elijah exclaim in despondency and 
 sadness, ^^ I, even I only, am left." Yet the 
 divine answer was that Jehovah was alwa3^s 
 with His people, that He had in His sovereign 
 grace reserved seven thousand for Himself who 
 have not bowed their knee before Baal. 
 
 From Seth to Abraham, from the cruel and 
 dark days of Egypt to David, from David to 
 
408 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 tlie cai^tivity of Babylon, at all times and all 
 the days, He was with His people. And when 
 the tabernacle of David was very low, then the 
 angel appeared unto Mary, and said unto her, 
 and in her to the daughter of Zion, " The Lord 
 is with thee." Blessed are the people of God, 
 even in their lowliest condition ; for God has 
 chosen to dwell among them, and the redemp- 
 tion draweth nigh to the poor and needy who 
 wait on God. Jesus, who looks forward to the 
 end of the present age, and His return in glory, 
 looks also back to the past history of Israel, 
 and to the centuries before Abraham, and His 
 name is Immanuel — God with us. He is before 
 Abraham was, and He is all the days, even for 
 ever. 
 
 Jesus ascended into heaven, but He has 
 thereby not left earth and His disciples here 
 below. He who dwells in the high and lofty 
 place dwells also with him who is of a con- 
 trite and broken heart. Taken away from 
 judgment and humiliation. He delights now in 
 glory to remember His sorrows and temptations 
 on earth, and to sympathise with the saints, 
 whom He is not ashamed to call brethren. All 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 409 
 
 limitations of space are now removed. When 
 on earth He had to leave friends, because He 
 had to go and preach the gospel to other cities. 
 How pathetic was the appeal, '' Come, ere my 
 son die ! " how trying the suspense of Mary and 
 Martha when Jesus tarried, and came not to 
 Bethany till after the beloved brother had 
 died ! But now Jesus is glorified ; He is 
 with us always. Wherever two or three are 
 gathered in His name. His most real and blessed 
 presence is with them ; He is with every one 
 who loves Him, and He is always with His 
 disciple. 
 
 The Church has a twofold danger to encoun- 
 ter. As Jesus when on earth, so is the Church 
 now the object of Satan's enmity ; and his 
 method is first cruelty, and secondly, cunning. 
 He first sought through Herod to kill the infant 
 Jesus. He then endeavoured, directly and in- 
 directly (through the people, Christ's brethren, 
 Christ's apostles), to tempt the Saviour to for- 
 sake the God-appointed path of humility and 
 suffering. The violence of Satan was of no avail. 
 God protected His holy child Jesus, and brought 
 Him out of Egypt, even as Israel's history had 
 
410 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 typified. The temptation of Satan was of no 
 avail. Jesus in the Spirit of Sonship wielded 
 the Sword, even the Word, and learned obedi- 
 ence through the things which He suffered. 
 
 The Church has to follow her Master's history 
 and example. As Joseph was first persecuted 
 by force and deadly cruelty, and afterwards 
 tempted by the woman, emblem of the world ; 
 so the Church first was attacked by the sword, 
 and afterwards by temptations and insidious 
 compromises. 
 
 Thus the history of the Church in the world 
 begins with suffering. Stephen is the first, the 
 crown of martyrs, the noble army who died for 
 the faith, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. 
 Jesus was with them. His banner over them 
 was Love. His right hand sustained them. 
 They beheld His glory, and they died with joy. 
 And the blood of the martyrs was the seed of 
 the Church. The congregation of the Lamb 
 gained the victory by her meekness and suffer- 
 ing. The world was conquered by divine weak- 
 ness. Stephen was stoned, Saul was converted. 
 As the Church was hated and persecuted, 
 believers became strong and fervent, and their 
 
THE KEAL PRESENCE. 411 
 
 testimony was bright and attractive. '' I AM " 
 was with them ; the burning bush was not con- 
 sumed. The presence of Christ was the martyr's 
 joy, and the vitality of the Church. 
 
 But after violence came temptation. Times 
 of calmness and prosperity succeeded. The world 
 accepted the gospel outwardly and superficially. 
 Power, wealth, honour, and influence were 
 given to the Church, and therewith came laxity 
 of doctrine and of discipline, and that divided, 
 lukewarm state of the heart which is so hateful 
 to the loving and holy Saviour. Then came 
 days of error and superstition — then came a 
 flood of pagan thoughts, practices, and methods. 
 They were indeed dark ages, when the gospel 
 was not preached and the Scriptures not taught 
 — when a false priesthood diverted the souls of 
 men from the dignity and mercy of the great 
 High Priest — when the simplicity which is in 
 Christ was forsaken, and the complicated inven- 
 tions of self-righteousness, will-worship, and 
 false mediation substituted for God's simple 
 and all-sufficient message of peace. 
 
 But Jesus was always with His people. 
 There was always a remnant according to the 
 
412 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 election of grace. There was always a testi- 
 mony for God's truth ; there was always a little 
 flock who knew the Shepherd's voice, and who 
 trusted in His perfect salvation. 
 
 Jesus was with the Church in the days of 
 Luther, when He sent forth His word with power. 
 The Reformation was not a new formation of 
 Churches. The apostacy of Rome is a new for- 
 mation, without divine authority. The Re- 
 formation, in its essence, was a return to 
 apostolic times ; it was a new manifestation of 
 the presence of Jesus, the only Saviour, the only 
 Lord. " I am with you." The Lord our Right- 
 eousness and Strength was the very centre 
 and glory of the newly-awakened congregation. 
 
 And since the Reformation, has not the Lord 
 been with His Church ? How soon was the Re- 
 formation period succeeded by a period of for- 
 malism and lifeless orthodoxy, and in more 
 recent times by doubt and rejection of God's 
 truth. Sometimes it seemed as if the Church 
 of Christ had vanished. The enemies of the 
 Saviour triumphed. They brought Joseph's 
 garment rent and stained ; they attacked the 
 Scripture, which testifies of Him, which is His 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 413 
 
 robe, the manifestation of His truth and love. 
 As the soldiers and officers in that nisrht 
 when Jesus was betrayed — they came forth 
 against the Scripture as against a thief, with 
 swords and staves for to take it. They applied 
 all the resources of erudition and ingenuity, all 
 the weapons of criticism and human specula- 
 tion, to attack the inspired record of divine 
 revelation. They questioned its history, criti- 
 cised its doctrine, rejected its miracles, charged 
 it with discrepancies and errors, and refusing 
 assent to its central truth — Christ crucified — 
 deprived it of all unity and strength. And 
 when the robe of Joseph was thus torn and 
 stained, they thought that Joseph himself was 
 dead, and that His name was only a sacred 
 reminiscence and symbol of rational religion and 
 humanity. But Jesus says, ^^ Lo, I am with 
 you alway." Tidings come, ^'Joseph is alive, 
 and is exalted Lord of all." The Holy Ghost 
 touched the heart, the light of truth penetrated 
 the darkness — Christ crucified was revealed as 
 the wisdom and the power of God. And amidst 
 all unbelief and pride of intellect, the testimony 
 of the Church is maintained : clearly apd joy- 
 
414 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 ously she confesses that Jesus is Lord, that 
 Scripture is the word of God, that the blood of 
 Christ cleanseth from all sin, and that without 
 the new birth from above none can see the king- 
 dom of God. Jesus is with us, a living, loving 
 Saviour, and His Spirit is the unction which 
 we have received, by which we discern and judge 
 all spirits, be they ever so haughty and subtile. 
 Jesus will be with us all the days, even unto 
 the end. For there is an end. There will be 
 a consummation of the Church, a judgment of 
 the world. The world is willingly ignorant of 
 the end. They do not wish to think of it, 
 and of this moral perversity is born ignor- 
 ance, and then unbelief, and then opposition. 
 But we are looking forward to the end — to the 
 coming of Christ, to the judgment of God's 
 enemies, and to the marriage of the Lamb. We 
 expect perilous times, when seducers shall wax 
 worse and worse, when many shall oppose them- 
 selves to the truth as it is in Jesus, when men 
 shall become fully aware what is implied in the 
 rejection of Christ, even the rejection of God, 
 and shall deny both the Father and the Son. 
 The conflict shall finally be one of awful sim- 
 
THE REAL PEESENCE. 415 
 
 plicity, for men shall oppose themselves to God. 
 Then shall it be evident that to believe in the 
 Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, 
 it is necessary to believe in His Son Jesus. 
 
 And among professing Christians the love 
 of the many (the majority) shall wax cold, 
 and many shall walk the enemies of the cross 
 of Christ — not of the doctrine, but of the power 
 and substance. But Jesus is with us to the 
 end. Let us therefore be steadfast, strong, and 
 of good courage. Only let our conversation be 
 as it becometh the gospel of Christ. 
 
 Jesus is the end. He is Omega as well as 
 Alpha. We wait for Him from heaven. When 
 He appears, we also shall appear with Him in 
 glory. Then shall we ever be with the Lord, 
 as He now is with us. We shall have com- 
 munion with Him in His glory and reign, if 
 we are faithful to Him now in suffering and 
 obedience. Thus is the Lord himself our Hope, 
 our Future, even as He is our Present Life. 
 
 If Jesus is with us, then we can say, I shall not 
 want. 
 
 1. If Jesus is with us, we have all things. His 
 
416 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 presence is our all. He himself is our Life. All 
 the activities of the Church are the manifesta- 
 tions of Christ ; of Him is our fruit found. He 
 is always with us ; not merely in the breaking 
 of bread, and least of all in the Lord's Supper, 
 as a substitute for His presence, as if it were an 
 exceptional and momentary visit and self-mani- 
 festation. He is the very Life of our life, always 
 most truly, really with us. 
 
 If Jesus is with us, we have all. The luke- 
 warm Laodicsean imagines that he is rich and 
 increased with goods. He is not conscious of 
 his poverty, nakedness, and blindness, because 
 the presence of Jesus does not fill his heart with 
 burning love. But if we know our poverty, 
 and our need of wisdom, righteousness, peace, 
 strength — behold Jesus is the " I AM." He 
 gives Himself, and we possess all things. 
 
 2. If Jesus is with us, we can do all things. 
 '' Be not afraid," He said to Joshua, " have not 
 I commanded thee?" Is He not our Lord and 
 our Strength ? Does He not fight all our battles ? 
 and is it not He who worketh in us mightily ? 
 This is the secret of sanctification. Not 
 merely a remembered Jesus, not merely the 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 417 
 
 motive of gratitude or fear, but the present 
 Jesus, " I am with you," is the strength of 
 the Christian. In every temptation, in every 
 duty, in every sorrow, lean upon the Lord, who 
 is with thee, and His grace will be sufficient. 
 
 3. Jesus is with us. This is the secret of our 
 influence. If Jesus is with us, sinners will draw 
 near to hear Him into whose lips grace is poured. 
 The presence of Jehovah in the midst of His 
 people will awe and attract many. The presence 
 of Jesus in our hearts and homes will manifest 
 itself in our character and conduct, and Christ 
 in us will draw many to Himself. 
 
 How even, continuous, steadfast, and harmo- 
 nious ought our life to be ! Like a peaceful river, 
 which flows on with ever-increasing strength 
 and beauty, gladdening and fertilising the land 
 on either shore, until at last it ends in the 
 boundless ocean of blessedness which God hath 
 prepared for them that love Him. Jesus is 
 with us all the days — that is, every day. There 
 need be not a single day of gloom and doubt, 
 of apathy and coldness, of sin and worldli- 
 ness ; there need be no day of mere existence, 
 
 every day may be a day of life, of Christlife. 
 
 2d 
 
418 THE REAL PRESENCE. 
 
 Do you remember that of the forty years 
 whicli Israel dwelt in the wilderness we have 
 only a record comprising the events of two 
 years ? Of the eight and thirty years we read 
 nothing but dark and ominous allusions in the 
 prophets ; as of dreary and evil days of idolatry 
 and unfaithfulness, when Israel was forgetful 
 of the God who redeemed them, and sacrificed 
 to Baal and Kemphan. How sad and fearful 
 a picture ! And yet the Eock that followed 
 them was Christ. He was with them all the 
 days. His love and faithfulness, His power 
 and wisdom guarded them continually. There 
 need have been no days, no years of murmuring, 
 self-consuming care, idolatry ; there need have 
 been no blank days, but all days might have 
 been days of faith and prayer, of love and hope, 
 of adoration and thanksgiving. 
 
 Let us rather follow the example of the 
 Apostle Paul. From the day that Jesus in His 
 infinite grace appeared to him, the apostle fol- 
 lowed his Master. This one thing he did. He 
 abode with Him who says to us all, " Lo, I 
 am with you all the days." From the hour in 
 which by grace he turned unto God in Jesus, 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 419 
 
 until the end, when lie could say, '' I have 
 finished m.j course, I have kept the faith," he 
 never turned back, he never grew wear3^ He 
 passed through much sorrow and suffering — he 
 had times of darkness, of fear, and of trembling 
 — he had the sentence of death in himself, nay, 
 he died daily; but Jesus was with him, his 
 daily renewed resurrection-life and joy. 
 
 4. If Jesus is with us, then heaven itself is 
 begun ; for to be with the Lord is eternal life 
 and blessedness. Jesus shall throughout all 
 eternity be our all. We depend and lean on 
 Him throughout the endless ages. He, who is 
 our Light in this dark valley, is also the Light 
 of the celestial city, the heavenly Jerusalem. 
 He, who is the Lamb and the Shepherd, 
 the Lord of poor believers on earth, is the 
 King, who from the throne of His majesty 
 fills His glorified saints with joy and strength 
 from age to age, eeons without end. Jesus is 
 with us ; we possess in His presence and love 
 the foretaste and the substance of the future 
 glory. Even now are we in heavenly places. 
 
 But if Jesus is not with us, we are lonely and 
 desolate, though we be surrounded with friends. 
 
420 THE HEAL PRESENCE. 
 
 and all that this world can give us. Even in 
 this life the Christless soul is lonely ; for Jesus 
 is the only Saviour and Friend who brings 
 true peace and love to the heart. But who can 
 describe the loneliness of the Christless in death 
 and in eternity ! For to be without Christ is 
 to be banished from the Source of all light and 
 love, from the home of blessedness and con- 
 cord, from the Father, and from the family of 
 angels and saints, to be banished in that utter- 
 most darkness whither no ray of light, of love, 
 of consolation, of fellowship can penetrate — to 
 be alone with a conscience wounded and which 
 cannot be healed, with a mind darkened and 
 pained by its darkness, with a heart thirsting 
 in vain for that which only Infinite Love can 
 supply, and is now yearning to supply to the 
 heart of man ! 
 
 Blessed be God, Jesus, who is with us, whose 
 presence is our light, whose love is our joy. He 
 in whose name we meet, and who speaketh by 
 us, is the Shepherd of the lost, the Saviour of 
 the guilty, the merciful and compassionate High 
 Priest ! " If any man thirst, let him come 
 unto Jesus and drink." The Lord, the Son of 
 
THE REAL PEESENCE. 421 
 
 God, who loved sinners, and gave Himself for 
 them, will in nowise cast him out, but receive 
 him, and be his Saviour, his Friend, the Bride- 
 groom of his soul. Jesus will be with him in 
 time and in eternity ; for He is with us until He 
 comes again to receive us unto Himself, and 
 so shall we ever be with the Lord. 
 
 " Amen," responds the believing heart. Who 
 first uttered this amen ? Was it the Lord him- 
 self, the true and faithful Witness, the Amen, 
 in whom all the promises of God are yea and 
 amen? Was it the Evangelist Matthew, who 
 in the name of the whole Church responded to 
 the Master's command and promise with the 
 word of faith and loving assent ? Let us all say 
 Amen with joyful lips and adoring hearts ; let 
 us say Amen in our daily obedience, and in our 
 daily testimony for Jesus and His gospel ; let 
 our true and sincere response be, '' Even so 
 come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." Amen. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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 EDINBURGH AND LONDON. 
 
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