,transcriber's note3 ,a number of typographical errors have been corrected1 and two minor changes have been made to the book's formatting4 ,there is a full list of emendations at the end4 ,the book's inconsistent hyphenation has been preserved1 with an educated guess made as to whether those hyphens appearing at ends of the line were intended by the author1 or just added because the word was broken at that point4 ,,expositions ,,of ,,holy ,,scripture ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4 ,d41 ,litt4 ,d4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ephesians ,,epistles ,,of ,,st4 ,,peter ,,and ,,st4 ,,john ,new ,york ,george ,h4 ,doran ,company ,,expositions ,,of ,,holy ,,scripture ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4 ,d41 ,litt4 ,d4 ,,ephesians ,,contents ,,page ,,saints ,,and ,,faithful 7,eph i4 #a7 #a ',,all ,,spiritual ,,blessings' 7,eph4 i4 #c7 #h ',,according ,,to'--,i4 7,eph4 i4 #e1 #g7 #ah ',,according ,,to'--,,ii4 7,eph4 i4 #g7 #bf ,,god',s ,,inheritance ,,and ,,ours 7,eph4 i4 #aa1 #ad7 #ce ,,the ,,earnest ,,and ,,the ,,inheritance 7,eph4 i4 #ad7 #dc ,,the ,,hope ,,of ,,the ,,calling 7,eph4 i4 #ah7 #eb ,,god',s ,,inheritance ,,in ,,the ,,saints 7,eph4 i4 #ah7 #fb ,,the ,,measure ,,of ,,immeasurable ,,power 7,eph4 i4 #ai1 #bj7 #gb ,,the ,,resurrection ,,of ,,dead ,,souls 7,eph4 ii4 #d1 #e7 #ha ',,the ,,riches ,,of ,,grace' 7,eph4 ii4 #g7 #ia ,,salvation3 ,,grace3 ,,faith 7,eph4 ii4 #h1 ,r4,v47 #ih ,,god',s ,,workmanship ,,and ,,our ,,works 7,eph4 ii4 #aj7 #ajh ,,the ,,chief ,,corner-,,stone 7,eph4 ii4 #bj1 ,r4,v47 #aah ',,the ,,whole ,,family' 7,eph4 iii4 #ae7 #abh ,,strengthened ,,with ,,might 7,eph4 iii4 #aj7 #acb ,,the ,,indwelling ,,christ 7,eph4 iii4 #ag7 #adb ,,love ,,unknowable ,,and ,,known 7,eph4 iii4 #ah1 #ai7 #aea ,,the ,,paradox ,,of ,,love',s ,,measure 7,eph4 iii4 #ah7 #afb ,,the ,,climax ,,of ,,all ,,prayer 7,eph4 iii4 #ai7 #aga ,,measureless ,,power ,,and ,,endless ,,glory 7,eph4 iii4 #bj1 #ba7 #ahj ,,the ,,calling ,,and ,,the ,,kingdom 7,eph4 iv4 #a2 ,rev4 iii4 #d7 #aid ',,the ,,threefold ,,unity' 7,eph4 iv4 #e7 #bjc ',,the ,,measure ,,of ,,grace' 7,eph4 iv4 #g1 ,r4,v47 #bjg ,,the ,,goal ,,of ,,progress 7,eph4 iv4 #ac1 ,r4,v47 #baf ,,christ ,,our ,,lesson ,,and ,,our ,,teacher 7,eph4 iv4 #bj1 #ba7 #bbd ,a ,,dark ,,picture ,,and ,a ,,bright ,,hope 7,eph4 iv4 #bb7 #bcc ,,the ,,new ,,man 7,eph4 iv4 #bd7 #bdg ,,grieving ,,the ,,spirit 7,eph4 iv4 #cj7 #bfb ,,god',s ,,imitators 7,eph4 v4 #a7 #bgj ,,what ,,children ,,of ,,light ,,should ,,be 7,eph4 v4 #h7 #bgg ,,the ,,fruit ,,of ,,the ,,light 7,eph4 v4 #i1 ,r4,v47 #bhf ,,pleasing ,,christ 7,eph4 v4 #aj7 #bie ,,unfruitful ,,works ,,of ,,darkness 7,eph4 v4 #aa7 #cjc ,,paul',s ,,reasons ,,for ,,temperance 7,eph4 v4 #aa-ba7 #cac ,,sleepers ,,at ,,noonday 7,eph4 v4 #ad7 #cah ,,redeeming ,,the ,,time 7,eph4 v4 #ae1 #af7 #cbg ',,the ,,panoply ,,of ,,god' 7,eph4 vi4 #ac7 #ccg ',,the ,,girdle ,,of ,,truth' 7,eph4 vi4 #ad1 ,r4,v47 #cdc ',,the ,,breastplate ,,of ,,righteousness' 7,eph4 vi4 #ad7 #cej ,a ,,soldier',s ,,shoes 7,eph4 vi4 #ae7 #cec ,,the ,,shield ,,of ,,faith 7,eph4 vi4 #af7 #cfa ',,the ,,helmet ,,of ,,salvation' 7,eph4 vi4 #ag7 #cfg ',,the ,,sword ,,of ,,the ,,spirit' 7,eph4 vi4 #ag7 #cgc ,,peace1 ,,love1 ,,and ,,faith 7,eph4 vi4 #bc7 #cha ,,the ,,wide ,,range ,,of ,,god',s ,,grace 7,eph4 vi4 #bd7 #cia ,,saints ,,and ,,faithful ',the saints which are at ,ephesus and the faithful in ,christ ,jesus4'--,eph4 i4 #a4 ,that is ,paul's way of describing a church4 ,there were plenty of very imperfect ,christians in the community at ,ephesus and in the other ,asiatic churches to which this letter went4 ,as we know1 there were heretics amongst them1 and many others to whom the designation of 'holy' seemed inapplicable4 ,but ,paul classes them all under one category1 and describes the whole body of believing people by these two words1 which must always go together if either of them is truly applied1 'saints' and 'faithful4' ,now ,i think that from this simple designation we may gather two or three very obvious indeed1 and very familiar and old-fashioned1 but also very important1 thoughts4 ,i4 ,a ,christian is a saint4 ,we are accustomed to confine the word to persons who tower above their brethren in holiness and manifest godliness and devoutness4 ,the ,new ,testament never does anything like that4 ,some people fancy that nobody can be a saint unless he wears a special uniform of certain conventional sanctities4 ,the ,new ,testament does not take that point of view at all1 but regards all true believers in ,jesus ,christ as being1 therein and thereby1 saints4 ,now1 what does it mean by that8 ,the word at bottom simply signifies separation4 ,whatever is told off from a mass for a specific purpose would be called1 if it were a thing1 'holy4' ,but there is one special kind of separation which makes a person a saint1 and that is separation to ,god1 for ,his uses1 in obedience to ,his commandment1 that ,he may employ the man as ,he will4 ,so in the ,old ,testament the designation 'holy' was applied quite as much to the high priest's mitre or to the sacrificial vessels of the ,temple as it was to the people who used them4 ,it did not imply originally1 and in the first place1 moral qualities at all1 but simply that this person or that thing belonged to ,god4 ,but then you cannot belong to ,god unless you are like ,him4 ,there can be no consecration to ,god except the heart is being purified4 ,so the ordinary meaning of holiness1 as moral purity and cleanness from sin1 necessarily comes from the original meaning1 separation and devotion to the service of ,god4 ,thus we get the whole significance of ,christian holiness4 ,we are to belong to ,god1 and to know that we do belong to ,him4 ,we are to be separated from the mass of people and things that have no consciousness of ownership and do not yield themselves up to ,him for ,his use4 ,but we cannot belong to ,him1 and be devoted to ,his service1 unless we are being made day by day pure in heart1 and like ,him to whom we say that we belong4 ,a human being can only be ,god's by the surrender of heart and will1 and through the continual appropriation into his own character and life1 of righteousness and purity like that which belongs to ,god4 ,holiness is ,god's stamp upon a man1 ,his 'mark1' by which ,he says--,this man belongs to ,me4 ,as you write your name in a book1 so ,god writes ,his name on ,his property1 and the name that ,he writes is the likeness of ,his own character4 ,note1 again1 that in ,god's church there is no aristocracy of sanctity1 nor does the name of saint belong only to those who live high above the ordinary tumults of life and the secularities of daily duty4 ,you may be as true a saint in a factory--ay6 and a far truer one--than in a hermitage4 ,you do not need to cultivate a medival or ,roman ,catholic type of ascetic piety in order to be called saints4 ,you do not need to be amongst the select few to whom it is given here upon earth1 but not given without their own effort1 to rise to the highest summits of holy conformity with the divine will4 ,but down amongst all the troubles and difficulties and engrossing occupations of our secular work1 you may be living saintly lives2 for the one condition of being holy is that we should know whose we are and whom we serve1 and we can carry the consciousness of belonging to ,him into every corner of the poorest1 most crowded1 and most distracted life1 recognising ,his presence and seeking to do ,his will4 ,the saint is the man who says1 ',o ,lord1 truly ,i am ,thy servant2 ,thou hast loosed my bonds4' ,because ,he has loosed my bonds1 the bonds that held me to my sins1 ,he has therein fastened me with far more stringent bonds of love to the sweet and free service of ,his redeeming love4 ,all ,his children are ,his saints4 ,the ,old ,testament ritual had one sacrifice which carried this truth in it4 ,it is the first prescribed in the ,book of ,leviticus1 the ceremonial book--namely1 the burnt offering4 ,its especial meaning was this1 that the whole man is to be laid upon ,god's altar and there consumed in the fire of a divine love4 ,it began with expiation1 as all sacrifices must1 and on the footing of expiation there followed the transformation1 by the fire of ,god1 from gross earthliness into vapour and odour which went up in wreaths of fragrance acceptable to ,god4 ,so we are to be laid upon the divine altar4 ,so1 because we have been accepted in the ,beloved1 and have received the atonement for our sins through ,his great sacrifice1 we are to be consecrated to ,his service and1 touched by the fire which ,he sends down1 we are to be changed into a sweet odour acceptable to ,him as were 'the saints which are in ,ephesus4' ,,ii4 ,further1 ,christian men are saints because they are believers4 ',the saints' and 'the faithful' are not two sets of people1 but one4 ,the ,apostle starts1 as it were1 on the surface1 and goes down2 takes off the uppermost layer and lets us see what is below it2 begins with the flowers or the fruit1 and then carries us to the root4 ,the saints are saints because they are first of all faithful4 ',faithful' here1 of course1 does not mean1 as it usually does in our ordinary language1 'true' and 'trusty1' 'reliable' and 'keeping our word1' but it means simply 'believing'2 having faith1 not in the sense of fidelity1 but in the sense of trust4 ,so1 then1 here is ,paul's notion--and it is not only ,paul's notion1 it is ,god's truth--that the only way by which a man ever comes to realise that he belongs to ,god1 and to yield himself in glad surrender to ,his uses1 and so to become pure and holy like ,him whom ,he loves and aspires to1 is by humble faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,if you want to talk in theological terminology1 sanctification follows upon faith4 ,it is when we believe and trust in ,jesus ,christ that all the great motives begin to tell upon life and heart1 which deliver us from our selfishness1 which bind us to ,god1 which make it a joy to do anything for ,his service1 which kindle in our hearts the flame of fructifying and consecrating and transforming love4 ,faith1 the simple reliance of a desperate and therefore trusting heart upon ,jesus ,christ for all that it needs1 is the foundation of the loftiest elevation and attainment of the ,christian character4 ,we begin down there that we may set the shining topstone of ',holiness to the ,lord' upon the heaven-pointing summit of our lives4 ,note how here ,paul sets forth the object of our faith and the blessedness of it4 ,i do not think ,i am forcing too much meaning into his words when ,i ask you to notice with what distinct emphasis and intentional fulness he employs the double name of our ,lord here to describe the object upon which our faith fixes1 ',faithful in ,christ ,jesus4' ,we must lay hold of the ,manhood1 and we must lay hold of the office4 ,we must rest our soul's salvation on ,him as our brother1 ,jesus who was incarnate in sinful flesh for us2 and we must also rest it on ,him as ,god's anointed1 who came in human flesh to fulfil the divine loving-kindness and purposes1 and in that flesh to die4 ,a faith in a ,jesus who was not a ,christ would not sanctify2 a faith in a ,christ who is not ,jesus would be impalpable and impotent4 ,we must take the two together1 believing and feeling that we lay hold upon a loving ,man1 'bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh'2 and also upon ,him who in ,his very humanity is the ,messenger and ,angel of ,god's covenant2 the ,christ for whom the way has been being prepared from the beginning1 and who has come to fulfil all the purposes of the divine heart4 ,and notice1 too1 how there is suggested here also1 the blessedness of that faith1 inasmuch as it is a faith in ,christ4 ,the ,new ,testament speaks in diverse ways about the relation between the believing soul and ,jesus ,christ4 ,it sometimes speaks of faith as being towards ,him1 and that suggests the going out of a hand that1 as it were1 stretches towards what it would lay hold of4 ,it sometimes speaks of faith as being on ,him1 which suggests the idea of a building on its foundation1 or a hand leaning on a support4 ,and it sometimes speaks1 as here1 of faith being 'in ,him1' which suggests the folded wings of the dove that has found its nest1 the repose of faith1 the quiet rest in the ,lord1 and 'waiting patiently for ,him4' ,such trust so directed is the one condition of such tranquillity4 ,then1 again1 note a ,christian is all that he is because he is 'in ,christ4' ,that phrase 'in ,him' is in some sense the keynote of this ,epistle to the ,ephesians4 ,if you will look over the letter1 and pick out all the connections in which the expression 'in ,him' occurs1 ,i think you will be astonished to see how rich and full are its uses1 and how manifold the blessings of which it is the condition4 ,but the use which ,paul makes of it here is just this--everything in our ,christian life depends upon our being rooted and grafted in ,jesus4 ,dear brethren1 the main weakness1 ,i believe1 of what is called ,evangelical ,christianity has been that it has not always kept true to the proportionate prominence which the ,new ,testament gives to the two thoughts1 ',christ for us1' and ',christ in us4' ,for one sermon that you have heard which has dwelt earnestly and believingly on the thought of the indwelling ,christ and the ,christian indwelling in ,him1 you have heard a hundred about the ,sacrifice on the ,cross for sins1 and the great atonement that was made by it4 ,those of you1 who have listened to me from ,sunday to ,sunday1 know that ,i am not to be charged with minimising or neglecting that truth1 but ,i want to lay upon all your hearts this earnest conviction1 that a gospel which throws into enormous prominence ',christ for us1' and into very small prominence ',christ in us1' is lame of one foot1 is lopsided1 untrue to the symmetry and proportion of the ,gospel as it is revealed in the ,new ,testament1 and will never avail for the nourishment and maturity of ,christian souls4 ',christ for us' by all means1 and for evermore1 but ',christ in us1' or else ,he will not be 'for us4' ,,iii4 ,lastly1 a ,christian may be a saint1 and a believer1 and in ,christ ,jesus1 though he is in ,ephesus4 ,many of you know that probably the words 'in ,ephesus' are no part of the original text of this epistle1 which was apparently a circular letter1 in which the designation of the various churches to which it was sent was left blank1 to be filled in with the name of each little community to which ,paul's messenger from ,rome carried it4 ,the copy from which our text was taken had probably been delivered at ,ephesus2 and1 at any rate1 one of the copies would go there4 ,what was ,ephesus8 ,satan's very headquarters and seat in ,asia ,minor1 a focus of idolatry1 superstition1 wealth1 luxury springing from commerce1 and moral corruption4 ',great is ,diana of the ,ephesians4' ,the books of ,ephesus were a synonym for magical books4 ,many of us know how rotten to the core the society of that great city was4 ,and there1 on the dunghill1 was this little garden of fragrant and flowering plants4 ,they were 'saints in ,christ ,jesus1' though they were 'saints in ,ephesus4' ,never mind about surroundings4 ,it is possible for us to keep ourselves in the love of ,god1 and in the fellowship of ,his ,son wherever we are1 and whatever may lie around us4 ,you and ,i have too to live in a big1 wicked city1 and to work out our religion in a society honeycombed with corruption1 because of commerce and other influences4 ,do not let us forget that these people whom ,paul called 'saints' and 'faithful' had a harder fight to wage than we have1 with less to hearten and strengthen them in it4 ,only remember if the 'saints in ,ephesus' are to be 'in ,christ1' they need to keep themselves very straight up4 ,the carbonic acid gas is heavy and goes down to the bottom of the cave1 and if a man will walk bolt upright1 he will keep his nostrils above it2 but if he stoops1 he will get down into it4 ,walk straight up1 with your head erect1 looking to the ,master1 and your respiratory organs will be above the poison4 ,if we are to be in ,christ when we are in ,ephesus1 we need to keep ourselves separate and faithful1 and to keep ourselves in ,christ4 ,if the diver comes out of the diving-bell he is drowned4 ,if he keeps inside its crystal walls he may be on the bottom of the ocean1 but he is dry and safe4 ,keep in the fortress by loyal faith1 by humble realisation of ,his presence1 by continual effort1 and 'nothing shall by any means harm you1' but 'your lives shall be holy1 being hid with ,christ in ,god4' ',,all ,,spiritual ,,blessings' ',blessed be ,god 444 who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in ,christ4'--,eph4 i4 #c4 ,it is very characteristic of ,paul's impetuous fervour and exuberant faith that he begins this letter with a doxology1 and plunges at once into the very heart of his theme4 ,colder natures reach such heights by slow degrees4 ,he gains them at a bound1 or rather1 he dwells there always4 ,put a pen into his hand1 and it is like tapping a blast furnace2 and out rushes a fiery stream at white heat4 ,but there is a great deal more than fervour in the words4 ,in the rush of his thoughts there is depth and method4 ,we come slowly after1 and try by analysing and meditation to recover some of the fervour and the fire of such utterances as this4 ,notice that buoyant1 joyous1 emphatic reiteration3 ',blessed1' 'blest1' 'blessings4' ,that is more than the fascination exercised over a man's mind by a word2 it covers very deep thoughts and goes very far into the centre of the ,christian life4 ,god blesses us by gifts2 we bless ,him by words4 ,the aim of ,his act of blessing is to evoke in our hearts the love that praises4 ,we receive first1 and then1 moved by ,his mercies1 we give4 ,our highest response to ,his most precious gifts is that we shall 'take the cup of salvation1 and call upon the name of the ,lord1' and in the depth of thankful and recipient hearts shall say1 ',blessed be ,god who hath blessed us4' ,now ,i think that ,i shall best bring out the deep meaning of these words if ,i simply follow them as they lie before us4 ,i do not wish to say anything about our echo in blessing ,god4 ,i wish to speak about the original sweet sound1 ,his blessing to us4 ,i4 ,and ,i note1 first of all1 the character and the extent of these blessings which are the constituents of the ,christian life4 ',all spiritual blessings1' says the ,apostle4 ,now1 ,i am not going to weary you with mere exegetical remarks1 but ,i do want to lay stress upon this1 that1 when the ,apostle speaks about 'spiritual blessings1' he does not merely use that word 'spiritual' as defining the region in us in which the blessings are given1 though that is also implied2 but rather as pointing to the medium by which they are conferred4 ,that is to say1 he calls them 'spiritual1' not because they are1 unlike material and outward blessings1 gifts for the inner man1 the true self1 but because they are imparted to the waiting spirit by that ,divine ,spirit who communicates to men all the most precious things of ,god4 ,they are 'spiritual' because the ,holy ,spirit is the medium of communication by which they reach men's spirits4 ,and ,i may just pause for one moment--and it shall only be for a moment--to point out to you how in-woven into the very texture of the writer's thoughts1 and all the more emphatic because quite incidental1 and needing to be looked for to be found1 is here the evidence of his believing that the name of ,god was ,god the ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit4 ,for it is the ,father who is the ,giver1 the ,son who is the ,reservoir1 the ,spirit who is the ,communicator1 of these spiritual gifts4 ,and ,i do not think that any man could have written these words of my text1 the main purpose of which is altogether different to setting forth the mystery of the divine nature1 unless he had believed in ,god the ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost4 ,but1 apart altogether from that1 let me remind you in one sentence of how the gifts which thus come to men by that ,divine ,spirit derive their characteristic quality from their very medium of communication4 ,there are many other blessings for which we have to say1 ',blessed be ,god'2 for all the gifts that come from 'the ,father of ,lights' are light1 and everything that the ,fountain of sweetness bestows upon mankind is sweet1 but earthly blessings are but the shadow of blessing4 ,they remain without us1 and they pass4 ,and if they were all for which we had to praise ,god1 our praises had need to be often checked by sobs and tears1 and often very doubtful and questioning4 ,if there were none other but such1 and if this poor life were all1 then ,i do not think it would be true that it is 'better to have loved and lost1 ,than never to have loved at all4' ,it is but a quavering voice of praise1 with many a sob between1 that goes up to bless ,god for anything but spiritual blessings4 ,though it is true that all which comes from the ,father of ,lights is light1 the sorrows and troubles that ,he sends have the light terribly muffled in darkness1 and it needs strong faith and insight to pierce through the cloud to see the gleam of anything bright beneath4 ,but when we turn to this other region1 and think of what comes to every poor1 tremulous1 human heart1 that likes to take it through that ,divine ,spirit--the forgiveness of sins1 the rectification of errors1 the purification of lusts and passions1 the gleams of hope on the future1 and the access with confidence into the standing and place of children2 oh1 then surely we can say1 ',blessed be ,god for spiritual blessings4' ,but if the word which defines may thus seem to limit1 the other word which accompanies it sweeps away every limit2 for it calls upon us to bless ,god for all spiritual blessings4 ,that is to say1 there is no gap in ,his gift4 ,it is rounded and complete and perfect4 ,whatever a man's needs may require1 whatever his hopes can dream1 whatever his wishes can stretch out towards1 it is all here1 compacted and complete4 ,the spiritual gifts are encyclopdiacal and all-sufficient4 ,they are not segments1 but completed circles4 ,when ,god gives ,he gives amply4 ,,ii4 ,so much1 then1 for the first point2 now1 in the second place1 note the one divine act by which all these blessings have been bestowed4 ',blessed be ,god who has given'2 or1 still more definitely1 pointing to some one specific moment and deed in which the benefaction was completed1 ',blessed be ,god who gave4' ,when8 ,well1 ideally in the depths of ,his own eternal mind the gift was complete or ever the recipients were created to receive it1 and historically the gift was complete in the act of redemption when ,he spared not ,his ,own ,son1 but gave ,him up unto the death for us all4 ,a man may destine an estate for the benefit of some community which for generations long may continue to enjoy its benefits1 but the gift is complete when he signs the deed that makes it over4 ,humphrey ,chetham gave the boys in his school to-day their education when1 centuries ago1 he assigned his property to that beneficent purpose4 ,so1 away back in the mists of ,eternity the gift was completed1 and the signature was put to the deed when ,jesus ,christ was born1 and the seal was added when ,jesus ,christ died4 ',blessed be ,god who hath given4' ,so1 then1 we may not only draw the conclusion which the ,apostle drew1 'how shall ,he not with ,him also freely give us all things8' but we can draw an even grander one1 ',has ,he not with ,him also freely given us all things8' ,and we possess them all to-day if our hearts are resting on ,jesus ,christ4 ,the limit of the gift is only in ourselves4 ,all has been given1 but the question remains how much has been taken4 ,oh1 ,christian men and women1 there is nothing that we require more than to have what we have1 to possess what is ours1 to make our own what has been bestowed4 ,you sometimes hear of some beggar1 or private soldier1 or farm labourer1 who has come all at once into an estate that was his1 years before he knew anything about it4 ,there is such a boundless wealth belonging by right1 and by the ,giver's gift1 to every ,christian soul2 and yet1 here are we1 many of us1 like the paupers who sometimes turn up in workhouses1 all in rags1 and with deposit-receipts for #bjj or #cjj stitched into the rags1 that they get no good out of4 ,here are we1 with all that wealth1 paupers still4 ,be sure that you have what you have4 ,do you remember the exhortation to a valiant effort in one of the stories in the ,old ,testament--',know ye that ,ramoth-gilead is ours1 and we take it not8' ,and that is exactly what is true about hosts of professing ,christians who have not1 in any real sense1 the possession of what ,god has given them4 ,it is well to ask1 for our desires are the measures of our capacities4 ,it is well to ask1 but we very often ask when what is wanted is not that we should get more1 but that we should utilise what we have4 ,and we make mistakes therein1 as if ,god needed to be besought to give1 when all the while it is we who need to be stirred up to grasp and keep the things that are freely given to us of ,god4 ,,iii4 ,in the next place1 notice the one place where all these blessings are kept4 ',blessed be ,god who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places4' ',in heavenly places4' ,now that does not merely define the region of origin1 the locality where they originated or whence they come4 ,it does do that1 but it does a great deal more4 ,it does not merely tell us1 as we often are disposed to think that it does1 that 'every good and every perfect gift is from above1 and cometh down'--though that is perfectly true1 but it means much rather that in order to get the gift we must go up4 ,they are in the heavenly places1 and they cannot live anywhere else4 ,they have been sticking shrubs in tubs outside our public buildings this last week4 ,how long will they keep their leaves and their freshness8 ,how soon will they need to be shifted and taken back again to the sweeter air1 where they can flourish8 ,god's spiritual gifts cannot grow in smoke and dirt and a polluted atmosphere4 ,and if a professing ,christian man lives his life on the low levels he will have very few of the heavenly gifts coming down to him there4 ,and that is the reason--the reason above all others--why1 with such a large provision made for all possible necessities and longings of all sorts1 people who call themselves ,christians go up and down the world feeble and poor1 and with little enjoyment of their religion1 and having verified scarcely anything of the great promises which ,god has given them4 ,brother1 according to the old word with which the ,mass used to begin1 ',sursum corda'--up with your hearts6 ,the blessings are in the heavens1 and if we want them we must go where they are4 ,it is not enough to drink sparing draughts from the stream as it flows through the plain4 ,travel up to the headwaters1 where the great pure fountain is1 that gushes out abundant and inexhaustible4 ,the gifts are heavenly1 and there they abide1 and thither we must mount if we would possess them4 ,now that this understanding of the words is correct ,i think is clearly shown by a verse in the next chapter1 where we find the very same phrase employed4 ,in this connection the ,apostle says that ',god hath raised us up together in heavenly places in ,christ ,jesus4' ,that is to say1 the true ideal of the ,christian life is that1 even here and now1 it is a life of such intimate union and incorporation with ,jesus ,christ as that where ,he is we are1 and that even whilst we tabernacle upon earth and move about amongst its illusions and changing scenes1 in the depth of our true being we may be fixed1 and sit at rest with ,christ where ,he is4 ,do not dismiss that as mere pulpit rhetoric4 ,do not say that it is mystical and incomprehensible1 and cannot be reduced into practice amidst the distractions of daily life4 ,brethren1 it is not so6 ,jesus ,christ ,himself said about ,himself that ,he came down from heaven1 and that though ,he did1 even whilst ,he wore the likeness of the flesh1 and was one of us1 ,he was 'the ,son of ,man which is in ,heaven1' when ,he lay in the manger1 when ,he worked at the carpenter's bench in ,nazareth1 when ,he walked with weary feet those blessed acres1 when ,he hung1 for our advantage1 on the bitter ,cross4 ,and that was no incommunicable property of ,his mysterious nature1 but it was the typical example of what it is possible for manhood to be4 ,and you and ,i1 if we are to possess in any measure corresponding with the gift of ,christ the spiritual blessing which ,god bestows1 must have our lives 'hid with ,christ in ,god1' and sit together with ,him in the heavenly places4 ,,iv4 ,lastly1 note the one ,person in whom all spiritual blessings are enshrined4 ',in the heavenly places in ,christ ,jesus4' ,you cannot separate between ,him and ,his gifts1 neither in the way of getting ,him without them1 nor in the way of getting them without ,him4 ,they are ,himself1 and in the deepest analysis all spiritual blessings are reducible to one--viz4 that the ,spirit of ,jesus ,christ ,himself shall dwell with us4 ,now1 that union by which it is possible for poor1 empty1 sinful creatures to be filled with ,his fulness1 animated with ,his life1 strengthened with ,his omnipotence1 and sanctified by ,his indwelling--that union is the very kernel of this ,epistle to the ,ephesians4 ,i dare say ,i have often drawn your attention to the singular emphasis and repetition with which that phrase 'in ,christ' occurs throughout the letter4 ,just take the two or three instances of it that ,i gather as ,i speak4 ,in this first chapter we read1 'the faithful in ,jesus ,christ4' ,then comes our text1 'blessings in heavenly places in ,christ4' ,then1 in the very next verse1 we read1 'chosen us in ,him4' ,then1 a verse or two after1 we have 'accepted in the ,beloved1' which is immediately followed by1 'in whom we have redemption through ,his blood4' ,then1 again1 'that ,he might gather together in one all things in ,christ1 in whom also we have obtained the inheritance4' ,i need not make other quotations1 but throughout the letter every blessing that can gladden or sanctify the human spirit is regarded by the ,apostle as being stored and shrined in ,jesus ,christ3 inseparable from ,him1 and therefore to be found by us only in union with ,him4 ,and that is the point of all which ,i want to say--viz4 that1 inasmuch as all spiritual blessings that a soul can need are hived in ,him in whom is all sweetness1 the way1 and the only way1 to get them is that we1 too1 should pass into ,him and dwell in ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is ,his own teaching3 ',i am the ,vine1 ye are the branches4 ,abide in ,me4 ,separate from ,me ye can do nothing1' and get nothing1 and are nothing4 ,oh1 brethren6 it is well that all our treasures should be in one place4 ,it is better that they should all be in ,one ,person4 ,and if only we will lay our poor emptiness by the side of ,his fulness there will pass over from that infinite abundance and sufficiency everything that we can require4 ,we abide in ,him by faith1 by meditation1 by love1 by submission1 by practical obedience1 and1 if we are wise1 the effort of our lives will be to keep close to that ,lord4 ,as long as we keep touch with ,him we have all and abound4 ,break the connection by wandering away1 in thought and desire1 by indulgence in sin1 by letting earthly passions surge in and separate us from ,him--break the connection by rebellion1 by making ourselves our own ends and lords1 and it is like switching off the electricity4 ,everything falls dead4 ,you cannot have ,christ's blessing unless you take ,christ4 ,and so1 dear brethren1 'abide in ,me and ,i in you4' ,there is nothing else that will make us blessed2 there is nothing else that will meet all the circumference of our necessities2 there is nothing else that will quiet our hearts1 will sanctify our understandings4 ,christ is yours if 'ye are ,christ's4' ',of ,his fulness have all we received1' for it all became ours when we became ,his1 and ,christian growth on earth and heaven is but the unfolding of the folded graces that are contained in ,him4 ,we possess the whole ,christ1 but eternity is needed to disclose all the unsearchable riches of our inheritance in ,him4 ',,according ,,to'--,i4 ',according to the good pleasure of ,his will1 444 ,according to the riches of ,his grace4'--,eph4 i4 #e1 #g4 ,that phrase1 'according to1' is one of the key-words of this profound epistle1 which occurs over and over again1 like a refrain4 ,i reckon twelve instances of it in three chapters of the letter1 and they all introduce one or other of the two thoughts which appear in the two fragments that ,i have taken for my text4 ,they either point out how the great blessings of ,christ's mission have underlying them the divine purpose1 or they point out how the process of the ,christian life in the individual has for its source and measure the abundances1 the wealth of the grace and the power of ,god4 ,so in both aspects the facts of earth are traced up to1 and declared to be1 the outcome of the heavenly depths1 and that gives solemnity1 grandeur1 elevation1 to this epistle all its own4 ,we are carried1 as it were1 away up into the recesses of the mountains of ,god1 and we look down upon the unruffled1 mysterious1 deep lake1 from which come the rivers that water all the plains beneath4 ,now of these two types of reference to the divine will and the divine wealth1 ,i should like to gather together the instances1 as they occur in this letter1 in so far as ,i can1 in the course of a sermon1 touching them1 it must be1 very imperfectly4 ,but ,i fear that it is impossible to deal with both the phases of this 'according to1' in one discourse4 ,so ,i confine myself to that which is suggested by the first of our two texts1 in the hope that some other day we may be able to overtake the other4 ,so then1 we have set before us here the ,christian thought of the divine will which underlies1 and therefore is manifest by1 the work of ,jesus ,christ1 in its whole sweep and breadth4 ,and ,i just take up the various instances in which this expression occurs in a great variety of forms1 but all retaining substantially the same meaning4 ,i4 ,note that that divine will which underlies and is operative in1 and therefore is certified to us by the whole work of ,jesus ,christ1 in its facts and its consequences1 is a 'good pleasure4' ,now there are few thoughts which the history of the world has shown to be more productive of iron and steel in the human character than that of the sovereign will of ,god4 ,that made ,islam1 and is the secret of its power to-day1 amidst its many corruptions4 ,because these wild desert tribes were all stiffened1 or ,i might say inflamed1 by that profound conviction1 the sovereign will of ,god1 they came down like a hammer upon that corrupt so-called ,christian ,church1 and swept it off the face of the earth1 as it deserved to be swept4 ,and the same thought of the sovereign will1 of which we are but instruments--pawns on its chessboard--made the grand seventeenth century ,puritanism in ,england1 and its sister type of men and of religion in ,holland4 ,for this is a historically proved thesis1 that there is nothing which so contributes to the formation1 and valuation of1 and the readiness to die for1 civil liberty1 as the firm grasp of that thought of the divine sovereignty4 ,just because a man realises that the will of ,god is supreme over all the earth1 he rebels against all forms of human despotism4 ,but with all the good that is in that great thought--and the ,christianity of this day sorely wants the strength that might be given it by the exhibition of that steel medicine--it wants another1 'the good pleasure of ,his will4' ,and that word1 'good pleasure1' does not express1 as ,i think1 in ,paul's usage of it1 the simple notion of sovereignty1 but always the notion of a benevolent sovereignty4 ,it is 'the good pleasure'--as it is put in another place by the same ,apostle--'of ,his goodness4' ,and that thought1 let in upon the solemnity and severity of the other one1 is all that it needs in order to make the man who grasps it not only a hero in conflict1 and a patient martyr in endurance1 but a child in his ,father's house1 rejoicing in the love of his ,father everywhere and always4 ,paul would have us believe that if we will take the work of ,jesus ,christ in the facts of ,his life1 and its results upon humanity1 as our horn-book and lesson1 we shall draw from that some conceptions of the great thing that underlies it1 'the good pleasure of ,his will4' ,we stand in front of this complex universe1 and some of us say3 ',law'2 and some of us say3 ',a ,lawgiver behind the law2 a ,person at the heart of all things'2 but unless we can say3 ',and in the heart of the ,person a will1 which is the expression of a steadfast1 omnipotent love1' then the world seems to me to be a place of unsolvable riddles and a torture-house4 ,there goes the great steam-roller along the road4 ,everybody can see that it crushes down1 and makes its own path4 ,who drives it8 ,the steam in the boiler1 or is there a hand on the lever8 ,and what drives the hand8 ,christianity answers1 and answers with unfaltering lip1 rising clear above contradictions apparent and difficulties real1 ',the good pleasure of ,his will1' and there men can rest4 ,then there is another step4 ,another form in which this 'according to' appears in this letter is1 if we adopt the rendering1 which ,i am disposed to do in the present case1 of the ,authorised ,version rather than of the ,revised1 'according to ,his good pleasure 444 which ,he hath purposed in ,himself4' ,the ,revised ,version says1 ',which ,he hath purposed in ,him1' and that is a perfectly possible rendering4 ,but to me the old one is not only more eloquent1 but more in accordance with the connection4 ,so ,i venture to accept it without further ado--',his good pleasure which ,he hath purposed in ,himself4' ,that brings us into the presence of that same great thought1 which in another aspect is expressed in saying ',his name is ,jehovah1' and in yet another aspect is expressed in saying ',god is love1' viz4 the thought which sounds familiar1 but which has in it depths of strength and illumination and joy1 if we rightly ponder it1 that1 to use human words1 the motive of the divine action is all found within the divine nature4 ,we love one another because we discern1 or think we discern1 lovable qualities in the being on whom our love falls4 ,god loves because ,he is ,god4 ,that great artesian fountain wells up from the depths1 by its own sweet impulse1 and pours itself out2 and 'the good pleasure of ,his goodness' has no other explanation than that it is ,his nature and property to be merciful4 ,and so1 dear brethren1 we get clean past what has sometimes been the misapprehension of good people1 and has oftener been the caricatured representation of ,evangelical truth which its enemies have put forth--that ,god was made to love and pity by reason of the sacrifice of the ,son1 whereas the very opposite is the case4 ,god loves1 therefore ,he sent ,his ,son1 'that whosoever believeth in ,him should not perish but have everlasting life1' and the notion of the ,cross of ,christ as changing the divine heart is as far away from ,evangelical truth as it is from the natural conceptions that men form of the divine nature4 ,we shake hands with our so-called antagonists and say1 ',yes6 we believe as much as you do that ,god does not love us because ,christ died1 but we believe what perhaps you do not1 that ,christ died because ,god loves us1 and would save us4' ',the good pleasure which ,he hath purposed in ,himself4' ,then1 still further1 there is another aspect of this same divine will brought out in other parts of this letter1 of which this is a specimen1 ',having made known unto us the mystery of ,his will1 according to ,his good pleasure which ,he hath purposed in ,himself1 that in the dispensation of the fulness of the times ,he might gather together in one all things in ,christ1' which1 being turned into more modern phraseology1 is just this--that the great aim of that divine sovereign will1 self-originated1 full of loving-kindness to the world1 is to manifest to all men what ,god is1 that all men may know ,him for what ,he is1 and thereby be drawn back again1 and grouped in peaceful unity round ,his ,son1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,that is the intention which is deepest in the divine heart1 the desire which ,god has most for every one of us4 ,and when the ,old ,testament tells us that the great motive of the divine action is for ',my own ,name's sake1' that expression might be so regarded as to disclose an ugly despot1 who only wants to be reverenced by abject and submissive subjects4 ,but what it really means is this1 that the divine love which hovers over its poor1 prodigal children because it is love1 and1 therefore1 lovingly delights in a loving recognition and response1 desires most of all that all the wanderers should see the light1 and that every soul of man should be able to whisper1 with loving heart1 the name1 ',abba6 ,father6' ,is not that an uplifting thought as being the dominant motive which puts in action the whole of the divine activity8 ,god created in order that ,he might fling ,his light upon creatures1 who should thereby be glad4 ,and ,god has redeemed in order that in ,jesus ,christ we might see ,him1 and1 seeing ,him1 be at rest1 and begin to grow like ,him4 ,this is the aim1 ',that they might know ,thee1 the only true ,god 444 whom to know is eternal life4' ,and so self-communication and self-revelation is the very central mystery of the will4 ,but that is not all4 ,another of the forms in which this phrase occurs tells us that that great purpose1 the eternal purpose which ,he purposed in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord1 was that1 ',now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known' by the ,church 'the manifold wisdom of ,god4' ,and so we get another thought1 that that whole work of redemption1 operated by the ,incarnation1 and culminating in the ,crucifixion and ,resurrection and ,ascension of ,jesus ,christ1 stands as being the means by which other orders of creatures1 besides ourselves1 learn to know 'the manifold wisdom of ,god4' ,according to the grand old saying1 at ,creation the 'morning stars sang together for joy4' ,all spiritual creatures1 be they 'higher' or 'lower1' can only know ,god by the observation of ,his acts4 '',twas great to speak a world from nought1 ',tis greater to redeem1' and the same angelic lips that sang these praises on the morning of ,creation have learnt a new song that they sing2 ',glory and honour and dominion and power be unto the ,lamb that was slain4' ,thus to principalities and powers1 a diviner height in the loftiness1 and a diviner depth in the condescension1 and a diviner tenderness in the love1 and a diviner energy in the power1 of the redeeming ,god have been made known1 and this is the thought of ,his eternal purpose4 ,and that brings me to another point which is involved in the words that ,i have just quoted1 which stand in connection with those that ,i have previously referred to4 ,the phrase 'eternal purpose' literally rendered is1 'the purpose of the ages1' and that1 no doubt1 may mean 'eternal' in the sense of running on through all the ages2 or it may mean1 perhaps1 that which we usually attach to the word 'eternal1' viz4 unbeginning and unending4 ,i take the former meaning as the more probable one1 that the ,apostle contemplates that great will of ,god which culminates in ,jesus ,christ1 as coming solemnly sweeping through all the epochs of time from the beginning4 ,in a deeper sense than the poet meant it1 ',through the ages an increasing purpose runs1' and that binds the epochs of humanity together--'the purpose of ,god in ,christ ,jesus4' ,the philosophy of history lies there1 and it is a true instinct that makes the cradle at ,bethlehem the pivot around which the world's chronology revolves4 ,for the deepest thing about all the ages on the further side of it is that they are ',before ,christ1' and the formative fact for all the ages after it is that they are ,anno ,domini4 ,and now the last thing that is suggested by yet another of these eloquent expressions is deduced from another part of the same phrase4 ,the purpose of the ages is described as that which ',he purposed in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4' ,now the word 'purposed' literally is 'made4' ,and it may be a question whether 'purposed' or 'accomplished' is the special meaning to be attached to the general word 'made4' ,either is legitimate4 ,i take it that what the ,apostle means here is that the purpose of ,god1 which we have thus seen as sovereign1 self-originated1 having for its great aim the communication to all ,his creatures of the knowledge of ,himself1 and running through the ages1 and binding them into a unity1 reaches its entire accomplishment in the ,cradle1 and the ,cross1 and the ,throne of ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,he fulfils the divine intention4 ,there is that one life1 and in that life alone of humanity you have a character which is in entire sympathy with the divine mind1 which is in full possession of the divine truth1 which never diverges or deviates by a hair's-breadth from the divine will1 which is the complete and perfect exponent to man of the divine heart and character2 and that ,christ is the fulfilment of all that ,god desired in the depths of eternity1 and the abysses of ,his being4 ,did ,he will that men should know ,him8 ,christ has declared ,him4 ,did ,he will that men should be drawn back to ,him8 ,christ lifted on the ,cross draws all men unto ,him4 ,was it 'according to the good pleasure of ,his goodness' that we men should attain to the adoption of sons8 ,by that ,son we too became sons4 ,was it the purpose of ,his will that we should obtain an 'inheritance'8 ,we obtain it in ,jesus ,christ1 'being heirs of ,god1 and joint-heirs with ,christ4' ,all that ,god willed to do is done4 ,and when we look1 on the one hand1 up to that infinite purpose1 and on the other1 to the ,cross1 we hear from the dying lips1 ',it is finished6' ,the purpose of the ages is accomplished in ,christ ,jesus4 ,is it accomplished with you8 ,i have been speaking about the divine counsel which is a 'good pleasure1' which runs through the whole history of mankind4 ,but it is a divine purpose that you can thwart as far as you are concerned4 ',how often would ,i have gathered 444 and ye would not1' and your 'would not' neutralises ,his 'would4' ,do not stand in the way of the steam-roller4 ,you cannot stop it1 but it can crush you4 ,do not have ,him say about you1 ',in vain have ,i smitten1 in vain have ,i loved4' ,bow1 accept1 recognise that all ,god's armoury is brought to bear upon each of us in that great ,cross and ,passion1 in that great ,incarnation and human life4 ,and ,i beseech you1 in your hearts1 let the will of ,god be done even as for a world it has been done by the sacrifice of ,calvary4 ',,according ,,to'--,,ii4 ',according to the riches of ,his grace4'--,eph4 i4 #g4 ,we have seen1 in a previous sermon1 that a characteristic note of this letter is the frequent occurrence of that phrase 'according to4' ,i also then pointed out that it was employed in two different directions4 ,one class of passages1 with which ,i then tried to deal1 used it to compare the divine purpose in our salvation with the historical process of the salvation4 ,the type of that class of reference is found in a verse just before my text1 'according to the good pleasure of ,his will4' ,there is a second class of passages to which our text belongs1 where the comparison is not between the purpose and its realisation1 but between the stores of the divine riches and the experiences of the ,christian life4 ,the one set of passages suggests the ground of our salvation in the deep purpose of ,god2 the other suggests the measure of the power which is working out that salvation4 ,the instances of this second use of the phrase1 besides the one in my text1 'according to the riches of ,his grace1' are such as these3 ',according to the riches of ,his glory'2 ',according to the power that worketh in us'2 ',according to the measure of the gift of ,christ'2 ',according to the energy of the might of ,his power1 which ,he wrought in ,christ when ,he raised ,him from the dead4' ,now it is clear that all these are varying forms of the same thing4 ,they vary in form1 they are identical in substance4 ,what a ,jew calls a 'cubit' an ,englishman calls a 'foot1' but the result is pretty nearly the same4 ,shillings1 marks1 francs1 are various standards2 they all come to substantially the same result4 ,these varying measures of the divine gift which is at work in man's salvation1 have this in common1 that they all run out into ,god's immeasurable1 unlimited power1 boundless wealth4 ,and so1 if we gather them together1 and try to focus them in a few words1 they may help to widen our conceptions of what we ought to expect from ,god1 to bow us in contrition as to the small use that we have made of it1 and to open our desires wide1 that they may be filled4 ,i only aspire1 then1 to deal with these four forms which ,i have already suggested4 ,i4 ,the measure of our possible attainments is the whole wealth of ,god4 ',according to the riches of ,his grace4' ,another angle at which the same thought is viewed appears in another part of the letter1 where we have this variation in the expression1 ',according to the riches of ,his glory4' ',grace' and ',glory' are generally opposed antithetically2 in this epistle they are united1 for in the verse before my text ,i read3 ',to the praise of the glory of ,his grace4' ,so the first thought is1 the whole wealth of ,god is available for every ,christian soul4 ,now it seems to me that there are very few things that the popular ,christianity of this day needs more than a furnishing up of the familiar old ,christian terminology1 which has largely lost the freshness and the power that it once had4 ,they tell us that these incandescent burners1 that we are using nowadays1 are very much more bright when they are first fixed than after the mantle gets a little worn4 ,so it is with the terminology of ,christianity4 ,it needs to be re-stated1 not in such a way as to take the pith out of it1 which is what a great deal of the modern craze for re-statement means1 but in such a way as to brighten it up again1 and to invest it with something of the 'celestial light' with which it was 'apparelled' when it first came4 ,now that word 'grace1' ,i have no doubt1 sounds to you hard1 theological1 remote4 ,but what does it mean8 ,it gathers into one burning point the whole of the rays of that conception of ,god1 with which it is the glory of ,christianity to have flooded and drenched the world4 ,it tells us that at the heart of the universe there is a heart2 that ,god is ,love1 that that love is the motive-spring of ,his activity1 that it comes and bends over the lowliest with a smile of amity on its lips1 with healing and help in its hands1 with forgiveness for all sins against itself1 with boundless wealth for the poorest1 and that the wealth of ,his self-communicating love is the measure of the wealth that each of us may possess4 ,god gives 'according to the riches of ,his grace4' ,you do not expect a millionaire to give half-a-crown to a subscription fund2 and ,god gives royally1 divinely1 measuring ,his bestowments by the abundance of ,his treasures1 and handing over with an open palm large gifts of coined money1 because there are infinite chests of uncirculated bullion in the deep storehouses4 ',how great is ,thy goodness which ,thou hast manifested before the sons of men for them that fear ,thee4 ,how much greater is ,thy goodness which ,thou hast laid up in store4' ,but whilst ,he gives all1 the question comes to be3 ,what do ,i receive8 ,the measure of ,his gift is ,his measureless grace2 the measure of my reception is my--alas6 easily-measured faith4 ,what about the unearned increment8 ,what about the unrealised wealth8 ,too many of us are like some man who has a great estate in another land4 ,he knows nothing about it1 and is living in grimy poverty in a back street4 ,for you have all ,god's riches waiting for you1 and 'the potentiality of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice' at your beck and call1 and yet you are but poorly realising your possible riches4 ,alas1 that when we might have so much we do have so little4 ',according to the riches of ,his grace' ,he gives4 ,but another 'according to' comes in4 ',according to thy faith be it unto thee4' ,so we have to take these two measures together1 and the working limit of our possession of ,god's riches comes out of the combination of them both4 ,let me remind you1 before ,i pass on1 of what ,i have already suggested is but another phase of this same thought1 ,paul says in this epistle that ,god gives not only 'according to the riches of ,his grace1' but 'according to the riches of ,his glory1' and that the latter expression is substantially identical with the former1 is plain from the combination of the two in an earlier verse of this chapter3 ',to the praise of the glory of ,his grace4' ,thus we come to the blessed thought that the glory of ,god is essentially the revelation of that stooping1 pitying1 pardoning1 enriching love4 ,not in the physical attributes1 not in the characteristics of the divine nature which part ,him off from men1 and make ,him remote1 both from their conceptions and their affections1 but in the love that bends to them is the true glory of ,god4 ,all these other things are but the fringes2 the centre of glory is the ,love1 which is the mightiest and the divinest thing in the ,might ,divine4 ,the sunshine is far stronger than the lightning1 and there is more force developed in the rain than in an earthquake4 ,that truth is what ,christianity has made the common possession of the world4 ,it has thereby broken the chains of dread2 it has bridged over the infinite distance4 ,it has given us a ,god that can love and be loved1 can stoop and can lift1 can pardon and can purify4 ',according to the good pleasure of ,his goodness1'--there is the foundation of our salvation4 ',according to the riches of ,his grace1'--there is the measure of our salvation4 ,,ii4 ,we have another form of the same measure in another set of verses which speak of the present working of ,god's power4 ,the ,apostle speaks in regard to his own apostolic commission of its being given 'according to the working of ,his power'2 and he speaks of all ,christian men as receiving gifts 'according to the power that worketh in us4' ,so there we have a standard that comes1 as it were1 a little closer to ourselves4 ,we do not need to travel up into the dim abysses above1 or think of the sanctities and the secrecies of that divine heart in the light which is inaccessible1 but we have the measure in ourselves4 ,the standards of length are kept at ,greenwich1 the standards of capacity are kept in the ,tower2 but there are local standards distributed throughout the land to which men may go and have their measures corrected4 ,and so besides all these lofty thoughts about the grace and the glory which measures ,his gift1 we can turn within1 if we are ,christian people1 and say1 ',according to the power that worketh in us4' ,ah1 brethren6 there are few things that we want more than to revive and deepen the conviction that in every ,christian man1 by virtue of his faith1 and in proportion to his faith1 there is in operation an actual1 superhuman1 divine power moulding his nature1 guiding1 quickening1 ennobling1 lifting1 confirming1 and hallowing and shaping him into conformity with ,jesus ,christ4 ,i would that we all believed not as a dogma1 but realised as a personal experience1 that irrefragable truth1 ',know ye not that the ,spirit of ,christ dwelleth in you1 except ye be reprobate8' ,the life of self is evil2 the life of ,christ in self is good1 and only good4 ,and if you are ,christian men1 and in the proportion1 as ,i have said1 in which you are living by faith1 you have working in your spirits the very ,spirit of ,christ ,himself4 ,and that power is the measure of your possibilities4 ,obviously 'the power that worketh in us' is able to do a great deal more than it is doing in any of us4 ,and so with deep significance the ,apostle1 side by side with his adducing of this power as being the measure of our possible attainments1 speaks about ,god as being 'able to do for us1 exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think4' ',the power that works in us' transcends in its possibilities our present experience1 it transcends our conceptions1 it transcends our desires4 ,it is able to do everything2 it actually does--well1 you know what it does in you4 ,and the responsibility of hampering and hindering that power from working out its only adequately corresponding results lies at our own doors4 ',a rushing1 mighty wind'--yes2 and in myself a scarcely perceptible breathing1 and often a dead calm1 stagnant as in the latitudes on either side of the ,equator1 where1 for long1 dreary days1 no freshening motion in the atmosphere is perceptible4 ',a fire8'--yes2 then why is my grate full of grey1 cold ashes1 and one little spark in the corner8 ',a fountain springing into everlasting life8'--yes2 then why in my basin is there so much scum and ooze1 mud and defilement1 and so little of the flashing and brilliant water8 ',the power that works in us' is sorely hindered by the weakness in which it works4 ,,iii4 ,in the third place another form of this measure is stated by the ,apostle1 ',according to the measure of the gift of ,christ4' ,that means1 of course1 the gift which ,christ bestows4 ,it is substantially the same idea as ,i have just been dealing with1 only looked at from rather a different point of view4 ,therefore1 ,i need not dwell upon its parallelism with what has just been occupying our attention1 but rather ask you simply to consider one point in reference to it1 and that is that1 side by side with the reference to the gift of ,christ as being the measure of our possible attainments1 the ,apostle enlarges on the ,infinite variety of the shapes which that one gift takes in different people4 ',he gave some apostles1 some prophets1' etc42 one man receiving according to this fashion1 and another according to that1 and to each of us the distribution is made 'according to the measure of the gift of ,christ4' ,that is to say1 it takes us all1 the collective goodness and beauty of the whole community of saints1 to approximate to the fulness of that gift1 and all are needed in their different types and forms of excellence1 sanctity and beauty1 in order to set forth1 even imperfectly1 the richness and the manifoldness of ,his great gift4 ,and so 'we all come'--there is a multiplicity--'unto the perfect man1 the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ'--there is a unity in which the multiplicity inheres4 ,so try to get a little more of some different type of excellence than that to which you are naturally inclined4 ,seek1 and consciously endeavour1 to appropriate into your character uncongenial excellences1 and be very charitable in your judgments of the different types of ,christian conformity to ,christ our ,lord4 ,the crystals that are set round a light do not quarrel with each other as to whether green1 or yellow1 or blue1 or red1 or violet is the true colour to reflect4 ,we need all the seven prismatic tints to make the perfect white light4 ,the gift of ,christ is many-sided2 try not to be one-sided in your reception of it4 ,,iv4 ,and now the last form of this measure is 'according to the energy of the might of ,his power1 which ,he wrought in ,christ when ,he raised ,him from the dead4' ,when we gazed upon the riches of ,god's grace1 they were high above us1 when we looked upon 'the power that worketh in us1' we saw it working amidst many hindrances and hamperings1 but here there is presented to us in a concrete example1 close beside us1 of what ,god can make of a man when the man is wholly pliable to ,his will1 and the recipient of ,his influences4 ,and so there stands before us the guarantee and the pattern of immortal life1 the ,christ whose ,manhood died and lives1 who is clothed with a spiritual body1 who wields royal authority in the ,kingdom of the ,most ,high4 ,and that is the measure of what ,god can do with me1 and wishes to do with me1 if ,i will let ,him4 ,christ is my pattern1 and the measure of my own possibilities4 ,to be with ,him1 where and what ,he is1 is the only adequate result of the power that works in us1 and of the process that is already begun in us1 if we are ,christian people4 ,you are sometimes--there is one eminent example of it in that great ,medicean ,chapel at ,florence--a statue exquisitely finished in all its limbs1 but one part left in the rough4 ,that is the best that ,christian people come to here4 ,shall it always be so8 ,do not the very imperfections prophesy completion1 and is it not certain that the half-finished torso will be carried to the upper workshop1 and be there disengaged from the dead marble and made to stand out in perfect beauty and fullest completeness8 ,christ is the object of our hopes1 and no hopes of the ,christian life are adequate to the power that works in us1 or to the progress already made1 which do not see in the 'energy of the might of the power' which wrought in ,christ1 the example and the guarantee of the exceeding greatness of ',his power which is to usward4' ,and now1 one last word4 ,besides all these passages which have been occupying us1 there is another use of this same phrase in this letter which presents a very solemn and grim contrast4 ,i can do no better with it than simply read it3 ',ye were dead in trespasses and sins2 wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world1 according to the prince of the power of the air1 the spirit that now worketh'--mark the allusion to the other words that we have been referring to--'in the children of disobedience4' ,so there you have the alternative1 either 'dead in trespasses and sins1' whilst living the physical and the intellectual life1 or partaking of the life of ,him 'who was dead1 and is alive for ever more'2 either 'walking according to the course of this world1' which is 'disobedience' and 'wrath1' or walking 'according to the power that worketh in us'2 either 'putting on1' or rather continuing to wear1 'the old man which is corrupt according to the lusts which deceive1' or 'putting on the new man1 which according to ,god is created in righteousness and holiness and truth4' ,the choice is before us4 ,may ,god help us to choose aright6 ,,god',s ,,inheritance ,,and ,,ours ',in whom also we have obtained an inheritance1 444 the earnest of our inheritance4'--,eph4 i4 #aa1 #ad4 ,a dewdrop twinkles into green and gold as the sunlight falls on it4 ,a diamond flashes many colours as its facets catch the light4 ,so1 in this context1 the ,apostle seems to be haunted with that thought of 'inheriting' and 'inheritance1' and he recurs to it several times1 but sets it at different angles1 and it flashes back different beauties of radiance4 ,for the words1 which ,i have wrenched from their context in the first of these two verses1 are more accurately rendered1 as in the ,revised ,version1 in 'whom also we were made1' not 'have obtained'--'an inheritance4' ,whose inheritance8 ,god's6 ,the ,christian community is ,god's possession4 ,then1 in my second text1 we have the converse thought--'the earnest of our inheritance4' ,what is the ,christian's possession8 ,the same ,god whose possession is the ,christian4 ,so1 then1 there is a deep and a wonderful relation between the believing soul and ,god1 and however different must be the two sides of that relation1 the resemblance is greater than the difference4 ,surely that is the deepest1 most blessed1 and most strength-giving conception of the ,christian life4 ,other notions of it lay stress1 and that rightly1 upon certain correspondence between us and ,god4 ,my faith corresponds to ,his faithfulness and veracity4 ,my obedience corresponds to ,his authority4 ,my weakness lays hold on ,his strength4 ,my emptiness is replenished by ,his fulness4 ,but here we rise above the region of correspondences into that of similarity4 ,in these other aspects the convexity fits the concavity2 in this aspect the two hemispheres go together and make the complete globe4 ,we possess ,god1 and ,god possesses us1 and it is the same set of facts which are set forth in the two thoughts1 ',we were made an inheritance1 444 the earnest of our inheritance4' ,i4 ,now1 then1 let me ask you to look first at this mutual possession4 ,we possess ,god2 ,god possesses us4 ,what does that mean8 ,well1 it means plainly and chiefly this1 a mutual love4 ,for we all know--and many of us thankfully can bear witness to the truth of it in our earthly relationships1--that the one way by which a human spirit can possess a spirit is by the sweet mutual love which abolishes 'mine' and 'thine1' and all but abolishes 'me' and 'thee4' ,and so ,god sets little store by the ownership which depends on divinity and creation1 though1 of course1 that relation brings with it a duty4 ,as the old psalm has it1 ',it is ,he that hath made us1 and we are ,his'2 still1 such a relationship as this1 based upon the connection that subsists between the ,maker and the work of ,his hands1 is so purely external1 and harsh1 and superficial1 that ,god does not reckon it to be a possession at all4 ,you perhaps remember how1 in the great word which underlies all these ,new ,testament conceptions of ,god's ownership of ,his people1 viz4 the charter that constituted ,israel into a nation1 ,he said1 ',ye shall be unto ,me a people for a possession above all nations1 for all the earth is ,mine4' ,and yet1 though that ownership and mastership extended over everything that ,his hands had made1 ,he--if ,i might so say--contemned it1 and relegated it to a secondary position1 and told the people that ,his heart hungered for something deeper1 more real1 more vital than such a possession1 and that therefore1 just because all the earth was ,his1 and that was not enough to satisfy ,his heart1 ,he took them and made them a peculiar treasure above all nations4 ,we have1 then1 to think of that great ,divine ,love which possesses us when ,he loves us1 and when we love ,him4 ,but remember that of this sweet commerce and reverberation of love which constitutes possession1 the origination must be in ,his heart4 ',we love ,him because ,he first loved us4' ,the mirrors are set all round the great hall1 but their surfaces are cold and lifeless until the great candelabrum in the centre is lit1 and then1 from every polished sheet there flashes back an echoing1 answering light1 and they repeat and repeat1 until you scarce can tell which is the original and which is the reflection4 ,but quench the centre-light1 and the daughter-radiances vanish into darkness4 ,the love on either side is on one side spontaneous and underived1 and on the other side is secondary and evoked1 but it is love on both sides4 ,his possession of us is1 as it were1 the upper side1 and our possession of ,him is1 as it were1 the underside of the one golden bond4 ,it matters not whether you look at the stream with your face to its source or with your face to its mouth1 the silvery plain is the same2 and the deepest tie that knits men to ,god is the same as the tie that knits ,god to men4 ,there is mutual possession because there is mutual love4 ,then again1 in this same thought of mutual possession there lies a mutual surrender4 ,for to give is the life-breath of all true love1 and there is nothing which the loving heart more desires than to be able to pour itself out--much rather than any subordinate gifts--on its object4 ,but that1 if it is one-sided1 is misery1 and only when it is reciprocal1 is it blessed4 ,god gives ,himself to us1 as we know1 most chiefly in that unspeakable gift of ,his ,son1 and we possess ,him by virtue of ,his self-communication which depends upon ,his love4 ,and then we possess ,him1 and ,he possesses us1 not less by the answering surrender of ourselves1 which is the expression of our love4 ,no love subsists if it is only recipient2 no love subsists if it is only communicated4 ,exports and imports must both be realised in this sweet commerce1 and we enrich ourselves far more by what we give to the ,beloved than by what we keep for ourselves4 ,the last1 the hardest thing to surrender1 is our own wills4 ,to give them up by constraint is slavery that degrades4 ,to give them up because we love is a sacrifice which sanctifies1 even in the lowest reaches of daily life4 ,and the love that knits us to ,god is not invested with all its blessed possession of ,him1 until it has surrendered its will1 and said1 ',not as ,i will1 but as ,thou wilt4' ,the traveller in the old fable gathered his cloak around him all the more closely1 and held it the more tightly1 because of the tempest that blew1 but when the warm sunbeams fell he dropped it4 ,he that would coerce my will1 stiffens it into rebellion2 but when a beloved one says1 ',though ,i might be much bold to enjoin thee1 yet for love's sake ,i rather beseech1' then yielding is blessedness1 and the giving ourselves away is the finding of ,god and ourselves4 ,i need not touch1 in more than a word1 upon another aspect of this mutual possession1 brought into view lovingly in many parts of ,scripture1 and that is that there is in it not only mutual love and mutual surrender1 but mutual indwelling1 ',he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god1 and ,god in him4' ,jesus ,christ has said the same thing to us1 ',i am the ,vine1 ye are the branches4 ,he that abideth in ,me bringeth forth much fruit4' ,we dwell in ,god1 possessing ,him2 ,he dwells in us1 possessing us4 ,we dwell in ,god1 being possessed by ,him4 ,he dwells in us1 being possessed by us4 ,and ,he moves in the heart that loves1 as the ,master walking through ,his house1 as the divinity is present in the temple1 and as the soul permeates the body1 and is sight in the eye and colour in the cheek1 and force in the arm1 and deftness in the finger1 and swiftness in the foot4 ,so the indwelling ,god breathes through all the capacities1 and all the desires1 and all the needs of the soul which ,he inhabits1 and makes them all blessed4 ,the very same set of facts--the presence of a divine life in the life of the believing spirit--may either be looked at from the lower end1 and then they are that ,i possess ,god1 and find in ,him the nutriment and the stimulus for all my being1 or may be looked at from the upper end1 that ,he possesses me and finds in me capacities and a nature the emptiness of which ,he fills1 and organs which ,he uses4 ,in both cases mutual love1 mutual surrender1 mutual inhabitation1 make up ,god's possession of me and my possession of ,god4 ,,ii4 ,and now let me point you in a very few words to some of the plain1 practical issues of this mutual possession4 ,god's possession of us demands our consecration4 ',ye are not your own1 ye are bought with a price1' therefore1 to live for self is to fly in the face of the very purpose of ,christ's mission and of ,god's communication of ,himself to us4 ,there are slaves who run away from their masters and 'deny the ,lord that bought them4' ,we do that whenever1 being ,god's slaves1 we set up anything else than ,his will as our law1 or anything else than ,his glory as the aim of our lives4 ,to live for self is to die1 to die to self is to live4 ,and the solemn obligations of that most blessed possession by ,god of us are as solemn as the possession is blessed1 and can only be discharged when we turn to ,him1 and yield the whole control of our nature to ,his merciful hand1 believing that ,he has not only the right to dispose of us1 but that ,his disposition of us will always coincide with our sanest conceptions of good1 and our wisest desires for happiness4 ,yield yourselves to ,god1 for ,he has yielded ,himself to you1 and in the yielding we realise our largest and most blessed possession4 ,it is a good bargain to give myself and to get ,god4 ,god's possession of us not only demands consecration1 but it ensures safety4 ,remember that great word1 ',no man is able to pluck them out of ,my ,father's hand4' ,god is not a careless owner who leaves ,his treasures to be blown by every wind1 or filched by every petty robber4 ,he is not like the king of some decrepit monarchy1 slices of whose territory his neighbours are for ever paring off and annexing4 ,what ,god has ,god preserves4 ',he is able to keep that which ,i have committed unto ,him against that day4' ',they are ,mine1 saith the ,lord1 ,my jewels in the day which ,i make4' ,but our security depends on our consecration4 ',no man is able to pluck them out of ,my ,father's hand4' ,no6 ,but you can wriggle yourself out of your ,father's hand1 if you will4 ,and the security avails only so long as you realise that you belong to ,god1 and are living not for yourself4 ,possessing ,god we are rich4 ,there is nothing that is truly our wealth which remains outside of us1 and can be separated from us4 ',shrouds have no pockets1' says the ,spanish proverb4 ',his glory shall not descend after him1' says the grim psalm4 ,but if ,god possesses me ,he is not going to let ,his treasures be lost in the grave4 ,and if ,i possess ,him then ,i shall pass through death as a beam of light does through some denser medium--a little refracted indeed1 but not broken up2 and ,i shall carry with me all my wealth to begin another world with4 ,and that is more than you can do with the money that you make here4 ,if you have ,god1 you have the capital to commence a new condition of things beyond the grave4 ,and so that mutual possession is the real pledge of immortal life1 for nothing can be more incredible than that a soul which has risen to have ,god for its very own1 and has bowed itself to accept ,god's ownership of it1 can be affected by such a transient and physical incident as what we call death4 ,we rise to the assurance of immortality because we have an inheritance which is ,god ,himself4 ,and in that inexhaustible ,inheritance there lies the guarantee that we shall live while ,he lives1 because ,he lives1 and until we have incorporated into our lives all the majesty and the purity and the wisdom and the power that belong to us because they are ,god's4 ,but we have to notice the two words that lie at the beginning of our first text--',in whom we were made an inheritance4' ,that opens up the whole question of the means by which this mutual possession becomes possible for us men4 ,jesus ,christ has died4 ,that breaks the bondage under which the whole world is held4 ,for the true slavery which interferes with the free service and the full possession of ,god is the slavery of self and sin4 ,jesus ,christ has died4 ',if the ,son make you free ye shall be free indeed4' ,that great sacrifice not only 'breaks the power of cancelled sin1' but it also moves the heart1 in the measure in which we truly accept it1 to the love and the surrender which make the mutual possession of which we have been speaking4 ,and so it is in ,him that we become an ,inheritance1 that ,god comes to ,his rights in regard to each of us4 ,and it is in ,him that we1 trusting the ,son1 have the inheritance for ours1 and 'are heirs with ,god1 and joint heirs with ,christ4' ,so1 dear friends1 if we would 'be meet for the inheritance of the saints in light1' we must unite ourselves to that ,lord by faith1 and through ,him and faith in ,him1 we shall receive 'the remission of sins and inheritance among all them that are sanctified4' ,,the ,,earnest ,,and ,,the ,,inheritance ',the earnest of our inheritance1 until the redemption of the purchased possession4'--,eph4 i4 #ad4 ,i have dealt with a portion of this verse in conjunction with the fragment of another in this chapter4 ,i tried to show you how much the idea of the mutual possession of ,god by the believing soul1 and of the believing soul by ,god1 was present to the ,apostle's thoughts in this context4 ,these two ideas are brought into close juxtaposition in the verse before us1 for1 as you will see if you use the ,revised ,version1 the latter clause is there rightly paraphrased by the addition of a supplement1 and reads 'until the redemption of ,god's own possession4' ,so that in the first clause we have 'our inheritance1' and in the second we have ',god's possession4' ,this double idea1 however1 has appended to it in this verse some very striking and important thoughts4 ,the possession of both sides is regarded as incomplete1 for what we have is the 'earnest' of the 'inheritance1' and ',god's own possession' has yet to be 'redeemed1' in the fullest sense of that word1 at some point in the future4 ,an 'earnest' is a fraction of an inheritance1 or of a sum hereafter to be paid1 and is the guarantee and pledge that the whole shall one day be handed over to the man who has received the foretaste of it in the 'earnest4' ,the soldier's shilling1 the ploughman's 'arles1' the clod of earth and tuft of grass which1 in some forms of transfer1 were handed over to the purchaser1 were all the guarantee that the rest was going to come4 ,so the great future is sealed to us by the small present and the experiences of the ,christian life to-day1 imperfect1 fragmentary1 defective as they are1 are the best prophecy and the most glorious pledge of that great to-morrow4 ,the same law of continuity which1 in application to our characters1 and our work1 and our daily life1 makes 'to-morrow as this day1 and much more abundant1' in its application to the future life makes the life here its parent1 and the life yonder the prolongation and the raising to its highest power1 of what is the main though often impeded tendency and direction of the present4 ,the earnest of the 'inheritance' is the pledge until the full redemption of ',god's own possession4' ,i wish1 then1 to draw attention to these additional thoughts which are here attached to the main idea with which we were dealing in the last sermon4 ,i4 ,and ,i ask you to look with me1 first1 at the incompleteness of the present possession4 ,i tried to show in my last sermon how those great thoughts of ,god's having us1 and our having ,god1 rested upon the three ideas of mutual love1 mutual communication1 and mutual indwelling4 ,on ,his side the love1 the impartation1 the indwelling1 are all perfect4 ,on our side they are incomplete1 broken1 defective2 and1 therefore1 the incompleteness on our side hinders both ,god's possession of us1 and our possession of ,him2 so that we have but the 'earnest' and not the 'inheritance4' ,that is to say1 the ownership may be perfect in idea1 but in realisation it is imperfect4 ,and then1 if we turn to the word in the other clause1 'the redemption of the purchased possession1' that suggests the incompleteness with which ,god as yet owns us4 ,for though the initial act of redeeming is complete1 yet redemption is a process1 and not an act4 ,and we 'are having' it1 as the ,apostle says in another place very emphatically1 in continual and growing experience4 ,the estate has been acquired1 but has not yet been fully subdued4 ,for there are tribes in the jungles and in the hills who still hold out against the reign of ,him who has won it for ,himself4 ,and so seeing that the redemption in its fulness is relegated to some point in the future1 towards which we are progressively approximating1 and seeing that the best that can be said about the ,christian experience here is that we have an 'earnest of the inheritance1' we must recognise the incompleteness to-day of our possession of ,god1 and of ,god's possession of us4 ,that is a matter of experience4 ,we know that only too well4 ',i have ,god'--have ,i8 ,i have a drop at the bottom of a too often unsteadily held and spilling cup1 and the great ocean rolls unfathomable and boundless at my feet4 ,how partial1 how fragmentary1 how clouded with doubts and blank ignorance1 how intermittent1 and1 alas6 rare1 is our knowledge of ,him4 ,we sometimes go down our streets between tall houses1 walking in their shadow1 and now and then there is a cross street down which a blaze of sunshine comes1 and when we reach it1 and the houses fall back1 we see the blue beyond4 ,but we go on1 and we are in the shadow again4 ,and so our earthly lives are passed1 to a large extent1 beneath the shade of the grimy buildings that we ourselves have put up1 and which shut out heaven from us1 and only now and then a slanting beam comes through some opening1 and carries wistful thoughts and longings into the ,empyrean beyond4 ,and how feeble our faith1 and how little of ,his power comes into our hearts1 and how little of the joy of the ,lord is realised in our daily experience we all know1 and it is sometimes good for us to force ourselves to feel it is but an 'earnest' of the 'inheritance' that the best of us has4 ',god has us4' ,has ,he8 ,has ,he my will1 which submits itself1 and finds joy in submitting itself1 to ,him8 ,how many competitors are there for my love which come in in front of ,him1 and we 'cannot get at ,him for the press'6 ,how many other motives are dominant in our lives1 and how often we wrench ourselves away from our submission to ,him1 and try to set up a little dominion of our own1 and say1 ',our lives are ours2 who is lord over us8' ,oh1 brethren6 we have ,god if we are ,christians at all1 and ,god has us4 ,but alas6 surely all honest experience tells us that there are awful gaps in the circle1 and that our possession of ,him1 and ,his possession of us1 are wofully incomplete4 ,now1 let me remind you that this incompleteness is mainly our own fault4 ,of course1 ,i know that for the absolute completeness1 either of my possession of ,god or of ,his of me1 ,i must pass from out this world1 and enter upon another stage and manner of being4 ,but it is not being in the flesh1 but it is being dominated by the flesh1 that is the reason for the incompleteness of our mutual possession4 ,and it is not being in the world1 but it is being seduced and tyrannised over by the influx of worldly desires and thoughts1 surging into our hearts1 that drives ,god from out of our hearts1 and draws us away from the sweet security of being possessed by1 and living close to1 ,him4 ,death does a great deal for a man in advancing him in the scale of being1 and in changing the centre of gravity1 as it were1 of this life4 ,but there is no reason to believe that anything in death1 or beyond it1 will so alter the set and direction of his soul as that it will lead him into that possession of ,god1 and being possessed by ,him1 which he has not here4 ,there are many of us who1 if we were to die this instant1 would no more have ,god for ours1 or belong to ,god1 than we do now4 ,it is our fault if the circle is broken into so many segments1 if the moments of mutual love1 communion1 and indwelling are so rare and interrupted in our lives4 ,the incompleteness which is due to our earthly condition is nothing as compared with the incompleteness which is due to our own sin4 ,but this incompleteness is one which may be progressively diminished1 and we may be tending moment by moment1 and year by year1 nearer and nearer1 and ever nearer1 to the unreachable ideal of the entire possession of1 and being possessed by1 our ,god4 ,there is a continual process of redemption of ',god's own possession' going on if a ,christian man is true to himself and to that ,divine ,spirit which is the 'earnest' of the 'inheritance4' ,mark that in my text1 as it stands in our ,bibles1 and reads 'until the redemption1' there seems to be merely a pointing onwards to a future epoch1 but that1 in the more accurate rendering which you will find in the ,revised ,version1 instead of 'until' we have 'unto1' and that teaches us that the ,divine ,spirit1 which in one aspect is the 'earnest of the inheritance1' is also operating upon men's hearts and minds so as to bring about the gradual completion of the process of redemption4 ,so1 dear brethren1 seeing that by our own faults the possession is incomplete1 and seeing that in the incompleteness there is given to each of us1 if we rightly use it1 a mighty power which is working ever towards the completion1 it becomes us day by day to draw into our spirits more and more of that divine influence1 and to let it work more fully upon the sins and faults which1 far more than the body of flesh1 or the connection with the world which it brings about1 are the reasons for the incompleteness of the possession4 ,we have1 if we are wise1 the task to discharge of daily enclosing1 so to speak1 more and more of the broad land which is all given over to us for our inheritance1 but of which only so much as we fence in and cultivate1 and make our own1 is our own4 ,the incompleteness is progressively completed1 and it is our work as much as ,god's work to complete it4 ,for though in our text that redemption is conceived of as a divine act1 it is not an act in which we are but passive4 ,the air goes into the lungs1 and that oxygenates the blood1 but the lung has to inflate if the air is to penetrate all its vesicles4 ,and so the ,spirit which seals us unto the redemption of the possession has to be received1 held1 diffused throughout1 and utilised by our own effort4 ,,ii4 ,now1 secondly1 notice the certainty of the completion of the incompleteness4 ,as ,i have already said1 the clod of earth and the handful of grass1 the servant's wages1 the soldier's shilling1 are all guarantees that the whole of the inheritance or of the pay will be forthcoming in due time4 ,and so there emerges from this consideration of the ,divine ,spirit as the 'earnest1' the thought that the present experiences of a ,christian soul are the surest proofs1 and the irrefragable guarantees1 of that perfect future4 ,we ask for proofs of a future life4 ,they may be very useful in certain states of mind1 and to certain phases of opinion1 but as it seems to me1 far deeper than the region of logical understanding1 and far more conclusive than anything that can be cast into the form of a syllogism1 is the experience of a soul which knows that ,god is its1 and that it is ,god's4 ',i think1 therefore1 ,i am1' said the philosopher4 ',i have ,god2 therefore ,i shall always be1' says the ,christian4 ,whilst that evidence is available only for himself1 it is absolutely conclusive for himself4 ,and the fact that it does spring in the hearts which are purest1 because nearest ,god1 is no small matter to be considered by men who may be groping for proofs of a life to come4 ,if the selected moments of the purest devotion here on earth bring with them inevitably the confidence of the unending continuance of that communion1 then those who do not believe in that future have to account for the fact as best they may4 ,as for us who do know1 though brokenly1 and by reason of our own faults very imperfectly1 what it is to have ,god1 and be had by ,him1 we do not need to travel out to dim and doubtful analogies1 nor do we even depend entirely upon the fact of a risen ,christ ascended to the heavens1 and living evermore1 but we can say1 ',i am ,god's2 ,god is mine1 and death has no power over such a mutual possession4' ,the very incompleteness adds strength to the assurance1 for the facts of the ,christian life are such as to demand1 both by its greatness and by its littleness1 by its loftiness and by its lapses into lowliness1 by the floodtide of devotion that sometimes sweeps rejoicingly over the mud-shoals and by the ebb that sometimes leaves them all black and festering1 a future life wherein what was manifestly meant to be1 and capable of being1 dominant1 supreme1 but was hampered and hindered here1 shall reach its full development1 and where the plant that was dwarfed in this alien soil1 transplanted into that higher house1 shall blossom and bear immortal fruits4 ,the new moon has a ragged edge1 and each of the protrusions and concavities are the prophecy of the perfect orb which shall ere long fill the night with calm light from its silvery shield4 ,the incompleteness prophesies completion4 ,and if the incompleteness is so blessed1 what will the completeness be8 ,a shilling to a million pounds1 ,knowledge which is partial and intermittent1 like the twilight1 as contrasted with the blaze of noonday1 ,joy like winter sunshine as compared with the warmth and heat of the midday sun at the zenith on the ,equator4 ,the 'earnest' of the 'inheritance' is wealth2 the inheritance itself shall be unaccountable treasure4 ,,iii4 ,and so1 lastly1 a word about the completion of the possession4 ,the 'earnest' is always of the same nature as1 and a part of the 'inheritance4' ,therefore1 since the ,holy ,spirit is the earnest1 the conclusion is plain1 that the inheritance is nothing less than ,god ,himself4 ,heaven is to possess ,god1 and to be possessed by ,him4 ,that is the highest conception that we can form of that future life4 ,and it is sorely to be lamented that subsidiary conceptions1 which are all useful in their subordinate places1 have1 by popular ,christianity1 been far too much elevated into being the central blessedness of that future heaven4 ,it is all right that we should cast the things which it is 'impossible for men to utter' into the shape of symbols which may a little relieve the necessary inarticulateness2 but golden streets1 and crystal pavements1 and white robes1 and golden palms1 and all such representations1 are but the dimmest shadows of that which they intend to express1 and do often1 as is the vice of all symbols1 obscure4 ,we can only conceive of a condition of which we have had no experience1 by the two ways of symbolism and of negation4 ,we can say1 ',there shall be no night there2 there shall be no curse there2 they need no candle1 neither light of the sun2 they rest not day nor night2 there shall be no more death1 neither sorrow1 nor crying1 neither shall there be any more pain1 for the former things are passed away4' ,but all these negations1 like their sister symbols1 are but surface work1 and we have to go deeper than all of them4 ,but to possess ,god1 and to be possessed by ,him1 and in either case fully1 perfectly in degree1 progressively in measure1 eternal in duration1 is the ,heaven of heaven4 ,if that is the true conception of the inheritance1 then it follows indubitably that such a ,heaven is not for everybody4 ,god would fain have us all for ,his there1 as ,he would fain have each of us here and now1 but it may not be4 ,there are creatures which live beneath stones1 and if you turn their coverings up1 and let light fall on them1 it kills them4 ,and there are men who have refused to belong to ,god here1 and refused to claim their portion in ,him1 and such cannot possess that true ,heaven which is ,god ,himself4 ,then1 if its possession is not a mere matter of divine volition1 giving a man what he is not capable of receiving1 it plainly follows that the preparation must begin now and here by the incomplete possession of which my text is discoursing4 ,and the way of such preparation is plain4 ,the context says3 ',in whom1 after that ye believed1 ye were sealed with that ,holy ,spirit of promise4' ,faith in ,jesus ,christ1 and trust in ,him and ,his work as my forgiveness1 my acceptance1 my changed nature and heart--is the condition of being 'sealed' with that ,spirit whose sealing of us is the condition of our love1 our surrender1 and mutual indwelling1 which are our possession of ,god and being possessed by ,him1 and are the condition of our future complete possession of the 'inheritance4' ,we must begin with faith in ,christ4 ,then comes the sealing1 then comes the earnest1 then comes the growing redemption1 and in due time shall come the fulness of the possession4 ',believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ' if thou wouldst have the earnest1 whilst thou dost tabernacle in tents in the wilderness of ,time1 and if thou wouldst have the inheritance when thou crossest the flood into the goodly land4 ,,the ,,hope ,,of ,,the ,,calling ',that ye may know what is the hope of ,his calling4'--,eph4 i4 #ah4 ,a man's prayers for others are a very fair thermometer of his own religious condition4 ,what he asks for them will largely indicate what he thinks best for himself2 and how he asks it will show the firmness of his own faith and the fervour of his own feeling4 ,there is nothing colder than the intercession of a cold ,christian2 and1 on the other hand1 in no part of the fervid ,apostle ,paul's writings do his words come more winged and fast1 or his spirit glow with greater fervour of affection and holy desire than in his petitions for his friends4 ,in that great prayer1 of which my text forms a part1 we have his response to the good news that had reached him of the steadfastness in faith and abundance in love of these ,ephesian ,christians4 ,as the best expression of his glad love he asks for them the knowledge of three things1 of which my text is the first1 and the other two are the 'riches of the glory of the inheritance' and 'the exceeding greatness of ,god's power4' ,now if we take the 'hope' in my text1 as is often done1 as meaning the thing hoped for1 there seems to be but a shadowy difference between the first and the second of these subjects of the apostolic petition4 ,whereas1 if we take it as meaning1 not the object on which the emotion is fixed1 but the emotion itself1 then all the three stand in a natural gradation and connection4 ,we have1 first1 the ,christian emotion2 then the object upon which it is fixed2 'the glory of the inheritance'2 then the power by which the latter is brought and the former is realised4 ,we shall consider the second and third of these petitions in following sermons4 ,for the present ,i confine myself to this first1 the ,apostle's great desire for ,christians who had already made considerable progress in the ,christian life1 'that they may know1' by experiencing it1 'what is the hope of ,his calling4' ,i4 ,now the first thought that these words suggest to me is this1 that the ,christian hope is based upon the facts of ,christian experience4 ,what does the ,apostle mean by naming it 'the hope of his calling'8 ,he means this1 that the great act of the divine mercy revealed to us in the ,gospel1 by which ,god summons and invites men to ,himself1 will naturally produce in those who have yielded to it a hope of immortal and perfect life4 ,because ,god has called men1 therefore the man who has yielded to the call may legitimately1 and must1 if he is to do his duty1 cherish such a hope4 ,it is clear enough that this is so1 inasmuch as1 unless there be a heaven of completeness for us who have yielded to the summons and obeyed the invitation of ,god in ,his ,gospel1 ,his whole procedure is enigmatical and bewildering4 ,the fact of the call is inexplicable2 the cost of it is no less so4 ,it was not worth while for ,god to make the world unless with respect to another which was to follow4 ,it is still less worth ,his while to redeem the world if the results of that redemption1 as they are exhibited here and now1 and as they are capable of being exhibited in this present condition of things1 are all that are to flow from it4 ,it was not worth ,christ's while to die1 it was not worth ,god's while to send ,his ,son1 there was no sense or consistency in that great voice that echoes from heaven1 calling us to love and serve ,him1 unless1 beyond the jangling contradictions1 and imperfect attainments1 and foiled aspirations1 and fragmentary faith1 and broken services of earth1 there be a region of completeness where all that was tendency here shall have become effect2 and all that was but in germ here1 and sorely frostbitten by the ungenial climate1 and shrivelled by the foul vapours in the atmosphere1 shall blossom and burgeon into eternal life4 ,the ,christian life1 as it is to-day1 in its attainments and imperfections1 is at once the witness of the reality of the power that has produced it1 and clamantly calls for a sphere and environment in which that power shall be able to produce the effects which it is capable of producing4 ,god is 'not a man that ,he should lie1 nor the son of man that ,he should repent4' ,men begin grand designs which never get further than the paper that they are drawn on2 or they build a porch1 and then they are bankrupt1 or change their minds1 or die1 and the palace remains unrealised1 and all that pass by mock and say1 ',this man began to build and was not able to finish4' ,but ,god's designs are certain of accomplishment4 ,unless we are to be reduced to a state of utter intellectual bewilderment and confusion1 and forgo our belief in ,his veracity and resources to execute ,his designs1 the design that lies in the calling must needs lead on to the realm of perfectness4 ,if we consider the agent by which it is effected1 even the risen ,christ2 if we consider the cost at which it was accomplished1 even the death on the ,cross1 the mission of ,his ,son1 and ,his assumption of the limitations of an incarnate life2 if we consider the manifest potencies of the power that ,he has brought into operation in the present ,christian life2 and if we consider1 side by side with these1 the stark1 staring contradictions and as manifest inevitable limitations of the effects of that power1 ,his calling carries in its depths the assurance that what ,he means shall be done1 that ,jesus ,christ has not died in vain1 that ,he has not ascended to fill a solitary throne1 but is the ,firstfruits of a great harvest2 and that we shall one day be all that it is in the gospel of our salvation to make us1 unhindered by the limitations and unthwarted by the antagonisms of this poor human life of ours4 ,unless there be a heaven in which all desires shall be satisfied1 all evils removed1 all good perfected1 all ragged trees made symmetrical and full-grown1 and all souls that love ,him radiant with ,his own perfect image1 then the light that seemed a light from heaven is the most delusive of all the marsh-fires of earth1 and nothing in the illusions of sense or of men's cunning is so cruel or so tragic as the calling that seemed to be the voice of ,god1 and summoned us to a heaven which was only a dream4 ,,ii4 ,and so1 secondly1 notice how this hope of our text is in some sense the very topstone of the ,christian life4 ,paul has heard1 concerning these people in ,ephesus1 of their faith and love4 ,and because he has heard of these1 therefore he brings this prayer4 ,these two--the faith which apprehends the manifestation of ,god in ,jesus ,christ1 and the love which that faith produces in the heart that accepts the revelation of the infinite love--are crowned by1 and are imperfect without1 and naturally lead on to the brightness of this great hope1 ,faith--the reliance of the spirit upon the veracity of the revealing ,god--gives hope its contents2 for the ,christian hope is not spun out of your own imaginations1 nor is it the mere making objective in a future life of the unfulfilled desires of this disappointing present1 but it is the recognition by the trusting spirit of the great and starry truths that are flashed upon it by the ,word of ,god4 ,faith draws back the curtain1 and ,hope gazes into the supernal abysses4 ,my hope1 if it be anything else than the veriest will-o'-the-wisp and delusion1 is the answer of my heart to the revealed truth of ,god4 ,similarly the love which flows from faith not only necessarily leads on to the expectation of union being perfected with the object of its warm affection1 but also so works upon the heart and character as that the false and seducing loves which draw away1 like some sluice upon a river1 the current of life from its true channel1 are all sanctified and no more hinder hope4 ,loving1 we hope for that which1 unless we loved1 would not draw desires nor yield foretastes of sweetness which1 like perfumed oil1 feed the pure flame of hope4 ,the triad of ,christian graces is completed by ,hope4 ,without her fair presence something is wanting to the completeness of her elder sisters4 ,the great ,campanile at ,florence1 though it be inlaid with glowing marbles1 and fair sculptures1 and perfect in its beauty1 wants the gilded1 skyward-pointing pinnacle of its topmost pyramid2 and so it stands incomplete4 ,and thus faith and love need for their crowning and completion the topmost grace that looks up to the sky1 and is sure of a mansion there4 ,brethren1 our ,christianity is wofully imperfect unless faith and love find their acme1 their outstretching completion1 in this ,christian hope4 ,do you seek to complete your faith and love by a living hope full of immortality8 ,,iii4 ,thirdly1 notice how this hope is an all-important element in the ,christian life4 ,the ,apostle asks for it as the best thing that can befall these ,ephesian ,christians1 as the one thing that they need to make them strong and good and blessed4 ,there are many other aspects of desire for them which appear in other parts of this letter4 ,but here all ,christian progress is regarded as being held in solution and included in vigorous hope4 ,why is the activity of hope thus important for ,christian life8 ,because it stimulates effort1 calms sorrows1 takes the fascination out of temptations1 supplies a new aim for life and a new measure for the things of time and sense4 ,if we lived1 as we ought to live1 in the habitual apprehension of the great future awaiting all real ,christians1 would it not change the whole aspect of life8 ,the world is very big when it is looked at from any point upon its surface2 but suppose it could be looked at from the central sun1 how large would it appear then8 ,we can shift our station in like fashion1 and then we get the true measure at once of the insignificance and of the greatness of life4 ,this world means nothing worthy1 except as an introduction to another4 ,not that thereby there will follow in any wise man contempt for the present1 for the very same reference to the future which dwarfs the greatnesses and dwindles the sorrows1 and almost extinguishes the dazzling lights of this present1 does also lift it to its true significance and importance4 ,it is the vestibule of that future1 and that future is conditioned throughout by the results of the few years that we live here4 ,an apprenticeship may be a very poor matter1 looked at in itself2 and the boy may say ,what is the use of my working at all these trivial things8 but1 since it is apprenticeship1 it is worth while to attend to every trifle in its course1 for attention to them will affect the standing of the man all his days4 ,here and now we are getting ready for the great workshop yonder2 learning the trick of the tools1 and how to use our fingers and our powers1 and1 when the schooling is done1 we shall be set to nobler work1 and receive ample wages for the years here4 ,because that great 'to-morrow will be as this day' of earthly life1 'and much more abundant1' therefore it is no trifle to work amongst the trifles2 and nothing is small which may tell on our condition yonder4 ,the least deflection from the straight line1 however acute may be the angle which the divergent lines enclose at the starting1 and however small may seem to be the deviation from parallelism1 will1 if prolonged to infinity1 have room between the two for all the stars1 and the distance between them will be that the one is in heaven and the other is in hell4 ,and so it is a great thing to live amongst the little things1 and life gains its true significance when we dwarf and magnify it by linking it with the world to come4 ,if we only kept that hope bright before us1 how little discomforts and sorrows and troubles would matter6 ,life would become 'a solemn scorn of ills4' ,it does not matter much what kind of cabin accommodation we have if we are only going a short voyage2 the main thing is to make the port4 ,if we1 as ,christian people1 cherish1 as we ought to do1 this great hope1 then we shall be able to control1 and not to despise but to exalt this fleeting and transient scene1 because it is linked inseparably with the life that is to come4 ,,iv4 ,lastly1 this hope needs enlightened eyes4 ,the ,apostle prays that ,god may give to these ,ephesians 'the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of ,him1' and then he adds1 as the result of that gift1 the desire that the ,ephesian believers may have 'the eyes of their hearts enlightened4' ,that is a remarkable expression4 ,it does not mean1 as an ,english reader might suppose it to mean1 that the affections are the agents by which this knowledge reaches us2 but 'heart' is here used1 as it often is in ,scripture1 as a general expression for the whole inward life1 and all that the ,apostle means is that1 by the gift of the ,divine ,spirit of wisdom1 a man's inner nature may be so touched as to be capable of perceiving and grasping the 'hope of the calling4' ,observe1 too1 the language1 'that ye may know the hope4' ,how can you know a hope8 ,how do you know any kind of feeling8 ,by having it4 ,the only way of knowing what is the hope is to hope1 and this is only possible by dint of these eyes of the understanding being enlightened4 ,for our inward nature1 as we have it1 and as we use it1 without the touch of that ,divine ,spirit1 is so engrossed with this present that the far-off blessedness to which my text refers has no chance of entering there4 ,no man can look at something beside him with one eye1 and at something half a mile off with the other4 ,you have to focus the eye according to the object2 and he who is gazing upon the near is thereby made blind to that which is afar off4 ,if we go crawling along the low levels with our eyes upon the dust1 then of course we cannot see the crown above4 ,we need more than the historical revelation of the light in order to enlighten the inward nature4 ,there is many a man here now who knows all about the immortality that is brought to light by ,jesus ,christ just as well as the ,christian man whose soul is full of the hope of it1 and who yet1 for all his knowledge1 does not know the hope1 because he has not felt it4 ,you have to get further than to the acceptance intellectually of the historical facts of a risen and ascended ,saviour before there can be1 in your heart1 any vital hope of immortality4 ,the inward eye must be cleared and strengthened1 cross lights must be shut out so that we may direct the single eye of our hearts towards the great objects which alone are worthy of its fixed contemplation4 ,and we cannot do that without a divine help1 that ,spirit of wisdom which will fill our hearts if we ask for it1 which will fix our affections1 which will clear our eyesight1 which will withdraw it from seeing vanity as well as give it reality to see4 ,but we must observe the conditions4 ,since this clearness of hope comes not merely from the acceptance as a truth of the fact of ,christ's ,resurrection and ,ascension1 but comes through the gift of that ,divine ,spirit1 then to have it you must ask for it4 ,christian people1 do you ask for it8 ,do you ever pray--,i do not mean in words1 but in real desire--that ,god would help you to keep steadily before you that great future to which we are all going so fast8 ,if you do you will get the answer4 ,seek for that ,spirit2 use it1 and do not resist its touches4 ,do not fix your gaze on the world when ,god is trying to draw you to fix it upon ,himself4 ,think more about ,jesus ,christ1 more about ,god's high calling1 live nearer to ,him1 and try more honestly1 more earnestly1 more prayerfully1 more habitually1 even amidst all the troubles and difficulties and trivialities of each day1 to cultivate that great faculty of joyful and assured hope4 ,surely ,god did not endue us with the power of hoping that we might fling it all away on trivial1 transient things4 ,we are all far too short-sighted2 our fault is not that we do not hope1 but that we hope for such near things1 for such small things1 like the old mariners who had no compass nor sextant1 and were obliged to creep timidly along the coasts1 and steer from headland to headland4 ,but we ought to launch boldly out into mid-ocean1 knowing that we have before us that star that cannot guide us amiss4 ,do not set your hopes on the things that perish1 for if you do1 hopes fulfilled and hopes disappointed will be equally bitter in your mouths4 ,and you older people who1 like myself1 are drawing near the end of your days1 and have little else left to hope for in this world1 do you see to it that your anticipations extend 'above the ruinable skies4' ,there is an object beyond experience1 above imagination1 without example1 for which the creation wants a comparison1 we an apprehension1 and the ,word of ,god itself a sufficient revelation4 ',it doth not yet appear what we shall be4' ,god hath called us to ,his eternal kingdom and glory2 let us seek to walk in the light of the 'hope of ,his calling4' ,,god',s ,,inheritance ,,in ,,the ,,saints ',that ye may know what is the riches of the glory of ,his inheritance in the saints4'--,eph4 i4 #ah4 ,the misery of ,hope is that it so often owes its materials to the strength of our desires or to the activity of our imagination4 ,but when mere wishes or fancies spin the thread1 ,hope cannot weave a lasting fabric4 ,and so one of the old prophets1 in speaking of the delusive hopes of man1 says that they are like 'spiders' webs1' and 'shall not become garments4' ,paul1 then1 having been asking for these ,ephesian ,christians that they might have hopes lofty and worthy1 and such as ,god's summons to them would inspire1 passes on to ask that they might have the material out of which they could weave such hope1 namely1 a sure and clear knowledge of the future blessings4 ,the language in which he describes that future is remarkable--'the riches of the glory of ,his inheritance in the saints4' ,he calls it ,god's inheritance1 not as meaning that ,god is the ,inheritor1 but the ,giver4 ,he speaks of it as 'in the saints1' meaning that1 just as the land of ,canaan was distributed amongst tribes and families1 and each man got his own little plot1 so that broad land is parted out amongst those who are 'partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light4' ,and so my text suggests to me three points to which ,i seek to call your attention4 ,first1 the inheritance2 second1 the heirs2 and third1 the heirs' present knowledge of their future possession4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 note the inheritance4 ,now we must discharge from the word some of its ordinary associations4 ,there is no reference to the thought of succession in it1 as the mere ,english reader is accustomed to think--to whom inheritance means possession by the death of another4 ,the idea is simply that of possession4 ,the figure which underlies the word is1 of course1 that of the ancient partition of the land of ,canaan amongst the tribes1 but we must go a great deal deeper than that in order to understand its whole sweep and fulness of meaning4 ,what is the portion for a soul8 ,god4 ,god is ,heaven1 and ,heaven is ,god4 ,no interpretation of 'the inheritance1' however it may run into cheap and vulgar sensuous descriptions of a future glory1 has come within sight of the meaning of the word1 unless it has grasped this as the central thought3 ',whom have ,i in heaven but ,thee8 ,and there is none upon earth that ,i desire beside ,thee4' ,only ,god can be the portion of a human spirit4 ,and none else can fill the narrowest and the smallest of man's needs4 ,so1 then1 if there were realised all the accumulated changes of progress in blessedness1 and the withdrawal of all external causes of disquiet and weariness and weeping1 still the heart would hunger and be empty of its true possession unless ,god ,himself had flowed into it4 ,it were but a poor advancement and the gain of a loss1 if yearnings were made immortal1 and the aching vacuity1 which haunts every soul that is parted from ,god1 were cursed with immortality4 ,it would be so1 if it be not true that the inheritance is nothing less than the fuller possession of ,god ,himself4 ,and how do men possess ,god8 ,how do we possess one another1 here and now8 ,by precisely the same way1 only indefinitely expanded and exalted1 do we possess ,him here1 and shall we possess ,him hereafter4 ,heart to heart is joined by love which is mutual and interpenetrating possession2 where 'mine' and 'thine' become blended1 like the several portions of the one ray of white light1 in the blessed word 'ours4' ,contemplation makes us possessors of ,god4 ,assimilation to ,his character makes us own and have ,him4 ,they who love and gaze1 and are being changed by still degrees into ,his likeness1 possess ,him4 ,this is the central idea of man's future destiny and highest blessedness1 a union with ,god closer and more intimate in degree1 but yet essentially the same in kind1 as is here possible amidst the shows and vanities and wearinesses of this mortal life4 ',his servants shall serve ,him1 and see ,his face1 and ,his name shall be on their foreheads4' ,obedience1 contemplation1 transformation1 these are the hands by which we here lay hold on ,god2 and they in the heavens grasp ,him just as we here on earth may do4 ,the 'inheritance' is ,god ,himself4 ,surely that is in accordance with the whole teaching of ,scripture1 and is but the expansion of plain words which tell us that we 'are heirs of ,god4' ,if that be so1 then all the other subsidiary blessings which have been1 to the sore detriment of ,christian anticipation and of ,christian life in a hundred ways1 elevated into disproportionate importance1 fall into their right places1 and are more when they are looked upon as secondary than when they are looked upon as primary4 ,ah1 brethren6 neither the sensuous metaphors which1 in accommodation to our weakness1 ,scripture has used to paint that future so that we may1 in some measure1 comprehend it1 nor the translation of these1 in so far as they refer to circumstances and externals1 are enough for us4 ,it is blessed to know that 'there shall be no night there'--blessed to grasp all those sweet negatives which contradict the miseries of the world1 and to think of no sin1 no curse1 no tears1 no sighing nor sorrow1 neither any more pain1 'because the former things have passed away4' ,it is sweet and ennobling to think that1 when we are discharged of the load of this cumbrous flesh1 we shall be much more ourselves1 and able to see where now is but darkness1 and to feel where now is but vacancy4 ,it is blessed to think of the recognising of lost and loved ones4 ,but all these blessednesses1 heaped together1 as it seems to me1 would become sickeningly the same if prolonged through eternity1 unless we had ,god for our very own4 ,eternal is an awful word1 even when the noun that goes with it is blessedness4 ,and ,i know not how even the redeemed could be saved1 as the long ages rolled on1 from the oppression of monotony1 and the feeling1 ',i would not live always1' unless ,god was 'the strength of their hearts1 and their portion for ever4' ,we must rise above everything that merely applies to changes in our own natures and in our relations to the external universe1 and to other orders of creatures2 and grasp1 as the hidden sweetness that lies in the calyx of the gorgeous flower1 the possession of ,god ,himself as the rapture of our joy and the heaven of our heaven4 ,and if that be so1 then these accumulated words with which the ,apostle1 in his fiery1 impetuous way1 tries to set forth the greatness of what he is speaking about1 receive a loftier meaning than they otherwise would have4 ',the riches of the glory of ,his inheritance'--now that word 'riches1' or 'wealth1' is a favourite of ,paul's2 and in this single letter occurs1 if ,i count rightly1 five times4 ,in addition to our text1 it is used twice in connection with ,god's grace1 'the riches of ,his grace' once in connection with ,jesus1 'the unsearchable riches of ,christ'2 and once in a similar connection to1 though with a different application from1 our text1 'the riches of ,his glory4' ,always1 you see1 it is applied to something that is special and properly divine4 ,and here1 therefore1 it applies1 not to the abundance of any creatural good1 however exuberant and inexhaustible the store of it may be1 but simply and solely to that unwearying energy1 that self-feeding and ever-burning and never-decaying light1 which is ,god4 ,of ,him alone it can be said that work does not exhaust1 nor ,being tend to its own extinction1 nor expenditure of resources to their diminution4 ,the guarantee for eternal blessedness is the 'riches' of the eternal ,god1 and so we may be sure that no time can exhaust1 nor any expenditure empty1 either ,his storehouse or our wealth4 ,and again1 the 'glory' is not the lustrous light1 however dazzling to our feeble eyes that may be1 of any creature that reflects the light of ,god1 but it is the far-flashing and never-dying radiance of ,his own manifestation of ,himself to the hearts and souls of them that love ,him4 ,and so the 'inheritance is incorruptible and undefiled1 and fadeth not away'2 not merely by reason of the communicated will of ,god operating upon creatures whom ,he preserves untarnished by corruption1 and ungnawed by decay1 but because ,he ,himself is the 'inheritance1' and on ,him time hath no power4 ,on ,his wealth all ,his creatures may hang for ever2 and it shall be as it was in the sweet parable of the miracle of old1 the fragments that remain will be more than when the meal began4 ',the riches of the glory of ,his inheritance4' ,,ii4 ,now notice1 secondly1 the heirs4 ,the words of my text receive1 perhaps1 their best commentary and explanation in those words which the writer of them heard1 on the ,damascus road1 when the voice from heaven spoke to him about men 'obtaining an inheritance among them that are sanctified4' ,it almost sounds like an echo of that long past1 but never-to-be-forgotten voice1 when our ,apostle writes as he does in our text4 ,now what does he mean by 'saints'8 ,who are these amongst whom the broad acres of that infinite prairie are to be parted out8 ,the word has attracted to itself contemptuous meanings and ascetical meanings1 and meanings which really deny the true democracy of ,christianity and the equality of all believers in the sight of ,god4 ,but its scriptural use has none of these narrowing and confusing associations adhering to it1 nor does it even directly and at first mean1 as we generally take it to mean1 pure men1 holy in the sense of clean and righteous4 ,but something goes before that phase of meaning1 and it is this--a saint is a man separated and set apart for ,god1 as ,his property4 ,that is the true meaning of the word4 ,it is its meaning as it is applied to the vessels of the ,temple1 the priests1 the services1 and the altar4 ,it is its meaning1 only with the necessary substitution of spirit for body1 as it is applied in the ,new ,testament as a designation co-extensive with that of believers4 ,how does a man belong to ,god8 ,we asked a minute or two ago how ,god belonged to men4 ,the answer to the converse question is almost identical4 ,a man belongs to ,god by the affection of his heart1 by the submission of his will1 by the reference of his actions to ,him2 and he who thus belongs to ,god1 in the same act in which he gives himself to ,god1 receives ,god as his possession4 ,the thing must be reciprocal4 ',all mine is ,thine'2 and ,god answers1 ',and all ,mine is thine4' ,he ever meets our ',o ,lord1 ,i yield myself to ,thee1' with ,his ',and ,my child1 ,i give ,myself to thee4' ,it is so in regard of our earthly loves4 ,it is so in regard of our relations to ,him4 ,and that being the case1 purity1 which is generally taken by careless readers as being the main idea of sanctity1 will follow this self-surrender1 which is the basis of all goodness1 everywhere and always4 ,if that be true1 and ,i do not think it can be effectively denied1 then the next step is a very plain one1 and that is that for the perfect possession of ,god1 which is heaven1 the same thing is needed in its perfection which is required for the partial possession of ,him that makes the ,christian life of earth4 ,and just as here we get ,him for ours in proportion as we give up ourselves to be ,his1 so yonder the inheritance belongs1 and can only belong to1 'the saints4' ,so1 then1 one can see that there is nothing arbitrary in this limitation of a possession1 which in its very nature cannot go beyond the bounds which are thus marked out for it4 ,if heaven were the vulgar thing that some of you think it1 if that future life were desirable simply because you escaped from some external punishment and got all sorts of outward blessings and joys1 felicities and advantages1 hung round the neck1 or pinned upon the breast1 as they do to successful fighters1 why then1 of course1 there might be partiality in the distribution of the decorations4 ,but if that possession hinges upon our yielding ourselves to ,him1 then there is not an arbitrary link in the whole chain4 ,faith is set forth as the condition of heaven1 because faith is the means of union with ,christ1 by and from whom alone we draw the motives for self-surrender and the power for sanctity4 ,you cannot have heaven unless you have ,god4 ,that is step number one4 ,you cannot have ,god unless you have 'holiness1 without which no man shall see the ,lord4' ,that is step number two4 ,you cannot have holiness without faith4 ,that is step number three4 ',an inheritance among them that are sanctified'2 and then there is added1 'by faith which is in ,me4' ,it is clear1 too1 what a fatal delusion some of us are under who think that we shall1 and fancy that we should like to1 as we say1 'go to heaven when we die4' ,why1 heaven is here1 round about you1 a present heaven in the imitation of ,god1 in the practice of righteousness1 in the cultivation of dependence upon ,him1 in the yielding of yourselves up to ,him4 ,heaven is here1 and by your own choice you stop outside of it4 ,there must be a correspondence between environment and nature for blessedness4 ',the mind is its own place1' as the great ,puritan poet taught us1 'and makes a heaven of hell1 a hell of heaven4' ,fishes die on the shore1 and the man that drew them out dies in the water4 ,gills cannot breathe where lungs are useful1 and lungs cannot1 where gills come into play4 ,if you have not here and now the holiness which knits you to ,god1 and gives you possession of ,him1 you would not like 'heaven1' if it were possible to carry you to that place1 in so far as it is a place4 ,it is rather strange1 if you hope to go to heaven when you die1 that you should be very unwilling to spend a little time in it whilst you are alive1 and that you should expect blessedness then from that presence of ,god which brings you no blessedness now4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 we have here the heirs' present knowledge of their future blessedness4 ,the ,apostle asks that these men may know a thing that clearly seems unknowable4 ,it is an impossible petition1 we might be ready to say1 because it is clear enough that there can be no true knowledge of the conditions and details of that future life4 ,the dark mountains that lie between us and it hide their secret well1 and few or no stray beams have reached us4 ,an unborn babe1 or a chrysalis in a hole in the ground or in a chink of a tree1 might think as wisely about its future condition as we can do about that life beyond4 ,there can be no knowledge until there is experience4 ,what1 then1 does ,paul mean by framing such a petition as this8 ,the answer is found in noticing that the knowledge which he is imploring here is a consequence of a previous knowledge4 ,for1 in a former verse1 he prays that these men may have 'the spirit of wisdom in the knowledge of ,god'2 and when they have got the knowledge of ,god he thinks that they will have got the knowledge of 'the riches of the glory of ,his inheritance in the saints4' ,now1 turn that into other words1 and it is just this1 that the knowledge of ,god1 which comes by faith and love here1 is in kind so identical with the fullest and loftiest riches of the knowledge of ,him hereafter1 that1 if we have the one1 we are not without the other4 ,the one is in germ1 the other1 no doubt1 full blown2 the one is the twinkling of the rushlight1 as it were1 the other is the blaze of the sunshine4 ,the two states of being are so correspondent that from the one we draw our clearest knowledge of the other4 ,there are telescopes1 in using which you do not look up when you want to see the stars1 but down on to a reflecting mirror1 and there you see them4 ,such a reflecting mirror1 though it be sometimes muddied and dimmed and always very small1 are the experiences of the ,christian soul here4 ,so1 dear friends1 if we want to know as much as may be known of the blessedness of heaven1 let us seek to possess as much as may be possessed of the knowledge and love of ,god on earth4 ,then we shall know the centre1 at any rate2 and that is light1 though the circumference may be very dark4 ,much will remain obscure4 ,that is of very small consequence to ,hope1 which does not need information half so much as it needs assurance4 ,like some flower in the cranny of the rock1 it can spread a broad bright blossom on little soil1 if only it be firmly rooted4 ,the path for us all is plain4 ,come to ,jesus ,christ as sinful men1 and take what ,he has given1 who has given ,himself for us4 ,touched by ,his love1 let us love ,him back again1 and yield ourselves to ,him1 and ,he will give ,himself to us4 ,they who can say1 ',o ,lord6 ,i am ,thine1' are sure to hear from heaven1 ',i am thine4' ,and they who possess1 in being possessed by1 ,god ,himself1 do not need to die in order to go to heaven1 but are at least doorkeepers in the house of the ,lord now1 and stand where they can see into the inner sanctuary which they will one day tread4 ,a life of faith brings ,heaven to us1 and thereby gives us the surest and the clearest knowledge of what we shall be1 and have1 when we are brought to heaven4 ,,the ,,measure ,,of ,,immeasurable ,,power ',that ye may know 444 what is the exceeding greatness of ,his power to usward who believe1 according to the working of ,his mighty power1 which ,he wrought in ,christ4'--,eph4 i4 #ai1 #bj4 ',the riches of the glory of the inheritance' will sometimes quench rather than stimulate hope4 ,he can have little depth of religion who has not often felt that the transcendent glory of that promised future sharpens the doubt--'and can ,i ever hope to reach it8' ,our paths are strewn with battlefields where we were defeated2 how should we expect the victor's wreath8 ,and so ,paul does not think that he has asked all which his friends in ,ephesus need when he has asked that they may know the hope and the inheritance4 ,there is something more wanted1 something more even for our knowledge of these1 and that is the knowledge of the power which alone can fulfil the hope and bring the inheritance4 ,his language swells and peals and becomes exuberant and noble with his theme4 ,he catches fire1 as it were1 as he thinks about this power that worketh in us4 ,it is 'exceeding4' ,exceeding what8 ,he does not tell us1 but other words in this letter1 in the other great prayer which it contains1 may help us to supply the missing words4 ,he speaks of the 'love of ,christ which passeth knowledge1' and of ,god being 'able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think4' ,the power which is really at work in ,christian men to-day is in its nature properly transcendent and immeasurable1 and passes thought and desire and knowledge4 ,and yet it has a measure4 ',according to the working of the strength of the might which ,he wrought in ,christ4' ,is that heaping together of synonyms or all but synonyms1 mere tautology8 ,surely not4 ,commentators tell us that they can distinguish differences of meaning between the words1 in that the first of them is the more active and outward1 and the last of them is the more inward4 ,and so they liken them to fruit and branch and root2 but we need simply say that the gathering together of words so nearly co-extensive in their meaning is witness to the effort to condense the infinite within the bounds of human tongue1 to speak the unspeakable2 and that these reiterated expressions1 like the blows of the billows that succeed one another on the beach1 are hints of the force of the infinite ocean that lies behind4 ,and then the ,apostle1 when he has once come in sight of his risen ,lord1 as is his wont1 is swept away by the ardour of his faith and the clearness of his vision1 and breaks from his purpose in order to dilate on the glories of his ,king4 ,we do not need to follow him into that4 ,i limit myself now to the words which ,i have read as my text1 with only such reference to the magnificent passage which succeeds as may be necessary for the exposition of this4 ,i4 ,so1 then1 ,i ask you to look1 first1 at the measure and example of the immeasurable power that works in ,christian men4 ',according to the working of the strength of the might which ,he wrought in ,christ'--the ,resurrection1 the ,ascension1 the session at the right hand of ,god1 the rule over all creatures1 and the exaltation above all things on earth or in the heavens--these are the facts which the ,apostle brings before us as the pattern-works1 the chefs-d'oeuvre of the power that is operating in all ,christians4 ,the present glories of the ascended ,christ are glories possessed by a ,man1 and1 that being so1 they are available as evidences and measures of the power which works in believing souls4 ,in them we see the possibilities of humanity1 the ideal for man which ,god had when ,he created and breathed ,his blessing upon him4 ,it is one of ourselves who has strength enough to bear the burden of the glory1 one of ourselves who can stand within the blaze of encircling and indwelling ,divinity and be unconsumed4 ,the possibilities of human nature are manifest there4 ,if we want to know what the ,divine ,power can make of us1 let us turn to look with the eye of faith upon what it has made of ,jesus ,christ4 ,but such a thought1 glorious as it is1 still leaves room for doubt as to my personal attainment of such an ideal4 ,possibility is much1 but we need solid certainty4 ,and we find it in the truth that the bond between ,christ and those who truly love and trust ,him is such as that the possibility must become a reality and be consolidated into a certainty4 ,the ,vine and its branches1 their ,head and the members1 the ,christ and ,his ,church1 are knit together by such closeness of union as that wheresoever and whatsoever the one is1 there and that must the others also be4 ,therefore1 when doubts and fears1 and consciousness of our own weakness1 creep across us1 and all our hopes are dimmed1 as some star in the heavens is1 when a light mist floats between us and it1 let us turn away to ,him our brother1 bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh1 and think that ,he1 in ,his calm exaltation and regal authority and infinite blessedness1 is not only the pattern of what humanity may be1 but the pledge of what ,his ,church must be4 ',where ,i am1 there shall also ,my servant be4' ',the glory that ,thou gavest ,me ,i have given them4' ,nor is that all4 ,not only a possibility and a certainty for the future are for us the measure of the power that worketh in us1 but as this same letter teaches us1 we have1 as ,christians1 a present scale by which we may estimate the greatness of the power4 ,for in the next chapter1 after that glorious burst as to the dignity of his ,lord1 which we have not the heart to call a digression1 the ,apostle1 recurring to the theme of my text1 goes on to say1 ',and you hath ,he quickened1' and then1 catching it up again a verse or two afterwards1 he reiterates1 clause by clause1 what had been done on ,jesus as having been done on us ,christians4 ,if that ,divine ,spirit raised ,him from the dead1 and set ,him at ,his own right hand in the heavenly places1 it is as true that the same power hath 'raised us up together1 and made us sit together in heavenly places in ,christ ,jesus4' ,and so not only the far-off1 though real and brilliant1 and eye and heart-filling glories of the ascended ,christ give us the measure of the power1 but also the limited experience of the present ,christian life1 the fact of the resurrection from the true death1 the death of sin1 the fact of union with ,jesus ,christ so real and close as that they who truly experience it do live1 as far as the roots of their lives and the scope and the aim of them are concerned1 'in the heavens1' and 'sit with ,him in heavenly places'--these things afford us the measure of the power that worketh in us4 ,then1 because a ,man is ,king of kings and ,lord of lords2 and because ,he who is our ,life 'is exalted high above all principalities and powers'2 and because from ,his throne ,he has quickened us from the death of sin1 and has drawn us so near to ,himself that if we are ,his we truly live beside ,him1 even whilst we stumble here in the darkness1 we may know the exceeding greatness of ,his power1 according to the working of the strength of the might which ,he wrought in ,christ when ,he raised ,him from the dead4 ,,ii4 ,secondly1 notice the knowledge of the unknowable power4 ,we have already come across the same apparent paradox1 covering a deep truth1 in the former sections of this series of petitions4 ,i need only remind you1 in reference to this matter1 that the knowledge which is here in question is not the intellectual perception of a fact as revealed in ,scripture1 but is that knowledge to which alone the ,new ,testament gives the noble name1 being knowledge verified by inward experience1 and the result of one's own personal acquaintance with its object4 ,how do we know a power8 ,by thrilling beneath its force4 ,how are we to know the greatness of the power but because it comes surging and rejoicing into our aching emptiness1 and lifts us buoyant above our temptations and weakness8 ,paul was not asking for these people theological conceptions4 ,he was asking that their spirits might be so saturated with and immersed in that great ocean of force that pours from ,god as that they should never1 henceforth1 be able to doubt the greatness of that power which wrought in them4 ,the knowledge that comes from experience is the knowledge that we all ought to seek4 ,it is not merely to be desired that we should have right and just conceptions1 but that we should have the vital knowledge which is1 and which comes from1 life eternal4 ,and that power1 which thus we may all know by feeling it working upon ourselves1 though it be immeasurable1 has its measure2 though it be1 in its depth and fulness1 unknowable and inexhaustible1 may yet be really and truly known4 ,you do not need a thunderstorm to experience the electric shock2 a battery that you can carry in your pocket will do that for you4 ,you do not need to have traversed all the length and breadth and depth and height of some newly-discovered country to be sure of its existence1 and to have a real1 though it may be a vague1 conception of the magnitude of its shores4 ,and so1 really1 though boundedly1 we have the knowledge of ,god1 and can rely upon it as valid1 though partial2 and similarly1 by experience we have such a certified acquaintance with ,him and ,his power as needs no enlargement to be trusted1 and to become the source of blessings untold4 ,we may see but a strip of the sky through the narrow chinks of our prison windows1 and many a grating may further intercept the view1 and much dust that might be cleared away may dim the glass but yet it is the sky that we see1 and we can think of the great horizon circling round and round1 and of the infinite depths above there1 which neither eye nor thought can travel unwearied4 ,though all that we see be but an inch in breadth and a foot or two in height1 yet we do see4 ,we know the unknowable power that passeth knowledge4 ,and let me remind you of how large importance this knowledge of and constant reference to the measureless power manifested in ,christ is for us4 ,i believe there can be no vigorous1 happy ,christian life without it4 ,it is our only refuge from pessimism and despair for the world4 ,the old psalm said1 ',thou hast crowned ,him with glory and honour1 and hast given ,him dominion over the works of ,thy hands1' and hundreds of years afterwards the writer of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews commented on it thus1 ',we see not yet all things put under ,him4' ,was the old vision a dream1 was it never intended to be fulfilled8 ,apparently so1 if we take the history of the past into account1 and the centuries that have passed since have done nothing to make it more probable1 apart from ,jesus ,christ1 that man will rise to the height which the ,psalmist dreamed of4 ,when we look at the exploded ,utopias that fill the past2 when we think of the strange and apparently fatal necessity by which evil is developed from every stage of what men call progress1 and how improvement is perverted1 almost as soon as effected1 into another fortress of weakness and misery2 when we look on the world as it is to-day1 ,i know not whence a man is to draw bright hopes1 or what is to deliver him from pessimism as his last word about himself and his fellows1 except the 'working of the strength of the might which ,he wrought in ,christ4' ',we see not yet all things put under ,him'--be it so1 'but we see ,jesus1' and1 looking to ,him1 hope is possible1 reasonable1 and imperative4 ,the same knowledge is our refuge from our own consciousness of weakness4 ,we look up1 as a climber may do in some ,alpine ravine1 upon the smooth gleaming walls of the cliff that rises above us4 ,it is marble1 it is fair1 there are lovely lands on the summit1 but nothing that has not wings can get there4 ,we try1 but slip backwards almost as much as we rise4 ,what is to be done8 ,are we to sit down at the foot of the cliff1 and say1 ',we cannot climb1 let us be content with the luscious herbage and sheltered ease below8' ,yes6 ,that is what we are tempted to say4 ,but look6 a mighty hand reaches over1 an arm is stretched down1 the hand grasps us1 and lifts us1 and sets us there4 ',no man hath ascended up into heaven save ,he that came down from heaven1' and having returned thither stoops thence1 and will lift us to ,himself4 ,i am a poor1 weak creature4 ,yes6 ,i am all full of sin and corruption4 ,yes6 ,i am ashamed of myself every day4 ,yes6 ,i am too heavy to climb1 and have no wings to fly1 and am bound here by chains manifold4 ,yes6 ,but we know the exceeding greatness of the power1 and we triumph in ,him4 ,that knowledge should shame us into contrition1 when we think of such force at our disposal1 and such poor results4 ,that knowledge should widen our conceptions1 enlarge our desires1 breathe a brave confidence into our hopes1 should teach us to expect great things of ,god1 and to be intolerant of present attainments whilst anything remains unattained4 ,and it should stimulate our vigorous effort1 for no man will long seek to be better1 if he is convinced that the effort is hopeless4 ,learn to realise the exceeding greatness of the power that will clothe your weakness4 ',lift up your eyes on high1 and behold who hath created these things1 for that ,he is strong in might1 not one faileth4' ,that is wonderful1 but here is a far nobler operation of the divine power4 ,it is great to 'preserve the ancient heavens' fresh and strong by ,his might1 but it is greater to come down to my weakness1 to 'give power to the faint1' and 'increase strength to them that have no might4' ,and that is what ,he will do with us4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 notice the conditions for the operations of the power4 ',to usward who believe1' says ,paul4 ,he has been talking to these ,ephesians1 and saying 'ye1' but now1 by that 'us1' he places himself beside them1 identifies himself with them1 and declares that all his gifts and strength come to him on precisely the same conditions on which theirs do to them2 and that he1 like them1 is a waiter upon that grace which ,god bestows on them that trust ,him4 ',to usward who believe4' ,once more we are back at the old truth which we can never make too emphatic and plain1 that the one condition of the weakest among us being strong with the strength of the ,lord is simple trust in ,him1 verified1 of course1 by continuance and by effort4 ,how did the water go into the ,ship ,canal at ,eastham last week8 ,first of all they cut a trench1 and then they severed the little strip of land between the hole and the sea1 and the sea did the rest4 ,the wider and deeper the opening that we make in our natures by our simple trust in ,god1 the fuller will be the rejoicing flood that pours into us4 ,there is an old story about a ,christian father1 who1 having been torturing himself with theological speculations about the nature of the ,trinity1 fell asleep and dreamed that he was emptying the ocean with a thimble6 ,well1 you cannot empty it with a thimble1 but you can go to it with one1 and1 if you have only a thimble in your hand1 you will only bring away a thimbleful4 ,the measure of your faith is the measure of ,god's power given to you4 ,there are two measures of the immeasurable power--the one is that infinite limit1 of 'the power which ,he wrought in ,christ1' and the other the practical limit4 ,the working measure of our spiritual life is our faith4 ,in plain ,english1 we can have as much of ,god as we want4 ,we do have as much as we want4 ,and if1 in touch with the power that can shatter a universe1 we only get a little thrill that is scarcely perceptible to ourselves1 and all unnoticed by others1 whose fault is that8 ,if1 coming to the fountain that laughs at drought1 and can fill a universe with its waters1 we scarcely bear away a straitened drop or two1 that barely refreshes our parched lips1 and does nothing to stimulate the growth of the plants of holiness in our gardens1 whose fault is that8 ,the practical measure of the power is for us the measure of our belief and desire4 ,and if we only go to ,him1 as ,i pray we all may1 and continue there1 and ask from ,him strength1 according to the riches that are treasured in ,jesus ,christ1 we shall get the old answer1 ',according to your faith be it unto you4' ,,the ,,resurrection ,,of ,,dead ,,souls ',god1 who is rich in mercy1 for ,his great love wherewith ,he loved us1 even when we were dead in sins1 hath quickened us together with ,christ4'--,eph4 ii4 #d1 #e4 ,scripture paints man as he is1 in darker tints1 and man as he may become1 in brighter ones1 than are elsewhere found4 ,the range of this portrait painter's palette is from pitchiest black to most dazzling white1 as of snow smitten by sunlight4 ,nowhere else are there such sad1 stern words about the actualities of human nature2 nowhere else such glowing and wonderful ones about its possibilities4 ,this ,physician knows that ,he can cure the worst cases1 if they will take ,his medicine1 and is under no temptation to minimise the severity of the symptoms or the fatality of the disease4 ,we have got both sides in my text2 man's actual condition1 'dead in trespasses'2 man's possible condition1 and the actual condition of thousands of men--made to live again in ,jesus ,christ1 and with ,him raised from the dead1 and with ,him gone up on high1 and with ,him sitting at ,god's right hand4 ,that is what you and ,i may be if we will2 if we will not1 then we must be the other4 ,so there are three things here to look at for a few moments--the dead souls2 the pitying love that looks down upon them2 and the resurrection of the dead4 ,i4 ,first1 here is a picture1 a dogmatic statement if you like1 about the actual condition of human nature apart from ,jesus ,christ--',dead in trespasses4' ,the ,apostle looks upon the world--many-coloured1 full of activity1 full of intellectual stir1 full of human emotions1 affections1 joys1 sorrows1 fluctuations--as if it were one great cemetery1 and on every gravestone there were written the same inscription4 ,they all died of the same disease--'dead through sin1' as the original more properly means4 ,now1 ,i dare say many who are listening to me are saying in their hearts1 ',oh6 ,exaggeration6 ,the old gloomy1 narrow view of human nature cropping up again4' ,well1 ,i am not at all unwilling to acknowledge that truths like this have very often been preached both with a tone and in a manner that repels1 and which is rightly chargeable with exaggeration and undue gloom and narrowness4 ,but let me remind you that it is not the ,evangelical preacher nor the ,apostle only who have to bear the condemnation of exaggeration1 if this representation of my text be not true to facts1 but it is ,jesus ,christ too2 for ,he says1 ',except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the ,son of ,man1 ye have no life in you4' ,and ,i think that be ,he divine or not divine1 ,his words about the religious condition of men go so surely to the mark that a man must be tolerably impregnable in his self-conceit who charges ,him with narrowness and exaggeration4 ,at all events1 ,i am content to say after ,him1 and ,i pray that you and ,i1 when we accept ,him as our ,teacher1 may take not only ,his gracious1 but ,his stern1 words1 assured that a deep graciousness lies in these1 too1 if we rightly understand them4 ,let me remind you that the phrase of my text is by no means confined to ,christian teachers1 but that1 in common speech1 we hear from all high thinkers about the lower type of humanity being dead to the loftier thoughts in which they live and move and have their being4 ,it has passed into a commonplace of language to speak of men being 'dead to honour1' 'dead to shame1' 'dead' to this1 that1 and the other good and noble and gracious thing4 ,and the same metaphor1 if you like1 lies here in my text--that men who have given their wills and inmost natures over to the dominion of self--and that is the definition of sin--that such men are1 ipso facto1 by reason of that very surrender of themselves to their worst selves1 dead on what ,i may call the top side of their nature1 and that all that is there is atrophied and dwindling away4 ,unconsciousness is one characteristic of death4 ,and oh6 as ,i look round ,i know that there are tens1 and perhaps hundreds1 of men and women who are all but utterly unconscious of a whole universe in which are the only realities1 and to which it becomes them to have access4 ,you live1 in the physical sense1 and move and have your being in ,god1 and yet your inmost life would not be altered one hair's-breadth if there were no ,god at all4 ,you pass the most resplendent instances and illustrations of ,his presence1 ,his work1 and you see nothing4 ,you are blind on that side of your natures2 or1 as my text says1 dead to the whole spiritual realm4 ,just as if there were a brick wall run against some man's windows so that he could see nothing out of them2 so you1 by your persistent adherence to the paltry present1 the material1 the visible1 the selfish1 have reared up a wall against the windows of your souls that look heavenwards2 and of ,god1 and all the lofty starry realities that cluster round ,him1 you are as unconscious as the corpse upon its bier is of the sunshine that plays upon its pallid features1 or of the dew that falls on its stiffened limbs4 ,dead1 because of sin--is that exaggeration8 ,is it exaggeration which charges all but absolute unconsciousness of spiritual realities upon worldly men like some of you8 ,and1 then1 take another illustration4 ,another of the signatures of death is inactivity4 ,and oh6 what faculties in some of my friends listening to me now are shrivelled and all but extinct6 ,they are dormant1 at any rate1 to use another word1 for the death of my text is not so absolute a death but that a resurrection is possible1 and so dormant comes to express pretty nearly the same thing4 ,faculties of service1 of enthusiasm1 of life for ,god1 of noble obedience to ,him--what have you done with them8 ,left them there until they have stiffened like an unused lock1 or rusted like the hinges of an unopened door2 and you are as little active in all the noblest activities of spirit1 which are activities in submission to and dependence upon ,him1 as if you were laid in your coffin with your idle hands crossed for evermore upon an unheaving breast4 ,there is another illustration that ,i may suggest for a moment4 ,decay is another characteristic and signature of death4 ,and your best self1 in some of you1 is rotting to corruption by sin4 ,ay6 ,dear brethren1 when we think of these tragedies of suicide that are going on in thousands of men round about us to-day1 it seems to me as if the metaphor and the reality were reversed2 and instead of saying that my text is a violent metaphor1 transferring the facts of material death and corruption to the spiritual realm1 ,i am almost disposed to say it is the other way about1 and the real death is the death of the spirit2 and the outer dissolution and unconsciousness and inactivity of the material body is only a kind of parable to preach to men what are the awful invisible facts ever associated with the fact of transgression4 ,there are three lives possible for each of us2 two of them involuntary1 the third requiring our consent and effort1 but all of them sustained by the same cause4 ,the first of them is that which we call life1 the activity and the consciousness of the bodily frame2 and that continues as long as the power of ,god keeps the body in life4 ,when ,he withdraws ,his hand there comes what the senses call death4 ,then there is the natural life of thinking1 loving1 willing1 enjoying1 sorrowing1 and the like1 and that continues as long as ,he who is the life and light of men breathes into them the breath of that life4 ,and these two are lived or died largely without the man's own consent or choice4 ,but there is a third life1 when all that lower is lifted to ,god1 and thinking and willing and loving and enjoying and aspiring and trusting and obeying1 and all these natural faculties find their home and their consecration and their immortality in ,him4 ,that life is only lived by our own will and it is the true life1 and the others are1 as ,i said1 but parables1 and envelopes1 and vehicles1 as it were1 in which this life is carried1 that is more precious than they4 ,in the physical realm1 separate the body from ,god1 and it dies4 ,in the natural conscious life1 separate the soul1 as we call it1 from ,god1 and it dies4 ,and in the higher region1 separate the spirit1 which is the man grasping ,god1 from ,god1 and he dies2 and that is the real death4 ,both the others are nothing in comparison with it4 ,it may co-exist with a large amount of intellectual and other forms of activity1 as we see all round about us1 and that makes it only the more ghastly and the sadder4 ,you are full of energy in regard to all other subjects1 but smitten into torpor about the highest2 ready to live1 to work1 to enjoy1 to think1 to will1 in all other directions1 and utterly unconscious and unconcerned1 or all but utterly unconscious and unconcerned1 in regard to ,god4 ,oh6 a death which is co-existent with such feverish intensity of life as the most of you are expending all the week at your business and your daily pursuits is among the saddest of all the tragedies that angels are called upon to weep over1 and that men are fools enough to enact4 ,brother6 ,if the representation is a gloomy one1 do not you think that it is better to ask the question--,is it a true one8 than1 ,is it a cheerful one8 ,i lay it upon your hearts that he that lives to ,god and with ,god is alive to the centre as well as out to the finger tips and circumference of his visible being4 ,he that is dead to ,god is dead indeed whilst he lives4 ,,ii4 ,now1 notice1 in the second place1 the pitying love that looks down on the cemetery4 ',god1 who is rich in mercy1 for ,his great love wherewith ,he loved us4' ,thus the great truth that is taught us here1 first of all1 is that that divine love of the ,divine ,father bends down over ,his dead children and cherishes them still4 ,oh6 you can do much in separating yourselves from ,god through selfishness1 selfwill1 sensuality1 or other forms of sin1 but there is one thing you cannot do1 you cannot prevent ,his loving you4 ,if ,i might venture without seeming irreverent1 ,i would point to that pathetic page in the ,old ,testament history where the king hears of the death1 red-handed in treason1 of his darling son1 and careless of victory and forgetful of everything else1 and oblivious that ,absalom was a rebel1 and only remembering that he was his boy1 burst into that monotonous wail that has come down over all the centuries as the deepest expression of undying fatherly love4 ',oh6 my son ,absalom1 my son1 my son ,absalom6 ,oh6 ,absalom1 my son1 my son6' ,the name and the relationship will well up out of the ,father's heart1 whatever the child's crime4 ,we are all ,his ,absaloms1 and though we are dead in trespasses and in sins1 ,god1 who is rich in mercy1 bends over us and loves us with ,his great love4 ,the ,apostle might well expatiate in these two varying forms of speech1 both of them intended to express the same thing--'rich in mercy' and 'great in love4' ,for surely a love which takes account of the sin that cannot repel it1 and so shapes itself into mercy1 sparing1 and departing from the strict line of retribution and justice1 is great4 ,and surely a mercy which refuses to be provoked by seventy times seven transgressions in an hour1 not to say a day1 is rich4 ,that mercy is wider than all humanity1 deeper than all sin1 was before all rebellion1 and will last for ever4 ,and it is open for every soul of man to receive if he will4 ,but there is another point to be noticed in reference to this wonderful manifestation of the divine love looking down upon the myriads of men dead in sin1 and that is that this love shapes the divine action4 ,mark the language of our text1 in which the ,apostle attributes a certain line of conduct in the divine dealings with us to the fact of ,his great love4 ,because ',he loved us' therefore ,he did so and so4 ,now about that ,i have only two remarks to make1 and ,i will make them very briefly4 ,the one is1 here is a demonstration1 for some of you people who do not believe in the ,evangelical doctrine of an ,atonement by the sacrifice of ,jesus ,christ1 that the true scriptural representation of that doctrine is not that which caricaturists have represented it--viz4 that the sacrifice of ,jesus ,christ changed in any manner the divine heart and disposition4 ,it is not as unfriendly critics 7who1 perhaps1 are not to be so much blamed for their unfriendliness as for their superficiality7 would have us to believe1 that the doctrine of ,atonement says that ,god loves because ,christ died4 ,but the ,apostle who preached that doctrine and looked upon it as the very heart and centre of his message to the world here puts as the true sequence--,christ died because ,god loves4 ,jesus ,christ said the same thing1 ',god so loved the world that ,he sent ,his ,son1 that whosoever believeth on ,him should be saved4' ,and that brings me to the second of the remarks which ,i wish briefly to make--viz4 this1 that the ,divine ,love1 great1 patient1 wonderful1 unrepelled by men's sin1 as it is1 has to adopt a process to reach its end4 ,god by ,his love does not1 because ,he cannot1 raise these dead souls into a life of righteousness without ,jesus ,christ4 ,and ,jesus ,christ comes to be the channel and the medium through which the love of ,god may attain its end4 ,god's pitying love1 because ',he is rich in mercy1' is not turned away by man's sin2 and ,god's pitying love1 because ',he is rich in mercy1' quickens men not by a bare will1 but by the mission and work of ,his dear ,son4 ,,iii4 ,and so that is the last thing on which ,i speak a word--viz4 the resurrection of the dead souls4 ,they died of sin4 ,that was the disease that killed them4 ,they cannot be quickened unless the disease be conquered4 ,dear brethren1 ,i have to preach--not to argue1 but to preach--and to press upon each soul the individual acceptance of the ,death of ,jesus ,christ as being for each of us1 if we will trust ,him1 the death of our death1 and the death of our sin4 ,by ,his great sacrifice and sufficient oblation ,he has borne the sins of the world and has taken away their guilt4 ,and in ,him the inmost reality of the spiritual death1 and its outermost parable of corporeal dissolution1 are equally and simultaneously overcome4 ,if you will take ,him for your ,lord you will rise from the death of guilt1 condemnation1 selfishness1 and sin into a new life of liberty1 sonship1 consecration1 and righteousness1 and will never see death4 ,and1 on the other hand1 the life of ,jesus ,christ is available for all of us4 ,if we will put our trust in ,him1 ,his life will pass into our deadness2 ,he ,himself will vitalise our being1 dormant capacities will be quickened and brought into blessed activity1 a new direction will be given to the old faculties1 desires1 aspirations1 emotions of our nature4 ,the will will tower into new power because it obeys4 ,the heart will throb with a better life because it has grasped a love that cannot change and will never die4 ,and the thinking power will be brought into living1 personal contact with the personal ,truth1 so that whatsoever darknesses and problems may still be left1 at the centre there will be light and satisfaction and peace4 ,you will live if you trust ,christ and let ,him be your ,life4 ,and if thus1 by simple faith in ,him1 knowing that the power of ,his atoning death has destroyed the burden of our guilt and condemnation1 and knowing the quickening influences of ,his constraining love as drawing us to love new things and make us new creatures1 we receive into our inmost spirits 'the law of the spirit of life' which was in ,christ ,jesus1 and are thereby made 'free from the law of sin and death1' then it is only a question of time1 when the vitalising force shall flow into all the cracks and crannies of our being and deliver us wholly from the bondage of corruption in the outer as well as in the inner life2 for they who have learned that ,christ is the life of their lives upon earth can never cease their appropriation of the fulness of ,his quickening power until ,he has 'changed the body of their humiliation into the likeness of the body of ,his glory1 according to the working whereby ,he is able to subdue even all things unto ,himself4' ,brethren6 ,he ,himself has said1 and ,his words ,i beseech you to remember though you forget all mine1 ',he that believeth in ,me1 though he were dead1 yet shall he live1 and he that liveth and believeth in ,me shall never die4' ',believest thou this8' ',,the ,,riches ,,of ,,grace' ',that in the ages to come ,he might show the exceeding riches of ,his grace in kindness towards us in ,christ ,jesus4'--,eph4 ii4 #g4 ,one very striking characteristic of this epistle is its frequent reference to ,god's purposes1 and what1 for want of a better word1 we must call ,his motives1 in giving us ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,apostle seems to rise even higher than his ordinary height1 while he gazes up to the inaccessible light1 and with calm certainty proclaims not only what ,god has done1 but why ,he has done it4 ,through all the earlier portions of this letter1 the things on earth are contemplated in the light of the things in heaven4 ,the great work of redemption is illuminated by the thought of the will and meaning of ,god therein2 for example1 we read in ,chapter i4 that ,he 'hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in ,christ1 according as ,he hath chosen us in ,him1' and immediately after we read that ,he 'has predestinated us unto the adoption of children by ,jesus ,christ according to the good pleasure of ,his will4' ,soon after1 we hear that ',he hath revealed to us the mystery of ,his will1 according to ,his good pleasure which ,he purposed in ,himself'2 and that our predestination to an inheritance in ,christ is 'according to the purpose of ,him who worketh all things after the counsel of ,his own will4' ,not only so1 but the motive or reason for the divine action in the gift of ,christ is brought out in a rich variety of expression as being 'the praise of the glory of ,his grace' 7#a-f71 or 'that ,he might gather together in one all things in ,christ' 7#a-aj71 or that 'we should be to the praise of ,his glory' 7#a-ab71 or that 'unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the ,church the manifold wisdom of ,god4' ,in like manner our text follows a sublime statement of what has been bestowed upon men in ,jesus1 with an equally sublime insight into the divine purpose of thereby showing 'the exceeding riches of ,his grace4' ,such heights are not for our unaided traversing2 it is neither reverent nor safe to speculate1 and still less to dogmatise1 concerning the meaning of the divine acts1 but here1 at all events1 we have1 as ,i believe1 not a man making unwarranted assertions about ,god's purposes1 but ,god ,himself by a man1 letting us see so far into the depths of ,deity as to know the very deepest meaning of ,his very greatest acts1 and when ,god speaks1 it is neither reverent nor safe to refuse to listen4 ,i4 ,the purpose of ,god in ,christ is the display of ,his grace4 ,of course we cannot speak of motives in the divine mind as in ours2 they imply a previous state of indecision and an act of choice1 from which comes the slow emerging of a resolve like that of the moon from the sea4 ,a given end being considered by us desirable1 we then cast about for means to secure it1 which again implies limitation of power4 ,still we can speak of ,god's motives1 if only we understand1 as this epistle puts it so profoundly1 that ,his 'is an eternal purpose which ,he purposed in ,himself1' which never began to be formed1 and was not formed by reason of anything external4 ,with that caution ,paul would have us think that ,god's chiefest purpose in all the wondrous facts which make up the ,gospel is the setting forth of ,himself1 and that the chiefest part of ,himself1 which ,he desires that all men should come to know1 is the glory of ,his grace4 ,of course very many and various reasons for these acts may be alleged1 but this is the deepest of them all4 ,it has often been misunderstood and made into a very hard and horrible doctrine1 which really means little else than all-mighty selfishness1 but it is really a most blessed one2 it is the proclamation in tenderest1 most heart-melting fashion of the truth that ,god is ,love1 and therefore delights in imparting that which is ,his creatures' life and blessedness2 it bids us think that ,he1 too1 amidst the blessedness of ,his infinite ,being1 knows the joy of communicating which makes so large a part of the blessedness of our finite selves1 and that ,he1 too1 is capable of being touched and gladdened by the joy of expression4 ,as an artist in his noblest work paints or chisels simply for love of pouring out his soul1 so1 but in infinitely loftier fashion1 the great ,artist delights to manifest ,himself1 and in manifesting to communicate somewhat of ,himself4 ,creation is divine self-revelation1 and we might say1 with all reverence1 that ,god acts as birds sing1 and fountains leap1 and stars shine4 ,but our text leads us still farther into mysteries of glory1 when it defines what it is in ,god that he most desires to set forth4 ,it is the 'exceeding riches of ,grace1' in which wonderful expression we note the ,apostle's passionate accumulation of epithets which he yet feels to be altogether inadequate to his theme4 ,it would carry us too far to attempt to bring out the whole wealth contained in these words which glide so easily over unthinking lips1 but we may lovingly dwell for a few moments upon them4 ,grace1 in ,paul's language1 means love lavished upon the undeserving and sinful1 a love which is not drawn forth by the perception of any excellence in its objects1 but wells up and out like a fountain1 by reason of the impulse in its subject1 and which in itself contains and bestows all good and blessing4 ,there may be1 as this very letter shows1 other aspects of the divine nature which ,god is glad that man should know4 ,his power and ,his wisdom have their noblest illustration in the work of ,jesus1 and are less conspicuously manifested in all ,his work2 but ,his grace is shrined in ,christ alone1 and from ,him flows forth into a thirsty world4 ,that love1 'unmerited and free1' holds in solution power1 wisdom and all the other physical or metaphysical perfections belonging to ,god with all their energies4 ,it is the elixir in which they are all contained1 the molten splendour into which have been dissolved gold and jewels and all precious things4 ,when we look at ,christ1 we see the divinest thing in ,god1 and that is ,his grace4 ,the ,christ who shows us and certifies to us the grace of ,god must surely be more than man4 ,men look at ,him and see it2 ,he shows us that grace because ,he was full of grace and truth4 ,but ,paul is here not propounding theological dogmas1 but pouring out a heart full of personal experience1 and so adds yet other words to express what he himself has found in the ,divine ,grace1 and speaks of its riches4 ,he has learned fully to trust its fulness1 and in his own daily life has had the witness of its inexhaustible abundance1 which remains the same after all its gifts4 ,it 'operates unspent4' ,that continually self-communicating love pours out in no narrower stream to its last recipient than to its first4 ,all 'eat and are filled1' and after they are satisfied1 twelve baskets full of fragments are taken up4 ,these riches are exceeding2 they surpass all human conception1 all parallel1 all human needs2 they are properly transcendent4 ,this1 then1 is what ,god would have us know of ,himself4 ,so ,his love is at once the motive of ,his great message to us in ,jesus ,christ1 and is the whole contents of the message1 like some fountain1 the force of whose pellucid waters cleanses the earth1 and rushes into the sunshine1 being at once the reason for the flow and that which flows4 ,god reveals because ,he loves1 and ,his love is that which ,he reveals4 ,,ii4 ,the great manifestation of grace is ,god's kindness to us in ,christ4 ,all the revelation of ,god in ,creation and ,providence carries the same message1 but it is often there hard to decipher1 like some half-obliterated inscription in a strange tongue4 ,in ,jesus the writing is legible1 continuous1 and needs no elaborate commentary to make its meaning intelligible4 ,but we may note that what the ,apostle founds on here is not so much ,christ in ,himself1 as that which men receive in ,christ4 ,as he puts it in another part of this epistle1 it is 'through the ,church' that 'principalities and powers in heavenly places' are made to 'know the manifold wisdom of ,god4' ,it is ',his kindness towards us' by which 'to the ages to come1' is made known the exceeding riches of grace1 and that kindness can be best estimated by thinking what we were1 namely1 dead in trespasses and sins2 what we are1 namely1 quickened together in ,christ2 raised up with ,him1 and with ,him made to sit in heavenly places1 as the immediately preceding clauses express it4 ,all this marvellous transformation of conditions and of self is realised 'in ,christ ,jesus4' ,these three words recur over and over again in this profound epistle1 and may be taken as its very keynote4 ,it would carry us beyond all limits to deal with the various uses and profound meanings of this phrase in this letter1 but we may at least point out how intimately and inseparably it is intertwined with the other aspect of our relations to ,christ in which ,he is mainly regarded as dying for us1 and may press upon you that these two are not1 as they have sometimes been taken to be1 antagonistic but complementary4 ,we shall never understand the depths of the one ,apostolic conception unless we bring it into closest connection with the other4 ,christ is for us only if we are in ,christ2 we are in ,christ only because ,he died for us4 ,god's kindness is all 'in ,christ ,jesus'2 in ,him is the great channel through which ,his love comes to men1 the river of ,god which is full of water4 ,and that kindness is realised by us when we are 'in ,christ4' ,separated from ,him we do not possess it2 joined to ,him as we may be by true faith in ,him1 it is ours1 and with it all the blessings which it brings into our else empty and thirsting hearts4 ,now all this sets in strong light the dignity and work of ,christian men2 the profundity and clearness of their religious character is the great sign to the world of the love of ,god4 ,the message of ,christ to man lacks one chief evidence of its worth if they who profess to have received it do not1 in their lives1 show its value4 ,the characters of ,christian people are in every age the clearest and most effectual witnesses of the power of the ,gospel4 ,god's honour is in their hands4 ,the starry heavens are best seen by reflecting telescopes1 which1 in their field1 mirror the brightness above4 ,,iii4 ,the manifestation of ,god through men 'in ,christ' is for all ages4 ,in our text the ages to come open up into a vista of undefined duration1 and1 just as in another place in this epistle1 ,paul regards the ,church as witnessing to the principalities and powers in heavenly places1 so here he regards it as the perennial evidence to all generations of the ever-flowing riches of ,god's grace4 ,whatever may have been the ,apostle's earlier expectations of the speedy coming of the day of the ,lord1 here he obviously expects the world to last through a long stretch of undefined time1 and for all its changing epochs to have an unchanging light4 ,that standing witness1 borne by men in ,christ1 of the grace which has been so kind to them1 is not to be antiquated nor superseded1 but is as valid to-day as when these words gushed from the heart of ,paul4 ,eyes which cannot look upon the sun can see it as a golden glory1 tinging the clouds which lie cradled around it4 ,and as long as the world lasts1 so long will ,christian men be ,god's witnesses to it4 ,there are then two questions of infinite importance to us--do we show in character and conduct the grace which we have received by reverently submitting ourselves to its transforming energy8 ,we need to be very close to ,him for ourselves if we would worthily witness to others of what we have found ,him to be4 ,we have but too sadly marred our witness1 and have been like dim reflectors round a lamp which have received but little light from it1 and have communicated even less than we have received4 ,do we see the grace that shines so brightly in ,jesus ,christ8 ,god longs that we should so see2 ,he calls us by all endearments and by loving threats to look to that ,incarnation of ,himself4 ,and when we lift our eyes to behold1 what is it that meets our gaze8 ,intolerable light8 ,the blaze of the white throne8 ,power that crushes our puny might8 ,no6 the 'exceeding riches of grace4' ,the voice cries1 ',behold your ,god6' and what we see is1 ',in the midst of the throne a lamb as it had been slain4' ,,salvation3 ,,grace3 ,,faith ',by grace have ye been saved through faith2 and that not of yourselves3 it is the gift of ,god4'--,eph4 ii4 #h 7,r4,v474 ,here are three of the key-words of the ,new ,testament--'grace1' 'saved1' 'faith4' ,once these terms were strange and new2 now they are old and threadbare4 ,once they were like lava1 glowing and cast up from the central depths2 but it is a long while since the eruption1 and the blocks have got cold1 and the corners have been rubbed off them4 ,i am afraid that some people1 when they read such a text1 will shrug the shoulder of weariness1 and think that they are in for a dreary sermon4 ,but the more familiar a word is1 the more likely are common ideas about it to be hazy4 ,we substitute acquaintance with the sound for penetration into the sense4 ,a frond of sea-weed1 as long as it is in the ocean1 unfolds its delicate films and glows with its subdued colours4 ,take it out1 and it is hard and brown and ugly1 and you have to plunge it into the water again before you see its beauty4 ,so with these well-worn ,christian terms2 you have to put them back1 by meditation and thought1 especially as to their bearing on yourself1 in order to understand their significance and to feel their power4 ,and1 although it is very hard1 ,i want to try and do that for a few moments with this grand thought that lies in my text4 ,i4 ,here we have the ,christian view of man's deepest need1 and ,god's greatest gift4 ',ye have been saved4' ,now1 as ,i have said1 'saved1' and 'salvation1' and ',saviour1' are all threadbare words4 ,let us try to grasp the whole throbbing meaning that is in them4 ,well1 to begin with1 and in its original and lowest application1 this whole set of expressions is applied to physical danger from which it delivers1 and physical disease which it heals4 ,so1 in the ,gospels1 for instance1 you find ',thy faith hath made thee whole'--literally1 'saved thee' ,and you hear one of the ,apostles crying1 in an excess of terror and collapse of faith1 ',save6 ,master6 we perish6' ,the two notions that are conveyed in our familiar expression 'safe and sound1' both lie in the word--deliverance from danger1 and healing of disease4 ,then1 when you lift it up into the loftier region1 into which ,christianity buoyed it up1 the same double meaning attaches to it4 ,the ,christian salvation is1 on its negative side1 a deliverance from something impending--peril--and a healing of something infecting us--the sickness of sin4 ,it is a deliverance2 what from8 ,take1 in the briefest possible language1 three sayings of ,scripture to answer that question--what am ,i to be saved from8 ',his name shall be called ,jesus1 for ,he shall save ,his people from their sins4' ,he 'delivers'--or saves--'us from the wrath to come4' ,he 'saves a soul from death4' ,sin1 wrath death1 death spiritual as well as physical1 these are the dangers which lie in wait2 and the enemies which have laid their grip upon us4 ,and from these1 as the shepherd drags the kid from the claws of the lion or the bear's hug1 the salvation of the ,gospel wrenches and rescues men4 ,the same general conceptions emerge1 if we notice1 on the other side--what are the things which the ,new ,testament sets forth as the opposites of its salvation8 ,take1 again1 a brief reference to ,scripture words3 ',the ,son of ,man came not to condemn the world1 but that the world through ,him might be saved4' ,so the antithesis is between judgment or condemnation on the one hand1 and salvation on the other4 ,that suggests thoughts substantially identical with the preceding but still more solemn1 as bringing in the prospect a tribunal and a judge4 ,the ,gospel then reveals the ,mighty ,power that lifts itself between us and judgment1 the ,mighty ,power that intervenes to prevent absolute destruction1 the ,power which saves from sin1 from wrath1 from death4 ,along with them we may take the other thought1 that salvation1 as the ,new ,testament understands it1 is not only the rescue and deliverance of a man from evils conceived to lie round about him1 and to threaten his being from without1 but that it is his healing from evils which have so wrought themselves into his very being1 and infected his whole nature1 as that the emblem for them is a sickness unto death for the healing from which this mighty ,physician comes4 ,these are the negative sides of this great ,christian thought4 ,but the ,new ,testament salvation is more than a shelter1 more than an escape4 ,it not only trammels up evil possibilities1 and prevents them from falling upon men's heads1 but it introduces all good4 ,it not only strips off the poisoned robe1 but it invests with a royal garb4 ,it is not only negatively the withdrawal from the power1 and the setting above the reach1 of all evil1 in the widest sense of that word1 physical and moral1 but it is the endowment with every good1 in the widest sense of that word1 physical and moral1 which man is capable of receiving1 or ,god has wealth to bestow4 ,and this positive significance of the ,christian salvation1 which includes not only pardon1 and favour1 and purity1 and blessedness here in germ1 and sure and certain hope of an overwhelming glory hereafter--this is all suggested to us by the fact that in ,scripture1 more than once1 to 'have everlasting life1' and to 'enter into the ,kingdom of ,god1' are employed as equivalent and alternative expressions for being saved with the salvation of ,god4 ,and that leads me to another point--my text1 as those of you who have used the ,revised ,version will observe1 is there slightly modified in translation1 and reads ',ye have been saved1'--a past act1 done once1 and with abiding present consequences1 which are realised progressively in the ,christian life1 and reach forward into infinitude4 ,so the ,scripture sometimes speaks of salvation as past1 ',he saved us by ,his mercy'3 sometimes of it as present and progressive1 ',the ,lord added to the ,church daily those that were 7in process of7 being saved'3 sometimes of it as future1 'now is our salvation nearer than when we believed4' ,in that future all that is involved in the word will be evolved from it in blessed experience onwards through eternity4 ,i have said that we should try to make an effort to fathom the depth of meaning in this and other familiar commonplace terms of ,scripture4 ,but no effort prior to experience will ever fathom it4 ,there was in the papers some time ago an account of some extraordinary deep-sea soundings that have been made away down in the ,south ,pacific1 #bi1djj feet and no bottom1 and the wire broke4 ,the highest peak of the ,himalayas might be put into that abyss1 and there would be hundreds of feet between it and the surface4 ,he 'casts all our sins1' mountainous as they are1 behind ,his back 'into the depths of the sea'2 and no plummet that man can drop will ever reach its profound abyss4 ',thy judgments are a great deep1' and deeper than the judgments is the depth of ,thy salvation4 ,and now1 brethren1 before ,i go further1 notice the--,i was going to say theory1 but that is a cold word--the facts of man's condition and need that underlie this great ,christian term of salvation--viz4 we are all in deadly peril2 we are all sick of a fatal disease4 ',ah6' you say1 'that is ,paul4' ,yes6 it is ,paul4 ,but it is not ,paul only2 it is ,paul's ,master1 and1 ,i hope1 your ,master2 for ,he not only spoke loving1 gentle words to and about men1 and not only was grace poured into ,his lips1 but there is another side to ,his utterances4 ,no one ever spoke sadder1 sterner words about the real condition of men than ,jesus ,christ did4 ,lost sheep1 lost coins1 prodigal sons1 builders of houses on the sand that are destined to be blown down and flooded away1 men in danger of an undying worm and unquenchable fire--these are parts of ,christ's representations of the condition of humanity1 and these are the conceptions that underlie this great thought of salvation as being man's deepest need4 ,it goes far deeper down than any of the superficial constructions of what humanity requires1 which are found among non-,christian1 social and economical1 and intellectual and political reformers4 ,it includes all that is true in the estimate of any of these people1 and it supplies all that they aim at4 ,but it goes far beyond them4 ,and as they stand pottering round the patient1 and administering--what shall ,i say8 'pills for the earthquake1' as we once heard--it comes and brushes them aside and says1 ',physicians of no value6 here is the thing that is wanted--salvation that comes from ,god4' ,brother6 it is what you need4 ,do not be led away by the notion that wealth1 or culture1 or anything less than ,christ's gift to men will meet your necessities4 ,if once we catch a glimpse of what we really are1 there will be no words wanted to enforce the priceless value of the salvation that the ,gospel offers4 ,it is sure to be an uninteresting word and thing to a man who does not feel himself to be a sinner4 ,it is sure to be of perennial worth to a man who does4 ,life-belts lie unnoticed on the cabin-shelf above the berth as long as the sun is bright1 and the sea calm1 and everything goes well2 but when the ship gets on the rocks the passengers fight to get them4 ,if you know yourself1 you will know that salvation is what you need4 ,,ii4 ,here we have the ,christian unfolding of the source of salvation4 ',by grace ye have been saved4' ,there is another threadbare word4 ,it is employed in the ,new ,testament with a very considerable width of signification1 which we do not need to attend to here4 ,but1 in regard of the present context1 let me just point out that the main idea conveyed by the word is that of favour1 or lovingkindness1 or goodwill1 especially when directed to inferiors1 and most eminently when given to those who do not deserve it1 but deserve its opposite4 ',grace' is love that stoops and that requites1 not according to desert1 but bestows upon those who deserve nothing of the kind2 so when the ,apostle declares that the source of salvation is 'grace4' he declares two things4 ,one is that the fountain of all our deliverance from sin1 and of our healing of our sicknesses1 lies in the deep heart of ,god1 from which it wells up undrawn1 unmotived1 uncaused by anything except ,his own infinite lovingkindness4 ,people have often presented the ,new ,testament teaching about salvation as if it implied that ,god's love was brought to man because ,jesus ,christ died1 and turned the divine affections4 ,that is not ,new ,testament teaching4 ,christ's death is not the cause of ,god's love1 but ,god's love is the cause of ,christ's death4 ',god so loved the world that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son4' ,when we hear in the ,old ,testament1 ',i am that ,i am1' we may apply it to this great subject4 ,for that declaration of the very inmost essence of the divine nature is not merely the declaration1 in half metaphysical terms1 of a self-substituting1 self-determining ,being1 high above limitation and time and change1 but it is a declaration that when ,he loves ,he loves freely and unmodified save by the constraint of ,his own ,being4 ,just as the light1 because it is light and must radiate1 falls upon dunghills and diamonds1 upon black rocks and white snow1 upon ice-peaks and fertile fields1 so the great fountain of the ,divine ,grace pours out upon men by reason only of its own continual tendency to communicate its own fulness and blessedness4 ,there follows from that the other thought1 on which the ,apostle mainly dwells in our context1 that the salvation which we need1 and may have1 is not won by desert1 but is given as a gift4 ,mark the last words of my text--'that not of yourselves it is the gift of ,god4' ,they have often been misunderstood1 as if they referred to the faith which is mentioned just before4 ,but that is a plain misconception of the ,apostle's meaning1 and is contradicted by the whole context4 ,it is not faith that is the gift of ,god1 but it is salvation by grace4 ,that is plain if you will read on to the next verse4 ',by grace are ye saved through faith1 and that not of yourselves2 it is the gift of ,god2 not of works lest any man should boast4' ,what is it that is 'not of works'8 ,faith8 certainly not4 ,nobody would ever have thought it worth while to say1 'faith is not of works1' because nobody would have said that it was4 ,the two clauses necessarily refer to the same thing1 and if the latter of them must refer to salvation by grace1 so must the former4 ,thus1 the ,apostle's meaning is that we get salvation1 not because we work for it but because ,god gives it as a free gift1 for which we have nothing to render1 and which we can never deserve4 ,now1 ,i am sure that there are some of you who are saying to yourselves1 ',this is that old1 threadbare1 commonplace preaching again6' ,well6 shame on us preachers if we have made a living ,gospel into a dead theology4 ,and shame no less on you hearers if by you the words that should be good news that would make the tongue of the dumb sing1 and the lame man leap as a hart1 have been petrified and fossilised into a mere dogma4 ,i know far better than you do how absolutely inadequate all my words are1 but ,i want to bring it to you and to lay it not on your heads only but on your hearts1 as the good news that we all need1 that we have not to buy1 that we have not to work to get salvation1 but that having got it we have to work thereafter4 ',what shall we do that we might work the works of ,god8' ,a whole series of diverse1 long1 protracted1 painful toils8 ,christ swept away the question by striking out the 's' at the end of the word1 and answered1 ',this is the work' 7not 'works'7 'of ,god1' the one thing which will open out into all heroism and practical obedience1 'that ye believe on ,him to whom ,he hath sent4' ,,iii4 ,that leads me to the last point--viz4 the ,christian requirement of the condition of salvation4 ,note the precision of the ,apostle's prepositions3 ',ye have been saved by grace'2 there is the source--',ye have been saved by grace1 through faith'--there is the medium1 the instrument1 or1 if ,i may so say1 the channel2 or1 to put it into other words1 the condition by which the salvation which has its source in the deep heart of ,god pours its waters into my empty heart4 ',through faith1' another threadbare word1 which1 withal1 has been dreadfully darkened by many comments1 and has unfortunately been so represented as that people fancy it is some kind of special attitude of mind and heart1 which is only brought to bear in reference to ,christ's ,gospel4 ,it is a thousand pities1 one sometimes thinks1 that the word was not translated 'trust' instead of 'faith1' and then we should have understood that it was not a theological virtue at all1 but just the common thing that we all know so well1 which is the cement of human society and the blessedness of human affection1 and which only needs to be lifted1 as a plant that had been running along the ground1 and had its tendrils bruised and its fruit marred might be lifted1 and twined round the pillar of ,god's throne1 in order to grow up and bear fruit that shall be found after many days unto praise1 and honour1 and glory4 ,trust2 that is the condition4 ,the salvation rises from the heart of ,god4 ,you cannot touch the stream at its source1 but you can tap it away down in its flow4 ,what do you want machinery and pumps for8 ,put a yard of wooden pipe into the river1 and your house will have all the water it needs4 ,so1 dear brethren1 here is the condition--it is a condition only1 for there is no virtue in the act of trust1 but only in that with which we are brought into living union when we do trust4 ,when salvation comes1 into my heart by faith it is not my faith but ,god's grace that puts salvation there4 ,faith is only the condition1 ay6 but it is the indispensable condition4 ,how many ways are there of getting possession of a gift8 ,one only1 ,i should suppose1 and that is1 to put out a hand and take it4 ,if salvation is by grace it must be 'through faith4' ,if you will not accept you cannot have4 ,that is the plain meaning of what theologians call justification by faith2 that pardon is given on condition of taking it4 ,if you do not take it you cannot have it4 ,and so this is the upshot of the whole--trust1 and you have4 ,oh1 dear friends6 open your eyes to see your dangers4 ,let your conscience tell you of your sickness4 ,do not try to deliver1 or to heal yourselves4 ,self-reliance and self-help are very good things1 but they leave their limitations1 and they have no place here4 ',every man his own ,redeemer' will not work4 ,you can no more extricate yourself from the toils of sin than a man can release himself from the folds of a python4 ,you can no more climb to heaven by your own effort than you can build a railway to the moon4 ,you must sue in forma pauperis1 and be content to accept as a boon an unmerited place in your ,father's heart1 an undeserved seat at ,his bountiful table1 an unearned share in ,his wealth1 from the hands of your ,elder ,brother1 in whom is all ,his grace1 and who gives salvation to every sinner if he will trust ,him4 ',by grace have ye been saved through faith4' ,,god',s ,,workmanship ,,and ,,our ,,works ',we are ,his workmanship1 created in ,christ ,jesus unto good works1 which ,god hath before ordained that we should walk in them4'--,eph4 ii4 #aj4 ,the metal is molten as it runs out of the blast furnace1 but it soon cools and hardens4 ,paul's teaching about salvation by grace and by faith came in a hot stream from his heart1 but to this generation his words are apt to sound coldly1 and hardly theological4 ,but they only need to be reflected upon in connection with our own experience1 to become vivid and vital again4 ,the belief that a man may work towards salvation is a universal heresy4 ,and the ,apostle1 in the context1 summons all his force to destroy that error1 and to substitute the great truth that we have to begin with an act of ,god's1 and only after that can think about our acts4 ,to work up towards salvation is1 in the strict sense of the words1 preposterous2 it is inverting the order of things4 ,it is beginning at the wrong end4 ,it is saying ,x ,y ,z before you have learnt to say ,a ,b ,c4 ,we are to work downwards from salvation because we have it1 not that we may get it4 ,and whatever 'good works' may mean1 they are the consequences1 not the causes1 of 'salvation1' whatever that may mean4 ,but they are consequences1 and they are the very purpose of it4 ,so says ,paul in the archaic language of my text--which only wants a little steadfast looking at to be turned into up-to-date gospel--',we are ,his workmanship1 created unto good works'2 and the fact that we are is one great reason for the assertion which he brings it in to buttress1 that we are saved by grace1 not by works4 ,now1 ,i wish1 in the simplest possible way1 to deal with these great words1 and take them as they lie before us4 ,i4 ,we have1 first1 then1 this as the root of everything1 the divine creation4 ,now1 you will find that in this profound letter of the ,apostle there are two ideas cropping up over and over again1 both of them representing the facts of the ,christian life and of the transition from the unchristian to the ,christian2 and the one is ,resurrection and the other is ,creation4 ,they have this in common1 that they suggest the idea that the great gift which ,christianity brings to men--no1 do not let me use the abstract word ',christianity'--the great gift which ,christ brings to men--is a new life4 ,the low popular notion that salvation means mainly and primarily immunity from the ultimate1 most lasting future consequences of transgression1 a change of place or of condition1 infects us all1 and is far too dominant in our popular notions of ,christianity and of salvation4 ,and it is because people have such an unworthy1 narrow1 selfish idea of what 'salvation' is that they fall into the bog of misconception as to how it is to be attained4 ,the ordinary man's way of looking at the whole matter is summed up in a sentence which ,i heard not long since about a recently deceased friend of the speaker's1 and the like of which you have no doubt often heard and perhaps said1 ',he is sure to be saved because he has lived so straight4' ,and at the foundation of that confident epitaph lay a tragical1 profound misapprehension of what salvation was4 ,for it is something done in you2 it is not something that you get1 but it is something that you become4 ,the teaching of this letter1 and of the whole ,new ,testament1 is that the profoundest and most precious of all the gifts which come to us in ,jesus ,christ1 and which in their totality are summed up in the one word that has so little power over us1 because we understand it so little1 and know it so well--'salvation'--is a change in a man's nature so deep1 radical1 vital1 as that it may fairly be paralleled with a resurrection from the dead4 ,now1 ,i venture to believe that it is something more than a strong rhetorical figure when that change is described as being the creation of a new man within us4 ,the resurrection symbol for the same fact may be treated as but a symbol4 ,you cannot treat the teaching of a new life in ,christ as being a mere figure4 ,it is something a great deal more than that1 and when once a man's eye is opened to look for it in the ,new ,testament it is wonderful how it flashes out from every page and underlies the whole teaching4 ,the ,gospel of ,john1 for example1 is but one long symphony which has for its dominant theme ',i am come that they might have life4' ,and that great teaching--which has been so vulgarised1 narrowed1 and mishandled by sacerdotal pretensions and sacramentarian superstitions--that great teaching of ,regeneration1 or the new birth1 rests upon this as its very basis1 that what takes place when a man turns to ,jesus ,christ1 and is saved by ,him1 is that there is communicated to him not in symbol but in spiritual fact 7and spiritual facts are far more true than external ones which are called real7 a spark of ,christ's own life1 something of 'that spirit of life which was in ,christ ,jesus1' and by which1 and by which alone1 being transfused into us1 we become 'free from the law of sin and death4' ,i beseech you1 brethren1 see that1 in your perspective of ,christian truth1 the thought of a new life imparted to us has as prominent and as dominant a place as it obviously has in the teaching of the ,new ,testament4 ,it is not so dominant in the current notions of ,christianity that prevail amongst average people1 but it is so in all men who let themselves be guided by the plain teaching of ,christ ,himself and of all ,his servants4 ,salvation8 ,yes6 ,and the very essence of the salvation is the breathing into me of a divine life1 so that ,i become partaker of 'the divine nature4' ,now1 there is another step to be taken1 and that is that this new life is realised in ,christ ,jesus4 ,now1 this letter of the ,apostle is distinguished even amongst his letters by the extraordinary frequency and emphasis with which he uses that expression 'in ,christ ,jesus4' ,if you will take up the epistle1 and run your eye over it at your leisure1 ,i think you will be surprised to find how1 in all connections1 and linked with every sort of blessing and good as its condition1 there recurs that phrase4 ,it is 'in ,christ' that we obtain the inheritance2 it is 'in ,christ' that we receive 'redemption1 even the forgiveness of sins'2 it is in ,him that we are 'builded together for a habitation of ,god'2 it is in ,him that all fulness of divine gifts1 and all blessedness of spiritual capacities1 is communicated to us2 and unless1 in our perspective of the ,christian life1 that expression has the same prominence as it has in this letter1 we have yet to learn the sweetest sweetness1 and have yet to receive the most mighty power1 of the ,gospel that we profess4 ',in ,christ'--a union which leaves the individuality of the ,saviour and of the saint unimpaired1 because without such individuality sweet love were slain1 and there were no communion possible1 but which is so close1 so real1 so vital1 as that only the separating wall of personality and individual consciousness comes in between--that is the ,new ,testament teaching of the relation of the ,christian to ,christ4 ,is it your experience1 dear brother8 ,do not be frightened by talking about mysticism4 ,if a ,christianity has no mysticism it has no life4 ,there is a wholesome mysticism and there is a morbid one1 and the wholesome one is the very nerve of the ,gospel as it is presented by ,jesus ,himself3 ',i am the ,vine1 ye are the branches4 ,abide in ,me1 and ,i in you4' ,if our nineteenth century busy ,christianity could only get hold of that truth as firmly as it grasps the representative and sacrificial character of ,christ's work1 ,i believe it would come like a breath of spring over 'the winter of our discontent1' and would change profoundly and blessedly the whole contexture of modern ,christianity4 ,and now there is another step to take1 and that is that this union with ,christ1 which results in the communication of a new life1 or1 as my text puts it1 a new creation1 depends upon our faith4 ,we are not passive in the matter4 ,there is the condition on which the entrance of the life into our spirits is made possible4 ,you must open the door1 you must fling wide the casement1 and the blessed warm morning air of the sun of righteousness1 with healing in its beams1 will rush in1 scatter the darkness and raise the temperature4 ',faith' by which we simply mean the act of the mind in accepting and of the will and heart in casting one's self upon ,christ as the ,saviour--that act is the condition of this new life4 ,and so each ,christian is ',god's workmanship1 created in ,christ ,jesus4' ,and now1 says ,paul--and here some of us will hesitate to follow him--that new creation has to go before what you call 'good works4' ,now1 do not let us exaggerate4 ,there has seldom been a more disastrous and untrue thing said than what one of the ,fathers dared to say1 that the virtues of godless men were 'splendid vices4' ,that is not so1 and that is not the ,new ,testament teaching4 ,good is good1 whoever does it4 ,but1 then1 no man will say that actions1 however they may meet the human conception of excellence1 however bright1 pure1 lofty in motive and in aim they may be1 reach their highest possible radiance and are as good as they ought to be1 if they are done without any reference to ,god and ,his love4 ,dear brethren1 we surely do not need to have the alphabet of morality repeated to us1 that the worth of an action depends upon its motive1 that no motive is correspondent to our capacities and our relation to ,god and our consequent responsibilities1 except the motive of loving obedience to ,him4 ,unless that be present1 the brightest of human acts must be convicted of having dark shadows in it1 and all the darker because of the brightness that may stream from it4 ,and so ,i venture to assert that since the noblest systems of morality1 apart from religion1 will all coincide in saying that to be is more than to do1 and that the worth of an action depends upon its motive1 we are brought straight up to the 'narrow1 bigoted' teaching of the ,new ,testament1 that unless a man is swayed by the love of ,god in what he does1 you cannot1 in the most searching analysis1 say that his deed is as good as it ought to be1 and as it might be4 ,to be good is the first thing1 to do good is the second4 ,make the tree good and its fruit good4 ,and since1 as we have made ourselves we are evil1 there must come a re-creation before we can do the good deeds which our relation to ,god requires at our hands4 ,,ii4 ,i ask you to look at the purpose of this new creation brought out in our text4 ',created in ,christ ,jesus unto good works4' ,that is what life is given to you for4 ,that is why you are saved1 says ,paul4 ,instead of working upwards from works to salvation1 take your stand at the received salvation1 and understand what it is for1 and work downwards from it4 ,now1 do not let us take that phrase1 'good works1' which ,i have already said came hot from the ,apostle's heart1 and is now cold as a bar of iron1 in the limited sense which it has come to bear in modern religious phraseology4 ,it means something a great deal more than that4 ,it covers the whole ground of what the ,apostle1 in another of his letters1 speaks of when he says1 ',whatsoever things are lovely and of good report1 if there be any virtue'--to use for a moment the world's word1 which has such power to conjure in ,greek ethics--'or if there be any praise'--to use for a moment the world's low motive1 which has such power to sway men--'think of these things1' and these things do4 ,that is the width of the conception of 'good works'2 everything that is 'lovely and of good report4' ,that is what you receive the new life for4 ,contrast that with other notions of the purpose of revelation and redemption4 ,contrast it with what ,i have already referred to1 and so need not enlarge upon now1 the miserably inadequate and low notions of the essentials of salvation which one hears perpetually1 and which many of us cherish4 ,it is no mere immunity from a future hell4 ,it is no mere entrance into a vague heaven4 ,it is not escaping the penalty of the inexorable law1 ',whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap1' that is meant by 'salvation1' any more than it is putting away the rod1 which the child would be all the better for having administered to him1 that is meant by 'forgiveness4' ,but just as forgiveness1 in its essence1 means not suspension nor abolition of penalty1 but the uninterrupted flow of the ,father's love1 so salvation in its essence means1 not the deliverance from any external evil or the alteration of anything in the external position1 but the revolution and the re-creation of the man's nature4 ,and the purpose of it is that the saved man may live in conformity with the will of ,god1 and that on his character there may be embroidered all the fair things which ,god desires to see on ,his child's vesture4 ,contrast it with the notion that an orthodox belief is the purpose of revelation4 ,i remember hearing once of a man that 'he was a very shady character1 but sound on the ,atonement4' ,what is the use of being 'sound on the ,atonement' if the ,atonement does not make you live the ,christ life8 ,and what is the good of all your orthodoxy unless the orthodoxy of creed issues in orthopraxy of conduct8 ,there are far too many of us who half-consciously do still hold by the notion that if a man believes rightly then that makes him a ,christian4 ,my text shatters to pieces any such conception4 ,you are saved that you may be good1 and do good continually2 and unless you are so doing you may be steeped to the eyebrows in the correctest of creeds1 and it will only drown you4 ,contrast this conception of the purpose of ,christianity with the far too common notion that we are saved1 mainly in order that we may indulge in devout emotions1 and in the outgoing of affection and confidence to ,jesus ,christ4 ,emotional ,christianity is necessary1 but ,christianity1 which is mainly or exclusively emotional1 lives next door to hypocrisy1 and there is a door of communication between them4 ,for there is nothing more certain and more often illustrated in experience than that there is a strange underground connection between a ,christianity which is mainly fervid and a very shady life4 ,one sees it over and over again4 ,and the cure of that is to apprehend the great truth of my text1 that we are saved1 not in order that we may know aright1 nor in order that we may feel aright1 but in order that we may be good and do 'good works4' ,in the order of things1 right thought touches the springs of right feeling1 and right feeling sets going the wheels of right action4 ,do not let the steam all go roaring out of the waste-pipe in however sacred and blessed emotions4 ,see that it is guided so as to drive the spindles and the shuttles and make the web4 ,,iii4 ,and now1 lastly1 and only a word--here we have the field provided for the exercise of the 'good works4' ',created unto good works which ,god has before prepared'--before the re-creation--'that we should walk in them4' ,that is to say1 the true way to look at the life is to regard it as the exercising-ground which ,god has prepared for the development of the life that1 through ,christ1 is implanted in us4 ,he cuts the channels that the stream may flow4 ,that is the way to look at tasks1 at difficulties4 ,difficulty is the parent of power1 and ,god arranges our circumstances in order that1 by wrestling with obstacles1 we may gain the 'thews that throw the world1' and in order that in sorrows and in joys1 in the rough places and the smooth1 we may find occasions for the exercise of the goodness which is lodged potentially in us1 when ,he creates us in ,christ ,jesus4 ,so be sure that the path and the power will always correspond4 ,god does not lead us on roads that are too steep for our weakness1 and too long for our strength4 ,what ,he bids us do ,he fits us for2 what ,he fits us for ,he thereby bids us do4 ,and so1 dear brother1 take heed that you are fulfilling the purpose for which you receive this new life4 ,and let us all remember the order in which being and doing come4 ,we must be good first1 and then1 and only then1 shall we do good4 ,we must have ,christ for us first1 our sacrifice and our means of receiving that new life1 and then1 ,christ in us1 the soul of our souls1 the ,life of our lives1 the source of all our goodness4 ',if any power we have1 it is to ill1 ,and all the power is ,thine to do and eke to will4' ',,the ,,chief ,,corner-,,stone' ',built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets1 ,christ ,jesus ,himself being the chief corner-stone4'--,eph4 ii4 #bj 7,r4,v474 ,the ,roman ,empire had in ,paul's time gathered into a great unity the ,asiatics of ,ephesus1 the ,greeks of ,corinth1 the ,jews of ,palestine1 and men of many another race1 but grand and imposing as that great unity was1 it was to ,paul a poor thing compared with the oneness of the ,kingdom of ,jesus ,christ4 ,asiatics of ,ephesus1 ,greeks of ,corinth1 ,jews of ,palestine and members of many another race could say1 ',our citizenship is in heaven4' ,the ,roman ,eagle swept over wide regions in her flight1 but the ,dove of ,peace1 sent forth from ,christ's hand1 travelled further than she4 ,as ,paul says in the context1 the ,ephesians had been strangers1 'aliens from the commonwealth of ,israel1' wandering like the remnants of some 'broken clans1' but now they are gathered in4 ,that narrow community of the ,jewish nation has expanded its bounds and become the mother-country of believing souls1 the true 'island of saints4' ,it was not ,rome which really made all peoples one1 but it was the weakest and most despised of her subject races4 ',of ,zion it shall be said1' ',lo6 this and that man was born in her4' ,to emphasise the thought of the great unity of the ,church1 the ,apostle uses here his often-repeated metaphor of a temple1 of which the ,ephesian ,christians are the stones1 apostles and prophets the builders1 and ,christ ,himself the chief corner-stone4 ,of course the representation of the foundation1 as being laid by apostles and prophets1 refers to them as proclaiming the ,gospel4 ,the real laying of the foundation is the work of the divine power and love which gave us ,christ1 and it is the ,divine ,voice which proclaims1 ',behold ,i lay in ,zion a foundation6' ,but that divine work has to be made known among men1 and it is by the making of it known that the building rises course by course4 ,there is no contradiction between the two statements1 ',i have laid the foundation' and ,paul's ',as a wise master-builder ,i have laid the foundation4' ,a question may here rise as to the meaning of 'prophets4' ,unquestionably the expression in other places of the ,epistle does mean ,new ,testament prophets1 but seeing that here ,jesus is designated as the foundation stone which1 standing beneath two walls1 has a face into each1 and binds them strongly together1 it is more natural to see in the prophets the representatives of the great teachers of the old dispensation as the apostles were of the new4 ,the remarkable order in which these two classes are named1 the apostles being first1 and the prophets who were first in time being last in order of mention1 confirms this explanation1 for the two co-operating classes are named in the order in which they lie in the foundation4 ,digging down you come to the more recent first1 to the earlier second1 and deep and massive1 beneath all1 to the corner-stone on whom all rests1 in whom all are united together4 ,following the ,apostle's order we may note the process of building2 beneath that1 the foundation on which the building rests2 and beneath it1 the corner-stone which underlies and unites the whole4 ,i4 ,the process of building4 ,in the previous clauses the ,apostle has represented the condition of the ,ephesian ,christians before their ,christianity as being that of strangers and foreigners1 lacking the rights of citizenship anywhere1 a mob rather than in any sense a society4 ,they had been like a confused heap of stones flung fortuitously together2 they had become fellow-citizens with the saints4 ,the stones had been piled up into an orderly building4 ,he is not ignoring the facts of national1 political1 or civic relationships which existed independent of the new unity realised in a common faith4 ,these relationships could not be ignored by one who had had ,paul's experience of their formidable character as antagonists of him and of his message1 but they seemed to him1 in contrast with the still deeper and far more perfect union1 which was being brought about in ,christ1 of men of all nationalities and belonging to mutually hostile races1 to be little better than the fortuitous union of a pile of stones huddled together on the roadside4 ,measured against the architecture of the ,church1 as ,paul saw it in his lofty idealism1 the aggregations of men in the world do not deserve the name of buildings4 ,his point of view is the exact opposite of that which is common around us1 and which1 alas6 finds but too much support in the present aspects of the so-called churches of this day4 ,it is to be observed that in our text these stones are1 in accordance with the propriety of the metaphor1 regarded as being built1 that is1 as in some sense the subjects of a force brought to bear upon them1 which results in their being laid together in orderly fashion and according to a plan1 but it is not to be forgotten that1 according to the teaching1 not of this epistle alone1 but of all ,paul's letters1 the living stones are active in the work of building1 as well as beings subject to an influence4 ,in another place of the ,new ,testament we read the exhortation to 'build up yourselves on your most holy faith1' and the means of discharging that duty are set forth in the words which follow it2 as being ',praying in the ,holy ,spirit1 keeping yourselves in the love of ,god1 and looking for the mercy of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4' ,throughout the ,pauline letters we have frequent references to edifying1 a phrase which has been so vulgarised by much handling that its great meaning has been all but lost1 but which still1 rightly understood1 presents the ,christian life as one continuous effort after developing ,christian character4 ,taking into view the whole of the apostolic references to this continuous process of building1 we cannot but recognise that it all begins with the act of faith which brings men into immediate contact and vital union with ,jesus ,christ1 and which is1 if anything that a man does is1 the act of his very inmost self passing out of its own isolation and resting itself on ,jesus4 ,it is by the vital and individual act of faith that any soul escapes from the dreary isolation of being a stranger and a foreigner1 wandering1 homeless and solitary1 and finds through ,jesus fellowship1 an elder ,brother1 a ,father1 and a home populous with many brethren4 ,but whilst faith is the condition of beginning the ,christian life1 which is the only real life1 that life has to be continued and developed towards perfection by continuous effort4 ',tis a life-long toil till the lump be leavened4' ,one of the passages already referred to varies the metaphor of building1 in so far as it seems to represent 'your most holy faith' as the foundation1 and may be an instance of the doubtful ,new ,testament usage of 'faith1' as meaning the believed ,gospel1 rather than the personal act of believing4 ,but however that may be1 context of the words clearly suggests the practical duties by which the ,christian life is preserved and strengthened4 ,they who build up themselves do so1 mainly1 by keeping themselves in the love of ,god with watchful oversight and continual preparedness for struggle against all foes who would drag them from that safe fortress1 and subsidiarily1 by like continuity in prayer1 and in fixing their meek hope on the mercy of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ unto eternal life4 ,if ,christian character is ever to be made more ,christian1 it must be by a firmer grasp and a more vivid realisation of ,christ and ,his truth4 ,the more we feel ourselves to be lapped in the love of ,god1 the more shall we be builded up on our most holy faith4 ,there is no mystery about the means of ,christian progress4 ,that which1 at the beginning1 made a man a ,christian shapes his whole future course2 the measure of our faith is the measure of our advance4 ,but the ,apostle1 in the immediately following words1 goes on to pass beyond the bounds of his metaphor1 and with complete indifference to the charge of mixing figures1 speaks of the building as growing4 ,that thought leads us into a higher region than that of effort4 ,the process by which a great forest tree thickens its boles1 expands the sweep of its branches and lifts them nearer the heavens1 is very different from that by which a building rises slowly and toilsomely and with manifest incompleteness all the time1 until the flag flies on the roof-tree4 ,and if we had not this nobler thought of a possible advance by the increasing circulation within us of a mysterious life1 there would be little gospel in a word which only enjoined effort as the condition of moral progress1 and there would be little to choose between ,paul and ,plato4 ,he goes on immediately to bring out more fully what he means by the growth of the building1 when he says that if ,christians are in ,christ1 they are 'built up for an habitation of ,god in the ,spirit4' ,union with ,christ1 and a consequent life in the ,spirit1 are sure to result in the growth of the individual soul and of the collective community4 ,that divine ,spirit dwells in and works through every believing soul1 and while it is possible to grieve and to quench ,it1 to resist and even to neutralise ,its workings1 these are the true sources of all our growth in grace and knowledge4 ,the process of building may be and will be slow4 ,sometimes lurking enemies will pull down in a night what we have laboured at for many days4 ,often our hands will be slack and our hearts will droop4 ,we shall often be tempted to think that our progress is so slow that it is doubtful if we have ever been on the foundation at all or have been building at all4 ,but 'the ,spirit helpeth our infirmities1' and the task is not ours alone but ,his in us4 ,we have to recognise that effort is inseparable from building1 but we have also to remember that growth depends on the free circulation of life1 and that if we are1 and abide in1 ,jesus1 we cannot but be built 'for an habitation of ,god in the ,spirit4' ,we may be sure that whatever may be the gaps and shortcomings in the structures that we rear here1 none will be able to say of us at the last1 ',this man began to build and was not able to finish4' ,,ii4 ,the foundation on which the building rests4 ,in the ,greek1 as in our version1 there is no definite article before 'prophets1' and its absence indicates that both sets of persons here mentioned come under the common vinculum of the one definite article preceding the first named4 ,so that apostles and prophets belong to one class4 ,it may be a question whether the foundation is theirs in the sense that they constitute it1 an explanation in favour of which can be quoted the vision in the ,apocalypse of the new ,jerusalem1 in the twelve foundations of which were written the names of the twelve apostles of the ,lamb1 or whether1 as is more probable1 the foundation is conceived of as laid by them4 ,in like manner the ,apostle speaks to the ,corinthians of having 'as a wise master-builder laid the foundation1' and to the ,romans of making it his aim to preach especially where ,christ was not already named1 that he might 'not build upon another man's foundation4' ,following these indications1 it seems best to understand the preaching of the ,gospel as being the laying of the foundation4 ,further1 the question may be raised whether the prophets here mentioned belong to the ,old ,testament or to the ,new4 ,the latter alternative has been preferred on the ground that the apostles are named first1 but1 as we have already noticed1 the order here begins at the top and goes downwards1 what was last in order of time being first in order of mention4 ,we need only recall ,peter's bold words that 'all the prophets1 as many as have spoken1 have told of the days' of ,christ1 or ,paul's sermon in the synagogue of ,antioch in which he passionately insisted on the ,jewish crime of condemning ,christ as being the fulfilment of the voices of the prophets1 and of the ,resurrection of ,jesus as being ,god's fulfilment of the promise made unto the fathers to understand how here1 as it were1 beneath the foundation laid by the present preaching of the apostles1 ,paul rejoices to discern the ancient stones firmly laid by long dead hands4 ,the ,apostle's strongest conviction was that he himself had become more and not less of a ,jew by becoming a ,christian1 and that the ,gospel which he preached was nothing more than the perfecting of that ,gospel before the ,gospel1 which had come from the lips of the prophets4 ,we know a great deal more than he did as to the ways in which the progressive divine revelation was presented to ,israel through the ages1 and some of us are tempted to think that we know more than we do1 but the true bearing of modern criticism1 as applied to the ,old ,testament1 is to confirm1 even whilst it may to some extent modify1 the conviction common to all the ,new ,testament writers1 and formulated by the last of the ,new ,testament prophets1 that 'the testimony of ,jesus is the spirit of prophecy4' ,whatever new light may shine on the questions of the origin and composition of the books of the ,old ,testament1 it will never obscure the radiance of the majestic figure of the ,messiah which shines from the prophetic page4 ,the inner relation between the foundation of the apostles and that of the prophets is best set forth in the solemn colloquy on the ,mount of ,transfiguration between ,moses and ,elias and ,jesus4 ,they 'were with ,him' as witnessing to ,him to whom law and ritual and prophecy had pointed1 and they 'spake of ,his decease which ,he should accomplish at ,jerusalem' as being the vital centre of all ,his work which the lambs slain according to ritual had foreshadowed1 and the prophetic figure of the ,servant of the ,lord 'wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities' had more distinctly foretold4 ,,iii4 ,the corner-stone which underlies and unites the whole4 ,of course the corner-stone here is the foundation-stone and not 'the head-stone of the corner4' ,jesus ,christ is both4 ,he is the first and the last2 the ,alpha and ,omega4 ,in accordance with the whole context1 in which the prevailing idea is that which always fired ,paul's imagination1 viz4 that of reconciling ,jew and ,gentile in one new man1 it is best to suppose a reference here to the union of ,jew and ,gentile4 ,the stone laid beneath the two walls which diverge at right angles from each other binds both together and gives strength and cohesion to the whole4 ,in the previous context the same idea is set forth that ,christ 'preached peace to them that were afar off 7,gentiles7 and to them that were nigh 7,jews74' ,by ,his death ,he broke down another wall1 the middle wall of partition between them1 and did so by abolishing 'the law of commandments contained in ordinances4' ,the old distinction between ,jew and ,gentile1 which was accentuated by the ,jew's rigid observance of ordinances and which often led to bitter hatred on both sides1 was swept away in that strange new thing1 a community of believers drawn together in ,jesus ,christ4 ,the former antagonistic 'twain' had become one in a third order of man1 the ,christian man4 ,the ,jew ,christian and the ,gentile ,christian became brethren because they had received one new life1 and they who had common feelings of faith and love to the same ,saviour1 a common character drawn from ,him1 and a common destiny open to them by their common relation to ,jesus1 could never cherish the old emotions of racial hate4 ,when we1 in this day1 try to picture to ourselves that strange new thing1 the love which bound the early ,christians together and buried as beneath a rushing flood the formidable walls of separation between them1 we may well penitently ask ourselves how it comes that ,jesus seems to have so much less power to triumph over the divisive forces that part us from those who should be our hearts' brothers4 ,in our modern life there are no such gulfs of separation from one another as were filled up unconsciously in the experience of the first believers1 but the narrower chinks seem to remain in their ugliness between those who profess a common faith in one ,lord1 and who are all ready to assert that they are built on the foundation of the ,apostles and prophets1 and that ,jesus ,christ is from them the chief corner-stone4 ,if in reality ,he is so to us1 and ,he is so if we have been builded upon ,him through our faith1 the metaphor of corner-stone and building will fail to express the reality of our relation to ,him1 for our corner-stone has in it an infinite vitality which rises up through all the courses of the living stones1 and moulds each 'into an immortal feature of loveliness and perfection4' ,so it shall be for each individual1 though here the appropriation of the perfect gift is imperfect4 ,so it shall be in reference to the history of the world4 ,christ is its centre and foundation-stone1 and as ,his coming makes the date from which the nations reckon1 and all before it was in the deepest sense preparatory to ,his incarnation1 all which is after it is in the deepest sense the appropriating of ,him and the developing of ,his work4 ,the multitudes which went before and that followed cried1 saying1 ',blessed is ,he that cometh in the name of the ,lord4' ',,the ,,whole ,,family' ',the whole family in heaven and earth4'--,eph4 iii4 #ae4 ,grammatically1 we are driven to recognise that the ,revised ,version is more correct than the ,authorised1 when it reads 'every family1' instead of 'the whole family4' ,there is in the expression no reference to the thought1 however true it is in itself1 that the redeemed in heaven and the believers on earth make up but one family4 ,the thought rather is1 that1 as has been said1 'the father makes the family1' and if any community of intelligent beings1 human1 or angelic1 bears the great name of family1 the great reason for that lies 'in ,god's paternal relationship4' ,but my present purpose in selecting this text is not so much to speak of it as to lay hold of the probably incorrect rendering in the ,authorised ,version1 as suggesting1 though here inaccurately1 the thought that believers struggling here and saints and angels glorious above 'but one communion make1' and in the light of that thought1 to consider the meaning of the ,lord's ,supper4 ,i am1 of course1 fully conscious that in thus using the words1 ,i am diverting them from their original purpose2 but possibly in this case1 open confession1 my open confession1 may merit your forgiveness and at all events1 it1 in some degree1 brings me my own4 ,i4 ,consider the ,lord's ,supper as a sign that the ,church on earth is a family4 ,the ,passover was essentially a family feast1 and the ,lord's ,supper1 which was grafted on it1 was plainly meant to be the same4 ,the domestic character of the rite shines clearly out in the precious simplicity of the arrangements in the upper room4 ,when ,christ and the twelve sat down there1 it was a family meal at which they sat4 ,he was the head of the household2 they were members of ,his family4 ,the early examples of the rite1 when the disciples 'gathered together to break bread1' obviously preserved the same familiar character1 and stand in extraordinary contrast to the splendours of high mass in a ,roman ,catholic ,cathedral4 ,the ,church1 as a whole1 is a household1 and the very form of the rite proclaims that 'we1 being many1 are one bread4' ,the conception of a family brings clearly into view the deepest ground of ,christian unity4 ,it is the possession of a common life1 just as men are born into an earthly family1 not of their own will1 nor of their own working1 and come without any action of their own into bonds of blood relationship with brothers and sisters4 ,when we become sons of ,god and are born again1 we become brethren of all ,his children4 ,that which gives us life in ,him makes us kindred with all through whose veins flows that same life4 ,it is the common partaking in the one bread which makes us one4 ,the same blood flows in the veins of all the children4 ,hence1 the only ground on which the ,church rests is this common possession of the life of ,christ1 and that ground makes1 and ought to be felt to make1 ,christian union a far deeper1 more blessed1 and more imperative bond than can be found in any shallow similarities of aim--or identities of opinion or feeling4 ,the deepest fact of ,christian consciousness is the foundation fact of ,christian brotherhood2 each is nearer to every ,christian than to any besides4 ,a very solemn view of ,christian duty arises from these thoughts1 familiar as they are3 ',no distance breaks the tie of blood1 ,brothers are brothers ever more4' and every tongue is loud in condemnation of any man who is ashamed or afraid to recognise his brother and stand by him1 whatever may be the difference in their worldly positions4 ',every one who loveth ,him that begat1 loveth ,him also that is begotten of ,him4' ,,ii4 ,the ,lord's ,supper as a prophecy of the family at home above4 ,the prophetic character was stamped on the first institution of the ,lord's ,supper by ,christ's own words 'until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of ,god1' and by ,his declaration that ,he appointed unto them a kingdom1 that they might eat and drink at ,his table in ,his kingdom4 ,we may also recall the mysterious feast spread on the shore of the lake1 where1 with obvious allusion both to his earlier miracles and to the sad hour in the upper room1 he came 'and taketh the bread and gave it to them4' ,blending these two together we get most blessed1 though dim1 thoughts of that future2 they speak to us of an eternal home1 an eternal feast1 and an eternal society4 ,we have to reverse not a few of the characteristics of the upper room in order to reach those of the table in the kingdom4 ,the ,lord's ,supper was followed for ,him by ,gethsemane and ,calvary1 and for them by going out to betray and to deny and to forsake ,him4 ,from that better table there is no more going out4 ,the servant comes in from the field1 spent with toil and stained with many a splash1 but the ,master ,himself comes forth and serves ,his servant4 ,in the eternal feast1 which is spread above1 the bread as well as the wine is new1 even whilst it is old1 for there will be disclosed new depths of blessing and power in the old ,christ1 and new draughts of joy and strength in the old wine which will make the feasters say1 in rapture and astonishment1 to the ,master of the feast1 ',thou hast kept the good wine until now4' ,there and then all broken ties will be re-knit1 all losses supplied1 and no shadow of change1 nor fear of exhaustion1 pass across the calm hearts4 ,,iii4 ,the ,lord's ,supper is a token of the present union of the two4 ,if it thus prophesies the perfectness of heaven1 it also shows us how the two communities of earth and heaven are united4 ,they1 as we1 live by derivation of the one life2 they1 as we1 are fed and blessed by the one ,lord4 ,the occupations and thoughts of ,christian life on earth and of the perfect life of ,saints above are one4 ,they look to ,christ as we do1 when we live as ,christians1 though the sun which is the light of both regions shows there a broader disc1 and pours forth more fervid rays1 and is never obscured by clouds1 nor ever sets in night4 ,whether conscious of us or not1 they are doing there1 in perfect fashion1 what we imperfectly attempt1 and partially accomplish4 ',the ,saints on earth and all the ,dead ,but one communion make4' ,heaven and earth are equally mansions in the ,father's house4 ,to the faith which realises this great truth1 death dwindles to a small matter4 ,the ,lord's table has an upper and a lower level4 ,sitting at the lower1 we may feel that those who have gone from our sides1 and have left empty places which never can be filled1 are gathered round ,him in the upper half1 and though a screen hangs between the two1 yet the feast is one and the family is one4 ,singly our dear ones go1 and singly we all shall go4 ,the table spread in the presence of enemies will be left vacant to its last place1 and the one spread above will be filled to its last place1 and so shall we ever be with the ,lord1 and the unity which was always real be perfectly and permanently manifested at the last4 ,,strengthened ,,with ,,might ',that ,he would grant you1 according to the riches of ,his glory2 to be strengthened with might by ,his ,spirit in the inner man4'--,eph4 iii4 #af4 ,in no part of ,paul's letters does he rise to a higher level than in his prayers1 and none of his prayers are fuller of fervour than this wonderful series of petitions4 ,they open out one into the other like some majestic suite of apartments in a great palace-temple1 each leading into a loftier and more spacious hall1 each drawing nearer the presence-chamber1 until at last we stand there4 ,roughly speaking1 the prayer is divided into four petitions1 of which each is the cause of the following and the result of the preceding--',that ,he would grant you1 according to the riches of ,his glory1 to be strengthened with might by ,his ,spirit in the inner man'--that is the first4 ',in order that ,christ may dwell in your hearts by faith1' 'ye being rooted and grounded in love'--such is the second1 the result of the first1 and the preparation for the third4 ',that ye may be able to comprehend with all saints 444 and to know the love of ,christ which passeth knowledge1' such is the third1 and all lead up at last to that wonderful desire beyond which nothing is possible--'that ye might be filled with all the fulness of ,god4' ,i venture to contemplate dealing with these four petitions in successive sermons1 in order1 ,god helping me1 that ,i may bring before you a fairer vision of the possibilities of your ,christian life than you ordinarily entertain4 ,for ,paul's prayer is ,god's purpose1 and what ,he means with all who profess ,his name is that these exuberant desires may be fulfilled in them4 ,so let us now listen to that petition which is the foundation of all1 and consider that great thought of the divine strength-giving power which may be bestowed upon every ,christian soul4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 ,i remark that ,god means1 and wishes1 that all ,christians should be strong by the possession of the ,spirit of might4 ,it is a miserably inadequate conception of ,christianity1 and of the gifts which it bestows1 and the blessings which it intends for men1 when it is limited1 as it practically is1 by a large number--,i might almost say the majority--of professing ,christians to a simple means of altering their relation to the past1 and to the broken law of ,god and of righteousness4 ,thanks be to ,his name6 ,his great gift to the world begins in each individual case with the assurance that all the past is cancelled4 ,he gives that blessed sense of forgiveness1 which can never be too highly estimated unless it is forced out of its true place as the introduction1 and made to be the climax and the end1 of ,his gifts4 ,i do not know what ,christianity means1 unless it means that you and ,i are forgiven for a purpose2 that the purpose1 if ,i may so say1 is something in advance of the means towards the purpose1 the purpose being that we should be filled with all the strength and righteousness and supernatural life granted to us by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,it is well that we should enter into the vestibule4 ,there is no other path to the throne but through the vestibule4 ,but do not let us forget that the good news of forgiveness1 though we need it day by day1 and need it perpetually repeated1 is but the introduction to and porch of the ,temple1 and that beyond it there towers1 if ,i cannot say a loftier1 yet ,i may say a further gift1 even the gift of a divine life like ,his1 from whom it comes1 and of which it is in reality an effluence and a spark4 ,the true characteristic blessing of the ,gospel is the gift of a new power to a sinful weak world2 a power which makes the feeble strong1 and the strongest as an angel of ,god4 ,oh1 brethren6 we who know how1 'if any power we have1 it is to ill'2 we who understand the weakness1 the unaptness of our spirits to any good1 and our strength for every vagrant evil that comes upon them to tempt them1 should surely recognise as a ,gospel in very deed that which proclaims to us that the 'everlasting ,god1 the ,lord1 the ,creator of the ends of the earth1' who ,himself 'fainteth not1 neither is weary4' hath yet a loftier display of ,his strength-giving power than that which is visible in the heavens above1 where1 'because ,he is strong in might not one faileth4' ,that heaven1 the region of calm completeness1 of law unbroken and therefore of power undiminished1 affords a lesser and dimmer manifestation of ,his strength than the work that is done in the hell of a human heart that has wandered and is brought back1 that is stricken with the weakness of the fever of sin1 and is healed into the strength of obedience and the omnipotence of dependence4 ,it is much to say 'for that ,he is strong in might1 not one of these faileth2' it is more to say ',he giveth power to them that have failed2 and to them that have no might ,he increaseth strength4' ,the ,gospel is the gift of pardon for holiness1 and its inmost and most characteristic bestowment is the bestowment of a new power for obedience and service4 ,and that power1 as ,i need not remind you1 is given to us through the gift of the ,divine ,spirit4 ,the very name of that ,spirit is the ',spirit of ,might4' ,christ spoke to us about being 'endued with power from on high4' ,the last of ,his promises that dropped from ,his lips upon earth was the promise that ,his followers should receive the power of the ,spirit coming upon them4 ,wheresoever in the early histories we read of a man who was full of the ,holy ,ghost1 we read that he was 'full of power4' ,according to the teaching of this ,apostle1 ,god hath given us the ',spirit of power1' which is also the ,spirit 'of love and of a sound mind4' ,so the strength that we must have1 if we have strength at all1 is the strength of a ,divine ,spirit1 not our own1 that dwells in us1 and works through us4 ,and there is nothing in that which need startle or surprise any man who believes in a living ,god at all1 and in the possibility1 therefore1 of a connection between the ,great ,spirit and all the human spirits which are ,his children4 ,i would maintain1 in opposition to many modern conceptions1 the actual supernatural character of the gift that is bestowed upon every ,christian soul4 ,my reading of the ,new ,testament is that as distinctly above the order of material nature as is any miracle1 is the gift that flows into a believing heart4 ,there is a direct passage between ,god and my spirit4 ,it lies open to ,his touch2 all the paths of its deep things can be trodden by ,him4 ,you and ,i act upon one another from without1 ,he acts upon us within4 ,we wish one another blessings2 ,he gives the blessings4 ,we try to train1 to educate1 to incline1 and dispose1 by the presentation of motives and the urging of reasons2 ,he can plant in a heart by ,his own divine husbandry the seed that shall blossom into immortal life4 ,and so the ,christian ,church is a great1 continuous1 supernatural community in the midst of the material world2 and every believing soul1 because it possesses something of the life of ,jesus ,christ1 has been the seat of a miracle as real and true as when ,he said ',lazarus1 come forth6' ,precisely this teaching does our ,lord ,himself present for our acceptance when ,he sets side by side1 as mutually illustrative1 as belonging to the same order of supernatural phenomena1 'the hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the ,son of ,god and they that hear shall live1' which is the supernatural resurrection of souls dead in sin1--and 'the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear ,his voice1 and shall come forth1' which is the future resurrection of the body1 in obedience to ,his will4 ,so1 ,christian men and women1 do you set clearly before you this3 that ,god's purpose with you is but begun when ,he has forgiven you1 that ,he forgives you for a design1 that it is a means to an end1 and that you have not reached the conception of the large things which ,he intends for you unless you have risen to this great thought--,he means and wishes that you should be strong with the strength of ,his own ,divine ,spirit4 ,,ii4 ,now notice1 next1 that this ,divine ,power has its seat in1 and is intended to influence the whole of1 the inner life4 ,as my text puts it1 we may be 'strengthened with might by ,his ,spirit in the inner man4' ,by the 'inner man' ,i suppose1 is not meant the new creation through faith in ,jesus ,christ which this ,apostle calls 'the new man1' but simply what ,peter calls the 'hidden man of the heart' the 'soul1' or unseen self as distinguished from the visible material body which it animates and informs4 ,it is this inner self1 then1 in which the ,spirit of ,god is to dwell1 and into which it is to breathe strength4 ,the leaven is hid deep in three measures of meal until the whole be leavened4 ,and the point to mark is that the whole inward region which makes up the true man is the field upon which this ,divine ,spirit is to work4 ,it is not a bit of your inward life that is to be hallowed4 ,it is not any one aspect of it that is to be strengthened1 but it is the whole intellect1 affections1 desires1 tastes1 powers of attention1 conscience1 imagination1 memory1 will4 ,the whole inner man in all its corners is to be filled1 and to come under the influence of this power1 'until there be no part dark1 as when the bright shining of a candle giveth thee light4' ,there is no part of my being that is not patent to the tread of this ,divine ,guest4 ,there are no rooms of the house of my spirit into which ,he may not go4 ,let ,him come with the master key in ,his hand into all the dim chambers of your feeble nature2 and as the one life is light in the eye1 and colour in the cheek1 and deftness in the fingers1 and strength in the arm1 and pulsation in the heart1 so ,he will come with the manifold results of the one gift to you4 ,he will strengthen your understandings1 and make you able for loftier tasks of intellect and of reason than you can face in your unaided power2 ,he will dwell in your affections and make them vigorous to lay hold upon the holy things that are above their natural inclination1 and will make it certain that their reach shall not be beyond their grasp1 as1 alas6 it so often is in the sadness and disappointments of human love4 ,he will come into that feeble1 vacillating1 wayward will of yours1 that is only obstinate in its adherence to the low and the evil1 as some foul creature1 that one may try to wrench away1 digs its claws into corruption and holds on by that4 ,he will lift your will and make it fix upon the good and abominate the evil1 and through the whole being ,he will pour a great tide of strength which shall cover all the weakness4 ,he will be like some subtle elixir which1 taken into the lips1 steals through a pallid and wasted frame1 and brings back a glow to the cheek and a lustre to the eye1 and swiftness to the brain1 and power to the whole nature4 ,or as some plant1 drooping and flagging beneath the hot rays of the sun1 when it has the scent of water given to it1 will1 in all its parts1 stiffen and erect itself1 so1 when the ,spirit is poured out on men1 their whole nature is invigorated and helped4 ,that indwelling ,spirit will be a power for suffering4 ,the parallel passage to this in the twin epistle to the ,colossians is--'strengthened with all might unto all patience and long-suffering with gentleness4' ,ah1 brethren6 unless this ,divine ,spirit were a power for patience and endurance it were no power suited to us poor men4 ,so dark at times is every life2 so full at times of discouragements1 of dreariness1 of sadness1 of loneliness1 of bitter memories1 and of fading hopes does the human heart become1 that if we are to be strong we must have a strength that will manifest itself most chiefly in this1 that it teaches us how to bear1 how to weep1 how to submit4 ,and it will be a power for conflict4 ,we have all of us1 in the discharge of duty and in the meeting of temptation1 to face such tremendous antagonisms that unless we have grace given to us which will enable us to resist1 we shall be overcome and swept away4 ,god's power given by the ,divine ,spirit does not absolve us from the fight1 but it fits us for the fight4 ,it is not given in order that1 holiness may be won without a struggle1 as some people seem to think1 but it is given to us in order that in the struggle for holiness we may never lose 'one jot of heart or hope1' but may be 'able to withstand in the evil day1 and having done all to stand4' ,it is a power for service4 ',tarry ye in ,jerusalem till ye be endued with power from on high4' ,there is no such force for the spreading of ,christ's ,kingdom1 and the witness-bearing work of ,his ,church1 as the possession of this ,divine ,spirit4 ,plunged into that fiery baptism1 the selfishness and the sloth1 which stand in the way of so many of us1 are all consumed and annihilated1 and we are set free for service because the bonds that bound us are burnt up in the merciful furnace of ,his fiery power4 ',ye shall be strengthened with might by ,his ,spirit in the inner man'--a power that will fill and flood all your nature if you will let it1 and will make you strong to suffer1 strong to combat1 strong to serve1 and to witness for your ,lord4 ,,iii4 ,and now1 lastly1 let me point you still further to the measure of this power4 ,it is limitless with the boundlessness of ,god ,himself4 ',that he would grant you' is the daring petition of the ,apostle1 'according to the riches of ,his glory to be strengthened4' ,there is the measure4 ,there is no limit except the uncounted wealth of ,his own self-manifestation1 the flashing light of revealed divinity4 ,whatsoever there is of splendour in that1 whatsoever there is of power there1 in these and in nothing on this side of them1 lies the limit of the possibilities of a ,christian life4 ,of course there is a working limit at each moment1 and that is our capacity to receive2 but that capacity varies1 may vary indefinitely1 may become greater and greater beyond our count or measurement4 ,our hearts may be more and more capable of ,god2 and in the measure in which they are capable of ,him they shall be filled by ,him4 ,a limit which is always shifting is no limit at all4 ,a kingdom1 the boundaries of which are not the same from one year to another1 by reason of its own inherent expansive power1 may be said to have no fixed limit4 ,and so we appropriate and enclose1 as it were1 within our own little fence1 a tiny portion of the great prairie that rolls boundlessly to the horizon4 ,but to-morrow we may enclose more1 if we will1 and more and more2 and so ever onwards1 for all that is ,god's is ours1 and ,he has given us ,his whole self to use and to possess through our faith in ,his ,son4 ,a thimble can only take up a thimbleful of the ocean1 but what if the thimble be endowed with a power of expansion which has no term known to men8 ,may it not1 then1 be that some time or other it shall be able to hold so much of the infinite depth as now seems a dream too audacious to be realised8 ,so it is with us and ,god4 ,he lets us come into the vaults1 as it were1 where in piles and masses the ingots of uncoined and uncounted gold are stored and stacked2 and ,he says1 ',take as much as you like to carry4' ,there is no limit except the riches of ,his glory4 ,and now1 dear friends1 remember that this great gift1 offered to each of us1 is offered on conditions4 ,to you professing ,christians especially ,i speak4 ,you will never get it unless you want it1 and some of you do not want it4 ,there are plenty of people who call themselves ,christian men that would not for the life of them know what to do with this great gift if they had it4 ,you will get it if you desire it4 ',ye have not because ye ask not4' ,oh6 when one contrasts the largeness of ,god's promises and the miserable contradiction to them which the average ,christian life of this generation presents1 what can we say8 ',hath ,his mercy clean gone for ever8 ,doth ,his promise fail for evermore8' ,ye weak ,christian people1 born weakling and weak ever since1 as so many of you are1 open your mouths wide4 ,rise to the height of the expectations and the desires which it is our sin not to cherish2 and be sure of this1 as we ask so shall we receive4 ',ye are not straitened in ,god4' ,alas6 alas6 'ye are straitened in yourselves4' ,and mind1 there must be self-suppression if there is to be the triumph of a divine power in you4 ,you cannot fight with both classes of weapons4 ,the human must die if the divine is to live4 ,the life of nature1 dependence on self1 must be weakened and subdued if the life of ,god is to overcome and to fill you4 ,you must be able to say ',not ,i6' or you will never be able to say ',christ liveth in me4' ,the patriarch who overcame halted on his thigh2 and all the life of nature was lamed and made impotent that the life of grace might prevail4 ,so crush self by the power and for the sake of the ,christ1 if you would that the ,spirit should bear rule over you4 ,see to it1 too1 that you use what you have of that ,divine ,spirit4 ',to him that hath shall be given4' ,what is the use of more water being sent down the mill lade1 if the water that does come in it all runs away at the bottom1 and none of it goes over the wheel8 ,use the power you have1 and power will come to the faithful steward of what he possesses4 ,he that is faithful in a little shall get much to be faithful over4 ,ask and use1 and the ancient thanksgiving may still come from your lips4 ',in the day when ,i cried1 ,thou answeredst me1 and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul4' ,,the ,,indwelling ,,christ ',that ,christ may dwell in your hearts by faith2 ye being rooted and grounded in love4'--,eph4 iii4 #ag4 ,we have here the second step of the great staircase by which ,paul's fervent desires for his ,ephesian friends climbed towards that wonderful summit of his prayers--which is ever approached1 never reached1--'that ye might be filled with all the fulness of ,god4' ,two remarks of an expository character will prepare the way for the lessons of these verses4 ,the first is as to the relation of this clause to the preceding4 ,it might appear at first sight to be simply parallel with the former1 expressing substantially the same ideas under a somewhat different aspect4 ,the operation of the strength-giving ,spirit in the inner man might very naturally be supposed to be equivalent to the dwelling of ,christ in our hearts by faith4 ,so many commentators do1 in fact1 take it2 but ,i think that the two ideas may be distinguished1 and that we are to see in the words of our text1 as ,i have said1 the second step in this prayer1 which is in some sense a result of the 'strengthening with might by the ,spirit in the inner man4' ,i need not enter in detail into the reasons for taking this view of the connection of the clause1 which is obviously in accordance with the climbing-up structure of the whole verse4 ,it is enough to point it out as the basis of my further remarks4 ,and now the second observation with which ,i will trouble you1 before ,i come to deal with the thoughts of the verse1 is as to the connection of the last words of it4 ,you may observe that in reading the words of my text ,i omitted the 'that' which stands in the centre of the verse4 ,i did so because the words1 ',ye being rooted and grounded in love1' in the original1 do stand before the 'that1' and are distinctly separated by it from the subsequent clause4 ,they ought not1 therefore1 to be shifted forward into it1 as our translators and the ,revised ,version have1 ,i think1 unfortunately done1 unless there were some absolute necessity either from meaning or from construction4 ,i do not think that this is the case2 but on the contrary1 if they are carried forward into the next clause1 which describes the result of ,christ's dwelling in our hearts by faith1 they break the logical flow of the sentence by mixing together result and occasion4 ,and so ,i attach them to the first part of this verse1 and take them to express at once the consequence of ,christ's dwelling in the heart by faith1 and the preparation or occasion for our being able to comprehend and know the love of ,christ which passeth knowledge4 ,now that is all with which ,i need trouble you in the way of explanation of the meaning of the words4 ,let us come now to deal with their substance4 ,i4 ,consider the ,indwelling of ,christ1 as desired by the ,apostle for all ,christians4 ,to begin with1 let me say in the plainest1 simplest1 strongest way that ,i can1 that that dwelling of ,christ in the believing heart is to be regarded as being a plain literal fact4 ,to a man who does not believe in the divinity of ,jesus ,christ1 of course that is nonsense1 but to those of us who do see in ,him the manifested incarnate ,god1 there ought to be no difficulty in accepting this as the simple literal force of the words before us1 that in every soul where faith1 howsoever feeble1 has been exercised1 there ,jesus ,christ does verily abide4 ,it is not to be weakened down into any notion of participation in ,his likeness1 sympathy with ,his character1 submission to ,his influence1 following ,his example1 listening to ,his instruction1 or the like4 ,a dead ,plato may so influence his followers1 but that is not how a living ,christ influences ,his disciples4 ,what is meant is no mere influence derived but separable from ,him1 however blessed and gracious that influence might be1 but it is the presence of ,his own self1 exercising influences which are inseparable from ,his presence1 and only to be realised when ,he dwells in us4 ,i think that ,christian people as a rule do far too little turn their attention to this aspect of the ,gospel teaching1 and concentrate their thoughts far too much upon that which is unspeakably precious in itself1 but does not exhaust all that ,christ is to us1 viz4 the work that ,he wrought for us upon ,calvary2 or to take a step further1 the work that ,he is now carrying on for us as our ,intercessor and ,advocate in the heavens4 ,you who listen to me ,sunday after ,sunday will not suspect me of seeking to minimise either of these two aspects of our ,lord's mission and operation1 but ,i do believe that very largely the glad thought of an indwelling ,christ1 who actually abides and works in our hearts1 and is not only for us in the heavens1 or with us by some kind of impalpable and metaphorical presence1 but in simple1 that is to say1 in spiritual reality is in our spirits1 has faded away from the consciousness of the ,christian ,church4 ,and so we are called 'mystics' when we preach ,christ in the heart4 ,ah1 brother6 unless your ,christianity be in the good deep sense of the word 'mystical1' it is mechanical1 which is worse4 ,i preach1 and rejoice that ,i have to preach1 a ',christ that died1 yea6 rather that is risen again2 who is even at the right hand of ,god1 who also maketh intercession for us4' ,nor do ,i stop there1 but ,i preach a ,christ that is in us1 dwelling in our hearts if we be ,his at all4 ,well1 then1 further observe that the special emphasis of the prayer here is that this 'indwelling' may be an unbroken and permanent one4 ,any of you who can consult the original for yourselves will see that the ,apostle here uses a compound word which conveys the idea of intensity and continuity4 ,what he desires1 then1 is not merely that these ,ephesian ,christians may have occasional visits of the indwelling ,lord1 or that at some lofty moments of spiritual enthusiasm they may be conscious that ,he is with them1 but that always1 in an unbroken line of deep1 calm receptiveness1 they may possess1 and know that they possess1 an indwelling ,saviour4 ,and this1 ,i think1 is one of the reasons why we may and must distinguish between the apparently very similar petition in the previous verse1 about which we spoke in the last sermon1 and the petition which is now occupying us2 for1 as ,i shall have to show you1 it is only as 'strengthened with might by ,his ,spirit in the inner man' that we are capable of the continuous abiding of that ,lord within us4 ,oh6 what a contrast to that idea of a perpetual unbroken inhabitation of ,jesus in our spirits and to our consciousness is presented by our ordinary life6 ',why shouldst ,thou be as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night8' may well be the utterance of the average ,christian4 ,we might1 with unbroken blessedness1 possess ,him in our hearts1 and instead1 we have only 'visits short and far between' ,alas1 alas1 how often do we drive away that indwelling ,christ1 because our hearts are 'foul with sin1' so that ,he ',can but listen at the gate ,and hear the household jar within4' ,christian men and women6 here is the ideal of our lives1 capable of being approximated to 7if not absolutely in its entirety reached7 with far more perfection than it ever has yet been by us4 ,there might be a line of light never interrupted running all through our religious experience4 ,instead of that there is a light point here1 and a great gap of darkness there1 like the straggling lamps by the wayside in the half-lighted squalid suburbs of some great city4 ,is that your ,christian life1 broken by many interruptions1 and having often sounding through it the solemn words of the retreating divinity which the old profound legend tells us were heard the night before the ,temple on ,zion was burnt3--',let us depart8' ',i will arise and return unto ,my place till they acknowledge their offences4' ,god means and wishes that ,christ may continuously dwell in our hearts4 ,does ,he to your own consciousness dwell in yours8 ,and then the last thought connected with this first part of my subject is that the heart1 strengthened by the ,spirit1 is fitted to be the ,temple of the indwelling ,christ4 ,how shall we prepare the chamber for such a guest8 ,how shall some poor occupant of some wretched hut by the wayside fit it up for the abode of a prince8 ,the answer lies in these words that precede my text4 ,you cannot strengthen the rafters and lift the roof and adorn the halls and furnish the floor in a manner befitting the coming of the ,king2 but you can turn to that ,divine ,spirit who will expand and embellish and invigorate your whole spirit1 and make it capable of receiving the indwelling ,christ4 ,that these two things which are here considered as cause and effect may1 in another aspects be considered as but varying phases of the same truth1 is only part of the depth and felicity of the teaching that is here2 for if you come to look more deeply into it1 the ,spirit that strengtheneth with might is the ,spirit of ,christ2 and ,he dwells in men's hearts by ,his own ,spirit4 ,so that the apparent confusion1 arising from what in other places are regarded as identical being here conceived as cause and effect1 is no confusion at all1 but is explained and vindicated by the deep truth that nothing but the indwelling of the ,christ can fit for the indwelling of the ,christ4 ,the lesser gift of ,his presence prepares for the greater measure of it2 the transitory inhabitation for the more permanent4 ,where ,he comes in smaller measure ,he opens the door and makes the heart capable of ,his own more entire indwelling4 ',unto him that hath shall be given4' ,it is ,christ in the heart that makes the heart fit for ,christ to dwell in the heart4 ,you cannot do it by your own power2 turn to ,him and let ,him make you temples meet for ,himself4 ,,ii4 ,so now1 in the second place1 notice the open door through which the ,christ comes in to dwell--'that ,he may dwell in your hearts by faith4' ,more accurately we may render 'through faith' and might even venture to suppose that the thought of faith as an open door through which ,christ passes into the heart1 floated half distinctly before the ,apostle's mind4 ,be that as it may1 at all events faith is here represented as the means or condition through which this dwelling takes effect4 ,you have but to believe in ,him and ,he comes1 drawn from heaven1 floating down on a sunbeam1 as it were1 and enters into the heart and abides there4 ,trust1 which is faith1 is self-distrust4 ',i dwell in the high and holy place1 with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit4' ,rivers do not run on the mountain tops1 but down in the valleys4 ,so the heart that is lifted up and self-complacent has no dew of ,his blessing resting upon it1 but has the curse of ,gilboa adhering to its barrenness2 but the low lands1 the humble and the lowly hearts1 are they in which the waters that go softly scoop their course and diffuse their blessings4 ,faith is self-distrust4 ,self-distrust brings the ,christ4 ,faith is desire4 ,never1 never in the history of the world has it been or can it be that a longing towards ,him shall be a longing thrown back unsatisfied upon itself4 ,you have but to trust1 and you possess4 ,we open the door for the entrance of ,christ by the simple act of faith1 and blessed be ,his name6 ,he can squeeze ,himself through a very little chink1 and ,he does not require that the gates should be flung wide open in order that1 with some of ,his blessings1 ,he may come in4 ,mystical ,christianity of the false sort has much to say about the indwelling of ,god in the soul1 but it spoils all its teaching by insisting upon it that the condition on which ,god dwells in the soul is the soul's purifying itself to receive ,him4 ,but you cannot cleanse your hearts so as to bring ,christ into them1 you must let ,him come and cleanse them by the process of ,his coming1 and fit them thereby for ,his own indwelling4 ,and1 assuredly1 ,he will so come1 purging us from our evil and abiding in our hearts4 ,but do not forget that the faith which brings ,christ into the spirit must be a faith which works by love1 if it is to keep ,christ in the spirit4 ,you cannot bring that ,lord into your hearts by anything that you do4 ,the man who cleanses his own soul by his own strength1 and so expects to draw ,god into it1 has made the mistake which ,christ pointed out when ,he told us that when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man he leaves his house empty1 though it be swept and garnished4 ,moral reformation may turn out the devils1 it will never bring in ,god1 and in the emptiness of the swept and garnished heart there is an invitation to the seven to come back again and fill it4 ,and whilst that is true1 remember1 on the other hand1 that a ,christian man can drive away his ,master by evil works4 ,the sweet song-birds and the honey-making bees are said always to desert a neighbourhood before a pestilence breaks out in it4 ,and if ,i may so say1 similarly quick to feel the first breath of the pestilence is the presence of the ,christ which cannot dwell with evil4 ,you bring ,christ into your heart by faith1 without any work at all2 you keep ,him there by a faith which produces holiness4 ,,iii4 ,and the last point is the gifts of this indwelling ,christ1--'ye being1' or as the words might more accurately be translated1 ',ye having been rooted and grounded in love4' ,where ,he comes ,he comes not empty-handed4 ,he brings ,his own love1 and that1 consciously received1 produces a corresponding and answering love in our hearts to ,him4 ,so there is no need to ask the question here whether 'love' means ,christ's love to me1 or my love to ,christ4 ,from the nature of the case both are included--the recognition of ,his love and the response by mine are the result of ,his entering into the heart4 ,this love1 the recognition of ,his and the response by mine1 is represented in a lovely double metaphor in these words as being at once the soil in which our lives are rooted and grow1 and the foundation on which our lives are built and are steadfast4 ,there is no need to enlarge upon these two things1 but let me just touch them for a moment4 ,where ,christ abides in a man's heart1 love will be the very soil in which his life will be rooted and grow4 ,that love will be the motive of all service1 it will underlie1 as its productive cause1 all fruitfulness4 ,all goodness and all beauty will be its fruit4 ,the whole life will be as a tree planted in this rich soil4 ,and so the life will grow not by effort only1 but as by an inherent power drawing its nourishment from the soil4 ,this is blessedness4 ,it is heaven upon earth that love should be the soil in which our obedience is rooted1 and from which we draw all the nutriment that turns to flowers and fruit4 ,where ,christ dwells in the heart1 love will be the foundation upon which our lives are builded steadfast and sure4 ,the blessed consciousness of ,his love1 and the joyful answer of my heart to it1 may become the basis upon which my whole being shall repose1 the underlying thought that gives security1 serenity1 steadfastness to my else fluctuating life4 ,i may so plant myself upon ,him1 as that in ,him ,i shall be strong1 and then my life will not only grow like a tree and have its leaf green and broad1 and its fruit the natural outcome of its vitality1 but it will rise like some stately building1 course by course1 pillar by pillar1 until at last the shining topstone is set there4 ,he that buildeth on that foundation shall never be confounded4 ,for1 remember that1 deepest of all1 the words of my text may mean that the ,incarnate ,personal ,love becomes the very soil in which my life is set and blossoms1 on which my life is founded4 ',thou1 my ,life1 ,o let me be ,rooted1 grafted1 built in ,thee4' ,christ is ,love1 and ,love is ,christ4 ,he that is rooted and grounded in love has the roots of his being1 and the foundation of his life fixed and fastened in that ,lord4 ,so1 dear brethren1 go to ,christ like those two on the road to ,emmaus2 and as ,fra ,angelico has painted them on his convent wall1 put out your hands and lay them on ,his1 and say1 ',abide with us4 ,abide with us6' ,and the answer will come3--',this is my rest for ever2 here'--mystery of love6--'will ,i dwell1 for ,i have desired it1' even the narrow room of your poor heart4 ,,love ,,unknowable ,,and ,,known ',that ye 444 may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth1 and length1 and depth1 and height2 and to know the love of ,christ1 which passeth knowledge4'--,eph4 iii4 #ah1 #ai4 ,this constitutes the third of the petitions in this great prayer of ,paul's1 each of which1 as we have had occasion to see in former sermons1 rises above1 and is a consequence of the preceding1 and leads on to1 and is a cause or occasion of the subsequent one4 ,the two former petitions have been for inward strength communicated by a ,divine ,spirit1 in order that ,christ may dwell in our hearts1 and so we may be rooted and grounded in love4 ,the result of these desires being realised in our hearts is here set forth in two clauses which are substantially equivalent in meaning4 ',to comprehend' may be taken as meaning nearly the same as 'to know1' only that perhaps the former expresses an act more purely intellectual4 ,and1 as we shall see in our next sermon1 'the breadth and length and depth and height' are the unmeasurable dimensions of the love which in the second clause is described as 'passing knowledge4' ,i purpose to deal with these measures in a separate discourse1 and1 therefore1 omit them from consideration now4 ,we have1 then1 mainly two thoughts here1 the one1 that only the loving heart in which ,christ dwells can know the love of ,christ2 and the other that even that heart can not know the love of ,christ4 ,the paradox is intentional1 but it is intelligible4 ,let me deal then1 as well as ,i can1 with these two great thoughts4 ,i4 ,first1 we have this thought that only the loving heart can know ,christ's love4 ,now the ,bible uses that word know to express two different things2 one which we call mere intellectual perception2 or to put it into plainer words1 mere head knowledge such as a man may have about any subject of study1 and the other a deep and living experience which is possession before it is knowledge1 and knowledge because it is possession4 ,now the former of these two1 the knowledge which is merely the work of the understanding1 is1 of course1 independent of love4 ,a man may know all about ,christ and ,his love without one spark of love in his heart4 ,and there are thousands of people who1 as far as the mere intellectual understanding is concerned1 know as much about ,jesus ,christ and ,his love as the saint who is closest to the ,throne1 and yet have not one trace of love to ,christ in them4 ,that is the kind of people that a widely diffused ,christianity and a habit of hearing sermons produce4 ,there are plenty of them1 and some of us among them1 who1 as far as their heads are concerned1 know quite as much of ,jesus ,christ and ,his love as any of us do1 and could talk about it and argue about it1 and draw inferences from it1 and have the whole system of evangelical ,christianity at their fingers' ends4 ,ay6 ,it is at their fingers' ends1 it never gets any nearer them than that4 ,there is a knowledge with which love has nothing to do1 and it is a knowledge that for many people is quite sufficient4 ',knowledge puffeth up1' says the ,apostle2 into an unwholesome bubble of self-complacency that will one day be pricked and disappear1 but 'love buildeth up'--a steadfast1 slowly-rising1 solid fabric4 ,there be two kinds of knowledge3 the mere rattle of notions in a man's brain1 like the seeds of a withered poppy-head2 very many1 very dry1 very hard2 that will make a noise when you shake them4 ,and there is another kind of knowledge which goes deep down into the heart1 and is the only knowledge worth calling by the name2 and that knowledge is the child1 as my text has it1 of love4 ,now let us think about that for a moment4 ,love1 says ,paul1 is the parent of all knowledge4 ,well1 now1 can we find any illustrations from similar facts in other regions8 ,yes6 ,i think so4 ,how do we know1 really know1 any emotions of any sort whatever8 ,only by experience4 ,you may talk for ever about feelings1 and you teach nothing about them to those who have not experienced them4 ,the poets of the world have been singing about love ever since the world began4 ,but no heart has learned what love is from even the sweetest and deepest songs4 ,who that is not a father can be taught paternal love by words1 or can come to a perception of it by an effort of mind8 ,and so with all other emotions4 ,only the lips that have drunk the cup of sweetness or of bitterness can tell how sweet or how bitter it is1 and even when they1 made wise by experience1 speak out their deepest hearts1 the listeners are but little the wiser1 unless they too have been scholars in the same school4 ,experience is our only teacher in matters of feeling and emotion1 as in the lower regions of taste and appetite4 ,a man must be hungry to know what hunger is2 he must taste honey or wormwood in order to know the taste of honey or wormwood1 and in like manner he cannot know sorrow but by feeling its ache1 and must love if he would know love4 ,experience is our only teacher1 and her school-fees are heavy4 ,just as a blind man can never be made to understand the glories of sunrise1 or the light upon the far-off mountains2 just as a deaf man may read books about acoustics1 but they will not give him a notion of what it is to hear ,beethoven1 so we must have love to ,christ before we know what love to ,christ is1 and we must consciously experience the love of ,christ ere we know what the love of ,christ is4 ,we must have love to ,christ in order to have a deep and living possession of love of ,christ1 though reciprocally it is also true that we must have the love of ,christ known and felt by our answering hearts1 if we are ever to love ,him back again4 ,so in all the play and counterplay of love between ,christ and us1 and in all the reaction of knowledge and love this remains true1 that we must be rooted and grounded in love ere we can know love1 and must have ,christ dwelling in our hearts1 in order to that deep and living possession which1 when it is conscious of itself1 is knowledge1 and is for ever alien to the loveless heart4 ',he must be loved1 ere that to you ,he will seem worthy of your love4' ,if you want to know the blessedness of the love of ,christ1 love ,him1 and open your hearts for the entrance of ,his love to you4 ,love is the parent of deep1 true knowledge4 ,of course1 before we can love an unseen person and believe in his love1 we must know about him by the ordinary means by which we learn about all persons outside the circle of our sight4 ,so before the love which is thus the parent of deep1 true knowledge1 there must be the knowledge by study and credence of the record concerning ,christ1 which supplies the facts on which alone love can be nourished4 ,the understanding has its part to play in leading the heart to love1 and then the heart becomes the true teacher4 ,he that loveth1 knoweth ,god1 for ,god is love4 ,he that is rooted and grounded in love because ,christ dwells in his heart1 will be strengthened to know the love in which he is rooted4 ,the ,christ within us will know the love of ,christ4 ,we must first 'taste1' and then we shall 'see' that the ,lord is good1 as the ,psalmist puts it with deep truth4 ,first1 the appropriation and feeding upon ,god1 then the clear perception by the mind of the sweetness in the taste4 ,first the enjoyment2 then the reflection on the enjoyment4 ,first the love2 and then the consciousness of the love of ,christ possessed and the love to ,christ experienced4 ,the heart must be grounded in love that the man may know the love which passeth knowledge4 ,then notice that there is also here another condition for this deep and blessed knowledge laid down in these words1 ',that ye may be able to comprehend with all saints4' ,that is to say1 our knowledge of the love of ,jesus ,christ depends largely on our sanctity4 ,if we are pure we shall know4 ,if we were wholly devoted to ,him we should wholly know ,his love to us1 and in the measure in which we are pure and holy we shall know it4 ,this heart of ours is like a reflecting telescope1 the least breath upon the mirror of which will cause all the starry sublimities that it should shadow forth to fade and become dim4 ,the slightest moisture in the atmosphere1 though it be quite imperceptible where we stand1 will be dense enough to shut out the fair1 shining1 snowy summits that girdle the horizon and to leave nothing visible but the lowliness and commonplaceness of the prosaic plain4 ,if you want to know the love of ,christ1 first of all1 that love must purify your souls4 ,but then you must keep your souls pure1 assured of this1 that only the single eye is full of light1 and that they who are not 'saints' grope in the dark even at midday1 and whilst drenched by the sunshine of ,his love1 are unconscious of it altogether4 ,and so we get that miserable and mysterious tragedy of men and women walking through life1 as many of you are doing1 in the very blaze and focus of ,christ's love1 and never beholding it nor knowing anything about it4 ,observe again the beginning of this path of knowledge1 which we have thus traced4 ,there must be1 says my text1 an indwelling ,christ1 and so an experience1 deep and stable1 of ,his love1 and then we shall know the love which we thus experience4 ,but how comes that indwelling8 ,that is the question for us4 ,the knowledge of ,his love is blessedness1 is peace1 is love1 is everything2 as we shall see in considering the last stage of this prayer4 ,that knowledge arises from our fellowship with and our possession of the love of ,god1 which is in ,jesus ,christ4 ,how does that fellowship with1 and possession of the love of ,god in ,jesus ,christ1 come8 ,that is the all-important question4 ,what is the beginning of everything8 ',that ,christ may dwell in your hearts by faith4' ,there is the gate through which you and ,i may come1 and by which we must come if we are to come at all into the possession and perception of ,christ's great love4 ,here is the path of knowledge4 ,first of all1 there must be the simple historical knowledge of the facts of ,christ's life and death for us1 with the ,scripture teaching of their meaning and power4 ,and then we must turn these truths from mere notions into life4 ,it is not enough to know the love that ,god has to us1 in that lower sense of the word 'knowledge4' ,many of you know that1 who never got any blessing out of it all your days1 and never will1 unless you change4 ,besides the 'knowing' there must be the 'believing' of the love4 ,you must translate the notion into a living fact in your experience4 ,you must pass from the simple work of understanding the ,gospel to the higher act of faith4 ,you must not be contented with knowing1 you must trust4 ,and if you have done that all the rest will follow1 and the little1 narrow1 low doorway of humble self-distrusting faith1 through which a man creeps on his knees1 leaving outside all his sin and his burden1 opens out into the temple palace--the large place in which ,christ's love is imparted to the soul4 ,brethren1 this doctrine of my text ought to be for every one of us a joy and a gospel4 ,there is no royal road into the sweetness and the depth of ,christ's love1 for the wise or the prudent4 ,the understanding is no more the organ for apprehending the love of ,christ than the ear is the organ for perceiving light1 or the heart the organ for learning mathematics4 ,blessed be ,god6 the highest gifts are not bestowed upon the clever people1 on the men of genius and the gifted ones1 the cultivated and the refined1 but they are open for all men2 and when we say that love is the parent of knowledge1 and that the condition of knowing the depths of ,christ's heart is simple love which is the child of faith1 we are only saying in other words what the ,master embodied in ,his thanksgiving prayer1 ',i thank ,thee1 ,father6 ,lord of heaven and earth1 because ,thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent1 and hast revealed them unto babes4' ,and that is so1 not because ,christianity1 being a foolish system1 can only address itself to fools2 not because ,christianity1 contradicting wisdom1 cannot expect to be received by the wise and the cultured1 but because a man's brains have as little to do with his trustful acceptance of the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ as a man's eyes have to do with his capacity of hearing a voice4 ,therefore1 seeing that the wise and prudent1 and the cultured1 and the clever1 and the men of genius are always the minority of the race1 let us vulgar folk that are neither wise1 nor clever1 nor cultured1 nor geniuses1 be thankful that all that has nothing to do with our power of knowing and possessing the best wisdom and the highest treasures1 but that upon this path the wayfaring man though a fool shall not err1 and all narrow foreheads and limited understandings1 and poor1 simple uneducated people as well as philosophers and geniuses have to learn love by their hearts and not by their heads1 and by a sense of need and a humble trust and a daily experience have to appropriate and suck out the blessing that lies in the love of ,jesus ,christ4 ,blessed be ,his name6 ,the end of all aristocracies of culture and superciliousness of intellect lies in that great truth that we possess the deepest knowledge and highest wisdom when we love and by our love4 ,,ii4 ,now a word in the next place as to the other thought here1 that not even the loving heart can know the love of ,christ4 ',it passeth knowledge1' says my text4 ,now ,i do not suppose that the paradox here of knowing the love of ,christ which 'passeth knowledge' is to be explained by taking 'know' and 'knowledge' in the two different senses which ,i have already referred to1 so as that we may experience1 and know by conscious experience1 that love which the mere understanding is incapable of grasping4 ,that of course is an explanation which might be defended1 but ,i take it that it is much truer to the ,apostle's meaning to suppose that he uses the words 'know' and 'knowledge' both times in the same sense4 ,and so we get familiar thoughts which ,i touch upon very briefly4 ,our knowledge of ,christ's love1 though real1 is incomplete1 and must always be so4 ,you and ,i believe1 ,i hope1 that ,christ's love is not a man's love1 or at least that it is more than a man's love4 ,we believe that it is the flowing out to us of the love of ,god1 that all the fulness of the divine heart pours itself through that narrow channel of the human nature of our ,lord1 and therefore that the flow is endless and the ,fountain infinite4 ,i suppose ,i do not need to show you that it is possible for people to have1 and that in fact we do possess a real1 a valid1 a reliable knowledge of that which is infinite2 although we possess1 as a matter of course1 no adequate and complete knowledge of it4 ,but ,i only remind you that we have before us in ,christ's love something which1 though the understanding is not by itself able to grasp it1 yet the understanding led by the heart can lay hold of1 and can find in it infinite treasures4 ,we can lay our poor hands on ,his love as a child might lay its tiny palm upon the base of some great cliff1 and hold that love in a real grasp of a real knowledge and certitude1 but we cannot put our hands round it and feel that we comprehend as well as apprehend4 ,let us be thankful that we cannot4 ,his love can only become to us a subject of knowledge as it reveals itself in its manifestations4 ,yet after even these manifestations it remains unuttered and unutterable even by the ,cross and grave1 even by the glory and the throne4 ',it is as high as heaven2 what canst thou do8 deeper than hell2 what canst thou know8 ,the measure thereof is longer than the earth1 and broader than the sea4' ,we have no measure by which we can translate into the terms of our experience1 and so bring within the grasp of our minds1 what was the depth of the step1 which ,christ took at the impulse of ,his love1 from the ,throne to the ,cross4 ,we know not what ,he forewent2 we know not1 nor ever shall know1 what depths of darkness and soul-agony ,he passed through at the bidding of ,his all-enduring love to us4 ,nor do we know the consequences of that great work of emptying ,himself of ,his glory4 ,we have no means by which we can estimate the darkness and the depth of the misery from which we have been delivered1 nor the height and the radiance of the glory to which we are to be lifted4 ,and until we can tell and measure by our compasses both of these two extremes of possible human fate1 till we have gone down into the deepest abyss of a bottomless pit of growing alienation and misery1 and up above the highest reach of all unending progress into light and glory and ,god-likeness1 we have not stretched our compasses wide enough to touch the two poles of this great sphere1 the infinite love of ,jesus ,christ4 ,so we bow before it1 we know that we possess it with a knowledge more sure and certain1 more deep and valid1 than our knowledge of ought but ourselves2 but yet it is beyond our grasp1 and towers above us inaccessible in the altitude of its glory1 and stretches deep beneath us in the profundity of its condescension4 ,and1 in like manner1 we may say that this known love passes knowledge1 inasmuch as our experience of it can never exhaust it4 ,we are like the settlers on some great island continent--as1 for instance1 on the ,australian continent for many years after its first discovery--a thin fringe of population round the seaboard here and there1 and all the bosom of the land untraversed and unknown4 ,so after all experiences of and all blessed participation in the love of ,jesus ,christ which come to each of us by our faith1 we have but skimmed the surface1 but touched the edges1 but received a drop of what1 if it should come upon us in fulness of flood like a ,niagara of love1 would overwhelm our spirits4 ,so we have within our reach not only the treasure of creatural affections which bring gladness into life when they come1 and darkness over it when they depart2 we have not only human love which1 if ,i may so say1 is always lifting its finger to its lips in the act of bidding us adieu2 but we may possess a love which will abide with us for ever4 ,men die1 ,christ lives4 ,we can exhaust men1 we cannot exhaust ,christ4 ,we can follow other objects of pursuit1 all of which have limitation to their power of satisfying and pall upon the jaded sense sooner or later1 or sooner or later are wrenched away from the aching heart4 ,but here is a love into which we can penetrate very deep and fear no exhaustion2 a sea into which we can cast ourselves1 nor dread that like some rash diver flinging himself into shallow water where he thought there was depth1 we may be bruised and wounded4 ,we may find in ,christ the endless love that an immortal heart requires4 ,enter by the low door of faith1 and your finite heart will have the joy of an infinite love for its possession1 and your mortal life will rise transfigured into an immortal and growing participation in the immortal ,love of the indwelling and inexhaustible ,christ4 ,,the ,,paradox ,,of ,,love',s ,,measure ',the breadth1 and length1 and depth1 and height4'--,eph4 iii4 #ah4 ,of what8 ,there can1 ,i think1 be no doubt as to the answer4 ,the next clause is evidently the continuation of the idea begun in that of our text1 and it runs3 ',and to know the love of ,christ which passeth knowledge4' ,it is the immeasurable measure1 then2 the boundless bounds and dimensions of the love of ,christ which fire the ,apostle's thoughts here4 ,of course1 he had no separate idea in his mind attaching to each of these measures of magnitude1 but he gathered them together simply to express the one thought of the greatness of ,christ's love4 ,depth and height are the same dimension measured from opposite ends4 ,the one begins at the top and goes down1 the other begins at the bottom and goes up1 but the distance is the same in either case4 ,so we have the three dimensions of a solid here--breadth1 length1 and depth4 ,i suppose that ,i may venture to use these expressions with a somewhat different purpose from that for which the ,apostle employs them2 and to see in each of them a separate and blessed aspect of the love of ,god in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,i4 ,what1 then1 is the breadth of that love8 ,it is as broad as humanity4 ,as all the stars lie in the firmament1 so all creatures rest in the heaven of ,his love4 ,mankind has many common characteristics4 ,we all suffer1 we all sin1 we all hunger1 we all aspire1 hope1 and die2 and1 blessed be ,god6 we all occupy precisely the same relation to the divine love which lies in ,jesus ,christ4 ,there are no step-children in ,god's great family1 and none of them receives a more grudging or a less ample share of ,his love and goodness than every other4 ,far-stretching as the race1 and curtaining it over as some great tent may enclose on a festal day a whole tribe1 the breadth of ,christ's love is the breadth of humanity4 ,and it is universal because it is divine4 ,no human mind can be stretched so as to comprehend the whole of the members of mankind1 and no human heart can be so emptied of self as to be capable of this absolute universality and impartiality of affection4 ,but the intellectual difficulties which stand in the way of the width of our affections1 and the moral difficulties which stand still more frowningly and forbiddingly in the way1 have no power over that love of ,christ's which is close and tender1 and clinging with all the tenderness and closeness and clingingness of a human affection and lofty and universal and passionless and perpetual1 with all the height and breadth and calmness and eternity of a divine heart4 ,and this broad love1 broad as humanity1 is not shallow because it is broad4 ,our love is too often like the estuary of some great stream which runs deep and mighty as long as it is held within narrow banks1 but as soon as it widens becomes slow and powerless and shallow4 ,the intensity of human affection varies inversely as its extension4 ,a universal philanthropy is a passionless sentiment4 ,but ,christ's love is deep though it is wide1 and suffers no diminution because it is shared amongst a multitude4 ,it is like the great feast that ,he ,himself spread for five thousand men1 women1 and children1 all seated on the grass1 'and they did all eat and were filled4' ,the whole love is the property of each recipient of it4 ,he does not love as we do1 who give a part of our heart to this one and a part to that one1 and share the treasure of our affections amongst a multitude4 ,all this gift belongs to every one1 just as all the sunshine comes to every eye1 and as every beholder sees the moon's path across the dark waters1 stretching from the place where ,he stands to the centre of light4 ,this broad love1 universal as humanity1 and deep as it is broad1 is universal because it is individual4 ,you and ,i have to generalise1 as we say1 when we try to extend our affections beyond the limits of household and family and personal friends1 and the generalising is a sign of weakness and limitation4 ,nobody can love an abstraction1 but ,god's love and ,christ's love do not proceed in that fashion4 ,he individualises1 loving each and therefore loving all4 ,it is because every man has a space in ,his heart singly and separately and conspicuously1 that all men have a place there4 ,so our task is to individualise this broad1 universal love1 and to say1 in the simplicity of a glad faith1 ',he loved me and gave ,himself for me4' ,the breadth is world-wide1 and the whole breadth is condensed into1 if ,i may so say1 a shaft of light which may find its way through the narrowest chink of a single soul4 ,there are two ways of arguing about the love of ,christ1 both of them valid1 and both of them needing to be employed by us4 ,we have a right to say1 ',he loves all1 therefore ,he loves me4' ,and we have a right to say1 ',he loves me1 therefore ,he loves all4' ,for surely the love that has stooped to me can never pass by any human soul4 ,what is the breadth of the love of ,christ8 ,it is broad as mankind1 it is narrow as myself4 ,,ii4 ,then1 in the next place1 what is the length of the love of ,christ8 ,if we are to think of ,him only as a man1 however exalted and however perfect1 you and ,i have nothing in the world to do with ,his love4 ,when ,he was here on earth it may have been sent down through the ages in some vague way1 as the shadowy ghost of love may rise in the heart of a great statesman or philanthropist for generations yet unborn1 which ,he dimly sees will be affected by ,his sacrifice and service4 ,but we do not call that love4 ,such a poor1 pale1 shadowy thing has no right to the warm throbbing name2 has no right to demand from us any answering thrill of affection4 ,unless you think of ,jesus ,christ as something more and other than the purest and the loftiest benevolence that ever dwelt in human form1 ,i know of no intelligible sense in which the length of ,his love can be stretched to touch you4 ,if we content ourselves with that altogether inadequate and lame conception of ,him and of ,his nature1 of course there is no present bond between any man upon earth and ,him1 and it is absurd to talk about ,his present love as extending in any way to me4 ,but we have to believe1 rising to the full height of the ,christian conception of the nature and person of ,christ1 that when ,he was here on earth the divine that dwelt in ,him so informed and inspired the human as that the love of ,his man's heart was able to grasp the whole1 and to separate the individuals who should make up the race till the end of time2 so as that you and ,i1 looking back over all the centuries1 and asking ourselves what is the length of the love of ,christ1 can say1 ',it stretches over all the years1 and it reached then1 as it reaches now1 to touch me1 upon whom the ends of the earth have come4' ,its length is conterminous with the duration of humanity here or yonder4 ,that thought of eternal being1 when we refer it to ,god1 towers above us and repels us2 and when we turn it to ourselves and think of our own life as unending1 there come a strangeness and an awe that is almost shrinking1 over the thoughtful spirit4 ,but when we transmute it into the thought of a love whose length is unending1 then over all the shoreless1 misty1 melancholy sea of eternity1 there gleams a light1 and every wavelet flashes up into glory4 ,it is a dreadful thing to think1 ',for ever1 ,thou art ,god4' ,it is a solemn thing to think1 ',for ever ,i am to be'2 but it is life to say3 ',o ,christ6 ,thy love endureth from everlasting to everlasting2 and because it lives1 ,i shall live also'--',oh6 give thanks unto the ,lord1 for ,he is good1 for ,his mercy endureth for ever4' ,there is another measure of the length of the love of ,christ4 ',master6 ,how often shall my brother sin against me1 and ,i forgive him8--,i say not unto thee until seven times1 but until seventy times seven4' ,so said the ,christ1 multiplying perfection into itself twice--two sevens and a ten--in order to express the idea of boundlessness4 ,and the law that ,he laid down for ,his servant is the law that binds ,himself4 ,what is the length of the love of ,christ8 ,here is one measure of it--howsoever long drawn out my sin may be1 this is longer2 and the white line of ,his love runs out into infinity1 far beyond the point where the black line of my sin stops4 ,anything short of eternal patience would have been long ago exhausted by your sins and mine1 and our brethren's4 ,but the pitying ,christ1 the eternal ,lover of all wandering souls1 looks down from heaven upon every one of us2 goes with us in all our wanderings1 bears with us in all our sins1 in all our transgressions still is gracious4 ,his pleadings sound on1 like some stop in an organ continuously persistent through all the other notes4 ,and round ,his throne are written the divine words which have been spoken about our human love modelled after ,his3 ',charity suffereth long and is kind2 is not easily provoked1 is not soon angry1 beareth all things4' ,the length of the love of ,christ is the length of eternity1 and outmeasures all human sin4 ,,iii4 ,then again1 what is the depth of that love8 ,depth and height1 as ,i said at the beginning of these remarks1 are but two ways of expressing the same dimension4 ,for the one we begin at the top and measure down1 for the other we begin at the bottom and measure up4 ,the top is the ,throne2 and the downward measure1 how is it to be stated8 ,in what terms of distance are we to express it8 ,how far is it from the ,throne of the ,universe to the manger of ,bethlehem1 and the ,cross of ,calvary1 and the sepulchre in the garden8 ,that is the depth of the love of ,christ4 ,howsoever far may be the distance from that loftiness of co-equal divinity in the bosom of the ,father1 and radiant with glory1 to the lowliness of the form of a servant1 and the sorrows1 limitations1 rejections1 pains and death--that is the measure of the depth of ,christ's love4 ,we can estimate the depth of the love of ,christ by saying1 ',he came from above1 ,he tabernacled with us1' as if some planet were to burst from its track and plunge downwards in amongst the mist and the narrowness of our earthly atmosphere4 ,a well-known modern scientist has hazarded the speculation that the origin of life on this planet has been the falling upon it of the fragments of a meteor1 or an aerolite from some other system1 with a speck of organic life upon it1 from which all has developed4 ,whatever may be the case in regard to physical life1 that is absolutely true in the case of spiritual life4 ,it all originates because this heaven-descended ,christ has come down the long staircase of ,incarnation1 and has brought with ,him into the clouds and oppressions of our terrestrial atmosphere a germ of life which ,he has planted in the heart of the race1 there to spread for ever4 ,that is the measure of the depth of the love of ,christ4 ,and there is another way to measure it4 ,my sins are deep1 my helpless miseries are deep1 but they are shallow as compared with the love that goes down beneath all sin1 that is deeper than all sorrow1 that is deeper than all necessity1 that shrinks from no degradation1 that turns away from no squalor1 that abhors no wickedness so as to avert its face from it4 ,the purest passion of human benevolence cannot but sometimes be aware of disgust mingling with its pity and its efforts1 but ,christ's love comes down to the most sunken4 ,however far in the abyss of degradation any human soul has descended1 beneath it are the everlasting arms1 and beneath it is ,christ's love4 ,when a coalpit gets blocked up by some explosion1 no brave rescuing party will venture to descend into the lowest depths of the poisonous darkness until some ventilation has been restored4 ,but this loving ,christ goes down1 down1 down into the thickest1 most pestilential atmosphere1 reeking with sin and corruption1 and stretches out a rescuing hand to the most abject and undermost of all the victims4 ,how deep is the love of ,christ6 ,the deep mines of sin and of alienation are all undermined and countermined by ,his love4 ,sin is an abyss1 a mystery1 how deep only they know who have fought against it2 but ',o love6 thou bottomless abyss1 ,my sins are swallowed up in thee4' ',i will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea4' ,the depths of ,christ's love go down beneath all human necessity1 sorrow1 suffering1 and sin4 ,,iv4 ,and lastly1 what is the height of the love of ,christ8 ,we found that the way to measure the depth was to begin at the ,throne1 and go down to the ,cross1 and to the foul abysses of evil4 ,the way to measure the height is to begin at the ,cross and the foul abysses of evil1 and to go up to the ,throne4 ,that is to say1 the topmost thing in the ,universe1 the shining apex and pinnacle1 glittering away up there in the radiant unsetting light1 is the love of ,god in ,jesus ,christ4 ,other conceptions of that divine nature spring high above us and tower beyond our thoughts1 but the summit of them all1 the very topmost as it is the very bottommost1 outside of everything1 and therefore high above everything1 is the love of ,god which has been revealed to us all1 and brought close to us sinful men in the manhood and passion of our dear ,christ4 ,and that love which thus towers above us1 and gleams like the shining cross on the top of some lofty cathedral spire1 does not flash up there inaccessible1 nor lie before us like some pathless precipice1 up which nothing that has not wings can ever hope to rise1 but the height of the love of ,christ is an hospitable height1 which can be scaled by us4 ,nay1 rather1 that heaven of love which is 'higher than our thoughts1' bends down1 as by a kind of optical delusion the physical heaven seems to do towards each of us1 only with this blessed difference1 that in the natural world the place where heaven touches earth is always the furthest point of distance from us3 and in the spiritual world the place where heaven stoops to me is always right over my head1 and the nearest possible point to me4 ,he has come to lift us to ,himself1 and this is the height of ,his love1 that it bears us1 if we will1 up and up to sit upon that throne where ,he ,himself is enthroned4 ,so1 brethren1 ,christ's love is round about us all1 as some sunny tropical sea may embosom in its violet waves a multitude of luxuriant and happy islets4 ,so all of us1 islanded on our little individual lives1 lie in that great ocean of love1 all the dimensions of which are immeasurable1 and which stretches above1 beneath1 around1 shoreless1 tideless1 bottomless1 endless4 ,but1 remember1 this ocean of love you can shut out of your lives4 ,it is possible to plunge a jar into mid-,atlantic1 further than soundings have ever descended1 and to bring it up on deck as dry inside as if it had been lying on an oven4 ,it is possible for men and women--and ,i have them listening to me at this moment--to live and move and have their being in that sea of love1 and never to have let one drop of its richest gifts into their hearts or their lives4 ,open your hearts for ,him to come in1 by humble faith in ,his great sacrifice for you4 ,for if ,christ dwell in your heart by faith1 then and only then will experience be your guide2 and you will be able to comprehend the boundless greatness1 the endless duration1 and absolute perfection1 and to know the love of ,christ which passeth knowledge4 ,,the ,,climax ,,of ,,all ,,prayer ',that ye might be filled with all the fulness of ,god4'--,eph4 iii4 #ai4 ,the ,apostle's many-linked prayer1 which we have been considering in successive sermons1 has reached its height4 ,it soars to the very ,throne of ,god4 ,there can be nothing above or beyond this wonderful petition4 ,rather1 it might seem as if it were too much to ask1 and as if1 in the ecstasy of prayer1 ,paul had forgotten the limits that separate the creature from the ,creator1 as well as the experience of sinful and imperfect men1 and had sought to 'wind himself too high for mortal life beneath the sky4' ,and yet ,paul's prayers are ,god's promises2 and we are justified in taking these rapturous petitions as being distinct declarations of ,god's desire and purpose for each of us2 as being the end which ,he had in view in the unspeakable gift of ,his ,son2 and as being the certain outcome of ,his gracious working on all believing hearts4 ,it seems at first a paradoxical impossibility2 looked at more deeply and carefully it becomes a possibility for each of us1 and therefore a duty2 a certainty for all the redeemed in fullest measure hereafter2 and1 alas6 a rebuke to our low lives and feeble expectations4 ,let us look1 then1 at the petition1 with the desire of sounding1 as we may1 its depths and realising its preciousness4 ,i4 ,first of all1 think with me of the significance of this prayer4 ',the fulness of ,god' is another expression for the whole sum and aggregate of all the energies1 powers1 and attributes of the divine nature1 the total ,godhead in its plenitude and abundance4 ',god is love1' we say4 ,what does that mean1 but that ,god desires to impart ,his whole self to the creatures whom ,he loves8 ,what is love in its lofty and purest forms1 even as we see them here on earth2 what is love except the infinite longing to bestow one's self8 ,and when we proclaim that which is the summit and climax of the revelation of our ,father in the person of ,his ,son1 and say with the last utterances of ,scripture that ',god is love1' we do in other words proclaim that the very nature and deepest desire and purpose of the divine heart is to pour itself on the emptiness and need of ,his lowly creatures in floods that keep back nothing4 ,lofty1 wonderful1 incomprehensible to the mere understanding as this thought may be1 clearly it is the inmost meaning of all that ,scripture tells us about ,god as being the 'portion of ,his people1' and about us1 as being by ,christ and in ,christ 'heirs of ,god1' and possessors of ,himself4 ,we have1 then1 as the promise that gleams from these great words1 this wonderful prospect1 that the divine love1 truth1 holiness1 joy1 in all their rich plenitude of all-sufficient abundance1 may be showered upon us4 ,the whole ,godhead is our possession2 for the fulness of ,god is no far-off remote treasure that lies beyond human grasp and outside of human experience4 ,do not we believe that1 to use the words of this ,apostle in another letter1 'it pleased the ,father that in ,him should all the fulness dwell'8 ,do we not believe that1 to use the words of the same epistle1 ',in ,christ dwelleth all the fulness of the ,godhead bodily'8 ,is not that abundance of the resources of the whole ,deity insphered and incarnated in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 that it may be near us1 and that we may put out our hand and touch it8 ,this may be a paradox for the understanding1 full of metaphysical puzzles and cobwebs1 but for the heart that knows ,christ1 most true and precious4 ,god is gathered into ,jesus ,christ1 and all the fulness of ,god1 whatever that may mean1 is embodied in the ,man ,christ ,jesus1 that from ,him it may be communicated to every soul that will4 ,for1 to quote other words of another of the ,new ,testament teachers1 ',of ,his fulness have all we received1 and grace for grace1' and to quote words in another part of the same epistle1 we may 'all come to a perfect man1 to the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ4' ,high above us1 then1 and inaccessible though that awful thought1 'the fulness of ,god1' may seem1 as the zenith of the unscaleable heavens seems to us poor creatures creeping here upon the flat earth1 it comes near1 near1 near1 ever nearer1 and at last tabernacles among us1 when we think that in ,him all the fulness dwells1 and it comes nearer yet and enters into our hearts when we think that 'of ,his fulness have we all received4' ,then1 still further1 observe another of the words in this petition3--',that ye may be filled4' ,that is to say1 ,paul's prayer and ,god's purpose and desire concerning us is1 that our whole being may be so saturated and charged with an indwelling divinity as that there shall be no room in our present stature and capacity for more1 and no sense of want or aching emptiness4 ,ah1 brethren6 when we think of how eagerly we have drunk at the stinking puddles of earth1 and how after every draught there has yet been left a thirst that was pain1 it is something for us to hear ,him say3--',the water that ,i shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life1'--and 'he that drinketh of this water shall never thirst4' ,our empty hearts1 with their experiences of the insufficiency and the vanity of all earthly satisfaction1 stand there like the water-pots at the rustic marriage1 and the ,master says1 ',fill them to the brim4' ,and then1 by ,his touch1 the water of our poor savourless1 earthly enjoyments is transmuted and elevated into the new wine of ,his ,kingdom4 ,we may be filled1 satisfied with the fulness of ,god4 ,there is another point as to the significance of this prayer1 on which ,i must briefly touch4 ,as our ,revised ,version will tell you1 the literal rendering of my text is1 'filled unto' 7not exactly with7 'all the fulness of ,god'2 which suggests the idea not of a completed work but of a process1 and of a growing process1 as if more and more of that great fulness might pass into a man4 ,suppose a number of vessels1 according to the old illustration about degrees of glory in heaven2 they are each full1 but the quantity that one contains is much less than that which the other may hold4 ,add to the illustration that the vessels can grow1 and that filling makes them grow2 as a shrunken bladder when you pass gas into it will expand and round itself out1 and all the creases will be smoothed away4 ,such is the ,apostle's idea here1 that a process of filling goes on which may satisfy the then desires1 because it fills us up to the then capacities of our spirits2 but in the very process of so filling and satisfying makes those spirits capable of containing larger measures of ,his fulness1 which therefore flow into it4 ,such1 as ,i take it1 in rude and faint outline1 is the significance of this great prayer4 ,,ii4 ,now turn1 in the next place1 to consider briefly the possibility of the accomplishments of this petition4 ,as ,i said1 it sounds as if it were too much to desire4 ,certainly no wish can go beyond this wish4 ,the question is1 can a sane and humble wish go as far as this2 and can a man pray such a prayer with any real belief that he will get it answered here and now8 ,i say yes6 ,there are two difficulties that at once start up4 ,people will say1 does such a prayer as this upon man's lips not forget the limits that bound the creature's capacity8 ,can the finite contain the ,infinite8 ,well1 that is a verbal puzzle1 and ,i answer1 yes6 ,the finite can contain the ,infinite1 if you are talking about two hearts that love1 one of them ,god's and one of them mine4 ,we have got to keep very clear and distinct before our minds the broad1 firm line of demarcation between the creature and the ,creator1 or else we get into a pantheistic region where both creature and ,creator expire4 ,but there is a ,christian as well as an atheistic pantheism1 and as long as we retain clearly in our minds the consciousness of the personal distinction between ,god and ,his child1 so as that the child can turn round and say1 ',i love ,thee' and ,god can look down and say1 ',i bless thee'2 then all identification and mutual indwelling and impartation from ,him of ,himself are possible1 and are held forth as the aim and end of ,christian life4 ,of course in a mere abstract and philosophical sense the ,infinite cannot be contained by the finite2 and attributes which express infinity1 like omnipresence and omniscience and omnipotence and so on1 indicate things in ,god that we can know but little about1 and that cannot be communicated4 ,but those are not the divinest things in ,god4 ',god is love4' ,do you believe that that saying unveils the deepest things in ,him8 ,god is light1 'and in ,him is no darkness at all4' ,do you believe that ,his light and ,his love are nearer the centre than these attributes of power and infinitude8 ,if we believe that1 then we can come back to my text and say1 ',the love1 which is ,thee1 can come into me2 the light1 which is ,thee1 can pour itself into my darkness2 the holiness1 which is ,thee1 can enter into my impurity4 ,the heaven of heavens cannot contain ,thee4 ,thou dwellest in the humble and in the contrite heart4' ,so1 dear brethren1 the old legends about mighty forms that contracted their stature and bowed their divine heads to enter into some poor man's hut1 and sit there1 are simple ,christian realities4 ,and instead of puzzling ourselves with metaphysical difficulties which are mere shadows1 and the work of the understanding or the spawn of words1 let us listen to the ,christ when ,he says1 ',we will come unto him and make our abode with him' and believe that it was no impossibility which fired the ,apostle's hope when he prayed1 and in praying prophesied1 that we might be filled with all the fulness of ,god4 ,then there is another difficulty that rises before our minds2 and ,christian men say1 ',how is it possible1 in this region of imperfection1 compassed with infirmity and sin as we are1 that such hopes should be realised for us here8' ,well1 ,i would rather answer that question by retorting and saying3 ',how is it possible that such a prayer should have come from inspired lips unless the thing that ,paul was asking might be8' ,did he waste his breath when he thus prayed8 ,are we not as ,christian men bound1 instead of measuring our expectations by our attainments1 to try to stretch our attainments to what are our legitimate expectations1 and to hear in these words the answer to the faithless and unbelieving doubt whether such a thing is possible1 and the assurance that it is possible4 ,an impossibility can never be a duty1 and yet we are commanded3 ',be ye perfect1 as your ,father in heaven is perfect4' ,an impossibility can never be a duty1 and yet we are commanded to let ,christ abide in our hearts4 ,oh6 if we believed less in the power of our sin it would have less power upon us4 ,if we believed more in the power of an indwelling ,christ ,he would have more power within us4 ,if we said to ourselves1 ',it is possible1' we should make it possible4 ,the impossibility arises only from our own weakness1 from our own sinful weakness2 and though it may be true1 and is true1 that none of us will live without sin as long as we abide here1 it is also true that each moment of interruption of our communion with ,christ and therefore each moment of interruption of that being 'filled with the fulness of ,god1' might have been avoided4 ,we know about every such time that we could have helped it if we had liked1 and it is no use bringing any general principles about sin cleaving to men in order to break the force of that conviction4 ,but if that conviction be a real one1 and if whenever a ,christian man loses the consciousness of ,god in his heart1 making him blessed1 he is obliged to say3 ',it was my own fault and ,thou wouldst have stayed if ,i had chosen1' then there follows from this1 that it is possible1 notwithstanding all the imperfection and sin of earth1 that we may be 'filled with all the fulness of ,god4' ,so1 dear brethren1 take you this prayer as the standard of your expectations2 and oh6 take it as we must all take it1 as the sharpest of rebukes to our actual attainments in holiness and in likeness to our ,master4 ,set by the side of these wondrous and solemn words--'filled with the fulness of ,god1' the facts of the lives of the average professing ,christians of this generation1 and of this congregation2 their emptiness1 their ignorance of the divine indwelling1 their want of anything in their experience that corresponds in the least degree to such words as these4 ,judge whether a man is not more likely to be bowed down in wholesome sense of his own sinfulness and unworthiness1 if he has before him such an ideal as this of my text1 than if it1 too1 has faded out of his life4 ,i believe1 for my part1 that one great cause of the worldliness and the sinfulness and mechanical formalities that are eating the life out of the ,christianity of this generation is the fact of the ,church having largely lost any real belief in the possibility that ,christian men may possess the fulness of ,god as their present experience4 ,and so1 when they do not find it in themselves they say3 ',oh6 it is all right2 it is the necessary result of our imperfect fleshly condition4' ,no6 ,it is all wrong2 and ,his purpose is that we should possess ,him in the fulness of ,his gladdening and hallowing power1 at every moment in our happy lives4 ,,iii4 ,one word to close with1 as to the means by which this prayer may be fulfilled4 ,remember1 it comes as the last link in a chain4 ,i shall have wasted my breath for a month1 as far as you are concerned1 if you do not feel that the preceding links are needful before this can be attained4 ,but ,i only touch upon the nearest of them and remind you that it must be ,christ dwelling in our hearts1 that fills them with the fulness of ,god4 ,where ,he comes ,god comes4 ,and where does ,he come8 ,he comes where faith opens the door for ,him4 ,if you will trust ,jesus ,christ1 if you will distrust yourselves1 if you will turn your thoughts and your hearts to ,him1 if you will let ,him come into your souls1 and not shut ,him out because your souls are so full that there is no room for ,him there1 then when ,he comes ,he will not come empty-handed1 but will bring the full ,godhead with ,him4 ,there must be the emptying of self1 if there is to be the filling with ,god4 ,and the emptying of self is realised in that faith which forsakes self-confidence1 self-righteousness1 self-dependence1 self-control1 self-pleasing1 and yields itself wholly to the dear ,lord4 ,there is another condition that is required1 and that is the previous link in this braided chain4 ,the conscious experience of the love which is in ,christ will bring to us 'the fulness of ,god4' ,love is power2 love is ,god2 and when we live in the sense and experience of ,god's love to us then we have the power and we have the ,god4 ,it is as in some of these petrifying streams1 the water is charged with particles which it deposits upon everything that is laid in its course4 ,so1 if we plunge our hearts into that fountain of the love of ,christ1 as it flows it will clothe us with all the divine energies which are held in solution in the divinest thing in ,god--,his own love4 ,plunged into the love we are filled with the fulness4 ,then keep near your ,master4 ,it all comes to that4 ,meditate upon ,him2 do not let days pass1 as they do pass1 without a thought being turned to ,him4 ,do not go about your daily work without a remembrance of ,him4 ,keep yourselves in ,christ4 ,seek to experience ,his love1 that love which passeth knowledge1 and is only known by them who possess it4 ,and then1 as the old painters with deep truth used to paint the ,apostle of ,love with a face like his ,master1 living near ,christ and looking upon ,him you will receive of ,his fulness1 and 'we all1 with open face1 beholding the glory1 shall be changed into the glory4' ,,measureless ,,power ,,and ,,endless ,,glory ',now unto ,him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think1 according to the power that worketh in us1 #ba4 ,unto ,him be glory in the ,church by ,christ ,jesus throughout all ages1 world without end4 ,amen4'--,eph4 iii4 #bj1 #ba4 ,one purpose and blessing of faithful prayer is to enlarge the desires which it expresses1 and to make us think more loftily of the grace to which we appeal4 ,so the ,apostle1 in the wonderful series of supplications which precedes the text1 has found his thought of what he may hope for his brethren at ,ephesus grow greater with every clause4 ,his prayer rises like some songbird1 in ever-widening sweeps1 each higher in the blue1 and nearer the throne2 and at each a sweeter1 fuller note4 ',strengthened with might by ,his ,spirit'2 'that ,christ may dwell in your hearts by faith'2 'that ye may be able to know the love of ,christ'2 'that ye might be filled with all the fulness of ,god4' ,here he touches the very throne4 ,beyond that nothing can be conceived4 ,but though that sublime petition may be the end of thought1 it is not the end of faith4 ,though ,god can give us nothing more than it is1 ,he can give us more than we think it to be1 and more than we ask1 when we ask this4 ,therefore the grand doxology of our text crowns and surpasses even this great prayer4 ,the higher true prayer climbs1 the wider is its view2 and the wider is its view1 the more conscious is it that the horizon of its vision is far within the borders of the goodly land4 ,and as we gaze into what we can discern of the fulness of ,god1 prayer will melt into thanksgiving and the doxology for the swift answer will follow close upon the last words of supplication4 ,so is it here2 so it may be always4 ,the form of our text then marks the confidence of ,paul's prayer4 ,the exuberant fervour of his faith1 as well as his natural impetuosity and ardour1 comes out in the heaped-up words expressive of immensity and duration4 ,he is like some archer watching1 with parted lips1 the flight of his arrow to the mark4 ,he is gazing on ,god confident that he has not asked in vain4 ,let us look with him1 that we1 too1 may be heartened to expect great things of ,god4 ,notice then-- ,i4 ,the measure of the power to which we trust4 ,this epistle is remarkable for its frequent references to the divine rule1 or standard1 or measure1 in accordance with which the great facts of redemption take place4 ,the 'things on the earth'--the historical processes by which salvation is brought to men and works in men--are ever traced up to the 'things in heaven'2 the divine counsels from which they have come forth4 ,that phrase1 'according to1' is perpetually occurring in this connection in the epistle4 ,it is applied mainly in two directions4 ,it serves sometimes to bring into view the ground1 or reason1 of the redemptive facts1 as1 for instance1 in the expression that these take place 'according to ,his good pleasure which ,he hath purposed in ,himself' ,it serves sometimes to bring into view the measure by which the working of these redemptive facts is determined2 as in our text1 and in many other places4 ,now there are three main forms under which this standard1 or measure1 of the ,redeeming ,power is set forth in this epistle1 and it will help us to grasp the greatness of the ,apostle's thought if we consider these4 ,take1 then1 first1 that clause in the earlier portion of the preceding prayer1 'that ,he would grant you according to the riches of ,his glory4' ,the measure1 then1 of the gift that we may hope to receive is the measure of ,god's own fulness4 ,the 'riches of ,his glory' can be nothing less than the whole uncounted abundance of that majestic and far-shining ,nature1 as it pours itself forth in the dazzling perfectness of its own ,self-manifestation4 ,and nothing less than this great treasure is to be the limit and standard of ,his gift to us4 ,we are the sons of the ,king1 and the allowance which ,he makes us even before we come to our inheritance is proportionate to our ,father's wealth4 ,the same stupendous thought is given us in that prayer1 heavy with the blessed weight of unspeakable gifts1 'that ye might be filled with all the fulness of ,god4' ,this1 then1 is the measure of the grace that we may possess4 ,this limitless limit alone bounds the possibilities for every man1 the certainties for every ,christian4 ,the effect must be proportioned to the cause4 ,and what effect will be adequate as the outcome of such a cause as 'the riches of ,his glory'8 ,nothing short of absolute perfectness1 the full transmutation of our dark1 cold being into the reflected image of ,his own burning brightness1 the ceaseless replenishing of our own spirits with all graces and gladnesses akin to ,his1 the eternal growth of the soul upward and ,godward4 ,perfection is the sign manual of ,god in all ,his works1 just as imperfection and the falling below our thought and wish is our 'token in every epistle' and deed of ours4 ,take the finest needle1 and put it below a microscope1 and it will be all ragged and irregular1 the fine1 tapering lines will be broken by many a bulge and bend1 and the point blunt and clumsy4 ,put the blade of grass to the same test1 and see how regular its outline1 how delicate and true the spear-head of its point4 ,god's work is perfect1 man's is clumsy and incomplete4 ,god does not leave off till ,he has finished4 ,when ,he rests1 it is because1 looking on ,his work1 ,he sees it all 'very good4' ,his ,sabbath is the ,sabbath of an achieved purpose1 of a fulfilled counsel4 ,the palaces which we build are ever like that one in the story1 where one window remains dark and unjewelled1 while the rest blaze in beauty4 ,but when ,god builds1 none can say1 ',he was not able to finish4' ,in ,his great palace ,he makes her 'windows of agates' and all her 'borders of pleasant stones4' ,so we have a right to enlarge our desires and stretch our confidence of what we may possess and become to this1 ,his boundless bound--',the riches of glory4' ,but another form in which the standard1 or measure1 is stated in this letter is3 ',the working of ,his mighty power1 which ,he wrought in ,christ1 when ,he raised ,him from the dead' 7i4 #ai1 #bj72 or1 as it is put with a modification1 'grace according to the measure of the gift of ,christ' 7iv4 #g74 ,that is to say1 we have not only the whole riches of the divine glory as the measure to which we may lift our hopes1 but lest that celestial brightness should seem too high above us1 and too far from us1 we have ,christ in ,his human-divine manifestation1 and especially in the great fact of the ,resurrection1 set before us1 that by ,him we may learn what ,god wills we should become4 ,the former phase of the standard may sound abstract1 cloudy1 hard to connect with any definite anticipations2 and so this form of it is concrete1 historical1 and gives human features to the fair ideal4 ,his ,resurrection is the high-water mark of the divine power1 and to the same level it will rise again in regard to every ,christian4 ,the ,lord1 in the glory of ,his risen life1 and in the riches of the gifts which ,he received when ,he ascended up on high1 is the pattern for us1 and the power which fulfils its own pattern4 ,in ,him we see what man may become1 and what ,his followers must become4 ,the limits of that power will not be reached until every ,christian soul is perfectly assimilated to that likeness1 and bears all its beauty in its face1 nor till every ,christian soul is raised to participation in ,christ's dignity and sits on ,his throne4 ,then1 and not till then1 shall the purpose of ,god be fulfilled and the gift which is measured by the riches of the ,father's glory1 and the fulness of the ,son's grace1 be possessed or conceived in its measureless measure4 ,but there is a third form in which this same standard is represented4 ,that is the form which is found in our text1 and in other places of the epistle3 ',according to the power that worketh in us4' ,what power is that but the power of the ,spirit of ,god dwelling in us8 ,and thus we have the measure1 or standard1 set forth in terms respectively applying to the ,father1 the ,son1 and the ,holy ,ghost4 ,for the first1 the riches of ,his glory2 for the second1 ,his ,resurrection and ,ascension2 for the third1 ,his energy working in ,christian souls4 ,the first carries us up into the mysteries of ,god1 where the air is almost too subtle for our gross lungs2 the second draws nearer to earth and points us to an historical fact that happened in this everyday world2 the third comes still nearer to us1 and bids us look within1 and see whether what we are conscious of there1 if we interpret it by the light of these other measures1 will not yield results as great as theirs1 and open before us the same fair prospect of perfect holiness and conformity to the divine nature4 ,there is already a ,power at work within us1 if we be ,christians1 of whose workings we may be aware1 and from them forecast the measure of the gifts which it can bestow upon us4 ,we may estimate what will be by what we know has been1 and by what we feel is4 ,that is to say1 in other words1 the effects already produced1 and the experiences we have already had1 carry in them the pledge of completeness4 ,i suppose that if the medival dream had ever come true1 and an alchemist had ever turned a grain of lead into gold1 he could have turned all the lead in the world in time1 and with crucibles and furnaces enough4 ,the first step is all the difficulty1 and if you and ,i have been changed from enemies into sons1 and had one spark of love to ,god kindled in our hearts1 that is a mightier change than any that remains to be effected in order to make us perfect4 ,one grain has been changed1 the whole mass will be so in due time4 ,the present operations of that power carry in them the pledge of their own completion4 ,the strange mingling of good and evil in our present nature1 our aspirations so crossed and contradicted1 our resolution so broken and falsified1 the gleams of light1 and the eclipses that follow--all these in their opposition to each other1 are plainly transitory1 and the workings of that ,power within us1 though they be often overborne1 are as plainly the stronger in their nature1 and meant to conquer and to endure4 ,like some half-hewn block1 such as travellers find in long abandoned quarries1 whence ,egyptian temples1 that were destined never to be completed1 were built1 our spirits are but partly 'polished after the similitude of a palace1' while much remains in the rough4 ,the builders of these temples have mouldered away and their unfinished handiwork will lie as it was when the last chisel touched it centuries ago1 till the crack of doom2 but stones for ,god's temple will be wrought to completeness and set in their places4 ,the whole threefold divine cause of our salvation supplies the measure1 and lays the foundation for our hopes1 in the glory of the ,father1 the grace of the ,son1 the power of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,let us lift up our cry3 ',perfect that which concerneth me1 forsake not the works of thine own hands1' and we shall have for answer the ancient word1 fresh as when it sounded long ago from among the stars to the sleeper at the ladder's foot1 ',i will not leave thee1 until ,i have done that which ,i have spoken to thee of4' ,,ii4 ,notice the relation of the divine working to our thoughts and desires4 ,the ,apostle in his fervid way strains language to express how far the possibility of the divine working extends4 ,he is able1 not only to do all things1 but 'beyond all things'--a vehement way of putting the boundless reach of that gracious power4 ,and what he means by this 'beyond all things' is more fully expressed in the next words1 in which he labours by accumulating synonyms to convey his sense of the transcendent energy which waits to bless3 'exceeding abundantly above what we ask4' ,and as1 alas6 our desires are but shrunken and narrow beside our thoughts1 he sweeps a wider orbit when he adds 'above what we think4' ,he has been asking wonderful things1 and yet even his farthest-reaching petitions fall far on this side of the greatness of ,god's power4 ,one might think that even it could go no further than filling us 'with all the fulness of ,god4' ,nor can it2 but it may far transcend our conceptions of what that is1 and astonish us by its surpassing our thoughts1 no less than it shames us by exceeding our prayers4 ,of course1 all this is true1 and is meant to apply1 only about the inward gifts of ,god's grace4 ,i need not remind you that1 in the outer world of ,providence and earthly gifts1 prayers and wishes often surpass the answers2 that there a deeper wisdom often contradicts our thoughts and a truer kindness refuses our petitions1 and that so the rapturous words of our text are only true in a very modified and partial sense about ,god's working for us in the world4 ,it is ,his work in us concerning which they are absolutely true4 ,of course we know that in all regions of ,his working ,he is able to surpass our poor human conceptions1 and that1 properly speaking1 the most familiar1 and1 as we insolently call them1 'smallest' of ,his works holds in it a mystery--were it none other than the mystery of ,being--against which ,thought has been breaking its teeth ever since men began to think at all4 ,but as regards the working of ,god on our spiritual lives1 this passing beyond the bounds of thought and desire is but the necessary result of the fact already dealt with1 that the only measure of the power is ,god ,himself1 in that ,threefold ,being4 ,that being so1 no plummet of our making can reach to the bottom of the abyss2 no strong-winged thought can fly to the outermost bound of the encircling heaven4 ,widely as we stretch our reverent conceptions1 there is ever something beyond4 ,after we have resolved many a dim nebula in the starry sky1 and found it all ablaze with suns and worlds1 there will still hang1 faint and far before us1 hazy magnificences which we have not apprehended4 ,confidently and boldly as we may offer our prayers1 and largely as we may expect1 the answer is ever more than the petition4 ,for indeed1 in every act of ,his quickening grace1 in every ,god-given increase of our knowledge of ,god1 in every bestowment of ,his fulness1 there is always more bestowed than we receive1 more than we know even while we possess it4 ,like some gift given in the dark1 its true preciousness is not discerned when it is first received4 ,the gleam of the gold does not strike our eye all at once4 ,there is ever an unknown margin felt by us to be over after our capacity of receiving is exhausted4 ',and they took up of the fragments that remained1 twelve baskets full4' ,so1 then1 let us remember that while our thoughts and prayers can never reach to the full perception1 or reception either1 of the gift1 the exuberant amplitude with which it reaches far beyond both is meant to draw both after it4 ,and let us not forget either that1 while the grace which we receive has no limit or measure but the fulness of ,god1 the working limit1 which determines what we receive of the grace1 is these very thoughts and wishes which it surpasses4 ,we may have as much of ,god as we can hold1 as much as we wish4 ,all ,niagara may roar past a man's door1 but only as much as he diverts through his own sluice will drive his mill1 or quench his thirst4 ,god's grace is like the figures in the ,eastern tales1 that will creep into a narrow room no bigger than a nutshell1 or will tower heaven high4 ,our spirits are like the magic tent whose walls expanded or contracted at the owner's wish--we may enlarge them to enclose far more of the grace than we have ever possessed4 ,we are not straitened in ,god1 but in ourselves4 ,he is 'able to do exceeding abundantly above what we ask or think4' ,therefore let us stretch desires and thoughts to their utmost1 remembering that1 while they can never reach the measure of ,his grace in itself1 they make the practical measure of our possession of it4 ',according to thy faith' is the real measure of the gift received1 even though 'according to the riches of ,his glory' be the measure of the gift bestowed4 ,note1 again1 ,,iii4 ,the glory that springs from the divine work4 ',the glory of ,god' is the lustre of ,his own perfect character1 the bright sum total of all the blended brilliances that compose ,his name4 ,when that light is welcomed and adored by men1 they are said to 'give glory to ,god1' and this doxology is at once a prophecy that the working of ,god's power on ,his redeemed children will issue in setting forth the radiance of ,his ,name yet more1 and a prayer that it may4 ,so we have here the great thought expressed in many places of ,scripture1 that the highest exhibition of the divine character for the reverence and love--of the whole universe1 shall we say8--lies in ,his work on ,christian souls1 and the effect produced thereby on them4 ,god takes ,his stand1 so to speak1 on this great fact in ,his dealings1 and will have ,his creatures estimate ,him by it4 ,he reckons it ,his highest praise that ,he has redeemed men1 and by ,his dwelling in them fills them with ,his own fulness4 ,and this chiefest praise and brightest glory accrues to ,him 'in the ,church in ,christ ,jesus4' ,the weakening of the latter word into by ,christ ,jesus1' as in the ,english version1 is to be regretted1 as substituting another thought1 ,scriptural no doubt and precious1 for the precise shade of meaning in the ,apostle's mind here4 ,as has been well said1 'the first words denote the outward province2 the second1 the inward and spiritual sphere in which ,god was to be praised4' ,his glory is to shine in the ,church1 the theatre of ,his power1 the standing demonstration of the might of redeeming love4 ,by this ,he will be judged1 and this ,he will point to if any ask what is ,his divinest work1 which bears the clearest imprint of ,his divinest self4 ,his glory is to be set forth by men on condition that they are 'in ,christ1' living and moving in ,him1 in that mysterious but most real union without which no fruit grows on the dead branches1 nor any music of praise breaks from the dead lips4 ,so1 then1 think of that wonder that ,god sets ,his glory in ,his dealings with us4 ,amid all the majesty of ,his works and all the blaze of ,his creation1 this is what ,he presents as the highest specimen of ,his power--the ,church of ,jesus ,christ1 the company of poor men1 wearied and conscious of many evils1 who follow afar off the footsteps of their ,lord4 ,how dusty and toil-worn the little group of ,christians that landed at ,puteoli must have looked as they toiled along the ,appian ,way and entered ,rome6 ,how contemptuously emperor and philosopher and priest and patrician would have curled their lips1 if they had been told that in that little knot of ,jewish prisoners lay a power before which theirs would cower and finally fade6 ,even so is it still4 ,among all the splendours of this great universe1 and the mere obtrusive tawdrinesses of earth1 men look upon us ,christians as poor enough2 and yet it is to ,his redeemed children that ,god has entrusted ,his praise1 and in their hands that ,he has lodged the sacred deposit of ,his own glory4 ,think loftily of that office and honour1 lowly of yourselves who have it laid upon you as a crown4 ,his honour is in our hands4 ,we are the 'secretaries of ,his praise4' ,this is the highest function that any creature can discharge4 ,the ,rabbis have a beautiful bit of teaching buried among their rubbish about angels4 ,they say that there are two kinds of angels--the angels of service and the angels of praise1 of which two orders the latter is the higher1 and that no angel in it praises ,god twice1 but having once lifted up his voice in the psalm of heaven1 then perishes and ceases to be4 ,he has perfected his being1 he has reached the height of his greatness1 he has done what he was made for1 let him fade away4 ,the garb of legend is mean enough1 but the thought it embodies is that ever true and solemn one1 without which life is nought--',man's chief end is to glorify ,god4' ,and we can only fulfil that high purpose in the measure of our union with ,christ4 ',in ,him' abiding1 we manifest ,god's glory1 for in ,him abiding we receive ,god's grace4 ,so long as we are joined to ,him1 we partake of ,his life1 and our lives become music and praise4 ,the electric current flows from ,him through all souls that are 'in ,him' and they glow with fair colours which they owe to their contact with ,jesus4 ,interrupt the communication1 and all is darkness4 ,so1 brethren1 let us seek to abide in ,him1 severed from whom we are nothing4 ,then shall we fulfil the purpose of ,his love1 who 'hath shined in our hearts' that we might give to others 'the light of the knowledge of the glory of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ' ,notice1 lastly1 ,,iv4 ,the eternity of the work and of the praise4 ,as in the former clauses the idea of the transcendent greatness of the power of ,god was expressed by accumulated synonyms1 so here the kindred thought of its eternity1 and consequently of the ceaseless duration of the resulting glory1 is sought to be set forth by a similar aggregation4 ,the language creaks and labours1 as it were1 under the weight of the great conception4 ,literally rendered1 the words are--'to all generations of the age of the ages'--a remarkable fusing together of two expressions for unbounded duration1 which are scarcely congruous4 ,we can understand 'to all generations' as expressive of duration as long as birth and death shall last4 ,we can understand 'the age of the ages' as pointing to that endless epoch whose moments are 'ages'2 but the blending of the two is but an unconscious acknowledgment that the speech of earth1 saturated1 as it is1 with the colouring of time1 breaks down in the attempt to express the thought of eternity4 ,undoubtedly that solemn conception is the one intended by this strange phrase4 ,the work is to go on for ever and ever1 and with it the praise4 ,as the ages which are the beats of the pendulum of eternity come and go1 more and more of ,god's power will flow out to us1 and more and more of ,god's glory will be manifested in us4 ,it must be so2 for ,god's gift is infinite1 and man's capacity of reception is indefinitely capable of increase4 ,therefore eternity will be needful in order that redeemed souls may absorb all of ,god which ,he can give or they can take4 ,the process has no limits1 for there is no bound to be set to the possible approaches of the human spirit to the divine1 and none to the exuberant abundance of the beauty and glory which ,god will give to ,his child4 ,therefore we shall live for ever3 and for ever show forth ,his praise and blaze out like the sun with the irradiation of ,his glory4 ,we cannot die till we have exhausted ,god4 ,till we comprehend all ,his nature in our thoughts1 and reflect all ,his beauty in our character2 till we have attained all the bliss that we can think1 and received all the good that we can ask2 till ,hope has nothing before her to reach towards1 and ,god is left behind3 we 'shall not die1 but live1 and declare the works of the ,lord4' ,let ,his grace work on you1 and yield yourselves to ,him1 that ,his fulness may fill your emptiness4 ,so on earth we shall be delivered from hopes which mock and wishes that are never fulfilled4 ,so in heaven1 after 'ages of ages' of growing glory1 we shall have to say1 as each new wave of the shoreless1 sunlit sea bears us onward1 ',it doth not yet appear what we shall be4' ,,the ,,calling ,,and ,,the ,,kingdom ',i beseech you1 that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called4'--,eph4 iv4 #a4 ',they shall walk with ,me in white2 for they are worthy4'--,rev4 iii4 #d4 ,the estimate formed of a centurion by the elders of the ,jews was1 ',he is worthy for whom ,thou shouldst do this' and in contrast therewith the estimate formed by himself was1 ',i am not worthy that ,thou shouldst come under my roof4' ,from these two statements we deduce the thought that merit has no place in the ,christian's salvation1 but all is to be traced to undeserved1 gracious love4 ,but that principle1 true and all-important as it is1 like every other great truth1 may be exaggerated1 and may be so isolated as to become untrue and a source of much evil4 ,and so ,i desire to turn to the other side of the shield1 and to emphasise the place that worthiness has in the ,christian life1 and its personal results both here and hereafter4 ,to say that character has nothing to do with blessedness is untrue1 both to conscience and to the ,christian revelation2 and however we trace all things to grace1 we must also remember that we get what we have fitted ourselves for4 ,now1 my two texts bring out two aspects which have to be taken in conjunction4 ,the one of them speaks about the present life1 and lays it as an imperative obligation on all ,christian people to be worthy of their ,christianity1 and the other carries us into the future and shows us that there it is they who are 'worthy' who attain to the ,kingdom4 ,so ,i think ,i shall best bring out what ,i desire to emphasise if ,i just take these two points--the ,christian calling and the life that is worthy of it1 and the ,christian heaven and the life that is worthy of it4 ,i4 ,the ,christian calling and the life that is worthy of it4 ',i beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called4' ,now1 that thought recurs in other places in the ,apostle's writings1 somewhat modified in expression4 ,for instance1 in one passage he speaks of 'walking worthily of the ,god who has called us to ,his kingdom and glory1' and in another of the ,christian man's duty to 'walk worthily of the ,lord unto all pleasing4' ,there is a certain vocation to which a ,christian man is bound to make his life correspond1 and his conduct should be in some measure worthy of the ideal that is set before it4 ,now1 we shall best understand what is involved in such worthiness if we make clear to ourselves what the ,apostle means by this 'calling' to which he appeals as containing in itself a standard to which our lives are to be conformed4 ,suppose we try to put away the technical word 'calling' and instead of 'calling' say 'summons1' which is nearer the idea1 because it conveys the notions more fully of the urgency of the voice1 and of the authority of the voice1 which speaks to us4 ,and what is that summons8 ,how do we hear it8 ,one of the other ,apostles speaks of ,god as calling us 'by ,his own glory and virtue1' that is to say1 wherever ,god reveals ,himself in any fashion1 and by any medium1 to a man1 the man fails to understand the deepest meaning of the revelation unless his purged ear hears in it the great voice saying1 ',come up hither4' ,for all ,god's self-manifestation1 in the creatures around us1 in the deep voice of our own souls1 in the mysteries of our own personal lives1 and in the slow evolution of ,his purpose through the history of the world1 all these revelations of ,god bear in them the summons to us that hear and see them to draw near to ,him1 and to mould ourselves into ,his likeness4 ,and thus1 just as the sun by the effluence of its beams gathers all the ministering planets1 as it were1 round its feet1 and draws them to itself1 so ,god1 raying ,himself out into the waste1 fills the waste with magnetic influences which are meant to draw men to nobleness1 goodness1 ,god-pleasingness1 and ,god-likeness4 ,but in another place in this ,apostle's writings we read of 'the high calling of ,god in ,christ ,jesus4' ,yes1 there1 as focussed into one strong voice1 all the summonses are concentrated and gathered4 ,for in ,jesus ,christ we see the possibilities of humanity realised1 and we have the pattern of what we ought to be1 and are called thereby to be4 ,and in ,christ we get the great motives which make this summons1 as it comes mended from ,his lips1 no longer the mere harsh voice of an authoritative legislator1 but the gentle invitation1 ',come unto ,me1 444 and ye shall find rest unto your souls4' ,the summons is honeyed1 sweetened1 and made infinitely mightier when we hear it from ,his gracious lips4 ,it is the blessed peculiarity of the ,christian ideal1 that the manifestation of the ideal carries with it the power to realise it4 ,and just as the increasing strength of the spring sunshine summons the buds from out of their folds1 and the snowdrops hear the call and force themselves through the frozen soil1 so when ,christ summons ,he inclines the ears that hear1 and enables the men that own them to obey the summons1 and to be what they are commanded4 ,and thus we have 'the high calling of ,god in ,christ ,jesus4' ,now1 if that is the call1 if the life of ,christ is that to which we are summoned1 and the death of ,christ is that by which we are inclined to obey the summons1 and the ,spirit of ,christ is that by which we are enabled to do so1 what sort of a life will be worthy of these8 ,well1 the context supplies part of the answer4 ',i beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation 444 with all meekness and lowliness1 with long-suffering1 forbearing one another in love4' ,that is one side of the vocation1 and the life that is worthy of it will be a life emancipated from the meanness of selfishness1 and delivered from the tumidities of pride and arrogance1 and changed into the sweetness of gentleness and the royalties of love4 ,and then1 on the other side1 in one of the other texts where the same general set of ideas is involved1 we get a yet more wondrous exhibition of the life which the ,apostle considered to be worthy4 ,i simply signalise its points of detail without venturing to dwell upon them4 ',unto all pleasing'2 the first characteristic of life that is 'worthy of our calling' and to which1 therefore1 every one of us ,christian people is imperatively bound1 is that it shall1 in all its parts1 please ,god1 and that is a large demand4 ,then follow details3 ',fruitful in every good work'--a many-sided fruitfulness1 an encyclopdiacal beneficent activity1 covering all the ground of possible excellence2 and that is not all2 'increasing in the knowledge of ,god1'--a life of progressive acquaintance with ,him2 and that is not all3--'strengthened with all might unto all patience and long-suffering'2 nor is that all1 for the crown of the whole is 'giving thanks unto the ,father4' ,so1 then1 'ye see your calling1 brethren4' ,a life that is 'worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called' is a life that conforms to the divine will1 that is 'fruitful in all good1' that is progressive in its acquaintance with ,god1 that is strengthened for all patience and long-suffering1 and that in everything is thankful to ,him4 ,that is what we are summoned to be1 and unless we are in some measure obeying the summons1 and bringing out such a life in our conduct1 then1 notwithstanding all that we have to say about unmerited mercy1 and free grace1 and undeserved love1 and salvation being not by works but by faith1 we have no right to claim the mercy to which we say we trust4 ,now1 this necessity of a worthy life is perfectly harmonious with the great truth that1 after all1 every man owes all to the undeserved mercy of ,god4 ,the more nearly we come to realise the purpose of our calling1 the more 'worthy' of it we are1 the deeper will be our consciousness of our unworthiness4 ,the more we approximate to the ideal1 and come closer up to it1 and so see its features the better1 the more we shall feel how unlike we are to it4 ,the law for ,christian progress is that the sense of unworthiness increases in the precise degree in which the worthiness increases4 ,the same man that said1 ',of whom 7sinners7 ,i am chief1' said to the same reader1 ',i have kept the faith1 henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness4' ,and so the two things are not contradictory but complementary4 ,on the one side 'worthy' has nothing to do with the outflow of ,christ's love to us2 on the other side we are to 'walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called4' ,,ii4 ,and now1 let us turn to the other thought1 the ,christian heaven and the life that is worthy of it4 ,some of you1 ,i have no doubt1 would think that that was a tremendous heresy if there were not ,scriptural words to buttress it4 ,let us see what it means4 ,my text out of the ,revelation says1 ',they shall walk with ,me in white1 for they are worthy4' ,and the same voice that spake these1 to some of us1 astounding1 words1 said1 when ,he was here on earth1 ',they which shall be counted worthy to attain to the life of the resurrection from the dead1' etc4 ,the text brings out very clearly the continuity and congruity between the life on earth and the life in heaven4 ,who is it of whom it is said that 'they are worthy' to 'walk in white'8 ,it is the 'few names even in ,sardis which have not defiled their garments4' ,you see the connection2 clean robes here and shining robes hereafter2 the two go together1 and you cannot separate them4 ,and no belief that salvation1 in its incipient germ here1 and salvation in its fulness hereafter1 are the results 'not of works of righteousness which we have done1 but of ,his mercy1' is to be allowed to interfere with that other truth that they who are worthy attain to the ,kingdom4 ,i must not be diverted from my main purpose1 tempting as the theme would be1 to say more than just a sentence about what is included in that great promise1 ',they shall walk with ,me in white' ,and if ,i do touch upon it at all1 it is only in order to bring out more clearly that the very nature of the heavenly reward demands this worthiness which the text lays down as the condition of possessing it4 ',they shall walk'--activity on an external world4 ,that opens a great door1 but perhaps we had better be contented just with looking in4 ',they shall walk'--progress2 'with me'--union with ,jesus ,christ2 'in white'--resplendent purity of character4 ,now take these four things--activity on an outward universe1 progress1 union with ,christ1 resplendent purity of character1 and you have almost all that we know of the future2 the rest is partly doubtful and is mostly symbolical or negative1 and in any case subordinate4 ,never mind about 'physical theories of another life'2 never mind about all the questions--to some of us how torturing they sometimes are6--concerning that future life4 ,the more we keep ourselves within the broad limits of these promises that are intertwined and folded up together in that one saying1 ',they shall walk with ,me in white1' the better1 ,i think1 for the sanity and the spirituality of our conception of a future life4 ,that being understood1 the next thing clearly follows1 that only those who in the sense of the word as it is used here1 are 'worthy1' can enter upon the possession of such a heaven4 ,from the nature of the gift it is clear that there must be a moral and religious congruity between the gift and the recipient1 or1 to put it into plainer words1 you cannot get heaven unless your nature is capable of receiving these great gifts which constitute heaven4 ,people talk about the future state as being 'a state of retribution4' ,well6 that is not altogether a satisfactory form of expression1 for retribution may convey the idea1 such as is presented in earthly rewards and punishments1 of there being no natural correspondence between the crime and its punishment1 or the virtue and its reward4 ,a bit of bronze shaped into the form of a cross may be the retribution ',for ,valour1' and a prison cell may be the retribution by legal appointment for a certain crime4 ,but that is not the way that ,god deals out rewards and punishments in the life which is to come4 ,it is not a case of retribution1 meaning thereby the arbitrary bestowment of a certain fixed gift in response to certain virtues1 but it is a case of outcome1 and the old metaphor of sowing and reaping is the true one4 ,we sow here and we reap yonder4 ,we pass into that future1 'bringing our sheaves with us1' and we have to grind the corn and make bread of it1 and we have to eat the work of our own hands4 ,they drink as they have brewed4 ',their works do follow them1' or they go before them and 'receive them into everlasting habitations4' ,outcome1 the necessary result1 and not a mere arbitrary retribution1 is the relation which heaven bears to earth4 ,that is plain1 too1 from our own nature4 ,we carry ourselves with us wherever we go4 ,the persistence of character1 the continuity of personal being1 the continuity of memory1 the unobliterable--if ,i may coin a word--results upon ourselves of our actions1 all these things make it certain that what looks to us a cleft1 deep and broad1 between the present life and the next1 is to those that have passed it1 and see it from the other side1 but a little crack in the soil scarcely observable1 and that we carry on into another world the selves that we have made here4 ,whatever death does--and it does a great deal that we do not know of--it does not alter1 it only brings out1 and1 as ,i suppose1 intensifies1 the main drift and set of a character4 ,and so they who 'have not defiled their garments shall walk with ,me in white1 for they are worthy4' ,ah1 brethren6 how solemn that makes life2 the fleeting moment carries ,eternity in its bosom4 ,it passes1 and the works pass1 but nothing human ever dies1 and we bear with us the net results of all the yesterdays into that eternal to-day4 ,you write upon a thin film of paper and there is a black leaf below it4 ,yes1 and below the black leaf there is another sheet1 and all that you write on the top one goes through the dark interposed page1 and is recorded on the third1 and one day that will be taken out of the book1 and you will have to read it and say1 ',what ,i have written ,i have written4' ,so1 dear friends1 whilst we begin with that unmerited love1 and that same unmerited love is the sole ground on which the gates of the kingdom of heaven are by the ,death and ,resurrection and ,ascension of ,jesus ,christ opened to believers1 their place there depends not only on faith but on the work which is the fruit of faith4 ,there is such a thing as being 'saved yet so as by fire1' and there is such a thing as 'having an entrance ministered abundantly unto us'2 we have to make the choice4 ,there is such a thing as the sore punishment of which they are thought worthy who have rejected the ,son of ,god1 and counted the blood of the ,covenant an unholy thing2 and there is such a thing as a man saying1 ',i am not worthy that ,thou shouldest come unto me1' and ,christ answering1 ',he shall walk with ,me in white1 for he is worthy' and we have to make that choice also4 ,,the ,,threefold ,,unity ',one ,lord1 one faith1 one baptism4'--,eph4 iv4 #e4 ,the thought of the unity of the ,church is very prominent in this epistle4 ,it is difficult for us1 amidst our present divisions1 to realise how strange and wonderful it then was that a bond should have been found which drew together men of all nations1 ranks1 and characters4 ,pharisee and philosopher1 high-born women and slaves1 ,roman patricians and gladiators1 ,asiatic ,greeks and ,syrian ,jews forgot their feuds and sat together as one in ,christ4 ,it is no wonder that ,paul in this letter dwells so long and earnestly on that strange fact4 ,he is exhorting here to a unity of spirit corresponding to it1 and he names a seven-fold oneness--one body and one spirit1 one hope1 one ,lord1 one faith1 one baptism1 one ,god and ,father of all4 ,the outward institution of the ,church1 as a manifest visible fact1 comes first in the catalogue4 ,one ,father is last1 and between these there lie the mention of the one ,spirit and the one ,lord4 ,the 'body' is the ,church4 ',spirit1 ,lord1 ,god1' are the triune divine personality4 ,hope and faith are human acts by which men are joined to ,god2 ,baptism is the visible symbol of their incorporation into the one body4 ,these three clauses of our text may be considered as substantially including all the members of the series4 ,we deal with them quite simply now1 and consider them in the order in which they stand here4 ,i4 ,the one ,lord4 ,the deep foundation of ,christian unity is laid in the divine ,christ4 ,here1 as generally in the ,new ,testament1 the name ',lord' designates ,christ in ,his authority as ruler of men and in ,his divinity as ,incarnation of ,god4 ,it would not be going too far to suggest that we have in the name1 standing as it does1 for the most part1 in majestic simplicity1 a reference to the ,old ,testament name of ,jehovah1 which in the ,greek translation familiar to ,paul is generally rendered by this same word4 ,nor can we ignore the fact that in this great catalogue of the ,christian unities the ,lord stands in the centre of the three personalities named1 and is regarded as being at once the source of the ,spirit and the manifestation of the ,father4 ,the place which this name occupies in relation to the ,faith which is next named suggests that the living personal ,christ is the true uniting principle amongst men4 ,the one body realises its oneness in its common relation to the one ,lord4 ,it is one1 not because of identity in doctrine1 not because of any of the bonds which hold men together in human associations1 precious and sacred as many of these are1 but 'we being many are one bread1 for we are all partakers of that one bread4' ,the magnet draws all the particles to itself and holds them in a mysterious unity4 ,,ii4 ,one faith4 ,the former clause set forth in one great name all the objective elements of the ,church's oneness2 this clause sets forth1 with equally all-comprehending simplicity1 the subjective element which makes a ,christian4 ,the one ,lord1 in the fulness of ,his nature and the perfectness of ,his work1 is the all-inclusive object of faith4 ,he1 in ,his own living person1 and not any dogmas about ,him1 is regarded as the strong support round which the tendrils of faith cling and twine and grow4 ,true1 ,he is made known to us as possessing certain attributes and as doing certain things which1 when stated in words1 become doctrines1 and a ,christ without these will never be the object of faith4 ,the antithesis which is so often drawn between ,christ's person and ,christian doctrines is by no means sound1 though the warning not to substitute the latter for the former is only too necessary at all times4 ,the subjective act which lays hold of ,christ is faith1 which in our text has its usual meaning of saving trust1 and is entirely misconceived if it is taken1 as it sometimes is1 to mean the whole body of beliefs which make up the ,christian creed4 ,that which unites us to ,jesus ,christ is an infinitely deeper thing than the acceptance of any creed4 ,a man may believe thirty-nine or thirty-nine hundred articles without having any real or vital connection with the one ,lord4 ,the faith which saves is the outgoing of the whole self towards ,christ4 ,in it the understanding1 the emotions1 and the will are all in action4 ,the ,new ,testament faith is absolutely identical with the ,old ,testament trust1 and the prophet who exhorted ,israel1 ',trust ye in the ,lord for ever1 for in the ,lord ,jehovah is everlasting strength1' was preaching the very same message as the ,apostle who cried1 ',believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ and thou shalt be saved4' ,that 'saving faith' is the same in all ,christians1 however different they may be in condition and character and general outlook and opinion upon many points of ,christian knowledge4 ,the things on which they differ are on the surface1 and sometimes by reason of their divergencies ,christians stand like frowning cliffs that look threateningly at one another across a narrow gorge1 but deep below ground they are continuous and the rock is unbroken4 ,in many and melancholy ways 'the unity of faith and knowledge' is contradicted in the existing organisations of the ,church1 and we are tempted to postpone its coming to the day of the new ,jerusalem which is compact together2 but the clarion note of this great text may encourage us to hope1 and to labour in our measure for the fulfilment of the hope1 that all1 who by one faith have been joined to the one ,lord1 may yet know themselves to be one in ,him1 and present to the world the fair picture of one body animated by one spirit4 ,,iii4 ,one baptism4 ,obviously in ,paul's mind baptism here means1 not the baptism with the ,spirit1 but the rite1 one and the same for all1 by which believers in ,christ enter into the fellowship of the ,church4 ,it was then a perpetual rite administered as a matter of course to all who professed to have been joined to the one ,lord by their one faith4 ,the sequence in the three clauses of our text is perfectly clear4 ,baptism is the expression and consequence of the faith which precedes it4 ,surely there is here a most distinct implication that it is a declaration of personal faith4 ,without enlarging on the subject1 ,i venture to think that the order of the ,apostle's thought negatives other conceptions of ,christian baptism1 such as1 that it is a communication of ,grace1 or an expression of the feelings and desires of parents1 or a declaration of some truth about redeemed humanity4 ,paul's order is ,christ's when ,he said1 ',he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved4' ,it is very remarkable and instructive that whilst thus our text shows that baptism was a matter of course and universally practised1 the references to it in the epistles are so few4 ,the inference is not that it was neglected1 but that1 as being a rite1 it could not be as important as were ,christian truths and ,christian character4 ,may we1 in a word1 suggest the contrast between the frequency and tone of the ,apostolic references to baptism and those which we find in many quarters to-day8 ,it is remarkable that here the ,lord's ,supper is not mentioned1 and all the more so1 that in ,paul's letter to the ,corinthians1 the passage which we have already quoted does put emphasis upon it as a token of ,christian unity4 ,the explanation of the omission may be found in the fact that1 in these early days1 the ,lord's ,supper was not a separate rite1 but was combined with ordinary meals1 or perhaps more probably in the consideration that baptism was what the ,lord's ,supper was not--an initial rite which incorporated the possessors of one faith into the one body4 ',,the ,,measure ,,of ,,grace' ',but unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of ,christ4'--,eph4 iv4 #g 7,r4,v474 ,the ,apostle here makes a swift transition from the thought of the unity of the ,church to the variety of gifts to the individual4 ',each' is contrasted with 'all4' ,the ,father who stands in so blessed and gracious a relationship to the united whole also sustains an equally gracious and blessed relationship to each individual in that whole4 ,it is because each receives ,his individual gift that ,god works in all4 ,the ,christian community is the perfection of individualism and of collectivism1 and this rich variety of the gifts of grace is here urged as a reason additional to the unity of the one body1 for the exhortation to the endeavour to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace4 ,i4 ,each ,christian soul receives grace through ,christ4 ,the more accurate rendering of the ,revised ,version reads 'the grace1' and the definite article points to it as a definite and familiar fact in the ,ephesian believers to which the ,apostle could point with the certainty that their own consciousness would confirm his statement4 ,the wording of the ,greek further implies that the grace was given at a definite point in the past1 which is most naturally taken to have been the moment in which each believer laid hold on ,jesus by faith4 ,it is further to be noted that the content of the gift is the grace itself and not the graces which are its product and manifestation in the ,christian life4 ,and this distinction1 which is in accordance with ,paul's habitual teaching1 leads us to the conclusion1 that the essential character of the grace given through the act of our individual faith is that of a new vital force1 flowing into and transforming the individual life4 ,from that unspeakable gift which ,paul supposed to be verifiable by the individual experience of every ,christian1 there would follow the graces of ,christian character in which would be included the deepening and purifying of all the natural capacities of the individual self1 and the casting out from thence of all that was contrary to the transforming power of the new life4 ,such an utterance as this1 so quietly and confidently taking for granted that the experience of every believer verifies it in his own case1 may well drive us all to look more earnestly into our own hearts1 to see whether in them are any traces of a similar experience4 ,if it be true1 that to every one of us is given the grace1 how comes it that so many of us dare not profess to have any vivid remembrance of possessing it1 of having possessed it1 or of any clear consciousness of possessing it now8 ,there may be gifts bestowed upon unconscious receivers1 but surely this is not one of these4 ,if we do not know that we have it1 it must at least remain very questionable whether we do have it at all1 and very certain that we have it in scant and shrivelled fashion4 ,the universality of the gift was a startling thing in a world which1 as far as cultivated heathenism was concerned1 might rightly be called aristocratic1 and by the side of a religion of privilege into which ,judaism had degenerated4 ,the supercilious sarcasm in the lips of ,pharisees1 ',this people which knoweth not the law are cursed1' but too truly expresses the gulf between the ,rabbis and the 'folk of the earth' as the masses were commonly and contemptuously designated by the former4 ,into the midst of a society in which such distinctions prevailed1 the proclamation that the greatest gift was bestowed upon all must have come with revolutionary force1 and been hailed as emancipation4 ,peter had penetrated to grasp the full meaning and wondrous novelty of that universality1 when on ,pentecost he pointed to 'that which had been spoken by the prophet ,joel' as fulfilled on that day1 ',i will pour forth of my ,spirit upon all flesh 444 ,yea1 and on my servants and handmaidens 444 will ,i pour forth of my ,spirit4' ,the rushing1 mighty wind of that day soon dropped4 ,the fiery tongues ceased to quiver on the disciples' heads1 and the many voices that spoke were silenced1 but the gift was permanent1 and is poured out now as it was then1 and now1 as then1 it is true that the whole company of believers receive the ,spirit1 though alas6 by their own faults it is not true that 'they are all filled with the ,holy ,spirit4' ,christ is the giver4 ,he has 'power over the ,spirit of ,holiness' and as the ,evangelist has said in his comment on our ,lord's great words1 when ',he stood and cried1' ',if any man thirst let him come unto ,me and drink1' ',this spake ,he of the ,spirit which they that believed on ,him were to receive4' ,we cannot pierce into the depth of the mutual relations of the three divine ,persons mentioned in the context1 but we can discern that ,christ is for us the self-revealing activity of the divine nature1 the right arm of the ,father1 or1 to use another metaphor1 the channel through which the else 'closed sea' of ,god flows into the world of creatures4 ,through that channel is poured into believing hearts the river of the water of life1 which proceeds out of the one 'throne of ,god and of the ,lamb4' ,this gift of the ,spirit of ,holiness to all believers is the deepest and truest conception of ,christ's gifts to ,his ,church4 ,his past work of sacrifice for the sins of the world was finished1 as with a parting cry ,he proclaimed on ,calvary1 and the power of that sacrifice will never be exhausted1 but the taking away of the sins of the world is but the initial stage of the work of ,christ1 and its further stages are carried on through all the ages4 ,he 'worketh hitherto1' and ,his present work1 in so far as believers are concerned1 is not only the forthputting of divine energy in regard to outward circumstances1 but the imparting to them of the ,divine ,spirit to be the very life of their lives and the ,lord of their spirits4 ,christian people are but too apt to give undue prominence to what ,christ did for them when ,he died1 and to lose sight1 in the overwhelming lustre of ,his unspeakable sacrifice1 of what ,he is doing for them whilst ,he lives4 ,it would tend to restore the proportions of ,christian truth and to touch our hearts into a deeper and more continuous love to ,him1 if we more habitually thought of ,him1 not only as the ,christ who died1 but also as the ,christ who rather is risen again1 who is even at the right hand of ,god1 who also maketh intercession for us4 ,,ii4 ,the gift of this grace is in itself unlimited4 ,our text speaks of it as being according to the measure of the gift of ,christ1 and that phrase may either mean the gift which ,christ receives or that which ,he gives4 ,probably the latter is the ,apostle's meaning here1 as seems to be indicated by the following words that 'when ,he ascended on high1 ,he gave gifts unto men1' but what ,he gives is what ,he possesses1 and the ,apostle goes on to point out that the ultimate issue of ,his giving to the ,church is that it attains to the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ4 ,it may cast some light on this point if we note the remarkable variety of expressions in this epistle for the norm or standard or limit of the gift4 ,in one place the ,apostle speaks of the gift bestowed upon believers as being according to the riches of the ,father's glory2 then it has no limit short of a participation in the divine fulness4 ,god's glory is the transcendent lustre of ,his own infinite character in its self-manifestation4 ,the ,apostle labours to flash through the dim medium of words the glory of that light by blending incongruously1 but effectively1 the other metaphor of riches1 and the two together suggest a wonderful1 though vague thought of the infinite wealth and the exhaustless brightness which we call ,abba1 ,father4 ,the humblest child may lift longing and confident eyes and believe that he has received in very deed1 through his faith in ,jesus ,christ1 a gift which will increase in riches and in light until it makes him perfect as his ,father in heaven was perfect4 ,it was an old faith1 based upon insight far inferior to ours1 which proclaimed with triumph over the frowns of death4 ',i shall be satisfied when ,i awake with ,thy likeness4' ,would that those who have so much more for faith to build on1 built as nobly as did these6 ,the gift has in itself no limit short of participation in the likeness of ,christ4 ,in another place in this letter the measure of that might which is the guarantee of ,christian hope is set forth with an abundance of expression which might almost sound as an unmeaning accumulation of synonyms1 as being 'according to the working of the strength of ,his might which ,he wrought in ,christ'2 and what is the range of the working of that might is disclosed to our faith in the ,resurrection of ,jesus1 and the setting of ,him high above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every creature in the present or in any future4 ,paul's continual teaching is that the ,resurrection of ,jesus ,christ was wrought in ,him1 not as a mere human individual but as our head and representative4 ,through ,him we rise1 not only from an ethical death of sin and separation from ,god1 but we shall rise from physical death1 and in ,him the humblest believer possessing a vital union with the ,lord of life has a share in ,his dominion1 and1 as ,his own faithful word has promised1 sits with ,him on ,his throne1 even as ,he is set down with the ,father on ,his throne4 ,that gift has in itself no limit short of its own energy4 ,in another part of this epistle the ,apostle indicates the measure up to which our being filled is to take effect1 as being 'all the fulness of ,god' and in such an overwhelming vision breaks forth into fervent praise of ,him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think1 and then supplies us with a measure which may widen and heighten our petitions and expectations when ,he tells us that we are to find the measure of ,god's working for us1 not in the impoverishment of our present possessions1 but in the exceeding riches of the power that worketh in us--that is to say1 that we are to look for the limit of the limitless gift in nothing short of the boundless energy of ,god ,himself4 ,in the ,epistle to the ,colossians ,paul uses the same illustration with an individual reference to his own labours4 ,in our text he associates with himself all believers1 as being conscious of a power working in them1 which is really the limitless power of ,god1 and heartens them to anticipate that whatever limitless power can effect in them will certainly be theirs4 ,god does not leave off till ,he has done and till ,he can look upon ,his completed work and pronounce it very good4 ,,iii4 ,this boundless grace is in each individual case bounded for the time by our own faith4 ,when ,i lived near the ,new ,forest ,i used to hear much of what they called 'rolling fences4' ,a man received or took a little piece of ,crown land on which he built a house and put round it a fence which could be judiciously and silently pushed outwards by slow degrees and enclosed1 year by year1 a wider area4 ,we ,christian people have1 as it were1 our own small1 cultivated plot on the boundless prairie1 the extent of which we measure for ourselves and which we can enlarge as we will4 ,we have been speaking of the various aspects under which the boundlessness of the gift is presented by the ,apostle1 but there is another 'according to' in ,christ's own words1 ',according to your faith be it unto you1' and that statement lays down the practical limits of our present possession of the boundless gift4 ,we have as much as we desire2 we have as much as we take2 we have as much as we use2 we have as much as we can hold4 ,we are admitted into the treasure house1 and all around us lie ingots of gold and vessels full of coins2 we ourselves determine how much of the treasure should be ours1 and if at any time we feel like empty-handed paupers rather than like possible millionaires1 the reason lies in our own slowness to take that which is freely given to us of ,god4 ,his word to us all is1 ',ye are not straitened in ,me1 ye are straitened in yourselves4' ,it is well for us to keep ever before us the boundlessness of the gift in itself and the working limit in ourselves which conditions our actual possession of the riches4 ,for so1 on the one hand1 should we be encouraged to expect great things from ,god1 and1 on the other hand1 be humbled by the contrast between what we might be and what we are4 ,the river that rushes full of water from the throne can send but a narrow and shallow trickle through the narrow channel choked with much rubbish1 which we provide for it4 ,it is of little avail that the sun in the heavens pours down its flood of light and warmth if the windows of our hearts are by our own faults so darkened that but a stray beam1 shorn of its brightness and warmth1 can find its way into our darkness4 ,the first lesson which we have to draw from the contrast between the boundlessness of the gift and the narrow limits of our individual possession and experience of it1 is the lesson of penitent recognition and confession of the unbelief which lurks in our strongest faith4 ',lord ,i believe1 help ,thou mine unbelief1' should be the prayer of every ,christian soul4 ,not less surely will the recognition that the form and amount of the grace of ,god1 which is possessed by each1 is determined by the faith of each1 lead to tolerance of the diversity of gifts4 ,we have received our own proper gift of ,god1 that which the strength and purity of our faith is capable of possessing1 and it is not for us to carp at our brethren1 either at those in advance of us or at those behind us4 ,we have to remember that as it takes all sorts of people to make up a world1 so it takes all varieties of ,christian character to make a church4 ,it is the body and not the individual members which represents ,christ to the world4 ,the firmest adherence to our own form of the universal gift will combine with the widest toleration of the gifts of others4 ,the white light appears when red1 green1 and blue blend together1 not when each tries to be the other4 ',every man hath his own proper gift of ,god1 one after this fashion and another after that1' and we shall be true to the boundlessness of the gift and to the limitations of our own possession of it1 in the measure of which we combine obedience to the light which shines in us1 with thankful recognition of that which is granted to others4 ,the contrast between these two must be kept vivid if we would live in the freedom of the hope of the glory of ,god1 for in the contrast lies the assurance of endless growth4 ,a process is begun in every ,christian soul of which the only natural end is the full possession of ,god in ,christ1 and that full possession can never be reached by a finite creature1 but that does not mean that the ideal mocks us and retreats before us like the pot of gold1 which the children fancy is at the end of the rainbow4 ,rather it means a continuous succession of our realisations of the ideal in ever fuller and more blessed reality4 ,in this life we may1 on condition of our growth in faith1 grow in the possession of the fulness of ,god1 and yet at each moment that possession will be greater1 though at all moments we may be filled4 ,in the ,christian life to-morrow may be safely reckoned as destined to be 'as yesterday and much more abundant1' and when we pass from the imperfections of the most perfect earthly life1 there will still remain ever before us the glory1 which1 according to the measure of our capacity1 is also in us1 and we shall draw nearer and nearer to it1 and be for ever receiving into our expanding spirits more and more of the infinite fulness of ,god4 ,,the ,,goal ,,of ,,progress ',till we all attain unto the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the ,son of ,god1 unto a full grown man1 unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ4'--,eph4 iv4 #ac 7,r4,v474 ,the thought of the unity of the ,church is much in the ,apostle's mind in this epistle4 ,it is set forth in many places by his two favourite metaphors of the body and the temple1 by the relation of husband and wife and by the family4 ,it is contemplated in its great historical realisation by the union of ,jew and ,gentile in one whole4 ,in the preceding context it is set forth as already existing1 but also as lying far-off in the future4 ,the chapter begins with an earnest exhortation to preserve this unity and with an exhibition of the oneness which does really exist in body1 spirit1 hope1 lord1 faith1 baptism4 ,but the ,apostle swiftly passes to the corresponding thought of diversity4 ,there are varieties in the gifts of the one ,spirit2 whilst each individual in the one whole receives his due portion1 there are broad differences in spiritual gifts4 ,these differences do not break the oneness1 but they may tend to do so2 they are not causes of separation and do not necessarily interfere with unity1 but they may be made so4 ,their existence leaves room for brotherly helpfulness1 and creates a necessity for it4 ,the wiser are to teach2 the more advanced are to lead2 the more largely gifted are to encourage and stimulate the less richly endowed4 ,such outward helps and brotherly impartations of gifts is1 on the one hand1 a result of the one gift to the whole body1 and is on the other a sign of1 because a necessity arising from1 the imperfect degree in which each individual has received of ,christ's fulness2 and these helps of teaching and guidance have for their sole object to make ,christian men able to do without them1 and are1 as the text tells us1 to cease when1 and to last till1 we all attain to the fulness of ,christ4 ,to ,paul1 then1 the manifest unity of the ,church was to be the end of its earthly course1 but it also was real1 though incomplete1 in the present1 and the emphasis of our text is not so much laid on telling us when this oneness was to be manifested as in showing us in what it consists4 ,we have here a threefold expression of the true unity1 as consisting in a oneness of relation to ,christ1 a consequent maturity of manhood and a perfect possession of all which is in ,christ4 ,i4 ,the true unity is oneness of relation to ,christ4 ,the ,revised ,version is here to be preferred1 and its 'attain unto' brings out the idea which the ,authorised ,version fails to express1 that the text is intended to point to the period at which ,christ's provision of helpful gifts to the growing ,church is to cease1 when the individuals composing it have come to their destined unity and maturity in ,him4 ,the three clauses of our text are each introduced by the same preposition1 and there is no reason why in the second and third it should be rendered 'unto' and in the first should be watered down to 'in4' ,there are then two regions in which this unity is to be realised4 ,these are expressed by the great words1 'the unity of the faith and knowledge of the ,son of ,god4' ,these words are open to a misunderstanding1 as if they referred to a unity as between faith and knowledge2 but it is obvious to the slightest reflection that what is meant is the unity of all believers in regard to their faith1 and in regard to their knowledge4 ,it is to be noted that the ,apostle has just said that there is one faith1 now he points to the realisation of that oneness as the very end and goal of all discipline and growth4 ,i suppose that we have to think here of the manifold and sad differences existing in ,christian men1 in regard to the depth and constancy and formative power of their faith4 ,there are some who have it so strong and vigorous that it is a vision rather than a faith1 a trust1 deep and firm and settled1 to which the present is but the fleeting shadow1 and the unseen the eternal and only reality2 but1 alas6 there are others in whom the light of faith burns feebly and flickers4 ,nor are these differences the attributes of different men1 but the same man varies in the power of his faith1 and we all of us know what it is to have it sometimes dominant over our whole selves1 and sometimes weak and crushed under the weight of earthly passions4 ,to-day we may be all flame1 to-morrow all ice4 ,our faith may seem to us to be strong enough to move mountains1 and before an hour is past we may find it1 by experience1 to be less than a grain of mustard seed4 ',action and reaction are always equal and contrary1' and that law is as true in reference to our present spiritual life as it is true in regard to physical objects4 ,we have1 then1 the encouragement of such a word as that of our text for looking forward to and straining towards the reversal of these sad alterations in a fixed and continuous faith which should grasp the whole ,christ and should always hold ,him4 ,there may still be diversities and degrees1 but each should have his measure always full4 ',thy ,sun shall no more go down'2 there will no longer be the contrast between the flashing waters of a flood-tide and the dreary mud-banks disclosed at low water4 ,we shall stand at different points1 but the faces of all will be turned to ,him who is the ,light of all1 and every face will shine with the likeness of ,his1 when we see ,him as ,he is4 ,but our text points us to another form of unity--the oneness of the knowledge of the ,son of ,god4 ,the ,apostle uses an emphatic term which is very familiar on his lips to designate this knowledge4 ,it means not a mere intellectual apprehension1 but a profound and vital acquaintance1 dependent indeed upon faith1 and realised in experience4 ,it is the knowledge for which ,paul was ready to 'count all things but loss' that he might know ,jesus1 and winning which he would count himself to 'have apprehended4' ,the unity in this deep and blessed knowledge has nothing to do with identity of opinion on the points which have separated ,christians4 ,it is not to be sought by outward unanimity1 nor by aggregation in external communities4 ,the ,apostle's great thought is made small and the truth of it is falsified when it is over-hastily embodied in institutions4 ,it has been sought in a uniformity which resembles unity as much as a bundle of faggots1 all cut to the same length1 and tied together with a rope1 resemble the tree from which they were chopped1 waving in the wind and living one life to the tips of its furthest branches4 ,men have made out of the ,apostle's divine vision of a unity in the faith and knowledge of the ,son of ,god 'a staunch and solid piece of framework as any ,january could freeze together1' and few things have stood more in the way of the realisation of his glowing anticipations than the formation of the great ,corporation1 imposing from its bulk and antiquity1 to part from which was branded as breaking the unity of the spirit4 ,paul gives no clear definition here of the time when the one body of ,christian believers should have attained to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the ,son of ,god1 and the question may not have presented itself to him4 ,it may appear that in view of the immediate context he regards the goal as one to be reached in our present life1 or it may be that he is thinking rather of the ,future1 when the ,master 'should bring together every joint and member and mould them into an immortal feature of loveliness and perfection4' ,but the time at which this great ideal should be attained is altogether apart from the obligation pressing upon us all1 at all times1 to work towards it4 ,whensoever it is reached it will only be by our drawing 'nearer1 day by day1 each to his brethren1 all to ,god1' or rather1 each to ,god and so all to his brethren4 ,take twenty points in a great circle and let each be advanced by one half of its distance to the centre1 how much nearer will each be to each8 ,christ is our unity1 not dogmas1 not polities1 not rituals3 our oneness is a oneness of life4 ,we need for our centre no tower with a top reaching to heaven1 we have a living ,lord who is with us1 and in ,him1 we being many1 are one4 ,,ii4 ,oneness in faith and knowledge knits all into a 'perfect man4' ',perfect1' the ,apostle here uses in opposition to the immediately following expression in the next verse1 of 'children4' ,it therefore means not so much moral perfection as maturity or fulness of growth4 ,so long as we fall short of the state of unity we are in the stage of immaturity4 ,when we come to be one in faith and knowledge we have reached full-grown manhood4 ,the existence of differences belongs to the infancy and boyhood of the ,church1 and as we grow one we are putting away childish things4 ,what a contrast there is between ,paul's vision here and the tendency which has been too common among ,christians to magnify their differences1 and to regard their obstinate adherence to these as being 'steadfastness in the faith'6 ,how different would be the relations between the various communities into which the one body has been severed1 if they all fully believed that their respective shibboleths were signs that they had not yet attained1 neither were already perfect6 ,when we began to be ashamed of these instead of glorying in them we should be beginning to grow into the maturity of our ,christian life4 ,but the ,apostle speaks of 'a perfect man' in the singular and not of 'men' in the plural1 as he has already described the result of the union of ,jew and ,gentile as being the making 'of twain one new man4' ,this remarkable expression sets forth1 in the strongest terms1 the vital unity which connects all members of the one body so closely that there is but one life in them all4 ,there are many members1 but one body4 ,their functions differ1 but the life in them all is identical4 ,the eye cannot say to the hand1 ',i have no need of thee1' nor again the head to the feet1 ',i have no need of you4' ,each is necessary to the completeness of the whole1 and all are necessary to make up the one body of ,christ4 ,it is ,his life which manifests itself in every member and which gives clearness of vision to the eye1 strength and deftness to the hand4 ,he needs us all for ,his work on the world and for ,his revelation to the world of the fulness of ,his life4 ,in some parts of ,england there are bell-ringers who stand at a table on which are set bells1 each tuned to one note1 and they can perform most elaborate pieces of music by swiftly catching up and sounding each of these in the right place4 ,all ,christian souls are needed for the ,master's hand to bring out the note of each in its place4 ,in the lowest forms of life all vital functions are performed by one simple sac1 and the higher the creature is in the scale the more are its organs differentiated4 ,in the highest form of all1 'as the body is one1 and hath many members1 and all the members of the body1 being many1 are one body1 so also is ,christ4' ,,iii4 ,this perfect manhood is the possession of all who are in ,christ4 ,the fulness of ,christ is the fulness which belongs to ,him1 or that of which ,he is full4 ,all which ,he is and has is to be poured into ,his servants1 and when all this is communicated to them the goal will be reached4 ,we shall be full-grown men1 and more wonderful still1 we all shall make one perfect man1 and individual completenesses will blend into that which is more complete than any of these1 the one body1 which corresponds to the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ4 ,this is the goal of humanity in which1 and in which alone1 the dreams of thinkers about perfectibility will become facts1 and the longings that are deeply rooted in every soul will find their fulfilment4 ,by our personal union with ,jesus ,christ through faith1 our individual perfection1 both in the sense of maturity and in that of the realisation of ideal manhood1 is assured1 and in ,him the race1 as well as the individual1 is redeemed1 and will one day be glorified4 ,the ,utopias of many thinkers are but partial and distorted copies of the kingdom of ,christ4 ,the reality which ,he brings and imparts is greater than all these1 and when the ,new ,jerusalem comes down out of heaven1 and is planted on the common earth1 it will outvie in lustre and outlast in permanence all forms of human association4 ,the city of wisdom which was ,athens1 the city of power which was ,rome1 the city of commerce which is ,london1 the city of pleasure which is ,paris1 'pale their ineffectual fires' before the city in the light whereof the nations should walk4 ,the beginning of the process1 of which the end is this inconceivable participation in the glory of ,jesus1 is simple trust in ,him4 ',he that is joined to the ,lord is one spirit1' and he who trusts in ,him1 loves ,him1 and obeys ,him1 is joined to ,him1 and thereby is started on a course which never halts nor stays so long as the faith which started him abides1 till he 'grows up into ,him in all things which is the head1 even ,christ4' ,the experience of the ,christian life as ,god means it to be1 and by the communication of ,his grace makes it possible for it to become1 is like that of men embarked on some sun-lit ocean1 sailing past shining headlands1 and ever onwards1 over the boundless blue1 beneath a calm sky and happy stars4 ,the blissful voyagers are in full possession at every moment of all which they need and of all of ,his fulness which they can contain1 but the full possession at every moment increases as they1 by it1 become capable of fuller possession4 ,increasing capacity brings with it increasing participation in the boundless fulness of ,him who filleth all in all4 ,,christ ,,our ,,lesson ,,and ,,our ,,teacher ',but ye have not so learned ,christ2 if so be that ye have heard ,him1 and have been taught in ,him4'--,eph4 iv4 #bj1 #ba4 ,the ,apostle has been describing in very severe terms the godlessness and corruption of heathenism4 ,he reckons on the assent of the ,ephesian ,christians when he paints the society in which they lived as alienated from ,god1 insensible to the restraints of conscience1 and foul with all uncleanness4 ,that was a picture of heathenism drawn from the life and submitted to the judgment of those who knew the original only too well4 ,it has been reserved for modern eulogists to regard such statements as exaggerations4 ,those who knew heathenism from the inside knew that they were sober truth4 ,the colonnades of the stately temple of ,ephesus stank with proofs of their correctness4 ,out of that mass of moral putridity these ,ephesian ,christians had been dragged4 ,but its effects still lingered in them1 and it was all about them with its pestilential miasma4 ,so the first thing that they needed was to be guarded against it4 ,the ,apostle1 in the subsequent context1 with great earnestness gives a series of moral injunctions of the most elementary kind4 ,their very simplicity is eloquent4 ,what sort of people must they have formerly been who needed to be bade not to steal and not to lie8 ,but before he comes to the specific duties1 he lays down the broad general principle of which all these are to be but manifestations--viz4 that they and we need1 as the foundation of all noble conduct and of all theoretical ethics1 the suppression and crucifixion of the old self and the investiture with a new self4 ,and this double necessity1 says the ,apostle in my text1 is the plain teaching of ,jesus ,christ to all ,his disciples4 ,now the words which ,i have selected as my text are but a fragment of a closely concatenated whole1 but ,i may deal with them separately at this time4 ,they are very remarkable4 ,they lay1 as it seems to me1 the basis for all ,christian conduct2 and they teach us how there is no real knowledge of ,jesus ,christ which does not effloresce into the practice of these virtues and graces which the ,apostle goes on to describe4 ,i4 ,first1 ,christ our ,lesson and ,christ our ,teacher4 ,mark the singular expression with which this text begins4 ',ye have not so learned ,christ4' ,now1 we generally talk about learning a subject1 a language1 a science1 or an art2 but we do not talk about learning people4 ,but ,paul says we are ,christ's disciples1 not only in the sense that we learn of ,him as ,teacher--which follows in the next clause--but that we learn ,him as the theme of our study4 ,that is to say1 the relation of the person of ,jesus ,christ to all that ,he has to teach and reveal to the world is altogether different from that of all other teachers of all sorts of truth1 to the truth which they proclaim4 ,you can accept the truths and dismiss into oblivion the men from whom you got them4 ,but you cannot reject ,christ and take ,christianity4 ,the two are inseparably united4 ,for1 in regard to all spiritual and to all moral truth--truth about conduct and character--,jesus ,christ is what ,he teaches4 ,so we may say1 turning well-known words of a poet in another direction3 ',my lesson is in ,thee4' ,but that is not all4 ,my text goes on to speak about another thing3 ',ye have learned ,christ if so be that ye have heard ,him and been taught4' ,now that ',if so be' is not the 'if' of uncertainty or doubt1 but it is equivalent to 'if1 as ,i know to be the case1' or 'since ye have heard ,him4' ,away there in ,ephesus1 years and years after the crucifixion1 these people who had never seen ,christ in the flesh1 nor heard a word from the lips 'into which grace was poured1' are yet addressed by the ,apostle as those who had listened to ,him and heard ,him speak4 ,they had 'heard ,him and been taught4' ,so ,he was ,lesson and ,he was ,teacher4 ,and that is as true about us as it was about them4 ,let me say only a word or two about each of these two thoughts4 ,i have already suggested that the underlying truth which warrants the first of them is that ,jesus ,christ's relation to ,his message and revelation is altogether different from that of other teachers to what they have to communicate to the world4 ,of course we all know that1 in regard to the wider sphere of religious and ,christian truth1 it is not only what ,christ said1 but even more what ,he did and was1 that makes ,his revelation of the ,father's heart4 ,precious as are the words which drop from ,his lips1 which are spirit and are life1 ,his life itself is more than all ,his teachings2 and it is when we learn1 not from ,him1 but when we learn ,him1 that we see the ,father4 ,but my text has solely reference to conduct1 and in that aspect it just implies this thought1 that the sum of all duty1 the height of all moral perfectness1 the realised ideal of humanity1 is in ,christ1 and that the true way to know what a man or a nation ought to do is to study ,him4 ,how strange it is1 when one comes to consider it1 that the impression of absolute perfection1 free from all limitations of race or country or epoch or individual character--and yet not a vague abstraction but a true living ,person--has been printed upon the minds and hearts of the world by these four little pamphlets which we call gospels6 ,i do not think that there is anything in the whole history of literature to compare with the impression of veracity and historical reality and individual personality which is made by these fragmentary narratives4 ,and although it has nothing to do with my present subject1 ,i may just say in a sentence that it seems to me that the character of ,jesus ,christ as painted in the ,gospels1 in its incomparable vividness and vitality1 is one of the strongest evidences for the simple faithfulness as biographies1 of these books4 ,nothing else but the ,man seen could have resulted in such compositions4 ,but apart altogether from that1 how blessed it is that we have not to enter upon any lengthened investigations1 far beyond the power of average minds1 in order to get hold of the fundamental laws of moral conduct6 ,how blessed it is that all the harshness of ',obey this law or die' is by ,his life changed into ',look at ,me1 and1 for ,my love's sake1 study ,me and be like ,me6' ,this is the blessed peculiarity which gives all its power and distinctive characteristic to the morality of the ,gospel1 that law is changed from a statuesque white ideal1 pure as marble and cold and lifeless as it1 into a living ,person with a throbbing heart of love1 and an outstretched hand of help1 whose word is1 ',if ye love ,me1 keep ,my commandments1 and be like ,me4' ,christian men and women6 study ,jesus ,christ4 ,that is the ,alpha and ,omega of all right knowledge of duty and of all right practice of it4 ,learn ,him1 ,his self-suppression1 ,his self-command1 ,his untroubled calmness1 ,his immovable patience1 ,his continual gentleness1 ,his constant reference of all things to the ,father's will4 ,study these4 ,to imitate ,him is blessedness2 to resemble ,him is perfection4 ',ye have learned ,christ' if you are ,christians at all4 ,you have at least begun the alphabet1 but oh6 in ,him 'are hid all the treasures1' not only 'of wisdom and knowledge1' but of 'whatsoever things are lovely and of good report'2 and 'if there is any virtue1 and if there is any praise1' we shall find them in ,him who is our ,lesson1 our perfect ,lesson4 ,but that is not all4 ,lessons are very well1 but--dear me6--the world wants something besides lessons4 ,it has had plenty of teaching4 ,the trouble is not that we are not instructed1 but that we do not take the lessons that are laid before us4 ,and so my text suggests another thing besides the wholly inadequate conception1 as it would be if it stood alone1 of a mere exhibition of what we ought to be4 ',if so be that ye have heard ,him4' ,as ,i said1 these ,ephesian ,christians1 far away in ,asia ,minor1 with seas and years between them and the plains of ,galilee and the ,cross of ,calvary1 are yet regarded by the ,apostle as having listened to ,jesus ,christ4 ,we1 far away down the ages1 and in another corner of the world1 as really1 without metaphor1 in plain fact1 may have ,jesus ,christ speaking to us1 and may hear ,his voice4 ,these ,ephesians had heard ,him1 not only because they had heard about ,him1 nor because they had heard ,him speaking through ,his servant ,paul and others1 but because1 as ,paul believed1 that ,lord1 who had spoken with human lips words which it was possible for a man to utter when ,he was here on earth1 when caught up into the third heaven was still speaking to men1 even according to ,his own promise1 which ,he gave at the very close of ,his career1 ',i have declared ,thy name unto ,my brethren1 and will declare it4' ,so1 though ',he began both to do and to teach' before ,he was taken up1 after ,his ,ascension ,he continues both the doing and the tuition4 ,and1 in verity1 we all may hear ,his voice speaking in the depths of our hearts2 speaking through the renewed conscience2 speaking by that ,spirit who will guide us into all the truth that we need2 speaking through the ages to all who will listen to ,his voice4 ,the conception of ,christ as a ,teacher1 which is held by many who deny ,his redeeming work and dismiss as incredible ,his divinity1 seems to me altogether inadequate1 unless it be supplemented by the belief that ,he now has and exercises the power of communicating wisdom and knowledge and warning and stimulus to waiting hearts2 and that when we hear within the depth of our souls the voice saying to us1 ',this is the way1 walk ye in it1' or saying to us1 ',pass not by1 enter not into it1' if we have waited for ,him1 and studied ,his example and character1 and sought1 not to please ourselves1 but to be led by ,his wisdom1 we may be sure that it is ,christ ,himself who speaks4 ,reverence the inward monitor1 and when ,he within thy heart1 by ,his ,spirit1 calls thee1 do thou answer1 ',speak1 ,lord6 ,thy servant heareth4' ',ye have learned ,christ if so be that ye have hearkened to ,him4' ,,ii4 ,secondly1 mark the condition of learning the ,lesson and hearing the ,teacher4 ,our ,authorised ,version1 in accordance with its very frequent practice1 has evacuated the last words of my text of their true force by the substitution of the more intelligible 'by ,him' for what the ,apostle writes--'in ,him4' ,the true rendering gives us the condition on which we learn our ,lesson and hear our ,teacher4 ',in ,him1' is no mere surplusage1 and is not to be weakened down1 as this translation of ours does1 into a mere 'by ,him' but it declares that1 unless we keep ourselves in union with ,jesus ,christ1 ,his voice will not be heard in our hearts1 and the lesson will pass unlearned4 ,you know1 dear brother1 how emphatically and continually in the ,new ,testament this doctrine of the dwelling of the believing soul in ,christ1 and the reciprocal dwelling of ,christ in the believing soul1 is insisted upon4 ,and ,i1 for my part1 believe that one great cause of the unsatisfactory condition of the average ,christianity of this day is the slurring over and minimising of these twin great and solemn truths4 ,i would fain bring you back to the ,master's words1 as declaring the deepest truths in relation to the connection between the believing soul and the ,christ in whom it believes3--',abide in ,me1 and ,i in you4' ,i wish you would go home and take this ,epistle to the ,ephesians and read it over1 putting a pencil mark below each place in which occurs the words 'in ,christ ,jesus4' ,i think you would learn something if you would do it4 ,but all that ,i have to say at present is that1 if we would keep ourselves1 by faith1 by love1 by meditation1 by aspiration1 by the submission of the will1 and by practical obedience1 in ,jesus ,christ1 enclosed in ,him as it were--then1 and then only1 should we learn ,his lesson1 and then1 and then only1 should we hear ,him speak4 ,why6 if you never think about ,him1 how can you learn ,him8 ,if you seldom1 or sleepily1 take up your ,bibles and read the ,gospels1 of what good is ,his example to you8 ,if you wander away into all manner of regions of thought and enjoyment instead of keeping near to ,him1 how can you expect that ,he will communicate ,himself to you8 ,if we keep ourselves in touch with that ,lord1 if we bring all our actions to ,him1 and measure our conduct by ,his pattern1 then we shall learn ,his lesson4 ,what does a student in a school of design do8 ,he puts his feeble copy of some great picture beside the original1 and compares it touch for touch1 line for line1 shade for shade1 and so corrects its errors4 ,take your lives to the ,exemplar in that fashion1 and go over them bit by bit4 ,is this like ,jesus ,christ2 is that what ,he would have done8 ,then 'in ,him1' thus in contact with ,him1 thus correcting our daubs by the perfect picture1 we shall learn our lesson and listen to our ,teacher4 ,still your passions1 muzzle your inclinations1 clap a bridle on your will1 and1 as some tumultuous crowd would be hushed into silence that they might listen to the king speaking to them1 make a great silence in your hearts1 and you will 'hear ,him' and be taught 'in ,him'4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 the test and result of having learned the ,lesson and listened to the ,teacher is unlikeness to surrounding corruption4 ',ye have not so learned ,christ4' ,of course the hideous immoralities of ,ephesus are largely1 but by no means altogether1 gone from ,manchester4 ,of course1 nineteen centuries of ,christianity have to a very large extent changed the tone of society and influenced the moral judgments and practices even of persons who are not ,christians4 ,but there still remains a world1 and there still remains unfilled up the gulf between the worldly and the godly life4 ,and ,i believe it is just as needful as ever it was1 though in different ways1 for ,christians to exhibit unlikeness to the world4 ',not so1' must be our motto2 or1 as the ,jewish patriot said1 ',so did not ,i1 because of the fear of the ,lord4' ,i do not wish you to make yourselves singular2 ,i do not wish you to wear conventional badges of unlikeness to certain selected evil habits4 ,a ,christian man's unlikeness to the world consists a great deal more in doing or being what it does not do and is not than in not doing or being what it does and is4 ,it is easy to abstain from conventional things2 it is a great deal harder to put in practice the unworldly virtues of the ,christian character4 ,there are wide regions of life in which all men must act alike1 be they saints or sinners1 be they believers1 ,agnostics1 ,mohammedans1 ,turks1 ,jews1 or anything else4 ,there are two ways of doing the same thing4 ,if two women were sitting at a grindstone1 one of them a ,christian and the other not1 the one that pushed her handle half round the circle for ,christ's sake would do it in a different fashion from the other one who took it from her hand and brought it round to the other side of the stone1 and did it without reference to ,god4 ,brethren1 be sure of this1 that if you and ,i do not find in ourselves the impulse to abstain from coarse enjoyments1 to put our feet upon passions and desires1 appetites and aims1 which godless men recognise and obey without qualm or restraint1 we need to ask ourselves3 ',in what sense am ,i a ,christian1 or in what sense have ,i heard ,christ8' ,it is a poor affair to fling away our faithful protest against the world's evils for the sake of receiving the world's smile4 ,modern ,christianity is often not vital enough to be hated by a godless world2 and it is not hated because it only deserves to be scorned4 ,keep near ,jesus ,christ1 live in the light of ,his face1 drink in the inspiration and instruction of ,his example1 and the unlikeness will come1 and no mistake4 ,dwell near ,him1 keep in ,him1 and the likeness will come1 as it always comes to lovers1 who grow to resemble that or those whom they love4 ',it is enough for the disciple to be as his ,teacher1 and for the slave to be like his ,lord4' ,a ,,dark ,,picture ,,and ,a ,,bright ,,hope ',that ye put off1 concerning the former conversation1 the old man1 which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts4'--,eph4 iv4 #bb4 ,if a doctor knows that he can cure a disease he can afford to give full weight to its gravest symptoms4 ,if he knows he cannot he is sorely tempted to say it is of slight importance1 and1 though it cannot be cured1 can be endured without much discomfort4 ,and so the ,scripture teachings about man's real moral condition are characterised by two peculiarities which1 at first sight1 seem somewhat opposed1 but are really harmonious and closely connected4 ,there is no book and no system in the whole world that takes such a dark view of what you and ,i are2 there is none animated with so bright and confident a hope of what you and ,i may become4 ,and1 on the other hand1 the common run of thought amongst men minimises the fact of sin1 but when you say1 ',well1 be it big or little1 can ,i get rid of it anyhow8' there is no answer to give that is worth listening to4 ,christ alone can venture to tell men what they are1 because ,christ alone can radically change their whole nature and being4 ,there are certain diseases of which a constant symptom is unconsciousness that there is anything the matter4 ,a deep-seated wound does not hurt much4 ,the question is not whether ,christian thoughts about a man's condition are gloomy or not1 but whether they are true4 ,as to their being gloomy1 it seems to me that the people who complain of our doctrine of human nature1 as giving a melancholy view of men1 do really take a far more melancholy one4 ,we believe in a fall1 and we believe in a possible and actual restoration4 ,the man to whom evil is not an intrusive usurper can have no confidence that it will ever be expelled4 ,which is the gloomy system--that which paints in undisguised blackness the facts of life1 and over against their blackest darkness1 the radiant light of a great hope shining bright and glorious1 or one that paints humanity in a uniform monotone of indistinguishable grey involving the past1 the present1 and the future--which1 believing in no disease1 hopes for no cure8 ,my text1 taken in conjunction with the grand words which follow1 about ',the new man1 which1 after ,god1 is created in righteousness and true holiness1' brings before us some very solemn views 7which the men that want them most realise the least7 with regard to what we are1 what we ought to be and cannot be1 and what1 by ,god's help1 we may become4 ,the old man is 'corrupt according to the deceitful lusts1' says ,paul4 ,there are a set of characteristics1 then1 of the universal sinful human self4 ,then there comes a hopeless commandment--a mockery--if we are to stop with it1 'put it off4' ,and then there dawns on us the blessed hope and possibility of the fulfilment of the injunction1 when we learn that 'the truth in ,jesus' is1 that we put off the old man with his deeds4 ,such is a general outline of the few thoughts ,i have to suggest to you4 ,i4 ,i wish to fix1 first of all1 upon the very significant1 though brief1 outline sketch of the facts of universal sinful human nature which the ,apostle gives here4 ,these are three1 upon which ,i dilate for a moment or two4 ',the old man' is a ,pauline expression1 about which ,i need only say here that we may take it as meaning that form of character and life which is common to us all1 apart from the great change operated through faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is universal1 it is sinful4 ,there is a very remarkable contrast1 which you will notice1 between the verse upon which ,i am now commenting and the following one4 ,the old man is set over against the new4 ,one is created1 the other is corrupted1 as the word might be properly rendered4 ,the one is created after ,god1 the other is rotting to pieces under the influence of its lusts4 ,the one consists of righteousness and holiness1 which have their root in truth2 the other is under the dominion of passions and desires1 which1 in themselves evil1 are the instruments of and are characterised by deceit4 ,the first of the characteristics1 then1 of this sinful self1 to which ,i wish to point for a moment is1 that every ,christless life1 whatsoever the superficial differences in it1 is really a life shaped according to and under the influence of passionate desires4 ,you see ,i venture to alter one word of my text1 and that for this simple reason2 the word 'lusts' has1 in modern ,english1 assumed a very much narrower signification than either that of the original has1 or than itself had in ,english when this translation was made4 ,it is a very remarkable testimony1 by the by1 to the weak point in the bulk of men--to the side of their nature which is most exposed to assaults--that this word1 which originally meant strong desire of any kind1 should1 by the observation of the desires that are strongest in the mass of people1 have come to be restricted and confined to the one specific meaning of strong animal1 fleshly1 sensuous desires4 ,it may point a lesson to some of my congregation1 and especially to the younger portion of the men in it4 ,remember1 my brother1 that the part of your nature which is closest to the material is likewise closest to the animal1 and is least under dominion 7without a strong and constant effort7 of the power which will save the flesh from corruption1 and make the material the vehicle of the spiritual and divine4 ,many a young man comes into ,manchester with the atmosphere of a mother's prayers and a father's teaching round about him2 with holy thoughts and good resolutions beginning to sway his heart and spirit2 and flaunting profligacy and seducing tongues beside him in the counting-house1 in the warehouse1 and at the shop counter1 lead him away into excesses that banish all these1 and1 after a year or two of riot and sowing to the flesh1 he 'of the flesh reaps corruption1' and that very literally--in sunken eye1 and trembling hand1 and hacking cough1 and a grave opened for him before his time4 ,ah1 my dear young friends6 'they promise them liberty4' ,it is a fine thing to get out of your father's house1 and away from the restrictions of the society where you are known1 and loving eyes--or unloving ones--are watching you4 ,it is a fine thing to get into the freedom and irresponsibility of a big city6 ',they promise them liberty1' and 'they themselves become the bond slaves of corruption4' ,but1 then1 that is only the grossest and the lowest form of the truth that is here4 ,paul's indictment against us is not anything so exaggerated and extreme as that the animal nature predominates in all who are not ,christ's4 ,that is not true1 and is not what my text says4 ,but what it says is just this3 that1 given the immense varieties of tastes and likings and desires which men have1 the point and characteristic feature of every godless life is that1 be these what they may1 they become the dominant power in that life4 ,paul does not1 of course1 deny that the sway and tyranny of such lusts and desires are sometimes broken by remonstrances of conscience2 sometimes suppressed by considerations of prudence2 sometimes by habit1 by business1 by circumstances that force people into channels into which they would not naturally let their lives run4 ,he does not deny that often and often in such a life there will be a dim desire for something better--that high above the black and tumbling ocean of that life of corruption and disorder1 there lies a calm heaven with great stars of duty shining in it4 ,he does not deny that men are a law to themselves1 as well as a bundle of desires which they obey2 but what he charges upon us1 and what ,i venture to bring as an indictment against you1 and myself too1 is this3 that apart from ,christ it is not conscience that rules our lives2 that apart from ,christ it is not sense of duty that is strongest2 that apart from ,christ the real directing impulse to which the inward proclivities1 if not the outward activities1 do yield in the main and on the whole1 is1 as this text says1 the things that we like1 the passionate desires of nature1 the sensuous and godless heart4 ,and you say1 ',well1 if it is so1 what harm is it8 ,did not ,god make me with these desires1 and am not ,i meant to gratify them8' ,yes1 certainly4 ,the harm of it is1 first of all1 this1 that it is an inversion of the true order4 ,the passionate desires about which ,i am speaking1 be they for money1 be they for fame1 or be they for any other of the gilded baits of worldly joys--these passionate dislikes and likings1 as well as the purely animal ones--the longing for food1 for drink1 for any other physical gratification--these were never meant to be men's guides4 ,they are meant to be impulses4 ,they have motive power1 but no directing power4 ,do you start engines out of a railway station without drivers or rails to run upon8 ,it would be as reasonable as that course of life which men pursue who say1 ',thus ,i wish2 thus ,i command2 let my desire stand in the place of other argumentation and reason4' ,they take that part of their nature that is meant to be under the guidance of reason and conscience looking up to ,god1 and put it in the supreme place1 and so1 setting a beggar on horseback1 ride where we know such equestrians are said in the end to go6 ,the desires are meant to be impelling powers4 ,it is absurdity and the destruction of true manhood to make them1 as we so often do1 directing powers1 and to put the reins into their hand4 ,they are the wind1 not the helm2 the steam1 not the driver4 ,let us keep things in their right places4 ,remember that the constitution of human nature1 as ,god has meant it1 is this3 down there1 under hatches1 under control1 the strong impulses2 above them1 the enlightened understanding2 above that1 the conscience1 which has a loftier region than that of thought to move in1 the moral region2 and above that1 the ,god1 whose face1 shining down upon the apex of the nature thus constituted1 irradiates it with light which filters through all the darkness1 down to the very base of the being2 and sanctifies the animal1 and subdues the impulses1 and enlightens the understanding1 and calms and quickens the conscience1 and makes ductile and pliable the will1 and fills the heart with fruition and tranquillity1 and orders the life after the image of ,him that created it4 ,i cannot dwell any longer on this first point2 but ,i hope that ,i have said enough1 not to show that the words are true--that is a very poor thing to do1 if that were all that ,i aimed at--but to bring them home to some of our hearts and consciences4 ,i pray ,god to impress the conviction that1 although there be in us all the voice of conscience1 which all of us more or less have tried at intervals to follow2 yet in the main it abides for ever true--and it is true1 my dear brethren1 about you--a ,christless life is a life under the dominion of tyrannous desires4 ,ask yourself what ,i cannot ask for you1 ,is it ,i8 ,my hand fumbles about the hinges and handle of the door of the heart4 ,you yourself must open it and let conviction come in6 ,still further1 the words before us add another touch to this picture4 ,they not only represent the various passionate desires as being the real guides of 'the old man' but they give this other characteristic--that these desires are in their very nature the instruments of deceit and lies4 ,the words of my text are1 perhaps1 rather enfeebled by the form of rendering which our translators have here1 as in many cases1 thought proper to adopt4 ,if1 instead of reading 'corrupt according to the deceitful lusts1' we read 'corrupt according to the desires of deceit1' we should have got not only the contrast between the old man and the new man1 'created in righteousness and holiness of truth'--but we should have had1 perhaps1 a clearer notion of the characteristic of these lusts1 which the ,apostle meant to bring into prominence4 ,these desires are1 as it were1 the tools and instruments by which deceit betrays and mocks men2 the weapons used by illusions and lies to corrupt and mar the soul4 ,they are strong1 and their nature is to pursue after their objects without regard to any consequences beyond their own gratification2 but1 strong as they are1 they are like the blinded ,samson1 and will pull the house down on themselves if they be not watched4 ,their strength is excited on false pretences4 ,they are stirred to grasp what is after all a lie4 ,they are 'desires of deceit4' ,that just points to the truth of all such life being hollow and profitless4 ,if regard be had to the whole scope of our nature and necessities1 and to the true aim of life as deduced therefrom1 nothing is more certain than that no man will get the satisfaction that his ruling passions promise him1 by indulging them4 ,it is very sure that the way never to get what you need and desire is always to do what you like4 ,and that for very plain reasons4 ,because1 for one thing1 the object only satisfies for a time4 ,yesterday's food appeased our hunger for the day1 but we wake hungry again4 ,and the desires which are not so purely animal have the same characteristic of being stilled for the moment1 and of waking more ravenous than ever4 ',he that drinketh of this water shall thirst again4' ,because1 further1 the desire grows and the object of it does not4 ,the fierce longing increases1 and1 of course1 the power of the thing that we pursue to satisfy it decreases in the same proportion4 ,it is a fixed quantity2 the appetite is indefinitely expansible4 ,and so1 the longer ,i go on feeding my desire1 the more ,i long for the food2 and the more ,i long for it1 the less taste it has when ,i get it4 ,it must be more strongly spiced to titillate a jaded palate4 ,and there soon comes to be an end of the possibilities in that direction4 ,a man scarcely tastes his brandy1 and has little pleasure in drinking it1 but he cannot do without it1 and so he gulps it down in bigger and bigger draughts till delirium tremens comes in to finish all4 ,because1 for another thing1 after all1 these desires are each but a fragment of one's whole nature1 and when one is satisfied another is baying to be fed4 ,the grim brute1 like the watchdog of the old mythology1 has three heads1 and each gaping for honey cakes4 ,and if they were all gorged1 there are other longings in men's nature that will not let them rest1 and for which all the leeks and onions of ,egypt are not food4 ,so long as these are unmet1 you 'spend your money for that which is not bread1 and your labour for that which satisfieth not4' ,so we may lay it down as a universal truth1 that whoever takes it for his law to do as he likes will not for long like what he does2 or1 as ,george ,herbert says1 ',shadows well mounted1 dreams in a career1 ,embroider'd lies1 nothing between two dishes-- ,these are the pleasures here4' ,do any of you remember the mournful words with which one of our greatest modern writers of fiction closes his saddest1 truest book3 ',ah6 vanitas vanitatum6 ,which of us is happy in this world8 which of us has his desire8 or1 having it1 is satisfied8' ,no wonder that with such a view of human life as that the next and last sentence should be1 ',come1 children1 let us shut up the box and the puppets1 for the play is played out4' ,yes6 if there be nothing more to follow than the desires which deceive1 man's life1 with all its bustle and emotion1 is a subject for cynical and yet sad regard1 and all the men and women that toil and fret are 'merely players4' ,then1 again1 one more point in this portraiture of 'the old man1' is that these deceiving desires corrupt4 ,the language of our text conveys a delicate shade of meaning which is somewhat blurred in our version4 ,properly1 it speaks of 'the old man which is growing corrupt1' rather than 'which is corrupt1' and expresses the steady advance of that inward process of decay and deterioration which is ever the fate of a life subordinated to these desires4 ,and this growing evil1 or rather inward eating corruption which disintegrates and destroys a soul1 is contrasted in the subsequent verse with the 'new man which is created in righteousness4' ,there is in the one the working of life1 in the other the working of death4 ,the one is formed and fashioned by the loving hands and quickening breath of ,god2 the other is gradually and surely rotting away by the eating leprosy of sin4 ,for the former the end is eternal life2 for the latter1 the second death4 ,and the truth that underlies that awful representation is the familiar one to which ,i have already referred in another connection1 that1 by the very laws of our nature1 by the plain necessities of the case1 all our moral qualities1 be they good or bad1 tend to increase by exercise4 ,in whatever direction we move1 the rate of progress tends to accelerate itself4 ,and this is preeminently the case when the motion is downwards4 ,every day that a bad man lives he is a worse man4 ,my friend6 you are on a sloping descent4 ,imperceptibly--because you will not look at the landmarks--but really1 and not so very slowly either2 convictions are dying out1 impulses to good are becoming feeble1 habits of neglect of conscience are becoming fixed1 special forms of sin--avarice1 or pride1 or lust--are striking their claws deeper into your soul1 and holding their bleeding booty firmer4 ,in all regions of life exercise strengthens capacity4 ,the wrestler1 according to the old ,greek parable1 who began by carrying a calf on his shoulders1 got to carry an ox by and by4 ,it is a solemn thought this of the steady continuous aggravation of sin in the individual character4 ,surely nothing can be small which goes to make up that rapidly growing total4 ,beware of the little beginnings which 'eat as doth a canker4' ,beware of the slightest deflection from the straight line of right4 ,if there be two lines1 one straight and the other going off at the sharpest angle1 you have only to produce both far enough1 and there will be room between them for all the space that separates hell from heaven6 ,beware of lading your souls with the weight of small single sins4 ,we heap upon ourselves1 by slow1 steady accretion through a lifetime1 the weight that1 though it is gathered by grains1 crushes the soul4 ,there is nothing heavier than sand4 ,you may lift it by particles4 ,it drifts in atoms1 but heaped upon a man it will break his bones1 and blown over the land it buries pyramid and sphynx1 the temples of gods and the homes of men beneath its barren solid waves4 ,the leprosy gnaws the flesh off a man's bones1 and joints and limbs drop off--he is a living death4 ,so with every soul that is under the dominion of these lying desires--it is slowly rotting away piecemeal1 'waxing corrupt according to the lusts of deceit4' ,,ii4 ,note how1 this being so1 we have here the hopeless command to put off the old man4 ,that command 'put it off' is the plain dictate of conscience and of common sense4 ,but it seems as hopeless as it is imperative4 ,i suppose everybody feels sometimes1 more or less distinctly1 that they ought to make an effort and get rid of these beggarly usurpers that tyrannise over will1 and conscience1 and life4 ,attempts enough are made to shake off the yoke4 ,we have all tried some time or other4 ,our days are full of foiled resolutions1 attempts that have broken down1 unsuccessful rebellions1 ending like the struggles of some snared wild creature1 in wrapping the meshes tighter round us4 ,how many times1 since you were a boy or a girl1 have you said--',now ,i am determined that ,i will never do that again4 ,i have flung away opportunities4 ,i have played the fool and erred exceedingly--but ,i now turn over a new leaf6' ,yes1 and you have turned it--and1 if ,i might go on with the metaphor1 the first gust of passion or temptation has blown the leaf back again1 and the old page has been spread before you once more just as it used to be4 ,the history of individual souls and the tragedy of the world's history recurring in every age1 in which the noblest beginnings lead to disastrous ends1 and each new star of promise that rises on the horizon leads men into quagmires and sets in blood1 sufficiently show how futile the attempt in our own strength to overcome and expel the evils that are rooted in our nature4 ,moralists may preach1 ',unless above himself he can erect himself1 how mean a thing is man'2 but all the preaching in the world is of no avail4 ,the task is an impossibility4 ,the stream cannot rise above its source1 nor be purified in its flow if bitter waters come from the fountain4 ',who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean8' ,there is no power in human nature to cast off this clinging self4 ,as in the awful vision of the poet1 the serpent is grown into the man4 ,the will is feeble for good1 the conscience sits like a discrowned king issuing empty mandates1 while all his realm is up in rebellion and treats his proclamations as so much waste paper4 ,how can a man re-make himself8 how cast off his own nature8 ,the means at his disposal themselves need to be cleansed1 for themselves are tainted4 ,it is the old story--who will keep the keepers8--who will heal the sick physicians8 ,you will sometimes see a wounded animal licking its wounds with its own tongue4 ,how much more hopeless still is our effort by our own power to stanch and heal the gashes which sin has made6 ',put off the old man'--yes--and if it but clung to the limbs like the hero's poisoned vest1 it might be possible4 ,but it is not a case of throwing aside clothing1 it is stripping oneself of the very skin and flesh--and if there is nothing more to be said than such vain commonplaces of impossible duty1 then we must needs abandon hope1 and wear the rotting evil till we die4 ,but that is not all4 ',what the law could not do1 in that it was weak through the flesh1' ,god sending ,his own ,son did--,he condemned sin in the flesh4 ,so we come to ,,iii4 ,the possibility of fulfilling the command4 ,the context tells us how this is possible4 ,the law1 the pattern1 and the power for complete victory over the old sinful self1 are to be found1 'as the truth is--in ,jesus4' ,union with ,christ gives us a real possession of a new principle of life1 derived from ,him1 and like ,his own4 ,that real1 perfect1 immortal life1 which hath no kindred with evil1 and flings off pollution and decay from its pure surface1 will wrestle with and finally overcome the living death of obedience to the deceitful lusts4 ,our weakness will be made rigorous by ,his inbreathed power4 ,our gravitation to earth and sin will be overcome by the yearning of that life to its source4 ,an all-constraining motive will be found in love to ,him who has given ,himself for us4 ,a new hope will spring as to what may be possible for us1 when we see ,jesus1 and in ,him recognise the true ,man1 whose image we may bear4 ,we shall die with ,him to sin1 when1 resting by faith on ,him who has died for sin1 we are made conformable to ,his death1 that we may walk in newness of life4 ,faith in ,jesus gives us a share in the working of that mighty power by which ,he makes all things new4 ,the renovation blots out the past1 and changes the direction of the future4 ,the fountain in our hearts sends forth bitter waters that cannot be healed4 ',and the ,lord showed him a tree1' even that ,cross whereon ,christ was crucified for us1 'which1 when he had cast into the waters1 the waters were made sweet4' ,i remember a rough parable of ,luther's1 grafted on an older legend1 on this matter1 which runs somewhat in this fashion3 ,a man's heart is like a foul stable4 ,wheelbarrows and shovels are of little use1 except to remove some of the surface filth1 and to litter all the passages in the process4 ,what is to be done with it8 ',turn the ,elbe into it1' says he4 ,the flood will sweep away all the pollution4 ,not my own efforts1 but the influx of that pardoning1 cleansing grace which is in ,christ will wash away the accumulations of years1 and the ingrained evil which has stained every part of my being4 ,we cannot cleanse ourselves1 we cannot 'put off' this old nature which has struck its roots so deep into our being2 but if we turn to ,him with faith and say--,forgive me1 and cleanse1 and strip from me the foul and ragged robe fit only for the swine-troughs in the far-off land of disobedience1 ,he will receive us and answer all our desires1 and cast around us the pure garment of ,his own righteousness4 ',the law of the spirit of life in ,christ ,jesus shall make us free from the law of sin and death4' ,,the ,,new ,,man ',and that ye put on the new man1 which after ,god is created in righteousness and true holiness4'--,eph4 iv4 #bd4 ,we had occasion to remark in a former sermon that ,paul regards this and the preceding clauses as the summing up of 'the truth in ,jesus'2 or1 in other words1 he considers the radical transformation and renovation of the whole moral nature as being the purpose of the revelation of ,god in ,christ4 ,to this end they have 'heard ,him4' ,to this end they have 'learned ,him4' ,to this end they have been 'taught in ,him1' receiving1 by union with ,him1 all the various processes of ,his patient discipline4 ,this is the inmost meaning of all the lessons in that great school in which all ,christians are scholars1 and ,christ is the teacher and the theme1 and union to ,him the condition of entrance1 and the manifold workings of ,his providence and ,his grace the instruments of training1 and heaven the home when school time is over--that we should become new men in ,christ ,jesus4 ,this great practical issue is set forth here under three aspects--one negative1 two positive4 ,the negative process is single and simple--'put off the old man4' ,the positive is double--a spiritual 'renewal' effected in our spirits1 in the deep centre of our personal being1 by that ,divine ,spirit who1 dwelling in us1 is 'the spirit of our minds'2 and then1 consequent upon that inward renewal1 a renovation of life and character1 which is described as being the 'putting on1' as if it were a garment1 of 'the new man1' created by a divine act1 and consisting in moral and spiritual likeness to ,god4 ,it is not necessary to deal1 except incidentally1 with the two former1 but ,i desire to consider the last of these--the putting on of the new man--a little more closely1 and to try to bring out the wealth and depth of the ,apostle's words in this wonderful text4 ,the ideas contained seem to me in brief to be these--the great purpose of the ,gospel is our moral renewal2 that moral renewal is a creation after ,god's image2 that new creation has to be put on or appropriated by us2 the great means of appropriating it is contact with ,god's truth4 ,let us consider these points in order4 ,i4 ,the great purpose of the ,gospel is our moral renewal2 'the new man 444 created in righteousness and 444 holiness4' ,now1 of course1 there are other ways of stating the end of the ,gospel4 ,this is by no means an exhaustive setting forth of its purpose4 ,we may say that ,christ has come in order that men may know ,god4 ,we may say that ,he comes in order that the ,divine ,love1 which ever delights to communicate1 may bestow itself1 and may conceive of the whole majestic series of acts of self-revelation from the beginning as being--if ,i may so say--for the gratification of that impulse to impart itself1 which is the characteristic of love in ,god and man4 ,we may say that the purpose of the whole is the deliverance of men from the burden and guilt of sin4 ,but whether we speak of the end of the ,gospel as the glory of ,god1 or the blessedness of man1 or as here1 as being the moral perfection of the individual or of the race1 they are all but various phrases of the one complete truth4 ,the ,gospel is the consequence and the manifestation of the love of ,god1 which delights to be known and possessed by loving souls1 and being known1 changes them into its own likeness1 which to know is to be happy1 which to resemble is to be pure4 ,the first thing that strikes me about this representation of our text is the profound sense of human sinfulness which underlies it4 ,the language is utterly unmeaning--or at all events grossly exaggerated--unless all have sinned1 and the nature which belongs to men universally1 apart from the transforming power of ,christ's ,spirit1 be corrupt and evil4 ,and that it is so is the constant view of ,scripture4 ,the ,bible notion of what men need in order to be pure and good is very different from the superficial notions of worldly moralists and philanthropists4 ,we hear a great deal about 'culture1' as if all that were needed were the training and strengthening of the nature1 as if what was mainly needed was the development of the understanding4 ,we hear about 'reformation' from some who look rather deeper than the superficial apostles of culture4 ,and how singularly the very word proclaims the insufficiency of the remedy which it suggests6 ',re-formation' affects form and not substance4 ,it puts the old materials into a new shape4 ,exactly so--and much good may be expected from that6 ,they are the old materials still1 and it matters comparatively little how they are arranged4 ,it is not re-formation1 but re-novation1 or1 to go deeper still1 re-generation1 that the world needs2 not new forms1 but a new life2 not the culture and development of what it has in itself1 but extirpation of the old by the infusion of something now and pure that has no taint of corruption1 nor any contact with evil4 ',verily1 ,i say unto you1 ye must be born again4' ,all slighter notions of the need and more superficial diagnoses of the disease lead to a treatment with palliatives which never touch the true seat of the mischief1 ,the poison flowers may be plucked1 but the roots live on4 ,it is useless to build dykes to keep out the wild waters4 ,somewhere or other they will find a way through4 ,the only real cure is that which only the ,creating hand can effect1 who1 by slow operation of some inward agency1 can raise the level of the low lands1 and lift them above the threatening waves4 ,what is needed is a radical transformation1 going down to the very roots of the being2 and that necessity is clearly implied in the language of this text1 which declares that a nature possessing righteousness and holiness is 'a new man' to be 'put on' as from without1 not to be evolved as from within4 ,it is to be further noticed what the ,apostle specifies as the elements1 or characteristics of this new nature--righteousness and holiness4 ,the proclamation of a new nature in ,christ ,jesus1 great and precious truth as it is1 has often been connected with teaching which has been mystical in the bad sense of that word1 and has been made the stalking horse of practical immorality4 ,but here we have it distinctly defined in what that new nature consists4 ,there is no vague mystery about it1 no tampering with the idea of personality4 ,the people who put on the new man are the same people after as before4 ,the newness consists in moral and spiritual characteristics4 ,and these are all summed up in the two--righteousness and holiness4 ,to which is added in the substantially parallel passage in ,colossians1 ',renewed in knowledge after the image of ,him that created ,him1' where1 ,i suppose1 we must regard the 'knowledge' as meaning that personal knowledge and acquaintance which has its condition in love1 and is the foundation of the more purely moral qualities of which our text speaks4 ,is there1 then1 any distinction between these two8 ,i think there is very obviously so4 ',righteousness' is1 ,i suppose1 to be understood here in its narrower meaning of observance of what is right1 the squaring of conduct according to a solemn sovereign law of duty4 ,substantially it is equivalent to the somewhat heathenish word 'morality1' and refers human conduct and character to a law or standard4 ,what1 then1 is 'holiness'8 ,it is the same general conduct and character1 considered1 however1 under another aspect1 and in another relation4 ,it involves the reference of life and self to ,god1 consecration to1 and service of ,him4 ,it is not a mere equivalent of purity1 but distinctly carries the higher reference4 ,the obedience now is not to a law but to a ,lord4 ,the perfection now does not consist in conformity to an ideal standard1 but in likeness and devotion to ,god4 ,that which ,i ought to do is that which my ,father in heaven wills4 ,or1 if the one word may roughly represent the more secular word 'morality1' the other may roughly represent the less devout phrase1 'practical religion4' ,these are 'new1' as actually realised in human nature4 ,paul thinks that we shall not possess them except as a consequence of renovation4 ,but they are not 'new' in the sense that the contents of ,christian morality are different from the contents of the law written on men's hearts4 ,the ,gospel proclaims and produces no fantastic ethics of its own4 ,the actions which it stamps in its mint are those which pass current in all lands--not a provincial coinage1 but recognised as true in ring1 and of full weight everywhere4 ,do not fancy that ,christian righteousness is different from ordinary 'goodness1' except as being broader and deeper1 more thorough-going1 more imperative4 ,divergences there are1 for our law is more than a republication of the law written on men's hearts4 ,though the one agrees with the other1 yet the area which they cover is not the same4 ,the precepts of the one1 like some rock-hewn inscriptions by forgotten kings1 are weathered and indistinct1 often illegible1 often misread1 often neglected4 ,the other is written in living characters in a perfect life4 ,it includes all that the former attempts to enjoin1 and much more besides4 ,it alters the perspective1 so to speak1 of heathen morals1 and brings into prominence graces overlooked or despised by them4 ,it breathes a deeper meaning and a tenderer beauty into the words which express human conceptions of virtue1 but it does take up these into itself4 ,and instead of setting up a 'righteousness' which is peculiar to itself1 and has nothing to do with the world's morality1 ,christianity says1 as ,christ has taught us1 ',except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and ,pharisees1 ye shall not enter into the kingdom of ,god4' ,the same apostle who here declares that actual righteousness and holiness are new things on the earth1 allows full force to whatsoever weight may be in the heathen notion of 'virtue1' and adopts the words and ideas which he found ready made to his hands1 in that notion--as fitly describing the ,christian graces which he enjoined4 ,grecian moralists supplied him with the names true1 honest1 just1 and pure4 ,his 'righteousness' accepted these as included within its scope4 ,and we have to remember that we are not invested with that new nature1 unless we are living in the exercise of these common and familiar graces which the consciences and hearts of all the world recognise for 'lovely' and 'of good report1' hail as 'virtue1' and crown with 'praise4' ,so1 then1 let me pause here for a moment to urge you to take these thoughts as a very sharp and salutary test4 ,you call yourselves ,christian people4 ,the purpose of your ,christianity is your growth and perfecting in simple purity1 and devotion to1 and dependence on1 our loving ,father4 ,our religion is nothing unless it leads to these4 ,otherwise it is like a plant that never seeds1 but may bear some feeble blossoms that drop shrunken to the ground before they mature4 ,to very many of us the old solemn remonstrance should come with awakening force--',ye did run well1 what did hinder you8' ,you have apprehended ,christ as the revealer and bringer of the great mercy of ,god1 and have so been led in some measure to put your confidence in ,him for your salvation and deliverance4 ,but have you apprehended ,him as the mould into which your life is to be poured1 that life having been made fluent and plastic by the warmth of ,his love8 ,you have apprehended ,him as your refuge2 have you apprehended ,him as your inward sanctity8 ,you have gone to ,him as the source of salvation from the guilt and penalties of sin2 have you gone to ,him1 and are you daily growing in the conscious possession of ,him1 as the means of salvation from the corruption and evil of sin8 ,he comes to make us good4 ,what has ,he made you8 ,anything different from what you were twenty years ago8 ,then1 if not1 and in so far as you are unchanged and unbettered1 the ,gospel is a failure for you1 and you are untrue to it4 ,the great purpose of all the work of ,christ--,his life1 ,his sorrows1 ,his passion1 ,his resurrection1 ,his glory1 ,his continuous operation by the ,spirit and the word is to make new men who shall be just and devout1 righteous and holy4 ,,ii4 ,a second principle contained in these words1 is that this moral ,renewal is a ,creation in the image of ,god4 ,the new man is 'created after the image of ,god'--that is1 of course1 according to or in the likeness of ,god4 ,there is evident reference here to the account of man's creation in ,genesis1 and the idea is involved that this new man is the restoration and completion of that earlier likeness1 which1 in some sense1 has faded out of the features and form of our sinful souls4 ,it is to be remembered1 however1 that there is an image of ,god inseparable from human nature1 and not effaceable by any obscuring or disturbance caused by sin4 ,man's likeness to ,god consists in his being a person1 possessed of a will and self-consciousness1 and that mysterious gift of personality abides whatever perishes4 ,but beyond that natural image of ,god1 as we may call it1 there is something else which fades wholly with the first breath of evil1 like the reflexion of the sky on some windless sea4 ,the natural likeness remains1 and without it no comparison would be possible4 ,we should not think of saying that a stone or an eagle were unlike ,god4 ,but while the personal being makes comparison fitting1 what makes the true contrast8 ,in what respect is man unlike ,god8 ,in moral antagonism4 ,what is the true likeness8 ,moral harmony4 ,what separates men from their ,father in heaven8 ,is it that ,his 'years are throughout all generations1' and 'my days are as an handbreadth'8 ,is it that ,his power is infinite1 and mine all thwarted by other might and over tending to weakness and extinction8 ,is it that ,his wisdom1 sunlike1 waxes not nor wanes1 and there is nothing hid from its beams1 while my knowledge1 like the lesser light1 shines by reflected radiance1 serves but to make the night visible1 and is crescent and decaying1 changeful and wandering8 ,no4 ,all such distinctions based upon what people call the sovereign attributes of ,god--the distinctions of creator and created1 infinite and finite1 omnipotent and weak1 eternal and transient--make no real gulf between ,god and man4 ,if we have only to say1 ',as the heavens are higher than the earth1 so are' ,his 'ways higher than' our 'ways1' that difference is not unlikeness1 and establishes no separation2 for low and flat though the dull earth be1 does not heaven bend down round it1 and send rain and sun1 dew and blessing8 ,but it is because 'your ways are not as my ways'--because there is actual opposition1 because the directions are different--that there is unlikeness4 ,the image of ,god lies not only in that personality which the ',father of ,lies' too possesses1 but in 'righteousness and holiness4' ,but besides this reference to the original creation of man1 there is another reason for the representation of the new nature as being a work of divine creative power4 ,it is in order to give the most emphatic expression possible to the truth that we do not make our righteousness for ourselves1 but receive it as from ,him4 ,the new man is not our work1 it is ,god's creation4 ,as at the beginning1 the first human life is represented as not originated in the line of natural cause and effect1 but as a new and supernatural commencement1 so in every ,christian soul the life which is derived from ,god1 and will unfold itself in ,his likeness1 comes from ,his own breath inbreathed into the nostrils4 ,it too is out of the line of natural causes4 ,it too is a direct gift from ,god4 ,it too is a true supernatural being--a real and new creation4 ,may ,i venture a step further8 ',the new man' is spoken of here as if it had existence ere we 'put it on4' ,i do not press that1 as if it necessarily involved the idea which ,i am going to suggest1 for the peculiar form of expression is probably only due to the exigencies of the metaphor4 ,still it may not be altogether foreign to the whole scope of the passage1 if ,i remind you that the new man1 the true likeness of ,god1 has1 indeed1 a real existence apart from our assumption of it4 ,of course1 the righteousness and holiness which make that new nature in me have no being till they become mine4 ,but we believe that the righteousness and holiness which we make ours come from another1 who bestows them on us4 ',the new man' is not a mere ideal1 but has a historical and a present existence4 ,the ideal has lived and lives1 is a human person1 even ,jesus ,christ the express image of the ,father1 who is the beginning of the new creation1 who of ,god is made unto us wisdom and righteousness4 ,that fair vision of a humanity detached from all consequences of sin1 renewed in perfect beauty1 stainless and ,godlike1 is no unsubstantial dream1 but a simple fact4 ,he ever liveth4 ,his word to us is1 ',i counsel thee to buy of me--white raiment4' ,and a full parallel to the words of our text1 which bid us 'put on the new man1 created after ,god in righteousness and holiness1' is found in the other words of the same ,apostle--',let us cast off the works of darkness1 and let us put on the armour of light4 ,put ye on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4' ,in accordance with this-- ,,iii4 ,it is further to be noticed that this new creation has to be put on and appropriated by us4 ,the same idea which1 as ,i have already remarked1 is conveyed by the image of a new creation1 is reiterated in this metaphor of putting on the new nature1 as if it were a garment4 ,our task is not to weave it1 but to wear it4 ,it is made and ready4 ,and that process of assumption or putting on has two parts4 ,we are clothed upon with ,christ in a double way1 or rather in a double sense4 ,we are 'found in ,him not having our own righteousness1' but invested with ,his for our pardon and acceptance4 ,we are clothed with ,his righteousness for our purifying and sanctifying4 ,both are the conditions of our being like ,god4 ,both are the gifts of ,god4 ,the one1 however1 is an act2 the other a process4 ,both are received4 ,the one is received on condition of simple faith2 the other is received by the medium of faithful effort4 ,both are included in the wide conception of salvation1 but the law for the one is ',not by works of righteousness which we have done1 but by ,his mercy ,he saved us'2 and the law for the other is--',work out your own salvation with fear and trembling4' ,both come from ,christ1 but for the one we have the invitation1 ',buy of ,me white raiment that thou mayest be clothed'2 and for the other we have the command1 ',put on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and make not provision for the flesh4' ,there is the assumption of ,his righteousness which makes a man a ,christian1 and has for its condition simple faith4 ,there is the assumption of ,his righteousness sanctifying and transforming us which follows in a ,christian course1 as its indispensable accompaniment and characteristic1 and that is realised by daily and continuous effort4 ,and one word about the manner1 the effort as set forth here2 twofold1 as ,i have already pointed out--a negative and positive4 ,we are not concerned here with the relations of these amongst themselves1 but ,i may remark that there is no growth in holiness possible without the constant accompanying process of excision and crucifixion of the old4 ,if you want to grow purer and liker ,christ1 you must slay yourselves4 ,you cannot gird on 'righteousness' above the old self1 as some beggar might buckle to himself royal velvet with its ermine over his filthy tatters4 ,there must be a putting off in order to and accompanying the putting on4 ,strip yourselves of yourselves1 and then you 'shall not be found naked1' but clothed with the garments of salvation1 as the bride with the robe which is the token of the bridegroom's love1 and the pledge of her espousals to him4 ,and let nobody wonder that the ,apostle here commands us1 as by our own efforts1 to put on and make ours what is in many other places of ,scripture treated as ,god's gift4 ,these earnest exhortations are perfectly consistent with the belief that all comes from ,god4 ,our faithful adherence to our ,lord and ,master1 our honest efforts in ,his strength to secure more and more of ,his likeness1 determine the extent to which we shall possess that likeness4 ,the new nature is ,god's gift1 and it is given to us according to ,his own fulness indeed1 but also according to the measure of our faith4 ,blessed be ,his name6 we have nothing to do but to accept ,his gift4 ,the garment with which ,he clothes our nakedness and hides our filth is woven in no earthly looms4 ,as with the first sinful pair1 so with all their children since1 'the ,lord ,god made them' the covering which they cannot make for themselves4 ,but we have to accept it1 and we have by daily toil1 all our lives long1 to gather it more and more closely around us1 to wrap ourselves more and more completely in its ample folds4 ,we have by effort and longing1 by self-abnegation and aspiration1 by prayer and work1 by communion and service1 to increase our possession of that likeness to ,god which lives in ,jesus ,christ1 and from ,him is stamped ever more and more deeply on the heart4 ,for the strengthening of our confidence and our gratitude1 we have to remember with lowly trust that it is true of us1 ',if any man be in ,christ he is a new creature4' ,for the quickening of our energy and faithful efforts we have to give heed to the command1 and fulfil it in ourselves--',be ye renewed in the ,spirit of your minds1 and put on the new man4' ,,iv4 ,and1 finally1 the text contains the principle that the means of appropriating this new nature is contact with the truth4 ,if you will look at the margins of some ,bibles you will see that our translators have placed there a rendering1 which1 as is not unfrequently the case1 is decidedly better than that adopted by them in the text4 ,instead of 'true holiness1' the literal rendering is 'holiness of truth'--and the ,apostle's purpose in the expression is not to particularise the quality1 but the origin of the 'holiness4' ,it is 'of truth1' that is1 produced by the holiness which flows from the truth as it is in ,jesus1 of which he has been speaking a moment before4 ,and we come1 therefore1 to this practical conclusion1 that whilst the agent of renovation is the ,divine ,spirit1 and the condition of renovation is our cleaving to ,christ1 the medium of renovation and the weapon which transforming grace employs is 'the word of the truth of the ,gospel' whereby we are sanctified4 ,there we get the law1 and there we get the motive and the impulse4 ,there we get the encouragement and the hope4 ,in it1 in the grand simple message--',god was in ,christ1 reconciling the world unto ,himself1 not imputing their trespasses unto them1' lie the germs of all moral progress4 ,and in proportion as we believe that--not with the cold belief of our understandings1 but with the loving affiance of our hearts and our whole spiritual being--in proportion as we believe that1 in that proportion shall we grow in 'knowledge1' shall we grow in 'righteousness1' in the 'image of ,him that created us4' ,the ,gospel is the great means of this change1 because it is the great means by which ,he who works the change comes near to our understandings and our hearts4 ,so let us learn how impossible are righteousness and holiness1 morality and religion in men1 unless they flow from this source4 ,it is the truth that sanctifies4 ,it is the ,spirit who wields that truth who sanctifies4 ,it is ,christ who sends the ,spirit who sanctifies4 ,but1 brethren1 beyond the range of this light is only darkness1 and that nature which is not cleansed by ,his priestly hand laid upon it remains leprous1 and he who is clothed with any other garment than ,his righteousness will find 'the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it4' ,and let us learn1 on the other hand1 the incompleteness and monstrosity of a professed belief in 'the truth' which does not produce this righteousness and holiness4 ,it may be real--,god forbid that we should step into ,his place and assume ,his office of discerning the thoughts of the heart1 and the genuineness of ,christian professions6 ,but1 at any rate1 it is no exaggeration nor presumption to say that a professed faith which is not making us daily better1 gentler1 simpler1 purer1 more truthful1 more tender1 more brave1 more self-oblivious1 more loving1 more strong--more like ,christ--is wofully deficient either in reality or in power--is1 if genuine1 ready to perish--if lit at all1 smouldering to extinction4 ,christian men and women6 is 'the truth' moulding you into ,christ's likeness8 ,if not1 see to it whether it be the truth which you are holding1 and whether you are holding the truth or have unconsciously let it slip from a grasp numbed by the freezing coldness of the world4 ,and for us all1 let us see that we lay to heart the large truths of this text1 and give them that personal bearing without which they are of no avail4 ,i need renovation in my inmost nature4 ,nothing can renew my soul but the power of ,christ1 who is my life4 ,i am naked and foul4 ,nothing can cleanse and clothe me but ,he4 ,the blessed truth which reveals ,him calls for my individual faith4 ,and if ,i put my confidence in that ,lord1 ,he will dwell in my inmost spirit1 and so sway my affections and mould my will that ,i shall be transformed unto ,his perfect likeness4 ,he begins with each one of us by bringing the best robe to cast over the rags of the returning prodigal4 ,he ends not with any who trust ,him1 until they stand amid the hosts of the heavens who follow ,him1 clothed with fine linen clean and white1 which is the righteousness of ,his ,holy ones4 ,,grieving ,,the ,,spirit ',grieve not the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption4'--,eph4 iv4 #cj4 ,the miracle of ,christianity is the ,incarnation4 ,it is not a link in a chain1 but a new beginning1 the entrance into the cosmic order of a ,divine ,power4 ,the sequel of ,bethlehem and ,calvary and ,olivet is the upper room and the ,pentecost4 ,there is the issue of the whole mission and work of ,christ--the planting in the heart of humanity of a new and divine life4 ,all ,christendom is professing to commemorate that fact to-day1 ,preached on ,whitsunday but a large portion of us forget that it was but a transient sign of a perpetual reality4 ,the rushing mighty wind has died down into a calm2 the fiery tongues have ceased to flicker on the disciples' heads1 but the miracle1 which is permanent1 and is being repeated from day to day1 in the experience of every believing soul1 is the inrush of the very breath of ,god into their lives1 and the plunging of them into a fiery baptism which melts their coldness and refines away their dross4 ,now1 my text brings before us some very remarkable thoughts as to the permanent working of the ,divine ,spirit upon ,christian souls1 and upon this it bases a very tender and persuasive exhortation to conduct4 ,and ,i desire simply to try to bring out the fourfold aspect in those words4 ,there is1 first1 a wondrous revelation2 second1 a plain lesson as to what that ,divine ,spirit chiefly does2 third1 a solemn warning as to man's power and freedom to thwart it2 and1 lastly1 a tender motive for conduct4 ',grieve not the ,holy ,spirit1 whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption4' ,now let us look briefly at these four thoughts3 ,here we have-- ,i4 ,a wonderful revelation4 ,wonderful to all1 startling to some4 ,if you can speak of grief1 you must be speaking of a person4 ,an influence cannot be sorry1 whatever may happen to it4 ,and that word of my text is no more violent metaphor or exaggeratedly strong way of suggesting a motive1 but it keeps rigidly within the ,new ,testament limits1 in reference to that ,divine ,spirit1 when to ,him it attributes this personal emotion of sorrow with its correlation of possible joy4 ,now1 ,i do not need to dwell upon the thought here1 but ,i do desire to emphasise it1 especially in view of the strangely hazy and defective conceptions which so many ,christian people have upon this matter4 ,and ,i desire to remind you that the implied assumption of a personal ,spirit1 capable of being 'grieved1' which is in this text1 is in accordance with all the rest of the ,new ,testament teaching4 ,what did ,jesus ,christ mean when ,he spoke of one who 'will guide you into all truth'2 of one who 'whatsoever ,he shall hear1 those things shall ,he speak'8 ,what does the book of the ,acts mean when it says that the ,spirit said to the believers in ,antioch1 ',separate me ,barnabas and ,saul for the work whereunto ,i have called them'8 ,what did ,paul mean when he said1 ',in every city the ,holy ,ghost testifieth that bonds and afflictions await me'8 ,what does the minister officiating in baptism mean when he says1 ',i baptize thee in the name of the ,father1 and of the ,son1 and of the ,holy ,ghost'8 ,that form presents1 according to many interpretations1 a ,divine ,person1 a ,man1 and an ,influence4 ,why are these bracketed together8 ,and what do we mean when1 at the end of every ,christian service1 we invoke ',the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and the love of ,god the ,father1 and the fellowship of the ,holy ,spirit'8 ,a ,man1 and ,god1 and an ,influence--is that the interpretation8 ,you cannot get rid from the ,new ,testament teaching1 whether you accept it or not--you cannot eliminate from it this1 that the divine causality of our salvation is threefold and one1 the ,father1 the ,son1 and the ,holy ,ghost4 ,now1 brethren1 ,i do not think ,i am exaggerating when ,i say that practically the average orthodox believer believes in a duality1 and not a ,trinity1 in the divine nature4 ,i do not care about the scholastic words1 but what ,i would insist upon is that the course of ,christian thinking has been roughly this4 ,first of all1 in the early ,church1 the question of the ,divine nature came into play1 mainly in reference to the relation of the ,eternal ,word to the ,eternal ,father1 and of the ,incarnation to both4 ,and then1 when that was roughly settled1 there came down through many ages1 and there still subsists1 the endeavour to cast into complete and intelligible forms the doctrine1 if ,i must use the word1 of ,christ's nature and work4 ,and now1 as ,i believe1 to a very large extent1 the foremost and best thinking of the ,christian ,church is being occupied with that last problem1 the nature and work of that ,divine ,spirit4 ,i believe that we stand on the verge of a far clearer perception of1 and of a far more fervent and realising faith in1 the ,spirit of ,god1 than ever the ,churches have seen before4 ,and ,i pray you to remember that however much your ,christian thought and ,christian faith may be centred upon1 and may be drawing its nourishment and its joy from1 the work of ,jesus ,christ who died on the ,cross for our salvation1 and lives to be our ,king and ,defender1 there is a gap--not only in your ,christian ,creed1 but also in your ,christian experiences and joys and power1 unless you have risen to this thought1 that the ,divine ,spirit is not only an influence1 a wind1 a fire1 an oil1 a dove1 a dew1 but a ,divine ,person4 ,we have to go back to the old creed--',i believe in ,god the ,father ,almighty 444 and in ,jesus ,christ ,his only ,son our ,lord 444 ,i believe in the ,holy ,ghost4' ,but further1 this same revelation carries with it another1 and to some of us a startling thought4 ',grieve not the ,holy ,spirit'3 that ,divine ,person is capable of grief4 ,i do not believe that is rhetorical exaggeration4 ,of course ,i know that we should think of ,god as the ever-blessed ,god1 but we also in these last days begin to think more boldly1 and ,i believe more truly1 that if man is in the image of ,god1 and there is a divine element in humanity1 there must be a human element in divinity4 ,and though ,i know that it is perilous to make affirmations about a matter so far beyond our possibility of verification by experience1 ,i venture to think that perhaps the doctrine that ,god is lifted up high above all human weaknesses and emotions does not mean that there can be no shadow cast on the divine blessedness by the dark substance of human sin4 ,i do not venture to assert3 ,i only suggest2 and this ,i know1 that ,he who said to us1 ',he that hath seen ,me hath seen the ,father1' had ,his eyes filled with tears1 even in ,his hour of triumph1 as ,he looked across the valley and saw the city sparkling in the rays of the morning sun4 ,may we venture to see there an unveiling of the divine heart8 ,love has an infinite capacity of sorrow as of joy4 ,but ,i leave these perhaps too presumptuous and lofty thoughts1 to turn to the other points involved in the words before us4 ,i said1 in the second place1 there was-- ,,ii4 ,a plain lesson here1 as to the great purpose for which the ,divine ,spirit has been lodged in the heart of humanity4 ,i find that in the two words of my text1 'the ,holy ,spirit1' and 'ye were thereby sealed unto the day of redemption4' ,if the central characteristic which it imports us to know and to keep in mind is that implied by the name1 'the ,holy ,spirit' then1 of course1 the great work that ,he has to perform upon earth is to make men like ,himself4 ,and that is further confirmed by the emblem of the seal which is here2 for the seal comes in contact with the thing sealed1 and leaves the impression of its own likeness there4 ,and whatever else--and there is a great deal else that ,i cannot touch now--may be included in that great thought of the sealing by the ,divine ,spirit1 these things are inseparably connected with1 and suggested by it1 viz4 the actual contact of the ,spirit of ,god with our spirits1 which is expressed1 as you may remember1 in the other metaphors of being baptized in and anointed with1 and yet more important1 the result purposed by that contact being mainly to make us holy4 ,now1 ,i pray you to think of how different that is from all other notions of inspiration that the world has ever known1 and how different it is from a great many ideas that have had influence within the ,christian ,church4 ,people say there are not any miracles now1 and say we are worse off than when there used to be4 ,that ,divine ,spirit does not come to give gifts of healing1 interpretations of tongues1 and all the other abnormal and temporary results which attended the first manifestations4 ,these1 when they were given1 were but means to an end1 and the end subsists whilst the means are swept away4 ,it is better to be made good than to be filled with all manner of miraculous power4 ',in this rejoice1 not that the spirits are subject to you1 but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven4' ,all the rest is transient4 ,it is gone2 let it go1 we are not a bit the poorer for want of it4 ,this remains--not tongues1 nor gifts of healing1 nor any other of these miraculous and extraordinary and external powers--but the continual operation of a divine influence1 moulding men into its own likeness4 ,christianity is intensely ethical1 and it sets forth1 as the ultimate result of all its machinery1 changing men into the likeness of ,god4 ,holiness is that for which ,christ died1 that for which the ,divine ,spirit works4 ,unless we ,christian people recognise the true perspective of the ,spirit's gifts1 and put at the base the extraordinary1 and higher than these1 but still subordinate1 the intellectual1 and on top of all the spiritual and moral1 we do not understand the meaning of the central gift and possible blessing of ,christianity1 to make us holy1 or1 if you do not like the theological word1 let us put it into still plainer and more modern ,english1 to make you and me good men and women1 like ,god4 ,that is the mightiest work of that ,divine ,spirit4 ,we have here-- ,,iii4 ,a plain warning as to the possibility of thwarting these influences4 ,nothing here about irresistible grace2 nothing here about a power that lays hold upon a man1 and makes him good1 he lying passive in its hands like clay in the hands of the potter6 ,you will not be made holy without the ,divine ,spirit1 but you will not be made holy without your working along with it4 ,there is a possibility of resisting1 and there is a possibility of co-operating4 ,man is left free4 ,god does not lay hold of any one by the hair of his head1 and drag him into paths of righteousness whether he will or no4 ,but whilst there is the necessity for co-operation1 which involves the possibility of resistance1 we must also remember that that new life which comes into a man1 and moulds his will as well as the rest of his nature1 is itself the gift of ,god4 ,we do not get into a contradiction when we thus speak1 we only touch the edge of a great ocean in which our plummets can find no bottom4 ,the same unravellable knot as to the co-operation of the divine and the creatural is found in the natural world1 as in the experiences of the ,christian soul4 ,you have to work1 and your work largely consists in yielding yourselves to the work of ,god upon you4 ',work out your own salvation with fear and trembling1 for it is ,god that worketh in you4' ,brethren6 ,if you and ,i are ,christian people1 we have put into our hearts and spirits the talent4 ,it depends on us whether we wrap it in a napkin1 and stow it away underground somewhere1 or whether we use it1 and fructify and increase it4 ,if you wrap it in a napkin and put it away underground1 when you come to take it out1 and want to say1 ',lo6 there ,thou hast that is ,thine1' you will find that it was not solid gold1 which could not rust or diminish1 but that it has been like some volatile essence1 put away in an unventilated place1 and imperfectly secured3 the napkin is there1 but the talent has vanished4 ,we have to work with ,god1 and we can resist4 ,ay1 and there is a deeper and a sadder word than that applied by the same ,apostle in another letter to the same subject4 ,we can 'quench' the light and extinguish the fire4 ,what extinguishes it8 ,look at the catalogue of sins that lie side by side with this exhortation of my text6 ,they are all small matters--bitterness1 wrath1 anger1 clamour1 evil-speaking1 malice1 stealing1 lying1 and the like2 very 'homely' transgressions1 if ,i may so say4 ,yes1 and if you pile enough of them upon the spark that is in your hearts you will smother it out4 ,sin1 the wrenching of myself away from the influences1 not attending to the whispers and suggestions1 being blind to the teaching of the ,spirit through the ,word and through ,providence3 these are the things that 'grieve the ,holy ,spirit of ,god4' ,and so1 lastly1 we have here-- ,,iv4 ,a ,tender ,motive1 a dissuasive from sin1 a persuasive to yielding and to righteousness4 ,many a man has been kept from doing wrong things by thinking of a sad pale face sitting at home waiting for him4 ,many a boy has been kept from youthful transgressions which war against his soul here1 on the streets of ,manchester1 full as they are of temptations1 by thinking that it would grieve the poor old mother in her cottage1 away down in the country somewhere4 ,we can bring that same motive to bear1 with infinitely increased force1 in regard to our conduct as ,christian people4 ',grieve not the ,holy ,spirit of ,god4' ,a father feels a pang if he sees that his child makes no account of some precious gift that he has bestowed upon him1 and leaves it lying about anywhere4 ,a loving friend1 standing on the margin of the stream1 and calling to his friends in a boat when they are drifting to the rapids1 turns away sad if they do not attend to his voice4 ,that ,divine ,spirit pleads with us1 and proffers its gifts to us1 and turns away--,i was going to use too strong a word1 perhaps--sick at heart1 not because of wounded authority1 but because of wounded love and baffled desire to help1 when we1 in spite of ,it1 will take our own way1 neglect the call that warns us of our peril1 and leave untouched the gifts that would have made us safe4 ,dear brethren1 surely such a dissuasive from evil1 and such a persuasive to good1 is mightier than all abstractions about duty and conscience and right1 and the like4 ',do it rightly' says ,paul1 'and you will please ,him that hath called you'2 leave the evil thing undone1 'and my heart shall be glad1 even mine4' ,you and ,i can grieve the ,christ whose ,spirit is given to us4 ,you and ,i can add something to 'the joy of our ,lord4' ,,god',s ,,imitators ',be ye therefore followers of ,god1 as dear children'--,eph4 v4 #a4 ,the ,revised ,version gives a more literal and more energetic rendering of this verse by reading1 ',be ye1 therefore1 imitators of ,god1 as beloved children4' ,it is the only place in the ,bible where that bold word 'imitate' is applied to the ,christian relation to ,god4 ,but1 though the expression is unique1 the idea underlies the whole teaching of the ,new ,testament on the subject of ,christian character and conduct4 ,to be like ,god1 and to set ourselves to resemble ,him1 is the sum of all duty2 and in the measure in which we approximate thereto1 we come to perfection4 ,so1 then1 there are here just two points that ,i would briefly touch upon now--the one is the sublime precept of the text1 and the other the all-sufficient motive enforcing it4 ',be ye imitators of ,god as'--because you are1 and know yourselves to be--'beloved children1' and it therefore behoves you to be like your ,father4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 this sublime precept4 ,now notice that1 broad as this precept is1 and all-inclusive of every kind of excellence and duty as it may be1 the ,apostle has a very definite and specific meaning in it4 ,there is one feature1 and only one1 in which1 accurately speaking1 a man may be like ,god4 ,our limited knowledge can never be like the ungrowing perfect wisdom of ,god4 ,our holiness cannot be like ,his1 for there are many points in our nature and character which have no relation or correspondence to anything in the divine nature4 ,but what is left8 ,love is left4 ,our other graces are not like the ,god to whom they cleave4 ,my faith is not like ,his faithfulness4 ,my obedience is not like ,his authority4 ,my submission is not like ,his autocratic power4 ,my emptiness is not like ,his fulness4 ,my aspirations are not like ,his gratifying of them4 ,they correspond to ,god1 but correspondence is not similarity2 rather it presupposes unlikeness4 ,just as a concavity will fit into a convexity1 for the very reason that it is concave and not convex1 so the human unlikenesses1 which are correspondent to ,god1 are the characteristics by which it becomes possible that we should cleave to ,him and inhere in ,him4 ,but whilst there is much in which ,he stands alone and incomparable1 and whilst we have all to say1 ',who is like unto ,thee1 ,o ,lord8' or what likeness shall we compare unto ,him8 we yet can obey in reference to one thing1--and to one thing only1 as it seems to me--the commandment of my text1 ',be ye imitators of ,god4' ,we can be like ,him in nothing else1 but our love not only corresponds to ,his1 but is of the same quality and nature as ,his1 howsoever different it may be in sweep and in fervour and in degree4 ,the tiniest drop that hangs upon the tip of a thorn will be as perfect a sphere as the sun1 and it will have its little rainbow on its round1 with all the prismatic colours1 the same in tint and order and loveliness1 as when the bow spans the heavens4 ,the dew-drop may imitate the sun1 and we are to be imitators of ,god2 knit to ,him by the one thing in us which is kindred to ,him in the deepest sense--the love that is the life of ,god and the perfecting of man4 ,well1 then1 notice how the ,apostle in the context fastens upon a certain characteristic of that divine love which we are to imitate in our lives2 and thereby makes the precept a very practical and a very difficult one4 ,godlike love will be love that gives as liberally as ,his does4 ,what is the very essence of all love8 ,longing to be like4 ,and the purest and deepest love is love which desires to impart itself1 and that is ,god's love4 ,the ,bible seems to teach us that in a very mysterious sense1 about which the less we say the less likely we are to err1 there is a quality of giving up1 as well as of giving1 in ,god's love2 for we read of the ,father that 'spared not ,his ,son1' by which is meant1 not that ,he did not shrink from inflicting something upon the ,son1 but that ,he did not grudgingly keep that ,son for ,himself4 ',he spared not ,his own ,son1 but delivered ,him up to the death for us all4' ,and if we can say but little about that surrender on the part of the infinite ,fountain of all love1 we can say that ,jesus ,christ1 who is the activity of the ,father's love1 spared not ,himself1 but1 as the context puts it1 'gave ,himself up for us4' ,and that is the pattern for us4 ,that thought is not a subject to be decorated with tawdry finery of eloquence1 or to be dealt with as if it were a sentimental prettiness very fit to be spoken of1 but impossible to be practised4 ,it is the duty of every ,christian man and woman1 and they have not done their duty unless they have learned that the bond which unites them to men is1 in its nature1 the very same as the bond which unites men to ,god2 and that they will not have lived righteously unless they learn to be 'imitators of ,god1' in the surrender of themselves for their brother's good4 ,ah1 friend1 that grips us very tight--and if there were a little more reality and prose brought into our sentimental talk about ,christian love1 and that love were more often shown in action1 in all the self-suppression and taking a lift of a world's burdens1 which its great ,pattern demands1 the world would be less likely to curl a scornful lip at the ,church's talk about brotherly love4 ,you say that you are a ,christian--that is to say a child of ,god4 ,do you know anything1 and would anybody looking at you see that you knew anything1 about the love which counts no cost and no sacrifice too great to be lavished on the unworthy and the sinful8 ,but that brings me to another point4 ,the ,apostle here1 in the context1 not for the sake of saying pretty things1 but for the sake of putting sharp points on ,christian duty1 emphasises another thought1 that ,godlike love will be a forgiving love4 ,why should we be always waiting for the other man to determine our relations to him1 and consider that if he does not like us we are absolved from the duty of loving him8 ,why should we leave him to settle the terms upon which we are to stand8 ,god has love1 as the ,sermon on the ,mount puts it1 'to the unthankful and the evil1' and we shall not be imitating ,his example unless we carry the same temper into all our relationships with our fellows4 ,people sit complacently and hear all that ,i am now trying to enforce1 and think it is the right thing for me to say1 but do you think it is the right thing for you to do8 ,when a man obviously does not like you1 or perhaps tries to harm you1 what then8 ,how do you meet him8 ',he maketh ,his sun to shine1 and sendeth ,his rain1 on the unthankful and the evil4' ',be ye imitators of ,god1 as beloved children4' ,now note the all-sufficient motive for this great precept4 ,the sense of being loved will make loving1 and nothing else will4 ,the only power that will eradicate1 or break without eradicating1 our natural tendency to make ourselves our centres1 is the recognition that there1 at the heart1 and on the central throne of the universe1 and the divinest thing in it1 there sits perfect and self-sacrificing ,love1 whose beams warm even us4 ,the only flame that kindles love in a man's heart1 whether it be to ,god or to man1 is the recognition that he himself stands in the full sunshine of that blaze from above1 and that ,god has loved him4 ,our hearts are like reverberating furnaces1 and when the fire of the consciousness of the divine love is lit in them1 then from sides and roof the genial heat is reflected back again to intensify the central flame4 ,love begets love1 and according to ,paul1 and according to ,john1 and according to the ,master of both of them1 if a man loves ,god1 then that glowing beam will glow whether it is turned to earth or turned to heaven4 ,the ,bible does not cut love into two1 and keep love to ,god in one division of the heart and love to man in another1 but regards them as one and the same2 the same sentiment1 the same temper1 the same attitude of heart and mind1 only that in the one case the love soars1 and in the other it lives along the level4 ,the two are indissolubly tied together4 ,it is because a man knows himself to be beloved that therefore he is stimulated and encouraged to be an 'imitator of ,god' and1 on the other hand1 the sense of being ,god's child underlies all real imitation of ,him4 ,imitation is natural to the child4 ,it is a miserable home where a boy does not imitate his father1 and it is the father's fault in nine cases out of ten if he does not4 ,whoever feels himself to be a beloved child is thereby necessarily drawn to model himself on the ,father that he loves1 because he knows that the ,father loves him4 ,so ,i come to the blessed truth that ,christian morality does not say to us1 ',now begin1 and work1 and tinker away at yourselves1 and try to get up some kind of excellence of character1 and then come to ,god1 and pray ,him to accept you4' ,that is putting the cart before the horse4 ,the order is reversed4 ,we are to begin with taking our personal salvation and ,god's love to us for granted1 and to work from that4 ,realise that you are beloved children1 and then set to work to live accordingly4 ,if we are ever to do what is our bounden duty to do1 in all the various relations of life1 we must begin with recognising1 with faithful and grateful hearts1 the love wherewith ,god has loved us4 ,we are to think much and confidently of ourselves as beloved of ,god1 and that1 and only that1 will make us loving to men4 ,the ,nile floods the fields of ,egypt and brings greenness and abundance wherever its waters are carried1 because thousands of miles away1 close up to the ,equator1 the snows have melted and filled the watercourses in the far-off wilderness4 ,and so1 if we are to go out into life1 living illustrations and messengers of a love that has redeemed even us1 we must1 in many a solitary moment1 and in the depths of our quiet hearts1 realise and keep fast the conviction that ,god hath loved us1 and ,christ hath died for us4 ,but a solemn consideration has to be pressed on all our consciences1 and that is that there is something wrong with a man's ,christian confidence whose assurance that he himself possesses a share in the love of ,god in ,christ1 is not ever moving him to imitation of the love in which he trusts4 ,it is a shame that any one without ,christian faith and love should be as charitable1 as open to pity and to help1 as earnest in any sort of philanthropic work1 as ,christian men and women are4 ,but godless and perfectly secular philanthropy treads hard on the heels of ,christian charity to-day4 ,the more shame to us if we have been eating our morsels alone1 and hugging ourselves in the possession of the love which has redeemed us2 and if it has not quickened us to the necessity of copying it in our relations to our fellows4 ,there is something dreadfully wrong about such a ,christian character4 ',he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen1 how shall he love ,god whom he hath not seen8' ,take these plain principles1 and honestly fit them to your characters and lives1 and you will revolutionise both4 ,,what ,,children ,,of ,,light ,,should ,,be ',walk as children of light4'--,eph4 v4 #h4 ,it was our ,lord who coined this great name for ,his disciples4 ,paul's use of it is probably a reminiscence of the ,master's1 and so is a hint of the existence of the same teachings as we now find in the existing ,gospels1 long before their day4 ,jesus ,christ said1 ',believe in the light1 that ye may be the children of light'2 and ,paul gives substantially the same account of the way by which a man becomes a ,son of the ,light when he says1 in the words preceding my text1 ',ye were sometimes darkness1 but now are ye light in the ,lord4' ,union with ,him makes light1 just as the bit of carbon will glow as long as it is in contact with the electric force1 and subsides again into darkness when that is switched off4 ,to be in ,christ is to be a child of light1 and to believe in ,christ is to be in ,him4 ,but the intense moral earnestness of our ,apostle is indicated by the fact that on both occasions in which he uses this designation he does so1 not for the purpose of heightening the sense of the honour and prerogative attached to it1 but for the sake of deducing from it plain and stringent moral duties1 and heightening the sense of obligation to holy living4 ',walk as children of light4' ,be true to your truest1 deepest self4 ,manifest what you are4 ,let the sweet1 sacred secrets of inward communion come out in the trivialities of ordinary conduct2 make of your every thought a deed1 and see to it that every deed be vitalised and purified by its contact with the great truths and thoughts that lie in this name4 ,these are various ways of putting this one all-sufficient directory of conduct4 ,now1 in the context1 the ,apostle expands this concentrated exhortation in three or four different directions1 and perhaps we may best set forth its meaning if we shape our remarks by these1 ,i venture to cast them1 for the sake of emphasis1 into a hortatory form4 ,i4 ,aim at an all-round productiveness of the natural fruits of the light4 ,the true reading is1 ',walk as children of light1 for the fruit of the light' 7not spirit1 as the ,authorised ,version reads it7 'is in all goodness and righteousness and truth4' ,now1 it is obvious that the alteration of 'light' instead of 'spirit' brings the words into connection with the preceding and the following4 ,the reference to the 'fruits of the spirit' would be entirely irrelevant in this place2 a reference to the 'fruit of the light1' as being every form of goodness and righteousness and truth1 is altogether in place4 ,there is1 then1 a natural tendency in the light to blossom out into all forms and types of goodness4 ',fruit' suggests the idea of natural1 silent1 spontaneous1 effortless growth4 ,and1 although that is by no means a sufficient account of the process by which bad men become good men1 it is an inseparable element1 in all true moral renovation1 that it be the natural outcome and manifestation of an inward principle2 otherwise it is mere hypocritical adornment1 or superficial appearance4 ,if we are to do good we must first of all be good4 ,if from us there are to come righteousness and truth1 and all other graces of character1 there must1 first of all1 be the radical change which is involved in passing from separateness in the darkness to union with ,jesus ,christ in the light4 ,the ,apostle's theory of moral renovation is that you must begin with the implantation in the spirit of the source of all moral goodness--viz4 ,jesus ,christ--brought into the heart by the uniting power of humble faith4 ,and then there will be lodged in our being a vital power1 of which the natural outcome will be all manner of fair and pure things4 ,effort is needed1 as ,i shall have to say2 but prior to effort there must be union with ,jesus ,christ4 ,this wide1 general commandment of our text is sufficiently definite1 thinks ,paul2 for if the light be in you it will naturally effloresce into all forms of beauty4 ,light is the condition of fruitfulness4 ,everywhere the vital germ is only acted upon by the light4 ,no sunshine1 no flowers2 darkness produces thin1 etiolated1 whitened1 and feeble shoots at the best4 ,let the light blaze in1 and the blanched feebleness becomes vigorous and unfolds itself4 ,how much more will light be the condition of fruitfulness when the very light itself is the seed from which all fruit is developed4 ,but1 still further1 mark how there must be an all-round completeness in order that we shall fairly set forth the glory and power of the light of which our faith makes us children and partakers4 ,the fruit 'is in all goodness and righteousness and truth4' ,these three aspects--the good1 the right1 the true--may not be a scientific1 ethical classification1 but they give a sufficiently plain and practical distinction4 ,goodness1 in which the prevailing idea is beneficence and the kindlier virtues2 righteousness1 which refers to the sterner graces of justice2 truth1 in which the prevalent idea is conformity in action with facts and the conditions of man's life and entire sincerity--these three do cover1 with sufficient completeness1 the whole ground of possible human excellence4 ,but the ,apostle widens them still further by that little word all4 ,we all tend to cultivate those virtues which are in accordance with our natural dispositions1 or are made most easy to us by our circumstances4 ,and there is nothing in which we more need to seek comprehensiveness than in the effort to educate ourselves into1 and to educe from ourselves1 kinds of goodness and forms of excellence which are not naturally in accordance with our dispositions1 or facilitated by our circumstances4 ,the tree planted in the shrubbery will grow all lopsided2 the bushes on the edge of the cliff will be shorn away on the windward side by the teeth of the south-western gale1 and will lean over northwards1 on the side of least resistance4 ,and so we all are apt to content ourselves with doing the good things that are easiest for us1 or that fit into our temperament and character4 ,jesus ,christ would have us to be all-round men1 and would that we should seek to aim after and possess the kinds of excellence that are least cognate to our characters4 ,are you strong1 and do you pride yourself upon your firmness8 ,cultivate gentleness4 ,are you amiable1 and pride yourself1 perhaps1 upon your sympathetic tenderness8 ,try to get a little iron and quinine into your constitution4 ,seek to be the man that you are least likely to be1 and aim at a comprehensive development of 'all righteousness and goodness and truth4' ,further1 remember that this all-round completeness is not attained as the result of an effortless growth4 ,true1 these things are the fruits of the light1 but also true1 they are the prizes of struggle and the trophies of warfare4 ,no man will ever attain to the comprehensive moral excellence which it is in his own power to win2 no ,christian will ever be as all-round a good man as he has the opportunities of being1 unless he makes it his business1 day by day1 to aim after the conscious increase of gifts that he possesses1 and the conscious appropriation and possession of those of which he is still lacking4 ',nothing of itself will come1' or very little4 ,true1 the light will shine out in variously tinted ray if it be in a man1 as surely as from the seed come the blade and the ear and the full corn in the ear1 but you will not have nor keep the light which thus will unfold itself unless you put forth appropriate effort4 ,christ comes into our hearts1 but we have to bring ,him there4 ,christ dwells in our hearts1 but we have to work into our nature1 and work out in action1 the gifts that ,he bestows4 ,they will advance but little in the divine life who trust to the natural unfolding of the supernatural life within them1 and do not help its unfolding by their own resolute activity4 ',walk as children of the light4' ,there is your duty1 for 'the fruit of the light is all righteousness4' ,one might have supposed that the commandments would be1 ',be passive as children of the light1 for the light will grow4' ,but the ,apostle binds together1 as always1 the two things1 the divine working and the human effort at reception1 retention1 and application of that divine work1 just as he does in the great classical passage1 ',work out your own salvation1 for it is ,god that worketh in you4' ,,ii4 ,secondly1 the general exhortation of my text widens out itself into this--test all things by ,christ's approval of them4 ',proving what is well pleasing unto the ,lord4' ,that1 according to the natural construction of the ,greek1 is the main way by which the ,apostle conceives that his general commandment of 'walking as children of the light' is to be carried out4 ,you do it if1 step by step1 and moment by moment1 and to every action of life1 you apply this standard--,does ,christ like it8 ,does it please ,him8 ,when that test is rigidly applied1 then1 and only then1 will you walk as becomes the children of the light4 ,so1 then1 there is a standard--not what men approve1 not what my conscience1 partially illuminated1 may say is permissible1 not what is recognised as allowable by the common maxims of the world round about us1 but ,christ's approval4 ,how different the hard1 stern1 and often unwelcome prescriptions of law and rigidity of some standards of right become when they are changed into that which pleases the ,divine ,lord and ,lover6 ,surely it is something blessed that the hard1 cold1 and to such a large extent powerless conceptions of duty or obligation shall be changed into pleasing ,jesus ,christ2 and that so our hearts shall be enlisted in the service of our consciences1 and love shall be glad to do the ,beloved's will4 ,there are many ways by which the burden of life's obligations is lightened to the ,christian4 ,i do not know that any of them is more precious than the fact that law is changed into ,his will1 and that we seek to do what is right because it pleases the ,master4 ,there is the standard4 ,it will be easy for us to come to the right appreciation of individual actions when we are living in the light4 ,union with ,jesus ,christ will make us quick to discern ,his will4 ,we have a conscience2--well1 that needs educating and enlightening1 and very often correcting4 ,we have the ,word of ,god2--well1 that needs explanation1 and needs to be brought close to our hearts4 ,if we have ,christ dwelling in us1 in the measure in which we are in sympathy with ,him1 we shall be gifted with clear eyes1 not indeed to discern the expedient--that belongs to another region altogether--but we shall be gifted with very clear eyes to discern right from wrong1 and there will be an instinctive recoil from the evil1 and an instinctive attachment of ourselves to the good4 ,if we are in the ,lord we shall easily be able to prove what is acceptable and well-pleasing to ,him4 ,we shall never walk as the children of the light1 unless we have the habit of referring everything1 trifles and great things1 to ,his arbitrament1 and seeking in them all to do what is pleasing in ,his sight4 ,the smallest deed may be brought under the operation of the largest principles4 ,gravitation influences the microscopic grain of sand as well as planets and sun4 ,there is nothing so small but you can bring it into this category--it either pleases or displeases ,jesus ,christ4 ,and the faults into which ,christian men fall and in which they continue are very largely owing to their carelessness in applying this standard to the small things of their daily lives4 ,the sleepy ,custom ,house officers let the contraband article in because it seems to be of small bulk4 ,there are old stories about how strong castles were taken by armed men hidden in an innocent-looking cart of forage4 ,do you keep up a rigid inspection at the frontier1 and see to it that everything vindicates its right to enter because it is pleasing to ,jesus ,christ4 ,,iii4 ,thirdly1 we have here another expansion of the general command1 and that is--keep well separate from the darkness4 ,have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness1 but rather reprove them4' ,now1 your time will not allow me to dwell1 as ,i had hoped to do1 upon the considerations to be suggested here4 ,the very briefest possible mention of them is all that ,i can afford4 ',the unfruitful works of darkness'2--well1 then1 the darkness has its works1 but though they be works they are not worth calling fruit4 ,that is to say1 nothing except the conduct which flows from union with ,jesus ,christ so corresponds to the man's nature and relations1 or has any such permanence about it as to entitle it to be called fruit4 ,other acts may be 'works' but ,paul will not dishonour the great word 'fruit' by applying it to such rubbish as these1 and so he brands them as 'unfruitful works of darkness4' ,keep well clear of them1 says the ,apostle4 ,he is not talking here about the relations between ,christians and others1 but about the relations between ,christian men and the works of darkness4 ,only1 of course1 in order to avoid fellowship with the works you will sometimes have to keep yourselves well separate from their doers4 ,much association with such men is forced upon us by circumstances1 and much is the imperative duty of ,christian beneficence and charity4 ,but ,i venture to express the strong and growing conviction that there are few exhortations that the secularised ,church of this generation needs more than this commandment of my text3 ',have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness' ',what communion hath light with darkness8' ,ah6 we see plenty of it1 unnatural as it is1 in the so-called ,church of to-day4 ',what concord hath ,christ with ,belial8 ,what part hath he that believeth with an infidel8 ,come ye out from among them1 and be ye separate4' ,and1 brethren1 remember1 a part of the separation is that your light shall be a constant condemnation of the darkness4 ',but rather reprove them1' says my text2 that is a work that devolves upon all ,christians4 ,it is to be done1 no doubt1 by the silent condemnation of evil which ever comes from the quiet doing of good4 ,as an old preacher has it1 ',the presence of a saint hinders the devil of elbow-room for doing his tricks4' ,the old legend told us that the fire-darting ,apollo shot his radiant arrows against the pythons and 'dragons of the slime4' ,the sons of light have the same office--by their light of life to make the darkness aware of itself1 and ashamed of itself2 and to change it into light4 ,but silent reproving is not all our duty4 ,the ,christian ,church has wofully fallen beneath its duty1 not only in regard to its complicity with the social crimes of each generation1 but in regard to its cowardly silence towards them2 especially when they flaunt and boast themselves in high places4 ,what has the ,church said worthy of itself in regard to war8 ,what has the ,church said worthy of itself in regard to impurity8 ,what has the ,church said worthy of itself in regard to drunkenness8 ,what has the ,church said worthy of itself in regard to the social vices that are honeycombing society and this city to-day8 ,if you are the sons of light1 walk as the sons of light1 and have 'no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness'2 but set the trumpet to your lips1 and 'declare unto ,my people their transgressions1 and to the house of ,israel their sin4' ,,the ,,fruit ,,of ,,the ,,light ',the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth4'--,eph4 v4 #i 7,r4,v474 ,this is one of the cases in which the ,revised ,version has done service by giving currency to an unmistakably accurate and improved reading4 ,that which stands in our ,authorised ,version1 'the fruit of the ,spirit' seems to have been a correction made by some one who took offence at the violent metaphor1 as he conceived it1 that 'light' should bear 'fruit' and desired to tinker the text so as to bring it into verbal correspondence with another passage in the ,epistle to the ,galatians1 where 'the fruits of the ,spirit' are enumerated4 ,but the reading1 'the fruit of the light1' has not only the preponderance of manuscript authority in its favour1 but is preferable because it preserves a striking image1 and is in harmony with the whole context4 ,the ,apostle has just been exhorting his ,ephesian friends to walk as 'children of the light' and before he goes on to expand and explain that injunction he interjects this parenthetical remark1 as if he would say1 ,to be true to the light that is in you is the sum of duty1 and the condition of perfectness1 'for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth' ,that connection is entirely destroyed by the substitution of 'spirit4' ,the whole context1 both before and after my text1 is full of references to the light as working in the life2 and a couple of verses after it we read about 'the unfruitful works of darkness' an expression which evidently looks back to my text4 ,so please do understand that our text in this sermon is--',the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth4' ,i4 ,now1 first of all1 ,i have just a word to say about this light which is fruitful4 ,note--for it is1 ,i think1 not without significance--a minute variation in the ,apostle's language in this verse and in the context4 ,he has been speaking of 'light1' now he speaks of 'the light'2 and that1 ,i think1 is not accidental4 ,the expression1 'walk as children of light1' is more general and vague4 ,the expression1 'the fruit of the light1' points to some specific source from which all light flows4 ,and observe1 also1 that we have in the previous context1 ',ye were sometime darkness1 but now are ye light in the ,lord1' which evidently implies that the light of which my text speaks is not natural to men1 but is the result of the entrance into their darkness of a new element4 ,now ,i do not suppose that we should be entitled to say that ,paul here is formally anticipating the deep teaching of the ,apostle ,john that ,jesus ,christ is 'the ,light of men1' and especially of ,christian men4 ,but he is distinctly asserting1 ,i think1 that the light which blesses and hallows humanity is no diffused glow1 but is all gathered and concentrated into one blazing centre1 from which it floods the hearts of men4 ,or1 to put away the metaphor1 he is here asserting that the only way by which any man can cease to be1 in the doleful depths of his nature1 darkness in its saddest sense is by opening his heart through faith1 that into it there may rush1 as the light ever does where an opening--be it only a single tiny cranny--is made1 the light which is ,christ1 and without whom is darkness4 ,i know1 of course1 that1 apart altogether from the exercise of faith in ,jesus ,christ1 there do shine in men's hearts rays of the light of knowledge and of purity2 but if we believe the teaching of ,scripture1 these1 too1 are from ,christ1 in ,his universally-diffused work1 by which1 apart altogether from individual faith1 or from a knowledge of revelation1 ,he is 'the light that lighteth every man coming into the world4' ,and ,i hold that1 wheresoever there is conscience1 wheresoever there is judgment and reason1 wheresoever there are sensitive desires after excellence and nobleness1 there is a flickering of a light which ,i believe to be from ,christ ,himself4 ,but that light1 as widely diffused as humanity1 fights with1 and is immersed in1 darkness4 ,in the physical world1 light and darkness are mutually exclusive3 where the one is the other comes not2 but in the spiritual world the paradox is true that the two co-exist4 ,apart from revelation and the acceptance of ,jesus ,christ's person and work by our humble faith1 the light struggles with the darkness1 and the darkness obstinately refuses to admit its entrance1 and 'comprehendeth it not4' ,and so1 ineffectual but to make restless and to urge to vain efforts and to lay up material for righteous judgment1 is the light that shines in men whose hearts are shut against ,christ4 ,the fruitful light is ,christ within us1 and1 unless we know and possess it by the opening of heart and mind and will1 the solemn words preceding my text are true of us3 ',ye were sometime darkness4' ,oh1 brother6 do you see to it that the subsequent words are true of you3 ',now are ye light in the ,lord4' ,only if you are in ,christ are you truly light4 ,,ii4 ,now1 secondly1 notice the fruitfulness of this indwelling light4 ,of course the metaphor that light1 like a tree1 grows and blossoms and puts forth fruit1 is a very strong one4 ,and its very violence and incongruity help its force4 ,fruit is generally used in ,scripture in a good sense4 ,it conveys the notion of something which is the natural outcome of a vital power1 and so1 when we talk about the light being fruitful1 we are setting1 in a striking image1 the great ,christian thought that1 if you want to get right conduct1 you must have renewed character2 and that if you have renewed character you will get right conduct4 ,this is the principle of my text4 ,the light has in it a productive power2 and the true way to adorn a life with all things beautiful1 solemn1 lovely1 is to open the heart to the entrance of ,jesus ,christ4 ,god's way is--first1 new life1 then better conduct4 ,men's way is1 'cultivate morality1 seek after purity1 try to be good4' ,and surely conscience and experience alike tell us that that is a hopeless effort4 ,to begin with what should be second is an anachronism in morals1 and will be sure to result in failure in practice4 ,he is not a wise man that tries to build a house from the chimneys downwards4 ,and to talk about making a man's doings good before you have secured a radical change in the doer1 by the infusion into him of the very life of ,jesus ,christ ,himself1 is to begin at the top story1 instead of at the foundation4 ,many of us are trying to put the cart before the horse in that fashion4 ,many of us have made the attempt over and over again1 and the attempt always has failed and always will fail4 ,you may do much for the mending of your characters and for the incorporation in your lives of virtues and graces which do not grow there naturally and without effort4 ,i do not want to cut the nerves of any man's stragglings1 ,i do not want to darken the brightness of any man's aspirations1 but ,i do say that the people who1 apart from ,jesus ,christ1 and the entrance into their souls by faith of ,his quickening power1 are seeking1 some of them nobly1 some of them sadly1 and all of them vainly1 to cure their faults of character1 will never attain anything but a superficial and fragmentary goodness1 because they have begun at the wrong end4 ,but 'make the tree good' and its fruit will be good4 ,get ,christ into your heart1 and all fair things will grow as the natural outcome of ,his indwelling4 ,the fruitfulness of the light is not put upon its right basis until we come to understand that the light is ,christ ,himself1 who1 dwelling in our hearts by faith1 is made in us as well as 'unto us wisdom1 and righteousness1 and salvation1 and redemption4' ,the beam that is reflected from the mirror is the very beam that falls on the mirror1 and the fair things in life and conduct which ,christian people bring forth are in very deed the outcome of the vital power of ,jesus ,christ which has entered into them4 ',i live1 yet not ,i1 but ,christ liveth in me1' is the ,apostle's declaration in the midst of his struggles2 and the perfected saints before the throne cast their crowns at ,his feet1 and say1 ',not unto us6 not unto us1 but unto ,thy name be the glory4' ,the talent is the ,lord's1 only the spending of it is the servant's4 ,and so the order of the ,divine appointment is1 first1 the entrance of the light1 and then the conduct that flows from it4 ,note1 too1 how this same principle of the fruitfulness of the light gives instruction as to the true place of effort in the ,christian life4 ,the main effort ought to be to get more of the light into ourselves4 ',abide in ,me1 and ,i in you4' ,and so1 and only so1 will fruit come4 ,and such an effort has to take in hand all the circumference of our being1 and to fix thoughts that wander1 and to still wishes that clamour1 and to empty hearts that are full of earthly loves1 and to clear a space in minds that are crammed with thoughts about the transient and the near1 in order that the mind may keep in steadfast contemplation of ,jesus1 and the heart may be bound to ,him by cords of love that are not capable of being snapped1 and scarcely of being stretched1 and the will may in patience stand saying1 ',speak1 ,lord6 for ,thy servant heareth'2 and the whole tremulous nature may be rooted and built up in and on ,him4 ,ah1 brother6 if we understand all that goes to the fulfilment of that one sweet and merciful injunction1 ',abide in ,me1' we shall recognise that there is the field on which ,christian effort is mainly to be occupied4 ,but that is not all4 ,for there must be likewise the effort to appropriate1 and still more to manifest in conduct1 the fruit-bringing properties of that indwelling light4 ',giving all diligence add to your faith4' ',having these promises1 let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit1 perfecting holiness in the fear of the ,lord4' ,we are often told that just as we trust ,christ for our forgiveness and acceptance1 so we are to trust ,him for our sanctifying and perfecting4 ,it is true1 and yet it is not true4 ,we are to trust ,him for our sanctifying and our perfecting4 ,but the faith which trusts ,him for these is not a substitute for effort1 but it is the foundation of effort4 ,and the more we rely on ,his power to cleanse us from all evil1 the more are we bound to make the effort in ,his power and in dependence on ,him1 to cleanse ourselves from all evil1 and to secure as our own the natural outcomes of ,his dwelling within us1 which are 'the fruits of the light4' ,,iii4 ,and so1 lastly1 notice the specific fruits which the ,apostle here dwells upon4 ,they consist1 says he1 in all goodness and righteousness and truth4 ,now 'goodness' here seems to me to be used in its narrower sense1 just as the same ,apostle uses it in the ,epistle to the ,romans1 in contrast with 'righteousness1' where he says1 'for a good man some would even dare to die4' ,there he means by 'good1' as he does here by 'goodness1' not the general expression for all forms of virtue and gracious conduct1 but the specific excellence of kindliness1 amiability1 or the like4 ',righteousness' again1 is that which rigidly adheres to the strict law of duty1 and carefully desires to give to every man what belongs to him1 and to every relation of life what it requires4 ,and 'truth' is rather the truth of sincerity1 as opposed to hypocrisy and lies and shams1 than the intellectual truth as opposed to error4 ,now1 all these three types of excellence--kindliness1 righteousness1 truthfulness--are apt to be separated4 ,for the first of them--amiability1 kindliness1 gentleness--is apt to become too soft1 to lose its grip of righteousness1 and it needs the tonic of the addition of those other graces1 just as you need lime in water if it is to make bone4 ,righteousness1 on the other hand1 is apt to become stern1 and needs the softening of goodness to make it human and attractive4 ,the rock is grim when it is bare2 it wants verdure to drape it if it is to be lovely4 ,truth needs kindliness and righteousness1 and they need truth4 ,for there are men who pride themselves on 'speaking out1' and take rudeness and want of regard for other people's sensitive feelings to be sincerity4 ,and1 on the other hand1 it is possible that amiability may be sweeter than truth is1 and that righteousness may be hypocritical and insincere4 ,so ,paul says1 ',let this white light be resolved in the prism of your characters into the threefold rays of kindliness1 righteousness1 truthfulness4' ,and then1 again1 he desires that each of us should try to make our own a fully developed1 all-round perfection--all goodness and righteousness and truth2 of every sort1 that is1 and in every degree4 ,we are all apt to cultivate graces of character which correspond to our natural disposition and make4 ,we are all apt to become torsos1 fragmentary1 one-sided1 like the trees that grow against a brick wall1 or those which stand exposed to the prevailing blasts from one quarter of the sky4 ,but we should seek to appropriate types of excellence to which we are least inclined1 as well as those which are most in harmony with our natural dispositions4 ,if you incline to kindliness1 try to brace yourselves with righteousness2 if you incline to righteousness1 to take the stern1 strict view of duty1 and to give to every man what he deserves1 remember that you do not give men their dues unless you give them a great deal more than their deserts1 and that righteousness does not perfectly allot to our fellows what they ought to receive from us1 unless we give them pity and indulgence and forbearance and forgiveness when it is needed4 ,the one light breaks into all colours--green in the grass1 purple and red in the flowers1 flame-coloured in the morning sky1 blue in the deep sea4 ,the light that is in us ought1 in like manner1 to be analysed into1 and manifested in1 'whatsoever things are lovely and of good report4' ,and so1 dear friends1 here is a test for us all4 ,devout emotion1 orthodox creed1 practical diligence in certain forms of benevolence and philanthropic work1 are all very well2 but ,jesus ,christ came to make us like ,himself1 and to turn our darkness into light that betrays its source by its resemblance1 though it be a weakened one1 to the sun from which it came4 ,we have no right to call ourselves ,christ's followers unless we are1 in some measure1 ,christ's pictures4 ,here is a message of cheer and hope for us all4 ,we have all tried1 and tried1 and tried1 over and over again1 to purge and mend these poor characters of ours4 ,how long the toil1 how miserable and poor the results6 ,a million candles will not light the night2 but when ,god's mercy of sunrise comes above the hills1 beasts of prey slink to their dens and birds begin to sing1 and flowers open1 and growth resumes again4 ,we cannot mend ourselves except partially and superficially2 but we can open will1 heart1 and mind1 by faith1 for ,his entrance2 and where ,he comes1 there ,he slays the evil creatures that live in and love the dark1 and all gracious things will blossom into beauty4 ,if we are in the ,lord we shall be light2 and if the ,lord1 who is the ,light1 is in us1 we1 too1 shall bear fruits of 'all righteousness and goodness and truth4' ,,pleasing ,,christ ',proving what is acceptable unto the ,lord4'--,eph4 v4 #aj4 ,these words are closely connected with those which precede them in the #hth verse--',walk as children of light4' ,they further explain the mode by which that commandment is to be fulfilled4 ,they who1 as children of light1 mindful of their obligations and penetrated by its brightness1 seek to conform their active life to the light to which they belong1 are to do so by making experiment of1 or investigating and determining1 what is 'acceptable to the ,lord4' ,it is the sum of all ,christian duty1 a brief compendium of conduct1 an all-sufficient directory of life4 ,there need only be two remarks made by way of explanation of my text4 ,one is that the expression rendered 'acceptable' is more accurately and forcibly given1 as in the ,revised ,version1 by the plainer word 'well-pleasing4' ,and the other is that 'the ,lord' here1 as always in the ,new ,testament--unless the context distinctly forbids it--means ,jesus ,christ4 ,here the context distinctly demands it4 ,for only a sentence or two before1 the ,apostle has been speaking about 'those who were sometime darkness having been made light in the ,lord'--which is obviously in ,jesus ,christ4 ,and here1 therefore1 what pleases ,christ is the ,christian's highest duty1 and the one prescription which is required to be obeyed in order to walk in the light is1 to do that which pleases ,him4 ,i4 ,so1 then1 in these brief words1 so comprehensive1 and going so deep into the secrets of holy and noble living1 ,i want you to notice that we have1 first1 the only attitude which corresponds to our relations to ,christ4 ,how remarkable it is that this ,apostle should go on the presumption that our conduct affects ,him1 that it is possible for us to please1 or to displease ,jesus ,christ now4 ,we often wonder whether the beloved dead are cognisant of what we do2 and whether any emotions of something like either our earthly complacency or displeasure1 can pass across the undisturbed calm of their hearts1 if they are aware of what their loved ones here are doing4 ,that question has to be left very much in the dark1 however our hearts may sometimes seek to enforce answers4 ,but this we know1 that that loving ,lord1 not merely by the omniscience of ,his divinity1 but by the perpetual knowledge and sympathy of ,his perfect manhood1 is not only cognizant of1 but is affected by1 the conduct of ,his professed followers here on earth4 ,and since it is true that ,he now is not swept away into some oblivious region where the dead are1 but is close beside us all1 cognizant of every act1 watching every thought1 and capable of having something like a shadow of a pang passing across the ,divine depth of ,his eternal joy and repose at the right hand of ,god1 then1 surely1 the only thing that corresponds to such a relationship as at present subsists between the ,christian soul and the ,lord is that we should take as our supreme and continual aim that1 'whether present or absent1 we should be well-pleasing to ,him4' ,nor does that demand rest only upon the realities of our present relation to that ,lord1 but it goes back to the past facts on which our present relation rests4 ,and the only fitting response to what ,he has been and done for us is that we should1 each of us1 in the depth of our hearts1 and in the widest circumference of the surface of our lives1 enthrone ,him as absolute ,lord1 and take ,his good pleasure as our supreme law4 ,jesus ,christ is ,king because ,he is ,redeemer4 ,the only adequate response to what ,he has done for me is that ,i should absolutely submit myself to ,him1 and say to ,him1 ',o ,lord6 truly ,i am ,thy servant6 ,thou hast loosed my bonds4' ,the one fitting return to make for that ,cross and ,passion is to enthrone ,his will upon my will1 and to set ,him as absolute ,monarch over the whole of my nature4 ,thoughts1 affections1 purposes1 efforts1 and all should crown ,him ,king1 because ,he has died for me4 ,the conduct which corresponds to the relations which we bear to ,christ as the present ,judge of our work1 and the ,redeemer of our souls by ,his mighty deed in the past1 is this of my text1 to make my one law ,his will1 and to please ,him that hath called me to be ,his soldier4 ,the meaning of being a ,christian is that1 in return for the gift of a whole ,christ1 ,i give my whole self to ,him4 ',why call ye me ,lord6 ,lord6 and do not the things which ,i say8' ,if ,he is what ,he assuredly is to every one of us1 nothing can be plainer than that we are thereby bound by obligations which are not iron1 but are more binding than if they were1 because they were woven out of the cords of love and the bands of a man1 bound to serve ,him supremely1 ,him only1 ,him always1 ,him by the suppression of self1 and the making ,his pleasure our law4 ,,ii4 ,now1 secondly1 let me ask you to notice that we have here the all-sufficient guide for practical life4 ,it sounds very mystical1 and a trifle vague1 to say1 ,do everything to please ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is all-comprehensive2 it is mystical in the sense that it goes down below the mere surface of prescriptions about conduct4 ,but it is not vague1 and it is capable of immediate application to every part1 and to every act1 of every man's life4 ,for what is it that pleases ,jesus ,christ8 ,his own likeness2 as1 according to the old figure--which is1 ,i suppose1 true to spiritual facts1 whether to external facts or not--the refiner knows that the metal is ready to flow when he can see his own face in it4 ,jesus ,christ desires most that we should all be like ,him4 ,that we are to bear ,his image is as comprehensive1 and at the same time as specific1 a way of setting forth the sum of ,christian duty1 as are the words of my text4 ,the two phrases mean the same thing4 ,and what is the likeness to ,jesus ,christ which it is thus our supreme obligation and our truest wisdom and perfection to bear8 ,well6 we can put it all into two words--self-suppression and continual consciousness of obedience to the ,divine will4 ,the life of ,jesus ,christ1 in its brief records in ,scripture1 is felt by every thoughtful man to contain within its narrow compass adequate direction for1 and to set forth the ideal of1 human life4 ,that is not because ,he went through all varieties of earthly experience1 for ,he did not4 ,the life of a ,jewish peasant nineteen centuries ago was extremely unlike the life of a ,manchester merchant1 of a college professor1 of a successful barrister1 of a struggling mother1 in this present day4 ,but in the narrow compass of that life there are set forth these two things1 which are the basis of all human perfection--the absolute annihilation of self-regard1 and the perpetual recognition of a ,divine will4 ,these are the things which every ,christian man and woman is bound by the power of ,christ's ,cross to translate into the actions correspondent with their particular circumstances4 ,and so the student at his desk and the sailor on his deck1 the miner in his pit1 the merchant on ',change1 the worker in various handicrafts1 may each be sure that they are doing what is pleasing to ,christ if1 in their widely different ways1 they seek to do what they can do in all the varieties of life--crucify self1 and commune with ,god4 ,that is not easy4 ,whatever may be the objections to be brought against this summary of ,christian duty1 the objection that it is vague is the last that can be sustained4 ,try it1 and you will find out that it is anything but vague4 ,it will grip tight enough1 depend upon it4 ,it will go deep enough down into all the complexities of our varying circumstances4 ,if it has a fault 7which it has not7 it is in the direction of too great stringency for unaided human nature4 ,but the stringency is not too great when we depend upon ,him to help us1 and an impossible ideal is a certain prophet of its own fulfilment some day4 ,so1 brethren1 here is the sufficient guide1 not because it cumbers us with a mass of wretched little prescriptions such as a martinet might give1 about all sorts of details of conduct4 ,that is left to profitless casuists like the ancient rabbis4 ,but the broad principles will effloresce into all manner of perfectnesses and all fruits4 ,he that has in his heart these thoughts1 that the definition of virtue is pleasing ,jesus ,christ1 that the concrete form of goodness is likeness to ,him1 and that the elements of likeness to ,him are these two1 that ,i should never think about myself1 and always think about ,god1 needs no other guide or instructor to fill his life with 'whatsoever things are lovely and of good report1' and to make his own all that the world calls virtue1 and all which the consciences of good men have conspired to praise4 ,but not only does this guide prove its sufficiency by reason of its comprehensiveness1 but also because there is no difficulty in ascertaining what at each moment it prescribes4 ,of course1 ,i know that such a precept as this cannot contain in itself guidance in matters of mere practical expediency4 ,but1 apart from these--which are to be determined by the ordinary exercise of prudence and common sense--in regard to the right and the wrong of our actions1 ,i believe that if a man wants to know ,christ's will1 and takes the way of knowing it which ,christ has appointed1 he shall not be left in darkness1 but shall have the light of life4 ,for love has a strange power of divining love's wishes1 as we all know1 and as many a sweetness in the hearts and lives of many of us has shown us4 ,if we cherish sympathy with ,jesus ,christ we shall look on things as ,he looks on them1 and we shall not be left without the knowledge of what ,his pleasure is4 ,if we keep near enough to ,him the glance of ,his eye will do for guidance1 as the old psalm has it4 ,they are rough animal natures that do not understand how to go1 unless their instructors be the crack of the whip or the tug of the bridle4 ',i will guide thee with ,mine eye4' ,a glance is enough where there are mutual understanding and love4 ,two musical instruments in adjoining rooms1 tuned to the same pitch1 have a singular affinity1 and if a note be struck on the one the other will vibrate to the sound4 ,and so hearts here that love ,jesus ,christ and keep in unison with ,him1 and are sympathetic with ,his desires1 will learn to know ,his will1 and will re-echo the music that comes from ,him4 ,and if our supreme desire is to know what pleases ,jesus ,christ1 depend upon it the desire will not be in vain1 ',if any man wills to do ,his will he shall know of the doctrine4' ,ninety per cent4 of all our perplexities as to conduct come from our not having a pure and simple wish to do what is right in ,his sight1 clearly supreme above all others4 ,when we have that wish it is never left unsatisfied4 ,and even if sometimes we do make a mistake as to what is ,christ's pleasure1 if our supreme wish and honest aim in the mistake have been to do ,his pleasure1 we may be sure that ,he will be pleased with the deed4 ,even though its body is not that which ,he willed us to do1 its spirit is that which ,he does desire4 ,and if we do a wrong thing1 a thing in itself displeasing to ,him1 whilst all the while we desired to please ,him1 we shall please ,him in the deed which would otherwise have displeased ,him4 ,and so two ,christian men1 for instance1 who take opposite sides in a controversy1 may both of them be doing what is well-pleasing in ,his sight1 whilst they are contradicting one another1 if they are doing it for ,his sake4 ,and it is possible that the inquisitor and his victim may both have been serving ,christ4 ,at all events1 let us be sure of this1 that whensoever we desire to please ,him1 ,he will help us to do it1 and ordinarily will help us by making clear to us the path on which ,his smile rests4 ,,iii4 ,again1 notice that we have here an all-powerful motive for ,christian life4 ,the one thing which all other summaries of duty lack is motive power to get themselves carried into practice4 ,but we all know1 from our own happy human experience1 that no motive which can be brought to bear upon men is stronger1 when there are loving hearts concerned1 than this simple one1 ',do it to please me4' ,and that is what ,jesus ,christ really says4 ,that is no piece of mere sentiment1 brethren1 nor of mere pulpit rhetoric4 ,that is the deepest thought of ,christian morality1 and is the distinctive peculiarity which gives the morality of the ,new ,testament its clear supremacy over all other4 ,there are precepts in it far nobler and loftier than can be found elsewhere4 ,the perspective of virtues and graces in it is different from that which ordinarily prevails amongst men4 ,but ,i do not think that it is in the details of its precepts so much as in the communication of power to obey them1 and in the suggestion of the motive which makes them all easy1 that the difference of ,christ's ethics from all the teaching of the world beside is most truly to be found4 ,and here lies the excellence thereof4 ,it is a poor1 cold thing to say to a man1 ',do this because it is right4' ,it is a still more powerless thing to say to him1 ',do this because it is expedient' ',do this because1 in the long run1 it leads to happiness4' ,it is all different when you say1 ',do this to please ,jesus ,christ1 to please that ,christ who pleased not ,himself but gave ,himself for you4' ,that is the fire that melts the ore4 ,that is the heat that makes flexible the hard1 stiff material4 ,that is the motive which makes duty delight1 which makes 'the rough places plain' and 'the crooked things straight4' ,it does not abolish natural tastes1 it does not supersede natural disinclinations1 but it does smooth and soften unwelcome and hard tasks1 and it invests service with a halo of glory1 and changes the coldness of duty into rosy light2 as when the sunrise strikes on the peaks of the frozen mountains4 ,the one motive which impels men1 and can be trusted to secure in them whatsoever things are noble1 is to please ,him4 ,so we have the secret of blessedness in these words4 ,for self-submission and suppression are blessedness4 ,our miseries come from our unbridled wills1 far more than from our sensitive organisations4 ,it is because we do not accept providences that providences hurt4 ,it is because we do not accept the commandments that the commandments are burdensome4 ,those who have no will1 except as it is vitalised by ,god's will1 have found the secret of blessedness1 and have entered into rest4 ,in the measure in which we approximate to that condition1 our wills will be strengthened as well as our hearts set at ease4 ,and blessedness comes1 too1 because the approbation of the ,master1 which is the aim of the servant1 is reflected in the satisfaction of an approving conscience1 which points onwards to the time when the ,master's approval shall be revealed in the servant's glory4 ,i was reading the other day about a religious reformer who arose in ,eastern lands a few years since1 and gathered many disciples4 ,he and his principal follower were seized and about to be martyred4 ,they were suspended by cords from a gibbet1 to be fired at by a platoon of soldiers4 ,and as they hung there1 the disciple turned to his teacher1 and as his last word on earth said1 ',master6 are you satisfied with me8' ,his answer was a silent smile2 and the next minute a bullet was in his heart4 ,dear brethren1 do you turn to ,jesus ,christ with the same question1 ',master6 art ,thou satisfied with me8' and you will get ,his smile here2 and hereafter1 ',well done1 good and faithful servant4' ,,unfruitful ,,works ,,of ,,darkness ',and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness1 but rather reprove them4'--,eph4 v4 #aa4 ,we have seen in a former sermon that 'the fruit1' or outcome1 'of the ,light' is a comprehensive perfection1 consisting in all sorts and degrees of goodness and righteousness and truth4 ,therefore1 the commandment1 ',walk as children of the light1' sums up all ,christian morality4 ,is there need1 then1 for any additional precept8 ,yes2 for ,christian people do not live in an empty world4 ,if there were no evil round them1 and no proclivity to evil within them1 it would be amply sufficient to say to them1 ',be true to the light which you behold4' ,but since both these things are1 the commandment of my text is further necessary4 ,we do not work in vacuo1 and therefore friction and atmosphere have to be taken account of2 and an essential part of 'walking as children of the light' is to know how to behave ourselves when confronted with 'the works of darkness4' ,these ,ephesian ,christians lived in a state of society honeycombed with hideous immorality1 the centre of which was the temple1 which was their city's glory and shame4 ,it was all but impossible for them to have nothing to do with the works of evil1 unless1 indeed1 they went out of the world4 ,but the difficulty of obedience does not affect the duty of obedience1 nor slacken in the smallest degree the stringency of a command4 ,this obligation lies upon us as fully as it did upon them1 and the discharge of it by professing ,christians would bring new life to moribund churches4 ,i4 ,let me ask you to note with me1 first1 the fruitlessness inherent in all the works of darkness4 ,you may remember that ,i pointed out1 in a former discourse on the context1 that the ,apostle1 here and elsewhere1 draws a very significant distinction between 'works' and 'fruit1' and that distinction is put very strikingly in the words of my text4 ,there are works which are barren4 ,it is a grim thought that there may be abundant activity which1 in the eyes of ,god1 comes to just nothing2 and that pages and pages of laborious calculations1 when all summed up1 have for result a great round #j4 ,men are busy1 and hosts of them are doing what the old fairy stories tell us that evil spirits were condemned to do--spinning ropes out of sea-sand2 and their life-work is nought when they come to reckon it up4 ,i have no time to dwell upon this thought1 but ,i wish1 just for a moment or two1 to illustrate it4 ,all godless life is fruitless1 inasmuch as it has no permanent results4 ,permanent results of a sort1 indeed1 follow everything that men do1 for all our actions tend to make character1 and they all have a share in fixing that which depends upon character--viz4 destiny1 both here and yonder4 ,and thus the most fleeting of our deeds1 which in one aspect is as transitory as the snow upon the great plains when the sun rises1 leaves everlasting traces upon ourselves and upon our condition4 ,but yet acts concerned with transitory things may have permanent fruit1 or may be as transient as the things with which they are concerned4 ,and the difference depends on the spirit in which they are done4 ,if the roots are only in the surface-skin of soil1 when that is pared off the plant goes4 ,a life that is to be eternal must strike its roots through all the superficial humus down to the very heart of things4 ,when its roots twine themselves round ,god then the deeds which blossom from them will blossom unfading for ever4 ,think of men going empty-handed into another world1 and saying1 ',o ,lord6 ,i made a big fortune in ,manchester when ,i lived there1 and ,i left it all behind me'2 or1 ',i mastered a science1 and one gleam of the light of eternity has antiquated it'2 or1 ',i gained prizes1 won my aims1 and they have all dropped from my hands1 and here ,i stand1 having to say in the most tragic sense3 ,nothing in my hands ,i bring4' ,and another man dies in the ,lord1 and his 'works do follow' him4 ,it is not every vintage that bears exportation4 ,some wines are mellowed by crossing the ocean2 some are turned into vinegar4 ,the works of darkness are unfruitful because they are transient4 ,and they are unfruitful because1 whilst they last1 they yield no real satisfaction4 ,the ,apostle could say to another ,church with a certainty as to what the answer would be1 ',what fruit had ye then'--when ye were doing them--'in the things whereof ye are now ashamed8' ,and the answer is ',none6' ,of course1 it is true that men do bad things because they like them better than good4 ,of course1 it is true that the misery of mankind is that they have no appetite in the general for the only real satisfaction4 ,but it is also true that no man who feeds his heart and mind on anything short of ,god is really at rest in anything that he does or possesses4 ,occasional twinges of conscience1 dim perceptions that after all they are walking in a vain show2 glimpses of nobler possibilities1 a vague unrest1 an unwillingness to reflect and look the facts of their condition in the face1 like men that will not take stock because they half suspect that they are insolvent--these are the conditions that attach to all godless men's lives4 ,there is no real fruit for their thirsty lips to feed upon4 ,the smallest man is too large to be satisfied with anything short of ,infinity1 ,the human heart is like some narrow opening on a hill-side1 so narrow that it looks as if a glassful of water would fill it4 ,but it goes away down1 down1 down into the depths of the mountain1 and you may pour in hogsheads and no effect is visible4 ,god1 and ,god alone1 brings to the thirsty heart the fruit that it needs4 ,another solemn thought illustrates the unfruitfulness of a godless life4 ,there is no correspondence between what such a man does and what he is intended to do4 ,think of what the most degraded and sensuous wretch that shambles about the slums of a city1 sodden with beer and rotten with profligacy1 could be4 ,think of the raptures of devout contemplation and the energies of holy work which are possible for that soul1 and then say--though it is an extreme case1 the principle holds in less extreme cases--,are these things that men do apart from ,god1 however shining1 noble1 illustrious they may be in the eyes of the world1 and trumpeted forth by the mouthpieces of popular opinion1 are these things worth calling fruits fit to be borne by such a tree8 ,no more than the cankers on a rose-bush or the galls on an oak-tree are worthy of being called fruit are these works that some of you have as the only products of a life's activity4 ',wherefore1 when ,i looked that it should bring forth grapes1 brought it forth wild grapes8' ,,ii4 ,and now1 secondly1 notice the plain ,christian duty of abstinence4 ',have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness4' ,now1 the text1 as it stands in our version1 seems to suggest that these dark works are personified as companions whom a good man ought to avoid2 and that1 therefore1 the bearing of the exhortation is1 ',have nothing to do1 in your own individual lives1 with evil things that one man can commit4' ,but ,i take it that1 important as that injunction and prohibition is1 the ,apostle's meaning is somewhat different1 and that my text would perhaps be more accurately translated if another word were substituted for 'have no fellowship with4' ,the original expression seems rather to mean1 ',do not go partners with other people in works of darkness1 which it takes more than one to commit4' ,or1 to put it into another language1 the ,apostle is regarding ,christian people here as members of society1 and exhorting them to a certain course of conduct in reference to plain and palpable existing evils around them4 ,and such an exhortation to the duty of plain abstinence from things that the opinion of the world around us has no objection to1 but which are contrary to the light1 is addressed to all ,christian people4 ,the need of it ,i do not require to illustrate at any length4 ,but let me remind you that the devil has no more cunning way of securing a long lease of life for any evil than getting ,christian people and ,christian ,churches to give it their sanction4 ,what was it that kept slavery alive for centuries8 ,largely1 that ,christian men solemnly declared that it was a divine institution4 ,what is it that has kept war alive for all these centuries8 ,largely1 that bishops and preachers have always been ready to bless colours1 and to read a ,christening service over a man-of-war--and1 ,i suppose1 to ask ,god that an eighty-ton gun might be blessed to smash our enemies to pieces1 and not to blow our sailors to bits4 ,and what is it that preserves the crying evils of our community1 the immoralities1 the drunkenness1 the trade dishonesty1 and all the other things that ,i do not need to remind you of in the pulpit8 ,largely this1 that professing ,christians are mixed up with them4 ,if only the whole body of those who profess and call themselves ,christians would shake their hands clear of all complicity with such things1 they could not last4 ,individual responsibility for collective action needs to be far more solemnly laid to heart by professing ,christians than ever it has been4 ,nor need ,i remind you1 ,i suppose1 with what fatal effects on the ,gospel and the ,church itself all such complicity is attended4 ,even the companions of wrongdoers despise1 whilst they fraternise with1 the professing ,christian who has no higher standard than their own4 ,what was it that made the ,church victorious over the combined forces of imperial persecution1 pagan superstition1 and philosophic speculation8 ,i believe that among all the causes that a well-known historian has laid down for the triumph of ,christianity1 what was as powerful as--,i was going to say even more than--the ,gospel of peace and love which the ,church proclaimed was the standard of austere morality which it held up to a world rotting in its own filth4 ,and sure ,i am that wherever the ,church says1 ',so do not ,i1 because of the fear of the ,lord1' it will gain a power1 and will be regarded with a possibly reluctant1 but a very real1 respect which no easy-going coming down to the level of popular moralities will ever secure for a silver-slippered ,christianity4 ,and so1 brethren1 ,i would say to you1 ,do not be afraid of the old name ,puritan4 ,ignorant people use it as a scoff4 ,it should be a crown of glory4 ',have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness4' ,but how is this to be done8 ,well1 of course1 there is only one way of abstaining1 and that is1 to abstain4 ,but there are a great many different ways of abstaining4 ,light is not fire4 ,and the more that ,christian people feel themselves bound to stand aloof from common evils1 the more are they bound to see that they do it in the spirit of the ,master1 which is meekness4 ,it is always an invidious position to take up4 ,and if we take it up with any heat and temper1 with any lack of moderation1 with any look of ostentation of superior righteousness1 or with any trace of the ,boanerges spirit which says1 ',let us call down fire from heaven and consume them1' our testimony will be weakened1 and the world will have a right to say to us1 ',jesus we know1 and ,paul we know2 but who are ye8' ',who made this man a judge and a divider over us8' ',in meekness instructing them that oppose themselves4' ,,iii4 ,lastly1 note the still harder ,christian duty of vigorous protest4 ,the further duty beyond abstinence which the text enjoins is inadequately represented by our version1 'but rather reprove them4' ,for the word rendered in our version 'reprove' is the same which our ,lord employed when ,he spoke of the mission of the ,comforter as being to 'convince 7or convict7 the world of sin4' ,and it does not merely mean 'reprove1' but so to reprove as to produce the conviction which is the object of the reproof4 ,this task is laid on the shoulders of all professing ,christians4 ,a silent abstinence is not enough4 ,no doubt1 the best way1 in some circumstances1 to convict the darkness is to shine4 ,our holiness will convict sin of its ugliness4 ,our light will reveal the gloom4 ,the presentation of a ,christian life is the ,christian man's mightiest weapon in his conflict with the world's evil4 ,but that is not all4 ,and if ,christian people think that they have done all their duty1 in regard to clamant and common iniquities1 by simply abstaining from them and presenting a nobler example1 they have yet to learn one very important chapter of their duty4 ,a dumb ,church is a dying ,church1 and it ought to be2 for ,christ has sent us here in order1 amongst other things1 that we may bring ,christian principles to bear upon the actions of the community2 and not be afraid to speak when we are called upon by conscience to do so4 ,now ,i am not going to dwell upon this matter1 but ,i want just to point out to you how1 in the context here1 there are two or three very important principles glanced at which bear upon it4 ,and one of them is this1 that one reason for speaking out is the very fact that the evils are so evil that a man is ashamed to speak about them4 ,did you ever notice this context1 in which the ,apostle1 in the next verse to my text1 gives the reason for his commandment to 'reprove' thus--',for it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret'8 ,did you ever hear of a fantastic tenderness for morality so very sensitive that it is not at all shocked when the immoral things are done1 but glows with virtuous indignation when a ,christian man speaks out about them8 ,there are plenty of people nowadays who tell us that it is 'indelicate' and 'indecent' and 'improper1' and ,i do not know how much else1 for a ,christian teacher or minister to say a word about certain moral scandals4 ,but they do not say anything about the immorality and the indelicacy and the indecency of doing them4 ,let us have done with that hypocrisy1 brethren4 ,i am arguing for no disregard for proprieties2 ,i want all fitting reticence observed1 and ,i do not wish indiscriminate rebukes to be flung at foul things2 but it is too much to require that1 by reason of the very inky cloud of filth that they fling up like cuttlefish1 they should escape censure4 ,let us remember ,paul's exhortation1 and reprove because the things are too bad to be spoken about4 ,further1 note in the context the thought that the conviction of the darkness comes from the flashing upon it of the light4 ',all things when they are reproved are made manifest by the light4' ,which1 being translated into other words1 is this3--,be strong in your brave protest1 because it only needs that the thing should be seen as it is1 and called by its right name1 in order to be condemned4 ,the ,assyrians had a belief that if ever1 by any chance1 a demon saw himself in a mirror1 he was frightened at his own ugliness and incontinently fled4 ,and if ,christian people would only hold up the mirror of ,christian principle to the hosts of evil things that afflict our city and our country1 they would vanish like ghosts at sunrise4 ,they cannot stand the light1 therefore let us cast the light upon them4 ,and do not forget the other final principle here1 which is imperfectly represented by our translation4 ,we ought to read1 ',whatever is made manifest is light4' ,yes4 ,in the physical world when light falls upon a thing1 you see it because there is on it a surface of light4 ,and in the moral world the intention of all this conviction is that the thing disclosed to be darkness should1 in the very disclosure1 cease to be dark1 should forsake its nature and be transformed into light4 ,such transformation is not always the case4 ,alas6 ,there are evil deeds on which the light falls1 and it does nothing4 ,but the purpose in all cases should be1 and the issue in many will be1 that the merciful conviction by the light will be followed by the conversion of darkness into light4 ,and so1 dear brethren1 ,i bring this text to your hearts1 and lay it upon your consciences4 ,we may not all be called upon to speak2 we are all called upon to be4 ,you can shine1 and by shining show how dark the darkness is4 ,the obligation is laid upon us all2 the commandment still comes to every ,christian which was given to the old prophet1 ',declare unto ,my people their transgression1 and to the house of ,jacob their sin4' ,a quaint old writer says that the presence of a saint 'hinders the devil of elbow room to do his tricks4' ,we can all rebuke sin by our righteousness1 and by our shining reveal the darkness to itself4 ,we do not walk as children of the light unless we keep ourselves from all connivance with works of darkness1 and by all means at our disposal reprove and convict them4 ',come out from among them1 and be ye separate1 and touch no unclean thing1 saith the ,lord4' ,,paul',s ,,reasons ,,for ,,temperance ',and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness1 but rather reprove them4 #ab4 ,for it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret4 #ac4 ,but all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light3 for whatsoever doth make manifest is light4 #ad4 ,wherefore he saith1 ,awake thou that sleepest1 and arise from the dead1 and ,christ shall give thee light4 #ae4 ,see then that ye walk circumspectly1 not as fools1 but as wise1 #af4 ,redeeming the time1 because the days are evil4 #ag4 ,wherefore be ye not unwise1 but understanding what the will of the ,lord is4 #ah4 ,and be not drunk with wine1 wherein is excess2 but be filled with the ,spirit2 #ai4 ,speaking to yourselves in psalms1 and hymns1 and spiritual songs1 singing and making melody in your heart to the ,lord2 #bj4 ,giving thanks always for all things unto ,god and the ,father in the name of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 #ba4 ,submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of ,god4'--,eph4 v4 #aa-ba4 ,there are three groups of practical exhortations in this passage1 of which the first deals with the ,christian as a reproving light in darkness2 the second1 with the ,christian life as wisdom in the midst of folly2 and the third with ,christian sobriety and inspiration as the true exhilaration in contrast with riotous drunkenness4 ,probably such intoxication was prevalent in ,ephesus in connection with the worship of ',diana of the ,ephesians1' for ,paul was not the man to preach vague warnings against vices to which his hearers were not tempted4 ,an under-current of allusion to such orgies accompanying the popular cult may be discerned in his words4 ,these two preceding sets of precepts can only be briefly touched on now4 ,they lead up to the third1 and the second is built on the first by a 'therefore' 7ver4 #ae74 ,the ,apostle has just been saying that ,christians were 'darkness1 but are now light in the ,lord1' and thence drawing the law for their life1 to walk as 'children of light4' ,a very important part of such walk is recoiling from all share in 'the unfruitful works of darkness1'--a significant expression branding such deeds as being both bad in their source and in their results4 ,dark doings have consequences tragic enough and certain enough1 but they are barren of all such issues as correspond to men's obligations and capacities4 ,their outcome is like the growths on a tree1 which are not fruit1 but products of disease4 ,there is no fruit grown in the dark2 there is no worthy product from us unless ,christ is our light4 ,if ,he is1 and we are therefore 'light in the ,lord1' we shall 'reprove' or 'convict' the ,christless life4 ,its sinfulness will be shown by the contrast with the ,christ-life4 ,a thunder-cloud never looks so lividly black as when smitten by sunshine4 ,our lives ought to make evil things ashamed to show their ugly faces4 ,christians should be1 as it were1 the incarnate conscience of a community4 ,the ,apostle is not thinking so much of words as of deeds1 though words are not to be withheld when needful4 ,the agent of reproof is 'the light1' which here is the designation of character as transformed by ,jesus1 and the process of reproof or conviction is simply the manifestation of the evil in its true nature1 which comes from setting it in the beams of the light4 ,to show sin as it is1 is to condemn it2 'for everything that is made manifest is light4' ,observe that ,paul here speaks of 'light1' not 'the light1'--that is1 he is speaking now not of ,christian character1 which he had likened to light1 but of physical light to which he had likened it1 and is backing up his figurative statement as to the reproving and manifesting effects of the former1 by the plain fact as to the latter1 that1 when daylight shines on anything1 it is revealed1 and1 as it were1 becomes light4 ,he clenches his exhortation by quoting probably an early ,christian hymn1 which regards ,christ as the great illuminator1 ready to shine on all drowsy1 dark souls as soon as they stir and rouse themselves from drugged and fatal sleep4 ,the second set of exhortations here is connected with the former by a 'therefore1' which refers to the whole preceding precept4 ,because the ,christian is to shake himself free from complicity with works of darkness1 and to be their living condemnation1 he must take heed to his goings4 ,a climber on a glacier has to look to his feet1 or he will slip and fall down a crevasse1 perhaps1 from which he will never be drawn up4 ,heedlessness is folly in such a world as this4 ',don't care comes to the gallows4' ,the temptation to 'go as you please' is strong in youth1 and it is easy to scoff at 'cold-blooded folks who live by rule1' but they are the wise people1 after all4 ,a great element in that heedfulness is a quick insight into the special duty and opportunity of the moment1 for life is not merely made up of hours1 but each has its own particular errand for us1 and has some possibility in it which1 neglected1 may be lost for ever4 ,the mystic solemnity of time is that it is made up of 'seasons4' ,we shall walk heedfully in the degree in which we are awake to the moment's meaning1 and grasp opportunity by the forelock1 or1 as ,paul says1 'buy up the opportunity4' ,but wise heed to our walk is not enough1 unless we have a sure standard by which to regulate it4 ,a man may take great care of his watch1 but unless he can compare it with a chronometer1 or1 as they do in ,edinburgh1 pull out their watches when the one o'clock gun is fired on a signal from ,greenwich1 he may be far out and not know it4 ,so the ,apostle adds the one way to keep our lives right1 and the one source of true1 practical wisdom--the 'understanding what the will of the ,lord is4' ,he will not go far wrong whose instinctive question1 as each new moment1 with its solemn1 animating possibilities1 meets him1 is1 ',what wilt ,thou have me to do8' ,he will not be nearly right who does not first of all ask that4 ,then ,paul comes to his precept of temperance4 ,it naturally flows from the preceding1 inasmuch as a drunken man is as sure to be incapable of taking heed to his conduct as of walking straight4 ,he reels in both4 ,he is stone-blind to the meaning of the moments4 ,he hears no call1 though the 'voice of the trumpet' may be 'exceeding loud1' and as for understanding what the will of the ,lord is1 that is far beyond him4 ,the intoxication of an hour or the habit of drinking makes obedience to the foregoing precepts impossible4 ,this master vice carries all other vices in its pocket4 ,paul makes a daring1 and1 as some would think1 an irreverent1 comparison1 when he proposes being 'filled with the ,spirit' as the ,christian alternative or substitute to being 'drunken with wine4' ,but the daring comparison suggests deep truth4 ,the spurious exhilaration1 the loosening of the bonds of care1 the elevation above the pettiness and monotony of daily life1 which the drunkard seeks1 and is degraded and deceived in proportion as he momentarily finds1 are all ours1 genuinely1 nobly1 and to our infinite profit1 if we have our empty spirits filled with that ,divine ,life4 ,that exhilaration does not froth away1 leaving bitter dregs in the cup4 ,that loosening of the bonds of care1 and elevation above life's sorrows1 does not flow from foolish oblivion of facts1 nor end in their being again roughly forced on us4 ',riot' bellows itself hoarse1 and is succeeded by corresponding depression2 but the calm joys of the ,spirit-filled spirit last1 grow1 and become calmer and more joyful every day4 ,the boisterous songs of boon companions are set in contrast with the ,christian 'psalms and hymns and spiritual songs1' which were already in use1 and a snatch from one of which ,paul has just quoted4 ,good-fellowship tempts men to drink together1 and a song is a shoeing-horn for a glass2 but the camaraderie is apt to end in blows1 and is a poor caricature of the bond knitting all who are filled with the ,spirit to one another1 and making them willing to serve one another4 ,the roystering or maudlin geniality cemented by drink generally ends in quarrels1 as everybody knows that the truculent stage of intoxication succeeds the effusively affectionate one4 ,but they who have the ,spirit in them1 and not only 'live in the ,spirit1' but 'walk in the ,spirit1' esteem each the other better than themselves4 ,in a word1 to be filled with the ,spirit is the way to possess all the highest forms of the good which men are tempted to intoxication to secure1 and which in it they find only for a moment1 and which is coarse and unreal4 ,,sleepers ,,at ,,noonday ',wherefore ,he saith1 ,awake thou that sleepest1 and arise from the dead1 and ,christ shall give thee light1'--,eph4 v4 #ad4 ,this is the close of a short digression about 'light4' ,the 'wherefore' at the beginning of my text seems to refer to the whole of the verses that deal with that subject4 ,it is as if the ,apostle had said1 ',i have been telling you about light and its blessed effects4 ,now ,i tell you how you may win it for yours4 ,the condition on which it is to be received by men is that they awake and arise from the dead4' ',he saith4' ,who8 ,the speaker whose words are quoted is not named1 but this is the common formula of quotation from the ,old ,testament4 ,it is1 therefore1 probable that the word ',creator' or ',god' is to be supplied4 ,but there is no ,old ,testament passage which exactly corresponds to the words before us2 the nearest approach to such being the ringing exhortation of the prophet to the ,messianic ,church1 ',arise6 ,shine1 for thy light is come1 and the glory of the ,lord is risen upon thee4' ,and it is probable that the ,apostle is here quoting1 without much regard either to the original connection or the primary purpose of the word1 a well-known old saying which seemed to him appropriately to fall in with the trend of his thoughts4 ,like other writers he often adorns his own words with the citation of those of others without being very careful as to whether he1 in some measure1 diverts these from their original intention4 ,but the words of my text fairly represent the prophetic utterance1 in so far as they echo the call to the sleepers to wake1 and share the prophet's confidence that light is streaming out for all those whose eyes are opened4 ,the want of precise correspondence between our text and the prophetic passage has led some to suppose that we have here the earliest recorded fragment of a ,christian hymn4 ,it would be interesting if that were so1 but the formula of citation seems to oblige us to look to ,scripture for the source from which my text is taken4 ,however1 let us leave these thoughts1 and come to the text itself4 ,it is an earnest call from ,god4 ,it describes a condition1 peals forth a summons1 and gives a promise4 ,let us listen to what ',he saith' in all these regards4 ,i4 ,first of all1 then1 the condition of the persons addressed4 ,the two sad metaphors1 slumberers and dead1 are applied to the same persons4 ,there must1 therefore1 be some latitude in the application of the figures and they must be confined in their interpretation to some one or more points in which sleep and death are alike4 ,now we all know that1 as the proverb says1 'sleep is the image of death4' ,and what is the point of comparison8 ,mainly this1 that the sleeper and the corpse are alike unconscious of an external world1 unable to receive impressions from it1 or to put forth action on it2 and there1 as ,i take it1 is especially the point which is in the ,apostle's view4 ,the sleeper and the dead man alike are in the midst of an order of things of which they are all unaware4 ,and you and ,i live in two worlds1 one1 this low1 fleeting1 material one2 and the other the white1 snowy peaks that girdle it as do the ,alps the ,lombard plains2 and men live all unconscious of that which lies on their horizon4 ,but the metaphor of a level ground encircled by mountains does not fully represent the closeness of the connection between these two worlds1 of both of which every one of us is a denizen4 ,for on all sides1 pressing in upon us1 enfolding us like an atmosphere1 penetrating into all the material1 underlying all which is visible1 all of which has its roots in the unseen1 is that world which the mass of men are in a conspiracy to ignore and forget4 ,and just as the sleeper is unconscious of all around him in his chamber1 and of all the stir and beauty of the world in which he lives1 so the bulk of us go blind and darkling through life1 absorbed in the things seen1 and never lift even a momentary and lack-lustre glance to the august realities which lie behind these1 and give them all their significance and beauty4 ,yes2 and just as in a dream men are busy with baseless phantoms that vanish and are forgotten1 and seem to themselves to be occupied1 whilst all the while they are lying prone and passive1 so the mass of us are sleep-walkers4 ,what are many men who will be hurrying on to the ,manchester ,exchange on ,tuesday8 ,what are they but men who are dreaming that they are at work1 but are only at work on dreams which will vanish when the eyes are opened8 ,practical men1 who are busy and absorbed with affairs and with the things of this present1 curl their lips about 'idealists' of all sorts1 be they idealists of thought1 or of art1 or of benevolence1 or of religion1 and call them dreamers4 ,the boot is on the other leg4 ,it is the idealists that are awake1 and it is you people that live for to-day1 and have not learned that to-day is a little fragment and sliver of eternity--it is you who are dreamers1 and all these things round about us--the solid-seeming realities--are illusions1 and ',like the bubbles on a river1 ,sparkling1 bursting1 borne away1' they will disappear4 ,there is only one reality1 and that is ,god1 and the only lives that lay hold of the substance are those which grasp ,him4 ,the rest of you are shadows hunting for shadows4 ,the two metaphors of my text coincide in suggesting another thing1 and that is the awful contrast in the average life between what is in a man and what comes out of him4 ',dormant power1' we talk about4 ,ah1 how tragically the true man is dormant in all the work of worldly hearts6 ,god has made a great mistake in making you what you are1 if there is no place for you to exercise your powers in but this present world1 and nothing to exercise them on except the things that pass and perish4 ,travellers in lands where civilisation used to be1 and barbarism now is1 find sculptured stones from temples turned into fences for cattle-sheds and walls round pigstyes4 ,and that is something like what men do with the faculties that ,god has given them4 ,why1 the best part of you1 brother1 if you are not a ,christian1 and living a ,christian life--the best part of you is asleep1 and it is only the lower nature of you that is awake6 ,sometimes the sleepers stir uneasily4 ,it used to be said that earthquakes were caused by a giant rolling himself from side to side in his troubled slumber4 ,and there are earthquakes in your heart and spirit caused by the half-waking of the dormant self1 the true man1 who is immersed and embruted in sense and the things of time4 ,some of you by earthly lusts1 some of you by over-indulgence in fleshly appetites1 eating and drinking and the like2 some of you by absorption in the mere externals of trade and profession and occupation to the entire neglect of the inward thing which would glorify and exalt these--but all of us somehow1 unless we are living for ,god1 have lulled our best1 true1 central self into slumber1 and lie as if dead4 ,now1 brethren1 do not forget that this exhortation of my text1 and therefore this description1 is addressed to a community of professing ,christians4 ,i hope you will not misunderstand me as if ,i thought that such a picture as ,i have been trying to draw applies only to men that have no religion in them at all4 ,it applies in varying degrees to men that have1 as--,i was going to say the bulk1 but perhaps that is exaggeration1 let me say a tragically large number--of professing ,christians1 and a proportionate number of the professing ,christians in this audience have1 a little life and a great circumference of death4 ,dear brethren1 you may call yourselves1 and may be ,christian people1 and have somewhat shaken off the torpor1 and roused yourself from the slumbering death of which ,i have been speaking4 ,remember that it still hangs to you1 and that it was of ,christians that the ,master said3 ',whilst the ,lord was away they all slumbered and slept'2 and that it was of a ,christian ,church1 and not of a pagan world1 that the same voice from heaven said3 ',thou hast a name that thou livest1 and art dead4' ,and so ,i beseech you1 bear with me1 and do not think ,i am scolding1 or flinging about wild words at random1 when ,i make a very earnest appeal to each individual professing1 and real1 ,christian in this congregation1 and ask them to consider1 each for themselves1 how much of sleep is still in their drowsy eyes1 and how far it is true that the quickening life of ,jesus ,christ has penetrated1 as the sunbeams into the darkness1 into the heavy mass of their natural death4 ,,ii4 ,secondly1 let me ask you to look at the summons to awake4 ,it comes like the morning bugle to an army1 ',awake1 thou that sleepest1 and arise from the dead4' ,now1 ,i am not going to waste your time by talking about the old1 well-worn1 interminable1 and unprofitable controversy as to ,god's part and man's in this awaking1 but ,i do wish to insist upon this plain fact1 that the command here presupposes upon our parts1 whether we be ,christian people or not1 the ability to obey4 ,god would not mock a man by telling him to do what he cannot do4 ,and it is perfectly clear that the one attitude in which we may be sure of ,god's help to keep any of ,his commandments1 and this amongst the rest1 is when we are trying to keep them4 ',stretch out thy hand1' said ,christ to the man whose disease was that he could not stretch it out4 ',arise and walk1' said ,christ to the man whose lifelong sadness it was that his limbs had no power4 ',lazarus1 come forth1' said ,christ unto the dull1 cold ear of death4 ,and ,lazarus heard1 wherever he was1 and1 though his feet were tangled with the graveclothes1 he came stumbling out1 because the power to do what he was bid had come wrapped in the command to do it4 ,and if these other two men had turned to ,jesus and said1 ',what is the use of telling me to stretch out my hand1 or me to move my limbs8 ,thou knowest that ,i can not1' they would have lain there paralysed till they died4 ,but when they heard the command there came a tingling sense of new ability into the withered limb4 ',and he stretched forth his hand1 and it was restored whole as the other4' ,ay1 but the process of restoration began when he willed to stretch it out in obedience to the command1 which was a promise as much as a command4 ,so we need not trouble ourselves with the question how the dead man can arise1 or how the sleeper can wake himself4 ,this1 at all events1 is clear1 that if what ,i have been saying is true as to the main point in view in both the metaphors1 viz4 the unconsciousness of the unseen world1 and the slumbering powers that we have within us1 then the remedy for that is in our own hands4 ,there are scarcely any limits to be put to a man's capacity of determining for himself what shall be the object of his thought1 his interest1 his affection1 or his pursuits4 ,you can withdraw your desires and contemplations from the intrusive and absorbing present4 ,you can coerce yourselves to concentrate more thought than you do1 more interest1 affection1 and effort than you have ever done1 upon the things that are unseen4 ,you can turn your gaze thither4 ,you cannot directly and immediately regulate your feelings1 but you can settle the thoughts which shall guide the feelings1 and you can1 and you do1 fix for yourselves1 though not consciously1 the things which shall be uppermost in your regard1 and supreme in the ordering of your life4 ,and so the commandment of my text is but this1 ',wake from the illusions2 rouse yourselves to the contemplation of the things unseen and eternal4 ,let the ,lord always be before your face4' ,and you will be awake and alive4 ,,iii4 ,and so my last point is the promise of the morning light which gladdens the wakeful eye4 ',christ shall give thee light4' ,now1 if the words of my text are an allusion to the prophecy to which ,i have already referred1 it is striking to observe1 though ,i cannot dwell upon the thought1 that ,paul here unhesitatingly ascribes to ,jesus ,christ an action which1 in the source of his quotation1 is ascribed to ,jehovah4 ',arise1 shine1 for thy light has come1 and the glory of ,jehovah is risen upon thee1' says the prophet4 ',arise6 thou that sleepest1' says ,paul1 'and ,christ shall give thee light4' ,as always1 he regards his ,lord as possessed of fully divine attributes2 and he has learned the depth of the ,master's own saying1 ',whatsoever things the ,father doeth1 these also doeth the ,son likewise4' ,but ,i turn from that to the main point to be insisted upon here1 that the ,apostle is setting forth this as a certainty1 that if a man will open his eyes he will have light enough4 ,the sunshine is flooding the world4 ,it falls upon the closed eyelids of the sleepers1 and would fain gently lift them1 that it might enter4 ,a man needs nothing more than to shake off the slumber1 and bring himself into the conscious presence of the unseen glories that surround us1 in order to get light enough and to spare--whether you mean by light knowledge for guidance on the path of life1 or whether you mean by it purity that shall scatter the darkness of evil from the heart1 or whether you mean by it the joy that comes in the morning1 radiant and fresh as the sunrise over the ,eastern hills4 ',awake1 and ,christ shall give thee light4' ,the miracle of ,goshen is reversed1 in the case of many of us1 the land is flashing in the sunshine1 but within our houses there is midnight darkness1 not because there is not light around1 but because the shutters are shut4 ,oh1 brethren1 it is a solemn thing to choose the darkness rather than the light4 ,and you do that--though not consciously1 and in so many words1 making your election--by indifference1 by neglect1 by the direction of the main current of your thoughts and desires and aims to perishable things1 and by the deeds that follow from such a disposition4 ,these choose for you1 and you1 in effect1 choose by them4 ,i beseech you1 do not let ,christ's own trumpet-call fall upon your ears1 as if faint and far away1 like the unwelcome summons that comes to a drowsy man in the morning4 ,you know that if1 having been called1 he makes up his mind to lie a little longer1 he is almost sure to fall more dead asleep than he was before4 ,and if you hear1 however dim1 distantly1 and through my poor words1 ,christ's voice saying to you1 ',awake6 thou that sleepest1' do not neglect it4 ,the only safe course is to spring up at once4 ,if thou dost1 ',christ shall give thee light1' never fear4 ,the light is all about you4 ,you only need to open your eyes1 and it will pour in4 ,if you do not1 you surround yourself with darkness that may be felt here1 and ensures for yourself a horror of great darkness in the death hereafter4 ,,redeeming ,,the ,,time ',see1 then1 that ye walk circumspectly1 not as fools1 but as wise1 redeeming the time1 because the days are evil4'--,eph4 v4 #ae1 #af4 ,some of us have1 in all probability1 very little more 'time' to 'redeem4' ,some of us have1 in all probability1 the prospect of many years yet to live4 ,for both classes my text presents the best motto for another year4 ,the most frivolous among us1 ,i suppose1 have some thoughts when we step across the conventional boundary that seems to separate the unbroken sequence of moments into periods2 and as you in your business take stock and see how your accounts stand1 so ,i would fain1 for you and myself1 make this a moment in which we may see where we are going1 what we are doing1 and how we are using this great gift of life4 ,my text gives us the true ,christian view of time4 ,it tells us what to do with it1 and urges by implication certain motives for the conduct4 ,i4 ,we have1 first1 what we ought to think about 'the time4' ,there are two words in the ,new ,testament1 both of which are translated time1 but they mean very different things4 ,one of them1 the more common1 simply implies the succession of moments or periods2 the other1 which is employed here1 means rather a definite portion of time to which some definite work or occurrence belongs4 ,it is translated sometimes season1 sometimes opportunity4 ,both these renderings occur in immediate proximity in the ,epistle to the ,galatians1 where the ,apostle says3 ',as we have therefore opportunity let us do good to all men1 for in due season we shall reap1 if we faint not4444' ,and1 again1 it is employed side by side with the other word to which ,i have referred1 in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 where we read1 ',it is not for you to know the times or the seasons'--the former word simply indicating the succession of moments1 the latter word indicating epochs or crises to which special work or events belong4 ,and so here 'redeeming the time' does not merely mean making the most of moments1 but means laying hold of1 and understanding the special significance of1 life as a whole1 and of each succeeding instant of it as the season for some specific duty4 ,it is not merely 'time1' it is 'the time'2 not merely the empty succession of beats of the pendulum1 but these moralised1 as it were1 heightened1 and having significance1 because each is apprehended as having a special mission1 and affording an opportunity for a special work4 ,now1 there are two aspects of that general thought1 on each of which ,i would touch4 ,the ,apostle here uses the singular number1 and speaks not of the times1 but of 'the time'2 as if the whole of life were an opportunity1 a season for some one clear duty which manifestly belongs to it1 and is meant to be done in it4 ,what is that8 ,there are a great many ways of answering that question1 but even more important perhaps than the way of answering is the mood of mind which asks it4 ,if we could only get into this1 as our habitual temper and disposition1 asking ourselves what life is for1 then we should have conquered nine-tenths of our temptations1 and all but secured that we shall aim at the purpose which thus clearly and constantly shines before us4 ,oh6 if ,i could get some of my friends here this morning1 who have never really looked this solemn question in the face1 to rise above the mere accidents of their daily occupations1 and to take their orders1 not from circumstances1 or from the people whom they admire and imitate1 but at first hand from considering what they really are here for1 and why their days in their whole sweep are given them1 ,i should not have spoken in vain4 ,the sensualist answers the question in one way1 the busy ,manchester man in another1 the careful1 burdened mother in another1 the student in another1 the moralist in another4 ,but all that is good in each answer is included in the wider one1 that the end of life1 the purpose for which 'the season' is granted us1 is that 'we should glorify ,god and enjoy ,him for ever4' ,i do not care whether you say that the end for which we live is the salvation of our souls1 or whether you put it in other words1 and say that it is the cultivation and perfecting of a ,christ-like and ,god-pleasing character1 or whether you admit still another aspect1 and say that it is the intention of time to prepare us for that which lies beyond time4 ,time is the lackey of eternity1 and the chamberlain that opens the gates of the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,all these various answers are at bottom one4 ,life is ours mainly in order that1 by faith in ,jesus ,christ1 we should struggle1 and do1 and by struggles1 by sorrows1 and by all that befalls us1 should grow liker ,him1 and so fitter for the calm joys of that place where the throb of the pendulum has ceased1 and the hours are stable and eternal4 ,we live here in order to get ready for living yonder4 ,and we get ready for living yonder1 when here we understand that every moment of life is granted us for the one purpose1 which can be pursued through all life--viz4 the becoming liker our dear ,lord1 and the drinking in to our own hearts more of ,his ,spirit1 and moulding our characters more in conformity with ,his image4 ,that is what my life and yours are given us for4 ,if we succeed in that1 we succeed all round4 ,if we fail in that1 whatever else we succeed in1 we have failed altogether4 ,but then1 remember1 still further1 the other aspect in which we can look at this thought4 ,that ultimate1 all-embracing end is reached through a multitude of nearer and intermediate ones4 ,whilst life1 as a whole1 is the season for learning to know and for possessing ,god1 life is broken up into smaller portions and periods1 each of which has some special duty appropriate to it and a 'lesson for the day4' ,now many of us1 who entirely agree1 theoretically1 in saying that all life is granted for this highest purpose1 go wrong here and fail to discern the significance of single moments4 ,to-day is always commonplace2 it is yesterday that is beautiful1 and to-morrow that is full of possibilities1 to the vulgar mind4 ,but to-day is common and low4 ,there are mountains ahead and mountains behind1 purple with distance and radiant with sunshine1 and the sky bends over them and seems to touch their crests4 ,but here1 on the spot where we stand1 life seems flat and mean1 and far away from the heavens4 ,we admit the meaning of life taken altogether1 but it is very hard to break up that recognition into fragments1 and to feel the worth of these fleeting moments which1 just because they are here1 seem to be of small account4 ,so we forget that life is only the aggregate of small present instants1 and that the hour is sixty times sixty insignificant seconds1 and the day twenty-four brief hours1 and the year #cfe commonplace days1 and the life threescore years and ten4 ,brethren1 carry your theoretical recognition of the greatness and solemnity of the purposes for which life has been given here into each of the moments of the passing day1 and you will find that there is nothing so elastic as time2 and that you can crowd into a day as much as a languid thousand years do sometimes hold1 of sacrifice and service1 of holy joys1 and of likeness to ,jesus ,christ4 ,he who has learned that all the moments are heavy with significance1 and pregnant with immortal issues1 he1 too1 in some measure may share in the prerogative of the timeless ,god1 and to ,him 'one day may be as a thousand years1 and a thousand years as one day4' ,it is not the beat of the pendulum or the tick of the clock that measure time1 but it is the deeds which we crowd into it1 and the feelings and thoughts which it ministers to us4 ,this passing life draws all its importance from the boundless eternal issues to which it leads4 ,every little puddle on the paving-stones this morning1 a quarter of an inch broad and a film deep1 will be mirroring bright sunshine1 and blue with the reflected heaven4 ,and so we may make the little drop of our lives radiant with the image of ,god1 and bright with the certainties of immortality4 ,,ii4 ,now1 note secondly1 how to make the most of the season4 ',redeeming the time1' says the ,apostle4 ,the figure is very simple and natural1 and has only been felt to be difficult and obscure1 because people have tried to ride the metaphor further than it was meant4 ,the questions of who is the seller and what is the price do not enter into the ,apostle's mind at all4 ,metaphors are not to be driven so far as that4 ,we have to confine ourselves to the simple thought that there is a need for making the opportunity which is given truly our own2 and that that can only be done by giving something in exchange for it4 ,that is the notion of purchase1 is it not8 ,acquisition1 by giving something else4 ,thus1 says ,paul1 you have to buy the opportunity which time affords us4 ,that is to say1 to begin with1 life gives us opportunities and no more4 ,we may1 in and through it1 become wise1 good1 pure1 happy1 noble1 ,christ-like1 or we may not4 ,the opportunity is there1 swinging1 as it were1 in vacuo4 ,lay hold of it1 says he1 and turn it into more than an opportunity--even an actuality and a fact4 ,and how is that to be done8 ,we have to give something away1 if we get the opportunity for our very own4 ,what have we to give away8 ,well1 mainly the lower ends for which the moment might serve4 ,these have to be surrendered--sometimes abandoned altogether1 always rigidly restricted and kept in utter subordination to the highest purposes4 ,to-day is given us mainly that we may learn to know ,god better1 and to love ,him more1 and to serve ,him more joyfully4 ,our daily duties are given us for the same purpose4 ,but if we go about them without thinking of ,god or the highest ends which life is meant to serve1 then we shall certainly lose the highest ends1 and an opportunity will go past us unimproved4 ,but if1 on the other hand1 whilst we follow our daily business for the sake of legitimate temporal gain1 we see1 above that1 the aspect of daily life as educating in all ,christian nobleness and lofty thoughts and purposes1 then we shall have given away the lower ends for the sake of attaining the higher4 ,you live1 suppose1 to found a business1 to become masters of your trade1 to gain wisdom and knowledge1 to establish for yourselves a position amongst your fellow-men1 to cultivate your character so as to grow in wisdom and purity1 apart from ,god4 ,or you live in order to win affection and move thankfully in the heaven of loving associations in your home1 amongst your children4 ,or you live for the sake of carrying some lower but real good amongst men4 ,many of these ends are beautiful and noble1 and necessary for the cultivation and discharge of the various duties and relationships of life2 but unless they are all kept secondary1 and there towers above them this other1 life is wasted4 ,if life is not to be wasted1 they must be bartered for the higher1 and we must recognise that to give all things for the sake of ,christ and ,his love is wise merchandise and good exchange4 ',what things were gain to me1 those ,i counted loss for ,christ4 ,yea6 doubtless1 and ,i count all things but loss that ,i may win ,him and be found of ,him4' ,you must barter the lower if you are to secure the higher ends for which life is the appointed season4 ,and then1 still more minutely1 my text gives us another suggestion about this 'redeeming the time4' ',see1 then1' says the ,apostle1 'that ye walk circumspectly4' ,the word rendered circumspectly might better1 perhaps1 be translated in some such way as 'strictly1' 'rigidly1' 'accurately1' 'punctiliously4' ,as ,i take it1 it is to be connected with the 'walk1' and not with the 'see1 then1' as the ,revised ,version does4 ,so here is a practical direction1 walk strictly1 accurately1 looking to your feet2 as a man would do who was upon what they call in the ,alps an arrte4 ,suppose a narrow ridge of snow piled on the top of a ledge of rock1 with a precipice of #ejjj feet on either side1 and a cornice of snow hanging over empty space4 ,the climber puts his alpenstock before his foot1 he tests with his foot before he rests his weight1 for a false step and down he goes6 ',see that you walk circumspectly1' rigidly1 accurately1 punctiliously4 ,live by law--that is to say1 live by principles which imply duties2 for to live by inclination is ruin4 ,the only safety is1 look to your feet and look to your road1 and restrain yourselves1 'and so redeem the time4' ,there is something else to look to4 ,feet8 ,yes6 ,road8 ,yes6 ,but also look to your guide4 ,tread in ,christ's footsteps1 'follow the ,lamb whithersoever ,he goeth4' ,make ,him the pattern and example1 and then you shall walk safely2 and the path will carry you right into ',his presence where there is fulness of joy4' ,no great1 noble1 right1 blessed life is lived without rigid self-control1 self-denial1 and self-crucifixion4 ,do not fancy that that means the absence of joy and spontaneity4 ',i will walk at liberty for ,i keep ,thy precepts4' ,hedges are blessings when1 on the other side1 there are bottomless swamps of poisonous miasma1 into which if a man ventures he will either drown or be plague-stricken4 ,the narrow way that leads to life is the way of peace1 just because it is a way of restrictions4 ,better to walk on the narrowest path that leads to the ,city than to be chartered libertines1 wandering anywhere at our own bitter wills1 and finding 'no end1 in devious mazes lost4' ,freedom consists in obeying from the heart the restriction of love2 and walking punctiliously4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 note the motives for this course4 ,the ,apostle says1 'see that ye walk strictly1 not as fools but as wise4' ,that is to say1 such limitation1 which buys the opportunity and uses it for the highest purposes1 is the only true wisdom4 ,if you take the mean1 miserable1 partial1 fleeting purposes for which some of us1 alas1 are squandering our lives1 and contrast these with the great1 perfect1 all-satisfying1 blessed1 and eternal end for which it was given us1 how can we escape being convicted of folly8 ,one day1 dear friends1 it will be found out that the virgins that were not ready when the ,lord came were the foolish ones4 ,one day it will be asked of you and of me1 ',what did you do with the life which ,i gave you1 that you might know ,me8' ,and if we have only the answer1 ',o ,lord6 ,i founded a big business in ,manchester--,i made a fortune--,i wrote a clever book1 that was most favourably reviewed--,i brought up a family'--the only thing fit to be said to us is1 ',thou fool6' ,the only wisdom is the wisdom that secures the end for which life was given4 ,then there is another motive here4 ',redeeming the time because the days are evil4' ,that is singular4 ',the days' are 'the time1' and yet they are 'evil' days1 which being translated into other words is just this--we are to make a definite effort to keep in view1 and to effect1 the purposes for which all the days of our lives are given us1 because these days have in themselves a tendency to draw us away from the true path and to blind us as to their real meaning4 ,the world is full of possibilities of good and evil1 and the same day which1 in one aspect1 is the 'season' for serving ,god is1 in another aspect1 an 'evil' day which may draw us away from ,him4 ,and if we do not put out manly effort1 it certainly will do so4 ,the ocean is meant to bear the sailor to his port1 but from the waves rise up fair forms1 siren voices1 with sweet harps and bright eyes that tempt the weary mariner to his destruction4 ,and the days which may be occasions for our getting nearer ,god1 if we let them work their will upon us1 will be evil days which draw us away from ,him4 ,let me add one last motive which is not stated in my text1 but is involved in the very idea of opportunity or season--viz4 that the time for the high and noble purposes of which ,i have been speaking is rigidly limited and bounded2 and once past is irrevocable4 ,the old1 wise mythological story tells us that ,occasion is bald behind1 and is to be grasped by the forelock4 ,the moment that is past had in it wonderful possibilities for us4 ,if we did not grasp them with promptitude and decision they have gone for ever4 ,you may as well try to bring back the water that has been sucked over ,niagara1 and churned into white foam at its base1 as to recall the wasted opportunities4 ,they stand all along the course of our years1 solemn monuments of our unfaithfulness1 and none of them can ever return again4 ,life is full of too-lates2 that sad sound that moans through the roofless ruins of the past1 like the wind through some deserted temple4 ',too late1 too late2 ye cannot enter now4' ',the sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold1 therefore he shall beg in harvest and have nothing4' ,oh6 let us see to it that we wring out of the passing moments their highest possibilities of noblest good4 ,let us begin to live2 for only he who lives to ,god really lives4 ,life is given to us that we may know ,jesus ,christ--trust ,him1 love ,him1 serve ,him1 be like ,him4 ,that is the pearl which1 if we bring up from the sea of time1 we shall not have been cast in vain into its stormy waves4 ,do you take care that this new year which is dawning upon us go not to join the many wasted years that lie desolate behind us1 but let us all see to it that the flood which sweeps us and it away bears us straight to ,god1 ,who is our home4 ',now is the accepted time1 now is the day of salvation4' ,,the ,,panoply ,,of ,,god ',take unto you the whole armour of ,god1 that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day1 and having done all1 to stand4'--,eph4 vi4 #ac4 ,the military metaphor of which this verse is the beginning was obviously deeply imprinted on ,paul's mind4 ,it is found in a comparatively incomplete form in his earliest epistle1 the first to the ,thessalonians1 in which the children of the day are exhorted to put on the breastplate of faith and love1 and for a helmet the hope of salvation4 ,it reappears1 in a slightly varied form1 in the ,epistle to the ,romans1 where those whose salvation is nearer than when they believed1 are exhorted1 because the day is at hand1 to cast off1 as it were1 their night-gear1 and to put on the 'armour of light'2 and here1 in this ,epistle of the ,captivity1 it is most fully developed4 ,the ,roman legionary1 to whom ,paul was chained1 here sits all unconsciously for his portrait1 every detail of which is pressed by ,paul into the service of his vivid imagination2 the virtues and graces of the ,christian character1 which are 'the armour of light1' are suggested to the ,apostle by the weapon which the soldier by his side wore4 ,the vulgarest and most murderous implements assume a new character when looked upon with the eyes of a poet and a ,christian4 ,our present text constitutes the general introduction to the great picture which follows1 of 'the panoply of ,god4' ,i4 ,we must be ready for times of special assaults from evil4 ,most of us feel but little the stern reality underlying the metaphor1 that the whole ,christian life is warfare1 but that in that warfare there are crises1 seasons of special danger4 ,the interpretation which makes the 'evil day' co-extensive with the time of life destroys the whole emphasis of the passage3 whilst all days are days of warfare1 there will be1 as in some prolonged siege1 periods of comparative quiet2 and again1 days when all the cannon belch at once1 and scaling ladders are reared on every side of the fortress4 ,in a long winter there are days sunny and calm followed1 as they were preceded1 by days when all the winds are let loose at once4 ,for us1 such times of special danger to ,christian character may arise from temporal vicissitudes4 ,joy and prosperity are as sure to occasion them as are sorrows1 for to ,paul the 'evil day' is that which especially threatens moral and spiritual character1 and these may be as much damaged by the bright sunshine of prosperity as by the midwinter of adversity1 just as fierce sunshine may be as fatal as killing frost4 ,they may also arise1 without any such change in circumstances1 from some temptation coming with more than ordinary force1 and directed with terrible accuracy to our weakest point4 ,these evil days are ever wont to come on us suddenly2 they are heralded by no storm signals and no falling barometer4 ,we may be like soldiers sitting securely round their camp fire1 till all at once bullets begin to fall among them4 ,the tiger's roar is the first signal of its leap from the jungle4 ,our position in the world1 our ignorance of the future1 the heaped-up magazines of combustibles within1 needing only a spark1 all lay us open to unexpected assaults1 and the temptation comes stealthily1 'as a thief in the night4' ,nothing is so certain as the unexpected4 ,for these reasons1 then1 because the 'evil day' will certainly come1 because it may come at any time1 and because it is most likely to come 'when we look not for it1' it is the dictate of plain common sense to be prepared4 ,if the good man of the house had known at what hour the thief would have come1 he would have watched2 but he would have been a wiser man if he had watched all the more1 because he did not know at what hour the thief would come4 ,,ii4 ,to withstand these we must be armed against them before they come4 ,the main point of the exhortation is this previous preparation4 ,it is clear enough that it is no time to fly to our weapons when the enemy is upon us4 ,aldershot1 not the battlefield1 is the place for learning strategy4 ,belshazzar was sitting at his drunken feast while the ,persians were marching on ,babylon1 and in the night he was slain4 ,when great crises arise in a nation's history1 some man whose whole life has been preparing him for the hour starts to the front and does the needed work4 ,if a sailor put off learning navigation till the wind was howling and a reef lay ahead1 his corpse would be cast on the cruel rocks4 ,it is well not to be 'over-exquisite1' to cast the fashion of 'uncertain evils1' but certain ones cannot be too carefully anticipated1 nor too sedulously prepared for4 ,the manner in which this preparation is to be carried out is distinctly marked here4 ,the armour is to be put on before the conflict begins4 ,now1 without anticipating what will more properly come in considering subsequent details1 we may notice that such a previous assumption implies mainly two things--a previous familiarity with ,god's truth1 and a previous exercise of ,christian virtues4 ,as to the former1 the subsequent context speaks of taking the sword of the ,spirit1 which is the word of ,god1 and of having the loins girt with truth1 which may be objective truth4 ,as to the latter1 we need not elaborate the ,apostle's main thought that resistance to sudden temptations is most vigorous when a man is accustomed to goodness4 ,one of the prophets treats it as being all but impossible that they who have been accustomed to evil shall learn to do well1 and it is at least not less impossible that they who have been accustomed to do well shall learn to do evil4 ,souls which habitually walk in the clear spaces of the bracing air on the mountains of ,god will less easily be tempted down to the shut-in valleys where malaria reigns4 ,the positive exercise of ,christian graces tends to weaken the force of temptation4 ,a mind occupied with these has no room for it4 ,higher tastes are developed which makes the poison sweetness of evil unsavoury1 and just as the ,israelites hungered for the strong1 coarse-smelling leeks and garlic of ,egypt1 and therefore loathed 'this light bread1' so they whose palates have been accustomed to manna will have little taste for leeks and garlic4 ,the mental and spiritual activity involved in the habitual exercise of ,christian virtues will go far to make the soul unassailable by evil4 ,a man1 busily occupied1 as the ,apostle would have us to be1 may be tempted by the devil1 though less frequently the more he is thus occupied2 but one who has no such occupations and interests tempts the devil4 ,if our lives are inwardly and secretly honeycombed with evil1 only a breath will be needed to throw down the structure4 ,it is possible to become so accustomed to the calm delights of goodness1 that it would need a moral miracle to make a man fall into sin4 ,,iii4 ,to be armed with this armour1 we must get it from ,god4 ,though it consists mainly of habitudes and dispositions of our own minds1 none the less have we to receive these from above4 ,it is 'the panoply of ,god1' therefore we are to be endued with it1 not by exercises in our own strength1 but by dependence on ,him4 ,in old days1 before a squire was knighted1 he had to keep a vigil in the chapel of the castle1 and through the hours of darkness to watch his armour and lift his soul to ,god1 and we shall never put on the armour of light unless in silence we draw near to ,him who teaches our hands to war and our fingers to fight4 ,communion with ,christ1 and only communion with ,christ1 receives from ,him the life which enables us to repel the diseases of our spirits4 ,what ,he imparts to those who thus wait upon ,him1 and to them only1 is the ,spirit which helps their infirmities and clothes their undefended nakedness with a coat of mail4 ,if we go forth to war with evil1 clothed and armed only with what we can provide1 we shall surely be worsted in the fray4 ,if we go forth into the world of struggle from the secret place of the ,most ,high1 'no weapon that is formed against us shall prosper1' and we shall be more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4 ,but waiting on ,god to receive our weapons from ,him is but part of what is needful for our equipment4 ,it is we who have to gird our loins and put on the breastplate1 and shoe our feet1 and take the shield of faith1 and the helmet of salvation1 and the sword of the ,spirit4 ,the cumbrous armour of old days could only be put on by the help of another pulling straps1 and fixing buckles1 and lifting and bracing heavy shields on arms1 and fastening helmets upon heads2 but we have1 by our own effort1 to clothe ourselves with ,god's great gift1 which is of no use to us1 and is in no real sense ours1 unless we do4 ,it takes no small effort to keep ourselves in the attitude of dependence and receptivity1 without which none of the great gifts of ,god come to us1 and1 least of all1 the habitual practice of ,christian virtues4 ,the soldier who rushed into the fight1 leaving armour and arms huddled together on the ground1 would soon fall1 and ,god's giving avails nothing for our defence unless there is also our taking4 ,it is the woful want of taking the things that are freely given to us of ,god1 and of making our own what by ,his gift is our own1 that is mainly responsible for the defeats of which we are all conscious4 ,looking back on our own evil days1 we must all be aware that our defeats have mainly come from one or other of the two errors which lie so near us all1 and which are intimately connected with each other--the one being that of fighting in our own strength1 and the other being that of leaving unused our ,god-given power4 ,,iv4 ,the issue of successful resistance is increased firmness of footing4 ,if we are able to 'withstand in the evil day1' we shall 'stand' more securely when the evil day has stormed itself away4 ,if we keep erect in the shock of battle1 we shall stand more secure when the wild charge has been beaten back4 ,the sea hurls tons of water against the slender lighthouse on the rock1 and if it stands1 the smashing of the waves consolidates it4 ,the reward of firm resistance is increased firmness4 ,as the ,red ,indians used to believe that the strength of the slain enemies whom they had scalped passed into their arms1 so we may have power developed by conflict1 and we shall more fully understand1 and more passionately believe in1 the principles and truths which have served us in past fights4 ,david would not wear ,saul's armour because1 as he said1 ',i have not proved it1' and the ,christian who has come victoriously through one struggle should be ready to say1 ',i have proved it'2 we have the word of the ,lord1 which is tried1 to trust to1 and not we only1 but generations1 have tested it1 and it has stood the tests4 ,therefore1 it is not for us to hesitate as to the worth of our weapons1 or to doubt that they are more than sufficient for every conflict which we may be called upon to wage4 ,the text plainly implies that all our life long we shall be in danger of sudden assaults4 ,it does contemplate victory in the evil day1 but it also contemplates that after we have withstood1 we have still to stand and be ready for another attack to-morrow4 ,our life here is1 and must still be1 a continual warfare4 ,peace is not bought by any victories2 ',there is no discharge in that war4' ,like the ten thousand ,greeks who fought their way home through clouds of enemies from the heart of ,asia1 we are never safe till we come to the mountain-top1 where we can cry1 ',the ,sea6' ,but though all our paths lead us through enemies1 we have ,jesus1 who has conquered them all1 with us1 and our hearts should not fail so long as we can hear ,his brave voice encouraging us3 ',in the world ye have tribulation1 but be of good cheer1 ,i have overcome the world4' ',,the ,,girdle ,,of ,,truth' ',stand1 therefore1 having girded your loins with truth4'--,eph4 vi4 #ad 7,r4,v474 ,the general exhortation here points to the habitual attitude of the ,christian soldier4 ,however many conflicts he may have waged1 he is still to be ever ready for fresh assaults1 for in regard to them he may be quite sure that to-morrow will bring its own share of them1 and that the evil day is never left behind so long as days still last4 ,that general exhortation is followed by clauses which are sometimes said to be cotemporaneous with it1 and to be definitions of the way in which it is to be accomplished1 but they are much rather statements of what is to be done before the soldier takes his stand4 ,he is to be fully equipped first3 he is to take up his position second4 ,we may note that1 in all the list of his equipment1 there is but one weapon of offence--the sword of the ,spirit2 all the rest are defensive weapons4 ,the girdle1 which is the first specified1 is not properly a weapon at all1 but it comes first because the belt keeps all the other parts of the armour in place1 and gives agility to the wearer4 ,having girded your loins 7,r4,v47 is better than having your loins girded 7,a4,v471 as bringing out more fully that the assumption of the belt is the soldier's own doing4 ,i4 ,we must be braced up if we are to fight4 ,concentration and tension of power is an absolute necessity for any effort1 no matter how poor may be the aims to which it is directed1 and what is needed for the successful prosecution of the lowest transient successes will surely not be less indispensable in the highest forms of life4 ,if a poor runner for a wreath of parsley or of laurel cannot hope to win the fading prize unless all his powers are strained to the uttermost1 the ,christian athlete has still more certainly to run1 so as the racer has to do1 'that he may obtain4' ,loose-flowing robes are caught by every thorn by the way1 and a soul which is not girded up is sure to be hindered in its course4 ',this one thing ,i do' is the secret of all successful doing1 and obedience to the command of ,jesus1 'let your loins be girded about1' is indispensable1 if we would avoid polluting contact with evil4 ,his other command associated with it will never be accomplished without it4 ,the lamps will not be burning unless the loins are girt4 ,the men who scatter their loves and thoughts over a wide space1 and to whom the discipline which confines their energies within definite channels is distasteful1 are destined to be failures in the struggle of life4 ,it is better to have our lives running between narrow banks1 and so to have a scour in the stream1 than to have them spreading wide and shallow1 with no driving force in all the useless expanse4 ,such concentration and bracing of oneself up is needful1 if any of the rest of the great exhortations which follow are to be fulfilled4 ,it may be that ,paul here has haunting his memory our ,lord's words which we have just quoted2 and1 in any case1 he is in beautiful accord with his brother ,peter1 who begins all the exhortations of his epistle with the words1 ',wherefore1 girding up the loins of your mind1 be sober1 and set your minds perfectly upon the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of ,jesus ,christ4' ,peter1 indeed1 is not thinking of the soldier's belt1 but he is1 no doubt1 remembering many a time when1 in the toils of the fishing-boat1 he had to tighten his robes round his waist to prepare for tugging at the oar1 and he feels that such concentration is needful if a ,christian life is ever to be sober1 and to have its hope set perfectly on ,christ and ,his grace4 ,,ii4 ,the girdle is to be truth4 ,the question immediately arises as to whether truth here means objective truth--the truth of the ,gospel1 or subjective truth1 or1 as we are accustomed to say1 truthfulness4 ,it would seem that the former signification is rather included in the sword of the ,spirit1 which is the word of ,god1 and it is best to regard the phrase 'with 7literally in7 truth' here as having its ordinary meaning1 of which we may take as examples the phrases1 'the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth'2 'love rejoiceth not in unrighteousness1 but rejoiceth with the truth'2 'whom ,i love in truth4' ,absolute sincerity and transparent truthfulness may well be regarded as the girdle which encloses and keeps secure every other ,christian grace and virtue4 ,we do not need to go far to find a slight tinge of unreality marring the ,christian life3 we have only to scrutinise our own experiences to detect some tendency to affectation1 to saying a little more than is quite true1 even in our sincerest worship4 ,and we cannot but recognise that in all ,christian communities there is present an element of conventionalism in their prayers1 and that often the public expression of religious emotions goes far beyond the realities of feeling in the worshippers4 ,in fact1 terrible as the acknowledgment may be1 we shall be blind if we do not recognise that the average ,christianity of this day suffers from nothing more than it does from the lack of this transparent sincerity1 and of absolute correspondence between inward fact and outward expression4 ,types of ,christianity which make much of emotion are1 of course1 specially exposed to such a danger1 but those which make least of it are not exempt1 and we all need to lay to heart1 far more seriously than we ordinarily do1 that ,god 'desires truth in the outward parts4' ,the sturdy ,english moralist who proclaimed ',clear your mind of cant' as the first condition of attaining wisdom1 was not so very far from ,paul's point of view in our text1 but his exhortation covered but a small section of the ,apostle's4 ,this absolute sincerity is hard to attain1 and still harder to retain4 ,hideous as the fact of posing or attitudinising in our religion may be1 it is one that comes very easily to us all1 and1 when it comes1 spreads fast and spoils everything4 ,just as the legionary's armour was held in its place by the girdle1 and if that worked loose or was carelessly fastened1 the breastplate would be sure to get out of position1 so all the subsequent graces largely depend for their vigorous exercise on the prime virtue of truthfulness4 ,righteousness and faith will be weakened by the fatal taint of insincerity1 and1 on the other hand1 conscious truthfulness will give strength to the whole man4 ,braced up and concentrated1 our powers for all service and for all conflict will be increased4 ',the bond of perfectness' is1 no doubt1 ',love1' but that perfect bond will not be worn by us1 unless we have girded our loins with truthfulness4 ,it may be that in ,paul's memory there is floating ,isaiah's great vision of the ',branch' out of the stock of ,jesse1 on whom the ,spirit of the ,lord was to rest1 and on whom it was proclaimed that faithfulness 7or as it is rendered in the ,septuagint1 by the same phrase which the ,apostle here employs1 'in truth'7 was to be the girdle of his reins2 but1 at all events1 that which the prophet saw to be in the ideal ,messiah1 the ,apostle sees as essential to all the subjects of that ,king4 ,,iii4 ,our truthfulness is the work of ,god's truth4 ,we have already pointed out that the expression in the text may either be taken as referring to the subjective quality of truthfulness1 or to the objective truth of ,god as contained in the ,gospel1 but these two interpretations may be united1 for the main factor in producing the former is the faithful use of the latter and an honest submission to its operation4 ,the ,psalmist of old had learned that the great safeguard against sin was the resolve1 ',thy word have ,i hid in my heart4' ,that word brings to bear the mightiest motives that can sway life4 ,it moves by love1 by fear1 by hope3 it proposes the loftiest aim1 even to imitate ,god as dear children2 it gives clear directions1 and draws straight and plain the pilgrim's path2 it holds out the largest promises1 and in a measure fulfils them1 even in the narrowest and most troubled lives4 ,if we have made ,god's truth our own1 and are faithfully applying it to the details of daily life and submitting our whole selves to its operation1 we shall be truthful and shall instinctively shrink from all unreality4 ,if we know the truth as it is in ,jesus1 and walk in it1 that 'truth will make us free1' and if thus 'we are in ,him that is true1 even in ,his ,son1 ,jesus ,christ1' that truth abiding in us1 and with us1 for ever1 will make us truthful4 ,in a heart so occupied and filled there is no room for the make-believes which are but too apt to creep into religious experience4 ,such a soul will recoil with an instinct of abhorrence from all that savours of ostentation1 and will feel that its truest treasure cannot be shown4 ,it is our duty not to hide ,god's righteousness within our hearts1 but it is equally our duty to hide ,his word there4 ,we have to seek to make manifest the 'savour of ,his knowledge in every place1' but we have also to remember that in our hearts there is a secret place1 and that 'not easily forgiven are they who draw back the curtains1' and let a careless world look in4 ,it is not for others to pry into the hidden mysteries of the fellowship of a soul with the indwelling ,christ1 however it may be the ,christian duty to show to all and sundry the blessed and transforming effects of that fellowship4 ,but ,god's truth must be received and its power submitted to1 if it is to implant in us the supreme grace of perfect truthfulness4 ,our minds and hearts must be saturated with it by many an hour of solitary reflection1 by meditation which will diffuse its aroma like a fragrant perfume through our characters1 and by the habit of bringing all circumstances1 moods1 and desires to be tested by its infallible criterion1 and by the unreluctant acceptance of its guidance at every moment of our lives4 ,there are many of us who1 in a real though terribly imperfect sense1 hold the truth1 but who know nothing1 or next to nothing1 of its power to make us truthful4 ,if it is to be of any use to us1 we must make it ours in a far deeper sense than it is ours now2 for many of us the girdle has been but carelessly fastened and has worked loose1 and because1 by our own faults1 we have not 'abode in the truth1' it has come to pass that there is 'no truth in us4' ,we have set before us in the text the one condition on which all ,christian progress depends1 and if by any slackness we loosen the girdle of truthfulness1 and admit into our religious life any taint of unreality1 if our prayers say just a little more than is quite true1 and our penitence a little less1 we shall speedily find that hypocrisy and trivial insincerity are separated by very narrow limits4 ,god's truth in the ,gospel cleanses the inner man1 but not without his own effort1 and1 therefore1 we are commanded to 'cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit1 perfecting holiness1 in the fear of the ,lord4' ',,the ,,breastplate ,,of ,,righteousness' ',having put on the breastplate of righteousness4'--,eph4 vi4 #ad4 ,there can be no doubt that in this whole context the ,apostle has in mind the great passage in ,isaiah lix4 where the prophet1 in a figure of extreme boldness1 describes the ,lord as arming ,himself to deliver the oppressed faithful1 and coming as a ,redeemer to ,zion4 ,in that passage the ,lord puts on righteousness as a breastplate--that is to say1 ,god1 in ,his manifestation of ,himself for the deliverance of ,his people1 comes forth as if arrayed in the glittering armour of righteousness4 ,paul does not shrink from applying the same metaphor to those who are to be 'imitators of ,god as beloved children1' and from urging upon them that1 in their humble degree and lowly measure1 they too are to be clothed in the bright armour of moral rectitude4 ,this righteousness is manifested in character and in conduct1 and as the breastplate guards the vital organs from assault1 it will keep the heart unwounded4 ,we must note that ,paul here gathers up the whole sum of ,christian character and conduct into one word4 ,all can be expressed1 however diversified may be the manifestations1 by the one sovereign term 'righteousness1' and that is not merely a hasty generalisation1 or a too rapid synthesis4 ,as all sin has one root and is genetically one1 so all goodness is at bottom one4 ,the germ of sin is living to oneself3 the germ of goodness is living to ,god4 ,though the degrees of development of either opposite are infinite1 and the forms of its expression innumerable1 yet the root of each is one4 ,paul thinks of righteousness as existent before the ,christian soldier puts it on4 ,in this thought we are not merely relying on the metaphor of our text1 but bringing it into accord with the whole tone of ,new ,testament teaching1 which knows of only one way in which any soul that has been living to self1 and therefore to sin1 can attain to living to ,god1 and therefore can be righteous4 ,we must receive1 if we are ever to possess1 the righteousness which is of ,god1 and which becomes ours through ,jesus ,christ4 ,the righteousness which shines as a fair but unattainable vision before sinful men1 has a real existence1 and may be theirs4 ,it is not to be self-elaborated1 but to be received4 ,that existent righteousness is to be put on4 ,other places of ,scripture figure it as the robe of righteousness2 here it is conceived of as the breastplate1 but the idea of assumption is the same4 ,it is to be put on1 primarily1 by faith4 ,it is given in ,christ to simple belief4 ,he that hath faith thereby has the righteousness which is through faith in ,christ1 for in his faith he has the one formative principle of reliance on ,god1 which will gradually refine character and mould conduct into whatsoever things are lovely and of good report4 ,that righteousness which faith receives is no mere forensic treating of the unjust as just1 but whilst it does bring with it pardon and oblivion from past transgressions1 it makes a man in the depths of his being righteous1 however slowly it may afterwards transform his conduct4 ,the faith which is a departure from all reliance on works of righteousness which we have done1 and is a single-eyed reliance on the work of ,jesus ,christ1 opens the heart in which it is planted to all the influences of that life which was in ,jesus1 that from ,him it may be in us4 ,if ,christ be in us 7and if ,he is not1 we are none of ,his71 'the spirit is life because of righteousness1' however the body may still be 'dead because of sin4' ,but the putting on of the breastplate requires effort as well as faith1 and effort will be vigorous in the measure in which faith is vivid1 but it should follow1 not precede or supplant1 faith4 ,there is no more hopeless and weary advice than would be the exhortation of our text if it stood alone4 ,it is a counsel of despair to tell a man to put on that breastplate1 and to leave him in doubt where he is to find it1 or whether he has to hammer it together by his own efforts before he can put it on4 ,there is no more unprofitable expenditure of breath than the cry to men1 ,be good6 ,be good6 ,moral teaching without ,gospel preaching is little better than a waste of breath4 ,this injunction is continuously imperative upon all ,christian soldiers4 ,they are on the march through the enemy's country1 and can never safely lay aside their armour4 ,after all successes1 and no less after all failures1 we have still to arm ourselves for the fight1 and it is to be remembered that the righteousness of which ,paul speaks differs from common earthly moralities only as including and transcending them all4 ,it is1 alas1 too true that ,christian righteousness has been by ,christians set forth as something fantastic and unreal1 remote from ordinary life1 and far too heavenly-minded to care for common virtues4 ,let us never forget that ,jesus ,himself has warned us1 that except our righteousness exceed the righteousness of the ,scribes and ,pharisees1 we shall in no wise enter the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,the greater orbit encloses the lesser within itself4 ,the breastplate of righteousness is our defence against evil4 ,the opposition to temptation is best carried on by the positive cultivation of good4 ,a habit of righteous conduct is itself a defence against temptation4 ,untilled fields bear abundant weeds4 ,the used tool does not rust1 nor the running water gather scum4 ,the robe of righteousness will guard the heart as effectually as a coat of mail4 ,the positive employment with good weakens temptation1 and arms us against evil4 ,but so long as we are here our righteousness must be militant1 and we must be content to live ever armed to meet the enemy which is always hanging round us1 and watching for an opportunity to strike4 ,the time will come when we shall put off the breastplate and put on the fine linen 'clean and white1' which is the heavenly and final form of the righteousness of ,saints4 ,a ,,soldier',s ,,shoes ',your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace4'--,eph4 vi4 #ae4 ,paul drew the first draft of this picture of the ,christian armour in his first letter4 ,it is a finished picture here4 ,one can fancy that the ,roman soldier to whom he was chained in his captivity1 whilst this letter was being written1 unconsciously sat for his likeness1 and that each piece of his accoutrements was seized in succession by the ,apostle's imagination and turned to a ,christian use4 ,it is worth noticing that there is only one offensive weapon mentioned--'the sword of the ,spirit4' ,all the rest are defensive--helmet1 breastplate1 shield1 girdle1 and shoes4 ,that is to say1 the main part of our warfare consists in defence1 in resistance1 and in keeping what we have1 in spite of everybody1 men and devils1 who attempt to take it from us4 ',hold fast that thou hast2 let no man take thy crown4' ,now1 it seems to me that the ordinary reader does not quite grasp the meaning of our text1 and that it would be more intelligible if1 instead of 'preparation1' which means the process of getting a thing ready1 we read 'preparedness1' which means the state of mind of the man who is ready4 ,then we have to notice that the little word 'of' does duty to express two different relations1 in the two instances of its use here4 ,in the first case--'the preparedness of the ,gospel'--it states the origin of the thing in question4 ,that condition of being ready comes from the good news of ,christ4 ,in the second case--'the ,gospel of peace'--it states the result of the thing in question4 ,the good news of ,christ gives peace4 ,so1 taking the whole clause1 we may paraphrase it by saying that the preparedness of spirit1 the alacrity which comes from the possession of a ,gospel that sheds a calm over the heart and brings a man into peace with ,god1 is what the ,apostle thinks is like the heavy hob-nailed boots that the legionaries wore1 by which they could stand firm1 whatever came against them4 ,i4 ,the first thing that ,i would notice here is that the ,gospel brings peace4 ,i suppose that there was ringing in ,paul's head some echoes of the music of ,isaiah's words1 ',how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of ,him that bringeth good tidings1 that publisheth peace1 that bringeth good tidings of good6' ,but there is a great deal more than an unconscious quotation of ancient words here2 for in ,paul's thought1 the one power which brings a man into harmony with the universe and to peace with himself1 is the power which proclaims that ,god is at peace with him4 ,and ,jesus ,christ is our peace1 because ,he has swept away the root and bitter fountain of all the disquiet of men's hearts1 and all their chafing at providences--the consciousness that there is discord between themselves and ,god4 ,the ,gospel brings peace in the deepest sense of that word1 and1 primarily1 peace with ,god1 from out of which all other kinds of tranquillity and heart-repose do come--and they come from nothing besides4 ,but what strikes me most here is not so much the allusion to the blessed truth that was believed and experienced by these ,ephesian ,christians1 that the ,gospel brought peace1 and was the only thing that did1 as the singular emergence of that idea that the ,gospel was a peace-bringing power1 in the midst of this picture of fighting4 ,yes1 it brings both4 ,it brings us peace first1 and then it says to us1 ',now1 having got peace in your heart1 because peace with ,god1 go out and fight to keep it4' ,for1 if we are warring with the devil we are at peace with ,god2 and if we are at peace with the devil we are warring with ,god4 ,so the two states of peace and war go together4 ,there is no real peace which has not conflict in it1 and the ,gospel is 'the ,gospel of peace1' precisely because it enlists us in ,christ's army and sends us out to fight ,christ's battles4 ,so1 then1 dear brother1 the only way to realise and preserve 'the peace of ,god which passes understanding' is to fling ourselves manfully into the fight to which all ,christ's soldiers are pledged and bound4 ,the two conditions1 though they seem to be opposite1 will unite2 for this is the paradox of the ,christian life1 that in all regions it makes compatible apparently incompatible and contradictory emotions4 ',as sorrowful'--and ,paul might have said 'therefore' instead of 'yet'--'as sorrowful yet always rejoicing2 as having nothing yet'--therefore--'possessing all things'2 as in the thick of the fight1 and yet kept in perfect peace1 because the soul is stayed on ,god4 ,the peace that comes from friendship with ,him1 the peace that fills a heart tranquil because satisfied1 the peace that soothes a conscience emptied of all poison and robbed of all its sting1 the peace that abides because1 on all the horizon in front of us nothing can be seen that we need to be afraid of--that peace is the peace which the ,gospel brings1 and it is realised in warfare and is consistent with it4 ,all the armies of the world may camp round the fortress1 and the hurtling noise of battle may be loud in the plains1 but up upon the impregnable cliff crowned by its battlements there is a central citadel1 with a chapel in the heart of it2 and to the worshippers there none of the noise ever penetrates4 ,the ,gospel which laps us in peace and puts it in our hearts makes us soldiers4 ,,ii4 ,further1 this ,gospel of peace will prepare us for the march4 ,a wise general looks after his soldiers' boots4 ,if they give out1 nothing else is of much use4 ,the roads are very rough and very long1 and there need to be strong soles and well-sewed uppers1 and they will be none the worse for a bit of iron on the heels and the toes1 in order that they may not wear out in the midst of the campaign4 ',thy shoes shall be iron and brass1' and these metals are harder than any of the rock that you will have to clamber over4 ,which being translated into plain fact is just this--a tranquil heart in amity with ,god is ready for all the road1 is likely to make progress1 and is fit for anything that it may be called to do4 ,a calm heart makes a light foot2 and he who is living at peace with ,god1 and with all disturbance within hushed to rest1 will1 for one thing1 be able to see what his duty is4 ,he will see his way as far as is needful for the moment4 ,that is more than a good many of us can do when our eyes get confused1 because our hearts are beating so loudly and fast1 and our own wishes come in to hide from us ,god's will4 ,but if we are weaned from ourselves1 as we shall be if we are living in possession of the peace of ,god which passes understanding1 the atmosphere will be transparent1 as it is on some of the calm last days of autumn1 and we shall see far ahead and know where we ought to go4 ,the quiet heart will be able to fling its whole strength into its work4 ,and that is what troubled hearts never can do1 for half their energy is taken up in steadying or quieting themselves1 or is dissipated in going after a hundred other things4 ,but when we are wholly engaged in quiet fellowship with ,jesus ,christ we have the whole of our energies at our command1 and can fling ourselves wholly into our work for ,him4 ,the steam-engine is said to be a very imperfect machine which wastes more power than it utilises4 ,that is true of a great many ,christian people2 they have the power1 but they are so far away from that deep sense of tranquillity with ,god1 of which my text speaks1 that they waste much of the power that they have4 ,and if we are to have for our motto ',always ,ready4' as an old ,scottish family has1 the only way to secure that is by having 'our feet shod with the preparedness' that comes from the ,gospel that brings us peace4 ,brethren1 duty that is done reluctantly1 with hesitation1 is not done4 ,we must fling ourselves into the work gladly and be always 'ready for all ,thy perfect will4' ,there was an ,english commander1 who died some years ago1 who was sent for to the ,horse ,guards one day and asked1 ',how long will it take for you to be ready to go to ,scinde8' ',half an hour1' said he2 and in three-quarters he was in the train1 on his road to reconquer a kingdom4 ,that is how we ought to be2 but we never shall be1 unless we live habitually in tranquil communion with ,god1 and in the full faith that we are at peace with ,him through the blood of ,his ,son4 ,a quiet heart makes us ready for duty4 ,,iii4 ,again1 the ,gospel of peace prepares us for combat4 ,in ancient warfare battles were lost or won very largely according to the weight of the masses of men that were hurled against each other2 and the heavier men1 with the firmer footing1 were likely to be the victors4 ,our modern scientific way of fighting is different from that4 ,but in the old time the one thing needful was that a man should stand firm and resist the shock of the enemies as they rushed upon him4 ,unless our footing is good we shall be tumbled over by the onset of some unexpected antagonist4 ,and for good footing there are two things necessary4 ,one is a good1 solid piece of ground to stand on1 that is not slippery nor muddy1 and the other is a good1 strong pair of soldier's boots1 that will take hold on the ground and help the wearer to steady himself4 ,christ has set our feet on the rock1 and so the first requisite is secured4 ,if we1 for our part1 will keep near to that ,gospel which brings peace into our hearts1 the peace that it brings will make us able to stand and bear unmoved any force that may be hurled against us4 ,if we are to be 'steadfast1 unmovable1' we can only be so when our feet are shod with the preparedness of the ,gospel of peace4 ,the most of your temptations1 most of the things that would pluck you away from ,jesus ,christ1 and upset you in your standing will come down upon you unexpectedly4 ,nothing happens in this world except the unexpected2 and it is the sudden assaults that we were not looking for that work most disastrously against us4 ,a man may be aware of some special weakness in his character1 and have given himself carefully and patiently to try to fortify himself against it1 and1 lo6 all at once a temptation springs up from the opposite side2 the enemy was lying in hiding there1 and whilst his face was turned to fight with one foe1 a foe that he knew nothing about came storming behind him4 ,there is only one way to stand1 and that is not merely by cultivating careful watchfulness against our own weaknesses1 but by keeping fast hold of ,jesus ,christ manifested to us in ,his ,gospel4 ,then the peace that comes from that communion will itself guard us4 ,you remember what ,paul says in one of his other letters1 where he has the same beautiful blending together of the two ideas of peace and warfare3 ',the peace of ,god1 which passeth all understanding1 shall garrison your hearts and minds in ,christ ,jesus4' ,it will be1 as it were1 an armed force within your heart which will repel all antagonism1 and will enable you to abide in that ,christ1 through whom and in whom alone all peace comes4 ,so1 because we are thus liable to be overwhelmed by a sudden rush of unexpected temptation1 and surprised into a sin before we know where we are1 let us keep fast hold by that ,gospel which brings peace1 which will give us steadfastness1 however suddenly the masked battery may begin to play upon us1 and the foe may steal out of his ambush and make a rush against our unprotectedness4 ,that is the only way1 as ,i think1 by which we can walk scatheless through the world4 ,now1 dear brethren1 remember that this text is part of a commandment4 ,we are to put on the shoes4 ,how is that to be done8 ,by a very simple way3 a way which1 ,i am afraid1 a great many ,christian people do not practise with anything like the constancy that they ought4 ,for it is the ,gospel that brings the peace1 and if its peace brings the preparedness1 then the way to get the preparedness is by soaking our minds and hearts in the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ4 ,you hear a good deal nowadays about deepening the spiritual life1 and people hold conventions for the purpose4 ,all right2 ,i have not a word to say against that4 ,but1 conventions or no conventions1 there is only one thing that deepens the spiritual life1 and that is keeping near the ,christ from whom all the fulness of the spiritual life flows4 ,if we will hold fast by our ,gospel1 and let its peace lie upon our minds1 as the negative of a photograph lies upon the paper that it is to be printed upon1 until the image of ,jesus ,christ ,himself is reproduced in us1 then we may laugh at temptation4 ,for there will be no temptation when the heart is full of ,him1 and there will be no sense of surrendering anything that we wish to keep when the superior sweetness of ,his grace fills our souls4 ,it is empty vessels into which poison can be poured4 ,if the vessel is full there will be no room for it4 ,get your hearts and minds filled with the wine of the kingdom1 and the devil's venom of temptation will have no space to get in4 ,it is well to resist temptation2 it is better to be lifted above it1 so that it ceases to tempt4 ,and the one way to secure that is to live near ,jesus ,christ1 and let the ,gospel of ,his grace take up more of our thoughts and more of our affections than it has done in the past4 ,then we shall realise the fulfilment of the promise3 ',he will not suffer thy foot to be moved4' ,,the ,,shield ,,of ,,faith ',above all1 taking the shield of faith1 whereby ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked4'--,eph4 vi4 #af4 ,there were two kinds of shields in use in ancient warfare--one smaller1 carried upon the arm1 and which could be used1 by a movement of the arm1 for the defence of threatened parts of the body in detail2 the other large1 planted in front of the soldier1 fixed in the ground1 and all but covering his whole person4 ,it is the latter which is referred to in the text1 as the word which describes it clearly shows4 ,that word is connected with the ,greek word meaning 'door1' and gives a rough notion of the look of the instrument of defence--a great rectangular oblong1 behind which a man could stand untouched and untouchable4 ,and that is the kind of shield1 says ,paul1 which we are to have--no little defence which may protect some part of the nature1 but a great wall1 behind which he who crouches is safe4 ',above all' does not mean here1 as superficial readers take it to mean1 most especially and primarily1 as most important1 but it simply means in addition to all these other things4 ,perhaps with some allusion to the fact that the shield protected the breastplate1 as well as the breastplate protected the man1 there may be a reference to the kind of double defence which comes to him who wears that breastplate and lies behind the shelter of a strong and resolute faith4 ,i4 ,now1 looking at this metaphor from a practical point of view1 the first thing to note is the missiles1 'the fiery darts of the wicked4' ,archologists tell us that there were in use in ancient warfare javelins tipped with some kind of combustible1 which were set on fire1 and flung1 so that they had not only the power of wounding but also of burning2 and that there were others with a hollow head1 which was in like manner filled1 kindled1 and thrown into the ranks of the enemy4 ,i suppose that the ,apostle's reason for specifying these fiery darts was simply that they were the most formidable offensive weapons that he had ever heard of4 ,probably1 if he had lived to-day1 he would have spoken of rifle-bullets or explosive shells1 instead of fiery darts4 ,but1 though probably the ,apostle had no further meaning in the metaphor than to suggest that faith was mightier than the mightiest assaults that can be hurled against it1 we may venture to draw attention to two particulars in which this figure is specially instructive and warning4 ,the one is the action of certain temptations in setting the soul on fire2 the other is the suddenness with which they assail us4 ',the fiery darts4' ,now1 ,i do not wish to confine that metaphor too narrowly to any one department of human nature1 for our whole being is capable of being set on fire1 and 'set on fire of hell1' as ,james says4 ,but there are things in us all to which the fiery darts do especially appeal3 desires1 appetites1 passions2 or--to use the word which refined people are so afraid of1 although the ,bible is not1 'lusts--which war against the soul1' and which need only a touch of fire to flare up like a tar-barrel1 in thick foul smoke darkening the heavens4 ,there are fiery darts that strike these animal natures of ours1 and set them all aflame4 ,but1 there are other fiery darts than these4 ,there are plenty of other desires in us3 wishes1 cowardices1 weaknesses of all sorts1 that1 once touched with the devil's dart1 will burn fiercely enough4 ,we all know that4 ,then there is the other characteristic of suddenness4 ,the dart comes without any warning4 ,the arrow is invisible until it is buried in the man's breast4 ,the pestilence walks in darkness1 and the victim does not know until its poison fang is in him4 ,ah6 yes6 brethren1 the most dangerous of our temptations are those that are sprung upon us unawares4 ,we are going quietly along the course of our daily lives1 occupied with quite other thoughts1 and all at once1 as if a door had opened1 not out of heaven but out of hell1 we are confronted with some evil thing that1 unless we are instantaneously on our guard1 will conquer us almost before we know4 ,evil tempts us because it comes to us1 for the most part1 without any beat of drum or blast of trumpet to say that it is coming1 and to put us upon our guard4 ,the batteries that do most harm to the advancing force are masked until the word of command is given1 and then there is a flash from every cannon's throat and a withering hail of shot that confounds by its unexpectedness as well as kills by its blow4 ,the fiery darts that light up the infernal furnace in a man's heart1 and that smite him all unawares and unsuspecting1 these are the weapons that we have to fear most4 ,,ii4 ,consider next1 the defence3 'the shield of faith4' ,now1 the ,old ,testament says things like this3 ',fear not1 ,abraham2 ,i am thy ,shield4' ,the psalmist invoked ,god1 in a rapturous exuberance of adoring invocations1 as his fortress1 and his buckler1 and the horn of his salvation1 and his high tower4 ,the same psalm says1 ',the ,lord is a shield to all them that put their trust in ,him'2 and the ,book of ,proverbs1 which is not given to quoting psalms1 quotes that verse4 ,another psalm says1 ',the ,lord ,god is a sun and shield4' ,and then ,paul comes speaking of 'the shield of faith4' ,what has become of the other one8 ,the answer is plain enough4 ,my faith is nothing except for what it puts in front of me1 and it is ,god who is truly my shield2 my faith is only called a shield1 because it brings me behind the bosses of the ,almighty's buckler1 against which no man can run a tilt1 or into which no man can strike his lance1 nor any devil either4 ,god is a defence2 and my trust1 which is nothing in itself1 is everything because of that with which it brings me into connection4 ,faith is the condition1 and the only condition1 of ,god's power flowing into me1 and working in me4 ,and when that power flows into me1 and works in me1 then ,i can laugh at the fiery darts1 because 'greater is ,he that is with us than all they that are with them4' ,so all the glorification which the ,new ,testament pours out upon the act of faith properly belongs1 not to the act itself1 but to that with which the act brings us into connection4 ,wherefore1 in the first ,epistle of ,john1 the ,apostle1 who recorded ,christ's saying1 ',be of good cheer2 ,i have overcome the world1' translates it into1 ',this is the victory that overcometh the world'--not1 our ,christ1 but--'even our faith4' ,and it overcomes because it binds us in deep1 vital union with ,him who has overcome2 and then all ,his conquering power comes into us4 ,that is the explanation and vindication of the turn which ,paul gives to the ,old ,testament metaphor here1 when he makes our shield to be faith4 ,suppose a man was exercising trust in one that was unworthy of it1 would that trust defend him from anything8 ,suppose you were in peril of some great pecuniary loss1 and were saying to yourself1 ',oh6 ,i do not care4 ,so-and-so has guaranteed me against any loss1 and ,i trust to him1' and suppose he was a bankrupt1 what would be the good of your trust8 ,it would not bring the money back into your pocket4 ,suppose a man is leaning upon a rotten support2 the harder he leans the sooner it will crumble4 ,so there is no defence in the act of trust except what comes into it from the object of trust2 and my faith is a shield only because it grasps the ,god who is the shield4 ,but1 then1 there is another side to that thought4 ,my faith will quench1 as nothing else will1 these sudden impulses of fiery desires1 because my faith brings me into the conscious presence of ,god1 and of the unseen realities where ,he dwells4 ,how can a man sin when ,god's eye is felt to be upon him8 ,suppose conspirators plotting some dark deed in a corner1 shrouded by the night1 as they think2 and suppose1 all at once1 the day were to blaze in upon them1 they would scatter1 and drop their designs4 ,faith draws back the curtain which screens off that unseen world from so many of us1 and lets in the light that shines down from above and shows us that we are compassed about by a cloud of witnesses1 and the ,captain of our ,salvation in the midst of them4 ,then the fiery darts fizzle out1 and the points drop off them4 ,no temptation continues to flame when we see ,god4 ,they have contrivances in mills that they call 'automatic sprinklers4' ,when the fire touches them it melts away a covering1 and a gas is set free that puts the fire out4 ,and if we let in the thought of ,god1 it will extinguish any flame4 ',the sun puts out the fire in our grates1' the old women say4 ,let ,god's sun shine into your heart1 and you will find that the infernal light has gone out4 ,the shield of faith quenches the fiery darts of the 'wicked4' ,yes6 and it does it in another way4 ,for1 according to the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 faith realises 'the things hoped for1' as well as 'unseen4' ,and if a man is walking in the light of the great promises of ,heaven1 and the great threatenings of a hell1 he will not be in much danger of being set on fire1 even by 'the fiery darts of the wicked4' ,he that receives into his heart ,god's strength2 he that by faith is conscious of the divine presence in communion with him2 he that by faith walks in the light of eternal retribution1 will triumph over the most sudden1 the sharpest1 and the most fiery of the darts that can be launched against him4 ,,iii4 ,the ,grasp of the ,shield4 ',taking the shield1' then1 there is something to be done in order to get the benefit of that defence4 ,now1 there are a great many very good people at present who tell ,christian men that they ought to exercise faith for sanctifying1 as they exercise it for justifying and acceptance4 ,and some of them--,i do not say all--forget that there is effort needed to exercise faith for sanctifying2 and that our energy has to be put forth in order that a man may1 in spite of all resistance1 keep himself in the attitude of dependence4 ,so my text1 whilst it proclaims that we are to trust for defence against1 and victory over1 recurring temptations1 just as we trusted for forgiveness and acceptance at the beginning1 proclaims also that there must be effort to grasp the shield1 and to realise the defence which the shield gives to us4 ,for to trust is an act of the heart and will far more than of the head1 and there are a great many hindrances that rise in the way of it2 and to keep behind the shield1 and not depend at all upon our own wit1 our wisdom1 or our strength1 but wholly upon the ,christ who gives us wit and wisdom1 and strengthens our fingers to fight--that will take work6 ,to occupy heart and mind with the object of faith is not an easy thing4 ,so1 brethren1 effort to compel the will and the heart to trust2 effort to keep the mind in touch with the verities and the ,person who are the objects of our faith2 and effort to keep ourselves utterly and wholly ensconced behind the ,shield1 and never to venture out into the open1 where our own arm has to keep our own heads1 but to hang wholly upon ,him--these things go to 'taking' the shield of faith4 ,and it is because we fail in these1 and not because there are any holes or weak places in the shield1 that so many of the fiery darts find their way through1 and set on fire and wound us4 ,the ,shield is impregnable1 beaten as we have often been4 ',this is the victory that overcometh the world'--and the devil and his darts--'even our faith4' ',,the ,,helmet ,,of ,,salvation' ',take the helmet of salvation4'--,eph4 vi4 #ag4 ,we may1 perhaps1 trace a certain progress in the enumeration of the various pieces of the ,christian armour in this context4 ,roughly speaking1 they are in three divisions4 ,there are first our graces of truth1 righteousness1 preparedness1 which1 though they are all conceived as given by ,god1 are yet the exercises of our own powers4 ,there is next1 standing alone1 as befits its all-comprehensive character1 faith which is able to ward against and overcome not merely this and that temptation1 but all forms of evil4 ,that faith is the root of the three preceding graces1 and makes the transition to the two which follow1 because it is the hand by which we lay hold of ,god's gifts4 ,the two final parts of the ,christian armour are ,god's gifts1 pure and simple--salvation and the word of ,god4 ,so the progress is from circumference to centre1 from man to ,god4 ,from the central faith we have on the one hand that which it produces in us2 on the other1 that which it lays hold of from ,god4 ,and these two last pieces of armour1 being wholly ,god's gift1 we are bidden with especial emphasis which is shown by a change in construction1 to take or receive these4 ,i4 ,the ,salvation4 ,once more ,old ,testament prophecy suggests the words of this exhortation4 ,in ,isaiah's grand vision of ,god1 arising to execute judgment which is also redemption1 we have a wonderful picture of ,his arraying ,himself in armour4 ,righteousness is ,his flashing breastplate3 on ,his head is an helmet of salvation4 ,the gleaming steel is draped by garments of retributive judgment1 and over all is cast1 like a cloak1 the ample folds of that 'zeal' which expresses the inexhaustible energy and intensity of the divine nature and action4 ,thus arrayed ,he comes forth to avenge and save4 ,his redeeming work is the manifestation and issue of all these characteristics of ,his nature4 ,it flames with divine fervour3 it manifests the justice which repays1 but its inmost character is righteousness1 and its chief purpose is to save4 ,his helmet is salvation2 the plain1 prose meaning of which would appear to be that ,his great purpose of saving men is its own guarantee that ,his purpose should be effected1 and is the armour by which ,his work is defended4 ,the ,apostle uses the old picture with perfect freedom1 quoting the words indeed1 but employing them quite differently4 ,god's helmet of salvation is ,his own purpose2 man's helmet of salvation is ,god's gift4 ,he is strong to save because ,he wills to save2 we are strong and safe when we take the salvation which ,he gives4 ,it is to be further noticed that the same image appears in ,paul's rough draft of the ,christian armour in ,thessalonians1 with the significant difference that there the helmet is 'the hope of salvation1' and here it is the salvation itself4 ,this double representation is in full accord with all ,scripture teaching1 according to which we both possess and hope for salvation1 and our possession determines the measure of our hope4 ,that great word negatively implies deliverance from evil of any kind1 and in its lower application1 from sickness or peril of any sort4 ,in its higher meaning in ,scripture the evil from which we are saved is most frequently left unexpressed1 but sometimes a little glimpse is given1 as when we read that 'we are saved from wrath through ,him' or 'saved from sin4' ,what ,christ saves us from is1 first and chiefly1 from sin in all aspects1 its guilt1 its power1 and its penalty2 but ,his salvation reaches much further than any mere deliverance from threatening evil1 and positively means the communication to our weakness and emptiness of all blessings and graces possible for men4 ,it is inward and properly spiritual1 but it is also outward1 and it is not fully possessed until we are clothed with 'salvation ready to be revealed in the last time4' ,hence1 in ,scripture our salvation is presented as past1 as present1 and as future4 ,as past it is once for all received by initial faith in ,christ2 and1 in view of their faith1 ,paul has no scruples as to saying to the imperfect ,christians whose imperfections he scourges1 ',ye have been saved1' or in building upon that past fact his earnest exhortations and his scathing rebukes4 ,the salvation is present if in any true sense it is past4 ,there will be a daily growing deliverance from evil and a daily growing appropriation and manifestation of the salvation which we have received4 ,and so ,paul more than once speaks of ,christians as 'being saved4' ,the process begun in the past is continued throughout the present1 and the more a ,christian man is conscious of its reality even amidst flaws1 failures1 stagnation1 and lapses1 the more assured will be his hope of the perfect salvation in the future1 when all that is here1 tendency often thwarted1 and aspirations often balked1 and sometimes sadly contradicted1 will be completely1 uninterruptedly1 and eternally realised4 ,if that hope flickers and is sometimes all but dead1 the reason mainly lies in its flame not being fed by present experience4 ,,ii4 ,the helmet of salvation4 ,this salvation in its present form will keep our heads in the day of battle4 ,its very characteristic is that it delivers us from evil1 and all the graces with which ,paul equips his ideal warrior are parts of the positive blessings which our salvation brings us4 ,the more assured we are in our own happy consciousness of possessing the salvation of ,god1 the more shall we be defended from all the temptations that seek to stir into action our lower selves4 ,there will be no power in our fears to draw us into sin1 and the possible evils that appeal to earthly passions of whatever sort will lose their power to disturb us1 in the precise measure in which we know that we are saved in ,christ4 ,the consciousness of salvation will tend to damp down the magazine of combustibles that we all carry within us1 and the sparks that fall will be as innocuous as those that light on wet gunpowder4 ,if our thoughts are occupied with the blessings which we possess they will be guarded against the assaults of evil4 ,the full cup has no room for poison4 ,the eye that is gazing on the far-off white mountains does not see the filth and frivolities around4 ,if we are living in conscious possession and enjoyment of what ,god gives us1 we shall pass scatheless through the temptations which would otherwise fall on us and rend us4 ,a future eagerly longed for1 and already possessed in germ1 will kill a present that would otherwise appeal to us with irresistible force4 ,,iii4 ,take the helmet4 ,we might perhaps more accurately read receive salvation1 for that salvation is not won by any efforts of our own1 but if we ever possess it1 our possession is the result of our accepting it as a gift from ,god4 ,the first word which the ,gospel speaks to men and which makes it a ,gospel1 is not ,do this or that1 but ,take this from the hands that were nailed to the ,cross4 ,the beginning of all true life1 of all peace1 of all self-control1 of all hope1 lies in the humble and penitent acceptance by faith of the salvation which ,christ brings1 and with which we have nothing to do but to accept it4 ,but ,paul is here speaking to those whom he believes to have already exercised the initial faith which united them to ,christ1 and made ,his salvation theirs1 and to these the exhortation comes with special force4 ,to such it says1 ',see to it that your faith ever grasps and feeds upon the great facts on which your salvation reposes--,god's changeless love1 ,christ's all-sufficient sacrifice and ascended life1 which ,he imparts to us if we abide in ,him4 ,hold fast and prolong by continual repetition the initial act by which you received that salvation4 ,it is said that on his death-bed ,oliver ,cromwell asked the ,puritan divine who was standing by it whether a man who had once been in the covenant could be lost1 and on being assured that he could not1 answered1 ',i know that ,i was once in it'2 but such a building on past experiences is a building on sand1 and nothing but continuous faith will secure a continuous salvation4 ,a melancholy number of so-called ,christians in this day have to travel far back through the years before they reach the period when they took the helmet of salvation4 ,they know that they were far better men1 and possessed a far deeper apprehension of ,christ and ,his power in the old days than is theirs now1 and they need not wonder if ,god's great gift has unnoticed slipped from their relaxed grasp4 ,a hand that clings to a rock while a swollen flood rushes past needs to perpetually be tightening its grip1 else the man will be swept away2 and the present salvation1 and1 still more1 the hope of a future salvation1 are not ours on any other terms than a continual repetition of the initial act by which we first received them4 ,but there must also be a continually increased appropriation and manifestation in our lives of a progressive salvation that will come as a result of a constantly renewed faith2 but it will not come unless there be continuous effort to work into our characters1 and to work out in our lives1 the transforming and vitalising power of the life given to us in ,jesus ,christ4 ,if our present experience yields no sign of growing conformity to the image of our ,saviour1 there is only too abundant reason for doubting whether we have experienced a past salvation or have any right to anticipate a perfect future salvation4 ,the last word to be said is1 ,live in frequent anticipation of that perfect future4 ,if that anticipation is built on memory of the past and experience of the present1 it cannot be too confident4 ,that hope maketh not ashamed4 ,in the region of ,christian experience alone the weakest of us has a right to reckon on the future1 and to be sure that when that great to-morrow dawns for us1 it 'shall be as this day and much more abundant4' ,with this salvation in its imperfect form brightening the present1 and in its completeness filling the future with unimaginable glory1 we can go into all the conflicts of this fighting world and feel that we are safe because ,god covers our heads in the day of battle4 ,unless so defended we shall go into the fight as the naked ,indians did with the ,spanish invaders1 and be defeated as they were4 ,the plumes may be shorn off the helmet1 and it may be easily dinted1 but the head that wore it will be unharmed4 ,and when the battle and the noise of battle are past1 the helmet will be laid aside1 and we shall be able to say1 ',i have fought a good fight1 henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness4' ',,the ,,sword ,,of ,,the ,,spirit' ',the sword of the ,spirit1 which is the word of ,god4'--,eph4 vi4 #ag4 ,we reach here the last and only offensive weapon in the panoply4 ,the 'of' here does not indicate apposition1 as in the 'shield of faith1' or 'the helmet of salvation1' nor is it the 'of' of possession1 so that the meaning is to be taken as being the sword which the ,spirit wields1 but it is the 'of' expressing origin1 as in the 'armour of ,god'2 it is the sword which the ,spirit supplies4 ,the progress noted in the last sermon from subjective graces to objective divine facts1 is completed here1 for the sword which is put into the ,christian soldier's hand is the gift of ,god1 even more markedly than is the helmet which guards his head in the day of battle4 ,i4 ,note what the word of ,god is4 ,the answer which would most commonly and almost unthinkingly be given is1 ,i suppose1 the ,scriptures2 but while this is on the whole true1 it is to be noted that the expression employed here properly means a word spoken1 and not the written record4 ,both in the ,old and in the ,new ,testaments the word of ,god means more than the ,bible2 it is the authentic utterance of ,his will in all shapes and applying to all the facts of ,his creation4 ,in the ,old ,testament ',god said' is the expression in the first chapter of ,genesis for the forthputting of the divine energy in the act of creation1 and long ages after that divine poem of creation was written a psalmist re-echoed the thought when he said ',for ever1 ,o ,lord1 ,thy word is settled in the heavens4 ,thou hast established the earth and it abideth4' ,but1 further1 the expression designates the specific messages which prophets and others received4 ,these are not in the ,old ,testament spoken of as a unity3 they are individual words rather than a word4 ,each of them is a manifestation of the divine will and purpose2 many of them are commandments2 some of them are warnings2 and all1 in some measure1 reveal the divine nature4 ,that self-revelation of ,god reaches for us in this life its permanent climax1 when ,he who 'at sundry times and in divers manner spake unto the fathers by the prophets1 hath in these last days spoken unto us by a ,son4' ,jesus is the personal 'word of ,god' though that name by which ,he is designated in the ,new ,testament is a different expression from that employed in our text1 and connotes a whole series of different ideas4 ,the early ,christian teachers and apostles had no hesitation in taking that sacred name--the word of the ,lord--to describe the message which they spoke4 ,one of their earliest prayers when they were left alone was1 that with all boldness they might speak ,thy word2 and throughout the whole of the ,acts of the ,apostles the preached ,gospel is designated as the word of ,god1 even as ,peter in his epistle quotes one of the noblest of the ,old ,testament sayings1 and declares that the 'word of the ,lord' which 'abideth for ever' is 'the word which by the gospel is preached unto you4' ,clearly1 then1 ,paul here is exhorting the ,ephesian ,christians1 most of whom probably were entirely ignorant of the ,old ,testament1 to use the spoken words which they had heard from him and other preachers of the ,gospel as the sword of the ,spirit4 ,since he is evidently referring to ,christian teaching1 it is obvious that he regards the old and the new as one whole1 that to him the proclamation of ,jesus was the perfection of what had been spoken by prophets and psalmists4 ,he claims for his message and his brethren's the same place and dignity that belonged to the former messengers of the divine will4 ,he asserts1 and all the more strongly1 because it is an assertion by implication only1 that the same ,spirit which moved in the prophets and saints of former days is moving in the preachers of the ,gospel1 and that their message has a wider sweep1 a deeper content1 and a more radiant light than that which had been delivered in the past4 ,the word of the ,lord had of old partially declared ,god's nature and ,his will3 the word of ,god which ,paul preached was in his judgment the complete revelation of ,god's loving heart1 the complete exhibition to men of ,god's commandments of old2 longing eyes had seen a coming day and been glad and confidently foretold it1 now the message was 'the coming one has come4' ,it is as the record and vehicle of that spoken ,gospel1 as well as of its earlier premonitions1 that the ,bible has come to be called the word of ,god1 and the name is true in that ,he speaks in this book4 ,but much harm has resulted from the appropriation of the name exclusively to the book1 and the forgetfulness that a vehicle is one thing and that which it carries quite another4 ,,ii4 ,the purpose and power of the word4 ,the sword is the only offensive weapon in the list4 ,the spear which played so great a part in ancient warfare is not named4 ,it may well be noted that only a couple of verses before our text we read of the ,gospel of peace1 and that here with remarkable freedom of use of his metaphors1 ,paul makes the word of ,god1 which as we have seen is substantially equivalent to the preached ,gospel1 the one weapon with which ,christian men are to cut and thrust4 ,jesus said ',i come not to send peace1 but a sword1' but ,paul makes the apparent contradiction still more acute when he makes the very ,gospel itself the sword4 ,we may recall as a parallel1 and possibly a copy of our text1 the great words of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews which speak of the word of ,god as 'living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword4' ,and we cannot forget the magnificent symbolism of the ,book of ,revelation which saw in the midst of the candlestick one like unto a ,son of ,man1 and 'out of ,his mouth proceeded a sharp1 two-edged sword4' ,that image is the poetic embodiment of our ,lord's own words which we have just quoted1 and implies the penetrating power of the word which ,christ's gentle lips have uttered4 ,gracious and healing as it is1 a ,gospel of peace1 it has an edge and a point which cut down through all sophistications of human error1 and lay bare the 'thoughts and intents of the heart4' ,the revelation made by ,christ has other purposes which are not less important than its ministering of consolation and hope4 ,it is intended to help us in our fight with evil1 and the solemn old utterance1 'with the breath of ,his mouth ,he will slay the wicked1' is true in reference to the effect of the word of ,christ on moral evil4 ,such slaying is but the other side of the life-giving power which the word exercises on a heart subject to its influence4 ,for the ,christian soldier's conflict with evil as threatening the health of his own ,christian life1 or as tyrannising over the lives of others1 the sword of the ,spirit is the best weapon4 ,we are not to take the rough-and-ready method1 which is so common among good people1 of identifying this spirit-given sword with the ,bible4 ,if for no other reason1 yet because it is the ,spirit which supplies it to the grasp of the ,christian soldier1 our possession of it is therefore a result of the action of that ,spirit on the individual ,christian spirit2 and what ,he gives1 and we are to wield1 is 'the engrafted word which is able to save our souls4' ,that word1 lodged in our hearts1 brings to us a revelation of duty and a chart of life1 because it brings a loving recognition of the character of our ,father1 and a glad obedience to ,his will4 ,if that word dwell in us richly1 in all wisdom1 and if we do not dull the edge of the sword by our own unworthy handling of it1 we shall find it pierce to the 'dividing asunder of joints and marrow1' and the evil within us will either be cast out from us1 or will shrivel itself up1 and bury itself deep in dark corners4 ,love to ,christ will be so strong1 and the things that are not seen will so overwhelmingly outweigh the things that are seen1 that the solemn majesty of the eternal will make the temporal look to our awed eyes the contemptible unreality which it really is4 ,they who humbly receive and faithfully use that engrafted word1 have in it a sure touchstone against which their own sins and errors are shivered4 ,it is for the ,christian consciousness the true ,ithuriel's spear1 at the touch of which 'upstarts in his own shape the fiend' who has been pouring his whispered poison into an unsuspicious ear4 ,the standard weights and measures are kept in government custody1 and traders have to send their yard measures and scales thither if they wish them tested2 but the engrafted word1 faithfully used and submitted to1 is always at hand1 and ready to pronounce its decrees1 and to cut to the quick the evil by which the understanding is darkened and conscience sophisticated4 ,,iii4 ,the manner of its use4 ,here that is briefly but sufficiently expressed by the one commandment1 'take1' or perhaps more accurately1 'receive4' ,of course1 properly speaking1 that exhortation does not refer to our manner of fighting with the sword1 but to the previous act by which our hand grasps it4 ,but it is profoundly true that if we take it in the deepest sense1 the possession of it will teach the use of it4 ,no instruction will impart the last1 and little instruction is needed for the first4 ,what is needed is the simple act of yielding ourselves to ,jesus ,christ1 and looking to ,him only1 as our guide and strength4 ,before all ,christian warfare must come the possession of the ,christian armour1 and the commandment that here lies at the beginning of all ,paul's description of it is ',take4' ,our fitness for the conflict all depends on our receiving ,god's gift1 and that reception is no mere passive thing1 as if ,god's grace could be poured into a human spirit as water is into a bucket4 ,hence1 the translation of this commandment of ,paul's by 'take' is better than that by 'receive1' inasmuch as it brings into prominence man's activity1 though it gives too exclusive importance to that1 to the detriment of the far deeper and more essential element of the divine action4 ,the two words are1 in fact1 both needed to cover the whole ground of what takes place when the giving ,god and the taking man concur in the great act by which the ,spirit of ,god takes up its abode in a human spirit4 ,god's gift is to be received as purely ,his gift1 undeserved1 unearned by us4 ,but undeserved and unearned as it is1 and given 'without money and without price1' it is not ours unless our hand is stretched out to take1 and our fingers closed tightly over the free gift of ,god4 ,there is a dead lift of effort in the reception2 there is a still greater effort needed for the continued possession1 and there is a life-long discipline and effort needed for the effective use in the struggle of daily life of the sword of the ,spirit4 ,if that engrafted word is ever to become sovereign in our lives1 there must be a life-long attempt to bring the tremendous truths as to ,god's will for human conduct which it plants in our minds into practice1 and to bring all our practice under their influence4 ,the motives which it brings to bear on our evils will be powerless to smite them1 unless these motives are made sovereign in us by many an hour of patient meditation and of submission to their sweet and strong constraint4 ,one sometimes sees on a wild briar a graft which has been carefully inserted and bandaged up1 but which has failed to strike1 and so the strain of the briar goes on and no rosebuds come4 ,are there not some of us who profess to have received the engrafted word and whose daily experience has proved1 by our own continual sinfulness1 that it is unable to 'save our souls'8 ,there are in the ,christian ranks some soldiers whose hands are too nerveless or too full of worldly trash to grasp the sword which they have received1 much less to strike home with it at any of the evils that are devastating their own lives or darkening the world4 ,the feebleness of the ,christian conflict with evil1 in all its forms1 whether individual or social1 whether intellectual or moral1 whether heretical or grossly and frankly sensual1 is mainly due to the feebleness with which the average professing ,christians grasp the sword of the ,spirit4 ,when ,david asked the priests for weapons1 and they told him that ,goliath's sword was lying wrapt in a cloth behind the ephod1 and that they had none other1 he said1 ',there is none like that1 give it me4' ,if we are wise1 we will take the sword that lies in the secret place1 and1 armed with it1 we shall not need to fear in any day of battle4 ,we do well that we take heed to the word of ,god1 'as unto a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawn1' when swords will be no more needed1 and the ,word will no longer shine in darkness but be the ,light that makes the ,sun needless for the brightness of the ,new ,jerusalem4 ,,peace1 ,,love1 ,,and ,,faith ',peace be to the brethren1 and love with faith4'--,eph4 vi4 #bc4 ,the numerous personal greetings usually found at the close of ,paul's letters are entirely absent from this ,epistle4 ,all which we have in their place is this entirely general good wish1 and the still more general and wider one in the subsequent verse4 ,there is but one other of the ,apostle's letters similarly devoid of personal messages1 viz4 the ,epistle to the ,galatians1 and their absence there is sufficiently accounted for by the severe and stern tone of that letter4 ,but it is very difficult to understand how they should not appear in a letter to a church with which the ,apostle had such prolonged and cordial relations as he had with the church at ,ephesus4 ,and hence the absence of these personal greetings is a strong confirmation of the opinion that this ,epistle was not originally addressed to the church at ,ephesus1 but was a kind of circular intended to go round the various churches in ,asia ,minor1 and only sent first to that at ,ephesus4 ,that opinion is further confirmed by the fact known to many of you that in some good ancient manuscripts the words 'at ,ephesus' are omitted from the first verse of the letter2 which thus stands without any specific address4 ,be that as it may1 this trinity of inward graces is ,paul's highest and best wish for his friends4 ,he has no earthly prosperity to wish for them4 ,his ambition soars higher than that2 he desires for them peace1 love1 faith4 ,now1 will you take the lesson8 ,there is no better test of a man than the things that he wishes for the people that he loves most4 ,he desires for them1 of course1 his own ideal of happiness4 ,what do you desire most for those that are dearest to you8 ,you parents1 do you train up your children1 for instance1 so as to secure1 or to do your best to secure1 not outward prosperity1 but these loftier gifts2 and for yourselves1 when you are forming your wishes1 are these the things that you want most8 ',set your affections on things above1' and remember that whoso has that trinity of graces1 peace1 love1 faith1 is rich and blessed1 whatsoever else he has or needs4 ,and whoso has them not is miserable and poor4 ,but ,i wish especially to look a little more closely at these three things in themselves and in their relation to one another4 ,i take it that the ,apostle is here tracking the stream to its fountain2 that he is beginning with effects and working backwards and downwards to causes2 so that to get the order of nature and of time we must reverse the order here1 and begin where he ends and end where he begins4 ,the ,christian life in its higher vigour and excellence is rooted in faith4 ,that faith associates to itself1 and is inseparably connected with love1 and the faith and love together issue in a deep restful tranquillity which nothing can break4 ,now1 let us look at these three things as the three greatest blessings that any can bear in their hearts1 and wring out of time1 sorrow1 and change4 ,i4 ,first1 the root of everything is a continuous and growing trust4 ,remember that this prayer or wish of my text was spoken in reference to brethren2 that is to say1 to those who1 by the hypothesis1 already possessed ,christian faith4 ,and ,paul wishes for them1 and can wish for them1 nothing better and more than the increase and continuousness of that which they already possess4 ,the highest blessing that the brethren can receive is the enlargement and the strengthening of their faith4 ,now we talk so much in ,christian teaching about this 'faith' that1 ,i fancy1 like a worn sixpence in a man's pocket1 its very circulation from hand to hand has worn off the lettering4 ,and many of us1 from the very familiarity of the word1 have only a dim conception of what it means4 ,it may not be profitless1 then1 to remind you1 first of all1 that this faith is neither more nor less than a very familiar thing which you are constantly exercising in reference to one another--that is to say1 simple confidence4 ,you trust your husband1 your wife1 your child1 your parent1 your friend1 your guide1 your lawyer1 your doctor1 your banker4 ,take that very same emotion and attitude of the mind by which you put your well-being1 in different aspects and provinces1 into the hands of men and women round about you2 lift the trailing flowers that go all straggling along the ground1 and twine them round the pillars of ,god's throne1 and you get the confidence1 the trust1 of the praises and glories of which the ,new ,testament is full4 ,there is nothing mysterious in it1 it is simply the exercise of confidence1 the familiar cement that binds all human relationship together1 and makes men brotherly and kindred with their kind4 ,faith is trust1 and trust saves a man's soul4 ,then1 remember further that the faith which is the foundation of everything is essentially personal trust reposing upon a person1 upon ,jesus ,christ4 ,you cannot get hold of a man in any other way than by that4 ,the only real bond that binds people together is the personal bond of confidence1 manifesting itself in love4 ,and it is no mere doctrine that we present for a man's faith1 but it is the person about whom the doctrine speaks4 ,we say1 indeed1 that we can only know the person on whom we must trust by the revelation of the truths concerning ,him which make the ,christian doctrines2 but a man may believe the whole of them1 and have no faith4 ,and what is the step in advance which is needed in order to turn credence into faith--belief in a doctrine into trust8 ,in one view it is the step from the doctrine to the person4 ,when you grasp ,christ1 the living ,christ1 and not merely the doctrine1 for yours1 then you have faith4 ,only remember1 my brother1 if you say you trust ,christ1 the question has immediately to be asked3 ,what ,christ is it that you are trusting8 ,is it the ,christ that died for your sins on the ,cross1 or is it a ,christ that taught you some great moral truths and set you a lovely example of life and conduct8 ,which of the two is it8 for these two ,christs are very different1 and the faith that grasps the one is extremely unlike the faith that grasps the other4 ,and so ,i press upon you this question3 ,what ,christ is it to ,whom your confidence turns1 and for what is it that you are looking to ,him8 ,is it for help and guidance of some vague kind2 is it for pattern or example1 or is it for the salvation of your sinful souls1 by the might of ,his great sacrifice8 ,then1 remember still further1 that this personal outgoing of confidence1 which is the action both of a man's will and of a man's intellect1 to the person revealed to us in the great doctrines of the ,gospel--that this faith1 if it is to be worth anything1 must be continuous4 ,paul could desire nothing better for his ,ephesian friends than that they should have that which they had--faith2 that they should continue to have it1 and that it should be perennial and increasing all through their lives4 ,you can no more get present good from past faith than the breath you drew yesterday into your lungs will be sufficient to oxygenate your blood at this moment4 ,as soon as you break the electric contact1 the electric light goes out1 and no matter how long a man has been living a life of faith1 that past life will not in the smallest degree help him at the present moment unless the faith is continuous4 ,remember this1 then1 a broken faith is a broken peace2 a broken faith is a broken salvation2 and so long1 and only so long1 as you are knit to ,jesus ,christ by the conscious exercise of a faith realised at the moment1 are you in the reception of blessing from ,him at the moment4 ,and1 still further1 this faith ought to be progressive4 ,so ,paul desired it to be with these people4 ,if there is no growth1 do you think there is much life8 ,i know ,i am speaking to plenty of people who call themselves ,christians1 whose faith is not one inch better to-day than it was when it was born--perhaps a little less rather than more4 ,oh6 the hundreds and thousands of professing ,christians1 average ,christians1 that clog and weaken all churches1 whose faith has no progressive element in it1 and is not a bit stronger by all the discipline of life and by their experience of its power4 ,brethren6 is it so with us8 ,let us ask ourselves that2 and let us ask very solemnly this other question3 ,if my faith has no growth1 how do ,i know that it has got any life8 ,and so let me remind you further that this faith1 the personal outgoing of a man's intellect and will to the personal ,saviour revealed in the ,scriptures as the sacrifice for our sins1 and the life of our spirits1 which ought to be continuous and progressive1 is the foundation of all strength1 blessedness1 goodness1 in a human character2 and if we have it we have the germ of all possible excellence and growth1 not because of what it is in itself1 for in itself it is nothing more than the opening of the heart to the reception of the celestial influences of grace and righteousness that ,he pours down4 ,and1 therefore1 this is the thing that a wise man will most desire for himself1 and for those that are dearest to him4 ,depend upon it1 whether it is what we want most or not1 it is what ,god wants most for us4 ,he does not care nearly so much that our lives should be joyful as that they should be righteous and full of faith2 and ,he subjects us to many a sorrow and loss and disappointment in order that the life of nature may be broken and the life of faith may be strong4 ,if we rightly understand the relative value of outward and of inward things1 we shall be thankful for the storms that drive us nearer to ,him2 for the darkening earth that may make the pillar of cloud glow at the heart into a pillar of fire1 and for all the discipline1 painful though it may be1 with which ,god answers the prayer1 ',lord1 increase our faith4' ,,ii4 ,and now1 next1 notice how inseparably associated with a true faith is love4 ,the one is effect that never is found without its cause2 the other is cause which never but produces its effect4 ,these two are braided together by the ,apostle as inseparable in reality and inseparable in thought4 ,and that it is so is plain enough1 and there follow from it some practical lessons that ,i desire to lay upon your hearts and my own4 ,there are1 then1 here two principles1 or rather two sides of one thought2 no faith without love1 no love without faith4 ,no faith is genuine and deep which does not at once produce in the heart where it is lodged an answering love to ,god4 ,that is clear enough4 ,faith is1 as ,i have said1 the recognition and the reception of the divine love into the heart2 and we are so constituted as that if a man once knows and believes in any real sense the love that ,god has to him1 he answers it back again with his love as certainly as an echo which gives back the sound that reaches it4 ,our faith is1 if ,i may so say1 like a burning-glass1 which concentrates the rays of the divine love upon our hearts1 and focuses them into a point that kindles our hearts into flame4 ,if we have the confidence that ,god loves us1 in any real depth1 we shall answer by the gush of our love to ,him4 ,and so here is a test for men's faith4 ,you call yourselves ,christians4 ,if ,i were to come to you and ask you1 ',do you believe in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ8' most of you would say1 ',yes6' ,try your faith1 my friend1 by this test3 ,does it make you love ,him at all8 ,if it does not1 it is more words than anything else2 and it needs a wonderful deepening before it can have any real power in your hearts4 ,there is no faith worthy the name unless its child1 all but as old as itself1 be the answer of the heart to ,him1 pouring itself out in thankful gratitude4 ,no love without faith2 'we love ,him because ,he first loved us4' ,god must begin1 we can only come second4 ,man's natural selfishness is only overcome by the clearest demonstration of the love of ,god to him2 and until that love1 in its superbest because its lowliest form1 the form of the sacrifice on the ,cross1 has penetrated into a man's heart through his faith1 there will be no love4 ,so then1 dear friends1 there is a test for your love4 ,we hear a great deal said nowadays1 as there has always been a great deal said1 about the essence of all religion consisting in love to ,god2 and about men 'rejecting the cumbrous dogmas of the ,new ,testament1 and falling back upon the great and simple truths1 ,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 and with all thy soul1 and with all thy mind1 and with all thy strength2 and thy neighbour as thyself1' and saying 'that is their religion4' ,well1 ,i venture to say that without the faith of the heart in1 not the cumbrous dogmas1 but the central fact of the ,new ,testament1 that ,christ died on the ,cross for me1 you will never get the old commandment of love to ,god with heart and soul and strength and mind really kept and carried out2 and that if you want men to have their hearts and wills bound into loving fellowship with ,god1 it is only by the path of faith in ,him who is the sacrifice for sin that such fellowship is reached4 ,hence there follows a very plain1 practical advice4 ,do you want your heart's love to be increased8 ,learn the way to do it4 ,you cannot work yourselves into a fervour of religious emotion of any valuable kind4 ,a man cannot get to love more by saying1 ',i am determined ,i will4' ,we have no direct control over our affections in that fashion4 ,you cannot make water boil except by one way1 and that is by putting plenty of fire under it2 and you cannot make your affections melt and flow except by heating them by the contemplation of the truth which is intended to bring them out4 ,that is to say1 the more we exercise our minds on the contemplation of ,christ's great love to us1 and the more we put forth the energies of our souls in the act of simple self-distrust and reliance upon ,him1 the more will our love be fervent and strong4 ,you can only increase love by increasing the faith from which it comes4 ,so do you see to it1 if you call yourselves ,christians1 that you try to deepen all your ,christian affections by an honest1 meditative1 prayerful contemplation and grasp of the great love of ,god in ,jesus ,christ4 ,and do not wonder if your ,christian life be1 as it is in so many of us1 stunted1 not progressive1 bringing no blessing to ourselves and little good to anybody else4 ,the explanation is easy enough4 ,you do not look at the ,cross of ,christ1 nor live in the contemplation and reception of ,his great grace4 ,,iii4 ,and now1 lastly1 these two inseparably associated graces of faith and love bring with them1 and lead to1 the third--peace4 ,it seems to be but a very modest1 sober-tinted wish which the ,apostle here has for his brethren that the highest and best thing he can ask for them is only quiet4 ,very modest by the side of joy and excitement1 in their coats of many colours1 and yet the deepest and truest blessing that any of us can have--peace4 ,it comes to us by one path1 and that is by the path of faith and love4 ,these two bring peace with ,god1 peace in our inmost spirits1 the peace of self-annihilation and submission1 the peace of obedience1 the peace of ceasing from our own works1 and entering1 therefore1 into the rest of ,god4 ,trust is peace4 ,there is no tranquillity like that of feeling ',i am not responsible for this3 ,he is2 and ,i rest myself on ,him4' ,love is peace4 ,there is no rest for our hearts but on the bosom of some one that is dear to us1 and in whom we can confide4 ,but ah1 brother6 every tree in which the dove nestles is felled down sooner or later1 and the nest torn to pieces1 and the bird flies away4 ,but if we turn ourselves to the undying ,christ1 the perpetual revelation of the eternal ,god1 then1 then our love and our faith will bring us rest4 ,there will be peace in trusting ,him whom we never can trust and be put to shame4 ,there will be peace in loving ,him who is more than worthy of and able to repay the deep and perennial love of all hearts4 ,self-surrender is peace4 ,it is our wills that trouble us4 ,disturbance comes1 not from without1 but from within4 ,when the will bows1 when ,i say1 ',be it then as ,thou wilt1' when in faith and love ,i cease to strive1 to murmur1 to rebel1 to repine1 and enter into ,his loving purposes1 then there is peace4 ,obedience is peace4 ,to recognise a great will that is sovereign1 and to bow myself to it1 not because it is sovereign1 but because it is sweet1 and sweet because ,i love it1 and love ,him whose it is--that is peace4 ,and then1 whatever may be outward circumstances1 there shall be 'peace subsisting at the heart of endless agitation'2 and deep in my soul ,i may be tranquil1 though all about me may be the hurly-burly of the storm4 ,the ,christian peace is an armed peace1 paradoxical as it appears2 and according to the great word of the ,apostle1 is a sentry which garrisons the beleaguered heart and mind1 surrounded by many foes1 and keeps them in ,christ ,jesus4 ',there is no peace1 saith my ,god1 to the wicked1' he is 'as a troubled sea which cannot rest1 whose waters cast up mire and dirt'2 but over the wildest commotion one ,voice1 low1 gentle1 omnipotent1 says3 ',peace6 be still6' and the heart quiets itself1 though there may be a ground swell1 and the weather clears4 ,he is your peace1 trust ,him1 love ,him1 and you cannot but possess the 'peace of ,god which passeth understanding4' ,,the ,,wide ,,range ,,of ,,god',s ,,grace ',grace be with all them that love our ,lord ,jesus ,christ in sincerity4'--,eph4 vi4 #bd4 ,in turning to the great words which ,i have read as a text1 ,i ask you to mark their width and their simplicity4 ,they are wide2 they follow a very comprehensive benediction1 with which1 so to speak1 they are concentric4 ,but they sweep a wider circle4 ,the former verse says1 ',peace be to the brethren4' ,but beyond the brethren in these ,asiatic churches 7as a kind of circular letter to whom this epistle was probably sent7 there rises before the mind of the ,apostle a great multitude1 in every nation1 and they share in his love1 and in the promise and the prayer of my text4 ,mark its simplicity3 everything is brought down to its most general expression4 ,all the qualifications for receiving the divine gift are gathered up in one--love4 ,all the variety of the divine gifts is summed up in that one comprehensive expression--'grace4' ,i4 ,so then1 note1 first1 the comprehensive designation of the recipients of grace4 ,they are 'all who love our ,lord ,jesus ,christ in incorruption4' ,little need be said explanatory of the force of this general expression4 ,we usually find that where ,scripture reduces the whole qualification for the reception of the divine gift1 and the conditions which unite to ,jesus ,christ1 to one1 it is faith1 not love1 that is chosen4 ,but here the ,apostle takes the process at the second stage1 and instead of emphasising the faith which is the first step1 he dwells upon the love which is its uniform consequence4 ,this love rests upon the faith in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,then note the solemn fulness of the designations of the object of this faith-born love4 ',jesus ,christ our ,lord'--the name of ,his humanity2 the name of ,his office2 the designation of ,his dominion4 ,he is ,jesus the ,man4 ,jesus is the ,christ1 the ,fulfiller of all prophecy2 the flower of all previous revelation2 the ,anointed of ,god with the fulness of ,his ,divine ,spirit as ,prophet1 ,priest1 and ,king4 ,jesus ,christ is the ,lord--which1 at the lowest1 expresses sovereignty1 and if regard be had to the ,apostolic usage1 expresses something more1 even participation in ,deity4 ,and it is this whole ,christ1 the ,jesus1 the ,christ1 the ,lord2 the love to whom1 built upon the faith in ,him in all these aspects and characteristics1 constitutes the true unity of the true ,church4 ,that ,church is not built upon a creed1 but it is built upon a whole ,christ1 and not a maimed one4 ,and so we must have a love which answers to all those sides of that great revealed character1 and is warm with human love to ,jesus2 and is trustful with confiding love to the ,christ2 and is lowly with obedient love to the ,lord4 ,and ,i venture to go a step further1 and say1--and is devout with adoring love to the eternal ,son of the ,father4 ,this is the ,apostle's definition of what makes a ,christian3 ,faith that grasps the whole ,christ and love that therefore flows to ,him4 ,it binds all who possess it into one great unity4 ,as against a spurious liberalism which calls them ,christians who lay hold of a fragment of the one entire and perfect chrysolite1 we must insist that a ,christian is one who knows ,jesus1 who knows ,christ1 who knows the ,lord1 and who loves ,him in all these aspects4 ,only we must remember1 too1 that many a time a man's heart outruns his creed1 and that many a soul glows with truer1 deeper1 more saving devotion and trust to a ,christ whom the intellect imperfectly apprehends1 than are realised by unloving hearts that are associated with clearer heads4 ,orchids grow in rich men's greenhouses1 fastened to a bit of stick1 and they spread a fairer blossom that lasts longer than many a plant that is rooted in a more fertile soil4 ,let us be thankful for the blessed inconsistencies which knit some to the ,christ who is more to them than they know4 ,there is also here laid down for us the great principle1 as against all narrowness and all externalism1 and all so-called ecclesiasticism1 that to be joined to ,jesus ,christ is the one condition which brings a man into the blessed unity of the ,church4 ,now it seems to me that1 however they may be to be lamented on other grounds1 and they are to be lamented on many1 the existence of diverse ,churches does not necessarily interfere with this deep-seated and central unity4 ,there is a great deal said to-day about the reunion of ,christendom1 by which is meant the destruction of existing communions and the formation of a wider one4 ,i do not believe1 and ,i suppose you do not1 that our existing ecclesiastical organisations are the final form of the ,church of the living ,god4 ,but let us remember that the two things are by no means contradictory1 the belief in1 and the realising of1 the essential unity of the ,church1 and the existence of diverse communions4 ,you will see on the side of many a ,cumberland hill a great stretch of limestone with clefts a foot or two deep in it--there are flowers in the clefts1 by the bye--but go down a couple of yards and the divisions have all disappeared1 and the base-rock stretches continuously4 ,the separations are superficial2 the unity is fundamental4 ,do not let us play into the hands of people whose only notion of unity is that of a mechanical juxtaposition held together by some formula or orders2 but let us recognise that the true unity is in the presence of ,jesus ,christ in the midst1 and in the common grasp of ,him by us all4 ,there is a well-known hymn which was originally intended as a ,high ,church manifesto1 which thrusts at us ,nonconformists when it sings3 ',we are not divided1 ,all one body we4' ,and oddly enough1 but significantly too1 it has found its way into all our ,nonconformist hymn-books1 and we1 'the sects1' are singing it1 with perhaps a nobler conception of what the oneness of the body1 and the unity of the ,church is1 than the writer of the words had4 ',we are not divided1' though we be organised apart4 ',all one body we1' for we all partake of that one bread1 and the unifying principle is a common love to the one ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,,ii4 ,mark the impartial sweep of the divine gifts4 ,my text is a benediction1 or a prayer2 but it is also a prophecy1 or a statement1 of the inevitable and uniform results of love to ,jesus ,christ4 ,the grace will follow that love1 necessarily and certainly1 and the lovers will get the gift of ,god because their love has brought them into living contact with ,jesus ,christ2 and ,his life will flow over into theirs4 ,i need not remind you that the word 'grace' in ,scripture means1 first of all1 the condescending love of ,god to inferiors1 to sinners1 to those who deserved something else2 and1 secondly1 the whole fulness of blessing and gift that follow upon that love4 ,and1 says ,paul1 these great gifts from heaven1 the one gift in which all are comprised1 will surely follow the opening of the heart in love to ,jesus ,christ4 ,ah1 brethren6 ,god's grace makes uncommonly short work of ecclesiastical distinctions4 ,the great river flows through territories that upon men's maps are painted in different colours1 and of which the inhabitants speak in different tongues4 ,the ,rhine laves the pine-trees of ,switzerland1 and the vines of ,germany1 and the willows of ,holland2 and ,god's grace flows through all places where the men that love ,him do dwell4 ,it rises1 as it were1 right over the barriers that they have built between each other4 ,the little pools on the sea-shore are separate when the tide is out1 but when it comes up it fills all the pot-holes that the pebbles have made1 and unifies them in one great flashing1 dancing mass2 and so ,god's grace comes to all that love ,him1 and confirms their unity4 ,surely that is the true test of a living ,church4 ',when ,barnabas came1 and saw the grace of ,god1 he was glad4' ,it was not what he had expected1 but he was open to conviction4 ,the ,church where he saw it had been very irregularly constituted2 it had no orders and no sacraments1 and had been set a-going by the spontaneous efforts of private ,christians1 and he came to look into the facts4 ,he asked for nothing more when he saw that the converts had the life within them4 ,and so we1 with all our faults--and ,god forbid that ,i should seem to minimise these--with all our faults1 we poor ,nonconformists1 left to the uncovenanted mercies1 have our share of that gift of grace as truly1 and1 if our love be deeper1 more abundantly1 than the ,churches that are blessed with orders and sacraments1 and an 'unbroken historical continuity4' ,and when we are unchurched for our lack of these1 let us fall back upon ,st4 ,augustine's ',where ,christ is1 there the ,church is'2 and believe that to us1 even to us also1 the promise is fulfilled1 ',lo6 ,i am with you always1 even to the end of the world4' ,,iii4 ,lastly1 note the width to which our sympathies should go4 ,the ,apostle sends out his desires and prayers so as to encircle the same area as the grace of ,god covers and as ,his love enfolds4 ,and we are bound to do the same4 ,i am not going to talk about organic unity4 ,the age for making new denominations is1 ,i suppose1 about over4 ,i do not think that any sane man would contemplate starting a new ,church nowadays4 ,the rebound from the iron rigidity of a mechanical unity that took place at the ,reformation naturally led to the multiplication of communities1 each of which laid hold of something that to it seemed important4 ,the folly of ecclesiastical rulers who insisted upon non-essentials lays the guilt of the schism at their doors1 and not at the doors of the minority who could not1 in conscience1 accept that which never should have been insisted upon as a condition4 ,but whilst we must all feel that power is lost1 and much evil ensues from the isolation1 such as it is1 of the various ,churches1 yet we must remember that re-union is a slow process2 that an atmosphere springs up round each body which is a very subtle1 but none the less a very powerful1 force1 and that it will take a very1 very long time to overcome the difficulties and to bring about any reconstruction on a large scale4 ,but why should there be three ,presbyterian ,churches in ,scotland1 with the same creed1 confessions of faith1 and ecclesiastical constitution8 ,why should there be half a dozen ,methodist bodies in ,england1 of whom substantially the same thing may be said8 ,will it always pass the wit of man for ,congregationalists and ,baptists to be one body1 without the sacrifice of conviction upon either side8 ,surely no6 ,you young men may see these fair days2 men like me can only hope that they will come and do a little1 such as may be possible in a brief space1 to help them on4 ,putting aside1 then1 all these larger questions1 ,i want1 in a sentence or two1 to insist with you upon the duty that lies on us all1 and which every one of us may bear a share in discharging4 ,there ought to be a far deeper consciousness of our fundamental unity4 ,they talk a great deal about 'the rivalries of jarring sects4' ,i believe that is such an enormous exaggeration that it is an untruth4 ,there is rivalry1 but you know as well as ,i do that1 shabby and shameful as it is1 it is a kind of commercial rivalry between contiguous places of worship1 be they chapels or churches1 be they buildings belonging to the same or to different denominations4 ,i1 for my part1 after a pretty long experience now1 have seen so little of that said bitter rivalry between the ,nonconformist sects1 as sects1 that to me it is all but non-existent4 ,and ,i believe the most of us ministers1 going about amongst the various communities1 could say the same thing4 ,but in the face of a cultivated ,england laughing at your creed of ,jesus1 the ,christ1 the ,lord2 and in the face of a strange and puerile recrudescence of sacerdotalism and sacramentarianism1 which shoves a priest and a rite into the place where ,christ should stand1 it becomes us ,nonconformists who believe that we know a more excellent way to stand shoulder to shoulder1 and show that the unities that bind us are far more than the diversities that separate4 ,it becomes us1 too1 to further conjoint action in social matters4 ,thank ,god we are beginning to stir in that direction in ,manchester--not before it was time4 ,and ,i beseech you professing ,christians1 of all ,evangelical communions1 to help in bringing ,christian motives and principles to bear on the discussion of social and municipal and economical conditions in this great city of ours4 ,and there surely ought to be more concert than we have had in aggressive work2 that we should a little more take account of each other's action in regulating our own2 and that we should not have the scandal1 which we too often have allowed to exist1 of overlapping one another in such a fashion as that rivalry and mere trade competition is almost inevitable4 ,these are very humble1 prosaic suggestions1 but they would go a long way1 if they were observed1 to sweeten our own tempers1 and to make visible to the world our true unity4 ,let us all seek to widen our sympathies as widely as ,christ's grace flows2 to count none strangers whom ,he counts friends2 to discipline ourselves to feel that we are girded with that electric chain which makes all who grasp it one1 and sends the same keen thrill through them all4 ,if a circle were a mile in diameter1 and its circumference were dotted with many separate points1 how much nearer each of these would be if it were moved inwards1 on a straight line1 closer to the centre1 so as to make a circle a foot across4 ,the nearer we come to the ,one ,lord1 in love1 communion1 and likeness1 the nearer shall we be to one another4 ,,expositions ,,of ,,holy ,,scripture ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4 ,d41 ,litt4 ,d4 ,,first ,,and ,,second ,,peter ,,and ,,first ,,john ,,contents ,,the ,,first ,,epistle ,,of ,,peter ,,page ,,sojourners ,,of ,,the ,,dispersion 7#a ,peter i4 #a7 #a ,,by1 ,,through1 ,,unto 7#a ,peter i4 #e7 #g ,,sorrowful1 ,,yet ,,always ,,rejoicing 7#a ,peter i4 #f7 #ag ,,the ,,true ,,gold ,,and ,,its ,,testing 7#a ,peter i4 #g7 #bg ,,joy ,,in ,,believing 7#a ,peter i4 #h7 #cd ,,christ ,,and ,,his ,,cross ,,the ,,centre ,,of ,,the ,,universe 7#a ,peter i4 #aj1 #aa1 #ab7 #da ,,hope ,,perfectly 7#a ,peter i4 #ac7 #ea ,,the ,,family ,,likeness 7#a ,peter i4 #ae7 #fa ,,father ,,and ,,judge 7#a ,peter i4 #ag7 #fi ,,purifying ,,the ,,soul 7#a ,peter i4 #bb7 #gf ,,living ,,stones ,,on ,,the ,,living ,,foundation ,,stone 7#a ,peter ii4 #d1 #e7 #hf ,,spiritual ,,sacrifices 7#a ,peter ii4 #e7 #ib ,,mirrors ,,of ,,god 7#a ,peter ii4 #i7 #aja ,,christ ,,the ,,exemplar 7#a ,peter ii4 #ba7 #ajg ,,hallowing ,,christ 7#a ,peter iii4 #ad1 #ae7 #aaf ,,christian ,,asceticism 7#a ,peter iv4 #a-h7 #abc ,,the ,,slave',s ,,girdle 7#a ,peter v4 #e7 #acj ,,sylvanus 7#a ,peter v4 #ab1 ,r4,v47 #ach ,,an ,,apostolic ,,testimony ,,and ,,exhortation 7#a ,peter v4 #ab7 #adf ,,the ,,church ,,in ,,babylon 7#a ,peter v4 #ac7 #aed ,,marcus1 ,,my ,,son 7#a ,peter v4 #ac7 #afa ,,the ,,second ,,epistle ,,of ,,peter ,,like ,,precious ,,faith 7#b ,peter i4 #a7 #agj ,,man ,,summoned ,,by ,,god',s ,,glory ,,and ,,energy 7#b ,peter i4 #c7 #agh ,,partakers ,,of ,,the ,,divine ,,nature 7#b ,peter i4 #d7 #ahi ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,diligence 7#b ,peter i4 #e7 #aih ,,going ,,out ,,and ,,going ,,in 7#b ,peter i4 #aa1 #ae7 #bjf ,,the ,,owner ,,and ,,his ,,slaves 7#b ,peter ii4 #a7 #bae ,,be ,,diligent 7#b ,peter iii4 #ad7 #bbd ,,growth 7#b ,peter iii4 #ah7 #bcd ,,the ,,first ,,epistle ,,of ,,john ,,the ,,message ,,and ,,its ,,practical ,,results 7#a ,john i4 #e-;ii4 #f7 #bdg ,,walking ,,in ,,the ,,light 7#a ,john i4 #g7 #bec ,,the ,,commandment1 ,,old ,,yet ,,new 7#a ,john ii4 #g1 #h7 #bfa ,,youthful ,,strength 7#a ,john ii4 #ad7 #bfi ,,river ,,and ,,rock 7#a ,john ii4 #ag7 #bgi ,,the ,,love ,,that ,,calls ,,us ,,sons 7#a ,john iii4 #a7 #bhi ,,the ,,unrevealed ,,future ,,of ,,the ,,sons ,,of ,,god 7#a ,john iii4 #b7 #cja ,,the ,,purifying ,,influence ,,of ,,hope 7#a ,john iii4 #c7 #caj ,,practical ,,righteousness 7#a ,john iii4 #g7 #cbj ,,christ',s ,,mission ,,the ,,revelation ,,of ,,god',s ,,love 7#a ,john iv4 #aj7 #cbi ,,the ,,servant ,,as ,,his ,,lord 7#a ,john iv4 #ag7 #cch ,,love ,,and ,,fear 7#a ,john iv4 #ah7 #cdg ,,the ,,ray ,,and ,,the ,,reflection 7#a ,john iv4 #ai7 #cee ,i4 ,,peter ,,sojourners ,,of ,,the ,,dispersion ',peter1 an ,apostle of ,jesus ,christ1 to the strangers scattered 444'--#a ,peter i4 #a4 ,the words rendered 'strangers scattered' are literally 'sojourners of the ,dispersion1' and are so rendered in the ,revised ,version4 ,the ,dispersion was the recognised name for the ,jews dwelling in ,gentile countries2 as1 for instance1 it is employed in ,john's ,gospel1 when the people in ,jerusalem say1 ',whither will this man go that we shall not find ,him8 ,will he go to the ,dispersion amongst the ,greeks8' ,obviously1 therefore the word here may refer to the scattered ,jewish people1 but the question arises whether the letter corresponds to its apparent address1 or whether the language which is employed in it does not almost oblige us to see here a reference1 not to the ,jew1 but to the whole body of ,christian people1 who1 whatever may be their outward circumstances1 are1 in the deepest sense1 in the foundations of their life1 if they be ,christ's1 'strangers of the ,dispersion4' ,now if we look at the letter we find such words as these--',the times of your ignorance'--'your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers'--'in time past were not a people'--'the time past may suffice to have wrought the will of the ,gentiles'--all of which1 as you see1 can only be accommodated to ,jewish believers by a little gentle violence1 but all of which find a proper significance if we suppose them addressed to ,gentiles1 to whom they are only applicable in the higher sense of the words to which ,i have referred4 ,if we understand them so1 we have here an instance of what runs all through the letter2 the taking hold of ,jewish ideas for the purpose of lifting them into a loftier region1 and transfiguring them into the expression of ,christian truth4 ,for example1 we read in it3 ',ye are an elect race1 a royal priesthood1 a holy nation'2 and again3 ',ye are built up a spiritual house1 to be a holy priesthood1 to offer up spiritual sacrifices4' ,these and other similar passages are instances of precisely the same transference of ,jewish ideas as ,i find1 in accordance with many good commentators1 in the words of my text4 ,so1 then1 here is ,peter's notion of-- ,i4 ,what the ,christian ,life is4 ,all those who really have faith in ,jesus ,christ are 'strangers of the ,dispersion'2 scattered throughout the world1 and dwelling dispersedly in an order of things to which they do not belong1 'seeking a city which hath foundations4' ,the word 'strangers' means1 originally1 persons for a time living in an alien city4 ,and that is the idea that the ,apostle would impress upon us as true for each of us1 in the measure in which our ,christianity is real4 ,for1 remember1 although all men may be truly spoken of as being 'pilgrims and sojourners upon the earth' by reason of both the shortness of the duration of their earthly course and the disproportion between their immortal part and the material things amongst which they dwell1 ,peter is thinking of something very different from either the brevity of earthly life or the infinite necessities of an immortal spirit when he calls his ,christian brethren strangers4 ,not because we are men1 not because we are to die soon1 and the world is to outlast us2 not because other people will one day live in our houses and read our books and sit upon our chairs1 and we shall be forgotten1 but because we are ,christ's people are we here sojourners1 and must regard this as not our rest4 ,not because our immortal soul cannot satisfy itself1 however it tries1 upon the trivialities of earth any more than a human appetite can on the husks that the swine do eat1 but because new desires1 tastes1 aspirations1 affinities1 have been kindled in us by the new life that has flowed into us2 therefore the connection that other men have with the world1 which makes some of them altogether 'men of the world1 whose portion is in this life1' is for us broken1 and we are strangers1 scattered abroad1 solitary1 not by reason of the inevitable loneliness in which1 after all love and companionship1 every soul lives2 not by reason of losses or deaths1 but by reason of the contrariety between the foundation of our lives1 and the foundation of the lives of the men round us2 therefore we stand lonely in the midst of crowds2 strangers in the ordered communities of the world4 ,ah1 there is no solitude so utter as the solitude of being the only man in a crowd that has a faith in his heart1 and there is no isolating power like the power of rending all ties that true attachment with ,jesus ,christ has4 ',think not that ,i am come to bring peace on earth1 but a sword'--to set a man against his own household1 if they be not of the household of faith4 ,these things are the inevitable issues of religion--to make us strangers1 isolated in the midst of this world4 ,and now let us think of-- ,,ii4 ,some of the plain consequent duties that arise from this characteristic of the ,christian ,life4 ,let me put them in the shape of one or two practical counsels4 ,first let us try to keep up1 vivid and sharp1 a sense of separation4 ,i do not mean that we should withdraw ourselves from sympathies1 nor from services1 nor from the large area of common ground which we have with our fellows1 whether they be ,christians or no--with our fellow-citizens2 with those who are related to us by various bonds1 by community of purpose1 of aim1 of opinion1 or of affection4 ,but just as ,abraham was willing to go down into the plain and fight for ,lot1 though he would not go down and live in ,sodom1 and just as he would enter into relations of amity with the men of the land1 and yet would not abandon his black camels'-hair tent1 pitched beneath the terebinth tree1 in order to go into their city and abide with them1 so one great part of the wisdom of a ,christian man is to draw the line of separation decisively1 and yet to keep true to the bond of union4 ,unless ,christian people do make a distinct effort to keep themselves apart from the world and its ways1 they will get confounded with these1 and when the end comes they will be destroyed with them4 ,sometimes voyagers find upon some lonely island an ,english castaway1 who has forgotten home1 and duty1 and everything else1 to luxuriate in an easy life beneath tropical skies1 and has degraded himself to the level of the savage islanders round him4 ,there are professing ,christians--perhaps in my audience--who1 like that poor castaway1 have 'forgotten the imperial palace whence they came1' and have gone down and down and down1 to live the fat1 contented1 low lives of the men who find their good upon earth and not in heaven4 ,do you1 dear brethren1 try to keep vivid the sense that you belong to another community4 ,as ,paul puts it1 with a metaphor drawn from ,gentile instead of from ,jewish life1 as in our text1 ',our citizenship is in heaven4' ,philippi1 to the ,christian ,church of which that was said1 was a ,roman colony2 and the characteristics of a ,roman colony were that the inhabitants were enrolled as members of the ,roman tribes1 and had their names on the register of ,rome1 and were governed by its laws4 ,so we1 living here in an outlying province1 have our names written in the ',golden ,book' of the citizens of the new ,jerusalem4 ,do not forget1 if ,i might use a very homely illustration1 what parish your settlement is in2 remember what kingdom you belong to4 ,again1 if we are strangers of the ,dispersion1 let us live by our own country's laws1 and not by the codes that are current in this foreign land where we are settled for a time4 ,you remember what was the complaint of the people in ,persia to ,esther's king8 ',there is a people whose laws are different from all the peoples that be upon the earth4' ,that was an offence that could not be tolerated in a despotism that ground everything down to the one level of a slavish uniformity4 ,it will be well for us ,christian people if men look at us1 and say1 ',ah1 that man has another rule of conduct from the one that prevails generally4 ,i wonder what is the underlying principle of his life2 it evidently is not the same as mine4' ,live by our ,king's law4 ,people in our colonies1 at least the officials1 set wonderful store by the approbation of the ,colonial ,office at home4 ,it does not matter what the colonial newspapers say1 it is 'what will they say in ,downing ,street8' ,and if a despatch goes out approving of their conduct1 neighbours may censure and sneer as they list4 ,so we ,christians have to report to ,home1 and have so to live 'that whether present or absent'--in a colony or in the mother country--'we may be well pleasing unto ,him4' ,keep up the honour and advance the interests of your own country4 ,you are here1 among other reasons1 to represent your ,king1 and people take their notions of ,him very considerably from their experience of you4 ,so see to it that you live like the ,master whom you say you serve4 ,the ,russian ,government sends out what are called military colonies1 studded along the frontier1 with the one mission of extending the empire4 ,we are set along the frontier with the same mission4 ,the strangers are scattered4 ,congested1 they would be less useful2 dispersed1 they may push forward the frontiers4 ,seed in a seed-basket is not in its right place2 but sown broadcast over the field1 it will be waving wheat in a month or two4 ',ye are the salt of the earth'--salt is sprinkled over what it is intended to preserve4 ,you are the strangers of the ,dispersion1 that you may be the messengers of the ,evangelisation4 ,lastly1 let us be glad when we think1 and let us often think1 of-- ,,iii4 ,the ,home in ,glory4 ,that is a beautiful phrase which pairs off with the one in my text1 in which another ,apostle speaks of the ultimate end as 'our gathering together in ,christ4' ,all the scattered ones1 like chips of wood in a whirlpool1 drift gradually closer and closer1 until they unite in a solid mass in the centre4 ,so at the last the 'strangers' are to be brought and settled in their own land1 and their lonely lives are to be filled with happy companionship1 and they to be in a more blessed unity than now4 ',fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of ,god4' ,if we1 dwelling in this far-off land1 were habitually to talk1 as ,australians do of coming to ,england of 'going home1' though born in the colony1 it would be a glad day for us when we set out on the journey4 ,if ,christian people lived more by faith1 as they profess to do1 and less by sight1 they would oftener think of the home-coming and the union2 and would be happy when they thought that they were here but for awhile1 and when they realised these two blessed elements of permanence and of companionship1 which another ,apostle packs into one sentence1 along with that which is greater than them both1 'so shall we ever be with the ,lord4' ,,by1 ,,through1 ,,unto '444 ,kept by the power of ,god through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time4'--#a ,peter i4 #e4 ,the ,revised ,version substitutes 'guarded' for 'kept1' and the alteration1 though slight1 is important1 for it not only more accurately preserves the meaning of the word employed1 but it retains the military metaphor which is in it4 ,the force of the expression will appear if ,i refer1 in a sentence1 to other cases in which it is employed in the ,new ,testament4 ,for instance1 we read that the governor of ,damascus 'kept the city with a garrison1' which is the same word1 and in its purely metaphorical usage ,paul employs it when he says that 'the peace of ,god shall keep'--guard1 garrison--'your hearts and minds in ,christ ,jesus4' ,we have to think of some defenceless position1 some unwalled village out in the open1 with a strong force round it1 through which no assailant can break1 and in the midst of which the weakest can sit secure4 ,peter thinks that every ,christian has assailants whom no ,christian by himself can repel1 but that he may1 if he likes1 have an impregnable ring of defence drawn round him1 which shall fling back in idle spray the wildest onset of the waves1 as a breakwater or a cliff might do4 ,then there is another very beautiful and striking point to be made1 and that is the connection between the words of my text and those immediately preceding4 ,the ,apostle has been speaking about 'the inheritance incorruptible1 and undefiled1 and that fadeth not away1' and he says 'it is reserved in ,heaven for you who are kept4' ,so1 then1 the same power is working on both sides of the veil1 preserving the inheritance for the heirs1 and preserving the heirs for the inheritance4 ,it will not fail them1 and they will not miss it4 ,it were of little avail to care for either of the two members separately1 but the same hand that is preparing the inheritance and making it ready for the owners is round about the pilgrims1 and taking care of them till they get home4 ,so1 then1 our ,apostle is looking at this keeping in three aspects1 suggested by his three words 'by1' 'through1' 'unto1' which respectively express the real cause or power1 the condition or occasion on which that power works1 and the end or purpose to which it works4 ,so these three little words will do for lines on which to run our thoughts now--'by1' 'through1' 'for4' ,i4 ,in the first place1 what are we guarded for8 ',guarded 444 unto salvation4' ,now that great word 'salvation' was a new and strange one to ,peter's readers--so new and strange that probably they did not understand it in its full nobleness and sweep4 ,our understanding of it1 or1 at least1 our impression of it1 is weakened by precisely the opposite cause4 ,it has become so tarnished and smooth-rubbed that it creates very little definite impression4 ,like a bit of seaweed lifted out of the sunny waves which opened its fronds and brightened its delicate colours1 it has become dry and hard and sapless and dim4 ,but let me try for one moment to freshen it for our conceptions and our hearts4 ,salvation has in it the double idea of being made safe1 and being made sound4 ,peril threatening to slay1 and sickness unto death1 are the implications of the conditions which this great word presupposes4 ,the man that needs to be saved needs to be rescued from peril and needs to be healed of a disease4 ,and if you do not know and feel that that is you1 then you have not learned the first letters of the alphabet which are necessary to spell 'salvation4' ,you1 ,i1 every man1 we are all sick unto death1 because the poison of self-will and sin is running hot through all our veins1 and we are all in deadly peril because of that poison-peril of death1 peril arising from the weight of guilt that presses upon us1 peril from our inevitable collision with the ,divine law and government which make for righteousness4 ,and so salvation means1 negatively1 the deliverance from all the evils1 whether they be evils of sorrow or evils of sin1 which can affect a man1 and which do affect us all in some measure4 ,but it means far more than that1 for ,god's salvation is no half-and-half thing1 contented1 as some benevolent man might be1 in a widespread flood or disaster1 with rescuing the victims and putting them high up enough for the water not to reach them1 and leaving them there shivering cold and starving4 ,but when ,god begins by taking away evils1 it is in order that ,he may clear a path for flooding us with good4 ,and so salvation is not merely what some of you think it is1 the escape from a hell1 nor only what some of you more nobly take it to be1 a deliverance from the power of sin in your hearts2 but it is the investiture of each of us with every good and glory1 whether of happiness or of purity1 which it is possible for a man to receive and for ,god to give4 ,it is the great word of the ,new ,testament1 and they do a very questionable service to humanity who weaken the grandeur and the greatness of the ,scriptural conception of salvation1 by weakening the darkness and the terribleness of the ,scriptural conception of the dangers and the sicknesses from which it delivers4 ,but1 then1 there is another point that ,i would suggest raised by the words of my text in their connection4 ,peter is here evidently speaking about a future manifestation of absolute exemption from all the ills that flesh and spirit are heir to1 and radiant investure with all the good that humanity can put on1 which lies beyond the great barrier of this mortal life4 ,and that complete salvation1 in its double aspect1 is obviously the end for which all that guarding of life is lavished upon us1 as it is the end for which all the discipline of life is given to us1 and as it is the end for which the bitter agony and pain of the ,christ on the ,cross were freely rendered4 ,but that ultimate and superlative perfection has its roots and its beginning here4 ,and so in ,scripture you find salvation sometimes regarded as a thing in the past experience of every ,christian man which he received at the very beginning of his course1 and sometimes you have it treated as being progressive1 running on continually through all his days2 and sometimes you have it treated1 as in my text1 as laid up yonder1 and only to be reached when life is done with4 ,but just a verse or two after my text we read that the ,christian man here1 on condition of his loving ,jesus ,christ and believing in ,him1 rejoices because he here and now 'receives the end of his faith1 even the salvation of his soul4' ,and so there are the two things--the incipient germ to-day1 the full-foliaged fruit-bearing tree planted in the higher house of the ,lord4 ,these two things are inseparably intertwined4 ,the ,christian life in its imperfection here1 the partial salvation of to-day demands1 unless the universe is a chaos and there is no personal ,god the centre of it1 a future life1 in which all that is here tendency shall be realised possession1 and in which all that here but puts up a pale and feeble shoot above the ground1 shall grow and blossom and bear fruit unto life eternal4 ',like the new moon with a ragged edge1 e'en in its imperfections beautiful1' all the characteristics of ,christian life on earth prophesy that the orb is crescent1 and will one day round itself into its pure silvery completeness4 ,if you see a great wall in some palace1 with slabs of polished marble for most of its length1 and here and there stretches of course rubble shoved in1 you would know that that was not the final condition1 that the rubble had to be cased over1 or taken out and replaced by the lucent slab that reflected the light1 and showed1 by its reflecting1 its own mottled beauty4 ,thus the very inconsistencies1 the thwarted desires1 the broken resolutions1 the aspiration that never can clothe themselves in the flesh of reality1 which belong to the ,christian life1 declare that this is but the first stage of the structure1 and point onwards to the time when the imperfections shall be swept away1 'and for brass ,he will bring gold1 for iron ,he will bring silver1' and then the windows shall be set 'in agates1 and the gates in carbuncles1 and all the borders in pleasant stones4' ,perfect salvation is obviously the only issue of the present imperfect salvation4 ,that is what you are 'kept' for4 ,that is what ,christ died to bring you4 ,that is what ,god1 like a patient workman bringing out the pattern in his loom by many a throw of a sharp-pointed shuttle1 and much twisting of the threads into patterns1 is trying to make of you1 and that is what ,christ on the ,cross has died to effect4 ,brethren1 let us think more than we do1 not only of the partial beginnings here1 but of that perfect salvation for which ,christian men are being 'kept' and guarded1 and which1 if you and ,i will observe the conditions1 is as sure to come as that ,x1 ,y1 ,z follow ,a1 ,b1 ,c4 ,that is what we are kept for4 ,,ii4 ,notice what we are guarded by4 ',the power of ,god1' says ,peter1 laying hold of the most general expression that he can find1 not caring to define ways and means1 but pointing to the one great force that is sure to do it4 ,now if we were to translate with perfect literality1 we should read1 not by the power of ,god1 but in the power of ,god4 ,and whilst it is quite probable that what ,peter meant was 'by1' ,i think it adds great force and beauty to the passage1 and is entirely accordant with the military metaphor1 which ,i have already pointed out1 if we keep the simple local sense of the word1 and read1 'guarded in the power of ,god4' ,and that suggests a whole stream of ,scriptural representations1 both in the ,old and in the ,new ,testament4 ,let me recall one or two4 ',the name of the ,lord is a strong tower2 the righteous runneth into it and is safe4' ',he that dwelleth in the secret place of the ,most ,high shall abide under the shadow of the ,almighty4' ',israel shall dwell safely1' says one of the old prophets1 'in unwalled villages1 for ,i will be a wall of fire round about her4' ,the psalmist said1 ',the ,angel of the ,lord encampeth round about them that fear ,him4' ,and all these representations concur in this one thought1 that we are safe1 enclosed in ,god1 and that ,he1 by ,his power1 compasses us about4 ,and so no foe can get at us who cannot break down or climb over the encircling wall of defence4 ,an army in an enemy's country will march in hollow square1 and put its most precious treasures1 or its weaker members1 its sick1 its women1 its children1 its footsore1 into the middle there1 and with a line of lances on either side1 and stalwart arms to wield them1 the feeblest need fear no foe4 ,we 'are kept in the power of ,god unto salvation4' ,but do not forget how1 far beyond the psalmist and prophet1 and in something far more sublime and wonderful than a poetic figure1 the ,new ,testament catches up the same phrase1 and gives us1 as the condition of vitality1 as the condition of fertility1 as the condition of tranquillity1 as the condition of security1 the same thing--'in ,christ4' ,remember ,his very last words prior to ,his great intercessory prayer1 in which ,he spoke about keeping those that were given ,him in ,his name4 ,and just before that ,he said to them1 ',in the world ye shall have tribulation1 but in ,me ye shall have peace4' ,kept1 guarded as behind the battlements of some great fort1 which has in its centre a quiet1 armoured chamber into which no noise of battle1 nor shout of foeman1 can ever come4 ',in ,christ1' though the world is all in arms without1 'ye shall have peace4' ',guarded in the power of ,god unto salvation4' ,,iii4 ,lastly1 what we are kept through4 ',through faith4' ,now there we come across another of the words which we know so well that we do not understand them4 ,you all think that it is the right thing for me to preach about 'faith4' ,i daresay some of you have never tried to apprehend what it means4 ,and ,i daresay there are a great many of you to whom the utterance of the word suggests that ,i am plunging into the bathos and commonplaces of the pulpit4 ,perhaps1 if you would try to understand it1 you would find it was a bigger thing than you fancied4 ,what is faith8 ,i will give you another expression that has not so many theological accretions sticking to it1 and which means precisely the same thing--trust4 ,and we all know that we do not trust with our heads1 but with our hearts and wills4 ,you may believe undoubtedly1 and have no faith at all1 for it is the heart and the will that go forth1 and clutch at the thing trusted2 or1 as ,i should rather say1 at the person trusted2 for1 at bottom1 what we trust is always a person1 and even when we 'trust to nature1' it is because1 more or less clearly1 we feel that somehow or other at the back of nature there is a ,will and an ,intelligence that are working and trustworthy4 ,however1 that is a subject that ,i do not need to touch upon here4 ,faith is trust1 trust in a ,person1 trust that1 like the fabled goddess rising1 radiant and aspiring to the heavens1 out of the roll of the tempestuous ocean1 springs from the depths of absolute self-distrust and diffidence4 ,there is a spurious kind of faith which has no good in it1 just because it did not begin with going down into the depths of one's own heart1 and finding out how rotten and hopeless everything was there4 ,my friend1 no man has a vigorous ,christian faith who has not been very near utter despair4 ',out of the depths have ,i cried unto ,thee4' ,the zenith1 which is the highest point in the sky above us1 is always just as far aloft as the nadir1 which is the lowest point in the sky at the ,antipodes1 is beneath us4 ,your faith is measured by your self-despair4 ,further1 why is it that ,i must have faith in order to get ,god's power at work in me8 ,many people seem to think that faith is appointed by ,god as the condition of salvation out of mere arbitrary selection and caprice4 ,not at all4 ,if ,god could save you without your faith1 ,he would do it4 ,he does not1 because ,he cannot4 ,why must ,i have faith in order that ,god's power may keep me8 ,why must you open your window in order to let the fresh air in8 ,why must you pull up the blind in order to let the light in8 ,why must you take your medicine or your food if you want to be cured or nourished8 ,why must you pull the trigger if your revolver is to go off8 ,unless ,i trust ,god1 distrusting myself1 and the spark of faith is struck out of the rock of my heart by the sharp steel in the midst of the darkness of despair1 ,god cannot pour out upon me ,his power4 ,there is nothing arbitrary about it4 ,it is inseparable from the very nature of the case4 ,if you do not want ,him1 you cannot have ,him4 ,if you do not know that you need ,him1 you cannot have ,him4 ,if you do not trust that ,he will come to you and help you1 you will not have ,him4 ,so then1 brother1 your faith1 my faith1 anybody's faith is nothing of itself4 ,it is only the valve that opens and lets the steam rush in4 ,it is only the tap you turn to let ,thirlmere come into your basins4 ,it is not you that saves yourself4 ,it is not your faith that keeps you1 any more than it is the outstretched hand with which a man1 ready to stumble1 grasps the hand of a stalwart1 steadfast man on the pavement by his side that keeps him up4 ,it is the other man's hand that holds you up1 but it is your hand that lays hold of him4 ,it is ,god that saves1 it is ,god that guards1 it is ,god that is able to keep us from falling1 and to give us an inheritance among all them that are sanctified4 ,he will do it if we turn to ,him1 and ask and expect ,him to do it4 ,if you will comply with the conditions and not else1 ,he will fulfil ,his promise and accomplish ,his purpose4 ,but my unbelief can thwart ,omnipotence1 and hinder ,christ's all-loving purpose1 just as on earth we read that ',he could there do no mighty works because of their unbelief4' ,i am sure that there are people here who all their lives long have been thus hampering ,omnipotence and neutralising the love of ,christ1 and making ,his sacrifice impotent and ,his wish to save them vain4 ,stretch out your hands as this very ,peter once did1 crying1 ',lord1 save1 or ,i perish'2 and ,he will answer1 not by word only1 but by act3 ',according to thy faith be it unto thee4' ,salvation1 here and hereafter1 is ,god's work alone4 ,it cannot be exercised towards a man who has not faith4 ,it will certainly be exercised towards any man who has4 ,help us1 ,o ,lord1 we beseech ,thee1 to live the lives which we live in the flesh by the faith of the ,son of ,god4 ,and may we know what it is to be in him1 strengthened within the might of ,his spirit4 ,,sorrowful1 ,,yet ,,always ,,rejoicing ',wherein ye greatly rejoice1 though now for a season1 if need be1 ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations4'--#a ,peter i4 #f4 ,you will remember the great saying of our ,lord's in the ,sermon on the ,mount1 in which ,he makes the last of the beatitudes1 that which ,he pronounces upon ,his disciples1 when men shall revile them and persecute them1 and speak all manner of evil falsely against them for ,his sake1 and bids them rejoice and be exceeding glad1 for great is their reward in ,heaven4 ,now it seems to me that in the words of my text there is a distinct echo of that saying of ,christ's4 ,for not only is the whole context the same1 but a somewhat unusual and very strong word which our ,lord employs is also employed here by ,peter4 ',rejoice and be exceeding glad1' said ,christ4 ',ye rejoice greatly1' said the ,apostle1 and he is echoing his ,master's word4 ,then with regard to the context2 ,christ proposes to ,his followers this exceeding gladness as evoked in their hearts by the very thing that might seem to militate against it--viz41 men's antagonism4 ,similarly1 ,peter1 throughout this whole letter1 and in my text1 is heartening the disciples against impending persecution1 and1 like his ,lord1 he bids them face it1 if not 'with frolic welcome' at all events with undiminished and undimmed serenity and cheerfulness4 ,christ based the exhortation on the thought that great would be their reward in ,heaven4 ,peter points to the salvation ready to be revealed as being the ground of the joy that he enjoined4 ,so in the words and in the whole strain and structure of the exhortation the servant is copying his ,master4 ,but1 of course1 although the immediate application of these words is to ,churches fronting the possibility and probability of actual persecution and affliction for the sake of ,jesus ,christ1 the principle involved applies to us all4 ,and the worries and the sorrows of our daily life need the exhortation here1 quite as much as did the martyr's pains4 ,white ants will pick a carcass clean as soon as a lion will1 and there is quite as much wear and tear of ,christian gladness arising from the small frictions of our daily life as from the great strain and stress of persecution4 ,so our ,apostle has a word for us all4 ,now it seems to me that in this text there are three things to be noticed3 a paradox1 a possibility1 a duty4 ',in which ye rejoice1 though now for a season1 if need be1 ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations4' ,look at these three points4 ,i4 ,this paradox4 ,two emotions diametrically opposed are to be contained within the narrow room of one disposition and temper4 ',ye greatly rejoice4444 ,ye are in heaviness4' ,can such a thing be8 ,well6 let us think for a moment4 ,the sources of the two conflicting emotions are laid out before us2 they may be constantly operative in every life4 ,on the one hand1 'in which ye greatly rejoice4' ,now that 'in which' does not point back only to the words that immediately precede1 but to the whole complex clause that goes before4 ,and what is the 'which' that is there8 ,these things2 the possession of a new life--',blessed be the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ who hath begotten us again6'--the springing up in a man's heart of a strange new hope1 like a new star that swims into the sky1 and sheds a radiance all about it--',begotten unto a lively hope by the resurrection of ,jesus ,christ from the dead'2 a new wealth--an 'inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away2 a new security--guarded by the power of ,god through faith unto salvation4' ,these things belong1 ipso facto1 and in the measure of his faith1 to every ,christian man1 a new life1 a new hope1 a new wealth1 and a new security2 and in their conjoint action1 all four of them brought to bear upon a man's temper and spirit1 will1 if he is realising them1 make him glad4 ,then1 on the other hand1 we have other fountains pouring their streams into the same reservoir4 ,and just as the deep fountains which are open to us by faith will1 if we continue to exercise that faith1 flood our spirits with sweet waters1 so these other fountains will pour their bitter floods over every heart more or less abundantly and continually4 ',now for a season1 if need be1 ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations4' ,there are confluent streams that one has sometimes seen1 where a clear river joins1 and flows in the same bed with1 one all foul with half-melted ice1 and the two run side by side for a space1 scarcely mingling their waters4 ,thus the paradox of the ,christian life is that within the same narrow banks may flow the sunny and the turbid1 the clear and the dark1 the sorrow that springs from earthly fountains1 the joy that pours from the heavenly heights4 ,now notice that this is only one case of the paradox of the whole ,christian life4 ,for the peculiarity of it is that it owns two2--it belongs to1 and is exposed to1 all the influences of the forces and things of time1 whilst in regard to its depths1 it belongs to1 and is under the influence of1 'the things that are unseen and eternal'2 so that you have the external life common to the ,christian and to all other people1 and then you have the life 'hid with ,christ in ,god1' the roots of it going down through all the superficial soil1 and grappling the central rock of all things4 ,thus a series of paradoxes and perennial contradictions describes the twofold life that every believing spirit lives1 'as unknown and yet well known1 as dying and1 behold we live1 as sorrowful yet always rejoicing1 as poor yet making rich1 as having nothing and yet possessing all things4' ,remember1 too1 that according to ,peter's conception neither of these two sources pours out a flood which obliterates or dams back the other4 ,they are to co-exist4 ,the joy is not to deprive the heaviness of its weight1 nor the sorrow of its sting4 ,there is no artificial stoicism about ,christianity1 no attempt to sophisticate one's self out of believing in the reality of the evils that assail us1 or to forbid that we shall feel their pain and their burden4 ,many good people fail to get the good of life's discipline1 because they have somehow come to think that it is wrong to weep when ,christ sends sorrows1 and wrong to feel1 as other men feel1 the grip and bite of the manifold trials of our earthly lives4 ',weep for yourselves1' for the feeling of the sorrow is the precedent condition to the benefit from the sorrow1 and it yields 'the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby4' ,but1 on the other hand1 the black stream is not to bank up the sunny one1 or prevent it from flowing into the heart1 ay6 and flowing over1 the other4 ,and so the co-existence of the joys that come from above1 and the sorrows that spring from around1 and some of them from beneath1 is the very secret of the ,christian life4 ,,ii4 ,further1 consider the blessed possibility of this paradox4 ,can two conflicting emotions live in a man's heart at once8 ,rather1 we might ask1 are there ever emotions in a man's heart that are not hemmed in by conflicting ones8 ,is there ever such a thing in the world's experience as a pure joy1 or as a confidence which has no trace of fear in it8 ,are there any pictures without shadows8 ,they are only daubs if they are4 ,instead of wondering at this co-existence of joy and sorrow1 we must recognise that it is in full accord with all our experience1 which never brings a joy1 but1 like the old story of the magic palace1 there is one window unlighted1 and which never brings a sorrow so black and over-arching so completely the whole sky1 but that somewhere1 if the eye would look for it1 there is a bit of blue4 ,the possibility of the paradox is in accordance with all human experience4 ,but then1 you say1 'my feelings of joy or sorrow are very largely a matter of temperament1 and still more largely a matter of responding to the facts round about me4 ,and ,i cannot pump up emotions to order2 and if ,i could they would be factitious1 artificial1 insincere1 and do me more harm than good4' ,perfectly true4 ,there are a great many ugly names for manufactured emotions1 and none of them a bit too ugly4 ,peter does not wish you to try to get up feeling to order4 ,it is the bane of some type of ,christianity that that is done4 ,you cannot thus manufacture emotion4 ,no2 but ,i will tell you what you can do4 ,you can determine what you will think about most1 and what you will look at most1 and if you settle that1 that will settle what you feel4 ,and so1 though it is by a roundabout way1 we can regulate our emotions4 ,a man travelling in a railway train can choose which side of the carriage he will look out at1 either the one where the sunshine is falling full on the front of each grass-blade and tree1 or the side where it is the shadowed side of each that is turned to him4 ,if he will look out of the one window1 he will see everything verdant and bright1 and if he will look out at the other1 there will be a certain sobriety and dulness over the landscape4 ,you can settle which window you are going to look out at4 ,if the one--'in which ye greatly rejoice4' ,if the other--'ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations4' ,you have seen patterns wrought in black and white1 you may focus your eye so as to get white on a black ground1 or black on a white ground1 just as you like4 ,you can do that with your life1 and either fix upon the temptations and the heaviness as the main thing1 or you can fix upon the new life1 and the new wealth1 and the new hope1 and the new security as the main things4 ,if you do the one1 down you will go into the depths of gloom1 and if you do the other1 up you will spring into the ethereal heights of sober and ,christian gladness4 ,so then1 brethren1 this possibility depends on these things1 the choice of our main object of contemplation1 and that breaks up into two thoughts about which ,i wish to say a word4 ,the reason why so many ,christian people have only religion enough to make them gloomy1 or to weight them with a sense of burdens and unfulfilled aspirations and broken resolutions1 and have not enough to make them glad1 is mainly because they do not think enough about the four things in which they might 'greatly rejoice4' ,i believe that most of us would be altogether different people1 as professing ,christians1 if we honestly tried to keep the mightiest things uppermost1 and to fill heart and mind far more than we do with the contemplation of these great facts and truths which1 when once they are beheld and cleaved to1 are certain to minister gladness to men's souls4 ,these great truths which you and ,i say we believe1 and which we profess to live by1 will only work their effect upon us1 so long as they are present to our minds and hearts4 ,you can no more expect ,christian verities to keep you from falling1 or to strengthen you in weakness1 or to gladden you in sorrow1 if you are not thinking about them1 than you can expect the most succulent or most nutritive food to nourish you if you do not eat it4 ,as long as ,christ and ,his grace are present in our hearts and minds by thought1 so long1 and not one moment longer1 do they minister to us the joy of the ,lord4 ,you switch off from the main current1 and out go all the lights1 and when you switch off from ,christ out goes the gladness4 ,then another thing ,i would point out is that the possibility of this co-existence of joy and of heaviness depends further on our taking the right point of view from which to look at the sources of the heaviness4 ,notice how beautifully1 although entirely incidentally1 and without calling attention to it1 ,peter here minimises the 'manifold temptations' which he does expect1 however minimised1 will make men heavy4 ,he calls them 'temptations4' ,now that is rather an unfortunate word1 because it suggests the idea of something that desires to drag a man into sin4 ,but suppose1 instead of 'temptations1' with its unfortunate associations1 you were to substitute a word that means the same thing1 and is free from that association--viz41'trial1'--you would get the right point of view4 ,as long as ,i look at my sorrows mainly in regard to their power to sadden me1 ,i have not got to the right point of view for them4 ,they are meant to sadden me1 they are meant to pain1 they are meant to bring the tears1 they are meant to weight the heart and press down the spirits1 but what for8 ,to test what ,i am made of1 and by testing to bring out and strengthen what is good1 and to cast out and destroy what is evil4 ,we shall never understand1 even so much as it is possible for us to understand1 and that is not very much1 of the mystery of pain until we come to recognise that its main purpose is to help in making character4 ,and when you think of your sorrows1 disappointments1 losses1 when you think of your pains and sickness1 and all the ills that flesh is heir to1 principally as being 'trials1' in the deep sense of that word--viz41 a means of testing you1 and thereby helping you1 bettering you1 and building up character--then it is more possible to blend the sorrow that they produce with the joy to which they may lead4 ,the ,apostle adds the other thought of the transitoriness of sorrow1 and yet further1 the other of its necessity for the growth of humanity4 ,so they are not only to be felt1 not only to be wept over1 not only to make us sad1 but they are to be accepted1 and used as means by which we may be perfected4 ,and when once you get occupied in trying to get all the good that is in it out of a grief1 you will be astonished to find how the bitterness that was in it was diminished4 ,we may have the oil on the water1 calming1 though not ending1 its agitation4 ,we may carry our own atmosphere with us1 and like the diver that goes down into depths of the sea1 and cannot be reached by the hungry water around his crystal bell1 and has communication with the upper air1 where the light of the sun is1 so you and ,i1 down at the slimy bottom1 and with the waste of water all around us1 which if it could get at us would choke us1 may walk at liberty1 in peace and gladness4 ,and so1 'though the labour of the olive shall fail and the fig tree not blossom1 though the flocks be cut off from the folds and the herd from the stalls1' we may joy in the ,lord1 and 'rejoice in the ,god of our salvation4' ,,iii4 ,now lastly1 we have here a duty4 ,peter takes it for granted that these good people1 who had persecution hanging over them1 were still rejoicing greatly in the ,lord4 ,he does not feel it necessary to enjoin it upon them4 ,it is a matter of course in their ,christian life4 ,and you will find that all through the ,new ,testament this same tone is adopted which recognises gladness as being1 on the one hand1 an inseparable characteristic of the ,christian experience1 and on the other hand as being a thing that is a ,christian man's duty to cultivate4 ,now ,i do not believe that the most of ,christian people have ever looked at the thing in that light at all4 ,if joy has come to them1 they have been thankful for it1 but they have very1 very seldom felt that1 if they are not glad1 there is something wrong4 ,and a great many of us1 ,i am sure1 have never recognised the fact that it is our duty to 'rejoice in the ,lord always4' ,have you realised it8 ,i do not mean have you tried to get up1 as ,i have been saying1 factitious emotions1 but have you felt that if you are doing what1 as ,christian men or women1 it is your plain duty to do1 there will come into your hearts this joy of the ,lord4 ,i have told you why you are not happier ,christians1 why so many of us have1 as ,i said1 only got religion enough to make you gloomy and burdened4 ,it is because you do not think enough about ,jesus ,christ1 and what ,he has given you1 and what ,he is doing for you and in you4 ,it is because you have not the new life in strong experience and possession1 and because you have not the new hope springing in your hearts1 and because you have not the new wealth realised often in present possession1 and because you have not the new security which ,he is ready to give you4 ,it is your duty1 ,christian man and woman1 to be a joyful ,christian1 and if you are not1 then the negligence is sin4 ,it is a hard duty4 ,it is not easy to turn away from that which is torturing flesh or sense or natural desires or human affections1 and to realise the unseen4 ,it is not easy1 but it is possible4 ,and1 like all other difficult things1 it is worth doing4 ,for there is nothing more helpful1 more recommendatory1 of our ,christianity to other people1 and more certain to tell on the vigour and efficiency of our ,christian service1 than that we should be rejoicing in the ,lord1 and living in the possession of the experience of ,christ's joy which ,he has left for us4 ,there is one other thing ,i must say4 ,i have been talking about the co-existence of joy and sorrows4 ,in one form or another that co-existence is universal4 ,the difference is this4 ,a ,christian man has superficial sorrows and central gladness1 and other men have superficial gladness and central sorrow4 ',even in laughter the heart is sorrowful4' ,many of you know what that means--the black aching centre1 full of unrest1 grimly unparticipant of the dancing delights going on about it1 like some black rock that stands up in the midst of a field flooded with sunshine1 and gay with flowers4 ',the end of that mirth is heaviness4' ,better a surface sadness and a core of joy than the opposite1 a skin of verdure over the scarcely cold lava4 ,better a transient sorrow with an eternal joy than the opposite1 mirth1 'like the crackling of thorns under a pot1' which dies down into a doleful ring of black ashes in the pathless desert4 ,choose whether you will have joy dwelling with and conquering sorrow1 or unrest and sorrow1 darkening and finally shattering your partial and fleeting joys4 ,,the ,,true ,,gold ,,and ,,its ,,testing ',that the trial of your faith1 being much more precious than of gold that perisheth1 though it be tried with fire1 might be found unto praise and honour and glory 444'--#a ,peter i4 #g4 ,the ,apostle is fond of that word 'precious4' ,in both his letters he uses it as an epithet for diverse things4 ,according to one translation1 he speaks of ,christ as 'precious to you which believe4' ,he certainly speaks of 'the precious blood of ,christ1' and of 'exceeding great and precious promises1' and here in my text1 as well as in the ,second ,epistle1 he speaks about 'precious faith4' ,it is a very wide general term1 not expressing anything very characteristic beyond the one notion of value4 ,but in the text1 according to our ,authorised ,version1 it looks at first sight as if it were not the faith1 but the trial of the faith that the ,apostle regards as thus valuable4 ,there are difficulties of rendering which ,i need not trouble you with4 ,suffice it to say that1 speaking roughly and popularly1 the 'trial of your faith' here seems to mean rather the result of that trial1 and might be fairly represented by the slightly varied expression1 'your faith having been tried1 might be found1' etc4 ,i must not be tempted to discourse about the reasons why such a rendering seems to express the ,apostle's meaning more fully1 but1 taking it for granted1 there are just three things to notice--the true wealth1 the testing of the wealth1 and the discovery at last of the preciousness of the wealth4 ,i4 ,peter pits against each other faith that has been tried1 and 'gold that perisheth'2 he puts away all the other points of comparison and picks out one1 and that is that the one lasts and the other does not4 ,now ,i must not be seduced into going beyond the limits of my text to dilate upon the other points of contrast and pre-eminence2 but ,i would just notice in a sentence that everybody admits1 yet next to nobody acts upon1 the admission that inward good is far more valuable than outward good4 ',wisdom is more precious than rubies1' say people1 and yet they will choose the rubies1 and take no trouble to get the wisdom4 ,now the very same principles of estimating value which set cultivated understandings and noble hearts above great possessions and large balances at the bankers1 set the life of faith high above all others4 ,and the one thought which ,peter wishes to drive into our heads and hearts is that there is only one kind of wealth that will never be separated from its possessor4 ,nothing is truly ours that remains outside of us4 '',twas mine1 'tis his1 and has been slave to thousands4' ,nothing that is there whilst ,i am here is really mine4 ,i do not own it if it is possible that ,i shall lose it4 ,and so with profound meaning our ,lord speaks about 'that which is another's' in comparison with 'that which is your own4' ,it is another's because it passes1 like quicksilver under pressure1 from hand to hand1 and no man really holds it1 but it leaps away from his grasp4 ,and if a man retains it all his days1 still1 according to the grim old proverb1 'shrouds have no pockets1' and when he dies his hands open1 or sometimes they clutch together1 but there is nothing inside the palms1 and they only close upon themselves4 ,dear brethren1 if there is anything that can be filched away from us1 anything about which it is true that1 on the one hand1 'moth and rust'--natural processes--'do corrupt' it1 on the other hand1 'thieves break through and steal'--accidents of human conduct can deprive us of it1 then we may call it ours1 but it is not ours4 ,it possesses us1 if we are devoted to it as our best good1 and fighting and toiling1 and sometimes lying and cheating1 and flinging the whole fierce energy of our nature into first gripping and then holding it2 it possesses us2 we do not possess it4 ,but if there is anything that can become so interwoven and interlaced with the very fibres of a man's heart that they and it cannot be parted1 if there is anything that empty hands will clasp the closer1 because they are emptied of earth's vanities1 then that is truly possessed by its possessor4 ,and our faith1 which will not be trodden in the grave1 but will go with us into the world beyond1 and though it be lost in one aspect1 in sight1 it will be eternal as trust1 will be ours1 imperishable as ourselves1 and as ,god4 ,therefore1 do not give all the energy of your lives to amassing the second-best riches4 ,seek the highest things most4 ',covet earnestly the best gifts1' and let the coveting regulate your conduct4 ,and do not be put off with wealth that will fail you sooner or later4 ,,ii4 ,note1 again1 the testing of the wealth4 ,i need not dwell upon that very familiar metaphor of the furnace for gold1 and the fining-pot for silver1 only remember that there are two purposes for which metallurgists apply fire to metals4 ,the one is to test them1 and the other is to cleanse them1 or1 to use technical words1 one is for the purpose of assaying them1 and the other is for the purpose of refining them4 ,and so1 linking the words of my text with the words of the previous verse1 we find that the ,apostle lays it down that the purpose of all the diverse trials1 or 'temptations' as he calls them1 that come to us1 is this one thing1 that our faith should be 'tried1' and 'found1 unto praise and honour and glory4' ,the fire carries away the dross2 it makes the pure metal glow in its lustre4 ,it burns up the 'wood1 hay1 stubble'2 it makes the gold gleam and the precious stones coruscate and flash4 ,and so note this general notion here of the intention of all life's various aspects being to test character is specialised into this1 that it is meant to test faith1 first of all4 ,of course it is meant to test many other things4 ,a man's whole character is tested by the experiences of his daily life1 all that is good and all that is evil in him1 and we might speak about the effect of life's discipline upon a great many different sides of our nature4 ,but here the whole stress is put upon the effect of life in testing and clarifying and strengthening one part of a ,christian's character1 and that is his faith4 ,why does ,peter pick out faith8 ,why does he not say 'trial of your hope1' of your 'love1' of your 'courage1' of half a dozen other graces8 ,why 'the trial of your faith8' ,for this reason1 because as the man's faith is1 so is the man4 ,because faith is the tap-root1 in the view of the ,new ,testament1 of all that is good and strong and noble in humanity4 ,because if you strengthen a man's trust you strengthen everything that comes from it4 ,reinforce the centre and all is reinforced4 ,your faith is the vital point from which your whole life as ,christians is developed1 and whatever strengthens that strengthens you4 ,and1 therefore1 although everything that befalls you calls for the exercise of1 and therefore tests1 and therefore1 rightly undergone1 strengthens a great many various virtues and powers and beauties in a human character1 the main good of it all is that it deepens1 if the man is right1 his simple trust in ,god manifested by his trust in and love to ,jesus ,christ3 and so it reinforces the faith which works by love1 and thus tends to make all things in life good and fair4 ,now if thus the main end of life is to strengthen faith1 let us remember that we have to give a wider meaning to the word 'trials' than 'afflictions4' ,ah6 there is as sharp a trial of my faith in prosperity as in any adversity4 ,people say1 ',it is easy to trust ,god when things are going well with us4' ,that is quite true4 ,but it is a great deal easier to stop trusting ,god1 or thinking about ,him1 when things are going well with us1 and we do not seem to need ,him so much1 as in the hours of darkness4 ,you remember the old story about the traveller1 when the sun and the wind tried which could make him take off his cloak2 and the sun did it4 ,some of us1 ,i daresay1 have found out that the faith which gripped ,god when we felt we needed ,him1 because we had not anything else but ,him1 is but too apt to lose hold of ,him when fleeting delights and apparent treasures come and whisper invitations in our hearts4 ,there are diseases that are proper to the northern1 dark1 ice-bound regions of the earth4 ,yes6 and there are a great many more that belong to the tropics2 as there is such a thing as sunstroke1 which is1 perhaps1 as dangerous as the cramping cold from the icebergs of the north4 ,some of us should understand what that ,scripture means3 ',because they have no changes1 therefore they fear not ,god4' ,prosperity1 untroubled lives1 lives even as the lives of those of the majority of mankind now1 have their own most searching trials of faith4 ,but on the other hand1 if there are 'ships that have gone down at sea1 when heaven was all tranquillity1' there come also dark and nights of wild tempest when we have to lay to and ride out the gale with a tremendous strain on the cable4 ,our sorrows1 our disappointments1 our petty annoyances1 and the great irrevocable griefs that sooner or later darken the very earth1 are all to be classified under this same purpose1 'that the trial of your faith 444 might be found unto praise and honour and glory4' ,and so1 ,i beseech you1 open your eyes to the meaning of life1 and do not suppose that you have found the last word to say about it when you say ',i am afflicted1' or ',i am at ease4' ,the affliction and the ease1 like two wheels in some great machine working in opposite directions1 fit with their cogs into one another and move something beyond them in one uniform direction4 ,and affliction and ease cooperate to this end1 that we might be partakers of ,his holiness4 ,i believe experience teaches the most of us1 if we will lay its lessons to heart1 that the times when ,christian people grow most in the divine life is in their times of sorrow4 ,one of the old divines says1 ',grace grows best in winter'2 and there are edible plants which need a touch of frost before they are good to eat4 ,so it is with our faith4 ,only let us take care that the fire does not burn it up1 as 'wood1 hay1 stubble1' but irradiates it and glorifies it1 as 'gold1 silver1 and precious stones4' ,,iii4 ,now a word1 lastly1 about the ultimate discovery4 ',might be found unto praise and honour and glory4' ,note these three words1 which ,i think are often neglected1 and sometimes misunderstood--'praise1 honour1 glory4' ,whose8 ,people sometimes say ',god's1' since ,his people's ultimate salvation redounds to ,his praise2 but it is much better to understand the praise as given to the ,christians whose faith has stood the testing fires4 ',well done1 good and faithful servant'--is not that praise from lips1 praise from which is praise indeed8 ,as ,paul says1 'then shall every man have praise of ,god4' ,we are far too much afraid of recognising the fact that ,jesus ,christ in ,heaven1 like ,jesus ,christ on earth1 will praise the deeds that come from love to ,him1 though the deeds themselves may be very imperfect4 ,do you remember ',she hath wrought a good work on ,me1' said about a woman that had done a perfectly useless thing1 which was open to a great many very shrewd objections8 ,but ,jesus ,christ accepted it4 ,why8 ,because it was the pure utterance of a loving heart4 ,and1 depend upon it1 though we have to say ',unclean6 unclean6 ,we are unprofitable servants1' ,he will say ',come6 ye blessed of ,my ,father4' ,praise from ,christ is praise indeed4 ',honour4' ,that suggests bystanders1 a public opinion1 if ,i may so say2 it suggests 'have thou authority over ten cities1' and that men will have their deeds round them as a halo1 in that other world4 ,as 'praise' suggests the redeemed man's relation to his ,lord1 so 'honour' suggests the redeemed man's relation to the fellow-citizens of the ,new ,jerusalem4 ',glory' speaks of the man himself as transfigured and lifted up into the light and lustre of communion with1 and conformity to1 the image of the ,lord4 ',then shall we appear with ,him in glory4 ,then shall the righteous blaze forth like the sun in ,my heavenly ,father's ,kingdom4' ',shall be found4' ,ah6 there will be many surprises yonder4 ,do you remember that profound revelation of our ,master when ,he represents those on whom ,he lavishes ,his eulogies as the ,judge1 as turning to ,him and saying1 ',lord6 when saw we ,thee in 444 prison and visited thee8' ,they do not recognise themselves or their acts in ,christ's account of them4 ,they have found that their lives were diviner than they knew4 ,there will be surprises there4 ,as one of the prophets represents the ransomed ,israel1 to her amazement1 surrounded by clinging troops of children1 and asking1 ',these6 ,where have they been8 ,i was left alone1' so many a poor1 humble soul1 fighting along in this world1 having no recognition on earth1 and the lowliest estimate of all its own actions1 will be astonished at the last when it receives 'praise1 and honour1 and glory1 at the appearing of ,jesus ,christ4' ,,joy ,,in ,,believing ',in ,whom1 though now ye see ,him not1 yet believing1 ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory4'--#a ,peter i4 #h4 ,the ,apostle has just previously been speaking about the great and glorious things which are to come to ,christians on the appearing of ,jesus ,christ1 and that naturally suggests to him the thought of the condition of believing souls during the period of the ,lord's absence and comparative concealment4 ,having lifted his readers' hopes to that great ,future1 when they would attain to 'praise and honour and glory' at ,christ's appearing1 he drops to the present and to earth1 and recalls the disadvantages and deprivations of the present ,christian experience as well as its privileges and blessings4 ',whom having not seen1 ye love1' that is a very natural thought in the mind of one whose love to ,jesus rested on the ever-remembered blessed experience of years of happy companionship1 when addressing those who had no such memories4 ,it points to an entirely unique fact4 ,there is nothing else in the world parallel to that strange1 deep personal attachment which fills millions of hearts to this ,man who died nineteen centuries ago1 and which is utterly unlike the feelings that any men have to any other of the great names of the past4 ,to love one unseen is a paradox1 which is realised only in the relation of the ,christian soul to ,jesus ,christ4 ,then the ,apostle goes on with what might at first seem a mere repetition of the preceding thought1 but really brings to view another strange anomaly4 ',in ,whom1 though now ye see ,him not1 yet believing1 ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory4' ,love longs for the presence of the beloved1 and is restless and defrauded of its gladness so long as absence continues4 ,but this strange love1 which is kindled by an unseen ,man1 does not need ,his visible presence in order to be a fountain of joy unspeakable and full of glory4 ,thus the ,apostle takes it for granted that every one who believes knows what this joy is4 ,it is a large assumption1 contradicted1 ,i am afraid1 by the average experience of the people that at this day call themselves ,christians4 ,we notice-- ,i4 ,the ,all-sufficient ,ground or ,source of this ,glad ,emotion4 ',in whom1' with all the disabilities and pains and absence1 'yet believing1' you can put out a long arm of faith across the gulf that lies1 not only between to-day and eighteen centuries ago1 but the deeper and more impassible gulf that lies between earth and heaven1 and clasp ,christ with a really firm grasp1 which will fill the hand1 and which we shall feel has laid hold of something1 or rather has laid hold of a living person and a loving heart4 ,that is faith4 ,the ,apostle uses a very strong form of expression here1 which is only very partially represented by our ,english version4 ,he does not say only 'in whom believing1' but 'towards whom'2 putting emphasis upon the effort and direction of the faith1 rather than upon the repose of the heart when it has found its object and rests upon ,him4 ,and so the conception of the true ,christian attitude is that of a continual outgoing of ,trust and its child ,love2 of ,desire and its child ,possession2 and of ,expectation and its child ,fruition towards that unseen ,christ4 ,it is much to believe ,him1 it is more to believe in ,him2 it is--,i was going to say--most of all to believe towards ,him4 ,for in this region1 quite as much as1 and ,i think more than1 in the one to which the saying was originally applied1 'search is better than attainment4' ,our condition must always be that of 'forgetting the things that are behind'2 and however much we may realise the union with the unseen ,christ in the act of resting upon ,him1 that must never be suffered to interfere with the longing for the larger possession of myself1 and fuller consequent likeness to ,him1 which is expressed in that great though simple phrase of my text 'believing towards ,him4' ,such a continual outgoing of effort1 as well as the rest and blessedness of reposing on ,him1 is indispensable for all true gladness4 ,for the intensest activity of our whole being is essential to the real joy of any part of it1 and we shall never know the rapture of which humanity1 even here and now1 is capable until we gather our whole selves1 heart1 will1 and all our practical1 as well as our intellectual1 powers in the effort to make more of ,christ our own1 and to minimise the distance between us to a mere vanishing point1 ',believing towards whom ye rejoice4' ,that act of trust1 however inadequate the object upon which it rests1 and however mistaken may be our conceptions of that on which we lean1 always brings a gladness which is real1 until disappointment disillusionises and saddens us4 ,there is nothing that so sheds peace over the heart as reliance1 absolute and quiet1 upon some object worthy of trust4 ,it is blessed to trust one another until1 as is too often the case1 we find that what we thought to be an oak against which we leaned is but a broken reed that has no pith in it1 and no possibility of support4 ,so far as it goes1 all trust is blessed1 but the most blessed is simple reliance upon1 and aspiration after1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,ever to yearn for ,him1 not with the yearning of those who have no possession1 but with that of those who1 having a little1 desire to have more1 is to bring into our lives the one solid and sufficient good without which there is no gladness1 and with which there can be no unmingled sorrow1 wrapping the whole man in its ebon folds4 ,for this ,christ is enough for all my nature and for the satisfaction of every desire4 ,in ,him my mind finds the truth2 my will the law2 my love the answering love2 my hope its object2 my fears their dissipation2 my sins their forgiveness2 my weaknesses their strength2 and1 to all that ,i am1 what ,he is answers1 as fulness to emptiness1 and as supply to need4 ,so1 'believing towards ,him1 we rejoice4' ,but note that the joy is strictly contemporaneous with the faith4 ,tear away electric wire from the source of energy1 and the light goes out instantly4 ,it is as another ,apostle says1 'in believing' that we have 'joy and peace4' ,and that is why so many of us know little of it4 ,yesterday's faith will not contribute to to-day's gladness1 any more than yesterday's meals will satisfy to-day's hunger4 ,present joy depends upon present faith1 and the measure of the one is the measure of the other4 ,notice again-- ,,ii4 ,the ,characteristics of the ,christian ,gladness4 ',unspeakable1' and1 as the word ought to be rendered1 not 'full of glory' but 'glorified4' ,unspeakable4 ,still waters run deep4 ,it is poor wealth that can be counted2 it is shallow emotion that can be crammed into the narrow limits of any human vocabulary4 ,fathers and mothers1 parents and children1 husbands and wives1 know that4 ,and the depths of the joy that a believing soul has in ,jesus ,christ are not to be spoken4 ,perhaps it is better that it should not be attempted to speak them4 ',not easily forgiven ,are those1 who1 setting wide the doors that bar ,the secret bridal chambers of the heart1 ,let in the day4' ,it is in shallow streams that the sunlight gleams on the pebbles at the bottom4 ,the abysses of ocean are dark1 and have never been searched by its light4 ,i suspect the depth of the emotion which bubbles over into words1 and finds no difficulty in expressing itself4 ,the joy which can be manifested in all its extent has a very small extent4 ,christian joy is unspeakable1 too1 because just as you cannot teach a blind man what colour is like1 and cannot impart to anybody the blessedness of wedded love1 or parental affection1 by ever so much talking--and1 therefore1 the poetry of the world is never exhausted--so there is only one way of conveying to a man what is the actual joy of trusting in ,christ1 and that is1 that he himself should trust ,him4 ,we may talk till ,doomsday1 and then1 as the ,queen of ,sheba said1 when she came to ,solomon1 'the half hath not been told4' ',he must be loved ere that to you ,he will seem worthy of your love4' ,it is unspeakable gladness springing from the possession of an unspeakable gift4 ',glorified4' ,there is nothing more ignoble than the ordinary joys of men4 ,they are too often like the iridescent scum on a stagnant pond1 fruit and proof of corruption4 ,they are fragile and hollow1 for all the play of colour on them1 like a soap bubble that breaks of its own tenuity1 and is only a drop of dirty water4 ,joy is too often ignoble1 and yet1 although it is by no means the highest conception of what ,christ's ,gospel can do for us1 it is blessed to think that it can take that emotion1 so often shameful1 so often frivolous1 so often lowering rather than elevating1 and can lift it into loftiness1 and transfigure it1 and glorify it and make it a power1 a power for good and for righteousness1 and for 'whatsoever things are lovely and of good report' in our lives4 ,and that is what trusting towards ,christ will do for our gladnesses4 ,lastly1 in one word1 let me lay upon your consciences1 as ,christian people ,,iii4 ,the ,obligation of ,gladness4 ,peter takes it for granted that all these brethren to whom he is writing have experience of this deep and ennobled joy4 ,he does not say1 ',you ought to rejoice1' but he says1 ',you do rejoice4' ,and yet a verse or two before he said1 ',ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations4' ,so1 then1 he was not blinking the hard1 painful facts of anybody's troubled life4 ,he was not away upon the heights serenely contemptuous of the grim possibilities that lurk down in the dark valleys4 ,he took in all the burdens and the pains and the anxieties and the harassments1 and the losses1 and the bleeding hearts and the cares that can burden any of us4 ,and he said1 in spite of them all1 ',ye rejoice4' ,do you8 ,i am afraid there is no more irrefragable proof of the unreality of an enormous proportion of the ,christian profession of this day than the joyless lives--in so far as their religion contributes to their joy--of hosts of us4 ,we have religion enough to make us miserable1 we have religion enough to make us uncomfortable about doing things that we would like to do4 ,we are always haunted by the feeling that we are falling so far below our professions1 and we are either miserable when we bethink ourselves1 or1 more frequently1 indifferent1 accordingly4 ,and the whole reason of such experience lies here1 we have not an adequately strong and continued trust in ,jesus ,christ working righteousness in our lives1 nobleness in our characters1 and so lifting us above the regions where mists and malaria lie4 ,let us get high enough up1 and we shall find clear sky4 ,you call yourselves ,christians4 ,does your religion bring any gladness to you8 ,does it burn brightest in the dark1 like the pillar of cloud before the ,israelites8 ',greek fire' burned below the water1 and so was in high repute4 ,our gladness is a poor affair if it is at the mercy of temperaments or of circumstances4 ,jesus ,christ comes to cure temperaments1 and to enable us to resist circumstances4 ,so ,i venture to say that1 whatever may be our condition in regard to externals1 or whatever may be our tendencies of disposition1 we are bound1 as a piece of ,christian duty1 to try to cultivate this joyful spirit1 and to do it in the only right way1 by cultivating the increase of our faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ',rejoice in the ,lord always'2 the man who said that was a prisoner1 with death looking into his eyeballs4 ,as he said it1 he felt that his friends in ,philippi might think the exhortation overstrained1 and so he repeated it1 to show that he recognised the apparent impossibility of obeying it1 and yet deliberately enjoined it2 'and again ,i say1 rejoice4' ,,christ ,,and ,,his ,,cross ,,the ,,centre ,,of ,,the ,,universe ',of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently 444 the things which are now reported unto you 444 which things the angels desire to look into4'--#a ,peter i4 #aj1 #aa1 #ab4 ,i have detached these three clauses from their surroundings1 not because ,i desire to treat them fragmentarily1 but because we thereby throw into stronger relief the writer's purpose to bring out the identity of the ,old and the ,new ,revelation1 the fact that ,christ and ,his sufferings are the centre of the world's history1 to which all that went before points1 from which all that follows after flows2 and that not only thus does ,he stand in the midst of humanity1 but that from ,him there ran out influences into other orders of beings1 and angels learn from ,him mysteries hitherto unknown to them4 ,the prophets prophesy of the grace which comes in the sufferings of ,christ and the glory that should follow1 and the same ,spirit which taught them teaches the preachers of the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ4 ,they that went before had for their deepest message the proclamation1 ',he will come'2 they that follow after have for their deepest message1 ',he has come4' ,and angels listen to1 and echo1 the chorus1 from all the files that march in front1 and all that bring up the rear1 ',hosanna6 ,blessed be ,him that cometh in the name of the ,lord4' ,my purpose1 then1 is just to try to bring before you the magnificent unity into which these texts bind all ages1 and all worlds1 planting ,jesus ,christ and ,his ,cross in the centre of them all4 ,there are four aspects here in which the writer teaches us to regard this unity3 ,jesus and the ,cross are the substance of prophecy1 the theme of ,gospel preaching1 the study of angels1 and presented to each of us for our individual acceptance4 ,now1 let us look briefly at these four points4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 ,christ and ,his ,cross is the substance of prophecy4 ,now1 of course1 we have to remember that general statements have to be interpreted widely1 and without punctilious adherence to the words2 and we have also to remember that great mischief has been done1 and great discredit cast1 on the whole conception of ancient revelation by the well-meaning1 but altogether mistaken1 attempts of good people to read the fully developed doctrine of ,jesus ,christ and ,his sacrifice into every corner of the ancient revelation4 ,but whilst ,i admit all that1 and would desire to emphasise the fact1 ,i think that in this generation1 and to-day1 there is a great deal more need to insist upon the truth that the inmost essence and deepest purpose of the whole ,old ,testament system is to create an attitude of expectance1 and to point onwards1 with ever-growing distinctness1 to one colossal and mysterious figure in which the longings of generations shall be fulfilled1 and the promises of ,god shall be accomplished4 ,the prophet was more than a foreteller1 as is being continually insisted upon nowadays4 ,there were prophets who never uttered a single prediction4 ,their place in ,israel was to be the champions of righteousness1 and--,i was going to say--the knights of ,god1 as against law and ceremonial and externalism4 ,but1 beyond that1 there underlie the whole system of prophecy1 and there come sparkling and flashing up to the surface every now and then1 bright anticipations1 not only of a future kingdom1 but of a personal ,king1 and not only of a ,king1 but a sufferer4 ,all the sacrifices1 almost all the institutions1 the priesthood and the monarchy included1 had this onward-looking aspect1 and ,israel as a whole1 in the proportion in which it was true to the spirit of its calling1 stood a-tiptoe1 as it were1 looking down the ages for the coming of the ,hope of the ,covenant that had been promised to the fathers4 ,the prophets1 ,i might say1 were like an advance-guard sent before some great monarch in his progress towards his capital1 who rode through the slumbering villages and called1 ',he comes6 ,he comes6 ,the ,king cometh meek and having salvation1' and then passed on4 ,now1 all that is to be held fast to-day4 ,i would give all freedom to critical research1 and loyally accept the results of it1 so far as these are established1 and are not mere hypotheses1 with regard to the date and the circumstances of the construction of the various elements of that ,old ,testament4 ,but what ,i desire especially to mark is that1 with the widest freedom1 there must be these two things conserved which ,peter here emphasises1 the real inspiration of the prophetic order1 and its function to point onwards to ,jesus4 ,and so long as you keep these truths1 as long as you believe that ,god spoke through prophets1 as long as you believe that the very heart of their message was the proclamation of ,jesus ,christ1 and that to bear witness to ,him was the function1 not only of prophet1 but of priest and king and nation1 then you are at liberty to deal as you like with mere questions of origin and of date4 ,but if1 in the eagerness of the chase after the literary facts of the origin of the ,old ,testament1 we forget that it is a unity1 that it is a divine unity1 that it is a progressive revelation1 and that 'the testimony of ,jesus is the spirit of prophecy' then ,i venture to say that the most uncritical1 old-fashioned reader of the ,old ,testament that found ,jesus ,christ in the ,song of ,solomon1 and in the details of the ,tabernacle1 and in all the minuti of worship and sacrifice1 was nearer to the living heart of the thing than the most learned scholar that has been so absorbed in the inquiries as to how and when this1 that1 and the other bit of the ,book was written1 that he fails to see the one august figure that shines out1 now more and now less dimly1 and gives unity to the whole4 ',to ,him gave all the prophets witness4' ,and when ,peter declared1 as he did in my text1 that ancient ,israel1 by its spokesmen and its organs1 testified beforehand of the sufferings of ,christ1 he is but echoing what he had learned from his ,master1 who turns to some of us with the same rebuke with which ,he met ,his disciples after the ,resurrection3 ',o fools1 and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken4' ,the ,old and the ,new are a unity1 and ,christ and ,his ,cross are the substance and the centre of both4 ,,ii4 ,note here ,christ and ,his ,cross1 the theme of ,gospel preaching4 ,if you will glance at your leisure over the whole context from which ,i have picked these clauses as containing its essence1 you will find that the ,apostle speaks of the things which the prophets foretold as being the same as 'those which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the ,gospel unto you1 with the ,holy ,ghost sent down from heaven4' ,i must not take for granted that you are all referring to your ,bibles1 but ,i should like to point out1 as the basis of one or two things that ,i wish to say1 the remarkable variety of phrase employed in the text to describe the one thing4 ,first1 ,peter speaks of it as 'salvation1' then he speaks of it in the next clause as 'the grace that should come unto you4' ,then1 in the next phrase1 he designates it more particularly as 'the sufferings of ,christ and the glory that should follow4' ,now1 if we put these designations together--salvation1 grace1 ,christ's sufferings1 the subsequent glory--we come to this1 that the facts of ,christ's life1 death1 resurrection1 and ascension are the great vehicle which brings to men ,god's grace1 that that grace has for its purpose and its effect man's salvation1 and that these facts are the ,gospel which ,christian preachers have to proclaim4 ,now notice what follows from such thoughts as these4 ,to begin with1 the ,gospel is not a speculation1 is not a theology1 still less a morality1 not a declaration of principles1 but a history of fact1 things that were done on this earth of ours1 and that the ,apostle's ,creed which is worked into the service of the ,anglican ,church is far nearer the primitive conception of the ,gospel than are any of the more elaborate and doctrinal ones which have followed4 ,for we have to begin with the facts that ,christ lived1 died1 was buried1 rose again from the dead 444 ascended into ,heaven1 and sitteth at the right hand of ,god4 ,whatever else the ,gospel is1 that is the kernel and the basis of it all4 ,out of these facts will come all manner of doctrines1 philosophies of religion1 theologies1 revelations about ,god and man4 ,out of them will come all ethics1 the teaching of duty1 the exhibition of a pattern of conduct1 inspiration to follow the model that is set before us4 ,out of them will come1 as ,i believe1 guidance and light for social and economical and political questions and difficulties4 ,but what we have to lay hold of1 and what we preachers have to proclaim1 is the story of the life1 and eminently the story of the death4 ,why does ,peter put in the very centre here 'the sufferings of ,christ'8 ,that suggests another thought1 that amongst these facts which1 taken together1 make the ,gospel1 the vital part1 the central and the indispensable part1 is the story of the ,cross4 ,now what ,christ said1 not what ,christ did1 not what ,christ was1 beautiful and helpful as all that is1 but to begin with what ,christ bore1 is the fact that makes the life of the ,gospel4 ,and just as ,he is the centre of humanity1 so the ,cross is the centre of ,his work4 ,why is that8 ,because the deepest need of all of us is the need to have our sins dealt with1 both as guilt and as power1 and because nothing else in the whole story of ,christ's manifestation deals with men's sins as the fact of ,his death on the ,cross does1 therefore the sacrifice and sufferings are the heart of the ,gospel4 ,and so1 brethren1 we have to mark that the presentation of ,christian truth which slurs over that fact of the ,sacrifice and ,atonement of ,jesus ,christ1 has parted with the vital power which makes the story into a gospel4 ,it is no gospel to tell a man that ,jesus ,christ died1 unless you go on to say ,he 'died for our sins according to the ,scriptures4' ,and it is no gospel to talk about the beauty of ,his life1 and the perfectness of ,his example1 and the sweetness of ,his nature1 and the depth1 the wisdom1 and the tenderness of ,his words1 unless you can say this is 'the ,lamb of ,god1' 'the ,word made flesh1' 'who bare our sins1 and carried our sicknesses and our sorrows4' ,strike out from the gospel that you preach 'the sufferings of ,christ1' and you have struck out the one thing that will draw men's hearts1 that will satisfy men's needs1 that will bind men to ,him with cords of love4 ',i1 if ,i be lifted up1 will draw all men unto ,me4' ,so1 wherever you get what they call an ethical gospel which deals with moralities1 and does not impart the power that will vitalise moralities1 and make them into thankful service and sacrifices1 in return for the great ,sacrifice2 wherever you get a gospel that falters in its enunciation of the sufferings of ,christ1 and wherever you get a gospel that secularises the ,christian service of the ,sabbath1 and will rather discuss the things that the newspapers discuss1 and the new books that the reviewers are talking about1 and odds and ends of that sort that are thought to be popular and attractive1 you get a gospel minus the thing that1 in the ,old ,testament and in the ,new alike1 stands forth in the centre of all4 ',we preach ,christ crucified'2 it is not enough to preach ,christ4 ,many a man does that1 and might as well hold his tongue4 ',we preach ,christ crucified4' ,and the same august ,figure which loomed before the vision of prophets1 and shines through many a weary age1 stands before us of this generation2 ay6 and will stand till the end of the world1 as the centre1 the pivot of human history1 the ,christ who has died for men4 ,the ,christ that will stand in the centre of the development of humanity is the ,christ that died on the ,cross4 ,if your gospel is not that1 you have yet to learn the deepest secret of ,his power4 ,,iii4 ,once more1 here we have ,christ and ,his ,cross as the study of angels4 ',which things the angels desire to look into4' ,now1 the word that ,peter employs there is an unusual one in ,scripture4 ,its force may1 perhaps1 be best conveyed by referring to one of the few instances in which it is employed4 ,it is used to describe the attitude of ,peter and ,john when they stooped down and looked into the sepulchre4 ,perhaps there may be a reference in ,peter's mind to that incident1 when he saw the 'two angels 444 sitting1 the one at the head1 and the other at the feet1 where the body of ,jesus had lain4' ,perhaps1 also1 there floats in his mind some kind of reference to the outspread wings and bended heads of the brooding cherubim who sat above the ,mercy-seat1 gazing down upon the miracle of love that was manifested beneath them there4 ,but be that as it may1 the idea conveyed is that of eager desire and fixed attention4 ,now ,i am not going to enlarge at all upon the thought that is here conveyed1 except just to make the one remark that people have often said1 ',why should a race of insignificant creatures on this little globe of ours be so dignified in the divine procedure as that there should be the stupendous mystery of the ,incarnation1 and the ,death for their sakes8' ,not for their sakes only1 for the ,new ,testament commits itself to the thought that whilst sinful men are the only subjects of the redeeming grace of ,jesus ,christ1 other orders of creatures do benefit thereby1 and do learn from it what else they would not have known1 of the mystery and the miracle and the majesty of the ,divine love4 ',to the principalities and the powers in heavenly places ,he hath made known by the ,church the manifold wisdom of ,god4' ,and we can understand how these other orders--what we call higher orders1 which they may be or they may not--of being1 learn to know ,god as we learn to know ,him1 by the manifestation of ,himself in ,his acts1 and how the crown of all manifestations consists in this1 that ,he visits the sinful sons of men1 and by ,his own dear ,son brings them back again4 ,the elder brethren in the ,father's house do not grudge the ring and the robe given to the prodigals2 rather they learn therein more than they knew before of the loving-kindness of ,god4 ,now all that is nowadays ignored1 and it is not fashionable to speak about the interest of angels in the success of ,redemption1 and a good many 'advanced' ,christians do not believe in angels at all1 because they 'cannot verify' the doctrine4 ,i1 for my part1 accept the teaching1 which seems to me to be a great deal more reasonable than to suppose that the rest of the universe is void of creatures that can praise and love and know ,god4 ,i accept the teaching1 and think that ,peter was1 perhaps1 not a dreamer when he said1 ',the angels desire to look into these things4' ,they do not share in the blessings of redemption1 but they can behold what they do not themselves experience4 ,the ,seer in the ,revelation was not mistaken1 when he believed that he heard redeemed men leading the chorus to ,him that had redeemed them by ,his blood out of all nations1 and then heard the thunderous echo from an innumerable host of angels who could not say ',thou hast redeemed us1' but who could bring praise and glory to ,him because ,he had redeemed men4 ,,iv4 ,and now my last point is that ,christ and ,his ,cross is1 by the ,gospel1 offered to each of us4 ,notice how emphatically in this context the ,apostle gathers together his wider thoughts1 and focusses them into a point4 ',the prophets have inquired and searched diligently 444 of the grace that should come to you4444 ,to them it was revealed1 that not unto themselves1 but unto us they did minister the things1 which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the ,gospel unto you4' ,and so he would take his wide thoughts1 as it were1 and gather all together1 to a point1 and press the point against each man's heart4 ,dear brethren1 these wide views are of no avail to us unless we realise the individual relation which ,christ bears to each one of us4 ,he bears a relation1 as ,i have been saying1 to all humanity4 ,all the ages belong to ,him4 ',he is before all things1 and in ,him all things consist4' ,from ,his ,cross there flash up rays of light into the heavens above1 and out over the whole rolling series of the centuries1 from the beginning to the end4 ,yes2 but from ,his ,cross there comes a beam straight to your heart1 and the ,christ whom angels desire to look into1 of whom prophets prophesy and ,apostles proclaim ,his advent1 who is the ,lord of all the ages1 and the ,lover of mankind1 comes to thee and says ',i am thy ,saviour1' and to thee this wide message is brought4 ,every eye has the whole sunshine1 and each soul may have the whole ,christ4 ,his universal relations in time and space matter little to you1 unless ,he has a particular relation to yourself4 ,and ,he will never have that in its atoning power1 unless you do for yourself and by yourself the most individual and solitary act that a human soul can do1 and that is1 lay your hand on the head of 'the ,lamb 444 that takes away the sin of the world1' and put your sins there4 ,you must begin with 'my ,christ1' which you can do only by personal faith4 ,and then afterwards you can come to 'our ,christ1' the ,christ of all the worlds1 the ,christ of all the ages4 ,go to ,him by yourself4 ,you must do it as if there were not any other beings in the whole universe but you two1 ,jesus and you4 ,and when you have so gone1 then you will find that you have 'come to the heavenly ,jerusalem1 to an innumerable company of angels1 to the general assembly1 and ,church of the first born4' ,christ and ,his ,cross are the substance of prophecy1 the theme of the ,gospel1 the study of the angels4 ,what are they to me8 ,,hope ,,perfectly ',wherefore1 gird up the loins of your mind1 be sober1 and hope to the end1 for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of ,jesus ,christ4'--#a ,peter i4 #ac4 ,christianity has transformed hope1 and given it a new importance1 by opening to it a new world to move in1 and supplying to it new guarantees to rest on4 ,there is something very remarkable in the prominence given to hope in the ,new ,testament1 and in the power ascribed to it to order a noble life4 ,paul goes so far as to say that we are saved by it4 ,to a ,christian it is no longer a pleasant dream1 which may be all an illusion1 indulgence in which is pretty sure to sap a man's force1 but it is a certain anticipation of certainties1 the effect of which will be increased energy and purity4 ,so our ,apostle1 having in the preceding context in effect summed up the whole ,gospel1 bases upon that summary a series of exhortations1 the transition to which is marked by the 'wherefore' at the beginning of my text4 ,the application of that word is to be extended1 so as to include all that has preceded in the letter1 and there follows a series of practical advices1 the first of which1 the grace or virtue which he puts in the forefront of everything1 is not what you might have expected1 but it is 'hope perfectly4' ,i may just remark1 before going further1 in reference to the language of my text1 that1 accurately translated1 the two exhortations which precede that to hope are subsidiary to it1 for we ought to read1 ',wherefore1 girding up the loins of your mind1 and being sober1 hope4' ,that is to say1 these two are preliminaries1 or conditions1 or means by which the desired perfecting of the ,christian hope is to be sought and attained4 ,another preliminary remark which ,i must make is that what is enjoined here has not reference to the duration but to the quality of the ,christian hope4 ,it is not 'to the end1' but1 as the ,margin of the ,authorised and the ,revised ,version concurs in saying1 it is 'hope perfectly4' ,so1 then1 there are three things here--the object1 the duty1 and the cultivation of ,christian hope4 ,let us take these three things in order4 ,i4 ,the object of the ,christian hope4 ,now1 that is stated1 in somewhat remarkable language1 as 'the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of ,jesus ,christ4' ,we generally use that word 'grace' with a restricted signification to the gifts of ,god to men here on earth4 ,it is the earnest of the inheritance1 rather than its fulness4 ,but here it is quite obvious that by the expression the ,apostle means the very same thing as he has previously designated in the preceding context by three different phrases--'an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled1' 'praise and honour and glory at the revelation of ,jesus ,christ1' and 'the end of your faith1 even the salvation of your souls4' ,the 'grace' is not contrasted with the 'glory1' but is another name for the glory4 ,it is not the earnest of the inheritance1 but it is the inheritance itself4 ,it is not the means towards attaining the progressive and finally complete 'salvation of your souls1' but it is that complete salvation in all its fulness4 ,now1 that is an unusual use of the word1 but that it should be employed here1 as describing the future great object of the ,christian hope1 suggests two or three thoughts4 ,one is that that ultimate blessedness1 with all its dim1 nebulous glories1 which can only be resolved into their separate stars1 when we are millions of leagues nearer to its lustre1 is like the faintest glimmer of a new and better life in a soul here on earth1 purely and solely the result of the undeserved1 condescending love of ,god that stoops to sinful men1 and instead of retribution bestows upon them a heaven4 ,the grace that saved us at first1 the grace that comes to us1 filtered in drops during our earthly experience1 is poured upon us in a flood at last4 ,and the brightest glory of heaven is as much a manifestation of the ,divine grace as the first rudimentary germs of a better life now and here4 ,the foundation1 the courses of the building1 the glittering pinnacle on the summit1 with its golden spire reaching still higher into the blue1 is all the work of the same unmerited1 stooping1 pardoning love4 ,glory is grace1 and ,heaven is the result of ,god's pardoning mercy4 ,there is another suggestion here to be made1 springing from this eloquent use of this term1 and that is not merely the identity of the source of the ,christian experience upon earth and in the future1 but the identity of that ,christian experience itself in regard of its essential character4 ,if ,i may so say1 it is all of a piece1 homogeneous1 and of one web4 ,the robe is without seam1 woven throughout of the same thread4 ,the life of the humblest ,christian1 the most imperfect ,christian1 the most infantile ,christian1 the most ignorant ,christian here on earth1 has for its essential characteristics the very same things as the lives of the strong spirits that move in light around the ,throne1 and receive into their expanding nature the ever-increasing fulness of the glory of the ,lord4 ,grace here is glory in the bud2 glory yonder is grace in the fruit4 ,but there is still further to be noticed another great thought that comes out of this remarkable language4 ,the words of my text1 literally rendered1 are 'the grace that is being brought unto you4' ,now1 there have been many explanations of that remarkable phrase1 which ,i think is not altogether exhausted by1 nor quite equivalent to1 that which represents it in our version--viz4 'to be brought unto you4' ,that relegates it all into the future2 but in ,peter's conception it is1 in some sense1 in the present4 ,it is 'being brought4' ,what does that mean8 ,there are far-off stars in the sky1 the beams from which have set out from their home of light millenniums since1 and have been rushing through the waste places of the universe since long before men were1 and they have not reached our eyes yet4 ,but they are on the road4 ,and so in ,peter's conception1 the apocalypse of glory1 which is the crowning manifestation of grace1 is rushing towards us through the ages1 through the spheres1 and it will be here some day1 and the beams will strike upon our faces1 and make them glow with its light4 ,so certain is the arrival of the grace that the ,apostle deals with it as already on its way4 ,the great thing on which the ,christian hope fastens is no 'peradventure1' but a good which has already begun to journey towards us4 ,again1 there is another thought still to be suggested1 and that is1 the revelation of ,jesus ,christ is the coming to ,his children of this grace which is glory1 of this glory which is grace4 ,for mark how the ,apostle says1 'the grace which is being brought to you in the revelation of ,jesus ,christ4' ,and that revelation to which he here refers is not the past one1 in ,his incarnate life upon earth1 but it is the future one1 to which the hope of the faithful ,church ought ever to be steadfastly turned1 the correlated truth to that other one on which its faith rests4 ,on these two great pillars1 rising like columns on either side of the gulf of ,time1 ',he has come1' ',he will come1' the bridge is suspended by which we may safely pass over the foaming torrent that else would swallow us up4 ,the revelation in the past cries out for the revelation in the future4 ,the ,cross demands the ,throne4 ,that ,he has come once1 a sacrifice for sin1 stands incomplete1 like some building left unfinished with rugged stones protruding which prophesy an addition at a future day2 unless you can add 'unto them that look for ,him will ,he appear the second time without sin unto salvation4' ,in that revelation of ,jesus ,christ ,his children shall find the glory-grace which is the object of their hope4 ,so say all the ,new ,testament writers4 ',when ,christ1 who is our life1 shall appear1 then shall we also appear with ,him in glory' says ,paul4 ',the grace that is to be brought unto you in the revelation of ,jesus ,christ1' chimes in ,peter4 ,and ,john completes the trio with his ',we know that when ,he shall appear we shall be like ,him4' ,these three things1 brethren--with ,christ1 glory with ,him1 likeness to ,him--are all that we know1 and blessed be ,god6 all that we need to know1 of that dim future4 ,and the more we confine ourselves to these triple great certainties1 and sweep aside all subordinate matters1 which are concealed partly because they could not be revealed1 and partly because they would not help us if we knew them1 the better for the simplicity and the power and the certainty of our hope4 ,the object of ,christian hope is ,christ1 in ,his revelation1 in ,his presence1 in ,his communication to us for glory1 in ,his assimilating of us to ,himself4 ',it is enough that ,christ knows all1 ,and we shall be with ,him4' ',the grace that is being brought unto you in the revelation of ,jesus ,christ4' ,,ii4 ,and now notice the duty of the ,christian hope4 ,hope a duty8 ,that strikes one as somewhat strange4 ,i very much doubt whether the ordinary run of good people do recognise it as being as imperative a duty for them to cultivate hope as to cultivate any other ,christian excellence or virtue4 ,for one man that sets himself deliberately and consciously to brighten up1 and to make more operative in his daily life1 the hope of future blessedness1 you will find a hundred that set themselves to other kinds of perfecting of their ,christian character4 ,and yet1 surely1 there do not need any words to enforce the fact that this hope full of immortality is no mere luxury which a ,christian man may add to the plain fare of daily duty or leave untasted according as he likes1 but that it is an indispensable element in all vigorous and life-dominating ,christian experience4 ,i do not need to dwell upon that1 except just to suggest that such a vividness and continuity of calm anticipation of a certain good beyond the grave is one of the strongest of all motives to the general robustness and efficacy of a ,christian life4 ,people used to say a few years ago1 a great deal more than they do now1 that the ,christian expectation of ,heaven was apt to weaken energy upon earth1 and they used to sneer at us1 and talk about our 'other worldliness' as if it were a kind of weakness and defect attached to the ,christian experience4 ,they have pretty well given that up now4 ,anti-,christian sarcasm1 like everything else1 has its fashions1 and other words of reproach and contumely have now taken the place of that4 ,the plain fact is that no man sees the greatness of the present1 unless he regards it as being the vestibule of the future1 and that this present life is unintelligible and insignificant unless beyond it1 and led up to by it1 and shaped through it1 there lies the eternal life beyond4 ,the low flat plain is dreary and desolate1 featureless and melancholy1 when the sky above it is filled with clouds4 ,but sweep away the cloud-rack1 and let the blue arch itself above the brown moorland1 and all glows into lustre1 and every undulation is brought out1 and tiny shy forms of beauty are found in every corner4 ,and so1 if you drape ,heaven with the clouds and mists born of indifference and worldliness1 the world becomes mean1 but if you dissipate the cloud and unveil heaven1 earth is greatened4 ,if the hope of the grave that is to be brought onto you at the revelation of ,jesus ,christ shines out above all the flatness of earth1 then life becomes solemn1 noble1 worthy of1 demanding and rewarding1 our most strenuous efforts4 ,no man can1 and no man will1 strike such effectual blows on things present as the man1 the strength of whose arm is derived from the conviction that every stroke of the hammer on things present is shaping that which will abide with him for ever4 ,my text not only enjoins this hope as a duty1 but also enjoins the perfection of it as being a thing to be aimed at by all ,christian people4 ,what is the perfection of hope8 ,two qualities1 certainty and continuity4 ,certainty2 the definition of earthly hope is an anticipation of good less than certain1 and so1 in all the operations of this great faculty1 which are limited within the range of earth1 you get blended as an indistinguishable throng1 'hopes and fears that kindle hope1' and that too often kill it4 ,but the ,christian has a certain anticipation of certain good1 and to him memory may be no more fixed than hope1 and the past no more unalterable and uncertain than the future4 ,the motto of our hope is not the 'perhaps1' which is the most that it can say when it speaks the tongue of earth1 but the 'verily6 verily6' which comes to its enfranchised lips when it speaks the tongue of ,heaven4 ,your hope1 ,christian man1 should not be the tremulous thing that it often is1 which expresses itself in phrases like ',well6 ,i do not know1 but ,i tremblingly hope1' but it should say1 ',i know and am sure of the rest that remaineth1 not because of what ,i am1 but because of what ,he is4' ,another element in the perfection of hope is its continuity4 ,that hits home to us all1 does it not8 ,sometimes in calm weather we catch a sight of the gleaming battlements of 'the ,city which hath foundations1' away across the sea1 and then mists and driving storms come up and hide it4 ,there is a great mountain in ,central ,africa which if a man wishes to see he must seize a fortunate hour in the early morning1 and for all the rest of the day it is swathed in clouds1 invisible4 ,is that like your hope1 ,christian man and woman1 gleaming out now and then1 and then again swallowed up in the darkness8 ,brethren6 these two things1 certainty and continuity1 are possible for us4 ,alas6 that they are so seldom enjoyed by us4 ,,iii4 ,and now one last word4 ,my text speaks about the discipline or cultivation of this ,christian hope4 ,it prescribes two things as auxiliary thereto4 ,the way to cultivate the perfect hope which alone corresponds to the gift of ,god is 'girding up the loins of your mind1 and being sober4' ,of course1 there is here one of the very few reminiscences that we have in the ,epistles of the ipsissima verba of our ,lord4 ,peter is evidently referring to our ,lord's commandment to have 'the loins girt and the lamps burning1 and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their ,lord4' ,i do not need to remind you of the ,eastern dress that makes the metaphor remarkably significant1 the loose robes that tangle a man's feet when he runs1 that need to be girded up and belted tight around his waist1 as preliminary to all travel or toil of any kind4 ,the metaphor is the same as that in our colloquial speech when we talk about a man 'pulling himself together4' ,just as an ,english workman will draw his belt a hole tighter when he has some special task to do1 so ,peter says to us1 make a definite effort1 with resolute bracing up and concentration of all your powers1 or you will never see the grace that is hurrying towards you through the centuries4 ,there are abundance of loose1 slack-braced people up and down the world1 in all departments1 and they never come to any good4 ,it is a shame that any man should have his thoughts so loosely girt and vagrant as that any briar by the roadside can catch them and hinder his advance4 ,but it is a tenfold shame for ,christian people1 with such an object to gaze upon1 that they should let their minds be dissipated all over the trivialities of ,time1 and not gather them together and project them1 as ,i may say1 with all their force towards the sovereign realities of ,eternity4 ,a sixpence held close to your eye will blot out the sun1 and the trifles of earth close to us will prevent us from realising the things which neither sight1 nor experience1 nor testimony reveal to us1 unless with clenched teeth1 so to speak1 we make a dogged effort to keep them in mind4 ,the other preliminary and condition is 'being sober1' which of course you have to extend to its widest possible signification1 implying not merely abstinence from1 or moderate use of1 intoxicants1 or material good for the appetites1 but also the withdrawing of one's self sometimes wholly from1 and always restraining one's self in the use of1 the present and the material4 ,a man has only a given definite quantity of emotion and interest to expend1 and if he flings it all away on the world he has none left for ,heaven4 ,he will be like the miller that spoils some fair river1 by diverting its waters into his own sluice1 in order that he may grind some corn4 ,if you have the faintest film of dust on the glass of the telescope1 or on its mirror1 if it is a reflecting one1 you will not see the constellations in the heavens2 and if we have drawn over our spirits the film of earthly absorption1 all these bright glories above will1 so far as we are concerned1 cease to be4 ,so1 brethren1 there is a solemn responsibility laid upon us by the gift of that great faculty of looking before and after4 ,what did ,god make you and me capable of anticipating the future for8 ,that we might let our hopes run along the low levels1 or that we might elevate them and twine them round the very pillars of ,god's ,throne2 which8 ,i do not find fault with you because you hope1 but because you hope so meanly1 and about such trivial and transitory things4 ,i remember ,i once saw a sea-bird kept in a garden1 confined within high walls1 and with clipped wings1 set to pick up grubs and insects4 ,it ought to have been away out1 hovering over the free ocean1 or soaring with sunlit wing to a height where earth became a speck1 and all its noises were hushed4 ,that is what some of you are doing with your hope1 degrading it to earth instead of letting it rise to ,god2 enter within the veil1 and gaze upon the glory of the 'inheritance incorruptible and undefiled4' ,,the ,,family ,,likeness ',as ,he which hath called you is holy1 so be ye holy1 in all manner of conversation4'--#a ,peter i4 #ae4 ,that is the sum of religion--an all-comprehensive precept which includes a great deal more than the world's morality1 and which changes the coldness of that into something blessed1 by referring all our purity to the ,lord that called us4 ,one may well wonder where a ,galilean fisherman got the impulse that lifted him to such a height2 one may well wonder that he ventured to address such wide1 absolute commandments to the handful of people just dragged from the very slough and filth of heathenism to whom he spoke4 ,but he had dwelt with ,christ1 and they had ,christ in their hearts4 ,so for him to command and for them to obey1 and to aim after even so wide and wonderful an attainment as perfecting like ,god's was the most natural thing in the world4 ',be ye holy as ,he that hath called you is holy1 and that in all manner of conversation4' ,the maximum of possible attainment1 the minimum of imperative duty6 ,so1 then1 there are three things here--the pattern1 the field1 and the inspiration or motive of holiness4 ,i4 ,the ,pattern of ,holiness4 ',as ,he that hath called you is holy4' ,god's holiness is the very attribute which seems to separate ,him most from the creatures2 for its deepest meaning is ,his majestic and ,divine elevation above all that is creatural4 ,but here1 of course1 the idea conveyed by the word is not that1 if ,i may so say1 metaphysical one1 but the purely moral one4 ,the holiness of ,god which is capable of imitation by us is ,his separation from all impurity4 ,there is a side of ,his holiness which separates ,him from all the creatures1 to which we can only look up1 or bow with our faces in the dust2 but there is a side of ,his holiness which1 wonderful as it is1 and high above all our present attainment as it is1 yet is not higher than the possibilities which ,his indwelling ,spirit puts within our reach1 nor beyond the bounds of the duty that presses upon us all4 ',as ,he which hath called you is holy4' ,absolute and utter purity is ,his holiness1 and that is the pattern for us4 ,religion is imitation4 ,the truest form of worship is to copy4 ,all through heathenism you find that principle working4 ',they that make them are like unto them4' ,why are heathen nations so besotted and sunken and obstinate in their foulnesses8 ,because their gods are their examples1 and they1 first of all1 make the gods after the pattern of their own evil imaginations1 and then the evil imaginations1 deified1 react upon the maker and make him tenfold more a child of hell than themselves4 ,worship is imitation1 and there is no religion which does not necessarily involve the copying of the example or the pattern of that ,being before whom we bow4 ,for religion is but love and reverence in the superlative degree1 and the natural operation of love is to copy1 and the natural operation of reverence is the same4 ,so that the old ,mosaic law1 ',be ye holy as ,i am holy1' went to the very heart of religion4 ,and the ,new ,testament form of it1 as ,paul puts it in a very bold word1 ',be ye imitators of ,god1 as beloved children1' sets its seal on the same thought that we are religious in the proportion in which we are consciously copying and aspiring after ,god4 ,but then1 says somebody or other1 'it is not possible4' ,well1 if it were not possible1 try it all the same4 ,for in this world it is aim and not attainment that makes the noble life2 and it is better to shoot at the stars1 even though your arrow never reaches them1 than to fire it along the low levels of ordinary life4 ,i do not see that however the unattainableness of the model may be demonstrated1 that has anything to do with the duty of imitation4 ,because1 though absolute conformity running throughout the whole of a life is not possible here on earth1 we know that in each individual instance in which we came short of conformity the fault was ours1 and it might have been otherwise4 ,instead of bewildering ourselves with questions about 'unattainable' or 'attainable1' suppose we asked1 at each failure1 ',why did ,i not copy ,god then2 was it because ,i could not1 or because ,i would not8' ,the answer would come plain enough to knock all that sophisticated nonsense out of our heads1 and to make us feel that the law which puts an unattainable ideal before the ,christian as his duty is an intensely practical one1 and may be reduced to practice at each step in his career4 ,imitation of the ,father1 and to be perfect1 'as our ,father in heaven is perfect1' is the elementary and the ultimate commandment of all ,christian morality4 ',be ye holy as ,he that hath called you is holy4' ,then let me remind you that the unattainableness is by no means so demonstrable as some people seem to think4 ,a very tiny circle may have the same centre as one that reaches beyond the suburbs of the universe1 and holds all stars and systems within its great round4 ,and the tiniest circle will have the same geometrical laws applied to it as the greatest4 ,the difference between finite and infinite has nothing to do with the possibility of our becoming like ,god1 if we believe that 'in the image of ,god created ,he him'2 and that men who have been not only made by original creation in the ,divine image1 but have been born again by the incorruptible seed of the ,word into a kindred life with ,his1 and derived from ,him1 can surely grow like what they have got1 and unfold into actually possessed and achieved resemblance to their ,father the kindred life that is poured into their veins4 ,so every way it is better indefinitely to approximate to that great likeness1 though with many flaws and failures1 than to say it cannot be reached1 and so ,i will content myself down here1 in my sins and my meannesses4 ,no6 dear brethren1 'we are saved by hope1' and one prime condition of growth in nobleness is to believe it possible that1 by ,his blessing we may be like ,him here on earth in the measure of our perception of ,his beauty and reception of ,his grace4 ,,ii4 ,again1 notice the field of this ,godlike holiness4 ',in all manner of conversation4' ,of course ,i do not need to remind you that the word 'conversation' does not mean talk1 but conduct2 that it applies to the whole of the outward life4 ,peter says that every part of the ,christian man's activity is to be the field on which his possession of the holiness derived from and like ,god's is to be exhibited4 ,it is to be seen in all common life4 ,here is no cloistered and ascetic holiness which tabooes large provinces of every man's experience1 and says 'we must not go in there1 for fear of losing our purity1' but rather wherever ,christ has trod before we can go4 ,that is a safe guide1 and whatever ,god has appointed there we can go and that we can do4 ',on the bells of the horses shall be written ,holiness to the ,lord4' ,the horse-bells that make merry music on their bridles are not very sacred things1 but they bear the same inscription as flamed on the front of the high priest's mitre2 and the bowls in every house in ,jerusalem1 as the prophet says1 shall bear the same inscription that was written on the sacrificial vessels1 and all shall belong to ,him4 ,only1 whilst thus we maintain the possibility of exhibiting ,godlike holiness in all the dusty fields of common life1 let us remember the other side4 ,in this day there is very little need to preach against an ascetic ,christianity4 ,there has been enough said of late years about a ,christian man being entitled to go into all fields of occupation and interest1 and there to live his ,christianity4 ,i think the time is about come for a caution or two to be dropped on the other side1 ',blessed is he that condemneth not himself in the thing which he alloweth4' ,apply this commandment vigorously and honestly to trade1 to recreation--especially to recreation--to social engagements1 to the choice of companions1 to the exercise of tastes4 ,ask yourselves ',can ,i write ,holiness to the ,lord on them8' ,if not1 do not have anything to do with them4 ,i wonder what the managers of theatres and music-halls would say if anybody proposed that motto to be put upon the curtain for the spectators to read before it is drawn up for the play4 ,do you think it would fit8 ,don't you1 ,christian men and women1 don't you go into places where it would not fit4 ,and remember that 'in all manner of conversation' has two sides to it1 one declaring the possibility of sanctifying every creature of ,god1 and one declaring the impossibility of a ,christian man going1 without dreadful danger and certain damage1 into places where he cannot carry that consecration and purity with him4 ,again the field is all trivial things4 ',in all manner of conversation4' ,there is nothing that grows so low but that this scythe will travel near enough to the ground to harvest it4 ,there is nothing so minute but it is big enough to mirror the holiness of ,god4 ,the tiniest grain of mica1 upon the face of the hill1 is large enough to flash back a beam2 and the smallest thing we can do is big enough to hold the bright light of holiness4 ',all'6 ,ah6 ,if our likeness to ,god does not show itself in trifles1 what in the name of common sense is there left for it to show itself in8 ,for our lives are all made up of trifles4 ,the great things come three or four of them in the seventy years2 the little ones come every time the clock ticks4 ,and as they say1 ',take care of the pence1 and the pounds will take care of themselves4' ,if we keep the little things rigidly under the dominion of this principle1 no doubt the big things will fall under it too1 when they emerge4 ,and if we do not--as the old ,jewish book says3--',he that despiseth little things shall fall by little and little4' ,whosoever has not a ,christianity that sanctifies the trifles has a ,christianity that will not sanctify the crises of his life4 ,so1 dear brother1 this motto is to be written over every portal through which you and ,i go2 and whatsoever we can put our hands to1 in it we may magnify and manifest the holiness of ,god4 ,,iii4 ,now1 lastly1 note the motive or inspiration of holiness4 ,the language of my text might read like 'the ,holy ,one who hath called you4' ,peter would stir his hearers to the emulation of the ,divine holiness by that thought of the bond that unites ,him and them4 ',he hath called you4' ,in which word1 ,i suppose1 he includes the whole sum of the ,divine operations which have resulted in the placing of each of his auditors within the circle of the ,christian community as the subjects of ,christ's grace1 and not only the one definite act to which the theologians attach the name of 'calling4' ,in the briefest possible way we may put the motive thus--the inspiration of imitation is to be found in the contemplation of the gifts of ,god4 ,what ,he has said and done to me1 calling me out of my darkness and alienation and lavishing the tokens of ,his love1 the voice of ,his beseechings1 the monitions of ,his ,spirit1 the message of ,his ,son1 the ,incarnate ,word1 and invitation of ,god--all these things are included in ,his call4 ,and all of them are the reasons why1 bound by thankfulness1 overcome by his forbearance1 responding to ,his entreaties1 and glued to ,him by the strength of the hand that holds us1 and the tenacity of ,his love1 we should strive to 'walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called4' ,and not only so1 but in the thought of the ,divine calling there lies a fountain of inspiration when we remember the purpose of the calling4 ,as ,paul puts it in one of his letters3 ',god has not called us to uncleanness but to holiness4' ,that to which ,he summons1 or invites 7for you may use either word71 is holiness like ,his own4 ,that is the crown of all ,his purposes for men1 the great goal and blessed home to which ,he would lead us all4 ,and so1 if in addition to the fact of ,his 'gift and calling' and all that is included within it1 if in addition to the purpose of that calling we further think of the relation between us and ,him which results from it1 so as that we1 as the next verse says1 call ,him who hath called us1 ',our ,father1' then the motive becomes deeper and more blessed still4 ,shall we not try to be like the ,father of our spirits1 and seek for ,his grace1 to bear the likeness of sons8 ,my text speaks only of effort1 let us not forget that the truest way to be partakers of ,his holiness is to open our hearts for the entrance of the ,spirit of ,his ,son1 and possessing that--having these promises and that great fulfilment of them--then to perfect holiness in the fear and love of the ,lord4 ,,father ,,and ,,judge ',if ye call on ,him as ,father1 who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work1 pass the time of your sojourning here in fear4'--#a ,peter i4 #ag4 ',if ye call on ,him as ,father1' when ye pray1 say1 ',our ,father which art in heaven4' ,one can scarcely help supposing that the ,apostle is here1 as in several other places in his letter1 alluding to words that are stamped ineffaceably upon his memory1 because they had dropped from ,christ's lips4 ,at all events1 whether there is here a distinct allusion to what we call the ,lord's ,prayer or no1 it is here recognised as the universal characteristic of ,christian people that their prayers are addressed to ,god in the character of ,father4 ,so that we may say that there is no ,christianity which does not recognise and rejoice in appealing to the paternal relationship4 ,but1 then1 ,i suppose in ,peter's days1 as in our days1 there were people that so fell in love with one aspect of the ,divine nature that they had no eyes for any other2 and who so magnified the thought of the ,father that they forgot the thought of the ,judge4 ,that error has been committed over and over again in all ages1 so that the ,church as a whole1 one may say1 has gone swaying from one extreme to the other1 and has rent these two conceptions widely apart1 and sometimes has been foolish enough to pit them against each other instead of doing as ,peter does here1 braiding them together as both conspiring to one result1 the production in the ,christian heart of a wholesome awe4 ,if ye call on ,him as ,father 'who1 without respect of persons1 judgeth according to every man's work1 pass the time of your sojourning in fear4' ,so then1 look at this twofold aspect of ,god's character4 ,both these conceptions ought to be present1 flamingly and vividly1 burning there before him1 to every ,christian man4 ',ye call ,him ,father1' but the ,father is the ,judge4 ,true1 the ,judge is ,father1 but ,peter reminds us that whatever blessed truths may be hived in that great ,name of ,father1 to be drawn thence by devout meditation and filial love1 there is not included in it the thought of weak-minded indulgence to ,his children1 in any of their sins1 nor any unlikelihood of inflicting penal consequences on a rebellious child4 ',father' does not exclude ',judge1' 'and without respect of persons ,he judgeth4' ',without respect of persons'--the word is a somewhat unusual ,new ,testament one1 but it has special appropriateness and emphasis on ,peter's lips4 ,do you remember who it was that said1 and on what occasion he said it3 ',now ,i perceive that ,god is no respecter of persons'8 ,it was ,peter when he had learned the lesson on the housetop at ,joppa1 looking out over the ,mediterranean1 and had it enforced by ,cornelius' message4 ,the great thought that had blazed upon him as a new discovery on that never-be-forgotten occasion1 comes before him again1 and this unfamiliar word comes with it1 and he says1 'without respect of persons ,he judges4' ,mountains are elevated1 valleys are depressed and sunken1 but ,i fancy that the difference between the top of ,mount ,everest and the gorge through which the ,jordan runs would scarcely be perceptible if you were standing on the sun4 ,thus1 'without respect of persons1' great men and little1 rich men and poor1 educated men and illiterate1 people that perch themselves on their little stools and think themselves high above their fellows3 they are all on one dead level in the eye of the ,judge4 ,and this question is as to the quality of the work and not as to the dignity of the doer4 ',without respect of persons' implies universality as well as impartiality4 ,if a ,christian man has been ever so near ,god1 and then goes away from ,him1 he is judged notwithstanding his past nearness4 ,and if a poor soul1 all crusted over with his sins and leprous with the foulness of long-standing iniquity1 comes to ,god and asks for pardon1 he is judged according to his penitence1 'without respect of persons4' ,that great hand holds an even balance4 ,and though the strictness of the judicial process may have its solemn and its awful aspect1 it has also its blessed and its comforting one4 ,now1 do not run away with the notion that the ,apostle is speaking here of that great ,white ,throne and the future judgment that for many of us lies1 inoperative on our creeds1 on the other side of the great cleft of death4 ,that is a solemn thought1 but it is not ,peter's thought here4 ,if any of you can refer to the original1 you will see that even more strongly than in our ,english version1 though quite sufficiently strongly there1 the conception is brought out of a continuous ,divine judgment running along1 all through a man's life1 side by side with his work4 ,the judgment here meant is not all clotted together1 as it were1 in that final act of judgment1 leaving the previous life without it1 but it runs all through the ages1 all through each man's days4 ,i beseech you to ponder that thought1 that at each moment of each of our lives an estimate of the moral character of each of our deeds is present to the ,divine mind4 ',of course we believe that1' you say4 ',that is commonplace2 not worth talking about4' ,ah6 but because we believe it1 as of course1 we slip out of thinking about it and letting it affect our lives4 ,and what ,i desire to do for you1 dear friends1 and for myself1 is just to put emphasis on the one half of that little word 'judgeth' and ask you to take its three last letters and lay them on your minds4 ,do we feel that1 moment by moment1 these little spurs of bad temper1 these little gusts of worldliness1 that tiny1 evanescent sting of pride and devildom which has passed across or been fixed in our minds1 are all present to ,god1 and that ,he has judged them already1 in the double sense that ,he has appraised their value and estimated their bearing upon our characters1 and that ,he has set in motion some of the consequences which we shall have to reap8 ,oh6 one sometimes wishes that people did not so much believe in a future judgment1 in so far as it obscures to them the solemn thought of a present and a continuous one4 ',verily1 there is a ,god that judgeth in the earth1' and1 of course1 all these provisional decisions1 which are like the documents that in ,scotch law are said to 'precognosce the case1' are all laid away in the archives of heaven1 and will be produced1 docketed and in order1 at the last for each of us4 ,christian people sometimes abuse the doctrine of justification by faith as if it meant that ,christians at the last were not to be judged4 ,but they are1 and there is such a thing as 'salvation yet so as by fire1' and such a thing as salvation in fulness4 ,do not let filial confidence drive out legitimate fear4 ,he 'judges according to every man's work4' ,i do not think it is extravagant attention to niceties to ask you to notice that the ,apostle does not say 'works1' but 'work'2 as if all the separate actions were gathered into a great whole1 as indeed they are1 because they are all the products of one mind and character4 ,the trend and drift1 so to speak1 of our life1 rather than its isolated actions and the underlying motives1 in their solemn totality and unity1 these are the materials of this ,divine judgment4 ,now1 let me say a word about the disposition which the ,apostle enjoins upon us in the view of these facts4 ,the ,judge is the ,father1 the ,father is the ,judge4 ,the one statement proclaims the merciful1 compassionate1 paternal judgment1 the other the judicial ,fatherhood4 ,and what comes from the combination of these two ideas1 which thus modify and illuminate one another8 ',pass the time of your sojourning here in fear4' ,what a descent that sounds from the earlier verses of the letter3 ',in whom1 though now ye see ,him not1 yet believing1 ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory1 receiving the end of your faith1 even the salvation of your souls4' ,down from those heights of 'joy unspeakable1' and 'already glorified1' the apostle drops plump into this dungeon3 ',pass the time of your sojourning here in fear4' ,of course1 ,i need not remind you that the 'fear' here is not the 'fear which hath torment'2 in fact1 ,i do not think that it is a fear that refers to ,god at all4 ,it is not a sentiment or emotion of which ,god is the object4 ,it is not the reverent awe which often appears in ,scripture as 'the fear of ,god1' which is a kind of shorthand expression for all modes of devout sentiment and emotion2 but it is a fear1 knowing our own weakness and the strong temptations that are round us1 of falling into sin4 ,that is the one thing to be afraid of in this world4 ,if a man rightly understood what he is here for1 then the only thing that he would be terrified for would be that he should miss the purpose of his being here and lose his hold of ,god thereby4 ,there is nothing else worth being afraid of1 but that is worth being afraid of4 ,it is not slavish dread1 nor is it cowardice1 but the well-grounded emotion of men that know themselves too well to be confident and know the world too well to be daring and presumptuous4 ,don't you think that ,peter had had a pretty rough experience in his life that had taught him the wisdom of such an exhortation8 ,and does it not strike you as very beautiful that it should come1 of all people in the world1 from his lips8 ,the man that had said1 ',though all should forsake ,thee1 yet will not ,i4' ',why cannot ,i follow ,thee now8' ',bid me come to ,thee on the water4' ',this be far from ,thee1 ,lord1 it shall not be unto ,thee'--the man that had whipped out his sword in the garden1 in a spasm of foolish affection1 now1 in his quiet old age1 when he has learnt the lesson of failures and follies and sins and repentance1 says in effect3 ',remember me1 and do not you be presumptuous4' ',pass the time of your sojourning here in fear4' ',if ,i had known myself a little better1 and been a little more afraid of myself1 ,i should not have made such a fool of myself or such shipwreck of my faithfulness4' ,dear friends1 no mature ,christian is so advanced as that he does not need this reminder1 and no ,christian novice is so feeble as that1 keeping obedient to this precept1 he will not be victorious over all his evils4 ,the strongest needs to fear2 the weakest1 fearing1 is safe4 ,for such fearfulness is indispensable to safety4 ,it is all very well to go along with sail extended and a careless look-out4 ,but if1 for instance1 a captain keeps such when he is making the mouth of the ,red ,sea where there are a narrow channel and jagged rocks and a strong current1 if he has not every man at his quarters and everything ready to let go and stop in a moment1 he will be sure to be on the reefs before he has tried the experiment often4 ,and the only safety for any of us is ever to be on the watch1 and to dread our own weakness4 ',blessed is the man that feareth always4' ,such carefulness over conduct and heart is fully compatible with all the blessed emotions to which it seems at first antagonistic4 ,there is no discord between the phrase that ,i have quoted about 'joy unspeakable and full of glory1' and this temper1 but rather the two help one another4 ,and such blended confidence and fear are the parents of courage4 ,the man that is afraid that he will do wrong and so hurt himself and grieve his ,saviour1 is the man that will never be afraid of anything else4 ,martyrs have gone to the stake 'fearing not them that kill the body1 and after that have no more that they can do1' because they were so afraid to sin against ,god that they were not afraid to die rather than to do it4 ,and that is the temper that you and ,i should have4 ,let that one fear1 like ,moses' rod1 swallow up all the other serpents and make our hearts impervious to any other dread4 ',pass the time of your sojourning4' ,you do not live in your own country1 you are in an alien land4 ,you are passing through it4 ,troops on the march in an enemy's country1 unless they are led by an idiot1 will send out clouds of scouts in front and on the wings to give timeous warning of any attempted assault4 ,if we cheerily and carelessly go through this world as if we were marching in a land where there were no foes1 there is nothing before us but defeat at the last4 ,only let us remember that sleepless watchfulness is needed only in this time of sojourning1 and that when we get to our own country there is no need for such patrols and advance guards and rearguards and men on the flank as were essential when we were on the march4 ,people that grow exotic plants here in ,england keep them in glass houses4 ,but when they are taken to their native soil the glass would be an impertinence4 ,as long as we are here we have to wear our armour1 but when we get yonder the armour can safely be put off and the white robes that had to be tucked up under it lest they should be soiled by the muddy ways can be let down1 for they will gather no pollution from the golden streets4 ,the gates of that city do not need to be shut1 day nor night4 ,for when sin has ceased and our liability to yield to temptation has been exchanged for fixed adhesion to the ,lord ,himself1 then1 and not till then1 is it safe to put aside the armour of godly fear and to walk1 unguarded and unarmed1 in the land of perpetual peace4 ,,purifying ,,the ,,soul '444 ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the ,spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren4'--#a ,peter i4 #bb4 ,note these three subsidiary clauses introduced respectively by 'in1' 'through1' 'unto4' ,they give the means1 the ,bestower1 and the issue of the purity of soul4 ,the ,revised ,version1 following good authorities1 omits the clause1 'through the ,spirit4' ,it may possibly be originally a marginal gloss of some scribe who was nervous about ,peter's orthodoxy1 which finally found its way into the text4 ,but ,i think we shall be inclined to retain it if we notice that1 throughout this epistle1 the writer is fond of sentences on the model of the present one1 and of surrounding a principal clause with subsidiary ones introduced by a similar sequence of prepositions4 ,for instance1 in this very chapter1 to pass over other examples1 we read1 ',kept by' 7or in7 'the power of ,god through faith unto salvation4' ,so1 for my present purpose1 ,i take the doubtful words as part of the original text4 ,they unquestionably convey a true idea1 whether they are genuine here or no4 ,one more introductory remark--',ye have purified your souls'--a bold statement to make about the vast multitude of the 'dispersed' throughout all the provinces of ,asia ,minor whom the ,apostle was addressing4 ,the form of the words in the original shows that this purifying is a process which began at some definite point in the past and is being continued throughout all the time of ,christian life4 ,the hall-mark of all ,christians is a relative purity1 not of actions1 but of soul4 ,they will vary1 one from another2 the conception of what is purity of soul will change and grow1 but1 if a man is a ,christian1 there was a moment in his past at which he potentially1 and in ideal1 purified his spirit1 and that was the moment when he bowed down in obedience to the truth4 ,there are suggestions for volumes about the true conception of soul-purity in these words of my text4 ,but ,i deal with them in the simplest possible fashion1 following the guidance of these significant little words which introduce the subordinate clauses4 ,first of all1 then1 we have here the great thought that ,i4 ,soul purity is in1 or by1 obedience4 ,now1 of course1 'the truth'--truth with the definite article--is the sum of the contents of the ,revelation of ,god in ,jesus ,christ1 ,his life1 ,his death1 ,his ,glory4 ,for to ,peter1 as to us ,he should be1 ,jesus ,christ was ,truth ,incarnate4 ',in ,him were hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge4' ,the first thought that is suggested to me from this expression--obedience to the truth--is that the revelation of ,god in ,jesus ,christ is1 as its ultimate intention1 meant to be obeyed4 ,there are plenty of truths which have no influence on life and conduct1 for which all is done that they can demand when they are accepted4 ,but the truth is no inert substance like the element which recent chemical discoveries have found1 which is named 'argon1' the do-nothing3 the truth is1 as physiologists say1 a ferment4 ,it is intended to come into life1 and into character1 and into the inmost spirit of a man1 and grip them1 and mould them1 and transform them1 and animate them1 and impel them4 ,the truth is to be 'obeyed4' ,now that altogether throws over two card-castles which imperfect ,christians are very apt to build4 ,one which haunted the thoughts of an earlier generation of ,christians more than it does the present1 is that we have done all that 'the truth' asks of us when we have intellectually endorsed it4 ,and so you get churches which build their membership upon acceptance of a creed and excommunicate heretics1 whilst they keep do-nothing and uncleansed ,christians within their pale4 ,but ,god does not tell us anything that we may know4 ,he tells us in order that1 knowing1 we may be and do4 ,and right actions1 or rather a character which produces such1 is the last aim of all knowledge1 and especially of all moral and religious truth4 ,so 'the truth' is not 'argon'1 it is a ferment4 ,and if men1 steeped to the eyebrows in orthodoxy1 think that they have done enough when they have set their hands to a confession of faith1 and that they are ,christians because they can say1 'all this ,i steadfastly believe1' they need to remember that religious truth which does not mould and transform character and conduct is a king dethroned2 and for dethroned kings there is a short step between the throne from which they have descended and the scaffold on which they die4 ,but there is another--what ,i venture to call a card-castle1 which more of us build in these days of indifference as to creed--and that is that a great many of us are too much disposed to believe that 'the truth as it is in ,jesus' has received from us all which it expects when we trust to it for what we call our 'salvation1' meaning thereby forgiveness of sins and immunity from punishment4 ,these are elements of salvation unquestionably1 but they are only part of it4 ,and the very truths on which ,christian people rest for this initial salvation1 which is forgiveness and acceptance1 are meant to be the guides of our lives and the patterns for our imitation4 ,why1 in this very letter1 in reference to the very parts of ,christ's work1 on which faith is wont to rest for salvation1--the death on the ,cross to which we say that we trust1 and which we are so accustomed to exalt as a unique and inimitable work that cannot be reproduced and needs no repetition1 world without end--,peter has no hesitation in saying that ,christ was our ',pattern1' and that1 even when ,he went to the ,cross1 ,he died 'leaving us an example that we should follow in ,his steps4' ,so1 brethren1 the truth needs to be known and believed3 the truth needs not only to be believed but to be trusted in2 the truth needs not only to be believed and to be trusted in1 but to be obeyed4 ,still further1 another thought following upon and to some extent modifying the preceding one1 is suggested here1 and that is that the faith1 which ,i have just been saying is sometimes mistakenly regarded as being all that truth calls for from us1 is itself obedience4 ,as ,i have said1 the language in the original here implies that there was a given definite moment in the past when these dispersed strangers obeyed1 and1 by obeying the truth1 purified their souls4 ,what was that moment8 ,some people would say the moment when the rite of baptism was administered4 ,i would say the moment when they bowed themselves in joyful acceptance of the great ,word and put out a firm hand of faith to grasp ,jesus ,christ4 ,that is obedience4 ,for1 in the very act of thus trusting1 there is self-surrender1 is there not8 ,does not a man depart from himself and bow himself humbly before his ,saviour when he puts his trust in ,him8 ,is not the very essence of obedience1 not the mere external act1 but the melting of the will to flow in such directions as ,his master-impulse may guide it8 ,thus1 faith in its depth is obedience2 and the moment when a man believes1 in the deepest sense of the word1 that moment1 in the deepest realities of his spirit1 he becomes obedient to the will and to the love of his ,saviour ,lord1 ,who is the ,truth as ,he is the ,way and the ,life4 ,we find1 not only in this ,epistle1 but throughout the ,epistles1 that the two words 'disobedience' and 'unbelief1' are used as equivalents4 ,we read1 for instance1 of those that 'stumble at the word1 being disobedient1' and the like4 ,so1 then1 faith is obedience in its depth1 and1 if our faith has any vitality in it1 it carries in it the essence of all submission4 ,but then1 further1 my text implies that the faith which is1 in its depth1 obedience1 in its practical issues will produce the practical obedience which the text enjoins4 ,it is no mere piece of theological legerdemain which counts that faith is righteousness4 ,but1 just as all sin comes from selfishness1 so1 and therefore1 all righteousness will flow from giving up self1 from decentralising1 as it were1 our souls from their old centre1 self1 and taking a new centre1 ,god in ,christ4 ,thus the germ of all practical obedience lies in vital faith4 ,it is1 if ,i might so say1 the mother-tincture which1 variously combined1 coloured1 and perfumed1 makes all the precious things1 the virtues and graces of humanity1 which the believing soul pours out as a libation before its ,god4 ,it is the productive energy of all practical goodness4 ,it is the bottom heat in the greenhouse which makes all the plants grow and flourish4 ,faith is obedience1 and faith produces obedience4 ,does my faith produce obedience8 ,if it does not1 it is not faith4 ,then1 with regard to this first part of my subject1 comes the final thought that practical obedience works inwards as well as outwards1 and purifies the soul which renders it4 ,people generally turn that round the other way1 and1 instead of saying that to do right helps to make a man right within1 they say 'make the tree good1 and its fruit good'--first the pure soul1 and then the practical obedience4 ,both statements are true4 ,for every act that a man does reacts upon the doer1 just as1 whether the shot hits the target or not1 the gun kicks back on the shoulder of the man that fired it4 ,conduct comes from character1 but conduct works back upon character1 and character is largely the deposit from the vanished seas of actions4 ,so1 then1 whilst the deepest thought is1 be good and you will do good1 it is not to be forgotten that the other side is true--do good1 and it will tend to make you good4 ,obedience purifies the soul1 while1 on the other hand1 a man that lives ill comes to think as he lives1 and to become tenfold more a child of evil4 ',the dyer's hand is subdued to what it works in4' ',ye have purified your souls1' ideally1 in the act of faith1 and continuously1 in the measure in which you practically obey the truth4 ,we have here ,,ii4 ,purifying through the ,spirit4 ,i have already said that these words are possibly no part of the original text1 but that they convey a true ,christian idea1 whether the words are here genuine or no4 ,i need not enlarge upon this part of my subject at any length4 ,let me just remind you how the other verse in this chapter1 to which ,i have already referred as cast in the same mould as our text1 covers1 from a different point of view1 the same ground exactly as our text4 ,here there is put first the human element3 ',ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth1' and secondly the ,divine element2 'through the ,spirit4' ,the human part is put in the foreground1 and ,god's part comes in1 ,i was going to say1 subordinately1 as a condition4 ,the reverse is the case in the other text1 which runs3 ',kept in the power of ,god through faith'--where the ,divine element is in the foreground1 as being the true cause1 and the human dwindles to being merely a condition--',kept by' 7or in7 'the power of ,god through faith4' ,both views are true2 you may take the vase by either handle4 ,when the purpose is to stimulate to action1 man's part is put in the foreground and ,god's part secondarily4 ,when the purpose is to stimulate to confidence1 ,god's part is put in the foreground and the man's is secondary4 ,the two interlock1 and neither is sufficient without the other4 ,the true ,agent of all purifying is that ,divine ,spirit4 ,i have said that the moment of true trust is the moment of initial obedience1 and of the beginning of purity4 ,and it is so because1 in that moment of initial faith1 there enters into the heart the communicated ,divine life of the ,spirit1 which thenceforward is lodged there1 except it be quenched by the man's negligence or sin4 ,thence1 from that germ implanted in the moment of faith1 the germ of a new life1 there issue forth to ultimate dominion in the spirit1 the powers of that ,divine ,spirit which make for righteousness and transform the character4 ,thus1 the true cause and origin of all ,christian nobility and purity of character and conduct lies in that which enters the heart at the moment that the heart is opened for the coming of the ,lord4 ,but1 on the other hand1 this ,divine ,spirit1 the ,source of all purity1 will not purify the soul without the man's efforts4 ',ye have purified your souls4' ,you need the ,spirit indeed4 ,but you are not mere passive recipients4 ,you are to be active co-operators4 ,in this region1 too1 we are 'labourers together with ,god4' ,we cannot of ourselves do the work1 for the very powers with which we do it1 or try to do it1 are themselves in need of cleansing4 ,and for a man to try to purify the soul by his own effort alone is to play the part of the sluttish house-wife who would seek to wipe a dish clean with a dirty cloth4 ,you need the ,divine ,spirit to work in you1 and you need to use1 by your own effort1 the ,divine ,spirit that does work in you4 ,he is as 'rushing1 mighty wind'2 but1 unless the sails are set and the helm gripped1 the wind will pass the boat and leave it motionless4 ,he is ,divine fire that burns up the dross and foulness2 but1 unless we 'guard the holy fire' and feed it1 it dies down into grey cold ashes4 ,he is the water of life2 but1 unless we dig and take heed to keep clear the channels1 no refreshing will permeate to the roots of the wilting flowers1 and there will be dryness1 thirst1 and barrenness1 even on the river's banks4 ,so1 brethren1 neither ,god alone nor man alone can purify the soul4 ,we need ,him1 else we shall labour in vain4 ,he needs us1 else ,he will bestow ,his gift1 and we shall receive 'the grace of ,god in vain4' ,lastly1 we have here-- ,,iii4 ,purifying 444 unto 444 love4 ,the ,apostle was speaking to men of very diverse nationalities who had been rent asunder by deep gulfs of mutual suspicion and conflicting interests and warring creeds1 and a great mysterious1 and1 as it would seem to the world then1 utterly inexplicable bond of unity had been evolved amongst them1 and ,greek and barbarian1 bond and free1 male and female1 had come together in amity4 ,the 'love of the brethren' was the creation of ,christianity1 and was the outstanding fact which1 more than any other1 amazed the beholders in these early days4 ,god be thanked6 there are signs in our generation of a closer drawing together of ,christian people than many past ages1 alas1 have seen4 ,but my text suggests solemn and great thoughts with regard to ,christian love and unity4 ,the road to unity lies through purity1 and the road to purity lies through obedience4 ,yes2 what keeps ,christian people apart is their impurities4 ,it is not their creeds4 ,it is not any of the differences that appear to separate them4 ,it is because they are not better men and women4 ,globules of quicksilver will run together and make one mass2 but not if you dust them over4 ,and it is the impurities on the quicksilver that keep us from coalescing4 ,so then we have to school ourselves into greater conformity to the likeness of our ,master1 to conquer selfishness1 and to purify our souls1 or else all this talk about ,christian unity is no better than sounding brass1 and more discordant than tinkling cymbals4 ,let us learn the lesson4 ',the unfeigned love of the brethren' is not such an easy thing as some people fancy1 and it is not to be attained at all on the road by which some people would seek it4 ,cleanse yourselves1 and you will flow together4 ,here1 then1 we have ,peter's conception of a pure soul and a pure life4 ,it is a stately building1 based deep on the broad foundation of the truth as it is in ,jesus2 its walls rising1 but not without our effort1 being builded together for a habitation of ,god through the ,spirit1 and having as the shining apex of its heaven-pointing spire 'unfeigned love to the brethren4' ,the measure of our obedience is the measure of our purity4 ,the measure of our purity is the measure of our brotherly love4 ,but that love1 though it is the very aim and natural issue of purity1 still will not be realised without effort on our part4 ,therefore my text1 after its exhibition of the process and issues of the purifying which began with faith1 glides into the exhortation3 ',see that ye love one another with a pure heart'--a heart purified by obedience--and that 'fervently4' ,,living ,,stones ,,on ,,the ,,living ,,foundation ,,stone ',to ,whom coming1 as unto a living stone 444 ye also1 as living stones1 are built up4'--#a ,peter ii4 #d1 #e4 ,i wonder whether ,peter1 when he wrote these words1 was thinking about what ,jesus ,christ said to him long ago1 up there at ,csarea ,philippi4 ,he had heard from ,christ's lips1 ',thou art ,peter1 and on this rock ,i will build ,my ,church4' ,he had understood very little of what it meant then4 ,he is an old man now1 years of experience and sorrow and work have taught him the meaning of the words1 and he understands them a great deal better than his so-called successors have done4 ,for we may surely take the text as the ,apostle's own disclaimer of that which the ,roman ,catholic ,church has founded on it1 and has blazoned it1 in gigantic letters round the dome of ,st4 ,peter's1 as meaning4 ,it is surely legitimate to hear him saying in these words3 ',make no mistake1 it is ,jesus ,himself on whom the ,church is built4 ,the confession of ,him which the ,father in heaven revealed to me1 not ,i1 the poor sinner who confessed it--the ,christ whom that confession set forth1 ,he is the foundation stone1 and all of you are called and honoured to ring out the same confession4 ,jesus is the one ,foundation1 and we all1 apostles and humble believers1 are but stones builded on ,him4' ,peter's relation to ,jesus is fundamentally the same as that of every poor soul that 'comes to' ,him4 ,now1 there are two or three thoughts that may very well be suggested from these words1 and the first of them is this3-- ,i4 ,those that are in ,christ have perpetually to make the effort to come nearer ,christ4 ,remember that the persons to whom the ,apostle is speaking are no strangers to the ,saviour4 ,they have been professing ,christians from of old4 ,they have made very considerable progress in the ,divine life2 they are near ,jesus ,christ2 and yet ,peter says to them1 ',you can get nearer if you try1' and it is your one task and one hope1 the condition of all blessedness1 peace1 and joy in your religious life that you should perpetually be making the effort to come closer1 and to keep closer1 to the ,lord1 by whom you say that you live4 ,what is it to come to ,him8 ,the context explains the figurative expression1 in the very next verse or two1 by another and simpler word1 which strips away the figure and gives us the plain fact--'in ,whom believing4' ,the act of the soul by which ,i1 with all my weakness and sin1 cast myself on ,jesus ,christ1 and grapple ,him to my heart1 and bind myself with ,his strength and righteousness--that is what the ,apostle means here4 ,or1 to put it into other words1 this 'coming1' which is here laid as the basis of everything1 of all ,christian prosperity and progress for the individual and for the community1 is the movement towards ,christ of the whole spiritual nature of a man--thoughts1 loves1 wishes1 purposes1 desires1 hopes1 will4 ,and we come near to ,him when day by day we realise ,his nearness to us1 when our thoughts are often occupied with ,him1 bring ,his peace and ,himself to bear as a motive upon our conduct1 let our love reach out its tendrils towards1 and grasp1 and twine round ,him1 bow our wills to ,his commandment1 and in everything obey ,him4 ,the distance between heaven and earth does part us1 but the distance between a thoughtless mind1 an unrenewed heart1 a rebellious will1 and ,him1 sets between ,him and us a greater gulf1 and we have to bridge that by continual honest efforts to keep our wayward thoughts true to ,him and near ,him1 and to regulate our affections that they may not1 like runaway stars1 carry us far from the path1 and to bow our stubborn and self-regulating wills beneath ,his supreme commandment1 and so to make all things a means of coming nearer the ,lord with whom is our true home4 ,christian men1 there are none of us so close to ,him but that we may be nearer1 and the secret of our daily ,christian life is all wrapped up in that one word which is scarcely to be called a figure1 'coming' unto ,him4 ,that nearness is what we are to make daily efforts after1 and that nearness is capable of indefinite increase4 ,we know not how close to ,his heart we can lay our aching heads4 ,we know not how near to ,his fulness we may bring our emptiness4 ,we have never yet reached the point beyond which no closer union is possible4 ,there has always been a film--and1 alas6 sometimes a gulf--between ,him and us1 ,his professing servants4 ,let us see to it that the conscious distance diminishes every day1 and that we feel ourselves more and more constantly near the ,lord and intertwined with ,him4 ,,ii4 ,those who come near ,christ will become like ,christ4 ',to ,whom coming1 as unto a living stone1 ye also as living stones4' ,note the verbal identity of the expressions with which ,peter describes the ,master and ,his servants4 ,christ is the ,stone--that is ,peter's interpretation of 'on this rock will ,i build ,my ,church4' ,there is a reference1 too1 no doubt1 to the many ,old ,testament prophecies which are all gathered up in that saying of our ,lord's4 ,probably both ,jesus and ,peter had in mind ,isaiah's 'stone of stumbling1' which was also a 'sure corner-stone1 and a tried foundation4' ,and words in the context which ,i have not taken for consideration1 'disallowed indeed of men1 but chosen of ,god and precious1' plainly rest upon the #aahth ,psalm1 which speaks of 'the stone which the builders rejected' becoming 'the head of the corner4' ,but1 says ,peter1 ,he is not only the foundation ,stone1 the corner ,stone1 but a living ,stone1 and he does not only use that word to show us that he is indulging in a metaphor1 and that we are to think of a person and not of a thing1 but in the sense that ,christ is eminently and emphatically the living ,one1 the ,source of life4 ,but1 when he turns to the disciples1 he speaks to them in exactly the same language4 ,they1 too1 are 'living stones1' because they come to the ',stone' that is 'living4' ,take away the metaphor1 and what does this identity of description come to8 ,just this1 that if we draw near to ,jesus ,christ1 life from ,him will pass into our hearts and minds1 which life will show itself in kindred fashion to what it wore in ,jesus ,christ1 and will shape us into the likeness of ,him from whom we draw our life1 because to ,him we have come4 ,i may remind you that there is scarcely a single name by which the ,new ,testament calls ,jesus ,christ which ,jesus ,christ does not share with us ,his younger brethren4 ,by that ,son we 'receive the adoption of sons4' ,is ,he the ,light of the world8 ,we are lights of the world4 ,and if you look at the words of my text1 you will see that the offices which are attributed to ,christ in the ,new ,testament are gathered up in those which the ,apostle here ascribes to ,christ's servants4 ,jesus ,christ in ,his manhood was the ,temple of ,god4 ,jesus ,christ in ,his manhood was the ,priest for humanity4 ,jesus ,christ in ,his manhood was the sacrifice for the world's sins4 ,and what does ,peter say here8 ',ye are built up a spiritual house1 a holy priesthood1 to offer up spiritual sacrifices4' ,you draw life from ,jesus ,christ if you keep close to ,him1 and that life makes you1 in derived and subordinate fashion1 but in a very real and profound sense1 what ,jesus ,christ was in the world4 ,the whole blessedness and secret of the gifts which our ,lord comes to bestow upon men may be summed up in that one thought1 which is metaphorically and picturesquely set forth in the language of my text1 and which ,i put into plainer and more prosaic ,english when ,i say--they that come near ,christ become as ,christ4 ,as 'living stones' they1 too1 share in the life which flows from ,him4 ,touch ,him1 and ,his quick ,spirit passes into our hearts4 ,rest upon that foundation-stone and up from it1 if ,i may so say1 there is drawn1 by strange capillary attraction1 all the graces and powers of the ,saviour's own life4 ,the building which is reared upon the ,foundation is cemented to the ,foundation by the communication of the life itself1 and1 coming to the living ,rock1 we1 too1 become alive4 ,let us keep ourselves near to ,him1 for1 disconnected1 the wire cannot carry the current1 and is only a bit of copper1 with no virtue in it1 no power4 ,attach it once more to the battery and the mysterious energy flashes through it immediately4 ',to ,whom coming1' because ,he lives1 'ye shall live also4' ,,iii4 ,lastly3 ,they who become like ,christ because they are near ,him1 thereby grow together4 ',to whom coming1 as unto a living stone1 ye also1 as living stones1 are built up4' ,that building up means not only the growth of individual graces in the ,christian character1 the building up in each single soul of more and more perfect resemblance to the ,saviour1 but from the context it rather refers to the welding together1 into a true and blessed unity1 of all those that partake of that common life4 ,now1 it is very beautiful to remember1 in this connection1 to whom this letter was written4 ,the first words of it are3 ',to the strangers scattered abroad throughout1' etc4 etc4 ,all over ,asia ,minor1 hundreds of miles apart1 here one there another little group1 were these isolated believers1 the scattered stones of a great building4 ,but ,peter shows them the way to a true unity1 notwithstanding their separation4 ,he says to them in effect3 ',you up in ,bithynia1 and you others away down there on the southern coast1 though you never saw one another1 though you are separated by mountain ranges and weary leagues2 though you1 if you met one another1 perhaps could not understand what you each were saying1 if you come unto the living ,stone1 ye as living stones are built up into one4' ,there is a great unity into which all they are gathered who1 separated by whatever surface distinctions1 yet1 deep down at the bottom of their better lives1 are united to ,jesus ,christ4 ,but there may be another lesson here for us1 and that is1 that the true and only secret of the prosperity and blessedness and growth of a so-called ,christian congregation is the individual faithfulness of its members1 and their personal approximation of ,jesus ,christ4 ,if we here1 knit together as we are nominally for ,christian worship1 and by faith in that dear ,lord1 are true to our profession and our vocation1 and keep ourselves near our ,master1 then we shall be built up2 and if we do not1 we shall not4 ,so1 dear friends1 all comes to this3 ,there is the ,stone laid2 it does not matter how close we are lying to it1 it will be nothing to us unless we are on it4 ,and ,i put it to each of you4 ,are you built on the ,foundation1 and from the ,foundation do you derive a life which is daily bringing you nearer to ,him1 and making you liker ,him8 ,all blessedness depends1 for time and for eternity1 on the answer to that question4 ,for remember that1 since that living ,stone is laid1 it is something to you4 ,either it is the ,rock on which you build1 or the ,stone against which you stumble and are broken4 ,no man1 in a country evangelised like ,england--,i do not say ,christian1 but evangelised--can say that ,jesus ,christ has no relation to1 or effect upon1 him4 ,and certainly no people that listen to ,christian preaching1 and know ,christian truth as fully and as much as you do1 can say it4 ,he is the ,foundation on which we can rear a noble1 stable life1 if we build upon ,him4 ,if ,he is not the ,foundation on which ,i build1 ,he is the ,stone on which ,i shall be broken4 ,,spiritual ,,sacrifices '444 ,spiritual sacrifices1 acceptable to ,god by ,jesus ,christ4'--#a ,peter ii4 #e4 ,in this verse ,peter piles up his metaphors in a fine profusion1 perfectly careless of oratorical elegance or propriety4 ,he gathers together three symbols1 drawn from ancient sacrificial worship1 and applies them all to ,christian people4 ,in the one breath they are 'temples1' in the next 'priests1' in the third 'sacrifices4' ,all the three are needed to body out the whole truth of the relationship of the perfect universal religion--which is ,christianity--to the fragmentary and symbolical religion of ancient time4 ,christians individually and collectively are temples1 inasmuch as they are 'the habitation of ,god through the ,spirit4' ,they are priests by virtue of their consecration1 their direct access to ,god1 their function of representing ,god to men1 and of bringing men to ,god4 ,they are sacrifices1 inasmuch as one main part of their priestly function is to offer themselves to ,god4 ,now1 it is very difficult for us to realise what an extraordinary anomaly the ,christian faith presented at its origin1 surrounded by religions which had nothing to do with morality1 conduct1 or spiritual life1 but were purely ritualistic4 ,and here1 in the midst of them1 started up a religion bare and bald1 and with no appeal to sense1 no temple1 no altar1 no sacrifice4 ,but the ,apostles with one accord declare that they had all these things in far higher form than those faiths possessed them1 which had only the outward appearance4 ,now1 this conception of the sacrificial element in the ,christian life runs through the whole ,new ,testament1 and is applied there in a very remarkable variety of forms4 ,i have taken the words of my text1 not so much to discourse upon them especially4 ,my object now is rather to gather together the various references to the ,christian life as essentially sacrificial1 and to trace the various applications which that idea receives in the ,new ,testament4 ,there are four classes of these1 to which ,i desire especially to refer4 ,i4 ,there is the living sacrifice of the body4 ',i beseech you1 by the mercies of ,god1 that ye present'--which is a technical word for a priest's action--'your bodies a living sacrifice1' in contrast with the slaying1 which was the presentation of the animal victim4 ,now1 that 'body' there is not equivalent to self is distinctly seen when we notice that ,paul goes on1 in the very next clause1 to say1 'and be transformed by the renewing of your mind4' ,so that he is speaking1 not of the self1 but of the corporeal organ and instrument of the self1 when he says 'present your bodies a living sacrifice4' ,of course1 the central idea of sacrifice is surrender to ,god2 and1 of course1 the place where that surrender is made is the inmost self4 ,the will is the man1 and when the will bows1 dethroning self and enthroning ,god1 submitting to ,his appointments1 and delighting to execute ,his commandments1 then the sacrifice is begun4 ,but1 inasmuch as the body is the organ of the man's activity1 the sacrifice of the will and of self must needs come out into visibility and actuality in the aggregate of deeds1 of which the body is the organ and instrument4 ,but there must first of all be the surrender of my inmost self1 and only then1 and as the token and outcome of that1 will any external acts1 however religious they may seem to be1 come into the category of sacrifice when they express a conscious surrender of myself to ,god4 ',the flesh profiteth nothing1' and yet the flesh profiteth much4 ,but here is the order that another of the ,apostles lays down3 ',yield yourselves to ,god1' and then1 'your members as instruments of righteousness to ,him4' ,to speak of the sacrifice of the body as a living sacrifice suggests that it is not the slaying of any bodily appetite or activity that is the true sacrifice and worship1 but the hallowing of these4 ,it is a great deal easier1 and it is sometimes necessary1 to cut off the offending right hand1 to pluck out the offending right eye1 or1 putting away the metaphor1 to abstain rigidly from forms of activity which are perfectly legitimate in themselves1 and may be innocuous to other people1 if we find that they hurt us4 ,but that is second best1 and though it is better in the judgment of common sense to go into life maimed than complete to be cast into hell-fire1 it is better still to go into life symmetrical and entire1 with no maiming in hand or organ4 ,so you do not offer the living sacrifice of the body when you annihilate1 but when you suppress1 and direct1 and hallow its needs1 its appetites1 and its activities4 ,the meaning of this sacrifice is that the whole active life should be based upon1 and be the outcome of1 the inward surrender of self unto ,god4 ',on the bells of the horses shall be written1 ,holiness to the ,lord1 and every pot and vessel in ,jerusalem shall be holy as the bowls upon the altar'--in such picturesque and yet profound fashion did an ancient prophet set forth the same truth that lies in this declaration of our ,apostle1 that the body1 the instrument of our activities1 should be a living sacrifice to ,god4 ,link all its actions with ,him2 let there be conscious reference to ,him in all that ,i do4 ,let foot and hand and eye and brain work for ,him1 and by ,him1 and in constant consciousness of ,his presence2 suppress where necessary1 direct always1 appetites and passions1 and make the body the instrument of the surrendered spirit4 ,and then1 in the measure in which we can do so1 the greatest cleft and discord in human life will be filled1 and body1 soul1 and spirit will harmonise and make one music of praise to ,god4 ,ah6 brethren1 these bad principles have teeth to bite very close into our daily lives4 ,how many of us1 young and old1 have 'fleshly lusts which war against the soul'8 ,how many of you young men have no heart for higher1 purer1 nobler things1 because the animal in you is strong6 ,how many of you find that the day's activities blunt you to ,god6 ,how many of us are weakened still under that great antagonism of the flesh lusting against the spirit1 so that we cannot do the things that we would6 ,sensuality1 indulgence in animal propensities1 yielding to the clamant voices of the beast that is within us--these things wreck many a soul2 and some of those that are listening to me now4 ,let the man govern and coerce the animal1 and let ,god govern the man4 ',i beseech you that you yield your bodies a living sacrifice4' ,,ii4 ,there is the sacrifice of praise4 ,of course1 logically and properly1 this1 and all the others that ,i am going to speak about1 are included within that to which ,i have already directed attention4 ,but still they are dealt with separately in ,scripture1 and ,i follow the guidance4 ,we read in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews3 ',by ,him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise unto ,god continually--that is1 the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto ,his name4' ,there1 then1 is another of the regions into which the notion of sacrifice as the very essence of ,christian life is to be carried4 ,there is nothing more remarkable in ,scripture than the solemn importance that it attaches to what so many people think so little about1 and that is words4 ,it even sometimes seems to take them as being more truly the outcome and revelation of a man's character than his deeds are4 ,and that is true1 in some respects4 ,but at all events there is set forth1 ever running all through the ,scripture1 that thought1 that one of the best sacrifices that men can make to ,god is to render up the tribute of their praise4 ,in the great psalm which lays down with clearness never surpassed in the ,new ,testament the principles of true ,christian worship1 this is declared3 ',whoso offereth praise glorifieth ,me4' ,the true offering is not the slaying of animals or the presentation of any material things1 but the utterance of hearts welling up thankfulness4 ,in the ancient ritual there stood within the ,holy place1 and after the altar of burnt-offering had been passed1 three symbols of the relation of the redeemed soul to ,god4 ,there was the great candlestick1 which proclaimed ',ye are the light of the world4' ,there was the table on which the so-called shewbread was laid1 and in the midst there was the altar of incense1 on which1 day by day1 morning and evening1 there was kindled the fragrant offering which curled up in wreaths of blue smoke aspiring towards the heavens4 ,it lay smouldering all through the day1 and was quickened into flame morning and evening4 ,that is a symbol representing what the ,christian life ought to be--a continual thank-offering of the incense of prayer and praise4 ,nor that only1 brethren1 but also there is another shape in which our words should be sacrifices1 and that is in the way of direct utterances to men1 as well as of thanksgiving to ,god4 ,what a shame it is1 and what a confession of imperfect1 partial redemption and regeneration on the part of professing ,christians it is1 that there are thousands of us who never1 all our lives1 have felt the impulse or necessity of giving utterance to our ,christian convictions6 ,you can talk about anything else2 you are tongue-tied about your religion4 ,why is that8 ,you can make speeches upon political platforms1 or you can discourse on many subjects that interest you4 ,you never speak a word to anybody about the ,master that you say you serve4 ,why is that8 ',what is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh4' ,what is deep in the heart sometimes lies there unuttered1 but more often demands expression4 ,i venture to think that if your ,christianity was deeper1 it would not be so dumb4 ,you strengthen your convictions by speech4 ,a man's belief in anything grows incalculably by the very fact of proclaiming it4 ,and there is no surer way to lose moral and spiritual convictions than to huddle them up in the secret chambers of our hearts4 ,it is like a man carrying a bit of ice in his palm4 ,he locks his fingers over it1 and when he opens them it has all run out and gone4 ,if you want to deepen your ,christianity1 declare it4 ,if you would have your hearts more full of gratitude1 speak your praise4 ,there used to be in certain religious houses a single figure kneeling on the altar-steps1 by day and by night1 ever uttering forth with unremitting voice1 the psalm of praise4 ,that perpetual adoration in spirit1 if not in form1 ought to be ours4 ,the fruit of the lips should continually be offered4 ,literally1 of course1 there cannot be that unbroken and exclusive utterance of thanksgiving4 ,there are many other things that men have to talk about2 but through all the utterances there ought to spread the aroma--like some fragrance diffused through the else scentless air from some unseen source of sweetness--of that name to which the life is one long thanksgiving4 ,,iii4 ,there is the sacrifice of help to men4 ,the same passage in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 to which ,i have already referred1 goes on to bracket together the sacrifice of praise and of deeds4 ,it continues thus3--',but to do good and to communicate forget not4' ,again ,i say1 logically this comes under the first division4 ,but still it may be treated separately1 and it just carries this thought--your praying and singing praises are worse than useless unless you go out into the world an embodiment and an imitation of the love which you hymn4 ,true philanthropy has its roots in true religion4 ,the service of man is the service of ,god4 ,that principle cuts two ways4 ,it comes as a sharp test of their prayers and psalm-singing to emotional ,christians1 who are always able to gush in words of thankfulness1 and it confronts them with the question1 ,what do you do for your brother8 ,that is a question that comes very close to us all4 ,do not talk about being the priests of the ,most ,high ,god unless you are doing the priestly office of representing ,god to men1 and carrying to them the blessings that they need4 ,your service to ,god is worthless unless it is followed by diligent1 fraternal1 wise1 self-sacrificing service for men4 ,the same principle points in another direction4 ,if1 on the one hand1 it crushes as hypocrisy a religion of talk1 on the other hand it declares as baseless a philanthropy which has no reference to ,god4 ,and whilst ,i know that there are many men who1 following the dictates of their hearts1 and apart altogether from any reference to higher religious sanctions1 do exercise pity and compassion and help1 ,i believe that for the basing of a lasting1 wide1 wise benevolence1 there is nothing solid and broad except ,christ and ,him crucified1 and the consciousness of having been--sinful and needy as we are--received and blessed by ,him4 ,let the philanthropists learn that the surrender of self1 and the fruit of the lips giving thanks to ,his name1 must precede the highest kind of beneficence4 ,let the ,christian learn that benevolence is the garb in which religion is dressed4 ',true worship and undefiled 444 is this1 to visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction4' ,morality is the dress of ,religion2 ,religion is the body of ,morality4 ,,iv4 ,lastly1 there is the sacrifice of death4 ',i am ready to be offered1' says the ,apostle--to be poured out1 as a libation4 ,and again1 ',if ,i be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith1 ,i rejoice with you all4' ,and so may ',death the endless mercies seal1 ,and make the sacrifice complete4' ,it may become not a reluctant being dragged out of life whilst we cling to it with both our hands4 ,it may be not a reluctant yielding to necessity1 but a religious act1 in which a man resignedly and trustfully and gratefully yields himself to ,god2 and says1 ',father6 into ,thy hands ,i commit my spirit4' ,ah6 brethren1 is not that a better way to die than to be like some poor wretch in a stream1 that clutches at some unfixed support on the bank1 and is whirled away down1 fiercely resisting and helpless8 ,we may thus make our last act an act of devotion1 and go within the veil as priests bearing in our hands the last of our sacrifices4 ,the sacrifice of death will only be offered when a life of sacrifice has preceded it4 ,and if you and ,i1 moved by the mercies of ,god1 yield ourselves living sacrifices1 using our lips for ,his praise and our possessions for man's help1 then we may die as the ,apostle expected to do1 and feel that by ,christ ,jesus even death becomes 'an odour of a sweet smell1 a sacrifice acceptable1 well-pleasing unto ,god4' ,,mirrors ,,of ,,god '444 ,that ye should show forth the praises of ,him who hath called you out of darkness 444'--#a ,peter ii4 #i4 ,the ,revised ,version1 instead of 'praises1' reads excellencies--and even that is but a feeble translation of the remarkable word here employed4 ,for it is that usually rendered 'virtues'2 and by the word1 of course1 when applied to ,god1 we mean the radiant excellencies and glories of ,his character1 of which our earthly qualities1 designated by the same name1 are but as shadows4 ,it is1 indeed1 true that this same expression is employed in the ,greek version of the ,old ,testament in ,isaiah xliii4 in a verse which evidently was floating before ,peter's mind4 ',this people have ,i formed for ,myself2 they shall show forth ,my praise4' ,but even while that is admitted1 it is to be observed that the expression here does not merely mean that the audible praise of ,god should be upon the lips of ,christian people1 but that their whole lives should1 in a far deeper sense than that1 be the manifestation of what the ,apostle here calls 'excellencies of ,god4' ,i4 ,here we get a wonderful glimpse into the heart of ,god4 ,note the preceding words1 in which the writer describes all ,god's mercies to ,his people1 making them 'a chosen generation1 a royal priesthood1 a holy nation'2 a people ',his own possession4' ,all that is done for one specific purpose--'that ye should show forth the praises of ,him who hath called you out of darkness4' ,that is to say1 the very aim of all ,god's gracious manifestations of ,himself is that the men who apprehend them should go forth into the world and show ,him for what ,he is4 ,now that aim may be1 and often has been1 put so as to present an utterly hard and horrible notion4 ,that ,god's glory is ,his only motive may be so stated as to mean nearly an ,almighty ,selfishness1 which is far liker the devil than ,god4 ,people in old days did not always recognise the danger that lay in such a representation of what we call ,god's motive for action4 ,but if you think for a moment about this statement1 all that appears hard and repellent drops clean away from it1 and it turns out to be another way of saying1 ',god is ,love4' ,because1 what is there more characteristic of love than an earnest desire to communicate itself and to be manifested and beheld8 ,and what is it that ,god reveals to the world for ,his own glory but the loftiest and most wondrous compassion1 that cannot be wearied out1 that cannot be provoked1 and the most forgiving ,omnipotence1 that1 in answer to all men's wanderings and rebellions1 only seeks to draw them to itself8 ,that is what ,god wants to be known for4 ,is that hard and repellent8 ,does that make ,him a great tyrant1 who only wants to be abjectly worshipped8 ,no2 it makes ,him the very embodiment and perfection of the purest love4 ,why does ,he desire that ,he should be known8 for any good that it does to ,him8 ,no2 except the good that even ,his creatures can do to ,him when they gladden ,his paternal heart by recognising ,him for what ,he is1 the ,infinite ,lover of all souls4 ,but the reason why ,he desires1 most of all1 that the light of ,his character may pour into every heart is because ,he would have every heart gladdened and blessed for ever by that received and believed light4 ,so the hard saying that ,god's own glory is ,his supreme end melts into ',god is ,love4' ,the ,infinite desires to communicate ,himself1 that by the communication men may be blessed4 ,,ii4 ,there is another thing here1 and that is1 a wonderful glimpse of what ,christian people are in the world for4 ',this people have ,i formed for ,myself1' says the fundamental passage in ,isaiah already referred to1 'they shall show forth ,my praise4' ,it was not worth while forming them except for that4 ,it was still less worth while redeeming them except for that4 ,but you may say1 ',i am saved in order that ,i may enjoy all the blessings of salvation1 immunities from fear and punishment1 and the like4' ,yes6 ,certainly6 ,but is that all8 ,or is it the main thing8 ,i think not4 ,there is not a creature in ,god's universe so tiny1 even although you cannot see it with a microscope1 but that it has a claim on ,him that made it for its well-being4 ,that is very certain4 ,and so my salvation--with all the blessedness for me that lies wrapped up and hived in that great word--my salvation is an adequate end with ,god1 in all ,his dealing1 and especially in ,his sending of ,jesus ,christ4 ,but there is not a creature in the whole universe1 though he were mightier than the archangels that stand nearest ,god's throne1 who is so great and independent that his happiness and well-being is the sole aim of ,god's gifts to him4 ,for every one of us the ,apostle means the word1 ',no man liveth to himself'--he could not if he were to try--'and no man dieth to himself4' ,every man that receives anything from ,god is thereby made a steward to impart it to others4 ,so we may say--and ,i speak now to you who profess to be ,christians--'you were not saved for your own sakes4' ,one might almost say that that was a by-end4 ,you were saved--shall ,i say8--for ,god's sake2 and you were saved for man's sake8 ,just as when you put a bit of leaven into a lump of dough1 each grain of the lump1 as it is leavened and transformed1 becomes the medium for passing on the mysterious transforming influence to the particle beyond1 so every one of us1 if we have been brought out of darkness into marvellous light1 have been so brought1 not only that we may recreate and bathe our own eyes in the flooding sunshine1 but that we may turn to our brothers and ask them to come too out of the doleful night into the cheerful1 gladsome day4 ,every man that ,jesus ,christ conquers on the field ,he sends behind ,him1 and says1 ',take rank in ,my army4 ,be ,my soldier4' ,every yard of line in a new railway when laid down is used to carry materials to make the next yard2 and so the terminus is reached4 ,even so1 ,christian people were formed for ,christ that they might show forth ,his praise4 ,look what a notion that gives us of the dignity of the ,christian life1 and of the special manifestation of ,god which is afforded to the world in it4 ,you1 if you love as you ought to do1 are a witness of something far nobler in ,god than all the stars in the sky4 ,you1 if you set forth as becomes you ,his glorious character1 have crowned the whole manifestation that ,he makes of ,himself in ,nature and in ,providence4 ,what people learn about ,god from a true ,christian is a better revelation than has ever been made or can be made elsewhere4 ,so the ,bible talks about principalities and powers in heavenly places who have had nobody knows how many millenniums of intercourse with ,god1 nobody knows how deep and intimate1 learning from ,christian people the manifold wisdom which had folds and folds in it that they had never unfolded and never could have done4 ',ye are ,my witnesses1' saith the ,lord4 ,sun and stars tell of power1 wisdom1 and a whole host of majestic attributes4 ,we are witnesses that ',he giveth power to the faint2 and to them that have no might ,he increaseth strength4' ,who was it that said '',twas great to speak a world from naught1 ',tis greater to redeem8' ',ye are saved that ye may show forth the praise of ,him who hath called you out of darkness into ,his marvellous light4' ,,iii4 ,lastly1 we have here a piece of stringent practical direction4 ,all that ,i have been saying thus far refers to the way in which the very fact of a man's being saved from his sin is a revelation of ,god's mercy1 love1 and restoring power4 ,but there are two sides to the thought of my text2 and the one is that the very existence of ,christian people in the world is a standing witness to the highest glory of ,god's name2 and the other is that there are characteristics which1 as ,christian men1 we are bound to put forth1 and which manifest in another fashion the excellencies of our redeeming ,god4 ,the world takes its notions of ,god1 most of all1 from the people who say that they belong to ,god's family4 ,they read us a great deal more than they read the ,bible4 ,they see us2 they only hear about ,jesus ,christ4 ',thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image' nor any likeness of the ,divine1 but thou shalt make thyself an image of ,him1 that men looking at it may learn a little more of what ,he is4 ,if we have any right to say that we are a royal priesthood1 a chosen nation1 ,god's 'possession1' then there will be in us some likeness of ,him to whom we belong stamped more or less perfectly upon our characters2 and just as people cannot look at the sun1 but may get some notion of its power when they gaze upon the rare beauty of the tinted clouds that lie round about it1 if1 in the poor1 wet1 cold mistiness of our lives there be caught1 as it were1 and tangled some stray beams of the sunshine1 there will be colour and beauty there4 ,a bit of worthless tallow may be saturated with a perfume which will make it worth its weight in gold4 ,so our poor natures may be drenched with ,god and give ,him forth fragrant and precious1 and men may be drawn thereby4 ,the witness of the life which is ,godlike is the duty of ,christian men and women in the world1 and it is mainly what we are here for4 ,nor does that exclude the other kind of showing forth the praises1 by word and utterance1 at fit times and to the right people4 ,we are not all capable of that1 in any public fashion2 we are all capable of it in some fashion4 ,there is no ,christian that has not somebody to whom their words--they may be very simple and very feeble--will come as nobody else's words can4 ,let us use these talents and these opportunities for the ,master4 ,but1 above all1 let us remember that none of these works--either the involuntary and unconscious exhibition of light and beauty and excellencies caught from ,him2 or the voluntary and vocal proclamations of the name of ,him from whom we have caught them--can be done to any good purpose if any taint of self mingles with it4 ',let your light so shine before men that they may behold your good works and glorify'--whom8 you8--'your ,father which is in heaven4' ,the harp-string gives out its note only on condition that1 being touched1 it vibrates1 and ceases to be visible4 ,be you unseen1 transparent1 and the glory of the ,lord shall shine through you4 ,,christ ,,the ,,exemplar ',for even hereunto were ye called3 because ,christ also suffered for us1 leaving us an example1 that ye should follow ,his steps4'--#a ,peter ii4 #ba4 ,these words are a very striking illustration of the way in which the ,gospel brings ,christ's principles to bear upon morals and duty4 ,the ,apostle is doing nothing more than exhorting a handful of slaves to the full and complete and patient acceptance of their hard lot1 and in order to teach a very homely and lowly lesson to the squalid minds of a few captives1 he brings in the mightiest of all lessons by pointing to the most beautiful1 most blessed1 and most mysterious fact in the world's history--the cross of ,christ4 ,it is the very spirit of ,christianity that the biggest thing is to regulate the smallest duties of life4 ,men's lives are made up of two or three big things and a multitude of little ones1 and the greater rule the lesser2 and1 my friends1 unless we have got a religion and a morality that can and will keep the trifles of our lives right there will be nothing right2 unless we can take those deepest truths1 make them the ruling principles1 and lay them down side by side with the most trivial things of our lives1 we are something short4 ,is there nothing in your life or mine so small that we cannot bring it into captivity and lift it into beauty by bringing it into connection with saving grace8 ,christ also suffered for us1 leaving us an example4 ,this is the first thing that strikes me1 and ,i intend it also by way of introduction4 ,look how the ,apostle has put the points together1 as though there are two aspects which go together and cannot be rendered apart1 like the under side and the upper side of a coin4 ',christ also suffered for us1' and so for us says all the orthodox4 ',leaving us an example'--there protests all the heretics4 ,yes1 but we know that there is a power in both of them1 and the last one is only true when we begin with the first4 ,he suffered for us4 ,there1 there1 my friends1 is the deepest meaning of the cross1 and if you want to get ,christ for an example1 begin with taking ,him as the sacrifice1 for ,he gave ,his life for you4 ,don't part the two things4 ,if you believe ,him to be ,christ1 then you take ,him at the cross3 if you want to see the meaning of ,christ as an example1 begin with ,him as your ,saviour4 ',because ,christ also suffered for us1 leaving us an example that ye should follow ,his steps4' ,these are the words1 and what ,god hath joined together let no man put asunder4 ,with these few remarks ,i shall deal with the words a little more exhaustively1 and ,i see in them three things--the sufferings of ,christ our gain1 the sufferings of ,christ our pattern1 and the suffering of ,christ our power to imitate4 ,and first of all that great proclamation which underlies the whole matter--,christ also suffered for us4 ,the sufferings of ,christ are thereby our gain4 ,i shall not dwell on the larger questions which these words naturally open for us1 and ,i shall content myself with some of the angles and side views of thought1 and one to begin with is this3 ,it is very interesting to notice how1 as his life went on1 and his inspiration became more full1 this ,apostle got to understand1 as being the very living and heart centre of his religion1 the thing which at first was a stumbling-block and mystery to him4 ,you remember when ,christ was here on earth1 and was surrounded by all ,his disciples1 the man who actually led antagonism to the thought of a saving ,messiah1 was this very ,apostle ,peter4 ,how he displayed his ignorance in the words1 ',this shall not be unto ,thee1 ,o ,lord'2 and you remember also how his audacity rose to the height of saying1 ',why cannot ,i follow ,thee now1 ,lord8 ,i will lay down my life for ,thy sake1' so little did he understand the purposes of ,christ's suffering and ,christ's death4 ,and even after ,his resurrection we don't find that ,peter in his early preaching had got as far as he seems to have got in this letter from which my text is taken4 ,you will notice that in this letter he speaks a great deal about the sufferings of ,christ1 which he puts side by side and in contrast with ,god's glorifying of ,his ,son4 ,christ's cross1 which at first had come to him as a rejection1 has now come to him in all its reality1 and to him there was the one grand thing1 ',he suffered for us1' as though he realises ,christ in all ,his beauty and purity1 and not only as a beautiful teacher and dear friend4 ,that which at first seemed to him as an astounding mystery and perfect impossibility1 he now comes to understand4 ,with those two little words1 'for us1' where there was before impossibility1 disappointment1 and anomaly1 the anomaly vanishes1 although the mystery becomes deeper4 ,in one sense it was incomprehensible2 in another sense it was the only explanation of the fact4 ,and1 my friends1 ,i want you to build one thought on this4 ,unless you and ,i lay hold of the grand truth that ,jesus ,christ died for us1 it seems to me that the story of the ,gospel and the story of the cross is the saddest and most depressing page of human history4 ,that there should have been a man possessed of such a soul1 such purity1 such goodness1 such tenderness1 such compassion1 and such infinite mercy--if there were all this to do nothing but touch men's hearts and prick and irritate them into bitter enmity--if the cross were the world's wages to the world's best ,teacher1 and nothing more could be said1 then1 my friends1 it seems to me that the hopes of humanity have1 in the providence of ,god1 suffered great disaster1 and a terrible indictment stands against both ,god and man4 ,oh1 yes1 the death of ,jesus ,christ1 and the whole history of the world's treatment of ,him1 is an altogether incomprehensible and miserable thing--a thing to be forgotten1 and a thing to be wept over in tears of blood1 and no use for us unless we do as ,peter did1 apply all the warmth of the heart to this one master key1 'for us1' and then the mystery is only an infinitude of love and mercy4 ,what before we could not understand we now begin to see1 and to understand the love of ,god which passeth all understanding4 ,oh1 my friends1 ,i beseech you never think of the cross of ,christ without taking those two words4 ,it is a necessary explanation to make the picture beautiful3 'for us1' 'for us'2 'for me1 for me4' ,and then notice still further that throughout the whole of this ,epistle the comparative vagueness of the words 'for me' is interpreted definitely4 ,so far as the language of my text is concerned there can be nothing more expressive1 more outspoken1 or more intelligible1 ',christ also suffered for us1' for our realm4 ,but that is not all that ,peter would have us learn4 ,if you want to know the nature of the work1 and what the ,saviour suffered on the cross for our behalf1 advantage1 and benefit1 here is the definition in the following verse1 ',who ,his own self bare our sins in ,his own body on the tree1 that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness4' ',for us1' not merely as an example2 'for us1' not merely for ,his purity1 ,his beautiful life and calm death2 no1 better than all that1 though a glorious example it is4 ,he has taken away our sins1 we are sprinkled with the blood of ,jesus ,christ2 'for us' in the sense of the words in another part of the ,epistle1 ',forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold1 but with the precious blood of ,christ1 as of a lamb without blemish and without spot1' and if so1 we are living examples of what ,christ our ,saviour has done for the whole world4 ,there is another point ,i want to speak about in dwelling on the first part of the text4 ,if you will read this ,epistle of ,peter at your leisure1 you will see that while with ,paul both make the cross of ,christ the centre of their teaching1 ,paul speaks more about ,his death1 and ,peter more about ,his sufferings4 ,throughout the letters of ,peter the phrase runs1 and the phrase has come almost entirely into modern ,christian usage from this ,apostle4 ,paul speaks about the death1 ,peter speaks of the sufferings4 ,the eye-witness of a ,loving ,friend1 the man who had stood by ,his side through much of ,his sufferings 7though he fled at last71 a vivid imagination of ,his ,master's trials1 and a warm heart1 led ,peter to dwell not only on the one fact of the death1 but also on the accompaniments of that awful death1 of the mental and physical pain1 and especially the temper of the ,saviour4 ,i shall not dwell on this1 except to make one passing remark on it1 viz41 that there is a kind of preaching which prevails among the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 and is not uncommon to many of the ,protestant churches1 which dwells unduly on the physical fact of ,christ's death and sufferings4 ,i think1 for my part1 we are going to the other extreme1 and a great many of us are losing a very great source of blessing to ourselves and to those whom we influence1 because we don't realise and don't dwell sufficiently on the physical and mental sorrows and agony ,he went through with the death on the cross2 and one bad effect of all this is that ,christ's atonement has become to be a kind of theological jungle1 and ,i don't know that the popular mind can have in the ordinary way any better means of the deliverance of ,christ's cross from this theological maze than a little more frankness and honesty in dwelling on the sorrows and pain of our dear ,lord4 ,now a word about the second part4 ,the sufferings of ,christ as represented here in the text are not only for our gain but our pattern1 leaving us an example that we should follow ,his steps4 ,we are not concerned here about the general principles of ,christian ethics1 and ,i don't think ,i need dwell on them at all as being great blessings to us2 and passing from that ,i would rather dwell on the one specific thought before us--on the beautiful life1 the gracious words1 the gentle deeds1 the wisdom1 the rectitude1 the tenderness1 the submission to the ,father and the oblivion to ,himself1 which characterises the whole life of ,jesus ,christ1 from the very first up to the agony on the cross4 ,we have looked to ,him as our gain1 and as the head and beginning of our salvation1 and now we have to turn from that mysterious and solemn thought and look to ,him as an ideal pattern by which our life should be moulded and shaped4 ',leaving us an example4' ,just as ,elijah's mantle dropped from him as he rose1 so ,christ in going up to the ,father fluttered down on the world a pattern which ,he had in ,his sufferings4 ,he goes away1 but the pattern abides with us4 ',leaving us an example4' ,the word used here is translated quite correctly4 ,the word example is a very remarkable and unusual one2 it means literally a thing to be retained4 ,you put a copyhead before a child1 and tell him to copy it1 and trace it over till he retains it2 or1 to come to modern ,english1 you put the copyhead on the top of a page4 ,what blots1 pothooks1 and angles you and ,i make as we are trying to write on the top of the page of life4 ,see1 there is the pattern4 ,lo1 another man hath written above1 and you are asked to make your life exactly the same1 the same angles and the same corners--to make your life in all respects coincide with that4 ,my friends1 we shall all have to take our copybooks to the ,master's desk some day4 ,there will be a headline there which ,christ hath written1 and one which we have written1 and how do you think we shall like to put the two side by side8 ,my friends1 we had better do it to-day than have to do it then4 ,there is the pattern life2 the copy is plain4 ,i don't think ,i need say any more about the other metaphor contained here4 ,the ,divine ,exemplar has left us the headline that we should follow ,his footsteps1 and it is a blessed thought to know that we are to follow in ,his own steps4 ',what1 cannot ,i follow ,thee now8' said ,peter once1 and you remember when the ,apostle had been restored to his office1 the words of the ,saviour were--',feed ,my lambs2 feed ,my sheep2 feed ,my lambs1 follow thou ,me4' ,this is also our privilege4 ,as a guide going across a wet moor with a traveller calls out1 ',step where ,i step1 or else you will be bogged1' so we must tread in the steps of the ,saviour1 and then we shall come safe on the other side4 ,tread in ,his steps1 aye1 in the steps which are marked with bleeding feet1 for ',he suffered and left us an example4' ,i will just add one word1 dear friends1 to deepen the thought in its impressiveness1 that the cross of ,christ it to be the pattern of our lives4 ,it stands alone1 thank ,god1 for mighty power in its relation to the salvation of the world1 and it stands alone in awful terror4 ,you and ,i are1 at the very worst1 but at the edge of the storm which broke in all its dreadful fury over ,his head2 we love to go but a little way down the hillside1 while ,he descended to the very bottom2 we love to drink but very little of the cup which ,he drained the last drop of and held it up empty and reversed1 showing that nothing trickled from it1 and exclaimed1 ',the cup which ,my ,father hath given ,me have ,i drunk4' ,but although alone in all its mighty power1 and though alone in all its awful terror1 it may be copied by us in two things--perfect submission to our ,maker1 and non-resistance and meekness with regard to man4 ,there is only one way of carrying the cross of ,christ1 which ,god lays on us all1 and that is bowing our back4 ,if we resist1 it will crush us1 and if we yield we have something to endure2 and there is but one thing which enables a man to patiently bear the sorrows and griefs which come to us all1 and that is the simple secret1 ',father1 not as ,i will1 but ,thy will be done4' ,christ suffered for us1 leaving us an example that we should follow in ,his footsteps1 and when we patiently do this the rod becomes a guiding staff1 and the crown of thorns a crown of glory4 ,but my text reminds me that the sufferings of ,christ are not only our gain and our pattern1 but they are also our power to imitate--the power to fight the battle for ,christ4 ,example is not all4 ,the world wants more than that4 ,the reason for men's badness is not because they have not plenty of patterns of good4 ,if a copyhead could save the world it would have been saved long ago4 ,patterns of good are plenty2 the mischief is we don't copy them4 ,there are footsteps in abundance1 but then our legs are lame1 and we cannot tread in them1 and what is the use of copies if we have a broken pen1 muddy ink1 and soiled paper8 ,so we want a great deal more than that4 ,no1 my friends1 the world is not to be saved by example4 ,you and ,i know that the weakness and the foolishness of men know a great deal better than the wisest of men ever did1 so we want something more4 ,examples don't give the power nor the wish to get it4 ,is not that true about you8 ,don't you feel that if this is all which religion has given you it stops short8 ,the gospel comes and says1 ',if you love ,christ ,jesus because you know that ,he died for you1' then there will be something else than the copybook4 ,that copy and pattern will be laid to your heart and transferred there4 ,you will not have to go on trying to make a bungling imitation2 you will get it photographed on your spirit1 and on your character more distinctly and more clearly down to the very minutest shade of resemblance to the ,master1 and with simple loving trust you will go on from strength to strength glorifying ,god in your life4 ,they that begin with the cross of ,christ1 and make the sacrifice their all in all1 will advance heavenward joyously2 the cross and the sacrifice will be the pattern of your pilgrimage here1 and the perfectness of your characters unto the likeness of the ,son4 ,the cross is the agency of sanctification as well as the means of forgiveness--saving grace to save us from the world1 saving grace to help us everywhere and in everything for our salvation1 and saving grace to help us to conquer our self-will1 and saving grace to bind us to ,him1 whose abundant goodness and gratitude no man can tell4 ,if we love ,him we shall keep ,his commandments2 if we love them we shall grow in grace1 and not else4 ,none else1 my brother1 my sister1 but the ,eternal ,exemplar stands there as our refuge2 and if you want to be filled with this all-saving grace1 deep down to the bottom of ,his tender heart1 if you want to be good1 and of pure mind1 then you have to begin with that ,saviour who died for you1 and trust to the cross for your forgiveness4 ,then listen to ,him saying1 ',any man who comes after ,me1 let him take up ,my cross'--take it up1 mark--'and follow ,me4' ,,hallowing ,,christ ',be not afraid of their terror1 neither be troubled2 but sanctify the ,lord ,god in your hearts4'--#a ,peter iii4 #ad1 #ae4 ,these words are a quotation from the prophet ,isaiah1 with some very significant variations4 ,as originally spoken1 they come from a period of the prophet's life when he was surrounded by conspirators against him1 eager to destroy1 and when he had been giving utterance to threatening prophecies as to the coming up of the ,king of ,assyria1 and the voice of ,god encouraged him and his disciples with the ringing words3 ',fear not their fear1 nor be afraid4 ,sanctify the ,lord of ,hosts ,himself1 and let ,him be your fear1 and let ,him be your dread1 and ,he shall be for a sanctuary4' ,peter was in similar circumstances4 ,the gathering storm of persecution of the ,christians as ,christians seems to have been rising on his horizon1 and he turns to his brethren1 and commends to them the old word which long ago had been spoken to and by the prophet4 ,but the variations are very remarkable4 ,the ,revised ,version correctly reads my text thus3 ',fear not their fear1 neither be troubled1 but sanctify in your hearts ,christ as ,lord4' ,i4 ,we have first to note the substitution1 as a matter of course1 without any need for explanation or vindication1 of ,jesus ,christ in place of the ,jehovah of the ,old ,testament4 ,there is no doubt that the reading adopted in the ,revised ,version is the true one1 as attested by weighty evidence in the manuscripts1 and in itself more probable by reason of its very difficulty4 ,the other reading adopted in ,authorised ,versions is likely to have arisen from a marginal note which crept into the text1 and was due to some copyist who was struck by ,peter's free handling of the passage1 and wished to make the quotations verbally accurate4 ,now1 if we think for a moment of the ,jew's reverence for the letter of ,scripture1 and then think again of the ,jew's intense monotheism and dread of putting any creature into the place of ,god1 we shall understand how saturated with the belief in the divinity of ,jesus ,christ1 and how convinced that it was the vital centre of all ,christian teaching1 this ,apostle must have been when1 without a word of explanation1 he took his pen1 and1 as it were1 drew it through ',lord ,god' in ,isaiah's words1 and wrote in capitals over it1 ',christ as ,lord4' ,what does that mean8 ,some of us would1 perhaps1 hesitate to say that it means that ,he who was all through the growing ages of brightening revelation of old1 named ',jehovah1' is now named ,jesus ,christ4 ,i believe that from the beginning ,he whom we call1 according to the teaching of the great prologue of ,john's ,gospel1 the ',word of ,god1' was the ,agent of all ,divine revelation4 ,but whether that be so or no1 whether we have the right to say that the same ,person who was revealed as ',jehovah' is now revealed as ',jesus ,christ1' the ',word made flesh1' or no1 we distinctly fail to apprehend who and what ,jesus ,christ was to the writer of this epistle1 and fail to sanctify ,him in our hearts1 unless we say3 ',to ,thee belongeth all that belongs to ,god4' ,that is the first great truth that comes out of these words1 and ,i would commend it to any of you who may be hesitating about that ,christian fact of the true divinity of ,jesus ,christ4 ,you cannot strike it out of the ,new ,testament1 and if you try to do so you tear the book to pieces1 and reduce it to rags and tatters4 ,further1 mark here what the ,apostle means by the ,christian sanctifying of ,christ4 ,that is a strange expression4 ,how am ,i to sanctify ,jesus ,christ8 ,well1 it is the same word that is used in the ,lord's ,prayer1 and perhaps its use there may throw light on ,peter's meaning here4 ',hallowed be ,thy name'--explains the meaning of hallowing ,christ as ,lord in our hearts4 ,we sanctify or hallow one who is holy already1 when we recognise the holiness1 and honour what we recognise4 ,so that the plain meaning of the commandments here is3 set ,christ in your hearts on the pedestal and pinnacle that belongs to ,him1 and then bow down before ,him with all reverence and submission4 ,be sure that you give ,him all that is ,his due1 and in the love of your hearts1 as well as in the thinkings of your minds1 recognise ,him for what ,he is1 the ,lord4 ,let us take care that our thoughts about ,jesus ,christ are full of devout awe and reverence4 ,i venture to think that a great deal of modern and sentimental ,christianity is very defective in this respect4 ,you cannot love ,jesus ,christ too much1 but you can love ,him with too little reverence4 ,and if you take up some of our luscious modern hymns that people are so fond of singing1 ,i think you will find in them a twang of unwholesomeness1 just because the love is not reverent enough1 and the approaching confidence has not enough of devout awe in it4 ,this generation looks at the half of ,christ4 ,when people are suffering from indigestion1 they can only see half of the thing that they look at1 and there are many of us that can only see a part of the whole ,christ3 and so1 forgetting that ,he is judge1 and forgetting that ,he is the ,lion of the tribe of ,judah1 and forgetting that whilst ,he is manifested in the flesh our brother ,he is also ,god manifest in the flesh1 our ,creator as well as our ,redeemer1 and our ,judge as well as our ,saviour1 some do not enough hallow ,him in their hearts as ,lord4 ,peter had heard ,jesus say that 'all men should honour the ,son as they honoured the ,father4' ,i beseech you1 embrace the whole ,christ1 and see to it that you do not dethrone ,him from ,his rightful place1 or take from ,him the glory that is due to ,his name4 ,for your love will suffer1 and become a mere sentiment1 inoperative and sometimes unwholesome1 unless you keep in mind ,peter's injunction4 ,but1 further1 there is included in this commandment1 not only what ,isaiah said1 ',let ,him be your fear and your dread1' but also a reverent love and trust4 ,for we do not hallow ,christ as we ought1 unless we absolutely confide in every word of ,his lips4 ,did you ever think that not to trust ,jesus ,christ is to blaspheme and profane that holy name by which we are called2 and that to hallow ,him means to say to ,him1 ',i believe every word that ,thou speakest1 and ,i am ready to risk my life upon ,thy veracity'8 ,distrust is dishonouring the ,master1 and taking from ,him the glory that is due unto ,his name4 ,then there is another point to be noted3 ',sanctify in your hearts ,christ as ,lord4' ,that is ,peter's addition to ,isaiah's words1 and it is not a mere piece of tautology1 but puts great emphasis into the exhortation4 ,what is a man's heart1 in ,new ,testament and ,old ,testament language8 ,it is the very centre-point of the personal self4 ,and when ,peter says1 ',hallow ,him in your hearts1' he means that1 deep down in the very midst of your personal being1 as it were1 there should be1 fundamental to all1 and interior to all1 this reverential awe and absolute trust in ,jesus ,christ--an habitual thought1 a central emotion1 an all-dominant impulse4 ',out of the heart are the issues of life4' ,put the healing agent into it1 the fountain-head1 and all the streams that pour out thence will be purified and sweetened4 ,deep in the heart put ,christ1 and life will be pure4 ,now1 in another part of this letter the ,apostle says1 ',ye are a spiritual house4' ,i think some notion of the same sort is running in his mind here4 ,he thinks of each man's heart as being a shrine in which the god is enthroned1 and in which worship is rendered4 ,and if we have ,christ in our hearts1 then our hearts are temples2 and if we 'hallow' the ,christ that dwells within us1 we shall take care that there are no foul things in that sanctuary4 ,we dishonour the indwelling ,deity when into that same heart we allow to come lusts1 foulnesses1 meannesses1 worldlinesses1 passions1 sins1 and all the crew of reptiles and wild beasts that we sometimes admit there4 ,if we hallow ,christ in our hearts1 in any true fashion1 ,he will turn out the money-changers and overturn the tables4 ,and if we desire to hallow ,him in our hearts1 we too1 must by ,his ,spirit's help1 purge the temple that ,he may enter and abide4 ,and so ,i come to the next point1 and that is the ,christian courage and calmness that ensue from hallowing ,christ in the heart4 ,the ,apostle first puts his exhortation3 ',be not afraid of their terror1 neither be troubled1' and then he presents us an opposite injunction1 obedience to which is the only means of obeying the first exhortation4 ,if you do not sanctify ,christ in your hearts1 you cannot help being afraid of their terror1 and troubled4 ,if you do1 then there is no fear that you will fall into that snare4 ,that is to say1 the one thing that delivers men from the fears that make cowards of us all is to have ,christ lodged within our hearts4 ,sunshine puts out culinary fires4 ,they who have the awe and the reverent love that knit them to ,jesus ,christ1 and who carry ,him within their hearts1 have no need to be afraid of anything besides4 ,only he who can say1 ',the ,lord is the strength of my life' can go on to say1 ',of whom shall ,i be afraid8' ,there is nothing more hopeless than to address to men1 ringed about with dangers1 the foolish exhortations3 ',cheer up6 do not be frightened1' unless you can tell them some reason for not being frightened4 ,and the one reason that will carry weight with it1 in all circumstances1 is the presence of ,jesus4 ',with ,christ in the vessel ,i smile at the storm4' ,the world comes to us and says3 ',do not be afraid1 do not be afraid2 be of good courage2 pluck up your heart1 man4' ,the ,apostle comes and says3 ',sanctify ,christ as ,lord in your hearts2 and then1 and only then1 will you be bold4' ,the boldness which fronts the certain dangers and calamities and the possible dangers and calamities of this life1 without ,christ1 is not boldness1 but foolhardiness4 ',the simple passeth on1 and is punished1' says the book of ,proverbs4 ,it is easy to whistle when going through the churchyard1 and to say1 ',who's afraid8' ,but the ghosts rise all the same1 and there is only one thing that lays them1 and that is--the present ,christ4 ,in like manner the sanctifying of ,jesus ,christ in the heart is the secret of calmness4 ',fear not their fear1 neither be troubled4' ,i wonder if ,peter was thinking at all of another saying3 ',let not your heart be troubled2 neither let it be afraid4' ,perhaps he was4 ,at any rate1 his thought is parallel with our ,lord's when ,he said1 ',let not your heart be troubled4 ,believe in ,god1 and believe in ,me4' ,the two alternatives are possible2 we shall have either troubled hearts1 or hearts calmed by faith in ,christ4 ,the ships behind the breakwater do not pitch and toss4 ,the little town up amongst the hills1 with the high cliffs around it1 lies quiet1 and 'hears not the loud winds when they call4' ,and the heart that has ,christ for its possession has a secret peace1 whatever strife may be raging round it4 ',be not troubled2 sanctify ,christ as ,lord in your hearts4' ,peter leaves out a clause of ,isaiah's1 though he conveys the idea without reiterating the words4 ,but ,isaiah had added a sweet promise which means much the same thing as ,i have now been saying1 when he went on to declare that to those who sanctify the ,lord ,god in their hearts1 ,he shall be for a sanctuary4 ',the sanctuary was an asylum where men were safe4 ,and if we have made our hearts temples in which ,christ is honoured1 worshipped1 and trusted1 then we shall dwell in ,him as in the secret place of the ,most ,high'2 and in the inner chamber of the ,temple it will be quiet1 whatever noises are in the camp1 and there is light coming from the ,shekinah1 whatever darkness may lie around4 ,if we take ,christ into our hearts1 and reverence and love ,him there1 ,he will take us into ,his heart1 and we shall dwell in peace1 because we dwell in ,him4 ,,christian ,,asceticism ',forasmuch then as ,christ hath suffered for us in the flesh1 arm yourselves likewise with the same mind3 for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin4 #b4 ,that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men1 but to the will of ,god4 #c4 ,for the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the ,gentiles1 when we walked in lasciviousness1 lusts1 excess of wine1 revellings1 banquetings1 and abominable idolatries3 #d4 ,wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot1 speaking evil of you3 #e4 ,who shall give account to ,him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead4 #f4 ,for1 for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead1 that they might be judged according to men in the flesh1 but live according to ,god in the spirit4 #g4 ,but the end of all things is at hand3 be ye therefore sober1 and watch unto prayer4 #h4 ,and1 above all things1 have fervent charity among yourselves2 for charity shall cover the multitude of sins4'--#a ,peter iv4 #a-h4 ,christian morality brought two new things into the world--a new type of life in sharp contrast with the sensuality rife on every side1 and a new set of motives powerfully aiding in its realisation4 ,both these novelties are presented in this passage1 which insists on a life in which the spirit dominates the flesh1 and is dominated by the will of ,god1 and which puts forward purely ,christian ideas as containing the motives for such a life4 ,the facts of ,christ's life and the prospect of ,christ's return to judge the world are here urged as the reason for living a life of austere repression of 'the flesh' that we may do ,god's will4 ,i4 ,we have1 first1 in verses #a and #b1 a general precept1 based upon the broad view of ,christ's earthly history4 ',christ hath suffered in the flesh4' ,that is the great fact which should shape the course of all ,his followers4 ,but what does suffering in the flesh mean here8 ,it does not refer only to the death of ,jesus1 but to ,his whole life4 ,the phrase 'in the flesh' is reiterated in the context1 and evidently is equivalent to 'during the earthly life4' ,our ,lord's life was1 in one aspect1 one continuous suffering1 because ,he lived the higher life of the spirit4 ,that higher life had to ,him1 and has to us1 rich compensations2 but it sets those who are true to it at necessary variance with the lower types of life common among men1 and it brings many pains1 all of which ,jesus knew4 ,the last draught from the cup was the bitterest1 but the bitterness was diffused through all the life of the ,man of ,sorrows4 ,that life is here contemplated as the pattern for all ,christ's servants4 ,peter says much in this letter of our ,lord's sufferings as the atonement for sin1 but here he looks at them rather as the realised ideal of all worthy life4 ,we are to be 'partakers of ,christ's sufferings' 7v4 #ac71 and we shall become so in proportion as ,his own ,spirit becomes the spirit which lives in us4 ,if ,jesus were only our pattern1 ,christianity would be a poor affair1 and a gospel of despair2 for how should we reach to the pure heights where ,he stood8 ,but1 since ,he can breathe into us a spirit which will hallow and energise our spirits1 we can rise to walk beside ,him on the high places of heroic endurance and of holy living4 ,very beautifully does ,peter hint at our sore conflict1 our personal defencelessness1 and our all-sufficient armour1 in the picturesque metaphor 'arm yourselves4' ,the 'mind of ,christ' is given to us if we will4 ,we can gird it on1 and if we do1 it will be as an impenetrable coat-of-mail1 which will turn the sharpest arrows and resist the fiercest sword-cuts4 ,the last clause of verse #a is a parenthesis1 and1 if it is for the moment omitted1 the sentence runs smoothly on1 especially if the ,revised ,version's reading is adopted4 ,the purpose of arming us with the same mind is that1 whilst we live on earth1 we should live according to the will of ,god1 and should renounce 'the lusts of men1' which are in us as in all men1 and which men who are not clad in the armour which ,christ gives to us yield to4 ,but what of the parenthetical statement8 ,clearly1 the words which follow it forbid its being taken to mean that dead men do not sin4 ,rather the ,apostle's thought seems to be that such suffering in daily life after ,christ's pattern1 and by ,his help1 is at once a sign that the sufferer has shaken off the dominion of sin1 and is a means of further emancipating him from it4 ,but the two great thoughts in this paragraph are1 that the ,christian life is one in which ,god's will1 and not man's desires1 is the regulating force1 and that the pattern of that life and the power to copy the pattern are found in ,christ1 the sufferer for righteousness' sake4 ,,ii4 ,more specific injunctions1 entering into the details of the higher life1 follow1 interwoven1 as in the preceding verses1 with a statement of the motives which make obedience to them possible to our weakness4 ,the sins in view are those most closely connected with 'the flesh' in its literal meaning1 amongst which are included 'abominable idolatries1' because gross acts of sensual immorality were inseparably intertwined with much of heathen worship4 ,these sins of flesh were especially rampant among the luxurious ,asiatic lands1 to which this letter was addressed1 but they flooded the whole ,roman empire1 as the works of poets like ,martial and of moralists like ,epictetus equally show4 ,but ,new ,york or ,london could match the worst scenes in ,rome or ,ephesus1 and perhaps would not be far behind the foul animalism of ,sodom and ,gomorrah4 ,lust and drunkenness are eating out the manhood of our race on both sides of the ,atlantic1 and1 if we have 'the same mind' as the suffering ,christ1 we shall put on the armour for war to the knife with these in society1 and for the rigid self-control of our own animal nature4 ,observe the strong motives which ,peter just touches without expanding4 ,a sad irony lies in his saying that the time past may suffice4 ,the flesh had had enough of time given to it1--had not ,god a right to the rest8 ,the flesh should have had none2 it had had all too much4 ,surely the readers had had enough of the lower life1 more than enough4 ,were they not sick of it1 'satisfied' even to disgust8 ,let us look back on our wasted years1 and give no more precious moments to serve the corruptible flesh4 ,further1 the life of submission to the animal nature is characteristic of 'the ,gentiles1' and in sharp contrast1 therefore1 to that proper to ,christ's followers4 ,that is as true to-day1 in ,america and ,england1 as ever it was4 ,indeed1 as wealth has increased1 and so-called 'civilisation' has diffused material comforts1 senseless luxury1 gluttony1 drunkenness1 and still baser fleshy sins1 have become more flagrantly common in society which is not distinctively and earnestly ,christian2 and there was never more need than there is to-day for ,christians to carry aloft the flag of self-control and temperance in all things belonging to 'the flesh4' ,if we have the mind of ,christ1 we shall get the same treatment from the world which ,peter says that the primitive ,christians did from the idolaters round them4 ,we shall be wondered at1 just as a heathen stared with astonishment at this strange1 new sect1 which would have nothing to do with feasts and garlands and wine-cups and lust disguised as worship4 ,the spectacle1 when repeated to-day1 of ,christians steadfastly refusing to share in that lower life which is the only life of so many1 is1 perhaps1 less wondered at now1 because it is1 thank ,god6 more familiar2 but it is not less disliked and 'blasphemed4' ,a total abstainer from intoxicants will not get the good word of the distiller or brewer or consumer of liquor4 ,he will be called faddist1 narrow1 sour-visaged1 and so on and so on4 ',you may know a genius because all the dunces make common cause against him1' said ,swift4 ,you may know a ,christian after ,christ's pattern because all the children of the flesh are in league to laugh at him and pelt him with nicknames4 ,further1 the thought of ,christ as the judge should both silence the blasphemers and strengthen the blasphemed to endure4 ,that judgment will vindicate the wisdom of those who sowed to the spirit and the folly of those who sowed to the flesh4 ,the one will reap corruption2 the other1 life everlasting4 ,the difficult verse #f cannot be adequately dealt with here1 but we may note that introductory 'for' shows that it1 too1 contains a motive urging to life1 'to the will of ,god1' and that no such motive appears in it if it is taken to mean1 as by some1 that the gospel is preached after death to the dead4 ,surely to say that 'the gospel was preached also 7or1 even7 to them that are dead' is not to say that it was preached to them when dead4 ,peter's letter is of late enough date to explain his looking back to a generation now passed away1 who had heard it in their lifetime4 ,nor does one see how the meaning of 'in the flesh1' which belongs to the phrase in the frequent instances of its occurrence in this context1 can be preserved in the clause 'that they might be judged according to men in the flesh1' unless that means a judgment which takes place during the earthly life4 ,we note1 too1 that the antithesis between being judged 'according to men in the flesh1' and living 'according to ,god in the spirit' recalls that in verse #b between living in the flesh to the lusts of men and to the will of ,god4 ,it would appear1 therefore1 that the ,apostle's meaning is that the very aim of the preaching of the gospel to those who are gone to meet the ,judge was that they might by it be judged while here in the flesh1 in regard to the lower life 'according to men' 7or1 as verse #b has it1 'to the lusts of men'71 and1 being so judged1 and sin condemned in their flesh1 might live according to ,god in their spirits4 ,that is but to say in other words that the gospel is meant to search hearts1 and bring to light and condemn the lusts of the flesh1 and to impart the new life which is moulded after the will of ,god4 ,,iii4 ,the reference to ,christ as the judge suggests a final motive for a life of suppression of the lower nature1--the near approach of the end of all things4 ,the distinct statement by our ,lord in ,acts i4 #g excludes the knowledge of the time of the end from the revelation granted to the ,apostles1 so that there need be no hesitation in upholding their authority1 and yet admitting their liability to mistake on that point4 ,but the force of the motive is independent of the proximity of the judgment4 ,its certainty and the indefiniteness of the time when we each shall have to pass into the other state of being are sufficient to preserve for each of us the whole pressure of the solemn thought that for us the end is at hand1 and to enforce thereby ,peter's exhortation1 ',be ye therefore of sound mind4' ,the prospect of that end will sweep away many illusions as to the worth of the enjoyments of sense1 and be a bridle on many vagrant desires4 ,self-control in all regions of our nature is implied in the word4 ,our various faculties are meant to be governed by a sovereign will1 which is itself governed by the ,divine will2 and1 if we see plain before us the dawning of the day of the ,lord1 the vision will help to tame the subordinate parts of ourselves1 and to establish the supremacy of the spirit over the flesh4 ,one special form of that general self-control is that already enjoined1--the suppression of the animal appetites1 especially the abstinence from intoxicants4 ,that form of self-control is especially meant by the second of these exhortations1 ',be sober4' ,how could a man lift the wine cup to his lips1 and drown his higher nature in a flood of drunken riot1 if the end1 with its solemnities of judgment1 blazed before his inner eye8 ,but this self-command is inculcated that we may be fit to pray4 ,these lower appetites will take all desire for prayer and all earnestness in it out of us1 and only when we keep the wings of appetites close clipped will the pinions grow by which we can mount up with wings as eagles4 ,a praying drunkard is an impossible monster4 ,but exhortations to self-control are not all4 ,we have to think of others1 as well as of our own growth in purity and spirituality4 ,therefore ,peter casts one swift glance to the wider circle of the brethren1 which encompasses each of us1 and gives the all-embracing direction1 which carries in itself everything4 ',fervent love' to our fellow-,christians is the counterpoise to earnest government of ourselves4 ,there is a selfishness possible even in cultivating our religion1 as many a monk and recluse has shown4 ,such love as ,peter here enjoins will save us from the possible evils of self-regard1 and it will 'cover the multitude of sins1'--by which is not meant that1 having it1 we shall be excused if we in other respects sin1 but that1 having it1 we shall be more desirous of veiling than of exposing our brother's faults1 and shall be ready to forgive even when our brother offends against us often4 ,perhaps ,peter was remembering the lesson which he had once had when he was told that 'seventy times seven' was not too great a multitude of sins against brotherly love to be forgiven by it in one day4 ,,the ,,slave',s ,,girdle '444 ,be clothed with humility3 for ,god resisteth the proud1 and giveth grace to the humble4'--#a ,peter v4 #e4 ,the ,apostle uses here an expression of a remarkable kind1 and which never occurs again in ,scripture4 ,the word rendered in the ,authorised ,version 'be clothed1' or better in the ,revised ,version1 'gird yourselves with1' really implies a little more than either of those renderings suggests4 ,it describes a kind of garment as well as the act of putting it on1 and the sort of garment which it describes was a remarkable one4 ,it was a part of a slave's uniform4 ,some scholars think that it was a kind of white apron1 or overall1 or something of that sort2 others think that it was simply a scarf or girdle2 but1 at all events1 it was a distinguishing mark of a slave1 and he put it on when he meant work4 ,and1 says ,peter1 ',do you strap round you the slave's apron1 and do it for the same reason that ,he did it1 to serve4' ,so1 then1 there are three points in my text1 and the first is what we have to wear2 second1 what we have to wear it for2 and1 third1 why we should wear it4 ,i4 ,what we have to wear4 ',gird yourselves with the slave's apron of humility4' ,humility does not consist in being1 or pretending to be1 blind to one's strong points4 ,there is no humility in a man denying that he can do certain things if he can do them1 or even refusing to believe he can do them well1 if ,god has given him special faculties in any given direction4 ,that is not humility at all4 ,but to know whence all my strength comes1 and to know what a little thing it is1 after all2 not to estimate myself highly1 and1 still further1 not to be always insisting upon other people estimating me highly1 and to think a great deal more about their claims on me than fretfully to insist upon my due modicum of respect and attention from others1 that is the sort of temper that ,peter means here4 ,now1 that temper which may recognise fully any gift that ,god has given me1 its sweep and degree1 but that nevertheless takes a true1 because a lowly1 measure of myself1 and does not always demand from other people their regard and assistance1 that temper is a thing that we can cultivate4 ,we can increase it1 and we are all bound to try specifically and directly to do so4 ,now1 ,i believe that a great part of the feeble and unprogressive character of so many ,christian people amongst us is due to this1 that they do not definitely steady their thoughts and focus them on the purpose of finding out the weak points to which special attention and discipline should be directed4 ,it is a very easy thing to say1 ',oh1 ,i am a poor1 weak1 sinful creature6' ,it would do you a great deal more good to say1 ',i am a very passionate one1 and my business is to control that quick temper of mine1' or1 ',i am a great deal too much disposed to run after worldly advantage1 and my business is to subdue that1' or1 ',i am afraid ,i am rather too close-fisted1 and ,i ought to crucify myself into liberality4' ,it would be a great deal better1 ,i say1 to apply the general confession to specific cases1 and to set ourselves to cultivate individual types of goodness1 as well as to seek to be filled with the all-comprehensive root of it all1 which lies in union with ,jesus ,christ4 ,we have often to preach1 dear brethren1 that the way of self-improvement is not by hammering at ourselves1 but by letting ,god mould us1 and to keep the balance right4 ,we have also to insist upon the other side of the truth1 and to press the complementary thought that specific efforts after the cultivation of specific virtues and all the more if they are virtues that are not natural to us1 for the gospel is given to us to mend our natural tempers--is the duty of all ,christian people that would seek to live as ,christ would have them4 ,and how is this to be done8 ,how am ,i to gird upon myself and to keep--if ,i may transpose the metaphor into the key of modern ,english--tightly buckled around me this belt which may hold in place a number of fine articles of clothing8 ,well1 there are three things1 ,i think1 that we may profitably do4 ,go down deep enough into yourself if you want to cure a lofty estimate of yourself4 ,the top storeys may be beautifully furnished1 but there are some ugly things and rubbish down in the cellar4 ,there is not one of us but1 if we honestly let the dredge down into the depths1 as far down as the ,challenger's went1 miles and miles down1 will bring up a pretty collection of wriggling monstrosities that never have been in the daylight before1 and are ugly enough to be always shrouded in their native darkness4 ,down in us all1 if we will go deep enough1 and take with us a light bright enough1 we shall discover enough to make anything but humility ridiculous1 if it were not wicked4 ,and the only right place and attitude for a man who knows himself down to the roots of his being is the publican's when 'he stood afar off1 and would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven1 and said1 ,god be merciful to me a sinner4' ,ah1 dear friends1 it will put an end to any undue exaltation of ourselves if we know ourselves as we are4 ,further1 let us try to cultivate this temper1 by looking at ,god1 and having communion with ,him4 ,think of ,him as the ,giver of anything in us that is good1 and that annihilates our pride4 ,think of ,jesus as our pattern2 how that kills our satisfaction in little excellences6 ,if you get high enough up the mountainside1 the undulating country which when you were down amongst the knolls showed all variations of level1 and where he who lived on the top of one little mound thought himself in a fine1 airy situation as compared with his neighbour down in the close valley1 is smoothed down1 and brought to one uniform level2 and from the hilltop the rolling land is a plateau4 ,i have heard of a child who1 when she was told that the sun was ninety-five millions of miles off1 asked if that was from the top or the bottom storey of the house6 ,there is about as much difference between the great men and the little1 between heroes and the unknown men1 as measured against the distance to ,god1 as there is difference in the distance to the sun from the slates and from the cellar4 ,let us live near ,god1 and so aspiration will come in the place of satisfaction1 and the unattained will gleam before us1 and beckon us not in vain1 and the man that sees what an infinite stretch there is before him will be delivered from the temptations of self-conceit1 and will say1 ',not as though ,i had already attained1 either were already perfected1 but ,i follow after4' ,but there is another advice to be given--cultivate the habit of thinking about other people1 their excellences1 their claims on you4 ,to be always trying to get a footing in a social grade above our own is a poor effort1 but there is a sense in which it is good advice--live with your betters4 ,we can all do that4 ,a man writes a bit of a book1 preaches a sermon1 makes a speech--all the newspapers pat him on the back1 and say what a clever fellow he is4 ,but let him steep his mind and his heart in the great works of the great men1 and he finds out what a poor little dwarf he is by the side of them4 ,and so all round the circle4 ,live with bigger men1 not with little ones4 ,and learn to discount--and you may take a very liberal discount off--either the praises or the censures of the people round you4 ,let us rather say1 ',with me it is a very small matter to be judged of man's judgment4 ,he that judgeth me is the ,lord4' ,there are plenty of hands1 foremost among them a black one that is not so much a hand as a claw1 ready to snatch the girdle of humility off you6 ,buckle it tight about you1 brother2 and in an immovable temper of lowly estimate of yourself live and work4 ,,ii4 ,the second thought here is1 ,what we are to wear the apron or girdle for8 ,the ,revised ,version makes a little alteration in the reading as well as in the translation of our text1 the previous words to which1 in the ,authorised ,version stand1 ',yea1 all of you be subject one to another4' ,there is another reading which strikes out that clause1 and adds a portion of it to the first part of my text1 which then runs thus3 ',yea1 all of you gird yourselves with humility to serve one another4' ,that is what ,christian humility is for4 ,the slave put on his garment1 whatever it was1 when he had work to do4 ,but perhaps there is a deeper thought here4 ,i wonder if it is fanciful to see in the text one of the very numerous allusions in this epistle to the events in our ,lord's ,passion4 ,you remember that ,jesus laid aside ,his garments1 and took a towel1 and girded ,himself1 and washed the disciples' feet1 and then said1 ',the servant is not above ,his master4 ,i have given you an example1 that ye should do as ,i have done to you4' ,probably1 ,i think1 there floated before the memory of the man who had said1 ',lord1 ,thou shalt never wash my feet1' and then1 with the swift recoil to the opposite pole which makes us love ,him so much1 hurried to say1 ',lord1 not my feet only1 but also my hands and my head'--some reminiscence of that upper chamber1 and of how the ,master had girded ,himself with the slave's apron1 or towel1 in order that ,he might serve the disciples2 and then had told them that that was the pattern for all ,christian men1 and for all ,christian living till the very end4 ,service coming from humility1 and humility manifested in service1 are the requirements laid down in the text4 ,humility is the preparation for service2 and service is the test of humility4 ,if a man does not feel himself to be needy and low1 he will never be able1 and he will never be willing1 to help those that are4 ,you must go down if you would lift up4 ,laces and velvets and the fine feathers that the peacocks of self-conceit in this world strut about in are terribly in the way of ,christian work4 ,rough work needs rough dress2 and the only garb in which we shall be able to do the deeds of self-sacrifice that are needed in order to help our brethren is humility1 the preparation for all service4 ,but1 further1 service is the test of humility4 ,plenty of people will say1 ',i know that ,i have nothing to boast of1' and so forth2 but they never do any work4 ,and there is a still more spurious kind of humility1 that of a great many professing ,christians 7,i wonder of how many of us7 who1 when we ask them for any kind of ,christian service1 say1 ',i do not feel myself at all competent4 ,i am sure ,i could not take a class in the ,sunday ,school4 ,i do not feel sufficiently master of the subject4 ,i cannot talk4 ,i have no facilities for influencing other people1' and so on4 ,too many of us are very humble when there is anything to be done1 and never at any other time as far as anybody can see2 and that sort of humility the ,apostle does not commend4 ,it is unfortunately very frequent amongst professing ,christians4 ,christian humility is not particular about the sort of work it does for ,jesus4 ,never mind whether you are on the quarter-deck1 with gold lace on your coat and epaulettes on your shoulders as an officer1 or whether you are a cabin-boy doing the humblest duties1 or a stoker working away down fifty feet below daylight4 ,as long as the work is done for the great ,admiral1 that is enough2 and whoever does any work for ,him will never want for a reward4 ,there are some of us who like to be officers1 but do not like carrying a musket in the ranks4 ,humility is the preparation for service1 and service is the test of humility4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 why we should wear this girdle4 ,there is one reason given in my text1 which ,peter quotes from the ,old ,testament4 ',god resisteth the proud1 but giveth grace to the humble4' ,that is often true even in regard to outward life4 ,providence and man often seem to be in league together to lift up the lowly ones and thwart the proud4 ,if a man walks with his head very high1 in this low-roofed world1 he is pretty sure to get it knocked against the rafters before he has done4 ,but it is the spiritual region that the ,apostle is thinking about1 in which the one condition of receiving ,god's grace is a lowly sense of my own character and nature1 which is conscious of sin and weakness1 and waits before ,him4 ,and the one condition of not receiving any of that grace is to keep a stiff upper lip and a high head4 ,if ,i think that ,i am rich1 'and increased with goods1 and have need of nothing1' that 'nothing' is exactly what ,i shall get from ,god1 and if ,i have need of everything1 and know that ,i have1 that 'everything' is what ,i shall get from ,him4 ',he resisteth the proud1 and ,he giveth grace to the humble4' ,on the high barren mountain-tops the dew and the rain slide off and find their way down to the lowly valleys1 where they run as fertilising rivers4 ,and the man that is humble and of a contrite heart1 'with that man will ,i dwell1 saith the ,lord4' ,if we gird ourselves with the slave's dress of humility1 then we shall one day have to say1 ',my soul shall rejoice in the ,lord1 for ,he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation2 and ,he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness2 as a bridegroom decketh himself with his ornaments1 and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels4' ,,sylvanus ',by ,sylvanus1 our faithful brother1 as ,i account him1 ,i have written unto you briefly4'--#a ,peter v4 #ab 7,r4,v74 ,i adopt the ,revised ,version because1 in one or two small points1 it brings out more clearly the ,apostle's meaning4 ,this ,sylvanus is1 beyond all reasonable doubt1 the same man who is known to us in the ,acts of the ,apostles by the name of ,silas4 ,a double name was very common amongst ,jews1 whose avocations brought them into close connection with ,gentiles4 ,you will find other instances of it amongst the ,apostles3 in ,paul himself1 whose ,hebrew name was ,saul2 ,simon and ,peter2 and probably in ,bartholomew and ,nathanael4 ,and there is no reasonable doubt that a careful examination of the various places in which ,silas and ,sylvanus are mentioned shows that they were borne by one person4 ,now let me put together the little that we know about this man1 because it will help us to some lessons4 ,he was one of the chief men in the church at ,jerusalem when the dispute arose about the necessity for circumcision for the ,gentile ,christians4 ,he was despatched to ,antioch with the message of peace and good feeling which the church at ,jerusalem wisely sent forth to heal the strife4 ,he remained in ,antioch1 although his co-deputy went back to ,jerusalem2 and the attraction of ,paul--the great mass of that star--drew this lesser light into becoming a satellite1 moving round the greater orb4 ,so1 when the unfortunate quarrel broke out between ,paul and ,barnabas1 and the latter went sulkily away by himself with his dear ,john ,mark1 without his brethren's blessing1 ,paul chose ,silas and set out upon his first missionary tour4 ,he was ,paul's companion in the prison and stripes at ,philippi1 and in the troubles at ,thessalonica2 and1 though they were parted for a little while1 he rejoined the ,apostle in the city of ,corinth4 ,from thence ,paul wrote the two letters to the ,thessalonians1 both of which are sent in the name of himself and ,silas or ,sylvanus4 ,there is one more reference to ,sylvanus in the ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 which mentions him as having been associated with ,paul in the evangelisation of the church there4 ,then he drops out of the book altogether1 and we never hear anything more about him1 except this one passing reference1 which shows us to him in an altogether new relation4 ,he is no longer attached to ,paul1 but to ,peter4 ,paul was probably either in prison1 or1 possibly1 martyred4 ,at all events1 ,sylvanus now stood to ,peter in a relationship similar to that in which he formerly stood to ,paul4 ,he was evidently acquainted with and known to the churches to whom this letter was addressed1 and1 therefore1 is chosen to carry ,peter's message to them4 ,now ,i would suggest1 in passing1 how ,sylvanus' relations to the two ,apostles throws light upon the perfectly cordial alliance between them1 and how it shatters into fragments the theory which was thought to be such a wonderful discovery some years ago1 as to the 'great schism' in the early church between one section1 led by ,peter1 and the more liberal party1 headed by ,paul4 ,instead of that1 we find the two men working together1 and the only division between them was not as to the sort of gospel they preached1 but as to the people to whom they preached4 ,this little incident helps us to realise how natural it was for a man steeped in ,paul's teaching to attach himself1 if circumstances suggested it1 to the person who has been said to have been antagonistic in the whole drift of his conceptions of ,christianity to that ,apostle4 ,but ,i do not wish to speak about that now4 ,i take this figure of a man who so contentedly and continually took such a subordinate place--played second fiddle quite willingly all his days1 and who toiled on without any notice or record1 and ask whether it does not teach one or two things4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 ,i think we may see here a hint as to the worth and importance of subordinate work4 ,not a syllable that ,silas ever said is recorded in ,scripture4 ,he had been a chief man among the brethren when he was in ,jerusalem1 but1 like some other chief men in little spheres1 he came to be anything but a chief man when he got alongside of ,paul1 and found his proper work4 ,he did not say3 ',i have always pulled the stroke oar1 and ,i am not going to be second4 ,i do not intend to be absorbed in this man's brilliant lustre4 ,i would rather have a smaller sphere where my light may not suffer by comparison than be overshone by him4' ,by no means6 ,he could not do ,paul's work1 but he could endure stripes along with him in the prison at ,philippi1 and he took them4 ,he could not write as ,peter could2 it was not his work to do that4 ,but he could carry one of ,peter's letters4 ,and so1 'by ,sylvanus1 a faithful brother1 ,i have written to you4' ,perhaps ,sylvanus was amanuensis as well as letter-carrier1 for ,i daresay ,peter was no great hand with a pen2 he was better accustomed to haul nets4 ,at all events1 subordinate work was what ,god had set him to do1 and so he found joy in it4 ,well1 then1 is not that a pattern for us8 ,people in the world or in the ,church who can do prominent work are counted by units2 and those who can do valuable subordinate work are counted by thousands--by millions4 ',those members which seem to be more feeble are the more necessary1' says ,paul4 ,it is a great truth1 which it would do us all good to lay more to heart4 ,it is hard to tell what is superior and what is subordinate work4 ,i suppose that in a steam engine the smallest rivet is quite as essential as the huge piston1 and that if the rivet drops out the piston-rod is very likely to stop rising and falling4 ,so it is a very vulgar way of talking to speak about ,a4's work being large and ,b4's work being small1 or to assume that we have eyes to settle which work is principal and which subordinate4 ,the ,athenians1 who deemed themselves wisest in the world1 thought there were few people of less importance than the fanatical ,jew who was preaching a strange story about what they knew so little of that they took ,jesus and ,resurrection to be the names of a pair of gods1 one male and one female4 ,but in the eyes that see truly--the eyes of ,god--the relative importance of ,apostle and ,stoic was otherwise appraised4 ,we cannot tell1 as the book of ,ecclesiastes has it1 'which shall prosper--this or that4' ,and if we begin to settle which is important work1 we shall be sure to make mistakes1 both in our judgment about other people1 and in our sense of the obligations laid upon ourselves4 ,let us remember that when a thing is to be done by the co-operation of a great many parts1 each part is as important as the other1 and each is indispensable4 ,although more glory may come to the soldiers who go to the front and do the fighting1 the troops miles in the rear1 that are quietly in camp looking after the stores and keeping open the lines of communication1 are quite as essential to the success of the campaign4 ,their names will not get into the gazette2 there will probably not be any honours at the conclusion of the war showered upon them2 but1 if they had not been doing their subordinate work1 the men at the front would never have been able to do theirs4 ,therefore1 the old wise law in ,israel was3 ',as his part is that goeth down into the battle1 so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff2 they shall part alike4' ,and so it is good for people that have only one talent1 and cannot do much1 and must be contented to help somebody else that can do more1 to remember this pretty little picture of ,sylvanus1 'the faithful brother1' contented all his life to be a satellite of somebody2 first of all helping ,paul1 and then helping ,paul's brother ,peter4 ,let us not be too lazy1 or too proud with the pride that apes humility1 to do the little that we can do because it is little4 ,,ii4 ,another lesson which is own sister to that first one1 but which may be taken for a moment separately1 is1 the importance and obligation of persistently doing our task1 though nobody notices it4 ,as ,i remarked1 there is not one word of anything that ,sylvanus said1 or of anything that he did apart from ,paul or ,peter1 recorded4 ,and for all the long stretch of years--we do not know how many1 but a very large number--that lie between this text of mine1 where we find him in conjunction with ,peter1 and that day at ,corinth1 where we left him with ,paul1 the ,acts of the ,apostles does not think it worth while to mention his name4 ,was he sitting with his hands in his pockets all the while1 do you think1 doing no ,christian work8 ,did he say1 as some good people are apt to say now1 ',well1 ,i went to teach in ,sunday ,school for a while1 and ,i took an interest in this1 that1 or the other thing for a bit1 but nobody took any notice of me2 and ,i supposed ,i was not wanted1 and so ,i came away6' ,not he4 ,that is what a great many of us do4 ,though we sometimes are not honest enough to say it to ourselves1 yet we do let the absence of 'recognition' 7save the mark7 influence us in the earnestness of our ,christian work to far too great an extent4 ,and ,i dare say there are good friends among us who1 if they would be quite honest with themselves1 would take the hint1 and1 if ,i may use such a word1 the rebuke1 to themselves4 ,dear brethren1 all the work that any of us do has to become unnoticed after a little while4 ,it will not last4 ,nobody will know about you or me thirty years after we are dead4 ,what does it matter whether they know anything about us1 or say anything about us1 or pat us on the back for anything that we do1 or recognise our service whilst we live8 ,surely1 if we are ,christian men and women1 we have a better reason for working than that4 ',i will never forget any of their works4' ,that ought to be enough for us1 ought it not8 ,whoever forgets1 ,he remembers2 and if ,he remembers1 ,he will not remain in our debt for anything that we have done4 ,so let us keep on1 noticed or unnoticed2 it matters very little which it is4 ,there is a fillip1 no doubt--and we should not be men and women if we did not feel it--in the recognition of what we have tried to do4 ,and sometimes it comes to us2 but the absence of it is no reason for slackening our work4 ,and this man1 so patiently and persistently 'pegging away' at his obscure task during all these years which have been swallowed up in oblivion1 may preach a sermon to us all4 ,only let us remember that he also shows us that unnoticed work is noticed1 and that unrecorded services are recorded4 ,here are you and ,i1 nineteen centuries after he is dead1 talking about him1 and his name will live and last as long as the world1 because1 though written in no other history1 it has been recorded here4 ,jesus ,christ's record1 the ,book of ,life1 contains the names of 'fellow-labourers' whose names have dropped out of every other record2 and that should be enough for us4 ,sylvanus did no work that ,christ did not see1 and no work that ,christ did not remember1 and no work of which he did not1 eighteen hundred years since1 enter into the enjoyment of the fruit1 and which he enjoys up there1 whilst we are thinking about him down here4 ,,iii4 ,the last thing that ,i would suggest is--here is an example to us of a character which we can all earn1 and which will be the best that any man can get4 ,a great genius1 a wise philosopher1 an eloquent preacher1 a statesman1 a warrior1 poet1 painter8 ,no6 ',a faithful brother4' ,he may have been a commonplace one4 ,we do not know anything about his intellectual capacity4 ,he may have had very narrow limitations and very few powers1 or he may have been a man of large faculty and acquirements4 ,but these things drop out of sight2 and this remains--that he was faithful4 ,i suppose the eulogium is meant in both senses of the word4 ,the one of these is the root of the other2 for a man that is full of faith is a man who may be trusted1 is reliable1 and will be sure to fulfil all the obligations of his position1 and to do all the duties that are laid upon him4 ,you and ,i1 whether we are wise or not1 whether we are learned or not1 whether we have large faculties or not1 whether we have great opportunities or very small ones1 can all equally earn that name if we like4 ,if the perfect judgment1 the clear eye1 of ,jesus ,christ beholds in us qualities which will permit ,him to call us by that name1 what can we want better8 ',a faithful brother4' ,trust in ,christ2 let that be the animating principle of all that we do1 the controlling power that restrains and limits and stimulates and impels4 ,and then men will know where to have us1 and will be sure1 and rightly sure1 that we shall not shirk our obligations1 nor scamp our work1 nor neglect our duties4 ,and being thus full of faith1 and counted faithful by ,him1 we need care little what men's judgments of us may be1 and need desire no better epitaph than this--a faithful brother4 ,,an ,,apostolic ,,testimony ,,and ,,exhortation '444 ,i have written briefly1 exhorting1 and testifying that this is the true grace of ,god wherein ye stand4'--#a ,peter v4 #ab4 ',i have written briefly1' says ,peter4 ,but his letter1 in comparison with the other epistles of the ,new ,testament1 is not remarkably short2 in fact1 is longer than many of them4 ,he regards it as short when measured by the greatness of its theme4 ,for all words which are devoted to witnessing to the glory of ,god revealed in ,jesus ,christ1 must be narrow and insufficient as compared with that1 and after every utterance the speaker must feel how inadequate his utterance has been4 ,so in that word 'briefly' we get a glimpse of the ,apostle's conception of the transcendent greatness of the ,gospel which he had to proclaim4 ,this verse seems to be a summary of the contents of the ,epistle4 ,and if we observe the altered translation of the latter portion of my text which is given in the ,revised ,version1 we shall see that the verse is itself an example of both 'testifying' and exhorting4 ,for the last clause is not1 as our ,authorised ,version renders it1 ',wherein ye stand'--a statement of a fact1 however true that may be--but a commandment1 ',in which stand fast4' ,and so we have here the ,apostle's all-sufficient teaching1 and this all-comprehensive exhortation4 ,he 'witnesses' that this is the true grace of ,god1 and because it is1 he exhorts1 'stand fast therein4' ,let us look at these two points4 ,i4 ,peter's testimony4 ,now there is a very beautiful1 though not1 to superficial readers1 obvious1 significance in this testimony4 ',this is the true grace of ,god4' ,what is meant by 'this'8 ,not merely the teaching which he has been giving in the preceding part of the letter1 but that which somebody else had been giving4 ,now these churches in ,asia ,minor1 to whom this letter was sent1 were in all probability founded by the ,apostle ,paul1 or by men working under his direction3 and the type of doctrine preached in them was what people nowadays call ,pauline4 ,and here ,peter puts his seal on the teaching that had come from his brother ,apostle1 and says3 ',the thing that you have learned1 and that ,i have had no part in communicating to you1 this is the true grace of ,god4' ,if such be the primary application of the words 7and ,i think there can be little doubt that it is71 then we have an interesting evidence1 all the stronger because unobtrusive1 of the cordial understanding between the two great leaders of the ,church in apostolic times2 and the figments that have been set forth1 with great learning and little common sense1 about the differences that divided these great teachers of ,christianity1 melt away into thin air4 ,their division was only a division of the field of labour4 ',they would that ,i should go unto the ,gentiles1 and they unto the circumcision4' ,all the evidence confirms what ,paul says1 ',whether it were they or ,i1 so we preach1 and so' all the converts 'believed4' ,thus it is not without significance and beauty that we here see dimly through the ages ,peter stretching out his hands to ,paul's convert1 and saying1 ',this--which my beloved brother ,paul taught you--this is the true grace of ,god4' ,but1 apart altogether from that thought1 note two things2 the one1 the substance of this witness-bearing2 and the other1 ,peter's right to bear it4 ,as to the substance of the testimony2 'grace' which has become a threadbare word in the minds of many people1 used with very little conception of its true depth and beauty of meaning1 is properly love in exercise towards inferior and sinful creatures who deserve something else4 ,condescending1 pardoning1 and active love1 is its proper meaning4 ,and1 says ,peter1 the inmost significance of the gospel is that it is the revelation of such a love as being in ,god's heart4 ,another meaning springs out of this4 ,that same message is not only a revelation of love1 but it is a communication of the gifts of love4 ,and the 'true grace of ,god' is shorthand for all the rich abundance and variety and exuberant manifoldness and all-sufficiency of the sevenfold perfect gifts for spirit and heart which come from faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,the truths that lie here in the ,gospel1 the truths which glow and throb in this letter of ,peter's1 are the revelation and the communication to men of the rich gifts of the ,divine heart1 which will all flow into that soul which opens itself for the entrance of ,god's word4 ,and what are these truths8 ,the main theme of this letter is ,jesus ,christ1 the ,lamb of ,god1 that was slain4 ',ye were as sheep going astray1 but are now returned unto the ,shepherd and ,bishop of your souls4' ,he dwells upon ,christ's innocence1 upon ,christ's meekness2 but most of all upon the ,christ that died1 'whom1 having not seen1 we love1 and in whom1 though unseen1 we1 believing1 receive the end of our faith'--and the end of the gospel--'even the salvation of our souls4' ,thus1 dear brethren1 this gospel1 the gospel of the ,divine ,christ that died for our sins1 and lives to give ,his ,spirit to all waiting hearts2 this is the true grace of ,god4 ,it is very needful for us to keep in view always that lofty conception of what this gospel is1 that we may not bring it down to the level of a mere theory of religion2 nor think of it as a mere publication of dry doctrines2 that we may not lose sight of what is the heart of it all1 but may recognise this fact1 that a gospel out of which are struck1 or in which are diminished1 the truths of the sacrifice of ,christ and ,his ever-living intercession for us1 is not the true grace of ,god1 and is neither a revelation of ,his love to inferior and sinful men1 nor a communication of ,his gifts to our weakness4 ,let us remember ,peter's witness4 ,this--the full gospel of incarnation1 sacrifice1 resurrection1 ascension1 and reign in glory1 and return as ,judge--this1 and nothing else1 'is the true grace of ,god4' ,and this gospel is not exalted to its highest place unless it is regarded as such by our waiting and recipient hearts4 ,further1 what right had this man to take this position and say1 ',i testify that this is the true grace of ,god'8 ,he was no great genius2 he did not know anything about comparative religion1 which is nowadays supposed to be absolutely essential to understanding any one religion4 ,he was not a scholar or a philosopher4 ,what business had he to bring in his personality thus1 as if he were an authority1 and say1 ',i testify that this is the true grace of ,god'8 ,well there are two or three answers3 one peculiar to him and others common to all ,christian people4 ,the one peculiar to him is1 as ,i believe1 that he was conscious1 and rightly conscious1 that ,jesus ,christ had bestowed upon him the power to witness1 and the authority to impose his testimony upon men as a word from ,god4 ,in the most inartificial and matter-of-course way ,peter here lets us see the apostolic conception of apostolic authority4 ,he had a right--not because of what he was himself1 but because of the authority which ,christ had conferred on him--to say to men1 ',i do not ask you to give heed to me1 ,peter4 ,i myself also am a man 7as he said to ,cornelius71 but ,i call on you to accept ,christ's word1 spoken through me1 ,his commissioned messenger1 when ,i testify1 and through me ,christ testifies1 that this is the true grace of ,god4' ,now no one but an apostle has the right to say that2 but we ,christian people have a right to say something like it1 and if we have not apostolic authority1 we may have what is very nearly as good1 and sometimes as powerful in its effect upon other people1 and that is authority based on personal experience4 ,if we have plunged deep into the secrets of ,god1 and lived closely and faithfully in communion with ,him1 and for ourselves have found the grace of ,god1 ,his love and the gifts of ,his love1 coming into our lives1 and ennobling1 calming1 elevating each of us2 then we1 too1 have a right to go to men and say1 ',never mind about me2 never mind about whether ,i am wise or foolish1 ,i do not argue1 but ,i tell you ,i have tasted the manna1 and it is sweet4 ,i have drunk of the water1 and it comes cool and fresh from the rock4 ,one thing ,i know1 that whereas ,i was blind1 now ,i see4 ,i believed1 and therefore have ,i spoken1 and on the strength of my own tasting of it1 ,i testify that this1 which has done so much for me1 is the true grace of ,god4' ,if we testify thus1 and back up our witness with lives corresponding1 some who are wholly untouched by a preacher's eloquence and controversialists' arguments1 will probably be led by our attestation to make the experiment for themselves4 ',ye are ,my witnesses1' says ,god4 ,he did not say1 ',ye are my advocates4' ,he did not bid us argue for ,him1 but ,he bid us witness for ,him4 ,,ii4 ,further1 notice ,peter's exhortation4 ,according to the right rendering the last clause is1 as ,i have already said1 'in which stand fast4' ,the translation in the ,authorised ,version1 'in which ye stand1' gives a true thought1 though not the ,apostle's intention here4 ,for1 as a matter of fact1 men cannot stand upright and firm unless their feet are planted on the rock of that true grace of ,god4 ,if our heels are well fixed on it1 then our goings will be established4 ,it is no use talking to men about steadfastness of purpose1 stability of life1 erect independence1 resistance to antagonistic forces1 and all the rest1 unless you give them something to stand upon4 ,if you talk so to a man who has his foot upon shifting sands or slippery clay2 the more he tries the deeper will he sink into the one1 or slide the further upon the other4 ,the best way to help men to stand fast is to give them something to stand upon4 ,and the only standing ground that will never yield1 nor collapse1 nor1 like the quicksand with the tide round it1 melt away1 we do not know how1 from beneath our feet1 is 'the grace of ,god4' ,or1 as ,dr4 ,watts says1 in one of his now old-fashioned hymns3-- ',lo6 on the solid ,rock ,i stand1 ,and all beside is shifting sand4' ,however1 that is not what the ,apostle ,peter meant4 ,he says1 ',see that you keep firmly your position in reference to this true grace of ,god4' ,now ,i am not going to talk to you about intellectual difficulties in the way of hearty and whole-souled acceptance of the gospel revelation--difficulties which are very real and very widespread in these days1 but which possibly very slightly affect us2 at least ,i hope so4 ,but whilst these slay their thousands1 the difficulties that affect us all in the way of keeping a firm hold on1 or firm standing in 7for the two metaphors coalesce7 the gospel1 which is the true grace of ,god1 are those that arise from two causes working in combination4 ,one is our own poor weak hearts1 wavering wills1 strong passions1 unbridled desires1 forgetful minds2 and the other is all that army and babel of seductions and inducements1 in occupations legitimate and necessary1 in enjoyments which are in themselves pure and innocent1 in family delights1 in home engagements1 in pursuits of commerce or of daily business--all that crowd of things that tempt us to forget the true grace and to wander away in a foolish and vain search after vain and foolish substitutes4 ,dear brethren1 it is not so much because there are many adversaries in the intellectual world as because we are such weak creatures ourselves1 and the world around us is so strong against us1 that we need to say to one another and to ourselves1 over and over again1 ',stand ye fast therein4' ,you cannot keep hold of a rope even1 without the act of grasping tending to relax1 and there must be a conscious and repeated tightening up of the muscles1 or the very cord on which we hang for safety will slip through our relaxed palms4 ,and however we may be convinced that there are no hope and no true blessedness for us except in keeping hold of ,god1 we need that grasp to be tightened up by daily renewed efforts1 or else it will certainly become slack1 and we shall lose the thing that we should hold fast4 ,so my text exhorts us against ourselves1 and against the temptations of the world1 which are always present with us1 and are far more operative in bringing down the temperature of the ,christian ,church1 and of its individual members1 than any chilling that arises from intellectual doubts4 ,and how are we to obey the exhortation8 ,well1 plainly1 if 'this' is the revelation of ,god in ,jesus ,christ1 'the true grace of ,god' which alone will give stability to our feet1 then we 'shall not stand fast' in it unless we make conscious efforts to apprehend1 and comprehend1 and keep hold of it in our minds as well as in our hearts4 ,may ,i say one very plain word8 ,i am very much afraid that people do not read their ,bibles very much now 7or if they do read them1 they do not study them71 and that anything like an intelligent familiarity with the whole sweep of the great system 7for it is a system7 of ,divine truth1 evolved 'at sundry times and in divers manners' in this ,word1 is a very rare thing amongst even good people4 ,they listen to sermons1 with more or less attention2 they read newspapers1 no doubt2 they read good little books1 and magazines1 and the like2 and volumes that profess to be drawn from ,scripture4 ,these are all right and good in their place4 ,but sure ,i am that a robust and firm grasp of the gospel1 'which is the grace of ,god1' is not possible with a starvation diet of ,scripture4 ,and so ,i would say1 try to get hold of the depth and width of meaning in the ,word4 ,again1 try to keep heart and mind in contact with it amidst distractions and daily duties4 ,try to bring the principles of the ,new ,testament consciously to bear on the small details of everyday life4 ,do you look at your day's work through these spectacles8 ,does it ever occur to you1 as you are going about your business1 or your profession1 or your domestic work1 to ask yourselves what bearing the gospel and its truths have upon these8 ,if my ordinary1 so-called secular1 avocations are evacuated of reference to1 and government by1 the ,word of ,god1 ,i want to know what of my life is left as the sphere in which it is to work4 ,there is no need that religion and daily life should be kept apart as they are4 ,there is no reason why the experience of to-day1 in shop1 and counting-house1 and kitchen1 and study1 should not cast light upon1 and make more real to me1 'the true grace of ,god4' ,be sure that you desire1 and ask for1 and put yourself in the attitude of receiving1 the gifts of that love1 which are the graces of the ,christian life4 ,and when you have got them1 apply them1 'that you may be able to withstand in the evil day2 and1 having done all1 to stand4' ,,the ,,church ,,in ,,babylon ',the church that is at ,babylon1 elected together with you1 saluteth you 444'--#a ,peter v4 #ac4 ,we have drawn lessons in previous addresses from the former parts of the closing salutations of this letter4 ,and now ,i turn to this one to see what it may yield us4 ,the ,revised ,version omits 'the church1' and substitutes 'she'2 explaining in a marginal note that there is a difference of opinion as to whether the sender of the letter is a community or an individual4 ,all the old ,,mss41 with one weighty exception1 follow the reading 'she that is in ,babylon4' ,but it seems so extremely unlikely that a single individual1 with no special function1 should be bracketed along with the communities to whom the letter was addressed1 as 'elected together with' them1 that the conclusion that the sender of the letter is a church1 symbolically designated as a 'lady1' seems the natural one4 ,then there is another question--where was ,babylon8 ,an equal diversity of opinion has arisen about that4 ,i do not venture to trouble you with the arguments pro and con1 but only express my own opinion that ',babylon' means ,rome4 ,we have here the same symbolical name as in the ,book of ,revelation1 where1 whatever further meanings are attached to the designation1 it is intended primarily as an appellation for the imperial city1 which has taken the place filled in the ,old ,testament by ,babylon1 as the concentration of antagonism to the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,if these views of the significance of the expression are adopted we have here the ,church in ,rome1 the proud stronghold of worldly power and hostility1 sending its greetings to the scattered ,christian communities in the provinces of what is now called ,asia ,minor4 ,the fact of such cordial communications between communities separated by so many contrarieties as well as by race and distance1 familiar though it is1 may suggest several profitable considerations1 to which ,i ask your attention4 ,i4 ,we have here an object lesson as to the uniting power of the gospel4 ,just think of the relations which1 in the civil world1 subsisted between ,rome and its subject provinces2 the latter1 with bitter hatred in their hearts to everything belonging to the oppressing city1 having had their freedom crushed down and their aspirations ruthlessly trampled upon2 the former1 with the contempt natural to metropolitans in dealing with far-off provincials4 ,the same kind of relationship subsisted between ,rome and the outlying provinces of its unwieldly empire as between ,england1 for instance1 and its ,indian possessions4 ,and the same uniting bond came in which binds the ,christian converts of these ,eastern lands of ours to ,england by a far firmer bond than any other4 ,there was springing up amidst all the alienation and hatred and smothered rebellion a still incipient1 but increasing1 and even then strong bond that held together ,roman ,christians and ,cappadocian believers4 ,they were both 'one in ,christ ,jesus4' ,the separating walls were high1 but1 according to the old saying1 you cannot build walls high enough to keep out the birds2 and spirits1 winged by the common faith1 soared above all earthly-made distinctions and met in the higher regions of ,christian communion4 ,when the tide rises it fills and unifies the scattered pools on the beach4 ,so the uniting power of ,christian faith was manifest in these early days1 when it bound such discordant elements together1 and made 'the church that was in ,babylon' forget that they were to a large extent ,romans by birth1 and stretch out their hands1 with their hearts in them1 to the churches to whom this letter was sent4 ,now1 brethren1 our temptation is not so much to let barriers of race and language and distance weaken our sense of ,christian community1 as it is to let even smaller things than these do the same tragical office for us4 ,and we1 as ,christian people1 are bound to try and look over the fences of our 'denominations' and churches1 and recognise the wider fellowship and larger company in which all these are merged4 ,god be thanked6 there are manifest tokens all round us to-day that the age of separation and division is about coming to an end4 ,yearnings for unity1 which must not be forced into acts too soon1 but which will fulfil themselves in ways not yet clear to any of us1 are beginning to rise in ,christian hearts4 ,let us see to it1 dear friends1 that we do our parts to cherish and to increase these1 and to yield ourselves to the uniting power of the common faith4 ,,ii4 ,we note1 further1 the clear recognition here of what is the strong bond uniting all ,christians4 ,peter would probably have been very much astonished if he had been told of the theological controversies that were to be waged round that word 'elect4' ,the emphasis here lies1 not on 'elect1' but on 'together4' ,it is not the thing so much as the common possession of the thing which bulks largely before the ,apostle4 ,in effect he says1 ',the reason why these ,roman ,christians that have never looked you ,bithynians in the face do yet feel their hearts going out to you1 and send you their loving messages1 is because they1 in common with you1 have been recipients of precisely the same ,divine act of grace4' ,we do not now need to discuss the respective parts of man and ,god in it1 nor any of the interminable controversies that have sprung up around the word4 ,god had1 as the fact of their possession of salvation showed1 chosen ,romans and ,asiatics together to be heirs of eternal life4 ,by the side of these transcendent blessings which they possessed in common1 how pitiably small and insignificant all the causes which kept them apart looked and were6 ,and so here we have a partial parallel to the present state of ,christendom1 in which are seen at work1 on one hand1 superficial separation2 on the other1 underlying unity4 ,the splintered peaks may stand1 or seem to stand1 apart from their sister summits1 or may frown at each other across impassable gorges1 but they all belong to one geological formation1 and in their depths their bases blend indistinguishably into a continuous whole4 ,their tops are miles apart1 but beneath the surface they are one4 ,and so the things that bind ,christian men together are the great things and the deepest things2 and the things that part them are the small and superficial ones4 ,therefore it is our wisdom--not only for the sake of the fact of our unity and for the sake of our consciousness of unity1 but because the truths which unite are the most important ones--that they shall bulk largest in our hearts and minds4 ,and if they do1 we shall know our brother in every man that is like-minded with us towards them1 whatever shibboleth may separate us4 ,i spoke a moment ago about the separate pools on the beach1 and the tide rising4 ,when the tide goes down1 and the spiritual life ebbs1 the pools are parted again4 ,and so ages of feeble spiritual vitality have been ages of theological controversy about secondary matters2 and ages of profound realisation by the ,church of the great fundamentals of gospel truth have been those when its members were drawn together1 they knew not how4 ,hence they can say of and to each other1 ',elect together with you4' ,brethren1 for the sake of the strength of our own religious life1 do not let us fix our attention on the peculiarities of our sects1 but upon the catholic truths believed everywhere1 always1 by all4 ,then we shall 'walk in a large place1' and feel how many there are that are possessors of 'like precious faith' with ourselves4 ,,iii4 ,then1 lastly1 we may find here a hint as to the pressing need for such a realisation of unity4 ',the church that is in ,babylon' was in a very uncongenial place4 ,thank ,god1 no ,babylon is so ,babylonish but that a ,church of ,god may be found planted in it4 ,no circumstances are so unfavourable to the creation and development of the religious life but that the religious life may grow there4 ,an orchid will find footing upon a bit of stick1 because it draws nourishment from the atmosphere2 and they who are fed by influx of the ,divine ,spirit may be planted anywhere1 and yet flourish in the courts of our ,god4 ,so 'the church that is in ,babylon' gives encouragement as to the possibility of ,christian faith being triumphant over adverse conditions4 ,but it also gives a hint as to the obligation springing from the circumstances in which ,christian people are set1 to cultivate the sense of belonging to a great brotherhood4 ,howsoever solitary and surrounded by uncongenial associations any ,christian man may be1 he may feel that he is not alone1 not only because his ,master is with him1 but because there are many others whose hearts throb with the same love1 whose lives are surrounded by the same difficulties4 ,it is by no means a mere piece of selfish consolation which this same ,apostle gives in another part of his letter1 when he bids the troubled so be of good cheer1 as remembering that the 'same afflictions were accomplished in the brotherhood which is in the world4' ,he did not mean to say1 ',take comfort1 for other people are as badly off as you are1' but he meant to call to the remembrance of the solitary sufferer the thousands of his brethren who were 'dreeing the same weird' in the same uncongenial world4 ,if thus you and ,i1 ,christian men1 are pressed upon on all sides by such worldly associations1 the more need that we should let our hearts go out to the innumerable multitude of our fellows1 companions in the tribulation1 and patience1 and kingdom of ,jesus ,christ4 ,precisely because the ,roman believers were in ,babylon1 they were glad to think of their brethren in ,asia4 ,isolated amidst ,rome's splendours and sins1 it was like a breath of cool air stealing into some banqueting house heavy with the fumes of wine1 or some slaughter-house reeking with the smell of blood1 to remember these far-off partakers of a purer life4 ,but if ,i might for a moment diverge1 ,i would venture to say that in the conditions of thought1 and the tendencies of things in our own and other lands1 it is more than ever needful that ,christian people should close their ranks1 and stand shoulder to shoulder4 ,for men who believe in a supernatural revelation1 in the ,divine ,christ1 in an atoning ,sacrifice1 in an indwelling ,spirit1 are guilty of suicidal folly if they let the comparative trivialities that part them1 separate ,god's army into isolated groups1 in the face of the ordered battalions that are assaulting these great truths4 ,because persecution was beginning to threaten and rumble on the horizon1 like a rising thundercloud1 it was the more needful1 in ,peter's time1 that ,christians parted by seas1 by race1 language1 and customs1 should draw together4 ,and for us1 fidelity to our testimony and loyalty to our ,master1 to say nothing of common sense and the instinct of self-preservation1 command ,christian men in this day to think more1 and to speak more1 and to make more1 of the great verities which they all possess in common4 ,thus1 brethren1 living in ,babylon1 we should open our windows to ,jerusalem2 and though we dwell here as aliens1 we may say1 ',we are come unto the city of the living ,god1 the heavenly ,jerusalem2 to an innumerable company of angels2 to the spirits of just men made perfect2 and to the ,church of the first-born whose names are written in ,heaven4' ,,marcus1 ,,my ,,son '444 ,so doth ,marcus1 my son4'--#a ,peter v4 #ac4 ,the outlines of ,mark's life1 so far as recorded in ,scripture1 are familiar4 ,he was the son of ,mary1 a woman of some wealth and position1 as is implied by the fact that her house was large enough to accommodate the 'many' who were gathered together to pray for ,peter's release4 ,he was a relative1 probably a cousin 7,col4 iv4 #aj1 ,revised ,version71 of ,barnabas1 and possibly1 like him1 a native of ,cyprus4 ,the designation of him by ,peter as 'my son' naturally implies that the ,apostle had been the instrument of his conversion4 ,an old tradition tells us that he was the 'young man' mentioned in his ,gospel who saw ,christ arrested1 and fled1 leaving his only covering in the captor's hands4 ,however that may be1 he and his relatives were early and prominent disciples1 and closely connected with ,peter1 as is evident from the fact that it was to ,mary's house that he went after his deliverance4 ,mark's relationship to ,barnabas made it natural that he should be chosen to accompany him and ,paul on their first missionary journey1 and his connection with ,cyprus helps to account for his willingness to go thither1 and his unwillingness to go further into less known ground4 ,we know how he left the ,apostles1 when they crossed from ,cyprus to the mainland1 and retreated to his mother's house at ,jerusalem4 ,we have no details of the inglorious inactivity in which he spent the time until the proposal of a second journey by ,paul and ,barnabas4 ,in the preparations for it1 the foolish indulgence of his cousin1 far less kind than ,paul's wholesome severity1 led to a rupture between the ,apostles1 and to ,barnabas setting off on an evangelistic tour on his own account1 which received no sympathy from the church at ,antioch1 and has been deemed unworthy of record in the ,acts4 ,then followed some twelve years or more1 during which ,mark seems to have remained quiescent2 or1 at all events1 he does not appear to have had any work in connection with the great ,apostle4 ,then we find him reappearing amongst ,paul's company when he was in prison for the first time in ,rome2 and in the letters to ,coloss he is mentioned as being a comfort to the ,apostle then4 ,he sends salutations to the ,colossians1 and is named also in the nearly contemporaneous letter to ,philemon4 ,according to the reference in ,colossians1 he was contemplating a journey amongst the ,asiatic churches1 for that in ,coloss is bidden to welcome him4 ,then comes this mention of him in the text4 ,the fact that ,mark was beside ,peter when he wrote seems to confirm the view that ,babylon here is a mystical name for ,rome2 and that this letter falls somewhere about the same date as the letters to ,coloss and ,philemon4 ,here again he is sending salutations to ,asiatic churches4 ,we know nothing more about him1 except that some considerable time after1 in ,paul's last letter1 he asks ,timothy1 who was then at ,ephesus1 the headquarters of the ,asiatic churches1 to 'take ,mark1' who1 therefore1 was apparently also in ,asia1 'and bring him' with him to ,rome2 'for1' says the ,apostle1 beautifully referring to the man's former failure1 'he is profitable to me for'--the very office that he had formerly flung up--'the ministry4' ,so1 possibly1 he was with ,paul in his last days4 ,and then1 after that1 tradition tells us that he attached himself more closely to the ,apostle ,peter2 and1 finally1 at his direction and dictation1 became the evangelist who wrote the ',gospel according to ,mark4' ,now that is his story2 and from the figure of this ',marcus1 my son1' and from his appearance here in this letter1 ,i wish to gather two or three very plain and familiar lessons4 ,i4 ,the first of them is the working of ,christian sympathy4 ,mark was a full-blooded ,jew when he began his career4 ',john1 whose surname was ,mark1' like a great many other ,jews at that time1 bore a double name--one ,jewish1 ',john1' and one ,gentile1 ',marcus4' ,but as time goes on we do not hear anything more about ',john1' nor even about ',john ,mark1' which are the two forms of his name when he is first introduced to us in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 but he finally appears to have cast aside his ,hebrew and to have been only known by his ,roman name4 ,and that change of appellation coincides with the fact that so many of the allusions which we have to him represent him as sending messages of ,christian greeting across the sea to his ,gentile brethren4 ,and it further coincides with the fact that his gospel is obviously intended for the use of ,gentile ,christians1 and1 according to an old and reliable tradition1 was written in ,rome for ,roman ,christians4 ,all of which facts just indicate two things1 that the more a man has real operative love to ,jesus ,christ in his heart1 the more he will rise above all limitations of his interests1 his sympathy1 and his efforts1 and the more surely will he let himself out1 as far as he can1 in affection towards and toils for all men4 ,this change of name1 though it is a mere trifle1 and may have been adopted as a matter of convenience1 may also be taken as reminding us of a very important truth1 and that is1 that if we wish to help people1 the first condition is that we go down and stand on their level1 and make ourselves one with them1 as far as we can4 ,and so ,mark may have said1 ',i have put away the name that parts me from these ,gentiles1 for whom ,i desire to work1 and whom ,i love2 and ,i take the name that binds me to them4' ,why1 it is the very same principle1 in a small instance--just as a raindrop that hangs on the thorn of a rose-bush is moulded by the same laws that shape the great sphere of the central sun--it is a small instance of the great principle which brought ,jesus ,christ down into the world to die for us4 ,you must become like the people that you want to help4 ',forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood1 ,he also ,himself likewise took part of the same1 that ,he might deliver them4' ,and so1 not only the duty of widening our sympathies1 but one of the supreme conditions of being of use to anybody1 are set forth in the comparatively trifling incident1 which we pass by without noticing it1 that this man1 a ,jew to his finger-tips1 finally found himself--or1 rather1 finally was carried1 for it was no case of unconscious drifting--into the position of a messenger of the ,cross to the ,gentiles2 and for the sake of efficiency in his work1 and of getting close by the side of people whom he wanted to influence1 flung away deliberately that which parted him from them4 ,it is a small matter1 but a little window may show a very wide prospect4 ,,ii4 ,the history of ,mark suggests the possibility of overcoming early faults4 ,we do not know why he refused to bear the burden of the work that he had so cheerily begun4 ,probably the reason that ,i have suggested may have had something to do with it4 ,when he started he did not bargain for going into unknown lands1 in which there were many toils to be encountered4 ,he was willing to go where he knew the ground1 and where there were people that would make things easy for him2 but when ,paul went further afield1 ,mark's courage ebbed out at his finger ends1 and he slunk back to the comfort of his mother's house in ,jerusalem4 ,at all events1 whatever his reason1 his return was a fault2 or ,paul would not have been so hard upon him as he was4 ,the writer of the ,acts puts ,paul's view of the case strongly by the arrangement of clauses in the sentence in which he tells us that the ,apostle 'thought not good to take him with them who withdrew from them from ,pamphylia1 and went not with them to the work4' ,if he thus threw down his tools whenever he came to a little difficulty1 and said1 ',as long as it is easy work1 and close to the base of operations1 ,i am your man1 but if there is any sacrifice wanted you must look out for somebody else1' he was not precisely a worker after ,paul's own heart4 ,and the best way to treat him was as the ,apostle did2 and to say to ,barnabas' indulgent proposal1 ',no6 he would not do the work before1 and now he shall not do it4' ,that is often ,god's way with us4 ,it brings us to our senses1 as it brought ,mark to his4 ,we do not know how long it took to cure ,mark of his early fault1 but he was thoroughly cured4 ,the man that was afraid of dangers and difficulties and hypothetical risks in ,asia ,minor became brave enough to stand by the ,apostle when he was a prisoner1 and was not ashamed of his chain4 ,and afterwards1 so much had he won his way into the ,apostle's confidence1 and made himself needful for him by his services and his sweetness1 that the lonely prisoner1 with the gibbet or headsman's sword in prospect1 feels that he would like to have ,mark with him once more1 and bids ,timothy bring him with himself1 for 'he is profitable to me for the ministry4' ',he can do a thousand things that a man like me cannot do for himself1 and he does them all for love and nothing for reward4' ,so he wants ,mark once more4 ,and thus not only ,paul's generosity1 but ,mark's own patient effort had pasted a clean sheet over the one that was inscribed with the black story of his desertion1 and he became 'profitable for' the task that he had once in so petulant and cowardly a way1 flung up4 ,well1 translate that from the particular into the general and it comes to this4 ,let no man set limits to the possibilities of his own restoration1 and of his curing faults which are most deeply rooted within himself4 ,hope and effort should be boundless4 ,there is nothing that a ,christian man may not reach1 in the way of victory over his worse self1 and ejection of his most deeply-rooted faults1 if only he will be true to ,jesus1 and use the gifts that are given to him4 ,there are many of us whose daily life is pitched in a minor key2 whose whole landscape is grey and monotonous and sunless2 who feel as if yesterday must set the tune for to-day1 and as if1 because we have been beaten and baffled so often1 it is useless to try again4 ,but remember that the field on which the ,stone of ,help was erected1 to commemorate the great and decisive victory that ,israel won1 was the very field on which the same foes had before contended1 and then ,israel had been defeated4 ,so1 brethren1 we may win victories on the very soil where formerly we were shamefully put to the rout2 and our ,christ with us will make anything possible for us1 in the way of restoration1 of cure of old faults1 of ceasing to repeat former sins4 ,i suppose that when a spar is snapped on board a vessel1 and lashed together with spun yarn and lanyards1 as a sailor knows how to do1 it is stronger at the point of fracture than it was before4 ,i suppose that it is possible for a man to be most impregnable at the point where he is naturally weakest1 if he chooses to use the defences that ,jesus ,christ has given4 ,,iii4 ,take another lesson--the greatness of little service4 ,we do not hear that this ,john ,mark ever tried to do any work in the way of preaching the gospel4 ,his business was a very much humbler one4 ,he had to attend to ,paul's comfort4 ,he had to be his factotum1 man of all work2 looking after material things1 the commissariat1 the thousand and one trifles that some one had to see to if the ,apostle's great work was to get done4 ,and he did it all his life long4 ,it was enough for him to do thoroughly the entirely 'secular' work1 as some people would think it1 which it was in his power to do4 ,that needed some self-suppression4 ,it would have been so natural for ,mark to have said1 ',paul sends ,timothy to be bishop in ,crete2 and ,titus to look after other churches2 ,epaphroditus is an official here2 and ,apollos is a great preacher there4 ,and here am ,i1 grinding away at the secularities yet4 ,i think ,i'll strike1 and try and get more conspicuous work4' ,or he might perhaps deceive himself1 and say1 'more directly religious work1' like a great many of us that often mask a very carnal desire for prominence under a very saintly guise of desire to do spiritual service4 ,let us take care of that4 ,this 'minister1' who was not a minister at all1 in our sense of the word1 but only in the sense of being a servant1 a private attendant and valet of the ,apostle1 was glad to do that work all his days4 ,that was self-suppression4 ,but it was something more4 ,it was a plain recognition of what we all ought to have very clearly before us1 and that is1 that all sorts of work which contribute to one end are one sort of work2 and that at bottom the man who carried ,paul's books and parchments1 and saw that he was not left without clothes1 though he was so negligent of cloaks and other necessaries1 was just as much helping on the cause of ,christ as the ,apostle when he preached4 ,i wonder if any of you remember the old story about an organist and his blower4 ,the blower was asked who it was that played that great sonata of ,beethoven's1 or somebody's4 ,and he answered1 ',i do not know who played1 but ,i blew it4' ,there is a great truth there4 ,if it had not been for the unknown man at the bellows1 the artist at the keys would not have done much4 ,so ,mark helped ,paul4 ,and as ,jesus ,christ said1 ',he that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet1 shall receive a prophet's reward4' ,,iv4 ,take as the last lesson the enlarged sphere that follows faithfulness in small matters4 ,what a singular change6 ,the man who began with being a servant of ,paul and of ,barnabas ends by being the evangelist1 and it is to him1 under ,peter's direction1 that we owe what is possibly the oldest1 and1 at all events1 in some aspects1 an entirely unique1 narrative of our ,lord's life4 ,do you think that ,peter would ever have said to him3 ',mark6 come here and sit down and write what ,i tell you1' if there had not been beforehand these long years of faithful service8 ,so is it always1 dear friends1 ',he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much4' ,that is not only a declaration that faithfulness is one in kind1 whatever be the diameter of the circle in which it is exercised1 but it may also be taken as a promise1 though that was not the original intention of the saying4 ,for quite certainly1 in ,god's providence1 the tools do come to the hand that can wield them1 and the best reward that we can get for doing well our little work is to have larger work to do4 ,the little tapers are tempted1 if ,i may use so incongruous a figure1 to wish themselves set up on loftier stands4 ,shine your brightest in your corner1 and you will be 'exalted' in due time4 ,it is so1 as a rule1 in this world2 sometimes too much so1 for1 as they say is the case at the ,english bar1 so it is sometimes in ,god's ,church1 ',there is no medium between having nothing to do and being killed with work4' ,still the reward for work is more work4 ,and the law will be exemplified most blessedly when ,christ shall say1 ',well done6 good and faithful servant4 ,thou hast been faithful over a few things1 ,i will make thee ruler over many things4' ,so this far-away figure of the minister-evangelist salutes us too1 and bids us be of good cheer1 notwithstanding all faults and failures1 because it is possible for us1 as he has proved1 to recover ourselves after them all4 ,god will not be less generous in forgiveness than ,paul was2 and even you and ,i may hear from ,christ's lips1 ',thou art profitable to ,me for the ministry4' ,,ii4 ,,peter ,,like ,,precious ,,faith '444 ,them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of ,god and our ,saviour ,jesus ,christ4'--#b ,peter i4 #a4 ,peter seems to have had a liking for that word 'precious4' ,it is not a very descriptive one2 it does not give much light as to the quality of the things to which it is applied2 but it is a suggestion of one-idea value4 ,it is interesting to notice the objects to which1 in his two letters--for ,i take this to be his letter--he applies it4 ,he speaks of the trial of faith as being 'precious4' ,he speaks 7with a slight modification of the word employed7 of ,jesus ,christ as being 'to them that believe1 precious4' ,he speaks of the 'precious' blood of ,christ4 ,these instances are in the first epistle4 ,in this second epistle we have the words of my text1 and a moment after1 'exceeding great and precious promises4' ,now look at ,peter's list of valuables2 ',christ1 ,christ's blood1 ,god's promises1 our ,faith1 and the discipline to which that faith is subjected4' ,these are things that the old man had found out to be of worth4 ,but then there is another word in my text that must be noted1 'like precious4' ,it brings into view two classes1 to one of which ,peter himself belongs--'us' and 'they4' ,who are these two classes8 ,it may be that he is thinking of the immense difference between the intelligent and developed faith of himself and the other ,apostles1 and the rudimentary and infantile faith of the recent believers to whom he may be speaking4 ,and1 if so1 that would be beautiful1 but ,i rather take it that he is tacitly contrasting in his own mind the difference between the ,gentile converts as a whole1 and the members of the ,jewish community who had become believers in ,jesus ,christ1 and that he is repeating the lesson that he had learned on the housetop at ,joppa1 and had had further confirmed to him by the experience of ,csarea1 and that he is really saying exactly what he said when he defended himself before the ,council in ,jerusalem3 ',seeing that ,god had given unto them the like gift that he did unto us1 who was ,i1 that ,i should withstand ,god8' ,and so he looks out over all the ,christian community1 and ignores 'the middle wall of partition1' and says1 ',them that have obtained like precious faith with us4' ,i wish very simply to try to draw out the thoughts that lie in these words1 and cluster round that well-worn and threadbare theological expression and ,christian verity of 'faith' or 'trust4' ,i4 ,and the first thing that ,i would desire to point you to is1 what we learn here as to the object of faith4 ,now those of you who are using the ,revised ,version will notice that there is a very slight1 but important1 alteration there1 from the rendering in the old translation4 ,we read in the latter3 ',like precious faith with us through the righteousness1 444' and that is a meaning that might be defended4 ,but the ,revised ,version says1 and says more accurately as far as the words go1 and more truly as far as ,christian thought goes1 'them that have obtained like precious faith with us in the righteousness4' ,now1 ,i daresay1 it will occur to us all that that is a departure from the usual form in which faith is presented to us in the ,new ,testament1 because there1 thank ,god6 we are clearly taught that the one thing which faith grapples is not a thing but a ,person4 ,christian faith is only human trust turned in a definite direction4 ,just as our trust lays hold on one another1 so the object of faith is1 in the deepest analysis1 no doctrine1 no proposition1 not even a ,divine fact1 not even a ,divine promise1 but the ,doer of the fact1 and the ,promiser of the promise1 and the ,person1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,when you say1 ',i trust so-and-so's word6' what you mean is1 ',i trust him1 and so ,i put credence in his word4' ,and ,christianity would have been delivered from mountains of misconception1 and many a poor soul would have felt that a blaze of light had come in upon it1 if this had been clearly proclaimed1 and firmly apprehended by preachers and by hearers1 that the object of trust is the living ,person1 ,jesus ,christ1 and that the trust which grapples us to ,him is essentially a personal relation entered into by our wills and hearts far more than by our heads4 ,all that is being apprehended by the ,christian ,church to-day a great deal more clearly than it used to be when some of us were young4 ,but we have the defects of our qualities4 ,and this generation is accustomed far too lightly and superficially to say ',oh6 ,i do not care about doctrines4 ,i cleave to the living ,christ6' ,amen6 say ,i4 ,but there is another question--,what ,christ is it that you are cleaving to8 ,for our only way of knowing a person with whom we have no external acquaintance is by what we are told about him1 and believe about him4 ,and so1 while we cannot assert too strongly that faith or trust in the living ,christ1 and not in a dogma1 is the basis of real ,christian life1 we have need to be very definite and sure as to what ,christ--which ,christ--it is that we are trusting to8 ,and there my text comes in1 and tells us that faith is to grasp ,christ as our righteousness2 and another saying of the ,apostle ,paul's comes in1 who for once speaks of faith as being faith not only in the ,christ1 but in ',his blood'3-- ',jesus6 ,thy blood and righteousness1 ,my beauty are1 my glorious dress4' ,brethren6 you will not get beyond that4 ,the ,christ1 trusting in whom we have life and salvation1 is the ,christ whose blood cleanses1 whose righteousness clothes us poor1 sinful men4 ,so1 while proclaiming with all emphasis1 and rejoicing to press it upon all my brethren1 that salvation comes by personal trust in the ,person1 ,i supplement and fill out1 not contradict1 that proclamation1 when ,i further say that the ,person by trusting in whom we are saved1 is the ,jesus whose blood cleanses and whose righteousness becomes ours4 ,that righteousness is1 in our text1 contemplated as ,god's1 as being embodied in ,christ's1 that from ,him it may be imparted to us1 if we will fulfil the condition on which alone it can be ours1 viz41 faith4 ,it becomes ours1 by no mere imputation which has not a reality at the back of it1 but because faith brings us into such a vital union with ,jesus ,christ as that ,his righteousness1 or at least a spark from the central flame1 becomes ours1 not only in reference to our exemption from the burden of our guilt1 but in reference to our becoming conformed to the image of ,his dear ,son1 and created anew in righteousness and holiness4 ,the object of faith is ,christ1 the ,christ whose blood and righteousness cleanses and clothes sinful souls4 ,,ii4 ,let me ask you to look1 in the next place1 to what this text suggests to us about the worth of ,christian faith4 ,peter calls it precious4 ,consider its worth as a channel4 ,there is a very remarkable expression used in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 ',the door of faith4' ,a door is of little value in itself1 worth a few shillings at the most1 but if it opens the way into a palace then it is worth something4 ,and all the preciousness that there is in faith comes1 not from its intrinsic value1 but from the really precious things which it gives into our hands4 ,just as the dyer's hand may be tinged with royal purple1 if he has been working in it1 or a woman's hand may be scented and made fragrant if she has been handling perfumes1 so the hand of faith takes tint and fragrance from that with which it is conversant4 ,it is precious because it is the channel by which all precious things flow into our hearts and lives4 ,if ,ladysmith is1 as ,i suppose it is1 dependent for its water supply on one lead pipe1 the preciousness of that pipe is not measured by what it would fetch if it were put up to auction for its lead1 but by that which flows through it1 and without which ,death would come4 ,and my faith is the pipe by which all the water of life comes sparkling and rejoicing into my thirsty soul4 ,it is the opening of the door 'that the ,king of ,glory may come in'2 it is the taking down of the shutters that the sunshine may blaze into the darkened chamber2 it is the grasping of the electric wire that the circuit may be completed4 ,god puts out ,his hand1 and we lay hold of it4 ,it is not the outstretched hand from earth1 but the down-stretched hand from heaven that makes the tottering man stand4 ,so1 dear friends1 let us understand that salvation does not come as the reward of faith1 but that the salvation is in the faith1 because faith is the channel by which all ,god's salvation pours into us4 ,so there is nothing arbitrary in the way of salvation1 as some shallow thinkers seem to propose1 and there is no reason in the question1 ',why does ,god make salvation depend upon faith8' ,god could not but make salvation depend upon faith1 because there is no other possible way by which the blessings which are gathered together into that one great pregnant word 'salvation' could find their way into a man's heart but through the channel of his trust4 ,have you opened that channel8 ,if you have not1 you need not wonder it cannot be otherwise--that salvation does not come unto you4 ,consider its worth as a defence4 ,the ,apostle in one place speaks about 'the shield of faith4' ,but there is nothing in the belief that ,i am safe to make me safe4 ,it is very often a fatal blunder4 ,all depends upon that or ,him1 to which or whom ,i am trusting for my safety4 ,put yourself beneath the true ,shield--',the ,lord ,god is a sun and shield'--and then you will be safe4 ,your way of running into the strong tower which alone1 with its massive walls1 protects us from all danger and from all sin1 is by trusting ,him4 ,just as light things on a ship's deck have to be lashed in order to be secured and lie still1 you and ,i have to lash ourselves to ,jesus ,christ2 then1 not by reason of the lashings1 but by reason of ,him1 we are fastened and secured4 ,consider the worth of faith as a means of purifying4 ,this very ,apostle1 in his great speech in ,jerusalem1 when vindicating the reception of the ,gentiles into the ,church1 spoke of ,god as having 'purified their hearts by faith4' ,and here again1 ,i say1 there is no cleansing power in the act of trust4 ,cleansing power is in that which1 by the act of trust1 comes into my heart4 ,faith is not simple receptivity1 not mere passive absorbing of what is given1 but it is the active taking by desire as well as by confidence4 ,and when we trust in ,jesus ,christ1 ,his blood and righteousness1 there flows into our hearts that ,divine life which1 like a river turned into a dung-heap1 will sweep all the filth before it4 ,you have to get the purifying power by faith4 ,ay6 and you have to utilise the purifying power by effort and by work4 ',what ,god hath joined together1 let not men put asunder4' ,,iii4 ,now1 lastly1 note the identity of faith4 ',like precious1' says ,peter1 and1 as ,i said1 there may be defended a double application of the word1 and two sets of pairs of classes may be supposed to have been in his mind4 ,i do not discuss which of these may be the case1 only ,i would suggest to you that from this beautiful gathering together of all the diversities of the ,christian character1 conception1 and development into one great whole1 we are taught that the one thing that makes a ,christian is this trust4 ,that is the universal characteristic2 that is uniform1 whatever may differ4 ,ah6 how much and how little it takes to make a ,christian4 ',only faith8' you say4 ,yes1 thank ,god6 not this1 or that1 not rites1 not anything that a priest can do to you4 ,not orthodoxy2 not morality2 these will come1 but trust in ,christ and ,his blood and righteousness4 ,england is a ,christian country2 is it8 ,this is a ,christian congregation2 is it8 ,you are a ,christian2 are you8 ,are you trusting in that ,christ8 ,if you are not2 no6 though you be orthodox up to the eyebrows1 and though seven or seven hundred sacraments may have been given to you1 and though you be a clean living man--all that does not make a ,christian1 but this does--',like precious faith with us in the righteousness of ,god and our ,saviour4' ,again1 this great thought of the identity or uniformity of the one characteristic may suggest to us how ,christian faith is one1 under all varieties of form4 ,there never has been in the ,christian ,church again1 notwithstanding all our deplorable divisions and schisms1 such a tremendous cleft as there was in the primitive ,church between the ,jewish and ,gentile components thereof4 ,but ,peter flings this flying bridge across that abyss1 and knits the two sides together1 because he knows that away out yonder1 amongst the ,gentiles1 and here in the little circle of the ,jewish believers1 there was the one faith that unifies all4 ,so1 dear friends1 there should be the widest charity1 but no vagueness2 for the ,christian faith in ,him which unifies and bridges over all differences1 mental and theological1 is the ,christ by whose blood we are cleansed1 with whose righteousness we are made righteous4 ,again1 from the same thought flows the other1 of the identity of the uniform characteristic1 at all stages of development or maturity4 ,the mustard-seed and the tree1 'which is greater than all herbs1' have the same life in them4 ,and the feeblest1 tremulous little spark in some heart1 just kindled1 and scarcely capable of sustaining itself1 is one with the flame leaping heaven-high1 which lights up and cleanses the whole soul4 ,so for those in advance1 humility1 and for those in the rear1 hope4 ,and something more than hope1 for if you have the feeblest beginning of tremulous trust1 you have that which only needs to be fostered to make you like ,jesus ,christ4 ,look at what follows our text3 ',add to your faith1 virtue1 and to virtue1 knowledge1' and so on1 through the whole linked series of ,christian graces4 ,they all come out of that trust which knits us to ,him who is the source of them all4 ,so you and ,i are responsible for bringing our faith to the highest development of which it is capable4 ,alas6 alas6 are we not all like this very ,apostle1 who1 in an ecstasy of trust and longing1 ventured himself on the wave1 and as soon as he felt the cold water creeping above his knees lost his trust1 and so lost his buoyancy1 and was ready to go down like a stone8 ,he had so little faith1 that he was beginning to sink2 he had so much that he put out his hand--a desperate hand it was--and cried1 ',lord1 save me6' ,and the hand came1 and that steadied him1 and bore him up till the water was beneath the soles of his feet again4 ',lord6 ,i believe2 help ,thou my unbelief6' ,,man ,,summoned ,,by ,,god',s ,,glory ,,and ,,energy '444 ,his ,divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness1 through the knowledge of ,him that hath called us to glory and virtue4'--#b ,peter i4 #c4 ',i knew thee1' said the idle servant in our ,lord's parable1 'that thou wert an austere man1 reaping where thou didst not sow1 and gathering where thou hadst not strewed4 ,i was afraid1 and went and hid my talent in the earth4' ,our ,lord would teach us all with that pregnant word the great truth that if once a man gets it into his head that ,god's principal relation to him is to demand1 and to command1 you will get no work out of that man2 that such a notion will paralyse all activity and cut the nerve of all service4 ,and the converse is as true1 namely1 that the one thought about ,god1 which is fruitful of all blessing1 joy1 spontaneous1 glad activity1 is the thought of ,him as giving1 and not of demanding1 of bestowing1 and not of commanding4 ,teach a man that he is1 as the book of ,james has it1'the giving ,god1' and let that thought soak into the man's heart and mind1 and you will get any work out of him4 ,and only when that thought is deep in the spirit will there be true service4 ,now that is the connection in which the words of my text come2 for they are laid as the broad foundation of the great commandment that follows3 ',beside this1 giving all diligence1 add to your faith virtue1 and to your virtue knowledge1' and so on1 all the round of the ladder by which the ,apostle represents us as climbing up to ,god4 ,the foundation of this injunction is--,god has given you everything4 ,you have got it to begin with1 and so do you set yourselves to work1 and see that you make the thing that is yours your own1 and incorporate into your being and into the very substance of your soul1 and work out in all the blessed activities of a ,christian life1 the gifts that ,his royal and kingly hand has bestowed upon you4 ,take for granted that ,god loves you and gives you ,his whole self1 and work on in the fulness of ,his possessed gift4 ,that is the connection of the words before us4 ,i take them just as they lie in our passage1 dealing first of all with this question--,god's call to you and me2 how it is done4 ,now ,i do not know if ,i can venture to indulge any remarks about ,biblical criticism1 but you will perhaps bear with me just for a moment whilst ,i say that the people who know a great deal more about such subjects than either you or ,i1 agree with one consent that the proper way of reading this verse of my text is not as our ,bible has it2 ',him that has called us to glory and virtue1' but ',him that hath called us by--by his own glory and virtue4' ,do you see the difference8 ,in one case the language expresses the things in imitation of the ,divine nature to which ,god summons you and me when ,he calls us4 ,that is how our ,bible has taken it2 but the deeper thought still is the things in that ,divine nature and activity itself which constitute ,his great summons and invitation of men to ,his side2 and these are the two1 whatever they might be1 which the ,apostle here describes in that rather peculiar and unusual language for ,scripture1 ',who has called us by ,his own glory and ,his own virtue4' ,i venture to dwell on these two points for a moment or two4 ,now1 first of all1 ,god's glory4 ,threadbare and consequently vague as the expression is in the minds of a great many people who have heard it with their ears ever since they were little children1 ,god's glory has a very distinct and definite meaning in ,scripture1 and all starts1 as ,i think1 from the ,old ,testament use of the expression1 which was the distinct specific name for the supernatural light that lay between the cherubim1 and brooded over the ark on the mercy-seat4 ,the word signifies specifically and originally the glory of ,god1 and irradiation of a material1 though supernatural1 symbol of ,his ,divine and spiritual presence4 ,very well1 lay hold of that material picture1 for ,god teaches us as we do our children1 with pictures4 ,take the symbol and lift it up into the spiritual region1 and it is just this3 the glory of ,god in its deepest meaning is the irradiation and the perpetual pouring out and out and out from ,himself1 as the rays of the sun stream out from its great orb1 pouring out from ,himself the light and the perfectness and the beauty of ,his own self revelation4 ,and ,i think we may fairly translate and paraphrase the first words of my text into this3 ,god's great way of summoning men to ,himself is by laying out ,his love upon them and letting the fulness of that ineffable and uncreated light1 in which is no darkness at all1 stream into the else blinded and hopeless lives and hearts of men4 ,then the other side of the ,apostle's thought seems to me--if we will only strip it of the threadbare technicalities associated with it--as great and wonderful1 ,god's glory and ,god's virtue4 ,a heathenish kind of smack lingers about that word1 both as applied to men and as applied to ,god1 and so seldom found in the ,new ,testament2 but meaning here1 as ,i venture to say1 without stopping to show it--meaning here substantially the same thing that we mean by that word energy or power4 ,you know old women in country places talk about the virtues of plants4 ,they do not mean by this the goodness of plants1 but they mean the occult powers which they suppose them able to put forth4 ,we read in one of the gospels that our ,lord ,himself said at one singular period of ,his life that virtue had gone out of ,him1 meaning thereby not goodness but energy4 ,so ,i think we get a sufficient equivalent to the ,apostle's meaning if for the second two words of my text we read1 ',he hath called us by the glory1 the raying out of his love1 and ,he hath called us by the activity and the energy1 the power in action of ,his great and illustrious ,spirit4' ,so you see these two things1 the light that streams out of an energy which is born of the streaming light4 ,these two things are really at bottom but one1 various aspects of one idea4 ,modern physicists tell us that all the activity in the system comes from the sun1 and in the higher region all the activity comes from the sun1 and there is no mightier force in the physical universe than the sunlight4 ,lightnings are vulgar1 noisy1 and limited in contrast4 ,the all-conquering force is the light that streams out1 and so says ,peter in his vivid picturesque way--not meaning the mere talk of philosophy or theology--the manifestation of the glory of ,god is the mightiest force in the whole universe4 ,it is not like the play of the moonbeam upon an iceberg1 ineffectual1 cold1 merely touching the death without melting or warming it1 but it rays out like the sun in the heavens1 and the work done by the light is mightier than all our work4 ,by ,his glory1 and by the transcendent energies which reside in that illustrious manifestation of the uncreated light1 ,god summons men to ,himself4 ,well1 if that is anything like fair exposition of the words before us1 let me just ask you before ,i go further to stop on them for one moment4 ,if ,i may venture to say so1 put off your theological spectacles for a minute1 and do not let us harden this thought down with any mere dogma that can be selected in the language of the creeds4 ,let us try and put it into words a little less hackneyed4 ,suppose1 instead of talking about calling1 you were to talk about inviting1 summoning1 beckoning2 or ,i might use tenderer words still--beseeching1 wooing1 entreating2 for all that lies in the thought4 ,god summoning and calling1 in that sense1 men to ,himself1 by the raying out of ,his own perfect beauty1 and the might with which the beams go forth into the darkness4 ,ah6 is not that beautiful1 dear brethren2 that there is nothing more1 indeed1 for ,god to do to draw us to ,himself than to let us see what ,he is8 ,so perfectly fair1 so sweet1 so tender1 so strong1 so absolutely corresponding to all the necessities of our beings and the hunger of our hearts1 that when we see ,him we cannot choose but love ,him1 and that ,he can do nothing more to call wandering hearts back to the light and sweetness of ,his own heart than to show them ,himself4 ,and so from all corners of ,his universe1 and in every activity of ,his hand and heart and spirit1 we can hear a voice saying1 ',son1 give me thine heart4' ',oh6 taste and see that ,god is good4' ',acquaint now thyself with ,him and be at peace2 thereby good shall come unto thee4' ,but great and wonderful as such a thought seems to be when we look at it in the freshness which belongs to it1 do you suppose that that was all that ,peter was thinking about8 ,do you think that a wide1 general1 and if you leave it by itself1 vague utterance like that which ,i have been indulging in1 would give all the specific precision and fulness of the meaning of the word before us8 ,i think not4 ,i fancy that when this ,apostle wrote these words he remembered a time long1 long ago1 when somebody stood by the little fishing-cobble there1 and as the men were up to their knees in slush and dirt1 washing their nets1 said to them1 ',follow ,me4' ,i think that was in ,peter's estimate ,god's call to him by ,god's glory and by ,god's virtue4 ,and so ,i pause there for a moment to say that all the lustrous pouring out of light1 all that transcendent energy of active love1 is not diffused nebulous through a universe2 it is not even spread in that sense over all the deeds of ,his hand2 but whilst it is everywhere1 it has a focus and a centre and a fire4 ,the fire is gathered into the ,son1 ,jesus ,christ2 ,jesus ,christ in ,his manhood and in ,his ,deity2 ,jesus ,christ in ,his life1 passion1 death1 resurrection1 ascension1 and kingly reign4 ,the whole creation1 as this ,new ,testament proclaims ,him to us1 is ,god's glory and ,god's virtue1 whereby ,he draws men to ,himself4 ,i cannot stay to dwell on that thought as ,i should be glad to do4 ,let me just remind you of the two parts into which it splits itself up2 and ,i commend it1 dogmatically as ,i have to state it in such an audience as this--,i commend it to the multitudes of young men here present4 ,the highest form of the ,divine glory is ,jesus ,christ1 not the attributes with which men clothe the ,divinity1 not those abstractions which you find in books of theology4 ,all that is but the fringe of the glory4 ,and ,i tell you1 dear friends1 the living white light at the centre and heart of all the radiance of the flame is the light of life which is conveyed into the gentle ,christ4 ,as the ,apostle ,john has it1 ',we beheld ,his glory4' ,yes1 and taking and binding together the two words which people have so often treated against each other1 ',we beheld ,his glory1 the glory as of the only begotten of the ,father1 full of grace and truth1' the highest light in ,him that says1 ',i am the light of the world'--very light of very light4 ,as a much maligned document has it1'very light of very light1' the brightness of ,his glory1 the irradiation of ,his splendour1 and the express image of ,his person4 ,and as the light so the power4 ,christ the power2 power in its highest1 noblest form1 the power of patient gentleness and ,divine suffering2 power in its widest sweep1 'unto every one that believeth'2 power in its most wondrous operation1 'the power of ,god unto salvation4' ,so ,i come to you1 ,i hope1 with one message on my lips and in my heart4 ,if you want light1 look to ,christ4 ,if you want to behold that unveiled face1 the glory of the ,lord1 turn to ,him1 and let ,his sunshine smite you on the face as the light smote ,stephen1 and then you can say1 ',he that hath seen ,him hath seen the ,father4' ,my brother1 the highest1 noblest1 perfect1 and1 as ,i believe1 final form in which all ,god's glory1 all ,god's energy1 are gathered together1 and make their appeal to you and me1 was when a ,galilean peasant stood up in a little knot of forgotten ,jews and said to them1 and through them to you and me1 ',come unto ,me all ye that labour and are heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4' ,he calls by ,his glory and by ,his virtue4 ,now still further4 ,confining myself as before to the words as they lie here in this text1 let me ask you to think1 and that for a moment or two only1 on the great and wondrous purpose which this ,divine energy and light had in view in summoning us to itself4 ,his ,divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and all things that pertain to godliness4 ,look at that6 ,one of the old ,psalms says3 ',gather my saints together unto me1 those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice2 assemble them all before my throne1 and ,i will judge my people4' ,is that the last and final revelation of ,god's purpose of drawing men to ,him8 ,is that why ,he sends out ,his heralds and summons through the whole intelligent creation8 ,nay1 something better4 ,not to judge1 not to scourge1 not to chastise1 not to avenge4 ,to give4 ,this is the meaning of that summons that comes out through the whole earth1 ',come up hither1' that when we get there we may be flooded with the richness of ,his mercy1 and that ,he may pour ,his whole soul out over us in the greatness of ,his gifts4 ,this is ,god1 and the perpetual activity summoning men to ,himself that there ,he may bless them4 ,he makes our hearts empty that ,he may fill them4 ,he shapes us as we are that we may need ,him and may recreate ourselves in ,him4 ,he says1 ',bring all your vessels and ,i will fill them full4' ,now look in this part of my subject at what ,i may venture to call the magnificent confidence that this ,peter has in the--what shall ,i say8--the encyclopdical--if ,i may use a long word--and universal character of ,god4 ,all things that pertain to life1 all things that pertain to godliness4 ,and somebody says1 ',yes1 that is tautology1 that is saying the same thing twice over in different language4' ,never mind1 says ,peter1 so much the better1 it will help to express the exuberant abundance and fulness4 ,he takes a leaf out of his brother ,paul's book4 ,he is often guilty when he speaks of ,god's gifts of that same sin of tautology1 as for instance1 ',now unto ,him who is able to do exceeding1 abundantly1 above all'--there are four of them--'all that we can ask or think4' ,yes1 in all forms language is but faint and feeble1 weak and poor in the presence of that great miracle of a love that passeth knowledge and that we may know the heights and depths4 ,and so says our ,apostle1 ',all things that pertain to life1 all things that pertain to godliness4' ,the whole circle all round1 all the #cfj degrees of it1 ,god's love will come down and lie on the top of it as it were1 superimposed1 so that there should not be a single gift where there is a flaw or a defect4 ,everything you want of life1 everything you want for godliness4 ,yes1 of course1 the gift must bear some kind of proportion to the giver4 ,you do not expect a millionaire to put down half a crown to a subscription list if he gives anything at all4 ,and ,god says to you and me1 ',come and look at ,my storehouses1 count if you can those golden vases filled with treasure1 look at those massive ingots of bullion1 gaze into the vanishing distances of the infiniteness of ,my nature and of ,my possessions1 and then listen to ,me4 ,i give thee ,myself--,myself1 that ye may be filled with all the fulness of ,god4 ,all things that pertain to life1 all things that pertain to godliness4 ,but ,i cannot pass on from this part of my subject without venturing one more remark4 ,it is this3 ,i do not suppose it is too minute1 verbal criticism4 ,this great encyclopdiacal gift is represented in my text1 not as a thing that you are going to get1 ,christian men and women1 but as a thing that you have gotten4 ,and any of you that are able to test the correctness of my assertion will see ,i have thought the form of language used in the original is such as to point still more specifically than in our translation1 to some one definite act in the past in which all that fulness of glory and virtue of life and godliness was given to us men4 ,is there any doubt as to what that is8 ,we talk sometimes as if we had to ask ,god to give us more4 ,god cannot give you any more than ,he gave you nineteen hundred years ago4 ,it was all in ,christ4 ,get a very vulgar illustration which is altogether inadequate for a great many purposes1 but may serve for one4 ,suppose some man told you that there was a thousand pounds paid to your credit at a ,london bank1 and that you were to get the use of it as you drew cheques against it4 ,well1 the money is there1 is it not8 ,the gift is given1 and yet for all that you may be dying1 and half-dead1 a pauper4 ,i was reading a book only the other day which contained a story that comes in here4 ,an ,arctic expedition1 some years ago1 found an ammunition chest that ,commander ,parry had left fifty years ago1 safe under a pile of stones4 ,the wood of the chest had not rotted yet2 the provisions inside of it were perfectly sweet1 and good1 and eatable4 ,there it had lain all those years4 ,men had died of starvation within arm's length of it4 ,it was there all the same4 ,and so1 if ,i might venture to vulgarise the great theme that ,i try to speak about1 ,god has given us ,his ,son1 and in ,him1 all that pertains to life and all that pertains to godliness4 ,my brother1 take the things that are freely given to you of ,god4 ,and so that leads me to one last word1 and it shall only be a word1 in regard to what our text tells us of the way by which on our side we can yield to this ,divine call1 and receive this ,divine fulness of gifts1 through the knowledge of ,him that hath called us to glory4 ,through the knowledge6 ,yes1 well there are two kinds of knowledge1 are there not8 ,there is the knowledge by which you know a book1 for instance1 on the subject of study1 and there is the knowledge by which you know one another2 and the kind of thing ,i mean when ,i say1 ',i know mathematics1' is entirely different to what ,i mean when ,i say1 ',i know ,john1 ,thomas1' or whoever he may be4 ,and ,i venture to say that the knowledge1 which is the condition of receiving the whole fulness of the glory and the whole fulness of the light1 is a great deal more like the thing we mean when we talk of knowing one another than when we talk of knowing a book4 ,that is to say1 a man may have all the creeds and confessions of faith clear in his head1 and yet none of the life1 none of the light1 none of the power1 and none of the godliness4 ,but if we know ,him as our brother1 know ,him as our friend1 our sacrifice1 our ,redeemer1 ,lord1 all in all2 know ,him as our heaven1 our righteousness1 and our strength2 if we know ,him with the knowledge which is possession2 if we know ,him with the knowledge which1 as the profoundest of the ,apostles says1 'hath the truth in life'2 if we know ,him1 see then1 ',this is life eternal1 to know ,thee1 the only true ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ1 whom ,thou hast sent4' ,now1 friends1 my words are done4 ,god is calling you4 ,no1 let us put it a little more definitely than that--,god is calling thee4 ,there is no speech nor language where ,his voice is not heard4 ,his words are gone out to the end of the world1 and have reached even thyself4 ,he calls thee1 oh6 brother1 sister1 friend1 that you and ,i may turn round to ,him and say1 ',when ,thou saidst1 ,seek ye my face1 my heart said unto ,thee1 ,thy face1 ,lord1 will ,i seek4' ,amen4 ,,partakers ,,of ,,the ,,divine ,,nature ',he hath given unto us exceeding great and precious promises3 that by these ye might be partakers of the ,divine nature1 having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust4'--#b ,peter i4 #d4 ',partakers of the ,divine nature4' ,these are bold words1 and may be so understood as to excite the wildest and most presumptuous dreams4 ,but bold as they are1 and startling as they may sound to some of us1 they are only putting into other language the teaching of which the whole ,new ,testament is full1 that men may1 and do1 by their faith1 receive into their spirits a real communication of the life of ,god4 ,what else does the language about being 'the sons and daughters of the ,lord ,almighty' mean8 ,what else does the teaching of regeneration mean8 ,what else mean ,christ's frequent declarations that ,he dwells in us and we in ,him1 as the branch in the vine1 as the members in the body8 ,what else does 'he that is joined to the ,lord in one spirit' mean8 ,do not all teach that in some most real sense the very purpose of ,christianity1 for which ,god has sent ,his ,son1 and ,his ,son has come1 is that we1 poor1 sinful1 weak1 limited1 ignorant creatures as we are1 may be lifted up into that solemn and awful elevation1 and receive in our trembling and yet strengthened souls a spark of ,god8 ',that ye may be partakers of the ,divine nature' means more than 'that you may share in the blessings which that nature bestows4' ,it means that into us may come the very ,god ,himself4 ,i4 ,so ,i want you to look with me1 first1 at this lofty purpose which is here presented as being the very aim and end of ,god's gift in the gospel4 ,the human nature and the ,divine are both kindred and contrary4 ,and the whole ,bible is remarkable for the emphasis with which it insists upon both these elements of the comparison1 declaring1 on the one hand1 as no other religion has ever declared1 the supreme sovereign1 unapproachable elevation of the infinite ,being above all creatures1 and on the other hand1 holding forth the hope1 as no other religion has ever ventured to do1 of the possible union of the loftiest and the lowest1 and the lifting of the creature into union with ,god ,himself4 ,there are no gods of the heathen so far away from their worshippers1 and there are none so near them1 as our ,god4 ,there is no god that men have bowed before1 so unlike the devotee2 and there is no system which recognises that1 as is the ,maker so are the made1 in such thorough-going fashion as the ,bible does4 ,the arched heaven1 though high above us1 it is not inaccessible in its serene and cloudless beauty1 but it touches earth all round the horizon1 and man is made in the image of ,god4 ,true1 that divine nature of which the ideal man is the possessor has faded away from humanity4 ,but still the human is kindred with the divine4 ,the drop of water is of one nature with the boundless ocean that rolls shoreless beyond the horizon1 and stretches plumbless into the abysses4 ,the tiniest spark of flame is of the same nature as those leaping1 hydrogen spears of illuminated gas that spring hundreds of thousands of miles high in a second or two in the great central sun4 ,and though on the one hand there be finiteness and on the other infinitude3 though we have to talk1 in big words1 of which we have very little grasp1 about ',omniscience1' and ',omnipresence1' and ',eternity1' and such like1 these things may be deducted and yet the ,divine nature may be retained2 and the poor1 ignorant1 finite1 dying creature1 that perishes before the moth1 may say1 ',i am kindred with ,him whose years know no end2 whose wisdom knows no uncertainty nor growth2 whose power is ,omnipotence2 and whose presence is everywhere4' ,he that can say1 ',i am1' is of the same nature as ,his whose mighty proclamation of ,himself is ',i ,,am ,,that ,i ,,am4' ,he who can say ',i will' is of the same nature as ,he who willeth and it is done4 ,but that kindred1 belonging to every soul of man1 abject as well as loftiest1 is not the 'partaking' of which my text speaks2 though it is the basis and possibility of it2 for my text speaks of men as 'becoming partakers1' and of that participation as the result1 not of humanity1 but of ,god's gift of 'exceeding great and precious promises4' ,that creation in the image and likeness of ,god1 which is represented as crowned by the very breath of ,god breathed into man's nostrils implies not only kindred with ,god in personality and self-conscious will1 but also in purity and holiness4 ,the moral kindred has darkened into unlikeness1 but the other remains4 ,it is not the gift here spoken of1 but it supplies the basis which makes that gift possible4 ,a dog could not become possessor of the ,divine nature1 in the sense in which my text speaks of it4 ,any man1 however bad1 however foolish1 however degraded1 abject and savage1 can become a partaker of it1 and yet no man has it without something else than the fact of his humanity4 ,what1 then1 is it8 ,no mere absorption1 as extravagant mystics have dreamed1 into that ,divine nature1 as a drop goes back into the ocean and is lost4 ,there will always be ',i' and 'thou1' or else there were no blessedness1 nor worship1 nor joy4 ,we must so partake of the ,divine nature as that the bounds between the bestowing ,god and the partaking man shall never be broken down4 ,but that being presupposed1 union as close as is possible1 the individuality of the giver and the receiver being untampered with is the great hope that all ,christian men and women ought consciously to cherish4 ,only mark1 the beginning of the whole is the communication of a ,divine life which is manifested mainly in what we call moral likeness4 ,or to put it into plain words1 the teaching of my text is no dreamy teaching1 such as an eastern mystic might proclaim1 of absorption into an impersonal ,divine4 ,there is no notion here of any partaking of these great though secondary attributes of the ,divine mind which to many men are the most ,godlike parts of ,his nature4 ,but what my text mainly means is1 you may1 if you like1 become 'holy as ,god is holy4' ,you may become loving as ,god is loving1 and with a breath of ,his own life breathed into your hearts4 ,the central ,divinity in the ,divine1 if ,i may so say1 is the amalgam of holiness and love4 ,that is ,god2 the rest is what belongs to ,god4 ,god has power2 ,god is love4 ,that is the regnant attribute1 the spring that sets everything agoing4 ,and so1 when my text talks about making us all1 if we will1 partakers of a ,divine nature1 what it means1 mainly1 is this--that into every human spirit there may pass a seed of ,divine life which will unfold itself there in all purity of holiness1 in all tenderness and gentleness of love4 ',god is love2 and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god1 and ,god in him4' ,partakers we shall be in the measure in which by our faith we have drawn from ,him the pure and the hearty love of whatever things are fair and noble2 the measure in which we love righteousness and hate iniquity4 ,and then remember also that this lofty purpose which is here set forth is a purpose growingly realised in man4 ,the ,apostle puts great stress upon that word in my text1 which1 unfortunately1 is not rendered adequately in our ,bible1 'that by these ye might become partakers of the ,divine nature4' ,he is not talking about a being1 but about a becoming4 ,that is to say1 ,god must ever be passing1 moment by moment1 into our hearts if there is to be anything godly there4 ,no more certainly must this building1 if we are to see1 be continually filled with light-beams that are urged from the central sun by its impelling force than the spirit must be receiving1 by momentary communication1 the gift of life from ,god if it is to live4 ,cut off the sunbeam from the sun and it dies1 and the house is dark2 cut off the life from the root and it withers1 and the creature shrivels4 ,the ,christian man lives only by continual derivation of life from ,god2 and for ever and ever the secret of his being and of his blessedness is not that he has become a possessor1 but that he has become a partaker1 of the ,divine nature4 ,and that participation ought to1 and will1 be a growing thing4 ,by daily increase we shall be made capable of daily increase4 ,life is growth2 the ,divine life in ,him is not growth1 but in us it does grow1 and our infancy will be turned into youth2 and our youth into maturity2 and1 blessed be ,his name1 the maturity will be a growing one1 to which grey hairs and feebleness will never come1 nor a term ever be set4 ,more and more of ,god we may receive every day we live1 and through the endless ages of eternity2 and if we have ,him in our hearts1 we shall live as long as there is anything more to pass from ,god to us4 ,until the fountain has poured its whole fulness into the cistern1 the cistern will never be broken4 ,he who becomes partaker of the ,divine nature can never die4 ,so as ,christ taught us the great argument for immortality is the present relation between ,god and us1 and the fact that ,he is the ,god of ,abraham points to the resurrection life4 ,,ii4 ,look1 in the second place1 at the costly and sufficient means employed for the realisation of this great purpose4 ',he hath given to us exceeding great and precious promises1 that by these ye might become partakers1' etc4 ,of course the mere words of a promise will not communicate this ,divine life to men's souls4 ',promises' here must necessarily1 ,i think1 be employed in the sense of fulfilment of the promises4 ,and so we might think of all the great and wondrous words which ,god has spoken in the past1 promises of deliverance1 of forgiveness1 and the like2 but ,i am rather disposed to believe that the extreme emphasis of the epithets which the ,apostle selects to describe these promised things now fulfilled suggests another interpretation4 ,i believe that by these 'exceeding great and precious promises' is meant the unspeakable gift of ,god's own ,son1 and the gift therein and thereafter of ,god's life-giving ,spirit4 ,for is not this the meaning of the central fact of ,christianity1 the incarnation--that the ,divine becomes partaker of the human in order that the human may partake of the ,divine8 ,is not ,christ's coming the great proof that however high the heavens may stretch above the flat1 sad earth1 still the ,divine nature and the human are so kindred that ,god can enter into humanity and be manifest in the flesh8 ,contrariety vanishes2 the difference between the creature and the ,creator disappears4 ,these mere distinctions of power and weakness1 of infinitude and finiteness1 of wisdom and of ignorance1 of undying being and decaying life1 vanish1 as of secondary consequence1 when we can say1 'the ,word was made flesh and dwelt among us4' ,there can be no insuperable obstacle to man's being lifted up into a union with the ,divine1 since the ,divine found no insuperable obstacle in descending to enter into union with the human4 ,so then1 because ,god has given us ,his ,son it is clear that we may become partakers of the ,divine nature2 inasmuch as ,he1 the ,divine1 has become partaker of the children's flesh and blood1 and in that coming of the ,divine into the human there was brought the seed and the germ of a life which can be granted to us all4 ,brethren6 there is one way1 and one way only1 by which any of us can partake of this great and wondrous gift of a share in ,god1 and it is through ,jesus ,christ4 ',no man hath ascended up into ,heaven1' nor ever will either climb or fly there1 'save ,he that came down from ,heaven2 even the ,son of man which is in ,heaven4' ,and in ,him we may ascend1 and in ,him we may receive ,god4 ,christ is the true ,prometheus1 if ,i may so speak1 who brings to earth in the fragile reed of his humanity the sacred and immortal fire which may be kindled in every heart4 ,open your hearts to ,him by faith and ,he will come in1 and with ,him the rejoicing life which will triumph over the death of self and sin1 and give to you a share in the nature of ,god4 ,,iii4 ,let me say1 lastly1 that this great text adds a human accompaniment of that ,divine gift3 ',having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust4' ,the only condition of receiving this ,divine nature is the opening of the heart by faith to ,him1 the ,divine human ,christ1 who is the bond between men and ,god1 and gives it to us4 ,but that condition being presupposed1 this important clause supplies the conduct which attends and attests the possession of the ,divine nature4 ,notice1 here is human nature without ,god1 described as 'the corruption that is in the world in lust4' ,it is like a fungus1 foul-smelling1 slimy1 poisonous2 whose growth looks rather the working of decay than of vitality4 ,and1 says my text1 that is the kind of thing that human nature is if ,god is not in it4 ,there is an 'either' and 'or' here4 ,on the one hand we must have a share in the ,divine nature1 or1 on the other1 we have a share in the putrescence 'that is in the world through lust4' ,corruption is initial destruction1 though of course other forms of life may come from it2 destruction is complete corruption4 ,the word means both4 ,a man either escapes from lust and evil1 or he is destroyed by it4 ,and the root of this rotting fungus is 'in lust1' which word1 of course1 is used in a much wider meaning than the fleshly sense in which we employ it in modern times4 ,it means 'desire' of all sorts4 ,the root of the world's corruption is my own and my brothers' unbridled and godless desires4 ,so there are two states--a life plunged in putridity1 or a heart touched with the ,divine nature4 ,which is it to be8 ,it cannot be both4 ,it must be one or the other4 ,which8 ,a man that has got the life of ,god1 in however feeble measure1 in him1 will flee away from this corruption like ,lot out of ,sodom4 ,and how will he flee out of it8 ,by subduing his own desires2 not by changing position1 not by shirking duty1 not by withdrawing himself into unwholesome isolation from men and men's ways4 ,the corruption is not only 'in the world1' so that you could get rid of it by getting out of the world1 but it is 'in the world in lust1' so that you carry the fountain of it within yourself4 ,the only way to escape is by no outward flight1 but by casting out the unclean thing from our own souls4 ,depend upon it1 the measure in which a man has the love of ,god in him can be very fairly estimated by the extent to which he is doing this4 ,there is a test for you ,christian people4 ,there have been plenty of men and women in all ages of the ,church1 and they abound in this generation1 who will make no scruple of declaring that they possess a portion of this ,divine ,spirit and a spark of ,god in their souls4 ,well then1 ,i say1 here is the test1 bring it all to this--does that life within you cast out your own evil desires8 ,if it does1 well2 if it does not1 the less you say about ,christ in your hearts the less likely you will be to become either a hypocrite1 or a self-deceiver4 ,and so1 brethren1 remember1 one last word1 viz41 that whilst on the one hand whoever has the life of ,god in his heart will be fleeing from this corruption1 on the other hand you can weaken--ay6 and you can kill the ,divine life by not so fleeing4 ,you have got it1 if you have it1 to nourish1 to cherish1 and to do that most of all by obeying it4 ,if you do not obey1 and if habitually you keep the plant with all its buds picked off one after another as they begin to form1 you will kill it sooner or later4 ,you ,christian men and women take warning4 ,god has given you ,jesus ,christ4 ,it was worth while for ,christ to live2 it was worth while for ,christ to die1 in order that into the souls of all sinful1 ,god-forgetting1 devil-following men there might pass this ,promethean spark of the true fire4 ,you get it1 if you will1 by simple faith4 ,you will not keep it unless you obey it4 ,mind you do not quench the ,holy ,spirit1 and extinguish the very life of ,god in your souls4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,diligence ',giving all diligence1 add to your faith 444'--#b ,peter i4 #e4 ,it seems to me very like ,peter that there should be so much in this letter about the very commonplace and familiar excellence of diligence4 ,he over and over again exhorts to it as the one means to the attainment of all ,christian graces1 and of all the blessedness of the ,christian life4 ,we do not expect fine-spun counsels from a teacher whose natural bent is1 like his1 but plain1 sturdy1 common sense1 directed to the highest matter1 and set aglow by fervent love to his ,lord4 ,the ,apostle paints himself1 and his own way of ,christian living1 when he thus frequently exhorts his brethren to 'give all diligence4' ,he says in this same chapter that he himself will 'give diligence endeavour1 in ,authorised ,version that they may be able after his decease to have these things always in remembrance4' ,we seem to see ,peter1 not much accustomed to wield a pen1 sitting down to what he felt a somewhat difficult task1 and pointing the readers to his own example as an instance of the temper which they must cherish if they are to make anything of their ,christian life4 ',just as ,i labour for your sakes at this unfamiliar work of writing1 so do you toil at perfecting your ,christian graces4' ,now it strikes me that we may gain some instruction if we throw together the various objects to which in ,scripture1 and especially in this letter1 we are exhorted to direct this virtue of diligence1 and mark how comprehensive its range1 and how1 for all beauty of character and progress in the ,divine life1 it is regarded as an indispensable condition4 ,let us then look1 first1 at the homely excellence that is the master-key to all ,christian maturity and grace1 and then at the various fields in which we are to apply it4 ,i4 ,now as to the homely virtue itself1 'giving all diligence4' ,we all know what 'diligence' means1 but it is worth while to point out that the original meaning of the word is not so much diligence as haste4 ,it is employed1 for instance1 to describe the eager swiftness with which the ,virgin went to ,elizabeth after the angel's salutation and annunciation4 ,it is the word employed to describe the murderous hurry with which ,herodias came rushing in to the king to demand ,john the ,baptist's head4 ,it is the word with which the ,apostle1 left solitary in his prison1 besought his sole trusty companion ,timothy to 'make haste so as to come to him before winter4' ,thus1 the first notion in the word is haste1 which crowds every moment with continuous effort1 and lets no hindrances entangle the feet of the runner4 ,wise haste has sometimes to be content to go slowly4 ',raw haste' is 'half sister to delay4' ,when haste degenerates into hurry1 and becomes agitation1 it is weakness1 not strength2 it turns out superficial work1 which has usually to be pulled to pieces and done over again1 and it is sure to be followed by reaction of languid idleness4 ,but the less we hurry the more should we hasten in running the race set before us4 ,but with this caution against spurious haste1 we cannot too seriously lay to heart the solemn motives to wise and well-directed haste4 ,the moments granted to any of us are too few and precious to let slip unused4 ,the field to be cultivated is too wide and the possible harvest for the toiler too abundant1 and the certain crop of weeds in the sluggard's garden too poisonous1 to allow dawdling to be considered a venial fault4 ,little progress will be made if we do not work as feeling that 'the night is far spent1 the day is at hand1' or as feeling the apparently opposite but really identical conviction1 ',i must work the works of ,him that sent me while it is day4 ,the night cometh when no man can work4' ,the day of full salvation1 repose1 and blessedness is near dawning4 ,the night of weeping1 the night of toil1 is nearly past4 ,by both aspects of this brief life we should be spurred to haste4 ,the first element1 then1 in ,christian diligence is economy of time as of most precious treasure1 and the avoidance1 as of a pestilence1 of all procrastination4 ',to-morrow and to-morrow' is the opiate with which sluggards and cowards set conscience asleep1 and as each to-morrow becomes to-day it proves as empty of effort as its predecessors1 and1 when it has become yesterday1 it adds one more to the solemn company of wasted opportunities which wait for a man at the bar of ,god4 ',all their yesterdays have lighted' such idlers 'to dusty death1' because in each they were saying1 'to-morrow we will begin the better course1' instead of beginning it to-day4 ',now is the accepted time4' ',wherefore1 giving all haste1 add to your faith4' ,another of the phases of the virtue1 which ,peter here regards as sovereign1 is represented in our translation of the word by 'earnestness1' which is the parent of diligence4 ,earnestness is the sentiment1 of which diligence is the expression4 ,so the word is frequently translated4 ,hence we gather that no ,christian growth is possible unless a man gives his mind to it4 ,dawdlers will do nothing4 ,there must be fervour if there is to be growth4 ,the heated bar of iron will go through the obstacle which the cold one will never penetrate4 ,we must gather ourselves together under the impulse of an all-pervading and noble earnestness1 too deep to be demonstrative1 and which does not waste itself in noise1 but settles down steadily to work4 ,the engine that is giving off its steam in white puffs is not working at its full power4 ,when we are most intent we are most silent4 ,earnestness is dumb1 and therefore it is terrible4 ,again we come to the more familiar translation of the word as in the text4 ',diligence' is the panacea for all diseases of the ,christian life4 ,it is the homely virtue that leads to all success4 ,it is a great thing to be convinced of this1 that there are no mysteries about the conditions of healthy ,christian living1 but that precisely the same qualities which lead to victory in any career to which a man sets himself do so in this2 that1 on the one hand1 we shall never fail if in earnest and saving the crumbs of moments1 we give ourselves to the work of ,christian growth2 and that on the other hand1 no fine emotions1 no select moments of rapture and communion will ever avail to take the place of the dogged perseverance and prosaic hard work which wins in all other fields2 and wins1 and is the only thing that does win1 in this one too4 ,if you want to be a strong ,christian--that is to say1 a happy man--you must bend your back to the work and 'give all diligence4' ,nobody goes to heaven in his sleep4 ,no man becomes a vigorous ,christian by any other course than 'giving all diligence4' ,it is a very lowly virtue4 ,it is like some of the old wives' recipes for curing diseases with some familiar herb that grows at every cottage door4 ,people will not have that1 but if you bring them some medicine from far away1 very rare and costly1 and suggest to them some course out of the beaten rut of ordinary1 honest living1 they will jump at that4 ,quackery always deals in mysteries and rare things4 ,the great physician cures diseases with simples that grow everywhere4 ,a pennyworth of some familiar root will cure an illness that nothing else will touch4 ,it is a homely virtue1 but if in its homeliness we practised it1 this ,church and our own souls would wear a different face from what it and they do to-day4 ,,ii4 ,note the wide field of action for this homely grace4 ,i can do nothing more--nor is it necessary that ,i should--than put before your mind1 in a sentence or two1 the various applications of it which our letter gives4 ,first1 note that in our text1 'giving all diligence1 add to your faith4' ,that is to say1 unless you work with haste1 with earnestness1 and therefore with much putting forth of strength1 your faith will not evolve the graces of character which is in it to bring forth4 ,if1 on the other hand1 we set ourselves to our tasks1 then out of faith will come1 as the blossoms mysteriously and miraculously do out of an apparently dead stump1 virtue1 manliness1 and knowledge1 and temperance1 and patience1 and godliness1 and brotherly mindedness1 and charity4 ,all that galaxy of light and beauty will shine forth on the one condition of diligence1 and it will not appear without that4 ,without it1 the faith1 though it may be genuine1 which lies in a man who is idle in cultivating ,christian character1 will bear but few and shrivelled fruits4 ,the ,apostle uses a very remarkable expression here1 which is rendered in our ,bible imperfectly 'giving all diligence4' ,he has just been saying that ,god has 'given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness1 and exceeding great and precious promises4' ,the ,divine gift1 then1 is everything that will help a man to live a high and godly life4 ,and1 says ,peter1 on this very account1 because you have all these requisites for such a life already given you1 see that you 'bring besides into' the heap of gifts1 as it were1 that which you and only you can bring1 namely1 'all diligence4' ,the phrase implies that diligence is our contribution4 ,and the very reason for exercising it is the completeness of ,god's gift4 ',on this very account'--because ,he has given so much--we are to lay 'all diligence' by the side of ,his gifts1 which are useless to the sluggard4 ,on the one hand there are all great gifts and boundless possibilities as to life and godliness1 and on the other diligence as the condition on which all these shall actually become ours1 and1 passing into our lives1 will there produce all these graces which the ,apostle goes on to enumerate4 ,the condition is nothing recondite1 nothing hard either to understand or to practise1 but it is simply that commonplace1 humdrum virtue of diligence4 ,if we will put it forth1 then the gifts that ,god has given1 and which are not really ours unless we put it forth1 will pass into the very substance of our being1 and unfold themselves according to the life that is in them2 even the life that is in ,jesus ,christ ,himself1 in all forms of beauty and sweetness and power and blessedness4 ',diligence' makes faith fruitful4 ,diligence makes ,god's gifts ours4 ,then1 again1 the ,apostle gives an even more remarkable view of the possible field for this all-powerful diligence when he bids his readers exercise it in order to 'make their calling and election sure4' ,peter's first letter shows that he believed that ,christians were 'chosen according to the foreknowledge of ,god the ,father4' ,but for all that he is not a bit afraid of putting the other side of the truth1 and saying to us in effect4 ',we cannot read the eternal decrees of ,god nor know the names written in the ,book of ,life4 ,these are mysteries above us4 ,but if you want to be sure that you are one of the called and chosen1 work and you will get the assurance4' ,the confirmation of the 'call1' of the 'election1' both in fact and in my consciousness depends upon my action4 ,the 'diligence1' of which the ,apostle thinks such great things1 reaches1 as it were1 a hand up into heaven and binds a man to that great unrevealed1 electing purpose of ,god4 ,if we desire that upon our ,christian lives there shall shine the perpetual sunshine of an unclouded confidence that we have the love and the favour of ,god1 and that for us there is no condemnation1 but only 'acceptance in the beloved1' the short road to it is the well-known and trite path of toil in the ,christian life4 ,still further1 one of the other writers of the ,new ,testament gives us another field in which this virtue may expatiate1 when the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews exhorts to diligence1 in order to attain 'the full assurance of hope4' ,if we desire that our path should be brightened by the clear vision of our blessed future beyond the grave1 and above the stars1 and within the bosom of ,god1 the road to that happy assurance and sunny1 cloudless confidence in a future of rest and fellowship with ,god lies simply here--work6 as ,christian men should1 whilst it is called to-day4 ,the last of the fields in which this virtue finds exercise is expressed by our letter1 when ,peter says1 ',seeing that we look for such things1 let us be diligent1 that we may be found of ,him in peace without spot1 and blameless4' ,if we are to be 'found in peace1' we must be 'found spotless1' and if we are to be 'found spotless' we must be 'diligent4' ',if that servant begin to say in his heart1 ,my lord delayeth his coming2 and to be slothful1 and to eat and drink with the drunken1 the lord of that servant will come in an hour when he is not aware4' ,on the other hand1 'who is that faithful servant whom his lord hath set ruler over his household8 ,blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing8' ,doing so1 and diligently doing it1 'he shall be found in peace4' ,what a beautiful ideal of ,christian life results from putting together all these items4 ,a fruitful faith1 a sure calling1 a cloudless hope1 a peaceful welcome at last6 ,the ,old ,testament says1 ',the hand of the diligent maketh rich'2 the ,new ,testament promises unchangeable riches to the same hand4 ,the ,old ,testament says1 ',seest thou a man diligent in his business1 he shall stand before kings4' ,the ,new ,testament assures us that the noblest form of that promise shall be fulfilled in the ,christian man's communion with his ,lord here1 and perfected when the diligent disciple shall 'be found of ,him in peace1' and stand before the ,king in that day1 accepted and himself a king4 ,,going ,,out ,,and ,,going ,,in ',an entrance 444 my decease4'--#b ,peter i4 #aa1 #ae4 ,i do not like1 and do not often indulge in1 the practice of taking fragments of ,scripture for a text1 but ,i venture to isolate these two words1 because they correspond to one another1 and when thus isolated and connected1 bring out very prominently two aspects of one thing4 ,in the original the correspondence is even closer1 for the words1 literally rendered1 are 'a going in' and 'a going out4' ,the same event is looked at from two sides4 ,on the one it is a departure2 on the other it is an arrival4 ,that event1 ,i need not say1 is ,death4 ,i note1 further1 that the expression rendered1 'my decease1' employs the word which is always used in the ,greek translation of the ,old ,testament to express the departure of the ,children of ,israel from bondage1 and which gives its name1 in our language1 to the ,second ,book of the ,pentateuch4 ',my exodus'--associations suggested by the word can scarcely fail to have been in the writer's mind4 ,further1 ,i note that this expression for ,death is only employed once again in the ,new ,testament--viz41 in ,st4 ,luke's account of the ,transfiguration1 where ,moses and ,elias spake with ,jesus 'concerning ,his decease--the exodus--which ,he should accomplish at ,jerusalem4' ,if you look on to the verses which follow the second of my texts1 you will see that the ,apostle immediately passes on to speak about that ,transfiguration1 and about the voice which ,he heard then in the holy mount4 ,so that ,i think we must suppose that in the words of our second text he was already beginning to think about the ,transfiguration1 and was feeling that1 somehow or other1 his 'exodus' was to be conformed to his ,master's4 ,now bearing all these points in mind1 let us just turn to these words and try to gather the lessons which they suggest4 ,i4 ,the first of them is this1 the double ,christian aspect of death4 ,it is well worth noting that the ,new ,testament very seldom condescends to use that name for the mere physical fact of dissolution4 ,it reserves it for the most part for something a great deal more dreadful than the separation of body and soul1 and uses all manner of periphrases1 or what rhetoricians call euphemising1 that is1 gentle expressions which put the best face upon a thing instead of the ugly word itself4 ,it speaks1 for instance1 as you may remember1 in the context here about the 'putting off' of a tent or 'a tabernacle1' blending the notions of stripping off a garment and pulling down a transitory abode4 ,it speaks about death as a sleep1 and in that and other ways sets it forth in gracious and gentle aspects1 and veils the deformity1 and loves and hopes away the dreadfulness of it4 ,now other languages and other religions besides ,christianity have done the same things1 and ,roman and ,greek poets and monuments have in like manner avoided the grim1 plain word--death1 but they have done it for exactly the opposite reason from that for which the ,christian does it4 ,they did it because the thing was so dark and dismal1 and because they knew so little and feared so much about it4 ,and ,christianity does it for exactly the opposite reason1 because it fears it not at all1 and knows it quite enough4 ,so it toys with leviathan1 and 'lays its hand on the cockatrice den1' and my text is an instance of this4 ',my decease 444 an entrance4' ,so the terribleness and mystery dwindled down into this--a change of position2 or if locality is scarcely the right class of ideas to apply to spirits detached from the body--a change of condition4 ,that is all4 ,we do not need to insist upon the notion of change of place4 ,for1 as ,i say1 we get into a fog when we try to associate place with pure spiritual existence4 ,but the root of the conviction which is expressed in both these phrases1 and most vividly by their juxtaposition1 is this1 that what happens at death is not the extinction1 but the withdrawal1 of a person1 and that the man is1 as fully1 as truly as he was1 though all the relations in which he stands may be altered4 ,now no materialistic teaching has any right to come in and bar that clear faith and firm conclusion4 ,for by its very saying that it knows nothing about life except in connection with organisation1 it acknowledges that there is a difference between them4 ,and until science can tell me how it is that the throb of a brain or the quiver of a nerve1 becomes transformed into morality1 into emotion1 ,i maintain that it knows far too little of personality and of life to be a valid authority when it asserts that the destruction of the organisation is the end of the man4 ,i feel myself perfectly free--in the darkness in which1 after all investigation1 that mysterious transformation of the physical into the moral and the spiritual lies--,i feel perfectly free to listen to another voice1 the voice which tells me that life can subsist1 and that personal being can be as full--ay1 fuller--apart altogether from the material frame which here1 and by our present experience1 is its necessary instrument4 ,and though accepting all that physical investigation can teach us1 we can still maintain that its light does not illumine the central obscurity2 and that1 after all1 it still remains true that round about the being of each man1 as round about the being of ,god1 clouds and darkness roll1 ',life and thought have gone away1 ,side by side1 ,leaving door and window wide4' ,that1 and nothing more1 is death--',my decease 444 an entrance4' ,then1 again1 the combination of these two words suggests to us that the one act1 in the same moment1 is both departure and arrival4 ,there is not a pin-point of space1 not the millionth part of a second of time1 intervening between the two4 ,there is no long journey to be taken4 ,a man in straits1 and all but desperation1 is recorded in the old ,book to have said3 ',there is but a step between me and death4' ,ah1 there is but a step between death and the ,kingdom2 and he that passes out at the same moment passes in4 ,i need not say a word about theories which seem to me to have no basis at all in our only source of information1 which is ,revelation2 theories which would interpose a long period of unconsciousness--though to the man unconscious it be no period at all--between the act of departure and that of entrance4 ,not so do ,i read the teaching of ,scripture3 ',this day thou shalt be with ,me in ,paradise4' ,we pass out1 and as those in the vestibule of a presence-chamber have but to lift the curtain and find themselves face to face with the king1 so we1 at one and the same moment1 depart and arrive4 ,friends stand round the bed1 and before they can tell by the undimmed mirror that the last breath has been drawn1 the saint is 'with ,christ1 which is far better4' ,to depart is to be with ,him4 ,there is a moment in the life of every believing soul in which there strangely mingle the lights of earth and the lights of heaven4 ,as you see in dissolving views1 the one fades and the other consolidates4 ,like the mighty angel in the ,apocalypse1 the dying man stands for a moment with one foot on the earth and the other already laved and cleansed by the waters of that 'sea of glass mingled with fire which is before the ,throne1' ',absent from the body2 present with the ,lord4' ,further1 these two words suggest that the same act is emancipation from bondage and entrance into royalty4 ',my exodus4' ,israel came out of ,egyptian servitude and dropped chains from wrists and left taskmasters cracking their useless whips behind them1 and the brick kilns and the weary work were all done when they went forth4 ,ah1 brethren1 whatever beauty and good and power and blessedness there may be in this mortal life1 there are deep and sad senses in which1 for all of us1 it is a prison-house and a state of captivity4 ,there is a bondage of flesh2 there is a dominion of the animal nature2 there are limitations1 like high walls1 cribbing1 cabining1 confining us--the limitations of circumstance4 ,there is the slavery of dependence upon this poor1 external1 and material world4 ,there are the tyranny of sin and the subjugation of the nobler nature to base and low and transient needs4 ,all these fetters1 and the scars of them1 drop away4 ,joseph comes out of prison to a throne4 ,the kingdom is not merely one in which the redeemed man is a subject1 but one in which he himself is a prince4 ',have thou authority over ten cities4' ,these are the ,christian aspects of death4 ,,ii4 ,now note1 secondly1 the great fact on which this view of death builds itself4 ,i have already remarked that in one of my texts the ,apostle seems to be thinking about ,jesus ,christ and ,his decease4 ,the context also refers to another incident in his own life1 when our ,lord foretold to him that the putting off his tabernacle was to be 'sudden1' and added3 ',follow thou ,me4' ,taking these allusions into account1 they suggest that it is the death of ,jesus ,christ--and that which is inseparable from it1 ,his ,resurrection--that changes for a soul believing on ,him the whole aspect of that last experience that awaits us all4 ,it is ,his exodus that makes 'my exodus' a deliverance from captivity and an entrance upon royalty4 ,i need not remind you1 how1 after all is said and done1 we are sure of life eternal1 because ,jesus ,christ died and rose again4 ,i do not need to depreciate other imperfect arguments which seem to point in that direction1 such as the instincts of men's natures1 the craving for some retribution beyond1 the impossibility of believing that life is extinguished by the fact of physical death4 ,but whilst ,i admit that a good deal may be said1 and strong probabilities may be alleged1 it seems to me that however much you may argue1 no words1 no considerations1 moral or intellectual1 can suffice to establish more than that it would be a very good thing if there were a future life and that it is probable that there is4 ,but ,jesus ,christ comes to us and says1 ',touch ,me1 handle ,me2 a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ,i have4 ,here ,i am4 ,i was dead2 ,i am alive for evermore4' ,so then one life1 that we know about1 has persisted undiminished1 apart from the physical frame1 and that one ,man has gone down into the dark abyss1 and has come up the same as when ,he descended4 ,so it is ,his exodus--and1 as ,i believe1 ,his death and ,resurrection alone--on which the faith in immortality impregnably rests4 ,but that is not the main point which the text suggests4 ,let me remind you how utterly the whole aspect of any difficulty1 trial1 or sorrow1 and especially of that culmination of all men's fears--death itself--is altered when we think that in the darkest bend of the dark road we may trace footsteps1 not without marks of blood in them1 of ,him that has trodden it all before us4 ',follow thou ,me1' ,he said to ,peter2 and it should be no hard thing for us1 if we love ,him1 to tread where ,he trod4 ,it should be no lonely road for us to walk1 however the closest clinging hands may be untwined from our grasp1 and the most utter solitude of which a human soul is capable may be realised1 when we remember that ,jesus ,christ has walked it before us4 ,the entrance1 too1 is made possible because ,he has preceded us4 ',i go to prepare a place for you4' ,so we may be sure that when we go through those dark gates and across the wild1 the other side of which no man knows1 it is not to step out of 'the warm precincts of the cheerful day' into some dim1 cold1 sad land1 but it is to enter into ,his presence4 ,israel's exodus was headed by a mummy case1 in which the dead bones of their whilom leader were contained4 ,our exodus is headed by the ,prince of ,life1 who was dead and is alive for evermore4 ,so1 brethren1 ,i beseech you1 treasure these thoughts more than you do4 ,turn to ,jesus ,christ and ,his resurrection from the dead more than you do4 ,i may be mistaken1 but it seems to me that the ,christianity of this day is largely losing the habitual contemplation of immortality which gave so much of its strength to the religion of past generations4 ,we are all so busy in setting forth and enforcing the blessings of ,christianity in its effects in the present life that1 ,i fear me1 we are largely forgetting what it does for us at the end1 and beyond the end4 ,and ,i would that we all thought more of our exodus and of our entrance in the light of ,christ's death and resurrection4 ,such contemplation will not unfit us for any duty or any enjoyment4 ,it will lift us above the absorbed occupation with present trivialities1 which is the bane of all that is good and noble4 ,it will teach us 'a solemn scorn of ills4' ,it will set on the furthest horizon a great light instead of a doleful darkness1 and it will deliver us from the dread of that 'shadow feared of man1' but not by those who1 listening to ,jesus ,christ1 have been taught that to depart is to be with ,him4 ,,iii4 ,now ,i meant to have said a word1 in the close of my sermon1 about a third point--viz41 the way of securing that this aspect of death shall be our experience1 but your time will not allow of my dwelling upon that as ,i should have wished4 ,i would only point out that1 as ,i have already suggested1 this context teaches us that it is ,his death that must make our deaths what they may become2 and would ask you to notice1 further1 that the context carries us back to the preceding verses4 ',an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly4' ,we have just before read1 ',if these things be in you and abound1 they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ'2 and just before is the exhortation1 'giving all diligence1 minister to your faith virtue4' ,so the ,apostle1 by reiterating the two words which he had previously been using1 teaches us that if death is to be to us that departure from bondage and entrance into the ,kingdom1 we must here and now bring forth the fruits of faith4 ,there is no entrance hereafter1 unless there has been a habitual entering into the ,holy ,place by the blood of ,jesus ,christ even whilst we are on earth4 ,there is no entrance by reason of the fact of death1 unless all through life there has been an entrance into rest by reason of the fact of faith4 ,and so1 dear brethren1 ,i beseech you to remember that it depends on yourself whether departing shall be arrival1 and exodus shall be entrance4 ,one thing or other that last moment must be to us all--either a dragging us reluctant away from what we would fain cleave to1 or a glad departure from a foreign land and entrance to our home4 ,it may be as when ,peter was let out of prison1 the angel touched him1 and the chains fell from his hands1 and the iron gate opened of its own accord1 and he found himself in the city4 ,it is for you to settle which of the two it shall be4 ,and if you will take ,him for your ,king1 ,companion1 ,saviour1 ,enlightener1 ,life here1 'the ,lord shall bless your going out and coming in from this time forth and even for evermore4' ,,the ,,owner ,,and ,,his ,,slaves ',denying the ,lord that bought them4'--#b ,peter ii4 #a4 ,the institution of slavery was one of the greatest blots on ancient civilisation4 ,it was twice cursed1 cursing both parties1 degrading each1 turning the slave into a chattel1 and the master1 in many cases1 into a brute4 ,christianity1 as represented in the ,new ,testament1 never says a word to condemn it1 but ,christianity has killed it4 ',make the tree good and its fruit good4' ,do not aim at institutions1 change the people that live under them and you change them4 ,girdle the tree and it will die1 and save you the trouble of felling it4 ,but not only does ,christianity never condemn slavery1 though it was in dead antagonism to all its principles1 and could not possibly survive where its principles were accepted1 but it also takes this essentially immoral relation and finds a soul of goodness in the evil thing1 which serves to illustrate the relation between ,god and man1 between ,christ and us4 ,it does with slavery as it does with war1 uses what is good in it as illustrating higher truths1 and trusts to the operation1 the slow operation of its deepest principles for its destruction4 ,so1 then1 we have one ,apostle1 in his letters1 binding on his forehead as a crown the designation1 ',paul1' a slave of ',jesus ,christ1' and we have in my text an expanded allusion to slavery4 ,the word that is here rendered rightly enough1 ',lord1' is the word which has been transferred into ,english as 'despot1' and it carries with it some suggestion of the roughness and absoluteness of authority which that word suggests to us4 ,it does not mean merely 'master1' it means 'owner1' and it suggests an unconditional authority1 to which the only thing in us that corresponds is abject and unconditional submission4 ,that is what ,christ is to you and me2 the ,lord1 the ,despot1 the ,owner4 ,but we have not only owner and slave here2 we have one of the ugliest features of the institution referred to4 ,you have the slave-market1 'the ,lord that bought them1' and because ,he purchased them1 owns them4 ,think of the hell of miseries that are connected with that practice of buying and selling human flesh1 and then estimate the magnificent boldness of the metaphor which ,peter does not scruple to take from it here1 speaking of the owner who acquired them by a price4 ,and not only that1 but slaves will run away1 and when they are stopped1 and asked who they belong to1 will say they know nothing about him4 ,and so here is the runaway's denial1 'denying the ,lord that bought them4' ,now ,i ask you to think of these three points4 ,i4 ,here we have the ,owner of us all4 ,i do not need1 ,i suppose1 to spend a moment in showing you that this relationship1 which is laid down in our text1 subsists between ,jesus ,christ and men1 and it subsists between ,jesus ,christ and all men4 ,for the people about whom the ,apostle is saying that they have 'denied the ,lord that bought them' can1 by no construction1 be supposed to be true ,christians1 but were enemies that had crept into the ,church without any real allegiance to ,jesus ,christ1 and were trying to wreck it1 and to destroy ,his work4 ,so there is no reference here to a little elected group out of the midst of humanity1 who especially belonged to ,jesus ,christ1 and for whom the price has been paid2 but the outlook of my text in its latter portion is as wide as humanity4 ,the ,lord--that is1 ,jesus ,christ--owns all men4 ,let me expand that thought in one or two illustrations which may help to make it perhaps more vivid4 ,the slave's owner has absolute authority over him4 ,you remember the occasion when a ,roman officer1 by reflecting upon the military discipline of the legion1 and the mystical power that the commander's word had to set all his men in obedient activity1 had come to the conclusion that1 somehow or other1 this ,jesus whom he desired to heal his servant had a similar power in the material universe1 and that just as he1 subordinate officer though he was1 had yet--by reason of the fact that he was 'under authority1' and an organ of a higher authority--the power to say to his servant1 ',go1' and he would go2 and to another one1 ',come1' and he would come2 so this ,christ had power to say to disease1 ',depart1' and it would depart2 and to health1 ',come1' and it would come2 and to all the material forces of the universe1 ',do this1' and obediently they would do it4 ,that is the picture1 in another region1 of the relation which ,jesus ,christ bears to men1 though1 alas1 it is not the picture of the relation which men bear to ,christ4 ,but to all of us ,he has the right to say1 wherever we are1 ',come1' the right to say1 ',go1' the right to say1 ',do1' the right to say1 ',be this1 that1 and the other thing4' ,absolute authority is ,his2 what should be yours8 ,unconditional submission4 ,my friend1 it is no use your calling yourself a ,christian unless that is your attitude4 ,my sermon to-night has something else to do than simply to present truths to you4 ,it has to press truths on you1 and to appeal not only to your feelings1 not only to your understandings1 but to your wills4 ,and so ,i come with this question3 ,do you1 dear friend1 day by day1 yield to the absolute ,master the absolute submission8 ,and is that rebellious will--which is in you1 as it is in us all--tamed and submitted so as that you can say1 ',speak1 ,lord6 ,thy servant heareth'8 ,is it8 ,further1 the owner has the right1 as part of that absolute authority of which ,i have been speaking1 to settle without appeal each man's work4 ,in those ,eastern monarchies where the king was surrounded1 not by constitutional ministers1 but by his personal slaves1 he made one man a shoeblack or a pipe-bearer1 and the man standing next to him his prime minister4 ,and neither the one nor the other had the right to say a word4 ,jesus ,christ has the right to regulate your life in all its details1 to set you your tasks4 ,some of us will get what the world vulgarly calls 'more important duties'2 some will get what the world ignorantly calls more 'insignificant' ones4 ,what does that matter8 ,it was our ,owner that set us to our work1 and if ,he tells us to black shoes1 let us black them with all the pith of our elbows1 and with the best blacking and brushes we can find2 and if ,he sets us to work1 which people think is more important and more conspicuous1 let us do that too1 in the same spirit1 and for the same end4 ,again1 the owner has the absolute right of possession of all the slave's possessions4 ,he gets a little bit of land in the corner of his master's plantation1 and grows his vegetables1 yams1 pumpkins1 a leaf of tobacco or two1 or what not1 there4 ,and if his master comes along and says1 ',these are mine1' the slave has no recourse1 and is obliged to accept the conditions and to give them up4 ,so ,jesus ,christ claims ours as well as us--ours because ,he claims us--and whilst1 on the other hand1 the surrender of external good is incomplete without the surrender of the inward will1 on the other hand the abandonment and surrender of the inward life is incomplete1 if it be not hypocritical1 without the surrender of external possessions4 ,all the slave's goods belonged to the owner4 ,and the owner has another right4 ,he can say1 ',take that man's child and sell him in the market6' and he can break up the family ties and separate husband and wife1 and parent and child1 and not a word can be said4 ,our ,master comes1 not with rough authority1 but with loving1 though absolute authority1 and ,he sometimes untwines the hands that are most closely clasped1 and says to the one of the two that have grown together in love and blessedness1 ',come6' and he cometh1 and to the other ',go6' and she goeth4 ,blessed they who can say1 ',it is the ,lord6 ,let ,him do what seemeth ,him good4' ,now1 dear friends1 this absolute authority cannot be exercised by any man upon another man1 and this unconditional submission1 which ,jesus ,christ asks from us all1 ought not to be rendered by any man to a man4 ,it is a degradation when a human creature is put even in the external relation of slavery and servitude to another human creature1 but it is an honour when ,jesus ,christ says to me1 ',thou art ,mine1' and ,i say to ,him1 ',i am ,thine1 ,o ,lord1 truly ,i am ,thy servant2 ,thou hast loosed my bonds4' ,in the old ,saxon monarchies1 some antiquarians tell us1 the foundation of our modern nobility or aristocracy is found in that the king's servants became nobles4 ,jesus ,christ's slave is everybody else's master4 ,and it is the highest honour that a man can have to bow himself before that ,lord1 and to take ,his yoke upon him and learn of ,him4 ,so much1 then1 for my first point2 now a word with regard to the second4 ,,ii4 ,the sale1 and the price4 ',the ,lord that bought them4' ,you perhaps remember other words which say1 ',ye are bought with a price2 be not the servants of men'2 also other words of this ,apostle himself1 in which he speaks1 in his other letter1 of being 'bought with the precious blood of ,christ1 as of a ,lamb without blemish and without spot4' ,now notice1 ,christ's ownership of us does not depend on ,christ's ,divinity1 which ,i suppose most of us believe1 but on ,christ's sacrifice for us4 ,it is perfectly true that creation gives rights to the ,creator4 ,it is perfectly true that if we believe1 as ,i think the ,new ,testament teaches1 that ,he1 who before ,his name was ,jesus was the ,eternal ,word of ,god1 was the ,agent of all ,creation1 and therefore has rights4 ,but ,christ's heart does not care for rights of that sort4 ,it wants something far deeper1 far tenderer1 far closer than any such4 ,and ,he comes to us with the language that is the language of love over all the universe1 as between man and woman1 as between man and man1 as between man and ,god1 as between ,god and man1 upon ,his lips1 and says1 ',thou must love ,me1 for ,i have died for thee4' ,yes1 brother2 the only ground upon which absolute possession of a man can be rested is the ground of prior absolute surrender to ,him4 ,christ must give ,himself to me before ,he can ask me to give myself to ,him4 ,so all that was apparently harsh in the relationship1 as ,i have been trying to set it forth to you1 melts away and disappears4 ,no owner ever owned a slave as truly as a loving woman owns her husband1 or a loving husband his wife1 because the ownership is the expression of perfect love on both sides4 ,and that is the golden bond that binds men's souls to ,christ in a submission which1 the more abject it is1 the more elevating it is1 just because ',he loved me1 and gave ,himself for me4' ,i do not dwell upon any cold theological doctrine of an ,atonement1 but ,i wish you to feel that deep in this great metaphor of our text there lie the two things2 first1 the price that was paid1 and1 second1 the bondage from which the slave was delivered4 ,he belonged to another master before ,christ bought him for ,himself4 ',he that committeth sin is the slave of sin4' ,some of you are your own despots1 your own tyrants4 ,the worse half of you has got the upper hand4 ,the mutineers that ought to have been down under hatches1 and shackled1 have taken possession of the deck and clapped the captain and the officers1 and all the sextants and log-books1 away into a corner1 and they are driving the ship--that is1 you--on to the rocks1 as hard as they can4 ,a man that is not ,christ's slave has a far worse slavery in submitting to these tyrant sins that have tempted him with the notion of how fine it is to break through these old-womanly restraints and conventional fads of a narrow morality1 and to have his fling1 and do as he likes and follow nature4 ,ay1 some of you have been doing that1 and could write a far better commentary than any preacher ever wrote1 out of your own experience1 on the great words1 ',whilst they promised them liberty1 they themselves are the slaves of corruption6' ,young men1 is that true about any of you--that you came here into ,manchester to a situation1 and lonely lodgings1 comparatively innocent1 and that somebody said1 ',oh1 do not be a milksop6 come along and see life1' and you thought it was fine to shake off the shackles that your poor old mother used to try to put upon your limbs8 ,and what have you made of it8 ,i will tell you what a great many young men have made of it--,i have seen scores of them in the forty years that ,i have been preaching here3 ',his bones are full of the iniquity of his youth1 which shall lie down with him in the dust4' ,there is a slavery which is blessedness1 and there is a slavery which at first is delightsome to the worst part of us1 and afterwards becomes bitter and deadly4 ,and it is the bondage of sin1 the bondage to my worst self1 the bondage to my indulged passions1 the bondage to other men1 the bondage to the material world4 ,jesus ,christ speaks to each of us in ,his great sacrifice1 by which ,he says to us1 ',the ,son will make you free1 and you shall be free indeed4' ,the ,lord has bought us4 ,have you let ,him emancipate you from all your bondage8 ,dear friends1 bear with me if ,i press again upon you1 ,i pray ,god that it may ring in your ears till you can answer that question1 ,jesus ,christ having bought me1 do ,i belong to ,him8 ,,iii4 ,and now1 lastly1 notice the runaways4 ,did it ever occur to you what a pathetic force there is in ,peter's picking out that word 'denying' as the shorthand expression for all sorts of sins8 ,who was it that thrice denied that he knew ,him8 ,that experience went very deep into the ,apostle2 and here1 as ,i take it1 is a most significant illustration of his penitent remembrance of his past life1 all the more significant because of its reticence4 ,the allusion is one that nobody could catch that did not know his past1 but which to those who did know it was full of meaning and of pathos3--',denying the ,lord1 as ,i did on that dismal morning1 in the ,high ,priest's palace4 ,i am speaking about it1 for ,i know what it comes to1 and the tears that will follow after4' ,but what ,i desire to press upon you1 dear friends1 is just this3 ,that in that view of the lives of people who are not ,christians there is suggested to us the essential sinfulness1 the black ingratitude1 and the absolute folly of refusing to acknowledge the claims of ,him to whom we belong1 and who has bought us at such a price4 ,you can do it by word1 and perhaps some of us are not guiltless in that respect4 ,you can do it by paring down the character and office of ,jesus ,christ1 and minimising the importance of ,his sacrifice from the world's sins1 and thinking of ,him1 not as the ,owner that bought us1 but as the ,master that teaches us4 ,you can do it by cowardly hiding of your colours and being too shamefaced1 too sensitive to the curled lip of the man that works at the next bench1 or sits at the next desk1 or the student that is beside you1 or somebody else whose opinion you esteem1 which prevents you from saying like a man1 ',i belong to ,jesus ,christ1 and whomsoever other people serve1 as for me1 ,i am going to serve ,him4' ,and you can do it1 and many of you are doing it1 by simply ignoring ,his claims1 refusing to turn to ,him1 not yielding up your will to ,him1 not turning your heart to ,him1 not setting your dependence upon ,him4 ,is it not a shame that men1 whose hearts will glow with thankfulness when another man1 especially if he is a superior1 comes to them with some gift1 valuable1 but nothing as compared with the transcendent gift that ,christ brings1 will yet let ,him die for them and not care anything about ,him8 ,i can understand the vehement antagonism that some people have to ,christ and ,christianity1 but what ,i cannot understand is the attitude of the immense mass of people that come to services like this1 who profess to believe that ,jesus ,christ's love for them brought ,him to the cross1 and yet will not even pay the poor tribute of a little interest and a momentary inclination of heart towards ,him4 ',is it nothing to you1 all ye that pass by1' that ,jesus ,christ died for you8 ,he bought you for ,his own4 ,let me beseech you to 'yield yourselves' servants1 slaves of ,christ1 and then you will be free1 and you will hear ,him say in the very depth of your hearts1 ',henceforth ,i call you not slaves1 but friends4' ,,be ,,diligent ',wherefore1 beloved1 seeing that ye look for such things1 be diligent that ye may be found of ,him in peace1 without spot1 and blameless4'--#b ,peter iii4 #ad4 ,as we pass the conventional boundary of another year1 most of us1 ,i suppose1 cast glances into the darkness ahead4 ,to those of us who have the greater part of our lives probably before us1 the onward look will disclose glad possibilities4 ,to some of us1 who have life mostly behind us1 the prospect will take 'a sober colouring from an eye that hath kept watch over man's mortality1' and there will be little on the lower levels to attract4 ,my text falls in with the mood which the season fosters4 ,it directs our onward look to a blessed certainty instead of a peradventure1 and it deduces important practical consequences from the hope4 ,these three things are in the words of our text3 a clear vision that should fill the future2 a definite aim for life1 drawn from the vision2 and an earnest diligence in the pursuit of that aim1 animated by that hope4 ,now these three--a bright hope1 a sovereign purpose1 and a diligent earnestness--are the three conditions of all noble life4 ,they themselves are strength1 and they will bring us buoyancy and freshness which will prolong youth into old age1 and forbid anything to appear uninteresting or small4 ,so ,i ask you to look at these three points1 as suggested by my text4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 the clear hope which should fill our future4 ',seeing that ye look for such things4' ,what things8 ,peter has been drawing a very vivid and solemn picture of the end1 in two parts1 one destructive1 the other constructive4 ,anticipating the predictions of modern science1 which confirm his prophecy1 he speaks of the dissolution of all things by fervent heat1 and draws therefrom the lesson3 ',what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness8' ,but that dissolution by fire is not1 as people often call it1 the 'final conflagration4' ,rather is it a regenerating baptism of fire1 from which 'the heavens and the earth that now are'--like the old man in the fable1 made young in the flame--shall emerge renewed and purified4 ,the lesson from that prospect is the words of our text4 ,now ,i am not going to dwell upon that thought of a new heaven and a new earth renewed by means of the fiery change that shall pass upon them1 but simply to remark that there is a great deal in the teaching of both ,old and ,new ,testaments which seems to look in that direction4 ,it is1 at least1 a perfectly tenable belief1 and in my humble judgment is something more1 that this earth1 the scene of man's tragedy and crime1 the theatre of the display of the miracle of redeeming love1 emancipated from the bondage of corruption1 shall be renewed and become the seat of the blessed4 ,they who dwell in it1 and it on which they dwell pass through analogous changes1 and as for the individuals1 the 'new creation' is the old self purified by the fire of the ,divine ,spirit into incorruption and righteousness1 so the world in which they live shall1 in like manner1 be 'that new world which is the old1' only having suffered the fiery transformation and been glorified thereby4 ,but passing from that thought1 which1 however interesting it may be as a matter of speculation1 is of very small practical importance1 notice1 still further1 the essential part of the hope which the ,apostle here sets forth--viz41 that that order of things towards which we may look is one permeable only for feet that have been washed and made clean4 ',therein dwelleth righteousness4' ,righteousness there1 of course1 is the abstract for the concrete2 the quality is put for the persons that exhibit it4 ,and just as the condition of being at home in this present material world is the possession of flesh and blood1 which puts creatures into relationships therewith1 and just as it is impossible for a finite1 bodyless spirit to move amongst1 and influence1 and be influenced by1 the gross materialities of the heavens and the earth that now are1 so is it impossible for anything but purity to be at rest in1 or even to enter into that future world4 ',the gates' of the ,new ,jerusalem 'shall not be closed day nor night'2 but through the ever-open gates none can pass except they who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb4 ,there stand at the gates of that ,paradise unseen1 the repulsions of the angel with the flaming sword1 and none can enter except the righteous4 ,light kills the creatures of the darkness4 ',how pure that soul must be ,which1 placed within ,thy piercing sight1 ,shall shrink not1 but with calm delight ,can live1 and look on ,thee6' ,thus1 then1 brethren1 an order of things free from all corruption1 and into which none can pass but the pure1 should be the vision that ever flames before us4 ,peter takes it for granted that the anticipation of that future is an inseparable part of the ,christian character4 ,the word which he employs1 by its very form1 expresses that that expectance is habitual and continuous4 ,i am afraid that a great many so-called ,christians very seldom send their thoughts1 and still less frequently their desires1 onwards to that end4 ,in all your dreams of the future1 how much space has been filled by this future which is no dream8 ,have you1 in these past days1 and do you1 as a matter of habitual and familiar occupation of your mind1 let your eyes travel on beyond and above the low levels of earth and peradventures1 to fix them on that certainty8 ,opticians make glasses with three ranges1 and write upon a little bar which shifts their eyepieces1 ',theatre1' ',field1' ',marine4' ,which of the three is your glass set to8 ,the turn of a button determines its range4 ,you can either look at the things close at hand1 or1 if you set the eyepiece right and use the strongest1 you can see the stars4 ,which is it to be8 ,the shorter range shows you possibilities2 the longer will show you certainties4 ,the shorter range shows you trifles2 the longer1 all that you can desire4 ,the shorter range shows you hopes that are destined to be outgrown and left behind2 the longer1 the far-off glories1 a pillar of light which will move before you for ever4 ,oh1 how many of the hopes that guided our course1 and made our objective points in the past1 are away down below the backward horizon6 ,how many hopes we have outgrown1 whether they were fulfilled or disappointed4 ,but we may have one which will ever move before us1 and ever draw our desires4 ,the greater vision1 if we were only wise enough to bring our lives habitually under its influence1 would at once dim and ennoble all the near future4 ,let us then1 dear friends1 not desecrate that wondrous faculty of looking before as well as after which ,god has given to us1 by wasting it upon the nothings of this world1 but heave it higher1 and anchor it more firmly in the very ,throne of ,god ,himself4 ,and for us let one solemn1 blessed thought more and more fill with its substance and its light the else dim and questionable and insufficient future1 and walk evermore as seeing ,him who is invisible1 and as hasting unto the coming of the day of the ,lord4 ,,ii4 ,then1 secondly1 note the definite aim which this clear hope should impress upon life4 ,if you knew that you were going to emigrate soon1 and spend all your life on the other side of the world1 in circumstances the outlines of which you knew1 you would be a fool if you did not set yourself to get ready for them4 ,the more clearly we see and the more deeply we feel that future hope1 which is disclosed for us in the words of my text1 the more it will prescribe a dominant purpose which will give unity1 strength1 buoyancy1 and blessedness to any life4 ',seeing that ye look for such things1 be diligent4' ,for what8 ',that ye may be found of ,him in peace1 without spot1 and blameless4' ,now mark the details of the aim which this great hope impresses upon life1 as they are stated in the words of my text4 ,every word is weighty here4 ',that ye may be found4' ,that implies1 if not search1 at least investigation4 ,it suggests the idea of the discovery of the true condition1 character1 or standing of a man which may have been hidden or partially obscured before--and now1 at last1 is brought out clearly4 ,with the same suggestion of investigation and discovery1 the same phrase is employed in other places2 as1 for instance1 when the ,apostle ,paul speaks about being 'found naked1' or as when he speaks about being 'found in ,him1 not having mine own righteousness4' ,so1 then1 there is some process of examination or investigation1 resulting in the discovery1 possibly for the first time1 of what a man really is4 ,then note1 ',found in ,him1' or as the ,revised ,version reads it1 'in ,his sight4' ,then ,christ is the ,investigator1 and it is before 'those pure eyes and perfect judgment' that they have to pass1 who shall be admitted into the new heavens and the new earth1 'wherein dwelleth righteousness4' ,then mark what is the character which1 discovered on investigation by ,jesus ,christ1 admits there3 'without spot and blameless4' ,there must be the entire absence of every blemish1 stain1 or speck of impurity4 ,the purer the white the more conspicuous the black4 ,soot is never so foul as when it lies on driven snow4 ,they who enter there must have nothing in them akin to evil4 ',blameless' is the consequence of 'spotless4' ,that which in itself is pure attracts no censure1 whether from the ,judge or from the assessors and onlookers in ,his court4 ,but1 further1 these two words1 in almost the same identical form--one of them absolutely the same1 and the other almost so--are found in ,peter's other letter as a description of ,jesus ,christ ,himself4 ,he was a ,lamb 'without blemish and without spot4' ,and thus the character that qualifies for the new heavens is the copy of us in ,jesus ,christ4 ,still further1 only those who thus have attained to the condition of absolute1 speckless purity and conformity to ,jesus ,christ will meet ,his searching eye in calm tranquillity and be 'found of ,him in peace4' ,the steward brings his books to his master4 ,if he knows that there has been trickery with the figures and embezzlement1 how the wretch shakes in his shoes1 though he may stand apparently calm1 as the master's keen eye goes down the columns6 ,if he knows that it is all right1 how calmly he waits the master's signature at the end1 to pass the account6 ,the soldiers come back with victory on their helmets1 and are glad to look their captain in the face4 ,but if they come back beaten1 they shrink aside and hide their shame4 ,if we are to meet ,jesus ,christ with quiet hearts1 and we certainly shall meet ,him1 we must meet ,him 'without spot and blameless4' ,the discovery1 then1 of what men truly are will be like the draining of the bed of a lake4 ,ah1 what ugly1 slimy things there are down in the bottom6 ,what squalor and filth flung in from the houses1 and covered over many a day by the waters6 ,all that surface work will be drained off from the hearts of men4 ,shall we show slime and filth1 or shall we show lovely corals and silver sands without a taint or a speck8 ,these are the details of the life's aim of a ,christian man4 ,and they may all be gathered up into one4 ,the end which we should seek as sovereign and high above all others is the conformity of our character to ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,never mind about anything else2 let us leave all in ,god's hands4 ,he will do better for us than we can do for ourselves4 ,let us trust ,him for the contingent future2 and let us set ourselves to secure this1 that1 whether joy or sorrow1 whether wealth or poverty1 whether success or failure1 whether sweet companionship or solitary tears be our lot for the rest of our lives1 we may grow in grace1 and in the knowledge and likeness of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ4 ,make that your aim1 and freshness1 buoyancy1 enthusiasm1 the ennobling of everything in this world1 and the bending of all to be contributory of it1 will gladden your days4 ,make anything else your aim1 and you fail of your highest purpose1 and your life1 however successful1 will be dreary and disappointed1 and its end will be shame4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 notice the earnest diligence with which that aim should be pursued1 in the light of that hope4 ,peter is fond of using the word which is here translated 'be diligent4' ,hard work1 honest effort1 continuous and persevering1 is ,his simple recipe for all nobleness4 ,you will find ,he employs it1 for instance1 at least three times in this letter1 in such connections as1 ',besides this1 giving all diligence1 add to your faith virtue1' and so on through the whole glorious series2 and again1 ',wherefore the rather1 brethren1 give diligence to make your calling and election sure4' ,so1 then1 there is no mystery about the way of securing the aim2 work towards it1 and you will get it4 ,now1 of course1 there are a great many other considerations to be brought in in reference to the ,christian man's means of becoming ,christlike4 ,we should have to speak of the gifts of a ,divine ,spirit1 of the dependence upon ,god for it1 and the like2 but for the present purpose we may confine ourselves to ,peter's own prescription1 'be diligent1' and that will secure it4 ,but then the word itself opens out into further meanings than that4 ,it not only implies diligence3 there may be diligence of a very mechanical and ineffective sort4 ,the word also includes in its meaning earnestness1 and it very frequently includes that which is the ordinary consequence of earnestness--viz41 haste and economy of time4 ,so ,i venture1 in closing1 just to throw my remarks into three simple exhortations4 ,be in earnest in cultivating a ,christlike character4 ,half-and-half ,christians1 like a great many of us1 are of no use either to ,god or to men or to themselves4 ,dawdling and languid1 braced up and informed by no earnestness of purpose1 and never having had enthusiasm enough to set themselves fairly alight1 they do no good and they come to nothing4 ',i would thou wert cold or hot4' ,one thing sorely wanted in the average ,christianity of this day is that professing ,christians should give the motives which their faith supplies for earnest consecration due weight and power4 ,nothing else will succeed4 ,you will never grow like ,christ unless you are in earnest about it any more than you could pierce a tunnel through the ,alps with a straw4 ,it needs an iron bar tipped with diamond to do it4 ,unless your whole being is engaged in the task1 and you gather your whole self together into a point1 and drive the point with all your force1 you will never get through the rock barrier that rises between you and the fair lands beyond4 ,be in earnest1 or give it up altogether4 ,then another thing ,i would venture to say is1 ,make it your business to cultivate a character like that of ,jesus ,christ4 ,if you would go to the work of growing a ,christ-like spirit one-hundredth part as systematically as you will go to your business to-morrow1 and stick at it1 there would be a very different condition of things in most of our hearts4 ,no man becomes noble and good and like the dear ,lord 'by a jump1' without making a systematic and conscious effort towards it4 ,i would say1 lastly1 ,make haste about cultivating a ,christlike character4 ,the harvest is great1 the toil is heavy1 the sun is drawing to the west1 the evening shadows are very long with some of us1 the reckoning is at hand1 and the ,master waits to count your sheaves4 ,there is no time to lose1 brother2 set about it as you have never done before1 and say1 ',this one thing ,i do4' ,and so let us not fill our minds with vain hopes which1 whether they be fulfilled or not1 will not satisfy us1 but lift our eyes to and stay our anticipations on those glories beyond1 as real as ,god is real1 and as certain as ,his word is true4 ,let these hopes concentrate and define for us the aims of our life2 and let the aims1 clearly accepted and recognised1 be pursued with earnestness1 with 'diligence1' with haste1 with the enthusiasm of which they1 and they only1 are worthy4 ,let us listen to our ,master1 ',i must work the works of ,him that sent ,me while it is day2 the night cometh4' ,and let us listen to the words of the servant1 which reverse the metaphor1 and teach the same lesson in a trumpet call which anticipates the dawn and rouses the sleeping soldiers3 ',the night is far spent1 the day is at hand4 ,let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light4' ,,growth ',but grow in grace1 and in the knowledge of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ4444'--#b ,peter iii4 #ah4 ,these are the last words of an old man1 written down as his legacy to us4 ,he was himself a striking example of his own precept4 ,it would be an interesting study to examine these two letters of the ,apostle ,peter1 in order to construct from them a picture of what he became1 and to contrast it with his own earlier self when full of self-confidence1 rashness1 and instability4 ,it took a lifetime for ,simon1 the son of ,jonas1 to grow into ,peter2 but it was done4 ,and the very faults of the character became strength4 ,what he had proved possible in his own case he commands and commends to us1 and from the height to which he has reached1 he looks upwards to the infinite ascent which he knows he will attain when he puts off this tabernacle2 and then downwards to his brethren1 bidding them1 too1 climb and aspire4 ,his last word is like that of the great ,roman ,catholic apostle to the ,east ,indies3 ',forward6' ,he is like some trumpeter on the battlefield who spends his last breath in sounding an advance4 ,immortal hope animates his dying injunction3 ',grow6 grow in grace1 and in the knowledge of our ,lord and ,saviour4' ,so ,i think we may take these words1 dear friends1 as the starting-point for some very plain remarks about what ,i am afraid is a neglected duty1 the duty of growth in ,christian character4 ,i4 ,i begin1 first1 with a word or two about the direction which ,christian growth ought to take4 ,now those of you who use the ,revised ,version will see in it a very slight1 but very valuable alteration4 ,it reads there3 ',grow in the grace and knowledge of our ,lord and ,saviour4' ,the effect of that alteration being to bring out more clearly that whilst the direction of the growth is twofold1 the process is one4 ,and to bring out more clearly1 also1 that both the grace and the knowledge have connection with ,jesus ,christ4 ,he is the ,giver and the ,author of the grace4 ,he is the ,object of the knowledge4 ,the one is more moral and spiritual2 the other1 if we may so say1 more intellectual2 but both are realised by one act of progress1 and both inhere in1 and refer to1 and are occupied with1 and are derived from1 ,jesus ,christ ,himself4 ,let us look a little more closely at this double direction1 this bifurcation1 as it were1 of ,christian growth4 ,the tree1 like some of our forest trees1 in its normal progress1 diverges into two main branches at a short distance upwards from the root4 ,first1 we have growth in the 'grace' of ,christ4 ,grace1 of course1 means1 first1 the undeserved love and favour which ,god in ,jesus ,christ bears to us sinful and inferior creatures2 and then it means the consequence of that love and favour in the manifold spiritual endowments which in us become 'graces1' beauties1 and excellences of ,christian character4 ,so then1 if you are a ,christian1 you ought to be continually realising a deeper and more blessed consciousness of ,christ's love and favour as yours4 ,you ought to be1 if ,i may so say1 nestling every day nearer and nearer to ,his heart1 and getting more and more sure1 and more and more happily sure1 of more and more of ,his mercy and love to you4 ,and if you are a ,christian you ought not only thus to be realising daily1 with increasing certitude and power1 the fact of ,his love1 but you ought to be drinking in and deriving more and more every day of the consequences of that love1 of the spiritual gifts of which ,his hands are full4 ,there is open for each of us in ,him an inexhaustible store of abundance4 ,and if our ,christian life is real and vigorous there ought to be in us a daily increasing capacity1 and therefore a daily increasing possession of the gifts of ,his grace4 ,there ought to be1 in other words1 also a daily progressive transformation into ,his likeness4 ,it is 'the grace of our ,lord ,jesus1' not only in the sense that ,he is the ,author and the ,bestower of it to each of us1 but also in the sense that ,he ,himself possesses and exemplifies it4 ,so that there is nothing mystical and remote from the experience of daily life in this exhortation3 ',grow in grace'2 and it is not growth in some occult theological virtue1 or transcendent experience1 but a very plain1 practical thing1 a daily transformation1 with growing completeness and precision of resemblance1 into the likeness of ,jesus ,christ2 the grace that was in ,him being transferred to me1 and my character being growingly irradiated and refined1 softened and ennobled by the reflection of the lustre of ,his4 ,this it is to 'grow into the grace of our ,lord and ,saviour'2 a deeper consciousness of ,his love creeping round the roots of my heart every day1 and fuller possession of ,his gifts placed in my opening hand every day2 and a continual approximation to the beauty of ,his likeness1 which never halts nor ceases4 ',grow in the knowledge of our ,lord and ,saviour4' ,the knowledge of a person is not the same as the knowledge of a creed or of a thought or of a book4 ,we are to grow in the knowledge of ,christ1 which includes but is more than the intellectual apprehension of the truths concerning ,him4 ,he might turn the injunction into--',increase your acquaintance with your ,saviour4' ,many ,christians never get to be any more intimate with ,him than they were when they were first introduced to ,him4 ,they are on a kind of bowing acquaintance with their ,master1 and have little more than that4 ,we sometimes begin an acquaintance which we think promises to ripen into a friendship1 but are disappointed4 ,circumstances or some want of congeniality which is discovered prevent its growth4 ,so with not a few professing ,christians4 ,they have got no nearer ,jesus ,christ than when they first knew ,him4 ,their friendship has not grown4 ,it has never reached the stage where all restraints are laid aside and there is perfect confidence4 ',grow in the knowledge of your ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ4' ,get more and more intimate with ,him1 nearer to ,him1 and franker and more cordial with ,him day by day4 ,but there is another side to the injunction besides that4 ,we are to grow in the grasp1 the intellectual grasp and realisation of the truths which lie wrapped up and enfolded in ,him4 ,the first truths that a man learns when he becomes a ,christian are the most important4 ,the lesson that the little child learns contains the ,omega as well as the ,alpha of all truth4 ,there is no word in all the gospel that is an advance on that initial word1 the faith of which saves the most ignorant who trusts to it4 ,we begin with the end1 if ,i may say so1 and the highest truth is the first truth that we learn4 ,but the aspect which that truth bears to the man when1 first of all1 it dawns upon him1 and he sees in it the end of his fears1 the cleansing of his heart1 the pardoning of his sins1 his acceptance with ,god1 is a very different thing from the aspect that it ought to wear to him1 after1 say forty years of pondering1 of growing up to it1 after years of experience have taught him4 ,life is the best commentary upon the truths of the gospel1 and the experience teaches their depths and their power1 their far-reaching applications and harmonies4 ,so our growth in the knowledge of ,jesus ,christ is not a growing away from the earliest lessons1 or a leaving them behind1 but a growing up to and into them4 ,so as to learn more fully and clearly all their infinite contents of grace and truth4 ,the treasure put into our hands at first is discovered in its true preciousness as life and trial test its metal and its inexhaustibleness4 ,the child's lesson is the man's lesson4 ,all our ,christian progress in knowledge consists in bringing to light the deep meaning1 the far-reaching consequences of the fact of ,christ's incarnation1 death1 and glory4 ',god so loved the world that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son that whosoever believeth in ,him should not perish1 but have everlasting life4' ,the same truth which shone at first a star in a far-off sky1 through a sinful man's night of fear and agony1 grows in brilliance as we draw nearer to it1 until at last it blazes1 the central ,sun of the ,universe1 the hearth for all vital warmth1 the fountain of all guiding light1 the centre of all energy4 ,christ in ,his manhood1 in ,his divinity1 ,christ in ,his cross1 resurrection1 and glory1 is the object of all knowledge1 and we grow in the knowledge of ,him by penetrating more deeply into the truths which we have long ago learned1 as well as by following them as they lead us into new fields1 and disclose unsuspected issues in creed and practice4 ,that growth will not be one-sided2 for grace and knowledge will advance side by side--the moral and spiritual keeping step with the intellectual1 the practical with the theoretical4 ,and that growth will have no term4 ,it is growth towards an infinite object of our aspiration1 imitation1 and affection4 ,so we shall ever approach and never surpass ,jesus ,christ4 ,such endless progress is the very salt of life4 ,it keeps us young when physical strength decays4 ,it flames1 an immortal hope1 to light the darkness of the grave when all other hopes are quenched in night4 ,,ii4 ,now1 for a moment1 look at another thought1 viz41 the obligation4 ,it is a command1 that is to say1 the will is involved4 ,growth is to be done by effort1 and the fact that it is a command teaches us this1 that we are not to take this one metaphor as if it exhausted the whole of the facts of the case in reference to ,christian progress4 ,you would never think of telling a child to grow any more than you would think of telling a plant to grow1 but ,peter does tell ,christian men and women to grow4 ,why8 ,because they are not plants1 but men with wills1 which can resist1 and can either further or hinder their progress4 ',lo6 in the middle of the wood1 ,the folded leaf is wooed from out the bud1 444 and there ,grows green and broad1 and takes no care4' ,but that is not how we grow4 ',in the sweat of thy brow1' with pain and peril1 with effort and toil1 and not otherwise1 do men grow in everything but stature4 ,and especially is it so in the ,christian character4 ,there are other metaphors that need to be taken into consideration as well as this of growth1 with all its sweet suggestions of continuous1 effortless1 spontaneous advance4 ,the ,christian progress is not only growth1 it is warfare4 ,the ,christian progress is not only growth1 it is a race4 ,the ,christian progress is not only growth1 it is mortifying the old man4 ,the ,christian progress is not only growth1 it is putting off the old man with his deeds and putting on the new6 ',first the blade1 then the ear1 after that the full corn in the ear1' was never meant for a complete account of how the ,christian life is perfected4 ,we are bidden to grow1 and that command points to hindrances and resistance1 to the need for effort and the governing action of our own wills4 ,the command is one sorely needed in the present state of our average ,christianity4 ,our churches are full of monsters1 specimens of arrested growth1 dwarfs1 who have scarcely grown since they were babes1 infants all their lives4 ,i come to you with a very plain question3 ,have you any more of ,christ's beauty in your characters1 any more of ,his grace in your hearts1 any more of ,his truth in your minds than you had a year ago1 ten years ago1 or at that far-off period when some of you greyheaded men first professed to be ,christians8 ,have you experienced so many things in vain8 ,have the years taught you nothing8 ,ah1 brethren6 for how many of us is it true3 ',when for the time ye ought to be teachers ye have need that one teach you which be the first principles of the oracles of ,god'8 ',grow in grace1 and in the knowledge of our ,lord and ,saviour4' ,and we need the command because all about us there are hindrances4 ,there is the hindrance of an abuse of the evangelical doctrine of conversion1 and the idea that springs up in many hearts that if once a man has 'passed from death unto life1' and has managed to get inside the door of the banqueting-hall1 that is enough4 ,and there are numbers of people in our ,nonconformist communities especially1 where that doctrine of conversion is most distinctly preached1 whose growth is stopped by the abuse that they make of it in fancying if they have once exercised faith in ,jesus ,christ they may safely and sinlessly stand still4 ',conversion' is turning round4 ,what do we turn round for8 ,surely1 in order that we may travel on in the new direction1 not that we may stay where we are4 ,there is also the hindrance of mere indolence1 and there is the hindrance arising from absorption in the world and its concerns4 ,if all your strength is going thither1 there is none left to grow with4 ,many professing ,christians take such deep draughts of the intoxicating cup of this world's pleasures that it stunts their growth4 ,people sometimes give children gin in order to keep them from growing4 ,some of you do that for your ,christian character by the deep draughts that you take of the ,circean cup of this world's pleasures and cares4 ,and not unfrequently1 some one favourite evil1 some lust or passion1 or weakness1 or desire1 which you have not the strength to cast out1 will kill all aspirations and destroy all possibilities of growth2 and will be like an iron band round a little sapling1 which will confine it and utterly prevent all expansion4 ,is that the case with any of us8 ,we all need--and ,i pray you suffer--the word of exhortation4 ,,iii4 ,now1 again1 consider the method of growth4 ,there are two things essential to the growth of animal life4 ,one is food1 the other is exercise2 and your ,christian character will grow by no other means4 ,now as to the first4 ,the true means by which we shall grow in ,christian grace is by holding continual intercourse and communion with ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is from ,him that all come4 ,he is the ,fountain of ,life2 ,he gives the life1 ,he nourishes the life1 ,he increases the life4 ,and whilst ,i have been saying1 in an earlier part of this discourse1 that we are not to expect an effortless growth1 ,i must here say that we shall very much mistake what ,christian progress requires if we suppose that the effort is most profitably directed to the cultivation of specific and single acts of goodness and purity4 ,our efforts are best when directed to keeping ourselves in union with our ,lord4 ,the heart united to ,him will certainly be advancing in all things fair and lovely and of good report4 ,keep yourselves in touch with ,christ2 and ,christ will make you grow4 ,that is to say1 occupy heart and mind with ,him1 let your thoughts go to ,him4 ,do you ever1 from morning to night1 on a week-day1 think about your ,master1 about ,his truth1 about the principles of ,his ,gospel1 about ,his great love to you8 ,keep your heart in union with ,him1 in the midst of the rush and hurry of your daily life4 ,are your desires turning to ,him8 ,do they go out towards ,him and feel after ,him8 ,it will take an effort to keep up the union with ,him1 but without the effort there will be no contact1 and without the contact there will be no growth4 ,as soon may you expect a plant1 wrenched from the soil and shut out from the sunshine to grow1 as expect any ,christian progress in the hearts which are disjoined from ,jesus ,christ4 ,but rooted in that soil1 smiled upon by that sun1 watered by the perpetual dew from ,his ,heaven1 we shall 'grow like the lily1 and cast forth our roots like ,lebanon4 ,the secret of real ,christian progress and the direction in which the effort of ,christian progress can most profitably and effectually be made1 is simply in keeping close to our ,lord and ,master4 ,he is the food of the ,spirit4 ',i am come that they might have life1 and that they might have it more abundantly4' ,communion with ,christ includes prayer4 ,desire to grow will help our growth4 ,we tend to become what we long to be4 ,desire which impels to effort will not be in vain if it likewise impels to prayer4 ,we may have the answer to our petition for growth in set ways2 we may be but partially conscious of the answer1 nor know that our faces shine when we go among men4 ,but certainly if we pray for what is in such accordance with ,his will as 'growth in grace' is1 we shall have the petition that we desire4 ,that longing to know ,him better and to possess more of ,his grace1 like the tendrils of some climbing plant1 will always find the support round which it may twine1 and by which it may ascend4 ,the other condition of growth is exercise4 ,use the grace which you have1 and it increases4 ,practice the truth which you know1 and many things will become clearer4 ,the blacksmith's muscles are strengthened by wielding the forge-hammer1 but unused they waste4 ,the child grows by exercise4 ,to him that hath--truly possesses with that possession which only use secures--shall be given4 ,communion with ,christ1 including prayer1 and exercise are the means of growth4 ,,iv4 ,lastly1 observe the solemn alternative to growth4 ,it is not a question of either growing or not growing1 and there an end2 but if you will look at the context you will see that the exhortation of my text comes in in a very significant connection4 ',behold6 beware1 lest being led away 444 ye fall from your own steadfastness4' ',but grow in grace4' ,that is to say1 the only preventive of falling away from steadfastness is continual progress4 ,the alternative of advance is retrogression4 ,there is no standing still upon the inclined plane4 ,if you are not going up1 gravity begins to act1 and down you go4 ,there must either be continual advance or there will be certain decay and corruption4 ,as soon as growth ceases in this physiology disintegration commences4 ,just as the graces exercised are strengthened1 so the graces unexercised decay4 ,the slothful servant wraps his talent in a napkin1 and buries it in the ground4 ,he may try to persuade his ,master and himself with ',there ,thou hast that is ,thine'2 but ,he will not take up what you buried4 ,rust and verdigris will have done their work upon the coin2 the inscription will be obliterated and the image will be marred4 ,you cannot bury your ,christian grace in indolence without diminishing it4 ,it will be like a bit of ice wrapped in a cloth and left in the sun1 it will all have gone into water when you come to take it out4 ,and the truth that you do not live by1 whose relations and large harmonies and controlling power are not being increasingly realised in your lives2 that truth is becoming less and less real1 more and more shadowy1 and ghostlike to you4 ,truth which is not growing is becoming fossilised4 ',the things most surely believed' are often the things which have least power4 ,unquestioned truth too often lies 'bedridden in the dormitory of the soul side by side with exploded error4' ,the sure way to reduce your knowledge of ,jesus ,christ to that inert condition is to neglect increasing it and applying it to your daily life4 ,there are men1 in all churches1 and there are some whole communions whose creeds are the most orthodox1 and also utterly useless1 and as near as possible nonentities1 simply because the creed is accepted and shelved4 ,if your belief is to be of any use to you1 or to be held by you in the face of temptations to abandon it1 you must keep it fresh1 and oxygenated1 so to say1 by continual fresh apprehension of it and closer application of it to conduct4 ,as soon as the stream stands1 it stagnates2 and the very manna from ,god will breed worms and stink4 ,and ,christian truth unpractised by those who hold it1 corrupts itself and corrupts them4 ,so ,peter tells us that the alternative is growth or apostasy4 ,this decay may be most real and unsuspected4 ,there are many1 many professing ,christians all ignorant that1 like the ,jewish giant of old1 their strength is gone from them1 and the ,spirit of ,god departed4 ,my brother1 ,i beseech you1 rouse yourself from your contented slothfulness4 ,do not be satisfied with merely having come within the ,temple4 ,count nothing as won whilst anything remains to be won4 ,there is a whole ocean of boundless grace and truth rolling shoreless there before you4 ,do not content yourselves with picking up a few shells on the beach1 but launch out into the deep1 and learn to know more and more of the grace and truth and beauty of your ,saviour and your ,god4 ,but remember dead things do not grow4 ,you cannot grow unless you are alive1 and you are not alive unless you have ,jesus ,christ4 ,have you given yourselves to ,him8 have you taken ,him as yours8 given yourselves to ,him as ,his servants1 subjects1 soldiers8 taken ,him for yours as your ,saviour1 ,sacrifice1 ,pattern1 ,inspirer1 ,friend8 ,if you have1 then you have life which will grow if you keep it in union with ,him4 ,joined to ,him1 men are like a 'tree that is planted by the rivers of water1' which spreads its foliage and bears its fruit1 and year after year flings a wider shadow upon the grass1 and lifts a sturdier bole to the heavens4 ,separated from ,him they are like the chaff1 which has neither root nor life1 and which cannot grow4 ,which1 my friend1 are you8 ,i4 ,,john ,,the ,,message ,,and ,,its ,,practical ,,results ',this then is the message which we have heard of ,him1 and declare unto you1 that ,god is light1 and in ,him is no darkness at all4 #f4 ,if we say that we have fellowship with ,him and walk in darkness1 we lie1 and do not the truth3 #g4 ,but if we walk in the light1 as ,he is in the light1 we have fellowship one with another1 and the blood of ,jesus ,christ ,his ,son cleanseth us from all sin4 #h4 ,if we say that we have no sin1 we deceive ourselves1 and the truth is not in us4 #i4 ,if we confess our sins1 ,he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins1 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness4 #aj4 ,if we say that we have not sinned1 we make ,him a liar1 and ,his word is not in us4' ',my little children1 these things write ,i unto you1 that ye sin not4 ,and if any man sin1 we have an advocate with the ,father1 ,jesus ,christ the righteous3 #b4 ,and ,he is the propitiation for our sins3 and not for ours only1 but also for the sins of the whole world4 #c4 ,and hereby we do know that we know ,him1 if we keep ,his commandments4 #d4 ,he that saith1 ,i know ,him1 and keepeth not ,his commandments1 is a liar1 and the truth is not in him4 #e4 ,but whoso keepeth his word1 in him verily is the love of ,god perfected3 hereby know we that we are in ,him4 #f4 ,he that saith he abideth in ,him ought himself also so to walk1 even as ,he walked4'--#a ,john i4 #e-;ii4 #f4 ,john is the mystic among the ,new ,testament writers4 ,he dwells much on the immediate union of the soul with ,god1 and he has little to say about institutions and rites4 ,his method is not to argue1 but to utter deep1 simple propositions which convince by their own light4 ,but he is also intensely eager for plain1 practical morality1 and in that respect sets the example which1 unfortunately1 too many of the more mystical types of ,christian teaching have failed to follow4 ,to him the outcome and test of all deep hidden union with ,god is righteousness in life4 ,the blending of these two elements1 which is the very keynote of this letter1 is wonderfully set forth in this passage4 ,they would require much more space than we command for their treatment1 for every clause is weighty as gold4 ,we can but skim the surface1 and try to bring out the salient points4 ,i4 ,we have1 first1 a wonderful gathering up of the whole gospel message into one utterance as to the essential nature of ,god4 ,light is in all languages the symbol of knowledge1 of joy1 of purity4 ,it is the source of life4 ,its very nature is to ray itself out into and conquer darkness4 ,its splendor dazzles every eye2 all things rejoice in its beams4 ,darkness is the type of ignorance1 of sorrow1 of sin4 ,but1 whilst the symbol is thus rich in manifold revelations1 probably purity and self-communication are the predominating ideas here4 ,john has been honoured to give the world the three great revelations that ,god is spirit1 is light1 is love4 ,and this profound saying in some sense includes both the others1 inasmuch as light1 which to the popular mind is most widely apart from matter1 may well stand for the emblem of spirit1 and1 since to radiate is its inseparable quality1 does represent in symbol the delight in imparting ,himself1 which is the very heart of the declaration that ,god is love4 ,if1 then1 we grasp these two thoughts of absolute purity and of self-impartation as the very nature and property of ,god1 ,john tells us that we grasp the kernel of the ,gospel4 ,and he thinks that men never will grasp them certainly unless a 'message' from ,god1 a definite revelation in historical fact1 certifies them4 ,we may hope or doubt1 or desire1 but we cannot be sure that ,god is light unless he tells us so by unmistakable act4 ,john knew what act that was--the sending of ,his only-begotten ,son4 ,to the positive statement ,john1 in his usual manner1 appends an emphatic negative one3 ',darkness is not in him1 no1 not in any way4' ,he is light1 all light1 only light4 ,,ii4 ,with characteristic moral earnestness1 ,john passes at once to the practical effects which the message is meant to have4 ,we are not told what ,god is simply that we may know1 but that1 knowing1 we may do and be4 ,if ,he is light1 two things will follow in those who are in union with ,him--they will walk in light1 and they will in ,his light see their own evil4 ,john deals with these two consequences in verses #f-aj--the former in verses #f and #g2 the latter in verses #h-aj4 ,the parallelism in the construction of these two sets of verses is striking3 ,,verses #f1 #g4 ,,verses #h1 #i4 ,if we say ,if we say that we have fellowship with that we have no sin ,him1 and walk in darkness1 we lie1 and do not the truth4 we deceive ourselves1 and the truth is not in us4 ,but if we walk in the light1 ,if we confess our sins1 as ,he is in the light1 we have fellowship one with ,he is faithful and righteous to another4 forgive us our sins1 and the blood of ,jesus ,his ,son and to cleanse us from all cleanseth us from all sin4 unrighteousness4 ,as to the former of these two paragraphs1 the underlying thought is that fellowship with ,god necessarily involves moral likeness to ,him4 ,worship is always aspiration after1 and conformity to1 the character of the god worshipped1 and there can be no true communion with a ,god who is light unless the worshipper walks in light4 ,in plain language1 all high-flying pretensions to communion with ,god must verify themselves by practical righteousness4 ,that cuts deep into an emotional religion1 which has much to say about raptures and the like1 but produces little purifying effect on the humble details of daily life4 ,there are always professing ,christians who talk of their blessed experiences1 and woefully fail in prosaic virtues4 ,it is a pity that a man should hold his head so high that he does not look to keep his feet out of the mud4 ,such a profession is for the most part tainted with more or less conscious falsehood1 and is always a proof that the truth--the sum of ,god's revelation--is not operative in the man2 that he is not turning his belief into act1 as all belief should be4 ,on the other hand1 the true relation resulting from the message is that we should walk in the light1 as ,he is in it4 ,verse #aj seems to be simply a reiteration of the preceding idea1 with some intensifying1 and that chiefly in the description of the true character of the denial of sin4 ,to make ,god a liar is worse than to lie or to deceive ourselves2 and all ignoring of sin does that1 because not only has ,god declared its universality by the words of revelation1 but all ,his dealings with men are based upon the fact that they are all sinners1 and we fly in the face of all ,his words and works if we deny that which we ourselves are4 ,therefore the ,apostle further varies his expression1 and says ',his word' instead of 'the truth1' thus bringing into prominence the thought that 'the truth' is made accessible to us because ,god has spoken4 ,,iii4 ,chapter ii4 #a-f is in structure analogous to the preceding section4 ,as there1 so here1 the 'message' is summed up in one great fact1--,christ's work as advocate for believers and as propitiation for the world4 ,as there1 so here1 two practical consequences follow1 which are drawn out on corresponding lines4 ,observe the repetition in verses #c and #e b1 of 'hereby know we1' and in verses #d and #f of ',he that saith4' ,note1 too1 the reappearance of 'is a liar' and of 'the truth is not in him' in verse #d4 ,the drift of the section may be briefly put as follows4 ,john's heart melts as he thinks of the possibilities of holiness open to believers1 and of the sad actualities of their imperfect lives1 and he addresses them by the tender name1 'my little children4' ,the impelling and guiding motive of his letter is that they may not sin4 ,practical righteousness is the end of revelation1 and its complete attainment should be the aim of every believer4 ,but the sad experience of 'saints' is that they are not yet wholly delivered from its power4 ,therefore 'the message' is not only ',god is light without blending of darkness1' but1 'we ,christians have an ,advocate with the ,father4' ,jesus is to-day carrying on ,his mighty work of prevalent intercession for all ,his servants1 and that intercession secures forgiveness for their inconsistencies and lapses1 because it rests upon ,christ's finished work of 'propitiation1' which is for the whole world1 even though it actually avails only for believers4 ,such being the power of ,christ's work in its twofold aspect of propitiation and of intercession1 the same practical issues as in the preceding section were shown to flow from the revealed nature of ,god are here1 in somewhat different form1 linked with that work4 ,first1 keeping his commandments 7which is equivalent to 'walking in the light'7 is the test to ourselves1 as well as to others1 of our really knowing ,him with a knowledge which is not mere head work1 but the acquaintance of sympathy and friendship1 or1 in the words of the previous paragraph1 having fellowship with ,him4 ,clearly1 the scope of this section requires that ',his commandments' should here mean ,christ's1 not the ,father's4 ,all professions of knowing ,jesus which are not verified by obedience to ,him are false4 ,if we do keep ,his word--not merely the individual 'commandments1' but the word as one great whole--our love to ,god reaches its perfection1 for it is no mere emotion of the heart1 but the force which is to mould and actuate all our acts4 ,verse #e b should be separated from the preceding words1 for it is really the beginning of the second issue from the work of ,christ1 and is parallel with 'hereby know we1' etc41 in verse #c4 ,observe the progress in thought from the assurance that we know 7ver4 #c7 to the assurance that we are in ,him4 ,the ,christian's relation to ,jesus is not only that of acquaintance1 however intimate1 loving1 and transforming1 but that of actual dwelling in ,him4 ,that great truth shines on every page of the ,new ,testament1 and is not to be weakened down into metaphor or rhetoric4 ,it is the very heart of the ,christian life1 and the test that we have attained to it1 and that not merely as an occasional1 but as a permanent1 condition 7note that 'are in ,him' is strengthened to 'abideth in ,him'7 is that our outward life1 in its manifold activities1 shall be conformed to the pattern of all holiness in the life of ,jesus4 ,to walk as ,he walked is to walk in the light4 ,profession is nothing1 conduct is everything1 and we shall only be clear of sin in the measure in which we have ,him who is the light of men for the very life of our lives4 ,,walking ,,in ,,the ,,light ',if we walk in the light1 as ,he is in the light1 we have fellowship one with another1 and the blood of ,jesus ,christ ,his ,son cleanseth us from all sin4'--#a ,john i4 #g4 ,john was the ,apostle of love1 but he was also a 'son of thunder4' ,his intense moral earnestness and his very love made him hate evil1 and sternly condemn it2 and his words flash and roll as no other words in ,scripture1 except the words of the ,lord of love4 ,in the immediate context he has been laying down what is to him the very heart of his message1 that ',god is light1 and in ,him is no darkness at all4' ,there are spots in the sun1 great tracts of blackness on its radiant disc2 but in ,god is unmingled1 perfect purity4 ,that being so1 it is clear that no man can be in sympathy or hold communion with ,him1 unless he1 too1 in his measure1 is light4 ,so1 with fiery indignation1 ,john turns to the people1 of whom there were some1 even in the primitive ,church1 who made claims to a lofty spirituality and communion with ,god1 and all the while were manifestly living in the darkness of sin4 ,he will not mince matters with them4 ,he roundly says that they are lying1 and the worst sort of lie--an acted lie3 ',they do not the truth4' ,then1 with a quick turn1 he opposes to these pretenders the men who really are in fellowship with ,god1 and in my text lays down the principle that walking in the light is essential to fellowship with ,god4 ,only1 in his usual fashion1 he turns the antithesis into a somewhat different form1 so as to suggest another aspect of the truth1 and instead of saying1 as we might expect for the verbal accuracy of the contrast1 ',if we walk in the light1 as ,he is in the light1 we have fellowship with ,god1' he says1 'we have fellowship one with another4' ,then he adds a still further result of that walk1 'the blood of ,jesus cleanses from all sin4' ,now there are three things3 walking in the light1 which is the only ,christian walk2 the companions of those who walk in the light2 and the progressive cleansing which is given4 ,i4 ,note this ',walking in the light1' which is the only ,christian walk4 ,in all languages1 light is the natural symbol for three things3 knowledge1 joy1 purity4 ,the one ray is broken into its three constituent parts4 ,but just as there are some surfaces which are sensitive to the violet rays1 say1 of the spectrum1 and not to the others1 so ,john's intense moral earnestness makes him mainly sensitive to the symbolism which makes light the expression1 not so much of knowledge or of joy1 as of moral purity4 ,and although that is not exclusively his use of the emblem1 it is predominately so1 and it is so here4 ,to 'walk in the light' then1 is1 speaking generally1 to have purity1 righteousness1 goodness1 as the very element and atmosphere in which our progressive and changeful life is carried on4 ,note1 too1 before ,i go further1 that very significant antithesis3 we 'walk'2 ,he is--,god is in the light essentially1 changelessly1 undisturbedly1 eternally2 and the light in which ,he is1 ,his 'own calm home1 ,his habitation from eternity1' is light which has flowed out from ,himself as a halo round the midnight moon4 ,it is all one in substance to say ,god is in light1 or1 as the ,psalmist has it1 ',he covered ,himself with light as with a garment1' and to say1 ',god is light4' ,but1 side by side with that changeless abiding in the perfect purity1 which is inaccessible1 the ,apostle ventures to put1 not in contrast only1 but in parallel 7as ,he is71 our changing1 effortful1 active1 progressive life in the light 7,god is72 we walk4 ,so1 then1 the essential of a ,christian character is that the light of purity and moral goodness shall be as the very orb1 in the midst of which it stands and advances4 ,that implies effort1 and it implies activity1 and it implies progress4 ,and we are only ,christians in the measure in which the conscious activities of our daily lives1 and the deepest energies of our inward being1 are bathed and saturated with this love of1 and effort after1 righteousness4 ,it is vain1 says ,john1 to talk about fellowship with ,god1 unless the fellowship is rooted in sympathy with ,him in that which is the very heart of his ,being1 the perfect light of perfect holiness4 ,test your ,christianity by that4 ,then1 still further1 there is implied in this great requirement of walking in the light1 not only activity and effort1 and progress and purity1 but also that the whole of the life shall be brought into relation with1 and shall be moulded after1 the pattern of the ,god in whom we profess to believe4 ,religion1 in its deepest meaning1 is the aspiration after likeness to the god4 ,you see it in heathenism4 ,men make their gods after their own image1 and then the god makes the worshippers after his image4 ,mars is the god of the soldier1 and ,venus goddess of the profligate1 and ,apollo god of the musical and the wise1 etc41 and in ,christianity the deepest thing in it is aspiration and effort after likeness to ,god4 ,love is imitation2 admiration1 especially when it is raised to the highest degree and becomes adoration1 is imitation4 ,and the man that lies before ,god1 like a mirror in the sunshine1 receives on the still surface of his soul--but not1 like the mirror1 on the surface only1 but down into its deepest depths--the reflected image of ,him on ,whom he gazes4 ',we all with unveiled face1 mirroring glory1 are changed into the same image4' ,so to walk in the light is only possible when we are drawn into it1 and our feeble feet made fit to tread upon the radiant glory1 by the thought that ,he is in the light4 ,to imitate ,him is to be righteous4 ,so do not let us forget that a correct creed1 and devout emotions1 ay6 and a morality which has no connection with ,him1 are all imperfect1 and that the end of all our religion1 our orthodox creed and our sweet emotions and inward feelings of acceptance and favour and fellowship1 are meant to converge on1 and to produce this--a life and a character which lives and moves and has its being in a great orb of light and purity4 ,but another thing is included in this grand metaphor of my text4 ,not only does it enjoin upon us effort and activity and progress in the light and the linking of all our purity with ,god1 but also1 it bids us shroud no part of our conduct or our character either from ourselves or from ,him4 ,bring it all out into the light4 ,and although with a penitent heart1 and a face suffused with blushes1 we have sometimes to say1 ',see1 ,father1 what ,i have done6' it is far better that the revealing light should shine down upon us1 and like the sunshine on wet linen1 melt away the foulness which it touches1 than that we should huddle the ugly thing up in a corner1 to be one day revealed and transfixed by the flash of the light turned into lightning4 ',he that doeth the truth cometh to the light1 that his deeds may be made manifest4' ,,ii4 ,so much1 then1 for my first point2 the second is3 ,the companions of the men that walk in the light4 ,i have already pointed out that the accurate1 perhaps pedantically accurate1 form of the antithesis would have been3 ',if we walk in the light as ,he is in the light1 we have fellowship with ,god4' ,but ,john says1 first1 'we have fellowship one with another4' ,underlying that1 as ,i shall have to say in a moment1 there is the other thought3 ',we have fellowship with ,god4' ,but he deals with the other side of the truth first4 ,that just comes to this1 that the only cement that perfectly knits men to each other is their common possession of that light1 and the consequent fellowship with ,god4 ,there are plenty of other bonds that draw us to one another2 but these1 if they are not strengthened by this deepest of all bonds1 the affinity of souls1 that are moving together in the realm of light and purity1 are precarious1 and apt to snap4 ,sin separates men quite as much as it separates each man from ,god4 ,it is the wedge driven into the tree that rends it apart4 ,human society with its various bonds is like the iron hoop that may be put around the barrel staves1 giving them a quasi-unity4 ,the one thing that builds men together into a whole is that each shall be1 as it were1 embedded in the rock which is the foundation1 and the building will rise into a holy temple in the ,lord4 ,sin separates2 as the prophet confessed1 ',all we like sheep have gone astray1 every one to his own way1' and the flock is broken up into a multitude of scattered sheep4 ,social enthusiasts may learn the lesson that the only way by which brotherhood among men can become anything else than a name1 and probably end1 as it did in the great ,french ,revolution1 in 'brothers' making hecatombs of their brethren under the guillotine1 is that it shall be the corollary from the ,fatherhood of ,god4 ,if we walk in the light1 not otherwise1 we have 'fellowship one with another4' ,then1 still further1 in this fellowship one with another1 ,john presupposes the fellowship with ,god for each1 which makes the possibility and the certainty of all being drawn into one family4 ,he does not think it necessary to state1 what is so plain and obvious1 viz41 that unless we are in sympathy with ,god1 in our aspiration and effort after the light which is ,his home and ours1 we have no real communion with ,him4 ,i said that sin separated man from man1 and disrupted all the sweet bonds of amity1 so that if men come into contact1 being themselves in the darkness1 they come into collision rather than into communion4 ,a company of travellers in the night are isolated individuals4 ,when the sun rises on their paths they are a company again4 ,and in like manner1 sin separates us from ,god1 and if our hearts are turned towards1 and denizens of1 the darkness of impurity1 then we have no communion with ,him4 ,he cannot come to us if we love the darkness4 ,he ',can but listen at the gate1 ,and hear the household jar within4' ,the tide of the ,atlantic feels along the base of iron-bound cliffs on our western shores1 and there is not a crevice into which it can come4 ,so ,god moves about us1 but is without us1 so long as we walk in darkness4 ,so let us remember that no union with ,him is possible1 except there be this common dwelling in the light4 ,two grains of quicksilver laid upon a polished surface will never unite if their surfaces be dusted over with minute impurities1 or if the surface of one of them be4 ,clean away the motes1 and they will coalesce and be one4 ,a film of sin separates men from ,god4 ,and if the film be removed the man dwells in ,god1 and ,god in him4 ,,iii4 ,that brings me to my last point3 ,the progressive cleansing of those who dwell in the light4 ',the blood of ,jesus ,christ cleanseth from all sin4' ,now if you will notice the whole context1 and eminently the words a couple of verses after my text1 you will see that the cleansing here meant is not the cleansing of forgiveness1 but the cleansing of purifying4 ,for the two things are articulately distinguished in the ninth verse3 ',he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins1 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness4' ,so1 to use theological terms1 it is not justification1 but sanctification that is meant here4 ,then there is another thing to be noticed1 and that is that when the ,apostle speaks here about the blood of ,christ1 he is not thinking of that blood as shed on the ,cross1 the atoning sacrifice1 but of that blood as transfused into the veins1 the source there of our new life4 ,the ,old ,testament says that 'the blood is the life4' ,never mind about the statement being scientifically correct2 it conveys the idea of the time1 which underlies a great deal of ,old and ,new ,testament teaching4 ,and when ,john says the blood of ,jesus cleanses from 'all sin1' he says just the same thing as his brother ,paul said1 'the law of the spirit of life in ,jesus ,christ makes me free from the law of sin and death4' ,that is to say1 a growing cleansing from the dominion and the power of sin is granted to us1 if we have the life of ,jesus ,christ breathed into our lives4 ,the metaphor is a very strong one4 ,they tell us--,i know nothing about the truth of it--that sometimes it has been possible to revive a moribund man by transfusing into his veins blood from another4 ,that is a picture of the only way by which you and ,i can become free from the tyranny that dominates us4 ,we must have the life of ,christ as the animating principle of our lives1 the spirit of ,jesus emancipating us from the power of sin and death4 ,so you see1 there are two aspects of ,christ's great work set before us under that one metaphor of the blood in its two-fold form1 first1 as shed for us sinners on the ,cross2 second1 as poured into our veins day by day4 ,that works progressive cleansing4 ,it covers the whole ground of all possible iniquity4 ,pardon is much1 purifying is more4 ,the sacrifice on the ,cross is the basis of everything1 but that sacrifice does not exhaust what ,christ does for us4 ,he died for our sins1 and lives for our sanctifying4 ,he died for us1 ,he lives in us4 ,because ,he died1 we are forgiven2 because ,he lives1 we are made pure4 ,only remember ,john's 'if4' ,the 'blood of ,jesus will progressively cleanse us until it has cleansed us from all sin1' on condition that we 'walk in the light1' not otherwise4 ,if the main direction of our lives is towards the light2 if we seek1 by aspiration and by effort1 and by deliberate choice1 to live in holiness1 then1 and not else1 will the power of the life of ,jesus ,christ deliver us from the power of sin and death4 ,now1 my text presupposes that the people to whom it is addressed1 and whom it concerns1 have already passed from darkness into light1 if not wholly1 yet in germ4 ,but for those who have not so passed1 there is something to be said before my text4 ,and ,john says it immediately2 here it is1 ',if any man sin we have an ,advocate with the ,father1 ,jesus ,christ the righteous1 and ,he is the propitiation for our sins2 and not for our sins only1 but for the whole world4' ,so we have to begin with the blood shed for us1 the means of our pardon1 and then we have the advance of the blood sprinkled on us1 the means of our cleansing4 ,if by humble faith we take the dying ,lord for our ,saviour1 and the channel of our forgiveness1 we shall have the pardon of our sins4 ,if we listen to the voice that says1 ',ye were sometime darkness1 but now are ye light in the ,lord4 ,walk as children of the light1' we shall have fellowship with the living ,lord1 and daily know more and more of the power of ,his cleansing blood1 making us 'meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light4' ,,the ,,commandment1 ,,old ,,yet ,,new ',i write no new commandment unto you1 but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning4444 ,again1 a new commandment ,i write unto you1 which thing is true in him and in you4'--#a ,john ii4 #g1 #h4 ,the simplest words may carry the deepest thoughts4 ,perhaps angels and little children speak very much alike4 ,this letter1 like all of ,john's writing1 is pellucid in speech1 profound in thought1 clear and deep1 like the abysses of mid-ocean4 ,his terms are such as a child can understand2 his sentences short and inartificial3 he does not reason1 he declares2 he has neither argument nor rhetoric1 but he teaches us the deepest truths1 and shows us that we get nearer the centre by insight than by logic4 ,now the words that ,i have taken for my text are very characteristic of this ,apostle's manner4 ,he has a great1 wide-reaching truth to proclaim1 and he puts it in the simplest1 most inartificial manner1 laying side by side two artless sentences1 and stimulates us by the juxtaposition1 leading us to feel after1 and so to make our own1 the large lessons that are in them4 ,let me1 then1 try to bring these out4 ,i4 ,and the first one that strikes me is--'the word' is 'a commandment4' ,now1 by 'the word' here the ,apostle obviously means1 since he speaks about it as that which these ,asiatic ,christians 'heard from the beginning1' the initial truth which was presented for their acceptance in the story of the life and death of ,jesus ,christ4 ,that was 'the word' and1 says he1 just because it was a history it is a commandment2 just because it was the ,revelation of ,god it is a law4 ,god never tells us anything merely that we may be wise4 ,the purpose of all divine speech1 whether in ,his great works in nature1 or in the voices of our own consciences1 or in the syllables that we have to piece together from out of the complicated noises of the world's history1 or in this book1 or in the ,incarnate ,word1 where all the wandering syllables are gathered together into one word--the purpose of all that ,god says to men is primarily that they may know1 but in order that1 knowing1 they may do2 and still more that they may be4 ,and so1 inasmuch as every piece of religious knowledge has in it the capacity of directing conduct1 all ,god's word is a commandment4 ,and1 if that is true in regard to other revelations and manifestations that he has made of ,himself1 it is especially true in regard to the summing-up of all in the ,incarnate ,word1 and in ,his words1 and in the words that tell us of ,his life and of ,his death4 ,so whatever truths there may be1 and there are many1 which1 of course1 have only the remotest1 if any1 bearing upon life and conduct1 every bit of ,christian truth has a direct grip upon a man's life1 and brings with it a stringent obligation4 ,now1 the ,revelation of ,god in ,jesus ,christ1 'the ,word which ye heard from the beginning1' which1 ,i suppose1 would roughly correspond with what is told us in our four ,gospels2 the word which these ,asiatic ,christians heard at first1 the good news that was brought to them in the midst of their gropings and peradventures1 commanded1 in the first place1 absolute trust1 the submission of the will as well as the assent of the understanding4 ,but also it commanded imitation1 for ,jesus ,christ was revealed to them1 as ,he is revealed to us1 as being the ,incarnate realisation of the ideal of humanity2 and what ,he is1 the knowledge that ,he is that1 binds us to try to be in our turn4 ,and more than that1 brethren1 the ,cross of ,christ is a commandment4 ,for we miserably mutilate it1 and sinfully as well as foolishly limit its application and its power1 if we recognise it only--,i was going to say mainly--as being the ground of our hope and of what we call our salvation1 and do not recognise it as being the obligatory example of our lives1 which we are bound to translate into our daily practice4 ,jesus ,christ ,himself has told us that in many a fashion1 never more touchingly and wondrously than when in response to the request of a handful of ,greeks to see ,him1 ,he answered with the word which not only declared what was obligatory upon ,him1 but what was obligatory upon us all1 and for the want of which all the great endowments of the ,greek mind at last rotted down into sensuousness1 when ,he said1 ',except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die1 it abideth alone1 but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit' and then went on to say1 'he that loveth his life shall lose it4' ,so1 then1 brethren1 'the word which ye heard at the beginning1' the story of ,christ1 ,his life and ,his death1 is a stringent commandment4 ,now1 this is one of the blessings of ,christianity1 that all which was hard and hopeless1 ministering to despair sometimes1 as well as stirring to fierce effort at others1 in the conception of law or duty as it stands outside us1 is changed into the tender word1 'if ye love ,me1 keep ,my commandments4' ,if any man serve ,me1 let him 444 'follow ,me4' ,it is a law2 it is 'the law of liberty4' ,so you have not done all that is needful when you have accepted the teaching of ,christ in the ,scriptures and the teaching of the ,scriptures concerning ,christ4 ,nor have you done all that is needful when clasping ,him1 and clinging simply to ,his ,cross1 you recognise in it the means and the pledge of your acceptance with ,god1 and the ground and anchor of all your hope4 ,there is something more to be done4 ,the ,gospel is a commandment1 and commandments require not only assent1 not only trust1 but practical obedience4 ,the 'old commandment' is the 'word which ye heard from the beginning4' ,,ii4 ,the old ,christ is perpetually new4 ,the ,apostle goes on1 in the last words of my text1 to say1 ',which thing' 7viz41 this combination of the old and the new7 'is true in ,him and in you4' ',true in ,him'--that is to say1 ,christ1 the old ,christ that was declared to these ,asiatic ,christians as they were groping amidst the illusions of their heathenism1 is perpetually becoming new as new circumstances emerge1 and new duties are called for1 and new days come with new burdens1 hopes1 possibilities1 or dangers4 ,the perpetual newness of the old ,christ is what is taught here4 ,suppose one of these men in ,ephesus heard for the first time the story that away in ,judea there had lived the manifestation of ,god in the flesh1 and that ,he1 in ,his wonderful love1 had died for men1 that they might be saved from the grip of their sins4 ,and suppose that man barely able to see1 had yet seen that much1 and clutched at it4 ,he was a ,christian1 but the ,christ that he discerned when he first discerned ,him through the mists1 and the ,christ that he had in his life and in his heart1 after1 say1 twenty years of ,christian living1 are very different4 ,the old ,christ remained1 but the old ,christ was becoming new day by day1 according to the new necessities and positions4 ,and that is what will be our experience if we have any real ,christianity in us4 ,the old ,christ that we trusted at first was able to do for us all that we asked ,him to do1 but we did not ask ,him at first for half enough1 and we did not learn at first a tithe of what was in ,him4 ,suppose1 for instance1 some great ship comes alongside a raft with ship-wrecked sailors upon it1 and in the darkness of the night transfers them to the security of its deck4 ,they know how safe they are1 they know what has saved them1 but what do they know compared with what they will know before the voyage ends of all the reservoirs of power and stores of supplies that are in her8 ,christ comes to us in the darkness1 and delivers us4 ,we know ,him for our ,deliverer from the first moment1 if we truly have grasped ,him4 ,but it will take summering and wintering with ,him1 through many a long day and year1 before we can ever have a partially adequate apprehension of all that lies in ,him4 ,and what will teach us the depths of ,christ1 and how does ,he become new to us8 ,well1 by trusting ,him1 by following ,him1 and by the ministry of life4 ,some of us1 ,i have no doubt1 can look back upon past days when sorrow fell upon us1 blighting and all but crushing2 and then things that we had read a thousand times in the ,bible1 and thought we had believed1 blazed up into a new meaning1 and we felt as if we had never understood anything about them before4 ,the ,christ that is with us in the darkness1 and whom we find able to turn even it1 if not into light1 at least into a solemn twilight not unvisited by hopes1 that ,christ is more to us than the ,christ that we first of all learnt so little to know4 ,and life's new circumstances1 its emerging duties1 are like the strokes of the spade which clears away the soil1 and discloses the treasure in all its extent which we purchased when we bought that field4 ,we buy the treasure at once1 but it takes a long time to count it4 ,the old ,christ is perpetually the new ,christ4 ,so1 brethren1 ,christian progress consists not in getting away from the original facts1 the elements of the ,gospel1 but it consists in penetrating more deeply into these1 and feeling more of their power and their grasp4 ,all ,euclid is in the definitions and axioms and postulates at the beginning4 ,all our books are the letters of the alphabet4 ,and progress consists1 not in advancing beyond1 but in sinking into1 that initial truth1 ',god was in ,christ reconciling the world unto ,himself4' ,i might say a word here as to another phase of this perpetual newness of the old ,christ--viz41 in ,his adaptation to deal with all the complications and perplexities and problems of each successive age4 ,it has taken the ,church a long1 long time to find out and to formulate1 rightly or wrongly1 what it has discovered in ,jesus4 ,the conclusions to be drawn from the simple ,gospel truth1 the presuppositions on which it rests1 require all the efforts of all the ,church through all the ages1 and transcend them all4 ,and ,i venture to say1 though it may sound like unsupported dogma1 that for this generation's questionings1 social1 moral1 and political1 the answer is to be found in ,him4 ,he1 and ,he only1 will interpret each generation to itself1 and will meet its clamant needs4 ,there is none other for the world to-day but the old ,christ with the new aspect which the new conditions require4 ,did it ever strike you how remarkable it is1 and1 as it seems to me1 of how great worth as an argument for the truth of ,christianity it is1 that ,jesus ,christ comes to this1 as to every generation1 with the air of belonging to it8 ,think of the difference between the aspect which a ,plato or a ,socrates presents to the world to-day1 and the aspect which that ,lord presents4 ,you do not need to strip anything off ,him4 ,he committed ,himself to no statements which the progress of thought or knowledge has exploded4 ,he stands before the world to-day fitting its needs as closely as ,he did those of the men of ,his own generation4 ,the old ,christ is the new ,christ4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 in the ,christian life the old commandment is perpetually new4 ',which thing is true 444 in you4' ,that is to say1 'the commandment which ye received at the beginning1' when ye received ,christ as ,saviour1 has in itself a power of adapting itself to all new conditions as they may emerge1 and will be felt increasingly to grow stringent1 and increasingly to demand more entire conformity1 and increasingly to sweep its circle round the whole of human life4 ,for this is the result of all obedience1 that the conception of duty becomes more clear and more stringent4 ',if any man will do ,his will' the reward shall be that he will see more and more the altitude of that will1 the length and breadth and depth and height of the possible conformity of the human spirit to the will of ,god4 ,and so as we advance in obedience we shall see unreached advances before us1 and each new step of progress will declare more fully how much still remains to be accomplished4 ,in us the 'old commandment' will become ever new4 ,and not only so1 but perpetually with the increasing sweep and stringency of the obligation will be felt an increasing sense of our failure to fulfil it4 ,character is built up1 for good or for evil1 by slow degrees4 ,conscience is quickened by being listened to1 and stifled by being neglected4 ,a little speck of mud on a vestal virgin's robe1 or on a swan's plumage1 will be conspicuous1 while a splash twenty times the size will pass unnoticed on the rags of some travel-stained wayfarer4 ,the purer we become1 the more we shall know ourselves to be impure4 ,thus1 my brother1 there opens out before us an endless course in which all the blessedness that belongs to the entertaining and preservation of ancient convictions1 lifelong friends1 and familiar truths1 and all the antithetical blessedness that belongs to the joy of seeing1 rising upon our horizon as some new planet with lustrous light1 will be united in our experience4 ,we shall at once be conservative and progressive2 holding by the old ,christ and the old commandment1 and finding that both have in them endless novelty4 ,the trunk is old2 every summer brings fresh leaves4 ,and at last we may hope to come to the new ,jerusalem1 and drink the new wine of the ,kingdom1 and yet find that the old love remains1 and that the new ,christ1 whose presence makes the new heavens and the new earth1 is 'the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever1' the old ,christ whom1 amid the shadows of earth1 we tried to love and copy4 ,,youthful ,,strength ',i have written unto you1 young men1 because ye are strong1 and the word of ,god abideth in you1 and ye have overcome the wicked one4'--#a ,john ii4 #ad4 ',what am ,i going to be8' is the question that presses upon young people stepping out of the irresponsibilities of childhood into youth4 ,but1 unfortunately1 the question is generally supposed to be answered when they have fixed upon a trade or profession4 ,it means1 rightly taken1 a great deal more than that4 ',what am ,i going to make of myself8' ',what ideal have ,i before me1 towards which ,i constantly press8' is a question that ,i would fain lay upon the hearts of all that now hear me4 ,for the misery and the reason of the failure of so many lives is simply that people have never fairly looked that question in the face and tried to answer it1 but drift and drift1 and let circumstances determine them4 ,and1 of course1 in a world like this1 such people are sure to turn out what such an immense number of people do turn out1 failures as far as all ,god's purposes with humanity are concerned4 ,the absence of a clear ideal is the misery and the loss of all young people who do not possess it4 ,so here in my text is an old man's notion of what young men ought to be and may be4 ',ye are strong1 and the word of ,god abideth in you1 and ye have overcome the wicked one4' ,so said the aged ,john to some amongst his hearers in these corrupt ,asiatic cities4 ,it was not merely a fair ideal painted upon vacancy1 but it was a portrait of actual young ,christians in these little ,asiatic churches4 ,and ,i would fain have some of you take this realised ideal for yours and see to it that your lives be conformed to it4 ,there are three points here4 ,the ,apostle1 first of all1 lays his finger upon the strength1 which is something more than mere physical strength1 proper to youth4 ,then he lets us see the secret source of that strength3 ',ye have the word of ,god abiding in you4' ,and then he shows the field on which it should be exercised1 and the victory which it secures3 ',and ye have overcome the wicked one4' ,now let me touch upon these three points briefly in succession4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 note here the strength which you young people ought to covet and to aim at4 ,it is not merely the physical strength proper to their age1 nor the mere unworn buoyancy and vigour which sorrows and care and responsibilities have not thinned and weakened4 ,these are great and precious gifts4 ,we never know how precious they are until they have slipped away from us4 ,these are great and precious gifts1 to be preserved as long as may be1 by purity and by moderation1 and to be used for high and great purposes4 ,but the strength that is in thews and muscles is not the strength that the ,apostle is speaking about here1 nor anything that belongs simply to the natural stage of your development1 whether it be purely physical or purely mental4 ,samson was a far weaker man than the poor little ,jew 'whose bodily presence was weak and his speech contemptible1' and who all his days carried about with him that 'thorn in the flesh4' ,it is not your body that is to be strong1 but yourselves4 ,now the foundation of all true strength lies here1 in a good1 strong will4 ,in this world1 unless a man has learned to say ',no6' and to say it very decidedly1 and to stick to it1 he will never come to any good4 ,two words contain the secret of noble life3 ',resist6' and ',persist6' ,and the true strength of manhood lies in this mainly1 that1 in spite of all antagonisms1 hindrances1 voices1 and things that array themselves against you1 having greatly resolved1 you do greatly do what you have resolved1 and having said ',i will6' let neither men nor devils lead you to say1 ',i will not4' ,depend upon it1 that to be weak in this direction is to be weak all through4 ,strong passions make weak men4 ,and a strong will is the foundation1 in this wicked and antagonistic world in which we live1 of all real strength4 ,but then the strength that ,i would have you seek1 and strive to cultivate1 must be a strength of will founded upon strong reason4 ,determination unenlightened is obstinacy1 and obstinacy is weakness4 ,a mule can beat you at that3 ',be ye not as the mule1 which have no understanding4' ,a determination which does not take into its view all the facts of the case1 nor is influenced by these1 has no right to call itself strength4 ,it is only1 to quote a modern saying--,i know not whether true of the person to whom it was originally applied or no--is 'only a lath painted to look like iron4' ,unintelligent obstinacy is folly1 like the conduct of some man who sticks to his pick and his task in a quarry after the bugle has warned him of an impending explosion1 which will blow him to atoms4 ,but that is not all4 ,a strong will1 illuminated by a strong beam of light from the understanding1 must be guided and governed by a strong hand put forth by ,conscience4 ',i should like' is the weakling's motto4 ',i will' may be an obstinate fool's motto4 ',i ought1 therefore1 ,god helping me1 and though the devil hinders me1 ,i will1' is a man's4 ,conscience is king4 ,to obey it is to be free2 to neglect it is to be a slave4 ,is not this a better ideal for life than gathering any outward possessions1 however you may succeed therein8 ,a thousand things will have to be taken into account1 and may help or may hinder outward prosperity and success4 ,but nobody can hinder you working at your character and succeeding in making it what it ought to be2 and to form character is the end of life4 ',to be weak is miserable1 doing or suffering4' ,ay6 that is true1 though ,milton put it into the devil's mouth4 ,and there is only one strength that will last1 'for even the youths shall faint and be weary1 and the young men shall utterly fail4' ,but the strength of a fixed and illuminated and conscience-guided will1 which governs the man and is governed by ,god1 shall never faint or grow weak4 ,this is the strength which we should seek1 and which ,i ask you to make the conscious aim of your lives4 ,,ii4 ,now note1 secondly1 how to get it4 ',ye are strong1 and the ,word of ,god abideth in you4' ,those young ,asiatic ,christians1 that ,john had in his eye1 had learned the secret and the conditions of this strength2 and not only in limb and sinew1 or in springy and elastic buoyancy of youthful1 mental1 and spiritual vigour were they strong1 but they were so because 'the ,word of ,god abode in them4' ,now1 there are two significations of that great expression1 both of them frequent in ,john's ,gospel1 and both of them1 ,i think1 transferred to this ,epistle1 each of which may yield us a word of counsel4 ,by 'the ,word of ,god1' as ,i take it1 is meant--perhaps ,i ought to say both1 but1 at all events1 either--the revelation of ,god's truth in ,holy ,scripture1 or the personal revelation of the will and nature of ,god in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,whichever of these two meanings--and at bottom they come to be one--we attach to this expression1 we draw from them an exhortation4 ,let me put this very briefly4 ,let me say to you1 then1 if you want to be strong1 let ,scripture truth occupy and fill and be always present to your mind4 ,there are powers to rule and to direct all conduct1 motive powers of the strongest character in these great truths of ,god's revelation4 ,they are meant to influence a man in all his doings1 and it is for us to bring the greatest and solemnest of them to bear on the smallest things of our daily life4 ,suppose1 now1 that you go to your work1 and some little difficulty starts up in your path1 or some trivial annoyance ruffles your temper1 or some lurking temptation is suddenly sprung upon you4 ,suppose your mind and heart were saturated with ,god's truth1 with the great thoughts of ,his being1 of ,his love1 of ,his righteousness1 of ,christ's death for you1 of ,christ's presence with you1 of ,christ's guardianship over you1 of ,christ's present will that you should walk in ,his ways1 of the bright hopes of the future1 and the solemn vision of that great ,white ,throne and the retribution that streams thence1 do you think it would be possible for you to fall into sin1 to yield to temptation1 to be annoyed by any irritation or bother1 or overweighted by any duty8 ,no6 ,whosoever lives with the thoughts that ,god has given us in ,his ,word familiar to ,his mind and within easy reach of ,his hand1 has therein an armlet against all possible temptation1 a test that will unveil the hidden corruption in the sweetest seductions1 and a calming power that will keep his heart still and collected in the midst of agitations4 ,if the ,word of ,god in that lower sense of the principles involved in the gospel of ,jesus ,christ1 dwell in your hearts1 the fangs are taken out of the serpent4 ,if you drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt you1 and you will 'be strong in the ,lord and in the power of ,his might4' ,bring the greatest truths you can find to bear on the smallest duties1 and the small duties will grow great to match the principles by which they are done4 ,bring the laws of ,jesus ,christ down to the little things1 for1 in the name of common sense1 if our religion is not meant to regulate trifles1 what is it meant to regulate8 ,life is made up of trifles4 ,there are half a dozen crises in the course of your life1 but there are a thousand trivial things in the course of every day4 ,it would be a poor kind of regulating principle that controlled the crises1 and left us alone to manage with the trifles the best way we could4 ,but in order that there shall be this continual operation of the motives and principles involved in the gospel upon our daily lives1 we must have them very near our hand1 ready to be laid hold of4 ,the soldier that would march through an enemy's country1 having left his gun in the hands of some camp follower1 would be very likely to be shot before he got his gun4 ,i remember going through the ,red ,sea2 at the mouth of it where the entrance is narrow1 and the currents run strong1 when the ship approaches the dangerous place1 the men take their stations at appointed places1 and the ponderous anchors are loosened and ready to be dropped in an instant if the swirl of the current sweeps the ship into dangerous proximity to the reef4 ,it is no time to cut the lashings of the anchors when the keel is grating on the coral rocks4 ,and it is no time to have to look about for our weapons when the sudden temptation leaps upon us like a strong man armed4 ,you must have them familiar to you by devout meditation1 by frequent reflection1 prayer1 study of ,god's ,word1 if they are to be of any use to you at all4 ,and ,i am afraid that about the last book in the world that loads of young men and women think of sitting down to read1 systematically and connectedly1 is the ,bible4 ,you will read sermons and other religious books2 you will read newspapers1 pamphlets1 novels2 but the ,scripture1 in its entirety1 is a strange book to myriads of men who call themselves ,christians4 ,and so they are weak4 ,if you want to be strong1 'let the ,word of ,god abide in your hearts4' ,and then if we take the other view1 which at bottom is not another1 of the meaning of this phrase1 and apply it rather to the personal word1 ,jesus ,christ ,himself1 that will yield us another exhortation1 and that is1 let ,jesus ,christ into your hearts and keep ,him there1 and ,he will make you strong4 ,i believe that it is no piece of metaphor or an exaggerated way of putting the continuance of the influence of ,christ's example and ,christ's teaching upon men's hearts and minds1 when ,he tells us that 'if any man open the door ,he will come in and sup with him4' ,i want to urge the one thought on you that it is possible1 in simple literal fact1 for that ,divine ,saviour1 who was 'in ,heaven' whilst ,he walked on earth1 and walks on earth to-day when ,he has returned to ,his native ,heaven1 to enter into my spirit and yours1 and really to abide within us1 the life of our lives1 'the strength of our hearts1 and our portion for ever4' ,the rest of us can render help to one another by strength ministered from without2 ,jesus ,christ will come into your hearts1 if you let ,him1 in ,his very sweetness and omnipotence of power1 and will breathe ,his own grace into your weakness1 strengthening you as from within4 ,others can help you from without1 as you put an iron band round some over-weighted1 crumbling brick pillar in order to prevent it from collapsing1 but ,he will pass into us as you may drive an iron rod up through the centre of the column1 and make it strong inside1 and we shall be strong if ,jesus ,christ dwells within us4 ,open the door1 dear young friends2 let ,christ come into your hearts1 which ,he will do if you do not hinder ,him1 and if you ask ,him4 ,trust ,him with simple reliance upon ,him for everything4 ,faith is 'the door'2 the door is nothing of itself1 but when it is opened it admits the guest4 ,so do you let that ,master come and abide1 and you will hear ,him say to you1 as ,he said of old1 ',child6 ,my grace is sufficient4' ,how modest ,he is4 ,sufficient6--an ocean enough to fill a thimble6 ',my grace is sufficient for thee2 and ,my strength is made perfect in weakness4' ,,iii4 ,now1 lastly1 notice the field on which the strength is to be exercised1 and the victory which it secures4 ',ye have overcome the wicked one4' ,there is a battle for us all1 on which ,i need not dwell1 the conflict with evil around and with evil within1 and with the prince of the embattled legions of the darkness1 whom the ,new ,testament has more clearly revealed to us4 ,you young people have many advantages in the conflict2 you have some special disadvantages as well4 ,you have strong passions1 you have not much experience1 you do not know how bitter the dregs are of the cup whose foaming bubbles look so attractive1 and whose upper inch tastes so sweet4 ,but on the other hand you have not yet contracted habits that it is misery to indulge in1 and1 as it would seem1 impossible to break1 and the world is yet before you4 ,you cannot begin too soon to choose your side4 ,and here is the side on which alone victory is possible for a man--the side of ,jesus ,christ1 who will teach your hands to war and your fingers to fight4 ,notice that remarkable phrase1 ',ye have overcome the wicked one4' ,he is talking to young ,christians before whom the battle may seem to lie1 and yet ,he speaks of their conquest as an accomplished fact1 and as a thing behind them4 ,what does that mean8 ,it means this1 that if you will take service in ,christ's army1 and by ,his grace resolve to be ,his faithful soldier till your life's end1 that act of faith1 which enrols you as ,his1 is itself the victory which guarantees1 if it be continued1 the whole conquest in time4 ,there used to be an old superstition that-- ',who sheds the foremost foeman's life ,his party conquers in the strife'2 and whosoever has exercised1 however imperfectly and feebly1 the faith in ,jesus ,christ the ,lord has therein conquered the devil and all his works1 and ,satan is henceforth a beaten ,satan1 and the battle1 in essence1 is completed even in the act of its being begun4 ',this is the victory that overcometh the world1 even our faith'2 not only because our confidence in ,jesus ,christ is the blowing of the bugle that summons to warfare and shakes off the tyrant's yoke1 but it is also the means by which we join ourselves to ,him who has overcome1 and make ,his victory ours4 ,he has fought our antagonist in the wilderness once1 in ,gethsemane twice1 on the ,cross thrice2 and the perfect conquest in which ,jesus bound the strong man and spoiled his goods may become1 and will become1 your conquest1 if you wed yourselves to that dear ,lord by simple faith in ,him4 ,what a priceless thing it is that you may begin your independent manhood with a conquest that will draw after it ultimate and supreme victory4 ,you will still have to fight1 but you will have only to fight detachments4 ,if you trust yourselves to ,jesus ,christ you have conquered the main body of the army1 and it is only the stragglers that you will have to contend with hereafter4 ,he that loves ,jesus1 and has given himself to ,him1 has pinned the dragon to the ground by its head1 and though it may 'swinge the scaly horror of its folded tail1' and twine its loathly coils around him1 yet he has conquered1 and he is conquering1 and he will conquer4 ,only let him hold fast by the hand which brings strength into him by its touch4 ,will you1 dear young friends1 take service in this army8 ,do you want to be weak or strong8 ,do you want your lives to be victorious whatever may happen to them in the way of outward prosperity or failure8 ,then give yourselves to this ,lord4 ,his voice calls you to be ,his soldiers4 ,he will cover your heads in the day of battle4 ,he will strengthen you 'with might by ,his ,spirit in the inner man4' ,he will hide ,his ,word in your heart that you offend not against ,him4 ,he will dwell ,himself within you to make you strong in your extremest weakness and victorious over your mightiest foe2 and in that sign you will conquer and 'be more than conquerors through ,him that loved you4' ,oh1 ,i pray that you may ask yourselves the question1 ',what am ,i going to be8' and may answer it1 ',i am going to be strong in the ,lord and in the power of ,his might'2 and to overcome1 as ,he also hath overcome1 the world and the flesh and the devil4 ,,river ,,and ,,rock ',the world passeth away1 and the lust thereof3 but he that doeth the will of ,god abideth for ever4'--#a ,john ii4 #ag4 ,john has been solemnly giving a charge not to love the world1 nor the things that are in it4 ,that charge was addressed to 'children1' 'young men1' 'fathers4' ,whether these designations be taken as referring to growth and maturity of ,christian experience1 or of natural age1 they equally carry the lesson that no age and no stage is beyond the danger of being drawn away by the world's love1 or beyond the need of the solemn dehortation therefrom4 ,my text is the second of the reasons which the ,apostle gives for his earnest charge4 ,we all1 therefore1 need it1 and we always need it2 though on the last ,sunday of another year1 it may be more than usually appropriate to turn our thoughts in its direction4 ',the world passeth away1 and the lust thereof4' ,let us lay the handful of snow on our fevered foreheads and cool our desires4 ,now there are but two things set forth in this text1 which is a great and wonderful antithesis between something which is in perpetual flux and passage and something which is permanent4 ,if ,i might venture to cast the two thoughts into metaphorical form1 ,i should say that here are a river and a rock4 ,the one1 the sad truth of sense1 universally believed and as universally forgotten2 the other1 the glad truth of faith1 so little regarded or operative in men's lives4 ,i ask you1 then1 to look with me for a few moments at each of these thoughts4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 the river1 or the sad truth of sense4 ,now you observe that there are two things in my text of which this transiency is predicated1 the one 'the world1' the other 'the lust thereof'2 the one outside us1 the other within us4 ,as to the former1 ,i need only1 ,i suppose1 remind you in a sentence that what ,john means by 'the world' is not the material globe on which we dwell1 but the whole aggregate of things visible and material1 together with the lives of the men whose lives are directed to1 and bounded by1 that visible and material1 and all considered as wrenched apart from ,god4 ,that1 and not the mere external physical creation1 is what he means by 'the world1' and therefore the passing away of which he speaks is not only 7although1 of course1 it includes7 the decay and dissolution of material things1 but the transiency of things which are or have to do with the visible1 and are separated by us from ,god4 ,over all these1 he says1 there is written the sentence1 ',dust thou art1 and unto dust thou shalt return4' ,there is a continual flowing on of the stream4 ,as the original implies even more strongly than in our translation1 'the world' is in the act of 'passing away4' ,like the slow travelling of the scenes of some moveable panorama which glide along1 even as the eye looks upon them1 and are concealed behind the side flats before the gazer has taken in the whole picture1 so equably1 constantly1 silently1 and therefore unnoticed by us1 all is in a state of continual motion4 ,there is no present time4 ,even whilst we name the moment it dies4 ,the drop hangs for an instant on the verge1 gleaming in the sunlight1 and then falls into the gloomy abyss that silently sucks up years and centuries4 ,there is no present1 but all is movement4 ,brethren1 that has been the commonplace of moralists and poets and preachers from the beginning of time2 and it would be folly for me to suppose that ,i can add anything to the impressiveness of the thought4 ,all that ,i want to do is to wake you up to preach it to yourselves1 for that is the only thing that is of any use4 ',so passeth1 in the passing of an hour ,of mortal life1 the leaf1 the bud1 the flower4' ,but besides this transiency external to us1 ,john finds a corresponding transiency within us4 ',the world passeth1 and the lust thereof4' ,of course the word 'lust' is employed by him in a much wider sense than in our use of it4 ,with us it means one specific and very ugly form of earthly desire4 ,with him it includes the whole genus--all desires of every sort1 more or less noble or ignoble1 which have this for their characteristic1 that they are directed to1 stimulated by1 and fed or starved on1 the fleeting things of this outward life4 ,if thus a man has anchored himself to that which has no perpetual stay1 so long as the cable holds he follows the fate of the thing to which he has pinned himself4 ,and if it perish he perishes1 in a very profound sense1 with it4 ,if you trust yourselves in the leaky vessel1 when the water rises in it it will drown you1 and you will go to the bottom with the craft to which you have trusted yourselves4 ,if you embark in the little ship that carries ,christ and ,his fortunes1 you will come with ,him to the haven4 ,but these fleeting desires1 of which my text speaks1 point to that sad feature of human experience1 that we all outgrow and leave behind us1 and think of very little value1 the things that once to us were all but heaven4 ,there was a time when toys and sweetmeats were our treasures1 and since that day how many burnt-out hopes we all have had6 ,how little we should know ourselves if we could go back to the fears and wishes and desires that used to agitate us ten1 twenty1 thirty years ago6 ,they lie behind us1 no longer part of ourselves2 they have slipped away from us1 and ',we all are changed1 by still degrees1 ,all but the basis of the soul4' ,the self-conscious same man abides1 and yet how different the same man is6 ,our lives1 then will zig-zag instead of keeping a straight course1 if we let desires that are limited by anything that we can see guide and regulate us4 ,but1 brethren1 though it be a digression from my text1 ,i cannot help touching for a moment upon a yet sadder thought than that4 ,there are desires that remain1 when the gratification of them has become impossible4 ,sometimes the lust outlasts the world1 sometimes the world outlasts the lust2 and one knows not whether is the sadder4 ,there is a hell upon earth for many of us who1 having set our affections upon some creatural object1 and having had that withdrawn from us1 are ready to say1 ',they have taken away my gods6 ,and what shall ,i do8' ,and there is a hell of the same sort waiting beyond those dark gates through which we have all to pass1 where men who never desired anything1 except what the world that has slipped out of their reluctant fingers could give them1 are shut up with impossible longings after a for-ever-vanished good4 ',father ,abraham6 a drop of water2 for ,i am tormented in this flame4' ,that is what men come to1 if the fire of their lust burn after its objects are withdrawn4 ,but let me remind you that this transiency of which ,i have been speaking receives very strange treatment from most of us4 ,i do not know that it is altogether to be regretted that it so seldom comes to men's consciousness4 ,perhaps it is right that it should not be uppermost in our thoughts always2 but yet there is no vindication for the entire oblivion to which we condemn it4 ,the march of these fleeting things is like that of cavalry with their horses' feet wrapped in straw1 in the night1 across the snow1 silent and unnoticed4 ,we cannot realise the revolution of the earth1 because everything partakes in it4 ,we talk about standing still1 and we are whirling through space with inconceivable rapidity4 ,by a like illusion we deceive ourselves with the notion of stability1 when everything about us is hastening away4 ,some of you do not like to be reminded of it1 and think it a killjoy4 ,you try to get rid of the thought1 and hide your head in the sand1 and fancy that the rest of your body presents no mark to the archer's arrow4 ,now surely common sense says to all1 that if there be some fact certain and plain and applying to you1 which1 if accepted1 would profoundly modify your life1 you ought to take it into account4 ,and what ,i want you to do1 dear friends1 now1 is to look in the face this fact1 which you all acknowledge so utterly that some of you are ready to say1 ',what was the use of coming to a chapel to hear that threadbare old thing dinned into my ears again8' and to take it into account in shaping your lives4 ,have you done so8 ,have you8 ,suppose a man that lived in a land habitually shaken by earthquakes were to say1 ',i mean to ignore the fact2 and ,i am going to build a house just as if there was not such a thing as an earthquake expected'2 he would have it toppling about his ears very soon4 ,suppose a man upon the ice-slopes of the ,alps was to say1 ',i am going to ignore slipperiness and gravitation1' he would before long find himself1 if there was any consciousness left in him1 at the bottom of a precipice1 bruised and bleeding4 ,and suppose a man says1 ',i am not going to take the fleetingness of the things of earth into account at all1 but intend to live as if all things were to remain as they are'2 what would become of him do you think8 ,is he a wise man or a fool8 ,and is he you8 ,he is some of you6 ',so teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom4' ,then let me say to you1 see that you take noble lessons out of these undeniable and all-important facts4 ,there is one kind of lesson that ,i do not want you to take out of it4 ',let us eat and drink1 for to-morrow we die1' or1 to put it into a more vulgar formula1 ',a short life and a merry one4' ,the mere contemplation of the transiency of earthly things may1 and often does1 lend itself to very ignoble conclusions1 and men draw from it the thought that1 as life is short1 they had better crowd into it as much of sensual enjoyment as they can4 ',gather ye roses while ye may' is a very common keynote1 struck by poets of the baser sort4 ,and it is a thought that influences some of us1 ,i have little doubt4 ,or there may be another consideration4 ',make hay whilst the sun shines4' ',hurry on your getting rich1 because you have not very long to do it in'2 or the like4 ,now all that is supremely unworthy4 ,the true lesson to be drawn is the plain1 old one which it is never superfluous to shout into men's ears1 until they have obeyed it--viz41 ',set not thine heart on that which is not2 and which flieth away as an eagle towards heaven4' ,do you1 dear brother1 see to it1 that your roots go down through the gravel on the surface4 ,do you see to it that you dig deeper than that2 and thrusting your hand1 as it were1 through the thin1 silk-paper screen that stands between you and the ,eternal1 grasp the hand that you will find on the other side1 waiting and ready to clasp you1 and to hold you up4 ,when they build a new house in ,rome they have to dig down through sometimes sixty or a hundred feet of rubbish that runs like water1 the ruins of old temples and palaces1 once occupied by men in the same flush of life in which we are now4 ,we too have to dig down through ruins1 until we get to the ,rock and build there1 and build secure4 ,withdraw your affections and your thoughts and your desires from the fleeting1 and fix them on the permanent4 ,if a captain takes anything but the pole-star for his fixed point he will lose his reckoning1 and his ship will be on the reefs4 ,if we take anything but ,god for our supreme delight and desire we shall perish4 ,then let me say1 too1 let this thought stimulate us to crowd every moment1 as full as it can be packed1 with noble work and heavenly thoughts4 ,these fleeting things are elastic1 and you may put all but infinite treasure into them4 ,think of what the possibilities1 for each of us1 of this dying year were on the #ast of ,january2 and of what the realisation has been by the #bhth of ,december4 ,so much that we could have done6 so little that we have done6 ,so many ripples of the river have passed1 bearing no golden sand to pile upon the shore6 ',we have been' is a sad word2 but oh1 the one sad word is1 ',we might have been6' ,and1 so1 do you see to it that you fill time with that which is kindred to eternity1 and make 'one day as a thousand years' in the elastic possibilities and realities of consecration and of service4 ,further1 let the thought help us to the conviction of the relative insignificance of all that can change4 ,that will not spoil nor shade any real joy2 rather it will add to it poignancy that prevents it from cloying or from becoming the enemy of our souls4 ,but the thought will wondrously lighten the burden that we have to carry1 and the tasks which we have to perform4 ',but for a moment1' makes all light4 ,there was an old rabbi1 long ago1 whose real name was all but lost1 because everybody nick-named him ',rabbi ,thisalso4' ,the reason was because he had perpetually on his lips the saying about everything as it came1 ',this also will pass4' ,he was a wise man4 ,let us go to his school and learn his wisdom4 ,,ii4 ,now let me say a word1 and it can only be a word1 about the second of the thoughts here1 which ,i designated as the ,rock1 or the glad truth of ,faith4 ,we might have expected that ,john's antithesis to the world that passeth would have been the ,god that abides4 ,but he does not so word his sentence1 although the thought of the divine permanence underlies it4 ,rather over against the fleeting world he puts the abiding man who does the will of ,god4 ,of course there is a very solemn sense in which all men1 even they who have most exclusively lived for what they call the present1 do last for ever1 and in which their deeds do so too4 ,after death is the judgment1 and the issues of eternity depend upon the actions of time2 and every fleeting thought comes back to the hand that projected it1 like the ,australian savage's boomerang that1 flung out1 returns and falls at the feet of the thrower4 ,but that is not what ,john means by 'abiding for ever4' ,he means something very much more blessed and lofty than that2 and the following is the course of his thought4 ,there is only one permanent ,reality in the universe1 and that is ,god4 ,all else is shadow and ,he is the substance4 ,all else was1 is1 and is not4 ,he is the ,one who was1 is1 and is to come1 the timeless and only permanent ,being4 ,the will of ,god is the permanent element in all changeful material things4 ,and consequently he who does the will of ,god links himself with the ,divine ,eternity1 and becomes partaker of that solemn and blessed ,being which lives above mutation4 ,obedience to ,god's will is the permanent element in human life4 ,whosoever humbly and trustfully seeks to mould his will after the divine will1 and to bring ,god's will into practice in his doings1 that man has pierced through the shadows and grasped the substance1 and partakes of the ,immortality which he adores and serves4 ,himself shall live for ever in the true life which is blessedness4 ,his deeds shall live for ever when all that lifted itself in opposition to the ,divine will shall be crushed and annihilated4 ,they shall live in ,his own peaceful consciousness2 they shall live in the blessed rewards which they shall bring to the doers4 ,his habits will need no change4 ,what will you do when you are dead8 ,you have to go into a world where there are no gossip and no housekeeping2 no mills and no offices2 no shops1 no books2 no colleges and no sciences to learn4 ,what will you do there8 ',he that doeth the will of ,god abideth for ever4' ,if you have done your housekeeping1 and your weaving and spinning1 and your book-keeping1 and your buying and selling1 and your studying1 and your experimenting with a conscious reference to ,god1 it is all right4 ,that has made the act capable of eternity1 and there will be no need for such a man to change4 ,the material on which he works will change1 but the inner substance of his life will be unaffected by the trivial change from earth to heaven4 ,whilst the endless ages roll he will be doing just what he was doing down here2 only here he was playing with counters1 and yonder he will be trusted with gold1 and dominion over ten cities4 ,to all other men the change that comes when earth passes from them1 or they from it1 is as when a trench is dug across a railway1 into which the express goes with a smash1 and there is an end4 ,to the man who1 in the trifles of time1 has been obeying the will of ,god1 and therefore subserving eternity and his interests there1 the trench is bridged1 and he will go on after he crosses it just as he did before1 with the same purpose1 the same desires1 the same submission1 and the same drinking into himself of the fulness of immortal life4 ,brother1 ,john tells us that obedience to the will of ,god brings permanence into our fleeting years4 ,but how are we to obey the will of ,god8 ,john tells us that the only way is by love4 ,but how are we to love ,god8 ,john tells us that the only way to love--which love is the only way to obedience--is by knowing and believing the love that ,god hath to us4 ,but how are we to know that ,god hath love to us8 ,john tells us that the only way to know the love of ,god1 which is the only way of our loving ,him1 which in its turn is the only way to obedience1 which again is the only way to permanence of life1 is to believe in ,jesus ,christ and ,his propitiation for our sins4 ,the river flows on for ever1 but it sweeps round the base of the ,rock of ,ages4 ,and in ,him1 by faith in ,his blood1 we may find our sure refuge and eternal home4 ,,the ,,love ,,that ,,calls ,,us ,,sons ',behold1 what manner of love the ,father hath bestowed upon us1 that we should be called the sons of ,god4444'--#a ,john iii4 #a4 ,one or two points of an expository character will serve to introduce what else ,i have to say on these words4 ,the text is1 ,i suppose1 generally understood as if it pointed to the fact that we are called the sons of ,god as the great exemplification of the wonderfulness of ,his love4 ,that is a perfectly possible view of the connection and meaning of the text4 ,but if we are to translate with perfect accuracy we must render1 not 'that we should be called1' but 'in order that we should be called the sons of ,god4' ,the meaning then is that the love bestowed is the means by which the design that we should be called ,his sons is accomplished4 ,what ,john calls us to contemplate with wonder and gratitude is not only the fact of this marvellous love1 but also the glorious end to which it has been given to us and works4 ,there seems no reason for slurring over this meaning in favour of the more vague 'that' of our version4 ,god gives ,his great and wonderful love in ,jesus ,christ1 and all the gifts and powers which live in ,him like fragrance in the rose4 ,all this lavish bestowal of love1 unspeakable as it is1 may be regarded as having one great end1 which ,god deems worthy of even such expenditure1 namely1 that men should become1 in the deepest sense1 ,his children4 ,it is not so much to the contemplation of our blessedness in being sons1 as to the devout gaze on the love which1 by its wonderful process1 has made it possible for us to be sons1 that we are summoned here4 ,again1 you will find a remarkable addition to our text in the ,revised ,version--namely1 'and such we are4' ,now these words come with a very great weight of manuscript authority1 and of internal evidence4 ,they are parenthetical1 a kind of rapid 'aside' of the writer's1 expressing his joyful confidence that he and his brethren are sons of ,god1 not only in name1 but in reality4 ,they are the voice of personal assurance1 the voice of the spirit 'by which we cry ,abba1 ,father1' breaking in for a moment on the flow of the sentence1 like an irrepressible1 glad answer to the ,father's call4 ,with these explanations let us look at the words4 ,i4 ,the love that is given4 ,we are called upon to come with our little vessels to measure the contents of the great ocean1 to plumb with our short lines the infinite abyss1 and not only to estimate the quantity but the quality of that love1 which1 in both respects1 surpasses all our means of comparison and conception4 ,properly speaking1 we can do neither the one nor the other1 for we have no line long enough to sound its depths1 and no experience which will give us a standard with which to compare its quality4 ,but all that we can do1 ,john would have us do--that is1 look and ever look at the working of that love till we form some not wholly inadequate idea of it4 ,we can no more 'behold what manner of love the ,father has bestowed on us' than we can look with undimmed eyes right into the middle of the sun4 ,but we can in some measure imagine the tremendous and beneficent forces that ride forth horsed on his beams to distances which the imagination faints in trying to grasp1 and reach their journey's end unwearied and ready for their task as when it began4 ,here are we1 ninety odd millions of miles from the centre of the system1 yet warmed by its heat1 lighted by its beams1 and touched for good by its power in a thousand ways4 ,all that has been going on for no one knows how many ons4 ,how mighty the ,power which produces these effects6 ,in like manner1 who can gaze into the fiery depths of that infinite ,godhead1 into the ardours of that immeasurable1 incomparable1 inconceivable love8 ,but we can look at and measure its activities4 ,we can see what it does1 and so can1 in some degree1 understand it1 and feel that after all we have a measure for the ,immeasurable1 a comparison for the ,incomparable1 and can thus 'behold what manner of love the ,father hath bestowed on us4' ,so we have to turn to the work of ,christ1 and especially to ,his death1 if we would estimate the love of ,god4 ,according to ,john's constant teaching1 that is the great proof that ,god loves us4 ,the most wonderful revelation to every heart of man of the depths of that ,divine heart lies in the gift of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,apostle bids me 'behold what manner of love4' ,i turn to the ,cross1 and ,i see there a love which shrinks from no sacrifice1 but gives ',him up to death for us all4' ,i turn to the ,cross1 and ,i see there a love which is evoked by no lovableness on my part1 but comes from the depth of ,his own ,infinite ,being1 who loves because ,he must1 and who must because ,he is ,god4 ,i turn to the ,cross1 and ,i see there manifested a love which sighs for recognition1 which desires nothing of me but the repayment of my poor affection1 and longs to see its own likeness in me4 ,and ,i see there a love that will not be put away by sinfulness1 and shortcomings1 and evil1 but pours its treasures on the unworthy1 like sunshine on a dunghill4 ,so1 streaming through the darkness of eclipse1 and speaking to me even in the awful silence in which the ,son of ,man died there for sin1 ,i 'behold1' and ,i hear1 the 'manner of love that the ,father hath bestowed upon us1' stronger than death and sin1 armed with all power1 gentler than the fall of the dew1 boundless and endless1 in its measure measureless1 in its quality transcendent--the love of ,god to me in ,jesus ,christ my ,saviour4 ,in like manner we have to think1 if we would estimate the 'manner of this love1' that through and in the great sacrifice of ,jesus ,christ there comes to us the gift of a divine life like ,his own4 ,perhaps it may be too great a refinement of interpretation2 but it certainly does seem to me that that expression 'to bestow ,his love upon' us1 is not altogether the same as 'to love us1' but that there is a greater depth in it4 ,there may be some idea of that love itself being as it were infused into us1 and not merely of its consequences or tokens being given to us2 as ,paul speaks of 'the love of ,god shed abroad in our hearts' by the spirit which is given to us4 ,at all events this communication of divine life1 which is at bottom divine love--for ,god's life is ,god's love--is ,his great gift to men4 ,be that as it may1 these two are the great tokens1 consequences1 and measures of ,god's love to us--the gift of ,christ1 and that which is the sequel and outcome thereof1 the gift of the ,spirit which is breathed into ,christian spirits4 ,these two gifts1 which are one gift1 embrace all that the world needs4 ,christ for us and ,christ in us must both be taken into account if you would estimate the manner of the love that ,god has bestowed upon us4 ,we may gain another measure of the greatness of this love if we put an emphasis--which ,i dare say the writer did not intend--on one word of this text1 and think of the love given to 'us1' such creatures as we are4 ,out of the depths we cry to ,him4 ,not only by the voice of our supplications1 but even when we raise no call of entreaty1 our misery pleads with ,his merciful heart1 and from the heights there comes upon our wretchedness and sin the rush of this great love1 like a cataract1 which sweeps away all our sins1 and floods us with its own blessedness and joy4 ,the more we know ourselves1 the more wonderingly and thankfully shall we bow down our hearts before ,him1 as we measure ,his mercy by our unworthiness4 ,from all ,his works the same summons echoes4 ,they all call us to see mirrored in them ,his loving care4 ,but the ,cross of ,christ and the gift of a ,divine ,spirit cry aloud to every ear in tones of more beseeching entreaty and of more imperative command to 'behold what manner of love the ,father hath bestowed upon us4' ,,ii4 ,look next at the sonship which is the purpose of ,his given ,love4 ,it has often been noticed that the ,apostle ,john uses for that expression 'the sons of ,god1' another word from that which his brother ,paul uses4 ,john's phrase would perhaps be a little more accurately translated 'children of ,god1' whilst ,paul1 on the other hand1 very seldom says 'children1' but almost always says 'sons4' ,of course the children are sons and the sons are children1 but still1 the slight distinction of phrase is characteristic of the men1 and of the different points of view from which they speak about the same thing4 ,john's word lays stress on the children's kindred nature with their father and on their immature condition4 ,but without dwelling on that1 let us consider this great gift and dignity of being children of ,god1 which is the object that ,god has in view in all the lavish bestowment of ,his goodness upon us4 ,that end is not reached by ,god's making us men4 ,over and above that ,he has to send this great gift of ,his love1 in order that the men whom ,he has made may become ,his sons4 ,if you take the context here you will see very clearly that the writer draws a broad distinction between 'the sons of ,god' and 'the world' of men who do not comprehend them1 and so far from being themselves sons1 do not even know ,god's sons when they see them4 ,and there is a deeper and solemner word still in the context4 ,john thinks that men 7within the range of light and revelation1 at all events7 are divided into two families--'the children of ,god and the children of the devil4' ,there are two families amongst men4 ,thank ,god1 the prodigal son in his rags amongst the swine1 and lying by the swine-troughs in his filth and his husks1 and his fever1 is a son6 ,no doubt about that6 ,he has these three elements and marks of sonship that no man ever gets rid of3 he is of a divine origin1 he has a divine likeness in that he has got mind and will and spirit1 and he is the object of a divine love4 ,the doctrine of the ,new ,testament about the ,fatherhood of ,god and the sonship of man does not in the slightest degree interfere with these three great truths1 that all men1 though the features of the common humanity may be almost battered out of recognition in them1 are all children of ,god because ,he made them2 that they are children of ,god because still there lives in them something of the likeness of the creative ,father2 and1 blessed be ,his name6 that they are all children of ,god because ,he loves and provides and cares for every one of them4 ,all that is blessedly and eternally true2 but it is also true that there is a higher relation than that to which the name 'children of ,god' is more accurately given1 and to which in the ,new ,testament that name is confined4 ,if you ask what that relation is1 let me quote to you three passages in this ,epistle which will answer the question4 ',whoever believeth that ,jesus is the ,christ is born of ,god1' that is the first2 ',every one that doeth righteousness is born of ,god1' that is the second2 ',every one that loveth is born of ,god1' that is the third4 ,or to put them all into one expression which holds them all1 in the great words of his prologue in the first chapter of ,john's ,gospel you find this3 ',to as many as received ,him to them gave ,he power to become the sons of ,god4' ,believing in ,christ with loving trust produces1 and doing righteousness and loving the brethren1 as the result of that belief1 prove the fact of sonship in its highest and its truest sense4 ,what is implied in that great word by which the ,almighty gives us a name and a place as of sons and daughters8 ,clearly1 first1 a communicated life1 therefore1 second1 a kindred nature which shall be 'pure as ,he is pure1' and1 third1 growth to full maturity4 ,this sonship1 which is no mere empty name1 is the aim and purpose of ,god's dealings1 of all the revelation of ,his love1 and most especially of the great gift of ,his love in ,christ4 ,has that purpose been accomplished in you8 ,have you ever looked at that great gift of love that ,god has given you on purpose to make you ,his child8 ,if you have1 has it made you one8 ,are you trusting to ,jesus ,christ1 whom ,god has sent forth that we might receive the standing of sons in ,him8 ,are you a child of ,god because a brother of that ,saviour8 ,have you received the gift of a divine life through ,him8 ,my friend1 remember the grim alternative6 ,a child of ,god or a child of the devil6 ,bitter words1 narrow words1 uncharitable words--as people call them6 ,and ,i believe1 and therefore ,i am bound to say it1 true words1 which it concerns you to lay to heart4 ,,iii4 ,now1 still further1 let me ask you to look at the glad recognition of this sonship by the child's heart4 ,i have already referred to the clause added in the ,revised ,version1 'and such we are4' ,as ,i said1 it is a kind of 'aside1' in which ,john adds the ,amen for himself and for his poor brothers and sisters toiling and moiling obscure among the crowds of ,ephesus1 to the great truth4 ,he asserts his and their glad consciousness of the reality of the fact of their sonship1 which they know to be no empty title4 ,he asserts1 too1 the present possession of that sonship1 realising it as a fact1 amid all the commonplace vulgarities and carking cares and petty aims of life's little day4 ',such we are' is the ',here am ,i1 ,father1' of the child answering the ,father's call1 ',my ,son4' ,he turns doctrine into experience4 ,he is not content with merely having the thought in his creed1 but his heart clasps it1 and his whole nature responds to the great truth4 ,i ask you1 do you do that8 ,do not be content with hearing the truth1 or even with assenting to it1 and believing it in your understandings4 ,the truth is nothing to you1 unless you have made it your very own by faith4 ,do not be satisfied with the orthodox confession4 ,unless it has touched your heart and made your whole soul thrill with thankful gladness and quiet triumph1 it is nothing to you4 ,the mere belief of thirty-nine or thirty-nine thousand ,articles is nothing2 but when a man has a true heart-faith in ,him1 whom all articles are meant to make us know and love1 then dogma becomes life1 and the doctrine feeds the soul4 ,does it do so with you1 my brother8 ,can you say1 ',and such we are8' ,take another lesson4 ,the ,apostle was not afraid to say ',i know that ,i am a child of ,god4' ,there are many very good people1 whose tremulous1 timorous lips have never ventured to say ',i know4' ,they will say1 ',well1 ,i hope1' or sometimes1 as if that was not uncertain enough1 they will put in an adverb or two1 and say1 ',i humbly hope that ,i am4' ,it is a far robuster kind of ,christianity1 a far truer one1 ay1 and a humbler one too1 that throws all considerations of my own character and merits1 and all the rest of that rubbish1 clean behind me1 and when ,god says1 ',my son6' says ',my ,father2' and when ,god calls us ,his children1 leaps up and gladly answers1 ',and we are6' ,do not be afraid of being too confident1 if your confidence is built on ,god1 and not on yourselves2 but be afraid of being too diffident1 and be afraid of having a great deal of self-righteousness masquerading under the guise of such a profound consciousness of your own unworthiness that you dare not call yourself a child of ,god4 ,it is not a question of worthiness or unworthiness4 ,it is a question1 in the first place1 and mainly1 of the truth of ,christ's promise and the sufficiency of ,christ's ,cross2 and in a very subordinate degree of anything belonging to you4 ,,iv4 ,we have here1 finally1 the loving and devout gaze upon this wonderful love4 ',behold1' at the beginning of my text1 is not the mere exclamation which you often find both in the ,old and in the ,new ,testaments1 which is simply intended to emphasise the importance of what follows1 but it is a distinct command to do the thing1 to look1 and ever to look1 and to look again1 and live in the habitual and devout contemplation of that infinite and wondrous love of ,god4 ,i have but two remarks to make about that1 and the one is this1 that such a habit of devout and thankful meditation upon the love of ,god1 as manifested in the sacrifice of ,jesus ,christ1 and the consequent gift of the ,divine ,spirit1 joined with the humble1 thankful conviction that ,i am a child of ,god thereby1 lies at the foundation of all vigorous and happy ,christian life4 ,how can a thing which you do not touch with your hands and see with your eyes produce any effect upon you1 unless you think about it8 ,how can a religion which can only influence through thought and emotion do anything in you1 or for you1 unless you occupy your thoughts and your feelings with it8 ,it is sheer nonsense to suppose it possible4 ,things which do not appeal to sense are real to us1 and indeed we may say1 are at all for us1 only as we think about them4 ,if you had a dear friend in ,australia1 and never thought about him1 he would even cease to be dear1 and it would be all one to you as if he were dead4 ,if he were really dear to you1 you would think about him4 ,we may say 7though1 of course1 there are other ways of looking at the matter7 that1 in a very intelligible sense1 the degree in which we think about ,christ1 and in ,him behold the love of ,god1 is a fairly accurate measure of our ,christianity4 ,now will you apply that sharp test to yesterday1 and the day before1 and the day before that1 and decide how much of your life was pagan1 and how much of it was ,christian8 ,you will never make anything of your professed ,christianity1 you will never get a drop of happiness or any kind of good out of it2 it will neither be a strength nor a joy nor a defence to you unless you make it your habitual occupation to 'behold the manner of love'2 and look and look and look until it warms and fills your heart4 ,the second remark is that we cannot keep that great sight before the eye of our minds without effort4 ,you will have very resolutely to look away from something else if1 amid all the dazzling gauds of earth1 you are to see the far-off lustre of that heavenly love4 ,just as timorous people in a thunder-storm will light a candle that they may not see the lightning1 so many ,christians have their hearts filled with the twinkling light of some miserable tapers of earthly care and pursuits1 which1 though they be dim and smoky1 are bright enough to make it hard to see the silent depths of ,heaven1 though it blaze with a myriad stars4 ,if you hold a sixpence close enough up to the pupil of your eye1 it will keep you from seeing the sun4 ,and if you hold the world close to mind and heart1 as many of you do1 you will only see1 round the rim of it1 the least tiny ring of the overlapping love of ,god4 ,what the world lets you see you will see1 and the world will take care that it will let you see very little--not enough to do you any good1 not enough to deliver you from its chains4 ,wrench yourselves away1 my brethren1 from the absorbing contemplation of ,birmingham jewellery and paste1 and look at the true riches4 ,if you have ever had some glimpses of that wondrous love1 and have ever been drawn by it to cry1 ',abba1 ,father1' do not let the trifles which belong not to your true inheritance fill your thoughts1 but renew the vision1 and by determined turning away of your eyes from beholding vanity1 look off from the things that are seen1 that you may gaze upon the things that are not seen1 and chiefest among them1 upon the love of ,god in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4 ,if you have never looked on that love1 ,i beseech you now to turn aside and see this great sight4 ,do not let that brightness burn unnoticed while your eyes are fixed on the ground1 like the gaze of men absorbed in gold digging1 while a glorious sunshine is flushing the eastern sky4 ,look to the unspeakable1 incomparable1 immeasurable love of ,god1 in giving up ,his ,son to death for us all4 ,look and be saved4 ,look and live4 ',behold what manner of love the ,father hath bestowed on you1' and1 beholding1 you will become the sons and daughters of the ,lord ,god ,almighty4 ,,the ,,unrevealed ,,future ,,of ,,the ,,sons ,,of ,,god ',beloved1 now are we the sons of ,god1 and it doth not yet appear what we shall be3 but we know that1 when ,he shall appear1 we shall be like ,him2 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4'--#a ,john iii4 #b4 ,i have hesitated1 as you may well believe1 whether ,i should take these words for a text4 ,they seem so far to surpass anything that can be said concerning them1 and they cover such immense fields of dim thought1 that one may well be afraid lest one should spoil them by even attempting to dilate on them4 ,and yet they are so closely connected with the words of the previous verse1 which formed the subject of my last sermon1 that ,i felt as if my work were only half done unless ,i followed that sermon with this4 ,the present is the prophet of the future1 says my text3 ',now we are the sons of ,god1 and' 7not 'but'7 'it doth not yet appear what we shall be4' ,some men say1 ',ah6 now are we1 but we shall be--nothing6' ,john does not think so4 ,john thinks that if a man is a son of ,god he will always be so4 ,there are three things in this verse1 how1 if we are ,god's children1 our sonship makes us quite sure of the future2 how our sonship leaves us largely in ignorance of the future1 but how our sonship flings one bright1 all-penetrating beam of light on the only important thing about the future1 the clear vision of and the perfect likeness to ,him who is our life4 ',now are we the sons of ,god1' therefore we shall be4 ,we are the sons2 we do not know what we shall be4 ,we are the sons1 and therefore1 though there be a great circumference of blank ignorance as to our future1 yet1 blessed be ,his name1 there is a great light burning in the middle of it6 ',we know that when ,he shall appear we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ,i4 ,the fact of sonship makes us quite sure of the future4 ,i am not concerned to appraise the relative value of the various arguments and proofs1 or1 it may be1 presumptions1 which may recommend the doctrine of a future life to men1 but it seems to me that the strongest reasons for believing in another world are these two3--first1 that ,jesus ,christ was raised from the dead and has gone up there2 and1 second1 that a man here can pray1 and trust1 and love ,god1 and feel that he is ,his child4 ,as was noticed in the preceding sermon1 the word rendered 'sons' might more accurately be translated 'children4' ,if so1 we may fairly say1 ',we are the children of ,god now--and if we are children now1 we shall be grown up some time4' ,childhood leads to maturity4 ,the infant becomes a man4 ,that is to say1 he that here1 in an infantile way1 is stammering with his poor1 unskilled lips the name ',abba6 ,father6' will one day come to speak it fully4 ,he that dimly trusts1 he that partially loves1 he that can lift up his heart in some more or less unworthy prayer and aspiration after ,god1 in all these emotions and exercises1 has the great proof in himself that such emotions1 such relationship1 can never be put an end to4 ,the roots have gone down through the temporal1 and have laid hold of the ,eternal4 ,anything seems to me to be more credible than that a man who can look up and say1 ',my ,father1' shall be crushed by what befalls the mere outside of him2 anything seems to me to be more believable than to suppose that the nature which is capable of these elevating emotions and aspirations of confidence and hope1 which can know ,god and yearn after ,him1 and can love ,him1 is to be wiped out like a gnat by the finger of ,death4 ,the material has nothing to do with these feelings1 and if ,i know myself1 in however feeble and imperfect a degree1 to be the son of ,god1 ,i carry in the conviction the very pledge and seal of eternal life4 ,that is a thought 'whose very sweetness yieldeth proof that it was born for immortality4' ',we are the sons of ,god1' therefore we shall always be so1 in all worlds1 and whatsoever may become of this poor wrappage in which the soul is shrouded4 ,we may notice1 also1 that not only the fact of our sonship avails to assure us of immortal life1 but that also the very form which our religious experience takes points in the same direction4 ,as ,i said1 infancy is the prophecy of maturity4 ',the child is father of the man'2 the bud foretells the flower4 ,in the same way1 the very imperfections of the ,christian life1 as it is seen here1 argue the existence of another state1 where all that is here in the germ shall be fully matured1 and all that is here incomplete shall attain the perfection which alone will correspond to the power that works in us4 ,think of the ordinary ,christian character4 ,the beginning is there1 and evidently no more than the beginning4 ,as one looks at the crudity1 the inconsistencies1 the failings1 the feebleness of the ,christian life of others1 or of oneself1 and then thinks that such a poor1 imperfect exhibition is all that so divine a principle has been able to achieve in this world1 one feels that there must be a region and a time where we shall be all which the transforming power of ,god's spirit can make us4 ,the very inconsistencies of ,christians are as strong reasons for believing in the perfect life of ,heaven as their purities and virtues are4 ,we have a right to say mighty principles are at work upon ,christian souls--the power of the ,cross1 the power of love issuing in obedience1 the power of an indwelling ,spirit2 and is this all that these great forces are going to effect on human character8 ,surely a seed so precious and divine is somewhere1 and at some time1 to bring forth something better than these few poor1 half-developed flowers1 something with more lustrous petals and richer fragrance4 ,the plant is clearly an exotic2 does not its obviously struggling growth here tell of warmer suns and richer soil1 where it will be at home8 ,there is a great deal in every man1 and most of all in ,christian men and women1 which does not fit this present4 ,all other creatures correspond in their capacities to the place where they are set down2 and the world in which the plant or the animal lives1 the world of their surroundings1 stimulates to activity all their powers4 ,but that is not so with a man4 ',foxes have holes1 birds of the air have nests4' ,they fit exactly1 and correspond to their 'environment4' ,but a man6--there is an enormous amount of waste faculty about him if he is only to live in this world4 ,there are large capacities in every nature1 and most of all in a ,christian nature1 which are like the packages that emigrants take with them1 marked ',not wanted on the voyage4' ,these go down into the hold1 and they are only of use after landing in the new world4 ,if ,i am a son of ,god ,i have much in me that is 'not wanted on the voyage1' and the more ,i grow into ,his likeness1 the more ,i am thrown out of harmony with the things round about me1 in proportion as ,i am brought into harmony with the things beyond4 ,that consciousness of belonging to another order of things1 because ,i am ,god's child1 will make me sure that when ,i have done with earth1 the tie that binds me to my ,father will not be broken1 but that ,i shall go home1 where ,i shall be fully and for ever all that ,i so imperfectly began to be here1 where all gaps in my character shall be filled up1 and the half-completed circle of my heavenly perfectness shall grow like the crescent moon1 into full-orbed beauty4 ',neither life1 nor death1 nor things present1 nor things to come1 nor height1 nor depth1 nor any other creature' shall be able to break that tie1 and banish the child from the conscious grasp of a ,father's hand4 ,dear brother and sister1 can you say1 ',now am ,i a child of ,god6' ,then you may patiently and peacefully front that dim future4 ,,ii4 ,now ,i come to the second point1 namely1 that we remain ignorant of much in that future4 ,that happy assurance of the love of ,god resting upon me1 and making me ,his child through ,jesus ,christ1 does not dissipate all the darkness which lies on that beyond4 ',we are the sons of ,god1 and1' just because we are1 'it does not yet appear what we shall be4' ,or1 as the words are rendered in the ,revised ,version1 'it is not yet made manifest what we shall be4' ,the meaning of that expression1 ',it doth not yet appear1' or1 ',it is not made manifest1' may be put into very plain words4 ,john would simply say to us1 ',there has never been set forth before men's eyes in this earthly life of ours an example1 or an instance1 of what the sons of ,god are to be in another state of being4' ,and so1 because men have never had the instance before them1 they do not know much about that state4 ,in some sense there has been a manifestation through the life of ,jesus ,christ4 ,christ has died2 ,christ is risen again4 ,christ has gone about amongst men upon earth after ,resurrection4 ,christ has been raised to the right hand of ,god1 and sits there in the glory of the ,father4 ,so far it has been manifested what we shall be4 ,but the risen ,christ is not the glorified ,christ1 and although ,he has set forth before man's senses irrefragably the fact of another life1 and to some extent given glimpses and gleams of knowledge with regard to certain portions of it1 ,i suppose that the 'glorious body' of ,jesus ,christ was not assumed by ,him till the cloud 'received ,him out of their sight1' nor1 indeed1 could it be assumed while ,he moved among the material realities of this world1 and did eat and drink before them4 ,so that1 while we thankfully recognise that ,christ's ,resurrection and ,ascension have 'brought life and immortality to light1' we must remember that it is the fact1 and not the manner of the fact1 which they make plain2 and that1 even after ,his example1 it has not been manifested what is the body of glory which ,he now wears1 and therefore it has not yet been manifested what we shall be when we are fashioned after its likeness4 ,there has been no manifestation1 then1 to sense1 or to human experience1 of that future1 and1 therefore1 there is next to no knowledge about it4 ,you can only know facts when the facts are communicated4 ,you may speculate and argue and guess as much as you like1 but that does not thin the darkness one bit4 ,the unborn child has no more faculty or opportunity for knowing what the life upon earth is like than man here1 in the world1 has for knowing that life beyond4 ,the chrysalis' dreams about what it would be when it was a butterfly would be as reliable as a man's imagination of what a future life will be4 ,so let us feel two things3--,let us be thankful that we do not know1 for the ignorance is the sign of the greatness2 and then1 let us be sure that just the very mixture of knowledge and ignorance which we have about another world is precisely the food which is most fitted to nourish imagination and hope4 ,if we had more knowledge1 supposing it could be given1 of the conditions of that future life1 it would lose some of its power to attract4 ,ignorance does not always prevent the occupation of the mind with a subject4 ,blank ignorance does2 but ignorance1 shot with knowledge like a tissue which1 when you hold it one way seems all black1 and when you tilt it another1 seems golden1 stimulates desire1 hope1 and imagination4 ,so let us thankfully acquiesce in the limited knowledge4 ,fools can ask questions which wise men cannot answer1 and will not ask4 ,there are questions which1 sometimes1 when we are thinking about our own future1 and sometimes when we see dear ones go away into the mist1 become to us almost torture4 ,it is easy to put them2 it is not so easy to say3 ',thank ,god1 we cannot answer them yet6' ,if we could it would only be because the experience of earth was adequate to measure the experience of ,heaven2 and that would be to bring the future down to the low levels of this present4 ,let us be thankful then that so long as we can only speak in language derived from the experiences of earth1 we have yet to learn the vocabulary of ,heaven4 ,let us be thankful that our best help to know what we shall be is to reverse much of what we are1 and that the loftiest and most positive declarations concerning the future lie in negatives like these3--',i saw no temple therein4' ',there shall be no night there4' ',there shall be no curse there4' ',there shall be no more sighing nor weeping1 for the former things are passed away4' ,the white mountains keep their secret well2 not until we have passed through the black rocks that make the throat of the pass on the summit1 shall we see the broad and shining plains beyond the hills4 ,let us be thankful for1 and own the attractions of1 the knowledge that is wrapt in ignorance1 and thankfully say1 ',now are we the sons of ,god1 and it doth not appear what we shall be6' ,,iii4 ,now ,i must be very brief with the last thought that is here1 and ,i am the less unwilling to be so because we cannot travel one inch beyond the revelations of the ,book in reference to the matter4 ,the thought is this1 that our sonship flings one all-penetrating beam of light on that future1 in the knowledge of our perfect vision and perfect likeness4 ',we know that when ,he shall be manifested1 we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ',when ,he shall be manifested'--to what period does that refer8 ,it seems most natural to take the manifestation here as being the same as that spoken of only a verse or two before4 ',and now1 little children1 abide in ,him1 and when ,he shall be manifested1 we may have confidence1 and not be ashamed before ,him at ,his coming' 7ii4 #bh74 ,that 'coming' then1 is the 'manifestation' of ,christ2 and it is at the period of ,his coming in ,his glory that ,his servants 'shall be like ,him1 and see ,him as ,he is4' ,clearly then it is ,christ whom we shall see and become like1 and not the ,father invisible4 ,to behold ,christ will be the condition and the means of growing like ,him4 ,that way of transformation by beholding1 or of assimilation by the power of loving contemplation1 is the blessed way of ennobling character1 which even here1 and in human relationships1 has often made it easy to put off old vices and to clothe the soul with unwonted grace4 ,men have learned to love and gaze upon some fair character1 till some image of its beauty has passed into their ruder natures4 ,to love such and to look on them has been an education4 ,the same process is exemplified in more sacred regions1 when men here learn to love and look upon ,christ by faith1 and so become like ,him1 as the sun stamps a tiny copy of its blazing sphere on the eye that looks at it4 ,but all these are but poor1 far-off hints and low preludes of the energy with which that blessed vision of the glorified ,christ shall work on the happy hearts that behold ,him1 and of the completeness of the likeness to ,him which will be printed in light upon their faces4 ,it matters not1 though it doth not yet appear what we shall be1 if to all the questionings of our own hearts we have this for our all-sufficient answer1 ',we shall be like ,him4' ,as good old ,richard ,baxter has it3-- ',my knowledge of that life is small1 ,the eye of faith is dim2 ,but1 'tis enough that ,christ knows all1 ,and ,i shall be like ,him6' ',it is enough for the servant that he be as his ,lord4' ,there is no need to go into the dark and difficult questions about the manner of that vision4 ,he ,himself prayed1 in that great intercessory prayer1 ',father1 ,i will that these whom ,thou hast given ,me be with ,me where ,i am1 that they may behold ,my glory4' ,that vision of the glorified manhood of ,jesus ,christ--certain1 direct1 clear1 and worthy1 whether it comes through sense or through thought--to behold that vision is all the sight of ,god that men in ,heaven ever will have4 ,and through the millenniums of a growing glory1 ,christ as ,he is will be the manifested ,deity4 ,likeness will clear sight1 and clearer sight will increase likeness4 ,so in blessed interchange these two will be cause and effect1 and secure the endless progress of the redeemed spirit towards the vision of ,christ which never can behold all ,his ,infinite ,fulness1 and the likeness to ,christ which can never reproduce all his ,infinite ,beauty4 ,as a bit of glass when the light strikes it flashes into sunny glory1 or as every poor little muddy pool on the pavement1 when the sunbeams fall upon it1 has the sun mirrored even in its shallow mud1 so into your poor heart and mine the vision of ,christ's glory will come1 moulding and transforming us to its own beauty4 ,with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror does1 the glory of the ,lord1 we 'shall be changed into the same image4' ',we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ,dear brethren1 all begins with this1 love ,christ and trust ,him and you are a child of ,god6 ',and if children1 then heirs1 heirs of ,god1 and joint heirs with ,christ4' ,,the ,,purifying ,,influence ,,of ,,hope ',and every man that hath this hope in ,him purifieth himself1 even as ,he is pure4'--#a ,john iii4 #c4 ,that is a very remarkable 'and' with which this verse begins4 ,the ,apostle has just been touching the very heights of devout contemplation1 soaring away up into dim regions where it is very hard to follow1--',we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ,and now1 without a pause1 and linking his thoughts together by a simple 'and1' he passes from the unimaginable splendours of the ,beatific ,vision to the plainest practical talk4 ,mysticism has often soared so high above the earth that it has forgotten to preach righteousness1 and therein has been its weak point4 ,but here is the most mystical teacher of the ,new ,testament insisting on plain morality as vehemently as his friend ,james could have done4 ,the combination is very remarkable4 ,like the eagle he rises1 and like the eagle1 with the impetus gained from his height1 he drops right down on the earth beneath6 ,and that is not only a characteristic of ,st4 ,john's teaching1 but it is a characteristic of all the ,new ,testament morality--its highest revelations are intensely practical4 ,its light is at once set to work1 like the sunshine that comes ninety millions of miles in order to make the little daisies open their crimson-tipped petals2 so the profoundest things that the ,bible has to say are said to you and me1 not that we may know only1 but that knowing we may do1 and do because we are4 ,so ,john1 here3 ',we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ',and'--a simple coupling-iron for two such thoughts--'every man that hath this hope in ,him'--that is1 in ,christ1 not in himself1 as we sometimes read it--'every man that hath this hope1' founded on ,christ1 'purifies himself even as ,he is pure4' ,the thought is a very simple one1 though sometimes it is somewhat mistakenly apprehended4 ,put into its general form it is just this3--,if you expect1 and expecting1 hope to be like ,jesus ,christ yonder1 you will be trying your best to be like ,him here4 ,it is not the mere purifying influence of hope that is talked about1 but it is the specific influence of this one hope1 the hope of ultimate assimilation to ,christ leading to strenuous efforts1 each a partial resemblance of ,him1 here and now4 ,and that is the subject ,i want to say a word or two about now4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 notice the principle that is here1 which is the main thing to be insisted upon1 namely1 ,if we are to be pure1 we must purify ourselves4 ,there are two ways of getting like ,christ1 spoken about in the context4 ,one is the blessed way1 that is more appropriate for the higher ,heaven1 the way of assimilation and transformation by beholding--',if we see ,him' we shall be 'like ,him4' ,that is the blessed method of the ,heavens4 ,yes1 but even here on earth it may to some extent be realised6 ,love always breeds likeness4 ,and there is such a thing1 here on earth and now1 as gazing upon ,christ with an intensity of affection1 and simplicity of trust1 and rapture of aspiration1 and ardour of desire which shall transform us in some measure into ,his own likeness4 ,john is an example of that for us4 ,it was a true instinct that made the old painters always represent him as like the ,master that he sat beside1 even in face4 ,where did ,john get his style from8 ,he got it by much meditating upon ,christ's words4 ,the disciple caught the method of the ,master's speech1 and to some extent the manner of the ,master's vision4 ,and so he himself stands before us as an instance of the possibility1 even on earth1 of this calm1 almost passive process1 and most blessed and holiest method of getting like the ,master1 by simple gazing1 which is the gaze of love and longing4 ,but1 dear brethren1 the law of our lives forbids that that should be the only way in which we grow like ,christ4 ',first the blade1 then the ear1 then the full corn in the ear1' was never meant to be the exhaustive1 all-comprehensive statement of the method of ,christian progress4 ,you and ,i are not vegetables2 and the ,parable of the ,seed is only one side of the truth about the method of ,christian growth4 ,the very word 'purify' speaks to us of another condition2 it implies impurity1 it implies a process which is more than contemplation1 it implies the reversal of existing conditions1 and not merely the growth upwards to unattained conditions4 ,and so growth is not all that ,christian men need2 they need excision1 they need casting out of what is in them2 they need change as well as growth4 ',purifying' they need because they are impure1 and growth is only half the secret of ,christian progress4 ,then there is the other consideration1 viz41 if there is to be this purifying it must be done by myself4 ',ah6' you say1 'done by yourself8 ,that is not evangelical teaching4' ,well1 let us see4 ,take two or three verses out of this ,epistle which at first sight seem to be contradictory of this4 ,take the very first that bears on the subject3--',the blood of ,jesus ,christ ,his ,son cleanseth us from all sin' 7i4 #g74 ',if we confess our sins ,he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness' 7i4 #i74 ',he that abideth in ,him sinneth not' 7iii4 #f74 ',this is the victory that overcometh the world1 even our faith' 7v4 #d74 ,now if you put all these passages together1 and think about the general effect of them1 it comes to this3 that our best way of cleansing ourselves is by keeping firm hold of ,jesus ,christ and of the cleansing powers that lie in ,him4 ,to take a very homely illustration--soap and water wash your hands clean1 and what you have to do is simply to rub the soap and water on to the hand1 and bring them into contact with the foulness4 ,you cleanse yourselves4 ,yes6 because without the friction there would not be the cleansing4 ,but is it you1 or is it the soap1 that does the work8 ,is it you or the water that makes your hands clean8 ,and so when ,god comes and says1 ',wash you1 make you clean1 put away the evil of your doings1 your hands are full of blood1' ,he says in effect1 ',take the cleansing that ,i give you and rub it in1 and apply it3 and your flesh will become as the flesh of a little child1 and you shall be clean4' ,that is to say1 the very deepest word about ,christian effort of self-purifying is this--keep close to ,jesus ,christ4 ,you cannot sin as long as you hold ,his hand4 ,to have ,him with you2--,i mean by that to have the thoughts directed to ,him1 the love turning to ,him1 the will submitted to ,him1 ,him consciously with us in the day's work4 ,to have communion with ,jesus ,christ is like bringing an atmosphere round about us in which all evil will die4 ,if you take a fish out of water and bring it up into the upper air1 it writhes and gasps1 and is dead presently2 and our evil tendencies and sins1 drawn up out of the muddy depths in which they live1 and brought up into that pure atmosphere of communion with ,jesus ,christ1 are sure to shrivel and to die1 and to disappear4 ,we kill all evil by fellowship with the ,master4 ,his presence in our lives1 by our communion with ,him1 is like the watchfire that the traveller lights at night--it keeps all the wild beasts of prey away from the fold4 ,christ's fellowship is our cleansing1 and the first and main thing that we have to do in order to make ourselves pure is to keep ourselves in union with ,him1 in whom inhere and abide all the energies that cleanse men's souls4 ,take the unbleached calico and spread it out on the green grass1 and let the blessed sunshine come down upon it1 and sprinkle it with fair water2 and the grass and the moisture and the sunshine will do all the cleansing1 and it will glitter in the light1 'so as no fuller on earth can white it4' ,so cleansing is keeping near ,jesus ,christ4 ,but it is no use getting the mill-race from the stream into your works unless you put wheels in its way to drive4 ,and our holding ourselves in fellowship with the ,master in that fashion is not all that we have to do4 ,there have to be distinct and specific efforts1 constantly repeated1 to subdue and suppress individual acts of transgression4 ,we have to fight against evil1 sin by sin4 ,we have not the thing to do all at once2 we have to do it in detail4 ,it is a war of outposts1 like the last agonies of that ,franco-,prussian war1 when the ,emperor had abdicated1 and the country was really conquered1 and ,paris had yielded1 but yet all over the face of the land combats had to be carried on4 ,so it is with us4 ,holiness is not feeling2 it is character4 ,you do not get rid of your sins by the act of divine amnesty only4 ,you are not perfect because you say you are1 and feel as if you were1 and think you are4 ,god does not make any man pure in his sleep4 ,his cleansing does not dispense with fighting1 but makes victory possible4 ,then1 dear brethren1 lay to heart this1 as the upshot of the whole matter3 ,first of all1 let us turn to ,him from whom all the cleansing comes2 and then1 moment by moment1 remember that it is our work to purify ourselves by the strength and the power that is given to us by the ,master4 ,,ii4 ,the second thought here is this3 ,this purifying of ourselves is the link or bridge between the present and the future4--',now are we the sons of ,god1' says ,john in the context4 ,that is the pier upon the one side of the gulf4 ',it doth not yet appear what we shall be1 but when ,he is made manifest we shall be like ,him4' ,that is the pier on the other4 ,how are the two to be connected8 ,there is only one way by which the present sonship will blossom and fruit into the future perfect likeness1 and that is1--if we throw across the gulf1 by ,god's help day by day here1 that bridge of our effort after growing likeness to ,himself1 and purity therefrom4 ,that is plain enough1 ,i suppose4 ,to speak in somewhat technical terms1 the 'law of continuity' that we hear so much about1 runs on between earth and ,heaven2 which1 being translated into plain ,english1 is but this--that the act of passing from the limitations and conditions of this transitory life into the solemnities and grandeurs of that future does not alter a man's character1 though it may intensify it4 ,it does not make him different from what he was1 though it may make him more of what he was1 whether its direction be good or bad4 ,you take a stick and thrust it into water2 and because the rays of light pass from one medium to another of a different density1 they are refracted and the stick seems bent2 but take the human life out of the thick1 coarse medium of earth and lift it up into the pure rarefied air of ,heaven1 and there is no refraction2 it runs straight on4 ,straight on6 ,the given direction continues2 and in whatever direction my face is turned when ,i die1 thither my face will be turned when ,i live again4 ,do not you fancy that there is any magic in coffins and graves and shrouds to make men different from their former selves4 ,the continuity runs clean on1 the rail goes without a break1 though it goes through the ,mont ,cenis tunnel2 and on the one side is the cold of the ,north1 and on the other the sunny ,south4 ,the man is the same man through death and beyond4 ,so the one link between sonship here and likeness to ,christ hereafter is this link of present1 strenuous effort to become like ,him day by day in personal purity4 ,for there is another reason1 on which ,i need not dwell1 viz41 unless there be this daily effort on our part to become like ,jesus ,christ by personal purity1 we shall not be able to 'see ,him as ,he is4' ,death will take a great many veils off men's hearts4 ,it will reveal to them a great deal that they do not know1 but it will not give the faculty of beholding the glorified ,christ in such fashion as that the beholding will mean transformation4 ',every eye shall see ,him1' but it is conceivable that a spirit shall be so immersed in self-love and in godlessness that the vision of ,christ shall be repellent and not attractive2 shall have no transforming and no gladdening power4 ,and ,i beseech you to remember that about that vision1 as about the vision of ,god ,himself1 the principle stands true2 it is 'the pure in heart that shall see ,god' in ,christ4 ,and the change from life to the life beyond will not necessarily transform into the image of ,his dear ,son4 ,you make a link between the present and the future by cleansing your hands and your hearts1 through faith in the cleansing power of ,christ1 and direct effort at holiness4 ,,iii4 ,now ,i must briefly add finally3 that this self-cleansing of which ,i have been speaking is the offspring and outcome of that 'hope' in my text4 ,it is the child of hope4 ,hope is by no means an active faculty generally4 ,as the poets have it1 she may 'smile and wave her golden hair'2 but she is not in the way of doing much work in the world4 ,and it is not the mere fact of hope that generates this effort2 it is1 as ,i have been trying to show you1 a certain kind of hope--the hope of being like ,jesus ,christ when 'we see ,him as ,he is4' ,i have only two things to say about this matter1 and one of them is this3 of course1 such strenuous effort of purity will only be the result of such a hope as that1 because such a hope will fight against one of the greatest of all the enemies of our efforts after purity4 ,there is nothing that makes a man so down-hearted in his work of self-improvement as the constant and bitter experience that it seems to be all of no use2 that he is making so little progress2 that with immense pains1 like a snail creeping up a wall1 he gets up1 perhaps1 an inch or two1 and then all at once he drops down1 and further down than he was before he started4 ,slowly we manage some little1 patient self-improvement2 gradually1 inch by inch and bit by bit1 we may be growing better1 and then there comes some gust and outburst of temptation2 and the whole painfully reclaimed soil gets covered up by an avalanche of mud and stones1 that we have to remove slowly1 barrow-load by barrow-load4 ,and then we feel that it is all of no use to strive1 and we let circumstances shape us1 and give up all thoughts of reformation4 ,to such moods then there comes1 like an angel from ,heaven1 that holy1 blessed message1 ',cheer up1 man6 ,we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ,every inch that you make now will tell then1 and it is not all of no use4 ,set your heart to the work1 it is a work that will be blessed and will prosper4 ,again1 here is a test for all you ,christian people1 who say that you look to ,heaven with hope as to your home and rest4 ,a great deal of the religious contemplation of a future state is pure sentimentality1 and like all pure sentimentality is either immoral or non-moral4 ,but here the two things are brought into clear juxtaposition1 the bright hope of ,heaven and the hard work done here below4 ,now is that what the gleam and expectation of a future life does for you8 ,this is the only time in ,john's ,epistle that he speaks about hope4 ,the good man1 living so near ,christ1 finds that the present1 with its 'abiding in ,him' is enough for his heart4 ,and though he was the ,seer of the ,apocalypse1 he has scarcely a word to say about the future in this letter of his1 and when he does it is for a simple and intensely practical purpose1 in order that he may enforce on us the teaching of labouring earnestly in purifying ourselves4 ,my brother1 is that your type of ,christianity8 ,is that the kind of inspiration that comes to you from the hope that steals in upon you in your weary hours1 when sorrows1 and cares1 and changes1 and loss1 and disappointments1 and hard work weigh you down1 and you say1 ',it would be blessed to pass hence'8 ,does it set you harder at work than anything else can do8 ,is it all utilised8 ,or if ,i might use such an illustration1 is it like the electricity of the ,aurora ,borealis1 that paints your winter sky with vanishing1 useless splendours of crimson and blue8 or have you got it harnessed to your tramcars1 lighting your houses1 driving sewing-machines1 doing practical work in your daily life8 ,is the hope of ,heaven1 and of being like ,christ1 a thing that stimulates and stirs us every moment to heroisms of self-surrender and to strenuous martyrdom of self-cleansing8 ,all is gathered up into the one lesson4 ,first1 let us go to that dear ,lord whose blood cleanseth from all sin1 and let us say to ,him1 ',purge me and ,i shall be clean2 wash me1 and ,i shall be whiter than snow4' ,and then1 receiving into our hearts the powers that purify1 in ,his love and ,his sacrifice and ,his life1 'having these promises' and these possessions1 ',dearly beloved1 let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit1 perfecting holiness in the fear of the ,lord4' ,,practical ,,righteousness ',little children1 let no man deceive you2 he that doeth righteousness is righteous1 even as ,he is righteous4'--#a ,john iii4 #g4 ,the popular idea of the ,apostle ,john is strangely unlike the real man4 ,he is supposed to be the gentle ,apostle of ,love1 the mystic amongst the ,twelve4 ,he is that1 but he was the 'son of thunder' before he was the ,apostle of ,love1 and he did not drop the first character when he attained the second4 ,no doubt his central thought was1 ',god is ,love'2 no doubt that thought had refined and assimilated his character1 but the love which he believed and the love which he exercised were neither of them facile feebleness1 but strong and radiant with an awful purity4 ,none of the ,new ,testament writers proclaims a more austere morality than does ,john4 ,and just because he loved the ,love and the ,light1 he hated and loathed the darkness4 ,he can thunder and lighten when needful1 and he shows us that the true divine love in a man recoils from its opposite as passionately as it cleaves to ,god and good4 ,again1 ,john is1 par excellence1 the mystic of the ,new ,testament1 always insisting on the direct communion which every soul may have with ,god1 which is the essence of wholesome mysticism4 ,now that type of thinking has often in its raptures forgotten plain1 pedestrian morality2 but ,john never commits that error4 ,he never soars so high as to lose sight of the flat earth below2 and whilst he is always inviting us and enjoining us to dwell in ,god and abide in ,christ1 with equal persistence and force he is preaching to us the plainest duties of elementary morality4 ,he illustrates this moral earnestness in my text4 ,the 'little children' for whom he was so affectionately solicitous were in danger1 either from teachers or from the tendencies native in us all1 to substitute something else for plain1 righteous conduct2 and the ,apostle lovingly appeals to them with his urgent declaration1 that the only thing which shows a man to be righteous--that is to say1 a disciple of ,christ--is his daily life1 in conformity with ,christ's commands4 ,the errors of these ancient ,asiatics live to-day in new forms1 but still substantially the same4 ,and they are as hard to kill amongst ,english ,nonconformists like us as they were amongst ,asiatic ,christians nineteen centuries ago4 ,i4 ,so let me try just to insist1 first of all1 on that thought that doing righteousness is the one test of being a ,christian4 ,now that word 'righteousness' is a theological word1 and by much usage the lettering has got to be all but obliterated upon it2 and it is worn smooth like sixpences that go from pocket to pocket4 ,therefore ,i want1 before ,i go further1 to make this one distinct point1 that the ,new ,testament righteousness is no theological1 cloistered1 peculiar kind of excellence1 but embraces within its scope1 'whatsoever things are lovely1 whatsoever things are fair1 whatsoever things are of good report'2 all that the world calls virtue1 all which the world has combined to praise4 ,there are countries on the earth which are known by different names to their inhabitants and to foreigners4 ,the 'righteousness' of the ,new ,testament1 though it embraces a great deal more1 includes within its map all the territories which belong to morality or to virtue4 ,the three words cover the same ground1 though one of them covers more than the other two4 ,the ,new ,testament 'righteousness' differs from the moralist's morality1 or the world's virtue1 in its scope1 inasmuch as it includes our relations to ,god as well as to men2 it differs in its perspective1 inasmuch as it exalts some types of excellence that the world pooh-poohs1 and pulls down some that the world hallelujahs and adulates2 it strips the fine feathers of approving words off some vices which masquerade as virtues4 ,it casts round the notion of duty1 of morality1 of virtue1 a halo1 and it touches it with emotion4 ,christianity does with the dictates of the natural conscience what we might figure as being the leading out of some captive virgin in white1 from the darkness into the sunshine1 and the turning of her face up to heaven1 which illuminates it with a new splendour1 and invests her with a new attractiveness4 ,but all that any man rightly includes in his notion of the things that are 'of good report' is included in this theological word1 righteousness1 which to some of you seems so wrapped in mists1 and so far away from daily life4 ,i freely confess that in very many instances the morality of the moralist has outshone the righteousness of the ,christian4 ,yes6 and ,i have seen canoe-paddles carved by ,south ,sea ,islanders with no better tools than an oyster-shell and a sharp fish-bone1 which in the minuteness and delicacy of their work1 as well as in the truth and taste of their pattern1 might put to shame the work of carvers with better tools4 ,but that is not the fault of the tools2 it is the fault of the carvers4 ,and so1 whilst we acknowledge that ,christian people have but poorly represented to the world what ,christ and ,christ's apostles meant by righteousness1 ,i reiterate that the righteousness of the gospel is the morality of the world plus a great deal more4 ,that being understood1 let me remind you of two or three ways in which this great truth of the text is obscured to us1 and in some respects contradicted1 in the practice of many professing ,christians4 ,first1 let me say my text insists upon this1 that the conduct1 not the creed1 makes the ,christian4 ,there is a continual tendency on our part1 as there was with these believers in ,asia ,minor long ago1 to substitute the mere acceptance1 especially the orthodox acceptance1 of certain great fundamental ,christian truths for ,christianity4 ,a man may believe thirty-nine or thirty-nine thousand ,articles without the smallest intellectual drawback1 and not be one whit nearer being a ,christian than if he did not believe one of them4 ,for faith1 which is the thing that makes a man a ,christian to begin with1 is not assent1 but trust4 ,and there is a whole gulf1 wide enough to drown a world in1 between the two attitudes of mind4 ,on the one side of the gulf is salvation1 on the other side of the gulf there may be loss4 ,of course1 ,i know that it is hard1 though ,i do not believe it is impossible1 to erect the structure of a saving faith on a very1 very imperfect intellectual apprehension of ,scripture truth4 ,that has nothing to do with my present point4 ,what ,i am saying is that1 unless you erect that structure of a faith which is an act of your will and of your whole nature1 and not the mere assent of your understanding1 upon your belief1 your belief is impotent1 and is of no use at all1 and you might as well not have it4 ,what is the office of our creed in regard to our conduct8 ,to give us principles1 to give us motives1 to give us guidance1 to give us weapons4 ,if it does these things then it does its work4 ,if it lies in our heads a mere acceptance of certain propositions1 it is just as useless and as dead as the withered seeds that rattle inside a dried poppy-head in the autumn winds4 ,you are meant to begin with accepting truth1 and then you are meant to take that truth as being a power in your lives that shall shape your conduct4 ,to know1 and there an end1 is enough in matters of mere science1 but in matters of religion and in matters of morality or righteousness knowing is only the first step in the process1 and we are made to know in order that1 knowing1 we may do4 ,but some professing ,christians seem to have their natures built1 like ocean-going steamers1 with water-tight compartments1 on the one side of which they keep their creed1 and there is no kind of communication between that and the other side where their conduct is originated4 ',little children1 let no man deceive you2 he that doeth righteousness is righteous4' ,again1 my text suggests conduct and not emotion4 ,now there is a type of ,christian life which is more attractive in appearance than that of the hard1 fossilised1 orthodox believer--viz41 the warmly emotional and fervent ,christian4 ,but that type1 all experience shows1 has a pit dug close beside it into which it is apt to fall4 ,for there is a strange connection between emotional ,christianity and a want of straightforwardness in daily business life1 and of self-control and government of the appetites and the senses4 ,that has been sadly shown1 over and again1 and if we had time one could easily point to the reasons in human nature1 and its strange contexture1 why it should be so4 ,now ,i am not disparaging emotion--,god forbid--for ,i believe that to a very large extent the peculiarity of ,christian teaching is just this1 that it does bring emotion to bear upon the hard grind of daily duty4 ,but for all that1 ,i am bound to say that this is a danger which1 in this day1 by reason of certain tendencies in our popular ,christianity1 is a very real one1 and that you will find people gushing in religious enthusiasm1 and then going away to live very questionable1 and sometimes very mean1 and sometimes even very gross and sensual lives4 ,the emotion is meant to spring from the creed1 and it is meant to be the middle term between the creed and the conduct4 ,why1 we have learnt to harness electricity to our tramcars1 and to make it run our messages1 and light our homes1 and that is like what we have to do with the emotion without which a man's ,christianity will be a poor1 scraggy thing4 ,it is a good servant2 it is a bad master4 ,you do not show yourselves to be ,christians because you gush4 ,you do not show yourselves to be ,christians because you can talk fervidly and feel deeply4 ,raptures are all very well1 but what we want is the grind of daily righteousness1 and doing little things because of the fear and the love of the ,lord4 ,may ,i say again1 my text suggests conduct1 and not verbal worship4 ,you and ,i1 in our adherence to a simpler1 less ornate and sthetic form of devotion than prevails in the great ,episcopal churches1 are by no means free from the danger which1 in a more acute form1 besets them1 of substituting participation in external acts of worship for daily righteousness of life ,laborare est orare--to work is to pray4 ,that is true with explanations1 commentaries1 and limitations4 ,but ,i wonder how many people there are who sing hymns which breathe aspirations and wishes that their whole daily life contradicts4 ,and ,i wonder how many of us there are who seem to be joining in prayers that we never expect to have answered1 and would be very much astonished if the answers came1 and should not know what to do with if they did come4 ,we live in one line1 and worship in exactly the opposite4 ,brethren1 creed is necessary2 emotion is necessary2 worship is necessary6 ,but that on which these three all converge1 and for which they are1 is daily life1 plain1 practical righteousness4 ,,ii4 ,now let me say1 secondly1 that being righteous is the way to do righteousness4 ,one of the great characteristics of ,new ,testament teaching of morality1 or rather let me say of ,christ's teaching of morality1 is that it shifts1 if ,i may so put it1 the centre of gravity from acts to being1 that instead of repeating the parrot-cry1 ',do1 do1 do' or ',do not1 do not1 do not1' it says1 ',be1 and the doing will take care of itself4 ,be2 do not trouble so much about outward acts1 look after the inward nature4' ,character makes conduct1 though1 of course1 conduct reacts upon character4 ',as a man thinketh in his heart so is he1' and the way to set actions right is to set the heart right4 ,some of us are trying to purify the stream by putting in disinfectants half-way down1 instead of going up to the source and dealing with the fountain4 ,and the weakness of all the ordinary1 commonplace morality of the world is that it puts its stress upon the deeds1 and leaves comparatively uncared for the condition of the person1 the inward self1 from whom the deeds come4 ,and so it is all superficial1 and of small account4 ,if that be so1 then we are met by this experience3 that when we honestly try to make the tree good that its fruit may be good we come full front up to this1 that there is a streak in us1 a stain1 a twist--call it anything you like--like a black vein through a piece of ,parian marble1 or a scratch upon a mirror1 which streak or twist baffles our effort to make ourselves righteous4 ,i am not going1 if ,i can help it1 to exaggerate the facts of the case4 ,the ,christian teaching of what is unfortunately called total depravity is not that there is no good in anybody1 but that there is a diffused evil in everybody which affects in different degrees and in different ways all a man's nature4 ,and that is no mere doctrine of the ,new ,testament1 but it is a transcript from the experience of every one of us4 ,what then8 ,if ,i must be righteous in order that ,i may do righteousness1 and if1 as ,i have found out by experience 7for the only way to know myself is to reflect upon what ,i have done7--if ,i have found out that ,i am not righteous1 what then8 ,you may say to me1 ',have you led me into a blind alley1 out of which ,i cannot get8 ,here you are1 insisting on an imperative necessity1 and in the same breath saying that it is impossible4 ,what is left for me8' ,i go on to tell you what is left4 ,,iii4 ,union with ,jesus ,christ by faith makes us 'righteous even as ,he is righteous4' ,there is the pledge1 there is the prophecy1 there is the pattern2 and there is the power to redeem the pledge1 to fulfil the prophecy1 to make the pattern copyable and copied by every one of us4 ,brethren1 this is the very heart of ,john's teaching1 that if we will1 not by the mere assent of our intellect1 but by the casting of ourselves on ,jesus ,christ1 trust in ,him1 there comes about a union between us and ,him so real1 so deep1 so vital1 so energetic1 that by the touch of ,his life we live1 and by ,his righteousness breathed into us1 we1 too1 may become righteous4 ,the great vessel and the tiny pot by its side may have a connecting pipe1 and from the great one there shall flow over into the little one as much as will fill it brim full4 ,in ,him we too may be righteous4 ,my friend1 there are men and women who are ready to set to their seals that that is true1 and who can say1 ',i have found it so4 ,by union with ,jesus ,christ in faith1 ,i have received new tastes1 new inclinations1 a new set to my whole life1 and ,i have been able to overcome unrighteousnesses which were too many and too mighty for myself4' ,it is so2 and some of us to our own consciences and consciousness are witnesses to it1 however imperfectly4 ,god forgive us6 ,we may have manifested the renewing power of union with ,christ in our daily lives4 ',even as ,he is righteous'--the water in the great vessel and the little one are the same1 but the vase is not the cistern4 ,the beam comes from the sun1 but the beam is not the sun4 ',even as' does not mean equality1 but it does mean similarity4 ,christ is righteous1 eternally1 essentially1 completely2 we may be 'even as ,he is' derivatively1 partially1 and if we put our trust in ,him we shall be so1 and that growingly through our daily lives4 ,and then1 after earth is done with1 'we know that1 when ,he shall be manifested1 we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ,may we each1 dear brethren1 'be found in ,him1 not having our own righteousness which is of the law1 but that which is through faith in ,christ1 the righteousness which is of ,god by faith4' ,,christ',s ,,mission ,,the ,,revelation ,,of ,,god',s ,,love ',herein is love1 not that we loved ,god1 but that ,he loved us1 and sent ,his ,son to be the propitiation for our sins4'--#a ,john iv4 #aj4 ,this is the second of a pair of twin verses which deal with substantially the same subject under two slightly different aspects4 ,the thought common to both is that ,christ's mission is the great revelation of ,god's love4 ,but in the preceding verse the point on which stress is laid is the manifestation of that love1 and in our text the point mainly brought out is its essential nature4 ,in the former we read1 ',in this was manifested the love of ,god1' and in the present verse we read1 ',herein is love4' ,in the former verse ,john fixes on three things as setting forth the greatness of that manifestation--viz41 that the ,christ is the only begotten ,son1 that the manifestation is for the world1 and that its end is the bestowment of everlasting love4 ,in my text the points which are fixed on are that that ,love in its nature is self-kindled--'not that we loved ,god1 but that ,he loved us'--and that it lays hold of1 and casts out of the way that which1 unremoved1 would be a barrier between ,god and us--viz41 our sin3 ',he hath sent ,his ,son to be the propitiation for our sins4' ,now it is interesting to notice that these twin verses1 like a double star which reflects the light of a central sun1 draw their brightness from the great word of the ,master1 ',god so loved the world1 that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son1 that whosoever believeth in ,him should not perish1 but have everlasting life4' ,do you not hear the echo of ,his voice in the three expressions in the verse before the text--'only begotten' 'world' 'live'8 ,here is one more of the innumerable links which bind together in indissoluble union the ,gospel and the ,epistle4 ,so1 then1 the great thought suggested by the words before us is just this1 that in the ,incarnation and ,sacrifice of ,jesus ,christ we have the great revelation of the love of ,god4 ,i4 ,now there are three questions that suggest themselves to me1 and the first is this1 ,what1 then1 does ,christ's mission say about ,god's love8 ,i do not need to dwell on the previous question whether1 apart from that mission1 there is any solid revelation of the fact that there is love in ,heaven1 or whether we are left1 apart from it1 to gropings and probabilities4 ,i need not refer you to the ambiguous oracles of nature or to the equally ambiguous oracles of life4 ,i need not1 ,i suppose1 do more than just remind you that even the men whose faith grasps the thought of the love of ,god most intensely1 know what it is to be brought to a stand before some of the dreadful problems which the facts of humanity and the facts of nature press upon us1 nor need ,i remind you how1 as we see around us to-day1 in the drift of our ,english literature and that of other nations1 when men turn their backs upon the ,cross1 they look upon a landscape all swathed in mists1 and on which darkness is steadily settling4 ,the reason why the men of this generation1 some of them very superficially1 and for the sake of being 'in the swim' and some of them despairingly and with bleeding hearts1 are turning themselves to a reasoned pessimism1 is because they will not see what shines out from the ,cross1 that ,god is love4 ,nor need ,i do more than remind you1 in a word1 of the fact that1 go where we will through this world1 and consult all the conceptions that men have made to themselves of gods many and lords many1 whilst we find the deification of power1 and of vice1 and of fragmentary goodnesses1 of hopes and fears1 of longings1 of regrets1 we find nowhere a god of whom the characteristic is love4 ,and amidst that ,pantheon of deities1 some of them savage1 some of them lustful1 some of them embodiments of all vices1 some of them indifferent and neutral1 some of them radiant and fair1 none reveals this secret1 that the centre of the universe is a heart4 ,so we have to turn away from hopes1 from probability dashed with many a doubt1 and find something that has more solid substance in it1 if it is to be enough to bear up the man that grasps it and to yield before no tempests4 ,for all that ,bishop ,butler says1 probabilities are not the guide of life1 in its deepest and noblest aspects4 ,they may be the guide of practice1 but for the anchorage of the soul we want no shifting sand-bank1 but that to which we may make fast and be sure that1 whatever shifts1 it remains immovable4 ,you can no more clothe the soul in 'perhapses' than a man can make garments out of a spider's web4 ,religion consists of the things of which we are sure1 and not of the things which are probable4 ',peradventure' is not the word on which a man can rest the weight of a crushed1 or an agonising1 or a sinking soul2 he must have ',verily6 verily6' and then he is at rest4 ,how do we know what a man is8 ,by seeing what a man does4 ,how do we know what ,god is8 ,by knowing what ,god does4 ,so ,john does not argue with logic1 either frosty or fiery1 but he simply opens his mouth1 and in calm1 pellucid utterances sets forth the truths and leaves them to work4 ,he says to us1 ',i do not relegate you to your intuitions2 ,i do not argue with you2 ,i simply say1 ,look at ,him2 look1 and see that ,god is love4' ,what1 then1 does the mission of ,christ say to us about the love of ,god8 ,it says1 first1 that it is a love independent of1 and earlier than1 ours4 ,we love1 as a rule1 because we recognise in the object to which our heart goes out something that draws it1 something that is loveable4 ,but ,he whose name is ',i am that ,i am' has all the reasons of ,his actions within ,himself1 and just as ,he ',sits on no precarious throne1 ,nor borrows leave to be1' nor is dependent on any creature for existence1 so ,he is ,his own motive1 ,he is ,his own reason4 ,within that sacred circle of the ,infinite ,nature lie all the energies which bring that ,infinite ,nature into action2 and like some clear fountain1 more sparkling than crystal1 there wells up for ever1 from the depths of the ,divine ,nature1 the love which is ,himself4 ,he loves1 not because we love ,him1 but because ,he is ,god4 ,the very sun itself1 as some astronomers believe1 owes its radiant brightness and ever-communicated warmth to the impact on1 and reception into1 it of myriads of meteors and of matter drawn from the surrounding system4 ,so when the fuel fails1 that fire will go out1 and the sun will shrivel into a black ball4 ,but this central ,sun of the universe has all ,his light within ,himself1 and the rays that pour out from ,him owe their being and their motion to nothing but the force of that central fire1 from which they rush with healing on their wings4 ,if1 then1 ,god's love is not evoked by anything in ,his creatures1 then it is universal1 and we do not need anxiously to question ourselves whether we deserve that it shall fall upon us1 and no conscious unworthiness need ever make us falter in the least in the firmness with which we grasp that great central thought4 ,the sun1 inferior emblem as it is of that ,light of all that is1 pours down its beams indiscriminately on dunghill and on jewel1 though it be true that in the one its rays breed corruption and in the other draw out beauty4 ,that great love wraps us all1 is older than our sins1 and is not deflected by them4 ,so that is the first thing that ,christ's mission tells us about ,god's love4 ,the second is--it speaks to us of a love which gives its best4 ,john says1 ',god sent ,his ,son1' and that word reposes1 like the rest of the passage1 on many words of ,christ's--such as1 for instance1 when ,he speaks of ,himself as 'sanctified and sent into the world1' and many another saying4 ,but remember how1 in the foundation passage to which ,i have already referred1 and of which we have some reflection in the words before us1 there is a tenderer expression--not merely 'sent1' but 'gave4' ,paul strengthens the word when he says1 'gave up for us all4' ,it is not for us to speculate about these deep things1 but ,i would remind you of what ,i dare say ,i have had occasion often to point out1 that ,paul seems to intend to suggest to us a mysterious parallel1 when he further says1 ',he that spared not ,his own ,son1 but freely gave ,him up to death for us all4' ,for that emphatic word 'spared' is a distinct allusion to1 and quotation of1 the story of ,abraham's sacrifice of ,isaac3 ',seeing thou hast not withheld from ,me thine only son4' ,and so1 mysterious as it is1 we may venture to say that ,he not only sent1 but ,he gave1 and not only gave1 but gave up4 ,his love1 like ours1 delights to lavish its most precious gifts on its objects4 ,now there arises from this consideration a thought which ,i only mention1 and it is this4 ,christian teaching about ,christ's work has often1 both by its friends and its foes1 been so presented as to lead to the conception that it was the work of ,christ which made ,god love men4 ,the enemies of evangelical truth are never tired of talking in that sense2 and some of its unwise friends have given reason for the caricature4 ,but the true ,christian teaching is1 ',god so loved 444 that ,he gave4' ,the love is the cause of the mission1 and not the mission that which evokes the love4 ,so let us be sure that1 not because ,christ died does ,god love us sinful creatures1 but that1 because ,god loves us1 ,christ died for us4 ,the third thing which the mission of ,christ teaches us about the love of ,god is that it is a love which takes note of and overcomes man's sin4 ,i have said1 as plainly as ,i can1 that ,i reject the travesty of ,christianity which implies that it was ,christ's mission which originated ,god's love to men4 ,but a love that does not in the slightest degree care whether its object is good or bad--what sort of a love do you call that8 ,what do you name it when a father shows it to his children8 ,moral indifference2 culpable and weak and fatal4 ,and is it anything nobler1 if you transfer it to ,god1 and say that it is all the same to ,him whether a man is living the life of a hog1 and forgetting all that is high and noble1 or whether he is pressing with all his strength towards light and truth and goodness8 ,surely1 surely they who1 in the name of their reverence for the supreme love of ,god1 cover over the fact of ,his righteousness1 are mutilating and killing the very attribute that they are trying to exalt4 ,a love that cares nothing for the moral character of its object is not love1 but hate2 it is not kindness1 but cruelty4 ,take away the background because it is so black1 and you lower the brilliancy of whiteness of that which stands in front of it4 ,there is such a property in ,god as is fittingly described by that tremendous word 'wrath4' ,god cannot1 being what ,he is1 treat sin as if it were no sin2 and therefore we read1 ',he sent ,his son to be the propitiation for our sins4' ,the black dam1 which we build up between ourselves and the river of the water of life1 is to be swept away2 and it is the death of ,jesus ,christ which makes it possible for the highest gift of ,god's love to pour over the ruined and partially removed barrier and to flood a man's soul4 ,brethren1 no ,god that is worthy the name can give ,himself to a sinful soul4 ,no sinful soul that has not the habit1 the guilt1 the penalty of its sins swept away1 is capable of receiving the life1 which is the highest gift of the love4 ,so our twin texts divide what ,i may call the process of redemption between them2 and whilst the one says1 ',he sent ,his ,son that we should have life through ,him1' the other tells us of how the sins which bar the entrance of that life into our hearts1 as our own consciences tell us they do1 can be removed4 ,there must first be the propitiation for our sins1 and then that mighty love reaches its purpose and attains its end1 and can give us the life of ,god to be the life of our souls4 ,so much for my first and principle question4 ,,ii4 ,now ,i have to ask1 secondly1 how comes it that ,christ's mission says anything about ,god's love8 ,that question is a very plain one1 and ,i should like to press the answer to it very emphatically4 ,take any other of the great names of the world's history of poet1 thinker1 philosopher1 moralist1 practical benefactor2 is it possible to apply such a thought as this to them--except with a hundred explanations and limitations--that they1 however radiant1 however wise1 however beneficent1 however fruitful their influence1 make men sure that ,god loves them8 ,the thing is ridiculous1 unless you are using language in a very fantastic and artificial fashion4 ,christ's mission reveals ,god's love1 because ,christ is the ,son of ,god4 ,if it is true1 as ,jesus said1 that ',he that hath seen ,me hath seen the ,father1' then ,i can say1 ',in ,thy tenderness1 in ,thy patience1 in ,thy attracting of the publican and the harlot1 in ,thy sympathy with all the erring and the sorrowful1 and1 most of all1 in ,thy agony and passion1 in ,thy cross and death1 ,i see the glory of ,god which is the love of ,god4' ,brother1 if you break that link1 which binds the man ,christ ,jesus with the ever-living and the ever-loving ,god1 ,i know not how you can draw from the record of ,his life and death a confidence1 which nothing can shake1 in the love of the ,father4 ,then there is another point4 ,christ's mission speaks to us about ,god's love1 if--and ,i was going to say only if--we regard it as ,his mission to be the propitiation for our sins4 ,strike out the death as the sacrifice for the world's sin1 and what you have left is a maimed something1 which may be1 and ,i thankfully recognise often is1 very strengthening1 very helpful1 very calming1 very ennobling1 even to men who do not sympathise with the view of that work which ,i am now setting forth1 but which is all that to them1 very largely1 because of the unconscious influence of the truths which they have cast away4 ,it seems to me that those who1 in the name of the highest paternal love of ,god1 reject the thought of ,christ's sacrificial death1 are kicking away the ladder by which they have climbed1 and are better than their creeds1 and happily illogical4 ,it is the ,cross that reveals the love1 and it is the ,cross as the means of propitiation that pours the light of that blessed conviction into men's hearts4 ,,iii4 ,my last question is this3 what does ,christ's mission say about ,god's love to me8 ,we know what it ought to say4 ,it ought to carry1 as on the crest of a great wave1 the conviction of that divine love into our hearts1 to be fruitful there4 ,it ought to sweep out1 as on the crest of a great wave1 our sins and evils4 ,it ought to do this2 does it8 ,on some of us ,i fear it produces no effect at all4 ,some of you1 dear friends1 look at that light with lack-lustre eyes1 or1 rather1 with blind eyes1 that are dark as midnight in the blaze of noonday4 ,the voice comes from the ,cross1 sweet as that of harpers harping with their harps1 and mighty as the voice of many waters1 and you hear nothing4 ,some of us it slightly moves now and then1 and there an end4 ,brethren1 you have to turn the world-wide generality into a personal possession4 ,you have to say1 ',he loved me1 and gave ,himself for me4' ,it is of no use to believe in a universal ,saviour2 do you trust in your particular ,saviour8 ,it is of no use to have the most orthodox and clear conceptions of the relation between the ,cross of ,christ and the revelation to men of the love of ,god2 have you made that revelation the means of bringing into your own personal life the conviction that ,jesus ,christ is your ,saviour1 the propitiation for your sins1 the ,giver to you of life eternal8 ,it is faith that does that4 ,note that1 in the great foundation passage to which ,i have made frequent reference1 there are two conditions put in between the beginning and the end4 ,some of us are disposed to say1 ',god so loved the world that every man might have eternal life4' ,that is not what ,christ said1 ',god so loved the world that'--and here follows the first condition--',he gave ,his ,son that'--and here follows the second--'he that believeth on ,him should not perish1 but have everlasting life4' ,god has done what it is needful for ,him to do4 ,his part of the conditions has been fulfilled4 ,fulfil yours--',he that believeth on ,him4' ,and if you can say1 not ,he is the propitiation for our sin1 but for my sin1 then you will live and move and have your being in a heaven of love1 and will love ,him back again with an echo and reflection of ,his own1 and nothing shall be able to separate you from the love of ,god which is in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4 ,,the ,,servant ,,as ,,his ,,lord '444 ,as ,he is1 so are we in this world4'--#a ,john iv4 #ag4 ,large truths may be spoken in little words4 ,profundity is often supposed to be obscurity1 but the deepest depth is clear4 ,john1 in his gospel and epistles1 deals with the deepest realities1 and with all things in their eternal aspects1 but his vocabulary is the simplest in the ,new ,testament4 ,god and the world1 life and death1 love and hate1 light and darkness1 these are the favourite words round which his thoughts gather4 ,here are nine little monosyllables4 ,what can be simpler than1 ',as ,he is1 so are we in this world8' ,and what can go beyond the thought that lies in it1 that a ,christian is a living likeness of ,christ8 ,but the connection of my text is quite as striking as its substance4 ,john has been dwelling upon his favourite thought that to abide in love is to abide in ,god1 and ,god in us4 ,and then he goes on to say that ',herein'--that is1 in such mutual abiding in love--'is love made perfect with us'2 and the perfection of that love1 which is thus communion1 is in order that1 at the great solemn day of future trial1 men may lift up their faces and meet ,his glance--which is not strange to them1 nor met for the first time--with open-hearted and open-countenanced 'boldness4' ,but 'love' and 'abiding' are the source of confidence in the ,day of ,judgment1 because love and abiding are the source of assimilation to ,christ's life4 ,we have boldness1 'because as ,he is1 so are we in this world'2 and we are as ,he is1 because we love and abide in ,him4 ,so here are three thoughts1 the assimilation of the ,christian man to ,christ2 the frank confidence which it begets2 and the process by which it is secured4 ,i4 ,a ,christian is ,christ's living likeness4 ,that is a startling thing to say1 and all the more startling if you notice that ,john does not say ',as ,he was1' in this earthly life of humiliation and filial obedience1 but 'as ,he is1' in ,his heavenly life and reign and glory4 ,that might well repel us from all thought of possible resemblance1 but the light1 however brilliant it may be1 is not blinding1 and it is the ,christ as ,he is1 and not only--true as that is--the ,christ as ,he was1 who is the original of which ,christian men are copies4 ,now there is the difference between the teaching of such classes of religionists as represent ,christ's humanity as all in all1 and preach to us that ,he1 in ,his earthly life is the pattern to whom we are to seek to conform our lives1 and the true evangelical teaching4 ,that dead ,man is living1 and ,his present life has in it elements which we can grasp1 and to which every ,christian life is to be conformed4 ,is there anything1 then1 within the glory to which ,i1 in my poor1 struggling1 hampered1 imperfect life here on earth1 can feel that my character is being shaped8 ,yes1 surely there is4 ,i have no doubt that1 in the words of my text1 the ,apostle is remembering the solemn ones of our ,lord's high-priestly prayer as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of his gospel1 where the same antithesis of our being in the world1 and ,his not being there1 recurs2 and where the analogy and resemblance are distinctly stated--',i in ,thee1 and ,thou in ,me1 that they also may be in us4' ,so1 then1 when we stand with our letter-writer in his ,patmos island1 and see the countenance 'as the sun shining in his strength1 and the eyes as a flame of fire1' and the many crowns upon the head1 and the many stars in the hand1 though we may feel as if all resemblance was at an end1 and aspiration after likeness could only fall at ,his feet and cover its face1 yet there is within the glory something which may be repeated and reproduced in our lives1 and that is1 the indissoluble union of a ,son with a ,father1 in all loving obedience1 in all perfect harmony1 in all mutual affection and outgoing of heart and thoughts4 ,this is the centre of the life1 alike of the ,christ when ,he is glorified1 and of the ,christ when ,he was upon earth4 ,so the very secret heart of the mysterious being of the ,son is to be1 and necessarily is1 repeated in all those who in ,him have received the adoption of sons4 ,or to put the whole thing into plainer words1 it is the religious and the moral aspects of ,christ's being1 and not any one particular detail thereof2 and these1 as they live and reign on the ,throne1 just as truly as these1 as they suffered and wept upon earth--it is these to which it is our destiny to be conformed4 ,we are like ,him1 if we are ,his1 in this1--that we are joined to ,god1 that we hold fellowship with ,him1 that our lives are all permeated with the divine1 that we are saturated with the presence of ,god1 that we have submitted ourselves to ,him and to ,his will1 that 'not my will1 but ,thine1 be done' is the very inmost meaning of our hearts and our lives4 ,and thus 'we1' even here1 'bear the image of the heavenly1 as we have borne the images of the earthly4' ,now ,i am not going to dwell upon details2 all these can be filled in by each of us for himself4 ,the centre-point which ,i insist upon is this--the filial union with ,god1 the filial submission to ,him1 and the consequent purity as ,christ is pure1 righteousness as ,christ is righteous1 and walking even as ,christ walked1 for ever in the light4 ,but then there is another point that ,i desire to refer to4 ,i have put an emphasis upon the 'is' instead of the 'was1' as it applies to ,jesus ,christ4 ,i would further put an emphasis upon the 'are1' as it applies to us--',so are we4' ,john is not exhorting1 he is affirming4 ,he is not saying what ,christian men ought to strive to be1 but he is saying what all ,christian men1 by virtue of their ,christian character1 are4 ,or1 to put it into other words1 likeness to the ,master is certain4 ,it is inevitably involved in the relation which a ,christian man bears to the ,lord4 ,there may be degrees in the likeness1 there may be differences of skill and earnestness in the artist4 ,we have to labour like a portrait painter1 slowly and tentatively approaching to the complete resemblance4 ,it is 'a life-long task ere the lump be leavened4' ,this likeness does not reach its completeness by a leap4 ,it is not struck1 as the image of a king is1 upon the blank metal disc1 by one stroke1 but it is wrought out by long1 laborious1 and1 as ,i said1 approximating and tentative touches4 ,my text suggests that to us by its addition1 ',so are we1 in this world4' ,the 'world'--or1 to use modern phraseology1 'the environment'--conditions the resemblance4 ,as far as it is possible for a thing encompassed with dust and ashes to resemble the radiant sun in the heavens1 so far is the resemblance carried here4 ,some measure of it1 and a growing measure1 is inseparable from the reality of a ,christian life4 ,now1 you ,christian people1 does that plain statement touch you anywhere8 ',so are we4' ,well6 you would be quite easy if ,john had said3 ',so may we be2 so should we be2 so shall we be4' ,but what about the 'so are we'8 ,what a ghastly contradiction the lives of multitudes of professing ,christians are to that plain statement6 ',like ,jesus ,christ'--would anybody say that about anything in me8 ',so are we'--no words of mine1 dear brethren1 can make the statement more searching1 more impressive2 but1 ,i pray you1 lay this to heart3 ',if any man have not the ,spirit of ,christ1 he is none of ,his4' ,you may take sacraments and profess ,christianity1 or1 as we ,nonconformists have it1 'join churches1' and do all manner of outward work for ever and a day2 but if you have not the likeness of ,christ1 at least in germ1 and growing to something more than a germ1 in your characters1 you had better revise your position1 and ask whether1 after all1 you have not been walking in a vain show1 and fancied yourselves the servants of ,christ1 while you bear the image of ,christ's enemy4 ,a very tiny gully on a hillside1 made by showers of rain1 may fall into the same slopes1 and has been created by the very same forces1 working according to the same laws1 as have scooped out valleys miles broad1 bordered by mountains thousands of feet high4 ,and in my little life1 poor as it is1 limited as it is1 environed as it is by the world1 and therefore often hampered and stained1 as well as helped and brightened1 by its environment1 there may be1 and there will be1 in some degree1 if ,i am a ,christian man1 the very same power at work by which ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of the ,father shines as the sun on the throne of the universe4 ,but then1 notice further1 how that limitation to which ,i have referred in this world carries with it another message4 ,there is ,christ in the heavens1 veiled and unseen4 ,here are you on earth1 his representative4 ,there is a rage at present for putting pictures into all books1 and folk will scarcely read unless they get illustrated literature4 ,the world has for its illustrations of the gospel the lives of us ,christian people4 ,in the book there are principles and facts1 and readers should be able to turn the page and see all pictured in us4 ,that is what you are set to do in this world4 ',as the ,father sent ,me1 even so send ,i you4' ',as ,he is1 so are we in this world4' ,it may be our antagonist1 but it is our sphere1 and its presence is necessary to evoke our characters4 ,christ has entrusted ,his reputation1 ,his honour1 to us1 and many a man that never cares to look at ,him as ,he is revealed in ,scripture1 would be wooed and won to look at ,him and love ,him1 if we ,christian people were more true to our vocation1 and bore more conspicuously on our faces and in our characters the image of the heavenly4 ,,ii4 ,look for a moment at the second thought that is here3 such a likeness to ,jesus ,christ is the only thing that will enable a man to lift up his head in the ,day of ,judgment4 ',we have boldness1' says ,john1 because 'as ,he is1 so are we4' ,now that is a very strong statement of a truth that popular1 evangelical theology has far too much obscured4 ,people talk about being1 at the last1 'accepted in the beloved4' ,god be thanked1 it is true4 ,a sweet old hymn that a great many of us learned when we were children1 though it is not so well known in these days1 says3-- ',bold shall ,i stand in that great day1 ,for who aught to my charge shall lay1 ,while through ,thy blood absolved ,i am ,from sin's tremendous curse and shame8' ,i believe that1 and ,i try to preach it4 ,but do not let us forget the other side4 ,my text is in full accordance with the principles of our ,lord's own teaching2 and who knows the principles of ,his own words so well as the judge1 who tells us1 in ,his pictures of that great day1 that the question put to every man will be1 not what you believe1 but what did you do1 and what are you8 ,but this truth of my text has been not only wounded in the house of the friends of ,christianity1 but it has been overlooked by one of the very frequent objections that we hear made to evangelical teaching1 that1 according to it1 a man is judged according to his belief and not according to his deeds4 ,a man is judged according to his--not belief--but according to his faith4 ,but he is judged according also to--not his work--but according to his character4 ,and ,i wish1 dear friends1 to lay this upon your hearts1 because many of us are too apt to forget it1 that whilst unquestionably the beginning of salvation1 and the condition of forgiveness here1 and of acceptance hereafter1 are laid in trust in ,jesus ,christ1 that trust is sure to work out a character which is in conformity with ,his requirements and moulded after the likeness of ,himself4 ',the judgment of ,god is according to truth1' and what a man is determines where a man shall be1 and what he shall receive through all eternity4 ,remember ,christ's own teaching4 ,remember the teaching of that other apostle than ,john1 according to which the 'wood1 hay1 stubble1' built by a man upon the foundation shall be burned up1 and the builder himself be saved1 yet so as by fire4 ,and lay this to heart1 that it is only when faith works in us1 through love and communion1 characters like ,jesus ,christ's1 that we shall be able to stand--though even then we shall have to trust to divine and infinite mercy1 and to the sprinkling of ,his blood--before the ,throne of ,god4 ,lay up in store for yourselves a good foundation unto eternal life4 ,and take this as the preaching of my text2 character1 and character alone1 will stand the judgment of that great day4 ,there is no real antagonism between such truths and the widest preaching of salvation by faith4 ,it is the same man who1 in his gospel1 says1 as from the lips of the ,lord ,himself1 ',he that believeth is not judged1' and in his letter says1 ',we may have boldness in that day1 because1 as ,he is1 so are we in this world4' ,,iii4 ,one word about the last point2 the process by which this likeness is secured4 ,that is contained1 as ,i tried to show in my introductory remarks1 in the earlier part of the verse4 ,our love is made perfect by dwelling in ,god1 and ,god in us2 in order that we may be thus conformed to ,christ's likeness1 and so have boldness in that great day4 ,to be like ,jesus ,christ1 what is needed is that we love ,him1 and that we keep in touch with ,him4 ,what is it to 'abide' in ,him8--to direct the continual flow of mind and love and will and practical obedience to ,him1 to bear ,him ever in the secret place of my heart whilst my hands are occupied with daily business1 and my feet are running the sometimes rough race that is set before me4 ,think of ,him ever1 love ,him ever4 ,let ,his name be like a perfume breathed through the whole atmosphere of your lives4 ,keep your wills in the attitude of submission1 of acceptance1 of indecision when necessary1 and of absolute dependence upon ,him4 ,let your outward acts be such as shall not bring a film of separation between ,him and you4 ,when thus our whole being is steeped and drenched with ,christ1 then it cannot but be that we shall be like ,him4 ,even 'clouds themselves as suns appear1 when the sun pierces them with light4' ',abide in ,me1 and ,i in you4' ,you cannot make yourselves like ,christ1 but you can fasten yourselves to ,christ1 and ,he will give you power which shall make you like ,him4 ,but1 remember1 such abiding is no idle waiting1 no passive confidence4 ,it is full of energy1 full of suppression1 when necessary1 of what is contrary to your truest self1 and full of strenuous cultivation of that which is in accord with the will of the ,father1 and with the likeness of the 'first-born among many brethren4' ,dear friends1 lie in the light and you will become light4 ,abide in ,christ1 and you will get like ,christ2 and1 being like ,him1 you will be able to lift up your heads1 and rejoice when you front ,him on the ,throne1 and you are at the bar4 ,then1 when you are no more in the world1 the likeness will be perfected1 because the communion is complete4 ',we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ,,love ,,and ,,fear ',there is no fear in love2 but perfect love casteth out fear3 because fear hath torment4 ,he that feareth is not made perfect in love4'--#a ,john iv4 #ah4 ,john has been speaking of boldness1 and that naturally suggests its opposite--fear4 ,he has been saying that perfect love produces courage in the day of judgment1 because it produces likeness to ,christ1 who is the ,judge4 ,in my text he explains and enlarges that statement4 ,for there is another way in which love produces boldness1 and that is by its casting out fear4 ,these two are mutually exclusive4 ,the entrance of the one is for the other a notice to quit4 ,we cannot both love and fear the same person or thing1 and where love comes in1 the darker form slips out at the door2 and where ,love comes in1 it brings hand in hand with itself ,courage with her radiant face4 ,but boldness is the companion of love1 only when love is perfect4 ,for1 inconsistent as the two emotions are1 love1 in its earlier stages and lower degrees1 is often perturbed and dashed by apprehension and dread4 ,now ,john is speaking about the two emotions in themselves1 irrespective1 so far as his language goes1 of the objects to which they are directed4 ,what he is saying is true about love and fear1 whatever or whosoever may be loved or dreaded4 ,but the context suggests the application in his mind1 for it is 'boldness before him' about which he has been speaking2 and so it is love and fear directed towards ,god which are meant in my text4 ,the experience of hosts of professing ,christians is only too forcible a comment upon the possibility of a partial ,love lodging in the heart side by side with a fellow-lodger1 ,fear1 whom it ought to have expelled4 ,so there are three things here that ,i wish to notice--the empire of fear1 the mission of fear1 and the expulsion of fear4 ,i4 ,the empire of fear4 ,fear is a shrinking apprehension of evil as befalling us1 from the person or thing which we dread4 ,my text brings us face to face with that solemn thought that there are conditions of human nature1 in which the ,god who ought to be our dearest joy and most ardent desire becomes our ghastliest dread4 ,the root of such an unnatural perversion of all that a creature ought to feel towards its loving ,creator lies in the simple consciousness of discordance between ,god and man1 which is the shadow cast over the heart by the fact of sin4 ,god is righteous2 ,god righteously administers ,his universe4 ,god enters into relations of approval or disapproval with ,his responsible creature4 ,therefore there lies1 dormant for the most part1 but present in every heart1 and active in the measure in which that heart is informed as to itself1 the slumbering1 cold dread that between it and ,god things are not as they ought to be4 ,i believe1 for my part1 that such a dumb1 dim consciousness of discord attaches to all men1 though it is often smothered1 often ignored1 and often denied4 ,but there it is2 the snake hibernates1 but it is coiled in the heart all the same2 and warmth will awake it4 ,then it lifts its crested head1 and shoots out its forked tongue1 and venom passes into the veins4 ,a dread of ,god is the ghastliest thing in the world1 the most unnatural1 but universal1 unless expelled by perfect love4 ,arising from that discomforting consciousness of discord there come1 likewise1 other forms and objects of dread4 ,for if ,i am out of harmony with ,him1 what will be my fate in the midst of a universe administered by ,him1 and in which all are ,his servants8 ,oh6 ,i sometimes wonder how it is that godless men front the facts of human life and do not go mad4 ,for here are we1 naked1 feeble1 alone1 plunged into a whirlpool1 from the awful vortices of which we cannot extricate ourselves4 ,there foam and swirl all manner of evils1 some of them certain1 some of them probable1 any of them possible1 since we are at discord with ,him who wields all the forces of the universe1 and wields them all with a righteous hand4 ',the stars in their courses fight against' the man that does not fight for ,god4 ,whilst all things serve the soul that serve ,him1 all are embattled against the man that is against1 or not for1 ,god and ,his will4 ,then there arises up another object of dread1 which1 in like manner1 derives all its power to terrify and to hurt from the fact of our discordance with ,god2 and that is 'the shadow feared of man1' that stands shrouded by the path1 and waits for each of us4 ,god2 ,god's universe2 ,god's messenger1 ,death--these are facts with which we stand in relation1 and if our relations with ,him are out of gear1 then ,he and all of these are legitimate objects of dread to us4 ,but now there is something else that casts out fear than perfect love1 and that is--perfect levity4 ,for it is the explanation of the fact that so many of us know nothing of this fear of which ,i speak1 and fancy that ,i am exaggerating1 or putting forward false views4 ,there is a type of man1 and ,i have no doubt there are some of its representatives among my hearers1 who are below both fear and love as directed towards ,god2 for they never think about ,him1 or trouble their heads concerning either ,him or their relations to ,him or anything that flows therefrom4 ,it is a strange faculty that we all have1 of forgetting unwelcome thoughts and shutting our eyes to the things that we do not want to see1 like ,nelson when he puts the telescope to his blind eye at ,copenhagen1 because he would not obey the signal of recall4 ,but surely it is an ignoble thing that men should ignore or shuffle out of sight with inconsiderateness the real facts of their condition1 like boys whistling in a churchyard to keep their spirits up1 and saying1 ',who's afraid8' just because they are so very much afraid4 ,ah1 dear friends1 do not rest until you face the facts1 and having faced them1 have found the way to reverse them6 ,surely1 surely it is not worthy of men to turn away from anything so certain as that between a sin-loving man and ,god there must exist such a relation as will bring evil and sorrow to that man1 as surely as ,god is and he is4 ,i beseech you1 take to heart these things1 and do not turn away from them with a shake of your shoulders1 and say1 ',he is preaching the narrow1 old-fashioned doctrine of a religion of fear4' ,no6 ,i am not4 ,but ,i am preaching this plain fact1 that a man who is in discord with ,god has reason to be afraid1 and ,i come to you with the old exhortation of the prophet1 ',be troubled1 ye careless ones4' ,for there is nothing more ignoble or irrational than security which is only made possible by covering over unwelcome facts4 ',be troubled'2 and let the trouble lead you to the ,refuge4 ,,ii4 ,that brings me to the second point--viz41 the mission of fear4 ,john uses a rare word in my text when he says 'fear hath torment4' ',torment' does not convey the whole idea of the word4 ,it means suffering1 but suffering for a purpose2 suffering which is correction2 suffering which is disciplinary2 suffering which is intended to lead to something beyond itself4 ,fear1 the apprehension of personal evil1 has the same function in the moral world as pain has in the physical4 ,it is a symptom of disease1 and is intended to bid us look for the remedy and the ,physician4 ,what is an alarm bell for but to rouse the sleepers1 and to hurry them to the refuge8 ,and so this wholesome1 manly dread of the certain issue of discord with ,god is meant to do for us what the angels did for ,lot--to lay a mercifully violent hand on the shoulder of the sleeper1 and shake him into aroused wakefulness1 and hasten him out of ,sodom1 before the fire bursts through the ground1 and is met by the fire from above4 ,the intention of fear is to lead to that which shall annihilate it by taking away its cause4 ,there is nothing more ridiculous1 nothing more likely to destroy a man1 than the indulgence in an idle fear which does nothing to prevent its own fulfilment4 ,horses in a burning stable are so paralysed by dread that they cannot stir1 and get burnt to death4 ,and for a man to be afraid--as every one ought to be who is conscious of unforgiven sin--for a man to be afraid and there an end1 is absolute insanity4 ,i fear2 then what do ,i do8 ,nothing4 ,that is true about hosts of us4 ,what ought ,i to do8 ,let the dread direct me to its source1 my own sinfulness4 ,let the discovery of my own sinfulness direct me to its remedy1 the righteousness and the ,cross of ,jesus ,christ4 ,he1 and ,he alone1 can deal with the disturbing element in my relation to ,god4 ,he can 'deliver me from my enemies1 for they are too strong for me4' ,it is ,christ and ,his work1 ,christ and ,his sacrifice1 ,christ and ,his indwelling ,spirit that will grapple with and overcome sin and all its consequences1 in any man and in every man2 taking away its penalty1 lightening the heart of the burden of its guilt1 delivering from its love and dominion--all three of which things are the barbs of the arrows with which fear riddles heart and conscience4 ,so my fear should proclaim to me the merciful ',name that is above every name1' and drive me as well as draw me to ,christ1 the ,conqueror of sin1 and the ,antagonist of all dread4 ,brethren1 ,i said ,i was not preaching the religion of ,fear4 ,but ,i think we shall scarcely understand the religion of ,love unless we recognise that dread is a legitimate part of an unforgiven man's attitude towards ,god4 ,my fear should be to me like the misshapen guide that may lead me to the fortress where ,i shall be safe4 ,oh1 do not tamper with the wholesome sense of dread6 ,do not let it lie1 generally sleeping1 and now and then waking in your hearts1 and bringing about nothing4 ,sailors that crash on with all sails set--stunsails and all--whilst the barometer is rapidly falling1 and boding clouds are on the horizon1 and the line of the approaching gale is ruffling the sea yonder1 have themselves to blame if they founder4 ,look to the falling barometer1 and make ready for the coming storm1 and remember that the mission of fear is to lead you to the ,christ who will take it away4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 the expulsion of fear4 ,my text points out the natural antagonism1 and mutual exclusiveness1 of these two emotions4 ,if ,i go to ,jesus ,christ as a sinful man1 and get ,his love bestowed upon me1 then1 as the next verse to my text says1 my love springs in response to ,his to me1 and in the measure in which that love rises in my heart will it frustrate its antagonistic dread4 ,as ,i said1 you cannot love and fear the same person1 unless the love is of a very rudimentary and imperfect character4 ,but just as when you pour pure water into a bladder1 the poisonous gases that it may have contained will be driven out before it1 so when love comes in1 dread goes out4 ,the river1 turned into the foul ,augean stables of the heart1 will sweep out all the filth and leave everything clean4 ,the black1 greasy smoke-wreath1 touched by the fire of ,christ's love1 will flash out into ruddy flames1 like that which has kindled them2 and ,christ's love will kindle in your hearts1 if you accept it and apprehend it aright1 a love which shall burn up and turn into fuel for itself the now useless dread4 ,but1 brethren1 remember that it is 'perfect love' which 'casts out fear4' ,inconsistent as the two emotions are in themselves1 in practice1 they may be united1 by reason of the imperfection of the nobler4 ,and in the ,christian life they are united with terrible frequency4 ,there are many professing ,christian people who live all their days with a burden of shivering dread upon their shoulders1 and an icy cold fear in their hearts1 just because they have not got close enough to ,jesus ,christ1 nor kept their hearts with sufficient steadfastness under the quickening influences of ,his love1 to have shaken off their dread as a sick man's distempered fancies4 ,a little love has not mass enough in it to drive out thick1 clustering fears4 ,there are hundreds of professing ,christians who know very little indeed of that joyous love of ,god which swallows up and makes impossible all dread1 who1 because they have not a loving present consciousness of a loving ,father's loving will1 tremble when they front in imagination1 and still more when they meet in reality1 the evils that must come1 and who cannot face the thought of death with anything but shrinking apprehension4 ,there is far too much of the old leaven of selfish dread left in the experiences of many ,christians4 ',i feared thee1 because thou wert an austere man1 and so1 because ,i was afraid1 ,i went and hid my talent1 and did nothing for thee' is a transcript of the experience of far too many of us4 ,the one way to get deliverance is to go to ,jesus ,christ and keep close by ,him4 ,and my last word to you is1 see that you resort only to the sane1 sound way of getting rid of the wholesome1 rational dread of which ,i have been speaking4 ,you can ignore it2 and buy immunity at the price of leaving in full operation the causes of your dread--and that is stupid4 ,there is only one wise thing to do1 and that is1 to make sure work of getting rid of the occasion of dread1 which is the fact of sin4 ,take all your sin to ,jesus ,christ2 ,he will--and ,he only can--deal with it4 ,he will lay ,his hand on you1 as ,he did of old1 with the characteristic word that was so often upon ,his lips1 and which ,he alone is competent to speak in its deepest meaning4 ',fear not1 it is ,i1' and ,he will give you the courage that ,he commands4 ',god hath not given us the spirit of fear1 but of power1 and of love1 and of a sound mind4' ',ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear1 but ye have received the spirit of adoption1 whereby we cry ,abba1 ,father1' and cling to ,him1 as a child who knows his father's heart too well to be afraid of anything in his father1 or of anything that his father's hand can send4 ,,the ,,ray ,,and ,,the ,,reflection ',we love ,him1 because ,he first loved us4'--#a ,john iv4 #ai4 ,very simple words6 but they go down into the depths of ,god1 lifting burdens off the heart of humanity1 turning duty into delight1 and changing the aspect of all things4 ,he who knows that ,god loves him needs little more for blessedness2 he who loves ,god back again offers more than all burnt offering and sacrifices4 ,but it is to be observed that the correct reading of my text1 as you will find in the ,revised ,version1 omits ',him' in the first clause1 and simply says 'we love1' without specifying the object4 ,that is to say1 for the moment ,john's thought is fixed rather on the inward transformation effected1 from self-regard to love--than on considering the object on which the love is expended4 ,when the heart is melted1 the streams flow wherever there is a channel4 ,the river1 as he goes on to show us1 parts into two heads1 and love to ,god and love to man are1 in their essence and root-principle1 one thing4 ,so my text is the summary of all revelation about ,god1 the ultimate word about all our relations to ,him1 and the all-inclusive directory as to our conduct to one another4 ,to know that ,god loves1 and to love again--there is a little pocket encyclopdia in two volumes1 which contains the smelted-down essence of all theology and of all morality4 ,let us look at these three points4 ,i4 ,the ultimate word about ,god4 ',he first loved us4' ,properly and strictly speaking1 that 'first' only declares the priority of the divine love towards us over ours towards ,him4 ,but we may fairly give it a wider meaning1 and say--first of all1 ere ,creation and ,time1 away back in the abysmal depths of an everlasting and changeless heart1 changeless in the sense that its love was eternal1 but not changeless in the sense that love could have no place within it--first of all things was ,god's love2 last to be discovered because most ancient of all4 ,the foundation is disclosed last when you come to dig1 and the essence is grasped last in the process of analysis4 ,so one of the old psalms1 with wondrous depth of truth1 traces up everything to this1 ',for ,his mercy endureth for ever4' ,therefore1 there was time2 therefore1 there were creatures--',he made great lights1 for ,his mercy endureth for ever4' ,therefore1 there were judgments--',he slew famous kings 444 for ,his mercy endureth for ever4' ,and so we may pass through all the works of the divine energy1 and say1 ',he first loved us4' ,it is no accident that there are but foregleams of this great thought brightening the words and the thoughts of psalmist and prophet1 saint and sage1 from the beginning onwards1 while the articulate utterance of the simple sentence was first heard from the lips of ,him who declared the ,father1 and stands in that part of the ,book which1 both in its position there1 and in its date of composition is the last of the ,apostolic utterances4 ',god is love'2--that is in one aspect the foundation of ,his being1 and in another aspect the shining ruby set on the very sky-piercing summit of the completed process of the revelation of that ,being to man4 ',he first loved us'2 and thence1 from that centre and germinal point1 streams out the whole train of consequences in the divine activity1 and in the divine self-revelation4 ,i need not ask you to contrast with this infinitely simple and infinitely deep utterance all other thoughts of a divine ,being--the cold abstractions of ,theism1 the dim dreads of popular apprehension1 the vague utterances of any mythology1 the clouds that men's thoughts have covered over the face of this great truth--and then1 to set by the side of all these groping1 these peradventures1 these fears1 these narrow1 unworthy ideas1 the clear simplicity1 the infinite depth of ',he first loved us4' ,but ,i may ask you to consider1 but for a moment1 the relation which all the other perfection of the divine nature have to this central and foundation one4 ,there are all those pompous names1 ',omnipresence' and ',omniscience' and the like1 which are but the negations of the limitations of humanity or of finite creatures4 ,there are the more spiritual and moral thoughts of ,wisdom and ,righteousness and the like4 ,these are but the fringes of the glory3 ,i was going to venture to say that the divinest thing in ,god is love4 ,there is the central blaze2 the rest is but the brilliant periphery that encloses it4 ,and that infinite love stands to all these other attributes in the relation of being their master and motive spring4 ,they are ,love's instrument1 and in the divine nature ,love is ,lord of all4 ,they give it majesty2 it gives them tenderness4 ,we may reverently say1 in regard to the divine nature1 what the ,apostle says about our humanity1 that love is the 'bond of perfectness'--the girdle which1 braced round all the garments1 keeps them in their place4 ,for round these infinite1 innumerable1 unnameable1 and named divine perfections1 is that which brings them all into symmetry and keeps them all in harmonious action--,love4 ,he has wisdom1 and power1 and eternal being1 but ,he is ,love4 ,but do not let us forget that whilst thus my text proclaims the ultimate truth1 these other attributes1 as they are called1 are all smelted down1 as it were1 into1 and present in1 the love which is their crown4 ,the same ,apostle1 who has thus the honour of ringing out to the world the good news that ,god is ,love1 declares that 'this is the message' which he has to tell1 that ',god is light1 and in ,him is no darkness at all4' ,so the light of righteousness1 as well as the lambent flame of love1 burn together on that central fire of the universe4 ,we must not so conceive of the love of ,god1 as to darken the radiance of ,his righteousness1 or to obscure the brilliancy of that pure light which tolerates no admixture of darkness4 ,may ,i venture a step further1 and ask whether we are not warranted in believing that in that which we call the love of ,god there do abide the same elements as characterise the thing that bears the same name in our human experience8 ,the spectrum has told us that the constituents of the mighty sun in the heavens are the same as the constituents of this little darkened earth4 ,and there are the same lines in the divine spectrum that there are in ours4 ,so if we can venture to say of ,him1 ,he is ,love1 do not let us shrink from saying that then1 like us1 ,he delights in the companionship of ,his beloved2 that1 like us1 ,he rejoices in giving ,himself to ,his beloved2 that1 like us1 but infinitely1 ,he desires the good of ,his beloved2 and that1 like us1 ,he seeks only for the requital of an answering love4 ,all these things1 the joy of the ,lord in man1 the yielding of the ,lord to man1 the beneficent desire of the ,lord for the good of man1 and the hunger of the ,lord for the response of love from man--all these things are affirmed when we affirm that ,god is ,love4 ,our ,apostle would concur heartily in the great text which was the theme of a recent sermon4 ,paul said1 ',god establishes ,his love towards us1 in that while we were yet sinners1 ,christ died for us4' ,john says1 ',herein is love1 not that we loved ,god1 but that ,he loved us1 and sent ,his ,son to be the propitiation for our sins4' ,so the ,cross of ,christ is the one demonstration that ,god loved us4 ,looking to it we can say1 with a great modern teacher3-- ',so the ,all-great were the ,all-loving too1 ,so through the thunder comes a human voice1 ,saying ,oh6 heart ,i made2 a heart beats here1 ,face1 ,my hands fashioned1 see it in ,myself2 ,thou hast no power1 nor mayest conceive of ,mine2 ,but love ,i gave thee1 with ,myself to love1 ,and thou must love ,me1 who have died for thee4' ,,ii4 ,here we have the ultimate word as to our religion4 ',we love ,him1 because ,he first loved us4' ,there is a bridge wanted between these two1 and the bridge is supplied abundantly in this letter1 in entire harmony with the teaching of the rest of the ,new ,testament4 ,much has been said1 and profitably said1 with reference to the modification of the general type of ,christian teaching in the writings respectively of ,paul1 ,peter1 ,james1 and ,john4 ,i thankfully recognise the diversities4 ,they are not divergencies2 they are perfectly complementary1 and may all be made to harmonise4 ,this ,apostle of love has also declared to us how it comes that the love which burns at the centre of things1 where there is a heart1 kindles a responding love away out on the circumference of things1 where there are men with hearts2 and the bridge is--',we have known and believed the love that ,god hath to us4' ,so says ,john4 ,and ,paul1 the ,apostle of faith1 who sometimes seems as if his only conception of the link of union between ,god and man was1 on the part of man1 faith1 responds when he speaks of a faith which worketh1 comes to energetic operation1 through the love which it has kindled4 ,so we come to this1 that a simple trust in the love of ,god1 as manifested in ,jesus ,christ1 our ,lord1 is the only thing which will so deal with man's natural self-regard and desire to make himself his own object and centre1 as to substitute for that the victorious love to ,god4 ,you cannot love ,god1 unless you believe that ,he loves you4 ,you will never be absolutely sure of that1 unless you have learned it from the ,cross of ,christ4 ,you will not respond with the love that ,he desires1 but there will be a film between your ice and the fire that could melt it1 until that is swept away by the simple act of confidence in ,god manifested to you in ,jesus ,christ4 ,this is ,christianity2 this1 nothing less1 is religion--to love ,god1 because ,i believe that in ,jesus ,christ ,god has loved me4 ,and that is the only thing that ,he desires or accepts4 ,the ,religion of ,fear2 what is it8 ',thou wert an austere man 444 and ,i was afraid4' ,yes6 and what did you do when you were afraid8 ',i hid my talent in the ground1' and was utterly idle4 ,here rise1 on either side of the valley1 two mountains--,ebal and ,gerazim4 ,from the one were thundered the curses1 from the other broke the benediction of the blessings2 the one is barren1 the other is verdant--'which thing is an allegory4' ,the ,religion of ,fear does nothing1 the ,religion of ,love does all4 ,the ,religion of ,self-interest is narrow1 poor1 mostly inoperative of any lofty enthusiasm or high nobleness of character4 ,the ,religion of ,duty2 ',i ought to worship1 ,i am bidden to do this1 that1 or the other thing1 which ,i do not a bit like to do4 ,i am forbidden to do this1 that1 and the other thing which ,i should very much like to do1 if ,i durst'--that religion is the religion of a slave2 and there are hosts of us that know nothing better4 ,and so our ,christianity is a feeble and an uncomfortable thing2 and there are little joy1 and little subjugation of the will1 and little leaping up of the heart in glad obedience in it4 ,i was talking to a good1 aged man1 not long ago1 whose religion was of a very gloomy type4 ,he said to me1 ',as to love1 ,i know next to nothing about it4' ,ah6 brethren1 ,i am afraid that is true about a good many of us who call ourselves ,christians4 ,then let me say1 too1 that if we love ,him1 it will be the motive power and spring of all manner of obediences and glad services4 ,love is the mother-tincture1 so to speak1 which you can colour1 and to which you can add in various ways1 and produce variously tinted and tasted and perfumed commixtures4 ,love lies at the foundation of all ,christian goodness4 ,it will lead to the subjugation of the will2 and that is the thing that is most of all needed to make a man righteous and pure4 ,so ,st4 ,augustine's paradox1 rightly understood1 is a magnificent truth1 ',love6 and do what you will4' ,for then you will be sure to will what ,god wills1 and you ought4 ,if this be the summing-up of all religion1 a practical conclusion follows4 ,when we feel ourselves defective in the glow and operative driving power of love to ,god1 what is the right thing to do8 ,when a man is cold1 he will not warm himself by putting a clinical thermometer into his mouth1 and taking his temperature1 will he8 ,let him go into the sunshine and he will be warmed up4 ,you can pound ice in a mortar1 and except for the little heat generated by the impact of the pestle1 it will keep ice still4 ,but float the iceberg south into the tropics1 and what has become of it8 ,it has all run down into sweet1 warm water1 and mingled with the warm ocean that has dissolved it4 ,so do not think about yourselves and your own loveless hearts so much1 but think about ,god1 and the infinite welling up of love in ,his heart to you1 a great deal more4 ',we love ,him1 because ,he first loved us'2 therefore1 to love ,him more1 we must feel more that ,he does love us4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 here is the ultimate word about our conduct to men4 ,i said that ,john1 by leaving out any specification of the object of love1 as well as by the verses that immediately follow1 shows that he regards the emotion as one1 though its direction is two-fold4 ,that just comes to the plain truth1 that the only victorious antagonist to the self-regarding temperament of average men1 and the only power which will change philanthropy from a sentiment into a self-denying and active principle of conduct1 is to be found in the belief of the love of ,god in ,jesus ,christ1 and in answering love to ,him4 ,that is a lesson for many sorts of people to-day4 ,what they call altruism is no discovery of ,christianity1 but its practice is4 ,i freely admit that there is much honest and self-sacrificing beneficence and benevolence which are not connected1 in the men who practice them1 with faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,but ,i question very much whether these would have existed if the story of the ,cross had been unknown4 ,and sure ,i am that the history of non-,christian attempts to promote the brotherhood of man1 and to diffuse a wide and operative love of mankind1 teaches us1 on the one side1 that the emotion is not strong enough to last1 and to work1 unless it is based on ,god's love in ,jesus ,christ4 ,and the history of ,christianity1 on the other side1 though with many defects and things to be ashamed of1 teaches us1 conversely1 that wherever there is a genuine love of ,god1 its exterior form1 so to say1 the outside of it which is presented to the world1 will be true love to man4 ,christian people1 lay this to heart2 you are to be mirrors of the love to which you turn for all blessedness and peace4 ,it is of no use to say1 ',my religion is the love of ,god' unless the love of ,god is manifested in the love of man4 ,if you love ,god1 you will love those that ,god loves1 those for whom ,christ died1 those who are just like what you were when you learned that ,god loved you4 ,the service of ,god is the service of man4 ,one last word1 ',we love ,him1 because ,he first loved us4' ,do you8 ,or is it rather true of you3 ',i do not love ,god1 though ,he has loved me'8 ,i saw not long since1 up on the flank of a mountain1 an obstinate patch of snow1 that had fronted1 in unmelted cold1 months of the summer sun4 ,there are some of us who lift a broad shield of thick-ribbed ice between ourselves and the radiance of the warm heart of ,god4 ,oh6 brother2 do not shut that love out of your heart2 for if you do1 you shut out peace and goodness1 and shut in all manner of poisonous creatures and doleful shapes1 whose companionship will be misery and death4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,list of corrections and amendments made3 ,ephesians3 ,page #cf3 added closing quote after the event of our inheritance 7line #c7 #ajb3 gentle words ot to to #aed3 it added in what it is to hear #bfc3 ,preached on ,whitsunday was a footnote4 #bhf3 7,r4,v47 to 7,r4,v474 for consistency with other references4 #bhf3 please to understand to do #bhg3 we shoud be entitled to should #cia3 added -- and changed ,ephes4 to ,eph4 for consistency with other headings #cia3 added colon after ,mark its simplicity 7for grammar1 and there was a large space in the book7 ,peter and ,john3 #h3 ordisaster to or disaster #bh3 added close quote after that which is another's #cd3 added close quote after ,my heavenly ,father's ,kingdom4 #ci3 to y - to you in poetry #ff3 added -- after especially to recreation 7for sense1 and there was a large space in the book7 #hf3 ,caesarae ,philippi to ,csarea ,philippi #hh3 bow or stubborn to bow our stubborn #ii3 dicattes to dictates #ajg3 ever to even in quotation from #a ,peter ii4 #ba #aaf3 added opening quote before ,any man who #adf3 inadeqate to inadequate #agj3 ,it may be that he he4 ,duplicate word deleted #agc3 ,whose righteousness clothes to whose #baj3 added open quote before sea of glass 7by reference to ,rev #ae3b7 #bai3 slave has no resource - recourse #bai3 added opening quote before ,take that man's child #bdb3 added closing quote after like ,lebanon4 #bfj3 added closing quote after all sin4 #big3 added closing quote after ,my ,father2 #cjh3 added closing quote after at ,his coming #cac3 corrected #a ,john iv4 #i to #a ,john i4 #i 7the verse being quoted7