,,misread ,,passages      ,,of          
,,scripture4          ,,by      ,j4     
,,baldwin ,,brown1 ,b4,a41      ,author 
of 8,the ,divine ,life in ,man10 8,the  
,home ,life10 c41 c4        ,new ,york3 
,,carlton  ,,lanahan1      #hje1        
,,broadway4      #ahfi4                 
,,preface4      ,the accompanying       
,sermons on 8,misread ,passages of      
,scripture0 form part of  a series which
 the author projected1 but which through
 ill health he has  been unable to      
complete4 ,he sends them forth in this  
imperfect form1 in  compliance with the 
wish of the publishers2 and in the      
belief too that  the topics of some of  
them will not be without interest1 in   
the conflict  of thought on theological 
subjects which waxes rather than wanes  
year by  year4    ,the reader will see  
that much space has not been occupied   
with critical  discussions2 nor has the 
author gone out of his way to correct   
the  ,english version of the            
,scriptures4 ,he appreciates fully the  

value of  critical inquiries2 but it is 
wonderful how the sense of leading      
passages of the ,bible gets moulded1    
apart from1 and even in defiance of1    
critical considerations1 by the bias of 
the various theological schools4  ,each 
school makes1 if not its own version of 
the ,bible1 its own  interpretation of  
the leading passages2 and tradition     
plays an important  part in the         
,protestant as well as in the ,roman    
,church4 ,the text being  accepted1 each
 party makes its own version of it1 and 
widely different  senses are extracted  
from the same words4 ,hence it happens  
that  important passages of ,scripture  
have certain ideas associated with them 
in the popular mind1 which1 if they are 
erroneous1 are not to be  corrected by a
 simple announcement1 on competent      
critical authority1 of  the true        
rendering of the text4    ,the author of
 this little volume believes that there 
are some very  popular but very         
detrimental misapprehensions1 not of the

 true reading  only1 but of the true    
bearing of many important passages2 and 
he offers  this slight contribution     
towards a true understanding of them in 
the  earnest hope that it may stimulate 
some so to search the ,scriptures as  to
 find in them not the confirmation of   
cherished dogmas1 far less  stones for  
the slings of theological war1 but the  
,word of ,eternal ,life4                
,j4 ,,baldwin ,,brown4                  
,,clapham1      ,new ,year's ,day1      
#ahfi4          ,misread ,passages of   
,scripture4          ,i4    ,,the       
,,kingdom ,,of ,,christ4        8,my    
kingdom is not of this world40--,,john  
xviii4 #cf4      ,perhaps there is no   
passage of ,scripture more constantly   
misunderstood  than these simple words2 
and certainly there is no               
misunderstanding of  ,scripture which   
has exercised a more detrimental        
influence on the life  and development  
of the church4 ,the whole passage       
contains the very  marrow of the        

doctrine of ,christ concerning ,his     
kingdom4 ,it is the basis  of its       
constitution4 ,to this1 its subjects    
have rightly looked in all  ages for    
instruction as to its fundamental       
spirit1 principles1 and aims4  ,words   
more solemn1 more pregnant1 were never  
spoken in this world1 in  this universe1
 than these4 ,they were spoken at the   
very crisis of  universal destinies4    
,they form the dividing line between the
 two  eternities4 ,from eternity all    
things had been working towards that    
hour--the consummation of the           
incarnation2 and to eternity the        
influence  of that hour would go forth1 
remoulding1 regenerating all the worlds4
  ,beyond any words that have ever been 
spoken1 these words are worthy of       
intense and reverent attention4 ,they   
are the words with which the ,son of    
,god passed on to the cross1 that ,he   
might pass up to the throne4    ,the two
 kings stood there in presence4 ,the    
representative of the king of  this     

world1 who wielded all its force and    
guided all its movements1 the  man who  
had but to nod and the whole civilized  
world trembled and  obeyed2 and a ,king1
 the elements of whose kingship few     
could discern1  who wielded a strange   
power and produced a deep impression    
that ,he had a  right to rule over men1 
but who wore no signs of royalty and    
laid no  claim to the possession of this
 world's thrones4 ,nay1 a kingdom had   
been  forced on ,him1 and ,he escaped as
 from a deadly danger from the homage of
  ,his subjects1 while ,he spake to them
 such searching spiritual words that    
they conceived a great dread of ,his    
kingly commands and claims4 ,he bade    
them begin to rule themselves when they 
were dreaming of a splendid rule  over  
the gentiles2 and ,he turned inwards on 
the inner obliquity1  foulness1 and     
deformity1 those eyes which were        
watching eagerly for the  signs of an   
approaching advent of a glorious1       
celestial imperator to the  world4      

,jesus looked on ,pilate's kingship1 and
 fathomed it perfectly4 ,he  knew from  
whence the power sprang1 and by what    
springs it was fed1 which  seated       
,pilate's master on the world's imperial
 throne4 ,pilate found the  royalty of  
,jesus unfathomable2 none of his worldly
 experiences helped  him to understand  
it4 ,art ,thou a king then1 poor1 worn1 
tear-stained  ,outcast1 forsaken of     
every subject1 of every friend1 in the  
hour of ,thy  bitter need8 ,and yet the 
nascent smile of scorn was checked by   
something  which cast a spell even on   
that worn-out profligate's heart4 ,that 
lonely  wasted ,man there had that about
 ,him which made the representative of  
the  world's master afraid4 ,it seemed  
mere idle talk to a man like ,pilate3 8a
  kingdom not of this world20           
8witnessing to truth20 8disciples of the
  truth30 it was all childish to the    
trained intellect of this experienced   
ruler2 and yet there seemed to be some  
power beyond the grasp of his           

intellect1 which something within him   
recognised1 and which might create  and 
rule a kingdom after a fashion which    
till then had never even  crossed his   
dreams4 ,but to him the mystery remained
 insoluble4 ,he wrote  a title to which 
his instinct gave a reality that his    
intellect denied1  8,,jesus ,,of        
,,nazareth1 ,,king ,,of ,,the ,,jews40  
,and here in this passage we have  the  
,lord's own declaration of the          
constitution and aims of ,his kingdom2  
the kingdom which1 from that hour1 has  
been the ruling element in the  history 
of this world1 and1 as we learn from the
 ,apocalypse1 of all the  worlds of the 
great universe of ,god4 ,and men        
persistently misread it as  they misread
 ,him1 and employ ,his words as they    
employed ,his works1 to  frustrate the  
purpose for which ,he entered into the  
world4    ,let us see how the           
misunderstanding of these words arose4  
8,my kingdom is not of this world30     
literally 8not from10 originally 8out   

of0 this world4 ,a clear understanding  
of the full force of this will  give us 
the clue to the interpretation of our   
,lord's words4 ,there is an  old sense  
of the preposition 8of10 which closely  
corresponds with the  full sense of the 
word employed in the ,greek1 expressing 
8out of10  8springing from40 ,but 8of10 
like other words and other things1 in   
the  course of time has got weakened by 
the wear and tear of life2 and the      
sense 8belonging to10 8connected with10 
is its natural suggestion to  modern    
ears2 whereby the sense of our ,lord's  
words has been grievously  weakened too4
 ,did the ,lord mean to say1 8,my       
kingdom has nothing to do  with the     
institutions and arrangements of the    
worldly life of men3 you  need not fear 
any rivalry1 delegate of ,caesar2 ,my   
kingdom is in a quite  different sphere1
 and will keep there1 without touching  
yours3 it only  has to do with men as   
spiritual beings1 with a view to their  
final  destiny in the eternal state3    

keep to your secular province1 and we   
shall never cross or clash3 the two     
spheres are quite separate1 and  nothing
 but mischief can come of their         
commerce3 ,i leave you to rule2  leave  
,me to teach1 unfettered by conditions2 
for ,i aim at no influence  on earth1   
,my one object is to persuade men to    
live a life separate from  this world1  
as much detached as possible from its   
interests and  pursuits1 that they may  
enter into ,my heavenly kingdom when    
death  releases them1 and where the     
sphere will be all ,my own08 ,was this  
,his  meaning8 or did ,he mean to say1  
8,my kingdom is not out of this world2  
it  comes down into this world from on  
high3 this world is1 like man1 made  of 
the dust of the earth1 #8of the earth1  
earthy1' except some spirit  breathe    
into it from the higher world--then it  
lives3 ,my kingdom comes  to the        
kingdoms of this world1 the interests1  
aims1 pursuits1 and common  life of men1
 like this breath of ,divine            

inspiration3 without it they all        
languish and must perish2 with it they  
live3 it is a descent of heavenly       
truth1 heavenly love1 heavenly life1    
into the sphere of the earthly1 to  make
 it live anew2 the earth languishes for 
,my kingdom1 for without ,me  it dies3  
leave ,me free to fulfil ,my mission1   
not because this world is  nothing to   
,me1 and ,my kingdom will not trouble   
itself with its affairs1  but because   
,my truth1 ,my life1 ,my love are       
needful to the life of this  world as   
vital air to the body2 because all      
business1 all domestic life1  all       
friendship1 all society1 all government1
 all thought1 all art1 all  learning are
 waiting1 are panting1 for the living   
baptism which ,i bring4  ,i am not of   
the world1 ,my kingdom is not of the    
world1 in the springs of  its influence2
 it is essentially of heaven1 and from  
heaven3 but it  seeks the world as the  
sphere of its influence1 the field of   
its  conquest1 the realm of its rule4   

,with yearning desire1 eagerly as man   
yearns for fellowship1 a friend for the 
brother of his spirit1 the  bridegroom  
for the bride1 ,i seek and claim this   
world as ,my own08    ,here are the two 
ideas of the meaning of these words of  
our ,lord set  fairly against each      
other4 ,the number of those who would   
deliberately  adopt and justify the     
former is happily growing less year by  
year4 ,were  we caring only for formal  
misunderstandings of important passages 
of  ,scripture in these discourses1 it  
would be hardly worth while to discuss  
seriously a perversion which is         
vanishing with the changed aspects of   
the times4 ,but the spirit1 the savour1 
of an error continues long to  work     
after it has been formally exploded2 and
 we discuss this passage  in this       
present discourse under the strong      
conviction that the false  view which we
 have described above continues to      
tincture very deeply our  theology1 our 
preaching1 and our social ideas and     

habits1 even in those  who would utterly
 repudiate the formal idea of the       
,lord's kingdom on  which it rests4     
,some of the results of this            
misconception of the true nature of the 
kingdom have been as follow3--    #a4   
,the idea has been widely entertained   
that the aim of the ,lord has  been1 not
 to save the world1 but to save a chosen
 few out of the world1  leaving calmly  
the great mass to go to wreck4 ,the     
favourite notion has  been that the     
,lord's disciples have been in all ages1
 and still will be1  an isolated band1  
like ,israel in ,egypt2 hating the world
 around them1  hated by it1 and waiting 
only the happy opportunity1 the hour of 
deliverance1 to pass out of it          
triumphant1 and leave it to perish by   
the  strokes of the ,lord's avenging    
hand4 ,this idea1 that the ,church is a 
little band of chosen ones in the midst 
of a hostile and reprobate  world1 is a 
very favourite one with the disciples in
 all ages2 and it is  nourished by the  

tone in which the apostles wrote and    
spoke to the few  poor men and women who
 were to begin the work of restoration1 
and who  needed to be upborne against   
tremendous pressure by the assurance of 
the  special and personal intervention  
of the ,god of heaven on behalf of the  
little company whom ,he loved4 ,they    
needed a strong support against a  world
 which was bent on destroying them as it
 had destroyed their ,lord2  and so the 
apostle wrote1 8,but ye are a chosen    
generation1 a royal  priesthood1 an holy
 nation1 a peculiar people1 that ye     
should show forth  the praises of ,him  
who hath called you out of darkness into
 ,his  marvellous light4 ,which in time 
past were not a people1 but are now the 
people of ,god2 which had not obtained  
mercy1 but now have obtained  mercy40   
8,fear not1 little flock2 it is your    
,father's good pleasure to  give you the
 kingdom40 ,that the disciples have been
 the few in all ages  is alas only too  
palpable to those whose sight pierces no

 farther than  ,elijah's1 and who cannot
 fathom the secret things which are     
unveiled to  the eye of ,god4 ,but it is
 a dark heresy to believe that the ,lord
 meant  that ,his own should be the few 
in all ages1 and that the rescue of an  
election from the impending ruin can    
satisfy the heart of ,him who cried1  as
 the hour of ,his anguish drew nigh1    
8,and ,i1 if ,i be lifted up from the   
earth1 will draw all men unto me40      
#b4 ,closely associated with this is the
 notion that all which belongs to  the  
earthly life of men has a certain taint 
of evil upon it1 is corrupt  and        
corrupting in its very nature2 so that  
if a disciple touches it he  must touch 
it like pitch1 cautiously1 and expect   
contamination with all  his care4 ,that 
if he must enter into the world's       
activities1 buy1 sell1  and get gain1   
marry and give in marriage1 rule        
households and take part  in the        
government of states1 he must do it     
under protest and under the  spur of a  

sharp necessity1 and is bound to long   
anxiously for the time  when the need of
 all this will be over1 and he will be  
free to meditate  on ,divine things and 
to praise through eternity4 ,if         
,christ's kingdom be  not of this world1
 he argues1 then all which is of this   
world1 politics1  literature1 art1      
society1 trade cannot be of ,christ's   
kingdom2 and ,his  subjects1 hampered by
 these evil cares for a time1 must be   
ever looking  forward eagerly to the day
 when they will be freed from them for  
ever4  ,and this is the meaning which is
 constantly veiled under the phrase1    
8the coming of the ,lord ,jesus10 and   
expressed in the prayer1 8,even so1     
,lord ,jesus1 come quickly40    #c4     
,then further there is the notion that  
it is only in a very partial  sense that
 we can talk of ,christ's kingdom here1 
that it belongs  essentially to the     
future and eternal state1 and can only  
be fully  comprehended by him who can   
separate it in thought from all the     

blemishes and accidents of time1 and    
behold it1 pure from the defilement  and
 degradation of the earthly 7that is the
 human7 in this world1 in its  glorious 
,divine form in eternity4    ,and surely
 there is a great truth here4 ,the      
perfect image of it1 as  ,plato said of 
the polity of which he dreamed1 abides  
only in the  heavens2 and we need to    
refresh both courage and hope1 when we  
see the  blots and fractures of the     
kingdom here1 by contemplating the pure 
form  of it which abides in the heavens 
with ,god4 ,but dreams and              
contemplations will never bring it down 
from the heavens2 it is here1 or        
nowhere4 ,it is this earthly image which
 is to be translated into that  heavenly
 likeness2 and if we would be near to   
and like the ,king1 we must  follow ,him
 into the very heart of the world's     
business and throngs1 not  that we may  
seek ,his chosen there and rescue them  
from the world1 but  that we may rescue 
the world from all that makes it other  

than ,christ's  kingdom1 by driving out 
of it 8everything that defileth1 or     
worketh  abomination1 or maketh a lie10 
and thus purify its atmosphere1 cleanse 
the ducts and channels of its life1     
invigorate its energy1 and  consecrate  
its activity1 till it grows like its    
ideal in heaven4    ,and what has been  
the history of the kingdom8 ,since the  
first hour of  its establishment1       
perpetual intervention in an action upon
 the worldly  affairs of men4 ,it is    
literally true that ,dean ,milman's     
history of ,latin  ,christianity is the 
completest history of the ,western      
,european world  during the middle ages1
 extant in our language4 ,and why8      
,because during  the middle ages1 and   
until now1 the ,church has been the     
backbone of  human society4 ,all man's  
dearest interests and hopes have        
gathered  around the kingdom2 over its  
destinies1 and under its banners1 all   
man's  deadliest battles have been      
fought4 8,yes60 it may be answered2 8but

 this  is just the corruption of the    
kingdom2 because it mixed itself with   
worldly affairs1 and suffered worldly   
men to administer it1 it became  the    
centre and pivot of all the movements of
 human society40 ,but this  state of    
things was at any rate the confession   
that the men of this  world could not   
get on without the kingdom1 that when it
 was once  revealed it inevitably tended
 to gather around itself all the vital  
activity of the world4 ,since ,christ   
appeared1 men have felt everywhere  that
 they must place themselves and their   
concerns in some kind of vital  relation
 to the ,church4 ,and this has been the 
key to the public life of  ,christendom2
 in fact it has made ,christendom in    
opposition to  heathendom1 as the       
province of all the most cultivated and 
progressive  races of mankind4 ,the     
forms of relation which men created were
 no doubt  worldly enough2 but the sense
 that they needed the relation1 and must
  find it to live out a true man's life 

was not worldly1 but true1 noble1  and  
,divine4 ,the ,church from the very hour
 of the ascension of its ,head1  began  
to act on human society as incomparably 
the most powerful  influence extant in  
the world4 ,it literally re-made society
 from the  very foundations4 ,far from  
contenting itself with mastering the    
will of  individual subjects1 and wooing
 them away from the pursuits and        
interests of the world around them1 it  
entered the homes of men1 and  cast out 
the harpy passions which had befouled   
them2 it gave marriage  new sacredness1 
parents new authority and new           
responsibility1 and  children new       
grounds of obedience to their sires4 ,it
 entered the market  and established    
just weights and balances1 honest word1 
and loyal trust4  ,theft could be no    
virtue1 and lying no graceful           
accomplishment1 where it  established   
its reign4 ,it entered states1 and      
changed tyrants into  kings1 serfs into 
subjects1 slaves into freemen1 nobles   

into guardians1  pastors1 and captains  
of industry to the poor4 ,that very     
,rome which  doomed the ,king to a      
malefactor's death1 it entered as a     
conqueror1 and  it broke that proud     
empire to fragments4 ,the time came when
 ,rome could  live no longer in the     
moral atmosphere which it created2 and  
then it  summoned purer1 nobler1 hardier
 races to occupy the homes and to till  
the fields which ,rome had depopulated  
and destroyed4 ,it introduced its  laws 
into every code in ,christendom4 ,king  
,alfred begins his statute  book by     
reciting the laws of the kingdom of     
,god4,a ,in truth it has  penetrated and
 permeated every vein and fibre of human
 society1 and it  has made it all anew4 
,there is literally nothing with which  
you in this  nineteenth century can     
concern yourself1--trade1 literature1   
politics1  science1 art1 government1    
social and domestic life1 human rights1 
human  duties1 human powers1 human      
fears1 aspirations1 hopes and           

joys1--there  is not one element of our 
complex social and political life which 
is not  what it is1 because eighteen    
centuries ago the ,lord ,jesus witnessed
 this  good confession before ,pilate   
8,thou sayest that which ,i am1 a king40
  ,from the world it has asked nothing1 
taken nothing1 but its reverence  and   
love3 of the world in that sense it has 
never been4 ,but in the  world1 and     
through the world1 the stream of its    
heavenly virtue and life  has wandered1 
and the wilderness and the solitary     
place have been made  glad by it1 and   
the desert has rejoiced and blossomed as
 the rose4 ,it  has sought studiously to
 mix itself up with all the relations   
and  interests of mankind2 it has a word
 about them all1 it has a law for  them 
all2 the weight in the pedlar's bag1 the
 sceptre of the monarch on  the throne1 
are alike under its rule and cognisance1
 for it claims man  as man to be its    
subject4 ,it says that man was made to  
be the subject of  this kingdom1 and all

 man's life is the true domain of its   
sway4 ,it  looks upon this worldly life 
of ours--our life as men of this        
world--as  the most solemn1 most sacred 
thing in this universe2 ,god's school of
  culture of the beings who are to fill 
,his heavenly kingdom through  eternity4
 ,it cannot spare one relation of men1  
one art1 one industry1  one field of    
activity1 one interest1 one joy1 one    
hope1 one love1 from  its domain of     
empire4 ,the whole man1 the whole world1
 in the wholeness  of its life1 it      
claims absolutely2 and it aims to       
present the whole man  and his whole    
life1 body1 soul1 and spirit1 perfect   
before the presence  of ,his glory at   
last4 8,i beseech you therefore1        
brethren1 by the mercies  of ,god1 that 
ye present your bodies a living         
sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable  unto ,god1 
which is your reasonable service40      
,and now let me ask your attention to   
some principles which are suggested  by 
a true understanding of this statement  

of our ,lord4    #a4 ,his kingdom is not
 of this world4 ,it is from above1 and  
all the  springs of its power are above4
 ,the attempt to help it from beneath1  
to  bring the strength1 the riches1 the 
honour of this world to help the        
,spirit who is from above in the work of
 the kingdom1 cripples its  energies1   
frustrates its aims1 and exhausts its   
life4 ,its one power is  the power of   
truth2 8to this end was ,i born1 for    
this cause came ,i into  the world1 that
 ,i should bear witness unto the truth10
 said its ,founder  and ,king4 ,it has  
absolutely no other power4 8,every one  
that is of the  truth heareth my voice20
 and all the efforts of men to force1   
tempt1 or  bribe mankind to support it1 
but silence that witness1 which is all  
that  it asks to win the world to       
itself4    ,one can understand the      
argument of those who support a state   
establishment of religion and the whole 
apparatus by which men seek to  win for 
it the supremacy to which it rightfully 

aspires4 ,they say1 8,it  is of ,god1 it
 is the heavenly truth1 it is worthy of 
all that men can  give to it and of all 
the power which man can bring to bear on
 the  accomplishment of its work3 the   
state does itself honour1 and gives     
itself stability by supporting it2      
monarchs are never so royal as in       
lending to it their influence2 all the  
world's riches are never so  precious as
 when they are poured into its          
treasuries1 and are employed  in the    
promotion of its ends40    ,and this is 
no more than the simple truth4 ,the     
kingdom is worthy to  receive the       
tribute of all the monarchs1 the nobles1
 the wise ones1 the  rich ones of the   
world3 the more it has of the good-will 
and help of  every man1 from the king to
 the beggar1 the better for the kingdom1
 the  better for mankind4 ,all that we  
say is1 ,let it win them4 ,let it win in
  its own way1 by putting forth its own 
power1 the nursing care of the  noble1  
the rich1 and the wise4 ,leave it to    

employ its own spiritual  force to do   
this and all at which it aims4 ,lend    
your heart to it1 your  hand1 your      
tongue1 your pen1 your purse1 and       
everything else which it  can command   
and use to win its way to human hearts4 
,but if you bring  your human authority 
to bear to win from your subjects and   
dependants an  outward homage1 if you   
endow it with dead gifts administered by
 the  scribes and lawyers of this world1
 if you lend worldly pomp and power to  
those who claim to be its ministers1 you
 oppress and stifle it1 and  destroy its
 power of progress in the world4 ,it    
wants free air1 the free  air of willing
 obedience1 loyalty1 and love4 ,rob it  
of that1 it dies4 ,it  is not of this   
world4 ,every gift that is wrung for it 
from an unwilling  hand beggars it4 ,its
 riches are the gifts of free will4     
,mere gold1 with  no spirit of loving   
loyalty in the giver1 is worse than     
dross to it2 it  cankers and eats into  
its life4 ,the power which has troops of

 soldiers  and legal tribunals behind it
 blights it by its very breath4 ,all    
that it  asks is freedom2 power to do   
what ,christ did1 in the way in which   
,he did  it2 power to bear witness to   
the truth1 and weaken the long silent   
echoes of truth in human hearts4 ,we    
have cut off its heavenly  connection1  
and rooted it in the powers and policies
 of this world2 and  now we wonder that 
it languishes1 and that one half the    
people in a  ,christian kingdom believe 
nothing of its truth and care nothing   
for its  ,king4 ,oh6 for the days of    
apostolic trust and simplicity1 when the
  disciples1 8continuing daily with one 
accord in the temple1 and breaking      
bread from house to house1 did eat their
 meat with gladness and  singleness of  
heart1 praising ,god and having favour  
with all the  people40 ,oh6 for the     
baptism of ,pentecostal fire from on    
high4 ,oh6 for  one of the days of the  
,son of ,man1 whom the ,father sent into
 the world1  armed with no authority but

 that of truth1 clothed with no power   
but  that of love4 ,how eagerly then1   
eager as the thirsty earth when the     
sound of rain is in the sky1 would men  
drink in the words of ,him who had  more
 faith in the power of truth to conquer 
hearts than in the arms of  twelve      
legions of angels1 and whose supreme    
trust was in the  all-mastering force of
 a love stronger than death--a love that
 laid down  its life that death might   
not for ever tyrannise over the world4  
#b4 ,make your life1 your man's life in 
its wholeness the domain of its  empire 
in you4 ,beware of a double allegiance4 
,how earnestly and  emphatically the    
,lord denounces it3 8,ye cannot serve   
,god and ,mammon40  ,beware of yielding 
to ,christ a part of the empire which is
 all ,his own4  ,beware of that fatal   
distinction between the man as a        
,christian1 and the  man as a citizen1  
the man as a man of business1 which has 
grown out of  the misunderstanding of   
the principle laid down by our ,lord4   

,christian  saint1 ,christian           
worshipper1 ,christian citizen1         
,christian merchant1  ,christian parent1
 be ,christian wholly4 ,refuse to touch 
a thing in any  department of your      
activity1 which will not square with    
your ,christian  ideas and aims4 ,let   
your daily transactions be as freely    
open to  ,christ's inspection as to the 
world's honourable judgment3 let it be  
the  aim of your life at home1 abroad1  
in the shop1 the exchange1 the forum1   
to show what the laws of ,christ's      
kingdom can make of a life which is     
square with their precepts4 ,adorn the  
doctrine of ,god your ,saviour1 not  by 
fellowship with ,his people only1 but by
 winning men to worship ,him by  the    
spectacle of your diligence1 your       
industry1 your purity1 your truth1  your
 charity1 gentleness1 patience1 faith1  
and hope in ,god2 and when  they learn  
that these are the ,king's gifts to you1
 at once the signs and  the fruits of   
,his reign1 they will1 like the people  

of old1 break forth  into thanksgiving1 
and confess joyfully that ,god is with  
you of a  truth4    #c4 ,count it your  
chief work on earth to be ,his          
fellow-helper in ,his  kingdom2 help to 
win for ,him the empire of the world4   
,his kingdom is not of this world4 ,but 
it is over this world1 and it  claims   
this world as its own4 ,the ,lord has a 
heart so large that only  the world can 
fill it4 ,he uttered its whole longing  
as ,he entered the  cloud of the last   
agony3--8,and ,i1 if ,i be lifted up    
from the earth1 will  draw all men unto 
me40 ,bear witness in the world that the
 one thing  needful to it is ,christ4   
,tell statecraft that it needs the laws 
of the  kingdom1 to regulate its methods
 and to indicate its ends4 ,tell        
monarchs  that they need to observe the 
,monarch1 that their rule may be a      
benediction to loyal subjects instead of
 a curse to cringing slaves4  ,tell     
citizens that they need to become       
citizens of this kingdom1 that  the     

commonwealth on earth may be the image  
and the vestibule of the  commonwealth  
of the skies4 ,tell classes that they   
need the instructions  of this ,master1 
that society may be less a den of       
selfish contentions1  and more a field  
of gracious ministries and ennobling    
toils4 ,tell  commerce that she needs   
the inspiration of this duty1 that the  
dull1 the  common1 the base may be      
transfigured and wear the forms of      
beauty1  nobleness1 and truth4 ,tell    
life that it needs the quickening of    
this  spirit1 that it may not drop      
piecemeal through the corruptions of sin
  into the darkness and rottenness of   
the pit4 ,above all1 tell every soul    
that hears you1 that it needs ,christ1  
the living ,bread2 the bread of         
,christ's truth1 the bread of ,christ's 
life1 the bread of ,christ's love1  that
 it may not settle into the darkness of 
death for ever1 but 8have  everlasting  
life10 where ,christ lives and reigns at
 ,god's right hand  eternally4          

,,footnote3    ,a ,king ,alfred's 8new  
book of laws0 opens with the sentence1  
8,and the  ,lord spake all these words  
and said1 ,i am the ,lord thy ,god10    
etc4 ,then  follows the decalogue2 and  
then1 8,whatsoever ye would that men    
should do  unto you1 that do ye also    
unto them40 ,besides1 there are many    
passages  quoted from the word of ,god1 
with most wise reflections on them and  
applications of them to the matter in   
hand2 and then he proceeds to the  laws 
of the realm4          ,,ii4    ,,the   
,,dues ,,of ,c,,sar ,,and ,,of ,,christ4
        8,render therefore unto ,csar   
the things which are ,csar's2 and       
unto ,god the things that are           
,god's40--,,matt4 xxii4 #ba4      ,what 
things are ,csar's8 ,clearly the things 
which bear his image and                
superscription2 the things on which he  
has the right and the power to  imprint 
his mark4    ,what things are ,god's8   
,clearly those things which bear ,his   
immediate  mark and superscription1     

which belong to the diviner part in man1
 which  are in man by the breath of the 
,divine inspiration1 and which ,god     
claims1 and therefore has the right to  
claim directly and exclusively  for     
,himself4 ,the ,lord will not stand     
between ,csar and that which bears  his 
image2 let not ,csar dare to stand      
between ,god and that in man which      
bears ,his image1 and which ,he claims  
to rule directly by ,his word and by    
,his ,spirit indwelling in human hearts4
    ,this text is constantly quoted to  
justify the refusal to pay to ,csar  the
 tax1 be it church-rate or anything     
else1 which he may demand for the       
support of a spiritual system1 which we 
may not believe to be in  accordance    
with the ,divine will4 ,i confess that  
the teaching of our ,lord  in these     
words seems to me to point in precisely 
the opposite direction4  ,the argument  
which one often hears is to this effect3
 ,csar is intruding  into ,god's        
province when he demands anything from  

us for spiritual uses2  this is a       
department with which he has nothing    
whatever to do1 and we  are giving him  
that which is ,god's if we yield to his 
claims4 ,god alone  has the right to    
claim anything at our hand for spiritual
 uses2 and we  are wronging ,him1 we are
 robbing the ,lord of what political    
theologians  call ,his 8crown rights10  
if we give unto ,csar one farthing for  
the  maintenance of any ,church system  
or systems1 or any spiritual operations 
of any sort1 since these are of the     
things which belong to ,god alone4  ,the
 argument of our ,lord in these verses  
points surely the other way4  ,with ,him
 the test of the demand is not the      
purpose1 but the thing  demanded4 ,if   
what is asked has ,csar's image on it1  
enough2 let him have  it2 the           
responsibility of using it rests with   
him4 ,if ,csar asks that  which has not 
his image upon it1 which he cannot      
compel before his  tribunals or distrain
 by his officers1 such as your judgment1

 your  conscience1 and the support of   
your voice and your hand1 obey ,god     
rather  than man4 ,if you yield to      
,csar1 yield because you see that it is 
right  in ,god's sight1 that it is a    
duty to ,god to yield to him2 if you    
refuse1  refuse because to yield would  
be wrong in ,god's sight1 and then be   
prepared to sustain your refusal even   
unto death4    ,do not misunderstand the
 difficulty of the ,jewish rulers1 which
 was a  very real one4 ,it was a case of
 conscience with them4 ,they did not    
care  about the amount of the tribute1  
that was a small matter2 but ,csar was  
a ,gentile1 idolatrous prince4 ,idolatry
 was the state religion of the  ,roman  
empire4 ,it was a bitter thought to the 
,jew that an idolater1 one  capable of  
setting up his own image in the holy of 
holies1 should rule  over him and exact 
his tribute4 ,was it not a betrayal of  
duty to ,god to  consent to it8 ,was it 
not right to suffer any extremities     
rather than  yield to the imperial      

claims8 ,there was a party among the    
,jews who felt  so grievously the       
degradation and the burden on their     
consciences1 that  they were in a       
chronic state of rebellion against      
,rome4 ,they were always  seeking to    
foment the differences between their own
 and the ,roman  government2 and they   
were prepared to stake their own lives  
and the life  of the nation on their    
fealty1 as they understood fealty1 to   
,god alone4  ,it was one of the         
questions most eagerly debated among    
them1 which they  asked the ,saviour to 
solve4 ,a case of                       
conscience1--conscience grieved by      
being compelled to support a system of  
government other than that which  they  
believed had been ordained to them of   
,god4 ,our ,lord's solution is  most    
original and striking2 and it offers the
 clearest guidance to us  through the   
multitude of kindred perplexities which 
cannot fail to arise  by reason of the  
ever varying relations of the secular   

and spiritual  powers in every age of   
the world4 7,matt4 xxii4 #ae-bb47 ,the  
image on the  tribute money settled the 
matter4 ,this is prim facie evidence    
that  ,csar has a right to claim it4    
,the power of putting an image on the   
money marks it as a thing between you   
and ,csar4 ,you accept it and use  it in
 daily life1 at ,csar's hand4 ,that     
image on the penny1 the right of        
coining money being represented by it1  
is the symbol of all the order  and     
benediction which flow to you from      
,csar's rule2 and ,csar's right  to     
exact it back again is distinctly a     
question between you and the  earthly   
monarch1 into which you have no right to
 drag1 for the purpose  of protest1 the 
name of ,god4 ,csar is ordained of ,god 
to take visible  charge of this         
department1 the order of civil society2 
and he and you  must settle between you 
the fair adjustment of his claims4 ,a   
piece of  money bearing ,csar's image is
 no battleground for the rights of ,god4

  ,pay whatever ,csar asks for his      
purposes1 no matter what they may be1 so
  long as by using ,csar's mintage you  
give the stamp of your acquiescence  to 
his rule2 and if his purposes seem to   
you to be wrong1 fight him with  nobler 
things than pennies--with voice and pen1
 the free utterance of  opinion1 and1 if
 needs must be1 in the last extremity1  
with swords4    ,if ,csar asks your     
homage to his idol1 the bending of your 
knee1 or the  acclamation of your voice1
 the answer is clear1--,thy image and   
superscription are not here2 my knee is 
for my ,god1 my voice is for my  ,god2  
and all the powers of the universe      
cannot bend the one or awaken  the other
 without my will4 ,here ,i follow the   
,divine precedent3  8,nebuchadnezzar    
spake10 etc4 7,dan4 iii4 #ad-ah47 ,but  
if ,csar asks my  pennies for any       
purpose which he comprehends within the 
aim of his  government1 let him have    
them2 they clearly belong to his sphere4
 ,i  scorn to hold back what his force  

can wring from me the next moment2  they
 are his1 the responsibility of taking  
them is his1 and the  responsibility of 
using them is his4 ,if ,i am not        
satisfied with his use  of them1 ,i have
 nobler means of protest and influence2 
or1 in the last  extremity1 ,i can go   
forth from his empire and have done with
 him and his  pennies for ever4    ,this
 is the principle on which it seems to  
me right to act in  church-rate matters4
 ,suppose that one were living in a     
neighbourhood in  which the church of   
the district had been built under a     
special act of  parliament1 to be paid  
for by a rate levied on the householders
 during a  term of years4 ,it would be  
our duty to pay year after year our     
share of  the tax which parliament      
imposed4 ,the money asked for has       
,csar's image  and superscription on it3
 by using it we consent to ,csar's sway4
 ,we  have no right to pick and choose  
which claims of a government we will    
honour1 and which we will refuse4 ,we   

get the good of the government as a     
whole1 and we pay its claims as a whole1
 always endeavouring by moral  means to 
secure that the adjustment shall be     
righteous and fair4 ,and so  it may     
become a clear duty to pay for the      
building of a church which we  never    
enter1 and whose minister regards our   
ministry as an unauthorized  and        
mischievous intrusion on his sacred     
domain4 ,if the ,church1 by  ,csar's    
ministry1 will have our tribute money1  
we say1 ,take it2 and if  the demand be 
very harsh or peremptory1 we say1 ,take 
it1 in very scorn4  ,but ,god forbid    
that we should ever consent to belong to
 a ,church which  can condescend to take
 tribute by force of the unwilling1 and 
which  gives the adversary thereby such 
strong temptation to blaspheme4    ,such
 seems to me to be the bearing of this  
principle on this and kindred           
questions4 ,it seems to me distinctly to
 enjoin on us the course which it  is   
constantly quoted as denouncing4 ,the   

money ,csar needs1 for the  carrying on 
of his government in the best way he    
can1 is the first  charge on the        
property which the order of civil       
society suffers us to  possess and      
enjoy4 ,god claims none till ,csar is   
satisfied2 for ,csar's  claim is ,his   
ordinance4 ,having satisfied ,csar1 take
 counsel with him  about the rest4      
,but these reflections open up many1    
some of them perplexing1 questions1  on 
which this seems to me a good           
opportunity to offer some brief remark4 
#a4 ,does not ,christ in this place seem
 to recognise some divided              
allegiance--man under two masters1 owing
 duty to ,csar1 owing duty to  ,god8    
,will he not be puzzled perpetually to  
determine their limits1 and  to settle  
what is secular and what is sacred8 and 
is there not something  repugnant to the
 very essence of ,christianity in the   
idea that man at  any moment1 in any    
relation1 can have to do with another   
being than ,god8  ,is not ,god the sole 

,lord of his being and of his life8     
,what can be  ,csar's1 in               
contradistinction to that which is      
,god's8 ,i think ,i have  learnt from   
the ,scripture1 and ,i am always        
preaching the doctrine1 that  ,god      
claims the man in his wholeness2 that   
body1 soul1 and spirit1  riches1        
knowledge1 power1 and love1 all belong  
to ,him2 that there is but  one empire1 
one service1 one ,king2 that life is    
simple1 simple as the  infinite ,god4   
8,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god    
with all thy heart1 and  soul1 and mind1
 and strength10 8and ,him only shalt    
thou serve40  8,this do1 and thou shalt 
live40 ,what claim can ,csar have on man
 then1  which is not also ,god's claim8 
,what tribute can one pay to ,csar1     
which  is not also paid to ,god8 ,none1 
absolutely none4 ,the ,lord recognises  
no  divided allegiance2 ,his words      
rightly understood are in perfect       
harmony  with the doctrine of ,his own  
sole and supreme lordship over every    

thought1 every passion1 and every       
possession of man4 8,render unto ,csar  
the things which are ,csar's40 ,why8    
,who ordains it8 ,who has the right  to 
demand it8 ,god4 ,within the sphere of  
,csar's government1 obey him1  not      
because ,csar can force you1 but because
 ,god will have you2 make it  a part of 
your ,divine obedience1 to obey wisely  
and loyally as a subject  and a citizen2
 and consider that ,csar claims your    
service within the  sphere which belongs
 to him1 as the ordained minister and   
representative  of ,god4 ,there is no   
secular and sacred since ,christ        
appeared4 ,it is all  sacred4 ,civil    
obedience is an ordinance of the        
,church4 ,the ,scripture  bears most    
explicit witness to these principles    
wherever it touches on  the relations of
 civil society and its institutions4 7#a
 ,pet4 ii4 #ac-ag2  ,rom4 xiii4 #a-g2 #a
 ,tim4 ii4 #a-d47 ,it is ,god's         
institution4 ,he sustains  it2 ,he1     
through the ruler1 claims your tribute2 

the result1 the order  and progress of  
society1 is ,his work4 ,innocent ,,iii4 
was right1 though in  a sense of which  
he little dreamed4 ,the moon has its own
 relation to the  earth2 but they have a
 common relation to the sun4 ,the moon's
 orbit is  included in the earth's      
orbit2 but the sun sways and balances   
both of  them1 and there is not a       
movement of the moon in obeying the     
inferior  earthly attraction which is   
not also an act of obedience to the     
superior  sphere4 ,so ,god has set us   
under rulers1 in societies1 as a kind of
  interior province of ,his kingdom2 but
 our loyalty as subjects1 our duty  as  
citizens1 are alike part of the one duty
 which we owe to ,god4 ,there  is no    
schism in the body of our service1 no   
double authority in our  ,lord's realm4 
,the two worlds1 the two services1 the  
two spheres1 are one  in ,christ4 8,one 
is your ,master1 even ,christ40 8,thou  
shalt worship  ,him1 and ,him1 only     
shalt thou serve40    #b4 ,it is needful

 to inquire how far this principle of   
obedience is to  carry us4    ,if the   
money has ,csar's image and             
superscription1 let him have it2 he  has
 a right to it1 and in recognising that 
right we are fulfilling so  far our duty
 to ,god4 ,here is a clear and simple   
principle3 but is it a  sufficient      
guidance8 does it provide for all the   
possible exigencies of  social and      
political life8 ,how about the right of 
resisting ,csar1 when  he rules         
unrighteously8 ,how about ,john         
,hampden's refusal of the  ship-money1  
and the grand and glorious struggle     
which it inaugurated1 by  which our     
liberties were won8 ,this is a very     
grave and important  question1 and one  
which1 having voluntarily selected such 
a subject as  this1 we have no right to 
pass by4 ,there is a ,divine precedent  
here4 7#a  ,kings xii4 #ab-bd47 ,what is
 it which is ordained of ,god in        
government8  ,not any particular king1  
nor any particular form or institution1 

but the  good of men in the order of    
civil society4 ,this it is at which ,god
 aims1  and to this end kings and       
institutions are ,his ministers4 ,the   
king or  institution which may best     
assure this end is the open question in 
the  settlement of which ,god demands   
the concert and co-operation of mankind4
  ,every king1 every magistrate1 every  
political institution1 has a certain    
,divine sanction1 inasmuch as it is the 
keystone of the arch which ,he has      
built1 and under whose sheltering dome  
we live and work4 ,but a keystone       
which1 instead of securing the arch1    
threatens its stability1 has no  ,divine
 sanction longer than for the time      
during which it can be  successfully    
replaced or repaired4 ,the ,divine      
shield is cast1 not around  the         
particular king1 but around the society 
and the civilization of  which he is the
 head4 ,it is only in the unity of the  
society that the  ,lord's sanction      
upholds him2 let him mar that unity or  

distract it1 and  ,god passes to the    
side of those who are seeking to set up 
a new and real  keystone in his room4   
,there is nothing like the duty of      
passive  obedience to tyrants implied in
 the text1 or enjoined in the word of   
,god4 8,render unto ,csar the things    
which are ,csar's10 while ,csar is  the 
recognised lord4 ,in those crises of    
history in which ,csar has to be        
weighed in the balance1 in which the    
question has to be tried1 ,who is  king 
and by what rule shall he reign8 godly  
men have to keep clear  before the      
mind's eye what ,god means by human     
society1 what ,he aims at1  and to help 
,him1 yes1 help ,him to secure it4 ,if  
no ,csar be worth  recognising1 or ,csar
 be altogether too bad to be borne1 then
 refuse his  tribute1 resist his        
myrmidons1 draw the sword of the ,lord  
and of ,gideon  to strike for           
deliverance4 ,the ,lord is the ,csar of 
such an hour2 the  ,captain of the      
,lord's host1 ,his sword drawn in ,his  

hand as at ,jericho1  is in these times 
of revolution busy among men4 ,they best
 honour ,csar  and serve ,christ in such
 hours1 who have the clearest eye for   
the good  of the commonwealth1 and who  
prepare the way for the reign of a ,csar
  who1 like ,david1 shall rule according
 to the will of ,god4 ,the sacred  sense
 of the obligations of a subject or a   
citizen which those cherish1  who have  
learnt from ,christ 8by whom kings reign
 and princes decree  judgment10 and who 
know that obedience to the powers that  
he is a form  of obedience to ,god1     
makes them patient1 beyond the measure  
of mere  political patience1 of the     
weaknesses1 follies1 and sins of the men
 who  occupy the world's high places2   
while it makes them stern and firm as   
death when ,god has pronounced the      
sentence of deposition1 and has bared   
the avenging sword and committed it to  
their hands4 ,these are the men  who1   
like ,cromwell1 do their work with a    
terrible force and  completeness1 and   

who read lessons in ,god's name to      
,csars1 which remain  doctrinal through 
all time4    #c4 ,surely our ,saviour   
intends us to understand how little     
money1 or  anything with ,csar's image  
and superscription upon it1 can do to   
make  or to mar the fortunes of ,god's  
kingdom1 which spreads and rules like   
the dawn1 like the moisture in the south
 wind1 like the blush of spring1  like  
the splendour of summer1 like everything
 that is quickened by the  breath of    
,god4 ,tribute6 ,we are always          
perplexing ourselves about  tribute--a  
steady stream of regular contributions1 
a flood-tide of  golden gifts4 ,it is   
our measure of power4 ,quite other is   
,christ's4 ,his  power flashes like     
lightning from one part under heaven1   
and shineth to  the other part which is 
under heaven4 ,the world flashes into   
light1  glows into life in a moment1    
when the times of refreshing1 of        
quickening1 come down from ,god4 ,men   
catch it from each other's eyes1  each  

other's lips4 ,it spreads as flame1 and 
gathers strength as it  widens its      
circuit4 ,money1 social and political   
influence1 the force of  this world1 all
 that seems solid and potent to men     
while they are  enacting the masque of  
life which we call living1 faint back   
like  rushlights in the lightning's     
flash1 like aged institutions in the    
hour  of revolution1 when the breath of 
the ,spirit as at ,pentecost is falling 
on the world4 ,i speak1 and ,i am quite 
sure the sacred writers spoke1 in  no   
scorn of money4 ,no thing is base3 we   
keep our hate1 our scorn1 for  base     
spirits1 not for things4 ,but for money 
,paul must have starved1 and  the       
kingdom must have perished in its birth4
 ,what the ,lord means us to  understand
 is that money is the inevitable        
satellite of higher things4  ,spirits in
 earnest movement sweep it with them in 
their course1 as the  earth sweeps its  
atmosphere4 ,give us hearts of fire1    
fire that kindles  and flashes from     

heart to heart1 from peak to peak of the
 human2 and  what work will wait long   
for gold8 ,men who in common levels of  
interest  dole out their tens and       
hundreds1 and feel some dull glow of    
satisfaction stirring the stagnation of 
their hearts1 scatter forth  their      
thousands when ,god fires their spirits1
 and their whole being is  alive and    
thrills with joy4 ,money6 nothing       
greatly spiritual was ever  made by     
money1 or was ever marred by money in   
this world4    ,there is a touch of     
scorn in the ,saviour's words1 8,shew me
 the tribute  money40 ,scorn of the vain
 worldly mind that was perplexing itself
 about  tribute1 while the love of ,god 
and the belief in judgment were fast    
dying out of human hearts4 ,one sacred  
conviction in their hearts would  have  
answered the question1 and lifted them  
above the sphere of  tribute--as ,paul  
was lifted--into the region of that     
kingdom which would  sweep ,csar's as a 
satellite in its sphere4 ,did the ,lord 

foresee sadly  the scene from which a   
few dark days divided them1 when they   
would yield  to ,csar--these men1 who   
were groaning and haggling over the     
tribute--absolutely everything that was 
,god's8 7,john xix4 #g-af74    ,the     
leader of the band who turned the world 
upside down witnessed this  confession1 
8,silver and gold have ,i none2 but such
 as ,i have give ,i  thee3 in the name  
of ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth1 rise up 
and walk40 ,they  were poor as beggars1 
but richer in power to draw forth the   
treasures  of this world than kings4    
,what king's command could have wrought 
this  miracle8 8,and the multitude of   
them that believed were of one heart and
  of one soul3 neither said any of them 
that ought of the things which he       
possessed was his own2 but they had all 
things common40 7,acts iv4 #cb47  ,in   
truth1 this love of ,christ is the      
universal solvent4 ,nothing remains  any
 man's own when once the heart is       
touched by this ,divine fire4 ,it  melts

 all selfish separations and            
appropriations1 as sun warmth the  bonds
 of winter1 and quickens in the         
universal human heart the glow and      
circulation of the spring4 ,nothing     
starves in summer for want of the  bread
 that perishes2 supplies lie thick      
everywhere around4 ,and no ,divine  work
 stays for lack of the gold that        
perishes1 when once the sun of the      
,divine love has loosed men's hearts    
from the winter of their isolation  and 
selfish grasping care4 ,don't worry     
about the tribute4 8,trust in the       
,lord1 and do good10 and things will    
right themselves at once4 ,tribute  will
 pour into the treasury1 and even the   
exactors shall become  ministers and    
yield their willing aid4 8,thine        
officers shall become  peace1 and thine 
exactors righteousness40 8,kings shall  
be thy nursing  fathers1 and queens thy 
nursing mothers40 8,violence shall be no
 more  heard in thy land1 wasting nor   
destruction within thy borders10 if the 

,king is in thy palaces2 if thy heart1  
soul1 and hand are loyally devoted  to  
,christ4 ,i often think1 in these days  
of grand ,christian institutions1  with 
their vast fixed incomes and endowments1
 and all the magnificent  apparatus     
without which it seems to us the ,lord's
 kingdom must perish  out of this land  
and out of the world1 of the little     
company who trudged  wearily about the  
highways of ,palestine1 seeking their   
morning meal from  the fig-tree by the  
wayside1 and lodging wherever a poor    
cottager's  faith and love gave them    
shelter for a night1 and who1--beggars  
as to  the things which were ,csar's1   
but filled as never men were filled     
before or since with the things which   
were ,god's1 faith1 hope1 joy1  truth1  
wisdom1 and ,divine charity--went forth 
in this their might and  re-made        
society3 the grandest revolution in the 
history of this  universe1 accomplished 
by its beggars and1 as the world        
thought1 its  fools4 ,and the fact      

repeats itself in every revolution4 ,let
 a man in any  age go forth with the    
fire of ,god in him2 and the force he   
wields1 the  mastery he wins1 the new   
life he quickens in a nation1 in a      
world1 pours  silent contempt on gold4  
,the gold is gathered1 as spirit gathers
 flesh  about it and becomes incarnate2 
so all that belongs to ,csar's sphere is
  at the commandment of that which comes
 straight from ,god's and glows  with   
the inspiration of ,his life4 ,gifts of 
a splendid lavishness in such  seasons  
are abundant2 and strangely enough the  
givers feel enriched  unspeakably by the
 joy of giving1 enlarged immeasurably by
  impoverishment1 and increased by      
abnegation4 ,the richest in such seasons
  are those who give most1 not those who
 have most4 ,a wonderful sense of  the  
glorious wealth of a heart which has a  
guest-chamber for ,christ1 and  whose   
pulses beat joyously as the free tide of
 the ,divine love flows  through and    
over it on all around1 kindles men's    

souls to a new  conception of riches4   
,it fills the beatitudes with a         
wonderful meaning1  and shows the       
sorrows and straits of poverty          
overflowed by the riches  and joys of   
,god4          ,,iii4    8,,unto ,,this 
,,last40        8,i will give unto this 
last1 even as unto thee40--,,matt4 xx4  
#ad4      ,these words appear at first  
sight to set us very decisively face to 
face  with the sovereignty of ,god1 in  
its sternest and most naked             
form--affirming its right to distribute 
its gifts and payments at its  pleasure1
 and refusing to consider the question  
of equity when urged by  the creature's 
sharp complaint4 8,take that thine is1  
and go thy way40  8,is it not lawful for
 me to do what ,i will with mine own80  
8,i will give  unto this last1 even as  
unto thee40 ,there1 it is said1 and with
 apparent  truth1 is ,sovereignty--pure1
 naked ,sovereignty4 ,the 8,i will0 of  
,god  seems to be the sole explanation  
which is vouchsafed of ,his             

dispensations and decrees4 ,but this    
view of the matter has always seemed  to
 me deeply unsatisfactory4 ,equity is a 
strong instinctive principle1  which    
,god ,himself has established in the    
judgment seat of the human  conscience2 
and ,god never beats down with the bare 
assertion of an  irresistible           
,sovereignty the soul that is perplexed 
about the equity of  ,his ways4 ,it is  
equity1 pure1 celestial equity1 which   
reveals itself to  those who will search
 for it in this parable2 equity to the  
poor souls  who had been standing all   
the day idle in the market-place1       
because no  man had called them to the  
vineyard2 equity to the labourers who   
had  borne the burden and heat of the   
day1 and had made the dignity and       
culture of the ,lord's husbandmen their 
own4 ,it is an equity which  invites the
 closest criticism from those who will  
search it thoroughly1  and which reveals
 to the searchers deep vital truths     
about man and about  ,god4    8,i will  

give unto this last1 even as unto thee40
 ,it is a startling  sentence4 ,this man
 had been labouring in the vineyard     
under the burning  heat1 through the    
blazing noon2 he had borne and bent     
under the whole  burden of the work3    
while this one had been brought in at   
the eleventh  hour1 in the cool         
evenfall1 and by a few minutes of light 
sweet labour  he had won the equivalent 
prize4 ,there is something startling    
here1 and  men have felt it2 and they   
have striven in manifold and curious    
ways to  square the method of the       
,master with their fundamental notions  
of the  righteousness of ,god4 ,there   
are theologians who feel no need to     
square  it4 ,according to a theology    
which has exercised a wide-spread and   
malign  influence in the past1          
,sovereignty answers amply every        
difficulty1 and  treats our ideas of    
equity as a high impertinence1 when they
 claim to  weigh the ways of ,god4 ,if  
it pleases ,god to make some men to be  

saved  and other men to be damned1 who  
shall question ,his rights8 and if ,he  
is  glorified equally by the salvation  
of the chosen and the damnation of  the 
reprobate1 who dares complain1 or to    
what court can we carry the  appeal8    
,there are theologians who would have us
 rest calmly on the  conviction that a  
sovereign and inscrutable will is       
ruling1 and trouble  ourselves in no    
wise about the equity of the decrees4   
,but one cannot but  reflect that this  
composed contentment with the doctrine  
of reprobation  is mainly conspicuous in
 those who feel themselves safe from its
  trenchant stroke4 ,with the exception 
of ,lord ,byron--to whose malign and    
scornful tone we believe that this was  
the real key--we hardly discover  the   
disciples of the doctrine among those   
who believe that they are  reprobate2   
and in the case of the theological      
school whose influence is  happily dying
 away1 but which survives in            
out-of-the-way places to an  extent     

little dreamed of still1 we may fairly  
entertain the question1  whether1 if it 
were flashed suddenly on their souls    
that they1 the  theologians1 were doomed
 by the ,divine decree to everlasting   
anguish1  their rest in the inscrutable 
,sovereignty would be so calm1 and their
  contentment so assured4 ,for thinkers 
of this school1 of course1 such a       
parable as this presents no sort of     
difficulty4 ,a penny more or less  would
 not be likely to stagger them1 when the
 gift of heaven or the doom  of hell    
raise no question as to the equity of   
the ,divine decrees4 ,but  with the     
great multitude of ,christian thinkers  
the parable has been the  source of much
 grievous perplexity1 as the manifold   
explanations amply  prove4 ,the question
 is1 in which verse of the parable are  
we to find the  key to it8 8,unto this  
last will ,i give1 even as unto thee10  
states the  problem4 ,is the solution to
 be found in the body of the parable1 or
 must  we seek it outside in a general  

study of the ways of ,god8    ,there can
 be no question1 ,i think1 that the     
broad bearing of the parable  is on the 
impending revolution in the visible     
,divine kingdom1 whereby1  as the       
,saviour says1 the kingdom of ,god was  
to be taken from the  ,pharisees1 and   
8given to a people bringing forth the   
fruits thereof40 ,i  say advisedly1 from
 the ,pharisees2 from the party which   
held the chief  influence and authority 
in the ,church4 ,their influence1 their 
standing-ground1 was utterly shattered  
by the ,saviour's advent2 the  kingdom  
passed visibly1 absolutely1 finally1 out
 of the rule of their  hand4 ,but there 
was never any question of its passing   
wholly from the  ,jews2 the ,jews were  
never to be disowned4 ,paul earnestly1  
with intense  emphasis1 asserts this1   
and makes it the basis of a long and    
profound  argument4 8,i say then1 hath  
,god cast away ,his people8 ,god forbid4
 ,for ,i  also am an ,israelite1 of the 
seed of ,abraham1 of the tribe of       

,benjamin4  ,god hath not cast away ,his
 people1 which ,he foreknew40 7,rom4 xi4
 #a1 #b47  ,the ,jews1 as such1 were not
 cast away4 ,we think all too slightly  
of the  strength of the ,jewish element 
in the apostolic ,church4 ,and it is the
  ,jews--the people1 not their          
leaders--who are in question here4 ,they
 had  borne the burden and heat of the  
day2 they had done the work--with what  
result1 well or ill1 is not the point in
 debate4 ,there is no idea of  their    
being dismissed without honour or       
recompense2 the question is  simply     
concerning the bringing in of other     
husbandmen1 the ,gentile  nations1 at   
the last hour1 to share in full measure 
in all that the  ,jewish workmen had won
 by their long and hot day's toil4      
,perhaps the favourite mode of          
reconciling the ,master's dealings with 
fundamental principles of equity is to  
be found in the suggestion1  towards    
which some sentences in ,olshausen's    
,exposition strongly lean1  that the    

first called laboured so lazily1 and the
 last called so  strenuously that       
7regarding the actual amount of work    
accomplished7 the  ,master's            
arrangements were more equitable than   
might at first appear4  ,notwithstanding
 the apt illustration of this which     
appears to be offered  by the history of
 ,st4 ,paul1 who1 though the last       
called1 8laboured more  abundantly than 
they all10 the explanation seems to me  
to miss the whole  point of the teaching
 of the parable1 and to proceed upon    
very low and  worldly conceptions of the
 method of the ,divine ways4 ,there is  
no hint  of such a solution in the body 
of the parable itself2 which is a       
sufficiently grave objection4 ,if this  
be the key1 its existence is  carefully 
suppressed1 and the souls that were most
 sorely perplexed by  the appearance of 
injustice are left wholly ignorant of   
the truth4 ,nay1  their ignorance is    
confirmed by the language1 or rather by 
the silence1  of the parable4 ,the      

answer to their protest on the ground   
that they had  8borne the burden and    
heat of the day0 would have been        
decisive and was  ready at hand4 ,but no
 hint of a justification on this ground 
is suffered  to appear4 ,their assertion
 is allowed to pass unanswered1 and must
 be  accepted for the purposes of the   
parable as the truth4 ,whether they had 
wrought well or ill1 though it may be   
the main point in other parables1  is   
plainly not the point which is in       
question here4 ,and in the              
interpretation of parables we get into  
endless difficulties1 if we1 so  to     
speak1 travel beyond the record1 and    
consider the details in any  other light
 than as the garniture of the one       
central idea which the  parable is      
intended to set forth4 ,as far as this  
parable is concerned1  we must accept it
 as a fact that they had borne the      
burden and heat of  the day2 and no     
explanation of its equity can be        
entertained which sets  that fact at    

nought4    ,that we may the better      
understand what it does mean1 let us    
consider3--    ,i4 ,the work of the     
vineyard to which all were called1 and  
in which the  first called bore the     
burden and heat of the day4    ,,ii4    
,the reason of the idleness of the      
husbandmen who at the eleventh  hour    
were called to the work4    ,,iii4 ,the 
,lord's justification of ,his ways4     
,i4 ,the work of the vineyard4    ,i    
believe that there is nothing very      
definite in detail here set before  our 
minds1 and that we shall get into dire  
confusion if we inquire about  the class
 or classes of members of the ,church   
which may be signified by  the          
husbandmen4 ,there is no question of    
classes of ,christian labourers1  or    
kinds of ,christian work1 in the        
narrative4 ,it is ,god's work1 and      
these are ,god's workmen in the field of
 ,his visible ,church1 in the  broadest 
sense which those words may bear4 ,the  
vineyard is the visible  field of ,god's

 tillage4 ,the vast invisible field we  
are not called to  consider2 except to  
assure ourselves that one grand         
principle rules1  explains1 and         
justifies ,god's methods with the whole4
 ,the visible field1  up to the day of  
,pentecost1 was the ,jewish             
commonwealth1 which was about  to expand
 into the ,christian commonwealth when  
our ,lord delivered the  discourses     
which contain our text4 ,in the ,jewish 
commonwealth1 not  priest and prophet   
only1 but every child of ,abraham was a 
called  husbandman2 just as every       
,christian disciple1 as much as apostle1
  bishop1 evangelist1 or deacon1 is a   
called labourer in the wider  vineyard  
of the ,christian ,church4 ,the broad   
feature of the work of the  vineyard is1
 that it is man's true1 noble1          
,god-ordained work4    ,it is the work  
for which all his organs and powers were
 fashioned1 and  in which his whole     
being was made to rejoice4 ,why were    
these men  standing in the market-place8

 ,what took them there8 ,why were they  
not  lounging idly about the fields1 or 
sleeping at home8 ,clearly because  some
 divine instinct within them moved them 
thither1 that they might be  in the way 
of being hired for a day's toil4 ,a     
divine instinct1 ,i say4 ,he  little    
understands humanity1 who imagines that 
the great bread and  cheese question is 
at the bottom of even a tithe of the    
daily labour of  mankind4 ,it would be  
hard to find a man who just works enough
 to provide  the bread and cheese and   
beer which he needs to sustain his      
animal  nature1 and then folds his arms 
and takes his ease until new hunger     
compels new toil4 ,there are such men   
about the world1 no doubt2 but it  is a 
hard matter to find them4 ,and when they
 are found1 men attach to  such a       
bestial idea of life the epithet        
8unmanly0 with a bitter  emphasis1 which
 reveals how deeply there is inwrought  
into the very  texture of man's nature  
the divine instinct of work4 ,man is    

made for it1  as the flower of the field
 is made for the free air of heaven4    
,shut out  from it1 he grows irritable  
and sickly1 his powers droop1 his       
courage  fails1 his hope dies1 his life 
is a wreck4 ,and very noble motive      
inspires well-nigh the whole of human   
labour4 ,love1 pure self-denying  love1 
love of wife1 love of child1 of friends1
 of mankind1 is the moving  spring of   
most of man's most strenuous toil4      
,god's work1 work for ,god1  and for man
 for the love of ,god1 is but the       
highest form or mode of  human labour4  
,man's divine work is not something     
essentially different  in principle from
 all his other work4 ,all his best      
labour in his daily  tasks proceeds upon
 the existence within him of powers and 
organs which  can only find their       
highest exercise1 and which can only    
justify their  lowest exercise1 in the  
work of the vineyard which the ,lord has
 given us  each one to do4 ,man is      
simply unmanned while he stands all the 

day idle  in the market-place2 his      
goodliest powers and organs are rusting1
 his  blood trickles with dull stagnant 
motion through his lazy veins1 his      
whole system is oppressed and burdened1 
his muscles ache for exercise1  his     
cheek is pale1 his eye is dim4 ,the     
kingly being is unbraced and            
discrowned2 no joys or honours attend   
the fainant king4    ,who are the       
pitiable ones here8 ,on whom shall we   
spend our regrets and  sorrows8 ,the    
hardy sunburnt workmen1 who have spent  
their strength  manfully in a brave     
day's work2 who watch the westering sun 
as only the  tired labourer has the     
right to watch him2 and who settle      
peacefully to  the workman's rest till  
the gay sunlight wakes them again to new
 glad  toils in a young1 fresh1 dewy    
world8 ,nay1 the work of the vineyard is
  man's honour1 joy1 glory1 and bliss4  
,to be called to work in it is the      
crown of his manhood2 to finish his work
 with joy is his noblest praise4  ,but  

why should it not end here8 ,if he is to
 be counted blessed who works  in the   
vineyard1 if his work gladdens1         
enriches1 and ennobles him what  room is
 there for the thought of pay8 ,what can
 the pennies in this case  mean8    ,man
 is made with a large capacity1 and a   
large thought and hope of  happiness4   
,he can take a large blessing into his  
being1 larger than he  can meet within  
his present sphere4 ,the range of his   
nature takes in the  infinite and the   
eternal4 ,the work is noble1 glorious   
exercise2 but ,god  only can fill and   
satisfy his spirit4 ,man needs something
 beyond the  mere play of his powers1   
though their free play is an intense    
exhilaration and delight4 ,he needs the 
fellowship of beings to satisfy  the    
yearning1 to feed the appetite1 of his  
nobler nature2 he needs the  love of    
,god1 and communion with all that is of 
,god1 that he may rest and  be blessed4 
,this is the reward which the earthly   
day of his toil and  patience will      

bring4 ,the true workman is happy in his
 work1 and sings  while he toils4 ,but  
,god has a yet richer benediction for   
,his children  when the work is done1 a 
blessing which will beautify and glorify
 life  through eternity4 ,this ,he gives
 to the workman out of ,his royal       
bounty1  ,his own blessedness4 ,it is   
,his own to give2 and all true workmen1 
whatever the measure of their work1     
because of the spirit of their work1    
shall claim it at ,his hand4    ,,ii4   
,the reason of the idleness of the      
husbandmen who were not called  till the
 eleventh hour to the work4    8,and    
about the eleventh hour he went out1 and
 found others standing  idle1 and said  
unto them1 ,why stand ye here all the   
day idle8 ,they say  unto him1 ,because 
no man hath hired us40 ,the true key to 
the parable  lies here4 ,there are many 
other answers conceivable4 ,they might  
have  said1 ,because we like to lounge  
and loaf1 work is irksome2 or1 ,because 
we are over-tired with yesterday's toil2

 or1 ,because the pay does not  suit us1
 we are out on strike4 ,imagine that any
 one of these answers had  been given2  
the whole character of the parable would
 have been changed1  and the equity of  
the ways of ,god would then have been   
dark1 dark  indeed4 ,but no4 ,the men   
were willing to work2 they were waiting 
to be  hired2 they made no bargain about
 their pay4 8,go ye into the vineyard2  
and whatsoever is right1 that shall ye  
receive10 the ,master said2 and  they   
went1 content to leave their wage to    
,his justice4 ,the men evidently  cared 
more about the work than the pay4 ,in   
truth the idlers were to be  pitied4    
,the ,master pitied them1 and ,he gave  
to their will the wage which  lack of   
opportunity had forbidden them to earn  
before4    ,and this opens up some      
serious thoughts about the pagan world1 
and its  relation to the kingdom of     
,god4 ,there is a profound1 but not an  
impenetrable mystery hidden in the      
words1 8the fulness of the time40       

,through long ages the pagan world was  
left groping in the darkness1  8feeling 
after ,god if haply it might find ,him10
 and moaning as it  grasped at phantoms 
in the gloom1 and saw them slip from its
 empty hand4  ,looking at the anguish   
and misery of the world at this moment1 
one is  constrained to confess that the 
,lord of the world is ,one who can bring
  ,himself to look upon1 and to bear the
 responsibility of ruling over1 a       
terrible amount of pain4 ,but what shall
 we say of the long ages of pagan       
darkness1 when men were not feeling     
after ,god only1 but crying for  ,him1  
shrieking to ,him1 were maiming their   
quivering flesh and torturing  their    
shuddering hearts1 because the void only
 echoed back their own  voices and none 
could tell them the ,divine ,name4 ,the 
time is gone by  when it was possible to
 look upon the history of heathendom as 
the  history of one long stern effort to
 break away from ,god1 to blot out ,his 
name from the universe1 and to tear     

every trace of ,his image out of the    
life of the human world4 ,it is now well
 understood that the deepest  thing in  
heathen life and heathen literature was 
ever the cry after the  living ,god1 and
 the effort to find ,him2 the grandest  
passages in the  religious records of   
heathendom are the words in which the   
founders of  the great pagan systems    
proclaimed what they believed had been  
made  known to them of ,his ,being and  
,his ,will2 and the gladdest1 in truth  
the  only joyous1 passages in pagan     
history1 are the records of the         
generations in which men persuaded      
themselves that ,god had at length      
visited ,his world4 ,soon the gladness  
vanished1 overborne by wrong and  lust4 
,but while it lasted it made the        
solitary gleam of brightness which      
crosses the blackness of the pagan      
night4 ,the revival of morals1 of       
manners1 and of hopes1 which for a few  
brief generations has followed  the     
teaching of the great masters whom      

paganism adores1 is the one ray  of     
heavenly light which shines in the pagan
 darkness1 and bears witness  that there
 is sunlight1 though shining on other   
spheres4 ,the joy which  filled the     
hearts of the heathen peoples1 when     
,sakya-,mouni1 ,zerdusht1  ,confucius1  
or ,mahomet1 proclaimed at any rate a   
purer faith1 a nobler  idea of life1    
than the dark1 soulless1 senseless      
formul in which a  tyrannous priesthood 
had buried the ,divine ,name1 is like   
some faint and  far-off glow of the joy 
which leaped from heart to heart like   
flame when  it was known that ,god had  
in very truth visited ,his people1 and  
that the  ,king of ,glory had taken     
possession of ,his earthly throne4      
,through this long sad night1 lit only  
by these rare faint gleams1 men  had    
been looking1 longing1 and moaning for a
 deliverer2 and steadily  settling the  
while1 and they knew it1 into the slough
 of the devil's  accursed dominion1     
because no ,almighty ,helper and        

,saviour appeared4 ,we  see their       
misery1 their tears1 their mad outbursts
 of passion1 their  foul orgies of lust2
 and our hearts bleed1 nay there have   
been hearts  that have burst1 as they   
watched this tragedy of despair4 ,and   
heaven  heard it all1 saw it all1       
through long ages2 and still no         
deliverer was  sent4 ,it is a profound  
mystery1 the millenniums through which  
the world  was left to grope and to moan
 in the darkness1 while the clear       
sunlight  of ,god's truth was flashing  
its brightness so joyously on the homes 
of  the chosen race4 ,i say again1 the  
mystery1 though profound1 is not        
inscrutable2 for there is ,calvary to   
expound it4 ,in the long run1 in the    
great day of eternity1 it will be seen1 
that this forsaking of the  heathen     
world was an essential part of a benign 
and merciful plan1 of  which ,calvary is
 the centre2 and that it lies in the    
full harmony of a  love which 8endured  
the cross1 and despised the shame10 that

 a whole  world might be gathered at    
length to the great ,father's heart4    
,but the  8no man hath hired us0 has a  
profound and pathetic meaning1 when we  
search the records of pagan religious   
effort and aspiration1 and when we  see 
how everywhere1 when the gates were     
flung open1 the ,gentiles  thronged1    
streamed1 crushed1 into the kingdom of  
,god4 ,i find in this  thought the whole
 mystery of the parable unfolded4 ,the  
,gentiles had been  looking1 waiting1   
longing1 in their own dull way1 for the 
work of the  vineyard4 ,it was the      
,master's counsel1 as well as their own 
dull hearts1  which had kept them idle  
during the noontide heats4 ,and it was  
the work  which it was in their hearts  
to do that the ,master honoured1 when   
,he  made them equal to the favoured and
 happy husbandmen1 had they but known   
it1 who had 8borne the burden and heat  
of the day40    ,,iii4 ,the ,master's   
justification of ,his ways4    8,so when
 even was come1 the lord of the vineyard

 saith unto his steward1  ,call the     
labourers1 and give them their hire1    
beginning from the last  unto the first4
 ,and when they came that were hired    
about the eleventh  hour1 they received 
every man a penny4 ,but when the first  
came1 they  supposed that they should   
have received more2 and they likewise   
received  every man a penny4 ,and when  
they had received it they murmured      
against  the goodman of the house1      
saying1 ,these last have wrought but one
  hour1 and thou hast made them equal   
unto us1 which have borne the burden    
and heat of the day4 ,but he answered   
one of them1 and said1 ,friend1 ,i do   
thee no wrong2 didst not thou agree with
 me for a penny8 ,take that thine  is1  
and go thy way3 ,i will give unto this  
last1 even as unto thee4 ,is it  not    
lawful for me to do what ,i will with   
mine own8 ,is thine eye evil1  because  
,i am good8 ,so the last shall be first1
 and the first last3 for  many be       
called1 but few chosen0 7,matt4 xx4     

#h-af74    ,these words imply--    #a4  
,that there is infinite grace1 through  
which a certain equity shines1  in the  
things which ,god has provided for all  
who have wrought1 even  though feebly   
and tardily1 at ,his work4 ,the work is 
honour and  happiness2 the want of it is
 shame and pain4 ,the early labourers   
are the  enviable2 the late labourers   
are the pitiable4 ,but ,god in ,his     
boundless  grace adds a boundless gift  
to all3 8the gift of ,god10 which 8is   
eternal  life1 through ,jesus ,christ   
our ,lord40 ,but through the grace a    
certain  equity shines4 ,man was made   
for ,life1 he was born for it4 ,to miss 
the  glorious boon which ,god has the   
power to bestow on him through ,christ1 
were to miss the very end and issue to  
which ,god touched his spirit4 ,a       
well-nigh infinite capacity of being1   
loving1 and enjoying1 is in him1  which 
,god only can satisfy and eternity only 
can complete4 ,and ,god in  ,his        
boundless love and mercy meets him in   

his idleness and degradation1  and      
proposes to him a work which ,his grace 
will crown with glorious1  everlasting  
joy4    #b4 ,none shall miss the        
blessing through the order of the       
dispensations4    ,if the ,jews were    
called1 and the ,pagans were left sad   
and idle in the  streets1 the evenfall  
shall adjust the balance1 the evening of
 earth's  life1 the morning of the      
everlasting day4 ,idle and sad1 ,i say4 
,when you  are next at ,south           
,kensington ,museum1 place yourself     
before the cartoon  of 8,paul preaching 
at ,athens40 ,mark the foremost in the  
group of pagan  hearers2 he bears in his
 sad wistful countenance the whole tale 
of  ,gentile waiting1 longing1 hoping1  
disappointment1 despondency1 and        
despair4 ,few preachers can preach such 
a sermon as utters itself mutely  from  
that man's eyes and lips4 ,this parable 
is ,christ's answer to the  mute appeal3
 8,no man hath hired thee1 poor outcast6
 the day spent1 the  soul lost6 ,come   

in1 at the last hour1 come in4 ,these   
have wrought in a  noble service the    
long day through4 ,the sweat of manly   
toil is on their  brow1 the joy of a    
work well done is in their hearts4 ,come
 in2 the sun  still lacks some hours of 
setting4 ,bend thy soul to the task1 put
 thy  heart into the labour of the hour1
 and the same meed shall be thine4      
,even as unto this first1 will ,i give  
unto thee2 come in40    #i4 ,on a wider 
scale the parable is ,christ's          
assurance1 that through all  outward    
inequalities of gift1 endowment1        
opportunity1 position1  prospect1 which 
jar this jangled world1 there is a      
sublime equity ruling  which will right 
all wrongs1 adjust all balances1 and    
square all issues  with pure celestial  
justice at last4 8,no man hath hired    
us40 ,how much  does this explain of the
 bitterness and misery with which the   
world is  filled6 ,cross purposes1 cross
 callings1 cross relationships1 cross   
necessities1 cross issues of life6 ,men 

with power in them for a service  which 
is never asked of them2 tied down to a  
desk or a counter1 it may  be1 while    
they feel within them the stirrings of a
 power to guide the  coursers of the    
sun4 ,men bound in a home which has no  
beauty for them1  no love2 while beyond 
there is a vision of the ,eden which    
might be1 if  bonds could be unbound and
 bound afresh4 ,some overflowing with   
fatherly  or motherly tenderness1 in a  
barren home4 ,some shrinking from the   
prattle of infant voices1 yet with stuff
 in them of noble texture1 shut  up to a
 nursery through the prime of their     
days4 ,some longing1 pining1  panting   
for a work they love1 bound to a work   
they loathe4 ,some with a  genial1      
generous1 royal nature1 wrestling with  
the serpents of care and  penury their  
long life through4 8,this is a mad      
world1 my masters20 8the  times are out 
of joint20 it is all out of joint       
everywhen and  everywhere6 8,no man hath
 hired us0 to the work which we are fit 

for2 a  glorious wealth of being1 of    
power1 is left to 8fust in us unused40  
,patience1 brothers1 patience6 ,one     
grand work1 the grandest1 spreads  broad
 and fair before you2 8in your patience 
possess ye your souls40 ,the  hiring is 
in higher1 wiser hands2 the patience1   
the hope1 are in yours1  with all their 
glorious eternal fruit4 ,none of the    
sighing1 none of the  groaning1 none of 
the desire and yearning of your spirit1 
is hidden from  ,him who made you1 and  
who in ,his own good time will call you 
to your  ,god-ordained work4 8,,unto    
,,this ,,last ,,will ,i ,,give1 ,,even  
,,as ,,unto ,,thee0  reveals the sublime
 equity of ,his dealings4 ,await with   
strong patience1  with steadfast hope1  
the things and the times of ,his        
sovereign  appointment2 till you find   
with profound and wondering joy1 that   
your  patience has won a prize whose    
splendour outshines the constellations1 
and whose bliss shall outlast eternity4 
,,iv4    ,,law ,,and ,,life4        8,in

 the place where the tree falleth1 there
 it shall      be40--,,eccles4 xi4 #c4  
,there are few passages in the word of  
,god which are more constantly          
misapplied than this4 ,it is            
systematically wrested to the           
establishment  of doctrines with which  
it has nothing whatever to do4 ,the     
popular  interpretation of the text     
treats it as equivalent to the          
assertion1  that the condition of the   
human soul through its long eternity is 
settled absolutely and irrevocably by   
death4 ,we believe that nine out of     
ten1 of those who hold this doctrine    
would quote this passage if they  were  
suddenly asked to sustain their belief  
out of the word of ,god4 ,with  the     
truth of the doctrine in question we are
 not dealing in the present  discourse2 
there are passages in the word of ,god  
which bear on it with  most             
unquestionable cogency4 ,but this is not
 one of them4 ,our present  purpose is  
to show what it does mean1 and that its 

reference is to a  subject which is     
well-nigh as far removed from that on   
which it is  supposed to bear as the    
poles4    ,we approach a dread1 an awful
 subject1 when we contemplate the       
condition  of those who pass into the   
unseen world impenitent and faithless2  
who  despise finally1 as far as we can  
trace1 the riches of the mercy and the  
love of ,god4 ,it is a subject which is 
occupying the most earnest and  solemn  
thoughts of some of the wisest of our   
,christian thinkers1 and on  which a    
large freedom of judgment will have to  
be conceded within the  visible pale of 
the ,christian ,church4 ,it is easy to  
state the doctrine  of universalism1 and
 to offer it as a solution of the dark  
difficulties  with which the subject is 
surrounded4 ,but it is not easy to get  
the  doctrine of universalism out of the
 ,bible2 nay1 it is not possible1       
without grievous violence to some of its
 plainest and most awful  statements3   
nor1 on the other hand1 is it easy to   

harmonize it with any  intelligent      
conceptions of the moral freedom and    
responsibility of every  child of the   
human race4 ,others seek refuge1 for it 
is as a refuge that  they appear to     
cling to it1 in the theory of           
annihilation--that is1 the  annihilation
 on a vast scale of that which ,god made
 to be ,his  masterpiece1 which ,he     
constituted in ,his own image1 and into 
which ,he  infused by inspiration the   
breath of ,his own life4 ,more grievous 
violence must be done to the plain      
language of ,scripture by the  advocates
 of this theory than by those of the    
former2 and it seems to us  still harder
 to find for it a place in any          
intelligent and harmonious  conception  
of the scheme on which ,god made the    
worlds4    ,were it possible for us to  
hold it1 it would seem to unfold a      
terrible  vision of the issue of the    
great experiment of creation4 ,the free 
beings  whom ,god made to be the glory  
of ,his universe1 drooping down in      

throngs1  after a life struggle full of 
anguish and despair1 into the darkness  
of  the everlasting night6 ,one would be
 tempted to ask passionately in that    
case1 ,why was not the dire experiment  
of liberty ended in the hour of  the    
first transgression8 why was not the    
free universe1 parent of such  wrongs   
and miseries1 strangled in its birth8   
,nor may we dare to hide from ourselves 
and others1 in these days1 the  dread   
considerations involved in the doctrine 
which the ,church has drawn  from       
explicit statements in the word of ,god4
 ,eternal punishment2 eternal  suffering
 in the universe2 moans rising up ever  
in the ear of heaven2  the cries of     
souls in anguish piercing the serenity  
of the heavenly  rest4 ,eternal evil    
too4 ,evil never more to die out of the 
worlds on  which the dew of the primal  
benediction lay1 and which flashed back 
the  smile of ,him who looked upon them 
and saw that 8they were very good40     
,the curse rioting1 sin reigning unto   

death1 in some region of the  universe  
sustained and ruled by the ,divine hand2
 never to be expelled  from the         
creation1 never to be drawn under the   
merciful reign of ,god4 ,we  are too    
prone to hide the awful reality which is
 behind this language1  by vague notions
 of the judgment as the final banishing 
of evil from the  sight of ,god and of  
the blessed4 ,nothing that is can be    
banished from  the sight of ,god2       
nothing that exists--we will not say    
lives1 life is a  sacred word--can exist
 from moment to moment without the      
interposition  of the ,divine hand4     
,ever present before the great ,father  
must be the  anguish and the moans of   
the souls in torment2 ever to ,his eye  
there  must be this dark counterfoil to 
the joy and glory of the redeemed4 ,and 
yet the question forces itself upon us3 
,what else can the plain  statements of 
the ,scriptures mean2 nay1 what else can
 in the essential  nature of things     
befall a free spirit that chooses to    

exercise its  freedom in sin8 ,we may   
well feel with a wise one of old1 8,such
  knowledge is too wonderful for us3 it 
is as high as heaven1 what  can we do8  
it is as deep as hell1 what can we      
know80    ,sore difficulties beset us in
 working out a clear and harmonious     
theory  of the judgment and its issues4 
,but blessed be ,god that we can rest in
  the belief that all will be1 in ways  
that we see not1 so wisely and          
righteously ordered by the ,judge of all
 the earth1 as to satisfy the  yearning 
heart1 not of the great ,father only1   
but of the ,redeemer of  humanity1 and  
to fill the universe with praise4 ,here 
as elsewhere1 when  we are bewildered   
and perplexed by thoughts too high for  
us and which  reach too far1 we find a  
sure refuge and rest in faith4 ,we      
believe ,god  in ,christ1 and we can    
leave our future and the future of      
humanity in ,his  hand4 ,meanwhile1 our 
work1 our duty is clear3 8,now then we  
are  ambassadors for ,christ1 as though 

,god did beseech you by us3 we pray you 
in ,christ's stead1 be ye reconciled to 
,god40 8,this is the work of ,god1  that
 ye believe on him whom he hath sent40  
8,other foundation can no  man lay than 
that is laid1 which is ,jesus ,christ40 
8,believe on the  ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 
and thou shalt be saved40    ,but this  
is beside the scope of the present      
discourse4 ,i have to  consider what    
these words1 so strangely misapplied1 do
 mean1 and to draw  from them those most
 pregnant lessons concerning the conduct
 of life  which they are intended to    
afford4 8,cast thy bread upon the       
waters3 for  thou shalt find it after   
many days4 ,give a portion to seven1 and
 also to  eight2 for thou knowest not   
what evil shall be upon the earth4 ,if  
the  clouds be full of ram1 they empty  
themselves upon the earth3 and if the   
tree fall toward the south1 or toward   
the north1 in the place where the  tree 
falleth1 there it shall be4 ,he that    
observeth the wind shall not  sow2 and  

he that regardeth the clouds shall not  
reap4 ,as thou knowest  not what is the 
way of the spirit1 nor how the bones do 
grow in the womb  of her that is with   
child3 even so thou knowest not the     
works of ,god who  maketh all4 ,in the  
morning sow thy seed1 and in the evening
 withhold not  thine hand3 for thou     
knowest not whether shall prosper1      
either this or  that1 or whether they   
both shall be alike good40    ,i4 ,the  
key to the passage1 the broad idea which
 underlies the whole1 is  in the first  
verse4 ,in the sixth verse the writer   
repeats the thought  under a varied     
form1 and it is evident that it rules   
the whole4 ,let us  ask ourselves what  
it means4 ,it is a fair question whether
 we have here  a reference to a popular 
proverb descriptive of the most useless 
and  apparently hopeless work1 8casting 
bread upon the waters20 or whether      
there is a reference to ,egyptian       
husbandry1 which might seem just as     
futile a method1 did not experience     

prove that a harvest of splendid        
abundance is the well-nigh certain      
result4 ,i do not think that it is      
needful to settle the rival claims of   
the two interpretations1,b  inasmuch as 
the essential point of the author's     
meaning is involved in  both4 ,in either
 case you have a husbandry of faith2 and
 in either case  you have a grand image 
of all noble spiritual work4 ,all       
husbandry is of  faith to an extent     
which we little realize1 but most       
especially this  husbandry4 ,the        
seed-corn scattered from the hand       
vanishes from sight1  the very bed in   
which it is hidden lies buried1 and an  
uncongenial1  impenetrable element      
spreads its barrier between the sower   
and the seed1  which he must leave in   
the hands of ,god4 ,the farmer who has  
ploughed his  field and settled his seed
 in the furrows feels less shut out from
 it2  he sees at least where it lies1 he
 can test its condition1 he can trace   
the first green bloom on the brown      

surface of his fields1 which is the     
prophecy and the pledge of harvest4 ,but
 seed cast into the waters6 where  is   
it8 who can trace it8 what can withhold 
the waters from rotting it1  and burying
 the promise of the seed and the hope of
 the husbandman in  their depths8 ,and  
the seed dropped into the furrows of the
 human  seed-field1 the heart that has  
been broken up by the deep ploughshare  
of  ,god's discipline1 and over which a 
fertilizing flood of quickening         
influences has passed1--where lies it8  
,what glance can follow it8 ,what  hand 
can touch it8 ,what eye can foresee1    
what brain can forecast1 its  destiny8  
,there is a dread likeness here1 to the 
eye of the  understanding1 between this 
perilous husbandry and spiritual labour2
  man's knowledge is so limited1 man's  
hand is so powerless1 the seed  passes  
so far out of his ken1 and lies buried  
in such deep depths  within4    ,there  
is a mystery in all husbandry which it  
is manifestly the purpose  of ,god to   

keep clearly before the eye of the soul4
 ,he will not suffer us  to forget it4  
8,and he said1 ,so is the kingdom of    
,god1 as if a man  should cast seed into
 the ground2 and should sleep1 and rise 
night and  day1 and the seed should     
spring and grow up1 he knoweth not how4 
,for the  earth bringeth forth fruit of 
herself2 first the blade1 then the ear1 
after that the full corn in the ear4    
,but when the fruit is brought  forth1  
immediately he putteth in the sickle1   
because the harvest is  come0 7,mark iv4
 #bf-bi74 ,this is the daily miracle of 
nature1 the  8sign0 which is done daily 
before our eyes4 ,there are those1 and  
they  constitute a large and powerful   
school of thinkers in our day1 who      
refuse coldly to listen to any evidence 
as to the miracles of ,scripture1  and  
who see this sign of an unseen energy at
 work around them and within  them each 
moment1 but feel powerless even to      
inquire from what fountain  it springs4 
,it is deeply unjust to brand the       

,positivist school of  philosophy as    
explicitly either materialistic or      
atheistic4 ,they are by  no means blind 
to the fact that there is a hidden      
mystery in nature2  they see quite as   
clearly as we do its marvellous depths4 
,there is  something quite as wonderful 
in their sight in the daily growth of   
the  corn and the assimilation of our   
daily bread1 as in the feeding of five  
thousand in the lonely wilderness by the
 word which came forth from the  mouth  
of the ,saviour4 ,but they say1 this    
region is simply impenetrable  by the   
human intellect2 in all its efforts at  
discovery it simply meets  with shadows 
projected under various conditions and  
at various angles by  itself4 ,our fair 
charge against them is1 not that they   
are blind to the  fact of a mystery in  
nature1 but that they dishonour the     
royal faculty  of the reason with which 
,god has gifted them1 by distrusting its
 ability  to deal with a vast class of  
phenomena--the manifestations of the    

working of unseen powers with which ,god
 has surrounded them--which are  as     
definite and substantial as the physical
 facts out of which they  educe their   
laws4 ,the world of spiritual experience
 and activity with  which mainly the    
,bible deals1 claims from us1 at any    
rate1 observation1  thought1 and        
deduction1 as reverent as that which we 
joyfully devote to  the phenomena of    
nature2 and we accept as eagerly the    
thoughts and  suggestions of seers who  
have insight into this world of mystery1
 as we  accept the teachings of science 
concerning things which are beyond our  
sight4 ,and if words come to us from    
this higher sphere1 which harmonize     
discordant elements and make the chaos  
of our spiritual consciousness  and     
experience a cosmos ruled by            
intelligence and love1 we joyfully      
accept the truth which sustains and     
explains the phenomena1 and feel  that  
in proclaiming it we are 8holding forth 
a word of life0 to our  fellow-men4 ,and

 the ,scripture miracle is to us a flash
 of sunlight1  which illumines the      
darkness of the unknown3 we see unveiled
 the ,hand  which is working each moment
 these signs and wonders within and     
around  us2 and1 studying the nature1   
the mind1 the heart1 by which that ,hand
 is  guided1 we find rest in the        
assurance that the power whose awful    
manifestation in nature might well appal
 and overwhelm us1 is under the         
absolute rule of ,one whose declaration 
of ,himself is that ,he is ,love4 ,we   
receive an emancipation from both the   
terrors and the idols of the            
imagination1 when we learn that the     
daily bread of our lives comes to us    
from the hand of the ,father1 and is    
crowned with ,his benediction4 ,the     
poor believe it quite simply3 they have 
a beautiful sense of dependence  on the 
,hand which feeds the birds and clothes 
the lilies4 ,as a child  hangs on the   
mother's breast1 they hang daily as     
trustfully on the  bounty of the ,lord4 

,and they are more free from vain       
fancies herein than  the philosophers4  
,it is the wise and the scribe who are  
in bondage to  idols3 simple hearts1    
which have received the revelation of   
the  relations of the two worlds which  
the ,bible offers1 walk free in the     
sunlight1 and dwell quiet from the fear 
of evil4    8,cast thy bread upon the   
waters3 for thou shalt find it after    
many  days40    ,the main point here    
then is1 that in all husbandry there are
 two  elements--the intelligence and    
energy of the man1 and the co-operation 
of a secret force1 the springs of which 
and the methods of which escape  him1   
but on which absolutely depend all his  
fruits4 ,neither without the  other can 
produce the harvest4 ,paul plants1      
,apollos waters2 but ,god  giveth the   
increase3 but neither without ,paul's   
planting does the  harvest spring4      
8,behold1 a sower went forth to sow40   
,the human sower  is1 as far as we see1 
the indispensable fellow-worker with the

 ,most  ,high ,god4 ,but ,god1 and not  
the human sower1 has the absolute       
control of  the result4    ,let us look 
at this more closely4 ,to impress this  
upon us is the main  object of the      
writer in the text4    ,,ii4 ,the writer
 of this book asks us to consider how   
much that has the  most important       
bearing on the results of our activity  
is hopelessly  beyond the control of our
 hand4    ,no doubt this is a truism3   
but it is the meaning and force of these
  truisms which most easily escape us2  
custom is the blind of truth4 ,no       
matter what it may be to which we put   
our hands1 we are dealing with  elements
 which only partially subject themselves
 to our control1 or  rather reveal to us
 the secret by which they may be bent to
 our use4  ,always there is a large     
variable element in the problem of our  
activities2 and on this variable        
element1 which we have no means of      
calculating1 depends all that is most   
precious and vital in our results4      

,husbandry here is the great witness    
for1 and key to1 higher things4         
,certain bases are fixed and            
unalterable2 else our work would be a   
pure  lottery4 ,much on which its fruits
 depend is variable2 else our work      
would be purely mechanical4 ,god gives  
us a large measure of assurance1  that  
we may work bravely and put our hearts  
into our labour1 as those  who have a   
right to hope that they will carry the  
sheaves of their  harvest home2 but ,he 
crosses our toil with a zone of         
uncertainties1 that  we may be faithful 
workmen1 trusting and praying as well as
 working1 and  may be kept in holy and  
blessed dependence on ,him who can lift 
us above  all servile care for immediate
 results4 ,consider--    #a4 ,the awful 
force and inevitable certainty of the   
processes of ,nature1  the unfailing    
8order of ,nature0 which furnishes forth
 the field of our  toils4 ,that order   
,god guarantees4 ,the assurance is thus 
expressed3  8,while the earth remaineth1

 seedtime and harvest1 and cold and     
heat1  and summer and winter1 and day   
and night shall not cease0 7,gen4 viii4 
#bb74 ,that word of promise which has   
nursed the trembling hope of man  into  
strong certainty--for he is as sure that
 the sun will rise on the  morrow as he 
is of his own existence--lies at the    
foundation of all his  steady activity  
as a workman in this lower world4 ,the  
joyful outgoings  of the morning and    
evening1 and the succession of the      
seasons1 are given  to him as the       
constant elements in his husbandry4     
,these are assured to  him by the voice 
that called them into being and the hand
 which sustains  their motions4 ,god    
tells him that he may count absolutely  
on this order4  ,and what guarantee1    
when we come to think of it1 have we of 
that order1  but such as a firm belief  
in an intelligent ,ruler of the         
universe1 who  sympathises with the     
hopes and blesses the toils of ,his     
children1  affords8 ,then further1--    

#b4 ,there is the absolutely certain    
sequence of physical causes and         
effects1 or antecedents and consequents1
 which we call laws of nature1  which   
vary not one hair's breadth from their  
ordained order in obedience  to the     
mandates of our will1 but which1 by     
observing and mastering the  principle  
of that order1 we can use for the       
accomplishment of our ends4  ,these are 
our tools to work with4 ,a thousand     
subtle laws are concerned  in every     
process of the husbandman's toils4 ,on a
 large scale and in the  long run the   
question of his success depends         
absolutely on his  comprehension and    
observance of those laws4 ,the progress 
of man's  knowledge of nature is really 
a progress in the mastery of the        
variable  element in the problem of his 
labour4 ,a thousand accidents1 which    
baffle  the ignorant and careless       
husbandman1 obey the control of the     
intelligent and strenuous4 ,the order is
 rigid4 ,there is an awful  sternness in

 its certainty2 but it grows benign to  
him who has mastered  its secret4 ,it   
obeys him as a servant1 it helps him as 
a friend2 and the  certainty with which 
he can calculate its action is one      
essential  element of its friendliness4 
,if he could not weigh the materials and
  measure the forces which are          
constantly around him1 if he could not  
count on their known relations and      
actions with the same calm certainty    
with which he expects the sunrise to    
light him to his daily toils1 his  life 
would be one of miserable dependence2 he
 would live the serf of  nature1 and not
 her king4 ,it is the unalterable fixity
 of relations and  forces which ,god has
 given him the power to discover and to 
employ1  which constitutes the royalty  
of his rule over nature2 if that be     
destroyed or shaken1 his crown rolls in 
the dust4 ,the constancy of the         
relations and forces of the universe1   
their impassibility to the force  which 
man's will can bring to bear upon them1 

of which his husbandry  gives him full  
experience1 is an essential element1    
perhaps we might say  the essential     
element1 in that higher culture which   
they offer to his  spirit2 it is this   
which makes the life of even the workman
 something  higher than a lottery1 and  
the toils of earth an education for the 
works  and the joys of heaven4    #c4   
,the writer of this book1 while he sees 
this grand1 calm1 and constant  order   
very clearly1 and appreciates its       
ministry to man1 has a dark1 sad  vision
 of the uncertainties which cross       
it--the strength and magnitude  of the  
variable element in nature and in life1 
which perplexes and  baffles the        
strenuous workman1 keeps him constantly 
on the tenter-hooks  of anxiety1 and not
 seldom rends his heart with anguish1   
and lays his  fairest and proudest      
achievements in ruins in the dust4 ,a   
certain order  is there1 all men can see
 it4 ,yes1 men say1--and especially     
orientals1  in whose climate the        

destructive agencies often run riot2 but
 there is a  dire disorder1 and the     
disorder triumphs4 ,who knows the       
pathway of the  storms1 the earthquakes1
 the lava floods1 the drought1 and the  
deluge8  who knows and rules their      
times8 ,the fairest homesteads are made 
desolate in a moment2 verdant beauty as 
of ,eden vanishes1 and blasting  and    
burning as of ,sodom reigns in its room4
 ,there are malign powers in  the       
universe which seem to watch all beauty 
and increase1 that they may  make it    
their prey4 ,do not men in all ages     
tremble as they rejoice in  prosperity8 
,do not the proverbs of all nations warn
 us that trouble in  such moments is    
near8 ,there is a hand unseen which     
deals destruction to  our harvests and  
homesteads1 in the moment when they     
smile on us most  gaily2 and we are     
powerless to resist it2 we can but sit  
like ,job on the  dunghill of our ruined
 fortunes and bemoan ourselves1 and it  
may be  curse the day which sent us     

forth to till such a treacherous        
seed-field  as this4 ,the dearest       
things1 the things which we love most   
tenderly1 the  possession of which is   
our life1 may be struck down in a       
moment1 the  delight of our eyes laid   
low at a stroke2 we may plead and pray1 
we may  wrestle with ,god in a frenzy of
 supplication3 the hand which grasps our
  treasure is pitiless2 pass a few days1
 we shall be standing tearless and      
defiant by the grave of our beloved4    
,pagans exclaim against their gods  as  
treacherous1 and refuse them service4   
,catholics revenge themselves by        
cashiering their saint4 ,nay1 the same  
brutal instinct may be found in         
,protestant ,england3 ,i have heard of a
 farmer1 whose harvest was all  ruined1 
sticking a rotten sheaf in the hedge and
 leaving it there1 to  make1 as he said1
 ,god ,almighty ashamed4 ,we shudder at 
the blasphemy2 but  it is only a coarse 
expression of the anguish of the        
helpless in the  hand of a power which  

seems inexorable and merciless1 which   
crosses  their most settled purposes1   
destroys ruthlessly their most precious 
harvests1 and murders all their         
brightest joys4 8,if the clouds be full 
of rain1 they empty themselves upon the 
earth3 and if the tree fall  toward the 
south1 or toward the north1 in the place
 where the tree  falleth1 there it shall
 be4 ,he that observeth the wind shall  
not sow2  and he that regardeth the     
clouds shall not reap4 ,as thou knowest 
not  what is the way of the spirit1 nor 
how the bones do grow in the womb of    
her that is with child3 even so thou    
knowest not the works of ,god who       
maketh all4 ,in the morning sow thy     
seed1 and in the evening withhold not   
thine hand3 for thou knowest not whether
 shall prosper1 either this or  that1 or
 whether they both shall be alike good0 
7ver4 #c-f74 ,there is a  power at work 
behind the veil which may at any moment 
cross our purpose  by some unexpected   
stroke1 which gives to us no account of 

its methods1  and which allows no court 
of appeal from its decrees4 ,the tree   
falls1  and who can foresee when it may 
fall8 ,and when it falls1 it cares not  
what it crushes1 and the wrecks of it   
strew our fairest fields1 and bury  our 
golden harvests in the dust4    ,,iii4  
,what then8 ,there being this law of    
calamity at work1 defying all           
calculation and all defence1 what is the
 true policy of life8    ,there are     
mainly two policies of life2 the stoic  
and the ,christian4 ,the  ,stoic        
says1--,everything is beyond my control1
 but myself4 ,there is a  kingdom whose 
sceptre can never be wrested from my    
hand4 ,things are  certain enemies of my
 peace4 ,i will make myself independent 
of things4  ,i will reduce my relations 
with things outside me to a minimum4 ,i 
am  surer of a crust than of a banquet2 
so ,i will train myself to care only    
for a crust2 a crust of food1 a crust of
 wealth1 a crust of friendship  will be 
enough for me4 ,i will fold the cloak of

 my manhood around me1  and shake myself
 free of all dependence on fickle       
fortune and mortal  friends4    ,the    
,christian says1--,everything is beyond 
my control1 but myself4 ,so  far1 he and
 the ,stoic are at one4 ,but he reflects
 that what is beyond  ,,his control is  
not beyond all control4 ,this law of    
calamity obeys the  rule of ,one who has
 given the most solemn and awful pledge 
that ,he loves  me as a friend and      
treats me as a child4 ,he would not have
 me adopt the  demeanour and policy of  
an outcast in a storm1 but of a child at
 home4 ,i  will throw my nature open to 
the sunlight4 ,i will make myself as    
rich as  possible in all good and       
beautiful possessions1 and in troops of 
friends4 ,it is the will of ,him who    
rules my life that ,i should be so2 ,he 
made me with all these affections and   
sympathies2 ,he made me to feel  life a 
blessing4 ,i will work and be glad1 and 
live and love according to  ,his will2  
and trust1 not my own hardness1 but my  

,father's mercy1 to  spare me over-much 
pain1 and to make life in some due      
measure a joy4  ,here are the two       
policies4 ,how does the text decide8    
8,cast thy bread  upon the waters3 for  
thou shalt find it after many days40    
8,if the  clouds be full of rain1 they  
empty themselves upon the earth3 and if 
the  tree fall toward the south1 or     
toward the north1 in the place where the
  tree falleth1 there it shall be40 8,in
 the morning sow thy seed1 and in  the  
evening withhold not thine hand3 for    
thou knowest not whether shall  prosper1
 either this or that1 or whether they   
both shall be alike  good40 ,the        
argument is1 ,god who made you to toil1 
to till the ground1  and to till the    
more difficult and perilous seed-field  
of domestic1  social1 and political     
life1 made the world thus4 ,both your   
vocation as a  workman1 and the field of
 your labour1 with the conditions of    
that  labour1 are ordained by ,him4     
,there must then be an essential        

harmony4  ,one wise and intelligent     
,being as the author of the whole       
system2 and  this law of calamity is not
 at war with your vocation1 but is also 
its  minister1 and in deep and          
far-reaching ways is working with you to
 your  ends4 ,it is not1 according to   
the dark pagan theory1 the work of a    
malign spirit1 strong enough to break in
 and make the homesteads and the  lives 
which ,god has made ,his charge1 a      
wreck4 8,i form the light and  create   
darkness2 ,i make peace and create evil2
 ,i1 the ,lord1 do all these  things40  
,it is all the work of one hand1 and    
that a wise and loving  one4 ,work on1  
work bravely1 work gaily2 storms may    
sweep your fields and  shadows may      
darken your homes2 but no calamity1     
inward or outward1 is  unto death4 ,the 
storm and blight of this year will swell
 the bulk of  next year's harvests2 and 
the deeper cares and sorrows of our     
spiritual  husbandry but load us with an
 increase which the years lay up in the 

garners of eternity4 ,practically1 the  
husbandman finds it to be so4  ,making  
the fullest allowance for all the       
crosses1 the storms1 the  blights1 the  
violence of ,nature and of man1 the     
balance is still amply  on the side of  
the faithful workman4 ,year by year     
man's tillage  advances2 the wilderness 
and the solitary place is made glad by  
his  toil1 and the desert rejoices and  
blossoms as the rose4 ,this means that  
a wise and loving ,hand holds all the   
disturbing forces under control1  and   
fixes their bounds where they instruct  
and stimulate1 but never on  a grand    
scale scare and paralyse mankind4 ,the  
losses and the crosses of  the croupier 
of the gaming table are borne with      
profound patience1 for  there is a      
certain chance in his favour which must 
inevitably in the  long run fill his    
coffers with gain4 ,how calmly1 now     
joyously1 should we  work on through our
 storms and sorrows1 who have1 not a    
margin of  security guaranteed by the   

theory of probabilities1 but the        
certainty of  an abundant and glorious  
harvest1 if we are faithful and patient1
  guaranteed by the living ,god4    ,and
 do not pervert the teaching of the     
,scripture by narrowing its scope4  ,it 
does not say1--,work1 for the work is   
good for you2 results are  nothing4 ,it 
says rather1--,work1 for ,god is working
 with you1 and results  are ,his care4  
,the ,lord does not say1--,take no      
thought for the morrow1  for these cares
 of food and clothes and health are     
sordid2 despise them1  and think        
exclusively of higher things4 ,quite    
other1 and infinitely more  wise and    
tender1 is ,his teaching1--,do not be   
distracted by cares1 8for  your heavenly
 ,father knoweth that ye have need of   
all these things10  and how ,he         
furnishes those who trust ,him let the  
birds and the lilies  declare4 8,cast   
thy bread upon the waters10 for there is
 ,one watching  it who will bring it    
back after many days4 8,they that sow in

 tears  shall reap in joy40 8,he that   
goeth forth and weepeth1 bearing        
precious  seed1 shall                   
doubtless0--doubtless because the ,lord 
of the harvest  assures it--8come again 
with rejoicing1 bringing his sheaves    
with  him40    ,three practical         
principles1 which indicate the          
,christian policy of life1  ,i gather   
from the text3--    #a4 ,do not be      
afraid of giving with bountiful hand    
lest your charity  should be wasted4    
,scatter your gifts freely3 8freely ye  
have received1  freely give40 8,he that 
hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed10 
blessed with the blessedness of ,christ1
 and like ,christ he shall gather  in   
rich harvests4 ,sow your gifts as the   
husbandman scatters the seed in  his    
furrows1 leaving it with ,god to watch  
it1 to bless its springing1 to  ripen   
its fruit4 ,much of our charity1 our    
effort to bless mankind1 must  seem to  
be futile4 ,the waters close on it1 it  
vanishes from sight and  touch1 it is   

rotting1 we think1 in the depths4 ,no2  
,i think that the  discovery of the     
unknown fruit of the patient efforts and
 the loving  sacrifices for men which on
 earth seemed to us to be wasted1 will  
be one  of the purest and intensest joys
 of eternity4    #b4 ,do not be afraid  
of working lest your toil should be     
fruitless4 ,there  is no fruitless      
labour4 ,every hammer-stroke on the     
forge of duty welds  something which    
will outlast eternity4 ,work with a will
 then1 with a  courage1 an energy1 a    
hope1 to which ,heaven lends its        
inspiration2 and  believe that nothing  
is so sure in the universe as your      
harvest4 ,this  seed of your toil may be
 stolen1 that may be crushed1 that may  
be  blighted when it is set for fruit2  
but the grand sum of your labour is     
beyond the reach of the ,harpies4 ,god  
guards it1 ,god quickens it1 and ,god   
and angels will rejoice with you when   
one day you bring your golden  harvest  
home4    #c4 ,do not be afraid of loving

 because every love is a sure germ of   
pain4  ,throw wide the doors of your    
heart to all comers in the name of the  
,lord4 ,the sorrows will spring1 but the
 joys will overflow them4 ,count        
yourself rich1 as you are rich in love4 
,keen sorrow it must bring1 but  with it
 superabounding joy4 ,ask ,god to hallow
 your loves1 and to  consecrate your    
crosses1 and the pain is purged of all  
its bitterness2  it is but the first    
throb of a great unspeakable joy1 which 
will play  like sunlight around your    
life in the homes where the weary are   
for ever  at rest4    ,,footnote3    ,b 
,those who wish to settle the critical  
question will find ample help  in ,dr4  
,ginsburg's learned and exhaustive      
8,commentary on ,ecclesiastes40         
7,longmans1 #ahfa47          ,v4        
,,the ,,lost ,,birthright4              
8,esau1 who for one morsel of meat sold 
his birthright4 ,for ye      know how   
that afterward1 when he would have      
inherited the      blessing1 he was     

rejected3 for he found no place of      
repentance1      though he sought it    
carefully with tears40--,,heb4 xii4 #af1
 #ag4      ,these words have always     
seemed to be among the very saddest in  
the book  of ,god4 ,no place of         
repentance1 though sought carefully with
 tears6 ,it  is a very terrible picture1
 and seems to describe the experience of
 what  must have been a very wretched   
and blighted life4 ,it is possible that 
if  we study the matter closely some of 
the tones of sadness may be  lightened2 
but still ,esau and his sad history will
 remain one of the  dark perplexities of
 ,scripture1 just as the acts and the   
fate of men  like ,esau are among the   
most inscrutable mysteries of life4     
,there are  men like ,esau cropping up  
everywhere2 men who seem born to lose   
their  birthright1 to be befooled by the
 keen and subtle ,jacobs1 to be seeking 
ever places of repentance1 and to find  
,fate inexorable to their tears4  ,men  
born under the dark doom of the         

rejected1 we are tempted to  say--so    
inevitable their destiny appears from   
the first4 ,in this case1  8the elder   
shall serve the younger10 was written of
 the twin brethren  in the womb1 and    
,jacob was the successful supplanter    
from his birth4  ,there are many sad    
mysteries in life1 and the history of   
such natures  and their destiny are     
among the saddest4 ,we cannot hope to   
fathom it on  earth2 but blessed be ,god
 for the assurance which we are not only
  permitted but bound to cherish1 that  
all which is inscrutable here and  dark 
with shadows will unfold a divine order 
and beauty in the long  bright day of   
eternity4    ,esau and ,jacob1 both in  
their personal character and their      
relations  with each other1 are         
representative men1 and foreshow in     
brief the  essential character of large 
phases and long periods of human        
development4 ,they place before us1 as  
we read the record of their  personal   
history1 the great twin brethren1 the   

,gentile and the ,jewish1  perhaps even 
more widely the ,christian and the      
heathen1 sections of  mankind4 ,the     
earlier records of the book of ,god are 
full of such typical  characters and    
lives4 ,in truth1 in the earliest time  
life was typical2  men lived in large   
and free intercourse with ,nature and   
with their  fellow-men4 ,the            
conventional swathing-bands with which  
modern society  has bound itself were   
unknown4 ,men lived boldly from within1 
and what  they said and did had broad   
human significance1 and forecast        
naturally  what men would say and do    
under the same conditions to the end of 
time4  ,hence1 we imagine1 the exceeding
 fulness of the book of ,genesis in its 
painting of character and life4 ,nowhere
 have we anything like such large  and  
graphic portraiture as here4 ,the reason
 is surely that in those ages  life was 
richly doctrinal1 and that the ,god who 
caused all ,holy  ,scripture to be      
written for our learning saw that the   

history of such  lives as those of      
,abraham1 ,isaac1 ,esau1 ,jacob1 and    
,joseph1 would be the  most precious    
legacy which could be handed down from  
the age of the  patriarchs to all time4 
,the contrast of these two men is       
peculiarly rich and instructive4 ,esau  
is the lusty1 genial1 jovial pagan2     
impulsive1 impetuous1 frank1 and        
generous1 but sensual and self-willed4  
,a man keenly alive to the claims  and  
experiences of the moment2 slow to      
believe in unseen realities and  the    
harvest which could only be reaped      
beyond long years of patience and  pain4
 ,jacob1 on the other hand1 led from the
 first a meditative and  interior life4 
,what may be meant by the description1  
8a plain man1  dwelling in tents10 is   
not very apparent4 ,it certainly does   
not simply  describe a fact in his      
history1 but rather a feature of his    
character4  ,he loved the home life2    
while the burly ,esau was abroad in the 
field1 he  loved to sit at home1        

meditating on many things1 and amongst  
them the  highest--a plain man1 sound1  
pure1 pious1 as some commentators have  
it4  ,the meaning of the word is        
certainly moral2 8integer vit10 may     
perhaps express it4 ,the pilgrim        
,abraham was reproduced in ,jacob in    
some  of the main features of his       
character4 ,he could understand1 at any 
rate1  what ,esau apparently could never
 understand--the sacredness of a ,divine
  vocation1 the value of a birthright   
which carried with it a ,divine         
benediction1 and which was freighted    
with the ,divine promise to the  world4 
,the grand distinction between the two  
men from the first was1  that ,jacob had
 faith1 while ,esau had none4 ,jacob had
 the heart of a  pilgrim1 ,esau the     
heart of a 8prince of this world40      
,jacob saw something  behind the veil1  
which filled his soul with awe and made 
his life a  constant aspiration2 ,esau  
saw that on this side the veil which    
filled  him with the only pleasure which

 he cared to grasp at1 and which taught 
him to look upon his brother's pilgrim  
lot and halting step as the sign  of a  
broken and wasted life4 ,esau had his   
grand success in the princedom  which he
 founded4 ,you may read the list of the 
8dukes of ,edom1 who  sprang from him10 
in the chapters which record his        
history4 ,the sad and  weary ,jacob1    
standing before ,pharaoh when his race  
was well nigh run1  witnessed this      
confession1 8,few and evil have the days
 of the years of  my life been1 and have
 not attained unto the days of the years
 of the  life of my fathers in the days 
of their pilgrimage40 ,his success lay  
beyond generations and ages1 beyond the 
rising of the 8,star that should  come  
out of0 his house1 beyond the           
resurrection day4 ,jacob's life won no  
success but such as he shares with      
humanity in time and in eternity4 ,his  
success is our success2 in his blessing 
we are blessed4 ,he stands forth  in the
 early twilight of history as the       

typical child of the kingdom1  the      
,prince of ,god1 having power with two  
worlds4 ,he is the  representative of   
the elect men and races4 ,this election 
is a broad1  plain1 principle of ,god's 
government4 ,in all ages ,god is wont to
 call  men1 races1 nations1 out of the  
commonwealth of humanity1 and to bring  
them near unto ,himself4 ,their election
 is to service--high service1 hard      
battle1 stern endurance4 ,first in      
honour1 they must be first in perils1   
pains1 temptations1 and toils4          
,privilege is a word of abundant meaning
  in the book of ,god's dispensations2  
but it means privilege to be  first--to 
lead the van1 to clear the way1 to open 
new paths for progress  through the     
jungle of ignorance and night4          
,privilege to belong to a  privileged   
class1 to special advantage and certain 
success2 privilege to  run the race of  
life1 light and trim against weighted   
competitors1 is  part of the devil's    
gospel1 not of ,god's4 ,of this royal   

class1 who are  ,god's elect ministers  
to mankind in all their generations1    
,jacob is a  typical representative4 ,we
 learn from his character and history   
what ,god  means by callings1           
birthrights1 and blessings1 and how much
 those whom  ,he places in the front    
rank have to toil and suffer for the    
world4 ,there  is something in ,jacob's 
character and in the development of his 
life  which is significant for all time1
 which forecasts the course of ,jewish  
and ,christian ages1 and prophesies in  
broad outline the method of ,god's      
universal culture of our race4    ,at   
the same time the patriarch of ,israel  
presents to us a wonderfully  complete  
image of the race which sprang from him4
 ,we speak of ,jacob  rather than       
,abraham1 as the founder of the people  
to which he gave his  name2 ,abraham1   
the father of the faithful1 is the      
founder of a yet  richer and mightier   
line4 ,but ,jacob is the typical ,jew4  
,his life1 like  the life of his people1

 is simply incomprehensible to those who
 cannot  realize a ,divine vocation1 who
 cannot cling to a ,divine promise1 who 
cannot struggle and suffer in faith for 
the sake of far-off divine  results1    
whereby humanity at large would be      
blessed4 ,jacob's life was  made what it
 was by the commerce which he held with 
the unseen ,god of  his fathers4 ,they  
have but a dim eye for the meaning of   
history who  cannot see that1 under all 
this man's questionable deeds and       
chequered  experience1 this faith in    
,god was the deepest and strongest      
element in  his nature4 ,it ruled the   
critical moments of his life1 it        
sustained him  through all the stormiest
 scenes of his pilgrimage1 and it shone 
out  clearest and strongest in death4   
,scarcely had he gone forth an exile    
from the house of his fathers1 when this
 fruitful commerce with ,god and  the   
spiritual world was established4 ,the   
beautiful narrative in ,genesis  casts a
 flood of light on his life4 8,and      

,jacob went out from ,beersheba1  and   
went toward ,haran4 ,and he lighted upon
 a certain place1 and tarried  there all
 night1 because the sun was set2 and he 
took of the stones of  that place and   
put them for his pillows1 and lay down  
in that place to  sleep4 ,and he        
dreamed1 and behold1 a ladder set up on 
the earth1 and the  top of it reached to
 heaven3 and1 behold1 the angels of ,god
 ascending  and descending on it4 ,and1 
behold1 the ,lord stood above it1 and   
said1 ,i  am the ,lord ,god of ,abraham 
thy father1 and the ,god of ,isaac3 the 
land  whereon thou liest1 to thee will  
,i give it1 and to thy seed2 and thy    
seed shall be as the dust of the earth1 
and thou shalt spread abroad to  the    
west1 and to the east1 and to the north1
 and to the south3 and in  thee and in  
thy seed shall all the families of the  
earth be blessed4  ,and1 behold1 ,i am  
with thee1 and will keep thee in all    
places whither  thou goest1 and will    
bring thee again into this land3 for ,i 

will not  leave thee1 until ,i have done
 that which ,i have spoken to thee of4  
,and  ,jacob awaked out of his sleep1   
and he said1 ,surely the ,lord is in    
this  place1 and ,i knew it not4 ,and he
 was afraid1 and said1 ,how dreadful is 
this place6 this is none other but the  
house of ,god1 and this is the  gate of 
heaven40 7,gen4 xxviii4 #aj-ag47        
,precisely the same influence was       
formative of the character and          
destinies of his race4 ,this high and   
grand quality1 this openness to the     
influence of the 8powers of the world to
 come10 which is surely the  grandest of
 all qualities1 renders the highest     
,divine culture possible1  with         
eternally blessed and glorious results4 
,but it was marred and  debased both in 
,jacob and in his people by the alloy of
 selfish1 base1  and carnal elements1 of
 the earth earthy1 which it was the     
great aim of  all the ,divine discipline
 under which he and his people suffered 
so  sharply1 to purge away and to       

destroy4 ,and herein he represents a    
wider  family than ,israel4 ,this       
,divine tincture1 in a measure1 is in   
all of us1  mixed with the baser earthy 
matter4 ,god's chosen ones1 the subjects
 of  ,his highest culture in all ages1  
have mostly the earthy element in full  
force1 struggling with the ,divine4 ,no 
model men were the chosen people  of    
ancient times1 nor the saints of        
apostolic days4 ,the one question is1   
,hast thou faith8 8,lord1 ,i believe1   
help ,thou mine unbelief10 is           
substantially the confession of ,jacob1 
of ,israel1 and of all who in any  age  
form part of the ,church of the living  
,god4 ,when ,jacob1 when the  ,jews1    
suffered themselves to forget the       
,divinity which was with them1  which   
was in them1 their superior power       
revealed itself as simply  masterly     
craft4 ,jacob1 viewed in one light1 is  
just the most  accomplished and         
successful schemer of his times2 in     
another light1 he  is the grandest      

spiritual prince4 ,his people repeat the
 anomaly4 ,the  race of the grandest    
spiritual power1 of the most intense    
religious  belief1 have earned the      
character of the most accomplished      
hucksters and  tricksters of the world4 
,the power capable of the one1 under the
 true  inspiration1 without it sank     
easily to the level of the other4 ,there
 is  a modern instance remarkably in    
point4 ,in many respects the ,scotch    
have  succeeded to the character and    
position which the ,jews occupied in    
ancient society4 ,in both people there  
is the same grand spiritual power1  the 
same prophetic spirit--,edward ,irving  
was more after the fashion of  an old   
,jewish prophet than any man1 except    
perhaps ,savonarola1 whom we  have had  
among us in these modern days--the same 
intense religious zeal1  the same       
heroism in fighting and suffering for   
their faith1 mixed up  with the same    
worldly ambition1 the same cautious and 
canny temper1 the  same facility of     

dispersion1 and the same power of       
getting on and  winning wealth and      
influence wherever ,god might cast their
 lot4 ,is  there not a manifestation of 
the same law in the history of the      
universal ,church8 ,as with ,jacob1 as  
in ,judaism1 so in ,christendom1 the    
leading spiritual magnates1 the         
prominent ,churchmen of all ages1       
forsaking their true strength1 divesting
 themselves of their true power  as     
,christ's priests and kings1 have sunk  
to the level of the most  selfish       
schemers1 and have won the reputation of
 the cleverest and  wiliest statesmen of
 the world4 ,churchcraft in all ages has
 been held to  be a shade more worldly1 
more subtle1 more ruthless1 than        
statecraft4  ,the old proverb1 8the     
corruption of the best is the worst0    
partly  accounts for it2 but something  
is due also to the principle whose      
workings we trace through ,jacob's      
history1 that the power which1  inspired
 of ,god1 is capable of ,godlike        

activity1 when the world or the  devil  
get hold of it1 is capable of all manner
 of worldly and devilish  work with fell
 energy and success4    ,but ,jacob's   
life was purified and elevated as it    
passed through its  tremendous          
discipline4 ,the aged pilgrim1 having   
won the title of ,prince  of ,god1 stood
 before ,pharaoh clothed with a dignity 
and power which made  the world's       
mightiest monarch bend eagerly under the
 blessing of his  hand4 8,the ,angel    
which redeemed me from all evil10 he    
spake of1 when  his eyes were growing   
dim in death4 ,the history of his life  
is the  history of that redemption1 and 
this is its rich meaning for us4 ,he    
sinned basely and shamefully1 he        
suffered as few have suffered1 and      
wrestled as few have strength to wrestle
 for the blessing which purified  and   
redeemed his life4 ,a sad1 stricken1    
broken man1 halting painfully on  his   
thigh1 he went on his way1 but ennobled1
 purified1 and saved4 ,his  life is a   

revelation of the way of ,god in the    
discipline of our spirits2  how power   
gets educated and purified1 and made    
meet at last for the work  and the joy  
of eternity4 ,so ,judaism1 as it        
struggled on and suffered1  lost some of
 its baser elements1 and came forth1    
developed1 into a  higher region of     
experience and power1 in the life of the
 ,christian  ,church4    ,the study of  
the character of these two men is full  
of the richest  interest and            
instruction2 but our present purpose is 
with the elder1 and  this profoundly sad
 passage of his history4 ,there is much1
 in the matter  of both the birthright  
and the repentance of which our text    
speaks1  which is frequently very       
grievously and even disastrously        
misunderstood1  which is supposed to    
present ideas of the dealings of ,god   
with man which  contradict the          
fundamental principles of the gospel1   
and casts no  trifling stumbling-blocks 
before the steps of faith4 ,that we may 

understand it truly let us consider--   
,i4 ,that the rejection of the elder1   
and the election of the younger to      
honour and power--to all that the       
election of ,god could bring--by no     
means stands by itself in the history of
 the ,divine dispensations2 and  it     
illustrates an important principle on   
which we will dwell for a  moment before
 we pass on4    ,we are tempted to think
 that1 on the whole1 ,esau was a hardly 
used man1  and that we have here an     
instance of the exercise of the ,divine 
sovereignty which is harsh1 arbitrary1  
and unjust4 ,in the natural course  of  
things1 ,esau would have had the        
birthright and all that it was worth4   
,it is made to appear that by a purely  
arbitrary act ,esau was robbed of  it1  
while ,jacob was endowed with it1 having
 no sort of superior claim4  ,paul1 in  
,romans ix4 #aj-ac1 is careful to insist
 that whatever the  principle may be    
which is at work here1 at any rate it is
 not merit1 for  the decree was         

pronounced long before any questions of 
merit could have  force4 ,the           
sovereignty of ,god is here the keystone
 of his argument3 it  is worth our while
 to discern1 as far as we may1 the      
reason on which  this act of sovereignty
 rests4 ,of course the sympathy which we
 extend to  ,esau is based upon some    
idea of the rights of the elder born    
which seems  to be instinctive in the   
human heart4 ,this opens a wide question
 into  which we have no need in this    
place to enter4 ,the principle is       
recognised plainly enough in the word of
 ,god4 ,in ,deuteronomy xxi4 #ae-ag1    
there is explicit legislation on the    
subject4 8,if a man have two  wives1 one
 beloved1 and another hated1 and they   
have born him children1  both the       
beloved and the hated2 and if the       
firstborn son be her's that  was hated3 
then it shall be1 when he maketh his    
sons to inherit that  which he hath1    
that he may not make the son of the     
beloved firstborn  before the son of the

 hated1 which is indeed the firstborn3  
but he shall  acknowledge the son of the
 hated for the firstborn1 by giving him 
a  double portion of all that he hath3  
for he is the beginning of his          
strength2 the right of the firstborn is 
his40 ,joseph was evidently  grieved    
when ,jacob blessed the younger with the
 blessing of the  firstborn1 as though  
some sacred order had been violated3 and
 the very  word 8firstborn0 is employed 
as a term of dignity and pre-eminence   
both  in the ,old and the ,new          
,testament scriptures4 ,i believe it to 
be for the  good of society that this   
order should exist2 that the eldest son 
should  be looked upon as the           
representative of the family1 while the 
younger  sons should regard it as their 
lot--and not the worse lot in the sight 
of ,god and the angels--to carve out a  
new fortune for themselves4 ,i  believe 
this to be a ,divine institution1 and   
that ,god contemplated it  when he      
established the family life as the basis

 of human society4 ,but  just because it
 is an order ordained of ,god1 man shall
 not make an idol  of it4 ,a certain    
free play in the working of an order or 
an institution  is essential to the     
well-being and progress of society4 ,if 
,god had so  ordered all the            
dispensations1 that the elder son was   
constituted  invariably the organ of    
,his communication with the household1  
the tribe1  the race1 it would have     
instituted a caste instead of a         
principle of  order1 and the great      
majority of our race would1 in that     
case1 be  outcast from their birth4     
,that this rule of the elder might not  
become a  tyrannous thing1 that the     
younger sons of the house might feel    
that they  too had a man's part to play 
on the theatre of life1 a part which    
might  easily become grander and more   
glorious than that of the firstborn1    
,god1  at great critical moments1 seems 
to have broken through the order1 and   
made the younger the heir of the        

promises and the organ of ,his          
revelation to mankind4 ,jacob is a      
notable1 a typical instance4 ,the case  
of ,david is hardly less remarkable1 #a 
,sam4 xvi4 #f-ac4 ,and ,paul in the     
spiritual family illustrates the same   
principle2 the youngest born of  the    
apostles1 one in his own estimation     
hardly meet to be called an  apostle1   
laboured more abundantly than they all1 
and was crowned with  the most glorious 
success4 ,but these arbitrary           
selections1 as they  appear at first    
sight1 in reality1 when we look more    
closely1 are found  to deliver the      
institution of primogeniture from       
arbitrariness2 and they  show to us that
 the ,will which rules the world        
maintains its freedom  under the        
guidance of its wisdom1 and remits to no
 institution1 however  useful or        
honourable1 the supreme power in the    
conduct of human affairs4  ,it seems as 
though1 knowing man's inherent          
propensity to formalism1 the  ,lord had 

visibly broken through1 from time to    
time1 the very forms which  ,he had     
,himself established1 that ,he might    
show decisively that forms can  have    
noble use alone in the hands of the     
free4 ,two singular instances of  this1 
closely parallel to each other1 are to  
be found in the numbers of  the tribes  
of ,israel and of the apostles of       
,christ4 ,we talk familiarly  of twelve 
tribes and of twelve apostles4 ,but were
 there truly twelve or  thirteen in each
 case8 ,the question is by no means easy
 to answer4 ,the  tribe of ,joseph was  
split into two4 ,theoretically1 it is   
easy to regard  the tribes of ,ephraim  
and ,manasseh as forming together the   
one tribe of  ,joseph4 ,but1            
practically1 we must remember that the  
tribe of ,ephraim was  the most powerful
 and masterful of the tribes until the  
rise of the  house of ,david4 ,if any   
tribe might be looked upon as complete1 
certainly  it would be the tribe of     
,ephraim4 ,so that1 looking at it in the

 light of  actual history1 we should be 
compelled to reckon thirteen1 but for   
the  fact that the separation of the    
tribe of ,levi for the priesthood       
reduced  to twelve the number of tribes 
claiming tribal settlement in ,canaan1  
and  active in the spheres of industry1 
politics1 and war4 ,similarly1 it is  an
 open question how far the place of     
,judas among the ,twelve was  lawfully  
filled up by the election of ,matthias4 
,it is far from clear  that ,peter and  
the infant ,church were not acting      
hastily in this  election and ordination
 of a successor to the apostate4 ,we    
hear the name  of ,matthias only1 and   
then he disappears from history4 ,while 
we soon  meet with an apostle of the    
,lord's election1 who1 if ,matthias was 
duly  called1 raises the number of the  
apostles to thirteen4 ,is not this      
uncertainty1 this fringe of doubt1 left 
hanging around the numbers in  these    
important and critical instances with a 
set purpose1 that men  might not make an

 idol of the number8 ,that men might not
 think in the  one case that the        
firstborn were the world's sole masters1
 nor dream in  the other that a college 
of twelve was essential to the conduct  
of all  the great spiritual movements of
 mankind4    ,,ii4 ,the question of the 
birthright seems to us to be one on     
which there  is1 popularly at any rate1 
a good deal of misunderstanding4 ,we    
will look  at it a little more closely1 
before we proceed to consider the       
unavailing repentance which will form   
the topic of a second discourse4        
,there is something which reaches beyond
 the merely  historico-representative   
character1 in the history of these      
twain4 ,most  of the earnest and        
generous students of the ,old ,testament
 would1 we  imagine1 if they were to    
make frank confession1 sympathise with  
,esau as  a wronged and ill-used man4 ,a
 sentiment of pity for the big1 burly   
hunter1 so helpless in the hands of the 
subtle and masterly ,jacob1 takes       

possession of us as we read the history4
 ,it seems a hard penalty to pay  for a 
moment's weakness under the pressure of 
the pangs of hunger2 while  the crafty  
treacherous falsehood by which the      
blessing as well as the  birthright was 
won from him enlists us wholly as to    
that transaction on  his side4 ,this    
sentiment of compassion is much         
strengthened by the vague  impression   
that1 through the craft of ,jacob1 ,esau
 suffered a terrible  and irreparable   
loss4 ,and younger sons1 as they see the
 paternal acres1  the family mansion1   
and the dignity of the family name1     
passing to the  elder1 are prone to make
 the same moan1 and to reckon themselves
 the  predestined victims of the social 
order of the world4 ,learn from this    
history how the matter really stands4   
,esau had all the birthright which  he  
honestly cared for2 while ,jacob had    
simply that birthright which1  blessed  
be ,christ1 is within reach of every    
child of every household  upon earth4   

,do not waste your pity upon ,esau1 on  
the ground of what he  lost4 ,pity him  
rather on the score of what he did not  
care to win4 ,it  would be a great      
mistake to suppose that ,jacob's        
treachery left the  elder brother a     
broken and ruined man2 on the contrary1 
the ruin in the  worldly sense fell on  
the man who won the birthright2 and     
though the  blessing was added1 he went 
a broken and halting man to the end of  
his  days4 ,that exceeding great and    
bitter cry1 which was wrung from the    
disinherited when he saw the paternal   
blessing following the birthright1  did 
not continue to wail through his life4  
,he was a warmhearted1 loving1  and     
generous man1 though of fiery passion4  
,the loss of the good old  ,isaac's     
benediction struck him to the heart2 but
 we are wrong in  supposing that it     
remained a burden on his life4 ,nothing 
of the kind2 it  had been better for him
 if it had been so4 ,but the fury seems 
soon to  have passed away1 probably too 

his regrets4 ,he became a chieftain of  
wealth and renown1 rich1 strong1        
illustrious4 ,we meet with him again1   
and there is no trace of a shadow over  
his life4 8,and ,jacob lifted up  his   
eyes1 and looked1 and1 behold1 ,esau    
came1 and with him four hundred  men4   
,and he divided the children unto ,leah1
 and unto ,rachel1 and unto  the two    
handmaids4 ,and he put the handmaids and
 their children foremost1  and ,leah and
 her children after1 and ,rachel and    
,joseph hindermost4 ,and  he passed over
 before them1 and bowed himself to the  
ground seven times1  until he came near 
to his brother4 ,and ,esau ran to meet  
him1 and  embraced him1 and fell on his 
neck1 and kissed him3 and they wept4    
,and  he lifted up his eyes1 and saw the
 women and the children2 and said1 ,who 
are those with thee8 ,and he said1 ,the 
children which ,god hath  graciously    
given thy servant4 ,then the handmaidens
 came near1 they and  their children1   
and they bowed themselves4 ,and ,leah   

also with her  children came near1 and  
bowed themselves3 and after came ,joseph
 near and  ,rachel1 and they bowed      
themselves4 ,and he said1 ,what meanest 
thou by all  this drove which ,i met8   
,and he said1 ,these are to find grace  
in the  sight of my lord4 ,and ,esau    
said1 ,i have enough1 my brother2 keep  
that  thou hast unto thyself40 7,gen4   
xxxiii4 #a-i47 8,and ,esau took his     
wives1  and his sons1 and his daughters1
 and all the persons of his house1 and  
his cattle1 and all his beasts1 and all 
his substance1 which he had got  in the 
land of ,canaan2 and went into the      
country from the face of his  brother   
,jacob4 ,for their riches were more than
 that they might dwell  together2 and   
the land wherein they were strangers    
could not bear them1  because of their  
cattle4 ,thus dwelt ,esau in mount      
,seir4 ,esau is ,edom40  7,gen4 xxxvi4  
#f-h47 ,read the catalogue of his       
princely descendants1 and  remember that
 ,edom played a splendid part in the    

political1 and  especially the          
commercial1 history of the oriental     
world4 ,esau lost  that1 and that alone1
 which his soul had no love for1 and no 
power to  use to honour4 ,but he won    
that in which his soul delighted2 he    
passed a  lifetime of splendid and      
careless prosperity1 and in a good old  
age went  down to his grave in peace4   
,and what did ,jacob win by his         
birthright--his rights of the firstborn8
  ,simply the power to become ,god's    
pilgrim1 the power to win a lofty       
height of honour and renown by life-long
 patience1 by heroic struggle1  by      
wearing1 wasting toils4 ,what good shall
 this birthright do to me1  said the    
hungry hunter1 mad for the mess of      
pottage which the thrifty  ,jacob sold4 
,but what good did the birthright do to 
the supplanter who  bought it1 and      
filched the blessing with it8 ,none1    
absolutely none1 in  the sense in which 
they talk of 8good0 who are reckoning   
gains4 ,it drove  him forth from the    

very hour when he stole his father's    
blessing1 an  exile to a distant land4  
,it made him for long years1 his best   
years1 a  hireling in his kinsman's     
house4 ,it exposed him to precisely the 
kind  of trick which he himself had     
practised1 in a matter of yet deeper    
moment to his affection2 for it         
imperilled the winning of the woman whom
  he tenderly loved4 ,after he had      
served for long years as a hireling for 
a hireling's wage1 it brought him back  
at length to the threshold of the       
promised ,canaan4 ,rich in the wealth of
 the ,east1 he drew near the  borders4  
,his soul was filled with perturbation  
when he heard that ,esau  was coming to 
meet him4 ,the wrong which his brother  
had suffered rose up  freshly before him
 in all its disgraceful features1 and he
 could hardly  believe in the hunter's  
generous forgiveness as he cowered a    
suppliant  at his feet4 ,entered at     
length on the land of his inheritance1  
discord  breaks out in his home and     

embitters his life4 ,he is struck to the
 heart  through his dearest affections4 
8,there ,i buried ,rachel0 is the       
epitaph  of a great agony2 and when     
,joseph was not1 he felt that he should 
go  down mourning to the grave4 ,at     
length the land of his inheritance      
refused to sustain him2 and the weary   
old pilgrim1 with one foot in the       
grave1 goes forth once more an          
exile--the second and final exile--into 
a  land where the sons for whom he won  
and held the birthright were  destined  
for centuries to writhe and moan as     
slaves4 ,what good did the  birthright  
do to him8    ,if you look at the things
 which are seen1 which are mostly in    
view when  birthrights are in question1 
,esau1 the hardly used man1 the victim1 
had  most unquestionably the preferable 
lot4 ,the time came when he stood as a  
prince before ,jacob1 and ,jacob bowed  
himself at his feet4 ,there was no      
malignant spirit at work here1 as we are
 sometimes tempted to conceive  of it1  

making ,esau's life wretched and broken1
 while ,jacob's was heaped  high with   
all which could gladden a grasping and  
sensual heart2 on the  contrary1 the    
chosen son won only that which ,esau    
would not have cared  to lift if it had 
been laid at his very feet4 ,esau lost  
only that which  would have been        
life-long a torment to his easy1 jovial1
 sensual  nature1 which he would have   
prayed to get rid of1 which he would in 
some  way have got rid of1 if it had    
clung to him1 no matter at what cost4   
,there were some1 remember1 who1 finding
 their herds of swine in peril1  prayed 
even the merciful ,saviour 8to depart   
out of their coasts40 ,jacob  seized a  
bitter inheritance as far as this world 
was concerned1 by his  clever           
impersonation2 while ,rebekah1 who      
prompted and managed it1 paid a  yet    
heavier price for it2 in this world she 
never saw her darling more4    ,what he 
won was power with ,god and with man as 
a spiritual prince2 power  to pray1 and 

to conquer by prayer2 power to trust and
 to hope in ,god's  mercy through stern 
struggles and bitter miseries2 and power
 to reach a  hand through death and lay 
up the hope of his soul with ,god on    
high4 ,the  heart which could crave for 
a spiritual thing1 which pined to be a  
child  of promise1 which clung to the   
traditions of his fathers and the hope  
of  his house1 all which ,esau scorned1 
,god trained by suffering to aim        
continually at higher and yet higher    
things4 ,he won1 in a word1 a high      
place in ,god's high school of          
discipline1 and a name of renown as a   
spiritual hero in time and in eternity4 
,this was practically his gain2  and it 
is precisely this which ,god places     
fairly within your reach4 ,you  too may 
be the sons of promise2 8power to become
 the sons of ,god0 is the  birthright   
which in ,christ is yours4 ,jacob1 no   
doubt1 and most justly1  seems to you   
the grander man as compared with ,esau1 
and his life the  nobler and more       

glorious life4 ,then live it4 ,all that 
he won you may  win4 ,make yourself a   
prince of ,god by wrestling prayer4 ,the
 birthright  of broad acres and family  
honours may pass to your elder4 ,the    
birthright  of hard work1 stern         
struggle1 strong effort1 high           
aspiration1  disciplined power1         
victorious faith1 eternal renown and    
joy1 is yours4  ,christ has won it1 and 
freely bestows it--no younger son's     
portion1 but  the birthright of the     
eldest1 the only-begotten son1 glorious 
through  time and eternity4 ,it may be  
that many a younger son may read these  
words2 many a one who may be tempted to 
bemoan himself that the younger  son's  
portion1 the lot of toil and struggle1  
has fallen to him in life4  ,well6 if it
 be so1 bless ,god for it4 ,if the lot  
of the younger be toil  and struggle1 if
 it falls to them mainly to open new    
paths1 not without  peril and pain1 to  
win by earnest and patient effort       
strength and  wisdom1 and to take the   

leader's place in the battle-field of   
life1  don't moan over it if it has     
fallen to you1 but again ,i say bless   
,god  for it4 ,the nobler1 the richer1  
the lordlier inheritance1 is yours4     
,pity1 do not despise1 but pity the     
elders who sit clothed in purple and    
fine linen1 faring sumptuously every    
day4 ,it would be a strange history  if 
it were fairly written out1 the history 
of younger sons1 with a just  estimate  
of what they have done in comparison    
with the elder for the  service and     
progress of mankind4 ,the eldest born1  
the heirs1 with the  inheritance which  
the past has lazily left to them2 the   
younger sons1  with the domain of       
wisdom1 strength1 and influence1 which  
their own  right hand1 ,god helping     
them1 has won4 ,if ,jacob seems to you  
the petted  child of fortune1 the chosen
 favourite of heaven1 and ,esau the     
wretched  reprobate outcast1 spurned    
alike of man and of ,god1 then take     
,jacob's  inheritance2 take it1 it is   

fairly yours4 ,spurn ,esau's1 which the 
devil  is putting into your hand4 ,be   
your choice the pilgrim's toils and     
struggles1 the name of renown1 the      
everlasting portion2 and with the  words
 of the pilgrim's hymn upon your lips   
pass on your way4        8,contented now
 upon my thigh         ,i halt1 till    
life's short journey end2       ,all    
helplessness1 all weakness1 ,i          
,on ,thee alone for strength depend2    
,nor have ,i power from ,thee to move2  
,thy nature and ,thy name is ,love4     
,lame as ,i am1 ,i take the prey2       
,hell1 earth1 and sin1 with ease        
o'ercome2       ,i leap for joy1 pursue 
my way1         ,and1 as a bounding     
hart1 fly home2       ,through all      
eternity to prove       ,thy nature and 
,thy name is ,love40          ,,vi4     
,,no ,,place ,,of ,,repentance4         
8,he found no place of repentance1      
though he sought it carefully      with 
tears40--,,heb4 xii4 #ag4      ,we have 
shown in the last discourse that a close

 examination of the  question of the    
birthright lightens some of the deeper  
shadows which lie  upon it4 ,comparing  
the outward and visible aspect of the   
two men--the  man who sold the          
birthright and lost the blessing1 and   
the man who won  them both--it would    
appear that the balance of worldly      
prosperity was  altogether on ,esau's   
side4 ,esau lost just that which his    
soul despised1  and he won what his soul
 lusted after1 wealth1 power1 and the   
position  of a prince4 ,he lived        
prosperously and splendidly1 and died   
peacefully  we may believe1 with few    
regrets4 ,there is certainly nothing in 
the few  words which are devoted to his 
subsequent history to suggest that he   
lived a disappointed ruined man4 ,on the
 contrary1 he seems to have  displayed  
on his meeting with ,jacob that         
magnanimity and generosity  which       
shallow natures are wont to manifest in 
a prosperous lot4 ,it is  just the glow 
of the sunlight reflected from their    

lives3 the rippling  shallows make a    
braver show in the sunlight than the    
still deep pools2  and ,esaus are gayer 
objects to look at1 when all goes well  
with them1  than the careworn halting   
pilgrim1 who bears on his brow1 and no  
sunlight can efface it1 the marks of    
many toils and tears4 ,but be that  as  
it may1 there can be no question that   
the ,bible does not picture the  life of
 ,esau as a broken and ruined life1 as  
far as this world is  concerned4 ,the   
man grew rich and powerful1 so rich that
 he could afford  to make light of      
,jacob's presents1 so powerful that     
,jacob's company was  helpless in his   
hand4 ,it is written that once the      
children of ,israel  cried for flesh1   
and 8,god gave them flesh1 but sent     
leanness into their  souls40 ,something 
like this was the history of ,esau1 and 
of how many a  worldly-hearted man whom 
fortune loads with gifts1 while the     
springs of  his higher life sink low and
 die4 ,and his race prospered4 ,as      

,jacob was  to ,esau1 quite the weaker  
and more dependent of the two1 so when  
centuries passed was ,israel to ,edom4  
,the descendants of ,esau had  attained 
to such strength and political influence
 that they were able to  bar the gates  
of their land against the elect host1   
pilgrims through the  wilderness like   
their sire1 angel-led1 and saved by     
hope4 ,on the whole  then1 for himself  
and his descendants1 his life must be   
pronounced a  worldly success4          
,jacob1 on the other hand1 had to reap  
life-long the bitter fruits of his      
craft and fraud4 ,his life was a weary1 
wasting struggle with selfish  craft and
 evil passion in all who surrounded him4
 ,he spent the best  years of his life  
in exile1 and stood before ,pharaoh1 in 
his own  judgment prematurely aged and  
decayed4 ,he won a name and a place     
which  called him to submit to a        
searching discipline1 to live the life  
of a  pilgrim1 to dwell as a stranger in
 his promised land1 and to die in  exile

 at last4 ,the world was fuller to him  
of sorrows and toils than of            
benedictions1 and the crown which the   
,prince of ,god at last was able to     
bind around his brow was set with many a
 thorn4 ,but he won the power to  follow
 the ,angel1 the ,angel which redeemed  
him from all evil2 his life1  halting as
 was his step1 was a noble spiritual    
progress from strength to  strength1    
from victory to victory1 till he passed 
up to receive the  prize of his conflict
 in a world and from a hand which ,esau 
8despised40    ,looked at in the light  
of this world's interests then1 some of 
the  darkest difficulties vanish as we  
read the record of this birthright  lost
 and won4 ,but then there is ,esau      
himself1 the man who despised his       
birthright1 who counted himself unworthy
 of the honour to which ,god had        
ordained him1 incapable of the glorious 
toil and patience to which ,god  had    
called him1 and careless of the prize   
which ,god had placed within  reach of  

his hand4 ,the life of this man1 from   
the higher point of view1  was as sad1  
wretched1 and faithless1 as was the     
pilgrim ,jacob's from the  lower4 ,he   
won his wealth and his princedom by his 
energy of hand and  will in all things  
that pertained to this life2 but he let 
all the  interests and hopes of the     
higher life fade out of the horizon1 and
 the  crown of his spiritual manhood    
slip from the grasp of his careless     
hand4  ,he touched it1 but he could not 
hold it4 ,what good shall this          
birthright  do to me1 he moaned when the
 mess of pottage steamed before his     
hungry  senses2 and the crown rolled in 
the dust4 ,there is the man ,esau1 under
  all his possession and princedom1 in  
the sight of ,god a very wretched  and  
poverty-stricken outcast of the kingdom 
whose citizens believe in  truth1 duty1 
spiritual effort1 conflict1 prayer1     
self-sacrifice1 heaven1  and ,god4      
,about the case of ,esau personally     
there are many heavy  difficulties4 ,his

 course seems to have been in a measure 
marked out from  his birth3 8,the elder 
shall serve the younger0 was said of the
 twin  brethren while they were yet in  
the womb3 and some such relation of the 
two seems to be involved in the destiny 
which a higher ,will had from the  first
 decreed4 ,and this opens the vision of 
an abyss of mystery1 into  the depths of
 which no finite intellect can          
search--the relation of  connate        
constitution and temperament to         
character1 and the measure in  which    
this bears on the supreme fact of man's 
being1 responsibility4  ,responsibility1
 implying freedom in the largest sense1 
we hold to be the  corner stone of our  
dignity as men4 ,if man be not free1    
with the  everlasting crown of freedom  
within his reach as the prize of all his
  toils and struggles1 why6 there is not
 a cur that prowls about the  streets   
whose lot is not more enviable4 ,in that
 case man would be a  combatant by a    
profound instinct of his nature1        

struggling sternly  life-long against   
innumerable evils1 with nothing after   
all to struggle  for2 pressed1 crushed1 
by the weight of intolerable ills1 with 
no hope  to sanctify and no harvest to  
repay his pain4 ,who would not 8rather  
be a  dog and bay the moon10 than such a
 creature8 ,for freedom1 and the        
responsibility which it brings1 as the  
fundamental spiritual fact of our       
nature1 we contend earnestly1 yea       
vehemently1 as for the only             
justification of ,god's constitution of 
the human world1 the only key to  the   
woes which ,he lets loose to afflict it 
and the discords with which  ,he allows 
it to be torn4 ,and for the reality of  
this moral freedom we  shall have to do 
stern battle with the school who are    
urging now1 with  great subtilty and    
force1 that all the moral phenomena of  
man's nature  are just the finest       
efflorescence of the nerve matter of    
which his  intelligence is manufactured1
 the cream of the milk of his natural   

law4    ,but it cannot be questioned for
 a moment that men appear to be under   
various conditions of advantage1 as we  
might call it1 with regard to the       
exercise of their freedom and its       
fruits4 ,the differences arise partly1  
but not we believe chiefly1 from        
circumstance4 ,the child of a household 
of thieves or vagrants1 for instance1   
seems to have but a poor chance in  life
 compared with the children who grow up1
 pure1 cultivated1 comely1  and pious1  
in your serene1 happy1 and orderly      
homes4 ,but the more  serious source of 
this inequality is to be found in       
character and  temperament1 inbred      
lusts1 passions1 tempers1 and           
proclivities which may  make the life of
 a man one long agony of struggle and   
failure1 while  another man more fairly 
endowed may find from the first the way 
of  wisdom a way of pleasantness and all
 her paths paths of peace4 ,a man  born 
with a brutal nature and feeble         
spiritual energy1 or with a native      

propensity1 as far as we can see1 to    
certain forms of sin--the  temptation to
 which exercises the kind of fascination
 over his will  which the serpent's eye 
is said to exert over the victim bird1  
but which  another man would burst      
through as easily as ,samson flung off  
the withes  of the ,philistine          
harlot--is1 one is tempted to think1 at 
a terrible  disadvantage in life's      
battle1 compared with the man who has a 
halo of  saintly glory around his brow  
from his birth4 ,it is a dark1 sad      
mystery1  much of which1 after all our  
brooding over it1 we must leave in trust
  with ,god4    ,i believe firmly that  
inequalities arising out of             
circumstances are  after all far less   
real than they appear4 ,the facilities  
and  opportunities for a fair unfolding 
of life are not so uneven1 in  the      
various classes and callings1 as they   
seem4 ,there must be some  deep meaning 
in the ,saviour's words1 8,blessed are  
ye poor10 and  in the terrible sentence1

 8,how hardly shall they that have      
riches  enter into the kingdom of ,god40
 ,there is an amount of practical       
,christianity--daily1 hourly trust in   
,god and ministry to each               
other--developed by the circumstances of
 the lot of the poor1 which  we may     
fairly set against the intelligent      
beliefs1 the doctrinal  correctness1 and
 the measured charities of the richer   
class1 as in  the sight of ,god of equal
 or of higher price4 ,there is nothing  
in a  workman's lot or toil1 to remove  
him farther from the gate of the        
kingdom than rich men1 nobles1 priests1 
or kings2 nay1 the balance  is          
altogether in his favour4 ,but1 alas6   
there is a class far below  the workman1
 a vast class1 vastest in the great     
cities where  ,christian civilization is
 at the height of its splendour and     
power1  whose lot it is terribly        
difficult to comprehend in a theodicy1  
and  of whom it is hard to believe that 
they are not from the first at a        

fearful disadvantage as respects        
nearness to the gate of the  kingdom of 
heaven4 ,but the gravest side of the    
difficulty is not  circumstantial2 it   
concerns nature and temperament4 ,though
 perhaps1  if we could search a little  
more deeply1 we should see that each    
type of character has its own peculiar  
class of difficulties and  temptations2 
and that the most beautiful and         
saintlike have their  dread perils of   
shipwreck1 which make their course as   
arduous as  that of the souls which bear
 about with them a great load of        
fleshliness and groan under the bondage 
of tyrannous passions  and lusts4 ,still
 it is a truth which is not without its 
awful  significance1 that temperaments1 
passions1 and powers1 are very          
variously distributed to men1 while the 
burden of existence is laid  equally    
upon all1 and 8every soul must bear its 
own burden0 in time  and in eternity4   
,these things lend infinite meaning to  
the word 8,father0 when uttered by      

,divine lips4 ,like as a father pitieth 
his children1 the ,father pitieth  and  
beareth with us3 8he knoweth our frame1 
he remembereth that we are  dust40 ,it  
is a father's compassion1 tenderness1   
and equity which we  need1 to be the    
basis of our confidence and hope4 ,a    
father considers  with fatherly care1   
interest1 and love our individual       
endowments1  difficulties1 and          
temptations1 in ruling and in judging   
us2 and ,he will  ordain our eternal    
state with a merciful wisdom1 which has 
to satisfy  not a rigid justice only but
 the hopes and yearnings of a paternal  
heart4 ,if it were not for the belief   
that the bar of judgment before  which  
we shall stand is a wise and righteous  
fatherly heart1 the best  endowed might 
well faint under the burden of          
existence1 while the worst  would moan  
under its agony and curse the day on    
which they saw the sun4  ,there are some
 very terrible sentences in the word of 
,god1 which utter  the moan1 not of the 

worst men1 but of the best and noblest  
with whose  history it deals4 8,after   
this opened ,job his mouth1 and cursed  
his day4  ,and ,job spake1 and said1    
,let the day perish wherein ,i was born1
 and the  night in which it was said1   
,there is a man child conceived4 ,let   
that day  be darkness2 let not ,god     
regard it from above1 neither let the   
light  shine upon it4 ,let darkness and 
the shadow of death stain it2 let a     
cloud dwell upon it2 let the blackness  
of the day terrify it4 ,as for  that    
night1 let darkness seize upon it2 let  
it not be joined unto the  days of the  
year2 let it not come into the number of
 the months4 ,lo1 let  that night be    
solitary1 let no joyful voice come      
therein40 7,job iii4  #a-g47 8,wherefore
 is light given to him that is in       
misery1 and life unto  the bitter in    
soul2 ,which long for death1 but it     
cometh not3 and dig for  it more than   
for hid treasures2 ,which rejoice       
exceedingly1 and are glad  when they can

 find the grave8 ,why is light given to 
a man whose way is  hid1 and whom ,god  
hath hedged in8 ,for my sighing cometh  
before ,i eat1  and my roarings are     
poured out like the waters4 ,for the    
thing which ,i  greatly feared is come  
upon me1 and that which ,i was afraid of
 is come  unto me4 ,i was not in safety1
 neither had ,i rest1 neither was ,i    
quiet2  yet trouble came40 7,job iii4   
#bj-bf47 8,cursed be the day wherein ,i 
was  born3 let not the day wherein my   
mother bare me be blessed4 ,cursed be   
the man who brought tidings to my       
father1 saying1 ,a man child is born    
unto thee2 making him very glad4 ,and   
let that man be as the cities which  the
 ,lord overthrew1 and repented not3 and 
let him hear the cry in the  morning1   
and the shouting at noontide4 ,because  
he slew me not from the  womb2 or that  
my mother might have been my grave1 and 
her womb to be  always great with me4   
,wherefore came ,i forth out of the womb
 to see  labour and sorrow1 that my days

 should be consumed with shame80 7,jer4 
xx4 #ad-ah47 ,these were not bad men1   
crushed under the burden of their  own  
iniquity1 but just1 upright1 and        
,god-fearing men1 who felt that         
existence was too terrible for them     
under conditions which hid from them    
the ,father's ruling hand4 ,and if they 
shrank from the burden of  conscious    
responsible being1 how shall weaker men 
escape its terror1 but  by taking refuge
 under the shield of a ,father's equity 
and love6 ,but  these thoughts lend a   
most blessed meaning to the words of the
 ,saviour3  8,then answered ,jesus and  
said unto them1 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say 
unto  you1 ,the ,son can do nothing of  
himself1 but what he seeth the ,father  
do3  for what things soever he doeth1   
these also doeth the ,son likewise4 ,for
  the ,father loveth the ,son1 and      
showeth him all things that himself     
doeth3 and he will show him greater     
works than these1 that ye may  marvel4  
,for as the ,father raiseth up the dead1

 and quickeneth them2 even  so the ,son 
quickeneth whom he will4 ,for the       
,father judgeth no man1 but  hath       
committed all judgment unto the ,son3   
,that all men should honour the  ,son1  
even as they honour the ,father4 ,he    
that honoureth not the ,son1  honoureth 
not the ,father which hath sent him4    
,verily1 verily1 ,i say  unto you1 ,he  
that heareth my word1 and believeth on  
him that sent me1  hath everlasting     
life1 and shall not come into           
condemnation2 but is  passed from death 
unto life4 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto 
you1 ,the hour is  coming1 and now is1  
when the dead shall hear the voice of   
the ,son of  ,god3 and they that hear   
shall live4 ,for as the ,father hath    
life in  himself2 so hath he given to   
the ,son to have life in himself2 and   
hath  given him authority to execute    
judgment also1 because he is the ,son of
  man40 7,john v4 #ai-bg47 8,,the       
,,father ,,hath ,,committed ,,all       
,,judgment ,,unto ,,the  ,,son40        

8,,because ,,he ,,is ,,the ,,son ,,of   
,,man40 ,because ,he can take a man's   
measure as well as a ,divine measure of 
a man's weaknesses1 perils1 and         
temptations2 can measure1 as a man1     
man's need of mercy1 and utter the      
,divine ,father's judgment from pitiful 
human lips4 ,few words1 as we pore  over
 these dark mysteries of existence1 are 
so full of consolation and  hope as     
these words of the ,saviour upon        
judgment4 ,we can bear the  darkness1 we
 can bear the anguish1 if we are called 
to pass through it1  because we know    
that the ordering of our destinies is in
 the hand of ,one  who mingles with a   
brother's sympathy and tenderness the   
,divine ,father's  equity and love4     
,but the text does not touch upon these 
difficulties of ,esau's history4  ,it   
treats him broadly as the typical       
instance of the reprobate1 the man  who 
by his own base acts has cast himself   
out of the position for which  he was   
born and trained2 who by one decisive   

manifestation of his  character and     
propensities has shut himself out from a
 high career which  opened fairly before
 him1 and who finds no means of         
reversing the decree  which excludes    
him1 though he seeks it carefully with  
tears4 ,it opens a  very terrible vision
 of the inexorable rigour with which    
deeds done1  facts when they are once   
fairly established1 react upon our      
lives4 ,but  the words are often        
perverted to yet darker                 
meanings--suggesting visions  of        
unpardonable sins1 of fruitless agonies 
of personal repentance1--with  which    
souls under strong conviction not seldom
 torment themselves1 and  with which the
 text has absolutely nothing whatever to
 do4 ,a man seeking  change of heart    
with an agony of tears1 pleading with   
,god to renew him1  to restore him1 and 
to cherish him to new life and hope1 yet
 spurned  from the gate of mercy1 flung 
forth accursed from the arms of love1 is
 a  picture which1 blessed be ,god1 has 

no original in the ,divine word4 ,no6   
thus runs the gospel3 8,come unto me1   
all ye that labour and are heavy  laden1
 and ,i will give you rest4 ,take my    
yoke upon you1 and learn of me2  for ,i 
am meek and lowly in heart1 and ye shall
 find rest unto your  souls4 ,for my    
yoke is easy1 and my burden is light40  
8,ask1 and it  shall be given you2 seek1
 and ye shall find2 knock1 and it shall 
be  opened unto you40 8,for every one   
that asketh receiveth1 and he that      
seeketh findeth2 and to him that        
knocketh it shall be opened40 8,if ye1  
being evil1 know how to give good gifts 
unto your children1 how much  more shall
 your ,father which is in heaven give   
the ,holy ,spirit to them  that ask     
him80 8,whoso cometh unto me ,i will in 
no wise cast him out40  8,this man1     
because he continueth ever1 hath an     
unchangeable priesthood2  wherefore he  
is able also to save them to the        
uttermost that come unto  ,god by him1  
seeing he ever liveth to make           

intercession for them40    ,if any who  
reads these words has ever made this    
text a stumbling-block1  has ever       
suffered the devil to thrust the thought
 into his heart that he  has sinned too 
deeply for repentance1 and wandered too 
far for  return--that he can but lie    
moaning and weeping like ,esau1 and     
pleading  with anguished heart for      
repentance1 to find his moans rained    
back in  anathemas1 and his tears with  
the fire of the wrath of the ,lamb1--let
  him sweep back the thought as an      
unholy thing to the devil who inspired  
it1 and cling to the outstretched hand  
of ,him who 8will not break the  bruised
 reed1 who will not quench the smoking  
flax1 but will bring forth  judgment    
unto truth40    ,the text has literally 
nothing to do with personal repentance  
before  ,god4 ,no man can spiritually   
seek a place of repentance carefully    
with  tears1 and fail to find it1 for   
the very act is an act of repentance4 ,i
  do not care to discuss the question   

whether the repentance here spoken  of  
is a change in the mind of ,isaac1 or of
 ,esau himself4 ,in either case  the    
meaning is substantially the same4 ,he  
found no means of reversing  the decree1
 of winning the blessing of the         
firstborn1 of inducing his  father to   
recall the benediction which had been   
treacherously diverted  to the younger1 
though he sought it carefully with      
tears4 ,if it were  possible that this  
text1 in all its dreadful meaning1 could
 bear on  personal repentance for sin1  
and frighten men from it lest after all 
it  should be hopeless1 it would deny   
the fundamental ideas and promises of   
the gospel2 nay1 it would itself        
8trample under foot the ,son of ,god1   
and count the blood of the covenant     
wherewith he was sanctified an  unholy  
thing1 and do despite to the ,spirit of 
grace40    ,no6 the text is a very      
solemn and even terrible warning of the 
irrevocable character of deeds done in  
folly or frenzy2 the inexorable         

character of the fate which takes       
possession of them when once they have  
gone forth from us1 and which makes by  
them1 it may be in spite of our  tears  
and prayers and desperate struggles1 a  
complete revolution in our  lives4      
,esau's history is but the repetition of
 the history of the fall4 ,and it  is a 
history which we all constantly repeat  
in the critical moments of  our lives4  
,esau fell as ,adam fell1 and           
fundamentally for the same  reason4     
,adam despised his birthright1 and      
thought that there was a  readier way to
 the satisfaction of the desires of his 
heart4 ,esau by one  act changed1 not   
his own history and destiny only1 but   
the destiny of a  great nation2 ,adam   
changed1 by his one sin1 the destiny of 
a great  world4 8,wherefore10 says the  
apostle1 8as by one man sin entered into
  the world1 and death by sin1 and so   
death passed upon all men40 7,rom4  v4  
#ab47 ,adam1 like ,esau1 saw through the
 eyes of ,eve that the 8tree was  good  

for food1 and that it was pleasant to   
the eyes1 and a tree to be  desired to  
make one wise40 ,what good shall my     
birth-right do to me1 he  said          
practically when he saw the forbidden   
fruit1 and he sold it2 and  that        
moment's work for him1 for you1 for me1 
for all the myriad human  generations1  
can never be recalled in time or in     
eternity4 ,there is  something very much
 nobler here than in ,esau's            
profaneness4 ,it was not  in a moment of
 sensual lust that our first father sold
 his own  birthright and ours4 ,the     
desire of wisdom1 or what he took for   
wisdom1  had much to do with the force  
of the temptation2 but the essence of   
the  matter is the same3 ,adam and ,esau
 both chose1 in the place of the good   
which ,god had provided for them1 a good
 which they provided for  themselves4   
,bitterly ,adam1 like ,esau1 repented of
 his folly1 and sought  to undo his     
work4 ,when the wilderness lay cold and 
bare before him1 and  the flaming sword 

of the cherubim guarded the backward    
path to the  bright abodes which he had 
lost for ever1 he measured for the first
 time  the full significance of his     
transgression4 ,and when the sun set    
angry  and lurid on the wilderness1 and 
the moaning winds swept hoarsely over   
the waste1 while a shudder shook the    
breast of nature as the tempest  clouds 
gathered in the sullen sky1 ,adam caught
 the infection of the  tremor1 and      
watched with quivering eye the awful    
conflict of the forces  which had broken
 loose from his allegiance1 and which   
seemed to come  thundering on as the    
doomsmen of the death which his ,judge  
had decreed4  ,think you that then his  
heart did not cling to the memories of  
the  splendours and serenities of ,eden 
with passionate longing2 think you  that
 he did not prostrate himself in an     
agony of frenzied supplication  that the
 barred portal might be unclosed again1 
that the fiery sword  might be sheathed1
 that the flowers of ,eden might again  

spring beneath  his footsteps1 while the
 balmy breezes whispered a blessing as  
they  played around the field of his    
labour and his bower of rest8    ,and   
what has been the long and bitter cry of
 man's sad history8 ,o ,god1  reverse   
the sentence1 reopen the gate of        
paradise1 revoke the curse1 let  the    
sunlight of ,eden shine once more on a  
holy1 peaceful1 and happy  world6 ,this 
is the great burden of human literature 
in all its deeper  and more sacred      
utterances2 it is the meaning of all the
 world's great  poems1 the refrain of   
all its immortal hymns4 ,recall the     
curse6 let life  again become pure1     
peaceful1 and blessed6 ,men1 nations1   
ages have  agonized1 over the sentence2 
but they have found no place of         
repentance1  no means to change the mind
 of the ,judge or their own condition as
 the  subjects of it1 though they have  
sought it carefully with tears4 ,esau   
was the rejected of the birthright2 you 
and ,i are the rejected of ,eden4       

,sinners we are by nature and           
proclivity1 with a sinner's burdens1 a  
sinner's experience1 and a sinner's     
doom4 ,and there is no way to change    
the past1 to rid us of the burden1 to   
cancel the sentence1 to mitigate  the   
anguish of a life on which the devil has
 seared the shameful brand2  no way to  
force the barred gates of paradise1 even
 by the banded  energies of a           
pain-racked1 sin-tormented world4       
,and ,i suppose that the private        
experience of most men furnishes the key
  to this4 ,who has not known something 
of the agony with which one dark  deed  
of passion1 lust1 falsehood1 knavery1   
baseness1 can torture a human  heart8   
,look back4 ,is there nothing in the    
past1 rising up at this moment  in the  
full menace of its hateful form1 clear  
as the ghost of ,banquo  before his     
murderer's sight1 which you would give  
your wealth1 nay1 some  of you would    
give worlds if they had them1 to undo2  
if conscience might  but recover its    

serenity1 and life its brightness2 if   
the leprous flesh  of their experience  
might again become1 like ,naaman's1     
fair1 pure1 and  sweet as the flesh of a
 little child4 ,it is not every ,gehazi 
whose  leprosy comes out in his flesh1  
and makes him loathsome to his fellows4 
,how many ,gehazis move about among us1 
burying their leprosy within1 but  none 
the less plague-stricken and perilous6  
,happy those who have no dark  chambers 
in their being1 haunted by the skeletons
 of their dead lusts1  sins1 or         
crimes--skeletons which never fail to   
come forth at their  banquets to scare  
them1 choosing ruthlessly the hours of  
their festivity  and triumph to murder  
all their joys4 ,there may be some      
readers of these  words who know this in
 all its horror1 in whom the anguish of 
the  irrevocable and irreparable has    
killed all the joy of life--a word      
spoken1 a passion indulged1 a deed done1
 which in one brief moment has  drawn a 
brooding shadow over the once sunlit    

landscape of their lives4  ,and you have
 wept and prayed1 lying prostrate on the
 cold1 ground1  beseeching the merciful 
,god that ,he would blot out the record 
from your  memory and from the lives    
which it has embittered and cursed2 but 
8the  heaven has been as brass1 the     
earth beneath has been as iron40 ,the   
word  8irrevocable0 has forced its      
meaning upon you in all its terrible    
sternness1 and you have needed no       
commentary to expound1 or preacher to   
drive home1 the meaning of the sentence1
 8,beware lest there be any  fornicator1
 or profane person1 as ,esau1 who for   
one morsel of meat sold  his birthright4
 ,for ye know how that afterward1 when  
he would have  inherited the blessing1  
he was rejected3 for he found no place  
of  repentance1 though he sought it     
carefully with tears40    ,and if there 
may be some readers who know this       
experience in all its  horror1 there are
 a multitude who know it in its more    
modified forms1  and who find it        

terrible enough even then4 ,who has not 
had forced upon  him the misery of      
regrets or remorse1 the causes of which 
remain  unalterable1 fixed as the stars 
in their orbits1 and the fruits of which
  leave deep traces on the experience   
and the destiny through time1 yes1  and 
through eternity8 ,did ,david1 think    
you1 ever look coldly or  carelessly on 
his bold soldier's bloody grave8 ,was   
there no sad shadow1  to his eye1 around
 the beauty of ,bathsheba's child1 which
 no murmured  8,jedidiah0 could chase   
away8 ,was his home ever free from the  
shadow1  from the hour when ,nathan's   
8,thou art the man0 drove conviction    
home1  and wrung from him the most      
bitter cry of a sinner's anguish which  
has  found record in the literature of  
our world8 ,few things in the book of   
history are more terrible than the      
sorrow which entered ,david's home1  the
 discord which rent his kingdom1 the    
anguish which pierced his heart1  from  
the hour of his great transgression4 ,a 

sad1 careworn1 broken man1  he finished 
his course and went down to his grave4  
,compare the ,david of  #a ,kings i41   
ii41 with the young shepherd in his     
early prime1 if you  would estimate the 
havoc which one great sin may make in a 
noble life4  ,ah6 in a measure we all   
know it1 in some form or other2 words1  
deeds1  outbursts of passion1 which have
 wrung dear hearts with anguish1        
sundered precious bonds of love1 have   
sullied reputation1 clouded  prospects1 
withered hopes1 or blighted the promise 
of lives which we  were bound to        
cherish1 or of our own4 ,and we would   
give worlds to blot  out their record1  
and to repair the evil which has been   
wrought2 but it  remains engraven with  
an iron pen in the rock for ever3 man   
cannot  obliterate it1 and ,god will    
not4    ,to complete the subject1 let me
 ask you to consider two thoughts4      
#a4 ,these dread seasons of crucial     
trial1 on which the future of life1  nay
 of eternity1 is hanging1 never come    

upon us in a moment4    ,it would appear
 from the text that one morsel of meat  
settled the  question of the birthright2
 that one hard1 hot morning's chase     
settled  the destinies of peoples for   
all time4 ,that is one side of it1 the  
outside4 ,but the real settlement of the
 question was made already2 any  trifle 
will serve to disclose what has already 
established itself as the  permanent    
character within4 ,esau had nursed his  
contempt for the  birthright by a       
thousand daily lustings and cravings2   
many a bitter  scoff too he had flung at
 ,jacob's pious and meditative mood4    
,things like  this never stand alone4   
,the life of the chosen family is       
described in  words of wonderful beauty 
and power in ,heb4 xi4 #h-ad4 8,by faith
  ,abraham1 when he was called to go out
 into a place which he should after     
receive for an inheritance1 obeyed2 and 
he went out1 not knowing whither  he    
went4 ,by faith he sojourned in the land
 of promise1 as in a strange  country1  

dwelling in tabernacles with ,isaac and 
,jacob1 the heirs with  him of the same 
promise4 ,for he looked for a city which
 hath  foundations1 whose builder and   
maker is ,god4 ,through faith also ,sara
  herself received strength to conceive 
seed1 and was delivered of a child  when
 she was past age1 because she judged   
him faithful who had promised4          
,therefore sprang there even of one1 and
 him as good as dead1 so many as  the   
stars of the sky in multitude1 and as   
the sand which is by the sea  shore     
innumerable4 ,these all died in faith1  
not having received the  promises1 but  
having seen them afar off1 and were     
persuaded of them1 and  embraced them1  
and confessed that they were strangers  
and pilgrims on  the earth4 ,for they   
that say such things declare plainly    
that they seek  a country40 ,this life  
,jacob believed in profoundly2 this life
 ,esau as  profoundly despised4 ,he     
despised it all1 and made his contempt  
abundantly apparent4 8,and ,esau was    

forty years old when he took to wife    
,judith the daughter of ,beeri the      
,hittite1 and ,bashemath the daughter of
  ,elon the ,hittite4 ,which were a     
grief of mind unto ,isaac and to        
,rebekah0  7,gen4 xxvi4 #cd1 #ce74 ,this
 shows how thoroughly out of sympathy   
with the  spirit of the chosen race he  
was from the first1 and remained through
  life4 ,all his sympathies and         
associations were with the pagans around
  him4 ,jacob was the true heir of the  
promise1 for he believed in it2 ,esau   
its outcast1 for he despised it1 and had
 despised it from the first4 ,his  every
 act had expressed his contempt of it1  
and the sale of the  birthright for a   
mess of pottage but completed the       
witness that he was a  profane person1 a
 pagan at heart4 ,these moments mark the
 crises for  which a long train of      
thought and habit has prepared4 ,many a 
secret sin1  born of luxury and nursed  
by royal power and splendour1 broke out 
into  the daylight when ,david looked   

upon ,bathsheba1 and filled his life    
with  unutterable sorrow and shame4 ,god
 takes no man in a hasty moment and     
brands him reprobate4 ,a thousand daily 
touches through long years have  shaped 
the image which there reveals itself1   
and on which is moulded  the everlasting
 destiny4 ,the little sins of life are  
busily1 hour by  hour1 creating the     
great sins4 ,the small habits and       
actions1 which we  allow to pass        
unrebuked--they seem to be such         
trifles--soon pass away  beyond the     
power of memory to recall2 but they     
leave their ineffaceable  trace on our  
constitution and character1 and lay     
silently the train of  some great       
outburst of lust1 passion1 or           
wickedness1 like ,esau's or  ,david's4  
,then is written a record on our nature 
and destiny which one  day we shall     
agonize to blot out2 but the inexorable 
eye looks coldly  down on the frenzied  
pleader1 and the stony lips fashion     
themselves into  a voiceless 8,too      

late60 ,meet sin1 meet all the devil's  
seductions and  enticements1 sternly on 
the threshold1 and the citadel remains  
for ever  sure4    #b4 ,the irrevocable 
is not the irreparable1 through the     
abounding mercy  and grace of ,god4     
,things cannot be obliterated or        
abolished4 ,they remain1 and their      
record remains1 for ever4 ,but1 blessed 
be ,god1 they may be transmuted1  and   
wear ,divine forms of beauty and joy4   
,and this is what redemption  means4    
,eden is closed for ever4 ,to abolish   
the condition of man as a  sinner1      
otherwise than by one grand sentence of 
doom which would abolish  his existence 
as a creature1 is beyond the power even 
of heaven4 ,a  sinner's lot you inherit1
 a sinner's experience you must know1 a 
sinner's agony you must taste1 a        
sinner's horror of darkness you must    
pass through--to the pit1 if the        
birthright never again seems to you     
beautiful and glorious1 a thing to be   
won by toil and tears and prayers2  but 

if your soul pines in its rioting1 if it
 sickens in its worldly  wealth and     
splendour1 if the question forces itself
 upon you as it never  seems to have    
forced itself upon ,esau1 8,what shall  
it profit a man if  he gain the whole   
world and lose his own soul1 or what    
shall a man give  in exchange for his   
soul80 then the sinner's anguish1 from  
which there  is no escape for any one of
 us1 may be made by ,christ's dear love 
the  strait gate to the splendour1 the  
glory1 the bliss of heaven4 ,and this   
is ,redemption4 ,divine love1 love that 
could die1 love that did die1  that its 
beloved ones might not die1 is the      
solvent which transmutes all  the shame 
and pain of sin to heavenly glory and   
bliss4 8,where sin  abounded1 grace did 
much more abound2 that as sin had       
reigned unto  death1 even so might grace
 reign through righteousness1 unto      
eternal  life1 by ,jesus ,christ our    
,lord40 ,here is no reversal1 no        
obliteration  of the past1 mark you2 the

 thing that was is and shall be2 no     
power in  the universe can blot out its 
trace4 ,the experience of a sinner is   
part  of your being1 and in its         
transmuted form must remain part of your
  being1 through eternity4 ,these wounds
 and sores of sin1 suffused by          
,christ's great love1 become the        
lustrous pearls of heaven4 ,nothing in  
the past1 ,i care not how dark or       
damning it may be1 is irreparable by    
the love which 8endured the cross and   
despised the shame10 that it  might win 
the right and the power to redeem4      
,there is no sin whose  stains may not  
be wept out at the ,redeemer's feet4    
,there is no life  which may not win    
8,she hath loved much1 for she hath much
 forgiven0 as  its record1 earnest of a 
rapture of eternal bliss4 ,but dream not
 that  the path can be an easy one1 and 
that penitence can transmute the sorrow 
into joy by a word4 ,you have done that 
whose issues could only be undone  by   
the agony and bloody sweat of           

,gethsemane1 the cross and passion of   
,calvary2 and you too must die1 die to  
sin1 that you may live to ,god4 ,the    
flesh1 which has despised your          
birthright1 must be mortified1          
crucified1  by grace4 8,i am crucified  
with ,christ0 you must learn to say2 you
 must  know the fellowship of the       
sufferings of your ,master1 and taste   
the cup  of which ,he drank the dregs1  
or the lost birthright is lost for ever1
  and the deed done on earth remains    
irreparable as well as irrevocable      
through eternity4          ,,vii4       
,,the ,,curse ,,of ,,the ,,ground4      
8,cursed is the ground for thy          
sake40--,,gen4 iii4 #ag4      ,are these
 words part of a curse1 or part of a    
blessing8 ,are they a  sentence on man1 
the doom of his transgression1 or the   
first stage of a  process destined to   
issue in the redemption of the heir of  
promise from  sorrow and sin for ever8  
,few phrases are more frequently on our 
lips  than 8the curse of labour40 ,men1 

women1 yea little children1             
overburdened and crushed by the stern   
toil which is the necessity of  their   
existence1 easily catch up the sentence1
 and submit to the  necessity in the    
sullen bitter mood with which a slave   
accepts his  chastisement1 or a criminal
 the sentence of doom4 ,few things are  
more  firmly fixed in our minds than    
that the toil and the strain of life are
  ,god's curse on transgression1 having 
merciful bearings and issues no  doubt  
for the man who lovingly submits to the 
discipline1 but in  themselves evil and 
hateful1 born of sin1 and a part of     
death4    ,i propose to examine this    
idea in the present discourse1 and to   
endeavour to estimate this curse upon   
the ground in its bearings on  man's    
development as a spiritual being1 and   
his relations to his  ,redeemer1 ,god4  
,that toil1 care1 and pain spring out of
 the one great act  of transgression    
which every life repeats is the plain   
and indisputable  affirmation of the    

word of ,god4 ,the dark tones of man's  
present life  gloom against a background
 of radiant brightness and beauty2 in   
the  childhood of humanity1 as in the   
life of every human child1 ,eden shines 
behind all the toil and sorrow of the   
world4 ,there has been a grand          
cataclysm in man and in nature4 ,the    
structure of the world has been  rent   
and contorted1 and the fractures and    
contortions repeat themselves  in life4 
8,sin entered into the world1 and death 
by sin20 8,god made  man upright1 but he
 sought out many inventions10 are the   
sentences of a  sound philosophy1       
estimating the facts of consciousness   
and history1 as  well as statements of  
the word of ,god4 ,there has been a     
fall1 a rupture1  by the sinful guilty  
action of the freewill of the creature1 
of the  pristine perfect relation       
between man and ,god and man and the    
world4  ,transgression1 the sinful      
exercise of freedom1 is the fundamental 
fact  of man's present nature and life2 

and the sentence on the transgressor1   
the inevitable sentence1 8the soul that 
sinneth it shall die10 lies at  the root
 of all the bitter anguish of the world4
    ,there are abundant signs of the    
action of terribly destructive and      
desolating forces in the physical       
structure of the world4 ,the earth has  
been torn and convulsed as by the spasm 
of some great agony1 and the  signs of  
it lie thick around4 ,huge beds of rock1
 thousands of feet in  thickness1 have  
been cracked and shivered like          
potsherds2 streams of  molten metal have
 been injected into the fissures1 and   
have surged  through the rents and swept
 vast floods of burning lava over the   
smiling  plains4 ,there must have been  
times in the history of the development 
of  this earth1 fair and calm as it lies
 now under the sun1 when its whole      
structure must have been shaken to the  
very centre2 when there was dread  peril
 lest1 like some lost planet1 it should 
be shattered into fragments  and fill   

its orbit with a cloud of wreck4 ,but   
some sure hand has helped  earth's      
travail1 and has brought forth out of   
the chaos of struggle and  storm an     
orderly1 smiling1 serene1 and beautiful 
world4 ,the signs of  past agony are    
there1 to those whose eye can pierce the
 surface2 but a  loving hand has clothed
 it all with a glow of beauty and a robe
 of  grace4 ,the regions where the      
convulsion was fiercest1 where the scars
  are deepest1 are the regions of       
glorious mountain beauty1 whither       
pilgrims wend as to nature's most sacred
 shrine4 ,the rents and chasms1  clothed
 with the most splendid forests1 with   
streams leaping and  sparkling through  
the emerald meadows to the hollows      
below1 breathe  nothing but beauty1 and 
stir all hearts to joy and praise4 ,the 
touch of  the destroyer is everywhere   
masked by beauty2 and out of the chaos  
of  confusion ,god has drawn forth1 what
 never could have been but for the      
chaos1 the infinite variety1 the grace1 

the splendour1 the glory of the  world4 
,this mystery of order and beauty1 of   
cosmos1 which reveals itself to us  in  
nature1 unveils itself too in man's     
spiritual world4 ,life1 the life  of the
 human1 bears traces everywhere of      
kindred dislocation4 ,a great           
convulsion has rent man's nature1 has   
torn it away from ,god and from  ,eden1 
and scattered what1 but for a redeeming 
restoring hand1 would have  been blasted
 wrecks1 about the world4 ,toil1 pain1  
care1 anguish have  chased the serenity 
and bliss of paradise from man's heart  
and from  man's world4 ,earth is full of
 wailing1 and life of misery4 ,looking  
at  its surface aspects1 we are tempted 
to call this life of man the  abortion  
of freedom1 and to cry with ,job1 with  
,jeremiah1 ,why did it not  perish      
before it saw the sun8 ,look deeper4 ,as
 in nature1 so in man's  life1 a loving 
restoring hand has been working2 the    
wastes of sin are  already clothed with 
some tints of greenness2 flowers of rare

 beauty and  splendour spring up on what
 sin had made a dreary1 blasted desert4 
,the  moral chaos1 touched by the hand  
of the ,divine love1 the love of ,god   
the  ,redeemer1 already puts on some    
dress of beauty2 nay1 it glows here and 
there with a nascent glory whose        
fountain is beyond the stars4 ,some     
vision of a grand and glorious purpose  
of redemption unveils itself as  we     
search the secrets of man's sad history4
 8,where sin abounded10 we  read in the 
book of life as well as in the book of  
,scripture1 8grace  did much more       
abound3 ,that as sin hath reigned unto  
death1 even so might  grace reign1      
through righteousness unto eternal life1
 by ,jesus ,christ  our ,lord40 7,rom4  
v4 #bj1 #ba47 ,what we see accomplished 
helps us to  realize the visions of the 
prophetic word4 8,the wilderness and the
  solitary place1 shall be glad for     
them2 and the desert shall rejoice1  and
 blossom as the rose4 ,it shall blossom 
abundantly1 and rejoice even  with joy  

and singing3 the glory of ,lebanon shall
 be given unto it1 the  excellency of   
,carmel and ,sharon2 they shall see the 
glory of the ,lord1  and the excellency 
of our ,god40 8,then the eyes of the    
blind shall be  opened1 and the ears of 
the deaf shall be unstopped4 ,then shall
 the lame  man leap as an hart1 and the 
tongue of the dumb sing3 for in the     
wilderness shall waters break out1 and  
streams in the desert4 ,and the  parched
 ground shall become a pool1 and the    
thirsty land springs of  water3 in the  
habitation of dragons where each lay1   
shall be grass with  reeds and rushes4  
,and an highway shall be there1 and a   
way1 and it shall  be called ,the way of
 holiness3 the unclean shall not pass   
over it2 but  it shall be for those3 the
 wayfaring men1 though fools1 shall not 
err  therein4 ,no lion shall be there1  
nor any ravenous beast shall go up      
thereon1 it shall not be found there2   
but the redeemed shall walk there4  ,and
 the ransomed of the ,lord shall return 

and come to ,zion with songs1  and      
everlasting joy upon their heads3 they  
shall obtain joy and  gladness1 and     
sorrow and sighing shall flee away40    
7,isa4 xxxv4 #a1 #b1  #e-aj47 ,sin1 the 
sin of the first parent1 which every    
child of ,adam  repeats1 is the         
fundamental fact of man's being2 no     
religion1 no  philosophy1 which makes   
light of it can lay firm hold of man's  
conscience and heart4 ,but1 blessed be  
,god1 grace is the crowning fact2  and  
it is the crown which will remain       
conspicuous through eternity4    ,the   
sentence on sin then is a dread reality4
 8,the soul that sinneth it  shall die0 
remains as ,god's judgment record1 which
 no art or effort of  man can cancel4   
,but in this first sentence on ,his     
sinful child ,god has  wondrously       
interwoven benediction and judgment1    
warning and promise1  words of life and 
dooms of death4 ,on the serpent the     
curse is decisive  and final3 8,and the 
,lord ,god said unto the serpent1       

,because thou hast  done this1 thou art 
cursed above all cattle1 and above every
 beast of  the field2 upon thy belly    
shalt thou go1 and dust shalt thou eat  
all the  days of thy life40 7,gen4 iii4 
#ad47 ,but the sternness relaxes and the
  doom melts into a promise1 when the   
,judge addresses ,himself to man4 ,the  
very curse on the serpent is pregnant   
with blessing to the woman and her      
seed2 the ,executor of the ,lord's      
judgment on the tempter is the          
everlasting triumphant ,redeemer of     
mankind4 ,and throughout the sentence   
on our race blessing ranges in          
fellowship with judgment2 and the       
sternest words1 prophets of many ills   
and sorrows1 are rich benedictions  in  
disguise4 ,and this 8cursed is the      
ground0 is amongst them4 ,it  sounds    
hard and stern1 and prophesies a long   
and hard apprenticeship of  toil and    
pain2 but stern as it seems1 it is part 
of the blessing and not  of the cursing1
 of the benediction and not of the doom4

 ,it describes the  first stage of the  
redemptive process of which the sentence
 on the  serpent had spoken1 and is the 
condition of man's elevation out of the 
estate of a sinful1 suffering1 degraded 
creature to the friendship1  fellowship1
 and likeness of ,god4 ,in order that we
 may appreciate this1  and see the true 
meaning and bearing of the judgment1 ,i 
shall ask you to  consider with me--    
,i4 ,the range of the sentence4    ,,ii4
 ,its work4    ,i4 ,the range of the    
sentence4 ,it is the sentence1 as far as
 it bears on  man's present condition   
and experience1 that ,i wish to         
consider1--the  8men must work and women
 must weep0 aspect of our               
life--excluding the  deeper and more    
tremendous question of death and its    
issues4 ,not that  any full             
consideration of the one is possible    
without reference to the  other4 ,the   
whole sentence hangs together2 our life 
is of one texture1  one warp runs       
through the whole piece2 and every      

groan1 every pain1  every bead of sweat 
upon the brow1 every shadow that glooms 
over the  life1 has its full            
interpretation in the fact that 8sin has
 entered  into the world1 and death by  
sin20 all pain is truly a beginning to  
die4 ,but for our present purpose it is 
possible sufficiently to isolate  the   
conditions of man's life as the workman 
and the sufferer1 and to  consider how  
they bear1 benignly or malignly1 on his 
essential interests  as a spiritual     
being and his education for the destiny 
which through  grace sin has been       
instrumental to create rather than to   
destroy4 ,the  elements of the sentence 
which are closely connected with the    
cursing of  the ground1 which in fact   
are links of the same chain1 are        
three3--    ,toil--pain--care4    #a4   
,toil4 ,this is fundamental4 ,on this   
man's existence hangs2 to pause  here is
 to stop the pulse of life4 8,and unto  
,adam he said1 ,because thou  hast      
hearkened unto the voice of thy wife1   

and hast eaten of the tree of  which ,i 
commanded thee1 saying1 ,thou shalt not 
eat of it3 cursed is the  ground for thy
 sake2 in sorrow shalt thou eat of it   
all the days of thy  life2 ,thorns also 
and thistles shall it bring forth to    
thee2 and thou  shalt eat the herb of   
the field3 ,in the sweat of thy face    
shalt thou eat  bread1 till thou return 
unto the ground2 for out of it wast thou
 taken3  for dust thou art1 and unto    
dust shalt thou return40 7,gen4 iii4    
#ag-ai47  ,the life of man in ,eden was 
as free from toil as the life of a bee  
among  the limes4 ,toil is wearing1     
wasting work2 work to which no inward   
impulse1 but the pressure of a stern    
necessity1 moves us2 work which we  must
 do1 whether we love it or whether we   
hate it1 whether it gently  tasks us or 
strains and exhausts our wearied powers2
 work which compels  us to put aside    
much that we would infinitely more      
gladly work at1 which  cuts us off from 
pleasant occupation1 profitable to our  

intellectual and  social life2 work1 in 
a word1 which puts a yoke upon us1 a    
yoke which  wears and galls2 work which 
makes us moan1 and curse the day that we
  were born to it1 and fills us with    
wild1 rebellious passion1 which vents   
itself in railings1 blaspheming the     
wisdom and goodness of the ,creator  and
 the divine order and beauty of the     
world4 ,this is the work which we       
sinners are born to2 work which urges us
 with bloody spur1 and exacts a  tribute
 of our life-blood as it drives us      
through the merciless round4  ,this is  
toil4 ,this is what the curse of the    
ground has done for us2 we  eat our     
bread1 not joyously1 thankfully1 as in  
,eden1 but in the sweat of  brow1 brain1
 and heart4 ,how bright the contrast of 
the ,eden life6 8,and  the ,lord ,god   
planted a garden eastward in ,eden2 and 
there he put the man  whom he had       
formed4 ,and out of the ground made the 
,lord ,god to grow  every tree that is  
pleasant to the sight1 and good for     

food2 the tree of  life also in the     
midst of the garden1 and the tree of    
knowledge of good  and evil4 ,and a     
river went out of ,eden to water the    
garden2 and from  thence it was parted1 
and became into four heads4444 ,and the 
,lord ,god  took the man1 and put him   
into the garden of ,eden1 to dress it   
and to  keep it40 7,gen4 ii4 #h-aj1     
#ae47 ,sweet1 light labour1 parent of   
yet  sweeter rest4 ,to dress and to keep
 the garden6 ,a garden planted by the   
hand of the ,lord4 ,the fairest1        
brightest garden of the creation2 dewy  
fragrance1 radiant colour1 splendid     
form2 all that imagination can dream  of
 beauty and glory1 bathing man's life in
 an atmosphere of ravishing1  exquisite1
 inexhaustible joy4 ,one act of         
transgression1 and the garden  vanished4
 ,like a dream it faded2 and hard1 stern
 realities1 unlovely  hues1 ungraceful  
forms1 unkindly elements1 rose round    
,adam in its room4  ,instead of the     
garden where the touch of the ,divine   

hand still lingered  in forms and tones 
of bewildering beauty1 a bare hard      
wilderness  stretched everywhere around 
him1 whence not a morsel of bread could 
be  wrung but by the most strenuous     
labour2 where not a gleam of beauty1 not
  a nestling nook of verdure1 would     
smile on him1 until he had created it   
by earnest1 persistent1 and wasting     
toil4 8,cursed is the ground40    #b4   
,pain4 ,part of the sentence of toil is 
pain4 8,unto the woman he said1  ,i will
 greatly multiply thy sorrow1 and thy   
conception2 in sorrow thou  shalt bring 
forth children2 and thy desire shall be 
to thy husband1 and  he shall rule over 
thee40 7,gen4 iii4 #af47 ,the           
fountain-head of pain is  travail4 ,it  
begins at birth1 it ends in death2 life 
on the whole1  between the limits1 is   
one long struggle to endure4 8,men must 
work1 and  women must weep40 ,it is not 
a complete division3 for men weep while 
they  work1 and women work while they   
weep2 toil and tears are the bitter     

heritage of us all4 ,but the man has on 
the whole the chief share of the        
strain1 the woman of the pain1 of life4 
,her life1 if she has a woman's         
nobleness and the sense of a woman's    
mission1 is one long travail4 ,this     
bearing and rearing of children is      
symbolic4 ,what is the life of all      
noble1 unselfish1 ministering natures1  
but the continual bringing forth1  with 
sore pain of travail1 of things which   
shall gladden and enrich the  world8    
,but pain is a great mystery4 ,why the  
good ,god1 serenely blessed1  should    
suffer pain to torment ,his child6 ,how 
the heavenly powers can  bear to look   
upon it1 to hear all the moans of       
anguish1 to see all the  wrestlings of  
pain which each moment distract and     
waste the beings whom  they love6 ,for  
much of the pain of life man himself is1
 directly and in  the first instance1   
responsible4 ,he makes it1 in spite of  
,god1 by his  insane folly1 passion1 or 
lust4 ,but how much lies at the door of 

the  heavenly ,ruler1 is ,his word1 ,his
 ordinance1 the discipline which ,he    
presses sternly on ,his child6 ,pain1   
that torments and maddens him while  he 
works2 pain that pierces him from       
everything that he touches1  everything 
that he delights in1 every being that he
 loves2 pain1 that  searches the roots  
of his courage and endurance1 which     
makes the marrow  quiver in his bones1  
the blood curdle in his heart2 pain1    
which rings  from a man who is the very 
type of endurance the most bitter       
curses1 the  most fierce anathemas on   
the very sunlight which shines on him1  
on birth  and all its agony1 on life and
 all its intolerable woe4 8,in sorrow   
shalt thou bring forth children10 and   
everything which is freighted  with any 
portion of thy life4 ,pain in birth2    
tears in the eyes of  helpless infants  
on their mother's bosom2 the paths of   
the wilderness  wet with the tears of   
brave men and women wrestling with pain 
too sharp  for endurance2 tears rung out

 from the glazing eye1 when it settles  
for  one painless moment into the fixed1
 cold stare of death6    #c4 ,care4     
8,dust thou art40 ,here lies the secret 
of care4 ,i believe that  these words   
suggest altogether the most bitter and  
miserable experience  of mankind4 ,toil 
may be borne1 pain may be borne2 but who
 in his own  strength can wrestle with  
and master care8 ,man's condition is    
that of  the most dependent of beings1  
while the things which he needs for the 
satisfaction of his nature refuse to    
recognise the mastery of his hand4  ,he 
comes into the world the most helpless  
of all the infants of  creation4 ,it is 
horrible to imagine what a human infant1
 in the hands of  a careless or cruel   
parent1 may be made to endure4 ,and this
 condition of  his infancy follows him  
through life3 he is really an infant1 a 
nursling1 as dependent for the daily    
bread of body1 mind1 and spirit on      
supplies which he cannot command1 as an 
infant at the mother's breast4  ,so     

large is the range of his necessities1  
so infinite his wants1 that he  needs   
just the arm and the treasure of the    
,omnipotent to supply it4 ,and  the     
sentence 8dust thou art0 meets him      
everywhere4 ,he feels it in the         
miserable infirmity of his arm2 he reads
 it in the accidents of life and  the   
decrees of fate4 ,he knows that there   
are things needful to his  happiness1   
needful to his very life1 things which  
he would die rather  than miss2 and yet 
they mock the puny efforts of his arm1  
the feeble  breath of his prayer4 ,he   
sees them passing hopelessly beyond the 
limits  of his horizon1 and he must live
 on and drag on from day to day1 a      
broken1 wretched1 beggared life4 ,who   
has not groaned in utter misery  over   
his wretched helplessness in the hand of
 calamity1 as though his  life were the 
sport of a demon1 and all his pleasant  
things but  instruments of torture1 with
 which some malignant spirit can torment
 his  soul and desolate his life8 ,he is

 in the presence of masses and forces   
in the creation1 which oppress and crush
 his spirit2 but there seems to  him a  
maligner demon behind the veil of the   
creation1 who delights to  make sport of
 his weakness and burn in the sentence  
8dust thou art0  upon the tablets of his
 heart4 ,toil1 pain1 care1 these are the
 bitter  ingredients of his experience2 
these make up how much of the daily     
course and order of his life4 ,verily   
men may well imagine that a curse  was  
meant here rather than a blessing1 and  
dream that a devil1 a  malignant spirit1
 is nearer to them and more potent on   
their lives than  ,god4 ,so dread is the
 pressure1 that in the absence of       
revelation1 in the  absence of the      
assurance 8,like as a father pitieth his
 children1 so the  ,lord pitieth them   
that fear ,him1 for ,he knoweth their   
frame1 ,he  remembereth that they are   
dust10 devil worship becomes inevitably 
the  religion of the pagan world4       
,such is the range of the sentence4 ,now

 let us ask--    ,,ii4 ,what is its     
work8 ,is it malign or benignant8 ,is   
it1 in its very  essence1 a curse or a  
blessing to man8    ,our first notion on
 reading these words1 8,cursed is the   
ground for thy  sake10 is naturally that
 part of the curse on man has fallen on 
the  ground4 ,it is cursed 8for thy     
sake10 by transition of the curse from  
thee4 ,but the word bears a nobler      
meaning4 8,for thy sake0 may as well1   
nay better1 mean 8with a view to thy    
good40 ,the root of the sentence  would 
still be transgression4 ,there had been 
no need of toil1 care1 and  pain1 had   
not sin entered into the world4 ,but sin
 having entered1 toil1  care1 and pain  
are ordained for the sake of man in the 
loftiest sense2  they are the most      
perfect ordinance which could be framed 
to bless him  7or rather with a view to 
his full and perfect blessing1 for they 
only  begin what higher influence must  
complete71 by the ,almighty ,father's   
wisdom1 power1 and love4 ,i am very     

anxious that the full force of this     
statement should be understood4 ,it is  
quite possible to take the  following   
view of it3--,man having placed himself 
before ,god in the  attitude of a       
sinner1 justice demanded that he should 
be sentenced3  toil1 care1 pain1 and    
death are the sentence1 the expression  
of ,god's  anger against the            
transgressor1 making man the outcast of 
,his love2 that  then1 in pity1 ,god    
took compassion on the outcast1 and     
began a remedial  work1 which1 while    
leaving him still for the present under 
the action of  the sentence1 sought to  
rescue him ultimately from its final    
doom4 ,this  would appear to me a very  
imperfect and partial statement of the  
truth4  ,to me it seems as if the whole 
sentence were the expression of the     
tenderness which began to work in the   
,father's heart in the very moment  of  
the transgression4 ,the death which is  
the righteous doom1 the  inevitable     
fruit1 of sin1 is in the very moment of 

the sentence held in  suspense as it    
were by the promise2 and the toil1 care1
 and pain which  are expressed in the   
sentence are the very first steps of the
 remedial  work4 ,the sinner in the very
 moment of transgression is drawn to the
  bosom of ,god's mercy4 ,since the     
first promise was spoken1 the death     
which was the sinner's doom can only be 
tasted in its bitterness by the  man who
 treats the promise as a thing of       
nought4 ,and all the hard and  stern    
conditions of man's present lot1 instead
 of being the doom of a  judgment from  
which mercy is moved to rescue him1 are 
themselves the  motions of mercy by     
which the work of rescue is begun4 ,this
 is the  principle on which alone it    
appears to me that the text can be      
understood4    ,i do not propose to     
occupy your thoughts with any of what ,i
 may call the  minor mercies of the     
sentence1 and the minor ministries of   
toil1 care1  and pain to the true       
development of man4 ,the sentence of    

toil at once  began man's higher        
education4 ,it brought him firmly and   
sternly1 but not  malignly1 into contact
 with the laws which he had broken1 and 
whose  penalties he had defied4 ,not a  
morsel of bread could he win without    
again submitting to them2 humbly1       
absolutely1 utterly1 he must become     
their servant if he would win the       
lightest blessing from their hand4 ,but 
the blessing was there1 it was clearly  
possible that he should win it4  ,hard  
and stern as has been his toil1 through 
all these ages it has  nourished him4   
,nature1 though stern1 is the reverse of
 malignant2 all  her conditions are not 
penal1 but disciplinary2 the sentence   
placed him  at the foot of the ladder1 a
 vision of which ,jacob once saw1 whose 
highest rungs are lost in heaven4 ,but  
instead of tracing this1 ,i wish to     
dwell rather on the ministry of the     
sentence at once and directly to the    
unfolding of man's ,divinest life4 ,the 
more you look at it1 the more  clearly  

,i think will it become apparent to you 
that it is through toil1  and care1 and 
pain alone that such a being as man can 
rise to the full  height of his godlike 
stature1 and grow into the likeness and 
the  fellowship of ,god4 ,let me ask you
 then to consider these three points3-- 
#a4 ,through toil1 and care1 and pain1  
man becomes a creator--not a  servant1  
but a master workman1 and springs1 as   
compared with his  condition in ,eden1  
into a higher region of life4    #b4    
,through toil1 and care1 and pain1 he   
becomes acquainted with all the         
experience of a father2 the deepest and 
noblest relationships unfold  their     
significance1 and unutterably enrich and
 exalt his life4    #c4 ,by toil1 and   
care1 and pain1 he rises to the full and
 sympathetic  knowledge of ,god his     
,redeemer1 and enters into the holiest  
fellowship of  the universe for ever4   
#a4 ,the experience which grows out of  
the sentence constitutes him a  creator1
 a master workman1 and lifts him into a 

higher region of life4    ,man in ,eden 
was the loyal1 loving servant of his    
,creator1 no more4 ,god  8placed him in 
the garden to dress and to keep it40    
,fair1 sweet1  genial work1 like life in
 one of the soft bright islands of the  
,pacific4  ,every moment an exquisite   
sensation1 every movement a pulse of    
joy4  ,well6 there you have the whole of
 it4 ,and ,i say boldly there is not    
enough of it4 ,to dress and to keep even
 a paradise is poor1 slight work  for a 
being framed and endowed like man4 ,it  
was inevitable that sooner  or later he 
should get to the end of its interest   
and the lees of its  joy4 ,a strong1    
hardy1 brave1 cultivated ,englishman    
soon gets to the end  of the soft1 sweet
 life of the ,pacific island4 ,it suits 
the islanders1  who are mostly pulp1    
morally and mentally1--the human        
jelly-fish1  without muscle and fibre2  
but there is not enough of it for the   
cultivated and developed man4 ,toil1    
pain1 and care set the exile of ,eden   

at once about higher work4 ,he went     
forth with a great sorrow in his  heart1
 and a great shadow over his life1 into 
the hard stern wilderness4  ,there he   
had not to dress and to keep a garden1  
but to make one1 and  that is altogether
 higher and nobler work4 ,a higher range
 of faculties  was at once called into  
action4 ,he had to create fruitful      
fields and  homesteads1 and to frame a  
new paradise in imagination1 which his  
strenuous toil1 pain1 and care were to  
realize in time4 ,his creative  work as 
a husbandman is symbolic of all his     
creation1 his work as  parent1 thinker1 
artist1 poet1 and master of the world4  
,in ,eden  everything was made for him1 
and was ready to his hand2 in the world 
he  had to make1 or at any rate to      
mould1 everything1 and to make his hand 
ready for an infinite variety of work4  
,and what does this constructive        
creative toil imply8 ,it means that he  
had to discover1 to think out1 and  to  
reproduce1 by the utmost strain his     

faculties would bear1 the  thoughts of  
,god4 ,he had to study nature1 and to   
master her methods2 he  had to discover 
the uses of his powers and the          
possibilities of his  life4 ,he rose at 
once sad and stricken1 but grand through
 the gentleness  which had made him     
great1 to the fulness of a godlike      
stature2 and what  are toil1 and pain1  
and care1 through life's brief day1 if  
they lift man  up to this excellent     
glory of his manhood1 the power to      
think1 to work1  to create1 in the track
 and after the method of ,god8    #b4   
,by toil1 and pain1 and care1 man       
becomes acquainted with the  experience 
of a father2 the deepest and noblest    
relationships unfold to  him their      
significance1 and unutterably enrich and
 exalt his life4    ,travail is the     
symbolic pain4 8,in sorrow shalt thou   
bring forth  children20 and in sorrow   
all the products of the higher life are 
born4  ,the question is very simple4    
,ask a woman1 when the cry of her       

first-born  sounds in her ear1 and its  
cheek nestles on her breast1 how far the
 joy  transcends the pain4 ,she can only
 murmur--8,unspeakably10 and clasp her  
nursling closer to her heart4 ,how much 
the pain enters into and exalts  the    
joy1 who shall tell8 ,ask the man1 a man
 like poor ,palissy1 or the  blind bard 
who got #aj for a 8,paradise ,lost10 how
 the account stands  with him4 ,he can  
but answer1 ,the work1 mighty as has    
been its cost1 is  the joy and glory of 
my life--perhaps because of its very    
cost4 ,in a  grand and glorious country 
you must have the mountains and the     
valleys2  the depths measure the        
heights1 you cannot divorce them2 the   
two make  the beauty which pilgrims come
 from far to gaze upon1 whose vision    
quickens the life in its dull springs4  
,and all the toil1 and care1 and  pain  
which our intimate1 our dearest         
relations with our fellows cost us1  as 
husband1 wife1 parent1 brother1 sister1 
friend1 teacher1 poet1  prophet1 will be

 found closely1 essentially connected   
with our highest1  purest1 and most     
enduring joys4 ,mothers shall be our    
witnesses3 theirs  is the typical pain1 
and care1 and toil4 ,how say you1       
careworn1 toiling1  but rejoicing       
mothers8 ,where lie the springs of your 
sweetest pleasure1  where lie the       
treasures which you would guard with    
life8 ,the toils1 the  cares1 the pangs 
that grow out of our human relations in 
a sad1  struggling1 mortal world like   
this1 call forth and string to the      
finest  tension passions1 loves1        
faculties1 thoughts1 energies1 which    
,eden never  could have developed4      
,there was little that was noble in the 
words of  ,adam on ,eve's temptation in 
the garden2 indeed1 on neither side does
 any  nobleness appear4 ,but in the     
wilderness there are men by myriads who 
would shield the woman they love from a 
pang or a reproach1 and count  the cost 
light if they gave their lives4 ,oh6 my 
friends1 take a large  and noble measure

 of the breadth of thought1 feeling1    
faculty1 which  toil1 and pain1 and care
 develop2 and remember that every       
filament of  love and care which binds  
you to a human being1 though intensely  
sensitive1 and therefore in a world like
 this inevitably doomed to throb  with  
pain1 is a tentacle of your spirit life 
which can never be detached  from it but
 by your own baseness1 and through which
 life1 joy1 rapture  will flow into it  
in the world in which sin is beaten1    
crushed for ever1  in which there can be
 no more tears and no more pain4    ,one
 word more4    #c4 ,toil1 care1 pain    
raise man to the full and sympathetic   
knowledge of  ,god his ,redeemer1 and   
bring him into the holiest fellowship of
 the  universe for ever4    ,i say bring
 him4 ,that is ,god's purpose2 that is  
what ,god means by it3  but ,god does   
not force him4 ,the word must be mixed  
with faith in them  that hear it2 faith 
in the ,son of ,god1 who died that the  
sentence might  be a benediction instead

 of a doom4 ,some1 when they heard1 did 
not1  would not believe2 and their      
carcases fell in the wilderness1 and    
their  bones whiten the sand4    ,toil1 
care1 and pain4 ,does ,god know nothing 
of them8 8,he is despised  and rejected 
of men2 a man of sorrows1 and acquainted
 with grief3 and we  hid as it were our 
faces from him2 he was despised1 and we 
esteemed him  not4 ,surely he hath borne
 our griefs1 and carried our sorrows3   
yet we  did esteem him stricken1 smitten
 of ,god1 and afflicted4 ,but he was    
wounded for our transgressions1 he was  
bruised for our iniquities3 the         
chastisement of our peace was upon him2 
and with his stripes we are  healed4    
,all we1 like sheep1 have gone astray2  
we have turned every one  to his own    
way2 and the ,lord hath laid on him the 
iniquity of us all4 ,he  was oppressed1 
and he was afflicted2 yet he opened not 
his mouth3 he is  brought as a lamb to  
the slaughter1 and as a sheep before her
 shearers  is dumb1 so he opened not his

 mouth4 ,he was taken from prison and   
from  judgment3 and who shall declare   
his generation8 for he was cut off out  
of the land of the living3 for the      
transgression of my people was he       
stricken40 7,isa4 liii4 #c-h47 ,count it
 the highest ministry of the  sentence  
that it enables you to understand that2 
count it the highest  aim and glory of a
 man's life to enter into fellowship    
with that life of  the ,lord4 ,hold this
 to be the deepest1 most solemn prayer  
which has ever  been uttered by human   
lips3 8,that ,i may know him1 and the   
power of his  resurrection1 and the     
fellowship of his sufferings3 being     
conformed unto  his death2 if by any    
means ,i may attain unto the            
resurrection from the  dead40 ,and      
grudge no pain1 nay glory in every pain1
 which opens to you  a fuller           
comprehension of the sorrows of the ,man
 of sorrows upon earth1  the joy and    
glory of the ,lord of glory in eternity4
 ,light the affliction  which is but for

 a moment3 its ministry is unspeakable  
blessing in this  life2 you will find it
 infinite blessing in eternity4 ,sons of
 ,god1 wear  with joy the marks of      
sonship6 ,brethren of ,christ1 tread    
with courage in  the ,brother's         
footsteps6 ,heirs of glory1 pay gaily   
with songs the price  by which your     
glory is to be won4    8,what are these 
which are arrayed in white robes8 and   
whence came  they80 8,these are they    
which came out of great tribulation1 and
 have  washed their robes1 and made them
 white in the blood of the ,lamb4       
,therefore are they before the throne of
 ,god1 and serve him day and night  in  
his temple2 and he that sitteth on the  
throne shall dwell among them4  ,they   
shall hunger no more1 neither thirst any
 more2 neither shall the  sun light on  
them1 nor any heat4 ,for the ,lamb which
 is in the midst of  the throne shall   
feed them1 and shall lead them unto     
living fountains of  waters2 and ,god   
shall wipe away all tears from their    

eyes40          ,,viii4    ,,the        
,,easily ,,besetting ,,sin4        8,the
 sin which doth so easily beset         
us40--,,heb4 xii4 #a4      ,these words 
occur at the close of the most brilliant
 rhetorical passage  of the ,new        
,testament scripture4 ,they form the    
point too of the most  close1 subtle1   
and profound argument which is to be met
 with even in the  epistles of ,st4     
,paul4 ,we constantly use them2 no      
sentence of the ,bible  is more         
frequently on our lips4 ,but we isolate 
them from their  surroundings2 we handle
 them as though they dealt with private 
matters  of individual experience1 the  
sins and follies to which each nature in
  its private propension is specially   
prone1 rather than some broad human     
fault or infirmity which is the common  
sin and sorrow of mankind4 ,we  must    
read these words in connection with the 
great argument of which  they form the  
culmination1 and the splendid burst of  
eloquence which  they close2 or we shall

 miss their large and weighty meaning1  
and shall  narrow to a private and      
partial experience what the writer      
intends to  set forth as the easily     
besetting sin of mankind4 ,the ,epistle 
to the  ,hebrews is certainly one of the
 most important and profound books in   
the  ,new ,testament4 ,be it by ,paul   
himself1 as ,i believe1 or be it by some
  ,pauline man1 it is in a measure the  
keystone of the arch of revelation1  if 
the ,apocalypse is its crown4 ,the way  
in which1 in the order of the  ,divine  
dispensations1 the old grows into the   
new--the method by which1  while so much
 once ordained by ,god goes apparently  
to wreck1 to the eye  of ,god and in the
 judgment of the far-sighted among men  
nothing ,divine  really perishes1 no    
,divine promise fails of fulfilment1 no 
,divine  purpose or hope misses its     
fruit--is a subject of supreme          
importance1  the consideration of which 
is needful to the completeness of       
,scripture1  while it is full of        

suggestion as a key to the ,divine ways1
 to the  successive generations of      
mankind4 ,judaism has passed away in    
every  respect in which it is stronger  
than a memory4 ,it is essentially1      
though  ,jews live among us in          
,christendom by millions1 a thing of the
 past2 but  the ,epistle to the         
,hebrews1 which unfolds the method by   
which ,judaism  developed into          
,christianity1 is a living book in our  
,bibles1 as full of  vital interest for 
this present time as it was for the     
generation which  watched with strange  
awe and wonder the tremendous overthrow 
of the  elect nation1 and saw the last  
fragments of the ritual and order of a  
,divinely established system swept along
 by the flood as wreck4 ,there is       
profound instruction concerning the     
method of development in                
,christendom--how the ,church grows1 and
 strikes deeper root through the  ages1 
while that which men call the ,church   
and cling to suffers constant  shocks1  

and is ever dropping piecemeal into     
decay and death--in this  sketch of the 
philosophy of the most remarkable and   
startling  development recorded in man's
 spiritual history4 ,whether ,paul wrote
 it  or not1 it is the work of a man    
with ,paul's grasp of intellect1 and    
saturated with ,paul's ideas both of    
,judaism and ,christianity4 ,one can    
hardly imagine ,paul's life-work        
complete to his own mind without the    
production of such an essay as this4 ,he
 alone grasped with perfect  clearness  
the vital relation of the two           
dispensations2 and we can well  imagine 
with what intense earnestness this      
,hebrew of the ,hebrews must  have      
desired to justify his apostolic        
ministry to his countrymen and to       
mankind4 ,be this as it may1 and these a
 priori judgments are of little  worth  
in criticism1 the book is one of large  
thoughts1 views1 and  principles1       
reaching deep down to the foundations on
 which the edifice  of man's spiritual  

faith and hope is built4    ,let us try 
to realize some of the main difficulties
 of those to whom it  is addressed1     
whose tormenting doubts and             
apprehensions it was intended  to       
remove4 ,they would be chiefly1 ,i      
think1 of two kinds2 and they might  be 
put into the shape of questions4    #a4 
,can anything which is ordained of ,god 
be abrogated8    #b4 ,can the ,messiah1 
the kingly ,son of ,david1 be come1     
while those who  follow ,him are the    
world's outcasts1 spoiled1 persecuted1  
and slain8    ,the first is a standing  
difficulty with all the students of the 
mysteries of ,god1 in all ages of the   
world4 ,it pressed on the ,hebrew       
,christians with peculiar force4 ,they  
and their fathers for ages had  believed
 that a certain visible system had been 
established on earth by  ,god's own     
hand1 and sustained by ,his almighty    
power4 ,it seemed to them  as if the    
very foundations of the universe were   
shaken1 when their  temple1 their       

priesthood1 their glorious ,jerusalem1  
their beautiful  fertile ,palestine1    
vanished like a dream1 and left them the
 beggars and  outcasts of mankind4      
,the second difficulty was equally      
grave4 ,it touched men where they are   
ever most sensitive1 in their individual
 experiences and hopes4 ,can the  head  
of this ,christian ,church be the       
,god-man1 the glorious ,being of whom   
our prophets prophesied1 and of whose   
kingdom they had such brilliant         
visions1 whilst its subjects are        
despised1 hated1 and down-trodden1 and  
its princes are the scum and            
off-scouring of all things unto this    
day8  ,we say that the ,jews were       
expecting a splendid temporal kingdom1 a
  visible reign of the ,messiah in      
righteousness over a regenerate and     
exulting world4 ,we say it with a touch 
of scorn4 ,we may spare our scorn2      
,christendom is always dreaming of it   
too4 ,it would be a wonderful thing  if 
the ,jews had not nourished some such   

expectations4 ,all men have not  faith4 
,how many ,christians understand        
,christianity better than the ,jews     
understood the ,judaism of their times8 
,what is the ,papacy but an  endeavour  
to realize this splendid and prosperous 
reign of ,christ1 of  which ,judaism    
dreamed8 ,a rule of righteousness1      
peace1 and goodwill1  under the sceptre 
of ,christ's immediate delegate and     
regent1 is the  vision which has haunted
 in all ages some of the ablest minds in
  ,christendom2 and the desire to       
realize this has been near the heart of 
some of the most desperate struggles    
which rent the civilized world          
throughout the middle age4 ,we cannot   
wonder at their sad thoughts4 ,we  think
 the same when things much less visibly 
ordained of ,god are  shattered and     
swept away as wrecks4 ,the answer of the
 writer of this  epistle to the question
 which was wrung out of the death agony 
of that  nation and church was          
substantially this3 ,god does not       

establish things1  ,he plants seeds     
which grow4 ,the principle of life in   
the seed is the  principle of identity  
through the successive stages of the    
development  of the organism4 ,the body 
of man is one1 though it changes form   
very  visibly at successive eras1 and   
though every particle of matter         
composing it is in constant flux1       
passing away from without1 restored by  
the constructive force of the living    
principle within4 ,rise1 he says1 to  a 
loftier and more comprehensive view of  
the ,divine dispensations4 ,see  how the
 living principle of ,god's relation to 
you1 to man1 as ,father and  ,redeemer1 
runs through all the dispensations1     
moulds the outward form of  the ,church 
according to the exigencies of the      
times1 and is ever  bringing forth new  
forms as the ages need4 ,see how the    
germ which was  planted before the law  
grew into the legal dispensation1 and   
how when  the leafage and fruitage of   
that dispensation grew old and withered1

 as  things must grow old and perish1   
the living principle within took new    
and diviner form1 suffered1 as all      
divine things do1 death and             
resurrection1 and lived with a new and  
divine life in a new and  regenerated   
world4 8,god1 who at sundry times and in
 divers manners  spake in time past unto
 the fathers by the prophets1 hath in   
these last  days spoken unto us by his  
,son1 whom he hath appointed heir of all
  things1 by whom also he made the      
worlds2 who being the brightness of  his
 glory1 and the express image of his    
person1 and upholding all things  by the
 word of his power1 when he had by      
himself purged our sins1 sat  down on   
the right hand of the ,majesty on high2 
being made so much better  than the     
angels1 as he hath by inheritance       
obtained a more excellent  name than    
they40 7,heb4 i4 #a-d47    ,it ought not
 to be hard for us to understand and    
enter into the sore  perplexities of the
 ,hebrew believers when they found their

 ancestral  kingdom uprooted1 while no  
sign of the new ,messiah's kingdom      
appeared1  except the sway which a      
shameful cross was wielding over        
individual  human hearts4 ,can this be  
the beginning of the kingdom8 ,can      
,christ be  reigning there1 and we ,his 
subjects here1 the objects of ,his      
tenderest  care and love1 be so harried 
and tormented for our truth and         
righteousness as never men have been    
harried and tormented for lies and      
sins8 ,is it credible that ,god's sons  
in the world should be the world's      
outlaws2 that those whom the hand of    
,omnipotence shields should be the      
helpless victims of the most puny foes8 
,are slaves and beggars the chief       
subjects of ,messiah's kingdom8 ,does   
the fellowship of this new realm  draw  
us into loving1 tender communion with   
the saddest1 the poorest1 the  most     
ignorant1 the most wretched of mankind8 
,is the life of this new  regenerate    
state a ceaseless struggle1 a constant  

pain1 with no issue  but by the gate of 
death1 whose apparitors may be a lion's 
jaws or a  headsman's axe8 ,is the      
symbol of this splendid empire a cross8 
,the  answer to these questions is the  
text4 ,the question is the sin which so 
easily besets humanity1 you and me quite
 as intensely as the ,hebrews2  and the 
cure for the sin1 the answer to the     
question1 is the faith which  draws from
 the writer this splendid eulogy1 a     
faith which scans the  bounds of the    
invisible universe1 and measures the    
range of the ,divine  thought from the  
height of the ,divine throne4 ,it is as 
though the writer  had said1 ,looked at 
on the lower level1 by the measures of  
the things  seen and temporal1 the lot  
is dark enough and sad enough3 8,if in  
this  life only we have hope in ,christ1
 we are of all men most miserable40  7#a
 ,cor4 xv4 #ai47 ,but rise to a higher  
level4 ,get up into the mountain1  and  
survey the horizon of a wider world4    
,search into the nature of man's  true  

well-being1 and see where the springs of
 it rise4 ,measure the range  of man's  
existence1 the endless ages of his      
being1 the boundless faculty  of joy or 
sorrow1 of bliss or anguish1 that claims
 eternity as its time4  ,above all1     
measure the stature of a man4 ,study the
 image after which he  is fashioned1 the
 godlike form he wears1 the godlike     
experience he is  made to fathom1 and   
the kind of satisfaction which his      
godlike powers  demand1 robbed of which 
they hunger and pine and fill him at    
last with  madness and despair2 so shall
 you comprehend more fully the grandeur 
and  the glory of his ,christian        
vocation--sharing the conflict1 the     
toil1 the  sorrow1 the joy1 and the     
triumph of hisever ,god4 ,then lay aside
 8every  weight and the sin that doth so
 easily beset you40 ,that sin is poverty
  of faith--a poor-spirited estimate of 
life1 its experiences and its  issues2 a
 love for the serfdom of ,egypt rather  
than the freedom of the  wilderness1 the

 fleshpots of ,goshen rather than the   
bread of ,canaan1 the  pleasure of the  
moment rather than the joy which springs
 from fountains  that outlast eternity4 
,the sin which doth so easily beset us4 
,want of faith4    ,i4 ,in ourselves4   
,,ii4 ,in ,god4 ,,iii4 ,in the future4  
,i4 ,want of faith in ourselves--poor1  
base views of our nature1 power1  and   
destiny4    ,the essential dignity of   
man's nature1 as ,god constituted it1   
and the  utter debasement it has        
suffered through sin1 are facts which in
 nowise  clash or contradict each other4
 ,in truth1 no man who has not faith    
enough to comprehend what 8power to     
become the sons of ,god0 may mean1  as  
spoken of man1 can enter into the depth 
of anguish and shame wrung  out in the  
confession1 8,i was as a beast before   
thee40 8,i have heard  of thee with the 
hearing of the ear1 but now mine eye    
seeth thee2  wherefore ,i abhor myself1 
and repent in dust and ashes40 ,at the  
root  of the humiliation1 the           

debasement1 lies this want of faith in  
our  higher being and destiny4 ,we      
prefer the slave's portion1 with the    
slave's security1 to the cares and      
burdens of freedom1 with its hopes  and 
joys4 ,the main difficulty in the       
emancipation of serfs arises always     
from themselves4 ,they do not care1 nay 
they fear1 to be free4 ,the             
responsibility of self-government and   
self-control is a burden from  which    
they shrink2--let us creep safely on the
 lower levels1 rather than  strain      
perilously up the mountain paths1 with  
the free air around us1  the bright     
heaven above us1 the mists1 the clouds1 
the storms1 seething  and flashing      
beneath our feet4 ,this is the cry of   
our souls--yours and  mine4 ,god is ever
 stirring us to take the higher view of 
our nature and  destiny2 we are ever    
burying ourselves in the lower3--8#8,let
 us alone1  ,jesus1 thou ,son of ,god4' 
,thy words are perilous2 they search and
 judge  us2 they trouble us in our      

politics1 our pleasures1 our trade4 ,we 
are  fairly content as it is2 why should
 we weary ourselves by straining  after 
the higher good1 which seems thin1      
impalpable1 and may easily  elude our   
hand8 ,let us alone2 depart out of our  
coasts40 ,this was the  mood of these   
,hebrew ,christians2 it is ours4 ,and   
nothing does the  devil's work more     
surely within us than this feeling that 
on the whole  we were made for poor     
work1 poor interests1 and poor joys4    
,paul seeks to  stir us to a nobler     
mood1 to fire something within us which 
will burn  with a heavenly lustre and   
seek to mingle itself with the          
brightness of  its native skies4 ,man is
 made to deal with the substance of     
things1 the  eternal substance2 you are 
content to converse with their fleeting 
shadows4 8,for the law1 having a shadow 
of good things to come1 and not  the    
very image of the things1 can never with
 those sacrifices which they  offered   
year by year continually make the comers

 thereunto perfect4 ,for  then would    
they not have ceased to be offered8     
because that the  worshippers once      
purged should have had no more          
conscience of sins4 ,but  in those      
sacrifices there is a remembrance again 
made of sins every  year4 ,for it is not
 possible that the blood of bulls and of
 goats  should take away sins40 7,heb4  
x4 #a-d47 ,the heavenly things          
themselves  your minds were made to     
contemplate1 your hearts to love1 your  
spirits  to commune with2 and you are   
grovelling amid the ashes of the        
perishing1  while the imperishable1 the 
eternal1 passes for ever beyond the     
range of  your sight4 ,believe in       
humanity as the first step to a nobler  
life4 ,not  the poor1 weak1 trembling   
humanity which your self-communings     
reveal to  you2 but the glorious1       
,divine humanity which ,god has set     
before you to  help your infirmity1 to  
recall the memory of the height from    
which you  have fallen1 and to kindle   

the hope of the royal dignity to which  
you  may be restored4 ,look within2 and 
man seems poor enough1 and pitiful      
enough4 ,but look above3 8,we see ,jesus
 who was made a little lower than  the  
angels1 for the suffering of death1     
crowned with glory and honour2  that he 
by the grace of ,god should taste death 
for every man40 ,then  8lay aside every 
weight1 and the sin which doth so easily
 beset you1  and run with patience the  
race that is set before you1 looking    
unto  ,jesus the author and finisher of 
our faith2 who for the joy that was set 
before him1 endured the cross1 despising
 the shame1 and is set down at  the     
right hand of the throne of ,god40      
,behold in ,him the perfect image of a  
man1 in ,his life the beauty of a       
perfect human life4 ,believe in that    
image2 gaze on it1 meditate on it1  till
 contemplation kindles sympathy1 and    
sympathy grows into love4  8,consider   
the apostle and high-priest of your     
profession1 ,christ  ,jesus02 and if you

 tread in ,his footsteps of present     
sorrow and  humiliation1 glory in it1   
and pray that you may go on to know it  
more  perfectly1 8the power of his      
resurrection1 the fellowship of his     
sufferings1 being made conformable unto 
his death40 ,believe that all  that a   
man was meant to be1 to do1 to become1  
can only grow out of this  vital        
fellowship with ,jesus4 ,believe in ,him
 rather than in the world's  ideas1     
maxims1 and hopes4 ,leave them to the   
,pagans4 ,you1 sons of ,god1  heirs of  
,god1 joint-heirs with ,christ1 learn   
nobler lessons out of the  book of ,his 
life1 aim at loftier marks1 thirst for  
purer and perennial  joys4    ,,ii4     
,poor belief about ,god--unbelief in the
 ,incarnation1 and all its  blessed     
meanings to mankind4    ,the low and    
slavish idea of man's character and     
destiny inevitably  infects our views of
 ,god and of ,god's action and purpose  
in the world4  ,having poor hope        
ourselves1 we cannot understand ,god's  

hope1 the hope  which lit the path to   
,calvary1 and shed a flood of glorious  
light around  the saddest and most      
shameful passage of man's sad and       
painful history4  ,to those who believe 
that man is the serf of the creation1   
the  ,incarnation is incredible4 ,god   
would be ashamed to be called the ,god1 
in  any high ,christian sense1 of such  
beings as some men believe themselves   
to be and act as if they were4 ,the     
,hebrew ,christians could not believe   
in the ,incarnation2 that is1 they were 
beset with unbelief about it4  ,their   
fathers could not believe in their angel
 guide4 ,a glorious  triumphant ,king1  
coming to the world in splendour1       
scattering the hosts  of ,his foes by   
,his thunders1 and leading ,his armies  
to rapid and easy  victory1 they could  
comprehend well enough4 ,but the cross  
was their  stumbling-block4 ,can the    
living ,god suffer shame1 anguish1 and  
death1  for such beings as we are1 for  
such a kingdom as this ,crucified ,one  

maybe able to win8 8,that be far from   
thee1 ,lord20 it is blasphemy to  dream 
of it4 ,they were like a man in poverty 
and straits1 who is always  expecting   
that a splendid fortune will fall to him
 suddenly1 will enable  him to make a   
magnificent figure1 and to be a model of
 dignity1  generosity1 and manly grace4 
,but the ,,man is he who wins his       
fortune by  bearing the strain of toil  
through long years of patience1 and who 
trains himself by discipline to rule it 
as a realm when gained4 ,and we  are1   
most of us1 of this foolish temper4     
,what wonderful people we should  be1 we
 think1 if our platform were higher1 and
 a stronger light were  thrown upon our 
lives6 ,if ,god would but mend our      
surroundings1 our  virtue and dignity   
would appear6 ,believe that it seemed   
good to ,god1  that it became ,god1 to  
reveal to us the truth of this relation 
between  surroundings and life1 by      
sending ,his ,son1 in the likeness of   
sinful  flesh1 to live the life of ,god 

in poverty1 sorrow1 and shame1 and      
manifest in that depth of humiliation   
the mystery of the life eternal4  8,for 
it became him1 for whom are all things1 
and by whom are all  things1 in bringing
 many sons unto glory1 to make the      
captain of their  salvation perfect     
through sufferings4 ,for both he that   
sanctifieth and  they who are sanctified
 are all of one3 for which cause he is  
not  ashamed to call them brethren1     
saying1 ,i will declare thy name unto my
  brethren1 in the midst of the church  
will ,i sing praise unto thee4 ,and     
again1 ,i will put my trust in him4 ,and
 again1 ,behold ,i and the children     
which ,god hath given me4 ,forasmuch    
then as the children are partakers of   
flesh and blood1 he also himself        
likewise took part of the same2 that    
through death he might destroy him that 
had the power of death1 that is1  the   
devil2 and deliver them who through fear
 of death were all their  lifetime      
subject to bondage4 ,for verily he took 

not on him the nature of  angels2 but he
 took on him the seed of ,abraham4      
,wherefore in all things  it behoved him
 to be made like unto his brethren1 that
 he might be a  merciful and faithful   
high priest in things pertaining to     
,god1 to make  reconciliation for the   
sins of the people4 ,for in that he     
himself hath  suffered being tempted1 he
 is able to succour them that are       
tempted40  7,heb4 ii4 #aj-ah47    ,it   
was a hard1 an incredible saying to many
 among the ,hebrew ,christians4  ,in all
 its deep meaning it is a hard1 an      
incredible saying to us4 ,do we  believe
 in our heart of hearts that the life of
 daily denial1  cross-bearing1 and      
,divine ministry1 missing all earthly   
honour1 golden  treasure1 and worldly   
joy1 is the life which the ,lord ,god of
 heaven  lived on earth1 and glorified  
earth by living it8 ,have we an eye for 
that inner glory8 ,is that tear-stained 
path ,he trod1 beautiful1               
transcendently beautiful1 in our sight1 

as it is to the angels and the          
white-robed choir on high8 ,shame on our
 lives then1 if this is the  belief of  
our hearts about it4 ,if we believe that
 ,he who was in the  form of ,god1 and  
8thought it not robbery to be equal with
 ,god2 but made  himself of no          
reputation1 and took upon him the form  
of a servant and  was made in the       
likeness of men0 7,phil4 ii4 #f-h71 left
 us an ensample  that we should follow  
in ,his steps1 what are our lives like  
before ,him  and before the angels1     
filled as they are with selfish aims and
  passions1 strivings after things that 
perish1 that crumble to dust as we      
grasp them2 contemptuous as they are of 
celestial things and powers1 of  all    
that made ,his life luminous to the eye 
of spirits1 of all that ,he  came       
through shame and anguish to set        
palpably before the vision of our       
souls4 8,lay aside the sin that doth so 
easily beset you0--this sin of  light   
thoughts of ,christ1 of the intense     

reality of ,his human life1 and  all the
 high meanings and inspirations with    
which it is charged for you1  for me1   
for all mankind4 ,open wide the gates of
 your spirit1 and let  this ,king of    
,glory in4 8,lift up your heads1 ,o ye  
gates2 and be ye lift  up1 ye           
everlasting doors2 and the ,king of     
glory shall come in40 ,who is  this     
,king of ,glory8 ,the ,man of ,sorrows1 
,he is the ,king of ,glory4  ,believe1  
faint heart1 and live4    ,,iii4        
,unbelief in the future4    ,we cannot  
believe that this is purely a seed-time4
 ,like children1 we are  for reaping    
where we have not sown1 and gathering   
where we have not  strawed4 ,or1 if by  
chance we drop a seed into the earth and
 leave it for  a moment1 next morning we
 are digging about it to see if it is   
growing1  and are sick at heart if it   
promises no immediate fruit4 ,the       
,hebrew  ,church demanded the instant   
fruitage of the death of ,christ4 8,and 
,jesus  answered them1 saying1 ,the hour

 is come1 that the ,son of man should be
  glorified4 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say    
unto you1 ,except a corn of wheat fall  
into the ground and die1 it abideth     
alone2 but if it die1 it bringeth  forth
 much fruit4 ,he that loveth his life   
shall lose it2 and he that  hateth his  
life in this world shall keep it unto   
life eternal40 7,john  xii4 #bc-be47    
,lord1 we have seen the seed corn cast  
into the ground1 we  have seen it lie   
there1 we have seen it rise1 and where  
is the harvest8  ,where is the kingdom8 
,where are the throngs8 ,where is the   
throne8 ,the  offence of the cross still
 lies in the way of triumph4            
,tribulations are  the only gifts of the
 kingdom still6 ,the writer of this     
epistle does not  care to argue about   
the moment4 ,be it so4 ,be it as bad as 
you say3  tribulations1 persecutions1   
contempt1 spoiling of your goods1 and   
bonds4  ,be it so4 8,ye have not yet    
resisted unto blood1 striving against   
sin40  ,you have not faced the last     

extremity1 and the last extremity may be
 in  store4 ,but what matters8 ,sons of 
,god1 brethren of ,christ1 citizens of  
the heavenly state1 heirs of everlasting
 joys and glory1 what matters  it8      
8,behold1 the husbandman waiteth for the
 precious fruit of the  earth1 and hath 
long patience for it1 until he receive  
the early and  latter rain4 ,be ye also 
patient2 stablish your hearts3 for the  
coming of  the ,lord draweth nigh4      
,grudge not one against another1        
brethren1 lest ye  be contemned3 behold1
 the judge standeth before the door4    
,take1 my  brethren1 the prophets1 who  
have spoken in the name of the ,lord1   
for an  example of suffering affliction1
 and of patience4 ,behold1 we count them
  happy which endure4 ,ye have heard of 
the patience of ,job1 and have seen  the
 end of the ,lord2 that the ,lord is    
very pitiful1 and of tender  mercy40    
7,jas4 v4 #g-aa47 ,is patience no longer
 beautiful1 divine1 when  it is heaven  
which has to be waited for1 a royal     

sceptre1 an everlasting  crown8 ,for    
shame6 moaning over the moment's pains1 
which are the seeds  of everlasting     
joys2 over the dust of the husks and    
shells of the  temporal things1 when1 as
 they waste and perish1 the glorious    
forms of  the things not seen and       
eternal1 which they veiled1 appear4 ,i  
say not1  ,compare the one with the     
other1 weigh them well1 and make your   
selection4 ,there is no comparison      
possible4 8,i reckon that the           
sufferings of this present life are not 
worthy to be compared with the  glory   
that shall be revealed40 8,for our light
 affliction1 which is but  for a moment1
 worketh for us a far more exceeding and
 eternal weight of  glory2 while we look
 not at the things which are seen1 but  
at the things  which are not seen3 for  
the things which are seen are temporal2 
but the  things which are not seen are  
eternal40 7#b ,cor4 iv4 #ag1 #ah47 ,it  
is  blank unbelief to talk about        
comparison4 ,the one is infinitely small

 and  pitiful2 the other is infinitely  
great1 beautiful1 and glorious4 8,what  
things were gain to me10 when the       
visible things of earth and time  filled
 my sight1 8those ,i have counted loss  
for ,christ4 ,yea1 doubtless1  and ,i   
count all things but loss1 for the      
excellency of the knowledge of  ,christ 
,jesus my ,lord3 for whom ,i have       
suffered the loss of all things1  and do
 count them but dung1 that ,i may win   
,christ40 7,phil4 iii4 #g1 #h47  ,this  
is the ,christian estimate4 ,this is the
 true entrenchment of the  human spirit 
against all the floods of calamity which
 may beat around  the rock on which it  
builds its hopes4 ,be my lot what it    
may1 my ,god1 my  ,father ordains it2   
and ,he has the power1 the will to make 
every pain1  every wound1 every         
heartache1 every cross1 every shock1 the
 seed of a  harvest whose glorious      
wealth ,i cannot measure even in my     
dreams4 ,the  power and the will1 said  
,i8 ,his strongest promises1 ,his       

profoundest  purposes1 are engaged in   
the fulfilment of the hope which ,he    
kindles in  my breast1 and which makes  
me master of the world4 ,nay1 ,he has   
staked  ,his life1 the very existence of
 ,his throne1 upon it4 ,he has subjected
  you and me and the vast creation to   
vanity1 8in hope1 the hope that the     
creation itself also shall be delivered 
from the bondage of corruption  into the
 glorious liberty of the sons of ,god40 
,we have no true measure  of these sad  
scenes and experiences of earth--and    
they are sad enough1  nothing is to be  
gained by painting them as lighter than 
they are2 but  we can measure them      
fairly when we get up into the higher   
region1 strong  in faith1 and share the 
thought and hope of ,god4 ,we are saved 
by hope4  ,let us bless ,god for it1 for
 the blessed and boundless future in    
which  the far-off interest of tears    
will be our eternal portion1 and the    
harvest of brave endurance and patient  
pain4 8,behold we count them  patient   

which endure40 ,and who are they8 ,the  
world's weaklings and  fools4 ,listen to
 the bead-roll1 and hush your moans for 
very shame4  ,abel1 ,enoch1 ,noah head  
the line2 ,abraham1 ,isaac1 ,jacob4     
8,these all died  in faith1 not having  
received the promises1 but having seen  
them afar  off1 and were persuaded of   
them1 and embraced them1 and confessed  
that  they were strangers and pilgrims  
on the earth4 ,for they that say such   
things declare plainly that they seek a 
country4 ,and truly1 if they had  been  
mindful of that country from whence they
 came out1 they might have  had         
opportunity to have returned4 ,but now  
they desire a better country1  that is  
an heavenly3 wherefore ,god is not      
ashamed to be called their  ,god3 for he
 hath prepared for them a city40 7,heb4 
xi4 #ac-af47 8,and  what shall ,i more  
say8 for the time would fail me to tell 
of ,gedeon1 and  of ,barak1 and of      
,samson1 and of ,jephthae2 of ,david    
also1 and ,samuel1 and  of the prophets3

 who through faith subdued kingdoms1    
wrought  righteousness1 obtained        
promises1 stopped the mouths of lions1  
quenched  the violence of fire1 escaped 
the edge of the sword1 out of weakness  
were made strong1 waxed valiant in      
fight1 turned to flight the armies of   
the aliens4 ,women received their dead  
raised to life again3 and others  were  
tortured1 not accepting deliverance2    
that they might obtain a  better        
resurrection3 and others had trial of   
cruel mockings and  scourgings1 yea1    
moreover of bonds and imprisonment2 they
 were stoned1  they were sawn asunder1  
were tempted1 were slain with the sword3
 they  wandered about in sheepskins and 
goatskins2 being destitute1 afflicted1  
tormented2 7of whom the world was not   
worthy37 they wandered in deserts1  and 
in mountains1 and in dens and caves of  
the earth40 7,heb4 xi4  #cb-ch47 8,and  
these all0--the world's chief heroes1   
whose names are  dear and honoured      
through the ages on earth1 as they shine

 resplendent  as the stars in heaven's  
firmament on high--8,these all1 having  
obtained  a good report through faith1  
received not the promise2 ,god having   
provided some better thing for us1 that 
they without us should not be  made     
perfect40 7,heb4 xi4 #ci1 #dj47         
8,wherefore seeing ye are compassed     
about with so great a crowd of          
witnesses0--these grand and glorious    
forms1 who watch your battles from their
 thrones1 and prepare to hail  your     
triumphant entrance to the kingdom which
 the victory of faith shall  win--8lay  
aside every weight1 and the sin which   
doth so easily beset  you1 and run with 
patience the race that is set before    
you1 looking unto  ,jesus the author and
 finisher of our faith2 who for the joy 
that was set  before him endured the    
cross1 despising the shame1 and is set  
down at  the right hand of the throne of
 ,god40 7,heb4 xii4 #a1 #b47            
,,ix4    ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,abstinence4 
8,wherefore1 if meat 7food7 make my     

brother to offend1 ,i will eat      no  
flesh while the world standeth1 lest ,i 
make my brother to      offend40--#a    
,,cor4 viii4 #ac4      ,of all the great
 writers of the world1 the apostle ,paul
 perhaps most  needs to be read with the
 eye of the heart1 as well as with the  
eye of  the understanding4 ,moral       
sympathy is an essential condition of   
the full  understanding of the apostle's
 words4 ,most especially is it needed in
  such passages as the present1 in which
 he gives vehement and even  passionate 
utterance to his vivid sympathies with  
the weaker brethren  who were still     
struggling with the difficulties and    
perplexities from  which his powerful   
genius had already emancipated him1 or  
who were  tormented by doubts which he  
had laid happily at rest for ever4      
,there is  no great writer who is less  
careful to guard himself from even grave
  misconstructions1 or whose eager1     
impetuous sentences1 when matters  which
 touch his sympathies and affections are

 in question1 are more  likely1 if      
formulated into maxims and rules of     
action1 to lead weak  minds astray4     
,indeed1 there is a sense in which the  
,bible is the most  unguarded of all    
books4 ,meant more than any other book  
to be a guide of  action1 it is less    
careful about misunderstandings of its  
meaning1 and  lays itself open to more  
complete misapprehensions1 than any     
other book  in the world4 ,and this     
precisely because it will be read with  
the spirit  as well as with the         
understanding4 ,it needs no worldly     
scholarship2 but  it will not make its  
meanings plain to those who do not care 
to bring to  bear on it1 not the        
attention of their heads only1 but that 
of their  hearts4 ,how many startling   
sentences are there which1 in the first 
flash of their meaning1 seem to strike  
at the root of institutions or          
principles which we learn from other    
passages the ,bible is most  earnestly  
solicitous to maintain and secure4 ,take

 some utterances of the  mind of the    
apostle ,paul about women for instance1 
as isolated dicta2  treat them as       
complete authoritative utterances1      
giving the law to us2  the result would 
be the utter confusion of all man's most
 sacred  relations1 and the overthrow of
 human society4 ,there are words too1   
uttered by yet more sacred lips1 which  
it needs no little spiritual  experience
 and insight to avoid misunderstanding1 
and applying to uses  which the whole   
tenour of the ,saviour's life and       
teaching would sternly  condemn4 ,paul1 
a man vividly sympathetic and tender1   
easily touched by  suffering1 easily    
drawn by love1 intense1 passionate1 and 
impetuous1  suffers himself ever and    
anon to express in one short1 startling 
sentence some vivid impression which for
 the moment occupied his whole  soul4   
,but we must pause--as he would have    
paused1 nay1 did manifestly             
pause--before we treat it as a mould in 
which we are to cast our rules  of      

action or habits of life4 ,the sentence 
expresses the desire and  purpose of the
 apostle's heart1 that which would      
animate and give aim to  all its action2
 but the action itself would be wisely  
modulated by a  hundred secondary       
considerations1 and by other co-ordinate
 principles1  so as to secure1 as far as
 might be possible1 the end at which he 
aimed1  without imperilling other and it
 might be yet higher things4 ,it would  
be  a grand mistake then to formulate   
such a sentence as this into a rigid    
rule of action4 ,treated thus1 the first
 thing which would fall under           
condemnation would probably be the      
apostle's life4    ,these words are very
 constantly employed as though they laid
 down a rule  of action concerning      
things indifferent which might lead     
easily to sin1  and set before us a way 
of helping men against vicious habits at
 the  cost of some personal             
self-sacrifice4 ,that may be a very     
important  subject1 and it has plenty of

 passages bearing on it in the word of  
,god4 ,but it is not the difficulty     
here4 ,this passage has quite a         
different bearing4 ,it is a case1 not of
 a weak will1 but of a weak  judgment1 a
 weak conscience1 in which there is     
danger of false beliefs  or of a        
lowering of the tone of the             
conscientious principle of action4  ,it 
is this1 and not any question of vicious
 habits1 which draws from the  apostle1 
who had fought his way through the whole
 jungle of doubts and  difficulties and 
perplexities in which the weaker        
brethren were  struggling painfully     
still1 these ardent and decisive words4 
,i4 ,at the root of this declaration    
lies the conviction that there is no    
consideration which may compete in a    
man's motives with the desire to        
promote the spiritual welfare and       
progress of mankind4 ,it is the object  
dearest to ,god4 ,it was the object     
dearest to the apostle's heart4 ,it     
seemed so great to ,god1 so essentially 

glorious1 that ,god came forth in  the  
form of a man to die for it4 ,this is   
the true form of the  ,calvinistic tenet
 that to ,god ,his own glory is ,his    
highest end4 ,and ,paul  was prepared to
 die for it too4 8,and as we tarried    
there many days1  there came down from  
,juda a certain prophet1 named ,agabus4 
,and when he  was come unto us1 he took 
,paul's girdle1 and bound his own hands 
and  feet1 and said1 ,thus saith the    
,holy ,ghost1 ,so shall the ,jews at    
,jerusalem bind the man that owneth this
 girdle1 and shall deliver him  into the
 hands of the ,gentiles4 ,and when we   
heard these things1 both we1  and they  
of that place1 besought him not to go up
 to ,jerusalem4 ,then  ,paul answered1  
,what mean ye to weep and to break mine 
heart8 for ,i am  ready not to be bound1
 only1 but also to die at ,jerusalem for
 the name  of the ,lord ,jesus40 7,acts 
xxi4 #aj-ac47 ,when a man has settled   
that1 and  has taken his life in his    
hand to fulfil a ministry to mankind1 he

 has  but one supreme consideration2 his
 own interests vanish2 man's  interests1
 the estate of the poorest and most     
wretched of mankind1 fill  the sphere of
 his aims and hopes4 7#a ,cor4 iv4      
#i-ac47 ,no wonder that  nothing could  
move him from this ministry1 and that   
life was valueless  save as it might be 
a 8finishing his course with joy1 and   
the ministry  which he had received of  
the ,lord ,jesus to testify the gospel  
of the  grace of ,god40 ,of course1 if  
life was freely laid on that altar1 8as 
the life is more than meat1 and the body
 than raiment10 meats would be  freely  
offered as a sacrifice too4 ,the man who
 was ready to die for man  was not      
likely to suffer a morsel of meat1 any  
worldly possession1 any  physical or    
mental pleasure1 to stand for an instant
 in the way of any  help or guidance    
which he might offer to the weakest of  
mankind4 8,for  though ,i be free from  
all men1 yet have ,i made myself servant
 unto all1  that ,i might gain the more4

 ,and unto the ,jews ,i became as a     
,jew1 that ,i  might gain the ,jews2 to 
them that are under the law1 as under   
the law1  that ,i might gain them that  
are under the law2 to them that are     
without  law1 as without law1 7being not
 without law to ,god1 but under the law 
to  ,christ17 that ,i might gain them   
that are without law4 ,to the weak      
became  ,i as weak1 that ,i might gain  
the weak3 ,i am made all things to all  
men1  that ,i might by all means save   
some4 ,and this ,i do for the gospel's  
sake1 that ,i might be partaker thereof 
with you40 7#a ,cor4 ix4 #ai-bc47  ,we  
must take this sentence then1 as        
explaining the full readiness of the    
apostle1 as far as his own tastes1      
habits1 and appetites were concerned1   
to eat no meat to his dying day1 if he  
saw that such a course of action  would 
remove effectually an offence1 a stone  
of stumbling1 from the path  of the     
weakest of his fellow-men4    ,but all  
are not apostles4 ,how far is the       

conduct of this great ,christian        
teacher to be regarded as giving the    
rule to us8 ,this is but another  form  
of a yet graver question--,how far do we
 feel ourselves bound to be  followers  
of the ,son of man in the regeneration1 
in the reconstruction  of man's nature  
and of human society1 in the working out
 of ,his benign  plans and purposes for 
mankind8 8,be ye followers of me10 said 
,paul1  8as ,i am of ,christ40 ,the     
apostle's life was simply the most      
,christlike  life1 and those who care to
 follow ,christ must drink of the same  
springs1 and aim at the same ends1 while
 they pursue the various  callings by   
which society is sustained and          
developed4 ,to be ,christian is  to have
 in us the same mind which was likewise 
in ,christ ,jesus4 ,the  measure of our 
,christian vitality is the measure in   
which that mind is  in us1 and in which 
we are able thereby to enter into this  
language of  the apostle ,paul4 ,those  
that can enter into it perfectly1 and   

can live  it1 following ,paul as ,paul  
followed ,christ1 are the heaven-sent   
leaders  and ministers of mankind4 ,it  
is a sacred line which ,god keeps       
unbroken  through all the ages1 the men 
of apostolic spirit and self-devotion to
  the good of their fellows4 ,but those 
who follow can only follow through      
sympathy4 ,they must be able to believe 
in this spirit1 to make it the  aim of  
their lives to work it out in their     
limited spheres1 with feebler  it may   
be1 but with honest and manly effort2 or
 ,christianity becomes  simply the      
efflorescence of civilization1 and the  
sad world has to seek  its helper1      
teacher1 and saviour still4 ,clearly    
then ,paul was ready for  this1 and far 
more than this1 if thereby he might     
effectually help a  weak brother on his 
way4    ,,ii4 ,actually1 as far as we   
have the means--and we have some        
means--of  knowing1 ,paul continued to  
eat meat to his dying day1 while the    
difficulty still remained a pressing    

one1 and the stone of stumbling  still  
continued to block many a weak          
,christian's path4    ,what was the     
difficulty8 ,how did the offence arise8 
,the meat spoken of  here is meat which 
had been offered in an idolatrous       
temple1 and which  might be supposed by 
those who had not the lofty intelligence
 of the  apostle to have contracted some
 moral contamination thereby4 ,under all
  systems the meat offered in sacrifice 
was in some measure the perquisite  of  
the priest4 7,lev4 vii4 #g-ai47 ,the    
abuse of the custom is thus             
described3--8,now the sons of ,eli were 
sons of ,belial2 they knew not the      
,lord4 ,and the priest's custom with the
 people was1 that1 when any man  offered
 sacrifice1 the priest's servant came1  
while the flesh was in  seething1 with a
 flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand2 
and he struck it  into the pan1 or      
kettle1 or caldron1 or pot3 all that the
 flesh-hook  brought up1 the priest took
 for himself4 ,so they did in ,shiloh   

unto all  the ,israelites that came     
thither4 ,also before they burnt the    
fat1 the  priest's servant came1 and    
said to the man that sacrificed1 ,give  
flesh  to roast for the priest2 for he  
will not have sodden flesh of thee1 but 
raw4 ,and if any man said unto him1 ,let
 them not fail to burn the fat          
presently1 and then take as much as thy 
soul desireth2 then he would  answer    
him1 ,nay2 but thou shalt give it me    
now2 and if not ,i will take  it by     
force4 ,wherefore the sin of the young  
men was very great before  the ,lord3   
for men abhorred the offering of the    
,lord40 7#a ,sam4 ii4  #ab-ag47 ,there  
is a very interesting question behind   
this1 into which ,i  must not enter     
here2 how far all animal sacrifice is to
 be regarded as  the consecration of    
food2 the recognition of ,god as the    
giver1 as the  lord of the animal slain1
 and of man's right to slay as a right  
which  had been delegated by the ,lord4 
,that there is some deeper idea in      

animal  sacrifice no thoughtful reader  
of the ,bible1 ,i imagine1 can well     
question2 but that this is a very       
important part of the meaning ,i feel   
well assured4 ,it casts a flood of light
 on the immense slaughter of  victims at
 the consecration of the temple and     
other high occasions2  while it is      
itself illustrated by the customs of    
orientals with  reference to the        
slaughter of animals to this day4 ,but  
the priest's  portion was a recognised  
thing4 ,portions of this1 not needed by 
the  priest's household1 would be sold  
in the shambles4 ,portions belonging to 
those who offered the sacrifice might be
 similarly exposed4 ,sometimes a  feast 
would be made in the temple1 the animal 
which furnished the flesh  being        
sacrificed there 7ver4 #aj72 sometimes  
in a private house 7x4 #bg71  where     
,christians1 following the liberal law1 
the law of liberty laid  down by the    
apostle 7#a ,cor4 v4 #i1 #aj71 would be 
constantly brought into  contact with   

it1 and through it1 it might seem to    
them1 with the idol by  whose name it   
had been consecrated4 ,a serious        
difficulty would thus  arise4 ,i beg you
 to mark carefully where the real heart 
of the  difficulty lay4 ,it was not at  
all a question of meat in itself1       
noxious  in quality or becoming noxious 
by quantity4 ,if it had been a question 
of  a man eating unwholesome food1 or   
eating good food to excess1 damaging    
health of body and mind thereby1 ,i     
cannot imagine that ,paul would have    
treated it as a difficult question at   
all4 ,you have a sinful habit he  would 
say1 you are injuring and destroying    
your system2 you must break  it1        
absolutely1 decisively1 or perish3 what 
help ,i can give you as man  to man1 by 
the influence of my words or works1 is  
at your service2 but  it is no question 
of what ,i do or do not3 it is a simple 
point1 it is  between you and ,god2 fly 
to ,him for grace and strength1 and     
master your  lust4    ,but here the case

 is quite different4 ,it is a case not  
of a vicious  habit1 but of a puzzled   
conscience2 a feeble apprehension of    
truth1 a  doubt as to what is right or  
wrong1 in which the conduct of the wise 
and  enlightened would be a most        
wholesome and valuable guide4 ,this weak
 soul  trying to see its way needed     
guidance4 ,what a glutton or a sot needs
 is  power4 ,for the one use1 example is
 most precious2 the other need can  only
 be supplied from a yet deeper spring4  
,how far am ,i in contact with  idolatry
 in this eating of meat offered to      
idols8 might easily be a very  fair     
question2 and not only with the weakest 
of the young ,gentile  ,church4 ,some   
would eat it with conscience of the     
idol4 ,they would be  pained and        
distressed1 and a constant tolerance of 
such pain and  distress is demoralizing4
 ,doing great acts of life with a half  
heart1  with a troubled faith1 paralyses
 conscience1 and in the end opens the   
way to tremendous sins4 ,the constant   

converse with idolatry which  attending 
these feasts with a 8conscience of the  
idol0 would generate1  might easily end 
in apostasy1 shipwreck of faith and hope
 for ever4    ,how beautiful is the     
mingled wisdom and charity with which   
the apostle  handles the difficulty6 ,it
 was absolutely none to him4 ,the idol  
to him  was not anything at all4 ,it was
 a vain imagination of man's vain heart4
  ,there could be no conscience of an   
idol in his mind in dealing with        
anything created by ,god1 however the   
idol might have been connected with  it 
by others4 ,who would recognise an      
usurper because he occupies the  palace 
and assumes the signet of the rightful  
king8 8,the earth is the  ,lord's1 and  
the fulness thereof40 ,the creature is  
the ,lord's1 every  limb1 every         
particle4 ,if ,i can but use it for the 
end for which the ,lord  created it and 
put it under my hand1 ,i will rejoice   
and give thanks that  so far the usurper
 is despoiled4 ,thus the instructed ,jew

 would look at  the matter3 8the idol is
 not anything at all40 ,but the         
,corinthians  were converted ,gentiles4 
,the idol was a reality1 and a very     
terrible  reality to them2 in memory and
 association at any rate1 if not in     
conviction4 ,relapse into idolatry1     
which was all round them1 many dear  to 
them being devoted to it1 was a very    
pressing peril2 and association  with   
idolaters1 with conscience of the idol  
in the act of association1  might easily
 bring the danger near4    ,there was   
but one thing which could deliver them2 
a thoroughly ,christian  conviction that
 the idol is not anything at all3 that  
8every creature  of ,god is good and is 
to be received with thanksgiving1 being 
sanctified  by the word of ,god and by  
prayer40 ,but these noble and lofty     
beliefs  are not born in a moment4 ,god 
had been for ages educating the ,jews to
  the belief of which the ,christian    
,paul1 the ,hebrew of the ,hebrews1 in  
this as in other things was reaping the 

fruit4 ,and education is a slow  and    
delicate process1 and needs to be       
managed by a nursing hand4 ,while  these
 ,gentile converts are being trained to 
this loftier view1 beware  lest1 puffed 
up by your superior knowledge1 your     
conduct tempts them to  a course which  
will deaden that fine tact of           
conscience1 by which alone1  when it has
 fastened on the higher truth1 the      
emancipation can be  gained4 ,act on    
your higher knowledge as your rule of   
living4 ,the fools  and the weaklings   
are not to be the lords of life and the 
masters of the  world4 ,but if you see  
any attempt made to draw you into       
visible contact  with the idol1 that    
those weaker than you1 led by your      
example1 may be  drawn into a contact   
which to them would be detrimental and  
degrading1  bend the higher law for the 
moment1 or rather lift it higher        
still--lose  it in the lovelier law of  
charity1 and practise a forbearance the 
motive  of which is a brother's good4   

8,all things are lawful for me1 but all 
things are not expedient3 all things are
 lawful for me1 but all things  edify   
not4 ,let no man seek his own1 but every
 man another's wealth4  ,whatsoever is  
sold in the shambles1 that eat1 asking  
no question for  conscience sake2 for   
the earth is the ,lord's1 and the       
fulness thereof4  ,if any of them that  
believe not bid you to a feast1 and ye  
be disposed  to go2 whatsoever is set   
before you1 eat1 asking no question for 
conscience sake4 ,but if any man say    
unto you1 ,this is offered in  sacrifice
 unto idols1 eat not for his sake that  
shewed it1 and for  conscience sake3 for
 the earth is the ,lord's and the       
fulness thereof3  conscience1 ,i say1   
not thine own1 but of the other3 for why
 is my  liberty judged of another man's 
conscience8 ,for if ,i by grace be a    
partaker1 why am ,i evil spoken of for  
that for which ,i give thanks8  ,whether
 ye eat1 or drink1 or whatsoever ye do1 
do all to the glory of  ,god40 7#a ,cor4

 x4 #bc-ca47    ,free use of all ,god's 
good gifts with bold conscience is to be
 the law  of ,christian living1 the     
daily practice and habit of the life4   
,voluntary  abstinence1 forbearance in  
the use of the freedom1 is demanded of  
us by  a yet higher law1 the law of     
,christian charity1 the charity which   
has  ,christ for its model and          
inspiration2 but only when we find that 
it will  be helpful to a weak brother in
 our personal intercourse with and      
influence over his soul4 ,that ,paul did
 not adopt this as his rule of  living  
seems quite indisputable4 ,he could not 
have omitted to refer to  it and explain
 it in such a passage as #a ,tim4 iv4   
#a-e1 if his own rule  had been         
abstinence4 8,now the ,spirit speaketh  
expressly1 that in the  latter times    
some shall depart from the faith1 giving
 heed to seducing  spirits1 and         
doctrines of devils2 speaking lies in   
hypocrisy2 having  their conscience     
seared with a hot iron2 forbidding to   

marry1 and  commanding to abstain from  
meats1 which ,god hath created to be    
received  with thanksgiving of them     
which believe and know the truth4 ,for  
every  creature of ,god is good1 and    
nothing to be refused1 if it be received
  with thanksgiving2 for it is          
sanctified by the word of ,god and      
prayer40  ,at the same time we cannot   
question that he frequently acted on it 
when  brought into personal contact with
 brethren of weak faith and tender      
conscience1 whom he sought1 by sympathy 
with their doubts and  difficulties1 to 
educate to a more vigorous and healthy  
life4 ,in order  to understand what we  
have every reason to believe was the    
habit of the  apostle's life1 the free  
and temperate use of all the good gifts 
of ,god1  we must consider--    ,,iii4  
,that the adoption of a rule of         
abstinence1 in permanent deference  to  
weak consciences1 would simply transfer 
to the weak the regulation of  the order
 of human life and the progress of the  

world4 ,the pace of  progress would thus
 be permanently adjusted to the strength
 of the  weakest1 instead of being so   
regulated as to stimulate and help the  
weaker to press on into the front line4 
,the result would be a grievous         
impoverishment of moral and mental      
power2 and ,christianity1 instead of    
being the power of ,god unto salvation1 
would be the instrument of  decline and 
a ministry of death4 ,surely it is a    
fundamental principle  that the         
framework of a man's life1 his daily    
habits1 should be set in  the measure of
 his own personal stature and power4    
,what suits his  character and life1 and
 ministers to his development1 he is to 
embody in  his habits1 as the best      
service which he can render to ,god and 
to his  fellow-men4 ,to be strong1 wise1
 self-controlled1 is the best beginning1
  the only true beginning of real       
service to mankind4 ,the best work which
  a man can work at1 for the service of 
his fellows1 is his life4 ,to  regulate 

permanent habits on the wants and the   
weaknesses of others is  to deny this   
principle1 and to exalt the influence of
 spasmodic effort  above the broad1     
grand ministry of life4 ,paul was far   
from such  illusions4 ,freedom was with 
him the fundamental condition of vital  
progress2 and if his sympathy with the  
weak and perplexed led him again  and   
again to veil his freedom for the       
moment1 it was that he might help  the  
weak to strength1 the perplexed to      
clearness of vision1 the bondsmen  to   
liberty--strength1 clearness1 and       
freedom of which he offered  conspicuous
 examples in his own constant habits of 
life4 8,be ye as ,i  am10 was his       
appeal3 free and strong2 able to see the
 ,lord's mark on all  things and        
creatures1 and not the idol's4 ,to live 
habitually as if he  saw the idol's mark
 would have seemed to him a base act of 
treason1 a  shameful forsaking of that  
liberty which he had in ,christ1 and    
which he  was resolved to hold for      

himself and his brethren even unto      
death4    ,to generalize and formalize  
into laws of action the impulses and    
purposes which inspire the spirit in its
 personal contact with the will1  the   
consciences1 and the affections of its  
fellows1 is in most cases to  rob       
charity of its life and grace of its    
power4 ,it is to substitute law  for    
grace in our personal relations and     
dealings with mankind4 ,had ,paul  laid 
down the rule1--,there are weak         
consciences1 which cannot get rid of    
the savour of the idol2 they shall rule 
our conduct2 ,i will never eat  meat    
offered to idols1 and ,i ordain the same
 to the ,church1--the  development of   
mankind by ,christianity would have been
 killed at the  very root4 ,scruples    
would have become the consecrated thing 
instead of  liberty1 and ,christianity  
would have made manifest the weakness of
 man1  instead of the power of ,god1 to 
the world4 ,no6 his supreme concern was 
that they might master their weakness1  

break their bonds1 and grow from  babes 
to men4 ,if this abstaining from flesh  
while the world stood would  have helped
 them to that progress1 he loved them   
well enough to do it  without a pang of 
regret4 ,but he evidently was eager to  
see them rise  out of the lower region  
which is haunted and tormented by such  
scruples4  ,he ignored them as far as   
possible1 though he dealt with them in  
tender  charity1 when1 as in chap4 x4   
#bh1 they were forced on his sight4     
,something very parallel to this        
difficulty of the meat offered to idols 
was the question about the theatre which
 was a sore perplexity to pious  but    
intelligent spirits a few years ago4    
,there was something1 which had  in it  
essentially no element of evil4 ,but it 
was closely connected with  a world and 
a worldly life which those nurtured in  
the ,church or brought  under its       
influence were sedulously taught to     
shun4 ,many who felt  themselves strong 
abstained4 ,they saw no harm1 and would 

get no harm1  but rather a positive     
good4 ,but they denied themselves1 that 
others of  weaker faith might not be in 
the way of harm1 and that no sin or ruin
 of  a brother might by any chance be   
laid at their door4 ,whether the rule of
  abstinence was wise ,i am not called  
here to consider4 ,it was complicated   
by moral considerations--which too were 
not absent in the case which the        
apostle treats of here--which make it   
less easy to pronounce judgment in  a   
word4 ,but it must always be remembered 
that a rule or law of  abstinence in    
such cases on the part of the strong    
consecrates the  scruple1 associates    
evil permanently with that which has no 
essential  evil in it1 and multiplies   
thereby the stumbling-blocks of mankind4
    ,the case of actual vice1 like      
drinking to excess1 seems to me to fall 
under quite another category2 though it 
is constantly regarded as  settled by   
the text1 as though it had been written1
 8,wherefore1 if drink  make my brother 

to offend ,i will drink no wine while   
the world standeth1  lest ,i make my    
brother to offend40 ,we have no call    
here to discuss and  pass judgment on a 
movement by which men of most           
unquestioned goodness1  and             
self-devotion to the best interests of  
others1 think that they see a  means of 
largely helping the morally weak by     
removing a fatal temptation  from their 
path4 ,we only say that it is a question
 well worthy of the  most careful       
consideration1 how far in the long run  
and on a large scale  a permanent       
confession of weakness can be helpful to
 human development2  how far a habit of 
life confessedly built on the weakness  
of others can  offer a noble and        
inspiring example to those who it is    
hoped would  profit by it2 and how far  
an unnatural condition can have in it   
the  elements of a true and vital       
reformation4 ,but these considerations  
are  really beside the true scope of the
 text1 though they are naturally        

suggested by it4 ,and in closing this   
discussion of a perplexed and  difficult
 subject ,i would say in brief3--7#a7   
,that isolated acts of  abstinence1     
which may have their special reason and 
justification1 when  moulded into habits
 fall in the way of the withering       
denunciation which  the passage ,i have 
quoted from #a ,tim4 iv4 #a-d expresses2
 7#b7 ,that the  moulding of our        
personal habits on the follies1         
weaknesses1 or vices of  others1 is a   
betrayal of trust1 for that which we    
have chiefly in trust  is life--to live 
a life free1 strong1 and fearless1      
shining as a light1  not of rebuke or of
 caution1 but of guidance to mankind2   
and 7#c7 ,that  every concession to     
doubt and weakness to which ,divine     
charity moves us  is futile and vicious1
 unless in the very act we are putting  
forth a  hand to lift a weak brother to 
a standing ground where he will be above
  these fogs of fear and infirmity for  
ever4      ,butler  ,tanner1 ,the       

,selwood ,printing ,works1 ,frome1 and  
,london4          ,,by ,,the ,,same     
,,author4    ,in crown #hvo1 #es41      
cloth4    ,,idolatries1 ,,old ,,and     
,,new3    ,,their ,,cause ,,and ,,cure4 
,opinions of the ,press4    8,the       
present volume we should think is by far
 the best which the author  has sent    
forth4 ,this1 indeed1 is the most       
fundamental and comprehensive  argument 
on the principles involved in the       
ritualistic controversy which  we have  
yet seen40--,london ,quarterly ,review4 
8,we heartily recommend to our readers  
this eloquent1 vigorous1 and            
well-reasoned book4 ,it puts things     
familiar to only a few strong  thinkers 
in fresh and forcible lights2 it is a   
noble vindication of the  spirituality  
and freedom of the ,christian life2 it  
is written in a manly  chastened style1 
and is inspired by a high-toned and     
earnest spiritual  feeling10--,english  
,independent4    8,his style is as      
forcible and eloquent as his thinking is

 clear and  vigorous4 ,of the genuine   
power of the book--a power derived from 
its  high-toned principle1 its manly    
freedom1 its intense earnestness--there 
can be no question40--,nonconformist4   
8,a thoughtful1 earnest1 and intelligent
 protest against the idolatry of  the   
priest1 of the sacrament1 and of the    
word1 written with manly vigour  and    
much beauty40--,freeman4      ,,london3 
,,hodder  ,,stoughton1 #bg1             
,,paternoster ,,row4                    
,transcriber's ,note3      ,punctuation 
has been standardised4 ,paragraph       
enumeration and  hyphenation have been  
retained as they appear in the original 
publication4 ,a table of contents has   
been added above the  beginning of the  
book4 ,changes have made been as        
follows3        ,page #dj      nature of
 things befal a free spirit changed to  
nature of things befall a free spirit   
,page #gg      bring forth judgmedt unto
 truth changed to      bring forth      
judgment unto truth