,,the ,,teaching ,,of ,,jesus ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,george ,,jackson1 ,b4,a4 ,whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of ,christ1 hath not ,god3 he that abideth in the teaching1 the same hath both the ,father and the ,son4--#b ,,john ,,ix 7,r4,v474 #aijc 99 99 99 99 99 ,,to ,,my ,,children ,,dora1 ,,kenneth1 ,,basil1 ,,arnold ,,my ,,wisest ,,teachers ,,in ,,the ,,things ,,of ,,god 99 99 99 99 99 ,,preface ,the following chapters are the outcome of an attempt to set before a large ,sunday evening congregation--composed for the most part of working men and women--the teaching of our ,lord on certain great selected themes4 ,the reader will know1 therefore1 what to look for in these pages4 ,if he be a trained ,biblical scholar he need go no further1 for he will find nothing here with which he is not already thoroughly familiar4 ,on the other hand1 the book will not be wholly without value even to some of my brother-ministers if it serve to convince them that a man may preach freely on the greatest themes of the gospel1 and yet be sure that the common people will hear him gladly1 if only he will state his message at once seriously and simply1 and with the glow that comes of personal conviction4 ,indeed1 one may well doubt if there is any other kind of preaching that they really care for4 ,my indebtedness to other workers in the same field is manifold4 ,as far as possible detailed acknowledgement is made in the footnotes4 ,wendt's ,teaching of ,jesus and ,beyschlag's ,new ,testament ,theology have been always at my elbow1 though not nearly in such continual use as ,stevens' ,theology of the ,new ,testament1 a work of which it is impossible to speak too highly4 ,brace's ,kingdom of ,god1 ,stalker's ,christology of ,jesus1 ,harnack's ,what is ,christianity8 ,horton's ,teaching of ,jesus1 ,watson's ,mind of the ,master1 ,selby's ,ministry of the ,lord ,jesus1 and ,robertson's ,our ,lord's ,teaching 7a truly marvellous sixpenny worth71 have all been laid under contribution1 not the less freely because ,i have been compelled to dissent from some of their conclusions4 ,like many another busy minister1 ,i am a daily debtor to ,dr4 ,hastings and his great ,dictionary of the ,bible4 ,and1 finally1 ,i gladly avail myself of this opportunity of expressing once more my unceasing obligations to the ,rev4 ,professor ,james ,denney1 of ,glasgow4 ,now that ,dr4 ,dale has gone from us1 there is no one to whom we may more confidently look for a reasonable evangelical theology which can be both verified and preached4 ,it only remains to add that in these pages critical questions are for the most part ignored1 not because the pressure of the problems which they create is unfelt1 but because as yet they have no place among the certainties which are the sole business of the preacher when he passes from his study to his pulpit4 ,,george ,,jackson4 ,,edinburgh1 #aijc4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,contents ,i ,,introductory ,luke xxiv4 #ai4 ,a prophet mighty in word before ,god and all the people4 ,john iii4 #b4 ,a teacher come from ,god4 ,,ii ,,concerning ,,god ,john xvii4 #aa4 ,holy ,father4 ,,iii ,,concerning ,,himself ,matthew xvi4 #ae4 ,who say ye that ,i am8 ,,iv ,,concerning ,,his ,,own ,,death ,mark x4 #de4 ,the ,son of ,man came 444 to give ,his life a ransom for many4 ,v ,,concerning ,,the ,,holy ,,spirit ,john xiv4 #af4 ,i will pray the ,father1 and ,he shall give you another ,comforter1 that ,he may be with you for ever1 even the ,spirit of truth4 ,john xvi4 #g4 ,it is expedient for you that ,i go away3 for if ,i go not away1 the ,comforter will not come unto you2 but if ,i go away1 ,i will send ,him unto you4 ,,vi ,,concerning ,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,god ,matthew vi4 #aj4 ,thy kingdom come4 ,thy will be done1 as in heaven1 so on earth4 ,,vii ,,concerning ,,man ,luke xv4 #aj4 ,there is joy in the presence of the angels of ,god over one sinner that repenteth4 ,,viii ,,concerning ,,sin ,luke xi4 #b1 #d4 ,when ye pray1 say1444 ,forgive us our sins4 ,,ix ,,concerning ,,righteousness ,matthew vi4 #cc4 ,seek ye first 444 ,his righteousness4 ,x ,,concerning ,,prayer ,matthew vii4 #i-aa4 ,what man is there of you1 who1 if his son shall ask him for a loaf1 will give him a stone2 or if he shall ask for a fish1 will give him a serpent8 ,if ye then1 being evil1 know how to give good gifts unto your children1 how much more shall your ,father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask ,him8 ,,xi ,,concerning ,,the ,,forgiveness ,,of ,,injuries ,matthew xviii4 #ba1 #bb4 ,then came ,peter1 and said to ,him1 ,lord1 how oft shall my brother sin against me1 and ,i forgive him8 until seven times8 ,jesus saith unto him1 ,i say not unto thee1 until seven times2 but1 until seventy times seven4 ,,xii ,,concerning ,,care ,matthew vi4 #be1 #ca1 #cd4 ,be not anxious for your life 444 nor yet for your body4 444 ,be not anxious1 saying1 ,what shall we eat8 or1 ,what shall we drink8 444 ,be not anxious for the morrow4 ,,xiii ,,concerning ,,money ,luke xviii4 #bd1 #be4 ,how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of ,god6 ,for it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle's eye1 than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of ,god4 ,,xiv ,,concerning ,,the ,,second ,,advent ,matthew xxiv4 #cj1 #cf4 ,they shall see the ,son of ,man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory4444 ,of that day and hour knoweth no one1 not even the angels of heaven1 neither the ,son1 but the ,father only4 ,,xv ,,concerning ,,the ,,judgment ,matthew xxv4 #ca-cc4 ,when the ,son of ,man shall come in ,his glory1 and all the angels with ,him1 then shall ,he sit on the throne of ,his glory3 and before ,him shall be gathered all the nations3 and ,he shall separate them one from another1 as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats3 and ,he shall set the sheep on ,his right hand1 but the goats on the left4 ,,xvi ,,concerning ,,the ,,future ,,life ,matthew vi4 #bj4 ,where neither moth nor rust doth consume1 and where thieves do not break through nor steal4 ,mark ix4 #dh4 ,where their worm dieth not1 and the fire is not quenched4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,introductory ,o ,lord and ,master of us all6 ,whate'er our name or sign1 ,we own ,thy sway1 we hear ,thy call1 ,we test our lives by ,thine4 ,we faintly hear1 we dimly see1 ,in differing phrase we pray2 ,but1 dim or clear1 we own in ,thee ,the ,light1 the ,truth1 the ,way4 ,,whittier4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i ,,introductory ,a prophet mighty in word before ,god and all the people4--,,luke xxiv4 #ai4 ,a teacher come from ,god4--,,john iii4 #b4 ,in speaking of the teaching of ,jesus it is scarcely possible at the present day to avoid at least a reference to two other closely-related topics1 viz4 the relation of ,christ's teaching to the rest of the ,new ,testament1 and the trustworthiness of the ,gospels in which that teaching is recorded4 ,adequate discussion of either of these questions here and now is not possible2 it must suffice to indicate very briefly the direction in which1 as it appears to the writer1 the truth may be found4 ,first1 then1 as to the relation of the teaching of ,jesus to the rest of the ,new ,testament1 and especially to the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul4 ,there can be no doubt1 largely1 ,i suppose1 through the influence of the ,reformers1 that the words of ,jesus have not always received the attention that has been given to the writings of ,paul4 ,nor is this apparent misplacing of the accent the wholly unreasonable thing which at first sight it may seem4 ,after all1 the most important thing in the ,new ,testament--that which saves--is not anything that ,jesus said1 but what ,he did2 not ,his teaching1 but ,his death4 ,this1 the ,gospels themselves being witness1 is the culmination and crown of ,revelation2 and it is this which1 in the ,epistles1 and pre-eminently the ,epistles of ,paul1 fills so large a place4 ,moreover1 it ought plainly to be said that the ,church has never been guilty of ignoring the words of her ,lord in the wholesale fashion suggested by some popular religious writers of our day4 ,really1 the ,gospels are not a discovery of yesterday1 nor even of the day before yesterday4 ,they have been in the hands of the ,church from the beginning1 and1 though she has not always valued them according to their true and priceless worth1 she has never failed to number them with the choicest jewels in the casket of ,holy ,scripture4 ,nevertheless1 it may be freely granted that the teaching of ,jesus has not always received its due at the ,church's hands4 ,theology1 one orthodox and ,evangelical divine justly complains1 has done no sort of justice to the ,ethics of ,jesus4#a ,but in our endeavour to rectify one error on the one side1 let us see to it that we do not stumble into another and worse on the other side4 ,the doctrines of ,paul are not so much theological baggage1 of which the ,church would do well straightway to disencumber itself4 ,after all that the young science of ,biblical ,theology has done to reveal the manifold variety of ,new ,testament doctrine1 the book still remains a unity2 and the attempt to play off one part of it against another--the ,gospels against the ,epistles1 or the ,epistles against the ,gospels--is to be sternly resented and resisted4 ,to ,st4 ,paul himself any such rivalry would have been impossible1 and1 indeed1 unthinkable4 ,there was no claim which he made with more passionate vehemence than that the message which he delivered was not his1 but ,christ's4 ,as touching the gospel which was preached by me1 he says1 neither did ,i receive it from man1 nor was ,i taught it1 but it came to me through revelation of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,spirit who spoke through him and his brother apostles was not an alien spirit1 but the ,spirit of ,christ1 given according to the promise of ,christ1 to make known the things of ,christ2 so that there is a very true sense in which their words may be called the final testimony of ,jesus to ,himself4 ,we have the mind of ,christ1 ,paul said1 and both in the ,epistles and the ,gospels we may seek and find the teaching of ,jesus4#b ,it is1 however1 with the teaching of ,jesus as it is recorded in the ,gospels that1 in these chapters1 we are mainly concerned4 ,we come1 therefore to our second question3 ,can we trust the ,four ,gospels8 ,and this question must be answered in even fewer words than were given to the last4 ,as to the external evidence1 let us hear the judgment of the great ,german scholar1 ,harnack4 ,harnack is a critic who is ready to give to the winds with both hands many things which are dear to us as life itself2 yet this is how he writes in one of his most recent works3 ,sixty years ago ,david ,friedrich ,strauss thought that he had almost entirely destroyed the historical credibility1 not only of the fourth1 but also of the first three ,gospels as well4 ,the historical criticism of two generations has succeeded in restoring that credibility in its main outlines4#c ,when1 from the external1 we turn to the internal evidence1 we are on incontestable ground4 ,the words of ,jesus need no credentials1 they carry their own credentials2 they authenticate themselves4 ,christian men and women reading1 e4g41 the fourteenth of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel say within themselves that if these are not the words of ,jesus1 a greater than ,jesus is here2 and they are right4 ,the oft-quoted challenge of ,john ,stuart ,mill is as unanswerable to-day as ever it was4 ,it is of no use to say1 he declares1 that ,christ1 as exhibited in the ,gospels1 is not historical1 and that we know not how much of what is admirable has been super-added by the traditions of ,his followers4444 ,who among ,his disciples1 or among their proselytes1 was capable of inventing the sayings ascribed to ,jesus1 or of imagining the life and character revealed in the ,gospels8#d ,i ,assuming1 therefore1 without further discussion1 the essential trustworthiness of the ,gospel records1 let us pass on to consider in this introductory chapter some general characteristics of ,christ's teaching as a whole4 ,mark at the outset ,christ's own estimate of ,his words3 ,the words that ,i have spoken unto you are spirit1 and are life2 ,if a man keep ,my word he shall never see death2 ,heaven and earth shall pass away1 but ,my words shall not pass away2 ,every one which heareth these words of ,mine and doeth them --with him ,christ said it should be well2 but every one that heareth these words of ,mine and doeth them not--upon him ruin should come to the uttermost4 ,sayings like these are very remarkable1 for this is not the way in which human teachers are wont to speak of their own words2 or1 if they do so speak1 this wise world of ours knows better than to take them at their own valuation4 ,but the astonishing fact in the case of ,jesus is that the world has admitted ,his claim4 ,men who refuse utterly to share our faith concerning ,him and the significance of ,his life and death1 readily give to ,him a place apart among the great teachers of mankind4 ,i have already quoted the judgment of ,john ,stuart ,mill4 ,jesus1 says ,matthew ,arnold1 as ,he appears in the ,gospels 444 is in the jargon of modern philosophy an absolute#e--we cannot get beyond ,him4 ,such1 likewise1 is the verdict of ,goethe3 ,let intellectual and spiritual culture progress1 and the human mind expand1 as much as it will2 beyond the grandeur and the moral elevation of ,christianity1 as it sparkles and shines in the ,gospels1 the human mind will not advance4#f ,it would be easy to multiply testimonies1 but it is needless1 since practically all whose judgment is of any account are of one mind4 ,but now if1 with these facts in our minds1 and knowing nothing else about the teaching of ,jesus1 we could suppose ourselves turning for the first time to the simple record of the ,gospels1 probably our first feeling would be one of surprise that ,jesus the ,teacher had won for ,himself such an ascendency over the minds and hearts of men4 ,for consider some of the facts which the ,gospels reveal to us4 ,to begin with1 this ,teacher1 unlike most other teachers who have influenced mankind1 contented ,himself from first to last with merely oral instruction3 ,he left no book2 ,he never wrote1 save in the dust of the ground4 ,not only so1 but the words of ,jesus that have been preserved by the evangelists are1 comparatively speaking1 extremely few4 ,put them all together1 they are less by one-half or two-thirds than the words which it will be necessary for me to use in order to set forth ,his teaching in this little book4 ,and further1 the little we have is1 for the most part1 so casual1 so unpremeditated1 so unsystematic in its character4 ,once and again1 it is true1 we get from the ,evangelists something approaching what may be called a set discourse2 but more often what they give us is reports of conversations--conversations with ,his disciples1 with chance acquaintances1 or with ,his enemies4 ,sometimes we find ,him speaking in the synagogues2 but ,he is quite as ready to teach reclining at the dinner-table2 and1 best of all1 ,he loved to speak in the open air1 by the wayside1 or the lake shore4 ,once1 as ,he stood by the lake of ,gennesaret1 the multitude was so great that it pressed upon ,him4 ,near at hand were two little fishing-boats drawn up upon the beach1 for the fishermen had gone out of them1 and were washing their nets4 ,and ,he entered into one of the boats1 which was ,simon's1 and asked him to put out a little from the land4 ,and ,he sat down and taught the multitudes out of the boat4 ,it is all so different from what we should have expected2 there is about it such an air of artless1 homely simplicity4 ,finally1 we cannot forget that ,jesus was a ,jew speaking to ,jews4 ,son of ,god though ,he was1 ,he was the son of a ,jewish mother1 trained in a ,jewish home1 in all things the child of ,his own time and race4 ,whatever else ,his message may have been1 it was1 first of all1 a message to the men of ,his own day2 therefore1 of necessity1 it was their language ,he used1 it was to their needs ,he ministered1 it was their sins ,he condemned4 ,the mould1 the tone1 the colouring of ,his teaching were all largely determined by the life of ,his country and ,his time4 ,yet this is ,he concerning whom all ages cry aloud1 ,never man spake like this man4 ,this is ,he before whom the greatest and the wisest bow down1 saying1 ,lord and ,master4 ,how are we to explain it8 ,much of the explanation lies outside of the scope of our present subject2 but if we will turn back to the ,gospels again we may find at least a partial answer to our question4 ,,ii 7,i7 ,i said just now that ,christ's teaching was addressed in the first place to the ,jews of ,his own day4 ,yet the note of universality is as unmistakable as are the local tone and colouring4 ,christ may speak as the moment suggests1 but ,his words are never for the moment only1 but for all time4 ,he refused almost sternly to go unto any save unto the lost sheep of the house of ,israel2 yet the ,gospels make it abundantly plain that in ,his own thoughts ,his mission was never limited to the tiny stage within which1 during ,his earthly years1 ,he confined ,himself4 ,i am the light of the world1 ,he said2 and in ,his last great commission to ,his disciples ,he bade them carry that light unto the uttermost parts of the earth4 ,in the great ,high-,priestly prayer ,he intercedes not only for ,his disciples1 but for those who through their word should believe on ,him4 ,i will build ,my church1 ,he declared1 and the gates of ,hades shall not prevail against it4 7#b7 ,so1 again1 too1 in regard to the form of ,christ's sayings2 to speak of their artlessness and homely simplicity is to tell only a small part of the truth concerning them4 ,they are1 indeed and especially those spoken in ,galilee1 and reported for the most part in the ,synoptists1 the perfection of popular speech4 ,how the short1 pithy1 sententious sayings cling to the memory like burs6 ,let almost any of them be commenced1 and as ,dr4 ,stalker says1 the ordinary hearer can without difficulty finish the sentence4 ,christ was not afraid of a paradox4 ,when1 e4g41 ,he said1 ,whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek1 turn to him the other also1 ,he was ready to risk the possibility of being misunderstood by some prosaic hearer1 that ,he might the more effectually arouse men to a neglected duty4 ,his language was concrete1 not abstract2 ,he taught by example and illustration2 ,he thought1 and taught others to think1 in pictures4 ,how often is the phrase1 ,the kingdom of heaven is like unto---- on ,his lips6 ,moreover1 ,his illustrations were always such as common folk could best appreciate4 ,the birds of the air1 the lilies of the field1 the lamp on the lamp-stand1 the hen with her chickens under her wings1 the servant following the plough1 the shepherd tending his sheep1 the fisherman drawing his net1 the sower casting his seed into the furrow1 the housewife baking her bread or sweeping her house1--it was through panes of common window-glass like these that ,christ let in the light upon the heaped-up treasures of the kingdom of ,god4 ,no wonder the common people heard ,him gladly2 no wonder they all hung upon ,him listening2 or that they came early in the morning to ,him in the temple to hear ,him6 ,yet1 even in the eyes of the multitude the plain homespun of ,christ's speech was shot with gleams of more than earthly lustre4 ,there mingled--to use another figure--with the sweet music of those simple sayings a new deep note their ears had never heard before3 the multitudes were astonished at ,his teaching2 for ,he taught them as one having authority1 and not as their scribes4 ,it was not the authority of powerful reasoning over the intellect1 reasoning which we cannot choose but obey2 it was the authority of perfect spiritual intuition4 ,christ never speaks as one giving the results of long and painful gropings after truth1 but rather as one who is at home in the world to which ,god and the things of the spirit belong4 ,he asserts that which ,he knows1 ,he declares that which ,he has seen4 7#c7 ,another quality of ,christ's words which helps us to understand their world-wide influence is their winnowedness1 their freedom from the chaff which1 in the words of others1 mingles with the wholesome grain4 ,the attempt is sometimes made to destroy1 or1 at least1 to weaken1 our claim for ,christ as the supreme teacher by placing a few selected sayings of ,his side by side with the words of some other ancient thinker or teacher4 ,and if they who make such comparisons would put into their parallel columns all the words of ,jesus and all the words of those with whom the comparison is made1 we should have neither right to complain nor reason to fear4 ,wellhausen puts the truth very neatly when he says1 ,the ,jewish scholars say1 ',all that ,jesus said is also to be found in the ,talmud4' ,yes1 all1 and a great deal besides4#g ,the late ,professor ,g4,j4 ,romanes has pointed out the contrast in two respects between ,christ and ,plato4 ,he speaks of ,plato as the greatest representative of human reason in the direction of spirituality2 yet he says ,plato is nowhere in this respect as compared with ,christ4 ,while in ,plato there are errors of all kinds1 reaching even to absurdity in respect of reason1 and to sayings shocking to the moral sense1 there is1 he declares1 in literal truth no reason why any of ,christ's words should ever pass away in the sense of becoming obsolete4 ,and it is this absence from the biography of ,christ of any doctrines which the subsequent growth of human knowledge--whether in natural science1 ethics1 political economy1 or elsewhere--has had to discount which seems to him one of the strongest arguments in favour of ,christianity4#h 7#d7 ,one other quality of ,christ's words1 which specially caught the attention of ,his hearers in the synagogue at ,nazareth1 should not be overlooked3 ,all bare ,him witness1 and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of ,his mouth4 ,the reference is1 as ,dr4 ,bruce says1#i rather to the substance of the discourse than to the manner4 ,that there was a peculiar charm in the ,teacher's manner is undoubted1 but it was what ,he said1 rather than the way in which ,he said it--the message of grace1 rather than the graciousness of the ,messenger--which caused the eyes of all in the synagogue to be fastened on ,him4 ,he had just read the great passage from the ,book of the prophet ,isaiah3 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord is upon ,me1 ,because ,he anointed ,me to preach good tidings to the poor4 ,he hath sent ,me to proclaim release to the captives1 ,and recovery of sight to the blind1 ,to set at liberty them that are bruised1 ,to proclaim the acceptable year of the ,lord4 ,then1 when the reading was finished1 and ,he had given back the roll to the attendant1 and was sat down1 ,he began to say unto them1 ,to-day hath this ,scripture been fulfilled in your ears4 ,this was ,his own programme2 this was what ,he had come into the world to do--to bear the burden of the weary and the heavy-laden1 to give rest unto all who would learn of ,him4 ,this1 then1 is the ,teacher whose words we are to study together in these pages4 ,he ,himself is saying to us again1 ,he that hath ears to hear let him hear4 ,see that ye refuse not ,him that speaketh4 ,and again ,he says1 ,take heed how ye hear4 ,gracious as ,he is1 this ,teacher can be also very stern4 ,if any man1 ,he says1 hear ,my sayings and keep them not1 ,i judge him not4 444 ,he that receiveth not ,my sayings hath one that judgeth him2 the word that ,i speak1 the same shall judge him in the last day4 ,we read of some to whom good tidings were preached1 whom the word did not profit4 ,let us pray that to writer and readers alike it may prove the word of eternal life4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,god ,our ,father1 who art in ,heaven4 ,what meaneth these words8 ,god lovingly inviteth us1 in this little preface1 truly to believe in ,him1 that ,he is our true ,father1 and that we are truly ,his children2 so that full of confidence we may more boldly call upon ,his name1 even as we see children with a kind of confidence ask anything of their parents4--,,luther',s ,,catechism4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ii ,,concerning ,,god ,holy ,father4--,,john xvii4 #aa4 ,it is natural and fitting in an attempt to understand the teaching of ,jesus that we should begin with ,his doctrine of ,god4 ,for a man's idea of ,god is fundamental1 regulative of all his religious thinking4 ,as is his ,god1 so will his religion be4 ,given the arc we can complete the circle2 given a man's conception of ,god1 from that we can construct the main outlines of his creed4 ,what1 then1 was the teaching of ,jesus concerning ,god8 ,i ,in harmony with what has been already said in the previous chapter1 concerning ,christ's manner and method as a teacher1 we shall find little or nothing defined1 formal1 systematic in ,christ's teaching on this subject4 ,in those theological handbooks which piloted some of us through the troublous waters of our early theological thinking1 one chapter is always occupied with proofs1 more or less elaborate1 of the existence of ,god1 and another with a discussion of what are termed the ,divine attributes4 ,and for the purposes of a theological handbook doubtless this is the right course to take4 ,but this was not ,christ's way4 ,search the four ,gospels through1 and probably not one verse can be found which by itself would serve as a suitable definition for any religious catechism or theological textbook4 ,christ1 we must remember1 did not1 in ,his teaching1 begin de novo4 ,he never forgot that ,he was speaking to a people whose were the law and the prophets and the fathers2 throughout ,he assumed and built upon the accepted truths of ,old ,testament revelation4 ,to have addressed elaborate arguments in proof of the existence of ,god to the ,jews would have been a mere waste of words2 for that faith was the very foundation of their national life4 ,nor did ,christ speak about the attributes of ,god4 ,again that was not ,his way4 ,he chose to speak in the concrete rather than in the abstract1 and1 therefore1 instead of defining ,god1 ,he shows us how ,he acts4 ,in parable1 in story1 and in ,his own life ,he sets ,god before us1 that so we may learn what ,he is1 and how ,he feels toward us4 ,christ1 ,i say1 built upon the foundation of the ,old ,testament4 ,to understand1 therefore1 the true significance of ,his teaching about ,god1 we must first of all put ourselves at the point of view of a devout ,jew of ,his day1 and see how far he had been brought by that earlier revelation which ,christ took up and carried to completion4 ,what1 then1 did the ,jews know of ,god before ,christ came8 ,they knew that ,god is ,one1 ,only1 ,sovereign3 ,hear1 ,o ,israel1 the ,lord our ,god is one ,god4 ,it had been a hard lesson for ,israel to learn4 ,centuries had passed before the nation had been purged of its idolatries4 ,but the cleansing fires had done their work at last1 and perhaps the world has never seen sterner monotheists than were the ,pharisees of the time of ,christ4#aj ,and ,he whom thus they worshipped as ,sovereign they knew also to be holy3 ,the ,holy ,one of ,israel1 exalted in righteousness4 ,true1 ,pharisaism had degraded the lofty conceptions of the great ,hebrew prophets2 it had taught men to think of ,god as caring more for the tithing of mint1 and anise1 and cumin than for the weightier matters of the law1 judgment1 mercy1 and faith1 making morality merely an affair of ceremonies1 instead of the concern of the heart and the life4 ,but1 however ,jewish teachers might blind themselves and deceive their disciples1 the ,jewish ,scriptures still remained to testify of ,god and righteousness1 and of the claims which a righteous ,god makes upon ,his people3 ,wash you1 make you clean2 put away the evil of your doings from before ,mine eyes2 cease to do evil2 learn to do well4 ,nor1 accustomed though we are to think of the ,god of the ,old ,testament as stern rather than kind1 were the tenderer elements wanting from the ,jewish conception of ,deity4 ,illustration is not now possible1 but a very little thought will remind us that it is to the ,hebrew psalmists and prophets that we owe some of the most gracious and tender imagery of the ,divine love with which the language of devotion has ever been enriched4 ,nevertheless1 with every desire to do justice to a faith which has not always received its due1 even at ,christian hands1 it is impossible for us1 looking back from our loftier vantage-ground1 to ignore its serious defects and limitations4 ,it was an exclusive faith4 ,it magnified the privileges of the ,jews1 but it shut out the ,gentiles4 ,god might be a ,father to ,israel1 but to no other nation under heaven did ,he stand in any such relation4 ,it was the refusal of ,christ to recognize the barriers which the pride of race had set up which more than anything else brought ,him into conflict with the authorities at ,jerusalem4 ,and when once from the mind and heart of the ,early ,church the irrevocable word had gone forth1 ,god is no respecter of persons2 but in every nation he that feareth ,him1 and worketh righteousness1 is acceptable to ,him1 the final breach was made2 no longer could the new faith live with the old4 ,and even within the privileged circle of ,judaism itself men's best thoughts of ,god and of ,his relation to them were maimed and imperfect4 ,he was the ,god of the nation1 not of the individual4 ,here and there elect souls like the psalmists climbed the heights whereon man holds fellowship with ,god1 and spake with ,him face to face1 as a man with his friend4 ,but with the people as a whole1 even as with their greatest prophets1 not the individual1 but the nation1 was the religious unit4 ,such was the ,old ,testament idea of ,god4 ,now let us return to the teaching of ,jesus4 ,and at once we discover that ,christ let go nothing of that earlier doctrine which was of real and abiding worth4 ,the ,god of ,jesus ,christ is as holy1 as sovereign--or1 to use the modern term--as transcendent as the ,god of the psalmists and the prophets4 ,their favourite name for ,god was ,king1 and ,christ spake much of the kingdom of ,god4 ,to them ,god's people were ,his servants1 owing to ,him allegiance and service to the uttermost2 we also1 ,christ says1 are the servants of ,god1 to every one of whom ,he has appointed his task1 and with whom one day ,he will make a reckoning4 ,but if nothing is lost1 how much is gained6 ,it is not merely that in ,christ's teaching we have the ,old ,testament of ,god over again with a plus1 the new which is added has so transformed and transfigured the old that all is become new4 ,to ,jesus ,christ1 and to us through ,him1 ,god is the ,father4 ,it is1 of course1 well known that ,christ was not the first to apply this name to ,god4 ,there is no religion1 says ,max ,mller1#aa which is sufficiently recorded to be understood that does not1 in some sense or other1 apply the term ,father to its ,deity4 ,yet this need not concern us1 for though the name be the same the meaning is wholly different4 ,there is no true comparison even between the occasional use of the word in the ,old ,testament and its use by ,christ4 ,for1 though in the ,old ,testament ,god is spoken of as the ,father of ,israel1 it is as the ,father of the nation1 not of the individual1 and of that nation only4 ,even in a great saying like that of the ,psalmist3 ,like as a father pitieth his children1 ,so the ,lord pitieth them that fear ,him1 it is still only ,israel that the writer has in view1 though we rightly give to the words a wider application4 ,but there is no need of argument4 ,every reader of the ,old ,testament knows that its central1 ruling idea of ,god is not ,fatherhood1 but ,kingship3 ,the ,lord reigneth4 ,even in the ,psalms1 in which the religious aspiration and worship of the ages before ,christ find their finest and noblest expression1 never once is ,god addressed as ,father4 ,but when we turn to the ,gospels1 how great is the contrast6 ,though not even a single psalmist dare look up and say1 ,father1 in ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel alone the name is used of ,god more than forty times4 ,fatherhood now is no longer one attribute among many2 it is the central1 determining idea in whose revealing light all other names of ,god--,creator1 ,sovereign1 ,judge--must be read and interpreted4 ,and the ,god of ,jesus ,christ is the ,father1 not of one race only1 but of mankind2 not of mankind only1 but of men4 ,,ii ,it was indeed a great and wonderful gospel which ,christ proclaimed--so great and wonderful that all our poor words tremble and sink down under the weight of the truth they vainly seek to express4 ,by what means has ,christ put us into possession of such a truth8 ,how have we come to the full assurance of faith concerning the ,divine ,fatherhood8 ,in two ways3 by ,his teaching and by ,his life2 by what ,he said and by what ,he did4 ,and once more a paragraph must perforce do1 as best it can1 the work of an essay4 ,to the ear and heart of ,christ all nature spoke of the love and care of ,god4 ,behold the birds of the heaven1 ,he said2 they sow not1 neither do they reap1 nor gather into barns2 and your heavenly ,father feedeth them4 ,are not ye of much more value than they8 ,and again ,he said1 ,consider the lilies of the field--not the pale1 delicate blossom we know so well1 but the scarlet martagon which decks herself in red and gold to meet the step of summer--,consider the lilies of the field1 how they grow2 they toil not1 neither do they spin2 yet ,i say unto you that even ,solomon1 in all his glory1 was not arrayed like one of these4 ,but if ,god doth so clothe the grass of the field1 which to-day is1 and to-morrow is cast into the oven1 shall ,he not much more clothe you1 ,o ye of little faith8 ,or1 ,he bade men look into their own hearts and learn4 ,god's possible is taught by ,his world's loving2 from what is best within ourselves we may learn what ,god ,himself is like4 ,once ,christ spoke to shepherds3 ,what man of you1 having a hundred sheep1 and having lost one of them--how the faces in the little crowd would light up1 and their ears drink in the gracious argument6 ,you care for your sheep1 but how much better is a man than a sheep8 ,if you would do so much for them1 will ,god do less for you8 ,and once the word went deeper still1 as ,he spoke to fathers3 ,what man is there of you1 who1 if his son shall ask him for a loaf1 will give him a stone2 or if he shall ask for a fish will give him a serpent8 ,if ye then1 being evil1 know how to give good gifts unto your children1 how much more shall your ,father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask ,him8 ,why1 ,christ asks1 why do you not let your own hearts teach you8 ,if love will not let you mock your child1 think you1 will ,god be less good than you yourselves are8 ,but more even than by ,his words did ,christ by ,his life reveal to us the ,father4 ,he that hath seen ,me1 ,he said to ,philip1 hath seen the ,father4 ,in what ,he was and did1 in ,his life and in ,his death1 we read what ,god is4 ,we follow ,him from ,bethlehem to ,nazareth1 from ,nazareth to ,gennesaret1 from ,gennesaret to ,jerusalem1 to the ,upper ,room1 to ,gethsemane1 and to ,calvary1 and at every step of the way ,he says to us1 ,he that hath seen ,me hath seen the ,father4 ,we are with ,him at the marriage feast at ,cana of ,galilee1 and in the midst of the mourners by the city gate at ,nain2 we see ,him as ,he takes the little children into ,his arms and lays ,his hands upon them and blesses them2 we hear ,his word to her that was a sinner in the house of ,simon the ,pharisee2 we stand with ,john and with ,mary under the shadow of the ,cross2 and still1 always and everywhere1 ,he is saying to us1 ,he that hath seen ,me hath seen the ,father2 if ye had known ,me ye should have known my ,father also4 ,within the sweep of this great word the whole life of ,jesus lies2 there is nothing that ,he said or did that does not more fully declare ,him whom no man hath seen at any time4 ,to read that sweet story of old is to put our hand on the heart of ,god2 it is to know the ,father4 ,,iii ,yes1 says some one1 it is a beautiful creed--if only one could believe it4 ,christ took the birds and the flowers for ,his text1 and preached of the love of ,god for man1 but is that the only sermon the birds and flowers preach to us8 ,does not nature1 red in tooth and claw with ravine1 shriek against our creed8 ,and when we turn to human life the tragedy deepens4 ,why1 if ,love be law1 is the world so full of pain8 ,why do the innocent suffer8 ,why are our hearts made to sicken every day when we take up our morning paper8 ,why does not ,god end the haunting horror of our social ills8 ,they are old-world questions which no man can answer4 ,yet will ,i not give up my faith1 and ,i will tell you why4 ,i cannot see1 ,huxley once wrote to ,charles ,kingsley1 one shadow or tittle of evidence that the great unknown underlying the phenomena of the universe1 stands to us in the relation of a ,father--loves us1 and cares for us as ,christianity asserts4 ,and1 perhaps1 if ,i looked for evidence only where ,huxley looked1 ,i should say the same2 but ,i have seen ,jesus1 and that has made all the difference4 ,it is ,he1 and ,he alone1 who has made me sure of ,god4 ,he felt1 as ,i have never felt1 the horrid jangle and discord of this world's life2 sin and suffering tore ,his soul as no soul of man was ever torn2 ,he both saw suffering innocence and ,himself suffered being innocent1 and yet to the end ,he knew that love was through all and over all1 and died with the name ,father upon ,his lips4 ,and1 therefore1 though the griefs and graves of men must often make me dumb1 ,i will still dare to believe with ,jesus that ,god is good and ,love creation's final law4 ,but while thus1 on the one hand1 we use ,christ's doctrine of ,god to our comfort1 let us take care lest1 on the other hand1 we abuse it to our hurt and undoing4 ,there has scarcely ever been a time when the ,church has not suffered through disproportioned thoughts of ,god4 ,to-day our peril is lest1 in emphasizing the ,divine ,fatherhood1 we ignore the ,divine ,sovereignty1 and make of ,god a weak1 indulgent ,eli1 without either purpose or power to chastise ,his wilful and disobedient children4 ,god is good2 ,god is love2 why then should we fear8 ,will ,he not deal tenderly with us and with all men1 forgiving us even unto seventy times seven8 ,the argument is true--and it is false4 ,as an assurance to the penitent and to the broken in heart1 it is true1 blessedly true2 in any other sense it is false as hell4 ,he whom ,christ called1 and taught us to call ,father1 ,he also called ,holy ,father and ,righteous ,father4 ,have we forgotten ,peter's warning--we do not need to ask at whose lips he learned it--,if ye call on ,him as ,father 444 pass the time of your sojourning in fear4 ,this is no contradiction of the doctrine of ,fatherhood2 strictly speaking1 it is not even a modification of it2 rather is it an essential part of any true and complete statement of it4 ,peter does not mean ,god is a ,father1 and ,he is also to be feared2 that is to miss the whole point of his words2 what he means is1 ,god is a ,father1 and1 therefore1 ,he is to be feared2 the fear follows necessarily on the true idea of ,fatherhood4 ,ah1 brethren1 if we understood ,peter and ,peter's ,lord aright1 we should be not the less1 but the more anxious about our sins1 because we have learnt to call ,god ,father4 ,evil1 it has been well said1 is a more terrible thing to the family than to the state4#ab ,acts which the law takes no cognizance of a father dare not1 and cannot1 pass by2 what the magistrate may dismiss with light censure he must search out to its depths4 ,the judgment of a father--there is no judgment like that4 ,and if it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living ,god1 for him who all his life through has set himself against the ,divine law and love1 it is a still more fearful thing because those hands are the hands of a ,father4 ,but this is not the note on which to close a sermon on the ,fatherhood of ,god4 ,let us go back to a chapter from which1 though ,i have only once quoted its words1 we have never been far away--the fifteenth of ,st4 ,luke1 with its three-fold revelation of the seeking love of ,god4 ,the parables of the chapter are companion pictures1 and should be studied together in the light of the circumstances which were their common origin4 ,the ,pharisees and the scribes murmured1 saying1 ,this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them4 ,these parables are ,christ's answer4 ,mark how ,he justifies ,himself4 ,he might have pleaded the need of those whom the ,pharisees and scribes had left alone in their wretchedness and sin1 but of this ,he says nothing2 ,his thoughts are all of the need of ,god4 ,the central thought in each parable is not what man loses by his sin1 but what ,god loses4 ,as the shepherd misses his lost sheep1 and the woman her lost coin1 and the father his lost son1 so1 ,christ says1 we are all missed by ,god until1 with our heart's love1 we satisfy the hunger of ,his4 ,the genius of a prose poet shall tell us the rest4 ,we have all read of ,lachlan ,campbell and his daughter ,flora1 how she went into the far country1 and what brought her home again4 ,it iss weary to be in ,london--this was ,flora's story as she told it to ,marget ,howe when she was back again in the glen--it iss weary to be in ,london and no one to speak a kind word to you1 and ,i will be looking at the crowd that is always passing1 and ,i will not see one kent face1 and when ,i looked in at the lighted windows the people were all sitting round the table1 but there was no place for me4 ,millions and millions of people1 and not one to say ',flora1' and not one sore heart if ,i died that night4 ,then one night she crept into a church as the people were singing4 ,the sermon wass on the ,prodigal ,son1 but there is only one word ,i remember4 ',you are not forgotten or cast off1' the preacher said3 'you are missed4' ,sometimes he will say1 ',if you had a plant1 and you had taken great care of it1 and it was stolen1 would you not miss it8' ,and ,i will be thinking of my geraniums1 and saying ',yes' in my heart4 ,and then he will go on1 ',if a shepherd wass counting his sheep1 and there wass one short1 does he not go out to the hill to seek for it8' and ,i will see my father coming back with that lamb that lost its mother4 ,my heart wass melting within me1 but he will still be pleading1 ',if a father had a child1 and she left her home and lost herself in the wicked city1 she will still be remembered in the old house1 and her chair will be there1' and ,i will be seeing my father all alone with the ,bible before him1 and the dogs will lay their heads on his knee1 but there iss no ,flora4 ,so ,i slipped out into the darkness and cried1 ',father1' but ,i could not go back1 and ,i knew not what to do4 ,but this wass ever in my ear1 'missed1'--and this was the word that brought her back to home and ,god4#ac 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,himself ,christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud1 or ,he was ,himself deluded and self-deceived1 or ,he was ,divine4 ,there is no getting out of this trilemma4 ,it is inexorable4 ,,john ,,duncan1 ,colloquia ,peripatetica4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iii ,,concerning ,,himself ,who say ye that ,i am8--,,matt4 xvi4 #ae4 ,i ,this was our ,lord's question to ,his first disciples2 and this1 by the mouth of ,simon ,peter1 was their answer3 ,thou art the ,christ1 the ,son of the living ,god4 ,and in all ages this has been the answer of the ,holy ,catholic ,church throughout all the world4 ,in the days of ,new ,testament ,christianity no other answer was known or heard4 ,the ,church of the apostles had its controversies1 as we know1 controversies in which the very life of the ,church was at stake4 ,division crept in even among the apostles themselves4 ,but concerning ,christ they spoke with one voice1 they proclaimed one faith4 ,the early centuries of the ,christian era were centuries of keen discussion concerning the ,person of our ,lord2 but the discussions sprang for the most part from the difficulty of rightly defining the true relations of the ,divine and the human in the one ,person1 rather than from the denial of ,his ,divinity2 and1 as ,mr4 ,gladstone once pointed out1 since the fourth century the ,christian conception of ,christ has remained practically unchanged4 ,amid the fierce and almost ceaseless controversies which have divided and sometimes desolated ,christendom1 and which1 alas6 still continue to divide it1 the ,church's testimony concerning ,christ has never wavered4 ,the ,greek ,church1 the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 the various ,protestant ,churches1 ,lutherans1 ,anglicans1 ,presbyterians1 ,congregationalists1 ,methodists1 ,christian men and women out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation1--all unite to confess the glory of ,christ in the words of the ancient ,creed3 ,i believe in one ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the only-begotten ,son of ,god1 begotten of ,his ,father before all worlds1 ,god of ,god1 ,light of ,light1 ,very ,god of very ,god4 ,this1 beyond all doubt1 has been and is the ,christian way of thinking about ,christ4 ,but now the question arises1 ,was this ,christ's way of thinking about ,himself8 ,did ,he ,himself claim to be one with ,god8 or1 is it only we1 ,his adoring disciples1 who have crowned ,him with glory and honour1 and given ,him a name that is above every name8 ,to those of us who have been familiar with the ,new ,testament ever since we could read1 the question may appear so simple as to be almost superfluous4 ,half-a-dozen texts leap to our lips in a moment by way of answer4 ,did ,he not claim to be the ,messiah in whom ,old ,testament history and prophecy found their fulfilment and consummation8 ,did ,he not call ,himself the ,son of ,god1 saying1 ,the ,father hath given all judgment unto the ,son2 that all may honour the ,son1 even as they honour the ,father8 ,did ,he not declare1 ,i and ,my ,father are one8 and again1 ,all things have been delivered unto ,me of ,my ,father3 and no one knoweth the ,son1 save the ,father2 neither doth any know the ,father1 save the ,son1 and he to whomsoever the ,son willeth to reveal ,him8 ,and when one of the ,twelve bowed down before ,him1 saying1 ,my ,lord and my ,god1 did ,he not accept the homage as though it were ,his by right8 ,what further need1 then1 have we of witnesses8 ,is it not manifest that the explanation of all that has been claimed for ,christ1 from the days of the apostles until now1 is to be found in what ,christ claimed for ,himself8 ,this is true2 nevertheless it may be well to remind ourselves that ,christ ,himself did not thrust the evidence on ,his disciples in quite this wholesale1 summary fashion4 ,it is an easy thing for us to scour the ,new ,testament for proof-texts1 and then1 when they are heaped together at our feet like a load of bricks1 to begin to build our theological systems4 ,but ,peter and ,thomas and the other disciples could not do this4 ,the revelation which we possess in its completeness was given to them little by little as they were able to receive it4 ,and the moment we begin to study the life of ,jesus1 not in isolated texts1 but as day by day it passed before the eyes of the ,twelve1 we cannot fail to observe the remarkable reserve which1 during the greater part of ,his ministry1 ,he exercised concerning ,himself4 ,when first ,his disciples heard ,his call and followed ,him1 ,he was to them but a humble peasant teacher1 who had flung about their lives a wondrous spell which they could no more explain than they could resist4 ,indeed1 there is good reason to believe1 as ,dr4 ,dale has pointed out1#ad that the full discovery of ,christ's ,divinity only came to the apostles after ,his ,resurrection from the dead4 ,at first1 and for long1 ,christ was content to leave them with their poor1 imperfect thoughts4 ,he never sought to carry their reason by storm2 rather ,he set ,himself to win them--mind1 heart1 and will--by slow siege4 ,he lived before them and with them1 saying little directly about ,himself1 and yet always revealing ,himself1 day by day training them1 often perhaps unconsciously to themselves1 to trust ,him with the sort of trust which can be legitimately given to ,god only4#ae ,and when at last the truth was clear1 and they knew that it was the incarnate ,son of ,god who had companied with them1 their faith was the result not of this or that high claim which ,he had made for ,himself1 but rather of the sum-total of all ,his words and works1 the united and accumulated impression of all ,he was and did upon their sincere and receptive souls4#af ,are there not many of us to-day who would do well to seek the same goal by the same path8 ,we have listened1 perhaps1 to other men's arguments concerning the ,divinity of our ,lord1 conscious the while how little they were doing for us4 ,let us listen to ,christ ,himself4 ,let us put ourselves to school with ,him1 as these first disciples did1 and suffer ,him to make ,his own impression upon us4 ,and if ours be sincere and receptive souls as were theirs1 from us also ,he shall win the adoring cry1 ,my ,lord and my ,god4 ,let us note1 then1 some of the many ways in which ,christ bears witness concerning ,himself4 ,in a very true sense all ,his sayings are self-portraitures4 ,be the subject of ,his teaching what it may1 ,he cannot speak of it without1 in some measure at least1 revealing ,his thoughts concerning ,himself2 and it is this indirect testimony whose significance ,i wish now carefully to consider4 ,,ii ,observe1 in the first place1 how ,christ speaks of ,god and of ,his own relation to ,him4 ,he called ,himself1 as we have already noted1 the ,son of ,god4 ,now1 there is a sense in which all men are the sons of ,god1 for it is to ,god that all men owe their life4 ,and there is1 further1 as the ,new ,testament has taught us1 another and deeper sense in which men who are not may become the sons of ,god1 through faith in ,christ4 ,but ,christ's consciousness of ,sonship is distinct from both of these1 and cannot be explained in terms of either4 ,he is not a son of ,god--one among many---,he is the son of ,god1 standing to ,god in a relationship which is ,his alone4 ,hence we find--and we shall do well to mark the marvellous accuracy and self-consistency of the ,gospels in this matter--that while ,jesus sometimes speaks of the ,father1 and sometimes of ,my ,father1 and sometimes1 again1 in addressing ,his disciples1 of your ,father1 never does ,he link ,himself with them so as to call ,god our ,father4 ,nowhere does the distinction1 always present to the mind of ,christ1 find more striking expression than in that touching scene in the garden in which the ,risen ,lord bids ,mary go unto ,his brethren and say unto them1 ,i ascend unto ,my ,father and your ,father1 and ,my ,god and your ,god4 ,this sense of separateness is emphasized when we turn to the prayers of ,christ4 ,and in this connection it is worthy of note that though ,christ has much to say concerning the duty and blessedness of prayer1 and ,himself spent much time in prayer1 yet never1 so far as we know1 did ,he ask for the prayers of others4 ,simon1 ,simon1 behold1 ,satan asked to have you1 that he might sift you as wheat3 but ,i made supplication for thee1 that thy faith fail not4 ,so did ,jesus pray for ,his disciples2 but we never read that they prayed for ,him1 or that ,he asked for ,himself a place in their prayers4 ,how significant the silence is we learn when we turn to the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul and to the experience of the saints4 ,brethren1 pray for us--this is the token in almost every ,epistle4 ,in the long1 lone fight of life even the apostle's heart would have failed him had not the prayers of unknown friends upheld him as with unseen hands4 ,there is no stronger instinct of the ,christian heart than the plea for remembrance at the throne of ,god4 ,pray for me1 will you8 we cry1 when man's best aid seems as a rope too short to help1 yet long enough to mock imprisoned miners in their living tomb4 ,but the cry which is so often ours was never ,christ's4 ,it has further been remarked that1 intimate as was ,christ's intercourse with ,his disciples1 ,he never joined in prayer with them4#ag ,he prayed in their presence1 ,he prayed for them1 but never with them4 ,it came to pass1 as ,he was praying in a certain place1 that when ,he ceased1 one of ,his disciples said unto ,him1 ,lord1 teach us to pray1 even as ,john also taught his disciples4 ,and ,he said unto them1 ,when ye pray1 say----4 ,then follows what we call ,the ,lord's ,prayer4 ,but1 properly speaking1 this was not the ,lord's prayer2 it was the disciples' prayer3 ,when ye pray1 say------4 ,and when we read the prayer again1 we see why it could not be ,his4 ,how could ,he who knew no sin pray1 saying1 ,forgive us our sins8 ,the true ,lord's ,prayer is to be found in the seventeenth chapter of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel4 ,and throughout that prayer the holy ,suppliant has nothing to confess1 nothing to regret4 ,he knows that the end is nigh1 but there are no shadows in ,his retrospect2 of all that is done there is nothing ,he could wish undone or done otherwise4 ,i glorified ,thee on the earth1 having accomplished the work which ,thou hast given ,me to do4 ,it is so when ,he comes to die4 ,among the ,seven ,words from the ,cross we are struck by one significant omission3 the dying ,sufferer utters a cry of physical weakness--,i thirst--but ,he makes no acknowledgement of sin2 ,he prays for the forgiveness of others--,father1 forgive them3 for they know not what they do--,he asks none for ,himself4 ,the great ,augustine died with the penitential ,psalms hung round his bed4 ,fifty or sixty times1 it is said1 did sweet ,st4 ,catharine of ,siena cry upon her deathbed1 ,peccavi1 ,domine miserere mei1 ,lord1 ,i have sinned3 have mercy on me4 ,but in all the prayers of ,jesus1 whether in life or in death1 ,he has no pardon to ask1 no sins to confess4 ,we are thus brought to the fact upon which of recent years so much emphasis has been justly laid1 namely1 that nowhere throughout the ,gospels does ,christ betray any consciousness of sin4 ,which of you1 ,he said1 convicteth ,me of sin8 ,and no man was able1 nor is any man now able1 to answer ,him a word4 ,but the all-important fact is not so much that they could not convict ,him of sin2 ,he could not convict ,himself4 ,yet it could not be that ,he was self-deceived4 ,he knew what was in man2 ,he read the hearts of others till1 like the ,samaritan woman1 they felt as though ,he knew all things that ever they had done4 ,was it possible1 then1 that ,he did not know ,himself8 ,not only so1 but the law by which ,he judged ,himself was not theirs1 but ,his4 ,and what that was1 how high1 how searching1 how different from the low1 conventional standards which satisfied them1 we who have read ,his words and ,his judgments know full well4 ,nevertheless1 ,he knew nothing against ,himself2 as no man could condemn ,him neither could ,he condemn ,himself4 ,looking up to heaven1 ,he could say1 ,i do always the things that are pleasing to ,him4#ah ,this is not the language of sinful men2 it is not the language of even the best and holiest of men4 ,christ is as separate from saints as ,he is from sinners4 ,the greatest of ,hebrew prophets cries1 ,woe is me6 for ,i am undone2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips4 ,the greatest of ,christian apostles laments1 ,o wretched man that ,i am6 who shall deliver me out of the body of this death8 ,even the holy ,john confesses1 ,if we say that we have no sin1 we deceive ourselves1 and the truth is not in us4 ,it is one of the commonplaces of ,christian experience that the holier men become the more intense and poignant becomes the sense of personal shortcoming4 ,we have done those things which we ought not to have done2 we have left undone those things which we ought to have done3 among all the sons of men there is none1 who truly knows himself1 who dare be silent when the great confession is made--none save the ,son of ,man2 for ,he1 it has well been said1 was not the one thing which we all are2 ,he was not a sinner4 ,this consciousness of separateness runs through all that the evangelists have told us concerning ,christ4 ,when e4g4 ,he is preaching ,he never associates ,himself1 as other preachers do1 with ,his hearers2 ,he never assumes1 as other preachers must1 that ,his words are applicable to ,himself equally with them4 ,we exhort2 ,he commands4 ,we say1 like the writer of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 ,let us go on unto perfection2 ,he says1 ,ye shall be perfect1 as your heavenly ,father is perfect4 ,we speak as sinful men to sinful men1 standing by their side2 ,he speaks as from a height1 as one who has already attained and is already made perfect4 ,or1 the contrast may be pointed in another way4 ,we all know what it is to be haunted by misgivings as to the wisdom of some course which1 under certain trying circumstances1 we have taken4 ,we had some difficult task to perform--to withstand 7let us say7 a fellow-,christian to his face1 as ,paul withstood ,peter at ,antioch2 and we did the unpleasant duty as best we knew how1 honestly striving not only to speak the truth but to speak it in love4 ,and yet when all was over we could not get rid of the fear that we had not been as firm or as kindly as we should have been1 that1 if only something had been which was not1 our brother might have been won4 ,there is a verse in ,paul's second letter to the ,church at ,corinth which illustrates exactly this familiar kind of internal conflict4 ,referring to the former letter which he had sent to the ,corinthians1 and in which he had sharply rebuked them for their wrong-doing1 he says1 ,though ,i made you sorry with my epistle1 ,i do not regret it1 though ,i did regret--a simple1 human touch we can all understand4 ,yes2 but when did ,jesus hesitate and1 as it were1 go back upon ,himself after this fashion8 ,he passed judgment upon men and their ways with the utmost freedom and confidence2 some1 such as the ,pharisees1 ,he condemned with a severity which almost startles us2 towards others1 such as she that was a sinner1 ,he was all love and tenderness4 ,yet never does ,he speak as one who fears lest either in ,his tenderness or ,his severity ,he has gone too far4 ,his path is always clear2 ,he enters upon it without doubt2 ,he looks back upon it without misgiving4 ,this contrast between ,christ and all other men1 as it presented itself to ,his own consciousness1 may be illustrated almost indefinitely4 ,his forerunners the prophets were the servants of ,god2 ,he is ,his ,son4 ,all other men are weary and in need of rest2 ,he has rest and can give it4 ,all others are lost2 ,he is not lost1 ,he is the shepherd sent to seek the lost4 ,all others are sick2 ,he is not sick1 ,he is the physician sent to heal the sick4 ,all others will one day stand at the bar of ,god2 but ,he will be on the throne to be their ,judge4 ,all others are sinners--this is the great1 final distinction into which all others run up--,he is the ,saviour4 ,when at the ,last ,supper ,he said1 ,this is ,my blood of the covenant which is shed for many unto remission of sins2 and again1 when ,he said1 ,the ,son of ,man came to give ,his life a ransom for many1 ,he set ,himself over against all others1 the one sinless sacrifice for a sinful world4 ,there is in ,edinburgh a ,unitarian church which bears carved on its front these words of ,st4 ,paul4 ,there is one ,god1 and one mediator between ,god and man1 the man ,christ ,jesus4 ,i say nothing as to the fitness of any of ,paul's words for such a place--perhaps we can imagine what he would have said2 ,i pass over any questions of interpretation that might very justly be raised2 ,i have only one question to ask3 ,why was the quotation not finished8 ,paul only put a comma where they have put a full stop2 the next words are3 ,who gave ,himself a ransom for all4 ,but how could ,he do that if ,he was only the man ,christ ,jesus8 ,no man can save his brother's soul1 ,nor pay his brother's debt1 and how could ,he1 how dare ,he1 think of ,his life as the ransom for our forfeited lives1 if ,he were only one like unto ourselves8 ,there is but one explanation which does really explain all that ,christ thought and taught concerning ,himself2 it is that given by the first disciples and re-echoed by every succeeding generation of ,christians-- ,,thou ,,art ,,the ,,king ,,of ,,glory1 ,o ,,christ4 ,,thou ,,art ,,the ,,everlasting ,,son ,,of ,,the ,,father4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,his ,,own ,,death ,while there is life in thee1 in this death alone place thy trust1 confide in nothing else besides2 to this death commit thyself altogether2 with this shelter thy whole self2 with this death array thyself from head to foot4 ,and if the ,lord thy ,god will judge thee1 say1 ,lord1 between ,thy judgment and me ,i cast the death of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 no otherwise can ,i contend with ,thee4 ,and if ,he say to thee1 ,thou art a sinner1 say1 ,lord1 ,i stretch forth the death of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ between my sins and ,thee4 ,if ,he say1 ,thou art worthy of condemnation1 say1 ,lord1 ,i set the death of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ between my evil deserts and ,thee1 and ,his merits ,i offer for those merits which ,i ought to have1 but have not of my own4 ,if ,he say that ,he is wroth with thee1 say1 ,lord1 ,i lift up the death of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ between ,thy wrath and me4--,,anselm4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iv ,,concerning ,,his ,,own ,,death ,the ,son of ,man came 444 to give ,his life a ransom for many4--,,mark ,x4 #de4 ,the death of ,jesus ,christ has always held the foremost place in the thought and teaching of the ,church4 ,when ,st4 ,paul writes to the ,corinthians1 ,i delivered unto you first of all that which also ,i received1 how that ,christ died for our sins according to the ,scriptures1 he is the spokesman of every ,christian preacher and teacher1 of the missionary of the twentieth century no less than of the first4 ,it is with some surprise1 therefore1 we discover when we turn to the teaching of ,jesus ,himself1 that ,he had so little to say concerning a subject of which ,his disciples have said so much4 ,it is true that the ,gospels1 without exception1 relate the story of ,christ's death with a fullness and detail which1 in any other biography1 would be judged absurdly out of proportion4 ,but this1 it is said1 reveals the mind of the evangelists rather than the mind of ,christ4 ,and those who love that false comparison between the ,gospels and the ,epistles of which so much is heard to-day1 have not been slow to seize upon this apparent discrepancy as another example of the way in which the ,church has misunderstood and misinterpreted the simple message of the ,galilean ,prophet4 ,but1 in the first place1 as ,i will show in a moment1 the contrast between the ,gospels and ,epistles in this matter is by no means so sharply defined as is often supposed4 ,and further1 granting that there is a contrast--that what in the ,gospels is only a hint or suggestion1 becomes in the ,epistles a definite and formal statement--it is one which admits of a simple and immediate explanation4 ,christ--this was ,dr4 ,dale's way of putting it--did not come to preach the gospel2 ,he came that there might be a gospel to preach4 ,this must not be pressed so far as to imply that it is only the death and not also the life of ,christ that has any significance for us to-day2 but if that death had any significance in it at all1 if it was anything more to ,him than death is to us1 if it stood in any sort of relation to us men and our salvation1 manifestly the teaching which should make this plain would more fittingly follow than precede the death4 ,and they at least who accept ,christ's words1 ,i have yet many things to say unto you1 but ye cannot bear them now4 ,howbeit when ,he1 the ,spirit of truth1 is come1 ,he shall guide you into all truth--they1 ,i say1 who accept these words can find no difficulty in believing that part of the revelation which it was the good pleasure of the ,father to give to us in ,his ,son1 came through the lips of men who spake as they were moved by the ,holy ,spirit4 ,moreover1 when we turn to the ,gospels we see at once that the interpretation of ,christ's death was just one of those things which the disciples as yet were unable to bear4 ,the point is so important that it is worth while dwelling upon it for a moment4 ,so far were the ,twelve from being able to understand their ,lord's death1 that they would not even believe that ,he was going to die4 ,be it far from ,thee1 ,lord1 cried ,peter1 when ,christ first distinctly foretold ,his approaching end2 this shall never be unto ,thee4 ,when1 at another time1 ,he said unto ,his disciples1 ,let these words sink into your ears2 for the ,son of ,man shall be delivered up into the hands of men1 ,st4 ,luke adds1 ,but they understood not this saying4 ,and again1 after another and similar prophecy1 the evangelist writes with significant reiteration1 ,they understood none of these things2 and this saying was hid from them1 and they perceived not the things that were said4 ,so was it all through those last months of our ,lord's life4 ,his thoughts were not their thoughts1 neither were ,his ways their ways4 ,they followed ,him as ,he pressed along the highway1 ,his face steadfastly set to go up to ,jerusalem1 but they could not understand ,him4 ,why1 if as ,he had said1 death waited ,him there1 did ,he go to seek it8 ,think what utter powerlessness to enter even a little way into ,his thoughts is revealed in a scene like this3 ,two of ,his disciples1 ,james and ,john1 came to ,him to ask ,him that they might sit1 one on ,his right hand1 and one on ,his left hand1 in ,his glory4 ,jesus said unto them1 ,ye know not what ye ask4 ,are ye able to drink the cup that ,i drink8 or to be baptized with the baptism that ,i am baptized with8 ,and they said unto ,him1 ,we are able4 ,what could ,jesus do with ignorance like this--ignorance that knew not its own ignorance8 ,he could be sorry for their childishness2 but how could ,he show them the mystery of ,his ,passion8 ,what could ,he do but wait until the ,cross1 and the empty grave1 and the gift of ,pentecost had done their revealing and enlightening work8 ,at the same time1 as ,i have already pointed out1 it is altogether a mistake to suppose that ,christ has left us on this subject wholly to the guidance of others4 ,from the very beginning of ,his ministry the end was before ,him1 and as it drew nearer ,he spoke of it continually4 ,at first ,he was content to refer to it in language purposely vague and mysterious4 ,just as a mother who knows herself smitten with a sickness which is unto death1 will sometimes try by shadowed hints to prepare her children for what is coming1 while yet she veils its naked horror from their eyes1 so did ,jesus with ,his disciples4 ,can the sons of the bride-chamber fast1 ,he asked once1 while the bridegroom is with them8 444 ,but the days will come1 when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them1 and then will they fast in that day4 ,but from the time of ,peter's great confession at ,csarea ,philippi all reserve was laid aside1 and ,christ told ,his disciples plainly of the things which were to come to pass3 ,from that time 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 the third day be raised up4 ,and if we will turn to any one of the first three ,gospels1 we shall find1 as ,dr4 ,denney says1 that that which characterized the last months of our ,lord's life was a deliberate and thrice-repeated attempt to teach ,his disciples something about ,his death4#ai ,let me try1 very briefly1 to set forth some of the things which ,he said4 ,i ,first of all1 then1 ,christ died as a faithful witness to the truth4 ,like the prophets and the ,baptist before ,him1 whose work and whose end were so often in ,his thoughts1 ,he preached righteousness to an unrighteous world1 and paid with ,his life the penalty of ,his daring4 ,that is the very lowest view which can be taken of ,his death4 ,no ,unitarian1 no unbeliever1 will deny that ,jesus died as a good man1 choosing rather the shame of the ,cross than the deeper shame of treason to the truth4 ,and thus far ,christ is an example to all who follow ,him4 ,in one sense ,his cross-bearing was all ,his own1 a mystery of suffering and death into which no man can enter4 ,but in another sense1 as ,st4 ,peter tells us1 ,he has left us by ,his sufferings an example that we should follow ,his steps4 ,it is surely a significant fact that the words which immediately follow ,christ's first distinct declaration of ,his death are these1 ,if any man would come after ,me1 let him deny himself1 and take up his cross and follow ,me4 ,his death was the supreme illustration of a law which binds us1 the servants1 even as it bound ,him1 the ,master4 ,in the path of every true man there stands the cross which he must bear1 or be true no more4 ,let no one grow impatient and say this is no more than the fringe of ,christ's thoughts about ,his death2 even the fringe is part of the robe1 and if1 as the words ,i have quoted seem clearly to indicate1 ,christ thought of ,his death as in any sense at all a pattern for us1 let us not miss this1 the first and simplest lesson of the ,cross4 ,there are few more impressive scenes in the history of the ,christian pulpit than that in which ,robertson of ,brighton1 preaching the ,assize ,sermon at ,lewes1 turned as he closed to the judges1 and counsel1 and jury1 and bade them remember1 by the trial hour of ,christ1 by the ,cross of the ,son of ,god1 the sacred claims of truth3 ,the first lesson of the ,christian life is this1 ,be true2 and the second this1 ,be true2 and the third this1 ,be true4 ,,ii ,but though this be our starting-point1 it is no more than a starting-point4 ,if ,jesus was only a brave man1 paying with ,his life the penalty of ,his bravery in the streets of ,jerusalem1 it is wasting words to call ,him the ,saviour of the world4 ,if ,his death were only a martyrdom1 then1 though we may honour ,him as we honour ,socrates1 and many another name in the long roll of the noble army of martyrs1 yet ,he can no more be our ,redeemer than can any one of them4 ,but it was not so that ,christ thought of ,his death4 ,the martyr dies because he must2 ,christ died because ,he would4 ,the strong hands of violent men snatch away the martyr's life from him2 but no man had power to take away ,christ's life from ,him3 ,i lay it down of ,myself1 ,he said4 ,the ,son of ,man gave ,his life4 ,he was not dragged as an unwilling victim to the sacrifice and bound upon the altar4 ,he was both ,priest and ,victim2 as the apostle puts it1 ,he gave ,himself up4 ,true1 the element of necessity was there--the ,son of ,man must be lifted up2 but it was the must of ,his own love1 not of another's constraint4 ,not ,roman nails or ,roman thongs held ,him to the ,cross1 but ,his own loving will4 ,it is important to emphasize this fact of the voluntariness of our ,lord's death1 because at once it sets the ,cross in a clearer light4 ,it changes martyrdom into sacrifice2 and ,christ's death1 instead of being merely a fate which ,he suffered1 becomes now1 as ,principal ,fairbairn says1 a work which ,he achieved--the work which ,he came into the world to do3 ,the ,son of ,man came 444 to give ,his life4#bj ,,iii ,again1 ,christ taught us that ,his death was the crowning revelation of the love of ,god for man4 ,and it is well to remind ourselves of our need of such a revelation4 ,we speak sometimes as though the love of ,god was a self-evident truth altogether independent of the facts of ,new ,testament history4 ,god is love--of course1 we say2 this at least we are sure of1 whatever becomes of the history4 ,but this jaunty assurance will not bear looking into4 ,the truth is that1 apart from ,christ1 we have no certainty of the love of ,god4 ,a man may cry aloud in our ears1 ,god is love1 ,god is love2 but if he have no more to say than that1 the most emphatic reiteration will avail us nothing4 ,but if he can say1 ,god is love1 and ,he so loved the world that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son2 if1 that is to say1 he can point us to the ,divine love made manifest in life1 then he is proclaiming a gospel indeed4 ,but let us not deceive ourselves and imagine that we can have ,christ's gospel apart from ,christ4 ,now1 according to the teaching of the ,gospels1 all ,christ's life--all ,he was and said and did--is a revelation of the love of ,god4 ,but the crown of the revelation was given in ,his death4 ,it is the ,cross which was1 in a special and peculiar sense1 as ,christ ,himself declared1#ba the glory both of the ,father and the ,son4 ,and the apostles1 with a unanimity which can only be explained as the result of ,his own teaching1 always associate ,god's love with ,christ's death in a way in which they never associate ,god's love with ,christ's life4 ,god1 says ,st4 ,paul1 commendeth ,his own love toward us1 in that 444 ,christ died for us4 ,christ's death1 then1 we say1 establishes the love of ,god4 ,but how does this come to pass8 ,how does the death of one prove the love of another8 ,if--to use a very simple illustration--,i am in danger of drowning1 and another man1 at the cost of his own life1 saves mine1 his act undoubtedly proves his own love2 but how does it prove anything concerning ,god's love8 ,if the apostle had said1 ,christ commendeth ,his own love towards us1 in that ,he died for us1 we could have understood him2 but how1 ,i ask again1 does ,christ's death prove ,god's love8 ,the question is answerable1 as indeed the whole of the ,new ,testament is intelligible1 only on the assumption of the ,trinitarian doctrine of ,christ4 ,if ,christ were indeed the ,son of ,god1 standing to ,god in such a relation that what ,he did was likewise the doing of ,god the ,father1 we can understand the apostle's meaning4 ,on any other hypothesis his language is a riddle of which the key has been lost4 ,a further question still remains to be answered4 ,i said just now that if ,st4 ,paul had written1 ,christ commendeth ,his own love towards us1 in that ,he died for us1 we could have understood ,him4 ,but here1 also1 something is implicit which requires to be made explicit4 ,how does ,christ in ,his death prove ,his love for us8 ,obviously1 only in one way3 by bearing responsibilities which must otherwise have fallen upon us4 ,there must be1 as ,dr4 ,denney rightly argues1 some rational relation between our necessities and what ,christ has done before we can speak of ,his act as a proof of ,his love4 ,if1 to borrow the same writer's illustration1 a man lose his own life in saving me from drowning1 this is love to the uttermost2 but if1 when ,i was in no peril1 he had thrown himself into the water and got drowned to prove his love for me1 the deed and its explanation would be alike unintelligible4 ,we must take care when we speak of the death of ,christ that we do not make it equally meaningless4 ,how ,christ ,himself thought of it as related to the necessities of sinful men1 the next and last division of this chapter will1 ,i hope1 make plain4 ,,iv ,the ,son of ,man came to give ,his life a ransom for many2 ,this is ,my blood of the covenant which is shed for many unto remission of sins4 ,these are the two great texts which reveal to us the mind of ,christ concerning the significance of ,his death4 ,there has been much discussion of their meaning into which it is impossible here to enter4 ,but whatever questions modern scholarship may raise1 there can be little doubt as to the sense in which ,christ's words were understood by the first disciples4 ,his own self1 said ,peter1 bare our sins in ,his body upon the tree4 ,herein is love1 said ,john1 not that we loved ,god1 but that ,he loved us1 and sent ,his ,son to be the propitiation for our sins4 ,he loved me1 said ,paul1 and gave ,himself for me4 ,it is open1 doubtless1 to question the legitimacy of these apostolic deductions1 and to fall back upon ,matthew ,arnold's ,aberglaube2 but who1 it has been well said1 are most likely to have correctly apprehended the significance which ,jesus attached to ,his death1 men like ,john and ,peter and ,paul1 or an equal number of scholars in our time1 however discerning and candid1 who undertake to reconstruct the thoughts of ,jesus1 and to disentangle them from the supposed subjective reflections of ,his disciples8 ,where is the subjectivity likely to be the greatest--in the interpretations of the eye and ear witness1 or in the reconstructions of the moderns8#bb ,christ gave ,his life a ransom for many4 ,the truth cannot be put too simply3 ,god forgives our sins because ,christ died for them2 in that death of ,christ our condemnation came upon ,him1 that for us there might be condemnation no more2 the forfeiting of ,his free life has freed our forfeited lives4#bc ,bearing shame and scoffing rude1 ,in my place condemned ,he stood2 ,sealed my pardon with ,his blood2 ,alleluia6 what a ,saviour6 ,if this is true1 the ,new ,testament has a meaning1 and1 what is more1 we sinful men have a gospel4 ,if it is not true1 it is difficult to know why the ,new ,testament was written1 and still more difficult to know what we must do to be saved4 ,it does not help to point us to the parable of the ,prodigal ,son1 and tell us that there is a story of salvation without an atonement4 ,the whole gospel cannot be put into a parable1 not even into such a parable as this4 ,besides1 if the argument proves anything1 it proves too much4 ,the parable is not only a story of salvation without an atonement1 it is a story of salvation without ,christ2 and if no more is needed than what is given here1 ,christ ,himself is no part of ,his own gospel1 forgiveness can be had with no reference to ,him4 ,but it is not so the redeemed have learned ,christ2 it is not thus they have received forgiveness4 ,they know that it is in ,him they have their redemption1 through ,his blood2 and apart from ,him there is no salvation and no gospel4 ,it is time to bring our reasonings to an end4 ,we are under the shadow of the ,cross2 let us worship and adore4 ,when ,christ died on the tree nineteen hundred years ago1 there were some that mocked1 and some that watched and yet saw nothing--nothing but a miserable criminal's miserable end2 a few there were that wept1 and one there was who cried1 with lips already white with death1 ,jesus1 remember me when ,thou comest in ,thy kingdom4 ,and still does that ,cross divide men4 ,where is our place1 and with whom are we8 ,not1 ,i think1 with them that mock2 for these to-day are a broken and discredited few4 ,we choose rather the centurion's cry1 ,certainly this was a righteous man4 ,but is this all we have to say8 ,he who gave ,his life-blood for us1 shall ,he have no more than this--the little penny-pieces of our respect8 ,if we owe ,him aught we owe ,him all2 and if we give ,him aught let us give ,him all--not our thanks but our souls4 ,he loved me1 and gave ,himself up for me-- there is the secret of the ,cross which no man knows save he who cannot speak of it without the personal pronouns4 ,until then we are but as blind watchers that look and see not4 ,jesus1 remember me--this is the word that becomes us best4 ,let us cry unto ,him now1 and ,he who heard the robber's prayer on the ,cross will hear and save us4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,the ,,holy ,,spirit ,come1 ,holy ,ghost1 our souls inspire1 ,and lighten with celestial fire2 ,thou the ,anointing ,spirit art1 ,who dost ,thy sevenfold gifts impart4 ,thy blessed unction from above ,is comfort1 life1 and fire of love3 ,enable with perpetual light ,the dullness of our blinded sight2 ,anoint and cheer our soiled face ,with the abundance of ,thy grace2 ,keep far our foes2 give peace at home2 ,where ,thou art guide no ill can come2 ,teach us to know the ,father1 ,son1 ,and ,thee of ,both1 to be but ,one3 ,that1 through the ages all along1 ,this1 this may be our endless song1 ',praise to ,thy eternal merit1 ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit6' ,amen6 ,,bishop ,,john ,,cosin4 99 99 99 99 99 ,v ,,concerning ,,the ,,holy ,,spirit ,i will pray the ,father1 and ,he shall give you another ,comforter1 that ,he may be with you for ever1 even the ,spirit of truth4--,,john xiv4 #af4 ,it is expedient for you that ,i go away3 for if ,i go not away1 the ,comforter will not come unto you2 but if ,i go1 ,i will send ,him unto you4--,,john xvi4 #g4 ,it was the night in which ,he was betrayed4 ,jesus and ,his disciples were spending their last hours together before ,his death4 ,for ,him the morrow could bring with it no surprise4 ,he knew that ,his hour was come--the hour to which all other hours of ,his past had pointed2 and ,he was ready4 ,before ,he left that ,upper ,room1 ,he lifted up ,his eyes to heaven and said1 ,father1 the hour is come2 glorify ,thy ,son4 ,but to the disciples that night was a night of darkness1 and terror1 and confusion4 ,they remembered how ,he had told them ,he must die2 they knew the bloodhounds in ,jerusalem were on ,his track2 they could see the shadow's black edge creeping nearer and nearer2 and yet they could do nothing2 they could not even persuade ,him that anything needed to be done4 ,nay1 it almost seemed as if ,he were taking part with ,his enemies against them4 ,it is expedient for you1 ,he said1 that ,i go away--veiling in ,his pity the horror of ,his going4 ,expedient for them8 ,how could ,he speak like that8 ,was ,he not everything to them8 ,if ,he went away1 what was to befall them8 ,they would be as sheep in the midst of wolves1 as orphans in an unkindly world4 ,is it any wonder that sorrow filled their hearts8 ,and not only to these ,his first disciples1 but to many of ,his followers in later days1 this word of ,jesus has proved a hard saying4 ,if only1 we think1 ,he were with us as ,he was with ,peter and ,james and ,john2 if only we could hear ,him teach in our streets1 or in our church1 as once ,he taught in the streets of ,jerusalem and the synagogue at ,nazareth2 if only ,he could enter our homes1 as once ,he entered the home at ,bethany1 how easy it would be to believe6 ,but1 now ,he is no longer here1 the air is filled with doubting voices1 and faith is very hard4 ,so sometimes we speak4 ,but1 have we noticed1 this is never the language of the ,new ,testament4 ,to begin with1 it is not the language of ,christ4 ,there is an unmistakable emphasis in ,his words3 ,because ,i have spoken these things unto you1 sorrow hath filled your heart4 ,nevertheless1 ,i tell you the truth3 it is expedient for you that ,i go away4 ,when ,paul was a prisoner in ,rome1 he wrote to the ,philippians1 saying1 ,i am in a strait betwixt the two1 having the desire to depart and be with ,christ2 for it is very far better2 yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake4 ,that is how a good man1 in the prospect of death1 naturally feels towards those who are in any way dependent on him4 ,but ,christ's language is the very opposite of this2 ,he says1 not that it is needful to abide1 but that it is expedient to depart4 ,and in every reference to ,christ by the apostles after ,his ,ascension1 the same note is struck4 ,it is hardly too much to say1 as one writer does1 that no apostle1 no ,new ,testament writer1 ever remembered ,christ4#bd ,they thought of ,him as belonging1 not to the past1 but to the present2 ,he was the object1 not of memory1 but of faith4 ,never do they wish ,him back in their midst2 never do they mourn for ,him as for a friend whom they have lost4 ,on the contrary1 they felt that ,christ was with them now in a sense in which ,he had never been4 ,there is no hint that any even of the ,twelve would have gone back to the old days had it been possible4 ,they had lost1 but they had also gained1 and their gain was greater than their loss4 ,even though we have known ,christ after the flesh1 they also would have said1 yet now we know ,him so no more4 ,read over again ,st4 ,luke's account of our ,lord's ,ascension3 ,he led them out until they were over against ,bethany2 and ,he lifted up ,his hands and blessed them4 ,and it came to pass1 while ,he blessed them1 ,he parted from them1 and was carried up into heaven4 ,and they worshipped ,him1 and returned to ,jerusalem with great joy2 and were continually in the temple1 blessing ,god4 ,christ had gone from them a second time1 no more to return as before ,he had returned from the tomb2 yet now it is not despair but joy which fills their hearts3 ,they returned to ,jerusalem with great joy4 ,when in the ,upper ,room1 ,christ had said1 ,it is expedient for you that ,i go away1 sorrow had filled their hearts2 but1 now that ,he is gone1 their sorrow is turned into joy4 ,how shall we explain this strange reversal8 ,i ,it is to be explained in part1 of course1 by the ,resurrection of ,christ from the dead1 but mainly--and this is the fact with which just now we are concerned--by the gift of the ,holy ,spirit whom ,christ had promised to ,his disciples to abide with them for ever4 ,but now1 what do we mean when we speak of the gift of the ,holy ,spirit8 ,what is the ,holy ,spirit1 and what is it that ,he does for us8 ,many of us1 ,i think1 must have felt how extremely unreal1 and therefore unsatisfying1 the discussions of this great subject often are4 ,the doctrine somehow fails to find a place among the proved realities of our ,christian experience4 ,it remains1 so to speak1 outside of us1 a foreign substance which life has not assimilated4 ,and hence it has come to pass that there is no small danger to-day lest ,new ,testament phrases about being filled with the ,spirit1 baptized with the ,spirit1 and so forth1 become the mere jargon of a school which wholly fails to interpret the mind of ,christ4 ,doubtless there are faults on both sides1 the faults of neglect and the faults of false emphasis1 and for both the true remedy is a more careful study of the teaching of ,jesus4 ,what1 then1 is the ,holy ,spirit1 and what is it ,he does for us8 ,i will pray the ,father1 ,christ said1 and ,he shall give you another ,comforter1 or another ,paraclete4 ,the word translated ,comforter1 which occurs so often in this discourse of our ,lord1 is found nowhere else in the ,new ,testament except in the ,first ,epistle of ,st4 ,john1 where it is rendered ,advocate2 ,if any man sin1 we have an ,advocate with the ,father1 ,jesus ,christ1 the righteous4 ,and this1 without doubt1 is a more faithful rendering of the word which ,christ used than the more familiar ,comforter4 ,an advocate is one who is called to our side to be our friend and helper1 more especially to plead our cause in a court of justice2 and this also is the meaning of the word ,paraclete4 ,perhaps1 however1 the word ,comforter may be retained without loss1 if only we remember to give it its full and original meaning4 ,to comfort is not primarily and originally to console1 but to strengthen1 to fortify2 and the ,comforter whom ,christ promised to ,his disciples was not only one who should soothe them in their sorrows1 but should stand by them in all their conflicts1 their unfailing friend and helper4 ,further1 ,christ said ,god shall give you another ,comforter4 ,that is to say1 ,christ ,himself was a ,comforter1 and all that ,he had been to ,his disciples the ,holy ,spirit should be also4 ,and1 if we examine the three chapters of this ,gospel which contain this great discourse of our ,lord1 we shall find this idea taken up1 and repeated1 and developed in passage after passage4 ,the ,holy ,spirit was to come in ,christ's name1 as ,christ's representative and interpreter4 ,he shall not speak from ,himself1 ,christ said2 ,he shall bear witness of ,me4 ,he shall glorify ,me2 for ,he shall take of ,mine1 and shall declare it unto you4 ,in the presence of the ,spirit ,christ ,himself would be present3 ,i will not leave you desolate1 ,he said2 ,i come unto you2 ,i will see you again1 and your heart shall rejoice4 ,and1 for the sake of such a presence1 a presence which was to be not for a little while but for ever1 it was best for ,his friends that ,he should leave them4#be ,it is in these words1 ,i believe1 that we have the key to the ,new ,testament doctrine of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the ,spirit is the ,spirit of ,christ2 ,he is sent by ,christ2 ,he comes to continue the work of ,christ4 ,he is1 as one writer has it1 ,christ's alter ego1 or1 as it was said long ago1 ,christ's ,vicar1 or substitute1 on the earth4#bf ,when1 therefore1 we speak of the presence of the ,spirit1 what we mean1 or what we ought to mean1 is the spiritual presence of ,christ4 ,in the ,holy ,spirit ,christ ,himself is present1 wherever1 as ,he said1 two or three are gathered together in ,his name4 ,in the ,holy ,spirit1 given to be with us for ever1 ,he makes good to ,his disciples the great word of ,his promise1 ,lo1 ,i am with you alway1 even unto the end of the world4 ,this is the fact continually to be kept in mind--the ,spirit is the ,spirit of ,christ2 for1 if this be forgotten1 then1 as all experience shows1 either the doctrine is wholly ignored1 or it is made the subject of that vague1 unreal way of speaking1 which1 alas6 is so often the bane of spiritual truth4 ,at the same time1 what has been said must not be interpreted so as to suggest that the ,holy ,spirit is merely an impersonal influence4 ,on the contrary1 the words of our ,lord quoted above distinctly imply what we call personality1 and a personality separate from ,his own4 ,if all that ,jesus really meant to teach was that ,he would manifest ,his own invisible presence to ,his disciples by spiritual influences1 we can only conclude that ,his words have been tampered with2 as they stand1 it is impossible that this should exhaust their meaning4 ,to teach1 to bear witness1 to guide1 to bring to remembrance1 to declare the things that are to come1--these are the acts1 not of a ,power1 but of a ,person2 and all these things1 ,christ said1 the ,holy ,spirit should do4 ,indeed1 it is not easy to see how language could have been framed to set forth the idea of a ,divine ,person1 separate alike from the ,father and the ,son1 more explicitly than we find it in these chapters4#bg ,,ii ,we turn now to the second part of our question3 ,what is it that the ,holy ,spirit does for us8 ,christ's teaching on the work of the ,spirit may be gathered up under two heads3 7#a7 ,his work in the ,church2 7#b7 ,his work in the world4 7#a7 ,when we speak of the ,spirit's work in the ,church1 it must be understood that the reference is to no particular ecclesiastical organization1 but to the people of ,christ generally1 the men and women in whom the spiritual work of ,christ is going forward4 ,and among these the ,holy ,spirit works in two ways4 7a7 ,he is the ,spirit of truth1 the ,divine ,remembrancer3 ,he shall guide you into all the truth2 ,he shall take of ,mine1 and shall declare it unto you2 ,he shall teach you all things1 and bring to your remembrance all that ,i said unto you4 ,it is not1 it will be observed1 all truth1 but all the truth of ,christ1 with which the ,spirit deals--the truth concerning ,him1 and the truth which ,he taught4 ,nor is it a new revelation which the ,spirit gives1 but rather a more perfect understanding of that which has been already given in ,christ4 ,here1 then1 is the test by which to try all that claims the authority of spiritual truth4 ,does it glorify ,christ8 ,does it lead us into a fuller knowledge of ,him in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden8 ,whosoever goeth onward1 says ,st4 ,john1 in a remarkable passage1 for which ,english readers are indebted to the ,revised ,version1 and abideth not in the teaching of ,christ1 hath not ,god4 ,in other words1 no true progress is possible except as we abide in ,christ4 ,if ,he be ignored and left behind1 though we still keep the name and boast ourselves progressives1 we have lost the reality4 ,on the other hand1 every new discovery1 every movement in the life of men1 every intellectual and spiritual awakening which serves to make manifest the glory of ,christ as ,creator1 or ,revealer1 or ,redeemer1 is a fresh fulfilment of ,his promise concerning the guiding ,spirit of truth4 ,perhaps our best commentary is the history of the ,church4 ,in the ,new ,testament itself we have the first-fruits of the ,spirit's work4 ,there we may see1 in ,gospels and ,epistles1 how the ,spirit took of the things of ,christ and showed them unto ,his disciples4 ,and all through the varied history of the ,church's long past1 that same ,divine ,remembrancer has been at work1 calling us through the lips of an ,augustine1 a ,luther1 or a ,wesley1 into the fullness of the inheritance of truth which is ours in ,christ ,jesus4 7b7 ,the ,holy ,spirit is the ,spirit of power4 ,behold1 said the ascending ,christ1 ,i send forth the promise of ,my ,father upon you2 but tarry ye in the city until ye be clothed with power from on high4 ,and1 again1 ,ye shall receive power1 when the ,holy ,ghost is come upon you4 ,of ,jesus ,himself it was said by one of ,his disciples that ,god anointed ,him with the ,holy ,ghost and with power2 and of ,his disciples ,jesus said3 ,he that believeth on ,me1 the works that ,i do shall ,he do also2 and greater works than these shall he do2 because ,i go unto the ,father4 ,here1 again1 our best commentary is the history of the ,church1 and especially the first chapter of that history as it is written in the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,this was the promise1 ,ye shall receive power1 and this1 in brief1 the story of its fulfilment1 ,with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,let any one read the early chapters of ,st4 ,luke's narrative2 let him mark the utter disparity between the acts and the apostles--between the things done and the men by whom they were done--and then let him ask if there is any explanation which does really bridge the gulf short of this1 that behind ,peter and ,john and the rest there stood ,another1 speaking through their lips1 working through their hands1 ,himself the real ,doer in all those wondrous acts8 ,when ,d4,l4 ,moody was holding in ,birmingham one of those remarkable series of meetings which so deeply stirred our country in the early 'seventies1 ,dr4 ,dale1 who followed the work with the keenest sympathy1 and yet not without a feeling akin to stupefaction at the amazing results which it produced1 once told ,moody that the work was most plainly of ,god1 for he could see no real relation between him and what he had done4 ,is not this disparity the very sign-manual of the ,holy ,spirit's presence8 ,why1 asked ,peter1 when the multitude were filled with wonder and amazement at the healing of the lame man1 ,why fasten ye your eyes on us as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk8 ,work that is really of ,god can never be accounted for in that fashion4 ,there is always a something in the effects which cannot be traced back to a human cause4 ,let our own power and godliness be what they may--and they can never be too great--they are all vain and helpless apart from the power of ,god4 ,i planted1 ,apollos watered2 ,god gave the increase4 ,wherefore let the ,church trust neither in him that planteth nor in him that watereth1 but in ,god who giveth the increase4 7#b7 ,we come now to the ,holy ,spirit's work in the world4 ,and1 just as in speaking of the ,church it was not any visible organization which we had in mind1 so now by the world is not meant merely the persons who are outside all such organizations4 ,there is1 as we are often reminded nowadays1 a ,church outside the ,churches2 and1 on the other hand1 not a little of what ,christ meant by the world is often to be found inside what we mean by the ,church4 ,the world1 then1 is simply the mass of men1 wherever they are to be found1 who are living apart from ,god4 ,now1 of this world ,christ said it cannot receive the ,spirit of truth2 it beholdeth ,him not1 neither knoweth ,him4 ,if1 therefore1 there is a ministry of the ,spirit in the world1 it must be wholly different in kind from that spoken of above4 ,and this is what we learn from ,christ's teaching3 ,he1 when ,he is come1 will convict the world in respect of sin1 and of righteousness1 and of judgment4 ,there is a ring of judicial sternness in the words2 they call up to our minds the solemnities of a court of justice--the indictment1 the conviction1 the condemnation4 ,and yet one can well believe that there were hours in the after life of the apostles when1 of all the comforting1 reassuring words which ,christ had spoken to them in that ,upper ,room1 there were none more helpful than these4 ,for they knew now that1 when they stood up to bear their witness before a hostile world1 they had a fellow-witness in men's hearts4 ,they could go nowhere--in ,jerusalem1 ,juda1 ,samaria1 or the uttermost parts of the earth--where the gracious ministries of the ,spirit had not preceded them4 ,he1 the ,paraclete1 was not only with them1 their strong-siding ,champion1 ,he was in the world also1 in the hearts even of them who set themselves most stoutly against the ,lord and against ,his ,anointed1 subduing their rebelliousness and reconciling them to ,god4 ,we who teach and preach to-day1 do we think of these things as we ought8 ,does not our message sometimes win a response which is at once a surprise and a rebuke to us8 ,we knew that the seed which we cast into the ground was the word of ,god2 but the soil seemed so poor and thin we scarce had looked for any harvest2 yet the seed sprang up and grew1 we knew not how4 ,we had forgotten that over all that wide field which is the world the ,divine ,husbandman is ever at work1 at work while men sleep1 breaking up the fallow ground1 and making ready the soil for the seed4 ,we need to learn to count more on ,god1 to grasp more fully the glorious breadth of promise which ,he has given us in ,his ,spirit1 to remember that1 not only in the ,church1 but in the world--which is ,his world--that ,spirit is always present to testify of ,god1 to convict men of sin1 of righteousness1 and of judgment4 ,and yet1 while we encourage ourselves with thoughts like these1 we dare not forget that men may resist1 they may grieve1 they may quench the ,holy ,spirit4 ,he is grieved whensoever ,he is resisted2 ,he may be resisted until ,he is quenched4 ,it was ,christ ,himself who spoke of a sin against the ,holy ,spirit which hath never forgiveness4 ,is there any more painful1 perplexing1 and yet more certain fact in life than this1 that man can resist ,god8 ,is there any that has bound up with it more terrible and inevitable issues8 ,ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears1 cried the martyr ,stephen to his judges1 ye do always resist the ,holy ,ghost3 as your fathers did1 so do ye4 ,and the end for their fathers and for them we know4 ,wherefore the ,holy ,spirit saith3 ,to-day1 if ye shall hear ,his voice1 harden not your hearts4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,god ,the kingdom of ,god is not eating and drinking1 but righteousness and peace and joy in the ,holy ,ghost4--,,st4 ,,paul4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vi ,,concerning ,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,god ,thy kingdom come4 ,thy will be done1 as in heaven1 so on earth4--,,matt4 vi4 #aj4 ,i ,one of the most obvious features of the teaching of ,jesus is the prominence which it gives to what is called the kingdom of heaven1 or1 the kingdom of ,god4 ,and this prominence becomes the more striking when we turn from the ,gospels to the ,epistles where the phrase is only rarely to be found4 ,with ,jesus the kingdom was a kind of watchword which was continually on ,his lips4 ,thus1 e4g41 ,st4 ,mark begins his account of the preaching of ,jesus in these words3 ,after that ,john was delivered up1 ,jesus came into ,galilee1 preaching the ,gospel of ,god and saying1 ,the time is fulfilled1 and the kingdom of ,god is at hand3 repent ye1 and believe in the ,gospel4 ,in like manner1 ,st4 ,matthew tells us that ,jesus went about in all ,galilee1 teaching in their synagogues1 and preaching the gospel of the kingdom4 ,parable after parable opens with the formula ,the kingdom of heaven is like unto--1 or1 ,so is the kingdom of ,god as if--1 or1 ,how shall we liken the kingdom of ,god8 ,when ,christ sent forth the ,twelve1 this was ,his command1 ,go 444 and as ye go1 preach1 saying1 ,the kingdom of heaven is at hand4 ,again1 when ,he sent forth the ,seventy1 ,he said1 ,into whatsoever city ye enter 444 say unto them1 ,the kingdom of ,god is come nigh unto you4 ,and in the great ,forty ,days1 before ,he was received up1 it was still of the things concerning the kingdom of ,god that ,he spake unto ,his disciples4 ,every time a little child is baptized we call to mind ,his words1 ,for of such is the kingdom of ,god4 ,every time we repeat the prayer ,he taught ,his disciples to pray we say1 ,thy kingdom come4 ,in all1 it is said1 there are no less than one hundred and twelve references to the kingdom to be found in the ,gospels4 ,when1 however1 we turn to the ,epistles what do we find8 ,in the whole of ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles the kingdom is not named as often as in the briefest of the four ,gospels4 ,it is mentioned only once by ,st4 ,peter1 once by ,st4 ,james1 once by the writer of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 and not at all in the three ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,not only so1 but at least until quite recent times1 the ,church of ,christ has in the main followed the lead of the apostles1 and has said but little of the kingdom of ,god4 ,how is this to be explained8 ,does it mean that the whole ,church of ,christ1 including the ,church of the apostles1 has failed to understand the mind of the ,master1 and has let slip an essential element of ,his teaching8 ,so some recent writers do not hesitate to declare4 ,burke once said that he did not know how to draw up an indictment against a whole people2 but these1 apparently1 have no difficulty in drawing up an indictment against the whole ,church4 ,with all respect to the great ,apostle1 writes one of them1 one may be allowed to express his regret that ,st4 ,paul has not said less about the ,church and more about the ,kingdom4#bh ,to which ,i hope one may be forgiven if he is tempted to retort that the great apostle probably knew what he was about as well as his modern critic can tell him4 ,we shall do well to pause1 and pause again1 before we accept any interpretation of the facts of the ,new ,testament which implies that we to-day have a better understanding of the mind of ,christ than the apostles had4 ,for my own part1 whenever ,i come across any writer who tries to correct ,paul by ,jesus1 ,i find it safest to assume that he has misread ,paul1 or ,jesus1 or both4 ,moreover1 though we need make no claim of infallibility for the ,church1 yet1 if we believe in a ,holy ,spirit given to guide the disciples of ,christ into all the truth of ,christ1 we shall find it difficult to believe at the same time that the whole ,church has from the beginning missed the right way1 and in a matter so important as this1 failed to apprehend the thought of ,christ4 ,we are not1 however1 shut up to any such unworthy conclusions4 ,there is another and sufficient explanation of the facts to which reference has been made4 ,it was natural that ,jesus1 speaking in the first instance to ,jews1 should move as far as possible within the circle of ideas with which they were already familiar4 ,now1 no phrase had a more thoroughly familiar sound to ,jewish ears than this of the kingdom of ,god4 ,it needed1 of course1 to be purified and enlarged before it could be made the vehicle of the loftier ideas of ,jesus4 ,still1 the idea was there1 a point of attachment1 as one writer says1 in the minds of his hearers to which ,jesus could fasten what ,he wished to say4 ,but after our ,lord's ,resurrection and ,ascension1 and especially after the fall of ,jerusalem1 the whole condition of things was changed4 ,a phrase which in the synagogues of the ,jews proved helpful and illumining1 might easily become1 among the populations of ,asia ,minor1 of ,greece1 and of ,italy1 to whom the gospel was now preached1 useless1 and even misleading4 ,is it any wonder1 therefore1 if the first ,christian missionaries quietly dropped the old phrase and found others to take its place8 ,men who knew themselves guided by the ,spirit of ,jesus would not feel compelled to quote the words of ,jesus1 if1 under altered circumstances1 other words more fittingly expressed ,his thoughts4#bi ,,ii ,what did ,jesus mean when ,he spoke of the kingdom of ,god8 ,the idea as set forth in the ,gospels is so complex1 the phrase is used to cover so many and different conceptions1 that it is practically impossible to frame a definition within which all the sayings of ,jesus concerning the kingdom can be included4 ,the nearest approach to a definition which it is necessary to attempt is suggested by the two petitions in the ,lord's ,prayer which are quoted above4 ,the second petition explains the first3 the kingdom comes in proportion as men do on earth the will of ,god4 ,for our present purpose1 therefore1 we may think of the kingdom as a spiritual commonwealth embracing all who do ,god's will4 ,to much that ,christ taught concerning the kingdom--its ,head1 its numbers1 its growth and development--it is impossible1 in one brief discourse1 even to refer4 ,here again1 it must suffice to single out one or two points for special emphasis3 7#a7 ,in the doctrine of the kingdom of ,god1 we have set before us the social aspect of ,christ's teaching2 it reminds us of what we owe1 not only to ,him who is its ,king1 but to those who are our fellow-subjects4 ,of particular duties it is impossible to speak1 though these1 as we know1 fill a large place in the teaching of ,jesus4 ,but let us at least bring home to ourselves the thought of obligation1 obligation involved in and springing out of our common relationship as members of the kingdom of ,god4 ,the obligation is writ large on every page of the ,new ,testament--in the ,gospels1 in the doctrine of the kingdom2 in the ,epistles1 in the corresponding doctrine of the ,church4 ,it can hardly be said too often1 that1 according to the ,new ,testament ideal1 there are no unattached ,christians4 ,the apostles never conceive of religion as merely a private matter between the soul and ,god4 ,all true religion1 as ,john ,wesley used to say1 is not solitary but social4 ,its starting-point is the individual1 but its goal is a kingdom4 ,christ came to save men and women in order that through them ,he might build up a redeemed society in which the will of ,god should be done4 ,we do1 indeed1 often hear of ,christians whose religion begins and ends with getting their own souls saved4 ,this simply means that so far as it is true they are not yet ,christian4 ,to think only of oneself is to deny one of the first principles of the kingdom4 ,wesley taught the early ,methodists to sing-- ,a charge to keep ,i have4 ,a ,god to glorify2 ,a never-dying soul to save1 ,and fit it for the sky2 and some of his followers1 both early and later1 seem to have thought that this was the whole of the hymn2 but the verse goes on without a full stop-- ,to serve the present age1 ,my calling to fulfil2 ,o may it all my powers engage ,to do my ,master's will6 ,and until we who profess and call ourselves ,christians have learned this lesson of service1 and have entered into ,christ's thought of the kingdom1 with its interlacing network of obligations1 we have still need that some one teach us again the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of ,god4 7#b7 ,again1 the kingdom of ,god1 ,christ taught1 is present2 it is not of1 but it is in1 this world1 set up in the midst of the existing order of things4 ,there are1 it is true1 passages in which ,christ speaks of the kingdom as in the future1 and to come4 ,thus1 e4g41 ,he speaks of a time when men shall come from the east and west1 and from the north and south1 and shall sit down in the kingdom of ,god2 when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their ,father2 when they shall inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world2 and so forth4 ,but there is no real contradiction between this and what has been already said4 ,the kingdom is a growth1 a movement working itself out in history1 and therefore it may be said to be past1 present1 or future1 according to our point of view4 ,in the sense that it has not yet fully come1 that its final consummation is still waited for1 it is future2 and so sometimes ,christ speaks of it4 ,but it is simply impossible to do justice to all ,his sayings and deny that in ,his thought the kingdom is also present4 ,its consummation may belong to the future1 its beginnings are here already4 ,when ,christ calls it the kingdom of heaven1 it is rather its origin and character that are suggested than the sphere of its realization4 ,in parable after parable ,he speaks of it as a secret silent energy already at work in the world4 ,he called on men here and now to seek it1 and to enter it4 ,so eagerly were the lost and the perishing pressing into it that once ,he declared that from the days of ,john the ,baptist the kingdom of heaven suffered violence4 ,not in some future heaven but here on earth ,he bade ,his disciples pray that ,god's will might be done4 ,when ,jesus said the kingdom of heaven1 be sure ,he did not mean an unseen refuge1 whither a handful might one day escape1 like persecuted and disheartened ,puritans fleeing from a hopeless ,england1 but ,he intended what might be and then was in ,galilee1 what should be and now is in ,england4#cj ,thy kingdom come--it is here on earth we must look for the answer to our prayer4 ,and every man who himself does1 and in every possible way strives to get done1 ,god's will among men1 is ,christ's co-worker and fellow-builder4 ,i will not cease from mental fight1 ,nor shall my sword sleep in my hand1 ,till we have built ,jerusalem ,in ,england's green and pleasant land4 ,that is the spirit of all the true servants of ,jesus4 7#c7 ,but the most important fact concerning the kingdom in ,christ's view of it is that it is spiritual4 ,and1 because it is spiritual1 it failed wholly to satisfy the earth-bound ambitions of the ,jews4 ,for generations they had fed their national pride with visions of a world obedient to ,israel's sway1 and when one who claimed to be the ,messiah nevertheless told them plainly that ,his kingdom was not of this world1 they turned from ,him as from one that mocked4 ,he and they both spoke of a kingdom of ,god1 but while they emphasized the kingdom ,he emphasized ,god4 ,so wholly did men fail to enter into ,his mind that on one occasion two of ,his own disciples came to ,him asking that they might sit1 one on the right hand1 and one on the left hand in ,his glory4 ,and even when ,he was just about to leave them1 and to return to ,his ,father1 the old ambitions still made themselves heard4 ,lord1 said they1 dost ,thou at this time restore again the kingdom to ,israel8 ,but with all such dreams of temporal sovereignty ,christ would have nothing to do2 ,he had put them from ,him1 definitely and for ever1 in the ,temptation in the wilderness4 ,he completely reversed the current notions concerning the kingdom4 ,being asked by the ,pharisees when the kingdom of ,god cometh1 ,he answered them and said1 ,the kingdom of ,god cometh not with observation2 neither shall they say1 ,lo1 here6 or1 ,there6 for lo1 the kingdom of ,god is within you4 ,and when self-complacent religious leaders flattered themselves that1 of course1 the first places in the kingdom would be theirs1 ,he sternly warned them that they might find themselves altogether shut out while the publicans and harlots whom they despised were admitted4 ,through all ,his teaching ,christ laid the emphasis on character4 ,pride1 and love of power1 and sordid ambitions1 and all self-seeking--for these things1 and for them that cherished these things1 the kingdom had no place4 ,blessed1 ,christ said1 are the poor in spirit3 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven4 ,except ye turn1 and become as little children1 ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven4 ,whosoever would become great among you1 shall be your minister2 and whosoever would be first among you shall be servant of all--these are they that are accounted worthy of the kingdom of ,god4 ,the earliest account of ,christ's preaching which has already been quoted1 gives us the right point of view for the interpretation of ,christ's idea of the kingdom as spiritual3 ,jesus came into ,galilee1 preaching the gospel of ,god1 and saying1 ,the time is fulfilled1 and the kingdom of ,god is at hand3 ,repent ye1 and believe in the gospel4 ,he had come to establish a kingdom whose dominion should be for ever1 against which the gates of hell should not prevail1 and the foundation of it ,he laid in the penitent and obedient hearts of men4 ,this explains why ,christ had so little to do with programmes1 and so much to do with men4 ,if a man's right to the title of reformer be judged by the magnitude of the revolution which he has effected1 it is but bare justice to call ,him the greatest reformer who ever lived4 ,yet ,he put out no programme2 ,he made ,himself the spokesman of no party1 the advocate of no social or political reform4 ,to the disappointment of ,his friends1 as much as to the confusion of ,his enemies1 ,he absolutely refused to take sides on the vexed political questions of the hour4 ,unto ,caesar1 ,he said1 render the things that are ,caesar's1 and unto ,god the things that are ,god's4 ,but on individuals ,he spent ,himself to the uttermost4 ,he is not only indifferent to numbers1 but often seems disinclined to deal with numbers4 ,he sends the multitude away2 ,he goes apart into a mountain with ,his chosen disciples2 ,he withdraws ,himself from the throng in ,jerusalem to the quiet home in ,bethany2 ,he discourses of the profoundest purposes of ,his mission with the ,twelve in an upper room2 ,he opens the treasures of ,his wisdom before one ,pharisee at night1 and one unresponsive woman by the well4#ca ,always ,his work is done not by external organization or mass-movements or force of numbers1 but from within3 ,repent ye and believe in the gospel4 ,now1 this was the vary last kind of message that the ,pharisees of ,christ's day were looking for4 ,they wanted the world put right--according to their own ideas of right--it is true2 but to be told that they must begin with themselves was not at all what they wanted4 ,are not many of us in the same case to-day8 ,we are all eager for reforms1 at least so long as they are from without4 ,we have a touching faith in the power of machinery and organization4 ,we are quite sure that if ,parliament would only pass this1 that1 and the other bit of legislative reform1 on which our hearts are set1 the millennium would be here1 if not by the morning post1 at least by the session's end4 ,and there is much1 undoubtedly1 that ,parliament can and ought to do for us4 ,nevertheless1 was not ,christ right8 ,instead of the old prayer1 ,create in me a clean heart1 ,o ,god2 and renew a right spirit within me1 some of us1 as one writer says1 would rather pray1 ,create a better social order1 ,o ,god2 and renew a right relation between various classes of men4 ,we are ready to begin anywhere rather than with ourselves1 at any point in the big circumference rather than at the centre4 ,i don't deny1 my friends1 wrote ,charles ,kingsley to the ,chartists1 it is much cheaper and pleasanter to be reformed by the devil than by ,god2 for ,god will only reform society on the condition of our reforming every man his own self1 while the devil is quite ready to help us to mend the laws and the ,parliament1 earth and heaven1 without ever starting such an impertinent and 'personal' request as that a man should mend himself4 ,yet without self-reform nothing is possible4 ,the character of the aggregate1 says ,herbert ,spencer1 is determined by the characters of the units4 ,and he illustrates thus3 ,suppose a man building with good1 square1 well-burnt bricks2 without the use of mortar he may build a wall of a certain height and stability4 ,but if his bricks are warped and cracked or broken1 the wall cannot be of the same height and stability4 ,if again1 instead of bricks he use cannon-balls then he cannot build a wall at all2 at most1 something in the form of a pyramid with a square or rectangular base4 ,and if1 once more1 for cannon-balls we substitute rough1 unhewn boulders1 no definite stable form is possible4 ,the character of the aggregate is1 determined by the characters of the units4 ,every attempt to reconstruct society which leaves out of account the character of the men and women who constitute society is foredoomed to failure4 ,behind every social problem stands the greater problem of the individual1 the redemption of character4 ,we may get1 as assuredly we ought to get1 better houses for the working-classes2 but unless we also get better working-classes for the houses1 we shall not have greatly mended matters4 ,and no turn of the ,parliamentary machine will produce these for us4 ,we can pass new laws2 only the grace of ,god can make new men4 ,for my part1 says ,kingsley once more1 speaking through the lips of his tailor-poet1 ,i seem to have learnt that the only thing to regenerate the world is not more of any system1 good or bad2 but simply more of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,except a man be born anew1 he cannot see the kingdom of ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,man ,tho' world on world in myriad myriads roll ,round us1 each with different powers1 ,and other forms of life than ours1 ,what know we greater than the soul8 ,,tennyson4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vii ,,concerning ,,man ,there is joy in the presence of the angels of ,god over one sinner that repenteth4--,,luke ,,xv4 #aj4 ,this is one of many sayings of our ,lord which reveal ,his sense of the infinite worth of the human soul1 which is the central fact in ,his teaching about man1 and the only one with which in the present chapter we shall be concerned4 ,other aspects of the truth will come into view in the following chapter1 when we come to consider ,christ's teaching about sin4 ,i ,the infinite worth of the human soul--this is a discovery the glory of which1 it is no exaggeration to say1 belongs wholly to ,christ4 ,it is said that one of the most magnificent diamonds in ,europe1 which to-day blazes in a king's crown1 once lay for months on a stall in a piazza at ,rome labelled1 ,rock-crystal1 price one franc4 ,and it was thus that for ages the priceless jewel of the soul lay unheeded and despised of men4 ,before ,christ came1 men honoured the rich1 and the great1 and the wise1 as we honour them now2 but man as man was of little or no account4 ,if one had1 or could get1 a pedestal by which to lift himself above the common crowd1 he might count for something2 but if he had nothing save his own feet to stand upon1 he was a mere nobody1 for whom nobody cared4 ,we turn to the teaching of ,jesus1 and what a contrast6 ,of how much more value1 ,he said1 are ye than the birds6 ,how much then is a man--not a rich man1 not a wise man1 not a ,pharisee1 but a man--of more value than a sheep6 ,what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul8 ,or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul8 ,it was by thought-provoking questions such as these that ,jesus revealed ,his own thoughts concerning man4 ,and1 of course1 when ,he spoke in this way about the soul1 when ,he said that a man might gain the whole world1 but that if the price he paid for it were his soul1 he was the loser1 ,he was not speaking of the souls of a select few1 but of the souls of all4 ,every man1 every woman1 every little child--all were precious in ,his sight4 ,it is man as man1 ,christ taught1 that is of worth to ,god4 ,consider how much is involved in the bare fact that ,christ came into the world the son of a poor mother1 and lived in it a poor man4 ,a man's life1 ,he said1 consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth4 ,and the best commentary on the saying is just ,his own life2 for ,he had nothing4 ,there is something very suggestive in ,christ's use of the little possessive pronoun ,my4 ,we know how we use the word4 ,listen to the rich man in the parable3 ,my fruits1 my barns1 my corn1 my goods4 ,now listen to ,christ4 ,he says3 ,my ,father1 ,my ,church1 ,my friends1 ,my disciples2 but ,he never says ,my house1 ,my lands1 ,my books4 ,the one perfect life this earth has seen was the life of ,one who owned nothing1 and left behind ,him nothing but the clothes ,he wore4 ,and not only was ,christ poor ,himself1 ,he spent ,his life among the poor4 ,to believe that a man with #fj a year1 ,canon ,liddon once said1 is just as much worthy of respect as a man with #fjjj1 you must be seriously a ,christian4 ,you must indeed4 ,yet that which is for us so hard never seems to have cost ,christ a struggle4 ,we cannot so much as think of mere money1 more or less1 counting for anything in ,his sight4 ,the little artificial distinctions of society were to ,him nothing1 and less than nothing4 ,he went to be guest with a man that was a sinner4 ,a woman that was a harlot ,he suffered to wash ,his feet with her tears1 and to wipe them with her hair4 ,this man1 said ,his enemies1 with scorn vibrant in every word1 receiveth sinners and eateth with them4 ,and they were right2 but what they counted ,his deepest shame was in reality ,his chiefest glory4 ,now1 what does all this mean but simply this1 that it was for man as man that ,christ cared8 ,observe the difference in the point at which ,he and we become interested in men4 ,we are interested in them1 for the most part1 when1 by their work1 or their wealth1 or their fame1 they have added something to themselves2 in other words1 we become interested when they become interesting4 ,but that which gave worth to man in ,christ's eyes lay beneath all these merely adventitious circumstances of his life1 in his naked humanity1 in what he was1 or might be1 in himself4 ,this is why to ,him all souls were dear4 ,we love them that love us1 the loving and the lovable2 ,christ loved the unloving and the unlovable4 ,he was named1 and rightly named1 ,friend of publicans and sinners4 ,then were bad men of worth to ,christ8 ,they were2 for1 as ,tennyson says1 ,if there be a devil in man1 there is an angel too4 ,christ saw the possible angel in the actual devil4 ,he knew that the lost might be found1 and the bad become good1 and the prodigal return home2 and ,he loved men1 not only for what they were1 but for what they might be4 ,it would be easy to show that this high doctrine of man underlies1 and is involved in1 the whole life and work and teaching of ,jesus4 ,it is involved in the doctrine of ,god4 ,indeed1 as ,dr4 ,dale says1 the ,christian doctrine of man is really a part of the ,christian doctrine of ,god4#cb ,because ,god is a ,father1 every man is a son of ,god1 or1 rather1 every man has within him the capacity for sonship4 ,it is involved in the doctrine of the ,incarnation2 that stupendous fact reveals not only the condescension of ,god but the glory and exaltation of man4 ,if ,god could become man1 there must be a certain kinship between ,god and man2 since ,god has become man1 our poor human nature has been thereby lifted up and glorified4 ,the same great doctrine is implied in the truth of ,christ's atonement4 ,when ,he who knew ,himself to be the eternal ,son of ,god spoke of ,his own life as the ransom for the forfeited lives of men1 ,he revealed once more how infinite is the worth of that which could be redeemed only at such tremendous cost4 ,such1 then1 is ,christ's teaching about man4 ,and1 as ,i have already said1 it was a new thing in human history4 ,nowhere is the line which divides the world ,b4,c4 from the world ,a4,d4 more sharply defined than here4 ,before ,christ came1 no one dared to say1 for no one believed1 that the soul of every man1 and still less the soul of every woman and child1 was of worth to ,god1 that even a slave might become a son of the ,most ,high4 ,but ,christ believed it1 and ,christ said it1 and when ,he said it1 the new world1 the world in which we live1 began to be4 ,the great difference between ancient and modern civilizations1 one eminent historian has said1 is to be found here1 that while ancient civilization cared only for the welfare of the favoured few1 modern civilization seeks the welfare of all4 ,and when we ask further what has made the difference1 history sends us back for answer to the four ,gospels and the teaching of ,jesus concerning the infinite worth of the soul of man4 ,,ii ,and now1 to bring matters to a practical issue1 have we who profess the faith of ,christ learnt to set1 either upon others or upon ourselves1 the value which ,christ put upon all men8 ,far as we have travelled from ancient ,greece and ,rome1 are we not still1 in our thoughts about men1 often pagan rather than ,christian8 ,our very speech bewrayeth us1 and shows how little even yet we have learnt to think ,christ's thoughts after ,him4 ,he declared1 in words which have already been quoted1 that a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth4 ,nevertheless1 in our daily speech we persist in measuring men by this very standard2 we say that a man is worth so much1 though1 of course1 all that we mean is that he has so much4 ,again1 we allow ourselves to speak about the hands in a factory1 as if with the hand there went neither head nor heart4 ,if we must put a part for the whole1 why should it not be after the fashion of the ,new ,testament8 ,and there were added unto them in that day--so it is written in one place--about three thousand souls--souls1 not hands4#cc ,and we may depend upon it there would be less soulless labour in the world1 and fewer men and women in danger of degenerating into mere hands1 if we would learn to think of them in ,christ's higher and worthier way4 ,let me try to show1 by two or three examples1 how ,christ's teaching about man is needed through all our life4 7#a7 ,there was1 perhaps1 never a time when so many were striving to fulfil the apostle's injunction1 and1 as they have opportunity1 to do good unto all men4 ,more and more we busy ourselves to-day with the good works of philanthropy and ,christian charity4 ,and what we must remember is that our philanthropy needs our theology to sustain it4 ,they only will continue ,christ's work for man who cherish ,christ's thoughts about man4 ,sever philanthropy from the great ,christian ideas which have created and sustained it1 and it will very speedily come to an end of its resources4 ,all experience shows that philanthropy cut off from ,christ has not capital enough on which to do its business4 ,and the reason is not far to seek4 ,they who strive to save their fellows1 they who go down into the depths that they may lift men up1 see so much of the darkened under-side of human life1 they are brought so close up to the ugly facts of human baseness1 human trickery1 human ingratitude1 that1 unless there be behind them the staying1 steadying power of the faith and love of ,christ1 they cannot long endure the strain2 they grow weary in well-doing1 perchance even they grow bitter and contemptuous1 and in a little while the tasks they have taken up fall unfinished from their hands4 ,society takes to slumming for a season--just as for another season it may take to ping-pong--but the fit does not last2 and only they keep on through the long1 grey days1 when neither sun nor stars are seen1 who have learnt to look on men with the eyes1 and to feel toward them with the heart1 of ,jesus the ,man of ,nazareth4 7#b7 ,whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on ,me to stumble1 it is profitable for him that a great mill-stone should be hanged about his neck1 and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea4 ,once more is revealed ,christ's thought of the worth of the soul4 ,how the holy passion against him who would hurt one of these little ones glows and scorches in ,his words6 ,is this a word for any of us8 ,is there one among us who is tempting a brother man to dishonesty1 to drink1 to lust2 who is pushing some thoughtless girl down the steep and slippery slope which ends--we know where8 ,then let him stop and listen1 not to me1 but to ,christ4 ,never1 ,i think1 did ,he speak with such solemn1 heart-shaking emphasis1 and ,he says that it were better a man should die1 that he should die this night1 die the most miserable and shameful death1 than that he should bring the blood of another's soul upon his head4 ,it must needs be that occasions of stumbling come1 but woe1 woe to that man by whom they come1 when he and the slain soul's ,saviour shall stand face to face6 ,oh1 if there be one among us who is playing the tempter1 and doing the devil's work1 let him get to his knees1 and cry with the conscience-smitten ,psalmist1 ,deliver me from blood-guiltiness1 ,o ,god1 ,thou ,god of my salvation2 and peradventure even yet ,he may hear and have mercy4 7#c7 ,let fathers and mothers ponder what this teaching of ,jesus concerning man means for them in relation to their children4 ,there came into your home a while ago a little child1 a gift from ,god1 just such a babe as ,jesus ,himself was in ,his mother's arms in ,bethlehem4 ,the child is yours1 bone of your bone1 flesh of your flesh1 and it bears your likeness and image2 but it is also ,god's child1 and it bears ,his image4 ,what difference is the coming of the little stranger making in you8 ,i do not ask what difference is it making to you1 for the answer would be ready in a moment1 ,much1 every way2 but1 what difference is it making in you8 ,does it never occur to you that you ought to be a different man--a better man--that you ought to be a different woman--a better woman--for the sake of the little one lying in the cradle8 ,do you know that of all the things ,god ever made and owns1 in this or all ,his worlds1 there is nothing more dear to ,him than the soul of the little child ,he has committed to your hands8 ,what hands those should be that bear a gift like that6 ,perhaps we never thought of it in that way before4 ,but it is true1 whether we think of it or not4 ,is it not time to begin to think of it8 ,this night1 as we stand over our sleeping child1 let us promise to ,god1 for the child's sake1 that we will be ,his4 7#d7 ,last of all1 we must learn to set ,christ's value upon ourselves4 ,this is the tragedy of life1 that we hold ourselves so cheap4 ,we are sprung of heaven's first blood1 have titles manifold1 and yet1 when the crown is offered us1 we choose rather1 like the man with the muck-rake1 in ,bunyan's great allegory1 to grub among the dust and sticks and straws of the floor4 ,in the times of the ,french ,revolution1 ,french soldiers1 it is said1 stabled their horses in some of the magnificent cathedrals of ,france2 but some of us are guilty of a far worse sacrilege in that holy of holies which we call the soul4 ,ye were redeemed1 not with corruptible things1 with silver or gold1 but with blood1 precious blood1 even the blood of ,christ4 ,and the soul which cost that1 we are ready to sell any day in the open market for a little more pleasure or a little more pelf4 ,the birthright is bartered for the sorriest mess of pottage1 and the jewel which the ,king covets to wear in ,his crown our own feet trample in the mire of the streets4 ,the pity of it1 the pity of it6 ,in one of ,dora ,greenwell's simple and beautiful ,songs of ,salvation1 a pitman tells to his wife the story of his conversion4 ,he had got a word like a fire in his heart that would not let him be1 ,jesus1 the ,son of ,god1 who loved1 and who gave ,himself for me4 ,it was for me that ,jesus died6 for me1 and a world of men1 ,just as sinful1 and just as slow to give back ,his love again2 ,and ,he didn't wait till ,i came to ,him1 but ,he loved me at my worst2 ,he needn't ever have died for me if ,i could have loved ,him first4 ,and then he continues3-- ,and could'st ,thou love such a man as me1 my ,saviour6 ,then ,i'll take ,more heed to this wand'ring soul of mine1 if it's only for ,thy sake4 ,yes1 we are all of worth to ,god1 but we must needs go to the ,cross to learn how great is our worth2 and1 as we bow in its sacred shadow1 may we learn to say3 ,for ,thy sake1 ,o ,christ1 for ,thy sake1 ,i'll take more heed to this wandering soul of mine4#cd 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,sin ,o man1 strange composite of heaven and earth6 ,majesty dwarfed to baseness6 fragrant flower ,running to poisonous seed6 and seeming worth ,choking corruption6 weakness mastering power6 ,who never art so near to crime and shame1 ,as when thou hast achieved some deed of name4 ,,newman4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,viii ,,concerning ,,sin ,when ye pray1 say4444 ,forgive us our sins4--,,luke xi4 #b1 #d4 ,a recent writer has pointed out that sin1 like death1 is not seriously realized except as a personal fact4 ,we really know it only when we know it about ourselves4 ,the word sin has no serious meaning to a man1 except when it means that he himself is a sinful man4 ,and hence it comes to pass that we can still turn to the penitential ,psalms1 to the seventh chapter of ,romans1 to the ,confessions of ,st4 ,augustine1 or to the ,grace ,abounding of ,john ,bunyan1 and make their words the language of our own broken and contrite hearts4 ,for when ,bunyan and ,augustine and ,paul and the psalmists spoke of sin1 they spoke not the thoughts of others1 but their knowledge of themselves2 they looked into their own hearts and wrote4 ,that is why their words find us to-day4 ,nevertheless1 paradox though it may seem1 our greatest ,teacher concerning sin1 ,himself knew no sin4 ,born without sin1 living and dying without sin1 ,christ yet knew what was in man1 knew the sin that was in man1 and from ,his own sinless height once for all revealed and judged and condemned it4 ,let us seek1 then1 to learn the mind of ,christ on this great matter4 ,and once more1 as ,i have had occasion to point out in a previous chapter1 we must not look for anything formal1 defined1 systematic in ,christ's teaching4 ,we cannot open the ,gospels1 as we might some modern theological treatise1 and read out from them a scientific exposition of sin--its origin1 its nature1 its treatment4 ,the ,new ,testament is not like a museum1 where the flowers are dried and pressed1 and the fossils lie carefully arranged within glass cases1 and everything is duly classified and labelled4 ,rather it is like nature itself1 where the flowers grow wild at our feet1 and the rocks lie as the ,creator's hand left them1 and where each man must do the classifying and labelling for himself4 ,museums have their uses1 and there will always be those who prefer them--they save so much trouble4 ,but since ,christ's aim was not to save us trouble1 but to teach us to see things with our own eyes1 to see them as ,he saw them1 and to think of them as ,he thinks1 it is no wonder that ,he has chosen rather to put us down in the midst of a world of living truths than in a museum of assorted and dead facts4 ,i ,what1 then1 is the teaching of ,jesus concerning sin8 ,his tone is at once severe and hopeful4 ,sometimes ,his words are words that shake our hearts with fear2 sometimes they surprise us with their overflowing tenderness and pity4 ,but however ,he may deal with the sinner1 we are always made to feel that to ,jesus sin is a serious thing1 a problem not to be slurred over and made light of1 but to be faced1 and met1 and grappled with4 ,christ's sense of the gravity of sin comes out in many ways4 7#a7 ,it is involved in ,his doctrine of man4 ,he who made so much of man could not make light of man's sin4 ,it is because man is so great that his sin is so grave4 ,no one can understand the ,new ,testament doctrine of sin who does not read it in the light of the ,new ,testament doctrine of man4 ,when we think of man as ,christ thought of him1 when we see in him the possibilities which ,christ saw1 the ,scripture language concerning sin becomes intelligible enough2 until then it may easily seem exaggerated and unreal4 ,it is the height for which man was made and meant which measures the fall which is involved in his sin4 7#b7 ,call to mind the language in which ,christ set forth the effects of sin4 ,he spoke of men as blind1 as sick1 as dead2 ,he said they were as sheep gone astray1 as sons that are lost1 as men in debt which they can never pay1 in bondage from which they can never free themselves4 ,the very accumulation of metaphors bears witness to ,christ's sense of the havoc wrought by sin4 ,nor are they metaphors merely2 they are ,his reading of the facts of life as it lay before ,him4 ,let me refer briefly to two of them1 7a7 ,christ spoke of men as in bondage through their sin4 ,if1 ,he said once1 ye abide in ,my word 444 ye shall know the truth1 and the truth shall make you free4 ,and straightway jealous ,jewish ears caught at that word free4 ,free8 they cried1 ,free8 we be ,abraham's seed1 and have never yet been in bondage to any man3 how sayest ,thou1 ,ye shall be made free8 ,yet even as they lift their hands in protest ,christ hears the clink of their fetters3 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 every one that committeth sin is the bond-servant--the slave--of sin4 ,to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience1 his servants--his slaves--ye are whom ye obey2 whether of sin unto death1 or of obedience unto righteousness4 ,apostle and ,lord mean the same thing1 true of us as it was true of the ,jews3 ,every one that committeth sin is the slave of sin4 7b7 ,further1 ,christ says1 men are in debt through their sin4 ,in one parable ,he tells us of a certain lender who had two debtors2 the one owed five hundred pence1 and the other fifty2 but neither had wherewith to pay4 ,in another parable we hear of a servant who owed his lord ten thousand talents--a gigantic sum1 vague in its vastness1 millions as we might say--and he likewise had not wherewith to pay4 ,further1 in the application of each parable1 it is ,god to whom this unpayable debt is due4 ,now1 it is just at this point that our sense of sin to-day is weakest4 ,the scientist1 the dramatist1 the novelist are all proclaiming our responsibility toward them that come after us2 with pitiless insistence they are telling us that the evil that men do lives after them1 that it is not done with when it is done4 ,yet1 with all this1 there may be no thought of ,god4 ,it is the consciousness not merely of responsibility1 but of responsibility ,god-ward1 which needs to be strengthened4 ,when we sin we may wrong others much1 we may wrong ourselves more1 but we wrong ,god most of all2 and we shall never recover ,christ's thought of sin until1 like the psalmist and the prodigal1 we have learned to cry to ,him1 ,against ,thee have ,i sinned1 and done that which is evil in ,thy sight4 7#c7 ,but sin1 in ,christ's view of it1 is not merely something a man does1 it is what he is4 ,go through ,paul's long and dismal catalogue of the works of the flesh3 ,fornication1 uncleanness1 lasciviousness1 idolatry1 sorcery1 enmities1 strife1 jealousies1 wraths1 factions1 divisions1 heresies1 envyings1 drunkenness1 revellings1 and such like4 ,yet even this is not the whole of the matter4 ,sin is more than the sum-total of man's sins4 ,the fruits are corrupt because the tree which yields them is corrupt2 the stream is tainted because the fountain whence it flows is impure2 man commits sin because he is sinful4 ,it was just here that ,christ broke1 and broke decisively1 with the traditional religion of ,his time4 ,to the average ,jew of that day righteousness and sin meant nothing more than the observance or the non-observance of certain religious traditions4 ,for the ,pharisees1 and all the ,jews1 except they wash their hands diligently1 eat not1 holding the tradition of the elders3 and when they come from the market-place1 except they wash themselves1 they eat not2 and many other things there be which they have received to hold1 washings of cups1 and pots1 and brazen vessels4 ,nay1 said ,jesus1 you are beginning at the wrong end1 you are concerned about the wrong things1 for from within1 out of the heart of men1 evil thoughts proceed1 fornications1 thefts1 murders1 adulteries1 covetings1 wickedness1 deceit1 lasciviousness1 an evil eye1 railing1 pride1 foolishness3 all these evil things proceed from within4 ,deep in the heart of man evil has its seat1 and until that is touched nothing is done4 7#d7 ,and1 lastly1 ,christ says all men are sinful4 ,of course1 ,he did not say1 nor did ,he imply that all are equally sinful4 ,on the contrary1 ,he said plainly that whereas the debt of some is as fifty pence1 the debt of others is as five hundred pence4 ,neither did ,christ teach that man is wholly sinful1 in the sense that there is in man nothing that is good1 or that every man is by nature as bad as he can be4 ,nor1 let it be said in passing1 is this what theology means when it speaks1 as it still sometimes does1 about the total depravity of human nature4 ,what is meant is1 as ,dr4 ,denney says1 that the depravity which sin has produced in human nature extends to the whole of it4#ce ,if ,i poison my finger1 it is not only the finger that is poisoned2 the poison is in the blood1 and1 unless it be got rid of1 not my finger merely1 but my life is in peril4 ,and in like manner the sin which taints my nature taints my whole nature1 perverting the conscience1 enfeebling the will1 and darkening the understanding4 ,but with whatever qualifications ,christ's indictment is against the whole human race4 ,he never discusses the origin of sin1 but ,he always assumes its presence4 ,no matter how ,his hearers might vary1 this factor remained constant4 ,if ye1 being evil that mournful presupposition could be made everywhere4 ,he spoke of men as lost1 and said that ,he had come to seek and save them4 ,he summoned men1 without distinction1 to repentance4 ,he spoke of ,his blood as shed for many unto remission of sins4 ,the gospel which1 in ,his name1 was to be preached unto all the nations was concerning repentance and remission of sins4 ,even ,his own disciples ,he taught1 as they prayed1 to say1 ,forgive us our sins4 ,and though it is true ,he said once that ,he had not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance1 ,he did not thereby mean to suggest that there really are some righteous persons who have no need of repentance2 rather was ,he seeking by the keenness of ,his ,divine irony to pierce the hard self-satisfaction of men whose need was greater just because it was unfelt4 ,all have sinned2 but once more let us remind ourselves1 sin is not seriously realized except as a personal fact4 ,the truth must come home as a truth about ourselves4 ,the accusing finger singles men out and fastens the charge on each several conscience3 ,thou art the man6 ,and as the accusation is individual1 so1 likewise1 must the acknowledgement be4 ,it is not enough that in church we cry in company1 ,lord have mercy upon us1 miserable offenders2 each must learn to pray for himself1 ,god be merciful to me a sinner4 ,then comes the word of pardon1 personal and individual as the condemnation1 ,the ,lord also hath put away thy sin4 ,,ii ,in what has been said thus far ,i have dwelt1 for the most part1 on the sterner and darker aspects of ,christ's teaching about sin4 ,and1 as every student of contemporary literature knows1 there are voices all around us to-day ready to take up and emphasize every word of ,his concerning the mischief wrought by moral evil4 ,take1 e4g41 a passage like this from ,thomas ,hardy's powerful but sombre story1 ,tess3-- ,did you say the stars were worlds1 ,tess8 ,yes4 ,all like ours8 ,i don't know2 but ,i think so4 ,they sometimes seem to me like the apples on our stubbard-tree4 ,most of them splendid and sound--a few blighted4 ,which do we live on--a splendid one1 or a blighted one8 ,a blighted one4 ,or1 turn to the works of ,george ,eliot4 ,no prophet of righteousness ever bound sin and its consequences more firmly together1 or proclaimed with more solemn emphasis the certainty of the evil-doer's doom4 ,our deeds are like children that are born to us1 she says2 nay1 children may be strangled1 but deeds never--this is the note one hears through all her books4 ,if we have done wrong1 it is in vain we cry for mercy4 ,we are taken by the throat and delivered over to the tormentors until we have paid the uttermost farthing4 ,the ,moving ,finger writes2 and1 having writ1 ,moves on3 nor all your ,piety nor ,wit ,shall lure it back to cancel half a ,line1 ,nor all your ,tears wash out a ,word of it4 ,and this is all that writers such as these have to say to us4 ,retribution they know1 but not ,redemption4 ,there are no arresting angels in the path--only the ,angel of ,justice with the drawn sword4 ,but this is not the teaching of ,jesus concerning sin4 ,he is not blind1 and if we give ear to ,him ,he will not suffer us to be blind1 either to its character or its consequences2 but ,he says that sin can be forgiven1 and its iron bondage broken4 ,jesus believed in the recoverability of man at his worst4 ,it is a fact significant of much that the first mention of sin in the ,new ,testament is in a prophecy of its destruction3 ,thou shalt call ,his name ,jesus2 for it is ,he that shall save ,his people from their sins4 ,and throughout the first three ,gospels sin is named almost exclusively in connection with its forgiveness4#cf ,what ,christ hath joined together let no man put asunder4 ,herein is the very gospel of ,god1 that ,christ came not to condemn the world1 but that the world1 through ,him1 might be saved4 ,do you know what ,christ would say to you1 my girl8 said a missionary to a poor girl dying4 ,he would say1 ',thy sins are forgiven thee4' ,would ,he1 though1 would ,he8 she cried1 starting up2 take me to ,him1 take me to ,him4 ,yes1 thank ,god1 we know what to do with our sin2 we know what we must do to be saved4 ,let us go back again for a moment over the ground we have already travelled4 ,we are in debt1 with nothing to pay2 but ,christ has taken the long account1 and has crossed it through and through4 ,we are in bondage1 with no power to set ourselves free2 but ,christ has come to rend the iron chain and proclaim deliverance to the captives4 ,we are wrong1 wrong within1 wrong at the core2 but again ,he is equal to our need1 for concerning ,him it is written that ,he shall take away not only the sins but the sin of the world4 ,is anything too hard for ,him8 ,just as a lover of pictures will sometimes discover a portrait1 the work of an old master1 marred and disfigured by the dirt and neglect of years1 and will patiently cleanse and retouch it1 till the lips seem to speak again1 and the old light shines in the eyes1 and all its hidden glory is revealed once more1 so does ,christ bring out the ,divine image1 hidden but never lost1 in the sinful souls of men4 ,and all this ,he can do for all men2 for ,christ knows no hopeless ones4 ,one of the saddest sights in a great city is its hospital for incurables4 ,who can think but with a pang of pity and of pain of these--old men and little children joined in one sad fellowship--for whom the physician's skill has done its best and failed1 for whom now nothing remains save to suffer and to die8 ,but in the world's great hospital of ailing souls1 where every day the ,good ,physician walks1 there is no incurable ward4 ,he lays ,his hands on the sick1 and they are healed2 ,he touches the eyes of the blind1 and they see2 unto the leper as white as snow his flesh comes again as the flesh of a little child2 even souls that are dead through their trespasses and sins ,he restores to life4 ,but never1 never does ,he turn away from any1 saying1 ,thou art too far gone2 there is nothing that ,i can do for thee4 ,i spake to ,thy disciples1 cried the father of the child which had a dumb spirit1 ,i spake to ,thy disciples that they should cast it out2 and they were not able4 ,bring him unto ,me1 said ,jesus4 ,then ,he rebuked the unclean spirit1 saying unto him1 ,thou dumb and deaf spirit1 ,i command thee1 come out of him and enter no more into him4 ,verily1 with authority ,he commandeth even the unclean spirits and they obey ,him4 ,therefore let us despair of no man2 therefore let no man despair of himself4 ,if we will1 we can2 we can1 because ,christ will4 ,i was before1 says ,st4 ,paul1 a blasphemer1 and a persecutor1 and injurious2 howbeit ,i obtained mercy4 ,i am a wretched captive of sin1 cries ,samuel ,rutherford1 yet my ,lord can hew heaven out of worse timber4 ,there is no unpardonable sin--none1 at least1 save the sin of refusing the pardon which avails for all sin4 ',mine iniquity is greater than can be forgiven4'#cg ,no1 ,cain1 thou errest2 ,god's mercy is far greater1 couldst thou ask mercy4 ,men cannot be more sinful than ,god is merciful if1 with penitent hearts1 they will call upon ,him4 ,we have all read of the passing of ,william ,mac,lure in ,ian ,maclaren's touching idyll4 ,a'm gettin' drowsy1 said the doctor to ,drumsheugh1 read a bit tae me4 ,then ,drumsheugh put on his spectacles1 and searched for some comfortable ,scripture4 ,presently he began to read3 ,in ,my ,father's house are many mansions2 but ,mac,lure stopped him4 ,it's a bonnie word1 he said1 but it's no' for the like o' me4 ,it's ower guid2 a' daurna tak' it4 ,then he bid ,drumsheugh shut the book and let it open of itself1 and he would find the place where he had been reading every night for the last month4 ,drumsheugh did as he was bidden1 and the book opened at the parable wherein the ,master tells what ,god thinks of a ,pharisee and a penitent sinner4 ,and when he came to the words1 ,and the publican1 standing afar off1 would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven1 but smote upon his breast1 saying1 ,god be merciful to me a sinner1 once more the dying man stopped him3 ,that micht hae been written for me1 ,paitrick1 or ony ither auld sinner that hes feenished his life1 an' hes naething tae say for himsel4 ,nothing to say for ourselves--that is what it comes to1 when we know the truth about ourselves4 ,and when at last our mouth is stopped1 when our last poor plea is silenced1 when with penitent and obedient hearts we seek the mercy to which from the first we have been utterly shut up1 then indeed we have found the ground wherein ,sure our soul's anchor may remain4 ,not by works done in righteousness1 which we did ourselves1 but according to ,his mercy ,he saved us4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,righteousness ,i spend my whole life in going about and persuading you all to give your first and chiefest care to the perfection of your souls1 and not till you have done that to think of your bodies1 or your wealth2 and telling you that virtue does not come from wealth1 but that wealth1 and every other good thing which men have1 whether in public1 or in private1 comes from virtue4--,,socrates4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ix ,,concerning ,,righteousness ,seek ye first 444 ,his righteousness4--,,matt4 vi4 #cc4 ,righteousness1 as it was understood and taught by ,christ1 includes the two things which we often distinguish as religion and morality4 ,it is right-doing1 not only as between man and man1 but as between man and ,god4 ,the ,lawgiver of the ,new ,testament1 like the lawgiver of the ,old1 has given to us two tables of stone4 ,on the one ,he has written1 ,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 and with all thy soul1 and with all thy mind 2 and on the other1 ,thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself4 ,in these two commandments the whole law is summed up1 the whole duty of man is made known4 ,it is well to emphasize this two-fold aspect of the truth at a time when we are often tempted to define religion wholly in the terms of morality1 and1 while insisting on the duties which we owe to each other1 to forget those which we owe to ,god4 ,if there be a ,god righteousness must surely have a meaning in relation to ,him2 it cannot be simply another name for philanthropy4 ,christ at least will not call that man just and good who does right to all except his ,maker4 ,in the ,christian doctrine of the good life room must be found for ,god4 ,at the present moment1 however1 it is the subject in its man-ward aspect that ,i wish specially to keep in view1 partly because some limitation is obviously necessary1 and partly also because it is this of which ,christ ,himself had most to say4 ,i ,what1 then1 is ,christ's idea of righteousness8 ,in other words1 what did ,he teach concerning the good life8 ,now here also1 as in ,his teaching about ,god1 ,christ did not need to begin de novo4 ,those to whom ,he spoke had already their own ideals of duty and holiness4 ,true1 these were sadly in need of revision and correction4 ,nevertheless1 such as they were1 they were there1 and ,christ could use them as ,his starting-point4 ,consequently1 therefore1 we find ,his ideas of righteousness defined largely by contrast with existing ideas4 ,it was said to them of old time 444 but ,i say unto you4 ,this is the note heard all through the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,the contrast may be stated in two ways4 7#a7 ,in the first place1 ,christ said that the righteousness of ,his disciples must exceed that of publicans and heathen3 ,if ye love them that love you1 what reward have ye8 ,do not even the publicans the same8 ,and if ye salute your brethren only1 what do ye more than others8 ,do not even the ,gentiles the same8 ,there are virtues exhibited in the lives of even wholly irreligious men4 ,there are rudimentary moral principles which they that know not ,god nevertheless acknowledge and obey4 ,it was so in ,christ's time2 it is so still4 ,the popular ,american ballad1 ,jim ,bludso1 and ,ian ,maclaren's touching story of the ,drumtochty postman1 are familiar illustrations of self-sacrificing virtues revealed by men of coarse and vicious lives4 ,nor ought we to deny the reality of such virtues2 still less ought we to follow the bad example of ,st4 ,augustine and call them splendid vices4 ,such was not ,christ's way4 ,he assumed the existence and reality of this natural goodness1 and with familiar illustrations of it on ,his tongue turned upon ,his disciples with the question1 ,what do ye more8 ,what do ye more8 ,yet in some respects1 it is to be feared1 the morality of the ,church sometimes falls behind that of the world4 ,one of the most painful passages in ,st4 ,paul's epistles is that in which he tells the ,corinthian ,christians that one of their own number had been guilty of immorality such as would have shocked even the conscience of an unbelieving ,gentile4 ,and it was but the other day that ,i came across this sentence from the pen of an observant and friendly critic of contemporary religious life3 ,i am afraid1 he said1 it must be admitted that the idea of honour1 though in itself an essential part of ,christian ethics1 is much stronger outside the ,churches than within them4 ,how far facts justify the criticism ,i will not stay to inquire2 but the very fact that a charge like this can be made should prove a sharp reminder to us of the stringency of the demands which ,jesus ,christ makes upon us4 ,there is no kind of sound moral fruit which is to be found anywhere in the wide fields of the world which ,he does not look for in richer and riper abundance within the garden of ,his ,church4 ,a great ,christian preacher has given an admirable illustration of one way in which we may examine ourselves in this matter4 ,he has grouped together a number of precepts from the writings of some of the great heathen moralists1 such as ,epictetus and ,marcus ,aurelius1 and then has urged the question how far we who profess to be the disciples of a loftier faith are true even to these ancient heathen ideals4#ch ,perhaps1 however1 this is not a method of self-examination which is open to us all4 ,but this1 at least1 we can do3 we can test ourselves by that moral law1 which ,god gave to the ,jews by ,moses1 and which ,christ reinterpreted in the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,thou shalt not kill1 thou shalt not commit adultery--all these commandments in their literal meaning we must observe2 yet this is not enough2 do not even the publicans the same8 and ,christ's demand is1 ,what do ye more than others8 ,the murderous thought1 ,christ says1 that is murder2 the lustful look1 that is adultery4 ,ye have heard that it was said1 ,thou shalt love thy neighbour1 and hate thine enemy3 but ,i say unto you1 ,love your enemies1 and pray for them that persecute you4 ,as we listen to words like these must not we also confess1 ,either these sayings are not ,christ's1 or we are not ,christians8 7#b7 ,christ's idea of righteousness is further defined by contrast with that of the ,pharisees3 ,except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and ,pharisees1 ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven4 ,what was the ,pharisees' idea of religion8 ,let us take the words which ,christ ,himself put into the lips of a representative of his class3 ,god1 ,i thank ,thee1 that ,i am not as the rest of men1 extortioners1 unjust1 adulterers1 or even as this publican4 ,i fast twice in the week2 ,i give tithes of all that ,i get4 ,this is a full-length portrait of the finished ,pharisee4 ,religion to him was a round of prescribed ritual1 a barren externalism1 a subjection to the dominion of the letter1 which never touched the heart1 nor bowed the spirit down in penitence and humility before ,god4 ,the ,pharisee's whole concern was with externals2 but ,christ declared that he who is only right outwardly is not right at all4 ,there is no such thing1 ,he said1 as goodness which is not from within4 ,the alms-deeds1 the prayer1 the fasting of the ,pharisee were all done before men1 to be seen of them2 and so long as that which men saw was right and seemly1 he was satisfied4 ,but ,christ went back behind the outward act to the heart4 ,a man is really1 ,he said1 what he is there4 ,you may hang grapes on a thorn-bush1 that will not make it a vine2 you may put a sheep's fleece on a wolf's back1 but that will not change its wolfish heart4 ,and men are what they are within4 ,just as to get good fruit you must first of all make the tree good1 so to secure good deeds you must first make good men4 ,this was the truth which ,pharisaism ignored2 with what results all the world knows4 ,in the long history of man1 it remains1 perhaps1 the supreme illustration of the fatal facility with which religion and morality are divorced when once the emphasis is laid upon the outward and ceremonial instead of the inward and spiritual4 ,all experience helps us to understand how the system works4 ,there is no deliberate intention of setting ritual above righteousness1 but it is so much easier to count one's beads than to curb one's temper1 so much easier to fast in ,lent than to be unswervingly just1 that if once the easier thing gets attached to it an exaggerated importance1 fidelity in it is allowed to atone for laxity in greater things1 and the last result is ,pharisaism1 where we see conscience concerned about the tithing of garden herbs1 but with no power over the life1 and religion not merely tolerating but actually ministering to moral evil4 ,it was in the name of religion that the ,pharisees suffered a man to violate even the sanctities of the ,fifth ,commandment1 and to do dishonour to his father and mother4 ,the righteous man in their eyes was not he who loved mercy1 and did justly1 and walked humbly with his ,god1 but he who observed the traditions of the elders4 ,so that1 as ,professor ,bruce says1#ci it was possible for a man to comply with all the requirements of the ,rabbis and yet remain in heart and life an utter miscreant4 ,outwardly1 said ,christ1 ye appear righteous unto men1 but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity4 ,is it any wonder that ,he should call down fire from heaven to consume a system which had yielded such bitter1 poisonous fruits as these8 ,but let us remember1 as ,mozley well says1#dj there are no extinct species in the world of evil4 ,the value for us of ,christ's condemnation lies in this1 that it is a permanent tendency of human nature which ,he is condemning4 ,pharisaism is not dead4 ,have ,i not seen the ,pharisee dressed in good broad-cloth and going to church with his ,bible under his arm8 ,and have ,i not seen him sitting in church and reading the twenty-third chapter of ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel1 and thinking to himself what shockingly wicked people these men must have been of whom ,christ spoke such terrible words1 and never once supposing that there is anything in the chapter that concerns him8 ,no1 ,pharisaism is not dead2 and when we read of those who devoured widows' houses and for a pretence made long prayers1 using their religion as a cloak for their villainy1 let us remember that ,christ says to ,his disciples to-day1 even as ,he said to them centuries ago1 ,except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and ,pharisees1 ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven4 ,,ii ,thus far we have considered ,christ's idea of righteousness only in contrast with other ideas4 ,when we seek to define it in itself we fall back naturally on the words of the two great commandments which have already been quoted3 ,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 and with all thy soul1 and with all thy mind2 and ,thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself4 ,righteousness1 ,christ says1 is love1 love to ,god and love to man4 ,but to them of old time it was said1 ,thou shalt love thy neighbour4 ,where1 then1 is the difference between the old commandment and the new8 ,it lies in the new definition of neighbour4 ,the old law which said1 ,thou shalt love thy neighbour1 said also1 and hate thine enemy2 which meant that some are and some are not our neighbours1 and that toward those who are not love has no obligations4 ,but ,christ broke down for ever the middle wall of partition1 and declared the old distinction null and void4 ,in ,his parable of the ,good ,samaritan ,he taught that every man is our neighbour who has need of us1 and to whom it is possible for us to prove ourselves a friend4 ,as we have opportunity we are to do good unto all men4 ,the same lesson with1 if possible1 still greater emphasis1 ,christ taught in the ,upper ,room3 ,a new commandment ,i give unto you1 that ye love one another2 even as ,i have loved you1 that ye also love one another4 ,a love that goes all the way with human need1 that gives not itself by measure1 that is not chilled by indifference1 nor thwarted by ingratitude1 that fights against evil until it overcomes it--such was the love ,he gave1 and such is the love ,he asks4 ,and in that command all other commands are comprehended4 ,christ might have made ,his own the daring word of ,st4 ,augustine1 ,love1 and do what you like4 ,when first men heard this law of the heavenly righteousness how wondrous simple it must have seemed in contrast with the elaborate scribe-made law which their ,rabbis laid upon them4 ,pharisaism had reduced religion to a branch of mechanics1 a vast network of rules which closed in the life of man on every side1 a burden grievous and heavy to be borne1 which crushed the soul under its weary load4 ,this was the yoke of which ,peter said that neither they nor their fathers were able to bear it4 ,was it any marvel that from such a system men should turn to ,him who cried1 ,take ,my yoke upon you1 and learn of ,me2 for ,my yoke is easy1 and ,my burden is light8 ,but if ,christ's law of love is simpler it is also far more exacting than the old law which it superseded4 ,it has meshes far finer than any that ,pharisaic ingenuity could weave4 ,rabbinical law can secure the tithing of mint and anise and cumin1 the washing of cups and pots1 and many such like things2 it can regulate the life of ritual and outward observance2 and after that it has no more that it can do4 ,but ,christ's law of love is a mentor that searches out the deep things of man4 ,the inside of the cup and platter1 the things that are within1 the hidden man of the heart--it is on these its eyes are fixed4 ,it gives heed both to the words of the mouth and the meditations of the heart4 ,and1 sometimes1 when the lips are speaking fair1 suddenly it will fling open the heart's door and show us where1 in some secret chamber1 ,greed and ,pride and ,envy and ,hate sit side by side in unblest fellowship4 ,verily this law of love is living and active1 sharper than any two-edged sword1 piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit1 of both joints and marrow1 quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart4 ,there is no room to do more than mention the fact which crowns the revelation of this new law of righteousness4 ,christ's words about goodness do not come to us alone2 they come united with a life which is their best exposition4 ,christ is all ,his followers are to be2 in ,him the righteousness of the kingdom is incarnate4 ,from henceforth the righteous man is the ,christ-like man4 ,the standard of human life is no longer a code but a character2 for the gospel does not put us into subjection to fresh laws2 it calls us to the study of a living ,person1 and the following of a living ,mind4#da ,and when to ,jesus we bring the old question1 ,good ,master1 what shall ,i do that ,i may inherit eternal life8 ,he does not now repeat the commandments1 but ,he says1 ,if thou wouldest be perfect1 follow ,me1 learn of ,me1 do as ,i have done to you1 love as ,i have loved you4 ,,iii ,such1 then1 is the good life which ,christ reveals1 and to which ,he calls us4 ,to say that to ,him we owe our highest ideal of righteousness1 is only to affirm what no one now seriously denies4 ,john ,stuart ,mill has1 it is true1 alleged certain defects against ,christianity as an ethical system1 yet ,mill himself has frankly admitted that it would not be easy now1 even for an unbeliever1 to find a better translation of the rule of virtue from the abstract to the concrete1 than to endeavour so to live that ,christ would approve our life4 ,if ,christ be not our one ,master in the moral world1 it will at least be soon enough to discuss a rival's claims when he appears2 as yet there is no sign of him4 ,but the point ,i am most anxious to emphasize just now is not simply that ,jesus has put before us an ideal1 the highest of its kind in the world1 but that there is nothing of any kind to be desired before it4 ,to be good as ,christ was good1 here in very truth is the summum bonum of life1 the greatest thing in the world1 that which1 before all other things1 a man should seek to make his own1 ,there are times1 perhaps1 in the lives of all of us when we are tempted to doubt it--times when the kingdoms of this world1 the kingdoms of wealth and power and knowledge lie stretched at our feet1 and the whispering fiend at our elbow bids us bow and enter in4 ,but once again1 if we be true men1 the moment comes1 ,when the spirit's true endowments ,stand out plainly from its false ones1 when the sacred1 saving faith in righteousness returns1 and we know that ,christ was right1 that for ever and for ever it is true that better than to be rich1 or to be clever1 or to be famous1 is it to be true1 to be pure1 to be good4 ,yes1 goodness is the principal thing2 therefore get goodness1 and with all thy getting--at the price of all that thou hast gotten 7such is the true meaning of the words7#db--;get righteousness4 ,is this what we are doing8 ,goodness is the first thing2 are we putting it first8 ,day by day are we saying to it1 ,sit thou on my right hand1 while we put all other things under our feet8 ,let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if ,i remember thee not2 if ,i prefer not thee above my chief joy--is this the kind of honour that we are paying to it8 ,we make it our ambition1 said ,st ,paul1 to be well pleasing unto ,him4#dc ,where this is the master ambition1 all other lawful ambitions may be safely cherished and given their place4 ,but if some lesser power rule1 whose right it is not to reign over us1 the end is chaos and night4 ,seek ye first ,his righteousness2 we subvert ,christ's order at our peril4 ,and this righteousness must be sought4 ,as men seek wealth1 as men seek knowledge1 as men seek power1 so must we seek goodness4 ,wherefore giving all diligence--in no other way can the pearl of great price be secured2 it does not lie by the roadside for any lounger to pick up4 ,with toil of heart and knees and hands1 so only can the path upward and the prize be won4 ,blessed1 said ,jesus1 are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness4 ,blessed1 ,he meant1 are they who long more than anything else to be good2 for all such longing shall be abundantly satisfied4 ,exalt righteousness1 and she shall promote thee2 she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her4 ,she shall give to thine head a chaplet of grace2 a crown of beauty shall she deliver to thee4 ,it is fitting that a chapter on righteousness should follow one on sin1 for this may find some to whom the other made no appeal4 ,at a meeting of ,christian workers held some years ago in ,glasgow1 the chairman invited the late ,professor ,henry ,drummond1 who was present1 though his name was not on the programme1 to say a few words4 ,he accepted the invitation1 but said he would do no more than state a fact and ask a question4 ,the fact was this1 that in recent revival movements1 in which he had had large experience1 there were few indications of that deep and overwhelming conviction of sin which had been so characteristic a feature of similar revivals in past days4 ,and this was the question1 ,did it mean that the ,holy ,spirit was in any way modifying the method of ,his operation8 ,what answer the wise men of the meeting gave to the ,professor's question ,i do not know4 ,but fact and question alike deserve to be carefully pondered4 ,the ,spirit1 when ,he is come1 ,christ said1 will convict the world in respect of sin1 and of righteousness1 and of judgment4 ,will convict the world of righteousness--have we not sometimes forgotten this8 ,have we not put the full stop at sin1 as though the ,holy ,spirit's convicting work ended there8 ,nevertheless1 there are many to-day whose religious life begins1 not so much in a sense of their own sin and guilt and need1 as rather in the consciousness of the glory and honour of ,christ4 ,it is what they find within themselves which brings some men to ,christ2 it is what they find in ,him which brings others4 ,some are driven by the strong hands of stern necessity2 some are wooed by the sweet constraint of the sinless ,son of ,god4 ,some are crushed and broken and humbled to the dust1 and their first cry is ,god be merciful to me a sinner2 some when they hear the call of ,christ leap up to greet ,him with a new light in their eyes and the glad confession on their lips1 ,lord ,i will follow ,thee whithersoever ,thou goest4 ,what1 then1 shall we say to these things8 ,what but this1 ,there are diversities of workings1 but the same ,god1 who worketh all things in all4 ,travellers to the same country do not always journey by the same route2 and for some of the heavenly pilgrims the ,slough of ,despond lies on the other side of the ,wicket ,gate4 ,after all1 it is of small moment what brings a man forth from the ,city of ,destruction2 enough if he have come out and if now his face is set toward the city which hath the foundations1 whose builder and maker is ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,prayer ,who seeketh finds3 what shall be his relief ,who hath no power to seek1 no heart to pray1 ,no sense of ,god1 but bears as best he may1 ,a lonely incommunicable grief8 ,what shall he do8 ,one only thing he knows1 ,that his life flits a frail uneasy spark ,in the great vast of universal dark1 ,and that the grave may not be all repose4 ,be still1 sad soul6 lift thou no passionate cry1 ,but spread the desert of thy being bare ,to the full searching of the ,all-seeing eye3 ,wait--and through dark misgiving1 blank despair1 ,god will come down in pity1 and fill the dry ,dead plain with light1 and life1 and vernal air4 ,j4,c4 ,,shairp4 99 99 99 99 99 ,x ,,concerning ,,prayer ,what man is there of you1 who1 if his son shall ask him for a loaf1 will give him a stone2 or if he shall ask for a fish1 will give him a serpent8 ,if ye then1 being evil1 know how to give good gifts unto your children1 how much more shall your ,father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask ,him8--,,matt4 vii4 #i-aa4 ,there has been in our day much painful disputation concerning prayer and the laws of nature4 ,whole volumes have been written to prove that it is possible1 or that it is impossible1 for ,god to answer prayer4 ,i am not going to thresh out again this dry straw just now4 ,discussions of this kind have1 undoubtedly1 their place2 indeed1 whether we will or no1 they are often forced upon us by the conditions of the hour2 but they had no place in the teaching of ,jesus1 and ,i do not propose to say anything about them now4 ,i wish rather1 imitating as far as may be the gracious simplicity and directness of the argument of ,jesus which we have just read1 to gather up some of the practical suggestions touching this great matter which are strewn throughout the ,gospels alike in the precepts and practice of our ,lord4 ,i ,first of all1 then1 let us get fixed in our minds the saying of ,jesus that men ought always to pray and not to faint4 ,the very form of the saying suggests that ,christ knew how easy it is for us to faint and grow weary in our prayers4 ,men cease from prayer on many grounds4 ,some there are in whom the questioning1 doubting spirit has grown so strong that for a time it has silenced even the cry of the heart for ,god4 ,some there are who are so busy1 they tell us1 that they have no time for prayer2 and after all1 they ask1 ,is not honest work the highest kind of prayer8 ,and some there are who have ceased to pray1 because they have been disappointed1 because nothing seemed to come of their prayers4 ,they asked but they did not receive1 they sought but they did not find1 they knocked but no door was opened to them2 there was neither voice1 nor any to answer1 nor any that regarded2 and now they ask1 they seek1 they knock no more4 ,and some of us there are who do not pray because1 as one of the psalmists says1 our soul cleaveth unto the dust4 ,the things of ,god1 the things of the soul1 the things of eternity--what ,paul calls the things that are above--are of no concern to us2 we have sold ourselves to work1 to think1 to live1 for the things of the earth and the dust4 ,nevertheless1 be the cause of our prayerlessness what it may1 ,christ's word remains true4 ,man made in the image of ,god ought always to pray and not to faint4 ,and even more than by ,his words does ,christ by ,his example prompt us to prayer4 ,turn1 e4g41 to the third ,gospel4 ,all the ,evangelists show us ,jesus at prayer2 but it is to ,luke that we owe almost all our pictures of the kneeling ,christ4 ,let us glance at them as they pass in quick succession before our eyes3 ,jesus having been baptized1 and praying1 the heaven was opened 7iii4 #ba74 ,he withdrew ,himself in the deserts1 and prayed 7v4 #af74 ,it came to pass in these days1 that ,he went out into the mountain to pray2 and ,he continued all night in prayer to ,god4 7vi4 #ab74 ,it came to pass1 as ,he was praying alone1 the disciples were with ,him 7ix4 #ah74 ,it came to pass about eight days after these sayings1 ,he took with ,him ,peter and ,john and ,james and went up into the mountain to pray4 ,and as ,he was praying the fashion of ,his countenance was altered1 and ,his raiment became white and dazzling 7ix4 #bh1 #bi74 ,it came to pass1 as ,he was praying in a certain place1 that when ,he ceased1 one of the disciples said unto ,him1 ,lord1 teach us to pray1 even as ,john also taught his disciples 7xi4 #a74 ,simon1 ,simon1 behold1 ,satan asked to have you1 that he might sift you as wheat2 but ,i made supplication for thee1 that thy faith fail not 7xxii4 #cb74 ,and ,he kneeled down and prayed1 saying1 ,father1 if ,thou be willing1 remove this cup from ,me3 nevertheless not ,my will1 but ,thine be done4444 ,and being in an agony ,he prayed more earnestly1 and ,his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground 7xxii4 #da1 #dd74 ,and ,jesus said1 ,father1 forgive them2 for they know not what they do 7xxiii4 #cd74 ,and if thus ,he1 the ,redeemer1 prayed1 how much greater need have we1 the redeemed1 always to pray and not to faint8 ,but we are so busy1 we have no time4 ,then let us look at another picture4 ,this time it is ,mark who is the painter4 ,he has chosen as his subject our ,lord's first ,sabbath in ,capernaum4 ,the day begins with teaching3 ,he entered into the synagogue and taught4 ,after teaching comes healing3 ,there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit2 him1 straightway1 ,jesus healed4 ,then1 straightway1 when they were come out of the synagogue1 they came into the house of ,simon and ,andrew1 with ,james and ,john4 ,now ,simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever1 and straightway they tell ,him of her2 and ,he came and took her by the hand1 and raised her up4 ,so the day wore on toward evening and sunset1 when they brought unto ,him all that were sick1 and them that were possessed with devils4 ,and all the city was gathered together at the door4 ,and ,he healed many that were sick with divers diseases and cast out many devils4 ,so closed at last the long day's busy toil4 ,and in the morning1 a great while before day1 ,he rose up and went out and departed into a desert place1 and there prayed2 as if just because ,he was so much with men the more did ,he need to be with ,god4 ,laborare est orare1 we say1 work is prayer4 ,and1 undoubtedly1 work may be prayer2 but we are deceiving ourselves and hurting our own souls1 if we think that work can take the place of prayer4 ,and if there is one lesson that these earthly years of the ,son of ,man--busy as they were prayerful1 prayerful as they were busy--can teach us1 it is surely this1 that just because our activities are so abounding1 the more need have we to make a space around the soul wherein it may be able to think1 and pray1 and aspire4 ,one of the best-known pictures of the last half century is ,millet's ,angelus4 ,the scene is a potato-field1 in the midst of which1 and occupying the foreground of the picture1 are two figures1 a young man and a young woman4 ,against the distant sky-line is the steeple of a church4 ,it is the evening hour1 and as the bell rings which calls the villagers to worship1 the workers in the field lay aside the implements of their toil1 and with folded hands and bowed heads1 stand for a moment in silent prayer4 ,it is a picture of what every life should be1 of what every life must be1 which has taken as its pattern the ,perfect ,life in which work and prayer are blent like bells of sweet accord4 ,,ii ,another saying of ,christ's concerning prayer1 not less fundamental is this3 ,when ye pray1 say1 ,our ,father1 which art in heaven4 ,how essential to prayer is a right thought of ,god it can hardly be necessary to point out4 ,when ye pray say---- what8 ,all depends on how we fill in the blank4 ,our thought of ,god determines the character of all our intercourse with ,him4 ,if ,god is only the name which we give to the vast1 unknown ,power which lies behind the visible phenomena of the universe1 if ,he is only a dim shadow projected by our own minds1 or a collection of attributes whose names we have learned from the ,catechism1 our prayers will soon come to an end4 ,when ,jesus prayed ,he said always ,father2 and the ,father to whom ,he prayed1 and whom ,he revealed1 ,he it is to whom our prayers should be offered4 ,this is a matter the practical importance of which it would be hard to exaggerate4 ,think1 e4g41 of the questions concerning prayer which would be answered straightway1 had we but made our own ,christ's thought of ,god4 ,we are all familiar with the little problems about prayer with which some good people are wont to tease themselves and their friends and their ministers3 ,is it right to pray for rain1 for fine weather for the recovery of health1 for the success of some temporal enterprize1 and so forth8 ,how shall we meet questions of this sort8 ,shall we draw a line and say1 all things on this side of the line we may pray about1 all things on that side of the line we may not pray about8 ,this will not help us4 ,rather we must keep ,christ's great word before us3 ,when ye pray1 say1 ,father4 ,there or nowhere is the answer to be found4 ,just as every wise father seeks to train his child to make of him his confidant1 to have no secrets from him1 to trust him utterly1 and in everything1 so would ,god have us feel towards ,him2 as free1 as frank1 as unfettered1 should our fellowship with ,him be4 ,to put it under constraint1 to fence it about with rules1 would be to rob it of all that gives it worth1 ,and1 therefore1 ,i cannot tell any man1 and ,i do not want any man to tell me1 what we may pray for1 or what we may not pray for4 ,when ye pray1 say1 ,father2 and for the rest let your own heart teach you4 ,but if we are left thus free shall we not ask many things which we have no right to ask1 which ,god cannot grant8 ,undoubtedly we shall1 just as a boy of five will ask many things that his father1 because he loves him1 must refuse4 ,nevertheless1 no wise father would wish to check the childish prattle4 ,there is nothing that he values more than just these frank1 uncalculating confidences1 for he knows that it is by means of them that the shaping hands of love can do their perfect work4 ,and the remedy for our mistakes in prayer is not a set of little man-made rules1 telling us what to pray for and what not to pray for1 but rather a deeper insight into1 and a fuller understanding of1 the glory and blessedness of the ,divine ,fatherhood4 ,,iii ,passing now from these preliminary counsels concerning prayer1 let us note how great is the importance which1 both by ,his precepts and ,his example1 ,christ attaches to the duty of intercessory prayer4 ,i have been much struck of late in reading several books on this subject1 to note how one writer after another judges it needful to warn his readers against the idea that prayer is no more than petition4 ,what they say is1 of course1 true2 prayer is much more than petition4 ,but1 unless ,i misread the signs of the times1 this is not the warning which just now we most need to hear4 ,rather do we need to be told that prayer is more than communion1 that petition1 simple asking that we may obtain1 is a part1 and a very large part of prayer4 ,who rises from prayer a better man1 says ,george ,meredith1 his prayer is answered4 ,this is true1 but it is far from being the whole truth4 ,the duty of intercession1 of prayer for others1 is writ large on every page of the ,new ,testament2 but intercession has simply no meaning at all unless we believe that ,god will grant our requests as may be most expedient for us and for them for whom we pray4 ,let me illustrate the wealth of ,christ's teaching on this matter by two or three examples4 7#a7 ,we have all read ,tennyson's question-- ,what are men better than sheep or goats ,that nourish a blind life within the brain1 ,if1 knowing ,god1 they lift not hands of prayer ,both for themselves and those who call them friends8 ,for themselves and those who call them friends--but ,christ will not suffer us to stop there4 ,bless them that curse you1 ,he said2 pray for them that despitefully use you4 ,so ,he spoke1 and on the ,cross ,he made the great word luminous for ever by ,his own prayer for ,his murderers3 ,father1 forgive them2 for they know not what they do4 7#b7 ,christ prayed for ,his disciples and for ,his ,church3 ,i pray for them 444 neither for these only do ,i pray1 but for them also that believe on ,me through their word4 ,i will pray the ,father and ,he shall give you ----4 ,only once are the actual words recorded1 but they cover1 we are sure1 great stretches of ,christ's intercourse with ,god4 ,and when once in their work for ,him they had failed1 ,he puts ,his finger on the secret of their failure thus3 ,this kind can come out by nothing save by prayer4 ,do we pray for our ,church8 ,we find fault with it2 but do we pray for it8 ,we blame its office--bearers and criticize its ministers2 but do we pray for them8 ,we go to the house of ,god on the ,sabbath day2 but no fire is burning on the altar1 the minister has no message for us1 we come away no whit better than we went4 ,whose is the blame8 ,let the man in the pulpit take his share2 but is it all his8 ,must not some of it be laid at the door of his people8 ,how many of them during the week had prayed for him1 that his eyes might be opened and his heart touched1 that as he sat and worked in his study he might get from ,god to give to them8 ,dr4 ,dale used to say that if ever he preached a good sermon1 a sermon that really helped men1 it was due to the prayers of his people as much as to anything he had done himself4 ,if in all our churches we would but proclaim a truce to our bickerings and fault-findings1 and try what prayer can do6 7#c7 ,christ prayed for the children3 ,then were there brought unto ,him little children that ,he should lay ,his hands on them1 and pray4444 ,and ,he took them in ,his arms1 and blessed them1 laying ,his hands upon them4 ,it is surely needless to dwell on this4 ,what man is there who1 if he have a child1 will not speak to ,god in his behalf8 ,and all the people said unto ,samuel1 ,pray for thy servants unto the ,lord thy ,god that we die not4444 ,and ,samuel said unto the people1 ,god forbid that ,i should sin against the ,lord in ceasing to pray for you4 ,god have mercy on him who has little children who bear his name1 but who never cries to heaven in their behalf6 ,he blessed them1 i4e4 ,he invoked a blessing1 ,god's blessing1 upon them4 ,and we are sure the prayer was heard1 and the little ones were blessed4 ,and will not ,god hear our prayers for our children8 ,when ,monica1 the saintly mother of ,augustine1 besought an ,african bishop once and again to help her with her wilful1 profligate son1 the good man answered her1 ,woman1 go in peace2 it cannot be that the child of such tears should be lost4 ,god's seed1 wrote ,samuel ,rutherford to ,marion ,m',naught about her daughter ,grizel1 shall come to ,god's harvest4 ,it shall1 for the promise holds1 and what we have sown we shall also reap4 7#d7 ,and1 lastly1 ,christ prayed for individuals3 ,simon1 ,simon1 behold1 ,satan asked to have you1--all of you1 that is2 the pronoun is plural-- that he might sift you as wheat2 but ,i made supplication for thee-- thee1 ,peter2 now the singular pronoun is used--that thy faith fail not4 ,the words point to a definite crisis in the experience of ,peter1 when the onset of the ,tempter was met by the intercession of the ,saviour4 ,to me ,gethsemane itself is not more wonderful than this picture of ,christ on ,his knees before ,god1 naming ,his loved disciple by name1 and praying that1 in this supreme hour of his life1 his faith should not utterly break down4 ,making mention of thee in my prayers--does this not bring us near to the secret of prevailing prayer8 ,we are afraid to be individual and particular2 we lose ourselves in large generalities1 until our prayers die of very vagueness4 ,there is surely a more excellent way4 ,my ,god1 ,paul wrote to the ,philippians1 shall fulfil--not merely all your need1 as the ,authorized ,version has it1 but--every need of yours4 ,there is a fine discrimination in the ,divine love which sifts and sorts men's needs1 and applies itself to them one by one1 just as the need may be4 ,and when in prayer we speak to ,god1 let it be not only of all our need1 flung in one great1 careless heap before ,him1 but of every need of ours1 each one named by its name1 and all spread out in order before ,him4 ,,iv ,and as ,christ teaches us to pray for others1 so also does ,he teach us to pray for ourselves4 ,two points only in this connection can be noted4 7#a7 ,let us pray when we enter into our ,gethsemane2 for every life has its ,gethsemane4 ,some there are who have not yet entered it2 they are young1 and their way thus far has teen among the roses and lilies of life4 ,but for them1 too1 the path leads to ,gethsemane1 and some day they also will lie prostrate in an agony1 under the darkening olive trees4 ,and some there are to whom life seems but one long ,gethsemane4 ,in that dread agony ,god help us to pray6 ,nay1 what else then can a man do but1 as ,browning says1 catch at ,god's skirts and pray8 ,but that he can do4 ,death may build its dividing walls great and high1 such as our feet can never scale2 it cannot roof them over and shut us out from ,god4 ,we remember how it was with ,enoch ,arden1 stranded on an isle1 the loneliest in a lonely sea3-- ,had not his poor heart ,spoken with ,that1 which being everywhere ,lets none1 who speaks with ,him1 seem all alone1 ,surely the man had died of solitude4 ,were it not for the doors opened in heaven what should man that is born of a woman do8 ,but when in our ,gethsemane we offer up prayers and supplications1 with strong crying and tears1 it is after ,christ's manner that we must pray4 ,i said just now that there are some to whom life seems one long ,gethsemane4 ,can it be because hitherto they have only prayed1 ,o my ,father1 if it be possible1 let this cup pass away from me8 ,not until with ,christ we bow our heads and say1 ,nevertheless1 not as ,i will1 but as ,thou wilt1 will the iron gates unfold and the shadows of the ,garden lie behind us4 7#b7 ,watch and pray1 that ye enter not into temptation4 ,and if there be some to whom my last word had little or no meaning1 here1 at least1 ,christ speaks to all4 ,and this time ,i have nothing of my own to add by way of comment2 but ,i copy out this passage from ,charles ,kingsley's ,yeast1 for every young man who reads these words to lay to heart3 ,i am no saint1 says ,colonel ,bracebridge1 and ,god only knows how much less of one ,i may become2 but mark my words--if you are ever tempted by passion1 and vanity1 and fine ladies1 to form liaisons1 as the ,jezebels call them1 snares1 and nets and labyrinths of blind ditches1 to keep you down through life1 stumbling and grovelling1 hating yourself and hating the chain to which you cling--in that hour pray--pray as if the devil had you by the throat--to ,almighty ,god1 to help you out of that cursed slough6 ,there is nothing else for it6--pray1 ,i tell you6 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,the ,,forgiveness ,,of ,,injuries ,she1 who kept a tender ,christian hope1 ,haunting a holy text1 and still to that ,returning1 as the bird returns1 at night1 ',let not the sun go down upon your wrath1' ,said1 ',love1 forgive him3' but he did not speak2 ,and silenced by that silence lay the wife1 ,remembering her dear ,lord who died for all1 ,and musing on the little lives of men1 ,and how they mar this little by their feuds4 ,,tennyson4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,xi ,,concerning ,,the ,,forgiveness ,,of ,,injuries ,then came ,peter1 and said to ,him1 ,lord1 how oft shall my brother sin against me1 and ,i forgive him8 until seven times8 ,jesus saith unto him1 ,i say not unto thee1 until seven times2 but1 until seventy times seven4--,,matt1 xviii4 #ba1 #bb4 ,this would seem to be plain enough1 even though we had nothing more from the lips of ,jesus concerning the duty of forgiveness4 ,in point of fact1 however1 the lesson of these words is repeated a full half-dozen times throughout the ,gospels4 ,it may be well1 therefore1 to begin by bringing together our ,lord's sayings on the subject4 ,i ,we turn first to the ,sermon on the ,mount3 ,ye have heard that it was said1 ,thou shalt love thy neighbour1 and hate thine enemy2 but ,i say unto you1 ,love your enemies1 and pray for them that persecute you4 ,then1 in the ,lord's ,prayer we have the familiar petition1 ,forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us4 ,and it is surely a fact full of significance that at the close of the prayer our ,lord should single out this one petition from the rest with this emphatic comment3 ,for if ye forgive men their trespasses1 your heavenly ,father will also forgive you4 ,but if ye forgive not men their trespasses1 neither will your ,father forgive your trespasses4 ,the words quoted thus far are taken from the first ,gospel4 ,similar teaching is found in the second and third4 ,thus1 in ,mark1 we read3 ,and whensoever ye stand praying1 forgive1 if ye have aught against any one2 that your ,father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses2 and in ,luke3 ,if thy brother sin1 rebuke him1 and if he repent1 forgive him4 ,and if he sin against thee seven times in the day1 and seven times turn again to thee1 saying1 ,i repent2 thou shalt forgive him4 ,again1 we have the teaching recorded by ,matthew1 out of which ,peter's question sprang--,if thy brother sin against thee1 go1 show him his fault between thee and him alone2 if he hear thee1 thou hast gained thy brother--followed by the parable of the ,unforgiving ,servant1 with its solemn warning of inimitable doom3 ,so shall also ,my heavenly ,father do unto you1 if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts4 ,and1 finally1 all these words are made fast for ever in the minds and consciences of men1 by the great act on the ,cross when the dying ,redeemer prayed for the men who slew ,him3 ,father1 forgive them2 for they know not what they do4 ,the meaning of all this is unmistakable4 ,no child could miss the point of the solemn parable to which ,i have referred4 ,at the same time1 it may not be out of place to point out that there are not a few instances in which people may feel themselves wronged1 which1 nevertheless1 do not come within the scope of ,christ's teaching about forgiveness4 ,an illustration will best explain my meaning4 ,it sometimes happens1 both in business life and in the ,church1 that two men1 equally honourable and true1 but with almost nothing else in common1 are often thrown into each other's company4 ,they have to deal with the same facts1 but they look upon them with wholly different eyes1 they approach them from wholly different points of view4 ,the results are obvious4 ,there are not only widely differing opinions1 but occasional misunderstandings1 and sometimes sharper words than ought ever to pass between ,christian men4 ,now1 to say broadly that one is right and the other wrong1 that the one owes confession and the other forgiveness1 is simply not true2 what is true is that the men are different1 different in temperament1 different in training1 different in their whole habits of thought and life4 ,and what is needed is that each should learn frankly to recognize the fact4 ,this is not a case for rebuking1 and repenting1 and forgiving1 but for mutual forbearance4 ,there are multitudes of good people1 people whose goodness no one who knows them would ever question1 whom yet we cannot take to our bosoms1 and treat as intimate personal friends4 ,even religion does not all at once straighten out all the twists in human nature1 nor rub down all its hard angularities4 ,and1 as ,i say1 it is our simple1 common-sense duty to recognize the fact2 and if sometimes we find even our fellow--,christians very trying1 well1 we must learn to bear and forbear1 always remembering that others probably find us no less trying than we sometimes find them4 ,but where grave and undeniable injury has been done1 immediately ,christ's teaching comes into operation4 ,the injured one must banish all thought of revenge4 ,never must we say1 ,i will do so to him as he hath done to me2 ,i will render to the man according to his work4 ,rather must we strive to overcome evil by good1 and by the manifestation of a forgiving spirit to win the wrong-doer to repentance and amendment4 ,,ii ,when1 now1 we take these precepts of ,jesus and lay them side by side with the life of the world1 or even with the life of the ,church1 as day by day it passes before our eyes1 our first thought must be1 how little yet do men heed the words of ,jesus1 how much mightier is the pagan spirit of revenge than the ,christian spirit of forgiveness4 ,indeed1 of all the virtues which ,christ inculcated1 this1 perhaps1 is the most difficult4 ,true forgiveness--,i do not speak of the poor1 bloodless phantom which sometimes passes by the name3 ,forgive6 ,how many will say 'forgive1' and find ,a sort of absolution in the sound ,to hate a little longer1 --not of such do ,i speak1 but of true forgiveness1 and this1 ,i say1 can never for us men be an easy thing4 ,perhaps a frank consideration of some of the difficulties may contribute to their removal4 7#a7 ,one chief reason why ,christ's command remains so largely a dead letter is to be found in our unwillingness to acknowledge that we have committed an injury4 ,that another should have wronged us we find no difficulty in believing2 that we have wronged another is very hard to believe4 ,look at the very form of ,peter's question3 ,how oft shall my brother sin against me1 and ,i forgive him8 ,my brother the wrong-doer1 myself the wronged--that is what we are all ready to assume4 ,but what if it is ,i who have need to be forgiven8 ,but this is what our pride will not suffer us to believe4 ,that bold villain ,shame1 who plucked ,faithful by the elbow in the ,valley of ,humiliation1 and sought to persuade him that it is a shame to ask one's neighbour forgiveness for petty faults1 or to make restitution where we have taken from any1 is always quick to seize his opportunity4 ,and he is especially quick when acknowledgement is due to one who is socially our inferior4 ,if an employee be guilty of some gross discourtesy towards his master1 or a servant towards her mistress1 the master or mistress may demand a prompt apology on pain of instant dismissal4 ,but when it is the servant or employee who is the injured person he has no such remedy2 yet surely1 in ,christ's eyes1 his very dependence makes the duty of confession doubly imperative4 ,if1 ,christ said1 thou art offering thy gift at the altar1 and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee--note exactly ,christ's words2 ,he did not say1 ,if thou rememberest that thou hast aught against thy brother2 alas1 it is very easy for most of us to do that2 what ,he said was1 ,if thou rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee4 ,whom did ,i overreach in business yesterday8 ,whose good name did ,i drag through the mire8 ,what heart did ,i stab with my cruel words8 ,if thou rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee1 leave there thy gift before the altar1 and go thy way1 first be reconciled to thy brother1 and then come and offer thy gift4 7#b7 ,if the difficulties are great when we have committed the wrong1 they are hardly less when we have suffered it4 ,thomas ,fuller tells how once he saw a mother threatening to beat her little child for not rightly pronouncing the petition in the ,lord's ,prayer1 ,forgive us our trespasses1 as we forgive them that trespass against us4 ,the child tried its best1 but could get no nearer than tepasses1 and trepasses4 ,alas6 says ,fuller1 it is a shibboleth to a child's tongue wherein there is a confluence of hard consonants together2 and then he continues1 ,what the child could not pronounce the parents do not practise4 ,o how lispingly and imperfectly do we perform the close of this petition3 ,as we forgive them that trespass against us4 ,in the old ,greek and ,roman world1 we have been told1 people not only did not forgive their enemies1 but did not wish to do so1 nor think better of themselves for having done so4 ,that man considered himself fortunate who1 on his deathbed1 could say1 on reviewing his past life1 that no one had done more good to his friends or more mischief to his enemies4 ,and though we profess and call ourselves ,christians1 how strong in many of us still is the old heathen desire to be even with one who has wronged us1 and to make him smart for it4 ,many of us1 as ,dr4 ,dale says1#dd have given a new turn to an old text4 ,in our own private ,revised ,version of the ,new ,testament we read3 ,whosoever speaketh a word or committeth a wrong against ,god1 it shall be forgiven him2 but whosoever speaketh a word or committeth a wrong against me1 it shall not be forgiven him2 certainly not in this world1 even if it is forgiven in the world to come4 ,resentment against moral evil every good man must feel2 but when with the clear1 bright flame of a holy wrath there mingle the dark fumes of personal vindictiveness1 we do wrong1 we sin against ,god4 ,nowhere in ,scripture1 perhaps1 have we such a lesson on the difficulty of forgiveness as in the reference to ,alexander the coppersmith1 in ,st4 ,paul's last letter to ,timothy4 ,even if we read his words in the modified and undoubtedly accurate form in which they are found in the ,revised ,version1 we still feel how far short they come of the standard of ,christ4 ,paul1 says ,dr4 ,whyte1 was put by ,alexander to the last trial and sorest temptation of an apostolic and a sanctified heart4#de ,and with all the greatness of our regard for the great apostle1 we dare not say that he came out of the trial wholly unscathed4 ,did ever any man come out of such a fire unhurt--any save ,one8 ,yet it is not for me to sit in judgment on ,st4 ,paul2 only let us remember we have no warrant from ,god to hate any man and to hand him over to eternal judgment even though1 like ,alexander1 he heap insult and injury1 not only upon ourselves1 but upon the cause and ,church of ,christ4 7#c7 ,and then to this native1 inborn unwillingness to forgive there comes in to strengthen it our knowledge of the fact that forgiveness is sometimes mistaken for1 and does1 in fact1 sometimes degenerate into1 the moral weakness which slurs over a fault1 and refuses to strike only because it dare not4 ,nevertheless1 though there be counterfeits current1 there is a reality2 there is a forgiving spirit which has no kinship with cowardice or weakness or mere mushiness of character1 but which is the offspring of strength and goodness and mercy1 in short1 of all in man that is likest ,god4 ,and it is this not that which ,god bids us make our own2 and not the less so because in the rough ways of the world that so often passes for this4 ,,iii ,it would be easy to go on enumerating difficulties1 but long as the enumeration might be1 ,christ's command would still remain in all its explicitness1 the ,divine obligation would be in no way weakened4 ,we must forgive2 we must forgive from our hearts2 and there must be no limit to our forgiveness4 ,nor is this all4 ,the whole law of forgiveness is not fulfilled when one who has done us an injury has come humbly making confession1 and we have accepted the confession and agreed to let bygones be bygones4 ,we should be heartless wretches indeed1 if1 under such circumstances1 we were not willing to do as much as that4 ,but we must do more3 ,if thy brother sin against thee1 go1 show him his fault between thee and him alone2 if he hear thee1 thou hast gained thy brother4 ,we1 we who have been wronged1 must take the first step4 ,we must not wait for the wrong-doer to come to us2 we must go to him4 ,we must lay aside our vindictiveness1 and earnestly1 patiently1 making our appeal to his better self1 by every art and device which love can suggest1 we must help him to take sides against the wrong which he has done1 until at last forgiving love has led him captive1 and our brother is won4 ,this is the teaching of ,jesus4 ,let me suggest1 in conclusion1 a three-fold reason why we should give heed to it4 ,let us forgive for our own sake4 ,a man of an unforgiving spirit is always his own worst enemy4 ,he that studieth revenge1 says ,bacon1 keeps his own wounds green1 which otherwise would heal and do well4 ,if thou hast not mercy for others1 says ,sir ,thomas ,browne1 yet be not cruel unto thyself2 to ruminate upon evils1 to make critical notes upon injuries1 is to add unto our own tortures1 to feather the arrows of our enemies4 ,there is no misery worse than that of a mind which broods continually over its own wrongs1 be they real or only fancied4 ,there is no gloom so deep and dark as that which settles on a hard and unrelenting soul4 ,and1 on the other hand1 there is no joy so pure1 there is none so rewarding1 as that of one who1 from his heart1 has learned to say1 ,i forgive4 ,he has tasted the very joy of ,god1 the joy of ,him of whom it is written that ,he delighteth in mercy4 ,just as when a sea-worm perforates the shell of an oyster1 the oyster straightway closes the wound with a pearl1 so does a forgiving spirit heal the hidden hurt of the heart1 and win for itself a boon even at the hands of its foe4 ,let us forgive for our brother's sake4 ,what1 asks ,george ,mac,donald1 am ,i brother for1 but to forgive8 ,and how much for my brother my forgiveness may do6 ,all love1 not ,christ's love only1 has within it a strange redemptive power4 ,we often profess ourselves puzzled by that hard saying of ,jesus concerning the binding and loosing of men's sins4 ,yet this is just what human love1 or the want of it1 is doing every day4 ,when we forgive men their sins1 we so far loose them from them2 we help them to believe in the power and reality of the ,divine forgiveness4 ,when we refuse to forgive1 we bind their sins to them1 we make them doubt the love and mercy of ,god4 ,have we forgotten the part which ,ananias played in the conversion of ,saul of ,tarsus8 ,st4 ,augustine used to say that the ,church owed ,paul to the prayers of ,stephen4 ,might he not have said1 with equal truth1 that the ,church owed ,paul to the forgiveness of ,ananias8 ,for three days1 without sight1 and without food or drink1 ,saul waited in ,damascus1 pondering the meaning of the heavenly vision4 ,then came unto him1 sent by ,god1 the man whose life he had meant to take3 ,ananias entered into the house2 and1 laying his hands on him1 said1 ,brother ,saul1 the ,lord1 even ,jesus1 who appeared unto thee in the way which thou earnest1 hath sent me4 ,brother ,saul--how his heart must have leapt within him at the sound of the word6 ,it was a voice from without confirming the voice within2 it was the love and forgiveness of man sealing and making sure the love and forgiveness of ,god4 ,wherefore1 let us take heed lest1 by our sullen refusal to forgive1 we be thrusting some penitent soul back into the miry depths1 whence1 slowly and painfully1 it is winning its way into the light and love of ,god4 ,let us forgive for ,christ's sake1 because of that which ,god through ,him has done for us4 ,when1 day by day1 we pray1 ,forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us1 what we are asking is1 that ,god will deal with us as we are dealing with others4 ,do we mean what we say8 ,are we showing a mercy as large as we need8 ,chrysostom tells us that many people in his day used to omit the words1 ,as we forgive them that trespass against us4 ,they did not dare to ask ,god to deal with their sins as they were dealing with the sins of those who had wronged them1 lest they brought upon themselves not a blessing but a curse4 ,and would it not go hardly with some of us1 if1 with the measure we mete1 ,god should measure to us again8 ,yet there is no mistaking ,christ's words3 ,if ye forgive not men their trespasses1 neither will your ,father forgive your trespasses4 ,therefore1 let me think of myself1 of my own sin1 of the forgiveness even unto seventy times seven which ,i need2 and then let me ask1 can ,i1 whose need is so great1 dole out my forgiveness with a grudging hand1 counting till a poor seven times be reached1 and then staying my hand8 ,rather1 let me pray1 ,lord1 ,make my forgiveness downright--such as ,i ,should perish if ,i did not have from ,thee4 ,let all bitterness1 and wrath1 and anger1 and clamour1 and railing1 be put away from you1 with all malice2 and be ye kind one to another1 tenderhearted1 forgiving each other1 even as ,god also in ,christ forgave you4 ,o man1 forgive thy mortal foe1 ,nor ever strike him blow for blow2 ,for all the souls on earth that live ,to be forgiven must forgive1 ,forgive him seventy times and seven3 ,for all the blessed souls in ,heaven ,are both forgivers and forgiven4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,care ,my spirit on ,thy care1 ,blest ,saviour1 ,i recline2 ,thou wilt not leave me in despair1 ,for ,thou art ,love ,divine4 ,in ,thee ,i place my trust1 ,on ,thee ,i calmly rest2 ,i know ,thee good1 ,i know ,thee just1 ,and count ,thy choice the best4 ,whate'er events betide1 ,thy will they all perform2 ,safe in ,thy breast my head ,i hide1 ,nor fear the coming storm4 ,let good or ill befall1 ,it must be good for me1 ,secure of having ,thee in all1 ,of having all in ,thee4 ,h4,f4 ,,lyth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,xii ,,concerning ,,care ,be not anxious for your life 444 nor yet for your body4444 ,be not anxious1 saying1 ,what shall we eat8 or1 ,what shall we drink8 444 ,be not anxious for the morrow4--,,matt4 vi4 #be1 #ca1 #cd4 ,i ,take no thought for your life is the more familiar rendering of the ,authorized ,version4 ,and if the words conveyed the same meaning to us to-day as they did to all ,english-speaking people in the year #afaa1 there would have been no need for a change4 ,a great student of words1 the late ,archbishop ,trench1 tells us that thought was then constantly used as equivalent to anxiety or solicitous care2 and he gives three illustrations of this use of the word from writers of the ,elizabethan age4 ,thus ,bacon writes3 ,harris1 an alderman in ,london1 was put in trouble1 and died with thought and anxiety before his business came to an end4 ,again1 in one of the ,somer's ,tracts1 we read1 ,queen ,katharine ,parr died of thought2 and in ,shakespeare's ,julius ,caesar1 ,take thought and die for ,caesar1 where to take thought is to take a matter so seriously to heart that death ensues4#df ,in #afaa1 therefore1 the old translation did accurately reproduce ,christ's thought4 ,to-day1 however1 it is altogether inadequate1 and sometimes1 it is to be feared1 positively misleading4 ,for neither in this chapter nor anywhere in ,christ's teaching is there one word against what we call forethought1 and they who would find in the words of ,jesus any encouragement to thriftlessness are but misrepresenting ,him and deceiving themselves4 ,every man1 who is not either a rogue or a fool1 must take thought for the morrow2 at least1 if he does not1 some one must for him1 or the morrow will avenge itself upon him without mercy4 ,what our ,lord forbids is not prudent foresight1 but worry3 ,be ye not anxious6 ,the word which ,christ uses 77,greek3 merimnate77 is a very suggestive one2 it describes the state of mind of one who is drawn in different directions1 torn by internal conflict1 distracted1 as we say1 where precisely the same figure of speech occurs4 ,a similar counsel is to be found in another and still more striking word which only ,luke has recorded1 and which is rendered1 ,neither be ye of doubtful mind4 ,there is a picture in the word 77,greek3 meteorizesthe77 the picture of a vessel vexed by contrary winds1 now uplifted on the crest of some huge wave1 now labouring in the trough of the sea4 ,be ye not thus1 ,christ says to ,his disciples1 the sport of your cares1 driven by the wind and tossed2 but let the peace of ,god rule in your hearts1 and be ye not of doubtful mind4 ,it cannot surprise us that ,jesus should speak thus2 rather should we have been surprised if it had been otherwise4 ,how could ,he speak to men at all and yet be silent about their cares8 ,for how full of care the lives of most men are6 ,one is anxious about his health1 and another about his business2 one is concerned because for weeks he has been without work1 and another because his investments are turning out badly2 some are troubled about their children1 and some there are who are making a care even of their religion1 and instead of letting it carry them are trying to carry it2 until1 with burdens of one kind or another1 we are like a string of ,swiss pack-horses1 such as one may sometimes see1 toiling and straining up some steep ,alpine pass under a blazing ,july sun4 ,poor ,martha1 with her sad1 tired face1 and nervous1 fretful ways1 anxious and troubled about many things1 is everywhere to-day4 ,nor is it the poor only whose lives are full of care4 ,it was not a poor man amid his poverty1 but a rich man amid his riches1 who1 in ,christ's parable1 put to himself the question1 ,what shall ,i do8 ,the birds of care build their nests amid the turrets of a palace as readily as in the thatched roof of a cottage4 ,the cruel thorns--the cares of this life1 as ,jesus calls them--which choke the good seed1 sometimes spring up more easily within the carefully fenced enclosure of my lord's park than in the little garden plot of the keeper of his lodge4 ,on the whole1 perhaps1 and in proportion to their number1 there is less harassing1 wearing anxiety in the homes of the poor than in those of the wealthy4 ,and what harsh taskmasters our cares can be6 ,how they will lord it over us6 ,give them the saddle and the reins1 and they will ride us to death4 ,seat them on the throne1 and they will chastise us not only with whips but with scorpions4 ,it is no wonder that ,christ should set ,himself to free men from this grinding tyranny4 ,he is no true deliverer for us who cannot break the cruel bondage of our cares4 ,,ii ,let us listen1 then1 to ,christ's gracious argument and wise remonstrances4 ,what1 ,he asks1 is the good of our anxiety8 ,what can it do for us8 ,which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto his stature8 ,if1 then1 ye are not able to do that which is least1 why are ye anxious concerning the rest8 ,but1 the morrow6 the morrow6 we cry4 ,let the morrow1 ,christ answers1 take care of itself2 sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof2 learn thou to live a day at a time4 ,our earliest duty1 says a great writer of our day1 is to cultivate the habit of not looking round the corner2 which is but another version of ,christ's simple precept4 ,and the saying1 simple and obvious as it may seem1 never fails to justify itself4 ,for one thing1 the morrow rarely turns out as our fears imagined it4 ,our very anxiety blurs our vision1 and throws our judgment out of focus4 ,we see things through an atmosphere which both magnifies and distorts4 ,we remember how it was with ,mr4 ,fearing3 ,when he was come to the entrance of the ,valley of the ,shadow of ,death1 ,i thought--it is ,greatheart who tells the story--,i should have lost my man3 not for that he had any inclination to go back1--that he always abhorred2 but he was ready to die for fear4 ,oh1 the hobgoblins will have me6 the hobgoblins will have me6 cried he2 and ,i could not beat him out on't4 ,yet see how matters fell out4 ,this ,i took very great notice of1 goes on ,greatheart1 that this valley was as quiet while he went through it as ever ,i knew it before or since4 ,and again1 when ,mr4 ,fearing was come at the river where was no bridge1 there again he was in a heavy case4 ,now1 now1 he said1 he should be drowned for ever1 and so never see that face with comfort1 that he had come so many miles to behold4 ,but once more his fears were put to shame3 ,here1 also1 ,i took notice of what was very remarkable3 the water of that river was lower at this time than ever ,i saw it in all my life4 ,so he went over at last1 not much above wet-shod4 ,and even though the morrow should prove as bad as our fears1 ,christ's precept is still justified1 for the worst kind of preparation for such a day is worry4 ,worry1 like the undue clatter of machinery1 means waste1 waste of power4 ,anxiety1 it has been well said1 does not empty to-morrow of its sorrows1 but it does empty to-day of its strength4 ,therefore1 let us not be anxious4 ,let us climb our hills when we come to them4 ,god gives each day strength for the day2 but when1 to the responsibilities of to-day we add the burdens of to-morrow1 and try to do the work of two days in the strength of one1 we are making straight paths for the feet of failure and disappointment4 ,all the many voices of reason and experience are on ,christ's side when ,he bids us1 ,be not anxious4 ,yet1 true as all this is1 how inadequate it is6 ,when the tides of care are at the flood they will overrun and submerge all such counsels as these1 as the waves wash away the little sand-hills which children build by the sea-shore4 ,we know it is no good to worry1 people will tell us1 half-petulantly1 when we remonstrate with them2 but we cannot help ourselves1 and if you have no more to say to us than this1 you cannot help us either4 ,and they are right4 ,care is the cancer of the heart1 and if our words can go no deeper than they have yet gone1 it can never be cured4 ,it is an inward spiritual derangement1 which calls for something more than little bits of good advice in order to put it right4 ,and if1 again1 we turn to the words of ,jesus1 we shall find the needed something more is given4 ,the care-worn soul1 for its cure1 must be taken out of itself4 ,oh the bliss of waking1 says some one1 with all one's thoughts turned outward6 ,it is the power to do that1 to turn1 and to keep turned1 one's thoughts outwards that the care-ridden need2 and ,christ will show us how it may be ours4 ,be not anxious1 says ,jesus2 and then side by side with this negative precept ,he lays this positive one3 ,seek ye first the kingdom of ,god4 ,christ came to establish a kingdom in which all men's good should be each man's rule1 and love the universal law4 ,when1 therefore1 ,he bids the anxious seek the kingdom1 what ,he means is that they are to find an escape from self and self-consuming cares in service4 ,when you find yourself overpowered by melancholy1 said ,john ,keble1 the best way is to go out and do something kind to somebody or other4 ,and thousands who are sitting daily in the gloom of a self-created misery1 with all the blinds of the spirit drawn1 if they would but go out and begin to care for others1 would speedily cease their miserable care for themselves4 ,when ,i dig a man out of trouble1 some one quaintly writes1 the hole he leaves behind him is the grave in which ,i bury my own trouble4#dg ,this is not the whole cure for care2 but if the mind is to be kept from burrowing in the dark of its own fears and anxieties1 it must be set resolutely and constantly on those nobler ends to which ,christ in ,his gospel summons us all4 ,the care-worn1 ,christ says1 must think of others2 and1 most of all1 they must think of ,god4 ,let not your heart be troubled 444 believe4 ,this is the great argument into which all other arguments run up4 ,this is the larger truth1 within whose wide circumference lie all ,christ's words concerning care4 ,we are not to care because we are cared for1 cared for by ,god4 ,there is1 ,christ teaches us1 a distribution of duties between ourselves and ,god4 ,we1 on our part1 make it our daily business to get ,god's will done on earth as it is done in heaven2 ,he1 on ,his1 undertakes that we shall not want4 ,make you ,his service your delight1 ,he'll make your wants ,his care4 ,once more we see how fundamental is ,christ's doctrine of the ,divine ,fatherhood4 ,it is not so much because our anxiety is useless1 or because it unfits us for service1 but because ,god is what ,he is1 that our worry is at once a blunder and a sin4 ,it is mistrust of the heavenly love that cares for us4 ,the sovereign cure for care is--,god4 ,,iii ,but now a difficulty arises4 ,christ's doctrine of the ,divine ,fatherhood is1 without doubt1 fundamental2 but is it true8 ,a ,god who clothes the blowing lilies with their silent beauty1 without whom no sparrow falleth to the ground1 who numbers the very hairs of our head--it is a glorious faith1 if one could but receive it4 ,but can we8 ,it was possible once1 we think1 in the childhood of the world2 but that time has gone1 and we are the children of a new day1 whose thoughts we cannot choose but think4 ,so long as men thought of our earth as the centre of the universe1 it was not difficult to believe that its inhabitants were the peculiar care of their ,creator4 ,but astronomy has changed all that2 and what once we thought so great1 we know now to be but a speck amid infinite systems of worlds4 ,the old question challenges us with a force the ,psalmist could not feel3 ,when ,i consider ,thy heavens1 the work of ,thy fingers1 the moon and the stars which ,thou hast ordained2 what is man that ,thou are mindful of him8 and the son of man that ,thou visitest him8 ,the infinity of ,god1 the nothingness of man3 the poor brain reels before the contrast4 ,is it thinkable1 we ask1 that ,he whose dwelling-place is eternity should care for us even as we care for our children8 ,so the question is often urged upon us to-day4 ,but arguments of this kind1 it has been well said1 are simply an attempt to terrorize the imagination1 and are not to be yielded to4 ,as a recent writer admirably says3 ,we know little or nothing of the rest of the universe1 and it may very well be that in no other planet but this is there intelligent and moral life2 and1 if that be so1 then this world1 despite its material insignificance1 would remain the real summit of creation4 ,but even if this be not so1 still man remains man--a spiritual being1 capable of knowing1 loving1 and glorifying ,god4 ,man is that1 be there what myriads of worlds there may1 and is not less than that1 though in other worlds were also beings like him4444 ,no conception of ,god is less imposing than that which represents ,him as a kind of millionaire in worlds1 so materialized by the immensity of ,his possessions as to have lost the sense of the incalculably greater worth of the spiritual interests of even the smallest part of them4#dh ,but this is not the only difficulty2 for some it is not the chief difficulty4 ,we have no theories of ,god and the universe which bar the possibility of ,his intervention in the little lives of men4 ,there is nothing incredible to us in the doctrine of a particular ,providence4 ,but where1 we ask1 is the proof of it8 ,we would fain believe1 but the facts of experience seem too strong for us4 ,a hundred thousand ,armenians butchered at the will of an inhuman despot1 a whole city buried under a volcano's fiery hail1 countless multitudes suffering the slow torture of death by famine--can such things be and ,god really care8 ,nor is it only great world tragedies like these which challenge our faith4 ,the question is pressed upon us1 often with sickening keenness1 by the commonplace ills of our own commonplace lives3 the cruel wrong of another's sin1 the long1 wasting pain1 the empty cradle1 the broken heart4 ,how can we look on these things and yet believe that ,eternal ,love is on the throne8 ,except we believe in ,jesus we cannot2 if we do1 we must4 ,for remember1 ,jesus was no shallow optimist2 ,he did not go through life seeing only its pleasant things2 ,he was at ,cana of ,galilee1 but ,he was also at ,nain2 over all ,his life there lay a shadow1 the shadow of the ,cross2 ,he died in the dark1 betrayed of man1 forsaken of ,god2 surely ,he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows4 ,and yet through all1 ,his faith in ,god never wavered4 ,he prayed1 and ,he taught others to pray4 ,when ,he lifted ,his eyes towards heaven1 it was with the word ,father upon ,his lips2 and in like manner ,he bade ,his disciples1 ,when ye pray1 say ',father4' ,he took the trembling hands of men within ,his own1 and looking into their eyes1 filled as they were with a thousand nameless fears1 ,fear not1 ,he said1 our heavenly ,father knoweth2 let not your heart be troubled1 neither let it be afraid4 ,learn of ,me 444 and ye shall find rest unto your souls2 herein is the secret of peace4 ,but it is not enough that we give ear to the words of ,christ2 we must make our own the whole meaning of the fact of ,christ4 ,god's in ,his heaven1 sings ,browning2 all's right with the world4 ,but if ,god is only in ,his heaven1 all is not right with the world4 ,in ,christ we learn that ,god has come from out ,his heaven to earth2 and in the ,cross of ,christ we find the eternal love which meets and answers all our fears4 ,fear not1 ,or if you fear1 ,cast all your cares on ,god2 that anchor holds4 ,let not your heart be troubled1 neither let it be afraid4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,money ,now ,i saw in my dream1 that at the further side of that plain was a little hill called ,lucre1 and in that hill a silver-mine1 which some of them that had formerly gone that way1 because of the rarity of it1 had turned aside to see2 but going too near the brink of the pit1 the ground being deceitful under them1 broke1 and they were slain2-some also had been maimed there1 and could not to their dying day be their own men again4--,,john ,,bunyan4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,xiii ,,concerning ,,money ,how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of ,god6 ,for it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle's eye1 than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of ,god4--,,luke xviii4 #bd1 #be4 ,i ,the most significant thing in the teaching of ,jesus concerning money is the large place which it fills in the records of our ,lord's public ministry4 ,how large that place is few of us1 perhaps1 realize4 ,even religious writers who take in hand to set forth ,christ's teaching in detail1 for the most part1 pass over this subject in silence4 ,in ,hastings' great ,dictionary of the ,bible we find1 under ,money1 a most elaborate article1 extending to nearly twenty pages1 and discussing with great fullness and learning the coinage of various ,biblical periods2 but when we seek to know what the ,new ,testament has to say concerning the use and perils of wealth1 the whole subject is dismissed in some nine lines4 ,very different is the impression which we receive from the ,gospels themselves4 ,it is not possible here to bring together all ,christ's words about money1 but we may take the third ,gospel 7in which the references to the subject are most numerous7 and note ,christ's more striking sayings in the order in which they occur4 ,in the parable of the sower1 in the eighth chapter1 the thorns which choke the good seed are the cares and riches and pleasures of this life4 ,chapter twelve contains a warning against covetousness1 enforced by the parable of the rich fool and its sharp-pointed application1 ,so is he that layeth up treasure for himself1 and is not rich toward ,god4 ,the fourteenth chapter sheds a new light on the law of hospitality3 ,when thou makest a dinner or a supper1 call not thy friends1 nor thy brethren1 nor thy kinsmen1 nor rich neighbours 444 but when thou makest a feast1 bid the poor1 the maimed1 the lame1 the blind2 and thou shalt be blessed4 ,chapter fifteen tells how a certain son wasted his substance with riotous living4 ,chapter sixteen opens with the parable of the unjust steward2 then follow weighty words touching the right use of the mammon of unrighteousness4 ,but the ,pharisees1 who were lovers of money1 when they heard these things1 scoffed at ,him4 ,christ's answer is the parable of ,dives and ,lazarus1 with which the chapter closes4 ,chapter eighteen tells of a rich young ruler's choice1 and of ,christ's sorrowful comment thereon3 ,how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of ,god4 ,and then1 lastly1 in the nineteenth chapter1 we hear ,zacchus1 into whose home and heart ,christ had entered1 resolving on the threshold of his new life that henceforth the half of his goods he would give to the poor1 and that where he had wrongfully exacted aught of any man he would restore four-fold4 ,it is indeed a remarkable fact1 the full significance of which few ,christians have yet realized1 that1 as ,john ,ruskin says1 the subject which we might have expected a ,divine ,teacher would have been content to leave to others is the very one ,he singles out on which to speak parables for all men's memory4#di ,,ii ,the question is sometimes asked how the teaching of ,jesus concerning money is related to that strange product of civilization1 the modern millionaire4 ,the present writer1 at least1 cannot hold with those who think that ,christ was a communist1 or that ,he regarded the possession of wealth as in itself a sin4 ,nevertheless1 it is impossible not to sympathize with the feeling that the accumulation of huge fortunes in the hands of individuals is not according to the will of ,christ4 ,mr4 ,andrew ,carnegie is reported to have said that a man who dies a millionaire dies disgraced2 and few persons who take their ,new ,testament seriously will be disposed to contradict him4 ,but1 inasmuch as all millionaires are not prepared like ,mr4 ,carnegie to save themselves from disgrace1 the question is beginning to arise in the minds of many1 whether society itself should not come to the rescue--its own and the rich man's4 ,no man1 it may be pretty confidently affirmed1 can possibly earn a million2 he may obtain it1 he may obtain it by methods which are not technically unjust1 but he has not earned it4 ,be a man's powers what they may1 it is impossible that his share of the wealth which he has helped to create can be fairly represented by a sum so vast4 ,if he receives it1 others may reasonably complain that there is something wrong in the principle of distribution4 ,and unless1 both by a larger justice to his employees1 and by generous benefactions to the public1 he do something to correct the defects in his title1 he must not be surprised if some who feel themselves disinherited are driven to ask ominous and inconvenient questions4 ,this1 however1 is a matter which it is impossible now to discuss further4 ,turning again to ,christ's sayings about money1 we may summarize them in this fashion3 ,christ says nothing about the making of money1 ,he says much about the use of it1 and still more about its perils and the need there is for a revised estimate of its worth4 ,following the example of ,christ1 it is the last point of which ,i wish more especially to speak4 ,but before coming to that1 it may be well briefly to recall some of the things which ,christ has said touching the use of wealth4 ,wealth1 ,he declares1 is a trust1 for our use of which we must give account unto ,god4 ,in our relation to others we may be proprietors2 before ,god there are no proprietors1 but all are stewards4 ,and in the ,gospels there are indicated some of the ways in which our stewardship may be fulfilled4 ,i will mention two of them4 7#a7 ,when thou doest alms--,christ1 you will observe1 took for granted that ,his disciples would give alms1 as ,he took for granted that they would pray4 ,he prescribes no form which our charity must take2 we have to exercise our judgment in this1 as in other matters4 ,obedience is left the largest liberty1 but not the liberty of disobedience2 and they who open their ears greedily to take in all that the political economist and others tell us of the evils of indiscriminate charity1 only that they may the more tightly button up their pockets against the claims of the needy1 are plainly disregarding the will of ,christ4 ,if what we are told is true1 the more binding is the obligation to discover some other way in which our alms-giving may become more effective4 ,the duty itself no man can escape who calls ,christ ,jesus ,lord and ,master4 7#b7 ,but wealth1 ,christ tells us1 may minister not merely to the physical necessities1 but to the beauty and happiness of life4 ,when ,christ was invited to the marriage-feast at ,cana of ,galilee1 when ,matthew the publican made for ,him a feast in ,his own house1 ,he did not churlishly refuse1 saying that such expenditure was wasteful and wicked excess4 ,when in the house of ,simon the leper ,mary took a pound of ointment of spikenard1 very precious1 and anointed the feet of ,jesus1 and they that sat by murmured1 saying1 ,to what purpose is this waste8 for this ointment might have been sold for above three hundred pence and given to the poor1 ,jesus threw ,his shield about this woman and her deed of love3 ,let her alone2 why trouble ye her8 ,she hath wrought a good work on ,me4 ,these words1 it has been well said1 are the charter of all undertakings which propose1 in the name of ,christ1 to feed the mind1 to stir the imagination1 to quicken the emotions1 to make life less meagre1 less animal1 less dull4#ej ,do not let us speak as though the only friends of the poor were those who gave them oatmeal at ,christmas1 or who secure for them alms-houses in their old age4 ,there is a life which is more than meat1 and all heavenly charity is not to be bound up in bags of flour4 ,he who strives to bring into the grey1 monotonous lives of the toilers of our great cities the sweet1 refining influences of art1 and music and literature1 he who helps his fellows to see and to love the true and the beautiful and the good1 is not one whit less a benefactor of his kind than he who obtains for them better food and better homes4 ,man shall not live by bread alone1 and they who use their wealth to minister to a higher life serve us not less really than they who provide for our physical needs4 ,,iii ,much1 however1 as ,christ has to say concerning the noble uses to which wealth may be put1 it is not here1 as every reader of the ,gospels must feel1 that the full emphasis of ,his words comes4 ,it is when ,he goes on to speak of the perils of the rich1 and of our wrong estimates of the worth of wealth1 that ,his solemn warnings pierce to the quick4 ,christ did not live1 nor does ,he call us to live1 in an unreal world1 though perhaps there are few subjects concerning which more unreal words have been spoken than this4 ,the power of wealth is great1 the power of consecrated wealth is incalculably great2 and this the ,new ,testament freely recognizes2 but wealth is not the great1 necessary1 all-sufficing thing that ninety-nine out of a hundred of us believe it to be4 ,and when we put it first1 and make it the standard by which all things else are to be judged1 ,christ tells us plainly that we are falling into a temptation and a snare1 and into many foolish and hurtful lusts2 we are piercing ourselves through with many sorrows4 ,for once at least1 then1 let us try to look at money with ,his eyes and to weigh it in ,his balances4 ,christ was ,himself a poor man4 ,his mother was what to-day we should call a working-man's wife1 and probably also the mother of a large family4 ,when1 as an infant1 ,jesus was presented in the ,temple1 the offering which ,his parents brought was that which the law prescribed in the case of the poor3 a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons4 ,when ,he came to manhood1 and entered on ,his public ministry1 ,he had no home ,he could call ,his own4 ,in ,his ,father's house1 ,he said1 were many mansions2 but on earth ,he had not where to lay ,his head4 ,women ministered unto ,him of their substance4 ,we never read that ,he had any money at all4 ,when once ,he wanted to use a coin as an illustration1 ,he borrowed it2 when1 at another time1 ,he needed one with which to pay a tax1 ,he wrought a miracle in order to procure it4 ,as ,he was dying1 the soldiers1 we are told1 parted ,his garments among them--that was all there was to divide4 ,when ,he was dead1 men buried ,him in another's tomb4 ,more literally true than perhaps we always realize was the apostle's saying1 ,he became poor4 ,who1 then1 will deny that a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth8 ,yet how strangely materialized our thoughts have become6 ,our very language has been dragged down and made a partner with us in our fall4 ,when1 for example1 our ,authorized ,version was written in #afaa1 the translators could write1 without fear of being misunderstood1 ,let no man seek his own1 but every man another's wealth 7i ,cor4 x4 #bd74ea ,but though the nobler meaning of the word still survives in well and weal1 wealth to-day is rarely used save to indicate abundance of material good4 ,when ,thackeray makes ,becky ,sharp say that she could be good if she had #djjj a year1 and when4 ,mr4 ,keir ,hardie asks if it is possible for a man to be a ,christian on a pound a week1 the thoughts of many hearts are revealed4 ,there is nothing to be done without money1 we think2 money is the golden key which unlocks all doors2 money is the lever which removes all difficulties4 ,this is what many of us are saying1 and what most of us in our hearts are thinking4 ,but clean across these spoken and unspoken thoughts of ours1 there comes the life of ,jesus1 the man of ,nazareth1 to rebuke1 and shame1 and silence us4 ,who in ,his presence dare speak any more of the sovereign might of money8 ,this is the lesson of the life of the ,best4 ,is it not also the lesson of the lives of the good in all ages8 ,the greatest name in the great world of ,greece is ,socrates2 and ,socrates was a poor man4 ,the greatest name in the first century of the ,christian era is ,paul2 and ,paul was a working-man and sometimes in want4 ,it was ,calvinism1 ,mark ,pattison said1 that in the sixteenth century saved ,europe1 and ,calvin's strength1 a ,pope once declared1 lay in this1 that money had no charm for him4 ,john ,wesley re-created modern ,england and left behind him two silver teaspoons and the ,methodist ,church4 ,the ,poets' ,corner in ,westminster ,abbey1 it has been said1 commemorates a glorious company of paupers4 ,and even in ,america1 the land of the millionaire and multi-millionaire1 the names that are graven on the nation's heart1 and which men delight to honour1 are not its ,vanderbilts1 or its ,jay ,goulds1 but ,lincoln1 and ,grant1 and ,garfield1 and ,webster1 and ,clay4 ,this is not mere curb-stone rhetoric2 ,i speak the words of soberness and truth4 ,would that they in whose blood the narrowing lust of gold has begun to burn might be sobered by them6 ,in the name of ,jesus of ,nazareth1 and of all the noblest of the sons of men1 let us deny and defy the sordid traditions of mammon2 let us make it plain that we at least do not believe the wealthiest man among us is the best4 ,godliness with contentment1 said the apostle1 is great gain2 and though these are not the only worthy ends of human effort1 yet he who has made them his has secured for himself a treasure which faileth not1 which will endure when the gilded toys for which men strive and sweat are dust and ashes4 ,it is further worthy of note that it was always the rich rather than the poor whom ,christ pitied4 ,he was sorry for ,lazarus2 ,he was still more sorry for ,dives4 ,blessed are ye poor4444 ,woe unto you that are rich4 ,this two-fold note sounds through all ,christ's teaching4 ,and the reason is not far to seek4 ,as ,jesus looked on life1 ,he saw how the passionate quest for gold was starving all the higher ideals of life4 ,men were concentrating their souls on pence till they could think of nothing else4 ,for mammon's sake they were turning away from the kingdom of heaven4 ,the spirit of covetousness was breaking the peace of households1 setting brother against brother1 making men hard and fierce and relentless4 ,under its hot breath the fairest growths of the spirit were drooping and ready to die4 ,the familiar poor but pious which meets us so often in a certain type of biography could never have found a place on the lips of ,jesus4 ,rich but pious would have been far truer to the facts of life as ,he saw them4 ,the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully1 and after that he could think of nothing but barns3 there was no room for ,god in his life4 ,the ,pharisees who were lovers of money heard these things2 and they scoffed at ,him2 of course1 what could their jaundiced eyes see in ,jesus8 ,and even to one of whom it is written that ,jesus1 looking upon him loved him1 his great possessions proved a magnet stronger than the call of ,christ4 ,it was ,emerson1 ,i think1 who said that the worst thing about money is that it so often costs so much4 ,to take heed that we do not pay too dearly for it1 is the warning which comes to us from every page of the life of ,jesus4 ,are there none of us who need the warning8 ,ye cannot serve ,god and mammon2 we know it1 and that we may the better serve mammon1 we are sacrificing ,god and conscience on mammon's unholy altars4 ,and to-day1 perhaps1 we are content that it should be so4 ,but will our satisfaction last8 ,shall we be as pleased with the bargain to-morrow and the day after as we think we are to-day8 ,and when our last day comes--what8 ,forefancy your deathbed1 said ,samuel ,rutherford2 and though the counsel ill fits the mood of men in their youth and strength1 it is surely well sometimes to look forward and ask how life will bear hereafter the long look back4 ,this night is thy soul required of thee2 and the things which thou hast prepared whose shall they be8--not his1 and he had nothing else4 ,he had laid up treasure for himself1 but it was all of this world's coinage2 of the currency of the land whither he went he had none4 ,in one of ,lowell's most striking poems he pictures the sad retrospect of one who1 through fourscore years1 had wasted on ignoble ends ,god's gift of life2 his hands had plucked the world's coarse gains ,as erst they plucked the flowers of ,may2 but what now1 in life's last hours1 are gains like these8 ,god bends from out the deep and says1 ',i gave thee the great gift of life2 ,wast thou not called in many ways8 ,are not ,my earth and heaven at strife8 ,i gave thee of ,my seed to sow1 ,bringest thou ,me ,my hundred-fold8' ,can ,i look up with face aglow1 ,and answer1 ',father1 here is gold'8 ,and the end of the poem is a wail3 ,i hear the reapers singing go ,into ,god's harvest2 ,i1 that might ,with them have chosen1 here below ,grope shuddering at the gates of night4 ,wherefore let us set not our minds on the things that are upon earth2 let us covet earnestly the best gifts2 let us seek first the kingdom of ,god2 and all other things in due season and in due measure shall be added unto us4#eb 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,the ,,second ,,advent ,lo as some venturer1 from his stars receiving ,promise and presage of sublime emprise1 ,wears evermore the seal of his believing ,deep in the dark of solitary eyes1 ,yea to the end1 in palace or in prison1 ,fashions his fancies of the realm to be1 ,fallen from the height or from the deeps arisen1 ,ringed with the rocks and sundered of the sea2-- ,so even ,i1 and with a heart more burning1 ,so even ,i1 and with a hope more sweet1 ,groan for the hour1 ,o ,christ6 of ,thy returning1 ,faint for the flaming of ,thine advent feet4 ,f4,w4,h4 ,,myers1 ,saint ,paul4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,xiv ,,concerning ,,the ,,second ,,advent ,they shall see the ,son of ,man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory4444 ,of that day and hour knoweth no one1 not even the angels of heaven1 neither the ,son1 but the ,father only4--,,matt4 xxiv4 #cj1 #cf4 ,the doctrine of our ,lord's ,second ,coming occupies at the present moment a curiously equivocal position in the thought of the ,christian ,church4 ,on the one hand by many it is wholly ignored4 ,there is no conscious disloyalty on their part to the word of ,god2 but the subject makes no appeal to them1 it fails to find them4 ,ours is a sternly practical age1 and any truth which does not readily link itself on to the necessities of life is liable speedily to be put on one side and forgotten4 ,this is what has happened with this particular doctrine in the case of multitudes2 it is not denied1 but it is banished to what ,mr4 ,lecky calls the land of the unrealized and the inoperative4 ,but if1 on the one hand1 the doctrine has suffered from neglect1 on the other it has suffered hardly less from undue attention4 ,indeed of late years the whole subject of the ,last ,things has been turned into a kind of happy hunting-ground for little sects1 who carry on a ceaseless wordy warfare both with themselves and the rest of the ,christian world4 ,men and women without another theological interest in the world are yet keen to argue about ,millenarianism1 and to try their 'prentice hands on the interpretation of the imagery of the apocalyptic literature of both the ,old ,testament and the ,new4 ,as ,spurgeon used to say1 they are so taken up with the second coming of our ,lord that they forget to preach the first ,so that one hardly knows which to regret more1 the neglect and indifference of the one class1 or the unhealthy1 feverish absorption of the other4 ,as very often happens in cases of this kind each extreme is largely responsible for the other4 ,neglect prepares the way for exaggeration2 exaggeration leads to further neglect4 ,moreover1 in the case before us1 both tendencies are strengthened by the very difficulty in which the subject is involved4 ,vagueness1 uncertainty1 mystery1 attract some minds as powerfully as they repel others4 ,and1 assuredly1 the element of uncertainty is not wanting here4 ,in the first place1 this is a subject for all our knowledge of which we are wholly dependent upon revelation4 ,much that ,christ and ,his apostles have taught us we can bring to the test of experience and verify for ourselves4 ,but this doctrine we must receive1 if we receive it at all1 wholly on the authority of ,one whom1 on other grounds1 we have learned to trust4 ,verification1 in the nature of the case1 is impossible4 ,further1 we have gone but a little way when revelation itself becomes silent2 and1 as ,i have said1 when that guide leaves us1 we enter at once the dark forest where instantly the track is lost4 ,let us seek to learn1 then1 what ,christ has revealed1 and what ,he has left unrevealed1 concerning ,his coming again4 ,i ,as to the fact of ,christ's coming we are left in no doubt4 ,our ,lord's own declarations are as explicit as language can make them4 ,thus1 in ,matthew xvi4 #bg we read that the ,son of ,man shall come in the glory of ,his ,father with ,his angels2 and then shall ,he render unto every man according to his deeds4 ,in the great discourse on the ,last ,things1 recorded by all the ,synoptists1 after speaking of the fall of ,jerusalem1 ,christ goes on1 ,then shall appear the sign of the ,son of ,man in heaven2 and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn1 and they shall see the ,son of ,man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory4 ,and again1 in the ,upper ,room1 ,he said to ,his disciples1 ,i go to prepare a place for you4 ,and if ,i go and prepare a place for you1 ,i come again1 and will receive you unto ,myself2 that where ,i am ye may be also4 ,the hope of that return shines on every page of the ,new ,testament3 ,this ,jesus1 said the angels to the watching disciples1 which was received up from you into heaven1 shall so come in like manner as ye beheld ,him going into heaven4 ,the early ,christians were wont to speak1 without further definition1 of that day4 ,st4 ,paul reminds the ,thessalonians how that they had turned unto ,god from idols1 to serve a living and true ,god1 and to wait for ,his ,son from heaven4 ,maran atha--our ,lord cometh--was the great watchword of the waiting ,church4 ,when1 at the table of the ,lord1 they ate the bread and drank the cup1 they proclaimed ,his death till ,he come4 ,amen2 come1 ,lord ,jesus1 is the passionate cry with which our ,english ,scriptures close4 ,for all those1 then1 to whom the ,new ,testament speaks with authority1 the fact of ,christ's return is established beyond all controversy4 ,but what will be the nature of ,his coming8 ,will it be visible and personal1 or spiritual and unseen8 ,will it be once and never again1 or repeated8 ,will ,christ come at the end of history1 or is ,he continually coming in those great crises which mark the world's progress towards its appointed end8 ,these questions have been answered with such admirable simplicity and scriptural truth by ,dr4 ,denney that ,i cannot do better than quote his words3 ,it may be frankly admitted1 he says1 that the return of ,christ to ,his disciples is capable of different interpretations4 ,he came again1 though it were but intermittently1 when ,he appeared to them after ,his resurrection4 ,he came again1 to abide with them permanently1 when ,his ,spirit was given to the ,church at ,pentecost4 ,he came1 they would all feel who lived to see it1 signally in the destruction of ,jerusalem1 when ,god executed judgment historically on the race which had rejected ,him1 and when the ,christian ,church was finally and decisively liberated from the very possibility of dependence on the ,jewish4 ,he comes still1 as ,his own words to the ,high ,priest suggest--,from this time on ye shall see the ,son of ,man coming--in the great crises of history1 when the old order changes1 yielding place to the new2 when ,god brings a whole age1 as it were1 into judgment1 and gives the world a fresh start4 ,but all these admissions1 giving them the widest possible application1 do not enable us to call in question what stands so plainly in the pages of the ,new ,testament1--what filled so exclusively the minds of the first ,christians--the idea of a personal return of ,christ at the end of the world4 ,we need lay no stress on the scenery of ,new ,testament prophecy1 any more than on the similar element of ,old ,testament prophecy2 the voice of the archangel and the trump of ,god are like the turning of the sun into darkness and the moon into blood2 but if we are to retain any relation to the ,new ,testament at all1 we must assert the personal return of ,christ as ,judge of all4#ec ,so far ,i think is clear4 ,it is when we come to speak of the time of our ,lord's return that our difficulties begin4 ,it appears to me impossible to doubt that the first ,christians were looking for the immediate return of our ,lord to the earth4 ,at one time even ,st4 ,paul seems to have expected ,him within his own life-time4 ,nor does this fact in itself cause us any serious perplexity4 ,what does perplex us is to find in the ,gospels language attributed to ,christ which apparently makes ,him a supporter of this mistaken view4 ,e4g41 we have these three separate sayings1 recorded in ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel3 ,but when they persecute you in this city1 flee into the next2 for verily ,i say unto you1 ,ye shall not have gone through the cities of ,israel1 till the ,son of ,man be come 7x4 #bc72 ,verily ,i say unto you1 ,there be some of them that stand here1 which shall in no wise taste of death1 till they see the ,son of ,man coming in ,his kingdom 7xvi4 #bh72 ,verily ,i say unto you1 ,this generation shall not pass away1 till all these things be accomplished 7xxiv4 #cd74 ,this seems plain enough2 and if we are to take the words as they stand1 we seem to be shut up to the conclusion that our ,lord was mistaken1 that ,he ventured on a prediction which events have falsified4 ,let us see if this really be so4 ,i leave1 for the moment1 the words ,i have quoted in order to cite other words which point in a quite different direction4 ,to begin with1 we have the emphatic statement3 ,but of that day and hour knoweth no one1 not even the angels in heaven1 neither the ,son1 but the ,father only4 ,we remember also ,christ's words to ,his disciples1 on the eve of the ,ascension1 ,it is not for you to know times or seasons1 which the ,father hath set within ,his own authority4 ,there is1 further1 a whole class of sayings1 exhortations1 and parables1 which seem plainly to involve a prolonged ,christian era1 and1 consequently1 the postponement to a far distant time1 of the day of ,christ's return4 ,thus1 there are the passages which speak of the preaching of the gospel to the nations beyond3 ,wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world1 that also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her 7,mark xiv4 #i72 ,this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations2 and then shall the end come 7,matt4 xxiv4 #ad74 ,there is the parable which tells of the tarrying of the bridegroom till even the wise virgins slumbered and slept4 ,after a long time1 we read in another parable1 the ,lord of those servants cometh and maketh a reckoning with them4 ,what is the significance of the parable of the leaven hid in three measures of meal1 and still more1 of that group of parables which depict the growth of the kingdom--the parables of the sower1 the wheat and tares1 the mustard-seed1 and the seed growing gradually8 ,does not all this point not to a great catastrophe nigh at hand1 which should bring to an end the existing order of things1 but rather to just such a future for the kingdom of ,god on earth as the actual course of history reveals8 ,and this1 and no other1 was1 ,i believe1 the impression which ,christ desired to leave on the minds of ,his disciples4 ,what1 then1 are we to make of those other and apparently contrary words which ,i have quoted1 but meanwhile have left unexplained8 ,they constitute1 without doubt1 one of the most perplexing problems which the interpreter of the ,new ,testament has to face1#ed and any suggestion for meeting the difficulty must be made with becoming caution4 ,i can but briefly indicate the direction in which the probable solution may be found4 ,our ,lord1 as we have already seen1 spoke of ,his coming again1 not only at the end of the world1 but in the course of it3 in the power of ,his ,spirit1 at the fall of ,jerusalem1 in the coming of ,his kingdom among men4 ,but the minds of the disciples were full of the thought of ,his final coming1 which would establish for ever the glory of ,his ,messianic kingdom2 and it would seem that this fact has determined both the form and the setting of some of ,christ's sayings which they have preserved for us4 ,words which ,he meant to refer to ,israel's coming judgment-day they1 in the ardour of their expectation1 referred to the last great day4 ,in the first ,gospel1 especially1 we may trace some such influence at work4 ,when1 e4g41 ,matthew represents our ,lord as saying1 ,there be some of them that stand here which shall in no wise taste of death till they see the ,son of ,man coming in ,his kingdom1 it is evident1 both from the words themselves and from the context1 that he understood them to refer to the final return4 ,luke1 however1 speaks only of seeing the kingdom of ,god1 and ,mark of seeing the kingdom of ,god come in power4 ,and if these words were our only version of the prophecy they would present no difficulty2 we should feel that they had received adequate fulfilment in the events of the great day of ,pentecost4 ,we conclude1 therefore1 that of the three reports before us the second and third1 which are practically the same1 reproduce more correctly the words actually spoken by ,christ2 and that the account given in the first ,gospel was coloured by the eager hope of the early followers of ,christ for their ,master's speedy return4#ee ,to sum up in a sentence the results of this brief inquiry3 ,christ's teaching concerning ,his return leaves us both in a state of certainty and uncertainty4 ,we believe that ,thou shalt come to be our ,judge--that is our certainty2 ,of that day and hour knoweth no one--that is our uncertainty4 ,and each of these carries with it its own lesson4 ,,ii ,of that day and hour knoweth no one2 and we must be content not to know4 ,there are things that are revealed2 and they belong to us and to our children4 ,and there are secret things1 which belong neither to us1 nor to our children1 but to ,god4 ,just as a visitor to ,holyrood ,palace finds some rooms open and free1 through which he may wander at will1 while from others he is strictly excluded1 so in ,god's world there are locked doors through which it is not lawful for any man to enter4 ,and it is our duty to be faithful to our ignorance as well as to our knowledge4 ,there is a ,christian as well as an anti-,christian agnosticism4 ,to pry into the secret things of ,god is no less a sin than wilfully to remain ignorant of what ,he has been pleased to make known4 ,the idly inquisitive spirit which is never at rest save when it is poking into forbidden corners1 ,christ always checks and condemns4 ,lord1 asked one1 are there few that be saved8 ,but ,he would give no answer save this3 ,strive to enter in by the narrow door4 ,lord1 and this man what8 said ,peter1 curious concerning the unrevealed future of his brother apostle4 ,but again idle curiosity must go unsatisfied3 ,if ,i will that he tarry till ,i come1 what is that to thee8 ,follow thou ,me4 ,lord dost ,thou at this time restore the kingdom to ,israel8 ,but once more ,he will give no answer3 ,it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the ,father hath set within ,his own authority4 ,and yet1 strangely enough1 that which ,christ has seen good to leave untold is the one thing concerning ,his coming on which the minds of multitudes have fastened4 ,it says little1 either for our religion or our common-sense1 that one of the most widely circulated religious newspapers of our day is one which fills its columns with absurd guesses and forecasts concerning those very times and seasons of which ,christ has told us that it is not for us to know4 ,christ has given us no detailed map of the future1 and when foolish persons pester us with little maps of their own making1 let us to see to it that they get no encouragement from us4 ,let us dare always to be faithful to our ignorance4 ,but if there is much we do not know1 this we do know3 the ,lord will come4 ,and1 alike on the ground of what we know and of what we do not know1 our duty is clear3 we must watch1 so that whether ,he come at even1 or at midnight1 or at cock-crowing1 or in the morning1 ,he shall find us ready4 ,christ's solemn injunction left an indelible mark on the mind of the ,early ,church4 ,yourselves know perfectly1 ,st4 ,paul writes in the first of his apostolic letters1 that the day of the ,lord so cometh as a thief in the night 444 so then let us not sleep1 as do the rest1 but let us watch and be sober4 ,as ,st4 ,augustine says1 ,the last day is hidden that every day maybe regarded4 ,but what1 exactly1 is the meaning of the command to watch8 ,it cannot be that we are to be always on the watch4 ,that would simply end in the feverish excitement and unrest which troubled the peace of the ,church of ,thessalonica4 ,the true meaning is given us1 ,i think1 in the parable of the ,ten ,virgins4 ,five were wise1 not because they watched all night for the bridegroom1 for it is written they all slumbered and slept1 but because they were prepared2 and five were foolish1 not because they did not watch1 but because they were unprepared4 ,the fisherman's wife who spends her time on the pier-head watching for the boats1 cannot be so well prepared to give her husband a comfortable reception as the woman who is busy about her household work1 and only now and again turns a longing look seaward4#ef ,so ,christ's command to watch means1 not ,be ye always on the watch1 but1 ,be ye always ready4 ,spurgeon once said1 with characteristic humour and good sense1 that there were friends of his to whom he would like to say1 ,ye men of ,plymouth1 why stand ye gazing up into heaven8 ,go on with your work4 ,he who in a world like ours can sit and gaze with idly folded hands--let not that man think he shall receive anything of the ,lord4 ,a lady once asked ,john ,wesley1 ,suppose that you knew you were to die at twelve o'clock to-morrow night1 how would you spend the intervening time8 ,how1 ,madam8 he replied2 why just as ,i intend to spend it now4 ,i should preach this night at ,gloucester1 and again at five to-morrow morning4 ,after that ,i should ride to ,tewkesbury1 preach in the afternoon1 and meet the societies in the evening4 ,i should then repair to friend ,martin's house1 who expects to entertain me1 converse and pray with the family as usual1 retire to my room at ten o'clock1 commend myself to my heavenly ,father1 lie down to rest1 and wake up in glory4 ,this is the right attitude for the ,christian4 ,the old cry must not fade from our lips1 nor the old hope from our heart3 ,maran atha1 our ,lord cometh4 ,but meanwhile ,he hath given to every man his work2 and we may be sure there is no preparation for ,his coming like the faithful doing of the appointed task4 ,blessed is that servant whom ,his ,lord when ,he cometh shall find so doing4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,the ,,judgment ,i often have a kind of waking dream2 up one road the image of a man decked and adorned as if for a triumph1 carried up by rejoicing and exulting friends1 who praise his goodness and achievements2 and1 on the other road1 turned back to back to it1 there is the very man himself1 in sordid and squalid apparel1 surrounded not by friends but by ministers of justice1 and going on1 while his friends are exulting1 to his certain and perhaps awful judgment4--,r4,w4 ,,church4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,xv ,,concerning ,,the ,,judgment ,when the ,son of ,man shall come in ,his glory1 and all the angels with ,him1 then shall ,he sit on the throne of ,his glory3 and before ,him shall be gathered all the nations3 and ,he shall separate them one from another1 as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats3 and ,he shall set the sheep on ,his right hand1 but the goats on the left4--,,matt4 ,,xxv4 #ca-cc4 ,he1 the speaker1 will do this4 ,it is the most stupendous claim that ever fell from human lips4 ,a young ,jewish carpenter whose brief career1 as ,he ,himself well knew1 was just about to end in a violent and shameful death1 tells the little1 fearful band which still clung to ,him1 that a day is coming when before ,him all the nations shall be gathered1 and by ,him be separated as a shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats4 ,in the world's long history there is nothing like it4 ,that ,jesus did really claim to be the ,judge of all men1 it is1 ,i believe1 impossible to doubt4 ,the passage just quoted is by no means our only evidence4 ,in the ,sermon on the ,mount1 which foolish persons who love to depreciate theology sometimes speak of as though it were the pith and marrow of the ,christian gospel1 ,christ says1 ,many will say to ,me in that day1 ,lord1 ,lord1 did we not prophesy by ,thy name1 and by ,thy name cast out devils1 and by ,thy name do many mighty works8 ,and then will ,i profess unto them1 ,i never knew you3 depart from ,me1 ye that work iniquity4 ,again1 ,he says1 ,whosoever shall be ashamed of ,me and of ,my words in this adulterous and sinful generation1 the ,son of ,man also shall be ashamed of ,him when ,he cometh in the glory of ,his ,father with the holy angels2 and again1 ,the ,son of ,man shall come in the glory of ,his ,father with ,his angels2 and then shall ,he render unto every man according to ,his deeds4 ,the fourth ,gospel also represents ,him as saying1 ,neither doth the ,father judge any man1 but ,he hath given all judgment to the ,son 444 and ,he gave ,him authority to execute judgment because ,he is the ,son of ,man4 ,and if still further evidence be necessary it would be easy to show both from the ,acts and the ,epistles that from the very beginning all the disciples of ,jesus believed and taught that ,he would come again to be their ,judge4 ,consider what this means4 ,reference has already been made in an earlier chapter to ,christ's witness concerning ,himself1 to ,his deep and unwavering consciousness of separateness from all others4 ,but more striking1 perhaps1 than any illustration mentioned there is that furnished by the fact before us now4 ,what must ,his thoughts about ,himself have been who could speak of ,himself in relation to all others as ,christ does here8 ,when men write about ,jesus as though ,he were merely a gentle1 trustful1 religious genius1 preaching a sweet gospel of the love of ,god to the multitudes of ,galilee1 they are but shutting their eyes to one half of the facts which it is their duty to explain4 ,speaking generally1 we do well to distrust the dilemma as a form of argument2 but in this case there need be no hesitation in putting the alternative with all possible bluntness3 either ,christ was ,god1 or ,he was not good4 ,that ,jesus1 if ,he were merely a good man1 with a good man's consciousness of and sensitiveness to ,his own weakness and limitations1 could yet have arrogated to ,himself the right to be the supreme judge and final arbiter of the destinies of mankind1 is simply not thinkable4 ,and the more we ponder the stupendous claim which ,christ makes1 the more must we feel that it is either superhuman authority which speaks to us here or superhuman arrogance4 ,either ,christ spoke out of the depths of ,his own ,divine consciousness1 knowing that the ,father had committed all judgment unto the ,son2 or ,he made use of words and put forth claims which were1 and which ,he must have known to have been1 empty1 false1 and blasphemous4 ,such is the significance of ,christ's words in their relation to ,himself4 ,it is1 however1 with their relation to ourselves that we are primarily concerned now4 ,of the wholly unimaginable circumstances of that day when the ,son of ,man shall come in ,his glory and all the nations be gathered before ,him ,i shall not attempt to speak4 ,as ,dean ,church has well said1#eg no vision framed with the materials of our present experience could adequately represent the truth1 and1 indeed1 it is well that our minds should be diverted from matters which lie wholly beyond our reach1 that they may dwell upon the solemn certainties which ,christ has revealed4 ,let us think1 first of the fact1 and secondly of the issues1 of ,judgment4 ,i ,the persistent definiteness with which the fact of judgment is affirmed by the ,new ,testament we have already seen4 ,nor is the ,new ,testament our only witness4 ,the belief in a higher tribunal before which the judgments of time are to be revised1 and in many cases reversed1 may be said to be part of the creed of the race4 ,plato had his vision of judgment as well as ,jesus4 ,and in the ,old ,testament1 and especially in the ,book of ,psalms1 the same faith finds repeated and magnificent utterance3 ,our ,god shall come1 and shall not keep silence2 a fire shall devour before ,him1 and it shall be very tempestuous round about ,him4 ,he shall call to the heavens above1 and to the earth1 that ,he may judge ,his people2 and again1 ,for ,he cometh1 for ,he cometh to judge the earth3 ,he shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with ,his truth4 ,here1 then1 is the fact which demands a place in the thoughts of each of us--we are all to be judged4 ,life is not to be folded up1 like a piece of finished work1 and then laid aside and forgotten2 it is to be gone over again and examined by the hand and eyes of ,perfect ,wisdom and ,perfect ,love4 ,each day we are writing1 and often when the leaf is turned that which has been written passes from our mind and is remembered no more2 but it is there1 and one day the books--the ,book of ,life1 of our life--will be opened1 and the true meaning of the record revealed4 ,life brings to us many gifts of many kinds1 and as it lays them in our hands1 for our use and for our blessing1 it is always1 had we but ears to hear1 with the warning word1 ,know thou1 that for all these things1 ,god will bring thee into judgment4 ,it is1 indeed1 a tremendous thought4 ,when ,daniel ,webster was once asked what was the greatest thought that had ever occupied his mind1 he answered1 the fact of my personal accountability to ,god4 ,and no man can give to such a fact its due place without feeling its steadying1 sobering influence through all his life4 ,lament is often made to-day1 and not without reason1 of our failing sense of the seriousness of life4 ,a plague of frivolity1 more deadly than the locusts of ,egypt1 has fallen upon us1 and is smiting all our green places with barrenness4 ,somehow1 and at all costs1 we must get back our lost sense of responsibility4 ,if we would remember that ,god has a right hand and a left hand2 if we would put to ourselves ,browning's question1 ,but what will ,god say8 if sometimes we would pull ourselves up sharp1 and ask--this that ,i am doing1 how will it look then1 in that day when ,each shall stand full-face with all he did below8 if1 ,i say1 we would do this1 could life continue to be the thing of shows and make-believe it so often is8 ,it was said of the late ,dean ,church by one who knew him well3 ,he seemed to live in the constant recollection of something which is awful1 even dreadful to remember--something which bears with searching force on all men's ways and hopes and plans--something before which he knew himself to be as it were continually arraigned--something which it was strange and pathetic to find so little recognized among other men4 ,but1 alas6 this is how we refuse to live4 ,we thrust the thought of judgment from us2 we treat it as an unwelcome intruder1 a disturber of our peace2 we block up every approach by which it might gain access to our minds4 ,we do not deny that there is a judgment to come2 but our habitual disregard of it is verily amazing4 ,judge not1 said ,christ1 that ye be not judged2 yet every day we let fly our random arrows1 careless in whose hearts they may lodge4 ,every idle word that men shall speak1 they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment2 yet with what superb recklessness do we abuse ,god's great gift of speech6 ,we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of ,god2 yes1 we know it2 but when do we think of it8 ,what difference does it make to us8 ,what can indifference such as this say for itself8 ,how can it justify itself before the bar of reason8 ,do we realize that our neglect has ,christ to reckon with8 ,these things of which ,i have spoken are not the gossamer threads of human speculation2 they are the strong cords of ,divine truth and they cannot be broken4 ,you seem1 sir1 said ,mrs4 ,adams to ,dr4 ,johnson1 in one of his despondent hours1 when the fear of death and judgment lay heavy on him1 to forget the merits of our ,redeemer4 ,madam1 said the honest old man1 ,i do not forget the merits of my ,redeemer2 but my ,redeemer has said that ,he will set some on ,his right hand and some on ,his left4 ,yes1 it is the words of ,christ with which we have to do2 and if we are wise1 if we know the things which belong unto our peace1 we shall find for them a place within our hearts4 ,,ii ,the issues of the ,judgment may be summed up in a single word--separation3 ,he shall set the sheep on ,his right hand1 but the goats on the left4 ,stated thus broadly1 the issue of the ,judgment satisfies our sense of justice4 ,if there is to be judgment at all1 separation must be the outcome4 ,and in that separation is vindicated one of man's most deep-seated convictions4 ,as right is right and wrong is wrong1 and right and wrong are not the same1 so neither can their issues be the same4 ,we have a robust common-sense of morality which refuses to believe that it does not matter whether a man has lived like the ,apostle ,paul or the ,emperor ,nero4 ,we can never crush out the conviction that there must be one place for ,st4 ,john1 who was ,jesus' friend1 and another for ,judas ,iscariot1 who was ,his betrayer4#eh ,this must be1 ,else earth is darkness at the core1 ,and dust and ashes all that is4 ,we must be sure that ,god has a right hand and a left1 that good and evil are distinct1 and will for ever remain so1 that each will go to his own place1 the place for which he is prepared1 for which he has prepared himself1 or our day would be turned into night and our whole life put to confusion4 ,so far1 ,christ's words present no difficulty4 ,to many1 however1 it is a serious perplexity to find that ,christ speaks of but two classes into which by the ,judgment men are divided4 ,there are the sheep and the goats1 the good and the bad1 and there are no others4 ,to us it seems impossible to divide men thus4 ,they are not1 we think1 good or bad1 but good and bad4 ,i can understand1 some one has said1 what is to become of the sheep1 and ,i can understand what is to become of the goats1 but how are the alpacas to be dealt with8#ei ,the alpaca1 it should be said1 is an animal possessing some of the characteristics both of the sheep and the goat1 and the meaning of the question is1 of course1 what is to become of that vast middle class in whose lives sometimes good and sometimes evil seems to rule8 ,now it is a remarkable fact that ,scripture knows nothing of any such middle class4 ,some men it calls good1 others it calls evil1 but it has no middle term4 ,note1 e4g41 this typical contrast from the ,book of ,proverbs3 ,the path of the righteous is as the light of dawn1 that shineth more and more unto the noon-tide of the day4 ,the way of the wicked is as darkness2 they know not at what they stumble4 ,or listen to ,peter's question3 ,if the righteous is scarcely saved1 where shall the ungodly and sinner appear8 ,in both instances the assumption is the same3 there1 on the one hand1 are the righteous2 and there1 on the other1 are the wicked2 and beside these there are no others4 ,the same classification is constant throughout the teaching of ,jesus4 ,he speaks of two gates1 and two ways1 and two ends4 ,there are the guests who accept the ,king's invitation and sit down in ,his banqueting hall1 and there are those who refuse it and remain without4 ,in the parable of the net full of fishes the good are gathered into vessels1 but the bad are cast away4 ,the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest2 then the wheat is gathered into the barn1 and the tares are cast into the fire4 ,the sheep are set on the right hand1 and the goats on the left hand2 and there is no hint or suggestion that any other kind of classification is necessary in order that all men may be truly and justly dealt with4 ,all this may seem very arbitrary and impossible until we remember that the classification is not ours but ,god's4 ,it is not we who have to divide men1 setting one on the right hand and another on the left2 that is ,god's work2 and it is well to remind ourselves that ,he invites none of us to share ,his judgment-throne with ,him1 or1 by any verdict of ours1 to anticipate the findings of the last great day4 ,and because to us such a division is impossible1 it does not therefore follow that it should be so to ,him before whom all hearts are open and all desires known4 ,we cannot separate men thus because human character is so complex4 ,but complexity is a relative term2 it depends on the eyes which behold it2 and our naming a thing complex may be but another way of declaring our ignorance concerning it4 ,we all know how a character1 a life1 a course of events1 which1 on first view1 seemed but a tangled1 twisted skein1 on closer acquaintance often smooths itself out into perfect simplicity4 ,and there is surely no difficulty in believing that it should be so with human life when it is judged by the perfect knowledge of ,god4 ,life is like a great tree which casts forth on every side its far-spreading branches4 ,yet all that moving1 breathing mystery of twig and branch and foliage springs from a single root4 ,to us the mystery is baffling in its complexity3 we have looked at the branches4 ,to ,god it is simple1 clear3 ,he sees the hidden root from which it springs4 ,so that1 to go back to our former illustration1 it is only our ignorance which compels us to speak of alpacas in the moral world4 ,to perfect knowledge they will prove to be1 as ,mr4 ,selby says1 either slightly-disguised sheep or slightly-disguised goats4 ,there is a further fact also to be taken into account in considering ,christ's two-fold classification4 ,since it is the work of infinite knowledge and justice it will have regard to all the facts of our life4 ,god looks not only at the narrow present1 but back into the past1 and forward into the future4 ,he marks the trend of the life1 the bent and bias of the soul4 ,he chalks down no line saying1 ,reach this or you are undone for ever4 ,he sets up no absolute standard to which if a man attain he is a saint1 or falling short of which he is a sinner4 ,and when ,he calls one man righteous and another wicked1 ,he means very much more than that one has done so many good deeds1 and another so many evil deeds2 righteous and wicked describe what each is in himself1 what each will decisively reveal himself to be1 when present tendencies have fully worked themselves out4 ,there are two twilights1 the twilight of evening and the twilight of morning2 and therefore ,god's question to us is not1 how much light have we8 but1 which way do we face8 to the night or to the day8 ,not ,what art thou8 but ,what wilt thou8 is the supreme question2 it is the answer to this which sets some on the right hand and some on the left4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let us close as we began1 remembering that it is ,christ who is to be our ,judge4 ,therefore will the judgment be according to perfect truth4 ,we know how ,he judged men when ,he was here on earth--without respect of persons1 undeceived by appearances1 seeing things always as they are1 calling them always by their true names4 ,and such will ,his judgment be hereafter4 ,on the walls of the famous ,rock ,tombs of ,thebes1 there is a group of figures representing the judging of the departed spirit before ,osiris1 the presiding deity of the dead4 ,in one hand he holds a shepherd's crook1 in the other a scourge2 before him are the scales of justice2 that which is weighed is the heart of the dead king upon whose lot the deity is called to decide4 ,the pictured symbol is a dim foreshadowing of that perfect judgment which ,he who looketh not at the outward appearance but at the heart will one day pass on all the lives of men4 ,and yet an apostle has dared to write of boldness in the day of ,judgment6 ,surely ,st4 ,john is very bold2 yet was his boldness well-based4 ,he remembered the saying of his own ,gospel3 ,the ,father hath given all judgment unto the ,son 444 because ,he is the ,son of ,man4 ,yes2 ,he who will come to be our ,judge is ,he who once for us men1 and for our salvation1 came down from heaven1 and was made man1 and upon the ,cross did suffer death for our redemption4 ,herein is the secret of the boldness of the redeemed4 ,jesus1 ,thy blood and righteousness ,my beauty are1 my glorious dress2 ',midst flaming worlds in these arrayed1 ,with joy shall ,i lift up my head4 ,bold shall ,i stand in that great day1 ,for who aught to my charge shall lay8 ,fully absolved through these ,i am1 ,from sin and fear1 from guilt and shame4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,concerning ,,the ,,future ,,life ,my knowledge of that life is small1 ,the eye of faith is dim2 ,but 'tis enough that ,christ knows all1 ,and ,i shall be with ,him4 ,,richard ,,baxter4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,xvi ,,concerning ,,the ,,future ,,life ,where neither moth nor rust doth consume1 and where thieves do not break through nor steal4--,,matt4 vi4 #bj4 ,where their worm dieth not1 and the fire is not quenched4--,,mark ix4 #dh4 ,these are both sayings of ,christ1 and each has reference to the life beyond death2 together they illustrate the two-fold thought of the future which finds a place in all the records of our ,lord's teaching4 ,popular theology1 it is sometimes said1 seriously misunderstands and misinterprets ,jesus4 ,and so far as the theology of the future life is concerned there need be no hesitation in admitting that1 not unfrequently1 it has been disfigured by an almost grotesque literalism4 ,the pulpit has often forgotten that over-statement is always a blunder1 and that any attempt to imagine the wholly unimaginable is most likely to end in defeating our own intentions and in dissipating1 rather than reinforcing1 our sense of the tremendous realities of which ,christ spoke4 ,nevertheless1 much as theology may have erred in the form of its teaching concerning the future1 its great central ideas have always been derived direct from ,christ4 ,it has not1 we know1 always made its appeal to what is highest in man2 it has sometimes spoken of heaven and hell in a fashion that has left heart and conscience wholly untouched2 nevertheless1 the time has not yet come--until men cease to believe in ,christ1 the time never will have come--for banishing these words from our vocabulary4 ,unless ,christ were both a deceiver and deceived1 they represent realities as abiding as ,god and the soul1 realities towards which it behoves every man of us to discover how he stands4 ,in the teaching of ,jesus1 no less than in the teaching of popular theology1 the future has a bright side and it has a dark side2 there is a heaven and there is a hell4 ,i ,that there is a life beyond this life1 that death does not end all1 is of course always assumed in the teaching of ,jesus4 ,but it is much more than this that we desire to know4 ,what kind of a life is it8 ,what are its conditions8 ,how is it related to the present life8 ,what is the glory into which1 as we believe1 the souls of believers at their death do immediately pass8 ,perhaps our first impression1 as we search the ,new ,testament for an answer to our questions1 is one of disappointment2 there is so much that still remains unrevealed4 ,we do indeed read of dead men raised to life again by the power of ,god1 but of the awful and unimaginable experiences through which they passed not a word is told4 ',where wert thou1 brother1 those four days8' ,there lives no record of reply4 4 4 4 4 4 ,behold a man raised up by ,christ6 ,the rest remaineth unreveal'd2 ,he told it not2 or something seal'd ,the lips of that ,evangelist4 ,how much even ,christ ,himself has left untold6 ,at ,his incarnation1 and again at ,his resurrection1 ,he came forth from that world into which we all must pass2 yet how few were ,his words concerning it1 how little able we still are to picture it6 ,nevertheless1 if ,he has not told us all1 ,he has told us enough4 ,let us recall some of ,his words4 ,he spoke of everlasting habitations--eternal tabernacles--into which men should be received4 ,here we are as pilgrims and sojourners1 dwelling in a land not our own4 ,earth's but a sorry tent1 ,pitched but a few frail days2 and the chances and changes of this mortal life often bear heavily upon us4 ,but there these things have no place4 ,moth and rust1 change and decay1 sorrow and death cannot enter there4 ,the day's aye fair ,i' the land o' the leal4 ,again1 ,christ said1 ,i go to prepare a place for you4 ,just as when a little child is born into the world it comes to a place made ready for it by the thousand little tendernesses of a mother's love1 so does death lead us1 not into the bleak1 inhospitable night1 but into the ,father's house1 to a place which love has made ready for our coming4 ,father1 into ,thy hands ,i commend ,my spirit4 ,into ,thy hands--thither ,jesus passed from the ,cross and the cruel hands of men2 thither have passed the lost ones of our love2 thither1 too1 we in our turn shall pass4 ,why1 then1 if we believe in ,jesus should we be afraid8 ,having death for my friend1 says an unknown ,greek writer1 ,i tremble not at shadows4 ,having ,jesus for our friend we tremble not at death4 ,further1 ,christ taught us1 the heavenly life is a life of service4 ,every one knows how largely the idea of rest has entered into our common conceptions of the future4 ,it is indeed a pathetic commentary on the weariness and restlessness of life that with so many rest should almost have come to be a synonym for blessedness4 ,but rest is far from being the final word of ,scripture concerning the life to come4 ,surely life1 with its thousandfold activities1 is not meant as a preparation for a ,paradise of inaction4 ,what can be the meaning and purpose of the life which we are called to pass through here1 if our hereafter is to be but one prolonged act of adoration8 ,we shall carry with us into the future not character only but capacity2 and can it be that ,god will lay aside as useless there that which with so great pains ,he has sought to perfect here8 ,it is not so that ,christ has taught us to think3 ,he that received the five talents came and brought other five talents1 saying1 ,lord1 thou deliverest unto me five talents3 lo1 ,i have gained other five talents4 ,his lord said unto him1 ,well done1 good and faithful servant3 thou hast been faithful over a few things1 ,i will set thee over many things3 enter thou into the joy of thy lord4 ,god will not take the tools out of the workman's hands just when he has learned how to handle them2 ,he will not pension off ,his servants just when they are best able to serve ,him4 ,the reward of work well done is more work2 faithfulness in few things brings lordship over many4 ,have we not here a ray of light on the mystery of unfinished lives8 ,we do not murmur when the old and tired are gathered to their rest2 but when little children die1 when youth falls in life's morning1 when the strong man is cut off in his strength1 we know not what to say4 ,but do not ,his servants serve ,him there as well as here8 ,their work is not done2 in ways beyond our thoughts it is going forward still4 #fj ,one other question concerning the future with which1 as by an instinct1 we turn to ,christ for answer is suggested by the following touching little poem3 ,i can recall so well how she would look-- ,how at the very murmur of her dress ,on entering the room1 the whole room took ,an air of gentleness4 ,that was so long ago1 and yet his eyes ,had always afterwards the look that waits ,and yearns1 and waits again1 nor can disguise ,something it contemplates4 ,may we imagine it8 ,the sob1 the tears1 ,the long1 sweet1 shuddering breath2 then on her breast ,the great1 full1 flooding sense of endless years1 ,of heaven1 and her1 and rest4 ,can we quote the authority of ,jesus for thoughts like these8 ,the point is1 let it be noted1 not whether we shall know each other again beyond death1 but whether we shall be to each other what we were here4 ,at the foot of the white marble cross which his wife placed upon the grave of ,charles ,kingsley are graven these three words3 ,amavimus1 ,amamus1 ,amabimus 7,we have loved1 we love1 we shall love74 ,after ,mrs4 ,browning's death her husband wrote these lines from ,dante in her ,testament3 ,thus ,i believe1 thus ,i affirm1 thus ,i am certain it is1 that from this life ,i shall pass to another better1 there1 where that lady lives1 of whom my soul was enamoured4 ,will ,christ counter-sign a hope like this8 ,i do not know any proof-text that can be quoted1 yet it were profanation to think otherwise4 ,there are many flowers of time1 we know1 which cannot be transplanted2 but love never faileth1 love is the true immortelle4 ,and whatever changes death may bring1 those who have been our nearest here shall be our nearest there4 ,and though1 as ,i say1 we can quote no proof-text1 our faith may find its guarantee in the great word of ,jesus3 ,if it were not so1 ,i would have told you4 ,this is one of the instincts of the ,christian heart1 as pure and good as it is firm and strong4 ,since ,christ let it pass unchallenged1 may we not claim ,his sanction for it8 ,if it were not so1 ,he would have told us4 ,,ii ,i turn now to the reverse side of ,christ's teaching concerning the future4 ,and let us not seek to hide from ourselves the fact that there is a reverse side4 ,for1 ignore it as we may1 the fact remains3 those same holy lips which spoke of a place1 where neither moth nor rust doth consume1 spoke likewise of another place1 where their worm dieth not1 and the fire is not quenched4 ,in considering this solemn matter we must learn to keep wholly separate from it a number of difficult questions which have really nothing to do with it--with which1 indeed1 we have nothing to do--and the introduction of which can only lead to mischievous confusion and error4 ,what is to become of the countless multitudes in heathen lands who die without having so much as heard of ,christ8 ,how will ,god deal with those even in our own ,christian land to whom1 at least as it seems to us1 this life has brought no adequate opportunity of salvation8 ,what will happen in that dim twilight land betwixt death and judgment which men call the intermediate state8 ,will they be few or many who at last will be for ever outcasts from the presence of ,god8 ,these are questions men will persist in asking1 but the answer to which no man knows4 ,strictly speaking1 they are matters with which we have nothing to do1 which we must be content to leave with ,god1 confident that the ,judge of all the earth will do right1 even though ,he does not show us how4 ,what we have to do with1 what does concern us1 is the warning of ,jesus1 emphatic and reiterated1 that sin will be visited with punishment1 that retribution1 just1 awful1 inexorable1 will fall on all them that love and work iniquity4 ,but why1 it may be asked1 why dwell upon these things8 ,is there not something coarse and vulgar in this appeal to men's fears8 ,and1 after all1 to what purpose is it8 ,if men are not won by the love of ,god1 of what avail is it to speak to them of ,his wrath8 ,but fear is as real an element in human nature as love1 and when our aim is by all means to save men1 it is surely legitimate to make our appeal to the whole man1 to lay our fingers on every note--the lower notes no less than the higher--in the wide gamut of human life4 ,the preacher of the gospel1 moreover1 is left without choice in the matter4 ,it is no part of his business to ask what is the use of this or of that in the message given to him to deliver2 it is for him to declare the whole counsel of ,god1 to keep back nothing that has been revealed4 ,and the really decisive consideration is this--that this is a matter on which ,christ ,himself has spoken1 and spoken with unmistakable clearness and emphasis4 ,shall1 then1 the ambassador hesitate when the will of the ,king is made known8 ,more often--five times more often1 it is said#fa--than ,jesus spoke of future blessedness did ,he speak of future retribution4 ,the ,new ,testament is a very tender book2 but it is also a very stern book1 and its sternest words are words of ,jesus4 ,for the sins of the miserable1 the forlorn1 the friendless1 ,he has pity and compassion2 but for the sins of the well-taught1 the high-placed1 the rich1 the self-indulgent1 for obstinate and malignant sin1 the sin of those who hate1 and deceive1 and corrupt1 and betray1 ,his wrath is terrible1 its expression is unrestrained4#fb ,jesu1 ,thou art all compassion1 we sometimes sing2 but is it really so8 ,st4 ,paul writes of the meekness and gentleness of ,christ2 and for many of the chapters of ,christ's life that is the right headline2 but there are other chapters which by no possible manipulation can be brought under that heading1 and they also are part of the story4 ,it was ,jesus who said that in the day of judgment it should be more tolerable for even ,tyre and ,sidon than for ,bethsaida and ,chorazin2 it was ,jesus who uttered that terrible twenty-third chapter of ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel1 with its seven times repeated ,woe unto you1 scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 it was ,jesus who spoke of the shut door and the outer darkness1 of the worm that dieth not1 and the fire that is not quenched1 of the sin which hath never forgiveness1 neither in this world1 nor in that which is to come1 and of that day when ,he who wept over ,jerusalem and prayed for ,his murderers and died for the world will say unto them on ,his left hand1 ,depart from ,me1 ye cursed1 into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels4 ,these are ,his words1 and it is because they are ,his they make us tremble4 ,he is gentle ,jesus1 meek and mild2 that is why ,his sternness is so terrible4 ,these things are not said in order to defend any particular theory of future punishment--on that dread subject1 indeed1 the present writer has no theory to defend2 he frankly confesses himself an agnostic--but rather to claim for the solemn fact of retribution a place in our minds akin to that which it held in the teaching of our ,lord4 ,we need have no further concern than to be loyal to ,him4 ,does1 then1 such loyalty admit of a belief in universal salvation8 ,is it open to us to assert that in ,christ the whole race is predestined to glory1 honour1 and immortality8 ,the larger hope of the universalist-- that good shall fall ,at last--far off--at last1 to all1 ,and every winter change to spring-- is1 indeed1 one to which no ,christian heart can be a stranger2 yearnings such as these spring up within us unbidden and uncondemned4 ,but when it is definitely and positively asserted that ,god has destined all men to eternal glory1 irrespective of their faith and conduct1 that no antagonism to the ,divine authority1 no insensibility to the ,divine love1 can prevent the eternal decree from being accomplished1 we shall do well to pause1 and pause again4 ,the old doctrine of an assured salvation for an elect few we reject without hesitation4 ,but1 as ,dr4 ,dale has pointed out1#fc the difference between the old doctrine and the new is merely an arithmetical1 not a moral difference3 where the old put some1 the new puts all2 and the moral objections which are valid against the one are not less valid against the other also4 ,i dare not say to myself1 and therefore ,i dare not say to others1 that1 let a man live as he may1 it yet shall be well with him in the end4 ,the facts of experience are against it2 the words of ,christ are against it4 ,the very conception of human freedom involves the possibility of its permanent misuse1 of what our ,lord ,himself calls 'eternal sin4' ,if a man can go on successfully resisting ,divine grace in this life1 what reason have we for supposing that it would suddenly become irresistible in another life8 ,build what we may on the unrevealed mercies of the future for them that live and die in the darkness of ignorance1 let us build nothing for ourselves who are shutting our eyes and closing our hearts to the ,divine light and love which are already ours4 99 99 99 99 99 ,behold1 then1 the goodness and severity of ,god2 and may ,his goodness lead us to repentance1 that ,his severity we may never know4 ,this is1 indeed1 ,his will for every one of us3 ,he has appointed us not unto wrath1 but unto the obtaining of salvation through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,if we are lost we are suicides4 ,,the ,,end ,footnote #a3 ,j4 ,stalker1 ,the ,christology of ,jesus1 p4 #bc1 footnote4 ,footnote #b3 ,the sources for our knowledge of the actual teaching of ,jesus do not lie merely in the ,gospel accounts1 but also in the literature of the apostolic age1 especially in the ,epistles of ,paul4444 ,even had no direct accounts about ,jesus been handed down to us1 we should still possess1 in the apostolic literature1 a perfectly valid testimony to the historical existence and epoch-making significance of ,jesus as a teacher4--,h4,h4 ,wendt1 ,teaching of ,jesus1 vol4 i1 p4 #bh4 ,footnote #c3 ,what is ,christianity8 p4 #bj4 ,footnote #d3 ,three ,essays on ,religion1 p4 #bec4 ,footnote #e3 ,literature and ,dogma1 p4 #aj4 ,footnote #f3 ,see ,harnack's ,what is ,christianity8 p4 #d4 ,footnote #g3 ,see ,a4,s4 ,peake's ,guide to ,biblical ,study1 p4 #bdd4 ,footnote #h3 ,thoughts on ,religion1 p4 #aeg4 ,footnote #i3 ,the ,kingdom of ,god1 p4 #ej4 ,footnote #aj3 ,christian apologists1 says ,dr4 ,sanday1 have often done scant justice to the intensity of this monotheistic faith1 which was utterly disinterested and capable of magnificent self-sacrifice4--,art4 ,god1 ,hastings' ,dictionary of the ,bible1 vol4 ii1 p4 #bje4 ,footnote #aa3 ,see ,r4,f4 ,horton's ,teaching of ,jesus1 p4 #ei4 ,footnote #ab3 ,a4,m4 ,fairbairn1 ,christ in ,modern ,theology1 p4 #bdd4 ,footnote #ac3 ,on the subject of this chapter see especially ,g4,b4 ,stevens' ,theology of the ,new ,testament1 chap4 vi4 ,footnote #ad3 ,christian ,doctrine1 p4 #gg4 ,footnote #ae3 ,bishop ,gore1 ,bampton ,lectures1 #ahia1 p4 #ac4 ,footnote #af3 ,j4 ,denney1 ,studies in ,theology1 p4 #be4 ,footnote #ag3 ,for an admirable statement of the argument of this paragraph see ,d4,w4 ,forrest's ,christ of ,history and experience1 chap4 i4 and note #d1 p4 #che4 ,footnote #ah3 ,cp4 ,denney's note on ,st4 ,paul's description of ,christ1 ,him who knew no sin1 in #b ,cor4 v4 #ba3 ,the ,greek negative 7mae71 as ,schmiedel remarks1 implies that this is regarded as the verdict of some one else than the writer4 ,it was ,christ's own verdict upon ,himself4 ,footnote #ai3 ,the ,death of ,christ1 p4 #bh4 ,footnote #bj3 ,the ,philosophy of the ,christian ,religion1 p4 #djh4 ,footnote #ba3 ,john xii4 #bg1 #bh2 xiii4 #ca2 xvii4 #a4 ,footnote #bb3 ,g4,b4 ,stevens1 ,theology of the ,new ,testament1 p4 #acc4 ,footnote #bc3 ,i quote once more from ,dr4 ,denney4 ,footnote #bd3 ,j4 ,denney1 ,studies in ,theology1 p4 #aed4 ,footnote #be3 ,see ,w4,n4 ,clarke's ,outlines of ,christian ,theology1 p4 #cgc4 ,footnote #bf3 ,it is the ,holy ,spirit who supplies the bodily presence of ,christ1 and by ,him doth ,he accomplish all ,his promises to the ,church4 ,hence1 some of the ancients call ,him ',vicarium ,christi1' ',the ,vicar of ,christ1' or ,him who represents ,his person and dischargeth ,his promised work3 ,operam navat ,christo vicariam4--,owen1 ,works1 vol4 iii4 p4 #aic4 ,footnote #bg3 ,our sources with the utmost possible uniformity refer to the ,spirit in terms implying personality4--,stevens1 ,theology of the ,new ,testament 7p4 #bae71 where the whole question is discussed with great fullness and fairness4 ,footnote #bh3 ,john ,watson1 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 p4 #cba4 ,may we remind ,dr4 ,watson of what he has himself written on the first page of his ,doctrines of ,grace3 ,it was the mission of ,st4 ,paul to declare the gospel of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ to the nations1 and none of his successors in this high office has spoken with such persuasive power4 ,any one differs from ,st4 ,paul at his intellectual peril1 and every one may imitate him with spiritual profit4 ,footnote #bi3 ,see1 in confirmation of the argument of this paragraph1 ,orr's ,christian ,view of ,god and the ,world1 p4 #dja ff41 and ,art4 ,the ,kingdom of ,god1 in ,hastings' ,dictionary of the ,bible2 ,denney's ,studies in ,theology1 ,lect4 ,,viii4 ,footnote #cj3 ,j4 ,watson1 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 p4 #cbc4 ,footnote #ca3 ,f4,g4 ,peabody1 ,jesus ,christ and the ,social ,question1 pp4 #hh1 #hi4 ,footnote #cb3 ,fellowship with ,christ1 p4 #aeg4 ,footnote #cc3 ,see ,trench's ,study of ,words1 p4 #ajj4 ,footnote #cd3 ,the chapter entitled ,christ's ,doctrine of ,man is one of the most suggestive chapters in ,dr4 ,bruce's admirable work ,the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,footnote #ce3 ,studies in ,theology1 p4 #hc4 ,footnote #cf3 ,see ,hastings' ,dictionary of the ,bible1 ,art4 ,sin1 vol4 iii4 p4 #ecc4 ,footnote #cg3 ,this is the ,r4,v4 marginal rendering of ,gen4 iv4 #ac4 ,footnote #ch3 ,r4,w4 ,dale1 ,evangelical ,revival and other ,sermons1 p4 #ff ff4 ,footnote #ci3 ,the ,kingdom of ,god1 p4 #bjc4 ,footnote #dj3 ,in his famous sermon on the ,pharisees1 ,university ,sermons1 p4 #cb4 ,footnote #da3 ,r4,w4 ,church1 ,gifts of ,civilisation1 p4 #ga4 ,footnote #db3 ,prov4 iv4 #g3 ,get wisdom2 and with all thy getting get understanding1 which does not mean simply1 ,whatever else you get1 be sure to get understanding4 ,the marginal reference is to ,matt4 xiii4 #dd3 wisdom1 like the pearl of great price1 is to be secured with1 i4e4 at the cost and sacrifice of1 everything else that can be gotten4 7,see ,j4,r4 ,lumby on ,shortcomings of ,translation1 ,expositor1 second series1 ,,vol4 iii4 p4 #bjc47 ,footnote #dc3 #b ,cor4 v4 #i ,r4,v4 margin4 ,footnote #dd3 ,laws of ,christ for ,common ,life1 p4 #ei4 ,footnote #de3 ,bible ,characters3 ,stephen to ,timothy1 p4 #ie4 ,footnote #df3 ,on the ,authorized ,version of the ,new ,testament1 p4 #ad4 ,footnote #dg3 ,i am indebted for these two quotations to ,bishop ,paget's ,spirit of ,discipline1 p4 #ff4 ,footnote #dh3 ,p4 ,carnegie ,simpson1 ,the ,fact of ,christ1 pp4 #aaf1 #aag4 ,footnote #di3 ,time and ,tide1 p4 #bbd4 ,footnote #ej3 ,f4,g4 ,peabody1 ,jesus ,christ and the ,social ,problem1 p4 #bai4 ,footnote #ea3 ,emerson had surely overlooked this nobler meaning of the word when he wrote1 ,they the ,english put up no ,socratic prayer1 much less any saintly prayer1 for the queen's mind2 ask neither for light nor right1 but say bluntly1 'grant her in health and wealth long to live' 7,english ,traits74 ,footnote #eb3 ,to those who are interested in the subject of this chapter ,prof4 ,peabody's book already referred to1 and an article entitled ,the ,teaching of ,christ concerning the ,use of ,money 7,expositor1 third series1 vol4 viii4 p4 #ajj ff47 may be recommended4 ,footnote #ec3 ,studies in ,theology1 p4 #bci4 ,footnote #ed3 ,there is no subject on which it is more difficult to ascertain the teaching of ,christ than that which relates to the future of the kingdom4--,a4,b4 ,bruce1 ,the ,kingdom of ,god1 p4 #bgc4 ,footnote #ee3 ,j4 ,agar ,beet1 ,the ,last ,things1 p4 #df4 ,footnote #ef3 ,marcus ,dods1 ,the ,parables of our ,lord 7first series71 p4 #bch4 ,footnote #eg3 ,cathedral and ,university ,sermons1 p4 #aj4 ,footnote #eh3 ,john ,watson1 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 pp4 #bjc1 #bjd4 ,footnote #ei3 ,see ,t4,g4 ,selby's ,imperfect ,angel and other ,sermons1 p4 #baa4 ,cf4 ,zachariah ,coleman in ,mark ,rutherford's ,revolution in ,tanners ,lane3 ,that is a passage that ,i never could quite understand4 ,i never hardly see a pure breed1 either of goat or sheep4 ,i never see anybody who deserves to go straight to heaven or who deserves to go straight to hell4 ,when the ,judgment ,day comes it will be a difficult task4 ,footnote #fj3 ,see the very striking and beautiful chapter entitled ,the ,continuity of ,life in ,watson's ,mind of the ,master4 ,footnote #fa3 ,see ,t4,g4 ,selby's ,ministry of the ,lord ,jesus1 p4 #bgi4 ,footnote #fb3 ,r4,w4 ,church1 ,human ,life and its ,conditions1 p4 #ajc4 ,footnote #fc3 ,in a striking article entitled ,the ,old ,antinomianism and the ,new 7,congregational ,review1 ,jan4 #ahhg74