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<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 62001 ***</div>
<p>Transcribed from the 1851 Hunt & Son edition by David
Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org</p>
<p style="text-align: center">
<a href="images/cover.jpg">
<img alt=
"Pamphlet cover"
title=
"Pamphlet cover"
src="images/cover.jpg" />
</a></p>
<h1>THE CROSS.</h1>
<div class="gapspace"> </div>
<div class="gapshortline"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center"><b>A TRACT FOR THE TIMES</b>.</p>
<div class="gapshortline"> </div>
<div class="gapspace"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">BY
THE</span><br />
<b>REV. J. C. RYLE, B.A.</b>,</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">CHRIST
CHURCH, OXFORD,</span><br />
RECTOR OF HELMINGHAM, SUFFOLK.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">Author of
“</span><span class="GutSmall"><span class="smcap">Living
or Dead</span></span><span class="GutSmall">?”</span><br />
<span class="GutSmall">“</span><span class="GutSmall"><span
class="smcap">Assurance</span></span><span
class="GutSmall">,” &c.</span></p>
<div class="gapspace"> </div>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“<i>By thy cross
and passion</i>, <i>good Lord deliver us</i>.”</p>
<p style="text-align: right">Liturgy of the Church of
England.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="gapspace"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center">IPSWICH:<br />
HUNT & SON, 12, TAVERN STREET.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">LONDON:<br />
WERTHEIM & MACINTOSH, 24, PATERNOSTER ROW;<br />
NISBET & Co., 21, BERNERS STREET.</p>
<div class="gapshortline"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center"><b>Price Two Shillings per
Dozen</b>.</p>
<div class="gapshortline"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center"><span
class="GutSmall">M.DCCC.LI.</span></p>
<div class="gapspace"> </div>
<blockquote><p><a name="page2"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
2</span>“Christ crucified and Christ glorified is all that
we are to study; the one we are to study as long as we are on
earth, and the other we shall be admitted to study when we get
well to heaven. * *</p>
<p>“That faith which is not built on a dying Christ is but
a perilous dream: God awaken all from it that are in
it!”—<span class="smcap">Robert Traill</span>.
1690.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2><a name="page3"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 3</span>THE
CROSS.</h2>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“<i>God forbid
that I should glory</i>, <i>save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ</i>.”—<i>Galat.</i> vi. 14.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><span class="smcap">Reader</span>,</p>
<p>What do you think and feel about the cross of Christ?
You live in a Christian land. You probably attend the
worship of a Christian Church. You have perhaps been
baptized in the name of Christ. You profess and call
yourself a Christian. All this is well. It is more
than can be said of millions in the world, But all this is no
answer to my question, “<i>What do you think and feel about
the cross of Christ</i>?”</p>
<p>I want to tell you what the greatest Christian that ever lived
thought of the cross of Christ. He has written down his
opinion. He has given his judgment in words that cannot be
mistaken. The man I mean is the Apostle Paul. The
place where you will find his opinion, is in the letter which the
Holy Ghost inspired him to write to the Galatians. And the
words in which his judgment is set down, are these, “God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”</p>
<p>Now what did Paul mean by saying this? He meant to
declare strongly, that he trusted in nothing but Jesus Christ
crucified for the pardon of his sins and the salvation of his
soul. Let others, if they would, look elsewhere for
salvation. Let others, if they were so disposed, trust in
other things for <a name="page4"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
4</span>pardon and peace. For his part the apostle was
determined to rest on nothing, lean on nothing, build his hope on
nothing, place confidence in nothing, glory in nothing, except
“the cross of Jesus Christ.”</p>
<p>Reader, let me talk to you about this subject. Believe
me it is one of the deepest importance. This is no mere
question of controversy. This is not one of those points on
which men may agree to differ, and feel that differences will not
shut them out of heaven. A man must be right on this
subject, or he is lost for ever. Heaven or hell, happiness
or misery, life or death, blessing or cursing in the last
day,—all hinges on the answer to this question, “What
do you think about the cross of Christ?”</p>
<p>I. Let me show you what the apostle Paul did not glory
in.</p>
<p>II. Let me explain to you what he did glory in.</p>
<p>III. Let me show you why all Christians should think and
feel about the cross like Paul.</p>
<div class="gapspace"> </div>
<p>I. <i>What did the apostle Paul not glory in</i>?</p>
<p>There are many things that Paul might have gloried in, if he
had thought as some do in this day. If ever there was one
on earth who had something to boast of in himself, that man was
the great apostle of the Gentiles. Now if he did not dare
to glory, who shall?</p>
<p>He never gloried <i>in his national privileges</i>. He
was a Jew by birth, and as he tells us himself,—“An
Hebrew of the Hebrews.” He might have said, like many
of his brethren, “I have Abraham for my forefather. I
am not a dark unenlightened <a name="page5"></a><span
class="pagenum">p. 5</span>heathen. I am one of the
favoured people of God. I have been admitted into covenant
with God by circumcision. I am a far better man than the
ignorant Gentiles.” But he never said so. He
never gloried in any thing of this kind. Never for one
moment!</p>
<p>He never gloried <i>in his own works</i>. None ever
worked so hard for God as he did. He was more abundant in
labours than any of the apostles. No living man ever
preached so much, travelled so much, and endured so many
hardships for Christ’s cause. None ever converted so
many souls, did so much good to the world, and made himself so
useful to mankind. No Father of the early church, no
Reformer, no Puritan, no Missionary, no Minister, no
Layman,—no one man could ever be named, who did so many
good works as the Apostle Paul. But did he ever glory in
them, as if they were in the least meritorious, and could save
his soul? Never! never for one moment!</p>
<p>He never gloried <i>in his knowledge</i>. He was a man
of great gifts naturally, and after he was converted the Holy
Spirit gave him greater gifts still. He was a mighty
preacher, and a mighty speaker, and a mighty writer. He was
as great with his pen as he was with his tongue. He could
reason equally well with Jews and Gentiles. He could argue
with infidels at Corinth, or Pharisees at Jerusalem, or
self-righteous people in Galatia. He knew many deep
things. He had been in the third heaven, and heard
unspeakable words. He had received the spirit of prophecy,
and could foretell things yet to come. But did he ever
glory in his knowledge, as if it could justify him before
God? Never! never! never for one moment!</p>
<p><a name="page6"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 6</span>He never
gloried <i>in his graces</i>. If ever there was one who
abounded in graces, that man was Paul. He was full of
love. How tenderly and affectionately he used to
write! He could feel for souls like a mother or a nurse
feeling for her child. He was a bold man. He cared
not whom he opposed when truth was at stake. He cared not
what risks he ran when souls were to be won. He was a
self-denying man,—in hunger and thirst often, in cold and
nakedness, in watchings and fastings. He was a humble
man. He thought himself less than the least of all saints,
and the chief of sinners. He was a prayerful man. See
how it comes out at the beginning of all his Epistles. He
was a thankful man. His thanksgivings and his prayers
walked side by side. But he never gloried in all this,
never valued himself on it, never rested his soul’s hopes
on it. Oh! no! never for a moment!</p>
<p>He never gloried <i>in his churchmanship</i>. If ever
there was a good churchman, that man was Paul. He was
himself a chosen apostle. He was a founder of churches, and
an ordainer of ministers. Timothy and Titus, and many
elders, received their first commission from his hands. He
was the beginner of services and sacraments in many a dark
place. Many a one did he baptize. Many a one did he
receive to the Lord’s table. Many a meeting for
prayer, and praise, and preaching, did he begin and carry
on. He was the setter up of discipline in many a young
church. Whatever ordinances and rules and ceremonies were
observed in them, were first recommended by him. But did he
ever glory in his office and church standing? Does he ever
speak as if his churchmanship <a name="page7"></a><span
class="pagenum">p. 7</span>would save him, justify him, put away
his sins, and make him acceptable before God? Oh! no!
never! never! never for a moment!</p>
<p>And now, reader, mark what I say. If the apostle Paul
never gloried in any of these things, who in all the world, from
one end to the other, who has any right to glory in them in our
day? If Paul said, God forbid that I should glory in
anything whatever except the cross, who shall dare to say
“I have something to glory of,—I am a better man than
Paul?”</p>
<p>Who is there among the readers of this tract, that trusts in
any goodness of his own? Who is there that is resting on
his own amendments, his own morality, his own performances of any
kind whatever? Who is there that is leaning the weight of
his soul on anything whatever of his own in the smallest possible
degree? Learn, I say, that you are very unlike the apostle
Paul. Learn that your religion is <i>not apostolical
religion</i>.</p>
<p>Who is there among the readers of this tract that trusts in
his churchmanship for salvation? Who is there that is
valuing himself on his baptism, or his attendance at the
Lord’s table,—his church going on Sundays, or his
daily services during the week,—and saying to himself, What
lack I yet? Learn, I say, this day, that you are very
unlike Paul. Your Christianity is <i>not the Christianity
of the New Testament</i>. Paul would not glory in anything
but the cross. Neither ought you.</p>
<p>Oh! reader, beware of self-righteousness. Open sin kills
its thousands of souls. Self-righteousness kills its tens
of thousands. Go and study humility with the great apostle
of the Gentiles. <a name="page8"></a><span
class="pagenum">p. 8</span>Go and sit with Paul at the foot of
the cross. Give up your secret pride. Cast away your
vain ideas of your own goodness. Be thankful if you have
grace, but never glory in it for a moment. Work for God and
Christ with heart and soul and mind and strength, but never dream
for a second of placing confidence in any work of your own.</p>
<p>Think, you who take comfort in some fancied ideas of your own
goodness,—think, you who wrap up yourselves in the notion,
“all must be right, if I keep to my
church,”—think for a moment what a sandy foundation
you are building upon! Think for a moment how miserably
defective your hopes and pleas will look in the hour of death,
and in the day of judgment! Whatever men may say of their
own goodness while they are strong and healthy, they will find
but little to say of it, when they are sick and dying.
Whatever merit they may see in their own works here in this
world, they will discover none in them when they stand before the
bar of Christ. The light of that great day of assize will
make a wonderful difference in the appearance of all their
doings. It will strip off the tinsel, shrivel up the
complexion, expose the rottenness, of many a deed that is now
called good. Their wheat will prove nothing but
chaff. Their gold will be found nothing but dross.
Millions of so-called Christian actions, will turn out to have
been utterly defective and graceless. They passed current,
and were valued among men. They will prove light and
worthless in the balance of God. They will be found to have
been like the whitened sepulchres of old, fair and beautiful
without, but full of corruption within. Alas! for the man
who can look <a name="page9"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
9</span>forward to the day of judgment, and lean his soul in the
smallest degree on anything of his own! <a
name="citation9"></a><a href="#footnote9"
class="citation">[9]</a></p>
<p>Reader, once more I say, beware of self-righteousness in every
possible shape and form. Some people get as much harm from
their fancied virtues as others do from their sins. Take
heed, lest you be one. Rest not, rest not till your heart
beats in tune with St. Paul’s. Rest not till you can
say with him, “God forbid that I should glory in anything
but the cross.”</p>
<div class="gapspace"> </div>
<p>II. Let me explain, in the second place, <i>what you are
to understand by the cross of Christ</i>.</p>
<p>The cross is an expression that is used in more than one
meaning in the Bible. What did St. Paul mean when he said,
“I glory in the cross of Christ,” in the Epistle to
the Galatians? This is the point I now wish to make
clear.</p>
<p>The cross sometimes means that wooden cross, on which the Lord
Jesus was nailed and put to death on Mount Calvary. This is
what St. Paul had in his mind’s eye, when he told the
Philippians that Christ “became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross.” (Phil. ii. 8.) This <a
name="page10"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 10</span>is not the
cross in which St. Paul gloried. He would have shrunk with
horror from the idea of glorying in a mere piece of wood. I
have no doubt he would have denounced the Roman Catholic
adoration of the crucifix, as profane, blasphemous, and
idolatrous.</p>
<p>The cross sometimes means the afflictions and trials which
believers in Christ have to go through if they follow Christ
faithfully, for their religion’s sake. This is the
sense in which our Lord uses the word when He says, “He
that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, cannot be my
disciple.” (Matt. x. 38.) This also is not the sense
in which Paul uses the word when he writes to the
Galatians. He knew that cross well. He carried it
patiently. But he is not speaking of it here.</p>
<p>But the cross also means in some places the doctrine that
Christ died for sinners upon the cross,—the atonement that
He made for sinners, by His suffering for them on the
cross,—the complete and perfect sacrifice for sin which He
offered up, when He gave His own body to be crucified. In
short this one word, “the cross,” stands for Christ
crucified, the only Saviour. This is the meaning in which
Paul uses the expression, when he tells the Corinthians,
“the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness.” (1 Cor. i. 18.) This is the meaning in
which he wrote to the Galatians, “God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross.” He simply meant, “I
glory in nothing but Christ crucified, as the salvation of my
soul.” <a name="citation10"></a><a href="#footnote10"
class="citation">[10]</a></p>
<p><a name="page11"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 11</span>Reader,
Jesus Christ crucified was the joy and delight, the comfort and
the peace, the hope and the confidence, the foundation and the
resting-place, the ark and the refuge, the food and the medicine
of Paul’s soul. He did not think of what he had done
himself, and suffered himself. He did not meditate on his
own goodness, and his own righteousness. He loved to think
of what Christ had done, and Christ had suffered,—of the
death of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, the atonement of
Christ, the blood of Christ, the finished work of Christ.
In this he did glory. This was the sun of his soul.</p>
<p>This is the subject he <i>loved to preach about</i>. He
was a man who went to and fro on the earth, proclaiming to
sinners that the Son of God had shed His own heart’s blood
to save their souls. He walked up and down the world
telling people that Jesus Christ had loved them, and died for
their sins upon the cross. Mark how he says to the
Corinthians, “I delivered unto you first of all that which
I also received, how that Christ died for our sins.” (1
Cor. xv. 3.) “I determined not to know anything among
you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor. ii.
2.) He, a blaspheming, persecuting Pharisee, had been
washed <a name="page12"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 12</span>in
Christ’s blood. He could not hold his peace about
it. He was never weary of telling the story of the
cross.</p>
<p>This is the subject he <i>loved to dwell upon when he
wrote</i> to believers. It is wonderful to observe how full
his epistles generally are of the sufferings and death of
Christ,—how they run over with “thoughts that
breathe, and words that burn” about Christ’s dying
love and power. His heart seems full of the subject.
He enlarges on it constantly. He returns to it
continually. It is the golden thread that runs through all
his doctrinal teaching and practical exhortations. He seems
to think that the most advanced Christian can never hear too much
about the cross. <a name="citation12"></a><a href="#footnote12"
class="citation">[12]</a></p>
<p>This is what <i>he lived upon</i> all his life, from the time
of his conversion. He tells the Galatians, “The life
that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galat. ii.
20.) What made him so strong to labour? What made him
so willing to work? What made him so unwearied in
endeavours to save some? What made him so persevering and
patient? I will tell you the secret of it all. He was
always feeding by faith on Christ’s body and Christ’s
blood. Jesus crucified was the meat and drink of his
soul.</p>
<p>And, reader, you may rest assured that Paul was right.
Depend upon it, the cross of Christ,—the death of Christ on
the cross to make atonement for sinners,—is the centre
truth in the whole <a name="page13"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
13</span>Bible. This is the truth we begin with when we
open Genesis. The seed of the woman bruising the
serpent’s head is nothing else but a prophecy of Christ
crucified. This is the truth that shines out, though
veiled, all through the law of Moses and the history of the
Jews. The daily sacrifice, the passover lamb, the continual
shedding of blood in the tabernacle and temple,—all these
were emblems of Christ crucified. This is the truth that we
see honoured in the vision of heaven before we close the book of
Revelation. “In the midst of the throne and of the
four beasts,” we are told, “and in the midst of the
elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain.” (Rev. v.
6.) Even in the midst of heavenly glory we get a view of
Christ crucified. Take away the cross of Christ, and the
Bible is a dark book. It is like the Egyptian
hieroglyphics, without the key that interprets their
meaning,—curious and wonderful, but of no real use.</p>
<p>Reader, mark what I say. You may know a good deal about
the Bible. You may know the outlines of the histories it
contains, and the dates of the events described, just as a man
knows the history of England. You may know the names of the
men and women mentioned in it, just as a man knows Cæsar,
Alexander the Great, or Napoleon. You may know the several
precepts of the Bible, and admire them, just as a man admires
Plato, Aristotle, or Seneca. But if you have not yet found
out that Christ crucified is the foundation of the whole volume,
you have read your Bible hitherto to very little profit.
Your religion is a heaven without a sun, an arch without a
keystone, a compass without a needle, a clock without <a
name="page14"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 14</span>spring or
weights, a lamp without oil. It will not comfort you.
It will not deliver your soul from hell.</p>
<p>Reader, mark what I say again. You may know a good deal
about Christ, by a kind of head knowledge. You may know who
He was, and where He was born, and what He did. You may
know His miracles, His sayings, His prophecies, and His
ordinances. You may know how He lived, and how He suffered,
and how He died. But unless you know the power of
Christ’s cross by experience,—unless you know and
feel within that the blood shed on that cross has washed away
your own particular sins,—unless you are willing to confess
that your salvation depends entirely on the work that Christ did
upon the cross,—unless this be the case, Christ will profit
you nothing. The mere knowing Christ’s name will
never save you. You must know His cross, and his blood, or
else you will die in your sins. <a name="citation14"></a><a
href="#footnote14" class="citation">[14]</a></p>
<p>Reader, as long as you live, <i>beware of a religion in which
there is not much of the cross</i>. You live in times when
the warning is sadly needful. Beware, I say again, of a
religion without the cross.</p>
<p>There are hundreds of places of worship, in this day, in which
there is every thing almost except the cross. There is
carved oak, and sculptured stone. There is stained glass
and brilliant painting. There are solemn services, and a
constant round of ordinances. But the real cross of Christ
is not there. <a name="page15"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
15</span>Jesus crucified is not proclaimed in the pulpit.
The Lamb of God is not lifted up, and salvation by faith in Him
is not freely proclaimed. And hence all is wrong.
Reader, beware of such places of worship. They are <i>not
apostolical</i>. They would not have satisfied St. Paul. <a
name="citation15"></a><a href="#footnote15"
class="citation">[15]</a></p>
<p>There are thousands of religious books published in our times,
in which there is everything except the cross. They are
full of directions about sacraments, and praises of the
church. They abound in exhortations about holy living, and
rules for the attainment of perfection. They have plenty of
fonts and crosses both inside and outside. But the real
cross of Christ is left out. The Saviour and His dying love
are either not mentioned, or mentioned in an unscriptural
way. And hence they are worse than useless. Reader,
beware of such books. They are <i>not
apostolical</i>. They would never have satisfied St.
Paul.</p>
<p>Reader, St. Paul gloried in nothing but the cross.
Strive to be like him. Set Jesus crucified fully before the
eyes of your soul. Listen not to any teaching which would
interpose anything between you and Him. Do not fall into
the old Galatian error. Think not that any one in this day
is a better guide than the apostles. Do not be ashamed of
the old paths, in which men walked who were inspired by the Holy
Ghost. Let not the vague talk of men who speak great
swelling words about catholicity, and the church, and the
ministry, disturb your peace, and make you loose your hands from
the cross. Churches, ministers, <a name="page16"></a><span
class="pagenum">p. 16</span>and sacraments, are all useful in
their way, but they are not Christ crucified. Do not give
Christ’s honour to another. “He that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord.”</p>
<div class="gapspace"> </div>
<p>III. Let me shew you <i>why all Christians ought to
glory in the cross of Christ</i>.</p>
<p>I feel that I must say something on this point, because of the
ignorance that prevails about it. I suspect that many see
no peculiar glory and beauty in the subject of Christ’s
cross. On the contrary, they think it painful, humbling,
and degrading. They do not see much profit in the story of
His death and sufferings. They rather turn from it as an
unpleasant thing.</p>
<p>Now I believe that such persons are quite wrong. I
cannot hold with them. I believe it is an excellent thing
for us all to be continually dwelling on the cross of
Christ. It is a good thing to be often reminded how Jesus
was betrayed into the hands of wicked men,—how they
condemned Him with most unjust judgment,—how they spit on
Him, scourged Him, beat Him, and crowned Him with
thorns,—how they led Him forth as a lamb to the slaughter,
without His murmuring or resisting,—how they drove the
nails through His hands and feet, and set Him up on Calvary
between two thieves,—how they pierced His side with a
spear, mocked Him in His sufferings, and let Him hang there naked
and bleeding till He died. Of all these things, I say, it
is good to be reminded. It is not for nothing that the
crucifixion is described four times over in the New
Testament. There are very few things that all the four
writers of the Gospel describe. Generally speaking, if <a
name="page17"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 17</span>Matthew,
Mark, and Luke tell a thing in our Lord’s history, John
does not tell it. But there is one thing that all the four
give us most fully, and that one thing is the story of the
cross. This is a telling fact, and not to be
overlooked.</p>
<p>People seem to me to forget that all Christ’s sufferings
on the cross were <i>fore-ordained</i>. They did not come
on Him by chance or accident. They were all planned,
counselled, and determined from all eternity. The cross was
foreseen in all the provisions of the everlasting Trinity, for
the salvation of sinners. In the purposes of God the cross
was set up from everlasting. Not one throb of pain did
Jesus feel, not one precious drop of blood did Jesus shed, which
had not been appointed long ago. Infinite wisdom planned
that redemption should be by the cross. Infinite wisdom
brought Jesus to the cross in due time. He was crucified by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.</p>
<p>People seem to me to forget that all Christ’s sufferings
on the cross were <i>necessary for man’s
salvation</i>. He had to bear our sins, if ever they were
to be borne at all. With His stripes alone could we be
healed. This was the one payment of our debt that God would
accept. This was the great sacrifice on which our eternal
life depended. If Christ had not gone to the cross and
suffered in our stead, the just for the unjust, there would not
have been a spark of hope for us. There would have been a
mighty gulf between ourselves and God, which no man ever could
have passed. <a name="citation17"></a><a href="#footnote17"
class="citation">[17]</a></p>
<p><a name="page18"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 18</span>People
seem to me to forget that all Christ’s sufferings were
endured <i>voluntarily</i> and of His own free will. He was
under no compulsion. Of His own choice He laid down His
life. Of His own choice He went to the cross to finish the
work He came to do. He might easily have summoned legions
of angels with a word, and scattered Pilate and Herod and all
their armies, like chaff before the wind. But He was a
willing sufferer. His heart was set on the salvation of
sinners. He was resolved to open a fountain for all sin and
uncleanness, by shedding His own blood.</p>
<p>Reader, when I think of all this, I see nothing painful or
disagreeable in the subject of Christ’s cross. On the
contrary, I see in it wisdom and power, peace and hope, joy and
gladness, comfort and consolation. The more I keep the
cross in my mind’s eye, the more fulness I seem to discern
in it. The longer I dwell on the cross in my thoughts, the
more I am satisfied that there is more to be learned at the foot
of the cross than anywhere else in the world.</p>
<p>Would I know the length and breadth of <i>God the
Father’s love</i> towards a sinful world? Where shall
I see it most displayed? Shall I look at His glorious sun
shining down daily on the unthankful and evil? Shall I look
at seed time and harvest returning in regular yearly
succession? Oh! no! I can find a stronger proof of love
than anything of this sort. I look at the cross of
Christ. I see in it not the cause of the Father’s
love, but the effect. There I see that God so loved <a
name="page19"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 19</span>this wicked
world, that He gave His only begotten Son,—gave Him to
suffer and die,—that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have eternal life. I know that the Father loves
us because He did not withhold from us His Son, His only
Son. Ah! reader, I might sometimes fancy that God the
Father is too high and holy to care for such miserable, corrupt
creatures as we are. But I cannot, must not, dare not think
it, when I look at the cross of Christ. <a
name="citation19"></a><a href="#footnote19"
class="citation">[19]</a></p>
<p>Would I know how exceeding <i>sinful and abominable sin is</i>
in the sight of God? Where shall I see that most fully
brought out? Shall I turn to the history of the flood, and
read how sin drowned the world? Shall I go to the shore of
the Dead Sea, and mark what sin brought on Sodom and
Gomorrah? Shall I turn to the wandering Jews, and observe
how sin has scattered them over the face of the earth? No!
I can find a clearer proof still. I look at the cross of
Christ. There I see that sin is so black and damnable, that
nothing but the blood of God’s own Son can wash it
away. There I see that sin has so separated me from my holy
Maker, that all the angels in heaven could never have made peace
between us. Nothing could reconcile us short of the death
of Christ. Ah! if I listened to the wretched talk of proud
men, I might sometimes fancy sin was not <a
name="page20"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 20</span>so very
sinful. But I cannot think little of sin, when I look at
the cross of Christ. <a name="citation20"></a><a
href="#footnote20" class="citation">[20]</a></p>
<p>Would I know the <i>fulness and completeness of the
salvation</i> God has provided for sinners? Where shall I
see it most distinctly? Shall I go to the general
declarations in the Bible about God’s mercy? Shall I
rest in the general truth that God is a God of love? Oh!
no! I will look at the cross of Christ. I find no evidence
like that. I find no balm for a sore conscience, and a
troubled heart, like the sight of Jesus dying for me on the
accursed tree. There I see that a full payment has been
made for all my enormous debts. The curse of that law which
I have broken has come down on One who there suffered in my
stead. The demands of that law are all satisfied.
Payment has been made for me, even to the uttermost
farthing. It will not be required twice over.
Ah! I might sometimes imagine I was too bad to be
forgiven. My own heart sometimes whispers that I am too
wicked to be saved. But I know in my better moments this is
all my foolish unbelief. I read an answer to my doubts in
the blood shed on Calvary. I feel sure that there is a way
to heaven for the very vilest of men, when I look at the
cross.</p>
<p>Would I find strong <i>reasons for being a holy man</i>?
Whither shall I turn for them? Shall I listen to the ten
commandments merely? Shall I study the examples given me in
the Bible of what grace can do? Shall I meditate on the
rewards of heaven, and the punishments of hell? Is there <a
name="page21"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 21</span>no stronger
motive still? Yes! I will look at the cross of
Christ. There I see the love of Christ constraining me to
live not unto myself, but unto Him. There I see that I am
not my own now;—I am bought with a price. I am bound
by the most solemn obligations to glorify Jesus with body and
spirit, which are His. There I see that Jesus gave Himself
for me, not only to redeem me from all iniquity, but also to
purify me and make me one of a peculiar people, zealous of good
works. He bore my sins in His own body on the tree, that I
being dead unto sin should live unto righteousness. Ah!
reader, there is nothing so sanctifying as a clear view of the
cross of Christ! It crucifies the world unto us, and us
unto the world. How can we love sin when we remember that
because of our sins Jesus died? Surely none ought to be so
holy as the disciples of a crucified Lord.</p>
<p>Would I <i>learn how to be contented and cheerful</i> under
all the cares and anxieties of life? What school shall I go
to? How shall I attain this state of mind most
easily? Shall I look at the sovereignty of God, the wisdom
of God, the providence of God, the love of God? It is well
to do so. But I have a better argument still. I will
look at the cross of Christ. I feel that He who spared not
His only begotten Son, but delivered Him up to die for me, will
surely with Him give me all things that I really need. He
that endured that pain for my soul, will surely not withhold from
me anything that is really good. He that has done the
greater things for me, will doubtless do the lesser things
also. He that gave His own blood to procure me a home, will
unquestionably <a name="page22"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
22</span>supply me with all really profitable for me by the
way. Ah! reader, there is no school for learning
contentment that can be compared with the foot of the cross.</p>
<p>Would I gather <i>arguments for hoping that I shall never be
cast away</i>? Where shall I go to find them? Shall I
look at my own graces and gifts? Shall I take comfort in my
own faith, and love, and penitence, and zeal, and prayer?
Shall I turn to my own heart, and say, “this same heart
will never be false and cold?” Oh! no! God
forbid! I will look at the cross of Christ. This is
my grand argument. This is my main stay. I cannot
think that He who went through such sufferings to redeem my soul,
will let that soul perish after all, when it has once cast itself
on Him. Oh! no! what Jesus paid for, Jesus will surely
keep. He paid dearly for it. He will not let it
easily be lost. He died for me when I was yet a dark
sinner. He will never forsake me after I have
believed. Ah! reader, when Satan tempts you to doubt
whether Christ’s people will be kept from falling, you
should tell Satan to look at the cross. <a
name="citation22"></a><a href="#footnote22"
class="citation">[22]</a></p>
<p>And now, reader, will you marvel that I said all Christians
ought to glory in the cross? Will you not rather wonder
that any can hear of the cross and remain unmoved? I
declare I know no greater proof of man’s depravity, than
the fact that thousands of so-called Christians see nothing <a
name="page23"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 23</span>in the
cross. Well may our hearts be called stony,—well may
the eyes of our mind be called blind,—well may our whole
nature be called diseased—well may we all be called dead,
when the cross of Christ is heard of, and yet neglected.
Surely we may take up the words of the prophet, and say,
“Hear O heavens, and be astonished O earth; a wonderful and
a horrible thing is done,”—Christ was crucified for
sinners, and yet many Christians live as if He was never
crucified at all!</p>
<p>Reader, the cross is <i>the grand peculiarity of the Christian
religion</i>. Other religions have laws and moral
precepts,—forms and ceremonies,—rewards and
punishments. But other religions cannot tell us of a dying
Saviour. They cannot show us the cross. This is the
crown and glory of the Gospel. This is that special comfort
which belongs to it alone. Miserable indeed is that
religious teaching which calls itself Christian, and yet contains
nothing of the cross. A man who teaches in this way, might
as well profess to explain the solar system, and yet tell his
hearers nothing about the sun.</p>
<p>The cross is <i>the strength of a minister</i>. I for
one would not be without it for all the world. I should
feel like a soldier without arms,—like an artist without
his pencil,—like a pilot without his compass,—like a
labourer without his tools. Let others, if they will,
preach the law and morality. Let others hold forth the
terrors of hell, and the joys of heaven. Let others drench
their congregations with teachings about the sacraments and the
church. Give me the cross of Christ. This is the only
lever which has ever turned the world upside down hitherto, and
made men forsake their <a name="page24"></a><span
class="pagenum">p. 24</span>sins. And if this will not,
nothing will. A man may begin preaching with a perfect
knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. But he will do
little or no good among his hearers unless he knows something of
the cross. Never was there a minister who did much for the
conversion of souls who did not dwell much on Christ
crucified. Luther, Rutherford, Whitefield, M’Cheyne
were all most eminently preachers of the cross. This is the
preaching that the Holy Ghost delights to bless. He loves
to honour those who honour the cross.</p>
<p>The cross is <i>the secret of all missionary
success</i>. Nothing but this has ever moved the hearts of
the heathen. Just according as this has been lifted up
missions have prospered. This is the weapon that has won
victories over hearts of every kind, in every quarter of the
globe. Greenlanders, Africans, South-Sea Islanders,
Hindoos, Chinese, all have alike felt its power. Just as
that huge iron tube which crosses the Menai Straits, is more
affected and bent by half an hour’s sunshine than by all
the dead weight that can be placed in it, so in like manner the
hearts of savages have melted before the cross when every other
argument seemed to move them no more than stones.
“Brethren,” said a North American Indian, after his
conversion, “I have been a heathen. I know how
heathens think. Once a preacher came and began to explain
to us that there was a God; but we told him to return to the
place from whence he came. Another preacher came and told
us not to lie, nor steal, nor drink; but we did not heed
him. At last another came into my hut one day and said,
‘I am come to you in the name of the Lord of heaven and
earth. He sends to let you know that He will make you <a
name="page25"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 25</span>happy, and
deliver you from misery. For this end He became a man, gave
his life a ransom, and shed his blood for sinners.’ I
could not forget his words. I told them to the other
Indians, and an awakening begun among us. I say therefore,
preach the sufferings and death of Christ, our Saviour, if you
wish your words to gain entrance among the heathen.”
Never indeed did the devil triumph so thoroughly, as when he
persuaded the Jesuit missionaries in China to keep back the story
of the cross!</p>
<p>The cross is <i>the foundation of a church’s
prosperity</i>. No church will ever be honoured in which
Christ crucified is not continually lifted up. Nothing
whatever can make up for the want of the cross. Without it
all things may be done decently and in order. Without it
there may be splendid ceremonies, beautiful music, gorgeous
churches, learned ministers, crowded communion tables, huge
collections for the poor. But without the cross no good
will be done. Dark hearts will not be enlightened.
Proud hearts will not be humbled. Mourning hearts will not
be comforted. Fainting hearts will not be cheered.
Sermons about the Catholic Church and an apostolic
ministry,—sermons about baptism and the Lord’s
supper,—sermons about unity and schism,—sermons about
fasts and communion,—sermons about fathers and
saints,—such sermons will never make up for the absence of
sermons about the cross of Christ. They may amuse
some. They will feed none. A gorgeous banquetting
room and splendid gold plate on the table will never make up to a
hungry man for the want of food. Christ crucified is
God’s grand ordinance for doing good to men. Whenever
a church <a name="page26"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
26</span>keeps back Christ crucified, or puts anything whatever
in that foremost place which Christ crucified should always have,
from that moment a church ceases to be useful. Without
Christ crucified in her pulpits, a church is little better than a
cumberer of the ground, a dead carcase, a well without water, a
barren fig tree, a sleeping watchman, a silent trumpet, a dumb
witness, an ambassador without terms of peace, a messenger
without tidings, a lighthouse without fire, a stumbling-block to
weak believers, a comfort to infidels, a hot-bed for formalism, a
joy to the devil, and an offence to God.</p>
<p>The cross is <i>the grand centre of union</i> among true
Christians. Our outward differences are many without
doubt. One man is an Episcopalian, another is a
Presbyterian,—one is an Independent, another a
Baptist,—one is a Calvinist, another an Arminian,—one
is a Lutheran, another a Plymouth brother,—one is a friend
to establishments, another a friend to the voluntary
system,—one is a friend to liturgies, another a friend to
extempore prayer. But after all, what shall we hear about
most of these differences in heaven? Nothing most probably:
nothing at all. <i>Does a man really and sincerely glory in
the cross of Christ</i>? That is the grand question.
If he does, he is my brother;—we are travelling in the same
road. We are journeying towards a home where Christ is all,
and everything outward in religion will be forgotten. But
if he does not glory in the cross of Christ, I cannot feel
comfort about him. Union on outward points only is union
only for time.—Union about the cross is union for
eternity. Error on outward points is only a skin-deep
disease. Error about the cross <a name="page27"></a><span
class="pagenum">p. 27</span>is disease at the heart. Union
about outward points is a mere man-made union. Union about
the cross of Christ can only be produced by the Holy Ghost.</p>
<p>Reader, I know not what you think of all this. I feel as
if I had said nothing compared to what might be said. I
feel as if the half of what I desire to tell you about the cross
were left untold. But I do hope that I have given you
something to think about. I do trust that I have shown you
that I have reason for the question with which I began this
tract, “What do you think and feel about the cross of
Christ?” Listen to me now for a few moments, while I
say something to apply the whole subject to your conscience.</p>
<p><i>Are you living in any kind of sin</i>? Are you
following the course of this world, and neglecting your
soul? Hear, I beseech you what I say to you this day:
“Behold the cross of Christ.” See there how
Jesus loved you! See there what Jesus suffered to prepare
for you a way of salvation! Yes! careless men and women,
for you that blood was shed! For you those hands and feet
were pierced with nails! For you that body hung in agony on
the cross! You are those whom Jesus loved, and for whom He
died! Surely that love ought to melt you. Surely the
thought of the cross should draw you to repentance. Oh!
that it might be so this very day. Oh! that you would come
at once to that Saviour who died for you and is willing to
save. Come and cry to Him with the prayer of faith, and I
know that He will listen. Come and lay hold upon the cross,
and I know that He will not cast you out. Come and believe
on Him who died on the cross, and this <a name="page28"></a><span
class="pagenum">p. 28</span>very day you shall have eternal
life. How will you ever escape if you neglect so great
salvation? None surely will be so deep in hell as those who
despise the cross!</p>
<p><i>Are you inquiring the way toward heaven</i>? Are you
seeking salvation but doubtful whether you can find it? Are
you desiring to have an interest in Christ but doubting whether
Christ will receive you? To you also I say this day,
“Behold the cross of Christ.” Here is
encouragement if you really want it. Draw near to the Lord
Jesus with boldness, for nothing need keep you back. His
arms are open to receive you. His heart is full of love
towards you. He has made a way by which you may approach
Him with confidence. Think of the cross. Draw near,
and fear not.</p>
<p><i>Are you an unlearned man</i>? Are you desirous to get
to heaven and yet perplexed and brought to a stand-still by
difficulties in the Bible which you cannot explain? To you
also I say this day, “Behold the cross of
Christ.” Read there the Father’s love and the
Son’s compassion. Surely they are written in great
plain letters, which none can well mistake. What though you
are now perplexed by the doctrine of election? What though
at present you cannot reconcile your own utter corruption and
your own responsibility? Look, I say, at the cross.
Does not that cross tell you that Jesus is a mighty, loving,
ready Saviour? Does it not make one thing plain, and that
is that if not saved it is all your own fault? Oh! get hold
of that truth, and hold it fast.</p>
<p><i>Are you a distressed believer</i>? Is your heart
pressed down with sickness, tired with disappointments,
overburdened with cares? To you also I <a
name="page29"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 29</span>say this day,
“Behold the cross of Christ.” Think whose hand
it is that chastens you. Think whose hand is measuring to
you the cup of bitterness which you are now drinking. It is
the hand of Him that was crucified. It is the same hand
that in love to your soul was nailed to the accursed tree.
Surely that thought should comfort and hearten you. Surely
you should say to yourself, “A crucified Saviour will never
lay upon me anything that is not for my good. There is a
needs be. It must be well.”</p>
<p><i>Are you a believer that longs to be more holy</i>?
Are you one that finds his heart too ready to love earthly
things? To you also I say, “Behold the cross of
Christ.” Look at the cross. Think of the
cross. Meditate on the cross, and then go and set
affections on the world if you can. I believe that holiness
is nowhere learned so well as on Calvary. I believe you
cannot look much at the cross without feeling your will
sanctified, and your tastes made more spiritual. As the sun
gazed upon makes everything else look dark and dim, so does the
cross darken the false splendour of this world. As honey
tasted makes all other things seem to have no taste at all, so
does the cross seen by faith take all the sweetness out of the
pleasures of the world. Keep on every day steadily looking
at the cross of Christ, and you will soon say of the world as the
poet does,—</p>
<p class="poetry">Its pleasures now no longer please,<br />
No more content afford;<br />
Far from my heart be joys like these,<br />
Now I have seen the Lord.</p>
<p class="poetry">As by the light of opening day<br />
The stars are all conceal’d.<br />
So earthly pleasures fade away<br />
When Jesus is reveal’d.</p>
<p><a name="page30"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 30</span><i>Are
you a dying believer</i>? Have you gone to that bed from
which something within tells you you will never come down
alive? Are you drawing near to that solemn hour when soul
and body must part for a season, and you must launch into a world
unknown? Oh! look steadily at the cross of Christ, and you
shall be kept in peace. Fix the eyes of your mind firmly on
Jesus crucified, and He shall deliver you from all your
fears. Though you walk through dark places, He will be with
you. He will never leave you, never forsake you. Sit
under the shadow of the cross to the very last, and its fruit
shall be sweet to your taste. “Ah!” said a
dying missionary, “there is but one thing needful on a
death-bed, and that is to feel one’s arms round the
cross.”</p>
<p>Reader, I lay these thoughts before your mind. What you
think now about the cross of Christ I cannot tell; but I can wish
you nothing better than this, that you may be able to say with
the apostle Paul, before you die or meet the Lord, “God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”</p>
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<h2>FOOTNOTES.</h2>
<p><a name="footnote9"></a><a href="#citation9"
class="footnote">[9]</a> “Howsoever men when they sit
at ease, do vainly tickle their own hearts with the wanton
conceit of I know not what proportionable correspondence between
their merits and their rewards, which in the trance of their high
speculations, they dream that God hath measured and laid up as it
were in bundles for them;—we see notwithstanding by daily
experience in a number even of them, that when the hour of death
approacheth, when they secretly hear themselves summoned to
appear and stand at the bar of that Judge, whose brightness
causeth the eyes of angels themselves to dazzle, all those idle
imaginations do then begin to hide their faces. To name
merits then is to lay their souls upon the rack. The memory
of their own deeds is loathsome unto them. They forsake all
things wherein they have put any trust and confidence. No
staff to lean upon, no rest, no ease, no comfort then, but only
in Christ Jesus.”—<i>Richard Hooker</i>.
1585.</p>
<p><a name="footnote10"></a><a href="#citation10"
class="footnote">[10]</a> “By the cross of Christ the
apostle understandeth the all-sufficient, expiatory, and
satisfactory sacrifice of Christ upon the cross, with the whole
work of our redemption: in the living knowledge of, whereof he
professeth he will glory and boast.”—<i>Cudworth on
Galatians</i>. 1613.</p>
<p>“Touching these words, I do not find that any expositor,
either ancient or modern, Popish or Protestant, writing on this
place, doth expound the cross here mentioned of the sign of the
cross, but of the profession of faith in Him that was hanged on
the cross.”—<i>Mayer’s Commentary</i>.
1631.</p>
<p>“This is rather to be understood of the cross which
Christ suffered for us, than of that we suffer for
Him.”—<i>Leigh’s Annotations</i>.
1650.</p>
<p><a name="footnote12"></a><a href="#citation12"
class="footnote">[12]</a> “Christ crucified it the
sum of the Gospel, and contains all the riches of it. Paul
was so much taken with Christ, that nothing sweeter than Jesus
could drop from his pen and lips. It is observed that he
hath the word ‘Jesus’ five hundred times in his
Epistle.”—<i>Charnock</i>. 1684.</p>
<p><a name="footnote14"></a><a href="#citation14"
class="footnote">[14]</a> “If our faith stop in
Christ’s life, and do not fasten upon his blood, it will
not be a justifying faith. His miracles which prepared the
world for his doctrines; his holiness, which fitted himself for
his sufferings, had been insufficient for us without the addition
of the cross.”—<i>Charnock</i>. 1684.</p>
<p><a name="footnote15"></a><a href="#citation15"
class="footnote">[15]</a> “Paul determined to know
nothing else but Jesus Christ and him crucified. But many
manage the ministry as if they had taken up a contrary
determination, even to know anything save Jesus Christ and him
crucified.”—<i>Traill</i>. 1690.</p>
<p><a name="footnote17"></a><a href="#citation17"
class="footnote">[17]</a> “In Christ’s
humiliation stands our exaltation; in his weakness stands our
strength; in his ignominy our glory: in his death our
life.”—<i>Cudworth</i>. 1613.</p>
<p>“The eye of faith regards Christ sitting on the summit
of the cross, as in a triumphal chariot; the devil bound to the
lowest part of the same cross, and trodden under the feet of
Christ.”—<i>Bishop Davenant on Colossians</i>.
1627.</p>
<p><a name="footnote19"></a><a href="#citation19"
class="footnote">[19]</a> “The world we live in had
fallen upon our heads, had it not been upheld by the pillar of
the cross; had not Christ stepped in and promised a satisfaction
for the sin of man. By this all things consist; not a
blessing we enjoy but may put us in mind of it; they were all
forfeited by sin, but merited by his blood. If we study it
well we shall be sensible how God hated sin and loved a
world.”—<i>Charnock</i>. 1684.</p>
<p><a name="footnote20"></a><a href="#citation20"
class="footnote">[20]</a> “If God hateth sin so much
that he would allow neither man nor angel for the redemption
thereof, but only the death of his only and well-beloved Son, who
will not stand in fear thereof?”—<i>Church of England
Homily for Good Friday</i>. 1560.</p>
<p><a name="footnote22"></a><a href="#citation22"
class="footnote">[22]</a> “The believer is so freed
from eternal wrath, that if Satan and conscience say, ‘thou
art a sinner, and under the curse of the law,’ he can say,
it is true, I am a sinner, but I was hanged on a tree and died,
and was made a curse in my Head and Lawgiver Christ, and his
payment and suffering is my payment and
suffering.”—<i>Rutherford’s Christ
Dying</i>. 1647.</p>
<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 62001 ***</div>
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