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diff --git a/44053-8.txt b/44053-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bc7eb82..0000000 --- a/44053-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5682 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Sermons, by Clement Bailhache - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Sermons - Selected from the Papers of the Late Rev. Clement Bailhache - -Author: Clement Bailhache - -Editor: J. P. Barnett - -Release Date: October 27, 2013 [EBook #44053] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SERMONS *** - - - - -Produced by Sam W. and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - "_WORK TOO FAIR TO DIE._" - - SERMONS - - SELECTED FROM THE PAPERS - OF THE LATE REV. - CLEMENT BAILHACHE. - - - EDITED BY THE - REV. J. P. BARNETT. - - - THE HOLY CAUTIONS THAT HE GAVE, - THE PRAYERS HE BREATHED, THE TEARS HE WEPT, - YET LINGER HERE, THOUGH IN THE GRAVE, - THROUGH MANY A YEAR THE SAINT HAS SLEPT. - - - London: - ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW. - MDCCCLXXX. - - - - - [Illustration: {Portrait of Clement Bailhache} - Photographed by S. S. Priestley, Huddersfield.] - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - Introduction by the Editor vii - - SERMON PAGE - I. Salvation.--_Titus_ i. 11-14 1 - - II. Propitiation.--_1 John_ ii. 2 13 - - III. Faith in the Saviour.--_Acts_ xvi. 31 29 - - IV. Sincerity of Heart Necessary to the - Understanding of the Gospel.--_John_ - vii. 17 41 - - V. The Humble Taught the Lord's Way.--_Psalm_ - xxv. 9 50 - - VI. The Gratitude of the Pardoned.--_Luke_ vii. 47 66 - - VII. Consecration.--_Romans_ xii. 1, 2 81 - - VIII. Christianity in our Daily Life.--_Colossians_ - iii. 17 104 - - IX. Unconscious Influence.--_Matthew_ xii. - 36, 37 117 - - X. Secular Anxiety.--_Matthew_ vi. 25, 31 133 - - XI. Contentment.--_Philippians_ iv. 11-14 151 - - XII. Joy.--_Philippians_ iv. 4 164 - - XIII. Sickness.--_John_ xi. 4 173 - - XIV. Jesus Only.--_Matthew_ xvii. 8 181 - - XV. Prayer.--_Matthew_ vii. 7, 8 189 - - XVI. Assurance.--_2 Timothy_ i. 12 206 - - XVII. Immortality.--_Psalm_ viii. 4 222 - - XVIII. Heaven.--_Revelation_ vii. 15 235 - - - - -INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR. - - -The preparation of this volume for the press, whilst it has -necessarily entailed considerable labour, has happily been attended -with little difficulty. None of these sermons were prepared for the -pulpit with any idea of publication, and only a few of them, which -need not be specified, should be taken as finished compositions. Their -author, however, never allowed himself to think superficially or to -write carelessly. His MSS. are easily read, and are in such a state as -to leave almost nothing to be done in the way of revision. - -Many other sermons equal to these in power and interest might have -been included, if space had served. I ought, perhaps, to say that the -selection has been determined by a wish to place before the reader, in -the order of a series, Mr. Bailhache's thoughts on Christian Doctrine, -Faith, Duty, Privilege, Experience, and Hope. I trust that the -collection, as it stands, will give as comprehensive an idea, as any -posthumous publication _could_ give, of the character and style of a -ministry to which, under God, many souls--some in heaven, and some -still on earth--owe their truest spiritual light and their best -spiritual strength. - -It must have been a privilege of no ordinary value to listen Sabbath -after Sabbath to preaching such as this. No one could read, as I have -had to read, the whole mass of sermons entrusted to me, without -perceiving that he who wrote and spoke them was "a workman that needed -not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." He was -penetrated to the very centre of his being with a sense of the -grandeur of the Bible as a Divine Revelation, and of the glory of the -Gospel as a Divine remedy for the sin and sorrow of the world. He had -his own way of developing religious truth, and of applying it to the -mind, the conscience, and the heart. He preserved his individuality of -thought and of method in every part of every discourse. But he was no -theological speculatist. With all needful fearlessness in his thinking -and reading, his constant endeavour was to ascertain "the mind of the -Spirit," and to present _that_, in its enlightening and sanctifying -power, to his hearers in all their manifold spiritual conditions. He -was familiar with the forms of scepticism prevalent in our time, and -with the reasonings which give to them more or less of plausibility. -"The riddle of the world" had its saddening aspects for him, as it has -for all earnest souls. But the anxieties which spring from such -sources found in his mind an all-sufficient solace in the beautiful -adaptations and the splendid triumphs of the truth as it is in Jesus. -He could see clearly enough that, by the Gospel, God was filling the -world's darkness with light, and turning its curse into a blessing. -Science might advance, and in its advance might seem to set itself -against Biblical facts, and against the principles founded upon them; -but he was all along calmly and intelligently assured that Science -rightly so called, and Revelation rightly interpreted, so far from -meeting in antagonism, must meet in cordial and comely agreement, and -take their place side by side for the higher instruction of mankind. -He did not preach on these matters controversially, but contented -himself with the quiet announcement, on all appropriate occasions, of -the results of his own studies; and those results were always on the -side of an implicit faith in Evangelical Christianity. One of the -most marked characteristics of his ministry was the uninterrupted and -profound reverence he paid to what he believed, on honest and mature -investigation, to be the Divine authority of Scripture teaching. He -knew, of course, that a conscientious and enlightened criticism has -its work to do upon the Book; but his comprehensive and careful -reading only strengthened his conviction that such criticism, so far -from invalidating its authority, must render the nature of that -authority increasingly transparent, and its basis increasingly firm. -Thus he could draw forth from the Book the teaching contained in it, -and could present it to the reverent faith of his congregation, -without misgiving. His ministry was eminently evangelical, in the -broadest and best sense of the word. It was this all-pervading quality -which gave to it its special beauty and impressiveness. He wanted to -be wise, and to make his people wise, _up_ to what is written; above -that he did not attempt to soar. - -Mr. Bailhache was an able Biblical Expositor. I find amongst the -papers before me, expositions of the Decalogue, the First Psalm, the -Lord's Prayer, the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, the -Messages to the Seven Churches, and the Epistles to the Galatians and -the Philippians. These comprise eighty discourses, and many of them -are so good that they ought not to remain in seclusion. Possibly some -channel of publicity may yet be found for them. - -The estimate in which Mr. Bailhache was held as a Christian teacher by -those best fitted to judge, is fitly expressed in the following -extract from the Address which was presented to him by the -Congregation at Islington, on his retirement from the pastorate there -in the autumn of 1870:--"During a period of six years and a half, you -have ministered to us in holy things, and, as the servant of the Lord -Jesus, you have sought our highest spiritual good. In all your -ministerial work in our midst, you have so impressed us with the -conviction of your entire devotedness to our interests, and to the -exaltation and glory of Christ, that our minds have been the more -easily constrained to give heed to your instructions, and we have the -more deeply felt the force of your influence and your example. The -thought has often occurred to us (and it has been often expressed), -that if we were not becoming better Christians--more conformed to the -image of Christ--our shame was the greater, considering how -constantly you have been the faithful and able exponent of the mind of -the Spirit, and with what freshness, variety, and power, you have been -enabled to set before us things new and old out of the treasury of the -Lord's word. Nor have you ever permitted us to feel that you occupied -a region remote from ourselves, or that the isolation of the study and -of your official character, made you self-absorbed or unsympathetic. -The very contrary of this has been our happy experience. With an -almost surprising power of appropriation, you have made our doubts and -difficulties, our hopes and fears, our joys and sorrows, all your own, -and, with a whole-hearted sympathy that has entered into all the -experiences of the Christian life, you have, in the pulpit and in the -class, and in the more private opportunities of the family and of -friendship, been made eminently useful in the communication of help -and strength. To not a few your ministrations have been made the -savour of life unto life, who will be your crown and rejoicing one -day, since through your word they have been reconciled to God by Jesus -Christ. We magnify the grace of God in you, and none the less when we -declare that your life and labours in our midst have placed us under -lasting obligations of gratitude and love." - -I regret that I have not space for a few pages of pithy, condensed -jottings extracted from the Author's "Diary," and written by him -during hours of private devotion. They would testify, in common with -every other part of the volume, to the atmosphere of piety in which -our beloved friend habitually lived. In social life, he was playful -and jocose; and many who have thought that they knew him well, knew -him almost exclusively as he was in such moods as these. He was -however emphatically a man who "walked with God." Many others knew him -only in connection with his official work, and gave to him their -unstinted admiration for his plodding, almost pertinacious industry. -He had "a mind to work," but he sanctified and ennobled all his work -by prayer. I have often had, as, no doubt, many more have had, the -privilege of his society in the lone hours of the night, when he could -talk with the unreserved frankness of a confiding friend; and I never -left him after such hallowed times as these without feeling that I had -been drawn nearer to him, and through him, nearer to the Saviour, by -the modest, holy, Christian beauty of his spirit. - -Alas, that so comely and benignant a life should have closed so -early! He died at forty-eight years of age. We have no right, nor have -we any disposition, to repine; but we cannot refrain from mourning. - -He began life well, sacrificing fair interests as a member of the -legal profession in Jersey, with the Island Bar in view, and was soon -preparing for the Christian ministry at Stepney College. His preaching -was attractive, and at the termination of his academic course, he -became the pastor of the influential church at South Parade Chapel, -Leeds. Four years later, he removed to Watford, and from thence, in -1864, to Cross Street, Islington, where his ministry may be said to -have approached, if it did not actually reach, its maturity. In 1870 -he relinquished the pastorate for Secretarial work at the Baptist -Mission House, into which he threw all the steady, quenchless -enthusiasm of his nature, and upon which the blessing of God -conspicuously rested. Discharging his duties with a fidelity and a -skill which were as effective as they were modest, he was equally -beloved by the Missionaries abroad, and by his colleagues and the -constituencies at home; and he had the satisfaction of knowing that, -notwithstanding many difficulties, he was contributing in various -ways to the advancement of the great enterprize. The toil and anxiety -entailed upon him were onerous in the extreme, and after a time it -became obvious to his friends that his multifarious exertions were -undermining his strength. He went to the Baptist Union meetings in -Leeds in the October of 1878, when he ought to have been taking -repose; and, though seriously ill, he there preached what proved to be -his last Sermon, in the chapel of his first pastorate--the Sermon on -"Immortality" in this volume--and read his last paper, on "Our -Missionary Principles and Motives." It is remarkable that he should -thus have finished his public course in the town of his first -ministerial settlement, and that he should have there spoken his last -public words on behalf of that great department of Christian work -which had engaged his best thoughts and his warmest sympathies for -many years, and to his holy zeal for which it may be truly said that -he sacrificed his life. At those Leeds meetings, he was "already -within the shadow of death," and returned home to sink gradually but -surely beneath the distressing malady which took him to heaven on the -13th of the following December. - -To his widowed companion and helpmeet, whose faithful affection he -prized as his most precious earthly treasure--to his children and -kindred, who so fondly loved him, and so deeply revere his memory--to -the churches which he so wisely and so zealously served in the work of -the Gospel--to the Missionary Society in the sacred interests of which -he lived and died--and to the numberless personal friends to whom he was -so dear, and who will ever thank God that they were permitted to enjoy -his genial confidence and sympathy--these productions of his brain and -heart are dedicated, with the grateful assurance that, through them, -he, being dead, will yet continue to speak, and, speaking thus, will -still be the helper of many in "the way everlasting." - - J. P. BARNETT. - Oxford, _August, 1880_. - - - - -I. - -_SALVATION._ - -"The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, -teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should -live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking -for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and -our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might -redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar -people, zealous of good works."--Titus ii. 11-14. - - -Briefly stated, the consequences of the Fall were these--that man -became unholy in point of character, and guilty in point of law. The -first covenant God made with man was a covenant of law, and the two -"trees" shadowed forth, the one the condition, the other the benefit, -of such a covenant. "The tree of the knowledge of good and evil" -points to obedience as the condition; and "the tree of life" points to -life, in its fullest and most spiritual sense, as the benefit. Man -disobeyed. He failed to fulfil the condition, and thus he lost the -blessing. Henceforth, if there is to be any blessing for him, it must -come on some other ground, and from some higher source. Having -forfeited all hope from law, his only possible hope must come, if it -come at all, from mercy. - -We thus perceive that when the great salvation wrought by Christ is -announced to us, we have to do at the outset with what on God's part -is - -1. An act of pure sovereignty. Condemnation was the righteous award of -a just law to a creature who had broken it, and who could not plead -any admissible excuse for his sin. The law might, therefore, have been -allowed to take its course, thus receiving honour before the whole -intelligent universe. Only one Will in the universe was free to -interfere; the will of the Lawgiver and Creator Himself. Interference -on His part, however, could not be under the pressure of legal -obligation, but must be in the exercise of a sovereign right. Hence, -the key-note of the gospel is "the _Grace_ of God." - -2. An act of boundless love. It is obvious that salvation cannot have -proceeded from any other motive in the Divine Mind. "God _so loved_ -the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever -believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The -Bible has no other solution of the origin of salvation to offer than -this. - -Now, that which proceeds from sovereignty and love on the part of God -must absolutely preclude all claim or thought of merit on the part of -man. Merit leaves no room, no occasion for grace. Grace begins where -merit ends, if grace be given at all.--What, then, _is_ the "great -salvation"? - -Man, being unholy and guilty, needed a salvation which would include -his justification or his forgiveness, and one which would culminate in -his sanctification by the restoration to him of his lost spiritual -power. In other words, he needed a deliverance from the curse of sin, -and also from sin itself. - -This deliverance, man cannot find within his own nature. He cannot -save himself from the curse of sin; for inasmuch as the law -righteously demanded a perfect and constant obedience, he could never -blot out the guilt of former sins by acts of obedience at a later -period of life. Moreover, such later acts of a perfect obedience are -impossible to him, for holiness does not proceed from a sinful nature. -"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" Men do not "gather -grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles." Man is as depraved and as -weak as he is guilty. Self-salvation is impossible; salvation is of -the Lord alone. The gospel is the announcement of the fact that God -saves, and of the method in which the great work of salvation is done -by Him. - -I. The Word of God, both in the Old and in the New Testament, -proclaims a dispensation of Divine mercy. So unexpected and so -cheering is this proclamation that it has given the gospel the name it -bears. It is emphatically "good news"--good news from God to man. This -good news announces that the first deliverance which man requires is -provided for. God remits the penalty of sin. But how? - -He does this in such a way that, so far from weakening law, or -invalidating the condemnation of sin, He shows more clearly than ever, -how holy is the law, and how just the condemnation. Hence, though this -forgiveness is an act of pure mercy, it is mercy exercised in a -righteous way through the wonderful sacrifice of Christ. This was the -meaning of the promise that accompanied the curse; and so clear was it -that it was apprehended in the first sacrifices men ever offered. The -Jewish sacrifices shadowed it forth. The Scriptures teach this method -of Divine forgiveness in the plainest terms. I quote two or three -passages in proof: Rom. iii. 23-26; John i. 29; 1 John ii. 1, 2; 1 -Peter ii. 24; Isaiah liii. 4-6. - -This is Scripture, and we must not dare to trifle with it. These -declarations can have but one meaning. Christ has suffered in our -stead the penalty we had all deserved, that we might receive, for His -sake, that eternal life and blessedness which _He only had deserved_. -On this point all the types and teachings of both Testaments speak -with one voice. - -There are, no doubt, in this substitution of the innocent for the -guilty, some difficulties for human reason. But _we_ have to do with -the Bible. It meets conscience; and reason must bend in submission -before a grace the deeper meaning of which it does not see. Observe, -however, that according to the Scripture representation, the -substitution was divinely appointed, and the Substitute Himself was a -willing victim. We accept the doctrine, (1) Partly in virtue of human -need. Conscience points to the necessity of a satisfaction. (2) Partly -in virtue of the peace and the joy to which faith in the doctrine -gives rise.--"Scripture always lays stress upon the Saviour's -humiliation and bitter sufferings. We are not said to be redeemed by -His incarnation, by His birth, by His miracles, by His doctrine, not -even by His agony in the garden, though all these were necessary to -the ransom; but by His blood." On this ground of the Atonement, the -first part of salvation--forgiveness--is secured. - -II. Man needs also to be redeemed from sin. This need, like the -former, he is unable to meet of himself, but God meets it on his -behalf. How? By putting into the heart a fertile germ of holiness. - -Freedom from condemnation and regeneration are indissolubly connected -together in God's idea of salvation, and He achieves both by the work -of Christ His Son. This redemption from the love, and consequently -from the power of sin, is accomplished by Him on a principle which is -divinely simple and efficacious; a principle which lies at the root of -the theory of evangelical sanctification. This principle is the love -which He excites _in_ us by the manifestation of His own love _to_ us. -Thus the Apostle John writes: "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not; -whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him" (1 John iii. -6). "He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love" (1 John iv. -8). To love God, and, under the constraining influence of love, to -serve Him, we have need to know and to realise how great is the love -of God to us. - -Now this Divine love has been revealed to the world through the medium -of that same Saviour, who by His sacrificial death has opened up the -way for our pardon and our restoration to the Divine favour. The Son -of God came into the world to reveal the heart of the Father. What -greater gift could God have bestowed than that of His Divine Son? What -greater proof of love could He have exhibited than that which this -greatest of all possible gifts presents? "God _so_ loved." And Christ -has perfectly performed His mission. His whole ministry was a -declaration of the Divine love. Of that love His death on the cross -was the sublimest expression. We learn therefrom not only that God -manifests to us His mercy, _but also at what cost_. Our debt must be -paid; and as we are bankrupt, He pays it on our behalf. And who is our -Substitute? Not a man, not an angel, not any creature; but the Divine -Son, "by whom God made the worlds and upholds them by the word of His -power," "who is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express -image of His person"--it was _He_ who "by Himself purged our sins." -Such is the love of God. We cannot fathom it, for it is Divine; but -in proportion as we are enabled to "know" it, we say "We love Him -because He first loved us;" "We are bought with a price: we are not -our own." And we say our devout "Amen!" when the chiefest Apostle of -mercy says to us: "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies -of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, -acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." - -This Divine love, however, wonderful as it is, is offered to -unsusceptible hearts. Hence the necessity--hence also the gift--of the -Holy Spirit, through whom God strives with man. The Holy Spirit is the -gift of Christ; and He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness, -and of judgment. He takes of the things of Christ, and shows them unto -us. - -See, then, the completeness of the Divine plan of salvation. To -undeserving hearts God offers His love in Christ; to unsusceptible -hearts He explains and commends it by His Spirit. - -III. The only remaining question is as to our own part in the great plan -of mercy. Because we are intelligent and moral creatures, God does not -save us without our own concurrence. To every one who desires to -receive this twofold gift--the gift of pardon and of sanctification--a -certain disposition is necessary. That disposition is in the Scriptures -called "faith." Faith is the divinely-appointed condition of salvation. -The terms are simple, but they are indispensable. Scripture, in every -part, recognises and imposes them. From the earliest times they have -been complied with, as in the sacrifices of Abel, Noah, and Abraham. It -was this same principle of faith that gave validity to the worship under -the Mosaic dispensation. So the Lord Jesus Christ, who healed men's -physical diseases as types of the diseases of the soul, always demanded -faith as the condition of His working. As it was with Christ, so it was -with His apostles. Thus Paul said to the Philippian jailer, "Believe on -the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." All this shows to us -that whilst, on the one hand, we are saved by grace; on the other, we -have no participation in the grace which saves, except by the exercise -of our own faith in the Saviour. - -What is this faith? It may be considered in its principle, and in its -application. - -In its principle, it is a general conviction that the Bible is the -Word of God, and that what He says therein should receive our assent; -or, in other words, should be accepted by us as _true_. In its -application, it is the belief of God's Word as it respects -_ourselves_. It is this which Paul commends to the Philippian jailer. -When a man, under the burden of his sin, says, "I am lost; I cannot -save myself; save me, Lord!" we have an illustration of this applied -faith--a sense of personal misery, a sense of personal helplessness, a -sense of a Saviour willing to save him personally, and a direct appeal -to that Saviour for salvation. From the moment of such a prayer, there -is not a single promise of Scripture that such a man may not make his -own. A promised pardon, a promised Spirit, a promised heaven--all are -his! The essence of the faith is in the conviction which expresses -itself thus: "Jesus Christ is not only able and willing to be the -Saviour of all men, but He is my Saviour." Such a faith brings Christ -and the soul together in precisely those relations in which He is the -Saviour, and in which the soul is saved. - -But how is this faith obtained? Must not God give it? Yes. So Paul, -writing to the Philippians, tells them it was "given" to them "to -believe in Christ." Must we, then, listlessly wait until it comes to -us? No. Paul again says to these same Philippians, "Work out your own -salvation with fear and trembling." The reconciliation of these two -truths into one theory may be difficult, but in practice it is easy -enough. _We recognise them both when we ask for faith._ For to ask is -to recognise our need of that for which we ask; it is also to -recognise the fact that we do not possess it of ourselves; and it is -also to seek and to act. Ask, then, for faith, and God will say: "Wilt -thou be made whole?" Will you--not as a vague desire, but as the most -earnest determination of your heart and will? Ask for faith; God will -grant it. Ask largely; you cannot ask too much. And even if you sigh -over the weakness of desire, press the old and never-failing prayer: -"Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief." - -Faith saves, and grace saves. This is scarcely a contradiction in -terms, and certainly it is no contradiction in principle. Faith is the -instrument; grace is the primary and efficacious power. Faith is the -channel; grace is the stream. Faith touches the hem of the Saviour's -garment; grace is the virtue that passes forth from Him in response to -the touch. Christ reaches down from heaven; faith reaches up from -earth; each hand grasps the other--the one in weakness, the other in -power--and salvation is in the grasp. Take--oh, take that pierced -hand! Amen. - - - - -II. - -_PROPITIATION._ - -"He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also -for the sins of the whole world."--1 John ii. 2. - - -It is easier to attack than to defend. An objection may be stated in a -single sentence which shall require many pages for an adequate reply. -Those who reject Christianity generally adopt this method, but I know -not why they should be allowed to monopolise it. Why should not -believers, instead of simply proving that there is a God, and that the -Bible is His Word, insist upon positive proof from their opponents -that there is no God, and that the Bible is nothing more than a human -book? Why should we not impose upon them the more difficult task of -defending their position, by attacking it with all earnestness at -every point? For Christian defence, we have need to be both really and -consciously very strong in the truth. On the other hand, to be an -unbeliever, a man can do without either knowledge or goodness. He has -only to ply you with his eternal "_Why?_" _Why_, because the universe -exists, must it have ever been _created_? _Why_ may it not have always -existed? _Why_ are we bound to accept the teaching of the Bible? _Why_ -was it necessary that Christ should suffer to expiate our sins? _Why_ -did Christ come so late in the history of the world? _Why_ are there -no miracles now? _Why? Why? Why?_-- - -As Christians, however, we take the position open to us, whether of -attack or defence. We do so because the salvation of our adversaries -is dear to us, and because we are so sure that the course they adopt -injures, not ourselves, but them. We bring to them a priceless -treasure--salvation through, and from, the crucified Christ. If they -hinder us, the loss is theirs. - -On the present occasion we deal with one of the questions often -propounded: "Why was it necessary that Christ should die for our sins, -in order that we may be saved?" or, "How can the sufferings of the -innocent atone for the sins of the guilty?" - -To make our answer more clear, we begin by saying: "We do not know." -Why should we insist--why should any one insist--upon understanding -the "_why_" of this arrangement? Why should not every one be content -to know the _fact_? If the reason of the fact were obvious, we should, -of course, gladly accept it; but if it be hidden from us, whilst the -fact itself is disclosed, why should we complain? We cannot fully -understand the Divine purposes. We can only guess. Even angels study, -and wonder, and adore, but do not fully know. Let it be observed that -the real question here is not exactly as unbelievers put it. Thus: I -do not know how the rays of the sun enlighten my eyes, nor how my -enlightened eyes transmit ideas to my mind. Does it follow that the -sun does not enlighten, or that my mind does not receive impressions -through what I see? The imperative question is, not, "How is the thing -done?" but, "_Is_ it done?"--not as to the _reason_ of the fact, but -the _reality_ of it. So in the matter before us. It is surely enough -for us to show that redemption through the sacrifice of Christ, like -the sun, comes from God, and that it gives light, life, and fruit. -This being done, nothing more can be reasonably asked. - -To know whether this doctrine of redemption is God's truth, it is -sufficient to know whether the Bible is God's Word. And here we ask, -What will you do with ancient prophecies and their fulfilment?--with -confirmations of Bible history which are continually accumulating?--with -the conspicuous excellence of the moral teaching and influence which the -Bible supplies?--with the sublimity of Christ's character?--with the -miracles He wrought?--with the marvellous effects of Christianity upon -the world, notwithstanding the strongest inducements, in human -prejudice, to its rejection? Settle such questions as these according to -the admitted laws of evidence, and then there will be no reason to -contend as to the "why" and the "how" of redemption. - -Such, however, is not the method which the unbeliever pursues. He -turns away from the Record as a source of instruction. It is hard to -convince a man who begins by closing his ears with his own pride. To -whatever study a man addresses himself, he will never advance in it in -_spite_ of himself. His progress will be proportioned, among other -things, to the amount of honest effort he makes to learn. That is, he -must feel the fact and the disadvantage of his own ignorance. Who -could study mathematics by beginning at the outset to dispute its -axioms? Just so with Christian truth. Put aside prejudice and pride. -Do not take it for granted that you have light enough in your mind, at -starting, to pronounce upon the truth or the falsity, the -reasonableness or the unreasonableness, of the doctrine of salvation -through the cross of Christ. Listen attentively. Look for more light, -and receive it when it comes. We do not say: "Believe before you have -read;" but we do say: "Don't contradict before you have read." - -I have already said that we are not obliged to _explain_ the -philosophy of the redemption which is taught in the Scriptures. Let me -now say that that redemption is itself the best solution of the great -difficulty which is felt by the believer and the unbeliever alike. It -is this: Conscience tells us that God is just; the heart tells us that -He is good;--how then can a God whose justice and goodness are equal, -_i.e._, both of them infinite, escape from the position in which -sinners have placed Him? I put the difficulty in this bold form in -order that it may be the more distinctly apprehended. We have sinned, -and a just God must punish. We sigh after happiness, and a good God--a -God who is infinitely kind--may be expected to bestow happiness upon -us. But how can God deal with us in both these ways at one and the -same time? - -We know instinctively, of course, that there is no real dilemma to God -Himself; but those who reject the atonement of Christ are bound to -deal with what presents itself as an inevitable dilemma to _them_. - -The unbeliever says: "God is too good to punish." What then becomes of -His justice, since conscience testifies that we are sinners, that sin -deserves punishment, that vice and virtue are not one, that God cannot -deal in the same way with both without encouraging the vice which -needs to be suppressed, and discouraging the virtue which needs to be -upheld? Take away the fear of punishment under the pretext that God is -good, and you deprive conscience of its meaning and its power. - -Shall it be said, then, that God will punish every transgressor? Have -the numberless generations which have been upon the earth gone to an -inevitable doom? This conclusion is as hard to admit as the other. The -instincts of the heart are against it. - -No; men do not accept either conclusion to the exclusion of the other. -They say God will adopt a mean between His justice and His mercy so -as to bring them into harmony. But how? Here is the crucial -difficulty. Is it to be solved by the principle of mutual concession? - -Let me remind you, again, that the difficulty is not created by God, -but by man. In Him, justice and mercy are really one: it is only to us -that they are seen to be two; and it is our sin which disturbs and -confuses our conception of their union with each other. He might -indeed annihilate us, and so leave us no opportunity to complain. But -our whole moral and emotional nature repels with horror the thought of -such a termination to our sin, as being unworthy of the God who has to -govern us. No! when we reflect seriously upon the question, we cannot -resist the feeling that God must have some plan of rescuing us from -the doom we merit which shall give equal expression to His justice and -His mercy. - -Men in general, alas! hold justice cheaply, and, lowering the Divine -standard of human character, they easily persuade themselves that they -may enter heaven through the breach they have made in the Divine -attributes. They think that God is indulgent, and will forgive, -forgetting that indulgence is weakness. God _will_ forgive, but His -forgiveness must stand on safe ground. It cannot apply indiscriminately -to all men. Men think they have said all when they have said, "God will -forgive." Such a forgiveness would aim a blow at His justice. No matter; -He will forgive! Such a forgiveness is without motive--an effect without -a cause. No matter; He will forgive! Such a forgiveness has its root in -sentiment, not in reason. It matters not; He will forgive! Such a -forgiveness imposes no obligation on the forgiver, and encourages sin. -Never mind; He will forgive! - -Surely this is the spiritual blindness which comes from the perversion -of the conscience and the heart. - -Some say, "God forgives; but the condition is that we turn away from -sin and live a life of holiness." There are many answers to this; but -I will only ask those who thus speak, "Are you now living in such a -way as to have in your present holiness, and on the ground of it, the -assurance of your pardon?" That is a question which conscience may be -safely left to answer. - -At this point Christianity comes professing to reveal to us the Divine -plan of salvation. It tells us that God forgives for the sake of Jesus -Christ, who is Himself, in His sacrifice, the gift of the Father's -love. A debt has been contracted; the insolvent debtor presents in -payment the money which a friend has freely contributed for the -purpose; the creditor is satisfied. In this way goodness and justice -are reconciled. It is Divine love which meets the claim of the Divine -Righteousness. The redeemed soul, redeemed by the blood of Christ, is -led to obedience by a love which responds to the love which has -redeemed him. This last result none can dispute. Does it spring from -error? No; it is too pure, too blessed for that. The redemption that -produces it is a true principle founded in the nature of God--sublime -in its working--like sap, inexplicable, but justified by the beauty of -its foliage and the goodliness of its fruits. - -Let us look a little more closely into this principle of Propitiation. -Suppose we were reading the gospel for the first time, free from -prejudice, and from the deadening influence of habit; we should be -struck with the prominence everywhere given in it to the death of -Christ. Ask a Christian child, or an aged saint, "What did Christ come -on earth to do?" The answer from each will be, "He came to die for -us." The child finds his answer on the very surface of Scripture; the -aged man finds it in that same Scripture when he has studied it to its -very depths. The one quickly learns that this death of Christ was -often predicted by Christ Himself, that it holds the most prominent -place in each of the four Gospels, that it is constantly referred to -in the Epistles, that it is the text of all the preaching of the -apostles, and that it is symbolised in both the sacraments, for "we -are buried by baptism into His death," and whenever in the Supper we -partake of the bread and wine, we "show forth His death till He come." -The mature Christian, in his turn, learns to look upon the death of -Christ as the centre and the soul of all the great acts of the great -work of our redemption, which seem, whether they preceded or followed, -to have been done in direct view of it, and in indissoluble connection -with it. The incarnation was designed to open up the way for it. -"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He -also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He -might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." -The resurrection was intended to attest its meaning and its value. For -Christ was "delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our -justification." The object of the ascension was to secure the -precious fruits of it. "For He entered in once into the holy place, -having obtained eternal redemption for us." - -The remarkable thing in all this is that in the gospel, the aim of -which is to reveal eternal life, the Prince of Life is always offered -to us as dying upon the cross. _Death in order to life!_ What can be -the meaning and the bearing of a death which God has placed in so -exalted a position? We can only get our answer from Scripture; and we -can only get it from Scripture as we read in the simple, -unsophisticated humility of mind and heart of which Christ Himself and -His apostles give us the example. - -"_Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins._" We have sinned -against God, and our sins have been so many _offences_ to Him; -offences which must be dealt with. Christ averts the penalty from us -by taking it to Himself. The Holy One consents to suffer for the sake -of the guilty. The apostle who styles Christ as the "Propitiation" has -said, in a sentence immediately preceding: "The blood of Jesus Christ -His Son cleanseth us from all sin." Almost numberless passages teach -the same doctrine. If we were engaged in an exercise of Biblical -criticism, we should have to discuss each of these passages minutely -in its turn. But the general idea we gather from them is definite and -clear. A ransom paid, our sins borne, the wrath of God appeased, an -offered sacrifice--all these contain one idea: Jesus Christ freeing us -from the desert of our sin by Himself satisfying Divine Justice on our -behalf. - -Hence the two great facts of our religious history. We were under the -condemnation of a holy law. He who was "the Life," _for our sake_ -endured death that we who deserved death might have life _for His -sake_. And God is "faithful and just to forgive us our sins." - -To a simple-hearted Christian all this is clear. Men may be -scandalised at the exchange (as they term it) between justice and sin, -between life and death; but Paul knows how to state the matter: "God -hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we -might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Men may be indignant -(as they often profess to be) at the thought of the innocent suffering -for the guilty; but Peter does not hesitate to say: "Christ hath once -suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to -God." - -What is it, moreover, that _connects_ the teaching of the Old -Testament with that of the New? The doctrine of sacrifice, as thus -explained, is not simply _attested_ by Scripture: it is the _soul_ of -it; its bond of unity. The death of Christ is _the_ sacrifice "once -offered in the end of the world," in which all the sacrifices of the -Old Testament find their common destination; to which they correspond, -as the figure to the reality. The cross is the end, the key, the -meaning, the value of all of them. Without this we cannot understand -them. They were types: the cross is the antitype. What they -_represented_, the cross _achieved_. The cross procured the pardon -which they proclaimed. And so the cross has always been the symbol of -the Christian Church. The Jews understood it, and were scandalised; -the Greeks understood it, and sneered. - -And now what ends does this sacrifice of Propitiation serve? Mainly -two, which are inclusive of all the rest. - -I. It is the fullest revelation of the Divine character. Leaving aside -all questions of abstract and technical theology, we observe that it -sets before us, in one great act, the righteousness and the mercy of -God. The cross proclaims the pardon for which infinite love solicits. -_The heart of God yields to itself._ But how can this be? It is -because the pardon solicited by love is obtained by a sacrifice which -equally exhibits God's righteousness. If we seek the universe through -for the greatest proof we can have of the love of God to the sinner, -we shall find it in the cross; for we there see not only that God -forgives, but also that He is _so resolved_ to forgive that, rather -than that the sinner shall be left to perish, the stroke of the -offended law shall fall on the willing head and heart and life of "His -only begotten and well-beloved Son." On the other hand, if we want to -know something of God's abhorrence of sin, we shall find it in the -cross; for we there see that, so impossible is it for Him to allow it -to go unpunished, that He secures for it a Divine expiation in the -willing sacrifice of His Divine Son. "Mercy and truth are met -together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Most -persons can see in the cross a demonstration of Divine love; in the -light of Bible teaching, they may also see in it a demonstration of -Divine justice more marked and telling than in a closed Eden, in the -waters of the Deluge, in the overthrow of the cities of the plain, in -the destruction of Jerusalem, or in the punishment of the wicked in -eternity. - -II. If men are to be saved at all, they must be saved _to holiness_; -they must be sanctified as well as forgiven. The result cannot be -otherwise for those who truly believe in the sacrifice of Christ as -thus explained. Holiness and love, the two great elements of the -character of God; these are expressed in the cross, and they must be -reproduced in the character of those for whom the cross does its -appointed work. How can we believe, as the cross teaches us to -believe, in God's hatred to sin, without feeling that we must hate it -also, and, hating it, must forsake it? And how can we believe, as the -cross teaches us to believe, in the love which has obtained our -salvation, without giving our own love as a genuine, though feeble, -return? Let a man, struggling with the sins which he condemns, but -which he cannot shake off, learn that the Son of God came into the -world to die for him; and he will find in that revelation a strength -for conflict with sin which he never had before. Speak to him of the -beauty and dignity of the law, of the righteousness of God's claims, -of the penalties of transgression; and, though his conscience may -assent to all you say, his heart will not yield. Can he refuse when he -sees Jesus on the cross, and knows what, for him, that spectacle -means? The cross is an argument presented to his reason, his -conscience, his will, his heart, his whole being; nay, it is more than -an argument, it is an appeal; and the response must be: "We love Him -because He first loved us." "The love of Christ constraineth us; -because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: -and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth -live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and rose again." - -And now it only remains to be said that this Propitiation is needed by -all, that it is sufficient for all, and that it is free to all. Let -all receive it. - - - - -III. - -_FAITH IN THE SAVIOUR._ - -"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."--Acts -xvi. 31. - - -A startling providential dispensation was one of the means by which -the spiritual nature of this jailer was roused. Only one, effectual so -far as it went, but not complete in itself. It was preparatory and -auxiliary to the action of the Holy Spirit, the instrument by which -the Spirit did His special work of convincing the man of sin. Thus it -is that outward events and circumstances are made to co-operate with -God in the conversion of a soul. The way in which the Spirit works is -a mystery, akin to that in which one human mind acts upon another. But -the _means_ of this spiritual action is no mystery. We use speech, -external appliances of various kinds; the Divine Spirit does the same. -In the case of the jailer he employed the earthquake together with the -calm faith, the perfect serenity, of the apostles at a moment which -was to himself a moment of terror, and which would also have been a -moment of terror to them had they not been the Christians they were. A -great joy; a great sorrow, commotion, loss, alarm, the apparent -nearness of death; daily mercies, the "means of grace," the Word of -God, the ministry of the gospel--through all these the Spirit works. -They are powerless in themselves; they can only become mighty as used -by Him. - -It is obvious at a glance that this man's spiritual nature _was_ -roused. Spiritual realities burst in upon his mind in all their awful -momentousness. His whole soul was suddenly concentrated in a sense of -his ruin. Hence the short, sharp question--the question which sprung -from an inward agony--"What must I do to be saved?" That question must -be answered, if it can be--answered on the instant! There is a -tremendous depth of meaning in it. It is as though a lightning flash -had in a moment illuminated the man's whole spiritual condition, -bringing out every feature of it into startling distinctness. All the -fears and the aspirations of his immortal being are here; his past -life with all its sin, his remorse, his dread of judgment, his terror -in the presence of God--all are here; he feels himself to be a lost -man. How can he be saved? - -In his question there is no hint of self-righteousness or of -self-confidence, or even of the remotest hope in himself. He does not -ask, like "the young man in the gospel," "What good thing must I do -that I may inherit eternal life?" The question of the young man is -leisurely; the question of the jailer is hurried, under the feeling -that there is not a moment to be lost. Helpless and hopeless, he wants -but one thing, and that is to be "saved." Of course his "What must I -do?" indicates that he is willing and ready to comply with any -possible terms; yet it is not a question of conscious strength--it is -rather the question of despair. - -Such a question shows that a great point--an essential point--had been -gained. The gospel is a sovereign remedy designed and constructed to -meet a desperate case. Not only do they that are whole stand in no -need of a physician, but wherever there lingers an idea of spiritual -strength, or a dream, of self-righteousness, the condition necessary -for the reception of such a salvation as that which the gospel -proclaims is entirely wanting. Christ is an exclusive Saviour, and -"looking to Him" is an exclusive hope. - -"What must I do to be saved?" Clear, quick, unhesitating, comes the -answer of Paul: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be -saved." Both the question and the answer strike the point--the centre -of the soul's supreme need, and the centre of the gospel message. - -This answer of Paul's is not simply his own. It is the answer of God -to every man who wants to know how he can be saved. It is the answer -of the whole Bible. It is the pre-eminently, distinctively Christian -answer. All revelation has one great object--Jesus Christ, promised, -announced, expected, seen by faith beforehand; then Jesus Christ -actually come, His life told, His mission developed, Himself presented -to the world as the one and only Name whereby men can be -saved;--always Jesus Christ. Patriarchs and prophets, Moses and David, -Christ Himself, His apostles and disciples after Him, the whole -Church--all unite to say to the awakened soul: "Believe on the Lord -Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." - -But this answer, though not Paul's alone, is nevertheless his in such -a sense that an immense weight belongs to it. What does Paul himself -understand by it? We know something of his experience, and that will -tell us the meaning of these words as spoken by him. He spake that -which he knew, and testified that which he had seen. He felt that he -could offer to the spiritual need of every man that which had so fully -met his own. - -Read Paul's life. Read his epistles. You see at a glance what Christ -was to _him_--a Redeemer. And what to him was the very centre of -Christian truth? "Christ crucified." He had been so roused as to see -clearly the relation between himself and God. The true sense of sin -had been awakened within him. No man had made more strenuous efforts -to obtain justification by the works of the law than he had; and no -man had more deeply realised his helplessness. How does he describe -the struggle? "I had not known sin, but by the law.... When the -commandment came, sin revived, and I died.... Sin, taking occasion by -the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.... That which I do I -allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do -I.... I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) there dwelleth no good -thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which -is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil -which I would not, that I do.... O wretched man that I am! who shall -deliver me from the body of this death?" - -"I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." - -We all know how God arrested, overcame, and subdued him, by showing -him in that same "Jesus Christ our Lord" the mystery of the Divine -love. God taught him that he must no longer expect righteousness and -eternal life to come from his own works, to be wrought by his own -strength. Eternal life is the free gift of God. Look to the cross! -Listen to the Spirit! Learn in "the folly of the cross" to adore the -wisdom and the power of God--a forgiveness that glorifies justice as -well as mercy; a forgiveness that kills sin as well as removes its -penalty; a salvation that harmonises man with God as well as forgives -him; a salvation that implies a perfect holiness, the motive being -love, and the effectual power being that of the Holy Spirit. Deep as -his want had been, it was now completely met by the revelation of the -Saviour. To that revelation his response was prompt, complete, -irrevocable. He says that it was as though scales had fallen from his -eyes, this disclosure of the Divine plan of salvation to his mind. It -was full of light, full of mercy. The manifestation of the risen -Christ was the instrumentality which enlightened him. He saw -straightway the nature and purpose of "the cross," the certainty of -justification through faith, the believer's completeness in Christ. -"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that -is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh -intercession for us." "There is now no condemnation to them which are -in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. -For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free -from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that -it was weak through the flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the -flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who -walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." "I beseech you -therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your -bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your -reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye -transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is -that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." The natural -result of these convictions in the apostle's own case was his -consecration to the Saviour. Bought with a great price, he felt that -he was no longer his own, but that, in life and death, he belonged to -Him who had given Himself for him. In Christ he had found peace for -his conscience, light for his mind, love for his heart. And what was -the secret of it all? Simply "believing in the Lord Jesus Christ." - -This, then, was Paul's gospel to the jailer, and there is no other -gospel to-day. We know that sin incurs condemnation--the displeasure -of God. The universal conscience gives testimony to that fact. We know -that man cannot, in his own person, satisfy the claims of the Divine -law. But there comes down to us the old truth that Christ is "the Lamb -of God that taketh away the sin of the world." He "finished the work -which His Father gave Him to do," and the whole benefit of that work -is given to faith. - -It is in the name of this perfect system of truth--which, observe, is -a perfect series of facts--consecrated by the trial of ages, by the -experience of an incalculable number of souls in all times, places, -and conditions, and by the world's own verdict on Christian character -wherever it is found--that we speak to you with a confidence equal to -that with which Paul spoke to the jailer. And let me add that we so -speak because we have made the experience of it our own, and that it -is as sure in our hearts as our very existence. Yes, a perfect series -of facts as well as a perfect system of truth. Men sometimes object -that we put before them hard and abstruse systems of theology, and -that we condemn them for not believing things which they cannot -understand. There is no need to do anything of the kind, and when it -is done a grave mistake is committed. I preach no "abstractions" to -you when I urge you to faith in Christ for salvation. I deal with -facts and their deductions--deductions which are as inevitable as the -facts are real--deductions which follow the facts as the shadow -follows the substance. Deny the deductions? You must first deny the -facts. The jailer, poor man, was no theologian, and Paul did not -perplex and mystify him. He placed the person of Christ immediately -before the soul. Faith in a person; that is _first_--not faith in a -creed. A creed will follow; for there cannot be faith without thought, -and thought always strives to formulate itself. But, blessed be God, -millions have been saved with next to no "theology." Having Christ for -its object, and salvation for its aim, faith reposes in the facts of -His mission and work; but as He is a living Christ, it emphatically -reposes in _Him_. This is the commonest form of the believer's -experience. In our social life we know what faith in a person means. -We confide in known goodness; and therefore we believe words, -promises, acts, and we do so because we trust _him_ from whom they -come. This is the last and most perfect stage of the faith men place -in one another, and it includes a confidence which is not impaired by -what, in the person who is trusted, seems startling, unexpected, -mysterious, contradictory, inexplicable. Just so with the gospel. It -meets our needs by telling us what God has done for us in Christ. We -believe the record which fits our want, and we put our trust in the -Saviour. Confiding in Him, we can accept such mysteries as we may -discern in His dealings, and faith in a holy and loving Saviour is -henceforth the true rest of life, and the true foretaste of heaven. - -Such being the nature of faith unto salvation, we see how it contrasts -(1) with indifference. Indifference is commonly supposed to be a -mental state, in which a man neither believes nor disbelieves; whereas -it is really a state of spiritual deadness. (2) With mere opinion, -which is nothing more than an inclination in favour of, or against, a -thing, and not an earnest practical conviction about it. (3) With -presumption, which is a prepossession with no sufficient basis of -evidence. - -It may, perhaps, be said that, in this representation of faith in -Christ as the one all-comprehensive condition of salvation, we have -left no room for penitence, holiness, devotedness. But think again for -a moment. Were not all these in this man? Did not his conduct to the -apostles show, so far as the opportunity was given him, the fruits of -faith in the various ways of grateful love? Faith is the -starting-point; but when we are told to "believe in Christ" an appeal -is made to us in response to which there is a whole career to be -filled up. Faith, like everything else in life, has its beginning, and -its development is progressive. It means thought, and thought means -contrition, gratitude, and a glad and loving obedience. It requires -time, but we have eternity before us. In some, the result of years is -accomplished in a day. Simple-hearted men generally receive by a sort -of intuition what others take a long period to elaborate. The one -thing essential to all is that they be faithful to the light and the -love they have received. - -"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." We do not call you to a learned -and critical study. The life and teachings and redeeming work of the -Saviour are put before us with a simplicity that brings them within -the reach of a peasant or a child. Attention, earnestness, sincerity, -prayer, will do all that is needed. Seek the faith that will make -Christ yours. Do you not already, under the gracious influence of the -Holy Spirit, feel your need of Him? Oh, whilst mercy calls, and the -throne of grace is accessible, pray and yield! - - Ye that in these courts are found - Listening to the joyful sound, - Lost and helpless as you are, - Sons of sorrow, sin, and care, - Glorify the King of kings! - Take the peace the gospel brings. - - Turn to Christ with longing eyes, - View His bleeding sacrifice. - See through Him your sins forgiven, - Pardon, holiness, and heaven. - Glorify the King of kings! - Take the peace the gospel brings. - - - - -IV. - -_SINCERITY OF HEART NECESSARY TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOSPEL._ - -"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether -it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."--John vii. 17. - - -The Jews, marvelling at Christ's teaching in the temple, exclaim, "How -knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" They do not mean to -ask whether Christ is competent to teach, for they _see_ that he is so -clearly enough; but they thus express their astonishment at the -authority and the ability with which He deals with the Scriptures, -considering that He has never received the instruction of the Schools. - -In His reply, Jesus fully enters into the thought of His questioners. -That thought is this: "In order to teach, one must have been taught." -He intimates to them that He meets this requirement. As though He had -said: "It is true that I have not been in the schools of your Rabbis, -but I have been taught in a better school than theirs. He who has -given me my mission, has also given me my message. So that my teaching -does not proceed originally from myself. I have only to lay hold of my -Father's thought, and then to reproduce it faithfully to you." - -But how is this to be verified? The answer to this question is found -in the text: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the -doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." -Christ's teaching, in its highest aim, is a Divine method of -sanctification. Whoever, then, earnestly seeks to "do the will of -God"--that is, to be holy--will soon recognise the Divine adaptability -of the gospel to its end. The meaning of the verse is the same as in -chapter v. and verse 46: "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have -believed me;" and also in chapter iii. and verse 21: "He that doeth -truth cometh to the light." On the one hand, the holy sublimity of the -gospel flashes irresistibly on the soul that longs for holiness; on -the other hand, the soul, in its inability to attain its ideal, seeks -peace and strength at the hands of the Saviour. Faith, therefore, is -not the result of a logical operation; it appears to the soul as the -best means of realising the satisfaction of its deepest -want--holiness. The word "will" points to the loftiness of the -aspiration and to the earnestness of the effort. - -Our Lord's words, then, mean this, that if any man be supremely -anxious to do the right, he will find in Scripture sufficient proof of -its divinity, and, as a consequence, of its adaptability to the soul's -deepest need. Christ was dealing with men who were disposed to cavil -about His authority and about the truth which He taught. These men -were acquainted with the Mosaic law, which enjoined not only purity of -life, but also purity of heart. It was a law therefore which, if -honestly studied, must lead to those convictions which would enable -them to see the necessity and the wisdom of the gospel which Christ -was preaching. And so He lays down the principle that sincerity in -regard to the _known_ law of God determines the real position of the -mind _towards_ God, and prepares it for deeper and still deeper -penetration into all necessary spiritual knowledge. On the contrary, -he who is insincere, and does not practise what he knows, but -endeavours to evade it by sophistry, blinds himself until even the -brightest light can be of no service to him. This was the case with -the majority of the Pharisees with whom Christ had to do. This -passage is therefore of the highest practical importance, since it -teaches that man's capacity for spiritual knowledge is dependent upon -his inclination. If the will be opposed to God, the understanding -becomes clouded; if it be inclined towards God, the ability to know -increases. That the inclination is the door to the intellect is a fact -universally recognised. It is expressed in the proverb: "None are so -blind as those who will not see." In every department of learning, a -man, in order to attainment, _must make up his mind to it_. For good -or ill, the will is a quickening power. - -It would be interesting and instructive to discuss this question in -connection with religious error, both in and out of the professing -Christian Church. My present purpose, however, is a more simple and -elementary one--namely, to indicate the bearing of the question upon -man's reception of the gospel for his salvation. I say, then, that -honesty, sincerity, integrity of heart is the required and -indispensable condition for perceiving and feeling the divinity and -suitability of the gospel; and that even an ignorant man, if he be but -sincere, and devoutly anxious to know the will of God, that he may do -it, may discover in the Bible those traces of moral beauty and of -Divine truth which a learned but unconscientious man will almost -certainly fail to find therein. Sincerity of heart--this is the -wisest, most natural, and most comprehensive means of access to the -inner spirit of that gospel which is the power of God unto salvation. -A few remarks in proof of this. - -I. Suppose the gospel to be so manifestly filled with the proofs of its -divinity that all hearts, even the most obdurate, could not refrain from -yielding to its claims. Suppose it to be _self-evidencing_, in the same -way and to the same extent, as the sun is self-evidencing by its -shining, or fire by its known power to burn. In this case, no moral or -intellectual disposition would be necessary in order to its reception. -It could no more be denied than the light of the sun, or the consuming -power of fire. But what, with such a gospel, would be man's position? -Forced to assent to an imperious obligation, he would be, in relation to -the gospel and to the salvation provided in it, nothing more than a -machine, acting under the impulse of an irresistible necessity. There -could, under these circumstances, be neither praise nor blame attached -to him. He could no longer be accounted a moral agent--could not be -regarded as free, inasmuch as it would not be possible for him to choose -error or evil without obvious and startling folly. He could no longer be -responsible, because he would have to yield to a necessity. There could -be no free thought in his creed, no free love in his heart, and -consequently no virtue in his life. - -II. Since, then, some disposition is necessary in order to a man's -coming to the gospel, suppose that God had imposed an _intellectual_ -qualification--such, for instance, as is required for the learning of -art or of science, or for the understanding of any difficult problem -in philosophy. Observe what in that case must follow. If, to discover -the truth necessary to salvation, a large measure of natural genius or -of accumulated knowledge be required, we must consider as excluded -from salvation the immense majority of the human race! Men cannot in -any large numbers abandon the common, legitimate, indispensable -pursuits of secular life in order to become students of theology. Such -an arrangement would shut out from heaven all who have neither time, -nor fortune, nor energy of intellect sufficient to enable them to -follow our profounder investigations. The poor man for want of means, -the sick man for want of strength, the old man for want of time--all, -being unable to explore and to make their own the prescribed science, -would be lost! The fearfulness of the consequences shows how false the -supposed principle must be. - -III. Take another supposition; viz., that, in order to a man's being -convinced of the truth of the gospel, he should be required to purify -his heart from all evil, so that with a clear moral vision he should -be able to see the beauties which have been obscured by his sinful -passions. Doubtless this means of appreciating Christianity would be -efficacious, were it practicable. But it is not so; for evidently the -_knowledge_ of the truth must precede the _practice_ of the truth. A -creature without wings might as well be told that he should go to -heaven on condition that he would fly thither! - -IV. See now, not what _our_ plans might be, but what _God's_ plan is. -He does not influence man so as to degrade him into a machine: He -simply and uniformly demands the worship and the service of willing -hearts. He does not require of him the genius or the learning which is -the privilege of only a few. He does not ask in advance the goodness -which is impossible as a spontaneous production of his degenerate -nature. He just requires of all that which they can give, if they -will--viz., simple, devout honesty of purpose. Christ's words are not, -"If any man _does_;" but, "If any man will do"--_desires_ to do--is -supremely _anxious_ to do--_wills_ to do--"the will of God he shall -know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." Who, then, has a right to -complain? Who cannot be sincere? Who is unable to set before himself -the purpose of living up to the light he has in order that he may be -in the surest position for receiving more? Who will say, "This -condition is too hard?" - -Observe, then, how your case stands. Are you, or are you not, anxious -to please God in any way which He may appoint and reveal to you? If -you are not, His gospel must be a sealed and unmeaning book to you. -Your mind is not open to the faith which unites the soul to the -Saviour. You are altogether destitute of the motive which would lead -you to the cross. But if you are, what then? You must see at once that -you are sinners, that you are guilty, and that you are hopeless. In -the light of these convictions, look at the gospel. It tells you of -the Divine Saviour who died for you and who rose again, who paid your -debt, who took to Himself your penalty, and who has therefore done -all that was necessary to set you free. To meet your helplessness, He -only asks for your faith, and offers to you the quickening and guiding -and upholding influences of His Holy Spirit. - - - - -V. - -_THE HUMBLE TAUGHT THE LORD'S WAY._ - -"The meek will He teach His way."--Psalm xxv. 9. - - -Instead of "meek" read "humble," and then connect the verse with the -preceding, so as to see who and what are the persons to whom the -Psalmist refers. The righteous Lord will teach sinners His way; but -the sinners, in order to be thus divinely taught, must be humble. - -Probably this text of Scripture does not seem at first sight to be -very promising to some of you. If so, the reason probably is that one -at least of the subjects it brings to our notice is not a favourite or -inspiring one. Men are comparatively little attracted by the more -quiet and passive virtues of life, and among these the virtue of -humility is one of the least popular. The truth is that we are still -under the influence of Pagan notions about it. The philosophers of -the past never understood it. To them it was a mean and despicable -thing--the evidence of weakness and poverty of soul, the necessary -virtue of the enslaved and the helpless. This notion exists now. The -world has far more respect for the self-confident, the noisy, the -bombastic, than for the humble. Of course the world's ideas of -humility are at fault, and have need to be corrected. We cannot enter -upon that task now, except incidentally and very partially. One thing -only let me say--namely, that Christianity has transformed and -ennobled the despised word by giving us the thing itself. The life of -Christ comprises the perfection of humility as well as of every other -virtue. In Him we see that humility makes no man contemptible. He was -no less a king because He was a servant. And the virtue that was -perfect in Him is one of the essential qualities of the Christian -character--one of the essential elements of the Christian life, -whether in its high enjoyments or in its high achievements. - -The words before us present this virtue of humility under one special -aspect. Man has something to learn, and God has something to teach; -and humility is _teachableness_. Christianity demands of its -disciples that disposition of heart which is the indispensable -condition of all learning whatsoever. No more objection can be urged -against Christianity for this, than against any art or science or -philosophy which men seek to acquire. All these might say to their -disciples, "Unless you give up your prejudice, your conceit, your -self-will, your presumption, you have no business here; we have -nothing to teach you." And so, "poverty of spirit," as Christ -intimates in the "Beatitudes," is the strait gate into "the kingdom of -God." - -It is only as respects religion that this principle is seriously -misunderstood, and a little reflection will show why it is that -outside Christianity humility is misapprehended. Humility is the -result of self-knowledge, and this cannot be obtained until man has -learned to know himself in the light of God's wisdom and holiness. So -long as he compares himself with his fellow-creatures around him, it -may seem to him that there is no necessity for such an element of -character as this. Nor is it in this way that the virtue is commended -and enforced. Whilst the standard of excellence remains merely human, -it is quite clear that a man may say, "I am as good as my neighbours; -at least, I am no worse." But put before him a holy God and a holy -law! In this new light all becomes changed. Apart from that -revelation, many flatter themselves that they have lived respectably. -They are not conscious of any serious defection in the common, -every-day duties of life. Let the great revelation come to them, and -they must make wonderful self-discoveries. How many forgotten sins are -then brought to mind! How many secret sins are then brought to light! -How many temptations have been yielded to for convenience' sake! How -much coldness and indifference towards the right, the true, and the -good! How much selfishness! How much cowardice! How many meannesses! -How many secret and contemptible dishonesties! What culpable ignorance -of God! What rebellion against His known will! Is not all this enough -to humble a man? Where is the man amongst us who would not rather die -than have all his sins brought to light before his fellow-men? Thus, -to make us humble, God teaches us, first of all, truly to know -ourselves. This is that "conviction of sin" which is wrought by His -Holy Spirit. - -God teaches us this in His law, but chiefly by the life of Christ His -Son. Who can remain proud when he compares his own life with that? -Before men we may, perhaps, hold our own; but before Him there is -nothing left for us but self-abasement. - -In presence of such a conviction as this, it is vain for the world to -flatter a man, for he has learnt his own misery. He wants to know the -truth, for it is only the truth that can save. He knows too much of -himself to accept any teaching that would exalt _man_, for he could -not accept that without dishonouring God. He wants a frank, firm voice -that will trouble him, and to which his conscience will respond. The -first question for us is: Have we so learnt to know ourselves, or do -we obstinately shut our eyes against God's light? Such a knowledge of -sin brings with it a sense of deserved condemnation. - -And here God comes in to teach us humility in another way. He shows us -His love in Christ. It is not possible that a sinner who has come to -the knowledge of himself should discover that he is the object of a -love on the part of God such as that which the gospel reveals without -being overwhelmed. Show to man a God who judges and condemns, and the -sinner must shrink from before Him under the sense of a deserved doom; -but show to him a God who comes to him graciously, who loves him, who -has provided redemption for him, and who is waiting to receive and to -help him, and all the pride of his heart at once breaks down. The -prodigal son was most humble when he received his father's kiss of -welcome. How can we be proud when we know that God has loved us, and -that Christ has died for us? Unbelievers sometimes call the -Christian's faith presumption; we know, on the contrary, that the -feeling produced is as unlike presumption as it can be. The very faith -which accepts the gospel has its root in lowliness of mind. Pride -would reject it. And it is at the foot of the cross that humility -grows. If not there, then nowhere. - -Thus we see that all our Christian life, in one aspect of it, is a -growth in humility. This beautiful virtue affects our whole being, -rescuing for God all that has been usurped by sin. - -_Our reason must be humble._ We are living in an age of criticism and -discussion; and, both in the Church and out of it, human thought is -prone to pride and self-sufficiency. There is work, of course, for -thought to do, and we must do it; for thought is God's gift. But it -can only be done aright as it is done in humility. We must never touch -religious questions with profane hands. Let us rather remember that -all our researches into truth should be conducted with a view the -better to adore and to obey. We should examine truth only with a -desire to perceive, acknowledge, and reverence it. Our Lord teaches us -that the gospel both enlightens and blinds. "For judgment I am come -into this world, that they who see not might see, and that they who -see might be made blind." The first part of this great statement is -easily understood; it is the second which startles. But why so? Is it -not like Simeon's prediction that Christ would be for the "fall" as -well as for the "rising" of many? Is it not like what Paul said of the -gospel, that it is a "savour" both of "life unto life" and of "death -unto death"? So long as the gospel is not preached in a church or a -house, all is quiet--with the quietness of death! As soon as it is -preached, some accept it, and say that they have passed from darkness -to light; others reject it, and are made angry by its teaching and its -claims. If these latter were quiet, we might suppose the gospel to be -without effect upon them; but they show that, by hardening themselves -against it, they are becoming blinder than ever. Recall other words -which point to the same result--words spoken by our Lord: "I thank -Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these -things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. -Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight." This should be a -joyful truth to us, for Jesus had joy in declaring it. Wherein is its -worth? The "things" of which He speaks are the doctrines of salvation. -"The wise and prudent" are self-satisfied men who think that they can -comprehend all religious truth by their own reason alone. The "babes" -are humble souls, who, in the consciousness of their ignorance and -weakness, look to God for wisdom. Thus Christ says that Divine -teaching is necessary for the understanding of gospel truth, and this -fact humility alone enables us to feel. Man's intelligence can do many -wonderful things, but God Himself must come to our help if we are ever -to know the things that pertain to our salvation. Our reason must bow -to Him. - -_The heart must be humble._ We may profess entire mental submission to -God, and yet be under the influence of pride. There is a humility -which is spurious as well as a humility which is real. It is -possible, and not very uncommon, for a man to cherish a false -consciousness of merit even in the disbelief and denial of merit! If a -man is proud who puts confidence in his self-righteousness, so also is -he who puts confidence in his intellectual orthodoxy. - -_Our conduct must be humble._ This grace of humility must not only -dwell in the inner spirit, but be manifested in our outer life. It is -vain to come to the cross with the offer of a bending reason, a -subdued will, and a broken heart, and then go out into the world -intent on the accomplishment of our own purposes. If we are truly -humble, we shall be _seen_ to be so in the way in which we accept the -teachings of events; in our reverent waiting for the signs of the -Divine will; in the faithful, unreluctant fulfilment of the humblest -duties; in our resignation to, and our acquiescence in, the trials and -afflictive dispensations which come upon us. We often see this grace -in its greatest beauty at the close of the most eminent lives. God's -most gifted men, as a rule, advance in humility as they grow in -experience. They are like boughs that bend the lower the more fruit -they bear. Like John the Baptist, they say, "He must increase, but I -must decrease." - -This, then, is the _disposition_, and to it God makes a great -_promise_. He will _teach His way_ to the humble. This applies - -_To our knowledge of Divine truth._ How uniformly have God's truest -witnesses upon earth consisted of men conspicuous for their lowliness -of mind. It was to such that the Saviour was first announced and that -He first came. Such were the people who listened to Him and accepted -Him, whilst the "learned" and the "great" rejected Him. His apostles -were humble men; and it has always been by the humble that the strong -and the proud have, in the end, been vanquished. Every bright page in -the history of the Church is a commentary on our text. To-day, in -spite of the progress of thought in our world, we, in regard to the -matters that belong to our spiritual life and salvation, have to sit -as disciples at the feet of the humble men who themselves sat at the -feet of the Divine Teacher who said, "Learn of me, for I am meek and -lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Our views of -the truth as it is in Jesus may be modified and corrected; yet the -pages of these same humble men are still the standard of our faith and -of our teaching. Religious opinions change, not because we have gone -beyond Paul and Peter and John, but because we understand them better. -This is no plea, no apology, for mental weakness. On the contrary, -pride is rather the characteristic of mental weakness and of ignorance -than of mental strength and enlightenment. We may search, but we must -remember that we always depend upon God for light. In religion the -condition of the heart is the condition of knowledge. Proud, haughty, -self-sufficient Saul of Tarsus had to be humbled before he could -become Paul the Believer and the Apostle. - -_To the every-day dispensations of life._ In this world we are the -subjects of God's discipline, and that discipline is for the most part -mysterious. The course of events with us is often varied. We are -subjected to vicissitudes of every kind--vicissitudes of thought, of -impression, of feeling, and of experience. We are troubled in life, in -heart, in the cultivation of Christian excellence, in the maintenance -of life's relationships, in the performance of duty. Whilst we try to -bear in mind the glorious issues to which we are destined, we are -often perplexed in our endeavours to ascertain how the discipline we -are undergoing tends towards their realisation. We are puzzled by the -prevalence of wickedness, by the disappointment of hopes, the apparent -futility of many of our prayers; and we say, "I am blind, and the way -in which I am walking is unknown to me." Humility will help us to -think that God has _His own way_ among all these perplexities of ours, -though we are unable to trace it. "All things work together for good -to them that love God." - - God works not as man works, nor sees - As man sees, though we mark - Ofttimes the moving of His hands - Beneath the eternal Dark. - - * * * * - - And He who made both life and death, - He knoweth which is best. - We live to Him, we die to Him, - And leave Him all the rest. - -Thus the humble are taught trust, patience, resignation, obedience, -peace of heart, and daily advancement in sanctification. - -_To our bearing towards others._ Humility will qualify us cordially to -recognise whatever worth they have, to show gentleness and charity to -those among them who are faulty and weak, and thus will take us along -a line of conduct which will lead to the strengthening of the bonds of -brotherhood. "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. -Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with -humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the -humble." The word here rendered "Be clothed" occurs nowhere else in -Scripture. It is borrowed from a piece of dress worn by servants when -they were doing menial offices, which at once intimated their station, -and fitted them for the performance of the duties attached to it. -Remember that it is Peter who gives this advice--the Peter who in -former days so often brought himself into trouble by his want of -humility. Notice, too, the special point he now has in view. He is -pleading for harmonious action in the Church, a result which can only -be obtained by observing the law of voluntary subordination to -established authority--an observance to which the habit of humility -will most effectually contribute. Humility is one of the chief social -and ecclesiastical virtues, through the medium of which God teaches us -what is the attitude we are to maintain towards those who are around -us. - -_To our Christian work._ All the heroes of the faith in past times -avowed their personal infirmities. Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, -Peter, Paul--each, in one form or another, confessed: "When I am -weak, then am I strong; I can do all things through Christ who -strengtheneth me. I glory in mine infirmities, that the power of -Christ may rest upon me." We must lay hold of this thought, for it -alone can guard us against discouragement. As long as we depend on -ourselves, God will break down our confidence by repeated failures; -but when His wisdom has humbled us, His mercy will lift us up. Why -should it not be so? We may well be humble in our work when we -remember how far we are from being indispensable to God. He can work -either with us or without us, as He pleases. It is His own order to -achieve mighty moral results through the humblest instrumentalities; -and frequently His independence of us is taught in a very striking -way--as, for example, when He calls to Himself some great preacher, or -some man who is doing wide-spread good, in the midst of his activity -and his usefulness. Besides, we have no monopoly of any one gift of -the Christian life--either as regards the gift itself or as regards -the quality and extent of the service which it can be made to render. -Others excel us in the very thing of which we are most proud. Many of -our fellow Christians are doing the same kind of works as ourselves, -only far better. And as to our "gifts," let us not forget that they -_are_ gifts. We have "received" them; and why, then, should we boast -as if we had not received them, but were ourselves the creators of -them? Moreover, in proportion to our gifts, so is our responsibility, -and "to whom much is given, of him shall much be required." Have we -used such gifts as we have as nobly as we might? Have we fallen into -no needless errors, no selfishness, no half-heartedness? So then, -while everything calls us to duty, there is much to fill us with -contrition; and mingling fidelity and humility together, our exclusive -confidence must be in God. This is the Divine way which the Divine -Teacher teaches to the humble. - -_The Lord's way._ This is a beautiful and lovable expression. It links -earth with heaven. There _is_ a way which leads to God; a way in which -God walks with us, and we with Him; a way that is peaceful here, while -it leads to the land of rest above. We begin it in humility, -confessing our sins at the cross, and accepting God's mercy there. We -end it before the throne, casting our crowns at the feet of Him who -died to save us. - - Hark! universal nature shook and groan'd, - 'Twas the last trumpet--see the Judge enthroned: - Rouse all your courage at your utmost need, - Now summon every virtue, stand and plead. - What! silent? Is your boasting heard no more? - That self-renouncing wisdom, learn'd before, - Had shed immortal glories on your brow, - That all your virtues cannot purchase now. - All joy to the believer! He can speak, - Trembling yet happy, confident yet meek. - Since the dear hour that brought me to Thy foot, - And cut up all my follies by the root, - I never trusted in an arm but Thine, - Nor hoped but in Thy righteousness divine: - My prayers and alms, imperfect and defiled, - Were but the feeble efforts of a child; - Howe'er perform'd, it was their brightest part, - That they proceeded from a grateful heart: - Cleansed in Thine own all purifying blood, - Forgive their evil, and accept their good: - I cast them at Thy feet, my only plea - Is what it was, dependence upon Thee: - While struggling in the vale of tears below, - That never failed, nor shall it fail me now. - Angelic gratulations rend the skies, - Pride falls unpitied never more to rise, - Humility is crown'd, and Faith receives the prize. - - - - -VI. - -_THE GRATITUDE OF THE PARDONED._ - -"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; -for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth -little."--Luke vii. 47. - - -It has been observed that the Bible records with great minuteness -events which a secular historian would deem beneath his notice, -whilst, on the other hand, matters of great secular importance are -passed over unmentioned. What ordinary historian would think of -narrating such a story as the one we have in the verses before us? The -Bible records it because it is a history of souls. To a Bible -historian, the conversion of a soul is an event of unique sublimity, -and everything that can illustrate it is felt to be a source of -deepest interest. The history of outward events will pass into -oblivion; the history of souls will be read in eternity. - -The narrative before us is one of the most beautiful and touching in -the gospel record. It was a saying of Gregory the Great: "Whenever I -think of this story I am more inclined to weep over it than to preach -upon it." It is just the tale to prompt deep, quiet feeling rather -than elaborate disquisition. It contains an illustration in real life -of the old promise: "A bruised reed shall He not break, and the -smoking flax shall He not quench." It declares the Saviour's matchless -sympathy for the sinner, and the most broken-hearted sinner's hope in -Him. It teaches these lessons for all time, since in Christ and in His -system of Redemption there can be no change. Let us look at the -narrative somewhat closely, and may God help us to see in it Christ as -the refuge of the lost, and the thankfulness to Him which must possess -the soul whom He has saved. When we have said all we can, there will -yet remain much more to be felt. - -Before I proceed, however, let me say that this narrative must not be -confounded with another which is in many respects like it, and which -has been told by the other evangelists. In both cases, the name of the -host is Simon, and in both a woman anoints the Lord Jesus, and wipes -His feet with her hair. But the differences are numerous. In this -case, the host is a Pharisee living in Galilee, and he looks on Christ -with mistrust; in the other case, the host is a healed leper in Judea, -bound to Christ by grateful love. In this case, the anointing proceeds -from personal and grateful love, and has no other specialty of motive; -in the other case, Jesus says: "Let her alone; against the day of my -burying hath she kept this." Here, Jesus is blamed by the Pharisee; -there, the woman is blamed by the disciples. Pride is the root of -Simon's objection; the objection of the disciples springs from -selfishness. Here a sinner is pardoned; there a disciple is honoured. -Here, in all probability, the woman was Mary Magdalene; there, the -woman was the sister of Lazarus. - -We have no information as to the reason which induced this Pharisee to -invite Christ to his house. The verse I have read as a text may -obscurely hint to us, perhaps, that he himself had come under some -obligation to Jesus, and not feeling any true gratitude, he thought he -might acquit himself of his obligation by a compliment of this kind! Or -the invitation may have sprung from curiosity, or from vanity, or from -ambition. Possibly he may have wished to play the _patron_. Anyhow, we -have no sign that he was urged by spiritual considerations. Many men -come--if one might so say--_locally_ near to Christ, who have no faith -in Him, and no love for Him. - -Neither have we any information as to the reason or reasons which -induced Christ to accept this invitation. Several reasons might be -imagined. He may have hoped, as the opportunity was specially -favourable, to bring a blessing to the Pharisee's heart. Men are never -more open, or more submissive, or more susceptible to the word of -love, than when they themselves are showing kindness in the form of -the hospitalities of home and of the family circle. Perhaps, too, He -may have felt that to decline the invitation would be to lay Himself -open to an accusation on the part of the Pharisees that He neglected -or spurned them, whilst He could put Himself in close communication -with "publicans and sinners." At any rate, we have here a beautiful -instance of the self-denial of His love. He knew what awaited Him, and -yet He went. - -And now we have to notice that when Jesus had passed over the -threshold of the Pharisee's house the door was open to "a woman who -was a sinner." How was this? The simple and sufficient answer is that -Jesus was there. Otherwise she would not have dared to enter within -the perfumed respectability and sanctity of such a place. That would -have been a terror to such a fallen one as she. But redeeming love had -already begun its work upon her heart, so that she could come without -misgiving, could enter with a holy confidence. When Christ appears, -grace bears the sceptre, and the law loses its power to alarm. - -We may take this incident, therefore, as a striking illustration of -the spirit of Christ and of His true followers, as contrasted with -Pharisaism in its suspiciousness, its blindness, its narrowness, and -its ascetic scrupulosity. - -The woman, probably under the pressure of gratitude for some act of -compassionate love already received from Christ, is full of the -holiest and tenderest emotions. In a fine, sacred humility, she weeps, -and washes His feet with her tears. True tears they are, for they are -the tears of penitence--and not of penitence only, but of thankfulness -also. Confused and bewildered, perhaps, she wipes the feet on which -they have fallen with her hair, and then kisses them, and anoints them -with costly ointment! Such is the gratitude of the pardoned--deep, -strong, irrepressible. And she expresses it in touchingly significant -ways. - -The woman's action was distasteful to the Pharisee. The touch of a -Gentile, or of a notoriously wicked person, was supposed to leave -pollution behind it, and therefore by the Pharisees it was scrupulously -avoided. Thus Simon had no understanding whatever of the scene before -him. He had no eyes to see, no ears to hear, how the angels were filling -heaven with the music of their joy over this poor sinner who had -repented. A weak human virtue might be contaminated by contact with such -an one as she had been; but not His who was the Christ of God. No doubt, -apart from the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, apart from the -strength which God imparts to the soul by His grace, a man does run the -risk of polluting his morality by allowing it to be touched by the -impure streams of his fellow-creatures' vices. This has always been so -fully recognised that we have a whole system of proverbial philosophy on -the point. Christ, however, was perfect, and His purity was such that it -could not incur this danger. Outward contact with "sinners" could bring -no contamination to Him. - -Simon took offence at the conduct of the woman, and began at once to -indulge in dark, though unspoken, suspicions against Christ for -permitting it. His suspicion took this form: "This man professes to be -a prophet, and is regarded as a prophet by His followers. But surely, -if He were a prophet, He would have known this woman's character, and -would have repelled her from Him, instead of permitting such -demonstrations of affection as these." Simon's notion of a "prophet" -was that he must possess at least two qualifications. (1) He must have -a knowledge of the characters of the persons with whom He has to deal. -On behalf of merely ordinary, human prophets, this was an exaggerated -claim. To what prophet could Simon point who was able to read the -heart? How did he know that Christ had ever seen this woman before? -And on the supposition that He had not, on what ground could Simon -demand that, in order to be entitled to the designation of a prophet, -He should show an insight into her character at the commencement of -the very first interview. Christ had the insight; but Simon felt -constrained to doubt it for no other reason than that He did not -instantly repel the woman from Him. (2) And so, in Simon's judgment, -the second qualification of a "prophet" consisted in such a moral -exclusiveness as would forbid contact with sinners. He thought that, -if Christ did know what manner of woman this was, His tolerance of her -conduct at this time was sufficient proof that He could not be a good -man, and was not, therefore, to be regarded as a prophet. A prophet's -sanctity would have forbidden such a scene as this. But again we ask, -Whence could such a notion have sprung? Who among the "prophets" ever -stood aloof from sinners? Was it not emphatically to sinners that they -were sent? - -Simon's reasoning was full of sophistry, and the sophistry came from a -defective heart. Had he known the nature of the Saviour's mission--as -one which demanded a perfect knowledge of all hearts, combined with -grace, love, and power to save the worst--he might perhaps have felt -and reasoned differently. - -His thoughts were unspoken, but Christ divined them, and proceeded to -deal with them. To the personal imputation He made no reply. It was a -little thing to Him to be judged by man. It was sufficient for Him to -aim at two points. One was to vindicate the woman on well-known -principles, and the other, to lead the Pharisee to self-examination. -With these two objects in view, He utters a parable, and applies it to -the case in hand. The parable and its application are both marked by a -mingled faithfulness and love. He makes Simon himself to be the judge -in the case He describes, and on the basis of Simon's own judgment He -brings the practical point right home to the proud heart of the man. -By a few sharp and striking contrasts, He shows that the woman, sinful -as she has been, has manifested more love to Him than Simon Himself -whose guest He is! Though a discredited stranger, she has done for Him -what Simon, His host, had failed to do. - -"Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee." - -"Master, say on." - -"There was a certain creditor, who had two debtors: the one owed him -five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to -pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them -will love him most?" - -"I suppose, he to whom he forgave most." - -"Thou hast rightly judged. Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine -house; thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my -feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou -gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not -ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but -this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto -thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but -to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." - -Having said this, Christ crowns His work of love by saying to the -woman, "Thy sins are forgiven." - -Now in all this we have an explanation and a vindication of the -grateful love to Christ which fills and animates the pardoned soul. -This love is shown to us-- - -I. _In its source._ The grace of Christ in forgiving sins. Grace! How -great! since it forgives all equally; the debtor who owes five hundred -pence as well and as completely as the one who owes fifty--greater -sinners and lesser sinners alike! For sinners of every grade there is -but one relief, and that is Divine mercy--needed by those who have -sinned least as well as by those who have sinned most, and equally -sufficing for both. Grace! How free! since it forgives where no -satisfaction can be made. "Nothing to pay;" such is the condition of -every sinner before God. "Without money and without price;" such is -God's gracious invitation. - -II. _In its law._ It is in the nature of things that love should beget -love, and that the love thus originated should be measured by the -extent of the favour which has been shown. "We love Him, because He -first loved us." Hence, love does not precede pardon, but is the fruit -of it, and is proportioned to the sense of obligation. This doctrine, -clear as it is, is not apprehended by all, and is even contradicted by -some. The inveterate spirit of self-righteousness has made men say: -"See this woman. By loving much she obtains the forgiveness of many -sins." This is palpably the reverse of _Christ's_ teaching in this -case. Love to God can never be the growth of unrenewed and unforgiven -hearts. "To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." This -shows the true order: forgiveness and then love. So that love is no -plea for pardon; Christ does not say, "Thy love hath saved thee," but -"thy faith." - - I love the Lord. He lent an ear - When I for help implored; - He rescued me from all my fear; - Therefore I love the Lord. - -III. _In its character._ It is an all-absorbing feeling, which -prompts the offering of the best gifts to the Saviour, and which fills -such offerings with the spirit of devoutness, humility, and -self-denial. - -Two closing thoughts. - -1. Men may be very near to the source of salvation and eternal life, -without coming into the realisation of these blessings. In the outward -sense, Christ was very near to this Pharisee and to his friends; but -they did not perceive His spiritual power. They thought He was only a -man like unto themselves; possibly, perhaps, on a somewhat higher -plane of manhood, though many of them do not seem to have given Him -credit even for that. His forgiveness was announced to this poor -sinful, but contrite woman in their hearing; but the best effect it -had upon them was to fill them with a dubious wonder, and to set them -on questioning His authority. Near as they were to Him, they failed to -see in Him, what "the woman who was a sinner" saw. Such is the -position, practically, of multitudes to-day. Not, indeed, that their -nearness to Christ is a local nearness, as in the case of those who -were immediately around Him in the days of His flesh. They could look -upon His outward form, could literally hear His voice. Not so now. -But there is another nearness to Him which is moral and spiritual. We -have His Word--the record of His life, the Divine repository of His -teaching. We have the ordinances of His worship--ordinances by which -His Word is brought more home to our understandings and hearts. We -have the influences of His truth shed over all the scenes in which we -move. The surface influences of Christianity modify and, to some -extent, mould the whole of our social life. Moreover, Scripture takes -account of the differences in human character. This woman, who was a -sinner, and this Pharisee were not alike in their relation to Christ. -There was one to whom He said, "Thou art not far from the kingdom of -God." Not far from it, and yet not in it. Are there no such cases now? -All are sinners; but depravity is developed in much grosser forms in -some than in others; and religious influences, which fall short of -effecting a complete conversion, nevertheless often deter men from -plunging into extreme vice. It is mournfully possible to be near to -Christ, and yet not to come into the enjoyment of His salvation. - -2. On the other hand, there are instances in which people obtain -salvation who seem, as to character, farthest away from it. The case -of this sinful woman is an illustration in point. We have no right to -mitigate or to extenuate her guilt. Let it be recognised in all its -dark completeness. As an actual sinner she had sunk very low. Her sin -was against nature's purest laws, and was of the kind that soon and -effectually kills shame--one of the most fatal forms of sin, and -declared to be such, not only by God's law, but by the common consent -of the universal conscience of the civilised world; a sin committed -against the strongest restraints--the restraints of sacred womanhood; -perhaps against the memory of the holy associations of childhood, a -father's tenderness, a mother's love, and all the joy of a happy home. -Such was this woman--"a bruised reed." But she was brought to tears -under a sense of Paradise lost, the tears of despair; and yet again to -tears of joy under the sense of Paradise regained. How many more--far -off as she--have been made nigh; treated by fellow sinners as the -offscouring of the earth, yet drawn to the Saviour. They are brought -to the cross; they repent, believe, are sanctified, and exult in the -consciousness of eternal life. Constrained by the mercies of God, they -yield themselves a living sacrifice to Him. - -The whole scene before us is one of the boldest triumphs of -reconciliation and love, in contrast with Pharisaic suspicion and -unforgivingness; and it supplies the fullest inspiration for the -largest hope. - -May we all come to Christ as this woman did, and hear, as she heard, -His gentle "Go in peace!" - - - - -VII. - -_CONSECRATION._ - -"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye -present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, -which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: -but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove -what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."--Romans -xii. 1, 2. - - -In bringing this passage before you, I have to dwell specifically on -the motives to self-consecration to God, and to what is involved -therein; and I do so with the twofold object of reconsidering the -sources of our Christian hope and strength, and the incentives to our -growth in the Divine life. - -The apostle commences his appeal with the word "therefore." This is a -logical term, leading to a conclusion from premises which have been -previously stated. It does not stand alone, but in an argument resumes -in itself all that has been advanced. Take careful note of the simple -words of Scripture. There is point in them all. If, for example, the -use of the word "therefore" in this text be overlooked, we shall be -unable properly to feel the force of the apostle's appeal. What is it, -then, that the apostle has said in this epistle, and of which he -intends, by this word "therefore," to remind his readers? He has been -giving to them a large, full, grand exposition of the great truths of -redemption. He has prepared the way for this by a graphic picture of -the sinfulness and helplessness of human nature. He has shown that the -heathen world is grossly depraved--in a state of alienation from God, -which is to a certain extent wilful (chap. i. 29-32). He has proceeded -to demonstrate that, with all their advantages, the Jews are no better -_at heart_ than the heathen, and as truly sinful, condemned, and -hopeless as they (ii. 17-24). The conclusion supplied by these facts -is, that none are righteous--that all, Jews and Gentiles alike, have -sinned and come short of the glory of God, and that all stand on the -same ground of spiritual danger. This brings out the fact that -redemption is the pressing need of the whole world. The way is now -clear for the presentation of the gospel. _The basis of redemption is -Christ's work of atonement._ The foundation of the plan of salvation -is God's free grace--His boundless, sovereign love. Christ came forth -from the Father as the expression of this. He suffered, bled, died -for us, to meet the claims of the Divine law on our behalf, and to -procure our justification and peace. "Being justified freely by His -grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath -set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood" (iii. 24, -25). "Jesus Christ, who was delivered for our offences" (iv. 25). "For -when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the -ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet -peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God -commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, -Christ died for us" (v. 6-8). Salvation, then, is founded upon the -atonement of Christ--a proper work of propitiation, providing for -pardon and justification. _The condition of this salvation on our part -is simply the acceptance of it by faith._ Faith is primarily the -repose of the soul in Christ's redeeming work--a yielding to God's -method of saving us. It operates to this end independently--yea, even -to the exclusion--of all works of self-righteousness. "By the deeds of -the law shall no flesh living be justified." It is inconsistent with -all boasting. "Where is boasting, then? It is excluded. By what law? -Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a -man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." This simple -condition of salvation is the only one which can be adapted to our -need. Sinners as we are, our condition is hopeless unless redemption -be offered to us as a free gift. _This redemption is secured to all -who believe by God's unalterable purpose and promise._ It is not -vitally affected by recurring doubts and fears, nor even by our often -insufficient struggles against sin (viii. 28-39). _The result is -inconceivably glorious_; freedom from condemnation, adoption into -God's family, joy, peace, full favour with God here, and heaven with -its perfect glory, consummated in the resurrection, hereafter. - -Now, it is at the close of all this that the apostle's "therefore" -comes; and these are the facts and principles which give to it its -point and force. It links all the disclosures of Divine love with the -obligations of redeemed souls. Since God has done so much as this for -you, what then? By the remembrance of the sin which left you without -hope; by the greatness of the love of God who, to save you, gave His -well-beloved Son to an atoning death on your behalf; by the greatness -of the love of Christ who, to save you, consecrated Himself to this -perfect sacrifice; by His birth and death, by His cross and passion, -by His resurrection and ascension; by the freeness and the simplicity -of the condition on which Christ's salvation becomes yours; by your -present peace; by your hope which blooms with immortality and with -eternal life; by _these_, _the mercies of God_, I beseech you, yield -yourselves to God. That surrender must be the first, the natural, the -inevitable result of any vivid and practical realisation of the Divine -goodness. "Yield your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to -God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this -world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may -prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." - -The Apostle Paul was pre-eminently the teacher of what are called the -doctrines of grace. In the system of Divine truth which he gives us, -he leaves no room for the indulgence on man's part of the least -sentiment of pride. The gospel, in his view, is the Divine expedient -for what must otherwise have been a desperate and hopeless case; an -expedient, therefore, which--since, from first to last, it is the -expression of God's free and sovereign love--cannot allow of any -self-glorying to man as unregenerate, or of any self-satisfaction to -man as Christian. Hence the uniformity and consistency of his teaching -with respect to "works." In the believer and the unbeliever alike, -these "works," judged by "the law"--the standard of moral -perfection--are all defective, and therefore unavailing. The same -truth applies to them all at every stage of the Christian's progress -towards heaven. In no sense does salvation come by "works," "lest any -man should boast." - -On this point, however, the apostle has always been misunderstood by -persons who have pushed his teaching to an illegitimate conclusion. If -all be of "grace," why insist upon "works"? The objection was made in -his day, and he met it. It is made in our day, and has still to be -met. It is sufficiently met by Paul's own method. Paul's doctrine of -grace could never, in his mind, lead to "licentiousness," and it is -one of the most remarkable phenomena of religious thought that it -should have ever been suspected of doing so. The Christian man, in -Paul's view, is the regenerate man; and the regenerate man is the holy -man. Without the spirit and life of holiness Paul would have deemed it -absurd to consider a man a Christian at all. The passage before us, -even if there were no others of the same kind, is sufficient to prove -how indissolubly connected are privilege and obligation in the -Christian life. As we have seen, the apostle draws the exhortations -which commence with this chapter, and which are exhaustively presented -in all their variety and comprehensiveness--exhortations to a complete -consecration to God in all the practical forms which it can -assume--from the great gospel system, the system of salvation by grace -and by grace alone; evidently taking it for granted that, by the -contemplation of the grace for man which is in Christ Jesus, the minds -of his readers would be softened, and prepared to acknowledge the -claim. - -What, then, is the nature of the consecration to which we are thus -urged? "That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and -acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Every word in -this description tells: and if we gather together the elements of the -service commended, we shall find that nothing is wanting, and that -under the various particulars we may range all the duties and beauties -of a consecrated Christian life. - -The only point on which a question might be raised is as to the -meaning of the terms: "That ye present your _bodies_ a _living_ -sacrifice." Some have supposed a contrast here between the dead -bodies of the animals offered in the old sacrifices and the living -self-consecration of the Christian. If the supposition be just, the -idea is both beautiful and suggestive. I think, however, that the -ultimate meaning of the apostle is that the believer in Christ should -devote _himself_ wholly to God, and that the term "your bodies" is -only another term for "yourselves." We cannot imagine an acceptable -bodily, or external sacrifice, without the participation in it of the -conscience, the judgment, the heart, the whole man. The apostle puts -his thought somewhat more fully in the kindred passage: "Ye are bought -with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit -which are God's." Observe, then, the elements of this consecration. - -1. _Individuality._ It is to be a personal thing. "Present -yourselves." We cannot fulfil our Christian mission by transferring it -to other hands. There are no proxies in religion. Organisations, -committees, associations, the giving of money--all have their -propriety, but none of them can take the place of personal -"presentation." For convenience' sake, organisations of various kinds -may be resorted to with a view to the maintenance and spread of the -gospel in the world, and undoubtedly may be usefully employed in -spheres beyond the reach of personal endeavour; but the individual -Christian must _himself_ be engaged in the service of God. Every -believer in the Saviour has his own sphere of service, in which no -fellow creature can be substituted for Him. The Christian law is: -personal service always in so far as it is possible; vicarious service -only in so far as personal service cannot be rendered. - -2. _Activity._ "A living sacrifice." No man fulfils his Christian -commission in mere retirement and contemplation. It is true that he is -not to be "of the world;" but in the nature of the case he must be -"in" it. Retirement and contemplation are, indeed, needed for the rest -and growth of the soul; but action is at least equally indispensable. -Our practical life is the chief part of our testimony for God, and the -chief weapon of our aggressive warfare upon the unbelief and -irreligion around us; and in order that it may be effective, it is -required, in its fulness and in its energy, to be pervaded, -invigorated, impelled, and directed by the Christian spirit. Every -scene, every experience, every development of life is to be hallowed. -If we "present ourselves a living sacrifice," we relinquish all -self-claim, and give ourselves up to God to be used by Him for the -purposes of His glory. As Christ's sacrifice began with the moment -when He left His Father's throne, so ours must begin with the first -consciousness of our salvation--"a living sacrifice," the consecration -of the whole life with all its powers. - -3. _Holiness._ "Holy," because _to God_, with the full intention and -devotion of the soul. This scarcely needs to be insisted on. There may -be an apparent religious devotedness which is not real, because it -takes the form of ostensibly religious acts--acts, however, which have -not their origin and their impelling force in grateful love to God for -His saving mercy, but in some kind of selfishness, and which are -therefore unholy in themselves, and unacceptable to God. The -consecrated life is the life which is in sympathy with the whole -character and will of Him by whom the supreme blessing of redemption -has been bestowed. - -4. _Reasonableness._ The true consecration is not the result of any -mere positive or arbitrary enactment, the ground and propriety of -which cannot be discerned. The true Christian does not spend his life -upon a certain principle, and consequently in a certain way, merely -because he is _told_ to do so. The service which he renders to God -rises out of his felt _relations_ to God. If it were not commanded at -all--if it were not even formally hinted at as an obligation--it would -still be natural, "reasonable," and therefore right. The realised -"mercies of God" would be instinctively understood to claim -it--instinctively felt to prompt it. "Your reasonable service." The -words are significant. "Service" is properly _homage_. "Reasonable" is -that which pertains to the _mind_. So that the apostle's phrase stands -opposed to all mere religious externalism. It is the homage of the -life to God with the full consent of the mind, in the consciousness of -the sacred obligation arising out of the enjoyment of the Divine mercy -in the salvation of the soul. - -Such service is declared to be "acceptable to God." It is so for the -sake of Christ whose grace has infused into the soul the life out of -which it springs; it is so because the motives which determine it are -right and good; and it is so because it is the loving gift of His own -children. - -But the apostle expands his thought, so as to set forth this -consecration under other aspects--as, for example, that of -_nonconformity to the world_. "Be not conformed to this world." A word -of explanation is required on the meaning of the term, "this world." -It is obvious that this term has no reference to the external frame of -things, considered in itself. In a loose way we apply the term "world" -to many things, and Nature is one of them. But full compliance with -the apostle's admonition in the text is compatible with even an -enthusiastic admiration of Nature. Nature is a mirror in which we may -see the wisdom and the goodness of God. It is full of the beautiful to -be loved--full of the sublime to be admired. Its phenomena, forms, and -laws, are worthy of the most reverential and pleasurable -investigation, not only for what they are in themselves, but because -the most spiritual Christian can say, "My Father made them all: they -are His." The term "world," again, sometimes means the aggregate of -human beings; but nonconformity to the world is at the furthest remove -from misanthropy. Human beings are proper objects of a Christian's -love, and his love for them is shown in the best efforts he can make -for their welfare. Every man is, to his mind, invested with a sacred -importance. He endeavours to estimate men as fully as possible in the -same way as God does, of whom it is said that "His mercies are over -all His works," and that "He so loved the world, that He gave His -only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, -but have everlasting life." At the lowest, man is God's -image--mournfully defaced, it is true--but retaining in his nature -traces enough of his original dignity to compel our recognition of him -as God's handiwork; whilst also, even at the lowest, he may be brought -under the influences of a gospel which despairs of none. Neither is -there anything in the apostle's injunction to condemn the social -relationships which prevail amongst us or to weaken our appreciation -of them. The true Christian, indeed, will ever be the best husband, -the best wife, the best parent, the best child, the best friend. All -these natural relationships are capable of being ennobled by the holy, -sanctifying influences of true religion. God Himself often appeals to -them as types of the relations in which He stands to us, and as -explanations of the tenderness of the love He cherishes for us. How -prominent is the position they take in the epistles. The inspired -writers thought none of them beneath their notice. God has given to us -His will in connection with such humble things as domestic service, -slavery, and the like. Neither does the apostle here call upon us to -separate ourselves from the common business of secular life. -Scripture again and again enforces the honest doing of the work of -every day, on which the bread of every day depends. Nor is there here -any prohibition of the enjoyment of the utmost happiness which the -sinless pleasures of our outward life can afford. The Christian is -peculiarly fitted for such enjoyment, because he can receive it with a -devoutly thankful heart, and in a spirit which will keep it from being -harmful. - -This term, "the world," means _the age_, or the temporal conditions -now existing, considered from a moral and spiritual point of view. -"The world," therefore, to which we are not to be "conformed" is the -order and course of life followed by those to whom the present is all -and eternity nothing. The Christian is to regard life from another, a -higher--namely, a spiritual and eternal--point of view, and to live -accordingly. It is the _wrong spirit_ of life that the apostle calls -us away from--the life which is governed by "worldly" impulses and -motives. His injunction is like unto that of another apostle: "Love -not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man -love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is -in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the -pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the -world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will -of God abideth for ever." "The lust of the flesh"--carnality--the -lowest of all the forms of self-gratification--that which makes the -drunkard, the profligate, the debauchee. "The lust of the eyes"--the -disposition to attach ourselves to what is external, showy, dazzling. -"The pride of life"--the tendency to glory in anything which ministers -to our self-importance in our worldly position--wealth, rank, station. -All these things are passing away, and are therefore unworthy of the -supreme place in our hearts. Enjoyments springing out of them, hopes -founded upon them, must perish. Only he that "doeth the will of -God"--living above the love of the world, by living to God and in the -supreme love of Him--"abideth for ever" in the higher and happier -order of being. - -There is a proper "use" of the world, which is easily distinguished -from its "abuse." The worldly spirit of an unchristian man says, "Let -us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." The ascetic spirit in a -Christian man says, "All contact with the world is dangerous: we must -have nothing to do with it. Touch not, taste not, handle not." The -true spirit of Christianity says, "Use the world, but do not abuse -it." The Christian's inheritance is inclusive of "all things." All may -be made to minister to his spiritual growth, and to become the means -of blessing on his part to others. Avail yourself of all, then, but -within the limits proper to each; never allowing any, by over -indulgence, to check the development of the inner life. Use the world, -but do not let the world use you. "I pray not that Thou shouldest take -them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest _keep them from the -evil_." - -In looking, then, at the idea of nonconformity to the world, it was in -the apostle's mind, we are impressed by one or two reflections. - -1. The apostle takes a wide, free, and exalted view of his subject. He -is in marked dissent from the spirit of Pharisaism, whether among the -Jews, or in the Christian Church. His plan is different from the -ordinary rules and restraints which men put upon themselves, and which -attach (sometimes arbitrarily enough) merely to certain habits and -forms of life which are of no moment. Paul's "world" does not mean -certain conditions of society, certain amusements, or certain -occupations, conventionally marked off from all the rest as being -specially wrong. It is not a mere cleaning of the outside of the -platter. He goes deeply into the heart of things. What he teaches is -this: "Ye are God's redeemed, disciples of Christ, heirs of glory." -Live under the inspiration of all this--all will then follow that -ought to follow. You are no longer under law, which says, "Touch not, -taste not, handle not--stand entirely aloof;" but under grace, with -love to God as your motive, and the Spirit of Christ as your guide. He -could say, "I am not of the world;" and yet He was no prophet of the -wilderness, but a Brother and Sympathiser everywhere. The first great -social act of His public ministry was to associate Himself with the -joy of life. With its sorrow also He was equally at home. He lived His -Divine life in every scene--in His childhood under the roof of His -parents, in the toil for bread, in public, in private, in the temple, -in the family at Bethany. There is no allowable scene in which we -move, and with which we mingle, from which His sanctifying presence is -withheld. We have no need to be afraid to go where He has been before -us, if only we go in His spirit. "They are not of the world, even as I -am not of the world." - -2. This law lays no hard bondage on life. Not on its duties; for -Christianity raises them all into consecration;--not on its -affections; for Christianity purifies them all;--nor on its lawful -enjoyments; for Christianity forbids nothing but sin. Worldliness is -determined by the _spirit_ of our life, not by the objects with which -we have to do. It is only "the _lust_ of the flesh, the _lust_ of the -eye, and the _pride_ of life" that are prohibited. It is not a worldly -object that makes us worldly, but the worldly spirit with which we -regard it. - -3. It is easy to see that this principle of nonconformity to the world -is in constant requisition. There is abundant scope for it. The -opinions of men and the known will of God are often in competition; it -ought never to be a matter of doubt as to which we prefer. We are -often exposed to allurement into scenes which are notoriously -unfavourable to the development of the spiritual life; there ought not -to be even a momentary uncertainty as to our willingness to resist the -allurement--not merely for our own sake, but for the sake of Him whose -"mercies" we enjoy, whose we are, and whom we profess to serve. There -should never be any room for the question as to whether we are on the -side of right or wrong, holiness or sin, spirituality or carnality, -conscience or convenience, charity or harshness, faith or unbelief. - -Thus we see that, whilst in one aspect of it Christianity is broad, in -another it is narrow. "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that -leadeth unto life." These are the words of the Divine Author of our -faith. This is the chief ground of dislike which men of the world have -to the practical claims of the gospel. Say with Paul that everything -we do must be done to the glory of God; say with Christ that sin is in -our secret thoughts as well as in our acts, and then the complaint of -"strictness" is instantly heard. Yet is it not evident that an inward -holiness is the only thing that can be taught, and that without inward -holiness there is no real holiness at all? The truth is that men -secretly want concessions to be made in favour of their favourite -sins--one for his ambition, another for his unlawful or questionable -attachments, another for his covetousness, another for his liberty to -be dishonest in trade or insincere in society, another--where shall we -stop? Concessions? Men may make concessions in these directions in the -name of Christianity; but Christianity itself disowns them. "What -fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what -communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with -Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what -agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of -the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in -them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore -come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the -unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, -and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." - -"Be not conformed to this world." So obviously true are the remarks -which have been made, that one reflection might well excite a -momentary surprise. It might be said, "Is not unworldliness of the -very essence of the new life? And if it be, why recommend that which -must follow in the due course of things?" It is true that -unworldliness _is_ of the essence of the new life; but we have to -remember that we receive that life, not perfectly developed, but in -its germ; and that the process of its growth is impeded by what -remains of the old life which it is destined gradually, and by-and-by -completely, to replace. This is the phenomenon which Paul describes -when he speaks of the conflict between the "old" man and the "new." -Our will is called upon at every point to decide between the impulses -of our new condition and the habits of the old. - -In conclusion, how is this nonconformity to the world, in the spirit -of a grateful consecration to God, to be attained? "Be ye transformed -by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and -acceptable, and perfect will of God." This is the great -desideratum--the great necessity. The primary change must take place -in the mind--not in its nature, but in the kind and order of its -_life_. It must be "renewed" in its bias, in its inclinations, in its -aspirations, so that it may be able to understand and appreciate the -Divine will, and to address itself to the order of service which the -Father of mercies shall accept. - -It may be said, "What do we know of the spiritual world? And how can -we be conformed to a world of which we know nothing?" The answer is, -that our very Christianity supposes the change which sets this -objection aside. Our love to this present world can only be subdued by -its being superseded _by_ another, or subordinated _to_ another. Our -love to Christ is the great secret of our attachment to heaven and to -heavenly things. Given a soul under the influence of love to God, and -loyalty to God must follow. - -In order to this, however, there must be self-knowledge. We must see -our "differences." There must be the study of the character of Christ. -There must also be earnest prayer for, and trust in, the help of the -Holy Spirit. The work before us is more than an occasional outburst of -religious sentiment; more than spasmodic, self-denying charity under -the influence of suddenly awakened emotion; more than scrupulosity -about small matters of pleasure or pursuit. _It is a life_; and as -such it has spontaneity, freedom, and blessedness. In many an instance -it attains wonderful maturity on earth; it is perfected in heaven. - -Is this life ours? Oh, accept the one and only Saviour--exclusive in -His claims, yet offering His mercy to all. You are conscious of sin, -and this makes you feel (if you reflect) your need of salvation. Take -it from Him. All He asks is that you should turn from the sin that -made Him bleed, and trust the love which for you was stronger than -death. Strait as is the gate through which you must enter into "life," -that life is in itself one of holy freedom and holy joy. The "gate" -opens into broad fields of exhaustless treasure. Whoever may -represent the Christian life as monotonous and poor, we say it is not -so. It is quietness of heart, loftiness of feeling, sweet submission, -trust, loyalty to the highest, aspiration after the best, the -abnegation of self in blessing others and in glorifying the God and -Father of all; such is the life to which the Christian is called. We -challenge the world to produce a single case of a Christian regretting -his consecration, or confessing that he made a sorry exchange, when he -left the world's delusive hopes for pardon, peace, the Father's smile, -the way of holiness, and the assurance of heaven. The wholly -consecrated Christian is the wholly happy one. - - Fling wide the portals of your heart; - Make it a temple set apart - From earthly use, for heaven's employ, - Adorn'd with prayer and love and joy: - So shall your sovereign enter in, - And new and nobler life begin. - - Redeemer, come! I open wide - My heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide! - Let me Thine inner presence feel, - Thy grace and love in me reveal; - Thy Holy Spirit guide me on, - Until the glorious crown be won! - - - - -VIII. - -_CHRISTIANITY IN OUR DAILY LIFE._ - -"Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord -Jesus."--Colossians iii. 17. - - -One of the most striking characteristics of the Christian religion is -what I may term its _universality_. I mean that its obligations and -privileges cover the whole ground of human life--present and to come. -This fact, which is abundantly illustrated and enforced in the New -Testament, is also clearly hinted at in the Old. It seems to have been -present to the Psalmist's mind in the parallel he draws in the -nineteenth Psalm between the sun, whose going forth is from the end of -heaven, whose circuit is unto the ends of it, and from whose heat -nothing is hid; and "the law of the Lord" which, in its perfectness, -comes into satisfying contact with all human need. It converts the -soul, turning it towards itself, the source of light. It makes wise -the simple, who unreservedly yield to its influence. It rejoices the -heart, anxious to be right, as it is itself perfect. It enlightens the -eyes with a purity of truth which has no admixture of error. It -cleanses from secret faults. It keeps back the servant of the Lord -from presumptuous sins. - -This universality gives to Christianity its grand ideal character. It -teaches that, morally considered, sin is the condition of _all men_; -that condemnation is the result of sin to _all men_; and that the love -of the Father, the sacrifice of the Son, and the regenerating and -sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit have direct bearings on the -spiritual wants of _all men_. Christianity meets an absolute ruin by -an absolute restoration; so that, as there is nothing in man and in -his relations to the universe which sin has not defiled and degraded, -so there is nothing in man and in his relations to the universe which -Christianity is not designed and destined to uplift and to purify. - -This element of universality comes out very strikingly in the chapter -before us. The apostle is describing the spiritual life. In its -essence, it is an abandonment of the "old"--"putting off the old man," -as a dress thrown completely aside; and an adoption of the -new--"putting on the new man"--the prodigal's rags exchanged for the -best robe. In its range, it is universal--_within_, setting the -affections on heavenly things; _without_, renouncing the deeds of the -life of sin, and manifesting the virtues of the life of holiness. It -is universal also in its application--involving personal purity, and -giving its own tone and spirit to all the relationships, to all the -worship, and to all the work, of life. The whole is summed up in the -remarkable words of the text: "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, -do _all_ in the name of the Lord Jesus." We are the subjects of a -Providence and a Grace inclusive of every moment and every incident. -God, on His part, demands of us a consecration that shall leave -nothing (however unimportant, relatively considered) unhallowed--not a -single affection, no domestic or social relationship, nothing in -speech, nothing in conduct. It is the same truth that the same apostle -elsewhere expresses: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or -whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." - -I want to offer to your attention at this time a single application of -this principle--its application to the common, secular work of life. - -At first sight, it seems strange that by far the greater part of human -life should be appointed by God to be spent in worldly toil. This -strangeness is augmented in proportion as our aim is towards a life -distinctively and completely Christian. Considering the supreme -importance of the spiritual and the eternal; considering, too, the -uncertain duration of our life, notwithstanding the fact that it -involves the immeasurable interests of eternity; and considering, -still further, the manifold obstacles in the way of a man's -salvation--we might have supposed that God's providential arrangements -would have secured to us far more freedom from worldly labour and care -than we enjoy. It would not have been surprising if He had said to us: -"Retire much; rest much--that you may have much time for thought and -prayer." But it is not so. Six days for work; one day for rest and -worship! Certain exceptions apart, toil is, for most men, the hard and -unremitting condition of life; often indeed--especially in our cities, -and in "hard times" like the present--toil that demands the straining -of every nerve, the putting forth to the utmost of every energy, and -the employment of every moment. The best of us come to our Sabbaths -like wrestlers who sit and rest for a while between the conflict past -and the conflict to come. This is the experience of most of us: -business men who have to fight in the great competitions of trade; -working men to strive for a sufficiency of bread and raiment for -themselves and their families; fathers and mothers, masters and -servants who have to meet the manifold duties and worries of domestic -life. We come to our Sabbath-rest, probably with the feeling that, on -the whole, during the week, we have _lost_ rather than _gained_ in -relation to our spiritual interests. Are we right in the feeling? Must -our daily work be a hindrance to us? Is it impossible for us so to -engage in it as to find it spiritually helpful? The text before us -settles the point. It presents to us an obligation that is inclusive -of every word and deed, and which must consequently include the common -toil of every day. It is an apostolic injunction, and the injunction -presupposes its own practicability. "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, -do all _in the name of the Lord Jesus_." - -That secular work is not _necessarily_ spiritually helpful we know too -well. Idleness is always disastrous; but there is much worldly work -which is more disastrous still. Tens of thousands pursue it daily in -utter godlessness, and train themselves by it to intense selfishness -and materialism. They "mind earthly things," and "glory in their -shame." Even many professing Christians manifest an alarming craving -for mere worldly enjoyment; and their luxuries tax them a hundred-fold -more than their benevolence. But it need not be so. Secular work _can_ -be made the means of spiritual education, and the sphere for the -development of piety. - -The first great requisite is conversion. No obligation, indeed, rests -upon Christians which does not rest upon all men, whether they be -Christians or not. A perfect Christian is simply _man as he ought to -be_. But in the unchristian man the disposition is wanting--he lives -to himself. The Christian, on the contrary, has entered into a new -life. By the Holy Spirit's grace, he has repented of sin; he is -forgiven, accepted, justified, accepted into Divine sonship; he is -under the influence of new principles--is essentially in a new -world--acknowledges a holy law, which he now loves for its own -sake--is consciously under the eye of a good Master, who is his -Saviour as well as his Lord--and is thus moved by a living impulse of -gratitude to Him who has died for him, and whose he is in life and -death. Out of this there comes the conviction that the one object of -life should be spiritual growth. Commonly men think of life as having -two aims; or rather they try to solve the problem of living two -lives--the one present, the other future; the one worldly, the other -religious; the one affecting the body with its transitory interests, -the other affecting the soul with its eternal interests. Hence the -wide divorce between "the secular" and "the sacred," work and worship, -holy days and common days. The more enlightened Christian knows that -this is a radical mistake. The world, time, matter, the body--all have -their relations and their obligations, their spheres and their claims; -but they do not stand isolated from the spiritual and the unseen. -Separate, they are godless. They are all intended to serve as -instruments of moral discipline--to supply lessons in the school of -life;--all tending, under God, to the great result. Failures they are, -if regarded as _ends_ in themselves; blessed they are in proportion as -they are religiously used as _means_. Apart from the conviction that -this should be our one great aim, it seems impossible to hope that the -spiritual will predominate over the worldly; the six days' secular -toil must be destructive of the day's spiritual culture. The -"prosperous" will degrade life into a mere pursuit of earthly wealth -with its associated advantages, whilst the rest will simply continue -the hard struggle for daily bread--"the bread that perisheth." - -The life of millions around us seems, religiously considered, to be -an absolute blank. Mix with them, observe them, and you will be -convinced of this. It is one of the sources of deepest sadness to a -Christian to note the extent to which godlessness prevails in all -ranks of society. Even amongst Christians themselves there are -terrible invasions of the spirit of worldliness. Let _us_ seek, by the -help of God, the convictions by which this evil may be checked. The -soul is greater than the body; eternity is greater than time. The -material and the temporal sink into insignificance in contrast with -the spiritual and the eternal. Let the lower interests serve the -higher. - -I have already referred to the universality of the claims which -Christianity makes upon us. Its aim is not to induce us to assume a -certain character merely at certain specified times and in certain -specified places, and to be content with that. On the contrary, its -purpose is to induce us to do everything in one specified spirit, -which shall shape, give sanctity and consecration to, the whole. -Hence, it is never represented as working first on the outward habits -of men, but on their hearts. It does not cleanse the outside of the -cup or platter, leaving corruption within; but it first endeavours to -establish purity within, and to give the purity which is within a -force by which it shall work outwardly. The outward acts of the life -are but the embodiments of the heart and will. Thus, whether we be -scholars, or merchants, or preachers, or mechanics, or servants, we -are to carry a soul, sanctified and governed by Christ, into all our -occupations, even the commonest. Whether we pray or work, whether we -be in the church or the shop, we are to be under the control of the -one Christian spirit. - -Undoubtedly, there are some occupations in which it is difficult for -Christians to engage, and some which they ought never to touch. But -apart from these, the work of life is not an evil. There is no need to -retire away from it into solitude as the only suitable sphere for the -development of piety. A wise Christian looks upon it as a mode of -spiritual culture. It depends upon the man himself, upon the guiding -principle of his life, as to whether work shall degrade or raise him. - -Consider two or three points in illustration and proof of the truth I -am endeavouring to enforce. - -I. Secular work requires and cultivates certain active forces of -character which are also required in the culture of the spiritual -life, such, for example, as _clearness and definiteness of aim_: so -that there shall be no working in the dark, or in ignorance of the -special end to be attained. "This one thing I do." _Perseverance_, so -that the end, once clearly ascertained and decided on, shall be -steadily and unflinchingly pursued, until it is accomplished. -_Prudence and foresight_, so that there shall be a wise adaptation of -means. _Energy_, so that every opportunity and every appliance shall -be used to the utmost. _Courage_, so that no difficulties shall -dismay. All these forces acquire strength in the earthly sphere, which -is a clear gain, and which may be brought to use in the spiritual. We, -as Christians, have an end to pursue which must be clearly -apprehended; we must not run uncertainly, or as one that beateth the -air; we must persevere, running with patience the race that is set -before us; our zeal must not be without knowledge; what our hands find -to do we must do with our might; and we must be in nothing terrified -by our adversaries. So far from being hindered in all this by the -discipline of our common life, experience proves that indolence in -secular business has a paralysing effect on spiritual exertion. In -spiritual exertion man uses the same power as in secular, only the -field of operation is different. But inasmuch as the same powers are -wanted for both, the one may be a true auxiliary to the other. - -II. The same line of remark will apply to the _passive_ forces of -character. They are wanted equally in the secular and the spiritual, -and their cultivation in the one prepares them for use in the other. -For example: _Submission._ Many a position in life is irksome and -uncongenial; but nevertheless it should be accepted as God's -providential arrangement on our behalf. "It is not in man that walketh -to direct his steps."--_Patience._ Many a result has to be long worked -for and long waited for, often with many disappointments and -reverses.--_Contentment._ The worry of life, not its work, is that -which burdens and kills. Looking on our position as one which God has -appointed, we take it calmly as that which is best for us.--_Trust._ -We have simply to rely on God for everything, remembering that our -powers, opportunities, and results are all under His wise and loving -control. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," and sufficient -also is the grace to bear it. Our hearts are wearied and worn only as -we insist on carrying heavier burdens than God assigns to us. How -clear it is that all these passive forces are needed in our secular -work, if it is to be done well! But it is equally clear that they are -needed just as much in our spiritual life. In it their growth is an -essential element; and they have their bearing specially on Christian -work--work done for the spread of religion in the world. - -III. Secular work offers important opportunities for spiritual -usefulness. Our most effective preaching is often that of our -unconscious influence. And let us remember that no amount of formal -sanctity can prevail against the inconsistencies of our common days. -Moreover, our daily, secular duties bring us into contact with men in -ways which are least open to suspicion. Add to this, that they put -into our hands, in a greater or lesser degree, resources by which we -can materially help the cause of Christ, and so become, in heart, in -interest, in devotedness, more and more closely identified with that -cause. We can "honour the Lord with our substance, and with the -first-fruits of all our increase," and so find that "it is more -blessed to give than to receive." - -The practical problem that God gives to every one of us to solve, is -to get perfected in our hearts the feeling that we are doing His will -in the common details of our ordinary vocation as well as in acts -more ostensibly "religious." The conclusion is irresistible; the thing -may be done--but how? It cannot be done without habitual -self-examination; it cannot be done without prayer; it cannot be done -without reliance on the help of the Holy Spirit. - -Let us be thankful to God for putting within our reach the high honour -of glorifying Him, for introducing us to a life so pure in its -springs, for His kindly help in every step of its progress, and for -the hope that it will one day reach its happy consummation. - - - - -IX. - -_UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE._ - -"I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall -give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt -be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."--Matthew xii. -36, 37. - - -This is a startling, terrifying text; one of many which tempt men to -limitations and compromises of their meaning. Some persons would not -hesitate to accuse it of extravagance, and even devout Christians -sometimes pause and ask whether it is to be taken in its absolute -literalness. "Every idle word." Is not this the kind of thing which is -least amenable to a vigorous judgment? Is not the "idle," the vain, -the worthless, at the worst, thereby negative? Christ says, No. Speech -is a gift to be put to sanctified uses; and the non-use as well as the -abuse of every gift is sinful. This utterance of our Divine Master, to -be vindicated, needs only to be understood. Underlying it are vital -moral considerations which should be devoutly studied. - -There are many ways in which a man can manifest himself. By his -thought, he is always known to God and to his own heart, but not to -his fellow men. To reveal himself to them, his thought must somehow -find expression. His actions are mostly intentional and deliberate; -but they are liable to be prompted, inspired, checked, or controlled -by circumstances. So, too, may be his speech; but there is a -spontaneousness, a freedom, in _that_, which belongs to no other -manifestation of the man's inward self. Thus it is by his words that -he is best judged. The largest part of our practical life is -resolvable into speech. - -Christianity itself is amenable to this law. Think of the streams of -holy speech which have been flowing through the world for ages, and of -the life they have conveyed to thirsty souls. Think of these streams -as they are flowing to-day in tens of thousands of Christian -congregations, and in innumerable Sabbath schools. Compare their -influence with that of the dark utterances of heathenism, and the -disturbing teachings of unbelief. Think of the countless rills of -Christian speech which are flowing to-day from the lips of those who -love the Saviour, and who are endeavouring to make Him known in the -home, in the sick-chamber, in the prison-house, and in their various -intercourse with those around them. Compare their influence with that -of the idle, thoughtless, impious, profane talk of the millions who -are living without God; and then say whether Christianity may or may -not be judged by its words! Lord Jesus, Thou needest no justification -from such imperfect creatures as we are; but if Thou didst, it would -be enough for us to recall the gracious words that proceeded out of -thine own mouth, and then to challenge the wisdom of the ages, saying, -"Never man spake like this man!" - -The general drift of the passage before us is this, that man speaks as -he is, and is as he speaks, and that, therefore, by his words he shall -be judged. His words are signs which reveal his character. Whilst, at -the last, he will be judged by his character, single words and -unnoticed deeds will, if need be, be adduced as proofs of inner and -underlying principles. Of course it is not meant that words will be -the only tests; but our Lord's language shows that they form a far -more important element of proof than is commonly supposed. In this -light, no manifestation of character is insignificant. Everything -tells. Words, looks, even gestures, have their meaning. Often to men's -eyes, and always to God's (though He does not need them) they are as -straws on the stream, showing the course of the current. - -These general reflections supply the basis of the further reflections -I have to offer. My purpose is twofold: first, to show that, for good -or ill, the life of every one of us is an incessant exercise of -influence; and secondly, to deduce from this fact some important -lessons. - -I. Now, generally, when men speak of exerting influence, the thought -present to their minds is of something exceptional, attractive, -commanding, or formal. Thus, such a phrase as "a person of influence" -is understood to denote a man who stands in a position of special -advantage, either (for instance) of wealth, or of mental power, or of -social importance. Hence the notion of influence is narrowed, and -ultimately it becomes false. It does so in two ways: partly by -restricting influence to a few, and then by confining it among these -few to certain peculiarities of character or of circumstance. The -truth is that influence is always going forth from every man, and from -everything _in_ man. - -There are two ways in which men act upon one another. They do so -either directly, deliberately, and intentionally, or, otherwise, -indirectly and unconsciously. Thus, if I want to make men around me -generous, I may write, preach, speak, use arguments, multiply -incentives, enforce appeals. In all this I am conscious that I have a -purpose to accomplish, and in everything I say I keep that purpose in -view. If I succeed, I do so through the intentional influence I have -put into operation. I have tried to realise a definite result, and I -have not been disappointed. But I can teach generosity in another way. -Obedient to the impulses of my own heart, I may relieve the need of -some poor blind beggar on the road, who implores the passer-by to help -him. This act may be noticed by a third person whom I did not know to -be near, and it may so impress him as to open his heart and his hand -to do the kindness he had not thought of doing. Now I had no such -design with respect to _him_; for the time, I had nothing in view -beyond meeting an appeal for help which came personally to myself. I -was unconscious of the influence I exerted upon the person who -followed my example, and yet I did for him as much as if I had set -myself to develop an argument or to enforce a claim. - -Now, if at this point the question be asked: "Are we responsible for -this undesigned influence?" the answer is that we certainly _are_ so, -inasmuch as it springs from, and manifests, character. We must not be -misled by the fact that this quiet, unconscious action is not that of -which the world takes much notice. Men do not speak of it, as they do -of the striking and commanding agencies which form so large a portion -of the history of the day. Some of these are powerful on a wide scale, -as in the case of a popular preacher, or a great philanthropist. But -the influence of which we are speaking is exerted within narrower -circles. It acts, not upon the masses by wide-spread impressions, but -upon individuals by single strokes; not upon the broad platform of -public enterprise, but within the more contracted sphere of personal -life. The supposition that it is feeble on that account is a grave -mistake. Our personal relationships are more numerous and more -continuous than our public avocations, and it is in the former rather -than in the latter that we are most effectually training our fellow -creatures for good or evil. Sometimes, too, this quiet influence is -brought to light with important results, as when John Bright was -discovered reading the Scriptures in the cottage of a poor blind -woman. No public act of his--splendid as all his public acts -are--could furnish a truer indication of character than this simple -and, to most people's eyes, this unimportant incident in his history. - -That the value of direct influence in promoting the well-being of -mankind is incalculable there can be no doubt. All our great -undertakings--social, political, and religious--are of this kind. The -progress which the world has made in every right direction is greatly -due to the combined efforts put forth by societies or bodies of men -who have had truth to propagate, or blessing to diffuse, and who have -steadily directed their energies to the end in view. Associations for -Political Reform, Temperance Societies, British Schools, Ragged -Schools, Sunday Schools, Tract Societies, Missionary Agencies, -Mothers' Meetings, Church, Chapel, out-door, and theatre services, are -all of this sort; and the harvest of good reaped from them only God -knows, at whose inspiration and in whose name all good is done. -Statistics tell us much, but far more remains untold. All this -well-directed action is in accordance with the Divine order. God wills -that we should use judiciously and zealously applied effort for each -other's welfare, especially in connection with the spread of His -truth. Every Christian agency is a form of obedience to the great -command: "Preach the gospel to every creature." Such action, moreover, -is in accordance with our convictions. We _must_ labour, formally and -intentionally, on behalf of any and every cause which lies near to our -hearts. Imagine all these direct agencies to be suddenly and -completely withdrawn--what would then become of our poor world? Would -it not speedily lapse into a mournful, moral waste--a training-school -for present and everlasting perdition? Multiplied and energetically -worked as these agencies are, the condition of the world is bad -enough. The appalling needs of the world demand heroic effort; and, as -I have said, the amount of good already wrought by this is beyond -calculation. - -Nevertheless, the other kind of influence--the indirect and -unconscious--is invested also with an importance which is -incalculable; and it will be a blessed time both for the Church and -for the world when this truth comes to be practically remembered as it -should be. Let us consider this matter a little further, bearing in -mind, as we do so, that the application of the subject must be to the -Christian conscience of us all. - -I. Notice some differences between the two kinds of influence which -have been named. - -1. We have already said the influence which we consciously exert is -the result of forethought, and deliberately contemplates an end, the -attainment of which is steadily kept in view; whilst our unconscious -influence is spontaneous, and has no premeditation or calculation -about it. We need only add here, that the action of this unconscious -influence is very immediate; a fact which is explained by the -mysterious insight which enables men to look into, and to understand, -one another. We form judgments of men every day without data that we -can adduce. These judgments are instinctive, and they are more -frequently right than wrong. How is it that we conceive a sudden -repugnance to one, and at first sight fall in love with another? The -impression made needed only a word, a tone, a look, a gesture, a -smile, a tear; on so slender a basis a judgment was formed which will -last a life-time, or which years will be required to modify. - -2. Our unconscious influence is a perpetual emanation from ourselves. -Direct effort need not truly express us at all. It may be imposed upon -us by circumstances which we cannot control. Often we should avoid it -if we could. Moreover, when it is voluntary and unconstrained, it is a -thing of times, seasons, places, and conditions in life, and is -therefore more or less fitful, partial, and intermittent. The other -kind of influence acts continuously--without pauses, without breaks, -without paroxysms. It is thus that every man--high or low--in spheres -extended or narrow, without intention, forethought or consciousness of -the fact, is always leading some one more or less closely after him: -it may be wife, friend, little child, or stranger; but some one most -surely. - -3. This unconscious influence is necessarily simple. It makes its -appeal to all kinds of human judgment, and to all degrees of human -insight. It is quickly apprehended, by the ignorant and the young as -well as by the learned and mature. Many of our direct and most -definitely-arranged efforts are misunderstood. They tax people's -thought; they demand reflection; and they frequently excite -differences of opinion. How many instances there are in which the most -cogent and strongly-urged arguments are lost, while the quiet and -undesigned force of example succeeds. - -4. Our unconscious influence is the more powerful because it excites -no suspicion. It is intuitively felt to represent our inner self in -the direction, and within the range, of its present meaning. Many of -our direct efforts put men upon their guard. If they are hostile to -our intentions, they resist our formal endeavours; if they are -indifferent, they become impatient of our zeal. But direct efforts, -moreover, are often thought to be mainly _professional_, and this -impression concerning them places them at a disadvantage. On the other -hand, our unconscious influence wins men unconsciously to -themselves--wins them when they are off their guard--and thus wins -them in spite of themselves. - -II. How, then, does this fact of our unconscious influence touch the -question of our responsibility? In what sense, and on what grounds, -are we accountable for it? - -1. It is conditioned by our character. It reproduces outwardly what we -are within. If our character, or, as the Divine Master terms it, our -"heart" be good, then our unconscious influence must be good likewise; -if our character--our "heart"--be evil, our unconscious influence must -also be evil. As we are responsible for the motives which actuate us, -so are we responsible for every form of conduct that proceeds -therefrom. It must, of course, be admitted that even in a -fundamentally holy character there are ever and anon exceptional -mistakes, inconsistencies, and flaws. How many of these, He only knows -who forgives all. But we are speaking of great moral tendencies; and -concerning these we are in no doubt. They reveal _character_, and they -share the responsibility, in regard to their influence, which belongs -to character. - -2. It is by this unconscious influence that we act most on those who -are nearest to us. Children, members of our families, fellow-workmen, -and acquaintances--all these are much more affected by the general -tenour of our conduct, and the so-thought trivial indications of our -character, than by our more formal efforts. Alas, it often happens -that these latter are made ineffectual by the operation of the former. -A practical inconsistency in a parent's life at home will drive away -from the mind and conscience of a child the force of the best and most -frequently repeated precept. Even when direct and well-meant effort is -put forth, it is often comparatively powerless apart from the help it -derives from the unconscious influence that accompanies it. A smile, a -look, a sigh, a tear, will often put life into an argument which may -be sound enough in itself, but which, without such an auxiliary, -would be dry, uninteresting, and therefore ineffective. Is all this -influence outside the range of our responsibility? - -3. Our indirect influence is our _truest_. It best represents _us_. In -formal effort, there is room for a more or less transient enthusiasm, -love of excitement, love of applause, self-seeking, hypocrisy. But our -unconscious influence belongs to us at all times--follows us, and is -as true to us as the shadow follows, and is true to, the substance. We -cannot escape from it. It proceeds from us spontaneously, without our -volition; and it mirrors externally what we are radically and in the -recesses of our real being. If we be responsible for what we really -are, we must be responsible for the influence we thus spontaneously -and inevitably exert. - -4. Another ground of this responsibility is that, on reflection, we -know that it is by these unconscious exhibitions of character that the -world is constantly judging us. Often the judgment of the world is -harsh, and commonly uncharitable; but it is shrewd, and generally -there is a rough justice about it which marks its worth. - -These considerations, and many more that might be adduced, show how -solemn is our responsibility with respect to the impressions we are -constantly and unconsciously producing on those around us. As in -nature, so in human life, the most unobtrusive and silent forces are -the strongest. The nightly dew effects more good than the occasional -storm-shower, and light works more wonders than lightning. - -III. From all this we learn some weighty lessons. It teaches us-- - -1. The importance of each act in our life. The text before us is no -exaggeration. Everything tells, because there is character in -everything, and consequently _power_ for good or ill. It is impossible -for any one of us to be in the world without responsibility. There is -no escape for us. Simply to be _in_ the world, whatever we may be, is -to exert an influence, subtle, quiet, powerful--an influence compared -with which argument and expostulation and entreaty are feeble. We say -we mean well; we think that at least we are injuring nobody and doing -no harm; _but is it so?_ It cannot be so, unless our influence be -always on the side of God and of goodness. By looks, glances, -unpremeditated words and deeds, we are perpetually exerting an -influence which may turn the scale of some man's eternal destiny! - -2. The necessity of conversion. If our unconscious influence is to be -of a wholesome kind, we must undergo a radical moral change, out of -which will proceed an all-pervading sanctification. Blessed be God for -the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Up to this point, the consideration -of our subject may have prompted some to ask: "Are we, then, to be -anxiously, feverishly, incessantly watching ourselves in order that we -may make no mistakes, and do no evil? Such vigilance--would it not -take all our time, and absorb all our strength? Such a life--would it -not be a terrible bondage? Is it necessary?" We reply, "Yes, and no." -That is to say, there will always be the necessity for watchfulness -and prayer; but the true secret of _doing_ good lies in _being_ good. -The path of the just is as a shining light; he shines because he is -luminous. The tree is known by its fruit; not by the fruit which is -tacked on, as in the case of a Christmas tree, but by the fruit which -is the produce of the tree's own interior life. "Out of the abundance -of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the treasure of the -heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil treasure bringeth forth -evil things." Before a man can impart the higher order of blessing to -his fellow men, he himself must receive the blessing of a new nature -from God. - -The question is often asked why the triumphs of Christianity are not -more marked in the world, and why spiritual growth is not more marked -in the Church. The answer is found partly, no doubt, in the -imperfections of the direct efforts which are put forth with these -ends in view; but not in these alone. No small portion of it is to be -traced to the deleterious elements which mingle with the undesigned -influences which emanate from many of the professors of Christ's -religion. When Moses was on the Mount with God, his face became -luminous. Was he conscious of its shining? Not until the people were -"afraid to come nigh him." Then he had to cover his face with a vail! -How few are "luminous" enough to need "vailing" now! - - - - -X. - -_SECULAR ANXIETY._ - -"Take no thought for your life."--Matthew vi. 25. - -"Take no thought for the morrow."--Matthew vi. 31. - - -Let us survey the entire passage of which the first of these texts is -the commencement, and of which the second is the close. It brings -before us a common evil, and for this evil it proposes a sovereign -remedy. - -The evil is _secular anxiety_. Perhaps we need not be greatly -surprised at its prevalence, when we consider what the life-experience -of most of us is. Think of the uncertainty of almost everything we -know--life, health, friendship, domestic relationships and affections, -riches, commerce. Life has many sad surprises and disappointments. Our -own day is especially full of care. The age is mad with -speculation--thousands making haste to be rich, and so bringing upon -themselves many temptations. For many others, the time is full of -hard necessities, and the outlook is one of possible or even probable -poverty. The admonitions given by our Lord in the verses before us are -needed now more than ever. - -There are persons who, under the influence of pride and false notions -of manliness, consider careworn Christians--Christians labouring and -struggling amid the difficulties of the way--undeserving of sympathy. -"After all," they say, "what are the ills of life, that we should make -so much ado? Be men!" Sometimes we meet with superficial Christians -who profess that this life is really so insignificant, that it shows a -low state of piety to be painfully affected by common ills. As to the -first, nothing but stoicism, or the hard-heartedness which is -sometimes the result of prosperity, can make the soul unsusceptible to -the ordinary troubles of life, or independent of the antidote which -the religion of Christ supplies. As to the second, do not let them -talk in a way which implies that they are wiser than their Lord. He -knew how heavily care pressed upon the hearts He loved, and -condescended to offer them the appropriate and all-sufficient relief. - -And how does the great Teacher speak to the careworn in these verses? -Is it not unspiritual to take arguments for the comfort of our -Christian life from lower things? Must we go to the irrational and -inanimate creation for gospels of blessing for our spiritual need? -Christ drew His arguments from the birds and the flowers; clearly -showing that we should accustom ourselves to see God's hand, His love, -His teaching, in all things. Let Him not be excluded from the least -part of His creation. Every part of it may subserve the purposes of -His grace. "_Consider_" the fowls of the air and the flowers of the -fields; make them objects of study. To the thoughtful they often -suggest "thoughts that lie too deep for tears;" to the Christian they -may well suggest thoughts which shall inspire thanksgiving and prayer. - -Note the condescension, the simplicity, and the power of our Lord's -argument. His appeals are homely. He seeks no far-fetched reasonings -or facts from antiquity. He points to birds and flowers; an argument -for simple people, but equally effective for the learned and the -refined. We have no need to go far for lessons of comfort. - -We must not overlook the necessary limitations of our Lord's teaching -in these verses. Those limitations are found in the nature of things. -Observe, then, - -I. Christ does not forbid all anticipations of the future. He cannot -mean so much as this when He says, "Take no thought for the morrow." -Man is an inhabitant of two worlds--one material, the other spiritual. -This being so, two distinct sets or classes of wants press upon -him--the wants of the body, and those of the soul. The wants of the -soul point to a future state of existence, for which we must prepare. -In relation to these, carelessness--the absence of forethought--would -be fatal. According to the state of our souls, the thought of the -future gives us terror or joy. To the Christian, the future is the -scene of his perfected spiritual growth, and of his consummated -happiness. Every aspiration of his soul bounds joyfully towards it, -and he instinctively leaves the things that are behind to press -forward. In the words before us, Christ does not touch such matters as -these. It is not fore-_thought_ which is condemned, but fore-_boding_. - -II. Nor does He discountenance earnest activity in the duties of the -present. Work is God's oldest law. It is only in wilful blindness or -in unaccountable delusion that men can plead this teaching as an -excuse for indolence. "If any man will not work, neither shall he -eat." Work is often spoken of as a curse; but it is a blessing. With -a Christian spirit, it may be gloriously consecrated. It links us in -our activity with God who "worketh hitherto," and with Christ who -worked His full day. - -III. Christ does not even condemn a legitimate forethought in -connection with secular interests. There _is_ a legitimate forethought -such as this. Nature teaches it. We must sow in order to reap. We must -toil to-day for results which cannot come till to-morrow. "If any -provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he -hath denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever." The faith to -live by is that which prompts not to sitting down and doing nothing, -but to trustful and persevering enterprise. Keep in mind the -distinction between forethought and foreboding. It is forethought in a -man which leads him to sow for a future harvest; it is foreboding that -would fill his heart with fears that the harvest will be a bad one. -Forethought is the grand distinction between the civilized and the -savage; foreboding is the weakness of distrust. - -What the Lord bids us guard against, then, is conjectural brooding -over the possible necessities of the future, and our possible lack of -the resources required for their supply. "Taking thought" means -giving way to anxiety--the constant occupation and worry of the heart -in looking forward, gazing into, and dreading the possibilities of the -days and years yet to come. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil -thereof." Be warned against forebodings of evil to-morrow. The lesson -is, "Do the day's work as it is appointed by God; accept the day's -mercy, bear the day's evil; and be not anxious about the evil which -to-morrow may bring." - -How common a weakness--nay, rather let us say, how common a sin--this -taking anxious thought for the morrow is! We see the lines of care in -thousands of faces every day. Anxiety has marked its furrows round -lips which every morning say, "Give us this day our daily bread." It -is a calamity as well as a sin. It disturbs the heart, so that there -can be no enjoyment of present mercies. It adds to the present the -weight of an unknown but dreaded future. It paralyses religious -feeling, and checks religious activity. It defeats its end by -shortening the life it would fain prolong. - -Now Christ shows that this kind of anxiety reckons falsely, because it -is founded on a false estimate of life; and He further shows that to -gauge our position aright we must reckon according to the Divine -thought respecting it. The whole of the teaching before us on this -subject is perfectly plain, consisting of a few simple and obvious -points. We cannot hope, indeed, to bring it within the understanding -of the mere worldling. The man who has no filial confidence in God has -no antidote for care. Anxiety can only be subdued in the heart of him -who can look upward, and say, "Father, I trust in Thee!" - -What, then, is the first point? It is this, that God--the Author of -our life, the Creator of our bodies--will surely give that which, -however necessary, is yet less important and less valuable. In -bringing us into existence, He has done more than He can do in giving -to us any secular blessing which we can need. "Is not the life more -than meat, and the body than raiment?" We have our life from Him; our -bodies are His handiwork. Why should we suspect that He will be -indisposed to give us whatever may be needful for the existence thus -created? Will He, by neglect, frustrate His own purpose? The greater -gift can only be sustained and made valid by the lesser ones. Without -food and raiment the body must decay, and its life must perish. God -does not give imperfectly. - -Another point is this, that anxious care answers no good purpose. It -is useless. If we could by means of it gain an exemption from future -evil, common prudence would dictate it as a wise expedient. But it is -not so. Christ puts this consideration very strongly. No amount of -foreboding can add a single moment to our life, for the boundaries of -our life have been fixed by God. The future is utterly unknown to us; -and foreboding will not help us in the least degree to forecast its -difficulties and its trials, though it may unfit us for the endurance -of them. Whether we are cognizant of it or not, God will take His plan -with us, and will carry it out. If we could not believe in the love -that He hath towards us, the thought of this would be a dark sorrow; -but, assured of His love as we _may_ be, we can also be assured that -He will do all things well. At any rate, no over-anxiety of ours will -facilitate the order of life we long for. "The morrow shall take -thought for the things of itself." It will have anxieties enough of -its own in spite of every effort of ours to set it free from them. -Every day, to the end, will have its own "evil," and the "evil" of -each day will require all our strength for coping with it. So that -anxiety _for_ the morrow will not remove care _from_ the morrow; it -will only take strength and joy from to-day. Trust in God, and all -that He gives you of trouble for to-day will be accompanied by the -gift of the strength necessary to enable you to bear it. But do not -expect Him to give you strength to bear unnecessary sorrows--sorrows -of your own making--the sorrows which spring from worldliness and -unbelief. "As thy day"--the day that now is--"so thy strength shall -be." - -A third point is, that, reasoning from analogy, we may be sure that -God will provide for us. He feeds the birds, and He clothes the -lilies. They can do nothing for themselves; yet how well are they -provided for! "Are not ye much better than they?" A wonderfully -simple, beautiful, and effective argument this! How grand the view it -gives us of God's position in His universe! What knowledge must be -His! What power! What vastness--what variety of resource! What -minuteness of kindly, loving interest! Who would not gladly entertain -such a conception of God and of His Providence as this, in preference -to the atheism and the materialism which have intruded so grievously -into the science of our times? "Behold the fowls of the air: for they -sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your -heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?... -Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, -neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his -glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe -the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into -the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" -Thus, God is not content with giving what is simply necessary for -life; He gives for _beauty_ also. Showing His goodness in such a -manner to objects inferior to man, why should man suspect that the -same goodness will be denied to _him_? Observe, that Christ does not -teach that birds and flowers are better than men because of their -immunity from toil. His meaning is, that creatures which do not and -cannot toil--creatures which do not and cannot forecast the -future--are clothed and fed; will God neglect the nobler creatures to -whom He has given the power of thought, and whom He has put under the -obligation to labour? Even with these higher powers, man is still as -dependent as any of the inferior creatures around him. Will his needs -be overlooked, while theirs are supplied? Such a question is all the -more pertinent when we remember, that whilst they live for a day, he -was created for eternity, and needs the special gifts which can shape -his present life into a preparation and a discipline. - -An additional point is, that unholy anxiety is essentially ungodly, -irreligious, unworthy of the position and the professions of a -Christian man. "Take no thought," no anxious thought, "saying, What -shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be -clothed? _For after all these things do the Gentiles seek._" Anxious -thought, therefore, is the characteristic of heathenism, and must be -excluded from the religion which is true. It is the spirit of the -world, not the spirit which is of God. We see this clearly enough when -we compare the amount of thought and care which we bestow upon our -earthly interests with that which we devote to the interests which are -spiritual and eternal. What anxiety we give ourselves about the future -of our health, the future of our business, the future of our worldly -position, the future of our children's secular education, the future -of their rank in society! Is it not ten times as great as that which -we bestow upon our Christian consistency, our religious usefulness, -our growth in grace? If we could hold the balance steadily, which -would prove to be the preponderating scale? Our Lord puts the case in -an indirect manner, no doubt; nevertheless, it is impossible to avoid -the implied conclusion. That conclusion is this: "If you suffer -yourself to be anxiously absorbed in earthly things, you rank yourself -with 'the Gentiles,' to whom this world is all."--Besides, such -anxiety is ungodly because it is _untrustful_. Heathens, who cannot -blind themselves to the fact that their gods leave them for the most -part, if not entirely, to themselves, may be excused if they feel that -there is room, yea even necessity, for anxious foreboding. But how -different should it be with those who know the one living and true -God, and who can recognize Him as their Father! Surely He may be -trusted as knowing His children, recognizing their needs, loving them, -and tenderly caring for them. Taking anxious thought implies the -weakness, if not the extinction, of faith.--Moreover, its impiety is -seen in the fact that it is a practical subordination of the spiritual -to the secular. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His -righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Let the -most important things have the first attention. Give due scope to the -higher aspirations of the soul, and the lower ones will shrink into -their due proportions, and will take their proper place. God will give -the earthly as it is needed to those who first seek the heavenly, and -the true spirit of religion will make us rich by making us content. - -To Christians this teaching, taking it as a whole, covers the entire -ground of their secular life, and much more than that. Look at two or -three samples of the cases to which it applies. - -1. To personal secular positions. "What will the future be? Shall I -live to be old? When I am old, shall I be provided for? Will health -and strength be continued to me according to my years?" Leave that! Do -your work _to-day_. For this you may have the needful strength from -God. Do not trouble about anything further. Use prudently the means -which God has put into your hands for providing for the future, and -then commit their safe keeping to Him. If you have no such means, -still trust. There are many promises on which you may implicitly and -calmly rely. - -2. "How about my children? Will they grow up to be manful, good, -godly; a seed to serve the Lord, and a generation to call Him -blessed; my comfort, my pride? Or will they take evil ways; prove, -like so many more, vicious, ungodly, and bring down my grey hairs in -sorrow to the grave?" Leave that! Do your duty to your children -to-day. Train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Use a -wise and godly forethought on their behalf. Pray for them. Instruct -them. Set before them a Christian example. You may trust the rest with -God, calmly and thankfully expecting the fulfilment of the words: -"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will -not depart from it." - -3. "What about my religious future? If I make a Christian profession, -shall I be able to live consistently with it? Shall I have strength to -resist temptation? What if I should fall? Can I so live as not to -dishonour the Church and the cause of Christ?" Leave that! Nurse your -Christian graces to-day. Lay up spiritual strength in reserve. That is -required by a wise forethought. But having done so, leave the rest. -God will take care of it all. You may stedfastly trust that He will -gloriously complete the work which He has graciously begun. - -4. "My Christian work--what about that? Shall I be permitted to go on -with it for a few years longer, and thus to have some opportunity of -realizing my ambition as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ? Or shall -I be called away comparatively early? And if so, what will become of -all the plans and projects upon which I have expended so much thought -and prayer and toil?" Leave that! Do your work to-day, and be not -anxious about the rest. When to-day merges into to-morrow let the new -to-day bring its own work with it, to be done in the day. Nothing more -of solicitude than that is needful. You are not indispensable to God; -nor are you essential to the work which by His will you are doing. If -it be worth doing, and you be separated from it, He will find a -suitable successor, or as many successors as the accomplishment of the -work may require. - -5. "How about the prosperity of the cause of Christ in the world? Will -it go steadily forward, or will new and fiercer foes rise up against -it?" Leave that! Do all you can for it whilst you are here, and -entrust the rest, as you entrust your own work, to God. Do not hinder -it by wasting time in forebodings which ought to be spent in service. - -6. "What of death--my own death? Shall I have grace enough to support -me when the time comes?" Leave that! No doubt you will; but do not be -anxious about it. To-day you are "the living;" be "the living to -praise the Lord," and trust the needs of your dying hour to Him. - -The words of Christ recorded in these verses must have startled His -hearers. They taught new truth concerning life, and, beautiful as they -were, the truth they taught was strange. It would have been so strange -as to be without weight, if He had not first taught equally new and -equally beautiful truth concerning God. How does Christ here speak of -God? "Your heavenly Father." The heathen instructors had not taught -that! Pharisees and Sadducees had not taught that! But Christ was now -in the world; He had come forth from the Father, and He could say to -men: "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things." -Thus the whole teaching of these verses on the subject of Providence -and of Faith becomes plain and demonstrative. The great requirement is -for us to love Him filially as He loves us paternally; and then, from -that point, all is clear. We are dependent, but He will provide. There -are present difficulties, and probably there will be future trials; -but all takes the form of wise and holy discipline under His guiding -and beneficent hand. - -How do we arrive at the conviction of the Fatherhood of God? Sin -stands in the way, and conscience craves something more than a mere -authoritative announcement. Sin is the forfeiture of all claim to the -Divine favour. What right have we to expect that His providence will -be to us a providence of love? There is but one answer: to trust a God -of providence, we must believe in a God of grace. Paul puts the whole -philosophy of this in a single sentence: "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?" Our present subject, therefore, calls for -the gospel, and cannot be completed without it. "Behold the Lamb of -God that taketh away the sin of the world." "He that hath seen me hath -seen the Father." And, "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts -unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven -give good things to them that ask Him?" But let us ever remember that -we have higher wants than those of the body. The soul needs food, and -God has supplied "the bread of life"; it needs raiment, and God has -given to us the robe of righteousness wrought by Christ; it needs a -home, and we have "a house not made with hands, eternal in the -heavens." With these provisions, then, shall we forecast the future -with fear, or with hope? Which shall it be? - - O holy trust! O endless sense of rest, - Like the beloved John, - To lay my head upon the Saviour's breast, - And thus to Journey on! - - - - -XI. - -_CONTENTMENT._ - -"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in -whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be -abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am -instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to -suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth -me."--Philippians iv. 11-14. - - -My purpose is to define and to recommend the Christian virtue of -contentment. I shall endeavour to show that its acquirement is a duty, -and that its possession is a joy; but I shall also have to show that -as a duty it is not practicable, and that as a joy it is not -attainable, except on Christian grounds. I trust that all this will be -made abundantly clear by the following observations. - -I. Let us glance at the character of the man whose words are now -before us. There is in the words the ring of a high moral tone which -is irresistibly attractive. Yet the effect they produce upon us must -depend very much upon the kind of man who wrote them, and the -condition or conditions of life through which he had to pass. - -We should be pained by such words as these if they came from the lips -of a man whom the world would consider prosperous. When the conditions -of a man's life are easy and comfortable, to make a profession of -contentment would be an abuse both of language and of sentiment. Such -a case is not one for content, but for devout and hearty gratitude -mingled with a sense of humiliation under the thought, which ought to -be present to every such man, that he deserves no more than others, -though God gives him more than many others possess. - -We should think sadly of these words if they came from a stoical man. -Contentment is not the listlessness of indifference. It is -self-conscious, and finds in itself its own joy. Indifference is -loss--deterioration. It implies the blunting of sensibility. The heart -that is callous to grief is closed against gladness also. - -We should pity the man who uttered these words from mere weakness of -character, devoid of aspiration, enthusiasm, or resolve. In his case, -content would be mere good-for-nothingness. The world is full of -uncomplaining men and women who do not cry, not because they are -content, but because they are spiritless, and consequently because -they are crushed down and hopeless. - -There are other circumstances which would disparage contentment. We -will not mention them now; they will be suggested as we proceed. - -Now Paul was every way the kind of man to give the noblest meaning to -the words we are considering. His whole constitution, make, rendered -him susceptible of the highest earthly enjoyment. Mentally, morally, -and socially, he was prepared to accept and to appreciate the best -that this world could offer to him. He had great powers of thought, -reflection, imagination, and will. He had great tenderness and -generosity of heart. Proofs abound that his social instincts were full -of life and strength. He was pre-eminently a man to be touched by -kindness or unkindness, by gratitude or ingratitude, by love or -hatred. - -And what was his experience? It was not the one-sided experience of a -man who has known only one condition in life. On the contrary, he had -been familiar with almost the highest and the lowest. On the one hand, -he had enjoyed the love, and the tender, fervent gratitude, of many of -his converts; and on the other hand, he could speak of the bad -conduct, the ingratitude, and the vexatious opposition of others. He -had the manifold sorrows of a martyr's life of bonds, imprisonments, -scourgings, and stonings, to which must be added the prospect of a -martyr's death. He was not a man of one kind of experience only, to -which habit had accustomed him. He had known the terrible alternations -of life, and had learned to be content under them all. "I know both -how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all -things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to -abound and to suffer need." - -Moreover, Paul was a man of prodigious activity. Contentment is easy -to a sluggish nature, but it must have been a difficult acquirement to -one in whom brain, heart, hands, and all the powers of life were -continually on the move. Couple with this incessancy of action the -loftiness and ardour of his aspirations. He was not only capable of an -intense enthusiasm in any work which he took in hand, but his whole -impulse was an energetic straining forward and upward. - -These considerations give something of _marvellousness_ to the -contentment which the apostle here avows for himself; and they suggest -that it must have rested on some underlying conviction--some -established condition of soul which it is desirable for us to discover -and identify. - -The language he uses is in the utmost degree significant. There is no -haste about it, nor is there any exaggeration. It is the expression of -the result of a severe and protracted mental and moral training, under -the influence of the Spirit of God. "I have _learned_." The lesson has -been a difficult one, but I have mastered it. "_I_ have learned." The -"I" is emphatic. "Whether others have learned the lesson or not, _I_ -have learned it." The apostle does not speak either hesitatingly or -slightingly of his attainment. Thus, when he says, "I know both how to -be abased, and how to abound," he goes on to use a word which means, -literally, "I have been taught the secret," "I have been initiated -into the mysteries"--both of satisfaction and of hunger, both of -plenty and of want. Such language implies that his contentment was one -which had not been easily acquired. He had not passed into it by a -single step only. I do not suppose the process was a very slow one, -but it _was_ a process. The lesson had to be spelt out, word by word, -often syllable by syllable, perhaps sometimes with tearful eyes and a -bleeding heart. And so these words are a record of attainment such as -this world cannot snatch. The man who could so speak of himself was in -possession of the best knowledge. He had graduated and taken honours -in the highest university. - -II. The practical importance of this lesson of contentment must be -obvious to all. Two considerations will enable us to see its -importance clearly. - -1. Our earthly life is a scene of change. No position is secured to -any of us in this world, nor is it in the power of any of us to remain -always, and safe from molestation, in a coveted state of action, or of -existence, or of enjoyment. Some men never get into a state of -positive happiness, and, in the experience of many, the transitions -from high to low positions are startling, romantic, painful, -mysterious. Events which men call accidents are constantly changing -the aspects of things, and certainly the most marked characteristic of -our life is vicissitude. This is a truth which is known and recognized -by all, and possibly it is one which is felt acutely by not a few who -are here at this time. - -2. The changes to which we are exposed are temptations to disquietude -of heart, and consequently to discontent. This is true in a peculiar -sense of those who look only to the present world for satisfaction, -but it is also true to a certain extent of the Christian. And why? -Partly because he is seldom perfectly free from unworldliness of -desire and of hope; partly because he does not always read aright the -meaning of his discipline, and keep in mind the truth that because it -is Divine it must be always wise and good; and partly because he looks -too much to "second causes," not only in disappointment and sorrow, -but also in success and joy, forgetting the hand and the purpose of -God. - -So that a Christian who has passed through the numerous and various -vicissitudes of life, and whose faith, like a tree in successive -storms, has gained strength from every blast--whose hopes have -brightened while the clouds of life were lowering, and whose -experience by discipline has become enlightened, rich, and mature--is -one of the noblest, though, alas! one of the rarest, sights in the -world. Such a man was Paul in a pre-eminent degree. Reverses did not -sour him. He had often to contend against the hostile hand of his -fellow man, but persecution did not embitter him. He could retain -through all his absorbing interest in the salvation of human souls and -in the glory of God. His troubles did not shut him up in himself. He -did not always talk about them, as though he wanted everybody to pity -and help him; on the contrary, he was a peculiarly brave and joyful -man. He looked upon joy not simply as a possibility, nor simply as a -privilege, but as a duty, the neglect of which by a Christian was -shameful. He knew that whatever of earthly good might slip away from -him, or be snatched away, there was something immeasurably better -which was his for ever--God, Christ, immortality, heaven. "Who shall -separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, -or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Nay, -in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved -us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor -principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, -nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to -separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - -III. What has been said will help us to form a true idea of the state -of mind which the apostle here avows for himself, and in doing so to -avoid some mistakes. We have seen that contentment is neither -stoicism, nor want of interest in life nor sluggishness of -temperament, nor weakness of character. We further say, that Paul does -not mean that he considers all conditions in life alike desirable, -that there is nothing to choose between them, that it is altogether -immaterial whether men be well or ill, strong or weak, rich or poor, -high or low, masters or slaves. Paul was not insensible to the -advantages of outward comfort, or to the disadvantages of poverty. Nor -does he mean to teach that a Christian may not use all means which are -intrinsically legitimate and right for improving his condition, in so -far as he has those means at his command, or the possibility of -obtaining them. What he means is that his happiness is not essentially -dependent on external circumstances. An illustration of Solomon's -words, "A good man is satisfied from himself," he carries within him -everywhere the elements of his own well-being. So that being the man -he is, being the man God has made him to be, being the man whom the -Holy Spirit is fashioning by His grace, through the instrumentality of -the discipline of life, with a hope that does not make him ashamed, -because he has the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy -Ghost given unto him--he is happy enough even in the midst of -privations and difficulties. His contentment is not indifference to -his work, but industrious fidelity. It is not the narcotizing of -aspiration; for a man may ardently aspire, and yet be content until it -is time to rise. Still less is it complacency with his own moral and -spiritual condition, or with that of the world around him; for he says -that he "forgets the things that are behind, and reaches forth to the -things that are before," and he "greatly longs after men in the bowels -of Jesus Christ." But with all his appreciation of life's comforts, -with all his aspirations after personal perfection, and with all his -longings to be useful in his day, he is not disconcerted by -difficulties and disadvantages;--he has learned in whatsoever state he -is, therewith to be content. - -We must guard ourselves, however, from applying this example of -contentment to troubles of our own making. God entrusts every man, -more or less, with the means of blessing himself, and of maintaining -his own honour among his fellow men. But by sin, or by mistakes of -conduct arising from a culpable carelessness, we may lose our position -of advantage; and when we do so, we are not entitled to the comfort -arising from the thought that, as all events are in God's hands, we -must just take things as they come, and be satisfied! The sin which -has brought mischief must be deplored; its consequences must be -accepted as a Divine correction, and Divine help must be sought so -that the chastisement may be sanctified. And if on the lower ground we -become less worldly, holier, and more Christ-like, God will have the -greater glory and will give the deeper peace. - -IV. And now for the secret of the apostle's contentment, and the -lessons that we are to learn therefrom for ourselves. Paul says, "I -can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." The language -is peculiar; what does it mean? It means that, in whatsoever condition -he might be, he had Christ for a Helper and a Friend; that Christ's -companionship with him was constant, full, tender; that His sympathy -was great, minute, comprehensive, cheering, exalting, all-sufficient. -So complete was his identification with Christ that he tells these -Philippians that living or dying he was Christ's. But how did this -come about? Once he persecuted the Christ whom he now glorifies. And -even now his happiness has nothing of the _miraculous_ in it. It does -not belong to him merely as an apostle, or in the same way as his -"inspiration" or other special, supernatural gifts with which he is -endowed. It is the work of God's grace--grace imparted to him through -the same channels along which it may come to us. The secret is this: -Paul was a Christian--a converted, regenerated man, a believer in -Christ, under the influence of the Holy Ghost; and the result was -accomplished by such simple means as faith and hope and prayer. - -Paul had felt, as we all feel, that there is in man a soul as well as -a body, an eternal life as well as a temporal. He had also felt, as we -all feel, that he was a sinner, condemned and hopeless before that -holy law which he had broken, and the judgment of which he must one -day meet. But, in obedience to the message of the gospel, he had -accepted Christ as his Saviour, through whom he had received the -forgiveness of sins, Divine sonship, and sanctifying grace. So that he -had to regard himself as henceforth under training for heaven, the -training administered by a Divine hand. He knew that the present life, -with all its changes, was the thing that was wanted for his spiritual -education, that nothing was accidental, that no changes were chances, -and that all changes made up one great organized system of discipline, -in which "all things were working together for good." Thus he could -cherish in his heart a contentment which would cover all his -experiences. There are ills which certain men can bear patiently, but -a Christian contentment learns to bear all ills cheerfully; -unmurmuring and acquiescent when sorrows multiply, and when mercies -one by one are taken away. - -This contentment under Christian conditions is a duty, not perhaps of -very easy attainment--Paul himself does not say that it is that--but -it is a duty, as being the natural fruit of faith and trust. Every -Christian should be able to say: - - I will not cloud the present with the past, - Nor borrow shadows from a future sky: - 'Tis in the present that my lot is cast, - And ever will be through eternity. - - "Sufficient to the day the present ill," - Was kindly utter'd by a heavenly Voice, - And one inspired to tell his Master's will - Hath bid us alway in the Lord rejoice. - - - - -XII. - -_JOY._ - -"Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say rejoice."--Philippians -iv. 4. - - -Whatever may be the impression produced by these words, no one can -read them attentively, and be indifferent to the admonition they -convey. They speak to our most real life, a life of mingled sunshine -and shadow; and they speak in the name of a religion which is divinely -holy and solemn. They have a marvellous power in awakening feeling, -and if we could but know the emotion they excite in each of us, we -should find them to constitute a perfect test of our actual -experiences, as well as of our religious condition. In any religious -assembly, there must of necessity be two widely different states of -feeling. Some souls are happy, and others are depressed. To the first -class, the words before us come with sweetness, adding joy to joy; to -the second, they come with pain, the pain of contrast and of longing. -Hence the question might be asked, "To whom are they addressed? Are -they spoken to the happy alone? Must they be suppressed when we speak -to the sad or to the miserable?" They are addressed neither to the one -class alone, nor to the other alone. They were spoken to _all_ hearts -in the Philippian church, without distinction of condition; and -without distinction they are also spoken to us. If there be any -special stress in them at all, it is when they are addressed to the -sorrowing, as we shall see by-and-by. The words themselves supply a -hint as to how this may be. The joy that is recommended is "_joy in -the Lord_." It is therefore a Christian joy; and those to whom the -apostle recommends it, whatever may be the diversity of their -circumstances, are first of all, last of all, anyhow, under any -condition, Christians. Paul knows that joy is an inevitable -consequence of the possession of true Christianity in the heart, that -it is the natural outcome of Christian faith, that it ought to be a -pervading experience of the Christian soul through all the forms and -circumstances of its life. And so he offers the same exhortation to -all. Nor is it a recommendation merely: it is a command, and it -strikingly takes its place among the great Pauline precepts. For the -proof of this, turn to these precepts as we have them at the close of -his first epistle to the Thessalonians. (See chap. v. 14-22.) - -No one will suppose for a moment that the exhortation to rejoice can -be applied in any sense to unbelieving men, to men of the world, to -the ungodly. Granting that they have a joy peculiarly their own, it is -of such a nature, and is so conditioned by the life of every day, that -it would be cruel to bid them "rejoice _evermore_." The worldling has -too many disappointments, struggles, and cares, for a permanent and -unbroken joy such as that. He may think himself fortunate for -rejoicings that come now and then! Besides, how could Paul recommend a -rejoicing which is not "in the Lord," which is the only rejoicing -possible to the unbeliever? Paul's joy is consistent with every duty -of the religion he preached; but to that religion the unbeliever is -opposed. His rejoicing cannot be acceptable to the Lord. It is -spurious. It has no true, substantial source. To such a man the -apostle might rather have said, "Weep!" Christian joy is an -inheritance closely fenced around; and hard as it seems to enjoy any -good things in which others cannot share, we must say, "Unbelieving -men and women, it is not for you." The way here is through the strait -gate, and along the narrow road. - -No joy can be "joy in the Lord" which does not contain the following -elements-- - -1. _Purity._ The objects that excite it must be pure. It must be free -from all carnality and from all sin; it must spring from the soul's -sympathy with God, with His truth, with His goodness. Holy in its -objects, it becomes a sanctifying power. - -2. _Calmness._ It is freedom from turmoil of heart, from disquietude -of life. It suffuses our feeling and our conduct with peace--peace -that "flows like a river." Hence, it is the condition of a quiet, -steady Christian experience. - -3. _Seriousness._ It does not depend on self-forgetfulness, or on a -forced thoughtlessness. It is deepest in the most reflective, and is -strengthened in all by an honest and habitual self-examination. - -4. _Humility._ There is a sort of arrogance and self-sufficiency in -worldly joy. Christianity puts man in his true place, and teaches him -to refer all his peace to God. - -5. _Love._ Love to man and to God; the latter as the natural effect of -gratitude, the former from deep pity for his spiritual destitution, or -from sympathy in a common experience of happiness. - -6. _Permanence._ It is not a fitful, occasional, moody thing. -Secondary sources of joy may fail, but God, the primary Source and -Giver of all joy, remains; and the relationship between the believer -and Him abides, so that the grounds of peace and of hope are -everlasting. - -Now it is clear that these are not the elements of a worldly joy. We -do not care to reduce all that joy to a common level, and to say that -it is invariably and equally destitute of all these qualities of -purity, calmness, seriousness, humility, love, permanence. It is -enough to say that it is not "joy in the Lord." It does not -consciously or actually spring from Him; it is not maintained by -communion with Him; and it does not pay to Him its tribute of love, -consecration, and praise. - -This exhortation to Christian joy is one of the most common in the -writings of Paul. Happy Christians may wonder why it is repeated so -often. Why urge it at all? Is it not the first, the necessary, the -constant result of faith? Why specially insist upon it as a duty? If -faith be weak, give us reasons by which faith may be strengthened; -but, once in the conscious possession of eternal life and of peace -with God, let the results naturally follow. Are they not sure to come? - -One would suppose so; but, alas! Paul knew, and we have reason to -know, that we are very inconsistent! There is often a divorce between -our professed beliefs and the results that should flow from them. -Then, too, our faith is often unconsciously held. It is too merely -traditional; it lacks freshness and vitality. We may well, therefore, -be thankful that God, who has given us such motives for joy, should -still recommend it to us. Even with a very sincere faith may -circumstances arise which shall trouble our hearts. Our joy is -constantly threatened, and almost unconsciously we sometimes come to -feel that we have none. I know many Christians of whom the last thing -we could affirm would be that they are joyful Christians. Hence the -exhortation. It takes the form of a command. Why? - -1. We owe it to the love and mercy of our God. Joy is the sign, the -expression, and the ornament of gratitude. A faith without joy is an -altar without perfume. God's abounding grace realised in the heart -demands this return. If we be not joyful, what does the fact mean? Do -we lightly esteem His great love? Are we afraid it may fail? - -2. Joy is a means of _testifying_ our gratitude. Without joy, faith is -barren and inefficient, or else its fruits are rare and without -savour. The gospel represents good works as the fruits of faith, and -fruits grow not on the trunk, but on the branches; and joy is one of -these. A worldly joy gives vigour to the heart in the pursuit of -worldly objects. Christian joy prompts the heart to devotedness to -God. - -3. The world is mightily influenced by our joy. The idea that religion -is a sad, gloomy thing is widely spread, and is a hindrance in the -way. Men know that our beliefs ought to produce joy, and, if they fail -to do so, they become themselves discredited. A true Christian is -really at the source of all true joy. The world yields him most -because he is nearest heaven. _Joy is a proselyting power._ - -4. True joy cannot be imitated. The world's gaiety is the effect of -temperament and circumstances, not of reflection; it repudiates and -shrinks from thought. Christian joy deepens the more thoughtful men -become. The grounds on which it rests are felt to be the surer the -more they are examined. - -Let us look at one or two more of the characteristics of Christian -joy. - -1. It does not avoid contact with men, but it can, if need be, live -alone. It can flourish in the heart that is alone with itself and -with God, and can find its food in meditation and prayer. It blossoms -where other joys fade. - -2. It is devout. It loves the places where its Author is worshipped, -but it can sing its praises everywhere. The heart in which it resides -is a temple. It sings even in the midst of cares and tribulations, -like Paul and Silas in the midnight gloom of the prison at Philippi. - -3. It is at the furthest remove from frivolity. It rejoices in serious -things, even in such serious things as sorrow and death. It looks up -and on with hope. It rests in God. It knows that Christ, its Source, -can never be separated from it. It thinks itself rich enough in the -possession of God's great love. - -4. It triumphs over the hindrances by which all other joy is thwarted. -As to remembrances of the past, all that needed to be forgiven _is_ -forgiven. As to actual trouble, it can take hold of God. As to -forecasts of the future, _that_, in its truest blessedness, is secure. - -Who would not be a Christian? And who, being a Christian, can refuse -to be glad? - - Eternal Source of Life and Light, - From whom my every blessing flows, - How shall my lips extol aright - The bounty that no measure knows? - - Sweet are the gifts Thou dost accord; - Still best when best we love Thy ways: - But one yet add, all bounteous Lord, - And teach me as I would to praise. - - To praise Thee ofttimes with my tongue; - To praise Thee ever with my heart; - And soon, where heavenly praise is sung, - Oh, let me take my blissful part! - - Then, Lord, not one of all the host - That hymn Thy glory round the Throne, - How e'er exalted there, shall boast - A strain more fervent than mine own. - - - - -XIII. - -_SICKNESS._ - -"Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick."--John xi. 4. - - -Much contact with sickness of late has set me thinking about it; about -the place it occupies in the Divine dispensations of our life, and the -lessons it may teach. The subject will find an easy entrance into our -meditations. Most of us have known what sickness is, and all of us -have in prospect that which will prove to be our last. - -In all the sorrow that affects the people of God there is more or less -of mystery, which deepens in proportion as those who suffer become -mature in their Christian life, and advanced in holiness. Yet there -are some obvious truths in relation to it which are not hard to -discern, and to some of these it will be profitable to turn our -thoughts now. - -I. Sickness, in common with all our ills, is a solemn witness to the -existence of sin. If we trace it back to its first cause, we shall -find it to have originated in "the transgression of the law." It -would be contrary both to the letter and to the spirit of the gospel -to see in each sickness the direct result of a particular sin. Yet -cases of this kind are not so rare as we suppose. Many men, even -professing Christians, suffer in consequence of sins known only to God -and to themselves; secret luxuries and excesses, or a trifling, -perhaps half unconscious, with some of the simplest laws of Nature. -Let not this be altogether overlooked. Moreover, whilst we are not at -liberty to suppose an immediate connection between some particular -sickness and some particular sin, there is a general connection -between sin and suffering. There would have been no sickness in the -world if there had been no sin. There was none in Eden: there will be -none in heaven. Sickness is a witness to the disorder which sin has -created. The Christian is a forgiven man, but the secondary -consequences of sin remain. In a sinful world, the sins of others -react upon him in various ways. He himself, though forgiven, is not -yet perfect. There will always be enough of the sense of sin even in -the most devout heart, to bend the sufferer in humiliation beneath the -thought that in a thousand ways he has deserved the discipline of -sorrow. - -II. Sickness, however, affords equal testimony to the love of God. -The Christian has ample reason for knowing that it is a Father's hand -that smites, and that the blow is tempered with gentle mercy. We -suffer less than many have suffered before: less than many are -suffering now. The Old Testament gives us some notable examples of -suffering--Job, David, etc.; so also does the New Testament--Paul, for -instance. And what were the sufferings of these compared with those of -Christ, who wept and bled and died, not for Himself, but for us? In -all ages better men than we have suffered more. Consider what we have -deserved, and what, but for the mercy of God, we must have had to -bear. If the sufferings of life are not worthy to be compared with the -glory that is to follow, neither are they worthy to be compared with -the doom which _must_ have followed, if God had not loved us with an -infinite and everlasting love. Nor is it beneath the subject to -mention the alleviations which are granted to us, and which we must -all trace to the Divine Hand--sleep, the suspension of pain, sympathy, -and, most of all, the hopes of the gospel. These are common-place -considerations, but we must entertain them, if our gratitude and trust -are to be strong and simple. - -But we must enter into particulars a little further for the sake of -evolving truth still more immediate and personal. - -III. Sickness is often a special grace from God, and is a -providential answer to the secret desires of our own souls. Not, -indeed, the answer we ask, or the answer we expect; rather, indeed, -the answer we would gladly avoid: but still an answer. The cardinal -want of man is salvation. Who does not know that sickness has often -been sanctified to that end? The cardinal want of the Christian is -sanctification--preparedness for heaven; and every Christian knows -how seriously this is impeded by a crowd of difficulties, real -enough, but which we have a propensity to exaggerate; generally, the -daily occupations and cares of life--a family to be provided for, a -competency to gain, favourable opportunities to be looked for and -seized, daily mischances, and the like. Meanwhile we are conscious -of our spiritual wants, and there is a painful conflict between the -claims which are temporal, and those which are spiritual. How many -Christians are living a life of absorption in the world, yet -harassed with occasional regrets, fears, desires, connected with -better things? To these sickness is a Divine reply. It is as though -God said: "Dear child, I know thy difficulty. Thou canst not of -thine own determination leave the world; come away now. Leave thy -labour, thy anxiety, thy dreams. Shut out from the world's noise, -listen to Me, to thy soul, to heaven, to eternity. Not that thou -mayest do thy duty less faithfully do I thus check thee, but that -thou mayest learn the true subordination of things to one another; -not the spiritual to the temporal, but the temporal to the -spiritual. That is why I put this affliction upon thee." Oh, verily, -blessed is sickness when viewed from the station where we rest and -refresh in the fevered journey of life--a truce after battle, a -parenthesis in life's tale, into which God puts His own deep-meaning -and gentle word. Let us remember this for our brethren's sakes and -for our own. - -IV. Sickness, as a special proof of God's love, is charged with a -mission to bring to us some special gifts and graces. It is above all -things a means of blessing when we associate with it the idea of -discipline, however stern. There is not a single Christian virtue that -may not acquire strength on a bed of sickness, and there are not a few -Christian virtues which probably must be learnt there, if they are -ever to be learnt perfectly at all. Among these note the following: - -1. _Patience._ This is specially the fruit of sorrow. No soul can -know what patience is until it has learnt what suffering is. To this -effect Paul and James both teach, putting suffering before the -Christian as a veritable cause of joy because it produces patience. -How many elements in sickness would be aggravated by the absence of -this beautiful grace! How quickly we come to feel that all worry is -useless, and that we must simply wait the good pleasure of the Lord! -How commonly too, the existence of this virtue strikes the beholder. -It is not apathy, it is not stoicism; it is submission. When the -sickness is past there will still remain much in life to try us; but -if we have learnt the lesson, we shall know how to apply it. - -2. _Entire dependence upon God._ This is sometimes hard to realize in -days of health and vigour, but in days of sickness we feel that the -sentiment is impressed upon us with especial weight. We know that it -is He who casteth down and lifteth up. We use means for recovery, and -this is right; but we learn that without His blessing the best and the -most skilfully applied of these are of no avail. This sense of -dependence on God should be the habit of the mind; and having -acquired it in sorrow we shall not repudiate or forget it in joy. - -3. _Unworldliness._ In a sickness which is protracted, and the issue -of which is uncertain, we learn to put the proper estimate on things. -We find and we feel that we have here no true home and no true -satisfaction, and that we must look above. At such a time we perceive -that the _real_ is the _spiritual_ and the _eternal_. As we groan in -this tabernacle, we obtain our true relief in the contemplation of -things unseen. - -4. _The confidence of faith._ The possible issues of our sickness are -momentous, and the question comes: "Of what quality are my hopes? Is -the religion that has given me joy and strength in health able to -support me now?" And how often the blessed answer is "Yes!" God gives -us strength equal to our day. The Father's smile, the presence of the -Saviour, simple trust in the Cross--these are realized as they never -have been before. And if health should return, it will be with the -calmly, soberly delightful feeling of a religion in the heart that has -stood the test. This is the experience of not a few whom I have known. - -All this has a mighty influence on others besides the sufferers -themselves. They preach, and preach effectively, through their sorrow -and the grace by which they bear it, and get blessing out of it. Thus -their sickness becomes an occasion on which, an instrumentality by -which, God conveys the blessings of His grace to their brethren. - -To all of us, whether in sickness or in health, the subject suggests -some important lessons. It suggests thankfulness for such health as we -have. Others are suffering: why not we? Multitudes are languishing in -pain to-day; most of us are well. Let us bless God, and seek His grace -that we may use this gift of health, with all His other gifts, to His -glory. It suggests sympathy for those who suffer. How dependent they -are on our kindness, our gentleness, our love. Let us give it to them -in full measure. Specially, let us give expression to our sympathy for -them by prayer on their behalf. It suggests faithfulness to the vows -made in the time of our trouble. How much holier would all of us be -to-day if none of those vows had been forgotten! - - - - -XIV. - -_JESUS ONLY._ - -"And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus -only."--Matthew xvii. 8. - - -The visible glory has vanished; Moses and Elias have disappeared; the -cloud is gone; the Voice has been heard; and Jesus has assumed again -the form of His lowliness. A few moments ago Peter, in a -half-unconscious ecstasy, was saying: "Lord, it is good for us to be -here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for Thee, -one for Moses, and one for Elias." And now they are coming down from -the mountain to the turmoil at its foot, and they who wished to -tabernacle so gloriously above must descend again to their -fishing-nets below. The change seems sudden and sad. We feel inclined -to exclaim, "What a loss!" But though they come down, Jesus is with -them. Herein lies the substance of what I want now to develop. Our -life has its resting-places, exposed to startling, rude alternations; -but it has also, in the midst of all, its grand solace. - -I. The first of these truths is one of such common experience, that -we have no need to do more in support of it than to point to -well-known facts. I shall try to generalize them by referring merely -to three points. - -1. To our external personal circumstances. Sometimes we are -prosperous, cheerful, happy. We say, "The lines have fallen to me in -pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Incidents occur which -seem to transform our ordinary life. We succeed in our pursuits. We -are in health. Our domestic happiness is undisturbed. We have been -delivered from impending ill, and, instead of suffering what we have -feared, we realize more than we have hoped for. We are thankful; we -are content; and we want to build our tabernacle on the green mount of -our prosperity. - -May we not indulge this feeling without any suspicion that our -prosperity may too much absorb and unspiritualise us? But the time for -disenchantment comes, and if we have grace enough in our hearts, we -find that a drawback is put in the way of our fancied happiness, the -tendency of which is proving a strong temptation to worldliness. And -then, though we do not court reverses--for they, too, have their -temptations--we begin to feel that this position of fancied happiness -is not so perfect as we thought. Besides, the novelty passes away, and -the satisfaction becomes less. We had forgotten our higher needs -whilst we were absorbed in our external well-being. And so we come to -acknowledge once more that this is not our rest. Sometimes, too, a -veritable reverse takes place; like the disciples, we have to come -down from the mount. The alternations of grief, disappointment, and -care follow our joy, and we get a further confirmation of the truth -that there is no resting-place to be found in any of the -circumstantials of life. - -2. To our intercourse with men. We have reason to be thankful for all -the blessing which reaches us through this channel, and especially so -for all sanctified human relationships. To men of confiding, generous -natures, it is natural to repose in their contact with certain of -their fellow creatures. Some of our brethren wield a marvellous charm -over us. We trust their character; we are not conscious of their -defects; we are entirely at home with them. - -But here, again, we find that we must come down from the mount. It -would be a sad story if we could all tell our surprises and -disappointments in this matter. How many apparently beautiful -friendships have passed away! How many defects have we discovered in -those whom we have implicitly trusted, when we have been brought into -a closer acquaintance with them? How many have others discovered in -us? Do we not see here one reason why men become cynical and -misanthropic? The greater the confidence, the greater the subsequent -distrust. The greater the joy, the deeper the grief which has followed -it. Let us thank God for the friendships that abide; but let us -remember that human love can never be a perfect resting-place for our -hearts. - -3. To our Christian feeling. In the early days of our Christian life -especially, and often afterwards, all seems to be "transfigured" -before our eyes. We see a new earth and a new heaven. We breathe a -life-giving atmosphere as we ascend the hills from whence cometh our -help. Moses and Elias--the law and the prophets--have undergone the -same transformation. Desires which are earthly have given place to -desires which are spiritual. We seem to be in closest contact with the -Saviour, and we pity the small pre-occupations of the world. We say, -"Let us build here our tabernacle, and rest." - -But changes await us! First the heights, then the depths! To-day, the -unutterable words from heaven; to-morrow, the thorn in the flesh and -the messenger of Satan to buffet! The one is not without the other. -Hence the lesson comes home to us: "Do not depend too much on your -heart-states." These high joys seldom last long. Jesus, so to speak, -loses His splendour, and comes down again from the mount, as a man, to -His humiliation. - -II. The facts I have adverted to are such as only experience teaches. -The prosperous and the immature may suppose that I take too gloomy a -view of life. By no means. Life has brought its trials to me; and, -like many others, I have been again and again on the mount to come -down afterwards into the valley. And, were it not for one crowning -consideration, there has been enough of change to some of us to make -us sad and gloomy enough. What has prevented it? _This, that Jesus has -come down from the mount along with us._ We have learnt to prize Him -in proportion as we have learnt the deceptiveness of all beside! - -As Jesus humbled Himself, so He humbles His own. He wants us to walk -by faith, not by sight, nor by sentiment. What should we become on -our Tabor, if we were allowed to build our tabernacles there? -Certainly proud; perhaps foolish; perhaps self-sufficient. Paul was in -danger of being exalted above measure by the glory of the revelations -which came to him; have we any reason to be more certain of ourselves? -The greater the height the more destructive the fall. We might also -mistake religious ecstasies for religious firmness or religious -growth. Yes, the true discipline is that which makes us come down. - -All this looks like the disenchantment of our cherished illusions. -What have we to put in their place? Man does not live alone by what is -taken away from him, but by what is given to him. Have we taken away -all? Have we given nothing? We read that a Voice came out of the -cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; -hear ye Him.... And when the disciples had lifted up their eyes, they -saw no man, save Jesus only." What does that teach us? - -It teaches that out of these ecstasies, which often hide the reality, -there comes a gift of God more precious than all--_Jesus Himself_. -Whatever form He may assume, He is still the same; still the same -whether He goes up the mountain with us, or comes down with us from -the mountain. Our illusions vanish, but Jesus does not disappear. It -is to Him that God directs us when the dreams of life are gone. Events -deceive us, men change, the joy of our own hearts subsides; but these -things happen that we may lift up our eyes and see Jesus only. - -And so the illusions which depart give place to a permanent good. Do -not be afraid to descend from the mountain-tops into the low valleys -which lie beneath. Neither height nor depth need separate from the -love of Christ. A mighty and gracious Hand guides you, whether you see -it or not. Lay hold of it with confidence. Though your ecstacies -vanish, the great gain of your faith will be a sober, deep repose. - -Do not confound this repose with a want of life or of interest. A -staid, strong, sober Christian is a man who has learnt in whatsoever -state he is therewith to be content. A staid, strong, sober Christian -is one who can do all things through Christ, who is ever near and ever -strengtheneth. - -Is not such a condition a blessed one? It is that which gives to faith -its permanence and its calm. Instead of ascending to heaven and -descending to the abyss to find Christ, we find Him here, and remain -with Him in peace and assurance. Having found Him, and being united -to Him, we may, if need be, do without the rest. On the mount and in -the plain we have the same Saviour. In any case, our hearts are on a -sure foundation. - -The tabernacles Peter wanted to erect on Tabor let us erect in the -valley. Let us keep near to Jesus; near to His law, near to His -promises, but emphatically near to Him. This, too, will be a -transfiguration, the transfiguration of our common life. The light of -the Divine glory will shine about us; and in the light, and out of the -cloud, the Voice will speak. We shall tabernacle with Moses and Elias -only above; but we may tabernacle with Jesus below. Let us tabernacle -with Him most at the cross; for it is there that we shall find most of -our holiness and our hope. - - - - -XV. - -_PRAYER._ - -"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and -it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and -he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be -opened."--Matthew vii. 7, 8. - - -Prayer is one of the vital elements of the Christian life. It mingles -with its first impulses; it is the secret of every step in its -development, the hidden germ of the grain of mustard-seed, the sap -that nourishes the growing and the perfected tree from the furthermost -fibres of its roots to the topmost shoot of its branches. A sapless -tree is not a living one, but dead; a prayerless Christian cannot be. - -As might have been expected, the New Testament is remarkably plain in -its teaching on this subject of prayer. The difficulties connected -with it which exist in our minds are not difficulties which it creates -or even sanctions. A simple reverence for its utterances is almost all -that we need for their removal. Let us inwardly pray for this while -we study the question now. - -The form in which our Lord presents His exhortation in the text is -interesting and suggestive. He uses three words--"ask," "seek," -"knock," which seem to intimate a gradation, and to lead up to a -climax. The word "ask" indicates the felt want of a good which may be -obtained; not purchased, but obtained as a free gift. The word "seek" -indicates the continuance of the asking, with the added idea, perhaps, -that our need is our fault, and that what we seek has been previously -lost. The word "knock" supposes a difficulty in obtaining, the delay -of the answer, a blessing shut up, and not immediately forthcoming. -Here, then, is a hint of possible difficulties. Nevertheless, a -promise is annexed, which is all-sufficient. "Ask, and it shall be -given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto -you." Christ's word is assurance enough for us; but He condescends to -append an argument drawn from a comparison between man and God, -between imperfect earthly parents and the infinitely perfect Father in -heaven; an argument which ought to be conclusive. "What man is there -of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he -ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know -how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your -Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" - -The facts as they lie open on the surface of the text are among the -most solemn and momentous facts of our life and thought. There is a -God, holding in the universe a position which is exclusively His own, -the great and only Giver of all good. Man's position is one of -dependence; in no sense is he self-sufficient. As it is God's -prerogative to give, so it is man's duty and interest to ask. There is -a possibility of communion between Him who gives and him who needs; -the hand of want brought into contact with the hand that supplies. -Then we have the fact that God is both able and willing to satisfy -man's want out of His own fulness. Further, we have the tender -solicitation to trust on our part--the absolute promise that such -trust can never be misplaced--and the encouraging assurance that the -God who gives is moved towards His creatures who ask by all the -sympathies of a Divine Fatherhood. Every ground of the confidence that -children have in their parents is consolidated into a rock of -immovable repose when the Heavenly Father comes in question. - -These facts enter into the common substance of our Christian belief -and thought. As Christians, we never deny and never dispute them. We -hold them in a measure unconsciously till the crises of life bring -them into prominence. But they are inconceivably marvellous. As mere -conceptions they are grand; as realized grounds of hope they are -inexpressibly helpful. They are full of greatness and tenderness. Each -of us may say to himself: "My soul, with all thy manifold infirmities -and littlenesses, thou canst pray to the great God! Ay, thou canst -come to Him as to an infinite Father!" Surely that is distinction and -consolation enough. - -Comparatively few Christians, however, understand prayer as they -should--either as a duty or as a privilege. With tens of thousands -amongst them it is to a great extent an unappreciated boon. Even many -devout Christians--anxious to use it to more effect--have their -difficulties. I want to offer some help to such as these. The scope of -prayer, unanswered prayer, delayed answers, etc., all are subjects of -anxious questioning. - -I. Prayer, according to the teaching of Scripture and of experience, -is a simple transaction of asking and receiving. It indirectly serves -other ends, as we shall see shortly; but it is first of all, and all -through, just what I have stated. We pray because we want; we pray in -order to get what we want; and we pray with the feeling that we shall -not get it unless we pray. There is no mystery in such a view as this. -The transaction between the Christian and God, involved in prayer as -thus described, is as natural, as simple, as well defined, and as -easily understood, as the action of a child when it asks its parents -for what it needs, and when its parents give what it needs in answer -to the asking. The holy men of Scripture understood prayer in this -way. Their prayers are full of simplicity, both as to their structure -and their spirit. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, all -simply asked for such blessing as they felt they needed; asked for the -sake of receiving, and feeling that the reception of what they wanted -was dependent upon their asking. They unquestionably believed in an -invisible Hand, and felt that the Heart that guided that Hand -delighted to be trusted and appealed to in every, and for every, kind -of human need. - -II. The simplicity of their view of the _nature_ of prayer is no -greater than that of the view they took of the _scope_ of prayer. A -feeling has grown up in the minds of many that we cannot ask with -confidence for temporal blessings, and that the only blessings for -which we may be sure that it is right to ask are those which are -spiritual. But that was not the idea of the praying men of the past. -There was not a blessing, material or spiritual, for which they -hesitated to pray--life, health, food, rain, fruitful seasons, success -in battle, peace of soul, forgiveness of sins, strength for holy -work--all these, and indiscriminately as to any special privilege -attached to the prayer for one or another. Just so taught Christ. "The -Lord's Prayer" asks not only for the glory of God and the forgiveness -of trespasses, but also for "daily bread." - -These considerations must neither be misunderstood nor overlooked. -Prayer is a direct, specific, simple act. Men say that well-wishing, -right-living, work, and such like, are prayer. Not so. A prayerful -spirit may be, and ought to be, blended with the whole of our life; -but we must not so shade off the act into something else as to take -away its point and its reality. Prayer is the concentration of the -soul upon its present need, whatever that may be, and then bringing it -to God, naked and undisguised, for Him to meet it. The faith that -prompts and backs up such prayer hangs every circumstance of life, -the most minute and the most momentous alike, on the direct and -immediate control of God, in whose great foresight all our little -plans are lost, and in whose hands we become the instruments of our -own well-being. - -III. It is demanded by such a view of prayer as that which has now -been given, that we should confidently expect the answers to our -petitions. This seems a simple, trite thing to say; but it is here -especially that we fail. The attitude of looking for answers to prayer -is not a common one. How is this? Partly because our prayers are often -so vague that we do not know precisely what to expect; partly because -the habit of prayer is largely formal--a mere piece of religious -routine; sometimes because we misapprehend the form in which the -answer may come; and sometimes because, in impatience, we lose heart -and hope. We should ever remember, however, that the promise to hear -and to answer is positive and unrestricted. This fact leaves ample -room for the truth, which we should also ever remember, that the mode -and time of the answer remain with God, and must be left to His loving -wisdom. If He should see that what we ask will strengthen our faith in -Him, bring our hearts nearer to Him, and help us to fulfil His will, -He will grant the answer directly, and in the form in which we look -for it. He has done so in numberless cases. Sometimes He does so in -special and unmistakeable instances, of which, perhaps, George Müller -and his orphanage is the most prominent in our time. On the other -hand, if He should see that an answer of this kind would encourage -worldliness, or in any way lead to evil, as it might sometimes do, -then He will delay the answer, or will change its form into one of -greater safety for us, at the same time speaking with His "still small -voice" words of peace to our hearts. One thing is certain; namely, -that if the worldly advantage be first in our view, it will be well -for our prayer to be denied, and God will deny it. - -IV. One condition, then, of answered prayer is that we must be loyal -to God, and this loyalty includes submission to His will--a -willingness to receive, and a willingness to be denied. We may ask -what we will in such a spirit as this; for in such a spirit we shall -be sure that any refusal from Him will be a blessing to ourselves. - -V. One difficulty in relation to prayer of which anti-christian people -make much, and which often occurs even to the most devout, is as to -how these specific answers to prayer can be made to agree with the -regularity of God's laws and the order of His Providence. This -question introduces us to a mystery which we cannot hope fully to -solve. We have no idea that prayer alters either the perceptions or -the will of God; neither do we imagine that it interferes with natural -laws, so as to prevent their due and natural operation. The operations -of nature are often affected by the human will, both directly and -indirectly; yet no one supposes that to that extent the order of -nature is disturbed. Why may not the influence of the human will upon -nature act through the medium of prayer to the great Author of nature, -as well as in any other way? No objection of this kind lies against -prayer which does not equally lie against all human enterprise; yea, -even against the daily work by which we live! It is a sufficient reply -to every objection of this kind that it is founded in a philosophy of -fatalism. Surely if man, within the limits of his power, can use -nature for himself, God, whose power is infinitely greater, can use -nature for him, if He be pleased on any terms to do so; and there is -no more interference with the order of nature in the Divine use of it -than there is in the human. Prayer may have its part to play in the -great system of causation as well as work. It may be a part of the -foreseen chain of causes and effects by which God unfolds His eternal -purposes. The good order of a family is not disturbed by the margin -given to the children's wishes and requests; and when we are wise -enough to know, we shall see how it has been even so in the greater -family of God. God is love before we pray as well as when He answers; -and yet it may be according to His will, because it is according to -His beneficent wisdom, that there shall be many blessings unreceived -by us until we ask for them. - -VI. How do these thoughts bear upon the subject of importunity in -prayer? Such importunity is not discountenanced, but rather -encouraged, by the very form of our Lord's exhortation. "Ask; seek; -knock." I have said that this series of words intimates a gradation, -and constitutes a climax. Seeking is more than asking; knocking is -more than asking or seeking. "Ask and ye shall receive." Yes, but the -"asking" which is to be followed by receiving may be such as to -include both "seeking" and "knocking." God is not reluctant to hear -and to answer; but that is no reason why He should not require -sometimes to be importuned. Christ gives His special sanction to this -importunity through the medium of two parables, both of which were -spoken for the express purpose of urging it. The first of these is the -parable of the man who disturbs the repose of his friend at midnight -for the purpose of obtaining from him the means of showing hospitality -to an unexpected wayfarer; the second is the parable of the injured -widow and the unjust judge. In both these parables, the suppliants are -represented as prevailing; but the point to be noted is that the power -by which they prevail is their earnest and persistent importunity. Why -does Christ illustrate prayer to God by the pertinacity which is -needful to arouse the affections of sinful man? We may be sure that He -does not ascribe any thing of human imperfection to God. Our Father in -heaven slumbers not, and is never weary. He is love. Christ simply -puts Himself in the feeling of the man who knows by experience that -God often delays the fulfilment of prayer, and shows, by parabolic -teaching, that to pray well we must be fervent and not "faint." The -lesson is impressive. If between man and man importunate prayer -prevails, how much more will it prevail with God who is perfect, and -who will not make us wait except for the sake of our highest -well-being. The man goes to his friend with confidence because he has -faith in the friendship; how inconceivably strong may this confidence -be when we repose it in God! The plea was the stress of his need; the -same stress belongs to many of the needs which only God can supply. -Our praying-time, like that of the friend at midnight, is often that -of the deepest darkness; but we pray to God and not to man, and need -not fear that He, in His deep, heavenly repose, will fail faithfully -to hearken to our supplications--supplications which, because they -proceed from the holiest solicitudes of love and duty, are inspired by -Himself. Christ bids us reason from both bad men and good men to God, -and it is well for us that He does so. On the bad side, man's love is -weak, his judgment faulty, and his selfishness deep-rooted; God is -infinite both in His wisdom and His love. On the good side, earthly -fathers give bread, not stones, to their children; how much kinder is -He to whom we look up and say, "Our Father which art in heaven"! -"Yes," you say, "He is good and kind; but He makes us wait." It is so; -and why? We are feeble in our desires, and changeful in our purposes. -We soon give up. We want faith, patience, perseverance. The uniformly -immediate fulfilment of our petitions would leave no room for the -cultivation of these quiet, unobtrusive virtues of the Divine life -within us. God makes us wait, that we may become importunate, and that -importunity may nourish the virtues which are as yet too feeble. -Besides, delay gives purity to our motives, and intensity to our -desires. A blessing which is easily won is likely to be unappreciated. -God would not have us treat His gold as though it were stones. Delay -is not refusal; it is discipline. Moreover why speak we of delay at -all? What we so designate is not delay from the Divine point of view. -He never postpones any asked-for good for one moment beyond the fit -time for bestowing it. - - God's help is always sure, - His methods seldom guessed; - Delay will make our pleasure pure, - Surprise will give it zest. - - His wisdom is sublime, - His heart profoundly kind; - God never is before His time, - And never is behind. - -VII. What, then, is the character of the prayer which avails? That -some prayers are "hindered"--so hindered as to be unsuccessful--we -know full well. This may be accounted for partly by mistaken notions -about the Scripture theory of prayer. For example, Jesus says, "What -things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye -shall have them." The teaching of these words is that the inspiration -to true prayer is God's pledge of the blessings sought, and that we -must be prepared to take it as such. The prayer of a man who has not -full faith in prayer falls short of its mark. Hindrance may also arise -from mistaken notions as to the primary use of prayer. Prayer is not -an end in itself, but a means to an end. It is true that the holier we -become the more shall we find ourselves accustomed to an atmosphere of -prayerfulness as the normal condition of the soul. But we shall not -pray aright, if we pray under the impression that we are holy because -we pray. We must rather pray in order to be holy. The hindrance may -also arise from the absence of a supreme anxiety and of a constant -effort to honour God in all our relations. Peter speaks of obedience -to the duties which spring from the conjugal relation as being -necessary to prevent the "hindrance"--the ineffectualness--of family -prayer. This is but a special application of a great general -principle--namely, the connection between holy conduct in society and -the efficiency of our social devotional exercises. These two act and -re-act upon each other. To secure the true, full benefit of prayer, we -must strive to live holily in all the society with which we mingle. -This point touches upon the value of intercessory prayer. Suppose that -there is a want of correspondence between the interest in the welfare -of those around us which we express in our prayers on their behalf, -and that which we show in our intercourse with them; can we rightly -expect such prayers to prevail? The deficiency is too frequently -manifest in our relations both to the Church and the world. How often -is Church brotherhood nominal rather than real! How many pray for the -salvation of souls, without caring to do anything else! There is one -thing which will always, in so far as it exists, be a barrier to the -acceptableness of prayer, and that is the wilful and persistent -violation of any of the Divine commands--the refusal to perform -Christian duties incumbent upon us, or the cherishing of some habit or -propensity known to be wrong. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the -Lord will not hear me." The success of our prayers does not depend -upon our learning, or upon the skill with which we can express our -petitions, or with which we can string them together. It depends -rather upon the state of our hearts--the vivid consciousness of need, -the deep feeling of dependence on God, the supreme desire of the heart -to be right with Him, faith in His promises, trust in His power and -His love, gratitude for His goodness, an unfainting perseverance in -appealing to His throne, and a willingness to wait His time for the -blessings thus humbly, trustfully, and earnestly sought. These are the -elements of the true spirit of prayer. "Ask" thus "and it shall be -given you;" "seek" thus, "and ye shall find;" "knock" thus, "and it -shall be opened unto you." - -I alluded in the beginning to the indirect effects of prayer, and -these are too valuable to be overlooked. Prayer, pervaded by humility -and trust, is always strengthened by its own exercise. All Christian -graces are beautified by it; all Christian virtues are stimulated by -it. It is a Divine provision for rousing the slumbering affections of -the renewed heart, and keeping them awake. Prayer, too, is its own -reward, and a blessed one. How holy and how happy must they be who are -on intimate terms with God! Their faces catch His glory, and their -every tone and step the impress of the sanctity of the Divine -companionship. The Christian can tell his Father all! And because he -is so near to God and to heaven, he can put and keep the world beneath -his feet. - -Even delays and seeming refusals are not without their salutary -influence. Some persons pray for specific blessings year after -year--"pray without ceasing"--and are often staggered at the fact that -their prayers remain unanswered; and yet we see them growing in -spirituality, purity, fortitude, faith, and we hear them say, "Though -He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." And so their faith--the most -precious thing they have--is tried and refined as in a furnace. Surely -such an answer to prayer is sublime! - -I have been speaking to many a doubt, to many a perplexity, with which -I am familiar in my own experience and in that of others. God grant -that my words may be helpful! What we all want in regard to this great -subject is clearer views and a more unquestioning trust. God courts -our utmost confidence, and He will not fail to reward it. - - - - -XVI. - -_ASSURANCE._ - -"I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep -that which I have committed unto Him against that day."--2 Timothy -i. 12. - - -These are among the last words the apostle wrote. He is now at Rome, -in prison, and within a few days of the tragic end. He is worn down by -age; still more so by a constant, toilsome, suffering ministry of some -thirty years, a ministry which has obtained for him, at the hands of -men, stones and stripes, and now a dungeon, with the immediate -prospect of a violent death. He is bound with chains, and compelled to -be silent just where and when he has so long been anxious to speak, in -the metropolis of the world! He is, moreover, forsaken by his friends, -who, though they love him, have not courage to go and visit him now! -Outwardly, no sadder condition could well be imagined. Yet Paul is -filled with a deep and holy peace. How is this? The answer is that he -feels within himself the approval of his God. He is in prison, but -that is because of his obedience to His Saviour. He has worn himself -down in a Divine service. Behind him he sees a long train of woes and -sufferings, but he also sees many churches which he has founded, and -many unknown regions open to the gospel. Before him he sees an -unrighteous judge and a painful martyrdom, but he also sees heaven, -Christ, and the unfading crown. If he says, "All have forsaken me," he -can also say, as his Master did, that he is not left alone. All this -is enough to account for the calmness and hopefulness of this his last -epistle, and especially of the words before us to-day. - -I will not trouble you with the critical difficulties of the text. On -only one preliminary question I would say a word. What does Paul mean -by the expression, "that which I have committed unto Him"? Some urge -that it was the Church which he was about to leave; others, that it -was the result of his labours; and others, that it was his final -salvation. I prefer to combine all these into one general whole, and -to say: "All his Christian interests, the hopes on which his spirit -rested for his personal salvation, and every other interest that was -dear to his heart." He had "committed" to Christ himself, the church -he had loved and served, the results of his labour, and the final -reward to which he was looking forward. If, within the vast scope of -his desires, there had been one thing which he could not commit to -Christ, his rest would have been incomplete, and his joy would have -been marred. But for _everything_ he was able to say: "Saviour, I have -committed this to Thee." - -Observe how Paul puts this great matter. He was the greatest -_doctrinal_ writer of the New Testament; but he does not say that he -believes in _doctrines_, but that he believes in a _Person_. "I know -_whom_ I have believed." All doctrinal belief follows, and is -comprised in, that. Faith everywhere in Scripture is confidence in -Christ. He who believes in Christ must come sooner or later to believe -in the doctrines which cluster around Him. But our experience grows -beyond these into the realisation of Him as being so actual, so near, -and so sufficient, as to be our true rest. Who among us can tell _all_ -the reasons why he believes in Christ? Many of them cannot be put into -words. They belong to our most secret thoughts, to the emotions of our -happiest hours, to a hidden, silent history, which, if the world -heard, it could not understand. Yet these proofs multiply in -proportion as the Christian advances in life. How many times have we -found the words of Christ adapted to our wants! How many unexpected -deliverances has He wrought on our behalf! How many answers to prayer -have we received at His hands! How much peace has He breathed into our -hearts! "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able -to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day." - -What a grand confirmation have we here of the faith Paul preached! Had -his trust been misplaced, surely he had suffered enough to disabuse -him of it, and that most completely. But his faith grows the more he -suffers. No mere party zeal could stand a test like this; no, nor any -delusion either. And so we say that such a man as Paul was, under the -circumstances in which he maintained his trust, could not be deceived. -Thus Paul's faith becomes a confirmation of our own, and, with him on -our side, we may face a world of doubt. - -But I wish to use the text chiefly for the elucidation of a single -subject. Paul's words express _the assurance of his faith_. How does -this subject strike us? Does not the very mention of it give rise to -sad reflections in many hearts? "The assurance of faith." "Ah, I knew -it once," we say; "it was the experience of earlier days, and has been -the experience of some special days since then, still more so of some -specially holy moments. But it is not my normal state. Would it were!" - -We are living in a period in which there seems to be a general -disinclination towards whatever is firm and precise in religious -creed, feeling, and life. This may not be an altogether unhopeful -state of things. Respect for truth may keep some minds silent -concerning their beliefs, or at least may prevent them from avowing -those beliefs too dogmatically. Anxiety and doubt may even in some -cases be a sign of spiritual earnestness. Yet the tendency we speak of -is on the whole to be deeply deplored. The truth is that the world has -invaded us. Men shrink from great precision of conviction because they -shrink from great consecration of life. How few the lives that are -pre-eminently Christian, as Paul's was! On the other hand, our day is -remarkable for its craving for mere religious excitement. In many -cases, it is not so much the desire for truth, as the desire to be -excited and pleased, that prevails. Neither of these tendencies can -build up the faith which finds its grand avowal in the words: "I know -whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that -which I have committed unto Him against that day." - -The remedy for the state of things upon which I have touched cannot -now be pointed out, because it would lead me away from my purpose. But -I want to show the effect of it upon ourselves, and upon those who are -without. There are certain aims common to the Christian life of all of -us, and these cannot be reached so long as our faith lacks steadiness -and stability. - -1. Our great mission is to convert souls. We are avowedly the -instruments of the Spirit of God in this momentous work. But what is -the conversion of a soul? It is a radical change in its affections and -its life. But this change never takes place apart from the influence -of deep convictions. Men will not exchange the known for the unknown: -actual life with its passions and its pleasures for the weak and cold -abstractions of a faith with no precision in its principles, or for -the worship of a God who is vague and problematical. How are we to -succeed in winning souls to the truth we profess unless we can produce -something which ought to convince them that we have the right of it? -An unstable faith will be of little use to us here. There must be no -hesitation in our avowal that our transition from the world to God is -a blessed one. In other matters, a man of strong beliefs has half won -us to his side. In religion, it is notoriously so. Paul's grand words -have been a source of strength to us. Let us make them our own--the -expression of our own faith--and they will become, through us, a -source of strength to others. Let us have this same Christianity in -its fulness and its power; and having it, let us avow it without -timidity and without reserve. - -2. Our personal obligation, as Christians, is to be holy; and we want -the assurance of faith for that. We may be deceived about our -conversion. At the outset of our Christian life we may be the subjects -of many illusions. But men are not mistaken when, day by day, they are -fighting their passions, bringing the will into subjection, conquering -the flesh, and submitting the whole life to the long, slow, toilsome -discipline of obedience. This kind of work is never accomplished by a -vague and undecided religion. Men do not deny themselves without an -equivalent. You cannot persuade them to give up their illusions, their -pleasures, their passions, nor even their vices, unless you show them -something else which may, must, and ought to take their place. If you -empty the heart of one set of elements, you must fill it with another. -So it is that we want a living God, a living Christ, close to us; -loving us, forgiving us, helping us, comforting us, and opening before -us the prospect of glory and of happiness for eternity. Let us know -and feel ourselves able to say, "I know whom I have believed, and am -persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him -against that day," and the struggle with inward evil will be -simplified, and will become comparatively easy. - -3. We stand in daily need of strength and consolation, and for that -nothing but a firm and settled faith will suffice. There are great -sorrows and great anxieties to which we are all exposed, in the face -of which nothing will do for us but sovereign words of life and of -hope in which we can implicitly trust. There are great wrongs under -which we cannot be comforted except by the constant conviction of a -righteousness which will one day vindicate the right, and redress the -wrong. There are great losses in which we want the promise and the -certainty of an immense and restoring love. Souls will seek this -strength, this consolation, here, there, everywhere; but they will -never find it until they can say, "I know whom I have believed, and am -persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him -against that day." - -4. The assurance of faith is necessary to all earnestness of effort in -the spread of the gospel. A church or a Christian, subsiding into -uncertainty of religious belief, has no motive for zeal in the -propagation of religion. We preach because we believe. Let the idea, -that the Christianity of Christ or of Paul or of the New Testament -needs modification, become prevalent in the professing church, and the -secret of every true impulse in missionary work, whether abroad or at -home, will be gone. It is the men who share Paul's stable, grand faith -who can take their stand as the preachers of Christ. It is only they -who can rise to the sacrifices necessary for the promotion of His -truth in the world. - -Have we such a faith as this? If not how can we obtain it? This latter -question will be best answered by a close adherence to the text. We -must say a few words respecting the faith itself, and also respecting -Christ, who is the object of it. - -What is faith? A common answer is that faith is an act of -intellectual submission to the teachings of another--that it is in -matters of the mind what blind and unquestioning obedience is in -matters of practice. This account of faith was early imposed by the -Papal Church, and it is not repudiated even now by some evangelical -churches. The root of all doctrines of sacramental efficacy is the -renunciation of private judgment in matters of faith. No wonder that -with such a definition of faith Christianity should be held in -derision, and regarded as the special privilege of the young, the -immature, the aged, and all whose weaknesses and disappointments leave -them no other consolation and no other resource! This is not the -teaching of Scripture. Of course in faith there is submission, for -there are many things to be believed which we cannot understand. -Nevertheless, faith is much more than submission, and there is not a -case of faith in the whole Word of God which presents to us the -believing life as a thing of mere blind credulity. Was it so with -Abraham, with Job, with David, with Paul, or with any of the others? -Even in relation to the dark things, faith rests upon convictions -which make submission the only rational, the only possible attitude of -the mind. According to Scripture, faith is the soul laying hold of -the invisible God--laying hold of Christ as His Son and our Saviour. -There is no abdication of any one of the powers of the soul. In -believing, the soul is entire with its reason, its thought, its love, -and all its spiritual energies. Nor is there any weakness. When a man -is hesitating between surrender to the voice of conscience, and -surrender to the voice of passion, he performs an act of faith if he -yields to the voice of conscience, for he is ruled by the invisible; -yet the last thing we dare say of such a man would be that he is weak. -Rightly considered, every such act is a triumph of the soul. The -conscientious man is the representative of the greatest moral strength -we know. Imagine a soul with all its life under the constant thought -of God and of Christ. Surely such an order of life as his affords -scope enough for intellectual strength and for moral heroism. - -Much must be taken for granted, we said. Reason has its sphere, and to -it a truly noble task is assigned. The visible world belongs to it, -and it is subjecting that world to itself more and more every day. But -how powerless it is when man asks of it a response to the aspirations -of his conscience and his heart. What can it say to a soul weighed -down by a sense of guilt? What to the heart that is torn by calamity? -What to any man when death draws nigh? Oh, no! Unless we are to -abandon ourselves to despair, there must be faith--some truth in -which, or some Being in whom, the whole soul can repose. And mark, -this was just the light in which the apostle looked at the matter. He -was near the end. Eternity was close before him. He knew that endless -issues were at stake. He was nerved to confront it all by faith. _What -faith?_ What was he trusting in? - -_Paul believed in Christ._ On what grounds? Can _we_ believe in -Christ? If so, again I ask on what grounds? - -1. Christ stands before us in our darkness in a position which is -exclusively His own. Of all men, He alone knew whence He came and -whither He went. Without hesitation, and with tones of sovereign -authority, He points out to us the way to God. He speaks of heaven as -one who has come from thence. Everywhere He calls Himself the Sent of -the Father, His only-begotten Son, the Lord of souls. His word was -with power; sweet with intensest human tenderness, influential with -Divine authority. What was it that gave Him this power? Not human -reasoning, not eloquence. It was the light of Truth reaching the -conscience, and penetrating the heart. We see in Him God as He is, and -we also see in Him man as he ought to be. We do not reason about this -influence. Apprehending Him, we instinctively accept it. It is thus -that millions have said: "To whom can we go but unto Thee? Thou hast -the words of eternal life." - -2. This influence of Christ has been exerted on every variety of human -soul. His followers, in ever-increasing numbers, come from all -conditions on earth--rich and poor, learned and ignorant, young and -old, hardened sinners and men blushing with their first sins: all find -from Him peace and light and hope. Especially is this so with those -who suffer and weep; those who have felt the poverty of mere words, -and who are now beyond the reach of any illusion. For the first time -they have been comforted, and the comfort has satisfied them. - -3. Still we want further to know by what authority He wields this -influence. We ask, "Does He come from God?" The reply is that He does -before our eyes the works of God. Not miracles merely, for though -these constitute a powerful testimony, there is yet something more. -He has revealed God in His own person, and the proof of His Divine -mission has been given in His life. In Him, holiness has been at once -realised and exhibited. Eighteen hundred years ago His enemies could -find no fault in Him. Since then humanity has progressed, but Christ -still leaves the noblest sons of men amazingly far behind Him. A -hostile criticism has been indefatigable in its attempt to discover -flaws in His character, and yet that character still stands before us -as the ideal of the good and the true. His is a holiness before which -the conscience of the world is accused and judged. Irresistibly the -answer of the heart comes: "He who is so holy must be worthy of all -our faith." - -4. Moreover, there is the sense of sin and of the need of pardon and -salvation. Here after all, and more than anywhere else, is the secret -of confidence in Christ. We seek salvation in works--anywhere out of -Him--but we cannot find it. He who is holy and true tells us that He -came into the world to save us, that He is our sacrifice and our -peace, and that the love and the righteousness of God are manifest in -Him and in the redeeming work He has undertaken on our behalf. This -exactly meets our case. We say: "This is what we want, but what we -have elsewhere sought in vain. At His hands we accept it with implicit -trust and with fervent thankfulness." - -Are not these reasons enough? Is not the response of every heart, -"Yes, they are." Can it be less than the utmost folly and guilt for -men to resist the voice of a conscience which tells them that it is -only in Christ that the soul can find its rest? Is all this concurrent -testimony to be set aside? - -This assurance of faith, however, can only be the result of intense -earnestness. We do not forget the necessity of the agency of the -Spirit of God; let us never forget it; but let us also remember how -constantly and how fatally that agency can be contravened. Paul held -the great truths he preached with so tenacious and so unquestioning a -faith, because he had begun by consecrating his heart to them under -the intuitive perception that they were the truths which his nature as -a man and his condition as a sinner so imperatively needed, and -because all his experience of them did but confirm their sufficiency. -"If any man will do the will of God, he shall know of the doctrine -whether it be of God," or whether it be of men. "I know whom I have -believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have -committed unto Him against that day." - -For the unbeliever there are grounds enough for faith, both within and -without. And if, even with the desire, faith be still found to be -beset with difficulties, there is one unfailing prayer which will make -it easy--the prayer, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." - - - - -XVII. - -_IMMORTALITY._ - -"What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that -Thou visitest him?"--Psalm viii. 4. - - -One or two remarks on the meaning of certain expressions in this Psalm -are necessary before we proceed. The second verse is pictorial, and -has a martial character. Two hosts are seen facing each other. A -beautiful world and a wonderful universe are in view of both. -Children, in their conscious or unconscious admiration of what they -see, and in the early and universal instinct by which they attribute -it to the hand of a great God, effectually rebuke the unbelief of -scoffers and all haters of God, who persistently refuse to recognise -Him in His works. So, even to-day, the simple and pious intuitions of -the race face, fight, and conquer all materialism. The beautiful and -significant application of these words found in the account of our -Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem points for all time to the duty -of giving Christian teaching to the young. In our Christian homes and -our Sunday-schools lies the great bulwark against the spread of -infidelity. Such teaching acts on the future. "Instead of the fathers -shall be the children," a generation to serve God. These will become -fathers in their turn. "Take care of the children, and the adults will -take care of themselves." - -"What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that -Thou visitest him?" At first sight, it would seem as though the -Psalmist were contrasting the littleness of man with the greatness of -the universe. And, indeed, he does use a word to denote man which -points to his weakness. But this is only David's starting-point in his -aim to correct the impression. The Psalm reveals, not the littleness, -but the greatness of man. "When I consider Thy heavens, the work of -Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained; what is -man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou -visitest him?" How little he looks! Yet how great he must be! "For -Thou makest him to want little of a Divine standing; Thou crownest him -with honour and glory; Thou makest him to have dominion over the work -of Thy hands; Thou puttest all under his feet--all sheep and oxen, -and also beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the -sea--whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea." - -One of the subtlest, and, to a certain degree, one of the most -plausible of the objections of unbelief has been the attempt to instil -into men's minds the idea that it is presumptuous on their part to put -confidence in the apparently sublime, but really fallacious, prospects -which Christianity offers to them with regard to their destiny beyond -this world. God is too great, it is said, and man is too little for us -to admit the thought that God takes such an interest in man, both for -this world and for the next, as the Bible affirms. The tendency of -modern thought is largely in the direction of this view. - -It would be easy to overtax our attention by going into too wide a -field. I will speak only of the Christian idea of an immortal and -heavenly life hereafter. It is this which is imperilled; it is this -which is called in question. I have nothing to do now with the debated -question of future punishment. Let me re-state the form of scepticism -with which I have to deal. It is said to be presumptuous to suppose -that we, the creatures of a day, are to be hereafter lifted up to a -state of perfect blessedness, which is to last for ever, in the -presence of God; and we are recommended to leave this dream aside, and -to be content with the position we occupy here and now. "You have much -to be thankful for, even as things are. Let it not be thought a -hardship, if death should prove to be the end of man." - -The lines of thought as they start from this point are numerous, and -one is tempted to follow them out. But we must forbear, for the sake -of attending simply to our one purpose. I may, however, point out to -you how partial and unreal is the view which is thus taken of man's -position and of his aspirations. Given the utmost of outward and -present satisfaction, man universally is not content with this. But -how many millions of human beings there are in the world at this -moment to whom the present life can scarcely be said to have been any -boon at all! How many more millions of such beings have lived in the -past. The very ground we tread everywhere cowers beneath human sorrow. -Is it not a cruel mockery to say to the suffering, the enslaved, the -down-trodden: "Be grateful for what you have; it is vain, foolish, -wrong for you to expect or to wish for more"? Some such advice as -this may be given if our Christian hopes are tenable; but if they are -not, we do but insult the suffering if we speak to them in this -fashion. - -The kind of unbelief we are anxious to check is spreading. Among the -masses, in many directions, the desire to apprehend spiritual -realities, and to be ruled by them, is increasingly small; the battles -of life and thought are on behalf of the interests of a day; and even -among well-disposed persons the hold of fundamental truth is seriously -relaxed. Hence the necessity for our seeking to strengthen our -cherished convictions, and to discern clearly and grasp firmly "the -faith once delivered to the saints." - -If the views we animadvert upon were entertained merely by the -ignorant and the uncultured, we should not so much wonder; but we -_are_ perplexed when we find them so prevalent amongst the wise of -this world, and even by not a few who are reputed to be masters of -human science. It is true that their advancing knowledge gives them -vaster conceptions of the universe which they so unweariedly explore; -but is it not strange that that vaster knowledge does not enhance -their estimate of man, since he _can_ explore so widely and _can_ -comprehend so much? Why should religious faith decrease in proportion -as human knowledge is accumulated? - -I take the psalm before us as furnishing a triumphant and lasting -reply to the kind of unbelief in question. In Nature, first, God shows -us His estimate of man. The ascent is easy from Nature to Grace, in -which the Divine estimate is raised to its highest point. - -We are invited to look around. Can there be any doubt that this -beautiful world, with its immense treasures known and unknown, its -bountiful harvests of every order on land and sea, and its marvellous -variety of life, animate and inanimate, was formed for our sakes? Was -not everything the earth contains made for our use and enjoyment, in -measure increasing with every new discovery? The fruits of the ground, -with each returning season, are prepared for our wants, and in that -preparation, every season, with its sunshine and its shade, its -dryness and its rain, its dews and its storms, is incessantly engaged. -All nature is occupied in the successful attempt to answer the initial -question, "What shall we eat? what shall we drink? and wherewithal -shall we be clothed?" The dress we wear brings innumerable animals -under tribute. "We have dominion over all sheep and oxen, yea, and the -beast of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and -whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea." Everything tells us -that, in this world, we are kings--"a little," only a little, "lower -than the angels"--the gods. Between man and the inferior animals there -is as great a distance as between the master and his slave;--nay more, -as between the artizan and his instruments. The irrational animal is -much nearer to the inanimate creation than to man since the end and -purpose of both is to minister to man. This world, therefore, was -manifestly made for us. Who ventures to doubt it? Least of all can it -be doubted by the discoverers of earth's profounder secrets. - -We are invited to look still further afield. This world, which is made -for us, is not independent or alone. It is in no sense self-sustained. -It is part of a wonderful and incomprehensible whole. Other great -creations concur in its maintenance. The sun enlightens, warms, and -fertilizes it. The moon and the stars exert manifold influences upon -it. The whole host of heaven has been brought into co-ordinate and -helpful relation to it--yes, _it_: the world which exists _for us_! -"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and -the stars which Thou hast ordained;" when I consider the manifold -bearings of Thy universe upon man--what _is_ man! What _must_ he be! -In certain aspects, indeed, apparently small; but, by all these -tokens, how great! We do not say that we are the only moral and -spiritual beings in the midst of so many worlds. We do not know, but -we may accept the probability that God has created beings capable of -adoring and loving Him everywhere. But we do say--and science combines -with Scripture to compel us to say--that these worlds have been in -part created for us, just as our world has been in part created for -them. This is clear. The most sceptical of men cannot venture to doubt -it; nor do they. It is only needful that we should carefully observe -in order to become convinced of this marvellous fact. - -So much, then, for what nature teaches. The psalmist sought to learn -the lesson, and it is right that we should seek to learn it too. - -This first step being taken, another follows. Man is an object of the -manifold agencies of myriads of worlds. He is so _as man_; and the -relative position he holds, intellectually, morally, or socially, to -his fellow men, has nothing to do with the fact. Nature ministers to -the Caffre and the Hottentot as truly as to the man of most advanced -civilization; the only difference being in the use which the two -opposite classes can make of nature. Why, then, should man refuse to -believe that he is an object of solicitous love to that God who -created him, who made him what he is, and who thus crowned him with -glory and honour? Why should he refuse to believe that God loves him -enough to send His Son to die for him, and thus to save him from the -wreck of his being through sin? Especially, why should he refuse to -believe this when he is assured of it by Him who testified that He was -that Son of God--by Jesus, the man _par excellence_, the God-man? Why -should it be doubted that man is an object of interest to angels, who -are said to rejoice over every sinner that repenteth? Why should it be -doubted that God has provided for him a fairer home than this, that -immortality and heaven are the things which God has in reserve for -him? Why should it be doubted that an everlasting salvation has been -provided for him through such a sacrifice as that of Christ? If sun, -moon, and stars have been made for the service of man, why should it -be hard to believe that God, who counts the stars, and calls them all -by their names, should also heal the broken in heart, and bind up -their wounds? - -The prospect of human destiny as opened up by Christianity is grand; -but not too grand to be ascribed to Him who created the universe, and -so arranged it that it should constitute one vast system of -ministration to us. When we see God thus working for man, we cannot be -surprised that angels should be glad to serve him too. Neither can we -wonder that the Son of God should come to save him. The wonder begins -with man's primary relation to the "all things," for our knowledge of -which we are not dependent upon revelation at all. Science teaches us -that; and revelation only endorses it. That is wonderful enough; but -accepting it as a fact, all that revelation teaches, but which science -could not have discovered, follows naturally enough. The facts of -revelation concerning man may be accepted the more implicitly because -they really have their basis in the facts of science. The whole is in -perfect harmony. The one and the other are both represented--and -consistently so--as concurring in the great cause of human happiness. - -Try now from the greatness of the means to estimate the greatness of -the end. Is eternal life too much for a being whom the worlds combine -to sustain, to feed, and to bless? Is a heaven of holiness and of love -too much for a being whom angels are delighted to protect? No! The -wonderful thing would be if, after having combined these vast and -various forces to maintain our earthly existence, an Almighty and -All-good God should for ever quench our life after its brief day upon -the earth! - -It may be objected that this is a low and selfish view to take of the -matter. It may be said that it is not the life of the individual, but -the life of the race that has to be considered; and that it is enough -for us to live, after we are gone, in the good remembrances of those -who will survive us, and to hope that what we are doing will advance -the interests of those who will follow us. An immortality such as this -is in reality no immortality at all. An unconscious immortality! A -public recognition of what we have been when we shall be no longer! A -public gratitude, which may at best be but precarious to those to whom -it is due, when they are believed to have dropped into nothingness and -thus to be no longer capable of receiving and enjoying it! A progress -merely confined to material interests! And who are sharing in it -to-day? The few who are strong enough to hold their own in the battle -of life! They, and only they! All this is supreme nonsense. The -aspirations of the heart are against it. If man's life ends here, it -was not worth while for him to be born. Millions, in that case, might -justly look up to God and say, "Remember how short my time is: -wherefore hast Thou made all men in vain?" - -Nevertheless, lest we should be exalted to pride and self-importance, -let us remember that the grandeur of our destiny is not determined and -measured by our merits, but by the immensity of the Divine goodness. -What have we which we have not received? And since we have received -it, why should we boast as if it were all of our own making? - -Ah, it is because Satan can compare our hopes with our rights, and can -help us to do so too, that he succeeds in injecting doubts into our -hearts. Our reply must be, that the eternal and blessed life which we -anticipate is not of _reward_, but of _grace_; not a payment, but a -gift--a gift in harmony with all God's other gifts, but still the -greatest gift of all; and that instead of inflating us with pride, it -may well place us at His feet in lowliest, devoutest thankfulness. By -sin we had forfeited all; but "where sin hath abounded, grace doth -much more abound." God loved the man whom He had created with such -power, and whom He had placed in so commanding a position; and because -He loved him, He resolved to provide a great redemption for him. - -What a ground have we here for hope! And what a plea for -evangelisation! - - - - -XVIII. - -_HEAVEN._ - -"Therefore are they before the throne of God."--Revelation vii. 15. - - -Let us think of Heaven this morning. The verses of which the text is a -fragment will help us to do so. - -The hope of heaven is the crowning hope of the Christian. It ought at -all times to be an important element in his joy. All the pleasant -things of earth should be made brighter by the reflected light of the -world beyond the grave. It is common, however, for us to live in a -sort of unconsciousness of this. Within proper limits this is not to -be complained of. For our duties are _here_, and we are not fitted for -there by "looking too eagerly beyond." Besides, earth is the -training-school for heaven, and unless we would enter into heaven as -into "a vast abrupt," obviously our present duty is by all means to -cultivate that life which shall fit us for it. - -There are, however, certain lulls in the rush of life which seem to -draw us to the contemplation of the future. We find them sometimes in -seasons of repose, but more especially in seasons of sorrow, and more -especially still in seasons of bereavement. - -I am not anxious to form an argument this morning. I have little -disposition to _argue_ about heaven. But I want to express some -thoughts, disjointed perhaps, but I trust suggestive, and each one -carrying its message to our weary hearts. - -What may we know? We often ask this question with hope that is -tremulous--or it may be with tremulousness that is hopeful. What may -we know? Certainly not all that we sometimes wish to know; but then we -sometimes wish to know things the knowledge of which would be useless, -or curious, or beyond our reach until we can see with tearless eyes, -and realise with sinless hearts. There are certain aspects under which -heaven seems to be altogether visionary. Where is it? We are not told. -What are the dimensions and outlines of it? We do not know. It is -described under a great variety of material figures. We read of its -gates of pearl, its walls of jasper, its streets of gold, its river of -the water of life, its tree of life; but we know that these -descriptions symbolise the spiritual. Not that they are mere riddles, -however. Some of their truth may be confidently guessed. There is one -important fact of which we cannot be in doubt. Heaven is the place in -which will be developed and perfected a certain character--certain -moral and spiritual qualifications. Heaven is where perfect goodness -is, just as on earth happiness is where godliness and Christlikeness -are. We may, therefore, put heaven where we will, and think about it -almost as we please, provided we put the right sort of character -there, and remember what sort of discipline here must prepare for it. -This is the essential point in the revelations of this book: "There -shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither -whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are -written in the Lamb's book of life." There _must_ be a heaven for the -good. - -I shall not stop to point out what a wreck our common Christianity -would be if there were no future life of blessedness for the -Christian. In contemplating such a possibility, the apostle Paul -exclaims: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all -men most miserable." _We_: for we have expected heaven; the fair -vision has been put before us as a great hope, and we lose in -proportion to what we thought we had gained. _We_: for we have -prepared for it, through a life--in many instances a _long_ life--of -self discipline, of loyalty to God, of the mortification of sin, of -the cultivation of goodness. _We_: for we have suffered for it, -sometimes directly through ills endured for Christ's sake, and always -indirectly by the sacrifice of that which the world distinctively -calls its own, and on which it sets its supreme regard. Our -Christianity has promised this heaven to us; and the promise has -enhanced many an earthly joy, and charmed away many an earthly sorrow. -No heaven? Then we have been shamefully deceived--miserably -disappointed; and there is no hope for us any more! But no! The words -of the great consolation are sounding still, and we can trust them: -"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in -me. In my Father's house are many mansions: _if it were not so, I -would have told you_. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and -prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto -myself; that where I am there ye may be also." - -It is one of the characteristic glories of the Bible that it meets the -renewed heart's desires in regard to the future, by revealing, not -only the fact of the future, but also some of its resplendent -mysteries; so that, after taking man through the several stages of his -progress on earth, it conducts him at last to the heaven of his hopes, -the home of the good. Perhaps no Scripture disclosure of Heaven is -more wonderful, more complete, more entrancing than the one we have in -the vision of the apostle John as recorded in the verses before us. -True, it is put before us, like the other revelations of this book, in -poetical and pictorial form. Nevertheless, the spiritual teaching is -sufficiently plain. Let us seek the help of that good Spirit by whom -John was inspired, whilst we try to learn something of that which is -revealed to us in this chapter. In the light of it we see an -innumerable multitude of persons who, having travelled this world in -trial and in sorrow, are now before the throne of God, safe in the -heaven of the redeemed. - -So we see, at the very beginning, that the Heaven which is here -presented to our view is no solitary place. It is not peopled merely -by a few. John says he saw "a great multitude whom no man could -number." In the Old Testament a similar phrase is used to denote -Israel, the representative of the Church of later times. The -numberless stars of heaven, and the sands on the seashore are the -parallels of the idea we find here. The Church on earth, sometimes not -unfitly described as "a garden walled around," and as "a little -flock," is not, in this sense, the representation of the Church in -heaven. We see, further, that the heavenly territory embraces the -representatives of every earthly human condition: they gather from all -ages and all climes of the world--from all "nations and kindreds, and -peoples, and tongues." In this great fact we have the basis of the -theory of our mission work, and our hope of its ultimate success. - -We see, again, that the relation of the saints to Christ in heaven is -essentially the same as that of the saints on earth. They stand before -the throne and before the Lamb, and cry with a loud voice: "Salvation -to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." - - They sing the Lamb in hymns above, - And we in hymns below. - -Self-confidence, self-righteousness, self-exaltation have no place -_there_. All the glory of salvation, all the glory of heaven, is due -to God and to the Lamb from first to last. Every step of the way, -right on to its termination, has been arranged by His wisdom and -accomplished by His grace. - -With these facts before us, there ought to be no strangeness connected -with our conception of Heaven. Its inhabitants are our friends -transferred, and the elements of its perfected life and joy are the -same as we are, in our measure, familiar with in the imperfect state -through which we are now passing. Perhaps the most comprehensive, and -most spiritually attractive and influential idea of it is that of -_entire satisfaction_. In this aspect of it, it meets the demands of -our experience, fulfils our hope, and draws us upward. Satisfaction! -How beautiful the thought! To the weary and the heavy laden it comes -as rest. To the aspiring it comes as a sphere of boundless -opportunity. To the sad and troubled, it is "a land of pure delight." -To those who groan under present spiritual short comings and -frailties, it is the home of the spirits of the just made perfect. We -are often staggered at the faults of Christians; they will be "without -fault" there. Here our faults dissociate us more or less from our -brethren; faultlessness there will make the union complete. Here -darkness, there light; here sowing, there the harvest; here a -wilderness, there the garden of the Lord. Heaven contains all our -ideals of the true, the beautiful and the good; and one day we shall -realise them! The description which we have before us warrants all -this, and much more. How much more? The redeemed in Heaven live a life -of immunity from suffering. No hunger; no thirst; no oppression from -the heat of the sun. No faintness; no pangs. John seems, from the form -of expression he uses, to have beheld them as they were "coming out of -great tribulation." Whatever may be the prophetic reference in these -words, we may understand them as having some meaning appropriate to -all the redeemed. All life, with its varied experience may be called -(and that too in no fanciful sense) a tribulation; in this sense at -least, that it is a probation, a trial, a testing-time in view of the -great awards of the future. From this all come, gradually, -successively, one by one, passing from the school of earth to the home -of heaven. Trial is the common discipline of the good, and it comes in -many forms;--sometimes in the form of bodily pain and sickness; -sometimes in the form of trouble, disappointment, loss in the -household and in the social circle; sometimes in the form of -persecution; often in the form of a struggle with temptation -springing up from within or from without; often, it may be, in the -form of conflict with doubt. Sorrow, trial, tribulation--from all this -the redeemed in heaven have emerged. But they have not only escaped -from evil; they have risen into a perfect blessedness--the blessedness -which comes from the satisfaction of every want. They not only hunger -no more, neither thirst any more; but the Lamb that is in the midst of -the throne feeds them, and leads them to living fountains of waters. -Their blessedness is all the richer because not only are all their -tears wiped away, but wiped away by the hand of infinite gentleness -and love--the hand of the Best Beloved in all the universe! Well may -they be glad! Well may they sing loud ecstatic songs of praise to -their Redeemer. Well may they serve Him day and night in His -temple--perfected powers rejoicing evermore in a perfect consecration. -They are a company living, dwelling, at the very centre of joy: no -care upon them, no labour weighing them down; their Lord in the midst -of them, their satisfaction complete. - -The contrast between their condition on earth and in heaven is full of -wonder to us as we muse upon it. How was the change wrought? What -must we learn concerning this from what is here revealed? - -They were prepared _here_ for the state beyond. The life of heaven is -the continuation and the result of the earthly life. "They washed -their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb," and they -"came up out of great tribulation." Here we have the process of the -cleansing, "the great tribulation" being comprehensive of the whole -discipline by which God purifies human souls. Here we have also the -purifying element, "the blood of the Lamb," the atoning power to wash -out all stains, the stimulating power to inspire to all holiness. And -we also have the final result--"white raiment." So, doctrinally, the -"robes" stand for the whole character, the tribulation for the process -of purification; "the blood of the Lamb," for the cleansing element in -its justifying and sanctifying effects. Their holiness is not merely -passive. There is a righteousness which is imputed; but there is also -a righteousness which is acquired--acquired in the might of the -Saviour, and through the influences of His Spirit. Those who do not -aspire to the latter have no hope from the former, except a hope which -must make them ashamed. But inasmuch as both aspects of salvation are -to be referred to the Lamb, they give to Him the glory. It is all His -from beginning to end. "They have washed their robes and made them -white in the blood of the Lamb." Thus their salvation was effected on -earth. Heaven has introduced no new moral element into their -condition. Heaven is essentially the full realisation of what a -Christian expects and hopes this side the grave. It is the inheritance -of the man who has the kingdom of God _within_ him. - -There is one part of the description which requires a little -explanation, and all the more so as it bears upon the aspects given to -us of heavenly blessedness. The redeemed are represented as standing -before the throne with palms in their hands. Many explain this by the -heathen use of the palm as the emblem of victory, and they quote the -declaration: "In all these things we are more than conquerors through -Him that loved us." I would rather, with some, refer this emblem to a -much sweeter and holier reminiscence. The figure seems to be taken -from the Feast of Tabernacles, which commemorated two things--God's -care for, and protection of, Israel during their wanderings in the -wilderness, and His continued Providence in the supply of the fruits -of the earth in their season. It was held at the close of the year's -out-door labours, and with it the season of rest began. And so with -the ransomed above, the troubles of the wilderness are ended, and the -harvest-home has come. - -Such is the heaven to which God has removed our dead. May we not with -thankfulness leave them there? Must we not feel that by death, they -have made a glorious exchange? In their case, it would be wrong to -call death by hard names. It is the message which comes to the child -at school to go home. I know that we often fail to apprehend this. -Bound by time and sense, we want to build our homes here, and our -structures have one after another to be overthrown that we may the -better learn to think of "the city which hath foundations, whose -builder and maker is God." Heaven is best seen by the graves of those -we have loved; and not till earth becomes poor to us is Heaven felt to -be rich. There our loved ones are in raiment white and clean, and they -are happy. Let it be our constant endeavour to rejoin them there. The -same blood still atones; the same all-holy Spirit still purifies; the -same process of trial leads to the same issue. For ourselves, we -should ever keep in mind the connection between discipline here and -glory hereafter. Present darkness may be interpreted by future light. -Even now, the sanctified effects of trial are such as to suggest to us -what its final issues will be. It subdues us, makes us gentle, reveals -us to ourselves, reveals God to us, spiritualises us; so that we may -well be more anxious to have our troubles blessed by God than to have -them taken away. As the discipline of earth is fashioning us for -heaven, so our conceptions of heaven are continually re-acting upon -us, and moulding our life. - -One thought more. The seer beholds the immense multitude of the -redeemed. The angel asks him who they are; but he does not know them. -Many of them perhaps are persons whom he had known on earth; but they -are so changed that he does not recognise them now. He used to know -them by their imperfect Christian virtues; but now they are "without -fault." And so they seem strange to him, just as sometimes even here -the transformations of virtue and of joy make us say of well-known -faces that we hardly recognise them again. A hint of this we often see -in the faces of the dead; so like, yet so unlike. Is there any doubt, -then, as to our recognising them at the last? None. We may, perhaps, -fail to identify them at once, but they will not be strangers to us -long. We shall look upon them with opened and purified eyes, and shall -know them, even as the disciples on the mount knew Moses and Elias, -notwithstanding the glory. Oh, it will be good for us to be there! -Good for us to remain there for ever! - -Read: "These are they who _are coming_"--not "who came." They began to -come with Abel; and the procession is not yet closed. Among the last -are those over the loss of whom we are weeping now. Let us brush away -our tears; for at least we may say to ourselves this-- - - One sweetly solemn thought - Comes to me o'er and o'er: - I'm nearer my home to-day - Than I've ever been before! - - Nearer my Father's house, - Where the many mansions be; - Nearer the great white Throne; - Nearer the jasper sea! - - Nearer the bound of life, - Where I lay my burden down! - Nearer leaving my cross! - Nearer wearing my crown! - - - - -Transcriber's Note - -Archaic and variable spelling is preserved as printed. - -The following typographic errors have been fixed: - - Page xiv--repeated 'not' deleted--... if it did not actually - reach, its maturity. - - Page 46--repeated 'in' deleted--Observe what in that case - must follow. - - Page 62--repeated 'are' deleted--... towards those who are - around us. - - Page 195--inmediate amended to immediate--... on the direct - and immediate control of God, ... - - Page 227--trimphant amended to triumphant--... furnishing a - triumphant and lasting reply ... - -The frontispiece has been moved to follow the title page. - -The illustration caption in {brackets} has been added by the transcriber -for the convenience of the reader. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Sermons, by Clement Bailhache - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SERMONS *** - -***** This file should be named 44053-8.txt or 44053-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/0/5/44053/ - -Produced by Sam W. and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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