,a ,,lamp ,,to ,,the ,,path3 ,,or1 ,,the ,,word ,,of ,,god ,,in ,,the ,,heart1 ,,the ,,home1 ,,the ,,workshop ,,and ,,the ,,market-,,place4 ,,by ,w4 ,k4 ,,tweedie1 ,d4,d4 ,,with ,a ,,preface ,,by ,h4 ,l4 ,,hastings4 ,illustration3 company seal ,,boston3 ,,copyright #ahhd4 ,h4 ,l4 ,,hastings1 ,,scriptural ,,tract ,,repository1 #dg ,,cornhill4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes ,this book was written in a period when many words had not become standardized in their spelling4 ,the author's spelling has been maintained unless indicated with a ,transcriber's ,note due to3 ,obvious spelling errors ,words with multiple spelling variations standardized with the most common form4 ,punctuation and hyphenation has been standardized4 ,footnotes are identified in the text with a number in brackets #b and have been accumulated in a single section at the end of the text4 ,transcriber ,notes are identified in the text with an asterisk and number in brackets 99#b and grouped at the end of the book following the ,footnotes4 ,italic text has been denoted by _/forward slashes_/4 ,characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps4 ,non-printable symbols have been presented in square brackets with a description astrological sign4 ,non-,latin characters have been given an ,english transliteration3 'oe' ligature -- oe ---------------------------------------- --------------------- ---------------------------------------- --------------------- ,,works ,,by ,w4 ,k4 ,,tweedie1 ,d4,d4 _/,of the ,free ,tolbooth ,church1 ,edinburgh99#a4 #c vols4 ,uniform in size and style of binding4_/ ,,glad ,,tidings2 or the ,gospel of ,peace4 ,a series of meditations for ,christian ,disciples4 ,with a preface by ,h4 ,l4 ,hastings4 #ge cts4 ,a ,,lamp ,,to ,,the ,,path3 or the ,word of ,god in the ,heart1 the ,home1 the ,workshop and the ,market-place4 ,with an introduction by ,h4 ,l4 ,hastings4 #ge cts4 ,,seed-,,time ,,and ,,harvest3 or ,sow ,well and ,reap ,well4 ,a ,book for the ,young4 ,with a preface by ,h4 ,l4 ,hastings4 #ge cts4 asterism _/,address all orders to ,h4 ,l4 ,,hastings1 #dg ,cornhill1 ,boston4_/ ---------------------------------------- --------------------- ,,contents4 ,page ,,preface v ,,chapter ,i4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,heart4 ,the ,heathen--,the ,jew--,jonathan ,edwards--,john ,albert ,bengel --,thomas ,halyburton--,pascal4 #i ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,religion ,,in ,,our ,,homes4 ,the ,father of the ,faithful--,parents and ,children--,eli--,a ,mother's ,power--,alfred the ,great--,master and ,servant4 #cf ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,workshop4 ,the ,christian ,workman--,a ,workshop--,its ,occupants--,the ,sabbath--,counsels--,infidelity--,its ,root--,secularism --,harlan ,page--,john ,pounds4 #fh ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,market-,,place4 ,the ,merchant ,princes--,mammon--,counsels--,the ,perils of ,business--,true ,enterprise--,its ,limits--,the ,prevalence of the ,false--,financial ,crises--,joseph ,hardcastle4 #ii ,,chapter ,v4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,market-,,place--,,continued4 ,mercantile ,mania--,the ,tulip ,marts of ,holland--,the ,mississippi ,scheme of ,france--,the ,south ,sea ,bubble4 #acf ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,professions4 ,i4 ,,the ,,physician3--,boerhaave99#b--;,harvey-- ,hey--,jenner --,dr4 ,john ,cheyne4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,lawyer3--,lord ,bacon--,sir ,matthew ,hale--,sir ,william ,temple4 ,,iii4 ,,ministers ,,of ,,religion3--,dr4 ,dodd--,other ,illustrations4 #aef ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,religion ,,in ,,our ,,social ,,intercourse4 ,the ,scriptural ,rule--,marriage--,the ,heroes of ,truth --,luther--,calvin--,knox--,chalmers4 #aii ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,religion ,,the ,,crown ,,and ,,glory ,,of ,,man',s ,,life4 ,its ,director--,its ,ornament--,the ,prelude to ,life ,eternal --,voltaire--,sir ,walter ,scott--,conclusion4 #baf ,,preface4 ,an intelligent and skillful physician1 vigorous1 athletic1 and courageous1 used to pursue his professional duties by day or night without anxiety or apprehension4 ,often he was desired to use a lantern in his nightly journeyings1 but he laughed at the idea of danger1 and went his way4 ,one night1 walking in some slippery path1 he fell2 an injury resulted1 followed by long months of weariness and pain1 and finally ending in his death4 ,it was a sad fall1 and all for want of a lamp4 ,bitterly did he regret his self-confidence when it was too late to remedy the mischief which it had occasioned4 ,there are multitudes to-day who are wandering in darkness and walking in unknown ways4 ,they are full of strength1 and hope1 and courage2 they do not think that _/they_/ are in danger2 though caution is commendable in others4 ,this world is full of darkness2 clouds and shadows curtain it on every hand2 the glooms of the present1 the uncertainties of the future1 and the shadowy mysteries of the great ,beyond1 teach us with emphasis that we have need of light1 and light which men can never give us4 ,we may draw wisdom from the experience of the past1 but what we _/need_/ is a knowledge of the future4 ,this knowledge is not attainable through any human intelligence2 it must come from ,him who dwelleth in light1 who is himself the light and life of men1 and who sends out his light and his truth to lead and guide the sons of ,adam4 ,of old it was written1 ,the commandment is a lamp1 and the law is a light4 ,the work of the servants of ,god has been to turn the ,gentiles from darkness to light1 and from the power of ,satan unto ,god4 ,it is the light of the glorious gospel of ,christ which illuminates the darkness of this world2 and those who embrace that gospel become the children of the light1 and are not of the night nor of darkness4 ,christ was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world2 and this is the condemnation1 that light has come into the world1 and men loved darkness rather than light1 because their deeds were evil4 ,being thus illuminated1 and made light in the ,lord1 we are to walk as children of the light2 and walking in the light as ,christ is in the light1 we have fellowship one with another1 and the blood of ,jesus ,christ cleanseth us from all sin4 ,whatever course we may take in this life1 whatever occupation we may follow1 whatever profession we may choose1 this divine light is needful to us all4 ,we need ,god's word1 as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path1 to show us how to walk4 ,we need it in the daily affairs of life2 we need it in the field1 in the workshop1 and in the marts of business4 ,we need the heavenly light to guide us in childhood1 in youth1 in manhood1 in old age4 ,we need it whether in poverty or in riches1 in prosperity or adversity4 ,we need it to show us what we ought to do to-day1 and to guide us in our hopes and expectations of the morrow4 ,of old it was written1 the entrance of thy word giveth light4 ,if we follow its guidance we shall not walk in darkness1 but shall have the light of life4 ,infidelity may threaten to break our lantern and to extinguish our light1 but this is not what we want4 ,it is not enough to extinguish the light we have2 we need something better4 ,let the skeptic then tell us what is our duty here2 let him unfold to us our destiny hereafter4 ,let him unravel the mysteries of human existence4 ,let him give us present peace and an assurance of future blessing1 and we will give attention to his words4 ,but we wish no one to extinguish the light we have1 and leave us in the darkness of a midnight without sun or star1 to be bewildered by the phantom lights of a false philosophy1 and beguiled into the quagmires of doubt and unbelief4 ,as we trace the history of ages past1 we find that the destiny of individuals and of nations has been foreknown and foretold4 ,we find that men of ,god have looked out upon the great empires and cities of antiquity and foreseen their overthrow and announced their doom4 ,following in the track of history1 we find these predictions have been fulfilled and are fulfilling to-day4 ,babylon is in heaps2 ,tyre is a place where fishermen spread their nets2 ,egypt is the basest of kingdoms2 ,nineveh is empty1 void and waste2 ,jerusalem is trodden under-foot of the ,gentiles2 ,capernaum is cast down to the depths of oblivion2 ,israel have been led away captive into all nations1 and are scattered through every land2 and abundant evidences before our eyes show beyond the possibility of doubt or question1 that an ,omniscient ,one has read the future1 and that ,his ,spirit has inspired the holy men of old who spake as they were moved of the ,holy ,ghost1 and revealed to mankind in advance the great events of human history4 ,we each need such a revelation as that2 one which will tell us our present duties and our future prospects2 one which will show us what is the will of ,god in this life1 and what we may expect at ,his hand hereafter4 ,and such a revelation is given us1 to inspire our hearts with hope1 and to guide our feet in paths of safety4 ,we have1 in the written word of ,god1 promises to cheer us1 counsels to direct us1 reproofs to admonish us2 and a more sure word of prophecy1 whereunto we do well that we take heed1 as unto a light that shineth in a dark place1 until the day-dawn1 and the day-star arise4 ,it is this _/,lamp to the ,path_/ which a friendly hand extends to the wanderers and toilers in a benighted and sinful world2 in the hope that many may turn their feet into ,god's testimonies1 and their faces towards that city where the ,lamb is the light1 and where gloom and darkness are unknown2 and prove in their own glad experience the truth of the word of ,him who said1 ,he that followeth ,me shall not walk in darkness1 but shall have the light of life4 ,h4 ,l4 ,h4 ,boston1 ,july1 #ahhd4 ,a ,,lamp ,,to ,,the ,,path4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,heart4 ,as years roll over us1 and as our delusive expectations from earth and time slowly melt away1 the complaint is very often heard that the world is growing worse4 ,the truth is1 that we are only then beginning to see the world in its true light4 ,the visionary hopes which we once entertained have vanished1 and the mirage is discovered to be neither a lake nor a stream4 ,perhaps we have had to eat the fruit of bitter disappointment or of blighted hope2 and because our baseless anticipations have not been realized1 we hasten to the conclusion that the world is fast sinking into hopeless corruption2 that is1 because the accounts which the ,scriptures give have been found to be true1 we are ready to suppose that the world is every year more and more distempered4 ,hence the peevishness of some--hence activities cramped--hence querulous complaints--hence1 in a few cases1 the very spirit of ,ishmael1 whose hand was against every man1 while every man's hand was against him4 ,,sorrow ,,and ,,its ,,origin4 ,against this1 however1 as against every form of error1 we are carefully warned in the ,word of ,god4 ,say not thou1 ,what is the cause that the former days were better than these8 for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this4 ,the truth is1 they were _/not_/ better--it is we that look at them from a different point1 or try them by a different standard2 in other words1 _/we_/ change4 ,our dreams have ended in the nothing whence they rose4 ,we looked for only smiles and sunshine1 and have had to grapple with very stern realities4 ,we persisted in regarding this world as something very different from what the ,word of ,god describes--a place where man's only sure portion is grief2 but have at length discovered that the ,word of ,god is true4 ,hence our sorrow and disappointment2 hence the morbid complaints1 and the cheerless repinings of age not seldom succeed to the visions1 the dreams1 and the delusions of youth4 ,,explanations4 ,but far from saying that the former times were better than these1 we feel that never was there an age in which so much was done as in ours1 to help forward the great cause of truth and the reclaiming of the world to ,god4 ,we know that vice has been unmasked in most appalling forms2 but that is because philanthropy has grappled with crime in its own dens1 and dragged it into daylight1 till thousands are revolted and appalled4 ,we know that superstition is still trampling men in myriads into the dust1 while the ,word of ,god1 and all that would elevate man from his deep degradation1 is hated and put down wherever superstition has the power2 but that is only because the systems which are antagonistic to the truth have been roused to more resolute efforts by the earnestness of the friends of man4 ,and we know that oppression in many lands1 is still goading multitudes to madness1 immuring them in dungeons1 or hurrying them to death2 but that is only because the oppressor instinctively feels that the tide is rising which must eventually sweep him from his place4 ,,proofs ,,of ,,progress4 ,the struggles now made1 then1 to perpetuate the reign of bondage1 and doom men to mental and spiritual vassalage for some centuries more1 are symptomatic of a waning1 not a waxing cause2 and the philanthropist may accordingly rejoice4 ,progression is the law of the universe2 and all the powers of darkness cannot always1 or long supersede it4 ,if the bad be growing worse1 the good are growing better1 more strong1 and more aggressive4 ,they now realize their mission more than they did half a century ago4 ,they are also more closely banded to promote it2 so that1 instead of joining in the cry that the former times were better than these1 we are prompted to regard our day as signalized above most by its schemes of earnest philanthropy1 its plans of mighty scope1 and its luminous designs for gathering in the nations to the sway of the ,prince of ,peace4 _/,now_/ abideth faith1 hope1 and love1 beyond most of the ages which are past3 faith1 which takes hold of ,omnipotence1 and therefore cannot be baffled2 hope1 which turns the future triumphs of the good and the true into present joy2 and love1 which exults in the prospect of man's ultimate emancipation1 according to the mind of ,god4 ,meanwhile1 all the crime beneath which our blighted earth is groaning1 does not retard by a day the final completion of the eternal plan4 ,truth is spreading4 ,providence1 hand in hand with grace1 is slowly sapping the hoary systems which have long enthralled our race4 ,those who support the truth of ,god are more and more clearly ranged upon one side1 and standing heart to heart in defence of the holy and the pure4 ,those who support error by oppression are more and more clearly ranged upon the other2 and we need not feel more assured that the sun will rise in the firmament to-morrow1 or that rivers will continue to hasten to the ocean1 than that truth is slowly triumphing1 and error gradually erecting its own funeral pile4 ,symptoms of these results appear equally manifest in the ,church and in the world4 ,,doubts4 ,but in every department1 men must labour for these ends4 ,as ,god has given to every one his measure of power1 he is to put it forth --or of light1 he is to let it shine4 ,the ,christian indeed is pre-eminently a patriot4 ,not one of us lives to himself2 and1 in contemplating this subject1 it has sometimes occurred to us to inquire whether the ministers of religion be sufficiently explicit1 minute1 and detailed in their lessons on the ,sabbath4 ,over thousands of congregations each recurring week1 there are diffused from the pulpit1 doctrines the most ennobling1 allied1 in many cases1 to lessons the most cogent and pure4 ,line upon line is employed1 if1 by any means1 some may be saved1 and the truth of ,god carried1 by the ,spirit's power1 through the heart and the conscience to the hand and the life4 ,withal1 however1 is there not reason to believe that there is still room for more precise and definite instructions than are sometimes conveyed8 ,it is obviously one thing for a soul passively to acquiesce in a doctrine1 and another thing to apply the truth to practice2 to give it the control of the life1 that man may be like-minded with ,god1 and pure as ,he is pure4--,there have been men in all ages who held a faultless creed1 yet led a godless life2 who would tithe their mint1 their anise1 and cummin1 and yet forget the weightier matters of the law4 ,there have been not a few who took rank in the ,christian ,church1 who could not be trusted in the market-place4 ,some who had fallen into the hands of the public prosecutor1 have1 with all the indignation of injured innocence1 resented it as an offence1 when those who watch for the spiritual good of men ventured to prevent them from polluting the holy place4 ,in _/one_/ point of view1 the world thus seems to be more careful or more high-toned than the ,church2 and that irresistibly suggests the question1 _/,can_/ a remedy be found for this sore evil8 ,without interfering for a day with the preaching of those doctrines which come from ,god as a light to guide us to ,him1 can aught be added to our present appliances1 to rescue self-deluded men from their self-delusions1 and at least render their number fewer in the different branches of the ,holy ,catholic ,church8 ,,the ,,signs ,,of ,,the ,,times4 ,the times appear to be specially favourable for promoting such an object4 ,it is a characteristic of our age1 for which we have high reason to be thankful to ,god1 that the spiritual welfare of man is largely regarded4 ,it is now clearly seen that the true interests of one class are the true interests of all4 ,it is no longer antagonism1 it is co-operation2 to a large extent1 it is brotherhood and harmony2 it is liberal things devised on the one hand1 and rejoiced in upon the other1 at least in the land in which it is our blessedness to live4 ,grave men in the ,church1 and powerful men in the ,state1 are busy here2 nay1 royalty itself1 does not disown the employment4 ,the prince co-operates with the peer1 and both together hold out the hand1 not of lordly patronage--that is cold and repulsive--but of brotherly-kindness and love4 ,,encouragements4 ,we thus see at least the dawning of a state of things which has no doubt been too long retarded1 to our shame2 but which may be blessed by ,god1 not to introduce an ,utopia1 or a golden age2 not to roll away the need of labour1 or the lot of suffering--these are component parts of man's existence upon earth2 but to soothe the sorrows1 to dry the tears1 and elevate the pursuits of those who might otherwise be woeworn and unfriended for life4 ,in a word1 ,the purple pride that scowls at wretchedness1 is now scowled at in its turn1 wherever the ,word of ,god is free1 and under its hallowing power1 the brotherhood of man are becoming more manifestly brothers4 ,to help on these results1 then1 we would now try to bring sound doctrine into actual contact with men's souls1 that it may produce sound practice4 ,the form of sound words is to be prized above every earthly thing1 but unless these words lead to right actions1 they leave us still in the condition of ,chorazin and ,bethsaida of old4 ,we would therefore try to take the truth of ,god in our hand2 we would go under its escort1 to the places of daily business or daily toil1 there to apply the simple but often searching maxims which came from heaven to guide men through life on earth to glory4--,we need expect no permanent amelioration for man except through the power and the prevalence of truth1 and every attempt to elevate his nature to its true dignity by any other means1 is either the effort of an empiric or the deception of an impostor4 ,the simple theory of human progression1 the only and exclusive means of purifying man1 is to make him like-minded with ,god again4 ,,the ,,labours ,,of ,,sisyphus4 ,now1 as the mind of ,god can be learned only from his ,word1 everything but that will prove as unavailing as the labours of ,sisyphus-- ,up the high hill he heaves the huge round stone2 but it recoils in spite of all his toil1 and so will every effort to elevate fallen man apart from the truth of ,god4 ,we decline no fair ally4 ,nay1 we would invoke the aid of all that is salutary either for mind or body4 ,but unless the truth sit at the helm1 and preside over all2 unless the mind of ,god become the mind of man1 man is still a degraded being2 he is ignorant alike of his chief end and his chief good4 ,in short1 permanently to benefit man either for time or eternity without the knowledge of ,god1 is a task as hopeless as that of ,adam when he tried to hide among the trees of the garden4 --,along the mountain-sides of some districts in this land we see traces of the culture of former generations at much higher levels than cultivation now reaches2 but1 deserted now as unproductive1 these patches are re-claimed by the heath or the furze3 they furnish no food at least for the use of man2 and are not these significant emblems of the attempts to cultivate man without the knowledge of his ,god8 ,the sepulchre may be white-washed1 or sin covered over and concealed2 but all is impurity1 all is moral deformity still1 in the eye of ,him who judges righteous judgment4 ,,the ,,sovereign ,,panacea4 ,we therefore take the ,word of ,god as the grand rule1 the sovereign panacea in our hand4 ,we try to apply the system of mingled holiness1 and mercy1 and truth1 and love1 which is there disclosed1 to guide the lives of mortals2 and in prosecuting this design1 the following is our plan4 ,we try to show-- ,i4 ,christianity in the _/,heart_/2 for1 unless it is found there1 we need not expect to find it anywhere besides4 ,,ii4 ,christianity in the _/,home_/4 ,it must next appear there4 ,parents and children1 masters and servants1 or the employers and the employed1 must all feel the genial or the curbing power of truth in their several places and relations4 ,,iii4 ,christianity in the _/,workshop_/--from which its influence has too long been banished4 ,,iv4 ,christianity in the _/,market-place_/1 the place of bargains and of busy trade4 ,v4 ,christianity in _/the ,professions_/3 #a4 ,the physician2 #b4 ,the lawyer2 #c4 ,the divine4 ,,vi4 ,christianity in our _/ordinary social intercourse_/2 and1 ,finally1 ,christianity1 as the crown and glory of man's existence upon earth4 ,,the ,,willing ,,workman4 ,now1 it is too manifest to require any discussion1 that unless ,christianity be planted in the heart1 it cannot control the life4 ,a religion merely for the hand has never done much for man4 ,a creed which teaches us only to cleanse the outside of the cup1 has never succeeded in elevating us far1 or making us kindred either with the pure or the lofty4 ,a mere collection of doctrines1 though each be scriptural and sound1 has never availed to restore man to happiness and ,god4 ,merely to do as our fathers did1 or hold1 however tenaciously1 a mere ancestral faith1 is not the process by which the evil that is in man can be corrected4 ,the soldier who is dragged to the battle-field is not likely to become a hero4 ,the man who is carried to a foreign land in chains1 seldom becomes one of its benefactors4 ,he who needs compulsion and the rod ere he will acquire even the rudiments of learning1 is not likely soon to become a ripe scholar4 ,in every department1 it is the willing mind1 the earnest spirit1 the hearty1 zealous labourer1 who achieves great results4 ,the heart must be thrown into the pursuit1 even though it were only some menial employment2 and if that be not the case1 then1 however he may be engaged1 man will either be disgusted and repelled1 or doomed to drag a heavy chain amid his toil4 ,,the ,,heart ,,unmasked4 ,and this is pre-eminently the case in religion4 ,it is with ,him who looks on the heart that we have there to do--as is the heart1 so is our religion4 ,a new heart is accordingly the first and the grand desideratum4 ,all the heart is to be given to ,god1 and till that be conceded1 we have not done obeisance to the first and great commandment4 ,the law of ,god is to be written on the heart1 or in truth we never obey it4 ,we may as well suppose that the ten commandments could guide the ,hebrews1 while these precepts were merely written on the tables of stone1 far up amid the clouds of ,sinai1 as that the truth of ,god can profit1 or illumine the soul1 while it only floats in the understanding or the memory1 without sinking into the heart4 ,nay1 the thunders of ,sinai1 amid which the commandments were given1 had scarcely died away1 when the people who had heard them ceased to fear and quake--they set up a golden calf1 and worshipped it as their ,god2 and that forms one of the most instructive facts of history4 ,it seems incredible to the man who does not know the guile which lurks in the heart1 but it sheds a full though a lurid light upon the soul1 in the eyes of him who has been guided by the truth through the intricate mazes of iniquity which exist within us4 ,,truth ,,and ,,falsehood4 ,or1 far more than this4 ,ten thousand times ten thousand may possess the gospel as well as the law4 ,not merely the authority1 the power1 or the terrors of the ,lord may be brought to bear upon their minds--,his love1 his pity1 and compassion1 may also be revealed1 and entreaties the most touching1 or invitations the most free1 may be mingled with promises the most cheering1 and all may be employed to induce us to profit by them1 while the heart may continue proof against them all4 ,the truth of ,god may be no truth to us2 ,his love in the ,saviour may exercise no constraining power--and what is the reason8 ,how are we to explain the fact that the mind of ,god has no control over the minds of myriads of men1 so that countless favours are received without awakening one grateful response8 ,the reason is1 truth was never stamped upon the heart4 ,it is not understood that with the heart man believes unto righteousness4 ,the first and great commandment1 ,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 and all thy soul1 and all thy strength and mind1 is not felt1 and not obeyed2 and men1 in consequence1 often drink up iniquity with the very ,word of ,god open before them1 soliciting their hearts and their affections for their ,lord4 ,they have his ,word1 but it is perverted to light them on the way to a more certain ruin4 ,this is all abundantly plain4 ,if we have ever given so much as one solemn hour to ,god1 to eternity1 and the soul1 it must be manifest that until the affections be set on things above1 all else is vain4 ,the heart is the citadel of the whole man1 and until that be on the ,lord's side1 the enemy will find a stronghold there1 from which no power on earth can dislodge him4 ,is a man living in a state of estrangement from ,god8 ,does the ,heart-searcher know that that man is perpetrating sin and regardless of his soul8 ,the explanation of all that is1 that the heart has never been given to ,god4 ,christianity is not there4 ,truth is not there--its place is occupied by lies4 ,the love of the ,saviour is not there4 ,the ,word of ,god is a dead and a despised letter4 ,the foundation of the spiritual fabric has never been laid4 ,the first impulse heavenward has not been given4 ,the ,spirit of ,god is not honoured in the heart as the temple where he delights to dwell4 ,religion at the best is a cold and formal thing4 ,it only decorates the exterior1 like trappings on a hearse4 ,god is not in such a man's thoughts--,christ is not in his soul the hope of glory4 ,the gulf between ,god and him is still a yawning void1 and the eternal life which is placed within his reach is practically despised4 ,the illustrations of religion in the heart crowd upon us on every side4 ,let us contemplate a few1 and place them in the way of contrast4 ,,illustrations4 ,there is a man whose heart the ,lord has touched with great love to souls4 ,he learns that myriads are perishing in distant lands4 ,that oppresses him with the weight of a personal woe2 he takes his life in his hand and hastens away to tell the perishing of a ,saviour4 ,now1 in his work of faith1 and labour of love1 that man is dealing1 let us suppose1 with two of the youth of a dark-souled land4 ,he is pressing on the conscience the claims of ,god1 on the understanding his truth1 and on the heart his love2 but against all these appliances one of the two is stout-hearted1 and steeled4 ,there is no room in his soul either for the ,spirit of ,god or his truth4 ,some idol has erected his temple there1 and that idol1 however hideous1 is worshipped with the devotedness which is due only to ,god over all4 ,hence the heart is shut and fortified against the truth2 hence the ,god of truth is rejected and disowned4 ,the whole man is pre-occupied4 ,the affections are engrossed by a worthless or revolting thing2 and as there was no room in the dwellings of men for the ,saviour when he came to earth1 there is no room in the soul of that man for truth1 though it brings salvation and the fulness of joy in its train4 ,the secret of the whole is1 that the heart is not impressed2 it is never touched1 and it therefore repels the approaches of ,him who is love1 as the granite rock repels the spray of the ocean4 ,,conscience ,,ascendant4 ,but the case is different in regard to the other of the two3 conscience in him feels the power of the truth2 it cannot deny the charges which are brought against it2 nay1 it repeats and enforces them every one1 and then begins the struggle for the control of the heart4 ,though the conscience be convinced1 the heart may not be surrendered1 and in consequence of that1 a pain1 an absolute distraction is sometimes produced--it has been described as the plucking out of a right eye4 ,,the ,,change4 ,now1 when does that struggle cease8 ,when is that soul really surrendered to the supremacy of ,god8 ,it is when the truth finds its way to the heart1 and is planted there by the ,spirit who revealed it4 ,as long as it remained only in the conscience1 it stimulated1 it roused1 it agitated1 it produced only commotion or woe2 or1 in the understanding1 it instructed or delighted2 but when the truth of ,god passed through the conscience into the heathen heart1 the whole man was speedily captured4 ,there was now the willing mind1 there was now the pliant disposition4 ,idols were now abandoned4 ,the ,son of ,god was rejoiced in1 and he who before had carried the badge of his idol on his very brow1 as if to glory in his shame1 now felt all the degradation of bowing down to an idol at all4 ,the strongest earthly affection--that of a mother to a cherished son--might obstruct the path which led from idols to ,god1 and other woes might come on the believer2 but his heart had owned the majesty of truth1 whatever it might entail4 ,truth1 the truth of ,god1 had taught him that there is something stronger1 deeper1 and more constraining than even the love of a mother to a son--namely1 the love of the ,saviour to the saved1 and their love to ,him in return--and thus1 that soul1 amid sorrows which are agonizing to flesh and blood1 chooses the better portion4 ,like one who is truly wise1 that man1 lately so dark and idolatrous1 now prefers the love of ,god to the love of a creature--and that is ,christianity in the heart4 ,that is religion taking the helm of life4 ,that is truth occupying the citadel of the soul4 ,that is ,god enthroned4 ,that is conscience obeyed4 ,that is reason re-occupying the sphere from which it was banished at the fall4 ,that is the promise fulfilled1 ,a new heart will ,i give you1 and a new spirit will ,i put within you4 ,or contemplate another example of ,christianity in the heart1 as the root and fountain of all that is lovely and of good report in the life4 ,,inquiry4 ,another man has gone with no less love to souls than the former1 to win some of the far-fallen ,jews to the ,saviour4 ,in that work he encounters insult upon insult1 and everything but ,christian faith1 and ,christian hope and love1 would there faint and fail4 ,he also is surrounded by crowds of inquirers or objectors--let us select two for their contrast4 ,one of them is full of hereditary hatred to the truth as it is in ,jesus2 and that very name which is to the ,christian a strong tower1 is to that dark-souled man a provocative to wrath and spiteful passion--,and why8 ,because that heart is pre-occupied4 ,that man has never once seen the presented truth1 so thick is the veil which blinds him2 he has never once felt its power1 so hard is the incrustation which envelopes his heart4 ,the love and pity1 as well as the holiness and truth of ,god1 are shut out from his soul1 for the repugnance and the recoil of the heart drive them utterly away4 ,he thus furnishes another example of the fact1 that there does not exist in all the world1 a more intense antagonism than that of man's polluted heart to the pure truth of ,god4 ,but the other of the two inquires--he is willing at least to ascertain what a ,christian is4 ,he listens1 and the great truth which is the basis of all personal religion--conviction of sin in the sight of ,god--begins to be felt4 ,whether ,christianity be true or not1 that man discovers1 from his own ,hebrew ,bible1 that he is a sinner4 ,he perceives that ,judaism1 even in all its glory could not take away sin1 and much less now when it is worn out1 or not the shadow or the echo of its former self4 ,in that state of soul1 that man comes nearer to ,jesus of ,nazareth than he had ever done before4 ,he reads2 he marks2 he inwardly digests2 he begins to pray4 ,the ,redeemer's history now becomes full of meaning4 ,he was despised1 and we esteemed him not--,he was wounded for our transgressions1 and bruised for our iniquities--,the ,lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all--,they shall look on him whom they have pierced--,these1 or texts like these1 now begin to be seen in the light which the ,spirit of ,god sheds on them1 or felt in the power which that ,spirit imparts to truth1 and they flash upon the earnest man's mind with a meaning which he never saw before4 ,,the ,,jew1 ,a ,,christian4 ,that man now begins1 then1 to feel that the truth is just what he as a sinner needs2 and in the train of that1 it begins to take possession of the heart4 ,it gives a new tone or a new colour to his life4 ,by securing the command of the heart1 it converts a ,jew into a new creature in ,christ4 ,he begins to glory in what was once a stumbling-block1 the ,cross2 or to be ashamed of what was once his glory1 his self-righteousness2 and as the aspect of the earth when the sun is shining in the radiance of day is different from its aspect when midnight reigns1 that man's soul is different now from what it lately was4 ,christianity is in the heart2 and as the blood is propelled from the heart to the extremities1 spreading life and activity as it flows1 truth1 the truth which the ,spirit teaches now circulates through the whole inner man1 reducing everything there to the obedience that is in ,christ4 ,the waste places are cultivated4 ,the spiritual fabric is founded1 and the great ,master-builder will in due time perfect the whole4 ,,the ,,home ,,heathen4 ,or1 without referring either to ,heathen or to ,jew1 we might select some two in our own favoured land for a contrast4 ,we might picture an assembly of men met in the house of ,god to worship the ,king ,eternal1 ,immortal1 and ,invisible1 and single out two of the worshippers to illustrate religion in the heart2 and let us thus single out two4 ,they worship side by side4 ,they hear the same voice--they listen to the same gospel1 the same appeals to the conscience1 the same lessons for the understanding1 the same glad tidings for the heart4 ,they are pointed to the same ,saviour1 and are equally told of his power and his willingness to save4 ,redemption now1 and not to-morrow--redemption perfect and complete1 without waiting for any supplement from man--redemption for the ungodly1#a and not for those who have already repented2 in a word1 salvation _/freely_/1 salvation _/immediately_/1 and salvation _/completely_/1 is offered or pressed on the notice of each of the two1 according to the ,word of the ,eternal4 ,,the ,,wayward ,,heart4 ,but amid this affluence of mercy1 this plenitude of love1 one of them continues indifferent1 hardened1 and without ,god4 ,every new appeal is resisted1 and so thickens the incrustation which has gathered round the heart4 ,all within is dead and cold4 ,religion brings no joy4 ,it seems a system to fetter1 and not to emancipate2 and as that man cannot both sin and be a ,christian1 his heart continues shut against the influence which would separate him from his sins4 ,the secret of all this is1 that that heart is still the victim or the dupe of lies4 ,there is no ,christianity admitted into it4 ,the truth of ,god is kept far away from the centre of man's being4 ,lest that truth should enter the heart1 it is kept carefully guarded2 it is crowded with worldly cares1 or plunged into worldly follies1 but left dreary and desolate as to all that is divine2 the waters of ,marah are never sweetened there2 the soul is perishing with redemption in its offer2 it is self-doomed to woe and to bitterness1 while the ,spirit of ,god through his ,word is beckoning it to glory and to honour4 ,the other of the two worshippers1 however1 has found out that one thing is needful4 ,he has listened to conscience4 ,he has taken counsel with right reason4 ,he has surrendered the heart to ,god1 and that is the decisive moment when man's name is written in the book of life4 ,it is then that the kingdom of ,god begins to be within us1 then that we learn both how wayward is the heart1 and how mighty is the grace of ,god to subdue it4 ,light now radiates where all was dark before2 joy is now felt where all was cheerless2 and the new-born sensation of spiritual freedom brings a presage of the glorious liberty of the children of ,god4 ,,contrasts ,,and ,,collisions4 ,and what renders it more needful to urge on this ascendancy of truth in the heart is1 the opposition which it is sure to encounter in the world4 ,while we sail down the world's stream1 we may glide pleasantly along1 and need neither the canvass nor the oar2 but the moment we attempt to stem it1 the struggle and the conflict begin3 we must either earnestly contend1 or be carried down to ruin4 ,what is it that produces thunder8 ,it is the meeting of contraries1 or fire and water4 ,what is it that produces the earthquake8 ,it is a similar cause--the meeting of contraries1 or substances which cannot quietly co-exist4 ,what is it that occasions war1 and massacre1 and devastation8 ,it is still a similar cause4 ,it is passion in collision with passion4 ,it is the tyrant seeking to oppress the free4 ,it is ambition grasping at more and more1 and trampling upon all who oppose its pleasure--and the same law obtains in religion4 ,why are ,god's people often of all men the most miserable8 ,whence come persecutions8 ,they come because holiness in the godly and sin in the world have come into collision4 ,the will of ,god is opposing or protesting against the passions of men1 and on that account there is war on the one hand1 produced by inflamed passion on the other4 ,a church1 a flock1 for farther example1 has long been afflicted with an unconverted ministry1 and all is peaceful there1 for all is spiritual death4 ,but there comes a change4 ,a converted ministry is raised up1 and now begins the collision between spiritual life and spiritual death4 ,ere the truth get access to the heart1 it must fight every inch of the way4 ,or there is a family where1 up to a certain period1 all is unmitigated worldliness2 not one soul is there alive to ,god4--,but in ,his sovereign time one member is converted1 and then perhaps begin the collision and the strife4 ,the world resents the intrusion or the rebuke implied in spiritual decision2 and if that heart will love ,god's pure truth1 it must zealously contend4 ,,the ,,victory4 ,or there is an individual soul4 ,it has long slumbered1 as the world does1 without ,god and without hope4 ,no compunction has roused it1 and no alarm been felt4 ,but something at last occurs to disturb that false peace4 ,truth enters the conscience4 ,it operates there like a visit from the living to the catacombs of ,egypt1 when the night-birds are disturbed in crowds1 and threaten1 by their multitudinous flutterings1 to blind or to destroy the intruder4 ,thus1 if truth will take possession of a heart for ,god1 it must encounter and vanquish a thousand enemies4 ,in that conflict man needs the whole armour of ,god1 for he has to fight the good fight of faith4 ,his enemies may be those of his own household1 or even his own heart2 and nothing but the free ,spirit of the living ,god can make man sure of victory in that contest4 ,,the ,,new ,,heart4 ,perhaps it is superfluous to occupy so much time in illustrating what is1 in truth1 so plain4 ,yet1 as many overlook this plainness1 it should be urged in line upon line1 that if we would begin aright1 we must begin at the heart1 out of which flow the issues of life4 ,one of the most earnest prayers in the ,bible is1 ,create in me a clean heart1 ,o ,god1#b and one of its most emphatic or comprehensive promises is1 ,a new heart will ,i give you4#c ,and would men learn that simple lesson1 did they in their several places and relations as superiors1 inferiors1 or equals1 seek to begin at the beginning1 and have the heart right with ,god through the new-creating power of ,his ,spirit1 ,o how sweetly would the whole framework of society soon be adjusted6 how surely would all the building1 fitly framed together1 grow into an holy temple in the ,lord6 ,the ,church would be more pure4 ,the world would not be so often cheered in its ungodly ways1 by the example of men professing the truth1 but holding it in unrighteousness1 because they are destitute of ,christianity in the heart1 where it should ever reign as the unchallenged and unrivalled queen4--,there are some ruins of ancient cities now buried deep under water4 ,when the waves above them are calm1 these ruins can still be seen1 though centuries have rolled away since they were first submerged4 ,yet who would regard these waste places as the abodes of living men8 ,who would speak of them as the haunts of the happy8 ,nay1 life has vanished from them2 all that ever lived there have been for centuries destroyed4 ,and1 in the same way1 the heart that is sunk in worldliness or saturated with what is earthly and sensual1 is cut off from all communion with the living ,god2 it is dead to holiness and ,him4 ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,the ,,heart4 ,we cannot glance at the lives of godly men without noticing the prominence which belongs to this subject of religion in the heart4 ,their first aspiration is for the friendship of ,god1 and their next1 their perpetual longing is to have the heart right with ,him2 to keep the heart with all diligence1 for out of it are the issues of life4 ,we open the life of one man of ,god at random4 ,he says1 ,an inward sweet sense of divine things at times came into my heart1 and my soul was led away in pleasant views and contemplations of them4 ,the sense ,i had of divine things would often of a sudden kindle up1 as it were1 a sweet burning in my heart1 an ardour of soul that ,i know not how to express4 ,i was almost constantly in ejaculatory prayer wherever ,i was4 ,prayer seemed as the breath by which the inward burning of my heart had vent4 ,my former delights never reached the heart1 and did not arise from any sight of the divine excellence of the things of ,god4 ,my heart panted after this1 to lie low before ,god as in the dust1 that ,i might be nothing1 and ,god might be _/all_/2 that ,i might become as a little child4 ,oftentimes in reading the ,holy ,scriptures1 every word seemed to touch my heart2 ,i felt a harmony between something in my heart and those sweet and powerful words4#d ,,witnesses4 ,another says1 ,o ,god1 impress more deeply on my heart thine exceeding great and precious promises1 that ,i may perfect holiness in thy fear4 ,though ,god's pure ,word is presented to worldly men in ever such a variety of ways2 though the provision be ever so daintily served up1 none of them relish it at heart4 ,as well might the preacher have the restless and ungovernable waves of the sea before him1 and think to control them with the rod of ,moses1 or the words of ,christ1 ',peace1 be still4' ,in his earliest years he had many pure1 tender feelings1 and stirrings of his heart concerning ,god1 and the texts inscribed on the church walls of his native town1 from the ,epistle to the ,romans1 concerning death1 sin1 righteousness1 and the crucifixion1 produced in him1 as a mere child1 emotions of great joy and peace1 and left upon him very profitable and lasting impressions4 ,how may ,i know that ,i am become an heir of heaven8 ,how may ,i know that ,god is in me of a truth8 ,when ,i have the earnest of the inheritance1 that is1 when ,i am habitually led by the ,spirit of ,god1 so as to walk in love1 with my heart crying to him1 ,abba1 ,father6 and listening to every whisper of his ,holy ,spirit4#e ,,witnesses4 ,another says1 ,my heart was utterly averse from spirituality4 ,sometimes1 through the force of convictions1 ,i was indeed brought for some time to aim at getting my mind fixed upon heavenly things1 and kept on the thoughts of them2 but my heart being still carnal1 ,i weaned of this bent and of this forcible religion2 it was intolerable to think of being always spiritual4 ,i abominated the more gross breaches of all the commands1 and disliked open sins4 ,but1 meanwhile1 my heart was set upon the less discernible violations of the same holy law4 ,under a searching ministry1 the ,lord began to give me some discoveries of the more secret and spiritual evils of my heart4 ,he carried me 'into the secret chamber of imagery1' to let me see what my heart did in the dark4 ,though sin might prevail1 my heart was not with it as before2 ,i found another sort of opposition made to it4 ,i have looked on death as stripped of all things pleasant to nature4 ,i have considered the spade and the grave1 and everything that is in it terrible to nature2 and under the view of all these1 ,i found that in the way of ,god they gave satisfaction --not only a rational satisfaction1 but a heart-engaging power attending it1 that makes me rejoice4#f ,one of the profoundest thinkers that ever lived has said1 ,there are only two kinds of persons who can properly be styled reasonable3 those who serve ,god with all their heart1 because they know ,him2 and those who seek ,him with all their heart1 because they know him not4#g ,,witnesses4 --,but it is needless to prolong such illustrations4 ,human nature1 revelation1 and daily experience1 agree in testifying to the necessity of planting the truth in the heart of man1 if it is to control his life4 ,for that purpose the ,spirit of ,god is sent to take the truth from the sacred page1 where ,he himself has placed it1 and stamp it on the soul4 ,and ,o1 what man consents to sacrifice1 by keeping truth in the outer court as the ,gentiles were kept in the outer court of the ,jewish ,temple6 ,what holy joy6 ,what hopes and consolations6 ,what communion with ,god he forfeits6 ,or1 how blind the world to its own best interests1 when the truth is kept cold and shivering1 apart from the soul and the heart6 ,how would the woes of a groaning world be soothed--how would our biting and devouring of each other cease--how would swords be beat into ploughshares1 and spears into pruning-hooks1 were truth enthroned in the heart1 and suffered to control the life6 ,a single sentence of that truth1 honestly believed and obeyed1 would soon revolutionize a world2 and should not every ,christian therefore be busy1 earnest1 and solemn1 in spreading the truth2 in seeking to have it planted deep in his own soul first1 and then in the souls of all8 ,,the ,,need ,,of ,,zeal4 ,moreover1 the world is very solemn now1 it is earnest and devoted2 it is perfectly convinced1 however baseless the conviction1 that time is all in all4 ,for example1 mark that atheist4 ,they who do not know the dark depths of man's heart will not believe that a soul so monstrous can exist2 but as if to prove the truth of the ,word of ,god1 a bold blasphemer has stood forth to deny ,god's existence1 and challenged ,him to prove that the impious one was wrong1 by striking him dead upon the spot4 ,or mark that knot of infidels4 ,they are assembled to devise the means of spreading their poison1 and import additional supplies from other lands1 because the home growth is not sufficient4 ,or mark that group of papists4 ,they are daily plotting the suppression of ,god's truth1 the enslaving of man's soul1 and deepening the darkness which already envelopes him4 ,all1 all are earnest1 zealous1 sanguine in the pursuit of evil--and shall they who hold the truth be alone lethargic1 listless1 apathetic8 ,the infidel has been heard to declare1 that if he believed what ,christians profess to believe1 he would be far more zealous than they4 ,in truth1 that infidel sees that the man whom the world stigmatizes as a religious enthusiast is the only consistent ,christian4 ,if ,i believe that every sin tends to eternal perdition1 can ,i be consistent in my belief1 if ,i do not repress sin by every proper means within my power8 ,if ,i believe that none but ,christ can save so much as one single soul1 can ,i be consistent in my belief1 if ,i am not ready to spend and be spent in winning souls to ,christ8 ,on that maxim the ,christian indeed will act2 and when that spirit is ascendant1 we shall see far more done than has yet been attempted to soothe men's sorrows1 to dry men's tears1 and ease their aching hearts4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,religion ,,in ,,our ,,homes4 ,it is a fatal and a paralysing mistake to suppose that the religion of ,jesus is to be kept for certain days1 or occasions1 or places1 and laid aside or neglected at other times4 ,it is not meant to give solemnity merely to a few hours of the ,sabbath1 or a few deeds of the hand2 and while we can be satisfied with that view of religion1 we have not begun to feel its power1 to partake of its joy1 or enter into its spirit4 ,it would not be more unreasonable to suppose that the body needs the vital air to breathe only on certain occasions1 or that the eye needs the light of heaven to see only at peculiar seasons1 than that man can dispense at times with the truth of ,god as his guide1 and monitor1 and friend4 ,if there be a moment at which man is not prone to go astray1 then for that moment he may dispense with truth4 ,if there be a single breath during which man is not dependent upon ,god1 for that breath he may lay aside ,god's pure and holy word4 ,but it is the dictate of reason1 the moment it is illumined from on high1 that the truth should take the control of the conscience1 the understanding1 and the heart1 in all we find to do4 ,it is to preside over thought1 word1 and deed4 ,it is to direct us not merely in actions which are strictly and properly religious1 like praise1 and prayer1 and public worship4 ,it is to give a religious character to all that we attempt2 and one great reason why religion is often despised is1 that not a few of those who profess to hold the truth forget its righteous claims in their dealings with their fellow-men4 ,there is a parent sitting by the couch where his first-born is stretched--a corpse4 ,as he gazes on the pale features1 more beautiful1 he thinks1 than ever now1 because death has turned them into marble1 what consolation can the truth yield to him1 if it has been his habit to confine its influence to a corner1 a fragment of life1 instead of regarding it as the sunshine or the vital air of the soul8 ,there is a sister weeping by the grave of one who has just become a prey to corruption4 ,her heart is lonely1 and stricken1 and sore--she feels it would be a relief could it break4 ,and what blessing can the truth1 the very truth as it is in ,jesus1 yield to that wounded spirit1 if it has been its habit to seclude and sequester religion1 to keep it apart from the business of life1 like some portion of our dress1 meant only for solemn seasons or for holidays8 ,,our ,,homes4 ,there is another4 ,the hand of death is on him4 ,he cannot be blind to its approach4 ,he _/must_/ take home the warning1 ,set thy house in order1 for thou shalt die and not live4 ,and of what avail to that man is the very truth which came from heaven1 if it has been kept at a distance from the heart1 like something which we dislike or dread8 ,can a name1 an echo1 a phantom1 a shadow1 really avail that dying man's soul8 ,,the ,,province ,,of ,,truth4 ,or there is another still4 ,the ,spirit of ,god has fastened conviction upon his conscience1 and he feels now what it is to be a sinner4 ,what must ,i do to be saved8--,o wretched man that ,i am1 who shall deliver me8 now embody the fears of his awakened spirit2 and to soothe that spirit1 or hush these fears1 what avails the solemn ceremonial or the decent form1 while that is all8 ,can a form atone for guilt8 ,can a pageant cleanse the conscience8 ,can some occasional observance of a religious rite operate like a charm1 and either silence the demands or uphold the purity of the law of ,god8 ,nay1 miserable comforters are they all4 ,it is truth in the heart guiding to ,him who is the truth itself1 which alone can yield the troubled conscience peace4 ,and1 to name no more3 ,there is a youth removed from the watchful guardianship of his father's home4 ,the crowded city has become his busy abode1 and its endless temptations must now be encountered4 ,he must hear the grossness of the licentious1 and endure the scoff of the godless4 ,he must brave the assaults of those who have grown hardened in guilt4 ,he must resist those who have trampled upon conscience1 and forgotten that there is either a death before them1 or a ,god to meet4 ,and what will give that tempted youth the victory8 ,an occasional glance at the ,word of ,god8 ,an occasional petition to his throne8 ,an occasional visit to his house8 ,to ask these questions is to answer them3 ,that man consents to be deceived and undone who is willing to be only occasionally devout1 occasionally seeking ,god1 occasionally a ,christian4 ,a ,,sounding ,,brass4 ,we have tried1 then1 in the spirit of these remarks1 to show that if the truth of ,god is to regulate the life of man1 it must be planted in his heart4 ,afraid lest the services of the sanctuary and the lessons of the ,sabbath be not sufficiently practical and precise1 we are following men into the different spheres in which they move1 there to apply the truth at once as a touchstone and a guide--a test to man's soul1 and a light to man's path4 ,a creed which only decorates the exterior cannot be that of the people of ,god4 ,if it produce no beauty in the soul1 no benefit in the life1 it is a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal4 ,and our next topic is--,religion in our ,homes4 ,if it be planted in the heart by the ,spirit of holiness1 it will soon spread outward and cover the life with its beauty4 ,like the widening circles on a pool whose smoothness a pebble has disturbed1 the wave of truth flowing from the heart1 first touches those among whom we constantly move2 and in no sphere can the genuine power of godliness on the one hand1 or spurious pretences on the other1 be more easily or promptly discovered4 ,a man is in ,god's eye just what he is in the bosom of his family4 ,,the ,,father ,,of ,,the ,,faithful4 ,perhaps we can best and most simply introduce this topic by referring to an example4 ,to find it1 we go straightway to the fountain-head1 and fix attention on the father of the faithful4 ,among the things which signalized that remarkable man1 was his strict regard to the fear of ,god in his home4 ,i know him1 it is said by the ,searcher of hearts2 ,i know him that he will command his children and his household after him1 and they shall keep the way of the ,lord to do justice and judgment4--,abraham was selected to introduce a new epoch in the mighty movements of ,providence1 a new stage in that grand procession which is carrying the generations of men forward to their eternal lot2 and one reason assigned for that selection is1 that he would cultivate home-religion1 or cause the fear of the ,lord to circulate through his tents4 ,now every word that is employed to describe this epoch-making man deserves to be studied--it appears a very picture of the patriarch or the priest of home4 ,he who blesses the habitations of the righteous1 says1 _/,i know_/ him4 ,it is the ,omniscient that speaks1 and there can be neither hypocrisy on the one hand1 nor deception on the other4 ,i know him that he will _/command_/4 ,there will be no betraying of the truth on his part1 no yielding to any guide but one4 ,there is a law1 and ,abraham will keep it4 ,he is answerable to the ,lawgiver1 and he will act on that conviction4 ,,perfect ,,law1 ,,and ,,liberty4 ,and ,i know him that he will command _/his children_/4 ,not blind affection2 not that kind of indulgence which is the veriest cruelty2 not that disorder which renders the young the masters of the old3 ,abraham will _/command_/ his children4 ,he and they are the subjects of a common ,lord4 ,his functions are purely executive4 ,the _/,lord_/ is our judge1 the ,lord is our lawgiver1 the ,lord is our king2 and parents and children alike are to be ruled by ,him4 ,this should equally prevent parental oppression on the one hand1 and filial disobedience on the other1 and when the laws which we obey are enacted by our ,father who is in heaven1 when they flow from ,him whose heart is love1 what but blessings can be the lot at once of him who administers and of those who obey them8 ,by the combined influence of authority and affection1 ,abraham was thus to rule his home4 ,like ,david1 he was to walk within his house with a perfect heart1 and that is the method by which parents ,may sun them in the light of happy faces4 ,if the ,holy ,one has given us rules for the guidance of all1 these rules form the standard from which there can be no sinless swerving1 and the first principles of holiness have yet to be learned where ,god's will is not thus paramount4 ,,the ,,one ,,will ,,supreme4 ,and1 moreover1 his _/household_/ as well as his children1 were to be controlled by the patriarch4 ,he is not one of those who forget that their dependants99#c or domestics have souls1 and therefore take no interest in them as immortal beings4 ,he did not act as if there were one ,god for the master and another for the servant2 one rule for the superior1 another for the inferior2 one way for the lordly1 and another for the lowly4 ,nay1 the father of the faithful1 combining faith and works in their proper places1 will command his household2 will take the control of it1 and see that everything there is done decently and in order4 ,there will be no tampering with a servant's conscience1 and as little conniving at his transgressions4 ,the ten commandments were not yet given2 but the spirit of them was a part of ,abraham's believing nature1 and he sought to have duty done wherever he had influence1 alike by superiors1 inferiors1 and equals4 ,in a word1 like ,cornelius after him1 he feared the ,lord1 with all his house4 ,and farther3 the rule1 the standard at once for master and servant1 is given1 ,they shall keep _/the way of the ,lord_/4 ,every other path is that of the destroyer2 it tends to death1 for the curse of the ,lord is in the house of the wicked4 ,the question which we should ask in regard to our home religion is not1 ,what is done by others8 ,what do men think8 ,what will the world tolerate8 ,what will be most conducive to present ease or peace8 but1 ,what has ,god said8 ,when that has been ascertained1 every departure from it is just a wandering into the way of sorrow4 ,neither parent nor child1 nor any member of a household1 need expect to prosper in any path except the way of the ,lord2 and to anticipate prosperity or peace in any other1 just shows that reason is still eclipsed1 that conscience is still seared or dormant1 that the mind of ,god is not our mind1 that we are still doing as ,adam did when he sought happiness in wandering from his ,maker4 ,,the ,,eastern ,,prince4 ,such1 then1 are the principles which lie at the foundation of all family rule2 these would make our homes a ,bethel1 and our hearts a shrine4 ,wherever such fear of ,god reigns in the soul1 accompanied with the love of ,christ1 there will be peace and holy joy2 but every other principle will leave our hearts and homes unblest4 ,tacitus tells us that many find it a harder task to govern a family than to rule a province2 and it may be so where ,god's law is not known or not regarded4 ,but that law itself is abundantly clear1 and the wayfaring man1 though a fool1 need not err therein4 ,every family that calls on the name of the ,lord should spread out his ,word before them1 and ask1 ,what has ,god said8 for that is the rule from which neither waywardness on the part of children1 nor engrossment on the part of parents1 can warrant our departure4--,it is computed that the household of ,abraham could not contain less than a thousand souls4 ,living as he did in the rank of an ,eastern prince1 his retinue was such as we can scarcely understand2 and yet1 concerning him and his household1 ,omniscience says3 ,commanded by ,abraham1 they will keep the way of the ,lord4 ,like ,joshua while placed at the head of a migrating nation1 and burdened with the care of millions1 his resolution was1 ,as for me and my house1 we will serve the ,lord4 ,religion was to be planted in the heart of society1 that is1 in the sacred circle of home2 and thence1 like the banyan tree1 was to spread1 and spread1 till it had covered or encircled the whole4 ,,educational ,,infidelity4 ,and here1 as we pass along1 it may serve as a warning to some1 if we glance at that infidelity which characterizes the schemes of some pretended friends of education and the young4 ,they would divorce religion from education4 ,they would let children grow up without any training in the fear of ,god4 ,they would develope mind4 ,they would impart secular knowledge2 but the knowledge of salvation1 of sin1 and of redemption from its woe1 its bondage1 and defilement1 they would not name4 ,passion may grow rampant2 the world may be ascendant in the heart1 the mind1 and all the powers of man1 yet youth is to be left unchecked by any heavenly warning1 untaught by any heavenly lesson6 ,now1 waiving every other objection to this scheme1 we say that it is unequivocally and utterly infidel2 it should on that account be branded with the reprobation of all who love the rising race1 on the one hand1 who know their perils on the other1 and who1 moreover1 feel assured that nothing but the truth of ,god can either make man savingly wise or keep him so4 ,if ,god's favour be a dream1 and man's soul only organized matter1 destined to pass away as other matter does1 it is needless to be very zealous for one scheme of training in preference to another4 ,but if man be immortal1 and if his immortality _/can_/ be blessed1 only by having his mind in harmony with ,god's1 then the training of the young in the good way of the ,lord is a matter of solemn obligation4 ,man has no choice here4 ,to neglect that way in training1 is to arrogate a wisdom superior to ,god's1 and the man who does that is perhaps blindly and unconsciously1 but not the less certainly1 evading ,god's truth and perpetuating the misery of man's soul4 ,but we are too general4 ,ere we can plant and foster religion in our homes1 we must descend into more minute details4 ,,the ,,sacred ,,circle4 ,parents here demand the first place1 and as the basis of all that can be addressed to them1 we observe that the supreme1 we might say the single maxim which should guide them in all they do1 in regard to the religion of home1 is suggested by the question1 ,what is the way of the ,lord8 ,parents who do not walk in that way themselves1 who find no pleasure there1 and feel under no constraint either to seek to enter upon it1 or advance after they have entered1 will feel no obligation to lead their children or their household there4 ,that is the secret of our godless families1 our prayerless homes1 our nurseries of folly and of woe4 ,the fountain which should send forth sweet water is poisoned4 ,the tree which should bear grapes produces only wild berries1 and society is at once crowded and corrupted by the ungodly children of ungodly parents4 ,,the ,,only ,,rule4 ,but wherever a parent has felt the value of a soul1 and loves it --wherever he has found out the good way of the ,lord1 and tried to walk in it--his guiding inquiry at every step will be1 ,how does the ,god of all our families instruct us to act8 ,what is his mind at any given point8 ,that once ascertained1 it becomes our only rule2 and where it is not our only rule1 religion in that home is not supreme--all besides is sin4 ,the nurture and admonition of _/the ,lord_/--,the fear of the ,lord1 which is the beginning of wisdom --,the way in which they ought to go--,these1 and similar portions of ,god's revealed mind1 point at once to the sovereign rule4 ,true1 difficulties innumerable meet us in that way4 ,the iniquity that is bound up in the heart of the young--the love of folly1 and the hatred of wisdom--devotedness to baubles--indifference to things eternal and divine1 with all the array of evil influences which assail or ensnare the young in a world where ,god is unknown1 dishonoured1 or forgotten1 may augment the godly parent's difficulties4 ,but difficulties are not the rule of duty4 ,they are only a call to prayer1 to dependence on the heavenly ,teacher1 and1 in his strength1 to steadfast opposition to all that is wrong1 and affectionate encouragement of all that is right and true4 ,the ,word of ,god is thus our only rule2 to consult another is to listen to the evil heart of unbelief4 ,,the ,,prayerless ,,home4 ,it has no doubt come to pass in our day1 that that standard is set aside by many parents who dislike the holiness of the ,bible1 and would prefer some freer scope to sin than it will tolerate4 ,they overlook the holy requirements of ,god1 and there are many homes where ,he is never worshipped4 ,there are children who never heard their parents pray4 ,there are domestics whose souls never drew forth one anxious thought from their employers4 ,the religion of home is1 in short1 a discarded thing1 and souls are trained in ungodliness by those who should watch over them as over their most precious possession4 ,now1 it is needless to add that ,christianity is exiled from such homes2 the truth1 the ,spirit1 the love of ,god1 are not presiding there4 ,there may be individual ,christians under these roofs1 who sigh and cry for the reigning ungodliness2 or who1 in some retired place1 have set up an altar where ,god in ,christ is worshipped1 as has been done in a miserable cellar1 in a home where no other place of prayer was allowed4 ,such homes1 however1 are not ,christian homes4 ,the practice of ,abraham is there reversed3 ,the way of the ,lord is not observed2 and when men wander from it1 what can the end be but labour and sorrow8 ,,the ,,way ,,of ,,the ,,lord4 ,but to a parent who really loves his children1 and who would do as the great patriarch did1 it would be an important boon1 could a brief directory be suggested for ,christianizing our homes1 or rendering them places where prayer is wont to be made4 ,how shall we subdue the spirit of the world1 which is ever seeking to insinuate its deadening influence8 ,how shall we be prepared to do all in the name of the ,lord ,jesus1 in our homes8 ,these are questions which enter deeply into the well-being of society2 and yet no brief answer can be given applicable to every case4 ,every parent1 impressed with a solemn sense of his own responsibility to ,god1 must here seek daily grace for daily guidance1 and make each difficulty1 as it rises1 a new errand to the throne4 ,thus only will the religion of the ,redeemer preside in our homes1 and fit us for the house of the ,lord for ever4 ,perhaps the only universal rule that could be given is this3 ,in regard to any action1 any pleasure1 any practice in our homes1 let the question be asked1 with the ,bible open before us1 ,is this the way of the ,lord8 ,is it thus that ,i can train my children in the way in which they ought to go8 ,the answer to that1 honestly sought and honestly found in prayer to ,god for light and guidance1 would detect many an unholy practice1 or repress many an unholy plan4 ,it would make the religion of our homes the religion of ,jesus1 of purity and peace--the guide who came from heaven to lead us to its glory and its ,god4 ,it would infuse a right spirit into our catechisings and all our details1 and end in raising up godly households in the land4 ,,inordinate ,,affection4 ,blind parental affection ranks among the greatest obstructions to the religion of home4 ,it prompts indulgences which should be at once put away1 and prevents correction where correction is an ordinance of ,god4 ,it seems to turn the hearts of parents to their children according to the promise1 but it is1 in truth1 like the tender mercies of the wicked1 only cruelty in disguise4 ,and to correct this1 let us glance at an incident in the life of ,him whom no one will suspect of the want of affection the most profound1 for ,he loved us1 and gave himself for us4--,the hour of the power of darkness was drawing on4 ,his enemies were gradually narrowing the circle around him1 and preparing to spring on him at last1 as the victim of their hatred unto death4 ,he had intimated to those around him what was about to happen2 and ,peter1 ever resolute1 impulsive1 and loving1 could ill brook the tidings4 ,be it far from thee1 ,lord3 this shall not be unto thee1 were the apostle's ardent and affectionate words2 and how did the ,saviour regard them8 ,did he welcome them as a solace to his troubles8 ,nay1 his instant rejoinder was1 ,get thee behind me1 ,satan4 ,in other words1 all-affectionate as the apostle's remonstrance seems to our minds1 it was opposed to the mind and will of ,god1 and whatever bore that character1 was offensive to the ,redeemer's holy soul--offensive as ,satan himself4 ,without regarding ,peter's love1 then--without treating that as love at all which opposed the appointments of ,jehovah1 ,jesus addressed the apostle just as he had once before addressed the tempter himself4 ,get thee hence1 ,satan1 were his words when asked to fall down and worship ,satan2 ,get thee behind me1 ,satan1 was his equally emphatic language to his own apostle1 when he pointed to a path which was different from the way of the ,lord4 ,and that is written for our instruction4 ,human affection is only an angel of darkness in the garb of an angel of light1 when it would counsel us to walk in any path but ,god's4 ,parents may indulge their natural affection at the expense of ,his holy law4 ,they may concede what ,he has forbidden1 or withhold what ,he appoints1 but that was never yet done without danger of the second death2 and parents not a few have helped to bring their own gray hairs in sorrow to the grave1 by such concessions to their offspring4 ,the father or the mother who represses the young soul1 and lays burdens upon it which the ,word of ,god does not warrant1 ranks among the worst of tyrants or oppressors4 ,the father or the mother who yields where ,god's ,word opposes1 or cheers the young in ways which our ,father who is in heaven has forbidden1 is cruel to their soul4 ,,eli4 ,but we are not left merely to infer the results of a blindfold affection on the part of parents2 these results have been made the subject of an affecting revelation2 and to show how much depends upon the right discharge of parental duty1 we have line upon line and precept upon precept4 ,the case of ,eli1 for example1 a man who was at once a priest and a ruler in ,israel1 is recorded for our warning4 ,his sons did wickedly1 and he restrained them not4 ,from indolence of nature1 or that phase of affection which leads to connivance at sin or pampering the inborn evil of the heart1 ,eli did not repress iniquity2 he suffered it to grow1 even in the house of ,god1 without any effectual restraint2 and what was the result8 ,it ranks among the most terrific of all that is contained in the ,word of ,god4 ,behold ,i will do a thing in ,israel1 at which both the ears of the hearer shall tingle--,when ,i begin ,i will also make an end1 for ,i have told ,eli that ,i will judge his house for ever1 for the iniquity which he knoweth1 because his sons made themselves vile1 and he restrained them not4 ,here is both the sin and the result4 ,the _/sin_/--parental neglect1 from blindfold affection1 or whatsoever cause4 ,the _/result_/--an amount of iniquity which was not to be forgiven for ever4 ,parent and child were to suffer1 and neither sacrifice nor offering was found for that transgression for ever4 ,eli _/was_/ a believer1 though compassed about with infirmities2 but there is only one other case in all the ,word of ,god where we learn so plainly the eternal portion of any individual soul1 as we are told the doom of the godless sons of ,eli4 ,,woe4 ,in contrast1 then1 with the conduct of ,abraham1 that of ,eli brings to parents a lesson as distinct as if it were spoken in thunder1 or written in light on the face of the heavens4 ,the way of the ,lord was the path chosen by the one4 ,he walked there1 and led his children with him2 and like the palm-tree in its fertility1 that man was blessed and made a blessing4 ,but evil without effectual restraint was what ,eli tolerated4 ,the way of the ,lord was forsaken partially by himself1 and wholly by his sons2 and woe1 beyond what tongue can tell1 was therefore ,eli's lot while he sojourned here below4 ,,the ,,model4 ,again1 in the very constitution of our being the ,almighty ,maker of heaven and earth has inserted a provision for securing parental ascendency and aiding parental duty4 ,without dwelling at present or at large on the power of parental affection1 responded to by filial love1 let us call to mind the fact that the ,saviour made a little child his _/model disciple_/3 ,he called a little child unto him1 and set him in the midst of his attendants1 and made that child the text of one of his marvellous discourses4 ,now1 consider how it is with the minds of children1 that parents may be encouraged amid what is often irksome1 namely1 making our homes so many nurseries for heaven4 ,a little child1 then1 was the ,saviour's model disciple2 and what are the characteristics of childhood8 ,it is ready to associate with any who are friendly to it4 ,regardless of external distinctions1 it will condescend to men even of the lowest estate4--,and is it not thus that they who are born of ,god should at all times act8 ,instead of overbearing arrogance1 or selfish endeavours to outstrip or supplant1 does not the truth as it is in ,jesus teach us to do as a little child instinctively does1 to condescend to men of low estate8 ,are we not taught to esteem others better than ourselves1 to love as brethren1 to be pitiful and courteous8 ,,simple ,,faith4 ,farther1 we commonly find a little child transparently guileless4 ,infancy is proverbially artless2 it is reserved for advancing years to develope deceit1 or mature the power to be false4--,and is it not ever so with those who are taught99#d of ,god8 ,they should be pre-eminently men in whom there is no guile1 whose word is truth1 and whose ways are uprightness4 ,who has not seen the flushed cheek1 the quivering lip1 and the downcast eye of youth1 when first beginning to deceive8 ,a similar confusion would be produced in the conscience of him who is born from above1 were he to yield himself up to the guidance of lies4 ,the little child is here again a model4 ,or farther3 ,mark how devoid of care the infantine are4 ,they repose without forethought or fear upon those whom they love--literally and absolutely1 they take no thought for to-morrow4 ,borne up by the arms of affection1 and neither doing nor dreading evil1 they are kept in perfect tranquillity3 every want is attended to1 nay1 every want is anticipated4 ,a wisdom beyond what the young can fancy1 and a love beyond what they can fathom1 are engaged on their behalf1 and resting upon these1 the helpless and the feeble are safe amid a thousand dangers4 ,now1 is not that a model to be copied by all who know ,god's name1 and put their trust in ,him8 ,are we not told that only the ,gentiles are anxious and fretful8 ,is it not announced as a general maxim1 to which there can be no exceptive case1 ,sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof8 ,and is not one of the most exquisite proofs of a particular providence that ever gladdened the heart of man1 furnished by the ,saviour with the flowers of the field and the birds of the air for his text1 just meant to produce a child-like confidence in our heavenly ,father8#h ,and once again3 ,are not children proverbial for their dependence on a parent's word8 ,do they not place the most unquestioning confidence in the information of those whom they love8 ,unless the parent be detected as a deceiver1 or unless the child be perverted by the vicious example of those who should train it in the truth1 not a doubt is felt regarding the word of those with whom infancy associates4 ,and is not that a perfect model of the trust we should repose in the word of our ,father who is in heaven8 ,are we not both reproved and instructed by such little children1 as to implicitly confiding in the promises of the unchanging ,one8#i ,now1 these things may well encourage parents in the training of the young4 ,there is already a groundwork prepared4 ,they have materials upon which to operate2 and though all is vain without the teaching of the ,spirit of ,god1 yet with that and the use of means1 the hope may be cherished that a race will be trained to serve the ,lord when their fathers are no more4 ,,alfred ,,the ,,great4 ,a ,,royal ,,christian4 ,nor is history devoid of examples tending to enforce the duty of godly training4 ,of all the names which embellish the history of our island1 that of ,alfred the ,great stands among the foremost4 ,equally remarkable for his genius1 his wisdom1 his godliness1 and his trials1 we might find in his single case enough to encourage parental painstaking or rebuke parental neglect4 ,hear how this monarch speaks3 ,to thee1 ,o ,god1 ,i call and speak4 ,hear1 ,o hear me1 ,lord6 for thou art my ,god and my ,lord1 my ,father and my ,creator1 my ruler and my hope1 my wealth and my honour1 my house1 my country1 my salvation1 and my life6 ,hear1 hear me1 ,o ,lord6 ,few of thy servants comprehend thee4 ,but thee alone ,i love indeed1 above all other things3 ,thee ,i seek3 ,thee ,i will follow3 ,thee ,i am ready to serve4 ,under thy power ,i desire to abide1 for thou alone art the ,sovereign of all4 ,i pray thee to command me as thou wilt4 ,a ,,mother',s ,,power4 ,now1 by what process was this youth enabled to make such acquirements in godliness as that prayer betokens8 ,it was by a device of his mother1 who allured him into paths where he learned that truth which he has so beautifully embodied4 ,her wise and loving heart struck upon a plan which proved the turning-point in ,alfred's history4 ,it gave or it confirmed that bent of his mind which made him what he was--which led to the enacting of some of the laws which still signalize ,england among the nations1 as well as prompted this memorable address to his son and successor ,edward1 on ,alfred's dying bed3 ,we must now part1 the sinking monarch said2 ,i go to another world1 and thou shalt be left alone in all my wealth4 ,i pray thee 7for thou art my dear child7 strive to be a father and a lord to thy people4 ,be thou the children's father and the widow's friend4 ,comfort thou the poor1 and shelter the weak2 and with all thy might1 right what is wrong4 ,and1 son1 govern thyself by law4 ,then shall the ,lord love thee1 and ,god1 above all things1 shall be thy reward4 ,call thou upon him to advise thee in all thy need1 and so shall he help thee the better to compass what thou wouldest4 ,now that1 we repeat1 and similar examples may well stimulate parental diligence and animate parental hope4 ,in a barbarous age1 amid rude and martial men1 with superstition seeking to efface all that was divine1 and ignorance combining its power to help superstition to accomplish that object1 ,alfred rose above every obstacle1 and stamped impressions upon his country which all time cannot efface4--,what can ,christian principle in the hands of a godly mother not achieve8 ,what forms may not be impressed upon the molten lead8 ,a ,,difficulty3 ,on this subject1 however1 there is a difficulty which sometimes meets us1 at which it may be instructive to glance4 ,on the one hand1 we read1 ,train up a child in the way he should go1 and when he is old he will not depart from it1 but on the other1 it is too well known that even children who have been trained by godly parents often go astray4 ,they make haste to abandon the narrow path as soon as they dare1 and plunge into sin as if they were determined to show how boldly they can trample upon all that is sacred or constraining4 ,how many a parent's heart is at this moment aching1 or how many have gone down in sorrow to the grave1 lamenting the iniquity of those whom they had tried to train1 or for whom they had watched and prayed6 ,ten thousand mothers have had ,monica's trials1 without living to share her joy1 and the homes which should have been like temples of religion1 have become the abodes of woe4 ,now1 how is this apparent contradiction to be explained8 ,the ,scriptures say1 ,train up a child in the way that he should go1 and add the assurance1 ,when he is old1 he will not depart from it2 but1 in opposition to that1 we see some of the children of godly parents plunging into sin2 and how do we explain the seeming contradiction8 --,,its ,,explanation4 ,we explain it just by stating the truth4 ,the child who has gone astray never was in the right way3 he refused so much as to enter it4 ,his training was a burden and an offence4 ,fear might compel him to comply with a form for a season4 ,the parent took pains2 he corrected the child1 perhaps through tears2 he warned2 he prayed2 but the heart was never won to ,god4 ,the iniquity which was bound up in the heart of that child resisted every appliance4 ,sin was still loved4 ,it was turned like a sweet morsel under the tongue4 ,holiness continued to be disliked4 ,the constraints of a ,christian home were like fetters to that child2 and1 when his pent-up iniquity broke out at last1 it was only the open display of what had always been latently ruling4 ,in a word1 he had not been trained1 nay1 he had resisted every attempt to train him1 in the way in which he ought to go4 ,he might be the inmate of a ,christian home2 but he never had a ,christian heart2 the truth of ,god was repelled2 the ,spirit of ,god was quenched2 and the explanation is3--,they went out from us1 but they were not of us2 for if they had been of us1 they would no doubt have continued with us3 but they went out1 that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us4 ,on the other hand1 however1 does some child receive the truth into the heart8 ,does sin become an offence8 ,is the ,word of ,god loved8 ,is the salvation of ,god sought8 ,then that child _/is_/ trained in the way in which he ought to go4 ,there may yet come an eclipse of faith4 ,temptation may for a season prevail1 and the world may appear to have regained the mastery4 ,but if the nurture and admonition of the ,lord has been welcomed into the heart1 as the ,spirit imparts his blessing1 the effect produced will never fade utterly away4 ,out of the mouth of such a one ,god will perfect praise2 and while some companion beside him is growing up in wickedness1 or casting the ,word of ,god behind his back--searing the conscience1 hardening the heart1 and ruining the soul--the other is growing up to the stature of a perfect man in ,christ4 ,like a tree planted by the rivers of water1 he bears his fruit in his season1 and all he does shall prosper4 ,,the ,,world--,,its ,,antidote4 ,but further1 the subject of parental training suggests a question which occasions not a little perplexity to some ,christian minds4 ,we refer to the line which separates the unquestionably worldly from the decidedly ,christian1 in the training of the young4 ,there are practices on which every ,christian parent must frown1 and from which he must recoil1 if he would not promote the ruin1 by fostering the worldly-mindedness1 of his children2 but there are intermediate practices1 regarding which he may find it more difficult to decide1 and upon this point we quote the authority of one whose weighty words all who would not conspire with the world against their own children1 should very gravely ponder4 ,dr4 ,chalmers says3 ,in the face of every hazard to the worldly interests of his offspring1 will a ,christian parent bring them up in the strict nurture and admonition of the ,lord2 and he will loudly protest against iniquity1 in all its degrees and in all its modifications2 and while the power of discipline remains with him1 will it ever be exerted on the side of pure1 faultless1 undeviating obedience2 and he will tolerate no exception whatever2 and he will brave all that looks formidable in singularity1 and all that looks menacing in separation from the custom and countenance of the world2 and feeling that his main concern is to secure for himself and for his family a place in the city which hath foundations1 will he spurn all the maxims and all the plausibilities of a contagious neighbourhood away from him4#aj ,,family ,,worship4 ,but it is more than time that we should proceed to refer to the duties of ,children4 ,had it been our object to submit detailed directions for a ,christian home1 we must have spoken at length of the cardinal duty of family worship1 without which1 it should never be disguised for a moment1 our homes cannot be ,christian4 ,the household in which ,god is not worshipped is like a ship at sea without a pilot or a helm1 while the tempest is rising and threatening to rage4 ,however majestic the vessel or costly the cargo1 she is at the mercy of the first rock--it may be1 the very first wave4 ,him that honoureth ,god1 ,god will honour2 but he that despiseth ,god shall be lightly esteemed2 and the neglect of this honour is1 beyond all controversy1 one cause of the degeneracy which is now so apparent in many spheres4 ,or we must have told that parents1 and very specially that mothers1 should deal with their children from time to time1 as only ,christian mothers can do1 regarding the state of the soul1 according to the measure of the young capacity4 ,to stimulate them to that duty1 we might quote or enforce the words of a man much honoured of ,god3 ,ah1 could you see your children standing at the bar of ,christ1 unconverted1 through an affectionate mother's neglect of their souls1 how would the scene rend your hearts with anguish6#aa ,,sabbath ,,schools--,,their ,,use ,,and ,,abuse4 ,or we must have dwelt on the fact that no parent is at liberty to devolve the ,christian training of his child upon another4 ,it is the primary law of ,god over all1 that the parent should see to the child's religious training2 and the home in which that is neglected1 is one where a large portion of the law of ,god is ignored4 ,sabbath-schools have been blessed beyond what can be told1 to remedy existing evils--to roll back1 or at least repress1 the rising tide of iniquity2 and multitudes will rejoice for ever over such institutions4 ,in the state of degradation into which multitudes have sunk1 they have long been our only hope--but they belong to a diseased state of society4 ,they are for those who would otherwise be neglected or outcast1 and can never supersede the obligation imposed upon all parents1 without exception1 to bring up their children in the nurture of the ,lord4 ,or1 in providing for the ,christianizing of men's homes1 we might have spoken on the subject of correction1 and told that1 in spite of modern theories to the contrary1 that is an ordinance of ,god --though never to be employed till all else has failed1 and to be administered1 when administered at all1 through tears1 as giving more pain to the parent who corrects1 than to the child who is corrected4 ,,children--,,their ,,only ,,rule4 ,or1 in adverting to the ascendency of ,christian principle in our homes1 we might mention the need of care on the part of parents1 lest they commit their children to paths1 in regard to this world's business1 where a very miracle of grace is needed to save them from destruction4 ,who can doubt1 that in selecting the school where their offspring shall be trained1 or the master whom they shall serve1 or the profession which they shall follow1 many a parent has sacrificed his child to the god of this world8 ,this is a sore evil2 and in an age like ours1 when even the souls of men are made a matter of merchandise1 a ,christian parent will beware lest he expose inexperienced youth amid scenes where everlasting destruction may await the soul4 ,but these we only name1 and now offer one suggestion to the young themselves3 ,children1 obey your parents in the ,lord2 or1 ,children1 obey your parents in all things1 for this is well-pleasing unto the ,lord4--,these are the ,scriptural injunctions1 from which there can be no swerving without committing sin4 ,did parents issue some command contrary to the ,word of ,god1 then a ,christian child must decline obeying it1 for that child is bound by a higher allegiance to ,god2 but in all common cases1 the parent is in ,god's place to the child4 ,the parent's will is law--a law which cannot be broken without guilt4 ,that law1 indeed1 is to be administered with the sceptre of love1 and not with a rod of iron2 and while children are to obey their parents1 parents are not to provoke their children to wrath4 ,but still1 the unvarying rule is--the parent's will is supreme2 and wherever filial affection reigns1 that law will be sacredly observed1 because it is founded on the authority of the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is guarded on the one hand by the promise of blessings to the obedient1 and on the other by such words as these3 ,he that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind4 ,insubordination here is the root of wrath and woe4 ,,master ,,and ,,servant4 ,next to the relation of husband and wife1 and parent and child1 stands that of master and servant2 and here also our homes should be presided over by ,christian principle4 ,on the one hand1 there is obedience due even to the forward2 and on the other1 there is care and kindness--kindness to the souls of our domestics1 as well as in other respects4 ,in our mercenary and utilitarian age1 when human beings are often regarded by hard-minded men1 only as so much living machinery1 and when the chief question concerning them is too often the same as that which is employed concerning the beasts that perish--,how can their flesh and blood be turned to most profitable account8--this relation is often formed or conducted upon principles the reverse of ,christian4 ,the employed are too ready to prey upon the employer1 while he treats them with lordly indifference or with heartless disregard4 ,they are thus often arrayed against each other1 like natural enemies1 instead of being united1 as mutually dependent4 ,but a better day has dawned1 in which the bonds which unite master and servant are better understood4 ,if servants are to act like those who serve the ,lord ,christ1 and to do their duty heartily as unto the ,lord1 masters are to beware lest their dependants be hindered in that service by selfish exaction or inconsiderate unkindness4 ,this relation is not a merely mercenary one--it is degraded when viewed only in that light4 ,it has moral elements mixed up with it now1 as in the days of old1 when ,abraham commanded his household1 as well as his children1 to keep the way of the ,lord4 ,the soul as well as the body1 eternity as well as time1 are to be kept in view in this as in every relation2 and never was that principle outraged without eventual injury to all4 ,it is much to oppress the hireling1 or rob him of his wages2 but it is more to defraud the soul of its due4 ,it is much to occasion pain by haughtiness or harshness2 but it is more to coerce or to sully the conscience2 and the ,bible is not the lamp of that home where souls are thus defrauded4 ,,not ,,at ,,home--,a ,,lie4 ,and who can ever compute the guilt of those who tamper with a servant's truthfulness1 and train her to falsehood1 to screen them from intruders8 ,that form of sin is perhaps now well-nigh banished to the highest ranks1 and to those who mimic their example2 but we can picture no more certain process for defacing all that is pure and lovely in a soul1 than the practice to which we advert4 ,and when such a habit as the utterance of a falsehood1 for any purpose1 is imposed upon a servant1 that servant should resolutely reject it4 ,there may come the storm of the cruel seducer's anger2 but better that than the tempest of the ,judge's wrath4 ,there may come homelessness or poverty2 but better that than a polluted conscience and a shipwrecked faith4 ,stanch ,christian principle never yet inflicted a lasting injury upon any one1 and he need not be afraid for what man can do1 who has learned humbly1 but firmly1 to say1 ,it is a very small thing that ,i should be judged of you1 or of man's judgment4444 ,he that judgeth me is the ,lord4#ab ,,christian ,,homes4 ,nor let us fail to remark1 that it was for the guidance of servants that these memorable words were inspired3 ,exhort servants to be obedient to their masters1 and to please them well in all things2 not answering again2 not purloining1 but showing all good fidelity2 and mark the lofty motive1 that they may adorn the doctrine of ,god our ,saviour in all things4 ,that is surely truest dignity1 and again we say1 ,how would domestic life be sweetened2 how would many of our sins be compelled to hide their head ashamed2 how would the lowly be exalted2 how would the general aspect of society be changed--were our homes ,christian homes in this respect6 ,were masters in their spheres1 and servants in theirs1 alike setting the ,lord before them1 alike serving him1 alike walking in the way of the ,lord--that one maxim steadfastly obeyed1 would revolutionize many a home for good4 ,no petty invasion then of another's rights on the one hand2 no haughty neglect upon the other2--all would be well-ordered1 for all would be according to the mind of ,god4#ac ,,the ,,type ,,of ,,heaven4 ,and with this all before us1 let fathers1 mothers1 and children--let masters and servants1 or the employer and the employed1 decide--,are they realizing their responsibility8 ,are they seeking the eternal good of those with whom they are connected8 ,are they enduring no wicked thing before their eyes1 according to the ,word of the ,eternal8 ,we know that a parent1 for example1 cannot impart grace to his child2 nay1 some of those whom parents most fondly cherish1 may turn at last and rend them4 ,but may not the hope be cherished that the blessing of ,god upon the use of means will turn the hearts of the children to the parents2 or better still1 to the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ8 ,may not parents hope1 that in answer to their prayers and their pains1 ,god will guide the young to ,him whom these parents fear1 to the ,saviour whom they love1 and the heavenly abode of which a ,christian home on earth is the vestibule or type8 ,let parents pray for that result2 let them labour for it2 let them hope for it2 and the ,spirit of ,god may thus honour them to win the young to ,christ4 ,but how terrific the portion of the parent who shall meet his child in the presence of ,god1 when that child has perished through the parent's sin6 ,how blessed1 how double the heaven1 which is the home at once of parent and of child6 ,,the ,,happy ,,home4 ,would men then be happy8 ,let the love of ,christ reign in their homes4 ,let them yield to that heavenly power which alone can quell tumultuous passion1 or charm away the unhallowed effects of sin from scenes which should ever be sacred to holiness and peace4 ,that love _/should_/ well up in the ,christian soul like a stream in the desert1 refreshing all1 and turning sterility into greenness4 ,now1 is that the case8 ,has the truth been lodged in the heart8 ,is the mind of ,god1 the law of the ,lord1 our guide8 ,then the cheerfulness of heavenly peace will glance through our abodes4 ,they may be only a straw-built shed1 or they may be the halls of the princely2 but wherever the love of ,jesus reigns1 there is peace with ,god1 joy in ,god1 and preparation to be for ever with ,him4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,workshop4 ,there is no error in religion more common or more deadly1 than to put the means for the end4 ,so rarely does man regard aright the great object of the soul's pursuit1 that he is ready to repose supinely upon something done1 without ever solemnly inquiring whether he has reached the right result by doing it1 or only been deceived by a semblance and a form4--,we read the ,word of ,god1 and think that it can accomplish what only ,he of whom it tells can achieve4 ,we hold certain doctrines1 and because we hold them firmly1 we hasten to the conclusion that we actually possess the blessings which these doctrines reveal or imply4 ,or finally1 the intellect of some is filled with truth in its loftiest forms2 but there it lies1 exercising no influence upon the life4 ,it quiets the conscience1 but it does not sanctify the soul2 and the anomaly of a spiritual creed side by side with a carnal life is thus frequently found among men--the worst of all heresies1 the most deadly of all deceptions1 a repetition of ,chorazin and ,bethsaida4 ,,the ,,chief ,,end ,,of ,,revelation4 ,now1 it can never be made too plain that revelation1 with all that is glorious in it1 is only a means to an end4 ,even the death of ,christ1 solitary as it stands in its moral grandeur1 among the events of the universe1 was only a means--the end was _/,god's glory in man's holiness_/4 ,to bring a clean thing out of an unclean2 to transmute enmity against ,god into love to him1 or wounds and bruises and noisome sores into the beauty of holiness--behold the grand result aimed at alike in the life and the death of the ,son of ,god4 ,by dying he did accomplish other results1 and the influence of that death is felt to the utmost verge of creation1 as we know it is felt among the angels on high4 ,but still it is the _/grand result_/ we should ever aim at1 and that is1 deliverance from sin in its condemnation1 its pollution1 and its power3 ,this is the will of ,god1 even our holiness4 ,,the ,,christian ,,workman4 ,now1 this simple truth may serve as a guide or an ally in every sphere of life1 but specially so in that sphere which we are now to contemplate1 or the ,bible in the ,workshop4 ,and an incident recorded in the ,christian ,scriptures will at once shed light upon the subject4 ,on more than one occasion the apostle ,paul had to work with his hands to earn his daily bread4#ad ,though the care of all the churches was upon him2 though the enmity of the prejudiced1 and the persecution of those who had the power1 tried to bear him down1 he was yet amid it all1 a man of handicraft and hard labour--he could sit down with ,aquila in his workshop1 and there engage in manual labour for his livelihood1 with all the zeal of his noble and indomitable nature4 ,he at least was not one of those who think that idleness and indolence can dignify man's position4 ,he was not one of those who would deem themselves degraded by being useful4 ,he knew that man is born under a decree to work4 ,he therefore wrought2 and just as this man of ,god1 when it was his duty1 put forth all the powers of his intellect and soul in reasoning before ,festus1 or ,felix1 or ,king ,agrippa1 did he put forth the powers of his body in making tents in the workshop of his friend at ,corinth4 ,enough for ,paul1 if he was where the ,lord wished him to be1 or engaged in what the ,lord gave him to do2 and without one feeling either of degradation or of discontent1 he bore the toils of the body as well as exerted the activities of the mind2 he both taught and practised the lesson1 ,if any man will not work1 neither shall he eat4 ,he felt that every man must be a worker1 either with mind1 or body1 or both4 ,the last was his alternative2 and we know that in some cases the night was added to the day1 ere he could complete his allotted task4 ,sinew1 and muscle1 and bone1 in ,paul's case1 were dedicated to the service of ,god1 as well as a mental power which could not be gainsaid1 except by the bigot's ever ready argument--the dungeon1 the chain1 or death4 ,a ,,workshop-- ,with this high model in view1 then1 let us now enter a workshop1 and accost some of those who are there4 ,our object is to show how the ,bible should preside among them1 to protect the character from pollution--the soul from peril4 ,remembering that ,christian worth does not depend on lofty birth or brilliant powers1 but on a heart right with ,god1 and his long-lost image restored to the soul1 consider how that image may become more and more vivid1 if it be indeed stamped on us by the ,spirit4 ,,its ,,occupants4 ,and1 first1 not a few of those with whom we associate in the workshop1 are snares to the soul of the very direst kind4 ,we find that infidelity which is often the result of utter ignorance1 there rampant and rife4 ,we often see vice rioting in the life1 and shutting the heart against the truth4 ,a soul in which religion is felt and loved1 will hear what it deems sacred blasphemed1 and in self-defence1 it may be constrained to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints4 ,some of those who are thus tried can tell of the mental anguish to which they are exposed--of the snares which are laid for them on the right hand and on the left--the heroism which is needed to contend1 perhaps single-handed1 against a crowd of gainsayers1 who know of no pleasure but the pleasures of sin1 or care for no truth but such as relates to gross and material things4 ,as the body is oppressed and dies amid mephitic vapours1 the soul grows sick and like to die amid scenes like these4 ,it has to maintain a constant struggle for existence1 as the natives of some portions of ,india maintain a constant warfare with the inhabitants of the jungle--the boa1 the lion1 or the tiger4 ,men long neglected by those who should have consulted for their better interests2 men long viewed as only so much animal machinery1 to be used as long as it can drudge1 and then heartlessly cast aside2 men long treated as if they had neither souls to save1 nor an eternity to provide for1 have too often sunk so far that they threaten to take revenge upon society1 by trampling out every vestige of truth that can be found in the places of their exhaustion and toil4 ,now1 amid perils like these1 surely the man who cares for his soul has just the more need to cleave close to the only power which can give him the victory--and that power is ,christ4 ,every ungodly gainsayer should be to that man an object of pity1 like that of the ,redeemer to our fallen world4 ,every blasphemer1 every infidel1 every man who has given himself up to the slavery of passion1 and dethroned at once his reason and his ,god1 should be an object of tender compassion to the soul of the ,christian beside him4 ,while sporting with their own ruin1 such men should be like another1 and another1 and another call to all who know the truth1 to show by their life at least1 what a ,christian1 or what ,christianity is--how true it is that ,we can make our lives sublime1 ,and departing1 leave behind us ,footprints on the sands of time2 and the following counsels may help some earnest spirit in that arduous work4 ,,the ,,sabbath-,,day4 ,i499#e ,the most godly occupant of a workshop will be the least surprised to hear us say1 ,next to the ,bible1 prize the ,sabbath-day1 and let no man rob you of its sacred rest4 ,you will thus find it a tower of strength to the soul4 ,while we look around us1 we everywhere see the blessed results of the ,sabbath rest when properly employed1 the woeful consequences of its sacred hours encroached on1 whether by the drudgery of toil or the debasement of licentiousness4 ,see that home where domestic comfort dwells1 where well-ordered decorum reigns1 and where the parent and the child have alike their part assigned to them from day to day4 ,be sure that the ,sabbath is there observed2 the very peace which prevails around you in that abode1 is a portion of the ,sabbath itself spread over the week4#ae ,but see that other home where squalid wretchedness1 perhaps unholy riot1 reigns4 ,see children neglected1 see character lost1 see poverty bringing woe in its train--a woe which is gradually rising like an ingulfing99#f tide upon the inmates1 till at last they are steeped to the lip in misery4 ,see a wife worse than widowed amid the brutalities of that home2 or1 more degrading still1 see her uniting with her guilty partner in godless revelry1 till1 like the meeting of fires1 the two together waste and consume every vestige of what is pure1 and lovely1 and of good report4 ,now1 while you gaze upon that scene1 be sure that the sacred hours of the ,sabbath are disallowed99#g there2 they are squandered in licentiousness1 and perverted into the means of ruin4 ,in brief1 the ,sabbath is there trodden under foot4 ,the ungodliness of the week grows deeper and darker on the ,lord's own day1 because the abuse of the best things turns them into the worst2 and accumulated crime1 like a swollen river1 sweeps the inmates at last1 some to prison1 some to an hospital1 some to exile1 some to death4 ,,galileo',s ,,firmness4 ,and these1 and a thousand similar cases1 warn us in the workshop to prize the day of rest4 ,it frees the sons and daughters of toil for a little from the burdens of earth4 ,it braces their mind for the struggle with sin throughout the week4 ,it enables them to clothe themselves with the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left4 ,it affords an opportunity for anchoring the soul to the ,rock of ,ages4 ,if employed as it ought to be1 that day1 which is not ours1 but the ,lord's1 who claims a seventh portion of our time as peculiarly his own1 will arm the mind for meekly but resolutely putting away at once the wiles and the assaults of the godless4 ,i know in whom ,i have believed1 may be the reply of the godly artizan to all the gainsayers2 and he may thus proceed upon his way as a believer1 as unmoved either by the scorn or the assault of the infidel or the licentious1 as ,galileo was unshaken amid all the persecutions of popery1 when he told the world the true theory of the skies4 ,in a word1 with the ,bible open before us1 and the mind of ,god for our standard there1 he is at once the strongest and the happiest ,christian who has best learned to practise what ,john taught by his example1 ,i was in the ,spirit on the ,lord's day4 ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,the ,,outcast4 ,now1 we put that counsel first1 because unless it be religiously acted on1 all else will be vain4 ,at the same time1 we are now in circumstances for putting this matter to a practical proof upon a large scale4 ,in various cities of the empire1 there are churches formed well-nigh exclusively of those who1 a few years ago1 had no man who cared for their souls1 and who had not learned to care for themselves4 ,they were therefore1 familiar with sin4 ,it was their sport1 or rather their daily work1 to do mischief4 ,some of them were at once corrupt and corrupting4 ,but out of these very souls there have been formed the goodly spectacle of earnest worshippers1 counted by hundreds1 and characterized by all the aspects of devoutness4 ,and1 what is it that has achieved these results8 ,how does it happen that instead of the thorn the fir-tree has come up2 instead of the brier1 the myrtle8 and how does the desert blossom as the rose8 ,who will hesitate to reply1 that had it not been for the ,sabbath1 with all that is blessed and all that is hallowing in its exercises1 such effects could never have been produced8 ,from day to day1 nay1 from hour to hour1 pains and prayer were needed4 ,from hour to hour1 the men of faith who put their hands to that work1 had to depend on the blessing which comes from ,god only4 ,but these blessings came in rich abundance on the ,lord's own day2 and now it can be said of this man and that man1 formerly an outcast from the decencies of life1 that he is born of the ,spirit1 clothed and in his right mind1 by the ,spirit's blessing on his truth proclaimed4 ,in the light of eternity1 such men are ennobled4 ,,true ,,nobility4 ,now1 what raised them from their degradation1 is yet more able to keep us from falling2 and sure we are1 that were there but one man in a workshop who knew how to prize and profit by the ,lord's day1 he could1 single-handed1 keep his ground at once against taunts1 against malice1 and against all persecution4 ,on that day our ,god leads us1 if we will let him1 into his pavilion2 ,he teaches us where to hide from the strife of tongues1 and it is thus that true nobility is imparted even to him ,who ploughs with pain his native lea1 ,and reaps the labour of his hands4 ,,ii4 ,where it is our daily business to earn our bread by the sweat of our brows in the workshop1 it should be one of our first and most resolute endeavours1 to make sure that the truth which ,jesus brought from heaven to earth is deeply planted in our hearts and souls4--,there are tender plants which thrive and bloom1 or bear luxuriant fruit1 if sheltered well1 but which wither and die if exposed to the biting blast for a night2 and there is a parallel to that in religion4 ,in kindly or in genial exposures it may thrive1 and put forth its blossoms or bear fruit2 but in many a workshop it is exposed to the rudest blasts that blow4 ,,infidelity-- ,one would try to crush it2 he hates it because it will not let him sin4 ,like that profligate man who wished ,keith's ,evidences from ,prophecy destroyed1 because they were so convincing2 many cry1 ,away with the ,word of ,god1 for the same reason that the ,jews cried1 ,away1 away with the ,son of ,god--because it rebukes their iniquity4 ,,its ,,root4 ,and another wishes the ,word of ,god put down1 because he remembers its effects upon his soul in earlier years1 when a godly parent tried to impress it on the conscience and the heart4 ,he has now cast these instructions behind his back4 ,he has learned to sin with a high hand2 and as the sight or the sounds of the truth re-awaken his old concern1 he is eager to drive it from his presence4 ,the very sight is a sting to his conscience4 ,a single clause may be like a death-knell1 and that man hates it with a perfect hatred4 ,that is the root of much of the infidelity which is now so rife--not the want of proof1 but the evil heart of unbelief2 not mere ignorance1 but the preference of sin to holiness4 ,or a third among our fellow-workmen may be one who has known some signal hypocrite4 ,that pretender sought1 perhaps1 to promote some sinister object by a religious profession4 ,perhaps he prayed2 perhaps he was a reprover of other men's sins2 perhaps he was an eager advocate for sound doctrine1 and would endure no departure from it--yet1 after all1 he may be unmasked as a mere pretender4 ,it may be discovered at length that he was all the while living in sin1 concealed1 but long continued1 such as to indicate that his religion was a pretence1 and his strictness that of a ,pharisee4 ,now1 having discovered the hollowness of that man's pretensions1 some gladly rush to the conclusion that all religion is a pretence2 they greedily grasp at the conviction1 because it favours their own licentiousness1 that there is none righteous1 no1 not one4 ,religion in every form is therefore regarded as an offence1 or discarded as an imposture4 ,or1 in the workshop beside us1 we may find some other man who affects to be scientific4 ,he knows a little of ,geology1 and is able to overthrow ,moses and the ,bible4 ,he is acquainted with the secrets of ,chronology1 and thinks that there are far older histories--older by many thousands of years--than the records of ,scripture pretend to be4 ,or that man has heard a little of ,ethnography1 and because he is ignorant1 he thinks it can be proved that all the dwellers on the earth did not spring from ,adam and ,eve4 ,or perhaps his learning takes the direction of tracing the ,vestiges of ,creation1 and he concludes that man can create--generally1 that creatures can make each other1 and that ,god is therefore unnecessary4 ,these1 and similar pretensions of science1 falsely so called1 may have taken hold of some minds around us1 and amid the multitude of such assailants1 who are bold1 as streams are brawling1 in proportion to their shallowness1 it may not be always easy to be steadfast and unmoveable4 ,but to render us unmoveable--to arm us against such assailants --nothing will suffice1 till ,christ dwell in our hearts by faith2 till his truth be _/our property_/2 till the ,saviour be a ,saviour1 and pardon a pardon1 _/to us_/4 ,a religion which has merely been handed down to us by our fathers1 will not stand the rude shock of such assaults as have been named4 ,we need to be rooted and grounded in the truth4 ,we require a better and a deeper teaching than man's4 ,it must be a fixed conviction in our soul1 that religion does not consist in observing mere forms or seasons1 however devoutly4 ,christ must dwell in the heart1 just as the blood must be in the body1 and circulate there as a vitalizing power4 ,,the ,,panoply4 ,on this subject we cannot be too urgent4 ,while there is absolutely no panoply but truth1 our convictions need to be reinforced by the feeling1 that it is not toil that degrades man2 it is not hard labour that ranks him among the lower orders2 it is sin4 ,adam1 in innocence1 had to work1 and that did not degrade him4 ,but he sinned1 and that laid him in the miry clay4 ,paul the apostle had to work1 and felt no dishonour in it4 ,the only dishonour which he knew1 was rebellion against ,god2 and if we would resist the temptations which assail us from without or from within1 we need to make sure that we are on the ,lord's side2 that his truth is in our hearts2 that it keeps watch in our souls1 ready to sound an alarm1 and summon us to action against every enemy4 ,without that1 surrounded as we are in the workshop with clouds of enemies1 we shall be like the willow wand before the blast1 and driven of the wind and tossed2 but with the grace of ,god in the soul1 we may be strong in the ,lord and the power of his might2 we may beat back our assailants--some have won them to their cause4 ,no power but truth1 we repeat1 will ever make us steadfast4 ,some invest our cottage homes with the attractions of poetry1 and tell that ,fearless there the lowly sleep1 ,as the bird beneath their eaves4 ,but it is not poetic embellishments--it is nothing factitious in man's lot--it is the simple truth of ,god uniting to ,christ1 that elevates or ennobles the soul4 ,,baptismal ,,superstition4 ,there are some dark-souled tribes in ,africa1 whose whole religion consists in charms and incantations4 ,by means which we need not tarry to describe1 they try to ward off what they reckon evil1 or to obtain what they reckon good4 ,now1 strange as it may appear1 that folly is native to the mind of man4 ,the very same tendency which makes a degraded savage trust to a charm1 makes some who are not savages trust to rites1 and ceremonies1 and forms4 ,one man concludes that he and his children are born again1 or made the children of ,god1 by the mere fact that they were baptized--that is1 by a ceremony4 ,another thinks that his soul is right1 because he worships among ,christians4 ,a third concludes that all is well1 because the sacrament of the ,supper has been administered to him2 that rite is to many a soul what the extreme unction of popery is--a charm1 an incantation1 and nothing more4 ,now1 while that is the only form of religion in man's soul1 he will prove the ready victim of the snares and entanglements of the workshop4 ,if the truth of ,god be not rooted in the heart1 no man can stand4 ,we repeat it1 and repeat it--there is only one power that can either make us steadfast or keep us so--the grace of ,god in truth2 and the man who confides in aught else for conquest1 is already tottering to his fall4 ,,our ,,allies4 ,observe1 however1 we disown no right ally in this holy warfare4 ,all knowledge that deserves the name--science as far as it can be acquired--should be acquired by every occupant of the workshop1 and some memorable examples of success in its culture could be named4 ,these1 and all that can either strengthen or expand the mind1 should be cultivated to the uttermost of our power2 but with all these1 the mind may become an easy prey to baseless delusions1 unless the wisdom which comes from above be our guide4 ,while we hold our convictions firmly1 we must hold them as ,god's truth1 and in ,god's strength1 or they will soon be wrung from our grasp4 ,to be self-reliant is in some respects a duty which we owe to ourselves2 but yet to trust to our own resources1 our own wisdom or strength1 is the high way to shame and confusion at the last4 ,we are prepared to resist and to triumph only when we have on the whole armour of ,god4 ,if we try to realize a ,saviour's love1 we have a sure defence2 but whatever would withdraw us from that holy influence1 whether it be the deceitful heart within1 or an ensnaring world without1 is just like the smoke from the abyss--it is loaded with darkness and death to the soul4 ,,human ,,devices4 ,there is a canoe floating lazily on the waters of the ,st4 ,lawrence4 ,all is bright on either side2 and forests which nothing but the wild beast or the tempest has disturbed for centuries1 wave in the plenitude of summer richness4 ,in that canoe there is a boatman asleep1 and the gentle gliding of his little craft is fitted rather to rock than to rouse him4 ,gradually1 however1 the river flows more rapidly4 ,the boat1 with its sleeping cargo1 feels the suction1 and now rushes with increasing velocity along4 ,its agitation at length rouses the sleeper1 but it is too late4 ,his skiff feels the resistless power of the current2 and1 amid wild gesticulations1 he plunges into an abyss where his very fragments are destroyed4 ,and similar results are seen in the moral world1 when men permit themselves to be drawn within the suction of that current which is sweeping so many down to ruin for ever4 ,,secularism4 ,were it needful further to enforce this subject1 we might refer to the ever-varying forms of delusion which heady and selfish men often obtrude on the notice of their fellow-workmen4 ,even in the course of a single generation we may count scheme after scheme--,utopian reforms--charters--new distributions of property or power--all designed to enlist men's sympathies in favour of some dream-like project1 only to plunge its abettors into a deeper abyss than before4 ,the most recent of these assumes the name of _/,secularism_/4 ,it has for its object the abolition of ,christianity1 and all that relates to the soul4 ,one of its leading maxims is1 ,the precedence of the duties of this life over those pertaining to another world2 and1 by the advocacy of such opinions1 the system and its supporters adapt themselves to all that is low and grovelling in the fallen soul4 ,they beguile the unwary1 and make an easy conquest of those who have no religion but that of their country or their fathers4 ,or another dogma of the system is1 that the atonement of ,christ is unsatisfactory as a scheme1 and immoral as an example2 and by such tenets men would tear up the foundation on which the hopes of mortality repose3 they proudly but blindly sport with their own ruin1 and glory in lowering themselves to the level of the beasts which perish4 ,,the ,,heavenly ,,antidote4 ,now1 against such satanic schemes1 there is no safeguard but one--the truth as it is in ,jesus1 planted in the heart by his ,spirit1 and tended there by his grace4 ,our religion1 or what we call religion1 will perish like flax before the flame1 when such deceivers assail1 unless we have felt the truth in its power1 and know1 in spite of all opposition1 that it _/can_/ guide1 _/can_/ purify1 _/can_/ bless the soul4 ,what more congenial to man than to be told that he need not care much about his soul8 ,what can throw open the door for indulgence so widely as to be assured that we need not prepare for hereafter--that earth is all8 ,what can more perfectly pamper the selfishness of man than to be told that spiritual dependence may lead to material destruction8 ,hence the danger of such bold blasphemies4 ,they find an ally1 and often a ready welcome1 in the heart of man2 and hence also the necessity of getting hold and keeping hold of the heavenly antidote to all such delusions4 ,that antidote is the truth--the truth of ,god felt in the heart1 and guiding the life2 and with that in our possession1 we repeat _/in our possession_/1 we may humbly take up the great ,reformer's eulogy1 and say1 ,i will not fear the face of man4 ,god and man1 this world and the next1 are alike provided for in the ,word2 and when we learn to welcome all ,god's revelation1 we shall be guided into every good and holy way4 ,,the ,,cowardice ,,of ,,sin4 ,,iii4 ,a third counsel for our guidance in the workshop is1 briefly --,be consistent4 ,never forget that the man who tries to be a ,christian to-day1 and complies with the enticements of sinners to-morrow1 is one who is easily despised4 ,the ungodly are lynx-eyed to mark his inconsistency1 and prompt enough to pour contempt upon him4 ,a single rash act1 a single rash word1 may inflict a wound upon the soul1 or a blemish upon the character1 from which it will not easily recover2 nay1 like a moral palsy1 it may strike us with weakness and timidity for life4 ,if we would be ,christians at all1 we must be ,christians always4 ,then by the grace of ,god we are safe1 and it would be pleasant to tell of some who have thus resisted the tide of iniquity which broke against them in the workshop1 or silenced the abundance of abuse4--,the sinner is1 by a necessary law1 a coward4 ,he fears ,god1 though he will not own it2 he fears conscience1 and tries to trample it out as a dangerous spark2 he fears perdition1 though he seems to be stout against it2 and1 moreover1 he fears a humble1 living1 consistent ,christian1 though he pretends only to despise him4 ,the sinner1 we repeat1 is a coward1 by a necessary law4 ,terror is part of the wages of sin2 and though sinners in crowds be courageous1 _/alone_/ they are timid and discomposed4 ,they shrink from the glance of a good man's eye2 in their secret heart they fear him with a fear which in some cases passes into love4 ,a ,,moral ,,pestilence4 ,now1 the knowledge of that should make the believer bold and firm4 ,by consistency he will subdue--he may be the means of winning some from the error of their ways4 ,he will generally find some ,aquila with whom to associate as he works4 ,his ,god will raise up some like-minded companion with whom he can take sweet counsel2 and if that believer will seek to keep alive in his memory1 in the workshop and everywhere1 the conviction1 that there is only one really formidable thing in all ,god's world1 _/that is sin_/1 he will be made more than a conqueror4 ,swayed by that deep conviction1 the occupant of the workshop may often be vexed1 as ,lot was in ,sodom2 but1 appealing to the ,wonderful1 the ,counsellor1 strength will be supplied according to his day1 while conscience is kept unsullied and at peace4 ,the squalid victim of sin will be a beacon4 ,the bold blasphemer will be an object of utmost pity4 ,the ,secularist1 and all who give earth precedence to heaven1 or man to ,god1 or sin to holiness1 will be shunned as a moral pestilence2 and the felt necessity of being much at the fountain1 amid all these sources of contamination1 may turn the workshop into a ,bethel4 ,we could tell of more than one instance in which that has been the case4 ,,analogies4 ,,iv4 ,as it is not our object to enter into details1 but mainly to submit such general suggestions as ,christian wisdom may enable men to apply as occasion requires1 we need scarcely say--,at once1 and resolutely1 put away all the sinful compliances which may be common in the business which you pursue4 ,there are usages1 there are expressions1 there are pretexts in many departments which pure principle would at once put down1 and let the workman of integrity disown such things4 ,the commonness of a sin only makes it worse2 and instead of pleading that as a reason for compliance1 it is1 in truth1 a reason for our instant recoil4 ,and never take up the words which are common on the lips of some1 that they may cover their iniquity1 although the veil be thin3 ,an honest man cannot live now--that is1 we must employ finesse1 or fraud1 in order to obtain a livelihood1 or clear our way through the world4 ,such a statement is a slander against the truth2 it is dishonouring to the ,god of truth1 and the very reverse of it is true4 ,but write it deep upon the conscience1 that ,better is a dinner of herbs where love is1 than a stalled ox and strife1 and be assured that godliness has the promise of the life that now is1 as well as of that which is to come4 ,be poor1 but be not unprincipled4 ,sit down to very humble fare1 rather than harbour an angry conscience4 ,when sinners entice you1 do not consent1 whatever be the bribe4 ,holding fast your integrity1 in the strength of your ,god1 he will redeem his promise1 ,bread shall be provided1 and water made sure1 and ,better is the little that a good man hath1 than the riches of many wicked4 ,would you struggle for your life were you suddenly to fall into a stream or the sea8 ,you would3 then will you calmly sink to rise no more for ever1 as regards the soul8 ,would you repel the attack of a robber were he to invade the midnight silence of your home8 ,you would3 then with equal earnestness1 but in almighty strength1 repel the invader--the man that would be the assassin of your soul4 ,would you refuse to let the oppressor plant his foot on the happy island of your home8 ,you would hasten1 ,i believe1 to sweep him from our borders4 ,then1 with equal heroism1 defend the freedom which the ,son of ,god bestows--freedom from the bondage of sin1 from its pollution and its curse4 ,,tokens ,,for ,,good4 ,nor should it be forgotten for the encouragement of the sons of toil1 that there is in our day a gradual approximation of the classes of society4 ,the spreading of education1 and the attempts of one class to benefit another1 are bringing men more closely together1 to link them1 as we have seen1 in more brotherly concord4 ,there may still be the scowl of defiance from the lawless1 and plots on the part of the disaffected1 while on the other hand1 there are still some remains of a class fast verging to extinction1 who would doom the people to hopeless ignorance and toil4 ,but these are nearly obsolete notions1 and men are more cordially walking together now1 like those who are agreed4 ,in the brief space of a quarter of a century1 the hopes of philanthropists once deemed ,utopian1 have been turned into realities2 and while the doctrine of ,christ is thus adorned1 men's sorrows are soothed1 their souls are blessed4 ,many other counsels might be added to those now advanced4 ,we might say--,in the workshop avoid all high debate4 ,it never leads to edification2 it often occasions the loss both of our temper and our cause4 ,be always ready to give to every one that asks it1 a reason of the hope that is in you1 with meekness and fear4 ,be as ready to protest against all that is hostile to the soul and the happiness of man4 ,but contention about religion is often its death2 and we would rather say1 ,hold in your mouth as with a bridle when the wicked are before you4 ,let _/the life_/ argue for the ,saviour and his cause1 far more than the lip4 ,in that way1 men will be compelled to take knowledge of you that you have been with ,jesus4 ,the life of a ,christian is always the most conclusive argument and the most solemn appeal4 ,study to be quiet1 and to do your own business1 and to work with your own hands1 and let the contentious bite and devour1 without retaliation from you4 ,we might farther say--,be diligent4 ,above all1 be diligent for ,christ4 ,it is thus that his people learn to put on armour of proof against all temptation4 ,they redeem the time4 ,they try to do all in the name of ,christ1 and he becomes like walls and bulwarks round about them4 ,if you will learn to be a miser of moments1 you may grow rich for eternity4 ,,the ,,tempter ,a ,,reptile4 ,or we might say--,when temptations come1 remember that ere the first tempter succeeded1 he had to become a reptile2 and he that would tempt you is by that act a degraded being4 ,he is to be shunned as an offence2 as debased himself1 and therefore anxious to debase4 ,such men may sell their souls for woe1 but surely in vain is the snare set in the sight of any bird-- will you follow the example of a self-destroyer8 ,or we might add--,be not deceived by any of the pretexts which cunning men adopt to beguile and ensnare4 ,on the one hand1 they flatter _/the working_/ classes1 as if all were idle except the inmates of the workshop2 but you know that it is not so4 ,what ,paul said to the ,colossians concerning his own doings1 is true of many still3 ,i toil1 agonizing1 he said1 with the energy of ,christ4 ,on the other hand1 men speak of the lower orders as if _/you who toil_/ were they4 ,but the really low are the men who live in idleness and sin4 ,it is not toil1 it is guilt that lowers or degrades us2 and that conviction should be rooted in all our minds4 ,,illustrations4 ,but enough4 ,let the men of handicraft and hard labour cling close to the ,bible1 for it alone can ennoble and purify4 ,before its light1 let all grow pale2 before its wisdom1 let all appear foolish4--,as we approach the mighty ,alps1 other objects begin to seem small or diminutive2 and after our eyes have been familiarized with those majestic masses1 what formerly appeared grand seems now reduced to littleness4--,let it be so in the moral world4 ,before the majestic truth of ,god1 let every human being do obeisance1 like the sheaves of his brothers to the sheaf of ,joseph2 and when we are like-minded with our ,god1 we shall be strong in his strength1 and happy with his peace4 ,we cannot be always in his house--our daily toils forbid it2 but we should be always in his ,spirit2 and that is light1 that is strength1 that is a passport for man to glory4 ,upon a subject so full of interest as the moral condition and prospects of those who spend their days in workshops1 we should not perhaps be contented with merely announcing general rules1 however sound or scriptural they may be4 ,it is commonly supposed that the humble men who are so employed are cut off from the nobler outlets for philanthropy1 or from those higher walks in which some move and do great deeds before the world's view4 ,but no mistake can be more unfounded4 ,the mighty ,maker of heaven and earth has debarred no man from doing good1 if man himself be inclined2 and some of the noblest benefactors of our land or race1 have been found among the very classes too commonly supposed to be doomed only to toil4 ,we waive all reference to those who1 by their inventions1 even while engaged in manual labour1 have extended the resources of our empire1 and added to the riches of our globe4 ,we pass by those who have risen from among the sons of handicraft to take rank among our lawgivers1 our nobles1 and other signalized men4 ,we point to only two examples not less illustrious as benefactors than they were humble in their sphere4 ,,harlan ,,page4 ,,harlan ,,page was born at ,coventry1 in ,connecticut1 in the year #agia1 and was taught by his father the trade of a house-joiner4 ,he received a good common education4 ,for twenty years and more he lived without much concern regarding his soul1 but in the year #ahac1 the one thing needful really became an object of earnest pursuit4 ,such was his anxiety and distress on account of sin1 that he had frequently to retire from his work to pray4 ,on journeys he often felt constrained to withdraw to some thicket for a similar purpose2 and on one occasion1 after he had begun to teach a school1 his sense of his lost condition as a sinner became so intense1 that he felt that he could not again leave the throne of grace till the controversy with his ,maker was closed4 ,there1 in the darkness of midnight1 and under the guidance1 none can doubt1 of the ,holy ,spirit1 he consecrated himself to the ,redeemer1 not merely in the confidence of pardon and acceptance1 but with the determination to live and labour to promote ,his glory in the salvation of the perishing4 ,when ,i first obtained hope1 he said on his dying bed1 ,i felt that ,i must labour for souls4 ,i prayed1 year after year1 that ,god would make me the means of saving some4 ,,behold ,,he ,,prayeth4 ,and his prayer was signally answered4 ,never did ,page lose an opportunity of holding up the lamp to souls4 ,by letters1 by conversation1 by tracts1 by prayers1 by appeals and warnings1 as well as by a holy and an earnest example1 did he try to reclaim the wandering or edify the believer4 ,in factories1 in schools1 and elsewhere1 did this mechanic labour1 and only the mighty power of grace can explain how one so humble could achieve so much3 his life is a speaking comment on the words1 ,god hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise2 and ,god hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty4 ,and base things of the world1 and things which are despised1 hath ,god chosen1 yea1 and things which are not1 to bring to nought things that are4 ,our faith in eternal realities is weak1 he cried1 and our sense of duty faint1 while we neglect the salvation of our fellow-beings4 ,let us awake to duty1 and while we have a tongue or pen1 devote them to the service of the ,most ,high1 not in our own strength1 but with strong faith and confidence in him4 ,,love ,,to ,,souls4 ,now1 the record of this man's life shows that no day was allowed to pass without something done for the good of others' souls4 ,what ,page mainly aimed at was the conversion of the unconverted2 and the extent to which he was honoured may be viewed as at once an encouragement and a reproof4 ,his own soul was all aglow when he heard of one after another brought to the ,saviour4 ,while he wept over men's impenitence1 he exulted when he heard they had welcomed the call4 ,he tried to win the young and warn the old1 and his pleadings with sinners were sometimes most pathetic4 ,shall neither man nor ,god1 he said to one1 hear from your lips1 ',o my sins1 my sins1 ,i fear they will ruin my soul for ever8' ,shall no prayer1 ',god1 be merciful to me a sinner1' break from your heart8 ,you are now in an awful crisis1 he said to another4 ,your eternal all may depend on the course you take4 ,the ,lord has taught you by his ,spirit that you are a wretched1 perishing sinner4 ,you feel that you have no preparation for heaven1 and see nothing before you but eternal woe4 ,o1 my friend1 _/there is a refuge_/4 ,the ,lord ,jesus invites1 in melting strains1 ',look to me1 and live2 come unto me1 and find rest6' ,o go to ,him _/now_/1 as you value your precious1 your immortal soul4 ,a ,,spiritual ,,harvest4 ,at other times ,page was brief and sententious1 but solemn4 ,seeing four youths1 for example1 on one occasion employed in some thoughtless course1 he accosted them1 and drove this laconic warning like a nail into their conscience1 ,prepare to meet thy ,god6--and it was blessed4 ,in a word1 he sowed beside all waters1 and the increase was proportioned to his faith4 ,all this took place amid bodily weakness and daily toil1 insomuch that his ailments obliged him at last to seek a change of occupation1 and he for some time taught a school during the winter seasons4 ,one hundred and ninety-five pupils passed through the hands of ,page in that character4 ,the history of seventy of them is unknown2 but of the remaining one hundred and twenty-five1 eighty-four are thought to have given evidence of conversion1 and six became preachers of the gospel4 ,in another place1 fifty-eight were supposed to have been brought to ,christ by his instrumentality4 ,such was the blessing which made him and others rich and added no sorrow4 ,nor need we wonder4 ,so intense was the ardour of ,page in dealing with souls1 that he has been known even in sleep to suppose that he was expostulating with them1 and to awake in tears of earnestness and pain4 ,knowing that every child of the fallen ,adam must either be born again1 or never see ,god1 he made that the burden of all his endeavours1 his prayers1 his struggles1 and tears4 ,to labour for that became a portion of his very being2 and he died as he had lived1 beckoning all around him to follow him to be for ever with the ,lord4 ,here1 then1 is a man in humble life1 without any adventitious aid1 without any learning1 for many years the occupant of a workshop1 yet living1 labouring1 dying to win souls to ,christ4 ,he was1 indeed1 a sweet savour of ,christ wherever he went2 and should not the example of ,harlan ,page summon many in his own sphere to go and do likewise8 ,does it not prove1 that if we have the grace of ,god in our heart1 it is not rank1 or wealth1 or learning1 or power1 but a willing mind1 and consecration to ,christ1 his cause and glory1 that are required to accomplish great things8 ,let our artizans imbibe the spirit of ,page1 and then they may be honoured as he was2 it may be inscribed upon their tombstones as it was upon his1 ,he ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears4 ,,john ,,pounds4 ,,john ,,pounds was another benefactor to society who deserves to be held in perpetual remembrance4 ,he was born at ,portsmouth in the year #agff4 ,by the fracture of a limb1 he was forced to change his employment as a shipwright for that of a shoemaker1 or rather shoe-mender1 for he never rose to the rank of a maker1 and as the occupant of a weather-boarded tenement in his native town1 ,john divided his time between his awls and deeds of active benevolence4 ,a cripple himself by his accident1 he had also the charge of a decrepit nephew2 and the boy for some time divided the attention of ,pounds with a number of tame birds which he kept from affection or for amusement4 ,by exercising his ingenuity and benevolence at once1 he succeeded in restoring some degree of soundness to his nephew3 he then undertook to teach him to read2 and that led him to seek some companion for his ward and pupil1 under the wise impression that the one would stimulate the other1 and the progress of both be promoted4 ,his pupils gradually increased in number3 his love of teaching grew upon him1 and the work soon knew no limits but those of ,john's very humble abode4 ,it was about six feet wide by eighteen in length2 and in that apartment did ,pounds1 surrounded by his scholars1 ply his double avocation of cobler and schoolmaster4 ,the progress of the scholars was as diverse as the employments of the master2 but he bore all with gladness4 ,he had his eye upon each outcast in the group1 and by his expertness he showed that he was a born teacher--his gift lay in training4 ,a ,,lowly ,,philanthropist4 ,as ,pounds rose in popularity1 the applications for admission to his seminary increased2 and with a remarkable but wise instinct1 he selected the little blackguards in preference to others1 that he might enjoy the pleasure of breaking them in like the wild ass's colt4 ,some he would allure to his school by such poor bribes as he could command2 and though his labours were unrequited1 though he had not the means of purchasing school-books1 but taught the alphabet from handbills and fragments of old volumes1 yet some hundreds of persons owed all the learning they ever acquired to this facetious1 devoted1 and humble philanthropist4 ,he helped to keep down the calendar of crime1 and sent not a few into life possessed of acquirements sufficient to impart respectability in their sphere1 who1 had it not been for ,john ,pounds1 the founder of ,ragged ,schools1 might have become the pests or the plunderers of society4 ,,man',s ,,ruin ,,and ,,rise4 ,such1 then1 is another instance of philanthropy1 in one of the humblest of mankind4 ,after this1 why wait for some costly apparatus for doing good8 ,why delay the attempt to make the world better1 however humble our sphere may be1 when we see one so lowly1 yet so honoured--so poor1 yet making so many others rich8 ,nay1 with the grace of ,god in the heart1 and love to souls as its invariable attendant1 be it the felt duty1 the privilege1 the resolute vow of all1 even in the workshop1 to seek to convert some sinner from the error of his ways1 and thereby hide a multitude of sins4--,as one wanders over the ,seven ,hills of ,rome1 he may often pick up a marble fragment of a frieze1 a portion of a capital1 a volute1 or a triglyph1 telling of the grandeur which once was there1 when the palace of the ,csars crowned more than one of the hills1 and the ,golden ,house of ,nero formed the glory of the whole4 ,and1 in like manner1 amid the ruins and the _/debris_/ of our fallen nature1 we sometimes find what reminds us of its primal glory1 and of the depth to which it has fallen2 and yet assuring us1 that fallen though it be1 it may not have fallen for ever4 ,benefactors to humanity1 like ,harlan ,page and ,john ,pounds1 occupy that rank among men4 ,,serving ,,the ,,lord4 ,there is no weariness to him who works for ,christ3 he is willing to spend and be spent4 ,no sullen drudgery is his1 as if work were only a doom--nay1 rather cheerful work from a glad1 emancipated spirit1 and joy in ,god through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,that sweetens toil2 that braces the arm2 that nerves man's spirit for all that can ever come2 and even his daily work1 as a husbandman1 or an artizan1 is thus spiritualized into a service to his ,god4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,market-,,place4 ,let not the design of these chapters be forgotten4 ,there are few opinions more prevalent among men1 than that religion is to be attended to only at certain places or on set occasions4 ,while some entirely neglect it1 and live from day to day without one solemn thought of ,god or the soul1 others would attend to it only at fixed seasons1 or when established usage calls them4 ,at other times1 religion is reckoned an intruder4 ,it interferes with the pursuits1 or it interrupts the pleasures of men4 ,it must therefore be kept in its proper place1 without venturing to appear in the ordinary business or the common intercourse of life4 ,the ,romanist1 accordingly1 hurries to ,mass2 and that over1 he hastens away to his holiday1 his folly1 and his sports4 ,the formalist1 whether ,protestant or ,romanist1 complies with his routine1 appears at church1 or tells his beads1 and then dismisses religion from his thoughts4 ,the young leave religion to the old4 ,the old often postpone its claims1 till attention to it is useless1 unless it could operate like a charm2 and thus the one thing needful is the last thing that some will permit to obtain any ascendency over their minds4 ,,the ,,aliment ,,of ,,the ,,soul4 ,but instead of adopting such maxims1 all who are in earnest about the world to come have felt1 that just as the body needs the vital air at all times1 the soul at all times needs the guidance of truth2 or as the body may die1 in the twinkling of an eye1 if it be deprived of that which is appointed by ,god to keep it in life1 so the soul cleaves to the dust--it becomes dead to the noblest of all objects1 even to ,god and eternity--when it is not constantly fed or constantly stimulated by the truth which connects us with ,him in whom we live1 and move1 and have our being4 ,under the deep conviction of that1 we have tried to show how the truth which the ,spirit teaches in the ,word of ,god1 should be mingled with all that we do4 ,far from leaving it out of view for a breath1 it is a party to all our transactions2 it should be a counsellor in all our difficulties1 and a guide in all the relations of life4 ,the heart1 the home1 the workshop2 the place of public resort1 as well as the place where no eye sees1 and no ear hears1 but ,god's1 should find us evermore accompanied by the truth1 evermore subject to its control1 while it directs our thoughts1 our words1 and deeds1 according to the will of ,god4 ,we are now1 then1 to contemplate ,christianity in the ,market-place1 or the place where business is wont to be done4 ,epithets of contempt have been applied to us as a nation1 because of our busy engrossments in the countless departments of buying1 and selling1 and getting gain2 and it cannot but be important to consider the maxims which should guide us in such pursuits4 ,now1 it is one of the glories of our faith1 that it makes ample provision for all the activities of life4 ,yet1 under pretext of being devout beyond the standard of ordinary men1 there have been some who fled to deserts1 and dwelt in dens and caves of the earth4 ,professing to seek a closer walk with ,god1 or more ample scope for the culture of the ,christian graces1 they have forsaken the duties of life1 and made themselves useless to society1 as if indolence were a virtue1 or inactivity a fruit or a proof of true religion4 ,,the ,,merchant ,,princes4 ,but any one who will merely glance at the ,word of ,god1 may see that such opinions find no sanction there4 ,far from encouraging inactivity1 or exhorting us to forsake the post of duty1 and retire to loneliness and seclusion1 that ,word expressly prohibits such a course4 ,it tells us not to be slothful in business4 ,it says that what our hands find to do1 we should do it with all our might4 ,it assures us that we must study to be quiet1 and do our own business1 and work with our own hands4 ,it adds1 that if any man will not work1 neither shall he eat4 ,it sets a brand upon those who learn to be idle1 who wander about from house to house1 not only idle1 but tattlers also4 ,in short1 religion1 as it lies in the ,bible1 stands at our side in the place of business1 and says1 ,be not slothful here2 and adds1 ,it is the hand of the diligent which maketh rich4 --,while we gaze on the merchant princes on the ,exchange of ,london1 when some exciting rumour has arrived1 some war been proclaimed or threatened1 or while some mercantile crash is impending1 or some millionaire bankruptcy just announced--we cannot but feel that if men retain their religion amid these excitements1 they are religious according to the highest standard that earth can ever know4 ,not the recluse1 not the man whose life is idle1 and whose duties are tame and domestic1 can display the loftiest style of ,christianity2 but the man who holds fast his integrity amid the activities of life1 and embodies in his practice the scriptural injunction1 ,be not slothful in business4 ,,the ,,enthronement ,,of ,,self4 ,true1 this maxim is often more than obeyed2 business absorbs1 business agitates1 business ruins millions4 ,surrendering themselves without a check to its engrossments1 they are swallowed up by overmuch care1 and socially and religiously become wrecks1 though they may pile up gold in heaps4 ,how many in this land are making gold their god1 and fine gold their confidence1 we need not try to tell4 ,but to correct that tendency1 the word of truth has commanded our men of busy lives not merely to be active1 but1 moreover1 to be serving the ,lord by their activity4 ,it is not activity for the sake of amassing wealth2 it is not activity merely that we may stand among the foremost in the market-place1 or be able1 as some have been1 to give laws to kings and empires1 to make peace or to declare war4 ,that is not religion2 it is the enthronement of self4 ,we are to serve the ,lord even in our business4 ,his will is to be our will there1 as much as when we are upon our knees before him4 ,the objects to which he points are to be pursued by us2 and thus1 amid the scenes of busiest occupation1 where much that is secular may tend to disturb1 or much that is sordid to debase1 the man of activity is also to be the man of piety and of ,christian principle4 ,religion is _/not_/ to be kept for set times and set occasions2 it is not to be left behind us when we leave our homes3 nay1 as the ,lord is in every place1 the fear of him should everywhere preside4 ,,mammon4 ,when the ,saviour said1 ,i pray not that thou wouldst take them out of the world1 but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil that is in the world1 he not merely uttered a prayer1 but1 moreover1 announced a rule for regulating duty2 and they who have imbibed the spirit of ,his words1 understand the religion of ,jesus--a religion most exquisitely adapted to man on earth1 a religion at once of ever-doing activity1 and of faithful serving the ,lord amid it all4 ,there are1 no doubt1 snares and perils beyond what can be counted to the souls of men1 in the engrossments of business4 ,in commerce1 through all its branches1 as it appears in our land and day1 there is much to deaden the soul1 much to eraze the very thought of ,god2 and hence ,mammon is the only god of many4 ,but the reason of that is1 not that business is essentially godless1 but that men prefer ,god's gifts to himself4 ,because he is forgotten1 thousands are ensnared2 they are as completely entombed in worldliness1 as the corpse that was yesterday interred is entombed in the deep grave where it lies4 ,,principle4 ,on the one hand1 then1 some are diligent in their business2 but they forget to serve the ,lord1 and so their business becomes the grave of the soul4 ,on the other hand1 some would serve ,him2 but they keep that service apart from their business3 they are as worldly there1 as selfish1 as ready to grasp and to amass1 as if responsibility to ,god could be shut up in the ,bible after a passage of it has been formally perused4 ,but the ,christian merchant comes in between these two4 ,in the one hand he takes the clause1 ,be not slothful in business2 in the other he takes the words1 ,serving the ,lord4 ,he unites them in his life2 that is1 he takes religion from the ,bible2 and instead of separating what ,god has joined--namely1 diligence and godliness--that man is perfectly convinced1 because the ,spirit of ,god is his teacher1 that success would be a curse1 that thousands added to thousands would only augment his woe1 were he to leave the will of ,god out of view in the place of public resort4 ,with this general truth before us1 then1 _/if we be ,christians at all1 we must be ,christians everywhere_/1 let us consider some ,counsels tending to make us ,christians1 according to the standard of the ,bible4 ,how may ,i assuredly retain my ,christianity in the ,market-place1 in the haunts of ,commerce1 or among its busy men8 ,an answer to that question may serve as a guide through what is1 in truth1 a deep and dangerous morass4 ,,wickedness ,,and ,,folly1 ,,one4 ,,the ,,woe ,,of ,,the ,,wicked4 ,and the first ,counsel we would announce is this3 _/,god is a party in all our transactions in the ,market-place_/2 we are either serving him or sinning against him in all that we do4 ,it is to be feared1 indeed1 that many forget this simple truth amid their manifold engrossments4 ,they forget that the ,god of justice is a party in men's unjust proceedings2 that the ,god of truth is a witness to all their falsehood2 that ,he who cannot look on sin is present at every act1 detecting fraud and deceit wherever they appear4 ,in very emphatic language1 men thus make the ,holy ,one serve with their sins2 ,he supplies the power1 the skill1 the reason1 which they pervert into instruments of iniquity against him and fraud upon their fellow-men4 ,but shunning all this1 it should be our rooted maxim in the ,market-place1 and everywhere besides1 that that ,holy ,one is a party in all that we do2 he is either served or sinned against4 ,we cannot swerve from truth1 we cannot violate justice1 we cannot let go our integrity1 without forsaking ,him4 ,it should1 therefore1 be as firmly rooted in our convictions as the most simple moral truth1 that whatever dishonours ,god cannot benefit us4 ,it should be written on the conscience as with a pen of iron upon a rock1 that the man who expects true success in violating the eternal principles of right and wrong1 is not merely wicked1 but foolish4 ,the man who expects to prosper by glossy fraud1 has already inflicted a sore degradation on his moral nature4 ,even though he may be lifted up by wealth to sit among princes1 he is1 in the eyes of ,god1 a degraded and an outcast creature4 ,he has sold his soul for what must soon be wrung from his grasp4 ,he has bowed down to an idol as senseless1 and as unable to bless him1 as the stone god of the ,hindoo devotee4 ,though a world were in league to prove the contrary1 ungodly gain wraps up a curse in it2 and the larger the pile1 the more deadly or crushing are its effects4 ,those were solemn words which ,eliphaz spoke to ,job3 ,i saw him taking root1 but ,i cursed his habitation4#af ,let ,god1 then1 be recognised as a party in all that is done4 ,be it our maxim1 in the market-place as well as on our knees3 ,thou1 ,god1 seest me2 and it will at once fortify and warn us4 ,he who forgets that simple principle in our busy day1 is like one who casts the pilot overboard when the tempest is rising4 ,the suggestion now offered would at once sweep away those petty encroachments which pass in the world almost without rebuke1 but which are an offence to the ,holy ,one4 ,it seemed a small and venial thing to ,eve to do what she did1 and to ,adam to follow her example2 but that little thing dragged the world to ruin4 ,and so before ,god1 offences deemed venial by man are seen in the defilement and the hatefulness of sin4 ,hence the call to act under the divine eye --to adopt the divine standard--to make ,god a party in all our proceedings4 ,his holiness1 his justice and truth1 should at once repress the unprincipled and encourage the pure2 and man would then be made upright towards man by being made right with ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,making ,,haste ,,to ,,be ,,rich4 ,but side by side with that1 we must place a second ,counsel1 not less needed than the other--,watch with care1 _/lest the engrossments of business should so accumulate as to overlay and crush the godliness of the soul_/4 ,amid the pressure of times like ours1 this is one of the greatest perils of the market-place3 it is destroying its tens of thousands4 ,men eagerly plunge into speculation after speculation4 ,they try to extend1 to ramify1 and engross1 till you might suppose they have a home in city after city2 nay1 in kingdom after kingdom4 ,not contented with the gains1 the competency1 or the honest rewards of what they can easily overtake or personally control1 many make such haste to be rich1 that an empire is too limited for their plans4 ,in their zeal1 they embark in scheme after scheme2 they wrap themselves round with entanglement after entanglement1 till1 in some cases1 the ends of the earth are not too remote for their desires to reach4 ,,true ,,enterprise3 ,now1 far be it from us to place restrictions where the only wise ,god places none2 far be it from us to limit enterprise1 as if all should be domestic1 or run in the channels of home4 ,it would be hindering1 not helping ,christianity in the ,market-place1 to define and circumscribe where its ,author has not defined4 ,the very sea--that highway of the nations which surrounds our island--would rebuke the attempt4 ,godliness is not to be confined in monasteries1 or even to the domestic circle2 for if that were the case1 then godliness could not be designed for man as man4 ,it would apply only to a fragment of his nature1 instead of diffusing the wisdom of ,heaven over it all4 ,but if it be that godliness which is the result of grace1 and not that which is only a phase of monasticism1 there is not a scene1 however homely1 where it may not preside2 nor an enterprise1 however grand1 which it may not direct4 ,it is only a fragment of religion1 or of the truth as it is in ,jesus1 which would leave the counting-house1 or any sphere1 without heavenly direction4 --,,its ,,limits4 ,the exhortation1 ,be not slothful in business1 then1 opens a wide door for active energy2 and we make no attempt to shut it4 ,but still1 there is only a certain length to which any man can proceed without sinning1 amid these engrossments and accumulated cares4 ,bear witness families neglected--family altars thrown down--early hopes blighted--early religion erazed from the soul--as speculations and engagements increase4 ,we have no right to laden ourselves with a multitude of cares such as shall overlay1 or supplant1 or endanger the truth of ,god in the heart4 ,every moment may be one of high-toned integrity between man and man2 every transaction may be presided over by purest equity3 in the market-place1 a merchant prince might blush to be even suspected of the mean1 the fraudulent1 or the deceptive4 ,but what if these moments and these transactions1 so pure in appearance1 be so numerous or so engrossing1 as to prevent attention to the high concerns of eternity and the soul8 ,what if my mind and my body be so worn out or worn down by these protracted hours of merchandise1 that the things which belong to my eternal peace are neglected1 or pushed from their proper place1 which is _/the first_/8 ,am ,i not sinning against my soul and my ,god1 by such exhausting engrossments8 ,o6 how many are ruined--ruined not by dishonesties in business1 but by over-devotion to it6 not by defrauding a neighbour1 but by defrauding their own soul alike of all time and all taste for attending to the one thing needful6 ,,the ,,perils ,,of ,,business4 ,we plead1 let it be remembered1 for no inactivity1 for there are perils in idleness as well as amid the cares of business4 ,if the latter destroy by crushing1 the former wastes by rusting4 ,but our urgency converges upon this point--men ought not so to plunge into this world's engrossments--so to be entangled by this world's cares--so to laden themselves with this world's clay--as to leave neither liking1 nor time1 nor strength1 for fervour of spirit in serving the ,lord--,inasmuch as ye did it not unto me1 will tarnish the glory of all such doings4 ,every moment as it passes1 in the life of some busy men1 may be a moment of high-souled integrity between man and man2 and yet there is danger1 _/lest all the moments summed together_/ should be one long act of complicated robbery--a robbery of ,god1 because he was forgotten--a robbery of the soul1 because it was neglected for things which often melt as we grasp them--a robbery of those dependent on us for religious guidance and example1 because we are strangers at home1 or1 when we appear there1 it is rather as the careworn speculator or the hoarding miser1 than as the kindly1 genial1 sympathizing husband1 father1 brother1 friend4 ,,the ,,perils ,,of ,,business4 ,we know that it is the golden maxim of some1 that religion must give way to business4 ,we have been told by one who could stand unabashed on the ,exchange1 that _/,god did not expect us to be too strict in these things_/2 and swayed by that maxim1 if religion do not give way at the bidding of cupidity1 its control is boldly disowned4 ,now1 we need not add1 that the man who has adopted such an opinion has at once dismissed the ,word of ,god from his counsels1 and consented to forego the use of reason in the highest of all its spheres--he has laid his soul1 a manacled victim1 on the altar of ,mammon4 ,that man is not seeking _/first_/ the kingdom of ,god and his righteousness2 that is1 he is deliberately setting aside one of the simplest1 plainest1 and most unequivocal injunctions contained in the ,word of the ,supreme4--,it is well known that1 among the ancient heathens1 the god of traffic was also the god of fraud4 ,the ,romans1 moreover1 had a goddess of thieves1 whom one of their poets thus addresses3-- ,o fair ,laverna1 grant me power to cheat1 ,and yet appear arrayed in saintly guise2 ,let sable night enshroud my deep deceit1 ,and clouds conceal my fraud from prying eyes4#ag --,and is there no reason to fear that that spirit has been perpetuated to modern times8 ,now1 in these remarks1 we have just been enforcing a trite1 but profound maxim1 ,what is a man profited1 though he could gain the whole world1 if he lose his own soul8 ,surely men buy gold at too high a price1 when their immortal spirits are given in exchange for it4 ,success in such a case is a terrible disaster1 and far better a mercantile crash than eternal ruin4 ,to give ourselves up to the devoted pursuit of the world1 and to secure what we pursue1 while ,god and heaven are forsaken1 is a calamity to be deplored through all eternity4 ,better far the cross and the disappointment2 better far the shattered hope and the world's neglect1 than to sit with princes and to forfeit heaven--to rank among those whose gold cannot be counted1 and yet to be poor1 and wretched1 and miserable in the high estimate of eternity--,there is an animal which strikes the arm with feebleness the moment it is touched4 ,the muscles are benumbed1 the sense of feeling is for the time destroyed1 and the affected parts are as if they had been struck by lightning1 and in a similar way1 do this world's cares benumb or stupify the soul4 ,its desire for the good and the pure1 and its power to enjoy them1 are at once destroyed by intense engrossment with the world's cares2 and he who has not felt and lamented the effects of such engrossment1 should beware1 lest his want of feeling be the result of his want of life4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,prevalence ,,of ,,the ,,false3 ,,instances4 ,as a ,counsel which we believe to be pre-eminently needed1 we observe next1 that the man of integrity and ,christian principle1 will1 in the ,market-place1 _/comply with none of the conventional maxims of business which are based upon the false_/4--,were it our object to enter into these things in detail1 it would not be difficult to show to what an amazing extent the false1 the pretended1 the deceptive1 now enter into the business of our commercial or mercantile community4 ,it must be enough to say1 that the father of lies has taken possession of ten thousand points in business1 and often holds them all at the expense of integrity and truth4 ,lies are spoken2 lies are acted2 deceptions are practised2 and conscience is all the while prevented from lifting any effectual protest1 by the fact that such things are common4 ,even those channels of public opinion which do not usually adopt the ,scriptures of truth as their standard1 confess their amazement at the ,jesuitical want of ingenuousness1 or the incredible amount of dishonesty1 which signalizes even those who move in the highest spheres4 ,descending1 that spirit has taken possession of other classes--it has actually come to pass1 that he is deemed simple who is upright1 or punctilious who is honest4 ,nay more1 in defending this state of moral degeneracy1 there are some who do not scruple to quote the ,word of the ,god of truth4 ,be not righteous overmuch1 is a favourite passage with some1 as if it gave any countenance to him who seeks wealth by disreputable means--by calling that all silk which he knows to be partly made of cotton1 or that genuine which he knows to be adulterated1 or that perfect which he knows to be defective4--,would that it were superfluous to dwell upon such subjects--that we never had occasion to refer to them and to the ,church of ,god in the same breath6 _/,serving the ,lord_/--that clause should banish for ever all such things from the practice and the ways of men professing to be ,christians1 and if they are not banished1 we can picture nothing so likely to make religion an offence1 and a ,christian profession a subject of scorn1 to honest worldly men4 ,farther1 we have been told that there are some in business who will not credit those who make a profession of godliness4 ,they deem that profession a cloak1 and they either tear it off or despise it4 ,now1 we reckon that1 to a great extent1 just a display of the worldly man's hatred to the restraints and the sanctities of religion4 ,he knows that such a profession upon _/his_/ lips would be hypocrisy1 and he ignorantly deems it the same in others4 ,hence his contempt for a religious profession--his distrust of all who make it4 ,yet1 is there no pretext afforded to that worldly man for the opinions which he holds8 ,if those professing religion are known to imitate examples1 or to adopt practices1 and act upon maxims which religion repudiates --if they be as grasping as those who make no such pretensions as they do1 are they not cheering on the ungodly in their unchristian career8 ,are they not doing all that they can to assure the worldly man that his views of religion are correct--that it is a pretence1 hypocrisy1 and a name8 ,,the ,,believer',s ,,obligations4 ,for these reasons1 we return to say1 that all compliance with customs founded upon what is known to be false1 should be shunned in business by a man of ,god4 ,all should be transparent as sunlight with him4 ,he should never forget1 that to escape detection is very different from being honest2 and that the man who has committed himself to some course opposed to what is pure1 or lovely1 or of good report1 must either trample conscience out1 or endure its gnawings1 as fable says ,prometheus endured the vulture4 ,there _/are_/ temptations1 we grant1 in a state of society like ours1 where gold is not merely a standard of value in the market-place1 but often the standard of character among men4 ,withal1 however1 ,i am not bound to be rich2 but ,i _/am_/ bound not to bring an evil report upon the ,christian name4 ,i am not bound to remain in a certain sphere1 and there draw a certain revenue2 but ,i _/am_/ bound not to sin4 ,i am not bound to retain my position at the expense of conscience2 but ,i _/am_/ bound not to cheer on a covetous world to ruin by sharing its ungodliness or smiling upon its falsehood4 ,nay1 by the grace of ,god1 we are to hold fast our integrity4 ,we are to say1 ,get thee behind me1 ,satan1 to the most plausible pretext for sinning2 and if there be few among our merchant princes who act on such maxims--if they be uncommon in the ,market-place--that is because few go to the ,word of ,god for their standard of duty--few1 with meekness and reverence to the ,holy ,one1 combine in action these three clauses3 ,not slothful in business--,fervent in spirit--,serving the ,lord4 ,one is your master1 even ,christ4 ,to him we are responsible in every relation2 and that responsibility is discharged only when we remember the words3 ,whatsoever ye do in word or deed1 do all in the name of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,but we have only broken ground in regard to ,christianity in the ,market-place4 ,,the ,,standard4 ,it is a universal law1 that every soul of man must have an object to pursue4 ,the ambitious man has his object3 he pursues it2 and if he succeed in his pursuit1 he sinks into the grave1 crushed perhaps1 like ,tarpeia of old1 by the weight of his success4 ,and the covetous man has his object3 he embarks his whole soul in the pursuit2 and while a thousand who strive with him fail or are beggared1 he who succeeds is perhaps the most signally wretched of them all4 ,and the lover of pleasure has his object of pursuit3 he dismisses the fear of ,god1 and1 like one who is ambitious of wretchedness1 he drinks up iniquity1 though along with it he drinks up poison to his soul4 ,in a word1 the fool and the wise man1 the young and the old1 the ignorant and the learned1 all have some master object to pursue4 ,that object may involve destruction1 for it may be sinful2 or it may tend to dignify and ennoble1 for it is pure and holy2 but whatever be its character1 it is a law in man's nature1 that1 from the child amused with its toy1 up to the hoary patriarch tottering forward to the grave1 man must have something to fill and to engross his mind4 ,,the ,,bible',s ,,light4 ,now1 the ,word of ,god1 which is so exquisitely adapted to man1 takes that great law fully into account2 and we advert to that again1 because it furnishes an opportunity for repeating1 that that ,word does not repress man's activity--it only tries to give it a right direction3 it does not leave man without a pursuit--it only presents him with one which is worthy of his immortal nature4 ,knowing that man wishes to advance or to rise1 the ,bible puts a light into his hand1 and tells him to be the heir of ,god1 a joint-heir with ,christ4 ,knowing that man seeks to accumulate and amass1 the ,bible tells of unsearchable riches and treasures in heaven4 ,knowing that man's strongest impulse is to seek his own happiness1 the ,bible perfectly responds to that1 and offers the very peace of ,god3 it points to a home of everlasting sunshine1 without a tear1 without one solitary want4 ,there is thus no attempt to suppress1 but only to direct1 man's aspirations4 ,nothing that ,god gave to man is to be extinguished3 all is to be sanctified and sublimed4 ,,the ,,universal ,,law4 ,to make this plain1 we observe that all are familiar with the power exercised over the soul by any new object or new pursuit4 ,begin with the earlier years of infancy4 ,see a little child engrossed with his toy4 ,his whole soul is absorbed by it2 for a time it is his world4 ,but present him with some new object2 the former is speedily discarded1 while the new engrosses the mind as the old had done4 ,or pass onward from childhood to youth4 ,there also you see the same law prevailing4 ,mind is never left a blank4 ,the old is discarded1 but it is for the sake of the new2 and man thus flits from object to object1 the last being always the ascendant4 ,or pass upward to still graver years1 and there also the same law prevails4 ,one pursuit1 one passion1 one object of interest after another sways the heart1 alternately expelled and expelling from the soul4 ,the love of ,god in a converted soul supersedes the supreme love of the world4 ,the pleasures of godliness take the place of the pleasures of sin4 ,the power of the world to come overmasters the power of a present evil world2 and thus a wise and exquisite law guides us in religion--a law as simple in its operation as that which keeps the planets in their orbits4 ,,reason ,,and ,,religion ,,at ,,one4 ,now1 in accordance with that law1 our next ,counsel is1 that the ,christian in the ,market-place1 should never forget that he is not forbidden to seek earthly things _/at all_/2 he is only forbidden to seek them _/first_/4 ,the ,saviour just wished man to prefer what should be preferred--to put eternity before time1 and ,god before man1 and the soul before the body2 and wherever men have escaped from the control of blind passion1 such a maxim must be approved for its wisdom4 ,to believe that there is both a ,god and a soul1 and yet seek some ephemeral thing before either or both1 is surely to outrage reason1 as well as to turn aside from the plainest maxims of religion4 ,on the other hand1 he who sets the ,lord before him has adopted a course which will more than realize the fable of ,midas1 who turned all that he touched into gold4 ,and who can doubt that confidence placed or preference given anywhere but to ,god1 will blight and wither all at last8 ,who can doubt that the accumulated thousands of many who name ,christ's name are their god8 ,they seek happiness there4 ,they find all their enjoyment there4 ,these thousands are their rock1 their confidence1 and their high tower4 ,they not merely seek them _/first_/1 they seek them exclusively4 ,the portion of their heart is there as completely as the confidence of the ,hindoo upon ,shiva1 or of the ,romanist upon ,mary4 ,it is thus that ,god is dethroned1 and thus that man's blossom often goes up like the dust from the midst of his idolatrous confidence4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,equivocations4 ,but another maxim which should guide us in business1 may be thus expressed4--,in the ,market-place1 _/never forget what is due to your ,christian profession_/4 _/,we_/ may forget it1 but the world will not2 nay1 we have seen how prompt men are to condemn us for our oblivion4 ,we may plunge into the world as other men do4 ,deceived by our own hearts or by the hollow maxims which prevail around us1 we may lose sight of the distinction between the frauds of men and the truths of ,god4 ,but though we may forget to seek first the kingdom of ,god1 the world does not forget that we _/profess_/ to seek it first4 ,nay1 it is lynx-eyed to detect our pretences1 and eager to point the finger of scorn at our unmasked inconsistency if we be inconsistent4 ,the world feels that it needs some countenance in its oblivion of ,god2 and it is cheered1 encouraged1 or a little more at ease1 when ,christians are oblivious like itself4 ,as we have already seen1 there are words spoken1 there are deeds done1 in many departments of business1 which are unequivocally false--describe them to an unsophisticated little child1 and he will tell you at once it is a lie4 ,yet it is well known that gentle names are current for such forms of deception1 as well as for some of our household arrangements4 ,glozing pretexts are employed to cover and conceal them1 and the uneasy conscience1 in spite of common habit1 is betrayed by the fetches which are thus made4 ,even a worldly man's conscience would start1 at least at first1 were such things distinctly called fraud1 or over-reaching1 or a lie4 ,palliating epithets are therefore thrown over them1 like gaudy trappings upon a coffin2 and1 then1 as if a gentle name could conceal an unprincipled thing1 men barter for gain the concerns of the kingdom of ,god4 ,they often value that kingdom at less than ,judas did1 when he sold its ,king for thirty pieces of silver4 ,,consistency4 ,now1 all who would be ,christians in the ,market-place should dismiss and frown down such practices4 ,remembering what is due to our ,christian profession1 they should beware lest a stumbling-block be laid in the way of those who watch for a believer's halting1 and are happy when he falls4 ,the progress of missionaries in foreign lands is often impeded by the ungodliness of men called ,christians2 and care should be taken lest similar impediments exist at home4 ,let no man say that his conversation is in heaven1 while he is manifestly grovelling in the dust4 ,far rather disown the holy name1 than drag it down into the fearful pit and the miry clay4 ,be it remembered again1 we do not plead for inactivity2 we would limit no enterprise which pure religion sanctions4 ,but neither would we forget for a breath1 that the man who names ,christ's name must adopt ,christ's holy maxims1 or that man is at once deceiving the world and betraying the truth of ,god4 ,unjustly to benefit ourselves at the expense of another1 is to prove that we have not yet learned ,god's holy law1 and still less the ,saviour's pure and perfect gospel4 ,the world-side of our religion should therefore be watched with the utmost care2 and1 amid our daily doings in the market-place1 it should often be our thought1 _/,i am a ,christian_/1 and cannot act upon the world's unholy maxims4 _/,i am a ,christian_/1 and must love my neighbour as myself2 ,i must do to others as ,i wish others to do to me4 _/,i am a ,christian_/1 and can smile no connivance upon that which nailed my ,redeemer to a tree4 ,no matter though the transgression be small2 a small sin ruined the world4 ,no matter though it be common2 so is eternal ruin4 ,no matter though men reckoned upright do it2 their uprightness is a pretence before ,him who looks on the heart2 and it is because few act upon these plain1 decided maxims1 that ,christ's people are still but a little flock compared with the teeming myriads of world-adoring men4 ,,the ,,christian4 ,and the same maxim should guide us in all respects as well as in regard to gain4 ,am ,i one of the merchant princes whose ample stores are crowded with youth dependent on me for bread1 and helping to enrich me by their industry or skill8 ,then ,i am to remember my duty to ward off1 as far as is in my power1 all that would corrupt or debase them4 ,not merely a regard to my own interests1 but a regard to the souls of those to whom ,i stand related1 should constrain me to this2 and if one among these crowds be dishonest or disreputable1 ,i am to take care that his contagion do not spread2 that neither my property on the one hand1 nor the souls of my dependants on the other1 suffer at his hands4 ,i may be deceived1 but ,i dare not connive at deception4 ,to raise the moral tone1 ,i must give time for personal culture and for the training of principle4 ,i must myself set the example4 ,i must countenance and encourage it4 ,instead of grinding the faces of the dependent1 ,i am to do them good in the highest sense of all4 ,instead of amassing wealth by the sacrifice of consciences and souls1 ,i am to honour all men4--,the man who acts thus is a benefactor to society3 he is elevating his fellow-mortals3 he is blessed1 and made a blessing4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,consecration ,,of ,,gain4 _/,consecrate all your gains to ,god_/--is another maxim enforced by ,christianity in the ,market-place4 ,the silver and the gold are his4 ,his is the power which enables us to collect them1 and they are all to be laid1 along with ourselves1 upon his altar4 ,the wisest man our world ever saw said1 ,honour the ,lord with thy substance4 ,now1 this suggestion touches one of the topics which stand most in need of enforcement in an age and a community like ours4--,it were needless to tarry to tell how the sin of covetousness is eating into the hearts of men1 how greedily they run after gain1 and make haste to be rich4 ,the wrestler's arena1 or the racer's circus of old1 never was crowded with more eager or more panting competitors than our marts of merchandise now4 ,nor need we pause to tell again what degrading disclosures are made1 from time to time1 and that in the highest spheres1 regarding the withering effects of this headlong pursuit4 ,in cases not a few1 our boasted mercantile honour1 and our integrity as a nation of merchants1 have been proved1 with painful plainness1 to be as weak to restrain man's passion for gold as a thread of gossamer to bind a ravening lion4 ,,the ,,alpha ,,and ,,the ,,omega4 ,such exposures1 then1 and such scenes1 are well fitted to warn us to consecrate all we have to ,god1 both in the getting and the using4 ,if the riches of the world have the image and superscription of ,csar1 the ,christian's should bear the stamp of the ,king of kings4 ,there is no scriptural anathema against riches--nay1 every gift of ,god is good in itself2 but there are countless anathemas against riches acquired by fraud1 or spent without seeking the direction or the blessing of ,god4 ,the ,christian in the ,market-place is thus taught to use the world as not abusing it1 or not to grasp at what may bite like a serpent and sting like an adder4 ,he thus learns to verify what was said of ,tyre of old1 ,her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the ,lord2 it shall not be treasured nor laid up4 ,while many never think of ,god--for one solemn thought of him would dash all their schemes2 while self is the centre1 the alpha and the omega1 the first and the last1 of many an adventurer1 the ,christian will try to gather wealth as his ,god directs1 in channels which his ,god can bless4 ,a ,,scriptural ,,contrast4 ,we repeat it2 we are permitted to use the world2 for there is nothing unnatural1 or extreme1 or ascetic in the ,word of ,god4 ,we are permitted to _/use_/ the world2 but it is only upon the condition that we do not abuse it2 and surely he abuses it who defers to the world more than to ,god2 who adopts the world's maxims1 and discards ,god's2 who grasps the world's riches1 but is poor toward ,god2 who trembles at the world's frown1 but mocks the majesty1 the truth1 and the justice of ,god4 ,o1 never let the ,christian fear to be resolutely honest--his ,god will provide4 ,he should be encouraged by thinking that1 amid all our moral distemper1 the world _/is_/ under the control of a king who will make his laws respected4 ,baffled we may sometimes be in the world's headlong career2 but it is well1 it is _/best_/1 that we should be so4 ,he who sees the end from the beginning1 and who brings order out of confusion1 is doing all things well4 ,he says3 ,i have seen the wicked in great power1 and spreading himself like a green bay-tree3 ,yet he passed away1 and1 lo1 he was not2 yea1 ,i sought him1 but he could not be found4 ,that is one side of the picture3 the other is1 ,mark the perfect man1 and behold the upright2 for the end of that man is peace4 ,and who has not seen this verified8 ,men whose hearts the ,lord has opened1 so that they gave their silver and their gold in thousands1 tell us that the more they give1 when it is to the ,lord1 the more are they blessed4 ,that is1 they cast their bread upon the waters1 and find it after many days4 ,they honour the ,lord with their substance1 and their barns are filled with plenty4 ,they scatter1 and yet increase4 ,the liberal soul is made rich4 ,they lend unto the ,lord1 and receive it back with usury4 ,,financial ,,crises4 ,on the other hand1 from time to time the ,mighty ,one protests1 in his providence1 against the headlong and unprincipled pursuit of wealth4 ,what are our financial crises1 our commercial crashes1 our bankruptcies in stunning succession and surprising amount1 what our unemployed labourers1 what our beggared merchants1 but just a providential corrective to our cupidity8 ,these things occur almost with the precision of system4 ,they can be predicted like an eclipse2 their causes are seen and read of all men2 and yet1 unwarned and untaught1 they make haste to be rich1 till airy structures and nominal treasures melt away into air1 leaving only poverty1 perhaps shame and disgrace1 as their residuum4 ,the ,god who has1 with a wisdom as unvarying as it is profound1 made sin self-corrective1 thus vindicates his own laws4 ,were his ,sabbaths observed1 our production would be less1 and stagnation prevented4 ,were our merchandise holiness to the ,lord1 our periodical gluts would be prevented by wiser measures than now prevail4 ,godliness would thus be great gain4 ,the widow's cruse and barrel would be a better portion1 because blessed by ,god1 than the riches which1 ever on the wing1 are ever fluttering for their flight4#ah ,,abraham ,,and ,,lot4 ,it is thus1 then1 that ,god over all proves1 to our sad experience1 that we forsake our own mercies by forgetting ,him in the ,market-place --but take an example4 ,abraham and ,lot his nephew1 are in their tents near ,bethel4 ,a strife arises between their herdsmen1 because the grazing grounds were not sufficiently ample for the herds and flocks of both4 ,but ,abraham1 the man of peace1 disliked contention2 and though he was the elder1 he gave the younger his choice of the country1 that they might separate without strife4 ,with primitive simplicity1 but also with true greatness of soul1 he said1 ,if thou wilt take the left hand1 then ,i will go to the right2 or if thou depart to the right hand1 then ,i will go to the left4 ,lot accordingly chose4 ,captivated by the rich pastures of the valley of the ,jordan1 he selected them4 ,his eye was fixed only on what was good for his herds2 it was ,eastern wealth1 in short1 which attracted the nephew of ,abraham4 ,he did not think of the character of those who dwelt where he was to dwell2 and in his hot pursuit of riches1 he fared exactly as those who do as he did are faring still4 ,the inhabitants of that garden-like valley were wicked exceedingly1 but ,lot threw himself among them without forethought1 and as the result1 his righteous soul was vexed from day to day4 ,their grievous sins harassed him2 and if we may judge from his own conduct1 he did not escape contamination4 ,he had at last to haste and flee for his life1 lest he should perish in the common overthrow4 ,,evil ,,communications4 ,and when was it otherwise8 ,who ever tasted1 touched1 or handled what pollutes1 and yet continued pure8 ,who ever threw in their lot with godless men1 without incurring the risk of sharing their doom8 ,do not worldly engrossments steal the heart from ,god8 ,when we have goods laid up for many days1 is it not our instant thought1 unless a double portion of grace be sought1 that we are less dependent now on the ,author of every good and perfect gift8 ,the soul thus withers and pines2 and if a child of ,god escape1 it is as ,lot did from ,sodom--so as by fire4 ,just as a dislocated limb gives pain to the body1 or just as one member wrenched by violence from the rest makes the whole physical frame quake and quiver1 the dislocation of a single precept of ,god does violence to our moral nature4 ,it has been often noticed that the men who are deprived1 by whatsoever cause1 of the ,sabbath rest1 soon become the most degraded in a community1 they have perished sometimes by their own right hand2 and the remark may be generalized so as to include all the laws among the ,ten4 ,the man who runs greedily after gain and forgets to consecrate it to ,god1 is thereby self-degraded1 and self-ruined in the end4 ,,counsels4 ,but perhaps all that we have argued might have been more briefly and more emphatically urged in a few words3 ,they first gave themselves to the ,lord4#ai ,that is the true order of procedure on the part of ,christian men1 and that is the certain prelude to heavenly guidance4 ,all that we have will be dedicated to the ,great ,proprietor1 if we have first learned1 as the ,spirit teaches1 to present our bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable unto ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,only ,,rule4 ,were it our object to exhaust this subject1 instead of merely offering some general counsels1 we should now proceed to other aspects of the ,christian in the ,market-place--that place where temptations are so rife1 because the world's current is at the strongest4 ,we might refer to the necessity of excluding the engrossments of the ,market-place from our hours of relaxation or our home duties1 and press such examples as that of ,him who left it as a counsel to others1 that1 they should leave all thoughts of business in their counting-house on ,saturday1 till their return on ,monday4--,but enough has been said for our purpose4 ,and now1 let it not be forgotten that all we plead for has been actually done in the ,market-place by not a few4 ,we urge nothing ,utopian1 nothing beyond what is written in the ,word of ,god4 ,a man can be both a student of the ,bible1 so as to regulate his business by its maxims1 and yet prosper1 as far as any ,christian can care for prosperity2 and that is proved by many examples4 ,if a man1 indeed1 supposes that his life consists in the abundance that he has1 or that the kingdom of ,god is meat and drink1 then the ,bible will be discarded2 another god than it99#h will be worshipped4 ,but if it be the rooted conviction of a soul1 that it can be rich only in so far as it enjoys the blessing of ,jehovah1 ,his word will be found at once a pleasant and a profitable guide4 ,and even though poverty may assail us for abiding by ,god's simple truth1 we must still abide by it4 ,man lives not by bread alone1 but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of ,god2 and though that maxim may provoke a smile from the devotees of the world1 it is the maxim of eternal wisdom notwithstanding4 ,some whose life was spent in the place of business1 of care and speculation1 have left it upon record1 that such a maxim is the only remedy for the woes of a groaning world4 ,we know that men cannot live upon their knees1 especially in the market-place2 but we also know that1 in the most crowded mart1 the way to the throne is open1 if we have acquired a taste for walking in it4 ,have we not found some1 and these among the busiest of men1 who knew how to retreat into the secret place of the ,most ,high's pavilion1 so as there to feel the truth of his promise1 ,my people shall dwell in quiet resting-places and peaceable habitations8 ,have they not found a recess for communion with ,god1 where no eye saw1 and no ear heard1 but his8 ,if there be first a willing mind1 a way to the throne will be found1 even in the ,market-place1 and they who find it are blessed4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,grace4 ,amid all this1 we do not forget the difficulties of a merchant's sphere1 in an age so bent upon amassing as ours4 ,we are not unfamiliar with his anxieties1 his cares1 and crosses--crosses which often come upon him mainly because he would set the ,lord before him4 ,but just the more on that account1 and surely not the less1 do we urge him to carry the ,lamp of ,life4 ,on the one hand1 if these anxieties and cares drive us from our steadfastness1 and if ,god be left out of sight1 will that diminish our cares8 ,on the other hand1 if we hold fast our integrity1 is it to be feared that we shall be put to shame at last8 ,nay1 all that we plead for _/has been done_/3 the grace of ,god can accomplish it1 and more4 ,there have been men surrounded with many cares1 who yet served the ,lord amid them all4 ,they found that ,christianity in the ,market-place is as much provided for1 as ,christianity in the place where prayer is wont to be made4 ,all that was needed was to seek the ,god and the grace of ,christianity2 they sought ,him1 and they triumphed4 ,cheered by the words1 ,thou hast a few names even in ,sardis who have not defiled their garments1 they held fast their integrity as drowning men cling to the cable which is cast for their rescue2 and in holding it fast1 they secured the heritage which the gold of ,ophir could not buy4 ,,steadfastness4 ,it will readily be believed that1 in a nation signalized like ours by commercial enterprise and mercantile activity1 some have been found among our merchant princes whose proceedings have been presided over by purest ,christian principle4 ,if multitudes have sacrificed rather to ,mammon than to the ,holy ,one and the ,just1 some1 on the other hand1 have held fast their integrity1 and sought to keep themselves unspotted from the world4--,among those who belong to the class who have thus exemplified the loftiest ,christian principle in the ,market-place1 there are few whose name and memorial stand higher among men than the late ,joseph ,hardcastle of ,london4 ,early impressed with religion in its living and energetic form1 he made it his guide and close companion through life4 ,the ,scriptures were to him the supreme and sovereign standard4 ,he was led by their light to the ,saviour of the lost1 and1 constrained by his love1 he rejoiced in every opportunity for promoting ,his cause and glory4 ,a life of dependence on his ,redeemer was only another name for personal holiness2 and to personal holiness he added abilities of a superior order1 which appeared at once in the world-wide business which he conducted as a merchant1 and the efforts of a directly religious nature which he put forth4 ,among the objects to which ,hardcastle was devoted1 the ,london ,missionary ,society was perhaps the chief4 ,in the capacity of its treasurer1 he laboured for many years with zeal in the service of ,him who has the heathen for his heritage4 ,to the duties of that office he brought the same sagacity and soundness of view1 the same unbending uprightness and lofty integrity1 which signalized him as a member of the greatest mercantile community in the world4 ,even amid the contentions of debate1 ,hardcastle was calm and gentle3 his ,christianized nature raised him above the influences of those shocks which ruffle and discompose more common minds2 and though nothing could ever sway him to act against truth and principle1 his mildness and benignity rendered him the friend of all4 ,,joseph ,,hardcastle4 ,but not merely were ,hardcastle's time and energies thus largely devoted to the ,saviour's cause4 ,his ample liberalities from year to year1 entitled him to the rank of the first pecuniary benefactor of the ,london ,missionary ,society4 ,in short1 faith unfeigned was the basis of what he did1 whether in the ,market-place or amid scenes whose duties appear to some to be incompatible with the assiduities of business4 ,with commercial relations which touched the ends of the earth1 ,hardcastle spread his influence for good as widely as his merchandise4 ,he proved by his example that it is possible to be at once active in business1 and serving the ,lord2 and our commercial enterprise99#i would rest upon a more solid basis1 or be more richly fraught with blessings1 were that godliness which is the only solid foundation of true dignity and _/completeness_/ of character cultivated by all1 as it was by ,joseph ,hardcastle4 ,,the ,,dying ,,believer4 ,but his own history was spoken1 and his principles were described by himself1 in some of the last sentences which he ever uttered4 ,to illustrate these1 the following selections may suffice3-- ,lord ,jesus1 thou hast said1 ',he that believeth in me shall never die2 and he that believeth1 though he were dead1 yet shall he live4' ,i believe this2 ,i believe ,i shall never know what death is1 but pass into life4--,this is the triumph of faith4 ,thou hast said1 ',him that cometh to me1 ,i will in no wise cast out4' ,i come to thee2 thou wilt not cast me out4--,this is ,god honoured1 and man made happy4 ,surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life1 and ,i am going to dwell in the house of the ,lord for ever4 ,i am infinitely indebted to him for his conduct of me from infancy to the end of my life4 ,he took me by the hand in a wonderful manner1 and brought me into connection with the excellent of the earth4 ,most gracious ,god1 ,i commit my children to thee1 and ,i charge them to walk in thy fear and love4--,this is the death of the righteous4 ,he has drawn me with the cords of mercy from my earliest days4 ,he gave me very early impressions of religion1 and enabled me to devote myself to him in early life2 and this ,god is my ,god for ever and ever--for ever and ever4 ,i said to him when ,i was a young man1 ',thou shalt guide me by thy counsel1 and afterward receive me to glory4' ',whom have ,i in heaven but thee8 and there is none upon earth whom ,i desire besides thee4' ,,the ,,dying ,,parent4 ,no principle can enter the mind so sublime as the doctrine of the cross1 which1 with infinite majesty1 speaks peace in heaven1 on earth1 and throughout the universe4 ,let every one of my children glory in the cross of salvation--it is the power of ,god to every one that believeth4 ,the _/power_/ of ,god2 what feeble ideas do ,i attach to such expressions6 ,i am1 in some respects1 like the old patriarch ,jacob1 on his dying bed1 with all his sons about him4 ,live in love1 and the ,god of love will be with you4 ,this is my last farewell2 this is our last interview till we meet in a better world4 ,my flesh and heart are failing4 ,i hope ,i have not been deceiving myself4 ,my children seek for an interest in ,christ--seek for an interest in ,christ4 ,i earnestly exhort you to be decided1 and to be very useful4 ,he is your best friend3 manifest your regard for him to the world2 avow your attachment2 be not ashamed of him2 he is the glory and the ornament of the universe4 ,i hope ,i shall be favoured1 when my spirit is departing1 with some intimations of approaching glory4 ,i will trust in him--,i will trust in him4 ,in the meantime1 ,i possess a sweet peace1 calm and undisturbed4 ,i will go to ,god1 my exceeding joy1 as the psalmist says4 ,it is an awful thing for a human spirit1 deeply depraved as it is1 to appear before the tribunal of so mighty a ,being4 ,he placeth no trust in his servants2 the heavens are not clean in his sight4 ,if ,i am to live1#bj ,i welcome life1 and thank its ,giver2 if ,i am to die1 ,i welcome death1 and thank its ,conqueror4 ,if ,i have a choice1 ,i would rather depart and be with ,christ1 which is far better4 ,my last act of faith ,i wish to be to take the work of ,jesus1 as the high priest did when he entered within the vail2 and when ,i have passed the vail1 to appear with it before the throne4 ,i have just finished my course2 ,i hope also ,i may say1 ',i have fought the good fight1 ,i have kept the faith2 and henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness1 which the ,lord1 the righteous ,judge1 will give me at that day4' ,father1 into thy hands ,i commend my spirit4 ,lord ,jesus1 receive my spirit when it leaves the body3 thou hast redeemed it--,i have waited for thy salvation4 ,,almighty ,,grace4 --,there _/is_/ much in the life of men whose home is chiefly in the ,market-place1 to deaden and secularize their spirits2 but examples like that of ,hardcastle tell that grace is almighty even there--even there1 were men to honour ,god1 he would honour them4 ,it would be made manifest to all1 that even the life of a merchant prince may be spent in the ways of ,god1 and conduct to his eternal home4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,market-,,place ,,continued4 ,enough has been said to show that there is no incongruity between the religion of ,jesus and the most comprehensive enterprise1 if that enterprise be characterised by wisdom1 as well as extent4 ,the ,bible may reign in the counting-house1 as well as in the church2 nay1 where its power is felt at all1 its most signal triumphs are not found amid the scenes where only the ,omniscient is our witness1 but amid those public proceedings where dangler is rife1 because the current of the world sets in against the soul at once with the greatest rapidity and the greatest volume4 ,by example after example1 it is proved1 both in the ,word and the providence of ,god1 that ,his truth embodies the religion of activity4 ,one man1 for example1 is raised up to take possession of the promised land4 ,he has seven nations to conquer1 as well as a numerous people to guide1 and amid the manifold engrossments of that position1 how is ,joshua employed8 ,had he adopted the maxims merely of the world1 he would have drawn the sword1 he would have thrown away the scabbard1 and in the common language of mortal boasting1 he would have determined to conquer or die4 ,but the first sword which ,joshua drew was the sword of the ,spirit1 which is the ,word of ,god4 ,the verse which directed his steps was this1 ,thou shalt meditate on this book day and night 444 for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous1 and then thou shalt have good success4 ,that was the secret of ,joshua's victories--amid the cares of a camp1 he had his ,god to guide him4 ,,joshua--,,david4 ,and the man after ,god's own heart acted in the same spirit4 ,monarch as he was1 and compassed about with all the cares of a kingdom1 ,david made the ,word of ,god a lamp to his path4 ,he could picture no greater self-deception than to suppose that man can find a better guide in difficulty than ,god--a better ,counsellor in doubt--a better ,defence in danger4 ,he could not even invent a more flagrant kind of folly than to set aside the wisdom of ,god1 and prefer the wisdom of man2 to adopt some human device for remedying man's ills1 for soothing man's sorrows or lifting him from his degradation1 while we despise the sovereign specific of the eternal ,god4 ,the climax of all that is irrational is found in superseding ,god's revealed will1 and substituting for it the opinions1 the speculations1 the dreams of mortal man4 ,david1 therefore1 placed the ,word of ,god upon his throne beside him4 ,guided by it1 the king was steadfast and unmoveable3 ,forsaking it1 he became one of the chief of sinners2 he sullied one of the fairest names4 ,,luther4 ,or turning from inspired men1 to those who had to spread the sacred page before them1 and pray to ,god to shed light upon it1 we may glance at the man whom ,god raised up1 about three hundred years ago1 to emancipate a large portion of ,europe from ,popery1 that dark superstition which ever crushes man to the dust4 ,luther stands alone before the crowned1 the mitred1 and the lordly4 ,a bigoted emperor holds that solitary man's life in his hand2 and had he doomed him to die upon the spot1 millions would have rushed to applaud him for the deed4 ,recant1 that is1 deny the ,word of ,god1 was in substance the demand made from ,luther2 and was the demand conceded8 ,nay2 the ,bible was to him something better than a collection of syllables and words4 ,the ,spirit had made it a power1 a life1 a soul to that man's soul2 and1 ,i cannot recant1 so help me ,god1 was in substance his reply to the crowned1 and the lordly before him4 ,but there is a glare and a grandeur about cases such as these1 which may dazzle yet more than instruct4 ,let us pass then to a different scene1 and seek some abode of poverty4 ,we are1 perhaps1 afraid to enter1 so repulsive1 or unpleasing is all that meets the eye4 ,in that rude home1 which every wind of heaven can penetrate1 we find a dying one4 ,perhaps for a quarter of a century1 she has been the inmate of that abode2 for all that time1 she may have had no hand but the hand of ,god1 and of charity1 to feed her4 ,what1 then1 is it that has sustained her spirit1 amid trials which we almost shudder to see8 ,she has lived1 and is now preparing to die1 upon the ,word of her ,god4 ,she is strong in the strength which it supplies1 and the home which looks so cheerless to others1 has been to her a home of hymns and of rejoicing4 ,the ,god of the ,bible has made her glad in the house of her pilgrimage by means of his ,word4 ,she has learned to regard it as ,god himself does2 and it is visibly magnified in the effects which it thus produces in souls by nature weak1 wavering1 and ungodly4 ,but we have not nearly exhausted the illustrations of the power of truth in the ,market-place4 ,we have looked at some proofs of its power where it is honoured and obeyed3 let us now glance at some of the results of neglecting it4 ,if some men are of opinion that their main business upon earth is to buy and sell1 and get gain2 the ,holy ,one has1 on the other hand1 made it plain that there is another ,god besides the ,mammon of unrighteousness4 ,,mercantile ,,mania4 ,we have referred to the crashes1 and the failures1 the gluts and stagnations which occur in trade1 with a periodicity which can almost be calculated--they can at least be easily foreseen as they approach4 ,the adventurous traffickers1 are sometimes seized with a mania which turns the counting-house into a gambler's den1 involving results and disasters from which the most judicious can with difficulty escape2 so powerful is the current1 so ingulfing the suction4 ,let us glance at some of these seasons4 ,,the ,,tulip ,,marts ,,of ,,holland4 ,and the first which we mention is1 the mania for dealing in ,tulips1 which engrossed even so calm and sedate a people as the ,dutch1 about two centuries ago4 ,it began about the year #afcd1 and1 like a violent epidemic1 it seized upon all classes of the community1 leading to disasters and misery such as the records of commerce1 or of bankruptcies1 can scarcely parallel4 ,in their haste to be rich1 one of the most temperate and self-possessed of all the nations of ,europe rushed upon a ruin which affected thousands1 and plunged multitudes into penury for life4 ,in the year #afcf1 ,tulip ,marts had been established at ,amsterdam1 at ,rotterdam1 ,haarlem1 ,leyden1 and other towns in ,holland4#ba ,as happens in all gambling transactions many were speedily enriched4 ,their fortunes1 it has been said1 rose like exhalations from the earth1 but in many cases they vanished as speedily4 ,nobles1 citizens1 farmers1 mechanics1 seamen1 footmen1 maid-servants1 even chimney sweeps--all caught the fever for tulips and gold4 ,houses and lands were either sold for what they would bring in the market1 or pledged1 and bartered1 that men might get possession of the coveted bulb or blossom4 ,amid these things1 the prices of food1 and other necessaries of life1 rose to an unprecedented extent2 and so complex1 so ramified and pervasive did the tulip trade become1 that special laws were passed to regulate it2 special functionaries were appointed to direct it2 in a word1 amid the activities of ,holland1 then perhaps the foremost nation in the commercial world1 a frail1 ephemeral flower became literally the representative of man's wealth1 or the object on which the hearts of thousands doated4 ,,the ,,shadow ,,grasped4 ,nor were these negotiations confined to the great central emporiums4 ,every village had its market-place for tulips2 festive meetings were held when sales were effected2 and the universal favourite--a tulip1 was the constant decorator of such festivities4 ,the learned and the ignorant1 the cautious and the eager1 men of all classes and all temperaments1 were infected2 it seemed as if the commerce of the world were henceforth to run in one exclusive channel--the sale and the purchase of tulips4 ,the eagerness with which men embarked in these wild speculations may be best explained by a statement of simple facts4#bb ,property to the value of #ajj1jjj florins#bc was invested in the purchase of a few roots4 ,one kind of tulip1 the _/,admiral ,leifken_/1 was reckoned worth #d1djj florins4 ,a _/,semper ,augustus_/ was deemed cheap1 if purchased for #e1ejj florins4 ,at one period there were only two roots of that rare species in ,holland2 and so intense was the passion to possess them1 that a merchant offered twelve acres of building lots for one of them1 which was at ,haarlem1 while its neighbour of ,amsterdam was purchased for #d1fjj florins1 a carriage1 a span of grey horses1#bd and a complete suit of harness4 ,a _/,viceroy_/ was worth #cjjj florins4 ,an _/,admiral ,vonder ,eyk_/ was rated at #a1bfj florins2 and the whole were sold by weight as carefully as jewel merchants weigh the diamond4 ,but to name no more1 there was a single root which cost two lasts99#aj of wheat1 and four of rye2 four fat oxen1 eight fat swine1 and twelve fat sheep2 two hogsheads of wine1 and four tuns of beer2 two tons of butter1 one thousand pounds of cheese1 a complete bed1 a suit of clothes1 and a silver drinking cup1 valued in all at #b1efj florins4 ,such is a glimpse of the tulip mania--such the effect of man's extraordinary haste to be rich--such the condition into which men proverbial for their sobriety of judgment were precipitated1 when they pushed their speculations beyond their legitimate channels4 ,,the ,,substance ,,thrown ,,away4 ,and what was the result8 ,how did a passion so extraordinary affect those who had been impelled by its power8 ,the bubble burst at length1 and though a fierce tornado had swept over ,holland1 the devastation could scarcely have been more complete4 ,the hopes which had been so unnaturally inflated began to collapse4 ,panic seized upon the speculators1 and bankruptcy followed panic1 as rapidly as the house which is built of cards is demolished by a blow4 ,it soon appeared that tulips were neither gold1 nor houses1 nor lands2 neither bread for the hungry1 nor clothing for the naked1 nor a home for the friendless2 and the worthlessness of the flower in itself1 became the emblem of the delusions which it had fostered4 ,every town in ,holland felt the blow4 ,multitudes were precipitated into poverty1 at least1 their only possessions consisted in a few bulbs--the representations at once of the speculator's thoughtlessness and his woe4 ,the result of the folly was now manifest1 and the madness of what was nothing but gambling1 showed its bitter fruits4 ,merchants and their families who had lived all their lives in independence and luxury1 were reduced to beggary by this mania for gold4 ,,the ,,only ,,safe ,,guide4 ,amid these calamities1 the help of man was found to be signally vain1 and those who had forgotten to take the ,bible into the ,counting-house1 and the ,market-place1 were left to reap as they had sowed4 ,every effort was made to arrest the tide of ruin4 ,law was appealed to4 ,the governing power of the nation was addressed1 but all in vain4 ,the gourd had withered1 the refuge of lies had fallen1 and not a few were buried in the ruins4 ,the trade of ,holland was prostrated for a time1 and some of its merchant princes never recovered from the shock4 ,,the ,,real ,,source ,,of ,,wealth4 ,it was by such a mercantile crash1 then1 that ,he who rules among the nations protested against the folly1 or the sin of such gambling4 ,it was proved1 upon a national scale1 that men cannot trample on the wisdom which comes from above1 and prosper2 and over the whole transaction1 the eye of faith can read many a text inscribed in letters of light1 we learn how much ,commerce would be aided throughout her extensive empire1 were her measures regulated by the mind1 and directed to the objects of ,god4 ,he that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent4 ,trust not in uncertain riches1 but in the living ,god1 who giveth us richly all things to enjoy4 ,ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment1 in meteyard1 in weight1 and in measure4 ,by humility and the fear of the ,lord1 are riches1 and honour1 and life4 ,let your conversation be without covetousness1 and be content with such things as ye have2 for ,he hath said1 ',i will never leave thee nor forsake thee4'--,these and many other passages of the ,word1 proclaim the folly of extinguishing the lamp1 and yet hoping to walk in the light4 ,he who shall really prosper in such a path1 will be the first in all the world's history2 but his prosperity will rest upon the ruins of truth1 and justice--of all that is pure1 and lovely1 and of good report4 ,,the ,,mississippi ,,scheme4 ,but this appears after all1 to have been a mere hallucination4 ,it may be reckoned the dictate of capricious fashion1 rather than a manifestation of the true mercantile spirit4 ,let us turn1 then1 to another illustration1 and we find it ready in the ,mississippi ,scheme of ,france1 which was begun in #agaf1 and continued till #agbc4 ,of all the wild speculations which have first duped and then ruined men1 this ranks among the foremost4 ,it was projected by a man who spent an ample fortune by his prodigality1 and then adopted a gambler's life1 the last resort of many a fallen spirit4 ,he first ruined a young ,english lady and then slew her brother in a duel1 for which he was obliged to flee from his native country4 ,amsterdam1 ,venice1 and ,genoa1 became in succession his asylum4 ,from each of these1 however1 he was banished as a dangerous adventurer2 and after fourteen years of friendless wandering1 he at last secured the patronage of the ,duke of ,orleans1 while ,regent of ,france1 about the year #agaf4 ,such was the unprincipled and profligate man employed to launch the ,mississippi ,scheme4 ,he began his career in ,paris by establishing a bank1 which aided in restoring the drooping commerce of ,france to some measure of activity4 ,success in one enterprise99#aa prepared the way for another1 and ,law devised the scheme which has given such bad notoriety to his name1 and was the occasion of a ruin so wide-spread that only ,omniscience knows it4 ,a ,french colony at the mouth of the ,mississippi occupied lands which were supposed to teem with gold2 and1 on that supposition1 men who knew of no better riches than those of earth1 rushed into a wild and visionary scheme4 ,the ,regent sanctioned the undertaking1 and notes were issued to the amount of one thousand millions of livres4#be ,one hundred and twenty _/per cent4_/ of profit were promised upon all investments2 and the baseless proposal so captivated men who were willingly fascinated1 that at least three hundred thousand applications were made for fifty thousand shares4 ,the titled1 from the right hand of royalty downward1 engaged in the scramble2 and their equipages blocked up the streets from day to day1 as they waited in feverish anxiety to know the result of their application for a chance of sharing in the fabulous wealth4--,it is known that when one maniac has committed suicide in any particular way--for example1 by precipitation from the summit of a tower--others morbidly follow his example2 and one is irresistibly reminded of that development of mania while tracing the history of the ,mississippi ,scheme4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,passion4 ,but1 after all1 it was still only in its infancy4 ,the ,regent created three hundred thousand additional shares2#bf and so grasping were even the coroneted gamblers of ,paris1 that three times that number would have been purchased had the scheme been extended so far4 ,the pressure for shares became so great1 that a number of persons were crushed to death in the crowd4 ,property suddenly rose in value1 till it was worth twelve or fifteen times as much as it had been a brief period before2 and so unwearied were these devotees of ,mammon1 that the streets had to be cleared at night by the soldiery4 ,for a time1 even the gaieties of ,paris were suspended2 and all the energies1 the earnestness1 and ardour of its people1 were turned into one absorbing channel--the passion for gold lying buried1 they believed1 in the lands around the mouth of the ,mississippi6 ,,coroneted ,,gamblers4 ,so ceaseless was the murmur of these speculators1 and so loud1 that the ,chancellor of ,paris1 whose court was in the neighbourhood of the bank1 could not hear the advocates as they pled4 ,about five hundred pavilions were in consequence erected at some distance1 for conducting the business4 ,the ingulfing tide rolled on4 ,peers and peeresses continued among the suitors for ,mississippi stock1 and sometimes stood for six hours in succession1 waiting for an interview with an agent4 ,in truth1 all classes were seized with a mania similar to that which reigns paramount in the mind of a gambler1 and which often goads him on to ruin4 ,amid the excitement1 society became more and more distempered4 ,the ignoble1 who had become suddenly rich1 purchased alliances with the titled4 ,robberies and murders took place1 and a ,count ,d',horn was tried and condemned to be broken on the wheel for one of these deeds of blood4 ,such was the influx of strangers into ,paris1 that houses could not be found for their accommodation4 ,tents and stables were transmuted into dwelling-houses1 and an artificial prosperity was produced1 which quadrupled the cost of some articles4 ,in a word1 it appeared that ,louis ,,xiv4 had been succeeded by ,midas1 a prince who turned all that he touched into gold4 ,,the ,,reaction4 ,but this bubble also burst4 ,the scheme was too baseless1 and the prosperity too artificial to last2 and again it was seen in one of the greatest nations of the earth1 that he who makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent1 as he certainly is not safe4 ,to all the golden visions of ,france there succeeded a period of confusion1 of bankruptcies1 of beggary and ruin1 deep and piteous in proportion as the excitement had been high4 ,those who were trembling on the verge of ruin1 or actually precipitated into it1 surrounded the palace of the ,regent1 and holding up the worthless bills of ,law1 which were now all the property they possessed1 exclaimed against the injustice with the vehemence of beggared men4 ,the projector of the scheme was exiled to ,pontoise4 ,a few realized wealth by the speculation1 but it is computed that millions were utterly beggared3 many laid violent hands upon themselves1 and sought a doubtful refuge in the grave4 ,and thus1 by another providence1 did the only wise ,god protest against the burning passion for gold which had eaten into the souls of multitudes4 ,men ,abrogate as roundly as they may1 ,the total ordinance and will of ,god1 but in spite of their attempts1 he accomplishes all his purposes1 and all his pleasure stands4 ,he who loves silver shall not be satisfied with it4 ,he who says to the fine gold1 ,be thou my confidence1 sooner or later finds that he has pierced himself through with many sorrows4 ,wherever the will of ,god is violated by nations or by individuals1 a day of retribution comes1 as surely as rivers which have burst their banks carry devastation wherever they rush4 ,it is well known that the channel of the ,po1 as it approaches its embochure1 is considerably elevated above the surrounding country4 ,the earth which it washes down from the ,alps is gradually deposited where the river runs more slowly4 ,the banks1 in consequence1 require to be periodically elevated2 and were that neglected1 the river would soon sweep them all away1 and render some of the most fertile portions of ,italy a wide and noxious marsh1 a focus of malaria and fever4 ,now1 it is the same wherever man's cupidity has thrown up artificial mounds in ,commerce4 ,they are always attended with danger1 and sooner or later they are swept away4 ,it is the sure decree of ,god3 ,he that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver1 nor he that loves abundance with increase4 ,,the ,,south ,,sea ,,bubble4 ,,delusions ,,believed4 ,one such illustration may suffice for all3 but there is another memorable ,scheme to which it seems proper to refer--that which is known in this country as the ,south ,sea ,bubble4 ,about the beginning of last century1 an opinion generally prevailed that the wealth of ,south ,america was exhaustless4 ,a privileged ,company to trade with it was accordingly formed1 and though the genius of the ,french and the ,english are widely different1 a passion for speculation and gold seized upon our countrymen1 as violent and absorbing as that which appeared in connection with the ,mississippi ,scheme of ,france4 ,by various devices1 in which the principles of the ,word of ,god were outraged1 the managers of the ,south ,sea ,scheme excited expectations of the most visionary kind4 ,the mania seized upon the nation through all its borders4 ,the stock of the ,company rose till it was eagerly bought at a premium of #ajjj _/per cent4_/ ,catching the general spirit1 joint-stock companies sprang up everywhere as rapidly as the ,prophet's gourd2 and so willing were men to be deceived1 that schemes which should have been put down on their first appearance were eagerly embraced4 ,one of these was denominated1 ,a ,company for carrying on an ,undertaking of ,great ,advantage1 but nobody to know what it is2#bg and yet ,englishmen1 proverbially calculating and cautious in their financial affairs1 actually embarked in that transparent deception1 like men infatuated by their haste to be rich4 ,the projector of the scheme asked a deposit of #b on each share of #ajj1 and the promised return was #ajj _/per annum_/4 ,on the first day of his scheme he received about #ajjj deposits1 or nearly #bjjj1 and with that sum he immediately and for ever disappeared4 ,in this manner1 the original ,south ,sea ,scheme branched out into eighty-seven cognate speculations1 each of which was eventually a fountain of misery to multitudes4 ,,the ,,ruling ,,passion4 ,the following sentences graphically tell the state of ,london and this kingdom at the period referred to3--,from morning till evening1 ',change ,alley was filled to overflowing with one dense moving mass of living beings1 composed of the most incongruous materials1 and in all things1 save the mad pursuit wherein they were employed1 utterly opposed in their principles and feelings1 and far asunder in their stations of life and the professions which they followed4 ,statesmen and clergymen deserted their high stations to enter upon this grand theatre of speculation and gambling2 and churchmen and dissenters left their fierce disputes1 and forgot their wranglings upon church government1 in this deep and hazardous game they were playing for worldly treasures1 and for riches which1 even if won1 were liable to disappear within the hour of their creation4 ,whigs and ,tories buried their weapons of political warfare1 discarded party animosities1 and mingled together in kind and friendly intercourse1 each exulting as their stocks advanced in price1 and murmuring dissatisfaction and disappointment when fortune frowned upon their wild operations2 and lawyers1 physicians1 merchants1 and tradesmen1 forsook their employments1 neglected their business1 and disregarded their engagements1 to whirl giddily along with the swollen stream1 to be at last ingulfed in the wide sea of bankruptcy4 ,men of the highest rank were deeply engaged in stock-jobbing transactions2 and investments in the most worthless bubbles of the age were made by them in heavy sums1 and without the least hesitation or previous inquiry4 ,females mixed with the crowd1 and1 forgetting the stations and employments which nature had fitted them to adorn1 dealt boldly and extensively in the bubbles that rose before them1 and1 like those by whom they were surrounded1 rose from poverty to wealth1 and from that were thrust down to beggary and want1 and all in one short week1 and perhaps before the evening which terminated the first day of their speculations4 ,ladies of high rank1 regardless of every appearance of dignity1 and blinded by the prevailing infatuation1 drove to the shops of their milliners and haberdashers1 and there met stockbrokers whom they regularly employed1 and through whom extensive sales were daily negotiated4 ,in the midst of the excitement1 all distinctions of party and religion1 circumstances and character1 were swallowed up4 ,bubbles were blown into existence on every hand1 and stocks of every conceivable name1 nature1 and description1 were issued to an incredible extent4#bh ,,the ,,folly ,,of ,,man',s ,,wisdom4 ,but this also came to an end2 and disasters followed which rent society like an earthquake4 ,the leaders in the scheme were consigned to prison1 or compelled to seek refuge in exile2 while their deluded victims were left amid poverty1 and its attendant woe1 to gather the native fruit of the thorns and the thistles1 from which they had expected grapes and figs4 ,it was miserable comfort to reflect1 that their own baseless expectations had abetted the delusion1 and made the ruin complete4 ,,results4 ,and such is another illustration of the effects which follow the infatuation of putting ,mammon in the place of ,god1 or delivering up the whole soul to the pursuit of what the ,holy ,one declares to be unsatisfying as a dream4 ,it is thus that he warns men1 in his providence1 against that lust of speculation1 which is often as ruinous as the lust of power1 or any passion which drives men headlong upon misery4 ,the very titles of some of the schemes which were projected at the period now referred to1 stamp them with infatuation4 ,the nation had become an aggregate of gamblers1 and the following are some of the stakes3-- ,a ,company for ,increasing ,children's ,fortunes4 ,a ,company for ,furnishing ,funerals in any part of ,great ,britain4 ,a ,company1 already mentioned1 for carrying on an ,undertaking of ,great ,advantage2 but nobody to know what it is4 ,a ,company for ,making ,looking-,glasses4 ,capital1 #b1jjj1jjj4 ,a ,company for ,improving ,malt ,liquors4 ,capital1 #d1jjj1jjj4 ,a ,company for ,insuring all ,masters and ,mistresses against ,losses by ,servants4 ,capital1 #c1jjj1jjj4 ,a ,company for ,importing ,walnut ,trees4 ,capital1 #b1jjj1jjj4 ,a ,company for ,erecting ,hospitals for ,illegitimate ,children4 ,capital1 #b1jjj1jjj4 ,a ,company for ,erecting ,loan-,offices4 ,capital1 #b1jjj1jjj4 --,but we need not enumerate more4 ,in that scramble for riches1 reason appears to have been befooled4 ,departing from the law of ,god1 men were left to starvation3 ,they that did feed delicately1 are desolate in the streets3 they that were brought up in scarlet1 embrace dunghills4 ,what though one1 or two1 or a few realized wealth1 and withdrew in time from the ingulfing vortex8 ,the wide wail--the desolating explosions which followed1 were poorly compensated for by these exceptions4 ,what though some might be charioted to-day1 who yesterday lived by the sweat of their brows8 ,to-morrow will see them more wretched than before4 ,what though artificial standards have elevated a nominal wealth to the value of ,potosi or ,golconda8 ,broken fortunes1 broken characters1 broken hearts1 are the sad realities which close the vista4 ,and thus1 would men learn1 they might2 it is written in light above us1 according to the words already quoted3 ,he that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver2 nor he that loveth abundance with increase4 ,if covetousness be idolatry1 and ,mammon the idol1 his devotees are taught that disaster and woe are their lot4 ,,the ,,idol ,,and ,,the ,,worshipper4 ,yet men have not been warned by all these things2 nay1 the same spirit has revived in very recent years2 and could we unveil the misery which has been endured by thousands as the result of recent crashes1 the impression might be deepened as to the madness of making haste to be rich4 ,men have said1 ,to-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city1 and continue there for a year1 and buy and sell and get gain2 but ere the year was closed1 their gains have taken to themselves wings4 ,the will of ,god was left out of view in their plans1 and they were baffled4 ,,the ,,end4 ,we must repeat--we have no controversy with commercial enterprise1 when conducted in accordance with the wisdom of the ,word of ,god4 ,it is one of the means of binding nation to nation1 and bringing back the alienated children of men to one wide family circle1 according to the purpose of our ,father who is in heaven4 ,but that is not to be accomplished by outraging his laws2 and the man1 the company1 the nation1 which extinguishes the lamp1 will be left to walk in darkness4--,when the butchers of the first ,french revolution were leading their victims to death1 some of those who were doomed to die1 were conducted1 by a refinement in cruelty1 along an alley into a garden of flowers1 where only fragrance and beauty greeted their senses2 but at a certain spot1 inevitable doom awaited them1 at the hands of men who thirsted for their blood--and we need scarcely apply the illustration4 ,in their haste to be rich1 men seem1 for a season1 to walk amid fragrance4 ,their path is all luminous with hope--such hope as man's devices can inspire2 but sooner or later they are hurried into misery4 ,when infamous venality1 grown bold1 ,writes on his bosom1 'to be let1 or sold1' men have laid a snare in which1 by ,god's decree1 they will be entangled2 they have dug a pitfall1 in which1 by ,god's decree1 they will be taken4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,religion ,,in ,,the ,,professions3--,i4 ,,the ,,physician-- ,,ii4 ,,the ,,lawyer--,,iii4 ,,the ,,divine4 ,there are many symptoms of the reviving power of religion in our day4 ,some of the great questions which enter into the very heart of society are connected with the claims of truth upon the one hand1 or the pretensions of those who would suppress it upon the other4 ,the high courts of ,parliament are convulsed by religious discussions4 ,when wars arise1 or are threatened1 they often owe their origin to topics connected with religion4 ,periodicals which began their career in indifference or antagonism to the truth1 are now obliged to do obeisance to it1 if they would command the attention of men1 and some even of those whose opposition was once a mixture of sneers and acrimony1 have now to borrow weight and influence from doctrines which will be found ascendant when every form of error shall have vanished away4 ,in a word1 empires1 countries1 households1 individual souls1 are alike proclaiming that the kingdom of our ,father who is in heaven must come--that ,his will must be done on earth as it is done in heaven4 ,nay more1 there is a kind of ,christianity even among our infidels --that is1 they owe not a little of what they hold to the very system which they disparage and affect to ignore4 ,the truth is thus producing effects even in spheres from which men would gladly banish it1 but into which it is making its way1 like a rising tide1 in spite alike of the indifference and the hostility of men4 ,the friends of truth are thus encouraged4 ,the collected light of the past and the present is projected into the future4 ,our nation1 and the progress of truth within our borders1 is a type of the world4 ,in due time1 religion will rule all2 either the sceptre of love will guide1 or the rod of iron will dash the nations4#bi ,,the ,,religious ,,physician4 ,in no respect1 perhaps1 is this progress more apparent than as regards the ,medical ,profession4 ,in ancient times1 it was proverbially true1 or alleged1 that wherever there were three physicians1 there were two atheists2#cj that is1 the majority of that profession were then deemed atheists1 or atheistic4 ,how changed now6 ,many are1 no doubt1 still living without any recognition of ,god4 ,they refuse to be illumined by the light which irradiates others1 and grovel amid the grossness of material things1 instead of soaring1 as they might do1 to the spiritual1 the heavenly1 the eternal4 ,but others1 led by the ,supreme ,wisdom1 do soar to these4 ,with religion for their directress1 they are skilled in the remedy of the soul as well as of the body4 ,they can occasion the melody of spiritual joy and spiritual health1 as well as promote the blessedness which originates in the well-being of the body4 ,an accomplished physician of our day has said1 and said with truth3 ,every medical practitioner1 whether he desires to have it or not1 has a cure of souls as well as of bodies4 ,he is literally an inheritor of some of the duties of the very apostles1 and called to be an imitator of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4#ca ,now1 as no sphere could be named where ,religion is confessedly more required1 let us consider it for a little in connection with the ,medical ,profession4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,danger-- ,i4 ,conversant daily with death1 or walking from hour to hour along the verge of the grave1 and in sight of eternity1 there is some danger lest these great realities should lose their power--that is1 lest the mind should become indifferent to all that is most solemn in the lot of man4 ,and what is the antidote8 ,there is none1 except a constant realizing of eternal and spiritual things4 ,the mind must be kept constantly under their influence1 or the proverb as to the atheists will be at least practically realized4 ,deprived as ,physicians often are1 of the repose of the ,sabbath1 and all opportunities for worshipping the ,father of our spirits1 they need a double portion of religion in the soul4#cb ,if it be not possessed1 then for the same reason as soldiers and seamen are profligate and abandoned1 till their profligacy be proverbial1 do those who tend our bodies sink into deeper spiritual darkness than others4 ,though familiar with death1 they are not warned1 as other men are1 of the need of preparing for what follows the all-decisive change4 ,accustomed to devote their thoughts and their care--sometimes1 perhaps1 with feverish anxiety--to the body1 they are in danger of forgetting its immortal occupant4 ,many do forget it1 and gaze on the power of that ruthless destroyer who has baffled all their skill1 with as little thought as a sexton on a coffin1 or on the fragments of the dead which he dishumes with his mattock4 ,regarding the body as the man1 and overlooking all beyond it1 a gross materialism becomes dominant in the mind2 and unless a divine1 a living1 and spiritual religion occupy the soul1 as the antidote to this danger1 the most skilful physician may just become practically the most thorough materialist4 ,nay1 far more3 such a physician must often see the mind of the dying utterly dependent on the state of the body4 ,it is delirious or calm--it is soothed or agonized--it is torpid or restless1 just according to the stage of the disease4 ,this at least is commonly the case2 and accustomed to that spectacle1 the physician who watches1 perhaps with deep sympathy for the sufferer1 over every new phase of the disease1 almost in spite of himself regards the patient as a piece of mere materialism4 ,it is upon the material part that his thoughts are fixed1 or his skill brought to bear4 ,he thus magnifies his office1 and hence his danger2 hence the grossness of some of the more vulgar minds among physicians2 hence the perils even of the purest and the most scientific4 ,,the ,,antidote4 ,but hence1 also1 the need and the preciousness of pure and undefiled religion4 ,hence the mercy implied in the revelation of a spiritual ,teacher1 the very ,spirit of ,god1 to ward off that danger1 and give reality and prominence to the things of the soul4 ,hence a loud call to those who know that there is a spirit in man1 to realize its existence and seek its welfare4 ,hence the need of solemn impressions of the truth of ,god1 in all that is said to fix our thoughts upon the soul1 its condition and its destiny4 ,hence1 in short1 if any man needs a personal religion--that is1 a religion for himself1 a ,saviour for himself1 repentance1 faith1 love1 hope1 holiness1 all for himself--it is the man who lives on the confines between life and death--who has to do with the body when affection clings to it most closely2 and who is apt to forget the inmate while attending to its abode--the immortal1 while concentrating his skill upon the transient dust4 ,,sin1 ,,and ,,disease4 ,or farther2 no intelligent physician can practise for a single month without having the connection between sin and disease forced upon his notice4 ,he may be too thoughtless to attend to it1 or too gross to think of it at all2 but whether he think of it or not1 the fact is unquestionable--there is a necessary1 a divinely-appointed connection between crime and disease4 ,the bloated drunkard and the wasted debauchee1 the premature death of many a youth1 the madness of many a maniac--all proclaim the beneficent decree of ,god1 that suffering shall follow sin4 ,now1 can it be rational for men to be daily cognisant with that connection1 and do nothing to counteract it8 ,maintaining a daily conflict with pain1 shall they ignore its origin8 ,are they benevolent or merciful1 who assail the bodily disease1 but neglect the divine antidote for the soul8 ,nay1 am ,i not conspiring against the immortality of self-deluded man1 if ,i know a cure for that mortal ailment which has seized on the very vitals of his being1 and yet hide it from his view8 ,rather let me press it kindly on his notice2 and that ,i may learn to do so with tenderness and tact1 let me make sure that it has attracted my own1 that my soul is illumined by its radiance and animated by its hopes4 ,,insanity4 ,physicians1 moreover1 have often to deal with the insane2 and1 though it be one of the grossest of all libels against the ,gospel of peace1 to allege that it ever produces insanity1 it is no less true that exaggerated1 distorted1 and false views of some doctrines of revelation may intensely agitate the soul4 ,extreme degrees of remorse for sin committed1 and felt in its sinfulness against ,god1 may convulse the whole man1 till reason totter on its throne4 ,with such cases the physician may be called to deal2 and if he be ignorant of the power of religion1 or prejudiced against it1 not a cure1 but an aggravation of the malady1 may be expected to result4 ,religion is now among the universally accredited means of cure in well-ordered ,institutions for the insane2 and he who is ignorant of the soothing power of ,god's pure truth in the conscience of a believer1 is ill adapted to apply that remedy with effect4 ,hence the need of personal religion in those who watch for the diseased2 hence the need of the ,spirit's teaching1 that he who is a guardian of the body's health may know how to promote the soul's2 and _/that_/ no physician will know till the ,saviour be a ,saviour to him1 and the great question1 ,what must ,i do to be saved8 be practically adjusted4 ,a ,,physician',s ,,power-- ,and when we think of the position in which the patient is commonly seen by the physician1 the reasons why religion should reign paramount in the latter become more cogent still4 ,the afflicted are1 in some sense1 at the mercy of the physician4 ,the skill of the medical attendant is the sheet-anchor of the sufferer4 ,actions1 words1 and looks1 are carefully watched and scrutinized1 as if destiny were in them4 ,the physician has given relief from pain3 he has1 perhaps1 brought back the patient from the verge of the grave2 and hence the one feels that the other is1 for the time1 the very life of his life4 ,now1 for what purpose should all that ascendency be employed8 ,should it be used merely to amuse the sufferer1 or beguile his thoughts for a little away from the prison-house into which sickness has converted his chamber8 ,ah1 no2 but for higher1 holier ends3 if that physician have religion in his own soul1 he will use his influence as a means of medicating the soul of the sufferer1 by turning his thoughts to ,him who kills and makes alive2 and where that is neglected1 opportunities the most precious are lost--a talent which might reproduce itself more than a thousand-fold is guiltily hid in the earth4 ,,its ,,uses4 ,nor should we fail to notice the influence for good which may be exerted over the relatives of the diseased in times of sickness and sorrow4 ,when the ploughshare of trial has torn up the heart1 a physician can drop in the seed which bears fruit unto holiness1 if he love souls1 or be wise to win them4 ,grief is indulged before him1 which is pent up in the presence of others2 fears are expressed1 dark forebodings appear1 which none but the physician is permitted to witness4 ,confessions also are sometimes made1 or secrets disclosed1 which throw the door for doing good more open still2 and1 amid all these things1 only one explanation can be given1 if the opportunity be not seized--that physician has no love for souls2 he does not know their value2 eternity is a name to him4 ,true1 there is a professional etiquette to which many defer1 and which it would be wrong1 in its own place1 to violate4 ,but that etiquette is worldly or morbid which stands in the way of loving men's souls1 or seeking to do them good2 and such love will watch for ways for displaying itself amid a crowd of obstacles4 ,,the ,,great ,,physician4 ,it has been the conviction of some ,christian physicians1 that none but a ,christian can discharge aright the high duties of their profession4 ,in its widest sense1 we adopt the maxim2 it is specially true in regard to the necessity which exists for subordinating all to the high interests of that life where there shall be no more death4 --,it is in this way that the ,saviour's example is best copied and the ,saviour's glory best promoted4 ,what physicians only attempt1 ,he accomplished4 ,they strive to prolong life2 ,he is the life itself4 ,they are often physicians of no value2 ,he dispenses the balm that is in ,gilead2 ,he is the physician there4 ,this great ,physician6 one exclaims1 this great sufferer6 this vanquisher of death6 this possessor and granter of an endless life1 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 ,god over all1 is the true ,head of our profession2 and blessed is that physician who has learned1 from his ,head in glory1 to watch for the souls1 while he sheds blessings upon the bodies1 of men4 ,,illustrations4 ,nor are we merely theorizing here4 ,some physicians1 in all countries and ages1 have been alive to this view of their profession4 ,boerhaave1 for example1 was a physician in such practice1 that princes1 ambassadors1 and even ,peter the ,great1 had to remain for hours in his ante-chamber before they could be admitted to an interview2 and yet it was his constant habit to devote the first hour of every day to prayer and meditation on the ,word of ,god--a practice which he recommended to others1 as the source of that vigour which carried him through all his toils4 ,harvey1 the discoverer of the circulation of the blood1 tells us that he never dissected the body of an animal without discovering something in which he had to recognise the hand of an all-wise ,creator4 ,william ,hey1 a surgeon of eminence1 is described as one of those who fear ,god in youth1 who walk with him through life1 and to whom the hoary head is therefore a crown of glory4 ,arrested by the words1 ,if any man be in ,christ1 he is a new creature1 and affected by the love of ,god in the ,saviour1 he devoted himself1 _/first_/ to that which ,god puts first --the soul4 ,the holy duties and holy pleasures of the ,sabbath rest were zealously cultivated by ,hey2 in short1 he escaped from the dangers of his profession1 because he was afraid of them1 and adopted the divine means of safety4 ,his support and comfort were found in believing views of the atonement made by ,jesus2 and1 resting there1 he was blessed and made a blessing4 ,and ,jenner1 the discoverer of vaccination1 is to be ranked in the same class--but we need not particularize4 ,as we examine the records of the past1 physician after physician rises up before us qualified to minister to the soul as well as the body2 and some of them actually doing so4 ,driven by the perils of their profession1 they sought the wisdom of ,god only wise1 and were guided by his ,spirit in the path whose end is glory4 ,let us1 however1 single out one example of a devout physician1 and contemplate the ascendency of pure and undefiled religion in his life and death4 ,,dr4 ,,john ,,cheyne4 ,dr4 ,john ,cheyne was born at ,leith in the year #aggg1 and obtained a medical decree at ,edinburgh in #agie4 ,after various attempts to establish himself in practice1 he settled in ,dublin in the year #ahji1 and rose step by step from an income at the rate of three guineas for six months1 till he was in receipt of #ejjj _/per annum_/1 on an average of ten years4 ,when failing health forced him to withdraw from practice1 he had received in fees for four months no less a sum than #b1bcj4 ,but while thus rising to a high point in his profession1 ,dr4 ,cheyne was not oblivious of the soul4 ,to a friend he once wrote3 ,you may wish to know the condition of my mind4 ,i am humbled to the dust by the thought that there is not one action of my busy life which will bear the eye of a holy ,god4 ,but when ,i reflect on the invitation of the ,redeemer1 ',come unto ,me1' and that ,i have accepted this invitation2 and1 moreover1 that my conscience testifies that ,i earnestly desire to have my will in all things conformed to the will of ,god1 ,i have peace1 ,i have the promised rest--promised by ,him in whom was found no guile4 ,a ,,christian ,,physician4 ,moreover1 ,dr4 ,cheyne1 with the calmness which only the truth as it is in ,jesus1 and good hope through him1 can inspire1 gave directions for his own funeral1 in a spirit which evinces the great firmness of his faith4 ,in the act of triumphing over death1 he ordered a column to be erected near the spot where his body lies1 on which were to be inscribed these texts1 as voices from eternity3 ,god so loved the world1 that he gave his only begotten ,son1 that whosoever believeth on him might not perish1 but have eternal life2 ,come unto me1 all ye that labour and are heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest2 and1 ,follow peace with all men1 and holiness1 without which no man shall see the ,lord4 ,and while ,dr4 ,cheyne thus strove even from the tomb to beckon sinners to the ,saviour and to glory1 he was careful to conceal his own name1 and withhold it from the column4 ,he was not less careful1 however1 to say1 as speaking to the passer-by1 ,the name1 profession1 and age of him whose body lies beneath are of little consequence2 but it may be of great importance to you to know1 that1 by the grace of ,god1 he was brought to look to the ,lord ,jesus as the only ,saviour of sinners1 and that this 'looking unto ,jesus' gave peace to his soul4 ,nor was this all2 the appeal is yet more cogent to the reader4 ,pray to ,god1 it says1 pray to ,god that you may be instructed in the ,gospel2 and be assured that ,god will give the ,holy ,spirit1 the only teacher of true wisdom1 to them that ask him4 ,there1 then1 is the case of one physician whom no materialism could harden1 and no familiarity with death blind to the glories of life and its ,lord4 ,he was careful to roll back every reproach from the pure truth of ,god2 and whether that reproach originated with the superficial and the prejudiced in his own profession1 or the ignorant in other spheres1 his fine mental powers1 his love of souls1 his felt interest in the things of eternity and the favour of ,god1 evermore urged ,dr4 ,cheyne to act like one who knew the grace of ,god in truth4 ,now1 what has been may be--what has been in such a cause1 _/ought_/ to be2 and were men not too often the willing victims of the evil heart of unbelief1 we should find more of the guardians of our health walking in the steps of ,luke1 the beloved physician1 than is now the case4 ,a godless physician beside a dying man's couch must exercise a torpedo-like influence on the soul1 deadening or disturbing all that is heavenly4 ,on the other hand1 the man who can wisely and tenderly prescribe for the soul1 or at least point to its great ,physician1 while caring for the aching or the wasted body1 is a brother born for adversity indeed4 ,countless as are the opportunities which that wise and ,christian physician may enjoy for warning the careless1 for cheering the despairing1 or pointing the dying to the ,life1 he is not the friend1 but the heartless enemy of man1 who neglects to embrace them1 and tell of ,him who is both our righteousness and our strength4 ,if no words of reprobation be too strong for him who sees a fellow-creature writhing in agony without assisting him when he has the power1 what shall we say of the unfeeling1 the inhuman being1 who lets a fellow-sinner perish in his guilt for ever1 unheeded and unwarned8 ,,retributions4 ,one sentence more4 ,various solutions have been attempted for the phenomenon which has long been common--the ungodliness or the gross lives of many physicians4 ,without challenging any of the explanations which have been offered1 there can be no doubt that that phenomenon has a moral cause4 ,men neglect the most solemn warnings4 ,while tending the sick and the dying1 they see sin and its effects linked together in bonds which cannot be broken2 and yet they continue in sin themselves4 ,unchecked by what _/should_/ check1 passion carries them forward in their downward career1 and the coarseness of the lives of some physicians appears a righteous retribution for warnings slighted--for lessons not learned--for ,god not heard--and the divinely-appointed connection between sin and misery not recognised4 ,where1 on earth1 can a scene so appropriate for religion as a dying man's chamber be found8 ,and shall the physician leave it without blame1 if he not merely drop no hint of the glory which awaits the ransomed1 the woe of the unsaved2 but1 moreover1 proceeds to add sin to sin in his own life8 ,the man who does so1 voluntarily and sinfully comes down from the highest vantage ground on which a mortal can stand4 ,the patient feels as if his life were in the physician's hand2 a word from him would sink like an oracle into the soul1 but that word is not spoken--not one hint is given1 and in the high reckoning of eternity is not such a man guilty in the deepest sense8 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,lawyer4 ,,ii4 ,perhaps the ,lawyer is exposed to yet greater spiritual peril than the physician1 and his need of a better wisdom than man's is proportionably great4 ,the circumstances in which he is generally consulted render it specially needful that the law of ,god should be in his heart1 and shine as the pole-star of his mind4 ,men resort to him1 smarting under a sense of injury2 and the lawyer needs prudence to repress the rising or the rankling desire for revenge4 ,they seek his guidance when threatened by the oppressor2 how discreet1 then1 should he be in his counsels6 ,they may even ask his aid to accomplish some nefarious project--to overreach and defraud2 or1 to defend some fraud already committed4 ,how prompt1 then1 should lawyers be to repress such iniquity1 that the land may not mourn because blood touches blood6 ,every trial in this world's concerns--every dread of loss1 of bankruptcy1 or imposition1 may send the client to the door of his legal adviser2 and1 amid all these things1 if there be a man on earth who needs the control of steadfast1 unfaltering truth--a counsellor who is ever near--a wisdom which cannot err--a charity which seeketh not her own1 is not easily provoked1 thinketh no evil2 rejoiceth not in iniquity1 but rejoiceth in the truth2 beareth all things1 believeth all things1 hopeth all things1 endureth all things--the lawyer is that man4 ,,moral ,,dangers4 ,and yet there is much in his position to bias or to pervert his judgments4 ,accustomed1 at least in some departments of his profession1 to various sinister influences1 and often more bent on discovering what can be said for a cause than what is true1 the mind may be so warped as to lose the power of dispassionate decision4 ,it may acquire such a habit of tampering with the truthful1 or be so much more anxious to carry a point than to establish a fact1 that a kind of subtle ,jesuitism may be the result--a habit of perplexing all that is simple1 or shrouding in mystery all that is plain4 ,moreover1 an advocate1 while he pleads for the life or the liberty of a client1 may not merely feel himself free1 but bound1 to use every means1 to accomplish his object1 even though some of them may be tortuous or equivocal4 ,nay1 it may become a point of honour to conceal or perplex the true1 and attempt to establish the false4 ,in this manner1 the endeavour to keep as near to falsehood as a regard to character1 or rather to success1 will allow1 may foster a habit of mind subversive of all that is lofty or pure in truth4 ,and where shall we find an antidote to that but in the truth which came from heaven--where but in the authority of ,him who is the ,lord of conscience--where but in the ,judge of all1 whose law written on the heart1 though only partially legible now1 taught even a heathen to say1 _/,fiat ,justitia1 ruat coelum8_/ ,,special ,,pleaders4 ,,the ,,licence ,,of ,,counsel4 ,the baneful effects of this moral peril are recognised1 in common language1 by the discredit always thrown upon a ,special ,pleader1 now almost a synonyme for meanness1 chicanery1 and deception4 ,there are1 no doubt1 many who are above the baseness of fraud1 and the dishonesty of a conscious attempt to deceive2 but it may fairly be questioned whether it be common to find men1 in certain departments of the legal profession1 so thoroughly elevated above temptation as not to be exposed to moral peril4 ,nay1 we speak too guardedly on this subject--others have spoken out4 ,there are many1 an eminent lawyer has said1 whom it may be needful to remind1 that an advocate1 by the sacred duty of his connection with his client1 knows1 in the discharge of that office1 but one person in the world--that client1 and none other4 ,to serve that client1 by all expedient means2 to protect that client1 at all hazards and costs to all others 7even the party already injured71 and1 amongst others1 to himself1 is the highest and most unquestioned of his duties4 ,and he must not regard the alarm1 the suffering1 the torment1 the destruction1 which he may bring upon any other4 ,nay1 separating even the duties of a patriot from those of an advocate1 he must go on1 reckless of the consequences1 if his fate should unhappily be to involve his country in confusion for his client4#cc ,,iniquity ,,systematized4 ,now1 this is plain1 but it is also perilous4 ,the expedient is here allowed to supersede not merely the patriotic1 but also the truthful4 ,if the object aimed at1 which may be to screen successful villany1 or shelter even a murderer from punishment1 can be accomplished--all is reckoned fair4 ,truth may be compromised2 honest witnesses browbeaten or bewildered2 and the beautiful transparency of one upright man's intercourse with another turned into mockery1 or treated with derision4 ,lawyers not a few have proved1 by their offences against truth and the sacred obligations of man to man1 that it is only too congenial to their liking thus to trample truth in the dust4 ,they feign pity1 indignation1 moral approbation1 or disgust or contempt1 when they neither feel anything of the kind1 nor believe the case to be one that justly calls for such feelings2 they are led also occasionally to entrap or mislead1 to revile1 insult1 and calumniate persons whom they may1 in their heart1 believe to be respectable persons and honest witnesses1 and such putting of bitter for sweet1 and sweet for bitter1 must involve a woe4 ,it cannot fail to warp the conscience and becloud the mind2 and the man who does not feel the danger of such ways1 is already their dupe or their victim4 ,one has pertinently asked the learned and the noble who patronize these outrages against truth1 while yet they profess to be ,christians1 how they can reconcile the two4 ,there is a religion which says that 'lying lips are an abomination to the ,lord2' and how can men1 it is asked1 avoid the solemn scriptural denunciation1 ,woe unto them that call evil good1 and good evil2 that put darkness for light1 and light for darkness2 that put bitter for sweet1 and sweet for bitter2 444 who justify the wicked for reward1 and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him4#cd ,,lord ,,bacon4 ,perhaps the most remarkable illustration of the injurious effects of such habits upon the heart and mind is found in the case of ,lord ,chancellor ,bacon-- ,the wisest1 brightest1 meanest of mankind4 ,this is not the place to tell of his learning1 his world-wide fame1 his greatness as a philosopher who revolutionized science1 and certainly introduced a new era in the history of man4 ,his eloquence as a pleader1 and the stately majesty of his thinking1 place ,bacon high among the starry lights of genius4 ,he is in philosophy what ,shakespeare or ,milton is among poets4 ,and yet1 that man so gifted and transcendant1 was guilty of actions which equal in turpitude aught that is recorded in the history of human weakness4 ,whether we are to ascribe it to the discipline of his profession1 fostering some inborn tendencies to what is disreputable and degrading1 we do not tarry to inquire2 but looking at the fact which history renders too unquestionable1 we have in this illustrious philosopher but unscrupulous man1 a painful exhibition of man's native weakness when the heavenly lamp is shaded or extinguished4 ,some have explained the low morality of ,bacon by supposing that he was an infidel1 and some of his reputed works rather favour the supposition4#ce ,but his productions as a whole forbid us to adopt that solution1 and we are consequently left with an example of a most painful kind1 to prove the worthlessness of powers the most colossal1 of learning and originality unsurpassed1 of gifts the most varied and transcendent to keep man in the path of virtue1 when the heavenly guide is abandoned4 ,we can only enumerate in a catalogue some of the incidents in the life of ,bacon which establish these conclusions4 ,,men ,,of ,,high ,,degree ,,are ,a ,,lie4 ,at a critical period1 he received from the ,earl of ,essex1 when that nobleman was in favour with ,queen ,elizabeth1 a gift of land which was worth at least #ahjj4 ,yet against his benefactor1 ,bacon afterwards enlisted his great powers1 to convict him of high-treason2 and that merely to purchase the ,queen's favour1 and promote the philosopher's advancement4 ,bacon spent the ten days which elapsed between the commitment of ,essex to the ,tower and his arraignment1 shut up in his chambers in ,gray's ,inn1 studying the law of treason2 looking out for parallel cases of an aggravated nature in the history of other countries1 and considering how he might paint the unpardonable guilt of the accused in even blacker colours than could be employed by the ferocious ,coke1 famous for insulting his victims4#cf ,the man whom ,bacon thus laboured to condemn had heaped favour after favour upon him1 and been meanly fawned upon in return1 yet during the trial1 ,lord ,campbell says1 ,bacon most artfully and inhumanly compared ,essex to the ,duke of ,guise1 and adds1 in regard to the ,earl after he was condemned1 and an interview which ,bacon had with the ,queen upon the subject1 ,why did he not throw himself on his knees before her and pray for a pardon8 ,because1 while it was possible that he might have melted her1 it was possible that he might have offended her1 and that1 a vacancy in the office of ,solicitor-,general occurring1 7for which ,bacon was a suitor7 he might be again passed over4 ,but not contented with having pled for the condemnation of ,essex1 ,bacon1 in order to ingratiate himself farther with the ,queen1 published an attack upon the fallen man1 regarding which the great philosopher's biographer says3 ,no honourable man would purchase ,bacon's subsequent elevation at the price of being the author of this publication4444 ,the base ingratitude and the slavish meanness manifested by him on this occasion1 called forth the general indignation of his contemporaries4444 ,he had before his eyes no just standard of honour1 and in the race of ambition1 he had lost all sense of the distinctions between right and wrong4 ,,the ,,torture4 ,,employed ,,by ,,lord ,,bacon4 ,it were a weariness to trace all the instances of ,bacon's meanness in place-hunting1 and his fulsome adulation of those who appeared likely to promote his views4 ,he even went so far as to prosecute a clergyman named ,peacham1 for a sermon alleged to contain treason1 but never either preached or published4 ,bacon was then ,attorney-,general4 ,he tampered with the judges1 says ,lord ,campbell1 and had the unhappy man put to the torture1 to wring a confession from him1 without success4 ,he was examined before torture1 between torture1 and after torture4 --,these are ,bacon's own words1 and according to the biographer of the ,chancellors1 there is reason to believe that he even presided at the rack4 ,he thus outraged the law and the constitution of ,england to gratify ,james ,i41 then upon the throne4 ,but the ,lord ,chancellor of the day was aged and infirm4 ,lord ,campbell says1 he could not much longer hold the seals1 and ,bacon was resolved to be his successor4 ,that was his aim1 and is not ,lord ,campbell right in adding1 there are stronger contrasts of light and shade in the character of ,bacon1 than probably of any other man who ever lived8 ,the instances of meanness1 of subserviency1 of adulation to those from whom he expected favours1 as proved by his own letters1 convict this philosopher and sage of conduct which would have degraded a menial2 while to the whole he could add a malignity never surpassed1 all under pretence of acting a ,christian part4 ,his biographer says that he poured oil of vitriol into the wounds he had inflicted1 and it was in perfect keeping with this that that ,attorney-,general of ,england1 in consequence of some offence which he had unwarily given1 flung himself on the floor1 kissed the feet of such a man as ,buckingham1 the profligate favourite of ,james1 and vowed never to rise till he was forgiven4 ,,bacon',s ,,bribes-- ,but he could not always proceed unchecked4 ,nemesis was not forgetful of the right4 ,bacon had reached the summit of his ambition2 he was ,lord ,high ,chancellor of ,england1 and in that character soon became notorious for the bribes which he accepted for his judgments4 ,this more than ,european philosopher1 this author of a new logic1 and of works which brought the learned from all parts of ,christendom to converse with him1 was known to take bribes as a judge6 ,a committee of the ,house of ,commons was appointed to investigate such corruption4 ,the ,chancellor shuffled1 equivocated1 denied1 but at last confessed1 because the evidence was such as no partiality could escape4 ,a great number of charges of bribery were established4 ,the whole have been supposed to amount to #ajj1jjj4 ,bacon was about to be impeached4 ,he broke down under the load of infamy1 and appealed to the ,king to interpose2 but all was unavailing1 and the ,lord ,high ,chancellor of ,england1 one of the profoundest thinkers of modern times1 gave in to his peers1 ,his confession and humble submission4 ,it says1 ,i do plainly and ingenuously confess that ,i am guilty of corruption2 and do renounce all defence and put myself upon the grace and mercy of your ,lordships4 ,when visited at his house1 where he lay in shattered health1 to ascertain the genuineness of his signature to the confession1 he exclaimed1 ,my lords1 it is my act1 my hand1 my heart4 ,i beseech your ,lordships to be merciful to a broken reed2 and he subsequently surrendered the great seal1 the bauble for which1 ,macaulay says1 he had sullied his integrity1 had resigned his independence1 had violated the most sacred obligations of friendship and gratitude1 had flattered the worthless1 had persecuted the innocent1 had tampered with judges1 had tortured prisoners1 and had wasted on paltry intrigues all the powers of the most exquisitely constructed intellect that has ever been bestowed on any of the children of men4 ,,his ,,disgrace4 ,bacon's sentence from his peers was1 a fine of #dj1jjj2 he was to be imprisoned in the ,tower during the ,king's pleasure2 to be for ever incapable of holding any public office1 place1 or employment1 and never to sit in ,parliament1 or come within the verge of the court4 ,the king was eventually moved to rescind the judgment1 but ,bacon was then too old to profit by the clemency--he was on the eve of passing away to meet the just and merciful ,judge of the skies4 ,now1 this glimpse at the rise and fall of this great lawyer1 proclaims aloud the insufficiency of all but the grace and truth of ,god to keep man morally erect4 ,not gigantic intellectual powers --had these sufficed1 ,bacon would have been steadfast as a rock4 ,not worldly success--,bacon sat at the right hand of royalty1 and kept the conscience of a king4 ,not great trust--the ,lord ,high ,chancellor of ,england was the foremost subject in that respect4 ,not celebrity --with that1 ,bacon might have been satiated4 ,not greatness--without goodness1 that is a tinkling cymbal4 ,what then8 ,the answer which experience1 history1 and the ,word of ,god combine to give1 is this1 ,i am what ,i am by the grace of ,god that is in me4 ,the man who dims the light of that lamp which was kindled in heaven1 has already tottered to his fall4 ,but truth would have fallen in the streets1 had all lawyers acted thus4 ,there have been some1 however1 who repelled such things with high-toned integrity and honour1 and we now turn to a contrast to ,lord ,chancellor ,bacon--to one ,in whom ,the ,british ,themis gloried with just cause4 ,,sir ,,matthew ,,hale4 ,sir ,matthew ,hale was one of those upright men whom all the good delight to honour4 ,with his conscience quickened by habitual contact with the ,word of ,god1 and his whole soul familiar with the heavenly standard1 he repudiated all that was disreputable in his profession4 ,pure religion presided over his practice2 and while honouring ,god1 he was honoured by him4 ,as soon as ,hale was convinced of the injustice of any cause1 he immediately declined to advocate it1 and utterly refused to plead against the truth4 ,he at least frowned upon all that was false and unfair4 ,as a judge1 he repressed every attempt to ensnare or mislead a witness4 ,he felt that1 when such things are done under the very shadow of the judge's bench1 where the great ends of truth and justice should be inviolably promoted1 gross guilt may be expected to reign in other spheres4 ,he1 therefore1 shunned as a sin all that savoured of finesse2 and1 braced for duty by the truth of ,god1 no influence1 no entreaty1 not even a monarch's smile1 could induce him to swerve from the path in which a good man ought to go4 ,in short1 his pleadings as an advocate were characterized by the same integrity1 and the same ,christian consistency as the other actions of his life4 ,indeed1 to act otherwise1 or to be one thing as a lawyer and another as a man1 is one of the numerous conventional snares laid for conscience which tend to meanness as surely as they encourage immorality4 ,it seems a truism1 ,it is as great a dishonour as can be inflicted1 for man to say otherwise than he knows to be true1 for the love of a little money2 and yet what crowds are thus degraded6 ,need we add1 religion repudiates all these fetches8 ,common as it may be to sacrifice conscience for gain or for professional success1 the man who has sat down at the ,saviour's feet1 and is taught by the ,saviour's ,spirit1 will be ready with the cry3 ,into their assembly1 mine honour1 be not thou united4 ,,sir ,,william ,,jones4 ,side by side with ,sir ,matthew ,hale we may place ,sir ,william ,jones1 who was as eminent for personal religion as he was for his profound acquaintance with the ,oriental and other tongues4 ,lawyer as he was1 his was a mind of decided godliness1 and a life of much consistency4 ,the atonement of the ,saviour was the anchor of his hope1 and the ,word of ,god a light to his feet and a lamp to his path4 ,he said of it3 ,i have carefully and regularly perused the ,holy ,scriptures1 and am of opinion that the volume1 independently of its divine origin1 contains more sublimity1 purer morality1 more important history1 and finer strains of eloquence1 than can be collected from all other books1 in whatever other languages they may have been written4 ,now1 that is much--but not too much--from one who had mastered eight-and-twenty languages1 and was familiar with the riches of them all4 ,it stands in instructive contrast with the flippant ungodliness of those who never devoted one earnest hour1 or poured forth one earnest petition1 to know the mystery which was hid for ages1 but which is opened up in the revelation of ,jesus4 ,it shows that there is nothing essentially or necessarily godless in a lawyer's profession2 and it leaves the unprincipled men who sell their very consciences for gold1 without excuse1 amid their systematic violations of honour1 of integrity1 and truth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ministers ,,of ,,religion4 ,,spiritual ,,death4 ,,iii4 ,it may appear strange to occupy a sentence in saying that ,ministers of ,religion should be ,christian men2 and yet the dark history of the past makes it necessary to say it4 ,nay1 so necessary is it1 that ,luther made no over-statement1 when he averred that religion is never in such danger as among reverend men4 ,habituated1 as they are1 to handle divine things1 they are scarcely less habitually in danger of doing so deceitfully4 ,to be called upon professionally to engage in sacred duties at all times and in all states of mind--to be constantly contemplating truth in some of its countless forms for professional uses1 without applying it to the heart1 and life1 and practice of the person contemplating it--to expatiate upon the glories of redemption and the ,redeemer1 topics on which the most phlegmatic heart may glow1 without taking any personal interest in them at all2--these1 and countless other dangers1 beset the ministers of religion2 these account for their frequent falls1 and the disgrace which is thereby brought upon the holy name they bear4 ,to urge conversion while we are not converted--to commend the love of ,christ when we do not feel it--to preach repentance which we do not practise1 and faith which we do not hold--to tell of a ,saviour whom we know only by rumour--of a ,spirit whom we habitually grieve--of a heaven to which we are not going1 and an immortality which is to be only one of woe to us2--to what can all that lead but self-deception of the direst kind--to searedness of conscience--to hearts hardened1 and salvation rendered hopeless8 ,of all dangers1 those of an irreligious minister must rank among the greatest4 ,we do not limit the grace of ,god2 but he who has learned to preach about a ,redeemer whose power _/he_/ never felt1 about a ,prophet who does not teach _/him_/1 about a ,priest who does not atone for _/him_/1 about a ,king who does not rule _/him_/1 seems not far from destruction4 ,at the same time1 constant exposure to that danger lessens the sense of it2 and consciences which were uneasy at first1 gradually settle quietly down1 like a ship which has foundered at sea--and all is peaceful1 because all is death4 ,moreover1 ministers of religion are not usually exhorted1 warned1 or unmasked1 as other men are2 and hence their dangers are enhanced4 ,professional devotion is apt to be all that they have2 and they may thus pass through life with a lie in their right hand4 ,they can at last tamper with truth without compunction or alarm2 and the most solemn functions have often furnished materials only for mirth4 ,but it is far from our object to do more than refer to this subject4 ,let us only observe how insufficient mere professional punctilio is to keep the heart of man1 how easily all the withes of formality are snapped when temptation assails4 ,religion has little to fear from the open enemy2 it is the pretended friend1 the professed defender1 but real assailant1 who weakens it4 ,,truth ,,enthroned4 ,yet while we do not dwell on the duties of the ministry1 we cannot omit the opportunity which a reference to the sacred office affords for showing the necessity of enthroning the ,word of ,god in the heart of man2 and for having every thought1 and word1 and deed1 subject to its control4 ,it has been often said that without the ,bible1 ,london or ,new ,york would soon become what ,paris1 ,vienna1 ,rome1 and ,naples are4 ,in as far as the ,bible is neglected in the protestant cities1 the saying is fast hastening to its fulfilment2 and the clerical profession supplies too many instances by which the remark may be farther verified4 ,,the ,,rev4 ,,dr4 ,,dodd4 ,it might be supposed1 then1 that fenced round as minister's of religion are by professional barriers1 kept as they are1 or should be1 in daily contact with the truth of ,god1 and the things of eternity1 all would be pure1 and lovely1 and of good report4 ,but example after example can be quoted to show how far it is often the reverse1 and the case of the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,dodd will amply illustrate the remark4 ,he was a prebendary of ,brecon1 and chaplain in ordinary to ,george ,,iii4 ,as a preacher he was celebrated and popular2 he was often called on to plead the cause of the ,london charities1 and took an active part in promoting their interests4 ,he published a commentary on the ,scriptures1 which ,dr4 ,adam ,clark1 no incompetent judge1 pronounced the best in the ,english language4 ,to that work he added various others1 chiefly of a devotional kind1 some of which still hold a prominent place among productions of their class4 ,but neither the mental powers which produced these works1 nor the eloquence which he displayed1 nor the spirit of devotion which appeared to some to breathe through his volumes1 nor his rank as a royal chaplain1 nor the claims and regards of those who were dependent on him1 nor his high position in society1 could restrain ,dr4 ,dodd within the narrow way4 ,he contracted expensive habits of living1 occasioned1 it is said1 by licentiousness of manners4 ,dr4 ,johnson1 his earnest and indefatigable friend1 says1 ,his moral character was very bad2 and in an evil hour1 ,dodd forged a bond for #d1bjj1 upon his former pupil1 the ,earl of ,chesterfield4 ,,the ,,wages ,,of ,,sin4 ,the fallen man1 no doubt1 hoped that he would be able to meet the demand when that transaction reached the stage which made that necessary1 so as neither to expose himself1 nor really defraud his former pupil4 ,dodd was unable1 however1 to meet the emergency1 for difficulties were increased1 not diminished1 by such a step4 ,the forgery was detected2 the ,earl of ,chesterfield would not interfere2 the law took hold of the culprit1 and the sad spectacle was presented to the nation of one who had formerly stood so high1 dying a criminal's death4 ,the man who had commented on the ,word of ,god1 forgot to apply it to the regulation of his own life4 ,extravagance1 licentiousness1 and fraud1 were the stages by which he descended from his elevation4 ,he began by slight degrees to overstep the restraints of the ,word of ,god2 and when he had once succeeded in setting it aside1 the descent was rapid1 the ruin utter4 ,he who attempted to deceive his fellow-men1 and for a time succeeded1 had first deceived himself2 but his sin found him out1 and on the #bgth of ,june #aggg1 the ,commentator on the ,bible1 the author of several devotional works1 died at ,tyburn by the hands of the public executioner4 ,the jury who tried him recommended him to the royal clemency4 ,the city of ,london petitioned the crown in his favour2 and another petition prepared by ,dr4 ,johnson1 and signed by three-and-twenty thousand1 was also presented4 ,but all was unavailing2 the adviser of the crown would not recommend even a respite1 and though ,dr4 ,dodd cherished the hope of pardon till the last1 there never was a foundation for the hope4 ,justice took its inexorable course4 ,a ,,death ,,of ,,infamy4 ,the view which many took of this culprit's case1 may be represented by a letter from ,boswell to ,dr4 ,johnson4 ,he says--,i own ,i am very desirous that the royal prerogative of remission of punishment should be employed to exhibit an illustrious instance of the regard which ,god's vicegerent will ever show to piety and virtue4 ,if for ten righteous men1 the ,almighty would have spared ,sodom1 shall not a thousand acts of goodness done by ,dr4 ,dodd counterbalance one crime8 ,such an instance would do more to encourage goodness than his execution would do to deter from vice4 ,but neither this nor the speeches1 the petitions1 nay1 not even the letters which ,dr4 ,johnson wrote for ,dr4 ,dodd to royalty itself1 availed1 and just before passing to execution he confessed that his life for some few unhappy years past had been dreadfully erroneous4 ,in one of his letters to the king1 the fallen man1 in language which ,dr4 ,johnson had prepared1 confessed his crime1 and owned both the enormity of its consequences and the danger of its example4 ,he1 at the same time1 said1 ,i have not the confidence to petition for impunity1 but humbly hope that public security may be established without the spectacle of a clergyman dragged through the streets to a death of infamy1 amidst the derision of the profligate and profane2 and that justice may be satisfied with irrevocable exile1 perpetual disgrace1 and hopeless penury4 ,every effort1 however1 was fruitless4 ,large sums of money were ready to bribe the turnkey to connive at an escape4 ,a figure in wax1 representing ,dr4 ,dodd1 was said to have been conveyed into the prison to aid the same object1 but neither did that succeed2 and1 according to ,dr4 ,johnson1 he died on the scaffold with pious composure and resolution4 ,it was1 indeed1 a spectacle which might have touched the hearts of thousands1 did aught but ,omnipotent grace possess that power1 to see a minister of religion conducted to ,tyburn in such circumstances as we have described4 ,we may deem the law severe1 or think that the life of ,dr4 ,dodd should have been spared2 but his melancholy lot is not the less instructive4 ,his whole history tells how feeble are human barriers against human guilt4 ,and the consequences of this crime did not terminate with ,dr4 ,dodd himself4 ,he had married a ,miss ,perkins of ,durham1 but1 left in sorrow1 poverty1 and disgrace1 by her husband1 reason forsook her1 and she died a wretched maniac at ,ilford in ,essex4 ,is it not true that unthinking men1 in pursuit of the wages of sin1 scatter firebrands1 and arrows1 and death1 though they say1 ,am not ,i in sport8 ,,the ,,only ,,guide4 ,,the ,,truth ,,our ,,shield4 ,here1 then1 is a case which thoroughly exhibits the necessity of enthroning the ,bible in the heart1 and keeping it enthroned4 ,there is some reason to fear that the minister whom ,dr4 ,johnson describes as having lived a life of great voluptuousness1 had never felt the power of the truth1 even before he fell into the habits which ended in his ruin4 ,but1 however that may be1 it is manifest that after ,dr4 ,dodd had entered on his downward career1 the truth was discarded1 and the deceitful heart consulted--not the ,wonderful1 the ,counsellor4 ,the truth could have kept him steadfast4 ,it could have taught him to dash temptation from him1 as ,paul shook off the viper from his hand into the flames at ,melita4 ,but ,dodd forgot the ,bible1 he tampered with temptation1 and he fell4 ,we say nothing of the extravagance which the need of so large a sum as #d1bjj on the part of a clergyman betokens4 ,we only glance at what was most probably his purpose1 to pay the sum for which he had forged1 before it became due4 ,these and other things might be pled in palliation1 but looking simply at the act1 who does not see that neither professional punctilio1 nor external barriers1 nor a thousand earthly bonds can prevent man from sinning1 when the lamp to our path is extinguished--the ,word of ,god set aside even in a single transaction8 ,,gifts ,,without ,,grace ,a ,,snare4 ,further3 ,dr4 ,dodd is known to have continued his professional employments after his felonious transaction4 ,conscious as he must have been of what he had done with his own right hand1 he yet continued to lead the devotions of his flock1 and act as if no crime had been committed4 ,we do not refer to the feelings of a minister of ,christ amid such things2 but we do say that the whole transaction proclaims1 in a way the most solemn and the most cogent1 that no secondary restraints will keep man from iniquity2 they are all like sand before the torrent1 or flax before the flame4 ,the ,bible1 and the ,bible alone1 laid up in the heart1 and blessed by the ,spirit there1 can either make man right1 or keep him so4 ,in a word1 this example tells aloud that every human influence1 every earthly appliance1 is weak against the heart of man1 unless the truth of ,god control it4 ,conscience will be warped4 ,reputation will be risked4 ,professional standing will be presumed upon4 ,life will be hazarded4 ,the hearts of those whom we love will be broken2 and only when the ,word of ,god is permitted to rule the soul1 is the heart kept as the fountain of the issues of life4 ,men regard such cases as that of ,dr4 ,dodd as doing injury to religion1 and the infidel hails them as a disproof4 ,they are in truth confirmations of it1 and prove that only that truth admitted into the heart1 enthroned and maintained in the conscience as it demands to be1 can rescue man from self-degradation and moral death4 ,dr4 ,dodd fell because the ,bible was not his guide4 ,he deserted religion and was ruined4 ,another example points in the same direction1 and may deepen the impression of that of ,dr4 ,dodd4 ,at a recent period1 a preacher of great popularity gathered crowds around him in ,london2 thousands heard the truth at his lips2 and he filled a large place in the public eye4 ,accomplished as a scholar1 eloquent as a preacher1 and graceful as a man1 he wielded no limited power within a considerable sphere4 ,to his influence as a minister of religion he added that of an author2 and what he published was read by thousands4 ,not a little originality of thought1 and vigorous powers rendered him1 in short1 an able advocate of the truth4 ,here1 then1 is another man who seems to be fenced off from the world by much that should have been constraining2 that in this case also1 we may see how futile every subordinate influence proves against the wayward heart of man4 ,a ,,felon4 ,,the ,,gambler',s ,,end4 ,the divine referred to1 elated perhaps by his success1 began to frequent the haunts of wit1 and to associate with the literary1 merely as literary men4 ,he laid aside1 or he merged for the time1 those truths of ,god which alone can elevate1 and went down to the level of those who think they can find something to make them blessed apart from the truth1 and the favour of their ,god4 ,from the excitement of wit there is scarcely a transition to the excitement of wine1 and that followed next4 ,by a gradual descent1 that man1 at one time so ascendant1 became a felon in his own eyes2 he fled from the pulpit which he had begun to desecrate1 and sought an asylum in ,paris1 where theatres--saloons of fashion-- ,the midnight revel and the public show1 became his haunts4 ,for years his friends could find no trace of him2 and when he was discovered1 it was as one who lived by gambling--a degraded1 wretched outcast4 ,while he lived in that self-outlawed condition1 a friend who had learned the truth from the fallen man's lips1 actually resorted to a _/hell_/1 to make sure of the sad change which had come over his former teacher1 and to his horror he found what he sought4 ,he saw that minister of ,christ taking part in the orgies of a ,parisian pandemonium1 and hastened with an aching heart1 from that last retreat of the infatuated4 ,that victim of his own heart was at length taken ill at ,bordeaux2 a surgical operation was declared to be necessary1 and to escape from the pain1 he blew out his brains with a pistol4 ,need anything be said to enforce the moral of such a case8 ,everything but the ,word of ,god controlling99#ab the heart is feeble against passion1 as a spider's web against a storm4 ,everything else is fleeting as the sand of the desert1 or veering as the mimic figures which tell the changes of the wind4 ,the ,word of the ,lord alone endureth for ever1 both in itself and its moral ascendency4 ,,blind ,,leaders4 ,nor is it only in insulated cases1 among ministers of religion1 that such mournful truths are pressed upon our attention4 ,in times of religious declension1 such sad demonstrations of the insufficiency of all but grace and truth to tame the passions of men1 may be seen almost upon a national scale4 ,there is a man1 for example1 whom the grace of ,god has arrested amid a life of waywardness and guilt1 and rendered a signal monument of mercy4 ,in terms of his own confession1 there was scarcely a sin which he had not committed1 and as a fiery duellist1 he was1 in the eyes of ,god1 a murderer4 ,but the truth was at last felt in the conscience1 and that man once so bold in iniquity1 sought the society of those from whom he expected help on his way2 with what result his biographer shall tell3 ,other proofs1 we read1 of the degraded state of the dominant party in the ,church 7of ,scotland7 might be mentioned1 particularly a ,presbytery dinner to which ,mr4 ,james ,haldane was invited in ,edinburgh1 upon a special occasion1 and to which he had gone1 hoping for useful1 perhaps spiritual1 or at least rational conversation1 on the topics in which he was now chiefly interested4 ,instead of this1 the company were treated to bacchanalian songs1 the folly of which was aggravated into something approaching to wickedness1 by an admixture of ridiculous1 if not profane allusions to their own sacred calling and functions4 ,the burden of one song was the prescription of 'a bumper of ,nottingham ,ale' in the pulpit1 at the different stages of a ,presbyterian discourse4 ,if1 in the hey-day of youth and folly1 while ,god was not in all his thoughts1 he had been disposed to turn away from the convivial excesses of his associates at sea1 how was he likely now to appreciate such approaches to the same intemperance1 in connection with eternal realities1 amongst the professed heralds of the ,cross1 whose duty it was to warn men to flee from the wrath to come8#cg99ac ,,spiritual ,,death4 ,painful and profoundly instructive as the incident now mentioned is1 we have yet more humbling evidence of the danger to which men are exposed by their familiarity with sacred things4 ,in the autobiography of the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,hamilton of ,strathblane1 we read1 ,many of the ministers of ,scotland were genuine ,socinians4 ,many of them were ignorant of theology as a system1 and utterly careless about the merits of any creed or confession4 ,they seemed miserable in the discharge of every ministerial duty4444 ,when they preached1 their sermons generally turned on honesty1 good neighbourhood1 and kindness4 ,to deliver a gospel sermon1 or preach to the hearts and consciences of dying sinners1 was as completely beyond their power1 as to speak in the language of angels4 ,and while their discourses were destitute of everything which a dying sinner needs1 they were at the same time the most feeble1 empty1 and insipid things that ever disgraced the venerated name of sermons4444 ,they had no more religion in private than in public4 ,they were loud and obstreperous in declaiming against enthusiasm and fanaticism1 faith and religious zeal4444 ,but though frightfully impatient of everything which bore the semblance of seriousness and sober reflection1 the elevation of brow1 the expansion of feature1 the glistening of the eye1 the fluency and warmth of speech at convivial parties1 showed that their heart and soul were there2 and that the pleasures of the table1 and the hilarity of the light-hearted and the gay constituted their paradise1 and furnished them with the perfection of their joy4#ch ,it is thus that men are degraded by the perversion of what was meant to ennoble4 ,it is thus that of all the piteous spectacles which our world presents1 few are more sad or distressing than that of a godless minister of religion2 such a man ,is branded to the last1 ,what atheists call him--a designing knave1 ,a mere church juggler1 hypocrite1 and slave4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the sacred function in his hands is made1 ,sad sacrilege6 no function but a trade4 --,when the standard-bearer falls1 who will fight8 ,when the ,cross is torn down by those who should point to it1 who will believe8 ,,the ,,unchanging ,,word4 ,and such is the process by which ,god1 in his providence1 often makes it plain that his own revealed truth alone can either reclaim man from guilt1 or keep him steadfast in the path to glory4 ,we1 indeed1 are prone to suppose that there is nothing fixed in that ,word1 that1 like the chameleon1 it takes on the hue of every mind that studies it4 ,but the ,holy ,one1 on the other hand1 demonstrates that his ,word is the only fixed thing which our world knows4 ,like himself it is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever2 it either makes man right and keeps him so1 or it detects and unmasks him as hopelessly incorrigible and clean gone in guilt4 ,it tells of the anchor for the soul both sure and steadfast299#ad and when man drifts away from that mooring1 whatever be his position1 he is rushing fast to ruin4 ,,monuments ,,of ,,grace4 ,every view of truth1 then1 calls upon man1 whatever be his sphere1 to make sure that it is planted in his heart by the power of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,without that1 the physician may degenerate into an atheist or a materialist1 whose hopes terminate at the edge of the grave4 ,without the presiding power of truth in the soul1 the lawyer1 nay1 the very judge1 may become a corrupter of public morals1 as multitudes have done--a patron of the false and the degrading4 ,without truth enthroned in the heart1 and a thorough transition from darkness to light1 even ministers of religion are only blind leaders of the blind2 they are clouds without water1 carried about of winds2 they are tree whose fruit withereth1 without fruit1 twice dead1 plucked up by the roots4 ,and all these things press upon men the necessity of enthroning truth4 ,time asks it3 eternity asks it3 patriotism asks it3 pure religion asks it2 and he is willing to throw poison into our wells who resists such multiform appeals4 ,,god',s ,,witnesses4 ,but it would not be difficult to show1 at greater length than we have tarried to do1 that in every sphere there have been men who feared ,god1 and held forth a testimony for his truth1 often amid open profanity or the oblivion of all that is sacred4 ,like ,cornelius of old1 devout men have adorned the doctrine of ,god our ,saviour alike in the ,army and the ,navy4 ,among the accomplished devotees of ,science1 all do not forget ,god in the investigation of those laws by which ,he rules the world1 or of those wonders which embody his wisdom and his power4 ,among those who cultivate the ,arts1 there have been many who1 like the sculptor ,bacon1 might have caused it to be written on their tomb3 ,what ,i was as an artist1 seemed to me of some importance while ,i lived2 but what ,i really was as a believer in ,christ ,jesus1 is the only thing of importance to me now4 ,in every sphere1 we repeat1 ,god has had his witnesses1 testifying to the power of his grace1 it may be in sackcloth1 as regards men1 but yet in the sunshine of ,god's favour4 ,and who shall tell what unthinking men forego1 by neglecting to do as these believers did--to make the religion of ,jesus their guide1 and ,jesus himself their ,alpha and their ,omega6 ,he is the rock that is higher than we4 ,he is a sun and shield4 ,he is life to the dead1 and wisdom to the unwise4 ,it is by ,his might that we conquer1 and by ,his righteousness that we are saved4 ,it is by ,his spirit that we are sanctified--and are they the wise who ignore all this8 ,,man',s ,,idolatry4 ,amid such meditations as these1 it is one of the deepest lessons which meet us in the history of man1 that there is room in his heart for every god but the true ,one4 ,from the sun in the firmament down to the meanest reptile that crawls1 all have been adored4 ,the foulest human passions have been exalted to the rank of divinities1 and worshipped in gorgeous temples with costly parade4 ,even after ,god has dwelt on earth as ,god with us1 we find men in millions clinging to every god but ,him--not merely the dead1 but fragments of their bones1 are adored1 as possessing power to bless4 ,now1 were the lamp of life admitted into the heart1 it would instantly dispel such debasing delusions from minds of every class4 ,it would guide man away from the rank to which sin degrades him1 to that for which the gospel is designed to fit us2 and the peace of ,god which passes all understanding is the portion of those who have thus hailed the truth of ,god and discarded the lies of men2 who have welcomed the religion of ,jesus to the soul1 and dismissed the religion of nature as a blind guide1 the religion of ,rome as a dark1 debasing superstition1 the religion of unconverted men as fit only to lead us more assuredly to woe4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,religion ,,in ,,our ,,social ,,intercourse4 ,when the ,word of ,god has obtained its true place in any man's heart1 it disposes at once of a hundred questions which were difficult or perplexing before4 ,on the one hand1 when we have the divine standard of right and wrong set up1 it becomes immediately apparent that one class of actions are right1 are just1 are necessary1 on the part of all who would make ,god's will their rule4 ,on the other hand1 it becomes no less apparent that another class of actions are distinctly prohibited4 ,no man who believes the ,word of ,god to be his word can do these things4 ,but between these two1 or the decidedly right and the decidedly wrong1 there are some actions whose moral character it is not so easy to adjust4 ,they are not so exactly described in the ,word of ,god4 ,they lie on the debateable territory between the right and the wrong4 ,they may partake of the one character or the other1 according to the circumstances in which they are performed4 ,they may be right1 for example1 for me in sickness1 but wrong for me in health2 or the reverse4 ,now1 it is generally among these undecided cases that a man's principles are exposed to the greatest strain4 ,no one who professes to respect99#ae the ,word of ,god can refuse to do what is decidedly right1 and as little can he refuse to shun the decidedly forbidden4 ,if he do not shun it1 he is detected as offering to the ,bible only the mockery of respect--to its ,god only the semblance of homage4 ,he has extinguished the lamp of life1 and deliberately walks in darkness4 ,,the ,,sabbath ,,law4 ,in regard1 for example1 to the ,sabbath law1 certain things are distinctly commanded1 and other things are as distinctly forbidden4 ,there can be no doubt in any mind which has bowed to the supremacy of ,god1 or recognised his right of property in us and ours1 that he claims a seventh part of our time as his own1 to be employed in his service and in preparing for his abode for ever4 ,our blessedness here and hereafter is thus involved in that law2 and all objections to spend the ,sabbath with ,god1 are suggested by ignorance of what is at once our chief good and our chief end--,,god4 ,but it is equally certain that works of necessity and mercy are not prohibited2 and it is regarding _/these_/ that a man's principles are put to the most decisive test4 ,it is not possible to lay down any rule applicable to every case1 for what is necessity at one time may be no necessity at another2 or what is mercy in one case--for instance1 to the aged and the feeble--may be indolence and sloth in others4 ,between the unvarying right1 then1 and the unvarying wrong1 lies the territory where men are tried as moral agents4 ,will they use their liberty1 or will they abuse it8 ,will they grasp at feigned reasons for violating the ,sabbath law8 ,will they be guided by the necessity which ,god creates1 or will they fabricate pleas and pretences for themselves1 under cover of which the law of ,god may be broken1 and the consciences of men entangled or defiled8 ,,the ,,excellent ,,of ,,the ,,earth4 ,now1 our ordinary ,social intercourse belongs to the class for which it is difficult or impossible to lay down rules which are applicable to all occasions4 ,it is a divine maxim from which we cannot swerve1 that our speech should be always with grace1 seasoned with salt4 ,whatever is offensive or unholy should not be once named among us2 but still it is difficult to lay down any rules which apply to every case4 ,on the one hand1 there are men with whom intercourse the most cordial may be cherished1 nay1 earnestly coveted4 ,where they that fear the ,lord speak often one to another1 while the ,lord hearkens and hears1 the man of ,god may expect to find what will gladden his soul4 ,the excellent of the earth can impart blessings of the highest order1 for the law of the ,lord is on their lips4 ,but1 on the other hand1 there are the profane1 the godless1 who walk through the world trampling on the laws of the ,eternal1 and with these we can hold no willing intercourse1 unless we would catch their spirit1 and at last share their doom--,the companion of fools shall be destroyed4 ,but between these two classes there are various shades of character2 and it is in reference to _/these_/ that our difficulties in life actually occur4 ,,the ,,assembly ,,of ,,the ,,ungodly4 ,there is one passage in the ,word of ,god#ci which may throw light upon this subject4 ,a patriarch is speaking of certain cruel deeds1 which he contemplates with strong emotion4 ,aware that man cannot be much in contact with what is immoral without being polluted1 or associate with the profane without learning profanity1 he thus expresses1 in graphical language1 the recoil of a pure or an upright mind3 ,o my soul1 come not thou into their secret2 unto their assembly1 mine honour1 be not thou united4 ,he is referring to his own sons1 but he feels that his honour would be laid in the dust were he associated with them in some of their doings2 and he therefore plants a beacon over the spot of danger1 to warn us away from what may end in death4 ,he enforces the words1 ,have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness4 ,he1 in substance1 asserts what ,paul asserted seventeen centuries thereafter1 ,evil communications corrupt good manners4 ,he takes up the language of ,john1 and says in effect1 ,he that bids ,god-speed to an ungodly man becomes a partaker of his evil deeds2 and thus we have1 at least1 a general rule for universal guidance--,the godly cannot _/choose_/ the godless for their associates4 ,to illustrate this point1 we observe3 ,enter some societies4 ,listen to the conversation which excites2 notice the amusements which exhilarate--the pleasures which impart the greatest gladness4 ,might they not all exist in a world where the ,son of ,god is unknown--where no need of him is felt1 and no reference to him made8 ,it could not be discovered from such social intercourse1 that men are sinners1 that they need a ,saviour1 or that there is one pressed on their acceptance by the ,god whom they have offended2 nay1 a single reference to these things would cast a cloud over the scene1 would turn its mirth into muteness1 and be regarded as an offence4 ,,forbidden ,,intercourse4 ,now1 wherever that is common1 the earnest ,christian cannot prosper2 his soul must pine2 it is deprived of what is to it like vital air1 and plunged into an atmosphere of azote4 ,there may be cases where duty compels some humble believer to witness such things1 and at the sight his heart must be sore pained within him2 but where the language of ,canaan is not spoken1 where the things of ,god are not relished1 where ,he1 the soul1 and eternity do not obtain the prominence which heavenly wisdom has assigned to them1 a child of ,god will not willingly go2 he will never go of choice2 duty may compel1 but the feelings of the soul even in that case must be like those of the ,jews by the rivers of ,babylon1 when they said1 ,how shall we sing the ,lord's song in a foreign land8 ,children are reared--friends are entertained--sometimes the dead are buried1 amid unequivocal proofs that ,god is forgotten2 and should not a believer in ,jesus flee these things8 ,,like ,,attracts ,,like4 ,wherever we look in the wide domain of nature1 we may notice that it is an universal law--,like attracts like4 ,we do not find a timid bird associating with its natural enemy1 a bird of prey4 ,they fight4--,we do not find the gentler animals seeking to associate with the beasts of prey4--,we do not see the men of high civilization associating1 in common life1 with the savage or the gross--there is always something monstrous or unnatural where that universal law is outraged4 ,such a thing is commented on as a marvel1 a departure from the established order of nature4 ,just as the fishes of the deep have their element1 and the birds of the air have theirs1 there is a broad unvarying line separating the different orders of creatures in the world which ,god has made4 ,,repulsions4 ,now1 to apply this to our present subject1 that law reigns with more than common force in the domain of grace4 ,has the truth of ,god taken possession of any man's soul8 ,has the wisdom which comes from above been consulted8 ,is ,god's revealed mind placed high above the highest of all authorities8 ,then from that day1 that man cannot repose1 with the confidence of cordial friendship1 upon him who turns the truth of ,god into a lie1 or the authority of ,god into a name3 there must be a separation1 however painful it may be4 ,does the love of ,christ constrain any heart and soul8 ,under that constraining power1 do old things pass away1 and all things become new8 ,then1 unto the assembly of the ungodly1 mine honour1 be not thou united1 becomes the language of that soul4 ,has any man felt that salvation must take precedence of all besides1 in the mind of a rational being8 ,then that man cannot consent1 or choose to consort1 with those who are ripening their souls for an undone eternity1 in spite of the warnings of their ,god4 ,has any man felt that the high concerns of an infinite futurity demand instant attention1 and adjustment on the earliest possible day8 ,then that man can be no willing party to the wide conspiracy formed by worldly men against that futurity1 and all that is momentous there4 ,has any man discovered that1 to live only for the present hour and its pleasures1 is to sink to the level of the beasts which perish8 or that to be a coward before man's frown1 and to have no fear of ,god's1 is to act an impious part8 ,then the man who has made such a discovery will take up the language of the patriarch2 he will shun the company of men who prefer what debases to what ennobles1 for he clearly sees1 or deeply feels1 that their company is contamination4 ,since these things are so1 the general law in grace is established --,there can be no friendship1 _/of choice_/1 between a godly and a worldly man4 ,their hearts1 their feelings and sympathies1 cannot coalesce upon the most momentous of all topics--,god1 eternity1 and the soul2 and just as water repels fire1 or fire water2 just as the vulture cannot and does not choose the dove for its mate1 the soul of a man who loves ,god1 who believes in the ,saviour1 and who would grow in holiness1 is repelled and chilled by the assemblies where these great realities are ignored4 ,he cannot1 without self-inflicted degradation1 walk in the counsel of the ungodly1 or stand in the way of sinners1 or sit in the seat of the scorner4 ,,the ,,wisdom ,,of ,,scripture4 ,but it has already been noticed1 that there is nothing strained1 nothing extreme or overdone1 in the ,word of ,god4 ,whether it be giving a command1 or issuing a prohibition1 it is always wise1 always considerate as to man's condition--if we may presume with such a word1 it is always judicious4 ,we are more and more struck with that fine peculiarity of the ,bible the longer we study its ever-blessed pages4 ,now1 in connection with our ,social intercourse in common life with men not godly1 we have an instance of this considerate care in the ,word of ,god4 ,in writing to one of the churches1#dj ,paul had occasion to lay down rules for their dealings with unholy men4 ,he prohibits such intercourse2 and in giving the prohibition1 he points to some of the impious by name4 ,after indicating their crimes--too gross to be lightly mentioned--he adds1 ,yet not altogether must ye refuse to company with such men1 _/for then must ye needs go out of the world_/4 ,in other words1 the believer has duties to do in the world2 and these he must discharge4 ,his principles may be put to the test2 his heart may be pained and vexed2 what he hears and sees may distress or imperil him2 but still1 even amid such trials1 duty1 _/when it is duty_/1 must be done4 ,a man is not merely not at liberty--he is forbidden1 to flee from his post4 ,he is to lean the more on ,god when temptation meets him in the path of duty2 but he may not forsake the path4 ,he has duties perhaps to unconverted kindred1 and to those who depend on him in life4 ,he has duties to discharge to the ,church and to ,god1 and these no man is free to forsake4 ,on the one hand1 the most lovely earthly affection is to be put aside whenever it opposes the will of ,god2 but1 on the other1 we are to remember1 that wherever ,god has placed us1 ,he will keep us--as our day is1 so our strength will be4 ,but do we rush into danger unsent8 ,do we meet it while we are in pursuit of pleasure1 and not in the path of duty8 ,then we may expect to fall2 nay1 we have fallen already4 ,by tempting ,god1 we have unnerved ourselves1 and shame and confusion may be the result4 ,,the ,,young ,,convert4 ,in connection with this1 we observe that perhaps there never was a young convert1 who1 during the first days or weeks after his conversion1 had not thoughts of fleeing from the post where the renewing ,spirit found him4 ,aware of its dangers1 perhaps groaning under its temptations1 that young soul would flee1 and seek that in change which can be found only in the unchanging ,one4 ,now1 are the engagements of that young convert really sinful8 ,is he violating ,god's law8 ,is he1 for the sake of gold1 or honour1 or any selfish end1 sojourning near some focus of sin8 ,then all that must be abandoned2 conversion1 while these things are retained1 is a thing impossible4 ,but1 on the other hand1 are the lines of that young convert cast only amid trials1 and not actual sins8 ,has ,he who appoints the boundaries of our habitations1 appointed ours where faith is put to the proof1 and the need of ,almighty grace more clearly demonstrated8 ,then1 by that grace1 that young ,christian must stand2 even there it may be with him as it was with the three children in the tyrant's furnace when it was heated seven times4 ,the highest display of the power of truth1 the brightest trophy to the triumph of grace1 is to see some devoted believer holding fast the faith without wavering at the post of duty1 alike against the scorn of the money-worshipper and the grossness of the unblushingly profane2 and1 blessed be ,god1 his grace is sufficient even for that4 ,,the ,,world ,,an ,,object ,,of ,,pity4 ,but farther3 ,while the ,christian1 in his social intercourse1 tries to shun the society of godless men1 he is to make it plain that _/he shuns1 because he loves them_/4 ,we assume that that ,christian _/will_/ shun them2 for he is bound to that by a law both in nature and in grace4 ,but his motive is not that of spiritual pride4 ,it has nothing akin to the feeling which dictated the words1 ,stand by1 for ,i am holier than thou2 nay1 he is to show that he withdraws1 because he cannot countenance what is ruinous to man and opposed to the mind of ,god4 ,while we try to make religion felt1 it must be the religion of love1 and not of haughtiness or of bigotry4 ,we should remember that the world is a poor jaded world1 and calls for pity rather than for wrath3 its men have no resting-place either for the body or the soul2 it has no antidote for its misery1 no remedy for its disease4 ,it is the shipwrecked seaman on his raft1 trying to quench his burning thirst with the water of the ocean1 only to make that thirst more burning still4 ,it is the body weighed down with dropsy to the grave's edge1 yet seeking relief in what only augments its misery4 ,and all that should awaken pity for the world in our intercourse with it4 ,be it made plain1 that we can be no parties to the world's ruin2 we cannot trample on the ,word of ,god to gratify the sinner's love of sin4 ,nay1 if we be ,christians indeed1 if we have in us the spirit of ,him who died for the ungodly1 we must love the sinner too well to countenance him in his ways4 ,our shunning of him1 wherever duty will permit1 is to be our silent protest against what the holy ,god so emphatically describes as drowning men in perdition4 ,love1 wisdom1 ,god1 all demand that course4 ,,the ,,world',s ,,deadening ,,power4 ,and1 to re-enforce all this1 let it be remembered that we cannot associate of choice with wicked men without bringing our own religion into doubt4 ,our relish for communion with ,god is blunted4 ,our love to the holy and the pure is lessened4 ,the world to come fades away into dimness1 and even a child of ,god is thus prone to catch the world's spirit by intercourse _/of choice_/ with worldly men4 ,all this is notorious in regard to those haunts where the pride of life is pampered1 and where the children of folly squander in frivolity or guilt the hours which are given to prepare for eternity and its joys4 ,but it is true also of more ordinary social intercourse2 and the man who loves his own soul will guard1 by the grace of ,god1 against the first approach to the world's godless ways1 as he would against the first drop in a poisoned cup1 or the first inch of a stiletto4 ,,the ,,true ,,light4 ,we feel1 however1 that we must repeat the warning--,be sure that you display the religion of love1 not of bigotry1 in separating from the world4 ,let your light shine before men1 but be sure that it is the true light--,heaven's4--,there is a vessel sweeping across the deep4 ,it is night1 and her hundreds on board are locked in the insensibility of sleep4 ,but suddenly there is a collision1 a crash2 her timbers are breaking up2 and the hundreds who slept so securely a few breaths before1 are now screaming out their agonies as they sink to rise no more4 ,and what caused that disaster and these watery graves8 ,the man at the helm just mistook the light1 and1 in doing so1 hurried some hundreds into eternity4 ,in like manner1 we may exhibit a false phase of ,christianity which shall tend only to ruin4 ,it may not be ,god's light1 but sparks which we ourselves have kindled1 and these may only drive men nearer to destruction4 ,but hitherto we have done little more than attempt to show how and why they that fear ,god should separate from those who have no fear of ,him before their eyes4 ,we have endeavoured to show that a godly man cannot go down to the world's level without dragging ,christ's religion along with him4 ,we have been urging the followers of the ,saviour never to let the world think that the ,christian and it are the same in their likings and pursuits4 ,if we leave the world under that conviction1 we have given an uncertain sound1 and we have therefore endeavoured to make it plain that there is a broad1 clear1 deep line drawn by the ,eternal ,god between the world and the church--between the converted and the unconverted--the man who lives for earth and the man who lives for ,god4 ,they do not pass into each other by imperceptible shades1 like the colours of the rainbow2 they are separated like mid-day and midnight2 they are different in nature1 in liking1 in pursuits1 and in end4 ,,the ,,communion ,,of ,,saints4 ,all this1 however1 is only preparatory to telling how the godly should proceed in their intercourse with each other4--,a prophet has said that they who fear the ,lord speak often one to another2 he has added1 that the ,lord hearkens and hears1 and assured us1 moreover1 that a book of remembrance is kept before the ,lord for them that fear him and think upon his name4 ,now1 amid such employments1 what can be the topics but the common salvation8 ,what can engross the mind more than the death which ,christ accomplished at ,jerusalem1 when he finished transgression1 made an end of sin1 and brought in an everlasting righteousness8 ,what but the love of the ,redeemer1 and the mercies to which that love opened the way1 can occupy such men's souls8 ,holiness1 and its author1 the ,spirit2 grace1 and its fountain1 ,god2 its channel1 the ,redeemer2 glory1 and the ,almighty ,one who made it sure by his blood2 that which is perfect when the former things shall have passed away2--these and kindred topics may well animate the souls and strengthen the faith of the people of ,god4 ,it is amid employments like these that their hearts may burn within them1 like the hearts of the disciples while they walked with the ,saviour to ,emmaus4 ,it is thus that foretastes of the heavenly joys are obtained1 thus that clusters are brought from ,eshcol1 and thus that the earnest of the purchased possession is at once secured and rejoiced in4 ,to have a relish for such holy and hallowing employments1 is a proof that we are born from above2 our soul's native land is there2 and to have no such relish is a proof that the soul is dead to the holiest and the noblest things4 ,,truth ,,in ,,the ,,heart4 ,but enough to have indicated this2 none can completely fill up the sketch1 for eye hath not seen1 nor ear heard1 neither have entered into the heart of man1 the things which ,god has prepared for them that love him4 ,still1 however1 where the truth of ,god is in the heart1 it will well up4 ,attempts may be made to repress a gushing spring2 but it will rise at another place1 and another1 and another1 spreading verdure and fertility wherever it flows4 ,now1 the truth in the heart is a well of water springing up unto eternal life4 ,it waters the waste1 it purifies the vile1 and fits us for that home where nothing that defiles can enter4 ,,marriage4 ,there is one sphere1 that of married life1 regarding which we offer a closing sentence4 ,considering the importance which is attached to that relation1 and its mighty influences for good or ill1 alike on our time and our eternity1 nothing can surprise us more than the recklessness with which it is often formed4 ,how rarely is the guidance of the ,holy ,one sought6 ,how little is his will consulted6 ,how limited is the influence which eternal things are allowed to exert in the choice on either side6 ,and who will marvel1 then1 if not a few make shipwreck of the faith and a good conscience1 just at the threshold of their marriage-chamber8 ,who will wonder to see so many hearts broken1 so many wives worse than widowed1 so many children worse than orphans1 the promise of godliness given in youth all blighted--the book1 the house1 the day of ,god1 deserted8 ,when ,he himself has been left out of view1 it is as easy as the downward current of a stream1 to abandon all besides4 ,but wherever the lamp of life illumines a soul1 this relation should be peculiarly directed by it4 ,the results are for life1 nay1 they are for eternity2 and they who leave the ,eternal ,god out of view in forming such a bond1 are digging a pit into which they are sure to fall1 or laying a snare in which they will assuredly be taken4 ,the grace of ,god may win such parties after all2 but that can only be in ,his own holy sovereignty1 according to his word1 ,i was found of them that sought me not1 for the man who ventures here without the guidance of the ,wonderful1 the ,counsellor1 is gambling with a stake which may be eternal death4--,marriage was meant to double man's happiness1 and1 when contracted in the fear of ,god1 it accomplishes his purpose2 on other terms1 its misery is unspeakable4 ,,the ,,heroes ,,of ,,truth--,,luther4 ,,calvin--,,knox--,,chalmers4 ,one closing sentence more4 ,the difficulty and delicacy which are often felt in ordering our ,social intercourse1 makes a wise decidedness essential4 ,to follow the right path implies self-denial2 and1 what is often worse1 it may compel us to shun those whom we perhaps fondly love in the bonds of nature4 ,now1 to arm us for this1 we should call to mind that all the men who have signally served their ,god have been remarkable for decision--they were everywhere spoken against2 their names were often a hissing and a byword1 because they were decided for the ways of ,god against the ways of man4 ,paul was thus decided1 and we know that1 for his reward1 he had to fight with wild beasts1 and contend with wilder men4 ,luther was thus decided1 and ,romanists1 in every age and land1 have poured forth their enmity against him4 ,calvin was decided1 and men have piled calumny upon calumny in their attempt to crush him4 ,knox was decided1 and shared the same portion--he is sharing it still4 ,chalmers was decided1 and had to live and die in armour4 ,the truth1 and nothing but the truth of ,god1 was their guide-- ,not the light which leaves us darker2 ,not the gleams that come and go2 ,not the mirth whose end is madness2 ,not the joy whose fruit is woe4-- ,the banner which the ,eternal gave to be displayed1 these men held up1 that all might learn to rally round it2 and the times on which we have fallen are such as require a wise decision1 a holy boldness1 a close walk with ,god1 like the times of these heroes of the truth4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,religion ,,the ,,crown ,,and ,,glory ,,of ,,man',s ,,life4 ,there can be no doubt that one reason why so many keep religion far away from the heart1 is the supposition that it offers no present pleasure4 ,it holds out promises1 but their fulfilment appears remote1 and1 men fear1 uncertain4 ,it tells of enjoyment1 but that enjoyment springs from causes which myriads cannot comprehend1 and the whole appears to be mystical1 incomprehensible1 or unreal4 ,such pleasure as the world can yield1 the worldly mind can understand at once and cordially relish4 ,it is at hand4 ,it even solicits attention4 ,it seems real and palpable as well as near4 ,while religion appears to approach in the character of a jailor to imprison1 rather than of a friend to set us free and spread out joys in endless succession before us1 the world comes with sparkling bribes and with congenial joys4 ,it promises freedom unbounded1 and1 like the silly bird which hastens to the blaze kindled by the fowler to attract it to his snare1 souls in thousands are duped1 and deceived2 it may happen that they are undone for ever4 ,,our ,,joys4 ,but were it possible to impart to such minds some taste of the pleasures which are enjoyed in the paths which are peace1 it would instantly be seen what injustice their views inflict upon the truth4 ,its joys are _/not_/ projected into the distant future2 they are nigh to us1 they are even in our hearts4 ,it does not give us a stone instead of bread1 or a serpent instead of a fish--it is the world which imposes in that manner upon all who trust it4 ,when religion comes to a worldly man to rob him of his gross or material joys1 he fears that he is about to lose his all--because he knows no joy but what is earthly2 and the very ways of ,god appear repulsive and irksome2 not a few would imitate him who cried1 ,hast thou found me1 ,o mine enemy8 or1 hast thou come to torment us before the time8 ,but what _/can_/ yield joy1 if not the favour of ,god8 ,what _/can_/ spread sunshine through the soul1 if not the sense of sin forgiven8 ,what _/can_/ impart true nobility1 if not restoration to the image of ,god8 ,what _/can_/ give peace1 if not the ,prince of ,peace8 ,what _/can_/ dry our tears or soothe our sorrows1 if not ,he who came as a ,comforter to earth1 and who re-erects the kingdom of ,god in the soul8 ,amid all that plenitude of mercy1 men may still persist in thinking that the truth is a bondage1 and that its joys are shadowy or evanescent2 but that can only be because their hearts have never bowed to the majesty or rejoiced in the love of their ,god4 ,,the ,,gain ,,of ,,godliness4 ,and this repugnance to ,his truth is sometimes augmented1 when religion begins to be contemplated with more care than the world commonly bestows on it4 ,when men1 for example1 read the words --,godliness is profitable unto all things1 having the promise of the life that now is1 and of that which is to come1 their perplexities sometimes increase4 ,that godliness has the promise of the life that is to come1 multitudes may passively concede1 for they bestow no thought upon the subject4 ,but when their attention is drawn to the fact1 that the promise farther embraces the life that now is1 men are not prepared to acknowledge the truth4 ,godliness does not permit a man to ask1 ,what will my fellow-mortals approve8 ,its all-decisive question is1 ,what has ,god said8 ,it never pauses to inquire1 ,what will men think8 what is current1 or what is countenanced among them8 ,it goes at once to the fountain-head1 and seeks to ascertain what ,god has decided2 what standard ,he has set up2 what aim or end proposed4 ,that once ascertained1 the godly immediately feel bound thereby4 ,they are in a court from which there is no appeal1 or a hand from which there is no escape4 ,now1 as they cannot do as others do1 as they dare not pursue the world with the intense avidity of multitudes1 how can it be true that godliness has the promise of the life that now is8 ,moreover1 are not the men called godly often hated1 and persecuted1 and of all men the most miserable8 ,is not this their promised lot--,in the world ye shall have tribulation2 or ,the world shall laugh1 but ye shall weep and lament8 ,how1 then1 can it be time1 the question again and again recurs1 that such buffeted men have the promise of the present life8 ,nay1 does not an apostle himself confess1 that1 in certain conditions1 ,christians may be of all men the most miserable8 ,with all these things1 however1 full in view1 we still declare that the promise is true1 and that no man really enjoys this world except the man of ,god4 ,whether it be in the ,heart1 that heart is the happiest whose godliness is greatest2 or in the ,home1 that home is the most blessed where godliness is the most ascendant2 or in the ,workshop1 that workshop is ever the best conditioned1 and the most free from those things which rudely shock man's moral nature1 where the fear of ,god is most felt2 or in the ,market-place1 that business is ever the most healthy1 the least exposed to panics or to failure1 where the lamp of life1 the ,bible1 sheds light upon our path4 ,gain without godliness is gold put into a bag with holes4 ,it is a rusted and a moth-eaten thing2 it eats the flesh as doth a canker4 ,,esau4 ,let us now1 then1 glance at religion in its general bearing upon the life of man on earth4 ,it is the appointed ,director of life2 it is the ,ornament and the joy of life2 it is the prelude1 the foretaste1 or the earnest of the ,life to come4--,viewed under these aspects1 it may not be difficult to discover the folly of those who act in the spirit of ,esau1 and barter away their birthright for pleasures which perish in the using2 or the wisdom of those who seek that righteousness1 and peace1 and joy in the ,holy ,ghost1 which are guaranteed to the ,christian by an eternal covenant4 ,as the ,director of life1 then1 it cannot be difficult to show that true religion is all-important4 ,,the ,,guide1 ,,the ,,counsellor1 ,,the ,,friend4 ,can we1 in the nature of things1 ever find a wiser guide than the only-wise ,god8 ,is not that man under some dire infatuation1 who thinks that he can discover a safer8 ,but true religion1 the religion which the ,spirit of ,god has embodied in the ,bible1 just consists in being under the guidance of the ,holy ,one1 in thought1 word1 and deed4 ,can we1 in the nature of things1 ever find a path more pleasant than that in which the ,eternal leads us8 ,now1 the religion of truth just places us in the narrow path to glory opened up by ,god4 ,can we be sane1 and at the same time pretend to select a better standard1 a better rule1 a better aim1 than that which ,god prescribes8 ,now1 pure and undefiled religion just consists in making that standard1 that rule1 that aim1 our own4 ,like the ship on the ocean1 driven by the wind and tost1 it may often seem as if all hope were gone2 but if we be godly1 that is1 if we have religion in the heart as the ,spirit of ,god plants it there1 ,one comes to us even upon the angry waves1 and his presence makes a calm4 ,whatever be our condition1 here is a ,guide4 ,whatever be our perplexity1 here is a ,counsellor4 ,whatever be our loneliness1 here is a ,friend4 ,whatever be our tendency to wander1 here is one at our right hand1 proclaiming1 ,i am the way4 ,could the heart of man be persuaded to follow the ,lord fully1 would he consult only for an hour with reason1 and with common sense1 thousands more might be found in the path which leads to glory and to honour4 ,,the ,,sovereignty ,,of ,,truth4 ,and let it be remembered that the directions which are given to guide the godly in the way are authoritative and divine4 ,we have more than a royal road to heaven--we have a divine one4 ,the man whose religion is planted in the heart1 is not guided by opinions1 but by verdicts2 and these are the verdicts of the unchanging ,one4 ,they are not conjectures--they are the decisions of an infallible ,judge2 they are the very maxims1 the very laws by which we shall be tried1 when we stand before the great white throne1 and the ,judge of the quick and the dead4 ,some men act as if they were at liberty to cancel the decisions of ,god2 to review them1 and indorse or reverse them at pleasure4 ,in this manner1 the word of the ,supreme1 which he cannot alter without ceasing to be true1 is made to bend to men's liking2 and if it will not bend1 they break it4 ,but the man who holds the lamp1 and is therefore truly wise1 makes it a maxim in his life that he cannot judge the ,word of ,god--,it judges him4 ,he cannot bring his religion to the ,bible--,he must get his religion from it4 ,he does not consult the sacred page with the view of welcoming or rejecting it at pleasure4 ,nay1 it is the sovereign umpire in every perplexity4 ,it is the director of his steps1 and the sun of his soul4 ,guided by it1 and by it alone1 that man walks under the direction of the ,father of lights1 with whom is no darkness at all1 to that abode where the glory of ,god is manifested to all1 and the ,lamb is the light thereof4 ,,the ,,lamb ,,our ,,light4 ,they who have thus surrendered their souls to the guidance of ,god in his ,word1 have felt1 in their own experience1 how blessed it is to have ,him for their light2 they never yet were in a position for which the only wise ,god has not made provision2 the lamp of life is always trimmed by the very hand which lit it4 --,one is persecuted for righteousness' sake2 the man who hates the truth appears anxious to chase him up to heaven4 ,but even then1 the ear of faith can hear ,him whom the world hated yet more1 pronouncing a blessing over all who suffer in the paths of godliness4 ,one has had to follow child after child1 or brother after brother1 to the tomb2 but has he not been told1 perhaps at the edge of the grave1 of ,him who is the resurrection of the body and the life of the soul2 and that them who sleep in ,jesus1 ,god will bring with him from the dead8 ,one has neither father nor mother1 nor friend on earth to lean on--he is absolutely and utterly an orphan2 but is he not told1 ,when father and mother forsake me1 the ,lord will take me up8 ,is it not added1 ,i will not leave you orphans8 ,,vicissitudes4 ,one has cherished dreams of happiness on earth--he is expecting here what ,god declares we can never1 never find4 ,well1 ,he came1 and proved that his declaration was true2 in mercy and in love he came1 though the lacerated heart felt that the stroke was sore4 ,the gourd withered4 ,the frail reed broke4 ,the shadow flitted away4 ,the ,word of ,god was verified1 and the happiness of earth appeared rather like the lightning flash1 than the steady shining of a summer day4 ,but did not ,he who wounded heal8 ,if that soul had godliness1 was it not made apparent that the sovereign ,lord of all had something in store for it better than it was choosing for itself8 ,one is tottering very near the grave4 ,however he may cling to life1 he cannot now be blind to the fact that the last resting-place of man must soon be a resting-place to him4 ,but just then1 just there1 if that soul be godly1 a light appears4 ,it irradiates the tomb4 ,it illumines the vast unknown beyond it2 and almost in the language of a hosanna1 such souls have passed away exclaiming1 ,to me to die is gain4 ,or1 last of all1 one has felt1 what many never feel1 the sinfulness of sin4 ,that soul has discovered how foolish as well as wicked it is1 to contend against ,omnipotence4 ,it feels that man forsakes his own mercy by cherishing thoughts1 or doing deeds opposed to the mind of ,god2 and that as well may we expect comfort on the rack1 or pleasure from the blaze which consumes us1 as joy in that path which the ,holy ,god has forbidden4 ,according to the ,word of the ,lord1 that soul has discovered what it is to be exposed to the wrath of ,god and of the ,lamb2 or how like the career of the suicide1 or the maniac1 is the course of those who live in sin unpardoned1 with a soul unsaved4 ,but it has also discovered that the ,word of ,god has devoted passage after passage1 or ,psalm after ,psalm1 to the subject of pardon4 ,in one aspect1 that is the burden of the ,bible's lessons--to tell how free1 how immediate1 how complete1 is the forgiveness provided by ,him whose tender mercies are over all his other works4 ,no entreaties so tender1 no lessons so plain1 no commands so cogent1 no promises so full1 as those which relate to the fountain opened for sin4 ,the earnest soul thus discovers that the word is indeed a light to man's feet1 and a lamp to his path4 ,it is a light shining in a dark place--a directory from heaven for man on earth--the very ,god of truth is there pouring encouragement1 or joy1 or hope1 into the heart4 ,,the ,,pillar ,,of ,,cloud ,,and ,,fire4 ,when we buffet with a baffling tempest1 how gladdening is the glimmer even of a lamp seen through the drift1 telling us of comfort and of home6 ,when we have long been driven by the waves and tost1 so that hope has fled and exertion become paralysed1 how welcome the haven of our rest6 ,when strangers have long been our only associates in a foreign land1 where no familiar face was near to greet us with its smile1 how pleasant to know ,there is an eye will mark ,our coming1 and look brighter when we come6 --,and how much more gladdening that ,word of ,god which irradiates the path of a believer1 a pillar of cloud by day1 a pillar of fire by night6 ,in joy or in sorrow1 in youth or in age1 in his home1 in his place of toil or of business1 amid unceasing activities1 or when the sands of life are ebbing low1 such a man has a directory at every hour of need1 a counsellor in every difficulty--enough to crown his weary life with a portion of the joy of his ,god4 ,,the ,,halcyon4 ,we meet with some who have manifestly no guide but passion1 or feeling1 or human opinion4 ,they therefore live in a state of constant fretfulness and mental fever1 at once troubling and troubled4 ,while others have an anchor cast within the veil1 these men are driven by the wind and tost4 ,some are kept in perfect peace1 even amid the agitations of life2 they are like the little bird which is said to build its nest amid the breakers of the sea1 and is most calm when perched on the crest of an angry wave4 ,others are like the restless sea2 and whence this difference8 ,the divine directory is in the hand of the one class2 it is ignored or perverted by the other4 ,the divine mind is the mind of the one2 caprice and the changing passions of a troubled soul form the standard or the tyrant of the other4 ,to the one1 truth is truth1 in the heart1 the home1 and the place of public resort2 to the other1 truth is but a name4--,the bodies of those who live under a directly vertical sun1 reflect no shadow2 at least their shadow is under their feet1 and these shadowless bodies are emblems of the condition of those who live nearest to the ,sun of ,righteousness3 like the children of the light1 they are preparing for the world where there is neither shadow nor night4 ,,the ,,ornament ,,of ,,life4 ,but godliness is the ,ornament of life as well as its ,director4 ,and what is it that constitutes the beauty of a soul8--,all that ,god has made is lovely according to its kind4 ,look at the little flower1 and see what beauties beam upon us there4 ,contemplate the firmament above us1 the meet type of ,jehovah's immensity2 and mark the surprising loveliness which is there4 ,or examine the winged insect which buzzes around us1 only1 perhaps1 to vex and to annoy--there are more beauties and more marks of wisdom in that little thing1 than the science of man has yet been able to tell4 ,now1 if even these mean1 these transient1 and ephemeral things1 are clothed in loveliness by ,god1 may we not expect a more exquisite beauty in that immortal thing1 the soul of man8 ,it was once in the image of ,god2 it is capable of wearing that image again4 ,and what is it that constitutes its beauty8 ,,the ,,misery ,,of ,,sin4 ,we need not again reply--_/,it is holiness_/4 ,it is purity like the purity of ,god4 ,it is perfection like his perfection4 ,sin at the first marred the moral beauty1 and put all that is morally offensive in its stead4 ,but a new creation takes place4 ,the original loveliness begins to be restored4 ,the beauties of holiness decorate the soul1 and with the restoration of holiness the restoration of happiness begins4 ,give the unholy soul the wealth for which millions pant2 give it an empire like that of our sovereign1 on which the sun never sets4 ,let all that can gladden and regale be poured into the cup of an ungodly man4 ,the mere fact that he is unholy1 would leave him deformed and unseemly2 his soul would be wretched1 craving1 aching still4--,a nobleman of ancient name and brilliant powers once ranked among the most conspicuous of all who dwelt in our land4 ,he was admired by millions1 and1 for a time1 was followed1 flattered1 sought1 and sued1 wherever he appeared4 ,but he was slightly deformed in a limb2 and when his eye fell on the deformity1 even from the heights of his fame1 he was chafed and chagrined3 it was more than a counterbalance to all the incense which was offered to his powers4 ,now1 that nobleman was as signal for his ungodliness as he was for his powers4 ,,the ,,joy ,,of ,,holiness4 ,but1 on the other hand1 place a holy soul in a dungeon4 ,let the new1 the holy nature which the ,spirit of ,god imparts1 be imparted to such a man4 ,with that in his soul1 let the persecutor wreathe his chains around him2 let him five times receive forty stripes save one2 let all men forsake him and flee2--still1 by the grace of ,god1 that soul would be made more like the ,holy ,one by the very sorrows which it encountered and the tears which it shed3 and it is thus that godliness becomes the ornament of life4 ,as the rainbow would never be seen were it not for the clouds and the rain1 the beauties of holiness would never shine so brightly were it not for the trials which the ,spirit of ,god employs to promote them4 ,but _/when_/ he employs them1 the soul of man is changed into the image of the ,redeemer1 from glory to glory4 ,though covered by sin with wounds and bruises and noisome sores1 it is created anew1 after the image of ,god1 in righteousness and true holiness4 ,the altogether lovely ,one becomes the model of that soul2 and ornament after ornament is bestowed--such adornings as the eye of ,god can complacently regard1 for they are the work of his own ,spirit3 they indicate the restoration of his handiwork1 from the state of ruin into which it had lapsed1 to the state of beauty in which it appeared when it sprang into being at his word4 ,it is holiness1 then1 that is the ornament of man4 ,without that1 no mental power1 no constellation of gifts1 can give beauty to our spirits1 as they are seen by ,god4 ,knowledge may be power2 but it is only the power of evil4 ,acquirements may be extensive2 but they are only like gaudy trappings on a hearse1 or music in a dying man's chamber1 unless truth in the heart become holiness in the life4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but when ,christianity is planted in the heart and soul of man1 it becomes his ,joy as well as his director and ornament4 ,this is sunshine2 all besides is gloom4 ,,the ,,vain ,,pursuit4 ,upon this we need not expatiate long4 ,it is manifest as day to all who have submitted to the guidance of reason illumined by the lamp of life1 the ,bible1 that ,christianity introduces us to the highest joy of earth or heaven1 even joy in the ,holy ,ghost2 and while destitute of that1 whatever he may possess1 man is wretched1 and miserable1 and blind4 ,one man seeks happiness in sin2 but did he ever find it8 ,nay1 is it not like taking fire to his bosom8 ,is it not like a wound to his immortal nature8 ,o1 is it not a mournful delirium1 to dream of finding joy in that which caused the creation of a place of torment--which doomed a world to misery--which digs our graves--which lays us in them1 and fills our homes from time to time with the voice of lamentation and woe8 ,another man seeks joy in wealth2 but after he has all that he can grasp1 is not his heart still1 like the daughters of the horse-leech1 crying1 ,give1 give8 ,as well attempt to satisfy the hungry body with the name of bread1 as the craving soul with material things4 ,it was created to be happy in ,god2 and1 without him1 the universe cannot fill the void in man's heart4 ,,death-,,beds4 ,another seeks joy in friendship1 or in beautiful human affection4 ,but remorseless death comes3 he strikes down the object to which affection clings2 and where is the bereaved one now8 ,he is well-nigh wearying for the grave1 and so of all that begins and ends on earth3 its blossom goes up like rottenness at last4 ,it is simply impossible that any object whose root is in the dust can gladden the soul of man1 apart from the ,god who made it4 ,has ,god1 then1 left us without joy8 ,when we became idolaters1 did he leave us to our idols1 to tears1 and woe8 ,nay1 there is blessedness even here below2 and the knowledge1 the fear1 the love1 and favour of ,god1 is its fountain-head4 ,in reconciliation to ,him--in ,his image restored--in growing holiness--in greater and yet greater love and likeness to the ,saviour of the soul--the man of ,god1 the man who is truly rational1 finds the streams of his joy4 ,god himself is the fountain2 but his blessings are the rills which flow from it3 and he who has not felt this joy1 is still living among shadows1 and phantoms1 and names4 ,his is only the comb rifled of the honey2 his is the dream without the reality2 his the corruption and the death of sin1 without the pleasures which flow from ,god into the soul4--,is the land of his fathers a source of joy to the returning exile8 ,is the breath of spring a source of gladness to man's fevered brow8 ,is the face of nature a source of pleasure to him who has long been immured amid the damps of a dungeon8 ,far more than all these together1 is a sense of ,god's favour to the soul which has returned from its wanderings1 to seek its blessedness again on the bosom of its ,god4 ,,voltaire4 ,and it is to godliness1 or at least some counterfeit of it1 that all1 or nearly all1 men flee for joy at last4 ,some1 indeed1 die like the beasts that perish1 without either fear or joy4 ,conscience is dead before the body4 ,it occasions no alarm2 and such men pass into the presence of the ,judge perhaps denying his very existence4 ,but not so all4 ,when conscience is aroused from its long stupor by the nearness of death1 how eager do some appear for the joy which religion promises6 how gladly would they now grasp at what they have practically despised1 perhaps for threescore years and ten6 ,there is one who has spent a lifetime in denying the truth as it is in ,jesus4 ,he declared that he hated the ,saviour's very name1 and did all that wit and powers the most diversified could accomplish to blot it from the hearts and memories of men4 ,that man hated the truth with a perfect hatred1 and gloried in his hatred2 it secured for him the applause of myriads who felt that truth to be fettering1 and who rejoiced in the help of one so gifted in their attempt to banish it from the earth4--,but that man is dying at last1 and all is changed now4 ,goaded by conscience1 he flees to a poor superstition--he tries to soothe his soul by believing one of the most enormous impositions ever practised upon man4 ,he eats what he reckons1 or what an abject superstition teaches him to regard as the body1 the blood1 and the divinity of ,him whom he had so long blasphemed and denied2 and that very superstition of that dying infidel#da tells where it is that man finds or tries to find his joy after all4 ,it is just an infidel's method of proclaiming1 ,godliness has the promise of the life that now is1 and of that which is to come4 ,or if we refer to a case less extreme than that of an avowed infidel1 the same truth appears--the same lesson is taught4 ,god and his favour alone can gladden or satisfy the soul4 ,,sir ,,walter ,,scott4 ,another man1 then1 not less distinguished in his day than ,voltaire1 is passing on to his great account4 ,millions in many lands have admired his genius1 and offered incense to his name4 ,wherever he moves he is followed by applauding crowds2 and if ever there was one who might have been satisfied with the homage of his fellow-mortals1 that was the man4 ,princes deemed themselves honoured by being under his roof4 ,royalty set him at its right hand4 ,he added field to field4 ,he determined to make for himself a local habitation1 as he had already made for himself a name2 and his mansion1 once modest and humble1 grew into a romance in stone4 ,but the fashion of this world vanishes away1 and that man must die4 ,before he leaves the scenes which his presence had long invested with smiles1 he must read a lesson to man--had man a heart to learn it--more salutary and profound than any he had ever tried to teach4 ,the wind of adversity blew1 and shattered his fortunes and his hopes together4 ,death entered his abode1 and one who had long been its joy was carried to the tomb4 ,then affliction laid its hand upon himself4 ,the body was palsied1 the mind a wreck2 and amid all this1 that man's spasmodic efforts to resume his former self1 rank among the most touching incidents in the chequered history of humanity4 ,but we must listen to his own words to learn his tale of woe1 and see how broken is every earthly cistern when man seeks joy from it apart from ,god2 how shadowy and dream-like is every earthly thing apart from ,him who is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever4 ,,sorrow ,,unsoothed4 ,when ,i think1 says this idol of millions1 on the eve of leaving his home at the bidding of stern necessity and financial pressure2 when ,i think what this place now is1 compared with what it has been not long ago1 ,i think my heart will break4 ,lonely1 aged1 deprived of all my family1 ,i am an impoverished and embarrassed man4 ,farther1 he thus touchingly wails3 ,death has closed the dark avenue of love and friendship4 ,i look at them as through the grated door of a burial-place1 filled with monuments of those who once were dear to me1 and with no other wish than that it may open for me at no distant period4 ,and as if to show that all his anguish did not come from without1 the great ,novelist says1 ,some new object of complaint comes every moment4 ,sicknesses come thicker and thicker2 friends are fewer and fewer4 ,the recollection of youth1 health1 and power of activity neither improved nor enjoyed1 is a poor strain of comfort4 ,the best is1 the long halt will arrive at length1 and close all4#db ,,the ,,mimic ,,immortality4 ,now1 it will be noticed in these extracts that it is _/the grave_/ which closes the vista of that greatly gifted man2 at least he never refers to the bright ulterior of which the tomb might be the portal4 --,i have no other wish than that the grated door of a burial-place may open for me at no distant period4--,the best is1 the long halt will arrive at length1 and close all--it is there that the mind seems to rest4 ,it never rises into the region of immortality4 ,it does not refer to that favour of ,god which is life4 ,as far as these mournful records tell1 that soul had nothing to repose on but what was soon to enwrap the body--the earth1 and earthly things4 ,dazzled even to blindness by the mimic immortality which man bestows on man1 the life and immortality of the ,gospel were ignored4 ,steeped in the possessions which only increase the thirst which some suppose they quench1 that man discovered and confessed that he was an impoverished and embarrassed man1 when he might have exulted in the unspeakable gift1 the unsearchable riches of ,christ4 ,,the ,,broken ,,heart4 ,now1 it is thus that men sow the wind and reap the whirlwind1 by expecting that joy from things which are seen and temporal1 which can be found only in the things which are unseen and eternal2 and it is thus that the men who ,hunt their misery with a zeal to die proclaim to all who have ears to hear1 that if we would have joy to the full1 and blessings such as can satisfy the soul1 they must be sought in ,him who is our peace1 of whom and to whom are all things4 ,surely he is1 or ought to be1 a happy man1 said a visiter at ,sir ,walter ,scott's abode4 ,when ,i think of what it is now 444 ,i think my heart will break--is his own dirge-like response4 ,but it is not merely in the high concerns of eternity that a man of ,god finds sources of joy4 ,even amid the cares and distractions of earth1 he has often a peace which is independent of all earthly sources4 ,he sees ,god in all events1 and soon discovers that they all work together for his good3 however diverse in their origin or aspect1 they sweetly blend into one harmonious whole1 of which blessedness is the product to a child of ,god4 ,think of the complex machinery which pours such wealth into the lap of our nation1 by multiplying manifold its productive power4 ,how intricate in its parts6 how apparently incomprehensible to an inexperienced mind2 yet how simple1 how exquisitely beautiful in its _/results_/6 ,or think of the sunlight in which all nature rejoices4 ,it can be decomposed into seven primary elements1 yet how simple and how lovely is the product of their combination6 ,and so it is in the various events of providence3 they all blend into one harmonious result2 they are all presided over by our ,father who is in heaven2 and they all pour into the soul of a believer more real joy than the world can know1 even when its corn and its wine are increased4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but the crown and consummation of the whole is1 that godliness is not merely the ,director1 the ,ornament1 or the ,joy of this life2 it is the prelude to the ,life that is to come4 ,what are to be our employments in heaven8 ,how shall we be sustained8 ,how perceive1 or feel1 or rejoice8 ,shall we recognise in glory those whom we loved on earth8--or is the ,alpha and the ,omega of faith1 the ,alpha and the ,omega of fruition8 ,these1 and a thousand other questions1 are raised by the curious mind2 but the most that we can say in reply is1 ,it doth not yet appear what we shall be4 ,there will be praise in glory4 ,there will be following the ,lamb4 ,there will be satisfaction with ,god's likeness4 ,there will be the fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore4 ,but after all1 the mind1 while in the body1 is exhausted by the effort to comprehend what we shall be3 it falls back fatigued upon the words of him who once lay on the ,redeemer's bosom1 ,it doth not yet appear what we shall be4 ,,the ,,millennium499#af ,and yet there is a sense or a measure in which we can understand heaven4--,in our day we hear much of the ,millennium4 ,churches are divided on the subject4 ,brother differs from brother2 and it is difficult indeed1 definitely to fix what saith the ,lord regarding it4 ,but connected with the millennium there is one subject1 concerning which we may speak with perfect decision on the undoubted authority of ,god4 ,as the whole is composed of its parts1 the blessedness of the millennial state can be composed only of the blessedness of individual souls4 ,now1 would ,i introduce that blessed era as far as ,i am concerned8 ,then let me make sure that ,christ is already personally reigning in me4 ,would ,i see the kingdom of ,god set up in our groaning world2 and would ,i like to fix a day for its commencement8 ,then let me _/this day_/ make it sure that the king of glory is on the throne of my heart1 that ,christ is in me the hope of glory4--,whatever the millennium is to be1 or whensoever it is to begin1 it can1 at the most1 consist only of ,christ's personal reign4 ,now1 he should be reigning at this hour in me4 ,be that1 through grace1 accomplished1 and we are in preparation for the millennial glory2 though the bright visions of some were turned into realities to-morrow1 we should be found meet to enter on the joy of our ,lord4 ,the millennium will never come1 said ,harlan ,page1 till ,christians are more awake to duty4 ,,heaven4 ,and so of the eternal state4 ,does ,christ reign in any soul now8 ,then1 beyond the grave1 that reign perfected will be heaven4 ,is ,christ stamping on us now the image of the ,eternal1 and restoring what the fall ruined or effaced8 ,then that restoration completed will be heaven4 ,is ,christ on earth showing us the ,father8 ,then beyond the grave1 we shall be eternally restored to the ,father's favour2 and that is heaven1 for his favour is life1 and his loving-kindness better than life4 ,our joy on earth--our religion--when it is a fruit of the ,spirit1 is at once a preparative and a prelude to the joys of heaven4 ,they are the same in kind1 and differ only in degree4 ,he that is holy in a measure now1 will be holy in perfection at last4 ,he that loves the ,saviour in a measure now1 will love him in perfection beyond the grave2 here we see the bud1 on high we shall partake of the ripe and mellow fruit--all according to the words1 ,he that is unjust1 let him be unjust still3 and he which is filthy1 let him be filthy still3 and he that is righteous1 let him be righteous still3 and he that is holy1 let him be holy still4 ,let us try to find some one who is ignorant of the great processes of nature2 one of the untutored savages who still hover near the margin which separates the rational from merely animal nature4 ,let him be ignorant1 for example1 of the processes of vegetation4 ,with the one hand show him an acorn--a thing so small that it can scarcely serve even for an infant's toy2 with the other1 show him some majestic oak1 beneath whose ample shade the beasts of the field and the birds of the air find a common shelter4 ,then tell that degraded one1 that that majestic tree was once enveloped in such a little seed--how incredulous1 or how amazed1 would that ,stoic of the woods appear6 ,,the ,,bud--,,the ,,blossom--,,the ,,fruit4 ,and the same thing happens in regard to the coming eternity4 ,godliness is the germ1 of which eternal glory is the majestic result4 ,grace is the bud1 of which heaven is the ample fruitage4 ,like the darkling savage1 we may be unable to comprehend the process by which the one passes into the other4 ,but our ability is not the measure of ,god's4 ,the one _/does_/ pass into the other2 grace does pass into glory2 and he is wise1 he _/only_/ is wise1 who makes it his business on earth to tend that germ1 or screen it from all that would crush or destroy it4 ,he is wise who places it often in the clear shining of the ,sun of ,righteousness1 or under the influence of ,him who assures us that he will refresh it like the dew4 ,the delicate exotic will not otherwise grow2 and for want of such tending1 ten thousand times ten thousand let it wither1 and pine1 and perish4 ,,the ,,resurrection4 ,,glory--,,honour--,,immortality4 ,it is a saddening thing to stand by the edge of the open grave1 and see dust returned to the dust4 ,one1 perhaps1 with whom we have often taken sweet counsel1 upon whose arm we have leant1 whose soul has touched our soul1 with whom we had all things in common1 even to the secrets of the heart1 is entombed4 ,the cold earth must hide him1 and even affection must hasten to bury him out of sight4 ,but that very body thus consigned to corruption is yet to come forth a glorious body1 when death shall be swallowed up of life4 ,that which is sown in dishonour is to grow in glory1 if united to ,him who is the resurrection and the life1 who has abolished death1 and brought life and immortality to light in the gospel4 ,its home for ever is to be-- ,the city of the golden pavement-- ,seat of endless festival4 --,and thus do we glance at the ,spirit's fruit in the soul--or ,god's religion1 not man's--as the crown and consummation of life4 ,we have looked at it as it _/should_/ reign in the ,heart3 _/,does_/ it reign there8 ,we have studied it as presiding in our ,homes1 and leading all who are there in the way of the ,lord3 ,to what extent has that been accomplished8 ,we have gone1 with the lamp of life in our hand1 into the ,workshop of the artisan1 and tried to tell how it ennobles toil by sanctifying him who toils4 ,we have taken that lamp1 and tried to shed its light upon the ,marts of business2 and is it the case that our merchandise and our hire are holiness to the ,lord8 ,we have referred to what should be the ascendency of ,god's truth in our ,social ,intercourse2 and if it preside there1 we are not far from the kingdom of heaven2 nay1 we are within its sacred borders1 and the crown of all will be glory1 honour1 and immortality1 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,,footnotes --------- #a ,see ,rom4 v4 #f1 and compare ,acts v4 #ca4 #b ,ps4 li4 #aj4 #c ,ezek4 xxxvi4 #bf4 #d ,jonathan ,edwards4 #e ,john ,albert ,bengel4 #f ,thomas ,halyburton4 #g ,pascal4 #h ,matt4 vi4 #be-cc4 #i ,see the ,domestic ,constitution1 by ,christopher ,anderson4 #aj ,discourses on the application of ,christianity to the ,commercial and ,ordinary affairs of life4--,discourse ,,vi4 #aa ,see a remarkable little volume1 ,memoirs of ,harlan ,page4 #ab #a ,cor4 iv4 #c1 #d4 #ac ,it may look to some a degradation of the pulpit1 when the household servant is told to make her firm stand against the temptation of open doors and secret opportunities2 or when the confidential agent is told to resist the slightest inclination to any unseen freedom with the property of his employers1 or to any discoverable excess in the charges of his management2 or when the receiver of a humble payment is told that the tribute which is due on every written acknowledgment ought faithfully to be met1 and not fictitiously to be evaded4 ,this is not robbing religion of its sacredness1 but spreading its sacredness over the face of society4 ,it is evangelizing human life by impregnating its minutest transactions with the ,spirit of the ,gospel4--,dr4 ,,chalmers4 #ad ,acts xviii4 #c2 xx4 #cd4 #a ,cor4 iv4 #ab4 #a ,thess4 ii4 #i4 #ae ,he lives in a cottage1 and yet he is a king and a priest unto ,god4 ,he is fixed for life to the ignoble drudgery of a workman1 and yet he is on the full march to a blissful immortality4 ,he is a child in the mysteries of science1 but familiar with greater mysteries4 ,that preaching of the cross which is foolishness to others1 he feels to be the power of ,god and the wisdom of ,god4--,dr4 ,,chalmers4 #af ,job v4 #c4 #ag ,pulchra ,laverna1 ,da mihi fallere1 da justo sanctoque videri4--,,hor4 #ah ,we state it as our opinion1 that though the whole business of the world were in the hands of men thoroughly ,christianized1 and who1 rating wealth according to its real dimensions on the high scale of eternity1 were chastened out of all their idolatrous regards to it2 yet would trade1 in these circumstances1 be carried to the extreme limit of its being really productive or desirable4 ,an affection for riches beyond what ,christianity prescribes1 is not essential to any extension of commerce that is at all valuable or legitimate2 and in opposition to the maxim that the spirit of enterprise is the soul of commercial prosperity1 do we hold that it is the excess of this spirit beyond the moderation of the ,new ,testament1 which1 pressing on the natural boundaries of trade1 is sure at length to visit every country where it operates with the record of all those calamities which1 in the shape of beggared capitalists and unemployed operatives1 and dreary intervals of bankruptcy and alarm1 are observed to follow a season of overdone speculation4--,dr4 ,,chalmers4 #ai #b ,cor4 viii4 #b4 #bj ,mr4 ,hardcastle died in his sixty-seventh year4 #ba ,see ,mercantile ,morals by ,rev4 ,w4 ,h4 ,van ,doren1 chap4 iv4 #bb ,see ,mercantile ,morality1 chap4 iv4 #bc ,the ,dutch florin is worth about two shillings4 #bd ,a span of horses means a team or pair of _/matches_/ for a carriage4 #be ,a livre is equal to about #aj;d4 ,english4 #bf ,see ,mercantile ,morals1 chap4 iv4 #bg ,see ,dr4 ,boardman's ,bible in the ,counting-,house1 p4 #acb4 #bh _/,hunt's ,merchant's ,magazine_/1 quoted in ,boardman's ,bible in the ,counting-,house4 #bi ,psalm ii4 #i-aa4 #cj ,ubi tres ,medici1 duo ,athei4 #ca ,lectures on ,medical ,missions1 ,lect4 ,v41 by ,dr4 ,g4 ,wilson4 #cb ,gouge1 in his ,surest and ,safest ,way of ,thriving1 tells of an eminent physician of his day1 ,dr4 ,bathurst1 that all his ,lord's-day fees were kept as a bank for the poor4 #cc ,see this quotation from the ,the ,licence of ,counsel1 in ,whately's ,rhetoric4 ,part ,,ii41 chap4 iii4 #cd ,see ,archbishop ,whately's ,rhetoric4 ,part ,,ii41 chap4 iii4 #ce ,see ,campbell's ,lives of the ,chancellors1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #dbi1 #dcj4 #cf ,campbell1 vol4 ii4 p4 #cjg4 #cg ,memoirs of the ,lives of ,robert ,haldane1 and ,james ,a4 ,haldane1 p4 #acb4 #ch ,see ,lives of the ,haldanes1 pp4 #abh1 #abi4 #ci ,gen4 xlix4 #f4 #dj #a ,cor4 v4 #i-aa4 #da ,it was ,voltaire4 #db ,sir ,walter ,scott4 ,the closing chapter of his ,life by ,j4 ,g4 ,lockhart ranks among the most melancholy and instructive portions of our literature4 ,could aught but a divine power undeceive the sons of men1 these chapters might undeceive them4 ,,transcriber',s ,,notes ------------------- #a ',edinburg' replaced with ',edinburgh' #b ',boerhave' replaced with ',boerhaave' #c 'dependents' replaced with 'dependants' for consistency #d 'uare taght' replaced with 'are taught' #e ,numeral ',i4' missing in text4 #f 'engulphing' replaced with 'ingulfing' for consistency #g 'dishallowed'replaced with 'disallowed' #h 'its' replaced with 'it' #i 'enterprize' replaced with 'enterprise' #aj ,meaning 'load'1 it measured about #abj cubic feet varying by the item measured and changing over time #aa 'enterprize' replaced with 'enterprise' #ab 'controling' replaced with 'controlling' #ac ,quotations marks corrected based on original source in ,footnote #cg4 #ad 'stedfast' replaced with 'steadfast' for consistency #ae 'respects' replaced with 'respect' #af ',,millenium' replaced with ',,millennium'