€' 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. '^' 
 
 BX 9T78 .B663 M6 1882 
 Boardman, Henry A. 1808- 
 
 1880. 
 Mottoes for the New Year 
 
 Shelf.... 
 

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MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR, 
 
 AS GIVEN IN TEXTS OF SERMONS 
 
 PRKACHED IN THK 
 
 TENTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY A. BOARDMAN, D.D. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 E. CLAXTON AI^D COMPAI^Y, 
 
 No. 930 Market Street. 
 
 1882. 
 
COLLINS, PRINTER. 
 
PHIHG 
 
 \ 
 
 This volume of Sermons for the New Year is offered to 
 the people of Dr. Henry A. Boardman's charge with certain 
 anticipation of its welcome. During his long ministry they 
 often desired the publication of such of his addresses as had 
 been particularly instructive and acceptable, and to this din- 
 position to preserve what is of special intrinsic value is now 
 added the influence of their reverent and regretful recollec- 
 tion. These Sermons were respectively greeted with marked 
 interest as the period for them arrived, and Dr. Boardman 
 was repeatedly asked to publish them. But the time never 
 came when he could comply with this wish of several of his 
 friends, and give to his people a course of sermons extend- 
 ing over a period of fifteen years, and of a character to renew 
 in each coming year its rich offering of pertinent suggestion 
 and comforting assurance. 
 
 The general oneness of the subjects here pi'oposed, and 
 the character of the texts, brief, simple, practical, have lim- 
 ited to some extent the preacher's varied power, and induced, 
 though moderately, a repetition of sentiment and method 
 which in a more miscellaneous series could not occur. Yet, 
 among these discourses there are several which may fairly 
 take rank with others that, prepared for extraordinary 
 occasions, or discussing some favorite topic, were looke<l 
 upon as models of treatment, and in their various published 
 forms will remain precious and permanent possessions to 
 Dr. Boardman's friends, his people, and the Church. 
 
 (Hi) 
 
IV 
 
 To a wider Cliristian and literary public these Sermons 
 can be commended with almost equal confidence. They are 
 the utterances of a man whose name and opinions are not 
 now for the first time before the reading world, awaiting 
 doubtfully its award. Long ago his reputation as a writer, 
 a speaker, a Christian teacher, was fully established, and on 
 some questions his judgment had come to be considered, in 
 more than one large circle, as substantially ultimate. His 
 statements and arguments went forth with authority, accred- 
 ited always, whether altogether accepted or not, as the result 
 of sound mental processes, and of rarely cautious and candid 
 investigation. The quality of his expression was thought 
 by competent and impartial critics to bear ready comparison 
 with that of any writer of the day in our country. So de- 
 cided was his intellectual ability, so generous was his cul- 
 ture, so accurate was his habit, so delicate his discrimina- 
 tion, that he could not but deal as a master with any subject 
 that came within his range, nor fail to attain in his own 
 department to the high distinction of a faithful interpreter 
 and zealous guardian of Scriptural truth. 
 
 But, more than this : the facts and teachings of the word 
 of God were accepted by Dr. Boardman with an entireness 
 and energy of assent, with a freshness of individual percep- 
 tion, and with an immediate infiuence on the inner man, that 
 eminently qualified him to speak as a messenger of the Gospel 
 of Jesus Christ. It was the grace of God in his heart, and 
 that Divine fulness, wherever it is received, will press itself 
 forth in free and beneficent overflow. There must be, then, 
 a bountiful supply in these Sermons for the many in every 
 Christian denomination who are always eager to draw counsel 
 and consolation from Gospel sources: and, surely, a candid 
 
hearing will again be given to words so solemn in their 
 import, so discerning of men's spiritnal needs, so faithful, 
 so kmdly, so persuasive, — words that truly indicate, as they 
 earnestly recommend, a large Christian attainment and a 
 complete self-surrender to the Redeemer and his cause. 
 
 WHiatever expectation as to the local and general accept- 
 ance of this tribute to his memory, our estimate of Dr. 
 Boardman's character and services may lead us to form, we 
 bear in mind that his controlling desire in publishing, as in 
 preaching, was to proclaim as widely, and in as many of its 
 gracious aspects, as he might, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 
 the Son of God. May the Holy Spirit incline each reader to 
 give to these maxim truths their rightful place in the system 
 of his faith, and to acknowledge their Divine authority in 
 the daily conduct of his life ! 
 
 S. 
 
 December, 1881. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 [. GOD IS MINE IIELPKR. Psalm liv. 4 9 
 
 II. THE LORD IS AT HAND. Philippians iv. 5, . . . .27 
 
 III. "I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD." IIabakkuk hi. 18, . . 4:! 
 
 IV. "THIS IS MY FRIEND." Song of Solomon v. Ifi, . . .61 
 V. "FOR TO ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST." Philippians i. 2!, . . T'J 
 
 VI. " WAITING FOR THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST." 
 
 1 Corinthians i. 7, 
 
 95 
 
 VII. "APPROVED UNTO GOD." 2 Timothy ii. 15, . . . . IK^ 
 
 VIII. "TO EVERY MAN HIS WORK." Mark xin. 34, ... 135 
 
 IX. "THIS IS NOT YOUR REST." Micah ii. ID 155 
 
 X. "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE." 2 Corinthia.ns xii, 9, 175 
 
 XI. "I AM WITH THEE." Isaiah xli. 10, 193 
 
 XII. " A LITTLE WHILE." John xvi. 16, 211 
 
 XIII. "THE LORD WILL GIVE GRACE AND GLORY." 
 
 Psalm lxxxiv. 11, . . . . . . . . . 233 
 
 XIV. "WHOSE I AM. AND WHOM I SERVE." Acts xxvii. 23, . . 253 
 
T' H Xi u jLt U (i I C 
 
 I. 
 
 GOD IS MINE HELPER. 
 
 PSALM Liv. 4. 
 
 Since we last met in this place, we have interchanged 
 the customary social congratulations on the advent of a 
 New Year. AVe are here to recognize this event in a 
 more formal manner, and in some of its more impor- 
 tant aspects. The anniversary is one which is sure to 
 commingle in its observance our hopes and our regrets. 
 The sorrows and the sins of the year that is gone are 
 but too certain to come thronging around us, while, with 
 equal certainty, our aspirations will go forth in quest of 
 something purer and better in the future. Each succes- 
 sive year admonishes us afresh how absolute is our igno- 
 rance of the future. ' Thou knowest not what shall be 
 on the morrow.' Much less canst thou forecast the 
 changes which may be evolved before we, or others in 
 our place, shall meet here on another New Year's Sab- 
 bath. 
 
 But one thing we do know : — If God be for us, we have 
 nothing to fear from those who may be against us. In 
 this view, I propose with all respect and affection, to give 
 you something to think of during the coming twelve- 
 
10 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 month. You may call it, if you will, your Year-text., or 
 your Motto for the Year. Perhaps there is many a scene 
 and event before you in which it will comfort you to re- 
 call the words, " God is mine helper." It was this reflec- 
 tion which cheered the heart of David when pursued by 
 his enemies, and in peril of his life. It may solace and 
 strengthen you also in time of trouble. 
 
 This, however, is but a very partial view of the use I 
 would have you make of this Scripture. You all imder- 
 stand the design of a motto. The one I venture to sug- 
 gest to you will be found as comprehensive as, to every 
 Christian heart, it must be animating. 
 
 'God is mine Helper.' I can conceive of no equip- 
 ment better than this for launching forth upon the path- 
 less expanse of a new year. The forty-sixth Psalm has 
 long gone in the Church by the name of Luther's 
 Psalm, because the great Reformer was accustomed to 
 repair to it for succor in all emergencies: — 'God is our 
 refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.' 
 Not less cheering will you find the assurance, 'God is 
 mine Helper.' 
 
 I have characterized it as ' comprehensive.' So varied 
 are the occasions upon which it may be invoked, and so 
 numerous the ends to which it can fairly be applied, 
 that I should exhaust your patience by attempting any- 
 thing like a complete discussion of the subject. All 
 you will expect or desire of me is some passing illustra- 
 tions of the use to be made of this promise in the ordi- 
 nary experiences of life. 
 
 The offer of 'help' directs the mind intuitively to 
 our need of help, and the proper answer to the inquiry, 
 'When do we require helpf is, 'When do we not 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. \\ 
 
 require \tV Sini'ul, wayward, and siifFering creatures, 
 our necessities are as continued as the moments of our 
 lives. Our Saviour spoke without a figure when he 
 said, 'Without me ye can do nothing.' In all our duties, 
 all our trials, all our temptations, all our pleasures, we 
 need help from above. If there are any who think 
 otherwise, this fact itself only shows how great their real 
 need is. 
 
 With every thoughtful person this season is sure to 
 awaken reflections on the proper ends of life, and the 
 manner in which we arc fulfilling them. It is well, at 
 the opening of a year, to endeavor to frame a just esti- 
 mate of our own powers and opportunities, and of the 
 objects for which we are living. How common and how 
 disastrous it is to err on these points, appears to every 
 one who casts an eye over society. Everywhere we see 
 a sad inversion of things, — the higher interests subordi- 
 nated to the inferior, time made paramount to eternity, 
 and earth to heaven. Even with ourselves, very much 
 of life may have been a mistake. And where its aims 
 have been right, they have too often been pursued with 
 languor and inconstancy. How little have we, any of 
 us, to shew for life, as compared with what we should 
 have ! How meagre the results of our twenty, thirty, 
 fifty years ! 
 
 Perhaps we have been at fault in our plans ; or, we 
 have misjudged our own capacities and responsibilities; 
 or we have disparaged the aids proffered us by our 
 Heavenly Father. If there is any disposition to revise 
 the scheme of life, and to get a new and juster view of it, 
 you need not lack for an infallible Teacher. ' God is mine 
 Helper.' This will meet your case. For the help He 
 
12 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 affords is not confined to the exigencies of outward duty 
 or suffering. It is his prerogative, no less, to iUuminate 
 the understanding and to control the working of all our 
 intellectual forces. 
 
 And herein, by the way, we are reminded of one of 
 the most interesting of the methods in which He is wont 
 to vindicate the implied promise of the text. There is 
 no pursuit in which we more imperatively require his 
 aid than in the search after truth,. This is an employ- 
 ment worthy of our rational nature. For truth, like its 
 Author, is immutable. It is the prescribed aliment of 
 the soul, — that by which it must be nourished and ex- 
 panded, and which can never cease to be its portion and 
 its life. But it does not obtrude itself upon the inert 
 and the careless. Even in a sinless realm, the acquisi- 
 tion of truth no doubt requires exertion. And to us it 
 is like treasure liid in a field. Especially is this the case 
 as regards religious truth. Here, there is a veil upon 
 our minds which no human hand can lift. And then 
 the difficulties are largely increased by the variety of 
 creeds and sects, and the conflicting interpretations put 
 upon the sacred oracles. No one who considers these 
 things can refuse his sympathy to those who are rever- 
 ently and patiently asking, 'What is truth]' 
 
 It is quite certain that this search after truth will 
 engage, in the course of the present year, the attention 
 of many who are now before me. You will be seeking 
 after the way to the cross; or you will be striving after 
 a clearer insight into the doctrines of grace ; or you will 
 be bringing opinions you have long held to the touch- 
 stone of the law and the testimony. And, whatever 
 direction your inquiries may take, you will not Hiil to 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 13 
 
 draw encouragement from the assurance, 'God is mine 
 Helper.' 
 
 He is the Helper of all who seek in sincerity to learn 
 his will. He has promised to be their Teacher. It is 
 one of the express offices of his Spirit, to guide us into 
 the truth. Let this dwell upon your minds whenever, 
 as this year passes on, you sit down to the study of the 
 Bible, or when you listen to the preaching of the Gospel. 
 The passages from which you can extract no satisfactory 
 meaning will become, under the Spirit's teaching, as 
 lucid as the sunbeam ; and the doctrines which embar- 
 rass or distress you, will be found not only Scriptural 
 but comforting. Thus instructed, you will grow in the 
 knowledge of Jesus Christ. Your faith will rest upon 
 broader foundations; and, with a more comprehensive 
 view of the perfections and government of God, you will 
 have enlarged your sources of pure and elevated enjoy- 
 ment. 
 
 We may pass beyond the sphere of religious inquiries. 
 While there is a special significance with which we may 
 say, in prosecuting the^se studies, ' God is mine Helper,' 
 we need not, and should not, exclude his agency from 
 studies of a less spiritual character. You have devoted 
 yourselves, it may be, to the cause of Science. To what- 
 ever point in this wide domain you may have directed 
 your attention, it would ill become you to decline the 
 aid of the " Spirit of truth." Genuine philosophy is the 
 handmaid of genuine piety. With equal capacities and 
 opportunities, they will ordinarily be most successful in 
 their researches who pursue them in a spirit of reverence • 
 and gratitude towards the Supreme Being. He rewards 
 the devout student of nature, as He does the devout 
 
14 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 student of his word, with discoveries which are con- 
 cealed from the eyes of the self-complacent and the pro- 
 fane. The Geologist who traces in the vegetation of 
 the rocks the memorials of the Creator's wisdom ; the 
 Botanist who sees in every bud and blossom the image 
 of Ilim who has made the lilies of the field a sweet 
 remembrancer of their Lord ; the Astronomer who walks 
 among the glories of the firmament only to adore the 
 brighter glories of Him who set the stars in their courses 
 and calls them by their names ; — all these may fitly say, 
 ' God is mine Helper.' 
 
 Nor these alone. There can be no better motto for 
 the Professional man than this. The grand aim of the 
 liberal professions, like the ultimate end of all Science, 
 is truth. And here also Truth hides herself, and must 
 be sought out with arduous and patient toil. The in- 
 tricacies of the Law, for example, are proverbial. The 
 service laid upon the Bar, involves the interpretation of 
 abstruse and ambiguous statutes, the examination of re- 
 luctant or reckless witnesses, the parrying of adverse 
 arguments, the harmonizing or annulling of precedents, 
 the application of settled principles to facts, and, gener- 
 ally, a course of procedure in which there is ample room, 
 as well for the loftiest exertion of intellect, as for the 
 play of those fervid passions and sympathies which 
 constitute so essential and intractable a part of our 
 being. Through all this complexity of influences the 
 lawyer must make his way, not in quest of truth as a 
 metaphysical abstraction, but in quest of Truth as the 
 sponsor of invaluable personal rights, as the guardian of 
 men's property or liberty, or, possibly, of life itself No 
 man can hope to compass the just demands of this 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 15 
 
 noble profession without exhausting labor. But even 
 this needs to be reinforced from without. And with 
 every Christian lawyer — Christian, not in name and form 
 merely, but in heart and life — there is the unfailing sup- 
 port which is bound up in the feeling, 'God is mine 
 Helper.' 
 
 Is there any reason why this feeling should not be 
 carried into all the activities and conflicts of the forum "? 
 The promise, ' I will help thee,' is not limited to sacred 
 times and places, and to the offices of religion. The 
 same Providence directs as well our secular as our spir- 
 itual affairs. If whether we eat or drink, or whatever 
 we do, we are to do all to the glory of God, then must 
 we be warranted to look for his assistance in every law- 
 ful occupation and in every scene of duty. It is one of 
 the bright anticipations we associate with the coming 
 millennium, that all professions will then be conducted on 
 the higli principles of Scripture morality, and pervaded 
 with the spirit of the Gospel. When " Holiness to the 
 Lcn-d " comes to be inscribed upon the bells of the horses, 
 Christianity will no longer be denied its rightful place 
 in the social structure. It is cause for congratulation 
 that its claims are now acknowledged by so many wliose 
 abilities adorn the walks of jurisprudence. In their 
 loyalty to Christ they are consulting their own good, 
 professional as well as spiritual. For the promise is, 
 'Them that honor me, I will honor.' On the ground of 
 success in life, a young lawyer would do well to plant 
 himself upon the deep foundations of Christianity. But 
 there are loftier motives by far which should prompt to 
 this course; and those who adopt it will know the 
 
IG MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 strength and the comfort to be drawn from that scrip- 
 ture, 'God is mine Helper.' 
 
 If the Jurist requires this, how much more the Physi- 
 cian. With him, the stake is not property nor Uberty, 
 but Hfe. The enemy he has to cope with is subtle and 
 insidious ; entrenched, often, in the hiding-places of the 
 system, and skilful in masking his true character. We 
 need not disguise the fact: — while Medicine justly claims 
 its position as a science, there must still be very much in 
 the application of it which can only be referred to con- 
 jecture and experiment. This is no disparagement of 
 the Profession. Man cannot achieve impossibilities, and 
 the age of miracles is past. We accept the Science as 
 it is, and recognize in it one of the greatest of our tem- 
 poral blessings. We note with gratitude the signal pro- 
 gress it is making. But we are daily reminded that it 
 is overmastered even by familiar diseases. And when 
 we see a physician grappling with maladies on the issue 
 of which precious lives are suspended, and, with them, 
 the happiness and hopes of a wide circle of friends and 
 kindred, we feel that if there be any earthly mission in 
 which men need help from heaven, it is this. It cannot 
 be deemed surprising, in this view, that families should 
 so often desire the ministrations of a Christian physician. 
 It is not merely that they confide in the integrity which 
 has religion for its basis, and understand that personal 
 piety is the nurse of delicacy and sympathy, but that 
 the conviction forms and strengthens that such a physi- 
 cian carries the blessing of God with him. 
 
 We cannot err in supposing, that he himself, as he 
 pursues his daily rounds among the sick and the dying. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 17 
 
 must appreciate, as few other men can, the assurance, 
 'God is mine Helper,' Let the young men who have 
 devoted themselves to Medicine think of this. On a 
 strictly professional view of the subject, nothing could 
 more enhance the A'alue of your attainments, or better 
 aid you in making a successful use of them, than a per- 
 sonal faith in Jesus Christ. It will be a rare element of 
 professional power, if, when you have entered upon your 
 work, you shall be able to say, day after day, as you go 
 forth to the abodes of disease and suffering, 'God is 
 mine Helper.' And when you superadd the considera- 
 tions proper to your individual accountability, and the 
 obligations which lie upon you, as upon each one of us, 
 to do all that can be done for the Church of Christ and 
 the good of mankind, how can you think of ever engag- 
 ing in the practice of this most beneficent profession 
 without first consecrating yourself to the service of God 1 
 As I look over this congregation my sympathies are 
 enlisted, as they have long been, in behalf of the Men 
 of Business here. It were superfluous to talk to you of 
 the hazards and vexations which are bound up in a busi- 
 ness life. You know more about them than I could tell 
 you. And the present season is one, above all others, 
 to enforce the lesson with which I come to you to-day. 
 It is while the remembrance of these great disasters is 
 fresh upon your minds that I would remind you of the 
 only Source from which you can ever derive help com- 
 mensurate with your necessities. Calamities which over- 
 whelm men, which break up their plans, and disperse 
 their fortunes, occur only at intervals. But all along the 
 thoroughfares of business, there are temptations and dis- 
 
18 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 comforts which try the temper and, sometimes, imperil 
 the soul: It must happen very often in the course of a 
 year that when you return to your homes at evening 
 your retrospect of the day will include some passage of 
 an irksome or painful character — some provocation given 
 or taken, some injury inflicted or received, or something 
 which you would gladly efface from the record. 
 
 Now it were fanciful to imagine that there is any in- 
 fallihle method by which all experiences of this sort can 
 be avoided. They inhere more or less in the kind of life 
 you are leading. But what cannot be cured, may at 
 least be mitigated. I do not say, that the text is a talis- 
 man which will carry you harmless through all temp- 
 tations and perplexities. But if you could only have 
 the sentiment, 'God is mine Helper' deeply enshrined 
 in your hearts and guarded by a firm faith, it will cer- 
 tainly enable you to go on your way with a steadier 
 step, and to lift your eyes in surrounding darkness to the 
 true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into 
 the world. 
 
 Suppose you take it with you to your counting-rooms, 
 your factories, and your workshops, morning by morning, 
 and see whether there is not in it virtue to purify the 
 atmosphere you breathe through the day. Two great 
 ideas it embosoms, God, and Help. It must be useful 
 to have these before the mind anywhere. If the thought 
 of God were more familiar in the realm of trade, it 
 would be auspicious for the eager crowd who jostle each 
 other in its avenues. The mistake lies in excluding the 
 Deity from this realm; in assigning religion to its place, 
 and traffic to its place, and keeping up an unscriptural 
 and vicious divorce between them. Surely you cannot 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 19 
 
 dispense with Christianity in your business. You need its 
 principles, you need its counsels, you need its comforts. 
 It can aid you as no earthly power can. Accept the succor 
 it tenders you, and carry it with you as ^vade meciim^ 
 your inseparable guide and support through the year — 
 'God is mine Helper.' 
 
 And what better maxim can be proposed for the se- 
 cluded world of Home'? The cares, the trials, the joys, 
 the temptations, the anxieties, the pleasures of House- 
 hold life — what pencil can delineate this variegated 
 scene, with its ever-shifting lights and shadows'? And 
 who does not feel his own incompetency to deal with its 
 responsibilities'? Next to keeping one's own heart, there 
 is scarcely anything harder to do than to bring up a 
 family of children aright. ' Aright,' I say; for, of course, 
 they are brought up in some way. But how this duty 
 is too commonly performed, it needs but a glance around 
 us to show. The difficulties attending it demand an 
 amount of wisdom and patience, of love and firmness, 
 which only a few parents possess. And even these are 
 frequently baffled by questions unexpectedly evolved out 
 of even ordinary and daily family life, or lost sight of in 
 sudden shadows which envelop the household in gloom. 
 
 That any parent can be willing to bear such a burden 
 without the aid of religion may well awaken surprise. 
 Even a true faith may not be equal to all the emergen- 
 cies of this relation. But there is certainly no other re- 
 source which offers so much assistance, and supplies so 
 much encouragement, as the presence and blessing of 
 God. I will not say to you. Hang up this precious 
 Scripture in your parlors, in your bed-chambers, in your 
 libraries. But I will say to you, Grave it upon the 
 
20 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 palms of your hands, and upon the tablets of your hearts, 
 ' God is mine Helper.' Bear it with you into the familiar 
 scenes of every-day life. Have it within reach every 
 moment. This year will bring with it occasions when 
 you will feel your need of it. It may evoke many an 
 ejaculatory prayer to the Giver of all good, keep you 
 from many an error in judgment, repress many an un- 
 seemly ebullition of temper, and carry you safely through 
 many a scene of perplexity. Be it your household motto, 
 'God is mine Helper.' 
 
 It has already been intimated that this exclamation 
 broke from David's lips, when he was in peril of his life. 
 The most obvious association it suggests, is that of trouble 
 or danfjer. And since we are all exposed to afflictions, 
 it would seem to be both reasonable and important that 
 we prepare for them. This year will tread the beaten 
 round of the years that have preceded it. Sickness and 
 sorrow and change will come, as they have been wont to 
 come, and do their allotted work. Families that are now 
 in affluence may see their riches make to themselves 
 wings and fly away. Families that are now given up to 
 unthinking gaiety, may be clad in mourning. Some who 
 are to-day in health will die. Others will lose their health, 
 and fall into tlie sad routine which defines the life of an 
 invalid. Parents will still be tried by the follies and the 
 sins of their children. Whatever else may fail, trouble 
 will not forego its mission. Where, or in what shape, it 
 may come, no finite mind may presume to say. But that 
 its foot-prints will be seen here on the next new year's 
 day, in places where they are not seen now, and, in some 
 instances, freshly made where they are seen now, no one 
 can for a moment hesitate to believe. 
 
MOTJOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 21 
 
 Can you wonder, then, if you are urged to make tliis 
 pledge of sympathy and protection your own"? We are 
 none of us able to cope with affliction in our own strength. 
 Men of obtuse sensibilities may bear trouble without heed- 
 ing it. Natural fortitude or pride may do something 
 towards sustaining an individual under it. But in neither 
 case is there anything in the deportment worthy of our 
 rational nature, and of the relations we sustain to God. 
 Affliction is his rod. He never uses it without a pur- 
 pose. He means that we shall feel it. To be indifferent 
 to it, or to bear it with a proud and sullen acquiescence, 
 is an affront to Him. Christian resignation is as alien 
 from this carriage as light from darkness. There can be 
 no true submission except as He imparts it. Nor can we 
 have any adequate support in seasons of trial except that 
 which comes from Him. 
 
 'God is mine Helper!' What could mourners do 
 without this % The shafts of death are falling around us, 
 smiting here a blooming infant, there a man of three- 
 score and ten, and there a youth in the pride and flush 
 of early manhood; — what are these stricken households 
 to do if they cannot say ' God is my Helper !' And what 
 other dependence have these invalids, to whom are allot- 
 ted weary months of debility and suffering] Even if 
 their trial be not aggravated by the woes of poverty, and 
 they eajoy the alleviations which wealth can command, 
 and the soothing ministry of attached friends, these can- 
 not satisfy them. They need something which they can 
 hope for unvaryingly; something which can make them 
 see that it is a Father's hand that is leading them along 
 this thorny path ; something which can disarm death of 
 its sting, and reveal to them a risen Saviour and a recon- 
 
22 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 ciled God; something which can fill their souls -svith 
 peace and patience, and, as their sufferings abound, cause 
 their consolations to superabound. This 'something' 
 earth has not to give. It is bound up in the sweet assur- 
 ance, 'God is mine Helper.' 
 
 There are those here who have found it so. I have 
 but rehearsed to you their experience. And an experi- 
 ence it is of so much higher value than anything of earth 
 that I should only degrade it by comparing it with gold 
 and silver, or thrones and sceptres. Is not the bare state- 
 ment of the case sufficient to commend their example to 
 your imitation "? Rest assured it will be a privilege and 
 blessing above all price if you shall be able to say, when 
 disappointment and suffering come, ' God is mine Helper.' 
 For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength; and 
 with his arms around you, you cannot sink. The storm 
 may rage, and the billows swell, and your frail bark may 
 strain and quiver, but if Christ be with you what have 
 you to fear] He has but to say to the surging waves, 
 'Peace; Be Still!' and a calm like that which soothed 
 the boisterous Gennesareth will spread itself through 
 your agitated breast. That soul can have nothing to 
 dread which has heard those wondrous words, ' Fear not, 
 for I am with thee: Be not dismayed, for I am thy God.' 
 Happy will it be for us if, as this year wears on and we 
 encounter its trials, we can say with an humble and 
 steadfast faith, 'God is mine Helper.' 
 
 Still more, if possible, shall we need this succor in our 
 spiritual confiicts. If we cannot wage the warfare with 
 sorrow in our own strength, much less can we carry on 
 our warfare with sin. Here, above all others, is the field . 
 where we are made conscious of our impotence. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 23 
 
 ' Deny thyself, and take thy cross, 
 Is the Redeemer's great command.' 
 
 His ' great command' it is ; and great is the difficulty 
 of obeying it. Outward hinderances and dangers may 
 be formidable, but they are not peculiar to the Christian 
 life. And if they were, this would still remain 'the great 
 command,' — 'If any man will come after me, let him deny 
 himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.' The 
 grand requisition of Christianity is a discipline which 
 amounts to self-crucifixion. It begins with the first ear- 
 nest aspiration of the sinner to be freed from his bondage. 
 It terminates only with the believer's expiring breath. 
 The whole field he traverses in making his way to the 
 celestial city has to be fought over, step by step. And 
 the discouraging thing about it is that he carries his 
 worst adversaries in his own bosom. It is himself he has 
 to contend against ; himself that is to be subdued ; himselt 
 that has to be crucified. What wonder that even the 
 great Apostle of the Gentiles, holy as he was, and hon- 
 ored of God and man as he was, should be so harassed 
 by this warfare as to exclaim, ' Oh wretched man that I 
 am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death!' 
 
 This contest is before us all — all except those who are 
 content to submit themselves to the unchallenged and 
 brutal mastery of their corrupt passions. The sins we 
 have to struggle with may vary with our temperaments, 
 our training, and our circumstances. With some they 
 will have acquired a colossal strength, while with others 
 they may be comparatively feeble or already brought into 
 partial subjection. But in every case the final issue 
 must depend upon the aid received from above. No one, 
 
24 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 not even the most mature and stable Christian, can stand 
 before the power and subtlety of his own sins, except as 
 an Almighty arm holds him up. 
 
 All along the paths before us there are temptations 
 and snares correspondent with our several characters and 
 occupations. Could the curtain be withdrawn from this 
 year, as it now is from the year just closed, it would 
 make us tremble to discover what perils await our souls, 
 and how deadly and exhausting a contest we must have 
 with our besetting sins before we can attain true peace 
 of mind. Especially would it fill us with anxiety should 
 we learn, as we might, that this year was to close the 
 strife and determine our everlasting destiny. 
 
 Is it possible, in this aspect of things, to exaggerate 
 the importance and the seasonableness of the Scripture 
 with which we have to do'? The exigences of this war- 
 fare are upon us. We cannot escape it. The true 
 question with us all must be, ' How can I meet it V And 
 how can we meet it, except in the strength of Omnipo- 
 tence'? If we can but say, 'God is mine Helper,' all 
 will be well. AVe may say of this motto, what Constan- 
 tino said of the sign of the cross, which, according to the 
 tradition, he saw in the air, and then placed upon his 
 banner, — 'In hoc signo vinces:' "By this sign thou shalt 
 conquer." With a covenant God for our Defender, we 
 need not fear the assaults of earth or hell, or the more 
 dangerous corruption and treachery of our own hearts. 
 The conflict may be severe and protracted, but its issue 
 is as certain as it will be glorious. " Mine enemies would 
 daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against 
 me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid I will 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 25 
 
 trust in thee." "When I cry unto thee, then shall mine 
 enemies turn their back : this I know ; for God is for 
 me." "Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God 
 is my defence, and the God of my mercy." 
 
 Such, then, is the divine equipment with which I 
 would have you go forth to the duties and temptations, the 
 trials and pleasures, of another year. To show wherein 
 God is accustomed to ' help ' his people, how willing he is 
 to do it, in what manner his aid is to be sought, would 
 exceed our allotted time. Nor can these points require 
 elucidation to those who know what it is to trust in 
 him. Enough, that it is the ineffable privilege of every 
 one of his children to carry the assurance into all the 
 avocations and events of life, 'God is mine Helper.' 
 
 Take it as your pastor's New- Year's wish and prayer, 
 May God he your Helper ilirougliout this opening year! 
 May he help you, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and 
 in health. May He help you in poverty and in affluence, 
 in your successes and in your reverses. May He help 
 you in all your efforts to subdue your sins, and all your 
 exertions to promote the prosperity of his Church and 
 the salvation of your fellow-creatures. May He help 
 you in fulfilling your daily duties, and in bearing your 
 daily burdens. May He help you in submitting to trials 
 without murmuring, and in enduring wrongs without 
 resentment; in receiving mercies without ingratitude, 
 and in enjoying this life without forgetting the life to 
 come. May He help you in denying sinful self and in 
 denying righteous self; in growing up into His image 
 and putting on all the graces of the Spirit. May He 
 help you in preparing for whatever He is preparing for 
 
26 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 you. And if it be so, that this is the last New Year's 
 Sabbath you are to spend on earth, may the dawn of 
 another year find you enjoying that Sabbath whose sun 
 never goes down, and whose worship shall never end ! 
 
1859. 
 
 II. 
 THE LORD IS AT HAND, 
 
 PHILIPPIANS IV. 5. 
 
 In my last New Year's sermon I endeavored to recom- 
 mend to you a certain text of scripture as your motto for 
 the year. That text, 'God is mine Helper,' has so often 
 recurred to my own mind with its lessons of encourage- 
 ment and comfort, that I cannot but believe it has been a 
 source of consolation to many of my people also. You 
 will not think it strange, then, that on the occurrence 
 of this anniversary, I should offer you a motto for the 
 opening year. 
 
 'The Lord is at hand.' It is not certain what was the 
 precise import of these words, as used by the apostle. 
 The commentators are generally agreed that by 'the 
 Lord' is intended the Lord Jesus Christ, not simply the 
 Supreme Being. His being ' at hand' may be interpreted 
 either of time or of place. Both senses give a good sig- 
 nification, and both are in accordance with the teaching 
 of the Bible. By virtue of His Deity, He is present with 
 all his creatures ; as well a God at hand as a God afar 
 off. And this thought would not be inapposite to the 
 
 (27) 
 
28 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 tenor of the context. But as similar expressions are 
 repeatedly used in the New Testament to denote an 
 actual coming of the Saviour to our world, the phrase is 
 to be referred rather to time than to place. Of those 
 expressions, again, some refer to the day of judgment; 
 others to his providential coming for the overthrow of 
 Jerusalem; and others still to the death of believers. 
 Thus, we read, 'The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.' 
 ' Yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come and 
 will not tarry.' 'Who may abide in the day of his com- 
 ing, and who shall stand when he appearethl' The 
 apostle James makes use of this consideration by way of 
 comforting Christians under oppression: 'Be ye also 
 patient ; stablish your hearts : for the coming of the Lord 
 draweth nigh.' 
 
 Without stopping to ascertain the exact meaning of 
 the phrase in these several places, we shall not mistake 
 seriously if we accept the text as referring to the coming 
 of Christ to the judgment; or, what is practically the 
 same thing, his coming to the soul at death. 
 
 For the purposes of the present discourse, however, we 
 need not exclude the other idea of place. I would have 
 you take the expression in a popular way, as we are 
 wont to do with mottoes, — not refining upon the terms, 
 but using it with freedom as a sentiment to be taken 
 with you into all the scenes and through all the changes 
 which this year may bring with it. 
 
 ' The Lord is at hand !' If we could suppose this to 
 be written upon oiu* hearts by the Spirit of God, and 
 kept there in its freshness and vigor, how powerful and 
 how salutary the influence it would exert upon us during 
 the coming twelvemonth, or for as much of that period 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 29 
 
 as it may please God to spare us. Let us illustrate this 
 thought. 
 
 The present is the season at which most persons frame 
 their plans for the year. Speaking without regard to 
 particular occupations, how different will your plans and 
 aims be according as you admit into your calculations, 
 or exclude, this one element! With a lively apprehen- 
 sion of the fact that ' The Lord is at hand,' your entire 
 scheme of life will be one thing ; without it, it will be a 
 radically different thing. For this sentiment, affiliated 
 as it is with others of like significance, must be of potent 
 agency in any mind which embraces it. It is stamped 
 with too much importance and too much solemnity to lie 
 inert, like a mathematical axiom. Its proper effect is 
 to bring the soul into the presence of eternity, to gather 
 around it the sublime realties of the invisible world, and to 
 reveal the indissoluble connection which subsists between 
 our daily experiences and the issues of the life to come. 
 Only believe that ' The Lord is at hand,' and you will 
 consent to no scheme of effort which is defiled with the 
 taint of practical atheism. Nothing will satisfy you but 
 a plan which proceeds upon the morality of the Bible, 
 which devoutly recognizes a universal Providence, and 
 which contemplates, as its ultimate ends, the glory of 
 God and the well-being of your fellow-creatures. 
 
 In this view, our year-text may be commended to 
 persons of all classes and conditions. But there may be 
 those here who are forming, not merely their plans for 
 the year, but their plans for life; and to these the text 
 proffers its friendly aid with an urgency which ought not 
 to be declined. '•How can I make the most of life ?' — 
 this is the question which stirs your bosoms, as it well 
 
30 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 may. For it is not a question to be trifled with. To 
 evade it, to decide it carelessly, or to weigh it only in the 
 scales of an earthly expediency, would be a grievous sin. 
 We are all sent into the world upon a specific mission. 
 We have a work to do for God. Our talents and 
 acquirements, our resources and opportunities, are from 
 Him. And it is his equitable demand that we employ 
 them in his service. To choose one's profession or occu- 
 pation without regard to this principle, savors of impiety, 
 and forbids all hope of his blessing. But there would be 
 little danger of mistake on this point with one whose 
 habitual feeling is ' The Lord is at hand.' The idea that 
 we were soon to stand at his bar and give an account of 
 all the deeds done in the body, would be an eff'ectual 
 counterpoise to those selfish or, at least, purely secular 
 considerations by which we are so apt to be swayed in 
 deciding questions of duty. In fact, questions of duty 
 are treated too much as if they were merely questions of 
 convenience, or questions of profit and loss, or questions 
 of self-aggrandizement. Let the young men who are 
 present ponder this matter, and beware lest they fall into 
 a disastrous error, — one which will give a false bias to 
 their whole future career, and leave them at last with 
 nothing to show for life but fruitless regrets and bitter 
 self-reproaches. 
 
 No less apposite would this motto be in respect to the 
 actual prosecution of our several callings. If it has a 
 lesson for ' those who are deciding upon a profession, or 
 maturing arrangements for life of a difi'erent kind, it 
 teaches with equal cogency in what spirit our several 
 tasks should be carried forward. For one thing, it re- 
 bukes our sloth and inefficiency. The proper sequence 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 31 
 
 to the sentiment, ' The Lord is at hand,' is ' Life in eaim- 
 esV HoAV little there is of this, especially in the sphere 
 of religion, it needs but a glance to see. And yet the 
 quality of earnestness is one which commands luiiversal 
 respect. Every one is attracted to an earnest man, even 
 though he be earnest in a matter with which we cannot 
 sympathize. But for the most part, we pursue our work, 
 if not with leaden feet, yet with a loitering, truant in- 
 dustry, which seems to imply that life is long and sure. 
 There is probably no one here who can review the year just 
 closed without feeling that he might, with the ordinary 
 blessing of Providence, have accomplished far more 
 during that year than he now has to show for it. In the 
 way of self-improvement ; in the way, possibly, of your 
 business ; in the way of doing good both to the souls 
 and the bodies of yoiu' fellow-creatures ; you might have 
 had a very different retrospect from that which a too 
 faithful memory brings before you. It may save us from 
 the renewal of these reproaches hereafter, should we 
 enter upon the new year with the feeling deeply in- 
 wrought into our minds, ' The Lord is at hand ! ' For if 
 this conviction be lodged in the heart, it will help to 
 keep us mindful of the responsibility we are under to 
 God for the diligent cultivation of all our powers, and 
 the faithful performance of all our duties. 
 
 Nor, in respect to the secularities of life, would it tell 
 simply upon these habits. It would be no less an incen- 
 tive to truthfulness and integrity. The paths of business 
 are thickly strewn with temptations. Men are continu- 
 ally dealing with questions of practical morality in the 
 presence of their own pecuniary interest, and this en- 
 forced, it may be, by urgent want or by the sense of 
 
32 MOTTOES FOR HIE NEW YEAR. 
 
 impending bankruptcy. What wonder that their honesty 
 should often prove unequal to the strain thus put upon 
 it? that concealment and deception and double-dealing 
 should abound so much throughout the wide realm of 
 traffic? The busy actors in that realm need to be forti- 
 fied against these enticements. For it is a perilous thing, 
 even to the best of men, to have to do all the while with 
 money. Eighteen centuries ago it was written by an unerr- 
 ing pen, ' The love of money is the root of all evil.' And a 
 thousand -years before that, the wisest and richest man of 
 the age, or perhaps of any age, had written ' The getting of 
 treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro 
 of them that seek death.' And going back still further, 
 Gehazi, with the costly vestments he obtained by fraud 
 from Naaman, and Achan with his wedge of gold, and Lot 
 with his broad acres in the well-watered vale of Sodom, 
 and many others chronicled in Holy Writ, come forward 
 to illustrate the warnings addressed to us on this subject. 
 He, therefore, is not a wise man who, being shut up by 
 Providence to the snares which are embosomed in a life 
 of merchandise or a life of handicraft, declines any safe- 
 guard which may help to protect him from these dangers. 
 And among such adjuvants, he would find it of no trivial 
 assistance to remember, day by day, that ' The Lord is at 
 hand.' The conviction of this truth would do much 
 both to inspire him with a just estimate of the value of 
 money, and to preserve him from unwarrantable expedi- 
 ents for the acquisition of it. Let the men of business 
 who hear me, inscribe upon the walls of their counting- 
 rooms and their workshops, ' The Lord is at hand,' and 
 it will, by God's grace, carry them safely through many 
 a temptation which might otherwise conquer them. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 33 
 
 But we may go beyond the thoroughfares of busmess 
 and generalize this idea. Could every heart be imbued 
 with this feeling, it would do much to rectify that mal- 
 arrangement of things which sin has occasioned in the 
 affairs of our world. By the force of a fatal introversion, 
 darkness is now put for light, and light for darkness. 
 Time takes precedence of eternity. The things which 
 are seen overshadow the things which are not seen. 
 And earth absorbs the homage and the toil, the love and 
 the devotion, which belong to God. Were it properly felt 
 that 'The Lord is at hand,' all human interests would 
 put on a different aspect. With the light of eternity 
 let in upon our present abode, the plans which terminate 
 here, and the common objects of ambition among men, 
 would dwindle into their true insignificance. The riches 
 which make to themselves wings and fly away, and the 
 fame which lives upon the caprices of the populace, 
 would be regarded as unworthy the supreme regard of a 
 rational nature. Eeligion would rise to something of its 
 real importance in the general estimation. Men would 
 freely admit that it was 'the one thing needful.' And 
 no exertions would be deemed too great, no sacrifices too 
 costly, which might be demanded for the acquisition of 
 its unspeakable blessings. 
 
 In the two brief Epistles of St. Peter, this argument 
 is repeatedly used as an incentive to Christian steadfast- 
 ness and perseverance. " But the end of all things is at 
 hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." 
 " Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new 
 heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. 
 Wherefore, beloved, seeing ye look for such things, be 
 diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without 
 
34 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 spot and blameless." No truly Christian heart can 
 well be insensible to appeals like these. 'The Master 
 comes. He comes to pass judgment upon your work. 
 He comes to conduct you to the new heavens and new 
 earth, where you are to dwell with him forever. There- 
 fore, prepare to meet Himl' 
 
 We are not without examples to show the effect of 
 this where it is really believed. Instances are constantly 
 occurring of Christians who are stricken by some incur- 
 able malady, and compelled to believe that ' The Lord is 
 at hand.' And from the moment this conviction is 
 established in their minds, all other interests give place 
 to their preparation for his advent. His word is their 
 companion. His precious promises are their support. 
 They are earnest in examining the foundations of their 
 hope. They are most anxious that their repentance 
 should be deep and sincere. They are 'sober.' They 
 'watch unto prayer.' They gird their loins and trim 
 their lamps. They 'lay aside every weight and the sin 
 which doth so easily beset them,' and patiently await his 
 coming — 'looking unto Jesus.' 
 
 We have all seen this. It must needs be so with a 
 believer who knows that 'The Lord is at hand.' And 
 were this sentiment wrought into the heart of the Church 
 as it ought to be, it would yield the same fruit with all 
 his followers. Nor is it of any force to reply, that the 
 case of a Christian anticipating death is widely different 
 from that of other Christians. The several passages 
 quoted from the sacred oracles, the text itself included, 
 were addressed, not to the dying, but to the living — to 
 those who were engaged in all the activities of life, and 
 who might perhaps anticipate length of days with as 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 35 
 
 much reason as any of us. It is to these the Saviour and 
 his apostles say, 'The Lord is at hand.' 'The judge 
 standeth before the door.' 'I will come again and re- 
 ceive you unto myself For they, like all other men, 
 ourselves among them, were liable to die at any moment. 
 And it was the part of prudence, therefore, and ot 
 Christian duty, to be habitually mindful of this. It may 
 be true of some of us, with a certainty which does not 
 even appertain to individuals who appear to be drawing 
 nigh to the grave, that 'The Lord is at hand.' And the 
 point I am enforcing is, that if we felt this as we should 
 feel it, it would be a great antidote to the torpor and the 
 lassitude of our personal Christianity. We should be 
 more concerned to make our calling and election sure. 
 We should struggle more manfully against our besetting 
 sins. It would put us upon a more thorough searching 
 of our own hearts, that every lawless passion might be 
 subdued, that every impure motive might be discarded, 
 that every unholy desire might be detected and crucified. 
 It would supply the defects and smooth down the excesses 
 which deform the characters of so many Christians. It 
 would repress those mischievous tempers which alienate 
 brethren, and sow discord in the household of faith. It 
 would admonish every Diotrephes against loving to have 
 the pre-eminence, and every Demas against the love of 
 this present world, and every Archippus against the neg- 
 lect of his ministry, and every pains-taking Martha 
 against being cumbered with much serving. 
 
 Every Christian, indeed, would feel the beneficial effect 
 of this general conviction, that ' The Lord is at hand.' 
 The entire Christianity of the Church would develop it- 
 self, if not in new forms, at least with an energy and a 
 
36 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 beauty now presented only in exceptional cases, which 
 deserve, as they receive, the encomiums of all who can 
 appreciate genuine piety. For, humbling as the confes- 
 sion is, it must be made, that the sentiment we are in- 
 culcating has but a languid hold upon the mass even of 
 real believers, and that the spectacle is rarely witnessed 
 even of a single Church whose whole organic life is ani- 
 mated by this principle. What we all need is a stronger 
 faith, — a more implicit belief in the verities of God's 
 word; and especially a profounder sense of that most 
 pregnant truth, 'The Lord is at hand.' This would, by 
 God's blessing, lift our Christianity out of the dust, and 
 gird it with strength, and clothe it with beauty, and 
 disencumber it of the misgivings and the faltcrings, 
 the selfishness and the worldliness with which it is now 
 clogged, and so make it less unworthy of that sacred 
 name into which it has been baptized. 
 
 To be more specific: — a decisive effect would be pro- 
 duced, so it is reasonable to presume, upon the spirituality 
 of the Church, and the maxims by which it is governed 
 in the training of its children and the administration of 
 its steivardsliip. How closely the Church had approxi- 
 mated to the world, and how much it needed that great 
 revival of interest in Christian truth with which it has 
 pleased God to visit our land, must be too well known 
 to require illustration. Of the several points of delin- 
 quency which pertained to this wide-spread declension, 
 there was none more conspicuous, none more affecting, 
 than the withholding of the children of the covenant 
 from Him to whom they had been solemnly dedicated. 
 The seal of the covenant was upon them, but that was 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 37 
 
 all. They were trained for the world. And as they 
 grew up the world claimed and received its own. 
 
 So, also, it was to a large extent with the iveaJth of 
 the Church. Ostensibly consecrated to God, his treasury 
 was put off with a pittance; and the rest was appro- 
 priated to luxury, or handed over to indefinite accumula- 
 tion. 
 
 I am speaking in the past tense. If these things are 
 still so, there can be no better corrective for them than 
 the one supplied by our text. I do not say, for I do not 
 believe, that the conviction that ' The Lord is at hand' 
 will, of itself, relax the grasp of avarice and open its 
 coffers to the poor. If there be any office in the routine 
 of human affairs which demands the right of Omnipo- 
 tence, it is that of making a penurious man liberal. But 
 the covetousness of the Church, the parsimony which 
 contrives to live and even flourish, where, in the judg- 
 ment of charity, there is a spark of true religion, this may 
 be reached by the conviction of the approach of the Lord. 
 The more vividly this sentiment is impressed upon the 
 conscience of the Church, the more thoroughly will she 
 be purged of that cupidity which is an opprobrium to her 
 name, and a crime against Him, who, though rich, for 
 her sake became poor, that she through his poverty 
 might be rich. 
 
 And whenever, under the influence of this feeling, the 
 Church surrenders her silver and gold to her Redeemer, 
 she will no longer refuse him her children. Let it be 
 once consciously felt that ' The Lord is at hand,' and the 
 very parents who have sold their children to the world 
 for a mess of pottage, will hasten after them to reclaim 
 them, if it may be, and bring them to Jesus of Nazareth. 
 
38 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 Fearful will be our final account, if we have been faith- 
 less to this trust. Let the announcement that ' The 
 Lord is at hand' stir us all up to greater earnestness and 
 prayer in seeking the salvation of our children. 
 
 It seems to have been with some reference to the 
 ivrongs to which they were exposed, and the perils of 
 their situation, that the Apostle reminded the Pliilip- 
 pians of the approach of their Lord. " Let your modera- 
 tion be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be 
 careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and 
 supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made 
 known unto God." The word translated 'moderation' 
 has no equivalent in our language. It seems to denote 
 here a certain sweetness and serenity of temper, which 
 takes all things in good part, and is not disturbed even 
 by casualties and injuries. Whether we connect the 
 text, then, with this clause, or with the exhortation 
 which follows, there is a friendly remonstrance here 
 against excessive anxiety or resentment when exposed 
 to misfortunes or suffering injustice. A rare achievement 
 it is to be able to suffer thus. Some of the strongest 
 passions of our nature rebel against? it. Nay, we are 
 rufHed not merely on great occasions, but by the most 
 msignificant occurrences. AVe allow the veriest trifles 
 to disturb our equanimity, and enkindle our angry feel- 
 ings. The Scripture remedy for this is, ' The Lord is at 
 hand.' A mind suitably impressed with this truth will 
 not be thrown from its balance by any of the minor 
 troubles of life. You cannot realize that your Saviour 
 is near, and that you may hear his summons at any 
 moment, without knowing that He will redress your 
 wrongs. Rather will you say with the Psalmist, ' The 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 39 
 
 Lord is on my side ; I will not fear : what can man do 
 unto me'?' And should you even be assailed by malevo- 
 lent calumnies, or despoiled of your property, it will still 
 soothe you to remember that 'The Lord is at hand.' 
 
 What this conviction wdll do for the injured, it will as 
 certainly do for the afflicted. And in this view, there 
 must be those here who will have occasion for it. We 
 know not how or where trouble may come ; but this year 
 w^ould be unlike all the years which have preceded it, if 
 it should fail to bring its cup of sorrow to some of our 
 households. Whenever that occurs, it may be a solace 
 to reflect that 'The Lord is at hand.' At hand he will 
 be in the sense of that gracious promise, 'When thou 
 passest through the waters, I will be with thee.' This 
 thought is always a cordial to the afflicted believer. If 
 sorrow be an essential part of his heritage, he knows 
 that it neither comes imsent, nor without the presence of 
 One who can be touched with a feeling of his infirmities. 
 Nor need he turn away from the other aspect of this 
 averment. To one who is deeply afflicted, it is a conso- 
 lation to know that these trials must have an end ; that 
 He who in love and faithfulness sends them, if not 
 already at the door, is still not far away, and will, in his 
 own time and way, come and receive his stricken ones 
 to himself, and conduct them to a world where God 
 himself shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Let 
 mourners think of this. Let the infirm and the sick 
 think of it. Let the unfortunate, who are perpetually 
 struggling with calamities and disappointments, think of 
 it. Let those who have to contend with the bitter trials 
 of poverty, think of it. Let the parents who have nour- 
 ished and brought up children, only to have unfilial 
 
40 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 hands plant their pillows with thorns, think of it. ' The 
 Lord is at hand.' Your trials will soon be at an end. 
 And then shall you go to be for ever with your Lord. 
 
 But there is still another form of trouble which has 
 its balm and medicine here. It is that which made the 
 apostle cry, ' Oh, wretched man that I am ; who shall 
 deliver me from the body of this death ! ' No Christian 
 here can be a stranger to it, — this ceaseless warfare with 
 sin and temptation. It pertains to the daily life of his 
 soul. Sometimes it rages with a violence which threatens 
 to uproot all the foundations of his hope, and to reimpose 
 the vile fetters from which he was once emancipated. So 
 profound is the subtlety of sin, so malevolent its spirit, 
 so insatiable its cravings, so various its resources, so in- 
 domitable its energies, so skilful its devices, that it suc- 
 ceeds too often in ensnaring even the holiest men. And 
 there are periods, perhaps, in the experience of most 
 Christians when " the proud waters" so go over their souls, 
 and their bosoms become such a very chaos of anxious, 
 desponding, tumultuous feelings, that they can but fall 
 prostrate before God, and cry — 
 
 " Thou Infinite in love, 
 
 Guide this bewilder'd mind 
 Which, like the trembling dove, 
 
 No resting-place can find 
 On the wild waters; God of light. 
 Thro' the thick darkness, lead me right ! 
 
 Bid the fierce conflict cease. 
 
 And tear and anguish fly ; 
 Let there again be peace. 
 
 As in the days gone by : 
 In Jesus' name I cry to Thee, 
 Rememberin"; Gethseraane." 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 41 
 
 These are seasons for the Christian to welcome the 
 announcement, ' The Lord is at hand ! ' His earthly ties 
 may be strong and tender, and his position one which 
 awakens the envy of his fellows. But they see only the 
 surface. There are — 
 
 ' Sins and doubts, and fears' 
 
 within that seemingly tranquil breast, which would some- 
 times make life insupportable, were it not for the promised 
 coming of the Great Deliverer, and the pledge of an 
 eternal discharge from this warfare. He fights on there- 
 fore, for he knows that the Captain of his salvation is 
 near, and that the struggle cannot last always. 
 
 Think of this, my brethren, in the conflicts which in- 
 dwelling sin and the arch-adversary are preparing for 
 you. Remember that the battle is not yours, but God's, 
 and that God, though invisible, is at hand, and will 
 never leave you to fall a prey to your adversaries. Only 
 'be faithful unto death, and He will give you a crown 
 of life.' 
 
 There are many other topics which would properly fall 
 to be consid^'ed under this text ; but I must not detain 
 you. Let me not, however, dismiss the subject without 
 again (Exhorting you all to bring home this scripture to 
 your hearts and cherish it day by day, as a stimulus to 
 personal duty. 
 
 Without recurring to duties already specified, let me 
 remind every Christian here of the work he has to do for 
 the unconverted around him. You know their condi- 
 tion — 'without God and having no hope in the world.' 
 Ponder well the fact, that ' The Lord is at hand ; ' and 
 
 then decide what -you will do for them. Peradventure 
 
 4 
 
42 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 his coming may be no blessing to you., should he find 
 you a hinderance instead of help to the salvation of your 
 fellow-sinners. 
 
 And there is that in this reflection which might seem 
 enough to put you, my impenitent friends, upon the 
 most resolute efforts to secure the forgiveness of your 
 sins. ' The Lord is at hand ! ' As yet. He is near you 
 in mercy — waiting to be gracious to you. But it cannot 
 always be thus. His patience has a limit. His long- 
 suffering may be exhausted. And then, 'what shall the 
 end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God ? ' 
 
 Happy will it be for you, should you enter upon this 
 year under the full influence of the feeling, that 'The 
 Lord is at hand.' For, thus, you would begin to live. 
 And surely it is time. Years enough have been given 
 to sin and folly. Years enough have gone with their 
 dark calendar of unpardoned offences to meet you at the 
 bar of Christ. Let this year be dedicated to God. Let 
 this primal Sabbath of the year mark the great epoch of 
 your existence, when, by the help of God, you resolved 
 to renounce the world and give yourselves to the Saviour 
 in an everlasting covenant. 
 
1860. 
 
 III. 
 ''I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD." 
 
 HABAKKUK iii. 18. 
 
 Such is the text of Holy Scripture which I have to 
 propose to you as your motto for the year. The beauti- 
 ful passage in which it occurs will be noticed hereafter. 
 For the rest, indulge me in that familiar style of address 
 which I feel to be more appropriate to the occasion than 
 an elaborate discourse. 
 
 The announcement will fall upon some incredulous 
 ears, but is nevertheless true, that our religion is a religion 
 of joy. This might be anticipated from the character 
 of the Deity. As a Being of infinite goodnessf He must 
 delight in the happiness of his creatures. The glimpses 
 we have of heaven exhibit that glorious realm to us as 
 the scene of perfect and universal joy. The same benev- 
 olence which confers this affluence of bliss upon the 
 angels would impress itself upon any system of relief 
 designed for our world. That this has been done — 
 only in a far higher degree than it was ever experienced 
 or needed by the angels — is demonstrated by a single 
 glance at the cross. With the cross in view, nothing in 
 
 (43) 
 
44 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 the way of love and pity can astonish us. 'lie that 
 spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, 
 how shall He not Avith him also freely give us all 
 things'?' It is impossible that a religion which is foimd- 
 ed upon the incarnation and death of the Son of God 
 should not be adapted to make men happy here and 
 hereafter. We find, accordingly, that joy has been one of 
 the characteristics of the Church under all dispensations. 
 It was made a specific duty of the Hebrews to 'rejoice 
 before the Lord' for days together in certain of their 
 festivals. It is the constant strain of prophets and apos- 
 tles, — ' Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.' ' The Church, 
 speaking by the mouth of Isaiah, says, 'I will greatly 
 rejoice in the Lord;' and Joel, "Ye children of Zion, 
 rejoice in the Lord;" and Zechariah, 'Their heart shall 
 rejoice in the Lord;' and Paul, 'Rejoice in the Lord 
 alway: and again I say, rejoice.' 
 
 The primitive Christians understood this. They pre- 
 sented to an astonished world the spectacle of a joyful 
 religion in circumstances which, by any earthly standard, 
 might have seemed sufficient to hold them in terror and 
 despondency all the while. From witnessing their Lord's 
 ascensioi>, they 'returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 
 and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing 
 God.' After the day of Pentecost, they continued daily 
 in the temple, eating their meat with gladness and sin- 
 gleness of heart. When arraigned before the Council 
 for preaching Christ, they departed 'rejoicing that they 
 were counted Avorthy to suffer shame for his name.' 
 Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God at night 
 in the prison at Philippi. And we learn from one of the 
 Epistles of St. Peter that the dispersed Christians to 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 45 
 
 whom he wrote, rejoiced in Christ 'with joy unspeak- 
 able and full of glory.' 
 
 Such was the Christianity of the apostolic age. Such 
 ought to be the Christianity of every age. If the religion 
 of our day be deficient in this divine element, it is the 
 more becoming that we should take the sentiment with 
 us along the unkno\vn paths of this opening year, ' I will 
 rejoice in the Lord.' 
 
 '/?i the Lord ' — you will observe. It is not every kind 
 of joy that will answer either to the teachings of Scrip- 
 ture, or to our necessities. There must be many who 
 are saying to themselves to-day, 'This year shall be to 
 me a joyful year. I mean to seek my fill of pleasure 
 wherever it is to be found. What is life without joyT 
 You are right — 'What is life without ']o\V But are 
 you certain that what you call 'joy' is the reality or a 
 counterfeit ] I will not dispute its reality — icMle it lasts ; 
 still less challenge its fascinations. But will it bear the 
 test of a thorough scrutiny] Can you find place for it 
 when you take a comprehensive survey of life, and look 
 to the end of things as well as to the beginning thereof? 
 It is conjectured that Solomon wrote the book of Eccle- 
 siastes in his old age to record his own experience of 
 the sins and follies of the world. In the first part of the 
 book he describes the careful and costly experiment he 
 made — too costly and magnificent except for a powerful 
 monarch — to frame to himself a scene of true enjoyment 
 out of merely earthly materials. And no sooner does he 
 present to our eyes the lofty and gorgeous fabric, than 
 he writes upon it in blazing capitals, ' Vanity of vanities, 
 all is vanity.' With not less significance does he after- 
 ward address the young in this strain: — 'Rejoice, O 
 
46 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 young man, in thy youth; -and lot thy heart cheer thee 
 in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine 
 heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou 
 that for all these things God will bring thee into judg- 
 ment.' 
 
 Say not that this casts a deep shadow over life. There 
 is not one ingredient in this teaching of the Bible on this 
 subject, Vvhich is unfavorable to your present enjoyment. 
 It simply requires that you seek that kind of enjoyment 
 which will be satisfying and permanent. And in very 
 kindness it warns you of what you must unavoidably 
 learn in the end, that the joy you have in view is evanes- 
 cent and illusive. 
 
 The joy of which the prophet speaks in the text, and 
 which is intended in the other passages just quoted, 
 springs from faith in Christ. "In whom believing, ye 
 rejoice." The truths of Scripture can effect us only as 
 they are believed. The stronger our faith, the more they 
 must influence us. It is the property of faith to give a 
 present reality to the objects and interests of the invisible 
 world. It is the suhstance of things hoped for, the evi- 
 dence of things not seen. A faith absolutely perfect would 
 take the same hold upon the 'things not seen,' which our 
 senses do upon the material things around us. It would, 
 therefore, raise its possessor above the world. It would 
 prevent him from over- valuing the objects which are 
 most prized among men, and from sinking under trials. 
 He would see everything here as in the light of eternity. 
 And he w^ould draw peace and comfort from sources 
 which lie infinitely beyond the reach of any unbeliever. 
 
 A moment's reflection must suffice to show that every 
 true Christian has the most ample warrant for saying, 'I 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 47 
 
 will rejoice in the Lord.' For the entire body of roA^ealed 
 truth, all its doctrines, precepts, and promises, rightly 
 apprehended, must be a fountain of joy to him. Not to 
 dwell upon the character and perfections of Jehovah, who 
 is the source and spring of all the goodness and all the 
 happiness in the universe, consider the work of Redemp- 
 tion. This theme is so familiar that we speak of it with 
 little or no emotion. But what would have been our 
 condition without if? Suppose no purpose of mercy 
 towards our species had been formed in the councils of 
 the Godhead. Suppose Christ Jesus had not come into 
 the world to save sinners. Suppose there had been no 
 atonement, no mission of the Spirit, no Bible, no Church, 
 no Sabbath. Every one sees what must have ensued 
 with us. Or, if there be any who do not see, let them 
 look at the fallen angels and they will see. INIust it not, 
 then, be a reason for joy that the reverse of all this has 
 taken place'? 
 
 Just in proportion as your faith may enable you to 
 estimate the evils involved in the loss of the soul, and 
 the blessings involved in its salvation, must you 'rejoice 
 in the Lord.' It is not for a careless man to understand 
 this. But you, my brethren, know what it is to be 'con- 
 vinced of sin.' You have felt the terrors of an awakened 
 conscience. You have felt yourselves exposed to the 
 wrath of God. And you know something of the joy 
 described by the Psalmist, 'Blessed is he whose trans- 
 gression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the 
 man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in 
 whose spirit there is no guile.' 
 
 And what a privilege is it to have such a Saviour — 
 one who unites in himself the divine and human natures, 
 
48 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 whose tenderness is commensurate with his majesty, and 
 whose arms offer an unfailing sanctuary to needy and 
 guilty sinners. 
 
 Not less comforting is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, 
 — his ministry of mercy to the Church, his perpetual 
 abiding there, and his inexhaustible love and compassion 
 to his people. 
 
 Then come the ' great and precious promises ' — with 
 balm fop every wound, and succor for every peril, and 
 strength for every trial, to which the Christian is exposed 
 in his mortal pilgrimage. 
 
 Nor may we omit the Scripture view of Providence. 
 It can be no trivial consolation to the believer, that it is 
 his own God and Saviour who is on the throne ; that 
 He upholds, directs, and governs all things; and that 
 under his beneficent administration all the Divine dis- 
 pensations towards him shall work together for his ulti- 
 mate good. 
 
 And then, to crown all, there is heaven itself, — that 
 ' rest which remaineth unto the people of God, ' and to 
 which every real disciple has received a title — 
 
 ' Purchased and sealed with blood Divine.' 
 
 Now the most indifferent person will admit that here 
 are perennial springs of joy sufficient to meet all the 
 cravings of the soul, and that, judged by its infallible 
 text-book, Christianity may well claim to be a joyful 
 religion. Yet the counter-admission must be made on 
 our part, that it does not always present this aspect to the 
 world. Its disciples do not habitually 'rejoice in the 
 Lord,' as the primitive believers did. We must even 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 49 
 
 concede that there is a type of religion prevalent 
 amongst us which is seriously deficient in this element 
 of joyfulness, or, at least, in the manifestation of it. 
 Without stopping to seek a full explanation of this phe- 
 nomenon, it may be suggested, that if there were more 
 religion it would display itself more distinctly in all its 
 proper characteristics. Allowing for exceptional cases, 
 those Christians who are marked by a consistent and 
 growing piety are usually very happy in their religion. 
 It should not excite surprise that a piety which is sickly 
 and precarious yields its possessor no joy. 
 
 Again, joy, as we have seen,' is the fruit of faith. 
 Faith has respect to the teachings of Scripture. A 
 strong faith follows the patient and prayerful study of 
 the Bible. It implies a clear apprehension of its cardi- 
 nal doctrines. This cannot be claimed as a special 
 characteristic of the Christianity of our times. It is a 
 Christianity which has more length and breadth than 
 depth. It is diffused and diffusive, but it does not 
 always feed upon 'the strong meat of the word.' AVhere 
 it does this, it is not lacking in joy. For it is impossible 
 to meditate with an intelligent and appropriating faith 
 upon those sublime and blessed truths which lie at the 
 basis of the Gospel without 'rejoicing in the Lord.' 
 
 And is it an error to intimate that we are too much 
 trained to regard doubts and misgivings as a necessary 
 part of religion X There is very little of this, perhaps 
 none at all, to be detected in the portraitures of the be- 
 lievers sketched in the book of Acts. The Christians ol 
 the next two centuries were equally remarkable for their 
 exemption from it. Their simple faith took God at his 
 word ; and when once led to Christ they were not afraid 
 
50 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAH. 
 
 to trust in him and to take the comfort of it. It is the 
 reproach of our Christianity that there should be so few 
 who can say, 'I Aj^io it? whom I have believed.' AVhere 
 this can be said, there is joy of course. 
 
 But without enlarging on these points, let me rather 
 commend to you the duty and privilege of rejoicing in 
 the Lord. God requires this at your hands. "A faith 
 without joy, is an altar without perfumes. Joy is the 
 token and the ornament of gratitude. Joy should crown 
 all our feelings towards God, and all our acts of religion. 
 Even when we fast, we should anoint our head and wash 
 our face. Will any one pretend that God discerns, in 
 the human multitude, his own redeemed ones by the 
 paleness of the countenance and the gloomy expression 
 of the eyes'? And would not the hymn of gladness 
 among the angels in heaven over the conversion of a 
 sinner, which makes them rejoice more than the perse- 
 verance of ninety and nine believers, — would not that 
 hymn cease were the sinner himself not to rejoice over 
 his own salvation'? It is our joy, and not our sadness, 
 that can do honor to God."* 
 
 This is further commended to us by the reflection, that 
 rejoicing in God is an important means of spiritual 
 str-ength and 'progress. It was no figure of speech which 
 Nehemiah used when he kindly reproved the weeping of 
 the people, and said to them, ' The joy of the Lord is 
 your strength.' Joy is always an element of strength. 
 You see it in every walk of life. A joyous spirit is a 
 well-spring of energy, even though it have no connection 
 with religion. Look at the merchant who carries it into 
 the details of a complex and extended business ; at the 
 
 * Vinet. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 51 . 
 
 mechanic who carries it into his daily toil ; at the trav- 
 eller who cheers himself with it as he crosses mountains 
 and deserts. How much a joyous spirit lightens their 
 burdens and gives elasticity to their steps! It is the 
 same in social life. This temper is very apt to indicate 
 energy of character, — not, necessarily, energy directed 
 by the highest wisdom, but still a capacity for exertion 
 which is sure to bring something to pass. 
 
 If this be so with natural joy, the 'joy of the Lord' 
 cannot be a less efficient principle. Nothing drinks up 
 the spirits like a sense of God's displeasure. It is a palsy 
 to all the powers of the soul. But the sense of his 
 love invigorates every faculty and stimulates to the high- 
 est exertion. That is a striking passage in the fifty-first 
 Psalm, as true to philosophy as it is to religious experi- 
 ence: — " Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation ; and 
 uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach trans- 
 gressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto 
 thee." His consciousness of guilt overwhelmed him. 
 He lay prostrate in the dust. But if it should please 
 God to speak peace to his conscience and restore the joy 
 he had lost, then he would resume his neglected labors 
 for the salvation of sinners, and they would be converted 
 unto God. So it is with all Christians. When your 
 hope of heaven is clear and undoubted, and you are re- 
 joicing in the Lord, you serve him with alacrity. You 
 are ready for any work to which he may appoint you. 
 You go about it, not as a task, but as a privilege. If 
 you are cheered by the sympathy of your fellow-Chris- 
 tians, well and good. But this is not your main reliance. 
 There is a spring of activity within which would impel 
 you onward even if there were no human eye to see, and 
 no earthly tongue to applaud, your labors. 
 
52 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 This is a great truth we arc cleahng with. The con- 
 stant inquiry is, How can we make Christianity more 
 effective in its warfare with sin and error ^ Let Chris- 
 tians "rejoice in the Lord ; " and the problem is resolved. 
 Properly regarded, his service demands this spirit. It is 
 not a bondage, but perfect freedom. ' My yoke is easy, 
 and my burden is light.' The Saviour has made full 
 provision for the protection and comfort of all who en- 
 gage in his service, without requiring them to wait for 
 their crowns of glory. Just in proportion as they im- 
 bibe the true spirit of disciplesbip, will their AN'ork yield 
 them genuine satisfaction ; and this, in turn, will aug- 
 ment their capacity for useful effort. Among the crowd 
 of active Christians who adorn our churches there are 
 very many who do "rejoice in the Lord." And this not 
 only increases their strength, but makes them welcome 
 in many a circle where, if they were of a morose or mo- 
 ping spirit, the door would be closed against them. 
 
 This suggests as another reason for cultivating this tem- 
 per, that 2ce ovoe it to tlie world. Our Saviour has said, 
 "Ye are the salt of the earth." "Ye are the light of 
 the world." We have no right to give the world a 
 mistaken idea of religion. They are more apt to form 
 their conceptions of it from the characters and conduct 
 of professing Christians than from the Bible. And 
 when we so carry ourselves as to produce the impres- 
 sion that Christianity is all gloom, we do both them and 
 religion a serious wrong. 
 
 There is, to be sure, a vicious mode of guarding against 
 this error, viz., by following the world into its gaieties. 
 You mean by doing this to show that religion is no 
 patron of asceticism. But what right have you to pre- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 53 
 
 tend, especially in dealing with the unconverted, that 
 religion is the patron of their frivolous amusements'? 
 To rejoice in their forbidden pleasures, is a very different 
 thing from rejoicing in the Lord. Each necessarily ex- 
 cludes the other. The one is a sin ; the other is a duty. 
 If you mean to help the world, you must perform the 
 duty, not practise the sin. It is no real help to them to 
 show them that religion will let you go wherever they 
 go, and do whatever they do. For if this be so, why 
 should they change ? What they need is, to be assured 
 that religion has joys which are as superior, as they are 
 unlike, to theirs. Show them that it has made you hap- 
 pier than you ever were before, and that without being 
 indebted to their pleasures. Do this, and you will be 
 helping them. 
 
 You will not infer from this that the Christian must 
 sever himself from all worldly enjoyments. Far from it. 
 Christian joy is not thus exacting. " Fleavenly in its 
 nature, it blends vv'ith terrestrial joys without losing 
 aught of its purity, and without taking from them aught 
 of their artless simplicity. The Christian, just before he 
 is nearest to heaven, knows best how this world is to be 
 enjoyed. The enjoyments of nature, of art, of society, 
 appear to have trusted him with their most profound 
 secret. The more his joy is serious and calm, the greater 
 the certainty it is true. The more it is envied, the greater 
 desire will be felt to ascertain its source. Thus, the 
 Christian's happiness makes converts to the Gospel." 
 But he can make no converts by participating in those 
 pleasures which are forbidden him. The fatal tendency 
 of this is, to wed the careless to their idols, and hurry 
 them on to ruin. 
 
54 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 It were easy to multiply arguments on this point. 
 They will be implied, if not stated, in what I have fur- 
 ther to say by way of commending the text to you as 
 your motto for the year. A twelve-month since it was 
 proposed to you as your talisman, ' The Lord is at hand !' 
 This has proved a prophetic announcement with some 
 who were with us then. The rest of us are spared to 
 stand upon the threshold of a New Year. Like each one 
 that has preceded it, the year comes with its mercies 
 and trials, its smiles and its frowns. It will bring un- 
 looked-for blessings, and unexpected sorrows. No one 
 amongst us may presume to forecast the specific changes 
 it has in store for him. But the text may serve, by God's 
 blessing, to prepare us for whatever He is preparing for 
 us, and to enter upon a new period with the feeling, 'I 
 will rejoice in the Lord.' 
 
 This resolution may be commended to those who seem 
 least to require it — the in'osperous. No doubt you are 
 accustomed to rejoice. But it is rejoicing in God which 
 he requires of you. And surely he has a right to require 
 it. How is it that you are rich, while others are poor] 
 That health reigns in your household, while others are 
 smitten with disease'? That the hours which come to so 
 many surcharged with sorrow, come to you freighted 
 with mercies'? The Giver of all good is making this 
 appeal to your gratitude. Do not rest in his gifts ; but 
 look through them to their Author. If you rejoice in 
 them, as you may and should, yet rejoice chiefly in 
 Him. For if such are the streams, what must the Foun- 
 tain be'? Then only can you derive the full measure of 
 enjoyment from them, when you receive them as the 
 fruits of his bounty, and love and serve Him with a 
 grateful heart. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 55 
 
 There is a sad ingratitude and selfishness which follows 
 too often in the train of prosperity. The daily incense 
 goes up from more cottages than palaces. The crust of 
 bread elicits a hymn of praise; the table groaning under 
 its costly viands becomes a daily holocaust to appetite and 
 pride. Men are not content unless they can banish God 
 from their pleasures. Willing enough to accept his gifts, 
 they seem to feel that in so far as they have to acknowl- 
 edge him, it is to that extent a practical deduction from 
 the true enjoyment of life. Strange they should not con- 
 sider that no form or scene of happiness can be lasting, 
 which excludes Him from whom alone all happiness 
 flows. 
 
 This, indeed, is an urgent reason why you should 
 adopt the maxim, 'I will rejoice in the Lord.' Now you 
 have other means of enjoyment. But you may not have 
 them long. This very year may see you stripped of your 
 property. Or it may see your family broken and shat- 
 tered by death. Or, worse than poverty or death, it may 
 see some of your blessings turned into implements of tor- 
 ture which Mill embitter your days. What you need, 
 what every one needs, is a portion which is exposed to 
 none of these casualties; a joy which, being not of earth, 
 nothing earthly can take from you. And this you will 
 have only when you can say, 'I will rejoice in the Lord.' 
 
 But you will all feel that the real difficulty lies in 
 another direction. 'It is well enough,' you are ready to 
 say, 'to bid the prosperous rejoice, but is it not a mockery 
 to address this exhortation to the sorroiDful f 
 
 To those who know of no joy but that of the world, 
 it must seem a mockery. But Christian joy is a differ- 
 ent emotion — different in its source, different in its ali- 
 
56 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 ment, different in its expression. To invite the sorrow- 
 ful to join in any demonstration of boisterous mirth, or 
 even to be present at ordinary scenes of festivity, would 
 be rude and insulting. But the joy which enters into 
 the believer's heritage is a hidden principle lodged in the 
 depths of the heart by the Divine Spirit, and nourished 
 there by his own Almighty hand. It does not imply — 
 for that is not its nature — a state of constant excitement, 
 an effervescence and transport of the animal feelings. 
 This is the familiar idea of joy among ^he votaries of 
 worldly pleasure. But religious joy is something deep, 
 pure, calm, abiding ; not without its ebbs and flows, its 
 raptures and depressions, but, on the ^yhole, tranquil 
 and serious, — ' a holy joy,' as it is wtII expressed. 
 
 This being its nature, there is no incongruity in call- 
 ing even upon those Christians who have much cause for 
 sadness to adopt the resolution, 'I will rejoice in the 
 Lord.' In one aspect, this may be affirmed of Christians 
 generally. For the whole Christian life is a struggle 
 with sin, and sin must needs bring sorrow in its train. 
 But this conflict does not necessarily extinguish the be- 
 liever's joy. The sacred flame may continue to glow 
 upon his altar, though exposed to the beating storm of 
 adversity and the fiercer blasts of his own passions. No 
 Christian "was ever placed in circumstances to test this 
 more thoroughly than the great apostle of the Gentiles. 
 It was the high privilege conferred upon him — he treats 
 it as a privilege — that he was appointed to endure a 
 greater variety and amount of suffering for his Master, 
 than almost any other of whom we read. There are 
 touching allusions in his epistles which show that he was 
 no Stoic under these trials. It is apparent that he was 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 57 
 
 not a stranger to despondency. But in the main, the 
 Avhole tone of his writings, like the whole tenor of his 
 life, is that of an eminently happy and joyful man. It 
 is one of the series of paradoxes in which he has summed 
 up his own Christian life, 'as sorrowful, yet ahociys 
 rejoicing.'' It is scarcely possible to think of him, 
 whether preaching to a popular assembly, or pleading 
 before kings ; whether hastening from city to city with 
 the everlasting Gospel, or shut up in a dungeon ; 
 whether sitting in council with* the apostolic college, or 
 comforting his companions amidst the horrors of a ship- 
 wreck ; except as a man imbued with a heavenly serenity 
 and joy, the fitting counterpart of his lofty intrepidity 
 and heroism. 
 
 Nor was this any prerogative of the apostleship. It 
 is for other Christians also to say — thousands of them 
 have said it — 'As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.' 
 
 I am not counselling you to attempt an impossibility. 
 Still less am I inculcating an insensibility to trials. He 
 who sends these trials means that they shall be felt. It 
 is his own injunction, ' Hear ye the rod, and who hath 
 appointed it.' But He designs, no less, that his people 
 shall trust in him, and rejoice in him. Trouble is one 
 of the messengers He sends to recall them to him : — " In 
 their affliction, they will seek me early." To rejoice in 
 Him at such a time — when the heart is pierced with 
 sorrow, and his irresistible Providence is veiled in clouds 
 and darlvness — is one of the noblest tributes which can 
 be paid to his wisdom and faithfulness. And why should 
 it not be so \ Viewed from that elevation to which a 
 vigorous faith exalts the soul, these trials and temptations 
 are all transitory. They cannot disturb the Christian's 
 
58 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 portion, nor invalidate his title to it. It still remains 
 true that he has an Almighty Saviour ; that the blessings 
 of the unchangeable covenant are his ; and that there is 
 a crown of glory awaiting him. Let him, then, rejoice 
 in the Lord. 
 
 This counsel is equally suited to occasions of public 
 calamity and to those of private sorrow. It was with a 
 prime reference to these the prophet used the words. 
 The passage is too beautiful not to be familiar to every 
 reader of the Bible. 'Although the fig-tree shall not 
 blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labour 
 of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; 
 the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall 
 be no herd in the stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 
 I will joy in the God of my salvation.' It may be that 
 we shall have sad occasion for this scripture in its bear- 
 ing upon Divine judgments before this year closes. 
 What may be in reserve for our beloved country we know 
 not. The omens at present are threatening enough to 
 drive every Christian to the throne of grace ; for that is 
 the source whence help must come, if it comes at all. 
 But whatever may happen, the believer has his resource : — 
 'I will rejoice in the Lord.' 
 
 This, then, is the temper with which it befits us to enter 
 upon the opening year, and this the spirit we should 
 strive to carry into all its engagements and businesses, all 
 its sorrows and pleasures: — 'I will rejoice in the Lord.' 
 It will be our wisdom and duty to cherish more and more 
 the conviction that we must seek our happiness in God. 
 Let us acknowledge Him more in our plans. Let us 
 remember Him in our ordinary occupations, in our social 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 59 
 
 recreations, and in our hours of solitude. Let it be the 
 habit of our lives to trust in Him, to seek his favor as the 
 chiefest of blessings, and to rejoice in Him as 'the God of 
 our salvation.' Could we but enter upon the year with 
 this equipment of celestial temper, it would come to us 
 richly freighted with joy, and the pleasant greeting of "A 
 happy New Year," would have a fulness of meaning 
 which we rarely attach to it. 
 
 Need I say how sincerely I pray that you may all ex- 
 perience its power and preciousness ? All of you! It 
 is one of the painful reflections of this hour, that there 
 are those here who have never even begun to 'Rejoice in 
 the Lord;' — to whom, indeed, the very phrase may be 
 unmeaning, if it is not positively disagreeable. Alas, my 
 dear people, to what end are you living'? What record 
 have your past years borne to the bar of God'? And of 
 what value is all the 'happiness' you have, up to this 
 time, garnered from the world "? Is it too much to be- 
 lieve that there must be those among you who are dis- 
 satisfied with themselves and with the illusive joys they 
 have hitherto pursued"? Is it too much to hope that 
 there may be some who would fain begin a New Year 
 with a new life"? Let me entreat you not to stifle the 
 secret longing. It may be the still, small voice of the 
 Spirit inviting you to the skies. It is a period which in- 
 clines us to reflection — this shadowy line between the Old 
 Year and the New. And here, as you are framing your 
 plans, give place at length to God and Redemption. 
 Aspire to something higher and nobler than these earth- 
 born joys. Put away the sins which have so long sepa- 
 rated you from God and from happiness. Come to the 
 
60 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 fountain which alone can cleanse you. And resolve in 
 God's strength — ' I will rejoice in the Lord.' Thus shall 
 you find rest unto your souls; and through the long 
 cycles of eternity, this year shall be of blessed memory as 
 the year of your espousals to Christ. 
 
1861. 
 
 lY. 
 
 ''THIS IS MY FRIEND." 
 
 SONG OF SOLOMON v. 16. 
 
 What better could I do on this New Year's Sabbath, 
 than offer to you as your motto for the year this brief 
 and beautiful statement from the Book of Canticles'? It 
 is the language of the Church, the Lamb's Bride, con- 
 cerning the Bridegroom — her and our Lord : — " This is 
 my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jeru- 
 salem !" There is no believer here who may not make 
 this language his own. An unspeakable privilege it is, 
 to be allowed to use it. And doubtless before the year 
 is over, some of us may have occasion to prize this privi- 
 lege even more highly than we do now. 
 
 It were very commonplace to address you on the 
 advantages and delights of friendship. But it can never 
 be unwelcome to you to hear of that Friend who is here 
 brought to our notice. Let me talk with you about Him, 
 as friends are wont to talk about an absent friend — ^^mil- 
 iarly and freely. 
 
 Yet the use of this word absent must remind us that 
 there is something very peculiar m his character; foj He 
 
 (61) 
 
Q2 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 is never absent. It is one of the unavoidable trials of all 
 earthly attachments, that they involve occasional sepa- 
 rations. In innumerable cases these separations are very 
 frequent or very protracted, and aggravated by the end- 
 less hazards to which life and health are exposed. When 
 two friends — or, if you will, an affectionate family — are 
 restored to each other, with the prospect of remaining 
 together for a long while, it seems to make their happi- 
 ness almost complete. But a final separation must come ; 
 and in all ordinary instances it is preceded by numerous 
 temporary absences. 
 
 With Jesus of Nazareth this cannot occur. From this 
 Friend you not only may not, but cannot sever yourself. 
 A change of residence or of circumstances — a journey — 
 a sickness — is of no moment. He is with his friends as 
 much at one time, or in one place, as another: — always 
 a Friend at hand. 
 
 Every one will perceive what this implies in respect 
 to his 7rinJ>; and nature. There are various paths by 
 which we may ascend to the same sublime truth. But 
 it flows inevitably from the one point we are now con- 
 sidering, that Jesus Christ must be Omnipresent; and if 
 Omnipresent, he cannot be a mere creature. There can 
 be but One Being who is ever with us and with millions 
 besides in this land, and in other lands, and all over the 
 globe. So that in the Friend who is never absent from 
 him, the Christian also has a friend who is able to take 
 care of him in all possible circumstances. 
 
 If a person were called to traverse a countr}^ filled 
 with anarchy and violence, there is nothing he would 
 desire so much as the company of some one of such rank 
 and authority as to insure him protection. Such a situa- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. (53 
 
 tion is but an inadequate type of our condition in this 
 world. It is a world broken away from its allegiance. 
 It is in arms not only against its Prince, but against 
 all W'ho attempt to serve him. Its resources are too vast, 
 and its hostility is too malignant, to be successfully resisted 
 even by the most resolute of the race, in their own 
 strength. They w^ho have no succor from without must 
 inevitably succumb. 
 
 To state the case in other language: — our condition 
 here is such as to warrant no hope of deliverance if we 
 are left to ourselves. Take the very best of the race — 
 those who have escaped from the servitude of sin, and 
 ' made good progress in the Christian life — what can they 
 do in a conflict like this? What wdth indwelling de- 
 pravity, the enticements of the world, and the machina- 
 tions of Satan, they would be vanquished as fatally as 
 David and Peter were. They would find their chains 
 re-imposed, and their captivity renewed with stronger 
 bolts and bars than ever. 
 
 Thanks be to God, these dangers are provided for. 
 The believer has a Friend to accompany him, who is 
 able to defend him. That may be truly said of Him, 
 which was impiously said of Simon the Sorcerer, 'This 
 man is the great power of God.' This very phrase, 
 indeed, is applied to Him by the Divine Spirit: "Christ, 
 the power of God." And He himself challenges the dis- 
 tinction as his OAvn, when he says, 'All power is given to 
 me in heaven and in earth.' 
 
 How this lifts the Saviour up infinitely above all other 
 friends ! We are none of us without friends in whose 
 afl'ection we have entire confidence. We know that 
 they love us with a sincerity and a devotion which are 
 
(34 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 beyond suspicion. We feel assured that they would do 
 anything in their power to help us in a time of trouble. 
 But witliout disparaging their fidelity and kindness, we 
 cannot forget that their capacity to relieve us in sorrow 
 or danger is limited. When they have done their ut- 
 most, the weight still presses, and the heart still bleeds. 
 But with Him who has ' all power ' it is otherwise. He 
 can go down into the depths and take the gauge of the 
 trouble that is crushing us ; and then say to tlie despond- 
 ing soul in tones which must be heard, 'Trust in the 
 Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting 
 strength.' Nor does it matter from what quarter the 
 trial may come. His prerogative extends alike over the 
 worlds of matter and of mind ; as well over ' foul spirits ' 
 as over the lawless passions of the heart. And the hum- 
 blest Christian may confidently say of him, 'He is my 
 refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.' 
 
 Omnipotence and ubiquity, important as they are, are 
 not the only qualities which commend to us our Heav- 
 enly Friend. It is one of that golden cluster of titles by 
 which he was heralded seven centuries before his advent, 
 'He shall be called . . . CQunsellor.^ In our present 
 condition we need as much a wise friend as a powerful 
 one. And the one attribute is as often wanting as the 
 other. A friend may be very sincere and faithful who 
 is in no way remarkable for wisdom. Some of the truest 
 friends come short here. They may be pleasant com- 
 panions. Their sympathy may be grateful to us. They 
 may have that very rare ' power of silence' which enables 
 them to forbear repeating what is said to them. And 
 yet as advisers, they are but broken reeds. From a 
 .natural debility of judgment, or simply through the 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 65 
 
 blinding influence of their affections, they can give only 
 such coinisel as they suppose will fall in with the inclina- 
 tions of their friend. You cannot distrust their love; 
 but you may well say to them, what the apostle said to 
 his faithful Philippians: — "This I pray, that your love 
 may abound yet more and more in hnowledge and in all 
 judgment.'''' 
 
 But not so with the Friend the text extols. As he is 
 the 'power of God,' so is he the 'wisdom of God.' His 
 own language is, ' Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom ; 
 I am understanding; I have strength.' He knows every- 
 thing. With an eye that sweeps through the universe, 
 he sees at a glance all the agencies and influences which 
 can affect his friends for good or ill. He perceives at 
 once every plot which is contrived for their injury; every 
 snare spread for their feet ; every arm lifted to strike 
 them. He is acquainted with the minutest incidents in 
 the allotment of each one of them. There is no wrong 
 they suffer, no danger they fear, no secret grief that 
 preys upon their spirits, no burden whatever of sin or 
 woe they bear, which is not known to him. And he 
 knows, no less, just what to do for them. It may not 
 be precisely what they would choose, but it is what they 
 most need. Unlike an earthly friend, he is able to take 
 in all the surroundings of the case; and to consider as 
 well the ultimate result as the immediate effect of par- 
 ticular measures. And hence the deliverance or the 
 strength he imparts, is uniformly designed to promote, 
 if not the present ease, at least the future and perma- 
 nent well-being of his people. For in him are hid all 
 the treasures of wisdom and knowledge: and such a 
 
(55 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 friend cannot but be the very "Counsellor" we require 
 amidst the perplexities and conflicts of life. 
 
 This will be still more apparent, when it is considered, 
 that He is a friend who loves his people with a Jove 
 ''passing hno idedge. ' 
 
 The strength of Christ's affection for his people, is not 
 a matter of conjecture. Nor does the proof of it lie 
 mainly in his own protestations, convincing as those 
 would be. It is embodied in acts, which challenge the 
 wonder and adoration of the universe. The entire Bible 
 is a revelation of his love to them. It originated in the 
 essential benevolence of his nature, eternal ages before 
 our sphere was created. Even then, in the distant pros- 
 pect of man's fall, he engaged to ransom him, and his 
 "delights were with the sons of men." In the fulness 
 of time, this love assumed to itself a human form ; and 
 there was no depth of humiliation and of suffering to 
 which it did not stoop in order to snatch its endangered 
 objects from destruction. ' Greater love hath no man 
 than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.' 
 And this proof has lie given us of his love. Nay, he 
 has gone beyond this, for " even while we were yet 
 sinners [and enemies] did Christ die for us." Had he 
 been simply a creature of angelic rank, this could not 
 have failed to produce a profound impression upon all 
 holy beings. But what tongue shall attempt to portray 
 this event as the voluntary sacrifice of God's own Son — 
 'the Brightness of the Father's glory and the Express 
 Image of his Person!' It is the exalted rank, the eter- 
 nal Deity, of the Saviour, which invests the transaction 
 with its sublime interest, and makes it so impossible to 
 describe it. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 67 
 
 The believer exclaims, ' This is my Friend :' — and he 
 bids yon roll back the ages until you antedate the course 
 of time, and see the Second Person of the adorable 
 Trinity entering into a covenant with the Father to 
 redeem a rebellious race not yet summoned into being. 
 Again he exclaims, ' This is my Friend !' — and he takes 
 you to the little village of Bethlehem, to that manger 
 which presents to you the most wonderful sight the sun 
 — or any one of the myriad-suns of the firmament — had 
 ever shone upon, an infant child bearing the Name ot 
 names, " Immanuel," " God with us." He cries again, 
 " This is my Friend !" — and he leads you to Calvary, 
 and shows you that spectacle which made the sun " shut 
 his glories in," convulsed the earth to its centre, and 
 even stirred the slumbering dead. Once more he ex- 
 claims, ' This is my Friend !' — and he conducts you on 
 the wings of faith up to the heaven of heavens, and 
 points you to ' the Lamb in the midst of the throne,' the 
 object of universal homage and gratitude. 
 
 " The head that once was crowned with thorns, 
 
 Is crowned with glory now ; 
 A royal diadem adorns 
 
 The miglity victor's brow. 
 The highest place that heaven affords, 
 
 Is his by sovereign right ; 
 The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, 
 
 And Heaven's Eternal Light!" 
 
 Yes, tJiis is the believer's Friend. And these are but 
 successive demonstrations of the boundless love he bears 
 to his people. From eternity his heart was with them. 
 It was with them through all his pilgrimage of sorrow 
 and suffering in our world. It is with them still in his 
 
68 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 glory ; for he " ever liveth to make intercession for them," 
 and he is "Head over all things to the Church." Well 
 may the apostle say of this love, "it passeth knowledge." 
 
 It is another conspicuous attribute of our Divine 
 Friend, that he is full of tenderness and sympathy. . 
 
 There is many a sterling character which nevertheless 
 lacks this pleasant embellishment. We have all had 
 friends upon whose attachment we could place implicit 
 reliance, who might not always have the gentlest way of 
 showing it. It is one of the marvels which cluster 
 around the Saviour's character, that it combines the 
 grandeur and omnipotence of a God with more than a 
 mother's tenderness. There is something extremely 
 beautiful and touching in the imagery Christ employs 
 in unfolding his commission. " The Spirit of the Lord 
 God is upon me, because the Lord hath appointed me to 
 preach good tidings unto the meek ; he hath sent me to 
 bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the 
 captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are 
 bound." These prophetic strains pass into history in 
 the New Testament. He stands before us there, the 
 friend of publicans and sinners. He opens his lips, and 
 it is to utter in the ears of that proud and scornful age 
 strange words like these : — " Blessed are the poor in 
 spirit !" " Blessed are they that mourn !" " Blessed are 
 the meek !" We fall into his train, and for three years we 
 are living among the objects of pity — the poor, the sick, 
 and the suffering, who flock around him for relief. Nor 
 are they more ready to come, than he is to succor them. 
 Whether it be a group of miserable lepers, or a blind 
 man by the wayside, or a ruler of the synagogue inter- 
 ceding for a daughter, or a Syro-Phenician mother on 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 69 
 
 the same anxious errand, his ear responds to every ap- 
 peal, and his hand is stretched forth in its unwearied 
 ministry of mercy. We claim, then, that he is a Friend 
 no less remarkable for his tenderness and pity, than for 
 his power and majesty. 
 
 To view our Lord in one more only of the many aspects 
 of his friendship to his people, he is a fcdtJifuI friend. He 
 is faithful in that he will reprove the errors and sins of his 
 people. This is one of the rarest qualities among friends ; 
 but to a true, ingenuous heart, one of the most valuable. 
 "As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so 
 is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear." The Saviour 
 loves his friends too well to 'suffer sin upon them.' 
 When they go astray, he will find means, by his Spirit, 
 or through the voice of conscience, to say to them, ' I 
 have not found thy works perfect before God.' ' Re- 
 member from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do 
 the first works.' He is faithful., again, in that he is not 
 readily alienated by the misconduct of his people. See 
 how he bore with the faults of his disciples. And where 
 has been the disciple since who has not sometimes tested 
 his long-suffering ! Yet he does not cast off any. He 
 exemplifies, rather, the lesson he inculcated on a certain 
 occasion, " I say unto you, forgive until seventy times 
 seven." And, again, he is faitlfid because, as this lan- 
 guage implies, he is unchangeable. Whom he loves, he 
 loves to the end. To every believer he says, " I have 
 loved thee with an everlasting love," — a protestation 
 w^hich carries heaven and eternal glory in its bosom. 
 
 Such are some of the attributes which meet in the 
 character of Jesus of Nazareth, — ubiquity., j^oicer, tcis- 
 dom, love, tenderness, faithfulness, — and all in an infinite 
 
70 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 degree. Thrice happy must he be who is able to say, 
 " Tliis is mij Friend ! " And this may be said by every 
 sincere Christian here — the young-est equally with the 
 oldest ; as well the poorest as the richest. 
 
 In this friendship there is something very wonderful, 
 if we do but allow ourselves to consider it. Other 
 friendships usually include three conditions, not one of 
 which is found here. These are, equality of rank, personal 
 merit, and a capacity, to some extent, of reciprocating 
 favors. But in this case, the parties are the Creator 
 and the creature ; the self-existent and supreme Jehovah 
 and a worm of the dust. As to merit, there was every- 
 thing in the character of man to repel affection. Not 
 only was he destitute of that holiness in which alone a 
 holy God could feel any complacency, but his attitude 
 towards his Maker was that of a rebel and an enemy. 
 And so far from being able to reciprocate kindnesses, his 
 inevitable and constant condition was one of dependence 
 and want. He could be only a recipient, never a giver. 
 Still, the friendship was established. The ineffable wis- 
 dom and unquenchable love of the Redeemer, disregard- 
 ing even obstacles so formidable as these, stooped to the 
 necessities of our fallen nature, and exalted the miserable 
 slaves of sin to the dignity and happiness of friends of 
 God. Let us not forget, if we, any of us, share this 
 high distinction, that it was purchased for us at an infi- 
 nite cost. But it is time to make a personal application 
 of the text. 
 
 In his address to the elders of the Church of Ephesus, 
 the apostle said, " Behold, I go bound in the spirit unto 
 Jerusalem, not knowing the tilings that shall befall me 
 there." We may each of us appropriate this language 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 71 
 
 in respect to the year before us, — not knowing the 
 things that shall befall me. This impenetrable curtain 
 which hides the future from us, receding only as we press 
 against it, and refusing us a glimpse even of the coming 
 hour or the coming moment, is held in its place even 
 more by the hand of love than by the hand of power. 
 For whose life would not be shrouded in sorrow, if the 
 future were imveiled to him ! But while we know not 
 what will happen, we know well what may happen ; 
 and this should be enough to consecrate in our affections 
 the friendship we are commemorating. 
 
 Nothing, for example, is more probable than that oc- 
 casions may arise during this year, which will bring with 
 them perplexing questions of duty. Such questions are 
 coming up in the ordinary routine of life — in the man- 
 agement of our families, and in the prosecution of busi- 
 ness. They may come in graver aspect — questions which 
 are to decide our future plans, or occupations, or homes. 
 How easily we are confounded in emergencies of this 
 sort, must be known to every one here. Our sagacity 
 soon fails us, even when aided by the lights of experi- 
 ence. And we are not certain of faring any better, if 
 we appeal to our friends. If we are able to say of Jesus 
 Christ, "This is my Friend," there need be no dis- 
 quietude. For "is anything too hard for the Lordf'' It 
 is no less your privilege than your duty to go to Him in 
 every exigency. For "if any of you lack wisdom, let 
 him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and up- 
 braideth not; and it shall be given him." To do this, 
 there is no toilsome journey to be made, like that of the 
 Queen of Sheba, when she went to see the glory of 
 Solomon and to prove him with 'hard questions.' For, 
 
72 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 as wc have seen, He is a Friend never absent. lie can 
 be consulted by any disciple at any moment. I do not 
 say that we are authorized to expect an instant answer 
 in some palpable form. All that we affirm, all that we 
 can reasonably require, is, that, to the humble and im- 
 portunate petition for direction He will ordinarily grant a 
 gracious answer. By some impression upon the mind, 
 or by some providential indications, a ray of light will 
 fall upon the suppliant's path, which will at least relieve, 
 if it does not remove, his embarrassment. 
 
 I speak of this habit of going to Christ with difficult 
 questions, as not only a privilege but a duty. For we 
 really have no right to choose our course without looking 
 to Him. 'In all thy ways acknowledge Him.' Except 
 we do this, we have no share in the promise annexed, — 
 'And he shall direct thy paths.' They who neglect to 
 take counsel of their best Friend, must needs fall into 
 many an error. 
 
 Again, it is quite certain that this year will be with 
 every Christian here, a year of conflict icifJi sin; and 
 with some, peradventure, there may be experiences of 
 spiritual darkness and depression. The Christian life 
 involves conflict. It is in its very nature a war against 
 sin. The contest varies with different persons in its 
 concomitants ; but while life lasts, ' the flesh lusteth 
 against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.' Nor 
 is it a struggle which any believer can wage successfully 
 in his own strength. His foes are too many and too 
 powerful for this. Armed with the subtlety and the 
 malignity of sin, they are perpetually around his path. 
 To fly from and to overcome them are alike impracticable. 
 One resource alone he has, and it cannot fail him. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 73 
 
 When chafed, and wearied, and wounded in this war- 
 fare, let him call to mind the saying that is written, 
 ' This is my Friend.' Although this Friend has had no 
 experience of indwelling sin, yet in every other respect, 
 not only has He been 'tempted as we are,' but He has 
 vanquished his and our enemies. The plenitude of the 
 universe is at his disposal ; and He is equally able and 
 willing to sustain his people in their conflicts. 
 
 And especially will you need his help, should you be 
 overtaken by days of darkness and despondency. For 
 these are trials which not unfrequently bid defiance to 
 human sympathy. The soul which is cast down under 
 a dreadful sense of sin, or which is mourning the hidings 
 of God's countenance, refuses to be comforted. Yet 
 there is one resource which can avail you even in those 
 unhappy circumstances. If you can but open your heart 
 to the assurance, 'This is my Friend;' if you can but go 
 to Him with your sorrows, you will find relief For He 
 came to ' bind up the broken-hearted.' And while his 
 arm is mighty to save, the tenderness of his nature is a 
 sufficient pledge that no ' bruised reed' will be refused 
 his help. 
 
 The transition is natural from one class of trials to 
 another. That there are sorrows on their way for some 
 of us, which will overtake us before the year expires, 
 may be safely taken for granted. In what form they are 
 to come — loss of property, sickness, bereavement, death — 
 or where they are to alight. He only knows, who know- 
 eth all things. This, however, is certain. Whenever 
 they come, and in whatever guise, nothing can so effect- 
 ively disarm them of their terrors, as to be able to say, 
 
 'This is my Friend.' So the affrighted disciples found 
 6 
 
74 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 it, when their little bark was swept by the storm upon 
 Genessareth. So Mary and Martha found it, when they 
 mourned the death of their brother. So many a believer 
 you have known and loved, has found it in sickness and 
 in sorrow. The thought, ' This is my Friend,' has been 
 like the balm of Gilead to their wounds, and nerved 
 them to say, ' Not as I will, but as Thou wilt !' 
 
 For they well understand, that this trouble has not 
 come without his permission — and that He is a friend 
 too wise and too compassionate to have sent it unless it 
 were for their good. They remember, too, that in as- 
 signing to them these painful experiences. He is but con- 
 ducting them along the path which his own sufferings 
 have sanctified. Their feeling is — 
 
 " Christ leads me through no darker rooms 
 Than He went througli before ; 
 He that unto God's kingdom comes, 
 Must enter by this door." 
 
 And they have the further conviction that He is always 
 present with them, for, varying the figure. He ' sits like a 
 refiner and purifier of silver,' watching the effect of the 
 fire upon the precious metal, and ready to withdraw it 
 as soon as it is sufficiently freed from its base alloy. 
 
 In reflections like these, you will find consolation un- 
 der your trials. For what can we not endure, if we are 
 only able to say, ' It is my Friend, who subjects me to 
 this affliction. Yea, it is my best Friend. He has 
 shown his love to me by dying for me. I cannot, will 
 not, distrust Him even though He lead me by a path 
 that I know not. For He knows what is for my good. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 75 
 
 And I have his promise, As thy days, so shall thy 
 strength be.' 
 
 The year, again, will bring its duties., no less than its 
 trials: — and here it will be wholesome to recall our 
 motto, ' This is my Friend.' 
 
 We have seen, though in a most imperfect and super- 
 ficial way, what sort of a Friend He is ; what sacrifices 
 He has made, what blessings He has provided, for us. 
 What more becoming than that we should daily ask 
 ourselves the qriestion, 'What am I doing — what can I do 
 — to testify my gratitude to such a Friend T If it were 
 possible to secure the thorough and permanent lodgment 
 of the feeling in every Christian heart here, ' This is my 
 Friend,' this church would require little exhortation to 
 duty during the present year. When applied to, as you 
 so often .are, for funds to aid in spreading the Gospel or 
 relieving the destitute, your response would be, ' This is 
 my Friend whose voice I hear : the silver and the gold 
 are his, and I would not, if I might, withhold what is 
 his own.' "VMien summoned to engage in some work of 
 Christian philanthropy, quite within the compass of your 
 powers, though involving some self-denial, you would 
 say again, ' It is my Friend who solicits my aid, and I 
 cannot refuse Him, for He has said, Inasmuch as ye have 
 done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye 
 have done it unto me.' If again you should be admon- 
 ished of the duty of attending faithfully upon the ordi- 
 nances of the Sanctuary, on the Sabbath and during the 
 week, you would be ready to say, ' It is my Friend who 
 instituted these services. His presence hallows them, 
 his glory shines through them, and He designed them for 
 the nurture and comfort of my soul, and for the salvation 
 
76 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 of the perishing. I Avill not forsake the place where his 
 honour dwelleth.' If soHcited to give your countenance 
 to some festivity, which your conscience whispers to you 
 is forbidden ground to a follower of Jesus, your frank 
 and manly reply would be, ' No, I could not approach 
 my Friend and ask Him to go with me ; I should but 
 wound Him by going where I know He would not go ; 
 and it were base in me to purchase a transient gratifica- 
 tion at the cost of grieving One who has shed his blood 
 for me.' 
 
 And thus, all along the year will you find this text a 
 ready help in resolving practical questions and carrying 
 you up toward a loftier reach of Christian achievement. 
 Amidst the endless variety of changes and circumstances 
 which the year may bring with it, no situation can await 
 you in which it will not be useful to you to think of 
 Jesus of Nazareth with the feeling, 'This is my Friend.' 
 Whenever this confidence animates the breast, and so 
 long as it lasts, there are at least two things which will 
 not be neglected. 
 
 One of these is 'prayer. Intercommunion is the soul 
 of friendship. If we feel that Christ is our friend, we 
 must desire to hold fellowship with Him. And this, in 
 turn, cements the bond which unites us to Him. 
 
 The other is an earnest desire and aim to mahe Christ 
 hnovm to others. Unlike mere human friendships, there 
 is no room for selfishness or jealousy here. On the con- 
 trary, the proper effect of being admitted to Christ's 
 friendship is to enkindle the disposition to make others 
 partakers of the same blessing. The more the heart 
 glows under the radiance of the sweet conviction, 'This 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 77 
 
 is my Friend,' the more irrepressible will be its longings 
 to bring other friendless sinners to his feet. 
 
 Such, my brethren, is the text I tender to you as your 
 maxim for the year. In your studies and in your busi- 
 ness, in your journeys and in your recreations, in your 
 joys and your sorrows, in your conflicts and your con- 
 solations, in the Church and in the world, in health and 
 in sickness, in hfe and in death, it will strengthen, sus- 
 tain, and sanctify you, to remember "This is my Friend." 
 
 Grateful as it is to utter words like these, they awaken 
 one very sad reflection. I cannot but fear that there are 
 some among my hearers who will not venture to appro- 
 priate this discourse to themselves. You shrink from 
 saying, ' This is my Friend ! ' Alas for you, if all your 
 friends are here in this world — frail, dying creatures, 
 like yourselves. For, much as you may need a friend 
 like Jesus now, you will need Him a thousandfold more 
 when these other friends, and you with them, have 
 passed into eternity. But why is He not your Friend % 
 Is it his fault % Has He failed to tender you his friend- 
 ship] Has He repelled you when you have gone to 
 Him % Has He invited all others to trust in Him and 
 share his love and confidence, and left you ouf? You 
 will not say this. You have a monitor within which 
 tells you that the blame of your being to-day without 
 this Friend lies wholly at your own door. It is his own 
 touching lament over you, ' Ye will not come unto me 
 that ye might have life ! ' Oh, ye friendless souls, come 
 to this Friend of sinners. Do not spend another year 
 without Christ. But come to Him now. Begin this 
 new year with a new life. Looking to the Almighty 
 Spirit for grace to renew and guide you, humbly and 
 
78 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 penitently put your trust in the Redeemer. Then will 
 you know the comfort bound up in those precious words, 
 ' This is my Friend ;' and the last great day shall see 
 you owned of Him as Jus friend, in the presence of an 
 assembled universe. 
 
1862. 
 
 Y. 
 
 ''FOR TO ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST." 
 
 PHILIPPIANS I. 21. 
 
 It may be safely said that the Bible itself contains no- 
 thing which would be more appropriate for the opening 
 year than the text I have just given you. I may go fur- 
 ther and add, that there is no greater blessing we could 
 receive than to have these words indelibly engraved upon 
 our hearts to-day by the Spirit of God, " To me to live 
 is Christ." Could we all take this for our motto, and 
 faithfully conform to it, it would make this year an epoch 
 in our lives — a year to be remembered with gratitude 
 through eternity. Let us see what it imports. 
 
 1. It imports that Christ is the Source of the believer's 
 life ; and that in a twofold sense. 
 
 The humbling representation of the Bible is, that our 
 race is by nature spiritually dead. This does not mean 
 that man has been deprived of any of his essential facul- 
 ties; nor that he is incapable of exerting his powers for 
 wise and noble purposes; nor that he may not on occa- 
 sion display many admirable qualities. It means simply 
 that he is destitute of holiness ; that he has lost that 
 which especially constituted the ' image of God ' in which 
 
 (79) 
 
80 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 he was created; and that having hecome depraved in 
 character, he has also drawn upon himself the penalty of 
 the Divine law. He is dead inasmuch as his life is a for- 
 feit to the justice of God; and he is dead inasmuch as 
 sin lias cstahlishcd its complete mastery over his soul. 
 
 This double death has been annulled by the interposi- 
 tion of Christ. It was his errand to our world, to ' destroy 
 him that had the power of death,' and liberate his cap- 
 tives. This He effected by satisfying the claims of the 
 law against them, in his 'obedience unto death;' and by 
 sending the Holy Spirit to renew their hearts and unite 
 them to Himself by a true faith. 
 
 Every Christian looks to Christ as the Procurer and 
 Author of his life. He knows that but for his mediation, 
 he must have remained for ever ' dead in trespasses and 
 in sins.' And tracing back to his wondrous love the 
 hopes which now animate his bosom, his habitual feeling 
 is, " I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the 
 life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of 
 the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." 
 
 2. This implies that Christ is the Preserver and Guar- 
 dian of the believer's life. We drop a seed into the 
 ground, and go away with confidence that nature will 
 do all the rest: — aided by the kindly warmth of the 
 soil, the rains, and the sunshine, the germ will spring up 
 and bear fruit, as a matter of course. Even here, how- 
 ever, there will be no fruit unless a pervading Provi- 
 dence give effect to these several agencies. And cer- 
 tainly in the spiritual world, while means are indispensa- 
 ble, means alone can accomplish nothing. The germ of 
 life deposited in the renewed heart, unlike the seed you 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 81 
 
 plant in your garden, falls into a most ungenial soil. 
 There is literally no nourishment for it there. All its 
 surroundings are unfavorable. If it survives, it must 
 survive not by reason of the elements which enfold it, 
 but despite of them. It has its proper type, not in the 
 flower in your garden, but in a taper thrown upon the 
 sea. And yet it does live. The flame burns on ; for it 
 is fed by an unseen hand. "Your life is Jdd with Christ 
 in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear," — 
 Here is the secret of what would otherwise be an inscrut- 
 able mystery — the conservation of this divine principle in 
 the heart of the Christian. The remains of his own corrupt 
 nature are all hostile to it. The whole course and cur- 
 rent of the world's maxims and usages runs counter to it. 
 It is exposed to the deadly assaults of Satan. And yeti 
 it lives. It lives because it has its vital origin in Christ. 
 His omnipotence guards it. His hand nurtures it. 
 When it is weak. He recruits it. When it has devel- 
 oped into the fruit-bearing plant, He takes his pruning- 
 knife and 'purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit.' 
 There is no experience of the believer more universal 
 and decided than this of which I am speaking, namely, his 
 constant and absolute dependence upon Christ for all that 
 pertains to his new life. His necessities are not always 
 the same; they vary with the endless diversities of char- 
 acter and condition which mark our earthly allotments. 
 They vary as between different persons; and they vary 
 with the changing circumstances of the same person. 
 To-day we need wisdom; to-morrow it may be courage; 
 anon it may be patience ; and again strength ; and so on 
 indefinitely. The essential point is, that whatever the 
 
82 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 form or measures in which the spirit life needs to be re- 
 inforced, the required aid must come from one source. 
 In Christ we 'have all and aboiuid.' For 'in Him dwell- 
 eth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;' and 'of his 
 fulness have all we received.' On this ground do we 
 affirm that Christ is the Preserver and Guardian of the 
 believer's life. 
 
 3. Christ is the End and Object of the believer's life. 
 
 This, perhaps, is the thing chiefly intended by the 
 avowal, 'To me to live is. Christ.' It is as if St. Paul had 
 said, " I have no other business, interest, honor, or plea- 
 sure, for which to live, but Christ and his glory, service, 
 and favor. To know, to love, to follow Christ, is my life, 
 my glory, my joy." To know what this protestation means 
 from the lips of this great apostle, one must follow his 
 radiant career for the thirty years which intervened be- 
 tween his memorable journey to Damascus and his mar- 
 tyrdom. From the day when the implements of perse- 
 cution dropped from his hands at the feet of Jesus of 
 Nazareth, untd he sealed his devotion to Him with a 
 martyr's death, the love of Christ glowed in his bosom 
 with a pure and unquenchable ardor. It was his master- 
 passion, to which every other aim and sentiment paid 
 homage. He could say "this one thing I do." It was 
 his business. All his plans, visits, studies, sermons, jour- 
 neys, centred in Christ. Among Jews and Gentiles — in 
 Ephcsus and Corinth, at Athens and Rome, among the 
 barbarians of Melita and the sages of the Areopagus, it 
 was all one ; he ' knew nothing but Jesus Christ and him 
 crucified.' 
 
 History has presented to us various examples of men 
 who have illustrated the power of a single, great, con- 
 
■ MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 83 
 
 trolling passion. And power of this sort always im- 
 presses the mind with a sort of awe, even where it fails 
 to command our moral approbation. AVitness, for ex- 
 ample, the boundless ambition of Napoleon Buonaparte ; 
 or the vast intellectual treasures which made the name 
 of Humboldt a synonym for universal knowledge. Or, 
 take, as a more grateful instance, the favorite representa- 
 tive of philanthropy, John Howard. But no man was 
 ever more completely possessed by a single passion than 
 St. Paul; and the mingled awe and admiration it in- 
 spires, is all the greater because the passion which con- 
 sumed him was the noblest of all passions, the love of 
 Christ. To learn what this sentiment is capable of — 
 what labors it can perform, what sacrifices it can make, 
 what dangers it can dare, what trials it can endure, and 
 w^hat victories it can achieve — it is only needful to study 
 the life of this illustrious apostle. Nor is it possible to 
 do this without the reflection, ' How irresistible would the 
 Church be if all who are marshalled in her ranks could 
 say in the sense in which he said it. To me to live is 
 Christ.' 
 
 Such in a measure is the case with every true Chris- 
 tian. In just so far as he is imbued with the genuine 
 spirit of discipleship, it will be 'Christ' for him to 'live.' 
 Instead of making his own honor or advancement the 
 prime end of life, he sets before him the glory of his 
 Master and the welfare of his kingdom. Not only does 
 his conscience impel him to this course, but his affections 
 do also. He adopts it because he finds his happiness in it. 
 The themes with which it makes him conversant, the 
 offices to which it prompts him, and the fruits it yields, 
 are grateful to him. It is a service which he feels to be 
 
84 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 immeasurably superior to auy scheme of life that termi- 
 nates upon this world. It calls into exercise the best 
 emotions of his nature. It is a perpetual protest against 
 the selfish tendencies which are bound up in every human 
 heart. It gratifies his benevolence. It lifts him above 
 the materialism of earth, and links him in sympathy and 
 aim with the pure spirits of the invisible world. Above 
 all, it keeps his thoughts occupied with the Saviour and 
 his redeeming work, and helps on that growing assimila- 
 tion to his image, which is the earnest of a future and 
 eternal fellowship with Him in glory. 
 
 4. Christ is the Rule and Standard of the believer's 
 life. 
 
 It need not much surprise us that men in general are 
 no better, when we consider by what rules they live. 
 Water does not rise higher than its fountain ; and it 
 were strange if men should soar above their own models. 
 It may not be that every person deliberately proposes to 
 himself a certain standard of excellence, or a specific code 
 of rules for the regulation of his conduct. But there can 
 be no question that the actual standard adopted by people 
 generally is usage or custom. They are content to be 
 as good as their neighbors. If they conform to the 
 prevalent habits of society, they are apt to hold them- 
 selves unimpeachable on the score of morals. And 
 when they go beyond this, so far as to superadd to the 
 decorum of life a routine of religious observances, they 
 are slow to believe that they can be seriously at fault 
 either in theory or practice. 
 
 The Christian has a different standard. With him, 
 'to live, is Christ.' The rule he recognizes is, the teach- 
 ings and the example of Christ. In resolving questions 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 85 
 
 of duty, he is not wont to make his primary appeal to 
 the world. He goes, rather, to the unerring Word and 
 the throne of grace. It may subject him to the charge 
 of singularity ; but he would sooner be singular with 
 Christ than sin with the world. When he accepted 
 Jesus as a Saviour, he owned Him no less as a King. 
 He had no thought, and has none noAv, of sharing in the 
 benefits of his atonement, without acknowledging his 
 authority. In coming to Christ, it was to ' take his yoke 
 upon him, and learn of Him ;' and to refuse to wear his 
 yoke, would be to show that he had not yet come to 
 Him. For this is the Master's own test: "Ye are my 
 friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." 
 
 5. Christ is the Support and Solace of the believer's 
 life. 
 
 The Christian life is not all duty, nor all privilege. It 
 involves chastisement and affliction with a uniformity 
 which seldom knows an exception. If he requires a 
 plain chart and an inflexible standard to guide his steps, 
 he will as certainly need some unfailing source of conso- 
 lation. And this is part of that "all in all" which he 
 has in Christ. For who so able or willing to comfort 
 the afflicted ? He did not spend thirty years in this vale 
 of tears without learning what sorrow is. • That bitter 
 cup He drank to the dregs, as He never requires his 
 people to drink of it. And now when they suffer, their 
 first thought is of their suffering Lord. However they 
 may have neglected Him in health and prosperity, the 
 first stroke of trouble sends them to his feet. The 
 smitten believer cannot stay away from Christ. He turns 
 to Him with an instinct which cannot be repressed. His 
 feeling is — 
 
86 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 " Whither, O whither should I fly, 
 But to my loving Saviour's breast, 
 Secure within thine arms to lie. 
 
 And sate beneath thy wings to rest?" 
 
 How many eyes swimming with tears must be turned 
 towards Him at this moment from every land which his 
 Gospel has reached ! How many sobbing voices are 
 pouring their griefs into his ear ! How many burdened 
 and anxious souls are pleading with Him for deliverance 
 from actual or impending trials ! And not one of all 
 these sufferers shall be overlooked by Him. For it is 
 his own comforting assurance, "In the world ye shall 
 have tribulation ; but be of good cheer ; I have over- 
 come the world." 
 
 6. Christ is the CroiDn of the Christian's life. 
 
 This belongs to the future. The purport of it is, that 
 He who has been their ' life' all through the changes of 
 this mortal state, will bestow Himself upon them here- 
 after with a glory worthy alike of his exalted rank and 
 of his infinite love to them. He has told us that in the 
 day of days, He will present his Church to Himself as a 
 bride adorned for her husband. These august espousals 
 will take place in the presence of an applauding uni- 
 verse. The Church, refulgent with a glory beyond that 
 of cherubim and seraphim, will be exalted to his right 
 hand with a pomp and joy which have graced no other 
 nuptials; and every blood-bought sinner will feel, that 
 in the consummation of this sublime union with his 
 Lord, his cup of blessing has been filled to overflowing. 
 
 Other ideas there are embraced in this comprehensive 
 phrase, " to me to live is Christ ; " but let it suffice to 
 have shown that it imports that Christ is the Source of 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 87 
 
 the believer's life ; that He is its Preserver and Guar- 
 dian ; its End and Object ; its Eule and Standard ; its 
 Support and Solace ; and its immortal Crown. 
 
 This brief exposition of the text may well supersede 
 any formal argument in commending it to you as your 
 watchword for the year. For if the ideas just presented 
 are comprehended in this expression, it must be apparent 
 that it proposes to us the noblest of all ends and the best 
 possible rule of life. It is, therefore, eminently adapted 
 to the purpose contemplated in this discourse, — and that 
 in respect to persons of all classes and conditions. Should 
 the feeling arise in the bosoms of any who hear me, ' It 
 may answer for those who are in more favorable circum- 
 stances, and who have ample opportunities for Christian 
 usefulness, to adopt it as their rule, "To me to live is 
 Christ;" but it cannot be material to one in my humble 
 situation to do this, — let me assure you that you have 
 fallen into a serious error. This is no lesson for the rich 
 and the learned merely; no prerogative of the great. 
 Whether considered as a duty or a privilege — and it is 
 really both — it belongs alike to all, and is equally indis- 
 pensable to all. It is impossible you should be placed in 
 any circumstances where there will not be room for the 
 exercise of this feeling. From the dawn of moral agency 
 until we close our eyes in death, every day and hour 
 brings occasion for us to say, 'To me to live is Christ.' 
 
 These beloved children and youth who are at various 
 stages of their education, — there is no reason why you 
 should not carry this sentiment into all your studies and 
 pastimes. I say ' pastimes,' because it is quite needful to 
 have it understood, that religion does not frown upon 
 innocent amusements. It is not Christianity, but the 
 
88 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 heartless, mercenary spirit of the world, which condemns 
 so many thousands of boys and girls to a joyless child- 
 hood. AVere the reign of Christianity universally estab- 
 lished, there is no portion of the human family who 
 would feel the auspicious change more decidedly than 
 children. Religion is your best friend. If you will enter 
 upon this new year with full purpose of heart to live for 
 Christ, you will go about your studies with fresh vigor, 
 your recreations will have a new zest, the circle of your 
 rational pleasures will be enlarged, you will have strength 
 to combat your infirmities of temper, and you will be able 
 to do something for that SaA'iour who has done every- 
 thing for you. There are those among you who can 
 verify this representation from their own experience. 
 They will tell you, that there is no life like living for 
 Christ. Would that all the young persons who hear me 
 might consecrate this opening year to God, by resolving 
 in his strength, ' Henceforth it shall be Christ for me to 
 live.' 
 
 I speak to many who earn a scanty sustenance by 
 patient toil — at service, perhaps; by the needle; in the 
 workshop or the factory. I shall not greatly err if I 
 assume that you have your share of the crosses and vexa- 
 tions of life. You are brought into contact with untoward 
 tempers, or, peradventure, suffer from them in your own 
 breasts. Or your health wavers. Or the depression of 
 trade abridges your work and wages, while a family look 
 up to you for their daily bread. 
 
 'And is this text, then,' you may be ready to ask, 
 'designed for people like ust' Yes; precisely for such peo- 
 ple as you are. Who stand in greater need of just such 
 a monitor] "To me to live is Christ." Take this into 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 89 
 
 your workshop. Take it into the broad thoroughfare 
 where you are pursuing your humble but honest calhng. 
 Take it up to your lonely attic where you grow weary 
 and sad over your possibly ill-paid needlework. Open 
 your hearts to the blessed thought, 'My Master has 
 appointed my lot; and He knows what poverty and toil 
 are.' Yes, He does know. He knows all that you 
 suffer, and all that you fear. And He is able to sustain 
 you under every burden; and to reconcile you to the 
 things which most try your patience, and perhaps excite 
 your murmuring. Only admit Him to your daily com- 
 panionship, and you will be astonished to find that your 
 burdens are more than half gone. 
 
 It may mortify and harass you to think that you are 
 spending life for such 'trivial and unworthy ends.' And 
 well it may, if you are living only for the ends which are 
 bound up in your handicraft. Look at that wonderful 
 assemblage of powers and susceptibilities which pertains 
 to man as man, and which divides the very lowest of the 
 race from all the inferior animals; and say whether it is 
 meet that a creature thus endowed with intelligence and 
 conscience and immortality, should spend a score of years, 
 or, as it may be, three score years, at some manual labor 
 with no higher thought or aim than that of keeping him- 
 self and his family from starvation. If this be the view 
 you take of your allotment, there must be discontent. 
 But this is the atheistic, not the Scriptural, view. It is 
 no ordinance of the Deity that you should live and die 
 for no better ends than these. Your trade, I grant, may 
 be of his decree. It may be his Avill that you should 
 turn a lathe, or haul stone, or chop wood, or spool yarn, 
 or make up clothing, and so earn a support for years 
 7 
 
90 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 together. But it is no less his will that you should fulfil 
 these various tasks hecause He lias prescrihcd thern^ and 
 out of love and loyalty to Him. His requisition is, that 
 we shall do nothing for its own sake merely, or for any 
 earthly end ; but everything for Ilim and to Him. To 
 show how comprehensive this obligation is, He has ex- 
 pressly embraced in it the commonest actions of life — 
 those upon which life itself is suspended. ' Whether, 
 therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to 
 the glory of God.' This is but another form of the sen- 
 timent with which we are dealing. He for whom it is 
 Christ to live, does all to the glory of God. It is the 
 infusion of this element into the world's toil that redeems 
 it from all degradation. As if to silence dispute upon 
 this point, the apostle has applied the principle even to the 
 extreme case of Roman bondmen. The Christian slaves 
 of pagan masters are exhorted to obedience on the ground 
 that the service" ''tliey pay their owners is really paid to 
 Christ, and that He will reward them for it. " Be obe- 
 dient ... as the servants of Christ, doing the will 
 of God from the heart ; with good-will doing service as 
 to the Lord, and not to men : knowing that whatsoever 
 good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of 
 the Lord, whether he' be bond or free." And thus it is 
 that Christianity dignifies and ennobles all labor. It 
 matters not how obscure the sphere he has assigned you, 
 nor how completely its material results may be absorbed 
 in the bare support it yields you, if you are traversing 
 your diurnal round with the steadfast aim, ' To me to live 
 is Christ,' there are angels encamped around you, and the 
 Lord of angels will one day say to you, ' Well done, good 
 and faithful servant.' 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 91 
 
 This same train of remark is equally applicable to those 
 engaged in mercantile life and in the liberal professions. 
 If your pursuits are of a more elevated nature than those 
 just referred to, they are nevertheless open to the same 
 impeachment, as being in themselves utterly unworthy 
 to engross our ultimate aims. There is nothing in com- 
 merce, or literature, or the liberal arts, which can fill and 
 satisfy the soul. Not only so, but these occupations may 
 no more exclude the Deity from our plans, than may any 
 other form of idolatry. They have their legitimate place ; 
 but they fall into that place only when the heart has been 
 touched with the love of God. It is morally impossible 
 that you should pursue them as they ought to be pursued, 
 until you have learned to say, 'To me to live is Christ.' 
 If you will begin this year with an unreserved consecra- 
 tion of yourselves to Christ, and make it the rule of your 
 conduct to live for Him alone, every day will bring you 
 its reward. I do not say that it will insure you an un- 
 exampled measure of outward prosperity, though this 
 would be its proper tendency, but I do say that it would 
 in various ways exert a wholesome influence upon your 
 studies and your business ; that it would afford you timely 
 aid in perplexity and temptation ; that it would take some 
 of the thorns out of your paths; and that it would make 
 you wiser and better men, and bring you a happier year 
 than many of those which are gone. 
 
 In respect to the duties involved in the purpose, "To 
 me to live is Christ," it clearly imports an habitual desire 
 and aim to employ one's talents, time, substance, and 
 opportunities, in promoting the cause and kingdom of 
 Christ in the world. 
 
 There are those here who have long made this their 
 
92 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 endeavor, and who must in sincerity thank God to-day 
 that they have not entirely failed of their object. But 
 there are probably none present who can recall their past 
 years without a pang of regret. With most of us, indeed, 
 this retrospect must be fruitful of self-upbraidings. For 
 where is the year which has borne to heaven the report 
 it might and should have borne'? Who is there that has 
 made the most of life., even for a single twelve-month % 
 Let this reflection make us the more solicitous to begin 
 this year aright. Especially let it nerve us to enter upon 
 the year resolved to do all the good we can in the name 
 and for the sake of Christ. 
 
 In order to this, the essential thing is to give the 
 Sa^'iour that place in our affections which properly be- 
 longs to Him. If He has his place in our hearts, He will 
 have it in our plans, in our conversation, in our labors, 
 and in our lives. One of the most remarkable utterances 
 that ever came from a death-bed, fell from the lips of that 
 saintly philanthropist, Elizabeth Fry, in her last illness. 
 Addressing one of her daughters, she said, " I can say 
 one thing : — Since my heart was touched at seventeen 
 years old, I believe I never have awakened from sleep, 
 in sickness or in health, by day or by night, without my 
 first waking thought being, liow best I might serve my 
 Lord.''^ And that this was said in no ostentatious spirit, 
 was evident from her constant prayer, that she ' might be 
 humble-minded, and preserved from decldng herself imth 
 her Lord's jeioels.'' 
 
 There is something so wonderful in this, that one is 
 tempted to pause and ponder it. But that we cannot do 
 now. Let it rather show us to what heights of holiness 
 the soul may attain even in our own day, and amidst the 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 93 
 
 stir and bustle of great cities. And let it suggest, as it 
 must to every thoughtful mind, what glorious results 
 would flow from the labors even of a single Church, if 
 all its members could say in the spirit in which Mrs. Fry 
 said it, "To me to live is Christ." The working of such 
 a spirit once lodged in the hearts of a people, would be 
 as certain and decisive as that of leaven put into meal. 
 Should it please God to bestow it upon us, it would 
 evince its presence by tokens which could neither be mis- 
 taken nor disparaged. There would be a great waking 
 up — a resurrection as it were — of the slumbering life of 
 the Church. There would be deep contrition and re- 
 pentance. There would be a revival of brotherly love. 
 There would be a growing attachment to the Sanctuary 
 and the place of prayer. There would be a prompt and 
 cheerful liberality towards the Institutions of the Church. 
 There would be ready workers for the Sunday School, 
 and for the Home Missions of our city. There would 
 be more of household consecration, and the flame would 
 burn more brightly upon many a family altar. There 
 would be frequent conversions ; and many would be seen 
 pressing into the kingdom of God. All would feel that 
 they must aid, accordmg to their several gifts, in helping 
 forward the good cause — even those who have hitherto 
 stood aloof, with little more than a nominal connection 
 with the church. And there would be here a scene of 
 unobtrusive, efficient Christian activity, the beneficent 
 results of which it would take an angel's tongue to re- 
 hearse, and an eternity to unfold. 
 
 Such, my friends, are the fruits it would be reasonable 
 to anticipate, could the purpose be deeply enshrined in 
 all our hearts to-day. "To me to live is Christ." You 
 
94 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 will judge whether it behooves you to take this as your 
 watch-word, and to try in your Master's name to keep it 
 ever before you. 
 
 With one other thought I shall close. I have spoken 
 chiefly of the active portion of the Christian life. Our 
 text includes much more. It meant much more as the 
 Apostle used it. It was as mucli ' Christ' for him ' to live' 
 in perils and persecutions and prisons, as when he was 
 preaching the Gospel to anxious thousands. In this 
 way, doubtless, — in some school of sorrow or of suffer- 
 ing — it may please God to require some of us to exem- 
 plify this precept. Need I remind you that there is no 
 form in which trouble can overtake you during this year, 
 that it will not help to prepare you for the blow and sup- 
 port you under it, to be able to say, " To me to live is 
 Christ t" Let the night be ever so dark and the storm 
 ever so fierce, you cannot be overwhelmed if you are 
 bound by this close and indissoluble tie to the Saviour: — 
 as soon might that boat upon Gennesareth have perished 
 in which He lay asleep amidst his terrified disciples. 
 Whether, therefore, for action or for passion, whether the 
 unknown future is to bring with it health or sickness, 
 joy or sorrow, life or death, I commend it to you as your 
 sacred talisman for this opening year, and I humbly im- 
 plore God to write it upon our hearts, — 
 
 " To ME TO LIVE IS ChRIST." 
 
1863. 
 
 YI. 
 
 "WAITING FOR THE COMING OF OUR 
 LORD JESUS CHRIST." 
 
 1 COKINTHIANS i. 7. 
 
 This text for the year has not been selected without 
 much deliberation. For our circumstances are so pecu- 
 liar, so sad, so solemn, that I could not but desire to find 
 some brief and comprehensive scripture which might 
 meet the exigencies of the times, and be a help to you 
 through the unknown changes of this opening year. 
 
 It is a fundamental doctrine of the Bible, that the Lord 
 Jesus Christ is to ' come again.' Everything around us 
 implies this. The present dispensation is palpably in- 
 complete in itself The whole course of the world has 
 been marked with such inequalities, wrong has so tri- 
 umphed over right, and vice over virtue, that we are 
 compelled to regard the present economy as included in 
 one more comprehensive and enduring. This conviction 
 passes into absolute certainty as soon as we open the New 
 Testament. Let it suffice to quote a very few of the nu- 
 merous passages in which the subject is mentioned. "If 
 I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and 
 receive you unto myself." "This same Jesus, which is 
 
 (95) 
 
96 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like man- 
 ner as yc have seen him go into heaven." "The Son of 
 man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels ; 
 and then shall he reward every man according to his 
 works." "Behold he comcth with clouds, and every eye 
 shall see him." "So Christ was once offered to bear the 
 sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he 
 appear the second time without sin unto salvation." 
 
 His second coming will differ widely from his first. 
 Then He came as an infant. Although angels announced 
 his advent, the world took no notice of his birth. He 
 assumed a very lowly condition. He became a man of 
 sorrows. He was 'despised and rejected of men;' and 
 finally died an ignominious death — fulfilling thus the 
 end for which He stooped to our abode. When He re- 
 turns, it will be "in the clouds of heaven, with power 
 and great glory." "The Lord himself shall descend from 
 lieaA'cn with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and 
 with the trump of God." Not now a helpless infant; 
 not now a man of sorrows : He comes as a conqueror and 
 Judge. " I saw a great white throne, and him that sat 
 upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled 
 away." "The judgment was set, and the books were 
 opened." " And the dead were judged out of those things 
 that were written in the books, according to their works." 
 And at his irreversible mandate, "the wicked shall go 
 away into everlasting punishment : but the righteous into 
 life eternal." 
 
 These passages may serve to shew how the doctrine of 
 the Second advent is interlaced with the whole textiu'e 
 of the New Testament. It was too full of comfort to be 
 kept in the background. The apostles constantly pre- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 97 
 
 sented it to the churches as a source of encouragement 
 and joy. "Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye 
 may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 " Yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come, 
 and will not tarry." "Looking for that blessed hope, 
 and the glorious appearing of the great God and our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ." So for from being a speculative 
 sentiment with them, they cherished it as a vital and 
 most precious truth. Their converts did the same. The 
 early Christians lived in the faith of it. Every reader of 
 ecclesiastical history knows what prominence they gave 
 to the doctrine of Christ's second coming, how largely it 
 entered into their religious experience, and how much it 
 helped to mould their characters. 
 
 Then, as now, there was much speculation as to the 
 period of this wished-for event. Some of them fell into 
 the error of the Thessalonian Christians, who, misinter- 
 preting a passage in St. Paul's first Epistle to them, sup- 
 posed that the second advent was just at hand. It was 
 one of the cliief objects of the second Epistle to rectify 
 this mistake. But it has been often repeated since. Our 
 o^vn day is rife with confident predictions as to the year, 
 sometimes as to the month and even the day, of the great 
 Epiphany. We have no warrant to censure all inquiries 
 in this direction. The prophecies of Scripture claim our 
 attention, as well as its histories. But this is ground 
 where we must tread softly. Prophecy will not yield its 
 secrets to a proud, inquisitorial temper. When a man 
 begins to dogmatize here, you may safely turn away from 
 him. All that any, the most humble and devout stu- 
 dent, can hope for, is to be led into an approximate esti- 
 
98 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 mate of the time for our Lord's appearing. Peradvcnture 
 the time may be very near — as so many voices affirm. 
 Whether near or remote, however, onr duty is plain. 
 The Saviour is certainly coming ; and it behooves us to 
 await his approach as those who feel that He may be at 
 the door. This is the lesson of the text, and we cannot 
 ponder it too seriously. We are not able to indicate the 
 day when He is to come : the problem baffles our saga- 
 city. But, practically, death and the advent are identical 
 as to our individual experience. To us, Christ's coming- 
 is the hour of our departure into his presence. Let us 
 blend the two views, the general and the particular, to- 
 gether, or, as occasion serves, adopt one or the other in- 
 differently, in meditating upon the theme. 
 
 It must be apparent from the Scriptures we have 
 quoted that the future advent of Christ is to mark the 
 grand consummation of this world's affairs ; and we must 
 therefore recognize his agency in everything that occurs. 
 This observation applies particularly to events of a public 
 nature. These events not unfrequently confound our 
 wisdom. They are not at all in the line which, if that 
 w^ere our prerogative, we should prescribe. They diverge 
 from it, indeed, so widely, that our faith needs to be re- 
 cruited from above before we can acquiesce in them. No 
 illustration could be more to our purpose here, than the 
 present melancholy condition of our country. It is true, 
 we can trace out the causes which have brought this ter- 
 rible war upon us. We can distinctly refer it to the 
 passions in which most wars originate. AVe can indicate 
 the scries of measures, the plans, and policies, of leading 
 individuals and of political parties, which preceded and 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 99 
 
 produced it. We can at least partially account in the 
 same way for the disastrous course of the war, which 
 presses like a mill-stone upon all hearts to-day. But this 
 does not meet the case. We need something more to 
 keep down the murmuring and repining which are strug- 
 gling in so many breasts for utterance. We think of our 
 glorious heritage as it was; and then, through our tears, 
 we look at it as it is. "We are become a reproach to 
 our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are 
 round about us." We are made " a by-word among the 
 heathen, a shaking of the head among the people." And 
 there is but one reflection which can relieve the intolera- 
 ble anguish of our hearts: that is, the thought that God's 
 hand is in all these changes. " These are parts of Ms 
 ways." They belong to that sublime plan He is work- 
 ing out ; which comprehends as well cabinets and em- 
 pires, as the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air. 
 Everything in this plan looks to the coming of the Son 
 of man to judge the world. To this end converge all 
 the agencies concerned in this sad contest, whatever 
 contributed to produce it, and the countless incidents, 
 great and small, which have marked its progress. He 
 foresaw all, permitted all, controls all, and all will be 
 reviewed and adjudicated by Him at his coming. 
 
 We may go a step further. I know not how far it 
 may relieve the minds of thoughtful and desponding 
 men, but the Saviour himself has taught us that such 
 scenes as these must lead on his advent. When the 
 twelve asked him, ' What shall be the sign of thy com- 
 ing,' He said, " Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of 
 wars : see that ye be not troubled : for all these things 
 must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation 
 
100 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, 
 and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earth- 
 quakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of 
 sorrows." If so, then no strange thing has happened to 
 us. AVhatever our pride and self-complacency may hav^ 
 suggested, we had really no reason to expect an exemp- 
 tion from these predicted calamities. x\nd now that they 
 are upon us, our duty is to accept them as part of " the 
 things that must come to pass" before ' the sign of the Son 
 of man' appears 'in heaven.' The true use of them is to 
 impress it more vividly upon our minds that Christ will 
 certainly come again, to engage our thoughts in suitable 
 meditations upon his advent, and to stir up all who know 
 how to pray to intercede with Him on behalf of our afflicted 
 country. If He is leading us as a people ' in a way that 
 we knew not,' if He is ' giving us the bread of adversity 
 and the water of affliction,' let us patiently wait " for the 
 coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," assured that it will 
 clear up the mysteries of this dispensation, and make it 
 subservient to the ultimate triumph of his Church. 
 
 The sentences quoted a moment ago have a still 
 broader signification. ' Nation shall rise against nation, 
 and kingdom against kingdom ; and there shall be fam- 
 ines, and earthquakes, and pestilences, in divers places.' 
 We are engrossed with our own war. It fixes for the 
 time the attention of the other great powers of Christen- 
 dom. But if there be any foundation for the belief, so 
 general among Christians, that this prophecy relates to a 
 period not now very distant, it is quite as likely that other 
 nations may be involved in war, as that our fratricidal 
 strife will soon cease. It need not surprise us to see the 
 convulsions which are desolating our country and Mex- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. IQl 
 
 ico, kindling a fire which shall enwrap all Europe, and 
 perhaps the globe, in its baleful splendors. The believer 
 is forewarned. He has ' the sure word of prophecy' to 
 sustain his faith, whatever may happen. With the 
 Psalmist he may say, 
 
 " Let mountains from their seats be hurled 
 Down to the deep, and buried there, 
 Convulsions shake the solid world, — 
 Our faith shall never yield to fear. 
 
 Loud may the troubled ocean roar : 
 
 In sacred peace our souls abide, 
 While every nation, every shore, 
 
 Trembles, and dreads the swelling tide." 
 
 Of the horrors which may attend these mighty conflicts, 
 and the transformation they are to work in the political 
 geography of the globe, we can form no adequate con- 
 ception. The only thing certain about them is that He 
 " who hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm," 
 is at the helm, and will so restrain and guide the turbu- 
 lent tide of affairs as to make every change subservient 
 to his own infinitely wise purposes. Through all the 
 darkness and terror of the chaos which, it would seem, is 
 to come upon the world, one beam of light will continue 
 to shed its calm, consoling radiance upon the believer's 
 path, — the light that presages and assures the second 
 coming of his Lord. Here he finds comfort when all 
 around him are m despair. It is not that he is insensible 
 to the claims of his country and his race. Humanity 
 and patriotism draw their noblest inspirations from the 
 bosom of Christianity. But however sacred may be these 
 ties, he has others that are higher and holier still. He 
 
102 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 belongs to ' a kingdom that cannot be moved;' a king- 
 dom which he knows will survive these commotions, and 
 to the strength and splendor of which they will even be 
 made to contribute. It is his daily prayer that this 
 ' kingdom' may ' come.' And nothing will help so much 
 to reconcile him to the ' wars and rumors of wars,' the 
 ' earthquakes and pestilences' which are to afflict the 
 nations, as the conviction that they herald the " coming 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Thus much it seemed proper to say respecting the 
 bearing of this text upon public affairs. The times that 
 are passing over us are fraught with such momentous 
 issues, are so full of solemn warning and instruction, 
 that no Year-text could be appropriate which might 
 not aid us in interpreting and submitting to them. I 
 know of nothing better that we can do in reference to 
 these sad and appalling scenes than to fix our thoughts 
 upon the great event of the future, and, with lowly rev- 
 erence and steadfast trust, wait " for the coming of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 But this text has other lessons for us of a more personal 
 character. First of all, it suggests the importance o{ pre- 
 paring to meet the Lord at his coming. This is implied 
 in ' waiting' for Him. The parable of the ten virgins 
 shows that we may go out to meet Him, without being 
 ready for Him. The five foolish virgins who went forth 
 with the wise, represent, it is to be feared, multitudes who 
 bear the lamp of a Christian profession with no oil in it — 
 no grace. Nor will the most serious and faithful believers 
 ever feel themselves to be so well prepared for his coming, 
 that they might not be more so. Nothing, in this view, 
 could be more helpful, than the habitual looking for his 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. IQS 
 
 advent to which the text refers ; as nothing, certainly, could 
 be more rational. For, as already hinted, the advent which 
 directly concerns us as individuals is that in which He 
 comes to summon us into eternity. He has himself con- 
 nected with it the admonition I am enforcing : " Be ye 
 also ready ; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of 
 man cometli.'''' What could more effectually put us upon 
 instant and constant exertions to prepare for this event, 
 than the conviction that it may occur at any moment] 
 Impressed with this feeling — daily awaiting the Son of 
 man — there is no one who would not examine carefully 
 his foundations, to learn whether his hope would be likely 
 to bear the scrutiny of the Omniscient eye. It would 
 quicken our solicitude in this direction, to reflect tliat 
 many are self-deceived ; that there are tares among the 
 wheat ; that many will seek at the last day to enter in 
 who shall not be able ; and that many who will in that 
 day stand and cry ' Lord, Lord,' will hear from his lips, 
 the overwhelming reply, ' I never knew you.' These 
 and other considerations show the necessity of an honest 
 and prayerful inquest into the grounds of our hope. 
 When He comes. He will try that hope. He will see 
 whether it rests only upon his own blood and right- 
 eousness ; whether it has ' purified the heart' as He is 
 pure ; and whether it is attended by faith and humility 
 and the other Christian graces. And every one who de- 
 sires to guard against a mistake, will anticipate this 
 scrutiny, and bring his hope to the unerring test of Holy 
 Scripture. 
 
 Nor this alone. No one who is waiting and longing 
 for his Master's appearing, will be satisfied to rest here. 
 The deeper his conviction that he is " in Christ," the more 
 
104 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 resolutely will lie strive to be like Christ. The expecta- 
 tion of meeting an earthly monarch, surrounded with the 
 splendors of a court, may exhaust itself in laborious 
 preparations to appear well. The King of kings cannot 
 be put off with a show of outward grace and dignity. To 
 meet Him acceptably, we must not simply appear, but be, 
 what He can approve. It is the property and the high 
 privilege of his people to bear something of his image. 
 And those who wait for his coming will deem no pains 
 too great, and no sacrifices too severe, which may bring 
 them into closer fellowship with their Lord, and impart 
 to them more of his likeness. If you give this text its 
 proper place in your hearts for the coming twelve-month, 
 or so much of the period as it may please God to spare 
 you, you will be growing like Him daily, and his advent 
 will fill you with 'joy unspeakable.' 
 
 Not less potential will it prove as a stimulus to duty. 
 The argument here is very short. ' The Son of man is 
 coming back. He may appear at any hour. Let me, 
 then, do with my might whatever my hands find to do.' 
 This argument is conclusive in whatever aspect we con- 
 template Him. We may await Him as our final Judge. 
 Then it behooves us to abound in those offices of kind- 
 ness and sympathy which He himself has taught us will 
 receive his benediction at the last day : — " Inasmuch as 
 ye have done it unto one of the least of these my breth- 
 ren, ye have done it unto me." We may await Him as 
 our Sovereign. This world, then, is a part of his domain. 
 He has placed us here that we may help to bring it back 
 to its allegiance. To one He has given five talents ; to 
 another two ; to another one. To each He has said, ' Go 
 work in my vineyard.' We may look to his return as 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 105 
 
 our Saviour. Then we owe Him our all. What bound- 
 less love was that which brought Him down to Beth- 
 lehem, which led Him to Gethsemane and Calvary for 
 our redemption ! Let this ineffable love ' constrain' us. 
 Let us live for Him who died for us ! 
 
 This is the natural, necessary effect of waiting for his 
 advent. Our work is large. He it is that prescribed it, 
 who alternately commands and entreats us not to neglect 
 it. The obligation to prosecute it with unfaltering -step, 
 borrows increased sanctity from the manger and the 
 cross ; from his first advent to ransom his people, and his 
 future advent to crown them with glory and honor and 
 immortality. It is a work every way worthy of the 
 nature and destiny of the race. It is as vast and endur- 
 ing as the soul. It looks to the well-being of man here 
 and hereafter. It links itself with the clemency and the 
 benevolence of the Deity. And yet it admits of the co- 
 operation — it demands the co-operation — of all, down to 
 the very humblest ; of those who have but a single talent, 
 or who can cast but their two mites into his treasury. 
 This work, I say, He has laid upon us all. It lies around 
 us in every direction. It is in our houses. It fringes the 
 paths we are every day traversing. It appeals to our 
 strongest sympathies, for it is the case of the diseased, of 
 the wounded, of the dead. If they were the victims of 
 tlie battle field, the poor, spectral inmates of the hospital, 
 we could not refuse them our aid. In part, they are. 
 For this is just one department of the service to which 
 He is now calling us. But it is not the whole. " The 
 field is the u'orldy Where there is bodily sickness, and 
 where there is not ; wherever there is s^?^, there the ' field' 
 is ; there lies our work — broad enough, varied enough, 
 
1Q6 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 difficult enough, momentous enough, to task the powers 
 of angels, yet to be done by us or not done at all. 
 
 Very many, and very cogent are the arguments which 
 commend this service to us. But the one reflection we 
 are more concerned with is, that " the Lord Jesus shall 
 so come, in like manner" as the twelve saw Him " go into 
 heaven." To believe this, to realize it, to take it with us 
 into all the hours and all the scenes of this opening year, 
 would supersede all the appeals and expostulations w^ith 
 which we are accustomed to chide our own and each 
 other's delays, and mould our Christianity to a type 
 w^hich, peradventure, it has never yet put on. What 
 further need of exhortation, with a people whose faith 
 habitually sees their Lord, however distant, coming in 
 the clouds of heaven to judge the world? What ele- 
 ment of greater power could be infused into the heart 
 of any believer % 
 
 This earnest, constant longing for the advent would 
 make 'new creatures' of us all. It would reduce the 
 things of earth, its cares, its plans, its honors, to some- 
 thins" of their true dimensions. It would dissolve the 
 spell which makes so many of us live as if the things 
 which are not seen were temporal, and the things which 
 are seen, eternal. It would reprove our ready discour- 
 agement on meeting with difficulties, and our timidity in 
 the presence of dangers. It would set every one of us 
 to work in some way ; not to do each other's tasks, but 
 our own ; not spending life in useless regrets that we have 
 not the gifts and opportunities of some one else, but 
 employing the gifts and opportunities the Master has 
 bestowed upon us to the best possible advantage. What 
 energy it woidd infuse into every bosom ! What a new 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 107 
 
 aspect it would spread over the face of this, or any other 
 church — this conscious, pervading sense of the coming of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ ! How it woukl clothe the preach- 
 ing and the hearing with new solemnity ! How it would 
 crowd the prayer-meeting with devout worshippers ! How 
 it would lift all Sabbath-school teaching up into a region 
 of spiritual vitality ! How it would swell indefinitely the 
 willing offerings to the Lord's treasury ! How it would 
 arouse formal and useless professors to the realities of 
 the Christian life ! How it would enkindle the sympa- 
 thies of God's people and call forth their exertions on 
 behalf of the unconverted ! How it would send forth 
 new workers into every department of missionary and 
 philanthropic labor, among the po6r, the sick, the vicious, 
 and the lost ! How it would exorcise the envy and the 
 jealousy and the pride which now infest even the Church 
 itself, and cement into one the blessed brotherhood of the 
 faithful ! How, by God's blessing, it would bring down 
 showers of heavenly influence upon the Church, and lead 
 on those promised Pentecostal seasons when converts shall 
 fly to Zion ' as clouds, and as doves to their windows !' 
 Is it not worth while, with interests like these at stake, 
 to give ' the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ' its due 
 place in our hearts and lives ] 
 
 This text, again, will meet an urgent want : it will 
 be to you a 'well-sprin(j of consolation. 'An urgent 
 want,' I call this, for such, alas, it is. Every year must 
 needs bring its sorrows : for ' man is born to trouble as 
 the sparks fly upward.' But these are years of '■great 
 tribulation.' Look at the symbols of woe here, and in 
 every church you enter, and along all the thoroughfares 
 If we could bring the mourners of the land together 
 
108 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 tliey would make an army larger than that which has gone 
 forth for the protection of our Constitution, and every 
 battle is swelling their crowded ranks — adding fresh wid- 
 ows and orphans to the mighty concourse of the bereaved. 
 Nor is this work likely to cease. Whatever may be the 
 case with the forces in the field, this army of mourners 
 bids fair to go on recruiting its sombre columns with un- 
 slacked energy. You need, then — we all need, for who 
 is not a sharer in these sorrows \ we need for this year 
 which literally opened with blood and carnage,* some 
 word of grace and hope from the sacred oracles which 
 may strengthen us for these trials. We have it here : 
 " Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 For this assures us that these scenes must have an end. 
 AVe are almost despairing of this. Every one is asking 
 of his neighbor, ' Is this war ever to endV The manner 
 in which it has been conducted gives but too much occa- 
 sion for this feeling. But it will end — in God's own time 
 and way. Sooner or later it must give place to a widely- 
 different dispensation, — for the introduction of which, as 
 already intimated, it is a necessary part of the prepara- 
 tion. And whatever may be the Divine purpose respect- 
 ing the future course of the war, you can have no better 
 antidote for its griefs than to fix your minds trustfully 
 upon the coming of Christ. To us individually, let me 
 repeat, his coming is the hour of our departure out of 
 this world. If we can but get our hearts filled with this 
 thought, with the sense of his approach, with the patient 
 looking and longing for Him, w^e might survey even 
 these harrowing scenes with something of serenity. The 
 
 * The battle of Murfree.sboro', Teiin. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 109 
 
 secret of that composure which so many martyrs have 
 displayed at the stake and in the arena of wild beasts, 
 lay in their confident persuasion of Christ's coming. 
 Nor is this a gift confined to times of persecution. It is 
 lighting up many a death-hed around us with rays from 
 his ' far-off coming.' It is the common heritage of his 
 people, if they only have the faith to appropriate it. 
 What power can earth or hell have to harm a believer 
 who sees and desires the coming of his Saviour? This 
 event is so sublime in its nature, so vast in its propor- 
 tions, that where it is fitly realizfed and appreciated, it 
 must absorb all other events. To see and feel it as the 
 apostle whose language we are using did, is to be armed 
 against all adversaries. It was this faith which enabled 
 liim to say, " I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, 
 in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's 
 sake." "I am filled with comfort; I am exceeding joy- 
 ful in all our tribulations." He could say these things 
 because he ' waited for the Son of God from heaven' — 
 patiently and confidently ' looking for that blessed hope, 
 and the glorious appearing of the great God and oin* 
 Saviour Jesus Christ.' Could we emulate his faith in 
 this doctrine, we should attain his composure and joy in 
 danger and suffering. There is no reason why we should 
 not attempt this. The circumstances we are placed in 
 make it peculiarly our duty, yes, and our privilege, too, 
 to dwell more upon this great event, which St. Paul and 
 the early Christians found such a source of comfort. 
 The turmoil and strife around us bid us lift our thoughts 
 from the temporal to the spiritual, from man to God, 
 from earth to heaven. It is an inexpressible relief to 
 turn away from all this sin and suffering and sorrow. 
 
110 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAH. 
 
 from the confusion and wreck and chaos of earth, to 
 that pure and animating and glorious contemplation, — 
 the Saviour of the world coming to take his ransomed 
 people home. If this brings no balm to your wounded 
 hearts, I know not what will solace you. 
 
 For Christ's coming, as just hinted, is for a purpose. 
 To await his advent, is to have the thoughts engaged 
 with what is to follow it — that is, idtli heaven. And if 
 ever there was a time with us, when those who ' love his 
 appearing' might well employ themselves in meditating 
 upon heaven, that time is the present. We cannot 
 afford to dispense with it. To shut us up to earth ; to 
 compel us to fix our thoughts day by day and hour by 
 hour, without relief, upon the calamities which are blight- 
 ing and blasting our beloved country, were to consign 
 us all to hopeless despondency and wretchedness. Hea- 
 ven tenders us the respite that we need. The deeper the 
 shadows which gather around us, the more grateful its 
 chastened light. The louder swells the voice of battle 
 and the wail of mourners, the more welcome its cloudless 
 peace and seraphic anthems. The sharper our griefs and 
 the sadder the blighting of our eartlily hopes, the more 
 fondly should we turn to that bright abode where God 
 shall wipe away all tears from all eyes, and ' sorrow and 
 sighing shall flee away.' 
 
 Surely, nothing can be more consoling to Christian 
 mourners, nothing more becoming to all Christians at a 
 season like the present, than devout meditation upon the 
 Saviour's coming, and the glory which is to follow it. 
 What we require, what we should fervently pray for, is, 
 that the Divine Spirit may not only write this blessed text 
 upon our memories, but imbue our whole nature with it; 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. m 
 
 that He may keep it ever before our minds, that the Saviour 
 will come again ; that He may help us to live in the faith 
 of this precious truth ; and that amidst all the untried 
 experiences of this year, its duties and its perils, its anx- 
 ieties and its temptations, its pleasures and its sorrows. 
 He may enable us patiently and hopefully to " wait for the 
 coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," and daily to grow in 
 meekness for a holy and happy heaven. 
 
 If I have chiefly spoken, in these remarks, to and of 
 the communion of the faithful, it has been with no design 
 of excluding the rest of my people from the scope of this 
 exhortation. To you, my unconverted friends, no less 
 than to professing Christians, I tender it as your motto 
 for the year, " waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." To you, I might almost say, by pre-eminence I 
 commend it. That you have never yet walked in the 
 light of such a text, is a most cogent reason why you 
 should adopt it now. That his coming concerns you as 
 much as it concerns his own people ; that it concerns you 
 more deeply than any other future event ; that your con- 
 cern in it will continue as the absorbing interest of your 
 being while eternity rolls on its endless cycles ; are truths 
 to which you will readily assent. If truths at all, they are 
 truths of infinite moment to you. Why not, then, enter 
 upon this new year by fixing your thoughts upon the 
 Second advent ] Why not take this as your guiding star 
 for the year ] The fact of Christ's coming is indisputable. 
 Should not a flict which is to draw such vast issues after 
 it be recognized in your plans, in your business, in your 
 domestic and social relations, in the whole routine of life '? 
 Can you hope for mercy through the blood of Christ, if 
 you refuse to acknowledge Him ] Is it not better to wait 
 
112 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAH. 
 
 for Him as a Saviour, than to meet Him as a Judge ? to 
 surrender to his love, than to be overwhelmed by his 
 vengeance'? God grant that you may so ponder these 
 things, as to spend this year, " waiting for the coming 
 OF OUR Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
1864. 
 
 VII. 
 ^'APPROVED UNTO GOD." 
 
 2 TIMOTHY II. 15. 
 
 This you will please accept as our year-text. If we 
 make it such in reality, it cannot fail to impress upon 
 this new year, or upon so much of it as we may be spared 
 to see, a value which, perhaps, few of our years have 
 borne. 
 
 It is the parting counsel of ' Paul the aged' to his ' son 
 Timothy, — his 'parting counsel,' for this his latest Epistle 
 was written just before his martyrdom. " Study to show 
 thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not 
 to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." He 
 knew that this young Evangelist, to whom he was bound 
 by so many tender ties, would be called to a life of great 
 labor and trial ; and that no efforts would be wanting 
 on the part of the subtle adversaries of the Gospel, to 
 drive or entice him into forbidden paths. As a safeguard 
 against these perils, he prescribes for him a rule of duty, 
 so simple, so just, so comprehensive, that no occasion 
 could arise on which he might not find his advantage 
 and comfort in appealing to it. " Study to shew thyself 
 approved unto God." 
 
 If this was a good rule for Timothy, it must be equally 
 good for us. What I have to propose is, that we carry 
 
 (113) 
 
114 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 tins sentiment with ns into all the scenes and all the 
 engagements of the year ; that we begin every morning 
 with the inquiry, ' How can I approve myself nnto God 
 to-day"?' and ask ourselves every evening, 'How have 
 I approved myself unto God to-day]' that so, the thought 
 of God may pervade and hallow the whole course and 
 current of our lives. 
 
 This is what I suppose to be fairly included in the 
 exhortation before us. A lofty requisition it certainly is. 
 Flesh and blood cannot compass it. It runs athwart all 
 our native passions ; and if our own strength were our 
 only reliance, we might as well attempt to create a sphere 
 as to comply with it. But this is not our' dependence. 
 He who calls us to the service, offers us free access to 
 his resources : and these are higher than heaven, and 
 deeper than hell. When He says, 'Ask, and ye shall 
 receive :' ' My grace is sufficient for thee :' ' I will never 
 leave thee nor forsake thee:' — He pledges to his people 
 all the aid they can possibly need in striving to ajxprove 
 themselves unto God. It is in the faith of promises like 
 these that \ve are to address ourselves to this work. Un- 
 dertaken and prosecuted in this spirit, the feeblest among 
 us need not shrink from the greatness of the task ; while 
 the strongest is not strong enough to attempt it in his 
 own might. 
 
 Among the considerations by which this rule may be 
 commended to our adoption, it Avill be sufficient to men- 
 tion a very few. 
 
 1 . It is no arbitrary rule, but one which springs neces- 
 sarily from the relation in which we stand to God. The 
 primary obligation of all creatures to the Creator, is one 
 of those intuitive truths which no reasoning can make 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 115 
 
 more palpable. Not to demand their supreme homage, 
 would be for the Deity to abdicate his throne. The per- 
 fection of his being requires that every intelligence He 
 forms, should make his will the guide and his glory the 
 end of every action. " For of Him, and through Him, 
 and to Him, are all things." 
 
 2. It is the only rule worthy of our powers. Even if 
 it involved no sin, it were an indignity to our rational 
 nature to live for any inferior object. If God did not 
 forbid, there is a witness in our own bosoms that would 
 protest against it. It may be, and probably is, a very 
 subordinate place in the scale of intelligent beings, which 
 is allotted to man. But his present position is no index 
 to his actual endowments. Growth is the law of our 
 existence. An infant of a few days has less intelligence 
 than its contemporary of almost any of the brute races. 
 But the germ of intellect enslirined in that tiny, helpless 
 form, indestructible by the law of its creation, is, by the 
 same law, made susceptible of an indefinite expansion. 
 See in a Milton or an Edwards what a stature it may 
 reach even here, clogged with a perishable body, and ex- 
 posed to sin and suffering. Can we doubt that this de- 
 velopment is to go on with an accelerated energy when 
 the soul ascends to the great Source of truth and becomes 
 the companion of angels'? He who should presume to 
 fix a limit to the possible acquisitions of an intelligence 
 like the human soul, would shew himself a traitor to his 
 own nature. We must estimate man more by what he 
 may become in the vast cycles of eternity. And viewing 
 him in this light, it were in derogation of the essential 
 dignity of his nature to make the honour and will of any 
 creature the end and rule of his being. In God alone 
 
116 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 can he find a position equal to his capacities ; and only 
 by striving to approve himself unto God, can his faculties 
 be properly unfolded and matured for the high destiny 
 that awaits him. 
 
 3. It is a further commendation of this rule that, as 
 distinguished from all others, it is simple, uniform, and 
 stable. Occasions may arise, on which one who desires 
 to approve himself unto God may be involved in some 
 perplexity. But a conscientious inquirer will not ordi- 
 narily be left long in the dark. The will of God — the 
 rule prescribed in the text — is to be gathered from his 
 word, his providence, and his Spirit. Chiefly are we to 
 seek it in his word. And whatever difficulties may attach 
 to the interpretation of certain parts of Scripture, the 
 Bible is, on the whole, a plain book. Its vital doctrines 
 have disclosed themselves to myriads of children and 
 unlettered peasants ; and its moral precepts are written 
 as with a sunbeam. If in respect to any point whether 
 of faith or practice, an inquirer is embarrassed, he has 
 but to ask, and the aid of an infallible Teacher is promised 
 him. The code thus furnished him is uniform and per- 
 manent. It utters the same voice in all lands and to all 
 people. It speaks to-day, as it spake eighteen centuries 
 ago. It is independent of human authority. It concedes 
 nothing to erudite skepticism or popular clamor ; nothing 
 to the throne or to the altar. Knowing neither fear nor 
 favor, subject to no perturbation, and defeiTing to no 
 other power, it stands from age to age unchanged amidst 
 a changing world, — a rock forever swept by the waves of 
 human passion, and forever unmoved. 
 
 As in contrast with this rule of life, very many adopt 
 as their guide some earthly end or standard. Multiform 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. II7 
 
 as these are, they may be reduced to a unit, for they are 
 stems from the same root. The will of God: tlie will of 
 man: — this comprehends the whole. With or without 
 conscious purpose, we all choose God's will or man's, as 
 the law of our lives. For the latter properly compre- 
 hends supreme devotion to the world in whatever form. 
 Where we are not serving the Creator, we are serving 
 the creature. If we do not worship the true God, we 
 worship some idol. "Approved unto God," or approved 
 unto man : — this divides the race. And how untowardly 
 for the latter class, must be apparent at a glance. For 
 considered as a rule of duty, the will of man has not 
 one attribute to recommend it. It is without authority : 
 for the Lawgiver has never delegated this control over 
 man's conscience, to his felloAvs. As the will of a de- 
 praved and benighted race, it lacks the first element of 
 an ethical code, rectitude. To follow it would be oftener 
 to do wrong than right. It is fluctuating and uncertain. 
 It varies perpetually — is one thing in this country, and 
 another in that ; one thing to-day, and another to-mor- 
 row. AVho can trim his sails to the capricious gales of 
 popular favor 1 Or who can surrender himself to the 
 sway of his selfish passions — making his own will the 
 rule of his life — without discovering very soon that he is 
 serving a most arbitrary master] It is a service, too, as 
 hurtful to the character and as fatal to true happiness, as 
 the opposite service is elevating and satisfying. 
 
 4. This, indeed, should be mentioned as a distinct and 
 cardinal merit of the rule enjoined in the text — its bene- 
 ficent influence upon the character. We shall see this 
 as we go on ; as we shall, no less, the injurious eff'ects of 
 the opposite rule. But it may be observed here, that no 
 
118 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 one' can faithfully adopt as his motto, the sentiment, 
 "approved unto God," without reaping from it the most 
 substantial benefits. For, not to speak of the affluent 
 blessings direct from the Divine hand to which such an 
 one becomes heir, the principle thus enthroned in the 
 heart has a ready affinity for whatsoever things are pure, 
 lovely, and of good report. It is essentially restraining, 
 invigorating, elevating, and comforting. It is usually 
 marked by a waking up of dormant and neglected pow- 
 ers. And this is what we all need. For who is there 
 that has not more than one talent laid by in a napkin ] 
 Here and there an honorable exception may be noted ; 
 but, for the most part, it is only a partial and precarious 
 service we render to God. Instead of ' bringing all the 
 tithes into his storehouse,' we too often pacify conscience 
 by offering Him the ' blind and the lame and the sick for 
 sacrifice.' The time is yet to come when the Church 
 shall lay all her treasures at the Saviour's feet. But this 
 day is dawning upon him who strives in good faith to 
 live " approved unto God." For he will rouse himself 
 from his slumber, and take all his gifts of heart and 
 mind, — his intellectual powers and his affections, his 
 learning and experience, his taste and culture, his time 
 and opportunities, — and present them to his Master, with 
 the humble prayer, ' What will thou have me to do ?' 
 
 Such a disciple will not neglect the due cultivation of 
 his powers. Whatever they may be, they are entrusted 
 to him that he may improve and use them. The pos-. 
 session of a gift carries this obligation with it, as it often 
 decides one's profession for life. One man is plainly 
 designated of God to be a painter, another a sculptor, a 
 third a physician, a fourth an astronomer, and so on. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. HQ 
 
 These are special cases which interpret themselves. But 
 in all cases the law in the text requires that we cultivate 
 our several endowments to the very best of our ability, 
 and that we do our work in the best style we can com- 
 mand. This will be the feeling and aim of those who 
 have sincerely accepted it as their maxim, " approved 
 unto God." And living under the habitual pressure of 
 a force at once so powerful and so ameliorating, they will 
 increase rapidly in knowledge and holiness, and the 'joy 
 of the Lord' will be their ' strength.' 
 
 5. It may be added once more, in commendation ot 
 this rule, that it proposes the only scheme of life which 
 can fit us for the duties and trials of the present world, 
 or prepare us for the happiness of heaven. 
 
 But I waive this topic. It will recur incidentally, as 
 will the other topics that have been touched upon in 
 connection with the application of the rule before us to 
 our several relations and interests. We have learned 
 what the rule imports ; and, adopting it as our motto for 
 this opening year, we are now to inquire what it may 
 require of us in respect to some few of the experiences 
 which the year will be likely to bring with it. 
 
 We begin with the most important of aU, our religious 
 belief., but only to say a word or two. 
 
 The world is full of sects and creeds ; not, as to many 
 of them, differing radically from one another, but all 
 contributing to make up that scene of confusion which 
 is so embarrassing to a seeker after truth. There would 
 be slight encouragement to set out on such a quest if it 
 were necessary to go the round of all the churches and 
 investigate the history and the tenets of each of them. 
 Happily, this perplexing service is not laid upon us. Faith 
 
120 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 is a personal act, an exercise of the individual, not of the 
 multitude. The concurrence of a large, intelligent, and 
 devout denomination in a particular creed or confession 
 may properly commend it to our favorable consideration, 
 but we need some other warrant for our faith. It must 
 not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of 
 God. The simple canon by which \\g are to be guided 
 in this inquiry is, " approved unto God." What has God 
 taught 1 Is this doctrine contained in his word 1 Does 
 it come to me inscribed with, ' Thus saith the Lord V 
 Here is the test of truth. All else is as the small dust of 
 the balance. It is the Divine injunction, ' Prove all 
 things : hold fast that which is good.' And pursuing 
 your researches in this spirit, resolved, as He may assist 
 you, simply to approve yourselves to God in the matter 
 of your belief, and diligently studying the Scriptures, 
 you icill be guided into the truth. 
 
 In framing our schemes of life there is large room for 
 the exercise of this rule. The toiling masses, it is true, 
 have no room for choice. Their scheme of life is made 
 for them, and they have to accept it, as the patient ox 
 bows his neck to the yoke. But are they, therefore, re- 
 leased from the obligation of this rule, or excluded from 
 its advantages '? Far from it. It is at once the impera- 
 tive duty and the high privilege of all the tribes of labor 
 to make it the controlling principle of their lives, " ap- 
 proved unto God." They are no less the subjects of his 
 government ; no less the objects of his care than those 
 who are clothed in purple and fine linen. Nor is it less 
 in their power to glorify his name. For all true service 
 is really paid " to the Lord, and not to men." And this 
 is the spirit which should be carried into every sphere of 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 121 
 
 manual labor, — into all the mines and workshops and 
 manufactories of the world, and wherever there are toil- 
 ing men or toiling women and children. " Approved 
 unto God !" Could you hang this up over all your 
 lathes, and looms, and forges, and engines ; let me rather 
 say, could you have it securely lodged in your hearts by 
 Him who alone can put anything good within us, what 
 a new world it would open to you ! How much it would 
 do to absolve your labor from the primeval curse, and 
 smooth your rugged paths, and diffuse a sweet serenity 
 through your breasts, and reconcile you to the allotments 
 of Providence, and endear to you the precious words and 
 the patient suffering of Him who ' had not where to lay 
 his head!" If you have not yet made proof of it, if you 
 have been working year after year with no master but 
 iron necessity, and no reward but your scant wages, sup- 
 pose you come up out of this subterranean prison-life 
 into the nobler sphere of Christian service, where you 
 can see the light of your Father's face, and hear his 
 loving voice, and feel that you have something to live 
 for. He will help you out of your bondage if you ask 
 Him. And then if you will cast away your own wisdom, 
 and the maxims which have hitherto controlled you, and 
 make it throughout this year the one settled principle of 
 your lives, " approved unto God," your repining will all 
 be turned to thankfulness, and your mourning to praise. 
 To advert to other classes: — you have your plans of life, 
 comprehending your several avocations, the distribution 
 of your time, and other particulars. These plans may 
 or may not have been deliberately framed ; enough that 
 they are practically adopted. May the question be al- 
 lowed, ' Have you submitted them to God's approval ■? 
 
122 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 Have you consulted Him as to all your habits and 
 methods \ And do you see the hours speed away with 
 the feeling that they have been spent as He would have 
 had you spend themT If so, nothing remains to be sug- 
 gested on this point. But if otherwise, suppose you pause 
 long enough to revise your schemes of life by the light 
 of this simple maxim, " approved unto God." It may 
 be that, holding this lamp in your hands, you will detect 
 some mistakes which you wdll be glad to rectify. You 
 may discover hours habitually surrendered to sleep or 
 sloth, which ought to be reclaimed. You may learn that 
 you are allowing a wretched parsimony to prescribe the 
 time that shall be devoted to your private religious du- 
 ties ; and that, unless your household altars be repaired, 
 they will soon fall to pieces. You may find that the 
 irresistible tide of business is steadily extending its en- 
 croachments into the realm of your domestic life, and 
 threatening to submerge your every social, and almost 
 your every spiritual, interest. You may find that the 
 things that are seen have usurped the place which belongs 
 to the things that are not seen ; that the current of world- 
 liness has been imperceptibly swaying you away from 
 3'^our only safe anchorage ; and that, however it may 
 fare with your estate, your spiritual husbandry has more 
 the meagre aspect of a field left for the gleaners, than 
 one that has not yet felt the sickle. I do not affirm that this 
 would be the result. But it might prove so wdth some 
 of us. And, in any event, it must be of wholesome ten- 
 dency to look into our plans for the opening year and see 
 whether we are able with a good conscience to impress 
 upon every one of them the pregnant inscription, " ap- 
 proved unto God." 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 193 
 
 In commenting upon the usurpations of business, I 
 mean no disparagement of its just claims. But the refer- 
 ence may fitly remind us that here is another sphere into 
 which it is all-important to carry the sentiment, " ap- 
 proved unto God." Of the duties and dangers, the 
 privileges and responsibilities, of a commercial life, I 
 have spoken to you so fully in a series of lectures which 
 is within your reach, that you will not expect me at any 
 time to go into the subject again in detail. But I miist 
 press this inspired rule upon the business men here. And, 
 if your kindness will indulge me, I will do it by quoting 
 a brief paragraph from the volume just mentioned, which 
 falls in precisely with the aim of this discourse. 
 
 ' There may be those who will deem it a very super- 
 fluous and a very puritanical procedure to undertake to 
 set up the Bible as the grand regulator of commerce. 
 But how is commerce to be exempted from its jurisdic- 
 tion \ Who is empowered to say, ' We will have the 
 Bible in our houses, our schools, our churches, our chari- 
 ties ; but it shall not come into our stores. We are quite 
 willing to live by it, and to die by it, and to go to heaven 
 by it ; but, as to trafficking by it, that is out of the ques- 
 tion.' It may well happen that to subject the entire 
 business world to this regimen, to replace prescription, 
 usage, expediency, and every spurious rule, with the pre- 
 cepts of Scripture, would lead to inconvenience and losses. 
 It might require some persons to abandon the business 
 they are engaged in, and abridge the profits of others. 
 But what alternative is there I "I had rather be right," 
 said one of our great statesmen a few years ago, — and 
 the remark is quoted oftener than anything he ever said, — 
 " I had rather be right than be President." You all 
 
124 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 applaud the sentiment. You honor the memory of Henry 
 Clay because he uttered it. We do but apply it to your 
 own profession when we insist upon your enthroning it 
 in your counting-houses. We press it upon you as the 
 one controlling, unalterable, indispensable rule of life, that 
 you do right. It may demand sacrifices. It may cost 
 you many a trial of feeling. It may separate you from 
 friends. It may expose you to reproach. These are 
 serious evils. They are to be shunned, if they can be, 
 with a good conscience. But, if you have to choose be- 
 tween them and a good conscience, you cannot be at a 
 loss where truth and duty lie. It is not necessary that 
 you should escape trouble, but it is necessary that you 
 should do right ;'* in other words, let me add, it is neces- 
 sary that, in all the plans and transactions of your count- 
 ing-rooms and factories, you should study to show your- 
 selves " approved unto God." And if you do this, what- 
 ever may be its financial results, you will hereafter re- 
 view this year with grateful praise to the Giver of all 
 good. 
 
 Nor is this lesson designed only for the walks of com- 
 merce. It pertains to all professions and employments, 
 to both sexes, and to all ages. The purport of it is that 
 we are to pursue our respective avocations in the way 
 which we believe God will sanction. The precept was 
 given to Timothy for the regulation of his studies and 
 preaching : " Study to show thyself approved unto God, 
 a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly 
 dividing the word of truth." In other words, so preach 
 as to secure God's approval. And of course, if it belong 
 
 * " The Bible in the Counting-house," Lecture II. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 125 
 
 to ministers to preach thus, it must belong equally to the 
 people to hear thus. The obligation is reciprocal ; we 
 are to preach and to hear just as well as we know how, 
 for our common Master will be satisfied with nothing 
 less. The same is true of the other professions. It is 
 no more the duty of a minister of the Gospel than of a 
 lawyer, a physician, a teacher, to adhere to it as the rule 
 of their lives, " approved unto God." They are asking 
 themselves, ' AVhat do I owe to my pupil, my patient, my 
 client V But they may satisfy these parties and yet fail 
 in their duty. The paramount question is, ' What does 
 God require of me]' for all duty terminates in God. 
 And while this question must be variously answered, 
 according to the circumstances of each particular case, 
 it may facilitate the solution to have it impressed upon 
 the mind, that He will have us carry into any sphere to 
 which He may appoint us our best abilities, and do our 
 work thoroughly, loolving to Him for help, and feeling 
 that his favor is the noblest of all rewards. 
 
 But another department claims our notice. We must 
 carry our rule into the domain of politics. I do not 
 mean by this simply that statesmen and professed politi- 
 cians are of right bound by this rule, but that we ought 
 all to recognize it in our several relations and functions 
 as citizens. We can none of us escape from our obliga- 
 tions to the State. It were ungenerous to desire to do 
 so. The Church alone excepted, there is no institution 
 fraught with such manifold blessings to mankind as a 
 wise and just government faithfully administered. V^e 
 have had experience of this beyond almost any other 
 people. Common gratitude, therefore,. demands that we 
 do all in our poAver to preserve our constitution and lib- 
 
12G MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 ertics inviolate, and to promote generally tlie well-being 
 of our country. Had the Christian men of the country 
 been true to this trust in past years, this fatal war would 
 have been averted. It may be one of the dearly-bought 
 lessons of the Avar to teach such men the sacred duty 
 of carrying it into the whole routine of civil life as their 
 guiding principle, " approved unto God." 
 
 This obligation comprehends the formation and ex- 
 pression of our political opinion, the exercise of the right 
 of suffrage, the maintenance of the just authority of the 
 magistracy, submission to the laws, the repression of treason 
 and rebellion, and the furthering of such measures as we 
 believe to be adapted to- preserve intact our civil char- 
 ters, and to secure the inestimable privileges we have 
 enjoyed to those who are to come after us. In reference 
 to these and their kindred duties, we have no right to 
 defer to any other rule than this, — " approved unto God." 
 However common it may be to divorce politics and re- 
 ligion, we cannot sanction the disjunction without so far 
 contemning the supremacy of the great LaAvgiver ; for He 
 has no more exempted the State from his jurisdiction 
 than the Church. 
 
 Let it be understood, then, that Ave are responsible to 
 God for our political sentiments and conduct, and that 
 these are to be regulated by a reverential regard to his 
 Avord and Avill. Here is our standard, as distinguished 
 from all spurious standards. The only one of these to 
 Avhich I shall advert is 'partij. I am not going to de- 
 claim against the existence of political parties. They 
 are the legitimate and salutary fruit of free institutions. 
 The absence of parties is the badge of a despotism ; for 
 the manacled are always passive. It must also be conceded 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 127 
 
 that conscientious men will ordinarily, be able to act in 
 the main with some party, — the only way in which they 
 can aid effectively in sustaining, modifying, or reversing 
 the current policy. But implicit devotion to a party in 
 all its plans and expedients, concurrence in its theories 
 and measures, purely because they come from the party 
 mint, and have the party brand, — this is not only unworthy 
 of any freeman, but it is incompatible with loyalty to 
 God. He who thus sells himself to a party must make 
 up his mind not only to some very irksome things, but 
 to things of a very equivocal morality. He will have to 
 support men and measures that are offensive to him ; and 
 he may even be required to repudiate principles he has 
 held all his life, and adopt others which he has always 
 reprobated. 
 
 It must in candor be admitted that the opposite course 
 also has its inconveniences. IMen who think for them- 
 selves on political subjects, and who carry their religion 
 into their politics, framing their opinions on public affairs 
 with a predominant regard to the Divine will, and re- 
 solved never to sacrifice reason and conscience to popu- 
 larity, must count upon being traduced where they ought 
 to be commended. Refusing to bow to the mandates of 
 party, or to succumb to the passions of the hour, they 
 are usually misapprehended and taunted by men of all 
 parties. Nor need it occasion them any surprise if they 
 even incur the reproaches of friends. If you mean to be 
 conscientious and independent in your politics, you will 
 have to school your sensibility to censure, whether from 
 friends or foes. A painful thing it certainly is to have 
 your fidelity to God requited with the estrangement of 
 those who may have had a warm place in your affections. 
 
128 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 But, if the alternative is forced upon you, you liavc no 
 right to hesitate. This was famihar ground to St. Paul, 
 and here was his mode of meeting it : — " With me it is a 
 very small thing that I should be judged of you or of 
 man's judgment." " For do I now persuade men or God "? 
 or do I seek to please men 1 for if I yet pleased men, I 
 should not be the servant of Christ." 
 
 The afflicted condition of our country invests this topic 
 with so much interest, and you will have to act upon it 
 so constantly throughout the year, that I may be allowed 
 to illustrate the principle of the text, in its application 
 to public affairs, by an example drawn from modern his- 
 tory. The name and fame of William Wilberforce be- 
 long to the Christian world. On his first entrance into 
 the House of Commons, which he astonished and capti- 
 vated by his singular eloquence, Mr. Pitt took him cor- 
 dially by the hand, and gave him his friendship and his 
 confidence. A generous intimacy sprang up between 
 them. After the lapse of five years, during which Wil- 
 berforce had given his unvarying and powerful support 
 to the measures of his friend, he found himself compelled 
 to dissent from his policy on the Frencli war. He fore- 
 saw the consequences, and would gladly have averted 
 them. He knew that his steadfast adherence to the ad- 
 ministration on all other points would go for nothing if 
 he drew back on tlie particular question then pending ; 
 that his motives would be impugned ; that tlie opposition 
 would exult over what would be represented as his de- 
 fection from the government ; and that he must even 
 count upon the personal alienation of his cherished 
 friend, the great minister. But none of these things 
 moved him. He had decided upon his course with the 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 129 
 
 most careful deliberation — even observing a day of fast- 
 ing and prayer, that he might suitably invoke wisdom 
 and strength from above. And then he went forward 
 sadly, but resolutely, to the work his conscience had laid 
 upon him. He made his speech, and was in no way sur- 
 prised at the result. The trials he had anticipated, came ; 
 and " they were increased by the expressed disagreement 
 of almost all those personal friends with whom he most 
 freely communicated upon political questions, and by the 
 concurrent accounts they forwarded him, from different 
 parts of the country, of the disapprobation of his conduct 
 generally felt by sober-minded men." Most bitter of all 
 the ingredients in this cup, was the estrangement of Pitt ; 
 who, to his honor be it spoken, felt the trial beyond 
 almost any other of his life. For it is recorded of him 
 that in his whole public career there were but two events 
 which were able to disturb his sleep, — the mutiny at 
 the Nore, and "the first open opposition of Mr. Wilber- 
 force." It will interest you to know, that this inflexible 
 fidelity to Christian principle received its reward even 
 here. For only a brief six months had passed, before 
 the illustrious statesman became an avowed convert to 
 Wilberforce's views, and their old friendship was re- 
 newed. 
 
 I place this example before you the more readily, be- 
 cause there has never been a period in our own history 
 when this high moral principle was more needed in our 
 politics than it is now. The influence you can exert in 
 helping to bring this war to an end may be great or 
 small : that is not material. But it is material that it 
 spring from a patriotism which draws its inspiration not 
 from earth but from heaven ; not from the public Jour- 
 
130 MOTTOES FOR THE N"EW YEAR. 
 
 nals, not from Legislative debates, not from the magis- 
 tracy, not from your friends, but from God. Only aim, 
 like AYilbcrforce, to show yourselves, in all your political 
 sentiments and conduct, 'approved unto God;' and how- 
 ever it may fall with you for the time, that country to 
 which we all owe so much, and for whose unity, peace, 
 and lasting prosperity, we should be willing to make any 
 sacrifice compatible with our duty to God, will one day 
 appreciate and honour your fidelity to her cause. 
 
 It is no violent transition if we venture for a moment 
 or two into the realm of social life. A broad realm it is, 
 comprehending all questions of dress, furniture, enter- 
 tainments, friendships, amusements, and many other 
 matters. A great and rare achievement it would be to 
 bring this wide field of restless, ever-changeful activity, 
 into complete accord with that high prescription, " ap- 
 proved unto God." How much the adoption of this rule 
 would simplify the mechanism of social life ! What 
 facility it would afford in resolving the little problems 
 which are daily arising in every household ; and in dimin- 
 ishing the friction that is observed in so many homes ! 
 Take a single one of the subjects just enunciated. There 
 are few Christian families in which the question of amuse- 
 ments does not come up for debate with more or less 
 frequency. The present winter will form no exception 
 to this familiar experience. It is true, we are in the 
 midst of a bloody war. But nations scourged with Divine 
 judgments usually plunge into flagrant excesses. The 
 English Court, then at Oxford, was never more aban- 
 doned to drinking, gambling, and licentiousness, than 
 while the Great Plague was desolating London. Indeed, 
 " it was a time (as a contemporary annalist says) when 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. \^\ 
 
 all license in discourse and in actions was spread over 
 the kingdom, to the heart-breaking of many good men, 
 who had terrible apprehensions of the consequence of it." 
 The same thing has usually occurred in time of war. 
 And as History constantly repeats itself, a philosophical 
 observer might be prepared for the revolting spectacle 
 now presented among ourselves. While death and sor- 
 row are flapping their raven wings over the land — the 
 cry of our slain coming up from a hundred battle-fields, 
 and widows and orphans crowding the thoroughfares, 
 our great cities are resigning themselves to frivolity and 
 revelry. Never in peace did they witness such dissipa- 
 tion ; never were places of amusement so numerous or 
 so thronged. It is meet, therefore, that families which 
 profess some regard for the word and worship of God, 
 should decide how far their sanction is to be given to 
 these practices. With many persons, considerations of 
 taste, of decorum, of sympathy for the afflicted, of the 
 respect which is due to a severe public calamity, will be 
 decisive. But if you still hesitate about the theatre, the 
 opera, balls, and the like, you may gather some light 
 from the test the apostle has given us, " approved 
 unto God." You will not deny that this is our proper 
 rule. Do not shrink, then, from applying it to these 
 amusements. If you find that they have the sanction 
 of the infallible word ; that where it says ' Ye are not of 
 the world,' ' Be not conformed to this world,' it has no 
 reference to such matters as these ; and that, in respect 
 to amusements, there need be no difference between the 
 world and the church ; — if you can take these things to 
 the throne of grace, and after asking Divine illumination, 
 deliberately conclude that they are "approved of God;" 
 
132 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 you will of course fall in with the prevailing cuircnt, and 
 drink your fill at these intoxicating fountains. Whether 
 the retrospect will be as grateful as the excitement of the 
 moment, is another question. Meanwhile my errand is 
 fulfilled by merely counselling you to forbear the coveted 
 indulgence, unless you can lay your head upon your pil- 
 low, after it is over, with the feeling, " approved unto 
 God." 
 
 Let us close by again adverting to the paramount de- 
 mands of personal religion. '•How can I make the most 
 of life T This is, or should be, the question with us all. 
 And it finds its ready answer in the lesson of the text, 
 " approved unto God." Guided by this principle, the 
 opening year would see us engaging in the service of our 
 Master, with new ardor. Its effects would be witnessed 
 in the prevalence of a more elevated tone of piety 
 amongst us ; in the diligent culture of the Christian 
 graces ; and in more resolute efforts to protect the church 
 from that flood of worldliness which threatens to sub- 
 merge, not only ' all the high hills that are under the 
 whole heaven,' but the very ark itself It would tell 
 with power upon the cause of Christian benevolence — 
 greatly augmenting the willing offerings to the Lord's 
 treasury, and thus enlarging the sphere of missionary 
 enterprise at home and abroad. It would develop the 
 sleeping energies of the church, and send fresh laborers 
 into Sunday-Schools, Home-missions, and other fields 
 white to the harvest. It would enkindle a new and just 
 solicitude for the rescue of the unconverted, and arouse 
 ministers and people to greater exertions for their salva- 
 tion. It would inform and sanctify the spirit of patriot- 
 ism, and give our country in this time of her deep 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 133 
 
 affliction, a still warmer place in the affections and pray- 
 ers of God's people. It would help the tempted, the 
 suffering, the bereaved, to acknowledge a Father's hand 
 in their trials, and might even turn their lamentations 
 into thanksgivings. 
 
 These, and such as these, are the benign fruits tliat 
 would flow from the general and hearty adoption of the 
 maxim we have been considering. It were superfluous 
 to say, that He alone whose glory it contemplates, could 
 write it upon our hearts or keep it there. But, assured 
 that He is more willing to do this than we to ask Him, I 
 respectfully and affectionately commend it to you as your 
 rule of life for this new year. Time is swiftly bearing 
 us onward to eternity. We none of us know that we 
 are to witness the return of this anniversary. There are 
 many seats vacant here to-day which were filled a twelve- 
 month since by those who were then exhorted to take 
 it as their text for the year, " Waiting for the coming 
 OF THE Lord Jesus Christ." And knowing that death 
 must be poising other shafts which are to lay some of us 
 low during this year, I entreat you all, as I would ad- 
 monish myself, to supplicate the Father of lights, for 
 grace to live, and should He so appoint, for grace to die, 
 by the ordinance of his own blessed word, ' approved 
 UNTO God.' 
 
1865. 
 
 YIII. 
 ''TO EVERY MAN HIS WORK." 
 
 MARK XIII. 34. 
 
 Our Saviour is admonishing his disciples of the cer- 
 tainty of his second coming, and the uncertainty of the 
 time when it would take place. He compares Himself 
 in this view to " a man taking a far journey, who left his 
 house and gave authority to his servants, and to every 
 man his work, and commanded the porter to watch." 
 We need not consider this comparison in its details. A 
 single point only demands our attention. On this New- 
 Year's morning you look for me to offer you a text for the 
 opening year. You have just listened to it : — " To every 
 man his work." 
 
 Let this be our year text. It will not be difficult to 
 show how well it is suited to this purpose. 
 
 The relation of authority and subjection, — this is the 
 prime idea of the passage. We dwell chiefly upon the Son 
 of God as a Saviour ; it is natural we should. But He is 
 as much a King as a Saviour. He is the very ' King of 
 kings.' ' By Him kings reign, and princes decree justice.' 
 His kingdom is a universal kingdom. 'All power is 
 given to Him in heaven and in earth.' And in Him all 
 creatures 'live and move, and have their being.' Abso- 
 
 (135) 
 
136 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR, 
 
 lute dominion belongs to Him as the Second Person of 
 the Trinity. But his sovereignty over our race is also 
 exercised in virtue of his Mediatorial character. He 
 received it of the Father as the reward of his sufferings. 
 
 The kingdom thus bestowed upon Him is a kingdom 
 of service. It is by no fiction of law that men are styled 
 his ' servants.' They are his servants. He is their Lord. 
 He challenges a control over them which is minute, con- 
 stant, and universal. It embraces every human being. 
 It extends to all their powers, and to every moment of 
 their lives. He requires every one to serve Him, and 
 assigns to each the work he is to do. " To every man 
 his work." Language cannot go beyond this. It takes 
 in every sphere of life, every grade of talent, and every 
 variety of gifts. 
 
 Few persons believe this. The common feeling is, that 
 Christ controls the prime arrangements of society and great 
 events, that He superintends the affairs of the Church, 
 and the ministrations of persons and classes devoted to 
 the offices of religion, but, beyond this, that He has little 
 to do with the affairs of our globe. The principle tacitly 
 assumed here is of vicious tendency. It would divorce 
 religion from the daily life. It supposes a broad line of 
 separation between the Church and the world, not merely 
 in respect of the spirit that should pervade the Church 
 (which is a Scriptural idea), but in respect of the supre- 
 macy of the Lord Jesus Christ. He rules the Church, 
 but not the world ; or if the world, not with the absolute 
 sway He exercises over the Church. His own word gives 
 no countenance to this sinister speculation. As long as 
 the Church and the world are intermixed, his jurisdiction 
 cannot be partitioned off in this way. Providence is a 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 137 
 
 chain ; to hold one link is to hold all. It is a mirror ; to 
 break it in one place is to break it altogether. He who 
 rules the Church must rule the thrones, the cabinets, 
 the armies, of the world. He who appoints ministers to 
 their vocation must appoint statesmen, physicians, hus- 
 bandmen, mechanics, and all other persons, to theirs. 
 
 And these other classes receive their commission pre- 
 cisely as a minister of the Gospel receives his. It is not 
 that his is a spiritual office, and therefore he is to serve 
 Christ in it; and theirs being secular employments, they 
 may serve him or not according to circumstances. Their 
 work and his stand upon a common level. In either case, 
 the obligation is the same to perform it as by Christ's 
 command and for his glory. It is as much the duty of 
 a lawyer to carry into his profession the motives and spirit 
 of true religion, as of a pastor to exemplify a genuine 
 piety in his work. And so of teaching, of ploughing, of 
 buying and selling, and all other occupations. " What- 
 soever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto 
 men." This is addressed to Christian slaves in bondag-e 
 to heathen masters. If they were not dispensed from 
 living 'to the Lord,' who may claim exemption] 
 
 And herein is the true view of society. Christianity 
 is no disorganizer. It has often been arraigned at Caesar's 
 bar on charges of sedition and insurrection, but with as 
 little reason as its Divine Founder. We may not deny 
 that it sows the seeds of revolution. But it is such a 
 revolution as the breath of Spring heralds and hastens 
 in the frozen, barren soil. Its gentle influence perme- 
 ates the whole social fabric, infuses into it the spirit of 
 a new life, and spreads a new aspect over its deformed 
 
 features. This is not done, however, by taking society 
 
 10 
 
138 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 to pieces. It is not done by summoning people indis- 
 criminately to what is technically termed a ' religious 
 life,' — meaning thereby a life dedicated to spiritual func- 
 tions. This would soon bring the world to a pause. We 
 have all seen the evil working of this principle in coun- 
 tries overrun by monasticism. Society has suffered seri- 
 ously when depleted, even on this limited scale, of its 
 efficient working material. And if the principle were 
 carried out fully, albeit with a purer type of religion than 
 prevails in those countries, it would prove disastrous to 
 the cause of human progress. It is easy to see what 
 would become of a nation made up of ministers, mis- 
 sionaries, colporteurs, and religious fraternities. Such a 
 nation would soon have to be Christianized over again 
 by missionaries from abroad. The arts and occupations 
 which engross men in Christian lands, are the natural 
 fruit of civilization, as they are, in turn, among its chief 
 supports. A tribe of savages has but few wants. The 
 moment they begin to emerge from barbarism, their 
 wants increase, and they go on increasing, with their 
 intelligence and culture. Hence the indispensable neces- 
 sity for farmers, mechanics, artificers, and tradesmen ; for 
 mills, factories, and ships; for schools, presses, and libra- 
 ries ; for legislatures, courts, and all the paraphernalia 
 of government. These are not the mere embellishments 
 of the social state, but part and parcel of the structure. 
 Nor are they necessary to its civil integrity and growth 
 only, but to its spiritual wellbeing also. The Church 
 could not dispense with them. They sustain it, as it sus- 
 tains them. Severed from the Church, and spurning its 
 divine lessons, they become the implements of social de- 
 moralization ; while the Church severed from them (as 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. I39 
 
 may be seen in mission-churches on pagan ground) is 
 sadly limited in its means of doing good. 
 
 The hand of God is to be recognized, then, as well in 
 the general organization of society, as in the formation 
 of the Church. And while He certainly requires that all 
 classes and conditions of men shall do Him service. He 
 does not expect them to do this by relinquishing their 
 proper callings. He rules the world, not by random im- 
 pulses, but according to a settled plan. This plan con- 
 templates the gradual amelioration of the race, and the 
 ultimate triumph of righteousness and peace. And this 
 aerain demands some such distribution of men into classes 
 and professions, as that which distinguishes civilization 
 from barbarism. A complex piece of mechanism it is. 
 A careless and even a sagacious observer may see many 
 a cog, and wheel, and lever, of which he cannot divine 
 the use. But He who framed and who guides the mighty 
 enginery, put in nothing superfluous — nothing which is 
 not contributing to the grand result He has in view. 
 
 This thought must be kept in mind. It is the best 
 sedative to discontent. The masses everywhere are 
 doomed to a life of toil. If a Providence be excluded, 
 they, inevitably in the arrangements of society, will find 
 food for murmuring. ' Why should the few be rich, 
 and the many poor 1 Why should I be shut up to this 
 forge, this loom, this last, all my days, while my neigh- 
 bor can spend his life in reading and travelling? If I 
 must toil, why may it not be in some nobler sphere, bet- 
 ter suited to my immortal nature T These are meanings 
 which well up from the deeps of many hearts. We 
 cannot speak of them now except in the one aspect 
 which links them with our subject. 
 
140 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 It need not be denied, that society is sadly disorganized 
 by the presence of sin. No one pretends that all its 
 arrangements are good, absolutely considered ; much less 
 that the entire working of the mechanism meets God's 
 approval. But it is, nevertheless, his institution. Its 
 every provision enters into his plan. He assigns to men 
 their several avocations. He appoints some to rule, and 
 some to serve ; one to live by his wits, and another to 
 live by his hands; one to drive oxen, and another to 
 lead an army ; and so through the whole range of human 
 pursuits. Taking the world as it is, this is in his view 
 the best method of counteracting the effects of the fall, 
 and training the race for their high destiny. The vital 
 thought is, that He orders these various allotments. " To 
 every man his work." Society cannot answer the end 
 for which He designs it, without the co-operation of all 
 these forces, great and small, lowly and lofty. From the 
 king on his throne to the peasant in his hut, from the 
 sage in his library to the untutored factory-boy, He 
 needs them all. He is using them to work out his plan. 
 Each individual has his own mission. No one can fulfil 
 it for him. And it should reconcile him to his task, to 
 feel that it has been laid upon him by One who cannot 
 err, and whose goodness is commensurate with his wis- 
 dom. This reflection will impart dignity to the humblest 
 employment, and smooth the roughest path. If we might 
 suppose a cohort of angels to come down to live on the 
 earth, it is certain that one consideration only would 
 enter into their choice of occupations. ' What is the will 
 of God "? What wilt Thou have me to do ?' This would 
 be the sole inquiry. And, this resolved, all stations 
 would be alike to them. From time to time they have 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. \^\ 
 
 visited our world. One of them brings a message to 
 Abraham. Another comes on an errand of mercy to his 
 outcast bond-woman in the wilderness. A third smites 
 Jerusalem with the plague. A fourth announced to 
 Mary the coming Saviour. A fifth troubled, annually, 
 the water of Bethesda. A sixth releases Peter from pri- 
 son. Can you doubt that if the whole angelic throng 
 had been summoned before the throne, and these several 
 offices laid before them, and the question been asked, 
 Who will go \ they would have responded with one voice, 
 'Send YcveV And if the further question had been put 
 to them, one by one, ' On which of these errands wilt 
 thou go ]' the instant and unvarying answer would have 
 been, 'Not as I will, but as Thou wilt!' And so, the 
 more we approximate to these holy beings in character, 
 the less will it concern us where we are to go or what 
 we are to do. It will be enough to know that we are in 
 the sphere to which our Master has appointed us, and 
 doing the work He would have us do. 
 
 While this is the actual system under which we are 
 living, it is also the best system for us and for the world. 
 It is no less for our present comfort than our future well- 
 being, that our times should be in God's hand. For his 
 character is adorned with every excellence carried up to 
 the highest pitch of perfection. All the virtues meet in 
 Him which can possibly be combined in the person of a 
 Ruler. His eye alone can look over the whole field, and 
 see what each part may require, and it is the only one 
 which can explore the recesses of every heart, and learn 
 its every care, and danger, and want. His is the only arm 
 strong enough to succor his people when in trouble, and 
 defend them against their enemies seen and unseen. 
 
1^-2 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 No heart but his is large enough and compassionate 
 enough to receive all their complaints and sympathize in 
 all their sorrows. This may well reconcile them to those 
 social inequalities of which we have been speaking, and 
 which are so often a source of repining. He is conduct- 
 ing the vast and complicated affairs of his government, 
 as an undivided and accordant whole. To our eyes it 
 may liave as little unity, as the driving masses of clouds 
 with which a hurricane overspreads the heavens. But 
 to Him who sits upon his throne in the calm serenity of 
 the upper skies, all is lucid and harmonious ; and every 
 creature, and every event, is helping on the final con- 
 summation. In such a scheme, it is unavoidable that 
 some should have a better lot than others : that many 
 should toil all their days at the rough work of life ; and 
 many make their way to the heavenly city slowly and 
 painfully along the rugged paths of misfortune and pov- 
 erty. Their agency can no more be dispensed with, than 
 that of the more favored ones (as we style them) who 
 are born to wealth and power. Their comfort is, that 
 they are all serving a common Master who assigns ' to 
 every man his work ;' that this arrangement is deemed 
 by Him to be essential to the ultimate and highest good 
 of all concerned ; and that He will amply compensate 
 these inequalities in the life to come. 
 
 From the principle we have been illustrating, that 
 Christ assigns ' to every man his work,' it follows that 
 we should all. endeavor to find out what work He has 
 appointed to us. In numerous instances this question 
 will be of easy solution, for there seems, in fact, little 
 room for choice. Circumstances over which we have no 
 control decide the point for us ; and we take a certain 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. I43 
 
 path simply because we can take no other. In these 
 cases we may feel tolerably sure we are following the 
 design of our 'Great Taskmaster;' since it is through 
 his providence, as well as by his word, that He is accus- 
 tomed to make his will known. 
 
 In another class of examples He decides the question 
 by the bias He impresses upon the mind, and the endow- 
 ments He confers. The records of every profession con- 
 tain the names of men who must have done the greatest 
 violence to nature to be anything but what they were. 
 That Galen must be a physician, that Raphael must be 
 a painter, and Beethoven a musician, and Can ova a sculp- 
 tor, and Milton a poet, and Howard a philanthropist, and 
 Marshall a jurist, and Addison Alexander a linguist, was 
 settled from the dawn of their intellectual powers. We 
 may say, in general, the possession of any endowment is 
 proof that it is to be cultivated ; and where, as in the 
 instances just cited, it is paramount and controlling, it 
 may, without much hazard, be held as indicating the 
 ' work ' its possessor is to do. In the absence of any 
 strong constitutional predilection, and of circumstances 
 which hedge up every road but one, a true disciple will 
 not ordinarily be left long without some intimation as to 
 the sphere in which he can best serve his Lord. ' Work ' 
 of some sort there is for him and for all. " To every 
 man his work." As already observed, this allows for no 
 exceptions. To be born into this world is to have a work 
 to do for Him who placed us here. He sanctified this 
 law by his own blessed example. The simple glimpse 
 we have of his early years shows that his youth was 
 given to study and reflection. The language of his towns- 
 men, 'Is not this the carpenter T warrants the belief that 
 
144 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 He may afterward have assisted Joseph at his trade. 
 And from his baptism to his death He 'wrought with 
 hibor and travail, night and day,' as no child of Adam 
 ever did before or since. ' It is enough that the disciple 
 be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord.' To say, 
 >vhen summoned to a life of work, " I pray thee have me 
 excused," is all one with asking to be excused from fol- 
 lowing Christ. 
 
 This determines nothing as to the Icind of work ap- 
 pointed us. It may be any one of a hundred forms of 
 manual industry, or any one of a thousand varieties of 
 intellectual occupation ; or any one of a still larger num- 
 ber of passive labors, — the mission of sorrow and suffer- 
 ing. The idea is the same. Life is to be a 'work;' not 
 a dream, not a pastime, not a scene of capricious and 
 fitful activity, not a listless, aimless routine of eating 
 and drinking, and sleeping and w^aking, but a ' work.' 
 This does not mean 'work' without respite. We have 
 a better Master than that. The service He lays upon 
 his disciples is not the exhausting drudgery of the slave, 
 but the free, loving obedience of a child. It is their 
 right to regale themselves with innocent and timely diver- 
 sions. Do you suppose Christianity frowns upon all 
 mirth 1 That it makes wit a sin, and recreation an im- 
 piety \ If so, why has God made us thus % Has He 
 created these faculties and susceptibilities only that they 
 may be tantalized and thwarted ? Or has He formed 
 them to be cidtivated and exercised ; and so to lend their 
 aid in lightening the burdens of life and fighting its 
 battles \ But they must be kept in their place. They 
 are not to be made the business of life, but only its re- 
 fection ; not the end of life, but springs to recruit us on 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. I45 
 
 our way thither. This brings them legitimately within 
 the scope of our commission. It incorporates them with 
 the Christian's work. It impresses the King's image and 
 superscription as well upon his mirthful interludes as 
 upon his hours of patient labor and anxious study, while, 
 by invigorating his powers, it enables him to do more 
 work for his Master, and to do it better than he possibly 
 could without this relaxation. 
 
 It is very obvious to remark that there are certain 
 qualifications prerequisite if we would do our work prop- 
 erly, irrespective of the calling we may choose. So es- 
 sential is this that our Saviour includes it in the work 
 itself: " This is the work of God (the work which He 
 enjoins), that ye believe in him whom he hath sent." 
 It is the first step towards working for Him in what we 
 call the business of life. No man can serve his Lord 
 acceptably in any vocation unless he begins here. And 
 this must be understood as implied when we say that 
 a man's profession is often determined by his endow- 
 ments. A genius for painting, or for mechanics, may 
 justify a man in concluding that Christ has appointed 
 him his work in one of these departments. And he may 
 devote himself to it, and achieve great success. But he 
 will after all fail of doing his work as it sliould have 
 been done unless he first gives himself to the Lord. Nor 
 this alone. The obligation to cultivate personal religion 
 must be recognized as paramount through life. In just 
 so far as this ceases to be the prime aim and interest of 
 the soul, must we come short in the work prescribed 
 to us. 
 
 A living faith in Christ being presupposed, our work 
 is to be accepted as of his appointment^ and to be done 
 
146 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 for and in Him. Here comes the difficulty. How can 
 we go about our daily toil in a religious way"? How can 
 we blend our Christianity with all our avocations'? This, 
 clearly, is what the text implies, and what a Christian 
 profession involves. 
 
 It will manifestly be of great importance to us, to 
 cherish the feeling that it is GhrisVs work we arc doing. 
 No matter what the sphere, our commission is from Him. 
 Notice the opening of many of the Apostolic epistles: — 
 "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ," "a servant of God;" 
 " Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ ;" 
 "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ;" 
 " Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ." This pertains to 
 every Christian: he is 'a servant of Jesus Christ.' His 
 paramount responsibility is to Him. He is as much 
 bound to obey Him, as if he were his only servant. It is 
 of no moment whether other masters or employers come 
 in between himself and Christ. His ultimate allegiance 
 is still the same. And it will not do for him to lose sight 
 of it. 
 
 We have already stated this principle and produced 
 the authority upon which it rests. But we may reiterate 
 the sentiment,- that it covers the entire field of human 
 activity. It extends as well to the youth who is set to 
 watch a herd of cattle, to the sailor in mid-ocean, to the 
 sorrowful woman turning her spinning-wheel in her 
 lonely attic, to the sempstress plying her weary, incessant 
 needle, as to the Pastor of a congregation, or a INIission- 
 ary among the heathen. They have their employers: 
 but it is not for them alone they are working. Nor is it 
 merely to earn wages, and make a livelihood. Above 
 all and pervading all motives of this sort, there is a 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. I47 
 
 purer and nobler element which, fully admitted, will 
 impart a hallowed savor to their distasteful toil. It is 
 Christ who has given them this work to do. He would 
 not have done it, if it had not been for their good. It 
 may blight some of their early aspirations. It may con- 
 sign them to obscurity. It may expose them to cruel 
 slights at the hands of those from whom they earn their 
 daily bread. But what of all this, if Christ be satisfied: 
 if He looks upon every hour given to the loom, and the 
 anvil, and the distaff, and the windlass, as devoted to 
 Him ; and upon every taunt, and indignity, and wrong, 
 as endured for Himl With this thought, they can do 
 all, and bear all. 
 
 A kindred reflection must be clasped with it : — the sense 
 of Chrisfs presence. It is his work we are doing, and 
 He is with us while we are doing it. We are all familiar 
 with the power of such a conviction. Every Christian 
 parent impresses it upon the minds of his children, as 
 one of the daily lessons of the nursery and the family — 
 ' Remember that wherever you go, and whatever you 
 do, God's eye is upon you.' There is not one of these 
 densely populated mills and factories, where the principle 
 is not constantly illustrated. Every artisan, every laborer, 
 has felt the influence of his employer's presence, as he 
 has gone about from room to room, stopping for a moment 
 now at this one's and now at that one's elbow. Every 
 scholar knows how he feels when his teacher comes down 
 amidst the desks and benches, and, drawing near to each 
 pupil in turn, scrutinizes his work and pronounces the 
 due commendation or censure. 
 
 Well — the world is but an immense school ; and the 
 Great Teacher is always present, by a real ubiquity, with 
 
148 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 every pupil and at every moment. The world, again, is 
 but a huge workshop. And the great Mechanician, the 
 Author of all science, of all art, and of all skill, is per- 
 petually present, — not going about from one department 
 to another, and pausing for a moment with each crafts- 
 man ; but mailing his abode with him, never withdraw- 
 ing, standing all the while by every operative — master, 
 and journeyman, and apprentice, alike — observing his 
 every motion, hearing his every word, catching his 
 every change of countenance, and even reading every 
 thought of his heart. 
 
 Now what we need is to realize this — to feel that the 
 Master is thus with us, noticing our every act, and utter- 
 ance, and feeling ; and seeing how we do the work He 
 has put into our hands. It may aid us in this confessedly 
 difficult attainment, to consider before we begin the day's 
 duties that we are his servants, and live only to work for 
 Him ; and to invoke his special help in our vocation. It 
 will be useful to cherish the thought amidst the cares and 
 conflicts of the day, ' I am not my own, but bought with 
 a price.' It will not be in vain to emulate the example 
 of that great Captain and Ruler, Nehemiah, and send 
 up, even in the busiest hours, ejaculatory cries for help 
 to our ever-watchful and gracious Lord. And this his 
 people may do with the more confidence, because it is 
 his work they are doing, and He will deny them no suc- 
 cors which they may need in doing it properly. 
 
 In speaking of this union of business and devotion, it 
 has been well said, — " Do as little children do, who with 
 one hand hold fast by their father, and with the other 
 gather hips and haws, or blackberries, along the hedges ; 
 so you, gathering and managing with one hand the things 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. I49 
 
 of this world, must with the other always hold fast the 
 hand of your Heavenly Father, turning yourself towards 
 Him from time to time, to see if your actions or occupa- 
 tions be pleasing to Him. But above all things take 
 heed, that you never let go his protecting hand, thinking 
 to gather more ; for should He forsake you, you will not 
 be able to go a step without falling to the ground."* 
 
 This last idea is vital. AVe must do our work, not only 
 as by Christ's appointment, and with a sense of his pre- 
 sence, but, consciously, in his strength. ' Without me, 
 ye can do nothing.' If this was true of the apostles, it 
 must be true of all disciples. The strongest of them are 
 powerless in this work and warfare, except as He sustains 
 them. But through Christ strengthening them, the very 
 feeblest ' can do all things.' And strengthen them He 
 will, if they habitually look to Him for aid. 
 
 And now, imperfect as has been this exposition of the 
 subject, I think you will all accept this Scripture as a 
 most appropriate text for the opening year, — " To every 
 man his work." Representing, as you do, numerous 
 professions, and endowed with a large diversity of gifts, 
 it deeply concerns you to remember that " One is your 
 Master, even Christ," and that He has given every one a 
 work to do for Him. Could we take this conviction with 
 us into our several spheres of labor, and cherish it as a 
 principle to live by for the coming twelve-month (or for 
 as much of it as we may be spared to see), it could not 
 fail to redound greatly to our comfort and advantage. 
 
 One effect of it, which I have already glanced at, 
 would be, to spread a brighter aspect over the entire 
 business of life. For, assuredly, it would put a new phase 
 
 * Quoted by Goulburn. 
 
150 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 upon your counting-rooms, and your work-shops, and your 
 offices, to feel that they are simply apartments provided 
 by the Universal Proprietor where He is in the habit 
 of coming every day to see you, and to help you in fur- 
 thering his plans. It would infuse new life into your 
 studies, to think that He is your Teacher. It would 
 rest your weary arm, to know that his eye is watching 
 over you at your work. It would relieve the solitude of 
 your dim-lighted chamber to feel that your best Friend 
 is sitting by you, an invisible but willing guest. We 
 smile at the illusions of those amiable religionists, who 
 imagine their deceased friends to be still living with 
 them, and lay the accustomed cover for them at every 
 meal, and set them a chair at every gathering of the 
 family circle. But it is no phantasy when we claim all 
 this, and more than this, for our Friend of friends. 
 We know of a truth that He is wherever his people 
 are — whether in palaces or cottages, in the halls of legis- 
 lation or the halls of science, in the ship tossed upon the 
 billows or the fragile tent quivering in the midnight gale. 
 We are as certain of his presence as we are of our own 
 being. And if we can but clothe this speculative con- 
 viction with the warmth and energy of a vital faith, and 
 carry it with us into every walk and every scene of life ; 
 if we can enthrone Christ in our homes, our business, 
 our literature, our politics, our toils, our sorrows, and our 
 pleasures, and realize that whatever occupation, or what- 
 ever trial, or whatever pastime, demand our care, it is 
 part of the work He has laid upon us, no tongue may 
 attempt to describe the happiness it would bring with it. 
 This view of life impresses a certain dignity and worth 
 upon every station and every employment, even the low- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. \^\ 
 
 est. Our merciful Father would not leave servants, not 
 even bondsmen, to suppose that they could do nothhig for 
 their Lord ; and so they are taught that they are as much 
 included in the rule — " to every man his work" — as the 
 princes and philosophers of the world. Inspired by this 
 sentiment, their hard service becomes instinct with the 
 life that burns and glows in the songs of the seraphim. 
 And so of every service that is rendered, by whatsoever 
 disciple, in the spirit of this Scripture. We have some 
 reason to believe that those of the twelve who had been 
 fishermen did not wholly relinquish their vocation on 
 the ascension of their Lord. We know that St. Paul 
 continued to work at his trade as a tent-maker, after he 
 had entered upon his apostolic mission. Can we doubt 
 that their tent-making and fishing, as pertaining to the 
 ' work' their Master had given them, were just as accept- 
 able to Him as their miracles and their preaching'? 
 
 And starting here, we may go up through all the gra- 
 dations of society till we reach the loftiest spheres of 
 statesmanship and of scientific research, and say that as 
 they are ' all under law to Christ,' so, when pervaded by 
 the spirit of our text, they will all yield Him a revenue 
 of praise. 
 
 What we need is to be imbued with this spirit. We 
 must feel that our work as it is from him, so it is to be 
 for him and in him. Not only our manufacturing and 
 our trafficking, but the quiet routine of household cares, 
 our reading, our visiting, our travelling, our mourning, 
 our suffering, the duties we owe to our government and 
 our country, no less than those we owe to the Church, 
 all must be put under the guardianship of this divine 
 principle, and linked with the sacred name of Christ. 
 
152 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 And if tlicsc interests are to be cared for with a jealous 
 eye, as part of the work He has assigned to us, much 
 more must we do what we can, and all we can, to build 
 up his kingdom and save the perishing. In offering you 
 an inspired motto for the year, I have deemed it proper 
 to unfold it in its general aspect, and to point out its just 
 adaptation to human life in its every form and circum- 
 stance. As the greater includes the less, the obligation 
 to promote, in every suitable way, the conversion of sin- 
 ners and the edification of believers, — to promote the 
 cause of Christ at home and abroad, — has been tacitly 
 recognized in the whole argument. But it may be allowed 
 me, in a closing word, to say, that while He assigns this 
 Avork to one man, and to another that, here is a work 
 which He commits to all. It is the work which brought 
 Him down to our world, which reconciled him to the 
 garden and the cross, and which He is now wielding the 
 resources of the universe to carry forward to its glorious 
 result. He allows us the priceless privilege of co-operat- 
 ing with Him. He stoops to use our poor services in 
 rescuing our fellow-sinners, and ministering the ineffable 
 blessings of his truth and grace to his suffering children. 
 We may not decline the proffered honor. Let us grate- 
 fully accept it. Let us dedicate this year to offices of 
 Christian love and pity, to service and sacrifice for the 
 good of souls in the name of a risen Saviour. 'Be in- 
 stant in season, out of season.' 'Whatsoever thy hand 
 findeth to do, do it with thy might.' 'Let us not be 
 weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if 
 we faint not.' ' In the morning sow thy seed, and in the 
 evening withhold not thine hand ; for thou knowest not 
 whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether 
 they shall both be alike good.' 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. I53 
 
 " Sow ye beside all waters, 
 
 Where the dew of heaven may fall ; 
 Ye shall reap if ye be not weary, 
 
 For the Spirit breathes o'er all. 
 Sow, though the thorns may wound thee: 
 
 One wore the thorns for thee ; 
 And though the cold world scorn thee, 
 
 Patient and hopeful be. 
 Sow ye beside all waters. 
 
 With a blessing and a prayer ; 
 Name Him whose hand upholds us, 
 
 And sow thou everywhere. 
 
 " Sow, though the rock repel thee, 
 
 In its cold and sterile pride ; 
 Some cleft there may be riven. 
 
 Where the little seed may hide. 
 Fear not, for some will flourish. 
 
 And though the tares abound. 
 Like the willows by the waters 
 
 Will the scattered grain be found. 
 Work while the daylight lasteth, 
 
 p]re the sliades of night come on ; 
 Ere the Lord of the vineyard cometh. 
 
 And the laborer's work is done. 
 
 " Work in the wild waste places. 
 
 Though none thy love may own ; 
 God guides the down of the thistle. 
 
 The wandering wind hath sown. 
 Will Jesus chide thy weakness, 
 
 Or call thy labor vain ? 
 The word that for Him thou bearest 
 
 Shall return to Him again. 
 On ! with thine heart in heaven, 
 
 Thy strength in thy Master's might, 
 Till the wild waste places blossom 
 
 In the warmth of a Saviour's ligrht. . 
 
 11 
 
154 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 " "Watch not the clouds above thee, 
 
 Let the whirlwind round thee sweep ; 
 God may the seed-time give thee, 
 
 But another's hand may reap. 
 Have faith, though ne'er beholding 
 
 The seed burst from its tomb : — 
 Thou know'st not which may perish. 
 
 Or what be spared to bloom. 
 Room on the narrowest ridges 
 
 The ripened grain will tind. 
 That the Lord of the harvest coming, 
 
 In the harvest sheaves may bind." 
 
1866. 
 
 IX. 
 
 '^THIS IS NOT YOUR REST." 
 
 MICAH II. 10. 
 
 Hayhstg in view the various passages of Scripture 
 which have ah'eady been offered to you as " Year-texts," 
 I find nothing more appropriate for the present anni- 
 versary than the statement, " This is not your rest." 
 It is so concise as to be easily remembered, so simple as 
 to carry with it its own exposition, and so practical as 
 to admit of a ready application to all the current expe- 
 riences of life. 
 
 As it stands in the book of the prophet, it is part of an 
 admonition or command to the chosen race. They had 
 fallen from their high estate. Their land was filled with 
 iniquity. Yet they fondly imagined they would be allowed 
 to retain possession of it. Palestine had been given them 
 in solemn covenant as a perpetual inheritance, and could 
 not be wrested from them. Their off'ended God dispels 
 this illusion. He gives them to understand that the 
 country had been made over to them only upon condition 
 of their fidelity to Him. This condition they had vio- 
 lated, and thereby forfeited the grant. "Arise, ye, and 
 depart; for this is not your rest." They must relinquish 
 
 ( 1^5 ) 
 
156 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 their land ; — they would, in fact, be driven from it, and 
 others would enter in and dwell there. 
 
 We are not now concerned with these transactions. 
 But we are deeply interested in the language addressed 
 to that people, — " this is not your rest." It has a lesson 
 for us all — a lesson which we shall be likely to need on 
 every day of this opening year. 
 
 Besides what the words express, there are two things 
 they imply. First, that we shall require a rest ; and 
 secondly, that there is somewhere a rest for us. On each 
 of these points the Scriptures are, elsewhere, very expli- 
 cit. Nor could the prophet have meant less when he 
 said (if we be warranted at all in thus generalizing the 
 sentiment) " this is not your rest." Why speak to us 
 of a 'rest' unless we require one] And if ''this' be not 
 the rest provided for us, where is it 1 The latter of these 
 topics may be noticed by and by : the former will inter- 
 weave itself with the whole discussion of the subject. 
 For the present, let us consider how we may take this 
 text as our motto and carry it, to some good purpose, 
 into the scenes and avocations of the opening year. We 
 shall find, I think, that it is equally good for joy and for 
 sorrow, for adversity and for prosperity. 
 
 AVe may begin with the brighter side of life. It may 
 not at first strike you so, but the prosperous, equally with 
 the afiiicted, need the lesson, " this is not your rest." 
 Look around, and see if it be not so. Go into these 
 homes of health and plenty, these mills and warehouses 
 into which wealth pours its abundance. What is the 
 reigning spirit there"? Allowing for exceptions, is it not, 
 ' I shall die in my rest ; and I shall multiply my days as 
 the sand' ] ' Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. I57 
 
 many years ; eat, drink, and be merry.' The tendency 
 is always in this direction. Where the result is other- 
 wise, it is because the tide has been turned back by a 
 stronger counter -current from without. The aspect of 
 society shows how faint the power of resistance is to this 
 pernicious influence. That it should sweep away the 
 crowds who avowedly live for this world, is a thing of 
 course. They yield to it of choice. It is the only hap- 
 piness they know, and they have no sense of accounta- 
 bility which interferes with it. But to estimate the force 
 of this noxious agency we must come into the Church. 
 See how often it bears down the props and safeguards of 
 a Christian profession. Where will you go, that you do 
 not find a multitude of people who sit down at the Lord's 
 Table on the Sabbath, running into every species of 
 diversion, not excluding the most extravagant, during 
 the week ? Where will you go, that you do not meet 
 individuals, once active in the church, whose piety pros- 
 perity has blighted as a frost withers a bed of flowers'? 
 
 Does this prove that the acquisition of wealth is an 
 essential evil \ or that it is wrong to desire prosperity % 
 By no means : within due limitations and in the use of 
 legitimate means, there can be no sin in the case. But 
 it does prove that it is a perilous path to walk in ; an 
 atmosphere which one must not breathe without using 
 every precaution against the subtle principle that infects 
 it. And therefore it is that this Scripture is tendered 
 you as some slight protection against the dangers of the 
 way. It need not and should not be an ungracious me- 
 mento — a spectre to frighten you — a pall thrown over 
 your innocent festivities. Why should it impair the en- 
 joyment of life, to be reminded of our actual condition 
 
158 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 here ; to keep in view the important truth (which no 
 indifference of ours can make otlier than a truth) that 
 we are here only as sojourners in a strange land'? If we 
 cannot hear this lesson, there must be something seri- 
 ously wrong in our characters or employments. And all 
 the more do we need it because it is unwelcome. This 
 is one of the cases where antipathy to the remedy proves 
 the malignity of the disease. 
 
 Nor let it be supposed that the admonition here set 
 forth is needed only by those who are thoroughly im- 
 mersed in plans of sudden wealth, or in gay amusements. 
 Your tastes may run in other channels ; they may be 
 wiser and nobler. You find your happiness among your 
 books and your paintings. Surrounded by a few choice 
 friends, you readily surrender to others the frivolities of 
 society, the strifes of politics, and the contests and re- 
 wards which divide the great body even of able and cul- 
 tivated men. This is well as far as it goes. But, even 
 in this tranquil and elevated sphere you may forget the 
 true ends of life. It may be very needful that as you 
 sit in your well-stocked library, or loiter through your 
 choice gallery, you should recall now and then the moni- 
 tory sentence, "this is not your rest." Peradventure, the^ 
 occasion for this may be quite as urgent with you as with 
 any of the eager crowd who jostle each other along the 
 thoroughfares of traffic. For these quiet tastes are emi- 
 nently fascinating. Few persons indulge them without 
 becoming enthusiasts. And an obvious reason for this 
 is, that the pleasure they yield is more satisfying than 
 that supplied by most other pursuits. It comes nearer 
 to filling the capacities of the soul, — not that it does fill 
 them. When was a scholar, a painter, a sculptor, or 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. I59 
 
 a musician, perfectly satisfied % But, as among the cus- 
 tomary avocations of men, the inherent craving of the 
 mind after some real good is at least better met in these 
 directions than in others. And thus they usually become 
 supreme and controlling. Unless carefully watched, they 
 detach the affections from their true object, indispose to 
 serious thouglit, create a distaste for religious medita- 
 tion, and repress all sympathy with the sanctuary, the 
 study of the Scriptures, and private devotion. Assuredly, 
 then, the class of men here intended require to have the 
 lesson kept constantly before them, " this is not your 
 rest." 
 
 We pass into quite another sphere, where we offer 
 this Scripture as a sedative to anxious care. 
 
 'Anxious care I' How wide the sweep of these words! 
 Who can reckon the vast concourse they represent \ It 
 were easier to compute the hearts which have not some 
 burden than those which have. The burdens, it is true, 
 are sometimes self-imposed. There are persons who are 
 constitutionallf/ anxious. They 7m(st have something to 
 feel distressed about. Their eyes, by some strange mal- 
 formation, have one lens too many, and it is always 
 a colored one ; so that everything is seen in a false 
 light. Have you not met with these unhappy people] 
 Full of misgivings, skilful in detecting the dark side of 
 things, never looking at the sun without seeing the 
 spots, suspicious of a latent Sirocco in the fresh breath 
 of spring, treating good tidings as the proverbial har- 
 binger of bad, and fearing to rejoice in the mercies of 
 to-day, lest some trouble may come to-morrow ! Poor, 
 unquiet souls, what a toilsome journey they have of 
 it ! The path to the celestial city (and they have many 
 
160 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 badges which show that they are true pilgrims) is not 
 over- smooth at best, but to them it is very rugged. 
 Someliow they are attracted to the rough places. They 
 rather choose them, because when they come to a spot 
 where there are no rocks, and the air is perfumed with 
 flowers, and the living water sparkles in the sunlight, 
 and the melody of the distant harpers seems floating 
 down from the palace of the Great King, they begin to 
 apprehend that they must have wandered out of the road. 
 Nothing will do which savors of iiresent enjoyment. 
 
 Now it might seem incongruous to come to disciples 
 like these with the admonition, "this is not your rest." 
 For do they not know it already % Is it not this very 
 conviction that is spreading such a sombre hue around 
 them '? It is, and it is not, according as the lesson is 
 understood. What they gather from the lesson is, that 
 since this world is not designed to be our permanent 
 abode, therefore we are to make ourselves as uncomfort- 
 able here as possible. The true use of it is just the oppo- 
 site of this. "This it not your rest:" therefore do not be 
 surprised at the anomalies and difficulties you encounter. 
 Do not exaggerate them. They are frequent enough 
 and serious enough. But life is not made up of them. 
 The good Master we serve has mercifully mingled them 
 with our lot that they may keep us mindful of the 'rest' 
 that awaits us, and help to discipline us for it. But we 
 miss the benefit of them whenever we become blind to 
 the mercies with which He has attempered them. Al- 
 though our " rest " is not here, yet have we resting-places 
 here. There is many a green pasture, and many a spring 
 by the roadside, for the refreshment of weary pilgrims. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. \Ql 
 
 The hill of Zion yields 
 
 A thousand sacred sweets 
 Before we reach the heavenly fields, 
 
 Or walk the golden streets. 
 
 And if this be not enough to check the risings of mor- 
 bid feeling, it might surely suffice you to remember what 
 lies beyond the flood. That you have a 'rest' there you 
 do not question. Why n6t, then, make the best of the 
 inconveniences of the way % Why live in constant fear- 
 fulness, when you might trust a Father's care and be at 
 peace 1 Have you ever found that the nervous appre- 
 hension of trouble, as a cherished habit of mind, gives 
 you strength for present duty, or fosters your meetness 
 for the heavenly resf? 
 
 But there are modes of anxious care which cannot be 
 referred to this source. People who are in no way mor- 
 bid in their feelings, have their anxieties about their 
 children, their business, their domestic concerns ; about 
 public aflkirs, and about the Church. Do we chide this] 
 Do we say — ' It is foolish and wrong : you ought to know 
 better r Not that exactly. For how can we avoid all 
 anxiety about these things'? We have too much at stake. 
 Our affections are too deeply enlisted. We have seen too 
 much of the peril that besets all earthly interests to re- 
 main quite at ease. This is not what our Heavenly Fa- 
 ther asks of us. At least He would not have us impassive 
 and stone-like. It was not for that He endowed us with 
 these ardent passions and tender sympathies. Life fails 
 of its proper discipline when we become petrified, even 
 though we may imagine we are doing God service. But 
 we need not, in eluding one extreme, go to the other. 
 If we must be anxious, let it not run into a consuming 
 
162 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 anxiety. Let us not treat the source or occasion of it 
 as we might if this world were our permanent abode. 
 Viewed only in this light, there might be cause enough 
 for painful and lasting solicitude. But there is another 
 light to fall upon the scene. "This is not your rest." 
 Does not this relieve the shadows'? 
 
 Take, for example, matters of public concern. The 
 course of events both with the State and with the Church 
 may fill you with apprehension. There are periods when 
 no friend of the Church or of his race can well avoid 
 this, — certainly there is but one way of counteracting it. 
 Excluding the doctrine of a Providence and a retributive 
 hereafter, nothing could reconcile one to the moral chaos 
 which the world presents to the eye. When we think 
 what it might be and what it is ; when we compare its 
 governments and peoples in their actual condition with 
 the state they are capable of attaining ; when we contrast 
 the relative prevalence throughout the globe of piety, 
 justice, benevolence, and content, on the one hand, and 
 ignorance, oppression, superstition, violence, and suffer- 
 ing, on the other ; it is natural to anticipate a future 
 which shall enwrap the race in still deeper darkness, and 
 consign them to a more hopeless misery. This, I say, is 
 'natural.' Looking over the scene from any mere earthly 
 stand-point, we can hardly avoid it. For the enigmas 
 which meet the eye are intractable to any human saga- 
 city. There is only one key to them ; and it is our own 
 fault if we have not secured it. "This is not your rest." 
 Here is the solution of this mighty riddle. This disorder 
 and confusion ; this reign of passion and cruelty ; the 
 triumphs of iniquity over virtue, of might over right ; 
 the slow progress of Christianity; the jealousies and divi- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 153 
 
 sions in the church, — in a word, the whole tide of events 
 so counter to our plans, and apparently so pregnant with 
 evil — why should this fill us with forebodings'? Is it not 
 just in keeping with the design of the present dispensa- 
 tion — which is confessedly preparative and transitory, — 
 where nothing is completed, nothing stable, nothing so 
 isolated that you can pass a judgment upon, it without 
 knowing all that has gone before and all that is to follow 
 if? If this were intended as your "rest," you might well 
 be appalled. But as it is not, you have your remedy 
 against desponding fears. Whatever untoward aspect the 
 world may wear to the eye of sense, you know whose 
 hand is on the helm, and how able He is to control the 
 winds and the waves, and how certainly He will bring 
 the ark which bears the hopes of a ruined race into the 
 haven of perfect peace. These tempests are only helping- 
 it on its way. And it is part of their errand to keep us 
 mindful that we are not to seek our rest here. 
 
 It is a slight transition when we pass from the sphere 
 of afixious care into that of positive trials. A broad 
 sphere it is. Few of us will get through the year with- 
 out traversing some corner of it. And there may be 
 those here whose paths will take them into its stretches of 
 deepest gloom and danger. In any case, it will prove 
 no bad equipment for the way if we can go forward with 
 the sentiment engraved upon our hearts as with the 
 point of a diamond, " This is not your rest." 
 
 We have seen how much the ricJi need this. Nor 
 less, tJie poor. The one class for admonition ; the other 
 for encouragement. How benign its aspect towards the 
 toiling millions ! How sad that so few of them should 
 open their hearts to its benediction ! Shut the Bible, 
 
164 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 and the poor have a dismal lot. Hard enough it may 
 be at best. But how much harder without the teachings 
 of our Divine religion ! Privation, weariness, anxiety, 
 exposure to suffering and to sin, scant comforts, cravings 
 never satisfied, to-day like yesterday, and to-morrow as 
 to-day, — if this be your «//, you drag a heavy chain. 
 And is it not all, in so far as the world is concerned'? 
 Has the world any balm for your wounds, any cordial 
 to recruit your waning strength, any staff you can lean 
 upon \ Can it hold out any future good which may 
 compensate the trials of the present scene ? We may 
 not deny that it tries to counterwork these evils. It 
 comes to you with its ' pleasures.' It offers you the in- 
 ebriating cup, and the theatre, and the gambling-table, 
 and a wide range of kindred recreations. With these 
 you are to ' drive dull care away,' and annul the curse 
 of exhausting labor. That multitudes attempt the ex- 
 periment, is self-evident. And it were uncandid to deny, 
 that with some it is attended with a sort of success. A 
 dear-bought success it is, however. These so-called plea- 
 sures are fragile and evanescent. They break down the 
 better principles of the soul. They nourish tastes and 
 habits which turn into gins and snares for the unwatch- 
 ful feet. They augment the burdens they are in'^'oked 
 to relieve. W^here they staunch one wound, they open 
 another. Every hour of ' enjoyment' they supply is fol- 
 lowed by a longer period of pain. And the poverty that 
 was barely endurable without them becomes intolerable 
 with them. 
 
 How different from man's is God's remedy for these 
 trials ! When He would come to our world to rescue 
 us, He takes his place among the poor. From that first 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. \Q^ 
 
 Christmas night, eighteen centuries ago, the paths of 
 poverty have been sanctified, as any path must be wliich 
 the feet of Jesus have pressed. Then Christ's personal 
 ministry was chiefly among the poor. All the doctrines, 
 precepts, and promises, which fell from his lips and those 
 of his apostles, were replete with comfort for the poor. 
 And as He tenders them other supports, so also He cheers 
 them with that sweet assurance, " This is not your rest." 
 As if He had said, "You are ready to complain of the 
 roughness of the way, of your hard work, and your hard 
 fare, and your incessant struggle with want, and your 
 dread of coming misfortunes. But did not I tread this 
 path 1 Have not I felt all its thorns ] Have I not prom- 
 ised you my sympathy ] And do you forget the lesson 
 so often taught, that these trials are but for a moment '? 
 In this life you must have them. It was never meant 
 that you should find your ' rest ' here. But there is a 
 'rest' awaiting you. Set your affection there. And 
 when you attain it, you will not regret one step of the 
 way which has brought you to it." 
 
 With the same wise and gracious forethought does the 
 Master address this lesson to the sic/j, the bereaved., and 
 the sorrowing of every class. For real trouble it off'ers 
 the only adequate consolation, unless we except the love 
 and sympathy of Christ, and the sense of an all-control- 
 ling Providence, which are properly ingredients in the 
 same cup of blessing. There are many here who know, 
 and others who will know in the course of another twelve 
 months, what those trials are. The loss of health is a 
 far-reaching affliction, for the shadow it casts is broad 
 enough to cover nearly the whole sphere of life. Happy 
 is the invalid who has learned betimes that this is not 
 
166 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 his rest. And is it not to instil this very lesson that sick- 
 ness often comes ] And to enforce it that it is frequently 
 prolonged through weary weeks and months X It found 
 you, perhaps, clinging too fondly to earth, laying your 
 plans for a long course of prosperity, and doing just as 
 you might have done if you had really believed that 
 this was your rest. Your health gave way, and you dis- 
 trusted your plans. Earth began to wear a different face. 
 Its resources flxiled you when you needed them most. 
 There sprang up in your bosom longings which it could 
 not satisfy. And, looking upward for succor, you yielded 
 yourself to the conviction that your true rest is beyond 
 the grave. Convinced of this, you found that feebleness 
 and suffering became not simply tolerable, and that you 
 could cheerfully accept them with the feeling — 
 
 ' Glory to thee for strength withheld, 
 For want and weakness known, 
 And the fear that sends me to thy breast 
 For what is most my own.' 
 
 I rehearse in this a familiar experience, and one that 
 will be many times repeated before all God's people are 
 prepared for their heavenly rest. 
 
 And if this be the lesson of sickness, how much more 
 of death! Go with me into this mansion, with its win- 
 dows closed and the crape at the door. Sit down with 
 this group of mourners. Can you take the measurement 
 of this great sorrow, these lacerated affections, these 
 blighted hopes, these pensive memories, these undefined 
 apprehensions, this loneliness, this desolation ? Can you 
 interpret if? Not by the methods of any earth-born 
 philosophy. You can neither comprehend nor solace it. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 167 
 
 For aught you can do these mourners must ' refuse to be 
 comforted,' and weep on. But another voice falls upon 
 then- ears, — " this is not your rest." And instantly 
 light begins to irradiate the scene. The heavenly ' rest ' 
 is revealed, not in its splendor, but some broken rays 
 come struggling down into this gloom, which are enough 
 to show that even death itself stands at the very portal 
 of life— 
 
 ' The bright beginning of eternal bliss, 
 The gleam of coming immortality.' 
 
 Other trials there are which find in this lesson their 
 only adequate alleviation. Their need of it is the greater 
 because they fail of the sympathy which waits upon sick- 
 ness and bereavement. In the class of trials here in- 
 tended may be embraced the experience of ingratitude 
 and unkindness, calumny, the estrangement of friends, 
 and also the blighting of the affections. These troubles 
 come with an added burden because they are ordinarily 
 borne alone. It may be pride, it may be a false delicacy, 
 it may be a morbid love of grief, it may be a simple con- 
 viction of duty, but the wounded spirit declines all fel- 
 lowship in its woe. The sense of wrong is keen and 
 deep-seated, but the world shall not detect it. The quiv- 
 ering shaft may hang infixed in the heart's core, but no 
 friendly hand shall be allowed to ' solicit ' it. And so 
 you nerve yourself, as you may, to suffer in silence. Of 
 course the bloom of life is gone with you ; and however 
 festive the scene into which you enter, there is no mirth 
 in which you indulge which has not its rmderflow of 
 wounded feeling, and of conscious discontent with this 
 treacherous world. 
 
168 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 Now of what avail were it to come to you and say, ' No 
 strange thing has happened to you. Every one encoun- 
 ters ingratitude. The workl is full of envy and un- 
 charitableness. On every side there are people to whom 
 the best sensibilities of the heart are'no more than beds 
 of wild flowers are to the huntsman whose horse's hoofs 
 trample them in the mire. Why mind such people '? let 
 them say or do what they may!' This kind of remark 
 must be familiar to you. But it does not help you. There 
 is no balm in it for a wounded spirit. Nor is there in 
 anything which the world has to offer. But it is not a 
 bootless errand to come to you and say, " This is not your 
 rest." Your Heavenly Father means that you shall not 
 take it as your rest. And to prevent this He permits 
 these trials to overtake you. He knows the peculiar dis- 
 cipline which every one needs. Why this discipline is 
 precisely what you require, you may not understand. 
 But there is a reason for it, or it would not have hap- 
 pened. One thing is apparent : it sets your trials in the 
 only light which can repress murmuring or repining. 
 For it reveals God's hand in them, and reminds you that 
 they are simply incidents of a temporary probation, which, 
 rightly improved, will end in a perfect and unchangeable 
 'rest.' This conviction will take you to the mercy-seat 
 for succor. And while it may not abate your sense of 
 wrong, or your feeling of bitter disappointment, it may 
 do much to inspire you with a patient and even cheerful 
 temper under your injuries. 
 
 There is a different sphere into which we rnay take 
 this Scripture with the certainty of a ready and grateful 
 hearing. The conflict with sorrow and suffering is pain- 
 ful enough, but it is nothing compared with the conflict 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. Igg 
 
 with sin. 'The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the 
 Spirit against the flesh.' ' I am carnal, sold under sin.' 
 ' That which I do I allow not : for what I would, that do 
 I not; but what I hate, that do I.' What Christian 
 does not recognize his own experience here 1 Who does 
 not know the bitterness of this warfare '? Who is there 
 that has not his wounds to show '{ Who has not been 
 so oppressed by it at times as to feel weary of life I Who 
 could endure it were it not for the assurance, "This is 
 not your rest V Terrible as it is, this conflict will not 
 last always. It may last while life does, but then it ceases. 
 Not till then, for He who calls dead sinners to life wills 
 that they shall learn something of the evil of sin, in order 
 that they may know how to appreciate their redemption. 
 The rougher the journey, the sweeter will be their rest. 
 And so, however they may rise to the loftier acclivities of 
 the way of life, they shall still find the path thick-set with 
 thorns, for they sow them as they go, and they go on 
 sowing them up to the very gates of the celestial city. 
 
 Let me illustrate tEis by the testimony of a most un- 
 exceptionable witness. Writing from her couch of weak- 
 ness and suffering only nine days before her death, that 
 singularly gifted woman, Caroline Fry, says to her friend : 
 — "I shall tell you why I want no time of preparation, 
 often desired by far holier ones than I. It is not because 
 I am so holy, but because I am so sinful. The peculiar 
 character of my religious experience has always been a 
 deep and agonizing sen-se of sin, — not past, but present 
 sin, the sin of yesterday, of to-day, confessed with 
 anguish hard to be endured, and cries for pardon that 
 could not be unheard. Each day cleansed anew in Jesus' 
 blood, and each day loving more for more forgiven, each 
 
 12 ' . ' 
 
170 MOTTOES FOR THE XEW YEAR. 
 
 day more and more hateful in my own sight, and hope- 
 less of being better, what can I do in death I liave not 
 done in life % What do in this week when I am told I 
 cannot live, other than I did last week when I knew it 
 not % Alas, there is but one thing left undone, — to serve 
 Him better, and the death-bed is no place for that. 
 Therefore I say, if I am not ready now I shall not be so 
 by delay, so far as I have to do with it. If He has more 
 to do in me., that is his part. I need not ask Him to spoil 
 his work by too much haste."* 
 
 These touching words will awaken responsive echoes 
 in many a disciplined heart. In this case, the lesson, " this 
 is not your rest," had been well and thoroughly learned. 
 And the saintly sufferer was eager to go to the land 
 Avhich icas her rest. We are all studying this lesson. 
 And the deeper our experience of the evil of sin, the 
 more earnest will be our aspirations after a full and final 
 discharge from this exhausting warfare. 
 
 There are various other aspects in which this Scripture 
 might be set forth as an appropriate year-text. But it is 
 of greater moment to enforce the primary truth it incul- 
 cates. How slow of heart we are to apply ourselves to 
 it and to keep it in remembrance, has already been pointed 
 out. The temptation to take this world as our rest has 
 arrayed on its side the decisive bias of our natural appe- 
 tites, the whole power of sense, the ties of blood, the 
 current of popular example, the countless fascinations of 
 earth, and the remoteness and spirituality of the true rest. 
 The potency of these influences may be seen in the despo- 
 tism they exert over the mass of men, and still more, in 
 
 * Life and Letters, p. 339. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 17I 
 
 the perpetual struggle they impose upon those who attempt 
 to withstand them. The necessity of resisting them, how- 
 ever, is too obvious to require argument. Reason and 
 piety alike demand it. It is due to God, and to our own 
 souls. There is neither solid peace for us here, nor hap- 
 piness hereafter, unless we remember " this is not your 
 rest." 
 
 What greater mistake can any man make than to sub- 
 . stitute the mere vestibule of life for life itself, the journey 
 for the goal, the conflict, with its scant intervals of peace, 
 for the final repose and crown ! What grosser indignity 
 can be shown to our Maker than to allow his dominion 
 over us to be usurped by the creature, and to waste upon 
 selfish indulgence the life He has given us to spend in 
 his service ! What baser ingratitude to the Saviour than 
 to lavish upon the transitory interests of earth the love 
 and the homage which are his due ! All this is in- 
 volved in taking the world as our rest. Shall we not set 
 out in a new year with a determination to shun this fatal 
 error] The due consideration of that future rest would 
 curb the tendency to rest here. It is a rest which answers 
 all the conditions our circumstances demand, — a rest 
 from sin, from toil, from suffering, from sorrow, from 
 death, from trials of every kind ; a rest which embraces 
 absolute purity, perfect bliss, and an everlasting progres- 
 sion of the soul in knowledge and holiness. It is a rest 
 which God has linked with the present life, and which 
 owes some of its sweetest attractions to our experiences 
 here. The one sphere is in order to the other. It would 
 often check the rising murmur, and cheer your saddened 
 heart, to reflect that the sorrows of yoru' present lot are 
 the necessary introduction to a realm which knows no 
 
172 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 sorrow. It would chasten the ardor with which you pur- 
 sue the world, as well as moderate the grief of your dis- 
 appointments, to remember that Avith the whole world as 
 your dowry you would still be discontented, unless you 
 could secure the future rest. 
 
 Here is our mistake, — that we set so lightly by that 
 rest. In theory we profess to believe that our best friends 
 are there, our most valued estates, our truest comforts. 
 How strange, then, that our thoughts should not be there 
 also ! An authority we all reverence has said, ' Where 
 your treasure is, there will your hearts be also.' Tested 
 by this rule, is our treasure in heaven or on earth "? Alas, 
 we have to confess that we are so much engrossed with 
 the cares, the business, the plans, the possessions, the 
 trials, of earth, that we often seem to lose sight of heaven 
 altogether. Here is one main source of our unhappi- 
 ness, our imfaithfulness, and our danger. Our earthly 
 blessings fascinate and ensnare us. They make us forget 
 that they are sent only to refresh us on our way to the 
 better country. Overtaken by misfortune or sorrow, we 
 halt at the trouble, unmindful that it brings a gracious 
 message from our Lord to hasten on toward our rest. 
 If we meet with ingratitude or injustice, we think 
 more of the wrong and its authors than of the merciful 
 purpose of Him who would use it as a means of re- 
 laxing our hold of earth, and invigorating our faith in 
 his promises. Let the future rest have its due place in 
 our affections, and these annoyances by the way will 
 not greatly disquiet us. Even the graver calamities of 
 life will lose half their severity. The very conflict with 
 sin will become less insupportable. For how slight the 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. J 73 
 
 loss or discomfort which earth or hell can visit upon one 
 who is fully imbued with the feeling that this is not his 
 rest, and whose thoughts and desires are habitually occu- 
 pied with the heavenly rest ! 
 
 Let this be your resource through all the temptations 
 and afflictions of the year. Nor this alone. Take it 
 with you as well into your brighter as your sadder hours. 
 You will need it to detect the snares which health and 
 success spread around your feet. And it will strengthen 
 you alike in your efforts after personal holiness, and in 
 your exertions for the good of others. Some of you are 
 no strangers to such labors. If you are ever tempted to 
 abandon or abridge them, if your toil oppresses, and 
 exhausts you, cheer up, faint heart, "this is not your 
 rest." You must needs work hard here ; the Master of 
 the vineyard has so appointed. He knows how heavy 
 your task is, and how ready flesh and blood is to sink 
 under it. But He toiled much harder for you. And it 
 is in mercy He permits you to do something for Him. 
 It will not be very much in the end, but He will treat 
 it as if it were. These feeble but grateful efforts will 
 have a glorious recompense in the rest He is preparing 
 for you. 
 
 What greater mercy can I desire for you than that you 
 may all have this Scripture written upon your hearts as 
 by the finger of God, " this is not your rest." To some 
 of us the lesson will, no doubt, be brought home during 
 the present year, in a manner not to be misunderstood 
 or forgotten : — * 
 
 "The cradle and tlie tomb, alas, so nigh, 
 To live is scarce distinojuished from to die !" 
 
174: MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 And death will not pass us all by. God grant that 
 we may so live in the faith of his holy word, and with a 
 steadfast trust in the blood of Christ, as those who are 
 humbly and joyfully looking forward to the ' rest which 
 remaineth for the people of God.' 
 
1867. 
 
 X. 
 ''MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE." 
 
 2 CORINTHIANS xii. 9. 
 
 The speaker, the hearer, the occasion, and the lan- 
 guage, all consph'e to invest this passage with a peculiar 
 interest. One of the first thoughts suggested by a 
 perusal of the narrative in which it occurs points to the 
 marvellous dealings of God with our Apostle. That such 
 a man should be selected as an apostle seems wonderful. 
 Nor less wonderful the manner of his conversion. And 
 here a fresh marvel presents itself We have no evi- 
 dence that Paul ever saw the Saviour prior to the ascen- 
 sion, nor until He appeared to him on his journey to 
 Damascus. Signal as that favor was, it did not exhaust 
 the fulness of privilege which it was his Master's pur- 
 pose to lavish upon him. He must also be taken to 
 heaven, — he alone of the apostolic college, — distin- 
 guished herein even above ' the disciple that Jesus loved,' 
 unless (which is possible) we are to regard the apocalyp- 
 tic visions of the venerable John as tantamount to a 
 similar rapture. Paul was 'caught up to the third 
 heaven.' Who would not like to know what he saw 
 and heard there ! But he was not allowed to tell. This 
 
 (175) 
 
176 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 only we know, that such 'abundant revelations' were 
 given him as to imperil even his humility. His faithful 
 and loving Master saw the danger, and interposed to 
 avert it. 'Lest I should be exalted above measure.' 
 What an ingenuousness there is in this confession ! 
 It is from the lips of a man honored as no other man 
 has been since. He knew that it would be read by mil- 
 lions. But this shall not restrain him from putting it on 
 record that there was pride still lurking in his heart, — so 
 much of it, indeed, as to demand a stern and painful dis- 
 cipline to hold it in check. " There was given to me a 
 thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buff'et me." 
 What this infliction was precisely, we do not know. Nor 
 would it comport with the design of the present service 
 to consume time with a recital of the numerous conjec- 
 tures on the subject which have been thrown out by wri- 
 ters of every age and country. Enough that it was some 
 bodily disease, or blemish, or privation, which was at- 
 tended with sufl'ering, and probably exposed him to deri- 
 sion. How serious a trouble it was, appears from his 
 extreme solicitude to be relieved of it. " I besought the 
 Lord thrice that it might depart from me." "Thrice:" 
 perhaps a definite for an indefinite number; as we say, 
 "A hundred times over I have asked for it." So he 
 prayed, and ceased not, that the thorn might be removed. 
 But it was not. Something better happened instead. 
 " My grace is suflEicient for thee : for my strength is made 
 perfect in weakness." ' My strength is illustrated in the 
 weakness of my people ; the greater their helplessness, 
 the more conspicuously does my power shine forth in 
 sustaining them.' This more than satisfied him. He 
 was no longer restive under the galling yoke, llather 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. J 77 
 
 did he cling to it. He was now as much bent upon keep- 
 ing it as he had before been upon getting rid of it. The 
 gracious answer of liis Lord had thrown a new aspect 
 over his trial. It came upon him as a fresh inspiration, 
 that this implication might be made subservient even to 
 his Master's honor. The bare hint of such a thought 
 was enough for a man whose whole being was absorbed 
 with love to Christ. Passing by an instant transition to 
 the opposite extreme, in place of the importunate ' Take 
 it away!' he exclaims, 'I glory in it! I take pleasure 
 in it, and in every type of suffering and shame it may 
 bring with it !' For not less than this is bound up in the 
 noble confession : — ' Most gladly, therefore, will I rather 
 glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may 
 rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, 
 in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses 
 for Christ's sake ; for when I am weak, then am I strong.' 
 The petition and the promise, it will be observed, both 
 point us to Christ. 'I besought the Lord.'' Not only is 
 this the usual title of the Saviour in the New Testament, 
 but its import is fixed by the apostle's own comment, 
 ' that the power of Christ may rest upon me.' It is, then, 
 a decisive instance of prayer addressed to Christ ; of prayer 
 less imposing than the dying invocation of St. Stephen, 
 ' Lord Jesus, receive my spirit !' but not less significant. 
 The response, of course, is from Christ : " My grace is 
 sufficient for thee !" The word ' grace ' here may have its 
 ordinary meaning of favor or love. It may denote the 
 aid of the Holy Spirit; or it may comprehend all the 
 succors which St. Paul might need. Differing in form, 
 these interpretations are virtually one. There can be no 
 question as to the real import of the expression, nor any 
 
178 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 as to the fidelity with which the promise was fulfilled. 
 The transaction occurred some twenty-two — possibly 
 twenty-five — years before the Apostle's death. We are safe 
 in saying- that no other ministry of twenty-two years ever 
 comprised a greater amount and variety of labors, together 
 with a greater amount and variety of trials. In the Acts 
 and Epistles we have some notes of his distant and toil- 
 some missionary journeys, his exposures, his persecutions, 
 his conflicts, and his triumphs. No other man has left 
 such a record. But we search it in vain for any intima- 
 tion that the pledge given him by his and our Lord was 
 not redeemed to the very letter. Alike in addressing 
 the scoffing Jews of Antioch, the idolaters of Ephesus, 
 the folse teachers of Corinth, and the sages of Athens ; 
 in the prison of Philippi, when pleading before Agrippa, 
 amidst the perils of shipwreck, and on his arraignment 
 before Nero, he found the promise surer than a perennial 
 spring in the desert, — ' My grace is sufficient for thee !' 
 Whatever friends might desert him in his hours of ex- 
 tremity, there was one Friend who stuck closer to him 
 than a brother. Whatever comforts he might miss, he 
 never lacked the sympathy of Christ. In this he found 
 his rest, his strength, his perpetual reward. As the eye 
 of his Master was constantly upon him, and his arm 
 ever around him, so was the servant's life bound up in 
 his Lord's. He could say, without a figure, ' To me to 
 live is Christ.' ' Not I, but Christ liveth in me.' His 
 affection for Christ had in it something — I will not say 
 romantic, but surpassing in fervor and tenderness that 
 most powerful human emotion which poets and novelists 
 love to portray. It was, indeed, the one sentiment of 
 his soul, — the master passion which subjugated to itself 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 179 
 
 all his faculties, and constituted the centre around which 
 his entire being revolved. He had had ' much forgiven,' 
 and he ' loved much,' as he was much loved of the Mas- 
 ter. The double proof of this is before us ; — first, in that 
 sooner than have so choice a vessel sullied with pride, 
 Jesus would send upon him a sore calamity to keep him 
 humble ; and secondly, in that having laid this addi- 
 tional burden upon him. He assured him that neither 
 this nor any other burden should ever crush him, for 
 "My grace is sufficient for thee." 
 
 It is oar ineffable comfort to know that promises of 
 this kind, made to individual believers, are the common 
 heritage of all true disciples. And standing where we 
 do to-day, no records could be more grateful to you. 
 You look to me on this anniversary to propose to you a 
 Year-text. Some brief Scripture, which the memory will 
 readily carry, and which may be to you a staff to lean 
 upon, as you traverse the yet unknown paths of this 
 opening year. AVhat better service could I render you 
 than to offer you this precious, comprehensive statement, 
 " My grace is sufficient for thee." 
 
 ' My grace !' — there is more in this brief expression 
 than meets the eye. Here is a promise which runs 
 through all time. It is addressed to many millions of 
 people. It comprehends all the possible exigencies which 
 can occur in their diversified experience. It necessarily 
 implies the control of all creatures and events. It sweeps 
 through the whole domain of Providence. It takes hold 
 upon the vast issues of eternity. Can we refer such a 
 promise to any finite being ] Can we conceive of a crea- 
 ture as being all this to his fellow-creatures ? as clothed 
 with functions which savor so much of the Divine that, 
 
180 I\fOT7VES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 if they be not Divine, it would baffle our sagacity to name 
 functions which would bear the impress of Divinity] 
 
 Consider, in this connection, the force of the personal 
 pronoun here : " My grace is sufficient for tliee^ ' For 
 thee, Paul.' Is this the meaning'? Yes, in part; but 
 in very small part. What He was to Paul He is to every 
 disciy^le. The promise is for the Church universal. It 
 is for each particular Church. But it is no less personal 
 and private. The covenant of redemption embraces the 
 whole aggregate of his chosen ones, — 'ten thousand 
 times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.' But 
 it does this only in virtue, or through the medium, of 
 their individual union with Christ. Often has the thought 
 arisen in the minds of desponding Christians, ' What if 
 / should be overlooked ] How can One who has a myriad 
 of interests to care for concern Himself about me ?' But 
 this is unbelief If these myriad cases were myriadized 
 it could occasion Him no perturbation. What could dis- 
 tract the mind of Him who is " over all, God blessed for- 
 ever V " Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who 
 hath created these things, that bringeth out their host 
 by number ; he calleth them all by names by the great- 
 ness of his might, for that he is strong in power ; not one 
 faileth." Sooner could He forget the 'name' of one of 
 these stars than forget thy name ; sooner w^ithdraw his 
 care from one of them than from thee. Not only is the 
 Church graven upon the palms of his hands, but so are the 
 names of every one of its members. Thou wast given to 
 Him of the Father ' before the w^orld was.' It was for 
 thee He stooped to be born of Mary; for thee He spent 
 thirty-three weary years in our world ; for thee He suf- 
 fered and died, was buried, and rose again, and ascended 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. . Igl 
 
 to the right hand of the Father. Dost tliou forget that 
 which has cost thee time and money, toil, privation, 
 and suffering I Thou hast cost Jesus of Nazareth too 
 much for Him ever to forget thee. And thou needest 
 not fear, thou doubting soul, humbly to appropriate to 
 thyself the sweet assurance, " My grace is sufficient for 
 thee." 
 
 Tliis view indicates, as already hinted, the amplitude 
 of Christ's resources. It speaks of power — infinite power. 
 But not of power only. The word He uses is 'grace.' 
 And this savors of love. ' My love is sufficient for thee.' 
 Why] Because it is the love of One whose character is 
 infinitely lovely, whose wisdom is commensurate with his 
 love, and who has the universe at his disposal. The love 
 of such a being carries every blessing Avith it. It gives 
 a new relish to every mercy. It takes the sting out of 
 adversity. It makes the roughest paths smooth. It sup- 
 plies an unfailing resource when every earthly prop gives 
 way, and all earthly streams are dried up. 
 
 But this is too general. My grateful errand to you 
 at present is to show you what a treasure you have in this 
 text, if you will take it with you through the year. The 
 bare statement of my thesis brings, as to some among 
 you, instant occasion for it. For are there not those here 
 whom the new year finds restless and anxious about the 
 future % You are shrinking from the possibilities of this 
 year. In the distance you think you descry reverses 
 which may imperil your support. Or, there are tokens 
 of a latent disease, in your own case, or that of some 
 one very near to you, which may prelude affiiction. Or, 
 the aspect of public affairs fills you with solicitude. On 
 this last point grave apprehension may well be felt. For 
 
182 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 without discussing this or that scheme of prophecy, all 
 schools arc agreed that we are approaching an era of 
 momentous events, and more or less agreed as to what 
 some of those events are likely to be. These conclusions 
 are not of to-day. They have been floating down the 
 current of prophetical interpretation for two or tliree cen- 
 turies, — not losing, but gaining upon the confidence of 
 the Church. With these intimations various signs in 
 our own country and in Europe so clearly coalesce, that 
 the expectation of great and early changes in the state 
 of the world prevails even among men who never open 
 the Bible. In this aspect of affairs, as in those also which 
 seem to cast a shade over your own personal future, some 
 relief may be found in the promise, ' My grace is suffi- 
 cient for thee.' For it is a part of the help He ministers 
 to his people to bid them leave the future in his hands. 
 This we must do ; for no skill of ours can penetrate the 
 darkness which hides it from us, much less alter in the 
 slightest the channel through which it is to flow. Our 
 duty, then, as it should be our pleasure, is, calmly to 
 await the course of events, without yielding either to 
 presumption or despondency. ' Sufficient unto the day 
 is the evil thereof Very sore 'the evil' may be when 
 it comes. But it cannot outmatch your antidote : " My 
 grace is sufficient for thee." If ' sufficient^'' that covers all. 
 I have spoken of those who may require the aid of this 
 promise even to-day to calm their anxieties as to the 
 future. But, indeed, their case is not singular. We all 
 need the promise, and we shall need it from day to day 
 throughout the year. Not all in the same form of relief 
 or succor, but all in some form. Not all, as regards the 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. Ig3 
 
 same office or function of the Divine Promiser, but all in 
 some one or more of his offices. 
 
 Take, for instance, that character so often challenged 
 by and for Him in the IS'ew Testament : " I am tlie Light 
 of the tco7'ld.^'' This, like every other distinction claimed 
 for Him, has its corresponding occasion or necessity in 
 our condition. If He is the ' light of the world,' the 
 world must be in darkness. If He is ' the Truth,' we 
 are in ignorance and error until we are taught of Him. 
 If He is 'the wisdom of God,' our own wisdom is folly. 
 We have proved all this. Is there any one here who has 
 not learned that he is short sighted and prone to err l 
 Are we not, the shrewdest of us, confounded by questions 
 which arise out of the most common-place transac- 
 tions? Are you not frequently brought to a pause in 
 your business, in your friendships, even in the micro- 
 cosm of home, where you reign supreme \ Does not the 
 question spring up of a sudden, and confront and discon- 
 cert you'? 'What am I to do nowf And especially in 
 framing plans which stretch far into the future, and in- 
 volve precious interests, are you not sometimes oppressed 
 with a painful sense of your insufficiency which makes 
 you cast around on every side for counsel \ This promise, 
 then, is what you need, 'My grace is sufficient for thee.' 
 It comes from the lips of the only infallible teacher. It 
 is from Him who 'is Light, and in whom is no darknfess 
 at all.' In your perplexity He proffers you his friendly 
 illumination. If you will trust in Him He pledges it to 
 you. The problem which baffles you is simple enough 
 to Him. The subject which looms up before you, con- 
 fused, misshapen, intractable, lies before his eye like a 
 landscape under a cloudless sky. He reads the answer 
 
184 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 to the question which agitates you, as if it were written 
 upon the starry heavens. He sees the path you ought 
 to take, as He se^s the shining galleries along the firma- 
 ment. He can make them as plain to tjoil His grace 
 is sufficient to this end. And, confiding in Him, you will 
 not seek it in vain. 
 
 Still contemplating Him in the same character, let us 
 advert to another sphere in which this promise may avail 
 to our relief. If we need his guidance in the ordinary 
 afi'airs of life, much more in the quest after moral and 
 religious truth. The helps we enjoy for studies of this 
 kind have been largely augmented of late years, but 
 they are not in advance of the exigencies of the times. 
 The controversy between faith and skepticism, — the .' con- 
 flict of the ages,' shifts its terms and positions, its alli- 
 ances and implements, but it never intermits. The as- 
 pect it has assumed in our day is attracting towards it 
 very much of the erudition and culture of the world. It 
 is pre-eminently an age of intellectual activity, — without 
 a parallel, indeed, in the Christian centuries, except in 
 the revival of learning after the crusades, and the waking 
 up of Europe at the Reformation. Not to refer to other 
 departments, the physical sciences have enlisted in their 
 service an army of such workers as were never engaged 
 in kindred pursuits before. Nature is allowed no rest. 
 She is pursued through the heavens and the earth — into 
 the bowels of the earth, into her most intricate forms and 
 shadowy elements, and everywhere she is followed with 
 unfaltering footsteps, and solemnly interrogated, and com- 
 pelled to surrender her secrets. Amazing it is how many 
 of these secrets she has kept from man for six thousand 
 years. Nor less astonishing how he is, as it were, aveng- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 185 
 
 ing himself upon her now, in the prodigality with which 
 he is forcing her to disclose them. But the point we are 
 concerned with is this, — the disposition manifested in so 
 many quarters to extort from Nature some testimony 
 which may be used to discredit God's writte7i revelation. 
 Not in all quarters. Some of the most profound and 
 successful students of Nature deem it the noblest use they 
 can make of the treasures she has yielded them, to 
 hasten with their gifts, gold, and frankincense, and 
 myrrh, and lay them at the feet of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 Others, however, will have it that the rocks, and the gla- 
 ciers, and the fossils, and the nebulae, utter one voice, and 
 Moses, and David, and Paul, and their common Lord 
 and Master, another. And with such assurance are these 
 averments made, that even fair-minded inquirers are 
 sometimes entangled in a network of doubts and mis- 
 givings as to the absolute verity of the Christian oracles. 
 There is no proper cause for this solicitude. There is no 
 volume of antiquity the genuineness and authenticity of 
 which are substantiated by so many and such conclusive 
 proofs as the Bible. It is morally impossible, then, that 
 what God has written upon its pages should conflict with 
 what He has written upon the face of nature. Apparent 
 collisions may occur. They have occurred ; but only to 
 be reconciled by a more careful scrutiny into the sup- 
 posed facts of science, or a more thorough insight into 
 the meaning of the sacred text. In this way, it is safe 
 to predict, all seeming discrepancies between the true 
 records will, sooner or later, be disposed of. Meanwhile, 
 we are any of us liable to encounter in our daily read- 
 ings, in conversation, in popular lectures, assaults upon 
 our faith which we may not be prepared to parry. Nay, 
 
 13 
 
186 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 the poison of a subtle unbelief may so insinuate itself 
 into your minds as to jeopard for the time your peace 
 and comfort. But be of good cheer: you have one reli- 
 ance which will not betray you, " My grace is sufficient 
 for thee." When you consider that He who utters these 
 words is the Author of nature, that He created and com- 
 bined all its elements, and moulded its forms, and or- 
 dained its laws, and set the mighty mechanism in motion, 
 and sustains and directs the whole from age to age, you 
 may confidently look to Him to preserve you from being- 
 ensnared by any part of his own handiwork into the sin 
 of denying or distrusting Him. 
 
 There is still another relation in which this promise 
 may be most helpful to us, as emanating from Him who 
 is the ' Light of the world.' Strictly within the field of 
 theology, and in the study of the Scriptures, we may 
 have, we certainly shall have, occasion to invoke super- 
 human aid. We interpret the Scriptures aright only as 
 we are enlightened by the great Prophet of the Church. 
 It may happen with some of us that we have mistaken 
 the nature and authority of the Bible as the paramount 
 rule of faith and practice. Others may have been edu- 
 cated in some system of error. Others, again, many 
 others, may have permanent or recurring doubts as to 
 particular doctrines, or the mysteries of Providence, 
 while still another class may be painfully exercised as 
 to the question of their own personal affiance upon Jesus 
 Christ. To these, and to all who need light, what com- 
 fort is there in the promised aid of the lledecmer ! He 
 v»'ho is Truth itself offers to guide you into the truth. 
 Only go to Him with your scruples and your fears, sit 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. Ig7 
 
 in lowliness at his feet, listen to his voice, and He will 
 make his grace sufficient for you. 
 
 In the next place let us glance at this promise, as 
 uttered by the great Keeper of Israel. We shall all 
 need his Divine teaching this year ; but not that alone. 
 We are as helpless as we are blind. There is no path 
 leading through this world which is not beset with dan- 
 gers. The whole Christian life is a pilgrimage, a race, 
 a warfare. There is no progress without strenuous effort, 
 no victory without a conflict, no repose without its perils. 
 It might be supposed that prosperity would insure com- 
 parative safety. But if there be any class of persons who 
 need a faithful Keeper it is the prosperous. In your 
 health, and wealth, and honors, there lurk the elements 
 of pride, selfishness, and forgetfulness of God. " In my 
 prosperity I said, I shall never be moved." " Soul, thou 
 hast much goods laid up for many years : take thine ease, 
 eat, drink, and be merry." Every one knows how these 
 toils are spread around the seats of affluence and power, 
 and how many fall into them ; how many even of the 
 children of the Church. It would almost seem in our 
 day as if the Church were unequal to the conflict with 
 the world. What with the world's frivolities and the 
 world's politics, the freshet has been rising higher and 
 higher, until some faithful but timid disciples have been 
 looking to see the Church floated away bodily upon the 
 broad bosom of the turbulent stream. Just this catas- 
 trophe may not occur. But certainly the "world spirit" 
 has flooded the Church far enough to make all who have 
 any real love to the Church anxious as to where it is 
 likely to be left, if the foul waters ever subside. And, 
 as to individuals, there is no security against the surging 
 
188 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 deluge, but in the protection of Him who bore the ark 
 in safety over the billows. From these, as from all other 
 perils, his arm can defend his people. And it is with 
 these danger^ in full view, as He looks adown the vista 
 of this to lis untried year. He gently says to every dis- 
 ciple here, "My grace is sufficient for thee !" 
 
 This promise has a broader sweep as the utterance of 
 our gracious Keeper. There are, as already observed, 
 dangers and difficulties along every path. They vary 
 indefinitely in kind, and degree, and origin. They may 
 be personal or official, local or general, temporary or per- 
 manent. They may spring chiefly from the world, or 
 chiefly from the arch-adversary, or chiefly from one's own 
 heart. Rather it is from this last source they all derive 
 their main efficiency. There is no Christian here who 
 does not count iipon waging this contest during the year, 
 or for as much of the year as his life may be spared. A 
 mighty contest it is — without respite and without end, 
 except as life ends. And it is one in which the words, 
 ivisdom, strength, fortitude, constancy, have no place, 
 in so far as our own resources are concerned. The 
 wisest are foolish here, and the strongest are weak. The 
 man has not lived, since the Fall, who could cope in his 
 own strength wdth the adversaries every man has to 
 meet. Adam himself fell before a single one of these 
 adversaries. How can we stand before the three com- 
 bined 1 
 
 Just in proportion as we frame a proper estimate of 
 this conflict, shall we appreciate the munificent promise 
 of the Master, " My grace is sufficient for thee." No 
 other being could make such a promise. He alone lias 
 the moral right to make it. He alone the capacity to 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. IgQ 
 
 fulfil it. From his lips it covers the ground completely. 
 For He has fought out this fight with sin and Satan, and 
 vanquished them. As before Him they are powerless, — 
 nailed to his cross, and made a spectacle to the world. 
 " Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect X 
 It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth % 
 It is Christ that died." This assures the victory He has 
 achieved to all who trust in Him. Satan could as soon 
 triumph over Him, as (absolutely and finally) over one 
 of them. His own honor is engaged in the warfare, and 
 it cannot have an adverse issue. It is as well for Him- 
 self as for them He has said, " My grace is sufficient for 
 thee." 
 
 This insures the specific aids Christ's people may re- 
 quire. It may happen — it must happen — with some of 
 you, my brethren, in the course of this year, that you will 
 have cause to lament the weakness of your faith, the in- 
 firmity of your good purposes, the inconstancy of your 
 obedience. You will have your seasons of dejection. The 
 greatness of your conflict will, perhaps, dishearten you. 
 The yearning of your souls will be after a higher sancti- 
 fication, a closer communion with God, and a more inti- 
 mate sympathy with all things pure, and holy, and heav- 
 enly, while you may seem to yourselves to be only laps- 
 ing into deadness and formality. Painful enough is an 
 experience like this. But it has its grateful remedy. 
 This Divine promise comes to you with its healing balm. 
 It bids you look away from those inner chambers of 
 imagery, so ' full of unbelief and sin,' to Him who is 
 able and willing to succor you. ' They that wait upon 
 the Lord shall renew their strength.' These temptations 
 and reverses which buffet you, may, perad venture, be 
 
190 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 designed, like Paul's thorn in the flesh, to keep you 
 humble. They will certainly deepen your views of the 
 evil of sin, and so prepare you to appreciate the more the 
 love and condescension of the Saviour. In any event, it 
 is to you He utters the cheering promise, " My grace is 
 sufficient for thee." And your trustful response will one 
 day be, " The Lord will perfect that which concerneth 
 me : thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever : forsake not 
 the works of thine own hands." 
 
 If it be the Great Teacher and Keeper of Israel, 
 whose voice we are to recognize in these words, we as- 
 suredly hear in them the accents of the Friend and Com- 
 forter of his people. It was to soothe his faithful servant 
 m his suffering that He gave him the promise. It did 
 soothe him. It made him kiss the rod under which he 
 was smarting. It transformed a desponding disciple into 
 an exulting conqueror. This was but the beginning of 
 sorrows with him. The infliction of that day was the 
 harbinger of a succession of trials, the like of which few 
 men have ever experienced. But he survived them all. 
 This promise, with its inexhaustible fulness of consola- 
 tion, followed him, and proved ' sufficient ' for him. It 
 Avill be ' sufficient ' for you. It is mercifully hidden from 
 us what scenes may await us during this year. But the 
 year will inevitably bring its troubles and changes. Out- 
 ward reverses, sickness, bereavement, these and other 
 trials will do their bidding here. Where, and when, and 
 how, sorrows will come, we may not say. But this we 
 may and must say, the believer has his sure support and 
 refuge, whatever may happen. " My grace is ^sufficient 
 for thee." What does this import but that " a man shall 
 be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 191 
 
 the tempest ; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the 
 shadow of a great rock in a weary land." There are 
 many here who have proved this during the past year, — 
 mourners who must have been crushed by their afflic- 
 tions, had it not been for the sustaining grace and sym- 
 pathy of their Lord. What He has been in the past 
 He will be in the future. 'As thy days, so shall thy 
 strength be.' 
 
 We may once more listen to this promise in the utter- 
 ance of the ever-present Helper of his people. 
 
 The question wdth some who are here will be — the 
 question of all should be — 'Hoio can I make the most of 
 this neic year?'' This question will probably borrow 
 some pungency from the reflection that so many years 
 have passed and there has been so little to show for them. 
 Take, for example, the year just closed, — what results 
 can you sum up from your diary, as connected with the 
 true ends of life 1 Meagre enough must such an exhibit 
 be as to some of us, and unsatisfactory as to all. You 
 would fain do better for the future. You would dedicate 
 your powers anew to God. You would live less for this 
 world, and more for the next. And your inquiry is, 
 ' How can I best do this I What field can I till % What 
 sphere of Christian activity is best suited to my capaci- 
 ties and circumstances '? How shall I employ my facul- 
 ties, my time, my accomplishments, my opportunities, so 
 as to do the greatest amount of good to my fellow-crea- 
 tures '?' Most fitting is • it to ask these questions to-day. 
 And if you ask them in the right place, and in the right 
 temper, you will not ask in vain. " My grace is sufli- 
 cient for thee." He Avill aid you not only in resolving 
 these questions, but in carrying out your purposes. He 
 
192 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 will teach you how to apply your energies. He will give 
 you prudence, and meekness, and courage, and perse- 
 verance. He will bear you over difficulties, and even 
 enable you to ' take pleasure ' in them. And thus for one 
 year, if you are spared, you will not have lived in vain. 
 
 Here, my brethren, is the path in which it behooves 
 us all to walk. You have been busy of late in framing 
 your plans for 1867. See to it that they are all compre- 
 hended in the one grand, pervading, ennobling purpose 
 of living unto " Him who hath loved us." Then may you 
 go forward, leaving yourselves and your all in his hands, 
 and assured that whatever of duty or sacrifice, of pleasure 
 or privation, of joy or sorrow, of life or death, the year 
 may bring with it, the promise cannot fail you, " My 
 
 GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE !" 
 
1868. 
 
 XI. 
 
 ^'I AM WITH THEE." 
 
 ISAIAH XLi. 10. 
 
 Another of our fleeting years is gone, — how swiftly, 
 we know too well. May I not also say, how kindly ] 
 Let me borrow, on this point, the language of a note 
 from an honored and cherished friend, received on New 
 Year's morning : " The old year has been a friend, has 
 loaded us with blessings and privileges, and now lies, like 
 an honored, loving parent, expiring in our arms. Shall 
 we, can we, lay it away to sleep, with the generations 
 which have preceded, without emotion 1 I can almost 
 embody it in personality and weep. ' Sorrowing most of 
 all for the words it speaketh, that we shall see its face 
 no more.' " 
 
 Another aspect, doubtless, the vanishing year must 
 have to many of us. Of its countless mercies we can all 
 speak. But how of the return that has been made for 
 them 1 When an undutiful child looks upon the pallid 
 face of a parent in death, it stings him to the quick. He 
 could defy the living; he cannot contemn the dead. 
 And so the errors and sins we think lightly of at the 
 moment, rising out of the dead past, often fill the soul 
 with sad regrets, peradventure rend it with remorse. It 
 
 (193) 
 
194 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 were no grateful office — possibly it might be a helpful 
 one — could we sit down before that ' Book of Remem- 
 brance,' where every act, and word, and thought, of every 
 human being is chronicled, and go back, leaf by leaf, over 
 the pages which photograph our own outer and inner 
 being for the past twelve months. Such a review awaits 
 us, — not restricted to one year, but running through all 
 the years of our lives. The anticipation of this may well 
 arouse us to greater watchfulness and fidelity in respect 
 to the future. 
 
 But still another reminiscence survives the decay of 
 the past year, as we look over it to-day. The Scripture 
 tendered you on the last New Year's Sunday as your 
 Year-text, was this : " My grace is sufficient for thee." 
 Have you not found this a truth '? Whatever your expe- 
 riences of earthly joy or sorrow, however diversified the 
 wants which may have chequered your lot, has He not 
 made his promise good '? And are you not here to-day to 
 testify that, through all the year, He has made his grace 
 sufficient for you % 
 
 Let this be for our encouragement as we launch 
 forth upon the unknown sea before us. ' Unknown to us :' 
 but there is One to whom it is not unknown, — one eye 
 that scans the opening as it does the finished year ; that 
 reads its every incident and result as if already written 
 upon the starry heavens. Nothing can be so desirable 
 to us as a Presence like this. And therefore it is that I 
 offer you, as your text or motto for this year, his gracious 
 promise, "I am with thee." It is addressed primarily to 
 his Church, and with a specific reference to the combina- 
 tions formed for its destruction. But it is repeated 
 throughout the entire Scriptures in every form, and in 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 195 
 
 respect as well to individual believers as to the Church. 
 So that we have an undoubted warrant for appropriating 
 it as part of the heritage of every child of God. 
 
 "I am with thee." In virtue of his Omnipresence He 
 is with every one and in every place, — in heaven, in hell, 
 in the uttermost parts of the sea, in the darkness, in the 
 light. But this is not the idea here. It is a voluntary, 
 designed, and gracious presence. It is true He is with 
 his people as He is with the fields and the rivers, the 
 forests and the mountains ; as He is with the fowls of the 
 air a ad the cattle upon a thousand hills ; as He is with 
 the throngs of pagan cities and the wandering tribes 
 of the desert. But He is also with them in a sense 
 with which none of these have any share or sympathy. 
 He is with them as a Friend and Helper, a Redeemer, 
 a Sanctifier, to care for them, to defend them, to com- 
 fort them. Not to anticipate our subject. He is with each 
 one of his people in the completeness of his Divinity, in 
 the fulness of his exalted perfections. Here is something 
 that ' passeth knowledge.' We cannot explain it. Except 
 on the highest testimony w^e could not believe it. But 
 we have such testimony. And now we can no more 
 question it than we can question his being. We are 
 assured by his nature, we are further assured by his word, 
 that He is as truly present in the plenitude of his glorious 
 attributes, with every one of his children as if He had no 
 other charge. It is no small comfort to them to know 
 that ' the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them 
 that fear him.' But still more satisfactory is the promise, 
 "I am with thee." For this means infinite wisdom, infi- 
 nite power, and infinite goodness, as the guard that keep 
 Avatch and ward over the believer. 
 
196 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 One reason why we are slow to credit this, is the end- 
 less variety of affairs that claim the constant supervision 
 of the King of kings. We can only look after one thing 
 at a time. It is the infirmity of our nature tliat if w^e 
 essay to carry on two parallel trains of thought, or 
 to give our attention simultaneously to two distinct ob- 
 jects, one or the other of them must lose by it. But 
 here is a universe comprising a myriad of worlds, every 
 sphere with its own peculiar tenantry, and all united in 
 subtle and inexplicable relations, the nearest orb with the 
 most remote, the lowest race with the most exalted ; and 
 the primal law which underlies the stupendous scheme is, 
 that in these millions of worlds no child can be bom, no 
 sparrow can fall, no wind can blow, no flower can bloom, 
 no insect can float through the air, without engaging the 
 distinct cognizance of the Divine Mind. A sovereignty 
 like this awes us. The half-skeptical inquiry v'ill rise, 
 'How can these things be'?' And it costs us a struggle 
 to believe that, with such a charge upon his hands, He 
 can bestow more than an occasional glance and a transi- 
 tory thought upon us and ours. But this mistrust has 
 its answer in the history of the race, every page of 
 which illustrates as well the actual supervision exercised 
 by the Supreme Being over all affairs, from the greatest 
 to the least, as his special guardianship over his people. 
 No one who has received the ' spirit of adoption ' need 
 scruple to accept the assurance to the very letter, " I am 
 with thee.'''' 
 
 Not only does this carry with it the several perfections 
 of the Deity, but also the various relations He has been 
 pleased to institute between Himself and his people. It 
 is a pledge of his presence with them as their reconciled 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. I97 
 
 God, as their Father, their Redeemer, their Comforter, 
 their Sanctifier. It includes, in a word, whatever may 
 be needful to them, whatever their supreme good may 
 demand. When a child is setting out on a journey, it is 
 enough if his father says to him, "I am going with you." 
 This covers all considerations of expense, of protection, 
 of guidance, and of comfort. How much more where it 
 is God who says, "I am with thee!" Let us w^eigh this 
 for a. little in its adaptation to our present circumstances. 
 As already observed, we cannot read the future. We 
 know not what a day, much less what a year, may bring 
 forth. No one would be so daring as to undertake to 
 prescribe the course of events with any individual or 
 family here ; to predict that this household will have a 
 year of prosperity, and that, a year of calamity, that death 
 wdll enter this house, and not that, and the like. This 
 were to arrogate the prescience of the Almighty. But 
 we all feel an intuitive conviction that " the thing which 
 hath been is that which shall be ;" that these experiences 
 will all find a place somewhere within our limits as a 
 congregation ; and that the opening year will witness 
 substantially the same changes here which have marked 
 the progress of every preceding year. We may go one 
 step further. While ignorant of what may await us, we 
 are certain that we shall need the help of this Scripture. 
 We shall all need it. In what specific form you may 
 require it, or I, is not revealed to us. But that occasions 
 for its aid will come to every one of us, occasions, 
 too, of daily recurrence, admits of no debate. And this 
 reflection may teach us how to appreciate a Scripture 
 which will abide with us through the year, and lend us 
 its grateful aid in all possible emergencies. 
 
198 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 There arc, for example, before us a good many per- 
 plexing questions. They arise out of the settled routine 
 of domestic life, out of our studies, our business, our 
 pleasures, our plans. Some of them, judging from the 
 past, will be readily disposed of Others will baffle our 
 sagacity, and may cause prolonged and painful struggles 
 of feeling. This may occur indifferently with matters 
 of private or of public concern. It may be a question 
 touching the health, the education, or the settlement of 
 a child. Or it may have respect to the well-being of the 
 State or the Church. In each of these latter spheres the 
 horizon has a troubled look. In either we may be com- 
 pelled to say yea or nay, when the consequences to our- 
 selves or others may be very grave. In these, no less than 
 in his personal relations, it behooves a Christian man to 
 'keep a conscience void of offence.' He may no more 
 yield to his passions in acting for the Church or the 
 country, than he may in redressing his private injuries. 
 He may not go with the popular side merely because it 
 is the strongest. He may not shrink from opposing error 
 or wrong-doing, because it will expose him to reproach. 
 His Master did not ; why should he ] The single in- 
 quiry he has to do with is, " What wdlt Thou have me to 
 do V This point ascertained, he must go forward, even 
 though it be into the Red Sea, or the den of lions. The 
 embarrassment lies in learning the will of God. That 
 we are liable to mistake here, will be readily conceded. 
 We sometimes err, with the deepest solicitude to be right. 
 But certainly it will prove one of our best preservatives 
 from error to have consciously the presence of the " Only- 
 wise God." In our dilemmas we turn instinctively to 
 our friends for counsel, as we should, for they are instru- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 199 
 
 ments in the hands of Providence appointed to this very 
 aid. But we need a higher wisdom, and it is promised 
 us, " If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who 
 giveth liberally." Here is the relief secured by the Scrip- 
 ture before us, " I am with thee." Whatever the problem, 
 however tangled the web, however intricate the labyrinth, 
 your resource is at hand and unfailing. No counsellor 
 so wise as He ; none so patient, or so indulgent ; none 
 so easy of access, or so willing to enter with a genuine 
 sympathy into every question that concerns you. When 
 you find (as you loiU find in the course of this year) your 
 own wisdom baffled, peradventure, even by trivial diffi- 
 culties, it will cheer you to recall the promise, " I am with 
 thee." " Every one that asketh receiveth." To have a 
 friend endowed with boundless wisdom always at one's 
 side, and always ready to hear and answer our inquiries, 
 seems all that we helpless creatures could desire, and 
 ineffably more than we could have any reason to expect. 
 The habit of going to God in every strait, and of laying 
 before Him every question of duty, is eminently conducive 
 to tranquillity of mind, while it is simply a becoming 
 tribute from man's littleness to the greatness and glory 
 of his Maker. This is one use to be made of our Year- 
 text. 
 
 Another will be revealed in its adaptation to the vari- 
 ous 2>hases of the spiritual life. 
 
 As regards temptation^ it has a twofold bearing, each of 
 which is important. Of course this is a thing not to be 
 eluded. There has never been but one Eden without its 
 Serpent, and it was only for a short time he could be 
 kept out of that. Temptation ambushes every path. It 
 lurks in every trial. It nestles in every blessing. It 
 
200 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 blends with our recreations. It steals into our devotions. 
 It waits upon all ages, sexes, and conditions. You may 
 weaken, but you cannot annihilate it. It will track you 
 through all your rounds. It is thoroughly mixed up with 
 every man's lot, and incorporated with human life in its 
 every make and mould. It will follow you to your work 
 and your play, to the green fields and the broad ocean, 
 to your library and to your cloister, .and to every plaqe 
 except your grave. How, then, can this text avail us in 
 the presence of temptation 1 First, in the way of ad- 
 monition, and, secondly, in the way of succor. "I am 
 with thee." What a depth of meaning in this, "I!" 
 "The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity;" "the 
 Lord God Omnipotent," who is " of purer eyes than to 
 look on sin ;" who " hateth all workers of iniquity." He 
 it is who is "with thee;" who stands silently by while 
 thou art dallying with the tempter, hears thine every 
 word, notes thine every movement, watches the conflict 
 in thy bosom, and records the whole scene in his Book 
 of Remembrance. Is there not something in this thought 
 to impress the mind of a tempted man, something to 
 awaken his conscience, something to hold back his hand 
 from the forbidden fruit 1 
 
 But this is less than half the truth. When He says, 
 "I am with thee," it savors less of reproof than of suc- 
 cor. He is not with his people at such crises mainly to 
 observe their conduct, but to help them. It is his own 
 promise that He ' will not suffer you to be tempted above 
 that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make 
 a way to escape.' It is an errand of mercy that keeps 
 Him near you, — treading, as you are, a path thick- 
 spread with snares and quicksands, where the surest of 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 201 
 
 foot may slip, and the strongest fall. He would have you 
 lean upon his arm. For " He giveth power to the faint ; 
 and to them that have no might He increaseth strength." 
 They who trust in Him, if they fall, shall rise again ; 
 and " out of weakness they shall be made strong." " For 
 the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temp- 
 tation." 
 
 This holds not merely of outward snares, but of all the 
 complexities embraced in the wide range of religious 
 experience. The most arduous, and at the same time the 
 most imperative service laid upon the Christian, is that 
 of ' walking with God,' and growing up into the Divine 
 image. If we consider what God is in his moral excel- 
 lence, and then what man, even renewed man, is, the 
 idea of any transformation in the character of the latter, 
 which may assimilate him, however remotely, to the like- 
 ness of the Deity, seems to become altogether chimerical, 
 especially when viewed in connection with surrounding 
 circumstances. He has his home in a world which is 
 bitterly hostile to the objects most precious to him. Even 
 his ordinary avocations, to which he is shut up by the 
 necessity of his lot, hang their oppressive weights upon 
 his spirit, — a heavy drag-chain that impedes his every 
 step heavenward. This is plain enough in respect to 
 manual labor, with its exacting demands upon time, and 
 muscle, and health. But his noblest studies — those 
 which take him abroad into the region of high art, or 
 the boundless realm of science — are attended no less 
 with unremitting toil and with earthly hindrances, which 
 will seriously obstruct the path to the Holy City. Nay, 
 that part of his nature which retains more of its primeval 
 purity than any other, — the domestic affections, and the 
 
 14 
 
202 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 sphere in which they bloom, may become occasions of 
 sin, and have often served to alhire the soul away from 
 God. Added to this, there is arrayed against him the 
 whole hierarchy of the pit — Lucifer and his angels, 
 seeing, themselves nnseen, and plying their mighty en- 
 ginery of mischief with sleepless craft for his destruc- 
 tion. And, worse than all, clothing every other adverse 
 agency with its chief capacity of evil, the unextinguislied 
 principle of rebellion in his own breast invites attack 
 from all quarters, colludes with his assailants, opens the 
 doors to any vagrant band of conspirators, and frustrates 
 the best laid schemes of defence. Is it not marvellous 
 that any man should reach the goal % that the colossal 
 task of unearthing the soul, and lifting it up into a 
 nearer and still nearer communion with God, should ever 
 be carried forward successfully 1 
 
 Yet this happens not with one or two individuals, 
 not in exceptional cases here and there, but with multi- 
 tudes. It is happening all the while. And the phe- 
 nomenon has its solution in the brief Scripture before us, 
 — "I am with thee." No other explanation is possible, 
 since there is no other power in the universe competent 
 to bring this contest to a triumphant issue. The cus- 
 tomary resources of men are of no account here. Wealth, 
 place, genius, learning, experience, are unavailing. But 
 if God be for us, who can be against us '?" Without Him, 
 in this encounter the strength of the strongest is as tow 
 in the fire. With Him, "one shall chase a thousand, 
 and two put ten thousand to flight." 
 
 Nor is it material in what form the adversary comes. 
 It may be a persistent temptation, addressed to some 
 specific passion or infirmity. It may be an untoward 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 203 
 
 habit which has been nourished by long indulgence. It 
 may be a proud predilection for skeptical speculations. 
 It may be a morbid tendency to religious despondency. 
 It is all one. For the promise, " I am with thee," covers 
 the entire ground. It pledges not only the relief you 
 need, but all you need, — all that the case admits of. 
 Whatever the errors, dangers, fears, and conflicts, this 
 year may bring you, let it be graven upon your hearts, 
 that you have in this Scripture an unfailing reliance, — a 
 source of instruction, of wisdom, of strength, of peace, 
 as illimitable as the being of Jehovah, as sure as his 
 word and oath can make it. What justification will any 
 one be able to plead for spiritual torpor or backsliding 
 who bears in his bosom a scroll inscribed with God's own 
 hand, "I am with iheeV 
 
 There will be occasion for this Scripture in another 
 field. If we are to need it in resolving questions of duty, 
 and in meeting the exigencies of the Christian warfare, 
 it will certainly be required in the trouhJes of life. ' The 
 troubles of life !' How pregnant the phrase! How wide 
 its sweep ! How broad and deep its shadows ! Happily 
 for ourselves, the troubles to come are as yet hidden from 
 us. Our ignorance here is our peace. We enjoy to-day, 
 because 'we know not what shall be on the morrow.' 
 But this we know, that 'man is born to trouble;' and 
 somewhere in the future, we must all meet it. 
 
 Our ignorance, however, is not quite so absolute as 
 this. There are those who know well that as the ex- 
 perience of yesterday is renewed to-day, so that of to-day 
 will, if they are spared, be renewed to-morrow. With 
 many persons, life is an unvarying toil, a struggle with 
 circumstances, which admits of no respite. The feet 
 
204 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 which have trod their monotonous round this week will 
 tread it again next week. The hands which are wearied 
 with the needle, or the shuttle, or the types, through the 
 short days of December and January, will be still more 
 wearied in the long, sultry days of July and August. 
 The poor, nervous frame that pants under the exhaustion 
 of the counter or the school, must take up the same 
 burden with every morning's sun, and sink down at night 
 upon the same anxious pillow. All this is foreseen. It 
 may be none the less painful when it comes, but it is 
 anticipated with a confidence which allows no hope of a 
 reprieve. 
 
 Other trials will come without the same premonition. 
 Of this kind usually are the reverses which sweep away 
 men's estates. A thriving business is undermined by 
 some worm at the root. A single imprudent venture 
 converts a prosperous house into a heap of ruins. A 
 dishonest agent absorbs and dissipates the earnings of 
 years. A turn of legislation precipitates upon the coun- 
 try the alarm and devastation of a general bankruptcy. 
 Through whatever channel, pecuniary losses will con- 
 tinue to occur. Some families must suffer this year, as 
 some have suffered in every previous year. And however 
 lightly we may speak of this class of trials, as compared 
 with certain others, yet are they very hard to bear, — too 
 hard for our own unaided strength. 
 
 So, also, of sickness and bereavement ; they come often 
 unheralded. And whether heralded or not, they will 
 come. Some will be sick. Some will die. Some who 
 enter upon this year in hilarity will begin the next in 
 tears. We are not called upon to appropriate these 
 trials, — to say, this or that will be my lot. Neither reason 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 205 
 
 nor religion bids us borrow trouble from the future. ' Suffi- 
 cient unto the day is the evil thereof But when it comes, 
 and to whomsoever it comes, there will be needed a more 
 than human arm to lean upon. It will be a privilege to 
 be able in that day to take hold, humbly and trustfully, 
 upon the promise, "I am with thee." This may, pos- 
 sibly, be required in a sense analogous to that already 
 suggested in reference to temptation. The lukewarm dis- 
 ciple, who needs to be held back from sin by the intima- 
 tion that God is with him, may need to be reminded that 
 his trial is of God, who means that he shall feel it. For 
 there are, unhappily, many who exhibit great stoicism, 
 or, what is still worse, positive levity under affliction. 
 They are the successors of the generation reproved of 
 old : " Why should ye be stricken any more % Ye will 
 revolt more and more." A grievous thing this is, — a sin 
 of crimson dye. It is bad enough to abuse the mercies 
 of God ; still worse to contemn his judgments. There is 
 scarcely a darker portrait of the faithless Hebrews sketched 
 by the prophets than this one : — " Thou hast stricken 
 them, but they have not grieved : thou hast consumed 
 them, but they have refused to receive correction : they 
 have made their faces harder than a rock : they have 
 refused to return." Wherein do they differ from that 
 race who pass through scenes of sorrow without being 
 abased and purified 1 who remain just as proud, or as 
 covetous, or as worldly-minded, as they were before the 
 rod of chastisement was laid upon them ? And of what 
 unspeakable importance it is to all who are in peril of 
 this sin to hear God's voice in their trouble, saying, " I am 
 with thee." This dispensation has not come of chance. 
 " Thou shalt consider in thine heart that as a man chas- 
 
206 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 teneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.' 
 'If ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but 
 will walk contrary unto me, then will I also walk con- 
 trary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for 
 your sins.' Such a contest as this with the Almighty 
 can have but one issue. " Woe to him that strivcth with 
 his Maker !" 
 
 But let us rather dwell upon the other aspect of our 
 Scripture. There is no trial which in our own strength 
 we can bear as trials ought to be borne. Whether it be 
 disease or death, the loss of property, the alienation of 
 friends, the miscarriage of our plans of usefulness, unjust 
 disparagement on the part of those around us, the con- 
 flict with iuAvard evil, the depressing effect upon sensi- 
 tive nerves of unavoidable and constant toil, the dead 
 weight of poverty, or any other trouble, we must have 
 help from without, or miss the due improvement of it. 
 Of this help the believer is assured. W^hat would be of 
 more than the pledge, "I am with thee'?" This comes 
 from Him who has prescribed or permitted the trial. He 
 might have withheld or averted it. That He did not, 
 shows that He has wise ends to accomplish by it ; that, 
 on the whole, He deemed it best for the subject of this 
 discipline that He should be afflicted. For ' He doth not 
 afflict willingly.' It is not 'his good,' but 'our profit' 
 that mingles the cup. And, when mingled, it is his own 
 hand that presses it to the lips of his child. To believe 
 this, to realize it at the time, is to take from the draught 
 its bitterness. Who could not bear trials with resigna- 
 tion if he might only find some palpable token of his 
 Father's presence, and feel a perfect assurance that his 
 wisdom and love are ordering, limiting, and overruling 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 207 
 
 them X It is only unbelief, my brethren, that can deprive 
 you of this consolation. In every experience of loss or 
 pain, of evils felt or feared, which the year may bring with 
 it, you may cherish the same sense of his presence as if 
 the glory of the Lord shone around about you. And it 
 will recruit your wavering faith, and cheer your despond- 
 ing hearts, and send you on through the gloom with fresh 
 confidence, to take home to your breasts, as you are amply 
 warranted to do, his gracious averment, "I am with 
 thee." 
 
 Again, the kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of service. 
 The very act of coming to Christ is defined by Himself 
 as a taking on of his yoke. This denotes subjection to 
 his authority, and obedience to his precepts. No true 
 Israelite would have it otherwise. If there are those 
 who value the Church exclusively for its privileges, de- 
 clining its duties while they lay hold upon its promises, 
 who spurn the cross as resolutely as they grasp at the 
 crown, let them ponder the Master's words to certain of 
 old : " Ye seek me, because ye did eat of the loaves, and 
 were filled." It is not with pretended disciples of this sort 
 that we have to do now, but with those whose professions 
 are intelligent and sincere. To his true followers the 
 question will come up at the opening of a New Year, 
 and it will often recur as the weeks flit by, ' What can I 
 do for Him who has done and suffered everything for 
 meV It may conduce to the right solution of this ques- 
 tion to review the past, and see wherein you might have 
 rendered Him a better service, how you might have ap- 
 plied your resources more widely, or carried into your 
 work a higher conscientiousness and a purer love. 
 
 Without disparaging the results actually accomplished, 
 
208 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 we must all concede the comparative inefficiency of the 
 Church, — not its absolute inefficiency. For whatever of 
 truth and virtue, and culture and happiness, — in a word, 
 whatever of genuine civilization the world enjoys, has 
 come to it through the agency of the Church, — not to 
 speak of its sublime and beneficent bearings upon the 
 eternal destinies of men. But, as compared Avith its 
 means and appliances, we cannot affirm that its per- 
 formance is at all commensurate with its promise. A 
 Divine institution, entrusted with the sacred oracles, 
 the Sponsor of the only true religion, completely equipped 
 by her adorable Founder for her august mission, not only 
 furnished with ample secondary agents and implements, 
 but made the peculiar habitation of the Almighty Spirit, 
 and armed with the powers and terrors of the world to 
 come, — why should not the Church long ago have car- 
 ried the banner of the cross around the globe, and opened 
 every human habitation to the sweet sunlight of the 
 Gospel"? Need this question be answered] Have we 
 not the answer in our own bosoms "? Is it not because 
 we and others, who claim a place within its walls, — the 
 thousands or millions who, from age to age, call them- 
 selves Christians, — have so little of the ' mind which was 
 in Christ?' Because the tithes are kept back from the 
 sanctuary, and the flame of devotion burns so dimly 
 upon our altars, and the things of earth steal away our 
 affections from God, and the Avorld divides the homage 
 which is due to Him alone '? Perad venture this may be 
 felt to-day by many hearts, and there is a waking up to 
 the high responsibilities of the Christian calling, and a 
 yearning after a closer walk with God, and the ingath- 
 ering of more sheaves into his garner. You would fain 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 209 
 
 learn the Master's will, how you can best honor Him 
 with your property and your talents, what field offers 
 the best scope for one endowed with your gifts and op- 
 portunities. Or, if you already have your field, how you 
 can cultivate it more effectively. 
 
 It is pleasant to know that all solicitudes of this sort 
 must be acceptable to God. He cannot but regard with 
 a complacent eye every secret meditation, and purpose, 
 and prayer, that looks to a more thorough self-consecra- 
 tion to his service. In all inquiries of this kind, and a 
 fortiori in all the efforts they inspire, you may, without 
 hesitation, apropriate the promise, " I am with thee." 
 Your present or prospective task may be very arduous. 
 You may distrust your capacity for it. Your courage 
 may begin to waver, or multiplied hindrances bar the 
 way. Unthought-of difficulties embarrass you. Human 
 sympathy fails you. You are tempted to lay up your 
 pound in the napkin, and keep it there until the Master 
 comes. But this is unbelief You have forgotten who 
 it is that saith, "I am with thee." Open your heart to 
 this voice from heaven. It never deceived any one. It 
 will not deceive you. Let all his professing people set 
 out anew with this sentiment transfused through their 
 hearts, and there will be no ciphers, no loiterers here. 
 Every one will be a worker of some kind, in some field, 
 and all will work with the cheerful tone and temper of 
 children serving a loving Father, whose smile is their 
 encouragement, and whose presence is their delight. 
 
 Such, then, is the New Year's gift I offer you, — rather 
 let me say, which He offers you, whose condescending 
 word it is, "I am with thee." Take it with you, my 
 brethren, as you go on your way. Take it to your homes, 
 
210 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 to your schools, to your shops and your countmg-rooms, 
 to your closets, to the sanctuary, into every sphere ot 
 duty, into every scene of sickness and of sorrow, into 
 every scene of innocent mirth. ' Bind it for a sign upon 
 your hands, and as a frontlet between your eyes. Write 
 it upon the posts of your houses and upon your gates,' 
 "I am with thee." It will be your light in darkness, 
 your strength in weakness, your shield in danger, your 
 chief joy in prosperity, your comfort in affliction ; and, 
 should your pilgrimage close during the year, your solace 
 in death. Through all the changes of this year, in all 
 its experiences, may you, day by day, and hour by hour, 
 have the faith, and the courage, and the patience, and 
 the consolation bound up in this Divine promise, "I am 
 
 WITH THEE : 
 
 !'' 
 
1870. 
 
 XII. 
 '^A LITTLE TV^ILE." 
 
 JOHN XVI. 16. 
 
 In the gracious providence of God I am permitted to 
 meet you again on a New Year's Sabbath. Two years 
 ago to-day I addressed you in circumstances which I can 
 never forget; for the service here was followed, within a 
 few hours, by a sudden and dangerous illness that for- 
 bade my even looking upon your faces for many months. 
 One year since I was separated from you by more than 
 a thousand miles. So that to be allowed to spend this 
 day with you is a privilege for which I desire to present 
 my earnest thanksgiving to God. 
 
 I know not how far these recent experiences may have 
 influenced my selection of a Scripture to offer you this 
 morning. But you will not think it strange that, in the 
 midst of such changes, I should propose to you, as your 
 text for the year, that brief utterance of the Saviour, — "A 
 little while." Brief it is, but what a depth of meaning 
 it embosoms ! There are moments in our lives which 
 seem to be hours ; hours which might almost pass for 
 years. And thus a volume, yea a great folio, may some- 
 times be condensed into one or two simple w^ords. 
 
 (211) 
 
212 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 You will recall the connection, and the perplexity of 
 the Twelve on the occasion here referred to, "A little 
 while and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, 
 and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." Their 
 imperfect faith could not comprehend this language. 
 Often as He had told them what awaited Him, they 
 could not believe that He was to die. To the very last 
 their thoughts were of an earthly Messiah and a tem- 
 poral kingdom. Even now, within twelve hours, per- 
 haps, of the crucifixion, they study in vain to affix a 
 definite meaning to his words, and they say among them- 
 selves, "We cannot tell what He saith." 
 
 Nor can we tell all that this expression may carry with 
 it as to us and ours. Some things there are, however, 
 too patent to be mistaken, the due consideration of which 
 may be helpful to us as we enter upon another year. 
 
 In the multiplicity of themes and objects to which 
 this phase may be applied, let us glance briefly at some 
 general views, before bringing the thought directly home 
 to ourselves. 
 
 Look, then, at the condition of the world. Eighteen 
 centuries have elapsed since the Son of INIan returned to 
 the Father. He came to our globe as the great, the only 
 Renovator, to "make all things new." Whatever ame- 
 lioration has taken place in the state of mankind is to be 
 traced to his mission. That some nations have emerged 
 from the . thick darkness of paganism ; that there are 
 countries enriched with the blessings of a true civili- 
 zation ; that millions have been renewed and gathered 
 into the Church of Christ ; is wholly owing to the incar- 
 nation and death of the Son of God. Let us not be 
 ungrateful for results like these. But no intelligent 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 213 
 
 Christian can be satisfied with the existing state of things. 
 No one can contemplate it without sadness. The mass 
 of the race still sit in darkness. Where the true God 
 has one even nominal worshipper, five or six embrnted 
 mortals kneel before dumb idols. Within the domain 
 of Christendom error and vice run riot. More altars have 
 been reared to philosophic Atheism within the last half 
 century than in any equal period since the Reformation. 
 Unwearied eff'orts are making to coerce the sciences into 
 a gigantic crusade against revealed religion ; and scores 
 of savants^ rich in university honors, are trying their best 
 to teach creation to blaspheme the Creator. Of the very 
 churches which bear the name of Christ, whole denomi- 
 nations have so perverted and overlaid the ancient faith 
 that it is virtually replaced with " another gospel." Even 
 in the Protestant communions there are well-developed 
 tendencies on the one hand towards Romanism, on the 
 other, towards Rationalism ; — Herod and Pilate, burying 
 their mutual hate to cabal together against Jesus of 
 Nazareth. . 
 
 The picture, it is true, has its brighter side. There are 
 Churches which adhere to the Gospel in its purity. There 
 are tens of thousands of believers who cease not to tes- 
 tify by word and example against the prevalent impiety 
 of the age, and the more pernicious worldliness of the 
 Church. There is a noble army of faithful workers who 
 are toiling at home and abroad, in public and in private 
 spheres, using all legitimate methods and implements, 
 sowing beside all waters, and never wearying in their 
 efforts to save the perishing, and diffuse the blessings of 
 redemption. There are powerful nations even revolting 
 against the Papal despotism, and groping after a purer 
 
214 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 faith and a truer liberty. It were inexcusable to over- 
 look or disparage this aspect of the times. 
 
 But, after all, the most sanguine disciple must admit 
 that Christianity has not made the progress which might 
 naturally have been anticipated for it. Looking abroad 
 upon the hosts of error that are marshalling their forces 
 against it, under so many flags and in so many flelds, he 
 may well exclaim, 'How long, O Lord, how longf It 
 is a timely appeal, and directed to the right quarter. For, 
 however inscrutable to our poor wisdom the course of 
 events upon which we are meditating, we are not for one 
 moment to imagine that He has resigned his sceptre, or 
 that He does not hold this tiu'bulent chaos under his 
 absolute control. "Let the heathen rage." Let false 
 teachers sow tares among the wheat, and false prophets 
 prophecy lies. What then 1 The Lord of glory still 
 sits as King upon his holy hill of Zion. He will make 
 the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of 
 wrath He will restrain. Let it be for the comfort of his 
 people as they gaze upon this turmoil, — "A little while." 
 Whether it will be literally so, as measured upon our 
 dials, we may not aflirm with confidence, albeit this is 
 the conviction of some masters in Israel. But that it 
 will be ' a little while,' as measured by his great cycles, 
 we are positively certain. In his own good time He 
 will come to the succor of his people, and vindicate 
 his own cause against the confederate hosts of earth 
 and hell. What He may permit his adversaries to 
 achieve before He intervenes, is not distinctly revealed 
 to us. But there are intimations in his word that the 
 vast tide of delusion and iniquity has not yet attained 
 its full volume. Paganism was allowed four thousand 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 215 
 
 years to test its capacity for reclaiming and elevating the 
 race. A godless Christianity— that is, human reason, as 
 nurtured and expanded by the institutions of that re- 
 ligion to which, in requital of its fostering care, it would 
 gladly play the assassin, is now essaying the same prob- 
 lem. Among the hosts of authors and philanthropists 
 of the day, there is no class more conspicuous, none cer- 
 tainly more supercilious, than the men who are for re- 
 forming the world without the Gospel. If they fail, it 
 will not be from lack of numbers, of learning, of as- 
 siduity, or of self-confidence. In these elements they 
 will bear a favorable comparison with any school of re- 
 formers the world has ever seen. It would be rash to 
 predict that their assaults upon Christianity will prove 
 absolutely abortive. They have already ensnared many 
 persons of eminent intellectual gifts and of high social 
 position. There is every probability that others will fol- 
 low. Led by a few names justly distinguished in the 
 walks of science, sustained by an army of smatterers, and 
 encouraged largely by the sympathy of the popular press, 
 it were not strange if they should succeed to some extent 
 in poisoning the public mind against the evangelical 
 faith. Nor is the other wing of this allied force in a less 
 promising way. The Rationalists are assailing the Church 
 from without ; the Hitualists are plying their enginery 
 within. Those deal in open attack. These are sappers 
 and miners. Inimical to each other, they are alike hos- 
 tile to spiritual religion. The final triumph of one party 
 would land the race in bald atheism. That of the other 
 would renew the formalism, the superstition, and the per- 
 secutions of the Dark Ages. That each may succeed in 
 a measure is not unlikely. The wisdom of this world. 
 
216 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 peradventure, must needs have this further trial, that all 
 men may see its impotency in devising any effective 
 remedial system, even when equipped with weapons it 
 has covertly stolen from the armory of Christianity. 
 
 For the ultimate result is not doubtful. The humble 
 believer has as httle reason to fear for the final safety 
 and triumph of the Church, as Noah and his family had 
 for the safety of the ark. The same sleepless eye that 
 watched over the ark, and the same omnipotent hand 
 that guarded it, are enlisted on behalf of the Church. 
 A barque that has ridden out the storms of sixty cen- 
 turies, is not going to founder as it nears the port. In 
 ' a little ichile' He that shall come, will come and will 
 not tarry. " Strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm 
 the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, 
 Be strong, fear not: Behold, your God will come with 
 vengeance, even God with a recompense: He will come 
 and save you. And the ransomed of the Lord shall re- 
 turn and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy 
 upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, 
 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." 
 
 If I have dwelt somewhat upon this topic, it is because 
 there is nothing more prominent in the outlook which 
 greets us at the opening of this year, than the relations 
 of pure Christianity with the numerous bands of errorists 
 who are assailing it on every side, and constantly receiv- 
 ing fresh reinforcements. We may thank God and take 
 courage, when we reflect that this can last only for ' a 
 little while.' 
 
 But let us come nearer home. This year-text has its 
 immediate personal lessons for us all — lessons so many 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 217 
 
 and so varied that the only embarrassment lies in decid- 
 ing what line of illustration to adopt. 
 
 One thing is apparent: — if this thought, "a little 
 while," were so incorporated with our being that we 
 could not, without an effort, divest ourselves of it, it would 
 tell with great power upon the issues of this new year. 
 Once, perhaps once only, its full impression has been ex- 
 emplified. There was an unwearied worker who said, 
 " I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is 
 day; the night cometh when no man can work." With 
 our blessed Master it was always — " a little while." He 
 never lost the feeling, even for a moment. There was no 
 faltering of hands or feet, of heart or tongue. And the 
 results — who shall compute them '? Into that one short 
 life were condensed ages upon ages of other lives, whether 
 human or seraphic. Nay, we may not degrade his mis- 
 sion by any comparison, save in the way of contrast. In 
 that " little while" of his earthly pilgrimage were bound 
 up issues which demand the universe for their theatre, 
 and eternity for their development. 
 
 Yet Ave may without irreverence claim, that many 
 others have lived measurably under the influence of this 
 feeling ; and every one of them has had something to 
 show for life. You will recall examples of this kind 
 which embellish the annals of the various professions and 
 occupations — statesmen, captains, authors, jurists, me- 
 chanics, merchants. Wherever we find a man who has 
 taken it for his motto, "a little while," he is certain to 
 bring something to pass — something good or evil. The 
 human mind, even in its lower stages of culture, is a cun- 
 ning piece of mechanism which cannot be kept in con- 
 stant and energetic activity without making its power 
 
 15 
 
218 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 felt somewhere. No petty asteroid can sweep along its 
 orbit without affecting other asteroids, and planets even. 
 And when it comes to the higher sphere of religion and 
 morals, an earnest life can no more fail of yielding fruit 
 than could the trees in the Garden of Eden. 
 
 Varying indefinitely as we do in our gifts and advan- 
 tages, what we lack, any of us, is not so much talents or 
 opportunity, as love, and zeal, and devotion to our work. 
 It is not written, as it should be, in our hearts, and upon 
 the palms of our hands — "a little while." We work, 
 too often, as if life were still measured by centuries. Our 
 years are spent in getting ready to live; and just as the 
 lamp is well filled, and trimmed, and burnished, the 
 glimmering flame that was to have blazed forth its s])len- 
 dors, goes out. It may put us on our guard against this 
 common and fatal mistake to consider, though in two or 
 three particulars only, the work we have to do, and to 
 deduce hence how needful it is that we go about it with 
 the feeling — "a little while." 
 
 If I mention self-culture., what images of neglect, 
 what hopes and longings, what despondencies and pos- 
 sibilities, rise before the mind. It belongs to the alpha- 
 bet of our religion, that every talent canies with it its 
 own law of improvement; and that all our gifts and ac- 
 quisitions are to be dedicated to God. Up to a certain 
 age, we are 'under tutors and governors.' If they and 
 we are true to each other, the process of culture will be 
 well inaugurated. But it is a beginning only. What 
 we technically style ' an education,' is mainly a training 
 of the faculties for their work. That multitudes never 
 get beyond this — come to a stand when dismissed from 
 school or college, and learn, afterwards, only what comes 
 by a sort of absorption in the unavoidable intercourse 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 219 
 
 of society, and the current of events, — is as true as it is 
 humiliating. We all see and deplore their error. Pos- 
 sibly in its extreme type, we elude it. But a narrow 
 census would comprehend those who really make of life 
 all that might and should be made of it. 
 
 Many fail from the want of a plan. There is no definite 
 object they propose to themselves : certainly there are no 
 definite methods for attaining it. Working without order 
 or system, their random efforts miscarry because they lack 
 aim and coherence. Something more than strength is 
 needed to wield a sledge to good purpose, even though 
 it be the strength of a Colossus. Just here lies the secret 
 of many a man's failure whose generous gifts gave pre- 
 sage of a brilliant success. The swiftest barque will make 
 a long voyage, or fail of reaching port altogether, if, in- 
 stead of keeping her course, she suffers the capricious 
 winds to carry her where they choose. It is essential to 
 live for something, to know what that something is, to 
 keep it ever in view, and to select the aptest means for 
 accomplishing it. In each of these particulars we may 
 derive a wholesome stimulus from the thought — "a little 
 while." It would aid us in choosing an object worthy in 
 itself, and suited to our situation and capacities. It would 
 prompt to a prudent husbanding of our resources in the 
 prosecution of the chosen purpose. It would check dis- 
 cursive and impotent labors in pursuit of ahen ends. It 
 would enforce the necessity of resolute, efficient working- 
 while the day lasts. 
 
 'Self-culture,' it need scarcely be observed, comprises 
 the whole man. To speak of the intellectual powers 
 chiefly, how slothful we are, for the most part, in our quest 
 of knowledge ! I confess that to sit down in a great library 
 
220 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 and make a survey of tlie croAvded shelves, is apt to awaken 
 a feeling- of despondency. ' Here are ten thousand books 
 I should like to read. Could I live as long as Mcthusa- 
 leli, I might. As it is, a few volumes are all I could com- 
 pass. I will not give my time to so fruitless a task.' 
 Thus you soliloquize, but not wisely. The craving after 
 knowledge is natural and healthful. And you are right 
 in the assumption that it cannot be satisfied within the 
 brief term of human life. Neither could it have been 
 with the primeval longevity which the sight of a library 
 makes you covet. Were a special dispensation to spare 
 you till you had read all these books, you would only 
 crave more. This is one of the tokens of the soul's im- 
 mortality — this perpetual yearning after truth which, in- 
 stead of being sated, only grows by indulgence. It points 
 ever to the future, and will still point to the future when 
 this mortal shall have put on immortality. Does any one 
 doubt that the angels are thirsting for knowledge, as we 
 are'? 
 
 The inability, then, to master a whole library need not 
 dishearten you. That is not the design of a library. It 
 is simply an Encyclopaedia — for reference as to all sub- 
 jects, for the study of a few. Omnivorous reading is no 
 more to be commended than omnivorous eating, except 
 in the case of those mental prodigies who do not fall 
 under general rules. The wise student will choose his 
 field or fields of research, and aim rather to explore them 
 thoroughly than to skim over countless parterres. Ac- 
 cepting contributions to his garners from every quarter, 
 and, as far as possible, interrogating every object and 
 every incident, he will still hold to his main purpose, and 
 lay out his strength upon what he has adopted as his life- 
 work. Nor is there any branch of learning which will 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 221 
 
 not furnish ample room for the exertion of all your powers. 
 It is the grand distinction of the Temple of Truth, that 
 you may traverse any one of its galleries and never reach 
 its end : they all stretch off into the infinite. The devotees 
 of the sciences, physical and metaphysical, perceive this, 
 and are beguiled, often, into the error of investing science 
 with the attributes which belong only to a personal, and 
 infinitely wise and great Creator. Taught in a different 
 school, you will recognize alike in the phenomena of 
 nature and in the vast complexities and onward progress 
 of human affairs, the manifestations of the presence and 
 sovereignty of God, the source and centre, the sum and 
 end of all truth. Impressed with this conviction, it will 
 need only the abiding feeling — ' a little while,' to lend 
 unity and energy to your studies, as it will also dispose 
 you to bring all your acquisitions and lay them, as the 
 Magi did their gifts, at the Saviour's feet. 
 
 If this train of thought concern rather the few than 
 the many, there is one aspect in which it adapts itself to 
 us all. Knowledge of every kind is valuable. But the 
 knowledge of God, of his word, and his redeeming work, 
 is indispensable. The wide diffusion of religious knowl- 
 edge generally, is one of the honorable distinctions of our 
 times.' But has not the current lost somewhat in depth ? 
 There are more good books, and more who read them. 
 But has there been a corresponding increase of acquaint- 
 ance with the Scriptures in the Church ] To speak of 
 our own communion only, is the Bible studied, relatively, 
 as much as it used to be % Are there as many Christians 
 who attain to an intelligent and discriminating percep- 
 tion of its truth] While there is more Christian activity 
 and discussion abroad, is there as much Christian know- 
 ledge ? 
 
222 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 However these questions may be answered, there is 
 one concession we must all make, — ice hnow too little of 
 the Bible. Those who have consciously neglected it, and 
 those who have not neglected it, will unite in this con- 
 fession. There can be no one here who would not like 
 to know more of this blessed book before he meets face 
 to face that Saviour who is its only theme. The season 
 is one which invites to a freshened ardor in the prosecu- 
 tion of this best of studies. If we are ever to enrich our- 
 selves from this treasury of sacred truth, we must be 
 about it. The penury of our present stores may well 
 humble us. And ' a little while ' only is left us in which 
 to augment them. How can we better employ the brief 
 space that may remain to us than in dedicating a consid- 
 erable portion of it to the diligent and prayerful study 
 of the Scriptures '? Whatever be neglected, let us aspire 
 after larger views of the perfections and government of 
 God, of the Mediator and his several offices, and of the 
 gradual unfolding of that wondrous scheme of mercy 
 which, stretching from eternity to eternity, has inscribed on 
 its vast roll all our hopes and interests as individuals, and 
 the destinies of the entire race. Here is a kind of knowl- 
 edge, the highest and best of all, for the acquisition of 
 which we are not dependent upon costly libraries. AVe 
 have the text-book, the Book of books, in our hands. 
 Under the illumination of the Divine Spirit, the humblest, 
 alike with the most gifted, may gain access to its inex- 
 haustible treasures, and make them their own. 
 
 " 'Tis a broad land of wealtli unknown, 
 Where springs of life at*ise ; 
 Seeds of immortal bliss are sown, 
 And hidden glory lies." 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 223 
 
 111 apportioning our "little while" among the nume- 
 rous objects which solicit attention, can we afford to 
 overlook the field which hides the 'pearl of great price]' 
 
 We simply advance a step further in the same direc- 
 tion when we speak of that inner life of the believer, the 
 nourishing of which is equally imperative and difficult. 
 There are those to whom the current language of the 
 Scriptures and of Christian people, on the corruption of 
 the heart, seems extravagant, if not fanatical. The reason 
 is obvious. It is a subject about which they are igno- 
 rant. Intelligent they may be, skilful in resolving ab- 
 struse questions, at home among the rocks, the forests, 
 and the stars, but they are strangers to themselves. They 
 have never seen, have never honestly sought to see, their 
 own hearts. How should they comprehend the depth 
 and force of their evil appetites when they have put forth 
 no resolute effort to subdue them \ The Christian knows 
 better. To him the seventh chapter of Romans is neither 
 myth nor fable. In St. Paul's experience he recognizes 
 his own. He is waging the same war with the 'law of 
 sin' in his members, receiving the same wounds, cast 
 down by the same reverses, and cheered by the same 
 triumphs. The heart is as a field overspread with 
 noxious plants rooted so firmly that the weeding of the 
 ground is the labor of a life. Not only so, but it must 
 not be intermitted. In ordinary horticulture it is a need- 
 ful, but only an occasional, task. Here the tropical 
 fertility of the soil leaves the gardener no respite from 
 labor. The clinging roots baffle his skill, and nothing 
 is more common than to find the pestilent vine which 
 he imagined he had extirpated suddenly shooting forth 
 again with a luxuriant growth. 
 
224 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 This conflict pertains to the entire earthly life of the 
 believer. How urgent it is, how incessant, how painful, 
 no disciple requires to be told. Essentially it is the re- 
 moulding of the soul. While the works remain the same, 
 without any organic change, they have all to be reno- 
 vated and readjusted, so that it amounts to a "making 
 all things new." This process may have been com- 
 menced with us ; but how incomplete it is even wliere it 
 has advanced the farthest ! Who of us could bear the 
 thought of going as we are now into that aAvful presence 
 where angels veil their faces % Something more we hope 
 to do before that hour comes ; something more we feel 
 that we must do in the way of crucifying the flesh with 
 its affections and lusts, and putting on Christ. In striv- 
 ing after this result, it cannot foil to be of service to us 
 to keep in mind the thought — "a little while." The 
 student at his task, the pilgrim on his journey, the sailor 
 descrying his haven, the soldier on his march, — this 
 thought is a talisman to them all. Much more should 
 it nerve the spiritual warrior to ever-increasing con- 
 stancy and courage. You may not suspend your eff'orts. 
 The rest you long for, you cannot take. Every path you 
 tread is thickly ambushed. Your own bosom is full of 
 spies and traitors. To sleep, or loiter, or put off your 
 armor, or hold parley with the enemy, will involve you in 
 certain loss. But, then, 'the time is short.' The conflict 
 will last while life lasts, but that can be at most for only ' a 
 little while.' And, however subtle and trained the allied 
 forces against you, you meet them with the consciousness 
 of a strength and a sagacity immeasurably superior to 
 their own. For you also have an Ally. He is One who 
 hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 225 
 
 "the clouds are the dust of his feet;" who is " mightier 
 than the noise of many waters ; yea, than the mighty 
 waves of the sea." It is his wisdom and his strength 
 you wield. And his word is pledged to you, "No one 
 shall pluck them out of my hand." It were base to 
 retire from such a conflict when you hnoio that it must 
 end in 'a little while,' and end in your triumphant and 
 lasting success. 
 
 Animating as this may well be to all Christians, there 
 are some to whom it must come with the balm of a signal 
 encouragement. Perhaps the consideration which oftener 
 than any other makes a Christian willing to die, is that 
 upon which we have been dwelling, — this incessant, ex- 
 hausting fight with his own corruptions. Thrice com- 
 forting must this ' little while ' be to the various tribes of 
 tempted and desponding disciples. Among them are 
 some whose physical infirmities give a sad coloring to 
 their spiritual life ; others who seem to be the special 
 objects of Satanic malignity ; and others still who, from 
 some erroneous teaching, from feeble health, from ill- 
 governed aifections, or other cause, live, as it were, in a 
 haunted house, beset Avith visions and imaginings, which 
 supersede the materialism of earth and sense, and create 
 an unreal world, fearful to dwell in, and impossible to 
 escape from. To all these sufferers the text brings its 
 words of solace. Your trials no one can disparage who 
 is conversant with the believer's w^arfare. They must 
 be ranked as among the most painful allotments which 
 our Heavenly Father permits his children to encounter. 
 But it is through his permission they come. He will 
 limit and control them. In his own good time, which 
 must needs be in "a little while," He will bring them 
 
226 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 to an end. And then, ye poor, tempted, wearied, but 
 still obedient, trusting, souls, will He ' reward you 
 double' for the sorrows of the way. What will these 
 concern you when once you hear that joyful salutation, 
 " Come, ye blessed of my Father !" 
 
 There are other conflicts which require this solace. 
 "With a certain class of minds, there is an impatience of 
 our present condition — of the mystery of Providence, 
 and of limits imposed upon our possible knowledge of the 
 unseen and the spiritual, which involves a perpetual 
 inward struggle. You accept the written word as of 
 Divine authority. But it fails to explain the moral chaos 
 to which the world has been consigned for these sixty 
 centuries. Wliy did the All-wise and All-good suffer 
 the bloom of Eden to be so suddenly blighted 1 Why 
 permit the fair fabric of creation which He had just pro- 
 nounced ' Very good,' to be polluted and despoiled by 
 the tempter] W^hy must sin and death be allowed to 
 ravage the earth for all these ages % Why does the black 
 pall of paganism still rest upon hundreds of millions of 
 the race] Why are other hundreds of millions aban- 
 doned to the sway of the Man of Sin and the False Pro- 
 phet \ W^hy is the Church itself fissured with error and 
 paralyzed with selfishness and formalism'? Why that 
 eternity of woe which awaits the unbelieving ! What 
 and how intricate are the bonds which unite us with 
 other races of beings % How is the soul to subsist when 
 severed from the body, and what scenes are to greet the 
 departing spirit immediately after death] What concep- 
 tions are we to form of heaven, and of the employments 
 of the righteous in glory ] 
 
 Questions like these are ever floating before your minds. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 227 
 
 At times they roll in on you in a body for an answer with 
 a vehemence which menaces your moorings. You assail 
 the massive wall which divides between the material and 
 the spiritual, the present and the future, as a bird beats 
 against the bars of its cage, — and to as little purpose. 
 The wall will not yield. A single hand only can raze 
 it; and will not raze it for you. So far from it, you are 
 required not only to acquiesce in these arrangements as 
 founded upon adequate reasons, but to believe that they 
 are meant to supply the very training you yourselves 
 need. Herein is the discipline of faith, of patience, of 
 humility, of filial trust. "Except ye become as little 
 children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
 It was the teaching of the tempter, "Ye shall be as gods." 
 And it might seem as if the fatal promise carried the tem- 
 per with it : for men have ever since borne themselves 
 " as gods." The true God will not endure this. Instead 
 of "gods," we must be transformed into children, yea, 
 " into little children" — guileless, helpless, loving, trust- 
 ful, obedient, grateful. A tardy process it is, and pain- 
 ful, but it must go forward. Our comfort is, that it will 
 be temporary. In " a little while" you will be discharged 
 from this regimen, so trying to flesh and blood ; and, still 
 more, relieved of the enigmas and perplexities out of 
 which it springs. The curtain idll be lifted. The laby- 
 rinth you have been traversing all your lives, will end in 
 a large and wealthy place. A flood of light will pour 
 itself over this dimness and seeming disorder which baffle 
 our highest wisdom and ensnare our faith. The para- 
 doxes of time will become the intuitions of eternity, and 
 the mysteries of earth, the hallelujahs of heaven. 
 
 I have alluded to the bearing of our text upon the 
 
228 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 tcorl' of life. The topic, while all-important, is so famil- 
 iar that we rarely get any just impression of its vast sig- 
 nificance. What is it, the work of life ^ " Man's chief 
 end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Is it not 
 for tJiis He made us and placed us here, that we might 
 serve and honor Him'? Something, possihly, has been 
 done, or attempted, in that way. But how little have 
 they done, who have done most ! And as to the greater 
 part of us, what confusion would cover us should we be 
 called now to his bar, with the meagre showing we might 
 be able to make for our twenty, forty, or fifty years! If 
 reminded that we have only " a little while" for retriev- 
 ing the past — no, that, alas, can never be done, but for 
 improving the future, it falls upon the ear like an ' old, 
 old story,' and we heed it not. But we should heed it. 
 For we are all servants and stewards, and must go soon 
 to reckon with the Master. 
 
 "A little while" longer we may give to Him. Strange 
 that the Owner and Ruler of all things, should want our 
 gifts. But He does, — first our hearts, then our time, our 
 talents, our property, our all. To speak of one of these, 
 the silver and the gold, already his. He asks that it be 
 laid at his feet and dedicated to the well-being of the 
 race. Thousands there are who cheerfully respond to 
 his claim ; and among them, not a few upon whom He 
 has lavished riches. It is better understood than it once 
 was, that wealth has as well its responsibilities and duties 
 as its privileges. An example like that of the great phi- 
 lanthropist* whose remains a Funeral-fleet such as the 
 world scarcely ever saw before is now conveying to 
 
 * George Peabody. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 229 
 
 our shores, must continue to tell with power upon the 
 Croesuses and Midases of the world. While alone in the 
 munificence of his benefactions, he is by no means alone 
 in his o-enerous concern for the welfare of his kind. There 
 are instances of a kindred liberality in all our cities, and 
 in many of our churches. We could all cite individuals 
 who have made the noblest use of wealth, by devoting it 
 to the bodily and the spiritual wants of the destitute. A 
 happy facility for this is supplied by the number and va- 
 riety of the objects which now invite sympathy and aid. 
 If you shall ever, through the infinite mercy of God, 
 stand among the ransomed above, you will not regret 
 that you did something in this way for Him who, " though 
 rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his pov- 
 erty, might be made rich." Remember his saying : — " In- 
 asmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these 
 my brethren, ye hcwe done it imto ?7?e." And do not for- 
 get the "little while." 
 
 We are none of us satisfied with our past ivorJdng. 
 Not to describe specific fields, there is Christian work 
 needed on every side. And in every Church there are 
 precious talents hidden in the earth, which the owners 
 would do well to bring forth into use before the Master 
 comes to look after his servants. Very cogent are the 
 arguments which enforce this duty. Let it sufiice that 
 in "a little while" it will be too late. You would not 
 like to see your Lord approaching just yet. You would 
 fain help forward his cause in the world a little more. 
 Up, then, for He will be here soon. Go work to-day in 
 his vineyard — and ever?/ day. Thus would He choose to 
 find you, and thus would you choose to meet Him. 
 This obligation, also, is more widely felt than it once was. 
 
230 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 It has happened here in our own Church, that wlien an 
 individual was received into our communion, his very first 
 question, before retiring from the presence of the Session, 
 was, — " I wish to go to work : what have you for me to 
 doT' And he went to work. The conviction is becoming 
 general tliat a Christian profession implies service. It is 
 not every one who can render it, in the form of philan- 
 thropic or missionary labor : infirm health, domestic ties, 
 incessant toil, or other causes, may forbid. But active 
 sympathy in the furtherance of the Gospel is the law of 
 Christ's household ; and it deeply behooves us to keep in 
 mind the "little while." 
 
 No less helpful will this thought be to the toilers of the 
 world. Everywhere the masses are shut up to a hard 
 life — a life of incessant work with few comforts and many 
 privations. Most benign is the promise of the Gospel to 
 the poor who embrace its gracious offers. Your cup wall 
 lose its bitterness whenever you can realize that a Father's 
 hand holds it to your lips. And the reflection — " a little 
 while," will reconcile you to hardships, which, without 
 some prospect of relief, might prove insupportable. By 
 and by your appointed task will be finished, and you will 
 go home to a long and peaceful rest, made twice welcome 
 by the exhausting travail of the way. 
 
 And thus does the text proffer its grateful solace to the 
 sick, the bereaved, the tempted, the impoverished, and 
 all the tribes of want and sorrow. Let it inspire you 
 with fresh patience and courage to reflect that in "a 
 little while" your trials will be over — never to return. 
 
 Nor must I close without saying that while there is 
 consolation here, there is admonition as well. To those 
 who have ' neglected the great salvation,' there is a preg- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 23 X 
 
 nant omen in the sonnd, — "a little while." Yes, it is, it 
 can be, but a short time ; yet eternal issues hang- upon 
 it. Can you afford to spend another year — which may, 
 peradventure, prove only a few days or hours — without 
 God and without hope'? 
 
 Such, then, beloved, is the Scripture I come this morn- 
 ing- to tender you, as your text for the New- Year. May 
 it please God so to write it upon our hearts and imbue 
 us with its spirit, that we may accept the labors and re- 
 laxations, the successes and reverses, the joys and sor- 
 rows, and all the changes of this year, with the abiding, 
 cheerful, submissive, filial feeling — "A little while." 
 
1871 
 
 XIII. 
 
 '' THE LOED WILL GIVE GRACE AND 
 GLORY." 
 
 PSALM Lxxxiv. 11. 
 
 This is a text which cannot fail to satisfy you, expect- 
 ing as you are this morning a motto for the year. Very 
 urgent your cravings may be, very large your demands, 
 and very lofty your aspirations, but they are all provided 
 for here. When you utter the expression, 'grace and 
 glory,' you condense into the briefest formula all that 
 earth can need, and all that heaven can give. 
 
 Of course it is of his own the Most High speaks when 
 He says, "The Lord will give glory." Promises like this 
 pertain to the dowry of the saints ; they are the jewelry 
 of the Lamb's Bride, and no profane hands may appro- 
 priate them. 
 
 But some doubting Thomas may ask, " How am I to 
 know this] What assurance have I that He will 'give 
 grace aiid glory' to every one of his children'?" The 
 first reply is, because He has told them so. "Hath 
 He said, and shall He not do it 1 Hath He spoken, and 
 shall He not make it goodl" The second is in the 
 answer He made to the Jirst Thomas, " Reach hither thy 
 
 16 (233) 
 
234 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 finger, and behold my hands ; and reach hither thy hand, 
 and thrust into my side ; and be not faithless, but believ- 
 ing." What mean those wounds'? Why did the Son 
 of God become the Son of man, and die a malefactor's 
 death 1 Was it to make a partial atonement for sin, to 
 purchase for his people a precarious pardon, to afford 
 them a taste of the Divine mercy, only to remit them to 
 the inexorable custody of the law, with its retributive 
 terrors % Rather is his crucifixion the pledge of all the 
 blessings they can require in time or in eternity. " He 
 that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for 
 us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all 
 things '?" To question this is to distrust a bond which 
 is sealed with the blood of the Only Begotten. 
 
 The third answer is, that the immutable purpose of 
 God has so bound these blessings together that one link 
 of the chain necessarily draws all the other links after it. 
 "Whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and 
 whom he called, them he also justified : and whom he 
 justified, them he also glorified." The effectual call of 
 the believer implies his election, and involves his pardon, 
 sanctification, and eternal glory. 
 
 Let these three grounds suffice to rebuke and cancel 
 your misgivings. It is beyond controversy that " the 
 Lord will give grace and glory," not to a few favored 
 ones among his children, but to alb alike, as well to the 
 ignorant, the helpless, and the unknown, as to prophets, 
 apostles, and martyrs. Here, again, is a crevice, through 
 which unbelief creeps in. With your conscious ill desert 
 you cannot imagine that He should regard you with the 
 interest He bestows upon those of your fellow-men whose 
 gifts greatly excel your own, and whose labors are more 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 235 
 
 abundant. If you are not making a faithful iise of your 
 own advantages, this may be a good reason for humilia- 
 tion. But to suppose that the mere possession of one 
 talent or of five talents can affect the complacency with 
 which God regards his children severally, and shut or 
 open the gateways of his bounty towards them, is to mis- 
 take the organic law of the Mediatorial kingdom. Do 
 not for an instant harbor the thought that He gives or 
 denies us the blessings of the new covenant upon the 
 basis of our personal endowments, or our personal merit 
 or demerit. This were to import into the administration 
 of his kingdom, a principle subversive of all grace, and 
 most derogatory to the Redeemer. In fact what room 
 were there, on this principle, for our text, and a thousand 
 other precious Scriptures of like import"? If grace and 
 glory are the exclusive heritage of the icorthy^ where is 
 the sinner or the saint who would presume to come for- 
 ward and claim them X Small progress have we made 
 even in the alphabet of our religion if we have yet to 
 learn that "Christ is all and in all." To receive Christ 
 is to receive all the benefits of his mediation. Not par- 
 don only, nor renewal only, but all the graces and all 
 the privileges of the new covenant are conveyed by that 
 one imperial grant of the ' unspeakable gift.' He is 
 ' made of God unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanc- 
 tification, and redemption.' Believers are ' in Christ.' 
 They are members of his body. AVhen the Father looks 
 upon them He sees them not as they are in themselves, 
 but as they are in the Son of his love, and therefore 
 alike Ms sons. Their life is hid in Christ's hfe — the 
 source and means of their spiritual nourishment, the 
 channel of all sacred influences to their souls. 
 
236 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 This being the case, it becomes intelligible to us how 
 the Sovereign Father can put all his people on the same 
 footing, and can assure each one among them of ' grace 
 and glory.' INot for their sakes is it done, not for any 
 work or merit of their own ; but for the sake of Him 
 who died for their offences, and rose again for their jus- 
 tification. This detracts nothing from the love and mercy 
 of their redemption. It leaves no room for self-compla- 
 cency. It simply illustrates the infinite condescension 
 and merit of the Saviour in expiating the sins and secur- 
 ing the ultimate triumph of a race so utterly without 
 strength or goodness of their own. 
 
 We have hinted at the comprehensive nature of this 
 promise, ' grace and glory.' Comprehensive it must needs 
 be, or it would not suffice for us. " From me is thy fruit 
 found." "Without me ye can do nothing." " In me 
 (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." "Not 
 I, but the grace of God which was with me." There is no 
 Christian whose heart will not respond a ready ' Amen ' 
 to utterances like these. And they show how indispen- 
 sably we require Divine aid every day and hour of our 
 lives. 
 
 We stand at the threshold of a new year, not know- 
 ing the things that are to befall us before its close. What 
 we need just here is grace to commit ourselves into God's 
 keeping without undue solicitude as to the future. Our 
 text, then, comes into play at once. For nature is not 
 wont to be tranquil in the presence (may I so speak X) of 
 the future. It is to us what the dark is to children ; we 
 people it with untoward shapes and grim spectres. Or, 
 rushing to the other extreme, like children anticipating 
 the holidays, we replenish the future with visions of un- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 237 
 
 mixed success and happiness. The lesson of Scripture is 
 not that we frame no plans, take no precautions, indulge 
 no hopes and expectations concerning the coming days 
 and months, but that we do all this with a filial, con- 
 fiding temper; that we reverently acknowledge God's 
 universal providence ; rely upon his wisdom and faith- 
 fulness, and trustfully leave all things with Him who is 
 certain to do all things well. This is the duty of to-day; 
 and for this our promise brings its unfailing grace. 
 
 While we cannot turn over a single leaf of the year's 
 history (it requires a revolution of the globe on its axis 
 to do that), we are certain of one thing. So long as life 
 lasts, every day will bring to every one of us its round of 
 familiar experiences. Great events are exceptional in 
 the greatest lives. The world's captains, statesmen, in- 
 ventors, authors, sages, — with these, no less than with the 
 masses of mankind, life is made up substantially of littles. 
 It is a routine of petty duties, ]3etty trials, temptations, 
 successes, interruptions, pleasures. If you keep a diary, 
 how large a proportion of the pages, if candidly in- 
 scribed, would read : ' This day has passed like yester- 
 day.' One photograph, slightly varied, would answer 
 for perhaps five days out of six — that is for most people. 
 Diversities there are ; your school lessons are not quite 
 identical through the week ; you have some trouble with 
 a child to-day which you did not have yesterday ; your 
 temper has given way rather more or rather less ; you 
 have had more or fewer visitors ; you have had a fresh 
 customer or two ; you have had a cold or a headache, or 
 got rid of one ; — in some such tide as this life flows on 
 with us day by day. When we consider man's origin 
 and destiny, the immortality that awaits him, the possible 
 
238 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 indefinite expansion of his faculties, and his endless pro- 
 gression in knowledge, it does seem humiliating that he 
 should spend the major part of the years allotted him 
 here in such common-place employments. When I see 
 a woman sitting for hours, with her needle in hand, 
 taking one small stitch after another, and reflect that 
 she is probably doing this day by day for months to- 
 gether, my first emotion is one of pity for the patient 
 toiler, and the second a painful sense of the seeming 
 incongruity there is between the ethereal, deathless na- 
 ture, and an occupation like that. There is really no 
 more reason for this feeling in the particular case spe- 
 cified than in many others of the usual domestic or 
 mechanical occupations. The warp and woof of life is 
 largely made up of a weaving which is simply a little 
 more or a little less dignified than plying a needle for 
 use or pastime. The stern rigor of our lot gives none 
 of us respite from the clamorous demands for food, and 
 drink, and repose. Wealth, and rank, and power, rather 
 modify the shape and tone of these requisitions than 
 annul them. We are all toilers, and the greater part 
 of our toil is expended upon very common matters. 
 
 Now, what does this mean 1 And what use are we to 
 make of it % Is it of chance that we are left to travel 
 for so many years along these dead levels of life % Is 
 there no sisfnificance but that which meets the eve in the 
 stitching, and the washing, and the hammering, and the 
 studying, and the nursing, — in the tame routine which 
 marks off the dial between every sun-rising and sun-set- 
 ting ? Assuredly it might have been otherwise with us. 
 With infinite resources at his command our Heavenly 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 239 
 
 Father could not have been shut up to precisely that 
 type of economy under which we find ourselves. To 
 concede this is to affirm that there were reasons, wise and 
 good, which disposed Him to prefer this plan to any 
 other; to some other, for example, which might have 
 relieved at least his ransomed ones from a portion of their 
 common tasks, and assigned them to pursuits more con- 
 sonant (as we view things) to their exalted powers and 
 destiny. If there be any mystery here this thought may 
 help to resolve it. 
 
 God would prepare his children for heaven. This 
 preparation includes of necessity not only forgiveness, 
 but personal meetness. They must be moulded to a 
 certain cliaracter. Having borne the image of the earthly, 
 they must bear the image of the heavenly. They must 
 be made holy, or they cannot dwell with a holy God. 
 This points to a slow and tedious discipline. It is not a 
 creation, but a growth. The leaven infused by the Divine 
 Spirit must leaven the whole mass. The understanding, 
 the affections, the will, the conscience, all require to be 
 pervaded by it. Every faculty, every susceptibility, 
 needs to be released from the bondage of sin, and brought 
 into harmony with the word and will of God. Such a 
 training requires time. It requires an indefinite variety 
 of agencies and implements suited to each several part 
 of the character. It demands — may we not say X — that 
 the sort of atmosphere which surrounds the common 
 walks of life be impregnated with a new vitality. For 
 here, where we are off our guard, and there are no spec- 
 tators to chide or cheer, the natural man finds his oppor- 
 tunity. The beaten paths of our daily toil reject the 
 good seed, but give ready shelter and warmth to the 
 
240 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 tares. Selfishness, and discontent, and sloth, and mita- 
 bility, and jealousy, and fretfulness, thrive here as in a 
 hotbed. And what we need is strength to counteract 
 these noxious tendencies. We must learn to regard these 
 arid spaces as lying within the Lord's vineyard, and, it 
 may be, as the very part He has given us to cultivate. 
 The tillage may be very perplexing and exhausting, but 
 what has that to do with duty % No friendly voices may 
 encourage you in your toil, but be sure the Great Hus- 
 bandman walks unseen along every one of those paths 
 day by day, and, if faithful to your task, you shall not 
 lack his commendation. 
 
 And just here it is our text comes to you with its 
 timely promise. The Master well knew, in appointing 
 you to this service, that you could not fulfil it without 
 his aid. And so He pledges you his help. He will 
 infallibly give you grace to honor Him in your common 
 avocations. He can and will enable you to interweave 
 with the texture of your current life the golden threads 
 of patience, and content, and cheerfulness, and gratitude. 
 He will make you to feel that the tamest service derives 
 a certain dignity from the bare fact that He has laid it 
 upon you. Flesh and blood might murmur if you could 
 see nothing but the narrow walls and meagre furnishings 
 of your room. But would you murmur if He should 
 come to you every morning and say, with his gentle 
 voice, ' Go, ply your needle to-day ; go, drive the loom ; 
 go, wield the sledge ; go, stand at the counter ; go, teach 
 the young ; go, cast up figures ; go, tread the dull routine 
 of your domestic duties, — for me V So far from contemn- 
 ing your work, or halting under it, you would bless your 
 Lord for the privilege of doing anytlmig for Him. Your 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 241' 
 
 mouth would be filled with laughter, and your tongue 
 with singing. The sterile paths under your feet would 
 turn to 'living green.' And, far better still, your inner 
 life would gather nourishment from these homely occu- 
 pations, and gradually soar into a closer sympathy with 
 the mind of Christ and the fellowship of the ransomed. 
 
 Let me, then, commend the text to you as a promise 
 of needful help in the daily walks of life. Only seek his 
 aid, and the Lord will give you grace which shall hal- 
 low your commonest occupations, and turn the laundry, 
 the nursery, the refectory, the noisy workshop, the crowded 
 mill, the blazing forge, the damp, dark mine, into a school 
 where your higher nature shall triumph over sin and 
 self, and acquire a growing meetness for the City of the 
 Great King. 
 
 I have lingered upon this branch of my subject be- 
 cause, as familiar ground, it is of pre-eminent impor- 
 tance ; and, again, because, in its relations to the pulpit, 
 it is not ' familiar ground.' It is time now to glance in 
 a passing way at some of the other treasures embosomed 
 in our Scripture. 
 
 " The Lord will give grace and glory." We may carry 
 the analysis of this word ' grace ' very far without ex- 
 hausting its meaning. It embraces, among other things, 
 a promise of Divine teaching and guidance. Like all 
 our former years, this year will bring us new proofs of 
 our ignorance, and numerous questions which will baffle 
 our sagacity. Difficulties are ever emerging out of the 
 ordinary course of events which confound our skill and 
 experience. Indeed, the wisest amongst us feel that 
 they may find themselves at any hour of any day face to 
 face with questions they know not how to deal with. 
 
242 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 What a privilege to have an unfaihng source to Avhich 
 we may repair for illumination ! " I will instruct thee 
 and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go : I will 
 guide thee with mine eye." " The Lord God shall guide 
 thee continually." "Thou shalt guide me with thy 
 counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." This ap- 
 plies as well to the investigation of truth as to matters 
 of practice. In this view we are in circumstances to 
 appreciate its value. For, in the midst of the fervid evan- 
 gelism of the day, while Bible societies are disseminating 
 the Scriptures by the million, and missionary societies 
 are sending Christian preachers into every land, two giant 
 forms of error are rearing their heads at the opposite 
 poles of Christendom. One is the hoary-headed Papacy, 
 crowned and cursed with the blasphemous dogma of per- 
 sonal infallibility. The other is the pretentious and ar- 
 rogant image of scientific Skepticism. At implacable 
 enmity with each other, they wage a common war upon 
 Jesus of Nazareth. One assumes to impose upon the 
 consciences of men, by the sheer force of authority, the 
 most profane lies as celestial truth. The other scorn- 
 fully brands the most momentous truths, accredited by 
 the authority of God Himself, as lies. Our young men 
 are entering upon life at a period of general Pyrrhonism. 
 The old foundations are to be torn up. Nothing is 
 to be accepted as true upon evidence which has sat- 
 isfied the ages. The most elementary theses, even to 
 the immateriality of the soul, and the being of a God, 
 are cast into the fiery alembic of philosophic unbelief, 
 with the foregone conclusion that they are to be pro- 
 nounced unworthy of credence. Superadd to this the 
 controversies which subsist, as they always have sub- 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 243 
 
 sisted, within the Church itself, and it will be seen how 
 rare a blessing we have in the promise of Divine illu- 
 mination. It is not a pretended but a real, infallible 
 teacher, who has engaged to direct our inquiries. Alike 
 to the young and the aged, to the wise and the simple. 
 He proffers his gracious aid. There is no disciple per- 
 plexed with the inquiry, 'What is truth t' or embarrassed 
 with the question, 'Whither does duty call me'?' who is 
 not warranted to ask and to expect the unerring counsel 
 of the Great Teacher. For this is sealed to him in the 
 promise, " The Lord will give grace and glory." 
 
 What is thus affirmed of enlightening and guiding 
 grace is no less true of the grace we need in the entire 
 v'orh of our sanctification. AVe are called unto holiness. 
 The end of the Christian life is conformity to God. To 
 achieve this, is at once the most important and the most 
 difficult service laid upon us. Of its difficulty we re- 
 quire no other proof than the imperfect sanctification of 
 believers generally ; rather let me say, no other proof than 
 that supplied by our own experience. There is small 
 occasion to go abroad and inspect the poor tillage of our 
 neighbors' vineyards. Look at the weeds and thorns 
 which deform our own. Not the same thorns and weeds 
 in all ; but, though diverse in species, they are one in 
 nature. God has given you talents, and you have hidden 
 them in the earth ; the Church derives no benefit from 
 them. He has bestowed property upon you, but you 
 have not remembered the words of the Lord Jesus, how 
 He said. It is more blessed to give than to receive. You 
 are punctual in your attendance upon the sanctuary, but 
 you are still more devoted to frivolous amusements. If 
 you give your money freely for the spread of the Gospel, 
 
244 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 perhaps your Christianity fails to brighten your o^\ti 
 home. You are zealous in mission and Sunday-school 
 labors, but you are self-righteous and carping, unreason- 
 able in your demands, and harsh in your judgments. 
 These are simply specimen classes. If we are to credit 
 what Christians say of one another, the Church is still 
 the abode of legions of perverse tempers and evil habits. 
 It is only here and there that a disciple appears who 
 illustrates all the graces, and serves to show by contrast 
 how far we, most of us, fall short of what we profess and 
 ought to be. 
 
 This state of things, at once so humiliating and so 
 instructive, exhibits in the strongest light the greatness 
 of our work, and the hopelessness of accomplishing it 
 by any resources of our own. Instead of marvelling at 
 the errors and defects so common among Christians, a 
 thoughtful observer may deem it matter of surprise and 
 gratitude that religion should survive at all from age to 
 age. There is ample room for this emotion, if we ex- 
 clude the idea of a constant Divine interposition. Let 
 me explain. 
 
 A few days since I received from a kind friend a quarto 
 volume, entitled Floicers from (lie Upper Alps., vnth 
 Glimpses of their Homes. Very beautiful it is as a work 
 of art, and very true to nature. I turned over the leaves 
 and looked, one after another, at these delicate plants, 
 sending up their slender shafts, and unfolding their many 
 tinted petals to the sunbeam, or spreading their rich 
 tapestry of vines over the barren rock, some with a mere 
 hand-breadth of soil, laid bare by an avalanche, into 
 which to strike their roots, and all of them shut in by 
 everlasting snows. And it did seem wonderful that 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 245 
 
 flowers could bud and bloom up there among the per- 
 petual glaciers, eight and nine thousand feet above the 
 sea. While I was admiring the infinite wisdom and 
 might of Him who had endowed them with the subtle 
 alchemy which can extract nutriment from the frost-laden 
 winds of that region, it occurred to me that these 
 flowers are apt symbols of the Christian in the world. 
 His home is among barren rocks and ice-fields. The 
 atmosphere he breathes is surcharged with deadly poi- 
 sons. The whole structure and tendencies of things 
 around him are destructive to his better principles. All 
 the currents of earthly influence he encounters bear him 
 away from God and heaven. And yet he is not over- 
 whelmed. His life does not go out. In many instances 
 it grows up into strength and vigor. It thrives upon the 
 elements organized for its extinction. With a chemistry 
 not surpassed by that of the Alpine flora, it extracts 
 nourishment from an air laden with miasma, and trans- 
 mutes the very storms that sweep over it into means and 
 appliances of healthful growth. Of both phenomena w^e 
 may say, " This also cometh forth from the Lord of Hosts, 
 which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in workinsr." 
 No other solution is admissible. We may exclaim of any 
 one who has lived a pious and useful life, 'What hath 
 God wrought !' For it is all of God. 
 
 Here lies our whole encouragement, — that He should 
 consent to keep this work in his own hands, and do for 
 us what we could never do for ourselves. The urgency 
 of the work is beyond dispute. There is nothing of 
 higher moment to us than that we grow in grace. If the 
 past year has come and gone without seeing us advanced 
 in holiness, with the old tempers and habits as robust. 
 
246 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 and the new life as feeble as ever, then sin lictli at our 
 door. And this sin will gather fresh power and turpi- 
 tude if we take it with us, unrepented of, into tlie en- 
 gagements of the new year. Let it be deeply impressed 
 upon our minds to-day that, whatever else be neglected, 
 the soul's wants must be cared for ; that it will not do to 
 trust to a superficial, a one-sided, or a periodical, religion ; 
 that there is a glaring deficiency in any style of piety 
 which illumines the head, but does not permeate the 
 heart ; that excites the imagination, but does not subju- 
 gate the will ; that influences the passions, but does not 
 inform and arouse the conscience ; that makes its pos- 
 sessor punctilious in his observance of sacraments, but 
 leaves him a devotee of the world ; that sends him out 
 an earnest worker in the broad field of philanthropy, but 
 holds him a miserable bond-slave to unlovely tempers. 
 All these are incongruities which need to be guarded 
 against. We constantly admonish the unconverted that 
 they simply mock God and deceive themselves by sup- 
 posing that He will consent to strike the balance between 
 their good deeds and their bad ones, and so render the 
 award of life or death. As little warrant is there for a 
 Christian professor to offset one part of his Christianity, 
 in which he imagines himself to excel, against another 
 part in which he is grossly deficient. It is the entire 
 man which the Master claims, tlie unreserved surrender 
 of all the powers and members, the loving obedience of 
 the heart to every one of his precepts, the gradual as- 
 similation of the whole character and life to his own 
 image. 
 
 To this work God's word and the Holy Spirit are ever 
 inviting us. And the opening year clothes the invitation 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 247 
 
 with peculiar solemnity and tenderness. Futile it were 
 to go about it in our own strength ; but He does not ask 
 this, nor would He smile on it. ' He will give grace and 
 glory.' If we have not been dealing in exaggerated 
 phrases, it is no common measure of grace we shall re- 
 quire to carry us over the obstructions of the way. But 
 great and small belong to our vocabulary. They are 
 nothing to God, With Him all things are possible. 
 What He offers to you now, He has bestowed upon ten 
 thousands of his people. He has over and over renewed 
 the miracle of the Alpine flowers before your eyes, in so 
 strengthening, sustaining, and maturing some disciple 
 you have known and loved that his character has been 
 radiant with spiritual beauty, and his life has been a 
 benediction to many. The same grace is tendered to you, 
 as ample in measure and as free, in answer to prayer. 
 Prove Him now, if it be not so. Dedicate this year to 
 Him. Be no longer content with your crude attain- 
 ments. Resolve upon a deeper sounding into the depths 
 of the Divine promises, a more thorough divorce from 
 tlie world, a more faithful culture of all the graces of 
 the Spirit, a more consistent, holy, and fruitful life. 
 This is within the reach of every Christian here. It will 
 be our loss and sin if we come short of it, for He will not 
 fail in his part. ' He ivill give grace and glory.' 
 
 Grace for still other uses we shall need in the course 
 of this year. If for nothing else, certainly for trials and 
 sorrows. No year has yet passed over us without leaving 
 in some households here a record chronicled in tears. 
 It were a fond conceit to suppose that the coming twelve- 
 month is to be in this respect unlike all that have pre- 
 ceded it. In what guise trouble is to come, upon whom 
 
248 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 it is to fall, how soon, and with what concomitants, — all 
 these points are happily concealed from us. What more 
 deeply concerns us, is, that for every form of trouble the 
 Divine word brings its consolation. No storm ever yet 
 beat upon a Christian's head for which there was not 
 some support or shelter provided in the immutable cove- 
 nant. The grace assured to God's children enables them 
 to realize that their losses and perplexities, their sick- 
 nesses and bereavements, arc appointed by a Father's 
 love. This confidence changes the whole aspect of the 
 dispensation. It recruits their faith and hope. It brings 
 them to the mercy-seat. It unseals to them the promises. 
 It blunts the power of sense. It detaches the affections 
 from earth, and leads them upward to God. It replaces 
 human loves in the breast with love to the Saviour. It 
 not only inculcates, but inspires, resignation. It sustains 
 the stricken believer in passing through the waters and 
 the fire. It takes away the sting of death, and dries the 
 mourner's tears. All this, and more than this, the grace 
 of God can do for his children, — the grace which is 
 pledged to you in the precious text before us. Amidst 
 the uncertainties of the year now dawning, it is an un- 
 speakable comfort to know that no trial can come with- 
 out his permission, and none for which He has not al- 
 ready provided either full deliverance or an adequate 
 support. 
 
 This pertains no less to public than personal calami- 
 ties. The signs of the times seem to prelude a year of 
 momentous changes, of mighty convulsions, that are to 
 shake continents to their centre, and deluge them with 
 blood. There is much in the condition of Christendom 
 to try the faith of intelligent and devout believers, and 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 249 
 
 the prospect is that their faith will be cast into a still 
 more fiery crucible before the year closes. But, for these 
 troubles, as well as for their private afflictions, the promise 
 brings plenary strength, and patience, and comfort : — 
 " The Lord will give grace and glory." 
 
 " Let mountains from their seats be hurled 
 Down to tlie deep, and buried there, 
 Convulsions shake the solid world, 
 Our faith shall never yield to fear." 
 
 " Grace and gJory /" The treasures bound up in the 
 first of these words have engrossed our thoughts. We 
 have taken only a step or two in exploring the riches 
 garnered up in this word, which is itself a mere vesti- 
 bule to the other. The two are indissolubly united. 
 The grant which makes over grace to the believer car- 
 ries glorg in its bosom also. The pledge of present grace 
 is the earnest of future glory, and this not by arbi- 
 trary decree but because glory is as es.sentially enfolded 
 in grace as the flower is in the seed, and the oak in the 
 acorn. 
 
 How this expands our year-text ! How it enlarges 
 your heritage ! How it floods those common walks of 
 life of which we were speaking with tlie splendors of the 
 empyrean ! How it dignifies every service that bears the 
 sacred name of duty ! How it dwarfs the trials of life, 
 and solaces its griefs, and turns its lamentations into 
 hosannas ! All that it means, nor man, nor angel knows. 
 What we do know of it, I shall not attempt to set forth. 
 Enough that your charter includes whatever of purity 
 and peace, of dignity and honor, of perfect rest and ever- 
 lasting felicity, may be intended by that fathomless word, 
 
 17 
 
250 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 'glory.' Ponder it, Christian brethren, on this New 
 Year's morning. Take it into your heart of hearts; 
 cherish it as a sacred talisman wherever you go ; keep it 
 in mind as you launch forth upon this untraversed sea, 
 that whatever its shoals and reefs, its storms and wrecks, 
 'grace and glory' await you. In every emergency, in 
 the presence of temptation, imder the burden of your 
 daily toil, on a bed of sickness, when smitten with a great 
 sorrow, when training for some arduous service, in com- 
 bating corruption within or iniquity without, in your 
 prosperous ease, in your hours of despondency, recall the 
 priceless promise, "The Lord will give grace and glory." 
 Peradventure, you may need its help — some of us inevi- 
 tably will — in a yet more solemn conjunctiu'e. There are 
 many vacant seats at your boards, and in these pews, which 
 were filled on the last New Year's Sabbath. The Scrip- 
 ture then proposed to you, "J. little v:liilei^'' proved a 
 prophetic utterance to not a few whom we tenderly loved, 
 and would fain have kept with us. Can we doubt that 
 this experience will repeat itself during the present year ] 
 Our loved ones, departed in the faith and hope of the 
 Gospel, now comprehend, as it is not possible for us to 
 do, the deep, hidden meaning of our New Year text, 
 'grace and glory.' They know more of 'grace' than 
 the most mature believer who is still in the flesh ; first,, 
 because they have received not only living grace but 
 dying grace ; and, secondly, because the boundless grace 
 of redemption can never be appreciated until the august 
 scheme is contemplated from heaven. And, then, we 
 know notliincj of 'glory;' whereas they are robed with 
 all its splendors, and filled with all its blessedness. This 
 is alike for the encouragement of the pilgrims whose feet 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 251 
 
 may be soon pressing the margin of Jordan, and for the 
 comfort of those whose friends have crossed the stream. 
 
 Of some who have within the last few months passed 
 from grace into glory I would gladly speak, would time 
 and strength permit. But I must content myself with 
 the expression of a pastor's sincerest sympathy with your 
 afflictions, and with the hope and prayer that to you, and 
 to all my people, there may come the utmost fulness of 
 blessing which can be bound up in our grateful benedic- 
 tion, A HAPPY New Year ! 
 
 In thus passing by our ow^n sorrows, I shall have your 
 indulgence for a word respecting that recent dispensation 
 which has cast its shadows upon all our churches, upon 
 our whole land, almost upon the Christian world. " There 
 is a prince and a great man fallen in Israel !" Our city 
 has paused in the midst of the festivities of the season 
 to gather around his bier. Eloquent eulogy, more just 
 than eulogy is wont to be, has commemorated his 
 rare gifts, and still rarer graces. Devout men have car- 
 ried him to hissburiai, and made great lamentation over 
 him ; and the tears of two generations bedew his grave. 
 I will not repeat, though I heartily endorse, the emphatic 
 tributes paid to his various learning, his intellectual 
 power, his prodigious industry, his quiet, unassuming 
 carriage, his consistent example, and his laborious, bene- 
 ficent, and useful life. These and their kindred traits 
 have been fitly lauded. But I cannot forbear expressing 
 the sense of personal bereavement I feel in the death of 
 Mr. Barnes. While differing widely in some of our 
 theological views, this was no bar to our friendship. I 
 gave him my cordial esteem, my veneration, my love. 
 And he left me no room to doubt that he reciprocated 
 
252 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 the afFcction I bore him. It was always a pleasure to 
 nie to meet him. Whenever we were thrown together, 
 we were sure to have refreshing converse upon topics of 
 private interest or public importance ; and there were 
 grave questions touching the economics of the Church, 
 upon which our sentiments coalesced, in opposition to 
 opinions current among younger men of all ' schools.' 
 In parting with him on these occasions, it was uniformly 
 with a deepened impression of his sincerity, his purity, 
 his conscientiousness, and his supreme devotion to the 
 work God had given him to do. A presence like his 
 was a perpetual benediction to his brethren. The with- 
 drawal of it creates a void in the ranks of the Christian 
 ministry of our city which no survivor can fill. Let us 
 bless God for the ' grace ' which shone so conspicuously 
 in his character and life, and for the 'glory' into which 
 he was so suddenly translated. Help us, O Lord, to ' fol- 
 low them who, through faith and patience, liave inherited 
 the promises;' and 'make us to be numbered with thy 
 saints in glory everlasting !' 
 
1872. 
 
 XIV. 
 ''WHOSE I AM, AND WHOM I SERVE." 
 
 • ACTS XXVII. 23. 
 
 Very remarkable language this is, whether we con- 
 sider the person who uttered it, or the circumstances in 
 which he was placed at the time. You will readily recall 
 that memorable voyage of the great Apostle of the Gen- 
 tiles, on his way as a prisoner to Rome, when the frail 
 bark, with its large freight of human beings, encoun- 
 tered a hurricane of two weeks' duration, and the whole 
 company were expecting certain death. In the midst of 
 this turmoil, while the winds and waves were hurrying 
 them on, as they believed, to inevitable destruction, for 
 " all hope (so we read) that we should be saved was then 
 taken away," — at this critical conjuncture, Paul stood 
 forth before the " two hundred threescore and sixteen 
 souls," his fellow-voyagers, and addressed to them these 
 calm, assuring words : — " Sirs, ye should have hearkened 
 unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have 
 gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to 
 be of good cheer : for there shall be no loss of any man's 
 life among you, but ol' the ship. For there stood by me 
 this night the angel of God, whose I am, and ivhom I 
 
 (253) 
 
254 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 serve^ saying, Fear not, Paul; tliou must be brouglit be- 
 fore Ca?sar: and lo, God liath given thee all them that 
 sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer : for 
 I believe God, that it shall be even as it were told me. 
 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island." Brave 
 words these in the face of such a tornado! And how 
 literally they were verified by the result, you Avell know. 
 Many topics they suggest upon which we cannot now 
 dwell. ]jet it simply be noted, in passing, that this Avliole 
 ship's company were saved for the sake of one Christian 
 man. " So God hath given thee all them that sail with 
 thee." If the irreligious knew how many blessings, tem- 
 poral no less than spiritual, come to them purely for the 
 sake of Christian relatives or friends, it might do some- 
 thing to conciliate their kindly regards tow^ards that 
 Gospel they contemn. Possibly there may be those here 
 whose life has been prolonged for another year, chiefly 
 for the sake of some pious wife, or parent, or child, with 
 whose faith they have not the slightest sympathy. 
 
 I have spoken of the text as a remarkable utterance ; — 
 remarkable, very, if we assume a latent reference to the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. This we seem warranted in doing, 
 because Paul repeatedly styles himself "a servant of 
 Jesus Christ," and is followed herein by his fellow- Apos- 
 tles, Peter and Jude. Reverting to his early history, it 
 reveals the thorough transformation which had passed 
 over him that he should use language of this sort. There 
 w^as a period when hatred of Jesus Christ was the con- 
 trolling passion of his nature, — a hatred all the more 
 intense and malevolent because nursed as a religious 
 sentiment, and sanctified by the vigils and prayers of the 
 strictest of devotees. Now, not merely is his hatred 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 255 
 
 turned to love, but lie exults in bearing to that same 
 Jesus the relation of a bondman. In the passage before 
 us — 'whom I serve,' the precise meaning of the verb 
 is to serve in the way of worship, the highest form of 
 service, and involving every other type. But elsewhere 
 he uses the word hovXog. He even puts it, in his opening 
 salutation to the Roman Church, as the most honorable 
 of titles, and meet to be associated with the high office 
 of Apostleship : — " Paul, a hov^^og, a bondman, a slave of 
 Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, .... to all that 
 be in Rome." In this view, the two phrases in the text, 
 "Whose I am, and whom I serve," are explanatory of 
 each other. " I belong to Christ ; his ownership in me 
 is as complete as that of a Roman master in his slave." 
 Nothing could go beyond this. And his whole life at- 
 tested how truly he felt it, and how heartily he gloried 
 in it. 
 
 While there were many things in St. Paul's character 
 and history peculiar to himself, there was very much in 
 his experience that he shared with the faithful of all 
 lands and generations. Every true disciple sustains 
 the same relation to Jesus Christ that he did. Every one 
 professes what Paul avows here, — " Whose I am, and whom 
 I serve." We have all appropriated this language, my 
 brethren. We virtually make it our own, not only so 
 often as we sit down at the Lord's table, but in every 
 prayer we offer, and every psalm of praise we sing. It 
 cannot be amiss, then, to inquire what these words mean, 
 and how far it may be helpful to carry them with us into 
 the scenes of the opening year. 
 
 "Whose I am." Here is an acknowledgment on the 
 
256 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 part of the believer of God's absolute property or owner- 
 ship in him. Whence does it originate ? 
 
 Manifestly, believers belong to God by the right of 
 creation. He who made us, owns us. No right can be 
 more unqualified or indefeasible than this. But as it 
 applies to all men not only, but to all creatures, animate 
 and inanimate, material and spiritual, it would not be 
 pertinent to press it in this connection. 
 
 In the second place, believers belong to Christ, because 
 tlieij icere given Him hy the Father in the covenant of 
 grace. 
 
 In no obscure terms do the Scriptures instruct us of 
 this sublime transaction between the Father and the Son. 
 Foreseeing the apostacy of our first parents, and the con- 
 sequent ruin of their posterity, it pleased God from eter- 
 nity to ordain that certain of our race should be restored 
 to his favor and image. Those whom He thus set his 
 love upon He gave to his only begotten Son, who, on his 
 part, engaged to become their surety and ransom. "Ac- 
 cording as he hath chosen us in him (Christ) before the 
 foundation of the world." "Who hath saved us and 
 called us with an holy calling, not according to our 
 works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which 
 was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 
 " I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast 
 given me ; for thev are thine." In terms like these does 
 the inspired word refer to the sovereign and gracious 
 purpose of God in determining to rescue a portion of 
 mankind from the sway of his and their great enemy. 
 As all were alike guilty, miserable, and helpless, so, left 
 to themselves, all must have remained in that state per- 
 petually. His right to bestow certain of them — all, had 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 257 
 
 He so chosen — upon the Son of his love, was perfect. 
 The right of the Son to accept the gift upon the condi- 
 tions of the covenant of grace, was no less perfect. And 
 by the same token is his ownership in all true Christians 
 established upon an immutable foundation. 
 
 Another of the pillars upon which this claim rests is 
 redemptio7i. Of this august theme, which lights up the 
 sacred records from Genesis to Eevelation, it must suffice 
 to say, that the Son of God fulfilled to the letter the 
 stipulations of that covenant of which we have just 
 spoken. Very affecting it is to reflect how much was 
 to be done — aye, and how much to be suffered — before a 
 single sinner of our race could be brought into a situa- 
 tion in which he might lift his eyes heavenward and say, 
 "Whose I am!" Infinite love was on the throne, and 
 infinite wisdom, and infinite power. But, without an 
 expiation, not all the infinites combined could avail 
 to roll back the curse which had overwhelmed man. 
 Bethlehem was a stern necessity; Gethsemane was a 
 necessity ; Calvary was a necessity. The Only-begotten, 
 dwelling in the glory which He had with the Father 
 before the world was, knew it all ; yet did He freely offer 
 himself as our ransom ; and, when the fulness of the time 
 was come, He as freely assumed our nature, and bore our 
 sins in his own body on the tree. Thus was the eternal 
 compact crowned and sealed wdth his own blood. " Christ 
 hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made 
 a curse for us." Henceforth his people are doubly his ; 
 his by the Father's gift, and his by the efficacy of his 
 atoning death. The spotless righteousness thus wrought 
 out by Him as their substitute is made theirs. There 
 can, therefore, be 'no condemnation' to them, for they 
 
258 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 are 'in Christ Jesus.' Liberated from the old bondage, 
 and engrafted into Christ, they belong to Him as really 
 as the branch belongs to the vine. Well may they 
 say, "Whose I am," for their very life, their icliole life, 
 is derived from Him ! 
 
 Yet it is not derived from Christ without the interven- 
 tion of an agent, who shares with Him the work of 
 man's recovery. The believer belongs to Christ by reason 
 of the radical change Avr ought in his character by the 
 Divine Spirit. What we are by nature, was symbolized 
 by that valley of dry bones seen in vision by the prophet. 
 What the redeemed become by grace, is shown by that 
 white-robed company around the throne. The moral 
 distance lying between these extremes is something im- 
 mense. Never could it have been traversed, never could 
 the first step of the way have been taken by a single 
 sinner of Adam's race, but for the mission of the Holy 
 Spirit to our world. Even the cross of Christ — that spec- 
 tacle which concentrates upon itself the rapt gaze of 
 all the angelic hosts — must have been set up in vain. 
 Men would have passed and re-passed it, age after age, 
 with as little of relenting or sympathy as was exhibited 
 by the callous throng who poured that day out of the 
 gates of Jerusalem to witness the crucifixion. The 
 blessed Spirit came to rescue man from himself, to open 
 his eyes, to unseal his ears, to subjugate his will, and to 
 lead him a willing, grateful penitent, to the Saviour. 
 Not reluctantly now, but joyfully, does he bend his neck 
 to receive the yoke of Christ. And henceforth it be- 
 comes the guiding maxim of his life, — "Whose 1 am." 
 
 This is anticipating the only remaining consideration 
 I shall adduce to show the absolute ownership which 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 259 
 
 Christ lias in his people, viz., their voluntary choice of 
 Him as their Master, and their covenant engagement to 
 know no other Lord. 
 
 I say, their voluntary choice, for no act of their lives 
 can be more so. Through the secret, silent, and irre- 
 sistible influence of the Spirit of God, their enmity is 
 turned to love. Up to this period they could not hear 
 the voice of Christ ; now all the tumult of earth cannot 
 drown it. They would not come to Him that they might 
 have life ; now they cannot stay away from Him. It is 
 in their eyes a proof of his boundless love and pity that 
 He should be willing to receive them, that He should 
 consent to give them a place among those happy '■hond- 
 men'' of his, whose bondage is perfect freedom. And, 
 approaching Him in this temper, their grateful song goes 
 up before Him : — 
 
 " Thy grace so costly, yet so free, 
 My hope and song shall ever be, 
 
 Till, in thy courts above, 
 In loftier, sweeter notes I'll sing 
 The praises of my Saviour King, 
 And his redeeming love." 
 
 Such is our answer to the question, 'What are the 
 elements which constitute this intimate relationship be- 
 tween Christ and the believer, in virtue of which every 
 Christian can say, and does say, "Whose I am"?" There 
 is, first, the eternal decree of the Father ; next, the ran- 
 som paid by the Son ; then, the renewing work of the 
 Divine Spirit; and, to crown all, the hearty, thankful 
 consent of the believing sinner. Here is a fourfold bond — 
 a bond so strong that nothing in earth, or heaven, or 
 
2G0 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 hell, can ever sunder it. It makes the ownership of Christ 
 in his people so absolute that nothing could make it 
 more so. They are his body and soul. Whatever they 
 own He owns. Their property is his. Their gifts and 
 accomplishments are his. He owns their- homes and 
 their business. He owns their health, their time, their 
 influence, and their all. He so owns them and theirs 
 that He can dispose of them as He may choose. Subject 
 only to the restrictions imposed by his own rectitude. He 
 may assign them to any sphere, appoint them to any ser- 
 vice, visit them with any trials, exact of them any sacri- 
 fice. He sees fit. His own most holy will is the only rule 
 by which He is bound in his dealings with them. And 
 they would not have it otherwise. It was with this clear 
 imderstandhig they consented to the compact. And their 
 ready response to his every demand is, " Whose I am, 
 and whom I serve." 
 
 What this service involves, is implied in the remarks 
 already made. But we must consider the question more 
 minutely if we are to carry the text with us into the 
 scenes of the coming year. Three things it compre- 
 hends, to wit : — 
 
 Faith in all Christ's teachings. 
 
 Obedience to all his commands. 
 
 And submission to all his allotments. 
 
 1. Faith in all Christ'' s teachings. It pertains to tlie 
 relation in which Ave stand to Christ, that we recognize 
 Him as our prime instructor, and accept his lessons 
 with an implicit faith. This imports a careful study of 
 his word, that we may learn what He has caused to be 
 written for our benefit. That the word should contain 
 ' some things hard to be understood,' is a matter of course. 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 261 
 
 When we consider that the sacred books were penned 
 by numerous authors, dispersed over a period of sixteen 
 centuries ; that they treat of a vast variety of topics per- 
 taining to different countries and peoples ; and, especially, 
 that they discourse of the loftiest themes upon which the 
 minds of men or angels could be employed, it were a 
 greater marvel than any they now present to us, if they 
 had not embraced " things hard to be understood." 
 
 Nor is it strange that thoughtful and conscientious 
 readers should sometimes hesitate and doubt over these 
 recondite revelations. This need not impeach their fidel- 
 ity to the Master, provided they have an honest desire to 
 learn what He teaches, and are using the proper means 
 to that end. To reject a doctrine simply because it is 
 ' too high ' for their narrow comprehension, or because it 
 does not seem to them to be ' reasonable,' would be quite 
 incompatible with the allegiance they owe Him. If it 
 be out of 'a true heart' you say, "Whose I am, and 
 whom I serve," you will search the Scriptures as for hid 
 treasures ; you will seek, by earnest study and prayer, to 
 have your doubts and difficulties, on whatever points, 
 removed; you will labor for a deeper insight into the 
 ' great mystery of godliness ' and its related topics ; you 
 will cordially accept the truth as it may be made plain 
 to you ; and you will be satisfied only with an intelligent 
 Christianity, which adds to its faith and virtue an ever- 
 increasing hnoidedge of the inspired word. 
 
 2. The service of Christ includes obedience to all Ids 
 commands. 
 
 It were superfluous to argue the question whether a 
 servant owes fealty to his master. Here is the best of all 
 Masters, and here are the most favored of all servants — 
 
262 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 bondmen, wlio have a nobler distinction in being called to 
 serve such a Master, than they would have had in riding 
 over an earthly kingdom. Tlie service they have pledged 
 to Him is unconditional, without " ifs" or " buts." It is 
 imiversal, extending to all requirements. It is constant, 
 terminating only with life. It is sincere, emanating from 
 a loving heart, and animated by a cheerful spirit. 
 
 3. No less vital, as one of the elements of this service, 
 is suhmission to all CJwisfs allotments. 
 
 There is a familiar type of submission, the deference 
 which is paid to authority, the homage which power 
 exacts of dependence. Essentially servile in its nature, 
 it is the poles away from the sentiment here intended. 
 Genuine submission springs from love. It does not ex- 
 clude sensibility to trials. So far from it, a gracious per- 
 son — one who has experienced the renewing of the Holy 
 Ghost — has all his sensibilities quickened, and his affec- 
 tions refined to that degree that he feels more keenly 
 than ever before. But he believes in a Providence. He 
 has confidence in the wisdom and faithfulness of his 
 Heavenly Father. He sees God's hand as well in his 
 trials as in his mercies. And, however painful they may 
 be to flesh and blood, he supplicates the grace which may 
 enable him to say, "Thy will be done !" This is Chris- 
 tian resignation. 
 
 Other particulars proper to the exposition of the text 
 will readily suggest themselves to your minds; but enough 
 has been said to prepare the way for that application of 
 the subject which the occasion demands. 
 
 There lies before you, w^e will suppose, your '■'■Diary for 
 1872;" all but its first six pages as yet untouched by tlie 
 pen. You are now asked to write at the top of each one 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 263 
 
 of these spotless pages the mscription, "Whose I am, and 
 whom I serve." What does this import] Clearly that 
 you are to carry into every day the conviction that you are 
 not your own, but Christ's; that He has bought you with 
 a price no less than his own blood ; and that you are to 
 serve Him with all your powers of body and mind, of 
 heart and soul. His right to this service will be con- 
 tested. Other masters will claim your homage. His 
 rule is one which does not suit the world ; and the world, 
 therefore, frames statutes of its own. These conventional 
 codes vary indefinitely in different ages and countries, 
 but they are all more or less incompatible with his law. 
 They sanction practices which He would frown upon. 
 They confuse the elements of right and wrong ; and, for 
 the immutable principles of truth and duty, substitute 
 maxims of expediency, which have neither uniformity 
 nor legitimate authority. No man who feels that he 
 may lawfully do whatever his neighbors do, can appro- 
 priate the language of the text, except through a per- 
 verted conscience. The pressure from this quarter to be 
 resisted is sometimes very great. One does not like to 
 be singular. It is not pleasant to forego, for example, in 
 buying and selling, usages which one's rivals are employ- 
 ing to the enlargement of their profits. It is quite natural 
 to fall in with the tone and temper of the communfty or 
 fraternity to which we belong. Many an upright man 
 has come by degrees to countenance the flagitious gam- 
 bling which is the opprobrium of some stock exchanges. 
 Americans are apt to be revolted when they first witness 
 the systematic desecration of the Sabbath in foreign capi- 
 tals ; but a brief residence often proves sufficient to draw 
 them into the noxious current. We take on uncon- 
 
264 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 sciously the hues reflected from our daily associations, 
 and are content with being- no worse than our fel- 
 lows. These, we persuade ourselves, are better than an 
 ' over-scrupulous ' moralist might concede ; but their real 
 position is too often that defined by the disciple whom 
 Jesus loved : — " They are of the world ; therefore speak 
 they of the world, and the world heareth them." Yet 
 it is to such hands the sceptre is quietly transferred by 
 those who had no conscious purpose of wresting it from 
 the hands that baar the print of the nails. 
 
 Allegiance to Christ cannot consort with this subservi- 
 ency to a world which nailed Him to the tree. " No 
 man can serve two masters." We profess to have de- 
 cided between them. If it be in good faith that we have 
 inscribed our daily journal with the motto, " Whom I 
 serve," we must listen to his voice only, not to the clam- 
 orous voices of the world, and not even to the voice of the 
 Church, unless we be entirely sure that Christ is speak- 
 ing through the Church. For is it not too apparent 
 that the counsels of the Church, if not as an organized 
 society, at least of many who use its dialect, and share its 
 privileges, are at variance with his counsels ( Every one 
 has seen how the Church and* the world have been gravi- 
 tating towards each other of late years, — whether by a 
 growmg deflection of both orbits, or of only one of them, 
 people will decide for themselves. That the tendency of the 
 Church is earthward, that it was so even when Apostles 
 were its teachers, is apparent, not simply from the New 
 Testament, and from ecclesiastical history, but from the 
 personal experience of believers. For the society must 
 represent the individuals that compose it ; and every 
 Christian is painfully aware of the energy with which 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 265 
 
 he is ever drawn towards the thmgs that perish with the 
 using ! Were it not that these tendencies are counter- 
 acted or modified by gracious influences from without, 
 what Christian, what Church, could escape final ship- 
 wreck ? 
 
 With what reason, then, can any believer assume as 
 his rule of duty the opinions or customs of his brethren, 
 unless he have first verified them by the Master's utter- 
 ances 1 How far your associates are worthy to be im- 
 plicitly imitated you may learn with sufficient accuracy by 
 interrogating your own heart. They are, probably, very 
 much what you are, not essentially better nor worse. If it 
 be right for you to take them as your model, they must 
 have the same warrant to take you for theirs. Are you 
 ready for this X Do you feel that it would be wise on their 
 part % Is it the dictate of conscience that your brethren 
 would do well to tread in your steps, especially in rela- 
 tion to that large class of mixed questions concerning 
 which consciences may diff'er 1 An Apostle could say, 
 "Brethren, he followers togetlier of ?«e, and mark them 
 which walk, so as ye have us for an example." But who 
 amongst us would venture to address his brethren in this 
 strain] " One is your Master, even Christ." Here is the 
 lesson we profess to have learned. And it is clothed with 
 the highest possible significance, because it is Christ Him- 
 self who speaks. If we honestly accept this truth, we 
 cannot put upon Him the indignity of consnlting our 
 fellow-servants in preference to the Master. Let them 
 say or do what they please, right or wrong, wise or fool- 
 ish. They are no law to us. " Be not ye the servants 
 of men." They cannot answer for us, nor we for them. 
 
 18 
 
266 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 Enough that we have our Master, and are responsible to 
 Him alone. 
 
 Should it happen, then, in the course of this year, that 
 you are solicited to take this or that debatable step 
 mainly upon the ground that it has the sanction of some 
 " good Christians," it will be well to recall our year-text 
 and say to yourself, " Whose I am, and whom I serve ! 
 What will my Master have me do V Happily, you can 
 consult Him. It is one of our great advantages that He 
 is always at hand. No emergency of this sort can arise 
 that we may not lay the question before Him, with a 
 reasonable assurance that He will guide us to the proper 
 conclusion. With his word in our hands, and the Spirit's 
 aid freely promised, the path will ordinarily be made so 
 plain that " wayfaring men, though fools, need not err 
 therein." Shall we not begin the year with the habit of 
 consulting the Master on all questions of duty ] 
 
 It is no unusual custom, in well-ordered families, for 
 servants to come to the head of the household each morn- 
 ing and receive instructions for the day. Doubtless this 
 is your own habit in respect to your Master. But, per- 
 adventure, it may sometimes be slighted, or the instruc- 
 tions may be soon forgotten. Suppose you go to Him. 
 reverently and trustfully, and ask his directions for the 
 new year. 'Thine I am, O Lord, and Thee I serve. 
 What hast Thou for me to do this year 1 How can I 
 turn my gifts and opportunities to the best account "? 
 W^herein can I serve Thee most acceptably V 
 
 A petition like this, followed up by correspondent 
 daily petitions, would, in the course of a twelvemonth, 
 save us a world of perplexity, and simplify the work of 
 life as much as it would augment our comfort. It is not 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 267 
 
 improbable that the Master might answer our inquiries 
 in part by reminding us wherein we had failed of our 
 duty in past years. The era of direct revelation has gone 
 by. But He still speaks to us 'in divers manners;' and 
 one of the books He puts in our hands is our own biog- 
 raphy. Very diverse are the uses to be made of it ; but 
 no one of them is of higher moment than the admoni- 
 tions it supplies of our mistakes and sins, and the neces- 
 sity of avoiding them in the future. What they may 
 have been we cannot specify for one another. Each life 
 makes its own record. A faithful memory, aided by a 
 quickened conscience, will preach to you of the past as 
 no other preacher can. It will be your wisdom to heed 
 its counsels, even though they come to you in the form 
 of reproaches for wasted time and neglected duties. 
 
 In regard to the particular sphere we are to occupy, 
 there are not many amongst us to whom that is an open 
 question. Providence has assigned us to our positions, 
 and prescribed our vocations. But it remains to be de- 
 cided in what spirit we are to meet the obligations of our 
 allotted task. You will have gone sometimes into a mill 
 where a hundred men were engaged at the same me- 
 chanical processes, and you must have observed not only 
 their different grades as to aptitude and skill, but the 
 diversity they exhibited in respect of the diligence and 
 alacrity with which they plied their work. It is not 
 enough that we go through our allotted task, and so com- 
 plete the day's service, whether in the factory or the shop, 
 the sick-room or the forum, the library or the legislative 
 hall, that no human tongue may have cause to upbraid 
 us. The eye of the ' Great Taskmaster ' is upon us, and 
 if our eye be upon Him also, it will put us upon carry 
 
268 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 ing into our work tlie utmost energy we can command, 
 and a serenity of temper that shall prove how u-iUiiig a 
 service we are paying Him. It is a Divine act, that of 
 prosecuting our ordinary pursuits with an habitual and 
 grateful reference to his will. Those who have learned 
 the lesson will attest that there is nothing which aids so 
 effectually in smoothing the rough paths of toil and light- 
 ening its burdens as the feeling that all these arrange- 
 ments are of God's appointment, and that the myriad 
 tribes of labor are his servants. 
 
 Nor are these the limits of the Almighty domain. It 
 covers no less our civil relations. The state is one of his 
 institutions. Your political obligations terminate upon 
 Him, and these are to be as conscientiously discharged 
 as are yoiu- religious duties. Were this principle ade- 
 quately recognized by Christian men generally, it would 
 produce a revolution in the country more decisive and 
 more benign than any which has ever crowned the tri- 
 umph of a political party. What a reproach it is to the 
 Christianity of the land that it shrinks so much from 
 contact with the imlifks of the land, as ihough in giving 
 us what we boast of as "the best government in the 
 world," it Avere a matter of indifference to the Great 
 Supreme whether we took care of it, or suffered it to 
 degenerate into anarchy or despotism. What sort of 
 fealty is that which is rendered to Christ when his ser- 
 vants by the thousand stand idly by and see vile men 
 nominated and elected to important offices without re- 
 sisting it] The country looks aghast at the frightful 
 official corruption which has been unearthed of late. It 
 might have been prevented. To a large extent it would 
 have been prevented if the religious men of all parties 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 969 
 
 had been true to the motto inscribed upon that ensign 
 which they profess to carry high above their party ban- 
 ners, "Whose I am, and whom I serve." No, no, breth- 
 ren, you have not been true to your profession. All over 
 the land Christian men have often gathered around party 
 standards held by the foulest hands, while the blood- 
 stained Laharnm of their glorious leader has been trailed 
 in the dust. It will be one step towards the redressing 
 of the wrongs which you may have had some agency in 
 visiting not only upon the commonwealth but upon the 
 cause of Christ, if you henceforth discard the pestilent 
 heresy that the politics of the country are a worthless 
 common, where the scum of the populace are to hold 
 their revels and plan their robberies, instead of a garden 
 to be culti-sated by the choicest hands, and seeded with 
 the finest of the wheat. The country needs your help, 
 and has a right to demand it. If the offices it claims are 
 distasteful to you, remember who it is that has laid them 
 upon you, and consider what must have been your con- 
 dition to-day if Christ had declined all offices that were 
 not agreeable to his natural feelings. To attempt to 
 divorce your religion from the claims of citizenship is not 
 merely disloyalty to your country, it is perfidy to Christ. 
 We pass, by a grateful transition, from the State to the 
 Church. Here the inscription is too legible to be hid, 
 and we meet it on every side, — "Whose I am, and wliom 
 I serve !" And, again, the inquiry recurs. How am I to 
 carry this sentiment with me into the experiences of the 
 year I Manifestly (for one thing) by leaving at its thresh- 
 old whatever might impede you in your work. WTien 
 you visit a neighbor through rain and mud, you put 
 off your soiled coverings as you enter his house ; good 
 
270 MOTTOES FOR THE NE]V YEAR. 
 
 breeding and your own comfort require it. We have 
 all been on the move for twelve months, with varying 
 skies, with ever-shifting scenes, with companions, friendly, 
 hostile, or indifferent, of every tone and temper, and it 
 will not be strange if we have brought accretions with 
 us which should be dropped before we go any further. 
 There are, possibly, some untoward habits that have been 
 contracted, some vicious appetites indulged, some pre- 
 judices nursed, some rude antipathies paraded, some 
 selfish aspirations fostered. Would it not be well, now 
 that the new year is throwing open its door to us, to leave 
 these outside 1 They will only be a clog to us, and an 
 annoyance to others, if we insist upon keeping them. 
 Better to let them drift away upon the broad bosom of 
 the old year, which is fast bearing so many hetfei- things 
 out of sight. We shall have thorny places to traverse, 
 and burdens to take up, and perils to encounter, and bat- 
 tles to wage, before tMs year is over ; and it behooves 
 us to get rid of all possible incumbrances at the start, to 
 ' lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily 
 beset us, that we may run with patience the race set 
 before us,' and 'fight the good fight of faith, and lay 
 hold upon eternal life.' 
 
 This is preparation for work. For the work itself, so 
 there be a willing mind, the Master will show us where 
 and how we may serve Him to good purpose. His vine- 
 yard is very large. There is room for all that care to 
 labor, and there is work for all. Our part of the field 
 may not be just that which we should prefer. Our func- 
 tions may be less conspicuous than those of some others. 
 The probable results may be comparatively moderate. 
 To turn a lathe all day, to drive the shuttle, to delve 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 271 
 
 in a mine, to ply the needle, to plod througli the 
 monotonous routine of housewifery day by day, with the 
 bare necessaries of life to keep the domestic machinery 
 in motion, — all this must be trying enough to flesh and 
 blood. What wonder if the servants employed in these 
 vocations look sometimes with a wistful — I will not say 
 an envious — eye, towards others, their fellow-servants, 
 who are assigned to a richer soil, with better implements, 
 an easier tillage, and, prospectively, a more generous 
 harvest^ If you pause with the outward and the sen- 
 sible here, repining is inevitable. But,'if you recall your 
 lesson, " Whose I am, and whom I serve," you will not 
 repine. He distributes his gifts to his servants, and sends 
 them to their work, as He deems best. What He expects 
 of them is, not that they display equal abilities, or master 
 the same acquisitions, or attract the same attention, or 
 achieve the same results. Nothing of this. But that 
 they be faithful each to his ovm trust. The remark of 
 John Newton has been often quoted, that if God should 
 send two angels into the world, and order one to drive a 
 team, and the other to rule a kingdom, they would be 
 equally satisfied with their respective positions. To be 
 "a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ" is distinction 
 enough for man or angel ; the day will so declare it. 
 The proper antidote to despondency on the part of the 
 toiling disciple, and to pride on the part of his affluent, 
 or eloquent, or eminently useful, brother, lies in the re- 
 flection, "Whose I am, and whom I serve." 
 
 It were easy to adduce scores of arguments by way of 
 commending this Scripture to you as your guide and 
 talisman for the year. A single and familiar considera- 
 tion must suffice. 
 
272 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 Any year may be our last, — tliis year as likely as any 
 other. And whenever death does come, the only shield 
 against its terrors, and the only solace for mourners, is to 
 be found in the relations the departing spirit has sus- 
 tained to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a most significant 
 tribute which the world pays to the value of true piety, 
 that it lays more stress upon the slight tokens a man 
 may have furnished of even a transient interest in re- 
 ligion than upon all he was or all he did besides. It is 
 not of a man's riches, or his enterprise, or his eloquence, 
 or his wit, and of a woman's beauty, or her accomplish- 
 ments, or the splendor of her entertainments, that we first 
 think when they are dead or dying. Who can depict the 
 remorse and dread upon a bed of sickness of those faith- 
 less disciples who, professing to be servants of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, have given their time, and money, and 
 strength to the world that crucified Him ! When a pro- 
 fessing Christian of this type is struck down by a threat- 
 ening illness, conscience is very apt to demand a hearing ; 
 and noiD it must and icill be heard. "Alas, alas, I have 
 betrayed my Master. Wearing his livery, I have con- 
 sorted with his foes. Pledged to enlist other perishing 
 sinners in his cause, I have taught them, by my example, 
 to regard Him as a hard Master. When I first took my 
 seat at his table I supposed I had some of the marks of 
 true discipleship. But these have all been obliterated 
 by my career of worldliness, and how can He forgive 
 mel Mercy, mercy; God have mercy upon my soul !" 
 
 Is this overdrawn I Do you not believe it is the his- 
 tory of countless death-beds'? And is such a death to 
 be coveted'? Even if you yourself might have the 
 courage to dare it, what an unkindness to your friends 
 
MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 273 
 
 to oblige them, after you are gone, to look with painful 
 scrutiny through your life and character, in order to 
 glean, if possible, some scraps of evidence upon which 
 to found a hope that you have been saved, although 'as 
 by fire.' You owe it to those who love you to spare 
 them this cruel trial. And if you owe it to them, what 
 do you not owe to Him who submitted to the sharpness 
 of death, clothed with alJ its horrors, in order that you 
 and I might die in peace ^. 
 
 You may die in peace. Take this Scripture, which is 
 tendered you to-day, "AVhose I am, and whom I serve." 
 'Bind it for a sign upon your hands, and let it be as 
 frontlets between your eyes ; write it upon the posts of 
 your house, and upon your gates;' walk by the light of 
 it, and rejoice in the liberty and strength which are bound 
 up in it, an^ you tvill die in peace. Nor this alone. 
 Should it please God to put this text into every one of 
 our hearts, and keep alive its inspiration within us, what 
 a year of blessing would this be to our Church ! The 
 indolent and indifferent would bring forth their buried 
 talents and become workers; and the workers would 
 work with lighter hearts. Those who have loved their 
 money more than they have loved Christ would emulate 
 the Ifagi in hastening to lay their treasures at His feet. 
 New energy would be infused into the Sunday-schools, 
 the missionary schemes, and all the benevolent opera- 
 tions with which we have to do. In place of the languor 
 which possibly may have settled down upon us, the entire 
 Church would soon reveal the glow of a healthful activity, 
 and we might expect to see a blessed ingathering into 
 the fold of those who are now far from God. 
 
 These, and such as these, are the results to be reason- 
 
 19 
 
274 MOTTOES FOR THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 ably anticipated, if, with one heart and soul, and with a 
 devout sense of our dependence upon the Divine Spirit, 
 we accept it as our motto for the year, and faithfully live 
 by it, "Whose I am, and whom I serve." 
 
 In the spirit of this Scripture, and with all the sym- 
 pathy of which a pastor's heart is capable, alike in your 
 joys and in your sorrows, I wish you a very happy New 
 Year ! 
 

 S 
 
 J