,,town ,,and ,,country ,,sermons ,,sermon ,i4 ,,how ,,to ,,keep ,,passion ,,week 7,preached before the ,queen47 ,philippians ii4 #e-aa4 ,let this mind be in you1 which was also in ,christ ,jesus3 who1 being in the form of ,god1 thought it not robbery to be equal with ,god3 but made himself of no reputation1 and took upon him the form of a servant1 and was made in the likeness of men3 and being found in fashion as a man1 he humbled himself1 and became obedient unto death1 even the death of the cross4 ,wherefore ,god also hath highly exalted him1 and given him a name which is above every name3 that at the name of ,jesus every knee should bow1 of things in heaven1 and things in earth1 and things under the earth2 and that every tongue should confess that ,jesus ,christ is ,lord1 to the glory of ,god the ,father4 ,this the first day of ,passion ,week2 and this text is the key-note of ,passion ,week4 ,it tells us of the obedience of ,christ2 of the unselfishness of ,christ2 and1 therefore1 of the true glory of ,christ4 ,it tells us of ,one who was in the form of ,god2 the ,co-equal and ,co- eternal ,son2 the brightness of his ,father's glory1 the express image of his ,father's person3 but who showed forth his ,father's glory1 and proved that he was the express likeness of his ,father's character1 by the very opposite means to those which man takes1 when he wishes to show forth his own glory4 ,he was in the form of ,god4 ,but he did not 7so the text seems to mean7 think that the bliss of ,god was a thing to be seized on greedily for himself4 ,he did not think fit merely to glorify himself2 to enjoy himself4 ,he was not like the false gods of whom the heathen dreamed1 who sat aloft in heaven and enjoyed themselves1 careless of mankind4 ,no4 ,he obeyed his ,father utterly1 and at all costs4 ,he emptied himself 7says ,st4 ,paul74 ,he took on him the form of a slave4 ,he humbled himself4 ,he became obedient2 obedient to death2 and that death the shameful and dreadful death of the cross4 ,therefore ,god has highly exalted him2 has declared him to be perfectly good1 worthy of all praise1 honour1 glory1 power1 and dominion2 and has given him a name above all names1 the name of ,jesus--,saviour4 ,one who saved others1 and cared not to save himself4 ,and therefore1 too1 ,god has given him that dominion of which he is worthy1 and has proclaimed him ,lord and ,creator of all beings and all worlds1 past1 present1 and to come4 ,it is of him2 of his obedience2 of his unselfishness1 that ,passion ,week speaks to us4 ,it tell us of the mind of ,christ1 and says1 ',let this mind be in you1 which was also in ,christ ,jesus4' ,how1 then1 shall we keep his ,passion ,week8 ,there are several ways of keeping it1 and all more or less good4 ,wisdom is justified of all her children4 ,but no way will be safe for us1 unless we keep in mind the mind of ,christ--obedience and self-sacrifice4 ,some1 for instance1 are careful this week to attend church as often as possible2 and who will blame them8 ,but unless they keep in mind the mind of ,christ1 they are apt to fall into the mistake of using vain repetitions1 as the heathen do2 and of fancying1 like them1 that they shall be heard for their much speaking1 forgetting their ,father in heaven knows what they have need of1 before they ask him4 ,and that is not like the mind of ,christ4 ,it is not like the mind of ,christ to fancy that ,god dwells in temples made with hands2 or that he can be worshipped with men's hands1 as though he needed anything2 seeing he giveth to all life1 and breath1 and all things4 ,for in him we live1 and move1 and have our being2 and 7as even the heathen poet knew71 are the offspring1 the children1 of ,god4 ,it is not according to the mind of ,christ1 to worship ,god as the heathen do1 in order to win him to do our will4 ,it is according to the mind of ,christ to worship ,god1 in order that we may do his will2 to believe that ,god's will is a good will1 good in itself1 and good for us1 and for all things and beings2 and1 therefore1 to ask for strength to do ,god's will1 whatever it may cost us4 ,that is the mind of ,christ1 who came not to do his own will1 but the will of him who sent him2 who taught us to pray1 as the greatest blessing for which we can ask1 ',father1 thy will be done on earth1 as it is in heaven2' who himself1 in his utter agony1 cried1 ',father1 not my will1 but thine1 be done4' ,therefore1 it is good to go to church2 and good1 for some at least1 to go as often as possible3 but only if we remember why we go1 and whom we go to worship--a ,father1 who asks of us to worship him in spirit and in truth4 ,a ,father who has told us what that worship is like4 ',is this 7,god asked the ,jews of old7 the fast which ,i have chosen8 ,is it a day for a man to afflict his soul1 and bow down his head like a bulrush1 and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him 7playing at being sad1 while ,god has not made him sad78 ,wilt thou call this a fast1 and an acceptable day to the ,lord8' ',is not this the fast which ,i have chosen8 to loose the bands of wickedness1 to undo the heavy burdens1 and to let the oppressed go free1 and that ye break every yoke8 ,is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry1 and to bring the poor that are cast out to thine house2 when thou seest the naked1 that thou cover him1 and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh4' ,this is that pure worship and undefined before ,god and the ,father1 of which ,st4 ,james tells us2 and says that it consists in this--'to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction2 and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world4' ,in a word1 this worship in the spirit1 and in truth1 is nought else but the mind of ,christ4 ,to believe in1 to adore the ,father's perfect goodness2 to long and try to copy that goodness here on earth4 ,that is what ,christ did utterly and perfectly1 that is what we have to do1 each according to our powers2 and without it1 without the spirit of obedience1 all our church-going is of little worth in the eyes of our heavenly ,father4 ,others1 again1 go into retirement for this week1 and spend it in examining themselves1 and thinking over the sufferings of ,christ4 ,and who1 again1 will blame them1 provided they do not neglect their daily duty meanwhile8 ,but they1 too1 need to keep in mind the mind of ,christ1 if they mean to keep ,passion ,week aright4 ,they need it1 indeed4 ,and such a man1 before he shuts himself up1 and begins to examine himself1 would do well to examine himself as to why he is going to examine himself1 and to ask1 ,why am ,i going to do this8 ,because it is my interest8 ,because ,i think ,i shall gain more safety for my soul8 ,because ,i hope it will give me more chance of pleasure and glory in the next world8 ,but1 if so2 have ,i the mind of ,christ8 ,for he did not think of his own interest1 his own gain1 his own pleasure1 his own glory4 ,how is this1 then8 ,i confess that the root of all my faults is selfishness4 ,shall ,i examine into my own selfishness for a selfish end--to get safety and pleasure by it hereafter8 ,i confess that the very glory of ,christ is1 that there is no selfishness in him4 ,shall ,i think over the sufferings of the unselfish ,christ for a selfish end--to get something by it after ,i die8 ,i am too apt already to make myself the centre1 round which all the world must turn3 to care for everything only as far as it does me good or harm4 ,shall ,i make myself the centre round which heaven is to turn8 ,shall ,i think of ,god and of ,christ only as far as it will profit me8 ,and this week1 too1 of all weeks in the year8 ,god forgive me6 ,into what a contradiction ,i am running unawares6 ,no4 ,if ,i do shut myself up from my fellowmen1 it shall be only to think how ,i may do my duty better to my fellowmen4 ,if ,i do think over ,christ's sufferings1 it shall be only that ,i may learn from him how to suffer1 if need be1 at the call of duty2 at least1 to stir up in me obedience1 usefulness1 generosity1 that ,i may go back to my work cheerfully1 willingly1 careless what reward ,i get1 provided only ,i can do good in my station4 ,but1 after all1 will not the text tell us best how to keep ,passion ,week8 ,will not our ,lord's own example tell us8 ,can we go wrong1 if we keep our ,passion ,week as ,christ kept his8 ,and how did he keep it8 ,certainly not by shutting himself up apart4 ,certainly not by mere thinking over the glory of self-sacrifice4 ,he taught daily1 we read1 in the temple4 ,instead of giving up his work for a while1 he seems to have worked more earnestly than ever4 ,as the terrible end drew near2 and his soul was troubled2 and he was straitened as he looked forward to his baptism of fire2 and the struggle in him grew fiercer 7for the ,bible tells us that there was a struggle7 between the ,man's natural desire to save his life1 and the ,god's heavenly desire to lay down his life1 he threw himself more and more into the work which he had to do4 ,we hear more1 perhaps1 of our ,lord's saying and doings during this week1 up to the very moment before he was betrayed to death1 than we do of the whole three years of his public life4 ,his teaching was never1 it seems1 so continual2 his appeals to the nation which he was trying to save were never so pathetic as at the very last2 his warnings to the bigots who were destroying his nation never so terrible2 his contempt for personal danger never so clear4 ,the ,bible seems to picture him to us as gathering up all his strength for one last effort1 if by any means he might save that doomed city of ,jerusalem1 and in his divine spirit1 courting death the more1 the more his human flesh shrank from it4 ,this--the pattern of perfect obedience1 perfect unselfishness1 perfect generosity1 perfect self-sacrificing love--is what we are to look at in ,passion ,week4 ,this1 ,i believe1 is what we are meant to copy in ,passion ,week2 that we may learn the habit of copying it all our lives long4 ,why should not we1 then1 keep ,passion ,week somewhat as our ,lord kept it before us8 ,not by merely hiding in our closets to meditate1 even about him3 but by going about our work1 each in his place1 dutifully1 bravely1 as he went8 ,by doing the duty which lies nearest us1 and trying to draw our lesson out of it4 ,thus we may keep ,passion ,week in spirit and in truth2 though some of us may hardly have time to enter a church1 hardly have time for an hour's private thought about religion4 ,amid the bustle of daily duties2 amid the buzz of petty cares2 amid the anxieties of great labours2 amid the roar of the busy world1 which cannot stop 7and which ought not to stop71 for our convenience2 we may keep ,passion ,week in spirit and in truth1 if we will do the duty which lies nearest us1 and try to draw our lesson out of it4 ,for practice--and1 ,i believe1 practice alone--will teach us to restrain ourselves1 and conquer ourselves4 ,experience--and1 ,i believe1 experience alone--will show us our own faults and weaknesses4 ,every man--every human spirit on ,god's earth has spiritual enemies-- habits and principles within him--if not other spirits without him1 which hinder him1 more or less1 from being all that ,god meant him to be4 ,and we must find out those enemies1 and measure their strength1 not merely by reading of them in books2 not merely by fancying them in our own minds2 but by the hard blows1 and sudden falls1 which they too often give us in the actual battle of daily life4 ,and how can we find them out8 ,this at least we can do4 ,we can ask ourselves at every turn1--,for what end am ,i doing this1 and this8 ,for what end am ,i living at all8 ,for myself1 or for others8 ,am ,i living for ambition8 for fame8 for show8 for money8 for pleasure8 ,if so1 ,i have not the mind of ,christ4 ,i have not found out the golden secret4 ,i have not seen what true glory is2 what the glory of ,christ is--to live for the sake of doing my duty--for the sake of doing good4 ,and am ,i--,i surely shall be if ,i am living for myself--straggling1 envying1 casting an evil eye on those more fortunate than ,i2 perhaps letting loose against them a cruel tongue8 ,if ,i am doing thus1 ,god forgive me4 ,what have ,i of the mind of ,christ8 ,what likeness between me and him who emptied himself of self1 who humbled himself1 gave himself up utterly1 even to death8 ,is this the mind of ,christ8 ,is this the spirit whose name is ,love8 ,and yet there should be a likeness4 ,a likeness between ,christ and us4 ,a likeness between ,god and us4 ,for ,christ is the likeness of his ,father2 and not only of his ,father1 but of our ,father1 ,the ,father in heaven4 ,and what should a child be1 but like his father8 ,what should man be1 but like ,god8 ,but how shall we get that likeness8 ,how shall we get the mind of ,christ which is the ,spirit of ,god8 ,this at least we know4 ,that the father will surely hear the child1 when the child cries to him4 ,perhaps will hear him all the more tenderly1 the more utterly the child has strayed away4 ,our highest reason1 the instincts of our own hearts1 tell us so4 ,christ himself has told us so2 and said to the ,jews of old3 ',if ye1 being evil1 know how to give good gifts to your children1 how much more shall your heavenly ,father give the ,holy ,spirit to those who ask him8' ,shall give8 ,yes2 and has given already4 ,from that ,spirit of ,god have come1 and will always come1 all our purest1 highest1 best thoughts and feelings4 ,from him comes all which raises us above the animals1 and makes us really and truly men and women4 ,all sense of duty1 obedience1 order1 justice1 law2 all tenderness1 pity1 generosity1 honour1 modesty2 all this1 if you will receive it1 is that ,christ in us of whom ,st4 ,paul tells us1 and tells us that he is our hope of glory4 ,yes1 these feelings in us1 which1 just as far as we obey them1 make us respect ourselves1 and make us blessings to our fellow-men2 what are they but the ,spirit of ,christ1 the likeness of ,christ1 the mind of ,christ in us2 the hope of our glory2 because1 if we obey them1 we shall attain to something of the true glory1 the glory with which ,christ himself is glorious4 ,then let us pray to ,god1 now in this ,passion ,week1 to stir up in us that generous spirit2 to deepen in us that fair likeness2 to fill us with that noble mind4 ,let us ask ,god to quench in us all which is selfish1 idle1 mean2 to quicken to life in us all which is godlike1 and from ,god2 that so we may attain1 at last1 to the true glory1 the glory which comes not from selfish ambition2 not from selfish pride2 not from selfish ease2 but from getting rid of selfishness1 in all its shapes4 ,the glory which ,christ alone has in perfection4 ,the glory before which every knee will one day bow1 whether in earth or heaven4 ,even the glory of doing our duty1 regardless of what it costs us in the station to which each of us has been called by his ,father in heaven4 ,amen4 ,,sermon ,,ii4 ,,the ,,divine ,,hunger ,,and ,,thirst 7,preached before the ,queen47 ,psalm xxxvi4 #g1 #h1 #i4 ,how excellent is thy loving-kindness1 ,o ,god6 therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings4 ,they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house2 and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures4 ,for with thee is the fountain of life3 in thy light shall we see light4 ,this is a great saying4 ,so great that we shall never know1 certainly never in this life1 how much it means4 ,it speaks of being satisfied2 of what alone can satisfy a man4 ,it speaks of man as a creature who is1 or rather ought to be1 always hungering and thirsting after something better than he has1 as it is written3 ',blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness2 for they shall be filled4' ,so says ,david1 also1 in this ,psalm4 ,i say man ought to be always hungering and thirsting for something better4 ,i do not mean by that that he ought to be discontented4 ,nothing less4 ,for just in as far as a man hungers and thirsts after righteousness and truth1 he will hunger and thirst after nothing else4 ,as long as a man does not care for righteousness1 does not care to be a better man himself1 and to see the world better round him1 so long will he go longing after this fine thing and that1 tormenting himself with lusts and passions1 greediness and covetousness of divers sorts2 and little satisfaction will he get from them4 ,but1 when he begins to hunger and thirst after righteousness1 that heavenly and spiritual hunger destroys the old carnal hunger in him4 ,he cares less and less to ask1 ,what shall ,i eat and drink1 wherewithal shall ,i be clothed8--,or how shall ,i win for myself admiration1 station1 and all the fine things of this world8--,what he thinks of more and more is1--,how can ,i become better and more righteous8 ,how can ,i make my neighbours better likewise8 ,how the world8 ,as for the good things of this life1 if they will make me a better man1 let them come4 ,if not1 why should ,i care so much about them8 ,what ,i want is1 to be righteous like ,god1 beneficent and good-doing like ,god4 ,that is the man of whom it is written1 that he shall be satisfied with the plenteousness of ,god's house1 ,god's kingdom2 for with ,god is the fountain of life4 ,again1 as long as a man has no hunger and thirst after truth1 he is easily enough interested1 though he is not satisfied4 ,he reads1 perhaps1 and amuses his fancy1 but he does no more4 ,he reads again1 really to instruct his mind1 and learns about this and that3 but he does not learn the causes of things2 the reasons of the chances and changes of this world2 and so he is not satisfied2 he takes up doctrines1 true ones1 perhaps1 at secondhand out of books and out of sermons31 without having had any personal experience of them2 and so1 when sickness or sorrow1 doubt or dread1 come1 they do not satisfy him4 ,then he longs--he ought at least to long--for truth4 ,he thirsts for truth4 ,o that ,i could know the truth about myself2 about my fellow-creatures2 about this world4 ,what am ,i really8 ,what are they8 ,where am ,i8 ,what can ,i know8 ,what ought ,i to do8 ,i do not want secondhand names and notions4 ,i want to be sure4 ,that is the divine thirst after truth1 which will surely be satisfied4 ,he will drink of the pleasure of true knowledge1 as out of an overflowing river2 and the more he knows1 the more he will be glad to know1 and the more he will find he can know1 if only he loves truth for truth's own sake2 for1 as it is written1 in ,god's light shall that man see light4 ,with ,god is the well of life2 and in his light we shall see light4 ,the first is the answer to man's hunger after righteousness1 the second answers to his thirst after truth4 ,with ,god is the well of life4 ,there is the answer4 ,thou wishest to be a good man2 to live a good life2 to live as a good son1 good husband1 good father1 good in all the relations of humanity2 as it is written1 ',and ,noah was a just man1 and perfect in his generations2 and ,noah walked with ,god4' ,then do thou walk with ,god4 ,for in him is the life thou wishest for4 ,he alone can quicken thee1 and give thee spirit and power to fulfil thy duty in thy generation4 ,is not his ,spirit the ,lord and ,giver of life--the only fount and eternal spring of life8 ,from him life flows out unto the smallest blade of grass beneath thy feet1 the smallest gnat which dances in the sun1 that it may live the life which ,god intends for it4 ,how much more to thee1 who hast an altogether boundless power of life2 whom ,god has made in his own likeness1 that thou mayest be called his son1 and live his life1 and do1 as ,christ did1 what thou seest thy heavenly ,father do4 ,thou feelest1 perhaps1 how poor and paltry thine own life is1 compared with what it might have been4 ,thou feelest that thou hast never done thy best4 ,when the world is praising thee most1 thou art most ashamed of thyself4 ,thou art ready to cry all day long1 ',i have left undone that which ,i ought to have done2' till1 at times1 thou longest that all was over1 and thou wert beginning again in some freer1 fuller1 nobler1 holier life1 to do and to be what thou hast never done nor been here2 and criest with the poet-- ',tis life1 whereof my nerves are scant2 ',tis life1 not death1 for which ,i pant2 ,more life1 and fuller1 that ,i want4 ,then have patience4 ,with ,god is the fount of life4 ,he will refresh and strengthen thee2 and raise thee up day by day to that new life for which thou longest4 ,is not ,holy communion his own pledge that he will do so8 ,is not that ,god's own sign to thee1 that though thou canst not feed and strengthen thine own soul1 he can and will feed and strengthen it2 and feed it--mystery of mysteries--with himself2 that ,god may dwell in thee1 and thou in ,god4 ,and if ,god and ,christ live in thee1 and work in thee to will and to do of their own good pleasure1 that shall be enough for thee1 and thou shall be satisfied4 ,and just so1 again1 with that same thirst after truth4 ,that1 too1 can only be satisfied by ,god1 and in ,god4 ,not by the reading of books1 however true2 not by listening to sermons1 however clever2 can we see light3 but only in the light of ,god4 ,know ,god4 ,know that he is justice itself1 order itself1 love itself1 patience itself1 pity itself4 ,in the light of that1 all things will become light and bright to thee4 ,matters which seemed to have nothing to do with ,god1 the thought of ,god will explain to thee1 if thou thinkest aright concerning ,god2 and the true knowledge of him will be the key to all other true knowledge in heaven and earth4 ,for the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of wisdom1 and a good understanding have all they that do thereafter4 ,must it not be so8 ,how can it be otherwise8 ,for in ,god all live and move and have their being2 and all things which he has made are rays from off his glory1 and patterns of his perfect mind4 ,as the ,maker is1 so is his work2 if1 therefore1 thou wouldest judge rightly of the work1 acquaint thyself with the ,maker of it1 and know first1 and know for ever1 that his name is ,love4 ,thus1 sooner or later1 in ,god the ,father's good time1 will thy thirst for truth be satisfied1 and thou shalt see the light of ,god4 ,he may keep thee long waiting for full truth4 ,he may send thee by strange and crooked paths4 ,he may exercise and strain thy reason by doubts1 mistakes1 and failures2 but sooner or later1 if thou dost not faint and grow weary1 he will show to thee the thing which thou knewest not2 for he is thy ,father1 and wills that all his children1 each according to their powers1 should share not only in his goodness1 but in his wisdom also4 ,do any of you say1 ',these are words too deep for us2 they are for learned people1 clever1 great saints8' ,i think not4 ,i have seen poor people1 ignorant people1 sick people1 poor old souls on parish pay1 satisfied with the plenteousness of ,god's house1 and drinking so freely of ,god's pleasure1 that they knew no thirst1 fretted not1 never were discontented4 ,all vain longings after this and that were gone from their hearts4 ,they had very little2 but it seemed to be enough4 ,they had nothing indeed1 which we could call pleasure in this world2 but somehow what they had satisfied them1 because it came from ,god4 ,they had a hidden pleasure1 joy1 content1 and peace4 ,they had found out that with ,god was the well of life2 that in ,god they lived and moved1 and had their being4 ,and as long as their souls lived in ,god1 full of the eternal life and goodness1 obeying his laws1 loving the thing which he commanded1 and desiring what he promised1 they could trust him for their poor worn-out dying bodies1 that he would not let them perish1 but raise them up again at the last day4 ,they knew very little2 but what they did know was full of light4 ,cheerful and hopeful they were always2 for they saw all things in the light of ,god4 ,they knew that ,god was light1 and ,god was love2 that his love was shining down on them and on all around them1 warming1 cheering1 quickening into life all things which he had made2 so that when the world should have looked most dark to them1 it looked most bright1 because they saw it lightened up by the smile of their ,father in heaven4 ,o may ,god bring us all to such an old age1 that1 as our mortal bodies decay1 our souls may be renewed day by day2 that as the life of our bodies grows cold and feeble1 the life of our souls may grow richer1 warmer1 stronger1 more useful to all around us1 for ever and ever2 that as the light of this life fades1 the light of our souls may grow brighter1 fuller1 deeper2 till all is clear to us in the everlasting light of ,god1 in that perfect day for which ,st4 ,paul thirsted through so many weary years2 when he should no more see through a glass darkly1 or prophesy in part1 and talk as a child1 but see face to face1 and know even as he was known4 ,,sermon ,,iii4 ,,the ,,transfiguration 7,preached before the ,queen47 ,matthew xvii4 #b and #i4 ,and he was transfigured before them4 4 4 4 ,and he charged them1 saying1 ,tell the vision to no man1 until the ,son of ,man be risen again from the dead4 ,any one who will consider the gospels1 will see that there is a peculiar calm1 a soberness and modesty about them1 very different from what we should have expected to find in them4 ,speaking1 as they do1 of the grandest person who ever trod this earth1 of the grandest events which ever happened upon this earth--of the events1 indeed1 which settled the future of this earth for ever1--one would not be surprised at their using grand words--the grandest they could find4 ,if they had gone off into beautiful poetry2 if they had filled pages with words of astonishment1 admiration1 delight2 if they had told us their own thoughts and feelings at the sight of our ,lord2 if they had given us long and full descriptions of our ,lord's face and figure1 even 7as forged documents have pretended to do7 to the very colour of his hair1 we should have thought it but natural4 ,but there is nothing of the kind in either of the four gospels1 even when speaking of the most awful matters4 ,their words are as quiet and simple and modest as if they were written of things which might be seen every day4 ,when they tell of our ,lord's crucifixion1 for instance1 how easy1 natural1 harmless1 right1 as far as we can see1 it would have been to have poured out their own feelings about the most pitiable and shameful crime ever committed upon earth2 to have spoken out all their own pity1 terror1 grief1 indignation2 and to have stirred up ours thereby4 ,and yet all they say is1--',and they crucified him4' ,they feel that is enough4 ,the deed is too dark to talk about4 ,let it tell its own story to all human hearts4 ,so with this account of the ,lord's transfiguration4 ',and he took ,peter1 and ,james1 and ,john1 his brother1 up into a high mountain1 apart1 and was transfigured before them2 and his face did shine as the sun2 and his raiment was white as the light2 4 4 4 and while he yet spake a bright cloud overshadowed them2 and1 behold1 a voice out of the cloud1 which said3 ,this is my beloved ,son1 in whom ,i am well pleased4 ,hear ye him4' ,how soberly1 simply1 modestly1 they tell this strange story4 ,how differently they might have told it4 ,a man might write whole poems1 whole books of philosophy1 about that transfiguration1 and yet never reach the full depth of its beauty and of its meaning4 ,but the evangelists do not even try to do that4 ,as with the crucifixion1 as with all the most wonderful passages of our ,lord's life1 they simply say what happened1 and let the story bring its own message home to our hearts4 ,what may we suppose is the reason of this great stillness and soberness of the gospels8 ,i believe that it may be explained thus4 ,the men who wrote them were too much awed by our ,lord1 to make more words about him than they absolutely needed4 ,our ,lord was too utterly beyond them4 ,they felt that they could not understand him2 could not give a worthy picture of him4 ,he was too noble1 too awful1 in spite of all his tenderness1 for any words of theirs1 however fine4 ,we all know that the holiest things1 the deepest feelings1 the most beautiful sights1 are those about which we talk least1 and least like to hear others talk4 ,putting them into words seems impertinent1 profane4 ,no one needs to gild gold1 or paint the lily4 ,when we see a glorious sunset2 when we hear the rolling of the thunder-storm2 we do not talk about them2 we do not begin to cry1 ,how awful1 how magnificent2 we admire them in silence1 and let them tell their own story4 ,who that ever truly loved his wife talked about his love to her8 ,who that ever came to ,holy ,communion in spirit and in truth1 tried to put into words what he felt as he knelt before ,christ's altar8 ,when ,god speaks1 man had best keep silence4 ,so it was1 ,i suppose1 with the writers of the gospels4 ,they had been in too grand company for them to speak freely of what they felt there4 ,they had seen such sights1 and heard such words1 that they were inclined to be silent1 and think over it all1 and only wrote because they must write4 ,they felt that our ,lord1 as ,i say1 was utterly beyond them1 too unlike any one whom they had ever met before2 too perfect1 too noble1 for them to talk about him4 ,so they simply set down his words as he spoke them1 and his works as he did them1 as far as they could recollect1 and left them to tell their own story4 ,even ,st4 ,john1 who was our ,lord's beloved friend1 who seems to have caught and copied exactly his way of speaking1 seems to feel that there was infinitely more in our ,lord than he could put into words1 and ends with confessing1--',and there are also many more things which ,jesus did1 the which if they should be written every one1 ,i suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written4' ,the first reason then1 ,i suppose1 for the evangelists' modesty1 was their awe and astonishment at our ,lord4 ,the next1 ,i think1 may have been that they wished to copy him1 and so to please him4 ,it surely must have been so1 if1 as all good ,christians believe1 they were inspired to write our ,lord's life4 ,the ,lord would inspire them to write as he would like his life to be written1 as he would have written it 7if it be reverent to speak of such a thing7 himself4 ,they were inspired by ,christ's ,spirit2 and1 therefore1 they wrote according to the ,spirit of ,christ1 soberly1 humbly1 modestly1 copying the character of ,christ4 ,think upon that word modestly4 ,i am not sure that it is the best2 ,i only know that it is the best which ,i can find1 to express one excellence which we see in our ,lord1 which is like what we call modesty in common human beings4 ,we all know how beautiful and noble modesty is2 how we all admire it2 how it raises a man in our eyes to see him afraid of boasting2 never showing off2 never requiring people to admire him2 never pushing himself forward2 or1 if his business forces him to go into public1 not going for the sake of display1 but simply because the thing has to be done2 and then quietly withdrawing himself when the thing is done1 content that none should be staring at him or thinking of him4 ,this is modesty2 and we admire it not only in young people1 or those who have little cause to be proud3 we admire it much more in the greatest1 the wisest1 and the best2 in those who have1 humanly speaking1 most cause to be proud4 ,whenever1 on the other hand1 we see in wise and good men any vanity1 boasting1 pompousness of any kind1 we call it a weakness in them1 and are sorry to see them lowering themselves by the least want of divine modesty4 ,now1 this great grace and noble virtue should surely be in our ,lord1 from whom all graces and virtues come2 and ,i think we need not look far through the gospels to find it4 ,see how he refused to cast himself down from the temple1 and make himself a sign and a wonder to the ,jews4 ,how he refused to show the ,pharisees a sign4 ,how1 in this very text1 when it seemed good to him to show his glory1 he takes only three favourite apostles1 and commands them to tell no man till he be risen again4 ,see1 again1 how when the ,jews wanted to take him by force1 and make him a king1 he escaped out of their hands4 ,how when ,he had been preaching to1 or healing the multitude1 so that they crowded on him1 and became excited about him1 he more than once immediately left them1 and retired into a desert place to pray4 ,see1 again1 how when he did tell the ,jews who he was1 in words most awfully unmistakeable1 the confession was1 as it were1 drawn from him1 at the end of a long argument1 when he was forced to speak out for truth's sake4 ,and1 even then1 how simple1 how modest 7if ,i dare so speak71 are his words4 ',before ,abraham was1 ,i am4' ,the most awful words ever spoken on earth2 and yet most divine in their very simplicity4 ,the ,maker of the world telling his creatures that he is their ,god6 ,what might he not have said at such a moment8 ,what might we not fancy his saying8 ,what words1 grand enough1 awful enough1 might not the evangelists have put into his mouth1 if they had not been men full of the spirit of truth8 ,and yet what does the ,lord say8 ',before ,abraham was1 ,i am4' ,could he say more8 ,if you think of the matter1 ,no4 ,but could he say less8 ,if you think of the manner1 ,no1 likewise4 ,truly1 'never man spake as he spake3' because never man was like him4 ,perfect strength1 wisdom1 determination1 endurance2 and yet perfect meekness1 simplicity1 sobriety4 ,zeal and modesty4 ,they are the last two virtues which go together most seldom4 ,in him they went together utterly2 and were one1 as he was one in spirit4 ,him some of the evangelists saw1 and by him all were inspired2 and1 therefore1 they toned their account of him to his likeness1 and1 as it were1 took their key-note from him1 and made the very manner and language of their gospels a pattern of his manners and his life4 ,and1 if we wanted a fresh proof 7as1 thank ,god1 needs not7 that the gospels are true1 ,i think we might find it in this4 ,for when a man is inventing a wonderful story out of his own head1 he is certain to dress it up in fine words1 fancies1 shrewd reflections of his own1 in order to make people see1 as he goes on1 how wonderful it all is4 ,whereas1 no books on earth which describe wonderful events1 true or false1 are so sober and simple as the gospels1 which describe the most wonderful of all events4 ,and this is to me a plain proof 7as ,i hope it will be to you7 that ,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john were not inventing but telling a plain and true story1 and dared not alter it in the least2 and1 again1 a story so strange and beautiful1 that they dared not try to make it more strange1 or more beautiful1 by any words of their own4 ,they had seen a person1 to describe whom passed all their powers of thought and memory1 much more their power of words4 ,a person of whom even ,st4 ,paul could only say1 'that he was the brightness of his ,father's glory1 and the express image of his person4' ,words in which to write of him failed them2 for no words could suffice4 ,but the temper of mind in which to write of him did not fail them2 for1 by gazing on the face of the ,lord1 they had been changed1 more or less1 into the likeness of his glory2 into that temper1 simplicity1 sobriety1 gentleness1 modesty1 which shone forth in him1 and shines forth still in their immortal words about him4 ,god grant that it may shine forth in us4 ,god grant it truly4 ,may we read their words till their spirit passes into us4 ,may we 7as ,st4 ,paul expresses it7 looking on the face of the ,lord1 as into a glass1 be changed into his likeness1 from glory to glory4 ,may he who inspired them to write1 inspire us to think and work1 like our ,lord1 soberly1 quietly1 simply4 ,may ,god take out of us all pride and vanity1 boasting and forwardness2 and give us the true courage which shows itself by gentleness2 the true wisdom which show itself by simplicity2 and the true power which show itself by modesty4 ,amen4 ,,sermon ,,iv4 ,a ,,soldier',s ,,training ,luke vii4 #b-i4 ,and a certain centurion's servant1 who was dear unto him1 was sick1 and ready to die4 ,and when he heard of ,jesus1 he sent unto him the elders of the ,jews1 beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant4 ,and when they came to ,jesus1 they besought him instantly1 saying1 ,that he was worthy for whom he should do this3 ,for he loveth our nation1 and he hath built us a synagogue4 ,then ,jesus went with them4 ,and when he was now not far from the house1 the centurion sent friends to him1 saying unto him1 ,lord1 trouble not thyself2 for ,i am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof3 ,wherefore neither thought ,i myself worthy to come unto thee3 but say in a word1 and my servant shall be healed4 ,for ,i also am a man set under authority1 having under me soldiers1 and ,i say unto one1 ,go1 and he goeth2 and to another1 ,come1 and he cometh2 and to my servant1 ,do this1 and he doeth it4 ,when ,jesus heard these things he marvelled at him1 and turned him about1 and said unto the people that followed him1 ,i say unto you1 ,i have not found so great faith1 no1 not in ,israel4 ,there is something puzzling in this speech of the centurion's4 ,one must think twice1 and more than twice1 to understand clearly what he had in his mind4 ,i1 indeed1 am not quite sure that ,i altogether understand it4 ,but ,i may1 perhaps1 help you to understand it1 by telling you what this centurion was4 ,he was not a ,jew4 ,he was a ,roman1 and a heathen2 a man of our race1 very likely4 ,and he was a centurion1 a captain in the army2 and one1 mind1 who had risen from the ranks1 by good conduct1 and good service4 ,before he got his vine-stock1 which was the mark of his authority over a hundred men1 he had1 no doubt1 marched many a weary mile under a heavy load1 and fought1 probably1 many a bloody battle in foreign parts4 ,that had been his education1 his training1 namely1 discipline1 and hard work4 ,and because he had learned to obey1 he was fit to rule4 ,he was helping now to keep in order those treacherous1 unruly ,jews1 and their worthless puppet-kings1 like ,herod2 much as our soldiers in ,india are keeping in order the ,hindoos1 and their worthless puppet-kings4 ,whether the ,romans had any right to conquer and keep down the ,jews as they did1 is no concern of ours just now4 ,but we have proof that what this centurion did1 he did wisely and kindly4 ,the elders of the ,jews said of him1 that he loved the ,jews1 and had built them a synagogue1 a church4 ,i suppose that what he had heard from them about a one living ,god1 who had made all things in heaven and earth1 and given them a law1 which cannot be broken1 so that all things obey him to this day--,i suppose1 ,i say1 that this pleased him better than the ,roman stories of many gods1 who were capricious1 and fretful1 and quarrelled with each other in a fashion which ought to have been shocking to the conscience and reason of a disciplined soldier4 ,there was a great deal1 besides1 in the ,old ,testament1 which would1 surely1 come home to a soldier's heart1 when it told him of a ,god of law1 and order1 and justice1 and might1 who defended the right in battle1 and inspired the old ,jews to conquer the heathen1 and to fight for their own liberty4 ,for what was it1 which had enabled the ,romans to conquer so many great nations8 ,what was it which enabled them to keep them in order1 and1 on the whole1 make them happier1 more peaceable1 more prosperous1 than they had ever been8 ,what was it which had made him1 the poor common soldier1 an officer1 and a wealthy man1 governing1 by his little garrison of a hundred soldiers1 this town of ,capernaum1 and the country round8 ,it was this4 ,discipline2 drill2 obedience to authority4 ,that ,roman army was the most admirably disciplined which the world till then had ever seen4 ,so1 indeed1 was the whole ,roman ,government4 ,every man knew his place1 and knew his work4 ,every man had been trained to obey orders2 if he was told to go1 to go2 if he was told to do1 to do1 or to die in trying to do1 what he was bidden4 ,this was the great and true thought which had filled this good man's mind--duty1 order1 and obedience4 ,and by thinking of order1 and seeing how strength1 and safety1 and success lie in order1 and by giving himself up to obey orders1 body and soul1 like a good soldier1 had that plain man 7who had certainly no scholarship1 perhaps could barely read or write7 caught sight of a higher1 wider1 deeper order than even that of a ,roman army4 ,he had caught sight of that divine and wonderful order1 by which ,god has constituted the services of men1 and angels1 and all created things2 that divine and wonderful order by which sun and stars1 fire and hail1 wind and vapour1 cattle and creeping things fulfil his word4 ,fulfil ,god's word4 ,that was the thought1 surely1 which was in the good soldier's mind1 and which he was trying to speak out2 clumsily1 perhaps1 but truly enough4 ,i suppose1 then1 that he thought in his own mind somewhat in this way4 ',there is a word of command among us soldiers4 ,has ,god1 then1 no word of command likewise8 ,and that word of command is enough4 ,is not ,god's word of command enough likewise8 ,i merely speak1 and ,i am obeyed4 ,i am merely spoken to1 and ,i obey4 ,shall not ,god merely speak1 and be obeyed likewise8 ,there is discipline and order among men1 because it is necessary4 ,an ,army cannot be manoeuvred1 a ,government cannot be carried on1 without it4 ,is there not a discipline and order in all heaven and earth8 ,and that discipline is carried out by simple word of command4 ,a word from me will make a man rush upon certain death4 ,a word from certain other men will make me rush on certain death4 ,for ,i am a man under authority4 ,i have my tribune 7colonel1 as we should say7 over me2 and he1 again1 the perfect 7general of brigade7 over him4 ,their word is enough for me4 ,if they want me to do a thing1 they do not need to come under my roof1 to argue with me1 to persuade me1 much less to thrust me about1 and make me obey them by force4 ,they say to me1 ',go1' and ,i go2 and ,i say to those under me1 ',go1' and they go likewise4 ,and if ,i can work by a word1 cannot this ,jesus work by a word likewise8 ,he is a messenger of ,god1 with commission and authority from ,god1 to work his will on his creatures4 ,are not ,god's creatures as well ordered1 disciplined1 obedient1 as we soldiers are8 ,are they not a hundred times better ordered8 ,a messenger from ,god8 ,is he not a ,god himself2 a ,god in goodness and mercy2 a ,god in miraculous power8 ,cannot he do his work by a word1 far more certainly than ,i can do mine8 ,if my word can send a man to death1 cannot his word bring a man back to life8 ,surely it can4 ',lord1 thou needest not to come under my roof2 speak the word only1 and my servant shall be healed4' ,by some such thoughts as these1 ,i suppose1 had this good soldier gained his great faith2 his faith that all ,god's creatures were in a divine1 and wonderful order1 obedient to the will of ,god who made them2 and that ,jesus ,christ was ,god's viceroy and lieutenant 7,i speak so1 because ,i suppose that is what he1 as a soldier1 would have thought71 to carry out ,god's commands on earth4 ,now remember that he was the first heathen man of whom we read1 that he acknowledged ,christ4 ,remember1 too1 that the next heathen of whom we read1 that he acknowledged ,christ1 was also a ,roman centurion1 he whom the old legends call ,longinus1 who1 when he saw our ,lord upon the cross1 said1 ',truly this was the ,son of ,god4' ,remember1 again1 that the next heathen of whom we read as having acknowledged ,christ1 he to whom ,st4 ,peter was sent1 at ,joppa1 who is often called the first fruits of the heathen1 was a ,roman centurion likewise4 ,surely1 there must have been a reason for this4 ,there must be a lesson in this2 and this1 ,i think1 is the lesson4 ,that the soldierlike habit of mind is one which makes a man ready to receive the truth of ,christ4 ,and why8 ,because the good soldier's first and last thought is ,duty4 ,to do his duty by those who are set over him1 and to learn to do his duty to those who are set under him4 ,to turn his whole mind and soul to doing1 not just what he fancies1 but to what must be done1 because it is his duty4 ,this is the character which makes a good soldier1 and a good ,christian likewise4 ,if we be undisciplined and undutiful1 and unruly2 if we be fanciful1 self- willed1 disobedient2 then we shall not understand ,christ1 or ,christ's rule on earth and in heaven4 ,if there be no order within us1 we shall not see his divine and wonderful order all around us4 ,if there be no discipline and obedience within us1 we shall never believe really that ,christ disciplines all things1 and that all things obey him4 ,if there be no sense of duty in us1 governing our whole lives and actions1 we shall never perceive the true beauty and glory of ,christ's character1 who sacrificed himself for his duty1 which was to do his ,father's will4 ,i tell you1 my friends1 that nothing prevents a man from gaining either right doctrines or right practice1 so much as the undutiful1 unruly1 self-conceited heart4 ,we may be full of religious knowledge1 of devout sentiments1 of heavenly aspirations3 but in spite of them all1 we shall never get beyond false doctrine1 and loose practice1 unless we have learned to obey2 to rule our own minds1 and hearts1 and tempers1 soberly and patiently2 to conform to the laws1 and to all reasonable rules of society1 to believe that ,god has called us to our station in life1 whatever it may be2 and to do our duty therein1 as faithful soldiers and servants of ,christ4 ,for1 if you will receive it1 the beginning and the middle1 and the end of all true religion is simply this4 ,to do the will of ,god on earth1 as it is done in heaven4 ,,sermon ,v4 ,,christ',s ,,sheep ,mark vi4 #cd4 ,and ,jesus1 when he came out1 saw much people1 and was moved with compassion toward them1 because they were as sheep not having a shepherd3 and he began to teach them many things4 ,this is a text full of comfort1 if we will but remember one thing3 that ,jesus ,christ is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever2 and1 therefore1 what he did when he was upon earth1 he is doing now1 and will do till the end of the world4 ,if we will believe this1 and look at our ,lord's doings upon earth as patterns and specimens1 as it were1 of his eternal life and character1 then every verse in the gospels will teach us something1 and be precious to us4 ,the people came to hear ,jesus in a desert place2 a wild forest country1 among the hills on the east side of the ,lake of ,gennesaret4 ',and ,jesus1 when he came out1 saw much people1 and was moved with compassion toward them1 because they were as sheep having no shepherd3 and he taught them many things4' ,and1 what kind of people were these1 who so moved our ,lord's pity8 ,the text tells us1 that they were like sheep4 ,now1 in what way were they like sheep8 ,a sheep is simple1 and harmless1 and tractable1 and so1 ,i suppose1 were these people4 ,they may not have been very clever and shrewd2 not good scholars4 ,no doubt they were a poor1 wild1 ignorant1 set of people2 but they were tractable2 they were willing to come and learn2 they felt their own ignorance1 and wanted to be taught4 ,they were not proud and self-sufficient1 not fierce or bloodthirsty4 ,the text does not say that they were like wild beasts having no keeper3 but like sheep having no shepherd4 ,and therefore ,christ pitied them1 because they were teachable1 willing to be taught1 and worth teaching2 and yet had no one to teach them4 ,the ,scribes and ,pharisees1 it seems1 taught them nothing4 ,they may have taught the people in ,jerusalem1 and in the great towns1 something3 but they seem1 from all the gospels1 to have cared little or nothing for the poor folk out in the wild mountain country4 ,they liked to live in pride and comfort in the towns1 with their comfortable congregations round them1 admiring them2 but they had no fancy to go out into the deserts1 to seek and to save those who were lost4 ,they were bad shepherds1 greedy shepherds1 who were glad enough to shear ,god's flock1 and keep the wool themselves3 but they did not care to feed the flock of ,god4 ,it was too much trouble2 and they could get no honour and no money by it4 ,and most likely they did not understand these poor people2 could not speak1 hardly understand1 their country language2 for these ,galileans spoke a rough dialect1 different from that of the upper classes4 ,so the ,scribes and ,pharisees looked down on them as a bad1 wild1 low set of people1 with whom nothing could be done2 and said1 ',this people who knoweth not the law1 is accursed4' ,but what they would not do1 ,god himself would4 ,god in ,christ had come to feed his own flock1 and to seek the lost sheep1 and bring them gently home to ,god's fold4 ,he could feel for these poor wild foresters and mountain shepherds2 he could understand what was in their hearts2 for he knew the heart of man2 and1 therefore1 he could make them understand him4 ,and it was for this very reason1 one might suppose1 that our ,lord was willing to be brought up at ,nazareth1 that he might learn the country speech1 and country ways1 and that the people might grow to look on him as one of themselves4 ,those ,scribes and ,pharisees1 one may suppose1 were just the people whom they could not understand2 fine1 rich scholars1 proud people talking very learnedly about deep doctrines4 ,the country folk must have looked at them as if they belonged to some other world1 and said1--,those ,pharisees cannot understand us1 any more than we can them1 with their hard rules about this and that4 ,easy enough for rich men like them to make rules for poor ones4 ,indeed our ,lord said the very same of them--',binding heavy burdens1 and grievous to be borne1 and laying them on men's shoulders2 while they themselves would not touch them with one of their fingers4' ,then the ,lord himself came and preached to these poor wild folk1 and they heard him gladly4 ,and why8 ,because his speech was too deep for them8 ,because he scolded and threatened them8 ,no4 ,we never find that our ,lord spoke harshly to them4 ,they had plenty of sins1 and he knew it3 but it is most remarkable that the ,evangelists never tell us what he said about those sins4 ,what they do tell us is1 that he spoke to them of the common things around them1 of the flowers of the field1 the birds of the air1 of sowing and reaping1 and feeding sheep2 and taught them by parables1 taken from the common country life which they lived1 and the common country things which they saw2 and shewed them how the kingdom of ,god was like unto this and that which they had seen from their childhood1 and how earth was a pattern of heaven4 ,and they could understand that4 ,not all of it perhaps3 but still they heard him gladly4 ,his preaching made them understand themselves1 and their own souls1 and what ,god felt for them1 and what was right and wrong1 and what would become of them1 as they never felt before4 ,it is plain and certain that the country people could understand ,christ's parables1 when the ,scribes and ,pharisees could not4 ,the ,scribes and ,pharisees1 in spite of all their learning1 were those who were without 7as our ,lord said72 who had eyes and could not see1 and ears and could not hear1 for their hearts were grown fat and gross4 ,with all their learning1 they were not wise enough to understand the message which ,god sends in every flower and every sunbeam2 the message which ,christ preached to the poor1 and the poor heard him gladly2 the message which he confirmed to them by his miracles4 ,for what were his miracles like8 ,did he call down lightning to strike sinners dead1 or call up earthquakes1 to swallow them8 ,no2 he went about healing the sick1 cleansing the leper1 feeding the hungry in the wilderness2 that therefore they might see by his example1 the glory of their ,father in heaven1 and understand that ,god is a ,god of ,love1 of mercy1 a deliverer1 a ,saviour1 and not1 as the ,scribes and ,pharisees made him out1 a hard taskmaster1 keeping his anger for ever1 and extreme to mark what was done amiss4 ,ah that1 be sure1 was what made the ,scribes and ,pharisees more mad than anything else against ,christ1 that he spoke to the poor ignorant people of their ,father in heaven4 ,it made them envious enough to see the poor people listening to ,christ1 when they would not listen to them2 but when he told these poor folk1 whom they called 'accursed and lost sinners1' that ,god in heaven was their ,father1 then no name was too bad for our ,lord2 and they called him the worst name which they could think of--a friend of publicans and sinners4 ,that was the worst name1 in their eyes3 and yet1 in reality1 it was the highest honour4 ,but they never forgave him4 ,how could they8 ,they felt that if he was doing ,god's work1 they were doing the devil's1 that either he or they must be utterly wrong3 and they never rested till they crucified him1 and stopped him for ever1 as they fancied1 from telling poor ignorant people laden with sins to consider the flowers of the field how they grow1 and learn from them that they have a ,father in heaven who knoweth what they have need of before they ask him4 ,but they did not stop ,christ3 and1 what is more1 they will never stop him4 ,he has said it1 and it remains true for ever2 for he is saying it over and over again1 in a thousand ways1 to his sheep1 when they are wandering without a shepherd4 ,only let them be ,christ's sheep1 and he will have compassion on them1 and teach them many things4 ,many may neglect them3 but ,christ will not4 ,whoever you may be1 however simple you are1 however ignorant1 however lonely1 still1 if you are one of ,christ's sheep1 if you are harmless and teachable1 willing and wishing to learn what is right1 then ,christ will surely teach you in his good time4 ,there never was a soul on earth1 ,i believe1 who really wished for ,god's light1 but what ,god's light came to it at last1 as it will to you1 if you be ,christ's sheep4 ,if you are proud and conceited1 you will learn nothing4 ,if you are fierce and headstrong1 you will learn nothing4 ,if you are patient and gentle1 you will learn all that you need to know2 for ,christ will teach you4 ,he has many ways of teaching you4 ,by his ministers2 by the ,bible2 by books2 by good friends2 by sorrows and troubles2 by blessings and comforts2 by stirring up your mind to think over the common things which lie all around you in your daily work4 ,but what need for me to go on counting by how many ways ,christ will lead you1 when he has more ways than man ever dreamed of8 ,who hath known the mind of the ,lord2 or who shall be his counsellor8 ,only be sure that he will teach you1 if you wish to learn2 and be sure that this is what he will teach you--to know the glory of his ,father and your ,father1 whose name is ,love4 ,,sermon ,,vi4 ,,the ,,hearing ,,ear ,,and ,,the ,,seeing ,,eye ,proverbs xx4 #ab4 ,the hearing ear1 and the seeing eye1 the ,lord hath made even both of them4 ,this saying may seem at first a very simple one2 and some may ask1 ,what need to tell us that8 ,we know it already4 ,god1 who made all things1 made the ear and the eye likewise4 ,true1 my friends3 but the simplest texts are often the deepest2 and that1 just because they speak to us of the most common things4 ,for the most common things are often the most wonderful1 and deep1 and difficult to understand4 ,the hearing of the ear1 and the seeing of the eye4--,every one hears and sees all day long1 so perpetually that we never think about our hearing or sight1 unless we find them fail us4 ,and yet1 how wonderful are hearing and sight4 ,how we hear1 how we see1 no man knows1 and perhaps ever will know4 ,when the ear is dissected and examined1 it is found to be a piece of machinery infinitely beyond the skill of mortal man to make4 ,the tiny drum of the ear1 which quivers with every sound which strikes it1 puts to shame with its divine workmanship all the clumsy workmanship of man4 ,but recollect that it is not all the wonder1 but only the beginning of it4 ,the ear is wonderful3 but still more wonderful is it how the ear hears4 ,it is wonderful1 ,i mean1 how the ear should be so made1 that each different sound sets it in motion in a different way3 but still more wonderful1 how that sound should pass up from the ear to the nerves and brain1 so that we hear4 ,therein is a mystery which no mortal man can explain4 ,so of the eye4 ,all the telescopes and microscopes which man makes1 curiously and cunningly as they are made1 are clumsy things compared with the divine workmanship of the eye4 ,i cannot describe it to you2 nor1 if ,i could1 is this altogether a fit place to do so4 ,but if any one wishes to see the greatness and the glory of ,god1 and be overwhelmed with the sense of his own ignorance1 and of ,god's wisdom1 let him read any book which describes to him the eye of man1 or even of beast1 and then say with the psalmist1 ',i am fearfully and wonderfully made4 ,marvellous are thy works1 ,o ,lord1 and that my soul knoweth right well4' ,and remember1 that as with the ear1 so with the eye1 the mere workmanship of it is only the beginning of the wonder4 ,it is very wonderful that the eye should be able to take a picture of each thing in front of it2 that on the tiny black curtain at the back of the eye1 each thing outside should be printed1 as it were1 instantly1 exact in shape and colour4 ,but that is not sight4 ,sight is a greater wonder1 over and above that4 ,seeing is this1 that the picture which is printed on the back of the eye1 is also printed on our brain1 so that we see it4 ,there is the wonder of wonders4 ,do some of you not understand me8 ,then look at it thus4 ,if you took out the eye of an animal1 and held it up to anything1 a man or a tree1 a perfect picture of that man or that tree would be printed on the back of the dead eye3 but the eye would not see it4 ,and why8 ,because it is cut off from the live brain of the animal to which it belonged2 and therefore1 though the picture is still in the eye1 it sends no message about itself up to the brain1 and is not seen4 ,and how does the picture on the eye send its message about itself to the brain1 so that the brain sees it8 ,and how1 again--for here is a third wonder1 greater still--do we ourselves see what our brain sees8 ,that no man knows1 and1 perhaps1 never will know in this world4 ,for science1 as it is called1 that is1 the understanding of this world1 and what goes on therein1 can only tell us as yet what happens1 what ,god does3 but of how ,god does it1 it can tell us little or nothing2 and of why ,god does it1 nothing at all2 and all we can say is1 at every turn1 ,god is great4 ,mind1 again1 that these are not all the wonders which are in the ear and in the eye4 ,it is wonderful enough1 that our brains should hear through our ears1 and see through our eyes3 but it is more wonderful still1 that they should be able to recollect what they have heard and seen4 ,that you and ,i should be able to call up in our minds a sound which we heard yesterday1 or even a minute ago1 is to me one of the most utterly astonishing things ,i know of4 ,and so of ordinary recollection4 ,what is it that we call remembering a place1 remembering a person's face8 ,that place1 or that face1 was actually printed1 as it were1 through our eye upon our brain4 ,we have a picture of it somewhere2 we know not where1 inside us4 ,but that we should be able to call that picture up again1 and look at it with what we rightly call our mind's eye1 whenever we choose2 and not merely that one picture only1 but thousands of such2--that is a wonder1 indeed1 which passes understanding4 ,consider the hundreds of human faces1 the hundreds of different things and places1 which you can recollect2 and then consider that all those different pictures are lying1 as it were1 over each other in hundreds in that small place1 your brain1 for the most part without interfering with1 or rubbing out each other1 each ready to be called up1 recollected1 and used in its turn4 ,if this is not wonderful1 what is8 ,so wonderful1 that no man knows1 or1 ,i think1 ever will know1 how it comes to pass4 ,how the eye tells the brain of the picture which is drawn upon the back of the eve--how the brain calls up that picture when it likes--these are two mysteries beyond all man's wisdom to explain4 ,these are two proofs of the wisdom and the power of ,god1 which ought to sink deeper into our hearts than all signs and wonders2--greater proofs of ,god's power and wisdom1 than if yon fir-trees burst into flame of themselves1 or yon ground opened1 and a fountain of water sprung out4 ,most people think much of signs and wonders4 ,just in proportion as they have no real faith in ,god1 just in proportion as they forget ,god1 and will not see that he is about their path1 and about their bed1 and spying out all their ways1 they are like those godless ,scribes and ,pharisees of old1 who must have signs and wonders before they would believe4 ,so it is3 the commonest things are as wonderful1 more wonderful1 than the uncommon2 and yet1 people will hanker after the uncommon1 as if they belonged to ,god more immediately than the commonest matters4 ,if yon trees burst out in flame2 if yon hill opened1 and a fountain sprang up1 how many would cry1 ',how awful6 ,how wonderful6 ,here is a sign that ,god is near us6 ,it is time to think about our souls now6 ,perhaps the end of the world is at hand6' ,and all the while they would be blind to that far more awful proof of ,god's presence1 that all around them1 all day long1 all over the world1 millions of human ears are hearing1 millions of human eyes are seeing1 ,god alone knows how2 millions of human brains are recollecting1 ,god alone knows how4 ,that is not faith1 my friends1 to see ,god only in what is strange and rare3 but this is faith1 to see ,god in what is most common and simple2 to know ,god's greatness not so much from disorder1 as from order2 not so much from those strange sights in which ,god seems 7but only seems7 to break his laws1 as from those common ones in which he fulfils his laws4 ,i know it is very difficult to believe that4 ,it has been always difficult2 and for this reason4 ,our souls and minds are disorderly2 and therefore order does not look to us what it is1 the likeness and glory of ,god4 ,i will explain4 ,if ,god1 at any moment1 should create a full-grown plant with stalk1 leaves1 and flowers1 all perfect1 all would say1 ,there is the hand of ,god6 ,how great is ,god6 ,there is1 indeed1 a miracle6--,just because it would seem not to be according to order4 ,but the tiny seed sown in the ground1 springing up into root-leaf1 stalk1 rough leaf1 flower1 seed1 which will again be sown and spring up into leaf1 flower1 and seed2--in that perpetual miracle1 people see no miracle3 just because it is according to order3 because it comes to pass by regular and natural laws4 ,and why8 ,because1 such as we are1 such we fancy ,god to be4 ,and we are all of us more or less disorderly3 fanciful2 changeable2 fond of doing not what we ought1 but what we like2 fond of showing our power1 not by keeping rules1 but by breaking rules2 and we fancy too often that ,god is like ourselves1 and make him in our image1 after our own likeness1 which is disorder1 and self-will1 and changeableness2 instead of trying to be conformed to his image and his likeness1 which is order and law eternal3 and1 therefore1 whenever ,god seems 7for he only seems to our ignorance7 to be making things suddenly1 as we make1 or working arbitrarily as we work1 then we acknowledge his greatness and wisdom4 ,whereas his greatness1 his wisdom1 are rather shown in not making as we make1 not working as we work3 but in this is the greatness of ,god manifest1 in that he has ordained laws which must work of themselves1 and with which he need never interfere3 laws by which the tiny seed1 made up only 7as far as we can see7 of a little water1 and air1 and earth1 must grow up into plant1 leaf1 and flower1 utterly unlike itself1 and must produce seeds which have the truly miraculous power of growing up in their turn1 into plants exactly like that from which they sprung1 and no other4 ,ah1 my friends1 herein is the glory of ,god3 and he who will consider the lilies of the field1 how they grow1 that man will see at last that the highest1 and therefore the truest1 notion of ,god is1 not that the universe is continually going wrong1 so that he has to interfere and right it3 but that the universe is continually going right1 because he hath given it a law which cannot be broken4 ,and when a man sees that1 there will arise within his soul a clear light1 and an awful joy1 and an abiding peace1 and a sure hope2 and a faith as of a little child4 ,then will that man crave no more for signs and wonders1 with the superstitious and the unbelieving1 who have eyes1 and see not2 ears1 and cannot hear2 whose hearts are waxen gross1 so that they cannot consider the lilies of the field1 how they grow3 but all his cry will be to the ,lord of ,order1 to make him orderly2 to the ,lord of ,law1 to make him loyal2 to the ,lord in whom is nothing arbitrary1 to take out of him all that is unreasonable and self-willed2 and make him content1 like his ,master ,christ before him1 to do the will of his ,father in heaven1 who has sent him into this noble world4 ,he will no longer fancy that ,god is an absent ,god1 who only comes down now and then to visit the earth in signs and wonders3 but he will know that ,god is everywhere1 and over all things1 from the greatest to the least2 for in ,god1 he1 and all things created1 live and move and have their being4 ,and therefore1 knowing that he is always in the presence of ,god1 he will pray to be taught how to use all his powers aright1 because all of them are the powers of ,god2 pray to be taught how to see1 and how to hear2 pray that when he is called to account for the use of this wonderful body which ,god has bestowed on him1 he may not be brought to shame by the thought that he has used it merely for his own profit or his own pleasure1 much less by the thought that he has weakened and diseased it by misuse and neglect3 but comforted by the thought that he has done with it what the ,lord ,jesus did with his body--made it the useful servant1 and not the brutal master1 of his immortal soul4 ,and he will do that1 ,i believe1 just as far as he keeps in mind what a wonderful and useful thing his body is2 what a perpetual token and witness to him of the unspeakable greatness and wisdom of ,god2 just in proportion as he says day by day1 with the ,psalmist1 ',thou hast fashioned me behind and before1 and laid thine hand upon me4 ,such knowledge is too wonderful and excellent for me2 ,i cannot attain unto it4 ,whither shall ,i go1 then1 from thy ,spirit2 or whither shall ,i go from thy presence8 ,if ,i climb up into heaven1 thou art there4 ,if ,i go down to hell1 thou art there also4 ,if ,i take the wings of the morning1 and remain in the uttermost parts of the sea1 even there also shall thy hand lead me1 thy right hand shall hold me4' ,just in proportion as he recollects that1 will he utter from his heart the prayer which follows1 ',try me1 ,o ,god1 and seek the ground of my heart2 prove me1 and examine my thoughts4 ,look well if there be any way of wickedness in me1 and lead me in the way everlasting4' ,,sermon ,,vii4 ,,the ,,victory ,,of ,,faith 7,first ,sunday after ,easter47 #a ,john v4 #d1 #e4 ,whatsoever is born of ,god overcometh the world3 and this is the victory which overcometh the world1 even our faith4 ,who is he that overcometh the world1 but he that believeth that ,jesus is the ,son of ,god8 ,what is the meaning of 'overcoming the world8' ,what is there about the world which we have to overcome8 lest it should overcome us1 and make worse men of us than we ought to be4 ,let us think awhile4 #a4 ,in the world all seems full of chance and change4 ,one man rises1 and another falls1 one hardly knows why3 they hardly know themselves4 ,a very slight accident may turn the future of a man's whole life1 perhaps of a whole nation4 ,chance and change--there seems to us1 at times1 to be little else than chance and change4 ,is not the world full of chance8 ,are not people daily crushed in railways1 burnt to death1 shot with their own guns1 poisoned by mistake1 without any reason that we can see1 why one should be taken1 and another left8 ,why should not an accident happen to us1 as well as to others8 ,why should not we have the thing we love best snatched from us this day8 ,why not1 indeed8 ,what1 then1 will help us to overcome the fear of chances and accidents8 ,how shall we keep from being fearful1 fretful1 full of melancholy forebodings6 ,where shall we find something abiding and eternal1 a refuge sure and steadfast1 in which we may trust1 amid all the chances and changes of this mortal life8 ,st4 ,john tells us--,in that within you which is born of ,god4 #b4 ,in the world so much seems to go by fixed law and rule4 ,that is even more terrible to our minds and hearts--to find that all around us1 in the pettiest matters of life1 there are laws and rules ready made for us1 which we cannot break2 laws of trade2 laws of prosperity and adversity2 laws of health and sickness2 laws of weather and storms2 laws by which not merely we1 but whole nations1 grow1 and decay1 and die4--,all around us1 laws1 iron laws1 which we do not make1 and which we dare not try to break1 lest they go on their way1 and grind us to powder4 ,then comes the awful question1 ,are we at the mercy of these laws8 ,is the world a great machine1 which goes grinding on its own way without any mercy to us or to anything2 and are we each of us parts of the machine1 and forced of necessity to do all we do8 ,is it true1 that our fate is fixed for us from the cradle to the grave1 and perhaps beyond the grave8 ,how shall we prevent the world from overcoming us in this8 ,how shall we escape the temptation to sit down and fold our hands in sloth and despair1 crying1 ,what we are1 we must be2 and what will come1 must come2 whether it be for our happiness or misery1 our life or death8 ,where shall we find something to trust in1 something to give us confidence and hope that we can mend ourselves1 that self-improvement is of use1 that working is of use1 that prudence is of use1 for ,god will reward every man according to his work8 ,st4 ,john tells us--,in that within you which is born of ,god4 #c4 ,then1 again1 in the world how much seems to go by selfishness4 ,let every man take care of himself1 help himself1 fight for himself against all around him1 seems to be the way of the world1 and the only way to get on in the world4 ,but is it really to be so8 ,are we to thrive only by thinking of ourselves8 ,something in our hearts tells us1 ,no4 ,something in our hearts tells us that this would be a very miserable world if every man shifted for himself2 and that even if we got this world's good things by selfishness1 they would not be worth having after all1 if we had no one but ourselves to enjoy them with4 ,what is that8 ,st4 ,john answers--,that in you which is born of ,god4 ,it will enable you to overcome the world's deceits1 and to see that selfishness is not the way to prosper4 #d4 ,once1 again2 in the world how much seems to go by mere custom and fashion4 ,because one person does a thing right or wrong1 everybody round fancies himself bound to do likewise4 ,because one man thinks a thing1 hundreds and thousands begin to think the same from mere hearsay1 without examining and judging for themselves4 ,there is no silliness1 no cruelty1 no crime into which people have not fallen1 and may still fall1 for mere fashion's sake1 from blindly following the example of those round him4 ',everybody does so2 and ,i must4 ,why should ,i be singular8' ,or1 ',everybody does so2 what harm can there be in my doing so8' ,but there is something in each of us which tells us that that is not right2 that each man should act according to his own conscience1 and not blindly follow his neighbour1 not knowing whither1 like sheep over a hedge2 that a man is directly responsible at first for his own conduct to ,god1 and that 'my neighbours did so' will be no excuse in ,god's sight4 ,what is it which tells us this8 ,st4 ,john answers1 ,that in you which is born of ,god2 and it1 if you will listen to it1 will enable you to overcome the world's deceit1 and its vain fashions1 and foolish hearsays1 and blind party-cries2 and not to follow after a multitude to do evil4 ,what1 then1 is this thing8 ,st4 ,john tells us that it is born of ,god2 and that it is our faith4 ,faith will enable us to overcome the world4 ,we shall overcome by believing and trusting in something which we do not see4 ,but in what8 ,are we to believe and trust that we are going to heaven8 ,st4 ,john does not say so2 he was far too wise1 my friends1 to say so3 for a man's trusting that he is going to heaven1 if that is all the faith he has1 is more likely to make the world overcome him1 than him overcome the world4 ,for it will make him but too ready to say1 ',if ,i am sure to be saved after ,i die1 it matters not so very much what ,i do before ,i die4 ,i may follow the way of the world here1 in money-making and meanness1 and selfishness2 and then die in peace1 and go to heaven after all4' ,this is no fancy4 ,there are hundreds1 nay thousands1 ,i fear1 in ,england now1 who let the world and its wicked ways utterly overcome them1 just because their faith is a faith in their own salvation1 and not the faith of which ,st4 ,john speaks--,believing that ,jesus is the ,son of ,god4 ,but some may ask1 ',how will believing that ,jesus is the ,son of ,god help us more than believing the other8 ,for1 after all1 we do believe it4 ,we all believe that ,jesus is the ,son of ,god3 but as for overcoming the world1 we dare not say too much of that4 ,we fear we are letting the world overcome us2 we are living too much in continual fear of the chances and changes of this mortal life4 ,we are letting things go too much their own way4 ,we are trying too much each to get what he can by his own selfish wits1 without considering his neighbours4 ,we are following too much the ways and fashions of the day1 and doing and saying and thinking anything that comes uppermost1 just because others do so round us4' ,is it so1 my friends8 ,but do you really believe that ,jesus is the ,son of ,god8 ,for sure ,i am1 that if you did1 and ,i did1 really and fully believe that1 we could all lead much better lives than we are leading1 manful and godly1 useful and honourable1 truly independent and yet truly humble2 fearing ,god and fearing nothing else4 ,but do you believe it8 ,have you ever thought of all that those great words mean1 ',jesus is the ,son of ,god'8--,that he who died on the cross1 and rose again for us1 now sits at ,god's right hand1 having all power given to him in heaven and earth8 ,for1 think1 if we really believed that1 what power it would give us to overcome the world1 and all its chances and changes2 all its seemingly iron laws2 all its selfish struggling2 all its hearsays and fashions4 #a4 ,those chances and changes of mortal life of which ,i spoke first4 ,we should not be afraid of them1 then1 even if they came4 ,for we should believe that they were not chances and changes at all1 but the loving providence of our ,lord and ,saviour1 a man of the substance of his mother1 born in the world1 who therefore can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities1 and knows our necessities before we ask1 and our ignorance in asking1 and orders all things for good to those who love him1 and desire to copy his likeness4 #b4 ,those stern laws and rules by which the world moves1 and will move as long as it lasts--we should not be afraid of them either1 as if we were mere parts of a machine forced by fate to do this thing and that1 without a will of our own4 ,for we should believe that these laws were the laws of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 that he had ordained them for the good of man1 of man whom he so loved that he poured out his most precious blood upon the cross for us2 and therefore we should not fear them2 we should only wish to learn them1 that we might obey them1 sure that they are the laws of life2 of health and wealth1 peace and safety1 honour and glory in this world and in the world to come2 and we should thank ,god whenever men of science1 philosophers1 clergymen1 or any persons whatsoever1 found out more of the laws of that good ,god1 in whom we and all created things live and move and have our being4 #c4 ,if we believe really that ,jesus was the ,son of ,god1 we should never believe that selfishness was to be the rule of our lives4 ,one sight of ,christ upon his cross would tell us that not selfishness1 but love1 was the likeness of ,god1 that not selfishness1 but love1 which gives up all that it may do good1 was the path to honour and glory1 happiness and peace4 #d4 ,if we really believe this1 we should never believe that custom and fashion ought to rule us4 ,for we should live by the example of some one else3 but by the example of only one--of ,jesus himself4 ,we should set him before us as the rule of all our actions1 and try to keep our conscience pure1 not merely in the sight of men who may mistake1 and do mistake1 but in the sight of ,jesus1 the ,word of ,god1 who pierces the very thoughts and intents of the heart2 and we should say daily with ,st4 ,paul1 ',it is a small thing for me to be judged by you1 or any man's judgment1 for he that judges me is the ,lord4' ,and so we should overcome the world4 ,our hearts and spirits would rise above the false shows of things1 to ,god who has made all things2 above fear and melancholy2 above laziness and despair2 above selfishness and covetousness1 above custom and fashion2 up to the everlasting truth and order1 which is the mind of ,god2 that so we might live joyfully and freely in the faith and trust that ,christ is our king1 ,christ is our ,saviour1 ,christ is our example1 ,christ is our judge2 and that as long as we are loyal to him1 all will be well with us in this world1 and in all worlds to come4--,amen4 ,,sermon ,,viii4 ,,turning-,,points ,luke xix4 #da1 #db4 ,and when ,jesus was come near1 he beheld the city1 and wept over it1 saying1 ,if thou hadst known1 even thou1 at least in this thy day1 the things which belong unto thy peace6 but now they are hid from thine eyes4 ,my dear friends1 here is a solemn lesson to be learnt from this text4 ,what is true of whole nations1 and of whole churches1 is very often true of single persons--of each of us4 ,to most men--to all baptized ,christian men1 perhaps--there comes a day of visitation1 a crisis1 or turning-point in our lives4 ,a day when ,christ sets before us1 as he did to those ,jews1 good and evil1 light and darkness1 right and wrong1 and says1 ,choose6 ,choose at once1 and choose for ever2 for by what you choose this day1 by that you must abide till death4 ,if you make a mistake now1 you will rue it to the last4 ,if you take the downward road now1 you will fall lower and lower upon it henceforth4 ,if you shut your eyes now to the things which belong to your peace1 they will be hid from your eyes for ever2 and nothing but darkness1 ignorance1 and confusion will be before you henceforth4 ,what will become of the man's soul after he dies1 ,i cannot say4 ,christ is his judge1 and not ,i4 ,he may be saved1 yet so as by fire1 as ,st4 ,paul says4 ,repentance is open to all men1 and forgiveness for those who repent4 ,but from that day1 if he chooses wrongly1 true repentance will grow harder and harder to him--perhaps impossible at last4 ,he has made his bed1 and he must lie on it4 ,he has chosen the evil1 and refused the good2 and now the evil must go on getting more and more power over him4 ,he has sold his soul1 and now he must pay the price4 ,again1 ,i say1 he may be saved at last4 ,who am ,i1 to say that ,god's mercy is not boundless1 when the ,bible says it is8 ,but one may well say of that man1 ',god help him1' for he will not be able to help himself henceforth4 ,it is an awful thing1 my friends1 to think that we may fix our own fate in this world1 perhaps in the world to come1 by one act of wilful folly or sin3 but so it is4 ,just as a man may do one tricky thing about money1 which will force him to do another to hide it1 and another after that1 till he becomes a confirmed rogue in spite of himself4 ,just as a man may run into debt once1 so that he never gets out of debt again2 just as a man may take to drink once1 and the bad habit grow on him till he is a confirmed drunkard to his dying day4 ,just as a man may mix in bad company once1 and so become entangled as in a net1 till he cannot escape his evil companions1 and lowers himself to their level day by day1 till he becomes as bad as they4 ,just as a man may be unfaithful to his wife once1 and so blunt his conscience till he becomes a thorough profligate1 breaking her heart1 and ruining his own soul4 ,just as--but why should ,i go on1 mentioning ugly examples1 which we all know too well1 if we will open our own eyes and see the world and mankind as they are8 ,i will say no more1 lest ,i should set you on judging other people1 and saying ',there is no hope for them4 ,they are lost4' ,no2 let us rather judge ourselves1 as any man can1 and will1 who dares face fact1 and look steadily at what he is1 and what he might become4 ,do we not know that we could1 any one of us1 sell our own souls1 once and for all1 if we choose8 ,i know that ,i could4 ,i know that there are things which ,i might do1 which if ,i did from that moment forth1 ,i should have no hope1 but only a fearful looking forward to judgment and fiery indignation4 ,and have you never felt1 when you were tempted to do wrong3 ',i dare not do it for my own sake2 for if ,i did this one wickedness1 ,i feel sure that ,i never should be an honest man again8' ,if you have felt that1 thank ,god1 indeed2 for then you have seen the things which belong to your peace2 you have known the day of your visitation2 and you will be a better man as long as you live1 for having fought against that one temptation1 and chosen the good1 and refused the evil1 when ,god put them unmistakeably before you4 ,no2 the real danger is1 lest a man should be as those ,jews1 and not know the day of his visitation4 ,ah1 that is ruinous indeed1 when a man's eyes are blinded as those ,jews' eyes were2 when a great temptation comes on him1 and he thinks it no temptation at all2 when hell is opening beneath him1 with the devils trying to pluck him down1 and heaven opening above him1 with ,god's saints and martyrs beckoning him up1 looking with eyes of unutterable pity and anxiety and love on a poor soul2 and that poor soul sees neither heaven nor hell1 nor anything but his own selfish interest1 selfish pleasure1 or selfish pride1 and snaps at the devil's bait as easily as a silly fish2 while the devil1 instead of striking to frighten him1 lets him play with the bait1 and gorge it in peace1 fancying that he is well off1 when really he is fast hooked for ever1 led captive thenceforth from bad to worse by the snare of the devil4 ,oh miserable blindness1 which comes over men sometimes1 and keeps them asleep at the very moment that they ought to be most wide awake6 ,and what throws men into that sleep8 ,what makes them do in one minute something which curses all their lives afterwards8 ,love of pleasure8 ,yes3 that is a common curse enough1 as we all know4 ,but a worse snare than even that is pride and self-conceit4 ,that was what ruined those old ,jews4 ,that was what blinded their eyes4 ,they had made up their minds that they saw2 therefore they were blind3 that they could not go wrong2 therefore they went utterly and horribly wrong thenceforth3 that they alone of all people knew and kept ,god's law2 therefore they crucified the ,son of ,god himself for fulfilling their law4 ,they were taken unawares1 because they were asleep in vain security4 ,and so with us4 ,by conceit and carelessness1 we may ruin ourselves in a moment1 once and for all4 ,when a man has made up his mind that he is quite worldly-wise2 that no one can take him in2 that he thoroughly understands his own interest2 then is that man ripe and ready to commit some enormous folly1 which may bring him to ruin4 ,when a man has made up his mind that he knows all doctrines1 and is fully instructed in religion1 and can afford to look down on all who differ from him2 then is that man ripe and ready for doing something plainly wrong and wicked1 which will blunt his conscience from that day forth1 and teach him to call evil good1 and good evil more and more2 till1 in the midst of all his fine religious professions1 he knows not plain right from plain wrong--full of the form of godliness1 but denying the power of it in scandal of his every-day life4 ,yes1 my friends1 our only safeguard is humility4 ,be not high- minded1 but fear4 ,avoid every appearance of evil4 ,believe that in every temptation heaven and hell may be at stake3 and that the only way to be safe is to do nothing wilfully wrong at all1 for you never know how far downward one wilful sin may lead you4 ,the devil is not simple enough to let you see the bottom of his pitfall3 but it is so deep1 nevertheless1 that he who falls in1 may never get out again4 ,and do not say in your hearts about this thing and that1 ',well1 it is wrong3 but it is such a little matter4' ,a little draught may give a great cold2 and a great cold grow to a deadly decline4 ,a little sin may grow to a great bad habit2 and a great bad habit may kill both body and soul in hell4 ,a little bait may take a great fish2 and the devil fishes with a very fine line1 and is not going to let you see his hook4 ,the only way to be safe is to avoid all appearance of evil1 lest when you fancy yourself most completely your own master1 you find yourself the slave of sin4 ,oh1 may ,god give us all the spirit of watchfulness and godly fear6 ,of watchfulness1 lest sin overtake us unawares2 and of godly fear1 that we may have strength to say with ,joseph1 ',how can ,i do this great wickedness1 and sin against ,god8' ,of watchfulness1 too1 not only against sin1 but for ,god2 of godly fear1 not only fear of ,god's anger1 but fear of ,god's love4 ,do you ask what ,i mean8 ,this1 my friends2 that as we cannot tell at any moment what danger may be coming on us1 so we cannot tell at any moment what blessing from ,god may be coming on us4 ,those ,jews1 in the day of their visitation1 were blind1 and they rejected ,christ3 but recollect1 that it was ,christ whom they rejected2 that ,christ was there1 not in anger1 but in love2 not to judge1 but to save2 that the power of the ,lord was present1 not to destroy1 but to heal them4 ,they would have none of him4 ,true2 but they might have had him if they had chosen4 ,they denied him2 but he could not deny himself4 ,he was there to teach and to save1 as he comes to teach and to save every man4 ,therefore1 ,i say1 be watchful4 ,believe that ,christ is looking for you always1 and expect to meet him at any moment4 ,i do not mean in visible form1 in vision or apparition4 ,no4 ,he comes1 not by observation1 that a man may say1 ',lo1 here2 and lo1 there2' but he comes within you1 to your hearts1 with the still1 small voice1 which softens a man and sobers him for a moment1 and makes him yearn after good1 and say in his heart1 ',ah1 that ,i were as when ,i was a child upon my mother's knee4' ,oh6 listen to that softening1 sobering voice4 ,through very small things it may speak to you3 but it is ,christ himself who speaks4 ,whenever your heart is softened to affection toward parent1 or child1 or your fellowman1 then ,christ is speaking to you1 and showing you the things which belong to your peace4 ,whenever the feeling of justice1 and righteous horror of all meanness rises strong in you1 then ,christ is speaking to you4 ,whenever your heart burns within you with admiration of some noble action1 then ,christ is speaking to you4 ,whenever a chance word in sermons or in books touches your conscience1 and reproves you1 then ,christ is speaking to you4 ,oh turn not a deaf ear to those instincts4 ,they may be the very turning-points of your lives4 ,one such godly motion1 one such pure inspiration of the ,spirit of ,god listened to humbly1 and obeyed heartily1 may be the means of putting you into the right path thenceforward1 that you may go on and grow in strength and wisdom1 and favour with ,god and man2 till you become again1 in the world to come1 what you were when you were carried home from the baptismal font1 a little child1 pure from all spot of sin4 ,,sermon ,,ix4 ,,obadiah #a ,kings1 xviii4 #c1 #d4 ,and ,ahab called ,obadiah1 which was the governor of his house4 7,now ,obadiah feared the ,lord greatly3 for it was so1 when ,jezebel cut off the prophets of the ,lord1 that ,obadiah took an hundred prophets1 and hid them by fifty in a cave1 and fed them with bread and water47 ,this is the first and last time throughout the ,bible1 that we find this ,obadiah mentioned4 ,we find the same name elsewhere1 but not the same person4 ,it is a common ,jewish name1 ,obadiah1 and means1 ,i believe1 the servant of the ,lord4 ,all we know of the man is contained in this chapter4 ,we do not read what became of him afterwards4 ,he vanishes out of the story as quickly as he came into it1 and1 as we go on through the chapter and read of that grand judgment at ,carmel between ,elijah and the priests of ,baal1 and the fire of ,god which came down from heaven1 to shew that the ,lord was ,god1 we forget ,obadiah1 and care to hear of him no more4 ,and yet ,obadiah was a great man in his day4 ,he was1 it seems1 ,king ,ahab's vizier1 or prime minister2 the second man in the country after the king2 and a prime minister in those eastern kingdoms had1 and has now1 far greater power than he has in a free country like this4 ,yes1 ,obadiah was a great man in his day1 ,i doubt not2 and people bowed before him when he went out1 and looked up to him1 in that lawless country1 for life or death1 for ruin or prosperity4 ,their money1 and their land1 their very lives might depend on his taking a liking toward them1 or a spite against them4 ,and he had wealth1 no doubt1 and his fair and great house there among the beautiful hills of ,samaria1 ceiled with cedar and painted with vermilion1 with its olive groves and vineyards1 and rich gardens full of gay flowers and sweet spices1 figs and peaches1 and pomegranates1 and all the lovely vegetation which makes those ,eastern gardens like ,paradise itself4 ,and he had his great household of slaves1 men-servants and maidservants1 guards and footmen1 singing men and singing women--perhaps a hundred souls and more eating and drinking in his house day by day for many a year4 ,a great man2 full of wealth1 and pomp1 and power4 ,we know that it must have been so1 because we know well in what luxury those great men in the ,east lived4 ,but where is it now8 ,where is it now8 ,vanished and forgotten4 ,be not thou afraid1 though one be made rich1 or if the glory of his house be increased4 ,for he shall carry nothing away with him when he dieth2 neither shall his pomp follow him4 ,see--of all ,obadiah's wealth and glory1 the ,bible does not say one word4 ,it is actually not worth mentioning4 ,people admired ,obadiah1 ,i doubt not1 while he was alive2 envied him too1 tried to thrust him out of his place1 slander him to ,king ,ahab1 drive him out of favour1 and step into his place1 that they might enjoy his wealth and his power instead of him4 ,the fine outside of ,obadiah was what they saw1 and coveted1 and envied--as we are tempted now to say in our hearts1 ',ah1 if ,i was rich like that man4 ,ah1 if ,i could buy what ,i liked1 go where ,i liked1 do what ,i liked1 like that great ,lord6'-- and yet1 that is but the outside1 the shell1 the gay clothing1 not the persons themselves4 ,the day must come1 when they must put off all that2 when nothing shall remain but themselves2 and they themselves1 naked as they were born1 shall appear before the judgment-seat of ,god4 ,and did ,obadiah1 then1 carry away nothing with him when he died8 ,yes2 and yet again1 ,no4 ,his wealth and his power he left behind him3 but one thing he took with him into the grave1 better than all wealth and power2 and he keeps it now1 and will keep it for ever2 and that is1 a good1 and just1 and merciful action--concerning which it is written1 ',blessed are the dead which die in the ,lord2 for they rest from their labours1 and their works do follow them4' ,yes1 though a man's wealth will not follow him beyond the grave1 his works will2 and so ,obadiah's one good deed has followed him4 ',he feared the ,lord greatly1 and when ,jezebel cut off the prophets of the ,lord1 ,obadiah took a hundred prophets1 and hid them by fifty in a cave1 and fed them with bread and water4' ,that has followed ,obadiah2 for by it we know him1 now two thousand years and more after his death1 here in a distant land of the name of which he never heard4 ,by that good deed he lives4 ,he lives in the pages of the ,holy ,bible2 he lives in our minds and memories2 and more than all1 by that good deed he lives for ever in ,god's sight2 he is rewarded for it1 and the happier for it1 doubt it not1 at this very moment1 and will be the happier for it for ever4 ,oh blessed thought6 that there is something of which death cannot rob us6 ,that when we have to leave this pleasant world1 wife and child1 home and business1 and all that has grown up round us here on earth1 till it has become like a part of ourselves1 yet still we are not destitute4 ,we can turn round on death and say--',though ,i die1 yet canst thou not take my righteousness from me6' ,blessed thought6 that we cannot do a good deed1 not even give a cup of cold water in ,christ's name1 but what it shall rise again1 like a guardian angel1 to smooth our death-bed pillow1 and make our bed for us in our sickness1 and follow us into the next world1 to bless us for ever and ever6 ,and blessed thought1 too1 that what you do well and lovingly1 for ,god's sake1 will bless you here in this world before you die6 ,yes1 my friends1 in the dark day of sorrow and loneliness1 and fear and perplexity1 you will find old good deeds1 which you perhaps have forgotten1 coming to look after you1 as it were1 and help you in the hour of need4 ,those whom you have helped1 will help you in return3 and if they will not1 ,god will2 for he is not unrighteous1 to forget any work and labour of love1 which you have showed for his name's sake1 in ministering to his saints4 ,so found ,obadiah in that sad day1 when he met ,elijah4 ,for he was in evil case that day1 as were all souls1 rich and poor1 throughout that hapless land4 ,for three weary years1 there had been no drop of rain3 the earth beneath their feet had been like iron1 and the heavens above them brass2 and ,obadiah had found poverty1 want1 and misery1 come on him in the midst of all his riches3 he had seen his fair gardens wither1 and his olives and his vines burnt up with drought2--his cattle had perished on the hills1 and his servants1 too1 perhaps1 in his house4 ,perhaps his children at home were even then crying for food and water1 and crying in vain1 in spite of all their father's greatness4 ,what was the use of wealth8 ,he could not eat gold1 nor drink jewels4 ,what was the use of his power8 ,he could not command the smallest cloud to rise up off the sea1 and pour down one drop of water to quench their thirst4 ,yes1 ,obadiah was in bitter misery that day1 no doubt2 and all the more1 because he felt that all was ,god's judgment on the people's sins4 ,they had served ,baalim and ,ashtaroth1 the sun and moon and stars1 and prayed to them for rain and fruitful seasons1 as if they were the rulers of the weather and the soil1 instead of serving the true ,god who made heaven and earth1 and all therein3 and now ,god had judged them3 he had given his sentence and verdict about that matter1 and told them1 by a sign which could not be mistaken1 that he1 and not the sun and moon1 was master of the sky and the sea1 and the rain and the soil4 ,they had prayed to the sun and moon2 and this was the fruit of their prayers-- that their prayers had not been heard3 but instead of rain and plenty1 was drought and barrenness2--carcasses of cattle scattered over the pastures--every village full of living skeletons1 too weak to work 7though what use in working1 when the ground would yield no crop87--crawling about1 their tongues cleaving to the roof of their mouths1 in vain searching after a drop of water4 ,fearful and sickening sights must ,obadiah have seen that day1 as he rode wearily on upon his pitiful errand4 ,and the thought of what a pitiful errand he was going on1 and what a pitiful king he served1 must have made him all the more miserable2 for1 instead of turning and repenting1 and going back to the true ,god1 which was the plain and the only way of escaping out of that misery1 that wretched ,king ,ahab seems to have cared for nothing but his horses4 ,we do not read that he tried to save one of his wretched people alive4 ,all his cry was1 ',go into the land1 to all fountains of water and all brooks2 perhaps we shall find grass enough to save the horses and mules alive3 that we lose not all the beasts4' ,the horses were what he cared for more than the human beings1 as many of those bad kings of ,israel did4 ,moses had expressly commanded them not to multiply horses to themselves2 but they persisted always in doing so1 nevertheless4 ,and why8 ,because they wanted horses to mount their guards2 to keep up a strong force of cavalry and chariots1 in order to oppress the poor country people1 whom they had brought down to slavery1 from having been free yeomen1 as they were in the days of ,moses and ,joshua4 ,and what hope could he have for his wretched country8 ,the people shewed no signs of coming to their senses2 the king still less4 ,his wicked ,queen ,jezebel was as devoted as ever to her idols2 the false prophets of ,baal were four hundred and fifty men1 and the prophets of the groves 7where the stars were worshipped7 four hundred2 and these cheats contrived 7as such false teachers generally do7 to take good care of themselves1 and to eat at ,jezebel's table1 while all the rest of the people were perishing4 ,what could be before the country1 and him1 too1 but utter starvation1 and hopeless ruin8 ,and all this while his life was in the hands of a weak and capricious tyrant1 who might murder him any moment1 and of a wicked and spiteful queen1 who certainly would murder him1 if she found out that he had helped and saved the prophets of the ,lord4 ,who so miserable as he8 ,but on that day1 ,obadiah found that his alms and prayers had gone up before ,god1 and were safe with ,god1 and not to be forgotten for ever4 ,when he fell on his face before ,elijah1 in fear for his life1 he found that he was safe in ,god's hands2 that ,god would not betray him or forsake him4 ,elijah promised him1 with a solemn oath1 that he would keep his word with him2 he kept it1 and before many days were past1 ,obadiah had an answer to all his prayers1 and a relief from all his fears2 and the ,lord sent a gracious rain on his inheritance1 and refreshed it when it was weary4 ,yes1 my friends1 though well-doing seems for a while not to profit you1 persevere3 in due time you shall reap1 if you faint not4 ,though the ,lord sometimes waits to be gracious1 he only waits1 he does not forget2 and it is to be gracious that he waits1 not ungracious4 ,cast1 therefore1 thy bread upon the waters1 and thou shall find it after many days4 ,give a portion to seven1 and also to eight1 for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth4 ,do thy diligence to give of what thou hast2 for so gatherest thou thyself in the day of necessity1 in which1 with what measure you have measured to others1 ,god will measure to you again4 ,this is true1 for the ,scripture says so2 this must be true1 for reason and conscience--the voice of ,god within us--tell us that ,god is just2 that ,god must be true1 though every man be a liar4 ',hear1' says our ,lord1 'what the unjust judge says3 ,and shall not ,god 7the just judge71 avenge his own elect1 who cry day and night to him1 though he bear long with them8' ,yes1 my friends1 ,god's promise stands sure1 now and for ever4 ',trust in the ,lord1 and do good2 so shalt thou dwell in the land1 and verily thou shalt be fed4' ,but now comes in a doubt--and it ought to come in--,what are our works at best8 ,what have we which is fit to offer to ,god8 ,full of selfishness1 vanity1 self-conceit1 the best of them2 and not half done either4 ,what have we ever done right1 but what we might have done more rightly1 and done more of it1 also8 ,bad in quality our good works are1 and bad in quantity1 too4 ,how shall we have courage to carry them in our hand to that ,god who charges his very angels with folly2 and the very heavens are not clean in his sight8 ,too true1 if we had to offer our own works to ,god4 ,but1 thanks be to his holy name1 we have not to offer them ourselves2 for there is one who offers them for us--,jesus ,christ the ,lord4 ,he it is who takes these imperfect1 clumsy works of ours1 all soiled and stained with our sin and selfishness1 and washes them clean in his most precious blood1 which was shed to take away the sin of the world3 he it is who1 in some wonderful and unspeakable way1 cleanses our works from sin1 by the merit of his death and sufferings1 so that nothing may be left in them but what is the fruit of ,god's own spirit2 and that ,god may see in them only the good which he himself put into them1 and not the stains and soils which they get from our foolish and sinful hearts4 ,oh1 my friends1 bear this in mind4 ,whensoever you do a thing which you know to be right and good1 instead of priding yourself on it1 as if the good in it came from you1 offer it up to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and to your ,heavenly ,father1 from whom all good things come1 and say1 ',oh ,lord1 the good in this is thine1 and not mine2 the bad in it is mine1 and not thine4 ,i thank thee for having made me do right1 for without thy help ,i should have done nothing but wrong2 for mine is the laziness1 and the weakness1 and the selfishness1 and the self-conceit2 and thine is the kingdom1 for thou rulest all things2 and the power1 for thou doest all things2 and the glory1 for thou doest all things well1 for ever and ever4 ,amen4' ,,sermon ,x4 ,,religious ,,dangers 7,preached at the ,chapel ,royal1 ,whitehall1 #ahfa1 for the ,london ,diocesan ,board of ,education47 ,st4 ,mark viii4 #d1 #e1 #h4 ,and the disciples answered him1 ,from whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness8 4 4 4 ,how many loaves have ye8 ,and they said1 ,seven4 4 4 4 so they did eat and were filled2 and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets4 ,i think that ,i can take no better text for the subject on which ,i am about to preach1 than that which the ,gospel for this day gives me4 ,for is not such a great city as this ,london1 at least in its present amorphous1 unorganised state1 having grown up1 and growing still1 any how and any whither1 by the accidental necessities of private commerce1 private speculation1 private luxury--is it not1 ,i say1 literally a wilderness8 ,i do not mean a wilderness in the sense of a place of want and misery2 on the contrary1 it is a place of plenty and of comfort4 ,i think that we clergymen1 and those good people who help our labours1 are too apt exclusively to forget ,london labour1 in our first and necessary attention to the ,london poor2 to fix our eyes and minds on ,london want and misery1 till we almost ignore the fact of ,london wealth and comfort4 ,we must remember1 if we are to be just to ,god1 and just to our great nation1 that there is not only more wealth in ,london1 but that that wealth is more equitably and generally diffused through all classes1 from the highest to the lowest1 than ever has been the case in any city in the world4 ,we must remember that there is collected together here a greater number of free human beings than were ever settled on the same space of earth1 earning an honest1 independent1 and sufficient livelihood1 and enjoying the fruits of their labour in health and cheapness1 freedom and security1 such as the world never saw before4 ,there is want and misery4 ,i know it too well4 ,there are great confusions to be organised1 great anomalies to be suppressed4 ,but remember1 that if want and misery1 confusion and anomaly were the rule of ,london1 and not 7as they are7 the exception1 then ,london1 instead of increasing at its present extraordinary pace1 would decay2 ,london work1 instead of being better and better done1 would be worse and worse done1 till it stopped short in some such fearful convulsion as that of ,paris in #agic4 ,no1 my friends2 compare ,london with any city on the ,continent2 compare her with the old ,greek and ,roman cities2 with ,alexandria1 ,antioch1 ,constantinople1 with that ,imperial ,rome itself1 which was like ,london in nothing but its size1 and then thank ,god for ,england1 for freedom1 and for the ,church of ,christ4 ,and yet ,i have called ,london a wilderness4 ,i have4 ,there is a wilderness of want2 but there is a wilderness of wealth likewise4 ,and the latter is far more dangerous to human nature than the former one4 ,it is not in the waste and howling wilderness of rock1 and sand and shingle1 with its scanty acacia copses1 and groups of date trees round the lonely well1 that nature shews herself too strong for man1 and crushes him down to the likeness of the ape4 ,there the wild ,arab1 struggling to exist1 and yet not finding the struggle altogether too hard for him1 can gain and keep1 if not spiritual life1 virtue and godliness1 yet still something of manhood2 something of-- ,the reason firm1 the temperate will1 ,endurance1 foresight1 thought1 and skill4 ,no2 if you would see how low man can fall1 you must go to the tropic jungle1 where geniality of climate1 plenty and variety of food1 are in themselves a cause of degradation to the soul1 as long as the ,spirit of ,christ is absent from it4 ,not in the barren desert1 but in the rich forest1 wanders the true savage1 eating and eating all day long1 like the ape in the trees above his head2 and 7,i had almost said71 like the ape1 too1 with no thoughts save what his pampered senses can suggest4 ,i had almost said it4 ,thank ,god1 ,i dare not say it altogether2 for1 after all1 the savage is a man1 and not an ape4 ,yes1 to the lowest savage in the forests of the ,amazon1 comes a hunger of the soul1 and whispers from the unseen world1 to remind him of what he might have been1 and still may be4 ,in the dreams of the night they come2 in vague terrors of the unseen1 vague feelings of guilt and shame1 vague dread of the powers of nature2 driving him to unmeaning ceremonies1 to superstitious panics1 to horrible and bloody rites--as they might drive1 to-morrow1 my friends1 an outwardly civilized population1 debauched by mere peace and plenty1 entangled and imprisoned in the wilderness of a great city4 ,i can imagine--imagine8--,have we not seen again and again human souls so entangled and opprest by this vast labyrinth of brick and mortar1 as never to care to stir outside it and expand their souls with the sight of ,god's works as long as their brute wants are supplied1 just as the savage never cares to leave his accustomed forest haunt1 and hew himself a path into the open air through the tangled underwood4 ,i can imagine--nay1 have we not seen that1 too8-- and can we not see it any day in the street8--human souls so dazzled and stupefied1 instead of being quickened1 by the numberless objects of skill and beauty1 which they see in their walks through the streets1 that they care no more for the wonders of man's making1 than the savage does for the wonders of ,god's making1 which he sees around him in every insect1 bird1 and flower4 ,the man who walks the streets every day1 is the very man who will see least in the streets4 ,the man who works in a factory1 repeating a thousand times a day some one dull mechanical operation1 or even casting up day after day the accounts of it1 is the man who will think least of the real wonderfulness of that factory2 of the amount of prudence1 skill1 and science1 which it expresses2 of its real value to himself and to his class2 of its usefulness to far nations beyond the seas4 ,he is like a savage who looks up at some glorious tree1 capable1 in the hands of civilized man1 of a hundred uses1 and teeming to him with a hundred scientific facts2 and thinks all the while of nothing but his chance of finding a few grubs beneath its bark4 ,think over1 ,i beseech you1 this fact of the stupefying effect of mere material civilization2 and remember that plenty and comfort do not diminish but increase that stupefaction2 that ,hebrew prophets knew it1 and have told us1 again and again1 that1 by fulness of bread the heart waxeth gross2 that ,greek sages knew it1 and have told us1 again and again1 that need1 and not satiety1 was the quickener of the human intellect4 ,believe that man requires another bread than the bread of the body2 that sometimes the want of the bodily bread will awaken the hunger for that bread of the soul4 ,bear in mind that the period during which the middle and lower classes of ,england were most brutalized1 was that of their greatest material prosperity1 the latter half of the eighteenth century4 ,remember that with the distress which came upon them1 at the end of the ,french war1 their spiritual hunger awakened--often in forms diseased enough3 but growing healthier1 as well as keener1 year by year2 and that if they are not brutalized once more by their present unexampled prosperity1 it will be mainly owing to the spiritual life which was awakened in those sad and terrible years4 ,remember that the present carelessness of the masses about either religious or political agitation1 though it may be a very comfortable sign to those who believe that a man's life consists in the abundance of the things which he possesses1 is a very ominous sign to some who study history1 and to some also who study their ,bibles3 and ask yourselves earnestly the question1 ',from where shall a man find food for these men in this wilderness1 not of want1 but of wealth8' ,for1 believe me1 that spiritual hunger1 though stopped awhile by physical comfort1 will surely reawaken4 ,any severe and sudden depression in trade--the stoppage of the cotton crop1 for instance1 will awaken in the minds of hundreds of thousands deep questions--for which we1 if we are wise1 shall have an explicit answer ready4 ,for it is a very serious moment1 my friends1 when large masses have had enough to eat and drink1 and have been saying1 ',let us eat and drink1 for to-morrow we die2' and then1 suddenly1 by not having enough to eat and drink1 and yet finding themselves still alive1 are awakened to the sense that there is more in them than the mere capacity for eating and drinking4 ,then begin once more the world- old questions1 ,why are we thus8 ,who put us here8 ,who made us8 ,god8 ,is there a ,god8 and if there be1 what is he like8 ,what is his will toward us1 good or evil8 ,is it hate or love8 ,my friends1 those are questions which have been asked often enough in the world's history1 by vast masses at once4 ,and they may be answered in more ways than one4 ,they may be answered as the weavers of a certain country 7thank ,god1 not ,england7 answered them in the potato famine with their mad song1 ',we looked to the earth1 and the earth deceived us4 ,we looked to the kings1 and the kings deceived us4 ,we looked to ,god1 and ,god deceived us4 ,let us lie down and die4' ,or they may answer them--they will be more likely to answer them in ,england just now1 because there are those who will teach them so to answer--in another1 but a scarcely less terrible tone4 ',yes1 there is a ,god2 and he is angry with us4 ,and why8 ,because there is something1 or some one1 in the nation which he abhors--heretics1 papists'--what not--any man1 or class of men1 on whom cowardly and terrified ignorance may happen to fix as a scapegoat1 and cry1 ',these are the guilty6 ,we have allowed these men1 indulged them2 the accursed thing is among us1 therefore the face of the ,lord is turned from us4 ,we will serve him truly henceforth--and hate those whom he hates4 ,we will be orthodox henceforth--and prove our orthodoxy by persecuting the heretic4' ,does this seem to you extravagant1 impossible8 ,remember1 my friends1 that within the last century ,lord ,george ,gordon's riots convulsed ,london4 ,can you give me any reason why ,lord ,george ,gordon's riots cannot occur again8 ,believe me1 the more you study history1 the more you study human nature1 the more possible it will seem to you4 ,it is not1 ,i believe1 infidelity1 but fanaticism1 which ,england has to fear just now4 ,the infidelity of ,england is one of mere doubt and denial1 a scepticism2 which is in itself weak and self-destructive4 ,the infidelity of ,france in #agic was strong enough1 but just because it was no scepticism1 but a faith2 a positive creed concerning human reason1 and the rights of man1 which men could formulize1 and believe in1 and fight for1 and persecute for1 and1 if need was1 die for4 ,but no such exists in ,england now4 ,and what we have most to fear in ,england under the pressure of some sudden distress1 is a superstitious panic1 and the wickedness which is certain to accompany that panic2 mean and unjust1 cruel and abominable things1 done in the name of orthodoxy3 though meanwhile1 whether what the masses and their spiritual demagogues will mean by orthodoxy1 will be the same that we and the ,church of ,england mean thereby1 is a question which ,i leave for your most solemn consideration4 ,that1 however1 rather than any proclamation of the abstract rights of man1 or installations of a goddess of ,reason1 is the form which spiritual hunger is most likely to take in ,england now4 ,alas6 are there not tokens enough around us now1 whereby we may discern the signs of this time8 ,i say1 the spiritual hunger will reawaken2 and woe to us who really understand and love the ,church of ,england2 woe to us who are really true to her principles1 honestly subscribe her formulas1 if we cannot appease it in that day4 ,but wherewith8 ,we may look1 my friends1 appalled at the danger and the need4 ,we may cry to our ,lord1 ',from whence can a man satisfy these men with bread in the wilderness8' ,but his answer will be1 as far as ,i dare to predict it1 the same as to his apostles of old on another and a similar occasion1 ',give ye them to eat4 ,they need not depart4' ,i am not going to draw any far-fetched analogy between the miracle recorded in the gospel1 and the subject on which ,i am speaking4 ,i am not going to put any mystical and mediaeval interpretation on the seven loaves1 or the two small fishes4 ,i only ask you to accept the plain moral practical lesson which the words convey4-- ,use the means which you have already1 however few and weak they seem4 ,if ,christ be among you1 as he is indeed1 he will bless them1 and multiply them you know not how4 ,use the means which you have2 though they may seem to you inadequate1 though they may seem to the world antiquated1 and decrepit1 try them4 ,they need not depart from us1 these masses1 to seek spiritual food1 they know not where1 if we have but faith4 ,let us give them what we have2 the organization of the ,church of ,england1 and the teaching of the ,church of ,england4 ,the organization of the ,church4 ,not merely its ,parochial system1 but its ,diocesan system4 ,in ,london1 more than in any part of ,england1 the ,diocesan system is valuable4 ,a ,london parish is not like a country one1 a self-dependent1 corporate body1 made up of residents of every rank1 capable of providing for the physical and spiritual wants of its own stationary population4 ,in ,london1 population fluctuates rapidly1 sometimes rolling away from one quarter1 always developing itself in fresh quarters2 in ,london all ranks do not dwell side by side within sight and sound of each other3 but the rich and the poor1 the employed and the unemployed1 dwell apart1 work apart1 and are but too often out of sight1 out of mind4 ,these1 and many other reasons1 make it impossible for the mere parochial system to bring out the zeal and the liberality of ,london ,churchmen4 ,if they are to realize their unity and their strength1 they must do so not as members of a ,parish1 but of a ,diocese2 their ,bishop must be to them the sign that they are one body2 their good works must be organized more and more under him1 and round him4 ,this is no new theory of mine2 it is a historic law4 ,the ,priest for the village1 the ,bishop for the city1 has been the natural and necessary organization of the ,church in every age2 and it was in strict accordance with this historic law1 that the ,london ,diocesan ,board of ,education was founded in #ahdf1 not to override the parochial system1 but to do for it what it cannot1 in a great city1 do for itself2 to establish elementary schools 7and now ,i am happy to say1 evening schools also7 in parishes which were too poor to furnish them for themselves4 ,i1 as the son of a ,london ,rector1 can bear my testimony to the excellent working of that ,board2 and it is with grief ,i hear that1 in spite of the vast work which it has done since #ahdf1 and which it is still doing1 on an income which is now not #cjj pounds a year--proving thereby how cheaply and easily your work may be done when it is done in the right way--it is with grief1 ,i say1 that ,i hear that it is more and more neglected by the religious public4 ,with grief3 but not with surprise4 ,for the religious public1 even the ,church portion of it1 has of late been more and more inclined to undervalue the organization and the teaching of the ,church of ,england1 and to supply its place with nostrums1 borrowed from those denominations who disagree with the ,church1 alike in their doctrines of what man should be1 and of what ,god is4 ,how have their energies1 their zeal1 their money 7for zealous they are1 and generous too7 been frittered away6 ,but ,i will not particularize1 lest ,i hurt the feelings of better people than myself1 by holding up their good works to the ridicule of those who do us no good works at all4 ,but ,i entreat them to look at their own work2 to look at the vastness of its expense1 compared with the smallness of its results2 and then to ask themselves1 whether the one cause of their failure--for failures ,i must call too many of the religious movements of this day1 in spite of their own loud self-laudations--whether1 ,i say1 one cause of these failures may not be1 that the religious world is throwing itself into anything and everything novel and exciting1 rather than into the simple and unobtrusive work of teaching little children their ,catechism1 that they may go home as angels of ,god and missionaries of ,christ1 teaching their parents in turn as they have been taught themselves1 and so awakening that sacred family life1 without which there can be no sound ,christianity4 ,i know well that there has been much work done in the right direction2 but when ,i look at the ugly fact1 that the population of ,london is increasing far faster than its schools2 that in #be of the poorest parishes thereof there are now nearly #fj1jjj children who go to no school at all2 and that the proportion of scholars to the population is lower in ,middlesex than in almost any county in ,england1 while the proportion of crime is highest2 ,i cannot but sigh over the thousands which ,i see squandered yearly on rash novelties by really pious and generous souls1 and cry1 ,ah1 that one-fourth1 one-tenth of it all had been spent in the plain work of helping elementary schools2 ,i cannot but call on all ,london churchmen of the plain old school1 to stand by the organization and the doctrines of the ,church to which they belong2 to rally in this matter round their bishop2 and work for him1 and with him4 ,and now1 there may be some here who will ask1 scornfully enough1 ,and do you talk of nostrums8 and then1 after confessing that the masses are hungering for the bread of life1 offer them nothing but your own nostrum1 the ,catechism8 ,yes1 my friends1 ,i do4 ,i know that the ,church ,catechism is not the bread of life4 ,neither1 ,i beg you to remember1 is any other ,catechism1 or doctrine1 or tract1 or sermon1 or book or anything else whatsoever4 ,christ is the ,bread of ,life4 ,but how shall they know ,christ1 unless they be taught what ,christ is2 and how can they be taught what ,christ is1 unless the conception of him which is offered them be true8 ,and1 ,i say1 that the ,catechism does give a true conception of ,christ2 and more1 a far truer one--,i had almost said1 an infinitely truer--than any which ,i have yet seen in these realms3 that from the ,catechism a child may learn who ,god is1 who ,christ is1 who he himself is1 what are his relation and duty to ,god1 what are his relation and duty to his neighbours1 to his country1 and to the whole human race1 far better than from any document of the kind of which ,i am aware4 ,i know well the substitutes for the ,catechism which are becoming more and more fashionable2 the limitations1 the explainings away1 the non-natural and dishonest interpretations1 which are more and more applied to it when it is used2 and ,i warn you1 that those substitutes for1 and those defacements of1 the ,catechism1 will be no barrier against an outburst of fanaticism1 did one arise2 nay1 that many of them would directly excite it2 and prove1 when too late1 that instead of feeding the masses with the bread of life1 which should preserve them1 soul and body1 some persons had been feeding them with poison1 which had maddened them1 soul and body4 ,but ,i see no such danger in the ,catechism4 ,i see in the ,catechism2 in its freedom alike from sentimental horror and sentimental raptures2 its freedom alike from slavish terror1 and from ,pharisaic assurance2 a guarantee that those who learn it will learn something of that sound religion1 sober1 trusty1 cheerful1 manful1 which may be seen still1 thank ,god1 in country ,church folk of the good old school2 and which will1 in the day of trial1 be proof against the phantoms of a diseased conscience1 and the ravings of spiritual demagogues4 ,and therefore ,i preach gladly for this institution2 therefore ,i urge strongly its claims on you1 whom ,i am bound to suppose honest ,churchmen1 because the fact of its being a ,diocesan ,board of ,education is1 at least in this diocese1 a guarantee that the schools which it supports will teach their children1 honestly and literally1 the ,catechism of the ,church of ,england1 which may ,god preserve6 ,not that ,i expect it to teach only that4 ,i take for granted1 that that will be its primary object1 the guarantee that all the rest is well done3 but ,i know that much more than that must be done2 that much more will be done1 even unintentionally4 ,for1 shall ,i--,i trust that ,i shall not--make a too fanciful application of the last fact recorded of this great miracle1 if ,i bid you find in it a fresh source of hope in your work8 ',and they took up of the fragments which were left seven baskets full4' ,the plain historic fact is1 that not only do the seven loaves feed #d1jjj1 but that what they leave1 and are about to throw away1 far exceeds the original supply4 ,i believe the fact3 ,i ask you to consider why it was recorded8 ,surely1 like all facts in the gospels1 to teach us more of the character of ,christ1 which 7a fact too often forgotten in these days7 is the character of ,god4 ,to teach us that he is an utterly bountiful ,god4 ,that as in him there is no weakness1 nor difficulty1 so in him is no grudging1 no parsimony4 ,that he is not only able1 but willing1 to give exceeding abundantly1 beyond all that we can ask or think4 ,that there is a magnificence in ,god and in ,god's workings1 which ought to fill us with boundless hope1 if we are but fellow-workers with ,god4 ,you see that magnificence in the seeming prodigality of nature2 in the prodigality which creates a thousand beautiful species of butterfly1 where a single plain one would have sufficed2 in the prodigality which creates a thousand acorns1 only one of which is destined to grow into an oak4 ,everywhere in the kingdom of nature it shows itself2 believe that it exists as richly in the higher kingdom of grace4 ,yes4 ,believe1 that whenever you begin to work according to ,god's law and ,god's will1 let your means seem as inadequate as they may1 not only will your work multiply1 as by miracle1 under your hands2 but the very fragments of it1 which you are inclined to neglect and overlook1 will form in time a heap of unexpected treasure4 ,plans which you have thrown aside1 because they seemed to fail1 details which seemed to encumber you1 accessory work which formed no part of your original plan1 all will be of use to some one1 somehow1 somewhere4 ,you began1 for instance1 by wishing to educate the masses of ,london2 you are educating over and above1 indirectly1 thousands who never saw ,london4 ,you began by wishing to teach them spiritual truth2 you have been drawn on to give them an excellent secular education besides4 ,you intended to make them live as good ,christians here at home4 ,but since you began1 the interpenetration of town and country by railroads1 and the rush of emigrants to our colonies1 have widened infinitely the sphere of your influence2 and you are now teaching them also to live as useful men in the farthest corners of these isles1 and in far lands beyond the seas1 to become educated emigrants1 loyal colonists2 to raise1 by their example1 rude settlers1 and ruder savages2 and so1 the very fragments of your good work1 without your will or intent1 will bless thousands of whom you never heard1 and help to sow the seeds of civilization and ,christianity1 wherever the ,english flag commands ,justice1 and the ,english ,church preaches ,love4 ,,sermon ,,xi4 ,,blessing ,,and ,,cursing 7,preached at the ,chapel ,royal1 ,whitehall1 ,ash ,wednesday1 #ahfj47 ,deuteronomy xxviii4 #ae4 ,it shall come to pass1 if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the ,lord thy ,god1 to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which ,i command thee this day2 that all these curses shall come upon thee1 and overtake thee4 ,many good people are pained by the ,commination ,service which we have just heard read4 ,they dislike to listen to it4 ,they cannot say ',amen' to its awful words4 ,it seems to them to curse men2 and their conscience forbids them to join in curses4 ,to imprecate evil on any living being seems to them unchristian1 barbarous1 a relic of dark ages and dark superstitions4 ,but does the ,commination ,service curse men8 ,are these good people 7who are certainly right in their horror of cursing7 right in the accusations which they bring against it8 ,or have they fallen into a mistake as to the meaning of the service1 owing1 it may be supposed1 to that carelessness about the exact use of words1 that want of accurate and critical habits of mind1 which is but too common among religious people at the present day8 ,i cannot but think that they mistake1 when they say that the ,commination ,service curses men4 ,for to curse a man1 is to pray and wish that ,god may become angry with him1 and may vent his anger on the man by punishing him4 ,but ,i find no such prayer and wish in any word of the ,commination ,service4 ,its form is not1 ',cursed be he that doeth such and such things1' but ',cursed is he that doeth them4' ,does this seem to you a small difference8 ,a fine-drawn question of words8 ,is it1 then1 a small difference whether ,i say to my fellow- man1 ,i hope and pray that you may be stricken with disease1 or whether ,i say1 ,you are stricken with disease1 whether you know it or not4 ,i warn you of it1 and ,i warn you to go to the physician8 ,for so great1 and no less1 is the difference4 ,and if any one shall say1 that it is very probable that the authors of the ,liturgy were not conscious of this distinction2 but that they meant by cursing what priests in most ages have meant by it2 ,i must answer1 that it is dealing them most hard and unfair measure1 to take for granted that they were as careless about words as we are2 that they were 7like some of us7 so ignorant of grammar as not to know the difference between the indicative and the imperative mood2 and to assume this1 in order to make them say exactly what they do not say1 and to impute to them a ferocity of which no hint is given in their ,commination ,service4 ,but some will say1 ,granted that the authors of the ,commination ,service did not wish evil to sinners--granted that they did not long to pray1 with bell1 book1 and candle1 that they might be tormented for ever in ,gehenna--granted that they did not desire to burn their bodies on earth2 those words are still dark and unchristian4 ,they could only be written by men who believed that ,god hates sinners1 that his will is to destroy them on earth1 and torture them for ever after death4 ,we may impute1 alas6 what motives and thoughts we choose1 in the face of our ,lord's own words1 ,judge not1 and ye shall not be judged4 ,but we shall not be fair and honest in imputing1 unless we first settle what these men meant1 in the words which they have actually written4 ,what did they mean by 'cursed' is the question4 ,and that we can only answer by the context of the ,commination ,service4 ,and that again we can only answer by seeing what it means in the ,bible1 which the ,reformers profess to follow in all their writings4 ,now1 what does the ,bible mean by a curse1 and cursing8--,for we are bound to believe1 in all fairness1 that the ,reformers meant the same1 and neither more nor less4 ,the text1 ,i think1 tells us plainly enough4 ,we know that its words came true4 ,we know that the ,jews did perish out of their native land1 as the ,author of this book foretold1 in consequence of doing that against which ,moses warned them4 ,we know also that they did not perish by any miraculous intervention of ,providence3 but simply as any other nation would have perished2 by profligacy1 internal weakness1 civil war1 and1 at last1 by foreign conquest4 ,we know that their destruction was the natural consequence of their own folly4 ,why are we to suppose that the prophet meant anything but that8 ,he foretells the result4 ,why are we to suppose that he did not foresee the means by which that result would happen8 ,why are we1 in the name of all justice1 to impute to him an expectation of miraculous interferences1 about which he says no word8 ,the curse which he foretold was the natural consequence of the sins of the nation4 ,why are we not to believe that he considered it as such8 ,why are we not to believe that the ,bible meaning of a curse1 is simply the natural ill-consequence of men's own ill-actions8 ,i believe that if you will apply the same rule to other places of ,scripture1 you will have reason to reverence the letter and the ,spirit of ,scripture more and more1 and will free your minds from many a superstitious and magical fancy1 which will prevent you alike from understanding the ,bible and the ,commination ,service4 ,the ,book of ,deuteronomy1 like the rest of ,moses' laws1 says nothing whatever about the life to come4 ,it says1 that sin is to be punished1 and virtue rewarded1 in this life2 and the ,commination ,service1 when it quotes the ,book of ,deuteronomy1 means so1 so ,i presume1 likewise4 ,indeed1 if we look at the very remarkable1 and most invaluable address which the ,commination ,service contains1 we shall find its author saying the same thing1 in the very passages which are to some minds most offensive4 ,for even in this life the door of mercy may be shut1 and we may cry in vain for mercy1 when it is the time for justice4 ,this is not merely a doctrine3 it is a fact2 a common1 patent fact4 ,men do wrong1 and escape1 again and again1 the just punishment of their deeds2 but how often there are cases in which a man does not escape2 when he is filled with the fruit of his own devices1 and left to the misery which he has earned2 when the covetous and dishonest man ruins himself past all recovery2 when the profligate is left in a shameful old age1 with worn-out body and defiled mind1 to rot into an unhonoured grave2 when the hypocrite who has tampered with his conscience is left without any conscience at all4 ,they have chosen the curse1 and the curse is come upon them to the uttermost4 ,so it is4 ,is the ,commination service uncharitable1 is the preacher uncharitable1 when they tell men so8 ,no more so1 than the physician is uncharitable1 when he says1--',if you go on misusing thus your lungs1 or your digestion1 you will ruin them past all cure4' ,is ,god to be blamed because this is a fact8 ,why then because the other is a fact likewise8 ,now if this be1 as ,i believe1 the doctrine of the commination service2 if this be1 as ,i believe1 the message of ,ash-,wednesday1 it is one which is quite free from superstition or cruelty3 but it is a message more disagreeable1 and more terrible too1 than any magical imprecations of harm to the sinner could bring4 ,more disagreeable4 ,for which is more galling to human pride1 to be told1--,sin is certainly a clever1 and politic1 and successful trade1 as far as this world is concerned4 ,it is only in the next world1 or in the case of rare and peculiar visitations and judgments in this world1 that it will harm you8 ,or to be told1--,sin is no more clever1 politic1 or successful here1 than hereafter4 ,the wrong-doing which looks to you so prudent is folly4 ,you1 man of the world as you may think yourself1 are simply1 as often as you do wrong1 blind1 ignorant1 suicidal4 ,you are your own curse2 your acts are their own curse4 ,the injury to your own character and spirit1 the injury to your fellow-creatures1 which will again re-act on you1--these are the curses of ,god1 which you will feel some day too heavy to be borne4 ,and which is more terrible8 ,to tell a man1 that ,god will judge and curse him by unexpected afflictions1 or at least by casting him into ,gehenna in the world to come3 or to tell him1 ',you are judged already4 ,the curse is on you already8' ,the first threat he may get rid of1 by denying the fact2 by saying that ,god does not generally interfere to punish bad men in this life2 that he does not strike them dead1 swallow them up2 and he may even quote ,scripture on his side1 and call on ,solomon to bear witness how as dieth the fool1 so dieth wise man2 and that there is one event to the righteous and the wicked4 ,as for the fear of ,gehenna1 again1 after he dies3 that is too dim and distant2 too unlike anything which he has seen in this life 7now that the tortures and ,autos da fe of the middle age have disappeared7 to frighten him very severely1 except in rare moments1 when his imagination is highly excited4 ,and even then1 he can--in practice he does--look forward to 'making his peace with ,god' as it is called1 at last1 and fulfilling ,baalam's wish of dying the death of the righteous1 after living the life of the wicked4 ,he knows well1 too1 that when that day comes1 he can find--alas6 that it should be so--priests and preachers in plenty1 of some communion or other1 who will give him his viaticum1 and bid him depart in peace to that ,god1 who has said that there is no peace to the wicked4 ,but terrible1 truly terrible and heart searching for the wrongdoer is the message--,god does not curse thee3 thou hast cursed thyself4 ,god will not go out of his way to punish thee3 thou hast gone out of his way1 and thereby thou art punishing thyself1 just as1 by abusing thy body1 thou bringest a curse upon it2 so by abusing thy soul4 ,god does not break his laws to punish drunkenness or gluttony4 ,the laws themselves1 the laws of nature1 the beneficent laws of life1 nutrition1 growth1 and health1 they punish thee2 and kill by the very same means by which they make alive4 ,and so with thy soul1 thy character1 thy humanity4 ,god does not break his laws to punish its sins4 ,the laws themselves punish2 every fresh wrong deed1 and wrong thought1 and wrong desire of thine sets thee more and more out of tune with those immutable and eternal laws of the ,moral ,universe1 which have their root in the absolute and necessary character of ,god himself4 ,all things that he has ordained2 the laws of the human body1 the laws of the human soul1 the laws of society1 the laws of all heaven and earth are arrayed against thee2 for thou hast arrayed thyself against them4 ,they have not excommunicated thee3 thou hast1 single-handed1 excommunicated thyself4 ,in thine own self-will1 thou hast set thyself to try thy strength against ,god and his whole universe4 ,dost thou fancy that he needs to interfere with the working of that universe1 to punish such a worm as thee8 ,no more than the great mill engine need stop1 and the overseer of it interfere with the machinery1 if the drunken or careless workman should entangle himself among the wheels4 ,the wheels move on1 doing their duty1 spinning cloth for the use of man3 but the workman who should have worked with them1 is entangled among them4 ,he is out of his place2 and slowly1 but irresistibly1 they are grinding him to powder1 as the whole universe is grinding thee4 ,heart-searching1 indeed1 is such a message2 for it will come home1 not merely to that very rare character1 the absolutely wicked man1 the ideal sinner1 at whom the preacher too often aims ideal arrows1 which vanish in the air3 not to him merely will it come home1 but to ourselves1 to us average human beings1 inconsistent1 half-formed1 struggling lamely and confusedly between good and evil4 ,oh let us take home with us to-day this belief1 the only belief in this matter possible in an age of science1 which is daily revealing more and more that ,god is a ,god1 not of disorder1 but of order4 ,let us take home1 ,i say1 the awful belief1 that every wrong act of ours does of itself sow the seeds of its own punishment2 and that those seeds will assuredly bear fruit1 now1 here in this life4 ,let us believe that ,god's judgments1 though they will culminate1 no doubt1 hereafter in one great day1 and one divine far-off event1 to which the whole creation moves1 are yet about our path and about our bed1 now1 here1 in this life4 ,let us believe1 that if we are to prepare to meet our ,god1 we must do it now1 here in this life1 yea and all day long2 for he is not far off from any one of us1 seeing that in him we live1 and move1 and have our being2 and can never go from his presence1 never flee from his spirit4 ,let us believe that ,god's good laws1 and ,god's good order1 are in themselves and of themselves1 the curse and punishment of every sin of ours2 and that ,ash-,wednesday1 returning year after year1 whether we be glad or sorry1 good or evil1 bears witness to that most awful and yet most blessed fact4 ,my friends1 this is the preacher's ,ash-,wednesday's message3 but1 thanks be to ,god1 it is not all4 ,it is written--',if thou1 ,lord1 wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss3 ,oh ,lord1 who may abide it8 ,for there is mercy with thee2 therefore shalt thou be feared4' ,it is written--',on whomsoever this stone shall fall1 it shall grind him to powder3' but it is written too--',whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken2' and again1 ',the broken and the contrite heart1 ,o ,god1 thou shall not despise4' ,there is such a thing as pardon2 pardon full and free1 for the sake of the precious blood of ,christ4 ,lent may be a time of awe and of shame3 but it is not a time of despair4 ,meanwhile remember this2 that ,god has set before you blessing and cursing1 and that you may turn your life and ,god's whole universe1 as you will1 either into that blessing or into that curse4 ,,sermon ,,xii4 ,,work 7,twenty-fourth ,sunday after ,trinity47 ,proverbs xiv4 #bc4 ,in all labour there is profit4 ,i fear there are more lessons in the ,book of ,proverbs than most of us care to learn4 ,there is a lesson in every verse of it1 and a shrewd one4 ,certain ,i am1 that for a practical1 business man1 who has to do his duty and to make his way in this world1 there is no guide so safe as these same ,proverbs of ,solomon4 ,in this world1 ,i say2 for they say little about the world to come4 ,their doctrine is1 that what is good for the next world1 is good for this2 that he who wishes to go out of this world happily1 must first go through this world wisely2 and more1 that he who wishes to go through this world happily1 must likewise go through it wisely4 ,the righteous1 says ,solomon1 shall be recompensed in the earth1 and not merely at the end of judgment hereafter3 much more the wicked and the sinner4 ,that is the doctrine of the ,proverbs2 that men do1 to a very great extent1 earn for themselves their good or their evil fortunes1 and are filled with the fruit of their own devices2 and it is that doctrine which makes them the best of text-books for the practical man4 ,for the ,proverbs do not look on religion as a thing to be kept out of our daily dealings1 and thought of only on ,sundays3 they look on true religion1 which is to obey ,god1 as a thing which mixes itself up with all the cares and business of this mortal life1 this work- day world2 and1 therefore1 they are written in work-day language2 in homely words taken from the common doings of this mortal life1 as our ,lord's parables are4 ,and1 like the most simple of those parables1 the most simple of the proverbs have often the very deepest meaning4 ',in all labour there is profit4' ,whatsoever is worth doing1 is worth doing well4 ,it is always worth while to take pains4 ,in another proverb1 homely enough--but if it be in the ,bible1 it is not too homely for us--',where no oxen are1 the crib is clean1' ,solomon says the same thing as in the text4 ,he says1 ',where no oxen are1 the farmer is saved trouble2 the clearing away of dirt and refuse2 and all the labour required to keep his cattle in condition3 but all that trouble1' ,solomon says1 if a man will but undergo it1 will repay itself2 'for much increase is in the strength of the ox4' ,for the ox1 in that country1 as in most parts of the world now1 is the beast used for ploughing1 and for all the work of the farm4 ,now1 herein1 ,i think1 ,solomon gives us a lesson which holds good through all matters of life4 ,that it is a short-sighted mistake to avoid taking trouble2 for ,god has so well ordered this world1 that industry will always repay itself4 ,no doubt it is much easier and pleasanter for the savage to scratch the seed into the ground with some rude wooden tool1 and sit idle till the grain ripens3 much easier and pleasanter1 than to breed and break in beasts1 and to labour all the year round at the different duties of a well-ordered farm3 but here is the mighty difference2 that the savage1 growing only enough for himself1 is in continual danger of famine1 he and all his tribe2 while the civilized farmer1 producing many times more than he needs for himself1 gains food1 comfort1 and safety1 not only for himself1 but for many other human beings4 ,the savage has an easy life enough1 if that be any gain3 but it is a life of poverty1 uncertainty1 danger of starvation4 ,the civilized man works hard and heavily1 using body and mind more in one month than the savage does in the whole year3 but he gains in return a life of safety1 comfort1 and continually increasing prosperity4 ,this is ,solomon's lesson3 and be sure it holds good1 not only of tilling the ground1 but of all other labours1 all other duties1 to which ,god may call us4 ',whatsoever thy hand findeth to do1' says ,solomon1 'do it with all thy might4' ,god has set thee thy work2 then fulfil it4 ,fill it full4 ,throw thy whole heart and soul into it4 ,do it carefully1 accurately1 completely4 ,it will be better for thee1 and for thy children after thee4 ,all neglect1 carelessness1 slurring over work1 is a sin2 a sin against ,god1 who has called us to our work2 a sin against our country and our neighbours1 who ought to profit by our work2 and a sin against ourselves also1 for we 7as ,i shall shew you soon7 ought to be made wiser and better men by our work4 ,oh1 if there is one rule above another which ,i should like to bring home to young men and women setting out in life1 it is this--,take pains4 ,take trouble4 ,whatever you do1 do thoroughly4 ,whatever you begin1 finish4 ,it may not seem to be worth your while at the moment1 to be so very painstaking1 so very exact4 ,in after years1 you will find that it was worth your while2 that it has paid you1 by training your character and soul2 paid you1 by giving you success in life2 paid you1 by giving you the respect and trust of your fellowmen2 paid you1 by helping you towards a good conscience1 and enabling you in old age to look back1 and say1 ,i have been of use upon the earth2 ,i leave this world1 according to my small powers1 somewhat better than ,i found it3 instead of having to look back1 as too many have1 upon opportunities thrown away1 plans never carried out1 talents wasted1 a whole life a failure1 for want of taking pains4 ,why do ,i say these things to you8 ,to persuade you to work8 ,thank ,god1 there is no need of that1 for you are ,englishmen2 and it has pleased ,god to put into the hearts of ,englishmen a love of work1 and a power of work1 which has helped to make this little island one of the greatest nations upon earth4 ,no1 thanks be to ,god1 ,i say1 there is no need to bid you work4 ,what ,i ask you to do1 is to look upon your work as an honourable calling1 and as a blessing to yourselves1 not merely as a hard necessity1 a burden which must be borne merely to keep you from starvation4 ,it is not that1 my friends1 but far more than that4 ,for what is more honourable than to be of use8 ,and in all labour1 as ,solomon says1 there is profit2 it is all of use4 ,and all trade1 manufacture1 tillage1 even of the smallest1 all management and ordering1 whether of an estate1 a parish1 or even of the pettiest office in it1 all is honourable1 because all is of use2 all helping forward1 more or less1 the well-being of ,god's human creatures1 and of the whole world4 ,and therefore all is worth taking trouble over1 worth doing as diligently and honestly as possible1 in sure trust that it will bring its reward with it4 ,why not8 ,almsgiving is blessed in ,god's sight1 and charity to the poor2 and ,god will repay it3 but is not useful labour blessed in his sight also8 and shall he not repay it8 ,will he not say of it1 as well as of almsgiving1 ',inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these little ones1 ye have done it unto me8' ,we may trust so1 my friends2 indeed1 ,i may say more than1 ',we may trust4' ,we can see2 see that industry has its reward4 ,by increasing the well-being of others1 and the safety of others1 you increase your own4 ,so it is1 and so it should be2 for ,god has knit us all together as brethren1 members of one family of ,god2 and the well-being of each makes up the well-being of all1 so that sooner or later1 if one member rejoice1 all the others rejoice with it4 ,but more4 ,and here ,i speak to young people2 for their elders1 ,i doubt not1 have found it out long since for themselves4 ,work1 hard work1 is a blessing to the soul and character of the man who works4 ,young men may not think so4 ,they may say1 ,what more pleasant than to have one's fortune made for one1 and have nothing before one than to enjoy life8 ,what more pleasant than to be idle3 or1 at least1 to do only what one likes1 and no more than one likes8 ,but they would find themselves mistaken4 ,they would find that idleness makes a man restless1 discontented1 greedy1 the slave of his own lusts and passions1 and see too late1 that no man is more to be pitied than the man who has nothing to do4 ,yes2 thank ,god every morning1 when you get up1 that you have something to do that day which must be done1 whether you like or not4 ,being forced to work1 and forced to do your best1 will breed in you temperance and self-control1 diligence and strength of will1 cheerfulness and content and a hundred virtues which the idle man will never know4 ,the monks in old time found it so4 ,when they shut themselves up from the world to worship ,god in prayers and hymns1 they found that1 without working1 without hard work either of head or hands1 they could not even be good men4 ,the devil came and tempted them1 they said1 as often as they were idle4 ,an idle monk's soul was lost1 they used to say2 and they spoke truly4 ,though they gave up a large portion of every day1 and of every night also1 to prayer and worship1 yet they found they could not pray aright without work4 ,and 'working is praying1' said one of the holiest of them that ever lived2 and he spoke truth1 if a man will but do his work for the sake of duty1 which is for the sake of ,god4 ,and so they worked1 and worked hard1 not only at teaching the children of the poor1 but at tilling the ground1 clearing the forests1 building noble churches1 which stand unto this day2 none among them were idle at first2 and as long as they worked1 they were good men1 and blessings to all around them1 and to this land of ,england1 which they brought out of heathendom to the knowledge of ,christ and of ,god2 and it was not till they became rich and idle1 and made other people work for them and till their great estates1 that they sank into sin and shame1 and became despised and hated1 and at last swept off the face of the land4 ,lastly1 my friends1 if you wish to see how noble a calling ,work is1 consider ,god himself2 who1 although he is perfect1 and does not need1 as we do1 the training which comes by work1 yet works for ever with and through his ,son1 ,jesus ,christ1 who said1 ',my ,father worketh hitherto1 and ,i work4' ,yes2 think of ,god1 who1 though he needs nothing1 and therefore need not work to benefit himself1 yet does work1 simply because1 though he needs nothing1 all things need him4 ,think of ,god as a king working for ever for the good of his subjects1 a ,father working for ever for the good of his children1 for ever sending forth light and life and happiness to all created things1 and ordering all things in heaven and earth by a providence so perfect1 that not a sparrow falls to the ground without his knowledge1 and the very hairs of your head are all numbered4 ,and then think of yourselves1 called to copy ,god1 each in his station1 and to be fellow-workers with ,god for the good of each other and of yourselves4 ,called to work1 because you are made in ,god's image1 and redeemed to be the children of ,god4 ,not like the brutes1 who cannot work1 and can therefore never improve themselves1 or the earth around them2 but like children of ,god1 whom he has called to the high honour of subduing and replenishing this earth which he has given you1 and of handing down by your labour blessings without number to generations yet unborn4 ,and when you go back1 one to his farm1 another to his shop1 another to his daily labour1 say to yourselves1 ,this1 too1 as well as my prayers in church1 is my heavenly ,father's command2 in doing this my daily duty honestly and well1 ,i can do ,christ's will1 copy ,christ1 approve myself to ,christ2 single-eyed and single-handed1 doing my work as unto ,god1 and not unto men2 and so hear1 ,i may hope at last1 ,christ's voice saying to me1 ',well done1 thou good and faithful servant4 ,i set thee not to govern kingdoms1 to lead senates1 to command armies1 to preach the gospel1 to build churches1 to give large charities1 to write learned books1 to do any great work in the eyes of men4 ,i set thee simply to buy and sell1 to plough and reap like a ,christian man1 and to bring up thy family thereby1 in the fear of ,god and in the faith of ,christ4 ,and thou hast done thy duty more or less2 and1 in doing thy duty1 has taught thyself deeper and sounder lessons about thy life1 character1 and immortal soul1 than all books could teach thee4 ,and now thou hast thy reward4 ,thou hast been faithful over a few things3 ,i will make thee ruler over many things4 ,enter thou into the joy of thy ,lord4' ,,sermon ,,xiii4 ,,false ,,prophets 7,eighth ,sunday after ,trinity47 ,matthew vii4 #af4 ,ye shall know them by their fruits4 ,people are apt to overlook1 ,i think1 the real meaning of these words4 ,they do so1 because they part them from the words which go just before them1 about false prophets4 ,they consider that 'fruit' means only a man's conduct1--that a man is known by his conduct4 ,that professions are worth nothing1 and practice worth everything4 ,that the good man1 after all1 is the man who does right2 and the bad man1 the man who does wrong4 ,excellent doctrine2 and always needed4 ,god grant that we may never forget it4 ,but the text surely does not quite mean that4 ',fruit' here does not mean a man's own conduct1 but the conduct of those whom he teaches4 ,for see1--our ,lord is talking of prophets2 that is preachers1 who set up to preach the ,word of ,god1 in the name of ,god4 ',beware1' he says1 'of false prophets4 ,by their fruits ye shall know them4 ,by what you gather from them1' he says4 ',for do men gather grapes off thorns1 or figs off thistles8' ,now what is a preacher's fruit8 ,surely the fruit of his preaching2 and that is1 not what he does himself1 but what he makes you do4 ,his fruit is what you gather from him2 and what you gather from him is1 not merely the notions and doctrines which he puts into your head1 but the way of life in which he makes you live4 ,what he makes you do1 is the fruit which you get from him4 ,does he make you a better man1 or does he not8 that is the question4 ,that is the test whether he is a false prophet1 or a true one2 whether he is preaching to you the eternal truth of ,god1 or man's inventions and devil's lies4 ,does he make you a better man8 ,not--,does he make you feel better8 but--,does he make you behave better8 ,there is too much preaching in the world which makes men feel better--so much better1 indeed1 that they go about like the ,pharisee1 thanking ,god that they are not as other men1 before they have any sound reason to believe that they are not as other men2 because they live just such lives as other men do1 as far as respectability1 and the fear of hurting their custom or their character1 allow them to do4 ,they have their prophets1 their preachers who teach them2 and by their fruits in these men1 the preachers may be known1 by those who have eyes to see1 and hearts to understand4 ,therefore beware of false prophets4 ,there are too many of them in the world now1 as there were in our ,lord's time2 men who go about with the name of ,god on their lips1 and the ,bible in their hands1 in sheep's clothing outwardly2 but inwardly ravening wolves4 ,in sheep's clothing1 truly1 smooth and sanctimonious1 meek1 and sleek4 ,but wolves at heart2 wolves in cunning and slyness1 as you will find1 if you have to deal with them2 wolves in fierceness and cruelty1 as you will find if you have to differ from them2 wolves in greediness and covetousness1 and care of their own interest and their own pockets4 ,and wolves1 too1 in hardness of heart2 in the hard1 dark1 horrible1 unjust doctrines1 which they preach with a smile upon their lips1 not merely in sermons1 but in books and tracts innumerable1 making out the ,heavenly ,father1 the ,god whose name is ,love and ,justice1 to be even such a one as themselves4 ,wolves1 too1 in their habit of hunting in packs1 each keeping up his courage by listening to the howl of his fellows4 ,they may come in the name of ,god4 ,they may tell you that they preach the ,gospel2 that no one but they preach the ,gospel4 ,but by their fruits ye shall know them4 ,will they make you better men8 ,is it not written1 ',the disciple is not above his master8' ,what will you learn from them1 but to be like them8 ,and the more you take in their doctrines1 the more like them you will be2 for is it not written1 ',he that is perfect shall be as his master4' ,can they lead you to eternal life8 ,is it not written1 ',if the blind lead the blind1 both shall fall into the ditch8' ,but by their fruits ye shall know them4 ,by their fruits in the world at large1 if you have eyes to see it4 ,by their fruits in your own lives1 if you give yourselves up to listen to their false doctrines1 for you will surely find1 that1 in the first place1 they will not make you honest men4 ,they will not teach you to be just and true in all your dealings4 ,they will not teach you common morality4 ,no1 my friends1 it is most sad to see1 how much preaching and tract-writing there is in ,england now1 which talks loud about ,protestant doctrine1 and ,gospel truths1 while all the fruit of it seems to be1 to teach men to abuse the ,pope1 and to fancy that every one is going to hell1 who does not agree with their opinions2 while their own lives1 their own conduct1 their own morality1 seems not improved one whit by all this preaching4 ,and yet men like such preaching1 and run to hear it4 ,of course they do2 for it leaves them to behave all the week as if there was no ,law of ,god1 if only they will go on ,sundays1 and listen to what is called1 ,i fear most untruly1 the ,gospel of ,god2 leaves them1 on condition of belonging to some particular party1 and listening to some favourite preacher1 free to give way to their passions1 their spite1 their meanness2 to grind their servants1 cheat their masters1 trick their customers1 adulterate their goods1 and behave in money-matters as if all was fair in business1 and the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ had nothing to do with common honesty2 and all the while1 ,compound for sins they are inclined to4 ,by damning those they have no mind to4 ,my friends1 these things ought not so to be4 ,there is a ,gospel of ,god1 which preaches full forgiveness for the sake of ,jesus ,christ1 to all who turn from their sins4 ,but there is a ,law of ,god1 likewise1 which executes sure vengeance against all who do not turn from their sins2 be their professions as high1 or their doctrines as correct as they may4 ,a law which is in the ,gospel itself1 and says1 by the mouth of the ,apostle ,st4 ,john1 ',little children1 let no man deceive you3 he that doeth righteousness is righteous1 even as ,god is righteous'--he--and not he who expects to be saved by listening to some false preacher who teaches his congregation how to go to heaven without having thought one heavenly thought1 or done one heavenly-deed4 ,yes4 ,there is an eternal law of ,god1 which people are forgetting1 ,i often fear1 more and more1 in ,england just now4 ,i sometimes dread1 lest we should be sinking into that hideous state of which the old ,hebrew prophet speaks--',the prophets prophesy falsely1 and the priests bear rule by their means2 and my people love to have it so3 and what will ye do in the end thereof8' ,what1 indeed2 if people are to be taught more and more1 that religion is a matter merely of doctrines and fancies and feelings1 and has nothing to do with common morality1 and common honesty1 and common self-control and improvement of character and conduct8 ,my friends1 in these dangerous days1 for dangerous they truly are-- like those of the ,scribes and ,pharisees of old2 days in which bigotry and hardness of heart1 hypocrisy and lip-profession stalk triumphant2 days1 in which men1 like the ,scribes and ,pharisees of old1 boast of the ,bible1 worship the ,bible1 think they have eternal life in the ,bible1 spend vast sums every year in spreading the ,bible2 and yet will neither read the ,bible honestly1 nor obey its plain commands--,in such days as these1 what prophet shall we fall back upon8 ,what preacher shall we trust8 ,we can at least trust our ,bible4 ,we can read it honestly1 if only there be in us the honest and good heart2 we can obey its plain commands1 if only we hunger and thirst after righteousness1 and desire really to become good men4 ,read your ,bibles for yourselves with a single eye1 and with a pure heart which longs to know ,god's will because it longs to do ,god's will2 and you will need no false prophets1 under pretence of explaining it to you1 to draw you away from the ,holy ,catholic faith into which you were baptized4 ,but if you must have a commentary on the ,bible2 if you must have some book to give you a general notion of what the ,bible teaches you1 and what it expects of you2 go to the prayer-book4 ,go to the good old ,catechism which you learnt at school4 ,there1 though not from the popular preachers1 you will learn that ,god is just and true1 loving and merciful1 and no respecter of persons4 ,there you will learn1 that ,christ died not for a few elect1 but for the sins of the whole world4 ,there you will learn that in baptism1 by ,god's free grace1 and not by any experiences or feelings of your own1 you were made children of ,god1 members of ,christ1 and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven4 ,there you will learn1 that the elect whom the ,holy ,spirit sanctifies1 are not merely a favoured few1 but you-- every baptized man1 woman1 and child4 ,that the ,holy ,spirit is with you1 every one of you1 to sanctify you1 if you will open your hearts to his gracious inspirations4 ,and there you will learn what sanctification really means4 ,not a few fancies and feelings about which any man can deceive himself1 and any man1 also1 deceive his neighbours4 ,no1 that sanctification means being made holy1 righteous1 virtuous1 good4 ,that sanctification means ',to love your neighbour as yourself1 and to do to all men as they should do unto you--to love1 honour1 and succour your father and mother'--,shall ,i go on8 ,or do you all know the plain old duty to your neighbours1 which stands in the ,church ,catechism4 ,if you do1 thank ,god that you were taught it in your youth4 ,read it over and over again4 ,think over it4 ,pray to ,god to give you grace to act upon it1 and to shew the fruit of it in your lives4 ,and then1 ',by its fruits you shall know it4' ,by its fruits you shall know the virtue of the ,catechism1 and of the great and good men1 true prophets of ,god1 who wrote that ,catechism4 ,yes4 ,cling to that ,catechism1 even if it convinces you of many sins1 and makes you sadly ashamed of yourselves again and again2 for1 believe me1 it will prove your best safeguard in doctrine1 your best teacher in practice1 in these dangerous days-- days in which every man who believes that right is right1 and wrong is wrong1 has need to pray with all his heart--',from all false doctrine1 heresy1 and schism2 from hardness of heart1 and contempt of thy word and commandments2 good ,lord1 deliver us6' ,,sermon ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,rock ,,of ,,ages 7,ninth ,sunday after ,trinity47 #a ,corinthians x4 #d4 ,they drank of that ,spiritual ,rock which followed them2 and that ,rock was ,christ4 ,st4 ,paul has been speaking to the ,corinthians about the ,holy ,communion4 ,in this text1 ,st4 ,paul is warning the ,corinthians about it4 ,he says1 ',you may be ,christian men2 you may have the means of grace2 you may come to the ,communion and use the means of grace2 and yet you may become castaways4' ,st4 ,paul himself says1 in the very verse before1 ',i keep under my body1 and bring it into subjection3 lest 4 4 4 4 ,i myself should be a castaway4' ,look1 he says then1 'at the old ,jews in the wilderness4 ,they all partook of ,god's grace3 but they were not all saved4 ,they were all baptized to ,moses in the cloud and in the sea4 ,they all ate the same spiritual meat1 the manna from heaven4 ,they all drank the same spiritual drink1 the water out of the rock in ,horeb4 ,and yet with many of them ,god was not well pleased2' for they were overthrown--their corpses were scattered far and wide--in the wilderness4 ,the spiritual meat and the spiritual drink could not keep them alive1 if they sinned1 and deserved death4 ',so1' says ,st4 ,paul1 'with you4 ,you are members of ,christ's body4 ,the cup of blessing which we bless1 is the communion of the blood of ,christ2 the bread which we break1 is the communion of the body of ,christ3' but beware1 they will not save you1 if you sin4 ,nothing will save you1 if you sin4 ,if you lust after evil things1 as those old ,jews did2 if you are idolaters1 as they were2 if you are profligates1 as they were2 if you tempt ,christ1 as they did2 if you murmur against ,god1 as they murmured1 you will be destroyed like them4 ,note here two things4 ,first1 that ,st4 ,paul says that we really receive ,christ in the ,holy ,communion4 ,he does not say1 as some do1 that the ,communion is merely a remembrance of ,christ's death4 ,he says that the faithful verily and indeed receive ,christ's body and blood in the ,sacrament4 ,he says so1 distinctly1 plainly1 literally2 and if that be not true1 his whole argument goes for nothing1 and will not stand4 ,the ,jews1 he says1 drank of the spiritual ,rock which followed them1 and that ,rock was ,christ2 and so he says to you4 ,but that did not save them from the punishment of their sins1 when they went and sinned afresh3 neither will it save you4 ,but now--,what are these strange words which ,st4 ,paul uses8 ,these old ,jews drank of the spiritual ,rock which followed them1 and that ,rock was ,christ8 ,where in the ,old ,testament do we read of the ,rock following them8 ,we read of ,moses striking the rock in ,horeb1 at the beginning of their wanderings in the wilderness2 but not of its following them afterwards4 ,st4 ,paul is here using a beautiful old tradition of the ,rabbis1 that the rock which ,moses struck in ,horeb followed the ,jews through all their forty years' wanderings1 and that on every ,sabbath day when they stopped1 it stopped also1 and the elders called to it1 ',flow out1 ,o fountain1' and the water flowed4 ,a beautiful old story1 which ,st4 ,paul turns into an allegory1 to teach1 as by a picture1 the deepest and the highest truth4 ,whether that rock followed them or not1 he says1 there was ,one who did follow them1 from whom flowed living water2 and that ,rock is ,christ4 ,christ followed them4 ,christ the creator1 the preserver1 the inspirer1 the light1 the life1 the guide of men1 and of all the universe4 ,it was to ,christ they owed their deliverance from ,egypt2 to ,christ they owed their knowledge of ,god1 and of the law of ,god1 to ,christ they owed whatever reason1 justice1 righteousness1 good government1 there was among them4 ,and to ,christ we owe the same4 ,the rock was a type of him from whom flows living water4 ,as he himself said on earth1 ',whosoever drinketh of the water which ,i shall give him1 shall never thirst2 but the water which ,i shall give him shall be in him a well of water1 springing up to everlasting life4' ,just as the manna also was a type of him1 as he himself declared1 when the ,jews talked to him of the manna2 ',our fathers did eat manna in the desert1 as it is written1 ,he gave them bread from heaven to eat4' ,then ,jesus said to them1 ',verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 ,moses gave you not that bread from heaven4' ,no3 but only a type and picture of it4 ',my ,father giveth you the true bread from heaven4 ,for the bread of ,god is he which cometh down from heaven1 and giveth life unto the world4 4 4 4 ,i am that bread of life4' ,my friends1 herein is a great mystery4 ,something of what it means1 however1 we may learn from that wise and good ,jew1 ,philo1 who was ,st4 ,paul's teacher according to the flesh1 before he became a ,christian2 and who himself was so near to the kingdom of ,god1 that ,st4 ,paul often in his epistles uses ,philo's very words1 putting into them a ,christian meaning4 ,and what says he concerning the ,rock of living waters8 ,the soul1 he says1 falls in with a scorpion in the wilderness2 and then thirst1 which is the thirst of the passions--of the lusts which war in our members--seizes on it2 till ,god sends forth on it the stream of his own perfect wisdom1 and causes the changed soul to drink of unchangeable health4 ,for the steep rock is the wisdom of ,god 7by whom he means the ,word of ,god1 whom ,philo knew not in the flesh1 but whom we know1 as the ,lord ,jesus ,christ71 which1 being both sublime and the first of all things2 he quarried out of his own powers2 and of it he gives drink to the souls which love ,god2 and they1 when they have drunk1 are filled with the most universal manna4 ,so says ,philo1 the good ,jew1 who knew not ,christ2 and therefore he says only a part of the truth4 ,if you wish to learn the whole truth1 you must read ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 and ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles1 especially this very text2 and again1 the opening of the ,epistle to the ,ephesians2 and again1 that most royal passage in the opening of the ,colossians1 where he speaks of the ,everlasting ,being of ,christ1 who is before all things1 and by whom all things consist--in whom dwells all the fulness of the ,godhead bodily1 and in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge4 ,therefore he is rightly called the ,rock1 the ,rock of ,ages1 the ,eternal ,rock2 because on him all things rest1 and have rested since the foundation of the world1 being made1 and kept together1 and ruled1 and inspired by him alone4 ,therefore he is rightly called the ,rock of living waters2 for in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge1 and from him they flow forth freely to all who cry to him in their thirst after truth and holiness4 ,yes1 my friends1 by ,christ all things live2 and therefore1 most of all1 by ,christ our souls live4 ,to be parted from ,christ is death4 ,to be joined to ,christ and the body of ,christ is life4 ,but what life8 ,the life of the soul4 ,and what is the life of the soul8 ,holiness1 righteousness1 sanctification1 virtue1--call it what pleases you best4 ,i shall call it goodness4 ,that is the only life of the soul4 ,and why8 ,because it is the life of ,christ4 ,that is the only wisdom of the soul4 ,and why8 ,because it is the mind of ,christ4 ,that is the living water4 ,and why8 ,because it flows eternally from ,christ4 ,for who is ,christ1 but the likeness of ,god1 and the glory of ,god8 ,and what is the likeness of ,god1 but goodness2 and what is the glory of ,god1 but goodness8 ,therefore ,christ is goodness itself1 as it is written1 ',now the ,lord is that ,spirit4' ,yes1 if you will believe it1 ,christ1 the only-begotten ,son1 co-equal and co-eternal1 is the very and essential goodness of the ,father1 coming out everlastingly in action and in life1 in himself1 and in his people1 who are his mystical body1 filled with the ,spirit of him and his ,father2 who is the ,holy ,spirit1 the spirit of goodness4 ,from ,christ1 and not from any created being1 comes all goodness in man or angel4 ,comes from ,christ8 ,it were more right1 and more according to ,st4 ,paul's own words1 to say1 that all goodness is ,christ2 ,christ dwelling in a man1 ,christ forming himself in a man1 little by little1 step by step1 as he grows in grace1 in purity1 in self-control1 in experience1 in knowledge1 in wisdom1 in strength1 in patience1 in love1 in charity2 till he comes to the stature of a perfect man1 to the measure of the fulness of ,christ4 ,meanwhile1 let the good which a man does be much1 or be it little1 he must say1 ',the good which ,i do1 ,i do not1 but ,christ who dwelleth in me4' ,for in every age of man1 it is ,christ who is awakening in him the hunger and thirst after righteousness1 and then satisfying it with the only thing which can satisfy them1 namely1 his most blessed self4 ,yes1 believe it4 ,it is ,christ in the child which makes it speak the truth2 ,christ in the child which makes it shrink from whatever it has been told is wrong4 ,it is ,christ in the young man1 which fills him with lofty aspirations1 hopes of bettering the world around him1 hopes of training his soul to be all that it can be1 and of putting forth all his powers in the service of ,christ4 ,it is ,christ in the middle-aged man1 which makes him strong in good works1 labouring patiently1 wisely1 and sturdily2 so that having drunk of the living waters himself1 they may flow out of him again to others in good deeds2 a fountain springing up in him to an eternal life of goodness4 ,it is ,christ in the old man1 which makes him look on with calm content while his own body and mind decay1 knowing that the kingdom of ,god cannot decay2 for ,christ is ruling it in righteousness2 and all will be well with him1 and with his children after him1 and with all mankind1 and all heaven and earth1 if they themselves only will it1 long after he has been gathered to his fathers4 ,yes1 such a man knows in whom he has believed4 ,he knows that the spiritual ,rock has been following him through all his wanderings in this weary world2 and that that ,rock is ,christ4 ,he can recollect how1 again and again1 at his ,sabbath haltings in his life's journey1 it was to him in the ,holy ,communion as to the ,israelites of old in their haltings in the wilderness1 when the priests of ,jehovah cried to the mystic rock1 ',flow forth1 ,o fountain1' and the waters flowed4 ,so can he recollect how1 in ,holy ,communion1 there flowed into his soul streams of living water1 the water of life1 quenching that thirst of his soul1 which no created thing could slake2 the water of life2 of ,christ's life1 which is the light of men1 shewing them what they ought to be and do2 the life which is the light2 the life which is according to the eternal and divine reason2 the life of wisdom2 which is the life of love2 which is the life of justice2 which is the life of ,christ2 which is the life of ,god4 ,but if these things are so--and so they are1 for ,christ has said it1 ,st4 ,paul has said it1 ,st4 ,john has said it--but if these things are so1 will they not teach us much about ,holy ,communion1 how we may receive it worthily1 and how unworthily8 ,if what we receive in the ,communion be ,christ himself1 the good ,christ who is to make us good2 then how can we receive it worthily1 if we do not hunger and thirst after goodness8 ,if we do not come thither1 longing to be made good1 and sanctified1 then we come for the wrong thing1 to the wrong place4 ,we are like those ,corinthians who came to the ,lord's supper not to be made good men1 but to exalt their own spiritual self-conceit2 and so only ate and drank their own damnation1 not discerning the ,lord's body1 that it was a holy body1 a body of righteousness and goodness4 ,but if we come hungering and thirsting to be made good men1 then we come for the right thing1 to the right place4 ,then we need not stay away1 because we feel ourselves intolerably burdened with many sins2 that will be our very reason for coming1 that we may be cleansed from our sins--cleansed not only from their guilt1 but from their power2 and cry1 in spirit and in truth1 as we kneel at that holy table-- ,rock of ages1 cleft for me1 ,let me hide myself in thee2 ,by the water and the blood1 ,from thy riven side which flowed1 ,be of sin the double cure1 ,cleanse me from its guilt and power4 ,yes1 from its guilt and from its power also4 ,let us all pray1 each in his own fashion3-- ,oh ,lamb eternal1 beyond all place and time6 ,oh ,lamb slain eternally1 before the foundation of the world6 ,oh ,lamb1 which liest slain eternally1 in the midst of the throne of ,god6 ,let the blood of life1 which flows from thee1 procure me pardon for the past2 let the water of life1 which flows from thee1 give me strength for the future4 ,i come to cast away my own life1 my life of self and selfishness1 which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts1 that ,i may live it no more2 and to receive thy life1 which is created after the likeness of ,god1 in righteousness and true holiness1 that ,i may live it for ever and ever1 and find it a well of life springing up in me to everlasting life4 ,eternal ,goodness1 make me good like thee4 ,eternal ,wisdom1 make me wise like thee4 ,eternal ,justice1 make me just like thee4 ,eternal ,love1 make me loving like thee4 ,then ,i shall hunger no more1 and thirst no more2 for ,thou1 ,o ,christ1 art all ,i want2 ,more than all in thee ,i find2 ,raise me1 fallen2 cheer me1 faint2 ,heal me1 sick2 and lead me1 blind4 ,thou of life the fountain art2 ,freely let me take of thee2 ,spring thou up within my heart2 ,rise to all eternity4 ,oh come to ,holy ,communion with the words of that glorious hymn not merely on your lips1 but in your hearts2 and you will never come amiss4 ,,sermon ,,xv4 ,,antipathies 7,tenth ,sunday after ,trinity47 #a ,cor4 xii4 #c1 #d1 #e1 #f4 ,wherefore1 ,i give you to understand1 that no man speaking by the ,spirit of ,god calleth ,jesus accursed3 and that no man can say that ,jesus is the ,lord1 but by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,now there are diversities of gifts1 but the same ,spirit4 ,and there are differences of administrations1 but the same ,lord4 ,and there are diversities of operations1 but it is the same ,god which worketh all in all4 ,we are to come to the ,communion this day in love and charity with all men4 ,but are we in love and charity with all men8 ,i do not mean1 are there any persons whom we hate2 against whom we bear a spite2 whom we should be glad to see in trouble or shame8 ,god forbid1 my friends1 ,god forbid4 ,there are1 indeed1 devil's tempers4 ,and yet more easy for us to keep in the bottom of our hearts1 and more difficult to root them out1 than we fancy4 ,it is easy enough for us to forgive 7in words at least7 a man who has injured us4 ,easy enough to make up our minds that we will not revenge ourselves4 ,easy enough to determine1 even1 that we will return good for evil to him1 and do him a kindness when we have a chance4 ,yes1 we would not hurt him for the world3 but what if ,god hurt him8 ,what if he hurt himself8 ,what if he lost his money8 ,what if his children turned out ill8 ,what if he made a fool of himself1 and came to shame8 ,what if he were found out and exposed1 as we fancy that he deserves8 ,should we be so very sorry8 ,we should not punish him ourselves4 ,no4 ,but do we never catch ourselves thinking whether ,god may not punish him2 thinking of that with a base secret satisfaction2 almost hoping for it1 at last8 ,oh if we ever do1 ,god forgive us6 ,if we ever find those devil's thoughts rising in us1 let us flee from them as from an adder2 flee to the foot of ,christ's ,cross1 to the cross of him who prayed for his murderers1 ,father1 forgive them1 for they know not what they do2 and there cry aloud for the blood of life1 which shall cleanse us from the guilt of those wicked thoughts1 and for the water of life1 which shall cleanse us from the power of them3 lest they get the dominion over us1 and spring up in us1 and spread over our whole hearts2 not a well of life1 but a well of poison1 springing up in us to everlasting damnation4 ,oh let us pray to him to give us truth in our inward parts2 that we may forgive and love1 not in word only1 but in deed and in truth4 ,i could not help saying this in passing4 ,but it is not what the text is speaking of2 not what ,i want to speak of myself to-day4 ,i want to speak of a matter which is smaller1 and not by any means so sinful3 and which yet in practice is often more tormenting to a truly tender conscience1 because it is more common and more continual4 ,how often1 when one examines oneself1 whether one be in love and charity with all men1 one must recollect that there are many people whom one does not like4 ,i do not mean that one hates them4 ,not in the least3 but they do not suit one4 ,there is something in them which we cannot get on with1 as the saying is4 ,something in their opinions1 manners1 ways of talking2 even--,god forgive us--merely in their voice1 or their looks1 or their dress1 which frets us1 and gives us what is called an antipathy to them4 ,and one dislikes them2 though they never have harmed us1 or we them2 and we know them1 perhaps1 to be better people than ourselves4 ,now1 are we in love and charity with these people8 ,i am afraid not4 ,i know one is tempted to answer2 but ,i am afraid the answer is worth very little--,why not8 ,we cannot help it4 ,you cannot expect us to like people who do not suit us3 any more than you can expect us to like a beetle or a spider4 ,we know the beetle or the spider will not harm us4 ,we know that they are good in their places1 and do good1 as all ,god's creatures are and do2 and there is room enough in the world for them and us3 but we have a natural dislike to them1 and cannot help it2 and so with these people4 ,we mean no harm in disliking them4 ,it is natural to us2 and why blame us for it4 ,now what is the mistake here8 ,saying that it is natural to us4 ,we are not meant to live according to nature1 but according to grace2 and grace must conquer nature1 my friends1 if we wish to save our souls alive4 ,it is nature1 brute nature1 which makes some dogs fly at every strange dog they meet4 ,it is nature1 brute nature1 which makes a savage consider every strange savage as his enemy1 and try to kill him4 ,but unless nature be conquered in that savage1 it will end1 where following brute nature always ends1 in death2 and the savages will 7as all savages are apt to do7 destroy each other off the face of the earth1 by continual war and murder4 ,it is brute nature which makes low and ignorant persons hate foreign people1 because their dress and language seem strange4 ,but unless that natural feeling had been in most of us conquered by the grace of ,god1 which is the spirit of justice and of love1 then ,england would have remained alone in conceit and ignorance1 hated by all the nations2 instead of being what1 thank ,god6 she is--the ,sanctuary of the world2 to which all the oppressed of the earth may flee2 and find a welcome1 and safety1 and freedom1 and justice1 and peace4 ,and so with us1 my friends4 ,it is natural1 and according to the brute nature of the old ,adam1 to dislike this person and that1 just because they do not suit us4 ,but it is according to grace1 and the new ,adam1 who is the ,lord from heaven1 to honour all men2 to love the brotherhood2 to throw away our own private fancies and personal antipathies2 and1 like the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 copy the all-embracing charity of ,god4 ,and no one has a right to answer1 ',but ,i must draw the line somewhere4' ,thou must not4 ,i am afraid that thou wilt1 and that ,i shall1 too1 ,god forgive us both6 because we are sinful human beings4 ,we may1 but we must not1 draw a line as to whom we shall endure in charity4 ,for ,christ draws no line4 ,is it not written1 ',no man can say that ,jesus is the ,lord1 but by the ,holy ,ghost4' ,is not the ,spirit of ,christ in a ,christian man1 unless he be a reprobate8 and who is reprobate1 we know not1 and dare not try to know2 for it is written1 ',judge not1 and ye shall not be judged3 condemn not1 and ye shall not be condemned4' ,but what has the text to do with all this8 ,my friends1 is not this just what the text is telling us8 ,i said this moment1 that the ,spirit of ,christ was in a ,christian man1 unless he be a reprobate4 ,and the text says further1 that there are diversities of gifts in ,christian men3 but the same spirit in all of them4 ,yes3 people will be different one from another4 ,there are diversities of gifts4 ,differences in talents1 in powers1 in character1 in kinds of virtue and piety2 so that you shall find no two good men1 no two useful men1 like each other4 ,but there is the same ,spirit4 ,the same ,spirit of ,god is in each1 though bearing different fruit in each4 ,and there are differences of administrations1 of offices1 in ,god's kingdom4 ,god sets one man to do one work1 and another to do another3 but it is the same ,lord who puts each man in his place1 and shows him his work1 and gives him power to do it4 ,and there are diversities of operations1 that is1 of ways of working2 so that if you put any two men to do the same thing1 they will most probably do it each in a different way1 and yet both do it well4 ,but it is the same ,god1 who is working in them both2 the ,god who works all in all1 and has his work done by a thousand different hands1 by a thousand different ways4 ,and it is right and good that people should be so different from each other4 ',for the manifestation of the ,spirit is given to every man to profit withal4' ,to profit1 to be of use4 ,if all men were alike1 no one could learn from his neighbour4 ,if all mankind were as like each other as a flock of sheep1 there would be no more work1 no more progress1 no more improvement in mankind1 than there is in a flock of sheep4 ,now each man can bring his own little share of knowledge or usefulness into the common stock4 ,each man has1 or ought to have1 something to teach his neighbour4 ,each man can learn something from his neighbour3 at least he can learn this--to have patience with his neighbour4 ,to live and let live4 ,to bear with what in him seems odd and disagreeable1 trusting that ,god may have put it there2 that ,god has need of it2 that ,god will make use of it4 ,god makes use of many things which look to us ugly and disagreeable4 ,he makes use of the spider and of the beetle4 ,how much more of our brethren1 members of ,christ1 children of ,god1 inheritors of the kingdom of heaven4 ,shall they be to us1 even if they be odd or disagreeable in some things--shall they be to us as the beetle or the spider1 or any other merely natural things8 ,they are men and women1 in whom is the ,spirit of the living ,god4 ,and my friends1 if they are good enough for ,god1 they are good enough for us4 ,think but one moment4 ,god the ,father adopts a man as his child1 ,god the ,son dies for that man1 ,god the ,holy ,ghost inspires that man2 and shall we be more dainty than ,god8 ,if1 in spite of the man's little weaknesses and oddities1 ,god shall condescend to come down and dwell in that man1 making him more or less a good man1 doing good work2 shall we pretend that we cannot endure what ,god endures8 ,shall we be more dainty1 ,i ask again1 than the holy and perfect ,god8 ,oh my friends1 let us pray to him to take out of our hearts all selfishness1 fancifulness1 fastidiousness1 and hasty respect of persons1 of all which there is none in ,god4 ,let us ask for his ,spirit1 the ,spirit of ,charity1 which sees ,god in all1 and all in ,god1 and therefore sees good in all1 and sees all in love4 ,then we shall see how much more there is in our neighbours to like1 than to dislike4 ,then all these little differences will seem to us trifles not to be thought of1 before the broad fact of a man's being1 after all1 a man1 an ,englishman1 a ,christian1 and a good ,christian1 doing good work where ,god has put him4 ,then we shall be ashamed of our old narrowness of heart2 ashamed of having looked so much at the little evil in our neighbours1 and not at the great good in them4 ,then we shall go about the world cheerfully2 and our neighbour's faces will seem to us full of light3 instead of seeming full of darkness1 because our own eyes and minds are dark for want of charity4 ,then we shall come to the ,communion1 not with hearts narrowed and shut up1 perhaps1 from the very person who kneels next to us3 but truly open-hearted2 with hearts as wide--ah ,god1 that it were possible6--as the sacred heart of ,christ1 in which is room for all mankind4 ,and so receiving his body1 which is the blessed company of all faithful people1 we shall receive ,christ1 who dwelleth in them1 and they in him4 ,,sermon ,,xvi4 ,,st4 ,,paul 7,eleventh ,sunday after ,trinity47 #a ,cor4 xv4 #h4 ,last of all he was seen of me1 also1 as of one born out of due time4 ,for ,i am the least of the ,apostles1 that am not meet to be called an apostle1 because ,i persecuted the church of ,god4 ,you heard in this text 7part of the epistle for this day7 ,st4 ,paul's opinion of himself4 ,you heard1 also1 in the ,second ,lesson for this day1 the ninth chapter of ,acts1 the extraordinary story of his conversion4 ,and what may we learn from that story8 ,we may learn many lessons2 lessons without number4 ,we may learn1 first2 not to be astonished1 if we have to change our opinions as we grow older4 ,when we are young1 we are very positive about this thing and that1 as ,st4 ,paul was2 violent in favour of our own opinions2 ready to quarrel with any one who differs from us1 as ,st4 ,paul was4 ,but let ten years1 twenty years1 roll over our heads1 and we may find our opinions utterly changed1 as ,st4 ,paul did1 and look back with astonishment on ourselves1 for having been foolish enough to believe what we did1 as ,st4 ,paul looked back2 and with shame1 as did ,st4 ,paul likewise1 at having said so many violent and unjust things against people1 who1 we now see1 were in the right after all4 ,next2 we may learn not to be ashamed of changing our minds3 but if we find ourselves in the wrong1 to confess it boldly and honestly1 as ,st4 ,paul did4 ,what a fearful wrench to his mind and his heart2 what a humiliation to his self-conceit1 to have to change his mind once for all on all matters in heaven and earth4 ,what must it not have cost him to throw up at once all his friends and relations2 to part himself from all whom he loved and respected on earth1 to feel that henceforth they must look upon him as a madman1 an infidel1 an enemy4 ,to an affectionate man1 and ,st4 ,paul was an extremely affectionate man1 what a bitter struggle that must have cost him4 ,but he faced that struggle1 and conquered in it1 like a brave and honest man4 ,and the consequence was1 that he had1 in time1 and after many lonely years1 many ,christian friends for each ,jewish friend that he had lost2 and to him was fulfilled 7as it will be to all men7 our ,lord's great saying1 ',there is no man that hath left house1 or brethren1 or sisters1 or father1 or mother1 or wife1 or children1 or lands for my sake1 and the gospel's1 but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time1 4 4 4 and in the world to come eternal life4' ,next2 we may take comfort1 in the hope that ,god will not impute to us these early follies and mistakes of ours2 if only there be in us1 as there was in ,st4 ,paul1 the honest and good heart2 that is1 the heart which longs to know what is true and right1 and bravely acts up to what it knows4 ,st4 ,paul did so4 ,god1 when he set him apart1 as he says1 from his very birth1 gave him a great grace1 even the honest and good heart2 and he was true to it1 and used it4 ,he tried to learn his best1 and do his best4 ,he profited in the ,jews' religion1 beyond all his fellows4 ,he was1 touching the righteousness which was in the law1 blameless4 ,he was so zealous for what he thought right1 that he persecuted the ,church of ,christ1 as the ,pharisees1 his teachers1 had taught him to do4 ,in all things1 whether right or wrong in each particular case1 he was an honest1 earnest seeker after truth and righteousness4 ,and therefore ,christ1 instead of punishing him1 fulfilled to him his own great saying1--',to him that hath shall be given1 and he shall have abundance4' ,he had not yet1 as he himself says1 again and again1 the grace of ,christ1 which is love to his fellow-men2 and therefore his works were not pleasing to ,god1 and had1 as the article says1 the nature of sin4 ,his empty forms and ceremonies could not please ,god4 ,his persecuting the ,church had plainly the nature of sin4 ,but there was something which ,god had put in him1 and which ,god would not lose sight of1 or suffer to be lost2 and that was1 the honest and good heart1 of which our ,lord speaks in the parable of the sower4 ,in that ,christ sowed the word of ,god1 even himself1 and his grace and ,holy ,spirit2 and1 behold1 it sprang up and bore fruit a hundredfold1 over all ,christian nations to this day4 ,keep1 therefore1 if you have it1 the honest and good heart4 ,if you have it not1 pray for it earnestly4 ,determine to learn what is true1 whatever be the trouble2 and to do what is right1 whatever be the cost2 and then1 though you may make many mistakes1 and have more than once1 perhaps1 to change your mind in shame and confusion1 yet all will come right at last1 for the grace of ,christ1 sooner or later1 will lead you into all truth which you require for this world and all worlds to come4 ,again1 we may learn from ,st4 ,paul this lesson4 ,that though ,god has forgiven a man1 that is no reason that he should forgive himself4 ,that may seem a startling saying just now4 ,for the common teaching now is1 that if a man finds1 or fancies1 that ,god has forgiven him1 he may forgive himself at once2 that if he gets assurance that his sins are washed away in ,christ's blood1 he may go swaggering and boasting about the world 7,i can call it no less71 as if he had never sinned at all2 that he may be 7as you see in these revivals1 from which ,god defend us67 one moment in the deepest agonies of conscience1 and dread of hell-fire1 and the next moment in raptures of joy1 declaring himself to be in heaven4 ,alas1 alas6 such people forget that sin leaves behind it wounds1 which even the grace of ,christ takes a long time in healing1 and which then remain as ugly1 but wholesome scars1 to remind us of the fools which we have been4 ,they are like a man who is in great bodily agony1 and gets sudden relief from a dose of laudanum4 ,the pain stops2 and he feels himself1 as he says1 in heaven for the time3 but he is too apt to forget that the cause of the pain is still in his body1 and that if he commits the least imprudence1 he will bring it back again2 just as happens1 ,i hear1 in too many of these hasty and noisy conversions now-a-days4 ,that is one extreme4 ,the opposite extreme is that of many old ,roman ,catholic saints and hermits who could not forgive themselves at all1 but passed their whole lives in fasting1 poverty1 and misery1 bewailing their sins till their dying day4 ,that was a mistake4 ,it sprang out of mistaken doctrines1 of which ,i shall not speak here3 but it did not spring entirely from them4 ,there was in them a seed of good1 for which ,i shall always love and honour them1 even though ,i differ from them2 and that was1 a noble hatred of sin4 ,they felt the sinfulness of sin2 and they hated themselves for having sinned4 ,the mercy of ,god made them only the more ashamed of themselves for having rebelled against him4 ,their longing after holiness only made them loathe the more their past unholiness4 ,they carried that feeling too far3 but they were noble people1 men and women of ,god2 and we may say of them1 that1 ',wisdom is justified of all her children4' ,but ,i wish you to run into neither extreme4 ,i only ask you to look at your past lives1 if you have ever been open sinners1 as ,st4 ,paul looked at his4 ,there is no sentimental melancholy in him2 no pretending to be miserable2 no trying to make himself miserable4 ,he is saved1 and he knows it4 ,he is an apostle1 and he stands boldly on his dignity4 ,he is cheerful1 hopeful1 joyful3 but whenever he speaks of his past life 7and he speaks of it often71 it is with noble shame and sorrow4 ,then he looks to himself the chief of sinners1 not worthy to be called an apostle1 because he persecuted the ,church of ,christ4 ,what he is1 he will not deny4 ,what he was1 he will not forget1 he dare not forget1 lest he should forget that the good which he does1 he does not--for in him 7that is1 in his flesh1 his own natural character71 dwelleth no good thing--but ,christ1 who dwells in him2 lest he should grow puffed up1 careless1 self-indulgent2 lest he should neglect to subdue his evil passions2 and so1 after having preached to others1 himself become a castaway4 ,so let us do1 my friends4 ,let us not be too hasty in forgiving ourselves4 ,let us thank ,god cheerfully for the present4 ,let us look on hopefully to the future2 let us not look back too much at the past1 or rake up old follies which have been pardoned and done away4 ,but let us thank ,god whenever he thinks fit to shew us the past1 and bring our sin to our remembrance4 ,let us thank him1 when meeting an old acquaintance1 passing by an old haunt1 looking over an old letter1 reminds us what fools we were ten1 twenty1 thirty years ago4 ,let us thank him for those nightly dreams1 in which old tempers1 old meannesses1 old sins1 rise up again in us into ugly life1 and frighten us by making us in our sleep1 what we were once1 ,god forgive us6 when broad awake4 ,i am not superstitious4 ,i know that those dreams are bred merely of our brain and of our blood4 ,but ,i know that they are none the less messages from ,god4 ,they tell us unmistakeably that we are the same persons that we were twenty years ago4 ,they tell us that there is the same infection of nature1 the same capability of sin1 in us1 that there was of old4 ,that in our flesh dwells no good thing3 that by the grace of ,god alone we are what we are3 and that did his grace leave us1 we might be once more as utter fools as we were in the wild days of youth4 ,yes3 let us thank ,god for everything which reminds us of what we once were4 ,let us humble ourselves before him whenever those memories return to us2 and let us learn from them what ,st4 ,paul learnt4 ,to be charitable to all who have not yet learnt the wisdom which ,god 7as we may trust7 has taught to us2 to feel for them1 feel with them1 be sure that they are our brothers1 men of like passions with ourselves1 who will be tried by the same standard as we2 whom therefore we must not judge1 lest we be judged in turn3 and let us have1 as ,st4 ,paul had1 hope for them all2 hope that ,god who has forgiven us1 will forgive them2 that ,god who has raised us from the death of sin1 to something of the life of righteousness1 will raise them up likewise1 in his own good time4 ,amen4 ,,sermon ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,broken ,,and ,,contrite ,,heart ,isaiah1 lvii4 #ae-ba4 ,for thus saith the high and lofty ,one that inhabiteth eternity1 whose name is ,holy2 ,i dwell in the high and holy place1 with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit1 to revive the spirit of the humble1 and to revive the heart of the contrite ones4 ,for ,i will not contend for ever1 neither will ,i be always wroth3 for the spirit should fail before me1 and the souls which ,i have made4 ,for the iniquity of his covetousness was ,i wroth1 and smote him3 ,i hid me1 and was wroth1 and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart4 ,i have seen his ways1 and will heal him3 ,i will lead him also1 and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners4 ,i create the fruit of the lips3 ,peace1 peace to him that is far off1 and to him that is near1 saith the ,lord2 and ,i will heal him4 ,but the wicked are like the troubled sea1 when it cannot rest1 whose waters cast up mire and dirt4 ,there is no peace1 saith my ,god1 to the wicked4 ,this is part of ,isaiah's prophecy4 ,he is telling the ,jews that they should come back safe at last to their own land4 ,he tells them why ,god had driven them out1 and why ,god was going to bring them back4 ,he had driven them out for their sins4 ,but he was not going to bring them back for their righteousness4 ,he was going to bring them back out of his own free grace1 his own pure love and mercy1 which was wider1 deeper1 and higher1 than all their sins1 or than the sins of the whole world4 ,he had sworn to ,abraham to be the friend of those foolish rebellious ,jews1 and he would keep his promise for ever4 ,their wickedness could not conquer his goodness1 or their denying him make him deny himself4 ,but one thing he did require of them4 ,not that they should turn and do right all at once4 ,that must come afterwards4 ,but that they should open their eyes1 and see that they had done wrong4 ,he wanted to produce in them the humble and the contrite heart4 ,now1 as ,i told you last ,sunday1 a contrite heart does not merely mean a broken heart2 it means more4 ,it means literally a heart crushed2 a heart ground to powder4 ,you can have no stronger word4 ,it was this heart which ,god wished to breed in these rebellious ,jews4 ,a heart like ,isaiah's heart1 when he said1 after having seen ,god's glory1 ',woe is me1 for ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and dwell among a people of unclean lips4' ,a heart like ,jeremiah's heart1 when he said1 ',oh1 that my head were waters1 and mine eyes a fountain of tears1 that ,i might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people4' ,a heart like ,daniel's heart1 when he confessed before ,god that1 to him and all his people belonged shame and confusion of face4 ,why do ,i mention these three men8 ,they were not bad men1 but good men4 ,what need had they of a contrite heart8 ,i mention them1 because they were good men4 ,and why were they good men8 ,for any good works of their own8 ,not in the least4 ,what made them good men was1 just the having the humble and the contrite heart2 just feeling that in themselves they were as bad as the sinners round them2 that the only thing which kept them out of the idolatry and profligacy of their neighbours was confessing their own weakness1 and clinging fast to ,god by faith2 confessing that their own righteousness was as filthy rags1 and that ,god must clothe them with his righteousness4 ,do you suppose that ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 and ,daniel would have been good men1 if they had said to themselves1 ',we are prophets2 we are inspired2 we know ,god's law3 and therefore we are righteous2 we are safe3 but these people--these idolaters1 these drunkards1 these covetous1 tyrannous1 profligate people round1 to whom we preach1 and who know not the law--they are accursed4' ,if they had1 they would have said just what the ,pharisees said afterwards4 ,and what came of their saying so8 ,instead of knowing the ,lord ,christ1 when he came they crucified him1 showing that they were really worse at heart than the ignorant common people1 instead of better4 ,no1 my friends1 ,isaiah1 and ,jeremiah1 and ,daniel1 were1 better men than those round them1 just because they had the humble and contrite heart2 because they confessed that the root of sin was in them too1 as much as in their fellow-country men2 because they took their share of the public blame1 their share of the public burden4 ,and their work and wish was1 to breed in their fellow-countrymen the same humble and contrite heart which they had2 to make them confess that their only hope lay in turning back to ,god1 and doing right4 ,but they could not succeed4 ,sin was too strong for them4 ,so as ,isaiah had warned the ,jews1 ,god did the work himself4 ,god took the matter into his own hands1 and arose out of his place to punish those ,jews1 and to make short work with them1 by famine1 and pestilence1 and earthquake1 and foreign invasion1 till they were all carried away captive to ,babylon3 to see if that would teach them to know that ,god was the ,lord2 to see if that would breed in them the humble and contrite heart4 ,but ,god says to these poor ,jews1 ,do not fancy that ,i have taken a spite against you4 ,not so4 ,i will not contend for ever4 ,i will not be always angry2 for then the spirit would fail before me1 and the souls which ,i have made4 ,i have made you1 ,god says2 and ,i love you4 ,i wish to save you1 and not to destroy you4 ,if ,god really hated any man1 do you suppose that he would endure that man for a moment in his universe8 ,do you suppose that he would not sweep that man away1 as easily and as quickly as we do a buzzing gnat when it torments us8 ,do you fancy that ,god lets you1 or me1 or any man1 or any creature live one single instant1 except in the hope of saving him1 and of making him better than he is2 of making him of some use1 somewhere1 some day or other8 ,do you suppose1 ,i say1 that ,god endures sinners one moment1 save because he loves sinners1 and willeth not the death of a sinner1 but that he should be converted and live8 ,no4 ',god our ,saviour1' says ,st4 ,paul to ,timothy1 'willeth that all men should be saved1 and come to the knowledge of the truth2' and therefore if they are not saved it must be their own fault1 and not ,god's2 it must be they who will not be saved1 though ,god wills that they should be1 as ,isaiah goes on to show4 ,for he says--,god cries to men1 ,peace6 ,i create the fruit of the lips2 that is1 ,i give men cause to thank me4 ,i create it4 ,i make it without their help4 ,i do not sell them my mercy4 ,i give it them freely4 ,i say1 ,peace1 peace1 to them all1 ,to him who is near1 and him who is afar off2 peace to all mankind2 peace on earth1 and goodwill to men4 ,god is everlastingly at peace with himself1 and at peace with all his creatures1 and with all his works2 and he wills1 in his boundless love1 to bring them all into his peace1 the peace which passeth understanding2 that they may be at peace with him2 and1 therefore at peace with themselves1 and at peace with each other4 ,but how can they be at peace1 when there is no peace in them8 ,if they will do wrong2 if they will quarrel2 if they will defraud each other2 if they will give way to the lusts and passions which war within them3 how can they be at peace8 ,they are like a troubled sea1 says ,isaiah1 when it cannot rest1 which casts up mire and dirt2 and there is no peace to them4 ,it is not ,god who casts up the mire and dirt4 ,it is they who cast it up4 ,god has not made them restless3 but they themselves1 with their pride1 selfishness1 violent passions1 longings after this and that4 ,god has not made them foul and dirty1 but they themselves1 with their own foul words and foul deeds1 which keep them from being at peace with themselves1 because they are ashamed of them all the while2 which keep them from being at peace with their neighbours2 which make them hate and fear their neighbours1 because they know that their neighbours do not respect them1 or are afraid of their neighbours finding them out4 ,what says brave1 plain-spoken ,st4 ,james8--',let no man say when he is tempted1 ,i am tempted of ,god3 for ,god cannot be tempted with evil1 neither tempteth he any man4' ',from whence come wars and fightings among you8 ,come they not hence1 even of your lusts that war in your members8 ,ye lust1 and have not3 ye kill1 and desire to have1 and cannot obtain3 ye fight and war1 yet ye have not1 because ye ask not4' ,but as for ,god1 he says1 from him comes nothing but good4 ,do not fancy anything else4 ',do not err1 my beloved brethren4 ,every good gift and every perfect gift is from above1 and cometh down from the ,father of lights1 with whom is no variableness1 neither shadow of turning4 ,of ,his own will begat ,he us with the word of truth1 that we should be a kind of first-fruits of ,his creatures4' ,my friends1 all these things were written for our examples4 ,god grant that we may lay the lesson to heart4 ,a dark night may come to any one of us1 a night of darkness upon darkness1 and sorrow upon sorrow1 and bad luck upon bad luck2 till we know not what is going to happen next2 and are ready to say with ,david--',all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me2' and with ,hezekiah--',i reckoned till morning1 that1 as a lion1 so will he break all my bones3 from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me4' ,god grant1 that before that day comes1 we may have so learnt to know ,god1 as to know that the billows are ,god's billows1 and the storms his storms2 and1 after a while1 not to be afraid1 though all earthly hope and help seem swept away4 ,god grant that when trouble comes after trouble1 we may be able to see that our ,father in heaven is only dealing with us as he dealt with those poor ,jews2 that he is all the while saying ',peace6' to us1 whether we be near him1 or far off from him2 and is ready to heal us1 the moment that he has worked in us the broken and contrite heart4 ,and we may trust him that he will do it4 ,with him one day is as a thousand years4 ,and in one day of bitter misery he can teach us lessons1 which we could not teach ourselves in a thousand years of reading and studying1 or even of praying4 ,but our prayers1 we shall find1 have not been in vain4 ,he has not forgotten one of them2 and there is the answer1 in that very sorrow4 ,in sorrow1 he is making short work with our spirits4 ,in one terrible and searching trial our souls may be1 as the ,poet says-- ,heated hot with burning fears1 ,and bathed in baths of hissing tears2 ,and battered by the strokes of doom4 ,to shape and use4 ,yes4 ,he will make short work at times with men's spirits4 ,he grinds hearts to powder1 that they may be broken and contrite before him3 but only that he may heal them2 that out of the broken fragments of the hard1 proud1 self-deceiving heart of stone1 he may create a new and harder heart of flesh1 human and gentle1 humble and simple4 ,and then he will return and have mercy4 ,he will show that he will not contend for ever4 ,he will show that he does not wish our spirits to fail before him1 but to grow and flourish before him to everlasting life4 ,he will create the fruit of the lips1 and give us cause to thank him in spirit and in truth4 ,he will show us that he was nearest when he seemed furthest off2 and that just because he is the high and lofty ,one that inhabiteth eternity1 whose name is ,holy1 who dwelleth in the high and holy place1 for that very reason he dwells also with the humble and the contrite heart2 because that heart alone can confess his height and its own lowliness1 confess its own sin and his holiness2 and so can cling to his majesty by faith1 and partake of his holiness by the inspiration of his ,holy ,spirit4 ,god grant that we may all so humble ourselves under his mighty hand1 whenever that hand lies heavy upon us1 that he may raise us up in due time1 changed into his divine likeness1 from glory to glory2 till we come to the measure of ,christ1 and to the stature of perfect men1 renewed into the image of the ,son of ,man1 ,jesus ,christ our ,lord6 ,amen4 ,,sermon ,,xviii4 ,,st4 ,,peter ,matt4 xvi4 #ah4 ,thou art ,peter1 and on this rock ,i will build my ,church4 ,this is ,st4 ,peter's day4 ,it will be well worth our while to think a little over ,st4 ,peter1 and what kind of man he was4 ,for ,st4 ,peter was certainly one of the most important and most famous men who ever lived in the whole world4 ,you just heard what our ,lord said to him in the text4 ,and certainly1 from those words1 and from many other things which are told of ,st4 ,peter1 he was the chief of the apostles--at least till ,st4 ,paul arose4 ,st4 ,paul says himself1 that he had as much authority as ,st4 ,peter1 and that he was not a whit behind the very chiefest of the apostles3 but ,st4 ,peter1 for some time after our ,lord's death1 seems to have been looked up to1 by the rest of the apostles and the disciples1 as their leader1 the man of most weight and authority among them4 ,it was to ,st4 ,peter especially that our ,lord looked to strengthen the other apostles1 after he had been converted himself4 ,it was to ,st4 ,peter that our ,lord first revealed that great gospel1 that the ,gentiles were fellow-heirs with the ,jews in all ,god's promises4 ,the same thing was afterwards revealed to ,st4 ,paul too1 and far more fully3 but it was ,st4 ,peter who had the great honour of baptizing the first heathen2 and of using1 as our ,lord had bid him do1 the keys of the kingdom of heaven1 to open its doors to all the nations upon earth4 ,now1 what sort of a man was this on whom the ,lord ,jesus ,christ put so great an honour8 ,if we say that ,st4 ,peter was nothing in himself2 that all the goodness and worth in him was given him by ,jesus ,christ1 then we must ask1 what sort of goodness1 what sort of worth1 did the ,lord give ,st4 ,peter to make him fit for so great an office8 ,and how did he use ,christ's gifts8 ,for1 mind1 he might have used them wrongly1 as well as rightly2 and the greater gifts he had1 the more harm he would have done if he had used them ill4 ,we shall see1 presently1 how he did use them ill1 more than once2 and how our ,lord had to reprove him1 and say very stern and terrible words to him1 to bring him to his senses4 ,but this we may see1 that ,st4 ,peter was always a frank1 brave1 honest1 high-spirited man2 who1 if he thought that a thing ought to be done1 would do it at once4 ,the first thing we hear of him is1 how ,jesus1 walking by the ,lake of ,galilee1 saw ,peter with his brother1 casting a net into the sea1 for they were fishers4 ,and he said unto them1 ',follow me1 and ,i will make you fishers of men4 ,and they straightway left their nets1 and followed him4' ,this was most likely not the first time that ,st4 ,peter had seen our ,lord1 or heard him speak4 ,living in the same part of the country1 he must have known all his miracles3 but still it was a great struggle1 no doubt1 for him 7and doubly so because he was a married man71 to throw up his employment1 and go wandering after one who had not where to lay his head3 yet he did it1 and did it at once4 ,and you may see that he did it for a much higher and nobler reason than if he had only gone to wonder at our ,lord's miracles1 as the multitude did1 or even to be able to work miracles himself4 ,jesus did not say to him1 ,follow me1 and ,i will give you the power of working miracles1 and being admired1 and wondered at2 all he says is1 ,i will make you fishers of men2 ,i will make you able to get a hold on men's hearts1 and teach them1 and make them happier and better4 ,and for that ,st4 ,peter followed him4 ,it seems as if from the first his wish was to do good to his fellow-creatures4 ,and1 gradually1 he seems to have become the spokesman for the other apostles4 ,when they wished to ask our ,lord anything1 we generally find ,st4 ,peter asking2 and when 7as in the gospel for to-day71 our ,lord asks them a question1 ,st4 ,peter answers for them all4 ,whom say ye that ,i am8 ,and ,peter answered and said1 ',thou art the ,christ1 the ,son of the ,living ,god4' ,this is what ,st4 ,peter had learnt2 because he had kept his eyes and his ears open1 and his heart ready and teachable1 that he might see ,god's truth when it should please ,god to show it him2 and ,god did show it him3 and taught him something which his own eyes and ears could not teach him2 which all his thinking could not have taught him2 which no man could have taught him2 flesh and blood could not reveal to him that ,jesus was the ,son of ,god2 flesh and blood could not draw aside the veil of flesh and blood1 and make him see in that poor man of ,nazareth1 who was called the carpenter's son1 the only- begotten of the ,father1 ,god made man4 ,no4 ,god the ,father only could teach him that1 by the inspiration of his ,holy ,spirit3 but do you think that ,god would have taught ,st4 ,peter that1 or that ,st4 ,peter could have learnt it1 if his mind had been merely full of thoughts about himself1 and what honour he was to get for himself1 or what profit he was to get for himself1 out of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ8 ,no3 ,st4 ,peter loved the ,lord ,jesus2 loved him with his whole heart4 ,when afterwards our ,lord asked him1 ',simon1 son of ,jonas1 lovest thou me8' ,he answered1 ',lord1 thou knowest that ,i love thee4' ,and because he loved him1 he saw how beautiful and glorious the ,lord's character was2 and his eyes were opened to see that the ,lord was too beautiful1 too glorious1 to be merely a mortal man2 and1 at last1 to see that he was the brightness of ,god's glory1 and the express image of his ,father's person4 ,but1 as ,i said just now1 ,st4 ,peter's great and excellent gifts might have made him only the more dangerous man1 if he used them ill4 ,and this seems to have been his danger4 ,he was plainly a very bold and determined man1 who knew his own power1 and was ready to use it fearlessly3 and what would he be tempted to do6 ,to fancy that his power belonged to him1 and not to ,christ2 that his wisdom belonged to himself2 that his faith belonged to himself2 his authority belonged to himself2 and that1 therefore1 he could use his excellent gifts as he liked1 and not merely as ,christ liked4 ,he was liable1 as we say in homely ,english1 to 'have his head turned' by his honour and his power4 ,for instance1 immediately after our ,lord had put this great honour on him1 ',i will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven1' we find ,peter mistaking his power1 and1 therefore1 misusing it4 ',from that time forth began ,jesus to show unto his disciples1 how that he must go unto ,jerusalem1 and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes1 and be killed1 and be raised again the third day4 ,then ,peter took him1 and began to rebuke him1 saying1 ,be it far from ,thee1 ,lord3 this shall not be unto thee4 ,but he turned1 and said unto ,peter1 ,get thee behind me1 ,satan3 thou art an offence unto me3 for thou savourest not the things that be of ,god1 but those that be of men4' ,st4 ,peter's words1 in the ,greek tongue1 really seem to mean that ,st4 ,peter fancied that he could protect our ,lord2 that he had the power of delivering him1 by binding his enemies the ,jews1 and loosing the ,lord himself4 ,that seems to have been the way in which he took our ,lord's words3 but what does our ,lord answer8 ,as stern words as man could hear4 ',get thee behind me1 ,satan2 for thou art an offence unto me4' ,or1 rather1 thou art my stumbling-block4 ,so that ,st4 ,peter1 while he fancied himself near to the angels1 found out1 to his shame1 that he was behaving like a devil1 and had to be called ,satan to his face2 and that while he thought he could save the ,lord ,jesus1 he found that he was doing all he could to harm and ruin his master2 trying to do the very work which the ,devil tried to do1 when he tempted the ,lord ,jesus in the wilderness4 ,so near beside each other do heaven and hell lie4 ,so easy is it to give place to the ,devil1 and fall into the worst of sin1 just when we are puffed up with spiritual pride4 ,and more than once afterwards1 ,st4 ,peter had to learn that same lesson2 when1 for instance1 he leaped boldly overboard from the boat1 and came walking towards ,jesus on the sea4 ,that was noble3 worthy of ,st4 ,peter3 but he fancied himself a braver man than he was4 ,he became afraid2 and the moment that he became afraid1 he began to sink4 ,jesus saved him1 and then told him why he had become afraid3 because his faith had failed him4 ,he had ceased trusting in ,christ's power to keep him up2 and became helpless at once4 ,that should have been a lesson to ,st4 ,peter1 that he was not to be so very sure of his own faith and his own courage2 that without his ,lord he might become cowardly and helpless any moment3 but he did not take that gentle lesson2 so he had to learn it once and for all by a very terrible trial4 ,we all know how he fell2--one day protesting vehemently to his ,lord1 ',though ,i die with thee1 ,i will not deny thee2' the next1 declaring1 with oaths and curses1 ',i know not the man4' ,no wonder that when ,jesus turned and looked on him1 ,peter went out and wept bitterly1 as bitter tears of shame as ever were shed on earth4 ,for he knew1 he was sure1 that he loved his ,lord all along3 and now he had denied him4 ,he who was so bold and confident1 to fall thus6 and into the very sins most contrary to his nature6 the very sins in which he would have expected least of all to fall6 ,he1 so frank and honest and brave--,he to turn coward4 ,he to tell a base lie6 ,i dare say1 that for the moment he could hardly believe himself to be himself4 ,but so it is1 my friends4 ,if we forget that all which is good and strong in us comes from ,god1 and not from ourselves2 if we are conceited1 and confident in ourselves2 then we cut ourselves off from ,god's grace1 and give place to ,satan the ,devil1 that he may sift us like wheat1 as he did ,st4 ,peter2 and then in some shameful hour1 we may find ourselves saying and doing things which we would never have believed we could have done4 ,god grant1 that if ever we fall into such unexpected sin1 it may happen to us as it did to ,st4 ,peter4 ,for ,satan gained little by sifting ,st4 ,peter4 ,he sifted out the chaff3 but the wheat was left behind safe for ,god's garner4 ,the chaff was ,st4 ,peter's rashness and self-conceit1 which came from his own sinful nature2 and that went1 and ,st4 ,peter was rid of it for ever4 ,the wheat was ,st4 ,peter's courage1 and faith1 and honour1 which came from ,god2 and that remained1 and ,st4 ,peter kept them for ever4 ,that1 we read1 was ,st4 ,peter's conversion2 that worked the thorough and complete change in his character1 and made him a new man from that day forth4 ,and then1 after that terrible and fiery trial1 ,st4 ,peter was ready to receive the gift of the ,holy ,spirit1 which gave him courage with fervent zeal to preach the gospel of his ,crucified ,lord1 and at last to be crucified himself for that ,lord's sake2 and so fulfil the ,lord's words to him4 ',when thou wast young1 thou girdedst thyself1 and walkedst whither thou wouldest3 but when thou shalt be old1 thou shalt stretch forth thy hands1 and another shall gird thee1 and carry thee whither thou wouldest not4' ,by that our ,lord seems to have meant1 ',you were strong and proud and self- willed enough in your youth4 ,the day will come when you will be tamed down1 ready and willing to suffer patiently1 even agony from which your flesh and blood may shrink2' and the ,lord's words came true4 ,for1 say the old stories1 when ,st4 ,peter was led to be crucified1 he refused to be crucified upright1 as the ,lord ,jesus had been1 saying1 ',that it was too great an honour for him1 who had once denied his ,lord1 to die the same death as his ,lord died4' ,so he was crucified1 they say1 with his head downward2 and ended a glorious life in a humble martyrdom4 ,and what may we learn from ,st4 ,peter's character8 ,i think we may learn this4 ,frankness1 boldness1 a high spirit1 a stout will1 and an affectionate heart2 these are all ,god's gifts1 and they are pleasant in his eyes1 and ought to be a blessing to the man who has them4 ,ought to be a blessing to him1 because they are the stuff out of which a good1 and noble1 and useful ,christian man may be made4 ,but they need not be a blessing to a man2 they are excellent gifts3 but they will not of themselves make a man an excellent man1 who excels2 that is1 surpasses others in goodness4 ,we may see that ourselves1 from experience4 ,we see too many brave men1 free-spoken men1 affectionate men1 who come to shame and ruin4 ,how then can we become excellent men1 like ,st4 ,peter8 ,by being baptised1 as ,st4 ,peter was1 with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire4 ,baptized with the ,holy ,ghost1 to put into our hearts good desires2 to make us see what is good1 and love what is good1 long to do good3 but baptized with fire also4 ',he shall baptize you1' ,john the ,baptist said1 'with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire4' ,does that seem a hard saying8 ,do not some at least of you know what that means8 ,some know1 ,i believe4 ,all will know one day2 for it is true for all4 ,to all1 sooner or later1 ,christ comes to baptise them with fire2 with the bitter searching affliction which opens the very secrets of their hearts1 and shows them what their souls are really like1 and parts the good from the evil in them1 the gold from the rubbish1 the wheat from the chaff4 ',and he shall gather the wheat into his garner1 but the chaff he shall burn up with unquenchable fire4' ,god grant to each of you1 that when that day comes to you1 there may be something in you which will stand the fire2 something worthy to be treasured up in ,god's garner1 unto everlasting life4 ,but do not think that the baptism of fire comes only once for all to a man1 in some terrible affliction1 some one awful conviction of his own sinfulness and nothingness4 ,no2 with many--and those1 perhaps1 the best people--it goes on month after month1 year after year3 by secret trials1 chastenings which none but they and ,god can understand1 the ,lord is cleansing them from their secret faults1 and making them to understand wisdom secretly2 burning out of them the chaff of self-will and self-conceit and vanity1 and leaving only the pure gold of his righteousness4 ,how many sweet and holy souls look cheerful enough before the eyes of man1 because they are too humble and too considerate to intrude their secret sorrows upon the world4 ,and yet they have their secret sorrows4 ,they carry their cross unseen all day long1 and lie down to sleep on it at night3 and they will carry it for years and years1 and to their graves1 and to the ,throne of ,christ1 before they lay it down3 and none but they and ,christ will ever know what it was2 what was the secret chastisement which he sent to make that soul better1 which seemed to us to be already too good for earth4 ,so does the ,lord watch his people1 and tries them with fire1 as the refiner of silver sits by his furnace1 watching the melted metal1 till he knows that it is purged from all its dross1 by seeing the image of his own face reflected in it4 ,god grant that our afflictions may so cleanse our hearts1 that at the last ,christ may behold himself in us1 and us in himself2 that so we may be fit to be with him where he is1 and behold the glory which his ,father gave him before the foundation of the world4 ,,sermon ,,xix4 ,,elijah 7,tenth ,sunday after ,trinity47 #a ,kings xxi4 #ai1 #bj4 ,and thou shalt speak unto him1 saying1 ,thus saith the ,lord1 ,hast thou killed1 and also taken possession8 and thou shalt speak unto him1 saying1 ,thus saith the ,lord1 ,in the place where dogs licked the blood of ,naboth1 shall dogs lick thy blood1 even thine4 ,and ,ahab said to ,elijah1 ,hast thou found me1 ,o mine enemy8 ,and he answered1 ,i have found thee3 because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the ,lord4 ,of all the grand personages in the ,old ,testament1 there are few or none1 ,i think1 grander than the prophet ,elijah4 ,consider his strange and wild life1 wandering about in forests and mountains1 suddenly appearing1 and suddenly disappearing again1 so that no man knew where to find him2 and1 as ,obadiah said when he met him1 ',if ,i tell my ,lord1 ,behold1 ,elijah is here2 then1 as soon as ,i am gone from thee1 the ,spirit of the ,lord shall carry thee whither ,i know not4' ,consider1 again1 his strange activity and strength1 as when he goes1 forty days and forty nights1 far away out of ,judea1 over the waste wilderness1 to ,horeb the mount of ,god2 or1 as again1 when he girds up his loins1 and runs before ,ahab's chariot for many miles to the entrance of ,jezreel4 ,one can fancy him from what the ,bible tells us of him1 clearly enough2 as a man mysterious and terrible1 not merely in the eyes of women and children1 but of soldiers and of kings4 ,he seems to have been especially a countryman2 a mountaineer2 born and bred in ,gilead1 among the lofty mountains and vast forests1 full of wild beasts1 lions and bears1 wild bulls and deer1 which stretch for many miles along the further side of the river ,jordan1 with the waste desert of rocks and sand beyond them4 ,a wild man1 bred up in a wild country1 he had learnt to fear no man1 and no thing1 but ,god alone4 ,we do not know what his youth was like2 we do not know whether he had wife1 or children1 or any human being who loved him4 ,most likely not4 ,he seems to have lived a lonely life1 in sad and bad times4 ,he seems to have had but one thought1 that his country was going to ruin1 from idolatry1 tyranny1 false and covetous ways2 and one determination2 to say so2 to speak the truth1 whatever it cost him4 ,he had found out that the ,lord was ,god1 and not ,baal1 or any of the idols2 and he would follow the ,lord2 and tell all ,israel what his own heart had told him1 ',the ,lord1 he is ,god1' was the one thing which he had to say2 and he said it1 till it became his name2 whether given him by his parents1 or by the people1 his name was ,elijah1 ',the ,lord is ,god4' ',how long halt ye between two opinions8' he cries1 upon the greatest day of his life4 ',if the ,lord be ,god1 then follow him2 but if ,baal1 then follow him4' ,how grand he is1 on ,carmel1 throughout that noble chapter which we read last ,sunday4 ,there is no fear in him1 no doubt in him4 ,the poor wild peasant out of the savage mountains stands up before all ,israel1 before king1 priests1 nobles1 and people1 and speaks and acts as if he1 too1 were a king2 because the ,spirit of ,god is in him3 and he is right1 and he knows that he is right4 ,and they obey him as if he were a king4 ,even before the fire comes down from heaven1 and shows that ,god is on his side1 from the first they obey him4 ,king ,ahab himself obeys him1 trembles before him--',and it came to pass1 when ,ahab saw ,elijah1 that ,ahab said unto him1 ,art thou he that troubleth ,israel8 ,and he answered1 ,i have not troubled ,israel2 but thou1 and thy father's house1 in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the ,lord1 and thou hast followed ,baalim4 ,now therefore send1 and gather to me all ,israel unto mount ,carmel1 and the prophets of ,baal four hundred and fifty1 and the prophets of the groves four hundred1 which eat at ,jezebel's table4 ,so ,ahab sent unto all the children of ,israel1 and gathered the prophets together unto mount ,carmel4' ,the tyrant's guilty conscience makes a coward of him3 and he quails before the wild man out of the mountains1 who has not where to lay his head1 who stands alone against all the people1 though ,baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men1 and the prophets of the groves four hundred1 and they eat at the queen's table2 and he only is left and they seek his life3--yet no man dare touch him1 not even the king himself4 ,such power is there1 such strength is there1 in being an honest and a ,god-fearing man4 ,yes1 my friends1 this was the secret of ,elijah's power4 ,this is the lesson which ,elijah has to teach us4 ,not to halt between two opinions4 ,if a thing be true1 to stand up for it2 if a thing be right1 to do it1 whatsoever it may cost us4 ,make up your minds then1 my friends1 to be honest men like ,elijah the prophet of old4 ,for your own sake1 for your neighbour's sake1 and for ,god's sake1 be honest men4 ,for your own sake4 ,if you want to be respected2 if you want to be powerful--and it is good to be powerful sometimes--if ,god has set you to govern people1 whether it be your children and household1 your own farm1 your own shop1 your own estate1 your own country or neighbourhood--,do you want to know the great secret of success8--,be honest and brave4 ,let your word be as good as your thought1 and your deed as good as your word4 ,who is the man who is respected8 ,who is the man who has influence8 ,the complaisant man--the cringing man--the man who cannot say ,no1 or dare not say ,no8 ,not he4 ,the passionate man who loses his temper when anything goes wrong1 who swears and scolds1 and instead of making others do right1 himself does wrong1 and lowers himself just when he ought to command respect8 ,my experience is--not he3 but the man who says honestly and quietly what he thinks1 and does fearlessly and quietly what he knows4 ,people who differ from him will respect him1 because he acts up to his principles4 ,when they are in difficulty or trouble1 they will go and ask his advice1 just because they know they will get an honest answer4 ,they will overlook a little roughness in him2 they will excuse his speaking unpleasant truths3 because they can trust him1 even though he is plain-spoken4 ,for your neighbour's sake1 ,i say2 and again1 for your children's sake2 for the sake of all with whom you have to do1 be honest and brave4 ,for our children--,o my friends1 we cannot do a crueller thing by them than to let them see that we are inconsistent4 ,if they hear us say one thing and do another--if1 while we preach to them we do not practice ourselves1 they will never respect us1 and never obey us from love and principle4 ,if they do obey us1 it will be only before our faces1 and from fear4 ,if they see us doing only what we like1 when our backs are turned they will do what they like4 ,and worse will come than their not respecting us--they will learn not to respect ,god4 ,if they see that we do not respect truth and honesty1 they will not respect truth and honesty2 and he who does not respect them1 does not respect ,god4 ,they will learn to look on religion as a sham4 ,if we are inconsistent1 they will be profane4 ,but some may say--',i have no power2 and ,i want none4 ,i have no people under me for whom ,i am responsible4' ,then1 if you think that you need not be honest and brave for your own sake1 or for other peoples' sake1 be honest and brave for ,god's sake4 ,do you ask what ,i mean8 ,i mean this4 ,recollect that truth belongs to ,god4 ,that if a thing is true1 it is true because ,god made it so1 and not otherwise2 and therefore1 if you deny truth1 you fight against ,god4 ,if you are honest1 and stand up for truth1 you stand up for ,god1 and what ,god has done4 ,and recollect this1 too4 ,if a thing be right for you to do1 ,god has made it right1 and ,god wills you to do it2 and1 therefore1 if you do not do your duty1 you are fighting against ,god2 and if you do your duty1 you are a fellow-worker with ,god1 fulfilling ,god's will4 ,therefore1 ,i say1 ,be honest and brave for ,god's sake4 ,and in this way1 my friends1 all may be brave1 all may be noble4 ,speak the truth1 and do your duty1 because it is the will of ,god4 ,poor1 weak women1 people without scholarship1 cleverness1 power1 may live glorious lives1 and die glorious deaths1 and ,god's strength may be made perfect in their weakness4 ,they may live1 did ,i say8 ,i may say they have lived1 and have died1 already1 by thousands4 ,when we read the stories of the old martyrs who1 in the heathen persecution1 died like heroes rather than deny ,christ1 and scorned to save themselves by telling what they knew to be a lie1 but preferred truth to all that makes life worth having3--how many of them--,i may say the greater part of them--were poor creatures enough in the eyes of man1 though they were rich enough1 noble enough1 in the eyes of ,god who inspired them4 ',few rich and few noble1' as the apostle says1 'were called4' ,it was to poor people1 old people1 weak women1 ill-used and untaught slaves1 that ,god gave grace to defy all the torments which the heathen could heap on them1 and to defy the scourge and the rack1 the wild beasts and the fire1 sooner than foul their lips and their souls by denying ,christ1 and worshipping the idols which they knew were nothing1 and worth nothing4 ,and so it may be with any of you here2 whosoever you may be1 however poor1 however humble4 ,though your opportunities may be small1 your station lowly1 your knowledge little2 though you may be stupid in mind1 slow of speech1 weakly of body1 yet if you but make up your mind to say the thing which is true1 and to do the thing which is right1 you may be strong with the strength of ,god1 and glorious with the glory of ,christ4 ,it is a grand thing1 no doubt1 to be like ,elijah1 a stern and bold prophet1 standing up alone against a tyrant king and a sinful people2 but it is even a greater thing to be like that famous martyr in old time1 ,st4 ,blandina1 who1 though she was but a slave1 and so weakly1 and mean1 and fearful in body1 that her mistress and all her friends feared that she would deny ,christ at the very sight of the torments prepared for her1 and save herself by sacrificing to the idols1 yet endured1 day after day1 tortures too horrible to speak of1 without cry or groan1 or any word1 save ',i am a ,christian2' and1 having outlived all her fellow-martyrs1 died at last victorious over pain and temptation1 so that the very heathen who tortured her broke out in admiration of her courage1 and confessed that no woman had ever endured so many and so grievous torments4 ,so may ,god's strength be made perfect in woman's weakness4 ,you are not called to endure such things4 ,no3 but you1 and ,i1 and every ,christian soul are called on to do what we know to be right4 ,not to halt between two opinions3 but if ,god be ,god1 to follow ,him4 ,if we make up our minds to do that1 we shall be sure to have our trials3 but we shall be safe1 because we are on ,god's side1 and ,god on ours4 ,and if ,god be with us1 what matter if the whole world be against us8 ,for which is the stronger of the two1 the whole world1 or ,god who made it1 and rules it1 and will rule it for ever8 ,,sermon ,,xx4 ,,the ,,loftiness ,,of ,,humility #a ,peter v4 #e4 ,be clothed with humility3 for ,god resisteth the proud1 and giveth grace to the humble4 ,this is ,st4 ,peter's command4 ,are we really inclined to obey it8 ,for1 if we are1 there is nothing more easy4 ,there is no vice so easy to get rid of as pride3 if one wishes4 ,nothing so easy as to be humble3 if one wishes4 ,that may seem a strange saying1 considering that self-conceit is the vice of all others to which man is most given2 the first sin1 and the last sin1 and that which is said to be the most difficult to cure4 ,but what ,i say is true nevertheless4 ,whosoever wishes to get rid of pride may do so4 ,whosoever wishes to be humble need not go far to humble himself4 ,but how8 ,simply by being honest with himself1 and looking at himself as he is4 ,let a man recollect honestly and faithfully his past life2 let him recollect his sayings and doings for the past week2 even for the past twenty-four hours3 and ,i will warrant that man that he will recollect something1 or1 perhaps1 many things which will not raise him in his own eyes2 something which he had sooner not have said or done2 something which1 if he is a foolish man1 he will try to forget1 because it makes him ashamed of himself2 something which1 if he is a wise man1 he will not try to forget1 just because it makes him ashamed of himself2 and a very good thing for him that he should be so4 ,i know that it is so for me2 and therefore ,i suppose it is so for every man and woman in this ,church4 ,i am not going to give any examples4 ,i am not going to say1-- ',suppose you thought this and this about yourself1 and were proud of it2 and then suppose that you recollected that you had done that and that3 would you not feel very much taken down in your own conceit8' ,i like that personal kind of preaching less and less4 ,those random shots are dangerous and cruel2 likely to hit the wrong person1 and hurt their feelings unnecessarily4 ,it is very easy to say a hard thing3 but not so easy to say it to the right person and at the right time4 ,no4 ,the heart knoweth its own bitterness4 ,almost every one has something to be ashamed of1 more or less1 which no one but himself and ,god knows of2 and which1 perhaps1 it is better that no one but he and ,god should know4 ,i do not mean any great sin1 or great shame--,god forbid2 but some weak point1 as we call it4 ,something which he had better not say or do2 and yet which he is in the habit of saying and doing4 ,i do not ask what it is4 ,with some it may be a mere pardonable weakness2 with others it may be a very serious and dangerous fault4 ,all ,i ask now is1 that each and every one of us should try and find it out1 and feel it1 and keep it in mind2 that we may be of a humble spirit with the lowly1 which is better than dividing the spoil with the proud4 ,but why better8 ,the world and human nature look up to the proud successful man4 ,one is apt to say1 ',happy is the man who has plenty to be proud of4 ,happy is the man who can divide the spoil of this world with the successful of this world4 ,happy is the man who can look down on his fellow-men1 and stand over them1 and manage them1 and make use of them1 and get his profit out of them4' ,but that is a mistake4 ,that is the high-mindedness which goes before a fall1 which comes not from above1 but is always earthly1 often sensual1 and sometimes devilish4 ,the true and safe high- mindedness1 which comes from above1 is none other than humility4 ,for1 if you will look at it aright1 the humble man is really more high-minded than the proud man4 ,think4 ,suppose two men equal in understanding1 in rank1 in wealth1 in what else you like1 one of them proud1 the other humble4 ,the proud man thinks--',how much better1 wiser1 richer1 more highly born1 more religious1 more orthodox1 am ,i than other people round me4' ,not1 of course1 than all round him1 but than those whom he thinks beneath him4 ,therefore he is always comparing himself with those below himself2 always watching those things in them in which he thinks them worse1 meaner than himself2 he is always looking down on his neighbours4 ,now1 which is more high-minded2 which is nobler2 which is more fit for a man2 to look down1 or to look up8 ,at all events the humble man looks up4 ,he thinks1 ',how much worse1 not how much better1 am ,i than other people4' ,he looks at their good points1 and compares them with his own bad ones4 ,he admires them for those things in which they surpass him4 ,he thinks of--perhaps he loves to read of-- men superior to himself in goodness1 wisdom1 courage4 ,he pleases himself with the example of brave and righteous deeds1 even though he fears that he cannot copy them2 and so he is always looking up4 ,his mind is filled with high thoughts1 though they be about others1 not about himself4 ,if he be a truly ,christian man1 his thoughts rise higher still4 ,he thinks of ,christ and of ,god1 and compares his weakness1 ignorance1 and sinfulness with their perfect power1 wisdom1 goodness4 ,do you not see that this man's mind is full of higher1 nobler thoughts than that of the proud man8 ,is he not more high-minded who is looking up1 up to ,god himself1 for what is good1 noble1 heavenly8 ,even though it makes him feel small1 poor1 weak1 and sinful in comparison1 still his mind is full of grace1 and wisdom1 and glory4 ,the proud man1 meanwhile1 for the sake of feeding his own self-conceit at other men's expense1 is filling his mind with low1 mean1 earthly thoughts about the weaknesses1 sins1 and follies1 of the world around him4 ,is not he truly low-minded1 thinking about low things8 ,now1 ,i tell you1 my friends1 that both have their reward4 ,that the humble man1 as years roll on1 becomes more and more noble1 and the proud man becomes more and more low-minded2 and finds that pride goes before a fall in more senses than one4 ,yes4 ,there is nothing more hurtful to our own minds and hearts than a domineering1 contemptuous frame of mind4 ,it may be pleasant to our own self- conceit3 but it is only a sweet poison4 ,a man lowers his own character by it4 ,he takes the shape of what he is always looking at2 and1 if he looks at base and low things1 he becomes base and low himself2 just as slave-owners1 all over the world1 and in all time1 sooner and later1 by living among slaves1 learn to copy their own slaves' vices2 and1 while they oppress and look down on their fellow-man1 become passionate and brutal1 false and greedy1 like the poor wretches whom they oppress4 ,better1 better to be of a lowly spirit4 ,better to think of those who are nobler than ourselves1 even though by so doing we are ashamed of ourselves all day long4 ,what loftier thoughts can man have8 ,what higher and purer air can a man's soul breathe8 ,yes1 my friends2 believe it1 and be sure of it4 ,the truly high-minded man is not the proud man1 who tries to get a little pitiful satisfaction from finding his brother men1 as he chooses to fancy1 a little weaker1 a little more ignorant1 a little more foolish1 a little more ridiculous1 than his own weak1 ignorant1 foolish1 and1 perhaps1 ridiculous self4 ,not he2 but the man who is always looking upwards to goodness1 to good men1 and to the all-good ,god3 filling his soul with the sight of an excellence to which he thinks he can never attain2 and saying1 with ,david1 ',all my delight is in the saints that dwell in the earth1 and in those who excel in virtue4' ,but ,i do not say that he cannot attain to that excellence4 ,to the goodness of ,god1 of course1 no man can2 but to the goodness of man he may4 ,for what man has done1 man may do2 and the grace of ,god which gave power to one man to rise above sin1 and weakness1 and ignorance1 will give power to others also4 ,but only to those who look upward1 at better men than themselves3 not to those who look down1 like the ,pharisee1 but to those who look up like the ,publican2 for1 as the text says1 ',god resisteth the proud1 but giveth grace to the humble4' ,and why does ,god resist and set himself against the proud8 ,to turn him out of his evil way1 of course1 if by any means he may be converted 7that is1 turned round7 and live4 ,for the proud man has put himself into a wrong position2 where no immortal soul ought to be4 ,he is looking away from ,god1 and down upon men2 and so he has turned his face and thoughts away from ,god1 the fountain of light and life2 and is trying to do without ,god1 and to stand in his own strength1 and not in ,god's grace1 and to be somebody in himself1 instead of being only in ,god1 in whom we live and move and have our being4 ,so he has set himself against ,god2 and ,god will1 in mercy to that foolish man's soul1 set himself against him4 ,god will humble him2 ,god will overthrow him2 ,god will bring his plans to nought2 if by any means he may make that man ashamed of himself1 and empty him of his self-conceit1 that he may turn and repent in dust and ashes1 when he finds out what those proud ,laodicaean ,christians of old had to find out--that all the while that they were saying1 ',i am rich1 and increased with goods1 and have need of nothing1' they did not know that they were wretched1 and miserable1 and poor1 and blind1 and naked4 ,and how does ,god give grace to the humble8 ,my friends1 even the wise heathen knew that4 ,listen to a heathen2 #cbh a good and a wise man1 though2 and one who was not far from the kingdom of ,god1 or he would not have written such words as these1-- ',it is our duty1' he says1 'to turn our minds to the best of everything2 so as not merely to enjoy what we read1 but to be improved by it4 ,and we shall do that1 by reading the histories of good and great men1 which will1 in our minds1 produce an emulation and eagerness1 which may stir us up to imitation4 ,we may be pleased with the work of a man's hands1 and yet set little store by the workman4 ,perfumes and fine colours we may like well enough3 but that will not make us wish to be perfumers1 or painters3 but goodness1 which is the work1 not of a man's hands1 but of his soul1 makes us not only admire what is done1 but long to do the like4 ,and therefore1' he says1 he thought it good to write the lives 'of famous and good men1 and to set their examples before his countrymen4 ,and having begun to do this1' he says in another place1 'for the sake of others1 he found himself going on1 and liking his labour1 for his own sake3 for the virtues of those great men served him as a looking-glass1 in which he might see how1 more or less1 to order and adorn his own life4 ,indeed1 it could be compared1' he says1 'to nothing less than living with the great souls who were dead and gone1 and choosing out of their actions all that was noblest and worthiest to know4 ,what greater pleasure could there be than that1' he asks1 'or what better means to improve his soul8 ,by filling his mind with pictures of the best and worthiest characters1 he was able to free himself from any low1 malicious1 mean thoughts1 which he might catch from bad company4 ,if he was forced to mix at times with base men1 he could wash out the stains of their bad thoughts and words1 by training himself in a calm and happy temper to view those noble examples4' ,so says the wise heathen4 ,was not he happier1 wiser1 better1 a thousand times1 thus keeping himself humble by looking upwards1 than if he had been feeding his petty pride by looking down1 and saying1 ',god1 ,i thank thee that ,i am not as other men are8' ,if you wish1 then1 to be truly high-minded1 by being truly humble1 read of1 and think of1 better men1 wiser men1 braver men1 more useful men than you are4 ,above all1 if you be ,christians1 think of ,christ himself4 ,that good old heathen took the best patterns which he could find3 but after all1 they were but imperfect1 sinful men3 but you have an example such as he never dreamed of2 a perfect man1 and perfect ,god in one4 ,let the thought of ,christ keep you always humble3 and yet let it lift you up to the highest1 noblest1 purest thoughts which man can have1 as it will4 ,for all that this old heathen says of the use of examples of good men1 all that1 and far more1 ,st4 ,paul says1 almost in the same words4 ,by looking at ,christ1 he says1 we rise and sit with him in heavenly places1 and enjoy the sight of ,his perfect goodness2 ashamed of ourselves1 indeed1 and bowed to the very dust by the feeling of our own unworthiness2 and yet filled with the thought of his worthiness1 till1 by looking we begin to admire1 and1 by admiring1 we begin to love2 and so are drawn and lifted up to him1 till1 by beholding as in a glass the glory of the ,lord1 and the perfect beauty of his character1 we become changed into the same image1 from glory to glory3 and thus1 instead of receiving the just punishment of pride and contempt1 which is lowering our characters to the level of those on whom we look down1 we shall receive the just reward of true humility1 which is having our characters raised to the level of him up to whom we look4 ,oh young people1 think of this2 and remember why ,god has given you the advantage of scholarship and education4 ,not that you may be proud of the very little you know2 not that you may look down on those who are not as well instructed as you are2 not that you may waste your time over silly books1 which teach you only to laugh at the follies and ignorance of some of your fellow-men1 to whom ,god has not given as much as to you2 but that you may learn what great and good men have lived1 and still live1 in the world2 what wise1 and good1 and useful things have been1 and are being1 done all around you2 and to copy them3 above all1 that you may look up to ,christ1 and through ,christ1 to ,god1 and learn to copy him2 till you come1 as ,st4 ,paul says1 to be perfect men2 to the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ4 ,to which may he bring you all of his mercy4 ,amen4 ,,sermon ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,god 7,trinity ,sunday47 ,john v4 #ai4 ,then answered ,jesus and said unto them1 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 ,the ,son can do nothing of himself1 but what he seeth the ,father do3 for what things soever he doeth1 these also doeth the ,son likewise4 ,this is ,trinity ,sunday2 and on this day we are especially to think of the mystery of the ever-blessed ,trinity1 and on the ,athanasian ,creed1 which was read this morning4 ,now there is much in this ,athanasian ,creed1 which simple country people1 however good their natural abilities may be1 cannot be expected to understand4 ,the ,creed was written by scholars1 and for scholars2 and for very deep scholars1 too1 far deeper than ,i pretend to be2 and the reasonable way for most men to think of the ,athanasian ,creed1 will be to take it very much upon trust1 as a child takes on trust what his father tells him1 even though he cannot understand it himself2 or1 as we all believe1 that the earth moves round the sun1 and not the sun round the earth1 though we cannot prove it2 but only believe it1 because wiser men than we have proved it4 ,so we must think of the ,athanasian ,creed1 and say to ourselves--',wiser men than ,i can ever hope to be have settled that this is the true doctrine1 and the true meaning of ,holy ,scripture1 and ,i will believe them4 ,they must know best4' ,still1 one is bound to understand as much as one can2 one is bound to be able to give some reason for the faith which is in us2 and1 above all1 one is bound not to hold false doctrines1 which are contrary to the ,athanasian ,creed and to the ,bible4 ,some people are too apt to say now-a-days1 ',but what matter if one does hold false doctrine8 ,that is a mistake of the head and not of the heart4 ,provided a man lives a good life1 what matter what his doctrines are8' ,no doubt1 my friends1 if a man lives a good life1 all is well3 but do people live good lives8 ,i am not speaking of infidels4 ,thank ,god1 there are none here2 to ,god let us leave them1 trusting in the ,good ,friday collect1 and the goodwill of ,god1 which is1 that all should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth4 ,but1 as for ,christian people1 this ,i will tell you1 that unless you hold true doctrines1 you will not lead good lives4 ,my experience is1 that people are often wrong1 when they say false doctrine is a mistake of the head and not of the heart4 ,i believe false doctrine is very often not bred in the head at all1 but in the heart1 in the very bottom of a man's soul2 that it rises out of his heart into his head2 and that if his heart was right with ,god1 he would begin at once to have clearer and truer notions of the true ,christian faith4 ,i do not say that it is always so2 ,god forbid6 ,but ,i do say that it is often so1 because ,i see it so2 because ,i see every day false doctrines about ,god making men lead bad lives1 and commit actual sins2 take ,god's name in vain1 dishonour their fathers and mothers1 lie1 cheat1 bear false witness against their neighbours1 and covet other men's goods4 ,i say1 ,i see it1 and ,i must believe my own eyes and ears2 and when ,i do see it1 ,i begin to understand the text which says1 ',this is eternal life1 to know thee1 the only ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ1 whom thou hast sent2' and ,i begin to understand the ,athanasian ,creed1 which says1 that if a 'man does not believe rightly the name of ,god1 and the ,incarnation of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 he will perish everlastingly2 his soul will decay more and more1 become more and more weak1 unhealthy and corrupt1 till he perishes everlastingly4 ,and whatsoever that may mean1 it must mean something most awful and terrible1 worse than all the evil which ever happened to us since we were born4 ,there is a very serious example of this1 to my mind1 in what is called the ,greek ,church2 the ,greeks and ,russians4 ,they split off from the rest of ,christ's ,catholic ,church1 many hundred years ago1 because they would not hold with the rest of the ,church that the ,holy ,spirit proceeded from the ,son as well as from the ,father4 ,they said that the ,holy ,spirit proceeded from the ,father alone4 ,now that may seem a slight matter of words3 but ,i cannot help thinking that it has been a very solemn matter of practice with them4 ,it seems to me--,god forgive me if ,i am judging them hardly6--that because they denied that the ,holy ,spirit proceeded from the ,son1 they forgot that he was the ,spirit of the ,son1 the ,spirit of ,jesus ,christ1 by whom he says for ever1 ',father1 not my will but thine be done6' and so they forgot that the ,holy ,spirit is the ,spirit of ,sonship1 the ,spirit of adoption1 which must proceed and come from ,christ to us1 that we may call ,god our ,father1 and say with ,christ1 ',father1 ,i come to do thy will2' and so1 in course of time1 they seem to have forgotten that ,christian men were in any real practical sense1 ,god's children2 and when people forget that they are ,god's children1 they forget soon enough to behave like ,god's children1 and to live righteous and ,godlike lives4 ,i give you this as an example of what ,i mean2 how not believing rightly the ,athanasian ,creed may make a man lead a bad life4 ,now let me give an example nearer home2 one which has to do with you and me4 ,god grant that we may all lay it to heart4 ,you read1 in the ,athanasian ,creed1 that we are not to confound the persons of the ,trinity1 nor divide the substance2 but to believe that such as the ,father is1 such is the ,son1 and such is the ,holy ,ghost1 the ,glory equal1 the ,majesty co-eternal4 ,now there is little fear of our confounding the persons1 as some people used to do in old times2 but there is great fear of our dividing ,god's substance1 parting ,god's substance1 that is1 fancying that ,god is made up of different parts1 and not perfectly one ,god4 ,for people are very apt to talk as if ,god's love and ,god's justice were two different things1 different parts of ,god2 as if his justice had to be satisfied in one way1 and his love in another2 as if his justice wished to destroy sinners1 and his love wished to save sinners2 and so they talk as if there was a division in ,god2 as if different attributes of ,god were pulling two different ways1 and that ,god has parts of which one desires to do one thing1 and one part another4 ,it sounds shocking1 ,i am sure you will feel1 when ,i put it into plain ,english4 ,i wish it to sound shocking4 ,i wish you to feel how wrong and heretical it is2 that you may keep clear of such notions1 and believe the orthodox faith1 that ,god has neither parts nor passions1 nor division in his substance at all1 but is absolutely and substantially one2 and that1 therefore1 his love and his justice are the very same things2 his justice1 however severe it may seem1 is perfect love and kindness2 and his love is no indulgence1 but perfect justice4 ,but you may say--,very likely that is true2 but why need we take so much care to believe it8 ,it is always worth while to know what is true4 ,you are children of the ,light1 and of the ,truth1 adopted by the ,god of truth1 that you may know the truth and do it1 and no mistake or falsehood can1 by any possibility1 do anything for you1 but harm you4 ,always1 therefore1 try to find out and believe what is true concerning everything2 and1 above all1 concerning ,god1 on whom all depend1 in whom you live1 and move1 and have your being4 ,for all things in heaven and earth depend on ,god2 and1 therefore1 if you have wrong notions about ,god1 you will sooner or later have wrong notions about everything else4 ,for see1 now1 how this false notion of ,god's justice and love being different things1 leads people into a worse error still4 ,a man goes on to fancy1 that while ,god the ,son is full of love towards sinners1 ,god the ,father is 7or at least was once7 only full of justice and wrath against sinners2 but if a man thinks that ,god the ,son loves him better than ,god the ,father does1 then1 of course1 he will love ,god the ,son better than he loves ,god the ,father4 ,he will think of ,christ the ,son with pleasure and gratitude1 because he says to himself1 ,christ loves me1 cares for me2 ,i can have pity and tenderness from him1 if ,i do wrong4 ,while of ,god the ,father he thinks only with dread and secret dislike4 ,thus1 from dividing the substance1 he has been led on to confound the persons1 imputing to the ,son alone that which is equally true of the ,father1 till he comes 7as ,i have known men do7 to make for himself1 as it were1 a ,heavenly ,father of ,jesus ,christ the ,son4 ,now1 my dear friends1 it does seem to me1 that if anything can grieve the ,spirit of ,christ1 and the sacred heart of ,jesus1 this is the way to grieve him4 ,oh read your ,bibles1 and you will see this1 that whatever ,jesus came down on earth for1 it certainly was not to make men love him better than they love the ,father1 and honour him more than they honour the ,father1 and rob the ,father of his glory1 to give it to ,jesus4 ,what did the ,lord ,jesus say himself8 ,that he did not come to seek his own honour1 or shew forth his own glory1 or do his own will3 but his ,father's honour1 his ,father's glory1 his ,father's will4 ,though he was equal with the ,father1 as touching his ,godhead1 yet he disguised himself1 if ,i may so say1 and took on him the form of a servant1 and was despised and rejected of men4 ,why6 ,that men might honour his ,father rather than him4 ,that men might not be so dazzled by his glory1 as to forget his ,father's glory4 ,therefore he bade his apostles1 while he was on earth1 tell no man that he was the ,christ4 ,therefore1 when he worked his work of love and mercy1 he took care to tell the ,jews that they were not his works1 but the works of his ,father who sent him2 that he was not doing his own will1 but his ,father's4 ,therefore he was always preaching of the ,father in heaven1 and holding him up to men as the perfection of all love and goodness and glory3 and only once or twice1 it seems1 when he was compelled1 as it were1 for very truth's sake1 did he say openly who he was1 and claim his co-equal and co- eternal glory1 saying1 ',before ,abraham was1 ,i am4' ,and1 after all this1 if anything can grieve him now1 must it not grieve him to see men fancying that he is better than his ,father is1 more loving and merciful than his ,father is1 more worthy of our trust1 and faith1 and adoration1 and gratitude than his ,father is8-- ,his ,father1 for whose honour he was jealous with a divine jealousy-- ,his ,father1 who1 he knows well1 loved the world which shrinks from him so well that he spared not his only begotten ,son1 but freely gave him up for it4 ,oh1 my friends1 believe me1 if any sin of man can add a fresh thorn to ,christ's crown1 it is to see men1 under pretence of honouring him1 dishonouring his ,father4 ,for just think for once of this--,what nobler feeling on earth than the love of a son to his father8 ,what greater pain to a good son than to see his father dishonoured1 and put down below him8 ,but what is the love of an earthly son to an earthly father1 compared to the love of ,the ,son to the ,father8 ,what is the jealousy of an earthly son for his father's honour1 compared with the jealousy of ,god the ,son for ,god the ,father's honour8 ,all men1 the ,father has appointed1 are to honour the ,son1 even as they honour the ,father4 ,because1 as the ,athanasian ,creed says1 'such as the ,father is1 such is the ,son4' ,but1 if that be true1 we are to honour the ,father even as we honour the ,son2 because such as the ,son is1 such is the ,father4 ,both are true1 and we must believe both2 and therefore we must not give to ,christ the honour which we should to a loving friend1 and give to the ,father the honour which we should to an awful judge4 ,we must give them both the same honour4 ,if we have a godly fear of the ,father1 we ought to have a godly fear of ,christ2 and if we trust ,christ1 we ought to trust the ,father also4 ,we must believe that ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son1 is the brightness of the ,father's glory1 and the express image of his person2 and therefore we must believe that because ,jesus is love1 therefore the ,father is love2 because ,jesus is long-suffering1 therefore the ,father is long-suffering2 because ,jesus came to save the world1 therefore the ,father must have sent him to save the world1 or he would never have come2 for he does nothing1 he says1 of himself4 ,because we can trust ,jesus utterly1 therefore we can trust the ,father utterly4 ,because we believe that the ,son has life in himself1 to give to whomsoever he will1 we must believe that the ,father has life in himself likewise1 and not1 as some seem to fancy1 only the power of death and destruction4 ,because nothing can separate us from the love of ,jesus1 nothing can separate us from the love of his ,father and our ,father1 whose name is ,light and ,love4 ,if we believe this1 we shall indeed honour the ,father1 and indeed honour the ,son likewise4 ,but if we do not1 we shall dishonour the ,son1 while we fancy we are honouring him3 we shall rob ,christ of his true glory1 to give him a false glory1 which he abhors4 ,if we fancy that he does anything for us without his ,father's commands2 if we fancy that he feels anything for us which his ,father does not feel1 and has not always felt likewise3 then we dishonour him4 ,for his glory is to be a perfectly good and obedient ,son1 and we fancy him--may he forgive us for it6--a self-willed ,son4 ,this is ,christ's glory1 that though he is equal with his ,father1 he obeys his ,father4 ,if he were not equal to his ,father1 there would be less glory in his obeying him4 ,take away the mystery of the ever-blessed ,trinity1 and you rob ,christ of his highest glory1 and destroy the most beautiful thing in heaven1 except one4 ,the most beautiful and noble thing of all in heaven--that 7if you will receive it7 out of which all other beautiful and noble things in heaven and earth come1 is the ,father for ever saying to the ,son1 ',thou art my ,son2 this day have ,i begotten thee4 ,and in thee ,i am well pleased4' ,the other most beautiful thing is the co-equal and co-eternal ,son for ever saying to the ,father1 ',father1 not my will1 but thine be done4 ,i come to do thy will1 ,o ,god4 ,thy law is written in my heart4' ,do you not see it8 ,oh1 my dear friends1 ,i see but a very little of it4 ,who am ,i1 that ,i should comprehend ,god8 ,and who am ,i1 that ,i should be able to make you understand the glory of ,god1 by any dull words of mine8 ,but ,god can make you understand it4 ,the ,spirit of ,god can and will shew you the glory of ,god4 ,because he proceedeth from the ,father1 he will shew you what the glory of the ,father is like4 ,because he proceedeth from the ,son1 he will shew you what the glory of the ,son is like4 ,because he is consubstantial1 co-equal1 and co-eternal with the ,father and the ,son1 he will shew you that the glory of the ,father and the ,son is not the glory of mere power2 but a moral and spiritual glory1 the glory of having a perfectly glorious1 noble1 and beautiful character4 ,and unless he shews you that1 you will never be thoroughly good men4 ,for it is a strange thing that men are always trying1 more or less1 to be like ,god4 ,and yet1 not a strange thing2 for it is a sign that we all came from ,god1 and can get no rest till we are come back to ,god1 because ,god calls us all to be his children and be like him4 ,a blessed thing it is1 if we try to be like the true ,god3 but a sad and fearful thing1 if we try to be like some false god of our own invention4 ,but so it is4 ,it was so even among the old heathen4 ,whatsoever a man fancies ,god to be like1 that he will try himself to be like4 ,so if you fancy than ,god the ,father's glory is stern and awful power1 that he is extreme to mark what is done amiss1 or stands severely on his own rights1 then you will do the same2 you will be extreme to mark what is done amiss2 you will stand severely on your rights2 you will grow stern and harsh1 unfeeling to your children and workmen1 and fond of shewing your power1 just for the sake of shewing it4 ,but if you believe that the glory of the ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit is all one2 and that it is a loving glory if you believe that such as ,jesus ,christ is1 such is his ,father1 gracious and merciful1 slow to anger1 and of great kindness1 and repenting him of the evil2 if you believe that your ,father in heaven is perfect1 just because he sendeth his sun to rise on the evil and on the good1 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust1 and is good to the unthankful and the evil-- if you believe this1 ,i say1 then you will be good to the unthankful and the evil2 you will be long-suffering and tender2 good fathers1 good masters1 good neighbours2 and your characters will become patient1 generous1 forgiving1 truly noble1 truly godlike4 ,and all because you believe the ,athanasian ,creed in spirit and in truth4 ,in like manner1 if you believe that ,jesus ,christ is not a perfect ,son2 if you fancy that he has any will but his ,father's will2 that he has any work but what his ,father gives him to do1 who has committed all things into his hands2 that he knows anything but what his ,father sheweth him1 who sheweth him all things1 because he loveth him2 then you will be tempted to wish for power and honour of your own2 to become ambitious1 self-willed1 vain1 and disobedient to your parents4 ,but if you believe that ,jesus is a perfect ,son1 all that you would wish your son to be to you1 and millions of times more2 and if you believe that that very thing is ,christ's glory2 that his glory consists in being a perfect ,son1 perfectly obedient1 having no will or wish but his ,father's2 then will you1 by thus seeing ,christ in spirit and in truth1 see how beautiful and noble it is to be good sons2 and you will long to try to be good sons3 and what you long for1 and try for1 you will surely be1 in ,god's good time2 for he has promised1--',blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness3 for they shall be filled4' ,and all through believing the ,athanasian ,creed8 ,all8 ,yes1 all4 ,but will not the ,holy ,spirit teach us1 without the ,athanasian ,creed8 ,the ,holy ,spirit will teach us4 ,must teach us1 if we are really to learn one word of all this in spirit and in truth4 ,but whether the ,holy ,spirit does teach us1 will depend1 ,i fear1 very much upon whether we pray for him2 and whether we pray for him aright will depend on whether we know who he is1 and what he is like2 and that1 again1 the ,athanasian ,creed will tell us4 ,now1 go home with ,god's blessing4 ,remember that such as the ,son is1 such is the ,father1 and such is the ,holy ,ghost4 ,pray to be made good fathers1 after the likeness of ,the ,father1 from whom every fatherhood in heaven and earth is named2 good sons1 after the likeness of ,god ,the ,son2 and good and holy spirits1 after the likeness of ,the ,holy ,spirit2 and you will be such at last1 in ,god's good time1 as far as man can become like ,god2 for you will be praying for the ,holy ,spirit himself1 and he will hear you1 and come to you1 and abide with you1 and all will be well4 ,,sermon ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,torment ,,of ,,fear 7,first ,sunday after ,trinity47 #a ,john iv4 #af1 #ah4 ,and we have known and believed the love that ,god hath to us4 ,god is love2 and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god1 and ,god in him4 ,herein is our love made perfect1 that we may have boldness in the day of judgment3 because as he is1 so are we in this world4 ,there is no fear in love2 but perfect love casteth out fear3 because fear hath torment4 ,he that feareth is not made perfect in love4 ,the text tells us how to get one of the greatest blessings2 a blessing which all long for1 but all do not find2 and that is a happy death4 ,all wish to die happily2 even bad men4 ,like ,balaam when he was committing a great sin1 they can say1 ',let me die the death of the righteous1 and let my last end be like his4' ,but meanwhile1 like ,balaam1 they find it too hard to live the life of the righteous1 which is the only way to die the death of the righteous4 ,but something within them 7if false preachers will but leave them alone7 tells them that they will not succeed4 ,reason and common sense tell them so3 for how can a man expect to get to a place without travelling the road which leads to it8 ,and the ,spirit of ,god1 the ,spirit of truth and right1 tells them that they will not succeed3 for how can a man win happiness1 save by doing right8 ,every one shall 'receive the things done in his body1 according to that he hath done1 whether it be good or bad4' ,so says ,scripture2 and so say men's own hearts1 by the inspiration of ,god's ,holy ,spirit4 ,and therefore such men's fear of death continues4 ,and why8 ,the text tells us the secret4 ,as long as we do not love ,god1 we shall be tormented with fear of death4 ,and as long as we do not love our neighbour1 we shall not love ,god4 ,we may try1 as thousands have tried1 and as thousands try still1 to love ,god without loving their neighbour2 to be very religious1 and worship ,god1 and sing ,his praises1 and think over all ,his mercy to them1 and all that he has done for them1 by the death of ,his blessed ,son ,jesus ,christ2 and so to persuade themselves and ,god that they love ,him1 while they keep in their hearts selfishness1 pride1 spite1 uncharitableness3 but they do not succeed4 ,if they think they succeed1 they are only deceiving themselves4 ,so says ,st4 ,john4 ',he who loveth not his brother whom he hath seen1 how can he love ,god whom he hath not seen8' ,but they cannot deceive themselves long4 ,you will see1 if you watch such people1 and still more if you watch yourselves1 that if you do not love your neighbours in spirit and in truth1 then those tormenting fears soon come back again1 worse than ever4 ,ay1 whenever we indulge ourselves in hard words and cruel judgments1 the thought of ,god seems darkened to us there and then2 the face of ,god seems turned from us2 and peace of mind and brightness of spirit1 and lightness of soul1 do not come back to us1 till we have confessed our sins1 and have let the kindly1 the charitable1 the merciful thoughts rise up in us once more1 as1 by the grace of ,christ1 they will rise up4 ,yes1 my friends1 as far as ,i can see1 people are filled with the peace of ,god just in as far as they are at peace with their fellow- men4 ,they are bright1 calm1 and content1 looking forward with cheerfulness to death1 and with a humble and holy boldness to judgment1 just in as far as their hearts are filled with love1 gentleness1 kindness1 to all that ,god has made4 ,they dwell in ,god1 and ,god in them1 and perfect love has cast out fear4 ,but if a man does not live in love1 then sooner or later he will hear a voice within him1 which whispers1 ,thou art going wrong2 and1 if thou art going wrong1 how canst thou end at the right place8 ,none but the right road can end there4 ,the wrong road must lead to the wrong place4 ,then the man gets disturbed and terrified in his mind1 and tormented with fears1 as the text says4 ,he knows that the day of judgment is coming1 and he has no boldness to meet it4 ,he shrinks from the thought of death1 of judgment1 of ,god4 ,he thinks--,how shall ,i meet my ,god8 ,i do not love my neighbour4 ,i do not love ,god2 and ,god does not love me4 ,the truth is1 that the man cannot love ,god even if he will4 ,he looks on ,god as his enemy1 whom he has offended1 who is coming to take vengeance on him4 ,and1 as long as we are afraid of any one1 and fancy that they hate us1 and are going to hurt us1 we cannot love them4 ,so the man is tormented with fear2 fear of death1 fear of judgment1 fear of meeting ,god4 ,then he takes to superstition2 he runs from preacher to preacher2 and what not8--,there is no folly men have not committed1 and do not commit still1 to rid themselves of that tormenting fear4 ,but they do not rid themselves of it4 ,sermons1 church-goings1 almsgivings2 leaving the ,church and turning ,dissenters or ,roman ,catholics2 joining this sect and that sect2 nothing will rid a man of his superstitious fear3 nothing but believing the blessed message of the text4 ,and what does the text say8 ,it says this1--',god is love4' ,god does not hate thee1 ,he loves thee4 ,he willeth not thy death1 ,o sinner1 but rather that thou shouldest turn from thy wickedness and live4 ,thy sins have not made ,him hate thee3 but only pity thee2 pity thy folly1 which will lead on the road to death1 when ,he wishes to put thee on the road to life1 that thou mayest have boldness in the day of judgment1 instead of shrinking from ,god like a guilty coward4 ,and what is the way of life8 ,surely the way of ,christ1 who is the life4 ,live like ,him1 and thou wilt not need to fear to die4 ,so says the text4 ,we are to have boldness in the day of judgment1 because as ,christ is1 so are we in this world4 ,and how was1 and is1 and ever will be1 ,christ in this world8 ,full of love2 of brotherly- kindness1 charity1 forgiveness1 peace1 and good will to men4 ,that1 says ,st4 ,john1 is the life which brings a joyful death2 for ,god is love2 and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god1 and ,god in him4 ,oh consider this1 my good friends4 ,consider this2 lest when you come to die the ghosts of all your sins should rise up at your bedside1 and torment you with fear--the ghosts of every cruel word which you ever spoke against your fellow men2 of every kind action which you neglected2 as well as of every unjust one which you ever committed4 ,and1 if they do rise up in judgment against you1 what must you do8 ,cast yourself upon the love of ,god1 and remember that ,god is love1 and so loved us that ,he sent ,his ,son to be the propitiation for our sins4 ,ask ,him to forgive you your sins1 for the sake of that precious blood which was shed on the cross3 but not that you may keep your sins1 and may escape the punishment of them4 ,god forbid4 ,what use in having your past sins forgiven1 if the sinful heart still remains to run up fresh sins for the future8 ,no4 ,ask ,him not merely to forgive the past1 but to mend the future2 to create in you a new heart1 which wishes no ill to any human being1 and a right spirit1 which desires first and utterly to do right1 and is filled with the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 the ,spirit of love1 by which ,god made and redeemed the world1 and all that therein is4 ,so will all tormenting fears cease4 ,you will feel yourself in the right way1 the way of charity1 the way in which ,christ walked in this world1 and have boldness in the day of judgment1 facing death without conceit1 indeed1 but also without superstitious fear4 ,,sermon ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,flesh ,,and ,,the ,,spirit 7,eighth ,sunday after ,trinity47 ,romans viii4 #ab4 ,therefore1 brethren1 we are debtors1 not to the flesh1 to live after the flesh2 for if ye live after the flesh1 ye shall die4 ,what does walking after the flesh mean8 ,st4 ,paul tells us himself1 in ,gal4 v41 where he uses exactly the same form of words which he does here4 ',the works of the flesh1' he says1 'are manifest4' ,when a man gives way to his passions and appetites--when he cares only about enjoying his own flesh1 and the pleasures which he has in common with the brutes1 then there is no mistake about the sort of life which he will lead--',now the works of the flesh are manifest1 which are these2 adultery1 fornication1 uncleanness1 lasciviousness1 idolatry1 witchcraft1 hatred1 variance1 emulations1 wrath1 strife1 seditions1 heresies1 envyings1 murders1 drunkenness1 revellings1 and such like4' ,an ugly list1 my friends2 and ,god have mercy on the man who gives way to them4 ,for disgraceful as they are to him1 and tormenting also to him in this life1 the worst is1 that if he gives way to them1 he will die4 ,i do not mean that he will bring his mortal body to an untimely end2 that he will ruin his own health2 or that he will get himself hanged1 though that is likely enough--common enough4 ,i think ,st4 ,paul means something even worse than that4 ,the man himself will die4 ,not his body merely3 but his soul1 his character1 will die4 ,all in him that ,god made1 all that ,god intended him to be1 will die4 ,all that his father and mother loved in him1 all that they watched over1 and hoped and prayed that it might grow up into life1 in order that he might become the man ,god meant him to be1 all that will die4 ,his soul and character will become one mass of disease4 ,he will think wrong1 feel wrong1 about everything of which he does think and feel3 while1 about the higher matters1 of which every man ought to know something1 he will not think or feel at all4 ,love to his country1 love to his own kinsfolk even2 above all1 love to ,god1 will die in him1 and he will care for nothing but himself1 and how to get a little more foul pleasure before he goes out of this world1 he dare not think whither4 ,all power of being useful will die in him4 ,honour and justice will die in him4 ,he will be shut up in himself1 in the ugly prison-house of his own lusts and passions1 parted from his fellow-men1 caring nothing for them1 knowing that they care nothing for him4 ,he will have no faith in man or ,god4 ,he will believe no good1 he will have no hope1 either for himself or for the world4 ,this1 this is death1 indeed2 the death of sin2 the death in which human beings may go on for years1 walking1 eating1 and drinking2 worse than those who walk in their sleep1 and see nothing1 though their eyes are staring wide4 ,oh pitiable sight6 ,the most pitiable sight in the whole world1 a human soul dead and rotten in sin6 ,it is a pitiable sight enough1 to see a human body decayed by disease1 to see a poor creature dying1 even quietly and without pain4 ,pitiable1 but not half so pitiable as the death of a human soul by sin4 ,for the death of the body is not a man's own fault4 ,but that death in life of sin1 is a man's own fault4 ,in a ,christian country1 at least1 it is a man's own fault1 if he goes about the world1 as ,i have seen many a one go1 having a name to live1 and yet dead in trespasses and sins1 while his soul only serves to keep his body alive and moving4 ,how shall we escape this death in life8 ,st4 ,paul tells us1 ',if ye through the ,spirit do mortify the deeds of the body1 ye shall live4' ,through the ,spirit4 ,the ,spirit of ,god and of ,christ4 ,keep that in mind1 for that is the only way1 the right way1 to mortify and kill in us these vices and passions1 which1 unless we kill them1 will kill us4 ,the only way4 ,for men have tried other ways in old times1 do try other ways now3 but they fail4 ,i could mention many plans which they have tried4 ,but ,i will only mention the one which you and ,i are likely to try4 ,a young man runs wild for a few years1 as young men are too apt to do3 but at last he finds that ill-living does not pay4 ,it hurts his health1 his pocket1 his character4 ,he makes himself ill2 he cannot get employed2 he has ruin staring him in the face1 from his wild living4 ,he must mend4 ,if he intends to keep out of the workhouse1 the gaol1 the grave1 he must mortify the deeds of the body4 ,he must bridle his passions1 give up lying about1 drinking1 swearing1 cheating1 running after bad women3 and if he has a strong will1 he does it from mere selfish prudence4 ,but is he safe8 ,i think not1 as long as he loves still the bad ways he has given up4 ,he has given them up1 not because he hates them1 because he is ashamed of them1 because he knows them to be hateful to ,god1 and ruinous to his own soul3 but because they do not pay4 ,the man himself is not changed4 ,his heart within is not converted4 ,the outside of his life is whitewashed2 but his heart may be as foul as ever2 as full as ever of selfishness1 greediness1 meanness4 ,and what happens to him8 ,too often1 what happened to the man in the parable1 when the unclean spirit went out of him1 and came back again4 ,the unclean spirit found his home swept and garnished3 but empty4 ,all very neat and respectable3 but empty4 ,there was no other spirit dwelling there4 ,no good spirit1 who could fight the unclean spirit and keep him out4 ,so he took to himself seven other spirits worse than himself--hypocrisy1 cant1 cunning1 covetousness1 and all the smooth-shaven sins which beset middle-aged and elderly men2 and they dwell there1 and so does the unclean spirit of youth too4 ,alas6 ,how often have ,i seen men whom that description would fit but too well--men who have kept themselves respectable till they have got back their character in the world's eyes3 and when they get into years1 and have risen perhaps in life1 and made money1 are looked up to by their fellows3 but what are they at heart8 ,as great scoundrels as they were thirty years before--cunning1 false1 covetous1 and hypocritical--and indulging1 perhaps1 the unclean spirit of youth1 as much as they dare without being found out4 ,god help them6 for their last state is worse than their first4 ,but that is the fruit of trying to mortify and kill their own vices by mere worldly prudence1 and not by the ,spirit of ,god1 which alone can cleanse the heart of any man1 or make him strong enough really to conquer and kill his sins4 ,and what is this spirit of ,god8 ,we may know in this way4 ,what says our ,lord in the ,gospel8 ',the tree is known by its fruits4' ,then if we know the fruits of the ,spirit1 we shall surely know something at least of what the ,spirit is like4 ,what then says ,st4 ,paul1 ',the fruit of the ,spirit is love1 joy1 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 faith1 meekness1 temperance4' ,therefore the ,spirit is a loving spirit--a peaceable1 a gentle1 a good1 a faithful1 a sober and temperate spirit4 ,and if you follow it1 you will live4 ,if you give yourselves up honestly1 frankly1 and fully1 to be led by that good spirit1 and obey it when it prompts you with right feelings1 you1 your very self1 will live4 ,you will be what ,god intended you to be2 you will grow as ,god intended you to grow2 grow as ,christ did1 in grace2 in all which is graceful1 amiable1 worthy of respect and love2 and therefore in favour with ,god and man4 ,your character will improve and strengthen day by day2 and rise day by day to fuller1 stronger1 healthier spiritual life4 ,you will be able more and more to keep down low passions1 evil tempers1 and all the works of the flesh1 when they tempt you2 you will despise and hate them more and more2 for having seen the beauty of goodness1 you will see the ugliness of sin4 ,so the bad passions and tempers1 instead of being merely put to sleep for a while to wake up all the stronger for their rest1 will be really mortified and killed in you4 ,they will die out of you2 and you1 the real you whom ,god made1 will live and grow continually4 ,and1 instead of having your character dragged down1 diseased1 and at last ruined1 it will rise and progress1 as you grow older1 in the sure and safe road of eternal life4 ,to which ,god bring us all in his mercy6 ,amen4 ,,sermon ,,xxiv4 ,,the ,,unrighteous ,,mammon 7,ninth ,sunday after ,trinity47 ,luke xvi4 #a-h4 ,and he said also unto his disciples1 ,there was a certain rich man1 which had a steward2 and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods4 ,and he called him1 and said unto him1 ,how is it that ,i hear this of thee8 give an account of thy stewardship2 for thou mayest be no longer steward4 ,then the steward said within himself1 ,what shall ,i do8 for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship3 ,i cannot dig2 to beg ,i am ashamed4 ,i am resolved what to do1 that1 when ,i am put out of the stewardship1 they may receive me into their houses4 ,so he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him1 and said unto the first1 ,how much owest thou unto my lord8 ,and he said1 ,an hundred measures of oil4 ,and he said unto him1 ,take thy bill1 and sit down quickly1 and write fifty4 ,then said he to another1 ,and how much owest thou8 ,and he said1 ,an hundred measures of wheat4 ,and he said unto him1 ,take thy bill and write fourscore4 ,and the lord commended the unjust steward1 because he had done wisely3 for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light4 ,this parable has always been considered a difficult one to understand4 ,fathers and ,divines1 in all ages1 have tried to explain it in different ways2 and have never1 it seems to me1 been satisfied with their own explanations4 ,they have always felt it strange1 that our ,lord should seem to hold up1 as an example to us1 this steward who1 having been found out in one villainy1 escapes1 7so it seems1 from the common explanation7 by committing a second4 ,they have not been able to see either1 how we are really to copy the steward4 ,our ,lord says1 that we are to copy him by making ourselves friends of the ,mammon of unrighteousness3 but how8 ,by giving away a few alms1 or a great many8 ,does any rational man seriously believe1 that if his ,mammon was unrighteous1 that is1 if his wealth were ill-gotten1 he would save his soul1 and be received into eternal life1 for giving away part of it1 or even the whole of it8 ,no doubt1 there always have been men who will try4 ,men who1 having cheated their neighbours all their lives1 have tried to cheat the ,devil at last1 by some such plan as the unjust steward's1 but that plan has never been looked on as either a very honourable or a very hopeful one4 ,i think1 that if ,i had been an usurer or a grinder of the poor all my life1 ,i should not save my soul by founding almshouses with my money when ,i died1 or even ten years before ,i died4 ,it might be all that ,i was able to do3 but would it justify me in the sight of ,god8 ,that which saves a soul alive is repentance2 and of repentance there are three parts1 contrition1 confession1 and satisfaction--in plain ,english1 making the wrong right1 and giving each man back1 as far as one can1 what one has taken from him4 ,to each man1 ,i say2 for ,i have no right to rob one man and then give to another4 ,i ought to give back again to the man whom ,i have robbed4 ,i have no right to cheat the rich for the sake of the poor2 and after ,i have cheated the rich1 ,i do not make satisfaction1 either to god or man1 by giving that money to the poor4 ,good old ,zaccheus1 the publican1 knew better what true satisfaction was like4 ,he had been gaining money not altogether in an unjust way1 but in a way which did him no credit2 he had been farming the taxes1 and he was dissatisfied with his way of life4 ,therefore1 ,behold1 ,lord1 he says1 the half of my goods1 of what ,i have a right to in the world's eyes--what is my own1 and ,i could keep if ,i liked--,i give to the poor4 ,but if ,i have done wrong to any man1 ,i restore to him fourfold4 ,then said the ,lord1 ',this day is salvation come to this man's house2 forsomuch as he also is a son of ,abraham2' a just and faithful man1 who knows what true repentance is4 ,but now1 my friends1 suppose that this was just what our ,lord tells us to do in this parable4 ,suppose that this was just what the unjust steward did4 ,i only say1 suppose2 for ,i know that more learned men than ,i explain the difficulty otherwise4 ,only ,i ask you to hear my explanation4 ,the steward is accused of wasting his lord's goods4 ,he will be put out of his stewardship4 ,he goes to his lord's debtors1 and bids them write themselves down in debt to him at far less sums than they had thought that they owed4 ,now1 suppose that these debtors were the very men whom he had been cheating4 ,suppose that he had been overcharging these debtors2 and now1 in his need1 had found out that honesty was the best policy1 and charged them what they really owed him4 ,they were1 probably1 tenants under his lord1 paying their rents in kind1 as was often the custom in the ,east4 ,one rented an olive garden1 and paid for it so many measures of oil2 another rented corn-land1 and paid so many measures of meal4 ,now suppose that the steward1 as he easily might1 had been setting these poor men's rents too high1 and taking the surplus himself4 ,that while he had been charging one tenant a hundred1 he had been paying to his lord only fifty1 and so forth4 ,what does he do1 then1 in his need8 ,he does justice to his lord's debtors4 ,he tells them what their debts really are4 ,he sets their accounts right4 ,instead of charging the first man a hundred1 he charges him fifty2 instead of charging the second a hundred1 he charges him eighty2 and he does not1 as far as we are told1 conceal this conduct from his lord4 ,he rights them as far as he can now4 ,so he shews that he honestly repents4 ,he has found out that honesty is the best policy2 that the way to make true friends is to deal justly by them2 and1 if he cannot restore what he has taken from them already 7for ,i suppose he had spent it71 at least to confess his sin to them1 and to set the matter right for the time to come4 ,this1 ,i think1 is what our ,lord bids us do1 if we have wronged any man1 and fouled our hands with the unrighteous mammon1 that is1 with ill-gotten wealth4 ,and ,i think so all the more from the verses which come after4 ,for1 when he has said1 ',make yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness1' he goes on in the very next verse to say1 ',he that is faithful in that which is least1 is faithful also in that which is much4 ,if1 therefore1 ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon1 who will commit to your trust the true riches8' ,now1 surely1 this must have something to do with what goes before4 ,and1 if it has1 what can it mean but this--that the way to make friends out of the mammon of unrighteousness1 is to be faithful in it1 just in it1 honest in it8 ,but some one may say1 ,if mammon be unrighteous1 how can a man be righteous and upright in dealing with it8 ,if money be a bad thing in itself1 how can a man meddle with it with clean hands8 ,so some people will say1 and so some will be glad to say4 ,but why8 ,because they do not want to be righteous1 upright1 just1 and honest in their money dealings2 and1 therefore1 they are glad to make out that they could not be upright if they tried2 because money being a bad thing altogether1 a man must needs1 if he has to do with money1 do things which he knows are wrong4 ,i say some people are glad to believe that4 ,i do not mean any one in this congregation4 ,god forbid6 ,i mean in the world in general4 ,we do see people1 religious people too1 do things about money which they know are mean1 covetous1 cruel1 and then excuse themselves by saying1--',well1 of course ,i would not do so to my own brother2 but1 in the way of business1 one can't help doing these things4' ,now1 ,i do not quite believe them4 ,i have seldom seen the man who cheated his neighbour1 who would not cheat his own brother if he had a chance3 but so they say4 ,and1 if they be religious people1 they will quote ,scripture1 and say1--,ah6 it is the fault of the unrighteous mammon2 and1 in dealing with the unrighteous mammon1 we cannot help these little failings1 and so forth3 till they seem to have two quite different rules of right and wrong2 one for the saving of their own souls1 which they keep to when they are hearing sermons1 and reading good books2 and the other for money1 which they keep to when they have to pay their debts or transact business4 ,now1 my dear friends1 be not deceived3 ,god is not mocked4 ,god tempts no man4 ,man tempts himself by his own lusts and passions4 ,god does not tempt us when he gives us money1 puts us in the way of earning money1 or spending money4 ,money is not bad in itself2 wealth is not bad in itself4 ,if mammon be unrighteous1 we make money into mammon1 when we make an idol of it1 and worship it more than ,god's law of right and justice4 ,we make it unrighteous1 by being unrighteous1 and unjust ourselves4 ,money is good2 for money stands for capital2 for money's worth2 for houses1 land1 food1 clothes1 all that man can make2 and they stand for labour1 employment1 wages2 and they stand for human beings1 for the bodily life of man4 ,without wealth1 where should we be now8 ,if ,god had not given to man the power of producing wealth1 where should we be now8 ,not here4 ,four-fifths of us would not have been alive at all4 ,instead of eight hundred people in this parish1 all more or less well off1 there would be1 perhaps1 one hundred--perhaps far less1 living miserably on game and roots4 ,instead of thirty millions of civilized people in ,great ,britain1 there would be perhaps some two or three millions of savages4 ,money1 ,i say1 stands for the lives of human beings4 ,therefore money is good2 an ordinance and a gift of ,god2 as it is written1 ',it is ,god that giveth the power to get wealth4' ,but1 like every other good gift of ,god1 we may use it as a blessing2 or we may misuse it1 and make it a snare and a curse to our own souls4 ,if we let into our hearts selfishness and falsehood2 if we lose faith in ,god1 and fancy that ,god's laws are not well-made enough to prosper us1 but that we must break them if we want to prosper2 then we turn ,god's good gift into an idol and a snare2 into the unrighteous ,mammon4 ,it is not the quantity of money we have to deal with which is the snare1 it is our own lusts and covetousness which are the snares4 ,it is just as easy to sell our souls for five pounds as for five thousand4 ,it is just as easy to be mean and tricky about paying little debts of a shilling or two1 as it is about whole estates4 ,i do not see that rich people are at all more unjust about money than poor ones2 and if any say3 ,yes1 but the poor are tempted more than the rich2 ,i answer1 then look at those who are neither poor nor rich2 who have enough to live on decently1 and are not tempted as the poor are1 to steal1 or tempted as the rich are1 to luxury and extravagance4 ,are they more honest than either rich or poor8 ,not a whit4 ,all depends on the man's heart4 ,if his heart be selfish and mean1 he will be dishonest as a poor man1 as a middle-class man1 as a great lord4 ,if his heart be faithful and true1 he will be honest1 whether he lives in a cottage or in a palace4 ,any man can do justly1 and love mercy1 if his heart be right with ,god4 ,i have seen day-labourers who had a hard struggle to live at all1 keep out of debt1 and out of shame1 and live in a noble poverty1 rich in the sight of ,god1 because their hearts were rich in goodness4 ,i have seen tradesmen and farmers1 among all the temptations of business1 keep their honour as bright as any gentleman's--brighter than too many gentlemen's1 because they had learnt to fear ,god and work righteousness4 ,i have seen great merchants and manufacturers1 because that they were their brothers' keepers1 spread not only employment1 but comfort1 education1 and religion1 among the hundreds of workmen whom ,god had put into their charge4 ,i have seen great landowners live truly royal lives1 doing with all their might the good which their hand found to do2 and1 after the likeness of their heavenly ,father1 causing their sun to shine on the evil and on the good1 and their rain to fall on the just and on the unjust4 ,yes2 in every station of life1 thy dealings will be right with men1 if thy heart be right with ,god4 ,yes4 ,let us bear in mind this--that whatever we cannot be1 we can at least be honest men4 ,let us go to our graves1 if possible1 with the feeling that there is not a man on earth1 a penny the worse for us4 ,and if we have ever fouled our hands with the unrighteous ,mammon1 let us cleanse them by the only possible plan1 by making restitution to those whom we have wronged2 and so make friends of the ,mammon of unrighteousness1 who shall forgive us1 and receive us as friends in heaven1 instead of making enemies1 and going out of the world with the fearful thought1 that we shall meet at ,god's judgment-seat people whom we have made miserable1 who will rise up to accuse us1 and demand payment of us when it is too late for ever4 ,let us bear in mind1 even though we cannot copy1 the dying words of ,muhammed the ,arab1 who1 when he found his end draw near1 went forth into the market-place1 and asked before all the people1 ',was there any man whom he had wronged8 ,if so1 his own back should bear the stripes4 ,was there any man to whom he owed money8 and he should be paid4' ',yes1' cried some one1 'those coins which you borrowed from me on such a day4' ',pay him1' said ,muhammed3 'better to be shamed now on earth1 than shamed in the day of judgment4' ,he was a heathen4 ,and shall we ,christians be worse than he8 ,then let us pray for the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 the ,spirit of truth1 which will make us faithful and true2 so that no man may be the worse for us in this life2 no man may have to say of us1 when he hears that we lie dying1 ',he wronged me1 he cheated me1 he lied to me2 ,god forgive him3' but that our friends1 as they carry us to the grave1 may feel that they have lost one whom they could respect and trust2 and say1 as the earth rattles in upon the coffin lid1 ',there lies an honest man4' ,,sermon ,,xxv4 ,,the ,,sighs ,,of ,,christ 7,twelfth ,sunday after ,trinity47 ,mark vii4 #cd1 #ce4 ,and looking up to heaven1 he sighed1 and saith unto him1 ,ephphatha1 that is1 ,be opened4 ,and straightway his ears were opened1 and the string of his tongue was loosed1 and he spake plain4 ,why did the ,lord ,jesus look up to heaven8 ,and why1 too1 did he sigh8 ,he looked up to heaven1 we may believe1 because he looked to ,god the ,father2 to ,god1 of whom the glorious collect tells us1 that he is more ready to hear than we to pray1 and is wont to give more than either we desire or deserve4 ,he looked up to the ,father1 who is the fountain of life1 of order1 of health1 of usefulness2 who hates all death1 disease1 infirmity2 who wills that none should perish1 body or soul4 ,my friends1 think of these cheering words2 and try to look up to ,god the ,father1 as ,christ looked up4 ,look up to him ,i say1 if but once1 as a ,father4 ,not merely as your ,father1 but as the ,father of the spirits of all flesh2 the good ,god who creates1 and delights to create2 who orders all worlds and heavens with perfect wisdom1 perfect power1 perfect justice1 perfect love2 and peoples them with immortal souls and spirits1 that they may be useful1 happy1 blessed1 in keeping his laws1 and doing the work which he has ordained for them4 ,oh think1 if but once1 of ,god the perfect and all-loving ,father2 and then you will know why ,jesus looked up to him4 ,and you will see1 too1 why ,jesus sighed4 ,he sighed because he was one with the ,father4 ,he sighed because he had the mind of ,god4 ,because ,god1 the ,lord of health and order1 hates disease and disorder4 ,because ,god1 the ,lord of bliss and happiness1 hates misery and sorrow4 ,because ,god made the world at first very good2 and1 behold1 by man's sin1 it has become bad4 ,why did he sigh8 ,surely1 also1 from pity for the poor man4 ,his infirmity was no such great one2 he had an impediment in his speech1 and with it1 as many are apt to have1 deafness also3 but it was an infirmity4 ,it was a disease4 ,it was something out of order1 something gone wrong in ,god's world2 and as such1 ,christ could not abide it2 he grieved over it4 ,he sighed because there was sickness in a world where there ought to be nothing but health1 and sorrow where there ought to be nothing but happiness4 ,he sighed1 because man had brought this sickness and sorrow on himself by sin2 for1 remember1 man alone is subject to disease4 ,the wild animal in the wood1 the bird upon the tree1 seldom or never know what sickness is2 seldom or never are stunted or deformed4 ,they live according to their nature1 healthy and happy1 and die in a good old age4 ,while man--,why should ,i talk of what man is1 of how far man is fallen from what ,god the ,father meant him to be1 while one hundred thousand corpses of brave men are now fattening the plains of ,italy for next year's crop2 while even in our favoured land1 we find at every turn prisons and reformatories1 lunatic asylums1 hospitals for numberless kinds of horrible diseases2 sickness1 weakness1 and death all round us8 ,only look up yonder to ,windsor ,forest1 and see the vast building now in progress there before your eyes1 for lunatic convicts--the most miserable1 perhaps1 and pitiable of human beings1--and let that building be a sign to you1 how far man is fallen1 and what cause ,jesus had to sigh1 and has to sigh still1 over the miseries of fallen man4 ,yes1 my friends1 not without reason did the old heathen poet1 who had no sure and certain hope of everlasting life1 say1 that man was the most wretched of all the beasts of the field2 not without reason did ,st4 ,paul say1 that if in this life only we have hope in ,christ1 then the ,christian man1 who dare not indulge his passions and appetites1 dare not say1 ,let us eat and drink1 for to-morrow we die3 but must curb himself1 and give up his own pleasure and his own fancy at every turn1 is of all men most miserable4 ,if ,christ's work is done2 if his mercy and help ended when he died upon the cross2 if all he did was to heal the sick for three short years in ,judea a long while ago3 then what have we to which we can look forward8 ,what hope have we1 not merely for ourselves1 who are here now1 but for all the millions who have died and suffered already8 ,yes3 what reasonable hope for mankind can they have1 who do not believe that ,christ is ,very ,god of ,very ,god1 the perfect likeness of the heavenly ,father8 ,but what if that which was true of him then1 is true of him now8 ,what if he be the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever8 ,what if he be ascended on high1 that he might fill all things with his almighty power1 and declare that almighty power most chiefly by shewing mercy and pity8 ,what if he be for ever looking up to his ,father and our ,father1 to his ,god and our ,god1 interceding for ever for mankind2 for ever offering up to the ,father that sacrifice of himself which he perfected upon the ,cross1 for the sins of the whole world8 ,what if he be for ever sighing over every sin1 every sorrow1 every cruelty1 every injustice1 over all things1 great and small1 which go wrong throughout the whole world2 and saying for ever1 ',father1 this is not according to thy will4 ,let thy will be done on earth1 as in heaven4' ,and what1 if he does not look up in vain1 nor sigh in vain8 ,what if the will of ,god the ,father be1 that sin and sorrow1 disease and death1 being contrary to his will and law1 should be at last rooted out of this world1 and all worlds for ever8 ,what if ,christ have authority and commission from ,god to fight against all evil1 sin1 disease1 and death1 and all the ills which flesh is heir to2 and to teach men to fight them likewise1 till they conquer them by his might1 and by his light8 ,what if he reigns1 and will reign1 till he has put all enemies under his feet1 and he has delivered up the kingdom to ,god1 even the ,father1 that ,god may be all in all8 ,what if the day shall come1 when all the nations of the earth shall thus see ,christ's good works1 and glorify his ,father and their ,father who is in heaven8 and by obeying the ,law of their being1 and the commandment of ,god1 which is life eternal1 shall live for ever in that glory1 of which it is written1 that a river of water of life shall proceed out of the throne of ,god and of the ,lamb2 and the leaves of the trees which grow thereby shall be for the healing of the nations2 and there shall be no more curse1 but the throne of ,god and of the ,lamb shall be in the city of ,god1 and his servants shall serve him2 and the ,lord ,god shall give them light2 and they shall reign for ever and ever4 ,what those words mean ,i know not1 and hardly dare to think3 but as long as those words stand in the ,bible1 we will have hope4 ,for ,god the ,father1 who willeth that none should perish1 and ,jesus the only- begotten ,son1 who sighed over the poor man's infirmity in ,judea1 are the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever4 ,,sermon ,,xxvi4 ,,the ,,woman ,,of ,,samaria 7,twelfth ,sunday after ,trinity1 #ahef47 #b ,kings xviii4 #i-ab4 ,and it came to pass in the fourth year of ,king ,hezekiah1 which was the seventh year of ,hoshea son of ,elah king of ,israel1 that ,shalmaneser1 king of ,assyria1 came up against ,samaria1 and besieged it4 ,and at the end of three years they took it3 even in the sixth year of ,hezekiah1 that is the ninth year of ,hoshea king of ,israel1 ,samaria was taken4 ,and the king of ,assyria did carry away ,israel unto ,assyria1 and put them in ,halah and in ,habor by the river of ,gozon1 and in the cities of the ,medes3 because they obeyed not the voice of the ,lord their ,god1 but transgressed his covenant1 and all that ,moses the servant of the ,lord commanded1 and would not hear them1 nor do them4 ,these are very simple words3 but they are awful words enough4 ,awful enough to the poor creatures of whom they speak4 ,you here1 most of you1 can hardly guess all that these words mean4 ,you may thank ,god that you do not4 ,that you do not know the horrors of war1 and the misery of a conquered country1 in old times4 ,to lose all they had ever earned2 all that makes life worth having4 ,to have their homes burnt over their heads1 their crops carried off their fields4 ,to see their women dishonoured1 their old men and children murdered--to be insulted1 beaten1 and tortured to make them tell where their money was hidden2 and after they and theirs had suffered every unspeakable shame and misery from the hands of brutal enemies1 to be stripped1 bound1 and marched away1 for hundreds of miles across the deserts1 into the cold and dreary mountains of the north of ,assyria1 there to live and die as slaves1 and never again to see their native land4 ,and such a land as it was1 and is still3 or rather might be still1 if there were men in it worthy the name of men4 ,for of all countries in the world1 that land of ,israel is one of the most rich and beautiful4 ,the climate and the soil there is such1 that two crops can often be grown in the year1 of almost any kind which man may need2 there are rich valleys well watered1 where not only wheat and every grain-crop1 but the olive1 and the fig1 and the vine1 flourish in perfection2 rich park-like uplands1 where sheep and cattle without number may find pasture2 great forests of timber1 fit for every use2 and all kept cool and fruitful1 even beneath that burning eastern sun1 by the clear streams which flow for ever down from ,hermon4 the great snow-mountain ten thousand feet high1 which overlooks that pleasant land4 ,there is hardly1 travellers say1 a lovelier or richer country upon earth1 than the land of ,israel1 from ,hebron on the south to ,hermon on the north2 nor a country which might have been stronger1 and safer1 and more prosperous1 if these ,jews had been but wise4 ,it is1 so to speak1 one great castle1 rising most of it two thousand feet high1 and walled in by ,god in a way as is seen hardly in any other land4 ,on the west lies the sea2 on the south and on the east vast wildernesses of sandy desert2 and on the north1 the mighty mountains of ,hermon and ,lebanon1 which no invading army could have crossed1 if the ,jews had had courage to keep them out4 ,and that1 the noble and divine ,law of ,moses would have given them4 ,it would have made them one free1 brave1 ,god-fearing people1 at unity with itself2 and the promise of ,moses would have been fulfilled--that one of them should chase a thousand1 and no man or nation be able to stand against them4 ,in ,david's time1 and in ,solomon's time also1 that promise came true2 and that small people of the ,jews became a very powerful nation1 respected and feared by all the kingdoms round4 ,but when they fell into idolatry1 and forsook the true ,god1 and his law3 all was changed4 ,idolatry brought sin1 and sin brought bad passions1 hatred1 division1 weakness1 ruin4 ,the first beginning was1 the breaking up of the nation into two2-- the kingdom of ,judah to the south1 the kingdom of ,israel to the north4 ,and with that division came envy1 spite1 quarrels2 wars between ,israel and ,judah1 which were but madness4 ,for what could come of those two brother-nations fighting against each other1 but that both should grow weaker and weaker1 and so fall a prey to some third nation stronger than them both8 ,the ruin of the kingdom of ,israel1 of which the text tells us1 arose out of some unnatural quarrel of this kind4 ,pekah1 the king of ,israel1 had made friends with the heathen king of ,syria1 and got him to join in making war on ,judah3 and a fearful war it was2 for the ,israelites1 according to one account1 killed in that war a hundred and twenty thousand of the ,jews1 men of their own blood and language1 all ,abraham's descendants as well as they4 ,on which1 ,ahaz1 king of ,judah1 not to be behind- hand in folly1 sent to the heathen king of ,assyria to help him1 just as the king of ,israel had sent to the king of ,damascus4 ,he had better have been dead than to have done that4 ,for those terrible ,assyrians1 who had set their hearts on conquering the whole east1 were standing by1 watching all the little kingdoms round tearing themselves to pieces by foolish wars1 till they were utterly weak1 and the time was ripe for the ,assyrians to pounce upon them4 ,the king of ,assyria came4 ,he swept away all the heathen people of ,damascus1 and killed their king4 ,but he did not stop there4 ,in a very few years1 he came on into the land of ,israel1 besieged ,samaria for three years1 and took it1 and carried off the whole of the inhabitants of the country2 and there was an end of that miserable kingdom of ,israel1 which had been sinking lower and lower ever since the days of ,jeroboam4 ,this was the natural outcome of all their sin and folly1 of which we have been reading for the last few ,sundays4 ,elijah's warnings had been in vain1 and ,elisha's warnings also4 ,they liked1 at heart1 ,ahab's and ,jezebel's idolatries better than they did the worship of the true ,god4 ,and why8 ,because1 if they worshipped ,god1 and kept his laws1 they must needs have been more or less good men1 upright1 just1 merciful1 cleanly and chaste livers3 while1 on the other hand1 they might worship their idols1 and nevertheless be as bad as they chose4 ,indeed1 the very idol-feasts and sacrifices were mixed up with all sorts of filthy sin1 drunkenness and profligacy2 so that it is a shame even to speak of the things which went on1 especially at those sacrifices to ,ashtaroth1 the queen of heaven1 of which they were so fond4 ,they choose the worse part1 and refused the better2 and they were filled with the fruit of their own devices1 as every unrepenting sinner surely will be4 ,but did the ,jews of ,judea and their king escape1 who had thus brought the king of ,assyria down to murder their own countrymen1 and lay that fair land waste8 ,not they4 ,a very few years more1 the ,assyrians were back again1 and overran ,judea itself1 laying the country waste with fire and sword1 till nothing was left to them1 but the mere city of ,jerusalem4 ,and so they1 too1 were filled with the fruit of their own devices4 ,in their madness they had destroyed their brethren1 the people of ,israel1 who ought to have been a safeguard for them to the north2 now there was nothing and no man to prevent the ,assyrians1 or any other invaders1 from pouring right down into their land4 ,truly says ,solomon1 ',he that diggeth a pit1 shall fall into it1 and he who breaketh a hedge1 a serpent shall bite him4' ,from that day1 ,judah became weaker and weaker1 standing all alone4 ,good king ,hezekiah1 good king ,josiah1 could only stave off her ruin for a few years2 a little while longer1 and her cup was full too1 and the ,babylonians came and swept the ,jews away into captivity1 as the ,assyrians had swept away ,israel1 and that fair land lay desolate for many a year4 ,the king of ,assyria1 we read1 after he had carried away the people of ,israel1 brought heathens from ,assyria1 and settled them in the ,holy ,land1 instead of the ,israelites4 ,but the ,lord sent lions among them1 we read2 the land1 ,i suppose1 lying waste1 the wild beasts increased1 and became very dangerous3 so these poor ignorant settlers sent to the king of ,assyria1 to beg for a ,jewish priest1 to teach them1 as they said1 the manner of the god of that land1 that they might worship him1 and not be terrified by the lions any more4 ,it was a simple1 confused notion of theirs3 but it brought a blessing with it2 for the king of ,assyria sent them one of the ,jewish priests who had been carried away from ,samaria2 and he came and lived at ,beth-el1 and taught them to fear the ,lord4 ,so these poor people got some confused notion of the one true ,god3 but they mixed it up sadly with their old heathen idolatry1 and made gods of their own1 and some of them even burnt their children in the fire1 to ,adrammelech and ,anammelech1 the gods of ,sepharvaim1 from which town they had come4 ,and so they went on for several hundred years1 marrying with the remnant of the ,israelites who were left behind1 and worshipping idols and the true ,god at the same time4 ,now these people are the ,samaritans1 of whom you read so often in the ,new ,testament4 ,the ,jews1 when they came back1 hated and despised the ,samaritans1 and would not speak to them1 eat with them1 trade with them1 because they were only half-blooded ,jews1 and did not observe ,moses' law rightly2 and so they were left to themselves3 but as time went on1 they seemed to have got rid of their old idolatry1 and built themselves a temple on ,mount ,gerizim1 by ,samaria1 in ,jacob's old haunts1 by ,jacob's well1 and there worshipped they knew not what4 ,but still they did their best4 ,and their reward came at last4 ,many a hundred years had passed away4 ,the proud ,pharisees of ,jerusalem were still calling them dogs and infidels2 when there came to that half-heathen city of ,samaria such a one as never came there before or since2 and yet had been very near that place1 and those poor ,samaritans1 for a thousand years4 ,and being wearied with his journey1 he sat down upon the edge of ,jacob's well1 by ,joseph's tomb4 ,the well is still there1 choked with rubbish to this very day2 and ,joseph's tomb by it1 all in ruins1 among broad fields of corn4 ,and on the edge of that well he sat4 ,along the very road which was before him1 ,jeroboam1 and ,ahab1 and many a wicked king of ,israel1 had gone in old times1 travelling between ,shechem and ,samaria3 along that road the terrible ,assyrians had marched back to their own land1 leading strings of weeping prisoners out of their pleasant native land1 to slavery and misery in the far ,north4 ,he knew it all2 and doubt not that he thought over it all1 as never man thought on earth4 ,doubt not that his heart yearned over these poor ignorant ,samaritans1 and over the sinful woman who came to draw water at the well4 ,after all1 half- heathens as they were1 ,jacob's blood was in their veins2 and if not1 were they not still human beings8 ,they were worshipping they knew not what3 but still they were worshipping the best which they knew4 ',jesus saith unto her1 ,woman1 believe me1 the hour cometh1 when ye shall neither in this mountain1 nor yet at ,jerusalem1 worship the ,father4 ,ye worship ye know not what3 we know what we worship3 for salvation is of the ,jews4 ,but the hour cometh1 and now is1 when the true worshippers shall worship the ,father in spirit and in truth3 for the ,father seeketh such to worship him4 ,god is a spirit3 and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth4 ,the woman saith unto him1 ,i know that ,messias cometh1 which is called ,christ3 when he is come1 he will tell us all things4 ,jesus saith unto her1 ,i that speak unto thee am he4 4 4 4 ,so when the ,samaritans were come unto him1 they besought him that he would tarry with them3 and he abode there two days4 ,and many more believed because of his own word2 and said unto the woman1 ,now we believe1 not because of thy saying3 for we have heard him ourselves1 and know that this is indeed the ,christ1 the ,saviour of the world4' ,oh1 my friends1 despise no man2 for ,christ despises none4 ,he is no respecter of persons3 but in every nation1 he that feareth ,god and worketh righteousness is accepted with him4 ,despise no man2 for by so doing you deny the ,father1 who has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the earth1 and has appointed them their times1 and the bounds of their habitation2 if haply they may feel after him1 and find him3 though he be not far from any of us2 for in him we live and move and have our being1 and are the offspring of ,god4 ,for hundreds of years those poor ignorant ,samaritans had felt after him2 in that foreign land to which the cruel ,assyrian conqueror had banished them3 but it was ,god who had appointed them their habitation there1 and their time also2 and1 in due time1 they found ,god3 for he came to them1 and found them1 and spoke with them face to face4 ,better to have been one of those ignorant ,samaritans1 than to have been ,king ,ahab1 or ,king ,hoshea1 in all their glory1 with all their proud ,jewish blood4 ,better to have been one of those ignorant ,samaritans than one of those conceited ,pharisees at ,jerusalem1 who1 while they were priding themselves on being ,abraham's children1 and keeping ,moses' law1 ended by crucifying him who made ,abraham1 and ,moses1 and his law1 and them themselves4 ,better to be the poorest negro slave1 if1 in the midst of his ignorance and misery and shame1 he believes in ,christ1 and works righteousness1 than the cleverest and proudest and freest ,englishman1 if1 in the midst of his great light1 he works the works of darkness1 and1 while he calls himself a child of ,god1 lives the sinful life1 on which ,god's curse lies for ever4 ,so you who have many advantages1 take warning by the fate of those foolish ,jews1 who knew a great deal1 and yet did not do it1 and so came to shame and ruin4 ,and you who have few advantages1 take comfort by those poor ,samaritans1 who knew a very little1 and yet made the best of it1 and so at last saw a great light1 after sitting in darkness for so long4 ,schools1 books1 church-going1 ordinances of all kinds1 they are good4 ,if you can get them1 use them1 and thank ,god for them3 but remember1 ,god does not ask for learning1 but for goodness and holiness3 he does not ask for knowledge1 but for a right life4 ,and do not fancy1 that because your children have a good education now1 and you had none1 that ,god does not love you as well as he loves them4 ,his mercy is over all his works2 and the promises are to you as well as to your children4 ,there is many a poor soul who never read a book in her life1 who is nearer ,god than many a great scholar1 and fine preacher1 and learned divine4 ,all ,christ asks of you is1 to receive him when he comes to you2 and to love1 and thank1 and admire him1 and try to be like him1 because he will make you like him3 while for the rest to whom little is given1 of him shall little be required2 and to him who uses what he has1 be it little or much1 more shall be given1 and he shall have abundance4 ,for ,god is no respecter of persons2 but in every nation1 he that feareth ,god1 and worketh righteousness1 is accepted by him4 ,,sermon ,,xxvii4 ,,the ,,invasion ,,of ,,the ,,assyrians 7,thirteenth ,sunday after ,trinity1 ,morning47 #b ,kings xix4 #ae-ai4 ,and ,hezekiah prayed before the ,lord1 and said1 ,o ,lord ,god of ,israel1 which dwellest between the cherubims1 thou art the ,lord1 even thou alone1 of all the kingdoms of the earth2 thou hast made heaven and earth4 ,lord1 bow down thine ear1 and hear3 open1 ,lord1 thine eyes1 and see3 and hear the words of ,sennacherib1 which hath sent him to reproach the living ,god4 ,of a truth1 ,lord1 the kings of ,assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands1 and have cast their gods into the fire3 for they were no gods1 but the work of men's hands1 wood and stone3 therefore they have destroyed them4 ,now1 therefore1 ,o ,lord our ,god1 ,i beseech thee1 save thou us out of his hand1 that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the ,lord ,god1 even thou only4 ,this noble story1 which we read in ,church every year1 seems to have had a great hold on the minds of the ,jews4 ,they plainly thought it a very important story4 ,for it is told three times over in the ,bible3 first in the ,book of ,kings1 then in the ,book of ,chronicles1 and again in that of the ,prophet ,isaiah4 ,indeed1 many chapters of ,isaiah's prophecies speak altogether of this invasion of the ,assyrians and their destruction4 ,but what has this story to do with us1 you may ask8 ,there are no miracles in our day4 ,we can expect no angels to fight for our armies4 ,we must fight for ourselves4 ,true1 my friends3 but the lesson of these old stories1 the moral of them stands good for ever4 ,and ,i am thankful that this very story is appointed to be read publicly in church once a year1 to put us in mind of many things1 which all men are too apt to forget4 ,for instance3 to learn one lesson out of many which this chapter may teach us4 ,we are too apt to think that peace and prosperity are the only signs of ,god's favour4 ,that if a nation be religious1 it is certain to thrive and be happy4 ,but it is not so4 ,we find from history that the times in which nations have shewn most nobleness1 most courage1 most righteousness1 most faith in ,god1 have been times of trouble1 and danger1 and terror4 ,when nations have been invaded1 persecuted1 trampled under foot by tyrants1 then all the good which was in them has again and again shewed itself4 ,then to the astonishment of the world they have become greater than themselves1 and done deeds which win them glory for ever4 ,then they are truly purged in the fire of affliction1 that whatever dross and trash is in their hearts may be burnt out1 and the pure gold left4 ,so it was with the ,jews in ,hezekiah's time4 ,so again in the time of the ,maccabees4 ,so with the old ,greeks1 when the great ,kings of ,persia tried to enslave them4 ,so with the old ,romans1 when the ,carthaginians set upon them4 ,so it was with us ,english1 three hundred years ago1 when for a time the whole world seemed against us1 because we alone were standing up for the ,gospel and the ,bible against the ,pope of ,rome4 ,then the king of ,spain1 who was then as terrible a conqueror and devourer of nations1 as the ,assyrians of old1 sent against us the ,great ,armada4 ,then was ,england in greater danger than she had ever been before1 or has been since4 ,and what came of it8 ,that that dreadful danger brought out more faith1 more courage1 than perhaps has ever been among us since4 ,that when we seemed weakest we were strongest4 ,that while all the nations of ,europe were looking on to see us devoured up by those ,spaniards1 our laws and liberties taken from us1 the ,popish ,inquisition set up in ,england1 and ,england made a ,spanish province1 what they did see was1 the people of this little island rising as one man1 to fight for themselves on earth1 while the tempests of ,god fought for them from heaven2 and all that mighty fleet of the ,king of ,spain routed and scattered1 till not one man in a hundred ever saw their native country again4 ,and in ,england1 after that terrible trial had passed over us1 there rose up the best and noblest time which she had ever yet beheld4 ,yes1 my friends1 three hundred years ago we went through just such a fiery trial as the ,jews went through in ,hezekiah's time2 and ,god grant that we may never forget that lesson4 ,but what is true of whole nations1 is often true also of each single person2 of you and me4 ,to almost every man1 at least once in his life1 comes a time of trial--what we call a crisis4 ,a time when ,god purges the man1 and tries him in the fire1 and burns up the dross in him1 that the pure sterling gold only may be left4 ,to some people it comes in the shape of some terrible loss1 or affliction4 ,to others it comes in the shape of some great temptation4 ,nay1 if we will consider1 it comes to us all1 perhaps often1 in that shape4 ,a man is brought to a point where he must choose between right and wrong4 ,god puts him where the two roads part4 ,one way turns off to the broad road1 which leads to destruction3 the other way turns off to the narrow road which leads to life4 ,the man would be glad to go both ways at once1 and do right and wrong too3 but it so happens that he cannot4 ,then he would be glad to go neither way1 and stay where he is3 but he cannot4 ,he must move on4 ,he must do something4 ,perhaps he is asked a question which he does not wish to answer3 but he must4 ,it would be well worth his while to tell a lie4 ,it would be very safe for him1 profitable for him2 while it would be very dangerous for him to tell the truth4 ,he might ruin himself once and for all1 by being an honest man4 ,now which shall he do8 ,he would be glad to do both1 glad to do neither3 but choose he must2 speak he must4 ,he must either lie or tell the truth4 ,then comes the trial1 whether he believes in ,god and in ,christ1 or whether he does not4 ,if he only believes1 as too many do without knowing it1 in a dead ,god1 a ,god far away1 he will lie4 ,if he only believes1 as too many do without knowing it1 in a dead ,christ1 a ,christ who bore his sins on the cross eighteen hundred years ago1 but since then has had nothing to do with him to speak of1 as far as he knows--then he will lie4 ,and that is the ,god and the ,christ which most people believe in3 and therefore when the time of trial comes1 they fall away1 and do and say things of which they ought to be ashamed1 because their trust is not in ,god1 but in man4 ,but if that man believes in the living ,god1 and believes that he lives1 and moves1 and has his being in ,god1 he cannot lie4 ,as it is written1 'he that is born of ,god1 sinneth not1 for his seed remaineth in him1 and that wicked one toucheth him not4' ,he will say1 ,whatever happens1 ,i must obey ,god1 and not man4 ,the ,lord is on my side1 therefore ,i will not fear what man can do to me4 ,and what is the seed which remains in that man1 and keeps him from playing the coward8 ,christ himself1 the seed and ,son of ,god4 ,if he believes in the living ,christ2 if he believes that ,christ is really his master1 his teacher1 who is watching over him1 training him1 from his cradle to his grave2--if he believes that ,christ is dwelling in him1 that whatever wish to do right he has comes from ,christ1 whatever sense of honour and honesty he has comes from ,christ2 then it will seem to him a dreadful thing to lie1 to play the hypocrite1 or the coward2 to sin against his own better feelings4 ,it will be sinning against ,christ himself4 ,remember the great ,martin ,luther1 when he stood on one side1 a poor monk standing up for the ,bible and the ,gospel1 and against him were arrayed the ,pope and the ,emperor1 cardinals1 bishops1 and almost all the princes in ,europe2 and his friends wanted him to hold his tongue1 or to say ,yes and ,no at once2 in short1 to smooth over the matter in some way4--,what conceit1 said many1 of one poor monk standing up against all the world2 and what folly1 too6 ,he would certainly be burnt alive4 ,but ,luther could not hold his tongue4 ,he was afraid enough1 no doubt4 ,he disliked being burnt as much as other men4 ,but he felt he must speak ,god's truth then or never4 ,he must bear witness for ,christ's free gospel1 against ,pope1 ,emperor1 all the devils in hell1 if need be1 or else hereafter for ever hold his peace4 ,he must play the honest man that day1 or be a hypocrite and a rogue for ever4 ,his friends said to him1 ',if you go to the ,council1 ,duke ,george will have you burnt4' ,he answered1 ',if it snowed ,duke ,georges nine days together1 ,i must go4' ,they said1 ',if you go into that town1 you will never leave it alive4' ,he said1 ',if there were as many devils in the town as there are tiles on the houses1 ,i must go4' ,and he went1 ,bible in hand1 and said1 ',here ,i stand2 ,i can do no otherwise4 ,god help me6' ,he went1 and he conquered4 ,and so it will be with you1 my friends1 if you will believe in the living ,god1 and in the living ,christ2 then1 when temptation comes1 you will be able to stand in the evil day1 and having done all1 to stand4 ,and you will feel yourselves better men from that day forward4 ,you will feel that you have made one great step upward2 you will look back upon that time of temptation and perplexity as the beginning of a new life2 as a sign to you that ,christ is with you1 and in you1 training you and shaping your character1 till he makes you1 at last1 somewhat like himself2 somewhat of the stature of a true man2 somewhat like what he has bidden you to be1 'perfect as your ,father in heaven is perfect4' ,,sermon ,,xxviii4 ,,the ,,ten ,,lepers 7,fourteenth ,sunday after ,trinity47 ,luke xvii4 #ag1 #ah4 ,were there not ten cleansed1 but where are the nine8 ,there are not found that returned to give glory to ,god1 save this stranger4 ,no men1 one would have thought1 had more reason to thank ,god than those nine lepers4 ,afflicted with a filthy and tormenting disease1 hopelessly incurable1 at least in those days1 they were cut off from family and friends1 cut off from all mankind2 forced to leave their homes1 and wander away2 forbidden to enter the houses of men1 or the churches of ,god2 forbidden1 for fear of infection1 to go near any human being2 keeping no company but that of wretched lepers like themselves1 and forced to get their living by begging2 by standing 7as the ,gospel says7 afar off1 and praying the passers-by to throw them a coin4 ,in this wretched state1 in which they had been certain of living and dying miserably1 they met the ,lord3 and suddenly1 instantly1 beyond all hope or expectation1 they found themselves cured1 restored to their families1 their homes1 their power of working1 their rights as citizens2 restored to all that makes life worth having1 and that freely1 and in a moment4 ,if such a blessing had come to us1 should we have thought any thanks too great6 ,would not our whole lives have been too short to bless ,god for his great mercy8 ,should we have gone away1 like those nine1 without a word of thanks to ,god1 or even to the man who had healed us8 ,what stupidity1 hardhearted- ness1 ingratitude of those nine1 never to have even thanked the ,lord for their restoration to health and happiness4 ,ay1 so we think4 ,yet those nine lepers were men of like passions with ourselves2 and what they did1 we perhaps might do in their place4 ,it is very humbling to think so3 but the ,bible is a humbling book3 and1 therefore1 a wholesome book1 profitable for reproof1 for correction1 for instruction in righteousness4 ,and ,i am very much afraid that when the ,bible tells us that nine out of ten of those lepers were ungrateful to ,god1 it tells us that nine out of ten of us are ungrateful likewise4 ,ungrateful to ,god8 ,i fear so2 and more ungrateful1 ,i fear1 than those ten lepers4 ,for which of the two is better off1 the man who loses a good thing1 and then gets it back again2 or the man who never loses it at all1 but enjoys it all his life8 ,surely the man who never loses it at all4 ,and which of the two has more cause to thank ,god8 ,those lepers had been through a very miserable time2 they had had great affliction2 and that1 they might feel1 was a set- off against their good fortune in recovering their health4 ,they had bad years to balance their good ones4 ,but we--how many of us have had nothing but good years8 ,oh consider1 consider the history of the average of us4 ,how we grow up tolerably healthy1 tolerably comfortable1 in a free country1 under just laws1 with the power of earning our livelihood1 and the certainty of keeping what we earn4 ,famine we know nothing of in this happy land2 war1 and the horrors of war1 we knew nothing of--,god grant we never may4 ,in health1 safety and prosperity most of us grow up2 forced1 it is true1 to work hard3 but that1 too1 is a blessing2 for what better thing for a man1 soul and body1 than to be forced to work hard8 ,in health1 safety and prosperity2 leaving children behind us1 to prosper as we have done4 ,and how many of us give ,god the glory1 or ,christ the thanks8 ,but if these be our bodily blessings1 what are our spiritual blessings8 ,has not ,god given us his only-begotten son ,jesus ,christ8 ,has he not baptised us into his ,church8 ,has he not forgiven our sins8 ,has he not revealed to us that he is our ,father1 and we his children8 ,has he not given us the absolutely inestimable blessing of his commandments8 ,of knowing what the right thing to be done is1 that we may do it and live for ever2 that treasure of which not only ,solomon1 but the wise men of old held1 that to know what was right was a more precious possession than rubies and fine gold1 and all the wealth of ,ind8 ,has he not given us the hope of a joyful immortality1 of everlasting life after death1 not only with those whom we have loved and lost1 but with ,god himself8 ,and how many of us give ,god the glory1 and ,christ the thanks8 ,do we not copy those nine lepers1 and just shew ourselves to the priest8-- ,come to church on the ,sunday1 because it is the custom2 people expect it of us2 and ,god1 we understand1 expects it too3 but where is the gratitude8 ,where is the giving of glory to ,god for all his goodness8 ,which are we most like8 ,children of ,god1 looking up to our ,father in heaven1 and saying1 at every fresh blessing1 ,father1 ,i thank thee4 ,truly thou knowest my necessities before ,i ask1 and my ignorance in asking8--,or1 like the stalled ox1 which eats1 and eats1 and eats1 and never thanks the hand which feeds him8 ,we are too comfortable1 ,i think1 at times4 ,we are so much accustomed to be blest by ,god1 that we take his blessings as matters of course1 and feel them no more than we do the air we breathe4 ,the wise man says-- ,our torments may by length of time become ,our elements2 and ,i am sure our blessings may4 ,they say that people who endure continual pain and misery1 get at length hardly to feel it4 ,and so1 on the other hand1 people who have continual prosperity get at length hardly to feel that4 ,god forgive us6 ,my friends1 when ,i say this to you1 ,i say it to myself4 ,if ,i blame you1 ,i blame myself4 ,if ,i warn you1 ,i warn myself4 ,we most of us need warning in these comfortable times2 for ,i believe that it is this very unrighteousness of ours which brings many of our losses and troubles on us4 ,if we are so dull that we will not know the value of a thing when we have got it1 then ,god teaches us the value of it by taking it from us4 ,he teaches us the value of health by making us feel sickness2 he teaches us the value of wealth by making us feel poverty4 ,i do not say it is always so4 ,god forbid4 ,there are those who suffer bitter afflictions1 not because they have sinned1 but that1 like the poor blind man1 the glory of ,god may be made manifest in them4 ,there are those too who suffer no sorrow at all1 even though they feel1 in their thoughtful moments1 that they deserve it4 ,and miserable enough should we all be1 if ,god punished us every time we were ungrateful to him4 ,if he dealt with us after our sins1 and rewarded us according to our iniquities1 where should we be this day8 ,but still1 ,i cannot but believe that if we do go on in prosperity1 careless and unthankful1 we are running into danger2 we are likely to bring down on ourselves some sorrow or anxiety which will teach us1 which at least is meant to teach us--from whom all good things come2 and to know that the ,lord has given1 when the ,lord has taken away4 ,god grant that when that lesson is sent to us we may learn it4 ,learn it1 perhaps1 at once1 and in a moment1 we cannot4 ,weak flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of ,god1 and see that he is ruling us1 and all things1 in love and justice2 and our eyes are1 as it were1 dimmed with our tears1 so that we cannot see ,god's handwriting upon the wall against us4 ,but at length1 when the first burst of sorrow is past1 we may learn it2 and1 like righteous ,job1 justify ,god2 saying1--,the ,lord gave1 and the ,lord hath taken away1 blessed be the name of the ,lord4 ,if we do that1 and give ,god the glory1 it may be with us1 after all1 as it was with ,job1 when ,god gave him back sevenfold for all that he had taken away1 wealth and prosperity1 sons and daughters4 ,for ,god doth not afflict willingly1 nor grieve the children of men out of spite4 ,his punishments are not revenge1 but correction2 and1 as a father1 he chastises his children1 not to harm1 but to bless them4 ,and ,god grant that if that day1 too1 comes--if after sorrow comes joy1 if after storm comes sunshine--we may not forget ,god afresh in our prosperity1 nor go our ways like those dull-hearted ,jews1 after they were cleansed from their leprosy3 but1 like the ,samaritan1 return1 and give glory to ,god1 who gives1 and delights in giving2 and only takes away1 that he may lift up our souls to him1 in whom we live1 and move1 and have our being3 and so1 knowing who we are1 and where we are1 may live in ,god1 and by ,god1 and for ,god1 in this life1 and for ever4 ,,sermon ,,xxix4 ,,pardon ,,and ,,peace 7,twenty-first ,sunday after ,trinity47 ,psalm xxxii4 #a-g4 ,blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven1 whose sin is covered4 ,blessed is the man unto whom the ,lord imputeth not iniquity1 and in whose spirit there is no guile4 ,when ,i kept silence1 my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long4 ,for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me3 my moisture is turned into the drought of summer4 ,i acknowledge my sin unto thee1 and mine iniquity have ,i not hid4 ,i said1 ,i will confess my transgressions unto the ,lord2 and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin4 ,for this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found3 surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him4 ,thou art my hiding place2 thou shalt preserve me from trouble2 thou shall compass me about with songs of deliverance4 ,the collect for to-day is a very beautiful one4 ,there is something musical in the sound of the very words2 so musical1 that it is sung as an anthem in many churches4 ,let us think a little over it4 ',grant1 we beseech thee1 merciful ,lord1 to thy faithful people pardon and peace2 that they may be cleansed from all their sins1 and serve thee with a quiet mind1 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4' ,that is a noble prayer2 and a prayer for each and every one of us1 every day4 ,i say for every day4 ,it is not like the fifty-first psalm1 the prayer of a man who has committed some black and dreadful crime2 who fears lest ,god should take his ,holy ,spirit from him1 and leave him to remorse and horror2 who feels that he needs to be utterly changed1 and have a new heart created within him4 ,it is not a prayer of that kind4 ,it is rather the prayer of a man who is weary with the burden of sinful mortality2 who finds it very hard work to do his duty1 even tolerably well2 who is dissatisfied with himself1 and ashamed of himself1 not about one great fault1 but about many little faults2 and who wants to be cleansed from them2 who is tempted to be fretful1 anxious1 out of heart1 because things go wrong2 and because he feels it partly his own fault that things go wrong2 and who1 therefore1 wants peace1 that he may serve ,god with a quiet mind4 ,now then1 dear friends1 did ,i not speak truth1 when ,i said1 this is a prayer for every one of us1 and for every day8 ,for which of us does his duty as he ought8 ,i take for granted1 we are all trying to do our duty1 better or worse3 but ,i take for granted1 too1 that the more we try to do our duty1 the more dissatisfied with ourselves we are2 and the more we find we have sins without number to be cleansed from4 ,for the more we try to do our duty1 the higher notion we get of what our duty is2 the more we do1 the more we feel we ought to do2 and the more we feel that we leave undone a great many things which we ought to do1 and do a great many things which we ought not to do1 and that there is no health in us3 but a great deal of disease and weakness2--disease of soul1 in the way of conceit1 pride1 selfishness1 temper1 obstinacy2 weakness1 in the way of laziness1 fearfulness1 and very often of sheer stupidity2 we do not see1 or rather will not take the trouble to see1 what we ought to do1 and how to do it4 ,and therefore1 we must be1 or rather ought to be1 dissatisfied with ourselves2 and our consciences accuse us when we lie down at night1 of a hundred petty miserable mistakes1 which we ought to have avoided4 ,we are continually knowing what is right1 and doing what is wrong1 till we get deservedly angry with ourselves2 and think at times1 that ,god must be deservedly angry with us2 that we are such poor paltry creatures that he can only look on us with dislike and contempt3 and even worse2 that1 perhaps1 he does not care to see us mend2 that our struggles to do right are of no value in his eyes3 but that he has sternly left us to ourselves1 to struggle through life1 right or wrong1 as best we may2 and to be punished at last1 for all that we have done amiss4 ,such thoughts will cross our minds4 ,they have crossed the minds of all mankind since the first man's conscience awoke1 and he discovered that he was not a brute animal1 by finding in himself that awful thought1 which no brute animal can have--',i have done wrong4' ,and therefore the consciences of men will cry for pardon1 just in proportion as they are worthy of the name of men1 and not merely a superior sort of animals2 and therefore just in proportion as our souls are alive in us1 alive with the feeling of duty1 of justice1 of purity1 of love1 of a just and orderly ,god above--just in that proportion shall we be tormented by the difference between what we are1 and what we ought to be2 and the sense of sin1 and the longing for pardon1 will be more keen in us2 and we shall have no rest till the sins are got rid of1 and the pardon sure4 ,that is the price we pay for having immortal souls4 ,it is a heavy price truly3 but it is well worth the paying1 if it be only paid aright4 ,if that tormenting feeling of being continually wrong in this life1 ends by making us continually right for ever in the world to come2 if ,christ be formed in us at last2 if out of our sinful and mortal manhood a sinless and immortal manhood is born2--then shall we1 like the mother over her new-born babe1 forget our anguish1 for joy that a man is born into the world4 ,but1 again1 besides pardon1 we want peace4 ,who does not know that state of mind in which1 perhaps1 without any great reason in reality1 one has no peace8 ,when everything seems to go wrong with a man4 ,when he suspects everybody to be against him4 ,when little troubles1 which he could bear easily enough at other times1 seem quite intolerable to him4 ,when he is troubled with vain regrets about the past--',ah1 if ,i had done this and that6' and vain fears for the future1 conjuring up in his mind all sorts of bad luck which may1 but most probably never will1 happen2 and yet from off which he cannot turn his mind4 ,who does not know this frame of mind8 ,true1 a great deal of this may depend on ill-health2 and will pass away as the man's bodily condition gets better4 ,we know1 in the same way1 that the strange anxiety which comes over us in sleepless nights1 comes from bodily causes4 ,that is merely because1 the circulation of our blood being quickened1 our brain becomes more active2 and because we are lying alone in the silent darkness1 with nothing to listen to or look at1 we cannot turn our attention away from the thoughts which get possession of us and torment us4 ,that is only bodily2 and yet it may be very useful to our souls4 ,as we lie awake1 our own past lives1 our own past mistakes and sins1 and ,god's past blessings and mercies1 too1 may rise up before us with clearness1 and teach us more than a hundred sermons2 and we may find1 with ,david1 that our reins chasten us in the night-season4 ',when ,i am in heaviness1 ,i will think upon ,god2 when my heart is vexed1 ,i will complain4 ,thou holdest mine eyes waking4 4 4 4 ,i have considered the days of old1 and the years that are past4 ,i call to remembrance my song1 and in the night ,i commune with my own heart1 and search out my spirits4 ,will the ,lord absent himself for ever1 and will he be no more intreated8 ,is his mercy clean gone for ever3 and is his promise come utterly to an end for evermore8 ,hath ,god forgotten to be gracious3 and will he shut up his loving-kindness in displeasure8 ,and ,i said it is mine own infirmity4 ,but ,i will remember the years of the right hand of the ,most ,highest4' ,these sleepless hours taught the ,psalmist somewhat2 and they may teach us likewise4 ,and so1 again1 with these sad and fretful frames of mind4 ,even if they do partly come from our bodies1 they have a real effect1 which cannot be mistaken1 on our souls2 and they may have a good effect on us1 if we choose4 ,i believe that we shall find1 that even if they do come from ill health and weak nerves1 what starts them is--that we are dissatisfied with ourselves4 ,we feel something wrong1 not merely in our bodies1 but in our souls1 our characters2 and then we try to lay the blame on the world around us1 and shift it off ourselves2 saying in our hearts1 ',i should do very well1 if other people1 and things about me1 would only let me3' but the more we try to shift off the blame1 the less peace we have4 ,nothing mends matters less than throwing the blame on others4 ,that is plain4 ,other people we cannot mend2 they must mend themselves4 ,circumstances about us we cannot mend2 ,god must mend them4 ,so1 as long as we throw the blame on them1 we cannot return to a cheerful and hopeful frame of mind4 ,but the moment we throw the blame on ourselves1 that moment we can have hope1 that moment we can become cheerful again2 for whatsoever else we cannot mend1 we can at least mend ourselves4 ,now a man may forget this in health4 ,he may be put out and unhappy for a while3 but when his good spirits return1 he does not know why4 ,things have not improved2 but1 somehow1 they do not affect him as they did before4 ,now this is not wrong4 ,god forbid6 ,in such a world as this1 one is glad to see a man rid of sadness by any means which is not wrong4 ,better anything than that a poor soul should fret himself to death4 ,but it may be very good for a man now and then not to forget2 to be kept low1 whether by ill health or by any other cause1 till he faces fairly his own state1 and finds out honestly what does fret him and torment him4 ,and then1 ,i believe1 his experience will generally be like ,david's4-- ',as long as ,i kept silence1 my bones waxed old through my groaning all the day long4' ,think over these words1 ,i beg you4 ,i chose them for my text1 just because they seem to me to contain all that ,i wish you to understand4 ,as long as the ,psalmist held his peace--as long as he did not confess his sin to ,god--all seemed to go wrong with him4 ,he fretted his very heart away4 ,the moment that he made a clean breast to ,god1 peace and cheerfulness came back to him4 ,this psalm may speak of some really great sin which he had committed4 ,but that makes all the more strongly for us4 ,for if he got forgiveness for a great sin1 by merely confessing it1 how much more may we hope to be forgiven1 for the comparatively little sins of which ,i am now speaking8 ,surely there is forgiveness for them4 ,surely we1 ,christians1 are not worse off than the old ,jews4 ,god forbid6 ,what does the ,bible tell us8 ,if we confess our sins1 he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins1 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness4 ,if we say that we have not sinned1 we make him a liar1 and his word is not in us4 ,and again1 if we walk in the light2 that is1 if we look honestly at our own hearts1 and confess honestly to ,god what we see wrong there2 then we have fellowship one with another2 all our frettings and grudgings against our fellow-men pass away2 and the blood of ,jesus ,christ cleanseth us from all sin4 ,god forbid again6 ,for what is the message of the ,absolution1 whether general in the church1 or private by the sick-bed1 but this-- that there is continual forgiveness for those who really confess and repent8 ,god forbid again6 ,for what is the message of the ,holy ,communion1 but that we really are forgiven1 really helped by ,god not to do the like again2 that the stains and scars of our daily misdoings are truly healed by ,god's grace2 and power given us to lead a healthier life1 the longer we persevere in the struggle after ,god4 ,therefore1 instead of proudly laying the blame of our unhappiness on our fellow-men1 much less on ,god and his providence1 let us cast ourselves1 in every hour of shame or of sadness1 on the boundless love of him who hateth nothing that he hath made2 who so loved the world that he spared not his own ,son1 but delivered him up for us all4 ,how shall he not with him freely give us all things8 ,let us open our weary hearts to him who watches with tender interest1 as of a father watching the growth of his child1 over every struggle of ours from worse to better2 and so we shall have our reward4 ,the more we trust to the love of ,god1 the more shall we feel his love-- feel that we are pardoned--feel that we are at peace4 ,we may not grow more cheerful as we grow older2 but we shall grow more peaceful4 ,sadder men1 it may be2 but wiser men also2 caring less and less for pleasure2 caring even less and less for mere happiness3 but finding a lasting comfort in the knowledge that we are doing our life's work not altogether ill1 under the smile of ,almighty ,god2 aware more and more of our own weakness1 and of our own failings3 but trusting that ,god will take the will for the deed1 and forgive us what we have left undone1 and accept what we have done1 for the sake of ,christ1 in whom1 and not in our own poor paltry selves1 he looks upon us as his adopted children4 ,only let us remember to ask for pardon and to ask for peace1 that we may use them as the collect bids us2--,to ask for pardon1 not merely that we may escape punishment2 not even to escape punishment at all1 if punishment be wholesome for us1 as it often is3 but that we may be cleansed from our sins2 that we may not be left to our own weakness and our own bad habits1 to grow more and more useless1 more and more unhappy1 day by day1 but that we may be cleansed from them2 and grow purer1 nobler1 juster1 stronger1 more worthy of our place in ,god's kingdom1 as our years roll by4 ,let us remember to ask for peace1 not merely to get rid of unpleasant thoughts1 or unpleasant people1 or unpleasant circumstances2 and then sit down and say1 ,soul1 take thine ease1 eat and drink1 for thou hast much goods laid up for many years3 but let us ask for peace1 that we may serve ,god with a quiet mind2 that we may get rid of the impatient1 cowardly1 discontented1 hopeless heart1 which will not let a man go about his business like a man2 and get1 instead of it1 by the inspiration of ,god's ,holy ,spirit1 the calm1 contented1 brave1 hopeful heart1 in the strength of which a man can work with a will wherever ,god may put him1 even amidst vexation1 confusion1 disappointment1 slander1 and persecution2 and1 in his place and calling1 serve the ,lord1 who served him when he died for him1 and who serves him1 and all his people1 now and for ever in heaven4 ,so shall we have real pardon1 and real peace4 ,a pardon which will make us really better2 and a peace which will make us really more useful4 ,and to be good and to be useful were the two ends for which ,god sent us into the world at all4 ,,sermon ,,xxx4 ,,the ,,central ,,sun 7,sunday after ,ascension1 ,evening47 ,ephesians iv4 #i4 #aj4 ,now that he ascended1 what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth8 ,he that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens1 that he might fill all things4 ,this is one of those very deep texts which we are not meant to think about every day2 only at such seasons as this1 when we have to think of ,christ ascending into heaven1 that he might send down his ,spirit at ,whitsuntide4 ,of this the text speaks2 and therefore1 we may1 ,i hope1 think a little of it to-day1 but reverently1 and cautiously1 like men who know a very little1 and are afraid of saying more than they know4 ,these deep mysteries about heaven we must always meddle with very humbly1 lest we get out of our depth in haste and self- conceit4 ,as it is said1 ,fools rush in where angels fear to tread4 ,for1 if we are not very careful1 we shall be apt to mistake the meaning of ,scripture1 and make it say what we like1 and twist it to suit our own fancies1 and our own ignorance4 ,therefore we must never1 with texts like this1 say positively1 ',it must mean this4 ,it can mean only this4' ,how can we tell that8 ,this world1 which we do see1 is far too wonderful for us to understand4 ,how much more wonderful must be the world which we do not see8 ,how much more wonderful must heaven be8 ,how can we tell what is there1 or what is not there8 ,we can tell of some things that are not there1 and those are sin1 evil1 disorder1 harm of any kind4 ,heaven is utterly good4 ,beyond that1 we know nothing4 ,therefore ,i dare not be positive about this text1 for fear ,i should try to explain it according to my own fancies4 ,wise fathers and divines have differed very much as to what it means2 how far any one of them is right1 ,i cannot tell you4 ,the ancient way of explaining this text was this4 ,people believed in old times that the earth was flat4 ,then1 they held1 hell was below the earth1 or inside it in some way3 and the burning mountains1 out of which came fire and smoke1 were the mouths of hell4 ,and when they believed that1 it was easy for them to suppose that ,st4 ,paul spoke of ,christ's descending into hell4 ,he went down1 says ,st4 ,paul1 into the lower parts of the earth4 ,what could those lower parts be1 they asked1 but the hell which lay under the earth8 ,now about that we know nothing4 ,st4 ,paul himself never says that hell is below the earth4 ,indeed 7and this is a very noteworthy thing7 ,st4 ,paul never1 in his epistles1 mentions in plain words hell at all2 so what ,st4 ,paul thought about the matter1 we can never know4 ,whether by ,christ's descending into the lower parts of the earth1 he meant descending into hell1 or merely that our ,lord came down on this earth of ours1 poor1 humble1 and despised1 laying his glory by for a while1 this we cannot tell4 ,some wise men think one thing1 some another4 ,two of the wisest and best of the great old fathers of the ,church think that he meant only ,christ's death and burial4 ,so how dare ,i give a positive opinion1 where wiser men than ,i differ8 ,but about the other half of the text1 which says1 that he ascended high above all heavens1 there is no such difficulty4 ,all agree as to what that means3 though1 perhaps1 in old times they would have put it in different words4 ,the old belief was1 that as hell was below the flat earth1 so heaven was above it2 and that there were many heavens1 seven heavens1 in layers1 as it were1 one above the other2 and that the seventh heaven1 which was the highest of all1 was where ,god dwelt4 ,now1 whether ,st4 ,paul believed this1 we cannot tell4 ,he speaks of being himself caught up into the third heaven1 and here ,christ is spoken of as ascending above all heavens4 ,my own belief1 though ,i say it very humbly1 is1 that ,st4 ,paul spoke of these things only as a figure of speech1 for the sake of the ignorance of the people to whom he was writing4 ,they talked in that way2 and he was forced now and then to talk in that way1 too1 to make them understand him4 ,i think that1 when he spoke of being caught up into the third heaven1 he did not mean that he was lifted bodily off the earth into the skies3 but that his soul was raised up and enlightened to understand high and wonderful heavenly matters1 though not the highest or most wonderful4 ,if he had meant that1 he would have said1 that he was caught up into the seventh heaven4 ,we know that our ,lord1 in the same way1 continually used parables2 because1 as he said1 the ignorant people could not understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven2 and he had1 therefore1 to put them into parables1 taken from the common country matters1 and country forms of speech1 if by any means he might make them understand4 ,and so1 ,i suppose1 it was with ,st4 ,paul4 ,he had to speak in such a way that he could be understood2 and no more4 ,but when he says that ,christ ascended far above all heavens1 we are to believe this--that he ascended to ,god himself4 ,so high that he could go no higher2 so far that he could go no farther4 ,we1 now1 do not believe that there are seven heavens above the earth2 and we need not4 ,it is no doctrine of the ,church1 or of the ,creeds4 ,we know that the earth is round1 and not flat2 and that the heavens1 if by that we mean the sky1 is neither above it1 nor below it1 but round it on every side4 ,but some may say1 whither1 then1 did our ,lord ascend8 ,to what place did his body go up8 ,and that is a right question2 for we must always bear in mind that not merely ,christ's godhead but his manhood1 not merely ,christ's soul but his body also1 ascended into heaven4 ,if we do not believe that1 we do not hold the ,catholic faith4 ,whither1 then1 did ,christ ascend8 ,my friends1 we know this4 ,that this earth and the planets move round the sun1 which is in the centre of them4 ,we know this1 too2 that all the countless stars which spangle the sky are really suns likewise1 perhaps1 with worlds which we cannot see1 moving round them1 as we move round the sun4 ,we know1 too1 that these fixed stars1 as they seem to be1 are not really fixed1 but have some regular movements among themselves1 which seem very slow and small to us1 from their immense distance1 but which really are very great and fast4 ,now all these suns and stars1 it is reasonable to believe1 most probably have a centre4 ,there must be order among them2 and they most probably move round one thing1 one place1 one central sun1 as it were1 which is the very heart of all the worlds1 and the whole universe4 ,where that place is1 or what it is like1 we know not1 and cannot know4 ,only this we may believe1 that it is glorious beyond all that eye hath seen1 and ear heard1 or hath entered into the heart of man to conceive4 ,if this world be beautiful1 how beautiful must that world of all worlds be4 ,if the sun be glorious1 how glorious must the sun of all suns be4 ,if the heaven over us be grand1 how grand must that heaven of heavens be4 ,we will not talk of it2 for we cannot imagine it3 and if we tried to1 we should only lower it to our own low fancies4 ,but is it not reasonable to suppose1 that there ,god the ,father does1 perhaps1 in some unspeakable way1 shew forth his glory8 ,that there1 in the heart of all the worlds1 ,cherubim and ,seraphim continually adore him1 crying day and night1 ',holy1 holy1 holy1 ,lord ,god of ,sabaoth3 ,heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory6' before his throne from which goes forth light1 and power1 and life1 to all worlds and all created things4 ,and is it not reasonable to believe1 that there ,christ is1 in the bosom of the ,father1 and at the right hand of ,god8 ,we know that those1 too1 are only figures4 ,that ,god is a ,spirit1 everywhere and nowhere2 and has not hands as we have4 ,but it is only by such figures that the ,bible can make us understand the truth1 that ,christ is the highest being in all heavens and worlds2 equal with ,god the ,father1 and sharer of his kingdom1 and power1 and glory1 ,god blessed for ever4 ,amen4 ,what then does ,st4 ,paul mean1 when he says1 ',that he may fill all things8' ,i do not know4 ,and ,i will take care not to lessen and spoil ,st4 ,paul's words1 by any ignorant words of my own4 ,but one thing ,i know it will mean one day1 for ,st4 ,paul says so4 ,that ,christ reigns1 and will reign1 triumphant over sin1 and death1 and hell1 till he have put all enemies under his feet1 and the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death4 ,then shall he deliver up the kingdom to ,god1 even the ,father2 that ,god may be all in all4 ,what that means ,i do not know4 ,but this ,i can say1 and you can say4 ,we can pray that ,god will finish the number of his elect and hasten his kingdom1 that we1 with all that are departed in the true faith1 may have our perfect consummation and bliss1 both in body and soul1 in his eternal kingdom4 ,and this ,i can say1 that it means now1 for you and me2 for ,whitsuntide tells me3--that whatever else ,christ can or cannot fill1 he can at least fill our hearts1 because he is in the bosom of the ,father himself2 and therefore from him1 as from the ,father1 proceeds the ,holy ,spirit1 the ,lord and ,giver of life4 ,that ,spirit will proceed even to us1 if we will have him4 ,he will fill our hearts with himself2 with the ,spirit of goodness1 which proceeds out of the heaven of heavens1 and out of the bosom of ,god himself2 with love1 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness2 with truth1 honour1 duty1 earnestness1 and all that is the likeness of ,christ and of ,god4 ,oh let us pray for that ,spirit2 the ,spirit of truth1 which ,christ promised us when he ascended up into the heaven of heavens1 to keep us sound in our most holy faith2 and the ,spirit of goodness1 to give us strength to live the good lives of good ,christian men4 ,and then it will matter little what opinions we hold about deep things1 which the wisest man can never put into words4 ,and it will matter little1 whether what ,i have been telling you to-day about the heaven of heavens be exactly true or not2 for what says ,st4 ,paul of such deep matters8 ,that we know in part1 and prophesy in part2 and that prophecies shall fail1 and knowledge vanish away3 but charity1 love1 and right feeling1 and right doing1 which is the very ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 shall abide for ever4 ,and if that ,spirit be with us1 he will guide us in due time into all truth2 teach us all we need to know1 and enable us to practise all we ought to do4 ,amen4 ,,sermon ,,xxxi4 ,,christmas ,,peace 7,sunday before ,christmas47 ,phil4 iv4 #d4 ,rejoice in the ,lord alway3 and again ,i say1 ,rejoice4 ,this is a glorious text1 and one fit to be the key-note of ,christmas-day4 ,if we will take it to heart1 it will tell us how to keep ,christmas-day4 ,st4 ,paul has been speaking of two good women1 who seem to have had some difference2 and he beseeches them to make up their difference1 and be of the same mind in the ,lord4 ,and then he goes on to tell them1 and all ,christian people1 why they should make up their differences4 ,and for that reason1 ,i suppose1 the ,church has chosen it for the epistle before ,christmas-day1 on which all men are to make friends with each other1 and rejoice in the ,lord4 ,let your moderation1 he says1 be known to all men4 ,the ,greek word signifies forbearance1 reasonable dealing1 consideration for one another1 readiness to give way1 not standing too severely on one's own rights4 ,now this is just the temper in which we ought to meet our friends at ,christmas-- forbearance4 ,they may not have always behaved well to us4 ,be it so4 ,no more have we to them4 ,let us1 once in the year at least1 forget old grudges4 ,let us do as we would be done by2 give and forgive2 live and let live2 bury our past quarrels1 and shake hands over their graves4 ,for the ,lord is at hand4 ,close to all of us3 watching all we do1 and setting the right value on it4 ,he cannot mistake4 ,he sees both sides of a matter1 and all sides--a thousand sides which we cannot see4 ,he can judge better than we4 ,let him judge4 ,why do ,i say1 ,let him judge8 ,he has judged already1 weeks1 months ago1 as soon as each quarrel happened3 and1 perhaps1 he found us in the wrong as well as our neighbours2 and1 if so1 the least said the soonest mended4 ,let us forgive and forget1 lest we be neither forgotten nor forgiven4 ,and1 because the ,lord is at hand1 be anxious about nothing4 ,the word here is the same as in the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,it means do not fret2 do not terrify yourselves2 for the ,lord is at hand2 he knows what you want3 and will he not give it8 ,is not ,christmas-day a sign that he will give it--a pledge of his love8 ,what did he do on the first ,christmas-day8 ,what did he shew himself to be on the first ,christmas-day8 ,now1 here is the root of the whole matter1 and a deep root it is2 as deep as the beginning of all things which are1 or ever were1 or ever will be4 ,and yet if we will believe our ,bibles1 it is a root which we all may find4 ,what did the angels say the first ,christmas night8 ,peace on earth1 and goodwill to men4 ,that is what ,god proclaimed4 ,that is what he said that he had1 and would give4 ,now1 says the apostle1 if you will believe the latter half of this same ,christmas message1 then the first half of it will come true to you4 ,if you will believe that ,god's will is a good will to you1 then you will have peace on earth4 ,for believe in ,christmas-day2 believe that the ,lord is at hand2 that he has been made man for ever and ever2 and that to the ,man ,christ ,jesus all power is given in heaven and earth3 and then1 if you want aught1 instead of grudging or grinding your neighbours1 ask him4 ,in everything let your requests be made known unto ,god3 and then the peace of ,god will keep your hearts through ,christ ,jesus4 ,you will feel at peace with ,god through ,christ ,jesus1 because you have found out that ,god is at peace with you2 that ,god is not against you1 but for you2 that ,god does not hate you1 but love you2 and if ,god is at peace with you1 what cause have you to be at war with him8 ,and so the message of ,christmas-day will bring you peace4 ,you will be at peace with your neighbours1 through ,christ ,jesus4 ,when you see ,god stooping to make peace with sinful men1 you will be ashamed to be quarrelling with them4 ,when you see ,god full of love1 you will be ashamed to keep up peevishness1 grudging1 and spite4 ,when you see ,god's heaven full of light1 you will be ashamed to be dark yourselves2 your hearts will go out freely to your fellow- creatures2 you will long to be friends with every one you meet2 and you will find in that the highest pleasure which you ever felt in life4 ,but mind one thing--what sort of a peace this peace of ,god is4 ,it passes all understanding2 the very loftiest understanding4 ,the cleverest and most learned men that ever lived could not have found it--we know they did not find it--by their own cleverness and learning4 ,no more will you find ,god's peace1 if you seek for it with your understanding4 ,thinking will not bring you peace1 think as shrewdly as you may4 ,reading will not bring it1 read as deeply as you may4 ,some people think otherwise2 that they can get the peace of ,god by understanding4 ,if they could but understand more1 their minds would be at rest4 ,so they weary themselves with reading1 and thinking1 and arguing1 perhaps trying to understand predestination1 election1 assurance2 perhaps trying to understand which is the true ,church4 ,what do they get thereby8 ,certainly not the peace of ,god4 ,they certainly do not set their minds at rest4 ,they cannot4 ,books cannot give a live soul rest4 ,understanding cannot4 ,nothing can give you or me rest1 save ,god himself4 ,the peace is ,god's2 and he must give it himself1 with his own hand1 or we shall never get it4 ,go then to ,god himself4 ,thou art his child1 as ,christmas-day declares3 be not afraid to go unto thy ,father4 ,pray to him2 tell him what thou wantest3 say1 ,father1 ,i am not moderate1 reasonable1 forbearing4 ,i fear ,i cannot keep ,christmas- day aright1 for ,i have not a peaceful ,christmas spirit in me2 and ,i know that ,i shall never get it by thinking1 and reading1 and understanding2 for it passes all that1 and lies far away beyond it1 does peace1 in the very essence of thine undivided1 unmoved1 absolute1 eternal ,godhead1 which no change nor decay of this created world1 nor sin or folly of men or devils1 can ever alter2 but which abideth for ever what it is1 in perfect rest1 and perfect power1 and perfect love4 ,o ,father1 give me thy peace4 ,soothe this restless1 greedy1 fretful soul of mine1 as a mother soothes a sick and feverish child4 ,how thou wilt do it ,i do not know4 ,it passes all understanding4 ,but though the sick child cannot reach the mother1 the mother is at hand1 and can reach it4 ,though the eagle1 by flying1 cannot reach the sun1 yet the sun is at hand1 and can reach all the earth1 and pour its light and warmth over all things4 ,and thou art more than a mother3 thou art the everlasting ,father4 ,pour thy love over me1 that ,i may love as thou lovest4 ,thou art more than the sun3 thou art the light and the life of all things4 ,pour thy light and thy life over me1 that ,i may see as thou seest1 and live as thou livest1 and be at peace with myself and all the world1 as thou art at peace with thyself and all the world4 ,again1 ,i say1 ,i know not how2 for it passes all understanding3 but ,i hope that thou wilt do it for me4 ,i trust that thou wilt do it for me1 for ,i believe the good news of ,christmas-day4 ,i believe that thou art love1 and that thy mercy is over all thy works4 ,i believe the message of ,christmas-day3 that thou so lovest the world1 that thou hast sent thy ,son to save the world1 and me4 ,i know not how2 for that1 too1 passes understanding3 but ,i believe that thou wilt do it2 for ,i believe that thou art love2 and that thy mercy is over all thy works1 even over me4 ,i believe the message of ,christmas-day1 that thy will is peace on earth1 even peace to me1 restless and unquiet as ,i am2 and goodwill to men1 even to me1 the chief of sinners4 ,,sermon ,,xxxii4 ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,the ,,spirit 7,first ,sunday after ,christmas47 ,isaiah xxxviii4 #af4 ,o ,lord1 by these things men live1 and in all these things is the life of my spirit4 ,these words are the words of ,hezekiah1 king of ,judah2 and they are true words1 words from ,god4 ,but1 if they are true words1 they are true words for every one--for you and me1 for every one here in this church this day3 for they do not say1 ,by these things certain men live1 one man here and another man there2 but all men4 ,whosoever is really alive1 that is1 has life in his spirit1 his soul1 his heart1 the life of a man and not a beast1 the only life which is worthy to be called life1 then that life is kept up in him in the same way that it was kept up in ,hezekiah1 and by the same means4 ,let us see1 then1 what things they were which gave ,hezekiah's spirit life4 ,great joy1 great honour1 great success1 wealth1 health1 prosperity and pleasure8 ,was it by these things that ,hezekiah found men lived8 ,not so1 but by great sorrow4 ',in those days was ,hezekiah sick unto death4 ,and ,isaiah the prophet the son of ,amos came unto him and said1 ,thus saith the ,lord1 ,set thine house in order2 for thou shall die and not live4 ,then ,hezekiah turned his face towards the wall and prayed unto the ,lord2 and ,hezekiah wept sore4' ,trouble upon trouble came on ,hezekiah2 and that just when he might have expected a little rest4 ,the ,lord had just delivered ,hezekiah and the ,jews from a fearful danger1 of which we read in the chapter before4 ,hezekiah had believed ,god's promise by the mouth of ,isaiah4 ,he held fast his faith in ,god when ,sennacherib and his ,assyrian army were camping round ,jerusalem2 for ,god had said1 ',i will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for my servant ,david's sake4' ,he defended his city bravely and nobly1 and showed himself a true1 and valiant1 and godly king4 ,and perhaps ,hezekiah expected to be rewarded for his faith1 and rewarded for having done his duty3 but it was not so4 ,he had to wait1 and to endure more4 ,and now this fresh trouble was come upon him4 ,isaiah told him he should die and not live3 and he must prepare himself to meet death4 ,hezekiah1 you see1 was horribly afraid of death4 ,i do not mean that he was afraid of going to hell1 for he does not say so3 but he felt1 to use his own words1 ',the grave cannot praise thee1 death cannot celebrate thee3 they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth4' ,and1 therefore1 death looked to him an ugly and an evil thing--as it is2 the ,lord's enemy1 and his last enemy1 the one with which he will have the longest and sorest fight4 ,he conquered death by rising from the dead3 but nevertheless we die2 and death is an ugly1 fearful1 hateful thing in itself1 and rightly called the ,king of ,terrors3 for terrible it is to those who do not know that ,christ has conquered it4 ,hezekiah lived before the ,lord ,jesus came into the flesh to bring life and immortality to light1 by rising from the dead2 and1 therefore1 the life after death was not brought to light to him1 any more than it was to ,david1 or any other ,old ,testament ,jew4 ,he dreaded it1 because he knew not what would come after death4 ,and1 therefore1 he prayed hard not to die4 ,he did not pray altogether in a right way3 but still he prayed4 ',remember now1 ,o ,lord1 ,i beseech thee1 how ,i have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart1 and have done that which was good in thy sight4' ,and the ,lord heard his prayer4 ',then came the word of the ,lord to ,isaiah1 saying1 ,go1 and say to ,hezekiah1 ,thus saith the ,lord1 ,i have heard thy prayer1 ,i have seen thy tears1 behold ,i will add unto thy days fifteen years4' ,then what was the use of ,god's warning to him8 ,what was the use of his sickness and his terror1 if1 after all1 his prayer was heard1 and after the ,lord had told him1 ,thou shall die and not live--that did not come to pass3 but the very contrary happened1 that he lived1 and did not die8 ,of what use to him was it8 ,of this use at least1 that it taught him that the ,lord ,god would hear the prayers of mortal men4 ,oh my friends1 is not that worth knowing8 ,is not that worth going through any misery to learn--that the ,lord will hear us8 ,that he is not a cold1 arbitrary tyrant1 who goes his own way1 never caring for our cries and tears1 too proud to turn out of his way to hear us3 but that he is very pitiful and of tender mercy1 and repenting him of the evil8 ,hezekiah did not pray rightly4 ,he thought himself a better man than he was4 ,he said1 ',remember now1 ,o ,lord1 ,i beseech thee1 how ,i have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart1 and have done that which is good in thy sight4' ,and ,hezekiah wept sore4 ,but he did pray4 ,he went to ,god1 and told his story to him1 and wept sore2 and the ,lord ,god heard him1 and taught him that he was not as good as he fancied2 taught him that1 after all1 he had nothing to say for himself--no reason to shew why he should not die4 ',what shall ,i say8 ,he hath both spoken unto me1 and himself hath done it3 ,i shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul4' ,and so he felt that1 instead of justifying himself1 he must throw himself utterly on ,god's love and mercy2 that ,god must undertake for him4 ',o ,lord1 ,i am oppressed1 crushed--the heart is beaten out of me4 ,i have nothing to say for myself4 ,undertake for me4 ,i have nothing to say for myself1 but ,i have plenty to say of thee4 ,thou art good and just4 ,thou wilt not leave my soul in hell4 ,i can say no more4' ,and then he found that the ,lord was ready to save him4 ,that what the ,lord wished was1 not to kill him1 but to recover him1 and make him live--live more really1 and fully1 and wisely1 and manfully--by making him trust more utterly in ,god's goodness1 and love1 and mercy2 making him more certain that1 good as he thought himself1 and perfect in heart1 he was full of sins3 and yet that the ,lord had cast all these sins of his behind his back1 forgotten and forgiven them1 as soon as he had made him see that all that was good and strong in him came from ,god1 and all that was evil and weak from himself4 ,and then he says1 ',o ,lord1 by these things men live1 and in all these things is the life of my spirit4' ,god meant all along to receive me1 and make me live4 ,he chastened me1 and brought me low1 to shew me that my own faith1 my own righteousness1 was no reason for his saving me3 but that his own love and mercy was a good reason for saving me4 ',behold1' he goes on to say1 'for peace ,i had great bitterness3 but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption3 for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back4' ,and1 my dear friends1 what ,hezekiah saw but dimly1 we ought to see clearly4 ,the blessed news of the ,gospel ought to tell us it clearly4 ,for the blessed ,gospel tells us that the same ,lord who chastened and taught1 and then saved1 ,hezekiah1 was made flesh1 and born a man of the substance of a mortal woman2 that he might in his own person bear all our sicknesses and carry our infirmities2 that he might understand all our temptations1 and be touched with the feeling of our infirmities1 seeing that he himself was tempted in all points likewise1 yet without sin4 ,oh hear this1 you who have had sorrows in past times4 ,hear this1 you who expect sorrows in the times to come4 ,he who made1 he who lightens1 every man who comes into the world2 he who gave you every right thought and wholesome feeling that you ever had in your lives3 he counts your tears2 he knows your sorrows2 he is able and willing to save you to the uttermost4 ,therefore do not be afraid of your own afflictions4 ,face them like men4 ,think over them4 ,ask him to help you out of them3 or if that is not to be1 at least to tell you what he means by them4 ,be sure that what he must mean by them is good to you3 a lesson to you1 that in some way or other they are meant to make you wiser1 stronger1 hardier1 more sure of ,god's love1 more ready to do ,god's work1 whithersoever it may lead you4 ,do not be afraid of the dark day of affliction1 ,i say4 ,it may teach you more than the bright prosperous one4 ,many a man can see clearly in the cloudy day1 who would be dazzled in the sunlight4 ,the dull weather1 they say1 is the best weather for battle2 and sorrow is the best time for seeing through and conquering one's own self4 ,therefore do not be afraid1 ,i say1 of sorrow4 ,all the clouds in the sky cannot move the sun a foot further off2 and all the sorrow in the world cannot move ,god any further off4 ,god is there still1 where he always was2 near you1 and below you1 and above you1 and around you2 for in him you live and move and have your being1 and are the offspring and children of ,god4 ,nay1 he is nearer you1 if possible1 in sorrow1 than in joy4 ,he is informing you1 and guiding you with his eye1 and1 like a father1 teaching you the right way which you should go4 ,he is searching and purging your hearts1 and cleansing you from your secret faults1 and teaching you to know who you are and to know who he is--your ,father1 the knowledge of whom is life eternal4 ,by these things1 my friends-- by being brought low and made helpless1 till ashamed of ourselves1 and weary of ourselves1 we lift up eyes and heart to ,god who made us1 like lost children crying after a ,father--by these things1 ,i say1 we live1 and in all these things is the life of our spirit4 ,,sermon ,,xxxiii4 ,,the ,,unchangeable ,,one ,psalm cxix4 #hi-if4 ,for ever1 ,o ,lord1 thy word is settled in heaven4 ,thy faithfulness is unto all generations3 thou hast established the earth1 and it abideth4 ,they continue this day according to thine ordinances3 for all are thy servants4 ,unless thy law had been my delight1 ,i should then have perished in mine affliction4 ,i will never forget thy precepts3 for with them thou hast quickened me4 ,i am thine1 save me2 for ,i have sought thy precepts4 ,the wicked have waited for me to destroy me3 but ,i will consider thy testimonies4 ,i have seen an end of all perfection2 but thy commandment is exceeding broad4 ,the ,psalmist is in great trouble4 ,he does not know whom to trust1 what to expect next1 whom to look to4 ,everything seems failing and changing round him4 ,his psalm was most probably written during the ,babylonish captivity1 at a time when all the countries and kingdoms of the east were being destroyed by the ,chaldean armies4 ,then1 he says1 ,be it so4 ,if everything else changes1 ,god cannot4 ,if everything else fails1 ,god's plans cannot4 ,he can rest on the thought of ,god2 of his goodness1 his faithfulness1 order1 providence4 ,god is governing the world righteously and orderly4 ,whatever disorder there is on earth1 there is none in heaven4 ,god's word endures for ever there4 ,then he looks on the world round him2 all is well ordered--seasons1 animals1 sun1 and stars abide4 ,they continue this day according to ,god's ordinances4 ,the unchangeableness of nature is a comfort to him2 for it is a token of the unchangeablenes of ,god who made it4 ,now1 ,i do beg you to think carefully over this verse2 because it is quite against the very common notion that1 because the earth was cursed for ,adam's sake1 therefore it is cursed now2 that because it was said to him1 ,thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee1 therefore that holds good now4 ,it is not so1 my friends2 neither is there1 as far as ,i know1 in any part whatsoever of ,scripture1 any mention of ,adam's curse continuing to our day4 ,st4 ,john1 in the ,revelations1 certainly says1 ',and there shall be no more curse4' ,but if you will read the ,revelation1 you will find that what he plainly refers to is to the fearful curses1 the plagues1 the vials of wrath1 as he calls them1 which were to be poured out on the earth2 and then to cease when the ,new ,jerusalem came down from heaven4 ,st4 ,paul1 again1 knows nothing about any such curse upon the earth4 ,he says that death came into the world by ,adam's sin3 but that must be understood only of man1 and the world of man2 and for this simple reason1 that we know1 without the possibility of doubt1 that animals died in this world just as they do now1 not only thousands1 but hundreds of thousands of years before man appeared on earth4 ,what ,st4 ,paul says of the creation1 in one of his most glorious passages1 is this--not that it is cursed1 but that it groans and travails continually in the pangs of labour1 trying to bring forth2 trying to bring forth something better than itself2 to develop1 and rise from good to better1 and from that to better still2 till all things become perfect in a way which we cannot conceive1 but which ,god has ordained before the foundation of the world4 ,besides1 as a fact1 the earth does not bring forth thorns and thistles to us1 but good grain1 and fruitful crops1 and an abundant return for our labour1 if we choose to till the ground4 ,and wise men1 who study ,god's works1 can find no curse at all upon the earth1 nor sign of a curse1 neither in plants nor beasts1 no1 nor in the smallest gnat in the air4 ,the more they look into the wonders of ,god's world1 the more they find it true that there is order everywhere1 beauty everywhere1 fruitfulness everywhere1 usefulness everywhere--that all things continue as at the beginning2 that1 as the psalmist says in another place1 ,god has made them fast for ever and ever1 and given them a law which cannot be broken4 ,and if you will look at ,genesis viii4 #ba1 #bb1 you will find from the plain words of ,scripture itself1 that ,adam's curse1 whatever it was1 was taken off after the flood1 ',and the ,lord smelled a sweet savour3 and the ,lord said in his heart1 ,i will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake2 for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth2 neither will ,i again smite any more everything living1 as ,i have done4 ,while the earth remaineth1 seed-time and harvest1 and cold and heat1 and summer and winter1 and day and night shall not cease4' ,therefore1 my friends1 open your eyes and your hearts freely to the message which ,god is sending you1 in summer and winter1 in seed-time and in harvest1 in sunshine and in storm2 that ,god is not a hard ,god1 a revengeful ,god1 a ,god of curses1 who is extreme to mark what is done amiss1 and keepeth his anger for ever4 ,no3 but that he is your ,father in heaven1 who hateth nothing that he has made1 and whose mercy is over all his works2 who made heaven and earth1 the sea1 and all that therein is2 who keepeth truth for ever2 who helpeth them to right that suffer wrong2 who feedeth the hungry2 a ,god who feeds the birds of the air1 though they sow not1 neither do they reap1 nor gather into barns2 and who clothes the grass of the field1 which toils not1 neither doth it spin2 and who will much much more clothe and feed you1 to whom he has given reason1 understanding1 and the power of learning his laws1 the rules by which this world of his is made and works1 and of turning them to your own profit in rational and honest labour4 ,and think1 my friends1 if the old ,psalmist1 before ,christ came1 could believe all this1 and find comfort in it1 much more ought we4 ,shame to us if we do not4 ,i had almost said1 we deny ,christ1 if we do not4 ,for who said those last words concerning the birds of the air1 and the grass of the field8 ,who told us that we have not merely a ,master or a ,judge in heaven1 but a ,father in heaven8 ,who but that very ,word of ,god1 whom the ,psalmist saw dimly and afar off8 ,he knew that the ,word of ,god abode for ever in heaven3 but he knew not1 as far as we can tell1 that that same ,word would condescend to be made flesh1 and dwell among men that we might see his glory1 full of grace and truth4 ,the old ,psalmist knew that ,god's word was full of truth1 and that gave him comfort in the wild and sad times in which he lived2 but he did not know--none of the ,old ,testament prophets knew1--how full ,god's word was of grace also4 ,that he was so full of love1 condescension1 pity1 generosity1 so full of longing to seek and save all that was lost1 to set right all that was wrong1 in one word again1 so full of grace1 that he would condescend to be born of the ,virgin ,mary1 suffer under ,pontius ,pilate1 to be crucified1 dead and buried1 that he might become a faithful ,high ,priest for us1 full of understanding1 fellow-feeling1 pity1 love1 because he has been tempted in all things like as we are1 yet without sin4 ,my friends1 was not the old ,psalmist a ,jew1 and are not we ,christian men8 ,then1 if the old ,psalmist could trust ,god1 how much more should we8 ,if he could find comfort in the thought of ,god's order1 how much more should we8 ,if he could find comfort in the thought of his justice1 how much more should we8 ,if he could find comfort in the thought of his love1 how much more should we8 ,yes2 let us be full of troubles1 doubts1 sorrows2 let times be uncertain1 dark1 and dangerous2 let strange new truths be discovered1 which we cannot1 at first sight1 fit into what we know to be true already3 we can still say1 ',i will not fear1 though the earth be moved1 and the hills be carried into the midst of the sea4' ,for the word of ,god abideth for ever in heaven1 even ,jesus ,christ1 who is the ,light of the world and the ,life of men4 ,to him all power is given in heaven and earth4 ,he is set on the throne1 judging right1 and ministering true judgment among the people4 ,all things1 as the ,psalmist says1 come to an end4 ,all men's plans1 men's notions1 men's systems1 men's doctrines1 grow old1 wear out1 and perish4 ,the old order changes1 giving place to the new3 ,but ,god fulfils himself in many ways4 ,for men are not ruling the world4 ,christ is ruling the world1 and his commandment is exceeding broad4 ,his laws are broad enough for all people1 all countries1 all ages2 and strangely as they may seem to work1 in the eyes of us short-sighted timorous human beings1 still all is going well1 and all will go well2 for ,christ reigns1 and will reign1 till he has put all enemies under his feet1 and ,god be all in all4 ,,sermon ,,xxxiv4 ,,greek3 ,,en ,,toyto ,,nika 7,good ,friday1 #ahfj47 #a ,corinthians i4 #bc-be4 ,but we preach ,christ crucified1 unto the ,jews a stumbling-block1 and unto the ,greeks foolishness2 but unto them which are called1 both ,jews and ,greeks1 ,christ the power of ,god1 and the wisdom of ,god4 ,because the foolishness of ,god is wiser than men2 and the weakness of ,god is stronger than men4 ,the foolishness of ,god8 ,the weakness of ,god8 ,these are strange words4 ,but they are ,st4 ,paul's words1 not mine4 ,if he had not said them first1 ,i should not dare to say them now4 ,but what do they mean8 ,can ,god be weak8 ,can ,god be foolish8 ,no1 says ,st4 ,paul4 ,nothing less4 ,for so strong is ,god1 that his very weakness1 if he seems weak1 is stronger than all mankind4 ,so wise is ,god1 that his very foolishness1 if he seems foolish1 is wiser than all mankind4 ,why then talk of the weakness of ,god1 of the foolishness of ,god1 if he be neither weak nor foolish8 ,why use words which seem blasphemous1 if they are not true8 ,i do not say these ugly words for myself4 ,st4 ,paul did not say these ugly words for himself4 ,but men have said them2 too many men1 and too often4 ,the ,jews1 who sought after a sign1 said them in ,st4 ,paul's time4 ,the ,corinthian ,greeks1 who sought after wisdom1 said them also4 ,there are men who say them now4 ,we all are tempted at times to say them in our hearts4 ,as often as we forget ,good ,friday1 and what ,good ,friday means1 and what ,good ,friday brought to all mankind1 we do say them in our hearts2 and charge ,god--though we should not like to confess it even to ourselves--with weakness and with folly4 ,now1 how is this8 ,let us consider1 first1 how it was with these ,jews and ,greeks4 ,why did the cross of ,christ1 and the message of ,good ,friday1 seem to them weakness and folly8 ,why did they answer ,st4 ,paul1 ',your ,christ cannot be ,god1 or he would never have allowed himself to be crucified8' ,the ,jews required a sign2 a sign from heaven2 a sign of ,god's power4 ,thunder and earthquakes1 armies of angels1 taking vengeance on the heathen2 these were the signs of ,christ which they expected4 ,a ,christ who came in such awful glory as that1 they would accept1 and follow1 and look to him to lead them against the ,romans1 that they might conquer them1 and all the nations upon earth4 ,and all that ,st4 ,paul gave them1 was a sign of ,christ's weakness4 ',he was despised and rejected of men2 a man of sorrows1 and acquainted with grief4 4 4 4 ,he hath borne our griefs1 and carried our sorrows1 yet we did esteem him stricken1 smitten of ,god1 and afflicted4 ,he was oppressed1 and he was afflicted1 yet he opened not his mouth3 he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter1 and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb1 so he opened not his mouth4' ,then said the ,jews-- ,this is no ,christ for us1 this weak1 despised1 crucified ,christ4 ,then answered ,st4 ,paul--,weak8 ,i tell you that what seems to you weakness1 is the very power of ,god4 ,you ,jews wish to conquer all mankind3 and behold1 instead1 you yourselves are rushing to ruin and destruction3 but what you cannot do1 ,christ on his cross can do4 ,weak1 shamed1 despised1 dying man as he seemed1 he is still conqueror2 and he will conquer all mankind at last1 and draw all men to himself4 ,know that what seems to you weakness1 is the very power of ,god2 the power of doing good1 and of suffering all things1 that he may do good3 and that that will conquer the world1 when riches and glory1 and armies1 aye1 the very thunder and the earthquake1 have failed utterly4 ,the ,greeks1 again1 sought after wisdom4 ,if ,st4 ,paul was 7as he said7 the apostle of ,god1 then they expected him to argue with them on cunning points of philosophy2 about the being of ,god1 the nature of the world and of the soul2 about finite and infinite1 cause and effect1 being and not being1 and all those dark questions with which they astonished simple people1 and gained power over them1 and set up for wise men and teachers to their own profit and glory1 pampering their own luxury and self-conceit4 ,and all ,st4 ,paul gave them1 seemed to them mere foolishness4 ,he could have argued with these ,greeks on those deep matters2 for he was a great scholar1 and a true philosopher1 and could speak wisdom among those who were perfect3 but he would not4 ,he determined to know nothing among them but ,jesus ,christ1 and him crucified2 and he told them1 ,you disputers of this world1 while you are deceiving simple souls with enticing words of man's wisdom and philosophy1 falsely so called1 you are trifling away your own souls and your hearers' into hell4 ,what you need1 and what they need1 is not philosophy1 but a new heart and a right spirit4 ,sin is your disease2 and you know that it is so1 in the depth of your hearts4 ,then know this1 that ,god so loved you1 sinners as you are1 that he condescended to become mortal man1 and to give himself up to death1 even the shameful and horrible death of the cross1 that he might save you from your sins2 and he that would be saved now1 let him deny himself1 and take up his cross and follow him4 ,and to that1 those proud ,greeks answered1--,that is a tale unworthy of philosophers4 ,the ,cross8 ,it is a death of shame--the death of slaves and wretches4 ,tell your tale to slaves1 not to us4 ,to give himself up to the death of the cross is foolishness1 and not the wisdom which we want4 ,then answered ,st4 ,paul and said1--,true4 ,the cross is a slave's and a wretch's death2 and therefore slaves and wretches will hear me1 though you will not4 ',for you see your calling1 brethren1 how that not many wise men after the flesh1 not many mighty1 not many noble1 are called3 but ,god hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise2 and ,god hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty2 and base things of the world1 and things which are despised1 hath ,god chosen1 yea1 and things which are not1 to bring to nought things that are3 that no flesh should glory in his presence4' ,for the foolishness of ,god is wiser than all the wisdom of men4 ,you ,greeks1 with all your philosophy and your wisdom1 have been trying1 for hundreds of years1 to find out the laws of heaven and earth1 and to set the world right by them2 and you have not done it4 ,you have not found out the secrets of the world4 ,you have not set the world right4 ,you have not even set your own hearts and lives right4 ,but what your seeming wisdom cannot do1 the seeming foolishness of ,christ on his cross will do4 ,does it seem to you foolish of him1 to believe that he could save the world1 by giving himself up to a horrible and shameful death8 ,does it seem to you foolishness in me1 to preach nothing but him crucified1 and to say1 ,behold ,god dying for men8 ,then know1 that what seems to you foolishness1 is the very wisdom of ,god4 ,that ,god knows the secret of touching1 convincing1 and converting the hearts of men1 though you do not4 ,that ,god knows how the world is made1 and how to set it right1 though you do not4 ,that ,god knows the law which keeps all heaven and earth in order1 though you do not2 and that that law is charity1--self-sacrificing love1 which shines out from the cross of ,christ4 ,know1 that when all your arguments and philosophies have failed to teach men what they ought to do1 one earnest penitent look at ,christ upon his cross will teach them4 ,that their hearts will leap up in answer1 and cry1 ,if this be ,god1 ,i can believe in him4 ,if this be ,god1 ,i can trust him4 ,if this be ,god1 ,i can obey him4 ,that one look at ,christ upon his cross will make them--what you could never make them--new men1 filled with a new thought2 the thought that ,god is love1 and that he who dwelleth in love1 dwelleth in ,god1 and ,god in him2 and that the poor slaves and wretches1 whom you despise1 will look unto the cross and be saved1 and become new men1 and lead new lives1 and rise to be saints and martyrs to ,god and to his ,christ1 giving themselves up to torments and death1 as ,christ did before them2 and that out of them shall spring that church of ,christ1 which shall reign over all the world1 when you and your philosophies have crumbled into dust4 ,my friends1 let us look1 earnestly1 humbly1 and solemnly this day1 at ,christ upon his cross4 ,let us learn that love1 the utter self- sacrificing love which ,christ shewed on his cross1 is stronger than all pomp and might1 all armies1 riches1 governments2 aye1 that it is the very power of ,god1 by which all things consist1 which holds together heaven and earth and all that is therein4 ,let us learn that love1 the utter self-sacrificing love which ,christ shewed on his cross1 is wiser than all arguments1 doctrines1 philosophies1 whether they be true or false2 aye1 that it is the very wisdom of ,god1 by which he convinces and converts all hearts and souls2 and let us look to the cross1 and see there the wisdom of ,god1 and the power of ,god1 mighty to save to the uttermost all who come through ,christ to him4 ,and let us remember this1 that whenever we fancy ourselves to be strong and powerful1 and think to aggrandize ourselves at our neighbour's expense1 and to crush those who are weaker than ourselves1 then we are forgetting the lesson of ,good ,friday2 that whenever we fancy that the way to be wise is1 to use our wit and our knowledge for our own glory1 and by them to manage our fellow-men1 and make them admire us and bow down to us1 then we forget the lesson of ,good ,friday4 ,for whosoever gives himself up to selfish ambition1 or to selfish cunning1 charges ,christ upon his cross with weakness and with foolishness1 and denies the ,lord who bought him with his blood4 ,my friends1 ,i have no more to say4 ,much more ,i might say4 ,for ,good ,friday has many other meanings1 and all the sermons of a lifetime would not exhaust them all4 ,but one thing seemed to me fit to be said1 and ,i say it again1 and entreat you to carry it home with you1 and live by the light of it all the year round4 ,do you wish to be powerful8 ,then look at ,christ upon his cross2 at what seems to men his weakness2 and learn from him how to be strong4 ,do you wish to be wise8 ,then look at ,christ upon the cross2 and at what seemed to men his folly2 and learn from him how to be wise4 ,for sooner or later1 ,i hope and trust1 you will find that true1 which ,st4 ,buonaventura 7wise and strong himself7 used to say1--,that all the learning in the world had never taught him so much as the sight of ,christ upon the cross4 ,,sermon ,,xxxv4 ,,the ,,eternal ,,manhood 7,first ,sunday after ,easter47 ,john xx4 #bi4 ,jesus saith unto him1 ,thomas1 because thou hast seen me1 thou hast believed2 blessed are they that have not seen1 and yet have believed4 ,the eighth day after the ,lord ,jesus rose from the dead1 he appeared a second time to his disciples4 ,on this day he strengthened ,st4 ,thomas's weak faith1 by giving him proof1 sensible proof1 that he was indeed and really the very same person who had been crucified1 wearing the very same human nature1 the very same man's body4 ',blessed are they who have not seen1 and yet have believed4' ,you have not seen4 ,you have never beheld with your bodily eyes1 or touched with your bodily hand1 as ,st4 ,thomas did1 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,and yet you may be more blessed now1 this day1 than ,st4 ,thomas was then4 ,we are too apt to fancy1 that1 to have seen the ,lord with our eyes1 to have walked with him1 and talked with him1 as the apostles did1 was the greatest honour and blessing which could happen to man4 ,we fancy1 perhaps1 at times1 that if the ,lord ,jesus were to come visibly among us now1 we should want nothing more to make us good3 that we could not help listening to him1 obeying him1 loving him4 ,but the ,scriptures prove to us that it was not so4 ,the ,scribes and ,pharisees saw him and talked with him2 yet they hated him4 ,judas ,iscariot1 yet he betrayed him4 ,pilate1 yet he condemned him4 ,the word preached profited them nothing1 not being mixed with faith in those who heard him4 ,jesus ,christ1 the ,lord of glory1 came and preached himself to them2 declared to them who he was1 proved who he was by his mighty works of love and mercy1 and by fulfilling all the prophecies of ,scripture which spoke of him2 and yet they did not believe him1 they hated him1 they crucified him2 because they had no faith4 ,you see1 therefore1 that something more than seeing him with our bodily eyes is wanted to make us believe in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 something more than seeing him with our bodily eyes is wanted to make us blessed4 ,st4 ,thomas saw him2 ,st4 ,thomas was allowed1 by the boundless condescension and mercy of the ,lord ,jesus1 to put his hand into his side4 ,and yet the ,lord does not say to him1--,see how blessed thou art2 see how honoured thou art1 by being allowed to touch me4 ,no2 our ,lord rather rebukes him for requiring such a proof4 ,there are those who will not believe without seeing2 who say1 ,i must have proof4 ,what ,i hear in church is too much for me to believe without many more reasons than are given for it all4 ,many people1 for instance1 stumble at the stumbling-block of the cross1 and cannot bring themselves to believe that ,god would condescend to suffer and to die for men4 ,others cannot make up their minds about the resurrection4 ,it seems to them a strange and impossible thing that ,jesus' body should have risen from the grave and ascended to heaven1 and that our bodies should rise also4 ,that was the great puzzle to the ,greeks1 who thought themselves very learned and cunning1 and were great arguers and disputers about all deep matters in heaven and earth4 ,when ,st4 ,paul preached to them on ,mars' ,hill1 they heard him patiently enough1 till he spoke of ,jesus rising from the dead2 and then they mocked2 laughed at the notion as absurd4 ,and we find that the ,corinthians1 even after they were converted and baptised ,christians1 were puzzled about this same matter4 ,they could not understand how the dead were raised1 and with what body they would come4 ,with such the ,lord is not angry4 ,if they really wish to know what is true1 and to do what is right2 if they really are1 as ,st4 ,paul says1 'feeling after the ,lord1 if haply they may find him2' then the ,lord will give them light in due time1 and shew them what they ought to believe1 and give them the sort of proof which they want4 ,all such he treats as he did ,thomas1 when he said1 in his great condescension1 ',reach hither thy finger1 and behold my hands1 and reach hither thy hand1 and thrust it into my side1 and be not faithless but believing4' ,so the ,lord sent to those ,corinthians the very sort of proof which they wanted1 by the hand of the learned apostle1 ,st4 ,paul4 ,they were great observers of the works of nature1 of the strange movement and change1 birth and death1 which goes on in beasts1 and in plants1 and in the clouds1 and the rivers1 and the very stones under our feet4 ,and they said1 ,we cannot believe in the resurrection of the dead1 because we see nothing like it in the world around us4 ,and ,st4 ,paul was sent to tell them4 ,no3 you do see something like it4 ,if you will look deeper into the working of the world around you1 you will see that the rising again of the dead1 instead of being an unnatural or an absurd thing1 is the most reasonable and natural thing1 the perfect fulfilment1 and crowning wonder of wonderful laws which are working round you in every seed which you sow2 in the flesh of beasts and fishes2 in bodies celestial and bodies terrestrial3 and so in that glorious chapter which we read in the ,burial ,service1 ,st4 ,paul tells the ,corinthians1 who went altogether by sense1 and reasoning about the things which they could see and handle1 that sense and reasoning were on his side1 on ,god's side2 and that the mysteries of faith1 like the resurrection of the body1 were not contrary to reason1 but agreed with it4 ,so does the ,lord clear up the doubts of his people1 in the way which is best for them4 ,but he does not call them as blessed as others4 ,there is a higher faith than that4 ,there is a better part4 ,the same part which ,mary chose4 ,the same faith of which our ,lord says1-- ',blessed are they who have not seen1 and yet have believed4' ,the faith of the heart2 the childlike1 undoubting1 ready1 willing faith1 which welcomes the news of the ,lord2 which runs to meet it1 and is not astonished at it2 and1 if it ever doubts for a moment1 only doubts for very joy and delight2 and feeling that the news of the gospel is good news1 cannot help feeling now and then that it is too good news to be true2 shewing its love and its faith in its very hesitation4 ,this is the childlike heart1 whereof it is written1 ',except ye be converted and become as little children1 ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven4' ,the hearts of little children2 the hearts which begin by faith and love toward ,god himself2 the hearts which know ,god2 the hearts to whom ,god has revealed himself1 and taught them1 they know not how1 that he is love4 ,they are so sure of ,god's goodness1 so sure of his power1 so sure of his love1 his willingness to have mercy1 and to deliver poor creatures1 that they find nothing strange1 nothing difficult1 in the mysteries of faith4 ,to them it is not a thing incredible1 that ,god should have come down and died upon the cross4 ,when they hear the good news of him who gave his own life for them1 it seems a natural thing to them1 a reasonable thing3 not of course a thing which they could have expected2 but yet not a thing to doubt of or to be astonished at4 ,for they know that ,god is love4 ,and now some of you may say1 ',then are we more blessed than ,thomas8 ,we have not seen1 and yet we have believed4 ,we never doubted4 ,we never wanted any arguments1 or learned books1 or special inward assurances4 ,from the moment that we began to learn our catechisms at school we believed it1 of course1 every word of it4 ,do we not say the ,creed every ,sunday2 ,i believe in--and so forth8' ,o my friends1 do you believe indeed8 ,if you do1 blessed are you4 ,but are you sure that you speak truth8 ,you may believe it4 ,but do you believe in it8 ,have you faith in it8 ,do you put your trust in it8 ,is your heart in it8 ,is it in your heart8 ,do you love it1 rejoice in it1 delight to think over it2 to look forward to it1 to make yourselves ready and fit for it4 ,do you believe in it1 in short1 or do you only believe it1 as you believe that there is an ,emperor of ,china1 or that there is a country called ,america1 or any other matter with which you have nothing to do1 for which you care nothing1 and which would make no difference at all to you1 if you found out to-morrow that it was not so4 ,that is mere dead belief2 faith without works1 which is dead1 the belief of the brains1 not the faith of the heart and spirit4 ,oh1 do you really believe the good news of this text1 in which the ,son of ,god himself said to mortal men like ourselves1 ',handle me and see that it is ,i1 indeed2 for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have4' ,do you believe that there is a ,man evermore on the right hand of ,god8 ,that now as we speak a man is offering up before the ,father his perfect and all-cleansing sacrifice8 ,that1 in the midst of the throne of ,god1 is he himself who was born of the ,virgin ,mary1 and crucified under ,pontius ,pilate8 ,do you wish to find out whether you believe that or not8 ,then look at your own hearts4 ,look at your own prayers4 ,do you think of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 do you pray to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 as a man1 very man1 born of woman8 ,do you pray to him as to one who can be touched with the feeling of your infirmities1 because he has been tempted in all things like as you are1 yet without sin8 ,when you are sad1 perplexed1 do you take all your sorrows and doubts and troubles to the ,lord ,jesus1 and speak them all out to him honestly and frankly1 however reverently1 as a man speaketh to his friend8 ,do you really cast all your care on him1 because you believe that he careth for you8 ,if you do1 then indeed you believe in the resurrection of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 and you will surely have your reward in a peace of mind1 amid all the chances and changes of this mortal life1 which passes man's understanding4 ,that blessed knowledge that the ,lord knows all1 cares for all1 condescends to all--,that thought of a loving human face smiling upon your joys1 sorrowing over your sorrows1 watching you1 educating you from youth to manhood1 from manhood to the grave1 from the grave to eternities of eternities-- ,whosoever has felt that1 has indeed found the pearl of great price1 for which1 if need be1 he would give up all else in earth or heaven4 ,or do you say to yourselves at times1 ,i must not think too much about the ,lord ,jesus's being man1 lest ,i should forget that he is ,god8 ,do you shrink from opening your heart to him8 ,do you say within yourself1 ,he is too great1 too awful1 to condescend to listen to my little mean troubles and anxieties8 ,besides1 how can ,i expect him to feel for them2 ,i1 a mean1 sinful man1 and he the ,almighty ,god8 ,how do ,i know that he will not despise my meanness and paltriness8 ,how do ,i know that he will not be angry with me8 ,i must be more reverent to him1 than to trouble him with very petty matters4 ,he was a man once when he was upon earth3 but now that he is ascended up on high1 ,very ,god of ,very ,god1 in the glory which he had with the ,father before the worlds were made1 ,i must have more awful and solemn thoughts about him1 and keep at a more humble distance from him4 ,do you ever have such thoughts as those come over you1 my friends1 when you are thinking of the ,lord ,jesus1 and praying to him8 ,if you do1 shall ,i tell you what to say to them when they arise in your minds1 ',get thee behind me1 ,satan4' ,get thee away1 thou accusing devil1 who art accusing my ,lord to me1 and trying to make me fancy him less loving1 less condescending1 less tender1 less understanding1 than he was when he wept over the grave of ,lazarus4 ,get thee away1 thou lying hypocritical devil1 who pretendest to be so very humble and reverent to the godhead of the ,lord ,jesus1 in order that thou mayest make me forget what his godhead is like1 forget what ,god's likeness is1 forget that it was in his manhood1 in his man's words1 his man's thoughts1 his man's actions1 that he shewed forth the glory of ,god1 the express image of his person1 and fulfilled the blessed words1 ',and ,god said1 ,let us make man in our image1 after our likeness4' ,get thee behind me1 ,satan4 ,i believe in the good news of ,easter ,day1 and thou shall not rob me of it4 ,i believe that he who died upon the ,cross1 rose again the third day1 as very and perfect man then and now1 as he was when he bled and groaned on ,calvary1 and shuddered at the fear of death1 in the garden of ,gethsemane4 ,thou shalt not make my ,lord's incarnation1 his birth1 his passion1 his resurrection1 all that he did and suffered in those thirty-three years1 of none effect to me4 ,thou shalt not take from me the blessed message of my ,bible1 that there is a man in heaven in the midst of the throne of ,god4 ,thou shalt not take from me the blessed message of the ,athanasian ,creed1 that in ,christ the manhood is taken into ,god4 ,thou shalt not take from me the blessed message of ,holy ,communion1 which declares that the very human flesh and blood of him who died on the ,cross is now eternal in the heavens1 and nourishes my body and soul to everlasting life4 ,thou shalt not1 under pretence of voluntary humility and will-worship1 tempt me to go and pray to angels or to saints1 or to the ,blessed ,virgin1 because ,i choose to fancy them more tender1 more loving and condescending1 more loving1 more human1 than the ,lord himself1 who gave himself to death for me4 ,if the ,lord ,god1 the ,son of the ,father1 is not ashamed to be man for ever and ever1 ,i will not be ashamed to think of him as man2 to pray to him as man2 to believe and be sure that he can be touched with the feeling of my infirmities2 to entreat him1 by all that he did and suffered as a man1 to deliver me from those temptations which he himself has conquered for himself2 and to cry to him in the smallest1 as well as in the most important matters--',by the mystery of thy holy incarnation2 by thine agony and bloody sweat2 by thy cross and passion2 by thy precious death and burial2 by thy glorious resurrection and ascension2' by all which thou hast done1 and suffered1 and conquered1 as a man upon this earth of ours1 good ,lord1 deliver us6 ,,sermon ,,xxxvi4 ,,the ,,battle ,,within 7,fourteenth ,sunday after ,trinity1 #aheh47 ,galatians1 v4 #af1 #ag4 ,this ,i say then1 ,walk in the spirit1 and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh4 ,for the flesh lusteth against the spirit1 and the spirit against the flesh3 and these are contrary the one to the other3 so that ye cannot do the things that ye would4 ,does this text seem to any of you difficult to understand8 ,it need not be difficult to you2 for it does not speak of anything which you do not know4 ,it speaks of something which you have all felt1 which goes on in you every day of your lives4 ,it speaks of something1 certainly1 which is very curious1 mysterious1 difficult to put into words3 but what is not curious and mysterious8 ,the commonest things are usually the most curious8 ,what is more wonderful than the beating of your heart2 your pulse which beats all day long1 without your thinking of it8 ,just so this battle1 this struggle1 which ,st4 ,paul speaks of in this text1 is going on in us all day long1 and yet we hardly think of it4 ,now what is this battle8 ,what are these things which are fighting continually in your mind and in mine8 ,st4 ,paul calls them the flesh and the spirit4 ',the flesh1' he says1 'lusts against the spirit1 and the spirit against the flesh4' ,they pull opposite ways4 ,one wants to do one thing1 and the other the other4 ,but if so1 one of them must be in the right1 and the other in the wrong4 ,now1 ,st4 ,paul says1 when these two fall out with each other1 the spirit is in the right1 and the flesh in the wrong4 ,and therefore1 the secret of life is1 to walk in the spirit1 and so not to fulfil the lusts of the flesh4 ,but if so1 it must be worth our while to find out which is flesh1 and which is spirit in us1 that we may know the foolish part of us from the wise4 ,what the flesh is1 we may see by looking at a dumb beast1 which is all flesh1 and has no immortal soul4 ,it may be very cunning1 brave1 curiously formed1 beautiful1 but one thing you will always see1 that a beast does what it likes1 and only what it likes4 ,and this is the mark of the flesh1 that it does what it likes4 ,it is selfish1 and self-indulgent1 cares for nothing but itself1 and what it can get for itself4 ,true1 you may raise a dumb beast above that1 by taming and training it4 ,you may teach a horse or dog to do what it does not like1 and give it a sense of duty1 and as it were awaken a soul in it4 ,that is very wonderful1 that we should be able to do so4 ,it is a sign that man is made in ,god's likeness4 ,but ,i cannot stay to speak of that now4 ,i say our flesh1 our animal nature1 is selfish and self- indulgent4 ,i do not say1 therefore1 that it is bad3 ,god forbid4 ,god made our bodies and brains1 as well as our souls2 and ,god makes nothing bad4 ,it is blasphemous to say that he does4 ,no1 our bodies as bodies are good2 the flesh as flesh is good1 when it is in its right place2 and its right place is to be servant1 not master4 ,we are not to walk after the flesh1 says ,st4 ,paul3 but the flesh is to walk after the spirit--in ,english1 our bodies are to obey our spirits1 our souls4 ,for man has something higher than body in him4 ,he has a spirit in him2 and it is just having this spirit which makes him a man4 ,for this spirit cares about higher things than mere gain and comfort4 ,it can feel pity and mercy1 love and generosity1 justice and honour2 and when a man not only feels them1 but obeys them1 then he is a true man--a ,christian man3 but1 on the other hand1 if a man does not2 if he be a man in whom there is no mercy or pity1 no generosity1 no benevolence1 no justice or honour2 who cares for nothing and no one but himself1 and filling his own stomach and his own pulse1 and pleasing his own brute appetites in some way1 what should you say of that man8 ,you would say1 he is like a brute beast--and you would say right--you would say just what ,st4 ,paul says4 ,st4 ,paul would say1 that man is fulfilling the lusts of the flesh2 and you and ,st4 ,paul would mean just the same thing4 ,now1 ,st4 ,paul says1 ',the flesh in us lusts against the spirit1 and the spirit against the flesh4' ,and what do we gain by the spirit in us lusting against the flesh1 and pulling us the opposite way8 ,we gain this1 ,st4 ,paul says1 'that we cannot do the things that we would4' ,does that seem no great gain to you8 ,let me put it a little plainer4 ,st4 ,paul means this1 and just this1 that you may not do whatever you like4 ,st4 ,paul thought it the very best thing for a man not to be able to do whatever he liked4 ,as long1 ,st4 ,paul says1 as a man does whatever he likes1 he lives according to the flesh1 and is no better than a dumb beast3 but as soon as he begins to live according to the spirit1 and does not do whatever he likes1 but restrains himself1 and keeps himself in order1 then1 and then only1 he becomes a true man4 ,but why not do whatever we like8 ,because if we did do so1 we should be certain to do wrong4 ,i do not mean that you and ,i here like nothing but what is wrong4 ,god forbid4 ,i trust the ,spirit of ,god is with our spirits4 ,but ,i mean this3--,that if you could let a child grow up totally without any control whatsoever1 ,i believe that before that lad was twenty-one he would have qualified himself for the gallows seven times over4 ,thank ,god1 that cannot happen in ,england1 because people are better taught1 most of them at least2 and more1 we dare not do what we like1 for fear of the law and the policeman4 ,but1 if you knew the lives which savages lead1 who have neither law outside them to keep them straight by fear1 nor the ,spirit of ,god within them to keep them straight by duty and honour1 then you would understand what ,i mean only too well4 ,now ,st4 ,paul says1--,it is a good thing for a man not to be able to do what he likes4 ,but there are two ways of keeping him from it4 ,one is by the law1 the other is by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,the law works on a man from the outside by fear2 but the ,spirit of ,god works in a man by honour1 by the sense of duty1 by making him like and love what is right1 and making him see what a beautiful and noble thing right is4 ,now ,st4 ,paul wants us to restrain ourselves1 not from fear of being punished1 but because we like to do right4 ,that is what he means when he says that we are to be led by the ,spirit1 instead of being under the law4 ,it is better to be afraid of the law than to do wrong3 but it is best of all to do right from the ,spirit1 and of our own free will4 ,am ,i puzzling you8 ,i hope not3 but1 lest ,i should be1 #a will give you one simple example which ought to make all clear as to the struggle between a man's flesh and his spirit1 and also as to doing right from the ,spirit or from law4 ,suppose you were a soldier going into battle4 ,you see your comrades falling around you1 disfigured and cut up2 you hear their groans and cries2 and you are dreadfully afraid3 and no shame to you4 ,it is the common human instinct of self-preservation4 ,the bravest men have told me that they are afraid at first going into action1 and that they cannot get over the feeling4 ,but what part of you is afraid8 ,your flesh1 which is afraid of pain1 just as a beast is of the whip4 ,then your flesh perhaps says1 ,run away--or at least skulk and hide--take care of yourself4 ,but next1 if you were a coward1 the law would come into your mind1 and you would say1 ,but ,i dare not run away2 for1 if ,i do1 ,i shall be shot as a deserter1 or broke1 and drummed out of the army4 ,so you may go on1 even though you are a coward3 but that is not courage4 ,you have not conquered your own fear--you have not conquered yourself--but the law has conquered you4 ,but1 if you are a brave man1 as ,i trust you all are1 a higher spirit than your own speaks to your spirit1 and makes you say to yourself1 ,i dare not run away2 but1 more1 ,i cannot run away4 ,i should like to--but ,i cannot do the things that ,i would4 ,it is my duty to go on2 it is right2 it is a point of honour with me to my country1 my regiment1 my ,queen1 my ,god1 and ,i must go on4 ,then you are walking in the ,spirit4 ,you have conquered yourself1 and so are a really brave man4 ,you have obeyed the ,spirit1 and you have your reward by feeling inspirited1 as we say2 you can face death with spirit1 and fight with spirit4 ,but the struggle between the ,spirit and the flesh is not ended there4 ,when you got excited1 there would probably come over you the lust of fighting2 you would get angry1 get mad and lose your self- possession4 ,there is the flesh waking up again1 and saying1 ,be cruel2 kill every one you meet4 ,and to that the ,spirit answers1 ,no2 be reasonable and merciful4 ,do not fulfil the lusts of the flesh1 and turn yourself into a raging wild beast4 ,your business is not to butcher human beings1 but to win a battle4 ,well2 and even if you have conquered the enemy1 you may not have conquered your worst enemy1 which is yourself4 ,for1 after having fought bravely1 and done your duty1 what would the flesh say to you8 ,i am sure it would say it to me4 ,what but--,boast3 talk of your own valiant deeds and successes2 get all the praise and honour you can2 and shew how much finer a person you are than any of your comrades4 ,but what would the ,spirit say8--and ,i trust you would all listen to the ,spirit4 ,the ,spirit would say1 ,no2 do not boast2 do not lower yourself into the likeness of a vain peacock3 but be just1 and be modest4 ,give every man his due2 try to praise and recommend every one whom you can2 and trust to ,god to make your doing your duty as clear as the light1 and your brave actions as the noonday4 ,so1 you see1 all through1 a man's flesh might be lusting1 and would be lusting1 against the ,spirit1 and the ,spirit against the flesh2 and see1 too1 how in each case1 the flesh is tempting the man to be cowardly1 brutal1 vain1 selfish1 and wrong in some way1 and the ,spirit is striving to make him forget himself1 and think of his comrades and his duty4 ,now when a man is led by the ,spirit1 if he is tempted to do wrong1 he does not say1 ,i will not do this wrong thing1 but ,i cannot4 ,i cannot do what you want me4 ,i like to hear a man say that4 ,it is a sign that he feels ,god's voice in him1 which he must obey1 whether he likes or not2 as ,joseph said when he was tempted4 ,not1 ,i had rather not1 or ,i dare not3 but1 ,how can ,i do this great wickedness against my master1 who has trusted me1 and put everything into my hand1 and so1 by being a treacherous traitor1 sin against ,god8 ,now1 is this ,spirit part of our spirits1 or not8 ,i think we confess ourselves that it is not4 ,st4 ,paul says that it is not4 ,for he says1 there is one ,spirit--that is1 one good ,spirit--of whom he speaks as the ,spirit2 and this1 he says1 is the ,spirit of ,god1 and the ,spirit of ,christ1 and the ,spirit which inspires the spirits of all noble1 ,christ-like1 ,god-like men4 ,in this ,spirit there is nothing proud1 spiteful1 cruel1 nothing selfish1 false1 and mean2 nothing violent1 loose1 debauched4 ,but he is an altogether good and noble spirit1 whose fruit is love1 joy1 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 faith1 meekness1 temperance4 ,this1 he says1 is the ,spirit of ,god2 and this ,spirit he gives to those spirits1--souls1 as we call them now1--who desire it1 that they may become righteous with the righteousness of ,christ1 and good with the goodness of ,god4 ,and is not this good news8 ,i say1 my friends1 if we will look at it aright1 there is no better news1 no more inspiriting news for men like us1 mixed up in the battle of life1 and often pulled downward by our own bad passions1 and ashamed of ourselves more or less1 every day of our lives2--no better news1 ,i say1 than this1 that what is good and right in us is not our own1 but ,god's2 that our longings after good1 our sense of duty and honour1 kindliness and charity1 are not merely our own likings or fancies3 but the voice of ,god's almighty and everlasting ,spirit4 ,good news1 indeed6 ,for if ,god be for us who can be against us8 ,if ,god's ,spirit be with our spirits1 they must surely be stronger than our selfish pleasure-loving flesh4 ,if ,god himself be labouring to make us good2 if he be putting into our hearts good desires2 surely he can enable us to bring those desires to good effect3 and all that is wanted of us1 is to listen to ,god's voice within1 and do the right like men1 whatever pain it may cost us1 sure that we1 by ,god's help1 shall win at last in the hardest battle of all battles1 the victory over our own selves4 ,,sermon ,,xxxvii4 ,,hypocrisy ,matthew xvi4 #c4 ,oh ye hypocrites1 ye can discern the face of the sky2 but can ye not discern the signs of the times8 ,it will need1 ,i think1 some careful thought thoroughly to understand this text4 ,our ,lord in it calls the ,pharisees and ,sadducees hypocrites2 because1 though they could use their common sense and experience to judge of the weather they would not use them to judge of the signs of the times2 of what was going to happen to the ,jewish nation4 ,but how was their conduct hypocritical8 ,stupid we might call it1 or unreasonable3 but how hypocritical8 ,that1 ,i think1 we may see better1 by considering what the word hypocrite means4 ,we mean now1 generally1 by a hypocrite1 a man who pretends to be one thing1 while he is another2 who pretends to be pious and good1 while he is leading a profligate life in secret2 who pretends to believe certain doctrines1 while at heart he disbelieves them2 a man1 in short1 who is a scoundrel1 and knows it2 but who does not intend others to know it3 who deceives others1 but does not deceive himself4 ,my friends1 such a man is a hypocrite3 but there is another kind of hypocrite1 and a more common one by far2 and that is1 the hypocrite who not only deceives others1 but deceives himself likewise2 the hypocrite who 7as one of the wisest living men puts it7 is astonished that you should think him hypocritical4 ,i do not say which of these two kinds is the worse4 ,my duty is to judge no man4 ,i only say that there are such people1 and too many of them2 that we ourselves are often in danger of becoming such hypocrites2 and that this was the sort of people which the ,pharisees for the most part were4 ,hypocrites who had not only deceived others1 but themselves also2 who thought themselves perfectly right1 honest1 and pious2 who were therefore astonished and indignant at ,christ's calling them hypocrites4 ,how did they get into this strange state of mind8 ,how may we get into it8 ,consider first what a hypocrite means4 ,it means strictly neither more nor less than a play-actor2 one who personates different characters on the stage4 ,that is the one original meaning of the word hypocrite4 ,now recollect that a man may personate characters1 like a play- actor1 and pretend to be what he is not1 for two different objects4 ,he may do it for other people's sake1 or for his own4 #a4 ,for other people's sake4 ,as the ,pharisees did1 when they did all their works to be seen of men2 and therefore1 naturally1 gave their attention as much as possible to outward forms and ceremonies1 which could be seen by men4 ,now1 understand me1 before ,i go a step further1 ,i am not going to speak against forms and ceremonies4 ,no man less3 and1 above all1 not against the ,church forms and ceremonies1 which have grown up1 gradually and naturally1 out of the piety1 and experience1 and practical common sense of many generations of ,god's saints4 ,men must have forms and ceremonies to put them in mind of the spiritual truths which they cannot see or handle4 ,men cannot get on without them2 and those who throw away the ,church forms have to invent fresh ones1 and less good ones1 for themselves4 ,all1 ,i say1 have their forms and ceremonies2 and all are in danger1 as we churchmen are1 of making those forms stand instead of true religion4 ,in the ,church or out of the ,church1 men are all tempted to have1 like the ,pharisees1 their traditions of the elders1 their little rules as to conduct1 over and above what the ,bible and the ,prayer-book have commanded2 and all are tempted to be more shocked if those rules are broken1 than if really wrong and wicked things are done2 and like the ,pharisees of old1 to be careful in paying tithe of mint1 anise1 and cummin1 the commonest garden herbs1 and yet forget the weighty matters of the law1 justice1 mercy1 and judgment4 ,i have known those who would be really more shocked at seeing a religious man dance or sing1 than at hearing him tell a lie4 ,but ,i will give no examples1 lest ,i should set you on judging others4 ,or rather1 the only example which ,i will give is that of these ,pharisees1 who have become1 by our ,lord's words about them1 famous to all time1 as hypocrites4 ,now you must bear in mind that these ,pharisees were not villains and profligates4 ,many people1 feeling1 perhaps1 how much of what the ,lord had said against the ,pharisees would apply to them1 have tried to escape from that ugly thought1 by making out the ,pharisees worse men than our ,lord does4 ,but the fact is1 that they cannot be proved to be worse than too many religious people now-a-days4 ,there were adulterers1 secret loose-livers among them4 ,are there none now-a- days8 ,they were covetous4 ,are no religious professors covetous now-a-days8 ,they crept into widows' houses1 and1 for a pretence made long prayers4 ,does no one do so now8 ,there would1 of course1 be among them1 as there is among all large religious parties1 as there is now1 a great deal of inconsistent and bad conduct4 ,but1 on the whole1 there is no reason to suppose that the greater number of them were what we should call ill-livers4 ,in that terrible twenty- third chapter of ,st4 ,matthew1 in which our ,lord denounces the sins of the ,scribes and ,pharisees1 he nowhere accuses them of profligate living2 and the ,pharisee of whom he tells us in his parable1 who went into the ,temple to pray1 no doubt spoke truth when he boasted of not being as other men are1 extortioners1 unjust1 adulterers4 ,he trusted in himself that he was righteous4 ,true4 ,but whatever that means1 it means that he thought that he was righteous1 after a fashion1 though it proved to be a wrong one4 ,what our ,lord complains of in them is1 first1 their hardness of heart2 their pride in themselves1 and their contempt for their fellowmen4 ,their very name ,pharisee meant that4 ,it meant separate--they were separate from mankind2 a peculiar people2 who alone knew the law1 with whom alone ,god was pleased3 while the rest of mankind1 even of their own countrymen1 knew not the law1 and were accursed1 and doomed to hell4 ,ah ,god1 who are we to cast stones at the ,pharisees of old1 when this is the very thing which you may hear said in ,england from hundreds of pulpits every ,sunday1 with the mere difference1 that instead of the word law1 men put the word gospel4 ,for this our ,lord denounced them2 and next1 for their hypocrisy1 their play-acting1 the outward show of religion in which they delighted2 trying to dress1 and look1 and behave differently from other men2 doing all their good works to be seen of men2 sounding a trumpet before them when they gave away alms2 praying standing at the corners of the streets2 going in long clothing1 making broad their phylacteries1 the written texts of ,scripture which they sewed to their garments2 washing perpetually when they came from the market1 or any public place1 lest they should have been defiled by the touch of an unclean thing1 or person2 loving the chief seats in their religious meetings1 and the highest places at feasts2 and so forth1--full of affectation1 vanity1 and pride4 ,i could tell you other stories of their ridiculous affectations3 but ,i shall not4 ,they would only make you smile3 and we could not judge them fairly1 not being able to make full allowance for the difference of customs between the ,jews and ourselves4 ,many of the things which our ,lord blames them for1 were not nearly so absurd in ,judea of old1 as they seem to us in ,england now4 ,indeed1 no one but our ,lord seems to have thought them absurd1 or seen through the hollowness and emptiness of them3--as he perhaps sees through1 my friends1 a great deal which is thought very right in ,england now4 ,making allowance for the difference of the country1 and of the times1 the ,pharisees were perhaps no more affected1 for ,jews1 than many people are now1 for ,englishmen4 ,and if it be answered1 that though our religious fashions now-a-days are not commanded expressly by the ,bible or the ,prayer ,book1 yet they carry out their spirit3-- remember1 in ,god's name1 that that was exactly what the ,pharisees said1 and their excuse for being righteous above what was written2 and that they could1 and did1 quote texts of ,scripture for their phylacteries1 their washings1 and all their other affectations4 ,another reason ,i have for not dwelling too much on these affectations2 and it is this4 ,because a man may be a play-actor and a self-deceiver in religion1 without any of these tricks at all1 and without much of the vanity and pride which cause them4 ,for recollect that a man may act for his own amusement1 as well as for other people's4 ,children do so perpetually1 and especially when no one is by to listen to them4 ,they delight in playing at being this person and that1 and in living for a while in a day-dream4 ,oh let us take care that we do not do the same in our religion6 ,it is but too easy to do so4 ,too easy2 and too common4 ,for is it not play- acting1 like any child1 to come to this church1 and here to feel repentance1 feel forgiveness1 feel gratitude1 feel reverence2 and then to go out of church and awake as from a dream1 and become our natural selves for the rest of the week1 till ,sunday comes round again2 comforting ourselves meanwhile with the fancy that we had been very religious last ,sunday1 and intended to be very religious next ,sunday likewise8 ,would there not be hypocrisy and play-acting in that1 my friends8 ,now1 my dear friends1 if we give way to this sort of hypocrisy1 we shall get1 as too many do1 into the habit of living two lives at once1 without knowing it4 ,outside us will be our religious life of praying1 and reading1 and talking of good things1 and doing good work 7as1 thank ,god1 many do whose hearts are not altogether right with ,god1 or their eyes single in his sight7 good work1 which ,i trust ,god will not forget in the last day1 in spite of all our inconsistencies4 ,outside us1 ,i say1 will be our religious life3 and inside us our own actual life1 our own natural character1 too often very little changed or improved at all4 ,so by continually playing at religion1 we shall deceive ourselves4 ,we shall make an entirely wrong estimate of the state of our souls4 ,we shall fancy that this outward religion of ours is the state of our soul4 ,and then1 if any one tells us that we are play-acting1 and hypocrites1 we shall be as astonished and indignant as the ,pharisees were of old4 ,we shall make the same mistake as a man would1 who because he always wore clothes1 should fancy at last that his clothes were himself1 part of his own body4 ,so1 ,i say1 many deceive themselves1 and are more or less hypocrites to themselves4 ,they do not1 in general1 deceive others2 they are not1 on the whole1 hypocrites to their neighbours4 ,for their neighbours1 after a time1 see what they cannot see themselves1 that they are play-acting2 that they are two different people without knowing it3 that their religion is a thing apart from their real character4 ,a hundred signs shew that4 ,how many there are1 for instance1 who are1 or seem tolerably earnest about religion1 and doing good1 as long as they are actually in church1 or actually talking about religion4 ,but all the rest of their time1 what are they doing8 ,what are they thinking of8 ,mere frivolity and empty amusement4 ,idle butterflies1 pretending to be industrious bees once in the week4 ,others again1 will be gentle and generous enough about everything but religion2 and as soon as they get upon that1 will become fierce1 and hard1 and narrow at once4 ,others again 7and this is most common7 commit the very same fault as the ,pharisees in the text1 who could use their common sense to discern the signs of the weather1 and yet could not use it to discern the signs of the time1 because they were afraid of looking honestly at the true state of public feeling and conscience1 and at the danger and ruin into which their religion and their party were sinking4 ,for about all worldly matters1 these men will be as sound-headed and reasonable as they need be3 but as soon as they get on religious matters1 they become utterly silly and unreasonable2 and will talk nonsense1 listen to nonsense1 and be satisfied with nonsense1 such as they would not endure a moment if their own worldly interest1 or worldly character1 were in question4 ,but most of all do these poor souls not deceive their neighbours when a time of temptation comes upon them4 ,for then1 alas6 it comes out too often that they are of those whom our ,lord spoke of1 who heard the word gladly1 but had no root in themselves1 and in time of temptation fell away4 ,for then1 before the storm of some trying temptation1 away goes all the play-acting religion2 and the man's true self rises up from underneath into ugly life4 ,up rise1 perhaps1 pride1 and self-will1 and passion2 up rise1 perhaps1 meanness and love of money2 up rise1 perhaps1 cowardice and falsehood2 or up rises foul and gross sin1 causing some horrible scandal to religion1 and to the name of ,christ2 while fools look on1 and1 laughing an evil laugh1 cry1--',these are your high professors4 ,these are your ,pharisees1 who were so much better than everybody else4 ,when they are really tried1 it seems they behave no better than we sinners4' ,oh1 these are the things which make a clergyman's heart truly sad4 ,these are the things which make him long that all were over2 that ,christ would shortly accomplish the number of his elect1 and hasten his kingdom1 that we1 with all those who are departed in the true faith of his holy name1 may rest in peace for ever from sin and sinners4 ,not that ,i mean that some of these very people1 in spite of all their inconsistency1 will not be among that number4 ,god forbid6 ,how do we know that8 ,how do we know that they are one whit worse than we should be in their place8 ,how do we know1 above all1 that to have been found out may not be the very best thing that has happened to them since the day that they were born8 ,how do we know that it may not be ,god's gracious medicine to enable them to find themselves out2 to make them see themselves in their true colours2 to purge them of all their play-acting2 and begin all over again1 crying to ,god1 not with the lips only1 but out of the depth of an honest and a noble shame1 as ,david did of old--,behold ,i was shapen in wickedness1 conceived in sin1 and ,i have found it out at last4 ,but thou requirest truth in the inward parts1 in the very root and ground of the heart1 and not merely truth in the head1 in the lips1 and in the outward behaviour4 ,make me a clean heart1 ,o ,god1 and renew a right spirit within me4 ,thou desirest no sacrifice1 else would ,i give it thee3 but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings4 ,the sacrifice of ,god is a broken spirit1 as mine is now4 ,a broken and a contrite heart1 ground down by the shame of its own sin1 that1 ,o ,god1 thou wilt not despise4 ,and then--when that prayer has gone up in earnest1 and has been answered by the gift of a clean heart1 and of a right spirit1 which desires nothing but to be made clean and made right1 to learn its duty and to do it--then1 ,i say1 that man may go back safely and freely1 to such forms and ceremonies1 as he has been accustomed to1 and have been consecrated by the piety and wisdom of his forefathers4 ,for1 says ,david1 though forms and ceremonies1 sacrifice and burnt-offering cannot make any peace with ,god1 yet ,i am not going to give up forms and ceremonies1 sacrifice and burnt- offerings4 ,no4 ,when my peace is made1 when the broken and the contrite heart has put me in my true place again1 and my heart is clean1 and my spirit right once more2 then1 he says1 will ,god be pleased with my sacrifices1 with my burnt-offerings and oblations2 because they will be the sacrifice of righteousness1 of a righteous man desiring to shew honour to that ,god from whom his righteousness comes1 and gratitude to that ,god to whom he owes his pardon4 ,and so with us1 my friends1 if ever we have fallen1 and been pardoned1 and risen again to a new1 a truer1 a more honest1 a more righteous life4 ,our forms of devotion ought then to become not a snare and a hypocrisy1 but honest outward signs of the spiritual grace which is within us2 as honest and as rational as the shake of the hand to the friend whom we truly love1 as the bowing of the knee before the ,queen for whom we would gladly die4 ,o may ,god give us all grace to seek first the kingdom of ,god and his righteousness4 ,to seek first the kingdom of ,god2 to work earnestly1 each in his place1 to do ,god's will1 and to teach and help others to do it likewise4 ,to seek his righteousness1 which is the righteousness of the heart and spirit3 and then all other things will be added to us4 ,all outward forms and ceremonies1 ways of speaking1 ways of behaving1 which are good and right for us1 will come to us as a matter of course2 growing up in us naturally and honestly1 without any affectation or hypocrisy1 and the purity and soberness1 the reverence and earnestness of our outward conversation1 will be a pattern of the purity and soberness1 the reverence and earnestness1 which dwells in our hearts by the inspiration of the ,holy ,spirit of ,god4 ,,sermon ,,xxxviii4 ,a ,,people ,,prepared ,,for ,,the ,,lord ,ephesians iii4 #c-f4 ,how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery 7as ,i wrote afore in few words1 whereby1 when ye read1 ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of ,christ71 which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men1 as it is now revealed unto the holy apostles and prophets by the ,spirit2 that the ,gentiles should be fellow-heirs1 and of the same body1 and partakers of his promise in ,christ by the ,gospel4 ,this day is the feast of the ,epiphany4 ,epiphany1 as many of you know1 means 'shewing1' because on this day the ,lord ,jesus ,christ was first shewn to the ,gentiles2 to the ,gentile wise men who1 as you heard in the ,gospel1 saw his star in the east1 and came to worship him4 ,and the part of ,scripture from which ,i have taken my text1 is used for the ,epistle this day1 because in it ,st4 ,paul explains to us the meaning of the ,epiphany4 ,the meaning of those wise men being shewn our ,lord1 and worshipping him1 though they were not ,jews as he was1 but ,gentiles4 ,he says that it means this1 that the ,gentiles were fellow-heirs with the ,jews1 and of the same body as them1 and partakers of ,god's promise in ,christ by the ,gospel4 ,this does not seem so very wonderful to us2 and why8 ,because we1 though we are ,gentiles like those wise men1 have lived so long1 we and our forefathers before us1 in the light of the ,gospel1 that we are inclined to take it as a matter of course2 forgetting what a wonderful1 unspeakable1 condescension it was of ,god1 not to spare his only begotten ,son1 but freely to give him for us4 ,god forgive us6 ,we are so heaped with blessings that we neglect them1 forget them1 take them as our right1 instead of remembering our sins and ungratefulness1 and saying1 ,thy mercies are new every morning2 it is only of thy mercies that we are not consumed4 ,but to ,st4 ,paul it was very wonderful news4 ,a mystery1 as he said2 quite a new and astonishing thought1 that heathens had any share in ,god's love and ,christ's salvation4 ,and so it was to ,st4 ,peter4 ,god had to teach it him by that wonderful vision1 in which he saw coming down from heaven all sorts of animals1 and ,god bade him kill and eat2 and when he refused1 because they were common and unclean1 ,god forbade him to call anything common or unclean1 now that ,god had cleansed all things by the precious blood of his dear ,son4 ,then ,peter was bidden to go to the ,gentile ,roman soldier ,cornelius4 ,and he went1 though1 he said1 he had been used to think it unlawful for a ,jew even to eat with a ,gentile4 ,and when he went1 he found1 to his astonishment1 that ,god's love was over that ,gentile soldier and his family1 because they were good men1 as far as they had light and knowledge1 just as much as if they had been good ,jews4 ,and ,god gave ,st4 ,peter a sign which there was no mistaking1 that he really did care for those ,gentile ,romans1 just as much as if they had been ,jews2 for1 as he was preaching ,christ to them1 the ,holy ,ghost fell on them1 not after1 but before they were baptised4 ,so that ,st4 ,peter1 astonished as he was1 was forced by his own conscience and reason to say1 ',can any man forbid water1 that these should not be baptised1 who have received the ,holy ,ghost as well as we' 7,jews78 ,then he commanded them to be baptised in the name of the ,lord4 ,and what was the lesson which ,god taught ,st4 ,peter by this8 ,st4 ,peter himself tells us2 for he opened his mouth and said1 ',of a truth ,i see that ,god is no respecter of persons2 but in every nation1 he that feareth ,god1 and worketh righteousness1 is accepted by him4' ,now1 my dear friends1 this is 7as the ,lord ,jesus ,christ tells us7 ,god's everlasting law1 ',that he that hath1 to him shall be given1 and he shall have more abundantly2 but from him that hath not1 shall be taken away even that which he seems to have4' ,so it was1 as ,i have just shewn you1 with ,cornelius2 and so it was with those wise men4 ,they were worshippers 7as is supposed7 of the one true ,god1 though in a dim confused way3 but they had learnt enough of what true faith was1 and of what true greatness was1 too1 not to be staggered and fall into unbelief1 when they saw the ,king of the ,jews1 whom they had come so many hundred miles to see1 laid1 not in a palace1 but in a manger2 and attended not by princesses and noblewomen1 but by a poor maiden1 espoused to a carpenter4 ,therefore ,god bestowed on them that great honour1 that they1 first of all the ,gentiles1 should see the glory and the love of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ1 his ,son4 ,and so it was with our forefathers1 my friends4 ,and ,i think that on this ,epiphany1 we ought to thank ,god1 among all his other blessings1 for having given us such forefathers1 and letting us be born of that noble stock1 to whom he gave the kingdom of ,god1 after he took it away from the faithless and rebellious ,jews1 and afterwards from the false and profligate ,greeks and ,romans1 to whom the epistles of the apostles were written4 ,i will tell you what ,i mean4 ,when the ,lord ,jesus came on earth2 our forefathers did not live here in ,england1 but in countries across the sea1 in ,germany1 ,denmark1 and ,sweden1 which did not belong to the ,roman ,empire2 for the ,romans1 who had conquered all the world beside1 could never conquer our forefathers4 ,it was ,god's will1 that whenever they tried they were beaten back with shame and slaughter2 and our forefathers1 almost alone of all1 remained free men1 even as we are at this day4 ,but for that very reason1 the apostles could never come among us to preach the ,gospel to us2 for they could not pass the bounds of the ,roman empire2 and that was so large1 that they had enough to do to preach the ,gospel in it2 so that it was not till at least #djj years after the apostles' death1 that their successors1 zealous missionaries1 priests and bishops1 came and preached to our forefathers2 and when they came1 they found us a people prepared for the ,lord1 who heard the word gladly1 and turned1 thousands sometimes in one day1 from vain idols to serve the living ,god1 and were baptised into that holy church in which we now stand4 ,and it has been among us1 and the nations who are our kinsmen1 that the light of the gospel has shone ever since1 while all through the ,east1 where the apostles preached most and earliest1 it has died out4 ,so that our ,lord's words have been fulfilled1 that many that are last shall be first1 and those that are first shall be last4 ,god grant that it may not always be so4 ,god grant that his kingdom may return to its ancient seat at ,jerusalem1 and that all nations may go up to the mountain of the ,lord's house1 in the day of which ,st4 ,paul prophesies1 when the times of the ,gentiles are fulfilled1 and all ,israel shall be saved1 when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the ,lord1 as the waters cover the sea4 ,but it is not so now2 and cannot be so1 as far as we can see1 for many a year to come4 ,but in the meanwhile1 why were our forefathers--heathens though they were1 and sinners in many things1 being truly children of wrath1 fierce1 bloodthirsty1 revengeful1 without the grace of ,christ1 which is ,love and ,charity--nevertheless a people prepared for the ,lord8 ,how was it true of them that to him that hath shall be given8 ,i will tell you4 ,there is an old book1 written in ,latin by a heathen gentleman of ,rome1 who lived in ,st4 ,paul's time1 and wrote this book about twenty years after ,st4 ,paul's death4 ,it is a little book2 but it is a very precious one3 and ,i think it is a great mercy of ,god that1 while so many famous old books have been lost1 this little book should have been preserved3 for this ,roman gentleman had travelled among our forefathers2 and when he returned he wrote this book to shame his countrymen at ,rome4 ,in it he calls us ',germans2' but that was the ,roman fashion4 ,by ,germans they meant not only the people who now live in ,germany1 but the ,english and the ,danes1 and the ,swedes1 and the ,franks1 who afterwards conquered ,france4 ,in fact he meant our own forefathers4 ,and he said to the ,romans1-- ',look at these wild ,germans4 ,you despise them because they go half- naked1 and cannot read or write1 and live in mud cottages2 while you go in silk and gold1 and have all sorts of learning1 and live in great cities1 palaces1 and temples1 in worldly pomp and glory4 ,but ,i tell you1' he said1 'that these wild ,germans are better men than you2 for1 while you are living in sin1 in cheating and falsehood1 in covetousness1 adultery1 murder1 and every horrible iniquity1 they are honest1 chaste1 truthful2 they honour their fathers and mothers2 they are obedient and loyal to their kings and their laws2 they shew hospitality to strangers2 they do not commit adultery1 steal1 bear false witness1 covet their neighbours' goods4 ,and therefore1' this ,roman felt 7and really it seems as if a spirit of prophecy from ,god had come on him71 'something great and glorious will come out of these wild ,germans1 while the ,romans will rot away and perish in their sins4' ,that was true enough4 ,we see it true at this day4 ,for what happened8 ,that great ,roman empire1 ,babylon the great1 as ,st4 ,john calls it in the ,revelations1 perished miserably and horribly by its own sins2 while our forefathers rose and conquered it all1 and live and thrive till this day4 ,but it is curious that they never throve really1 though they made great conquests1 and did many wonderful deeds1 till they became ,christians3 but as soon as they became ,christians1 they began to thrive at once1 and settled down1 and became that great family of nations1 and kingdom of ,god1 which we call ,christendom2 ,england1 ,france1 ,spain1 ,italy1 ,germany1 ,sweden1 and the other countries of ,christian ,europe2 which ,god has so prospered for his ,son ,jesus ,christ's sake1 in spite of many sins and shortcomings1 with wealth and numbers1 skill1 and learning1 and strength1 that now the empire of the whole world depends upon these few small ,christian nations1 which in our ,lord's time were only tribes of heathen savages3 so that here again our ,lord's great parable was fulfilled4 ,the gospel seed which the apostle sowed in those rich1 luxurious1 clever1 learned1 ,romans1 was like the seed which fell on thorny ground2 and the cares and pleasures of this life1 and the deceitfulness or riches1 sprang up1 and choked the word1 and it remained unfruitful4 ,but the gospel seed which was sown among our poor1 wild1 simple1 ignorant forefathers1 was the seed which fell on an honest and good heart1 and took root1 and brought forth fruit1 some thirty1 some fifty1 and some one hundred fold4 ,epiphany came late to us--not for three hundred years after our ,lord's birth3 but1 when it came1 the light which it brought remained with us1 and lights us even now from our cradle to our grave3 and so again was fulfilled the ,scripture1 which says1 that ,god chooses the weak things of this world to confound the strong2 the foolish to confound the wise2 yea1 and things which are not1 to bring to nought the things which are1 that no flesh should glory in his presence4 ,that no flesh should glory in his presence4 ,for mind1 my friends1 our business is not to be high-minded but to fear4 ,and we ,english are too apt to be high-minded now4 ,we pride ourselves on our ,english character1 ,english cleverness1 ,english courage1 ,english wealth4 ,my friends1 be not high-minded but fear4 ,we have no right to pride ourselves on being ,englishmen1 if we do the very things which our forefathers were ashamed to do even when they were heathens4 ,they honoured their fathers and mothers4 ,do we8 ,they were loyal and obedient to law4 ,are we8 ,they were chaste and clean livers3 adultery was seldom heard of among them2 and1 when it was1 they punished it in the most fearful way3 while what astonished that old ,roman gentleman1 of whom ,i spoke1 most of all1 was the pure and respectable lives of the young men and women4 ,is it so now-a- days among us1 my friends8 ,they were honest1 too1 and just in all their dealings4 ,are we8 ,they were true to their word2 no men on earth more true4 ,are we8 ,they hated covetousness and overreaching4 ,do we8 ,they were generous1 open-handed1 hospitable4 ,are we8 ,my friends1 this was the old ,english spirit1 which ,god accepted in our forefathers4 ,is it in us now8 ,we must not pride ourselves on it1 unless we have it4 ,nay1 more1 what is it but a shame to us1 if1 while our forefathers were good heathens1 we are bad ,christians8 ,they had but a small spark1 a dim ray1 as it were1 of the light which lighteth every man who comes into the world3 but they were more faithful to that little than many are now1 who live in the full sunshine of ,god's gospel1 in the free dispensation of ,god's spirit1 with ,christ's sacraments1 ,christ's ,churches1 means of grace and hopes of glory1 of which they never dreamed4 ,may they not rise up against some of us in the day of judgment1 and condemn us1 and say1-- ',are you our children8 ,do you boast of knowing ,god better than we did1 while you did things which we dared not do8 ,we knew that ,god hated such sins1 and therefore we kept from them4 ,you should know that better than we2 for you had seen ,god's horror of sin in the death of his own ,son ,jesus ,christ2 and yet you went on committing the very sins which crucified the ,lord of ,glory4' ,my friends1 ,i speak sober earnest4 ,god grant that our old heathen forefathers may not rise up against us in the day of judgment1 and condemn us4 ,let us turn to the ,lord this day with all our hearts1 and come to this holy table1 confessing all our sins and unfaithfulness1 and backslidings1 that we may get there cleansing from his most precious blood1 strength from his most precious body1 life from his life1 and spirit from his spirit2 that so we may go away to lead new lives1 following the commandments of ,god1 and living up to our great light and knowledge1 at least as well as our forefathers lived up to their little light4 ,and so we shall really keep the feast of ,epiphany in spirit and in truth3 for ,epiphany means the shewing of ,jesus ,christ to us ,gentiles2 and the way to prove that ,jesus ,christ has been shewn to us1 and that we have seen his glory1 the glory as of the only-begotten of the ,father1 full of grace and truth1 is to keep his commandments1 and live lives like his4 ,,sermon ,,xxxix4 ,,the ,,wrath ,,of ,,love ,psalm cvii4 #f4 ,then they cried unto the ,lord in their trouble1 and he delivered them out of their distresses4 ,if ,i were asked to give a reason why ,i believed the ,old ,testament to be an inspired and divine book1 as well as the ,new1 ,i could not do better1 ,i think1 than to lay my hand on this #ajgth psalm1 and say1-- ,this is my reason for believing the ,old ,testament to be inspired4 ,i have hundreds of others3 but this one is enough--this one psalm4 ,it contains an account of ,god's dealings with men1 such as the world never heard before1 and very seldom since1 save from a very few men1 who really saw what the ,bible meant1 and honestly followed its teaching4 ,it gives a notion of the justice of ,god1 and an explanation of the chances and changes of this mortal life1 such as you will find nowhere else save in the ,bible1 and in the books of ,christian men who have been taught by the ,bible4 ,the man who wrote that psalm knew so much more than other men1 that he must have been indeed inspired by the ,spirit of ,truth1 and the ,holy ,ghost of ,god4 ,and1 ,i should say1 ,i have come to this opinion mainly by comparing this psalm with the writings of heathens1 even the wisest and the best of them4 ,for the heathens1 like all men1 used to have their troubles1 and to ask themselves1 ,who has sent this trouble8 ,and why has he sent it8 ,and their answers remain to us in their writings1 some worse1 some better1 some very foolish1 some tolerably wise4 ,but when one compares the heathen writings with this psalm1 or with any psalms or passages of the ,old ,testament which talk of ,god's dealings with man1 then we shall be altogether astonished at the superiority of the ,bible4 ,the ,bible will seem to us quite infinitely wiser than heathen books1 on this matter1 as on others-- so much more simple1 and yet so much more deep2 so much more rational also1 and so much more true3 agreeing so much more with the facts which we see happen round us3 agreeing so much more with our own reason1 experience1 inward conscience1 about what is just and unjust3--that we shall begin to see as much difference between heathen books and the ,old ,testament1 as there is between the dim dawn of morning1 and the full blaze of noonday light4 ,one of the earliest heathen notions why troubles came was1 it seems1 that the gods were offended with men1 because they had not shown them due honour1 flattered them enough1 or offered sacrifices enough to them3 or else they fancied that the gods envied men3 grudged their prosperity1 did not like to see them too happy4 ,that dark and base notion gradually faded away1 as men got higher notions of right and wrong1 and of the gods1 as the judges and avengers of wrong4 ,then they began to think these troubles were punishments for doing wrong4 ,the ,gods1 or ,god1 punished sin2 inflicting so much pain for so much sin1 very much as the heathens are apt to punish their criminals still1 and as ,christian nations used to punish theirs1 namely1 with shameful and horrible tortures2 before they began to find out that the end of punishment is not to torment1 but to reform1 the criminal1 wherever it is possible4 ,but then the thought would come--,why1 after all1 should ,god1 if he be just and merciful1 punish my sin by pain and misery8 ,how can it profit ,god1 how can it please ,god1 to give me pain8 ,because it satisfies his justice8 ,how can it do that8 ,it would not satisfy mine4 ,suppose my child1 or even my dog1 disobeyed me1 would it satisfy my sense of justice to beat him8 ,it might satisfy my passion3 but ,god has no passions4 ,it would be base1 blasphemous to fancy that he takes pleasure in hurting me1 as ,i take pleasure in beating my dog when ,i lose my temper with it4 ,god forbid6 ,the old prophets saw that1 and cried--',have ,i any pleasure in the death of him1 saith the ,lord1 and not rather that he should turn from his wickedness1 and live8' ,then1 naturally1 the thought would come into the mind of a wise and serious man--,i punish my child1 or my dog1 and ,god punishes me4 ,may he not punish me for the same reason that ,i punish them8 ,i punish them to correct them and make them better4 ,surely ,god punishes me1 to correct me1 and make me better4 ,i punish my child1 because ,i love him1 and wish him good4 ,god punishes me because he loves me and desires that ,i may be a partaker of his holiness4 ,and as soon as that blessed thought had risen up in any man's mind1 by the inspiration of ,god's ,holy ,spirit1 all the world would begin to look bright and clear and full of hope4 ,this earth1 with all its sorrows and sufferings1 would look no longer to him as ,god's prison house1 where poor sinners sat tortured and wailing1 fast bound in misery and iron1 till they should pay the uttermost farthing1 which they never could pay4 ,no4 ,it would look to him as ,god's school- house1 ,god's reformatory1 in which he is training and chastening and correcting the souls of men1 that he may deliver them from the ruin and misery which sin brings on them1 both the original sin which is born in them and the actual sin which they commit4 ,then ,god appears to him a gracious and merciful father4 ,he can see a blessed meaning and a wholesome use in all human suffering2 and he can break out1 as the ,psalmist does in this glorious psalm1 into praise and thanksgiving1 and call on mankind to give thanks to the ,lord2 for he is gracious1 and his mercy endureth for ever4 ,in every kind of human suffering1 ,i say1 he sees now a meaning and a use4 ,first1 he takes1 it seems1 his own countrymen1 the ,jews1 coming back from ,babylon into their own country after the seventy years' captivity4 ,they had been punished for their sins4 ,but for what purpose8 ,that they might know 7as ,ezekiel said71 that ,god was the ,lord4 ,and when they cried unto him in their trouble1 he delivered them out of their distress4 ,then he goes on to those who have brought themselves into poverty and shame1 and sit fast bound in misery and iron4 ,it is their own fault4 ,they have brought it on themselves by rebelling against the word of the ,lord1 and lightly regarding the counsel of the ,most ,highest4 ,but ,god does not hate them4 ,god is not going to leave them to the net which they have spread for their own feet4 ,when they cry unto the ,lord in their troubles1 he delivers them out of their distress4 ,god himself1 by strange and unexpected ways1 will deliver them from their darkness of ignorance and sin1 and from the danger and misery which they have brought upon themselves4 ,then he goes on to those who have injured their health by their own folly1 till their soul abhors all manner of food1 and they are even hard at death's door4 ,neither does ,god hate them4 ,they1 too1 are in ,god's school-house4 ,and when they cry to the ,lord in their trouble1 he will deliver them1 too1 out of their distress1 and send his word1 and heal them1 and save them from destruction4 ,then he goes on to men who are exposed to danger1 and terror1 and death in their lawful calling2 and his instance is the seamen--those who go on to the sea in ships1 and occupy their business in great waters4 ,the storms come up1 they know not when or how3 but they are not the sport of a blind chance2 they are not the victims of the wrath of ,god4 ,the wild sea1 too1 is his school-house1 where they are to see the works of the ,lord1 and his wonders in the deep2 and so1 by strange dangers and strange deliverances1 learn1 as ,i have seen many a seaman learn1 a courage and endurance1 a faith1 a resignation1 which puts us comfortable landsmen to shame4 ,then he goes on to even a deeper matter--to those terrible changes in nature1 so common in the ,east1 in which whole districts1 by earthquake or drought1 are rendered worthless and barren4 ,they too1 he says1 are ,god's lessons1 though sharp ones enough4 ',he turneth the rivers into a wilderness1 and the water-springs into dry ground2 a fruitful land into barrenness1 for the wickedness of them that dwell therein4 ,again1 he turneth the wilderness into a standing water1 and dry ground into water-springs4 ,and there he maketh the hungry to dwell1 that they may prepare a city for habitation2 and sow the fields1 and plant vineyards1 which may yield fruits of increase4' ,lastly1 he goes on to political changes1 which bring a whole nation low1 into oppression and misery4 ',they are minished and brought low through oppression1 affliction and sorrow4 ,he poureth contempt upon princes1 and causeth them to wander in the wilderness1 where there is no way4 ,yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction1 and maketh him families like a flock4 ,the righteous shall see it1 and rejoice3 and all iniquity shall stop her mouth4 ,whoso is wise1 and will observe these things1 even they shall understand the loving- kindness of the ,lord4' ,and so1 in all the changes of this mortal life1 he sees no real chance1 no real change1 but the orderly education of a just and loving ,father1 whose mercy endureth for ever2 who chastens men as a father chastens his children1 for their profit1 that they may be partakers of his holiness1 in which alone is life and joy1 health and wealth4 ,surely1 here is a ,gospel1 and good news2--news so good1 that it turns what seems to the superstitious the worst of news1 into the very best4 ,for it seems at first sight the worst of news that which the ninth ,article tells us1 that our original sin1 in every person born into this world1 deserves ,god's wrath and damnation4 ,and so it would be the worst of news1 if ,god were merely a judge1 inflicting so much pain and misery for so much sin1 without any wish to mend us and save us4 ,but if we remember only the blessed message of this psalm2 if we will remember that ,god is our ,father2 that ,god is educating us2 that ,god hath neither parts nor passions2 and that1 therefore1 ,god's wrath is not different or contrary to his love1 but that ,god's wrath is his love in another shape1 punishing men just because he loves men2--then the ninth ,article will bring us the very best of news4 ,we shall see that it is the best thing that can possibly befall us1 that our sin deserves ,god's wrath and damnation1 and that it would have been the worst thing which could possibly have befallen us1 if our sin had not deserved ,god's wrath and damnation4 ,for if our sin had not deserved ,god's anger1 then he would not have been angry with it2 and then he would have left it alone1 instead of condemning it1 and dooming it to everlasting destruction as he has done2 and then1 if our sin had been left alone1 we should have been left alone to sin and sin on1 growing continually more wicked1 till our sin became our ruin4 ,but now ,god hates our sin1 and loves us2 and therefore he desires above all things to deliver us from sin1 and burn our sin up in his unquenchable fire1 that we ourselves may not be burned up therein4 ,for if our sins live1 we shall surely die3 but if our sins die1 then1 and then only1 shall we live4 ,do these words seem strange to some of you8 ,i doubt not that they will3 but if they do1 that will be only a fresh proof to me1 that the ,bible is inspired by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,yes1 nothing shews me how wide1 how deep1 how wise1 how heavenly the ,bible is1 as to see how far average ,christians are behind the ,bible in their way of thinking2 how the salvation which it offers is too free for them1 the love which it proclaims too wide for them1 the ,god whom it reveals too good for them3 so that they shrink from taking the ,bible and trusting the ,bible1 in its fulness2 and are perpetually falling back on heathen notions--the very old heathen notions from which this psalm delivers us--concerning what ,god's anger means1 and what ,god's punishment means2 because they are afraid of taking the words of ,scripture literally and fully1 and believing honestly the blessed news1 that ,god is ,love4 ,they try to make ,god's ways as their ways1 and ,god's thoughts as their thoughts4 ,but do not you do so4 ,receive the ,bible in its fulness4 ,believe that it tells you infinitely more of ,god's character and dealings1 than you can ever tell yourselves2 that ,god's ways are not as your ways1 nor ,god's thoughts as your thoughts1 even at their best3 but that ,god's ways are always wider and deeper than yours1 were you the most learned of men2 ,god's thoughts are always more loving and just than yours1 were you the most holy of men1 and that when you have learned all that you can learn1 or that any man can learn1 out of the ,bible1 there will be still left behind treasures beside1 which you have not yet found out4 ,for the riches of ,christ are unsearchable2 like the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of ,god1 whose only-begotten son1 and perfect likeness1 he is2 and the man who reads the ,scripture with a single eye1 and an humble heart1 will see that the more he finds in the ,bible1 the more he has yet to find2 and that if he studied it to all eternity1 he would have fresh and fresh cause for ever to cry with the ,psalmist1 ',oh give thanks to the ,lord2 for he is gracious1 and his mercy endureth for ever6' ,footnotes3 #cbh ,plutarch4