,,work ,,too ,,fair ,,to ,,die4 ,,sermons ,,selected ,,from ,,the ,,papers ,,of ,,the ,,late ,,rev4 ,,clement ,,bailhache4 ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,j4 ,p4 ,,barnett4 ,,the ,,holy ,,cautions ,,that ,,he ,,gave1 ,,the ,,prayers ,,he ,,breathed1 ,,the ,,tears ,,he ,,wept1 ,,yet ,,linger ,,here1 ,,though ,,in ,,the ,,grave1 ,,through ,,many ,a ,,year ,,the ,,saint ,,has ,,slept4 ,london3 ,,elliot ,,stock1 #fb1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,mdccclxxx4 ,illustration3 ,portrait of ,clement ,bailhache ,photographed by ,s4 ,s4 ,priestley1 ,huddersfield4 ,,contents4 ,introduction by the ,editor vii ,,sermon ,,page ,i4 ,salvation4--,titus i4 #aa-ad #a ,,ii4 ,propitiation4--#a ,john ii4 #b #ac ,,iii4 ,faith in the ,saviour4--,acts xvi4 #ca #bi ,,iv4 ,sincerity of ,heart ,necessary to the ,understanding of the ,gospel4--,john vii4 #ag #da ,v4 ,the ,humble ,taught the ,lord's ,way4--,psalm xxv4 #i #ej ,,vi4 ,the ,gratitude of the ,pardoned4--,luke vii4 #dg #ff ,,vii4 ,consecration4--,romans xii4 #a1 #b #ha ,,viii4 ,christianity in our ,daily ,life4--,colossians iii4 #ag #ajd ,,ix4 ,unconscious ,influence4--,matthew xii4 #cf1 #cg #aag ,x4 ,secular ,anxiety4--,matthew vi4 #be1 #ca #acc ,,xi4 ,contentment4--,philippians iv4 #aa-ad #aea ,,xii4 ,joy4--,philippians iv4 #d #afd ,,xiii4 ,sickness4--,john xi4 #d #agc ,,xiv4 ,jesus ,only4--,matthew xvii4 #h #aha ,,xv4 ,prayer4--,matthew vii4 #g1 #h #ahi ,,xvi4 ,assurance4--#b ,timothy i4 #ab #bjf ,,xvii4 ,immortality4--,psalm viii4 #d #bbb ,,xviii4 ,heaven4--,revelation vii4 #ae #bce ,,introduction ,,by ,,the ,,editor4 ,the preparation of this volume for the press1 whilst it has necessarily entailed considerable labour1 has happily been attended with little difficulty4 ,none of these sermons were prepared for the pulpit with any idea of publication1 and only a few of them1 which need not be specified1 should be taken as finished compositions4 ,their author1 however1 never allowed himself to think superficially or to write carelessly4 ,his ,,mss4 are easily read1 and are in such a state as to leave almost nothing to be done in the way of revision4 ,many other sermons equal to these in power and interest might have been included1 if space had served4 ,i ought1 perhaps1 to say that the selection has been determined by a wish to place before the reader1 in the order of a series1 ,mr4 ,bailhache's thoughts on ,christian ,doctrine1 ,faith1 ,duty1 ,privilege1 ,experience1 and ,hope4 ,i trust that the collection1 as it stands1 will give as comprehensive an idea1 as any posthumous publication could give1 of the character and style of a ministry to which1 under ,god1 many souls--some in heaven1 and some still on earth--owe their truest spiritual light and their best spiritual strength4 ,it must have been a privilege of no ordinary value to listen ,sabbath after ,sabbath to preaching such as this4 ,no one could read1 as ,i have had to read1 the whole mass of sermons entrusted to me1 without perceiving that he who wrote and spoke them was a workman that needed not to be ashamed1 rightly dividing the word of truth4 ,he was penetrated to the very centre of his being with a sense of the grandeur of the ,bible as a ,divine ,revelation1 and of the glory of the ,gospel as a ,divine remedy for the sin and sorrow of the world4 ,he had his own way of developing religious truth1 and of applying it to the mind1 the conscience1 and the heart4 ,he preserved his individuality of thought and of method in every part of every discourse4 ,but he was no theological speculatist4 ,with all needful fearlessness in his thinking and reading1 his constant endeavour was to ascertain the mind of the ,spirit1 and to present that1 in its enlightening and sanctifying power1 to his hearers in all their manifold spiritual conditions4 ,he was familiar with the forms of scepticism prevalent in our time1 and with the reasonings which give to them more or less of plausibility4 ,the riddle of the world had its saddening aspects for him1 as it has for all earnest souls4 ,but the anxieties which spring from such sources found in his mind an all-sufficient solace in the beautiful adaptations and the splendid triumphs of the truth as it is in ,jesus4 ,he could see clearly enough that1 by the ,gospel1 ,god was filling the world's darkness with light1 and turning its curse into a blessing4 ,science might advance1 and in its advance might seem to set itself against ,biblical facts1 and against the principles founded upon them2 but he was all along calmly and intelligently assured that ,science rightly so called1 and ,revelation rightly interpreted1 so far from meeting in antagonism1 must meet in cordial and comely agreement1 and take their place side by side for the higher instruction of mankind4 ,he did not preach on these matters controversially1 but contented himself with the quiet announcement1 on all appropriate occasions1 of the results of his own studies2 and those results were always on the side of an implicit faith in ,evangelical ,christianity4 ,one of the most marked characteristics of his ministry was the uninterrupted and profound reverence he paid to what he believed1 on honest and mature investigation1 to be the ,divine authority of ,scripture teaching4 ,he knew1 of course1 that a conscientious and enlightened criticism has its work to do upon the ,book2 but his comprehensive and careful reading only strengthened his conviction that such criticism1 so far from invalidating its authority1 must render the nature of that authority increasingly transparent1 and its basis increasingly firm4 ,thus he could draw forth from the ,book the teaching contained in it1 and could present it to the reverent faith of his congregation1 without misgiving4 ,his ministry was eminently evangelical1 in the broadest and best sense of the word4 ,it was this all-pervading quality which gave to it its special beauty and impressiveness4 ,he wanted to be wise1 and to make his people wise1 up to what is written2 above that he did not attempt to soar4 ,mr4 ,bailhache was an able ,biblical ,expositor4 ,i find amongst the papers before me1 expositions of the ,decalogue1 the ,first ,psalm1 the ,lord's ,prayer1 the thirteenth chapter of ,first ,corinthians1 the ,messages to the ,seven ,churches1 and the ,epistles to the ,galatians and the ,philippians4 ,these comprise eighty discourses1 and many of them are so good that they ought not to remain in seclusion4 ,possibly some channel of publicity may yet be found for them4 ,the estimate in which ,mr4 ,bailhache was held as a ,christian teacher by those best fitted to judge1 is fitly expressed in the following extract from the ,address which was presented to him by the ,congregation at ,islington1 on his retirement from the pastorate there in the autumn of #ahgj3--;,during a period of six years and a half1 you have ministered to us in holy things1 and1 as the servant of the ,lord ,jesus1 you have sought our highest spiritual good4 ,in all your ministerial work in our midst1 you have so impressed us with the conviction of your entire devotedness to our interests1 and to the exaltation and glory of ,christ1 that our minds have been the more easily constrained to give heed to your instructions1 and we have the more deeply felt the force of your influence and your example4 ,the thought has often occurred to us 7and it has been often expressed71 that if we were not becoming better ,christians--more conformed to the image of ,christ--our shame was the greater1 considering how constantly you have been the faithful and able exponent of the mind of the ,spirit1 and with what freshness1 variety1 and power1 you have been enabled to set before us things new and old out of the treasury of the ,lord's word4 ,nor have you ever permitted us to feel that you occupied a region remote from ourselves1 or that the isolation of the study and of your official character1 made you self-absorbed or unsympathetic4 ,the very contrary of this has been our happy experience4 ,with an almost surprising power of appropriation1 you have made our doubts and difficulties1 our hopes and fears1 our joys and sorrows1 all your own1 and1 with a whole-hearted sympathy that has entered into all the experiences of the ,christian life1 you have1 in the pulpit and in the class1 and in the more private opportunities of the family and of friendship1 been made eminently useful in the communication of help and strength4 ,to not a few your ministrations have been made the savour of life unto life1 who will be your crown and rejoicing one day1 since through your word they have been reconciled to ,god by ,jesus ,christ4 ,we magnify the grace of ,god in you1 and none the less when we declare that your life and labours in our midst have placed us under lasting obligations of gratitude and love4 ,i regret that ,i have not space for a few pages of pithy1 condensed jottings extracted from the ,author's ,diary1 and written by him during hours of private devotion4 ,they would testify1 in common with every other part of the volume1 to the atmosphere of piety in which our beloved friend habitually lived4 ,in social life1 he was playful and jocose2 and many who have thought that they knew him well1 knew him almost exclusively as he was in such moods as these4 ,he was however emphatically a man who walked with ,god4 ,many others knew him only in connection with his official work1 and gave to him their unstinted admiration for his plodding1 almost pertinacious industry4 ,he had a mind to work1 but he sanctified and ennobled all his work by prayer4 ,i have often had1 as1 no doubt1 many more have had1 the privilege of his society in the lone hours of the night1 when he could talk with the unreserved frankness of a confiding friend2 and ,i never left him after such hallowed times as these without feeling that ,i had been drawn nearer to him1 and through him1 nearer to the ,saviour1 by the modest1 holy1 ,christian beauty of his spirit4 ,alas1 that so comely and benignant a life should have closed so early6 ,he died at forty-eight years of age4 ,we have no right1 nor have we any disposition1 to repine2 but we cannot refrain from mourning4 ,he began life well1 sacrificing fair interests as a member of the legal profession in ,jersey1 with the ,island ,bar in view1 and was soon preparing for the ,christian ministry at ,stepney ,college4 ,his preaching was attractive1 and at the termination of his academic course1 he became the pastor of the influential church at ,south ,parade ,chapel1 ,leeds4 ,four years later1 he removed to ,watford1 and from thence1 in #ahfd1 to ,cross ,street1 ,islington1 where his ministry may be said to have approached1 if it did not actually reach1 its maturity4 ,in #ahgj he relinquished the pastorate for ,secretarial work at the ,baptist ,mission ,house1 into which he threw all the steady1 quenchless enthusiasm of his nature1 and upon which the blessing of ,god conspicuously rested4 ,discharging his duties with a fidelity and a skill which were as effective as they were modest1 he was equally beloved by the ,missionaries abroad1 and by his colleagues and the constituencies at home2 and he had the satisfaction of knowing that1 notwithstanding many difficulties1 he was contributing in various ways to the advancement of the great enterprize4 ,the toil and anxiety entailed upon him were onerous in the extreme1 and after a time it became obvious to his friends that his multifarious exertions were undermining his strength4 ,he went to the ,baptist ,union meetings in ,leeds in the ,october of #ahgh1 when he ought to have been taking repose2 and1 though seriously ill1 he there preached what proved to be his last ,sermon1 in the chapel of his first pastorate--the ,sermon on ,immortality in this volume--and read his last paper1 on ,our ,missionary ,principles and ,motives4 ,it is remarkable that he should thus have finished his public course in the town of his first ministerial settlement1 and that he should have there spoken his last public words on behalf of that great department of ,christian work which had engaged his best thoughts and his warmest sympathies for many years1 and to his holy zeal for which it may be truly said that he sacrificed his life4 ,at those ,leeds meetings1 he was already within the shadow of death1 and returned home to sink gradually but surely beneath the distressing malady which took him to heaven on the #acth of the following ,december4 ,to his widowed companion and helpmeet1 whose faithful affection he prized as his most precious earthly treasure--to his children and kindred1 who so fondly loved him1 and so deeply revere his memory--to the churches which he so wisely and so zealously served in the work of the ,gospel--to the ,missionary ,society in the sacred interests of which he lived and died--and to the numberless personal friends to whom he was so dear1 and who will ever thank ,god that they were permitted to enjoy his genial confidence and sympathy--these productions of his brain and heart are dedicated1 with the grateful assurance that1 through them1 he1 being dead1 will yet continue to speak1 and1 speaking thus1 will still be the helper of many in the way everlasting4 ,j4 ,p4 ,,barnett4 ,oxford1 ,august1 #ahhj4 ,i4 ,,salvation4 ,the grace of ,god that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men1 teaching us that1 denying ungodliness and worldly lusts1 we should live soberly1 righteously1 and godly1 in this present world2 looking for that blessed hope1 and the glorious appearing of the great ,god and our ,saviour ,jesus ,christ2 who gave ,himself for us1 that ,he might redeem us from all iniquity1 and purify unto ,himself a peculiar people1 zealous of good works4--,titus ii4 #aa-ad4 ,briefly stated1 the consequences of the ,fall were these--that man became unholy in point of character1 and guilty in point of law4 ,the first covenant ,god made with man was a covenant of law1 and the two trees shadowed forth1 the one the condition1 the other the benefit1 of such a covenant4 ,the tree of the knowledge of good and evil points to obedience as the condition2 and the tree of life points to life1 in its fullest and most spiritual sense1 as the benefit4 ,man disobeyed4 ,he failed to fulfil the condition1 and thus he lost the blessing4 ,henceforth1 if there is to be any blessing for him1 it must come on some other ground1 and from some higher source4 ,having forfeited all hope from law1 his only possible hope must come1 if it come at all1 from mercy4 ,we thus perceive that when the great salvation wrought by ,christ is announced to us1 we have to do at the outset with what on ,god's part is #a4 ,an act of pure sovereignty4 ,condemnation was the righteous award of a just law to a creature who had broken it1 and who could not plead any admissible excuse for his sin4 ,the law might1 therefore1 have been allowed to take its course1 thus receiving honour before the whole intelligent universe4 ,only one ,will in the universe was free to interfere2 the will of the ,lawgiver and ,creator ,himself4 ,interference on ,his part1 however1 could not be under the pressure of legal obligation1 but must be in the exercise of a sovereign right4 ,hence1 the key-note of the gospel is the ,grace of ,god4 #b4 ,an act of boundless love4 ,it is obvious that salvation cannot have proceeded from any other motive in the ,divine ,mind4 ,god so loved the world1 that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son1 that whosoever believeth in ,him should not perish1 but have everlasting life4 ,the ,bible has no other solution of the origin of salvation to offer than this4 ,now1 that which proceeds from sovereignty and love on the part of ,god must absolutely preclude all claim or thought of merit on the part of man4 ,merit leaves no room1 no occasion for grace4 ,grace begins where merit ends1 if grace be given at all4--,what1 then1 is the great salvation8 ,man1 being unholy and guilty1 needed a salvation which would include his justification or his forgiveness1 and one which would culminate in his sanctification by the restoration to him of his lost spiritual power4 ,in other words1 he needed a deliverance from the curse of sin1 and also from sin itself4 ,this deliverance1 man cannot find within his own nature4 ,he cannot save himself from the curse of sin2 for inasmuch as the law righteously demanded a perfect and constant obedience1 he could never blot out the guilt of former sins by acts of obedience at a later period of life4 ,moreover1 such later acts of a perfect obedience are impossible to him1 for holiness does not proceed from a sinful nature4 ,who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean8 ,men do not gather grapes from thorns1 or figs from thistles4 ,man is as depraved and as weak as he is guilty4 ,self-salvation is impossible2 salvation is of the ,lord alone4 ,the gospel is the announcement of the fact that ,god saves1 and of the method in which the great work of salvation is done by ,him4 ,i4 ,the ,word of ,god1 both in the ,old and in the ,new ,testament1 proclaims a dispensation of ,divine mercy4 ,so unexpected and so cheering is this proclamation that it has given the gospel the name it bears4 ,it is emphatically good news--good news from ,god to man4 ,this good news announces that the first deliverance which man requires is provided for4 ,god remits the penalty of sin4 ,but how8 ,he does this in such a way that1 so far from weakening law1 or invalidating the condemnation of sin1 ,he shows more clearly than ever1 how holy is the law1 and how just the condemnation4 ,hence1 though this forgiveness is an act of pure mercy1 it is mercy exercised in a righteous way through the wonderful sacrifice of ,christ4 ,this was the meaning of the promise that accompanied the curse2 and so clear was it that it was apprehended in the first sacrifices men ever offered4 ,the ,jewish sacrifices shadowed it forth4 ,the ,scriptures teach this method of ,divine forgiveness in the plainest terms4 ,i quote two or three passages in proof3 ,rom4 iii4 #bc-bf2 ,john i4 #bi2 #a ,john ii4 #a1 #b2 #a ,peter ii4 #bd2 ,isaiah liii4 #d-f4 ,this is ,scripture1 and we must not dare to trifle with it4 ,these declarations can have but one meaning4 ,christ has suffered in our stead the penalty we had all deserved1 that we might receive1 for ,his sake1 that eternal life and blessedness which ,he only had deserved4 ,on this point all the types and teachings of both ,testaments speak with one voice4 ,there are1 no doubt1 in this substitution of the innocent for the guilty1 some difficulties for human reason4 ,but we have to do with the ,bible4 ,it meets conscience2 and reason must bend in submission before a grace the deeper meaning of which it does not see4 ,observe1 however1 that according to the ,scripture representation1 the substitution was divinely appointed1 and the ,substitute ,himself was a willing victim4 ,we accept the doctrine1 7#a7 ,partly in virtue of human need4 ,conscience points to the necessity of a satisfaction4 7#b7 ,partly in virtue of the peace and the joy to which faith in the doctrine gives rise4--,scripture always lays stress upon the ,saviour's humiliation and bitter sufferings4 ,we are not said to be redeemed by ,his incarnation1 by ,his birth1 by ,his miracles1 by ,his doctrine1 not even by ,his agony in the garden1 though all these were necessary to the ransom2 but by ,his blood4 ,on this ground of the ,atonement1 the first part of salvation--forgiveness--is secured4 ,,ii4 ,man needs also to be redeemed from sin4 ,this need1 like the former1 he is unable to meet of himself1 but ,god meets it on his behalf4 ,how8 ,by putting into the heart a fertile germ of holiness4 ,freedom from condemnation and regeneration are indissolubly connected together in ,god's idea of salvation1 and ,he achieves both by the work of ,christ ,his ,son4 ,this redemption from the love1 and consequently from the power of sin1 is accomplished by ,him on a principle which is divinely simple and efficacious2 a principle which lies at the root of the theory of evangelical sanctification4 ,this principle is the love which ,he excites in us by the manifestation of ,his own love to us4 ,thus the ,apostle ,john writes3 ,whosoever abideth in ,him sinneth not2 whosoever sinneth hath not seen ,him1 neither known ,him 7#a ,john iii4 #f74 ,he that loveth not1 knoweth not ,god1 for ,god is love 7#a ,john iv4 #h74 ,to love ,god1 and1 under the constraining influence of love1 to serve ,him1 we have need to know and to realise how great is the love of ,god to us4 ,now this ,divine love has been revealed to the world through the medium of that same ,saviour1 who by ,his sacrificial death has opened up the way for our pardon and our restoration to the ,divine favour4 ,the ,son of ,god came into the world to reveal the heart of the ,father4 ,what greater gift could ,god have bestowed than that of ,his ,divine ,son8 ,what greater proof of love could ,he have exhibited than that which this greatest of all possible gifts presents8 ,god so loved4 ,and ,christ has perfectly performed ,his mission4 ,his whole ministry was a declaration of the ,divine love4 ,of that love ,his death on the cross was the sublimest expression4 ,we learn therefrom not only that ,god manifests to us ,his mercy1 but also at what cost4 ,our debt must be paid2 and as we are bankrupt1 ,he pays it on our behalf4 ,and who is our ,substitute8 ,not a man1 not an angel1 not any creature2 but the ,divine ,son1 by whom ,god made the worlds and upholds them by the word of ,his power1 who is the brightness of the ,father's glory and the express image of ,his person--it was ,he who by ,himself purged our sins4 ,such is the love of ,god4 ,we cannot fathom it1 for it is ,divine2 but in proportion as we are enabled to know it1 we say ,we love ,him because ,he first loved us2 ,we are bought with a price3 we are not our own4 ,and we say our devout ,amen6 when the chiefest ,apostle of mercy says to us3 ,i beseech you1 therefore1 brethren1 by the mercies of ,god1 that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable unto ,god1 which is your reasonable service4 ,this ,divine love1 however1 wonderful as it is1 is offered to unsusceptible hearts4 ,hence the necessity--hence also the gift--of the ,holy ,spirit1 through whom ,god strives with man4 ,the ,holy ,spirit is the gift of ,christ2 and ,he convinces the world of sin1 of righteousness1 and of judgment4 ,he takes of the things of ,christ1 and shows them unto us4 ,see1 then1 the completeness of the ,divine plan of salvation4 ,to undeserving hearts ,god offers ,his love in ,christ2 to unsusceptible hearts ,he explains and commends it by ,his ,spirit4 ,,iii4 ,the only remaining question is as to our own part in the great plan of mercy4 ,because we are intelligent and moral creatures1 ,god does not save us without our own concurrence4 ,to every one who desires to receive this twofold gift--the gift of pardon and of sanctification--a certain disposition is necessary4 ,that disposition is in the ,scriptures called faith4 ,faith is the divinely-appointed condition of salvation4 ,the terms are simple1 but they are indispensable4 ,scripture1 in every part1 recognises and imposes them4 ,from the earliest times they have been complied with1 as in the sacrifices of ,abel1 ,noah1 and ,abraham4 ,it was this same principle of faith that gave validity to the worship under the ,mosaic dispensation4 ,so the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 who healed men's physical diseases as types of the diseases of the soul1 always demanded faith as the condition of ,his working4 ,as it was with ,christ1 so it was with ,his apostles4 ,thus ,paul said to the ,philippian jailer1 ,believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and thou shalt be saved4 ,all this shows to us that whilst1 on the one hand1 we are saved by grace2 on the other1 we have no participation in the grace which saves1 except by the exercise of our own faith in the ,saviour4 ,what is this faith8 ,it may be considered in its principle1 and in its application4 ,in its principle1 it is a general conviction that the ,bible is the ,word of ,god1 and that what ,he says therein should receive our assent2 or1 in other words1 should be accepted by us as true4 ,in its application1 it is the belief of ,god's ,word as it respects ourselves4 ,it is this which ,paul commends to the ,philippian jailer4 ,when a man1 under the burden of his sin1 says1 ,i am lost2 ,i cannot save myself2 save me1 ,lord6 we have an illustration of this applied faith--a sense of personal misery1 a sense of personal helplessness1 a sense of a ,saviour willing to save him personally1 and a direct appeal to that ,saviour for salvation4 ,from the moment of such a prayer1 there is not a single promise of ,scripture that such a man may not make his own4 ,a promised pardon1 a promised ,spirit1 a promised heaven--all are his6 ,the essence of the faith is in the conviction which expresses itself thus3 ,jesus ,christ is not only able and willing to be the ,saviour of all men1 but ,he is my ,saviour4 ,such a faith brings ,christ and the soul together in precisely those relations in which ,he is the ,saviour1 and in which the soul is saved4 ,but how is this faith obtained8 ,must not ,god give it8 ,yes4 ,so ,paul1 writing to the ,philippians1 tells them it was given to them to believe in ,christ4 ,must we1 then1 listlessly wait until it comes to us8 ,no4 ,paul again says to these same ,philippians1 ,work out your own salvation with fear and trembling4 ,the reconciliation of these two truths into one theory may be difficult1 but in practice it is easy enough4 ,we recognise them both when we ask for faith4 ,for to ask is to recognise our need of that for which we ask2 it is also to recognise the fact that we do not possess it of ourselves2 and it is also to seek and to act4 ,ask1 then1 for faith1 and ,god will say3 ,wilt thou be made whole8 ,will you--not as a vague desire1 but as the most earnest determination of your heart and will8 ,ask for faith2 ,god will grant it4 ,ask largely2 you cannot ask too much4 ,and even if you sigh over the weakness of desire1 press the old and never-failing prayer3 ,lord1 ,i believe2 help ,thou my unbelief4 ,faith saves1 and grace saves4 ,this is scarcely a contradiction in terms1 and certainly it is no contradiction in principle4 ,faith is the instrument2 grace is the primary and efficacious power4 ,faith is the channel2 grace is the stream4 ,faith touches the hem of the ,saviour's garment2 grace is the virtue that passes forth from ,him in response to the touch4 ,christ reaches down from heaven2 faith reaches up from earth2 each hand grasps the other--the one in weakness1 the other in power--and salvation is in the grasp4 ,take--oh1 take that pierced hand6 ,amen4 ,,ii4 ,,propitiation4 ,he is the propitiation for our sins1 and not for ours only1 but also for the sins of the whole world4--#a ,john ii4 #b4 ,it is easier to attack than to defend4 ,an objection may be stated in a single sentence which shall require many pages for an adequate reply4 ,those who reject ,christianity generally adopt this method1 but ,i know not why they should be allowed to monopolise it4 ,why should not believers1 instead of simply proving that there is a ,god1 and that the ,bible is ,his ,word1 insist upon positive proof from their opponents that there is no ,god1 and that the ,bible is nothing more than a human book8 ,why should we not impose upon them the more difficult task of defending their position1 by attacking it with all earnestness at every point8 ,for ,christian defence1 we have need to be both really and consciously very strong in the truth4 ,on the other hand1 to be an unbeliever1 a man can do without either knowledge or goodness4 ,he has only to ply you with his eternal ,why8 ,why1 because the universe exists1 must it have ever been created8 ,why may it not have always existed8 ,why are we bound to accept the teaching of the ,bible8 ,why was it necessary that ,christ should suffer to expiate our sins8 ,why did ,christ come so late in the history of the world8 ,why are there no miracles now8 ,why8 ,why8 ,why8-- ,as ,christians1 however1 we take the position open to us1 whether of attack or defence4 ,we do so because the salvation of our adversaries is dear to us1 and because we are so sure that the course they adopt injures1 not ourselves1 but them4 ,we bring to them a priceless treasure--salvation through1 and from1 the crucified ,christ4 ,if they hinder us1 the loss is theirs4 ,on the present occasion we deal with one of the questions often propounded3 ,why was it necessary that ,christ should die for our sins1 in order that we may be saved8 or1 ,how can the sufferings of the innocent atone for the sins of the guilty8 ,to make our answer more clear1 we begin by saying3 ,we do not know4 ,why should we insist--why should any one insist--upon understanding the why of this arrangement8 ,why should not every one be content to know the fact8 ,if the reason of the fact were obvious1 we should1 of course1 gladly accept it2 but if it be hidden from us1 whilst the fact itself is disclosed1 why should we complain8 ,we cannot fully understand the ,divine purposes4 ,we can only guess4 ,even angels study1 and wonder1 and adore1 but do not fully know4 ,let it be observed that the real question here is not exactly as unbelievers put it4 ,thus3 ,i do not know how the rays of the sun enlighten my eyes1 nor how my enlightened eyes transmit ideas to my mind4 ,does it follow that the sun does not enlighten1 or that my mind does not receive impressions through what ,i see8 ,the imperative question is1 not1 ,how is the thing done8 but1 ,is it done8--not as to the reason of the fact1 but the reality of it4 ,so in the matter before us4 ,it is surely enough for us to show that redemption through the sacrifice of ,christ1 like the sun1 comes from ,god1 and that it gives light1 life1 and fruit4 ,this being done1 nothing more can be reasonably asked4 ,to know whether this doctrine of redemption is ,god's truth1 it is sufficient to know whether the ,bible is ,god's ,word4 ,and here we ask1 ,what will you do with ancient prophecies and their fulfilment8--with confirmations of ,bible history which are continually accumulating8--with the conspicuous excellence of the moral teaching and influence which the ,bible supplies8--with the sublimity of ,christ's character8--with the miracles ,he wrought8--with the marvellous effects of ,christianity upon the world1 notwithstanding the strongest inducements1 in human prejudice1 to its rejection8 ,settle such questions as these according to the admitted laws of evidence1 and then there will be no reason to contend as to the why and the how of redemption4 ,such1 however1 is not the method which the unbeliever pursues4 ,he turns away from the ,record as a source of instruction4 ,it is hard to convince a man who begins by closing his ears with his own pride4 ,to whatever study a man addresses himself1 he will never advance in it in spite of himself4 ,his progress will be proportioned1 among other things1 to the amount of honest effort he makes to learn4 ,that is1 he must feel the fact and the disadvantage of his own ignorance4 ,who could study mathematics by beginning at the outset to dispute its axioms8 ,just so with ,christian truth4 ,put aside prejudice and pride4 ,do not take it for granted that you have light enough in your mind1 at starting1 to pronounce upon the truth or the falsity1 the reasonableness or the unreasonableness1 of the doctrine of salvation through the cross of ,christ4 ,listen attentively4 ,look for more light1 and receive it when it comes4 ,we do not say3 ,believe before you have read2 but we do say3 ,don't contradict before you have read4 ,i have already said that we are not obliged to explain the philosophy of the redemption which is taught in the ,scriptures4 ,let me now say that that redemption is itself the best solution of the great difficulty which is felt by the believer and the unbeliever alike4 ,it is this3 ,conscience tells us that ,god is just2 the heart tells us that ,he is good2--how then can a ,god whose justice and goodness are equal1 i4e41 both of them infinite1 escape from the position in which sinners have placed ,him8 ,i put the difficulty in this bold form in order that it may be the more distinctly apprehended4 ,we have sinned1 and a just ,god must punish4 ,we sigh after happiness1 and a good ,god--a ,god who is infinitely kind--may be expected to bestow happiness upon us4 ,but how can ,god deal with us in both these ways at one and the same time8 ,we know instinctively1 of course1 that there is no real dilemma to ,god ,himself2 but those who reject the atonement of ,christ are bound to deal with what presents itself as an inevitable dilemma to them4 ,the unbeliever says3 ,god is too good to punish4 ,what then becomes of ,his justice1 since conscience testifies that we are sinners1 that sin deserves punishment1 that vice and virtue are not one1 that ,god cannot deal in the same way with both without encouraging the vice which needs to be suppressed1 and discouraging the virtue which needs to be upheld8 ,take away the fear of punishment under the pretext that ,god is good1 and you deprive conscience of its meaning and its power4 ,shall it be said1 then1 that ,god will punish every transgressor8 ,have the numberless generations which have been upon the earth gone to an inevitable doom8 ,this conclusion is as hard to admit as the other4 ,the instincts of the heart are against it4 ,no2 men do not accept either conclusion to the exclusion of the other4 ,they say ,god will adopt a mean between ,his justice and ,his mercy so as to bring them into harmony4 ,but how8 ,here is the crucial difficulty4 ,is it to be solved by the principle of mutual concession8 ,let me remind you1 again1 that the difficulty is not created by ,god1 but by man4 ,in ,him1 justice and mercy are really one3 it is only to us that they are seen to be two2 and it is our sin which disturbs and confuses our conception of their union with each other4 ,he might indeed annihilate us1 and so leave us no opportunity to complain4 ,but our whole moral and emotional nature repels with horror the thought of such a termination to our sin1 as being unworthy of the ,god who has to govern us4 ,no6 when we reflect seriously upon the question1 we cannot resist the feeling that ,god must have some plan of rescuing us from the doom we merit which shall give equal expression to ,his justice and ,his mercy4 ,men in general1 alas6 hold justice cheaply1 and1 lowering the ,divine standard of human character1 they easily persuade themselves that they may enter heaven through the breach they have made in the ,divine attributes4 ,they think that ,god is indulgent1 and will forgive1 forgetting that indulgence is weakness4 ,god will forgive1 but ,his forgiveness must stand on safe ground4 ,it cannot apply indiscriminately to all men4 ,men think they have said all when they have said1 ,god will forgive4 ,such a forgiveness would aim a blow at ,his justice4 ,no matter2 ,he will forgive6 ,such a forgiveness is without motive--an effect without a cause4 ,no matter2 ,he will forgive6 ,such a forgiveness has its root in sentiment1 not in reason4 ,it matters not2 ,he will forgive6 ,such a forgiveness imposes no obligation on the forgiver1 and encourages sin4 ,never mind2 ,he will forgive6 ,surely this is the spiritual blindness which comes from the perversion of the conscience and the heart4 ,some say1 ,god forgives2 but the condition is that we turn away from sin and live a life of holiness4 ,there are many answers to this2 but ,i will only ask those who thus speak1 ,are you now living in such a way as to have in your present holiness1 and on the ground of it1 the assurance of your pardon8 ,that is a question which conscience may be safely left to answer4 ,at this point ,christianity comes professing to reveal to us the ,divine plan of salvation4 ,it tells us that ,god forgives for the sake of ,jesus ,christ1 who is ,himself1 in ,his sacrifice1 the gift of the ,father's love4 ,a debt has been contracted2 the insolvent debtor presents in payment the money which a friend has freely contributed for the purpose2 the creditor is satisfied4 ,in this way goodness and justice are reconciled4 ,it is ,divine love which meets the claim of the ,divine ,righteousness4 ,the redeemed soul1 redeemed by the blood of ,christ1 is led to obedience by a love which responds to the love which has redeemed him4 ,this last result none can dispute4 ,does it spring from error8 ,no2 it is too pure1 too blessed for that4 ,the redemption that produces it is a true principle founded in the nature of ,god--sublime in its working--like sap1 inexplicable1 but justified by the beauty of its foliage and the goodliness of its fruits4 ,let us look a little more closely into this principle of ,propitiation4 ,suppose we were reading the gospel for the first time1 free from prejudice1 and from the deadening influence of habit2 we should be struck with the prominence everywhere given in it to the death of ,christ4 ,ask a ,christian child1 or an aged saint1 ,what did ,christ come on earth to do8 ,the answer from each will be1 ,he came to die for us4 ,the child finds his answer on the very surface of ,scripture2 the aged man finds it in that same ,scripture when he has studied it to its very depths4 ,the one quickly learns that this death of ,christ was often predicted by ,christ ,himself1 that it holds the most prominent place in each of the four ,gospels1 that it is constantly referred to in the ,epistles1 that it is the text of all the preaching of the apostles1 and that it is symbolised in both the sacraments1 for we are buried by baptism into ,his death1 and whenever in the ,supper we partake of the bread and wine1 we show forth ,his death till ,he come4 ,the mature ,christian1 in his turn1 learns to look upon the death of ,christ as the centre and the soul of all the great acts of the great work of our redemption1 which seem1 whether they preceded or followed1 to have been done in direct view of it1 and in indissoluble connection with it4 ,the incarnation was designed to open up the way for it4 ,forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood1 ,he also ,himself likewise took part of the same2 that through death ,he might destroy him that had the power of death1 that is1 the devil4 ,the resurrection was intended to attest its meaning and its value4 ,for ,christ was delivered for our offences1 and was raised again for our justification4 ,the object of the ascension was to secure the precious fruits of it4 ,for ,he entered in once into the holy place1 having obtained eternal redemption for us4 ,the remarkable thing in all this is that in the gospel1 the aim of which is to reveal eternal life1 the ,prince of ,life is always offered to us as dying upon the cross4 ,death in order to life6 ,what can be the meaning and the bearing of a death which ,god has placed in so exalted a position8 ,we can only get our answer from ,scripture2 and we can only get it from ,scripture as we read in the simple1 unsophisticated humility of mind and heart of which ,christ ,himself and ,his apostles give us the example4 ,jesus ,christ is the propitiation for our sins4 ,we have sinned against ,god1 and our sins have been so many offences to ,him2 offences which must be dealt with4 ,christ averts the penalty from us by taking it to ,himself4 ,the ,holy ,one consents to suffer for the sake of the guilty4 ,the apostle who styles ,christ as the ,propitiation has said1 in a sentence immediately preceding3 ,the blood of ,jesus ,christ ,his ,son cleanseth us from all sin4 ,almost numberless passages teach the same doctrine4 ,if we were engaged in an exercise of ,biblical criticism1 we should have to discuss each of these passages minutely in its turn4 ,but the general idea we gather from them is definite and clear4 ,a ransom paid1 our sins borne1 the wrath of ,god appeased1 an offered sacrifice--all these contain one idea3 ,jesus ,christ freeing us from the desert of our sin by ,himself satisfying ,divine ,justice on our behalf4 ,hence the two great facts of our religious history4 ,we were under the condemnation of a holy law4 ,he who was the ,life1 for our sake endured death that we who deserved death might have life for ,his sake4 ,and ,god is faithful and just to forgive us our sins4 ,to a simple-hearted ,christian all this is clear4 ,men may be scandalised at the exchange 7as they term it7 between justice and sin1 between life and death2 but ,paul knows how to state the matter3 ,god hath made ,him 7,christ7 to be sin for us1 who knew no sin1 that we might be made the righteousness of ,god in ,him4 ,men may be indignant 7as they often profess to be7 at the thought of the innocent suffering for the guilty2 but ,peter does not hesitate to say3 ,christ hath once suffered for sins1 the just for the unjust1 that ,he might bring us to ,god4 ,what is it1 moreover1 that connects the teaching of the ,old ,testament with that of the ,new8 ,the doctrine of sacrifice1 as thus explained1 is not simply attested by ,scripture3 it is the soul of it2 its bond of unity4 ,the death of ,christ is the sacrifice once offered in the end of the world1 in which all the sacrifices of the ,old ,testament find their common destination2 to which they correspond1 as the figure to the reality4 ,the cross is the end1 the key1 the meaning1 the value of all of them4 ,without this we cannot understand them4 ,they were types3 the cross is the antitype4 ,what they represented1 the cross achieved4 ,the cross procured the pardon which they proclaimed4 ,and so the cross has always been the symbol of the ,christian ,church4 ,the ,jews understood it1 and were scandalised2 the ,greeks understood it1 and sneered4 ,and now what ends does this sacrifice of ,propitiation serve8 ,mainly two1 which are inclusive of all the rest4 ,i4 ,it is the fullest revelation of the ,divine character4 ,leaving aside all questions of abstract and technical theology1 we observe that it sets before us1 in one great act1 the righteousness and the mercy of ,god4 ,the cross proclaims the pardon for which infinite love solicits4 ,the heart of ,god yields to itself4 ,but how can this be8 ,it is because the pardon solicited by love is obtained by a sacrifice which equally exhibits ,god's righteousness4 ,if we seek the universe through for the greatest proof we can have of the love of ,god to the sinner1 we shall find it in the cross2 for we there see not only that ,god forgives1 but also that ,he is so resolved to forgive that1 rather than that the sinner shall be left to perish1 the stroke of the offended law shall fall on the willing head and heart and life of ,his only begotten and well-beloved ,son4 ,on the other hand1 if we want to know something of ,god's abhorrence of sin1 we shall find it in the cross2 for we there see that1 so impossible is it for ,him to allow it to go unpunished1 that ,he secures for it a ,divine expiation in the willing sacrifice of ,his ,divine ,son4 ,mercy and truth are met together2 righteousness and peace have kissed each other4 ,most persons can see in the cross a demonstration of ,divine love2 in the light of ,bible teaching1 they may also see in it a demonstration of ,divine justice more marked and telling than in a closed ,eden1 in the waters of the ,deluge1 in the overthrow of the cities of the plain1 in the destruction of ,jerusalem1 or in the punishment of the wicked in eternity4 ,,ii4 ,if men are to be saved at all1 they must be saved to holiness2 they must be sanctified as well as forgiven4 ,the result cannot be otherwise for those who truly believe in the sacrifice of ,christ as thus explained4 ,holiness and love1 the two great elements of the character of ,god2 these are expressed in the cross1 and they must be reproduced in the character of those for whom the cross does its appointed work4 ,how can we believe1 as the cross teaches us to believe1 in ,god's hatred to sin1 without feeling that we must hate it also1 and1 hating it1 must forsake it8 ,and how can we believe1 as the cross teaches us to believe1 in the love which has obtained our salvation1 without giving our own love as a genuine1 though feeble1 return8 ,let a man1 struggling with the sins which he condemns1 but which he cannot shake off1 learn that the ,son of ,god came into the world to die for him2 and he will find in that revelation a strength for conflict with sin which he never had before4 ,speak to him of the beauty and dignity of the law1 of the righteousness of ,god's claims1 of the penalties of transgression2 and1 though his conscience may assent to all you say1 his heart will not yield4 ,can he refuse when he sees ,jesus on the cross1 and knows what1 for him1 that spectacle means8 ,the cross is an argument presented to his reason1 his conscience1 his will1 his heart1 his whole being2 nay1 it is more than an argument1 it is an appeal2 and the response must be3 ,we love ,him because ,he first loved us4 ,the love of ,christ constraineth us2 because we thus judge1 that if one died for all1 then were all dead3 and that ,he died for all1 that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves1 but unto ,him who died for them1 and rose again4 ,and now it only remains to be said that this ,propitiation is needed by all1 that it is sufficient for all1 and that it is free to all4 ,let all receive it4 ,,iii4 ,,faith ,,in ,,the ,,saviour4 ,believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and thou shalt be saved4--,acts xvi4 #ca4 ,a startling providential dispensation was one of the means by which the spiritual nature of this jailer was roused4 ,only one1 effectual so far as it went1 but not complete in itself4 ,it was preparatory and auxiliary to the action of the ,holy ,spirit1 the instrument by which the ,spirit did ,his special work of convincing the man of sin4 ,thus it is that outward events and circumstances are made to co-operate with ,god in the conversion of a soul4 ,the way in which the ,spirit works is a mystery1 akin to that in which one human mind acts upon another4 ,but the means of this spiritual action is no mystery4 ,we use speech1 external appliances of various kinds2 the ,divine ,spirit does the same4 ,in the case of the jailer he employed the earthquake together with the calm faith1 the perfect serenity1 of the apostles at a moment which was to himself a moment of terror1 and which would also have been a moment of terror to them had they not been the ,christians they were4 ,a great joy2 a great sorrow1 commotion1 loss1 alarm1 the apparent nearness of death2 daily mercies1 the means of grace1 the ,word of ,god1 the ministry of the gospel--through all these the ,spirit works4 ,they are powerless in themselves2 they can only become mighty as used by ,him4 ,it is obvious at a glance that this man's spiritual nature was roused4 ,spiritual realities burst in upon his mind in all their awful momentousness4 ,his whole soul was suddenly concentrated in a sense of his ruin4 ,hence the short1 sharp question--the question which sprung from an inward agony--,what must ,i do to be saved8 ,that question must be answered1 if it can be--answered on the instant6 ,there is a tremendous depth of meaning in it4 ,it is as though a lightning flash had in a moment illuminated the man's whole spiritual condition1 bringing out every feature of it into startling distinctness4 ,all the fears and the aspirations of his immortal being are here2 his past life with all its sin1 his remorse1 his dread of judgment1 his terror in the presence of ,god--all are here2 he feels himself to be a lost man4 ,how can he be saved8 ,in his question there is no hint of self-righteousness or of self-confidence1 or even of the remotest hope in himself4 ,he does not ask1 like the young man in the gospel1 ,what good thing must ,i do that ,i may inherit eternal life8 ,the question of the young man is leisurely2 the question of the jailer is hurried1 under the feeling that there is not a moment to be lost4 ,helpless and hopeless1 he wants but one thing1 and that is to be saved4 ,of course his ,what must ,i do8 indicates that he is willing and ready to comply with any possible terms2 yet it is not a question of conscious strength--it is rather the question of despair4 ,such a question shows that a great point--an essential point--had been gained4 ,the gospel is a sovereign remedy designed and constructed to meet a desperate case4 ,not only do they that are whole stand in no need of a physician1 but wherever there lingers an idea of spiritual strength1 or a dream1 of self-righteousness1 the condition necessary for the reception of such a salvation as that which the gospel proclaims is entirely wanting4 ,christ is an exclusive ,saviour1 and looking to ,him is an exclusive hope4 ,what must ,i do to be saved8 ,clear1 quick1 unhesitating1 comes the answer of ,paul3 ,believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and thou shalt be saved4 ,both the question and the answer strike the point--the centre of the soul's supreme need1 and the centre of the gospel message4 ,this answer of ,paul's is not simply his own4 ,it is the answer of ,god to every man who wants to know how he can be saved4 ,it is the answer of the whole ,bible4 ,it is the pre-eminently1 distinctively ,christian answer4 ,all revelation has one great object--,jesus ,christ1 promised1 announced1 expected1 seen by faith beforehand2 then ,jesus ,christ actually come1 ,his life told1 ,his mission developed1 ,himself presented to the world as the one and only ,name whereby men can be saved2--always ,jesus ,christ4 ,patriarchs and prophets1 ,moses and ,david1 ,christ ,himself1 ,his apostles and disciples after ,him1 the whole ,church--all unite to say to the awakened soul3 ,believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and thou shalt be saved4 ,but this answer1 though not ,paul's alone1 is nevertheless his in such a sense that an immense weight belongs to it4 ,what does ,paul himself understand by it8 ,we know something of his experience1 and that will tell us the meaning of these words as spoken by him4 ,he spake that which he knew1 and testified that which he had seen4 ,he felt that he could offer to the spiritual need of every man that which had so fully met his own4 ,read ,paul's life4 ,read his epistles4 ,you see at a glance what ,christ was to him--a ,redeemer4 ,and what to him was the very centre of ,christian truth8 ,christ crucified4 ,he had been so roused as to see clearly the relation between himself and ,god4 ,the true sense of sin had been awakened within him4 ,no man had made more strenuous efforts to obtain justification by the works of the law than he had2 and no man had more deeply realised his helplessness4 ,how does he describe the struggle8 ,i had not known sin1 but by the law4444 ,when the commandment came1 sin revived1 and ,i died4444 ,sin1 taking occasion by the commandment1 deceived me1 and by it slew me4444 ,that which ,i do ,i allow not3 for what ,i would1 that do ,i not2 but what ,i hate1 that do ,i4444 ,i know that in me 7that is1 in my flesh7 there dwelleth no good thing3 for to will is present with me2 but how to perform that which is good ,i find not4 ,for the good that ,i would ,i do not3 but the evil which ,i would not1 that ,i do4444 ,o wretched man that ,i am6 who shall deliver me from the body of this death8 ,i thank ,god1 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,we all know how ,god arrested1 overcame1 and subdued him1 by showing him in that same ,jesus ,christ our ,lord the mystery of the ,divine love4 ,god taught him that he must no longer expect righteousness and eternal life to come from his own works1 to be wrought by his own strength4 ,eternal life is the free gift of ,god4 ,look to the cross6 ,listen to the ,spirit6 ,learn in the folly of the cross to adore the wisdom and the power of ,god--a forgiveness that glorifies justice as well as mercy2 a forgiveness that kills sin as well as removes its penalty2 a salvation that harmonises man with ,god as well as forgives him2 a salvation that implies a perfect holiness1 the motive being love1 and the effectual power being that of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,deep as his want had been1 it was now completely met by the revelation of the ,saviour4 ,to that revelation his response was prompt1 complete1 irrevocable4 ,he says that it was as though scales had fallen from his eyes1 this disclosure of the ,divine plan of salvation to his mind4 ,it was full of light1 full of mercy4 ,the manifestation of the risen ,christ was the instrumentality which enlightened him4 ,he saw straightway the nature and purpose of the cross1 the certainty of justification through faith1 the believer's completeness in ,christ4 ,who is he that condemneth8 ,it is ,christ that died1 yea rather1 that is risen again1 who is even at the right hand of ,god1 who also maketh intercession for us4 ,there is now no condemnation to them which are in ,christ ,jesus1 who walk not after the flesh1 but after the ,spirit4 ,for the law of the ,spirit of life in ,christ ,jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death4 ,for what the law could not do1 in that it was weak through the flesh1 and for sin1 condemned sin in the flesh3 that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh1 but after the ,spirit4 ,i beseech you therefore1 brethren1 by the mercies of ,god1 that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable unto ,god1 which is your reasonable service4 ,and be not conformed to this world3 but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind1 that ye may prove what is that good1 and acceptable1 and perfect will of ,god4 ,the natural result of these convictions in the apostle's own case was his consecration to the ,saviour4 ,bought with a great price1 he felt that he was no longer his own1 but that1 in life and death1 he belonged to ,him who had given ,himself for him4 ,in ,christ he had found peace for his conscience1 light for his mind1 love for his heart4 ,and what was the secret of it all8 ,simply believing in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,this1 then1 was ,paul's gospel to the jailer1 and there is no other gospel to-day4 ,we know that sin incurs condemnation--the displeasure of ,god4 ,the universal conscience gives testimony to that fact4 ,we know that man cannot1 in his own person1 satisfy the claims of the ,divine law4 ,but there comes down to us the old truth that ,christ is the ,lamb of ,god that taketh away the sin of the world4 ,he finished the work which ,his ,father gave ,him to do1 and the whole benefit of that work is given to faith4 ,it is in the name of this perfect system of truth--which1 observe1 is a perfect series of facts--consecrated by the trial of ages1 by the experience of an incalculable number of souls in all times1 places1 and conditions1 and by the world's own verdict on ,christian character wherever it is found--that we speak to you with a confidence equal to that with which ,paul spoke to the jailer4 ,and let me add that we so speak because we have made the experience of it our own1 and that it is as sure in our hearts as our very existence4 ,yes1 a perfect series of facts as well as a perfect system of truth4 ,men sometimes object that we put before them hard and abstruse systems of theology1 and that we condemn them for not believing things which they cannot understand4 ,there is no need to do anything of the kind1 and when it is done a grave mistake is committed4 ,i preach no abstractions to you when ,i urge you to faith in ,christ for salvation4 ,i deal with facts and their deductions--deductions which are as inevitable as the facts are real--deductions which follow the facts as the shadow follows the substance4 ,deny the deductions8 ,you must first deny the facts4 ,the jailer1 poor man1 was no theologian1 and ,paul did not perplex and mystify him4 ,he placed the person of ,christ immediately before the soul4 ,faith in a person2 that is first--not faith in a creed4 ,a creed will follow2 for there cannot be faith without thought1 and thought always strives to formulate itself4 ,but1 blessed be ,god1 millions have been saved with next to no theology4 ,having ,christ for its object1 and salvation for its aim1 faith reposes in the facts of ,his mission and work2 but as ,he is a living ,christ1 it emphatically reposes in ,him4 ,this is the commonest form of the believer's experience4 ,in our social life we know what faith in a person means4 ,we confide in known goodness2 and therefore we believe words1 promises1 acts1 and we do so because we trust him from whom they come4 ,this is the last and most perfect stage of the faith men place in one another1 and it includes a confidence which is not impaired by what1 in the person who is trusted1 seems startling1 unexpected1 mysterious1 contradictory1 inexplicable4 ,just so with the gospel4 ,it meets our needs by telling us what ,god has done for us in ,christ4 ,we believe the record which fits our want1 and we put our trust in the ,saviour4 ,confiding in ,him1 we can accept such mysteries as we may discern in ,his dealings1 and faith in a holy and loving ,saviour is henceforth the true rest of life1 and the true foretaste of heaven4 ,such being the nature of faith unto salvation1 we see how it contrasts 7#a7 with indifference4 ,indifference is commonly supposed to be a mental state1 in which a man neither believes nor disbelieves2 whereas it is really a state of spiritual deadness4 7#b7 ,with mere opinion1 which is nothing more than an inclination in favour of1 or against1 a thing1 and not an earnest practical conviction about it4 7#c7 ,with presumption1 which is a prepossession with no sufficient basis of evidence4 ,it may1 perhaps1 be said that1 in this representation of faith in ,christ as the one all-comprehensive condition of salvation1 we have left no room for penitence1 holiness1 devotedness4 ,but think again for a moment4 ,were not all these in this man8 ,did not his conduct to the apostles show1 so far as the opportunity was given him1 the fruits of faith in the various ways of grateful love8 ,faith is the starting-point2 but when we are told to believe in ,christ an appeal is made to us in response to which there is a whole career to be filled up4 ,faith1 like everything else in life1 has its beginning1 and its development is progressive4 ,it means thought1 and thought means contrition1 gratitude1 and a glad and loving obedience4 ,it requires time1 but we have eternity before us4 ,in some1 the result of years is accomplished in a day4 ,simple-hearted men generally receive by a sort of intuition what others take a long period to elaborate4 ,the one thing essential to all is that they be faithful to the light and the love they have received4 ,believe in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,we do not call you to a learned and critical study4 ,the life and teachings and redeeming work of the ,saviour are put before us with a simplicity that brings them within the reach of a peasant or a child4 ,attention1 earnestness1 sincerity1 prayer1 will do all that is needed4 ,seek the faith that will make ,christ yours4 ,do you not already1 under the gracious influence of the ,holy ,spirit1 feel your need of ,him8 ,oh1 whilst mercy calls1 and the throne of grace is accessible1 pray and yield6 ,ye that in these courts are found ,listening to the joyful sound1 ,lost and helpless as you are1 ,sons of sorrow1 sin1 and care1 ,glorify the ,king of kings6 ,take the peace the gospel brings4 ,turn to ,christ with longing eyes1 ,view ,his bleeding sacrifice4 ,see through ,him your sins forgiven1 ,pardon1 holiness1 and heaven4 ,glorify the ,king of kings6 ,take the peace the gospel brings4 ,,iv4 ,,sincerity ,,of ,,heart ,,necessary ,,to ,,the ,,understanding ,,of ,,the ,,gospel4 ,if any man will do ,his will1 he shall know of the doctrine1 whether it be of ,god1 or whether ,i speak of myself4--,john vii4 #ag4 ,the ,jews1 marvelling at ,christ's teaching in the temple1 exclaim1 ,how knoweth this man letters1 having never learned8 ,they do not mean to ask whether ,christ is competent to teach1 for they see that he is so clearly enough2 but they thus express their astonishment at the authority and the ability with which ,he deals with the ,scriptures1 considering that ,he has never received the instruction of the ,schools4 ,in ,his reply1 ,jesus fully enters into the thought of ,his questioners4 ,that thought is this3 ,in order to teach1 one must have been taught4 ,he intimates to them that ,he meets this requirement4 ,as though ,he had said3 ,it is true that ,i have not been in the schools of your ,rabbis1 but ,i have been taught in a better school than theirs4 ,he who has given me my mission1 has also given me my message4 ,so that my teaching does not proceed originally from myself4 ,i have only to lay hold of my ,father's thought1 and then to reproduce it faithfully to you4 ,but how is this to be verified8 ,the answer to this question is found in the text3 ,if any man will do ,his will1 he shall know of the doctrine1 whether it be of ,god1 or whether ,i speak of myself4 ,christ's teaching1 in its highest aim1 is a ,divine method of sanctification4 ,whoever1 then1 earnestly seeks to do the will of ,god--that is1 to be holy--will soon recognise the ,divine adaptability of the gospel to its end4 ,the meaning of the verse is the same as in chapter v4 and verse #df3 ,for had ye believed ,moses1 ye would have believed me2 and also in chapter iii4 and verse #ba3 ,he that doeth truth cometh to the light4 ,on the one hand1 the holy sublimity of the gospel flashes irresistibly on the soul that longs for holiness2 on the other hand1 the soul1 in its inability to attain its ideal1 seeks peace and strength at the hands of the ,saviour4 ,faith1 therefore1 is not the result of a logical operation2 it appears to the soul as the best means of realising the satisfaction of its deepest want--holiness4 ,the word will points to the loftiness of the aspiration and to the earnestness of the effort4 ,our ,lord's words1 then1 mean this1 that if any man be supremely anxious to do the right1 he will find in ,scripture sufficient proof of its divinity1 and1 as a consequence1 of its adaptability to the soul's deepest need4 ,christ was dealing with men who were disposed to cavil about ,his authority and about the truth which ,he taught4 ,these men were acquainted with the ,mosaic law1 which enjoined not only purity of life1 but also purity of heart4 ,it was a law therefore which1 if honestly studied1 must lead to those convictions which would enable them to see the necessity and the wisdom of the gospel which ,christ was preaching4 ,and so ,he lays down the principle that sincerity in regard to the known law of ,god determines the real position of the mind towards ,god1 and prepares it for deeper and still deeper penetration into all necessary spiritual knowledge4 ,on the contrary1 he who is insincere1 and does not practise what he knows1 but endeavours to evade it by sophistry1 blinds himself until even the brightest light can be of no service to him4 ,this was the case with the majority of the ,pharisees with whom ,christ had to do4 ,this passage is therefore of the highest practical importance1 since it teaches that man's capacity for spiritual knowledge is dependent upon his inclination4 ,if the will be opposed to ,god1 the understanding becomes clouded2 if it be inclined towards ,god1 the ability to know increases4 ,that the inclination is the door to the intellect is a fact universally recognised4 ,it is expressed in the proverb3 ,none are so blind as those who will not see4 ,in every department of learning1 a man1 in order to attainment1 must make up his mind to it4 ,for good or ill1 the will is a quickening power4 ,it would be interesting and instructive to discuss this question in connection with religious error1 both in and out of the professing ,christian ,church4 ,my present purpose1 however1 is a more simple and elementary one--namely1 to indicate the bearing of the question upon man's reception of the gospel for his salvation4 ,i say1 then1 that honesty1 sincerity1 integrity of heart is the required and indispensable condition for perceiving and feeling the divinity and suitability of the gospel2 and that even an ignorant man1 if he be but sincere1 and devoutly anxious to know the will of ,god1 that he may do it1 may discover in the ,bible those traces of moral beauty and of ,divine truth which a learned but unconscientious man will almost certainly fail to find therein4 ,sincerity of heart--this is the wisest1 most natural1 and most comprehensive means of access to the inner spirit of that gospel which is the power of ,god unto salvation4 ,a few remarks in proof of this4 ,i4 ,suppose the gospel to be so manifestly filled with the proofs of its divinity that all hearts1 even the most obdurate1 could not refrain from yielding to its claims4 ,suppose it to be self-evidencing1 in the same way and to the same extent1 as the sun is self-evidencing by its shining1 or fire by its known power to burn4 ,in this case1 no moral or intellectual disposition would be necessary in order to its reception4 ,it could no more be denied than the light of the sun1 or the consuming power of fire4 ,but what1 with such a gospel1 would be man's position8 ,forced to assent to an imperious obligation1 he would be1 in relation to the gospel and to the salvation provided in it1 nothing more than a machine1 acting under the impulse of an irresistible necessity4 ,there could1 under these circumstances1 be neither praise nor blame attached to him4 ,he could no longer be accounted a moral agent--could not be regarded as free1 inasmuch as it would not be possible for him to choose error or evil without obvious and startling folly4 ,he could no longer be responsible1 because he would have to yield to a necessity4 ,there could be no free thought in his creed1 no free love in his heart1 and consequently no virtue in his life4 ,,ii4 ,since1 then1 some disposition is necessary in order to a man's coming to the gospel1 suppose that ,god had imposed an intellectual qualification--such1 for instance1 as is required for the learning of art or of science1 or for the understanding of any difficult problem in philosophy4 ,observe what in that case must follow4 ,if1 to discover the truth necessary to salvation1 a large measure of natural genius or of accumulated knowledge be required1 we must consider as excluded from salvation the immense majority of the human race6 ,men cannot in any large numbers abandon the common1 legitimate1 indispensable pursuits of secular life in order to become students of theology4 ,such an arrangement would shut out from heaven all who have neither time1 nor fortune1 nor energy of intellect sufficient to enable them to follow our profounder investigations4 ,the poor man for want of means1 the sick man for want of strength1 the old man for want of time--all1 being unable to explore and to make their own the prescribed science1 would be lost6 ,the fearfulness of the consequences shows how false the supposed principle must be4 ,,iii4 ,take another supposition2 viz41 that1 in order to a man's being convinced of the truth of the gospel1 he should be required to purify his heart from all evil1 so that with a clear moral vision he should be able to see the beauties which have been obscured by his sinful passions4 ,doubtless this means of appreciating ,christianity would be efficacious1 were it practicable4 ,but it is not so2 for evidently the knowledge of the truth must precede the practice of the truth4 ,a creature without wings might as well be told that he should go to heaven on condition that he would fly thither6 ,,iv4 ,see now1 not what our plans might be1 but what ,god's plan is4 ,he does not influence man so as to degrade him into a machine3 ,he simply and uniformly demands the worship and the service of willing hearts4 ,he does not require of him the genius or the learning which is the privilege of only a few4 ,he does not ask in advance the goodness which is impossible as a spontaneous production of his degenerate nature4 ,he just requires of all that which they can give1 if they will--viz41 simple1 devout honesty of purpose4 ,christ's words are not1 ,if any man does2 but1 ,if any man will do--desires to do--is supremely anxious to do--wills to do--the will of ,god he shall know of the doctrine1 whether it be of ,god4 ,who1 then1 has a right to complain8 ,who cannot be sincere8 ,who is unable to set before himself the purpose of living up to the light he has in order that he may be in the surest position for receiving more8 ,who will say1 ,this condition is too hard8 ,observe1 then1 how your case stands4 ,are you1 or are you not1 anxious to please ,god in any way which ,he may appoint and reveal to you8 ,if you are not1 ,his gospel must be a sealed and unmeaning book to you4 ,your mind is not open to the faith which unites the soul to the ,saviour4 ,you are altogether destitute of the motive which would lead you to the cross4 ,but if you are1 what then8 ,you must see at once that you are sinners1 that you are guilty1 and that you are hopeless4 ,in the light of these convictions1 look at the gospel4 ,it tells you of the ,divine ,saviour who died for you and who rose again1 who paid your debt1 who took to ,himself your penalty1 and who has therefore done all that was necessary to set you free4 ,to meet your helplessness1 ,he only asks for your faith1 and offers to you the quickening and guiding and upholding influences of ,his ,holy ,spirit4 ,v4 ,,the ,,humble ,,taught ,,the ,,lord',s ,,way4 ,the meek will ,he teach ,his way4--,psalm xxv4 #i4 ,instead of meek read humble1 and then connect the verse with the preceding1 so as to see who and what are the persons to whom the ,psalmist refers4 ,the righteous ,lord will teach sinners ,his way2 but the sinners1 in order to be thus divinely taught1 must be humble4 ,probably this text of ,scripture does not seem at first sight to be very promising to some of you4 ,if so1 the reason probably is that one at least of the subjects it brings to our notice is not a favourite or inspiring one4 ,men are comparatively little attracted by the more quiet and passive virtues of life1 and among these the virtue of humility is one of the least popular4 ,the truth is that we are still under the influence of ,pagan notions about it4 ,the philosophers of the past never understood it4 ,to them it was a mean and despicable thing--the evidence of weakness and poverty of soul1 the necessary virtue of the enslaved and the helpless4 ,this notion exists now4 ,the world has far more respect for the self-confident1 the noisy1 the bombastic1 than for the humble4 ,of course the world's ideas of humility are at fault1 and have need to be corrected4 ,we cannot enter upon that task now1 except incidentally and very partially4 ,one thing only let me say--namely1 that ,christianity has transformed and ennobled the despised word by giving us the thing itself4 ,the life of ,christ comprises the perfection of humility as well as of every other virtue4 ,in ,him we see that humility makes no man contemptible4 ,he was no less a king because ,he was a servant4 ,and the virtue that was perfect in ,him is one of the essential qualities of the ,christian character--one of the essential elements of the ,christian life1 whether in its high enjoyments or in its high achievements4 ,the words before us present this virtue of humility under one special aspect4 ,man has something to learn1 and ,god has something to teach2 and humility is teachableness4 ,christianity demands of its disciples that disposition of heart which is the indispensable condition of all learning whatsoever4 ,no more objection can be urged against ,christianity for this1 than against any art or science or philosophy which men seek to acquire4 ,all these might say to their disciples1 ,unless you give up your prejudice1 your conceit1 your self-will1 your presumption1 you have no business here2 we have nothing to teach you4 ,and so1 poverty of spirit1 as ,christ intimates in the ,beatitudes1 is the strait gate into the kingdom of ,god4 ,it is only as respects religion that this principle is seriously misunderstood1 and a little reflection will show why it is that outside ,christianity humility is misapprehended4 ,humility is the result of self-knowledge1 and this cannot be obtained until man has learned to know himself in the light of ,god's wisdom and holiness4 ,so long as he compares himself with his fellow-creatures around him1 it may seem to him that there is no necessity for such an element of character as this4 ,nor is it in this way that the virtue is commended and enforced4 ,whilst the standard of excellence remains merely human1 it is quite clear that a man may say1 ,i am as good as my neighbours2 at least1 ,i am no worse4 ,but put before him a holy ,god and a holy law6 ,in this new light all becomes changed4 ,apart from that revelation1 many flatter themselves that they have lived respectably4 ,they are not conscious of any serious defection in the common1 every-day duties of life4 ,let the great revelation come to them1 and they must make wonderful self-discoveries4 ,how many forgotten sins are then brought to mind6 ,how many secret sins are then brought to light6 ,how many temptations have been yielded to for convenience' sake6 ,how much coldness and indifference towards the right1 the true1 and the good6 ,how much selfishness6 ,how much cowardice6 ,how many meannesses6 ,how many secret and contemptible dishonesties6 ,what culpable ignorance of ,god6 ,what rebellion against ,his known will6 ,is not all this enough to humble a man8 ,where is the man amongst us who would not rather die than have all his sins brought to light before his fellow-men8 ,thus1 to make us humble1 ,god teaches us1 first of all1 truly to know ourselves4 ,this is that conviction of sin which is wrought by ,his ,holy ,spirit4 ,god teaches us this in ,his law1 but chiefly by the life of ,christ ,his ,son4 ,who can remain proud when he compares his own life with that8 ,before men we may1 perhaps1 hold our own2 but before ,him there is nothing left for us but self-abasement4 ,in presence of such a conviction as this1 it is vain for the world to flatter a man1 for he has learnt his own misery4 ,he wants to know the truth1 for it is only the truth that can save4 ,he knows too much of himself to accept any teaching that would exalt man1 for he could not accept that without dishonouring ,god4 ,he wants a frank1 firm voice that will trouble him1 and to which his conscience will respond4 ,the first question for us is3 ,have we so learnt to know ourselves1 or do we obstinately shut our eyes against ,god's light8 ,such a knowledge of sin brings with it a sense of deserved condemnation4 ,and here ,god comes in to teach us humility in another way4 ,he shows us ,his love in ,christ4 ,it is not possible that a sinner who has come to the knowledge of himself should discover that he is the object of a love on the part of ,god such as that which the gospel reveals without being overwhelmed4 ,show to man a ,god who judges and condemns1 and the sinner must shrink from before ,him under the sense of a deserved doom2 but show to him a ,god who comes to him graciously1 who loves him1 who has provided redemption for him1 and who is waiting to receive and to help him1 and all the pride of his heart at once breaks down4 ,the prodigal son was most humble when he received his father's kiss of welcome4 ,how can we be proud when we know that ,god has loved us1 and that ,christ has died for us8 ,unbelievers sometimes call the ,christian's faith presumption2 we know1 on the contrary1 that the feeling produced is as unlike presumption as it can be4 ,the very faith which accepts the gospel has its root in lowliness of mind4 ,pride would reject it4 ,and it is at the foot of the cross that humility grows4 ,if not there1 then nowhere4 ,thus we see that all our ,christian life1 in one aspect of it1 is a growth in humility4 ,this beautiful virtue affects our whole being1 rescuing for ,god all that has been usurped by sin4 ,our reason must be humble4 ,we are living in an age of criticism and discussion2 and1 both in the ,church and out of it1 human thought is prone to pride and self-sufficiency4 ,there is work1 of course1 for thought to do1 and we must do it2 for thought is ,god's gift4 ,but it can only be done aright as it is done in humility4 ,we must never touch religious questions with profane hands4 ,let us rather remember that all our researches into truth should be conducted with a view the better to adore and to obey4 ,we should examine truth only with a desire to perceive1 acknowledge1 and reverence it4 ,our ,lord teaches us that the gospel both enlightens and blinds4 ,for judgment ,i am come into this world1 that they who see not might see1 and that they who see might be made blind4 ,the first part of this great statement is easily understood2 it is the second which startles4 ,but why so8 ,is it not like ,simeon's prediction that ,christ would be for the fall as well as for the rising of many8 ,is it not like what ,paul said of the gospel1 that it is a savour both of life unto life and of death unto death8 ,so long as the gospel is not preached in a church or a house1 all is quiet--with the quietness of death6 ,as soon as it is preached1 some accept it1 and say that they have passed from darkness to light2 others reject it1 and are made angry by its teaching and its claims4 ,if these latter were quiet1 we might suppose the gospel to be without effect upon them2 but they show that1 by hardening themselves against it1 they are becoming blinder than ever4 ,recall other words which point to the same result--words spoken by our ,lord3 ,i thank ,thee1 ,o ,father1 ,lord of heaven and earth1 because ,thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent1 and hast revealed them unto babes4 ,even so1 ,father3 for so it seemed good in ,thy sight4 ,this should be a joyful truth to us1 for ,jesus had joy in declaring it4 ,wherein is its worth8 ,the things of which ,he speaks are the doctrines of salvation4 ,the wise and prudent are self-satisfied men who think that they can comprehend all religious truth by their own reason alone4 ,the babes are humble souls1 who1 in the consciousness of their ignorance and weakness1 look to ,god for wisdom4 ,thus ,christ says that ,divine teaching is necessary for the understanding of gospel truth1 and this fact humility alone enables us to feel4 ,man's intelligence can do many wonderful things1 but ,god ,himself must come to our help if we are ever to know the things that pertain to our salvation4 ,our reason must bow to ,him4 ,the heart must be humble4 ,we may profess entire mental submission to ,god1 and yet be under the influence of pride4 ,there is a humility which is spurious as well as a humility which is real4 ,it is possible1 and not very uncommon1 for a man to cherish a false consciousness of merit even in the disbelief and denial of merit6 ,if a man is proud who puts confidence in his self-righteousness1 so also is he who puts confidence in his intellectual orthodoxy4 ,our conduct must be humble4 ,this grace of humility must not only dwell in the inner spirit1 but be manifested in our outer life4 ,it is vain to come to the cross with the offer of a bending reason1 a subdued will1 and a broken heart1 and then go out into the world intent on the accomplishment of our own purposes4 ,if we are truly humble1 we shall be seen to be so in the way in which we accept the teachings of events2 in our reverent waiting for the signs of the ,divine will2 in the faithful1 unreluctant fulfilment of the humblest duties2 in our resignation to1 and our acquiescence in1 the trials and afflictive dispensations which come upon us4 ,we often see this grace in its greatest beauty at the close of the most eminent lives4 ,god's most gifted men1 as a rule1 advance in humility as they grow in experience4 ,they are like boughs that bend the lower the more fruit they bear4 ,like ,john the ,baptist1 they say1 ,he must increase1 but ,i must decrease4 ,this1 then1 is the disposition1 and to it ,god makes a great promise4 ,he will teach ,his way to the humble4 ,this applies ,to our knowledge of ,divine truth4 ,how uniformly have ,god's truest witnesses upon earth consisted of men conspicuous for their lowliness of mind4 ,it was to such that the ,saviour was first announced and that ,he first came4 ,such were the people who listened to ,him and accepted ,him1 whilst the learned and the great rejected ,him4 ,his apostles were humble men2 and it has always been by the humble that the strong and the proud have1 in the end1 been vanquished4 ,every bright page in the history of the ,church is a commentary on our text4 ,to-day1 in spite of the progress of thought in our world1 we1 in regard to the matters that belong to our spiritual life and salvation1 have to sit as disciples at the feet of the humble men who themselves sat at the feet of the ,divine ,teacher who said1 ,learn of me1 for ,i am meek and lowly of heart2 and ye shall find rest unto your souls4 ,our views of the truth as it is in ,jesus may be modified and corrected2 yet the pages of these same humble men are still the standard of our faith and of our teaching4 ,religious opinions change1 not because we have gone beyond ,paul and ,peter and ,john1 but because we understand them better4 ,this is no plea1 no apology1 for mental weakness4 ,on the contrary1 pride is rather the characteristic of mental weakness and of ignorance than of mental strength and enlightenment4 ,we may search1 but we must remember that we always depend upon ,god for light4 ,in religion the condition of the heart is the condition of knowledge4 ,proud1 haughty1 self-sufficient ,saul of ,tarsus had to be humbled before he could become ,paul the ,believer and the ,apostle4 ,to the every-day dispensations of life4 ,in this world we are the subjects of ,god's discipline1 and that discipline is for the most part mysterious4 ,the course of events with us is often varied4 ,we are subjected to vicissitudes of every kind--vicissitudes of thought1 of impression1 of feeling1 and of experience4 ,we are troubled in life1 in heart1 in the cultivation of ,christian excellence1 in the maintenance of life's relationships1 in the performance of duty4 ,whilst we try to bear in mind the glorious issues to which we are destined1 we are often perplexed in our endeavours to ascertain how the discipline we are undergoing tends towards their realisation4 ,we are puzzled by the prevalence of wickedness1 by the disappointment of hopes1 the apparent futility of many of our prayers2 and we say1 ,i am blind1 and the way in which ,i am walking is unknown to me4 ,humility will help us to think that ,god has ,his own way among all these perplexities of ours1 though we are unable to trace it4 ,all things work together for good to them that love ,god4 ,god works not as man works1 nor sees ,as man sees1 though we mark ,ofttimes the moving of ,his hands ,beneath the eternal ,dark4 99 99 99 99 ,and ,he who made both life and death1 ,he knoweth which is best4 ,we live to ,him1 we die to ,him1 ,and leave ,him all the rest4 ,thus the humble are taught trust1 patience1 resignation1 obedience1 peace of heart1 and daily advancement in sanctification4 ,to our bearing towards others4 ,humility will qualify us cordially to recognise whatever worth they have1 to show gentleness and charity to those among them who are faulty and weak1 and thus will take us along a line of conduct which will lead to the strengthening of the bonds of brotherhood4 ,likewise1 ye younger1 submit yourselves unto the elder4 ,yea1 all of you be subject one to another1 and be clothed with humility3 for ,god resisteth the proud1 and giveth grace to the humble4 ,the word here rendered ,be clothed occurs nowhere else in ,scripture4 ,it is borrowed from a piece of dress worn by servants when they were doing menial offices1 which at once intimated their station1 and fitted them for the performance of the duties attached to it4 ,remember that it is ,peter who gives this advice--the ,peter who in former days so often brought himself into trouble by his want of humility4 ,notice1 too1 the special point he now has in view4 ,he is pleading for harmonious action in the ,church1 a result which can only be obtained by observing the law of voluntary subordination to established authority--an observance to which the habit of humility will most effectually contribute4 ,humility is one of the chief social and ecclesiastical virtues1 through the medium of which ,god teaches us what is the attitude we are to maintain towards those who are around us4 ,to our ,christian work4 ,all the heroes of the faith in past times avowed their personal infirmities4 ,moses1 ,david1 ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 ,peter1 ,paul--each1 in one form or another1 confessed3 ,when ,i am weak1 then am ,i strong2 ,i can do all things through ,christ who strengtheneth me4 ,i glory in mine infirmities1 that the power of ,christ may rest upon me4 ,we must lay hold of this thought1 for it alone can guard us against discouragement4 ,as long as we depend on ourselves1 ,god will break down our confidence by repeated failures2 but when ,his wisdom has humbled us1 ,his mercy will lift us up4 ,why should it not be so8 ,we may well be humble in our work when we remember how far we are from being indispensable to ,god4 ,he can work either with us or without us1 as ,he pleases4 ,it is ,his own order to achieve mighty moral results through the humblest instrumentalities2 and frequently ,his independence of us is taught in a very striking way--as1 for example1 when ,he calls to ,himself some great preacher1 or some man who is doing wide-spread good1 in the midst of his activity and his usefulness4 ,besides1 we have no monopoly of any one gift of the ,christian life--either as regards the gift itself or as regards the quality and extent of the service which it can be made to render4 ,others excel us in the very thing of which we are most proud4 ,many of our fellow ,christians are doing the same kind of works as ourselves1 only far better4 ,and as to our gifts1 let us not forget that they are gifts4 ,we have received them2 and why1 then1 should we boast as if we had not received them1 but were ourselves the creators of them8 ,moreover1 in proportion to our gifts1 so is our responsibility1 and to whom much is given1 of him shall much be required4 ,have we used such gifts as we have as nobly as we might8 ,have we fallen into no needless errors1 no selfishness1 no half-heartedness8 ,so then1 while everything calls us to duty1 there is much to fill us with contrition2 and mingling fidelity and humility together1 our exclusive confidence must be in ,god4 ,this is the ,divine way which the ,divine ,teacher teaches to the humble4 ,the ,lord's way4 ,this is a beautiful and lovable expression4 ,it links earth with heaven4 ,there is a way which leads to ,god2 a way in which ,god walks with us1 and we with ,him2 a way that is peaceful here1 while it leads to the land of rest above4 ,we begin it in humility1 confessing our sins at the cross1 and accepting ,god's mercy there4 ,we end it before the throne1 casting our crowns at the feet of ,him who died to save us4 ,hark6 universal nature shook and groan'd1 ',twas the last trumpet--see the ,judge enthroned3 ,rouse all your courage at your utmost need1 ,now summon every virtue1 stand and plead4 ,what6 silent8 ,is your boasting heard no more8 ,that self-renouncing wisdom1 learn'd before1 ,had shed immortal glories on your brow1 ,that all your virtues cannot purchase now4 ,all joy to the believer6 ,he can speak1 ,trembling yet happy1 confident yet meek4 ,since the dear hour that brought me to ,thy foot1 ,and cut up all my follies by the root1 ,i never trusted in an arm but ,thine1 ,nor hoped but in ,thy righteousness divine3 ,my prayers and alms1 imperfect and defiled1 ,were but the feeble efforts of a child2 ,howe'er perform'd1 it was their brightest part1 ,that they proceeded from a grateful heart3 ,cleansed in ,thine own all purifying blood1 ,forgive their evil1 and accept their good3 ,i cast them at ,thy feet1 my only plea ,is what it was1 dependence upon ,thee3 ,while struggling in the vale of tears below1 ,that never failed1 nor shall it fail me now4 ,angelic gratulations rend the skies1 ,pride falls unpitied never more to rise1 ,humility is crown'd1 and ,faith receives the prize4 ,,vi4 ,,the ,,gratitude ,,of ,,the ,,pardoned4 ,wherefore ,i say unto thee1 ,her sins1 which are many1 are forgiven2 for she loved much3 but to whom little is forgiven1 the same loveth little4--,luke vii4 #dg4 ,it has been observed that the ,bible records with great minuteness events which a secular historian would deem beneath his notice1 whilst1 on the other hand1 matters of great secular importance are passed over unmentioned4 ,what ordinary historian would think of narrating such a story as the one we have in the verses before us8 ,the ,bible records it because it is a history of souls4 ,to a ,bible historian1 the conversion of a soul is an event of unique sublimity1 and everything that can illustrate it is felt to be a source of deepest interest4 ,the history of outward events will pass into oblivion2 the history of souls will be read in eternity4 ,the narrative before us is one of the most beautiful and touching in the gospel record4 ,it was a saying of ,gregory the ,great3 ,whenever ,i think of this story ,i am more inclined to weep over it than to preach upon it4 ,it is just the tale to prompt deep1 quiet feeling rather than elaborate disquisition4 ,it contains an illustration in real life of the old promise3 ,a bruised reed shall ,he not break1 and the smoking flax shall ,he not quench4 ,it declares the ,saviour's matchless sympathy for the sinner1 and the most broken-hearted sinner's hope in ,him4 ,it teaches these lessons for all time1 since in ,christ and in ,his system of ,redemption there can be no change4 ,let us look at the narrative somewhat closely1 and may ,god help us to see in it ,christ as the refuge of the lost1 and the thankfulness to ,him which must possess the soul whom ,he has saved4 ,when we have said all we can1 there will yet remain much more to be felt4 ,before ,i proceed1 however1 let me say that this narrative must not be confounded with another which is in many respects like it1 and which has been told by the other evangelists4 ,in both cases1 the name of the host is ,simon1 and in both a woman anoints the ,lord ,jesus1 and wipes ,his feet with her hair4 ,but the differences are numerous4 ,in this case1 the host is a ,pharisee living in ,galilee1 and he looks on ,christ with mistrust2 in the other case1 the host is a healed leper in ,judea1 bound to ,christ by grateful love4 ,in this case1 the anointing proceeds from personal and grateful love1 and has no other specialty of motive2 in the other case1 ,jesus says3 ,let her alone2 against the day of my burying hath she kept this4 ,here1 ,jesus is blamed by the ,pharisee2 there1 the woman is blamed by the disciples4 ,pride is the root of ,simon's objection2 the objection of the disciples springs from selfishness4 ,here a sinner is pardoned2 there a disciple is honoured4 ,here1 in all probability1 the woman was ,mary ,magdalene2 there1 the woman was the sister of ,lazarus4 ,we have no information as to the reason which induced this ,pharisee to invite ,christ to his house4 ,the verse ,i have read as a text may obscurely hint to us1 perhaps1 that he himself had come under some obligation to ,jesus1 and not feeling any true gratitude1 he thought he might acquit himself of his obligation by a compliment of this kind6 ,or the invitation may have sprung from curiosity1 or from vanity1 or from ambition4 ,possibly he may have wished to play the patron4 ,anyhow1 we have no sign that he was urged by spiritual considerations4 ,many men come--if one might so say--locally near to ,christ1 who have no faith in ,him1 and no love for ,him4 ,neither have we any information as to the reason or reasons which induced ,christ to accept this invitation4 ,several reasons might be imagined4 ,he may have hoped1 as the opportunity was specially favourable1 to bring a blessing to the ,pharisee's heart4 ,men are never more open1 or more submissive1 or more susceptible to the word of love1 than when they themselves are showing kindness in the form of the hospitalities of home and of the family circle4 ,perhaps1 too1 ,he may have felt that to decline the invitation would be to lay ,himself open to an accusation on the part of the ,pharisees that ,he neglected or spurned them1 whilst ,he could put ,himself in close communication with publicans and sinners4 ,at any rate1 we have here a beautiful instance of the self-denial of ,his love4 ,he knew what awaited ,him1 and yet ,he went4 ,and now we have to notice that when ,jesus had passed over the threshold of the ,pharisee's house the door was open to a woman who was a sinner4 ,how was this8 ,the simple and sufficient answer is that ,jesus was there4 ,otherwise she would not have dared to enter within the perfumed respectability and sanctity of such a place4 ,that would have been a terror to such a fallen one as she4 ,but redeeming love had already begun its work upon her heart1 so that she could come without misgiving1 could enter with a holy confidence4 ,when ,christ appears1 grace bears the sceptre1 and the law loses its power to alarm4 ,we may take this incident1 therefore1 as a striking illustration of the spirit of ,christ and of ,his true followers1 as contrasted with ,pharisaism in its suspiciousness1 its blindness1 its narrowness1 and its ascetic scrupulosity4 ,the woman1 probably under the pressure of gratitude for some act of compassionate love already received from ,christ1 is full of the holiest and tenderest emotions4 ,in a fine1 sacred humility1 she weeps1 and washes ,his feet with her tears4 ,true tears they are1 for they are the tears of penitence--and not of penitence only1 but of thankfulness also4 ,confused and bewildered1 perhaps1 she wipes the feet on which they have fallen with her hair1 and then kisses them1 and anoints them with costly ointment6 ,such is the gratitude of the pardoned--deep1 strong1 irrepressible4 ,and she expresses it in touchingly significant ways4 ,the woman's action was distasteful to the ,pharisee4 ,the touch of a ,gentile1 or of a notoriously wicked person1 was supposed to leave pollution behind it1 and therefore by the ,pharisees it was scrupulously avoided4 ,thus ,simon had no understanding whatever of the scene before him4 ,he had no eyes to see1 no ears to hear1 how the angels were filling heaven with the music of their joy over this poor sinner who had repented4 ,a weak human virtue might be contaminated by contact with such an one as she had been2 but not ,his who was the ,christ of ,god4 ,no doubt1 apart from the sanctifying influences of the ,holy ,spirit1 apart from the strength which ,god imparts to the soul by ,his grace1 a man does run the risk of polluting his morality by allowing it to be touched by the impure streams of his fellow-creatures' vices4 ,this has always been so fully recognised that we have a whole system of proverbial philosophy on the point4 ,christ1 however1 was perfect1 and ,his purity was such that it could not incur this danger4 ,outward contact with sinners could bring no contamination to ,him4 ,simon took offence at the conduct of the woman1 and began at once to indulge in dark1 though unspoken1 suspicions against ,christ for permitting it4 ,his suspicion took this form3 ,this man professes to be a prophet1 and is regarded as a prophet by ,his followers4 ,but surely1 if ,he were a prophet1 ,he would have known this woman's character1 and would have repelled her from ,him1 instead of permitting such demonstrations of affection as these4 ,simon's notion of a prophet was that he must possess at least two qualifications4 7#a7 ,he must have a knowledge of the characters of the persons with whom ,he has to deal4 ,on behalf of merely ordinary1 human prophets1 this was an exaggerated claim4 ,to what prophet could ,simon point who was able to read the heart8 ,how did he know that ,christ had ever seen this woman before8 ,and on the supposition that ,he had not1 on what ground could ,simon demand that1 in order to be entitled to the designation of a prophet1 ,he should show an insight into her character at the commencement of the very first interview4 ,christ had the insight2 but ,simon felt constrained to doubt it for no other reason than that ,he did not instantly repel the woman from ,him4 7#b7 ,and so1 in ,simon's judgment1 the second qualification of a prophet consisted in such a moral exclusiveness as would forbid contact with sinners4 ,he thought that1 if ,christ did know what manner of woman this was1 ,his tolerance of her conduct at this time was sufficient proof that ,he could not be a good man1 and was not1 therefore1 to be regarded as a prophet4 ,a prophet's sanctity would have forbidden such a scene as this4 ,but again we ask1 ,whence could such a notion have sprung8 ,who among the prophets ever stood aloof from sinners8 ,was it not emphatically to sinners that they were sent8 ,simon's reasoning was full of sophistry1 and the sophistry came from a defective heart4 ,had he known the nature of the ,saviour's mission--as one which demanded a perfect knowledge of all hearts1 combined with grace1 love1 and power to save the worst--he might perhaps have felt and reasoned differently4 ,his thoughts were unspoken1 but ,christ divined them1 and proceeded to deal with them4 ,to the personal imputation ,he made no reply4 ,it was a little thing to ,him to be judged by man4 ,it was sufficient for ,him to aim at two points4 ,one was to vindicate the woman on well-known principles1 and the other1 to lead the ,pharisee to self-examination4 ,with these two objects in view1 ,he utters a parable1 and applies it to the case in hand4 ,the parable and its application are both marked by a mingled faithfulness and love4 ,he makes ,simon himself to be the judge in the case ,he describes1 and on the basis of ,simon's own judgment ,he brings the practical point right home to the proud heart of the man4 ,by a few sharp and striking contrasts1 ,he shows that the woman1 sinful as she has been1 has manifested more love to ,him than ,simon ,himself whose guest ,he is6 ,though a discredited stranger1 she has done for ,him what ,simon1 ,his host1 had failed to do4 ,simon1 ,i have somewhat to say unto thee4 ,master1 say on4 ,there was a certain creditor1 who had two debtors3 the one owed him five hundred pence1 and the other fifty4 ,and when they had nothing to pay1 he frankly forgave them both4 ,tell me therefore1 which of them will love him most8 ,i suppose1 he to whom he forgave most4 ,thou hast rightly judged4 ,seest thou this woman8 ,i entered into thine house2 thou gavest me no water for my feet3 but she hath washed my feet with tears1 and wiped them with the hairs of her head4 ,thou gavest me no kiss3 but this woman since the time ,i came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet4 ,my head with oil thou didst not anoint3 but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment4 ,wherefore ,i say unto thee1 ,her sins1 which are many1 are forgiven2 for she loved much3 but to whom little is forgiven1 the same loveth little4 ,having said this1 ,christ crowns ,his work of love by saying to the woman1 ,thy sins are forgiven4 ,now in all this we have an explanation and a vindication of the grateful love to ,christ which fills and animates the pardoned soul4 ,this love is shown to us-- ,i4 ,in its source4 ,the grace of ,christ in forgiving sins4 ,grace6 ,how great6 since it forgives all equally2 the debtor who owes five hundred pence as well and as completely as the one who owes fifty--greater sinners and lesser sinners alike6 ,for sinners of every grade there is but one relief1 and that is ,divine mercy--needed by those who have sinned least as well as by those who have sinned most1 and equally sufficing for both4 ,grace6 ,how free6 since it forgives where no satisfaction can be made4 ,nothing to pay2 such is the condition of every sinner before ,god4 ,without money and without price2 such is ,god's gracious invitation4 ,,ii4 ,in its law4 ,it is in the nature of things that love should beget love1 and that the love thus originated should be measured by the extent of the favour which has been shown4 ,we love ,him1 because ,he first loved us4 ,hence1 love does not precede pardon1 but is the fruit of it1 and is proportioned to the sense of obligation4 ,this doctrine1 clear as it is1 is not apprehended by all1 and is even contradicted by some4 ,the inveterate spirit of self-righteousness has made men say3 ,see this woman4 ,by loving much she obtains the forgiveness of many sins4 ,this is palpably the reverse of ,christ's teaching in this case4 ,love to ,god can never be the growth of unrenewed and unforgiven hearts4 ,to whom little is forgiven1 the same loveth little4 ,this shows the true order3 forgiveness and then love4 ,so that love is no plea for pardon2 ,christ does not say1 ,thy love hath saved thee1 but thy faith4 ,i love the ,lord4 ,he lent an ear ,when ,i for help implored2 ,he rescued me from all my fear2 ,therefore ,i love the ,lord4 ,,iii4 ,in its character4 ,it is an all-absorbing feeling1 which prompts the offering of the best gifts to the ,saviour1 and which fills such offerings with the spirit of devoutness1 humility1 and self-denial4 ,two closing thoughts4 #a4 ,men may be very near to the source of salvation and eternal life1 without coming into the realisation of these blessings4 ,in the outward sense1 ,christ was very near to this ,pharisee and to his friends2 but they did not perceive ,his spiritual power4 ,they thought ,he was only a man like unto themselves2 possibly1 perhaps1 on a somewhat higher plane of manhood1 though many of them do not seem to have given ,him credit even for that4 ,his forgiveness was announced to this poor sinful1 but contrite woman in their hearing2 but the best effect it had upon them was to fill them with a dubious wonder1 and to set them on questioning ,his authority4 ,near as they were to ,him1 they failed to see in ,him1 what the woman who was a sinner saw4 ,such is the position1 practically1 of multitudes to-day4 ,not1 indeed1 that their nearness to ,christ is a local nearness1 as in the case of those who were immediately around ,him in the days of ,his flesh4 ,they could look upon ,his outward form1 could literally hear ,his voice4 ,not so now4 ,but there is another nearness to ,him which is moral and spiritual4 ,we have ,his ,word--the record of ,his life1 the ,divine repository of ,his teaching4 ,we have the ordinances of ,his worship--ordinances by which ,his ,word is brought more home to our understandings and hearts4 ,we have the influences of ,his truth shed over all the scenes in which we move4 ,the surface influences of ,christianity modify and1 to some extent1 mould the whole of our social life4 ,moreover1 ,scripture takes account of the differences in human character4 ,this woman1 who was a sinner1 and this ,pharisee were not alike in their relation to ,christ4 ,there was one to whom ,he said1 ,thou art not far from the kingdom of ,god4 ,not far from it1 and yet not in it4 ,are there no such cases now8 ,all are sinners2 but depravity is developed in much grosser forms in some than in others2 and religious influences1 which fall short of effecting a complete conversion1 nevertheless often deter men from plunging into extreme vice4 ,it is mournfully possible to be near to ,christ1 and yet not to come into the enjoyment of ,his salvation4 #b4 ,on the other hand1 there are instances in which people obtain salvation who seem1 as to character1 farthest away from it4 ,the case of this sinful woman is an illustration in point4 ,we have no right to mitigate or to extenuate her guilt4 ,let it be recognised in all its dark completeness4 ,as an actual sinner she had sunk very low4 ,her sin was against nature's purest laws1 and was of the kind that soon and effectually kills shame--one of the most fatal forms of sin1 and declared to be such1 not only by ,god's law1 but by the common consent of the universal conscience of the civilised world2 a sin committed against the strongest restraints--the restraints of sacred womanhood2 perhaps against the memory of the holy associations of childhood1 a father's tenderness1 a mother's love1 and all the joy of a happy home4 ,such was this woman--a bruised reed4 ,but she was brought to tears under a sense of ,paradise lost1 the tears of despair2 and yet again to tears of joy under the sense of ,paradise regained4 ,how many more--far off as she--have been made nigh2 treated by fellow sinners as the offscouring of the earth1 yet drawn to the ,saviour4 ,they are brought to the cross2 they repent1 believe1 are sanctified1 and exult in the consciousness of eternal life4 ,constrained by the mercies of ,god1 they yield themselves a living sacrifice to ,him4 ,the whole scene before us is one of the boldest triumphs of reconciliation and love1 in contrast with ,pharisaic suspicion and unforgivingness2 and it supplies the fullest inspiration for the largest hope4 ,may we all come to ,christ as this woman did1 and hear1 as she heard1 ,his gentle ,go in peace6 ,,vii4 ,,consecration4 ,i beseech you therefore1 brethren1 by the mercies of ,god1 that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable unto ,god1 which is your reasonable service4 ,and be not conformed to this world3 but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind1 that ye may prove what is that good1 and acceptable1 and perfect will of ,god4--,romans xii4 #a1 #b4 ,in bringing this passage before you1 ,i have to dwell specifically on the motives to self-consecration to ,god1 and to what is involved therein2 and ,i do so with the twofold object of reconsidering the sources of our ,christian hope and strength1 and the incentives to our growth in the ,divine life4 ,the apostle commences his appeal with the word therefore4 ,this is a logical term1 leading to a conclusion from premises which have been previously stated4 ,it does not stand alone1 but in an argument resumes in itself all that has been advanced4 ,take careful note of the simple words of ,scripture4 ,there is point in them all4 ,if1 for example1 the use of the word therefore in this text be overlooked1 we shall be unable properly to feel the force of the apostle's appeal4 ,what is it1 then1 that the apostle has said in this epistle1 and of which he intends1 by this word therefore1 to remind his readers8 ,he has been giving to them a large1 full1 grand exposition of the great truths of redemption4 ,he has prepared the way for this by a graphic picture of the sinfulness and helplessness of human nature4 ,he has shown that the heathen world is grossly depraved--in a state of alienation from ,god1 which is to a certain extent wilful 7chap4 i4 #bi-cb74 ,he has proceeded to demonstrate that1 with all their advantages1 the ,jews are no better at heart than the heathen1 and as truly sinful1 condemned1 and hopeless as they 7ii4 #ag-bd74 ,the conclusion supplied by these facts is1 that none are righteous--that all1 ,jews and ,gentiles alike1 have sinned and come short of the glory of ,god1 and that all stand on the same ground of spiritual danger4 ,this brings out the fact that redemption is the pressing need of the whole world4 ,the way is now clear for the presentation of the gospel4 ,the basis of redemption is ,christ's work of atonement4 ,the foundation of the plan of salvation is ,god's free grace--,his boundless1 sovereign love4 ,christ came forth from the ,father as the expression of this4 ,he suffered1 bled1 died for us1 to meet the claims of the ,divine law on our behalf1 and to procure our justification and peace4 ,being justified freely by ,his grace through the redemption that is in ,christ ,jesus3 whom ,god hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in ,his blood 7iii4 #bd1 #be74 ,jesus ,christ1 who was delivered for our offences 7iv4 #be74 ,for when we were yet without strength1 in due time ,christ died for the ungodly4 ,for scarcely for a righteous man will one die3 yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die4 ,but ,god commendeth ,his love toward us in that1 while we were yet sinners1 ,christ died for us 7v4 #f-h74 ,salvation1 then1 is founded upon the atonement of ,christ--a proper work of propitiation1 providing for pardon and justification4 ,the condition of this salvation on our part is simply the acceptance of it by faith4 ,faith is primarily the repose of the soul in ,christ's redeeming work--a yielding to ,god's method of saving us4 ,it operates to this end independently--yea1 even to the exclusion--of all works of self-righteousness4 ,by the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified4 ,it is inconsistent with all boasting4 ,where is boasting1 then8 ,it is excluded4 ,by what law8 ,of works8 ,nay1 but by the law of faith4 ,therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law4 ,this simple condition of salvation is the only one which can be adapted to our need4 ,sinners as we are1 our condition is hopeless unless redemption be offered to us as a free gift4 ,this redemption is secured to all who believe by ,god's unalterable purpose and promise4 ,it is not vitally affected by recurring doubts and fears1 nor even by our often insufficient struggles against sin 7viii4 #bh-ci74 ,the result is inconceivably glorious2 freedom from condemnation1 adoption into ,god's family1 joy1 peace1 full favour with ,god here1 and heaven with its perfect glory1 consummated in the resurrection1 hereafter4 ,now1 it is at the close of all this that the apostle's therefore comes2 and these are the facts and principles which give to it its point and force4 ,it links all the disclosures of ,divine love with the obligations of redeemed souls4 ,since ,god has done so much as this for you1 what then8 ,by the remembrance of the sin which left you without hope2 by the greatness of the love of ,god who1 to save you1 gave ,his well-beloved ,son to an atoning death on your behalf2 by the greatness of the love of ,christ who1 to save you1 consecrated ,himself to this perfect sacrifice2 by ,his birth and death1 by ,his cross and passion1 by ,his resurrection and ascension2 by the freeness and the simplicity of the condition on which ,christ's salvation becomes yours2 by your present peace2 by your hope which blooms with immortality and with eternal life2 by these1 the mercies of ,god1 ,i beseech you1 yield yourselves to ,god4 ,that surrender must be the first1 the natural1 the inevitable result of any vivid and practical realisation of the ,divine goodness4 ,yield your bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable to ,god1 which is your reasonable service4 ,and be not conformed to this world3 but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind1 that ye may prove what is that good1 and acceptable1 and perfect will of ,god4 ,the ,apostle ,paul was pre-eminently the teacher of what are called the doctrines of grace4 ,in the system of ,divine truth which he gives us1 he leaves no room for the indulgence on man's part of the least sentiment of pride4 ,the gospel1 in his view1 is the ,divine expedient for what must otherwise have been a desperate and hopeless case2 an expedient1 therefore1 which--since1 from first to last1 it is the expression of ,god's free and sovereign love--cannot allow of any self-glorying to man as unregenerate1 or of any self-satisfaction to man as ,christian4 ,hence the uniformity and consistency of his teaching with respect to works4 ,in the believer and the unbeliever alike1 these works1 judged by the law--the standard of moral perfection--are all defective1 and therefore unavailing4 ,the same truth applies to them all at every stage of the ,christian's progress towards heaven4 ,in no sense does salvation come by works1 lest any man should boast4 ,on this point1 however1 the apostle has always been misunderstood by persons who have pushed his teaching to an illegitimate conclusion4 ,if all be of grace1 why insist upon works8 ,the objection was made in his day1 and he met it4 ,it is made in our day1 and has still to be met4 ,it is sufficiently met by ,paul's own method4 ,paul's doctrine of grace could never1 in his mind1 lead to licentiousness1 and it is one of the most remarkable phenomena of religious thought that it should have ever been suspected of doing so4 ,the ,christian man1 in ,paul's view1 is the regenerate man2 and the regenerate man is the holy man4 ,without the spirit and life of holiness ,paul would have deemed it absurd to consider a man a ,christian at all4 ,the passage before us1 even if there were no others of the same kind1 is sufficient to prove how indissolubly connected are privilege and obligation in the ,christian life4 ,as we have seen1 the apostle draws the exhortations which commence with this chapter1 and which are exhaustively presented in all their variety and comprehensiveness--exhortations to a complete consecration to ,god in all the practical forms which it can assume--from the great gospel system1 the system of salvation by grace and by grace alone2 evidently taking it for granted that1 by the contemplation of the grace for man which is in ,christ ,jesus1 the minds of his readers would be softened1 and prepared to acknowledge the claim4 ,what1 then1 is the nature of the consecration to which we are thus urged8 ,that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 and acceptable to ,god1 which is your reasonable service4 ,every word in this description tells3 and if we gather together the elements of the service commended1 we shall find that nothing is wanting1 and that under the various particulars we may range all the duties and beauties of a consecrated ,christian life4 ,the only point on which a question might be raised is as to the meaning of the terms3 ,that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice4 ,some have supposed a contrast here between the dead bodies of the animals offered in the old sacrifices and the living self-consecration of the ,christian4 ,if the supposition be just1 the idea is both beautiful and suggestive4 ,i think1 however1 that the ultimate meaning of the apostle is that the believer in ,christ should devote himself wholly to ,god1 and that the term your bodies is only another term for yourselves4 ,we cannot imagine an acceptable bodily1 or external sacrifice1 without the participation in it of the conscience1 the judgment1 the heart1 the whole man4 ,the apostle puts his thought somewhat more fully in the kindred passage3 ,ye are bought with a price2 therefore glorify ,god in your body and in your spirit which are ,god's4 ,observe1 then1 the elements of this consecration4 #a4 ,individuality4 ,it is to be a personal thing4 ,present yourselves4 ,we cannot fulfil our ,christian mission by transferring it to other hands4 ,there are no proxies in religion4 ,organisations1 committees1 associations1 the giving of money--all have their propriety1 but none of them can take the place of personal presentation4 ,for convenience' sake1 organisations of various kinds may be resorted to with a view to the maintenance and spread of the gospel in the world1 and undoubtedly may be usefully employed in spheres beyond the reach of personal endeavour2 but the individual ,christian must himself be engaged in the service of ,god4 ,every believer in the ,saviour has his own sphere of service1 in which no fellow creature can be substituted for ,him4 ,the ,christian law is3 personal service always in so far as it is possible2 vicarious service only in so far as personal service cannot be rendered4 #b4 ,activity4 ,a living sacrifice4 ,no man fulfils his ,christian commission in mere retirement and contemplation4 ,it is true that he is not to be of the world2 but in the nature of the case he must be in it4 ,retirement and contemplation are1 indeed1 needed for the rest and growth of the soul2 but action is at least equally indispensable4 ,our practical life is the chief part of our testimony for ,god1 and the chief weapon of our aggressive warfare upon the unbelief and irreligion around us2 and in order that it may be effective1 it is required1 in its fulness and in its energy1 to be pervaded1 invigorated1 impelled1 and directed by the ,christian spirit4 ,every scene1 every experience1 every development of life is to be hallowed4 ,if we present ourselves a living sacrifice1 we relinquish all self-claim1 and give ourselves up to ,god to be used by ,him for the purposes of ,his glory4 ,as ,christ's sacrifice began with the moment when ,he left ,his ,father's throne1 so ours must begin with the first consciousness of our salvation--a living sacrifice1 the consecration of the whole life with all its powers4 #c4 ,holiness4 ,holy1 because to ,god1 with the full intention and devotion of the soul4 ,this scarcely needs to be insisted on4 ,there may be an apparent religious devotedness which is not real1 because it takes the form of ostensibly religious acts--acts1 however1 which have not their origin and their impelling force in grateful love to ,god for ,his saving mercy1 but in some kind of selfishness1 and which are therefore unholy in themselves1 and unacceptable to ,god4 ,the consecrated life is the life which is in sympathy with the whole character and will of ,him by whom the supreme blessing of redemption has been bestowed4 #d4 ,reasonableness4 ,the true consecration is not the result of any mere positive or arbitrary enactment1 the ground and propriety of which cannot be discerned4 ,the true ,christian does not spend his life upon a certain principle1 and consequently in a certain way1 merely because he is told to do so4 ,the service which he renders to ,god rises out of his felt relations to ,god4 ,if it were not commanded at all--if it were not even formally hinted at as an obligation--it would still be natural1 reasonable1 and therefore right4 ,the realised mercies of ,god would be instinctively understood to claim it--instinctively felt to prompt it4 ,your reasonable service4 ,the words are significant4 ,service is properly homage4 ,reasonable is that which pertains to the mind4 ,so that the apostle's phrase stands opposed to all mere religious externalism4 ,it is the homage of the life to ,god with the full consent of the mind1 in the consciousness of the sacred obligation arising out of the enjoyment of the ,divine mercy in the salvation of the soul4 ,such service is declared to be acceptable to ,god4 ,it is so for the sake of ,christ whose grace has infused into the soul the life out of which it springs2 it is so because the motives which determine it are right and good2 and it is so because it is the loving gift of ,his own children4 ,but the apostle expands his thought1 so as to set forth this consecration under other aspects--as1 for example1 that of nonconformity to the world4 ,be not conformed to this world4 ,a word of explanation is required on the meaning of the term1 this world4 ,it is obvious that this term has no reference to the external frame of things1 considered in itself4 ,in a loose way we apply the term world to many things1 and ,nature is one of them4 ,but full compliance with the apostle's admonition in the text is compatible with even an enthusiastic admiration of ,nature4 ,nature is a mirror in which we may see the wisdom and the goodness of ,god4 ,it is full of the beautiful to be loved--full of the sublime to be admired4 ,its phenomena1 forms1 and laws1 are worthy of the most reverential and pleasurable investigation1 not only for what they are in themselves1 but because the most spiritual ,christian can say1 ,my ,father made them all3 they are ,his4 ,the term world1 again1 sometimes means the aggregate of human beings2 but nonconformity to the world is at the furthest remove from misanthropy4 ,human beings are proper objects of a ,christian's love1 and his love for them is shown in the best efforts he can make for their welfare4 ,every man is1 to his mind1 invested with a sacred importance4 ,he endeavours to estimate men as fully as possible in the same way as ,god does1 of whom it is said that ,his mercies are over all ,his works1 and that ,he so loved the world1 that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son1 that whosoever believeth in ,him should not perish1 but have everlasting life4 ,at the lowest1 man is ,god's image--mournfully defaced1 it is true--but retaining in his nature traces enough of his original dignity to compel our recognition of him as ,god's handiwork2 whilst also1 even at the lowest1 he may be brought under the influences of a gospel which despairs of none4 ,neither is there anything in the apostle's injunction to condemn the social relationships which prevail amongst us or to weaken our appreciation of them4 ,the true ,christian1 indeed1 will ever be the best husband1 the best wife1 the best parent1 the best child1 the best friend4 ,all these natural relationships are capable of being ennobled by the holy1 sanctifying influences of true religion4 ,god ,himself often appeals to them as types of the relations in which ,he stands to us1 and as explanations of the tenderness of the love ,he cherishes for us4 ,how prominent is the position they take in the epistles4 ,the inspired writers thought none of them beneath their notice4 ,god has given to us ,his will in connection with such humble things as domestic service1 slavery1 and the like4 ,neither does the apostle here call upon us to separate ourselves from the common business of secular life4 ,scripture again and again enforces the honest doing of the work of every day1 on which the bread of every day depends4 ,nor is there here any prohibition of the enjoyment of the utmost happiness which the sinless pleasures of our outward life can afford4 ,the ,christian is peculiarly fitted for such enjoyment1 because he can receive it with a devoutly thankful heart1 and in a spirit which will keep it from being harmful4 ,this term1 the world1 means the age1 or the temporal conditions now existing1 considered from a moral and spiritual point of view4 ,the world1 therefore1 to which we are not to be conformed is the order and course of life followed by those to whom the present is all and eternity nothing4 ,the ,christian is to regard life from another1 a higher--namely1 a spiritual and eternal--point of view1 and to live accordingly4 ,it is the wrong spirit of life that the apostle calls us away from--the life which is governed by worldly impulses and motives4 ,his injunction is like unto that of another apostle3 ,love not the world1 neither the things that are in the world4 ,if any man love the world1 the love of the ,father is not in him4 ,for all that is in the world1 the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the eyes1 and the pride of life1 is not of the ,father1 but is of the world4 ,and the world passeth away1 and the lust thereof3 but he that doeth the will of ,god abideth for ever4 ,the lust of the flesh--carnality--the lowest of all the forms of self-gratification--that which makes the drunkard1 the profligate1 the debauchee4 ,the lust of the eyes--the disposition to attach ourselves to what is external1 showy1 dazzling4 ,the pride of life--the tendency to glory in anything which ministers to our self-importance in our worldly position--wealth1 rank1 station4 ,all these things are passing away1 and are therefore unworthy of the supreme place in our hearts4 ,enjoyments springing out of them1 hopes founded upon them1 must perish4 ,only he that doeth the will of ,god--living above the love of the world1 by living to ,god and in the supreme love of ,him--abideth for ever in the higher and happier order of being4 ,there is a proper use of the world1 which is easily distinguished from its abuse4 ,the worldly spirit of an unchristian man says1 ,let us eat and drink1 for to-morrow we die4 ,the ascetic spirit in a ,christian man says1 ,all contact with the world is dangerous3 we must have nothing to do with it4 ,touch not1 taste not1 handle not4 ,the true spirit of ,christianity says1 ,use the world1 but do not abuse it4 ,the ,christian's inheritance is inclusive of all things4 ,all may be made to minister to his spiritual growth1 and to become the means of blessing on his part to others4 ,avail yourself of all1 then1 but within the limits proper to each2 never allowing any1 by over indulgence1 to check the development of the inner life4 ,use the world1 but do not let the world use you4 ,i pray not that ,thou shouldest take them out of the world1 but that ,thou shouldest keep them from the evil4 ,in looking1 then1 at the idea of nonconformity to the world1 it was in the apostle's mind1 we are impressed by one or two reflections4 #a4 ,the apostle takes a wide1 free1 and exalted view of his subject4 ,he is in marked dissent from the spirit of ,pharisaism1 whether among the ,jews1 or in the ,christian ,church4 ,his plan is different from the ordinary rules and restraints which men put upon themselves1 and which attach 7sometimes arbitrarily enough7 merely to certain habits and forms of life which are of no moment4 ,paul's world does not mean certain conditions of society1 certain amusements1 or certain occupations1 conventionally marked off from all the rest as being specially wrong4 ,it is not a mere cleaning of the outside of the platter4 ,he goes deeply into the heart of things4 ,what he teaches is this3 ,ye are ,god's redeemed1 disciples of ,christ1 heirs of glory4 ,live under the inspiration of all this--all will then follow that ought to follow4 ,you are no longer under law1 which says1 ,touch not1 taste not1 handle not--stand entirely aloof2 but under grace1 with love to ,god as your motive1 and the ,spirit of ,christ as your guide4 ,he could say1 ,i am not of the world2 and yet ,he was no prophet of the wilderness1 but a ,brother and ,sympathiser everywhere4 ,the first great social act of ,his public ministry was to associate ,himself with the joy of life4 ,with its sorrow also ,he was equally at home4 ,he lived ,his ,divine life in every scene--in ,his childhood under the roof of ,his parents1 in the toil for bread1 in public1 in private1 in the temple1 in the family at ,bethany4 ,there is no allowable scene in which we move1 and with which we mingle1 from which ,his sanctifying presence is withheld4 ,we have no need to be afraid to go where ,he has been before us1 if only we go in ,his spirit4 ,they are not of the world1 even as ,i am not of the world4 #b4 ,this law lays no hard bondage on life4 ,not on its duties2 for ,christianity raises them all into consecration2--not on its affections2 for ,christianity purifies them all2--nor on its lawful enjoyments2 for ,christianity forbids nothing but sin4 ,worldliness is determined by the spirit of our life1 not by the objects with which we have to do4 ,it is only the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the eye1 and the pride of life that are prohibited4 ,it is not a worldly object that makes us worldly1 but the worldly spirit with which we regard it4 #c4 ,it is easy to see that this principle of nonconformity to the world is in constant requisition4 ,there is abundant scope for it4 ,the opinions of men and the known will of ,god are often in competition2 it ought never to be a matter of doubt as to which we prefer4 ,we are often exposed to allurement into scenes which are notoriously unfavourable to the development of the spiritual life2 there ought not to be even a momentary uncertainty as to our willingness to resist the allurement--not merely for our own sake1 but for the sake of ,him whose mercies we enjoy1 whose we are1 and whom we profess to serve4 ,there should never be any room for the question as to whether we are on the side of right or wrong1 holiness or sin1 spirituality or carnality1 conscience or convenience1 charity or harshness1 faith or unbelief4 ,thus we see that1 whilst in one aspect of it ,christianity is broad1 in another it is narrow4 ,strait is the gate1 and narrow is the way1 that leadeth unto life4 ,these are the words of the ,divine ,author of our faith4 ,this is the chief ground of dislike which men of the world have to the practical claims of the gospel4 ,say with ,paul that everything we do must be done to the glory of ,god2 say with ,christ that sin is in our secret thoughts as well as in our acts1 and then the complaint of strictness is instantly heard4 ,yet is it not evident that an inward holiness is the only thing that can be taught1 and that without inward holiness there is no real holiness at all8 ,the truth is that men secretly want concessions to be made in favour of their favourite sins--one for his ambition1 another for his unlawful or questionable attachments1 another for his covetousness1 another for his liberty to be dishonest in trade or insincere in society1 another--where shall we stop8 ,concessions8 ,men may make concessions in these directions in the name of ,christianity2 but ,christianity itself disowns them4 ,what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness8 and what communion hath light with darkness8 and what concord hath ,christ with ,belial8 or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel8 and what agreement hath the temple of ,god with idols8 for ye are the temple of the living ,god2 as ,god hath said1 ,i will dwell in them1 and walk in them2 and ,i will be their ,god1 and they shall be my people4 ,wherefore come out from among them1 and be ye separate1 and touch not the unclean thing2 and ,i will receive you1 and will be a ,father unto you1 and ye shall be my sons and daughters1 saith the ,lord ,almighty4 ,be not conformed to this world4 ,so obviously true are the remarks which have been made1 that one reflection might well excite a momentary surprise4 ,it might be said1 ,is not unworldliness of the very essence of the new life8 ,and if it be1 why recommend that which must follow in the due course of things8 ,it is true that unworldliness is of the essence of the new life2 but we have to remember that we receive that life1 not perfectly developed1 but in its germ2 and that the process of its growth is impeded by what remains of the old life which it is destined gradually1 and by-and-by completely1 to replace4 ,this is the phenomenon which ,paul describes when he speaks of the conflict between the old man and the new4 ,our will is called upon at every point to decide between the impulses of our new condition and the habits of the old4 ,in conclusion1 how is this nonconformity to the world1 in the spirit of a grateful consecration to ,god1 to be attained8 ,be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind1 that ye may prove what is that good1 and acceptable1 and perfect will of ,god4 ,this is the great desideratum--the great necessity4 ,the primary change must take place in the mind--not in its nature1 but in the kind and order of its life4 ,it must be renewed in its bias1 in its inclinations1 in its aspirations1 so that it may be able to understand and appreciate the ,divine will1 and to address itself to the order of service which the ,father of mercies shall accept4 ,it may be said1 ,what do we know of the spiritual world8 ,and how can we be conformed to a world of which we know nothing8 ,the answer is1 that our very ,christianity supposes the change which sets this objection aside4 ,our love to this present world can only be subdued by its being superseded by another1 or subordinated to another4 ,our love to ,christ is the great secret of our attachment to heaven and to heavenly things4 ,given a soul under the influence of love to ,god1 and loyalty to ,god must follow4 ,in order to this1 however1 there must be self-knowledge4 ,we must see our differences4 ,there must be the study of the character of ,christ4 ,there must also be earnest prayer for1 and trust in1 the help of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the work before us is more than an occasional outburst of religious sentiment2 more than spasmodic1 self-denying charity under the influence of suddenly awakened emotion2 more than scrupulosity about small matters of pleasure or pursuit4 ,it is a life2 and as such it has spontaneity1 freedom1 and blessedness4 ,in many an instance it attains wonderful maturity on earth2 it is perfected in heaven4 ,is this life ours8 ,oh1 accept the one and only ,saviour--exclusive in ,his claims1 yet offering ,his mercy to all4 ,you are conscious of sin1 and this makes you feel 7if you reflect7 your need of salvation4 ,take it from ,him4 ,all ,he asks is that you should turn from the sin that made ,him bleed1 and trust the love which for you was stronger than death4 ,strait as is the gate through which you must enter into life1 that life is in itself one of holy freedom and holy joy4 ,the gate opens into broad fields of exhaustless treasure4 ,whoever may represent the ,christian life as monotonous and poor1 we say it is not so4 ,it is quietness of heart1 loftiness of feeling1 sweet submission1 trust1 loyalty to the highest1 aspiration after the best1 the abnegation of self in blessing others and in glorifying the ,god and ,father of all2 such is the life to which the ,christian is called4 ,we challenge the world to produce a single case of a ,christian regretting his consecration1 or confessing that he made a sorry exchange1 when he left the world's delusive hopes for pardon1 peace1 the ,father's smile1 the way of holiness1 and the assurance of heaven4 ,the wholly consecrated ,christian is the wholly happy one4 ,fling wide the portals of your heart2 ,make it a temple set apart ,from earthly use1 for heaven's employ1 ,adorn'd with prayer and love and joy3 ,so shall your sovereign enter in1 ,and new and nobler life begin4 ,redeemer1 come6 ,i open wide ,my heart to ,thee2 here1 ,lord1 abide6 ,let me ,thine inner presence feel1 ,thy grace and love in me reveal2 ,thy ,holy ,spirit guide me on1 ,until the glorious crown be won6 ,,viii4 ,,christianity ,,in ,,our ,,daily ,,life4 ,whatsoever ye do in word or deed1 do all in the name of the ,lord ,jesus4--,colossians iii4 #ag4 ,one of the most striking characteristics of the ,christian religion is what ,i may term its universality4 ,i mean that its obligations and privileges cover the whole ground of human life--present and to come4 ,this fact1 which is abundantly illustrated and enforced in the ,new ,testament1 is also clearly hinted at in the ,old4 ,it seems to have been present to the ,psalmist's mind in the parallel he draws in the nineteenth ,psalm between the sun1 whose going forth is from the end of heaven1 whose circuit is unto the ends of it1 and from whose heat nothing is hid2 and the law of the ,lord which1 in its perfectness1 comes into satisfying contact with all human need4 ,it converts the soul1 turning it towards itself1 the source of light4 ,it makes wise the simple1 who unreservedly yield to its influence4 ,it rejoices the heart1 anxious to be right1 as it is itself perfect4 ,it enlightens the eyes with a purity of truth which has no admixture of error4 ,it cleanses from secret faults4 ,it keeps back the servant of the ,lord from presumptuous sins4 ,this universality gives to ,christianity its grand ideal character4 ,it teaches that1 morally considered1 sin is the condition of all men2 that condemnation is the result of sin to all men2 and that the love of the ,father1 the sacrifice of the ,son1 and the regenerating and sanctifying power of the ,holy ,spirit have direct bearings on the spiritual wants of all men4 ,christianity meets an absolute ruin by an absolute restoration2 so that1 as there is nothing in man and in his relations to the universe which sin has not defiled and degraded1 so there is nothing in man and in his relations to the universe which ,christianity is not designed and destined to uplift and to purify4 ,this element of universality comes out very strikingly in the chapter before us4 ,the apostle is describing the spiritual life4 ,in its essence1 it is an abandonment of the old--putting off the old man1 as a dress thrown completely aside2 and an adoption of the new--putting on the new man--the prodigal's rags exchanged for the best robe4 ,in its range1 it is universal--within1 setting the affections on heavenly things2 without1 renouncing the deeds of the life of sin1 and manifesting the virtues of the life of holiness4 ,it is universal also in its application--involving personal purity1 and giving its own tone and spirit to all the relationships1 to all the worship1 and to all the work1 of life4 ,the whole is summed up in the remarkable words of the text3 ,and whatsoever ye do in word or deed1 do all in the name of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,we are the subjects of a ,providence and a ,grace inclusive of every moment and every incident4 ,god1 on ,his part1 demands of us a consecration that shall leave nothing 7however unimportant1 relatively considered7 unhallowed--not a single affection1 no domestic or social relationship1 nothing in speech1 nothing in conduct4 ,it is the same truth that the same apostle elsewhere expresses3 ,whether therefore ye eat1 or drink1 or whatsoever ye do1 do all to the glory of ,god4 ,i want to offer to your attention at this time a single application of this principle--its application to the common1 secular work of life4 ,at first sight1 it seems strange that by far the greater part of human life should be appointed by ,god to be spent in worldly toil4 ,this strangeness is augmented in proportion as our aim is towards a life distinctively and completely ,christian4 ,considering the supreme importance of the spiritual and the eternal2 considering1 too1 the uncertain duration of our life1 notwithstanding the fact that it involves the immeasurable interests of eternity2 and considering1 still further1 the manifold obstacles in the way of a man's salvation--we might have supposed that ,god's providential arrangements would have secured to us far more freedom from worldly labour and care than we enjoy4 ,it would not have been surprising if ,he had said to us3 ,retire much2 rest much--that you may have much time for thought and prayer4 ,but it is not so4 ,six days for work2 one day for rest and worship6 ,certain exceptions apart1 toil is1 for most men1 the hard and unremitting condition of life2 often indeed--especially in our cities1 and in hard times like the present--toil that demands the straining of every nerve1 the putting forth to the utmost of every energy1 and the employment of every moment4 ,the best of us come to our ,sabbaths like wrestlers who sit and rest for a while between the conflict past and the conflict to come4 ,this is the experience of most of us3 business men who have to fight in the great competitions of trade2 working men to strive for a sufficiency of bread and raiment for themselves and their families2 fathers and mothers1 masters and servants who have to meet the manifold duties and worries of domestic life4 ,we come to our ,sabbath-rest1 probably with the feeling that1 on the whole1 during the week1 we have lost rather than gained in relation to our spiritual interests4 ,are we right in the feeling8 ,must our daily work be a hindrance to us8 ,is it impossible for us so to engage in it as to find it spiritually helpful8 ,the text before us settles the point4 ,it presents to us an obligation that is inclusive of every word and deed1 and which must consequently include the common toil of every day4 ,it is an apostolic injunction1 and the injunction presupposes its own practicability4 ,whatsoever ye do in word or deed1 do all in the name of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,that secular work is not necessarily spiritually helpful we know too well4 ,idleness is always disastrous2 but there is much worldly work which is more disastrous still4 ,tens of thousands pursue it daily in utter godlessness1 and train themselves by it to intense selfishness and materialism4 ,they mind earthly things1 and glory in their shame4 ,even many professing ,christians manifest an alarming craving for mere worldly enjoyment2 and their luxuries tax them a hundred-fold more than their benevolence4 ,but it need not be so4 ,secular work can be made the means of spiritual education1 and the sphere for the development of piety4 ,the first great requisite is conversion4 ,no obligation1 indeed1 rests upon ,christians which does not rest upon all men1 whether they be ,christians or not4 ,a perfect ,christian is simply man as he ought to be4 ,but in the unchristian man the disposition is wanting--he lives to himself4 ,the ,christian1 on the contrary1 has entered into a new life4 ,by the ,holy ,spirit's grace1 he has repented of sin2 he is forgiven1 accepted1 justified1 accepted into ,divine sonship2 he is under the influence of new principles--is essentially in a new world--acknowledges a holy law1 which he now loves for its own sake--is consciously under the eye of a good ,master1 who is his ,saviour as well as his ,lord--and is thus moved by a living impulse of gratitude to ,him who has died for him1 and whose he is in life and death4 ,out of this there comes the conviction that the one object of life should be spiritual growth4 ,commonly men think of life as having two aims2 or rather they try to solve the problem of living two lives--the one present1 the other future2 the one worldly1 the other religious2 the one affecting the body with its transitory interests1 the other affecting the soul with its eternal interests4 ,hence the wide divorce between the secular and the sacred1 work and worship1 holy days and common days4 ,the more enlightened ,christian knows that this is a radical mistake4 ,the world1 time1 matter1 the body--all have their relations and their obligations1 their spheres and their claims2 but they do not stand isolated from the spiritual and the unseen4 ,separate1 they are godless4 ,they are all intended to serve as instruments of moral discipline--to supply lessons in the school of life2--all tending1 under ,god1 to the great result4 ,failures they are1 if regarded as ends in themselves2 blessed they are in proportion as they are religiously used as means4 ,apart from the conviction that this should be our one great aim1 it seems impossible to hope that the spiritual will predominate over the worldly2 the six days' secular toil must be destructive of the day's spiritual culture4 ,the prosperous will degrade life into a mere pursuit of earthly wealth with its associated advantages1 whilst the rest will simply continue the hard struggle for daily bread--the bread that perisheth4 ,the life of millions around us seems1 religiously considered1 to be an absolute blank4 ,mix with them1 observe them1 and you will be convinced of this4 ,it is one of the sources of deepest sadness to a ,christian to note the extent to which godlessness prevails in all ranks of society4 ,even amongst ,christians themselves there are terrible invasions of the spirit of worldliness4 ,let us seek1 by the help of ,god1 the convictions by which this evil may be checked4 ,the soul is greater than the body2 eternity is greater than time4 ,the material and the temporal sink into insignificance in contrast with the spiritual and the eternal4 ,let the lower interests serve the higher4 ,i have already referred to the universality of the claims which ,christianity makes upon us4 ,its aim is not to induce us to assume a certain character merely at certain specified times and in certain specified places1 and to be content with that4 ,on the contrary1 its purpose is to induce us to do everything in one specified spirit1 which shall shape1 give sanctity and consecration to1 the whole4 ,hence1 it is never represented as working first on the outward habits of men1 but on their hearts4 ,it does not cleanse the outside of the cup or platter1 leaving corruption within2 but it first endeavours to establish purity within1 and to give the purity which is within a force by which it shall work outwardly4 ,the outward acts of the life are but the embodiments of the heart and will4 ,thus1 whether we be scholars1 or merchants1 or preachers1 or mechanics1 or servants1 we are to carry a soul1 sanctified and governed by ,christ1 into all our occupations1 even the commonest4 ,whether we pray or work1 whether we be in the church or the shop1 we are to be under the control of the one ,christian spirit4 ,undoubtedly1 there are some occupations in which it is difficult for ,christians to engage1 and some which they ought never to touch4 ,but apart from these1 the work of life is not an evil4 ,there is no need to retire away from it into solitude as the only suitable sphere for the development of piety4 ,a wise ,christian looks upon it as a mode of spiritual culture4 ,it depends upon the man himself1 upon the guiding principle of his life1 as to whether work shall degrade or raise him4 ,consider two or three points in illustration and proof of the truth ,i am endeavouring to enforce4 ,i4 ,secular work requires and cultivates certain active forces of character which are also required in the culture of the spiritual life1 such1 for example1 as clearness and definiteness of aim3 so that there shall be no working in the dark1 or in ignorance of the special end to be attained4 ,this one thing ,i do4 ,perseverance1 so that the end1 once clearly ascertained and decided on1 shall be steadily and unflinchingly pursued1 until it is accomplished4 ,prudence and foresight1 so that there shall be a wise adaptation of means4 ,energy1 so that every opportunity and every appliance shall be used to the utmost4 ,courage1 so that no difficulties shall dismay4 ,all these forces acquire strength in the earthly sphere1 which is a clear gain1 and which may be brought to use in the spiritual4 ,we1 as ,christians1 have an end to pursue which must be clearly apprehended2 we must not run uncertainly1 or as one that beateth the air2 we must persevere1 running with patience the race that is set before us2 our zeal must not be without knowledge2 what our hands find to do we must do with our might2 and we must be in nothing terrified by our adversaries4 ,so far from being hindered in all this by the discipline of our common life1 experience proves that indolence in secular business has a paralysing effect on spiritual exertion4 ,in spiritual exertion man uses the same power as in secular1 only the field of operation is different4 ,but inasmuch as the same powers are wanted for both1 the one may be a true auxiliary to the other4 ,,ii4 ,the same line of remark will apply to the passive forces of character4 ,they are wanted equally in the secular and the spiritual1 and their cultivation in the one prepares them for use in the other4 ,for example3 ,submission4 ,many a position in life is irksome and uncongenial2 but nevertheless it should be accepted as ,god's providential arrangement on our behalf4 ,it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps4--,patience4 ,many a result has to be long worked for and long waited for1 often with many disappointments and reverses4--,contentment4 ,the worry of life1 not its work1 is that which burdens and kills4 ,looking on our position as one which ,god has appointed1 we take it calmly as that which is best for us4--,trust4 ,we have simply to rely on ,god for everything1 remembering that our powers1 opportunities1 and results are all under ,his wise and loving control4 ,sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof1 and sufficient also is the grace to bear it4 ,our hearts are wearied and worn only as we insist on carrying heavier burdens than ,god assigns to us4 ,how clear it is that all these passive forces are needed in our secular work1 if it is to be done well6 ,but it is equally clear that they are needed just as much in our spiritual life4 ,in it their growth is an essential element2 and they have their bearing specially on ,christian work--work done for the spread of religion in the world4 ,,iii4 ,secular work offers important opportunities for spiritual usefulness4 ,our most effective preaching is often that of our unconscious influence4 ,and let us remember that no amount of formal sanctity can prevail against the inconsistencies of our common days4 ,moreover1 our daily1 secular duties bring us into contact with men in ways which are least open to suspicion4 ,add to this1 that they put into our hands1 in a greater or lesser degree1 resources by which we can materially help the cause of ,christ1 and so become1 in heart1 in interest1 in devotedness1 more and more closely identified with that cause4 ,we can honour the ,lord with our substance1 and with the first-fruits of all our increase1 and so find that it is more blessed to give than to receive4 ,the practical problem that ,god gives to every one of us to solve1 is to get perfected in our hearts the feeling that we are doing ,his will in the common details of our ordinary vocation as well as in acts more ostensibly religious4 ,the conclusion is irresistible2 the thing may be done--but how8 ,it cannot be done without habitual self-examination2 it cannot be done without prayer2 it cannot be done without reliance on the help of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,let us be thankful to ,god for putting within our reach the high honour of glorifying ,him1 for introducing us to a life so pure in its springs1 for ,his kindly help in every step of its progress1 and for the hope that it will one day reach its happy consummation4 ,,ix4 ,,unconscious ,,influence4 ,i say unto you1 ,that every idle word that men shall speak1 they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment4 ,for by thy words thou shalt be justified1 and by thy words thou shalt be condemned4--,matthew xii4 #cf1 #cg4 ,this is a startling1 terrifying text2 one of many which tempt men to limitations and compromises of their meaning4 ,some persons would not hesitate to accuse it of extravagance1 and even devout ,christians sometimes pause and ask whether it is to be taken in its absolute literalness4 ,every idle word4 ,is not this the kind of thing which is least amenable to a vigorous judgment8 ,is not the idle1 the vain1 the worthless1 at the worst1 thereby negative8 ,christ says1 ,no4 ,speech is a gift to be put to sanctified uses2 and the non-use as well as the abuse of every gift is sinful4 ,this utterance of our ,divine ,master1 to be vindicated1 needs only to be understood4 ,underlying it are vital moral considerations which should be devoutly studied4 ,there are many ways in which a man can manifest himself4 ,by his thought1 he is always known to ,god and to his own heart1 but not to his fellow men4 ,to reveal himself to them1 his thought must somehow find expression4 ,his actions are mostly intentional and deliberate2 but they are liable to be prompted1 inspired1 checked1 or controlled by circumstances4 ,so1 too1 may be his speech2 but there is a spontaneousness1 a freedom1 in that1 which belongs to no other manifestation of the man's inward self4 ,thus it is by his words that he is best judged4 ,the largest part of our practical life is resolvable into speech4 ,christianity itself is amenable to this law4 ,think of the streams of holy speech which have been flowing through the world for ages1 and of the life they have conveyed to thirsty souls4 ,think of these streams as they are flowing to-day in tens of thousands of ,christian congregations1 and in innumerable ,sabbath schools4 ,compare their influence with that of the dark utterances of heathenism1 and the disturbing teachings of unbelief4 ,think of the countless rills of ,christian speech which are flowing to-day from the lips of those who love the ,saviour1 and who are endeavouring to make ,him known in the home1 in the sick-chamber1 in the prison-house1 and in their various intercourse with those around them4 ,compare their influence with that of the idle1 thoughtless1 impious1 profane talk of the millions who are living without ,god2 and then say whether ,christianity may or may not be judged by its words6 ,lord ,jesus1 ,thou needest no justification from such imperfect creatures as we are2 but if ,thou didst1 it would be enough for us to recall the gracious words that proceeded out of thine own mouth1 and then to challenge the wisdom of the ages1 saying1 ,never man spake like this man6 ,the general drift of the passage before us is this1 that man speaks as he is1 and is as he speaks1 and that1 therefore1 by his words he shall be judged4 ,his words are signs which reveal his character4 ,whilst1 at the last1 he will be judged by his character1 single words and unnoticed deeds will1 if need be1 be adduced as proofs of inner and underlying principles4 ,of course it is not meant that words will be the only tests2 but our ,lord's language shows that they form a far more important element of proof than is commonly supposed4 ,in this light1 no manifestation of character is insignificant4 ,everything tells4 ,words1 looks1 even gestures1 have their meaning4 ,often to men's eyes1 and always to ,god's 7though ,he does not need them7 they are as straws on the stream1 showing the course of the current4 ,these general reflections supply the basis of the further reflections ,i have to offer4 ,my purpose is twofold3 first1 to show that1 for good or ill1 the life of every one of us is an incessant exercise of influence2 and secondly1 to deduce from this fact some important lessons4 ,i4 ,now1 generally1 when men speak of exerting influence1 the thought present to their minds is of something exceptional1 attractive1 commanding1 or formal4 ,thus1 such a phrase as a person of influence is understood to denote a man who stands in a position of special advantage1 either 7for instance7 of wealth1 or of mental power1 or of social importance4 ,hence the notion of influence is narrowed1 and ultimately it becomes false4 ,it does so in two ways3 partly by restricting influence to a few1 and then by confining it among these few to certain peculiarities of character or of circumstance4 ,the truth is that influence is always going forth from every man1 and from everything in man4 ,there are two ways in which men act upon one another4 ,they do so either directly1 deliberately1 and intentionally1 or1 otherwise1 indirectly and unconsciously4 ,thus1 if ,i want to make men around me generous1 ,i may write1 preach1 speak1 use arguments1 multiply incentives1 enforce appeals4 ,in all this ,i am conscious that ,i have a purpose to accomplish1 and in everything ,i say ,i keep that purpose in view4 ,if ,i succeed1 ,i do so through the intentional influence ,i have put into operation4 ,i have tried to realise a definite result1 and ,i have not been disappointed4 ,but ,i can teach generosity in another way4 ,obedient to the impulses of my own heart1 ,i may relieve the need of some poor blind beggar on the road1 who implores the passer-by to help him4 ,this act may be noticed by a third person whom ,i did not know to be near1 and it may so impress him as to open his heart and his hand to do the kindness he had not thought of doing4 ,now ,i had no such design with respect to him2 for the time1 ,i had nothing in view beyond meeting an appeal for help which came personally to myself4 ,i was unconscious of the influence ,i exerted upon the person who followed my example1 and yet ,i did for him as much as if ,i had set myself to develop an argument or to enforce a claim4 ,now1 if at this point the question be asked3 ,are we responsible for this undesigned influence8 the answer is that we certainly are so1 inasmuch as it springs from1 and manifests1 character4 ,we must not be misled by the fact that this quiet1 unconscious action is not that of which the world takes much notice4 ,men do not speak of it1 as they do of the striking and commanding agencies which form so large a portion of the history of the day4 ,some of these are powerful on a wide scale1 as in the case of a popular preacher1 or a great philanthropist4 ,but the influence of which we are speaking is exerted within narrower circles4 ,it acts1 not upon the masses by wide-spread impressions1 but upon individuals by single strokes2 not upon the broad platform of public enterprise1 but within the more contracted sphere of personal life4 ,the supposition that it is feeble on that account is a grave mistake4 ,our personal relationships are more numerous and more continuous than our public avocations1 and it is in the former rather than in the latter that we are most effectually training our fellow creatures for good or evil4 ,sometimes1 too1 this quiet influence is brought to light with important results1 as when ,john ,bright was discovered reading the ,scriptures in the cottage of a poor blind woman4 ,no public act of his--splendid as all his public acts are--could furnish a truer indication of character than this simple and1 to most people's eyes1 this unimportant incident in his history4 ,that the value of direct influence in promoting the well-being of mankind is incalculable there can be no doubt4 ,all our great undertakings--social1 political1 and religious--are of this kind4 ,the progress which the world has made in every right direction is greatly due to the combined efforts put forth by societies or bodies of men who have had truth to propagate1 or blessing to diffuse1 and who have steadily directed their energies to the end in view4 ,associations for ,political ,reform1 ,temperance ,societies1 ,british ,schools1 ,ragged ,schools1 ,sunday ,schools1 ,tract ,societies1 ,missionary ,agencies1 ,mothers' ,meetings1 ,church1 ,chapel1 out-door1 and theatre services1 are all of this sort2 and the harvest of good reaped from them only ,god knows1 at whose inspiration and in whose name all good is done4 ,statistics tell us much1 but far more remains untold4 ,all this well-directed action is in accordance with the ,divine order4 ,god wills that we should use judiciously and zealously applied effort for each other's welfare1 especially in connection with the spread of ,his truth4 ,every ,christian agency is a form of obedience to the great command3 ,preach the gospel to every creature4 ,such action1 moreover1 is in accordance with our convictions4 ,we must labour1 formally and intentionally1 on behalf of any and every cause which lies near to our hearts4 ,imagine all these direct agencies to be suddenly and completely withdrawn--what would then become of our poor world8 ,would it not speedily lapse into a mournful1 moral waste--a training-school for present and everlasting perdition8 ,multiplied and energetically worked as these agencies are1 the condition of the world is bad enough4 ,the appalling needs of the world demand heroic effort2 and1 as ,i have said1 the amount of good already wrought by this is beyond calculation4 ,nevertheless1 the other kind of influence--the indirect and unconscious--is invested also with an importance which is incalculable2 and it will be a blessed time both for the ,church and for the world when this truth comes to be practically remembered as it should be4 ,let us consider this matter a little further1 bearing in mind1 as we do so1 that the application of the subject must be to the ,christian conscience of us all4 ,i4 ,notice some differences between the two kinds of influence which have been named4 #a4 ,we have already said the influence which we consciously exert is the result of forethought1 and deliberately contemplates an end1 the attainment of which is steadily kept in view2 whilst our unconscious influence is spontaneous1 and has no premeditation or calculation about it4 ,we need only add here1 that the action of this unconscious influence is very immediate2 a fact which is explained by the mysterious insight which enables men to look into1 and to understand1 one another4 ,we form judgments of men every day without data that we can adduce4 ,these judgments are instinctive1 and they are more frequently right than wrong4 ,how is it that we conceive a sudden repugnance to one1 and at first sight fall in love with another8 ,the impression made needed only a word1 a tone1 a look1 a gesture1 a smile1 a tear2 on so slender a basis a judgment was formed which will last a life-time1 or which years will be required to modify4 #b4 ,our unconscious influence is a perpetual emanation from ourselves4 ,direct effort need not truly express us at all4 ,it may be imposed upon us by circumstances which we cannot control4 ,often we should avoid it if we could4 ,moreover1 when it is voluntary and unconstrained1 it is a thing of times1 seasons1 places1 and conditions in life1 and is therefore more or less fitful1 partial1 and intermittent4 ,the other kind of influence acts continuously--without pauses1 without breaks1 without paroxysms4 ,it is thus that every man--high or low--in spheres extended or narrow1 without intention1 forethought or consciousness of the fact1 is always leading some one more or less closely after him3 it may be wife1 friend1 little child1 or stranger2 but some one most surely4 #c4 ,this unconscious influence is necessarily simple4 ,it makes its appeal to all kinds of human judgment1 and to all degrees of human insight4 ,it is quickly apprehended1 by the ignorant and the young as well as by the learned and mature4 ,many of our direct and most definitely-arranged efforts are misunderstood4 ,they tax people's thought2 they demand reflection2 and they frequently excite differences of opinion4 ,how many instances there are in which the most cogent and strongly-urged arguments are lost1 while the quiet and undesigned force of example succeeds4 #d4 ,our unconscious influence is the more powerful because it excites no suspicion4 ,it is intuitively felt to represent our inner self in the direction1 and within the range1 of its present meaning4 ,many of our direct efforts put men upon their guard4 ,if they are hostile to our intentions1 they resist our formal endeavours2 if they are indifferent1 they become impatient of our zeal4 ,but direct efforts1 moreover1 are often thought to be mainly professional1 and this impression concerning them places them at a disadvantage4 ,on the other hand1 our unconscious influence wins men unconsciously to themselves--wins them when they are off their guard--and thus wins them in spite of themselves4 ,,ii4 ,how1 then1 does this fact of our unconscious influence touch the question of our responsibility8 ,in what sense1 and on what grounds1 are we accountable for it8 #a4 ,it is conditioned by our character4 ,it reproduces outwardly what we are within4 ,if our character1 or1 as the ,divine ,master terms it1 our heart be good1 then our unconscious influence must be good likewise2 if our character--our heart--be evil1 our unconscious influence must also be evil4 ,as we are responsible for the motives which actuate us1 so are we responsible for every form of conduct that proceeds therefrom4 ,it must1 of course1 be admitted that even in a fundamentally holy character there are ever and anon exceptional mistakes1 inconsistencies1 and flaws4 ,how many of these1 ,he only knows who forgives all4 ,but we are speaking of great moral tendencies2 and concerning these we are in no doubt4 ,they reveal character1 and they share the responsibility1 in regard to their influence1 which belongs to character4 #b4 ,it is by this unconscious influence that we act most on those who are nearest to us4 ,children1 members of our families1 fellow-workmen1 and acquaintances--all these are much more affected by the general tenour of our conduct1 and the so-thought trivial indications of our character1 than by our more formal efforts4 ,alas1 it often happens that these latter are made ineffectual by the operation of the former4 ,a practical inconsistency in a parent's life at home will drive away from the mind and conscience of a child the force of the best and most frequently repeated precept4 ,even when direct and well-meant effort is put forth1 it is often comparatively powerless apart from the help it derives from the unconscious influence that accompanies it4 ,a smile1 a look1 a sigh1 a tear1 will often put life into an argument which may be sound enough in itself1 but which1 without such an auxiliary1 would be dry1 uninteresting1 and therefore ineffective4 ,is all this influence outside the range of our responsibility8 #c4 ,our indirect influence is our truest4 ,it best represents us4 ,in formal effort1 there is room for a more or less transient enthusiasm1 love of excitement1 love of applause1 self-seeking1 hypocrisy4 ,but our unconscious influence belongs to us at all times--follows us1 and is as true to us as the shadow follows1 and is true to1 the substance4 ,we cannot escape from it4 ,it proceeds from us spontaneously1 without our volition2 and it mirrors externally what we are radically and in the recesses of our real being4 ,if we be responsible for what we really are1 we must be responsible for the influence we thus spontaneously and inevitably exert4 #d4 ,another ground of this responsibility is that1 on reflection1 we know that it is by these unconscious exhibitions of character that the world is constantly judging us4 ,often the judgment of the world is harsh1 and commonly uncharitable2 but it is shrewd1 and generally there is a rough justice about it which marks its worth4 ,these considerations1 and many more that might be adduced1 show how solemn is our responsibility with respect to the impressions we are constantly and unconsciously producing on those around us4 ,as in nature1 so in human life1 the most unobtrusive and silent forces are the strongest4 ,the nightly dew effects more good than the occasional storm-shower1 and light works more wonders than lightning4 ,,iii4 ,from all this we learn some weighty lessons4 ,it teaches us-- #a4 ,the importance of each act in our life4 ,the text before us is no exaggeration4 ,everything tells1 because there is character in everything1 and consequently power for good or ill4 ,it is impossible for any one of us to be in the world without responsibility4 ,there is no escape for us4 ,simply to be in the world1 whatever we may be1 is to exert an influence1 subtle1 quiet1 powerful--an influence compared with which argument and expostulation and entreaty are feeble4 ,we say we mean well2 we think that at least we are injuring nobody and doing no harm2 but is it so8 ,it cannot be so1 unless our influence be always on the side of ,god and of goodness4 ,by looks1 glances1 unpremeditated words and deeds1 we are perpetually exerting an influence which may turn the scale of some man's eternal destiny6 #b4 ,the necessity of conversion4 ,if our unconscious influence is to be of a wholesome kind1 we must undergo a radical moral change1 out of which will proceed an all-pervading sanctification4 ,blessed be ,god for the revelation of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,up to this point1 the consideration of our subject may have prompted some to ask3 ,are we1 then1 to be anxiously1 feverishly1 incessantly watching ourselves in order that we may make no mistakes1 and do no evil8 ,such vigilance--would it not take all our time1 and absorb all our strength8 ,such a life--would it not be a terrible bondage8 ,is it necessary8 ,we reply1 ,yes1 and no4 ,that is to say1 there will always be the necessity for watchfulness and prayer2 but the true secret of doing good lies in being good4 ,the path of the just is as a shining light2 he shines because he is luminous4 ,the tree is known by its fruit2 not by the fruit which is tacked on1 as in the case of a ,christmas tree1 but by the fruit which is the produce of the tree's own interior life4 ,out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh4 ,a good man out of the treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things1 and an evil treasure bringeth forth evil things4 ,before a man can impart the higher order of blessing to his fellow men1 he himself must receive the blessing of a new nature from ,god4 ,the question is often asked why the triumphs of ,christianity are not more marked in the world1 and why spiritual growth is not more marked in the ,church4 ,the answer is found partly1 no doubt1 in the imperfections of the direct efforts which are put forth with these ends in view2 but not in these alone4 ,no small portion of it is to be traced to the deleterious elements which mingle with the undesigned influences which emanate from many of the professors of ,christ's religion4 ,when ,moses was on the ,mount with ,god1 his face became luminous4 ,was he conscious of its shining8 ,not until the people were afraid to come nigh him4 ,then he had to cover his face with a vail6 ,how few are luminous enough to need vailing now6 ,x4 ,,secular ,,anxiety4 ,take no thought for your life4--,matthew vi4 #be4 ,take no thought for the morrow4--,matthew vi4 #ca4 ,let us survey the entire passage of which the first of these texts is the commencement1 and of which the second is the close4 ,it brings before us a common evil1 and for this evil it proposes a sovereign remedy4 ,the evil is secular anxiety4 ,perhaps we need not be greatly surprised at its prevalence1 when we consider what the life-experience of most of us is4 ,think of the uncertainty of almost everything we know--life1 health1 friendship1 domestic relationships and affections1 riches1 commerce4 ,life has many sad surprises and disappointments4 ,our own day is especially full of care4 ,the age is mad with speculation--thousands making haste to be rich1 and so bringing upon themselves many temptations4 ,for many others1 the time is full of hard necessities1 and the outlook is one of possible or even probable poverty4 ,the admonitions given by our ,lord in the verses before us are needed now more than ever4 ,there are persons who1 under the influence of pride and false notions of manliness1 consider careworn ,christians--,christians labouring and struggling amid the difficulties of the way--undeserving of sympathy4 ,after all1 they say1 what are the ills of life1 that we should make so much ado8 ,be men6 ,sometimes we meet with superficial ,christians who profess that this life is really so insignificant1 that it shows a low state of piety to be painfully affected by common ills4 ,as to the first1 nothing but stoicism1 or the hard-heartedness which is sometimes the result of prosperity1 can make the soul unsusceptible to the ordinary troubles of life1 or independent of the antidote which the religion of ,christ supplies4 ,as to the second1 do not let them talk in a way which implies that they are wiser than their ,lord4 ,he knew how heavily care pressed upon the hearts ,he loved1 and condescended to offer them the appropriate and all-sufficient relief4 ,and how does the great ,teacher speak to the careworn in these verses8 ,is it not unspiritual to take arguments for the comfort of our ,christian life from lower things8 ,must we go to the irrational and inanimate creation for gospels of blessing for our spiritual need8 ,christ drew ,his arguments from the birds and the flowers2 clearly showing that we should accustom ourselves to see ,god's hand1 ,his love1 ,his teaching1 in all things4 ,let ,him not be excluded from the least part of ,his creation4 ,every part of it may subserve the purposes of ,his grace4 ,consider the fowls of the air and the flowers of the fields2 make them objects of study4 ,to the thoughtful they often suggest thoughts that lie too deep for tears2 to the ,christian they may well suggest thoughts which shall inspire thanksgiving and prayer4 ,note the condescension1 the simplicity1 and the power of our ,lord's argument4 ,his appeals are homely4 ,he seeks no far-fetched reasonings or facts from antiquity4 ,he points to birds and flowers2 an argument for simple people1 but equally effective for the learned and the refined4 ,we have no need to go far for lessons of comfort4 ,we must not overlook the necessary limitations of our ,lord's teaching in these verses4 ,those limitations are found in the nature of things4 ,observe1 then1 ,i4 ,christ does not forbid all anticipations of the future4 ,he cannot mean so much as this when ,he says1 ,take no thought for the morrow4 ,man is an inhabitant of two worlds--one material1 the other spiritual4 ,this being so1 two distinct sets or classes of wants press upon him--the wants of the body1 and those of the soul4 ,the wants of the soul point to a future state of existence1 for which we must prepare4 ,in relation to these1 carelessness--the absence of forethought--would be fatal4 ,according to the state of our souls1 the thought of the future gives us terror or joy4 ,to the ,christian1 the future is the scene of his perfected spiritual growth1 and of his consummated happiness4 ,every aspiration of his soul bounds joyfully towards it1 and he instinctively leaves the things that are behind to press forward4 ,in the words before us1 ,christ does not touch such matters as these4 ,it is not fore-thought which is condemned1 but fore-boding4 ,,ii4 ,nor does ,he discountenance earnest activity in the duties of the present4 ,work is ,god's oldest law4 ,it is only in wilful blindness or in unaccountable delusion that men can plead this teaching as an excuse for indolence4 ,if any man will not work1 neither shall he eat4 ,work is often spoken of as a curse2 but it is a blessing4 ,with a ,christian spirit1 it may be gloriously consecrated4 ,it links us in our activity with ,god who worketh hitherto1 and with ,christ who worked ,his full day4 ,,iii4 ,christ does not even condemn a legitimate forethought in connection with secular interests4 ,there is a legitimate forethought such as this4 ,nature teaches it4 ,we must sow in order to reap4 ,we must toil to-day for results which cannot come till to-morrow4 ,if any provide not for his own1 and specially for those of his own house1 he hath denied the faith1 and is worse than an unbeliever4 ,the faith to live by is that which prompts not to sitting down and doing nothing1 but to trustful and persevering enterprise4 ,keep in mind the distinction between forethought and foreboding4 ,it is forethought in a man which leads him to sow for a future harvest2 it is foreboding that would fill his heart with fears that the harvest will be a bad one4 ,forethought is the grand distinction between the civilized and the savage2 foreboding is the weakness of distrust4 ,what the ,lord bids us guard against1 then1 is conjectural brooding over the possible necessities of the future1 and our possible lack of the resources required for their supply4 ,taking thought means giving way to anxiety--the constant occupation and worry of the heart in looking forward1 gazing into1 and dreading the possibilities of the days and years yet to come4 ,sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof4 ,be warned against forebodings of evil to-morrow4 ,the lesson is1 ,do the day's work as it is appointed by ,god2 accept the day's mercy1 bear the day's evil2 and be not anxious about the evil which to-morrow may bring4 ,how common a weakness--nay1 rather let us say1 how common a sin--this taking anxious thought for the morrow is6 ,we see the lines of care in thousands of faces every day4 ,anxiety has marked its furrows round lips which every morning say1 ,give us this day our daily bread4 ,it is a calamity as well as a sin4 ,it disturbs the heart1 so that there can be no enjoyment of present mercies4 ,it adds to the present the weight of an unknown but dreaded future4 ,it paralyses religious feeling1 and checks religious activity4 ,it defeats its end by shortening the life it would fain prolong4 ,now ,christ shows that this kind of anxiety reckons falsely1 because it is founded on a false estimate of life2 and ,he further shows that to gauge our position aright we must reckon according to the ,divine thought respecting it4 ,the whole of the teaching before us on this subject is perfectly plain1 consisting of a few simple and obvious points4 ,we cannot hope1 indeed1 to bring it within the understanding of the mere worldling4 ,the man who has no filial confidence in ,god has no antidote for care4 ,anxiety can only be subdued in the heart of him who can look upward1 and say1 ,father1 ,i trust in ,thee6 ,what1 then1 is the first point8 ,it is this1 that ,god--the ,author of our life1 the ,creator of our bodies--will surely give that which1 however necessary1 is yet less important and less valuable4 ,in bringing us into existence1 ,he has done more than ,he can do in giving to us any secular blessing which we can need4 ,is not the life more than meat1 and the body than raiment8 ,we have our life from ,him2 our bodies are ,his handiwork4 ,why should we suspect that ,he will be indisposed to give us whatever may be needful for the existence thus created8 ,will ,he1 by neglect1 frustrate ,his own purpose8 ,the greater gift can only be sustained and made valid by the lesser ones4 ,without food and raiment the body must decay1 and its life must perish4 ,god does not give imperfectly4 ,another point is this1 that anxious care answers no good purpose4 ,it is useless4 ,if we could by means of it gain an exemption from future evil1 common prudence would dictate it as a wise expedient4 ,but it is not so4 ,christ puts this consideration very strongly4 ,no amount of foreboding can add a single moment to our life1 for the boundaries of our life have been fixed by ,god4 ,the future is utterly unknown to us2 and foreboding will not help us in the least degree to forecast its difficulties and its trials1 though it may unfit us for the endurance of them4 ,whether we are cognizant of it or not1 ,god will take ,his plan with us1 and will carry it out4 ,if we could not believe in the love that ,he hath towards us1 the thought of this would be a dark sorrow2 but1 assured of ,his love as we may be1 we can also be assured that ,he will do all things well4 ,at any rate1 no over-anxiety of ours will facilitate the order of life we long for4 ,the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself4 ,it will have anxieties enough of its own in spite of every effort of ours to set it free from them4 ,every day1 to the end1 will have its own evil1 and the evil of each day will require all our strength for coping with it4 ,so that anxiety for the morrow will not remove care from the morrow2 it will only take strength and joy from to-day4 ,trust in ,god1 and all that ,he gives you of trouble for to-day will be accompanied by the gift of the strength necessary to enable you to bear it4 ,but do not expect ,him to give you strength to bear unnecessary sorrows--sorrows of your own making--the sorrows which spring from worldliness and unbelief4 ,as thy day--the day that now is--so thy strength shall be4 ,a third point is1 that1 reasoning from analogy1 we may be sure that ,god will provide for us4 ,he feeds the birds1 and ,he clothes the lilies4 ,they can do nothing for themselves2 yet how well are they provided for6 ,are not ye much better than they8 ,a wonderfully simple1 beautiful1 and effective argument this6 ,how grand the view it gives us of ,god's position in ,his universe6 ,what knowledge must be ,his6 ,what power6 ,what vastness--what variety of resource6 ,what minuteness of kindly1 loving interest6 ,who would not gladly entertain such a conception of ,god and of ,his ,providence as this1 in preference to the atheism and the materialism which have intruded so grievously into the science of our times8 ,behold the fowls of the air3 for they sow not1 neither do they reap1 nor gather into barns2 yet your heavenly ,father feedeth them4 ,are ye not much better than they8444 ,consider the lilies of the field1 how they grow2 they toil not1 neither do they spin3 and yet ,i say unto you1 that ,solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these4 ,wherefore1 if ,god so clothe the grass of the field1 which to-day is1 and to-morrow is cast into the oven1 shall ,he not much more clothe you1 ,o ye of little faith8 ,thus1 ,god is not content with giving what is simply necessary for life2 ,he gives for beauty also4 ,showing ,his goodness in such a manner to objects inferior to man1 why should man suspect that the same goodness will be denied to him8 ,observe1 that ,christ does not teach that birds and flowers are better than men because of their immunity from toil4 ,his meaning is1 that creatures which do not and cannot toil--creatures which do not and cannot forecast the future--are clothed and fed2 will ,god neglect the nobler creatures to whom ,he has given the power of thought1 and whom ,he has put under the obligation to labour8 ,even with these higher powers1 man is still as dependent as any of the inferior creatures around him4 ,will his needs be overlooked1 while theirs are supplied8 ,such a question is all the more pertinent when we remember1 that whilst they live for a day1 he was created for eternity1 and needs the special gifts which can shape his present life into a preparation and a discipline4 ,an additional point is1 that unholy anxiety is essentially ungodly1 irreligious1 unworthy of the position and the professions of a ,christian man4 ,take no thought1 no anxious thought1 saying1 ,what shall we eat8 or1 ,what shall we drink8 or1 ,wherewithal shall we be clothed8 ,for after all these things do the ,gentiles seek4 ,anxious thought1 therefore1 is the characteristic of heathenism1 and must be excluded from the religion which is true4 ,it is the spirit of the world1 not the spirit which is of ,god4 ,we see this clearly enough when we compare the amount of thought and care which we bestow upon our earthly interests with that which we devote to the interests which are spiritual and eternal4 ,what anxiety we give ourselves about the future of our health1 the future of our business1 the future of our worldly position1 the future of our children's secular education1 the future of their rank in society6 ,is it not ten times as great as that which we bestow upon our ,christian consistency1 our religious usefulness1 our growth in grace8 ,if we could hold the balance steadily1 which would prove to be the preponderating scale8 ,our ,lord puts the case in an indirect manner1 no doubt2 nevertheless1 it is impossible to avoid the implied conclusion4 ,that conclusion is this3 ,if you suffer yourself to be anxiously absorbed in earthly things1 you rank yourself with 'the ,gentiles1' to whom this world is all4--,besides1 such anxiety is ungodly because it is untrustful4 ,heathens1 who cannot blind themselves to the fact that their gods leave them for the most part1 if not entirely1 to themselves1 may be excused if they feel that there is room1 yea even necessity1 for anxious foreboding4 ,but how different should it be with those who know the one living and true ,god1 and who can recognize ,him as their ,father6 ,surely ,he may be trusted as knowing ,his children1 recognizing their needs1 loving them1 and tenderly caring for them4 ,taking anxious thought implies the weakness1 if not the extinction1 of faith4--,moreover1 its impiety is seen in the fact that it is a practical subordination of the spiritual to the secular4 ,seek ye first the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness1 and all these things shall be added unto you4 ,let the most important things have the first attention4 ,give due scope to the higher aspirations of the soul1 and the lower ones will shrink into their due proportions1 and will take their proper place4 ,god will give the earthly as it is needed to those who first seek the heavenly1 and the true spirit of religion will make us rich by making us content4 ,to ,christians this teaching1 taking it as a whole1 covers the entire ground of their secular life1 and much more than that4 ,look at two or three samples of the cases to which it applies4 #a4 ,to personal secular positions4 ,what will the future be8 ,shall ,i live to be old8 ,when ,i am old1 shall ,i be provided for8 ,will health and strength be continued to me according to my years8 ,leave that6 ,do your work to-day4 ,for this you may have the needful strength from ,god4 ,do not trouble about anything further4 ,use prudently the means which ,god has put into your hands for providing for the future1 and then commit their safe keeping to ,him4 ,if you have no such means1 still trust4 ,there are many promises on which you may implicitly and calmly rely4 #b4 ,how about my children8 ,will they grow up to be manful1 good1 godly2 a seed to serve the ,lord1 and a generation to call ,him blessed2 my comfort1 my pride8 ,or will they take evil ways2 prove1 like so many more1 vicious1 ungodly1 and bring down my grey hairs in sorrow to the grave8 ,leave that6 ,do your duty to your children to-day4 ,train them up in the nurture and admonition of the ,lord4 ,use a wise and godly forethought on their behalf4 ,pray for them4 ,instruct them4 ,set before them a ,christian example4 ,you may trust the rest with ,god1 calmly and thankfully expecting the fulfilment of the words3 ,train up a child in the way he should go1 and when he is old he will not depart from it4 #c4 ,what about my religious future8 ,if ,i make a ,christian profession1 shall ,i be able to live consistently with it8 ,shall ,i have strength to resist temptation8 ,what if ,i should fall8 ,can ,i so live as not to dishonour the ,church and the cause of ,christ8 ,leave that6 ,nurse your ,christian graces to-day4 ,lay up spiritual strength in reserve4 ,that is required by a wise forethought4 ,but having done so1 leave the rest4 ,god will take care of it all4 ,you may stedfastly trust that ,he will gloriously complete the work which ,he has graciously begun4 #d4 ,my ,christian work--what about that8 ,shall ,i be permitted to go on with it for a few years longer1 and thus to have some opportunity of realizing my ambition as a servant of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ8 ,or shall ,i be called away comparatively early8 ,and if so1 what will become of all the plans and projects upon which ,i have expended so much thought and prayer and toil8 ,leave that6 ,do your work to-day1 and be not anxious about the rest4 ,when to-day merges into to-morrow let the new to-day bring its own work with it1 to be done in the day4 ,nothing more of solicitude than that is needful4 ,you are not indispensable to ,god2 nor are you essential to the work which by ,his will you are doing4 ,if it be worth doing1 and you be separated from it1 ,he will find a suitable successor1 or as many successors as the accomplishment of the work may require4 #e4 ,how about the prosperity of the cause of ,christ in the world8 ,will it go steadily forward1 or will new and fiercer foes rise up against it8 ,leave that6 ,do all you can for it whilst you are here1 and entrust the rest1 as you entrust your own work1 to ,god4 ,do not hinder it by wasting time in forebodings which ought to be spent in service4 #f4 ,what of death--my own death8 ,shall ,i have grace enough to support me when the time comes8 ,leave that6 ,no doubt you will2 but do not be anxious about it4 ,to-day you are the living2 be the living to praise the ,lord1 and trust the needs of your dying hour to ,him4 ,the words of ,christ recorded in these verses must have startled ,his hearers4 ,they taught new truth concerning life1 and1 beautiful as they were1 the truth they taught was strange4 ,it would have been so strange as to be without weight1 if ,he had not first taught equally new and equally beautiful truth concerning ,god4 ,how does ,christ here speak of ,god8 ,your heavenly ,father4 ,the heathen instructors had not taught that6 ,pharisees and ,sadducees had not taught that6 ,but ,christ was now in the world2 ,he had come forth from the ,father1 and ,he could say to men3 ,your heavenly ,father knoweth that ye have need of these things4 ,thus the whole teaching of these verses on the subject of ,providence and of ,faith becomes plain and demonstrative4 ,the great requirement is for us to love ,him filially as ,he loves us paternally2 and then1 from that point1 all is clear4 ,we are dependent1 but ,he will provide4 ,there are present difficulties1 and probably there will be future trials2 but all takes the form of wise and holy discipline under ,his guiding and beneficent hand4 ,how do we arrive at the conviction of the ,fatherhood of ,god8 ,sin stands in the way1 and conscience craves something more than a mere authoritative announcement4 ,sin is the forfeiture of all claim to the ,divine favour4 ,what right have we to expect that ,his providence will be to us a providence of love8 ,there is but one answer3 to trust a ,god of providence1 we must believe in a ,god of grace4 ,paul puts the whole philosophy of this in a single sentence3 ,he that spared not ,his own ,son1 but delivered ,him up for us all1 how shall ,he not with ,him also freely give us all things8 ,our present subject1 therefore1 calls for the gospel1 and cannot be completed without it4 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god that taketh away the sin of the world4 ,he that hath seen me hath seen the ,father4 ,and1 ,if ye1 being evil1 know how to give good gifts unto your children1 how much more shall your ,father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask ,him8 ,but let us ever remember that we have higher wants than those of the body4 ,the soul needs food1 and ,god has supplied the bread of life2 it needs raiment1 and ,god has given to us the robe of righteousness wrought by ,christ2 it needs a home1 and we have a house not made with hands1 eternal in the heavens4 ,with these provisions1 then1 shall we forecast the future with fear1 or with hope8 ,which shall it be8 ,o holy trust6 ,o endless sense of rest1 ,like the beloved ,john1 ,to lay my head upon the ,saviour's breast1 ,and thus to ,journey on6 ,,xi4 ,,contentment4 ,not that ,i speak in respect of want3 for ,i have learned1 in whatsoever state ,i am1 therewith to be content4 ,i know both how to be abased1 and ,i know how to abound3 every where and in all things ,i am instructed both to be full and to be hungry1 both to abound and to suffer need4 ,i can do all things through ,christ who strengtheneth me4--,philippians iv4 #aa-ad4 ,my purpose is to define and to recommend the ,christian virtue of contentment4 ,i shall endeavour to show that its acquirement is a duty1 and that its possession is a joy2 but ,i shall also have to show that as a duty it is not practicable1 and that as a joy it is not attainable1 except on ,christian grounds4 ,i trust that all this will be made abundantly clear by the following observations4 ,i4 ,let us glance at the character of the man whose words are now before us4 ,there is in the words the ring of a high moral tone which is irresistibly attractive4 ,yet the effect they produce upon us must depend very much upon the kind of man who wrote them1 and the condition or conditions of life through which he had to pass4 ,we should be pained by such words as these if they came from the lips of a man whom the world would consider prosperous4 ,when the conditions of a man's life are easy and comfortable1 to make a profession of contentment would be an abuse both of language and of sentiment4 ,such a case is not one for content1 but for devout and hearty gratitude mingled with a sense of humiliation under the thought1 which ought to be present to every such man1 that he deserves no more than others1 though ,god gives him more than many others possess4 ,we should think sadly of these words if they came from a stoical man4 ,contentment is not the listlessness of indifference4 ,it is self-conscious1 and finds in itself its own joy4 ,indifference is loss--deterioration4 ,it implies the blunting of sensibility4 ,the heart that is callous to grief is closed against gladness also4 ,we should pity the man who uttered these words from mere weakness of character1 devoid of aspiration1 enthusiasm1 or resolve4 ,in his case1 content would be mere good-for-nothingness4 ,the world is full of uncomplaining men and women who do not cry1 not because they are content1 but because they are spiritless1 and consequently because they are crushed down and hopeless4 ,there are other circumstances which would disparage contentment4 ,we will not mention them now2 they will be suggested as we proceed4 ,now ,paul was every way the kind of man to give the noblest meaning to the words we are considering4 ,his whole constitution1 make1 rendered him susceptible of the highest earthly enjoyment4 ,mentally1 morally1 and socially1 he was prepared to accept and to appreciate the best that this world could offer to him4 ,he had great powers of thought1 reflection1 imagination1 and will4 ,he had great tenderness and generosity of heart4 ,proofs abound that his social instincts were full of life and strength4 ,he was pre-eminently a man to be touched by kindness or unkindness1 by gratitude or ingratitude1 by love or hatred4 ,and what was his experience8 ,it was not the one-sided experience of a man who has known only one condition in life4 ,on the contrary1 he had been familiar with almost the highest and the lowest4 ,on the one hand1 he had enjoyed the love1 and the tender1 fervent gratitude1 of many of his converts2 and on the other hand1 he could speak of the bad conduct1 the ingratitude1 and the vexatious opposition of others4 ,he had the manifold sorrows of a martyr's life of bonds1 imprisonments1 scourgings1 and stonings1 to which must be added the prospect of a martyr's death4 ,he was not a man of one kind of experience only1 to which habit had accustomed him4 ,he had known the terrible alternations of life1 and had learned to be content under them all4 ,i know both how to be abased1 and ,i know how to abound3 everywhere and in all things ,i am instructed both to be full and to be hungry1 both to abound and to suffer need4 ,moreover1 ,paul was a man of prodigious activity4 ,contentment is easy to a sluggish nature1 but it must have been a difficult acquirement to one in whom brain1 heart1 hands1 and all the powers of life were continually on the move4 ,couple with this incessancy of action the loftiness and ardour of his aspirations4 ,he was not only capable of an intense enthusiasm in any work which he took in hand1 but his whole impulse was an energetic straining forward and upward4 ,these considerations give something of marvellousness to the contentment which the apostle here avows for himself2 and they suggest that it must have rested on some underlying conviction--some established condition of soul which it is desirable for us to discover and identify4 ,the language he uses is in the utmost degree significant4 ,there is no haste about it1 nor is there any exaggeration4 ,it is the expression of the result of a severe and protracted mental and moral training1 under the influence of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,i have learned4 ,the lesson has been a difficult one1 but ,i have mastered it4 ,i have learned4 ,the ,i is emphatic4 ,whether others have learned the lesson or not1 ,i have learned it4 ,the apostle does not speak either hesitatingly or slightingly of his attainment4 ,thus1 when he says1 ,i know both how to be abased1 and how to abound1 he goes on to use a word which means1 literally1 ,i have been taught the secret1 ,i have been initiated into the mysteries--both of satisfaction and of hunger1 both of plenty and of want4 ,such language implies that his contentment was one which had not been easily acquired4 ,he had not passed into it by a single step only4 ,i do not suppose the process was a very slow one1 but it was a process4 ,the lesson had to be spelt out1 word by word1 often syllable by syllable1 perhaps sometimes with tearful eyes and a bleeding heart4 ,and so these words are a record of attainment such as this world cannot snatch4 ,the man who could so speak of himself was in possession of the best knowledge4 ,he had graduated and taken honours in the highest university4 ,,ii4 ,the practical importance of this lesson of contentment must be obvious to all4 ,two considerations will enable us to see its importance clearly4 #a4 ,our earthly life is a scene of change4 ,no position is secured to any of us in this world1 nor is it in the power of any of us to remain always1 and safe from molestation1 in a coveted state of action1 or of existence1 or of enjoyment4 ,some men never get into a state of positive happiness1 and1 in the experience of many1 the transitions from high to low positions are startling1 romantic1 painful1 mysterious4 ,events which men call accidents are constantly changing the aspects of things1 and certainly the most marked characteristic of our life is vicissitude4 ,this is a truth which is known and recognized by all1 and possibly it is one which is felt acutely by not a few who are here at this time4 #b4 ,the changes to which we are exposed are temptations to disquietude of heart1 and consequently to discontent4 ,this is true in a peculiar sense of those who look only to the present world for satisfaction1 but it is also true to a certain extent of the ,christian4 ,and why8 ,partly because he is seldom perfectly free from unworldliness of desire and of hope2 partly because he does not always read aright the meaning of his discipline1 and keep in mind the truth that because it is ,divine it must be always wise and good2 and partly because he looks too much to second causes1 not only in disappointment and sorrow1 but also in success and joy1 forgetting the hand and the purpose of ,god4 ,so that a ,christian who has passed through the numerous and various vicissitudes of life1 and whose faith1 like a tree in successive storms1 has gained strength from every blast--whose hopes have brightened while the clouds of life were lowering1 and whose experience by discipline has become enlightened1 rich1 and mature--is one of the noblest1 though1 alas6 one of the rarest1 sights in the world4 ,such a man was ,paul in a pre-eminent degree4 ,reverses did not sour him4 ,he had often to contend against the hostile hand of his fellow man1 but persecution did not embitter him4 ,he could retain through all his absorbing interest in the salvation of human souls and in the glory of ,god4 ,his troubles did not shut him up in himself4 ,he did not always talk about them1 as though he wanted everybody to pity and help him2 on the contrary1 he was a peculiarly brave and joyful man4 ,he looked upon joy not simply as a possibility1 nor simply as a privilege1 but as a duty1 the neglect of which by a ,christian was shameful4 ,he knew that whatever of earthly good might slip away from him1 or be snatched away1 there was something immeasurably better which was his for ever--,god1 ,christ1 immortality1 heaven4 ,who shall separate us from the love of ,christ8 shall tribulation1 or distress1 or persecution1 or famine1 or nakedness1 or peril1 or sword8444 ,nay1 in all these things we are more than conquerors through ,him who loved us4 ,for ,i am persuaded that neither death1 nor life1 nor angels1 nor principalities1 nor powers1 nor things present1 nor things to come1 nor height1 nor depth1 nor any other creature1 shall be able to separate us from the love of ,god1 which is in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4 ,,iii4 ,what has been said will help us to form a true idea of the state of mind which the apostle here avows for himself1 and in doing so to avoid some mistakes4 ,we have seen that contentment is neither stoicism1 nor want of interest in life nor sluggishness of temperament1 nor weakness of character4 ,we further say1 that ,paul does not mean that he considers all conditions in life alike desirable1 that there is nothing to choose between them1 that it is altogether immaterial whether men be well or ill1 strong or weak1 rich or poor1 high or low1 masters or slaves4 ,paul was not insensible to the advantages of outward comfort1 or to the disadvantages of poverty4 ,nor does he mean to teach that a ,christian may not use all means which are intrinsically legitimate and right for improving his condition1 in so far as he has those means at his command1 or the possibility of obtaining them4 ,what he means is that his happiness is not essentially dependent on external circumstances4 ,an illustration of ,solomon's words1 ,a good man is satisfied from himself1 he carries within him everywhere the elements of his own well-being4 ,so that being the man he is1 being the man ,god has made him to be1 being the man whom the ,holy ,spirit is fashioning by ,his grace1 through the instrumentality of the discipline of life1 with a hope that does not make him ashamed1 because he has the love of ,god shed abroad in his heart by the ,holy ,ghost given unto him--he is happy enough even in the midst of privations and difficulties4 ,his contentment is not indifference to his work1 but industrious fidelity4 ,it is not the narcotizing of aspiration2 for a man may ardently aspire1 and yet be content until it is time to rise4 ,still less is it complacency with his own moral and spiritual condition1 or with that of the world around him2 for he says that he forgets the things that are behind1 and reaches forth to the things that are before1 and he greatly longs after men in the bowels of ,jesus ,christ4 ,but with all his appreciation of life's comforts1 with all his aspirations after personal perfection1 and with all his longings to be useful in his day1 he is not disconcerted by difficulties and disadvantages2--he has learned in whatsoever state he is1 therewith to be content4 ,we must guard ourselves1 however1 from applying this example of contentment to troubles of our own making4 ,god entrusts every man1 more or less1 with the means of blessing himself1 and of maintaining his own honour among his fellow men4 ,but by sin1 or by mistakes of conduct arising from a culpable carelessness1 we may lose our position of advantage2 and when we do so1 we are not entitled to the comfort arising from the thought that1 as all events are in ,god's hands1 we must just take things as they come1 and be satisfied6 ,the sin which has brought mischief must be deplored2 its consequences must be accepted as a ,divine correction1 and ,divine help must be sought so that the chastisement may be sanctified4 ,and if on the lower ground we become less worldly1 holier1 and more ,christ-like1 ,god will have the greater glory and will give the deeper peace4 ,,iv4 ,and now for the secret of the apostle's contentment1 and the lessons that we are to learn therefrom for ourselves4 ,paul says1 ,i can do all things through ,christ who strengtheneth me4 ,the language is peculiar2 what does it mean8 ,it means that1 in whatsoever condition he might be1 he had ,christ for a ,helper and a ,friend2 that ,christ's companionship with him was constant1 full1 tender2 that ,his sympathy was great1 minute1 comprehensive1 cheering1 exalting1 all-sufficient4 ,so complete was his identification with ,christ that he tells these ,philippians that living or dying he was ,christ's4 ,but how did this come about8 ,once he persecuted the ,christ whom he now glorifies4 ,and even now his happiness has nothing of the miraculous in it4 ,it does not belong to him merely as an apostle1 or in the same way as his inspiration or other special1 supernatural gifts with which he is endowed4 ,it is the work of ,god's grace--grace imparted to him through the same channels along which it may come to us4 ,the secret is this3 ,paul was a ,christian--a converted1 regenerated man1 a believer in ,christ1 under the influence of the ,holy ,ghost2 and the result was accomplished by such simple means as faith and hope and prayer4 ,paul had felt1 as we all feel1 that there is in man a soul as well as a body1 an eternal life as well as a temporal4 ,he had also felt1 as we all feel1 that he was a sinner1 condemned and hopeless before that holy law which he had broken1 and the judgment of which he must one day meet4 ,but1 in obedience to the message of the gospel1 he had accepted ,christ as his ,saviour1 through whom he had received the forgiveness of sins1 ,divine sonship1 and sanctifying grace4 ,so that he had to regard himself as henceforth under training for heaven1 the training administered by a ,divine hand4 ,he knew that the present life1 with all its changes1 was the thing that was wanted for his spiritual education1 that nothing was accidental1 that no changes were chances1 and that all changes made up one great organized system of discipline1 in which all things were working together for good4 ,thus he could cherish in his heart a contentment which would cover all his experiences4 ,there are ills which certain men can bear patiently1 but a ,christian contentment learns to bear all ills cheerfully2 unmurmuring and acquiescent when sorrows multiply1 and when mercies one by one are taken away4 ,this contentment under ,christian conditions is a duty1 not perhaps of very easy attainment--,paul himself does not say that it is that--but it is a duty1 as being the natural fruit of faith and trust4 ,every ,christian should be able to say3 ,i will not cloud the present with the past1 ,nor borrow shadows from a future sky3 ',tis in the present that my lot is cast1 ,and ever will be through eternity4 ,sufficient to the day the present ill1 ,was kindly utter'd by a heavenly ,voice1 ,and one inspired to tell his ,master's will ,hath bid us alway in the ,lord rejoice4 ,,xii4 ,,joy4 ,rejoice in the ,lord alway2 and again ,i say rejoice4--,philippians iv4 #d4 ,whatever may be the impression produced by these words1 no one can read them attentively1 and be indifferent to the admonition they convey4 ,they speak to our most real life1 a life of mingled sunshine and shadow2 and they speak in the name of a religion which is divinely holy and solemn4 ,they have a marvellous power in awakening feeling1 and if we could but know the emotion they excite in each of us1 we should find them to constitute a perfect test of our actual experiences1 as well as of our religious condition4 ,in any religious assembly1 there must of necessity be two widely different states of feeling4 ,some souls are happy1 and others are depressed4 ,to the first class1 the words before us come with sweetness1 adding joy to joy2 to the second1 they come with pain1 the pain of contrast and of longing4 ,hence the question might be asked1 ,to whom are they addressed8 ,are they spoken to the happy alone8 ,must they be suppressed when we speak to the sad or to the miserable8 ,they are addressed neither to the one class alone1 nor to the other alone4 ,they were spoken to all hearts in the ,philippian church1 without distinction of condition2 and without distinction they are also spoken to us4 ,if there be any special stress in them at all1 it is when they are addressed to the sorrowing1 as we shall see by-and-by4 ,the words themselves supply a hint as to how this may be4 ,the joy that is recommended is joy in the ,lord4 ,it is therefore a ,christian joy2 and those to whom the apostle recommends it1 whatever may be the diversity of their circumstances1 are first of all1 last of all1 anyhow1 under any condition1 ,christians4 ,paul knows that joy is an inevitable consequence of the possession of true ,christianity in the heart1 that it is the natural outcome of ,christian faith1 that it ought to be a pervading experience of the ,christian soul through all the forms and circumstances of its life4 ,and so he offers the same exhortation to all4 ,nor is it a recommendation merely3 it is a command1 and it strikingly takes its place among the great ,pauline precepts4 ,for the proof of this1 turn to these precepts as we have them at the close of his first epistle to the ,thessalonians4 7,see chap4 v4 #ad-bb47 ,no one will suppose for a moment that the exhortation to rejoice can be applied in any sense to unbelieving men1 to men of the world1 to the ungodly4 ,granting that they have a joy peculiarly their own1 it is of such a nature1 and is so conditioned by the life of every day1 that it would be cruel to bid them rejoice evermore4 ,the worldling has too many disappointments1 struggles1 and cares1 for a permanent and unbroken joy such as that4 ,he may think himself fortunate for rejoicings that come now and then6 ,besides1 how could ,paul recommend a rejoicing which is not in the ,lord1 which is the only rejoicing possible to the unbeliever8 ,paul's joy is consistent with every duty of the religion he preached2 but to that religion the unbeliever is opposed4 ,his rejoicing cannot be acceptable to the ,lord4 ,it is spurious4 ,it has no true1 substantial source4 ,to such a man the apostle might rather have said1 ,weep6 ,christian joy is an inheritance closely fenced around2 and hard as it seems to enjoy any good things in which others cannot share1 we must say1 ,unbelieving men and women1 it is not for you4 ,the way here is through the strait gate1 and along the narrow road4 ,no joy can be joy in the ,lord which does not contain the following elements-- #a4 ,purity4 ,the objects that excite it must be pure4 ,it must be free from all carnality and from all sin2 it must spring from the soul's sympathy with ,god1 with ,his truth1 with ,his goodness4 ,holy in its objects1 it becomes a sanctifying power4 #b4 ,calmness4 ,it is freedom from turmoil of heart1 from disquietude of life4 ,it suffuses our feeling and our conduct with peace--peace that flows like a river4 ,hence1 it is the condition of a quiet1 steady ,christian experience4 #c4 ,seriousness4 ,it does not depend on self-forgetfulness1 or on a forced thoughtlessness4 ,it is deepest in the most reflective1 and is strengthened in all by an honest and habitual self-examination4 #d4 ,humility4 ,there is a sort of arrogance and self-sufficiency in worldly joy4 ,christianity puts man in his true place1 and teaches him to refer all his peace to ,god4 #e4 ,love4 ,love to man and to ,god2 the latter as the natural effect of gratitude1 the former from deep pity for his spiritual destitution1 or from sympathy in a common experience of happiness4 #f4 ,permanence4 ,it is not a fitful1 occasional1 moody thing4 ,secondary sources of joy may fail1 but ,god1 the primary ,source and ,giver of all joy1 remains2 and the relationship between the believer and ,him abides1 so that the grounds of peace and of hope are everlasting4 ,now it is clear that these are not the elements of a worldly joy4 ,we do not care to reduce all that joy to a common level1 and to say that it is invariably and equally destitute of all these qualities of purity1 calmness1 seriousness1 humility1 love1 permanence4 ,it is enough to say that it is not joy in the ,lord4 ,it does not consciously or actually spring from ,him2 it is not maintained by communion with ,him2 and it does not pay to ,him its tribute of love1 consecration1 and praise4 ,this exhortation to ,christian joy is one of the most common in the writings of ,paul4 ,happy ,christians may wonder why it is repeated so often4 ,why urge it at all8 ,is it not the first1 the necessary1 the constant result of faith8 ,why specially insist upon it as a duty8 ,if faith be weak1 give us reasons by which faith may be strengthened2 but1 once in the conscious possession of eternal life and of peace with ,god1 let the results naturally follow4 ,are they not sure to come8 ,one would suppose so2 but1 alas6 ,paul knew1 and we have reason to know1 that we are very inconsistent6 ,there is often a divorce between our professed beliefs and the results that should flow from them4 ,then1 too1 our faith is often unconsciously held4 ,it is too merely traditional2 it lacks freshness and vitality4 ,we may well1 therefore1 be thankful that ,god1 who has given us such motives for joy1 should still recommend it to us4 ,even with a very sincere faith may circumstances arise which shall trouble our hearts4 ,our joy is constantly threatened1 and almost unconsciously we sometimes come to feel that we have none4 ,i know many ,christians of whom the last thing we could affirm would be that they are joyful ,christians4 ,hence the exhortation4 ,it takes the form of a command4 ,why8 #a4 ,we owe it to the love and mercy of our ,god4 ,joy is the sign1 the expression1 and the ornament of gratitude4 ,a faith without joy is an altar without perfume4 ,god's abounding grace realised in the heart demands this return4 ,if we be not joyful1 what does the fact mean8 ,do we lightly esteem ,his great love8 ,are we afraid it may fail8 #b4 ,joy is a means of testifying our gratitude4 ,without joy1 faith is barren and inefficient1 or else its fruits are rare and without savour4 ,the gospel represents good works as the fruits of faith1 and fruits grow not on the trunk1 but on the branches2 and joy is one of these4 ,a worldly joy gives vigour to the heart in the pursuit of worldly objects4 ,christian joy prompts the heart to devotedness to ,god4 #c4 ,the world is mightily influenced by our joy4 ,the idea that religion is a sad1 gloomy thing is widely spread1 and is a hindrance in the way4 ,men know that our beliefs ought to produce joy1 and1 if they fail to do so1 they become themselves discredited4 ,a true ,christian is really at the source of all true joy4 ,the world yields him most because he is nearest heaven4 ,joy is a proselyting power4 #d4 ,true joy cannot be imitated4 ,the world's gaiety is the effect of temperament and circumstances1 not of reflection2 it repudiates and shrinks from thought4 ,christian joy deepens the more thoughtful men become4 ,the grounds on which it rests are felt to be the surer the more they are examined4 ,let us look at one or two more of the characteristics of ,christian joy4 #a4 ,it does not avoid contact with men1 but it can1 if need be1 live alone4 ,it can flourish in the heart that is alone with itself and with ,god1 and can find its food in meditation and prayer4 ,it blossoms where other joys fade4 #b4 ,it is devout4 ,it loves the places where its ,author is worshipped1 but it can sing its praises everywhere4 ,the heart in which it resides is a temple4 ,it sings even in the midst of cares and tribulations1 like ,paul and ,silas in the midnight gloom of the prison at ,philippi4 #c4 ,it is at the furthest remove from frivolity4 ,it rejoices in serious things1 even in such serious things as sorrow and death4 ,it looks up and on with hope4 ,it rests in ,god4 ,it knows that ,christ1 its ,source1 can never be separated from it4 ,it thinks itself rich enough in the possession of ,god's great love4 #d4 ,it triumphs over the hindrances by which all other joy is thwarted4 ,as to remembrances of the past1 all that needed to be forgiven is forgiven4 ,as to actual trouble1 it can take hold of ,god4 ,as to forecasts of the future1 that1 in its truest blessedness1 is secure4 ,who would not be a ,christian8 ,and who1 being a ,christian1 can refuse to be glad8 ,eternal ,source of ,life and ,light1 ,from whom my every blessing flows1 ,how shall my lips extol aright ,the bounty that no measure knows8 ,sweet are the gifts ,thou dost accord2 ,still best when best we love ,thy ways3 ,but one yet add1 all bounteous ,lord1 ,and teach me as ,i would to praise4 ,to praise ,thee ofttimes with my tongue2 ,to praise ,thee ever with my heart2 ,and soon1 where heavenly praise is sung1 ,oh1 let me take my blissful part6 ,then1 ,lord1 not one of all the host ,that hymn ,thy glory round the ,throne1 ,how e'er exalted there1 shall boast ,a strain more fervent than mine own4 ,,xiii4 ,,sickness4 ,lord1 behold1 he whom ,thou lovest is sick4--,john xi4 #d4 ,much contact with sickness of late has set me thinking about it2 about the place it occupies in the ,divine dispensations of our life1 and the lessons it may teach4 ,the subject will find an easy entrance into our meditations4 ,most of us have known what sickness is1 and all of us have in prospect that which will prove to be our last4 ,in all the sorrow that affects the people of ,god there is more or less of mystery1 which deepens in proportion as those who suffer become mature in their ,christian life1 and advanced in holiness4 ,yet there are some obvious truths in relation to it which are not hard to discern1 and to some of these it will be profitable to turn our thoughts now4 ,i4 ,sickness1 in common with all our ills1 is a solemn witness to the existence of sin4 ,if we trace it back to its first cause1 we shall find it to have originated in the transgression of the law4 ,it would be contrary both to the letter and to the spirit of the gospel to see in each sickness the direct result of a particular sin4 ,yet cases of this kind are not so rare as we suppose4 ,many men1 even professing ,christians1 suffer in consequence of sins known only to ,god and to themselves2 secret luxuries and excesses1 or a trifling1 perhaps half unconscious1 with some of the simplest laws of ,nature4 ,let not this be altogether overlooked4 ,moreover1 whilst we are not at liberty to suppose an immediate connection between some particular sickness and some particular sin1 there is a general connection between sin and suffering4 ,there would have been no sickness in the world if there had been no sin4 ,there was none in ,eden3 there will be none in heaven4 ,sickness is a witness to the disorder which sin has created4 ,the ,christian is a forgiven man1 but the secondary consequences of sin remain4 ,in a sinful world1 the sins of others react upon him in various ways4 ,he himself1 though forgiven1 is not yet perfect4 ,there will always be enough of the sense of sin even in the most devout heart1 to bend the sufferer in humiliation beneath the thought that in a thousand ways he has deserved the discipline of sorrow4 ,,ii4 ,sickness1 however1 affords equal testimony to the love of ,god4 ,the ,christian has ample reason for knowing that it is a ,father's hand that smites1 and that the blow is tempered with gentle mercy4 ,we suffer less than many have suffered before3 less than many are suffering now4 ,the ,old ,testament gives us some notable examples of suffering--,job1 ,david1 etc42 so also does the ,new ,testament--,paul1 for instance4 ,and what were the sufferings of these compared with those of ,christ1 who wept and bled and died1 not for ,himself1 but for us8 ,in all ages better men than we have suffered more4 ,consider what we have deserved1 and what1 but for the mercy of ,god1 we must have had to bear4 ,if the sufferings of life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to follow1 neither are they worthy to be compared with the doom which must have followed1 if ,god had not loved us with an infinite and everlasting love4 ,nor is it beneath the subject to mention the alleviations which are granted to us1 and which we must all trace to the ,divine ,hand--sleep1 the suspension of pain1 sympathy1 and1 most of all1 the hopes of the gospel4 ,these are common-place considerations1 but we must entertain them1 if our gratitude and trust are to be strong and simple4 ,but we must enter into particulars a little further for the sake of evolving truth still more immediate and personal4 ,,iii4 ,sickness is often a special grace from ,god1 and is a providential answer to the secret desires of our own souls4 ,not1 indeed1 the answer we ask1 or the answer we expect2 rather1 indeed1 the answer we would gladly avoid3 but still an answer4 ,the cardinal want of man is salvation4 ,who does not know that sickness has often been sanctified to that end8 ,the cardinal want of the ,christian is sanctification--preparedness for heaven2 and every ,christian knows how seriously this is impeded by a crowd of difficulties1 real enough1 but which we have a propensity to exaggerate2 generally1 the daily occupations and cares of life--a family to be provided for1 a competency to gain1 favourable opportunities to be looked for and seized1 daily mischances1 and the like4 ,meanwhile we are conscious of our spiritual wants1 and there is a painful conflict between the claims which are temporal1 and those which are spiritual4 ,how many ,christians are living a life of absorption in the world1 yet harassed with occasional regrets1 fears1 desires1 connected with better things8 ,to these sickness is a ,divine reply4 ,it is as though ,god said3 ,dear child1 ,i know thy difficulty4 ,thou canst not of thine own determination leave the world2 come away now4 ,leave thy labour1 thy anxiety1 thy dreams4 ,shut out from the world's noise1 listen to ,me1 to thy soul1 to heaven1 to eternity4 ,not that thou mayest do thy duty less faithfully do ,i thus check thee1 but that thou mayest learn the true subordination of things to one another2 not the spiritual to the temporal1 but the temporal to the spiritual4 ,that is why ,i put this affliction upon thee4 ,oh1 verily1 blessed is sickness when viewed from the station where we rest and refresh in the fevered journey of life--a truce after battle1 a parenthesis in life's tale1 into which ,god puts ,his own deep-meaning and gentle word4 ,let us remember this for our brethren's sakes and for our own4 ,,iv4 ,sickness1 as a special proof of ,god's love1 is charged with a mission to bring to us some special gifts and graces4 ,it is above all things a means of blessing when we associate with it the idea of discipline1 however stern4 ,there is not a single ,christian virtue that may not acquire strength on a bed of sickness1 and there are not a few ,christian virtues which probably must be learnt there1 if they are ever to be learnt perfectly at all4 ,among these note the following3 #a4 ,patience4 ,this is specially the fruit of sorrow4 ,no soul can know what patience is until it has learnt what suffering is4 ,to this effect ,paul and ,james both teach1 putting suffering before the ,christian as a veritable cause of joy because it produces patience4 ,how many elements in sickness would be aggravated by the absence of this beautiful grace6 ,how quickly we come to feel that all worry is useless1 and that we must simply wait the good pleasure of the ,lord6 ,how commonly too1 the existence of this virtue strikes the beholder4 ,it is not apathy1 it is not stoicism2 it is submission4 ,when the sickness is past there will still remain much in life to try us2 but if we have learnt the lesson1 we shall know how to apply it4 #b4 ,entire dependence upon ,god4 ,this is sometimes hard to realize in days of health and vigour1 but in days of sickness we feel that the sentiment is impressed upon us with especial weight4 ,we know that it is ,he who casteth down and lifteth up4 ,we use means for recovery1 and this is right2 but we learn that without ,his blessing the best and the most skilfully applied of these are of no avail4 ,this sense of dependence on ,god should be the habit of the mind2 and having acquired it in sorrow we shall not repudiate or forget it in joy4 #c4 ,unworldliness4 ,in a sickness which is protracted1 and the issue of which is uncertain1 we learn to put the proper estimate on things4 ,we find and we feel that we have here no true home and no true satisfaction1 and that we must look above4 ,at such a time we perceive that the real is the spiritual and the eternal4 ,as we groan in this tabernacle1 we obtain our true relief in the contemplation of things unseen4 #d4 ,the confidence of faith4 ,the possible issues of our sickness are momentous1 and the question comes3 ,of what quality are my hopes8 ,is the religion that has given me joy and strength in health able to support me now8 ,and how often the blessed answer is ,yes6 ,god gives us strength equal to our day4 ,the ,father's smile1 the presence of the ,saviour1 simple trust in the ,cross--these are realized as they never have been before4 ,and if health should return1 it will be with the calmly1 soberly delightful feeling of a religion in the heart that has stood the test4 ,this is the experience of not a few whom ,i have known4 ,all this has a mighty influence on others besides the sufferers themselves4 ,they preach1 and preach effectively1 through their sorrow and the grace by which they bear it1 and get blessing out of it4 ,thus their sickness becomes an occasion on which1 an instrumentality by which1 ,god conveys the blessings of ,his grace to their brethren4 ,to all of us1 whether in sickness or in health1 the subject suggests some important lessons4 ,it suggests thankfulness for such health as we have4 ,others are suffering3 why not we8 ,multitudes are languishing in pain to-day2 most of us are well4 ,let us bless ,god1 and seek ,his grace that we may use this gift of health1 with all ,his other gifts1 to ,his glory4 ,it suggests sympathy for those who suffer4 ,how dependent they are on our kindness1 our gentleness1 our love4 ,let us give it to them in full measure4 ,specially1 let us give expression to our sympathy for them by prayer on their behalf4 ,it suggests faithfulness to the vows made in the time of our trouble4 ,how much holier would all of us be to-day if none of those vows had been forgotten6 ,,xiv4 ,,jesus ,,only4 ,and when they had lifted up their eyes1 they saw no man1 save ,jesus only4--,matthew xvii4 #h4 ,the visible glory has vanished2 ,moses and ,elias have disappeared2 the cloud is gone2 the ,voice has been heard2 and ,jesus has assumed again the form of ,his lowliness4 ,a few moments ago ,peter1 in a half-unconscious ecstasy1 was saying3 ,lord1 it is good for us to be here3 if ,thou wilt1 let us make here three tabernacles2 one for ,thee1 one for ,moses1 and one for ,elias4 ,and now they are coming down from the mountain to the turmoil at its foot1 and they who wished to tabernacle so gloriously above must descend again to their fishing-nets below4 ,the change seems sudden and sad4 ,we feel inclined to exclaim1 ,what a loss6 ,but though they come down1 ,jesus is with them4 ,herein lies the substance of what ,i want now to develop4 ,our life has its resting-places1 exposed to startling1 rude alternations2 but it has also1 in the midst of all1 its grand solace4 ,i4 ,the first of these truths is one of such common experience1 that we have no need to do more in support of it than to point to well-known facts4 ,i shall try to generalize them by referring merely to three points4 #a4 ,to our external personal circumstances4 ,sometimes we are prosperous1 cheerful1 happy4 ,we say1 ,the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places2 yea1 ,i have a goodly heritage4 ,incidents occur which seem to transform our ordinary life4 ,we succeed in our pursuits4 ,we are in health4 ,our domestic happiness is undisturbed4 ,we have been delivered from impending ill1 and1 instead of suffering what we have feared1 we realize more than we have hoped for4 ,we are thankful2 we are content2 and we want to build our tabernacle on the green mount of our prosperity4 ,may we not indulge this feeling without any suspicion that our prosperity may too much absorb and unspiritualise us8 ,but the time for disenchantment comes1 and if we have grace enough in our hearts1 we find that a drawback is put in the way of our fancied happiness1 the tendency of which is proving a strong temptation to worldliness4 ,and then1 though we do not court reverses--for they1 too1 have their temptations--we begin to feel that this position of fancied happiness is not so perfect as we thought4 ,besides1 the novelty passes away1 and the satisfaction becomes less4 ,we had forgotten our higher needs whilst we were absorbed in our external well-being4 ,and so we come to acknowledge once more that this is not our rest4 ,sometimes1 too1 a veritable reverse takes place2 like the disciples1 we have to come down from the mount4 ,the alternations of grief1 disappointment1 and care follow our joy1 and we get a further confirmation of the truth that there is no resting-place to be found in any of the circumstantials of life4 #b4 ,to our intercourse with men4 ,we have reason to be thankful for all the blessing which reaches us through this channel1 and especially so for all sanctified human relationships4 ,to men of confiding1 generous natures1 it is natural to repose in their contact with certain of their fellow creatures4 ,some of our brethren wield a marvellous charm over us4 ,we trust their character2 we are not conscious of their defects2 we are entirely at home with them4 ,but here1 again1 we find that we must come down from the mount4 ,it would be a sad story if we could all tell our surprises and disappointments in this matter4 ,how many apparently beautiful friendships have passed away6 ,how many defects have we discovered in those whom we have implicitly trusted1 when we have been brought into a closer acquaintance with them8 ,how many have others discovered in us8 ,do we not see here one reason why men become cynical and misanthropic8 ,the greater the confidence1 the greater the subsequent distrust4 ,the greater the joy1 the deeper the grief which has followed it4 ,let us thank ,god for the friendships that abide2 but let us remember that human love can never be a perfect resting-place for our hearts4 #c4 ,to our ,christian feeling4 ,in the early days of our ,christian life especially1 and often afterwards1 all seems to be transfigured before our eyes4 ,we see a new earth and a new heaven4 ,we breathe a life-giving atmosphere as we ascend the hills from whence cometh our help4 ,moses and ,elias--the law and the prophets--have undergone the same transformation4 ,desires which are earthly have given place to desires which are spiritual4 ,we seem to be in closest contact with the ,saviour1 and we pity the small pre-occupations of the world4 ,we say1 ,let us build here our tabernacle1 and rest4 ,but changes await us6 ,first the heights1 then the depths6 ,to-day1 the unutterable words from heaven2 to-morrow1 the thorn in the flesh and the messenger of ,satan to buffet6 ,the one is not without the other4 ,hence the lesson comes home to us3 ,do not depend too much on your heart-states4 ,these high joys seldom last long4 ,jesus1 so to speak1 loses ,his splendour1 and comes down again from the mount1 as a man1 to ,his humiliation4 ,,ii4 ,the facts ,i have adverted to are such as only experience teaches4 ,the prosperous and the immature may suppose that ,i take too gloomy a view of life4 ,by no means4 ,life has brought its trials to me2 and1 like many others1 ,i have been again and again on the mount to come down afterwards into the valley4 ,and1 were it not for one crowning consideration1 there has been enough of change to some of us to make us sad and gloomy enough4 ,what has prevented it8 ,this1 that ,jesus has come down from the mount along with us4 ,we have learnt to prize ,him in proportion as we have learnt the deceptiveness of all beside6 ,as ,jesus humbled ,himself1 so ,he humbles ,his own4 ,he wants us to walk by faith1 not by sight1 nor by sentiment4 ,what should we become on our ,tabor1 if we were allowed to build our tabernacles there8 ,certainly proud2 perhaps foolish2 perhaps self-sufficient4 ,paul was in danger of being exalted above measure by the glory of the revelations which came to him2 have we any reason to be more certain of ourselves8 ,the greater the height the more destructive the fall4 ,we might also mistake religious ecstasies for religious firmness or religious growth4 ,yes1 the true discipline is that which makes us come down4 ,all this looks like the disenchantment of our cherished illusions4 ,what have we to put in their place8 ,man does not live alone by what is taken away from him1 but by what is given to him4 ,have we taken away all8 ,have we given nothing8 ,we read that a ,voice came out of the cloud1 saying1 ,this is my beloved ,son1 in whom ,i am well pleased2 hear ye ,him4444 ,and when the disciples had lifted up their eyes1 they saw no man1 save ,jesus only4 ,what does that teach us8 ,it teaches that out of these ecstasies1 which often hide the reality1 there comes a gift of ,god more precious than all--,jesus ,himself4 ,whatever form ,he may assume1 ,he is still the same2 still the same whether ,he goes up the mountain with us1 or comes down with us from the mountain4 ,our illusions vanish1 but ,jesus does not disappear4 ,it is to ,him that ,god directs us when the dreams of life are gone4 ,events deceive us1 men change1 the joy of our own hearts subsides2 but these things happen that we may lift up our eyes and see ,jesus only4 ,and so the illusions which depart give place to a permanent good4 ,do not be afraid to descend from the mountain-tops into the low valleys which lie beneath4 ,neither height nor depth need separate from the love of ,christ4 ,a mighty and gracious ,hand guides you1 whether you see it or not4 ,lay hold of it with confidence4 ,though your ecstacies vanish1 the great gain of your faith will be a sober1 deep repose4 ,do not confound this repose with a want of life or of interest4 ,a staid1 strong1 sober ,christian is a man who has learnt in whatsoever state he is therewith to be content4 ,a staid1 strong1 sober ,christian is one who can do all things through ,christ1 who is ever near and ever strengtheneth4 ,is not such a condition a blessed one8 ,it is that which gives to faith its permanence and its calm4 ,instead of ascending to heaven and descending to the abyss to find ,christ1 we find ,him here1 and remain with ,him in peace and assurance4 ,having found ,him1 and being united to ,him1 we may1 if need be1 do without the rest4 ,on the mount and in the plain we have the same ,saviour4 ,in any case1 our hearts are on a sure foundation4 ,the tabernacles ,peter wanted to erect on ,tabor let us erect in the valley4 ,let us keep near to ,jesus2 near to ,his law1 near to ,his promises1 but emphatically near to ,him4 ,this1 too1 will be a transfiguration1 the transfiguration of our common life4 ,the light of the ,divine glory will shine about us2 and in the light1 and out of the cloud1 the ,voice will speak4 ,we shall tabernacle with ,moses and ,elias only above2 but we may tabernacle with ,jesus below4 ,let us tabernacle with ,him most at the cross2 for it is there that we shall find most of our holiness and our hope4 ,,xv4 ,,prayer4 ,ask1 and it shall be given you2 seek1 and ye shall find2 knock1 and it shall be opened unto you4 ,for every one that asketh1 receiveth2 and he that seeketh1 findeth2 and to him that knocketh1 it shall be opened4--,matthew vii4 #g1 #h4 ,prayer is one of the vital elements of the ,christian life4 ,it mingles with its first impulses2 it is the secret of every step in its development1 the hidden germ of the grain of mustard-seed1 the sap that nourishes the growing and the perfected tree from the furthermost fibres of its roots to the topmost shoot of its branches4 ,a sapless tree is not a living one1 but dead2 a prayerless ,christian cannot be4 ,as might have been expected1 the ,new ,testament is remarkably plain in its teaching on this subject of prayer4 ,the difficulties connected with it which exist in our minds are not difficulties which it creates or even sanctions4 ,a simple reverence for its utterances is almost all that we need for their removal4 ,let us inwardly pray for this while we study the question now4 ,the form in which our ,lord presents ,his exhortation in the text is interesting and suggestive4 ,he uses three words--ask1 seek1 knock1 which seem to intimate a gradation1 and to lead up to a climax4 ,the word ask indicates the felt want of a good which may be obtained2 not purchased1 but obtained as a free gift4 ,the word seek indicates the continuance of the asking1 with the added idea1 perhaps1 that our need is our fault1 and that what we seek has been previously lost4 ,the word knock supposes a difficulty in obtaining1 the delay of the answer1 a blessing shut up1 and not immediately forthcoming4 ,here1 then1 is a hint of possible difficulties4 ,nevertheless1 a promise is annexed1 which is all-sufficient4 ,ask1 and it shall be given you2 seek1 and ye shall find2 knock1 and it shall be opened unto you4 ,christ's word is assurance enough for us2 but ,he condescends to append an argument drawn from a comparison between man and ,god1 between imperfect earthly parents and the infinitely perfect ,father in heaven2 an argument which ought to be conclusive4 ,what man is there of you1 whom if his son ask bread1 will he give him a stone8 ,or if he ask a fish1 will he give him a serpent8 ,if ye then1 being evil1 know how to give good gifts unto your children1 how much more shall your ,father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask ,him8 ,the facts as they lie open on the surface of the text are among the most solemn and momentous facts of our life and thought4 ,there is a ,god1 holding in the universe a position which is exclusively ,his own1 the great and only ,giver of all good4 ,man's position is one of dependence2 in no sense is he self-sufficient4 ,as it is ,god's prerogative to give1 so it is man's duty and interest to ask4 ,there is a possibility of communion between ,him who gives and him who needs2 the hand of want brought into contact with the hand that supplies4 ,then we have the fact that ,god is both able and willing to satisfy man's want out of ,his own fulness4 ,further1 we have the tender solicitation to trust on our part--the absolute promise that such trust can never be misplaced--and the encouraging assurance that the ,god who gives is moved towards ,his creatures who ask by all the sympathies of a ,divine ,fatherhood4 ,every ground of the confidence that children have in their parents is consolidated into a rock of immovable repose when the ,heavenly ,father comes in question4 ,these facts enter into the common substance of our ,christian belief and thought4 ,as ,christians1 we never deny and never dispute them4 ,we hold them in a measure unconsciously till the crises of life bring them into prominence4 ,but they are inconceivably marvellous4 ,as mere conceptions they are grand2 as realized grounds of hope they are inexpressibly helpful4 ,they are full of greatness and tenderness4 ,each of us may say to himself3 ,my soul1 with all thy manifold infirmities and littlenesses1 thou canst pray to the great ,god6 ,ay1 thou canst come to ,him as to an infinite ,father6 ,surely that is distinction and consolation enough4 ,comparatively few ,christians1 however1 understand prayer as they should--either as a duty or as a privilege4 ,with tens of thousands amongst them it is to a great extent an unappreciated boon4 ,even many devout ,christians--anxious to use it to more effect--have their difficulties4 ,i want to offer some help to such as these4 ,the scope of prayer1 unanswered prayer1 delayed answers1 etc41 all are subjects of anxious questioning4 ,i4 ,prayer1 according to the teaching of ,scripture and of experience1 is a simple transaction of asking and receiving4 ,it indirectly serves other ends1 as we shall see shortly2 but it is first of all1 and all through1 just what ,i have stated4 ,we pray because we want2 we pray in order to get what we want2 and we pray with the feeling that we shall not get it unless we pray4 ,there is no mystery in such a view as this4 ,the transaction between the ,christian and ,god1 involved in prayer as thus described1 is as natural1 as simple1 as well defined1 and as easily understood1 as the action of a child when it asks its parents for what it needs1 and when its parents give what it needs in answer to the asking4 ,the holy men of ,scripture understood prayer in this way4 ,their prayers are full of simplicity1 both as to their structure and their spirit4 ,abraham1 ,isaac1 ,jacob1 ,moses1 ,samuel1 ,elijah1 all simply asked for such blessing as they felt they needed2 asked for the sake of receiving1 and feeling that the reception of what they wanted was dependent upon their asking4 ,they unquestionably believed in an invisible ,hand1 and felt that the ,heart that guided that ,hand delighted to be trusted and appealed to in every1 and for every1 kind of human need4 ,,ii4 ,the simplicity of their view of the nature of prayer is no greater than that of the view they took of the scope of prayer4 ,a feeling has grown up in the minds of many that we cannot ask with confidence for temporal blessings1 and that the only blessings for which we may be sure that it is right to ask are those which are spiritual4 ,but that was not the idea of the praying men of the past4 ,there was not a blessing1 material or spiritual1 for which they hesitated to pray--life1 health1 food1 rain1 fruitful seasons1 success in battle1 peace of soul1 forgiveness of sins1 strength for holy work--all these1 and indiscriminately as to any special privilege attached to the prayer for one or another4 ,just so taught ,christ4 ,the ,lord's ,prayer asks not only for the glory of ,god and the forgiveness of trespasses1 but also for daily bread4 ,these considerations must neither be misunderstood nor overlooked4 ,prayer is a direct1 specific1 simple act4 ,men say that well-wishing1 right-living1 work1 and such like1 are prayer4 ,not so4 ,a prayerful spirit may be1 and ought to be1 blended with the whole of our life2 but we must not so shade off the act into something else as to take away its point and its reality4 ,prayer is the concentration of the soul upon its present need1 whatever that may be1 and then bringing it to ,god1 naked and undisguised1 for ,him to meet it4 ,the faith that prompts and backs up such prayer hangs every circumstance of life1 the most minute and the most momentous alike1 on the direct and immediate control of ,god1 in whose great foresight all our little plans are lost1 and in whose hands we become the instruments of our own well-being4 ,,iii4 ,it is demanded by such a view of prayer as that which has now been given1 that we should confidently expect the answers to our petitions4 ,this seems a simple1 trite thing to say2 but it is here especially that we fail4 ,the attitude of looking for answers to prayer is not a common one4 ,how is this8 ,partly because our prayers are often so vague that we do not know precisely what to expect2 partly because the habit of prayer is largely formal--a mere piece of religious routine2 sometimes because we misapprehend the form in which the answer may come2 and sometimes because1 in impatience1 we lose heart and hope4 ,we should ever remember1 however1 that the promise to hear and to answer is positive and unrestricted4 ,this fact leaves ample room for the truth1 which we should also ever remember1 that the mode and time of the answer remain with ,god1 and must be left to ,his loving wisdom4 ,if ,he should see that what we ask will strengthen our faith in ,him1 bring our hearts nearer to ,him1 and help us to fulfil ,his will1 ,he will grant the answer directly1 and in the form in which we look for it4 ,he has done so in numberless cases4 ,sometimes ,he does so in special and unmistakeable instances1 of which1 perhaps1 ,george ,mller and his orphanage is the most prominent in our time4 ,on the other hand1 if ,he should see that an answer of this kind would encourage worldliness1 or in any way lead to evil1 as it might sometimes do1 then ,he will delay the answer1 or will change its form into one of greater safety for us1 at the same time speaking with ,his still small voice words of peace to our hearts4 ,one thing is certain2 namely1 that if the worldly advantage be first in our view1 it will be well for our prayer to be denied1 and ,god will deny it4 ,,iv4 ,one condition1 then1 of answered prayer is that we must be loyal to ,god1 and this loyalty includes submission to ,his will--a willingness to receive1 and a willingness to be denied4 ,we may ask what we will in such a spirit as this2 for in such a spirit we shall be sure that any refusal from ,him will be a blessing to ourselves4 ,v4 ,one difficulty in relation to prayer of which anti-christian people make much1 and which often occurs even to the most devout1 is as to how these specific answers to prayer can be made to agree with the regularity of ,god's laws and the order of ,his ,providence4 ,this question introduces us to a mystery which we cannot hope fully to solve4 ,we have no idea that prayer alters either the perceptions or the will of ,god2 neither do we imagine that it interferes with natural laws1 so as to prevent their due and natural operation4 ,the operations of nature are often affected by the human will1 both directly and indirectly2 yet no one supposes that to that extent the order of nature is disturbed4 ,why may not the influence of the human will upon nature act through the medium of prayer to the great ,author of nature1 as well as in any other way8 ,no objection of this kind lies against prayer which does not equally lie against all human enterprise2 yea1 even against the daily work by which we live6 ,it is a sufficient reply to every objection of this kind that it is founded in a philosophy of fatalism4 ,surely if man1 within the limits of his power1 can use nature for himself1 ,god1 whose power is infinitely greater1 can use nature for him1 if ,he be pleased on any terms to do so2 and there is no more interference with the order of nature in the ,divine use of it than there is in the human4 ,prayer may have its part to play in the great system of causation as well as work4 ,it may be a part of the foreseen chain of causes and effects by which ,god unfolds ,his eternal purposes4 ,the good order of a family is not disturbed by the margin given to the children's wishes and requests2 and when we are wise enough to know1 we shall see how it has been even so in the greater family of ,god4 ,god is love before we pray as well as when ,he answers2 and yet it may be according to ,his will1 because it is according to ,his beneficent wisdom1 that there shall be many blessings unreceived by us until we ask for them4 ,,vi4 ,how do these thoughts bear upon the subject of importunity in prayer8 ,such importunity is not discountenanced1 but rather encouraged1 by the very form of our ,lord's exhortation4 ,ask2 seek2 knock4 ,i have said that this series of words intimates a gradation1 and constitutes a climax4 ,seeking is more than asking2 knocking is more than asking or seeking4 ,ask and ye shall receive4 ,yes1 but the asking which is to be followed by receiving may be such as to include both seeking and knocking4 ,god is not reluctant to hear and to answer2 but that is no reason why ,he should not require sometimes to be importuned4 ,christ gives ,his special sanction to this importunity through the medium of two parables1 both of which were spoken for the express purpose of urging it4 ,the first of these is the parable of the man who disturbs the repose of his friend at midnight for the purpose of obtaining from him the means of showing hospitality to an unexpected wayfarer2 the second is the parable of the injured widow and the unjust judge4 ,in both these parables1 the suppliants are represented as prevailing2 but the point to be noted is that the power by which they prevail is their earnest and persistent importunity4 ,why does ,christ illustrate prayer to ,god by the pertinacity which is needful to arouse the affections of sinful man8 ,we may be sure that ,he does not ascribe any thing of human imperfection to ,god4 ,our ,father in heaven slumbers not1 and is never weary4 ,he is love4 ,christ simply puts ,himself in the feeling of the man who knows by experience that ,god often delays the fulfilment of prayer1 and shows1 by parabolic teaching1 that to pray well we must be fervent and not faint4 ,the lesson is impressive4 ,if between man and man importunate prayer prevails1 how much more will it prevail with ,god who is perfect1 and who will not make us wait except for the sake of our highest well-being4 ,the man goes to his friend with confidence because he has faith in the friendship2 how inconceivably strong may this confidence be when we repose it in ,god6 ,the plea was the stress of his need2 the same stress belongs to many of the needs which only ,god can supply4 ,our praying-time1 like that of the friend at midnight1 is often that of the deepest darkness2 but we pray to ,god and not to man1 and need not fear that ,he1 in ,his deep1 heavenly repose1 will fail faithfully to hearken to our supplications--supplications which1 because they proceed from the holiest solicitudes of love and duty1 are inspired by ,himself4 ,christ bids us reason from both bad men and good men to ,god1 and it is well for us that ,he does so4 ,on the bad side1 man's love is weak1 his judgment faulty1 and his selfishness deep-rooted2 ,god is infinite both in ,his wisdom and ,his love4 ,on the good side1 earthly fathers give bread1 not stones1 to their children2 how much kinder is ,he to whom we look up and say1 ,our ,father which art in heaven6 ,yes1 you say1 ,he is good and kind2 but ,he makes us wait4 ,it is so2 and why8 ,we are feeble in our desires1 and changeful in our purposes4 ,we soon give up4 ,we want faith1 patience1 perseverance4 ,the uniformly immediate fulfilment of our petitions would leave no room for the cultivation of these quiet1 unobtrusive virtues of the ,divine life within us4 ,god makes us wait1 that we may become importunate1 and that importunity may nourish the virtues which are as yet too feeble4 ,besides1 delay gives purity to our motives1 and intensity to our desires4 ,a blessing which is easily won is likely to be unappreciated4 ,god would not have us treat ,his gold as though it were stones4 ,delay is not refusal2 it is discipline4 ,moreover why speak we of delay at all8 ,what we so designate is not delay from the ,divine point of view4 ,he never postpones any asked-for good for one moment beyond the fit time for bestowing it4 ,god's help is always sure1 ,his methods seldom guessed2 ,delay will make our pleasure pure1 ,surprise will give it zest4 ,his wisdom is sublime1 ,his heart profoundly kind2 ,god never is before ,his time1 ,and never is behind4 ,,vii4 ,what1 then1 is the character of the prayer which avails8 ,that some prayers are hindered--so hindered as to be unsuccessful--we know full well4 ,this may be accounted for partly by mistaken notions about the ,scripture theory of prayer4 ,for example1 ,jesus says1 ,what things ye desire1 when ye pray1 believe that ye receive them1 and ye shall have them4 ,the teaching of these words is that the inspiration to true prayer is ,god's pledge of the blessings sought1 and that we must be prepared to take it as such4 ,the prayer of a man who has not full faith in prayer falls short of its mark4 ,hindrance may also arise from mistaken notions as to the primary use of prayer4 ,prayer is not an end in itself1 but a means to an end4 ,it is true that the holier we become the more shall we find ourselves accustomed to an atmosphere of prayerfulness as the normal condition of the soul4 ,but we shall not pray aright1 if we pray under the impression that we are holy because we pray4 ,we must rather pray in order to be holy4 ,the hindrance may also arise from the absence of a supreme anxiety and of a constant effort to honour ,god in all our relations4 ,peter speaks of obedience to the duties which spring from the conjugal relation as being necessary to prevent the hindrance--the ineffectualness--of family prayer4 ,this is but a special application of a great general principle--namely1 the connection between holy conduct in society and the efficiency of our social devotional exercises4 ,these two act and re-act upon each other4 ,to secure the true1 full benefit of prayer1 we must strive to live holily in all the society with which we mingle4 ,this point touches upon the value of intercessory prayer4 ,suppose that there is a want of correspondence between the interest in the welfare of those around us which we express in our prayers on their behalf1 and that which we show in our intercourse with them2 can we rightly expect such prayers to prevail8 ,the deficiency is too frequently manifest in our relations both to the ,church and the world4 ,how often is ,church brotherhood nominal rather than real6 ,how many pray for the salvation of souls1 without caring to do anything else6 ,there is one thing which will always1 in so far as it exists1 be a barrier to the acceptableness of prayer1 and that is the wilful and persistent violation of any of the ,divine commands--the refusal to perform ,christian duties incumbent upon us1 or the cherishing of some habit or propensity known to be wrong4 ,if ,i regard iniquity in my heart1 the ,lord will not hear me4 ,the success of our prayers does not depend upon our learning1 or upon the skill with which we can express our petitions1 or with which we can string them together4 ,it depends rather upon the state of our hearts--the vivid consciousness of need1 the deep feeling of dependence on ,god1 the supreme desire of the heart to be right with ,him1 faith in ,his promises1 trust in ,his power and ,his love1 gratitude for ,his goodness1 an unfainting perseverance in appealing to ,his throne1 and a willingness to wait ,his time for the blessings thus humbly1 trustfully1 and earnestly sought4 ,these are the elements of the true spirit of prayer4 ,ask thus and it shall be given you2 seek thus1 and ye shall find2 knock thus1 and it shall be opened unto you4 ,i alluded in the beginning to the indirect effects of prayer1 and these are too valuable to be overlooked4 ,prayer1 pervaded by humility and trust1 is always strengthened by its own exercise4 ,all ,christian graces are beautified by it2 all ,christian virtues are stimulated by it4 ,it is a ,divine provision for rousing the slumbering affections of the renewed heart1 and keeping them awake4 ,prayer1 too1 is its own reward1 and a blessed one4 ,how holy and how happy must they be who are on intimate terms with ,god6 ,their faces catch ,his glory1 and their every tone and step the impress of the sanctity of the ,divine companionship4 ,the ,christian can tell his ,father all6 ,and because he is so near to ,god and to heaven1 he can put and keep the world beneath his feet4 ,even delays and seeming refusals are not without their salutary influence4 ,some persons pray for specific blessings year after year--pray without ceasing--and are often staggered at the fact that their prayers remain unanswered2 and yet we see them growing in spirituality1 purity1 fortitude1 faith1 and we hear them say1 ,though ,he slay me1 yet will ,i trust in ,him4 ,and so their faith--the most precious thing they have--is tried and refined as in a furnace4 ,surely such an answer to prayer is sublime6 ,i have been speaking to many a doubt1 to many a perplexity1 with which ,i am familiar in my own experience and in that of others4 ,god grant that my words may be helpful6 ,what we all want in regard to this great subject is clearer views and a more unquestioning trust4 ,god courts our utmost confidence1 and ,he will not fail to reward it4 ,,xvi4 ,,assurance4 ,i know whom ,i have believed1 and am persuaded that ,he is able to keep that which ,i have committed unto ,him against that day4--#b ,timothy i4 #ab4 ,these are among the last words the apostle wrote4 ,he is now at ,rome1 in prison1 and within a few days of the tragic end4 ,he is worn down by age2 still more so by a constant1 toilsome1 suffering ministry of some thirty years1 a ministry which has obtained for him1 at the hands of men1 stones and stripes1 and now a dungeon1 with the immediate prospect of a violent death4 ,he is bound with chains1 and compelled to be silent just where and when he has so long been anxious to speak1 in the metropolis of the world6 ,he is1 moreover1 forsaken by his friends1 who1 though they love him1 have not courage to go and visit him now6 ,outwardly1 no sadder condition could well be imagined4 ,yet ,paul is filled with a deep and holy peace4 ,how is this8 ,the answer is that he feels within himself the approval of his ,god4 ,he is in prison1 but that is because of his obedience to ,his ,saviour4 ,he has worn himself down in a ,divine service4 ,behind him he sees a long train of woes and sufferings1 but he also sees many churches which he has founded1 and many unknown regions open to the gospel4 ,before him he sees an unrighteous judge and a painful martyrdom1 but he also sees heaven1 ,christ1 and the unfading crown4 ,if he says1 ,all have forsaken me1 he can also say1 as his ,master did1 that he is not left alone4 ,all this is enough to account for the calmness and hopefulness of this his last epistle1 and especially of the words before us to-day4 ,i will not trouble you with the critical difficulties of the text4 ,on only one preliminary question ,i would say a word4 ,what does ,paul mean by the expression1 that which ,i have committed unto ,him8 ,some urge that it was the ,church which he was about to leave2 others1 that it was the result of his labours2 and others1 that it was his final salvation4 ,i prefer to combine all these into one general whole1 and to say3 ,all his ,christian interests1 the hopes on which his spirit rested for his personal salvation1 and every other interest that was dear to his heart4 ,he had committed to ,christ himself1 the church he had loved and served1 the results of his labour1 and the final reward to which he was looking forward4 ,if1 within the vast scope of his desires1 there had been one thing which he could not commit to ,christ1 his rest would have been incomplete1 and his joy would have been marred4 ,but for everything he was able to say3 ,saviour1 ,i have committed this to ,thee4 ,observe how ,paul puts this great matter4 ,he was the greatest doctrinal writer of the ,new ,testament2 but he does not say that he believes in doctrines1 but that he believes in a ,person4 ,i know whom ,i have believed4 ,all doctrinal belief follows1 and is comprised in1 that4 ,faith everywhere in ,scripture is confidence in ,christ4 ,he who believes in ,christ must come sooner or later to believe in the doctrines which cluster around ,him4 ,but our experience grows beyond these into the realisation of ,him as being so actual1 so near1 and so sufficient1 as to be our true rest4 ,who among us can tell all the reasons why he believes in ,christ8 ,many of them cannot be put into words4 ,they belong to our most secret thoughts1 to the emotions of our happiest hours1 to a hidden1 silent history1 which1 if the world heard1 it could not understand4 ,yet these proofs multiply in proportion as the ,christian advances in life4 ,how many times have we found the words of ,christ adapted to our wants6 ,how many unexpected deliverances has ,he wrought on our behalf6 ,how many answers to prayer have we received at ,his hands6 ,how much peace has ,he breathed into our hearts6 ,i know whom ,i have believed1 and am persuaded that ,he is able to keep that which ,i have committed unto ,him against that day4 ,what a grand confirmation have we here of the faith ,paul preached6 ,had his trust been misplaced1 surely he had suffered enough to disabuse him of it1 and that most completely4 ,but his faith grows the more he suffers4 ,no mere party zeal could stand a test like this2 no1 nor any delusion either4 ,and so we say that such a man as ,paul was1 under the circumstances in which he maintained his trust1 could not be deceived4 ,thus ,paul's faith becomes a confirmation of our own1 and1 with him on our side1 we may face a world of doubt4 ,but ,i wish to use the text chiefly for the elucidation of a single subject4 ,paul's words express the assurance of his faith4 ,how does this subject strike us8 ,does not the very mention of it give rise to sad reflections in many hearts8 ,the assurance of faith4 ,ah1 ,i knew it once1 we say2 it was the experience of earlier days1 and has been the experience of some special days since then1 still more so of some specially holy moments4 ,but it is not my normal state4 ,would it were6 ,we are living in a period in which there seems to be a general disinclination towards whatever is firm and precise in religious creed1 feeling1 and life4 ,this may not be an altogether unhopeful state of things4 ,respect for truth may keep some minds silent concerning their beliefs1 or at least may prevent them from avowing those beliefs too dogmatically4 ,anxiety and doubt may even in some cases be a sign of spiritual earnestness4 ,yet the tendency we speak of is on the whole to be deeply deplored4 ,the truth is that the world has invaded us4 ,men shrink from great precision of conviction because they shrink from great consecration of life4 ,how few the lives that are pre-eminently ,christian1 as ,paul's was6 ,on the other hand1 our day is remarkable for its craving for mere religious excitement4 ,in many cases1 it is not so much the desire for truth1 as the desire to be excited and pleased1 that prevails4 ,neither of these tendencies can build up the faith which finds its grand avowal in the words3 ,i know whom ,i have believed1 and am persuaded that ,he is able to keep that which ,i have committed unto ,him against that day4 ,the remedy for the state of things upon which ,i have touched cannot now be pointed out1 because it would lead me away from my purpose4 ,but ,i want to show the effect of it upon ourselves1 and upon those who are without4 ,there are certain aims common to the ,christian life of all of us1 and these cannot be reached so long as our faith lacks steadiness and stability4 #a4 ,our great mission is to convert souls4 ,we are avowedly the instruments of the ,spirit of ,god in this momentous work4 ,but what is the conversion of a soul8 ,it is a radical change in its affections and its life4 ,but this change never takes place apart from the influence of deep convictions4 ,men will not exchange the known for the unknown3 actual life with its passions and its pleasures for the weak and cold abstractions of a faith with no precision in its principles1 or for the worship of a ,god who is vague and problematical4 ,how are we to succeed in winning souls to the truth we profess unless we can produce something which ought to convince them that we have the right of it8 ,an unstable faith will be of little use to us here4 ,there must be no hesitation in our avowal that our transition from the world to ,god is a blessed one4 ,in other matters1 a man of strong beliefs has half won us to his side4 ,in religion1 it is notoriously so4 ,paul's grand words have been a source of strength to us4 ,let us make them our own--the expression of our own faith--and they will become1 through us1 a source of strength to others4 ,let us have this same ,christianity in its fulness and its power2 and having it1 let us avow it without timidity and without reserve4 #b4 ,our personal obligation1 as ,christians1 is to be holy2 and we want the assurance of faith for that4 ,we may be deceived about our conversion4 ,at the outset of our ,christian life we may be the subjects of many illusions4 ,but men are not mistaken when1 day by day1 they are fighting their passions1 bringing the will into subjection1 conquering the flesh1 and submitting the whole life to the long1 slow1 toilsome discipline of obedience4 ,this kind of work is never accomplished by a vague and undecided religion4 ,men do not deny themselves without an equivalent4 ,you cannot persuade them to give up their illusions1 their pleasures1 their passions1 nor even their vices1 unless you show them something else which may1 must1 and ought to take their place4 ,if you empty the heart of one set of elements1 you must fill it with another4 ,so it is that we want a living ,god1 a living ,christ1 close to us2 loving us1 forgiving us1 helping us1 comforting us1 and opening before us the prospect of glory and of happiness for eternity4 ,let us know and feel ourselves able to say1 ,i know whom ,i have believed1 and am persuaded that ,he is able to keep that which ,i have committed unto ,him against that day1 and the struggle with inward evil will be simplified1 and will become comparatively easy4 #c4 ,we stand in daily need of strength and consolation1 and for that nothing but a firm and settled faith will suffice4 ,there are great sorrows and great anxieties to which we are all exposed1 in the face of which nothing will do for us but sovereign words of life and of hope in which we can implicitly trust4 ,there are great wrongs under which we cannot be comforted except by the constant conviction of a righteousness which will one day vindicate the right1 and redress the wrong4 ,there are great losses in which we want the promise and the certainty of an immense and restoring love4 ,souls will seek this strength1 this consolation1 here1 there1 everywhere2 but they will never find it until they can say1 ,i know whom ,i have believed1 and am persuaded that ,he is able to keep that which ,i have committed unto ,him against that day4 #d4 ,the assurance of faith is necessary to all earnestness of effort in the spread of the gospel4 ,a church or a ,christian1 subsiding into uncertainty of religious belief1 has no motive for zeal in the propagation of religion4 ,we preach because we believe4 ,let the idea1 that the ,christianity of ,christ or of ,paul or of the ,new ,testament needs modification1 become prevalent in the professing church1 and the secret of every true impulse in missionary work1 whether abroad or at home1 will be gone4 ,it is the men who share ,paul's stable1 grand faith who can take their stand as the preachers of ,christ4 ,it is only they who can rise to the sacrifices necessary for the promotion of ,his truth in the world4 ,have we such a faith as this8 ,if not how can we obtain it8 ,this latter question will be best answered by a close adherence to the text4 ,we must say a few words respecting the faith itself1 and also respecting ,christ1 who is the object of it4 ,what is faith8 ,a common answer is that faith is an act of intellectual submission to the teachings of another--that it is in matters of the mind what blind and unquestioning obedience is in matters of practice4 ,this account of faith was early imposed by the ,papal ,church1 and it is not repudiated even now by some evangelical churches4 ,the root of all doctrines of sacramental efficacy is the renunciation of private judgment in matters of faith4 ,no wonder that with such a definition of faith ,christianity should be held in derision1 and regarded as the special privilege of the young1 the immature1 the aged1 and all whose weaknesses and disappointments leave them no other consolation and no other resource6 ,this is not the teaching of ,scripture4 ,of course in faith there is submission1 for there are many things to be believed which we cannot understand4 ,nevertheless1 faith is much more than submission1 and there is not a case of faith in the whole ,word of ,god which presents to us the believing life as a thing of mere blind credulity4 ,was it so with ,abraham1 with ,job1 with ,david1 with ,paul1 or with any of the others8 ,even in relation to the dark things1 faith rests upon convictions which make submission the only rational1 the only possible attitude of the mind4 ,according to ,scripture1 faith is the soul laying hold of the invisible ,god--laying hold of ,christ as ,his ,son and our ,saviour4 ,there is no abdication of any one of the powers of the soul4 ,in believing1 the soul is entire with its reason1 its thought1 its love1 and all its spiritual energies4 ,nor is there any weakness4 ,when a man is hesitating between surrender to the voice of conscience1 and surrender to the voice of passion1 he performs an act of faith if he yields to the voice of conscience1 for he is ruled by the invisible2 yet the last thing we dare say of such a man would be that he is weak4 ,rightly considered1 every such act is a triumph of the soul4 ,the conscientious man is the representative of the greatest moral strength we know4 ,imagine a soul with all its life under the constant thought of ,god and of ,christ4 ,surely such an order of life as his affords scope enough for intellectual strength and for moral heroism4 ,much must be taken for granted1 we said4 ,reason has its sphere1 and to it a truly noble task is assigned4 ,the visible world belongs to it1 and it is subjecting that world to itself more and more every day4 ,but how powerless it is when man asks of it a response to the aspirations of his conscience and his heart4 ,what can it say to a soul weighed down by a sense of guilt8 ,what to the heart that is torn by calamity8 ,what to any man when death draws nigh8 ,oh1 no6 ,unless we are to abandon ourselves to despair1 there must be faith--some truth in which1 or some ,being in whom1 the whole soul can repose4 ,and mark1 this was just the light in which the apostle looked at the matter4 ,he was near the end4 ,eternity was close before him4 ,he knew that endless issues were at stake4 ,he was nerved to confront it all by faith4 ,what faith8 ,what was he trusting in8 ,paul believed in ,christ4 ,on what grounds8 ,can we believe in ,christ8 ,if so1 again ,i ask on what grounds8 #a4 ,christ stands before us in our darkness in a position which is exclusively ,his own4 ,of all men1 ,he alone knew whence ,he came and whither ,he went4 ,without hesitation1 and with tones of sovereign authority1 ,he points out to us the way to ,god4 ,he speaks of heaven as one who has come from thence4 ,everywhere ,he calls ,himself the ,sent of the ,father1 ,his only-begotten ,son1 the ,lord of souls4 ,his word was with power2 sweet with intensest human tenderness1 influential with ,divine authority4 ,what was it that gave ,him this power8 ,not human reasoning1 not eloquence4 ,it was the light of ,truth reaching the conscience1 and penetrating the heart4 ,we see in ,him ,god as ,he is1 and we also see in ,him man as he ought to be4 ,we do not reason about this influence4 ,apprehending ,him1 we instinctively accept it4 ,it is thus that millions have said3 ,to whom can we go but unto ,thee8 ,thou hast the words of eternal life4 #b4 ,this influence of ,christ has been exerted on every variety of human soul4 ,his followers1 in ever-increasing numbers1 come from all conditions on earth--rich and poor1 learned and ignorant1 young and old1 hardened sinners and men blushing with their first sins3 all find from ,him peace and light and hope4 ,especially is this so with those who suffer and weep2 those who have felt the poverty of mere words1 and who are now beyond the reach of any illusion4 ,for the first time they have been comforted1 and the comfort has satisfied them4 #c4 ,still we want further to know by what authority ,he wields this influence4 ,we ask1 ,does ,he come from ,god8 ,the reply is that ,he does before our eyes the works of ,god4 ,not miracles merely1 for though these constitute a powerful testimony1 there is yet something more4 ,he has revealed ,god in ,his own person1 and the proof of ,his ,divine mission has been given in ,his life4 ,in ,him1 holiness has been at once realised and exhibited4 ,eighteen hundred years ago ,his enemies could find no fault in ,him4 ,since then humanity has progressed1 but ,christ still leaves the noblest sons of men amazingly far behind ,him4 ,a hostile criticism has been indefatigable in its attempt to discover flaws in ,his character1 and yet that character still stands before us as the ideal of the good and the true4 ,his is a holiness before which the conscience of the world is accused and judged4 ,irresistibly the answer of the heart comes3 ,he who is so holy must be worthy of all our faith4 #d4 ,moreover1 there is the sense of sin and of the need of pardon and salvation4 ,here after all1 and more than anywhere else1 is the secret of confidence in ,christ4 ,we seek salvation in works--anywhere out of ,him--but we cannot find it4 ,he who is holy and true tells us that ,he came into the world to save us1 that ,he is our sacrifice and our peace1 and that the love and the righteousness of ,god are manifest in ,him and in the redeeming work ,he has undertaken on our behalf4 ,this exactly meets our case4 ,we say3 ,this is what we want1 but what we have elsewhere sought in vain4 ,at ,his hands we accept it with implicit trust and with fervent thankfulness4 ,are not these reasons enough8 ,is not the response of every heart1 ,yes1 they are4 ,can it be less than the utmost folly and guilt for men to resist the voice of a conscience which tells them that it is only in ,christ that the soul can find its rest8 ,is all this concurrent testimony to be set aside8 ,this assurance of faith1 however1 can only be the result of intense earnestness4 ,we do not forget the necessity of the agency of the ,spirit of ,god2 let us never forget it2 but let us also remember how constantly and how fatally that agency can be contravened4 ,paul held the great truths he preached with so tenacious and so unquestioning a faith1 because he had begun by consecrating his heart to them under the intuitive perception that they were the truths which his nature as a man and his condition as a sinner so imperatively needed1 and because all his experience of them did but confirm their sufficiency4 ,if any man will do the will of ,god1 he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of ,god1 or whether it be of men4 ,i know whom ,i have believed1 and am persuaded that ,he is able to keep that which ,i have committed unto ,him against that day4 ,for the unbeliever there are grounds enough for faith1 both within and without4 ,and if1 even with the desire1 faith be still found to be beset with difficulties1 there is one unfailing prayer which will make it easy--the prayer1 ,lord1 ,i believe2 help ,thou mine unbelief4 ,,xvii4 ,,immortality4 ,what is man1 that ,thou art mindful of him8 and the son of man1 that ,thou visitest him8--,psalm viii4 #d4 ,one or two remarks on the meaning of certain expressions in this ,psalm are necessary before we proceed4 ,the second verse is pictorial1 and has a martial character4 ,two hosts are seen facing each other4 ,a beautiful world and a wonderful universe are in view of both4 ,children1 in their conscious or unconscious admiration of what they see1 and in the early and universal instinct by which they attribute it to the hand of a great ,god1 effectually rebuke the unbelief of scoffers and all haters of ,god1 who persistently refuse to recognise ,him in ,his works4 ,so1 even to-day1 the simple and pious intuitions of the race face1 fight1 and conquer all materialism4 ,the beautiful and significant application of these words found in the account of our ,lord's triumphal entry into ,jerusalem points for all time to the duty of giving ,christian teaching to the young4 ,in our ,christian homes and our ,sunday-schools lies the great bulwark against the spread of infidelity4 ,such teaching acts on the future4 ,instead of the fathers shall be the children1 a generation to serve ,god4 ,these will become fathers in their turn4 ,take care of the children1 and the adults will take care of themselves4 ,what is man1 that ,thou art mindful of him8 and the son of man1 that ,thou visitest him8 ,at first sight1 it would seem as though the ,psalmist were contrasting the littleness of man with the greatness of the universe4 ,and1 indeed1 he does use a word to denote man which points to his weakness4 ,but this is only ,david's starting-point in his aim to correct the impression4 ,the ,psalm reveals1 not the littleness1 but the greatness of man4 ,when ,i consider ,thy heavens1 the work of ,thy fingers1 the moon and the stars which ,thou hast ordained2 what is man1 that ,thou art mindful of him8 and the son of man1 that ,thou visitest him8 ,how little he looks6 ,yet how great he must be6 ,for ,thou makest him to want little of a ,divine standing2 ,thou crownest him with honour and glory2 ,thou makest him to have dominion over the work of ,thy hands2 ,thou puttest all under his feet--all sheep and oxen1 and also beasts of the field1 the fowl of the air1 and the fish of the sea--whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea4 ,one of the subtlest1 and1 to a certain degree1 one of the most plausible of the objections of unbelief has been the attempt to instil into men's minds the idea that it is presumptuous on their part to put confidence in the apparently sublime1 but really fallacious1 prospects which ,christianity offers to them with regard to their destiny beyond this world4 ,god is too great1 it is said1 and man is too little for us to admit the thought that ,god takes such an interest in man1 both for this world and for the next1 as the ,bible affirms4 ,the tendency of modern thought is largely in the direction of this view4 ,it would be easy to overtax our attention by going into too wide a field4 ,i will speak only of the ,christian idea of an immortal and heavenly life hereafter4 ,it is this which is imperilled2 it is this which is called in question4 ,i have nothing to do now with the debated question of future punishment4 ,let me re-state the form of scepticism with which ,i have to deal4 ,it is said to be presumptuous to suppose that we1 the creatures of a day1 are to be hereafter lifted up to a state of perfect blessedness1 which is to last for ever1 in the presence of ,god2 and we are recommended to leave this dream aside1 and to be content with the position we occupy here and now4 ,you have much to be thankful for1 even as things are4 ,let it not be thought a hardship1 if death should prove to be the end of man4 ,the lines of thought as they start from this point are numerous1 and one is tempted to follow them out4 ,but we must forbear1 for the sake of attending simply to our one purpose4 ,i may1 however1 point out to you how partial and unreal is the view which is thus taken of man's position and of his aspirations4 ,given the utmost of outward and present satisfaction1 man universally is not content with this4 ,but how many millions of human beings there are in the world at this moment to whom the present life can scarcely be said to have been any boon at all6 ,how many more millions of such beings have lived in the past4 ,the very ground we tread everywhere cowers beneath human sorrow4 ,is it not a cruel mockery to say to the suffering1 the enslaved1 the down-trodden3 ,be grateful for what you have2 it is vain1 foolish1 wrong for you to expect or to wish for more8 ,some such advice as this may be given if our ,christian hopes are tenable2 but if they are not1 we do but insult the suffering if we speak to them in this fashion4 ,the kind of unbelief we are anxious to check is spreading4 ,among the masses1 in many directions1 the desire to apprehend spiritual realities1 and to be ruled by them1 is increasingly small2 the battles of life and thought are on behalf of the interests of a day2 and even among well-disposed persons the hold of fundamental truth is seriously relaxed4 ,hence the necessity for our seeking to strengthen our cherished convictions1 and to discern clearly and grasp firmly the faith once delivered to the saints4 ,if the views we animadvert upon were entertained merely by the ignorant and the uncultured1 we should not so much wonder2 but we are perplexed when we find them so prevalent amongst the wise of this world1 and even by not a few who are reputed to be masters of human science4 ,it is true that their advancing knowledge gives them vaster conceptions of the universe which they so unweariedly explore2 but is it not strange that that vaster knowledge does not enhance their estimate of man1 since he can explore so widely and can comprehend so much8 ,why should religious faith decrease in proportion as human knowledge is accumulated8 ,i take the psalm before us as furnishing a triumphant and lasting reply to the kind of unbelief in question4 ,in ,nature1 first1 ,god shows us ,his estimate of man4 ,the ascent is easy from ,nature to ,grace1 in which the ,divine estimate is raised to its highest point4 ,we are invited to look around4 ,can there be any doubt that this beautiful world1 with its immense treasures known and unknown1 its bountiful harvests of every order on land and sea1 and its marvellous variety of life1 animate and inanimate1 was formed for our sakes8 ,was not everything the earth contains made for our use and enjoyment1 in measure increasing with every new discovery8 ,the fruits of the ground1 with each returning season1 are prepared for our wants1 and in that preparation1 every season1 with its sunshine and its shade1 its dryness and its rain1 its dews and its storms1 is incessantly engaged4 ,all nature is occupied in the successful attempt to answer the initial question1 ,what shall we eat8 what shall we drink8 and wherewithal shall we be clothed8 ,the dress we wear brings innumerable animals under tribute4 ,we have dominion over all sheep and oxen1 yea1 and the beast of the field1 the fowl of the air1 and the fish of the sea1 and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea4 ,everything tells us that1 in this world1 we are kings--a little1 only a little1 lower than the angels--the gods4 ,between man and the inferior animals there is as great a distance as between the master and his slave2--nay more1 as between the artizan and his instruments4 ,the irrational animal is much nearer to the inanimate creation than to man since the end and purpose of both is to minister to man4 ,this world1 therefore1 was manifestly made for us4 ,who ventures to doubt it8 ,least of all can it be doubted by the discoverers of earth's profounder secrets4 ,we are invited to look still further afield4 ,this world1 which is made for us1 is not independent or alone4 ,it is in no sense self-sustained4 ,it is part of a wonderful and incomprehensible whole4 ,other great creations concur in its maintenance4 ,the sun enlightens1 warms1 and fertilizes it4 ,the moon and the stars exert manifold influences upon it4 ,the whole host of heaven has been brought into co-ordinate and helpful relation to it--yes1 it3 the world which exists for us6 ,when ,i consider ,thy heavens1 the work of ,thy fingers1 the moon and the stars which ,thou hast ordained2 when ,i consider the manifold bearings of ,thy universe upon man--what is man6 ,what must he be6 ,in certain aspects1 indeed1 apparently small2 but1 by all these tokens1 how great6 ,we do not say that we are the only moral and spiritual beings in the midst of so many worlds4 ,we do not know1 but we may accept the probability that ,god has created beings capable of adoring and loving ,him everywhere4 ,but we do say--and science combines with ,scripture to compel us to say--that these worlds have been in part created for us1 just as our world has been in part created for them4 ,this is clear4 ,the most sceptical of men cannot venture to doubt it2 nor do they4 ,it is only needful that we should carefully observe in order to become convinced of this marvellous fact4 ,so much1 then1 for what nature teaches4 ,the psalmist sought to learn the lesson1 and it is right that we should seek to learn it too4 ,this first step being taken1 another follows4 ,man is an object of the manifold agencies of myriads of worlds4 ,he is so as man2 and the relative position he holds1 intellectually1 morally1 or socially1 to his fellow men1 has nothing to do with the fact4 ,nature ministers to the ,caffre and the ,hottentot as truly as to the man of most advanced civilization2 the only difference being in the use which the two opposite classes can make of nature4 ,why1 then1 should man refuse to believe that he is an object of solicitous love to that ,god who created him1 who made him what he is1 and who thus crowned him with glory and honour8 ,why should he refuse to believe that ,god loves him enough to send ,his ,son to die for him1 and thus to save him from the wreck of his being through sin8 ,especially1 why should he refuse to believe this when he is assured of it by ,him who testified that ,he was that ,son of ,god--by ,jesus1 the man par excellence1 the ,god-man8 ,why should it be doubted that man is an object of interest to angels1 who are said to rejoice over every sinner that repenteth8 ,why should it be doubted that ,god has provided for him a fairer home than this1 that immortality and heaven are the things which ,god has in reserve for him8 ,why should it be doubted that an everlasting salvation has been provided for him through such a sacrifice as that of ,christ8 ,if sun1 moon1 and stars have been made for the service of man1 why should it be hard to believe that ,god1 who counts the stars1 and calls them all by their names1 should also heal the broken in heart1 and bind up their wounds8 ,the prospect of human destiny as opened up by ,christianity is grand2 but not too grand to be ascribed to ,him who created the universe1 and so arranged it that it should constitute one vast system of ministration to us4 ,when we see ,god thus working for man1 we cannot be surprised that angels should be glad to serve him too4 ,neither can we wonder that the ,son of ,god should come to save him4 ,the wonder begins with man's primary relation to the all things1 for our knowledge of which we are not dependent upon revelation at all4 ,science teaches us that2 and revelation only endorses it4 ,that is wonderful enough2 but accepting it as a fact1 all that revelation teaches1 but which science could not have discovered1 follows naturally enough4 ,the facts of revelation concerning man may be accepted the more implicitly because they really have their basis in the facts of science4 ,the whole is in perfect harmony4 ,the one and the other are both represented--and consistently so--as concurring in the great cause of human happiness4 ,try now from the greatness of the means to estimate the greatness of the end4 ,is eternal life too much for a being whom the worlds combine to sustain1 to feed1 and to bless8 ,is a heaven of holiness and of love too much for a being whom angels are delighted to protect8 ,no6 ,the wonderful thing would be if1 after having combined these vast and various forces to maintain our earthly existence1 an ,almighty and ,all-good ,god should for ever quench our life after its brief day upon the earth6 ,it may be objected that this is a low and selfish view to take of the matter4 ,it may be said that it is not the life of the individual1 but the life of the race that has to be considered2 and that it is enough for us to live1 after we are gone1 in the good remembrances of those who will survive us1 and to hope that what we are doing will advance the interests of those who will follow us4 ,an immortality such as this is in reality no immortality at all4 ,an unconscious immortality6 ,a public recognition of what we have been when we shall be no longer6 ,a public gratitude1 which may at best be but precarious to those to whom it is due1 when they are believed to have dropped into nothingness and thus to be no longer capable of receiving and enjoying it6 ,a progress merely confined to material interests6 ,and who are sharing in it to-day8 ,the few who are strong enough to hold their own in the battle of life6 ,they1 and only they6 ,all this is supreme nonsense4 ,the aspirations of the heart are against it4 ,if man's life ends here1 it was not worth while for him to be born4 ,millions1 in that case1 might justly look up to ,god and say1 ,remember how short my time is3 wherefore hast ,thou made all men in vain8 ,nevertheless1 lest we should be exalted to pride and self-importance1 let us remember that the grandeur of our destiny is not determined and measured by our merits1 but by the immensity of the ,divine goodness4 ,what have we which we have not received8 ,and since we have received it1 why should we boast as if it were all of our own making8 ,ah1 it is because ,satan can compare our hopes with our rights1 and can help us to do so too1 that he succeeds in injecting doubts into our hearts4 ,our reply must be1 that the eternal and blessed life which we anticipate is not of reward1 but of grace2 not a payment1 but a gift--a gift in harmony with all ,god's other gifts1 but still the greatest gift of all2 and that instead of inflating us with pride1 it may well place us at ,his feet in lowliest1 devoutest thankfulness4 ,by sin we had forfeited all2 but where sin hath abounded1 grace doth much more abound4 ,god loved the man whom ,he had created with such power1 and whom ,he had placed in so commanding a position2 and because ,he loved him1 ,he resolved to provide a great redemption for him4 ,what a ground have we here for hope6 ,and what a plea for evangelisation6 ,,xviii4 ,,heaven4 ,therefore are they before the throne of ,god4--,revelation vii4 #ae4 ,let us think of ,heaven this morning4 ,the verses of which the text is a fragment will help us to do so4 ,the hope of heaven is the crowning hope of the ,christian4 ,it ought at all times to be an important element in his joy4 ,all the pleasant things of earth should be made brighter by the reflected light of the world beyond the grave4 ,it is common1 however1 for us to live in a sort of unconsciousness of this4 ,within proper limits this is not to be complained of4 ,for our duties are here1 and we are not fitted for there by looking too eagerly beyond4 ,besides1 earth is the training-school for heaven1 and unless we would enter into heaven as into a vast abrupt1 obviously our present duty is by all means to cultivate that life which shall fit us for it4 ,there are1 however1 certain lulls in the rush of life which seem to draw us to the contemplation of the future4 ,we find them sometimes in seasons of repose1 but more especially in seasons of sorrow1 and more especially still in seasons of bereavement4 ,i am not anxious to form an argument this morning4 ,i have little disposition to argue about heaven4 ,but ,i want to express some thoughts1 disjointed perhaps1 but ,i trust suggestive1 and each one carrying its message to our weary hearts4 ,what may we know8 ,we often ask this question with hope that is tremulous--or it may be with tremulousness that is hopeful4 ,what may we know8 ,certainly not all that we sometimes wish to know2 but then we sometimes wish to know things the knowledge of which would be useless1 or curious1 or beyond our reach until we can see with tearless eyes1 and realise with sinless hearts4 ,there are certain aspects under which heaven seems to be altogether visionary4 ,where is it8 ,we are not told4 ,what are the dimensions and outlines of it8 ,we do not know4 ,it is described under a great variety of material figures4 ,we read of its gates of pearl1 its walls of jasper1 its streets of gold1 its river of the water of life1 its tree of life2 but we know that these descriptions symbolise the spiritual4 ,not that they are mere riddles1 however4 ,some of their truth may be confidently guessed4 ,there is one important fact of which we cannot be in doubt4 ,heaven is the place in which will be developed and perfected a certain character--certain moral and spiritual qualifications4 ,heaven is where perfect goodness is1 just as on earth happiness is where godliness and ,christlikeness are4 ,we may1 therefore1 put heaven where we will1 and think about it almost as we please1 provided we put the right sort of character there1 and remember what sort of discipline here must prepare for it4 ,this is the essential point in the revelations of this book3 ,there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth1 neither whatsoever worketh abomination1 or maketh a lie3 but they which are written in the ,lamb's book of life4 ,there must be a heaven for the good4 ,i shall not stop to point out what a wreck our common ,christianity would be if there were no future life of blessedness for the ,christian4 ,in contemplating such a possibility1 the apostle ,paul exclaims3 ,if in this life only we have hope in ,christ1 we are of all men most miserable4 ,we3 for we have expected heaven2 the fair vision has been put before us as a great hope1 and we lose in proportion to what we thought we had gained4 ,we3 for we have prepared for it1 through a life--in many instances a long life--of self discipline1 of loyalty to ,god1 of the mortification of sin1 of the cultivation of goodness4 ,we3 for we have suffered for it1 sometimes directly through ills endured for ,christ's sake1 and always indirectly by the sacrifice of that which the world distinctively calls its own1 and on which it sets its supreme regard4 ,our ,christianity has promised this heaven to us2 and the promise has enhanced many an earthly joy1 and charmed away many an earthly sorrow4 ,no heaven8 ,then we have been shamefully deceived--miserably disappointed2 and there is no hope for us any more6 ,but no6 ,the words of the great consolation are sounding still1 and we can trust them3 ,let not your heart be troubled3 ye believe in ,god1 believe also in me4 ,in my ,father's house are many mansions3 if it were not so1 ,i would have told you4 ,i go to prepare a place for you4 ,and if ,i go and prepare a place for you1 ,i will come again1 and receive you unto myself2 that where ,i am there ye may be also4 ,it is one of the characteristic glories of the ,bible that it meets the renewed heart's desires in regard to the future1 by revealing1 not only the fact of the future1 but also some of its resplendent mysteries2 so that1 after taking man through the several stages of his progress on earth1 it conducts him at last to the heaven of his hopes1 the home of the good4 ,perhaps no ,scripture disclosure of ,heaven is more wonderful1 more complete1 more entrancing than the one we have in the vision of the apostle ,john as recorded in the verses before us4 ,true1 it is put before us1 like the other revelations of this book1 in poetical and pictorial form4 ,nevertheless1 the spiritual teaching is sufficiently plain4 ,let us seek the help of that good ,spirit by whom ,john was inspired1 whilst we try to learn something of that which is revealed to us in this chapter4 ,in the light of it we see an innumerable multitude of persons who1 having travelled this world in trial and in sorrow1 are now before the throne of ,god1 safe in the heaven of the redeemed4 ,so we see1 at the very beginning1 that the ,heaven which is here presented to our view is no solitary place4 ,it is not peopled merely by a few4 ,john says he saw a great multitude whom no man could number4 ,in the ,old ,testament a similar phrase is used to denote ,israel1 the representative of the ,church of later times4 ,the numberless stars of heaven1 and the sands on the seashore are the parallels of the idea we find here4 ,the ,church on earth1 sometimes not unfitly described as a garden walled around1 and as a little flock1 is not1 in this sense1 the representation of the ,church in heaven4 ,we see1 further1 that the heavenly territory embraces the representatives of every earthly human condition3 they gather from all ages and all climes of the world--from all nations and kindreds1 and peoples1 and tongues4 ,in this great fact we have the basis of the theory of our mission work1 and our hope of its ultimate success4 ,we see1 again1 that the relation of the saints to ,christ in heaven is essentially the same as that of the saints on earth4 ,they stand before the throne and before the ,lamb1 and cry with a loud voice3 ,salvation to our ,god which sitteth upon the throne1 and unto the ,lamb4 ,they sing the ,lamb in hymns above1 ,and we in hymns below4 ,self-confidence1 self-righteousness1 self-exaltation have no place there4 ,all the glory of salvation1 all the glory of heaven1 is due to ,god and to the ,lamb from first to last4 ,every step of the way1 right on to its termination1 has been arranged by ,his wisdom and accomplished by ,his grace4 ,with these facts before us1 there ought to be no strangeness connected with our conception of ,heaven4 ,its inhabitants are our friends transferred1 and the elements of its perfected life and joy are the same as we are1 in our measure1 familiar with in the imperfect state through which we are now passing4 ,perhaps the most comprehensive1 and most spiritually attractive and influential idea of it is that of entire satisfaction4 ,in this aspect of it1 it meets the demands of our experience1 fulfils our hope1 and draws us upward4 ,satisfaction6 ,how beautiful the thought6 ,to the weary and the heavy laden it comes as rest4 ,to the aspiring it comes as a sphere of boundless opportunity4 ,to the sad and troubled1 it is a land of pure delight4 ,to those who groan under present spiritual short comings and frailties1 it is the home of the spirits of the just made perfect4 ,we are often staggered at the faults of ,christians2 they will be without fault there4 ,here our faults dissociate us more or less from our brethren2 faultlessness there will make the union complete4 ,here darkness1 there light2 here sowing1 there the harvest2 here a wilderness1 there the garden of the ,lord4 ,heaven contains all our ideals of the true1 the beautiful and the good2 and one day we shall realise them6 ,the description which we have before us warrants all this1 and much more4 ,how much more8 ,the redeemed in ,heaven live a life of immunity from suffering4 ,no hunger2 no thirst2 no oppression from the heat of the sun4 ,no faintness2 no pangs4 ,john seems1 from the form of expression he uses1 to have beheld them as they were coming out of great tribulation4 ,whatever may be the prophetic reference in these words1 we may understand them as having some meaning appropriate to all the redeemed4 ,all life1 with its varied experience may be called 7and that too in no fanciful sense7 a tribulation2 in this sense at least1 that it is a probation1 a trial1 a testing-time in view of the great awards of the future4 ,from this all come1 gradually1 successively1 one by one1 passing from the school of earth to the home of heaven4 ,trial is the common discipline of the good1 and it comes in many forms2--sometimes in the form of bodily pain and sickness2 sometimes in the form of trouble1 disappointment1 loss in the household and in the social circle2 sometimes in the form of persecution2 often in the form of a struggle with temptation springing up from within or from without2 often1 it may be1 in the form of conflict with doubt4 ,sorrow1 trial1 tribulation--from all this the redeemed in heaven have emerged4 ,but they have not only escaped from evil2 they have risen into a perfect blessedness--the blessedness which comes from the satisfaction of every want4 ,they not only hunger no more1 neither thirst any more2 but the ,lamb that is in the midst of the throne feeds them1 and leads them to living fountains of waters4 ,their blessedness is all the richer because not only are all their tears wiped away1 but wiped away by the hand of infinite gentleness and love--the hand of the ,best ,beloved in all the universe6 ,well may they be glad6 ,well may they sing loud ecstatic songs of praise to their ,redeemer4 ,well may they serve ,him day and night in ,his temple--perfected powers rejoicing evermore in a perfect consecration4 ,they are a company living1 dwelling1 at the very centre of joy3 no care upon them1 no labour weighing them down2 their ,lord in the midst of them1 their satisfaction complete4 ,the contrast between their condition on earth and in heaven is full of wonder to us as we muse upon it4 ,how was the change wrought8 ,what must we learn concerning this from what is here revealed8 ,they were prepared here for the state beyond4 ,the life of heaven is the continuation and the result of the earthly life4 ,they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb1 and they came up out of great tribulation4 ,here we have the process of the cleansing1 the great tribulation being comprehensive of the whole discipline by which ,god purifies human souls4 ,here we have also the purifying element1 the blood of the ,lamb1 the atoning power to wash out all stains1 the stimulating power to inspire to all holiness4 ,and we also have the final result--white raiment4 ,so1 doctrinally1 the robes stand for the whole character1 the tribulation for the process of purification2 the blood of the ,lamb1 for the cleansing element in its justifying and sanctifying effects4 ,their holiness is not merely passive4 ,there is a righteousness which is imputed2 but there is also a righteousness which is acquired--acquired in the might of the ,saviour1 and through the influences of ,his ,spirit4 ,those who do not aspire to the latter have no hope from the former1 except a hope which must make them ashamed4 ,but inasmuch as both aspects of salvation are to be referred to the ,lamb1 they give to ,him the glory4 ,it is all ,his from beginning to end4 ,they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb4 ,thus their salvation was effected on earth4 ,heaven has introduced no new moral element into their condition4 ,heaven is essentially the full realisation of what a ,christian expects and hopes this side the grave4 ,it is the inheritance of the man who has the kingdom of ,god within him4 ,there is one part of the description which requires a little explanation1 and all the more so as it bears upon the aspects given to us of heavenly blessedness4 ,the redeemed are represented as standing before the throne with palms in their hands4 ,many explain this by the heathen use of the palm as the emblem of victory1 and they quote the declaration3 ,in all these things we are more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4 ,i would rather1 with some1 refer this emblem to a much sweeter and holier reminiscence4 ,the figure seems to be taken from the ,feast of ,tabernacles1 which commemorated two things--,god's care for1 and protection of1 ,israel during their wanderings in the wilderness1 and ,his continued ,providence in the supply of the fruits of the earth in their season4 ,it was held at the close of the year's out-door labours1 and with it the season of rest began4 ,and so with the ransomed above1 the troubles of the wilderness are ended1 and the harvest-home has come4 ,such is the heaven to which ,god has removed our dead4 ,may we not with thankfulness leave them there8 ,must we not feel that by death1 they have made a glorious exchange8 ,in their case1 it would be wrong to call death by hard names4 ,it is the message which comes to the child at school to go home4 ,i know that we often fail to apprehend this4 ,bound by time and sense1 we want to build our homes here1 and our structures have one after another to be overthrown that we may the better learn to think of the city which hath foundations1 whose builder and maker is ,god4 ,heaven is best seen by the graves of those we have loved2 and not till earth becomes poor to us is ,heaven felt to be rich4 ,there our loved ones are in raiment white and clean1 and they are happy4 ,let it be our constant endeavour to rejoin them there4 ,the same blood still atones2 the same all-holy ,spirit still purifies2 the same process of trial leads to the same issue4 ,for ourselves1 we should ever keep in mind the connection between discipline here and glory hereafter4 ,present darkness may be interpreted by future light4 ,even now1 the sanctified effects of trial are such as to suggest to us what its final issues will be4 ,it subdues us1 makes us gentle1 reveals us to ourselves1 reveals ,god to us1 spiritualises us2 so that we may well be more anxious to have our troubles blessed by ,god than to have them taken away4 ,as the discipline of earth is fashioning us for heaven1 so our conceptions of heaven are continually re-acting upon us1 and moulding our life4 ,one thought more4 ,the seer beholds the immense multitude of the redeemed4 ,the angel asks him who they are2 but he does not know them4 ,many of them perhaps are persons whom he had known on earth2 but they are so changed that he does not recognise them now4 ,he used to know them by their imperfect ,christian virtues2 but now they are without fault4 ,and so they seem strange to him1 just as sometimes even here the transformations of virtue and of joy make us say of well-known faces that we hardly recognise them again4 ,a hint of this we often see in the faces of the dead2 so like1 yet so unlike4 ,is there any doubt1 then1 as to our recognising them at the last8 ,none4 ,we may1 perhaps1 fail to identify them at once1 but they will not be strangers to us long4 ,we shall look upon them with opened and purified eyes1 and shall know them1 even as the disciples on the mount knew ,moses and ,elias1 notwithstanding the glory4 ,oh1 it will be good for us to be there6 ,good for us to remain there for ever6 ,read3 ,these are they who are coming--not who came4 ,they began to come with ,abel2 and the procession is not yet closed4 ,among the last are those over the loss of whom we are weeping now4 ,let us brush away our tears2 for at least we may say to ourselves this-- ,one sweetly solemn thought ,comes to me o'er and o'er3 ,i'm nearer my home to-day ,than ,i've ever been before6 ,nearer my ,father's house1 ,where the many mansions be2 ,nearer the great white ,throne2 ,nearer the jasper sea6 ,nearer the bound of life1 ,where ,i lay my burden down6 ,nearer leaving my cross6 ,nearer wearing my crown6 ,transcriber's ,note ,archaic and variable spelling is preserved as printed4 ,the following typographic errors have been fixed3 ,page xiv--repeated 'not' deleted--444 if it did not actually reach1 its maturity4 ,page #df--repeated 'in' deleted--,observe what in that case must follow4 ,page #fb--repeated 'are' deleted--444 towards those who are around us4 ,page #aie--;inmediate amended to immediate--444 on the direct and immediate control of ,god1 444 ,page #bbg--trimphant amended to triumphant--444 furnishing a triumphant and lasting reply 444 ,the frontispiece has been moved to follow the title page4 ,the illustration caption in brackets has been added by the transcriber for the convenience of the reader4