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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
TWO SERMONS. 
 
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 .i^' 
 
 REV. A. B,' EARLE, D. D. 
 
 Author of "The Morning Hour," " Bringing in Sheaves,** 
 "The Rest of Faith/^ etc. 
 
 ^ hy And they went forth and preached every where.^iWar^ l6 : 20, 
 
 r%/^ j/He that winneth souls is wise. — Ps. 11:30, 
 
 1 ' ■ l^y'^- A 
 
 BOSTO:^:^ 
 JAMES H. EARLE, PUBLISHER, 
 178 Washington Street. 
 1884. 
 
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 :P^^^\^ 
 
 ^3e Library 
 
 <->^ Congress 
 
 Washington 
 
 Copyright, 1884, 
 Bv James H. Earlb, 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 f^ AM now seventy-two years of age ; have 
 a preached fifty-three years; held union 
 meetings with twenty-two denominations ; 
 preached twenty thousand six hundred 
 and sixty-five times, and hope to preach 
 ten years longer. 
 
 In compliance with the wish of many 
 friends, 1 have selected two familiar 
 sermons, the one preached as my twenty- 
 thousandth sermon ; the other at eleven 
 o'clock, watch-night, Dec. 31, 1883, and 
 send them, as far as I am able, to all 
 who have labored with me in Revival 
 Work^ and to others who may read them 
 as my Frie7idly Greeting, May the Holy 
 Spirit accompany them ! 
 
 A. B. EARLE. 
 
 Nciutoity Mass.^ Jt^itey J8S4. 
 
TWO SERMONS. 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 
 
 "If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." 
 
 Ps. 137 : 6. 
 
 [O one could persuade himself that 
 these pious Jews referred simply 
 to having a home in the city of Jeru- 
 salem. There must have been some 
 other attraction that rendered the city 
 so dear to them. The very name sug- 
 gested to them the Divine presence. 
 In Ezekiel 48 135, God has given the 
 city a name full of tender memories : 
 "The name of the city from that day 
 
8 SERMON. 
 
 shall be, The Lord is there/' This 
 was the attraction, no doubt. 
 
 No place so dear to them, as the 
 place where God's honor dwelt. No 
 place where God had so often revealed 
 Himself and shown them His glory, 
 as in that city 
 
 I propose to place the word Church 
 in this text where Jerusalem stands, 
 and read it, '' I prefer the Church of 
 God above my chief joy.'* 
 
 Not any one denomination, but the 
 people of God, using the word in the 
 same sense that the martyr Stephen 
 did in Acts 7:38, "This is He that 
 was in the Church in the wilder- 
 ness.'' 
 
 This allusion was not to a denomi- 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED, 9 
 
 nation, but to the people and cause 
 of God in the wilderness. 
 
 Using the word in this broad sense, 
 I purpose to state a few reasons why 
 we should prefer and love the Church 
 more than we love anything else in 
 this world. More than we love par- 
 ents or children, husband or wife, 
 property or pleasure, or even life 
 itself, next to our Redeemer 
 
 Has Done More. 
 
 The Church has done more, and is 
 now doing more, for this world, than 
 all other organizations united. The 
 Church is the strong basis on which 
 all permanent reforms must rest for 
 support. It is the light of the wolrd, 
 
lO SERMON. 
 
 he salt of the earth, the great wheel 
 in the basement. 
 
 Forty or fifty years ago, a temper- 
 ance society was formed, that ignored 
 the Bible and prayer in their meet- 
 ings. Their motto was, *^Away with 
 the Bible, away with prayer from our 
 meetings. We are going to reform 
 the world.'' But did they reform the 
 world 1 The organization was a mere 
 rocket, that exploded and went out in 
 sparks, for the want of a basis to 
 rest upon. So it has been, and so it 
 will be, till time ends. All reforms 
 that do not rest on the Bible and 
 Christianity as a basis, must come 
 to naught. 
 
 Paul wrote to Timothy that he 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. II 
 
 might ''know how to behave himself 
 in the house of God, which is the 
 Church of the living God, the pillar 
 and ground of the truth." 
 
 Pillars are used to sustain heavy 
 burdens. When Samson removed the 
 two main pillars upon which that im- 
 mense flat roof rested, the whole build- 
 ing fell, causing the death of a great 
 number of Philistines. So the Church 
 is God's great burden-bearer. 
 
 Missionary Societies. 
 
 Every missionary society seeking the 
 salvation of men, has had its origin 
 in the Church. These societies have 
 usually originated in small prayer- 
 meetings, or with a few Christians 
 
12 SERMON. 
 
 while looking over the wants of the 
 world. God says of the Church, ''All 
 my springs are in thee/' Like our 
 great rivers which can be traced to 
 some small spring. 
 
 Who has not admired the beautiful 
 Susquehanna River near its outlet } 
 There it is, deep, broad, and majestic, 
 with large vessels on its bosom. But 
 as we trace its crooked course among 
 the Pennsylvania hills, winding our 
 way through the State of New York, 
 until we reach the village of Coopers- 
 town, — near that village is a little clus- 
 ter of springs. There is the origin of 
 this great river. So the Bible and mis- 
 sionary societies through the Church of 
 Christ started from small beginnings. 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED, 13 
 
 One of these organizations, now 
 sending its saving power to the ends 
 of the earth, preaching Christ to mil- 
 lions of lost men, had its origin with 
 thirteen members, starting with thir- 
 teen dollars in the treasury. 
 
 I found, in Oregon and Nevada, 
 great shafts extending from this par- 
 ent society. To these were attached 
 cogs, and pulleys, and wheels, all 
 moved by the organization at home ; 
 like an immense factory with its 
 looms and spindles, employing thou- 
 sands of laborers, with one great 
 wheel in the basement moving them 
 all 
 
 The Church is that great wheel in 
 the basement, which under the mighty 
 
14 SERMON. 
 
 Spirit is moving the moral machinery 
 of the world. 
 
 Every Minister. 
 
 The Church has furnished every one 
 of Christ's ministers now on the walls 
 of Zion, or in the great missionary 
 field, *^ bringing in the sheaves." With- 
 draw the entire ministry of God from 
 their great work, and a mighty arm of 
 reform is taken away. The Church 
 has translated, and is translating, the 
 Bible into all languages, and is giving 
 it to all nations. What should we do 
 without the Bible } And what would 
 the earth be without it } 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 15 
 
 Financially. 
 
 The Church has done more, finan- 
 cially, for this world than everything 
 else. Some people complain that it 
 costs so much to build meeting-houses, 
 and support ministers. But look at it 
 for a moment. Suppose a decree 
 should come forth from God, that not 
 a minister, or Christian, or house of 
 worship, should ever be found within 
 fifty miles of this place. How much 
 would property be worth here } Who 
 would wish to live here } We should 
 see what I saw in Charleston, S. C, 
 soon after the late war. Inside the 
 windows of those beautiful homes, 
 worth from ^5000 to $50,000 each, this 
 
1 6 SERMON. 
 
 notice, **To Let/' *^To Let/^ So it 
 
 would be here, and everywhere else, 
 without Christianity and the Bible. 
 Much as it costs to build meeting- 
 houses and support ministers, we have 
 more than every dollar we have paid 
 out, in the enhanced value of our 
 property. 
 
 Jacob's father-in-law got hold of this 
 great truth in his day. After Jacob 
 had served 14 years for his two wives, 
 he said to his father, he must go to 
 his kindred. But his father made it 
 an object for him to remain another 
 year ; and changing his wages again 
 and again, kept him, in all, twenty 
 years, then gave as a reason for 
 keeping him so long, that '' God had 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED, I? 
 
 dealt well with him '' on Jacob's ac- 
 count. 
 
 How true to the life this has been 
 and is still, to the ends of the earth! 
 Some of these husbands, when you 
 decided to marry, selected a pious, 
 godly young lady to share your joys 
 and sorrows. You showed good judg- 
 ment in the selection if she was will- 
 ing to be united for life with an 
 unconverted man. But after a while 
 she said gently, ''Husband, it is lonely 
 on communion-days to have you ab- 
 sent ; and besides, our children are 
 growing up, and ought to hear their 
 father's voice in prayer." But you 
 finally said, ''My wife, if we are going 
 to live pleasantly together, you must 
 
1 8 SERMON. 
 
 not talk to me so much about reli- 
 gion. Have your religion, but don't 
 talk to me about it.*' You silenced 
 her. Yet when you went to the office, 
 or store, or bank, she was in her 
 closet, saying, "O God, take care of 
 my husband ; protect and keep him 
 in his business.*' Her prayer was the 
 lightning-rod that drew off the red 
 cloud of wrath that hung over your 
 head. Little do you know how much 
 you owe to those prayers. Won't you 
 say to her to-day, "I will never 
 speak unkindly to you again about 
 religion" } 
 
 God spares a family, a town, a 
 country, because He has redeemed 
 ones in it. He would spare Sodom 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 1 9 
 
 and Gomorrah if ten righteous men 
 could be found in them. So that the 
 Church, faulty as it is, has done 
 more, and is now doing more, for this 
 world than all other organizations put 
 together, and for this reason should 
 be preferred and cherished. 
 
 "Lord, Thy Church is still Thy dwelling, 
 Still is precious in Thy sight; 
 Judah's temple far excelling, 
 Beaming with the gospel's light." 
 
 The Mother of All. 
 
 The Church is the mother of all re- 
 deemed souls. *^ Jerusalem which is 
 from above, is free, which is the 
 mother of us all.'' Not a part of 
 Christ's children, but of them all 
 
20 SERMON, 
 
 Far distant be the day when I 
 speak ill of my mother. I think I 
 should love and venerate my mother, 
 if there were rum-blotches on her 
 face. What if she has faults ? She 
 is my mother, with all her faults. 
 She gave me birth, and nursed and 
 cared for me, when I was weak and 
 helpless. Now, when I am grown to 
 be a man, shall I forget or neglect 
 her 1 How soon a man sinks himself 
 in the esteem of his neighbors, who 
 goes about speaking ill of his mother, 
 or neglects her ! 
 
 The Church is my spiritual mother. 
 I was born into the kingdom of 
 Christ through her pains and soul- 
 travail. She baptized and nursed me 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 21 
 
 when I was too weak to render her 
 much help. If I have done the 
 Church but little good, she has done 
 me a world of good. Let no re- 
 deemed one speak ill of his spiritual 
 mother, although she has so many 
 faults. 
 
 Christ's Bride. 
 
 The Church is Christ's bride. He 
 has betrothed her to Himself forever. 
 He says even to the backsliding Chris- 
 tian, " Return, ye backsliding daughter, 
 for I am married unto thee.'' I am 
 amazed at His choice. It is more 
 surprising to me, than it would have 
 been if Prince Albert had passed by 
 the queen, and all the royal families, 
 and proposed marriage to a girl in a 
 
22 SERMON. 
 
 country poorhouse, paying her bills, 
 clothing and educating her, then uni- 
 ^ting with her in marriage. Would 
 not every one have been surprised at 
 his choice ? Look at Christ's choice 
 for* a bride. Passing by the higher 
 order of beings (the fallen angels), 
 that sinned before we did, and fixing 
 His eternal love on this poorhouse 
 world. He found His bride owing ten 
 thousand talents, and with nothing to 
 pay. He took her in her rags and 
 pollution, paid her debts, clothed, and 
 educated her. 
 
 How wonderful this choice! But it 
 is His choice. The love between 
 Christ and His bride is a reciprocal 
 love. He loved her and died for her, 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED, 23 
 
 and she loved Him well enough to 
 die for Him. She has done it, and 
 will do it again if necessary. 
 
 There is a sense in which every 
 soul is married to Christ at conver- 
 sion, and yet, in a grander sense, 
 *the marriage ceremony is yet to come 
 off. His betrothed bride is now sing- 
 ing, as she waits for that day: — 
 
 " O, what wonder ! How amazing I 
 Jesus, glorious King of Kings, 
 Deigns to call me His beloved ; 
 Let me rest beneath His wings." 
 
 I understand the Divine order to 
 be this : When Christ's bride is ready, 
 so that she can say, ^^Amen, even 
 so come, Lord Jesus!" then Christ 
 will descend to a point overhead, with 
 
24 SERMON. 
 
 the virgin angels, and all those who 
 will have reached Heaven before with 
 Him. The saints then living on the 
 earth will undergo a change equiva- 
 lent to death, and be caught up to 
 meet those who had gone before, with 
 the Heavenly Bridegroom among them. 
 Then, by the light of the world on 
 fire, the grand marriage ceremony 
 will take place. The angels have a 
 set piece to sing, only suitable to 
 sing on that occasion. I do not 
 know the tune, — I shall know that 
 when I hear it, — but the words I 
 know now. They are these: — ''Let us 
 rejoice and be glad, for the marriage 
 of the Lamb is come, and His wife 
 has made herself ready.'* At that 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 2$ 
 
 time all the redeemed will receive 
 their resurrected bodies. None before, 
 none afterward. This change will take 
 place in a moment, in the twinkling 
 of an eye, when the trumpet shall 
 sound. No doubt Abraham, with all 
 the saints in Heaven, are looking for- 
 ward to that day with great interest. 
 Then, for a ^ little time, the palace 
 chamber, Heaven, will be vacated. 
 For aught we know, all the saints and 
 angels then in Heaven will go forth 
 with the Bridegroom to celebrate His 
 marriage. Then I think Christ will 
 take His bride to His Father's, — to 
 her palace chamber, her many-man- 
 sioned home, where the Father will 
 give Him a grand reception, with His 
 
26 SERMON, 
 
 bride, in all her beauty, leaning on 
 His arm. 
 
 Then this marriage song can be 
 sung : — 
 
 "Ascend, beloved, to the joy, 
 The festal day has come; 
 To-day the Lamb doth feast His own, 
 To-day He with His bride sits down. 
 To-day puts on the spousal crown 
 In the great upper room." 
 
 Live with Them. 
 
 One more reason why we should 
 love the Church more than we love 
 anything else. Among all that we 
 love and esteem on earth, pre-emi- 
 nently above them all, should stand 
 the Church of the Living God, because 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED, 2/ 
 
 we expect to live with the Church 
 forever. 
 
 No one expects to Hve with husband 
 or wife, parent or children, or earthly 
 friends, long. More than one of us 
 know the bitter import of those tender 
 words of Andrew Fuller : 
 
 " There once did live a heart that cared for me, 
 I loved and was again beloved in turn. 
 Hei' tender soul would soothe my rising grief, 
 And wipe my tears and mix them with her own. 
 But she is not, and I am left to weep unheeded, 
 And to serve alone." 
 
 Let me urge all to make the most 
 of each other's society, for it must be 
 short. But with the Church we expect 
 to live forever. If we are to live 
 with the people of God forever, how 
 
28 SERMON. 
 
 important that we love them ! It 
 would be hell enough to be united in 
 marriage, even for a short life, with 
 a person we did not love. But to 
 live with Christians eternally, and yet 
 not love them, would be an intolera- 
 ble hell. 
 
 We should suffer more than a man 
 did on a certain river. He had plen- 
 ty of mioney, and was really having a 
 drunken spree ; not in the gutter, but 
 having what he called a good time. 
 Hearing the bell ring on a steamer, 
 he stepped on board and was soon 
 sailing on its proud waters. But hear- 
 ing beautiful singing on the forepart 
 of the vessel, he inquired of the cap- 
 tain what singing he had on board, 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 2g 
 
 and was answered, ** Sabbath - school 
 singing, sir/' *' Sabbath -school," said 
 he. ''Is this not such a steamer?'* 
 **Not at all," was the reply. ''Cap- 
 tain," he said, "you must set me on 
 shore, if it costs me twenty dollars. 
 I had as soon be in hell as to hear 
 this Sabbath-school singing." 
 
 Suppose this man had been taken 
 into heaven at once, and on the first 
 minute after his arrival there, Abra- 
 ham, and Moses, and the heavenly 
 ones had commenced singing, " Glory 
 to the Lamb ! Glory to the Lamb ! 
 Our sins are washed away in the 
 blood of the Lamb." The poor man 
 would have inquired, " Are there none 
 but Christians here ? I never loved 
 
30 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 Christians. I have never known the 
 Lamb/' There is no place where he 
 would suffer more than he would 
 among the redeemed, without love to 
 them. It would be cruelty on the 
 part of God to keep a man in heaven 
 that did not love the Church above 
 his chief joy. So important is this 
 love to the people of God, that it is 
 marked in the Bible as one of the 
 clearest evidences of a change of heart. 
 "We know that we have passed from 
 death unto life, because we love the 
 brethren.'' None could be happy in 
 Heaven, however moral and correct in 
 life, without this change in his affec- 
 tions. How important, then, that we 
 possess the spirit of this text; that 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED, 3 1 
 
 we become sure we prefer Jerusalem 
 above our chief joy, so that we can 
 say, — 
 
 "Beyond my highest joy, 
 
 I prize her heavenly ways; 
 Her sweet communion, solemn vows, 
 
 Her hymns of love and praise.'* 
 
 Let US inquire, in the light of this 
 subject, how one will act if he loves 
 the Church more than anything else? 
 
 Will Unite with Them. 
 
 If he prefers the Church above his 
 chief joy, he will seek the first oppor- 
 tunity to unite with them. One of 
 the first inquiries will be, *^When will 
 there be an opportunity for me to 
 unite with this Church } I desire to 
 
32 SERMON. 
 
 obey Christ in his ordinances/* Christ 
 says, John 14:23: ''If a man love me 
 he will keep my words.'* He will 
 wish to obey Christ. The spirit of 
 obedience will govern him. He may 
 make mistakes, but will obey Christ 
 in all things as far as he understands 
 His will. It is a bad symptom when 
 a man claims to be a Christian, and 
 yet neglects the ordinances of the 
 gospel. I am afraid of that hope that 
 does not lead its possessor to a strict 
 obedience to Christ's commands, as 
 far as he understands them. 
 
 Do I address any one whose letter 
 is in your trunk at home } Or did 
 you come away without your letter of 
 dismission ; and yet have lived here • 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 33 
 
 three or six months ? If you love 
 Christ you will send for your letter 
 at once. If you have lost your Church 
 relation, will you not confess your 
 way back, and live with the people of 
 God? You will do this if you ^^ pre- 
 fer Jerusalem above your chief joy." 
 Obedience to Christ's commands is 
 one of the evidences of a renewed 
 heart. 
 
 Share tpie Burdens. 
 
 We shall wish to share the burdens 
 of the Church if we love it. One of 
 the first inquiries will be, ^^ Have we 
 enough to make out our Pastor's sal- 
 ary } If not, double m.y subscription." 
 So about the place of worship. And 
 so about everything pertaining to 
 
34 SERMON, 
 
 Christ's cause. He will not do as a 
 rich church-member did where I was 
 holding meetings. The Church sus- 
 tained preaching among them by an 
 average ; that is, each one paid accord- 
 ing to his means. This brother stood 
 this for a few years, then concluded 
 he could go to Heaven without so 
 much expense, so asked and received 
 his dismission from the Church. He 
 said to me, '*I get along first-rate 
 now; it don't cost me half as much 
 as when I was a church-member. I 
 pay two dollars to the Baptists, and 
 two dollars to the Congregationalists, 
 and get along easy now.'* Think of 
 such a poor, lean soul trying to get 
 to Heaven on an emigrant-train. But 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED, 35 
 
 a true Christian will desire to share 
 the burdens of the Church. It will 
 be pleasant to call upon him for help, 
 he gives so heartily and cheerfully. 
 ''He loveth a cheerful giver." 
 
 Other Organizations. 
 
 If he joins any other organization, 
 and its meeting occurs at the same 
 time of a regular prayer-meeting, he 
 will say to its members, ''I shall not 
 be with you to-night, it is our regular 
 prayer - meeting." '' Prayer - meeting," 
 they say, ''what is that to our organ- 
 ization ! " He replies, " I love our or- 
 ganization. I am one of you, and one 
 with you, heart and hand, but I do not 
 love it as I do the Church. If either 
 
36 SERMON, 
 
 must be neglected, everything else be- 
 fore the Church. I shall always be with 
 you when it does not interfere with 
 the appointments of the Church. I love 
 the Church more than anything else/* 
 
 Speak Tenderly. 
 
 If he sees faults, or something he 
 thinks is wrong in the Church, he 
 will speak tenderly about it. It will 
 grieve him. He will weep over it, 
 but yet he will speak of it with great 
 tenderness. Love to Christ's Church 
 will cover a multitude of faults. 
 
 Everything will appear differently to 
 us if our hearts are filled with warm 
 love to the people and cause of God. 
 I will give an illustration : In a rer- 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 37 
 
 tain town, after commencing a union 
 meeting, I learned that there had 
 been a division in the Baptist church, 
 so serious that one of the deacons, 
 and several of the prominent mem- 
 bers, had left, determined not to walk 
 with them any more. Just as I was 
 closing the meeting one evening, with 
 a large congregation present, one of 
 these members asked me in great 
 earnestness to request the congrega- 
 tion to wait, — that he desired to give 
 the Baptist church a ''blowing up." 
 I asked him if he would not defer 
 it, as it would be an injury to our 
 meetings. He replied, ''I will do it 
 to please you, but they deserve it." 
 A few nights after this, his uncon- 
 
38 SERMON. 
 
 verted wife was kneeling for prayers. 
 I hesitated to ask him to pray, know- 
 ing that a man could not pray as he 
 ought, who felt and talked like that. 
 I finally asked him to pray for her, 
 thinking his religion might be covered, 
 as our fathers used to cover a knot, 
 or Uve coal, in ashes to keep fiie, be- 
 fore matches were invented. The 
 prayer had the effect to open a draft 
 to the old fire of love in his heart. 
 His wife was converted, his heart 
 became warm with love to the 
 Church. Before the meetings closed, 
 he came to me and said, ''I have 
 been thinking about that matter of 
 giving the Baptist church a * blowing 
 up,' and have concluded to come back 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 39 
 
 to the church if they will take me, 
 and say nothing about their wrong 
 doing." The whole thing appeared 
 different to him as soon as he could 
 say, ''I prefer Jerusalem above my 
 chief joy/' 
 
 Christians look, and feel, and speak 
 differently when their hearts glow with 
 love to Christ and His people. *' Ex- 
 cept a man has the spirit of Christ, 
 he is none of His.'* This is the 
 spirit of great tenderness. 
 
 His Last Will. 
 
 With this love in his heart, he 
 will remember the Church in some of 
 her wants in his last will and testa- 
 ment, although it is much better to 
 
40 ' SERMON, 
 
 give all we can spare while living. 
 But if we have something left, we 
 shall not forget the Church in our 
 wills. 
 
 Christ made His will in reference 
 to His mother, a few hours before 
 His death. Although the nails were 
 in His hands and feet, seeing His 
 mother before Him, and John stand- 
 ing near by, He asked John if he 
 was willing to take care of His 
 mother after His death, inquiring of 
 her at the same time if it would be 
 agreeable for her to make her home 
 with John. The words of Christ are 
 these, — John 19 : 26, 27 : " Woman ! 
 behold thy son"; and to John, "Be- 
 hold thy mother." 
 
THE CHURCH PREFERRED. 4^ 
 
 The meaning of these words was 
 so well understood by John and Mary, 
 both, that *'from that hour that dis- 
 ciple took her unto his own home." 
 Christ could not die until he had in 
 His last will provided for His mother. 
 Have any of you written your last 
 will and testament ? Have you, like 
 Christ, remembered your mother (the 
 Church), in that will ? If not, will 
 you alter that will to-morrow? Would 
 it not be a painful thought (if pain 
 could be in heaven), through the 
 endless ages, that in disposing of our 
 property we had forgotten the Church 
 of Christ? 
 
 Let me say, in conclusion, to all, 
 may I come in memory and stand by 
 
42 SERMON, 
 
 your side when you make your last 
 will and testament, and whisper this 
 text in your ear, — ^'I prefer Jerusalem 
 above my chief joy?" 
 
 Will you not, then, as you cause 
 your will to be written, which disposes 
 of your property, remember the Church 
 in some of her wants, with such a 
 legacy that it will be pleasant to 
 review when you are walking the 
 golden streets? — a legacy through 
 which you will say in the best pos- 
 sible manner, ''I prefer Jerusalem 
 above my chief joy/' Then it may, 
 with propriety, be said of you, — "By 
 it, he being dead yet speaketh." 
 
 Amen. 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR. 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR. 
 
 ** Father, the hour is come." — John i^.j, 
 
 T%X Q W evident it is, Christ knew his 
 J©(, Father would understand Him ! 
 He does not say, '^ Father, I have 
 got into trouble down here. I have 
 met a formidable and unexpected diffi- 
 culty in my mediatorial work, — some- 
 thing we had not arranged for." 
 Nothing of the kind; but, *' Father, 
 the hour we talked about long before 
 we made the first angel ; that hour 
 
46 SERMON, 
 
 when I was to bear the sins of my 
 people in my own body on the tree ; 
 the hour around which was to gather 
 all the great events in my mediatorial 
 work, and all to depend upon its 
 results ; at last I have reached the 
 important hour/* 
 
 The word hour, in this passage, 
 does not mean sixty minutes of time, 
 but a crisis or point in Christ's media- 
 torial work, where all these events 
 centered, and depended upon its 
 results. This rendered it the most 
 important hour in the world's history. 
 I will speak of a few of these events, 
 and show as clearly as I can how 
 much importance can be crowded into 
 a little point of time. 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR, 47 
 
 Great Struggle. 
 This was the long-anticipated hour 
 of Christ's great struggle with the 
 powers of darkness. It had been an 
 ticipated for ages. No doubt Satan 
 had looked forward to that hour with 
 the greatest interest for thousands of 
 years, and made all his arrangements 
 to meet and overcome Christ if pos- 
 sible, then. He knew, for it had 
 been a matter of prophecy given to 
 the world, that at that hour, in an 
 important sense, the Father would 
 forsake the Son, and the disciples 
 flee away from Him, and that, too, 
 when humanity was almost crushed 
 beneath the load of our sins. It is 
 written, ''The shepherd shall be smit- 
 
48 SERMON. 
 
 ten, and the sheep scattered." Satan, 
 no doubt, said, ^^That will be my time 
 to defeat the plan of salvation. If 
 ever I conquer and overcome the Son 
 of God, I must do it at that hour." 
 Satan has often made great mistakes, 
 and I am not sure but he had strong 
 hopes of defeating the whole plan of 
 redemption at that hour. 
 
 That I am right in this suggestion, 
 go with me in thought to the Garden 
 and mark the circumstances. As the 
 fearful struggle drew near, Christ 
 called for watchers. Leaving the most 
 of the disciples in one part of the 
 Garden, He took Peter, James, and 
 John to another part, to act as 
 watchers, telling them at the same 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR. 49 
 
 time that His soul was in such agony 
 as takes life. O, what an hour ! 
 And what an experience for Jesus ! 
 He did not ask to be saved from 
 Calvary; He came into the world to 
 go to Calvary ; but, sustained that He 
 might reach Calvary alive, He must 
 be Divinely sustained, or die in the 
 Garden, and a dead Christ be nailed 
 to the Cross. 
 
 We are told that an "angel ap- 
 peared, strengthening Him.*' This was 
 what He wanted, and what He prayed 
 for and received. With this needed 
 strength He was ready to go to the 
 Cross and die. Going forth He met 
 Judas, with his soldiers and clubs, 
 and said to him, '* Judas, you do not 
 
so SERMON, 
 
 need soldiers or clubs. This is your 
 hour. I am at your disposal now.*' 
 The scene was awfully grand ; so 
 much so, that the soldiers went back- 
 ward and fell to the ground, but ral- 
 lied again and led Him to the Cross, 
 and nailed Him to it. 
 
 What an hour was this to Christ, the 
 Lord of Lords and King of Kings. 
 With the nails in His hands and 
 feet, His disciples fled away, and His 
 Father's face hidden from Him. The 
 bitterest ingredient in this cup of suf- 
 fering was the hiding of His Father's 
 face. This was the red cup of Divine 
 wrath poured into the bosom of the 
 Son. O, how terrible!- ''My God! My 
 God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR. 5^ 
 
 Angels had never seen anything 
 like this. They had seen legions of 
 their brethren put in chains and 
 hurled over the battlements of Heaven, 
 the destruction of the old world, and 
 Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by 
 fire, but had never seen such terri- 
 ble wrath as this. 
 
 After calling for drink, and vinegar 
 mingled with gall had been put to 
 His lips, He cried, '' It is finished,** 
 and gave up the ghost. This ended 
 the great struggle with the powers of 
 darkness. The long-anticipated hour 
 was now passed. 
 
 Open Door. 
 
 At that hour it was to be deter- 
 mined whether the door of hope, 
 
$2 SERMON. 
 
 opened to the world through the 
 promise of Christ, should be kept 
 open through the triumph of Christ. 
 Suppose a failure on the part of 
 Christ (we have a right to a suppo- 
 sition), and that Satan had kept Christ 
 in the grave, as he evidently meant 
 to do, beyond the appointed time ? 
 Suppose Sunday morning had come, 
 and Christ was still in the grave ? 
 That he had not been a match for the 
 formidable difficulties connected with 
 this part of the work of redemption? 
 What would have been the announce- 
 ment made in the Christian pulpits in 
 and about Jerusalem ? Would not every 
 pulpit been draped in deep mourn- 
 ing, and every minister have cried, 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR, 53 
 
 "All is lost! All is lost! The door 
 of hope, opened to the world through 
 the promise of Christ, is forever 
 closed through the failure of Christ." 
 But, thanks be to God, all was safe 
 in the hand of the Mediator. No 
 such announcement was made. It was 
 there He led the captive devil in 
 chains, and spoiled principalities and 
 powers, and made a show of them 
 openly, triumphing over them in it. 
 
 "The powers of darkness leagued in vain 
 To bind His soul in death; 
 He shook their kingdom when He fell, 
 With His expiring breath." 
 
 Connecting Link. 
 That hour also formed the grand 
 connecting link between the old and 
 
54 SERMON, 
 
 new dispensations. The priesthood 
 under the Law ended at the Cross, 
 and the Gospel dispensation com- 
 menced there. On the one side of 
 the Cross stood the ministers of the 
 Law, ready to offer a turtle-dove, or 
 a young pigeon, or a lamb, upon a 
 Jewish altar, and on the other the 
 twelve apostles, ready to go forth 
 with their message of salvation; — the 
 one to be dismissed, and the other 
 to be commissioned. At that hour 
 Christ did practically say to the priest- 
 hood under the Law, " You have 
 finished your ministry ; you have done 
 it well, and you are dismissed from 
 the priesthood ; and you are dismissed 
 forever. The Law has been a schooU 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR, 55 
 
 master to lead the world to me, and 
 here I am, the great Antitype to whom 
 these types and shadows have been 
 steadily pointing for ages. ' I am He 
 that should come.' No more blood 
 upon Jewish altars ; no more slain 
 beasts or birds for sacrifice." 
 
 Thus ended the old dispensation. 
 Jesus then turning to the twelve 
 apostles said, "Go ye into all the 
 world and preach the Gospel to every 
 creature. He that believeth and is 
 baptised, shall be saved ; and he that 
 believeth not shall be damned." 
 
 The Cross was the link that joined 
 the two dispensations together. The 
 one could not be perfect without the 
 other. A long line of saints had 
 
56 SERMON. 
 
 "died in faith, not having received 
 the promises, but had seen them afar 
 off and embraced them, God having 
 provided some better thing for us, that 
 they without us should not be made 
 perfect/' The Old Testament re- 
 quires the New, and the New the Old. 
 Neither is perfect without the other. 
 If we were to give an intelligent 
 heathen the Old or New Testament, 
 he would soon ask for the other part 
 of the book. The Cross was the 
 golden link that united them. So that 
 we can sing with full hearts, around 
 the Cross, — 
 
 "Love's redeeming work is done, 
 Fought the fight, the battle won 
 Lo 1 our Sun's eclipse is o 'er, 
 Lo ! He sets in blood no more." 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR. 57 
 
 Future Happiness. 
 One more event depended on the 
 result of that hour. This I will speak 
 of with great reverence and humility, 
 but I so understand the plan of re- 
 demption. The future happiness of 
 the millions who were that day in 
 heaven depended upon Christ's meet- 
 ing the demands of the Law for them 
 then. No atonement had been made 
 for Abraham, and Moses, and the long 
 line of saints then in heaven. Christ 
 had not died a number of times, but 
 once for all. They had been received 
 into heaven on the strength of an 
 atonement Christ promised to make, 
 but had not yet made it. Christ had 
 entered into a covenant with the 
 
58 SERMON, 
 
 Father, that when the Law demanded 
 satisfaction He would render it; that 
 He would suffer, — the just for the 
 unjust. That hour had now come; 
 Christ must now, if ever, become the 
 end of the Law for righteousness ; not 
 only for every one who should believe 
 on Him, but for all who had believed 
 on Him. 
 
 No doubt this great truth was well 
 understood by the redeemed in heaven, 
 — that Christ was that day to die for 
 them, and that their future happiness 
 depended on Christ's meeting every 
 claim the perfect Law of God had ever 
 held against them, and doing it that 
 day. O, what an exceptional day 
 that was in heaven! Y\o such day 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR. 59 
 
 was ever experienced there. Two of 
 their number, — Moses, the great law- 
 giver, and EHjah, the Old Testament's 
 greatest prophet, — were sent to inquire 
 of Jesus (so I think), if He was going 
 to be able to carry it through. We 
 get some idea of the object of their 
 mission, by a few words overheard by 
 the three disciples on the Mount of 
 Transfiguration. They heard Moses 
 and Elijah speak to Jesus of the de- 
 cease (that is, the death) that he 
 should accomplish at Jerusalem. The 
 object of their visit, then, was some- 
 thing in reference to His death that 
 deeply interested all the heavenly ones. 
 What an intense interest must have 
 been felt to hear the report of these 
 
60 SERMON. 
 
 two men on their return! No day or 
 hour like this was ever known in 
 heaven. They could look on and wit- 
 ness the agony of Christ, but what 
 could they do ? Christ must tread the 
 wine-press of His Father^s wrath alone. 
 I think no song was heard, nor harp- 
 string touched in heaven, from Friday 
 noon until Sunday morning. We are 
 told that there was silence in heaven 
 for a little space. Could anything be 
 more suitable than for all heaven to 
 suspend their songs and hold in 
 silence their golden harps, when Christ 
 went to the Cross for them? They 
 knew, about noon, that the nails had 
 entered Christ's hands and feet, and 
 no doubt heard His groans as He cried 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR, 6l 
 
 out: ''My God! My God! Why hast 
 thou forsaken me?" They then un- 
 derstood more fully than ever before 
 what atonement meant, and what a 
 dreadful thing sin is. 
 
 Sometime in the afternoon, Christ, 
 after saying "I thirst," and vinegar, 
 mingled with gall had been held to 
 His lips, cried, ''It is finished," and 
 gave up the ghost. What tidings were 
 to reach heaven that evening.^ — "Jesus 
 is dead! Jesus is dead!" Some of us 
 remember the sadness and gloom that 
 rested on us when, just before mid- 
 night, the bells rang out over this 
 and other lands, "James A. Garfield 
 is dead!" The whole country seemed 
 draped in deep mourning. But how 
 
62 SERMON. 
 
 must it have sounded in heaven to 
 hear angels and archangels, with mil- 
 lions of saints around the throne, 
 saying, '' Jesus is dead ! Jesus is dead ! '' 
 The body was placed in a sepul- 
 chre Friday evening, as we reckon 
 the days of the week. All night 
 Friday night, and all day and night 
 Saturday, Jesus was in the sweet 
 repose of the grave. What a topic 
 of conversation all this time in heaven 
 was the resurrection of that body ! 
 That was to be the crowning act of 
 redemption.^ Early Sunday morning the 
 Father sent one of the angels to 
 roll the stone from the sepulchre. 
 Not to assist in raising Christ from 
 the dead ; that must be His own act. 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR, 63 
 
 What thoughts must have filled the 
 mind of that angel, as he folded his 
 wings and sat down on that stone, in 
 utter helplessness, so far as raising 
 that body was concerned ! Think of 
 millions of the bright ones looking 
 upon that dead form, lying in that 
 open sepulchre, knowing, as they did, 
 that they must come out of heaven 
 unless that body rose from the dead 
 that very morning. Yet they could 
 do nothing towards it. Could an hour 
 be crowded with more importance to 
 the heavenly ones } How many times 
 during those three days must the 
 question have been asked, ^*Will He 
 rise } Will He rise } Will He break 
 the bars of death? Will He rob the 
 
64 SERMON. 
 
 grave of its victory, so that our bod- 
 ies that are sleeping in their dusty 
 beds will rise in the morning of that 
 great day, when the trumpet shall 
 sound ?*' 
 
 But, thanks be to God and the 
 Lamb, forever. While the harps of 
 gold were silent, and the angel sat 
 on the stone at the sepulchre, and 
 millions of smiling eyes were bending 
 over the battlements of glory, all 
 waiting the results of that hour, Christ 
 walked out of the sepulchre in the 
 presence of heaven and earth, as if 
 He had risen from a sweet night's 
 repose. There He stood, the Con- 
 queror of earth and hell, holding the 
 keys of life and death. Oh, the lean- 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR. 65 
 
 ness of language to describe the scene 
 that followed in heaven around the 
 throne of God that morning. Never 
 did angels or men know such an hour. 
 This was the hour of victory for Him- 
 self and His people. ''He lives! He 
 lives!'* was no doubt heard all over 
 the heavenly city. ''Heaven is ours 
 forever. Take your golden harps, and 
 sing your sweetest songs. 'Glory to 
 the Lamb ! Glory to the Lamb ! * 
 Our sins are washed away, not only 
 by the blood, but by the resurrection 
 of the Lamb.'' 
 
 "He broke the bars of death, 
 Which none e'er broke before ; 
 
 And rose in conquering majesty, 
 To stoop to death no more." 
 
66 SERMON-. 
 
 Here the angels met Him to accom- 
 pany Him to His Father's right hand 
 in heaven. Yet He remained for forty 
 days before He was '^received up into 
 glory," to remove all doubt about His 
 resurrection, and arrange the affairs 
 of His kingdom on earth. How long 
 these forty days must have seemi^d 
 to the heavenly ones before they 
 could see and welcome Him back, 
 after such a mission and such a 
 victory! But the hour came at last 
 for Him to go up to His throne 
 above. This was to be another unu& 
 ual day in heaven, — a day of great 
 joy among all the heavenly hosts. 
 
 "They brought His chariot from the skies, 
 To bear Him to His throne ; 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR. 6/ 
 
 Clapped their glad wings and cried, 
 The glorious work is done." 
 
 Is it possible for language to de- 
 scribe His entrance through the gates 
 of pearl? Is it too much to believe 
 that all heaven went out to meet 
 Him, and came in with Him, crying 
 out as they enter: ''Lift your heads, 
 O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye 
 everlasting doors, and the King of 
 Glory shall come in." ''Who is this 
 King of Glory.?" "The Lord of Hosts, 
 He is the King of Glory." 
 
 Great and brave men have had 
 receptions on earth, but what a recep- 
 tion Christ must have had when He 
 returned victorious from earth, to be 
 crowned "King of Glory!" With 
 
68 SERMON. 
 
 what rapture and delight they sang, as 
 the crown was placed upon His head, 
 
 " Crown Him ! Crown Him ! 
 Crowns become the victors* brow." 
 
 Well might the Saviour say, when 
 He uttered this text: '* Father, the 
 hour is come"; not an hour of great 
 importance is come, but the hour 
 that swallows up all other hours since 
 time began in its far-reaching results, — 
 reaching back through the long list 
 of ages, and meeting every demand 
 the perfect law of God had ever held 
 against those who had believed in a 
 promised Saviour, and put their trust 
 in him, and forward in its saving 
 power to all who should believe on 
 Christ through their wor4 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR, 69 
 
 Thus Christ ''died once for all." 
 O, the importance that connected itself 
 with that point in the mediatorial 
 work of our Redeemer ! 
 
 In the light of this single thought, 
 let me show, as clearly as possible, 
 that what was true of Christ at that 
 crisis in His work, has been true of 
 nations and individuals in all ages of 
 the world. 
 
 A Crisis. 
 
 A crisis is reached, and at that 
 .point, victory or defeat, life or death, 
 follows. Our first parents reached 
 such a point. No doubt they had 
 often passed that forbidden tree, with 
 no thought or wish to touch it. But 
 at last the crisis came, and life or 
 
70 SERMON. 
 
 death must follow the decision of an 
 hour. It is evident that our mother, 
 Eve, while looking the forbidden tree 
 carefully over, felt, at first, a gentle 
 desire come over her to taste of the 
 forbidden fruit, yet had no idea of 
 doing it. But the desire increased 
 upon her until she reached such a 
 crisis, that upon the one action of 
 that woman's will hung the destiny 
 of this world. O, if she had hurried 
 away, saying, '' Life ! Life ! Eternal 
 Life!'' She was as yet unstained by - 
 sin, and in a state to walk and talk 
 with God as we walk and talk with 
 each other. The question in her 
 mind seemed to be, ^' Shall I taste 
 of it and run the risk of dying, or 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR, 7 1 
 
 refuse and be safe?" She was able to 
 stand, yet free to fall. O, what an 
 hour in the history of this world ! 
 But the evil prevailed. She said, ^'I 
 will taste of it." The deed was done. 
 She fell, and in that fall all our 
 blood was poisoned, and this world 
 became a great grave-yard. Not one of 
 her unborn children could be saved 
 without the death of the Son of God 
 upon the Cross. How much impor- 
 tance attached itself to that single act ! 
 
 The Signers. 
 
 So it was with the signers of the 
 Declaration of Independence. In that 
 old hall stood a table with that mem- 
 orable document on it ; a sober look- 
 
T2 SERMON, 
 
 looking class of men about it, with 
 the question before them, ''Shall we 
 sign it, and if need be, seal it with 
 our blood?" The decision was made. 
 They signed it, and thus this nation 
 was born. The decisive hour came, 
 and God had raised up men for that 
 hour. And so, for more than a cen- 
 tury, when in our history we have 
 reached a crisis, there have been 
 men for the crisis. We still live. 
 '^The government is still safe.'' 
 
 With Individuals. 
 It is the same with individual respon- 
 sibility. We reach a point in our lives 
 
 " That marks the destiny of man 
 For glory or despair." 
 
 We hear the calls and warnings of 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR, 73 
 
 the Gospel, and reject them, and yet 
 we may be saved. This may be re- 
 peated many times, and it not be too 
 late. But an hour is reached at last 
 when we cannot say ^'No," once more, 
 and be saved. The decision then is 
 final. The destiny of the soul is then 
 fixed forever. 
 
 "There is a line by us unseen 
 
 That crosses every path, 
 The hidden boundary between 
 
 God's patience and His wrath. 
 
 That fearful line may be near your 
 feet, or may have been already crossed. 
 "My Spirit shall not always strive with 
 man." How dangerous to resist His 
 strivings ! Christ said to Jerusalem, '' O 
 that thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 
74 SERMON, 
 
 least, in this, thy day, the things that 
 belong unto thy peace. But now they 
 are hid from thine eyes." Too late! 
 Too late! How dreadful the thought, 
 that we may find out that we are 
 lost when it is too late to be saved. 
 
 A young lady deeply convicted of 
 her sins, was urged to accept Christ 
 at once, but she hesitated, and finally 
 decided to attend one more ball before 
 becoming a Christian. She went to 
 the ball, but the Spirit left her. Not 
 long after, she went into a decline, 
 and died without hope. ''I called; ye 
 refused." The stretched-out, bleeding 
 hand refused ' 
 
 Am I not addressing those who 
 have said "No, no," to the calls of the 
 
THE IMPORTANT HOUR. 75 
 
 Gospel from your earliest moment ? 
 Has not Christ been rejected every 
 day of your lives ? Do you know cer- 
 tainly this is not the hour of final 
 decision ? The unseen line may be 
 crossed this hour. O, the importance 
 of the decision you make now ! Does 
 not the Holy Spirit whisper, ''The 
 hour is come"? Do not say, then, 
 ''Go thy way for this time," lest it 
 should prove to be the last time you 
 can say "No," and be saved. 
 
 When the crisis came Christ met it 
 and triumphed over it. Will yot not 
 do the same .'^ "I have set life and 
 death before you, therefore choose 
 life." Will you not now silentl}^ but 
 solemnly say, putting your veracity and 
 
76 SERMON. 
 
 honor in the decision, '^ Jesus, I ac- 
 cept Thee as my Saviour, and will 
 serve Thee from this hour ; whether 
 my path is light or dark, rough or 
 smooth, still I will obey and serve 
 Thee the remainder of miy days"? 
 
 May Jesus give you strength and 
 grace to trust Him and carry out 
 this vow, and I be permitted to meet 
 you in heaven and hear you say, 
 *'That was the hour of decision and 
 victory/' 
 
 *^The grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ be with you all." 
 
 Amen, 
 
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