,,the ,,world',s ,,great ,,sermons ,,grenville ,,kleiser ,formerly of ,yale ,divinity ,school ,faculty2 ,author of ,how to ,speak in ,public1 ,etc4 ,with ,assistance from ,many of the ,foremost ,living ,preachers and ,other ,theologians ,,introduction ,,by ,,lewis ,o4 ,,brastow1 ,d4,d4 ,professor ,emeritus of ,practical ,theology in ,yale ,university ,,volume ,,viii ,,talmage ,,to ,,knox ,,little #aijh ,,contents ,,volume ,,viii4 ,,talmage 7#ahcb-aija74 ,a ,bloody ,monster ,,spurgeon 7#ahcd-ahib74 ,songs in the ,night ,,potter 7#ahcd-aijh7 ,memorial ,discourse on ,phillips ,brooks ,,abbott 7,born in #ahce74 ,the ,divinity in ,humanity ,,brooks 7#ahce-ahic74 ,the ,pride of ,life ,,gladdest 7,born in #ahcf74 ,the ,prince of ,life ,,clifford 7,born in #ahcf74 ,the ,forgiveness of ,sins ,,moody 7#ahcg-ahii74 ,what ,think ,ye of ,christ8 ,,fowler 7#ahcg-aijh74 ,the ,spirit of ,christ ,,whyte 7,born in #ahcg74 ,experience ,,watkinson 7,born in #ahch74 ,the ,transfigured ,sackcloth ,,lorimer 7#ahch-aijd74 ,the ,fall of ,satan ,,little 7,born in #ahci74 ,thirst ,satisfied ,,talmage ,a ,,bloody ,,monster ,,biographical ,,note ,thomas ,de ,witt ,talmage was born at ,bound ,brook1 ,n4,j41 in #ahcb4 ,for many years he preached to large and enthusiastic congregations at the ,brooklyn ,tabernacle4 ,at one time six hundred newspapers regularly printed his sermons4 ,he was a man of great vitality1 optimistic by nature1 and particularly popular with young people4 ,his voice was rather high and unmusical1 but his distinct enunciation and earnestness of manner gave a peculiar attraction to his pulpit oratory4 ,his rhetoric has been criticized for floridness and sensationalism1 but his word pictures held multitudes of people spellbound as in the presence of a master4 ,he died in #aija4 ,,talmage #ahcb--aija ,a ,,bloody ,,monster#a ,footnote #a3 ,copyright1 #aijj1 by ,louis ,klopsch1 and reprinted by permission4 ,it is my son's coat2 an evil beast hath devoured him4--,gen4 xxxvii41 #cc4 ,joseph's brethren dipt their brother's coat in goat's blood1 and then brought the dabbled garment to their father1 cheating him with the idea that a ferocious animal had slain him1 and thus hiding their infamous behavior4 ,but there is no deception about that which we hold up to your observation to-day4 ,a monster such as never ranged ,african thicket or ,hindustan jungle hath tracked this land1 and with bloody maw hath strewn the continent with the mangled carcasses of whole generations2 and there are tens of thousands of fathers and mothers who could hold up the garment of their slain boy1 truthfully exclaiming1 ,it is my son's coat2 an evil beast hath devoured him4 ,there has1 in all ages and climes1 been a tendency to the improper use of stimulants4 ,noah took to strong drink4 ,by this vice1 ,alexander the ,conqueror was conquered4 ,the ,romans at their feasts fell off their seats with intoxication4 ,four hundred millions of our race are opium-eaters4 ,india1 ,turkey1 and ,china have groaned with the desolation2 and by it have been quenched such lights as ,halley and ,de ,quincey4 ,one hundred millions are the victims of the betelnut1 which has specially blasted the ,east ,indies4 ,three hundred millions chew hashish1 and ,persia1 ,brazil1 and ,africa suffer the delirium4 ,the ,tartars employ murowa2 the ,mexicans1 the agave2 the people at ,guarapo1 an intoxicating product taken from sugarcane2 while a great multitude1 that no man can number1 are the votaries of alcohol4 ,to it they bow4 ,under it they are trampled4 ,in its trenches they fall4 ,on its ghastly holocaust they burn4 ,could the muster-roll of this great army be called1 and could they come up from the dead1 what eye could endure the reeking1 festering putrefaction8 ,what heart could endure the groan of agony8 ,drunkenness6 ,does it not jingle the burglar's key8 ,does it not whet the assassin's knife8 ,does it not cock the highwayman's pistol8 ,does it not wave the incendiary's torch8 ,has it not sent the physician reeling into the sick-room2 and the minister with his tongue thick into the pulpit8 ,did not an exquisite poet1 from the very top of his fame1 fall a gibbering sot1 into the gutter1 on his way to be married to one of the fairest daughters of ,new ,england1 and at the very hour the bride was decking herself for the altar2 and did he not die of delirium tremens1 almost unattended1 in a hospital8 ,tamerlane asked for one hundred and sixty thousand skulls with which to build a pyramid to his own honor4 ,he got the skulls1 and built the pyramid4 ,but if the bones of all those who have fallen as a prey to dissipation could be piled up1 it would make a vaster pyramid4 ,who will gird himself for the journey and try with me to scale this mountain of the dead--going up miles high on human carcasses to find still other peaks far above1 mountain above mountain white with the bleached bones of drunkards8 ,the ,sabbath has been sacrificed to the rum traffic4 ,to many of our people1 the best day of the week is the worst4 ,bakers must keep their shops closed on the ,sabbath4 ,it is dangerous to have loaves of bread going out on ,sunday4 ,the shoe store is closed3 severe penalty will attack the man who sells boots on the ,sabbath4 ,but down with the window-shutters of the grog-shops4 ,our laws shall confer particular honor upon the rum-traffickers4 ,all other trades must stand aside for these4 ,let our citizens who have disgraced themselves by trading in clothing and hosiery and hardware and lumber and coal take off their hats to the rum-seller1 elected to particular honor4 ,it is unsafe for any other class of men to be allowed license for ,sunday work4 ,but swing out your signs1 and open your doors1 ,o ye traffickers in the peace of families and in the souls of immortal men4 ,let the corks fly and the beer foam and the rum go tearing down the half-consumed throat of the inebriate4 ,god does not see6 ,does ,he8 ,judgment will never come6 ,will it8 ,it may be that ,god is determined to let drunkenness triumph1 and the husbands and sons of thousands of our best families be destroyed by this vice1 in order that our people1 amazed and indignant1 may rise up and demand the extermination of this municipal crime4 ,there is a way of driving down the hoops of a barrel so tight that they break4 ,we have1 in this country1 at various times1 tried to regulate this evil by a tax on whisky4 ,you might as well try to regulate the ,asiatic cholera or the smallpox by taxation4 ,the men who distil liquors are1 for the most part1 unscrupulous2 and the higher the tax1 the more inducement to illicit distillation4 ,oh6 the folly of trying to restrain an evil by government tariff6 ,if every gallon of whisky made--if every flask of wine produced1 should be taxed a thousand dollars1 it would not be enough to pay for the tears it has wrung from the eyes of widows and orphans1 nor for the blood it has dashed on the ,christian ,church1 nor for the catastrophe of the millions it has destroyed for ever4 ,i sketch two houses in one street4 ,the first is bright as home can be4 ,the father comes at nightfall1 and the children run out to meet him4 ,bountiful evening meal6 ,gratulation and sympathy and laughter6 ,music in the parlor6 ,fine pictures on the wall6 ,costly books on the table6 ,well-clad household6 ,plenty of everything to make home happy6 ,house the second6 ,piano sold1 yesterday by the sheriff6 ,wife's furs at pawnbroker's shop6 ,clock gone6 ,daughter's jewelry sold to get flour6 ,carpets gone off the floor6 ,daughters in faded and patched dresses6 ,wife sewing for the stores6 ,little child with an ugly wound on her face1 struck by an angry blow6 ,deep shadow of wretchedness falling in every room6 ,doorbell rings6 ,little children hide6 ,daughters turn pale6 ,wife holds her breath6 ,blundering step in the hall6 ,door opens6 ,fiend1 brandishing his fist1 cries1 ,out6 out6 ,what are you doing here8 ,did ,i call this house second8 ,no2 it is the same house4 ,rum transformed it4 ,rum embruted the man4 ,rum sold the shawl4 ,rum tore up the carpets4 ,rum shook his fist4 ,rum desolated the hearth4 ,rum changed that paradise into a hell4 ,i sketch two men that you know very well4 ,the first graduated from one of our literary institutions4 ,his father1 mother1 brothers and sisters were present to see him graduate4 ,they heard the applauding thunders that greeted his speech4 ,they saw the bouquets tossed to his feet4 ,they saw the degree conferred and the diploma given4 ,he never looked so well4 ,everybody said1 ,what a noble brow6 ,what a fine eye6 ,what graceful manners6 ,what brilliant prospects6 ,man the second3 ,lies in the station-house4 ,the doctor has just been sent for to bind up the gashes received in a fight4 ,his hair is matted and makes him look like a wild beast4 ,his lip is bloody and cut4 ,who is this battered and bruised wretch that was picked up by the police and carried in drunk and foul and bleeding8 ,did ,i call him man the second8 ,he is man the first6 ,rum transformed him4 ,rum destroyed his prospects4 ,rum disappointed parental expectation4 ,rum withered those garlands of commencement day4 ,rum cut his lip4 ,rum dashed out his manhood4 ,rum1 accurst rum6 ,this foul thing gives one swing to its scythe1 and our best merchants fall2 their stores are sold1 and they sink into dishonored graves4 ,again it swings its scythe1 and some of our physicians fall into suffering that their wisest prescriptions cannot cure4 ,again it swings its scythe1 and ministers of the gospel fall from the heights of ,zion1 with long resounding crash of ruin and shame4 ,some of your own households have already been shaken4 ,perhaps you can hardly admit it2 but where was your son last night8 ,where was he ,friday night8 ,where was he ,thursday night8 ,wednesday night8 ,tuesday night8 ,monday night8 ,nay1 have not some of you in your own bodies felt the power of this habit8 ,you think that you could stop8 ,are you sure you could8 ,go on a little further1 and ,i am sure you cannot4 ,i think1 if some of you should try to break away1 you would find a chain on the right wrist1 and one on the left2 one on the right foot1 and another on the left4 ,this serpent does not begin to hurt until it has wound 'round and 'round4 ,then it begins to tighten and strangle and crush until the bones crack and the blood trickles and the eyes start from their sockets1 and the mangled wretch cries4 ,o ,god6 ,o ,god6 help6 help6 ,but it is too late2 and not even the fires of we can melt the chain when once it is fully fastened4 ,i have shown you the evil beast4 ,the question is1 who will hunt him down1 and how shall we shoot him8 ,i answer1 first1 by getting our children right on this subject4 ,let them grow up with an utter aversion to strong drink4 ,take care how you administer it even as medicine4 ,if you must give it to them and you find that they have a natural love for it1 as some have1 put in a glass of it some horrid stuff1 and make it utterly nauseous4 ,teach1 them1 as faithfully as you do the truths of the ,bible1 that rum is a fiend4 ,take them to the almshouse1 and show them the wreck and ruin it works4 ,walk with them into the homes that have been scourged by it4 ,if a drunkard hath fallen into a ditch1 take them right up where they can see his face1 bruised1 savage1 and swollen1 and say1 ,look1 my son4 ,rum did that6 ,looking out of your window at some one who1 intoxicated to madness1 goes through the street1 brandishing his fist1 blaspheming ,god1 a howling1 defying1 shouting1 reeling1 raving1 and foaming maniac1 say to your son1 ,look2 that man was once a child like you4 ,as you go by the grog-shop let them know that that is the place where men are slain and their wives made paupers and their children slaves4 ,hold out to your children warnings1 all rewards1 all counsels1 lest in afterdays they break your heart and curse your gray hairs4 ,a man laughed at my father for his scrupulous temperance principles1 and said3 ,i am more liberal than you4 ,i always give my children the sugar in the glass after we have been taking a drink4 ,three of his sons have died drunkards1 and the fourth is imbecile through intemperate habits4 ,again1 we will grapple this evil by voting only for sober men4 ,how many men are there who can rise above the feelings of partizanship1 and demand that our officials shall be sober men8 ,i maintain that the question of sobriety is higher than the question of availability2 and that1 however eminent a man's services may be1 if he have habits of intoxication1 he is unfit for any office in the gift of a ,christian people4 ,our laws will be no better than the men who make them4 ,spend a few days at ,harrisburg or ,albany or ,washington and you will find out why1 upon these subjects1 it is impossible to get righteous enactments4 ,again1 we will war upon this evil by organized societies4 ,the friends of the rum traffic have banded together2 annually issue their circulars2 raise fabulous sums of money to advance their interests2 and by grips1 passwords1 signs1 and strategems1 set at defiance public morals4 ,let us confront them with organizations just as secret1 and1 if need be1 with grips and pass-words and signs1 maintain our position4 ,there is no need that our beneficent societies tell all their plans4 ,i am in favor of all lawful strategy in the carrying on of this conflict4 ,i wish to ,god we could lay under the wine-casks a train which1 once ignited1 would shake the earth with the explosion of this monstrous iniquity6 ,again1 we will try the power of the pledge4 ,there are thousands of men who have been saved by putting their names to such a document4 ,i know it is laughed at2 but there are some men who1 having once promised a thing1 do it4 ,some have broken the pledge4 ,yes2 they were liars4 ,but all men are not liars4 ,i do not say that it is the duty of all persons to make such signature2 but ,i do say that it would be the salvation of many of you4 ,the glorious work of ,theobald ,mathew can never be estimated4 ,at this hand four millions of people took the pledge1 and multitudes in ,ireland1 ,england1 ,scotland1 and ,america1 have kept it till this day4 ,the pledge signed has been to thousands the proclamation of emancipation4 ,again1 we expect great things from asylums for inebriates4 ,they have already done a glorious work4 ,i think that we are coming at last to treat inebriation as it ought to be treated1 namely1 as an awful disease1 self-inflicted1 to be sure1 but nevertheless a disease4 ,once fastened upon a man1 sermons will not cure him1 temperance lectures will not eradicate it2 religious tracts will not remove it2 the ,gospel of ,christ will not arrest it4 ,once under the power of this awful thirst1 the man is bound to go on2 and1 if the foaming glass were on the other side of perdition1 he would wade through the fires of hell to get it4 ,a young man in prison had such a strong thirst for intoxicating liquors that he had cut off his hand at the wrist1 called for a bowl of brandy in order to stop the bleeding1 thrust his wrist into the bowl1 and then drank the contents4 ,stand not1 when the thirst is on him1 between a man and his cups4 ,clear the track for him4 ,away with the children6 he would tread their life out4 ,away with the wife6 he would dash her to death4 ,away with the cross6 he would run it down4 ,away with the ,bible6 he would tear it up for the winds4 ,away with heaven6 he considers it worthless as a straw4 ,give me the drink6 ,give it to me6 ,tho the hands of blood pass up the bowl1 and the soul trembles over the pit--the drink6 ,give it to me6 ,tho it be pale with tears2 tho the froth of everlasting anguish float on the foam--give it to me6 ,i drink to my wife's wo to my children's rags2 to my eternal banishment from ,god and hope and heaven6 ,give it to me6 the drink6 ,again1 we will contend against these evils by trying to persuade the respectable classes of society to the banishment of alcoholic beverages4 ,you who move in elegant and refined associations2 you who drink the best liquors2 you who never drink until you lose your balance1 let us look at each other in the face on this subject4 ,you have1 under ,god1 in your power the redemption of this land from drunkenness4 ,empty your cellars and wine-closets of the beverage1 and then come out and give us your hand1 your vote1 your prayers1 your sympathies4 ,do that1 and ,i will promise three things3 first1 that you will find unspeakable happiness in having done your duty2 secondly1 you will probably save somebody--perhaps your own child2 thirdly1 you will not1 in your last hour1 have a regret that you made the sacrifice1 if sacrifice it be4 ,as long as you make drinking respectable1 drinking customs will prevail1 and the plowshare of death1 drawn by terrible disasters1 will go on turning up this whole continent1 from end to end1 with the long1 deep1 awful furrow of drunkards' graves4 ,this rum fiend would like to go and hang up a skeleton in your beautiful house1 so that1 when you opened the front door to go in1 you would see it in the hall2 and when you sat at your table you would see it hanging from the wall2 and1 when you opened your bedroom you would find it stretched upon your pillow2 and1 waking at night1 you would feel its cold hand passing over your face and pinching at your heart4 ,there is no home so beautiful but it may be devastated by the awful curse4 ,it throws its jargon into the sweetest harmony4 ,what was it that silenced ,sheridan1 the ,english orator1 and shattered the golden scepter with which he swayed parliaments and courts8 ,what foul sprite turned the sweet rhythm of ,robert ,burns into a tuneless babble8 ,what was it that swamped the noble spirit of one of the heroes of the last war1 until1 in a drunken fit1 he reeled from the deck of a ,western steamer1 and was drowned4 ,there was one whose voice we all loved to hear4 ,he was one of the most classic orators of the century4 ,people wondered why a man of so pure a heart and so excellent a life should have such a sad countenance always4 ,they knew not that his wife was a sot4 ,i call upon those who are guilty of these indulgences to quit the path of death6 ,oh6 what a change it would make in your home6 ,do you see how everything there is being desolated8 ,would you not like to bring back joy to your wife's heart1 and have your children come out to meet you with as much confidence as once they showed8 ,would you not like to rekindle the home-lights that long ago were extinguished8 ,it is not too late to change4 ,it may not entirely obliterate from your soul the memory of wasted years and a ruined reputation1 nor smooth out from your anxious brow the wrinkles which trouble has plowed4 ,it may not call back unkind words uttered or rough deeds done2 for perhaps in those awful moments you struck her6 ,it may not take from your memory the bitter thoughts connected with some little grave4 ,but it is not too late to save yourself1 and secure for ,god and your family the remainder of your fast-going life4 ,but perhaps you have not utterly gone astray4 ,i may address one who may not have quite made up his mind4 ,let your better nature speak out4 ,you take one side or other in war against drunkenness4 ,have you the courage to put your foot down right1 and say to your companions and friends1 ,i will never drink intoxicating liquor in all my life2 nor will ,i countenance the habit in others8 ,have nothing to do with strong drink4 ,it has turned the earth into a place of skulls1 and has stood opening the gate to a lost world to let in its victims2 until now the door swings no more upon its hinges1 but1 day and night1 stands wide open to let in the agonized procession of doomed men4 ,do ,i address one whose regular work in life is to administer to this appetite8 ,for ,god's sake get out of that business6 ,if a we be pronounced upon the man who gives his neighbor drink1 how many woes must be hanging over the man who does this every day and every hour of the day6 ,do not think that because human government may license you that therefore ,god licenses you4 ,i am surprized to hear men say that they respect the original package decision by which the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states allows rum to be taken into ,states like ,kansas1 which decided against the sale of intoxicants4 ,i have no respect for a wrong decision1 ,i care not who makes it2 the three judges of the ,supreme ,court who gave minority report against that decision were right1 and the chief justice was wrong4 ,the right of a ,state to defend itself against the rum traffic will yet be demonstrated1 the ,supreme ,court notwithstanding4 ,higher than the judicial bench at ,washington is the throne of the ,lord ,god ,almighty4 ,no enactment1 national1 ,state1 or municipal1 can give you the right to carry on a business whose effect is destruction4 ,god knows better than you do yourself the number of drinks you have poured down4 ,you keep a list2 but a more accurate list has been kept than yours4 ,you may call it ,burgundy1 ,bourbon1 cognac1 ,heidsieck1 sour mash1 or beer4 ,god calls it strong-drink4 ,whether you sell it in low oyster-cellar or behind the polished counter of a first-class hotel1 the divine curse is upon you4 ,i tell you plainly that you will meet your customers one day when there will be no counter between you4 ,when your work is done on earth1 and you enter the reward of your business1 all the souls of the men whom you have destroyed will crowd around you1 and pour their bitterness into your cup4 ,they will show you their wounds and say1 ,you made them2 and point to their unquenchable thirst and say1 ,you kindled it2 and rattle their chain and say1 ,you forged it4 ,then their united groans will smite your ear2 and with the hands out of which you once picked the sixpences and the dimes they will push you off the verge of great precipices2 while rolling up from beneath1 and breaking away among the crags of death1 will thunder1 ,wo to him that giveth his neighbor drink6 ,,spurgeon ,,songs ,,in ,,the ,,night ,,biographical ,,note ,charles ,haddon ,spurgeon was born at ,kelvedon1 ,essex1 ,england1 in #ahcd4 ,he was one of the most powerful and popular preachers of his time1 and his extraordinary force of character and wonderful enthusiasm attracted vast audiences4 ,his voice was unusually powerful1 clear and melodious1 and he used it with consummate skill4 ,in the preparation of his sermons he meditated much but wrote not a word1 so that he was in the truest sense a purely extemporaneous speaker4 ,sincerity1 intensity1 imagination and humor1 he had in preeminent degree1 and an ,english style that has been described as a long bright river of silver speech which unwound1 evenly and endlessly1 like a ribbon from a revolving spool that could fill itself as fast as it emptied itself4 ,thirty-eight volumes of his sermons were issued in his lifetime and are still in increasing demand4 ,dr4 ,robertson ,nicoll says3 ,our children will think more of these sermons than we do2 and as ,i get older ,i read them more and more4 ,he died in #ahib4 ,,spurgeon #ahcd--ahib ,,songs ,,in ,,the ,,night ,but none saith1 ,where is ,god my maker1 who giveth songs in the night8--,job xxxv41 #aj4 ,elihu was a wise man1 exceeding wise1 tho not as wise as the all-wise ,jehovah1 who sees light in the clouds1 and finds order in confusion2 hence ,elihu1 being much puzzled at beholding ,job thus afflicted1 cast about him to find the cause of it1 and he very wisely hit upon one of the most likely reasons1 altho it did not happen to be the right one in ,job's case4 ,he said within himself--,surely1 if men be tried and troubled exceedingly1 it is because1 while they think about their troubles and distress themselves about their fears1 they do not say1 ',where is ,god my maker1 who giveth songs in the night8' ,elihu's reason was right in the majority of cases4 ,the great cause of the ,christian's distress1 the reason of the depths of sorrow into which many believers are plunged1 is this--that while they are looking about1 on the right hand and on the left1 to see how they may escape their troubles1 they forget to look to the hills whence all real help cometh2 they do not say1 ,where is ,god my maker1 who giveth songs in the night8 ,we shall1 however1 leave that inquiry1 and dwell upon those sweet words1 ,god my maker1 who giveth songs in the night4 ,the world hath its night4 ,it seemeth necessary that it should have one4 ,the sun shineth by day1 and men go forth to their labors2 but they grow weary1 and nightfall cometh on1 like a sweet boon from heaven4 ,the darkness draweth the curtains1 and shutteth out the light1 which might prevent our eyes from slumber2 while the sweet1 calm stillness of the night permits us to rest upon the lap of ease1 and there forget awhile our cares1 until the morning sun appeareth1 and an angel puts his hand upon the curtain1 and undraws it once again1 touches our eyelids1 and bids us rise1 and proceed to the labors of the day4 ,night is one of the greatest blessings men enjoy2 we have many reasons to thank ,god for it4 ,yet night is to many a gloomy season4 ,there is the pestilence that walketh in darkness2 there is the terror by night2 there is the dread of robbers and of fell disease1 with all those fears that the timorous know1 when they have no light wherewith they can discern objects4 ,it is then they fancy that spiritual creatures walk the earth2 tho1 if they knew rightly1 they would find it to be true1 that ,millions of spiritual creatures walk this earth1 ,unseen1 both when we sleep and when we wake1 and that at all times they are round about us--not more by night than by day4 ,night is the season of terror and alarm to most men4 ,yet even night hath its songs4 ,have you never stood by the seaside at night1 and heard the pebbles sing1 and the waves chant ,god's glories8 ,or have you never risen from your couch1 and thrown up the window of your chamber1 and listened there8 ,listened to what8 ,silence--save now and then a murmuring sound1 which seems sweet music then4 ,and have you not fancied that you heard the harp of ,god playing in heaven8 ,did you not conceive1 that yon stars1 that those eyes of ,god1 looking down on you1 were also mouths of song--that every star was singing ,god's glory1 singing1 as it shone1 its mighty ,maker1 and ,his lawful1 well-deserved praise8 ,night hath its songs4 ,we need not much poetry in our spirit1 to catch the song of night1 and hear the spheres as they chant praises which are loud to the heart1 tho they be silent to the ear--the praises of the mighty ,god1 who bears up the unpillared arch of heaven1 and moves the stars in their courses4444 ,if we are going to sing of the things of yesterday1 let us begin with what ,god did for us in past times4 ,my beloved brethren1 you will find it a sweet subject for song at times1 to begin to sing of electing love and covenanted mercies4 ,when thou thyself art low1 it is well to sing of the fountain-head of mercy2 of that blest decree wherein thou wast ordained to eternal life1 and of that glorious ,man who undertook thy redemption2 of that solemn covenant signed1 and sealed1 and ratified1 in all things ordered well2 of that everlasting love which1 ere the hoary mountains were begotten1 or ere the aged hills were children1 chose thee1 loved thee firmly1 loved thee fast1 loved thee well1 loved thee eternally4 ,i tell thee1 believer1 if thou canst go back to the years of eternity2 if thou canst in thy mind run back to that period1 or ere the everlasting hills were fashioned1 or the fountains of the great deep scooped out1 and if thou canst see thy ,god inscribing thy name in ,his eternal book2 if thou canst see in ,his loving heart eternal thoughts of love to thee1 thou wilt find this a charming means of giving thee songs in the night4 ,no songs like those which come from electing love2 no sonnets like those that are dictated by meditations on discriminating mercy4 ,some1 indeed1 cannot sing of election3 the ,lord open their mouths a little wider6 ,some there are that are afraid of the very term2 but we only despise men who are afraid of what they believe1 afraid of what ,god has taught them in ,his ,bible4 ,no1 in our darker hours it is our joy to sing3 ,sons we are through ,god's election1 ,who in ,jesus ,christ believe2 ,by eternal destination1 ,sovereign grace we now receive4 ,lord1 thy favor1 ,shall both grace and glory give4 ,think1 ,christian1 of the yesterday1 ,i say1 and thou wilt get a song in the night4 ,but if thou hast not a voice tuned to so high a key as that1 let me suggest some other mercies thou mayest sing of2 and they are the mercies thou hast experienced4 ,what6 man1 canst thou not sing a little of that blest hour when ,jesus met thee2 when1 a blind slave1 thou wast sporting with death1 and ,he saw thee1 and said3 ,come1 poor slave1 come with me8 ,canst thou not sing of that rapturous moment when ,he snapt thy fetters1 dashed thy chains to the earth1 and said3 ,i am the ,breaker2 ,i came to break thy chains1 and set thee free8 ,what tho thou art ever so gloomy now1 canst thou forget that happy morning1 when in the house of ,god thy voice was loud1 almost as a seraph's voice1 in praise8 for thou couldst sing3 ,i am forgiven2 ,i am forgiven3 ,a monument of grace1 ,a sinner saved by blood4 ,go back1 man2 sing of that moment1 and then thou wilt have a song in the night8 ,or if thou hast almost forgotten that1 then sure thou hast some precious milestone along the road of life that is not quite grown over with moss1 on which thou canst read some happy inspiration of ,his mercy toward thee6 ,what6 didst thou never have a sickness like that which thou art suffering now1 and did ,he not raise thee up from that8 ,wast thou never poor before1 and did ,he not supply thy wants8 ,wast thou never in straits before1 and did ,he not deliver thee8 ,come1 man6 ,i beseech thee1 go to the river of thine experience1 and pull up a few bulrushes1 and weave them into an ark1 wherein thy infant faith may float safely on the stream4 ,i bid thee not forget what ,god hath done4 ,what6 hast thou buried thine own diary8 ,i beseech thee1 man1 turn over the book of thy remembrance4 ,canst thou not see some sweet hill ,mizar8 ,canst thou not think of some blest hour when the ,lord met with thee at ,hermon8 ,hast thou never been on the ,delectable ,mountains8 ,hast thou never been fetched from the den of lions8 ,hast thou never escaped the jaw of the lion and the paw of the bear8 ,nay1 ,o man1 ,i know thou hast2 go back1 then1 a little way1 and take the mercies of yesterday2 and tho it is dark now1 light up the lamps of yesterday1 and they shall glitter through the darkness1 and thou shalt find that ,god hath given thee a song in the night4 ,but ,i think1 beloved1 there is never so dark a night1 but there is something to sing about1 even concerning that night2 for there is one thing ,i am sure we can sing about1 let the night be ever so dark1 and that is1 ,it is of the ,lord's mercies that we are not consumed1 and because ,his compassions fail not4 ,if we cannot sing very loud1 yet we can sing a little low tune1 something like this--,he hath not dealt with us after our sins1 nor rewarded us according to our iniquities4 ,oh6 says one1 ,i do not know where to get my dinner from to-morrow4 ,i am a poor wretch4 ,so you may be1 my dear friend2 but you are not so poor as you deserve to be4 ,do not be mightily offended about that2 if you are1 you are no child of ,god2 for the child of ,god acknowledges that he has no right to the least of ,god's mercies1 but that they come through the channel of grace alone4 ,as long as ,i am out of hell1 ,i have no right to grumble2 and if ,i were in hell ,i should have no right to complain1 for ,i feel1 when convinced of sin1 that never creature deserved to go there more than ,i do4 ,we have no cause to murmur2 we can lift up our hands1 and say1 ,night6 thou art dark1 but thou mightst have been darker4 ,i am poor1 but1 if ,i could not have been poorer1 ,i might have been sick4 ,i am poor and sick--well1 ,i have some friend left1 my lot cannot be so bad1 but it might have been worse4 ,and therefore1 ,christian1 you will always have one thing to sing about--,lord1 ,i thank ,thee1 it is not all darkness6 ,besides1 ,christian1 however dark the night is1 there is always a star or moon4 ,there is scarce ever a night that we have1 but there are just one or two little lamps burning up there4 ,however dark it may be1 ,i think you may find some little comfort1 some little joy1 some little mercy left1 and some little promise to cheer thy spirit4 ,the stars are not put out1 are they8 ,nay1 if thou canst not see them1 they are there2 but methinks one or two must be shining on thee2 therefore give ,god a song in the night4 ,if thou hast only one star1 bless ,god for that one1 perhaps ,he will make it two2 and if thou hast only two stars1 bless ,god for the two stars1 and perhaps ,he will make them four4 ,try1 then1 if thou canst not find a song in the night4 ,but1 beloved1 there is another thing of which we can sing yet more sweetly2 and that is1 we can sing of the day that is to come4 ,i am preaching to-night for the poor weavers of ,spitalfields4 ,perhaps there are not to be found a class of men in ,london who are suffering a darker night than they are2 for while many classes have been befriended and defended1 there are few who speak up for them1 and 7if ,i am rightly informed7 they are generally ground down within an inch of their lives4 ,i suppose that their masters intend that their bread shall be very sweet1 on the principle1 that the nearer the ground1 the sweeter the grass2 for ,i should think that no people have their grass so near the ground as the weavers of ,spitalfields4 ,in an inquiry by the ,house of ,commons last week1 it was given in evidence that their average wages amount to seven or eight shillings a week2 and that they have to furnish themselves with a room1 and work at expensive articles1 which my friends and ladies are wearing now1 and which they buy as cheaply as possible2 but perhaps they do not know that they are made with the blood and bones and marrow of the ,spitalfields weavers1 who1 many of them1 work for less than man ought to have to subsist upon4 ,some of them waited upon me the other day2 ,i was exceedingly pleased with one of them4 ,he said1 ,well1 sir1 it is very hard1 but ,i hope there is better times coming for us4 ,well1 my friend1 ,i said1 ,i am afraid you cannot hope for much better times1 unless the ,lord ,jesus ,christ comes a second time4 ,that is just what we hope for1 said he4 ,we do not see there is any chance of deliverance1 unless the ,lord ,jesus ,christ comes to establish ,his kingdom upon the earth2 and then ,he will judge the opprest1 and break the oppressors in pieces with an iron rod1 and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel4 ,i was glad my friend had got a song in the night1 and was singing about the morning that was coming4 ,often do ,i cheer myself with the thought of the coming of the ,lord4 ,we preach now1 perhaps1 with little success2 the kingdoms of this world are not become the kingdoms of our ,lord and of his ,christ2 we send out missionaries2 they are for the most part unsuccessful4 ,we are laboring1 but we do not see the fruits of our labors4 ,well1 what then8 ,try a little while2 we shall not always labor in vain1 or spend our strength for naught4 ,a day is coming1 and now is1 when every minister of ,christ shall speak with unction1 when all the servants of ,god shall preach with power1 and when colossal systems of heathenism shall be scattered to the winds4 ,the shout shall be heard1 ,alleluia6 ,alleluia6 the ,lord ,god ,omnipotent reigneth4 ,for that day do ,i look2 it is to the bright horizon of that second coming that ,i turn my eyes4 ,my anxious expectation is1 that the sweet ,sun of righteousness will arise with healing beneath ,his wings1 that the opprest shall be righted1 that despotisms shall be cut down1 that liberty shall be established1 that peace shall be made lasting1 and that the glorious liberty of the gospel shall be extended throughout the known world4 ,christian6 if thou art in a night1 think of the morrow2 cheer up thy heart with the thought of the coming of thy ,lord4 ,there is another sweet to-morrow of which we hope to sing in the night4 ,soon1 beloved1 you and ,i shall lie on our dying bed1 and we shall want a song in the night then2 and ,i do not know where we shall get it1 if we do not get it from the to-morrow4 ,kneeling by the bed of an apparently dying saint1 last night1 ,i said1 ,well1 sister1 ,he has been precious to you2 you can rejoice in ,his covenant mercies1 and ,his past loving-kindnesses4 ,she put out her hand1 and said1 ,ah6 sir1 do not talk about them now2 ,i want the sinner's ,savior as much now as ever2 it is not a saint's ,i want2 it is still a sinner's ,savior that ,i am in need of1 for ,i am a sinner still4 ,i found that ,i could not comfort her with the past2 so ,i reminded her of the golden streets1 of the gates of pearl1 of the walls of jasper1 of the harps of gold1 of the songs of bliss2 and then her eyes glistened2 she said1 ,yes1 ,i shall be there soon2 ,i shall meet them by-and-by2 and then she seemed so glad6 ,ah6 believer1 you may always cheer yourself with that thought4 ,thy head may be crowned with thorny troubles now1 but it shall wear a starry crown directly2 thy hand may be filled with cares--it shall grasp a harp soon1 a harp full of music4 ,thy garments may be soiled with dust now2 they shall be white by-and-by4 ,wait a little longer4 ,ah6 beloved1 how despicable our troubles and trials will seem when we look back upon them6 ,looking at them here in the prospect1 they seem immense2 but when we get to heaven1 we shall then1 ,with transporting joys recount ,the labors of our feet4 ,our trials will seem to us nothing at all4 ,we shall talk to one another about them in heaven1 and find all the more to converse about1 according as we have suffered more here below4 ,let us go on1 therefore2 and if the night be ever so dark1 remember there is not a night that shall not have a morning2 and that morning is to come by and by4 ,and now ,i want to tell you1 very briefly1 what are the excellences of songs in the night above all other songs4 ,in the first place1 when you hear a man singing a song in the night--,i mean in the night of trouble--you may be quite sure it is a hearty one4 ,many of you sang very prettily just now1 didn't you8 ,i wonder whether you would sing very prettily1 if there was a stake or two in ,smithfield for all of you who dared to do it8 ,if you sang under pain and penalty1 that would show your heart to be in your song4 ,we can all sing very nicely indeed when everybody else sings4 ,it is the easiest thing in the world to open your mouth1 and let the words come out2 but when the devil puts his hand over your mouth1 can you sing then8 ,can you say1 ,tho he slay me1 yet will ,i trust in him8 ,that is hearty singing2 that is real song that springs up in the night4 ,the nightingale singeth most sweetly because she singeth in the night4 ,we know a poet has said that1 if she sang by day1 she might be thought to sing no more sweetly than the wren4 ,it is the stillness of the night that makes her song sweet4 ,and so doth a ,christian's song become sweet and hearty1 because it is in the night4 ,again3 the songs we sing in the night will be lasting4 ,many songs we hear our fellow-creatures singing in the streets will not do to sing by-and-by2 ,i guess they will sing a different kind of tune soon4 ,they can sing nowadays any rollicking1 drinking songs2 but they will not sing them when they come to die2 they are not exactly the songs with which to cross ,jordan's billows4 ,it will not do to sing one of those light songs when death and you are having the last tug4 ,it will not do to enter heaven singing one of those unchaste1 unholy sonnets4 ,no2 but the ,christian who can sing in the night will not have to leave off his song2 he may keep on singing it forever4 ,he may put his foot in ,jordan's stream1 and continue his melody2 he may wade through it1 and keep on singing still1 and land himself safe in heaven2 and when he is there1 there need not be a gap in his strain1 but in a nobler1 sweeter strain he may still continue singing ,his power to save4 ,there are a great many of you that think ,christian people are a very miserable set1 don't you8 ,you say1 ,let me sing my song4 ,ay1 but1 my dear friends1 we like to sing a song that will last2 we don't like your songs2 they are all froth1 like bubbles on the beaker1 and they will soon die away and be lost4 ,give me a song that will last2 give me one that will not melt4 ,oh1 give me not the dreamster's gold6 he hoards it up1 and says1 ,i'm rich2 and when he waketh1 his gold is gone4 ,but give me songs in the night1 for they are songs ,i sing forever4 ,again3 the songs we warble in the night are those that show we have real faith in4 ,god4 ,many men have just enough faith to trust ,god as far as they can see ,him1 and they always sing as far as they can see providence go right2 but true faith can sing when its possessors cannot see4 ,it can take hold of ,god when they cannot discern ,him4 ,songs in the night1 too1 prove that we have true courage4 ,many sing by day who are silent by night2 they are afraid of thieves and robbers2 but the ,christian who sings in the night proves himself to be a courageous character4 ,it is the bold ,christian who can sing ,god's sonnets in the darkness4 ,he who can sing songs in the night1 too1 proves that he has true love to ,christ4 ,it is not love to ,christ to praise ,him while everybody else praises ,him2 to walk arm in arm with ,him when ,he has the crown on ,his head is no great deed1 ,i wot2 to walk with ,christ in rags is something4 ,to believe in ,christ when ,he is shrouded in darkness1 to stick hard and fast by the ,savior when all men speak ill of ,him and forsake ,him--that is true faith4 ,he who singeth a song to ,christ in the night1 singeth the best song in all the world2 for ,he singeth from the heart4 ,i am afraid of wearying you2 therefore ,i shall not dwell on the excellences of night songs1 but just1 in the last place1 show you their use4 ,it is very useful to sing in the night of our troubles1 first1 because it will cheer ourselves4 ,when you were boys living in the country1 and had some distance to go alone at night1 don't you remember how you whistled and sang to keep your courage up8 ,well1 what we do in the natural world we ought to do in the spiritual4 ,there is nothing like singing to keep your spirits alive4 ,when we have been in trouble1 we have often thought ourselves to be well-nigh overwhelmed with difficulty2 and we have said1 ,let us have a song4 ,we have begun to sing2 and ,martin ,luther says1 ,the devil cannot bear singing4 ,that is about the truth2 he does not like music4 ,it was so in ,saul's days3 an evil spirit rested on ,saul2 but when ,david played on his harp1 the evil spirit went away from him4 ,this is usually the case3 if we can begin to sing we shall remove our fears4 ,i like to hear servants sometimes humming a tune at their work2 ,i love to hear a plowman in the country singing as he goes along with his horses4 ,why not8 ,you say he has no time to praise ,god2 but he can sing a song--surely he can sing a ,psalm1 it will take no more time4 ,singing is the best thing to purge ourselves of evil thoughts4 ,keep your mouth full of songs1 and you will often keep your heart full of praises2 keep on singing as long as you can2 you will find it a good method of driving away your fears4 ,sing1 again1 for another reason3 because it will cheer your companions4 ,if any of them are in the valley and in the darkness with you1 it will be a great help to comfort them4 ,john ,bunyan tells us1 that as ,christian was going through the valley he found it a dreadful dark place1 and terrible demons and goblins were all about him1 and poor ,christian thought he must perish for certain2 but just when his doubts were the strongest1 he heard a sweet voice2 he listened to it1 and he heard a man in front of him saying1 ,yea1 when ,i pass through the valley of the shadow of death1 ,i will fear no evil4 ,now1 that man did not know who was near him1 but he was unwittingly singing to cheer a man behind4 ,christian1 when you are in trouble1 sing2 you do not know who is near you4 ,sing1 perhaps you will get a companion by it4 ,sing6 perhaps there will be many a heart cheered by your song4 ,there is some broken spirit1 it may be1 that will be bound up by your sonnets4 ,sing6 there is some poor distrest brother1 perhaps1 shut up in the ,castle of ,despair1 who1 like ,king ,richard1 will hear your song inside the walls1 and sing to you again1 and you may be the means of getting him a ransom4 ,sing1 ,christian1 wherever you go2 try1 if you can1 to wash your face every morning in a bath of praise4 ,when you go down from your chamber1 never go to look on man till you have first looked on your ,god2 and when you have looked on ,him1 seek to come down with a face beaming with joy2 carry a smile1 for you will cheer up many a poor way-worn pilgrim by it4 ,one more reason2 and ,i know it will be a good one for you4 ,try and sing in the night1 ,christian1 for that is one of the best arguments in all the world in favor of your religion4 ,our divines nowadays spend a great deal of time in trying to prove ,christianity against those who disbelieve it4 ,i should like to have seen ,paul trying that6 ,elymas the sorcerer withstood him3 how did our friend ,paul treat him8 ,he said1 ,oh1 full of all subtlety and all mischief1 thou child of the devil1 thou enemy of the righteousness1 wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the ,lord8 ,that is about the politeness such men ought to have who deny ,god's truth4 ,we start with this assumption3 we will prove that the ,bible is ,god's word1 but we are not going to prove ,god's word4 ,if you do not like to believe it1 we will shake hands1 and bid you good-by2 we will not argue with you4 ,the gospel has gained little by discussion4 ,the greatest piece of folly on earth has been to send a man round the country1 to follow another up who has been lecturing on infidelity just to make himself notorious4 ,why1 let them lecture on2 this is a free country2 why should we follow them about8 ,the truth will win the day4 ,christianity need not wish for controversy2 it is strong enough for it1 if it wishes it2 but that is not ,god's way4 ,god's direction is1 ,preach1 teach1 dogmatize4 ,do not stand disputing2 claim a divine mission2 tell men that ,god says it1 and there leave it4 ,say to them1 ,he that believeth shall be saved1 and he that believeth not shall be damned2 and when you have done that1 you have done enough4 ,for what reason should our missionaries stand disputing with ,brahmins8 ,why should they be wasting their time by attempting to refute first this dogma1 and then another1 of heathenism8 ,why not just go and say1 ,the ,god whom ye ignorantly worship1 ,i declare unto you2 believe me1 and you will be saved2 believe me not1 and the ,bible says you are lost4 ,and then1 having thus asserted ,god's word1 say1 ,i leave it1 ,i declare it unto you2 it is a thing for you to believe1 not a thing for you to reason about4 ,religion is not a thing merely for your intellect2 a thing to prove your own talent upon1 by making a syllogism on it2 it is a thing that demands your faith4 ,as a messenger of heaven1 ,i demand that faith2 if you do not choose to give it1 on your own head be the doom1 if there be such1 if there be not1 you are prepared to risk it4 ,but ,i have done my duty2 ,i have told you the truth2 that is enough1 and there ,i leave it4 ,oh1 ,christian1 instead of disputing1 let me tell thee how to prove your religion4 ,live it out6 ,live it out6 ,give the external as well as the internal evidence2 give the external evidence of your own life4 ,you are sick2 there is your neighbor who laughs at religion2 let him come into your house4 ,when he was sick1 he said1 ,oh1 send for the doctor2 and there he was fretting1 and fuming1 and whining1 and making all manner of noises4 ,when you are sick1 send for him1 tell him that you are resigned to the ,lord's will2 that you will kiss the chastening rod2 that you will take the cup1 and drink it1 because your ,father gives it4 ,you do not need to make a boast of this1 or it will lose all its power2 but do it because you cannot help doing it4 ,your neighbor will say1 ,there is something in that4 ,and when you come to the borders of the grave--he was there once1 and you heard how he shrieked1 and how frightened he was--give him your hand1 and say to him1 ,ah6 ,i have a ,christ that will do to die by2 ,i have a religion that will make me sing in the night4 ,let me hear how you can sing1 ,victory1 victory1 victory6 through ,him that loved you4 ,i tell you1 we may preach fifty thousand sermons to prove the gospel1 but we shall not prove it half so well as you will through singing in the night4 ,keep a cheerful frame2 keep a happy heart2 keep a contented spirit2 keep your eye up1 and your heart aloft1 and you prove ,christianity better than all the ,butlers1 and all the wise men that ever lived4 ,give them the analogy of a holy life1 and then you will prove religion to them2 give them1 the evidence of internal piety1 developed externally1 and you will give the best possible proof of ,christianity4 ,,potter ,,memorial ,,discourse ,,on ,,phillips ,,brooks ,,biographical ,,note ,henry ,codman ,potter was born at ,schenectady1 ,new ,york1 in #ahcd1 and was graduated from the ,theological ,seminary of ,virginia in #aheg4 ,he was appointed rector of ,grace ,protestant ,episcopal ,church1 ,new ,york1 in #ahfh1 and was coadjutor to his uncle1 ,horatio ,potter1 from #ahhc to #ahhg1 when he was made ,bishop of the ,diocese of ,new ,york4 ,he won considerable distinction as a clear-cut and eloquent speaker4 ,he dealt in pulpit and on platform1 with many public questions1 such as temperance1 capital and labor1 civic righteousness1 and the purifying of ,east ,side slum life4 ,he advocated personal freedom1 and invariably spoke with authority4 ,he was particularly happy as an after-dinner speaker4 ,he died in #aijh4 ,,potter #ahcd--aijh ,,memorial ,,discourse ,,on ,,phillips ,,brooks#a ,footnote #a3 ,reprinted by permission of ,bishop ,henry ,c4 ,potter and ,the ,century ,company1 publishers of ,the ,scholar and the ,state4 ,it is the spirit that quickeneth2 the flesh profiteth nothing3 the words ,i speak unto you1 they are spirit1 and they are life4--,john vi41 #fc4 ,he who stops over-long in the mere mechanism of religion is verily missing that for which religion stands4 ,here1 indeed1 it must be owned is1 if not our greatest danger1 one of the greatest4 ,all life is full of that strange want of intellectual and moral perspective which fails to see how secondary1 after all1 are means to ends2 and how he only has truly apprehended the office of religion who has learned1 when undertaking in any wise to present it or represent it1 to hold fast to that which is the one central thought and fact of all3 ,it is the spirit that quickeneth2 the flesh profiteth nothing3 the words that ,i speak unto you1 they are spirit1 and they are life4 ,and this brings me--in how real and vivid a way ,i am sure you must feel as keenly as ,i--face to face with him of whom ,i am set to speak to-day4 ,never before in the history1 not only of our communion1 but of any or all communions1 has the departure of a religious teacher been more widely noted and deplored than in the case of him of whom this ,commonwealth and this diocese have been bereaved4 ,never before1 surely1 in case of any man whom we can recall1 has the sense of loss and bereavement been more distinctly a personal one1--extending to multitudes in two hemispheres who did not know him1 who had never seen or heard him1 and yet to whom he had revealed himself in such real and helpful ways4 ,it has followed1 inevitably1 from this1 that that strong tide of profound feeling has found expression in many and most unusual forms1 and it will be among the most interesting tasks of the future biographer of the late ,bishop of ,massachusetts to take note of these various memorials and to trace in them the secret of his unique power and influence4 ,but just because they have1 so many of them1 in such remarkable variety and from sources so diverse1 been written or spoken1 and no less because a memoir of ,phillips ,brooks is already undertaken by hands preeminently designated for that purpose1 ,i may wisely here confine myself to another and very different task4 ,i shall not attempt1 therefore1 even the merest outline of a biographical review4 ,i shall not undertake to analyze1 nor1 save incidentally1 even to refer to1 the influences and inheritances that wrought in the mind and upon the life of your late friend and teacher4 ,i shall still less attempt to discover the open secret of his rare and unique charm and attractiveness as a man2 and ,i shall least of all endeavor to forecast the place which history will give to him among the leaders and builders of our age4 ,brief as was his ministry in his higher office1 and to our view all too soon ended1 ,i shall be content to speak of him as a bishop1--of his divine right1 as ,i profoundly believe1 to a place in the episcopate1 and of the preeminent value of his distinctive and incomparable witness to the highest aim and purpose of that office4 ,and first of all let me say a word in regard to the way in which he came to it4 ,when chosen to the episcopate of this diocese1 your late bishop had already1 at least once1 as we all know1 declined the office4 ,it was well known to those who knew him best that1 as he had viewed it for a large part of his ministry1 it was a work for which he had no especial sympathy either as to its tasks1 or1 as he had understood them1 its opportunities4 ,but the time undoubtedly came when1 as to this1 he modified his earlier opinions2 and the time came too1 as ,i am most glad to think1 when he was led to feel that if he were called to such an office he might find in it an opportunity for widening his own sympathies and for estimating more justly those with whom previously he had believed himself to have little in common4 ,it was the inevitable condition of his strong and deep convictions that he should not always or easily understand or make due allowance for men of different opinions4 ,it was--,god and you will bear me witness that this is true6--one of the noblest characteristics of his fifteen months' episcopate that1 as a bishop1 men's rightful liberty of opinion found in him not only a large and generous tolerance1 but a most beautiful and gracious acceptance4 ,he seized1 instantly and easily1 that which will be forever the highest conception of the episcopate in its relations whether to the clergy or the laity1 its paternal and fraternal character2 and his sweet reasonableness1 both as a father and as a brother1 shone through all that he was and did4 ,for one1 ,i greatly love to remember this1--that when the time came he himself1 with the simple naturalness which marked all that he did1 was brought to reconsider his earlier attitude toward the episcopal office1 and to express with characteristic candor his readiness to take up its work if he should be chosen to it2 he turned to his new1 and to him most strange1 task with a supreme desire to do it in a loving and whole-hearted way1 and to make it helpful to every man1 woman1 and child with whom he came in contact4 ,what could have been more like him than that1 in that last address which he delivered to the choir-boys at ,newton1 he should have said to them1 ,when you meet me let me know that you know me4 ,another might easily have been misunderstood in asking those whom he might by chance encounter to salute him2 but he knew1 and the boys knew1 what he had in mind1--how he and they were all striving to serve one ,master1 and how each--he most surely as much as they--was to gain strength and cheer from mutual recognition in the spirit of a common brotherhood4 ,and thus it was always2 and this it was that allied itself so naturally to that which was his never-ceasing endeavor--to lift all men everywhere to that which was1 with him1 the highest conception of his office1 whether as a preacher or as a bishop1--the conception of ,god as a ,father1 and of the brotherhood of all men as mutually related in ,him4 ,in an address which he delivered during the last ,general ,convention in ,baltimore to the students of ,johns ,hopkins ,university1 he spoke substantially these words3 ,in trying to win a man to a better life1 show him not the evil but the nobleness of his nature4 ,lead him to enthusiastic contemplations of humanity2 in its perfection1 and when he asks1 ',why1 if this is so1 do not ,i have this life8'--then project on the background of his enthusiasm his own life2 say to him1 ',because you are a liar1 because you blind your soul with licentiousness1 shame is born1--but not a shame of despair4 ,it is soon changed to joy4 ,christianity becomes an opportunity1 a high privilege1 the means of attaining to the most exalted ideal--and the only means4' ,herein must lie all real power2 herein lay ,christ's power1 that he appreciated the beauty and richness of humanity1 that it is very near the ,infinite1 very near to ,god4 ,these two facts--we are the children of ,god1 and ,god is our ,father--make us look very differently at ourselves1 very differently at our neighbors1 very differently at ,god4 ,we should be surprized1 not at our good deeds1 but at our bad ones4 ,we should expect good as more likely to occur than evil2 we should believe that our best moments are our truest4 ,i was once talking with an acquaintance about whose religious position ,i knew nothing1 and he exprest a very hopeful opinion in regard to a matter about which ,i was myself very doubtful4 ',why1 ,i said to him1 ',you are an optimist4' ',of course ,i am an optimist1' he replied1 because ,i am a ,christian4' ,i felt that as a reproof4 ,the ,christian must be an optimist4 ,men and brethren1 ,i set these words over against those of his ,master with which ,i began1 and the two in essence are one4 ,the words that ,i speak unto you1 they are spirit1 and they are life4 ,there is a life nobler and diviner than any that we have dreamed of4 ,to the poorest and meanest of us1 as to the best and most richly-dowered1 it is alike open4 ,to turn toward it1 to reach up after it1 to believe in its ever-recurring nearness1 and to glorify ,god in attaining to it1 this is the calling of a human soul4 ,now then1 what1 ,i ask you1 is all the rest of religion worth in comparison with this8--not what is it worth in itself1 but what is its place relatively to this8 ,this1 ,i maintain1 is the supreme question for the episcopate1 as it ought to be the supreme question with the ministry of any and every order4 ,and therefore it is1 ,i affirm1 that1 in bringing into the episcopate with such unique vividness and power this conception of his office1 your bishop rendered to his order and to the ,church of ,god everywhere a service so transcendent4 ,a most gifted and sympathetic observer of our departed brother's character and influence has said of him1 contrasting him with the power of institution1 ,his life will always suggest the importance of the influence of the individual man as compared with institutional ,christianity4 ,in one sense1 undoubtedly1 this is true2 but ,i should prefer to say that his life-work will always show the large and helpful influence of a great soul upon institutional ,christianity4 ,it is a superficial and unphilosophical temperament that disparages institutions2 for institutions are only another name for that organized force and life by which ,god rules the world4 ,but it is undoubtedly and profoundly true that you no sooner have an institution1 whether in society1 in politics1 or in religion1 than you are threatened with the danger that the institution may first exaggerate itself and then harden and stiffen into a machine2 and that in the realm of religion1 preeminently1 those whose office it should be to quicken and infuse it with new life should themselves come at last to worship the net and the drag4 ,and just here you find in the history of religion in all ages the place of the prophet and the seer4 ,he is to pierce through the fabric of the visible structure to that soul of things for which it stands4 ,when1 in ,isaiah1 the ,holy ,ghost commands the prophet1 ,lift up thy voice with strength2 lift it up1 be not afraid3 say unto the cities of ,judah1 ,behold your ,god6 it is not alone1 you see1 his voice that lie is to lift up4 ,no1 no6 ,it is the vision of the unseen and divine4 ,say unto the cities of ,judah1 ,behold your ,god6 ,over and over again that voice breaks in upon the slumbrous torpor of ,israel and smites the dead souls of priests and people alike4 ,now it is a ,balaam1 now it is an ,elijah1 a ,david1 an ,isaiah1 a ,john the ,baptist1 a ,paul the ,apostle1 a ,peter the ,hermit1 a ,savonarola1 a ,huss1 a ,whitefield1 a ,wesley1 a ,frederick ,maurice1 a ,frederick ,robertson1 a ,phillips ,brooks4 ,do not mistake me4 ,i do not say that there were not many others4 ,but these names are typical1 and that for which they stand cannot easily be mistaken4 ,i affirm without qualification that1 in that gift of vision and of exaltation for which they stand1 they stand for the highest and the best1--that one thing for which the ,church of ,god most of all stands1 and of which so long as it is the ,church ,militant it will most of all stand in need3 to know that the end of all its mechanisms and ministries is to impart life1 and that nothing which obscures or loses sight of the eternal source of life can regenerate or quicken2--to teach men to cry out1 with ,st4 ,augustine1 ,fecisti nos ad te1 ,domine1 et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te3 ,thou hast made us for ,thyself1 ,o ,lord1 and our heart is unquiet until its rests in ,thee1--this however1 as any one may be tempted to fence and juggle with the fact1 is the truth on which all the rest depends4 ,unfortunately it is a truth which there is much in the tasks and engagements of the episcopate to obscure4 ,a bishop is preeminently1 at any rate in the popular conception of him1 an administrator2 and howsoever wide of the mark this popular conception may be from the essential idea of the office1 it must be owned that there is much in a bishop's work in our day to limit his activities1 and therefore his influence1 within such a sphere4 ,to recognize his prophetic office as giving expression to that mission of the ,holy ,ghost of which he is preeminently the representative1 to illustrate it upon a wider instead of a narrower field1 to recognize and seize the greater opportunities for its exercise1 to be indeed a leader and commander to the people1 not by means of the petty mechanisms of officialism1 but by the strong1 strenuous1 and unwearied proclamation of the truth2 under all conditions to make the occasion somehow a stepping-stone to that mount of vision from which men may see ,god and righteousness and become sensible of the nearness of both to themselves1--this1 ,i think you will agree with me1 is no unworthy use of the loftiest calling and the loftiest gifts4 ,and such a use was his4 ,a bishop-elect1 walking with him one day in the country1 was speaking1 with not unnatural shrinking and hesitancy1 of the new work toward which he was soon to turn his face1 and said among other things1 ,i have a great dread1 in the ,episcopate1 of perfunctoriness4 ,in the administration1 especially1 of confirmation1 it seems almost impossible1 in connection with its constant repetition1 to avoid it4 ,he was silent a moment1 and then said1 ,i do not think that it need be so4 ,the office indeed is the same4 ,but every class is different2 and then--think what it is to them6 ,it seems to me that that thought can never cease to move one4 ,what a clear insight the answer gave to his own ministry4 ,one turns back to his first sermon1 that evening when1 with his fellow-student in ,virginia1 he walked across the fields to the log-cabin where1 not yet in holy orders1 he preached it1 and where afterward he ministered with such swiftly increasing power to a handful of negro servants4 ,it was an utter failure1 he said afterward4 ,yes1 perhaps2 but all through the failure he struggled to give expression to that of which his soul was full2 and ,i do not doubt that even then they who heard him somehow understood him4 ,we pass from those first words to the last1--those of which ,i spoke a moment ago1--the address to the choir-boys at ,newton1--was there ever such1 an address to choir-boys before8 ,he knew little or nothing about the science of music1 and with characteristic candor he at once said so4 ,but he passed quickly from the music to those incomparable words of which the music was the mere vehicle and vesture4 ,he bade the lads to whom he spoke think of those who1 long ago and all the ages down1 had sung that matchless ,psalter1--of the boys and men of other times1 and what it had meant to them4 ,and then1 as he looked into their fresh young faces and saw the long vista of life stretching out before them1 he bade them think of that larger and fuller meaning which was to come into those ,psalms of ,david1 when he1--was there some prophetic sense of how soon with him the end would be8--when he and such as he had passed away1--what new doors were to open1 what deeper meanings were to be discerned1 what nobler opportunities were to dawn1 as the years hastened swiftly on toward their august and glorious consummation6 ,how it all lifts us up as we read it1 and how like it was to that one sermon which he forever preached6 ,and in saying so ,i do not forget what that was which some men said was missing in it4 ,his1 they tell us--who hold some dry and formalized statement of the truth so close to the eye that it obscures all larger vision of it1--his1 they tell us1 was an invertebrate theology4 ,of what he was and spoke1 such a criticism is as if one said of the wind1 that divinely appointed symbol of the ,holy ,ghost1 it has no spine nor ribs4 ,a spine and ribs are very necessary things2 but we bury them as so much chalk and lime when once the breath has gone out of them6 ,in the beginning we read1 ,and the ,lord ,god breathed into his nostrils the breath of life1 and man became a living soul4 ,and all along since then there have been messengers of ,god into whom the same divine breath has been1 as it were1 without measure breathed1 and who have been the quickeners and inspirers of their fellows4 ,nothing less than this can explain that wholly exceptional and yet consistent influence which he whom we mourn gave forth4 ,it was not confined or limited by merely personal or physical conditions1 but breathed with equal and quickening power through all that he taught and wrote4 ,there were multitudes who never saw or heard him1 but by whom nevertheless he was as intimately known and understood as if he had been their daily companion4 ,never was there an instance which more truly fulfilled the saying1 ,the words that ,i speak unto you1 they are spirit1 and they are life4 ,they reached down to the inmost need of empty and aching hearts and answered it4 ,they spoke to that in the most sin-stained and wayward soul which is1 after all1 the image of the invisible ,god1--spoke to it1 touched it1 constrained it4 ,what has this fine-bred ,boston scholar1 plain men asked1 when he bade him come to us and preach in our ,trinity--what has such an one to say to the business men of ,wall ,street8 ,but when he came1 straightway every man found out that he had indeed something to say to him1--a word of power1 a word of hope1 a word of enduring joy and strength6 ,a kindred thinker of large vision and rare insight1 ,new ,england born and nurtured like himself1 speaking of him not long after his death1 said3 ,there are three forms pertaining to the ,christian truths3 they are true as facts1 they are true as doctrines intellectually apprehended1 they are true as spiritual experiences to be realized4 ,bishop ,brooks struck directly for the last4 ,in the spirit he found the truth2 and only as he could get it into a spiritual form did he conceive it to have power4 ,it was because he assumed the facts as true in the main1 refusing to insist on petty accuracy1 and passed by doctrinal forms concerning which there might be great divergence of opinion1 and carried his thought on into the world of spirit1 that he won so great a hearing and such conviction of belief4 ,for it is the spirit that gives common standing-ground2 it says substantially the same thing in all men4 ,speak as a spirit to the spiritual nature of men1 and they will respond1 because in the spirit they draw near to their common source and to the world to which all belong4 ,it was because he dealt with this common factor of the human and the divine nature that he was too positive and practical4 ,in the spirit it is all yea and amen2 there is no negative2 in the ,new ,jerusalem there is no night4 ,we can describe this feature of his ministry by words from1 one of his own sermons3 ',it has always been through men of belief1 not unbelief1 that power from ,god has poured into man4 ,it is not the discriminating critic1 but he whose beating1 throbbing life offers itself a channel for the divine force1--he is the man through1 whom the world grows rich1 and whom it remembers1 remembers with perpetual thanksgiving4' ,and shall not you who are here to-day thank ,god that such a man was1 tho for so brief a space1 your bishop8 ,some there were1 you remember1 who thought that those greater spiritual gifts of his would unfit him for the business of practical affairs4 ,a bishop's daily round1 they said1 his endless correspondence1 his hurried journeyings1 his weight of anxious cares1 the misadventures of other men1 ever returning to plague him1--how can he bring himself to stoop and deal with these8 ,but as in so much else that was transcendent in him1 how little here1 too1 his critics understood him6 ,no more pathetic proof of this has come to light than in that testimony of one among you who1 as his private secretary1 stood in closest and most intimate relations to him4 ,what a story that is which he has given to us of a great soul--faithful always in the greatest8 ,yes1 but no less faithful in the least4 ,there seems a strange1 almost grotesque impossibility in the thought that such an one should ever have come to be regarded as a stickler for the canons4 ,but we look a little deeper than the surface1 and all that is incongruous straightway disappears4 ,his was the realm of a divine order1--his was the office of his ,lord's servant4 ,god had called him4 ,he had put him where he was4 ,he had set his ,church to be ,his witness in the world1 and in it1 all ,his children1 the greatest with the least1 to walk in ways of reverent appointment4 ,those ways might irk and cramp him sometimes4 ,they did3 he might speak of them with sharp impatience and seeming disesteem sometimes4 ,he did that too1 now and then1--for he was human like the rest of us6 ,but mark you this1 my brothers1 for1 in an age which1 under one figment or another1 whether of more ancient or more modern license1 is an age of much self-will1--we shall do well to remember it1--his was a life of orderly and consistent obedience to rule4 ,he kept to the ,church's plain and stately ways3 kept to them and prized them too4 ,but all the while he held his soul wide open to the vision of his ,lord6 ,up out of a routine that seemed to others that did not know or could not understand him1 and who vouchsafed to him much condescending compassion for a bondage which he never felt1 and of which in vain they strove to persuade him to complain1--up out of the narrower round in which so faithfully he walked1 from time to time he climbed1 and came back bathed in a heavenly light1 with lips aglow with heavenly fire4 ,the ,spirit had spoken to him1 and so he spoke to us4 ,the flesh profiteth nothing3 it is the spirit that quickeneth4 ,the words that ,i speak unto you1 they are spirit1 and they are life4 ,and so we thank ,god not alone for his message1 but that it was given to him to speak it as a bishop in the ,church of ,god4 ,we thank ,god that in a generation that so greatly needs to cry1 as our ,te ,deum teaches us1 ,govern us and lift us up6 he was given to the ,church not alone to rule but to uplift4 ,what bishop is there who may not wisely seek to be like him by drawing forever on those fires of the ,holy ,ghost that set his lips aflame8 ,nay1 what soul among us all is there that may not wisely seek to ascend up into that upper realm in which he walked1 and by whose mighty airs his soul was filled8 ,unto the almighty and ever-living ,god we yield most high praise and hearty thanks for the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all ,his saints who have been the chosen vessels of ,his grace and the lights of the world in their several generations2 but here and to-day especially for his servant1 ,phillips ,brooks1 some time of this ,commonwealth and this diocese1 true prophet1 true priest1 true bishop1 to the glory of ,god the ,father4 ,,abbott ,,the ,,divinity ,,in ,,humanity ,,biographical ,,note ,lyman ,abbott was born at ,roxbury1 ,mass41 in #ahce4 ,as successor to ,henry ,ward ,beecher1 at ,plymouth ,church1 ,brooklyn1 he ministered with great spiritual power until #ahih1 when he resigned his pastorate to devote his entire time to ,the ,outlook1 of which he was1 and still is1 the editor4 ,dr4 ,abbott's conception of the minister's work is briefly summed up in his own words3 ,whenever a minister forgets the splendid message of pardon1 peace and power based on faith in ,jesus ,christ as ,god manifest in the flesh1 whenever for this message he substitutes literary lectures1 critical essays1 sociological disquisitions1 theological controversies1 or even ethical interpretations of the universal conscience1 whenever1 in other words1 he ceases to be a ,christian preacher and becomes a lyceum or seminary lecturer1 he divests himself of that which in all ages of the world has been the power of the ,christian ministry1 and will be its power so long as men have sins to be forgiven1 temptations to conquer1 and sorrows to be assuaged4 ,,abbott ,,born ,,in #ahce ,,the ,,divinity ,,in ,,humanity ,jesus answered them1 ,is it not written in your law1 ,i said1 ye are gods8 ,if he called them gods1 unto whom the word of ,god came1 and the scripture cannot be broken2 say ye of him1 whom the ,father hath sanctified1 and sent into the world1 thou blasphemest2 because ,i said1 ,i am the ,son of ,god8--,john ,x41 #cd-cf4 ,the context and argument is this3 ,jesus ,christ has declared that ,he will give unto ,his sheep eternal life2 and that no one can pluck them out of ,his hand1 because ,he and ,his ,father are one2 and the ,father who gives these sheep to ,his care and keeping is greater than all the forces that are leagued against them4 ,thereat the ,jews took up stones against ,him1 saying3 ,being a man thou makest thyself equal with ,god4 ,and ,christ answers with our text4 ,he refers them back to the ,old ,testament1 which1 ,he says1 declares of the judges of ,israel1 of the men to whom the inspiration of ,god came1 that they are divine4 ,why1 then1 ,he says1 do you accuse ,me of blasphemy because ,i claim divinity8 ,it is impossible to consider this a mere play upon the word2 that ,christ uses the word ,god in one sense in one paragraph and in another sense in the paragraph immediately following4 ,it is impossible to conceive that this is a kind of sacred pun4 ,no1 no2 the argument is clear and unmistakable4 ,according to your ,old ,testament scripture1 ,he says1 the men in whom and to whom and through whom the power and grace of ,god are manifested are themselves the partakers of the divine nature4 ,if that is so1 if the men of the olden times1 patriarchs and prophets1 through whom the divine nature was manifested--if they are divine1 do not accuse me of blasphemy because ,i claim for ,myself divinity4 ,if in this message1 on the one hand1 ,christ claims kinship with ,god1 on the other ,he lifts the whole of humanity up with ,him and makes the claim for them4 ,the religion of the ,old ,testament and the ,new ,testament1 the religion of ,christianity and of ,judaism1 is a religion of faith in ,god4 ,but it is not less truly a religion of faith in man1 and of faith in man because man is a child of ,god4 ,and the one faith would be utterly useless without the other4 ,for faith in ,god is effective because it is accompanied with faith in man as the child of ,god4 ,and in this faith in man is the inspiration of all human progress4 ,faith in man1 ,i say4 ,faith sees something which the eye does not see4 ,faith sees something which the reason does not perceive4 ,faith is not irrational1 but it perceives a transcendent truth1 over beyond that which the sense perceives4 ,faith is always intermixed with hope and with a great expectation1 either with a hope because it sees something which is not yet but will be1 or else with a hope because it sees something which is not yet seen but will be seen4 ,faith in a man is not a belief that man is to-day a great1 noble character1 but it is a perception in man of dormant possibilities of greatness and nobility which time and ,god will develop4 ,it is only the man who has faith in man who can really interpret man4 ,it is faith in man that gives us all true human insight4 ,the difference between a photograph and a portrait is this3 the photograph gives the outward feature1 and stops there2 and most of us1 when we stand in a photograph saloon to have our picture taken1 hide our soul away4 ,the artist sees the soul behind the man1 knows him1 understands something of his nature1 and paints the soul that looks out through the eyes4 ,he sees in the man something which the sun does not exhibit1 and makes that something shine on the canvas4 ,the artist in literature sees an ideal humanity1 and interprets it4 ,realism in literature does not portray the real man4 ,anthony ,trollope pictures the ,englishman as he is to-day1 and society as any man may take it with a kodak2 but ,dickens gives ,toby ,veck and ,tiny ,tim2 ,george ,eliot1 ,adam ,bede and ,dinah ,morris4 ,men say that no such boy ever lived as ,mac,donald has portrayed in ,sir ,gibbie4 ,in every street ,arab is a possible ,sir ,gibbie2 and ,mac,donald has seen the possible and shown us what ,christianity may make out of a street ,arab4 ,in this perception of a possible in man lies the spirit of all progress in science4 ,the man of practical science laughs at the notion of an iron railway on which steam cars shall travel faster than ,english coaches4 ,but the man of faith in men1 who believes that it is in the power of men to dominate the powers of nature1 builds the road4 ,the man of practical science laughs at the notion that we can reach up our hands into the clouds and draw down the lightning4 ,but ,franklin does it4 ,the man of faith is sometimes mistaken1 but he is always experimenting1 because he always believes that man to-morrow will be more than man is to-day or was yesterday4 ,and all progress in civilization has its secret in this great faith in man as a being that has a mastery1 not yet interpreted1 not yet understood1 not yet comprehended in its fulness1 over all the powers of nature4 ,now1 is there any ground or basis for this faith in man8 ,have we a right to believe that man is more than he seems to be1 as we can see him in the street to-day8 ,have we a right to build our institutions and fabrics on this belief8 ,have we a right to think that man can govern himself1 or must we go back and say with ,carlyle and ,ruskin and ,voltaire that the great body of men are incompetent to govern themselves1 and a few wise rulers must govern them8 ,have we a right to believe that all the progress that has thus far been made in science is but an augury of progress far greater1 reaching into the illimitable8 ,have we a right to say that these portraits of a possible humanity1 this ,portia1 this ,toby ,veck1 this ,tiny ,tim1 this ideal man and woman1 are real men and real women in possibility1 if not in the actualities of life8 ,or are we to think of them as simply phantasmagoria hung up for the delectation of a passing moment8 ,the ,bible makes answer to that question1--the ,bible preeminently1 but the great poets and the great prophets of all religions2 the ,bible1 because the poets and the prophets of the ,bible transcend the poets and the prophets of all other religions4 ,and that declaration is that man is made in the image of ,god1 and that ,god dwells in man and is coming to the manifestation of ,himself in growing1 developing1 redeemed humanity4 ,our ,bible starts out with the declaration that ,god made man in ,his own image4 ,the poets take the idea up4 ,mac,donald tells us in that beautiful poem of his1 that the babe came through the blue sky and got the blue of his eyes as he came2 ,wordsworth1 that the child's imaginings are the recollected glory of a heavenly home2 and the author of the first chapter of ,genesis1 that ,god breathed his own breath into the nostrils of man and made him in the image of ,god4 ,all fancy1 all imaginings8 ,but1 my dear friends1 there is a truth in fancy as well as in science4 ,we need not believe that this aspiration that shows itself in the pure mind of a little child is a trailing glory that he has brought with him from some pre-existent state4 ,we need not think that it is physiological fact that the sky colored the eyes of the babe as the babe came through4 ,nor need we suppose that man was a clay image into which ,god breathed a physical breath1 so animating him4 ,but beyond all this imagery is the vision of the poet4 ,god in man2 a divine life throbbing in humanity2 man the offspring of ,god2 man coming forth from the eternal and going forth into the eternal4 ,this is the starting-point of the ,bible4 ,starting with this1 it goes on with declaration after declaration based on this fundamental doctrine that man and ,god in their essential moral attributes have the same nature4 ,it is human experience which is used to interpret divine experience4 ,according to pagan thought1 ,god speaks to men through movements of the stars1 through all external phenomena1 through even entrails of animals4 ,seldom so in the ,bible1 save as when the wise men followed the star1 and then that they might come to a divine humanity4 ,in the ,old ,testament ,god speaks in human experience1 through human experience1 about human experience1 to typify and interpret and explain ,himself4 ,god is like a shepherd that shepherds his flock4 ,god is like a king that rules in justice4 ,he is like the father that provides for his children4 ,he is like the mother that comforts the weeping child4 ,all the experiences of humanity are taken in turn and attributed to ,god4 ,the hopes1 the fears1 the sorrows1 the joys1 the very things which we call faults in men--so strong and courageous are the old prophets in this fundamental faith of theirs that man and ,god are alike--the very things we call faults in men are attributed to the ,almighty4 ,he is declared to hate1 to be wrathful1 to be angry1 to be jealous2 because1 at the root1 every fault is a virtue set amiss2 and the very faults of men have in them something that interprets the power and will of ,god1 as the very faults of a boy interpret the virtues of his father4 ,all through the ,old ,testament ,god manifests ,himself through human experience4 ,he speaks in the hearts of men2 ,he dwells in the experience of men2 ,he interprets ,himself through the life of men2 and1 finally1 when this one selected nation which has a genius for spiritual truth has been so far educated that there is no danger that it will go back and worship man1 that it will become a mere hero-worshiper1 when it has been so far educated that there is no danger of that1 then ,jesus ,christ comes into the world--,god manifests ,himself in human life4 ,who1 then1 is ,jesus ,christ8 ,let ,john tell us4 ,the ,oriental world was puzzled about the question of the origin of evil4 ,they said1 in brief1 a good ,god cannot make a bad world4 ,out of a good ,god1 therefore1 there have emanated other gods1 and out of these gods other gods1 until at last there came to be imperfect gods or bad gods4 ,and the world was made1 some of them said1 partly by a good god and partly by a bad one2 and others by an imperfect god who was an emanation of the perfect one4 ,of these emanations one was ,life1 another was ,light1 another was the ,word4 ,and ,john1 writing in the age of ,oriental philosophy1 uses the phraseology of ,oriental philosophy in order that he might tell mankind who and what ,jesus ,christ is4 ,in the beginning was the ,word1 and the ,word was ,god4 ,god never was an abstraction2 from the very beginning ,he was a speaking ,god1 a living ,god1 a manifesting ,god1 a forth-putting ,god4 ,the same was in the beginning with ,god4 ,all things were made by him2 and without him was not anything made that was made4 ,and this ,word became flesh and dwelt among us 7and we beheld his glory1 the glory as of the only begotten of the ,father71 full of grace and truth4 ,let me put this into modern language4 ,what is it but this8 ,from eternity ,god has been a manifesting ,god4 ,when the fulness of time came1 ,god1 that ,he might manifest ,himself to ,his children1 came into a human life and dwelt in a human life4 ,he that had spoken here through one prophet1 there through another prophet2 ,he that had sent one message in this direction and another in that2 ,he that had spoken through signs and tokens1 as the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews says1 in divers manners and in fragmentary utterances--when the fulness of time had come1 ,he spoke in one perfect human life1 taking entire possession of it and making it ,his own1 that ,he might manifest ,himself in terms of human experience to humanity4 ,or turn to ,paul and let me read you this declaration2 ,let this mind be in you which was also in ,jesus ,christ2 who1 being in the form of ,god1 thought it not robbery to be equal with ,god1 but made himself of no reputation1 and took upon him the form of a servant1 and was made in the likeness of man1 and being found in fashion as a man1 he humbled himself and became obedient unto death1 even the death of the cross4 ,what is this1 again1 but the same declaration8 ,god desiring to show ,himself to humanity1 entered into one human life1 became subject to human conditions1 shared the weakness1 the wants1 the ignorance of humanity1 entered into and was identified with one human life4 ,do ,i say1 then1 that ,jesus ,christ was a man like other men8 ,no4 ,but ,i do say that in their essential qualities ,god and man are identical1 and ,god entered into humanity that ,he might show to humanity what ,he is4 ,i do say1 not that ,jesus ,christ was a man like other men1 but that other men may become like ,jesus ,christ4 ,i hold a bulb in my one hand and a tulip in my other4 ,will any man say to me1 this beautiful flower with all its rich coloring is like this bulb8 ,oh1 no6 ,but let the sun of ,god shine long enough on this bulb1 put it where it belongs1 subject it to the conditions of life1 and this bulb will become like this flower4 ,man is made in the image of ,god4 ,all that is in man that is not in ,god's image does not belong to man's nature4 ,natural depravity8 ,there is no natural depravity4 ,depravity is unnatural4 ,depravity is contra-natural4 ,it is against the whole law of man's being4 ,it is never wrong for any creature ,god has made to act out the nature which ,god endowed him with4 ,it is not wicked for a tiger to be ravening4 ,it is not wicked for a snake to be sinuous4 ,it is wicked for man to be ravening or sinuous1 because it is against the divine nature that ,god has put in man4 ,he made man for better things4 ,god made man in ,his own image1 ,god coming through successive stages1 manifesting ,himself in successive relations of ,himself in human experience1 ,god at last disclosing ,himself in one pure1 sinless1 typical man in order that man through that humanity might know who and what ,god is--and is that the end8 ,oh1 no6 ,that is the beginning1 only the beginning4 ,for what did ,god come in ,christ8 ,simply to show ,himself8 ,here is a hospital--all manner of sick2 the paralytic1 the fever-stricken1 the consumptive4 ,is it good news to these hospital bedridden ones if an athlete come in and show them his life1 his muscles1 the purity of his lungs1 the health of his constitution1 and then goes out8 ,but if he comes in and says1 ,my friends1 if you will follow my directions ,i will put into you consumptive ones some of the strength of my lungs1 into you fever-stricken ones some of the purity of my blood2 into you paralytic ones some of the sinew and muscle ,i possess--you can become like me1 then there is good news in the message4 ,if ,god came into the world simply to tell us what ,god is and what the ideal of humanity is1 the gospel would be the saddest message that could be conceived1 as delivered to the human race4 ,it would add gloom to the gloom1 darkness to the darkness1 chains to the chains1 despair to despair4 ,he comes not merely to show divinity to us1 but to impart divinity to us2 rather1 to evolve the latent divinity which ,he first implanted in us4 ,as ,god has entered into ,christ1 ,he will enter into me4 ,christ says to me3 ,as ,i am patient1 you can become patient2 as ,i am strong1 you can become strong2 as ,i am pure1 you can become pure2 as ,i am the ,son of ,god1 you can become the ,son of ,god4 ,therefore ,his message is the gospel that it is4 ,christ is not a man like other men4 ,i can find in the biography of ,jesus no trace of sin4 ,in every other biography1 oh1 how many traces6 ,there is no trace of repentance4 ,the ,hebrew ,psalmist laments his iniquity4 ,paul confesses himself to be the chief of sinners4 ,luther1 ,calvin1 ,melanchthon1 ,edwards--go where ,i will1 in the biography of all the saints there are signs of sin and iniquity4 ,never a trace of repentance or confession in ,christ4 ,in all others we see a struggle after ,god4 ,my heart panteth after thee1 as the hart panteth after water-brooks4 ,i count not myself to have attained1 but1 forgetting those things that are behind1 ,i press forward toward the mark4 ,never in the written biography of ,christ a trace of that aspiration after something not yet reached4 ,on the contrary1 a great peace and a great possession4 ,he says3 ,i have come full of life4 ,i have come to give life4 ,this sinless ,christ comes that ,he may give to us that which ,he ,himself possesses2 that ,he may take the sin out of our lives and sorrow out of our hearts1 and for the yearning desire give a great1 great peace4 ,i have come1 ,he says1 that you might have life4 ,how much1 ,lord and ,master8 ,life more abundantly4 ,what kind of life1 ,lord and ,master8 ,eternal life4 ,has ,he come with that great life of ,his to give a little and then stop8 ,nay1 to give all to every one that every one will take4 ,i marvel to find ,christian men denying that ,christ is the type and manifestation and revelation of the possible divinity in universal humanity4 ,it is written all over the ,bible4 ,what says ,christ ,himself8 ,i have come that you might have life1 and that you might have it more abundantly4 ,as the ,father has sent ,me into the world1 even so ,i send you into the world4 ,you shall be ,my disciples4 ,you shall learn of ,me4 ,you shall be ,my followers1 and tread where ,i have trod4 ,you shall take up ,my cross1 and suffer as ,i have suffered4 ,the secret of ,my life shall be the secret of your life4 ,ye shall be in ,me4 ,i will abide with you4 ,ye shall be as a branch grafted on the vine1 drawing the same life as ,i have1 as out of ,my very veins4 ,as the ,father was in ,me1 so ,i and ,my ,father will come and abide in you4 ,he breathes upon the disciples and tells them to receive the ,spirit that was in ,him2 and in ,his last prayer ,he prays that they may share ,his glory1 that they may be one with the ,father1 as ,he is one with the ,father4 ,paul takes up the same refrain and repeats it over and over again4 ,righteousness in man is the righteousness of ,god1 ,god's own righteousness coming out of ,god's heart into human hearts4 ,ye shall be partakers of the divine nature4 ,ye shall be joint heirs with the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 inheriting all that ,christ inherited from ,his ,father4 ,ye shall have the same spirit that was in ,christ4 ,metaphor and trope and figure are exhausted in the endeavor of the apostle to set forth this sublime truth4 ,christ is the servant of ,god4 ,we are the servants of ,god4 ,he is the ,son of ,god4 ,we are the sons of ,god4 ,he is the light of the world4 ,we are the lights of the world4 ,he is a priest forever4 ,we are priests perpetually serving in ,his temple4 ,he is the one eternal sacrifice4 ,we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice before ,god4 ,he is dead4 ,we are to die with ,him4 ,he has risen4 ,we are to rise with ,him4 ,already we sit in the heavenly place with ,christ ,jesus4 ,we are changed from glory to glory into ,his image4 ,we are predestined to be conformed to that image4 ,we are bid to pray that we may be rooted and grounded in ,christ1 and that with ,him1 we may be filled with all the fulness of ,god4 ,do ,i say1 then1 that ,i am equal to ,christ8 ,or that ,i shall ever become equal to ,christ8 ,no6 ,let me try to make this plain to the child1 and then the rest will perhaps understand it4 ,here is a great man4 ,he is a great statesman4 ,he is a great poet4 ,he is a great orator4 ,he is a great philosopher4 ,he is a great general4 ,he is ,bismarck and ,gladstone and ,dante and ,napoleon and ,raphael and ,plato all combined in one4 ,and he has children1 and this boy is a statesman1 and this boy is a general1 and this boy is an orator1 and this boy is a poet1 and this boy is an artist4 ,no one of them comprizes all the genius that was in his father1 but each one has one quality of that father1 and all the boys together reflect their father's nature4 ,no1 ,i shall never be equal to ,christ4 ,but according to the measure of my own capacity1 ,i may reflect even here and now something of ,christ and be really ,christ-like4 ,christ is my ,master4 ,i acknowledge no other ,master than ,him4 ,i wish to follow where ,he leads4 ,i gladly believe whatever ,he says4 ,and ,i have no other ambition--oh1 ,i wish it were true that ,i never had any other ambition6--than to be like ,him4 ,but ,he is my ,master because ,he bids me follow where ,he leads1 because ,he gives what ,i can take1 because ,he promised what ,he will yet fulfil4 ,i believe in the divinity of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is the center of my faith1 as ,he is the center and source of my life4 ,but ,i do not believe in the medieval formula that ,jesus ,christ is ,god and man mysteriously joined together1 because to believe that would be to leave me both without an ideal of man which ,i might follow1 and without a manifestation of ,god to which ,i might cling4 ,in my country home two ,christians quarreled4 ,an atheist went to them and said to one of them1 ,your ,christ said1 ',forgive all your enemies and love one another4' ,yes1 he said1 ,christ was divine4 ,he could4 ,i cannot4 ,but there was nothing of moral virtue that ,god wrought in ,christ that ,he cannot work in you and me if we give ,him time enough4 ,and1 on the other hand1 this separation of ,god and man in ,christ denies the real manifestation of ,god to man4 ,jesus called ,his disciples to watch while ,he wrestled with agony in ,gethsemane1 and ,dean ,alford1 speaking on ,gethsemane1 says this was the manifestation in ,christ of human weakness4 ,no6 no6 ,a thousand times1 ,no6 ,it is the glorious manifestation of that sympathy in ,god which wants the sympathy of the feeblest of ,his followers1 as the mother wants the sympathy and love of the babe on her lap4 ,beloved1 now are we the sons of ,god2 and it doth not yet appear what we shall be4 ,only we shall be like him2 for we shall see him as he is4 ,there are two things we do not know4 ,genius is always a mystery1 spiritual genius the greatest mystery of genius1 and ,christ the greatest mystery of all4 ,we do not know what we shall be1 any more than one who never had seen a garden could guess what the mold would be when the spring had finished its work4 ,those are two things we do not know4 ,but there are two things we do know4 ,we shall be like ,him1 and when we are like ,him1 we shall see ,him as ,he is4 ,we shall be like no imagination of ,him1 no deteriorated or imperfect conception of ,him2 but when we come to see ,him in all the regal splendor of ,his character1 with all the love1 all the justice1 all the purity1 all the divine glory which is adumbrated and shadowed here because our eyes could not look upon it and still live--when we come to see ,him in all the glory of that divine character1 we shall be like ,him--we shall be like ,him4 ,,brooks ,,the ,,pride ,,of ,,life ,,biographical ,,note ,phillips ,brooks was born at ,boston1 ,mass41 in #ahce1 graduated at ,harvard in #ahee and studied theology at the ,p4,e4 ,seminary1 ,alexandria1 ,va4 ,he was elected rector of the ,church of the ,advent1 ,philadelphia1 in #ahei1 and three years later to that of ,holy ,trinity in the same city4 ,in #ahfi he became rector of ,trinity ,church1 ,boston1 and was consecrated ,bishop of ,massachusetts in #ahia4 ,he died in #ahic4 ,he was in every sense a large man1 large in simplicity and sympathy1 large in spiritual culture4 ,in his lectures to the students at ,yale he spoke of the preparation for the ministry as being nothing less than the making of a man4 ,said he3 ,it cannot be the mere training to certain tricks4 ,it cannot be even the furnishing with abundant knowledge4 ,it must be nothing less than the kneading and tempering of a man's whole nature till it becomes of such a consistency and quality as to be capable of transmission4 ,this is the largeness of the preacher's culture4 ,doctor ,brastow describes him thus3 ,the physical equipment was symbol of his soul2 and the rush of his speech was typical of those mental1 moral1 and spiritual energies that were fused into unity and came forth in a stream of fiery intensity4 ,,brooks #ahce--ahic ,,the ,,pride ,,of ,,life#a ,footnote #a3 ,published for the first time by the kind permission of ,william ,g4 ,brooks4 ,the pride of life4--#a ,john ii41 #af4 ,john is giving his disciples the old warning not to love the world1 that world which then and always is pressing on men's eyes and ears and hearts with all its loveliness and claiming to be loved4 ,love not the world1 neither the things that are in the world4444 ,for all that is in the world1 the lust of the flesh1 and the lust of the eyes1 and the pride of life1 is not of the ,father1 but is of the world4 ,what is the pride of life8 ,pride is one of those words which hover in the middle region between virtue and vice4 ,the materials which under one set of circumstances and in one kind of character make up an honorable self-respect1 seem so often to be precisely the same as those which under another set of circumstances and in another kind of character make up arrogance and self-conceit4 ,this last is the tone evidently in which ,john speaks4 ,so it is with most moral minglings4 ,all character is personal1 determined by some force that blends the qualities into a special personality4 ,the same apparent qualities unite into the most various results4 ,it is like the delicate manufacture of mosaics4 ,the skilful workers of ,rome or ,venice put in the same ingredients in nature and amount1 and the composition comes out at one time dull and muddy and at another time perfectly clear and lustrous4 ,some subtle difference in the mixture of the constituents or in the condition of the atmosphere or in the heat of the furnace alters the whole result4 ,so out of life we may say in its various minglings there come various products in character1 either humility or thankfulness or contentment or self-respect1 from some failure of the qualities to meet in perfect union1 from some fault in the shape or misregulation of the temperature of the human furnace in which they are fused1 this degenerate and confused result of pride which yet is often so near to1 that we can see how it was only some slightest cause1 some stray and unguarded draft across the surface that hindered it from being1 one of the clear and lustrous combinations of the same material4 ,but that fact makes it no better4 ,the muddy glass is no more useful because it is made of the same components as the clear glass4 ,there is nothing still to be done with it but to throw it away4 ,what then is the pride of life which is bad1 which is not of the ,father1 but is of the world8 ,life itself we know is of the ,father4 ,in whatever sense we take that much-meaning word1 life is ,god's gift4 ,the mere physical being1 if that be life1 is the creation of ,his mighty word4 ,the continuance1 the prolongation of the vital function1 if that be life1 that too is the result of ,his never-sleeping care4 ,the surrounding circumstances1 the scenery of our experience1 if that be life1 is also of ,his arranging4 ,the spiritual vitality1 all the higher powers as we call them1 of thought and feeling and conscience1 if they be life1 no hand but ,his strung and tuned their manifold and subtle cords4 ,everywhere there is no life but what ,he gives4 ,it is not of the world4 ,in no sense does any creative power of being issue either from the material earth1 or from the social system1 or from the mass of conventional laws and standards1 each of which is sometimes1 in different uses of the word1 characterized as the world4 ,they may all influence and change and give character to life1 but none of them can create it4 ,and perhaps this brings us to what we want4 ,the world may give a certain character or shape to life1 even altho it cannot create it4 ,now pride is a certain character or shape of life4 ,it is a term of description not of the material of life but of a particular result of that material fused into a particular furnace4 ,in general the shape of life which pride describes may be otherwise characterized as arrogant self-reliance or self-sufficiency4 ,we may reach more minute definitions of it before we are done1 but this seems to make the meaning plain when it is said that the pride of life is not of the ,father1 but of the world4 ,life comes from ,god4 ,it is the world's influence that shapes that life1 which has no moral character in itself1 into arrogance and self-sufficiency1 makes it up into pride instead of into humility1 and so leaves as the result the pride of life4 ,the pride of life1 then1 is ,god's gift which means dependence changed and distorted into independence1 revolt and disobedience4 ,most necessary is it that in all we say we should keep clear in mind that the first gift is ,god's4 ,the substance of life is ,his4 ,all evil is misuse1 otherwise repentance must be cursed with misanthropy and hopelessness instead of being as it always ought to be1 the very birthplace of hope1 the spring of a new life from the worn-out failure of an old1 back into the possibility of life that is older still1 as old as man's first creation4 ,let us see where the pride of life shows itself4 ,first of all doubtless in the mere exuberance of animal strength4 ,to be well and strong1 full of spirit and physical vitality1 this is beyond all doubt one of the most precious gifts of ,god4 ,we never can forget the large strong physical strain with which our ,bible opens1 the torrent of health and full life that seems to pour down to us out of those early days when the world was young1 when the giants made the earth shake under their mighty tread and the patriarchs outlived the forests with their green old years4 ,the fulness of physical vitality is of ,god1 to be accepted as ,his benefaction1 to be cultivated and cared for with the reverence that ,his gifts demand4 ,and round the mere physical life group a whole circle of tastes and enjoyments and exercises which belong with the sensuous more than with the intellectual or moral part of us1 and whose full life seems to be dependent upon the fulness of physical being1 the mere perception of beauty1 the love of comfort1 the delight in enterprise and adventure and prowess4 ,the sum of all these is what we call full physical life4 ,it is what gives youth its most generous charm and makes it always poetic with its suggested powers and unaccomplished possibilities4 ,but yet this mere fulness of life as we all know has its dangers4 ,mere health is overbearing by its very nature4 ,there is a lack of sympathy in it4 ,not knowing suffering itself1 it is not respectful of suffering in others4 ,it is not careful of inflicting suffering4 ,the full blood sings of nothing but itself4 ,it is careless of others4 ,it is careless of ,god1 not malignantly cruel1 nor deliberately atheistic1 but selfish with a sort of self-absorption which is often1 very gracious in its forms and infidel with a mere forgetfulness of ,god4 ,who of us does not know1 and who of us1 wavering between his standards and his feelings1 has not very often found it hard to tell just how he ought to value the enthusiastic and arrogant self-sufficiency of healthy youth8 ,it is this1 ,i take it1 that is described here as the pride of life4 ,wherever there is eager and full-blooded youth there it appears4 ,it breaks out in the wild and purposeless mob of lower city life1 in the impatience and insubordination of the country boy who longs to be free from his father's farm1 in the crude skepticism of college students' first discussions of religion4 ,it is jealous of slight1 of insult1 of the least suspicion of restraint or leading4 ,it belongs to strong young nations as well as to strong young men4 ,by it they flaunt defiance in the face of the world and are afraid of the imputation of prudence4 ,it is what you can see in the faces of any group of eager young men as you pass them on the street4 ,sometimes it makes them attractive and sometimes it makes them detestable4 ,it turns the noble youth into a hero and the mean youth into a bully4 ,a fine nature it leads into the most exquisite tastes and encircles it with art and music4 ,a coarse nature it plunges into the vilest debauchery and vice4 ,in good fortune it makes the temper carelessly benignant4 ,in bad fortune it makes the temper recklessly defiant4 ,it works these very different effects but is always the one same spirit still1--the pride of life4 ,the gift of life which came from ,god1 taken possession of by the world and tamed into self-sufficiency1 a thing not of the ,father1 but of the world1 who does not know in himself1 or see in somebody he watches1 something of this pure pride in life8 ,just to live is so attractive that the higher ends and responsibilities of living drift away out of sight4 ,this instinctive almost physical selfishness is the philosophy of more than we think both of the good and of the bad that is in young people4 ,i have seen too much of it to undervalue the sweet and sober piety of old age4 ,there is a beauty in it that is all its own4 ,a softness and tenderness and patience and repose in the western sky that the bolder glories of the east where the morning breaks never can attain4 ,many and many of the best men we have known have been old men1 but no one looks at men's progress without feeling that a great deal of what passes for growth in goodness as men grow old is in reality only the deadening of the pride of life from the dying-down of the life itself4 ,many and many a man who passes for a sober1 conscientious1 religious sort of man at fifty1 if you put back into his cooled blood the hot life he had at twenty-five would be the same reckless1 profligate1 arrogant sinner that he was then4 ,it is the life1 not the pride1 that he has lost4 ,many and many a man thinks that he has saved his house from conflagration because he1 sees no flame1 when really the flame is hidden only because the house is burnt down and the fire is still lurking among the ashes1 hunting out any little prey that is left and hungrily waiting for more fuel to light up the darkness again4 ,one thing at least is true1 that the goodness of old age in what we may call its passive forms1 humility1 submission1 patience1 faith1 is necessarily far more hard to recognize and be sure of than the same goodness in a younger man4 ,what you call piety may be only deadness4 ,and young men are often pointed just to this old age as the golden time when they will be religious as they cannot be now4 ,they look to it themselves4 ,you are full of the pride of life1 men say to them2 ,ah1 wait6 ,by and by the life will flag4 ,the senses will grow dull1 the tastes will stupefy1 the enterprise will flicker out1 and the days come in which your soul will say ',i have no pleasure in them4' ,just wait for that6 ,then your pride will go too1 and then you will need and seek your ,god4 ,it is a poor taunt and a poorer warning4 ,if you have nothing better to say to make men use their powers rightly than to tell them that they will lose their powers some day1 the answer will always be1 ,well1 ,i will wait until that losing day comes before ,i worry4 ,if you tell a young man that his life is short1 the old bacchanalian answer is the first one1 ,live while we live4 ,you must somehow get hold of that1 you must persuade him that the true life now is the holy life1 that life1 this same life that he prizes1 ought to breed humility and faith1 not arrogance and pride1 or else you must expect to talk to the winds4 ,it surely is important that the conversion of the pride of life must come not by the putting-out of life but by making it a source of humility instead of pride4 ,the humbleness of life4 ,how can it come8 ,by clearer and deeper truthfulness to let us see what the real facts of the case are1 that is all2 but that is very hard1 so hard that it can be brought about by no other than the ,almighty ,holy ,ghost4 ,let me see that this physical life of mine1 having no true character of its own1 is made to be a great machinery for simply conducting the knowledge and the love of ,god into my life2 let all my study of the exquisite adaptations of the physical organs for their work be sanctified with this idea1 this ever-pervading consciousness that eye and ear and hand are doors for the knowledge and the love of ,him to enter by1 and that all their marvelous mechanism is only the perfecting of hinges and bolt that ,he may enter more impressively and lovingly and entirely2 let me learn that every bright taste or fine instinct or noble appetite is a ray of sunlight1 not the sun1 is the projection into my life of some force above1 outside of me1 which ,i can find only by climbing back along the ray that is projected1 up to it2 let me see all animal life a study and preparation for this final life of man1 sensations and perceptions1 growing clearer and clearer as we rise in the scale until in man they are fit to convey this knowledge which man alone can have1 the knowledge of ,god2 let me see this1 and ,i must be ashamed to make that life a thing of pride which might be the seat of such an exalted and exalting dependence and humility4 ,i am unwilling that those well-built cisterns which ought to be so full of ,god should hold nothing but myself1 as if one crept into his aqueduct and closed it up where the water came into it from the fountain and lived in it for a house and found it very dry4 ,we see clearly enough what the change is that is needed4 ,it is to substitute for self-consciousness as the result of life the ever-abiding consciousness of ,god4 ,do you ask how it shall be done8 ,ah1 my dear friends1 that is the very miracle of the gospel4 ,i can tell you only this about it1 which the ,lord has told us all before3 ,except a man be born again1 he cannot see the kingdom of ,god4 ,the kingdom of ,god1 that region of life in which ,god is the life's ,king4 ,and again3 ,if any man love me he will keep my words and my ,father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him4 ,we will come to him6 ,that is what we want1 for that is the source of all humility1 the coming of ,god into us1 and the condition is love and obedience1 the spiritual and the active forms of faith4 ,that is all we can say4 ,and that is enough1 for in that this at least is clear1 that such a conversion is a work that ,god has undertaken to do for us1 that ,he asks of us nothing but submission to ,his willing helpfulness1 and that being a transformation of life1 it may1 nay it must1 be done while life is in possession1 it can be done best when life is in its fullest4 ,we have not to wait till movement is slow and color is dull4 ,we are not tempted to make a vacancy and call it piety2 but when man's life is so full that it tempts him daily to self-consciousness and pride1 then let him open it wide to the consciousness of ,god and ennoble it with the full dignity of that humility whose first condition is the presence of ,god in the soul that ,he built for ,his own inhabiting4 ,there is a condition possible where the life shall flow with ,god as fully and freely as it ordinarily flows with self1 where the greater volume it acquires1 it only bears the more of ,him2 where every joy delights in ,him1 and every power depends on ,him1 and the whole man lives in ,him and knows it4 ,it is not a constant effort4 ,it is the spontaneous direction of the whole nature4 ,it is the new condition of the ,christian who has been exalted from the human pride into the divine humility of life1 out of self to ,god4 ,but ,i suggested at the outset that the word life was used in various meanings1 and in connection with one or two of them ,i should like to develop a little what is meant by this phrase the pride of life4 ,life sometimes familiarly signifies what we otherwise call circumstances4 ,a man is said to get on in life1 not with reference to his growing older or growing healthier1 but as he grows more rich1 more prosperous4 ,the pride of life in this sense would be the pride of success1 which we see wherever men are struggling in this world of competition4 ,look at the young merchant who is making a living4 ,things go well with him4 ,he rises from stratum to stratum of that commercial system whose geology is the ever-eluding study of the toilers of the street4 ,he grows rich4 ,his store begins to spread with the pressure of new enterprises4 ,his house begins to blossom into the rich bloom of luxury4 ,he is greeted with a new respect4 ,he is courted with an eagerness he never knew before4 ,friends gather about him4 ,his word has weight4 ,his name means money4 ,he is successful4 ,what is the result8 ,those facts in themselves signify nothing1 let us remember1 but material capable of being made into one thing or another wholly its opposite4 ,these are the gift of the ,father1 every one of them1 all that profusion of life4 ,but there is a possible effect of them all in character1 a pride1 which is not of the ,father1 but of the world4 ,with a morbid sympathy the man assimilates all that is poor and mean and worldly out of his prosperity1 and rejects1 because he has no affinity for it1 all that is good and sweet and heavenly4 ,he is chilled and narrowed and embittered4 ,all the old sweetness and humility fade out of his nature4 ,need ,i tell you of it8 ,our streets are full of the pride of life4 ,its types only1 its outer types flash in the splendid carriages and blaze in the fronts of gaudy houses and sweep the floors of drawing-rooms and the aisles of churches4 ,those types1 the mere outward trappings of success1 are not wherein the badness lies4 ,the reality is in the hard hearts and selfish tempers and undocile minds which1 in the splendor or the squalidness of wealth1 show the sad ruin of self-sufficient success1 the pride of life4 ,the pride of life kills out the life itself4 ,is there a sadder picture than you have in the life of a man1 old or young1 to whom ,god has sent prosperity1 who by his own act then turns that prosperity into a failure by being proud of it8 ,christ ,himself has told us how it is4 ,the life is more than meat4 ,he has no tolerance for this little meaning of a word that ,he made so large4 ,the life is more than meat4 ,yes1 life is meat and man1 and to lose the best manhood to get the meat1 to lose the soul to save the body1 to fail of heaven above you and before you that you may own the ground under your feet1 that is not success but failure4 ,in all time of our prosperity1 ,good ,lord deliver us6 ,may ,god help you who are prosperous4 ,i would speak again of what is called intellectual life1 the life of thought4 ,it is of the ,father1 indeed4 ,we picture to ourselves the pure joy of ,god in thought4 ,free from so many of our cumbrous processes1 free from the limitations of slow-moving time1 free from all imperfection1 with an instantaneous thought as is ,his being1 the intellect that is the center of all reason revolves in its unfathomed majesty4 ,and man thinks too4 ,god makes him think4 ,god gives him powers to think with1 and then1 as when you pour for your child a stream of water out of your cisterns upon the wheels of the machinery that you have first built for him1 ,god gives man thoughts to exercise his power of thinking upon4 ,can anything be more humble8 ,the power was from ,god1 the thoughts by which the power moves were ,god's thoughts first4 ,oh1 ,god1 ,i think ,thy thoughts after ,thee1 cried ,john ,kepler1 when he caught sight of the great law of planetary motion4 ,but mere thought1 self-satisfied1 seeking no unity in ,god1 owning no dependence1 boasting of itself1 counting it hardship that it cannot know all where it knows so much1 this is the pride of thought1 and this is not of the ,father1 but is of the world4 ,how arrogant it is6 ,how it is jealous of dictation1 how it chafes under a hand that presses it down and a voice that says to it1 ,wait6 what thou knowest not now thou shall2 know hereafter4 ,how carefully it limits its kind of evidence1 shutting out everything that sounds like personal communication1 revelation1 in its impatient independence2 how studiously it orphans itself4 ,and then how1 in some moods1 orphaned by its arrogance1 it suddenly becomes intensely cognizant of its orphanage1 and the child's hunger for a ,father takes possession of its heart and it is dreary and miserable6 ,i always know1 when ,i speak thus of types of men1 that you will think that ,i am talking of those types in their extreme specimens4 ,i am not speaking to-day of the miracles of physical vitality1 nor of the over-successful men with their colossal fortunes1 nor of the mighty thinkers only4 ,we all have our certain share in these various kinds of life1 and each of us may make his little share a seed of pride4 ,we are strangely ingenious here4 ,we have an easy faculty of persuading ourselves that ours is best of everything and growing arrogant1 unfilial and worldly over it4 ,i speak to the men confident in their youth and health1 to the merchants strong in their business credit1 to the thoughtful brains at work over their problems of settling the universe for themselves4 ,i warn them all against the pride of life4 ,i would try to show them all that the same material which is capable of being made into pride is capable also of being made into humility4 ,i would tell them therefore that they have not to be made old or sick or poor or stupid before they can be made humble1 that the best humility1 as well as the hardest1 is that which can come to them here1 right in the midst of their strength and wealth and study6 ,do you ask how that can be8 ,it is time that ,i tried to tell you1 tried to tell how one may be full of life and yet be free from the pride of life4 ,that question must somehow be answered1 or else the world will be condemned to choose forever between an arrogant prosperity and a salvation by misery1 distress and disaster1 by death4 ,what do we need for the salvation of a prosperous life8 ,the answer in one word is consecration4 ,consecration1 that is what we need4 ,there have been men in whom life seemed complete who have yet walked very humbly4 ,they had no pride of life4 ,and why8 ,because always before them and above them there stood some great principle1 some idea1 some duty to which their life belonged1 not to themselves4 ,all work is modest1 all idle self-contemplation is vain4 ,and what the young man needs with his vague aspirations and conceits is to make himself the servant of some worthy purpose4 ,and what the merchant needs with his growing business is to count himself the steward of some worthy ,master4 ,and what the student needs with his active mind is to trace the footsteps of the ,god of wisdom in the path he walks and to count the reaching nearer to ,him1 the true prize and object of all thinking4 ,consecration6 ,we are proud of life because we do so little with it4 ,it is as if the bearer of dispatches sat down calmly and boasted of the well-made box in which they had been given to him1 and never bore them to their destination4 ,life is force1 to be transmitted and delivered to a purpose and an end4 ,it loses its true nature and sweetness1 it corrupts into pride1 when it is robbed of its true purpose and cherished only for itself4 ,we can find our example of the consecrated man wherever we see true lives lived in history or about us now1 in the ,bible or in common life4 ,moses1 ,david1 ,paul6 ,but why look at the poor1 imperfect copies when in our ,lord ,himself we have the consummate human life clothed in the wondrous humility of ,his appointed work4 ,the life of lives6 and yet was ever any life so utterly free from the tawdry pride that makes our poor achievements so wretched and unsatisfying4 ,you say ,he cut ,himself off from all that men are proud of4 ,not so4 ,he gave up house and home1 but he carried about with ,him always the devotion of the people1 the mystery of unknown power and the consciousness of great work and influence1 the very things that have always seduced the best men most and in their highest labors made them proud4 ,you say ,he was divine and so could not be humble4 ,yes1 but ,he was profoundly human also1 and humility is not subserviency or meanness4 ,it is a grace not unworthy of1 nay1 necessary to1 even the perfect humanity4 ,but one thing stands out always3 ,his was the consecrated life4 ,it was all given to its purpose4 ,he was called ,jesus because he should save his people from their sins4 ,wist ye not that ,i must be about my ,father's business8 ,behold we go up to ,jerusalem and the ,son of ,man shall be betrayed4 ,to this end was ,i born and for this cause came ,i into the world1 that ,i should bear witness unto the truth4 ,everywhere the consecration1 a life appointed to an end1 the face set to ,jerusalem1 the hands and feet waiting for the cross6 ,meanwhile it was the fullest life1 but lived so high that the pride of life lay all below under ,his feet and out of sight4 ,and our life must be consecrated even as ,his was4 ,what shall the consecration be8 ,far be it from me to undervalue the exaltation into humility that comes to a man when he consecrates himself to any great and noble cause4 ,i believe that it helps to save any man from pride when he gives himself to his family or his country or his fellow men1 to truth1 to liberty1 to purity1 to anything outside of and above himself1 but there is a consecration higher and fuller and more saving than any such can be4 ,we go back to the ,cross4 ,jesus is dying there for us4 ,he dies and we are saved4 ,what then8 ,when a soul knows its full salvation and sees it all bought by1 all wrapt up in1 that ,redeemer1 then in the outburst of a grateful love1 he gives himself to the ,redeemer ,christ4 ,there is no hesitation1 no keeping back of anything4 ,he is all offered up to ,christ2 and then to serve that ,christ1 to follow ,him1 to do ,his will1 to enter into ,him1 that is the one great object of the whole consecrated life1 and in that consecration1 the straining of the life toward that ,one ,object1 the pride of life is swept down and drowned4 ,not merely the life then1 but the use of the life1 comes from the ,father4 ,it is not of the world4 ,the soul is saved6 ,the salvation of the ,cross6 ,its center is the forgiveness of sins which the cross alone made possible2 but is not its issue here1 in the lifting of the soul above the pride of life and consecrating it in the profoundest gratitude to ,him who redeemed us and washed us from sins in ,his own blood8 ,what humility6 ,what self-forgetfulness6 ,what unworldliness6 ,what utter childhood to the ,father6 ,my friends1 my people1 would you be saved1 saved from your sins1 saved from yourselves1 saved from the pride of life8 ,you must be ,his that you may not be your own6 ,he died for you that you might not henceforth live to yourself but unto ,him4 ,you must be consecrated to your ,savior4 ,if there is one soul in my church to-day who is weary and dissatisfied with his self-slavery1 ,i offer him ,jesus for ,savior1 for ,master6 ,if any man thirst let him come unto ,him and drink4 ,turn unto ,him and be ye saved6 ,you can1 you must6 ,his service is life1 life in its fullest because life in humility4 ,outside of ,his gospel and ,his service there is the pride of life1 and the pride of life is death4 ,,gladden ,,the ,,prince ,,of ,,life ,,biographical ,,note ,washington ,gladden1 ,congregational divine1 was born at ,pottsgrove1 ,pa41 in #ahcf4 ,after graduating at ,williams ,college he was ordained pastor1 and occupied pulpits in ,brooklyn1 ,morrisania1 ,n4,y41 and ,springfield1 ,mass41 until #ahhb1 when he assumed charge of the ,first ,congregational ,church of ,columbus1 ,ohio4 ,he has also occupied editorial positions1 and has published many books on social and civil reform and the practical application of ,christian truth to popular and common life4 ,his style1 whether he is writing or speaking1 combines vigor with grace4 ,,gladden ,,born ,,in #ahcf ,,the ,,prince ,,of ,,life#a ,footnote #a3 ,from ,mr4 ,gladden's ,the ,new ,idolatry4 ,by permission of ,the ,mc,clure ,co4 ,copyright1 #aijf1 by ,mc,clure1 ,phillips ,co4 ,and killed the prince of life1 whom ,god hath raised from the dead4--,acts iii41 #ae4 ,this is the phrase with which ,peter1 in his great speech in the temple porch1 describes the ,master whose disciple he had been for three years1 whose death he had witnessed on ,calvary1 and to whose resurrection from the dead he is now bearing witness4 ,the prince of life6 ,it is one of the many great titles conferred upon the ,lord by those who loved ,him4 ,reverence and devotion fell from their lips in lyrical cadences whenever they spoke of ,him1 and they wreathed for ,him garlands of words with which they loved to deck ,his memory4 ,he was the ,prophet of the ,highest2 ,he was the ,great ,high ,priest2 ,he was the ,shepherd of the ,sheep2 ,he was the ,captain of ,salvation2 ,he was the ,first ,born of ,many ,brethren2 ,he was ,redeemer1 ,reconciler1 ,savior4 ,gratitude and affection shaped many a tender phrase in which to describe ,him1 but there is none1 perhaps1 more luminous or more comprehensive than this with which the impulsive ,peter1 facing the men who had put ,him to death1 gave utterance to his loyalty4 ,its pertinence is confirmed by the word of ,jesus ,himself1 in one of the sayings in which ,he described ,his mission3 ,i am come that ye might have life1 and that ye might have it abundantly4 ,author and ,giver of life ,he was1 and what ,he gave ,he gave with princely munificence--freely1 unstintedly4 ,the phrase seems to be one on which we may fitly dwell to-day1 since the day of the year which commemorates ,his birth occurs on the day of the week which celebrates ,his resurrection4 ,both events proclaim ,him the ,prince of ,life4 ,in the one ,he is the ,bringer of new life1 in the other ,he is the ,victor over death2 and thus ,he becomes1 in the impassioned confessions of the apostle1 the ,alpha and the ,omega1 the ,author and the ,finisher of ,faith1 the ,first and the ,last and the ,living ,one4 ,those who are familiar with the ,new ,testament narration do not need to have their attention called to the constant ministry of this ,son of ,man to the vital needs of men4 ,the impartation of life seems to have been ,his main business4 ,somehow it came to be believed by the multitude1 at the very beginning of ,his public ministry1 that ,he possest some power of communicating life4 ,the wonderful works ascribed to ,him are nearly all of this character4 ,the healing of the sick1 the cleansing of the lepers1 all resulted from the reenforcement of the vital energies of the sufferers4 ,when ,he laid ,his hand upon men1 new life seemed to speed through their veins4 ,we have known some who seemed to have1 in some imperfect way1 this quickening touch4 ,it is a physiological fact that warm blood from the veins of a thoroughly healthy person1 transfused through the veins of one who is emaciated or exhausted1 quickens the wavering pulse and brings life to the dying4 ,it may be that through the nerve tissues1 as well as through the veins1 the same vitalizing force may be communicated1 and that those who are in perfect health1 both of body and of mind1 may have the power of imparting life to those who are in need of it4 ,the miracles of healing ascribed to ,jesus must have been miracles in the literal sense2 they were wonders1 marvels--for that is what the word miracle means2 that they were interruptions or violations of natural law is never intimated in the ,new ,testament2 they may have been purely natural occurrences1 taking place under the operation of natural laws with which we are not familiar4 ,we are far from knowing all the secrets of this wonderful universe2 the time may come when these words of ,jesus will have larger meaning than we have ever given them3 ,if ye abide in me1 the works that ,i do shall ye do also1 and greater works than these shall ye do1 because ,i go unto my ,father4 ,the fact to be noted is1 however1 that the people with whom ,jesus was brought into contact were made aware in many ways of the impartation of ,his ,life to them4 ,of ,his fulness1 said ,john1 we all received1 and grace for grace4 ,there seemed to be in ,him a plenitude of vitality1 from which health and vigor flowed into the lives of those who came near to ,him4 ,nor does this seem to have been any mere physical magnetism2 there is no intimation that ,his physical endowments were exceptional2 the restoring and invigorating influence oftener flowed from a deeper source4 ,the physical renewal came as the result of a spiritual quickening4 ,he reached the body through the soul4 ,the order was1 first1 ,thy sins be forgiven thee2 then1 ,arise and walk4 ,if the spirit is thoroughly alive1 the body more quickly recovers its lost vigor4 ,and it was mainly in giving peace to troubled consciences and rest to weary souls that ,he conferred upon those who received ,him the great boon of life4 ,thus ,jesus proved ,himself the ,prince of ,life4 ,in the early ages of the ,church the ,holy ,spirit1 the ,comforter1 came to be described as the ,lord and ,giver of ,life2 but that was because ,he was believed to be the ,continuator of the work of ,jesus--the spiritual ,christ4 ,there seems to be in this conception a great and beautiful revelation of the essential nature of ,christianity4 ,there are many ways of conceiving of this1 but ,i am not sure that any one of them is more significant than that which we are now considering4 ,those words of ,jesus to which ,i have before referred are wonderful words when we come to think upon them4 ,they occur in that discourse in which ,he describes ,himself first as the ,good ,shepherd1 and contrasts ,himself with the thieves and robbers who have been ravaging the flock4 ,the thief cometh not1 ,he says1 but that he may steal and kill and destroy2 ,i came that they may have life1 and may have it abundantly1 ,have we not here the great fundamental distinction between men--the line that separates the evil from the good1 the just from the unjust1 the sheep from the goats--that distinction which ,jesus marks so clearly in ,his parable of judgment1 and which must never1 in our interpretations or philosophizings1 be blotted or blurred8 ,some are life-givers2 some are life-destroyers4 ,the thief cometh not but that he may steal and kill and destroy2 ,i came that they may have life1 and may have it abundantly4 ,i do not suppose that ,jesus meant in this to declare that there is a large class of persons whose entire purpose it is to steal and kill and destroy2 probably there are none so malevolent that they do not cherish some kindly impulses and perform some generous deeds4 ,it is a distinction between acts1 or perhaps between tendencies of character1 that ,he is making4 ,he speaks in the concrete1 as ,he always does2 but ,he expects us to make the proper application of ,his words4 ,the fact to which ,he guides our thought is this--that there are ways of living1 forms of conduct1 which are predatory and destructive of life1 and other ways that tend to make life increase and abound4 ,when ,jesus contrasts ,his own conduct1 as one who gives life and gives it abundantly1 with the thieves and robbers who kill and destroy1 we must interpret the conduct of those whom ,he describes as destructive of life--as tending to the diminution of life4 ,indeed1 it is a very deep and awful truth that all our social action tends in one or other of these directions4 ,life1 in its proper relation1 is the one supreme and central good2 the life of the body is the supreme good of the body2 the life of the spirit is the supreme good of the spirit4 ,and you can rightly estimate any act or habit or tendency of human conduct only by determining whether it increases and invigorates the life of men1 body and spirit1 or whether it reduces or diminishes their life4 ,good men are adding to the life of those with whom they have to do2 evil men are debilitating and depleting the life of those with whom they have to do4 ,even in our economic relations the final effect of all our conduct upon those with whom we deal is to replenish or diminish their life4 ,the wage question is at bottom a question of more or less life for the wage-worker4 ,starvation wages are wages by which the hold upon life of the wage-earner and his wife and children is weakened4 ,systems of industry are good in proportion as they enlarge and invigorate the life of the whole population2 evil in proportion as they lessen and weaken its life4 ,so all industrial and national policies are to be judged by the amount of life which they produce and maintain--life of the body and of the spirit4 ,those strong words of ,john ,ruskin are the everlasting truth3 ,there is no wealth but life--life including all its powers of love1 of joy and of admiration4 ,that country is the richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings2 that man is richest who1 having perfected the functions of his own life to the utmost1 has also the widest helpful influence1 both personal and by means of his possessions1 over the lives of others1 ,we have here1 as you see1 the ,christian conception--the very word of the ,prince of ,life1 of ,him who came that we might have life1 and that we might have it abundantly4 ,and when ,his kingdom has come1 this will be the end for which wealth is sought and used in every nation4 ,it is possible to use wealth so that it shall be productive of life2 so that the entire administration of it shall tend to the enlargement and enrichment of the life of men2 so that the labor which it employs shall obtain an increasing share of the goods which it produces2 so that all the conditions under which that labor is performed shall be favorable to health and life and happiness2 so that the spiritual life1 also1 of all who are employed shall be nourished by inspiring them with good-will and kindness1 with the confidence in man which helps us to have faith in ,god4 ,such an administration of wealth is perhaps the very best testimony to the reality of the truth of the ,christian religion which it is possible to bear in this day and generation4 ,one who handles capital with this clear purpose can do more to establish in the earth the kingdom of heaven than any minister or missionary can do4 ,but it is possible to use wealth in the opposite way1 so that it shall be destructive rather than productive of life4 ,a man may manage his industry in such a way that the last possible penny shall be taken from wages and added to profit2 in such a way that the health of his employees shall be impaired and their happiness blighted and their hope taken1 away4 ,he may do this while maintaining an outwardly religious behavior and giving large sums to philanthropy4 ,but such a handling of wealth does more to make infidels than any heretical teacher or lecturer ever did or can do4 ,the fact needs to be noted that all the predatory schemes by which capital is successfully inflated and nefariously manipulated1 and the community is thus burdened1 are deadly attacks upon the life of the people4 ,they filch away the earnings of the laboring classes4 ,they increase the cost of rent and transportation and all the necessaries of life4 ,they extort from the people contributions for which no equivalent has been given1 of commodity or service4 ,thus the burden of toil is increased and the reward of industry is lessened for all who work2 the surplus out of which life would be replenished is consumed1 and the amount of life in the nation at large is lessened4 ,every one of those schemes of frenzied finance about which we are reading in these days is a gigantic bloodsucker1 with ten million minute tentacles which it stealthily fastens upon the people who do the world's work1 and each one of the victims must give up a little of his life for the aggrandizement of our financial ,titans4 ,when such schemes flourish1 by which men's gains are suddenly swollen to enormous proportions1 somebody must be paying for it1 and life is always the final payment4 ,it all comes out of the life of the people who are producing the world's wealth4 ,the plethora of the few is the depletion of the millions4 ,in every great aggregation of workers1 the faces of the underfed are a little paler and the pulses of the children beat a little less joyously1 and the feet are hastened on that journey to the tomb--all because of those who come to steal and to kill and to destroy4 ,such is the contrast between beneficent business and maleficent business4 ,the good business employs men1 feeds them1 clothes them1 shelters them1 generously distributes among them the goods that nourish life2 the bad business contrives to levy tribute on the resources out of which they are fed and clad and nourished1 and thus enriches itself by impoverishing the life of the multitude4 ,and ,i suppose that we should all find1 whether we are engaged in what is called business or not1 that the work which we are doing1 the way in which we are spending our time and gaining our income1 is tending either to the enlargement and increase of the life of those with whom we have to do or to the impoverishment and destruction of their life2 and that this is the final test by which we must be judged--are we producers of life or destroyers of life8 ,is there more of life in the world--more of physical and spiritual life--because of what we are and what we do1 or is the physical and spiritual vitality of men lessened by what we are and what we do8 ,are we helping men to be stronger and sounder in body and mind and soul for the work of life1 or are we making them feebler in muscle and will and moral stamina8 ,when ,jesus ,christ came into the world the civilization prevailing--if such it could be called--was under the dominion of those who came to steal and to kill and to destroy4 ,rome was the world1 and the civilization of ,rome1 with all its splendor1 was at bottom a predatory civilization4 ,it overran all its neighbors that it might subjugate and despoil them2 its whole social system was based on a slavery in which the enslaved were merely chattels2 the life of its ruling class was fed by the literal devouring of the lives of subject classes4 ,of course1 this civilization was decadent4 ,that terrible decline and fall which ,gibbon has pictured was in full progress4 ,it was in the midst of this awful scene that ,jesus was born in ,bethlehem of ,judea4 ,can anyone doubt that ,his heart was full of divine compassion for those who were trampled on and preyed upon by the cruel and the strong1 for those whose lives were consumed by the avarice and greed of their fellows8 ,what did ,he mean when1 at the beginning of ,his ministry in the synagog where ,he had always worshiped1 ,he took in his hand the roll of the prophet ,isaiah and read therefrom3 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord is upon me1 because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor2 he hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind1 to set at liberty them that are bruised1 to proclaim the acceptable year of the ,lord--adding as ,he sat down1 under the gaze of the congregation1 ,to-day hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears8 ,what could ,he have meant but this1 that it was ,his mission to change the entire current and tendency of human life2 to put an end to the plunderers and devourers2 to chain the wolfish passion in human hearts which prompts men to steal and to kill and to destroy2 to inspire them with ,his own divine compassion2 to give life and to give it abundantly8 ,and is it not true that so far as men do receive of ,his fulness1 so far as they are brought under the control of ,his spirit1 they do cease to be destroyers and devourers of the bodies and souls of their fellows1 and become helpers1 saviors1 life-bringers8 ,and is not this included in ,his meaning when ,he says3 ,i am come that they may have life1 and that they may have it abundantly8 ,to-day1 then1 we hail ,him as ,prince of ,life1 the glorious ,giver to men of the one supreme and crowning good4 ,and the manner of the giving is not hard to understand4 ,he gives life by kindling in our hearts the flame of sacred love4 ,love is life4 ,love to ,god and man brings the soul into unity with itself2 it is obeying its own organic law1 and obedience to its law brings to any organism life and health and peace4 ,if the spirit of ,christ has become the ruling principle of our conduct1 then we have entered into life1 and it is a life that knows no term2 it is the immortal life4 ,if the spirit of ,christ has entered into our lives1 then in all our relations with others life is increased2 we are by nature givers of good2 out of our lives are forever flowing healing1 restoring1 saving1 vitalizing influences2 and when all the members of the society in which we move have received this spirit and manifest it1 there are none to bite and devour1 to hurt and destroy2 the predatory creatures have ceased their ravages1 and the world rejoices in the plenitude of life which ,he came to bring4 ,we hail ,him1 then1 to-day1 as the ,lord and ,giver of life4 ,we desire to share with ,him the unspeakable gift1 and to share it1 as best we may1 with all our fellow men4 ,what we freely receive from ,him1 we would freely give4 ,what the whole world needs to-day is life1 more life1 fuller life1 larger life4 ,we spend all our energies in heaping up the means of life1 and never really begin to live2 our strength is wasted1 our health is broken1 our intellects are impoverished1 our affections are withered1 our peace is destroyed in our mad devotion to that which is only an adjunct or appendage of life4 ,oh1 if we could only understand how good a thing it is to live1 just to live1 truly and freely and largely and nobly1 to live the life that is life indeed6 ,shall we not draw to this ,prince of ,life and take from ,him the gift that ,he came to bring8 ,is not this the one thing needful8 ,we are reading and hearing much in these days of the simple life4 ,what is it but the life into which they are led who take the yoke of this ,master upon them and learn of ,him8 ,it is a most cheering omen that this little book of ,pastor ,wagner's is falling into so many hands and littering its ingenuous and persuasive plea before so many minds and in so many homes4 ,if we heed it1 it must bring us back to the simplicity of ,christ4 ,pastor ,wagner is only preaching over again the ,sermon on the ,mount2 it is nothing but the teaching of ,jesus brought down to this day and applied to the conditions of our complex civilization4 ,it is the true teaching2 none of us can doubt it4 ,and ,i wish that we could all begin the new year with the earnest purpose to put ourselves under the leadership of the ,prince of ,life4 ,i know that we should find ,his yoke easy and ,his burden light1 and that there would be rest for our souls in the paths into which ,he would lead us4 ,we should know1 if we shared ,his life1 that we were really living2 and we should know also that we wore helping others to live2 that we were doing what we could to put an end to the ravages of the destroyers and the devourers1 and to fill the earth with the abundance of peace4 ,is not this1 fellow men1 the right way to live8 ,does not all that is deepest and divinest in you consent to this way of life into which ,jesus ,christ is calling us1 as the right way1 the royal way1 the blessed way8 ,choose it1 then1 with all the energy of your volition1 and walk in it with a glad heart and a hope that maketh not ashamed4 ,,clifford ,,the ,,forgiveness ,,of ,,sins ,,biographical ,,note ,john ,clifford1 ,baptist divine1 was born at ,lawley1 ,derbyshire1 in #ahcf4 ,he was educated at the ,baptist ,college1 ,nottingham1 and ,university ,college1 ,london4 ,he has had much editorial as well as ministerial experience and has published a number of works upon religious1 educational and social questions4 ,the ,rev4 ,william ,durban1 the editor1 writing from ,london of ,john ,clifford in the ,homiletic ,review1 styles him the renowned ,baptist preacher1 undoubtedly the most conspicuous figure in his own denomination4 ,he speaks of the profundity of thought1 simplicity and beauty of diction1 the compactness of argument and instructive expository character of this preacher's discourses4 ,,clifford ,,born ,,in #ahcf ,,the ,,forgiveness ,,of ,,sins ,i believe in the forgiveness of sins4--,apostles' ,creed4 ,this is the first note of personal experience in the ,apostles' ,creed4 ,we here come into the society of men like ,john ,bunyan and go with them through the wicket-gate of repentance1 through the ,slough of ,despond1 getting out on the right side of it1 reaching at length the cross1 to find the burden fall from our backs as we look upon ,him who died for us2 and then we travel on our way until we come to the ,river of ,death and cross it1 discovering that it is not so deep after all1 and that on the other side is the fulness of the life everlasting4 ,it is a new note1 and it is a little surprizing--is it not8--to most students of this creed that we should have to travel through so many clauses before we reach it4 ,it scarcely seems to be in keeping with the spirit and temper of the early ,christian ,church that we should have all this analysis of thought1 this statement of the facts of ,christian revelation1 this testimony as to the power of the ,holy ,spirit1 before we get any utterance as to that individual faith by which the ,christian ,church has been created1 and owing to which there has been the helpful and inspiring fellowship of the saints4 ,i say it is a new note1 but it is fundamental4 ,when the ,creed does touch the inward life1 it goes straight to that which is central--to that which is preeminently evangelical4 ,without the doctrine of the forgiveness of sins you could have no good news for a sinful world2 but with the assertion of this faith as the actual faith of the man1 you have possibilities of service1 the upspringing of altruism1 the conquest of self1 the enthronement of ,christ1 the advancement of humanity after the likeness of ,jesus ,christ4 ,a note it is which is not only fundamental but most musical1 harmonious and gladdening4 ,in the ancient ,psalms we hear it oft--,bless the ,lord1 ,o my soul1 and all that is within me bless his holy name1 who forgiveth all thine iniquities1 who healeth all thy diseases4 ,it recurs in the prophets3 ,i1 the ,lord1 am he that blotteth out thy sins2 yea1 tho they be as a thick cloud1 ,i will blot them out4 ,it is the highest note reached by the singers of the ,old ,testament2 but it comes to us with greater resonance and sweetness from the lips of the men who have stood in the presence of ,jesus ,christ1 and who are able to say1 as they look into the faces of their fellows3 ,be it known unto you that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins from which you could not have been freed by the law of ,moses4 ,with emphasis1 with1 strength1 with fulness of conviction1 with gladdening rapture1 these men proclaimed their faith in the forgiveness of sins1 and tho the ,creed of the churches travels slowly after the faith of the early ,church1 its last note sounds out a note of triumph3 ,i believe in the forgiveness of sins1 the resurrection of the body1 and life everlasting4 ,it is the crown of the whole ,creed4 ,it is the flowering of the truths that are contained in the ,creed4 ,let a man understand ,god1 and let him have such a vision of the ,eternal as ,job had1 and he is constrained to say1 ,i abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes4 ,he desires first and chiefly to know that the true relation between the human spirit and ,god which has been broken by sin has at length been rearranged1 and that sin is no longer an obstacle to the soul's converse with a holy ,god1 but that the ideal relation of the human spirit with the divine spirit is reestablished by the proclamation of forgiveness4 ,for1 as you know1 pardon is not the extinguishing of a man's past2 that cannot be done4 ,what has been done by us of good or evil abides1 it endures2 not ,god ,himself can extinguish the deeds of the past4 ,what forgiveness does is this3 it rearranges the relations between the spirit of man and our ,father1 so that the sins of the past are no longer an obstacle to us in our speech with ,him1 our trust in ,him--our using the energies of ,god for the accomplishment of ,his purposes4 ,it is the restoration of the human spirit to right relations with ,god4 ,forgiveness of sins conies1 therefore1 at the very start of a right life4 ,it is the beginning4 ,all else in the spiritual life succeeds upon this4 ,i know there is a theory among us1 and ,i am prepared to endorse it1 that1 if we are trained by godly parents in godly homes1 we may grow into the spiritual life1 pass into it1 as it were1 by stages which it is impossible for us to register4 ,we are largely unconscious of these spiritual ascents2 they are being made by the gracious use of influences that are in our environment1 that reach us through sanctified folk1 and we travel on from strength to strength1 and1 then1 perchance1 in our young manhood or womanhood1 there comes a crisis of revelation1 and we discover that we are in such relations with ,god our ,father1 ,redeemer1 and ,renewer as fill us with peace1 create hope and conscious strength4 ,but ,i assure you that in addition to this experience there will come1 it may be early1 it may be late1 some moment in the life when there is discovered to the individual spirit making that ascent a sense of the awful heinousness of sin2 and tho we may not have such a unique experience of evil as the ,apostle ,paul had1 and become so conscious of it as to feel1 as it were1 that it is a dead body that we have to carry about with us as we go through life1 interfering with the very motions of our spirit2 yet we do approximate to it1 and it is through these approximations to the ,apostle ,paul that we are lifted to the heights of spiritual achievement1 and are qualified for sympathy with a sin-stricken world1 and inspired by and nourished in a passionate enthusiasm to serve that world by bringing it into right relations with ,god4 ,when1 therefore1 a man says1 ,i believe in ,god the ,father ,almighty1 maker of heaven and earth1 he is asserting that which1 being turned to its full and true use1 carries him to this goal1 ,i believe in the forgiveness of sins4 ,for a full and true doctrine of ,god can only be heartily welcomed when it is associated with the message of the forgiveness of sins4 ,otherwise the visions of the eternal ,power may start in us the cry of ,peter3 ,depart from me1 for ,i am a sinful man1 ,o ,lord1 ,when a man asserts his faith in ,jesus ,christ1 ,god's only ,son1 our ,lord1 who was crucified1 who suffered under ,pontius ,pilate1 who died on the cross2 he is himself asserting his faith in the great purpose for which ,god sent ,his ,son2 even to take away the sin of the world1 to make an end of iniquity1 to bring in an everlasting righteousness2 and so out of that faith he prepared for the response which the soul makes to the workings of the ,spirit1 the ,holy ,ghost within him1 and he is able to say from his own knowledge of what ,god has been to him1 ,i believe in the forgiveness of sins4 ,friends1 you have said this again and again1 some of you hundreds of times4 ,you have asserted it week by week4 ,what did you mean by it8 ,what exactly was the thought in your heart as the words passed over your lips1 ,i believe in the forgiveness of sins8 ,was it simply the recognition of a universal amnesty for a world of rebels8 ,was it merely the assertion of your confidence in the goodness of ,god irrespective of ,his holiness8 ,or when you uttered that faith of yours1 did it mean that you were able to say1 ,my sins1 which were many1 are all forgiven4 ,my sins are forgiven1 not may be--that pardon is a glorious possibility only--but are forgiven1 not will be forgiven at some future time4 ,i am now at peace with ,god through faith1 in our ,lord ,jesus ,christ8 ,could you say that8 ,was that what it meant2 or was it simply the repetition of a phrase which has been handed down to you by your predecessors1 and which you took up as part of an ordered service1 without putting the slightest fiber of your soul into it8 ,depend upon it1 the mere recitation of a creed will not bring you ,god's peace1 it will not open your heart to the access of ,his infinite calm4 ,it will not secure you that emancipation from evil which will mean immediate dedication of yourself to work for the emancipation of the world4 ,you must know of yourself1 of your own heart and consciousness1 that ,god has forgiven you4 ,and if you do get that consciousness1 that moment of your life will be marked indelibly upon the tablet of your memory4 ,the dint will go so deeply into your nature that it will be impossible for you to forget it4 ,speaking for myself1 ,i can at this moment see the whole surroundings of the place and time when to me there came the glad tidings1 ,god has forgiven you4 ,god was in ,christ1 reconciling the world unto himself1 not reckoning unto men their trespasses4 ,do you believe in the forgiveness of sins8 ,then preach it4 ,tell it to other people4 ,let your neighbors know about it4 ,i do not mean by preaching at the street corners1 but by getting into such close affectionate touch1 with your friends as that you shall be able to persuade them to disinter the thoughts of their own hearts1 and show the sorrows that are there--sorrows produced by sin4 ,for1 believe me1 behind all the bright seeming of human countenances there is a subtle bitterness gnawing constantly at the heart1 consequent upon the consciousness of failure--the sense of having broken the law of ,god4 ,i know that hundreds of people go into the church and tell ,god that they are miserable sinners4 ,they do that in a crowd2 it is saying nothing4 ,they no more think of saying it in such a way as to place themselves apart from their fellows than they would of saying3 ,i am a thief6 ,do you believe in the forgiveness of sins8 ,what1 then1 are you going to do with your faith8 ,prove your faith by your works4 ,every time you ask ,god for forgiveness you should feel yourself pledged to a most strenuous and resolute fight with the sin you ask ,god to forgive4 ,the acceptance of pardon pledges you to the pursuit of holiness1 and yet we have to keep on with this doctrine1 because it is not only the very beginning of the ,christian life1 but also the continuous need of that life4 ,we have to say night by night1 ,forgive the ill that ,i this day have done4 ,and if we say it as we ought1 as really believing that ,god forgives us1 so that we may not lose heart1 may never encourage despair of final victory1 we shall get up next morning resolved to make a fiercer fight than ever with the evil that sent us on our knees last night4 ,do you believe in the forgiveness of sins8 ,let the joy of it come to you1 and as your own heart overflows with the fulness of that joy1 declare unto others ,god's salvation1 and teach transgressors ,his way4 ,do you believe in the forgiveness of sins8 ,then find in that faith an impact to obedience to the law of ,jesus3 ,be ye perfect even as your ,father in heaven is perfect2 and do not forget that ,he who begins the good work in you with ,his pardon will carry it on to the day of ,jesus ,christ2 so that you may add the last words of the ,creed3 ,i believe in the resurrection from the dead and in the life everlasting4 ,it is not altogether a good sign that we have pushed eternity out of our modern thought4 ,confronted as man is every moment by a sense of the fragility and the brevity of human life1 it is not surprizing that we should welcome everybody who comes with a message concerning eternity4 ,is there not1 in truth1 beauty in the old ,anglo-,saxon story of the bird that shot in at one open window of the large assembly hall and out at another1 where were gathered together a great company of thanes and vassals2 and when the missionary was asked to speak to them concerning ,god and ,his salvation1 the thane who was presiding rose and said1 recalling the bird's speedy flight from side to side of the hall1 ,such is our life1 and if this man can tell us anything concerning the place to which we are going1 let him stand up and be heard4 ,brothers1 a few days may carry us into eternity4 ,boast not thyself of to-morrow1 thou knowest not what a day may bring forth4 ,strong1 hopeful1 rich in promise of service is to-day2 to-morrow friends may be weeping1 kith and kin full of sorrow for our departure4 ,this life does not end all2 we are going to an eternity of blessedness1 to progress without limit1 to an assimilation with ,god that shall know no sudden break or failure1 but shall be perfect1 even as ,he is perfect4 ,,moody ,,what ,,think ,,ye ,,of ,,christ8 ,,biographical ,,note ,dwight ,lyman ,moody1 the evangelist1 was born at ,northfield1 ,massachusetts1 in #ahcg1 and died in #ahii4 ,as a business man he brought to his evangelistic work exceptional tact1 initiative1 and executive ability1 but the main source of his power lay in his knowledge of the ,bible1 his constant companion4 ,in preaching he largely disregarded form1 and thought little of the sermon as such4 ,his one overwhelming and undeviating purpose was to lead men to ,christ4 ,his speaking was in a kind of monotone1 but his straightforward plainness never failed to be effective4 ,he usually held the ,bible in his hand while speaking1 so that there was little of gesture4 ,his great sympathetic nature is spoken of by ,henry ,drummond in these words3 ,if eloquence is measured by its effect upon an audience1 and not by its balanced sentences and cumulative periods1 then this is eloquence of the highest sort4 ,in sheer persuasiveness ,mr4 ,moody has few equals1 and rugged as his preaching may seem to some1 there is in it a pathos of a quality which few orators have ever reached1 and an appealing tenderness which not only wholly redeems it1 but raises it1 not unseldom1 almost to sublimity4 ,,moody #ahcg--ahii ,,what ,,think ,,ye ,,of ,,christ8#a ,footnote #a3 ,by permission of the ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company1 owners of copyright4 ,what think ye of ,christ8--,matt1 xxii41 #db4 ,i suppose there is no one here who has not thought more or less about ,christ4 ,you have heard about ,him1 and read about ,him1 and heard men preach about ,him4 ,for eighteen hundred years men have been talking about ,him and thinking about ,him2 and some have their minds made up about who ,he is1 and doubtless some have not4 ,and altho all these years have rolled away1 this question comes up1 addresst to each of us1 to-day1 ,what think ye of ,christ8 ,i do not know why it should not be thought a proper question for one man to put to another4 ,if ,i were to ask you what you think of any of your prominent men1 you would already have your mind made up about him4 ,if ,i were to ask you what you thought of your noble queen1 you would speak right out and tell me your opinion in a minute4 ,if ,i were to ask about your prime minister1 you would tell me freely what you had for or against him4 ,and why should not people make up their minds about the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and take their stand for or against ,him8 ,if you think well of ,him1 why not speak well of ,him and range yourselves on ,his side8 ,and if you think ill of ,him1 and believe ,him to be an impostor1 and that ,he did not die to save the world1 why not lift up your voice and say you are against ,him8 ,it would be a happy day for ,christianity if men would just take sides--if we could know positively who is really for ,him and who is against ,him4 ,it is of very little importance what the world thinks of any one else4 ,the queen and the statesman1 the peers and the princes1 must soon be gone4 ,yes2 it matters little1 comparatively1 what we think of them4 ,their lives can only interest a few2 but every living soul on the face of the earth is concerned with this ,man4 ,the question for the world is1 ,what think ye of ,christ8 ,i do not ask you what you think of the ,established ,church1 or of the ,presbyterians1 or the ,baptists1 or the ,roman ,catholics2 ,i do not ask you what you think of this minister or that1 of this doctrine or that2 but ,i want to ask you what you think of the living person of ,christ8 ,i should like to ask1 ,was ,he really the ,son of ,god--the great ,god-,man8 ,did ,he leave heaven and come down to this world for a purpose8 ,was it really to seek and to save8 ,i should like to begin with the manger1 and to follow ,him up through the thirty-three years ,he was here upon earth4 ,i should ask you what you think of ,his coming into this world and being born in a manger when it might have been a palace2 why ,he left the grandeur and the glory of heaven1 and the royal retinue of angels2 why ,he passed by palaces and crowns and dominion and came down here alone4 ,i should like to ask you what you think of ,him as a teacher4 ,he spake as never man spake4 ,i should like to take ,him up as a preacher4 ,i should like to bring you to that mountain-side1 that we might listen to the words as they fall from ,his gentle lips4 ,talk about the preachers of the present day6 ,i would rather a thousand times be five minutes at the feet of ,christ than listen a lifetime to all the wise men in the world4 ,he used just to hang truth upon anything4 ,yonder is a sower1 a fox1 a bird1 and ,he just gathers the truth around them1 so that you cannot see a fox1 a sower1 or a bird1 without thinking what ,jesus said4 ,yonder is a lily of the valley2 you cannot see it without thinking of ,his words1 ,they toil not1 neither do they spin4 ,he makes the little sparrow chirping in the air preach to us4 ,how fresh those wonderful sermons are1 how they live to-day6 ,how we love to tell them to our children1 how the children love to hear6 ,tell me a story about ,jesus1 how often we hear it2 how the little ones love ,his sermons6 ,no story-book in the world will ever interest them like the stories that ,he told4 ,and yet how profound ,he was2 how ,he puzzled the wise men2 how the scribes and the ,pharisees would never fathom ,him6 ,oh1 do you not think ,he was a wonderful preacher8 ,i should like to ask you what you think of ,him as a physician4 ,a man would soon have a reputation as a doctor if he could cure as ,christ did4 ,no case was ever brought to ,him but what ,he was a match for4 ,he had but to speak the word1 and disease fled before ,him4 ,here comes a man covered with leprosy4 ,lord1 if thou wilt thou canst make me clean1 he cried4 ,i will1 says the ,great ,physician1 and in an instant the leprosy is gone4 ,the world has hospitals for incurable diseases2 but there were no incurable diseases with ,him4 ,now1 see ,him in the little home at ,bethany1 binding up the wounded hearts of ,martha and ,mary1 and tell me what you think of ,him as a comforter4 ,he is a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless4 ,the weary may find a resting-place upon that breast1 and the friendless may reckon ,him their friend4 ,he never varies4 ,he never fails1 ,he never dies4 ,his sympathy is ever fresh1 ,his love is ever free4 ,oh1 widow and orphans1 oh1 sorrowing and mourning1 will you not thank ,god for ,christ the comforter8 ,but these are not the points ,i wish to take up4 ,let us go to those who knew ,christ1 and ask what they thought of ,him4 ,if you want to find out what a man is nowadays1 you inquire about him from those who know him best4 ,i do not wish to be partial2 we will go to ,his enemies1 and to ,his friends4 ,we will ask them1 ,what think ye of ,christ8 ,we will ask ,his friends and ,his enemies4 ,if we only went to those who liked ,him1 you would say3 ,oh1 he is so blind2 he thinks so much of the man that he can't see ,his faults4 ,you can't get anything out of him unless it be in ,his favor2 it is a one-sided affair altogether4 ,so we shall go in the first place to ,his enemies1 to those who hated ,him1 persecuted ,him1 curst and slew ,him4 ,i shall put you in the jury-box1 and call upon them to tell us what they think of ,him4 ,first1 among the witnesses1 let us call upon the ,pharisees4 ,we know how they hated ,him4 ,let us put a few questions to them4 ,come1 ,pharisees1 tell us what you have against the ,son of ,god1 ,what do you think of ,christ8 ,hear what they say6 ,this man receiveth sinners4 ,what an argument to bring against ,him6 ,why1 it is the very thing that makes us love ,him4 ,it is the glory of the gospel4 ,he receives sinners4 ,if ,he had not1 what would have become of us8 ,have you nothing more to bring against ,him than this8 ,why1 it is one of the greatest compliments that was ever paid ,him4 ,once more3 when ,he was hanging on the tree1 you had this to say to ,him1 ,he saved others1 but ,he could not save ,himself and save us too4 ,so ,he laid down ,his own life for yours and mine4 ,yes1 ,pharisees1 you have told the truth for once in your lives6 ,he saved others4 ,he died for others4 ,he was a ransom for many2 so it is quite true what you think of ,him--,he saved others1 ,himself ,he cannot save4 ,now1 let us call upon ,caiaphas4 ,let him stand up here in his flowing robes2 let us ask him for his evidence4 ,caiaphas1 you were chief priest when ,christ was tried2 you were president of the ,sanhedrin2 you were in the council-chamber when they found ,him guilty2 you yourself condemned ,him4 ,tell us2 what did the witnesses say8 ,on what grounds did you judge ,him8 ,what testimony was brought against ,him8 ,he hath spoken blasphemy1 says ,caiaphas4 ,he said1 ',hereafter you shall see the ,son of ,man sitting on the right hand of power1 and coming in the clouds of heaven4' ,when ,i heard that1 ,i found ,him guilty of blasphemy2 ,i rent my mantle and condemned ,him to death4 ,yes1 all that they had against ,him was that ,he was the ,son of ,god2 and they slew ,him for the promise of ,his coming for ,his bride6 ,now let us summon ,pilate4 ,let him enter the witness-box4 ,pilate1 this man was brought before you2 you examined ,him2 you talked with ,him face to face2 what think you of ,christ8 ,i find no fault in him1 says ,pilate4 ,he said he was the ,king of the ,jews just as ,he wrote it over the cross2 but ,i find no fault in him4 ,such is the testimony of the man who examined ,him6 ,and1 as ,he stands there1 the center of a ,jewish mob1 there comes along a man elbowing his way in haste4 ,he rushes up to ,pilate1 and1 thrusting out his hand1 gives him a message4 ,he tears it open2 his face turns pale as he reads--,have thou nothing to do with this just man1 for ,i have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him4 ,it is from ,pilate's wife--her testimony to ,christ4 ,you want to know what ,his enemies thought of ,him8 ,you want to know what a heathen1 thought8 ,well1 here it is1 no fault in him2 and the wife of a heathen1 this just man4 ,and now1 look--in comes ,judas4 ,he ought to make a good witness4 ,let us address him4 ,come1 tell us1 ,judas1 what think ye of ,christ8 ,you knew the ,master well2 you sold ,him for thirty pieces of silver2 you betrayed ,him with a kiss2 you saw ,him perform those miracles2 you were with ,him in ,jerusalem4 ,in ,bethany1 when ,he summoned up ,lazarus1 you were there4 ,what think you of ,him8 ,i can see him as he comes into the presence of the chief priests2 ,i can hear the money ring as he dashes it upon the table1 ,i have betrayed innocent blood6 ,here is the man who betrayed ,him1 and this is what he thinks of ,him6 ,yes1 those who were guilty of ,his death put their testimony on record that ,he was an innocent man4 ,let us take the centurion who was present at the execution4 ,he had charge of the ,roman soldiers4 ,he told them to make ,him carry ,his cross2 he had given orders for the nails to be driven into ,his feet and hands1 for the spear to be thrust in ,his side4 ,let the centurion come forward4 ,centurion1 you had charge of the executioners2 you saw that the order for ,his death was carried out2 you saw ,him die2 you heard ,him speak upon the cross4 ,tell us1 what think you of ,christ8 ,hark6 ,look at him2 he is smiting his breast as he cries1 ,truly1 this was the son of ,god6 ,i might go to the thief upon the cross1 and ask what he thought of ,him4 ,at first he railed upon ,him and reviled ,him4 ,but then he thought better of it3 ,this man hath done nothing amiss1 he says4 ,i might go further4 ,i might summon the very devils themselves and ask them for their testimony4 ,have they anything to say of ,him8 ,why1 the very devils called ,him the ,son of ,god6 ,in ,mark we have the unclean spirit crying1 ,jesus1 thou ,son of the most high ,god4 ,men say1 ,oh1 ,i believe ,christ to be the ,son of ,god1 and because ,i believe it intellectually ,i shall be saved4 ,i tell you the devils did that4 ,and they did more than that1 they trembled4 ,let us bring in ,his friends4 ,we want you to hear their evidence4 ,let us call that prince of preachers4 ,let us hear the forerunner2 none ever preached like this man--this man who drew all ,jerusalem and all ,judea into the wilderness to hear him2 this man who burst upon the nations like the flash of a meteor4 ,let ,john the ,baptist come with his leathern girdle and his hairy coat1 and let him tell us what he thinks of ,christ4 ,his words1 tho they were echoed in the wilderness of ,palestine1 are written in the ,book forever1 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god which taketh away the sin of the world6 ,this is what ,john the ,baptist thought of him4 ,i bear record that ,he is the ,son of ,god4 ,no wonder he drew all ,jerusalem and ,judea to him1 because he preached ,christ4 ,and whenever men preach ,christ1 they are sure to have plenty of followers4 ,let us bring in ,peter1 who was with ,him on the mount of transfiguration1 who was with ,him the night ,he was betrayed4 ,come1 ,peter1 tell us what you think of ,christ4 ,stand in this witness-box and testify of ,him4 ,you denied ,him once4 ,you said1 with a curse1 you did not know ,him4 ,was it true1 ,peter8 ,don't you know ,him8 ,know ,him6 ,i can imagine ,peter saying3 ,it was a lie ,i told then4 ,i did know ,him4 ,afterward ,i can hear him charging home their guilt upon these ,jerusalem sinners4 ,he calls ,him both ,lord and ,christ4 ,such was the testimony on the day of ,pentecost4 ,god had made that same ,jesus both ,lord and ,christ4 ,and tradition tells us that when they came to execute ,peter he felt he was not worthy to die in the way his ,master died1 and he requested to be crucified with the head downward4 ,so much did ,peter think of ,him6 ,now let us hear from the beloved disciple ,john4 ,he knew more about ,christ than any other man4 ,he had laid his head on his ,savior's bosom4 ,he had heard the throbbing of that loving heart4 ,look into his ,gospel if you wish to know what he thought of ,him4 ,matthew writes of ,him as the royal king come from ,his throne4 ,mark writes of ,him as the servant1 and ,luke of the ,son of ,man4 ,john takes up his pen1 and1 with one stroke1 forever settles the question of ,unitarianism4 ,he goes right back before the time of ,adam4 ,in the beginning was the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1 and the ,word was ,god4 ,look into ,revelation4 ,he calls him the bright and the morning star4 ,so ,john thought well of ,him--because he knew ,him well4 ,we might bring in ,thomas1 the doubting disciple4 ,you doubted ,him1 ,thomas8 ,you would not believe ,he had risen1 and you put your fingers into the wound in ,his side4 ,what do you think of ,him8 ,my ,lord and my ,god6 says ,thomas4 ,then go over to ,decapolis and you will find ,christ has been there casting out devils4 ,let us call the men of that country and ask what they think of ,him4 ,he hath done all things well1 they say4 ,but we have other witnesses to bring in4 ,take the persecuting ,saul1 once one of the worst of his enemies4 ,breathing out threatenings he meets ,him4 ,saul1 ,saul1 why persecutest thou me8 says ,christ4 ,he might have added1 ,what have ,i done to you8 ,have ,i injured you in any way8 ,did ,i not come to bless you8 ,why do you treat ,me thus1 ,saul8 ,and then ,saul asks1 ,who art thou1 ,lord8 ,i am ,jesus of ,nazareth1 whom thou persecutest4 ,you see1 ,he was not ashamed of ,his name1 altho ,he had been in heaven2 ,i am ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,what a change did that one interview make to ,saul6 ,a few years afterward we hear him say1 ,i have suffered the loss of all things1 and do count them but dross that ,i may win ,christ4 ,such a testimony to the ,savior6 ,but ,i shall go still further4 ,i shall go away from earth into the other world4 ,i shall summon the angels and ask what they think of ,christ4 ,they saw ,him in the bosom of the ,father before the world was4 ,before the dawn of creation1 before the morning stars sang together1 ,he was there4 ,they saw ,him leave the throne and come down to the manger4 ,what a scene for them to witness6 ,ask these heavenly beings what they thought of ,him then4 ,for once they are permitted to speak2 for once the silence of heaven is broken4 ,listen to their song on the plains of ,bethlehem1 ,behold1 ,i bring you good tidings of great joy1 which shall be to all people4 ,for unto you is born this day1 in the city of ,david1 a ,savior1 which is ,christ the ,lord4 ,he leaves the throne to save the world4 ,is it a wonder the angels thought well of ,him8 ,then there are the redeemed saints--they that see ,him face to face4 ,here on earth ,he was never known1 no one seemed really to be acquainted with ,him2 but ,he was known in that world where ,he had been from the foundation4 ,what do they think of ,him there8 ,if we could hear from heaven we should hear a shout which would glorify and magnify ,his name4 ,we are told that when ,john was in the ,spirit on the ,lord's ,day1 and being caught up1 he heard a shout around him1 ten thousand times ten thousand1 and thousands and thousands of voices1 ,worthy is the ,lamb that was slain1 to receive power1 and riches1 and wisdom1 and strength1 and honor1 and glory1 and blessing6 ,yes1 ,he is worthy of all this4 ,heaven cannot speak too well of ,him4 ,oh1 that earth would take up the echo and join with heaven in singing1 ,worthy to receive power1 and riches1 and wisdom1 and strength1 and honor1 and glory1 and blessing6 ,but there is still another witness1 a higher still4 ,some think that the ,god of the ,old ,testament is the ,christ of the ,new4 ,but when ,jesus came out to ,jordan1 baptized by ,john1 there came a voice from heaven4 ,god the ,father spoke4 ,it was ,his testimony to ,christ3 ,this is my beloved ,son1 in whom ,i am well pleased4 ,ah1 yes6 ,god the ,father thinks well of the ,son4 ,and if ,god is well pleased with ,him1 so ought we to be4 ,if the sinner and ,god are well pleased with ,christ1 then the sinner and ,god can meet4 ,the moment you say1 as the ,father said1 ,i am well pleased with ,him1 and accept ,him1 you are wedded to ,god4 ,will you not believe the testimony8 ,will you not believe this witness1 this last of all1 the ,lord of hosts1 the ,king of kings himself8 ,once more he repeats it1 so that all may know it4 ,with ,peter and ,james and ,john1 on the mount of transfiguration1 ,he cries again1 ,this is my beloved ,son2 hear him4 ,and that voice went echoing and reechoing through ,palestine1 through all the earth from sea to sea2 yes1 that voice is echoing still1 ,hear ,him6 ,hear ,him6 ,my friend will you hear ,him to-day8 ,hark6 what is ,he saying to you8 ,come unto me1 all ye that labor and are heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,take my yoke upon you and learn of me2 for ,i am meek and lowly in heart2 and ye shall find rest unto your souls4 ,for my yoke is easy1 and my burden is light4 ,will you not think well of such a ,savior8 ,will you not believe in ,him8 ,will you not trust in ,him with all your heart and mind8 ,will you not live for ,him8 ,if ,he laid down ,his life for us1 is it not the least we can do to lay down ours for ,him8 ,if ,he bore the cross and died on it for me1 ought ,i not to be willing to take it up for ,him8 ,oh1 have we not reason to think well of ,him8 ,do you think it is right and noble to lift up your voice against such a ,savior8 ,do you think it is just to cry1 ,crucify ,him6 crucify ,him6 ,oh1 may ,god help all of us to glorify the ,father1 by thinking well of ,his only-begotten ,son4 ,,fowler ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,christ ,,biographical ,,note ,charles ,h4 ,fowler1 ,methodist ,episcopal divine1 was born #ahcg in ,burford1 ,ontario1 ,canada1 was educated at ,syracuse ,university and the ,garrett ,biblical ,institute1 ,evanston1 ,ill4 ,he was ordained in #ahfa and after filling pastorates in many places was made president of the ,northwestern ,university in #ahgb1 but vacated this post to become editor of the ,christian ,advocate2 four years later he was appointed missionary secretary and in #ahhd was elected bishop4 ,he was well-known as an able preacher and administrator4 ,he died in #aijh4 ,,fowler #ahcg--aijh ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,christ ,now if any man have not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of his4--,rom4 viii41 #i4 ,i read that with the conviction that it is one of the most searching passages that can be found in the ,book of ,god4 ,it takes hold of the question of our salvation as a very substantial and thorough question4 ,it removes indefinitely1 almost infinitely1 from this problem of our destiny1 all shadow of uncertainty or of doubt4 ,it brings us squarely to the facts in our character4 ,on the force of this ,scripture we are borne up on to a platform where we stand with our hearts uncovered and naked before the eye of ,god4 ,this means that the saint must be great in the arduous greatness of things achieved2 that there is no chance for sainthood by any fixt1 imputed plan1 but that our real selves shall test and make our real future4 ,i never read this ,scripture in the presence of a ,christian congregation without feeling that ,i have in some way chopped down through every heart with a great broadaxe4 ,there is no whitewashing this passage3 ,if any man have not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of his4 ,not1 ,he will do tolerably well1 but not quite as well as he might do2 not that he will get on after a fashion1 and have quite a respectable entrance into the city of the great ,king1 tho he may not push quite as far toward the front as he might have done if he had had the ,spirit of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,not that at all2 but1 if any man have not the ,spirit of ,christ1 there is not the remotest shadow of a chance for him3 he is none of his4 ,and so ,i put this at you1 asking you1 on account of the great fact that you are going hence1 to so apply this critical test to your hearts and lives that you may see and feel your need1 and that you may take hold on the great supply1 and have that actual transformation of character that will justify you in believing that you have the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,the success of the missionary cause turns upon exactly the spirit of this text4 ,i have no faith in the final triumph1 of the missionary cause based upon any other ground than that of the honest1 deep-down conviction of the people of ,god that the ,lord ,god of ,heaven wants this work done4 ,i am here as a believer in a supernatural gospel--not with philosophy that may be framed out of the human life of ,jesus1 but with a religion that is based upon the supernatural life of the divine ,christ4 ,and ,i appeal to you on this subject of missions as to a company of men who believe in the divine authority of the ,book of ,god2 who believe in a blood atonement2 who believe in salvation by faith only2 who believe in the pardon of sin and in the regeneration of your natures2 who believe in the power of the ,holy ,ghost2 who believe1 in short1 in the sum and substance of an old-fashioned orthodoxy4 ,and ,i put this cause upon you as such believers1 knowing that1 if such is your position1 you have at least the large part of the argument wrought into the very fiber of your being1 by which you cannot stop short of the conviction that what you have need of for your salvation other people will need for their salvation4 ,you know that you need a divine ,redeemer2 you know that you need the divine pardoning of your sins2 you know that you need the supernatural and divine cleansing of your hearts2 you know that you need the divine1 unbreakable promises2 you know that you need this ,word1 and the way to salvation set forth in this ,book of ,god1 by which you know that there is none other name given under heaven among men1 whereby we must be saved4 ,and so ,i come to you as to those who have had some experience in supernatural matters1 with the cause based upon this ,book of ,god1 asking that your experience may be made possible for the multitudes beyond1 who have not yet had this opportunity4 ,let us take some of the simpler and plainer things in this question1 that we may come up to it without any hesitation4 ,now1 ,i do not need to go into the question as to what ,god will do with the heathen4 ,i don't know what ,he will do with them4 ,i know as much about it as you do1 or anybody else1 because ,i know what the ,book says about it4 ,god knows better about this than ,i do1 and will find a way that ,i cannot dream of4 ,but1 because the words are not uttered by divine authority1 ,i dare not stand here and utter any word of hope for any man beyond the gospel committed to me to preach4 ,this ,i know3 ,that if the heathen have the ,spirit of the ,lord ,jesus1 whether they ever saw the ,lord ,jesus or not1 they are of ,his4 ,and this ,i know3 ,that if this congregation have not the spirit of the ,lord ,jesus1 tho it may have seen ,him1 they are not of ,his4 ,and this ,i know3 ,that ,he will save a ,jew and a ,gentile on the same terms2 that ,he will do no better for the ,gentile than ,he will for the ,jew1 and no better for the ,jew than for the ,gentile4 ,and if there was no other name given under heaven among men by which an ancient ,jew or an ancient ,gentile might be saved1 that is true to-day4 ,the ,lord ,jesus thought that these people needed the gospel1 and that they needed it so much that ,he actually came and submitted ,himself unto death that they might have the gospel4 ,and ,god seems so thoroughly to believe that they need the gospel that ,he actually gives ,his only-begotten ,son to die1 that they may have the gospel4 ,he treats the case just exactly as if ,he thought1 at least1 that they do really need this divine ,redeemer4 ,he has done1 in every step and process of this great work of world-saving1 just exactly as ,he would have done had ,he absolutely thought and believed that they needed a divine ,redeemer4 ,and then ,i understand another thing out of the ,book3 ,that the very last and supreme utterance of the ,master on earth grew out of ,his conviction that we should do exactly this thing4 ,and see how ,he comes up to it1 little by little6 ,he does not rush suddenly upon it--,he does not1 upon any truth4 ,it is not in the divine plan to flash upon us in anything4 ,truths grow2 moral ideas grow4 ,they come into the race little1 and hardly able to stand at all2 we can barely find them beneath us in the lower strata of our being4 ,but they struggle into power and strength until they fill the field of vision4 ,nearly every great truth of ,old and ,new ,testament ,scripture is to be found in the ,book of ,genesis4 ,in ,genesis you will find the principle of the atonement2 you will find the division of animals into clean and unclean1 foreshadowing sacrifice2 you will find the principle of the acceptance of offerings that came out of the flock1 and the rejection of the offerings out of the field2 you will find the pardon of sin and the giving of covenants--all the essential parts of the ,new ,testament growing with their roots away back in ,genesis4 ,there is the first declaration of the coming of this wondrous ,redeemer4 ,it was so dim and uncertain that it was hard to tell what it meant2 somehow1 somewhere1 some time1 the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head4 ,it was so dim that our first great mother1 when she had gotten her first son1 cried out in her joy1 ,i have gotten a man from the ,lord6 ,she thought she had the ,redeemer1 but she had only a murderer4 ,it was many a century before the ,redeemer would come4 ,the truth was unfolded little by little2 a little brighter it shone on the altars of the patriarchs2 it was unfolded a little more in the visions of the prophets2 was exemplified in the ceremonials of the temple2 and in the fullness of time it came with the ,master and ,his disciples and the outpouring of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,and then see1 when the ,master comes1 how ,he takes hold of us1 knowing that we are but little1 and that we have to be lifted up and enlarged before we can take in these great truths6 ,he says3 ,i have more to tell you3 you cannot bear it to-day2 ,i will tell you to-morrow4 ,and so ,he gives lesson and instruction1 and parable and illustration1 all through4 ,his life1 teaching these disciples1 chosen on account of their particular adaptation for the reception of ,his truth2 walking with them day by day1 trying to lift their thought toward the spiritual and the eternal2 teaching them that it is not ,his plan to put them on ,his right hand and ,his left1 and trying to lift them up toward a spiritual and eternal kingdom4 ,so ,he keeps on all the time1 lifting them out of their littleness1 saying to them later3 ,you shall be my witnesses in ,jerusalem1 and in ,judea1 and in ,samaria1 and in the uttermost parts of the earth4 ,they did not know what to make of that4 ,he was lifting them out of their narrowness4 ,and so ,he pushes on still further with them1 lifting them up1 until1 in the supreme hour of ,his earthly history--after ,his agony1 after the cross1 after ,he had broken asunder the bars of the sepulcher1 after ,he had risen1 and been declared to be the ,son of ,god by the resurrection from the dead--,he hovers over the ,church1 coming down to speak to them by the sea-side and mountain-side2 appearing to them suddenly1 vanishing as quickly2 offering ,his hands to their touch1 showing ,his body to their vision1 yet all the time lifting them up1 until ,he brought them to the thought and gave to the ,church the idea of ,his ubiquity1 saying3 ,lo6 ,i am with you alway1 even unto the end of the world2 and they appreciated the feeling that ,he was within hand-reach1 and that this was a spiritual kingdom1 and that they could take hold upon the great spiritual forces4 ,and thus ,he lifted them up and prepared them for ,his great truth1 until at last1 in the supreme moment of ,his earthly history1 we see ,him yonder on the summit of the mount--the earth beneath ,him1 the angels gathered above ,him--with ,his hands spread out over ,his followers1 with the summit of ,olivet receding beneath ,his feet4 ,he cries out to them3 ,all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth4 ,go ye1 therefore1 and teach all nations1 baptizing them in the name of the ,father1 and the ,son1 and of the ,holy ,ghost2 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever ,i have commanded you3 and lo6 ,i am with you alway1 even unto the end of the world4 ,and the unspeakable glory took ,him out of their sight4 ,that is the supreme utterance of the ,master after many a century of preparation1 opening our hearts1 bringing us to this great truth1 and that this one thing ,he wants done is ,his final charge to believers3 ,go everywhere2 teach1 preach1 baptize1 agonize1 give1 sacrifice--out to the very ends of the earth4 ,and lo6 ,i am with you alway1 and you shall lack no good thing4 ,surely1 there can be no doubt that the ,master1 at least1 thinks that these people have a great need for this gospel4 ,there are some who have an idea that salvation is to be the sum and substance of what we are4 ,well1 ,i think that way myself3 that1 if you find heaven on the other side of death1 you will take it over with you2 if there is any condition of peace1 you will take that condition of peace with you4 ,death will be no more than going over a seam in this carpet4 ,the moment after death will differ from the moment before death in your essential character no more than any two consecutive moments in your life4 ,if you are a mean1 narrow1 selfish1 ugly1 cross man the moment before death1 you will be a mean1 narrow1 selfish1 ugly1 cross man the moment after death4 ,if you find a good character over yonder1 you will take it over with you4 ,if you have a good character to take over with you1 you will have it in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ here4 ,if you live on that basis1 ,i think this is pretty safe that those millions out yonder in the darkness1 plunged in ignorance and superstition1 knowing nothing about morality and nothing about heaven--those millions want a chance1 that the same law that governs our lives will govern theirs4 ,i surround my boy with the best possible opportunities2 ,i watch every book that comes in his hands2 ,i watch every playmate that ,i possibly can that comes in his path2 ,i see to it1 as my highest business on this footstool--higher than my call to this pulpit--that that boy has a fair chance for heaven4 ,if ,i push him out into the alley to herd with criminals1 and be dandled in the lap of vice1 and be familiar with all corruption1 ,i have no moral right to expect to meet him in heaven4 ,but if ,i multiply advantages about him1 give him the best possible books and surroundings1 make him at home with the ,lord ,jesus1 so that he talks about his salvation and life eternal as he does about matters in the home1 ,i have a good right to expect that the ,king will give me ,his eternal peace4 ,now1 ,i think that the law that holds over my boy holds over all boys in ,china and ,japan and ,hindustan2 that1 just in proportion as we multiply the light and the favorable circumstances about them1 then in that proportion we increase their fair chance for heaven4 ,i think it is sound in philosophy4 ,i believe that1 just in proportion as we act by it1 we will be safe4 ,now1 they are plunged in darkness4 ,they know nothing about our way of salvation1 nothing about the pardon of sin1 nothing about purity1 nothing about righteousness1 nothing about heaven4 ,we want to multiply their chances to rid themselves of sin1 and to take hold upon life1 and make their way in the path of peace4 ,and the ,master seems to so think it that ,he says3 ,go ye1 therefore1 and teach all nations4 ,and if they will believe it1 as ,i read1 they will be saved4 ,but how can they believe if they have not heard8 ,and how can they hear without a preacher8 ,and how can they preach except they be sent8 ,so the ,master says1 ,go1 send quick1 everywhere4 ,that ,i take to be the teaching of the ,book concerning their needs4 ,but there is another side of it1 and that is the side that swings in under the passage ,i have read this morning1 and that is our side of it1 our relation to the cause3 ,if any man have not the ,spirit of the ,lord ,jesus1 he is none of his4 ,now1 what is the spirit of ,christ8 ,i will tell you3 ,he came not to be ministered unto4 ,please remember that4 ,not to see how much ,he could gather into ,his own bosom out of the lives of others4 ,not to be ministered unto2 not to be petted1 and dandled1 and lifted along and fed all the way1 with no burden and no care and no work--not that4 ,he came1 not to be ministered unto1 but to minister2 to pour out of ,his life into the lives of others2 to see what ,he could do to make others blest2 and to give his life a ransom for many4 ,not merely to give the little pittance that ,he could spare and not know it any more than one would miss the farthing with which he would buy his ride on the street car1 but to give ,his life a ransom for many4 ,and if any man have not that spirit1 he is none of ,his4 ,now ,i preach you a doctrine of salvation by faith only1 and ,i put the emphasis on the word only4 ,that is exactly what ,i need as a sinner3 ,i want some sort of release from my past transgressions that will give me a new start4 ,i have gotten behind2 ,i am borrowing money to pay interest with1 and ,i see no way out4 ,i must have a spiritual bankruptcy law4 ,somebody must come in to my relief1 or ,i am everlastingly undone4 ,and so ,i preach this blest doctrine of the ,book of ,god3 ,by grace are ye saved1 through faith1 and that not of yourselves3 it 7the salvation7 is the gift of ,god4 ,i take salvation as a divine gift1 and take it with a glad heart4 ,it gives me a new chance2 it unhinges my present struggle for heaven from the past transgressions of my life1 and gives me an open door to heaven that ,i could not reach on any other platform4 ,and so ,i preach this doctrine to sinners1 knowing that it is exactly what they need4 ,there is another part of it that covers the question of our pardon2 that takes all my past sins and wipes them out2 that gives me a new chance for righteousness4 ,now mind3 ,that pardon1 that new life1 that new chance works out all the time necessarily from my finger-ends2 it shows itself in my life1 absolutely1 as certainly as it is there2 and if ,i cannot find the fruit of it in the fruits of the ,spirit1 in the interest in ,god's cause1 in patience and teachableness1 in gentleness and love1 ,i have the absolute demonstration that ,i have not the thing itself4 ,saved by faith1 kept alive1 kept saved by work1 in work1 by grace in work4 ,let me touch that theology just a little4 ,if you are pardoned1 you are pardoned by the ,lord in a second1 through faith--when you believe1 that is4 ,pardon is an operation in ,god's mind concerning myself2 you cannot pardon yourself4 ,god pardons4 ,if we are pardoned ,he can do it in a second1 when we believe4 ,the next step in the case is1 that there is not anything in the ,book of ,god that gives us any ground to believe that in that same faith1 or believing1 or pardon1 we will be instantly lifted up into the stature of a man in ,christ ,jesus4 ,what ,i mean to say is this3 ,that there is not one word in this ,book that will justify any man in believing that he may be brought by any process to the stature of a man in ,christ ,jesus in a minute4 ,but some good brother will say3 ,oh6 now ,i am just a little afraid that you are striking against that blest old ,methodist doctrine of sanctification4 ,no1 ,i am not4 ,i haven't said anything about sanctification4 ,but ,i will4 ,if you are sanctified1 or cleansed1 that is ,god's work1 through faith1 and ,he can do it in a second4 ,now1 understand me definitely1 you cannot cleanse yourself4 ,god cleanses you through faith in the cleansing blood of ,his ,son4 ,it is ,his work4 ,you cannot grow into it4 ,you can grow in it1 but if you don't grow in it you may know you are not in it--you are in something else4 ,but you can grow in it1 because it is ,god's work1 and ,he will do it when you believe4 ,but what of that8 ,what are you after you are cleansed8 ,i will tell you4 ,you are a clean baby3 that is all4 ,you are not a man in ,christ ,jesus2 you are only a babe--cleansed1 indeed1 and greatly improved by the process1 too1 but you are not matured4 ,do not miss1 now1 the broad distinction between purity and maturity4 ,you are purified1 through faith1 in a second2 you are matured through many a struggle and many a year4 ,god cannot make a twenty-one-year-old saint in one second less than twenty-one years4 ,there is no platform marked over with faith upon which a man may step and be lifted up into the perfect stature of a man in ,christ ,jesus in a minute4 ,it is not the teaching of the ,book4 ,but all the year1 loving1 and giving1 and fighting1 and praying1 and walking in righteousness1 you will mature characters1 and by and by you will grow into the manhood in ,christ ,jesus that is set before us in the gospel4 ,now1 if you come in here and tell me that there is a baby over yonder in the next square1 that is three weeks old1 and can talk ,greek and ,latin1 and ,spanish and ,italian1 and solve all the problems in mathematics1 ,i will tell you that that is a monstrosity1 and you don't want that kind of babies in your house3 they will turn you out in a few days4 ,so1 if you come in here and tell me that you have1 down in your prayer-meeting1 a spiritual baby three or four weeks old1 that can teach all the old saints1 and can tell them all about ,god1 and heaven1 and faith1 and theology1 and all about everything in the ,church1 ,i will tell you that that is a monstrosity4 ,and you don't want that kind in your prayer-meeting2 they will turn you out before a great while4 ,st4 ,paul says3 ,ye are born babes1 and ye are fed on milk2 and the trouble with too many of us is that we keep on that diet when we ought to be eating meat4 ,the ,master says3 ,first the blade1 then the ear2 after that1 the full corn in the ear4 ,so ,i am free to say that ,god's plan of making saints is to give them the divine germ--if you please1 the supernatural principle2 or1 as our scientists would say1 with proper environments1 ,that have the divine initial impulse1 but as our fathers would have said1 ,they got through at the altar2 born of ,god1 and then cleansed of ,god in the true process of education and faith1 they matured at the harvest4 ,god gives us the start and the cleansing1 and we have to do all the rest of it4 ,he will give us opportunity for growth by loading and goading us1 by setting on our track every sort of force to test us--to polish us1 as the old ,hebrew word means4 ,when ,abraham was tested he was polished4 ,he will put us on such lines that1 if we stand true to our convictions and walk according to the light we have1 ,he will bring us on to manhood4 ,see how wonderfully the ,word of ,god fits down upon this8 ,take that remarkable passage that1 to me1 is as beautiful as anything can be1 where ,he says3 ,come unto ,me1 all ye that labor--,i know what that means in the struggle under sin--all ye that labor and are heavy-laden1 and ,i will give--,i will give3 it is mine4 ,you cannot earn it3 you cannot buy it2 you cannot find it2 you cannot dig it out4 ,it is mine--,i will give you rest--the blest pardon that only ,god can give4 ,then1 in the very next second and breath1 ,he says3 ,take my yoke upon you--that means work--and learn of me--that is more work--and1 ,for ,i am meek and lowly of heart1 and ye shall find--that is yours2 ,i do not give that to you2 that is not mine to give2 that is yours4 ,ye shall find rest to your souls4 ,that is the rest that comes from the crystallization of the character in righteousness2 that comes from the habit of believing1 and the habit of obeying1 and the habit of praying2 from the habit of righteousness1 until the old saint is ready for any struggle1 and never expects to be turned aside4 ,that1 ,i take it1 is ,god's plan of building up saints1 and for fitting them for the rest that is in ,god1 that abides4 ,,whyte ,,experience ,,biographical ,,note ,alexander ,whyte1 senior minister of ,st4 ,george's ,free ,church1 ,edinburgh1 was born at ,kirriemuir 7,thrums71 ,scotland1 in #ahcg4 ,he was educated at ,aberdeen ,university 7,m4,a41 #ahfb71 and at ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh 7#ahfb-ff71 and after being assistant minister of ,free ,st4 ,john's1 ,glasgow1 from #ahff to #ahgj1 became at first assistant minister1 and later 7#ahgc7 minister1 of ,free ,st4 ,george's1 ,edinburgh1 a position which be still retains1 having had there an uninterrupted success4 ,he is the author of a number of biographies1 his most recent work being ,an ,appreciation of ,newman4 ,,whyte ,,born ,,in #ahcg ,,experience ,and patience2 experience2 and experience1 hope4--,romans v41 #d4 ,the deeper we search into the ,holy ,scriptures the more experimental matter do we discover in that divine ,book4 ,both in the ,old ,testament and in the ,new ,testament the spiritual experiences of godly men form a large part of the sacred record4 ,and it gives a very fresh and a very impressive interest to many parts of the heavenly ,book when we see how much of its contents are made up of ,god's ways with ,his people as well as of their ways with ,him4 ,in other words1 when we see how much of purely experimental matter is gathered up into the ,word of ,god4 ,in a brilliant treatise published the other year1 entitled1 ,the ,gospel in the ,gospels1 the author applies this experimental test even to our ,lord's teaching and preaching4 ,writing of the beatitudes in our ,lord's ,sermon on the ,mount that fresh and penetrating writer says3 ,when our ,savior speaks to us concerning what constitutes our true blessedness ,he is simply describing ,his own experience4 ,the beatitudes are not the immediate revelation of ,his ,godhead1 they are much more the impressive testimony of ,his manhood4 ,he knew the truth of what ,he was saying because ,he had verified it all in ,himself for thirty experimental years4 ,now if that is so demonstrably true of so many of our ,lord's contributions to ,holy ,scripture1 in the nature of things1 how much more must it be true of the experimental contributions that ,david and ,paul have made to the same sacred record4 ,and we ourselves are but imitating them in their great experimental methods when we give our very closest attention to personal and spiritual religion1 both in ourselves and in all our predecessors and in all our own contemporaries in the life of grace in all lands and in all languages4 ,now by far the deepest and by far the most personal experience of every spiritually minded man is his experience of his own inward sinfulness4 ,the sinfulness of his sin2 the malignity of his sin2 the ungodliness and the inhumanity of his sin2 the dominion that his sin still has over him2 the simply indescribable evil of his sin in every way3 all that is a matter1 not of any man's doctrine and authority2 all that is the personal experience and the scientific certainty1 as we say1 of every spiritually minded man2 every man1 that is1 who takes any true observation of what goes on in his own heart4 ,the simply unspeakable sinfulness of our own hearts is not the doctrine of ,david1 and of ,christ1 and of ,paul1 and of ,luther1 and of ,calvin1 and of ,bunyan1 and of ,edwards1 and of ,shepard only4 ,it is their universal doctrine1 indeed1 it could not be otherwise2 but it is also the every-day experience and the every-day agony of every man among ourselves whose eyes are open upon his own heart4 ,and then1 if you are that spiritually enlightened man1 from the day when you begin to have that heart-sore experience of yourself you will begin to search for and to discover those great passages of ,holy ,scripture that contain the recorded experiences of men like yourself4 ,i am but dust and ashes1 said the first father of all penitent and believing and praying men4 ,i am vile1 sobs ,job4 ,behold1 ,i am vile1 and ,i will lay my hand upon my mouth4 ,i have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear1 but now mine eye seeth thee4 ,wherefore ,i abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes4 ,and ,david has scarcely heart or a pen for anything else4 ,there is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger2 neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin4 ,my loins are filled with a loathsome disease4 ,for1 behold1 ,i was shapen in iniquity4 ,and ,daniel1 the most blameless of men and a man greatly beloved in heaven and on earth3 ,i was left alone and there remained no strength in me3 for my comeliness was turned to corruption1 and ,i retained no strength4 ,and every truly spiritually minded man has ,paul's great experimental passage by heart2 that great experimental and autobiographic passage which has kept so many of ,god's most experienced saints from absolute despair1 as so many of them have testified4 ,yes6 ,there were experimental minds long before ,bacon and there was a great experimental literature long before the ,essays and the ,advancement and the ,instauratio ,magna4 ,and then among many other alterations of intellectual insight and spiritual taste that will come to you with your open eyes1 there will be your new taste1 not only for your ,bible1 but also for spiritual and experimental preaching4 ,the spiritual preachers of our day are constantly being blamed for not tuning their pulpits to the new themes of our so progressive day4 ,scientific themes are prest upon them and critical themes and social themes and such like4 ,but your new experience of your own sinfulness and of ,god's salvation3 your new need and your new taste for spiritual and experimental truth will not lead you to join in that stupid demand4 ,as intelligent men you will know where to find all the new themes of your new day and you will be diligent students of them all1 so far as your duty lies that way1 and so far as your ability and your opportunity go2 but not on the ,lord's ,day and not in ,his house of prayer and praise4 ,the more inward1 and the more spiritual1 and the more experimental1 your own religion becomes1 the more will you value inward1 and spiritual1 and experimental preaching4 ,and the more will you resent the intrusion into the evangelical pulpit of those secular matters that so much absorb unspiritual men4 ,there is another equally impertinent advice that our preachers are continually having thrust upon them from the same secular quarter4 ,and that is that they ought entirely to drop the old language of the ,scriptures1 and the creeds1 and the classical preachers1 and ought to substitute for it the scientific and the journalistic jargon of the passing day4 ,but with your ever-deepening knowledge of yourselves and with the disciplined and refined taste that will accompany such knowledge you will rather demand of your preachers more and more depth of spiritual preaching and more and more purity of spiritual style4 ,and then more and more your estimates of preaching and your appreciations of preachers will have real insight and real value and real weight with us4 ,the natural man receiveth not the things of the ,spirit of ,god3 for they are foolishness to him3 neither can he know them1 because they are spiritually discerned4 ,but he that is spiritual discerneth spiritual things and spiritual persons and he has the true authority to speak and to write about them4 ,and then1 for all doubting and skeptically disposed persons among you1 your own experience of your evil heart1 if you will receive that experience and will seriously attend to it1 that will prove to you the true apologetic for the theism of the ,holy ,scriptures and for the soul-saving faith of ,jesus ,christ4 ,what is it about which you are in such debate and doubt8 ,is it about the most fundamental of all facts--the existence1 and the nature1 and the grace1 and the government of ,almighty ,god8 ,well1 if you are really in earnest to know the truth1 take this way of it3 this way that has brought light and peace of mind to so many men4 ,turn away at once and forever from all your unbecoming debates about your ,maker and ,preserver and turn to what is beyond all debate1 your own experience of yourselves4 ,there is nothing else of which you can be so sure and certain as of the sin and the misery of your own evil hearts1 your own evil hearts so full of self-seeking1 and envy1 and malice1 and pride1 and hatred1 and revenge1 and lust4 ,and on the other hand1 there is nothing of which you can be so convinced as that love1 and humility1 and meekness1 and purity1 and benevolence1 and brotherly kindness1 are your true happiness1 or would be1 if you could only attain to all these beatitudes4 ,well1 ,jesus ,christ has attained to them all4 ,and ,jesus ,christ came into this world at first1 and ,he still comes into it by ,his ,word and by ,his ,spirit in order that you may attain to all ,his goodness and all ,his truth and may thus escape forever from all your own ignorance and evil4 ,as ,william ,law1 the prince of apologists1 has it3 ,atheism is not the denial of a first omnipotent cause4 ,real atheism is not that at all4 ,real atheism is purely and solely nothing else but the disowning1 and the forsaking1 and the renouncing of the goodness1 and the virtue1 and the benevolence and the meekness1 of the divine nature3 that divine nature which has made itself so experimental and so self-evident in us all4 ,and as this experimental and self-evident knowledge is the only sure knowledge you can have of ,god2 even so1 it is such a knowledge that cannot be doubted or debated away4 ,for it is as sure and as self-evident as is your own experience4 ,and so is it through all the succeeding doctrines of grace and truth3 ,the incarnation of the divine ,son3 ,his life1 ,his death1 ,his resurrection1 and ,his intercession3 and then your own life of faith1 and prayer1 and holy obedience3 and then your death1 dear in ,god's sight4 ,beginning with this continually experienced need of ,god1 all these things will follow1 with an intellectual1 and a moral1 and a spiritual demonstration1 that will soon place them beyond all debate or doubt to you4 ,only know thyself and admit the knowledge3 and all else will follow as sure as the morning sun follows the dark midnight4 ,and then in all these ways1 you will attain to a religious experience of your own1 that will be wholly and exclusively your own4 ,it will not be ,david's experience1 nor ,paul's1 nor ,luther's1 nor ,bunyan's2 much as you will study their experiences1 comparing them all with your own4 ,as you go deeper and ever deeper1 into your own spiritual experience1 you will gradually gather a select and an invaluable library of such experiences1 and you will less and less read anything else with very much interest or delight4 ,but your own unwritten experience will1 all the time1 be your own1 and in your own spiritual experience you will have no exact fellow4 ,for your tribulations1 which work in you your experience1--as the text has it1--your tribulations are such that in all your experimental reading in the ,bible1 in spiritual biography1 in spiritual autobiography1 you have never met the like of them4 ,either the writers have been afraid to speak out the whole truth about their tribulations2 or1 what is far more likely1 they had no tribulations for a moment to match with yours4 ,there has not been another so weak and so evil heart as yours since weak and evil hearts began to be2 nor an evil life quite like yours2 nor surrounding circumstances so cross-bearing as yours2 nor a sinner1 beset with all manner of temptations and trials1 behind and before1 like you4 ,so much are you alone that1 if your fifty-first ,psalm1 or your seventh of the ,romans1 or your ,confessions1 or your ,private ,devotions1 or your ,grace ,abounding1 could ever venture to be all honestly and wholly written and published1 your name would1 far and away1 eclipse them all4 ,you do not know what a singular and what an original and what an unheard-of experience your experience is destined to be2 if only you do not break down under it2 as you must not and will not do4 ,begin1 then1 to make some new experiments upon a new life of faith1 and of the obedience of faith4 ,and begin to-day4 ,if in anything you have been following a false and an unphilosophical and an unscriptural way of life1 leave that wrong and evil way at once4 ,be true ,baconians1 at once1 as all the true men of science will tell you to be4 ,if we were religious men like you1 they will all say to you1 we would do1 and at once1 what you are now being told to do4 ,we would not debate1 or doubt1 but we would make experiment1 and would follow out the experience3 so all the scientifically minded men will say to you4 ,come away then1 and make some new experiments from this morning4 ,for one thing1 make a new experiment on secret prayer4 ,and then come forth from your place of secret prayer and make immediate experiment on more love1 and more patience1 and more consideration for other men1 and1 especially1 for the men of your own household4 ,be more generous-minded1 and more open-handed1 as ,god has been so generous-minded1 and so open-handed toward you3 if that has indeed been so4 ,make experiment upon the poor and the needy and help them according to your ability and opportunity and watch the result of the experiment upon yourself2 and so on1 as your awakened conscience1 and as the regenerate part of your own heart1 will prompt you and will encourage you to do4 ,make such experiments as these and see if a new peace of conscience and a new happiness of heart does not begin to come to you1 according to that great experimental psalm1--,oh1 that my people had hearkened unto me1 and ,israel had walked in my ways6 ,i should soon have subdued their enemies1 and turned my hand against their adversaries4 ,he should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat3 and with honey out of the rock should ,i have satisfied thee4 ,,watkinson ,,the ,,transfigured ,,sackcloth ,,biographical ,,note ,william ,l4 ,watkinson1 ,wesleyan minister1 was born at ,hull1 #ahch1 was educated privately and rose to eminence as a preacher and writer4 ,the ,rev4 ,william ,durban calls him ,the classic preacher of ,british ,methodism4 ,he ranks1 says ,dr4 ,durban1 with ,dr4 ,dallinger and the ,rev4 ,thomas ,gunn ,selby as the three most learned and refined of living preachers in the ,english ,methodist pulpit4 ,dr4 ,watkinson is famous for the glittering illustrations which adorn his style4 ,these are for the most part gathered from biography1 the classics1 and science1 and of late years ,dr4 ,watkinson has become more and more addicted to spiritualizing the aspects of modern scientific discovery4 ,dr4 ,watkinson never reads his utterances from a manuscript4 ,nor does he preach memoriter1 as far as the language of his addresses is concerned4 ,they are always carefully thought out and are never characterized by florid diction4 ,his simple1 strong ,anglo-,saxon endears him to the people1 for he is never guilty of an obscure sentence4 ,he is in the habit of saying1 ',i have always been aware that ,i have no power of voice for declamation1 and therefore ,i can only hope for success in the pulpit by originality of thought4' ,he was president of the ,wesleyan ,conference1 #ahig-ahih1 and editor of the ,wesleyan ,church1 #ahic-ahij4 ,he has published several volumes of sermons4 ,,watkinson ,,born ,,in #ahch ,,the ,,transfigured ,,sackcloth#a ,footnote3 ,printed by permission of ,b4,p4 ,button ,company from ,the ,transfigured ,sackcloth and ,other ,sermons1 by ,w4,l4 ,watkinson4 ,for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth4--,esther iv41 #b4 ,the sign of affliction was thus excluded from the ,persian court in order that royalty might not be discomposed4 ,the monarch was to see bright raiment1 flowers1 pageantry1 smiling faces only2 to hear only the voices of singing men and singing women2 no smatch of the abounding wormwood of life was to touch his lip1 no glimpse of its we to disturb his serenity4 ,the master of an empire spreading from ,india to ,ethiopia was not to be annoyed by a passing shadow of mortality4 ,now1 this disposition to place an interdict on disagreeable and painful things still survives4 ,men of all ranks and conditions ingeniously hide from themselves the dark facts of life--putting these aside1 ignoring1 disguising1 forgetting1 denying them4 ,revelation1 however1 lends no sanction to this habit of passing by the tragedy of life with averted face2 and in this discourse we wish to show the entire reasonableness of revelation in its frank recognition of the dark aspects of existence4 ,christianity is sometimes scouted as the religion of sorrow1 and many amongst us are ready to avow that the ,persian forbidding the sackcloth is more to their taste than the ,egyptian or the ,christian dragging the corpse through the banquet2 but we confidently contend that the recognition by ,christ of the morbid phases of human life is altogether wise and gracious4 ,i4 ,we consider1 first1 the recognition by revelation of sin4 ,sackcloth is the outward and visible sign of sin1 guilt1 and misery4 ,how men shut their eyes to this most terrible reality--coolly ignoring1 skilfully veiling1 emphatically denying it6 ,the heart from the moment of its first beat instinctively longs for the beautiful4444 ,we strive for the right and the true3 it is circumstance that thrusts wrong upon us4 ,what is popularly called sin these philosophers call error1 accident1 inexperience1 indecision1 misdirection1 imperfection1 disharmony2 but they will not allow the presence in the human heart of a malign force which asserts itself against ,god1 and against the order of ,his universe4 ,that principle which is darkness in the mind1 perverseness in the will1 idolatry in the affections1 every passion's wild excess1 anger1 lust1 and pride1--the existence of any such principle they absolutely and scornfully deny4 ,there is no evil in the universe1 all is good1 and where everything is good human nature is still the best4 ,a single substance comprises all that is1 and no place is left for that profoundly decisive and destructive element called sin2 all that we have to do is to descant on the marvelous loveliness of the world1 the serene harmony of the universe1 man's love of the true1 the beautiful1 and the good4 ,intellectual masters like ,emerson and ,renan4 ignore conscience2 they refuse to acknowledge the selfishness1 the baseness1 the cruelty of society2 they are deaf to the groans of creation2 they smile1 and expect us to smile1 whilst they clap a purple patch of rhetoric on the running sores of humanity4 ,no sackcloth must pass their gate1 and no craftsman of ,ind ever wove gossamer half so delicate and delightful as the verbal veil with which these literary artists attempt to conceal the leprosy of our nature4 ,and men generally are willing to dupe themselves touching the fact and power of sin2 they are strongly disinclined to look directly and honestly at that inner confusion of which we are all more or less conscious4 ,we willingly acknowledge our transgression of the higher law1 that we do the things we ought not to do1 and leave undone the things that we ought to do2 we have an unpleasant feeling that all is not right1 nay1 indeed1 that something is seriously wrong2 but we do not unshrinkingly acquaint ourselves with the malady of the spirit as we should at once acquaint ourselves with any malady hinting itself in the flesh4 ,the sackcloth must not mar our shallow happiness4 ,great is the power of self-deception1 but in no other direction do we permit ourselves to be more profoundly cheated than we do in this4 ,in the vision of beautiful things we forget the troubles of conscience1 as the first sinners hid themselves amid the leaves and flowers of ,paradise2 in fashion and splendor we forget our guilty sorrow1 as medieval mourners sometimes concealed their cerements with raiment of purple and gold2 in the noises of the world we become oblivious of the interior discords1 as soldiers forget their wounds amid the stir and trumpets of the battle4 ,with a busy life1 a gay life1 we manage to forget the skeleton of the heart1 rarely permitting ourselves to look upon the ominous specter which some way or other has entrenched itself within us1 and which is the bane of our existence4 ,nevertheless1 sin thrusts itself upon our attention4 ,the greatest thinkers in all ages have been constrained to recognize its presence and power4 ,the creeds of all nations declare the fact that men everywhere feel the bitter working and intolerable burden of conscience4 ,and1 however we may strive to forget our personal sinfulness1 the cry is ever being wrung from us in the deepest moments of life1 ,o wretched man that ,i am6 who can deliver me from the body of this death8 ,the sense of sin has persisted through changing generations2 it is the burden of experience and philosophy1 and the genius of the race has exhausted itself in devising schemes of salvation4 ,aeschylus1 ,dante1 ,shakespeare1 knew of truth1 justice1 purity1 and love1 of the supreme and eternal law of righteousness2 they knew that man alone of all this lower creation is subject to this transcendental rule2 they knew also that the violation of this highest law lay at the root of the world's mysterious and complex suffering--in other words1 that sin was the secret of the tragedy of life4 ,the beasts are happy because they are beasts2 they do not lie awake in the dark weeping over their sins1 because they have no sins to weep over2 they do not discuss their duty to ,god1 they do it2 whilst1 on the contrary1 men are unhappy because being subject to the highest law of all1 and competent to fulfil that law in its utmost requirements1 they have consciously fallen short of it1 wilfully contradicted it4 ,we cannot accept the coat of many colors1 whatever the flatterers may say2 the sackcloth is ours1 and it eats our spirit like fire4 ,most fully does ,christ recognize the great catastrophe4 ,some modern theologians may dismiss sin as a mysterious incident in the development of humanity1 as a grain of sand that has unluckily blown into the eye1 as a thorn that has accidentally pierced our heel1 but the greatest of ethical teachers regarded sin as a profound contradiction of that eternal will which is altogether wise and good4 ,more than any other teacher ,jesus ,christ emphasized the actuality and awfulness of sin2 more than any other has ,he intensified the world's consciousness of sin4 ,he never attempted to relieve us of the sackcloth by asserting our comparative innocence2 ,he never attempted to work into that melancholy robe one thread of color1 to relieve it with one solitary spangle of rhetoric4 ,sin was the burden of the life of ,christ because it is the burden of our life4 ,christ has done more than insisted on the reality1 the odiousness1 the ominousness1 of sin--,he has laid bare its principle and essence4 ,the ,new ,testament discovers to us the mystery of iniquity as ungodliness2 its inmost essence being unbelief in ,god's truth1 the denial of ,his justice1 the rejection of ,his love1 the violation of ,his law4 ,the ,south ,sea islanders have a singular tradition to account for the existence of the dew4 ,the legend relates that in the beginning the earth touched the sky1 that being the golden age when all was beautiful and glad2 then some dreadful tragedy occurred1 the primal unity was broken up1 the earth and the sky were torn asunder as we see them now1 and the dewdrops of the morning are the tears that nature sheds over the sad divorce4 ,this wild fable is a metaphor of the truth2 the beginning of all evil lies in the alienation of the spirit of man from ,god1 in the divorce of earth from heaven2 here is the final reason why the face of humanity is wet with tears4 ,how vividly ,christ taught that all our fear and we arise out of this false relation of our spirit to the living ,god6 ,above and beyond all1 ,christ recognizes the sackcloth that ,he may take it away4 ,in the anguish of his soul ,job cried1 ,i have sinned2 what shall ,i do unto thee1 ,o thou ,preserver of men8 ,christianity is ,god's full and final answer to that appeal4 ,in ,christ we have the revelation of ,god's ceaseless1 immeasurable1 eternal love4 ,in ,him we have the satisfaction of ,god's sovereign justice4 ,our own awakened conscience feels the difficulty of absolution2 it demands that sin shall not be lightly passed over2 it wearies itself to find an availing sacrifice and atonement4 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god1 that taketh away the sin of the world6 ,in ,him1 too1 we have that grace which brings us into accord with the mind and government of ,god4 ,christ reveals to us the divine ideal life2 ,he awakens in us a passion for that life2 ,he leads us into the power and privilege1 the liberty and gladness1 of that life4 ,he fills our imagination with the vision of ,his own divine loveliness2 ,he refreshes our will from founts of unfathomable power2 ,he fills us with courage and hope2 ,he crowns us with victory4 ,god was in ,christ1 reconciling the world unto himself1 not imputing their trespasses unto them4 ,sin is ungodliness2 ,christ makes us to see light in ,god's light1 fills us with ,his love1 attunes our spirit to the infinite music of ,his perfection4 ,instead of shutting out the signs of wo1 ,christ followed an infinitely deeper philosophy2 ,he arrayed ,himself in the sackcloth1 becoming sin for us who knew no sin1 that we might become the righteousness of ,god in ,him4 ,we have redemption in ,his blood1 even the forgiveness of sins2 he established us in a true relation to the holy ,god2 ,he restores in us the image of ,god2 ,he fills us with the peace of ,god that passeth understanding4 ,not in the spirit of a barren cynicism does ,christ lay bare the ghastly wound of our nature1 but as a noble physician who can purge the mortal virus which destroys us4 ,he has done this for thousands2 ,he is doing it now2 in these very moments ,he can give sweet release to all who are burdened and beaten by the dire confusion of nature4 ,sin is a reality2 absolution1 sanctification1 peace1 are not less realities4 ,christ's gate is not shut to the penitent1 neither does ,he send him empty away4 ,we go to ,him in sackcloth1 but we leave ,his presence in purity's robe of snow1 in honor's stainless purple1 in the heavenly blue of the holiness of truth4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord ,god is upon ,him1 that ,he may give to the mourners in ,zion beauty for ashes1 the oil of joy for mourning1 the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness4 ,,ii4 ,we consider the recognition by revelation of sorrow4 ,sackcloth is the raiment of sorrow1 and as such it was interdicted by the ,persian monarch4 ,we still follow the insane course1 minimizing1 despising1 masking1 denying suffering4 ,society sometimes attempts this4 ,the affluent entrench themselves within belts of beauty and fashion1 excluding the sights and sounds of a suffering world4 ,ye that put far away the evil day1 and cause the seat of violence to come near2 that lie upon beds of ivory1 and stretch themselves upon their couches1 and eat the lambs out of the flock1 and the calves out of the midst of the stall1 that chant to the sound of the viol1 and invent to themselves instruments of music1 like ,david2 that drink wine in bowls1 and anoint themselves with the chief ointments3 but they are not grieved for the affliction of ,joseph4 ,so do opulent and selfish men still seek to hide their heart in a nest of roses4 ,literature sometimes follows the same cue4 ,goethe made it one of the rules of his life to avoid everything that could suggest painful ideas1 and the taint of his egotism is on a considerable class of current literature which serenely ignores the morbid aspects of life4 ,art has yielded to the same temptation4 ,the artist has felt that he was concerned only with strength1 beauty1 and grace2 that he had nothing to do with weakness1 agony1 wretchedness1 and death4 ,why should sorrow find perpetual remembrance in art8 ,pain will tear our bodies1 but we will have no wrinkles on our statues2 suffering will rend our heart1 but we will have no shadows on our pictures4 ,none clothed in sackcloth might enter the gate that is called ,beautiful4 ,most of us are inclined to the sorry trick of gilding over painful things4 ,we resolutely put from us sober signs1 serious thoughts1 and sometimes are really angry with those who exhibit life as it is1 and who urge us to seek reconciliation with it4 ,when the physician prescribed blisters to ,marie ,bashkirtseff to check her consumptive tendency1 the vain1 cynical girl wrote1 ,i will put on as many blisters as thee like4 ,i shall be able to hide the mark by bodices brimmed with flowers and lace and tulle1 and a thousand other delightful things that are worn1 without being required2 it may even look pretty4 ,ah6 ,i am comforted4 ,yes1 by a thousand artifices do we dissemble our ugly scars1 sometimes even pressing our deep misfortunes into the service of our pride4 ,many of the fashions and the diversions of the world much sought after have little positive attractiveness1 but the real secret of their power is found in the fact that they hide disagreeable things1 and render men for a while oblivious of the mystery and weight of an unintelligible world4 ,nevertheless suffering is a stern fact that will not long permit us to sleep4 ,some have taught the unreality of pain1 but the logic of life has spoiled their plausible philosophizing4 ,a man may carry many hallucinations with him to the grave1 but a belief in the unreality of pain is hardly likely to be one of them4 ,the laughing philosopher is quite invincible on his midsummer's day1 but ere long fatality makes him sad4 ,there is no screen to shut off permanently the spectacle of suffering4 ,when ,marie ,antoinette passed to her bridal in ,paris1 the halt1 the lame1 and the blind were sedulously kept out of her way1 lest their appearance should mar the joyousness of her reception2 but1 ere long1 the poor queen had a very close view of misery's children1 and she drank to the dregs the cup of life's bitterness4 ,reason as we may1 suppress the disagreeable truths of life as we may1 suffering will find us out1 and pierce us to the heart4 ,indeed1 despite our dissimulations1 we know that life is not a matter of lutes1 doves1 and sunflowers1 and at last we have little patience with those who thus seek to represent it4 ,we will not have the philosophy which ignores suffering2 witness the popularity of ,schopenhauer4 ,we resent the art which ignores sorrow4 ,true art has no pleasure in sin and suffering1 in torture1 horror1 and death2 but on its palette must lie the sober colorings of human life1 and so to-day the most popular picture of the world is the ,angelus of ,millet4 ,we will not have the literature that ignores suffering4 ,humanity will look upon nothing else but its old sufferings4 ,it loves to see and touch its wounds1 even at the risk of reopening them4 ,we are not satisfied with poetry unless we find tears in it4 ,we will not have the theology which ignores sin and suffering4 ,the preacher who confines his discourses to pleasant themes has a meager following2 the people swiftly and logically conclude that if life is as flowery as the discourse1 the preacher is superfluous4 ,foolish we may often be1 yet we cannot accept this ,gethsemane for a garden of the gods2 the most wilful lotus-eater must perforce see the streaming tears1 the stain of blood1 the shadow of death4 ,nature in the full swing of her pageantry soon forgets the wild shriek of the bird in the red talons of the hawk1 and all other sad and tragic things1 but humanity is compelled to note the blood and tears which flow everywhere1 and to lay these things to heart4 ,christ giveth us the noblest example of suffering4 ,so far from shutting ,his gate on the sackcloth1 once more ,he adopted it1 and showed how it might become a robe of glory4 ,he ,himself was preeminently a ,man of sorrows2 ,he exhausted all forms of suffering2 touching life at every point1 at every point ,he bled2 and in ,him we learn how to sustain our burden and to triumph throughout all the tragedy4 ,in ,his absolute rectitude1 in ,his confidence in ,his ,father1 in ,his hours of prayer1 in ,his self-sacrificing regard for ,his fellow-sufferers1 in ,his charity1 and patience1 we see how the heaviest cross may be borne in the spirit of victory4 ,we learn from ,him how divine grace can mysteriously make the sufferer equal to the bitterest martyrdom2 not putting to our lips some anodyne cup to paralyze life1 but giving us conquest through the strength and bravery of reason in its noblest mood1 through faith in its sublimest exercise1 through a love that many waters cannot quench nor the floods drown4 ,poison is said to be extracted from the rattlesnake for medicinal purposes2 but infinitely more wonderful is the fact that the suffering which comes out of sin counterworks sin1 and brings to pass the transfiguration of the sufferer4 ,christ teaches us how1 under the redemptive government of ,god1 suffering has become a subtle and magnificent process for the full and final perfecting of human character4 ,science tells us how the bird-music1 which is one of nature's foremost charms1 has risen out of the bird's cry of distress in the morning of time2 how originally the music of field and forest was nothing more than an exclamation caused by the bird's bodily pain and fear1 and how through the ages the primal note of anguish has been evolved and differentiated until it has risen into the ecstasy of the lark1 melted into the silver note of the dove1 swelled into the rapture of the nightingale1 unfolded into the vast and varied music of the sky and the summer4 ,so ,christ shows us that out of the personal sorrow which now rends the believer's heart he shall arise in moral and infinite perfection2 that out of the cry of anguish wrung from us by the present distress shall spring the supreme music of the future4 ,the ,persian monarch forbidding sackcloth had forgotten that consolation is a royal prerogative2 but the ,king of kings has not forgotten this1 and very sweet and availing is ,his sovereign sympathy4 ,scherer recommends amusement as a comfortable deceit by which we avoid a permanent tte--tte with realities that are too heavy for us4 ,is there not a more excellent way than this8 ,let us carry our sorrows to ,christ1 and we shall find that in ,him they have lost their sting4 ,it is a clumsy mistake to call ,christianity a religion of sorrow--it is a religion for sorrow4 ,christ finds us stricken and afflicted1 and ,his words go down to the depths of our sorrowful heart1 healing1 strengthening1 rejoicing with joy unspeakable4 ,he finds us in sackcloth2 ,he clothes us with singing-robes1 and crowns us with everlasting joy4 ,,iii4 ,we consider the recognition by revelation of death4 ,we have1 again1 adroit ways of shutting the gate upon that sackcloth which is the sign of death4 ,a recent writer allows that ,shakespeare1 ,raleigh1 ,bacon1 and all the ,elizabethans shuddered at the horror and mystery of death2 the sunniest spirits of the ,english ,renaissance quailed to think of it4 ,he then goes on to observe that there was something in this fear of the child's vast and unreasoned dread of darkness and mystery1 and such a way of viewing death has become obsolete through the scientific and philosophic developments of the later centuries4 ,walt ,whitman also tells us that nothing can happen more beautiful than death1 and he has exprest the humanist view of mortality in a hymn which his admirers regard as the high-water mark of modern poetry4 ,but will this rhapsody bear thinking about8 ,is death delicate1 lovely and soothing1 delicious1 coming to us with serenades8 ,does death lave us in a flood of bliss8 ,does the body gratefully nestle close to death8 ,do we go forth to meet death with dances and chants of fullest welcome8 ,it is vain to attempt to hide the direst fact of all under plausible metaphors and rhetorical artifice4 ,it is in defiance of all history that man so write4 ,it is in contradiction of the universal instinct4 ,it is mockery to the dying4 ,it is an outrage upon the mourners4 ,the ,elizabethan masters were far truer to the fact2 so is the modern skeptic who shrinks at the black and horrible grave4 ,men never speak of delicious blindness1 of delicious dumbness1 of delicious deafness1 of delicious paralysis2 and death is all these disasters in one1 all these disasters without hope4 ,no1 no1 the morgue is the last place that lends itself to decoration4 ,death is the crowning evil1 the absolute bankruptcy1 the final defeat1 the endless exile4 ,let us not shut our eyes to this4 ,the skeptic often tells us that he will have no make-believe4 ,let us have no make-believe about death4 ,let us candidly apprehend death for all that it is of mystery and bitterness1 and reconcile ourselves to it1 if reconciliation be possible4 ,if we are foolish enough to shut the gate on the thought of death1 by no stratagem can we shut the gate upon death itself4 ,without evasion or euphony ,christ recognizes the somber mystery4 ,the fact1 the power1 the terror of death are displayed by ,him without reserve or softening4 ,and ,he goes to the root of the dire and dismal matter4 ,he shows us that death as we know it is an unnatural thing1 that it is the fruit of disobedience1 and by giving us purity and peace ,he gives us eternal life4 ,the words of ,luther1 so full of power1 were called half-battles2 but the words of ,christ in their depth and majesty are complete battles1 in which sin1 suffering1 and death are finally routed4 ,he attempts no logical proof of immortality2 ,he supplies no chemical formula for the resurrection2 ,he demonstrates immortality by raising us from the death of sin to the life of righteousness1 by filling our soul with infinite aspirations and delights4 ,here is the proof supreme of immortality4 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 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 my ,father4 ,the moral works are the greater works4 ,wonderful is the stilling of the sea1 the healing of the blind1 the raising of the dead1 but the moral miracles of our ,lord express a still diviner power and carry with them a more absolute demonstration4 ,if1 therefore1 we have known the power of ,christ delivering our soul from the blindness1 the paralysis1 the death of sin1 lifting it above the dust and causing it to exult in the liberties and delights of the heavenlies1 why should we think it a thing incredible that ,god should raise the dead8 ,if ,he has wrought the greater1 ,he will not fail with the less4 ,christianity opens our eyes to splendid visions1 makes us heirs of mighty hopes1 and for all its prospects and promises it demands our confidence on the ground of its present magnificent and undeniable moral achievements4 ,its predictions are credible in the light of its spiritual efficacy4 ,and if ,christ be in you1 the body is dead because of sin2 but the ,spirit is life because of righteousness4 ,but if the ,spirit of ,him that raised up ,jesus from the dead dwell in you1 he that raised up ,christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his ,spirit that dwelleth in you1 ,being one with ,christ in the power of purity1 we are one with ,him in the power of an endless life4 ,death has its temporary conquest1 but grace reigning through righteousness shall finally purge the last taint of mortality4 ,not through the scientific and philosophic developments of later centuries has the somber way of viewing death become obsolete2 ,christ bringing life and immortality to life has brought about the great change in the point of view from which we regard death1 the point of view which is full of consolation and hope4 ,in ,christ alone the crowning evil becomes a coronation of glory2 the absolute bankruptcy1 the condition of an incorruptible inheritance2 the final defeat1 an everlasting victory2 the endless exile1 home1 home at last4 ,once more1 by boldly adopting the sackcloth ,christ has changed it into a robe of light4 ,that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death1 that is1 the devil ,we cannot escape the evils of life2 they are inevitable and inexorable4 ,we may hide from our eyes the signs and sights of mourning2 but in royal splendor our hearts will still bleed2 wearing wreaths of roses1 our heads will still ache4 ,a preacher who complains that ,christianity is the religion of sorrow goes on to predict that the woes of the world are fast coming to an end1 and then the sorrowful religion of ,jesus ,christ will give place to some purer faith4 ,through the chinks we can see the light4 ,the condition of man becomes more comfortable1 more easy2 the hope of man is more visible2 the endeavor of man is more often crowned with success2 the attempt to solve the darkest life-problems is not desperate as it was4 ,the reformer meets with fewer rebuffs2 the philanthropist does not despair as he did4 ,the light is dawning4 ,the great teachers of knowledge multiply1 bear their burdens more and more steadily2 the traditions of truth and knowledge are becoming established in the intellectual world4 ,it is so2 and those of us who have caught a vision of the better times coming through reason1 through knowledge1 through manly and womanly endeavor1 have caught a sight of a ,christendom passing away1 of a religion of sorrow declining1 of a gospel preached for the poor no longer useful to a world that is mastering its own problems of poverty and lifting itself out of disabling misery into wealth without angelic assistance4 ,this is our consolation2 and while we admit1 clearly and frankly1 the real power of the popular faith1 we also see the pillars on which a new faith rests1 which shall be a faith1 not of sorrow1 but of joy4 ,now1 the deepest sorrow of the race is not physical1 neither is it bound up with material and social conditions4 ,as the ,scotch say1 ,the king sighs as often as the peasant2 and this proverb anticipates the fact that those who participate in the richest civilization that will ever flower will sigh as men sigh now4 ,when the problem of poverty is mastered1 when disease is extirpated1 when a period is put to all disorganization of industry and misgovernment1 social and political1 it will be found by the emancipated and enriched community what is now found by opulent individuals and privileged classes1 that the secret of our discontent is internal and mysterious1 that it springs from the ungodliness1 the egotism1 the sensuality1 which theology calls sin4 ,but whatever the future may reveal1 all the sorrows of life are upon us here and now2 we cannot deny them1 we have constantly to struggle with them1 we are often overwhelmed by irreparable misfortune4 ,esther sent raiment to clothe ,mordecai1 and to take his sackcloth from him2 but he received it not4 ,in vain do men offer us robes of beauty1 chiding us for wearing the color of the night2 we cannot be deceived by flattering words2 we must give place to all the sad thoughts of our mortality until haply we find a salvation that goes to the root of our suffering1 that dries up the fount of our tears4 ,in a very different spirit and for very different ends do men contemplate the dark side of human life4 ,the cynic expatiates on painful things--the blot on life's beauty1 the shadow on its glory1 the pitiful ending of its brave shows--only to gibe and mock4 ,the realist lingers in the dissecting chamber for very delight in revolting themes4 ,the pessimist enlarges on the power of melancholy that lie may justify despair4 ,the poet touches the pathetic string that he may flutter the heart4 ,fiction dramatizes the tragic sentiment for the sake of literary effect4 ,cultured wickedness drinks wine out of a skull1 that by sharp contrast it may heighten its sensuous delight2 whilst estheticism dallies with the sad experiences of life to the end of intellectual pleasure1 as in ornamental gardening1 dead leaves are left on ferns and palms in the service of the picturesque4 ,but ,christianity gives such large recognition to the pathetic element of life1 not that it may mock with the cynic1 or trifle with the artist2 not because with the realist it has a ghoulish delight in horror1 or because with the refined sensualist it cunningly aims to give poignancy to pleasure by the memory of pain2 but because it divines the secret of our mighty misfortune1 and brings with it the sovereign antidote4 ,the critics declare that ,rubens had an absolute delight in representing pain1 and they refer us to that artist's picture of the ,brazen ,serpent in the ,national ,gallery4 ,the canvas is full of the pain1 the fever1 the contortions of the wounded and dying2 the writhing1 gasping crowd is everything1 and the supreme instrument of cure1 the brazen serpent itself1 is small and obscure1 no conspicuous feature whatever of the picture4 ,the manner of the great artist is so far out of keeping with the spirit of the gospel4 ,revelation brings out broadly and impressively the darkness of the world1 the malady of life1 the terror of death1 only that it may evermore make conspicuous the uplifted ,cross1 which1 once seen1 is death to ever vice1 a consolation in every sorrow1 a victory over every fear4 ,,lorimer ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,satan ,,biographical ,,note ,george ,c4 ,lorimer was born at ,edinburgh1 ,scotland1 in #ahch4 ,he was brought up by his stepfather who was associated with the theater1 and in this relation he received a dramatic education and had some experience on the stage4 ,in #ahee he came to the ,united ,states1 where he joined the ,baptist ,church and abandoned the theatrical profession4 ,later he studied for the ,baptist ministry1 being ordained in #ahei4 ,he died in #aijd4 ,his direct and dramatic1 pulpit style brought him into great popularity in ,boston1 ,chicago1 and ,new ,york4 ,at ,tremont ,temple1 ,boston1 he frequently spoke to overflowing congregations4 ,he is the author of several well-known books1 from one of which the sermon here given is taken as indicating his familiarity with and liking for dramatic literature4 ,his pulpit manner always retained a flavor of dramatic style that contributed to his popularity4 ,,lorimer #ahch--aijd ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,satan#a ,footnote #a3 ,copyright1 #ahhb1 by ,the ,homiletic ,monthly1 ,new ,york4 ,i beheld ,satan1 as lightning1 fall from heaven4--,luke x41 #ah4 ,whether the glorious darkness denoted by the name ,satan is an actual personage or a maleficent influence1 is of secondary moment as far as the aim and moral of this discourse are concerned4 ,if the ominous title applies to an abstraction1 and if the event so vividly introduced is but a dramatical representation of some phase in the mystery of iniquity1 the spiritual inferences are just what they would be were the words respectively descriptive of an angel of sin1 and of his utter and terrible overthrow4 ,i shall not1 therefore1 tax your patience with discussions on these points1 but shall assume as true that literal reading of the text which has commended itself to the ripest among our evangelical scholars4 ,the ,scriptures obscurely hint at a catastrophe in heaven among immortal intelligences1 by which many of them were smitten down from their radiant emerald thrones4 ,their communications on the subject are not specific and unambiguous1 and neither can they escape the suspicion of being designedly figurative2 intended1 probably1 as much to veil as to reveal4 ,one of the clearest statements is made by ,jude1 where he says3 ,and the angels which kept not their first estate1 but left their own habitation1 he hath reserved in everlasting chains1 under darkness1 unto the judgment of the great day2 and ,peter1 in like manner1 speaks of ,god sparing not the angels that sinned1 but cast them down to hell2 and yet these comparatively lucid passages suggest a world of mist and shadow1 which becomes filled with strange images when we confront the picture1 presented by ,john1 of war in heaven1 with ,michael and his angels fighting against the dragon1 that old serpent called the devil4 ,back of them there doubtless lies a history whose tragic significance is not easily measured4 ,the sad1 imperishable annals of our race prove that sin is a contingency of freedom4 ,wherever creatures are endowed with moral liberty1 transgression is impliedly possible4 ,it is1 consequently1 inherently probable that celestial beings1 as well as man1 may have revolted from the law of their ,maker2 and a fall accomplished among the inhabitants of heaven should no more surprize us than the fall of mortals on earth4 ,perhaps1 after all1 there is as much truth as poetry in ,milton's conception of the rebellion1 and of the fearful defeat that overtook its leader3-- ,him the almighty ,power ,hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky1 ,with hideous ruin and combustion1 down ,to bottomless perdition3 there to dwell ,in adamantine chains and penal fire1 ,who durst defy the ,omnipotent to arms4 ,an apostle1 admonishing a novice1 bids him beware of pride1 lest he fall into the condemnation of the devil4 ,here presumptuous arrogance and haughtiness of spirit are specified as the root and source of the great transgression4 ,shakespeare takes up this thought3-- ,cromwell1 ,i charge thee1 fling away ambition4 ,by that sin fell the angels3 how can man1 then1 ,the image of his ,maker1 hope to win by't8 ,and ,milton repeats it in the magnificent lines3-- ,what time his pride ,had cast him out of heaven1 with all his host ,of rebel angels2 by whose aid1 aspiring ,to set himself in glory above his peers1 ,he trusted to have equalled the ,most ,high1 ,if ,he opposed2 and1 with ambitious aim1 ,against the throne and monarchy of ,god ,raised impious war in heaven1 and battle proud1 ,with vain attempt4 ,our ,savior1 also1 sanctions this idea in the text4 ,joining ,his disciples again1 after their brief separation1 ,he finds them elated and exultant4 ,they rejoiced1 and1 apparently1 not with modesty1 that devils were subject unto them1 and that they could exorcize them at their pleasure4 ,while they acknowledged that their power was due to the influence of ,his name1 they evidently thought more of themselves than of ,him4 ,they were given to unseemly glorifying and self-satisfaction1 and were met by the ,master's words--half warning1 half rebuke--,i beheld ,satan1 as lightning1 fall from heaven4 ,he thus identifies their pride with that evil spirit which led to angelic ruin1 and seeks to banish it from their hearts3 ,rejoice not that the demons are subject unto you1 but1 rather1 rejoice because your names are written in heaven4 ,rejoice not on account of privilege and power1 but on account of grace2 for the memory of grace must promote humility1 as it will recall the guilt of which it is the remedy4 ,we have1 here1 a lesson for all ages and for all classes of society--a lesson continually enforced by ,scripture1 and illustrated by history4 ,it deals with the insanity of pride and the senselessness of egotism4 ,it reminds us1 by repeated examples1 of the temptations to self-inflation1 and of the perils which assail its indulgence4 ,ye shall be as gods1 was the smiling1 sarcastic allurement which beguiled our first parents to their ruin4 ,they thought that before them rose an eminence which the foot of creaturehood had never trodden2 that from its height the adventurous climber would rival ,deity in the sweep of his knowledge and the depth of his joy4 ,elated and dazzled by the prospect1 they dared tread through sin to its attainment1 vainly dreaming that wrong-doing would lead to a purer paradise and to a loftier throne4 ,one step1 and only one1 in the gratification of their desires1 converted their enchanting mountain into a yawning gulf1 and in its horrid wastes of darkness and of sorrow their high-blown pride was shamed and smothered4 ,the haughty king walked on the terrace heights of ,babylon1 and1 beneath the calm splendor of an ,assyrian sky1 voiced the complacent feeling which dulled his sense of dependence upon ,god--as the perfumes of the ,east lull into waking-slumber the faculties of the soul4 ,thus ran his self-glorifying soliloquy3 ,is not this great ,babylon that ,i have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power1 and for the honor of my majesty8 ,alas for the weakness of the royal egotist6 ,in an hour his boasting was at an end1 and1 reduced by the chastening judgment of the ,almighty to the level of the brute creation1 he was compelled to learn that those who walk in pride the ,king of heaven is able to abase4 ,similar the lesson taught us by the overthrow of ,belshazzar when1 congratulating himself on the stability of his throne1 and in his excess of arrogance1 he insulted the sacred vessels which his father had plundered from the temple at ,jerusalem4 ,i say taught us1 for the foolhardy braggart was past learning anything himself4 ,like the yet more silly ,herod1 who drank in the adulation of the mob as he sat shimmering in his silver robe and slimed his speech from his serpent-tongue1 he was too inflated and bloated with vanity to be corrected by wholesome discipline4 ,both of these rulers were too self-satisfied to be reproved1 and ,god's exterminating indignation overtook them4 ,like empty bubbles1 nothing could be done with them1 and hence the breath of the ,almighty burst and dispersed their glittering worthlessness4 ,pope ,john ,,xxi41 according to ,dean ,milman1 is another conspicuous monument of this folly4 ,contemplating1 writes the historian1 with too much pride the work of his own hands--the splendid palace of ,viterbo--at that instant the avenging roof came down1 on his head4 ,and ,shakespeare has immortalized the pathetic doom which awaits the proud man1 who1 confident in his own importance and in the magnitude of his destiny1 is swallowed up in schemes and plans for his personal aggrandizement and power4 ,wolsey goes too far in his self-seeking1 is betrayed by his excess of statecraft1 and1 being publicly disgraced1 laments1 when too late1 his selfish folly3-- ,i have ventured1 ,like little wanton boys that swim on bladders1 ,these many summers on a sea of glory1 ,but far beyond my depth3 my high-blown pride ,at length broke under me2 and now has left me1 ,weary1 and old with service1 to the mercy ,of a rude stream1 that must forever hide me4 ,it is not difficult to discern the fatal effects of this spirit in the lives of the great and mighty2 but we are frequently blind to its pernicious influence on the lowly and weak4 ,we do not realize1 as we ought1 that the differences between men lie mainly in their position1 not in their experiences and dangers4 ,the leaders of society are merely actors1 exhibiting on the public stage of history what is common to mankind at large4 ,however insignificant we may be1 and however obscure our station1 our inner life is not far removed from that of the exalted personages who draw to themselves the attention of the world4 ,the poorest man has his ambitions1 his struggles and his reverses2 and the first may take as deep a hold upon his heart1 and the second call forth as much cunning or wisdom to confront1 and the last as much bitterness to endure1 as are found in the vicissitudes of a ,richelieu or a ,napoleon4 ,the peasant's daughter1 in her narrow circle1 feels as keenly the disappointment of her hopes1 and mourns as intensely the betrayal of her confidence1 or the rude ending of her day-dreams1 as either queen or princess1 as either ,katharine of ,england or ,josephine of ,france4 ,we do wrong to separate1 as widely as we do in our thoughts1 ranks and conditions of society4 ,the palace and the hovel are nearer to each other than we usually think2 and what passes beneath the fretted ceiling of the one1 and the thatched roof of the other1 is divided by the shadowy line of mere externalities4 ,and so it happens that the fall of an angel may be pertinent to the state of a fisherman-disciple1 and the fall of a prime minister or ruler have its message of warning for the tradesman and mechanic4 ,indeed1 it will generally be found that the failures of life1 and the worse than failures1 are mainly due to the same cause which emptied heavenly thrones of their angelic occupants4 ,what is it1 let me ask1 that comes into clearer prominence as the ,washington tragedy#a is being investigated and scrutinized8 ,is it not that a diseased egotism1 or perhaps it would be more correct to say1 a stalwart egotism1 robbed this country of its ruler1 committed most sacrilegious murder1 and broke ope ,the ,lord's anointed temple1 and stole thence ,the life o' the building4 ,footnote #a3 ,the assassination of ,president ,garfield4 ,like bloody ,macbeth1 who greedily drank in the prognostications of the weird sisters1 tho he feared that the supernatural soliciting could not be good1 because they pandered to his monstrous self-infatuation1 ,guiteau1 having wrought himself up through many years of self-complacency1 claims to have believed that the divine ,being had chosen him to do a deed which has filled the earth with horror4 ,thus the growth of self-conceit into mammoth proportions tends to obscure the rights of others1 and to darken with its gigantic shadow the light of conscience4 ,if we are to admit the prisoner's story1 as the expression of his real condition prior to the assassination1 we look on one so intoxicated with the sense of his own importance that he would spurn the sea1 if it could roar at him1 and hesitate not to perform any deed of darkness that would render him more conspicuous4 ,others1 less heinous offenders than this garrulous murderer1 have1 from similar weakness1 wrought indescribable mischief to themselves4 ,the man1 for instance1 who frets against providence because his standing is not higher and his influence greater1 has evidently a better opinion of his deservings than is wholesome for him4 ,he imagines he is being wronged by the ,creator--that his merits are not recognized as they should be--never1 for a moment1 remembering that1 as a sinner1 he has no claims on the extraordinary bounty of his heavenly ,father4 ,from murmuring he easily glides into open rebellion1 and from whispered reproaches to loud denunciations4 ,there are people in every community whose pride leads them into shameful transactions4 ,they would not condescend to mingle with their social inferiors1 but they will subsist on the earnings of their friends1 and consider it no disgrace to borrow money which they have no intention of returning4 ,their vanity1 at times1 commits them to extravagances which they have no means of supporting4 ,they ought to have carriages and horses1 mansions and pictures1 with all the luxuries of affluence--at least so they think--and1 being destitute of the resources requisite to maintain such state1 they become adepts in those arts which qualify for the penitentiary4 ,others have such confidence in the strength of their virtue1 such commanding arrogance of integrity1 that1 like a captain who underestimates the force of an enemy and overrates his own1 they neglect to place a picket-guard on the outskirts of their moral camp1 and in such an hour as they think not they are surprized and lost4 ,even possessors of religion are not always clear of this folly1 or safe from its perils4 ,they think more highly of themselves than they ought to think2 they come to regard themselves as specially favored of heaven2 they talk of the ,almighty in a free and easy manner1 and of ,jesus ,christ as tho ,he were not the ,judge at all4 ,when they pray1 it is with a familiarity bordering on irreverence1 and when they deal with sacred themes it is with a lightness that breeds contempt4 ,when they recount the marvels which they have wrought in the name of ,christ1 it is hardly-possible for them to hide their self-complacency2 for1 while they profess to give ,him the glory1 the manner of their speech shows that they are taking it to themselves4 ,they are like the disciples1 who were as proud of their prowess in casting out devils as children are with their beautiful toys1 and they are as much in need of the ,savior's warning3 ,i beheld ,satan1 as lightning1 fall from heaven4 ,and because they have failed to give heed unto it1 they have oftentimes followed the ,evil ,one in his downward course1 and in a moment have made shipwreck of their faith4 ,as sails1 full spread1 and bellying with the wind1 ,drop1 suddenly collapsed1 if the mast split2 ,so to the ground down dropped the cruel fiend2 and earthward have the unsaintly saints of ,god as swiftly sped1 when they have fostered the pride which changed angels into demons4 ,how art thou fallen from heaven1 ,o ,lucifer1 son of the morning6 ,what more pitiable spectacle than the ruin of an angel6 ,we have seen the forsaken halls of time-worn and dilapidated castles1 have stood in the unroofed palaces of ancient princes1 and have gazed on the moss-covered and ivy-decked towers of perishing churches1 and the sight of them has tilled our hearts with melancholy1 as we thought of what had been1 and of the changes that had swept over the fair1 valiant and pious throngs whose laughter1 bravery and prayers once made these scenes so gay and vocal4 ,all is hushed now1 and the silence is broken only by the hoot and screech of the owl1 or by the rustle of the nightbat's leathern wing4 ,but how much sadder is the form of the mighty spirit1 who once sat regnant among the sons of light1 emptied of his innocence1 filled with foul1 creeping1 venomous thoughts and feelings1 uncrowned1 dethroned only with malignity and throned in evil6 ,the ,bible calls him the prince and the god of this world2 and everywhere we are surrounded with evidences of his despotic sway4 ,unlike earthly rulers1 whose exhausted natures exact repose1 he is ever sleepless1 and his plotting never ends4 ,enter his somber presence-chamber1 and commotion1 bustle1 activity will confront and amaze you4 ,he is continually sending his emissaries forth in every direction4 ,the perpetual wranglings1 ceaseless distractions1 irreconcilable contradictions1 disquieting doubts1 discouraging outlooks1 inharmonious and jangling opinions1 unaccountable delusions1 clashing and crashing dissonances1 cruel hatreds1 bitter enmities and stormful convulsions1 which so largely enter and deface the course of human history1 proceed mainly from his influence4 ,we know that the heart of a lost angel is in the earth1 and as we know its throbbings carry misery and despair to millions of our fellow-beings1 we can surmise the intensity of we wherewith it afflicts himself4 ,mrs4 ,browning's ,adam thus addresses ,lucifer3-- ,the prodigy ,of thy vast brows and melancholy eyes1 ,which comprehend the heights of some great fall4 ,i think that thou hast one day worn a crown ,under the eyes of ,god4 ,but now the vast brow must wear a heavier gloom1 and the eyes betray a deeper sorrow1 as in his ruin he has sought to bury the hopes and joys of a weaker race4 ,how different his dealings with the race from those which mark the ministry of ,christ6 ,immortal hate on the one side of humanity2 immortal love on the other2 both struggling for supremacy4 ,one sweeping across the soul with pinions of dark doubts and fears2 the other1 with the strong wing of hope and fair anticipations4 ,one seeking to plunge the earth-spirit into the abysmal depths of eternal darkness2 the other seeking to bear it to the apex of light1 where reigns eternal day4 ,and of the two1 ,christ alone is called the blest4 ,in the agony and anguish of ,his sufferings ,he yet can exclaim1 ,my joy ,i leave with thee2 and in the lowest vale of ,his shame can calmly discourse on peace4 ,the reason8 ,do you ask the question8 ,it is found in ,his goodness4 ,he is good1 and seeks the good of all2 and goodness crowns ,his lacerated brow with joy4 ,this ,satan sacrificed in his fall2 this he antagonizes with1 in his dreary career1 and so remains in the eyes of all ages the monument of melancholy gloom4 ,thus1 also1 is it with man1 whose haughtiness thrusts him into evil4 ,he is morose and wretched1 crusht beneath a burden of we1 which weighs the eyelids down with weariness and the heart with care1 and which constrains him to curse the hour of his birth4 ,next to the grief-crowned angel1 there is no more pitiable object in all ,god's fair creation than a human soul tumbled by its own besotted pride into sin and shame4 ,how is the gold become dim6 how is the most fine gold changed6 aye1 changed to dross1 which the foot spurns1 and which the whirlwind scatters to the midnight region of eternity4 ,in view of these reflections1 we can understand the stress laid by the inspired writers on the grace of humility4 ,we are exhorted to be like ,jesus1 who was meek and lowly in heart2 and we are commanded to esteem others better than ourselves4 ,these admonitions are not designed to cultivate a servile or an abject spirit1 but to promote a wholesome sense of our own limitations1 weaknesses and dependence4 ,they would foster such a state of mind as will receive instruction1 as will lean on the ,almighty1 and recognize the worthiness and rights of all4 ,just as the flower has to pass its season entombed in the darkness of its calyx before it spreads forth its radiant colors and breathes its perfume1 so the soul must veil itself in the consciousness of its own ignorance and sinfulness before it will be able to expand in true greatness1 or shed around it the aroma of pure goodness4 ,crossing the prairies recently between this city and ,st4 ,louis1 ,i noticed that the trees were nearly all bowed in the direction of the northeast4 ,as our strongest winds blow from that quarter1 it was natural to inquire why they were not bent to the southwest4 ,the explanation given was1 that the south winds prevail in the time of sap1 when the trees are supple with life and heavy with foliage1 and consequently1 that they yield before them4 ,but when the winter comes they are hard and firm1 rigid and stiff1 and even the fury of the tempest affects them not4 ,thus is it with human souls4 ,when humility fills the heart1 when its gentleness renders susceptible its thoughts and feelings1 the softest breath of ,god's ,spirit can bend it earthward to help the needy1 and downward to supplicate and welcome heaven's grace4 ,but when it is frozen through and through with pride1 it coldly resists the overtures of mercy1 and in its deadness is apathetic even1 to the storm of wrath4 ,nothing remains but for the wild hurricane to uproot it and level it to the ground4 ,such is the moral of my brief discourse4 ,god grant we may have the wisdom of humility to receive it6 ,,knox ,,little ,,thirst ,,satisfied ,,biographical ,,note ,william ,john ,knox ,little1 ,english preacher1 was born #ahci and educated at ,cambridge ,university4 ,he has filled many parochial cures1 and in #ahha was appointed canon of ,worcester1 and sub-dean in #aijb4 ,he also holds the vicarage of ,hoar ,cross 7#ahhe74 ,he is of high repute as a preacher and is in much request all over ,england4 ,he belongs to the ,high ,church school and has printed1 besides his sermons1 many works of educational character1 such as the ,treasury of ,meditation1 ,manual of ,devotion for ,lent1 and ,confirmation and ,holy ,communion4 ,,knox ,,little ,,born ,,in #ahci ,,thirst ,,satisfied#a ,footnote #a3 ,reprinted by permission of ,hodder ,stoughton1 ,london4 ,my soul is athirst for ,god1 for the living ,god2 when shall ,i come and appear before the presence of ,god8--,psalm xlii41 #b4 ,the verse1 dear friends1 which ,i have read to you for a text is one of those verses which justify in the highest degree the action of the ,christian ,church in selecting the ,hebrew ,psalter as1 in fact1 her prayer-book4 ,there are many passages1 as you will feel with me1 in the ,hebrew psalter that express in a very high degree the wants of the human soul2 but perhaps there is no passage more telling1 more touching1 more searching1 more expressive than that solemn and that exalted sentiment which is spoken in the text1 ,my soul is athirst for ,god1 for the living ,god2 when shall ,i come and appear before the presence of ,god8 ,the passage is a justification1 then1 of the action of the ,christian ,church4 ,people sometimes ask why in the daily service1 why on ,sundays1 you rehearse the ,psalms1 which have about them so much that is incomprehensible1 so much that requires explanation2 why there are those tremendous denunciations of enemies1 why there are those prayers that seem at first sight to touch wants that we modern people scarcely know2 but if you want a real justification and a handy answer you may fall back upon the general texture of the psalter as exprest by such solemn words as those of the text4 ,if you would find any document1 any volume that will speak your thoughts best about and towards eternity1 you cannot select a better than the ,hebrew psalter1 for the general tone and temper of its teaching is the cry of the soul for ,god4 ,and then there is another thought upon the threshold of such a subject that demands our attention4 ,this verse of the text1 being a sort of example or representative verse of the psalter1 expresses to us--does it not8--the attitude and the mission of the ,christian ,church4 ,the attitude4 ,for what is the position1 dear friends1 of the ,christian ,church8 ,what are the struggles of ,christian souls except1 in the midst of a world that is quite complicated with difficulties1 in the midst of a world that is overwhelmed with sorrow1 in the midst of a time of severe temptation1 to constantly rise and gaze high above the thought of evil1 and gaze towards the sun of brightness1 and cry for ,god8 ,and what is the mission of the ,christian ,church8 ,is it not to help men and women in their struggle and their sorrow to forget at least at times their pettinesses and degradation to rise to better standards and loftier ideals1 and cry for ,god8 ,and if that be the mission of the ,christian ,church1 then ,i hold--and that is my point this morning--that that is the justification of such noble efforts as have been made in your church to enable so great1 so sinful a city as ,london to have at least moments of relaxation from its world-wide weariness1 moments of pause in the pursuit of its sin1 and to call it back from that which is overpowering tho transient--to ask it to pass them in the ministrations of religion4 ,what is the object of such a church as this8 ,why1 buried among your buildings1 in the midst of this great1 powerful1 sinful city1--why has it a mission for eternity8 ,why is it good that you should do your best8 ,why is it praiseworthy and beautiful that your rector and churchwardens should have exerted themselves to the utmost to make this church what it ought to be8 ,why8 ,because there is not a man or woman in ,london1 not one in this bustling crowd1 not one in this confusion of commerce1 not one in this sink of sin1 but might say ,yes--ought to say1 and must ultimately feel1 and should now be taught to realize that the soul has one satisfaction1 one only--,my soul is athirst for ,god1 for the living ,god4 ,well1 if that be so1 can we be wrong1 dear friends1 can we waste our time1 if we ask ourselves this morning something quite practical about this thirst of the soul8 ,and1 first of all1 ,i submit that in such a verse as this1 and in such a work as this1 we are face to face with one of those great governed contrasts that are found throughout ,scripture and throughout human life4 ,i may say1 par parenthse1 that that is one of the great proofs of sacred ,scripture4 ,when your shallow thinker1 when your wild and profound philosopher1 kicks the sacred ,book with the toe of his boot1 and denounces it because he does not like the measure of ,noah's ,ark or the exact activity of ,jonah's whale1 the moment you begin to think beneath those mere sharpnesses of speech and those mere quicknesses of the thought1 you say this3 ,there may be this or that about the surface of ,scripture which ,i do not and cannot explain1 and cannot entirely understand2 but at least there is no book--no1 not excepting ,milton2 no1 not even excepting ,dante2 no1 for us ,english people1 making no reserve for ,shakespeare--there is no book that1 after all1 expresses that deep1 inner1 serious fact of my being1 of my soul1 of myself2 the fact that lives when our facts are dying2 the fact that persists in asserting itself when the noise of the world is still2 the fact that does not care about daylight only1 but comes up in the dark2 the fact that whispers low when ,i am in the crowd1 but speaks loud in the darkest night1 when the clock is ticking on the stairs1 and conscience has stalked out and stood before me1 asserting facts that ,i cannot contradict--there is no look that can speak that fact of facts1 that thirst1 that longing1 that desolation1 that desire1 that hope1 that activity1 that possibility of supreme contention and final victory1 there is nothing like the ,bible that does that4 ,and so wise men1 while they admit difficulties1 thoughtful men1 while they do not controvert the fact that that which is divine needs larger explanation1 fall back upon such great governed truths as that text to support the ,bible4 ,the ,bible says1 asserts1 determines1 and insists upon the truth which the ,church is insisting upon1 which you and ,i1 in our better moments1 emphasize and say ,amen to--the soul is athirst for ,god4 ,the ,bible brings home the great contrast that is present to us all4 ,let us dwell1 that we may realize this thirst of the soul1 upon the contrast4 ,there are1 at least1 four forms of attraction which are presented1 as ,i suppose1 to your soul1 certainly to mine4 ,first of all1 there is the attraction of natural beauty4 ,if you stand on a fair ,august afternoon on the terrace1 for instance1 at ,berne1 or on the heights of ,chaumont2 if you gaze at the distant ,alps1 crowned with snow which was generated in winter1 but which takes the brightness and glory of diamonds in the summer sun2 if1 coming from the noise and heat of ,england1 you first gaze at that line of strange pointed mountains crowned with that whiteness1 struck with the sunlight1 you are moved by natural beauty4 ,if you stand in ,america on the upper reaches of the ,st4 ,lawrence1 and watch the river as it hurries to its destiny at ,niagara2 if you see the tossing water writhing almost like living creatures anticipating a dreadful destiny and passing over the fall2 or if1 rising out of what is tragic in nature1 you come to what is homely--if1 for instance1 you see the chestnut woods of spring with an inspiration of quiet joy1 or if you see the elms at ,worcester or ,hereford in our common ,england in the autumn time with an inspiration of sorrow2 wherever you turn with eye or head1 with a feeling in your heart1 a thought in your mind1 nature demands her recognition2 and you ,london men1 in the toil of your struggle1 in the noise of your work1 in the dust of your confusion of life1 when you get your holiday in spring or autumn1--unless1 indeed1 you have passed into the mere condition of brutes1--while you still keep the hearts of men1 you feel there is something in the apostles of culture1 in the teachers of esthetics1 in persons who say that beauty is everything to satisfy the soul4 ,nature1 you say--and you say it justly--says1 ,beauty4 ,you find a delight as you gaze upon nature4 ,yes1 dear friends1 you are stimulated1 you are delighted1 you are consoled2 there is one thing which you are not--you are not satisfied4 ,or1 quite possibly1 you turn to that which seems to ,english natures more practical and less poetical--you turn to the attraction of activity4 ,you say the poets1 or the preachers1 or the dreamers may gaze upon nature2 but ,englishmen have something else to do--we have to work4 ,you look at the result of activity1 and it is splendid4 ,imagine1 picture for a moment1 political achievement2 picture to yourselves the power not only of a mind1 but of a personality1 of a character which can attract vast millions who have never gazed upon the human expression in the human face--can attract them to great love or to great hatred1 can mold the destinies of an empire1 can change the current of the time--think of such men as ,richelieu or ,cavour1 or more modern instances1 and you understand what is the greatness and the power of the attraction of political activity4 ,or1 to come nearer home1 go into your ,london city1 and watch the working of your ,london mart4 ,what have you before you there8 ,the activity of the hearts and minds of ,englishmen1 sending out the force of the life that is in them from the heart that is beating in those tremendous centers to the distances that are only stopt by the most distant frontiers of the world4 ,your sayings and thoughts are quoted throughout the markets of ,europe--yes1 throughout the markets of other continents2 your actions and decisions make the difference between the decisions and the actions of men that you have never seen1 that you shall never see4 ,the ,medici were a power in ,florence1 first as bankers1 then as governors4 ,there are men in ,london who have power throughout the world1 not only in ,florence1 not as profest governors1 but as practical governors through the activity of commercial instinct4 ,certainly1 it seems to me quite possible that there may be minds carried away by such a great activity2 but that great activity ,i submit to your deeper1 quieter ,english ,sunday thought--that activity will stimulate1 will delight1 will attract1 will intoxicate2 one thing it will not do--,i am bold to say it will never satisfy4 ,and if ,i may take another instance for a moment1 there is this pure intellect1 bidding good-by to the political arena1 to the commercial strife1 saying farewell to the dreams of beauty1 and falling back upon the cells of the brain1 traversing the corridors of thought1 and entering first here and there into that labyrinth of instinct1 or association1 or accumulative learning4 ,certainly1 there is a power of a delight that the world can never realize outside the region of the brain4 ,if that needs proof you have only1 dear friends1 to meditate upon such lives as ,newton1 or ,shakespeare1 or ,kepler1 or if you turn to the region of meditative thought1 to such lives as our own ,george ,eliot--yes1 there is that in the mere exercise of intellect which is intoxicating1 which is consoling even to the highest degree4 ,but intellect1 after all1 finds its frontier4 ,i may say of it what ,i have said of the esthetic sentiment1 what ,i have said of the active sentiment in man3 it attracts1 it delights--what is more1 ,i think it even consoles2 but the one thing ,i find about it that to me is perfectly appalling is that it does not satisfy4 ,there are many of you perhaps to-day who will demand that ,i should take my fourth instance1 and will ask that that at least may do its duty4 ,will it8 ,there is the region of the affections--that region wherein we stray in early spring days as pickers of the spring-flowers of our opening life1 where suns are always glorious and sunsets only speak of brighter dawn1 where poetry is in all ordinary conversation and hope springs to higher heights from hour to hour1 where ,mays are always ,mays and ,junes are always ,junes1 where flowers are ever bursting1 and there seems no end to our nosegays1 no limit to our imaginations1 no fetter to our fancies1 no restraint to our desires4 ,there is the world1 the vast1 powerful world1 of the passions1 purified by exhaustive cultivation into what we call the affections of a higher life4 ,by them we deal with our fellow-creatures2 by them1 when we are young1 we form great friendships2 by them1 as we grow older1 we form around us certain associations that we intend to support us as life goes off4 ,we have all known it4 ,there is the friend1 there is the sweetheart1 there is the wife1 there is the child1 there are the dear expressions of the strong heart that after all beats in ,englishmen4 ,but as life goes on1 first in one object and then by anticipation and terror perhaps in others1 we watch those who have been dear to us pass in dim procession to the grave1 and we find1 after all1 that in the world of affections that old strange law that pervades one branch of the contrast prevails2 it can stimulate1 it can support1 it can console1 it can delight1 it can lead to delirium at moments1 but it does not satisfy4 ,and1 my brothers and sisters1 because you and ,i are born not for a moment1 but for infinite moments2 not for the struggle of time1 but for the great platform and career of eternity--because that is so1 never1 never1 never1 if we are true to ourselves1 shall we pause in the midst of our mortal pilgrimage until we find1 and grasp1 and embrace1 and love that which satisfies4 ,when you awaken up a young heart to that truth1 then that heart1 as ,i hold it1 is on the path of conversion4 ,when amidst the struggle of sin you have determined the soul to strive after that truth1 then that soul is in progress of solid conversion and final perfectibility4 ,but1 at any rate1 all human nature joins that cry of the ,christian1 and the ,bible speaks of it as it always does--its ultimate truth expressing what we need4 ,no2 there are many things given1 there are many attractions to draw2 they will stimulate1 they will help1 they will console1 they will give pleasure2 there is one thing that satisfies the immortal1 there is one life that meets your need3 ,my soul is athirst for ,god1 for the living ,god2 when shall ,i come to appear before the presence of ,god8 ,why1 dear friends1 why is it that these things do not satisfy8 ,there lies a city in the ,volscian ,hills1 fair and beautiful1 climbing in its peaks and pinnacles up little ledges of the rocks1 and down into the depths of the valleys4 ,and if you wander some two days from ,rome1 and gaze upon those mountains1 historic in their memories and splendid in their beauty1 you are struck by the tenderness and the attraction of that city4 ,it is a city of flowers4 ,the flowers stream up its streets in grave procession2 they climb up the pillars of churches1 embracing them and holding on with arms of deep affection2 they laugh in the sunshine1 they weep in the shadow1 they are shrouded in the clouds of night1 but they blaze again in the blaze of the morning4 ,there is the dim funereal ivy1 there is the brightness and glow of the purple convolvulus1 there is the wild-rose clustering round the windows4 ,they are lying asleep on the doorsteps1 they gather themselves into knots as if to gossip and to talk in the language of flowers by the doorways--utterly beautiful6 ,you look at the city with wonder and astonishment--with desire4 ,how wonderful1 you say1 that church tower covered with its flowers2 that altar covered with flowers not gathered and placed in vases1 but with ,nature's own hand arranging an offering to the living ,god4 ,these streets that sound no footfall of an angry multitude1 but that listen to the footfall of a quiet nature--yes1 it is beautiful in the early morning4 ,but stay there until the later afternoon1 when the fog begins to gather2 stay there until night-time1 when the miasma begins to rise2 stay there until morning1 and you are in danger of destruction from poison4 ,it is a land of flowery expression2 but it is not a land of real life4 ,my friends1 the activity of man1 the poetic faculty of man1 all the gifts and all the capacities of man--they are beautiful1 they are touching1 they are attractive2 but if they are all1 if they express all that you have to offer1 and all that is in you to feel1 then they are hollow1 or they-are poisonous1 and like that city of flowers4 ,why8 ,because there is in you and me a soul that lies behind our thought1 altho there is more than feeling there--a soul that supports our will1 and is more than our volition4 ,it thinks1 but is not thought2 it feels1 but is not feeling2 it wills1 but is not volition4 ,there is something deeper in man than his esthetic desire or his active practise1 something deeper beneath us all than anything that finds expression1 certainly than anything that finds satisfaction4 ,there is the self2 there is myself1 yourself2 there is that strange1 mysterious life of loneliness which stands1 and thinks1 and judges1 and appraises4 ,when1 by divine grace1 we escape from the voice of the crowd1 and from the cry of custom1 from the delirium of desire1 that poor lonely self within us pleads to us in a cry like the call of the starveling crying to the rich man that passes by1 ,oh1 will you gratify desire8 ,oh1 will you gratify pleasure8 ,oh1 will you stimulate activity1 and will you leave me alone8 ,i1 yourself1 your very self1 the foundation of your life1 the permanent expression of your immortality--,i must be satisfied1 and being infinite and immortal1 ,i know but one satisfaction3 ',my soul is athirst for ,god1 for the living ,god2 when shall ,i come1 and appear before the presence of ,god8' ,if that be true1 or if it be approximately true1 dear friends1 let us ask ourselves this morning these questions4 ,let us be quite practical4 ,what do you mean1 you may say for a moment1 by the thirst for ,god8 ,i remember long ago in ,paris1 in conversation with one whom ,i deem one of the greatest modern statesmen1 tho not one of the most successful--,i remember1 when a mere boy1 talking to that thoughtful man just at the moment when he was standing amidst the ruins of his activity1 and gazing with the placid spirit with which a good man gazes when he feels that he has done his duty1 tho the world can see that he has failed--,i remember talking to him on such questions as these1 and what he said1 among other things1 was this3 ,in dealing with mankind and in dealing with yourself you must rise by degrees1 you must advance from point to point2 there is a point of achievement1 but you cannot reach the point of achievement unless you have gone up the ladder of progress4 ,i follow his advice4 ,what do we mean by thirsting for ,god8 ,my friends1 on the lower round of that ladder1 ,i mean thirsting for and desiring moral truth4 ,i mean that the soul within you is thirsting and imploring for the satisfaction of its moral instincts4 ,turn for an instant to the ten commandments2 they are trite1 they are ordinary1 they are placed before you in the east end of your church1 after the old custom of your practical1 unaesthetic1 and undreaming ,england4 ,ask what they mean4 ,turn to the second table4 ,you are to reverence your father and mother4 ,why8 ,because they are the instruments of life that ,god gives4 ,you are to reverence life in others in the sixth commandment4 ,why8 ,because life is the deepest mystery that ,god can possibly exhibit to you4 ,in the seventh commandment--,i scarcely like to say1 but yet it is wise to repeat1 it is necessary to assert it--we are to remember1 you and ,i1 when we are young1 when we are active1 when we are passionate1 the great responsibility of man2 you are not to trifle with that awful mystery1 the transmission of life1 life which unites itself with eternal love4 ,you are to remember respect for property1 for that which divine providence has placed by wise laws in the hands of others4 ,you are to remember that the best of properties is a good character4 ,finally1 in the tenth commandment1 you are not to forget that divine providence guides you1 and you are not to murmur and be angry when ,he guides you who knows the best for you1 and when you have done your best4 ,and rising from the second table and coming to the first1 you are not to forget that there is one object for every soul1 as the text asserts4 ,you are not to forget that a jealousy may be created1 ought to be created1 if you put anything before ,god4 ,you are not to grudge ,god the restraint of speech1 and--thank ,god1 still it is possible to appeal to the wise instincts of ,england--you are not to grudge on your ,sunday the gift of your time4 ,these are the outlines of the grave moral law that runs deep into the heart of the ,christian2 and ,i answer1 the thirst for ,god means the thirst within me to fulfil that grave moral law4 ,but1 my friends1 pause for a moment4 ,after all1 that would only be a skeleton4 ,after all1 simply to draw out the outlines of a picture is not the work of an artist4 ,suppose you ask a master in music1 ,how am ,i to produce the real result of stately sound8 ,he will tell you about the common cord2 he will tell you about the result of its changes and its affinities1 and will speak of those results as harmony2 or he will tell you about the gamut of sounds--sounds found in the wind upon the mountains1 found in the surging sea1 found in the voice of childhood1 found in the whisper of your dreams--sound that is everywhere1 sound that wanders up and down this wild1 wild universe4 ,he will tell you all that1 and explain how in proper steps1 in wise modulations1 that is melody1 as the union of sounds is harmony4 ,is that enough8 ,would that produce ,the ,last ,judgment of ,spohr1 that made you dissolve in tears8 ,would that produce the chorus of ,handel that made you almost rise and march in majesty8 ,would that fill you with deep thoughts in ,beethoven1 or fire you into joy in ,mendelssohn8 ,oh1 no6 ,you have your skeleton1 but you have not one thing1 the deepest2 genius has to touch with its fire the fact that is before you2 you want the mystery of life4 ,and then suppose you turn to an artist and ask him to guide you in painting1 and he talks to you about light and shadow1 about the laying of the color1 about the drawing of lines1 about the exact expression of the distant and the present1 of the foreground and the background1 and having learned it all1 you produce what seems an abortion2 you ask yourself1 ,what is the meaning of this8 ,is this enough to make you quiver1 in ,dresden1 before the ,san ,sisto1 carried away by those divine eyes of the ,mother of ,eternity1 or rent with sorrow before the solemn eyes of the ,child8 ,is this enough to fill you with tears of delight when you enter the ,sistine ,chapel and see ,st4 ,john as he kneels with his unshed tears about the dead ,christ8 ,what is there wanting in the touch of your artist8 ,there is wanting genius2 there is wanting life4 ,or to take one instance more4 ,you ask somebody to teach you sculpture1 to tell you how to make yourself master in the treatment of stone4 ,he will tell you wise things about the plastic material that you have to mold with thumb and finger1 and then about the use of the chisel and the hammer to produce the result in the stone1 following the treatment of that plastic material4 ,but when you have learned it all1 can you really believe that you will produce the effect of that majestic manhood that you see in the ,david of ,angelo in the ,piazza of ,florence1 or that wise1 determined progress that is exprest in ,donatello's ,st4 ,george8 ,what is the difference between your failure and the results of those men8 ,genius--life4 ,and when you turn to the moral law1 and when you ask yourself1 ,how can ,i learn to be athirst for ,god8 the preachers say1 ,accept the moral law2 act exactly in distinct duty to your parents2 say1 ',corban1 it is a gift by whatsoever thou mayest be profited thereby'2 do your duty strictly to the letter and nothing more2 be conservative about your property2 restrain yourself from desire of change2 do not stimulate and do not satisfy your passions beyond what is exactly exprest in the moral law4 ,but then1 if you speak the truth1 you say1 ,and in the end what am ,i8 ,why1 after all1 most commonplace1 and1 in truth1 most sinful4 ,what is the difference8 ,this difference3 there wants here the touch of genius2 there wants the touch of life divine1 grace that illuminates the moral law2 there wants1 my friends1 the enthusiasm for goodness1 the science of sciences1 the art of arts1 the delight and the desire of doing right because it is right1 the great and splendid spirit that belongs to all of us2 and yet it is the highest when the thirst of your soul is real4 ,certainly it is to know ,god's guidance in law2 but what is law8 ,it is to grasp that atmosphere of life and reality which comes out of the moral law to those who seek it in a living person first--the desire of goodness1 the desire1 the love1 the enthusiasm1 the ambition1 cost what it may1 of doing right because it is right4 ,oh1 my friends1 ,i submit--and ,i submit it without fear of contradiction--that is an ambition worthy of ,englishmen4 ,certainly we are not dreamers2 certainly ,god has given us practical activity2 certainly1 whatever we misunderstand1 this we can understand1 the thirst of the soul for ,god is the thirst to love goodness because it is right4 ,and then hastily to conclude1 ,i would say that that thirst is exprest1 that that thirst is satisfied1 not only in moral law and in its atmosphere1 but in one thing more that ,i think we can all understand4 ,when we read the ,new ,testament1 so simple1 so straightforward1 so true1 so beautiful1 with some difficulties1 but no difficulties that a true heart can find insuperable--when we read the ,new ,testament we are brought face to face with the teachings of ,christ4 ,and there is this1 my friends1 more about these teachings1 that if you are to follow them out you have not time enough in time2 the teachings of our ,master demand eternity--there is something about them infinite1 so simple1 so beautiful1 and yet we feel that we are insufficient to fulfil them in this sphere of time4 ,if my soul is athirst for ,god1 it is athirst for the fulfilment of those great1 splendid1 practical teachings which remind me that ,i am to begin to learn my lesson in this narrow school1 but that ,i shall fulfil my achievement in that great land beyond the grave4 ,is that enough8 ,no2 no1 when the heart is lonely2 no1 when the sun is setting2 no1 when the clouds are gathering round us2 no1 when the storm is coming up4 ,it is useless for the preacher1 if he tries to be real1 to talk about law1 or the result of law1 or the splendor of teaching2 if we know the human heart in its width and its activity1 if it is to find satisfaction it must find it in a personal life4 ,you may say you cannot know ,god4 ,that is the ordinary answer of the human sinning heart1 which in modern times calls itself agnostic4 ,know ,god6 ,well1 of course it is truly said that it is by mere license of speech when you talk of knowledge about human perceptions--it is wisely said4 ,you perceive a fact1 my friend2 you must perceive it in itself1 and as it is1 and by an intellect that can infallibly state that it is so and in that manner4 ,knowledge like that is impossible1 ,i grant2 but between that scientific knowledge and utter unbelief there are shades1 first of all of assent that shuts out doubt1 and at last1 at the other pole1 of a doubt that almost shuts out assent4 ,between the two there are activities of life1 and if you are to say1 ,i cannot know the personal ,god with scientific knowledge1 ,i grant it2 but you cannot know anything1 not only in theology1 but in politics1 or social life1 or moral conduct1 or conduct that is not moral--you can know nothing1 you can never act at all1 because all our action is not on knowledge1 but on belief1 and therefore when we turn to a personal life that is not perceived by the activity of the senses we only demand that you are to accept that which it is possible to accept in any sphere of activity1 and which you do accept4 ,it is possible for you1 according to the laws of your being1 to accept a personal ,christ4 ,but1 you say--and ,i must remind you of it as ,i close--a personal ,christ1 but still clothed in human lineaments1 a personal ,christ who is mysterious--how can you accept that8 ,how can you not8 ,my friends1 the human intellect is so framed that it acts habitually upon ideas that are true yet indistinct4 ,you act on space1 you act on time1 you have infinity1 you have in your mouth the word cause4 ,what do you know exactly about infinity1 or space1 or time1 or cause8 ,the human intellect1 it is truly said1 first by the greatest of the fathers1 then repeated by modern thinkers--the human intellect is so great1 first1 that it can take exact ideas1 and then1 because it is infinite1 that it can act instantly upon ideas that are real but indistinct4 ,christ--yes1 first ,he is indistinct yet most real--real because ,he entered into history1 real because ,he exprest the idea that is in the brain and heart of us all2 indistinct because these little twenty centuries have separated us from ,his actual historic life2 but a fact to those who seek ,him1 because ,his power is to make ,himself an inward gift to the human soul1 because ,his activity is such that ,he meets us on the altar of ,his sacred sacrament1 that ,he meets us in the divine ,word to express ,his thoughts1 that ,he meets us in consolation1 that ,he meets us in absolution1 in moments of sorrow and of prayer4 ,oh1 you are not driven to a distant infinity6 ,oh1 you are not asked to rest upon a shadow ,i ,oh1 you are not besought to play the dreamer or the sentimentalist1 when you think about ,god6 ,oh1 you are asked to remember that fair1 sweet vision--the vision of a ,man so devoid of vulgarity1 that whilst ,he loved the people ,he did not despise the great--the vision of a ,man so strong that ,he could face a multitude1 so tender that ,he could raise the lost woman1 so gentle that the little children gathered their arms about ,his neck2 the vision of a ,man at home with fishermen1 and at home with the high-born1 with thoughts so deep that they permeate modern ,christendom1 with thoughts so simple that they taught truth to ancient ,galilee2 the vision of a ,man who encouraged youth1 the ,one on whom we rest1 by whom we hang1 in whom we hope1 who sympathizes with all our best desires1 who does not denounce us1 but only intercedes and pities2 the ,man who never places ,himself upon a ,pharisaic pedestal1 but feels with the child1 with the boy1 with the man1 with the woman1--the ,man of men1 the crown of our humanity1 the ,god in ,man1 the ,man in ,god1 the power of the sacraments1 the force of prayer1 the sweet1 dear ,friend who never misunderstands us1 never forsakes us1 never is hard upon us4 ,my friends1 it is your privilege1 it is mine1 beyond the privilege of the psalmist1 to know in the gospel1 to know in the ,church1 ,christ1 ,god exprest in humanity4 ,is your soul athirst for the highest8 ,you may find it if you could come in repentance1 if you come in desire1 if you come in quiet determination to do your duty2 you may find it satisfied--yes1 now satisfied--in ,christ4