,,bible ,,emblems4        ,,by ,,the    
,,late ,,rev4 ,,edward ,e4 ,,seelye1 ,d4
 ,d4    ,,schenectady1 ,n4 ,y4          
,,published ,,by ,,the    ,,american    
,,tract ,,society1    #aej              
,,nassau-,,street1 ,,new ,,york4        
,,entered according to ,act of          
,congress1 in the year #ahff1 by the    
,,american  ,,tract ,,society1 in the   
,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court
 of the ,southern  ,district of the     
,state of ,new ,york4                   
,,contents4           ,i4 ,the higher   
,rock                              #e   
,,ii4 ,the sun in his might             
#bh       ,,iii4 ,the voice of blood    
#dh        ,,iv4 ,christians ,god's     
temples                    #fg          
,v4 ,god's witnesses                    
#hf        ,,vi4 ,christians shining    
#ajb       ,,vii4 ,the raven and the    
dove                     #aah           
,,viii4 ,the rainbow                    
#acg        ,,ix4 ,the smoking furnace  
and burning lamp       #aea         ,x4 

,the altar of incense                   
#aga        ,,xi4 ,eating under the     
juniper-tree              #ahh          
,,xii4 ,the other side                  
#bjf          ,,bible ,,emblems4        
,i4    ,the higher ,rock4        ,,lead 
,,me ,,to ,,the ,,rock ,,that ,,is      
,,higher ,,than ,i4 ,,psalm #fa3b4      
,this is a humble cry3 the cry of a soul
 needing help--a soul looking  outside  
of and beyond self for aid and succor4  
,strange and unusual as it is to hear   
it1 it is the most rational cry that    
the human soul ever uttered4    ,it     
cannot be disguised1 that man is        
unsatisfied with his present  condition4
 ,he looks for something higher4 ,he    
longs to become what he is  not now4    
,every soul has within it the secret    
consciousness of imperfection1 and a    
secret aspiration for improvement4      
,evils and infirmities now encompass    
it1 but it has an idea of a higher state
 of being1 and a more perfect           
development of spiritual life4    ,the  

great question is1 how man shall gain   
this spiritual life4 ,where is  the     
power which shall effect his elevation  
and improvement8 ,where is he to  look  
for that influence which will insure his
 progress1 which will exalt  and        
sanctify him1 and fit him to fulfil the 
great end of his creation8 ,is  it from 
earth1 or heaven8 ,is it within him1 or 
above him8 ,is it human1 or  divine8 ,is
 it nature1 or is it grace8    ,this is 
the vital question to be settled2 the   
turning-point of all our  views of      
religion and humanity4    ,we are       
satisfied that the only basis of man's  
improvement lies in his  dependence upon
 almighty power4 ,the only rock on which
 he can ever be  satisfied to rest1 is  
the ,rock that is higher than he4 ,if   
ever his  condition is bettered1 it must
 be by some agency outside of himself4  
,if  ever he is to reach a heaven of    
perfection and of blessedness1 he must  
be  drawn thither by a heavenly power4  
,we confess we expect very little from  

all the flattering theories of          
self-dependence and self-development4   
,we are tired of the endless talk of    
man's noble and sublime endowments1 and 
his vast capacities for reaching  his   
ultimate perfection4 ,we turn away from 
much that is uttered under the  guise of
 religion1 which is little else than a  
ringing of perpetual  changes on the    
progressive energy of human nature1 and 
which utterly  ignores the need of      
divine grace1 while it teaches man to   
make himself a  seraph4 ,very empty is  
it all to us--this godless              
humanitarianism1  discoursing           
perpetually upon human progress1 while  
it says not a word  about man's         
dependence upon any thing above himself4
    ,it may please the multitude to tell
 them that they must look solely to     
themselves for all the resources of a   
higher life4 ,it tickles the vanity  of 
men to preach to them of the virtues of 
self-reliance1 and to exhort  them with 
high-sounding oratory to cultivate their

 manhood1 and follow the  higher        
instincts of their nature2 to bid them  
behave worthy of themselves1  to find   
the true law of their being in their own
 self-hood1 and to rely  upon the       
strength of their own spiritual muscle  
to climb to the higher  regions of      
spiritual perfection4 ,men love to hear 
it4 ,they listen readily  to the voice  
of such charmers4 ,it flatters their    
pride4 ,it deifies their  manhood4 ,it  
gets rid of all those humbling notions  
of dependence upon  ,god's power4 ,it   
does away with all such useless         
exercises as prayer and  supplication4  
,it tells men to be true to themselves1 
to kindle the sparks  of their own      
manhood1 and walk in the light of them1 
while it says nothing  of a ,rock which 
is higher than they4    ,grand as such  
teachings may seem to many1 they sound  
very sad to the  ,christian3 sad1       
because they are not true2 sad1 because 
they are as  delusive as they are       
flattering4    ,according to all these  

theories1 man is directed to himself for
 his own  salvation and improvement4    
,nature1 and not grace1 must save him4  
,he is his  own rock on which he must   
build4 ,he has no object above himself  
to look  to4 ,his god is his own        
developed humanity4 ,what then is there 
for him to  hold fellowship and         
communion with higher than himself8     
,what is there to  draw him upward2 what
 to excite him to action8 ,how can he   
rise above his  own level8 ,on what     
ladder will he plant his feet1 and what 
object will  attract his gaze and nerve 
him to exertion8    ,with nothing       
outside of himself and above himself to 
look to1 you shut him  up to grovel in  
the dust4 ,without the law of a higher  
attraction  influencing him1 man1 with  
all his ambitious pretensions1 will stay
 where  he is4 ,it is only when the sun 
is in the heavens1 scattering its warm  
beams over the world1 that the ocean    
sends up from its bosom its tribute  to 
the sky4 ,destroy this solar attraction1

 and no particle of moisture  would rise
 above the surface4    ,so the human    
soul aspires to something above itself1 
in obedience to the  law of spiritual   
attraction which is beyond itself4      
,isolate it from ,god1  who is far above
 it1 turn away its thoughts from any    
rock higher than it1  bid it look       
perpetually inward and never outward and
 upward1 and you have  doomed it to     
despair4    ,is it not strange1 remarks 
the earnest and profound ,john ,foster1 
to  observe how carefully some          
philosophers1 who deplore the condition 
of the  world and profess to expect its 
melioration1 keep their speculations    
clear  of any idea of ,divine           
interposition8 ,no builders of houses or
 cities were  ever more attentive to    
guard against the access of flood or    
fire4 ,if ,he  should but touch their   
prospective theories of improvement1    
they would  renounce them as defiled1   
and fit only for vulgar fanaticism4 ,no 
time is  too long to wait1 no cost too  

deep to incur1 for the triumph of       
proving  that we have no need of a      
,divinity regarded as possessing that   
one  attribute which makes it delightful
 to acknowledge such a ,being--the      
benevolence which would make us happy4  
,but even if this noble self-sufficiency
 cannot be realized1 the  independence  
of spirit which has labored for it must 
not sink at last into  piety4 ,this     
afflicted world1 'this poor terrestrial 
citadel of man1' is to  lock its gates1 
and keep its miseries1 rather than admit
 the degradation  of receiving help from
 ,god4    ,that religion which is taught
 us in the ,bible1 is the opposite of   
all the  cruel mockeries of a godless   
philosophy4 ,it tells of human progress4
 ,it  bids us hope for a higher life4   
,it cheers us with promises of          
deliverance  and salvation4 ,but it bids
 us cease from man1 whose breath is in  
his  nostrils1 and points us to a ,cause
 above ourselves4 ,it sounds no         
panegyrics upon our manhood4 ,it talks  

not of nature's doings1 but of  grace4  
,it tells us not to trust ourselves1 to 
rely upon our self-hood1 but  to consent
 to be helped by a divine power4 ,it    
leads us not to ourselves1  but to the  
,rock that is higher than we4    ,and in
 so doing we maintain that the religion 
of ,jesus ,christ alone meets  the      
deep-felt want of our souls4    ,after  
all the cherished pride of independence1
 after all the praises sung  to our     
godlike manhood1 after all the          
strugglings for self-development1  the  
soul feels a consciousness of its       
weakness1 and is burdened with a  sense 
of its own impotency4 ,there are        
occasions1 not a few1 when it gives  the
 lie to all the shallow pratings of     
philosophy1 and looks around it for     
help4 ,it feels its own infirmities4 ,it
 wants to escape from its loneliness    
and isolation4 ,it reaches after a power
 which it does not possess4 ,it  cries  
for a ,rock which is higher than it4    
,the religion of ,christ meets this     

condition of our nature4 ,it tells me ,i
  must look beyond myself4 ,it shows me 
where to look4 ,it reveals to me a      
,rock1 firm1 enduring1 safe1 where ,i   
may rest--not in me1 but above me1      
higher than ,i--to which1 if ,i would   
reach it1 ,i must consent to be led1    
and to receive aid4    ,in this school  
of religion are we taught the lessons of
 the deepest  humility1 and the most    
absolute dependence--lessons such as    
were never  taught in the porch or the  
grove of refined philosophy4 ,they are  
opposed  to the strongest instincts of  
our carnal hearts4 ,they extort from the
 soul  the confession of its own        
helplessness3 ,save1 ,lord1 or ,i       
perish4    ,yet conflicting as true     
religion is with the pride and          
self-confidence of  carnal man1 its     
provisions and conditions meet precisely
 the wants of a  humble believer4 ,this 
abnegation of self1 and looking away    
from and above  self1 is the highest    
comfort of a ,christian's life4 ,this   

,rock1 higher than  he1 is what he wants
 to get hold of and lean upon4 ,lead me 
to it1 is his  prayer1 uttered from     
every department of his soul4    #a4    
,the understanding utters it1 when it   
seeks for knowledge4 ,it asks for  a    
wisdom above its own1 to instruct us in 
the great truths of our being1  our     
relations to ,god1 our duties1 and our  
destiny4 ,it feels that divine  wisdom  
alone is competent to declare what the  
divine will is4    ,men may bid me hear 
it through the voice of reason2 but that
 cannot  satisfy the soul4 ,like the    
spider which spins its web from its own 
bowels  and hangs it in the air1 have   
men been long busy in deducing from     
their  own reason their profoundest     
systems of truth and virtue1 and in     
laying  down the rule of duty which     
would guide them to life eternal4 ,but  
the  result of all such labors has been 
poor indeed4 ,all the systems which     
reason has ever framed could never rise 
above the finite2 and multitudes  of    

them have proved but metaphysical       
cobwebs1 entangling the soul which      
seeks to walk upon them in their        
perplexing meshes1 till1 in its         
strugglings1 it breaks through them all1
 and drops down into the abyss of       
hopeless scepticism4    ,i cannot trust 
my eternal welfare to such deceptive    
oracles4 ,i want to  hear a voice       
outside of myself to teach me life and  
duty4 ,i want to hear  what ,god speaks 
to me1 and to believe it because ,he    
speaks it4 ,and though  in his divine   
revelation he says many things which are
 not articulate to  my reason1 still    
reason forbids me not to trust in them4 
,faith lays hold  of them1 and climbs   
upward to rest upon the ,rock4 ,here the
 ,christian  soul takes refuge4 ,to the 
infallible word of ,god it flies1 from  
all the  ,babel utterances of           
rationalistic errors1 as its only       
security1 its  fortress1 and high tower4
    #b4 ,the human will also needs to   
look above and beyond itself for the    

,rock of its support4    ,there is1 says
 a profound writer1 a sentiment to be   
found in divers  forms among all men1   
the sentiment of the need of some       
external succor1 of  a support to the   
human will1 of a force which can lend   
its aid and  strength to our necessity4 
,how true this is every ,christian knows
 by sad experience4 ,to will is  present
 with me1 says ,paul1 but how to perform
 that which is good1 ,i  find not4      
,how changeable our volitions4 ,how many
 purposes unexecuted lie like wrecks    
along the shores of our past history4   
,the best of resolutions glow for a     
time in the soul1 but the genial spark  
thus kindled is soon blown out in  the  
wild tempest of the passions4 ,our      
states of mind are variable as the  sky4
 ,they carry the will along with them4  
,there are tides of human  feeling1 just
 as there are tides in the ocean1 which 
ebb and flow in  ceaseless agitation4   
,that old ,saxon monarch who with his   
courtiers went  down to the shore and   

issued his command to the ocean surges  
to go back1  till the waves1 in mockery 
of his authority1 dashed over his feet1 
was as  successful as he will be1 who   
thinks to subdue with the voice of his  
own  authority the active elements      
within him1 and to subject to the       
mandates  of the human will the troubled
 sea of thought and feeling in the soul4
    ,oh1 when thus my will is powerless 
for good1 when resolutions strongly     
framed and guarded go down one by one   
under the shock of temptation1 when     
thus ,i climb and fall backwards1 repent
 and sin1 and repent again only to      
resolve anew1 then it is ,i feel the    
need of something more potent to fix  my
 resolutions and give stability to my   
purposes4 ,then it is ,i wait to  hear  
the voice of ,god's authority1 and ask  
to be led to some ,rock higher  than ,i4
    #c4 ,again1 to such a ,rock as this 
the believer's affections naturally     
aspire4 ,unless some object more        
excellent and worthy than self be       

discovered1 then is selfishness the     
highest virtue4 ,such an object cannot  
be found in the creature things which   
surround us4 ,magnify them as we may1   
the soul feels that they are inferior to
 itself2 in all its attempts to  love   
them and go out after them1 the soul has
 a secret consciousness of  degradation4
 ,it feels that it is stepping downwards
 and not upwards1 when  it turns its    
love upon the material vanities around  
it4 ,there is1 all the  while1 a        
suppressed sense of dissatisfaction1 a  
wish and a longing for  something better
 to love1 something higher for the heart
 to reach after4    ,this feeling in the
 ,christian makes him look upward4 ,god 
as revealed in  ,christ is alone        
sufficient to fill his heart4 ,he       
discovers the holiness  and excellency  
of his nature4 ,he sees him with all the
 attributes of  divinity and humanity   
harmoniously blended together1 the chief
 among ten  thousands2 the one          
altogether lovely4 ,he feels that he is 

worthy of his  love4 ,he is drawn to him
 with the cords of love4 ,he is looking 
higher than  self4 ,there is none upon  
earth he desires besides ,him4 ,now he  
has found  the only object he can safely
 love4 ,other things have mocked him3   
earthly  vanities have trifled with his 
affections2 they have betrayed his      
trust2  but ,christ fills his heart4 ,he
 is a higher rock than himself1 and he  
turns  thither as his only rest4 ,lead  
me to this ,rock2 let my soul climb here
  above the lower level of earth and    
sense2 for here my hope shall not be    
put to shame4    #d4 ,this higher ,rock 
is the only refuge ,i can find when ,i  
feel the need of  pardon and            
sanctification4 ,the human conscience   
testifies of guilt4  ,god's law has been
 set at naught1 and its penalty has been
 incurred4  ,justice demands a          
satisfaction for transgression1 else the
 gate of  reconciliation is closed for  
ever4 ,how can this fearful difficulty  
be  overcome8 ,how can ,god forgive the 

guilty8 ,shut me up to myself1 and ,i am
  in despair4 ,i could commit the sin   
myself1 but ,i cannot give the          
satisfaction4 ,all my present attempts  
to obedience can have no effect upon    
what ,i have done before4 ,my guilt is  
where ,i cannot reach it4 ,my prayers   
and tears and vows cannot wash out the  
damning record which stands against  me4
 ,even could ,i reform my life and tread
 in the path of holiness from  this time
 forth1 there is guilt already which ,i 
cannot cancel4    ,oh1 the utter        
helplessness of the soul is one of the  
most agonizing  feelings which attend   
conviction of sin4 ,guilt stares me in  
the face1  after all my strugglings4    
,the dark waters go over my head1 and ,i
 sink for  ever1 were it not for a rock 
,i can seize hold of1 which is ,christ a
  ,saviour4 ,the gospel points me to an 
atonement made for me in the death of   
,jesus ,christ1 and bids me look by     
faith to the sacrifice of the cross4    
,this is precisely what ,i want4    ,oh 

let me reach this ,rock1 and ,i can     
count over my transgressions without    
despair2 for here the justice of ,god is
 satisfied4 ,here is a full  atonement  
for them all4 ,here ,god smiles upon me 
with a look of  forgiveness1 for the law
 is magnified1 and grace abounds4 ,here 
is my  refuge against all the           
accusations of conscience and the       
terrors of guilt4  ,here on this ,rock  
,i rest in peace1 a high ,rock1 above   
the clouds where the  lightning flashes 
of wrath play and justice hurls the     
bolts4    ,lastly1 this divine ,rock is 
the ,christian's only support in the    
trying  calamities of life4 ,whatever be
 their nature1 whether temptations1 or  
afflictions1 or spiritual distresses1 he
 meets them by looking above and  beyond
 himself for aid4    ,there is a kind of
 heroism which the world applauds1      
exhibited sometimes  by men in the      
trying straits of life1 a gloomy heroism
 which inspires them  to breast         
misfortune with an iron nerve1 and take 

up arms against a sea  of troubles1 in  
firm reliance upon their own indomitable
 will4 ,it never  quails before the face
 of danger1 but will perish in the      
fierce encounter  rather than submit to 
fear4 ,often it assumes the form of a   
grim and  sullen stoicism1 which sheds  
no tear over the desolation of cherished
  hopes1 and utters no plaintive cry    
over the wreck of lost affections4 ,with
  dogged silence it buries the last of  
kindred1 and at last lies down to die   
with features cold and mute as marble1  
and with sealed passports departs  to   
the eternal world4    ,this1 which the  
world calls manly firmness1 is a foul   
libel on humanity1  but a few degrees   
removed from the sublime stolidity of   
the brute4    ,the ,christian lays claim
 to no such heroism1 but looks for aid  
in trouble4  ,he is willing to be       
helped4 ,from the end of the earth will 
,i cry unto ,thee  when my heart is     
overwhelmed1 ,lead me to the ,rock that 
is higher than ,i4    ,the idea         

suggested is that of a sufferer         
struggling in the angry billows2  and   
while he feels his strength rapidly     
wearing out1 he turns his eye in  every 
direction across the boundless waters to
 find some succor4 ,no  friendly sail is
 seen4 ,not a spar or plank is left of  
his shattered  vessel4 ,every thing has 
gone down beneath the remorseless tide4 
,but  yonder looms a solitary rock high 
in the air4 ,storms rage about it in    
vain4 ,the surges dash and roar around  
its base4 ,the maddened waters are      
lashed into foam and spray4 ,but there  
it stands1 firm1 unmovable1  invincible4
 ,heedless of tide and wave and storm1  
it looks tranquilly out  upon the chafed
 and angry elements1 as unconcerned as  
though naught but  sunbeams played and  
zephyrs whispered4    ,what that rock is
 to the wrecked and exhausted mariner   
who has at length  reached its base1 and
 lain down in its friendly clefts1 such 
is ,christ to  the tossed and troubled  
believer4 ,in the upheavings of life1   

when all  other trusts have failed1 and 
the waters of affliction are breaking   
over  him1 he betakes himself to ,god1  
and climbs upon the ,rock of ages4      
,he has no idea of standing on his      
manhood when distress and death confront
  him4 ,he is willing to own his        
dependence1 and humbly fly to ,god for  
aid4  ,faith in ,god is to him a        
mightier resource than the boasted iron 
nerve and  proud unconquerable will of  
nature4    ,the religion of the ,bible  
teaches us humility and dependence4     
,human  nature needs help4 ,human nature
 must give up its vaporing4 ,sinners    
cannot  save themselves4 ,if we are ever
 saved1 it must be by looking above1 and
  not within4 ,there is no regenerating 
power left in the carnal heart4 ,no     
mere development of the man will ever   
result in his salvation4 ,there must  be
 an agency ab extra to interpose1 else  
we perish4 ,god1 not man1 must  have the
 glory of our salvation4 ,this is       
plainly the ,bible method2 and the      

sooner we learn to look away from self  
to something higher1 the nearer are  we 
towards attaining it4    ,again1 the    
gospel system meets our wants1 as well  
as tells us of them4  ,it reveals the   
,rock higher than we4 ,it points us to a
 divine ,saviour4 ,the  same voice which
 tells us of our necessities1 tells us  
also of the  supplies ,god has furnished
 to meet them all4 ,here divine         
knowledge is  given to relieve our      
doubts1 and enlighten our ignorance4    
,here is divine  power tendered to help 
the feebleness of the will4 ,here is    
divine love  exhibited to quicken our   
affections4 ,here is a divine atonement 
provided  to expiate our guilt4 ,here is
 a divine ,spirit revealed to sanctify  
our  souls and fit them for heaven and  
glory4 ,why all this outlay for those   
who  have ability to take care of       
themselves8 ,why such vast provisions   
for men1  if there be yet aught         
belonging to them which1 by mere        
self-development1  can make them holy   

and meet for heaven8 ,why such rich     
display of grace1 if  there be any thing
 left to hope from in mere nature8      
,it follows that faith is the great     
element of practical religion4          
,believe1 and thou shalt be saved1 is   
the great command and promise of  the   
gospel4 ,trust in ,me for aid2 look up  
to the ,rock for a refuge4  ,prayer     
therefore becomes the vital exercise of 
a ,christian life4 ,it is  the soul's   
outlooking beyond itself2 its aspiration
 after ,god2 the medium  through which  
it receives blessings from its ,saviour4
 ,for this faith in  ,god is not mere   
spiritual imbecility1 nor torpid        
helplessness4 ,it is the  movement of an
 earnest soul1 awake to its deep        
necessities1 and looking  heavenward for
 help4 ,prayer is its earnest utterance1
 its living activity4  ,lead me upward1 
is its cry2 help me to climb the rock2  
bear me above  temptations which draw me
 earthward2 support me in the conflict  
which ,i  must meet in my upward way to 

heaven4    ,the strength of a           
,christian's life1 paradoxical as it may
 seem1 lies in  its dependence4 ,look up
 then to the ,rock of your salvation4   
,wait at the  throne of grace for aid2  
wrestle earnestly in prayer1 if you     
would rise  above your present level4   
,you are not shut up to nature's        
resources4 ,you  have a higher ,rock1   
where you may build your house4 ,and    
when the winds of  trouble blow1 and the
 floods of death sweep by1 your house   
will stand the  shock1 and shelter you  
from harm1 for it is founded on a rock4 
,my dear1 yet impenitent friend1 our    
subject tells you what you must come  to
 in order to be saved4 ,you must quit   
your hold on self1 and consent to  look 
without you for salvation4 ,the sooner  
you look this fact plainly in  the face 
the better4 ,all your reliance upon your
 own self-hood1 all your  boasted       
progress in virtue1 all your godless    
cultivation of your so called  manhood1 
may be welcome incense offered on the   

altar of human pride1 but  they keep you
 away from the true salvation4    ,the  
religion of the ,bible is for sinners   
who need help4 ,its salvation is  for   
those who are in a lost condition4 ,you 
must admit this fact1 or go  without it4
 ,if you cannot consent to be saved by  
interposing grace1 you  must be left to 
nature1 and the result will be at last1 
you will not be  saved at all4 ,if you  
will not brook to be told that you are  
poor and  miserable and blind and naked1
 and that you must find in ,christ      
,jesus a  ,rock higher than you1 and    
trust in his atonement to remove your   
guilt1 and  pray for the ,holy ,spirit  
to wash and sanctify you1 then you must 
do the  best you can without a ,saviour4
 ,you may carry your head up a while1   
and  scorn to be a suppliant2 you may   
plume yourself upon your independence   
and  self-reliance1 and ask no favors of
 ,god or man2 you may disdain to utter a
  prayer1 or a confession2 but your     
glory will be short4 ,death will soon   

strip you of your pride1 and rob you of 
your boasting4 ,god will call you  to   
the judgment-seat1 and put your manhood 
to the test4    ,my dying friend1 you   
cannot keep your present position2 you  
must abandon  it ere long4 ,why not do  
it now8 ,why wait till you are driven   
from it to  eternal disgrace1 when you  
may now turn from it1 and secure thereby
  eternal life8 ,you have got to bow2   
you have got to pray2 you have got to   
awake to a conviction of your guilt1    
either now1 or in eternity4 ,why not    
now--now1 when help is near you1 and    
salvation is offered you--now1 when  the
 ,rock that is higher than you is       
accessible to you1 and you are bidden   
to hide in its friendly clefts from the 
gathering storm of ,jehovah's  wrath8   
,you may refuse to look upon it now2 but
 not so hereafter4 ,from your deep      
abyss of gloom your eye will see it far 
away in the upper world of glory1  with 
the glad companies of the redeemed      
sitting upon its summit in eternal  rest

 and peace1 and singing with the angels4
 ,and the spontaneous prayer  which     
would break from your lips1 ,lead me to 
yonder ,rock that is higher  than ,i1   
will be choked and silenced by the awful
 conviction1 that between  you and it   
there is a great gulf fixed1 a chasm    
which no tears can  bridge1 no prayers  
can span4 ,now the ,rock is near4 ,the  
,saviour reaches out  his hand4 ,grasp  
it1 sinner1 by faith4 ,hold on to it and
 climb to the  strong-holds1 or you must
 sink to hell4          ,,ii4    ,the   
,sun in his ,might4        ,,let ,,them 
,,that ,,love ,,him ,,be ,,as ,,the     
,,sun ,,when ,,he ,,goeth ,,forth ,,in  
,,his ,,might4      ,,judges #e3ca4     
,thus closes the song of ,deborah1 the  
judge and heroine of ,israel4 ,its      
theme has been the thrilling events of  
the great battle with ,sisera and  the  
,canaanites1 the victory of ,balak1 and 
the overthrow of ,jabin and his  hosts4 
,but at its close she rises from the    
particular event to a general           

prediction1 in the form of a prayer for 
the destruction of all the enemies  of  
,god1 and the safety and blessedness of 
his own people4 ,so let all  thine      
enemies perish1 ,o ,lord2 but let them  
that love him be as the sun  when he    
goeth forth in his might4    ,them that 
love him is a brief1 but most fitting   
description of true  believers1 whether 
,jewish or ,christian4 ,saints are      
distinguished from  others1 not only in 
their relations to ,god1 but in their   
affections  towards him4 ,reconciled to 
,god through ,jesus ,christ1 they love  
him with a  reverential1 obedient1 and  
constant love4 ,such are1 in the highly 
poetic  language of the prophetess1     
compared to the sun when he goeth forth 
in his  might4    ,a bold and           
extravagant figure indeed it appears to 
us at first view4 ,to  liken ,christians
 to the sun may seem presumptuous--the  
sun1 that glorious  orb which marshals  
at his command the planets and          
satellites that revolve  around         

him--that great central fountain of     
light and heat1 scattering his  rays    
over the vast fields of immensity1      
imparting light and warmth and  vitality
 throughout his vast territories1 and   
gladdening the numerous  tribes of      
creatures which inhabit them4    ,but   
the comparison in the text is specific  
rather than general4 ,it is to  the     
going forth of the sun in his might--to 
his apparent motion round  the earth1   
produced really by the revolution of the
 earth upon its axis4  ,the ,scriptures 
employ the language of common life when 
they describe the  phenomena of the     
natural world4    ,the going forth of   
the sun is seen when he rises in glory  
in the eastern  sky1 and climbs the     
heavens in majestic splendor1 scattering
 the mists  and gloom of night2 when    
with untiring steps he mounts the       
zenith1 and  bends his course along the 
western slope1 till at the close of day 
he  flings aslant over mountaintop and  
embosomed lake his parting beams1 and   

dips his golden rim behind the horizon1 
to shine on other lands and  gladden    
their inhabitants4    ,it is this       
tireless movement of the sun1 this daily
 progress of the king  of day1          
patrolling as with a giant's tread the  
ramparts of the skies1 that  the text   
employs to illustrate the course of     
,god's people in the world4    ,parallel
 to the text is the passage in ,proverbs
 #dth3 ,the path of the just  is as the 
shining light1 which shineth more and   
more unto the perfect  day4 ,our subject
 is then to study the life and          
experience of the  ,christian as        
illustrated by the sun when he goeth    
forth in his might4    ,what more       
sublime and glorious sight can be       
conceived of than this  every-day       
phenomenon1 so common that it is        
unappreciated and almost  unnoticed by  
the multitudes of busy men--the going   
forth of the sun in his  might8 ,o ye   
effeminate children of sloth1 it is     
worth snatching a lazy  hour from your  

feverish beds1 to rise before the dawn1 
and watch how the  shadows of the night 
gradually soften and flee away at the   
approach of the  sun-rising1 and how the
 eastern sky lifts her curtains of      
crimson and gold  to welcome his coming4
 ,the various tribes of animated        
creation rejoice on  every side4 ,the   
lark warbles his glad notes1 and soars  
high in the air to  catch his first     
beams4    ,it is the sun going forth in 
his might that quickens the life-pulse  
of  nature1 and scatters the gloom which
 enshrouded her4 ,fresh and joyous as a 
bridegroom coming out of his chamber1 he
 lifts his head above the hills1  and   
bathes the earth in the splendor of his 
rays4 ,shadows retreat through  glen and
 valley to their caves4 ,breezes gently 
touch the forest-leaves1  and chant     
their matinee4 ,placid lakes from their 
mirrored surface toss  back the         
day-beams4 ,dew-drops pendent on the    
flower-petals glisten like  diamonds on 
a vestal's brow4 ,cascade and cataract  

with their silvery spray  weave mimic   
rainbows in his beams4 ,distant         
mountains in solemn grandeur  lift their
 tall peaks like golden turrets in the  
sky2 while from jutting  promontory and 
wave-washed beech old ocean peals out   
her deep1 full  diapason1 and hails the 
advent of the day4 ,ah1 when ,i gaze    
upon a scene  like this1 ,i cease to    
wonder that in other lands1 unvisited by
 the gospel1  the ,parsee bows and      
worships the rising sun1 and lifts his  
hands and prays  with rapt devotion to  
the orb of day4    ,follow the sun's    
course from the horizon upward2 how1    
never halting1 never  wearying1 he      
drives his fire-chariot through the long
 circuit of the  heavens4 ,and when at  
close of day he bids us a short adieu1  
it is not with  the jaded look of an    
exhausted courier whose strength is     
gone1 but with  the same effulgent      
countenance that he wore before4 ,still 
does he go forth  in his might when1 at 
evening1 from his broad disc he throws  

with lavish  profusion his effulgence   
over the floating clouds in the vault   
above1 and  over hill-top and plain     
stretched out below4    ,would you take 
the full meaning of the sun's going     
forth in his might1  you must bear in   
mind that this his glorious career is   
not the phenomenon  of a day1 but that  
precisely thus has he fulfilled his     
mission through  weary centuries--that  
on the generations long forgotten he    
shone with the  same exhaustless        
splendor2 and that since creation's     
birth1 when he was  commissioned by the 
,almighty to rule the day1 he has never 
failed to walk  the skies4 ,centuries   
have not wearied him2 ages have marked  
no wrinkles on  his brow2 but as when   
the world was new he circled it with    
light and  beauty1 so now with the same 
might does he go forth weariless1       
changeless4    ,what is there in this   
going forth of the sun in his might     
analogous to the  life of the people of 
,god8 ,where is the point of comparison8

 ,how is the  moral experience of a     
,christian to be likened to this going  
forth of the  sun8 ,unlike the sun1 he  
is not the centre of a mighty system4   
,unlike the  sun1 he has no inherent    
light to scatter around him4 ,rather    
like the moon  than like the sun does he
 shine1 borrowing all his light from    
,christ the  ,sun of righteousness2 just
 as the moon gathers what beams she has 
from the  sun1 and reflects them towards
 us with fainter and more subdued       
radiance4  ,like the moon1 the          
,christian shines only when shone upon4 
,in speaking of ,bible imagery1 we must 
beware of straining the figures         
employed1 and forcing upon them an      
interpretation which is beyond their    
natural meaning4    ,the text does not  
compare the light of the ,christian with
 the light of the  sun1 but simply the  
,christian with the going forth of the  
sun4    ,the analogy then leads us to   
speak1 in the first place1 of the       
progressive nature of the ,christian's  

life--his constant upward  advancement4 
,the sun is ever going forth4 ,there is 
no pause nor cessation to his           
movements4 ,tempests and storms sweep   
over us1 and calms succeed2 changes  and
 revolutions mark every thing here on   
earth1 but the sun stops not in  his    
career4 ,his work is never done4        
,even so is the ,christian life--an     
onward movement1 an advancement step by 
step in the work of grace4    ,as       
,christians1 there is no such thing as  
our standing still1 or resting          
satisfied with our present attainments  
in knowledge and holiness4 ,it is  this 
onward impulse1 this disposition to push
 forward1 this ardent longing  for      
increasing grace1 which is one of the   
strongest evidences that we are  truly  
,christians4 ,hypocrites and            
self-deceived ones occasionally are     
susceptible of religious emotion4       
,hypocrites may join the church1 and    
stay  there till they die1 and yet feel 
no need of progress4 ,but where grace is

  truly felt1 it causes the believer to 
long for more4 ,the least conformity  to
 the divine image begets a desire for   
more holiness4 ,it can be satisfied     
only by awaking in his likeness4 ,not as
 though ,i had already attained1  ,i    
count not myself to have apprehended1 is
 the sentiment of every true  ,christian
 soul4 ,i press towards the mark for the
 prize of the high  calling of ,god in  
,christ ,jesus1 is the fixed purpose of 
every believer4    ,the ,christian's    
efforts in grace are not                
self-exhausting1 but  self-invigorating4
 ,the more he runs1 the swifter of foot 
is he4 ,the duties  of yesterday never  
weary his strength for to-day4    ,would
 you test your piety8 then look not back
 in the distance of years to  find the  
evidences of your salvation4 ,but look  
at the passing weeks and  months1 to    
trace along their history the workings  
of divine grace4 ,and ,oh1  let me warn 
you that you are trusting in a false and
 empty hope1 unless  there be found in  

your experience a growing conformity to 
,christ your  ,saviour1 a series of     
conquests over temptations and besetting
 sins1 a  steadier fidelity in          
,christian duty1 a deeper spirituality1 
a giving way  of carnal lusts1 a        
stronger faith1 a brighter hope1 and a  
nearer  anticipation of heaven and      
glory4 ,for if you are indeed a         
,christian1 there  will be found in you 
an onward progress in a holy life1 a    
moving forward  towards perfection1     
which will justify us in comparing it to
 the going  forth of the sun4    ,again1
 a ,christian life is like the going    
forth of the sun1 inasmuch as it  is a  
progress involving a mighty power4 ,the 
text speaks of the sun going  forth in  
his might4 ,the psalmist also describes 
him1 rejoicing as a  strong man to run a
 race4 ,the apparent motion of the sun  
daily through  the heavens1 suggests the
 idea of almighty power4 ,as if         
conscious of his  strength1 he strides  
like a giant across the sky4    ,so is  

the ,christian's progress in a holy life
 one which involves an outlay  of       
exhaustless energies4    ,he lives      
through the power of ,god4 ,his going   
forth is in the might of the  ,spirit   
which upholds him4    ,when the apostle 
speaks of the exceeding greatness of his
 power to  us-ward who believe1         
according to the working of his mighty  
power1 which  he wrought in ,christ when
 he raised him from the dead2 when he   
talks of  striving according to his     
working1 which worketh in me mightily2  
when  he1 in ,ephesians1 attributes his 
call to the ministry to the effectual   
working of the power of the grace of    
,god2 and when he ascribes glory in  the
 church by ,jesus ,christ throughout all
 ages1 unto him that is able to  do     
exceeding abundantly above all that we  
can ask or think1 according to  the     
power that worketh in us2 when too the  
apostle ,john tells believers  that     
greater is ,he that is in you than he   
that is in the world1 do you  not       

perceive that the very sun going forth  
in his might through the  mid-heavens is
 a spectacle of omnipotence no grander  
or more sublime than  a poor ,christian 
going forth from earth to heaven8       
,the necessity of this mighty           
interposition of the divine ,spirit     
arises  from the helplessness to which  
sin has reduced us1 and the obstacles to
 a  holy life which beset the           
,christian4    ,this power of the ,holy 
,ghost dwells in the believer2 first    
renewing or  regenerating him1 and then 
sustaining him4 ,it operates upon his   
own  faculties in such a way that they  
are called out in earnest effort4       
,without this power given to us1 who of 
us could stand8 ,we wrestle not  against
 flesh and blood1 but against           
principalities1 against powers1  against
 spiritual wickedness in high places4   
,there is no greater mistake  you can   
fall into than to conceive that a       
,christian life is a task of  feebleness
 and imbecility4 ,if you would go forth 

at all1 you must advance  with a        
perseverance which never despairs1 a    
vigilance which never  slumbers1 and a  
courage which never quails4 ,if you     
would call yourself a  ,christian1 you  
must run like the athlete and struggle  
like the wrestler2  for the believer's  
course is a powerful movement1 like the 
going forth of  the sun in his might4   
,faith1 the great executive principle of
 the ,christian1 is a far different     
thing from a mere assent to creeds and  
formulas4 ,it is a power1 a  mighty     
power1 quickened in the ,christian by   
the ,holy ,spirit--a power  which moves 
the will1 and controls the lusts1 and   
overcomes the world4 ,ask  yourself1 ,do
 you know aught of such a power8 ,have  
you felt its workings in  your soul8    
,has grace subdued your passions and    
fixed your purposes8 ,has it  abased    
your pride and relaxed your             
covetousness8 ,has it worked in you     
mightily8 ,if not1 then has the kingdom 
of ,god come to you in word only1  not  

in power4    ,again1 the sun's going    
forth is a joyous progress4 ,nothing is 
more  suggestive of joy than the sun    
shining4 ,his very face is the synonym  
of  gladness4 ,nature smiles beneath his
 rays4 ,lambs skip on the hill-sides1   
the birds sing gayly1 the forests clap  
their hands4    ,fit emblem is the sun's
 going forth of the healthy development 
of a  ,christian life4 ,gloom and grace 
are not twin sisters4 ,joy is a         
prominent  element in genuine           
experimental religion4 ,the fruits of   
the ,spirit are  love1 joy1 peace4 ,let 
the righteous be glad1 says ,david2 let 
them  rejoice before ,god4 ,yea1 let    
them exceedingly rejoice4 ,rejoice in   
the  ,lord always2 rejoice evermore1 is 
the sentiment of the apostle ,paul4     
,the want of this holy joy in your      
experience is no evidence of your deep  
piety4 ,rather is it a proof of a low   
and imperfect life--a defective  faith4 
,surely it is the ,christian1 above all 
others1 who should dwell in  peace4 ,it 

is he who can cherish in his bosom a    
felt sense of ,god's favor1  which is   
life1 and of his loving-kindness1 which 
is better than life4 ,it  is he whose   
soul should walk all day in the light of
 ,god's countenance4    ,but let not    
this ,christian joy be confounded with  
the boisterous merriment  of the        
ungodly4 ,it is far1 very far removed   
from the mere pleasures of  sense4 ,it  
is not to be sought for in the          
butterflies of fashion flitting  in     
saloons of gayety1 nor in the hoarse    
laugh of the midnight bacchanalian      
revel4 ,it is not the silly trifling of 
brainless fools1 who are lovers of      
pleasure more than lovers of ,god4 ,but 
it is the calm1 the tranquil joy of  the
 soul at peace with ,god4 ,like the     
joyous sun should the ,christian go     
forth1 bright and peaceful1 exhibiting  
in his life that steady hope and        
cheerful confidence and benignant peace 
which are as wide apart from the  levity
 and thoughtlessness of the world as    

they are from the austere gloom  of the 
cloister and the repulsive asceticism of
 the convent4    ,yours is the duty to  
exhibit to the world a joyous service to
 your ,lord  and ,saviour4 ,yours is the
 privilege to show to your fellow-men   
that you  have found happiness elsewhere
 than in folly and dissipation1 and that
  there are other pleasures within your 
reach than the pleasures of sin1  which 
are for a season4    ,it is important   
also to observe1 that although the life 
of a real  ,christian is always         
progressive1 still this progress may not
 always be  visible to himself1 much    
less to others4 ,there may be seasons   
when he  can discover no advancement1   
and when his course is obscured4    ,it 
is even so with the going forth of the  
sun in his might4 ,every day he  makes  
the circuit of the heavens4 ,he is never
 stationary4 ,but all days are  not the 
same3 clouds sometimes gather2 storms   
and tempests rage above us2  the angry  
elements muster their grim cohorts in   

the sky2 the lightning  flashes1 the    
thunders roll2 the earth lies shrouded  
in the drapery of  night4 ,where now is 
the sun1 which a little while ago shone 
brightly upon  us8 ,has he fled in      
terror8 ,has he retreated back1 and hid 
behind the hills  above which he rose at
 morn8 ,no1 he has not faltered2 far    
above those  clouds1 beyond the reach of
 storm and strife1 he still moves on    
undisturbed4 ,watch2 as the storm       
subsides1 he shows the same bright1     
joyous face between the opening clouds1 
and fringes their edges with his  golden
 beams4 ,yonder he rides in the heavens1
 just as before4 ,his going  forth      
suffered no interruption when the winds 
swept and the thunder-clouds  lowered4  
,true1 we could not see him2 but when   
the dark mantle is drawn  aside1 lo1    
there he is1 undimmed1 the same majestic
 sun1 still going forth  in his might2  
and yonder his rays are sporting with   
the raindrops1 and  arching the horizon 
with the rainbow1 in whose brilliant    

colors the  ,almighty long ago wrote his
 covenant with the patriarch and with   
mankind4    ,so is it with the          
,christian's progress through the stormy
 trials and  temptations of human life4 
,external circumstances seem sometimes  
to  conspire against him3 the tongue of 
slander may be turned against him2 the  
envenomed shaft of malice may wound his 
character2 his integrity may be         
suspected1 and his good name be cast out
 as evil2 darkness and unbelief  may    
settle upon his own soul2 manifold      
temptations may suddenly surprise  him1 
and he be left to doubt and question    
whether he be not a castaway3  but we   
are not to conclude that such seasons   
are all against him4 ,we  believe that  
all the while there may be1 there is1   
progress in such  experiences4 ,they are
 trials which test his faith2 they are  
fires which  burn out the corruption    
which lurks within him4    ,although we 
cannot discern in every case the precise
 benefit which is to  be secured1       

although we cannot see why ,god allows  
some of his dear people  to be buffetted
 continually1 yet certain we are that   
all the temptations  which overtake them
 and the afflictions which weigh upon   
them are  disciplinary in their nature1 
and are made subservient to their       
ultimate  sanctification4 ,even in the  
temporary lapses of the ,christian1     
which  surprise and overcome him1 there 
may be the germ of future and higher    
advancement4 ,through these he learns   
his weakness1 and is taught the  lesson 
of humility and dependence2 and they are
 followed by a more  resolute gathering 
up of his strength in ,god1 and a more  
prayerful  watchfulness1 which give     
promise of future progress4 ,and        
accordingly we  have often seen the     
,christian come out of such experience  
like gold tried  in the furnace1 a      
brighter ,christian1 a better man1 a    
more chastened1  humbled1 sanctified    
believer1 for whose good all things are 
made to work  together1 according to    

,god's promise4 ,like the sun's going   
forth after  storms have we seen many a 
saint emerge from the clouds of         
adversity1 and  in later days exhibit a 
consistency which told that the trials  
he endured  had resulted in good4    ,be
 not discouraged then1 ,christian1      
because all days are not alike to you4  
,think not that there can be no progress
 when you are encompassed with  cares   
and vexed with temptations4 ,yield not  
your confidence when your way  seems    
troubled2 for like the sun which goes   
forth in his might when the  elements   
are astir1 so must you keep moving      
heavenward through the gloom  and       
discouragements of earth4    ,such are  
the ,scripture representations of the   
life of ,god's own people4 ,it  is a    
progressive life--a powerful and a      
joyous life--a life advancing and       
maturing in the face of difficulties4   
,compare this1 professing ,christian1   
with your actual life4 ,perhaps you     
have long professed to love ,god and to 

serve him2 and what has been your       
progress8 ,has the work of grace        
advanced so that now you can say that   
you  are far beyond your former         
experience8 ,can you find in the mastery
 over  temptations1 the crucifixion of  
your lusts1 your habitual delight in the
  word of ,god and prayer and holy      
living1 and in your indifference to the 
world1 its pleasures and its gains1 that
 you have been moving onward and        
upward8 ,oh then1 in your sun-like path1
 we bid you press eagerly forward  unto 
the perfect day4 ,it is not time yet to 
relax a single muscle4 ,you  cannot halt
 or loiter4    ,but are there some with 
whom it is far otherwise8 ,after living 
in the  church for years1 are you just  
as cold and dormant1 just as covetous   
and  worldly as you were years ago8 ,and
 dare you liken your dwarfed and sickly 
life to the sun when he goeth forth in  
his might8 ,nay1 rather must we         
describe you as a lost pleiad1 or one of
 those wandering stars of which  ,jude  

speaks1 to which is reserved the        
blackness of darkness for ever4    ,are 
you growing in grace8 ,if not1 you are  
graceless4 ,if there is no  movement1   
there is no life4 ,if you are a         
,christian1 there is in you a  spiritual
 power of locomotion which will not let 
you rest4 ,a ,christian  goes forth like
 the sun4 ,once indeed the sun paused at
 the command of  ,israel's leader2 but  
there is no ,gideon in the world mighty 
enough to stop  the sunlike course of   
the ,christian in the path of grace2 nor
 is there a  mount ,gibeon to be found  
where you can bid him stand still4      
,,iii4    ,the ,voice of ,blood4        
,,and ,,to ,,the ,,blood ,,of           
,,sprinkling1 ,,that ,,speaketh ,,better
 ,,things ,,than ,,that      ,,of       
,,abel4 ,,heb4 #ab3bd4      ,this is the
 last entry made in the rich inventory  
of spiritual blessings  which           
,christians enjoy under the gospel      
economy4 ,the blood of ,christ shed     
upon the cross is called the blood of   

sprinkling1 in allusion to the  blood of
 the paschal lamb2 or more generally1 to
 the blood of the  burnt-offerings which
 was sprinkled upon and around the      
altar4 ,the  sprinkling of blood was1   
under the ,levitical economy1 the symbol
 of  purification1 as we are told by the
 apostle that almost all things are1  by
 the law1 purged with blood4    ,the    
text declares that the blood of ,christ1
 shed for sinners1 speaks  better things
 than the blood of ,abel1 which was shed
 by the murderous hand  of his brother1 
and called for vengeance4    ,there has 
always seemed to be a strange1          
mysterious influence in blood  shed by  
violence4 ,it has a voice mightier than 
all other voices1 which  thrills the    
human soul with awful terror4 ,once the 
,almighty spoke in  thunder from the    
blackened brow of ,sinai2 but           
generations before and after  that1 he  
spoke to men through the medium of      
blood4 ,this was the language  of all   
the divine sacrifices offered in the    

remotest times4 ,the  instructions of   
the whole ,levitical economy were       
written in blood--blood  upon the altar1
 upon the four horns of the altar1 upon 
its sides1 around  it--ever speaking in 
language of deep and awful meaning to   
the worshipper4    ,man's blood shed by 
violence cannot be silenced4 ,it has a  
cry which rings  in the ears1 a voice at
 which all living men start back aghast4
 ,it wails  like an avenging fiend in   
the track of murder4 ,it will not keep  
still4 ,it  summons the world to find   
out the guilty4    ,the text introduces 
a contrast between the blood of ,christ 
and that of  ,abel1 or rather1 between  
their utterances4 ,both spoke1 and spoke
 with  mighty power2 but their language 
was far different4 ,in the one it was   
terror1 in the other peace4    ,it may  
be a subject of inquiry1 why this       
distinct and exclusive reference  to the
 blood of ,abel1 when so many since his 
time have died by the hands  of         
violence8 ,every murder speaks1 as well 

as ,abel's4 ,the bloody deed  committed 
to-day will publish itself4 ,it is the  
hardest thing in the world  to conceal  
it4 ,the providence of ,god often seems 
to turn the very arts and  expedients   
which were designed to hide it and hush 
its voice1 into the  means of its       
detection4 ,the stone cries out of the  
wall1 and the beam out  of the timber   
answers it4 ,blood will speak through   
walls of masonry1  through deepest      
midnight darkness1 across seas and      
deserts uninhabited4    ,but passing    
over the many dark calendars of crime   
which generations had  filled up1 the   
apostle singles out ,abel alone1 as he  
was the first one of  our race who died1
 and that by the hand of violence4 ,that
 murder woke the  first cry of blood    
which the world ever heard4 ,it was when
 the world was  young4 ,and as then     
there were no human courts established  
to sit in  judgment upon crime and      
punish the guilty1 the ,almighty himself
 came forth  from his solitude and made 

inquisition for blood1 and pronounced   
sentence  upon the fratricide4 ,the     
testimony upon which ,god convicted     
,cain1 was the  testimony of blood4 ,it 
cried unto heaven from the ground2 and  
by the  prompt and terrible             
interposition of the ,almighty at that  
epoch1 ,god  impressed upon the race the
 sacredness of human life and the       
certain  vengeance which would pursue   
the man who shed blood4    ,the blood of
 ,abel1 though it spoke a language like 
to that of ten thousand  murders since  
committed1 still arrests attention2 for 
it was the first cry  of murder which   
had shocked the world4 ,it stands at the
 head of the dark  roll of guilt which  
is still filling up4 ,it stained for the
 first time the  bosom of our mother    
earth4 ,it flung a ghastly mangled      
corpse into the  first family of our    
race1 and deepened the gloom which1 at  
the fall1  settled upon the earliest    
history of humanity1 into shadows black 
as  ,tartarus4    ,these considerations 

would be enough to prompt the apostle to
 single out  the death of ,abel from all
 that followed it4    ,and in the text  
he contrasts its testimony with that of 
the blood of  ,christ4    ,what was its 
utterance8 ,what did the blood of ,abel 
say8 ,come with me and  stand over the  
revolting spectacle4 ,look on the       
clotted gore and ghastly  features of   
the murdered man1 and hear the          
testimony3    #a4 ,the blood of ,abel   
testified to the actual infliction of   
the penalty of  death which had been    
passed upon the race4 ,it is evident    
that ,adam and  ,eve could not have     
fully understood the full meaning of the
 curse which  had been pronounced upon  
them4 ,spiritual death1 consisting in a 
loss of  holiness and separation from   
,god's favor1 they had already suffered4
 ,and  they might have had some vague   
idea of that death which would close    
their  earthly life1 and dissolve the   
body back to dust2 but they could know  
very  little about it4 ,they had never  

seen it4 ,the death of animals offered  
in  sacrifice would help their          
conceptions very little4 ,anxiously they
  questioned what more there was in the 
sentence which ,god had pronounced  upon
 them4 ,time wore along2 their family   
increased3 sons and daughters  grew up  
around them1 and yet they had never     
witnessed an instance of  death4        
,perhaps they began to doubt whether    
there was any thing more in the  curse  
than what they had already suffered4    
,with ruddy cheeks and growing          
strength1 their posterity increased for 
more than a century after the  fall4    
,their children's children smiled upon  
their knees4 ,as yet they had  never    
seen a corpse2 as yet the earth had not 
a single grave4    ,but from the blood  
of ,abel there came a message of        
unutterable anguish1  which dispelled   
the faintest hope of escape from the    
threatened penalty4  ,around his body1  
stretched on the bloody ground1 gathered
 ,adam and ,eve and  their descendants1 

and there in heartrending agony and     
distraction gazed  on the dead man's    
ghastly features1 and read in them the  
first lesson of  death4 ,yes1 there was 
death6--death1 which they had long      
talked about1 and  wondered what it     
was--death1 which they had never seen   
before3 it had come  at last4    ,the   
awful revelation was before them4 ,all  
doubt1 all questioning about  their     
fatal doom was gone4 ,the king of       
terrors had entered upon his  dominions1
 and set up his ghostly sceptre over    
every thing that breathed4  ,there was  
his first conquest4    ,and from that   
blood there went forth a voice which    
published to all the  living the        
execution of the curse4 ,henceforth all 
hope of escape must be  cut off4 ,the   
work of death had now begun4 ,adam and  
all his race must  prepare to die4      
#b4 ,the blood of ,abel spoke of the    
deep and awful depravity of human       
nature consequent upon the fall4 ,it    
showed that man's fallen nature was     

early ripe for the most atrocious       
wickedness4 ,the seeds of corruption    
implanted in that nature required no    
long period of ages to bring forth      
their fatal fruits4 ,they developed     
themselves with most terrible rapidity4 
,the earliest crime on record in the    
history of the race1 is of ,titanic     
proportions4 ,old as the world has grown
 in guilt1 it has yet found nothing  to 
surpass it4 ,familiar as we are with its
 dark and dreary annals1 its            
oft-repeated chronicles of wickedness1  
there is not in them all a more         
thrilling testimony to the deep and     
universal depravity of fallen nature1   
than is uttered in that first cry of    
blood which went up from the ground     
into the ear of ,god4 ,it would seem as 
though man's darkened spirit could  not 
wait for death to begin his fatal work  
upon the species by what we now  call   
the natural course of sickness and      
disease1 but he must himself chide      
death with tardiness1 and lift his own  

hand with murderous intent1 and  slay   
his fellow4    ,the blood of ,abel      
speaks not of ,abel calmly yielding up  
his breath1 while  his head lies        
peacefully on his mother's lap4 ,it     
calls us to no softened  couch over     
which fond parents bend in agony1 and   
catch the placid smile  which lingers on
 the countenance1 and gather up the few 
rays of hope which  beam in the dying   
eye1 and which seem to whisper that     
death may1 after  all1 be not so        
formidable a thing4    ,in no such way  
does it speak to us4 ,but it is ,abel   
murdered1 ,abel  stretched upon the cold
 ground1 weltering in his blood1 a      
mangled1  ghastly spectacle4 ,and every 
clotted blade of grass1 and every bloody
  stone has found a tongue1 and cries1  
,a brother's hand has done the  hellish 
deed4 ,we stand aghast1 and ask for no  
more appalling testimony to  the total  
depravity of the species4 ,try as we may
 to soften down the  hideousness of that
 depravity1 after all our study to find 

something to  relieve the odiousness of 
that corruption which festers in the    
soul1 there  is a voice in the earliest 
history of the race1 a voice of blood   
which  mocks our arguments and banishes 
our cherished convictions4    #c4 ,the  
blood of ,abel cries for vengeance4 ,it 
was the only testimony the  ,almighty   
produced when he summoned ,cain to      
trial4 ,the deed was done in  secret4   
,no one saw it4 ,no one heard the dying 
man's last groan4 ,his lips  were       
sealed1 his tongue was stiff and cold1  
and the murderer thought that  by a     
brazen and persistent denial of his     
crime1 he could escape detection4  ,but 
though ,abel could not testify1 and no  
living man saw the uplifted hand  which 
smote him1 still there were witnesses   
enough4 ,dumb things grew  eloquent1 and
 the voice of blood published the foul  
deed to ,god and man4    ,from what we  
have read of the history of murderers1  
it would seem that  there was something 
more than a rhetorical figure in those  

words in  ,genesis1 which give a voice  
to the blood shed by violence4 ,hundreds
 and  thousands have heard such a voice4
 ,often it amounts to nothing1 that the 
assassin has concealed his crime from   
his fellow-men1 and can walk abroad  in 
the community with no suspicious eyes   
turned towards him4 ,he is haunted  by  
something which keeps publishing his    
guilt4 ,the ghastly visage of his       
victim rises before him1 and follows    
him4 ,it shakes its gory locks at him1  
crossing his path everywhere like an    
avenger who will not be appeased4 ,its  
avenging cry rings in his ears4 ,he     
starts at the sound of his own          
footsteps4 ,every thing seems to echo   
it4 ,the rustling of a leaf alarms  him4
 ,the murmuring waterfall tells the     
bloody tale2 the winds wail it  through 
the air4 ,it seems to him that all the  
world has found it out4  ,inanimate     
things have grown articulate1 and       
published it4 ,he expects the  next man 
who meets him in the street will accuse 

him to his face4 ,and not  unfrequent is
 it1 that by the very alarm and         
uneasiness1 the strange  anxiety and    
restlessness which he betrays1 the eye  
of suspicion is turned  upon him1 and a 
clue is furnished1 which leads to the   
disclosure of his  crime4    ,this      
avenging cry of blood is the hardest    
thing in the world to silence4  ,it will
 not be appeased without the life of him
 who shed it4 ,it is the  voice of      
retributive justice1 speaking from the  
throne of ,god1 and echoed  from the    
inner judgment-seat of the human        
conscience1 demanding blood for  blood4 
,it is an awful voice1 which1 for the   
first time1 the world heard  when       
,abel's blood was shed4    ,but it is   
time we turned to listen to another     
voice to which the text  invites us4 ,it
 is indeed the voice of blood2 but it is
 a strange1 a new  voice1 which speaks a
 new language to the soul4 ,it is the   
blood of  sprinkling4 ,the crucifixion  
of the ,son of ,god was a most foul and 

atrocious deed of blood3 but in         
consequence of a special and            
extraordinary  arrangement by the       
,godhead1 called the covenant of        
redemption1 that blood  spilled on      
,calvary received a new significancy1   
and spoke better things  than blood had 
ever spoken before4    #a4 ,the blood of
 sprinkling speaks better things to     
,god1 than the blood  of ,abel did4     
,that blood cried unto ,god from the    
ground for vengeance1 but  the blood of 
,christ sends aloft to the ,almighty's  
throne a far different  testimony4 ,it  
speaks to ,god of a full satisfaction   
made to his law and  justice for the    
sins of guilty men4 ,it stands before   
the eternal ,majesty1  and challenges   
the divine attributes of truth and      
holiness and justice to  say aught they 
can against the sinner's acquittal and  
acceptance4 ,it holds  up before the    
glittering sword of justice the cleft   
side and dripping  hands of ,jesus1 and 
boldly asks1 ,is not this enough8 ,it   

declares to ,god  that now it is        
consistent with himself and his         
righteous government to  pardon the     
transgressor1 and extend to him the open
 hand of  reconciliation4 ,it pleads for
 guilty sinners in the heavenly world1  
and  before the throne of ,jehovah2 and 
louder than the roll of the eternal     
anthem1 and the shoutings of the angelic
 choirs1 its mighty and prevailing      
voice is heard1 ,spare him2 for ,i have 
found a ransom4 ,it bids mercy  reveal  
her lovely face1 and sway her sceptre   
over a fallen1 but now  redeemed world4 
,yes1 the blood of sprinkling is heard  
in the highest  heaven4 ,it speaks in   
the ear of ,god4    #b4 ,it speaks to   
men4 ,it proclaims to them a new and    
living way of  approach to ,god4 ,the   
apostle tells us1 in the epistle to the 
,hebrews1 that  this way is through the 
blood of ,christ1 and that ,christ hath 
consecrated  this way to us through the 
veil1 that is to say1 his flesh4        
,before this new provision was made1 the

 only way of acceptable approach to     
,god was through the covenant of works  
which required complete personal        
obedience to the divine law4 ,that way  
was closed4 ,sin broke it up1 and man   
had no possible means of repairing it4  
,another way must be discovered1  else  
we must remain under condemnation4 ,the 
blood of sprinkling opens up a  new and 
living way4 ,it speaks to men of pardon1
 and assures them that the  sacrifice of
 the cross was a full propitiation for  
their sins1 which ,god  himself has     
approved4 ,it declares to sinners1 that 
now ,god can be just1  and the justifier
 of the ungodly2 that it has done all   
that was necessary  to satisfy divine   
justice and avert the sentence of wrath 
which was over  them1 and that the very 
,god who before appeared to them as a   
consuming  fire1 is now plenteous in    
mercy1 and ready to forgive4    #c4 ,the
 blood of ,christ speaks peace to the   
human conscience4 ,anxious as  the      
sinner may be to escape the penalty of  

his transgressions1 his  conscience     
holds him to the conviction that that   
penalty must be endured2  for ,god1     
whatever else he be1 must be a ,god of  
justice1 and must insist  upon the      
sanctions of his law4 ,much as our      
selfish nature longs to escape          
suffering for sin1 the conscience       
sternly says it cannot be4 ,that        
suffering must be met4 ,the penalty of  
transgression must be borne4    ,and now
 comes in the voice of blood1 and says  
it has been borne1 for the  dying       
,saviour was made a curse for us4 ,his  
cruel sufferings were in the  stead of  
ours1 and on him was laid the iniquity  
of us all4 ,conscience  can now be at   
rest1 for its claims are satisfied4     
,there is peace through  the blood of   
the cross4 ,the sinner may take refuge  
here from every  accusing voice1 and    
cherish the sweet consciousness of      
forgiveness4    ,again1 it speaks of    
inward cleansing from pollution4 ,under 
the ,levitical  service1 the sprinkling 

of blood was the symbol of purification4
 ,it  typified the effects of the blood 
of ,christ4 ,the soul that comes to it  
experiences an inward renewing1 and     
becomes the seat of gracious            
affections1 implanted by the ,holy      
,spirit4    ,and lastly1 it speaks of   
final and complete salvation in the     
heavenly  world4 ,it is the purchase    
price of redemption which ,god the      
,father has  already accepted from      
,christ his ,son4 ,it is all a sinner   
needs to enter  heaven4 ,by it he is    
fully justified1 and adopted into the   
family of ,god4  ,it fills the soul with
 joy and peace1 and enables it to hope  
with  confidence for the future glory4  
,it is the believer's title to eternal  
life1 which he can carry with him       
through the gates of death1 and which   
secures him a joyous welcome to the     
realms of purity and bliss1 whither  the
 ,forerunner has already gone to prepare
 mansions for his people4    ,such is   
the language which the blood of         

sprinkling speaks4 ,no other blood  ever
 spoke like it4 ,no other voice has     
borne such tidings of great joy to      
sinners4 ,turn your anxious ear to every
 quarter2 go listen to the law2 go      
through the universe and summon all the 
voices which testify of the  ,almighty1 
which bespeak his might and majesty1 his
 wisdom and goodness1  and you listen in
 vain for any utterance of peace and    
hope and favor to a  sinner1 like that  
which is proclaimed in the blood of     
,calvary4 ,that voice  which breaks     
forth from the cross of ,jesus is the   
apocalypse of the  world's redemption4  
,it is the voice of hope and salvation  
for a lost and guilty race4 ,it         
reverberates along the arches of the    
heavenly world1 and calls forth a  smile
 of reconciliation on the face of the   
,almighty4 ,it rolls over against       
,sinai1 and lo1 the dark clouds scatter1
 and the lightnings cease to flash1  and
 the thunders grow still4 ,it comes to  
the human soul burdened with  guilt and 

shame1 and assures it of pardon1 peace1 
and eternal life4    ,thousands upon    
thousands have heard it1 and gone to    
glory listening to it4  ,it is still    
speaking4 ,it will keep on speaking till
 all the dwellers on  this earth shall  
hear it1 and an innumerable company out 
of every kindred  and tribe and people  
shall be saved by it4    ,i conclude    
with the solemn words of caution with   
which the apostle follows  up the text3 
,see that ye refuse not him that        
speaketh4    ,there are many calls in   
the world which we may well refuse to   
listen to4  ,many are crying1 ,lo here1 
and1 ,lo there1 whom we may refuse to   
follow4  ,there are many teachings in   
the various departments of science and  
history  which are interesting and      
profitable subjects of study2 but we may
 remain  in ignorance of them without   
materially affecting our well being for 
time  or for eternity4    ,it is not so 
with this voice which speaks to us in   
the blood of a  crucified ,saviour4     

,here are utterances which it well      
becomes every man to  hear and study4   
,it will not do1 sinner1 to turn away   
from it4 ,it is a  voice of authority   
and power4 ,it tells of the inexorable  
work of divine  justice1 of the stern   
exactions of ,god's violated law4 ,it   
tells of an  expiation for your sins1 of
 deliverance from the wrath to come4 ,it
  publishes hope and salvation to the   
guilty and the lost1 pardon and         
reconciliation with your offended ,god4 
,it invites you to trust your guilty    
soul upon the ,saviour1 to come with    
godly sorrow for all your               
transgressions1 and accept of ,god's    
free grace in a ,redeemer4 ,it assures  
you that your ,god1 against whom you    
have sinned1 is now ready to forgive2   
that his hand of mercy is reached out to
 you1 and heaven and eternal life  are  
open to you4 ,oh1 hear it2 it is the    
only hope left for you4 ,in all the     
universe there is no voice like it1     
which can bring peace and comfort to    

your soul4 ,oh1 hear it4 ,though other  
voices call loudly to you1 and          
importune you2 though the world besets  
you1 and business1 pleasure1  wealth1   
and honor clamor in your ears2 though   
pride and passion and sinful  lusts cry 
out1 and seek to drown its utterances1  
still turn your ear to  the cross1 and  
seek salvation in the atonement which is
 published there4    ,for1 ah1 if you   
refuse ,him that speaketh1 you must     
perish4 ,you have1 in  so doing1 thrust 
away from you the only provision which  
has ever been made  to save you from    
wrath to come4 ,you close behind you the
 door of  reconciliation which the ,son 
of ,god has opened4 ,you trample under  
foot the  only flag of truce which      
heaven has sent down to this revolted   
province4  ,you put an end to all       
further negotiations for peace1 and you 
rush on the  thick bosses of ,jehovah's 
buckler4 ,oh1 pause1 we beseech you4    
,stop before  you reject the great      
salvation4 ,come and listen a while to  

what the blood  of ,jesus says4 ,ponder 
it well before you turn away4 ,take into
 account the  consequences of its       
rejection1 and see if you can well      
afford to refuse  its blessings4        
,,iv4    ,christians ,god's ,temples4   
,,know ,,ye ,,not ,,that ,,ye ,,are     
,,the ,,temple ,,of ,,god1 ,,and ,,that 
,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,god               
,,dwelleth ,,in ,,you8 #a ,,cor4 #c3af4 
,the frequency with which the apostles  
speak of ,christians under the figure   
of a temple1 is worthy of special       
notice4 ,in the sixth chapter of this   
epistle1 ,paul calls our bodies the     
temple of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,in the     
second  epistle1 he calls believers the 
temple of the living ,god1 in whom ,god 
dwells4 ,in ,ephesians he describes them
 as a great building1 upon ,christ  the 
corner-stone1 fitly framed together1    
growing unto a holy temple in the       
,lord4    ,the apostle ,peter1 also     
addressing ,christians1 says1 ,ye also1 
as lively  stones1 are built up a       

spiritual house2 and ,jude in his       
epistle exhorts  them to build          
themselves up on their most holy faith1 
and keep themselves  in the love of     
,god4    ,the figure of a temple was a  
common and favorite one with the        
apostles4  ,two reasons may be assigned 
for this4    ,it was easily understood  
by those whom they addressed4 ,the      
,christian  converts1 whether at        
,corinth1 at ,philippi1 or at ,rome1    
were familiar with  these structures4   
,in almost every city of ,asia ,minor   
and the whole ,roman  empire1 their     
massive columns and lofty domes adorned 
their streets1 and  invited them to the 
worship of the gods4 ,the sacred temple 
of the true ,god  at ,jerusalem also was
 not unknown to those who were scattered
 over ,asia  ,minor4 ,many of the early 
converts in those parts were of ,jewish 
extraction1 and were well acquainted    
with the temple service at ,jerusalem4  
,the figure of a temple was a familiar  
one1 and universally understood by  the 

early ,christians4    ,a second reason  
for its frequent use in the ,new        
,testament is its  appropriateness and  
significancy4 ,the apostles employ it to
 present  ,christians in their peculiar 
position and obligations4 ,it is a most 
suggestive figure1 sometimes applied to 
,christians individually1 at other      
times to them as a body1 the church     
fitly framed together1 and growing  unto
 a holy temple in the ,lord4    #a4 ,the
 temples of antiquity were most costly  
structures4 ,seldom were  they erected  
out of the fortunes of any private      
individual2 the resources  of an empire 
were often spent upon them4 ,the        
contributions of all the  cities of     
,greece were expended on the famous     
temple at ,delphi2 its  gorgeous shrines
 were thickly overlaid with gold1 and   
within its walls  were gathered the     
choicest statuary1 and all the combined 
wonders which  art could furnish4    ,at
 ,rome1 the magnificent temple of       
,jupiter shone with the gilding of more 

than #ab1jjj talents1 while upon its    
foundation alone was expended thirty    
thousand pounds weight of silver4       
,ancient ,athens exhausted her wealth   
and the sublimest achievements of art   
upon those vast and imposing structures 
built in honor of the gods4 ,the        
,parthenon1 rising in majestic splendor 
on the brow of the ,acropolis1  dazzled 
the eyes of the beholder4 ,every        
thoroughfare boasted of some  splendid  
pile4 ,in the age of ,pericles1 the vast
 treasures of ,greece1 the  finest      
marbles from the ,parian quarries1 the  
chisel of ,phidias and the  pencil of   
,zeuxis1 the brass and ivory and gold   
and ebony and cypress from  many lands1 
were all employed upon those structures 
which rendered ,athens  the wonder of   
the world4    ,the temple of ,god at    
,jerusalem also was built at vast       
expense4 ,the nation  brought their     
gifts4 ,no private individual was able  
to construct it4    ,and are not        
,christians like the ancient edifices1  

in the cost which has  been incurred in 
their behalf8 ,does not the apostle     
justify this point of  comparison when1 
after saying that our bodies are the    
temple of the ,holy  ,ghost1 he         
immediately adds1 for ye are bought with
 a price8 ,in  estimating what it cost  
to make a human soul1 ruined and        
defiled1 into a  spiritual temple for   
,god1 we cannot enter into any          
arithmetical  calculations of dollars   
and cents2 for says the apostle1 ,ye    
were not  redeemed with corruptible     
things1 such as silver and gold4 ,but we
 must  speak of a great expenditure1 a  
mighty outlay which has been incurred4  
,to  build the soul's ruins into a      
temple is a grander1 costlier work1 than
 to  build the ,parthenon4 ,man could   
build the latter1 but ,god alone could  
build  the former4 ,and even for him to 
do it1 required a new and special       
administration1 and the sacrifice of his
 only ,son4    ,in constructing these   
spiritual temples1 the eternal ,son left

 the realms  of glory1 and became a man 
of sorrows1 and acquainted with grief4  
,he was  rich1 but he became poor1 that 
we1 through his poverty1 might be rich4 
,to  compute the cost of this work1 you 
must take the measure of that infinite  
sacrifice which the ,lord ,jesus has    
made for you3 tell what it was to leave 
the throne of heaven1 and become a man  
on earth2 to obey the broken law  and   
bear its curse2 to die in agony upon the
 cross4 ,to compute the cost1  you must 
reckon up the value of that blood which 
was shed on ,calvary1 and  of the mighty
 agency of the ,holy ,spirit which is   
actually employed in  restoring and     
refitting the human soul4    ,there is  
no earthly calculus which can furnish   
the true answer4 ,there are  no         
corruptible things1 such as silver and  
gold1 which can be weighed  against the 
precious blood of the ,son of ,god4 ,yet
 this was the price paid  for your      
redemption4 ,this is what these         
,christian temples cost--temples  which 

the world cares little for1 but temples 
growing beautiful to the eye  of ,god1  
around whose portals angels hover as    
ministering spirits1 to bear  aloft to  
the throne the prayers which are        
breathed within them4    #b4 ,a temple  
is remarkable for its durability4 ,it is
 not like a tent1 or  a tabernacle1     
pitched for a short season1 and then    
taken down4 ,the  materials which are   
used1 and the manner of their           
construction1 show that  it will endure4
 ,the temples of antiquity were built   
for ages4 ,plutarch1  when speaking of  
those of ,athens1 says1 ,now they are   
old1 they have the  freshness of a      
modern building4 ,a bloom is diffused   
over them which  preserves their aspect 
untarnished by time1 as if they were    
animated with  a spirit of perpetual    
youth and unfading elegance4    ,those  
sacred structures1 so familiar to the   
early ,christians1 stood  unchanged     
while generations passed away4 ,time    
seemed to pass them by1  while men and  

all their other works mouldered under   
his touch4    ,how aptly does this      
suggest to us the imperishable nature of
 that work  which the ,holy ,spirit     
carries on in the temple of the human   
soul4 ,it is no  ephemeral work4 ,every 
,christian coworking with ,god1 is      
working for  eternity4 ,that soul which 
has become a temple1 will stand the     
changes of  time1 and the floods of     
temptation4 ,the world cannot demolish  
it4 ,it is a  work of grace4 ,and where 
,god has begun it1 he will carry it on  
to the day  of redemption4    ,the      
durability of a temple also symbolizes  
the imperishable nature of the  church1 
the great house which ,god is building  
in the world4 ,it shall  advance till   
the world shall end4 ,other institutions
 wear out4 ,colossal  edifices of state 
totter and fall1 and the wrecks of      
mighty dynasties lie  strewn along the  
centuries4 ,but while every thing else  
grows old1 the  church of ,god endures4 
,the great house grows greater2         

spiritual builders  are at work1 in our 
own and in other lands1 quarrying out   
new stones1 and  polishing them1 and    
setting them in the walls4 ,many a time 
have its  enemies battered it1 and      
threatened to lay it in heaps2 but the  
gates of  hell have not prevailed       
against it2 it endures2 it still rises2 
column  after column is added to it2 it 
will rise till frieze and cornice and   
arch  and dome are finished1 and the    
top-stone shall be set with shoutings of
  ,grace1 grace unto it4 ,the church1   
the great temple of ,god1 shall stand4  
#c4 ,the temples of antiquity were      
distinguished by their beauty of        
proportion and perfection4 ,the ,greeks 
and ,romans employed the genius of      
their master artisans and their finest  
sculptors4 ,all that the highest  skill 
and taste and cultivation could do was  
profusely lavished on those  immortal   
works of art2 and the results produced  
were those models of  architectural     
strength and symmetry which succeeding  

ages1 with all their  boasted progress1 
have not excelled4 ,unity of design1 the
 adjustment of  many parts in one       
harmonious whole1 each part fitted to   
its appropriate  place1 with nothing    
left out and nothing superfluous1 but   
all united to  produce an impression of 
beauty and harmony on the mind of the   
beholder--these were the characteristic 
excellences of those grand old  temples 
to which the apostle compares           
,christians in our text4    ,they too   
are temples in the harmony and          
proportion of that character which  the 
,holy ,ghost builds up within them4     
,christian character is symmetrical4    
,like a stately temple1 it combines many
 parts4 ,faith1 love1 humility1         
patience1 meekness1 hope1 endurance1    
forgiveness1 courage1 zeal--all these   
are the materials which constitute the  
spiritual edifice4 ,but distinct as     
they are1 they together make one        
consistent character4    ,this harmony  
of the ,christian graces is one of the  

best tests to  distinguish true piety   
from its counterfeits4 ,the want of this
 is  singularly apparent in the bigot or
 the enthusiast4 ,such persons generally
  exhibit a disproportioned1 unbalanced 
character4 ,a few virtues stand out  in 
unnatural prominence1 while others seem 
wanting altogether4 ,a few  duties they 
will perform with the utmost            
punctiliousness1 while others  equally  
essential they never think of4 ,religion
 with them becomes  identified with some
 favorite dogma or ism1 and tends in    
that direction to  a monstrous          
development4 ,this distortion of        
character1 this fungus growth  in one   
direction and utter barrenness in       
others1 evinces a want of grace         
altogether4 ,such persons are not       
temples framed by the ,holy ,ghost4     
,rather  are they like rude1 unsightly  
structures reared by some unskilful     
hands4  ,remember1 if you are a         
,christian1 you must exhibit the work of
 religion in  your whole character4 ,you

 cannot cultivate one grace at the      
expense of  another4 ,you cannot be all 
faith and no love2 all humility and no  
self-denial2 all zeal and no charity4   
,it is not in that way the ,holy        
,spirit works4 ,the different parts of  
the spiritual edifice1 says ,paul1 are  
fitly framed together1 and grow unto a  
holy temple in the ,lord4    #d4        
,another peculiarity of the temples was1
 that they were the property of  the    
deity to whom they were dedicated4 ,no  
private individual owned them4  ,neither
 kings nor emperors nor the state were  
their proprietors2 but they  were       
regarded as belonging solely to the gods
 in whose honor they were  built4       
,and how true is this of ,christians1   
those spiritual temples which ,god has  
in the world4 ,the apostle1 speaking of 
the whole church of ,god1 says1 ,he  has
 purchased it with his own blood4 ,and  
to believers individually he  says1 ,and
 ye are not your own2 for ye are bought 
with a price4 ,none of  us liveth to    

himself1 and none of us dieth to        
himself2 whether we live  therefore1 or 
die1 we are the ,lord's4 ,a better title
 in the universe  cannot be found than  
that which ,christ has to ,christians4  
,he has bought  them1 ransomed them1    
redeemed them4 ,they are his absolutely4
 ,he is the  sole proprietor of these   
temples4 ,no one else owns them4 ,they  
do not own  themselves4 ,this is your   
position1 my ,christian friend4 ,what   
you are and  what you have about you    
belongs to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4    
,you owned his  right to it all when you
 professed to be his disciple4 ,whatever
 demand is  made upon you for your time1
 your labor1 or your property1 by him or
 his  cause1 you are in duty bound      
cheerfully to pay4 ,ye are ,god's       
building2 ye  are ,god's temple2 ye are 
not your own4    #e4 ,the significancy  
of the figure employed in the text will 
further appear  when we consider the use
 to which a temple is devoted4    ,a    
temple was regarded as the              

dwelling-place of a divinity4 ,the pagan
  temples had their sacred shrines1     
attended by priests or vestals1 who     
claimed to repeat the oracle uttered by 
the gods4 ,in the true temple at        
,jerusalem1 ,jehovah manifested his     
special presence1 and the holy of holies
  was his dwelling-place4 ,the          
,christian therefore may well be called 
a  temple2 for says the apostle1 ,the   
,spirit of ,god dwelleth in you4    ,the
 hearts of many impenitent men are      
sometimes visited by ,god's ,spirit1  as
 is indicated by the sudden awakenings  
of conscience2 but never is the  ,spirit
 said to dwell with them4    ,christians
 are truly temples1 as they enjoy the   
presence of ,god's ,spirit4  ,that      
presence is manifested not by oracular  
voices or ecstatic visions4  ,fanaticism
 may recite the vagaries of the         
imagination1 and call them new          
revelations of the ,spirit2 it may be   
ever on the look-out for signs and      
omens1 and boast that it can dream      

dreams2 but such manifestations are  no 
proof of the indwelling of ,god's       
,spirit4    ,it is not in this way the  
,bible teaches us that the ,spirit of   
,god dwelleth  in us2 but it points us  
to the fruits of the ,spirit1 which are 
far  different4 ,he shows his indwelling
 by enlightening the believer into the  
truth4 ,he reveals the things of ,god to
 us4 ,he quickens faith in us1 and      
prompts to duty4 ,he fills the soul with
 peace and joy1 by showing us the       
promises of ,god's word1 and pointing to
 their certain fulfilment4 ,he  guards  
us against temptation1 by quickening us 
to prayer4 ,he guides us in  duty1 by   
pressing upon the conscience the        
precepts and commands of ,christ4  ,in  
this way does the ,holy ,spirit give    
evidence of his presence4 ,in this  way 
he dwells in believers4 ,there may be   
seasons when the ,christian loses  the  
consciousness of ,his presence2 but ,he 
has not departed3 even in his           
backslidings1 the ,spirit does not      

forsake him1 for the temple where ,he   
has  dwelt he leaves not to desolation4 
,again1 the ,christian soul is a        
consecrated temple1 a holy place4       
,even the pagan temples were consecrated
 places4 ,they were employed for  such  
rites and observances as were supposed  
to be acceptable to the deity  which    
dwelt in them4 ,some of their festivals 
were scenes of revolting                
licentiousness1 it is true2 but they    
were not displeasing to the divinity    
they honored1 for those divinities      
themselves were as polluted as their    
worshippers4 ,their temples and shrines 
were as pure as the gods whose name     
they bore4    ,the temple of ,jehovah1  
at ,jerusalem1 was most holy1 for       
,jehovah is the ,god  of holiness4      
,holiness was enstamped on every stone4 
,holiness unto the  ,lord was written   
upon its every apartment4 ,no unclean   
thing was allowed  to cross its sacred  
threshold4 ,no profane hand was allowed 
to touch its  consecrated vessels4 ,that

 sacred temple1 inhabited by the ,god of
 infinite  purity1 in whose sight the   
heavens are not clean--that sacred      
temple whose  inner shrine none dare    
approach but the mitred priest in robes 
of sanctity  and with sacrificial blood1
 and he but once a year--that temple is 
a  symbol of a true ,christian soul--a  
consecrated1 holy soul4 ,this attribute1
  holiness1 is the strong point of      
comparison4 ,for the temple of ,god is  
holy1 says the apostle1 which temple ye 
are4 ,not that the believer  attains to 
immaculate purity in this life1 for the 
,new ,testament teaches  no such        
doctrine of ,christian perfection2 but  
he is holy in that he is a  consecrated 
one1 devoted to ,god's service4         
,indwelling sin may manifest  itself1   
imperfections may trouble him1 but his  
mind and will are against  them4 ,he    
does not seek them4 ,he does not go out 
to drag any polluted thing  within the  
temple4 ,no1 he hates their presence2 he
 longs and prays to be  free from sin4  

,whatever imperfections are within him  
are the remains of  former corruptions1 
and grace is overcoming them4    ,we    
must bear in mind that this spiritual   
temple is not new in its material       
parts4 ,it is an old1 ruined1           
dilapidated temple1 rebuilt1 repaired1  
cleansed1 and reinhabited4 ,the devil1  
who before held it1 has been  banished4 
,the ,holy ,ghost has taken possession1 
and set it apart for ,god4  ,yet some   
vestiges of its old state linger here   
and there for a time2 the  divine       
,architect has not yet finished it4     
,when it is done1 it will be pure  as   
heaven1 and shine in the beauty of      
holiness for ever and ever4 ,the work   
is going on4    ,the ,christian is no   
longer a sinner1 courting sin2 he is set
 apart for a  sacred use2 he is taken   
away from the service of sin2 the world 
has no  right to him2 he has no right to
 go after it4 ,oh it is not every use   
you  can put a ,christian to1 for he is 
devoted to the service of ,god2 he is   

called into holiness2 he is washed and  
sanctified4           99       99       
99       99       99    ,and now1 in the
 review of our subject1 let us walk     
about these living  temples and notice  
their most prominent peculiarities1 that
 we may see  what manner of persons we  
ought to be in all holy conversation and
  doctrine4    ,as temples1 they are    
costly edifices1 bought with the blood  
of ,jesus  ,christ4 ,they are enduring1 
built to stand the temptations of time1 
to  survive the wreck and conflagration 
of the last day4 ,they are beautiful in 
their proportions1 with no heavenly     
grace left out1 and no foul  deformities
 suffered to remain4 ,they belong to    
,god4 ,they are not their  own4 ,they   
are ,god's building4 ,they are the      
dwelling-places of ,god's  ,spirit4     
,they are holy3 washed1 sanctified1 and 
consecrated to ,god's  service4    ,such
 is the picture of ,god's people which  
the apostle holds up before us  when he 
says1 ,ye are the temple of ,god4 ,i    

confess it is a bold and  highly-drawn  
picture2 but it was the pencil of       
inspiration1 and not mine1  which drew  
it4 ,the soul of every true saint is    
that temple4 ,it has a holy  of holies  
where ,god's ,spirit dwells4 ,the world1
 the flesh1 and the devil  have been    
cast out4 ,it has an altar on which the 
sacrifice of thanksgiving  is laid1 a   
censer in which burns the incense of    
prayer1 which rolls aloft  to heaven1   
while the voice of praise and adoration 
echoes through its  arches and along its
 aisles4    ,sublime and beautiful      
picture6 ,is it a fancy piece2 or is it 
a reality8 ,it  is a reality4 ,the      
apostle's soul was such a temple4 ,there
 were such  temples in ,corinth when he 
wrote this epistle--temples more grand  
and  beautiful than all the ,corinthian 
columns and gilded domes which adorned  
that city4 ,every true saint is such a  
temple4 ,every professor of religion    
claims to be one4    ,my friend1 take   
the picture home1 and look at it4 ,study

 it well1 and see  if you can see       
yourself in it4 ,ah1 you professing     
,christian1 does your  soul look any    
thing like it8 ,if indeed it be a       
temple1 does it not become  you to watch
 its portals with untiring vigilance1   
lest pollution enter it8  ,have you kept
 the temple pure8 ,our text calls you to
 serious  self-examination4 ,go inside  
the temple1 and look about4 ,see if its 
walls  be not hung round with pictures  
of earthly idolatry4 ,see whether pride 
and  vanity and fashion have not built  
their altars within4 ,see whether greedy
  avarice has not set up the tables of  
the money-changers there1 and  well-nigh
 turned the temple of the soul1 which is
 ,god's house1 into a  house of         
merchandise4 ,listen whether there is   
heard there the tumult of  angry        
passions1 and the clamors of selfish and
 forbidden lusts4    ,oh search the     
temple well1 for ,god will search it    
soon4 ,the ,lord shall  suddenly come to
 his temple2 but who may abide the day  

of his coming1 and  who shall stand when
 he appeareth8 ,for he is like a        
refiner's fire1 and  like fuller's soap4
    ,none but the pure in heart1 the    
sanctified in ,christ ,jesus1 will      
endure  the trial4 ,these shall stand   
the fires of the judgment-day1 and shine
 in  bliss and glory for ever in the    
city of ,god4    ,but not a few         
professed temple-builders will be       
confounded1 and their work  consumed2   
for the fire shall try every man's work1
 of what sort it is4          ,v4       
,god's ,witnesses4        ,,ye ,,are    
,,my ,,witnesses4 ,,isa4 #dc3aj4        
,there is a sense in which all the works
 of ,god declare his glory1 and  bespeak
 his eternal power and godhead4 ,but in 
the work of redemption  through ,jesus  
,christ his ,son1 he places his people  
in a peculiar position1  and employs    
them in a special mission4 ,they are    
surrounded with a world of  ungodliness 
and impenitence1 and he has commissioned
 them to bear an  authoritative         

testimony in behalf of ,him4    ,as     
professed believers1 they stand before  
the world as those who are the  subjects
 of his grace1 who have embraced and    
tried that religion which is  offered to
 them in ,christ ,jesus4 ,they claim to 
have actually received  ,christ1 and to 
have submitted to his authority4 ,god   
calls them his people2  they call       
themselves so4 ,in them grace exhibits  
what it can do by what it  is already   
doing4    ,they hold a peculiar relation
 to a godless world around them4 ,god   
acknowledges them to be standing for    
him3 ,ye are my witnesses4 ,they are    
bearing testimony in his behalf before  
the jury1 consisting of the  multitude  
of unbelievers4 ,they are credible      
witnesses4 ,the world is  willing to    
listen to their evidence1 and judge of  
the religion of ,christ  by what they   
say and do4    ,they represent the      
,saviour whose name they bear4 ,they are
 speaking to the  world in all they say 
and do1 wherever they go4 ,they are     

always on the  stand giving in their    
testimony4 ,the ungodly world is        
listening to them1  and taking down the 
evidence1 and judging of ,christ and of 
his religion by  the declarations which 
they make2 and they have a right to do  
so4    ,god says of these professing    
,christians1 ,ye are my witnesses4 ,and 
other  men say1 ,we will hear you and   
take your testimony1 and cross-examine  
you1  and give our verdict from what you
 declare to us4 ,every ,christian1 by   
his  very profession of religion1 puts  
himself in this solemn position1 and    
invites the scrutiny of the world4 ,he  
cannot escape from it4 ,he must  testify
 for ,god1 and woe be to him if in his  
life and conversation he  belies his    
profession1 and dishonors his ,saviour's
 cause4    ,god has a testimony of      
himself in his written word4 ,but this  
documentary  evidence will not satisfy  
an unbelieving generation4 ,men want    
parol  evidence to confirm it4 ,they    
call for the living witness1 and insist 

upon  examining him and hearing him give
 in his testimony4 ,professing          
,christians  are such witnesses4 ,and   
what they say in their lives and        
professions is  often of far greater    
weight with the ungodly1 than what is   
said by  inspired evangelists and       
apostles4 ,this living testimony of     
,god's people  is a kind of evidence    
which carries conviction with it4 ,the  
,bible itself  points men to it1 and    
tells them to decide by it upon the     
value of its own  utterances4 ,ye are my
 witnesses1 saith ,god4 ,ye are our     
epistle1 says  the inspired apostle4    
,the world will take knowledge of them  
that they have  been with ,jesus4       
,all parties concerned seem to agree    
upon the important position the  people 
of ,god occupy in this world4 ,god      
expressly declares that they are  his   
witnesses4 ,they say the same when they 
openly profess his name4 ,they  take the
 stand before the jury of the world1 and
 raise their hand to  heaven and swear  

that they will testify for ,christ4 ,the
 world looks on1  and says1 ,we will    
hear the testimony1 and judge of what   
religion is1 and  what is the genius and
 spirit of the gospel system of         
salvation by what we  find in them4     
,the case then seems fairly opened1 and 
all parties understand the issue4  ,let 
us look further at the nature of the    
evidence4    #a4 ,believers are         
,christ's witnesses as to the real value
 and efficacy of  that salvation which  
the gospel offers4 ,as it is presented  
in ,god's word1  it claims to be        
effectual in taking away the curse of   
sin1 and in bringing  the sinner back to
 peace and reconciliation with ,god4 ,it
 claims to quiet  the fears of a guilty 
conscience1 to awaken a sense of pardon 
and good  hope of eternal life1 and to  
furnish1 in the atonement and death of  
,jesus  ,christ the ,saviour1 all that  
the guilty soul needs for its           
justification  and peace with ,god4     
,but does it do this8 ,can it really    

accomplish in the soul of a sinner this 
which it claims to do8 ,does it ever    
actually produce such a change of       
feeling1 awaken such hopes1 restore such
 peace1 as it tells about8 ,on this     
subject1 believers are important        
witnesses4 ,they profess to have tried  
the  efficacy of these representations  
in their own experience4 ,they tell the 
ungodly they have found this sense of   
pardon1 have felt this peace1 have      
rejoiced in those hopes which the gospel
 speaks of4 ,they have come to  ,christ 
as the atoning sacrifice1 and he has    
proved himself to be to them  all he    
claimed to be4    ,the work of grace in 
the hearts of ,christians is such1 that 
they can tell  sinners what it is4 ,they
 declare it in their songs of praise1   
their  thanksgivings and prayers1 and   
earnest love to their ,redeemer4    #b4 
,professing ,christians are witnesses to
 the world as to what that  standard of 
morality is1 which the precepts of the  
gospel require of its  followers4 ,they 

profess to live according to that       
standard4 ,they have  taken the commands
 of ,christ to be their rule of duty1   
and they virtually  tell others to judge
 of what the religion of ,jesus ,christ 
requires1 by the  way they live and act4
 ,they have undertaken to give a        
practical exhibition  of what is the    
meaning of those ,bible directions which
 comprise the sum of  religious duty4   
,the question with them is not what the 
world thinks to be  right or wrong1 not 
what public opinion approves or         
disapproves2 but what  does ,christ     
command4 ,this is their rule of duty2   
this is what they profess  to live by4  
,and the world understand it so4 ,they  
therefore take what they  find in       
,christians' lives and conduct to be    
what religion consists in4  ,they care  
not to search for the letter of the     
precept in the ,scriptures1  so long as 
they have the living witness before     
them1 who says he is  showing it to them
 every day4    ,christians are such     

witnesses4 ,they may well tremble at    
their position4  ,but they have placed  
themselves in it4 ,they have undertaken 
to be  witnesses for ,christ4 ,oh1 it   
becomes them to be careful what they are
  saying4 ,it becomes them to inquire   
what idea the world gets of ,christ and 
his religion1 from the way they carry   
themselves among their neighbors4       
,every one knows that example is more   
powerful than precept4 ,every           
professing ,christian's example directly
 involves in it the honor of  ,christ1  
and the welfare of his cause4 ,it is    
competent evidence1 and the  world takes
 it4 ,that professor who lives in       
violation of ,christ's  commands1 and by
 his example approves what the religion 
of the gospel  forbids1 is a perjured   
witness on the stand1 and gives a false 
testimony4    ,that ,christians are thus
 expounders of the gospel1 witnesses as 
to what  are the duties it enjoins1 and 
what constitutes practical religion1    
none  can deny4 ,the impenitent take    

them to be such4 ,whatever ,christians  
do1  they say must be right4 ,whatever  
the church practices and countenances1  
is  a sufficient justification for them 
in doing the same4 ,whatever is done in 
the green tree1 can certainly be done in
 the dry4    ,if ,god's people can      
travel and visit on the ,sabbath1 or    
engage in  promiscuous dancing and      
card-playing in the nightly assemblies  
of  amusement and frivolity1 or resort  
to the gamester's arts to make money    
for ,christ1 surely such practices      
cannot be wrong for others2 for         
,christians would not do wrong1 nor deny
 their principles4 ,the world reason  in
 this way1 and they reason well4 ,the   
logic is good1 and cannot be  refuted4  
,they have a right to take notice of    
,christians as ,god's  witnesses1 and to
 infer that whatever they do is         
consistent with the  morality of the    
,new ,testament4    #c4 ,christians are 
witnesses to the world as to what are   
the sacrifices  and self-denials which  

the religion of ,christ requires of its 
disciples4  ,that the gospel does make  
these a condition of discipleship is    
plain to  every mind4 ,whosoever doth   
not deny himself1 and take up his cross1
  cannot be my disciple4 ,again and     
again are ,christians said to sacrifice 
all for ,christ1 and to be crucified to 
the world4 ,now what these ,scripture   
representations mean may be learned by  
the practical lives of ,god's  people1  
for they profess to be living such lives
 of self-denial1 to deny  ungodliness   
and worldly lust1 and to live soberly1  
righteously1 and godly  in this present 
world4 ,in them the impenitent find what
 religion  prohibits2 how it separates  
its follower from the world2 how it lays
 its  cross upon him1 and calls upon him
 to bear reproach and shame and wrong   
and persecution for ,christ's sake4     
,such a testimony ,christians are bound 
to give2 and blessed be ,god1 they have 
been able to give it in all ages of  the
 world4 ,for1    ,they are ,god's       

witnesses in their endurance of         
suffering for ,christ4  ,even when laid 
aside from the active1 stirring duties  
of life1 and passing  through seasons of
 sore trial1 they are still in the      
service of ,christ1  and giving to the  
world a most valuable testimony of the  
sustaining and  comforting power of his 
religion4 ,witness-bearers they are     
still1 when  they endure with a cheerful
 patience the wearisome nights which are
  appointed to them1 and in the midst of
 disease and the sinkings of nature  can
 tell to all around them of a peace     
which passeth all understanding1 of  a  
joy and hope which are undimmed by all  
the distress of the present  hour4 ,who 
can measure the influence which the     
religion of ,christ has  gained in the  
world through this kind of testimony8--a
 testimony which the  witnesses have    
given in when their eyes were suffused  
with tears1 and  earthly misfortunes    
pressed sore upon them--a testimony     
plaintively  whispered in the dark      

midnight of affliction1 from the couches
 of  languishing1 the chambers of       
bereavement1 and the graves of the lost 
and  the loved4 ,it many a time seems   
that the ,christian's usefulness is     
gone1  when he is no longer able to sing
 in the sanctuary and engage in active  
labors for ,christ2 but it is often far 
otherwise4 ,though life's scenes be     
changed1 he is bearing witness still2   
and through months of infirmity and     
suffering is telling the world what     
,christ can do to cheer and comfort     
when all other comfort is gone4 ,ye are 
still my witnesses1 says the  ,redeemer 
to his people1 even when ,i chasten you 
sorely2 and through your  testimony the 
world shall know of my power to save and
 comfort4    ,but though all the        
sufferings of ,god's people are made to 
testify of the  power of ,his grace1    
special significance attaches to those  
which are  endured directly for ,christ1
 which arise from the hatred and        
persecution  of the world4 ,of those    

who1 in past ages1 have sealed their    
testimony with  their blood1 who in the 
dungeon1 at the stake1 and on the       
scaffold have  owned ,christ and defied 
the rage of their tormentors--of such   
emphatically  ,christ says1 ,ye are my  
witnesses4 ,the very word martyr        
signifies a  witness1 in the ,greek     
language4    ,and the testimony of such 
as have suffered and died for ,jesus has
 carried  with it a power which none can
 measure4 ,it has forced conviction on  
the  minds of the bitterest enemies of  
the cross1 and taught the world how a   
believer can triumph over suffering1 and
 conquer death4 ,though nowadays  but   
little of this kind of testimony is     
heard1 except what is echoed down  from 
past centuries of the church's          
conflicts1 still believers are bound  to
 testify many times against the scoffs  
and opposition of the ungodly4  ,their  
lives and example must1 even now1       
frequently speak out boldly  against the
 prevailing iniquity1 and testify in the

 face of scorn and  loss and bitter     
opposition4 ,but it is a good confession
 when you stand up  for ,christ1 and    
meet the buffetings of the world for it4
 ,for every stripe  you receive there   
seems to come an echo from the upper    
throne1 most  cheering1 ,ye are my      
witnesses4    ,we have thus endeavored  
to show the position which ,christians  
occupy in  the world as witnesses for   
,god4 ,they testify to men what the     
religion of  the gospel actually means1 
what it is1 and what it can do for      
sinners4  ,they tell to a doubting world
 that it is a reality4 ,they have tested
 it in  their experience2 have tried its
 hopes and promises1 and tasted its     
saving  power4 ,the ignorant and        
unbelieving world can go to them and ask
  questions1 examine them1 and demand to
 know all about the cross1 and the      
whole system of salvation which centres 
there4    ,these witnesses are speaking 
all the time4 ,their lives are voiceful 
everywhere4 ,in the family1 and in the  

church2 in the marts of business1  and  
the intercourse of social life2 in the  
days of sunshine and  prosperity1 and   
the nights of gloom and sorrow1 the     
world is listening to  what they say1   
and canvassing their evidence4 ,their   
testimony is long and  full4 ,it is     
either for or against their ,master4    
,christ ,jesus is willing that his      
religion shall be tried by the lives of 
his disciples4 ,what other system will  
bear to be put to such a test8 ,did     
scepticism ever proclaim its triumphs   
thus8 ,did the philosophic infidelity   
of the last century dare to boast of    
,france redeemed from superstition      
under the reign of terror1 and point to 
,danton1 ,mirabeau1 ,robespierre1 and   
the heroes of the guillotine1 and say1  
,these are my witnesses8 ,would ,paine  
and ,bolingbroke ever think of summoning
 from the foul attics and purlieus  of  
vice and degradation their begrimed     
followers1 educated in their  tenets1   
and proclaim to the world1 ,behold1     

these are our witnesses8 ,does          
,universalism ever muster its motley    
crew from the dram-shops1 the gambling  
hells1 and the brothels1 and parade them
 before the public gaze to testify  what
 it can do for man's moral welfare and  
restoration8 ,no4 ,every system  of     
falsehood and error shrinks from the    
ordeal1 and would hide its  disciples   
from observation1 rather than stand them
 up before the world1  saying1 ,these   
are my witnesses4    ,but ,christianity 
dares to do what no other system dares4 
,god has written  his great scheme of   
salvation on the page of revelation4    
,but while a  doubting1 unbelieving     
world is slow to study and receive it1  
he sets his  people boldly up before    
them1 and challenges them to read in    
their lives  and doings what his        
religion can accomplish4 ,look here1 he 
bids an ungodly  world1 and judge what  
the cross can do4 ,trace the influence  
of the gospel  upon these who have      
accepted it1 and tried it1 and hear what

 they are  saying of its power and      
grace2 for they are my witnesses1 saith 
the ,lord4    ,such is the ,christian's 
attitude before the world3 testifying   
every hour1  speaking through all his   
life for ,christ4 ,oh what a blessed1 an
 exalted  privilege6 ,oh what an awful  
responsibility6 ,every member of the    
church is  in this position2 every      
professing ,christian is testifying4    
,and1  fellow-witnesses1 what is the    
testimony we are giving8 ,are any       
disposed  to shrink back from the       
position8 ,are any conscious that their 
lives do  not read well for ,christ8    
,there is no escaping from the          
responsibility4 ,ye  who have made a    
profession of ,christ before the world  
are committed4 ,ye  have taken the      
witness-stand1 and the world is hearing 
you4 ,professing  ,christians1 the voice
 of ,god ,almighty says1 ,ye are my     
witnesses1 and  there is no escape for  
you4 ,you have spoken2 you have got to  
speak4 ,you  may seal up your lips1 but 

your very silence speaks4 ,ye are my    
witnesses4    ,hear it1 ye professors1  
when ye go out into the world of        
ungodliness2 when  ye stand in the      
market-place for gain1 and deal with a  
world of  covetousness and greed2 when  
ye seek for pleasure and preferment3 ,ye
 are  my witnesses4 ,hear it when       
tempted to step aside and hold your     
religion  in abeyance for a season1 that
 you may join hands with the careless   
and  the vain3 ,ye are my witnesses4 ,ye
 cannot drop your vocation2 ye cannot   
stop the testimony4 ,go where you will1 
it follows you4 ,was your hoarse  laugh 
heard in the saloon1 among the fast     
young men whose eyes were red  over the 
wine-cup8 ,were ye seen in the companies
 of fashion and  dissipation1 whirling  
in the dance1 rattling the dice1 or     
bending over the  card-table8 ,have ye  
forsaken the services of devotion1 the  
sanctuary1 and  the prayer-meeting1 for 
the society of open worldliness and     
ungodliness8  ,ye have not done         

testifying yet4 ,god ,almighty's voice  
follows you1 and  rings in your ears1   
,ye are my witnesses4 ,your testimony   
may have been  dishonoring to ,god2 it  
may have been damaging to the cause of  
,christ2 but  ,god claims you as his    
witnesses1 and will settle with you when
 he comes to  review the testimony at   
the judgment-day4 ,and your false1      
treacherous  souls1 blackened with the  
damning guilt of a life-long perjury1   
will meet  a doom which will make the   
hell of lesser sinners1 when compared   
with it1  seem almost a heaven4         
,,vi4    ,christians ,shining4          
,,let ,,your ,,light ,,so ,,shine       
,,before ,,men1 ,,that ,,they ,,may     
,,see ,,your ,,good ,,works1      ,,and 
,,glorify ,,your ,,father ,,which ,,is  
,,in ,,heaven4 ,,matt4 #e3af4      ,the 
people of ,god are the light of the     
world--luminous bodies1 shining  amid   
the moral darkness around them4    ,two 
kinds of bodies1 in the physical world1 
are mediums of light4 ,those  which are 

in their very substance luminous1 as the
 sun1 the fixed stars1  or a burning    
lamp4 ,these shine by virtue of their   
own properties4 ,their  light is        
inherent and underived4 ,another class  
of bodies shine only by  reflected      
light4 ,opaque in their nature1 they    
send back only those rays  which are    
sent upon them4 ,such are the moon1 the 
planets and their  satellites--luminous 
only upon the surface1 but dark within4 
,in a certain degree1 ,christians       
resemble this latter class of bodies2   
but  not altogether4 ,the light they    
possess is indeed a derived light1 and  
not  self-originated4 ,they are by      
nature dark and rayless2 but the light  
which  has shone upon them penetrates   
beyond the surface1 and makes the very  
inner soul luminous with its radiance4  
,it generates light3 it transforms  them
 into living light-bearers4 ,they not   
only reflect the beams which fall  upon 
the surface1 but send forth from within 
new rays of moral brightness4  ,god1    

says the apostle1 who commanded the     
light to shine out of  darkness1 hath   
shined in our hearts1 to give the light 
of the knowledge of  the glory of ,god  
in the face of ,jesus ,christ4          
,christians1 then1 are not mere         
reflectors1 luminous only on the        
surface2  but they radiate light from   
their own inner being4 ,this light is   
owing to  the illuminating power of the 
,holy ,spirit1 awakening1 converting1   
and  sanctifying them4 ,by that power   
they are made in the image of ,christ1  
and  saved4 ,such is the light they     
possess--a light enkindled within them1 
and  reflected from them4    ,our       
,saviour teaches1 in the text1 that this
 light which they have must  shine      
through their practical lives and       
conduct4 ,let your light so shine       
before men1 that they may see your good 
works1 and glorify your ,father  which  
is in heaven4 ,it is the very nature of 
light to shine4 ,christians  shine      
through their holy lives4 ,their good   

works are the rays which they  emit4    
,the world sees them1 and judges of     
them4 ,in all they say and do for  ,god1
 in the spirit which they manifest1 and 
the example they exhibit1 they  scatter 
light around them4 ,other men see it4   
,the tendency of this is to prompt      
others to glorify ,god the ,father--that
  they1 seeing your good works1 may     
glorify your ,father which is in heaven4
  ,this too must be the motive to prompt
 ,christians to diligence in good       
works4 ,it is not to exalt themselves1  
but to honor ,god4 ,not to establish a  
ground of merit in the sight of ,god1   
not to build up a righteousness of      
their own1 do they strive for a holy    
life1 but to glorify ,god4 ,not to      
shine and bedazzle others by the        
splendor of their virtue2 but to shed   
around them that light which they have  
received1 to reflect the beams  which   
have illuminated them1 and thereby lead 
others to praise and glorify  ,god for  
his wondrous work of grace in them4     

,hence we derive the proposition that   
,god's people1 redeemed by the blood  of
 ,christ1 and regenerated by the ,holy  
,spirit1 are shining ones1  exhibiting  
the glory of ,god1 beyond any other of  
his creatures or works4    ,in          
illustrating this proposition ,i remark1
 that ,god is revealed to us only       
through his works4 ,no man hath seen    
,god at any time4 ,purely spiritual in  
his nature1 and infinite in his         
perfections1 we cannot know him1 except 
through his works4 ,how he is known to  
angels and the pure spirits of  heaven1 
we cannot tell2 but to us1 the ,lord is 
known by the operation of  his hands4   
,his character and glory are reflected  
to us by his doings4 ,yet  the different
 works of ,god manifest to us his glory 
in different degrees1  according to     
their nature4    #a4 ,his material      
creation exhibits to us his omnipotence1
 his wisdom1  skill1 and greatness4     
,when we cast our eyes upward and view  
the boundless  fields of immensity      

studded with suns and satellites1       
sweeping the  trackless territories of  
space with no discord or confusion1 and 
then turn  our eye earthward and survey 
the infinite variety of material objects
  around us1 with properties varying    
endlessly1 and yet all combined in one  
beautiful and harmonious whole1 our     
minds cannot resist the impression of   
the might1 the grandeur1 the            
magnificence of ,deity4 ,here we behold 
his  glory as the great ,architect1 the 
omnipotent ,creator4    #b4 ,but when we
 advance from mere lifeless matter to   
his doings with  living1 sentient       
creatures1 who are capable of enjoyment 
and of suffering1  these exhibit his    
glory in a higher perfection than any   
material  handiwork2 for here appears   
the goodness and benevolence of ,god1   
seen in  the constitution of these      
creatures for happiness1 and the        
abundant means  which he has provided   
for their well-being4 ,in moulding and  
shaping the  material universe into an  

infinite variety of forms1 ,god         
publishes his  glory as a skilful and   
mighty builder2 but when he comes to    
people these  material worlds with      
sentient creatures1 and displays an     
adaptation of all  to promote their     
enjoyment1 then does the ,deity rise far
 above the place  of a mere             
architectural designer1 and proclaim his
 kindness and his love4  ,the irrational
 creation1 from the summer insect which 
sports out its  brief existence in the  
sunbeams1 to the flocks and herds which 
range the  valleys clothed with verdure1
 all unite their testimony that ,god is 
good1  and his tender mercies are over  
all his works4    ,ascend now a step    
higher4 ,follow up the scale of being   
from mere sentient1  irrational         
creatures1 to moral1 responsible        
intelligences4 ,here is  reflected a new
 class of the ,creator's attributes4    
,here there shines a  glory which the   
whole material universe never could     
reveal4 ,in creating  and dealing with  

moral agents1 endowed with reason and   
moral sense1 the  ,almighty manifests   
the truth1 the justice1 and the holiness
 of his  character4 ,these glorious     
perfections of ,god rise infinitely     
above his  mere natural attributes2 and 
they require creatures endowed with a   
moral  nature1 and under a moral        
government1 in order to their           
manifestation4 ,god  might build worlds 
upon worlds1 and deck them with far more
 gorgeous  splendors than are flung over
 this one we live on2 but were they     
unpeopled  by any rational              
intelligences1 they could publish       
nothing of ,god's glory1  except that he
 was a builder of mighty power and      
skill4 ,this is what  ,nature1 in her   
works1 declares of ,god4 ,but when ,god 
calls into being his  moral creation1 he
 advances far beyond the position of a  
mere architect1  an almighty builder1 to
 that of a moral governor2 and in the   
unfoldings of  his character we discover
 what we never could see elsewhere1 the 

beauty of  holiness1 the majesty of     
justice1 the excellency of truth4       
,these lofty perfections of the divine  
nature are reflected in ,his dealings   
with moral beings1 and nowhere else4 ,in
 rewarding holiness1 and punishing      
transgression1 ,jehovah exhibits the    
transcendent purity of his own being4   
,holy angels in their raptures1 and     
fallen angels in their woes1 reflect    
the moral glory of the ,godhead4 ,in    
dealing with them1 ,god publishes to the
  universe his supreme regard for his   
holy law1 and that righteousness and    
judgment are the habitation of his      
throne4    ,is there any higher glory   
than this possible8 ,are there any      
perfections of  ,god back of these which
 wait to be revealed2 any grander       
purposes and  movements of the divine   
mind which can enhance the lustre of his
  character1 and add to the splendor of 
that light1 inaccessible1 and full  of  
glory1 which surrounds his              
dwelling-place8 ,yes1 there are4    ,it 

is in his relations and dealings with   
redeemed men1 in saving  sinners1 and   
restoring them from a fallen1 ruined    
state1 to holiness and  bliss4 ,here is 
a new glory thrown around his character1
 a new theatre of  action4 ,here the    
divine mind grapples with the great     
problem of moral  evil1 and proposes to 
save the sinner without compromising    
,his truth and  holiness4 ,here the     
perfections of love and mercy1          
compassion and  forbearance1 favor to   
the wretched1 grace to the undeserving1 
all break  forth4    ,these perfections 
of ,god's nature could never have been  
known to his  intelligent universe      
without a plan of salvation for sinners4
 ,the angels  in the realms of holiness 
never could have called them into       
exercise4 ,much  as ,god might delight  
to reward and bless them1 he could not  
show aught of  compassion or grace to   
them1 for there could be no possible    
room for ,god  to exercise any such     
dispositions towards such beings4 ,mercy

 can be  exercised only towards the     
wretched1 grace only to the unworthy1   
long-suffering and forbearance only     
towards the guilty2 but in the case of  
holy beings1 ,god can find nothing to   
forgive1 nothing to bear with1  nothing 
to develop the riches of his grace4     
,we see then1 how redeemed sinners      
exhibit the glory of ,god in a strange  
and peculiar light4 ,when ,god moves to 
save them1 he displays a new class  of  
perfections1 which never could be known 
except as they are here  manifested4    
,every ,christian is a living epistle1  
publishing something of  ,god which the 
intelligent universe can read nowhere   
else4 ,every ,christian  declares that  
,god is a ,god of infinite grace and    
mercy1 long-suffering and  forgiving2 a 
,god full of compassion and love4 ,he is
 a living witness to  these perfections1
 for he is a guilty creature rescued    
from sin and hell4  ,in him ,god        
displays precisely those traits of his  
character which awaken  the profoundest 

admiration of his creatures1 which      
attract them towards  him1 which        
enkindle love4 ,indeed we may say that1 
were it not for the  plan of salvation  
for sinners1 there would exist in the   
divine nature a  class of perfections of
 which his creatures must be for ever   
ignorant4    ,but this plan lifts the   
veil1 and bids us behold the infinite   
heart of  ,god4 ,the ,christian is the  
being in whom ,god displays these       
excellences2 he  is the trophy of grace2
 he reflects the glory of the ,godhead  
beyond any  thing seen in all other     
creatures4 ,none but he can testify of  
,jehovah's  boundless grace and         
compassion1 of the triumph of infinite  
wisdom and love  in baffling the arts of
 ,satan1 and rescuing a lost sinner from
 hell and  fitting him for heaven4 ,this
 work is the climax of ,jehovah's       
undertakings1  and the ,bible plainly   
teaches that to angelic minds there are 
no  operations of the ,godhead1         
throughout his vast dominions1 which can

  compare with this in interest and in  
glory4    ,again1 as has been already   
remarked1 ,christians are not mere      
reflectors of  ,god's glory2 but there  
is a light beaming from within them     
which makes  them luminous1 for they are
 made to resemble ,christ in their      
character2  they are created anew in the
 image of ,christ2 they are begotten of 
him1  and are said to put on the ,lord  
,jesus ,christ4 ,all true ,christians do
  thus resemble1 at least in some       
degree1 the ,saviour4    ,but ,christ is
 the grandest manifestation of the      
,godhead ever made to  creatures4 ,he   
was the brightness of the ,father's     
glory1 and the express  image of his    
person4 ,no other display of the        
,godhead can be compared with  that of  
the ,word made flesh4 ,and surely it    
must follow that creatures who  resemble
 him must reflect1 in the highest       
degree1 the glory of ,god4 ,angels  may 
be perfect in holiness1 but their       
character does not present the same     

moral aspect as that of ,christians who 
have been saved and sanctified4  ,both  
will be holy2 but in the character of a 
perfectly sanctified  ,christian there  
will appear many things which an angel  
never can exhibit4  ,it will resemble   
that of ,christ more than that of       
,gabriel1 and in so doing  will manifest
 the glory of ,god as it shone in the   
face of ,jesus ,christ4    ,to what an  
honorable and exalted position does the 
,bible advance the  ,christian6 ,set in 
the firmament of intelligent beings1 he 
shines with a  peculiar light1 like a   
star whose beams emit a peculiar halo1  
and whose  twinkling disc wears a       
brighter effulgence than its fellows4   
,the heavens  declare the glory of ,god1
 and the firmament showeth his          
handiwork4 ,angels  reflect that glory  
in a higher degree2 but sinners raised  
from guilt and  ruin1 and made sons of  
,god1 furnish the grandest exhibition of
 the divine  perfections ever made4     
,such is the relation ,christians       

sustain to ,god and  to other           
intelligences--they are reflectors of   
,god's glory4    ,but when ,i read my   
text ,i learn that they are not mere    
passive reflectors4  ,they are to give  
light not merely as polished mirrors    
hung in the  sunbeams2 they are to shine
 from within1 as well as on the surface4
 ,there  must be a settled aim and      
purpose to scatter light about them4    
,let your  light so shine1 says ,christ4
 ,the word so here implies that you have
 a  deep responsibility as to the kind  
of light you give1 and the effect       
produced by it4 ,it is a light which    
must be made to shine through your  good
 works1 your holy lives4 ,and those     
works must be prosecuted in such a  way 
that men shall be led by them to glorify
 your ,father which is in  heaven4 ,here
 is the great law of ,christian         
activity3 that all you do  shall be done
 in a way which shall tell for the glory
 of ,god4 ,christian  friend1 here is   
the governing principle of your life4   

,it requires you to  act with reference 
to the good of others4 ,it bids you keep
 ever in view  the influence of your    
conduct upon those around you4 ',tis a  
high1 a noble  principle--the glory of  
,god4 ',tis an unselfish principle1     
which will  enable you to display to the
 world all the graces of a holy life    
without  pride or ostentation1 and so to
 walk that men will give ,god the glory 
of  any good they find in you4    ,ah1  
we fear it is a principle too often     
wanting1 even with those who  profess to
 be ,god's people4 ,many have no        
objection to let their light  shine     
while they can be appreciated2 many are 
willing that others shall  see their    
good works1 and glorify themselves for  
them2 many will devote  their time and  
labor to the cause of ,christ so long as
 they can have the  preminence1 and     
impress others with the idea of their   
own importance4  ,their light will      
shine1 but shine only to let the world  
see their own  perfections1 and pay     

homage to their sanctity4    ,but far   
different from this is the spirit of a  
,christian's service4 ,it is  not self1 
but ,god who must have all the glory4   
,let it so shine1 says  ,christ1 that it
 shall lead all who see it to render    
,god the glory4 ,let  ungodly men learn 
from your holy lives the reality and    
excellency of that  salvation which you 
have tasted4 ,let the light of your     
example shine so  that they too shall be
 led to seek the same divine            
illumination4 ,let all  your works point
 them to that ,redeemer who has called  
you out of darkness1  and prompt them to
 seek him as their own4 ,thus will they 
glorify your  ,father which is in       
heaven4    ,such is the spirit of the   
,saviour's words before us1 and the     
practical  inquiry for us all is1 ,how  
do our lives correspond with this       
spirit8    ,first of all1 have we really
 any light to shed around us8 ,a mere   
profession is worthless as an empty     
lamp4 ,have our hearts been illuminated 

by divine grace8 ,has the darkness of   
guilt and ignorance and error been      
scattered there2 and have we tasted the 
sweets of pardon1 peace1 and            
sanctification8    ,depend upon it1 we  
can give no light to others without     
first having our  own hearts illuminated
 by the ,holy ,spirit4 ,a mere          
profession of religion1  unaccompanied  
by the active virtues of piety1 will    
give no light4 ,let us  then look       
closely within1 and ask1 ,have we any   
light of grace ourselves8  ,and in      
connection with this1 and following it1 
will come the inquiry1 ,what  good are  
we doing to the world by it8 ,oh1 my    
brethren1 the ,saviour bids us  look    
around us upon our fellow-men and ask1  
,what has all our religion  amounted to8
 ,what have we accomplished for ,god's  
glory8 ,how much light  have we         
scattered8 ,whom have we enlightened and
 saved through our  ,christian          
influence8 ,what souls have we led to   
repentance and belief in  ,jesus        

,christ8 ,has our light shone to any    
purpose8 ,have we been the  instruments 
of instructing and saving others8       
,inquiries like these must  come up1 for
 ,god's people are the light of the     
world1 and their mission is  to reflect 
his glory as no seraph even can do it4  
,it therefore follows  that the question
 of your influence upon the world around
 has vitally to  do with the question   
whether you are a child of ,god at all2 
for if there  is no light radiating from
 your life1 there is none in you4 ,if   
your light  does not shine1 it is       
because you have none2 wherever it      
exists in the  soul it must shine out4  
,every ,christian has a positive        
influence for good4 ,all do not shine   
with  equal power and brilliancy1 but   
they shine4 ,some scatter their rays far
  and wide1 and become the moral lights 
of their generation1 and some only      
glimmer like a feeble taper2 but even   
the taper gives light to some1 and  so  
every ,christian must shed rays of light

 upon some soul4    ,christian friends1 
where are those rays falling from your  
lives and  conversation8 ,whose way do  
they enlighten8 ,do your children see   
them8 ,and  have you1 by the lustre of  
your ,christian example1 led a single   
soul to  ,christ8 ,oh look well to the  
influence you are exerting4 ,beware lest
 your  profession be in vain2 for if the
 light that is in you be darkness1 how  
great is that darkness6          ,,vii4 
,the ,raven and the ,dove4        ,,and 
,,it ,,came ,,to ,,pass ,,at ,,the ,,end
 ,,of ,,forty ,,days1 ,,that ,,noah     
,,opened ,,the      ,,window ,,of ,,the 
,,ark ,,which ,,he ,,had ,,made3 ,,and  
,,he ,,sent ,,forth ,a ,,raven1 ,,which 
,,went ,,forth ,,to ,,and ,,fro1 ,,until
 ,,the ,,waters ,,were ,,dried ,,up     
,,from ,,off ,,the      ,,earth4 ,,also 
,,he ,,sent ,,forth ,a ,,dove ,,from    
,,him1 ,,to ,,see ,,if ,,the ,,waters   
,,were      ,,abated ,,from ,,off ,,the 
,,face ,,of ,,the ,,ground4 ,,but ,,the 
,,dove ,,found ,,no ,,rest ,,for        

,,the ,,sole ,,of ,,her ,,foot1 ,,and   
,,she ,,returned ,,unto ,,him ,,into    
,,the ,,ark2 ,,for ,,the      ,,waters  
,,were ,,on ,,the ,,face ,,of ,,the     
,,whole ,,earth4 ,,genesis #h3f-i4      
,the narrative which contains these     
words introduces us to one of the       
darkest and most desolate periods in the
 history of our world4 ,rapid and       
appalling had been the progress of human
 degeneracy4 ,religion and virtue  had  
well-nigh become extinct1 and all flesh 
had corrupted its way on the  earth4    
,the good men of the antediluvian age   
were dead1 while but one of  the hoary  
patriarchs was left to bear witness for 
,jehovah before a  ,god-despising       
generation1 and to perpetuate the       
succession of the faithful  in the      
world4 ,it was time for ,god to work1   
for men had made void his law4  ,the    
vast population of this globe was swept 
away by a deluge of  waters--that most  
awful visitation of divine vengeance1   
the evidences of  which are to this day 

found1 and the traditions of which are  
preserved  among the primitive nations  
of every continent4    ,righteous ,noah 
and his household were alone preserved  
by special divine  interposition4       
,forewarned of ,god1 he prepared an ark 
for the saving of  himself and his      
family1 which in due time was freighted 
with the remnant  of the human race and 
pairs of the various tribes of the      
irrational  creation1 and floated upon  
the wide waste of waters1 beneath which 
lay  buried all the monuments of an     
apostate and heaven-daring generation4  
,forty long days were numbered after the
 flood began to abate1 and still  the   
huge ark floated on the boundless deep1 
and the patriarch's heart grew  anxious 
about the future4 ,with a trembling hand
 he opened the window of  the ark1 and  
sent forth the raven to seek for some   
tidings of a buried  world2 but the bird
 came not back4 ,though the waters were 
dark and the  desolation unbroken1 still
 she returned not to the friendly       

shelter which  had so long protected    
her1 but chose to allay the cravings of 
hunger1 and  live amid the wrecks and   
ruins which drifted to and fro upon the 
broad  abyss4 ,days again pass slowly   
away4 ,another messenger is dispatched  
to  seek for tidings4 ,the dove leaves  
the window of the ark1 and spreads her  
pinions and soars away over the wild    
expanse2 but the unpropitious skies  are
 overhead1 the green fields and shady   
woodlands are gone2 no  nourishment is  
found amid the shattered fragments1 and 
no objects of  delight are seen across  
the dreary wastes4 ,the raven may perch 
upon the  drifting offal1 and screech   
out its hoarse notes amid the awful     
solitudes2  but the timorous dove1      
finding no rest for the sole of her     
foot1 hastens  her flight back to the   
patriarch1 and nestles securely in the  
friendly  ark4    ,there are materials  
for profitable reflection in this simple
 story4 ,let us  condescend to learn    
lessons of true wisdom from the raven   

and the dove4    #a4 ,in the solitary   
ark floating securely on the flood you  
may discover no  unfit emblem of that   
only spiritual refuge which ,god has    
provided for  our ruined race in the    
person and work of his ,son ,jesus      
,christ4 ,the  fearful apostasy of our  
first parent drove our race out upon an 
ocean of  gloom and of peril4 ,the      
special presence and favor of the       
,almighty was  withdrawn1 though his    
providential care over us as his        
creatures remained4  ,but purposes of   
mercy were yet cherished in the divine  
mind1 and the plan  of salvation was    
revealed through ,jesus ,christ4        
,here alone1 in ,christ1 ,god manifests 
to us his gracious presence4 ,nowhere   
else in all the departments of his works
 does he admit us to his  fellowship1 or
 speak to us of his mercy4 ,take away   
from the world the  special             
manifestation of ,god in ,christ1 and   
there is no way left for man  to hold   
any communion with his ,maker1 no pledge

 of mercy or grace to him1  no hope of  
security and happiness in the favor of  
his ,sovereign4 ,man is  left to drift  
on the dark billows of sin without a ray
 of deliverance1 and  without a single  
speck floating upon the wide expanse to 
tell him that he  is not utterly        
abandoned to destruction4    ,but never 
has our world presented such an aspect  
of hopeless desolation4  ,even in the   
awful catastrophe of the deluge1 when   
continents and isles  with their teeming
 population were buried deep in the     
abyss of waters1 and  the sunbeams      
glistened only upon the boundless       
sea--then1 when this  rolling orb1 which
 on the day of its creation looked fair 
and beauteous  among the morning stars1 
had been transformed into a wandering   
beacon of  almighty wrath--there was    
left one memento of lingering mercy1 one
  solitary testimonial that ,jehovah's  
presence and favor were not clean gone  
for ever2 for the ark floated upon the  
face of the waters4 ,terrible as was    

the spectacle which the deluged globe   
presented of ,god's vengeance1 still    
the storm-proof ark which sheltered the 
patriarch proclaimed the precious  truth
 that there was one spot left where ,god
 appeared in mercy1 one place  of refuge
 and security for those who would       
embrace it1 one point where  hope       
gleamed over the future1 and where ,god 
delighted to be gracious4    ,the ark   
was the symbol of that more glorious    
,ark of safety provided for  lost men in
 the salvation of ,jesus ,christ4 ,out  
of ,christ the world is dark  and       
stormy1 and ,god is a consuming fire4   
,on the tempestuous ocean of guilt  we  
are tossed to and fro1 and no bright    
isles of innocence lift their  heads    
along the horizon and invite us to their
 secure retreats4 ,the  salvation scheme
 of ,jesus ,christ is the only refuge4  
,here alone ,god is  seen hovering over 
the waters1 and speaking of             
reconciliation and  fellowship4 ,nowhere
 else has he offered to us a shelter2   

but to this  ,god-provided ,ark we are  
bidden to flee for refuge1 which is     
amply  furnished against every          
emergency1 and which will safely bear us
 up  through the floods of temptation   
and the billows of death1 and finally   
bring us to the haven of rest beyond the
 grave4    ,to its sacred enclosure we  
are invited1 as the last spot where the 
soul  can find its reconciled ,god4     
,outside the elements are raging1 the   
night of  guilt is brooding1 the        
thunders of ,sinai are muttering1 and   
the  dun-colored sky is lurid with the  
flashes of impending wrath2 within is   
the presence of ,god1 the assurance of  
peace1 and the hope of heaven4 ,over    
the wastes of a fallen and sin-ruined   
world appears the salvation of ,jesus   
,christ like the ark of the patriarch   
riding out the storms of the deluge4    
,here ,god is dwelling with men4 ,here  
is rest to the storm-driven soul4 ,here 
its guilt and alienation are put away   
from it1 and it no longer lives  without

 ,god and without hope4 ,we have then   
discovered1 in the ark which  ,god      
directed ,noah to build for the saving  
of himself and his family1 a  type of   
,christ and his salvation4    ,let me   
now ask you to advance a step1 and      
contemplate in the raven and the  dove a
 representation of two opposite         
descriptions of human character4  ,the  
one1 that which finds no enjoyment in   
the presence and favor of  ,christ1 and 
sees and feels no necessity for the     
provisions of salvation  which are made 
in him2 the other1 that which is ever   
turning from the  supports of this world
 and its delusive promises to seek its  
refuge and  its resting-place in the    
presence of ,christ and the favor of    
,god1 which  flies to the hope set      
before it in the gospel1 and nestles    
securely in the  bosom of the ,saviour4 
,these two characters are the ungodly   
and the  ,christian--the children of    
this world and the children of          
,god--differing  in their tastes and    

habits and conduct from each other as   
the raven  differs from the dove4       
,the ark where ,god and the patriarch   
dwelt together was no welcome retreat   
for the raven4 ,though it had saved the 
wild bird from inevitable  destruction1 
and for many a weary day had carried it 
safely above the  angry flood1 still in 
the society which it afforded or the    
associations  which it furnished there  
was naught that was congenial to its    
untamed  nature2 but preferring to roam 
unprotected1 even amid solitude and     
gloom1  it instinctively seized upon the
 first opportunity to escape what was   
indeed its friendly asylum1 but which   
appeared to it only a prison-house4  ,on
 the threshold of the open window the   
raven flapped its wings and soared      
away4 ,farewell to the ark1 screamed the
 wild bird in the air1 while the  good  
old patriarch stood for a moment to     
watch its flight4    ,though the scene  
without was one of unbounded desolation1
 where the storm  clouds revelled and   

the fierce winds blew and dashed the    
dark-crested  waves madly against the   
sky2 though the fields where it once    
fed1 and the  tall trees where it was   
wont to build its nest were buried many 
a fathom  deep beneath the floods1 and  
all that was once fair and beautiful on 
earth  was gone1 still the bird of storm
 turned not homeward to the quiet ark2  
still in vain the patriarch opened again
 and again the window1 and leaned  upon 
the casement long and anxiously1 to look
 out for the absent  messenger4 ,the    
bird would not come back4 ,the sun goes 
down in clouds1 and  night settles      
slowly on the deep1 but no return4 ,the 
cravings of hunger  are felt1 but the   
carnivorous rover despises the          
well-stored granaries of  the ark1 and  
makes its evening meal out of the       
carcasses that drift upon  the waters4  
,perched upon some floating ruin1 it    
croaks out its hoarse  requiem over the 
sepulchres of the unnumbered dead1 and  
sleeps without a  dream of the far-off  

ark4    ,look yonder at that ,,raven1   
and behold an emblem of lost and        
straying man  without ,god in the world4
 ,no truth is more universally certain1 
than that  man's real happiness and     
welfare is to be sought only in the     
smile and  favor of his ,god4 ,the more 
the human soul is brought into unison   
with its  ,maker--the nearer it advances
 to ,deity--the more immediately it     
feels the  presence of ,god and draws   
its supplies from him1 the more sure is 
its  present peace and its future bliss4
 ,it was once happy in this condition4  
,adam and ,god were friends4 ,the       
primary effect of sin has ever been to  
separate man from ,god4 ,the example of 
our first parents in hiding  themselves 
among the trees of the garden1 from the 
voice of the ,lord1 is  an example which
 has been imitated by all the           
generations of their  descendants4 ,but 
the intervening distance between us and 
,god has been  surmounted by the        
,mediator4 ,the fearful chasm has been  

spanned1 and ,god  now draws nigh unto  
us in the gospel of his ,son1 and       
invites us to draw  nigh to him4 ,here1 
in the plan of salvation1 he bids us    
accept of his  grace4 ,here is the ark  
of safety1 where no thunderbolts of his 
wrath will  strike us1 but where we may 
rest securely from the storms of the    
present  life1 and the retributions of  
the coming one4 ,here we are told to    
flee  for refuge and hope4 ,and once    
sheltered in this ark of salvation1 we  
may  have ,god our friend1 and ,jesus   
our ,saviour4 ,an open door is set      
before us1  and the invitation given1   
,come thou and all thy house into the   
ark4    ,but carnal man prefers to roam4
 ,tossed upon the troubled waters of    
life1  where all is danger and          
uncertainty1 he still persists in       
neglecting the  great salvation1 and    
like the raven1 flies to and fro in     
search of  happiness and safety4 ,life1 
to men without ,god1 is but a chartless 
ocean1  over which they course their way

 amid floating wrecks and ruins1 vainly 
bent on satisfying the soul4 ,high on   
the waters rides the ark of mercy1  and 
the voice of ,god is heard inviting them
 to enter4 ,but though the skies  of    
life are so changing1 and its waters so 
dark and troubled1 that they  ofttimes  
feel the need of better resources1 still
 they look not to the  gospel1 but toil 
and fly from one to another quarter1    
crying1 ,who will  show us any good8    
,they want nothing to do with ,god4     
,they care not for his  favor4 ,they    
prefer to live as far away as possible1 
and seek all their  support amid the    
resources of the world4    ,look at the 
sceptic1 who1 giving himself over to the
 dominion of  infidelity1 would blot out
 eternity from the future1 and would    
repudiate  the very being and the       
presence of the ,almighty4 ,as he       
travels through  life away from ,god1   
and with no hope for the future2 as     
immortality is to  him a blank1 and the 
world naught but chaos over which       

destiny and chance  preside1 and death  
is an eternal night1 to what shall we   
liken him1 but to  the raven1 far off   
from home1 flapping its wings in the    
empty air where  every thing that once  
breathed was dead1 and where all was    
silence1  desolation1 and gloom4        
,watch the men that toil for the riches 
of this world1 who day by day ply  their
 exhausting labors1 and nightly dream of
 treasure heaps and gold1  while ,god is
 put far from their every thought1 and  
the gospel is  neglected1 and eternity  
thrust away from them1 and the soul is  
left to  glean its only comforts amid   
the perishable and fading possessions of
  earth1 like the wandering bird        
scouring the unbroken main1 and seeking 
its abiding place among the floating    
wrecks of ruined palaces of bygone      
splendor4    ,or what shall we say of   
those who banish from their minds the   
thoughts of  ,god1 and live only in the 
round of sensual indulgences1           
prostituting their  every faculty to the

 service of the basest appetites1 and   
giving an  unbridled rein to sensual    
propensities8 ,where shall we find their
  prototype1 but in the bird of prey    
that loved to breathe the putrid air1   
and gorge its appetite upon the         
carcasses which the waves washed up4    
,in short1 differ as men may in their   
individual tastes and habits1 there  is 
this one prominent characteristic       
belonging to them all--an utter         
estrangement from ,god and ,christ3 an  
estrangement so inveterate1 that all    
the trials and afflictions and          
disappointments of life are insufficient
 to  bring them to seek security in him4
 ,like the wandering raven1 they fly    
from one to another refuge2 but none    
saith1 ,where is ,god my ,maker1 that   
giveth songs in the night8    ,we turn  
now to consider the opposite description
 of character which is  symbolized by   
the dove1 which found no rest for the   
sole of her foot1 and  hastened back to 
the ark4    ,it is the ,christian who   

has been brought near to ,god1 and lives
 in the  enjoyment of his presence4     
,once1 like the raven1 he loved to      
wander1 and  with the ungodly around    
him1 he careered his way without ,god1  
and chased  to and fro the vanities of  
this world4 ,but by the regenerating    
grace of  ,god1 he is changed into a man
 of another spirit4 ,the alienation and 
distance between him and ,god have been 
overcome1 and he now finds his          
happiness in the felt presence and      
communion of that ,god from whom he has 
so long turned away4    ',tis the       
peculiar characteristic of the          
,christian1 that he seeks1 in the  favor
 and presence of ,god1 those delights   
which the ungodly strive for in  vain   
among the objects of the world4 ,he     
differs from them in his tastes  and    
pursuits4 ,he seeks in one direction1   
they in another4 ,the current of  his   
desires is so changed1 that he feels    
estranged where they are most at  home4 
,what they most value he cares but      

little for4 ,the company they  delight  
in1 he has no real sympathy with4 ,he   
sits not in the seat of the  scorners1  
but his delight is in the law of the    
,lord1 and in his law doth  he meditate 
day and night4    ,he may engage in the 
pursuits of secular life2 he may be seen
 in the  places of business and toil and
 enterprise1 and bear a share in the    
rough  struggle of the outdoor world2   
yet his chief pleasure is not found amid
  the cares of business and the schemes 
of profit1 but in the fellowship of     
,god and in the duties of devotion4     
,here his soul abides in peace4 ,the    
service of ,christ is congenial to his  
spiritual nature4 ,his better  thoughts 
ever dwell upon the unseen and eternal4 
,business and care may  crowd upon him  
through the day2 but he turns his       
footsteps homeward when  the sun goes   
down1 and like the dove returning to the
 ark1 he seeks  communion with ,god in  
the meditations of the closet4 ,it is to
 him a  welcome exchange to leave the   

bustling companionship of the world for 
the  society of the ,saviour4 ,while the
 ungodly revel amid their tumultuous    
gayeties1 he finds in the retirement of 
his devotions those joys that a         
stranger intermeddleth not with1 and    
feels that as the hart panteth after    
the water brook1 so panteth his soul    
after ,god4 ,while temptations thicken  
around him1 and strange voices are      
calling to him and bidding him wander   
further and further away1 he still finds
 his only security in the presence  of  
the ,saviour1 and flies to him like the 
dove to the arms of the  patriarch4     
,god is his refuge too in the season of 
affliction and trial4 ,sometimes the    
world grows doubly dark1 and crosses and
 disappointments overwhelm his  soul2   
but the dove knows where to turn when   
the storm rages1 and he flies  for      
support and consolation to the presence 
of the ,redeemer4 ,in the time  of      
trouble ,god will hide him in his       
pavilion1 in the secret of his          

tabernacle will he hide him1 till these 
calamities be overpast4 ,it is the      
prevailing desire of the ,christian to  
seek after ,god4 ,afflictions1  crosses1
 and disappointments all drive him      
there4 ,like the dove wandering  with   
weary wing over the dark abyss1 he finds
 no rest for the sole of his  foot till 
he betakes himself to the hiding-place  
of ,jesus1 and reflects  how1 ere long1 
the rough billows of life will be       
passed1 and he shall be  safely moored  
in the calm haven of eternity4    ,pause
 here a moment1 and reflect upon the    
radical difference between a  true      
,christian and a worldling4 ,the one is 
brought nigh unto ,god2 the  other is   
without ,god in the world4 ,in the      
prevailing bent and purpose of  their   
lives they are opposites4 ,their        
dispositions lead them in contrary      
directions4 ,the providential dealings  
of ,god with them produce widely        
different results4 ,the same storms of  
affliction which drive the  ,christian1 

like the dove1 homeward to his refuge1  
ofttimes tempt the  ungodly to fly1 like
 the raven1 further and further from the
 ,ark of  safety4 ,the wicked will not  
seek after ,god4    ,these are the two  
great classes of human character which  
the ,bible  everywhere distinguishes4   
,to one or the other class we all       
belong4 ,we may  multiply our           
distinctions between men as we please1  
and assign to one and  another his      
relative position in the scale of human 
excellence2 but at the  last there will 
remain but one broad line of separation 
between those who  walk with ,god1 and  
those who know him not4 ,tried by this  
test1 where shall  we be found8 ,when   
the last storm of death shall gather1   
and the world be  swept away from us1   
shall we be borne in the ,ark of safety 
to the ,ararat  mountains of the        
heavenly land1 and rest beneath the     
effulgent bow of the  ,redeemer's glory2
 or shall we be driven out upon the     
shoreless waters of  an eternity where  

the storms never cease their fury1 and  
where the  blackness of darkness for    
ever broods8    ,this momentous question
 of our future state is being settled by
 our  present character4 ,are you living
 now in the fellowship and favor of     
,god8  ,we are told of the patriarch who
 rode out the deluge1 that through the  
long previous years he walked with ,god4
 ,is such the temper of your soul8  ,are
 you at home with ,christ8 ,is ,god the 
portion of your spirit1 and do you  love
 the consciousness of his presence1 and 
do you fly to him for aid8 ,can  you    
live here within his covenant1 and      
conform to his requirements1 and  lay   
hold upon his promises8 ,can you count  
all things but loss for him1 and  give  
up the world with its pleasures and its 
charms for the society and  the service 
of the ,lord ,jesus8 ,or do you prefer  
to live a stranger to  ,christ1 and a   
worldling in your desires and habits1   
without a shelter1  though eternity must
 be to you a state of exile from all the

 holy and  happy family of ,god8        
,,viii4    ,the ,rainbow4        ,i ,,do
 ,,set ,,my ,,bow ,,in ,,the ,,cloud1   
,,and ,,it ,,shall ,,be ,,for ,a ,,token
 ,,of ,a      ,,covenant ,,between ,,me 
,,and ,,the ,,earth4 ,,and ,,it ,,shall 
,,come ,,to ,,pass1 ,,when ,i           
,,bring ,a ,,cloud ,,over ,,the ,,earth1
 ,,that ,,the ,,bow ,,shall ,,be ,,seen 
,,in ,,the ,,cloud4      ,,gen4 #i3ac1  
#ad4      ,the old world is gone4 ,its  
teeming population has been swept away  
by the  besom of ,jehovah's wrath4 ,the 
earth has been purified by the terrible 
baptism of water1 and refitted to be the
 dwelling-place of new  generations4    
,noah and his family are its sole       
inheritors4 ,the human race  are        
starting anew as it were1 in a new      
world4    ,the ,almighty signalized this
 grand era in the world's history by a  
special  manifestation of himself to    
,noah1 the chief representative of the  
future  generations4 ,he entered into   
covenant with him2 he gave him a new    

grant of  eminent domain1 formally      
installed him as the rightful possessor 
of the  earth1 and bade him repeople it 
and rule it4    ,most cheering must have
 been such tokens of favor and regard   
from the  ,almighty to that lone1       
solitary family as they looked over an  
empty1  desolate world4    ,although    
they were saved1 yet an air of deep     
sadness and melancholy must  have rested
 upon every thing around them4 ,the     
recollection of those awful  scenes     
through which they had passed must have 
haunted their thoughts1 and  troubled   
their slumbers with frightful dreams4   
,what if the sun shone again  in beauty8
 ,what though their children should     
multiply1 and they should  again build  
cities1 and repeople its desolate       
territories8 ,would not the  storm      
clouds gather again1 and the race be    
swept to destruction by similar         
successive judgments8 ,ah1 would they   
not look up with terror every time  the 
heavens grew dark1 and fear lest the    

world should be drowned whenever  the   
rain descended8    ,to allay all such   
apprehensions1 while he commissioned    
them to repossess  the earth1 ,jehovah  
assured the patriarch that the deluge   
would never be  repeated4 ,he kindly    
condescended to enter into covenant with
 ,noah1 that  he and his posterity need 
have no fears of a second deluge2 and   
promised  that he would never do what he
 had done1 and drown the world4 ,the    
text  declares to us what was the       
outward sign or token of this covenant3 
,i do  set my bow in the cloud1 and it  
shall be for a token of a covenant      
between  me and the earth4 ,and it shall
 come to pass1 when ,i bring a cloud    
over the  earth1 that the bow shall be  
seen in the cloud4    ,the idea that the
 rainbow was something more than a mere 
natural  phenomenon1 that it was a      
pledge or token of something which ,god 
had  promised to men1 is preserved among
 the traditions of many heathen         
nations4 ,homer distinctly speaks of it 

in a remarkable passage in the  ,iliad1 
where he describes the glittering armor 
of ,agamemnon as reflecting  various    
lights1 like colored rainbows--         
,jove's wondrous bow1    ,placed1 as a  
sign to man1 amid the skies4    ,before 
considering the spiritual significance  
of this symbol1 the inquiry  naturally  
arises1 ,was the rainbow a new          
phenomenon in the natural world1  seen  
for the first time after the deluge2 or 
had it been a familiar sight  to the    
antediluvians ever since the creation1  
and only selected by ,god and  pointed  
out to ,noah as a memorial of ,his      
promise made to him8    ,the man of     
science may presume to decide this      
question very easily by  showing that   
the rainbow is no supernatural          
phenomenon1 but is explained  on the    
simplest principles of natural          
philosophy2 that it is produced by  the 
refraction of the sun's rays through    
drops of water falling from the  clouds1
 and is always seen when the sun and the

 clouds come into a certain  relative   
position to the beholder2 and therefore1
 that through the  centuries previous to
 the deluge1 mankind must many a time   
have witnessed  the same beautiful arch 
spanning the heavens1 and wondered at   
its  variegated splendors4    ,but there
 are other considerations which have    
inclined learned and  profound scholars 
to the opinion that the rainbow1 for the
 first time  mentioned in the text1 was 
indeed new to ,noah and his family1 and 
that the  generations of men before the 
flood never gazed upon such a sight4    
,we confess a strong bias to this latter
 view4 ,it lends peculiar interest  and 
significancy to this token4 ,it is the  
sign of the promise that ,god  will not 
again drown the world4 ,clouds may      
gather1 storms rage1 torrents  roar1 but
 their fury shall be stayed2 and on the 
spent and receding clouds  shall be hung
 the sun-lit bow1 and from every tint   
and hue of its gorgeous  drapery shall  
come whisperings of assurance to mortals

 who gaze upon it1  that mercy triumphs 
over judgment4    ,i will set my bow in 
the cloud1 says ,jehovah4 ,there1 in the
 midst of the  very elements which have 
caused alarm2 there1 where the          
lightnings flashed  and the thunders    
pealed1 and wrath and darkness gloamed  
overhead1 there  will ,i write my       
covenant in lines of beauty1 and you and
 your posterity  shall read it and      
rejoice4    ,but we need not stop with  
interpreting this symbol as a pledge    
against a  mere physical overthrow of   
the world by water4    ,we seek for a   
deeper spiritual significance in it4    
,although in its primary  application it
 was a sign of ,god's covenant with     
,noah1 it leads our minds  forward to a 
more perfect covenant1 a covenant of    
grace1 in which are  contained the      
promises of ,god which shield his people
 from all spiritual  evils which        
threaten them4    ,the import of the    
rainbow in its spiritual signification  
is worthy of  special notice4 ,we do not

 explain it so generally as some who    
regard it as  a symbol of ,god's        
willingness to receive men into favor   
again1 or that it  only indicates the   
,almighty's faithfulness in fulfilling  
his promises4 ,we  interpret it more    
specially as a symbol of divine         
protection to ,god's  people from       
imminent and threatening dangers--that  
protection pledged in  the covenant of  
grace in ,christ ,jesus to those who    
have fled for refuge to  him4 ,such     
seems to be the idea conveyed by it in  
the vision of ,ezekiel1  where he speaks
 of what he saw over the throne above   
the heavens as the  appearance of the   
bow that is in the cloud in the day of  
rain4 ,a similar  sight was enjoyed by  
,john in ,patmos1 where in vision he    
beheld the throne  in heaven3 ,and there
 was a rainbow round about the throne1  
in sight like  unto an emerald4         
,these references to the rainbow justify
 us in interpreting it as a symbol  of  
grace returning after judgments2 a      

pledge of ,god's promise to stay the    
course of vengeance1 to limit           
threatening evils that they shall not   
destroy1 to arrest impending dangers1   
and succor his people when they are     
most exposed to destruction4    ,the bow
 in the cloud then is not a mere sign of
 ,god's fidelity to his  promises in    
general1 but a particular token of his  
grace nigh at hand in  emergencies1 a   
sign for the hour of trouble and        
distress and alarm1 a  token of         
grace--not when the sky is clear1 but   
when the heavens frown1  when fear comes
 to the soul and it looks anxiously     
round for help4 ,as a  physical         
phenomenon it had this significancy4    
,god set it in the cloud4 ,it  was      
brought forth only in the darkened      
heavens4 ,it was nursed and cradled  in 
the storm4    ,when therefore1 at       
summer's sunset1 ,i gaze upon the       
beautiful iris arching  the eastern     
horizon and resting on its dark         
background of clouds1 my  thoughts go   

out beyond the covenant of ,noah to a   
richer covenant of  grace1 and ,i read  
in its gorgeous colorings a pledge of   
those provisions  against spiritual     
dangers made in the mediatorial work of 
,jesus ,christ4  ,while the physical eye
 is delighted with the beauteous        
spectacle in the  lower heavens1 faith  
soars upward and sees around the throne 
of the  ,almighty's glory a brighter bow
 set there through the mediation of the 
incarnate ,son4 ,it is the pledge and   
token of grace to sinners4 ,it is the   
sign of the covenant of redemption4     
,when1 upon the apostasy of man1 the    
heavens gathered blackness and the      
clouds of divine wrath swept overhead1  
portending a deluge of divine  justice2 
when the guilt of our transgressions    
left us with no covering  from the      
eternal storm1 the eternal ,god placed  
himself between us and  hell1 and by his
 own sacrifice upon the cross drew upon 
himself those  magazines of vengeance4  
,the divine law was satisfied in his    

atonement2 the  clouds broke and        
scattered around the ,almighty's throne4
 ,light streamed  athwart the gloom1 and
 the ,sun of righteousness1 with healing
 in his  beams1 threw out its rays upon 
the retiring storm1 and arched the      
clouds  of justice with the brilliant   
bow of peace and reconciliation4 ,every 
rainbow painted in the natural heavens  
points us to what ,christ has done  in  
the spiritual world4 ,the physical      
eyeball sees the one1 faith gazes  upon 
the other4 ,both are associated with the
 idea of danger1 both bespeak  security 
and deliverance4    ,you perceive then  
the spiritual lesson conveyed to us by  
the rainbow in  the clouds4 ,it tells of
 ,god's covenant of grace with his      
people1 and the  promises under that    
covenant of safety in the midst of      
fears4    ,how adapted is this lesson to
 the condition of believers in their    
present  state4 ,oh1 what could faith do
 without the bow in this stormy1        
troubled  world8 ,how many are the      

clouds which darken the believer's way6 
,but ,god  has set his bow in every one 
of them--his pledge of deliverance and  
support4    ,sometimes the dark cloud of
 his own transgressions settles terribly
 upon  the ,christian's soul4 ,the      
convictions of his heinous guilt almost 
drive  him to despair4 ,he asks himself1
 ,how can mercy reach so vile a sinner8 
how can such iniquity as mine be        
pardoned8 ,vainly does he look within   
himself for any thing to hope for4      
,ashamed and speechless1 he has no      
satisfaction for the law's demands4     
,that law condemns him1 conscience      
condemns him2 but faith discovers       
deliverance in the atonement of the     
,lord  ,jesus4 ,the covenant breaks upon
 his soul--his ,saviour has died for    
him4  ,his guilt is fully atoned for2   
and there is the bow of the covenant    
promises lighting up the cloud4 ,i will 
set my bow in the cloud1 says  ,god1 and
 when ,sinai thunders in the soul ,i    
will arch its summit with the  iris from

 the cross4    ,again1 how do the clouds
 of temptation sometimes thicken over   
the  ,christian's way--temptations from 
within and without4 ,and what           
discouragements press upon him from the 
rising corruptions of his heart  and the
 onsets of the world4 ,how often does he
 groan under his own  weakness1 and ask1
 ,can such a one ever get through to    
heaven8 ,but lo1 in  the covenant there 
are promises exactly meet for his       
condition1 that he  shall be held up to 
the end2 and faith discovers bows in all
 these  clouds1 which whisper to him of 
final triumph4    ,in those clouds of   
temporal disappointment which frequently
 overshadow  him1 marked by the failure 
of business enterprises1 want of success
 in one  and another undertaking1 and   
which doom him to the lot of toil and   
poverty--in those clouds which stamp the
 seal of failure upon his mere  earthly 
life1 ,god sets his bow to comfort all  
his people4 ,it is the  promised        
inheritance of heaven2 the recompense of

 the reward--the  treasures which wax   
not old4 ,here is the ,christian's      
comfort under the  reverses of earthly  
fortune1 and the clouds soften and break
 while faith  gazes upon the bow above  
them4    ,when life's blackest clouds   
gather1 in the forms of bereavement and 
death1  there are promises enough in the
 covenant to gild them all4 ,it shall   
come  to pass when ,i bring a cloud over
 the earth1 that the bow shall be seen  
in  the cloud4 ,this is ,god's covenant 
promise to his people4 ,and would you   
know how faithfully he keeps it1        
contemplate the experience of ,god's    
true  people in trials1 when the world  
was dim with shadows4 ,call to mind your
  own experience1 faithful one4 ,did you
 not find treasured in the promises  of 
grace such comforts as you never knew   
before--a power in prayer1 a  drawing   
near to ,christ1 a witness of the       
,spirit--all producing a peace and      
resignation which kept you from despair8
    ,in all this discipline of trials1  

,god reveals his resources to his       
people2  and in the abundant            
consolations provided for them1 and     
which ,christian  faith appropriates1 in
 the strength given in trials1 in the   
clear shining  of the promises athwart  
the clouds of adversity1 they discover  
the  beautiful significancy and the     
actual fulfilment of ,jehovah's pledge  
and  token to the patriarch1 that he    
would set his bow in the cloud1 and when
  he should bring a cloud over the      
earth1 the bow should be seen in the    
cloud4    ,have you1 my friend1 a vital 
interest in that covenant of grace1     
which  arches life's stormiest days with
 the bow of peace1 and contains the     
pledge of salvation in the future life8 
,these blessings are covenant           
blessings4 ,they come not to us         
naturally1 as a matter of course4 ,they 
are  secured only by a special          
stipulation--an arrangement which ,god  
has made  through ,jesus ,christ1 as a  
,saviour and a ,mediator4 ,they belong  

to us only  by faith in ,him who        
purchased them4 ,have you accepted the  
conditions of  grace3 repented1 sought  
forgiveness1 given your heart to ,god1  
solemnly  embraced the covenant8 ,only  
by so doing can you enjoy the benefits4 
,only  by resting under the everlasting 
covenant can you look up and see the    
bow4    ,ah1 you may stubbornly persist 
in impenitence1 but you will find dark  
days  ere long4 ,ere life be through1   
the skies will grow dark and troubled4  
,clouds of divine wrath will hang       
overhead4 ,clouds black as those which  
gloomed on ,sinai's summit1 will marshal
 their fearful elements1 and fill  you  
with alarm4 ,persist in impenitence1 and
 you will hear naught from them  but    
thunder-voices of a violated law1 and   
see naught but vivid flashes of         
retributive justice4 ,no promises of    
deliverance fringe their edges with a   
thread of silver light2 no sunshine of  
hope breaks between them to  scatter    
them2 no bright bow of safety spans the 

firmament1 and publishes  ,jehovah's    
pledge of reconciliation4 ,outside the  
covenant they are clouds  of wrath1     
portending an eternal deluge of fiery   
indignation which shall  devour the     
adversaries of ,god4 ,fly then for      
refuge2 fly to the shelter of  the      
covenant4 ,come to ,christ ,jesus for   
salvation4 ,come before the storm       
breaks in fury4 ,come where you can     
stand and see the bow when life's       
tempests sweep2 when the heavens are    
dark2 when the night of death  settles4 
,,ix4    ,the ,smoking ,furnace and     
,burning ,lamp4        ,,and ,,it ,,came
 ,,to ,,pass1 ,,that ,,when ,,the ,,sun 
,,went ,,down1 ,,and ,,it ,,was ,,dark1 
,,behold ,a ,,smoking ,,furnace1 ,,and  
,a ,,burning ,,lamp ,,that ,,passed     
,,between ,,those      ,,pieces4 ,,gen4 
#ae3ag4      ,the scene here described  
between ,jehovah and the patriarch is   
one of awful  and mysterious interest4  
,long ago1 when he came out of ,ur of   
the ,chaldees1  ,god promised blessings 

to ,abram and his posterity4 ,but as yet
 there were  no signs of the fulfilment4
 ,many years had since rolled by1 years 
of  fluctuations and trials4 ,the       
stirring events of the war of the four  
kings  and the deliverance of ,lot were 
brought to a close2 and ,abram had once 
more retired to a quiet pastoral life1  
rich1 honored1 powerful among the       
surrounding tribes4    ,but though he   
had grown great1 there was one corroding
 care which preyed  upon his heart4 ,ah1
 what condition of human life is there1 
which has not  its secret sorrow8 ,what 
house so bright as never to have a      
shadow across  its hearth8 ,abram was   
treading along the vale of years1       
childless and a  stranger4 ,eliezer of  
,damascus seemed likely to inherit his  
vast  possessions4    ,at this period1  
when ,abram's anxiety deepened1 and hope
 began to grow  impatient1 ,god appeared
 again to him in vision1 and renewed his
 covenant  promises4 ,and in answer to  
the patriarch's request for some outward

 sign  or ratification1 the ,most ,high 
directed him to slay a heifer1 a        
she-goat1  and a ram1 and divide the    
parts1 and set them the one over against
 the  other1 that one might pass between
 the parts4    ,in ancient times the    
ratification of covenants was attended  
by the most  solemn rites1 in which the 
contracting parties participated4 ,in   
the #cdth  chapter of ,jeremiah there is
 an explicit reference to a ceremony    
like the  one here described3 ,and ,i   
will give the men that have transgressed
 my  covenant1 which have not performed 
the words of the covenant which they    
made before me1 when they cut the calf  
in twain and passed between the  parts  
thereof--the princes of ,judah1 and the 
princes of ,jerusalem1 the  eunuchs1 and
 the priests1 and all the people of the 
land1 which passed  between the parts of
 the calf--,i will even give them into  
the hand of  their enemies4 ,in these   
solemnities the contracting party or    
parties  passed between the parts of the

 slain victim1 in token of their full   
assent to the stipulations made1        
imprecating upon themselves a most      
bitter  curse if they should violate    
them4 ,the ceremony was of the nature of
 a  most solemn oath4    ,nor was it    
confined to the ,israelitish nation     
alone1 but similar rites  were observed 
among other people4 ,in the third ,book 
of the ,iliad1 ,homer  describes the    
solemn ratification of the covenant     
between the ,greeks and  the ,trojans1  
according to the terms of which         
,menelaus and ,paris were to  determine 
the great quarrel between them in single
 combat4 ,victims were  slain1 their    
heads distributed among the chiefs of   
the hostile parties1  their palpitating 
limbs placed opposite to each other on  
the ground1 while  the officiating      
priest uttered a prayer to ,jupiter1    
accompanied by a most  awful imprecation
 upon any one who should break the      
solemn oath4 ,livy  also1 the ,roman    
historian1 records a like solemnity on  

the occasion when  the ,roman and ,alban
 nation agreed to settle their contest  
by the combat of  the three ,horatii and
 the three ,curiatii4 ,then too the     
,roman priest slew  the victim1 and     
called ,jupiter to witness their vows1  
and strike the  violator as he struck   
the victim4    ,in this fifteenth       
chapter of ,genesis1 the sacred writer  
describes a sacred  institution1 which  
,homer1 a thousand years later1 found   
among the ,greeks2  and the ,roman      
historian1 still later1 records as in   
use among his  countrymen4 ,the intent1 
or meaning of the solemnity1 was        
evident4 ,abram  well understood it2 for
 without any particular instruction     
recorded1 he  prepared the sacrifice4   
,it must have been a day of overwhelming
 interest to the patriarch4 ,early  in  
the morning ,god directed him to make   
his preparations4 ,he obeyed with       
promptness1 and slew the animals1 and   
arranged their parts upon the  ground4  
,having passed between them himself1    

thus acknowledging his  obligations in  
the covenant1 he sat down alone to wait 
for ,jehovah to  signify his presence4  
,what strange1 unearthly thoughts       
revolved in his  anxious mind6 ,what a  
condition for a creature to be in--a    
lonely man  watching for ,god to come6  
,the day wore by2 the sun was far down  
the west2 the shadows were deepening  on
 the earth3 the weary patriarch dropped 
his head upon his breast1 and  slept4 ,a
 horror of great darkness fell upon him2
 and then came a vision  and a voice1   
which revealed to him the future4 ,when 
this had passed1 night  had set in2 and 
in the darkness the weary watcher       
waited1 near the limbs  of his slain    
victims1 for ,jehovah to reveal his     
presence and seal his  promises1 till at
 length1 through the thickening gloom   
and spectral  silence1 the ,shechinah is
 discovered1 moving in awful majesty    
near the  sacrifice4 ,a smoking furnace 
and a burning lamp passed between those 
pieces4    ,abram understood it all3    

,god's visible presence was before him2 
,jehovah  had ratified his covenant2 the
 deed was done4 ,the patriarch was      
satisfied4  ,he had not been imposed    
upon by his fancy2 he had not been      
deceived by  some ignis fatuus4 ,it was 
,jehovah's presence he had looked upon2 
it was  ,jehovah's own doings1 making   
his covenant sure to him4    ,yet all he
 saw was a smoking furnace and a burning
 lamp pass between the  pieces4 ,he     
heard no voice2 he saw no living        
personal form3 but that  appearance     
before him was ,jehovah's sign4 ,he     
doubted not a moment2 he  asked for     
nothing more4 ,it is evident that the   
manner in which ,god  signified his     
presence on this occasion had a peculiar
 significance in it1  that there was a  
peculiar fitness in the form which he   
assumed--a smoking  furnace and a       
burning lamp--rather than some other    
visible form4    ,we believe that these 
signs indicated not only that ,jehovah  
was there1 but  who that ,jehovah was4  

,they exhibit ,god as hiding1 and yet   
revealing  himself4 ,the smoking        
furnace1 dimly visible1 and followed by 
the burning  lamp1 presents the side    
which the ,almighty turns towards us1   
marked by  obscurity1 and light4 ,the   
,most ,high is known1 and yet unknown2  
revealed  to us1 and yet concealed4     
,and we believe that a correct view of  
,god1 as exhibited to us in his word    
and providence1 will correspond with the
 view which the patriarch had of  him in
 the loneliness and darkness of that    
night1 when ,he sealed ,his  covenant   
with him4    ,we hold that in the goings
 forth of his providential government   
for  thousands of years1 and in the     
utterance of his word1 there are the    
same  traces of light and obscurity1 of 
concealment and illumination1 which were
  symbolized to ,abram2 and the same    
,god who passed between the pieces of   
his  sacrifice under the form of a      
smoking furnace and a burning lamp1 is  
still  passing before us all in a like  

manner4    ,such is the ,almighty       
whenever he turns himself towards us4   
,and while ,i  gaze with the patriarch  
upon the awful solemnities of that hour1
 that  smoking furnace and burning lamp 
seem to move1 not only across that spot1
  but over the ages and the world1 and  
indicate the presence and the doings  of
 ,god in all the conduct of his         
government4    ,turn first to the       
written revelation which he has made to 
us through  prophet and evangelist4 ,in 
the very first promise made to man after
 the  fall1 so dim yet cheering1 did he 
not pass before ,adam much as he did    
before the patriarch8 ,in that promise  
of the seed of the woman bruising  the  
serpent's head1 so vague1 so indefinite 
and obscure1 there seems at  first only 
the smoking furnace2 but while we       
steadily look at it1 it  brightens into 
a burning lamp1 which beckons faith to  
look down the future  and hope for      
deliverance from the curse4    ,in all  
that ,god has revealed of himself and   

his purposes in his word1 he  passes    
before us in mystery as well as light4  
,he lifts the veil but a  little way2 he
 allows us to see but a part of his     
plans and doings4    ,the prophetic     
parts of the ,old ,testament ,scriptures
 illustrate this  blending of obscurity 
and light4 ,the predictions of a coming 
,messiah were  clear1 and yet           
mysterious2 so that the ,jews failed    
utterly to interpret  them aright1 or to
 recognize ,him when ,he appeared as ,he
 of whom ,moses and  the prophets did   
write4 ,those predictions now appear    
plain to us1 for we  study them in the  
clear light of their fulfilment4    ,in 
like manner1 other prophecies of great  
events which have already been          
accomplished--as the ,babylonish        
captivity1 the overthrow of ancient     
cities  and kingdoms1 and the           
destruction of ,jerusalem--now seem to  
us most  graphic and distinct1 because  
history and facts have thrown their     
light  upon them4 ,but of those         

prophecies which yet await their        
fulfilment1 how  true is it that a veil 
of obscurity still rests upon them4 ,how
 various and  conflicting have been the 
theories of those who have anxiously    
studied  them4 ,the restoration of the  
,jews1 the destruction of antichrist1   
the  second coming of ,christ1 the      
millennium reign--these and the like    
subjects  have taxed the ingenuity of   
the learned for ages4 ,yet all have     
failed to  find out the ,almighty's     
specific programme1 or to tell          
beforehand what  shall be the exact     
fulfilment4 ,the ,god of prophecy passes
 before us as a  smoking furnace1 and a 
burning lamp4    ,the strictly doctrinal
 portions of ,god's word exhibit him to 
us in this  twofold attitude of         
obscurity and of light4 ,plainly enough 
has he revealed  to us our duty4 ,clear 
and authoritative is his voice1 speaking
 to us in  the ,decalogue4 ,the burning 
lamp shines clear and steady through all
 the  preceptive deliverances of the    

,scriptures2 but ah1 the great questions
 and  paradoxes which have perplexed the
 human soul in all ages1 the unsolved   
problems of natural religion over which 
thought has wearied and despaired1  are 
left unanswered4 ,how sin could be      
allowed to enter a moral system2 the    
harmony of the divine foreknowledge with
 human freedom2 the election of  grace2 
man's moral helplessness and            
responsibility--these and such like     
subjects remain unexplained4 ,revelation
 does not attempt to lift the           
mysterious cloud which still hangs over 
them4 ,jehovah condescends to no        
explanation of his doings2 nor by a     
single word does he seek to vindicate   
the infinite wisdom of his              
administration4 ,clouds and darkness are
 round  about him4 ,with none of us does
 he take counsel4 ,the great truths of  
revelation reach beyond our grasp4 ,we  
see but in part1 and we know but in     
part4 ,the gospel brings us near to     
,god2 but even there he covereth the    

face of his throne4 ,the intermingling  
of obscurity and light which was        
symbolized by the smoking furnace and   
the burning lamp1 characterizes the     
entire field of the ,almighty's         
revelations4    #b4 ,god1 as manifested 
in his providential government1 is      
properly  exhibited to us in the imagery
 of the text4 ,his ways are past finding
 out4  ,when we contemplate the world at
 any particular period1 we are lost in  
confusion and perplexity4 ,we feel      
assured that the ,almighty governs2 but 
his purposes are hidden4 ,mankind seem  
scarcely to notice his presence4        
,seldom can we detect his controlling   
hand4 ,it is only by extending our      
observation over a wider field1 and     
taking in the grand sweep of  providence
 through successive generations1 that we
 attain to the clear  conceptions of his
 moral government4 ,at first view1 we   
see little of his  movements1 and they  
are indefinite and obscured1 like the   
dim smoking  furnace passing by us2 but 

by a more patient and careful study we  
are  enabled to discover that all the   
events which take place in the world are
  under the ,almighty's superintendence1
 and that1 back of all the  derangement 
and confusion of human affairs1 there is
 an unseen but mighty  hand bending the 
current of events1 which by the         
interposition of checks  and restraints 
and judgments makes the wrath of man to 
praise him4    ,thus in the midst of all
 the darkness of providence1 there is   
discoverable  a plan of infinite wisdom4
 ,and he who humbly and devoutly        
meditates upon  the progress of human   
events1 detects the presence of the     
,almighty1  ofttimes indeed vaguely1    
like the feeble glimmerings of the      
smoking  furnace1 but often distinctly  
and clearly1 like the burning lamp4     
,thus  does ,jehovah1 in his providence1
 move through the ages in much the same 
manner as he appeared to the patriarch1 
when the furnace and the lamp  passed   
between the pieces of his sacrifice4    

,but why need we range abroad8 ,why look
 far away8 ,who that devoutly studies   
the ways of ,providence towards himself1
 who that habitually contemplates  what 
he has passed and is passing through1   
does not discover the ,almighty  wrapped
 in the same mysterious drapery which he
 wore when he appeared to  ,abram8      
,yes2 the smoking furnace and the       
burning lamp still pass before us1 and  
shape our lives4 ,how many times has    
,god touched the hidden springs of      
action1 and turned the current of our   
history6 ,how often has he  mysteriously
 hedged up our way1 and disappointed us2
 made our surest  calculations fail1 our
 favorite plans miscarry6 ,how has he   
led us by a way  we knew not1 and caused
 us to stand perplexed1 bewildered1 and 
alarmed at  his unlooked-for            
interpositions6 ,what sudden calamities 
have befallen us2  what sore            
chastisements have come upon us6 ,how   
many times has ,god's face  been hid in 
clouds6 ,how often have we asked1 ,what 

can his doings mean8 ,why  does he      
scatter our possessions8 ,why is health 
prostrated1 and we left to  languish    
amid pains and sicknesses8 ,why did he  
let death make those little  graves in  
the churchyard1 where our darlings are  
sleeping1 who used to  fill our homes   
with sunshine1 and paint rainbows in the
 clouds of life's  pilgrimage8 ,oh how  
many times are we perplexed at the      
,almighty's doings6  ,in such seasons of
 disappointment and affliction1 we think
 upon ,god and  are troubled4 ,he passes
 before us in the thick gloom and       
darkness of the  night of sorrow3 about 
all we can see of him is a smoking      
furnace1 with  its smouldering embers1  
scarcely emitting from within a pale1   
faint1  spectral gleam1 while dim       
wreaths of clouds whirl and roll above  
it4 ,god's  ways seem dark and          
impenetrable4 ,such are our first       
impressions4    ,but while we continue  
to gaze upon his doings1 and follow out 
his  providences to their conclusions2  

when1 after ,time with his soothing balm
  has assuaged the first sharp pangs of 
our wounded hearts1 we study  carefully 
the tendencies and results of ,god's    
dispensations with us1 ,oh  how often do
 the clouds break and scatter1 and the  
deep mysteries of his  dealings receive 
a new interpretation4    ,how many of   
our doubts and questions find an answer4
 ,how do future months  and years       
vindicate the wisdom of those doings    
which we once thought could  not be     
vindicated4 ,how do we afterwards see   
that when ,god took away some  blessings
 which we dearly loved1 it was to make  
room for greater ones to  come4 ,when he
 stopped our way in some favorite       
pursuit of life1 and  beckoned us       
against our will in another path1 he    
saved us from ruin and  disasters which 
we were blind to4 ,when he snatched our 
loved one away to  heaven1 he broke up  
the sinful idolatry which was ensnaring 
us1 and called  us heavenward too4 ,when
 he dashed from our hand the cup of     

worldly  prosperity we were pressing to 
our lips1 it was because we were growing
  delirious under its draughts4    ,it  
is thus1 while we calmly trace through  
successive years ,god's doings1  we     
begin to see the furnace grow luminous1 
and close behind it the burning  lamp   
lights up the ,almighty's footsteps4 ,we
 may not indeed comprehend the  whole4  
,we cannot clear up all the mystery that
 surrounds him4 ,but though  the furnace
 still continues to move and smoke      
before us1 yet the lamp is  ever going  
with it2 and its cheering rays relieve  
the gloom1 so that faith  and hope can  
follow4    ,such is the method of ,god's
 dealings with us all4 ,he passes before
 us in  mingled mystery and light4 ,the 
longer we trace his doings1 the clearer 
is  the light4 ,a hasty1 superficial    
study of his providence leaves us in    
painful gloom and doubt4 ,but a patient 
and humble attention to his plans       
reveals much to relieve our fears and   
inspire in a ,christian a steady1       

trusting1 joyous confidence4    ,we must
 never expect to arrive at a full and   
undimmed prospect here4 ,we  see but in 
part4 ,but ah1 ,i think ,i can see      
something in the gradual  unfoldings of 
,god's providence1 and in the steps the 
believer now passes  through1 which     
heralds a coming period when we shall   
see the whole4 ,even  now the shadows   
grow fainter the longer we gaze4 ,a grey
 light streaks the  field of vision     
which was once in total darkness4 ,even 
now1 when faith  turns her eye out long 
and steady1 night seems softening into  
morning4 ,and  from these phenomena ,i  
expect yet to see the whole4 ,even now1 
while ,i  watch year after year1 the    
furnace smokes less and less1 the lamp  
burns  stronger1 brighter4 ,and a little
 way beyond me heaven waits to welcome  
me1 where ,i shall see as ,i am seen1   
and know as ,i am known4 ,oh blessed    
hope6    ,a little longer we follow     
where the furnace and the lamp lead the 
way2 but  when we arrive at yonder world

 the furnace will be left behind4 ,no   
cloud  and smoke there to obstruct our  
vision2 but the lamp of fire alone      
remains4 ,it is ,god's unvailed glory   
illuminating the realms of bliss4 ,oh1  
weary pilgrim1 keep close to the furnace
 as it moves before you like the  pillar
 with which ,jehovah led the twelve     
tribes in the desert1 and it will  guide
 you home4 ,and then it will smoke no   
more2 but the lamp of fire will  never  
go out1 for in its exhaustless splendor 
you shall spend an eternity  of joy4    
,our subject thus presented1 furnishes  
materials for a few profitable          
reflections4    #a4 ,in this blending of
 mystery and light which characterizes  
,god's present  manifestations1 he has  
in view the promotion of his own glory4 
,for the  pure and unfallen inhabitants 
of heaven1 it may be proper for him to  
unvail himself and his doings1 and allow
 them to contemplate him in  cloudless  
majesty2 but when he turns himself to   
sinful creatures like us1  it is        

becoming in him whom we have offended   
not to allow us to approach  too near4  
,a jealous reticence marks his          
revelations4 ,his infinite glory  and   
majesty impress our minds as deeply by  
what he hides from us1 as by  what he   
shows us4 ,his silence is sometimes as  
awfully eloquent as his  speech4 ,the   
dim1 smoking furnace often conveys to us
 ideas of his  incomprehensible might   
and majesty and greatness as deeply as  
does the  burning lamp4    #b4 ,the     
,most ,high has designed this obscure   
and mixed economy of his to be  a source
 of moral discipline to us all4    ,it  
serves to check our arrogance and       
presumption1 and promotes true          
humility4 ,it teaches us that he has    
ways that are past our finding out1  and
 that all our boasted wisdom is folly   
when compared with his4 ,it tells  vain 
man that he cannot tread in the         
,almighty's footsteps1 nor fathom his   
deep designs4    ,our entire dependence 
too is thrust upon our convictions by   

this mode of  the ,almighty's working4  
,often we are forced to feel that we    
cannot rely  upon our own forecast and  
prudence4 ,our own will is not strong   
enough to  shape events and make them   
subserve our wishes4 ,god's unseen hand 
is ever  interfering1 and reminding us  
that without his blessing we can do     
nothing4    ,and how too is faith tried 
and encouraged by this economy3 tried   
when  all we can see of ,god1 many      
times1 is like a smoking furnace1 dark  
and  obscure1 when reason asks and gets 
no answers2 and anon encouraged1 when   
through the mystery there shines the    
burning lamp4    ,this present life is  
the great school of ,christian faith4   
,where reason's  eyesight fails1 faith  
can see the way4 ,it can see but in     
part1 it is true1  for our earthly state
 answers well to the prophet            
,zechariah's description3  ,and it shall
 come to pass in that day1 that the     
light shall not be clear  nor dark4 ,but
 it shall be one day which shall be     

known to the ,lord3 not  day1 nor night2
 but it shall come to pass that at      
evening time it shall be  light4        
,moreover1 how adapted is our subject to
 cheer ,god's people and prompt  them to
 quiet1 patient resignation under dark  
and afflictive providences4  ,what if   
sometimes we can see nothing but the    
furnace smoking2 we know that  behind it
 somewhere is the lamp of fire4    ,how 
too are we impressed with the truth that
 there is something left for  us to     
learn in heaven1 something yet          
unrevealed which we do not see1 but     
which we hope for1 which makes us       
reconciled to the thought of leaving    
this dim1 misty realm of time1 and to   
wait in anxious expectation till the    
day break and the shadows flee away4 ,oh
 be content1 ,christian1 a little       
longer to walk by faith1 for by and by  
the smoking furnace will have  passed   
away for ever1 and heaven will welcome  
you to its cloudless  revelations4      
,learn to walk humbly before that ,god  

who surrounds your path4 ,see him in    
the clearest form in which he has       
revealed himself1 even in the incarnate 
,son our ,saviour4 ,through him alone   
can we approach the ,father4 ,through   
him  alone can we hope to see his face1 
and obtain salvation and deliverance    
from his wrath4          ,x4    ,the    
,altar of ,incense4        ,,and ,,thou 
,,shalt ,,make ,,an ,,altar ,,to ,,burn 
,,incense ,,upon4 ,,and ,,thou ,,shalt  
,,put      ,,it ,,before ,,the ,,vail   
,,that ,,is ,,by ,,the ,,ark ,,of ,,the 
,,testimony1 ,,before ,,the             
,,mercy-,,seat ,,that ,,is ,,over ,,the 
,,testimony1 ,,where ,i ,,will ,,meet   
,,with ,,thee4      ,,exod4 #cj3a1 #f4  
,the saying of ,augustine1 that in the  
,old ,testament the ,new is hidden1 and 
in the ,new ,testament the ,old is      
opened up1 agrees with the teachings of 
,paul in the epistle to the ,hebrews1   
which declare that the rites and        
ceremonies of the ,mosaic institute     
serve unto the example and shadows of   

heavenly things4 ,this being so1 the    
institutions of the ancient church of   
,god are not obsolete and meaningless to
 us4 ,although their literal  observance
 has ceased1 still the profound and     
important truths of which  they were the
 symbols survive--truths which shine    
forth unveiled in the  clearer          
revelation of the gospel4 ,these ancient
 symbols claim our careful  study still2
 for they are helps to faith now1 and   
serve to illustrate and  enforce those  
didactic truths of the ,new ,testament  
which1 through the  feebleness of our   
spiritual perceptions1 often fail to    
impress us as they  should4    ,our     
attention is directed by the text to the
 altar of incense placed in  the        
tabernacle which ,moses constructed     
under the immediate direction of  ,god4 
,the tabernacle was designed to be the  
local habitation of ,god1 to bring  him 
near to his covenant people1 and to keep
 up a direct intercourse  between him   
and them4    ,through it ,god           

condescended to help the natural        
weakness of the human  mind4 ,in dealing
 with divine and spiritual things1 the  
soul universally  feels the need of     
help4 ,it is lost in the infinity of    
,god's nature4 ,it  longs for some      
definite apprehension of him1 some      
nearer fellowship than  it can enjoy in 
the conception of the great unseen and  
distant ,jehovah4  ,the pathetic desire 
of ,job finds a deep response in every  
thoughtful soul3  ,oh that ,i knew where
 ,i might find him1 that ,i might come  
even to his  seat4    ,the gospel       
dispensation satisfies this craving for 
some visible link to  conduct our       
thoughts to ,god1 by exhibiting to us   
,god manifest in the  flesh--the divine 
,word dwelling among us4 ,but before    
,christ came no such  aid appeared4 ,god
 however gave to his ancient church the 
tabernacle1 where  he would dwell2 thus 
bringing distinctly to their minds his  
presence in  the midst of them4 ,here   
lies the spiritual significance of that 

sacred  structure4 ,it was ,god's       
dwelling-place among the people4 ,it    
brought ,god  near to them1 holding     
converse with them1 and approachable by 
them4    ,this sacred structure         
consisted of two distinct parts3 the    
inner chamber1  called the holy of      
holies1 where ,jehovah dwelt4 ,there was
 the ark of the  covenant1 upon which   
rested the mercy-seat1 and over which   
hovered the two  cherubim with extended 
wings4 ,there the shechinah abode1 the  
strange1  unearthly sign of ,jehovah's  
presence4    ,this hallowed apartment   
was hidden from the public gaze4 ,no    
creature  footstep dared to cross its   
threshold1 save the high-priest1 and he 
but  once a year1 on the great day of   
atonement4 ,god indeed dwelt among his  
people1 but it was in awful1 mysterious1
 solitary grandeur1 which allowed  no   
rude familiarity1 no irreverent         
approach4    ,the second apartment of   
the tabernacle was called the holy      
place1 where  the priests and ,levites  

daily ministered2 the furniture of which
 was the  altar of incense1 the table of
 show-bread1 and the golden candlestick 
with  its seven lamps4 ,the vail        
separated this part from the holy of    
holies4  ,here the people appeared only 
by their representatives in the priestly
  office4    ,surrounding the entire    
structure was the court1 enclosed by    
curtains1  where the ,israelites        
assembled and brought their sacrificial 
offerings4 ,in  this court stood the    
altar of burnt-offerings4 ,here was the 
spot where the  blood of the bullocks   
and of rams was shed2 where the altar   
fires blazed2  where the robed and      
mitred priest gathered the blood with   
which he entered  the holy place4 ,here 
the penitents confessed their sins and  
sought for  pardon4 ,here the grand     
scene was enacted which proclaimed      
continually that  without the shedding  
of blood there was no remission4        
,bear in mind this description of the   
several parts of the tabernacle and     

their design1 while we approach         
immediately to ,,the ,,altar ,,of       
,,incense and  study the deep spiritual 
significancy which surrounds it4        
,observe1 that connected with this      
sacred structure there are but two      
altars4    ,the first one that confronts
 us when we would approach where ,god   
is1 is  the altar of burnt-offerings1 in
 the outer court4 ,we gaze here upon the
  bloody sacrifices4 ,here are the      
touching scenes of suffering and death4 
,here are the types of the great        
atonement made in the passion and death 
of  ,jesus ,christ4 ,here we are taught 
that if we would attempt to reach ,god's
  presence1 we must first of all come to
 the blood of ,christ4 ,we must stand   
by the altar of burnt-offering4 ,we must
 find the ,lamb slain from the          
foundation of the world4 ,there was no  
way into the holy of holies of the      
tabernacle but by that altar4 ,there is 
now no way to ,god but through a  dying 
,saviour4    ,within and beyond this    

altar1 in the holy place1 stood the     
second altar1  the altar of incense4    
,what was the spiritual significance of 
this altar8  ,on it no victims were     
slain1 no blood was shed2 but the       
priests daily  burnt upon it incense1 a 
preparation of pure frankincense and    
other sweet  spices1 which yielded a    
fragrant and refreshing odor4    ,the   
symbolical meaning of this              
incense-offering is plainly given us in 
the  ,scriptures4 ,it is not            
propitiation or atonement2 that is made 
already in  the outer court2 but it is  
the pure devotion of the saints--the    
prayers1  intercessions1 and worship of 
,god's true people4 ,thus ,david says1  
in the  #adast ,psalm1 ,let my prayer be
 set forth before thee as incense1 and  
the  lifting up of my hands as the      
evening sacrifice4 ,here is a direct    
reference to the priests' burning       
incense on the altar every evening at   
the time of sacrifice1 when they entered
 the holy place to light the lamps  of  

the golden candlestick4    ,the prophet 
,malachi also describes the pure worship
 of the universal  church of ,god by the
 same symbol3 ,for from the rising of   
the sun1 even  unto the going down of   
the same1 my name shall be great among  
the  ,gentiles3 and in every place      
incense shall be offered unto my name1  
and a  pure offering2 for my name shall 
be great among the heathen1 saith the   
,lord of hosts4 ,again1 in ,luke #a3aj1 
we read that when ,zacharias the  priest
 went into the temple to burn incense1  
the whole multitude of the  people were 
praying without at the time of incense2 
that is1 while they  stood in the outer 
court and worshipped1 the incense was   
burning in the  holy place before the   
vail4 ,but more impressive still is the 
scene which  ,john witnessed in his     
vision of the heavenly world3 ,and      
another angel  came and stood at the    
altar1 having a golden censer3 and there
 was given  unto him much incense1 that 
he should offer it with the prayers of  

all the  saints upon the golden altar   
which was before the throne4 ,and the   
smoke of  the incense which came up with
 the prayers of the saints1 ascended up 
before ,god out of the angel's hand4 ,in
 chapter five he declares that the      
golden vials full of odors are the      
prayers of saints4    ,in these         
,scripture passages we have a clear     
explanation of this altar of  incense   
standing in the holy place4 ,the        
offering made upon it is not of  blood2 
it is the fragrant breath of flowers1   
the odor of beauteous plants1  exhaling 
their sweet and ravishing perfume from  
their own inner life1 and  filling the  
holy place with a refreshing vapor most 
delightful to the  sense4 ,this is      
,god's chosen figure of the devotions   
and prayers of true  believing hearts   
who approach near to him4 ,these        
offerings of the heart  are sweet to    
,jehovah as the balmy fragrance of      
choicest flowers4 ,they are  the soul's 
exhalations1 the breathings of its      

spiritual life1 the fervent  aspirations
 of the renewed and sanctified spirit1  
as delightful to ,god as  are the       
sweetest odors of the rarest plants and 
spices to the bodily  sense4    ,oh what
 a view do we get of ,god while we crowd
 around this incense altar4  ,now we can
 pray in earnest2 now we can offer him  
our best and holiest  affections2 now we
 pour out our thanksgivings and         
confessions2 for our  worship rolls     
heavenward like the fragrant cloud of   
burning incense1 and  ,god above is     
pleased to accept it and to bless it4   
,but let us be careful what we call     
worship4 ,let us not forget that the    
incense of our prayers and devotion     
derives its perfume directly from the   
intercession of ,christ1 who1 as our    
high-priest1 has gone into the holiest  
before us with his blood4 ,without a    
living faith in him1 a vital union  with
 him1 so that he intercedes not only    
for1 but in us by his ,holy  ,spirit1 we
 cannot stand before this altar4    ,we 

have no incense4 ,if there be any       
excellency in our prayers1 or purity  in
 our devotions1 to insure their         
acceptance1 it is because of his ,spirit
  making intercession for us4 ,we burn  
our incense before the mercy-seat1 and  
the cloud rolls heavenward from the     
altar2 but whatever fragrance it bears  
is derived from the cloud already there1
 the incense of the ,saviour's          
intercession1 with which it mingles and 
floats around the throne1  breathing    
sweet odors before ,jehovah's face4     
,we are standing in the holy place4 ,let
 us examine well the incense we  presume
 to offer1 for says ,jehovah1 ,ye shall 
offer no strange incense  thereon1 nor  
burnt-sacrifice1 nor meat-offering3     
neither shall ye pour  drink-offering   
thereon4 ,special directions were given1
 and special care  was taken for the    
preparation of this incense of the      
tabernacle4 ,it was  associated with the
 deepest sacredness4 ,the people were   
forbidden to use  it upon any common    

occasion2 the priests alone could burn  
it upon the  altar4    ,is it in the    
power of language to teach us more      
impressively than this  incense-altar   
does1 that we should come with the      
utmost care and  preparation to present 
to ,god our prayers and worship8 ,think 
not that any  thing and every thing you 
may bring as incense will be accepted4  
,vain will  be your lip-service2 vain   
your cold1 heartless offerings4 ,strange
 incense  it is you profess to burn when
 the soul still harbors its evil        
passions1  when pride and worldliness   
and sensuality are cherished there4     
,there may  be the bowed head1 and the  
bent knee1 and the solemn utterance of  
devotion2 but ,god's immediate eye is on
 you1 and will detect the emptiness  of 
all your service4 ,such service is a    
profanation of the holy place4 ,such    
incense only provokes the ,most ,high to
 anger4 ,beware lest the fire you       
kindle to burn it with break forth upon 
you and consume you1 for says  ,jehovah1

 ,ye shall offer no strange incense upon
 my altar4 ,what then must  be the state
 of our hearts in order that we may     
bring a pure offering of  incense before
 ,god8 ,what is necessary to acceptable 
prayer and worship8    ,to answer this1 
come once more by the altar and examine 
its position4 ,it  stands in the holy   
place of the tabernacle4 ,to reach it   
the worshipper  must come through the   
outer court--must pass the altar of     
burnt-offering4  ,there he learns that  
there is no access to ,god except by    
blood4 ,there he  learns of atonement   
through the sacrifice of ,christ4 ,there
 he stands as a  sinner who needs an    
expiation4 ,there he makes his          
confession1 and lays his  hand upon the 
head of the sacrificial victim4 ,he can 
get to the  incense-altar only after he 
has stood there and found a propitiation
 for  his sins4    ,learn then1 that if 
you would assay to approach ,god1 you   
must come first  of all to the cross4   
,you must find an atonement for your    

sins through the  ,lamb of ,god4 ,there 
is no other way of access to him but by 
faith in the  blood of ,jesus4 ,come    
first to ,calvary1 and gaze upon the    
great  propitiation1 the ,victim dying  
amid the altar-fires of divine justice4 
,come as a sinner1 for pardon and       
purification4 ,come with his blood      
sprinkled upon you1 with faith in his   
merits only1 or else you cannot gain    
access to ,god4    #b4 ,the altar of    
incense stood very near the holy of     
holies1 the immediate  dwelling-place of
 ,god4 ,and thou shalt put it before the
 vail that is by  the ark of the        
testimony1 before the mercy-seat that is
 over the  testimony1 where ,i will meet
 with thee4 ,to burn our incense upon   
this  altar we must come very near to   
the mercy-seat1 to the vail1 to the holy
  of holies4 ,faith in the merits of a  
,redeemer emboldens us to take this     
place4 ,it is most holy ground we stand 
on when we offer our praises and        
prayers upon this altar4 ,we are close  

to ,god4 ,the incense-cloud ascends1    
and penetrates the inner sanctuary4 ,we 
gain a fellowship and communion  with   
,god4 ,faith brings us to cordial       
intimacy with ,god4 ,such is the  nature
 of that acceptable worship which was so
 vividly symbolized by the  burning     
incense in the holy place before the    
mercy-seat4    #c4 ,but it is worthy of 
remark that near as was this altar to   
the ,shechinah  and the cherubim1 the   
vail still hung between4 ,near as we    
draw to ,god in  prayer and worship1 he 
is still invisible to sense4 ,christ1   
our great  ,intercessor1 has entered    
within the vail4 ,our vision cannot     
follow him1  whom not having seen we    
love4 ,we cannot yet gaze upon the      
immediate glory2  we cannot yet approach
 the throne4 ,the vail hangs before us1 
and we walk  by faith1 not by sight4 ,we
 stand with holy reverence1 and bring   
the  incense of our hearts upon the     
altar2 but we dare not attempt to look  
within4 ,faith stops there1 waiting at  

times to catch the whisperings of  grace
 from off the mercy-seat1 and to hear   
the rustling of the vail4  ,there will  
,i meet with thee1 says ,god4 ,there the
 true worshipper will  hear the answers 
to his prayers2 there will the soul find
 peace and  blessedness4    ,such are   
some of the great truths symbolically   
taught in this department  of the       
,jewish tabernacle4 ,nor can it be said 
that the pious ,israelites did  not     
understand them4 ,they read the         
impressive lessons2 they saw the        
meaning of those rites2 they looked     
beyond the outward and the sensible4 ,i 
verily believe they had a quicker       
discernment of the deep spiritual       
meaning of ,god's ancient ritual service
 than many so-called ,christians who    
boast of gospel light and privileges4   
,yes2 it might be well for many to go   
to school to ,old ,testament believers  
to revive their piety1 to follow the    
ancient priest through the solemnities  
of the tabernacle service1 and  learn   

from the sweet singer of ,israel the    
spirit of devotion4    ,what a view does
 this subject give us of what true      
worship is4 ,it is the  incense of the  
soul rising up to heaven like a perfumed
 cloud4 ,it is near  fellowship of the  
heart with ,god4 ,the prayers and       
confessions1 the  supplications and     
thanksgivings of the saint bring him    
close to the  mercy-seat4 ,nothing but  
the vail hangs between him and ,god4    
,there will ,i  meet with thee1 saith   
,jehovah4 ,this is the ,old ,testament  
view of true  devotion4 ,oh how far     
beyond the cold and distant formalism1  
the hackneyed  routine of many ,sabbath 
services of these ,new ,testament times4
 ,oh was not  ,god nearer in thought to 
many a pious ,jew standing in the       
tabernacle  court1 than he is to        
multitudes in our gospel sanctuaries1   
who gather  there1 not to meet with ,god
 and tremble and rejoice in his felt    
presence1  but only to listen to a      
creature worm1 and find entertainment in

 the  eloquence of the preacher8        
,again1 how strait appears the way of   
access to ,god4 ,how carefully must we  
approach him4 ,many seem to think that  
,god is easily accessible1 and that     
they can come to him at any time and in 
any way they please2 that little  or no 
preparation is needed to gain his favor2
 that the sinner in the hour  of sudden 
alarm can cry for mercy and be saved2   
that the dying reprobate  may mutter a  
prayer and go to heaven2 that the       
heartless formalist may  read his       
collects and please ,god2 that no matter
 what may be the creed or  life1 ,god   
may be found whenever the sinner wishes 
for him2 that all may  seek and find him
 in the way they please1 and one way is 
as good as  another4 ,such are the loose
 notions many entertain of gaining      
heaven4    ,but our subject scatters    
them like the chaff of the              
threshing-floor4 ,the  holy of holies1  
where ,god waits to meet with us1 is not
 reached in any way  we please4 ,the    

heart's incense must be carried within  
the holy place  before it can be        
offered4 ,there stands the only altar on
 which it can be  burned4 ,but to get   
there we must first find an atonement at
 the altar of  burnt-offering in the    
outer court4 ,there is no getting near  
to ,god but  through the blood of       
,christ4 ,there is no salvation in any  
other name4 ,only  as a sinner1 contrite
 and believing in a dying ,jesus1 can   
you find ,god4  ,go1 stand by the cross3
 there1 with deep repentance and humble 
faith1 seek  for an interest in the     
pardoning blood of the ,son of ,god1 and
 then may you  pass through to the holy 
place1 and pray and praise and worship4 
,but  without first coming to the       
atonement of ,jesus ,christ1 all your   
pretended  regard for ,god is mockery2  
your religious service is but strange   
incense1  which ,god abhors4    ,before 
we close1 let us lift our eyes upward   
from these patterns of  heavenly things 
to the heavenly things themselves4 ,for 

in heaven1 ,john  tells us1 he saw the  
golden altar1 and the angel with the    
incense-censer  before the throne4 ,this
 incense-offering is the prayers of     
saints4 ,in that  world of blessedness  
the altar stands without the vail before
 the throne  of ,god4 ,there the        
redeemed worship face to face2 there    
they gaze upon the  ,godhead1 and cast  
their crowns at the feet of ,jesus4     
,faith gives way to  vision1 and they   
behold the face of ,god in              
righteousness4 ,oh what a  prospect lies
 before the saint4 ,are we preparing for
 such a service8 ,do we  expect to join 
in the worship before the throne8 ,how  
diligent should we be  to cultivate a   
spirit of devotion while in this        
tabernacle below4 ,though  we are now   
outside the vail1 how should we strive  
by faith to meet with  ,god1 and find   
answers to our prayers4 ,what a solemn  
hour should this be to  us in the       
sanctuary1 when we appear before the    
mercy-seat and offer the  incense of our

 prayers and thanksgivings4             
,,xi4    ,eating under the              
,juniper-,tree4        ,,arise ,,and    
,,eat2 ,,because ,,the ,,journey ,,is   
,,too ,,great ,,for ,,thee4 #a ,,kings  
#ai3g4      ,these words1 though        
originally spoken to the prophet of ,god
 under peculiar  circumstances1 may     
still have a meaning when applied to the
 believer4  ,though written aforetime1  
they were written for our instruction   
when we  are brought into straits and   
trials4    ,they came to the prophet in 
one of the darkest hours of his         
ministry4  ,though he had gone through  
,samaria with signs and wonders1 and    
though he  had signally triumphed over  
the prophets of ,baal1 and had witnessed
 their  destruction1 still the          
reformation of the nation which he had  
looked for  seemed further off than     
ever4 ,all the miracles he had wrought1 
and all the  teachings he had uttered1  
seemed to be worse than in vain2 for    
now1  instead of submission1 there is   

nothing but exasperation1 and the       
abandoned ,jezebel swears vengeance upon
 the prophet4 ,he despairs of the       
redemption of ,israel1 and turns his    
back in flight from ,samaria4 ,without  
any special divine direction1 he wanders
 over into the territories of  ,judah as
 far as ,beersheba4 ,but there is no    
rest for his troubled and  dejected     
mind2 and he flies from the haunts of   
men and plunges onward and  onward into 
the wilderness towards ,horeb1 as       
though1 in the savage  wildness and     
solitude of nature1 he would find       
sympathy with the  desolation that      
reigned within him4    ,but night       
overtakes the wanderer1 and he is forced
 to halt and lie down  under the        
protection of a juniper-tree4 ,there his
 troubled thoughts dwell  upon the past1
 and he revolves in his mind the        
complete failure of his  mission to     
,samaria1 the miracles which he had     
wrought1 and the vengeance  which was   
pursuing him4 ,all was lost4 ',twas     

useless to undertake to preach  more or 
to labor more for that idolatrous       
people4 ,disappointment has  crowned his
 every exertion1 and not a ray of hope  
shines from the future1  to call back   
the request of the ,tishbite that he may
 die4 ,in his despair  and anguish he   
mutters1 ,it is enough2 now1 ,o ,lord1  
take away my life4    ,he sleeps4 ,but  
one of the ministering spirits is at his
 side1 in this hour  of desperate       
extremity4 ,the prophet1 at his touch1  
starts up and eats4 ,the  gnawings of   
hunger being partially allayed1 he again
 sinks down to sleep1  till again the   
angel touches him1 and bids him eat the 
more2 for he is not  to die yet4 ,he has
 not yet done his work2 he must tread   
the wild crags of  ,horeb1 and back to  
,ahab and ,samaria1 once more4 ,arise   
and eat2 for the  journey is too great  
for thee4    ,we must have a poor       
faculty of apprehending spiritual       
lessons1 if we allow  this narrative to 
pass without some practical instruction4

    ,we do not tax our imagination      
severely in order to see1 in the person 
of  ,elijah1 a representation of the    
child of ,god in seasons of depression  
and  despair4 ,not unfrequently is he   
brought into the position of the        
prophet4  ,not at all times is he       
privileged to stand upon ,zion1 and to  
rejoice in  hope4 ,but a thousand       
circumstances in life conspire to       
disappoint his  hopes and becloud his   
prospects1 till he flees from his post1 
and is found  far away under the        
juniper-tree in the wilderness4    ,when
 the sanguine expectations which he     
indulged at the beginning of his        
discipleship1 become one by one         
disappointed2 when he finds that        
,christian  experience is a far         
different affair from what he had       
conceived of2 when  straits and trials  
spring up around him at every turn of   
life1 such as he  had not counted on1   
and the work of grace in his heart      
seems1 after all1  to amount to nothing2

 when new and unlooked-for symptoms of  
corruption are  daily brought to light1 
and the ardor of his first love is      
dampened by the  checks and crosses that
 thicken around him--when thus his early
 dreams are  dissipated1 and his heart  
feels a sickness and a faintness come   
over it1  do you not see that he is in  
the wilderness8 ,oh who has not sickened
 at  the slow work of grace within him8 
,who has not marked the sad contrast    
between what he once said he would be1  
and what he is2 and who has not  felt   
the harassments of doubt and the vanity 
of his own strugglings1 till  he        
despaired of success1 and fled like the 
prophet to the wilderness8    ,and then 
ofttimes the little good which the      
,christian accomplishes in the  world is
 enough to drive him to dejection4 ,the 
,tishbite fled because he  saw no good  
from all his labors4 ,doubtless he had  
expected that1 with the  support of     
miracles1 he should soon have worked a  
reformation in ,israel4  ,but though at 

his word the heavens had been shut up1  
and though at his  prayer the fire of   
,god had descended to attest his        
mission1 still the  whole outlay of     
means seemed to end in nothing4 ,his    
expectations had not  been met2 and     
under the burden of the keenest         
mortification1 the most  hopeless       
dejection1 he lies down by the          
juniper-tree and prays for death4  ,have
 you never lain there with him1         
,christian8    ,when cast down in       
spirit1 in view of your personal        
infirmities1 you have  asked for the    
good you have done in the world around  
you2 when your  efforts for ,christ seem
 all to prove abortive2 when your kindly
 warnings  are disregarded1 and in spite
 of your prayers and solicitude1        
iniquity  abounds1 and none turn to the 
,lord2 when the more you strive for the 
,redeemer1 the more your good is evil   
spoken of2 when the wicked around you   
seem growing worse and worse1 and       
disappointment and unbelief becloud     

your heart1 and you see no hope1 and the
 wilderness is around you--,oh1  when   
thus the heart droops1 do you not feel  
that you are in the  wilderness8 ',tis  
indeed a dreary situation4 ,but in      
life's pilgrimage1 the  ,christian      
sometimes journeys that way4 ,he has his
 hours of sadness1 of  heart-sickness1  
of deep despondency and dejection1 of   
bitterness which a  stranger            
intermeddleth not with4 ,he is at times 
left to experience the  burdens of life1
 the faintings of faith and hope--to    
feel that  notwithstanding his long     
trial of the ,christian life1 all is    
jeoparded1  and that nothing remains for
 him but to cast himself down with the  
fugitive prophet under the juniper-tree1
 and say1 ,it is enough2 now1 ,o  ,lord1
 take away my life4    ,but what we     
would observe is this3 that the ,saviour
 has provisions for his  children       
however desolate may be their condition4
 ,it was in this dreary  extremity of   
the prophet1 that ,god revealed unto him

 his presence4 ,worn  out with hunger   
and fatigue1 despairing of hope1 and    
feeling even life  itself to be a       
burden1 the fugitive drops to sleep4    
,and now ,god1 by a  miracle1 comes to  
his rescue4 ,a cake baken on the coals  
is beside him1 and  the cruse of water1 
to refresh him and keep him from        
destruction4 ,here ,god  came to his    
prophet and revived his confidence4     
,here he gives him a token  that he has 
not given him up1 but sends his ,angel  
to rouse him from his  dejection and bid
 him eat4    ,not to the prophet alone  
has ,god manifested his presence and    
aid1 but to  all his dear children as   
they sit and sigh under the tree where  
the  prophet slept4 ,not that1 when we  
are cast down and desolate1 we actually 
feel a hand touching us1 and see before 
us the cruse of water and the cake  upon
 the coals2 but we find the same        
deliverance1 and the rustic table is    
virtually set before us and served by a 
spirit hand4 ,in the appointed  means of

 grace we find the aliment that sustains
 our souls4 ,the divine  ordinances seem
 to us more precious than ever while we 
sit under the  juniper-tree4 ,in the    
sweet promises of the word of ,god1 in  
the dawn of  ,sabbath hours1 in the     
tender and timely lessons of the        
sanctuary1 in the  ,bethel seasons of   
prayer1 in these means afforded to us1  
we find the  cruse of water and the cake
 that will refresh us4 ,we may lightly  
esteem  them in a time of ease and      
plenty2 we may think little of a cruse  
of water  and a cake when we repose in  
abundance2 but in the wilderness1 when  
hunger  and faintness come over us1 and 
the juniper boughs are our only         
covering1  then they are as sweet to us 
as to the weary ,tishbite4    ,when     
spiritual famine is gnawing at our      
hearts1 and all is desolate and         
forsaken around us2 when sickness has   
prostrated us1 or death has cut down    
our companions around us1 till the world
 seems empty1 and a hue of decay  and   

death tinges all the objects which we   
look at2 when darkness and              
disappointment and disaster all weigh   
upon our spirits1 and ,god is all  that 
is left to us--how should we live were  
it not for the cake and the  water      
cruse8 ,how do we grasp the very means  
which we before had too often  slighted4
    ,we call up the neglected promises1 
and there is life in them4 ,our troubled
  thoughts find vent in earnest prayer2 
and whether we lie stretched on the  bed
 of languishing1 or wrestle in the      
closet1 or meditate in the  sanctuary1  
we find the water cruse is beside us1   
and we are kept from  fainting4 ,oh1 it 
is when1 under the load of crushing     
sorrow and dejection1  the wanderer     
sinks down by the shrub of the desert1  
it is then he prizes  the cruse and the 
cake4 ,many of you1 ,i doubt not1 were  
you to call to mind  the season when you
 valued most the presence of the        
,master1 when you  wrestled nearest the 
mercy-seat and experienced the most     

surprising  deliverances1 would point to
 the days of sore trial and weariness1  
when  you gave up all hope1 and when1   
turned out from the world1 you sat alone
  and sighed under the juniper and      
waited for death4 ,there you fed upon   
the  bread of life4 ,and though you felt
 that you were pilgrims in the desert1  
you still felt that you were not        
forsaken4    ,but1 brethren1 we need not
 only the provisions made for us in the 
means of  grace1 but we need also a     
friendly hand to help us to partake of  
them4 ,we  need our attention called to 
them with a voice that can reach the    
inner  ear2 for too often1 with all our 
distress and dejection1 there comes also
  a lethargy and insensibility which1 if
 unbroken1 must at last prove fatal4    
,the care-worn prophet1 with all his    
wretchedness and despair1 still         
reclined his head and slept4 ,hungry and
 weak and way-worn1 a drowsiness        
nevertheless came over him1 and he must 
needs be aroused if he was to be        

strengthened4 ,the cake is there1 and   
the cruse of water is there1 and the    
coals are glowing1 but the pilgrim heeds
 them not4 ,what a figure is this  of   
the complaining and dejected ,christian 
who is starving for the  spiritual food 
that is beside him1 and at the same time
 sleeping in his  sorrow4 ,despondency  
and unbelief have so paralyzed his heart
 that he takes  no nourishment1 even    
though the promises and the ,sabbath and
 the sanctuary  are before him2 but they
 are dead to him1 they are useless to us
 all1 so  long as we sleep on4    ,but  
beside the man of ,god1 as he lay and   
slept under the juniper-tree1  there was
 not only the cake and the water cruse1 
but the ,angel too4 ,and  here1 in the  
touch and the call of the ,angel1       
methinks ,i discover a most  beautiful  
emblem of the ,holy ,spirit standing by 
the means of grace1 and  bidding the    
believer arise and eat4 ,the presence of
 that ministering  spirit was necessary 
to the prophet's preservation4 ,without 

his friendly  touch1 he would doubtless 
have slept on1 and death closed the     
scene ere  the day dawned1 and the cruse
 of water and the cake have been in     
vain4    ,thus too we need a present    
,spirit to rouse us to partake of the   
blessings  that are brought to us2 for  
though we may complain of want1 we are  
too  indifferent to the supplies        
afforded us4 ,though we feel that we are
  pilgrims in the desert1 though we sigh
 and faint by the juniper boughs1 we    
sleep there too4 ,our eyes are heavy1   
and we do not see the water cruse1      
though it is at our side4 ,we do not    
appreciate our privileges1 nor draw     
nourishment from them4 ,they may all be 
at hand--the ,sabbath with its          
sacredness1 the ,bible with its         
promises1 the sanctuary with its        
lessons1  the mercy-seat with its       
covenant--but not till the ,holy ,ghost 
shall bid  you arise and eat1 will these
 means avail you aught4    ,that ,spirit
 is sent out to accompany the means of  

grace4 ,he bids you arise  and eat4 ,he 
comes to rouse you from your slumbers4  
,he comes to stop your  murmurs4 ,he    
comes to point you to the provisions at 
your side1 and bid you  rise and eat4   
,eat of these means of grace2 use them  
to revive your  fainting spirit1 to     
increase your strength4 ,though you may 
have used them  many a time before1     
still you are called upon to eat and eat
 again4 ,the  ,spirit and the bride say1
 ,come4    ,we would second the         
,spirit's voice1 and call to you in the 
wilderness to  arise and eat4 ,it       
becomes you to-day to heed the call4    
,there is reason for  the ,spirit's     
rousing you1 for you are yet away from  
home1 and the journey  is too great for 
you4 ,perhaps you may feel no pressing  
need4 ,perhaps1 like  the ,tishbite1 you
 have tasted a little1 and you would lie
 down to sleep4  ,but the prophet knew  
not what was before him1 as the ,angel  
did2 and hence  he is again aroused with
 the warning1 ,the journey is too great 

for thee4  ,christian1 you know not what
 awaits you4 ,you need these ordinances4
 ,you  need this ,lord's table spread   
before you4 ,you need these means of    
grace1  for you are in the wilderness1  
and the desert must be crossed4 ,your   
strength and patience will be sorely    
tried1 and your provisions will be      
short4 ,arise and eat1 for you will have
 no other supply but this4 ,you must    
take up with a pilgrim's fare4 ,the     
remainder of life's journey is before   
you1 and it will be too great for you   
unless you prepare in time4    ,you may 
stand aloof from this our table1 and    
despise our humble  ministrations as    
though they were not good enough for    
you4 ,we do not  pretend that our supper
 is equal to the one above4 ,we can give
 you but  travellers' fare1 but such as 
it is it will sustain you on your       
journey4  ,our entertainment to-day is  
as simple as the prophet's rude meal    
which he  ate beneath the juniper-tree2 
but remember1 that but for that water   

cruse  and baken cake he would have     
perished in the lonely solitudes4 ,and  
we lay  as high a claim for the gospel  
institutions to-day4 ,without them you  
must  faint and die4 ,underrate them as 
you will1 ,god has appointed them to    
sustain his children in the desert4     
,your neglect of them will be followed  
by exhaustion1 for the journey is too   
great for thee4    ,we cannot indeed    
anticipate the circumstantial history of
 any one of you4  ,we cannot trace out  
in the wild desert sands the pathway    
over which each  one of you must wander4
 ,no1 we cannot discover where one of us
 will be  to-morrow4 ,our experiences   
may be far different from each other4   
,we shall  each have our peculiar       
difficulties1 and no two of us will     
travel with the  same footstep and the  
same burden4    ,but though we cannot   
tell the future to a single one of you1 
though we  cannot calculate your        
reckoning at all1 still we can assure   
you that the  journey is too great for  

you4 ,we shall all of us need the cruse 
of water  and the cake ere we get       
through1 for we have no abiding place   
here4 ,there  will doubtless be many    
days when this world will look more     
desolate than  ever1 days of temptation 
and of conflict4 ,the adversary will    
doubtless  harass your wanderings1 and  
hedge up your way2 you must yet fight   
the  world1 the flesh1 and the devil4   
,again and again will you be obliged to 
retrace your wayward steps1 and  water  
your path with the tears of bitter      
repentance and regrets4 ,again and      
again will the world so bedim your      
eyesight and bewilder your thoughts     
that you shall have lost sight of heaven
 and plunged in its vanities4 ,and  the 
heart-work too is not yet all done4 ,you
 must yet keep up the warfare  with     
corruption4 ,you must yet keep up the   
struggle of grace and fight the  fight  
of faith4    ,the journey is too great  
for you4 ,there may be years of conflict
 yet  before you4 ,there may be fiery   

trials in reserve4 ,light as may seem   
the  enterprise now1 you will find it   
great enough before you get to heaven4  
',twill seem great when sorrow and      
disappointment shall gather round us1   
and when the hours of fierce temptation 
give way only to the hours of  deepest  
darkness2 'twill seem long when the     
cross seems ever to stand by  the       
roadside1 and when year after year we   
get no clearer views of heaven1  our    
home4    ,great is the journey2 and we  
shall feel it so when onward and onward 
we  travel1 and our companions one by   
one drop at our side1 till we are left  
to tread our way alone4 ',twill be great
 when the dependencies of life  fail1   
and the calamities of life shall thicken
 around us4 ,when the hopes  of earth   
shall wither1 and the friendships of    
earth shall vanish2 when the  past shall
 appear as vanity1 and the heart shall  
recoil from the future2  when fathers   
and mothers1 and brothers and sisters1  
and all the loved ones  of our early    

days1 shall have vanished from our      
sight1 and no long  familiar voice shall
 speak to us in the solitudes of earth's
 wilderness2  then1 as we stagger on1   
with our staff trembling in our hand1   
shall we  feel that the journey is too  
great for us4    ,you may say that it   
will be short to some of us2 that even  
now the sandals  are loosening and the  
city is coming nearer4 ,yes1 some of us 
will not  journey long4 ,but short as   
may be that journey1 it is too great for
 you4  ,for remember how it winds up    
with the death-groan1 the faintness1 the
  weakness1 the sinking1 the dimness1   
the muffled farewell4 ,great journey    
this through the dark valley and through
 the wild surges--too great for  us4 ,we
 cannot explore the pathway2 'tis dark  
and dubious4 ,we have seen  multitudes  
set foot upon it1 and they all turned   
pale4 ,the pilgrims have  not come back 
to us to tell us of it1 but we know     
enough about it to know  that the       
journey is too great for us4    ,yet1   

brethren1 we are all hurrying           
thitherward4 ,are we strong enough8     
,what  shall sustain us in the desert8  
,behold1 ,god has supplied us with his  
gifts4 ,behold1 ye who are desponding1  
ye who are wayworn1 ye who are          
despairing beneath the juniper-tree1 the
 cruse of water is beside you4  ,rise   
and eat1 for the journey is too great   
for you4 ,oh1 who of us will not  gladly
 come8    ,what should we do without    
these blessed ordinances and precious   
privileges8 ,to-day the ,master spreads 
our table in the wilderness4 ,once  more
 he would refresh our hearts and lend   
vigor to our graces4 ,he meets us  with 
the tokens of his love4 ,come1 beloved1 
and meet the ,master4 ,come from  your  
murmurings at the waters of ,meribah4   
,come from your drowsiness and          
despondency beneath the juniper4 ,arise 
and eat1 for the wilderness is yet      
before you4 ,take the cruse of water and
 the cake to-day1 for it may be  long   
before you have another opportunity4    

,supplies in the desert are at  best    
precarious2 and so uncertain is our     
pilgrimage1 that we know not that  we   
shall meet again4    ,have we full      
strength for the onward advancement8    
,would not a look at the  ,master profit
 us8 ,would not a friendly seat by the  
side of our  fellow-pilgrims1 and a kind
 look and a mutual1 fervent prayer      
encourage  us8 ,or are we equal to the  
journey without all this8 ,beware1 my   
,christian  friend1 how you neglect the 
gospel means which are given you4       
,beware how  you turn a cold shoulder to
 the simple cruse of water which ,god   
sends down  to you1 for he tells you    
that the journey is too great for you4  
,,xii4    ,the ,other ,side4            
,,let ,,us ,,pass ,,over ,,unto ,,the   
,,other ,,side4 ,,mark #d3ce4      ,the 
facts and incidents in the history of   
our blessed ,lord which the ,holy       
,ghost has seen fit to preserve and hand
 down to us through the  evangelists1   
furnish us materials for instruction and

 profitable  meditation4 ,the gospel is 
not all didactic2 nor need the religious
  discourse be wholly such4 ,it is well 
at times to omit the carefully framed   
propositions of a systematic theology1  
and dwell upon the simple  narratives of
 the ,new ,testament not merely as naked
 facts1 but as pleasing  allegories1 or 
reflections of spiritual things4 ,may we
 not read this  narrative with such a   
purpose8 ,as we follow the disciples in 
their night  expedition across the sea  
of ,galilee1 may we not have suggested  
to our  minds the ,christian's course   
through the voyage of life towards the  
distant1 unseen shore of eternity8 ,let 
us carry this idea with us while we     
study the parts of this simple1 but     
graphic narrative of the evangelist4    
#a4 ,it was at the call and command of  
,christ the disciples embarked upon     
their expedition4 ,let us pass over unto
 the other side4 ,there is no           
intimation that they had planned the    
journey1 or had thought of leaving      

,capernaum before2 but they took their  
departure solely in obedience to the    
direction of their ,master4 ,they       
acknowledged his authority2 they trusted
  in his wisdom4 ,their faith and       
confidence in him prompted them to do   
his  bidding2 and without questioning   
the reasons of his orders1 they at once 
loosed from the harbor and set their    
sails1 outward bound1 for the other     
side4    ,it is even so with the        
believer when he forsakes the world of  
sin and  vanity1 and sets out on a      
,christian life4 ,he hears a call from  
,god1 like  that which ,abraham heard   
when he left his country and his kinsmen
 for  another land which ,god would show
 him4 ,the invitations and commands of  
,christ prompt him to give up the world4
 ,were it not for such a call he  would 
live and die in his natural state of    
sin4 ,no inward promptings of  his own2 
no feelings of dissatisfaction with his 
present condition2 no  mere natural     
longings and aspirations1 however deep  

felt1 would move him  to an earnest     
outlook beyond the present vanity1 and  
to a heartfelt  separation from the seen
 and the temporal which is around him4  
,but when  the external call of the     
gospel is attended by the internal call 
of the  ,holy ,spirit1 he feels a       
quickening power2 he hears and obeys the
 divine  command4 ,faith in the         
,redeemer leads him to obedience4 ,he   
quits the world2  he tears himself away 
from its deceitful charms1 and consents 
to follow  ,christ4    #b4 ,i speak of  
their destination as expressed in the   
command of the ,master4  ,it was1 ,the  
other side4 ,they set sail1 not for a   
short excursion along  the coast1 or an 
evening trip off from the mainland1 and 
then to return2  but across the sea to  
another country and a different shore4  
,the words of  the ,master point onward1
 onward beyond the billows to the       
far-off land4 ,to  the other side is the
 sailing order by which the disciples   
set their  helm and trim their sail2 to 

the other side they point while they    
loose  from their moorings at           
,capernaum1 and say good-by to the      
fishermen left  behind upon the beach4  
,and is there not another side to our   
existence than the one we are now on8   
,is there not some shining shore beyond 
this one--beyond the billows1  beyond   
the cloud-banks2 something1 if not      
discernible by our sense vision1  at    
least discoverable by faith8    ,this   
side is familiar enough to us4 ,we have 
trodden it and explored it2  we know its
 features--a state of sin and           
disappointment1 of temptations  and     
illusions1 a thousand vanities and      
shams2 life ofttimes seeming a  chaos of
 contradictions1 pleasures glittering1  
syrens singing1 sorrows  brooding1 hopes
 decaying4    ,this side where we are is
 a strange side1 a dim1 dubious shore1  
where  tides ebb and flow we know not   
how2 where the mirage plays upon our    
vision1 and fills the atmosphere with   
phantoms which seem to us realities2    

where we seek for happiness in vain1    
till death removes us from the  fitful1 
toilsome scene4    ,but is this all8 ,is
 there not another side1 a different    
state1 a better  life to look to8 ,the  
,christian who has heard the call of    
,christ has  learned of another side    
than this one1 another life besides the 
present4  ,the call of ,christ to him is
 to the other side4 ,it directs him not 
to  the things seen and temporal1 but to
 the unseen and eternal4 ,it points him 
far over the sea of life to the distant 
shore1 the other and the better         
country4 ,this is the ,christian's      
destination4 ,for this he sails when he 
cuts loose from the world of sense and  
sin4 ,faith catches glimpses of its     
glories2 for it is the substance of     
things hoped for1 the evidence of       
things not seen4 ,for this he lives in  
expectation2 for this he parts with     
sinful pleasures1 and waits with        
patience till it comes4 ,so long as he  
hears the ,saviour's voice saying1 ,to  

yonder shore1 he can content  himself   
with being a stranger here4 ,oh it is   
this looking for a better  country that 
sustains him in temptations now4 ,how   
cheering is the  prospect6    ,when1    
,christian1 you are troubled on every   
side here1 how refreshing the  ,master's
 words1 ,to the other side4 ,yes2 the   
pious heart often exclaims1  ,blessed be
 ,god1 there is the other side1 far     
different from this side2 a  future     
unlike the present2 a heavenly land1    
whose scenery and surroundings  are not 
those of earth4 ,that other side is what
 you live for1 ,christian4  ,oh forget  
it not when tempted here2 remember it1  
my brother voyager1 when  you hear the  
music along these shores of time1 and   
would steer towards the  havens of      
carnal ease and lie becalmed among the  
spice islands of worldly  indolence and 
pleasure2 remember1 when the ,saviour   
called you to a  ,christian life1 he    
pointed far away and said1 ,to the other
 side4    #c4 ,the time of their        

departure4 ,when the even was come1     
,jesus said unto  them1 ,let us pass    
over unto the other side4 ,the din and  
turmoil of the  day were past2 shadows  
thickened2 the world was growing dark2  
the curtain  of night was silently      
overspreading the land and the sea3 it  
was time to  embark for the other side4 
,and is not this suggestive of the      
circumstances  under which the          
,christian enters upon a ,christian life
 and sets out for  heaven8    ,oh if the
 present life had no shadows1 we should 
never look beyond it2 if  this side was 
always bright1 we should care little for
 the other4 ,but it  is a part of our   
heavenly ,father's discipline1 to visit 
us with trials and  disappointments to  
wean us from this world4 ,ofttimes the  
sun of our  prosperity goes suddenly    
down at noon2 worldly plans miscarry2   
sickness  preys upon us2 friends die1   
and families are broken up2 the world   
don't  seem so bright as it used to be3 
this side gathers gloom and shadows4    

,then  it is the soul is more open to   
the call of ,christ2 then it is1 often1 
that  the sinner is brought to forsake  
the world1 and obey the voice of the    
,master saying1 ,pass over unto the     
other side4 ,it is at evening1 when     
this world is growing dark1 that the    
believer obeys the command of ,christ1  
tears himself away from his sinful lusts
 with bitter1 repenting tears1 and      
exchanging sight for faith1 embarks on  
his voyage to the distant heavenly      
shore4    ,it is evening2 for although  
there be no temporal calamities sore    
pressing  you when you become a         
,christian1 it is still a time when the 
world has  lost its sunlight to your    
soul1 and when eternal things have flung
 their  shadows over the heart and made 
every thing on these shores of time look
  dim and fading4 ,then we are ready for
 ,christ4 ,then1 when conscience is     
aroused1 and the overhanging clouds of  
divine justice darken this side and     
alarm us1 then we set out for heaven1   

and heed the invitation of the  ,saviour
 which beckons us to the other side4 ,it
 is at such a time the  believer enters 
on a ,christian life4    #d4 ,we follow 
him on his voyage to the other side1 and
 notice the important  fact that        
,christ's presence is with his people   
through all their way4  ,standing on the
 seaside at ,capernaum1 he sent not the 
disciples away  alone4 ,his word to them
 was not1 ,go yonder2 but stepping on   
board  their vessel1 he says1 ,let us   
pass over unto the other side4 ,he      
himself will share their fortunes2 he   
will go with them2 though night be      
setting in1 and dangers hover on the    
deep1 they shall not go alone4 ,no  more
 shall the ,christian4 ,lo1 ,i am with  
you always1 is the blessed  assurance of
 his ,saviour4 ,the presence of ,christ 
is the great source of a  ,christian    
life4    ,this is all the saint can     
depend upon2 this is what the gospel    
promises to  him4 ,christ is said to    
dwell in his disciples--to abide with   

them4 ,his  divine influences are their 
only guarantee of safety4 ,as well might
 the  mariner be far at sea in a night  
of tempests1 without helm or chart or   
compass1 as the ,christian attempt to   
navigate the troubled waters of life    
without the ,saviour with him4          
,better not attempt the voyage than     
start out alone for the other side4  ,if
 you would leave these shores of sin and
 worldliness at all1 see to it1  first  
of all1 that ,jesus is with you in the  
ship1 and that it is his  voice alone   
you hear1 as you set sail1 saying1 ,let 
us pass over unto the  other side4      
,once more1 in the night voyage of the  
disciples over the sea of ,galilee ,i   
see shadowed forth the changing phases  
of a ,christian life4 ,as they cast  off
 from ,capernaum1 the evening breezes   
gently pressed their sails2 the  silvery
 ripples murmured on the shore2 their   
little ship moved smoothly  out at sea4 
,the disciples sit in the cool evening  
air on deck1 and watch  the stars which1

 one by one1 light up the vault above   
them as the shadows  deepen and the     
shores grow dim4 ,they have hardly      
missed their ,master4 ,they  scarcely   
noticed that he had retired from their  
presence4 ,but as the night  wore on1   
alarmed at the dangers which surrounded 
them1 the affrighted  disciples look    
around for their absent ,lord2 and      
finding him asleep1 they  waken him with
 their cries for help4 ,the ,saviour1   
calmly rising from his  pillow1 looks   
out upon the angry elements1 and speaks 
the word of power3  ,peace1 be still4   
,and the mad winds cease their roar1 and
 the wild  waves lie down to rest4      
',ye waves1' he whispered1 'peace1 be   
still4'    ,they calmed like a pardoned 
breast4    ,once more propitious breezes
 waft them onward1 till the morning dawn
  slowly glimmers in the eastern sky1   
and reveals1 in dim outline1 the        
mountain summits of the other side4     
,in all this ,i think ,i see something  
which reflects the lights and shades  of

 a true ,christian life4 ,how does the  
believer at his conversion set out  for 
heaven with the consciousness that      
,christ is with him4 ,how1 after the    
throes of conviction are past1 does he  
expatiate in the sweet peace of         
believing1 and rejoice in hope of the   
glory of ,god4 ,how little dreams the   
convert of coming danger4 ,how          
propitious the opening of his voyage4   
,often  is his course so quiet that he  
suspends his watch1 and loses sight of  
the  near presence of ,christ4 ,seasons 
come when he grows negligent1 and       
perhaps  feels no more of ,christ's near
 presence with him than the disciples on
 the  sea thought of their sleeping     
,master4 ,christ is not gone from him2  
but his  ardent love towards ,him has   
abated1 and he no longer has that felt  
consciousness of ,his value he once had1
 nor does he realize his dependence  as 
he should4    ,trials come2 temptations 
thicken2 doubts and fears arise2 ,satan 
harasses  him1 and inward corruptions   

start into life again4 ,then is the soul
  tossed1 like the disciples on the sea2
 then does the struggling believer  look
 round for his ,saviour1 and cry1 ,save1
 ,lord1 or ,i perish4 ,such  trials of  
our faith come in the regular course of 
a ,christian towards the  other side1   
like the storm-belts near the tropics   
which lie in the  sailor's route from   
one hemisphere to the other1 and through
 which he must  steer his way4    ,you  
and ,i1 ,christian1 have sailed in such 
latitudes1 and heard the winds  of      
temptation blow1 and felt the waves of  
distress dash over our frail  bark4     
,thus we learned our weakness2 thus were
 we humbled2 thus were we  taught to    
watch and pray2 thus did we fly to      
,christ1 and cry1 ,lord1  carest thou   
not that we perish8    ,and it was his  
voice alone that stilled the tempest1   
and hushed the  conflict of the soul4   
,how sweet the peace of the believer    
after seasons of  sore spiritual        
temptations6 ,great is the peace felt in

 the new-born soul  when first it hears 
the voice of forgiveness2 but there are 
other scenes1  subsequent experiences1  
when1 after fierce contests with lusts  
and  passions1 the ,saviour gives the   
victory4 ,then when it is over there is 
a  deeper tranquillity in the soul than 
was ever felt before4 ,then when we     
have weathered out the rough gales1 and 
the heart has become sanctified  and    
humbled1 and we have got as it were out 
of sight of land on this  side1 then do 
we reach a clearer atmosphere1 and enjoy
 the refreshing  gales of the ,spirit1  
which1 like the trade-winds1 bear us    
steadily along  to port4    ,it appears 
that the disciples' expedition over the 
sea of ,galilee was  propitious in its  
beginning and at its close3 their       
troubles lay along the  middle passage4 
,we may remark how this is generally the
 case with the  ,christian's voyage to  
heaven4 ,generally his latter course is 
tranquil as  he draws near to the other 
side4 ,ofttimes indeed he catches       

glimpses of  the shining shore1 and on  
the sunlit hills beyond descries        
something like  the domes and turrets of
 the celestial city4 ,ofttimes when well
 over  towards the other side faith     
brightens almost into vision2 he seems  
to  hear the distant music1 and grows   
impatient to step ashore4 ,we watch his 
dying pillow till his heaving breast    
lies still4 ,he has reached his  eternal
 home2 he has passed over unto the other
 side4    ,i have thus endeavored to    
employ the narrative of the evangelist  
to  illustrate some of the prominent    
features of a ,christian's life4 ,he    
leaves the world of sin and vanity in   
obedience to the effectual call of  the 
,holy ,spirit4 ,his destination is the  
better country on the other side4  ,the 
,master who called him goes with him all
 the way1 delivers him from the  trials 
and dangers which beset him1 and guides 
him over the sea of life to  the        
heavenly shore4    ,how does this       
description compare with your own       

experience8 ,have you truly  obeyed the 
call of ,christ1 and embarked for the   
other side8 ,while the  sailing order of
 our text is before you1 it is a good   
time to heave the  lead1 and take an    
observation4 ,on what course are you    
sailing1 and what  progress are you     
making in your voyage8 ,ah1 may we not  
ask some who  professed once to leave   
all for ,christ1 whether after all the  
stir and  preparation of your setting   
sail you have not put back into the old 
port  you set out from8 ,are you not    
still living in your sins8    ,others   
may not have travelled far1 though it be
 months or years since you  started4    
,alas1 there are not a few professing   
,christians who seem never to  lose     
sight of land this side4 ,years may have
 fled1 but they have not got  many      
leagues at sea yet4 ,clinging to earthly
 things2 in love with the  pleasures1   
fashions1 and follies of this life2     
hankering for wealth or  position1 they 
do little else than hug these shores of 

vanity1 and coast  along among the green
 isles of temptation which are near     
them4 ,heave the  lead1 my brother1 and 
see where you are4 ,the ,master's orders
 are1 ,to the  other side4 ,and if you  
have been loitering in these waters of  
worldliness and carnality1 it becomes   
you1 by repentance1 prayer1 and         
self-denial1 to change your course and  
steer straight for heaven4    ,others in
 the heavenly voyage may have reached   
the storm-belts1 where  dangers threaten
 and skies grow dark4 ,the waves of     
affliction dash over  the soul2 doubts  
and misgivings trouble you2 crosses and 
discouragements  beset your way1 and    
often you tremble lest you be a         
castaway3 but courage1  my brother2 if  
,christ be with you1 you need not fear4 
,call to ,jesus in  the storm1 and you  
shall ride it out4 ,think not that you  
have lost your  course4 ,if ,christ be  
in the ship1 if the soul has found him  
near1 then  head right to the wind and  
keep your course for heaven4 ,these     

light  afflictions1 which are but for a 
moment1 work out for us an exceeding and
  eternal weight of glory4    ,and1 my  
aged friends1 may ,i not describe you as
 well-nigh over the sea of  life1 and   
nearing the other shore8 ,tell us1 ye   
weather-beaten saints1 have  you not got
 through the rough middle passage1 and  
heard the voice of ,jesus  say to the   
storms1 ,peace1 be still8 ,scores of    
years have passed since  you embarked   
with ,christ2 the world has changed1 you
 have changed1 and you  are evidently   
nearing port3 tell us1 do you not feel  
that the night is far  spent1 and the   
day is at hand8 ,is not ,christ nearer  
and nearer to you by  faith1 and do you 
not hope to be with him soon in glory8  
,christian1 don't you sometimes see land
 on the other side8 ,are not the  hills 
of ,beulah in the distance1 and the     
celestial gates8 ,oh tell us1 as  you   
near the other side does not faith catch
 glimpses of the redeemed and  the      
,redeemer8 ,christian1 you are almost   

home4 ,death will soon furl the  sail1  
and moor you by the shore4    ,my       
impenitent friend1 the call of the      
gospel comes to you substantially in    
our text to pass over unto the other    
side4 ,oh when will you give up this    
world1 and live for heaven8 ,though you 
may refuse to obey the call1 you  cannot
 stay here long4 ,life has another side1
 and you must1 ere long1  depart4 ,there
 is an eternity to which you are        
going--a dim1 dark1 dismal  shore1 on   
which you will be cast at death1 far off
 from heaven4