,transcribed from the #ahij ,macmillan and ,co4 edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,,the ,,water ,,of ,,life ,,and ,,other ,,sermons 99 99 99 99 99 ,,by ,,charles ,,kingsley4 99 99 99 99 99 ,london ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co4 ,,and ,,new ,,york #ahij ,the right of translation is reserved 99 99 99 99 99 ,first ,edition 7,fcap4 #hvo71 #ahfg4 ,new ,edition #ahgb1 ,reprinted #ahgc1 #ahge4 ,new ,edition1 ,crown #hvo1 #ahgi1 ,reprinted #ahha1 #ahhe4 ,new ,edition #ahij4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,contents4 ,,sermon ,i4 ,page ,,the ,,water ,,of ,,life4 7,revelation xxii4 #ag47 #a ,,sermon ,,ii4 ,,the ,,physician',s ,,calling4 7,st4 ,matthew ix4 #ce47 #ad ,,sermon ,,iii4 ,,the ,,victory ,,of ,,life4 7,isaiah xxxviii4 #ah1 #ai47 #bg ,,sermon ,,iv4 ,,the ,,wages ,,of ,,sin4 7,romans vi4 #ba-bc47 #dj ,,sermon ,v4 ,,night ,,and ,,day4 7,romans xiii4 #ab47 #ef ,,sermon ,,vi4 ,,the ,,shaking ,,of ,,the ,,heavens ,,and ,,the ,,earth4 7,hebrews xii4 #fh #bf-bi47 ,,sermon ,,vii4 ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,life4 7,galatians v4 #af1 #ag47 #hc ,,sermon ,,viii4 ,,free ,,grace4 7,isaiah lv4 #a47 #ij ,,sermon ,,ix4 ,,ezekiel',s ,,vision4 7,ezekiel i4 #a1 #bf47 #ih ,,sermon ,x4 ,,ruth4 7,ruth ii4 #d47 #aaa ,,sermon ,,xi4 ,,solomon4 7,ecclesiastes i4 #ab-ad47 #abc ,,sermon ,,xii4 ,,progress4 7,ecclesiastes vii4 #aj47 #acd ,,sermon ,,xiii4 ,,faith4 7,habakkuk ii4 #d47 #adc ,,sermon ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,great ,,commandment4 7,matthew xxii4 #cg1 #ch47 #aec ,,sermon ,,xv4 ,,the ,,earthquake4 7,psalm xlvi4 #a1 #b47 #afd ,,sermon ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,meteor ,,shower4 7,matthew x4 #bi1 #cj47 #agf ,,sermon ,,xvii4 ,,cholera1 #ahff4 7,luke vii4 #af47 #ahi ,,sermon ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,wicked ,,servant4 7,matthew xviii4 #bc47 #bjc ,,sermon ,,xix4 ,,civilized ,,barbarism4 7,mattthew ix4 #ab47 #bac ,,sermon ,,xx4 ,,the ,,god ,,of ,,nature4 7,psalm cxlvii4 #g-i47 #bcc ,,sermon ,i4 ,,the ,,water ,,of ,,life4 7,preached at ,westminster ,abbey7 ,,revelation xxii4 #ag4 ,and the ,spirit and the ,bride say1 ,come4 ,and let him that heareth say1 ,come4 ,and let him that is athirst come4 ,and whosoever will1 let him take the water of life freely4 ,,this text is its own witness4 ,it needs no man to testify to its origin4 ,its own words show it to be inspired and divine4 ,but not from its mere poetic beauty1 great as that is3 greater than we1 in this wet and cold climate1 can see at the first glance4 ,we must go to the far ,east and the far ,south to understand the images which were called up in the mind of an old ,jew at the very name of wells and water-springs2 and why the ,scriptures speak of them as special gifts of ,god1 life-giving and divine4 ,we must have seen the treeless waste1 the blazing sun1 the sickening glare1 the choking dust1 the parched rocks1 the distant mountains quivering as in the vapour of a furnace2 we must have felt the lassitude of heat1 the torment of thirst1 ere we can welcome1 as did those old ,easterns1 the well dug long ago by pious hands1 whither the maidens come with their jars at eventide1 when the stone is rolled away1 to water the thirsty flocks2 or the living fountain1 under the shadow of a great rock in a weary land1 with its grove of trees1 where all the birds for many a mile flock in1 and shake the copses with their song2 its lawn of green1 on which the long-dazzled eye rests with refreshment and delight2 its brook1 wandering away--perhaps to be lost soon in burning sand1 but giving1 as far as it flows1 ,life2 a ,water of ,life to plant1 to animal1 and to man4 ,all these images1 which we have to call up in our minds one by one1 presented themselves to the mind of an ,eastern1 whether ,jew or heathen1 at once1 as a well-known and daily scene2 and made him feel1 at the very mention of a water-spring1 that the speaker was telling him of the good and beautiful gift of a beneficent ,being4 ,and yet--so do extremes meet--like thoughts1 though not like images1 may be called up in our minds1 here in the heart of ,london1 in murky alleys and foul courts1 where there is too often1 as in the poet's rotting sea-- #8,water1 water1 everywhere1 ,yet not a drop to drink4' ,and we may bless ,god--as the ,easterns bless ,him for the ancestors who digged their wells--for every pious soul who now erects a drinking-fountain2 for he fulfils the letter as well as the spirit of ,scripture1 by offering to the bodies as well as the souls of men the ,water of ,life freely4 ,but the text speaks not of earthly water4 ,no doubt the words #8,water of ,life' have a spiritual and mystic meaning4 ,yet that alone does not prove the inspiration of the text4 ,they had a spiritual and mystic meaning already among the heathens of the ,east--,greeks and barbarians alike4 ,the ,east--and indeed the ,west likewise--was haunted by dreams of a ,water of ,life1 a ,fount of ,perpetual ,youth1 a ,cup of ,immortality3 dreams at which only the shallow and the ignorant will smile2 for what are they but tokens of man's right to ,immortality1--of his instinct that he is not as the beasts1--that there is somewhat in him which ought not to die1 which need not die1 and yet which may die1 and which perhaps deserves to die8 ,how could it be kept alive8 how strengthened and refreshed into perpetual youth8 ,and water--with its life-giving and refreshing powers1 often with medicinal properties seemingly miraculous--what better symbol could be found for that which would keep off death8 ,perhaps there was some reality which answered the symbol1 some actual ,cup of ,immortality1 some actual ,fount of ,youth4 ,but who could attain to them8 ,surely the gods hid their own special treasure from the grasp of man4 ,surely that ,water of ,life was to be sought for far away1 amid trackless mountain-peaks1 guarded by dragons and demons4 ,that ,fount of ,youth must be hidden in the rich glades of some tropic forest4 ,that ,cup of ,immortality must be earned by years1 by ages1 of superhuman penance and self torture4 ,certain of the old ,jews1 it is true1 had had deeper and truer thoughts4 ,here and there a psalmist had said1 #8,with ,god is the well of ,life2' or a prophet had cried1 #8,ho1 every one that thirsteth1 come ye to the waters1 and buy without money and without price6' ,but the ,jews had utterly forgotten 7if the mass of them ever understood7 the meaning of the old revelations2 and1 above all1 the ,pharisees1 the most religious among them4 ,to their minds1 it was only by a proud asceticism1--by being not as other men were2 only by doing some good thing--by performing some extraordinary religious feat1--that man could earn eternal life4 ,and bitter and deadly was their selfish wrath when they heard that the ,water of ,life was within all men's reach1 then and for ever2 that ,the ,eternal ,life was in that ,christ who spoke to them2 that ,he gave it freely to whomsoever ,he would2--bitter their wrath when they heard ,his disciples declare that ,god had given to men ,eternal ,life2 that the ,spirit and the ,bride said4 ,come4 ,they had1 indeed1 a graceful ceremony1 handed down to them from better times1 as a sign that those words of the old psalmists and prophets had once meant something4 ,at the ,feast of ,tabernacles--the harvest feast--at which ,god was especially to be thanked as the giver of fertility and ,life1 their priests drew water with great pomp from the pool of ,siloam2 connecting it with the words of the prophet3 #8,with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation4' ,but the ceremony had lost its meaning4 ,it had become mechanical and empty4 ,they had forgotten that ,god was a giver4 ,they would have confessed1 of course1 that ,he was the ,lord of ,life3 but they expected ,him to prove that1 not by giving ,life1 but by taking it away3 not by saving the many1 but by destroying all except a favoured few4 ,but bitter and deadly was their wrath when they were told that their ceremony had still a living meaning1 and a meaning not only for them1 but for all men2 for that mob of common people whom they looked on as accursed1 because they knew not the law4 ,bitter and deadly was their selfish wrath1 when they heard ,one who ate and drank with publicans and sinners stand up in the very midst of that grand ceremony1 and cry2 #8,if any man thirst1 let him come to ,me and drink4 ,he that believeth on ,me1 as the scripture hath said1 ,out of him shall flow rivers of living water4' ,a ,god who said to all #8,come1' was not the ,god they desired to rule over them4 ,and thus the very words which prove the text to be divine and inspired1 were marked out as such by those bigots of the old world1 who in them saw and hated both ,christ and ,his ,father4 ,the ,spirit and the ,bride say1 ,come4 ,come1 and drink freely4 ,those words prove the text1 and other texts like it in ,holy ,scripture1 to be an utterly new ,gospel and good news2 an utterly new revelation and unveiling of ,god1 and of the relations of ,god to man4 ,for the old legends and dreams1 in whatsoever they differed1 agreed at least in this1 that the ,water of ,life was far away2 infinitely difficult to reach2 the prize only of some extraordinary favourite of fortune1 or of some being of superhuman energy and endurance4 ,the gods grudged life to mortals1 as they grudged them joy and all good things4 ,that ,god should say ,come2 that the ,water of ,life could be a gift1 a grace1 a boon of free generosity and perfect condescension1 never entered into their minds4 ,that the gods should keep their immortality to themselves seemed reasonable enough4 ,that they should bestow it on a few heroes2 and1 far away above the stars1 give them to eat of their ambrosia1 and drink of their nectar1 and so live for ever2 that seemed reasonable enough likewise4 ,but that the ,god of gods1 the ,maker of the universe should say1 #8,come1 and drink freely2' that ,he should stoop from heaven to bring life and immortality to light1--to tell men what the ,water of ,life was1 and where it was1 and how to attain it2 much more1 that that ,god should stoop to become incarnate1 and suffer and die on the cross1 that ,he might purchase the ,water of ,life1 not for a favoured few1 but for all mankind2 that ,he should offer it to all1 without condition1 stint1 or drawback2--this1 this1 never entered into their wildest dreams4 ,and yet1 when the strange news was told1 it looked so probable1 although so strange1 to thousands who had seemed mere profligates or outcasts2 it agreed so fully with the deepest voices of their own hearts1--with their thirst for a nobler1 purer1 more enduring ,life1--with their highest idea of what a perfect ,god should be1 if ,he meant to show ,his perfect goodness2 it seemed at once so human and humane1 and yet so superhuman and divine2--that they accepted it unhesitatingly1 as a voice from ,god ,himself1 a revelation of the ,eternal ,author of the universe2 as1 ,god grant you may accept it this day4 ,and what is ,life8 ,and what is the ,water of ,life8 ,what are they indeed1 my friends8 ,you will find many answers to that question1 in this1 as in all ages3 but the one which ,scripture gives is this4 ,life is none other1 according to the ,scripture1 than ,god ,himself1 ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 who bestows on man ,his own ,spirit1 to form in him ,his own character1 which is the character of ,god4 ,he is ,the one ,eternal ,life2 and it has been manifested in human form1 that human beings might copy it2 and behold1 it was full of grace and truth4 ,the ,life of grace and truth2 that is the ,life of ,christ1 and1 therefore1 the ,life of ,god4 ,the ,life of grace--of graciousness1 love1 pity1 generosity1 usefulness1 self-sacrifice2 the ,life of truth--of faithfulness1 fairness1 justice1 the desire to impart knowledge and to guide men into all truth4 ,the ,life1 in one word1 of charity1 which is both grace and truth1 both love and justice1 in one ,eternal essence4 ,that is the life which ,god lives for ever in heaven4 ,that is ,the one ,eternal ,life1 which must be also the ,life of ,god4 ,for1 as there is but one ,eternal1 even ,god1 so is there but one ,eternal ,life1 which is the life of ,god and of ,his ,christ4 ,and the ,spirit by which it is inspired into the hearts of men is the ,spirit of ,god1 who proceedeth alike from the ,father and from the ,son4 ,have you not seen men and women in whom these words have been literally and palpably fulfilled8 ,have you not seen those who1 though old in years1 were so young in heart1 that they seem to have drunk of the ,fountain of perpetual ,youth1--in whom1 though the outward body decayed1 the soul was renewed day by day2 who kept fresh and pure the noblest and holiest instincts of their childhood1 and went on adding to them the experience1 the calm1 the charity of age8 ,persons whose eye was still so bright1 whose smile was still so tender1 that it seemed that they could never die8 ,and when they died1 or seemed to die1 you felt that ,,they were not dead1 but only their husk and shell2 that they themselves1 the character which you had loved and reverenced1 must endure on1 beyond the grave1 beyond the worlds1 in a literally ,everlasting ,life1 independent of nature1 and of all the changes of the material universe4 ,surely you have seen such4 ,and surely what you loved in them was the ,spirit of ,god ,himself1--that love1 joy1 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 which the natural savage man has not4 ,has not1 ,i say1 look at him where you will1 from the tropics to the pole1 because it is a gift above man2 the gift of the ,spirit of ,god2 the ,eternal ,life of goodness1 which natural birth cannot give to man1 nor natural death take away4 ,you have surely seen such persons--if you have not1 ,i have1 thank ,god1 full many a time2--but if you have seen them1 did you not see this8--,that it was not riches which gave them this ,life1 if they were rich2 or intellect1 if they were clever2 or science1 if they were learned2 or rank1 if they were cultivated2 or bodily organization1 if they were beautiful and strong3 that this noble and gentle life of theirs was independent of their body1 of their mind1 of their circumstances8 ,nay1 have you not seen this1--,i have1 thank ,god1 full many a time1--,that not many rich1 not many mighty1 not many noble are called3 but that ,god's strength is rather made perfect in man's weakness1--that in foul garrets1 in lonely sick-beds1 in dark places of the earth1 you find ignorant people1 sickly people1 ugly people1 stupid people1 in spite of1 in defiance of1 every opposing circumstance1 leading heroic lives1--a blessing1 a comfort1 an example1 a very ,fount of ,life to all around them2 and dying heroic deaths1 because they know they have ,eternal ,life8 ,and what was that which had made them different from the mean1 the savage1 the drunken1 the profligate beings around them8 ,this at least4 ,that they were of those of whom it is written1 #8,let him that is athirst come4' ,they had been athirst for ,life4 ,they had had instincts and longings2 very simple and humble1 but very pure and noble4 ,at times1 it may be1 they had been unfaithful to those instincts4 ,at times1 it may be1 they had fallen4 ,they had said #8,why should ,i not do like the rest1 and be a savage8 ,let me eat and drink1 for to-morrow ,i die2' and they had cast themselves down into sin1 for very weariness and heaviness1 and were for a while as the beasts which have no law4 ,but the thirst after ,the noble ,life was too deep to be quenched in that foul puddle4 ,it endured1 and it conquered2 and they became more and more true to it1 till it was satisfied at last1 though never quenched1 that thirst of theirs1 in ,him who alone can satisfy it--the ,god who gave it2 for in them were fulfilled the ,lord's own words3 #8,blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness1 for they shall be filled4' ,there are those1 ,i fear1 in this church--there are too many in all churches--who have not felt1 as yet1 this divine thirst after a higher ,life2 who wish not for an ,eternal1 but for a merely endless life1 and who would not care greatly what sort of life that endless life might be1 if only it was not too unlike the life which they live now2 who would be glad enough to continue as they are1 in their selfish pleasure1 selfish gain1 selfish content1 for ever2 who look on death as an unpleasant necessity1 the end of all which they really prize2 and who have taken up religion chiefly as a means for escaping still more unpleasant necessities after death4 ,to them1 as to all1 it is said1 #8,come1 and drink of the water of life freely4' ,but ,the ,life of goodness which ,christ offers1 is not the life they want4 ,wherefore they will not come to ,him1 that they may have life4 ,meanwhile1 they have no right to sneer at the ,fountain of ,youth1 or the ,cup of ,immortality4 ,well were it for them if those dreams were true2 in their heart of hearts they know it4 ,would they not go to the ends of the earth to bathe in the ,fountain of ,youth8 ,would they not give all their gold for a draught of the ,cup of ,immortality1 and so save themselves1 once and for all1 the trouble of becoming good8 ,but there are those here1 ,i doubt not1 who have in them1 by grace of ,god1 that same divine thirst for the ,higher ,life2 who are discontented with themselves1 ashamed of themselves2 who are tormented by longings which they cannot satisfy1 instincts which they cannot analyse1 powers which they cannot employ1 duties which they cannot perform1 doctrinal confusions which they cannot unravel2 who would welcome any change1 even the most tremendous1 which would make them nobler1 purer1 juster1 more loving1 more useful1 more clear-headed and sound-minded2 and when they think of death say with the poet1-- #8',tis life1 not death for which ,i pant1 ',tis life1 whereof my nerves are scant1 ,more life1 and fuller1 that ,i want4' ,to them ,i say--for ,god has said it long ago1--,be of good cheer4 ,the calling and gifts of ,god are without repentance4 ,if you have the divine thirst1 it will be surely satisfied4 ,if you long to be better men and women1 better men and women you will surely be4 ,only be true to those higher instincts2 only do not learn to despise and quench that divine thirst2 only struggle on1 in spite of mistakes1 of failures1 even of sins--for every one of which last your heavenly ,father will chastise you1 even while ,he forgives2 in spite of all falls1 struggle on4 ,blessed are you that hunger and thirst after righteousness1 for you shall be filled4 ,to you--and not in vain--#8,the ,spirit and the ,bride say1 ,come4 ,and let him that heareth say1 ,come4 ,and let him that is athirst come4 ,and whosoever will1 let him drink of the water of life freely4' ,,sermon ,,ii4 ,,the ,,physician',s ,,calling4 7,preached at ,whitehall for ,st4 ,george's ,hospital47 ,,st4 ,,matthew ix4 #ce4 ,and ,jesus went about all the cities and villages1 teaching in their synagogues1 and preaching the gospel of the kingdom1 and healing every sickness and every disease among the people4 ,,the ,gospels speak of disease and death in a very simple and human tone4 ,they regard them in theory1 as all are forced to regard them in fact1 as sore and sad evils4 ,the ,gospels never speak of disease or death as necessities2 never as the will of ,god4 ,it is ,satan1 not ,god1 who binds the woman with a spirit of infirmity4 ,it is not the will of our ,father in heaven that one little one should perish4 ,indeed1 we do not sufficiently appreciate the abhorrence with which the whole of ,scripture speaks of disease and death3 because we are in the habit of interpreting many texts which speak of the disease and death of the body in this life as if they referred to the punishment and death of the soul in the world to come4 ,we have a perfect right to do that2 for ,scripture tells us that there is a mysterious analogy and likeness between the life of the body and that of the soul1 and therefore between the death of the body and that of the soul3 but we must not forget1 in the secondary and higher spiritual interpretation of such texts1 their primary and physical meaning1 which is this--that disease and death are uniformly throughout ,scripture held up to the abhorrence of man4 ,moreover--and this is noteworthy--the ,gospels1 and indeed all ,scripture1 very seldom palliate the misery of disease1 by drawing from it those moral lessons which we ourselves do4 ,i say very seldom4 ,the ,bible does so here and there1 to tell us that we may do so likewise4 ,and we may thank ,god heartily that the ,bible does so4 ,it would be a miserable world1 if all that the clergyman or the friend might say by the sick-bed were1 #8,this is an inevitable evil1 like hail and thunder4 ,you must bear it if you can3 and if not1 then not4' ,a miserable world1 if he could not say with full belief2 #88,my son1 despise not thou the chastening of the ,lord1 nor faint when thou art rebuked of ,him4 ,for whom the ,lord loveth ,he chasteneth1 and scourgeth every son whom ,he receiveth40 ,thou knowest not now why thou art afflicted2 perhaps thou wilt never know in this life4 ,but a day will come when thou wilt know3 when thou wilt find that this sickness came to thee at the exact right time1 in the exact right way2 when thou wilt find that ,god has been keeping thee in the secret place of ,his presence from the provoking of men1 and hiding thee privately in ,his tabernacle from the spite of tongues2 when thou wilt discover that thou hast been learning precious lessons for thy immortal spirit1 while thou didst seem to thyself merely tossing with clouded intellect on a bed of useless pain2 when thou wilt find that ,god was nearest to thee1 at the very moment when ,he seemed to have left thee most utterly4' ,thank ,god1 we can say that1 and more2 and we will say it4 ,but we must bear in mind1 that the ,gospels1 which are the very parts of ,scripture which speak most concerning disease1 omit almost entirely that cheering and comforting view of it4 ,and why8 ,only to force upon our attention1 ,i believe1 a view even more cheering and comforting3 a view deeper and wider1 because supplied not merely to the pious sufferer1 but to all sufferers2 not merely to the ,christian1 but to all mankind4 ,and that is1 ,i believe1 none other than this3 that ,god does not only bring spiritual good out of physical evil1 but that ,he hates physical evil itself3 that ,he desires not only the salvation of our souls1 but the health of our bodies2 and that when ,he sent ,his only begotten ,son into the world to do ,his will1 part of that will was1 that ,he should attack and conquer the physical evil of disease--as it were instinctively1 as his natural enemy1 and directly1 for the sake of the body of the sufferer4 ,many excellent men1 seeing how the healing of disease was an integral part of our ,lord's mission1 and of the mission of ,his apostles1 have wished that it should likewise form an integral part of the mission of the ,church3 that the clergy should as much as possible be physicians2 the physician1 as much as possible1 a clergyman4 ,the plan may be useful in exceptional cases--in that1 for instance1 of the missionary among the heathen4 ,but experience has decided1 that in a civilized and ,christian country it had better be otherwise3 that the great principle of the division of labour should be carried out3 that there should be in the land a body of men whose whole mind and time should be devoted to one part only of our ,lord's work--the battle with disease and death4 ,and the effect has been not to lower but to raise the medical profession4 ,it has saved the doctor from one great danger--that of abusing1 for the purposes of religious proselytizing1 the unlimited confidence reposed in him4 ,it has freed him from many a superstition which enfeebled and confused the physicians of the ,middle ,ages4 ,it has enabled him to devote his whole intellect to physical science1 till he has set his art on a sound and truly scientific foundation4 ,it has enabled him to attack physical evil with a single-hearted energy and devotion which ought to command the respect and admiration of his fellow-countrymen4 ,if all classes did their work half as simply1 as bravely1 as determinedly1 as unselfishly1 as the medical men of ,great ,britain--and1 ,i doubt not1 of other countries in ,europe--this world would be a far fairer place than it is likely to be for many a year to come4 ,it is good to do one thing and to do it well4 ,it is good to follow ,christ in one thing1 and to follow ,him utterly in that4 ,and the medical man has set his mind to do one thing1--to hate calmly1 but with an internecine hatred1 disease and death1 and to fight against them to the end4 ,the medical man is complained of at times as being too materialistic--as caring more for the bodies of his patients than for their souls4 ,do not blame him too hastily4 ,in his exclusive care for the body1 he may be witnessing unconsciously1 yet mightily1 for the soul1 for ,god1 for the ,bible1 for immortality4 ,is he not witnessing for ,god1 when he shows by his acts that he believes ,god to be a ,god of ,life1 not of death2 of health1 not of disease2 of order1 not of disorder2 of joy and strength1 not of misery and weakness8 ,is he not witnessing for ,christ when1 like ,christ1 he heals all manner of sickness and disease among the people1 and attacks physical evil as the natural foe of man and of the ,creator of man8 ,is he not witnessing for the immortality of the soul when he fights against death as an evil to be postponed at all hazards and by all means1 even when its advent is certain8 ,surely it is so4 ,how often have we seen the doctor by the dying bed1 trying to preserve life1 when he knew well that life could not be preserved4 ,we have been tempted to say to him1 #8,let the sufferer alone4 ,he is senseless4 ,he is going4 ,we can do nothing more for his soul2 you can do nothing more for his body4 ,why torment him needlessly for the sake of a few more moments of respiration8 ,let him alone to die in peace4' ,how have we been tempted to say that8 ,we have not dared to say it2 for we saw that the doctor1 and not we1 was in the right2 that in all those little efforts1 so wise1 so anxious1 so tender1 so truly chivalrous1 to keep the failing breath for a few moments more in the body of one who had no earthly claim upon his care1 that doctor was bearing a testimony1 unconscious yet most weighty1 to that human instinct of which the ,bible approves throughout1 that death in a human being is an evil1 an anomaly1 a curse2 against which1 though he could not rescue the man from the clutch of his foe1 he was bound1 in duty and honour1 to fight until the last1 simply because it was death1 and death was the enemy of man4 ,but if the medical man bears witness for ,god and spiritual things when he seems exclusively occupied with the body1 so does the hospital4 ,look at those noble buildings which the generosity of our fellow-countrymen have erected in all our great cities4 ,you may find in them1 truly1 sermons in stones2 sermons for rich alike and poor4 ,they preach to the rich1 these hospitals1 that the sick-bed levels all alike2 that they are the equals and brothers of the poor in the terrible liability to suffer6 ,they preach to the poor that they are1 through ,christianity1 the equals of the rich in their means and opportunities of cure4 ,i say through ,christianity4 ,whether the founders so intended or not 7and those who founded most of them1 ,st4 ,george's among the rest1 did so intend71 these hospitals bear direct witness for ,christ4 ,they do this1 and would do it1 even if--which ,god forbid--the name of ,christ were never mentioned within their walls4 ,that may seem a paradox2 but it is none4 ,for it is a historic fact1 that hospitals are a creation of ,christian times1 and of ,christian men4 ,the heathen knew them not4 ,in that great city of ancient ,rome1 as far as ,i have ever been able to discover1 there was not a single hospital1--not even1 ,i fear1 a single charitable institution4 ,fearful thought--a city of a million and a half inhabitants1 the centre of human civilization3 and not a hospital there6 ,the ,roman ,dives paid his physician2 the ,roman ,lazarus literally lay at his gate full of sores1 till he died the death of the street dogs which licked those sores1 and was carried forth to be thrust under ground awhile1 till the same dogs came to quarrel over his bones4 ,the misery and helplessness of the lower classes in the great cities of the ,roman empire1 till the ,church of ,christ arose1 literally with healing in its wings1 cannot1 ,i believe1 be exaggerated4 ,eastern piety1 meanwhile1 especially among the ,hindoos1 had founded hospitals1 in the old meaning of that word--namely1 almshouses for the infirm and aged3 but ,i believe there is no record of hospitals1 like our modern ones1 for the cure of disease1 till ,christianity spread over the ,western world4 ,and why8 ,because then first men began to feel the mighty truth contained in the text4 ,if ,christ were a healer1 ,his servants must be healers likewise4 ,if ,christ regarded physical evil as a direct evil1 so must they4 ,if ,christ fought against it with all ,his power1 so must they1 with such power as ,he revealed to them4 ,and so arose exclusively in the ,christian mind1 a feeling not only of the nobleness of the healing art1 but of the religious duty of exercising that art on every human being who needed it2 and hospitals are to be counted1 as a historic fact1 among the many triumphs of the ,gospel4 ,if there be any one--especially a working man--in this church this day who is inclined to undervalue the ,bible and ,christianity1 let him know that1 but for the ,bible and ,christianity1 he has not the slightest reason to believe that there would have been at this moment a hospital in ,london to receive him and his in the hour of sickness or disabling accident1 and to lavish on him there1 unpaid as the light and air of ,god outside1 every resource of science1 care1 generosity1 and tenderness1 simply because he is a human being4 ,yes2 truly catholic are these hospitals1--catholic as the bounty of our heavenly ,father1--without respect of persons1 giving to all liberally and upbraiding not1 like ,him in whom all live1 and move1 and have their being2 witnesses better than all our sermons for the universal bounty and tolerance of that heavenly ,father who causes the sun to shine on the evil and the good1 and his rain to fall upon the just and on the unjust1 and is perfect in this1 that ,he is good to the unthankful and the evil4 ,and1 therefore1 the preacher can urge his countrymen1 let their opinions1 creed1 tastes1 be what they may1 to support hospitals with especial freedom1 earnestness1 and confidence4 ,heaven forbid that ,i should undervalue any charitable institution whatever4 ,may ,god's blessing be on them all4 ,but this ,i have a right to say1--that whatever objections1 suspicions1 prejudices there may be concerning any other form of charity1 concerning hospitals there can be none4 ,every farthing bestowed on them must go toward the direct doing of good4 ,there is no fear in them of waste1 of misapplication of funds1 of private jobbery1 of ulterior and unavowed objects4 ,palpable and unmistakeable good is all they do and all they can do4 ,and he who gives to a hospital has the comfort of knowing that he is bestowing a direct blessing on the bodies of his fellow-men2 and it may be on their souls likewise4 ,for ,i have said that these hospitals witness silently for ,god and for ,christ2 and ,i must believe that that silent witness is not lost on the minds of thousands who enter them4 ,it sinks in1--all the more readily because it is not thrust upon them1--and softens and breaks up their hearts to receive the precious seed of the word of ,god4 ,many a man1 too ready from bitter experience to believe that his fellow-men cared not for him1 has entered the wards of a hospital to be happily undeceived4 ,he finds that he is cared for2 that he is not forgotten either by ,god or man2 that there is a place for him1 too1 at ,god's table1 in his hour of utmost need2 and angels of ,god1 in human form1 ready to minister to his necessities2 and1 softened by that discovery1 he has listened humbly1 perhaps for the first time in his life1 to the exhortations of a clergyman2 and has taken in1 in the hour of dependence and weakness1 the lessons which he was too proud or too sullen to hear in the day of independence and sturdy health4 ,and so do these hospitals1 it seems to me1 follow the example and practice of our ,lord ,himself2 who1 by ministering to the animal wants and animal sufferings of the people1 by showing them that ,he sympathised with those lower sorrows of which they were most immediately conscious1 made them follow ,him gladly1 and listen to ,him with faith1 when ,he proclaimed to them in words of wisdom1 that ,father in heaven whom ,he had already proclaimed to them in acts of mercy4 ,and now1 ,i have to appeal to you for the excellent and honourable foundation of ,st4 ,george's ,hospital4 ,i might speak to you1 and speak1 too1 with a personal reverence and affection of many years' standing1 of the claims of that noble institution2 of the illustrious men of science who have taught within its walls2 of the number of able and honourable young men who go forth out of it1 year by year1 to carry their blessed and truly divine art1 not only over ,great ,britain1 but to the islands of the farthest seas4 ,but to say that would be merely to say what is true1 thank ,god1 of every hospital in ,london4 ,one fact only1 therefore1 ,i shall urge1 which gives ,st4 ,george's ,hospital special claims on the attention of the rich4 ,situated1 as it is1 in the very centre of the west end of ,london1 it is the special refuge of those who are most especially of service to the dwellers in the ,westend4 ,those who are used up--fairly or unfairly--in ministering to the luxuries of the high-born and wealthy3 the groom thrown in the park2 the housemaid crippled by lofty stairs2 the workman fallen from the scaffolding of the great man's palace2 the footman or coachman who has contracted disease from long hours of nightly exposure1 while his master and mistress have been warm and gay at rout and ball2 and those1 too1 whose number1 ,i fear1 are very great1 who contract disease1 themselves1 their wives1 and children1 from actual want1 when they are thrown suddenly out of employ at the end of the season1 and ,london is said to be empty--of all but two million of living souls3--the great majority of these crowd into ,st4 ,george's ,hospital to find there relief and comfort1 which those to whom they minister are solemnly bound to supply by their contributions4 ,the rich and well-born of this land are very generous4 ,they are doing their duty1 on the whole1 nobly and well4 ,let them do their duty--the duty which literally lies nearest them--by ,st4 ,george's ,hospital1 and they will wipe off a stain1 not on the hospital1 but on the rich people in its neighbourhood--the stain of that hospital's debts4 ,the deficiency in the funds of the hospital for the year #ahfb-c--;caused1 be it remembered1 by no extravagance or sudden change1 but simply by the necessity for succouring those who would otherwise have been destitute of succour--the deficiency1 ,i say1 on an expenditure of #ae1jjjl4 amounts to more than #c1bjjl4 which has had to be met by selling out funded property1 and so diminishing the capital of the institution4 ,ought this to be8 ,i ask4 ,ought this to be1 while more wealth is collected within half a mile of that hospital than in any spot of like extent in the globe8 ,my friends1 this is the time of ,lent2 the time whereof it is written1--#8,is not this the fast which ,i have chosen1 to deal thy bread to the hungry1 and bring the poor that is cast out to thine house8 when thou seest the naked that thou cover him1 and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh8 ,if thou let thy soul go forth to the hungry1 and satisfy the afflicted soul1 then shall thy light rise in obscurity1 and thy darkness be as the noonday4 ,and the ,lord shall guide thee continually1 and satisfy thy soul1 and make fat thy bones1 and thou shalt be like a watered garden1 and as a spring that doth not fail4' ,let us obey that command literally1 and see whether the promise is not literally fulfilled to us in return4 ,,sermon ,,iii4 ,,the ,,victory ,,of ,,life4 7,preached at the ,chapel ,royal47 ,,isaiah xxxviii4 #ah1 #ai4 ,the grave cannot praise thee1 death cannot celebrate thee3 they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth4 ,the living1 the living1 he shall praise thee4 ,i ,,may seem to have taken a strange text on which to speak1--a mournful1 a seemingly hopeless text4 ,why ,i have chosen it1 ,i trust that you will see presently2 certainly not that ,i may make you hopeless about death4 ,meanwhile1 let us consider it2 for it is in the ,bible1 and1 like all words in the ,bible1 was written for our instruction4 ,now it is plain1 ,i think1 that the man who said these words--good king ,hezekiah--knew nothing of what we call heaven2 of a blessed life with ,god after death4 ,he looks on death as his end4 ,if he dies1 he says1 he will not see the ,lord in the land of the living1 any more than he will see man with the inhabitants of the world4 ,god's mercies1 he thinks1 will end with his death4 ,god can only show ,his mercy and truth by saving him from death4 ,for the grave cannot praise ,god1 death cannot celebrate ,him2 those who go down into the pit cannot hope for ,his truth4 ,the living1 the living1 shall praise ,god2 as ,hezekiah praises ,him that day1 because ,god has cured him of his sickness1 and added fifteen years to his life4 ,no language can be plainer than this4 ,a man who had believed that he would go to heaven when he died could not have used it4 ,in many of the ,psalms1 likewise1 you will find words of exactly the same kind1 which show that the men who wrote them had no clear conception1 if any conception at all1 of a life after death4 ,solomon's words about death are utterly awful from their sadness4 ,with him1 #8that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts2 as one dieth1 so dieth the other4 ,yea1 they have all one breath1 so that a man hath no pre-eminence over a beast1 and all is vanity4 ,all go to one place1 all are of the dust1 and all turn to dust again4 ,who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward1 and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth8' ,he knows nothing about it4 ,all he knows is1 that the spirit shall return to ,god who gave it1--and that a man will surely find1 in this life1 a recompence for all his deeds1 whether good or evil4 #8,remember therefore thy ,creator in the days of thy youth1 while the evil days come not1 nor the years draw nigh1 when thou shalt say1 ,i have no pleasure in them4 ,fear ,god1 and keep ,his commandments2 for this is the whole duty of man4 ,for ,god shall bring every work into judgment1 with every secret thing1 whether it be good1 or whether it be evil4' ,this is the doctrine of the ,old ,testament2 that ,god judges and rewards and punishes men in this life3 but as for death1 it is a great black cloud into which all men must enter1 and see and be seen no more4 ,only twice or thrice1 perhaps1 a gleam of light from beyond breaks through the dark4 ,david1 the noblest and wisest of all the ,jews1 can say once that ,god will not leave his soul in hell1 neither suffer ,his holy one to see corruption2 ,job says that1 though after his skin worms destroy his body1 yet in his flesh he shall see ,god2 and ,isaiah1 again1 when he sees his countrymen slaughtered1 and his nation all but destroyed1 can say1 #8,thy dead men shall live1 together with my dead body shall they arise4 ,awake and sing1 ye that dwell in dust3 for thy dew is as the dew of the morning1 which brings the parched herbs to life and freshness again4'--,great and glorious sayings1 all of them3 but we cannot tell how far either ,david1 or ,job1 or ,isaiah1 were thinking of a life after death4 ,we can think of a life after death when we use them2 for we know how they have been fulfilled in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord2 and we can see in them more than the ,jews of old could do2 for1 like all inspired words1 they mean more than the men who wrote them thought of2 but we have no right to impute our ,christianity to them4 ,the only undoubted picture1 perhaps1 of the next life to be found in the ,old ,testament1 is that grand one in ,isaiah xiv41 where he paints to us the tyrant king of ,babylon going down into hell3-- #8,hell from beneath is moved for thee1 to meet thee at thy coming2 it stirreth up the dead for thee1 even all the chief ones of the earth2 it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations4 ,all they shall speak and say unto thee1 ,art thou also become weak as we8 art thou become like unto us8 ,thy pomp is brought down to the grave1 and the noise of thy viols3 the worm is spread under thee1 and the worms cover thee4 ,how art thou fallen from heaven1 ,o ,lucifer1 son of the morning6 how art thou cut down to the ground1 which didst weaken the nations6'--,awful and grand enough3 but quite different1 you will observe1 from the notions of hell which are common now-a-days2 and much more like those which we read in the old ,greek poets1 and especially1 in the ,necyomanteia of the ,odyssey4 ,when it was that the ,jews gained any fuller notions about the next life1 it is very difficult to say4 ,certainly not before they were carried away captive to ,babylon4 ,after that they began to mix much with the great nations of the ,east3 with ,greeks1 ,persians1 and ,indians2 and from them1 most probably1 they learned to believe in a heaven after death to which good men would go1 and a fiery hell to which bad men would go4 ,at least1 the heathen nations round them1 and our forefathers likewise1 believed in some sort of heaven and hell1 hundreds of years before the coming of our blessed ,lord4 ,the ,jews had learned1 also--at least the ,pharisees--to believe in the resurrection of the dead4 ,martha speaks of it2 and ,st4 ,paul1 when he tells the ,pharisees that1 having been brought up a ,pharisee1 he was on their side against the ,sadducees4--#8,i am a ,pharisee1' he says1 #8the son of a ,pharisee2 for the hope of the resurrection of the dead ,i am called in question4' ,but if it be so1--if ,st4 ,paul and the ,apostles believed in heaven and hell1 and the resurrection of the dead1 before they became ,christians1 what more did they learn about the next life1 when they became ,christians8 ,something they did learn1 most certainly--and that most important4 ,st4 ,paul speaks of what our ,lord and our ,lord's resurrection had taught him1 as something quite infinitely grander1 and more blessed1 than what he had known before4 ,he talks of our ,lord as having abolished death1 and brought life and immortality to light2 of ,his having conquered death1 and of ,his destroying death at last4 ,he speaks at moments as if he did not expect to die at all2 and when he does speak of the death of the ,christian1 it is merely as a falling asleep4 ,when he speaks of his own death1 it is merely as a change of place4 ,he longs to depart1 and to be with ,christ4 ,death had looked terrible to him once1 when he was a ,jew4 ,death had had a sting1 and the grave a victory1 which seemed ready to conquer him3 but now he cries1 #8,o ,death1 where is thy sting8 ,o ,grave1 where is thy victory8' and then he declares that the terrors of death and the grave are taken away1 not by anything which he knew when he was a ,pharisee1 but through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,all his old ,jewish notions of the resurrection1 though they were true as far as they went1 seemed poor and paltry beside what ,christ had taught him4 ,he was not going to wait till the end of the world--perhaps for thousands of years--in darkness and the shadow of death1 he knew not where or how4 ,his soul was to pass at once into life1--into joy1 and peace1 and bliss1 in the presence of his ,saviour1 till it should have a new body given to it1 in the resurrection of life at the last day4 ,this1 ,i think1 is what ,st4 ,paul learned1 and what the ,jews had not learned till our blessed ,lord came4 ,they were still afraid of death4 ,it looked to them a dark and ugly blank2 and no wonder4 ,for would it not be dark and ugly enough to have to wait1 we know not where1 it may be a thousand1 it may be tens of thousands of years1 till the resurrection in the last day1 before we entered into joy1 peace1 activity or anything worthy of the name of life8 ,would not death have a sting indeed1 the grave a victory indeed1 if we had to be as good as dead for ten thousands of years8 ,what then8 ,remember this1 that death is an enemy1 an evil thing1 an enemy to man1 and therefore an enemy to ,christ1 the ,king and ,head and ,saviour of man4 ,men ought not to die1 and they feel it4 ,it is no use to tell them1 #8,everything that is born must die1 and why not you8 ,all other animals died4 ,they died1 just as they die now1 hundreds of thousands of years before man came upon this earth2 and why should man expect to have a different lot8 ,why should you not take your death patiently1 as you take any other evil which you cannot escape8' ,the heart of man1 as soon as he begins to be a man1 and not a mere savage2 as soon as he begins to think reasonably1 and feel deeply2 the heart of man answers3 #8,no1 ,i am not a mere animal4 ,i have something in me which ought not to die1 which perhaps cannot die4 ,i have a living soul in me1 which ought to be able to keep my body alive likewise1 but cannot2 and therefore death is my enemy4 ,i hate him1 and ,i believe that ,i was meant to hate him4 ,something must be wrong with me1 or ,i should not die2 something must be wrong with all mankind1 or ,i should not see those ,i love dying round me4 ,yes1 my friends1 death is an enemy1--a hideous1 hateful thing4 ,the longer one looks at it1 the more one hates it4 ,the more often one sees it1 the less one grows accustomed to it4 ,its very commonness makes it all the more shocking4 ,we may not be so much shocked at seeing the old die4 ,we say1 #8,they have done their work1 why should they not go8' ,that is not true4 ,they have not done their work4 ,there is more work in plenty for them to do1 if they could but live2 and it seems shocking and sad1 at least to him who loves his country and his kind1 that1 just as men have grown old enough to be of use1 when they have learnt to conquer their passions1 when their characters are formed1 when they have gained sound experience of this world1 and what man ought and can do in it1--just as1 in fact1 they have become most able to teach and help their fellow-men1--that then they are to grow old1 and decrepit1 and helpless1 and fade away1 and die just when they are most fit to live1 and the world needs them most4 ,sad1 ,i say1 and strange is that4 ,but sadder1 and more strange1 and more utterly shocking1 to see the young die2 to see parents leaving infant children1 children vanishing early out of the world where they might have done good work for ,god and man4 ,what arguments will make us believe that that ought to be8 ,that that is ,god's will8 ,that that is anything but an evil1 an anomaly1 a disease8 ,not the ,bible1 certainly4 ,the ,bible never tells us that such tragedies as are too often seen are the will of ,god4 ,the ,bible says that it is not the will of our ,father that one of these little ones should perish4 ,the ,bible tells us that ,jesus1 when on earth1 went about fighting and conquering disease and death1 even raising from the dead those who had died before their time4 ,to fight against death1 and to give life wheresoever ,he went--that was ,his work2 by that ,he proclaimed the will of ,god1 ,his ,father1 that none should perish1 who sent ,his ,son that men might have life1 and have it more abundantly4 ,by that ,he declared that death was an evil and a disorder among men1 which ,he would some day crush and destroy utterly1 that mortality should be swallowed up of life4 ,and yet we die1 and shall die4 ,yes4 ,the body is dead1 because of sin4 ,mankind is a diseased race2 and it must pay the penalty of its sins for many an age to come1 and die1 and suffer1 and sorrow4 ,but not for ever4 ,for what mean such words as these--for something they must mean8-- #8,if a man keep my saying1 he shall never see death4' ,and again1 #8,he that believeth in ,me1 though he were dead1 yet shall he live2 and he that liveth and believeth in ,me shall never die4' ,do such words as these mean only that we shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day8 ,surely not4 ,our ,lord spoke them in answer to that very notion4 #8,martha said to ,him1 ,i know that my brother shall rise again1 in the resurrection at the last day4 ,jesus said unto her1 ,i am the resurrection and the life2' and then showed what ,he meant by bringing back ,lazarus to life1 unchanged1 and as he had been before he died4 ,surely1 if that miracle meant anything1 if these words meant anything1 it meant this3 that those who die in the fear of ,god1 and in the faith of ,christ1 do not really taste death2 that to them there is no death1 but only a change of place1 a change of state2 that they pass at once1 and instantly1 into some new life1 with all their powers1 all their feelings1 unchanged1--purified doubtless from earthly stains1 but still the same living1 thinking1 active beings which they were here on earth4 ,i say1 active4 ,the ,bible says nothing about their sleeping till the ,day of ,judgment1 as some have fancied4 ,rest they may2 rest they will1 if they need rest4 ,but what is the true rest8 ,not idleness1 but peace of mind4 ,to rest from sin1 from sorrow1 from fear1 from doubt1 from care1--this is the true rest4 ,above all1 to rest from the worst weariness of all--knowing one's duty1 and yet not being able to do it4 ,that is true rest2 the rest of ,god1 who works for ever1 and yet is at rest for ever2 as the stars over our heads move for ever1 thousands of miles each day1 and yet are at perfect rest1 because they move orderly1 harmoniously1 fulfilling the law which ,god has given them4 ,perfect rest1 in perfect work2 that surely is the rest of blessed spirits1 till the final consummation of all things1 when ,christ shall have made up the number of ,his elect4 ,i hope that this is so4 ,i trust that this is so4 ,i think our ,lord's great words can mean nothing less than this4 ,and if it be so1 what comfort for us who must die8 ,what comfort for us who have seen others die1 if death be but a new birth into some higher life2 if all that it changes in us is our body--the mere shell and husk of us--such a change as comes over the snake1 when he casts his old skin1 and comes out fresh and gay1 or even the crawling caterpillar1 which breaks its prison1 and spreads its wings to the sun as a fair butterfly4 ,where is the sting of death1 then1 if death can sting1 and poison1 and corrupt nothing of us for which our friends have loved us2 nothing of us with which we could do service to men or ,god8 ,where is the victory of the grave1 if1 so far from the grave holding us down1 it frees us from the very thing which holds us down1--the mortal body8 ,death is not death1 then1 if it kills no part of us1 save that which hindered us from perfect life4 ,death is not death1 if it raises us in a moment from darkness into light1 from weakness into strength1 from sinfulness into holiness4 ,death is not death1 if it brings us nearer to ,christ1 who is the fount of life4 ,death is not death1 if it perfects our faith by sight1 and lets us behold ,him in whom we have believed4 ,death is not death1 if it gives us to those whom we have loved and lost1 for whom we have lived1 for whom we long to live again4 ,death is not death1 if it joins the child to the mother who is gone before4 ,death is not death1 if it takes away from that mother for ever all a mother's anxieties1 a mother's fears1 and lets her see1 in the gracious countenance of her ,saviour1 a sure and certain pledge that those whom she has left behind are safe1 safe with ,christ and in ,christ1 through all the chances and dangers of his mortal life4 ,death is not death1 if it rids us of doubt and fear1 of chance and change1 of space and time1 and all which space and time bring forth1 and then destroy4 ,death is not death2 for ,christ has conquered death1 for ,himself1 and for those who trust in ,him4 ,and to those who say1 #8,you were born in time1 and in time you must die1 as all other creatures do2 ,time is your king and lord1 as he has been of all the old worlds before this1 and of all the races of beasts1 whose bones and shells lie fossil in the rocks of a thousand generations2' then we can answer them1 in the words of the wise man1 and in the name of ,christ who conquered death3-- #8,fly1 envious time1 till thou run out thy race1 ,and glut thyself with what thy womb devours1 ,which is no more than what is false and vain ,and merely mortal dross4 ,so little is our loss1 so little is thy gain4 ,for when as each bad thing thou hast entombed1 ,and1 last of all1 thy greedy self consumed1 ,then long eternity shall greet our bliss ,with an individual kiss1 ,and joy shall overtake us as a flood1 ,when everything that is sincerely good ,and perfectly divine1 ,and truth1 and peace1 and love shall ever shine ,about the supreme throne ,of ,him1 unto whose happy-making sight alone ,when once our heavenly-guided soul shall climb1 ,then all this earthly grossness quit1 ,attired with stars1 we shall for ever sit ,triumphant over death1 and chance1 and thee1 ,o ,time6' ,,sermon ,,iv4 ,,the ,,wages ,,of ,,sin4 7,chapel ,royal ,june1 #ahfd7 ,,rom4 vi4 #ba-bc4 ,what fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed8 for the end of those things is death4 ,but now being made free from sin1 and become servants to ,god1 ye have your fruit unto holiness1 and the end everlasting life4 ,for the wages of sin is death2 but the gift of ,god is eternal life through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,,this is a glorious text1 if we will only believe it simply1 and take it as it stands4 ,but if in place of ,st4 ,paul's words we put quite different words of our own1 and say--,by #8the wages of sin is death1' ,st4 ,paul means that the punishment of sin is eternal life in torture1 then we say something which may be true1 but which is not what ,st4 ,paul is speaking of here4 ,for wages are not punishment1 and death is not eternal life in torture1 any more than in happiness4 ,that1 one would think1 was clear4 ,it is our duty to take ,st4 ,paul's words1 if we really believe them to be inspired1 simply as they stand2 and if we do not quite understand them1 to explain them by ,st4 ,paul's own words about these matters in other parts of his writings4 ,st4 ,paul was an inspired ,apostle4 ,let him speak for himself4 ,surely he knew best what he wished to say1 and how to say it4 ,now ,st4 ,paul's opinions about death and eternal life are very clear2 for he speaks of them often1 and at great length4 ,he considered that the great enemy of ,god and man1 the last enemy ,christ would destroy1 was death2 and that1 after death was destroyed1 the end would come1 when ,god would be all in all4 ,then came the question1 which has puzzled men in all ages--,how death came into the world4 ,st4 ,paul answers1 ,by sin4 ,he says1 as the author of the third chapter of ,genesis says1 that ,adam became subject to death by his fall4 ,by one man1 he says1 sin entered into the world1 and death by sin1 and so death passed upon all men1 for that all have sinned4 ,and thus1 he says1 death reigned even over those who had not sinned after the likeness of ,adam's transgression4 ,that he is speaking of bodily death is clear1 because he is always putting it in contrast to the resurrection to life1--not merely to a spiritual resurrection from the death of sin to the life of righteousness2 but to the resurrection of the body1--to our ,lord's being raised from the dead1 that ,he might die no more4 ,then he speaks of eternal life4 ,he always speaks of it as an actual life1 in a spiritual body1 into which our mortal bodies are to be changed4 ,nothing can be clearer from what he says in #a ,cor4 xv41 that he means an actual rising again of our bodies from bodily death2 an actual change in them2 an actual life in them for ever4 ,but he says1 again and again1--,as sin caused the death of the body1 so righteousness is to cause its life4 #8,when ye were the servants of sin1' he says to the ,romans1 #8what fruit had ye in those things whereof ye are now ashamed8 ,for the end of those things is death4 ,but now being made free from sin1 and become servants to ,god1 ye have your fruit unto holiness1 and the end everlasting life4 ,for the wages of sin is death2 but the gift of ,god is eternal life through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4' ,this is ,st4 ,paul's opinion4 ,and we shall do well to believe it1 and to learn from it1 this day1 and all days4 ,the wages of sin and the end of sin is death4 ,not the punishment of sin2 but something much worse4 ,the wages of sin1 and the end of sin4 ,and how is that worse news8 ,my friends1 every sinner knows so well in his heart that it is worse news1 more terrible news1 for him1 that he tries to persuade himself that death is only the arbitrary punishment of his sin2 or1 quite as often1 that the punishment of his sin is not even death1 but eternal torment in the next life4 ,and why8 ,because1 as long as he can believe that death1 or hell1 are only punishments arbitrarily fixed by ,god against his sins1 he can hope that ,god will let him off the punishment4 ,die1 he knows he must1 because all men die2 and so he makes up his mind to that3 but being sent to hell after he dies1 is so very terrible a punishment1 that he cannot believe that ,god will be so hard on him as that4 ,no2 he will get off1 and be forgiven at last somehow1 for surely ,god will not condemn him to hell4 ,and so he finds it very convenient and comfortable to believe in hell1 just because he does not believe that he is going there1 whoever else may be4 ,but1 it is a very terrible1 heartrending thought1 for a man to find out that what he will receive is not punishment1 but wages2 not punishment but the end of the very road which he is travelling on4 ,that the wages of sin1 and the end of sin1 to which it must lead1 are death2 that every time he sins he is earning those wages1 deserving them1 meriting them1 and therefore receiving them by the just laws of the world of ,god4 ,that does torment him1 that does terrify him1 if he will look steadfastly at the broad plain fact--,you need not dream of being let off1 respited1 reprieved1 pardoned in any way4 ,the thing cannot be done4 ,it is contrary to the laws of ,god and of ,god's universe4 ,it is as impossible as that fire should not burn1 or water run up hill4 ,it is not a question of arbitrary punishment1 which may be arbitrarily remitted2 but of wages1 which you needs must take1 weekly1 daily1 and hourly2 and those wages are death3 a question of travelling on a certain road1 whereon1 if you travel it long enough1 you must come to the end of it2 and the end is death4 ,your sins are killing you by inches2 all day long they are sowing in you the seeds of disease and death4 ,every sin which you commit with your body shortens your bodily life4 ,every sin you commit with your mind1 every act of stupidity1 folly1 wilful ignorance1 helps to destroy your mind1 and leave you dull1 silly1 devoid of right reason4 ,every sin you commit with your spirit1 each sin of passion and temper1 envy and malice1 pride and vanity1 injustice and cruelty1 extravagance and self-indulgence1 helps to destroy your spiritual life1 and leave you bad1 more and more unable to do the right and avoid the wrong1 more and more unable to discern right from wrong2 and that last is spiritual death1 the eternal death of your moral being4 ,there are three parts in you--body1 mind1 and spirit2 and every sin you commit helps to kill one of these three1 and1 in many cases1 to kill all three together4 ,so1 sinner1 dream not of escaping punishment at the last4 ,you are being punished now1 for you are punishing yourself2 and you will continue to be punished for ever1 for you will be punishing yourself for ever1 as long as you go on doing wrong1 and breaking the laws which ,god has appointed for body1 mind and spirit4 ,you can see that a drunkard is killing himself1 body and mind1 by drink4 ,you see that he knows that1 poor wretch1 as well as you4 ,he knows that every time he gets drunk he is cutting so much off his life2 and yet he cannot help it4 ,he knows that drink is poison1 and yet he goes back to his poison4 ,then know1 habitual sinner1 that you are like that drunkard4 ,that every bad habit in which you indulge is shortening the life of some of your faculties1 and that ,god ,himself cannot save you from the doom which you are earning1 deserving1 and working out for yourself every day and every hour4 ,oh how men hate that message6--the message that the true wrath of ,god1 necessary1 inevitable1 is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men4 ,how they writhe under it6 ,how they shut their ears to it1 and cry to their preachers1 #8,no6 ,tell us of any wrath of ,god but that6 ,tell us rather of the torments of the damned1 of a frowning ,god1 of absolute decrees to destruction1 of the reprobation of millions before they are born2 any doctrine1 however fearful and horrible3 because we don't quite believe it1 but only think that we ought to believe it4 ,yes1 tell us anything rather than that news1 which cuts at the root of all our pride1 of all our comfort1 and all our superstition--the news that we cannot escape the consequences of our own actions2 that there are no back stairs up which we may be smuggled into heaven2 that as we sow1 so we shall reap2 that we are filled with the fruits of our own devices2 every man his own poisoner1 every man his own executioner1 every man his own suicide2 that hell begins in this life1 and death begins before we die3--do not say that3 because we cannot help believing it2 for our own consciousness and our own experience tell us it is true4' ,no wonder that the preacher who tells men that is hated1 is called a ,rationalist1 a ,pantheist1 a heretic1 and what not1 just because he does set forth such a living ,god1 such a justice of ,god1 such a wrath of ,god as would make the sinner tremble1 if he believed in it1 not merely once in a way1 when he hears a stirring sermon about the endless torments3 but all day long1 going out and coming in1 lying on his bed and walking by the way1 always haunted by the shadow of himself1 knowing that he is bearing about in him the perpetually growing death of sin4 ,and still more painful would this message be to the sinner1 if he had any kindly feeling for others2 and1 thank ,god1 there are few who have not that4 ,for ,st4 ,paul's message to him is1 that the wages of his sin is death1 not merely to himself1 but to others--to his family and children above all4 ,so ,st4 ,paul declares in what he says of his doctrine of original or birth sin1 by which1 as the ,article says1 every man is very far gone from original righteousness1 and is of his own nature inclined to evil1 so that the flesh lusteth against the spirit4 ,st4 ,paul's doctrine is simple and explicit4 ,death1 he says1 reigned over ,adam's children1 even over those who had not sinned after the likeness of ,adam's transgression2 agreeing with ,moses1 who declares ,god to be one who visits the sins of the fathers on the children1 to the third and fourth generation of those who hate ,him4 ,but how the sinner will shrink from this message--and shrink the more1 the more feeling he is1 the less he is wrapped up in selfishness4 ,yes1 that message gives us such a view of the sinfulness of sin as none other can4 ,it tells us why ,god hates sin with so unextinguishable a hatred1 just because ,he is a ,god of ,love4 ,it is not that man's sin injures ,god1 insults ,god1 as the heathen fancy4 ,who is ,god1 that man can stir ,him up to pride1 or wound or disturb ,his everlasting calm1 ,his self-sufficient perfectness8 #8,god is tempted of no man1' says ,st4 ,james4 ,no4 ,god hates sin4 ,he loves all1 and sin harms all2 and the sinner may be a torment and a curse1 not only to himself1 not only to those around him1 but to children yet unborn4 ,this is bad news2 and yet sinners must hear it4 ,they must hear it not only put into words by ,moses1 or by ,st4 ,paul1 or by any other inspired writer2 but they must hear it1 likewise1 in that perpetual voice of ,god which we call facts4 ,let the sinner who wishes to know what original sin means1 and how actual sin in one man breeds original sin in his descendants1 look at the world around him1 and see4 ,let him see how ,st4 ,paul's doctrine and the doctrine of the ,ten ,commandments are proved true by experience and by fact3 how the past1 and how the present likewise1 show us whole families1 whole tribes1 whole aristocracies1 whole nations1 dwindling down to imbecility1 misery1 and destruction1 because the sins of the fathers are visited on the children4 ,physicians1 who see children born diseased2 born stupid1 or even idiotic2 born thwart-natured1 or passionate1 or false1 or dishonest1 or brutal1--they know well what original sin means1 though they call it by their own name of hereditary tendencies4 ,and they know1 too1 how the sins of a parent1 or of a grand parent1 or even a great-grandparent1 are visited on the children to the third and fourth generation2 and they say #8,it is a law of nature3' and so it is4 ,but the laws of nature are the laws of ,god who made her3 and ,his law is the same law by which death reigns even over those who have not sinned after the likeness of ,adam2 the law by which 7even though if ,christ be in us1 the spirit is life1 because of righteousness7 the body1 nevertheless1 is dead1 because of sin4 ,parents1 parents1 who hear my words1 beware--if not for your own sakes1 at least for the sake of your children1 and your children's children--lest the wages of your sin should be their death4 ,and by this time1 surely1 some of you will be asking1 #8,what has he said8 ,that there is no escape2 that there is no forgiveness8' ,none whatsoever1 my friends1 though you were to cry to heaven for ever and ever1 save the one old escape of which you hear in the church every ,sunday morning3 #8,when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed1 and doeth that which is lawful and right1 he shall save his soul alive4' ,what1 does not the blood of ,christ cleanse us from all sin8 ,yes1 from all sin4 ,but not1 necessarily1 from the wages of all sin4 ,judge for yourselves1 my friends1 again4 ,listen to the voice of ,god revealed in facts4 ,if you1 being a drunkard1 have injured your constitution by drink1 and then are converted1 and repent1 and turn to ,god with your whole soul1 and become1 as you may1 if you will1 a truly penitent1 good1 and therefore sober man1--will that cure the disease of your body8 ,it will certainly palliate and ease it3 because1 instead of being drunken1 you will have become sober3 but still you will have shortened your days by your past sins2 and1 in so far1 even though the ,lord has put away your sin its wages still remain1 as death4 ,so it is1 my friends1 if you will only believe it1 or rather see it with your own eyes1 with every sin1 and every sort of sin4 ,you will see1 if you look1 that the ,article speaks exact truth when it says1 that the infection of nature doth remain1 even in those that are regenerate4 ,it says that of original sin3 but it is equally true of actual sin4 ,would to ,god that all men would but believe this1 and give up the too common and too dangerous notion1 that it is no matter if they go on wrong for a while1 provided they come right at last6 ,no matter8 ,i ask for facts again4 ,is there a man or woman in this church twenty years old who does not know that it matters8 ,who does not know that1 if they have done wrong in youth1 their own wrong deeds haunt them and torment them8--,that they are1 perhaps the poorer1 perhaps the sicklier1 perhaps the more ignorant1 perhaps the sillier1 perhaps the more sorrowful this day1 for things which they did twenty1 thirty years ago8 ,is there any one in this church who ever did a wrong thing without smarting for it8 ,if there is 7which ,i question71 let him be sure that it is only because his time is not come4 ,do not fancy that because you are forgiven1 you may not be actually less good men all your lives by having sinned when young4 ,i know it is sometimes said1 #8,the greater the sinner1 the greater the saint4' ,i do not believe that3 because ,i do not see it4 ,i see1 and ,i thank ,god for it1 that men who have been very wrong at one time1 come very right afterwards2 that1 having found out in earnest that the wages of sin are death1 they do repent in earnest1 and receive the gift of eternal life through ,jesus ,christ4 ,but ,i see1 too1 that the bad habits1 bad passions1 bad methods of thought1 which they have indulged in youth1 remain more or less1 and make them worse men1 sillier men1 less useful men1 less happy men1 sometimes to their lives' end3 and they1 if they be true ,christians1 know it1 and repent of their early sins1 not once for all only1 but all their lives long2 because they feel that they have weakened and worsened themselves thereby4 ,it stands to reason1 my friends1 that it should be so4 ,if a man loses his way1 and finds it again1 he is so much the less forward on his way1 surely1 by all the time he has spent in getting back into the road4 ,if a child has a violent illness1 it stops growing1 because the life and nourishment which ought to have gone towards its growth1 are spent in curing its disease4 ,and so1 if a man has indulged in bad habits in his youth1 he is but too likely 7let him do what he will7 to be a less good man for it to his life's end1 because the ,spirit of ,god1 which ought to have been making him grow in grace1 freely and healthily1 to the stature of a perfect man1 to the fulness of the measure of ,christ1 is striving to conquer old bad habits1 and cure old diseases of character2 and the man1 even though he does enter into life1 enters into it halt and maimed2 and the wages of his sin have been1 as they always will be1 death to some powers1 some faculties of his soul4 ,think over these things1 my friends2 and believe that the wages of sin are death1 and that there is no escaping from ,god's just and everlasting laws4 ,but meanwhile1 let us judge no man4 ,this is a great and a solemn reason for observing1 with fear and trembling1 our ,lord's command1 for it is nothing less1 #8,judge not1 and ye shall not be judged2 condemn not and ye shall not be condemned4' ,for we never can know how much of any man's misconduct is to be set down to original1 and how much to actual1 sin2--how much disease of mind and heart he has inherited from his parents1 how much he has brought upon himself4 ,therefore judge no man1 but yourselves4 ,search your own hearts1 to see what manner of men you really wish to be2 judge yourselves1 lest ,god should judge you4 ,do you wish to go on as you like here on earth1 right or wrong1 in the hope that1 somehow or other1 the punishment of your sins will be forgiven you at the last day8 ,then know that that is impossible4 ,as a man sows1 so shall he reap2 and if you sow to the flesh1 of the flesh you will reap--corruption4 ,the wages of sin are death4 ,those wages will be paid you1 and you must take them whether you like or not4 ,but do you wish to be ,good8 ,do you see 7,i trust in ,god that many of you do7 that goodness is the only wise1 safe1 prudent life for you because it is the only path the end of which is not death8 ,do you see that goodness is the only right and honourable life for you1 because it is the only path by which you can do your duty to man or to ,god2 the only method by which you can show your gratitude to ,god for all ,his goodness to you1 and can please ,him1 in return for all that ,he has done by ,his grace and free love to bless you8 ,do you1 in a word1 repent you truly of your former sins1 and purpose to lead a new life8 ,then know1 that all beyond is the free grace1 the free gift of ,god4 ,you have to earn nothing1 to buy nothing4 ,the will is all ,god asks4 ,eternal life is the gift of ,god through ,jesus ,christ4 ,freely ,he forgives you all your past sins1 for the sake of that precious blood which was shed on the cross for the sins of the whole world4 ,freely ,he takes you back1 as ,his child1 to your ,father's house4 ,freely1 ,he gives you ,his ,holy ,spirit1 the ,spirit of ,goodness1 the ,spirit of ,life1 to put into your mind good desires1 and enable you to bring those desires to good effect1 that you may live the eternal life of grace and goodness for ever1 whether in earth or heaven4 ,yes1 it is the ,gift of ,god1 which raises you from the death of sin to the life of righteousness2 and if you have that gift1 you will not murmur1 surely1 though you have to bear1 more or less1 the just and natural consequences of your former sins2 though you be1 through your own guilt1 a sadder man to your dying day4 ,be content4 ,you are forgiven4 ,you are cleansed from your sin2 is not that mercy enough8 ,why are you to demand of ,god1 that ,he should over and above cleanse you from the consequences of your sin8 ,he may leave them there to trouble and sadden you1 just because ,he loves you1 and desires to chasten you1 and keep you in mind of what you were1 and what you would be again1 at any moment1 if ,his ,spirit left you to yourself4 ,you may have to enter into life halt and maimed3 yet1 be content2 you have a thousand times more than you deserve1 for at least you enter into ,life4 ,,sermon ,v4 ,,night ,,and ,,day4 7,preached at the ,chapel ,royal47 ,,romans xiii4 #ab4 ,the night is far spent1 the day is at hand2 let us therefore cast off the works of darkness1 and let us put on the armour of light4 ,,certain commentators would tell us1 that ,st4 ,paul wrote these words in the expectation that the end of the world1 and the second coming of ,christ1 were very near4 ,the night was far spent1 and the day of the ,lord at hand4 ,salvation--deliverance from the destruction impending on the world1 was nearer than when his converts first believed4 ,shortly the ,lord would appear in glory1 and ,st4 ,paul and his converts would be caught up to meet ,him in the air4 ,no doubt ,st4 ,paul's words will bear this meaning4 ,no doubt there are many passages in his writings which seem to imply that he thought the end of the world was near2 and that ,christ would reappear in glory1 while he1 ,paul1 was yet alive on the earth4 ,and there are passages2 too1 which seem to imply that he afterwards altered that opinion1 and1 no longer expecting to be caught up to meet the ,lord in the air1 desired to depart himself1 and be with ,christ1 in the consciousness that #8,he was ready to be offered up1 and the time of his departure was at hand4' ,i say that there are passages which seem to imply such a change in ,st4 ,paul's opinions4 ,i do not say that they actually imply it4 ,if ,i had a positive opinion on the matter1 ,i should not be hasty to give it4 ,these questions of #8criticism1' as they are now called1 are far less important than men fancy just now4 ,a generation or two hence1 it is to be hoped1 men will see how very unimportant they are1 and will find that they have detracted very little from the authority of ,scripture as a whole2 and that they have not detracted in the least from the ,gospel and good news which ,scripture proclaims to men--the news of a perfect ,god1 who will have men to become perfect even as ,he1 their ,father in heaven1 is perfect2 who sent ,his only begotten ,son into the world1 that the world through ,him might be saved4 ,in this case1 ,i verily believe1 it matters little to us whether ,st4 ,paul1 when he wrote these words1 wrote them under the belief that ,christ's second coming was at hand4 ,we must apply to his words the great rule1 that no prophecy of ,scripture is of any private interpretation--that is1 does not apply exclusively to any one fact or event3 but fulfils itself again and again1 in a hundred unexpected ways1 because he who wrote it was moved by the ,holy ,spirit1 who revealed to him the eternal and ever-working laws of the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,therefore1 ,i say1 the words are true for us at this moment4 ,to us1 though we have1 as far as ,i can see1 not the least reasonable cause for supposing the end of the world to be more imminent than it was a thousand years ago--to us1 nevertheless1 and to every generation of men1 the night is always far spent1 and the day is always at hand4 ,and this1 surely1 was in the mind of those who appointed this text to be read as the ,epistle for the first ,sunday in ,advent4 ,year after year1 though ,christ has not returned to judgment2 though scoffers have been saying1 #8,where is the promise of ,his coming8 for all things continue as they were at the beginning'--,year after year1 ,i say1 are the clergy bidden to tell the people that the night is far spent1 that the day is at hand2 and to tell them so1 because it is true4 ,whatsoever ,st4 ,paul meant1 or did not mean1 by the words1 a few years after our ,lord's ascension into heaven1 they are there1 for ever1 written by one who was moved by the ,holy ,ghost2 and hence they have an eternal moral and spiritual significance to mankind in every age4 ,whatever these words may1 or may not have meant to ,st4 ,paul when he wrote them first1 in the prime of life1 we may never know1 and we need not know4 ,but we can guess surely enough what they must have meant to him in after years1 when he could say--as would to ,god we all might be able to say--#8,i have fought a good fight1 ,i have finished my course1 ,i have kept the faith3 henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness1 which the ,lord1 the righteous ,judge1 shall give me at that day3 and not to me only1 but unto all them that love ,his appearing4' ,to him1 then1 the night would surely mean this mortal life on earth4 ,the day would mean the immortal life to come4 ,for is not this mortal life1 compared with that life to come1 as night compared with day8 ,i do not mean to speak evil of it4 ,god forbid that we should do anything but thank ,god for this life4 ,god forbid that we should say impiously to ,him1 ,why hast thou made me thus8 ,no4 ,god made this mortal life1 and therefore1 like all things which ,he has made1 it is very good4 ,but there are good nights1 and there are bad nights2 and there are happy lives1 and unhappy ones4 ,but what are they at best8 ,what is the life of the happiest man without the ,holy ,spirit of ,god8 ,a night full of pleasant dreams4 ,what is the life of the wisest man8 ,a night of darkness1 through which he gropes his way by lanthorn-light1 slowly1 and with many mistakes and stumbles4 ,when we compare man's vast capabilities with his small deeds2 when we think how much he might know1--how little he does know in this mortal life1--can we wonder that the highest spirits in every age have looked on death as a deliverance out of darkness and a dungeon8 ,and if this is life at the best1 what is life at the worst8 ,to how many is life a night1 not of peace and rest1 but of tossing and weariness1 pain and sickness1 anxiety and misery1 till they are ready to cry1 ,when will it be over8 ,when will kind ,death come and give me rest8 ,when will the night of this life be spent1 and the day of ,god arise8 #8,out of the depths have ,i cried unto thee1 ,o ,lord4 ,lord1 hear my voice4 ,my soul doth wait for the ,lord1 more than the sick man who watches for the morning4' ,yes1 think1--for it is good at times1 however happy one may be oneself1 to think--of all the misery and sorrow that there is on earth1 and how many there are who would be glad to hear that it was nearly over2 glad to hear that the night was far spent1 and the day was at hand4 ,and even the happiest ought to #8know the time4' ,to know that the night is far spent1 and the day at hand4 ,to know1 too1 that the night at best was not given us1 to sleep it all through1 from sunset to sunrise4 ,no industrious man does that4 ,either he works after sunset1 and often on through the long hours1 and into the short hours1 before he goes to rest3 or else he rises before daybreak1 and gets ready for the labours of the coming day4 ,the latter no man can do in this life4 ,for we all sleep away1 more or less1 the beginning of our life1 in the time of childhood4 ,there is no sin in that--,god seems to have ordained that so it should be4 ,but1 to sleep away our manhood likewise1--is there no sin in that8 ,as we grow older1 must we not awake out of sleep1 and set to work1 to be ready for the day of ,god which will dawn on us when we pass out of this mortal life into the world to come8 ,as we grow older1 and as we get our share of the cares1 troubles1 experiences of life1 it is high time to wake out of sleep1 and ask ,christ to give us light--light enough to see our way through the night of this life1 till the everlasting day shall dawn4 #8,knowing the time2'--the time of this our mortal life4 ,how soon it will be over1 at the longest6 ,how short the time seems since we were young6 ,how quickly it has gone6 ,how every year1 as we grow older seems to go more and more quickly1 and there is less time to do what we want1 to think seriously1 to improve ourselves4 ,so soon1 and it will be over1 and we shall have no time at all1 for we shall be in eternity4 ,and what then8 ,what then8 ,that depends on what now4 ,on what we are doing now4 ,are we letting our short span of life slip away in sleep2 fancying ourselves all the while wide awake1 as we do in dreams--till we wake really2 and find that it is daylight1 and that all our best dreams were nothing but useless fancy8 ,how many dream away their lives6 ,some upon gain1 some upon pleasure1 some upon petty self-interest1 petty quarrels1 petty ambitions1 petty squabbles and jealousies about this person and that1 which are no more worthy to take up a reasonable human being's time and thoughts than so many dreams would be4 ,some1 too1 dream away their lives in sin1 in works of darkness which they are forced for shame and safety to hide1 lest they should come to the light and be exposed4 ,so people dream their lives away1 and go about their daily business as men who walk in their sleep1 wandering about with their eyes open1 and yet seeing nothing of what is really around them4 ,seeing nothing3 though they think that they see1 and know their own interest1 and are shrewd enough to find their way about this world4 ,but they know nothing--nothing of the very world with which they pride themselves they are so thoroughly acquainted4 ,none know less of the world than those who pride themselves on being men of the world4 ,for the true light1 which shines all round them1 they do not see1 and therefore they do not see the truth of things by that light4 ,if they did1 then they would see that of which now they do not even dream4 ,they would see that ,god was around them1 about their path and about their bed1 and spying out all their ways2 and in the light of ,his presence1 they dare not be frivolous1 dare not be ignorant1 dare not be mean1 dare not be spiteful1 dare not be unclean4 ,they would see that ,christ was around them1 knocking at the door of their hearts1 that ,he may enter in1 and dwell there1 and give them peace2 crying to their restless1 fretful1 confused1 unhappy souls1 #8,come unto ,me1 all ye that labour and are heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,take ,my yoke upon you and learn of ,me2 for ,i am meek and lowly in heart3 and ye shall find rest unto your souls4' ,they would see that ,duty was around them4 ,duty--the only thing really worth living for4 ,the only thing which will really pay a man1 either for this life or the next4 ,the only thing which will give a man rest and peace1 manly and quiet thoughts1 a good conscience and a stout heart1 in the midst of hard labour1 anxiety1 sorrow and disappointment3 because he feels at least that he is doing his duty2 that he is obeying ,god and ,christ1 that he is working with them1 and for them1 and that1 therefore1 they are working with him1 and for him4 ,god1 ,christ1 and ,duty--these1 and more1 will a man see if he will awake out of sleep1 and consider where he is1 by the light of ,god's ,holy ,spirit4 ,then will that man feel that he must cast away the works of darkness2 whether of the darkness of foul and base sins2 or the darkness of envy1 spite1 and revenge2 or the mere darkness of ignorance and silliness1 thoughtlessness and frivolity4 ,he must cast them away1 he will see4 ,they will not succeed--they are not safe--in such a serious world as this4 ,the term of this mortal life is too short1 and too awfully important1 to be spent in such dreams as these4 ,the man is too awfully near to ,god1 and to ,christ1 to dare to play the fool in their ,divine presence4 ,this earth looks to him1 now that he sees it in the true light1 one great temple of ,god1 in which he dare not1 for very shame1 misbehave himself4 ,he must cast away the works of darkness1 and put on the armour of light1 now in the time of this mortal life2 lest1 when ,christ comes in ,his glory to judge the quick and the dead1 he be found asleep1 dreaming1 useless1 unfit for the eternal world to come4 ,then let him awake1 and cry to ,christ for light3 and ,christ will give him light--enough1 at least1 to see his way through the darkness of this life1 to that eternal life of which it is written1 #8,they need no candle there1 nor light of the sun3 for the ,lord ,god and the ,lamb are the light thereof4' ,and he will find that the armour of light is an armour indeed4 ,a defence against all enemies1 a helmet for his head1 and breastplate for his heart1 against all that can really harm his mind our soul4 ,if a man1 in the struggle of life1 sees ,god1 and ,christ1 and ,duty1 all around him1 that thought will be a helmet for his head4 ,it will keep his brain and mind clear1 quiet1 prudent to perceive and know what things he ought to do4 ,it will give him that ,divine wisdom1 of which ,solomon says1 in his ,proverbs1 that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the ,lord4 ,the light will give him1 ,i say1 judgment and wisdom to perceive what he ought to do2 and it will give him1 too1 grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same4 ,for it will be a breastplate to his heart4 ,it will keep his heart sound1 as well as his head4 ,it will save him from breaking his good resolutions1 and from deserting his duty out of cowardice1 or out of passion4 ,the light of ,christ will keep his heart pure1 unselfish1 forgiving2 ready to hope all things1 believe all things1 endure all things1 by that ,divine charity which ,god will pour into his soul4 ,for when he looks at things in the light of ,christ1 what does he see8 ,christ hanging on the cross1 praying for ,his murderers1 dying for the sins of the whole world4 ,and what does the light which streams from that cross show him of ,christ8 ,that the likeness of ,christ is summed up in one word--self-sacrificing love4 ,what does the light which streams from that cross show him of the world and mankind1 in spite of all their sins8 ,that they belong to ,him who died for them1 and bought them with ,his own most precious blood4 #8,beloved1 herein is love indeed4 ,not that we loved ,god1 but that ,he loved us1 and sent ,his ,son to be the propitiation of our sins4' #8,beloved1 if ,god so loved us1 we ought also to love one another4' ,after that sight a man cannot hate2 cannot revenge4 ,he must forgive2 he must love4 ,from hence he is in the light1 and sees his duty and his path through life4 #8,for he that hateth his brother walketh in darkness1 and knoweth not whither he goeth3 because darkness has blinded his eyes4 ,but he that loveth his brother abideth in the light1 and there is no occasion of stumbling in him4 ,for he who dwelleth in love1 dwelleth in ,god1 and ,god in him4' ,therefore cast away the works of darkness1 and put you on the armour of light1 and be good men and true4 ,for of this the ,holy ,ghost prophesies by the mouth of ,st4 ,paul1 and of all apostles and prophets4 ,not of times and seasons1 which ,god the ,father has kept in ,his own hand3 not of that day and hour of which no man knows2 no1 not the ,angels in heaven1 neither the ,son2 but the ,father only3 not of these does the ,holy ,ghost testify to men4 ,not of chronology1 past or future3 but of holiness2 because he is a ,holy ,spirit4 ,for this purpose ,god1 the ,holy ,father1 sent ,his ,son into the world4 ,for this ,god1 the ,holy ,son1 died upon the cross4 ,for this ,god1 the ,holy ,ghost--proceeding from both the ,father and the ,son--inspired prophets and apostles2 that they might teach men to cast away the works of darkness1 and put on the armour of light2 and become holy1 as ,god is holy2 pure1 as ,god is pure2 true1 as ,god is true2 and good1 as ,god is good4 ,,sermon ,,vi4 ,,the ,,shaking ,,of ,,the ,,heavens ,,and ,,the ,,earth4 7,preached at the ,chapel ,royal1 ,whitehall47 ,,hebrews xii4 #bf-bi4 ,but now he hath promised1 saying1 ,yet once more ,i shake not the earth only1 but also heaven4 ,and this word1 ,yet once more1 signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken1 as of things that are made1 that those things which cannot be shaken may remain4 ,wherefore1 we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved1 let us have grace1 whereby we may serve ,god acceptably with reverence and godly fear3 for our ,god is a consuming fire4 ,,this is one of the ,royal texts of the ,new ,testament4 ,it declares one of those great laws of the kingdom of ,god1 which may fulfil itself1 once and again1 at many eras1 and by many methods2 which fulfilled itself especially and most gloriously in the first century after ,christ2 which fulfilled itself again in the fifth century2 and again at the time of the ,crusades2 and again at the great ,reformation in the sixteenth century2 and is fulfilling itself again at this very day4 ,now1 in our fathers' time1 and in our own unto this day1 is the ,lord ,christ shaking the heavens and the earth1 that those things which are made may be removed1 and that those things which cannot be shaken may remain4 ,we all confess this fact1 in different phrases4 ,we say that we live in an age of change1 of transition1 of scientific and social revolution4 ,our notions of the physical universe are rapidly altering with the new discoveries of science2 and our notions of ,ethics and ,theology are altering as rapidly4 ,the era looks differently to different minds1 just as the first century after ,christ looked differently1 according as men looked with faith towards the future1 or with regret towards the past4 ,some rejoice in the present era as one of progress4 ,others lament over it as one of decay4 ,some say that we are on the eve of a ,reformation1 as great and splendid as that of the sixteenth century4 ,others say that we are rushing headlong into scepticism and atheism4 ,some say that a new era is dawning on humanity2 others that the world and the ,church are coming to an end1 and the last day is at hand4 ,both parties may be right1 and both may be wrong4 ,men have always talked thus at great crises4 ,they talked thus in the first century1 in the fifth1 in the eleventh1 in the sixteenth4 ,and then both parties were right1 and yet both wrong4 ,and why not now8 ,what they meant to say1 and what they mean to say now1 is what he who wrote the ,epistle to the ,hebrews said for them long ago in far deeper1 wider1 more accurate words--that the ,lord ,christ was shaking the heavens and the earth1 that those things which can be shaken may be removed1 as things which are made--cosmogonies1 systems1 theories1 fashions1 prejudices1 of man's invention3 while those things which cannot be shaken may remain1 because they are eternal1 the creation not of man1 but of ,god4 #8,yet once more ,i shake not the earth only1 but also heaven4' ,not merely the physical world1 and man's conceptions thereof2 but the spiritual world1 and man's conceptions of that likewise4 ,how have our conceptions of the physical world been shaken of late1 with ever-increasing violence6 ,how simple1 and easy1 and certain1 it all looked to our forefathers6 ,how complex1 how uncertain1 it looks to us6 ,with increased knowledge has come--not increased doubt--that ,i deny2 but increased reverence2 increased fear of rash assertions1 increased awe of facts1 as the acted words and thoughts of ,god4 ,once for all1 ,i deny that this age is an irreverent one4 ,i say that an irreverent age is an age like the ,middle ,age1 in which men dared to fancy that they could and did know all about earth and heaven2 and set up their petty cosmogonies1 their petty systems of doctrine1 as measures of the ways of that ,god whom the heaven and the heaven of heavens1 cannot contain4 ,it was simple enough1 their theory of the universe4 ,the earth was a flat plain2 for did not the earth look flat8 ,or if some believed the earth to be a globe1 yet the existence of antipodes was an unscriptural heresy4 ,above were the heavens3 first the lower heavens in which the stars were fixed and moved2 and above them heaven after heaven1 each peopled of higher orders1 up to that heaven of heavens in which ,deity--and by ,him1 the ,mother of ,deity--were enthroned4 ,and below--,what could be more clear1 more certain1 than this--that as above the earth was the kingdom of light1 and joy1 and holiness1 so below the earth was the kingdom of darkness1 and torment1 and sin8 ,what could be more certain8 ,had not even the heathens said so1 by the mouth of the poet ,virgil8 ,what could be more simple1 rational1 orthodox1 than to adopt 7as they actually did7 ,virgil's own words1 and talk of ,tartarus1 ,styx1 and ,phlegethon1 as indisputable ,christian entities4 ,they were not aware that the ,buddhists of the far ,east had held much the same theory of endless retribution several centuries before2 and that ,dante1 with his various bolge1 tenanted each by its various species of sinners1 was merely re-echoing the horrors which are to be seen painted on the walls of any ,buddhist temple1 as they were on the walls of so many ,european churches during the ,middle ,ages1 when men really believed in that same ,tartarology1 with the same intensity with which they now believe in the conclusions of astronomy or of chemistry4 ,to them1 indeed1 it was all an indisputable or physical fact1 as any astronomic or chemical fact would have been2 for they saw it with their own eyes4 ,virgil had said that the mouth of ,tartarus was there in ,italy1 by the volcanic lake of ,avernus2 and after the first eruption of ,vesuvius in the first century1 nothing seemed more probable4 ,etna1 ,stromboli1 ,hecla1 must be1 likewise1 all mouths of hell2 and there were not wanting holy hermits who had heard within those craters1 shrieks and clanking chains1 and the shouts of demons tormenting endlessly the souls of the lost4 ,and now1 how has all this been shaken8 ,how much of all this does any educated man1 though he be pious1 though he desire with all his heart to be orthodox--and is orthodox in fact--how much of all this does he believe1 as he believes that the earth is round1 or1 that if he steals his neighbour's goods he commits a crime8 ,for1 since these days1 the earth has been shaken1 and with it the heavens likewise1 in that very sense in which the expression is used in the text4 ,our conceptions of them have been shaken4 ,the ,copernican system shook them1 when it told men that the earth was but a tiny globular planet revolving round the sun4 ,geology shook them1 when it told men that the earth has endured for countless ages1 during which whole continents have been submerged1 whole seas become dry land1 again and again4 ,even now the heavens and the earth are being shaken by researches into the antiquity of the human race1 and into the origin and the mutability of species1 which1 issue in what results they may1 will shake for us1 meanwhile1 theories which are venerable with the authority of nearly eighteen hundred years1 and of almost every great ,doctor since ,st4 ,augustine4 ,and as our conception of the physical universe has been shaken1 the old theory of a ,tartarus beneath the earth has been shaken also1 till good men have been glad to place ,tartarus in a comet1 or in the sun1 or to welcome the possible1 but unproved hypothesis1 of a central fire in the earth's core1 not on any scientific grounds1 but if by any means a spot may be found in space corresponding to that of which ,virgil1 ,dante1 and ,milton sang4 ,and meanwhile--as was to be expected from a generation which abhors torture1 labours for the reformation of criminals1 and even doubts whether it should not abolish capital punishment--a shaking of the heavens is abroad1 of which we shall hear more and more1 as the years roll on--a general inclination to ask whether ,holy ,scripture really endorses the ,middle-age notions of future punishment in endless torment8 ,men are writing and speaking on this matter1 not merely with ability and learning1 but with a piety1 and reverence for ,scripture which 7rightly or wrongly employed7 must1 and will1 command attention4 ,they are saying that it is not those who deny these notions who disregard the letter of ,scripture1 but those who assert them2 that they are distorting the plain literal text1 in order to make ,scripture fit the writings of ,dante and ,milton1 when they translate into #8endless torments after death1' such phrases as the outer darkness1 the undying worm1 the ,gehenna of fire--which manifestly 7say these men71 if judged by fair rules of interpretation1 refer to this life1 and specially to the fate of the ,jewish nation3 or when they tell us that eternal death means really eternal life1 only in torments4 ,we demand1 they say1 not a looser1 but a stricter2 not a more metaphoric1 but a more literal2 not a more careless1 but a more reverent interpretation of ,scripture2 and whether this demand be right or wrong1 it will not pass unheard4 ,and even more severely shaken1 meanwhile1 is that medival conception of heaven and hell1 by the question which educated men are asking more and more3--#8,heaven and hell--the spiritual world--,are they merely invisible places in space1 which may become visible hereafter8 or are they not rather the moral world--the world of right and wrong8 ,love and righteousness--is not that the heaven itself wherein ,god dwells8 ,hatred and sin--is not that hell itself1 wherein dwells all that is opposed to ,god8' ,and out of that thought1 right or wrong1 other thoughts have sprung--of ethics1 of moral retribution--not new at all 7say these men71 but to be found in ,scripture1 and in the writings of all great ,christian divines1 when they have listened1 not to systems1 but to the voice of their own hearts4 #8,we do not deny' 7they say7 #8that the wages of sin are death4 ,we do not deny the necessity of punishment--the certainty of punishment4 ,we see it working awfully enough around us in this life2 we believe that it may work in still more awful forms in the life to come4 ,only tell us not that it must be endless1 and thereby destroy its whole purpose1 and 7as we think7 its whole morality4 ,we1 too1 believe in an eternal fire2 but we believe its existence to be1 not a curse1 but a ,gospel and a blessing1 seeing that that fire is ,god ,himself1 who taketh away the sins of the world1 and of whom it is therefore written1 ,our ,god is a consuming fire4' ,questions1 too1 have arisen1 of--#8,what is moral retribution8 ,should punishment have any end but the good of the offender8 ,is ,god so controlled that ,he must needs send into the world beings whom ,he knows to be incorrigible1 and doomed to endless misery8 ,and if not so controlled1 then is not the other alternative as to ,his character more fearful still8 ,does ,he not bid us copy ,him1 ,his justice1 ,his love8 ,then is that ,his justice1 is that ,his love1 which if we copied we should be unjust and unloving utterly8 ,are there two moralities1 one for ,god1 and quite another for man1 made in the image of ,god8 ,can these dark dogmas be true of a ,father who bids us be perfect as ,he is1 in that ,he sends ,his sun to shine on the evil and the good1 and ,his rain on the just and unjust8 ,or of a ,son who so loved the world that ,he died to save the world and surely not in vain8' ,these questions--be they right or wrong--educated men and women of all classes and denominations--orthodox1 be it remembered1 as well as unorthodox--are asking1 and will ask more and more1 till they receive an answer4 ,and if we of the clergy cannot give them an answer which accords with their conscience and their reason2 if we tell them that the words of ,scripture1 and the integral doctrines of ,christianity1 demand the same notions of moral retribution as were current in the days when men racked criminals1 burned heretics alive1 and believed that every ,mussulman whom they slaughtered in a crusade went straight to endless torments1--then evil times will come1 both for the clergy and the ,christian religion1 for many a yeas henceforth4 ,what then are we to believe8 ,what are we to do1 amid this shaking of the earth and heaven8 ,are we to degenerate into a lazy and heartless scepticism1 which1 under pretence of liberality and charity1 believes that everything is a little true1 everything is a little false--in one word1 believes nothing at all8 ,or are we to degenerate into unmanly and faithless wailings1 crying out that the flood of infidelity is irresistible1 that the last days are come1 and that ,christ has deserted ,his ,church8 ,not if we will believe the text4 ,the text tells us of something which cannot be moved1 though all around it reel and crumble--of a firm standing-ground1 which would endure1 though the heavens should pass away as a scroll1 and the earth should be removed1 and cast into the midst of the sea4 ,we have a kingdom1 the ,scripture says1 which cannot be moved1 even the kingdom of ,him whom it calls shortly after #8,jesus ,christ1 the same yesterday1 to-day and for ever4' ,an eternal and unchangeable kingdom1 ruled by an eternal and unchangeable ,king4 ,that is what cannot be moved4 ,scripture does not say that we have an unchangeable cosmogony1 an unchangeable theory of moral retribution1 an unchangeable system of dogmatic propositions4 ,whether we have1 or have not1 it is not of them that ,scripture reminds the ,jews1 when the heavens and the earth were shaken2 when their own nation and worship were in their death-agony1 and all the beliefs and practices of men were in a whirl of doubt and confusion1 of decay and birth side by side1 such as the world had never seen before4 ,not of them does it remind the ,jews1 but of the changeless kingdom1 and the changeless ,king4 ,my friends1 lay it seriously to heart1 once and for all4 ,do you believe that you are subjects of that kingdom1 and that ,christ is the living1 ruling1 guiding ,king thereof8 ,whatsoever ,scripture does not say1 ,scripture speaks of that1 again and again1 in the plainest terms4 ,but do you believe it8 ,these are days in which the preacher ought to ask every man whether he believes it1 and bid him1 of whatever else he repents of1 to repent1 at least1 of not having believed this primary doctrine 7,i may almost say7 of ,scripture and of ,christianity4 ,but if you do believe it1 will it seem strange to you to believe this also1--,that1 considering who ,christ is1 the co-eternal and co-equal ,son of ,god1 ,he may be actually governing ,his kingdom2 and if so1 that ,he may know better how to govern it than such poor worms as we8 ,that if the heavens and the earth be shaken1 ,christ ,himself may be shaking them8 if opinions be changing1 ,christ ,himself may be changing them8 ,if new truths and facts are being discovered1 ,christ ,himself may be revealing them8 ,that if those truths seem to contradict the truths which ,he has already taught us1 they do not really contradict them1 any more than those reasserted in the sixteenth century8 ,that if our ,god be a consuming fire1 ,he is now burning up 7to use ,st4 ,paul's parable7 the chaff and stubble which men have built on the one foundation of ,christ1 that1 at last1 nought but the pure gold may remain8 ,is it not possible8 ,is it not most probable1 if we only believe that ,christ is a real1 living ,king1 an active1 practical ,king1--who1 with boundless wisdom and skill1 love and patience1 is educating and guiding ,christendom1 and through ,christendom the whole human race8 ,if men would but believe that1 how different would be their attitude toward new facts1 toward new opinions6 ,they would receive them with grace2 gracefully1 courteously1 fairly1 charitably1 and with that reverence and godly fear which the text tells us is the way to serve ,god acceptably4 ,they would say3 #8,christ 7so the ,scripture tells us7 has been educating man through ,abraham1 through ,moses1 through ,david1 through the ,jewish prophets1 through the ,greeks1 through the ,romans2 then through ,himself1 as man as well as ,god2 and after ,his ascension1 through ,his ,apostles1 especially through ,st4 ,paul1 to an ever-increasing understanding of ,god1 and the universe1 and themselves4 ,and even after their time ,he did not cease ,his education4 ,why should ,he8 ,how could ,he1 who said of ,himself1 8,all power is given to me in heaven and earth20 8,lo1 ,i am with you alway to the end of the world20 and again1 8,my ,father worketh hitherto1 and ,i work80 #8,at the ,reformation in the sixteenth century ,he called on our forefathers to repent--that is1 to change their minds--concerning opinions which had been undoubted for more than a thousand years4 ,why should ,he not be calling on us at this time likewise8 ,and if any answer1 that the ,reformation was only a return to the primitive faith of the ,apostles--,why should not this shaking of the hearts and minds of men issue in a still further return1 in a further correction of errors1 a further sweeping away of additions1 which are not integral to the ,christian creeds1 but which were left behind1 through natural and necessary human frailty1 by our great ,reformers8 ,wise they were1--good and great1--as giants on the earth1 while we are but as dwarfs2 but1 as the hackneyed proverb tells us1 the dwarf on the giant's shoulders may see further than the giant himself4' ,ah6 that men would approach new truth in that spirit2 in the spirit of godly fear1 which is inspired by the thought that we are in the kingdom of ,god1 and that the ,king thereof is ,christ1 both ,god and man1 once crucified for us1 now living for us for ever6 ,ah6 that they would thus serve ,god1 waiting1 as servants before a lord1 for the slightest sign which might intimate his will6 ,then they would look at new truths with caution2 in that truly conservative spirit which is the duty of all ,christians1 and the especial strength of the ,englishman4 ,with caution1--lest in grasping eagerly after what is new1 we throw away truth which we have already3 but with awe and reverence2 for ,christ may have sent the new truth2 and he who fights against it1 may haply be found fighting against ,god4 ,and so would they indeed obey the ,apostolic injunction--,prove all things1 hold fast that which is good1--that which is pure1 fair1 noble1 tending to the elevation of men2 to the improvement of knowledge1 justice1 mercy1 well-being2 to the extermination of ignorance1 cruelty1 and vice4 ,that1 at least1 must come from ,christ1 unless the ,pharisees were right when they said that evil spirits could be cast out by ,beelzebub1 prince of the devils4 ,how much more ,christian1 reverent1 faithful1 as well as more prudent1 rational1 and philosophical1 would such a temper be than that which condemns all changes priori1 at the first hearing1 or rather1 too often1 without any hearing at all1 in rage and terror1 like that of the animal who at the same moment barks at1 and runs away from1 every unknown object4 ,at least that temper of mind will give us calm2 faith1 patience1 hope1 charity1 though the heavens and the earth are shaken around us4 ,for we have received a kingdom which cannot be moved1 and in the ,king thereof we have the most perfect trust3 for us ,he stooped to earth1 was born1 and died on the cross2 and can we not trust ,him8 ,let ,him do what ,he will2 let ,him teach us what ,he will2 let ,him lead us whither ,he will4 ,wherever ,he leads1 we shall find pasture4 ,wherever ,he leads1 must be the way of truth1 and we will follow1 and say1 as ,socrates of old used to say1 ,let us follow the ,logos boldly1 whithersoever it leadeth4 ,if ,socrates had courage to say it1 how much more should we1 who know what he1 good man1 knew not1 that the ,logos is not a mere argument1 train of thought1 necessity of logic1 but a ,person--perfect ,god and perfect man1 even ,jesus ,christ1 #8the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever1' who promised of old1 and therefore promises to us1 and our children after us1 to lead those who trust ,him into all truth4 ,,sermon ,,vii4 ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,life4 ,,galatians v4 #af1 #ag4 ,i say then1 ,walk in the ,spirit1 and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh4 ,for the flesh lusteth against the ,spirit1 and the ,spirit against the flesh3 so that ye cannot do the things that ye would4 ,a ,,great poet speaks of #8,happiness1 our being's end and aim2' and he has been reproved for so doing4 ,men have said1 and wisely1 the end and aim of our being is not happiness1 but goodness4 ,if goodness comes first1 then happiness may come after4 ,but if not1 something better than happiness may come1 even blessedness4 ,this it is1 ,i believe1 which our ,lord may have meant when ,he said1 #8,he that saveth his life1 or soul' 7for the two words in ,scripture mean exactly the same thing71 #8shall lose it4 ,and he that loseth his life1 shall save it4 ,for what is a man profited if he gain the whole world1 and lose his own life8' ,how is this8 ,it is a hard saying4 ,difficult to believe1 on account of the natural selfishness which lies deep in all of us4 ,difficult even to understand in these days1 when religion itself is selfish1 and men learn more and more to think that the end and aim of religion is not to make them good while they live1 but merely to save their souls after they die4 ,but whether it be hard to understand or not1 we must understand it1 if we would be good men4 ,and how to understand it1 the ,epistle for this day will teach us4 #8,walk in the ,spirit1 and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh4' ,the ,spirit1 which is the ,spirit of ,god within our hearts and conscience1 says--,be good4 ,the flesh1 the animal1 savage nature1 which we all have in common with the dumb animals1 says--,be happy4 ,please yourself4 ,do what you like4 ,eat and drink1 for to-morrow you die4 ,but1 happily for us1 the ,spirit lusts against the flesh4 ,it draws us the opposite way4 ,it lifts us up1 instead of dragging us down4 ,it has nobler aims1 higher longings4 ,it1 as ,st4 ,paul puts it1 will not let us do the things that we would4 ,it will not let us do just what we like1 and please ourselves4 ,it often makes us unhappy just when we try to be happy4 ,it shames us1 and cries in our hearts--,you were not meant merely to please yourselves1 and be as the beasts which perish4 ,but how few listen to that voice of ,god's ,spirit within their hearts1 though it be just the noblest thing of which they will ever be aware on earth6 ,how few listen to it1 till the lusts of the flesh are worn out1 and have worn them out likewise1 and made them reap the fruit which they have sowed--sowing to the selfish flesh1 and of the selfish flesh reaping corruption4 ,the young man says--,i will be happy and do what ,i like2 and runs after what he calls pleasure4 ,the middle-aged man1 grown more prudent1 says--,i will be happy yet1 and runs after money1 comfort1 fame and power4 ,but what do they gain8 #8,the works of the flesh1' the fruit of this selfish lusting after mere earthly happiness1 #8are manifest1 which are these3'--not merely that open vice and immorality into which the young man falls when he craves after mere animal pleasure1 but #8hatred1 variance1 emulations1 wrath1 strife1 seditions1 heresies'--i4e41 factions in ,church or ,state--#8envyings1 murders1 and such like4' ,thus men put themselves under the law4 ,not under ,moses' law1 of course1 but under some law or other4 ,for why has law been invented8 ,why is it needed1 with all its expense8 ,law is meant to prevent1 if possible1 men harming each other by their own selfishness1 by those lusts of the flesh which tempt every man to seek his own happiness1 careless of his neighbour's happiness1 interest1 morals2 by all the passions which make men their own tormentors1 and which make the history of every nation too often a history of crime1 and folly1 and faction1 and war1 sad and shameful to read2 all those passions of which ,st4 ,paul says once and for ever1 that those who do such things #8shall not inherit the kingdom of ,god4' ,these are the sad consequences of giving way to the flesh1 the selfish animal nature within us3 and most miserable would man be if that were all he had to look to4 ,miserable1 were there not a kingdom of ,god1 into which he could enter all day long1 and be at peace2 and a ,spirit of ,god1 who would raise him up to the spiritual life of love1 joy1 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 faith1 meekness1 temperance2 and a ,son of ,god1 the ,king of that kingdom1 the ,giver of that ,spirit1 who cries for ever to every one of us--#8,come unto ,me1 ye that are weary and heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,take ,my yoke on you1 and learn of ,me1 for ,i am meek and lowly of heart2 and ye shall find rest unto your souls4' ,love1 joy1 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 faith1 meekness1 temperance2 these are the fruits of the ,spirit3 the spirit of unselfishness2 the spirit of charity2 the spirit of justice2 the spirit of purity2 the ,spirit of ,god4 ,against them there is no law4 ,he who is guided by this ,spirit1 and he only1 may do what he would2 for he will wish to do nought but what is right4 ,he is not under the law1 but under grace2 and full of grace will he be in all his words and works4 ,he has entered into the kingdom of ,god1 and is living therein as ,god's subject1 obeying the royal law of liberty--#8,thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself4' #8,the flesh lusteth against the ,spirit1 and the ,spirit against the flesh1 so that ye cannot do the things that ye would1' says ,st4 ,paul4 ,my friends1 this is the battle of life4 ,in every one of us1 more or less1 this battle is going on2 a battle between the flesh and the ,spirit1 between the animal nature and the divine grace4 ,in every one of us1 ,i say1 who is not like the heathen1 dead in trespasses and sins2 in every one of us who has a conscience1 excusing or else accusing us4 ,there are those--a very few1 ,i hope--who are sunk below that state2 who have lost their sense of right and wrong2 who only care to fulfil the lusts of the flesh in pleasure1 ease1 and vanity4 ,there are those in whom the voice of conscience is lead for a while1 silenced by self-conceit2 who say in their prosperity1 like the foolish ,laodiceans1 #8,i am rich1 and increased with goods1 and have need of nothing1' and know not that in fact and reality1 and in the sight of ,god1 they are #8wretched1 and miserable1 and poor1 and blind1 and naked4' ,happy1 happy for any and all of us1--if ever we fall into that dream of pride and false security1--to be awakened again1 however painful the awakening may be6 ,happy for every man that the battle between the ,spirit and the flesh should begin in him again and again1 as long as his flesh is not subdued to his spirit4 ,if he be wrong1 the greatest blessing which can happen to him is1 that he should find himself in the wrong4 ,if he have been deceiving himself1 the greatest blessing is1 that ,god should anoint his eyes that he may see--see himself as he is2 see his own inbred corruption2 see the sin which doth so easily beset him1 whatever it may be4 ,whatever anguish of mind it may cost him1 it is a light price to pay for the inestimable treasure which true repentance and amendment brings2 the fine gold of solid self-knowledge1 tried in the fire of bitter experience2 the white raiment of a pure and simple heart2 the eye-salve of honest self-condemnation and noble shame4 ,if he have but these--and these ,god will give him1 in answer to prayer1 the prayer of a broken and a contrite heart--then he will be able to carry on the battle against the corrupt flesh1 with its affections and lusts1 in hope4 ,in the assured hope of final victory4 #8,for greater is ,he that is with us1 than he that is against us8 ,he that is against us is our self1 our selfish self2 our animal nature2 and ,he that is with us is ,god2 ,god and none other3 and who can pluck us out of ,his hand8 ,my friends1 the bread and the wine on that table are ,god's own sign to us that ,he will not leave us to be1 like the savage1 the slaves of our own animal natures2 that ,he will feed not merely our bodies with animal1 but our souls with spiritual food2 giving us strength to rise above our selfish selves2 and so subdue the flesh to the ,spirit1 that at last1 however long and weary the fight1 however sore wounded and often worsted we may be1 we shall conquer in the battle of life4 ,,sermon ,,viii4 ,,free ,,grace4 7,preached before the ,queen at ,windsor1 ,march #ab1 #ahfe47 ,,isaiah lv4 #a4 ,ho1 every one that thirsteth1 come ye to the waters1 and he that hath no money2 come ye1 buy1 and eat2 yea1 come1 buy wine and milk without money and without price4 ,,every one who knows his ,bible as he should1 knows well this noble chapter4 ,it seems to be one of the separate poems or hymns of which the ,book of ,isaiah is composed4 ,it is certainly one of the most beautiful of them1 and also one of the deepest4 ,so beautiful is it1 that the good men of old who translated the ,bible into ,english1 could not help catching the spirit of the words as they went on with their work1 and making the chapter almost a hymn in ,english1 as it is a hymn in ,hebrew4 ,even the very sound of the words1 as we listen to them1 is a song in itself2 and there is perhaps no more perfect piece of writing in the ,english language1 than the greater part of this chapter4 ,this may not seem a very important matter2 and yet those good men of old must have felt that there was something in this chapter which went home especially to their hearts1 and would go home to the hearts of us for whose sake they translated it4 ,and those good men judged rightly4 ,the care which they bestowed on ,isaiah's words has not been in vain4 ,the noble sound of the text has caught many a man's ears1 in order that the noble meaning of the text might touch his heart1 and bring him back again to ,god1 to seek ,him while ,he may be found1 and call on ,him while ,he is near2 that so the wicked might forsake his way1 and the unrighteous man his thoughts1 and return to ,god1 for ,he will have compassion1 and to our ,god1 for ,he will abundantly pardon2 and that he might find that ,god's thoughts are not as man's thoughts1 nor ,his ways as man's ways1 saith the ,lord2 for as the heavens are higher than the earth1 so are ,his ways and thoughts higher than ours4 ,yes--,i believe that the beauty of this chapter has made many a man listen to it1 who had perhaps never cared to listen to any good before2 and learn a precious lesson from it1 which he could learn nowhere save in the ,bible4 ,for this text is one of those which have been called the ,evangelical ,prophecies1 in which the prophet rises far above ,moses' old law1 and the letter of it1 which1 as ,st4 ,paul says1 is a letter which killeth2 and the spirit of it1 which is a spirit which1 as ,st4 ,paul says1 gendereth to bondage and slavish dread of ,god3 an utterance in which the prophet sees by faith the ,lord ,jesus ,christ and ,his free grace revealed--dimly1 of course1 and in a figure--but still revealed by the ,spirit of ,god1 who spake by the prophets4 ,as ,st4 ,paul says1 ,moses' law made nothing perfect1 and therefore had to be disannulled for its unprofitableness and weakness1 and a better hope brought in1 by which we draw near to ,god4 ,and here1 in this text1 we see the better hope coming in1 and as it were dawning upon men--the dawn of the ,sun of ,righteousness1 ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 who was to rise afterwards1 to be a light to lighten the ,gentiles1 and the glory of ,his people ,israel4 ,and what was this better hope8 ,one1 ,st4 ,paul says1 by which we could draw nigh to ,god2 come near to ,him2 as to a ,father1 a ,saviour1 a ,comforter1 a liege lord--not a tyrant who holds us against our will as his slaves1 but a liege lord who holds us with our will as ,his tenants1 ,his vassals1 ,his liege men1 as the good old ,english words were2 one who will take ,his vassals into ,his counsel1 and inform them with ,his ,spirit1 and teach them ,his mind1 that they may do ,his will and copy ,his example1 and be treated by ,him as ,his friends--in spite of the infinite difference of rank between them and ,him1 which they must never forget4 ,but though the difference of rank be infinite and boundless--for it is the difference between sinful man and ,god perfect for ever--yet still man can now draw near to ,god4 ,he is not commanded to stand afar off in fear and trembling1 as the old ,jews were at ,sinai4 ,we have not come1 says ,st4 ,paul1 to a mount which burned with fire1 and blackness1 and darkness1 and storm1 and the sound of a trumpet1 and the voice of words1 which those who heard entreated that they should not be spoken to them any more3 for they could not endure that which was commanded3 but we are come to the city of the living ,god1 the heavenly ,jerusalem1 and to the ,church of the first-born which are written in heaven1 and to ,god the ,judge of all1 and to the spirits of just men made perfect1 and to ,jesus the ,mediator of the new covenant1 and to the blood of sprinkling4 ,we are come to ,god1 the ,judge of all1 and to ,christ--not bidden to stand afar off from them4 ,that is the point to which ,i wish you to attend4 ,for this agrees with the words of the text1 #8,ho1 every one that thirsteth1 come ye to the waters4' ,this message it is1 which made this chapter precious in the eyes of the good men of old4 ,this message it is1 which has made it precious1 in all times1 to thousands of troubled1 hard-worked1 weary1 afflicted hearts4 ,this is what has made it precious to thousands who were wearied with the burden of their sins1 and longed to be made righteous and good2 and knew bitterly well that they could not make themselves good1 but that ,god alone could do that2 and so longed to come to ,god1 that they might be made good3 but did not know whether they might come or not2 or whether1 if they came1 ,god would receive them1 and help them1 and convert them4 ,this message it is1 which has made the text an evangelical prophecy1 to be fulfilled only in ,christ--a message which tells men of a ,god who says1 ,come4 ,of a ,god whom ,moses' law1 saying merely1 #8,thou shalt not1' did not reveal to us1 divine and admirable as it was1 and is1 and ever will be4 ,of a ,god whom natural religion1 such as even the heathen1 ,st4 ,paul says1 may gain from studying ,god's works in this wonderful world around us--of a ,god1 ,i say1 whom natural religion does not reveal to us1 divine and admirable as it is4 ,but of a ,god who was revealed1 step by step1 to the ,psalmists and the ,prophets1 more and more clearly as the years went on2 of a ,god who was fully and utterly revealed1 not merely by1 but in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 who was ,himself that ,god1 very ,god of very ,god begotten1 being the brightness of ,his ,father's glory1 and the express image of ,his person2 whose message and call1 from the first day of ,his ministry to ,his glorious ascension1 was1 ,come4 ,come unto me1 ye that are weary and heavy laden1 and ,i will refresh you4 ,come unto ,me1 and take ,my yoke on you3 for ,my yoke is easy1 and ,my burden is light4 ,i am the bread of life4 ,he that cometh to ,me shall never hunger1 and he that believeth in ,me shall never thirst4 ,all that the ,father hath given ,me shall come unto ,me4 ,and he that cometh to ,me ,i will in no wise cast out4 ,nay1 the very words of this prophecy ,christ took to ,himself again and again1 speaking of ,himself as the fountain of life1 health and light2 when ,he stood and cried1 saying1 ,if any man thirst1 let him come to ,me1 and drink4 ,come unto ,me1 that ye may have life1 is the message of ,jesus ,christ1 both ,god and man4 ,come1 that you may have forgiveness of your sins2 come1 that you may have the ,holy ,spirit1 by which you may sin no more1 but live the life of the ,spirit1 the everlasting life of goodness1 by which the spirits of just men1 and angels1 and archangels1 live for ever before ,god4 ,and what says ,st4 ,paul8 ,see that ye refuse not ,him that speaketh4 ,for if they escaped not1 who refused ,him that spake on earth1 much more shall not we escape1 if we turn away from ,him that speaketh from heaven4 ,yes4 ,the goodness of ,god1 the condescension of ,god1 instead of making it more easy for sinners to escape1 makes it1 if possible1 more difficult4 ,there are those who fancy that because ,god is merciful--because it is written in this very chapter1 ,let a man return to the ,lord1 and ,he will have mercy2 and to our ,god1 for ,he will abundantly pardon1--that1 therefore1 ,god is indulgent1 and will overlook their sins2 forgetting that in the verse before it is said1 ,let the wicked forsake his ways1 and the unrighteous man his thoughts1 and then--but not till then--let him return to ,god1 to be received with compassion and forgiveness4 ,too many know not1 as ,st4 ,paul says1 that the goodness of ,god leads men1 not to sin freely and carelessly without fear of punishment1 but leads them to repentance4 ,and yet do not our own hearts and consciences tell us that it is so8 ,that it is more base1 and more presumptuous likewise1 to turn away from one who speaks with love1 than one who speaks with sternness2 from one who calls us to come to him1 with boundless condescension1 than from one who bids us stand afar off and tremble8 ,those ,jews of old1 when they refused to hear ,god speaking in the thunders of ,sinai1 committed folly4 ,we1 if we refuse to hear ,god speaking in the tender words of ,jesus crucified for us1 commit an equal folly3 but we commit baseness and ingratitude likewise4 ,they rebelled against a ,master3 we rebel against a ,father4 ,but1 though we deny ,him1 ,he cannot deny ,himself4 ,we may be false to ,him1 false to our better selves1 false to our baptismal vows3 but ,he cannot be false4 ,he cannot change4 ,he is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever4 ,what ,he said on earth1 that ,he says eternally in heaven3 ,if any man thirst1 let him come to ,me and drink4 ,eternally1 and for ever1 in heaven1 says ,st4 ,john1 ,christ says1 and is1 and does1 what ,isaiah prophesied that ,he would say1 and be1 and do1--,i am the root and offspring of ,david1 and the bright and morning star4 ,and the ,spirit and the ,bride 7,his ,spirit and ,his ,church7 say1 ,come4 ,and let him that is athirst1 ,come3 and whosoever will1 let him take of the water of life freely4 ,for ever ,he calls to every anxious soul1 every afflicted soul1 every weary soul1 every discontented soul1 to every man who is ashamed of himself1 and angry with himself1 and longs to live a soberer1 gentler1 nobler1 purer1 truer1 more useful life--,come4 ,let him who hungers and thirsts after righteousness1 come to the waters2 and he that hath no silver--nothing to give to ,god in return for all ,his bounty--let him buy without silver1 and eat2 and live for ever that eternal life of righteousness1 holiness1 and peace1 and joy in the ,holy ,spirit1 which is the one true and only salvation bought for us by the precious blood of ,christ1 our ,lord4 ,,sermon ,,ix4 ,,ezekiel',s ,,vision4 7,preached before the ,queen at ,windsor1 ,june #bf1 #ahfd47 ,,ezekiel i4 #a1 #bf4 ,now it came to pass1 as ,i was among the captives by the river of ,chebar1 that the heavens were opened1 and ,i saw visions of ,god4 ,and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man4 ,,ezekiel',s ,vision may seem to some a strange and unprofitable subject on which to preach4 ,it ought not to be so in fact4 ,all ,scripture is given by ,inspiration of ,god1 and is profitable for teaching1 for correction1 for reproof1 for instruction in righteousness4 ,and so will this ,vision be to us1 if we try to understand it aright4 ,we shall find in it fresh knowledge of ,god1 a clearer and fuller revelation1 made to ,ezekiel1 than had been1 up to his time1 made to any man4 ,i am well aware that there are some very difficult verses in the text4 ,it is difficult1 if not impossible1 to understand exactly what presented itself to ,ezekiel's mind4 ,ezekiel saw a whirlwind come out of the north2 a whirling globe of fire2 four living creatures coming out of the midst thereof4 ,so far the imagery is simple enough1 and grand enough4 ,but when he begins to speak of the living creatures1 the cherubim1 his description is very obscure4 ,all that we discover is1 a vision of huge creatures with the feet1 and 7as some think7 the body of an ox1 with four wings1 and four faces1--those of a man1 an ox1 a lion1 and an eagle4 ,ezekiel seems to discover afterwards that these are the cherubim1 the same which overshadowed the ark in ,moses' tabernacle and ,solomon's temple--only of a more complex form2 for ,moses' and ,solomon's cherubim are believed to have had but one face each1 while ,ezekiel's had four4 ,now1 concerning the cherubim1 and what they meant1 we know very little4 ,the ,jews1 at the time of the fall of ,jerusalem1 had forgotten their meaning4 ,josephus1 indeed1 says they had forgotten their very shape4 ,some light has been thrown1 lately1 on the figures of these creatures1 by the sculptures of those very ,assyrian cities to which ,ezekiel was a captive1--those huge winged oxen and lions with human heads2 and those huge human figures with four wings each1 let down and folded round them just as ,ezekiel describes1 and with heads1 sometimes of the lion1 and sometimes of the eagle4 ,none1 however1 have been found as yet1 ,i believe1 with four faces1 like those of ,ezekiel's ,vision2 they are all of the simpler form of ,solomon's cherubim4 ,but there is little doubt that these sculptures were standing there perfect in ,ezekiel's time1 and that he and the ,jews who were captive with him may have seen them often4 ,and there is little doubt also what these figures meant3 that they were symbolic of royal spirits--those thrones1 dominations1 princedoms1 powers1 of which ,milton speaks1--the powers of the earth and heaven1 the royal archangels who1 as the ,chaldans believed1 governed the world1 and gave it and all things life2 symbolized by them under the types of the four royal creatures of the world1 according to the ,eastern nations2 the ox signifying labour1 the lion power1 the eagle foresight1 and the man reason4 ,so with the wheels which ,ezekiel sees4 ,we find them in the ,assyrian sculptures--wheels with a living spirit sitting in each1 a human figure with outspread wings2 and these seem to have been the genii1 or guardian angels1 who watched over their kings1 and gave them fortune and victory4 ,for these ,chaldans were specially worshippers of angels and spirits2 and they taught the ,jews many notions about angels and spirits1 which they brought home with them into ,juda after the captivity4 ,of them1 of course1 we read little or nothing in ,holy ,scripture2 but there is much1 and too much1 about them in the writings of the old ,rabbis1 the ,scribes and ,pharisees of the ,new ,testament4 ,now ,ezekiel1 inspired by the ,spirit of ,god1 rises far above the old ,chaldans and their dreams4 ,perhaps the captive ,jews were tempted to worship these cherubim and genii1 as the ,chaldans did2 and it may be that ,ezekiel was commissioned by ,god to set them right1 and by his vision to give a type1 pattern1 or picture of ,god's spiritual laws1 by which ,he rules the world4 ,be that as it may4 ,in the first place1 ,ezekiel's cherubim are far more wonderful and complicated than those which he would see on the walls of the ,assyrian buildings4 ,and rightly so2 for this world is far more wonderful1 more complicated1 more cunningly made and ruled1 than any of man's fancies about it2 as it is written in the ,book of ,job1--#8,where wast thou when ,i laid the foundations of the earth8 declare1 if thou hast understanding4 ,whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened8 or who laid the corner-stone thereof2 when the morning stars sang together1 and all the sons of ,god shouted for joy8' ,next 7and this is most important71 these different cherubim were not independent of each other1 each going his own way1 and doing his own will4 ,not so4 ,ezekiel had found in them a divine and wonderful order1 by which the services of angels as well as of men are constituted4 ,orderly and harmoniously they worked together4 ,out of the same fiery globe1 from the same throne of ,god1 they came forth all alike4 ,they turned not when they went2 whithersoever the ,spirit was to go1 they went1 and ran and returned like a flash of lightning4 ,nay1 in one place he speaks as if all the four creatures were but one creature3 #8,this is the living creature which ,i saw by the river of ,chebar4' ,and so it is1 we may be sure1 in the world of ,god1 whether in the earthly or in the heavenly world4 ,all things work together1 praising ,god and doing ,his will4 ,angels and the heavenly host2 sun and moon2 stars and light2 fire and hail2 snow and vapour2 wind and storm3 all fulfil ,his word4 #8,he hath made them fast for ever and ever3 ,he hath given them a law which shall not be broken4' ,for before all things1 under all things1 and through all things1 is a divine unity and order2 all things working towards one end1 because all things spring from one beginning1 which is the bosom of ,god the ,father4 ,and so with the wheels2 the wheels of fortune and victory1 and the fate of nations and of kings4 #8,they were so high1' ,ezekiel said1 #8that they were dreadful4' ,but he saw no human genius sitting1 one in each wheel of fortune1 each protecting his favourite king and nation4 ,these1 too1 did not go their own way and of their own will4 ,they were parts of ,god's divine and wonderful order1 and obeyed the same laws as the cherubim4 #8,and when the living creatures went1 the wheels went with them2 for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels4' ,everywhere was the same divine unity and order2 the same providence1 the same laws of ,god1 presided over the natural world and over the fortunes of nations and of kings4 ,victory and prosperity was not given arbitrarily by separate genii1 each genius protecting his favourite king1 each genius striving against the other on behalf of his favourite4 ,fortune came from the providence of ,one ,being2 of ,him of whom it is written1 #8,god standeth in the congregation of princes3 ,he is the judge among gods4' ,and again1 #8,the ,lord is ,king1 be the people never so impatient3 ,he sitteth between the cherubim1 be the earth never so unquiet4' ,and is this all8 ,god forbid4 ,this is more than the ,chaldans saw1 who worshipped angels and not ,god--the creature instead of the ,creator4 ,but where the ,chaldan vision ended1 ,ezekiel's only began4 ,his prophecy rises far above the imaginations of the heathen4 ,he hears the sound of the wings of the cherubim1 like the tramp of an army1 like the noise of great waters1 like the roll of thunder1 the voice of ,almighty ,god3 but above their wings he sees a firmament1 which the heathen cannot see1 clear as the flashing crystal1 and on that firmament a sapphire throne1 and round that throne a rainbow1 the type of forgiveness and faithfulness1 and on that throne ,a ,man4 ,and the cherubim stand1 and let down their wings in submission1 waiting for the voice of ,one mightier than they4 ,and ,ezekiel falls upon his face1 and hears from off the throne a human voice1 which calls to him as human likewise1 #8,son of man1 stand upon thy feet1 and ,i will speak to thee4' ,this1 this is ,ezekiel's vision3 not the fiery globe merely1 nor the cherubim1 nor the wheels1 nor the powers of nature1 nor the angelic host--dominions and principalities1 and powers--but ,the ,man enthroned above them all1 the ,lord and ,guide and ,ruler of the universe2 ,he who makes the winds ,his angels1 and the flames of fire ,his ministers2 and that ,lord speaking to him1 not through cherubim1 not through angels1 not through nature1 not through mediators1 angelic or human1 but speaking direct to him himself1 as man speaks to man4 ,as man speaks to man4 ,this is the very pith and marrow of the ,old ,testament and of the ,new2 which gradually unfolds itself1 from the very first chapter of ,genesis to the last of ,revelation1--that man is made in the likeness of ,god2 and that therefore ,god can speak to him1 and he can understand ,god's words and inspirations4 ,man is like ,god2 and therefore ,god1 in some inconceivable way1 is like man4 ,that is the great truth set forth in the first chapter of ,genesis1 which goes on unfolding itself more clearly throughout the ,old ,testament1 till here1 in ,ezekiel's vision1 it comes to1 perhaps1 its clearest stage save one4 ,that human appearance speaks to ,ezekiel1 the hapless prisoner of war1 far away from his native land4 ,and ,he speaks to him with human voice1 and claims kindred with him as a human being1 saying1 #8,son of man4' ,that is very deep and wonderful4 ,the ,lord upon ,his throne does not wish ,ezekiel to think how different ,he is to him1 but how like ,he is to him4 ,he says not to ,ezekiel1--#8,creature infinitely below ,me6 ,dust and ashes1 unworthy to appear in ,my presence6 ,worm of the earth1 as far below ,me and unlike ,me as the worm under thy feet is to thee6' but1 #8,son of man2 creature made in ,my image and likeness1 be not afraid6 ,stand on thy feet1 and be a man2 and speak to others what ,i speak to thee4' ,after that great revelation of ,god there seems but one step more to make it perfect2 and that step was made in ,god's good time1 in the ,incarnation of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood1 ,he also--,he whom ,ezekiel saw in human form enthroned on high--,he took part of flesh and blood likewise1 and was not ashamed1 yea1 rather rejoiced1 to call ,himself1 what ,he called ,ezekiel1 the ,son of ,man4 #8,and the ,word was made flesh1 and dwelt among us2 and we beheld ,his glory4' ,and why8 ,for many reasons2 but certainly for this one4 ,to make men feel more utterly and fully what ,ezekiel was made to feel4 ,that ,god could thoroughly feel for man2 and that man could thoroughly trust ,god4 ,that ,god could thoroughly feel for man4 ,for we have a ,high ,priest who has been made perfect by sufferings1 tempted in all points like as we are2 and we can #8,look to ,him who1 not in vain1 ,experienced every human pain2 ,he sees our wants1 allays our fears1 ,and counts and treasures up our tears4' ,again1--,that man could utterly trust ,god4 ,for when ,st4 ,john and his companions 7simple fishermen7 beheld the glory of ,jesus1 the ,incarnate ,word1 what was it like8 ,it was #8full of grace and truth2' the perfection of human graciousness1 of human truthfulness1 which could win and melt the hearts of simple folk1 and make them see in ,him1 who was called the carpenter's son1 the beauty of the glory of the ,godhead4 #8,he is the ,judge of all the earth4' ,and why8 ,let ,him ,himself tell us4 ,he says that the ,father has given the ,son authority to execute judgment4 ,and why1 once more8 ,because ,he is the ,son of ,god8 ,our ,lord says more1--#8,because1' ,he says1 #8,he is the ,son of ,man2' who knows what is in man2 who can feel1 understand1 discriminate1 pity1 make allowances1 judge fair1 and righteous1 and merciful judgment1 among creatures whose weakness ,he has experienced1 whose temptations ,he has felt1 whose pains and sorrows ,he has borne in mortal flesh and blood4 ,oh1 ,gospel and good news for the weak1 the sorrowful1 the oppressed2 for those who are wearied with the burden of their sins1 or wearied also by the burden of heavy responsibilities1 and awful public duties6 ,when all mortal counsellors fail them1 when all mortal help is too weak1 let them but throw themselves on the mercy of ,him who sits upon the throne1 and remember that ,he1 though immortal and eternal1 is still the ,son of ,man1 who knows what is in man4 ,there are times in which we are all tempted to worship other things than ,god4 ,not1 perhaps1 to worship cherubim and genii1 angels and spirits1 like the old ,chaldees1 but to worship the laws of political economy1 the laws of statesmanship1 the powers of nature1 the laws of physical science1 those lower messengers of ,god's providence1 of which ,st4 ,paul says1 #8,he maketh the winds ,his angels1 and flames of fire ,his ministers4' ,in such times we have need to remember ,ezekiel's lesson1 that above them all1 ruling and guiding1 sits ,he whose form is as the ,son of ,man4 ,we are not to say that any powers of nature are evil1 or the laws of any science false4 ,heaven forbid6 ,ezekiel did not say that the cherubim were evil1 or meaningless2 or that the belief in angels ministering to man was false4 ,he said the very opposite4 ,but he said1 ,all these obey one whose form is that of a man4 ,he rules them1 and they do ,his will4 ,they are but ministering spirits before ,him4 ,therefore we are not to disbelieve science1 nor disregard the laws of nature1 or we shall lose by our folly4 ,but we are to believe that nature and science are not our gods4 ,they do not rule us2 our fortunes are not in their hands4 ,above nature and above science sits the ,lord of nature and the ,lord of science4 ,above all the counsels of princes1 and the struggles of nations1 and the chances and changes of this world of man1 sits the ,judge of princes and of peoples1 the ,lord of all the nations upon earth1 ,he by whom all things were made1 and who upholdeth all things by the word of ,his power2 and ,he is man1 of the substance of ,his mother2 most human and yet most divine2 full of justice and truth1 full of care and watchfulness1 full of love and pity1 full of tenderness and understanding2 a ,friend1 a ,guide1 a ,counsellor1 a ,comforter1 a ,saviour to all who trust in ,him4 ,he is nearer to us than nature and science3 and ,he should be dearer to us2 for they speak only to our understanding2 but ,he speaks to our human hearts1 to our inmost spirits4 ,nature and science cannot take away our sins1 give peace to our hearts1 right judgment to our minds1 strength to our wills1 or everlasting life to our souls and bodies4 ,but there sits ,one upon the throne who can4 ,and if nature were to vanish away1 and science were to be proved 7however correct as far as it went7 a mere child's guess about this wonderful world1 which none can understand save ,he who made it--if all the counsels of princes and of peoples1 however just and wise1 were to be confounded and come to nought1 still1 after all1 and beyond all1 and above all1 ,christ would abide for ever1 with human tenderness yearning over human hearts2 with human wisdom teaching human ignorance2 with human sympathy sorrowing with human mourners2 for ever saying1 #8,come unto me1 ye that are weary and heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4' ,cherubim and seraphim1 angels and archangels1 dominions and powers1 whether of nature or of grace--these all serve ,him and do ,his work4 ,he has constituted their services in a wonderful order3 but ,he has not taken their nature on ,him4 ,our nature ,he has taken on ,him1 that we might be bone of ,his bone and flesh of ,his flesh2 able to say to ,him for ever1 in all the chances and changes of this mortal life-- #8,thou1 ,o ,christ1 art all ,i want1 ,more than all in thee ,i find2 ,raise me1 fallen2 cheer me1 faint2 ,heal me1 sick2 and lead me1 blind4 ,thou of life the fountain art1 ,freely let me drink of ,thee2 ,spring ,thou up within my heart1 ,rise to all eternity4' ,,sermon ,x4 ,,ruth4 ,,ruth ii4 #d4 ,and1 behold1 ,boaz came from ,bethlehem1 and said unto the reapers1 ,the ,lord be with you4 ,and they answered him1 ,the ,lord bless thee4 ,,most of you know the story of ,ruth1 from which my text is taken1 and you have thought it1 no doubt1 a pretty story4 ,but did you ever think why it was in the ,bible8 ,every book in the ,bible is meant to teach us1 as the ,article of our ,church says1 something necessary to salvation4 ,but what is there necessary to our salvation in the ,book of ,ruth8 ,no doubt we learn from it that ,ruth was the ancestress of ,king ,david2 and that she was1 therefore1 an ancestress of our blessed ,lord ,jesus ,christ3 but curious and interesting as that is1 we can hardly call that something necessary to salvation4 ,there must be something more in the book4 ,let us take it simply as it stands1 and see if we can find it out4 ,it begins by telling us how a man of ,bethlehem has been driven out of his own country by a famine1 he and his wife ,naomi and his two sons1 and has gone over the border into ,moab1 among the heathen2 how his two sons have married heathen women1 and the name of the one was ,ruth1 and the name of the other ,orpah4 ,then how he dies1 and his two sons2 and how ,naomi1 his widow1 hears that the ,lord had visited ,his people1 in giving them bread2 how the people of ,judah were prosperous again1 and she is there all alone among the heathen2 so she sets out to go back to her own people1 and her daughters-in-law go with her4 ,but she persuades them not to go4 ,why do they not stay in their own land8 ,and they weep over each other2 and ,orpah kisses her mother-in-law1 and goes back2 but ,ruth cleaves unto her4 ,then follows that famous speech of ,ruth's1 which1 for its simple beauty and poetry1 has become a proverb1 and even a song1 among us to this day4 ,and ,ruth said1 #8,intreat me not to leave thee1 or to return from following after thee3 for whither thou goest1 ,i will go2 and where thou lodgest1 ,i will lodge3 thy people shall be my people1 and thy ,god my ,god3 #8,where thou diest1 will ,i die1 and there will ,i be buried3 the ,lord do so to me1 and more also1 if ought but death part thee and me4' ,so when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go to her1 she left speaking to her4 ,and they come to ,bethlehem1 and all the town was moved about them2 and they said1 ,is this ,naomi8 #8,and she said unto them1 ,call me not ,naomi1 call me ,mara3 for the ,almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me4 ,i went out full1 and the ,lord hath brought me home again empty3 why then call ye me ,naomi1 seeing the ,lord hath testified against me1 and the ,almighty hath afflicted me8' ,and they came to ,bethlehem about the passover tide1 at the beginning of barley harvest1 and ,ruth went out into the fields to glean1 and she lighted on a part of the field which belonged to ,boaz1 who was of her husband's kindred4 ,and ,boaz was a mighty man of wealth1 according to the simple fashions of that old land and old time4 ,not like one of our great modern noblemen1 or merchants1 but rather like one of our wealthy yeomen3 a man who would not disdain to work in his field with his own slaves1 after the wholesome fashion of those old times1 when a royal prince and mighty warrior would sow the corn with his own hands1 while his man opened the furrow with the plough before him4 ,there ,boaz dwelt1 with other yeomen1 up among the limestone hills1 in the little walled village of ,bethlehem1 which was afterwards to become so famous and so holy2 and had1 we may suppose1 his vineyard and his olive-garden on the rocky slopes1 and his corn-fields in the vale below1 and his flock of sheep and goats feeding on the downs2 while all his wealth besides lay1 probably1 after the ,eastern fashion1 in one great chest--full of rich dresses1 and gold and silver ornaments1 and coins1 all foreign1 got in exchange for his corn1 and wine1 and oil1 from ,assyrian1 or ,egyptian1 or ,phnician traders2 for the ,jews then had no money1 and very little manufacture1 of their own4 ,and he would have had hired servants1 too1 and slaves1 in his house2 treated kindly enough1 as members of the family1 eating and drinking at his table1 and faring nearly as well as he fared himself4 ,a stately1 ,god-fearing man he plainly was2 respectable1 courteous1 and upright1 and altogether worthy of his wealth2 and he went out into the field1 looking after his reapers in the barley harvest--about our ,easter-tide4 ,and he said to his reapers1 ,the ,lord be with you4 ,and they answered1 ,the ,lord bless thee4 ,then he saw ,ruth1 who had happened to light upon his field1 gleaning after the reapers1 and found out who she was1 and bid her glean without fear1 and abide by his maidens1 for he had charged the young men that they shall not touch her4 #8,and ,boaz said unto her1 ,at meal-time come thou hither1 and eat of the bread1 and dip thy morsel in the vinegar4 ,and she sat beside the reapers3 and he reached her parched corn1 and she did eat1 and was sufficed1 and left4 #8,and when she was risen up to glean1 ,boaz commanded his young men1 saying1 ,let her glean even among the sheaves1 and reproach her not3 and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her1 and leave them1 that she may glean them1 and rebuke her not4 #8,so she gleaned in the field until even1 and beat out that she had gleaned3 and it was about an ephah of barley4' ,then follows the simple story1 after the simple fashion of those days4 ,how ,naomi bids ,ruth wash and anoint herself1 and put on her best garments1 and go down to ,boaz' floor 7his barn as we should call it now7 where he is going to eat1 and drink1 and sleep1 and there claim his protection as a near kinsman4 ,and how ,ruth comes in softly and lies down at his feet1 and how he treats her honourably and courteously1 and promises to protect her4 ,but there is a nearer kinsman than he1 and he must be asked first if he will do the kinsman's part1 and buy his cousin's plot of land1 and marry his cousin's widow with it4 ,and how ,boaz goes to the town-gate next day1 and sits down in the gate 7for the porch of the gate was a sort of town-hall or vestry-room in the ,east1 wherein all sorts of business was done71 and there he challenges the kinsman1--,will he buy the ground and marry ,ruth8 ,and he will not3 he cannot afford it4 ,then ,boaz calls all the town to witness that day1 that he has bought all that was ,elimelech's1 and ,ruth the ,moabitess to be his wife4 #8,and all the people that were in the gate1 and the elders1 said1 ,we are witnesses4 ,the ,lord make the woman that is come into thine house like ,rachel and like ,leah1 which two did build the house of ,israel3 and do thou worthily in ,ephratah1 and be famous in ,bethlehem4' ,and in due time ,ruth had a son4 #8,and the women said unto ,naomi1 ,blessed be the ,lord1 which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman1 that his name may be famous in ,israel4 #8,and he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life1 and a nourisher of thine old age3 for thy daughter-in-law1 which loveth thee1 which is better to thee than seven sons1 hath born him4 #8,and ,naomi took the child1 and laid it in her bosom1 and became nurse unto it4 #8,and the women her neighbours gave it a name1 saying1 ,there is a son born to ,naomi2 and they called his name ,obed3 he is the father of ,jesse1 the father of ,david4' ,and so ends the ,book of ,ruth4 ,now1 my friends1 can you not answer for yourselves the question which ,i asked at first1--,why is the story of ,ruth in the ,bible1 and what may we learn from it which is necessary for our salvation8 ,i think1 at least1 that you will be able to answer it--if not in words1 still in your hearts--if you will read the book for yourselves4 ,for does it not consecrate to ,god that simple country life which we lead here8 ,does it not tell us that it is blessed in the sight of ,him who makes the grass to grow1 and the corn to ripen in its season8 ,does it not tell us1 that not only on the city and the palace1 on the cathedral and the college1 on the assemblies of statesmen1 on the studies of scholars1 but upon the meadow and the corn-field1 the farm-house and the cottage1 is written1 by the everlasting finger of ,god--,holiness unto the ,lord8 ,that it is all blessed in ,his sight2 that the simple dwellers in villages1 the simple tillers of the ground1 can be as godly and as pious1 as virtuous and as high-minded1 as those who have nought to do but to serve ,god in the offices of religion8 ,is it not an honour and a comfort1 to such as us1 to find one whole book of the ,holy ,bible occupied by the simplest story of the fortunes of a yeoman's family1 in a lonely village among the hills of ,judah8 ,true1 the yeoman's widow became the ancestress of ,david1 and of his mighty line of kings--nay1 the ancestress of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ ,himself4 ,but the ,book of ,ruth was not written mainly to tell us that fact4 ,it mentions it at the end1 and as it were by accident4 ,the book itself is taken up with the most simple and careful details of country life1 country customs1 country folk--as if that was what we were to think of1 as we read of ,ruth4 ,and that is what we do think of--not of the ancestress of kings1 but of the fair young heathen gleaning among the corn1 with the pious1 courteous1 high-minded yeoman bidding her abide fast by his maidens1 and when she was athirst drink of the wine which the young men have drawn1 for it has been fully showed him all she has done for her mother-in-law2 and the ,lord will recompense her work1 and a full reward be given her of the ,lord ,god of ,israel1 under the shadow of whose wings she is to come to trust4 ,that is the scene which painters naturally draw2 that is what we naturally think of2 because ,god1 who gave us the ,bible1 meant us to think thereof2 and to know1 that working in the quiet village1 or in the distant field1 women may be as pure and modest1 men as high-minded and well-bred1 and both as full of the fear of ,god1 and the thought that ,god's eye is upon them1 as if they were in a place1 or a station1 where they had nothing to do but to watch over the salvation of their own souls2 that the meadow and the harvest-field need not be1 as they too often are1 places for temptation and for defilement2 where the old too often teach the young1 not to fear ,god and keep themselves pure1 but to copy their coarse jests and foul language1 and listen to stories which had better be buried for ever in the dirt out of which they spring4 ,you know what ,i mean4 ,you know what field-work too often is4 ,read the ,book of ,ruth1 and see what field-work may be1 and ought to be4 ,yes1 my dear friends4 ,pure you may be1 and gentle1 upright1 and godly1 about your daily work1 if the ,spirit of ,god be within you4 ,country life has its temptations3 and so has town life1 and every life4 ,but there has no temptation taken you save such as is common to man4 ,boaz1 the rich yeoman2 ,naomi1 the broken-hearted and ruined2 ,ruth1 the fair young widow--all had the very same temptations as are common to you now1 here2 but they conquered them1 because they feared ,god and kept ,his commandments2 and to know that1 is necessary for your salvation4 ,and1 looked at in this light1 the ,book of ,ruth is indeed a prophecy2 a forecast and a shadow of the teaching of the ,lord ,jesus ,himself1 who spake to country folk as never man spake before1 and bade them look upon the simple1 every-day matters which were around them in field and wood1 and open their eyes to the ,divine lessons of ,god's providence1 which also were all around them2 who1 born ,himself in that little village of ,bethlehem1 and brought up in the little village of ,nazareth1 among the lonely lanes and downs1 spoke of country things to country folk1 and bade them read in the great green book which ,god has laid open before them all day long4 ,who bade them to consider the lilies of the field1 how they grew1 and the ravens1 how ,god fed them2 to look on the fields1 white for harvest1 and pray ,god to send labourers into his spiritual harvest-field2 to look on the tares which grew among the wheat1 and know we must not try to part them ourselves1 but leave that to ,god at the last day2 to look on the fishers1 who were casting their net into the ,lake of ,galilee1 and sorting the fish upon the shore1 and be sure that a day was coming1 when ,god would separate the good from the bad1 and judge every man according to his work and worth2 and to learn from the common things of country life the rule of the living ,god1 and the laws of the kingdom of heaven4 ,one word more1 and ,i have done4 ,the story of ,ruth is also the consecration of woman's love4 ,i do not mean of the love of wife to husband1 divine and blessed as that is4 ,i mean that depth and strength of devotion1 tenderness1 and self-sacrifice1 which ,god has put in the heart of all true women2 and which they spend so strangely1 and so nobly often1 on persons who have no claim on them1 from whom they can receive no earthly reward2--the affection which made women minister of their substance to our ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 which brought ,mary ,magdalene to the foot of the ,cross1 and to the door of the tomb1 that she might at least see the last of ,him whom she thought lost to her for ever2 the affection which has made a wise man say1 that as long as women and sorrow are left in the world1 so long will the ,gospel of our ,lord ,jesus live and conquer therein2 the affection which makes women round us every day ministering angels1 wherever help or comfort are needed2 which makes many a woman do deeds of unselfish goodness known only to ,god2 not known even to herself2 for she does them by instinct1 by the inspiration of ,god's ,spirit1 without self-consciousness or pride1 without knowing what noble things she is doing1 without spoiling the beauty of her good work by even admitting to herself1 #8,what a good work it is6 ,how right she is in doing it6 ,how much it will advance the salvation of her own soul6'--but thinking herself1 perhaps1 a very useless and paltry person2 while the angels of ,god are claiming her as their sister and their peer4 ,yes1 if there is a woman in this congregation--and there is one1 ,i will warrant1 in every congregation in ,england--who is devoting herself for the good of others2 giving up the joys of life to take care of orphans who have no legal claim on her2 or to nurse a relation1 who perhaps repays her with little but exacting peevishness2 or who has spent all her savings1 in bringing up her brothers1 or in supporting her parents in their old age1--then let her read the story of ,ruth1 and be sure that1 like ,ruth1 she will be repaid by the ,lord4 ,her reward may not be the same as ,ruth's3 but it will be that which is best for her1 and she shall in no wise lose her reward4 ,if she has given up all for ,christ1 it shall be repaid her ten-fold in this life1 and in the world to come life everlasting4 ,if1 with ,ruth1 she is true to the inspirations of ,god's ,spirit1 then1 with ,ruth1 ,god will be true to her4 ,let her endure1 for in due time she shall reap1 if she faint not2--and to know that1 is necessary for her salvation4 ,,sermon ,,xi4 ,,solomon4 ,,ecclesiastes i4 #ab-ad4 ,i the ,preacher was king over ,israel in ,jerusalem4 ,and ,i gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven3 this sore travail hath ,god given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith4 ,i have seen all the works that are done under the sun2 and1 behold1 all is vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,,all have heard of ,solomon the ,wise4 ,his name has become a proverb among men4 ,it was still more a proverb among the old ,rabbis1 the lawyers and scribes of the ,gospels4 ,their hero1 the man of whom they delighted to talk and dream1 was not ,david1 the ,psalmist1 and the shepherd-boy1 the man of many wanderings1 and many sorrows3 but his son ,solomon1 with all his wealth1 and pomp and magic wisdom4 ,ever since our ,lord's time1 if not before it1 ,solomon has been the national hero of the ,jews2 while ,david1 as the truer type and pattern of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 has been the hero of ,christians4 ,the ,rabbis1 with their ,eastern fancy--childishly fond1 to this day1 of gold1 and jewels1 and outward pomp and show--would talk and dream of the lost glories of ,solomon's court2 of his gilded and jewelled temple1 with its pillars of sandal-wood from ,ophir1 and its sea of molten brass2 of his ivory lion-throne1 and his three hundred golden shields2 of his fleets which went away into the far ,indian sea1 and came back after three years with foreign riches and curious beasts4 ,and as if that had not been enough1 they delighted to add to the truth fable upon fable4 ,the ,jews1 after the time of the ,babylonish captivity1 seem to have more and more identified ,wisdom with mere ,magic2 and therefore ,solomon was1 in their eyes1 the master of all magicians4 ,he knew the secrets of the stars1 and of the elements1 the secrets of all charms and spells4 ,by virtue of his magic seal he had power over all those evil spirits1 with which the ,jews believed the earth and sky to be filled4 ,he could command all spirits1 force them to appear to him and bow before him1 and send them to the ends of the earth to do his bidding4 ,nothing so fantastic1 nothing so impossible1 but those old ,scribes and ,pharisees imputed it to their idol1 ,solomon the ,wise4 ,the ,bible1 of course1 has no such fancies in it1 and gives us a sober and rational account of ,solomon's wisdom1 and of ,solomon's greatness4 ,it tells us how1 when he was yet young1 ,god appeared to him in a dream1 and said1 ,ask what ,i shall give thee4 ,and ,solomon made answer-- #8 4 4 4 ,o ,lord my ,god1 ,thou hast made ,thy servant king instead of ,david my father2 and ,i am but a little child3 ,i know not how to go out or come in4 #8,give therefore ,thy servant an understanding heart to judge ,thy people1 that ,i may discern between good and bad3 for who is able to judge this ,thy so great a people8 #8,and the speech pleased the ,lord1 that ,solomon had asked this thing4 #8,and ,god said unto him1 ,because thou hast asked this thing1 and hast not asked for thyself long life2 neither hast asked riches for thyself1 nor hast asked the life of thine enemies2 but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment2 #8,behold1 ,i have done according to thy words3 lo1 ,i have given thee a wise and an understanding heart2 so that there was none like thee before thee1 neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee4 #8,and ,i have also given thee that which thou hast not asked1 both riches and honour3 so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days4' ,and the promise1 says ,solomon himself1 was fulfilled4 ,in his days ,judah and ,israel were many1 as the sand which is by the sea-shore1 for multitude1 eating and drinking and making merry2 and ,solomon reigned over all kings1 from the river to the land of the ,philistines and the border of ,egypt2 and they brought presents1 and served ,solomon all the days of his life4 ,and he had peace on all sides round about him4 ,and ,judah and ,israel dwelt safely1 every man under his own vine and his own fig-tree1 all the days of ,solomon4 #8,i was great1' he says1 #8and increased more than all that were before me in ,jerusalem2 also my wisdom remained with me4 ,and whatsoever mine eyes desired ,i kept not from them2 ,i withheld not my heart from any joy2 for my heart rejoiced in all my labour 4 4 4 #8,then ,i looked on all the works that my hands had wrought1 and on the labour that ,i had laboured to do3 and1 behold1 all was vanity and vexation of spirit1 and there was no profit under the sun4 #8,and ,i turned myself to behold wisdom1 and madness1 and folly3 for what can the man do that cometh after the king8 even that which hath been already done4' ,yes1 my dear friends1 we are too apt to think of exceeding riches1 or wisdom1 or power1 or glory1 as unalloyed blessings from ,god4 ,how many are there who would say1--if it were not happily impossible for them1--,oh that ,i were like ,solomon6 ,happy man that he was1 to be able to say of himself1 #8,i was great1 and increased more than all that were before me in ,jerusalem4 ,and whatsoever mine eyes desired1 ,i kept not from them2 ,i withheld not my heart from any joy1 for my heart rejoiced in all my labour4' ,to have everything that he wanted1 to be able to do anything that he liked--was he not a happy man8 ,is not such a life a ,paradise on earth8 ,yes1 my friends1 it is4 ,but it is the ,paradise of fools4 ,yet1 ,solomon was not a fool4 ,he says expressly that his wisdom remained with him through all his labour4 ,through all his pleasure he kept alive the longing after knowledge4 ,he even tried1 as he says1 wine1 and mirth1 and folly1 yet acquainting himself with wisdom4 ,he would try that1 as well as statesmanship1 and the rule of a great kingdom1 and the building of temples and palaces1 and the planting of parks and gardens1 and his three thousand ,proverbs1 and his ,songs a thousand and five2 and his speech of beasts and of birds and of all plants1 from the cedar in ,lebanon to the hyssop which groweth on the wall4 ,he would know everything1 and try everything4 ,if he was luxurious and proud1 he would be no idler1 no useless gay liver4 ,he would work1 and discern1 and know1--and at last he found it all out1 and this was the sum thereof--#8,vanity of vanities1 saith the ,preacher2 all is vanity4' ,he found no rest in pleasure1 riches1 power1 glory1 wisdom itself2 he had learnt nothing more after all than he might have known1 and doubtless did know1 when he was a child of seven years old4 ,and that was1 simply to fear ,god and keep ,his commandments2 for that was the whole duty of man4 ,but though he knew it1 he had lost the power of doing it2 and he ended darkly and shamefully1 a dotard worshipping idols of wood and stone1 among his heathen queens4 ,and thus1 as in ,david the height of chivalry fell to the deepest baseness2 so in ,solomon the height of wisdom fell to the deepest folly4 ,my friends1 the truth is1 that exceeding gifts from ,god like ,solomon's are not blessings1 they are duties2 and very solemn and heavy duties4 ,they do not increase a man's happiness2 they only increase his responsibility--the awful account which he must give at last of the talents committed to his charge4 ,they increase1 too1 his danger4 ,they increase the chance of his having his head turned to pride and pleasure1 and falling shamefully1 and coming to a miserable end4 ,as with ,david1 so with ,solomon4 ,man is nothing1 and ,god is all in all4 ,and as with ,david and ,solomon1 so with many a king and many a great man4 ,consider those who have been great and glorious in their day4 ,and in how many cases they have ended sadly6 ,the burden of glory has been too heavy for them to bear2 they have broken down under it4 ,the great ,charles the ,fifth1 ,emperor of ,germany and ,king of ,spain and all the ,indies3 our own great ,queen ,elizabeth1 who found ,england all but ruined1 and left her strong and rich1 glorious and terrible3 ,lord ,bacon1 the wisest of all mortal men since the time of ,solomon3 and1 in our own fathers' time1 ,napoleon ,buonaparte1 the poor young officer1 who rose to be the conqueror of half ,europe1 and literally the king of kings1--how have they all ended8 ,in sadness and darkness1 vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,oh1 my friends6 if ever proud and ambitious thoughts arise in any of our hearts1 let us crush them down till we can say with ,david3 #8,lord1 my heart is not haughty1 nor mine eyes lofty2 neither do ,i exercise myself in great matters1 or in things too high for me4 #8,surely ,i have behaved and quieted myself1 as a child that is weaned of his mother2 my soul is even as a weaned child4' ,and if ever idle and luxurious thoughts arise in our hearts1 and we are tempted to say1 #8,soul1 thou hast much goods laid up for many years2 take thine ease1 eat1 drink1 and be merry2' let us hear the word of the ,lord crying against us3 #8,thou fool6 ,this night shall thy soul be required of thee4 ,then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided8' ,let us pray1 my friends1 for that great--,i had almost said1 that crowning grace and virtue of moderation1 what ,st4 ,paul calls sobriety and a sound mind4 ,let us pray for moderate appetites1 moderate passions1 moderate honours1 moderate gains1 moderate joys2 and1 if sorrows be needed to chasten us1 moderate sorrows4 ,let us long violently after nothing1 or wish too eagerly to rise in life2 and be sure that what the ,apostle says of those who long to be rich is equally true of those who long to be famous1 or powerful1 or in any way to rise over the heads of their fellow-men4 ,they all fall1 as the ,apostle says1 into foolish and hurtful lusts1 which drown men in destruction and perdition1 and so pierce themselves through with many sorrows4 ,and let us thank ,god heartily if ,he has put us into circumstances which do not tempt us to wild and vain hopes of becoming rich1 or great or admired by men4 ,especially let us thank ,him for this quiet country life which we lead here1 free from ambition1 and rash speculation1 and the hope of great and sudden gains4 ,all know1 who have watched the world1 how unwholesome for a man's soul any trade or occupation is which offers the chance of making a rapid fortune4 ,it has hurt the souls of too many merchants and manufacturers ere now4 ,good and sober-minded men there are among them1 thank ,god1 who can resist the temptation1 and are content to go along the plain path of quiet and patient honesty2 but to those who have not the sober spirit1 who have not the fear of ,god before their eyes1 the temptation is too terrible to withstand2 and it is not withstood2 and therefore the columns of our newspapers are so often filled with sad cases of bankruptcy1 forgery1 extravagant and desperate trading1 bubble fortunes spent in a few years of vain show and luxury1 and ending in poverty and shame4 ,happy1 on the other hand1 are those who till the ground2 who never can rise high enough1 or suddenly enough1 to turn their heads2 whose gains are never great and quick enough to tempt them to wild speculation3 but who can1 if they will only do their duty patiently and well1 go on year after year in quiet prosperity1 and be content to offer up1 week by week1 ,agur's wise prayer3 #8,give me neither poverty nor riches1 but feed me with food sufficient for me4' ,they need never complain that they have no time to think of their own souls2 that the hurry and bustle of business must needs drive religion out of their minds4 ,their life passes in a quiet round of labours4 ,day after day1 week after week1 season after season1 they know beforehand what they have to do1 and can arrange their affairs for this world1 so as to give them full time to think of the world to come4 ,every week brings small gains1 for which they can thank the ,god of all plenty2 and every week brings1 too1 small anxieties1 for which they can trust the same ,god who has given them ,his only-begotten ,son1 and will with ,him freely give them all things needful for them2 who has1 in mercy to their souls and bodies1 put them in the healthiest and usefullest of all pursuits1 the one which ought to lead their minds most to ,god1 and the one in which 7if they be thoughtful men7 they have the deep satisfaction of feeling that they are not working for themselves only1 but for their fellow-men2 that every sheaf of corn they grow is a blessing1 not merely to themselves1 but to the whole nation4 ,my friends1 think of these things1 especially at this rich and blessed harvest-time2 and while you thank your ,god and your ,saviour for ,his unexampled bounty in this year's good harvest1 do not forget to thank ,him for having given the sowing and the reaping of those crops to you2 and for having called you to that business in life in which1 ,i verily believe1 you will find it most easy to serve and obey ,him1 and be least tempted to ambition and speculation1 and the lust of riches1 and the pride which goes before a fall4 ,think of these things2 and think of the exceeding mercies which ,god heaps on you as ,englishmen1--peace and safety1 freedom and just laws1 the knowledge of ,his ,bible1 the teaching of ,his ,church1 and all that man needs for body and soul4 ,let those who have thanked ,god already1 thank ,him still more earnestly1 and show their thankfulness not only in their lips1 but in their lives2 and let those who have not thanked ,him1 awake1 and learn1 as ,st4 ,paul bids them1 from ,god's own witness of ,himself1 in that ,he has sent them fruitful seasons1 filling their hearts with food and gladness3--let them learn1 ,i say1 from that1 that they have a ,father in heaven who has given them ,his only-begotten ,son1 and will with ,him freely give them all things needful3 only asking in return that they should obey ,his laws--to obey which is everlasting life4 ,,sermon ,,xii4 ,,progress4 7,preached before the ,queen at ,clifden1 ,june #c1 #ahff47 ,,ecclesiastes vii4 #aj1 ,say not thou1 ,what is the cause that the former days were better than these8 for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this4 ,,this text occurs in the ,book of ,ecclesiastes1 which has been for many centuries generally attributed to ,solomon the son of ,david4 ,i say generally1 because1 not only among later critics1 but even among the ancient ,jewish ,rabbis1 there have been those who doubted or denied that ,solomon was its author4 ,i cannot presume to decide on such a question3 but it seems to me most probable1 that the old tradition is right1 even though the book may have suffered alterations1 both in form and in language3 but any later author1 personating ,solomon1 would surely have put into his month very different words from those of ,ecclesiastes4 ,solomon was the ideal hero-king of the later ,jews4 ,stories of his superhuman wealth1 of magical power1 of a fabulous extent of dominion1 grew up about his name4 ,he who was said to control1 by means of his wondrous seal1 the genii of earth and air1 would scarcely have been represented as a disappointed and broken-hearted sage1 who pronounced all human labour to be vanity and vexation of spirit2 who saw but one event for the righteous and the wicked1 and the wise man and the fool2 and questioned bitterly whether there was any future state1 any pre-eminence in man over the brute4 ,these1 and other startling utterances1 made certain of the early ,rabbis doubt the authenticity and inspiration of the ,book of ,ecclesiastes1 as containing things contrary to the ,law1 and to desire its suppression1 till they discovered in it--as we may1 if we be wise--a weighty and world-wide meaning4 ,be that as it may1 it would certainly be a loss to ,scripture1 and to our knowledge of humanity1 if it was proved that this book1 in its original shape1 was not written by a great king1 and most probably by ,solomon himself4 ,the book gains by that fact1 not only in its reality and truthfulness1 but in its value and importance as a lesson of human life4 ,especially does this text gain2 for it has a natural and deep connection with ,solomon and his times4 ,the former days were better than his days3 he could not help seeing that they were4 ,he must have feared lest the generation which was springing up should inquire into the reason thereof1 in a tone which would breed--which actually did breed--discontent and revolution4 ,but the fact seemed at first sight patent4 ,the old heroic days of ,samuel and ,david were past4 ,the ,jewish race no longer produced such men as ,saul and ,jonathan1 as ,joab and ,abner4 ,a generation of great men1 whose names are immortal1 had died out1 and a generation of inferior men1 of whom hardly one name has come down to us1 had succeeded them4 ,the nation had lost its primval freedom1 and the courage and loyalty which freedom gives4 ,it had become rich1 and enervated by luxury and ease4 ,solomon had civilised the ,jewish kingdom1 till it had become one of the greatest nations of the ,east2 but it had become also1 like the other nations of the ,east1 a vast and gaudy despotism1 hollow and rotten to the core2 ready to fall to pieces at ,solomon's death1 by selfishness1 disloyalty1 and civil war4 ,therefore it was that ,solomon hated all his labour that he had wrought under the sun2 for all was vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,such were the facts4 ,and yet it was not wise to look at them too closely2 not wise to inquire why the former times were better than those4 ,so it was4 ,let it alone4 ,pry not too curiously into the past1 or into the future3 but do the duty which lies nearest to thee4 ,fear ,god and keep ,his commandments4 ,for that is the whole duty of man4 ,thus does ,solomon lament over the certain decay of the ,jewish ,empire4 ,and his words1 however sad1 are indeed eternal and inspired4 ,for they have proved true1 and will prove true to the end1 of every despotism of the ,east1 or empire formed on ,eastern principles2 of the old ,persian ,empire1 of the ,roman1 of the ,byzantine1 of those of ,hairoun ,alraschid and of ,aurungzebe1 of those ,turkish and ,chinese-,tartar empires whose dominion is decaying before our very eyes4 ,of all these the wise man's words are true4 ,they are vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,that which is crooked cannot be made straight1 and that which is wanting cannot be numbered4 ,the thing which has been is that which shall be1 and there is no new thing under the sun4 ,incapacity of progress2 the same outward civilization repeating itself again and again2 the same intrinsic certainty of decay and death2--these are the marks of all empire1 which is not founded on that foundation which is laid1 even ,jesus ,christ4 ,but of ,christian nations these words are not true4 ,they pronounce the doom of the old world3 but the new world has no part in them1 unless it copies the sins and follies of the old4 ,it is not true of ,christian nations that the thing which has been is that which shall be2 and that there is no new thing under the sun4 ,for over them is the kingdom of ,christ1 the ,saviour of all men1 specially of them which believe1 the ,king of all the princes of the earth1 who has always asserted1 and will for ever assert1 ,his own overruling dominion4 ,and in them is the ,spirit of ,god1 which is the spirit of truth and righteousness2 of improvement1 discovery1 progress from darkness to light1 from folly to wisdom1 from barbarism to justice1 and mercy1 and the true civilization of the heart and spirit4 ,and1 therefore1 for us it is not only an act of prudence1 but a duty2 a duty of faith in ,god2 a duty of loyalty to ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 not to ask1 ,why the former times were better than these8 ,for they were not better than these4 ,every age has had its own special nobleness1 its own special use3 but every age has been better than the age which went before it2 for the ,spirit of ,god is leading the ages on1 toward that whereof it is written1 #8,eye hath not seen nor ear heard1 nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive1 the things which ,god hath prepared for those that love ,him4' ,very unfaithful are we to the teaching of ,god's ,spirit2 many and heavy are our sins against light and knowledge1 and means1 and opportunities of grace4 ,but let us not add to those sins the sin 7for such it is7 of inquiring why the former times were better than these4 ,for1 first1 the inquiry shows disbelief in our ,lord's own words1 that all dominion is given to ,him in heaven and earth1 and that ,he is with us always1 even to the end of the world4 ,and next1 it is a vain inquiry1 based on a mistake4 ,when we look back longingly to any past age1 we look not at the reality1 but at a sentimental and untrue picture of our own imagination4 ,when we look back longingly to the so-called ages of faith1 to the personal loyalty of the old ,cavaliers2 when we regret that there are no more among us such giants in statesmanship and power as those who brought ,europe through the ,french ,revolution2 when we long that our lot was cast in any age beside our own1 we know not what we ask4 ,the ages which seem so beautiful afar off1 would look to us1 were we in them1 uglier than our own4 ,if we long to be back in those so-called devout ages of faith1 we long for an age in which witches and heretics were burned alive2 if we long after the chivalrous loyalty of the old ,cavaliers1 we long for an age in which stage-plays were represented1 even before a virtuous monarch like ,charles ,i41 which the lowest of our playgoers would not now tolerate4 ,when we long for anything that is past1 we long1 it may be1 for a little good which we seem to have lost2 but we long also for real and fearful evil1 which1 thanks be to ,god1 we have lost likewise4 ,we are not1 indeed1 to fancy this age perfect1 and boast1 like some1 of the glorious nineteenth century4 ,we are to keep our eyes open to all its sins and defects1 that we may amend them4 ,and we are to remember1 in fear and trembling1 that to us much is given1 and of us much is required4 ,but we are to thank ,god that our lot is cast in an age which1 on the whole1 is better than any age whatsoever that has gone before it1 and to do our best that the age which is coming may be better even than this4 ,we are neither to regret the past1 nor rest satisfied in the present2 but1 like ,st4 ,paul1 forgetting those things that are behind us1 and reaching onward to those things that are before us1 press forward1 each and all1 to the prize of our high calling in ,jesus ,christ4 ,and as with nations and empires1 so with our own private lives4 ,it is not wise to ask why the former times were better than these4 ,it is natural1 pardonable3 but not wise2 because we are so apt to mistake the subject about which we ask1 and when we say1 #8,why were the old times better8' merely to mean1 #8,why were the old times happier8' ,that is not the question4 ,there is something higher than happiness1 says a wise man4 ,there is blessedness2 the blessedness of being good and doing good1 of being right and doing right4 ,that blessedness we may have at all times2 we may be blest even in anxiety and in sadness2 we may be blest1 even as the martyrs of old were blest--in agony and death4 ,the times are to us whatsoever our character makes them4 ,and if we are better men than we were in former times1 then is the present better than the past1 even though it be less happy4 ,and why should it not be better8 ,surely the ,spirit of ,god1 the spirit of progress and improvement1 is working in us1 the children of ,god1 as well as in the great world around4 ,surely the years ought to have made us better1 more useful1 more worthy4 ,we may have been disappointed in our lofty ideas of what ought to be done4 ,but we may have gained more clear and practical notions of what can be done4 ,we may have lost in enthusiasm1 and yet gained in earnestness4 ,we may have lost in sensibility1 yet gained in charity1 activity1 and power4 ,we may be able to do far less1 and yet what we do may be far better done4 ,and our very griefs and disappointments--,have they been useless to us8 ,surely not4 ,we shall have gained1 instead of lost1 by them1 if the ,spirit of ,god be working in us4 ,our sorrows will have wrought in us patience1 our patience experience of ,god's sustaining grace1 who promises that as our day our strength shall be2 and of ,god's tender providence1 which tempers the wind to the shorn lamb1 and lays on none a burden beyond what they are able to bear4 ,and that experience will have worked in us hope3 hope that ,he who has led us thus far will lead us farther still2 that ,he who brought us through the trials of youth1 will bring us through the trials of age2 that ,he who taught us in former days precious lessons1 not only by sore temptations1 but most sacred joys1 will teach us in the days to come fresh lessons by temptations which we shall be more able to endure2 and by joys which1 though unlike those of old times1 are no less sacred1 no less sent as lessons to our souls1 by ,him from whom all good gifts come4 ,we will believe this4 ,and instead of inquiring why the former days were better than these1 we will trust that the coming days shall be better than these1 and those which are coming after them better still again1 because ,god is our ,father1 ,christ our ,saviour1 the ,holy ,ghost our ,comforter and ,guide4 ,we will toil onward3 because we know we are toiling upward4 ,we will live in hope1 not in regret2 because hope is the only state of mind fit for a race for whom ,god has condescended to stoop1 and suffer1 and die1 and rise again4 ,we will believe that we1 and all we love1 whether in earth or heaven1 are destined--if we be only true to ,god's ,spirit--to rise1 improve1 progress for ever3 and so we will claim our share1 and keep our place1 in that vast ascending and improving scale of being1 which1 as some dream--and surely not in vain--goes onward and upward for ever throughout the universe of ,him who wills that none should perish4 ,,sermon ,,xiii4 ,,faith4 7,preached before the ,queen at ,windsor1 ,december #e1 #ahfe7 ,,habakkuk ii4 #d4 ,the just shall live by his faith4 ,,we shall always find it most safe1 as well as most reverent1 to inquire first the literal and exact meaning of a text2 to see under what circumstances it was written2 what meaning it must have conveyed to those who heard it2 and so to judge what it must have meant in the mind of him who spoke it4 ,if we do so1 we shall find that the simplest interpretation of ,scripture is generally the deepest2 and the most literal interpretation is also the most spiritual4 ,let us examine the circumstances under which the prophet spake these words4 ,it was on the eve of a ,chaldean invasion4 ,the heathen were coming into ,judea1 as we see them still in the ,assyrian sculptures--civilizing1 after their barbarous fashion1 the nations round them--conquering1 massacring1 transporting whole populations1 building cities and temples by their forced labour2 and resistance or escape was impossible4 ,the prophet's faith fails him a moment4 ,what is this but a triumph of evil8 ,is there a ,divine ,providence8 ,is there a just ,ruler of the world8 ,and he breaks out into pathetic expostulation with ,god ,himself3 #8,wherefore lookest ,thou upon them that deal treacherously1 and holdest ,thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he8 ,and makest men as the fishes of the sea1 as the creeping things1 which have no ruler over them8 ,they take up all of them with the line1 they gather them with the net4 ,therefore they sacrifice unto their net1 and burn incense to their line2 for by it their portion is fat1 and their meat plenteous4 ,shall they therefore empty their net1 and not spare to slay continually the nations8' ,then the ,lord answers his doubts3 #8,behold1 his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him3 but the just shall live by his faith4' ,by his faith1 plainly1 in a just ,ruler of the world1--in a ,god who avenges wrong1 and makes inquisition for innocent blood4 ,he who will keep his faith in that just ,god1 will remain just himself4 ,the sense of ,justice will be kept alive in him2 and the just will live by his ,faith4 ,the prophet believes that message2 and a mighty change passes over his spirit4 ,in a burst of magnificent poetry1 he proclaims woe to the unjust ,chaldean conqueror4 ,all his greatness is a bubble which will burst2 a suicidal mistake1 which will work out its own punishment1 and make him a taunt and a mockery to all nations round4 #8,woe to him who increaseth that which is not his1 and ladeth himself with thick clay6 ,woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house1 that he may set his nest on high1 and be delivered from the power of evil6 ,woe to him that buildeth a town with blood1 and stablisheth a city with iniquity6 ,behold1 is it not of the ,lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire1 and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity8' ,there is a true civilization for man2 but not according to the unjust and cruel method of those ,chaldeans4 ,the ,law of the true ,civilization1 the prophet says1 is this3 #8,the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the ,lord1 as the waters cover the sea4' ,but what is this to us8 ,are we like the ,chaldeans8 ,god forbid4 ,but are we not tried by the same temptations to which they blindly yielded8 ,a nation1 strong1 rich1 luxurious1 prosperous in industry at home1 and aggressive 7if not in theory1 certainly in practice7 to less civilized races abroad--are we not tempted daily to that habit of mind which the prophet calls--with that tremendous irony in which the ,hebrew prophets surpass all writers--looking on men as the fishes of the sea1 as the creeping things which have no ruler over them1 born to devour each other1 and be caught and devoured in their turn1 by a race more cunning than themselves8 ,there are those among us in thousands1 thank ,god1 who nobly resist that temptation2 and they are the very salt of the land1 who keep it from decay4 ,but for the many--for the public--do not too many of them believe that the law of human society is1 after all1 only that internecine conflict of interests1 that brute struggle for existence1 which naturalists tell us 7and truly7 is the law of life for mere plants and animals8 ,are they not tempted to forget that men are not mere animals and things1 but persons2 that they have a ,ruler over them1 even ,god1 who desires to educate them1 to sanctify them1 to develop their every faculty1 that they may be ,his children1 and not merely our tools2 and do ,god's work in the world1 and not merely their employer's work8 ,are they not--are we not all--tempted too often to forget this8 ,and1 then1 are we not tempted1 all of us1 to fall down like the ,chaldeans and worship our own net1 because by it our portion is fat1 and our meat plenteous8 ,are we not tempted to say within ourselves1 #8,this present system of things1 with all its anomalies and its defects1 still is the right system1 and the only system4 ,it is the path pointed out by ,providence for man4 ,it is of the ,lord2 for we are comfortable under it4 ,we grow rich under it2 we keep rank and power under it3 it suits us1 pays us4 ,what better proof that it is the perfect system of things1 which cannot be amended8' ,meanwhile1 we are sorry 7for the ,english are a kind-hearted people7 for the victims of our luxury and our neglect4 ,sorry for the thousands whom we let die every year by preventible diseases1 because we are either too busy or too comfortable to save their lives4 ,sorry for the savages whom we exterminate1 by no deliberate evil intent1 but by the mere weight of our heavy footstep4 ,sorry for the thousands who are used-up yearly in certain trades1 in ministering to our comfort1 even to our very luxuries and frivolities4 ,sorry for the ,sheffield grinders1 who go to work as to certain death2 who count how many years they have left1 and say1 #8,a short life and a merry one4 ,let us eat and drink1 for to-morrow we die4' ,sorry for the people whose lower jaws decay away in lucifer-match factories4 ,sorry for all the miseries and wrongs which this ,children's ,employment ,commission has revealed4 ,sorry for the diseases of artificial flower-makers4 ,sorry for the boys working in glass-houses whole days and nights on end without rest1 #8labouring in the very fire1 and wearying themselves with very vanity4'--,vanity1 indeed1 if after an amount of gallant toil which nothing but the indomitable courage of an ,englishman could endure1 they grow up animals and heathens4 ,we are sorry for them all--as the giant is for the worm on which he treads4 ,alas6 poor worm4 ,but the giant must walk on4 ,he is necessary to the universe1 and the worm is not4 ,so we are sorry--for half an hour2 and glad too 7for we are a kind-hearted people7 to hear that charitable persons or the government are going to do something towards alleviating these miseries4 ,and then we return1 too many of us1 each to his own ambition1 or to his own luxury1 comforting ourselves with the thought1 that we did not make the world1 and we are not responsible for it4 ,how shall we conquer this temptation to laziness1 selfishness1 heartlessness8 ,by faith in ,god1 such as the prophet had4 ,by faith in ,god as the eternal enemy of evil1 the eternal helper of those who try to overcome evil with good2 the eternal avenger of all the wrong which is done on earth4 ,by faith in ,god1 as not only our ,father1 our ,saviour1 our ,redeemer1 our ,protector3 but the ,father1 ,saviour1 ,redeemer1 ,protector1 and if need be1 ,avenger1 of every human being4 ,by faith in ,god1 which believes that ,his infinite heart yearns over every human soul1 even the basest and the worst2 that ,he wills that not one little one should perish1 but that all should be saved1 and come to the knowledge of the truth4 ,we must believe that1 if we wish that it should be true of us1 that the just shall live by his faith4 ,if we wish our faith to keep us just men1 leading just lives1 we must believe that ,god is just1 and that ,he shows ,his justice by the only possible method--by doing justice1 sooner or later1 for all who are unjustly used4 ,if we lose that faith1 we shall be in danger--in more than danger--of becoming unjust ourselves4 ,as we fancy ,god to be1 so shall we become ourselves4 ,if we believe that ,god cares little for mankind1 we shall care less and less for them ourselves4 ,if we believe that ,god neglects them1 we shall neglect them likewise4 ,and then the sense of justice--justice for its own sake1 justice as the likeness and will of ,god--will die out in us1 and our souls will surely not live1 but die4 ,for there will die out in our hearts1 just the most noble and ,god-like feelings which ,god has put into them4 ,the instinct of chivalry2 horror of cruelty and injustice2 pity for the weak and ill-used2 the longing to set right whatever is wrong2 and1 what is even more important1 the ,spirit of godly fear1 of wholesome terror of ,god's wrath1 which makes us say1 when we hear of any great and general sin among us1 #8,if we do not do our best to set this right1 then ,god1 who does not make men like creeping things1 will take the matter into ,his own hands1 and punish us easy1 luxurious people1 for allowing such things to be done4' ,and when a man loses that spirit of chivalry1 he loses his own soul4 ,for that spirit of chivalry1 let worldlings say what they will1 is the very spirit of our spirit1 the salt which keeps our characters from utter decay--the very instinct which raises us above the selfishness of the brute4 ,yea1 it is the ,spirit of ,god ,himself4 ,for what is the feeling of horror at wrong1 of pity for the wronged1 of burning desire to set wrong right1 save the ,spirit of the ,father and the ,son1 the ,spirit which brought down the ,lord ,jesus out of the highest heaven1 to stoop1 to serve1 to suffer and to die1 that ,he might seek and save that which was lost8 ,some say that the age of chivalry is past3 that the spirit of romance is dead4 ,the age of chivalry is never past1 as long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth1 and a man or woman left to say1 #8,i will redress that wrong1 or spend my life in the attempt4' ,the age of chivalry is never past1 as long as men have faith enough in ,god to say1 #8,god will help me to redress that wrong2 or if not me1 surely he will help those that come after me4 ,for ,his eternal will is1 to overcome evil with good4' ,the spirit of romance will never die1 as long as there is a man left to see that the world might and can be better1 happier1 wiser1 fairer in all things1 than it is now4 ,the spirit of romance will never die1 as long as a man has faith in ,god to believe that the world will actually be better and fairer than it is now2 as long as men have faith1 however weak1 to believe in the romance of all romances2 in the wonder of all wonders2 in that1 of which all poets' dreams have been but childish hints1 and dumb forefeelings--even #8,that one far-off divine event ,towards which the whole creation moves2' that wonder of which prophets and apostles have told1 each according to his light2 that wonder which ,habakkuk saw afar off1 and foretold how that the earth should be filled with the knowledge of the ,lord1 as the waters cover the sea2 that wonder which ,isaiah saw afar off1 and sang how the ,lord should judge among the nations1 and rebuke among many people2 and they should beat their swords into plough-shares1 and their spears into pruning-hooks2 nation should not rise against nation1 neither should they learn war any more2 that wonder of which ,st ,paul prophesied1 and said that ,christ should reign till ,he had put all ,his enemies under ,his feet2 that wonder of which ,st4 ,john prophesied2 and said1 #8,i saw the ,holy ,city1 new ,jerusalem1 coming down from ,god out of heaven4 ,and the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of it1 and the kings of the earth bring their glory and their honour unto it2' that wonder1 finally1 which our ,lord ,himself bade us pray for1 as for our daily bread1 and say1 #8,father1 thy kingdom come2 thy will be done on earth1 as it is in heaven4 #8,thy will be done on earth4' ,he who bade us ask that boon for generations yet unborn1 was very ,god of very ,god4 ,do you think that ,he would have bidden us ask a blessing1 which ,he knew would never come8 ,,sermon ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,great ,,commandment4 ,,matt4 xxii4 #cg1 #cb4 ,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 and with all thy soul1 and with all thy mind4 ,this is the first and great commandment4 ,,some say1 when they hear this1--,it is a hard saying4 ,who can bear it8 ,who can expect us to do as much as that8 ,if we are asked to be respectable and sober1 to live and let live1 not to harm our neighbours wilfully or spitefully1 and to come to church tolerably regularly--we understand being asked to do that--it is fair4 ,but to love the ,lord our ,god with all our hearts4 ,that must be meant only for very great saints2 for a few exceedingly devout people here and there4 ,and devout people have been too apt to say1--,you are right4 ,it is we who are to love ,god with all our hearts and souls1 and give up the world1 and marriage1 and all the joys of life1 and turn priests1 monks1 and nuns1 while you need only be tolerably respectable1 and attend to your religious duties from time to time1 while we will pray for you4 ,but1 my friends1 if we read our ,bibles1 we cannot allow that4 #8,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god1' was spoken not to monks and nuns 7for there were none in those days71 not to great saints only 7for we read of none just then71 not even to priests and clergymen only4 ,it was said to all the ,jews1 high and low1 free and slave1 soldier and labourer1 alike--#8,thou1 a man living in the world1 and doing work in the world1 with wife and family1 farm and cattle1 horse to ride1 and weapon to wear--thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god4' ,and therefore these words are said to you and me4 ,we ,english are neither monks nor nuns1 nor likely 7thank ,god7 to become so4 ,we are in the world1 with our own family ties and duties1 our own worldly business4 ,and to us1 to you and me1 as to those old ,jews1 the first and great commandment is1 #8,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god4' ,what1 then1 does it mean8 ,does it mean that we are to have the same love toward ,god as we have toward a wife or a husband8 ,certainly not4 ,but it means at least this--the love which we should bear toward a ,father4 ,all1 my friends1 turns on this4 ,do you look on ,god as your ,father1 or do you not8 ,god is your ,father1 remember1 already4 ,you cannot 7as some people seem to think7 make ,him your ,father by believing that ,he is one2 and you need not1 thanks to ,his mercy4 ,neither can you make ,him not your ,father by forgetting ,him4 ,be you wise or foolish1 right or wrong1 ,god is your ,father in heaven2 and you ought to feel towards ,him as towards a father1 not with any sentimental1 fanciful1 fanatical affection2 but with a reverent1 solemn1 and rational affection2 such as that which the good old ,catechism bids us have1 when it tells us our duty toward ,god4 #8,my duty towards ,god is to believe in ,him1 to fear ,him1 and to love ,him with all my heart1 with all my mind1 with all my soul1 and with all my strength2 to worship ,him1 to give ,him thanks1 to put my whole trust in ,him1 to call upon ,him1 to honour ,his holy ,name and ,his ,word1 and to serve ,him truly all the days of my life4' ,now1 ,i ask you--and what ,i ask you ,i ask myself1--,do we love the ,lord our ,god thus8 ,and if not1 why not8 ,i do not ask you to tell me4 ,i am not going to tell you what is in my heart2 and ,i do not ask you to tell me what is in yours4 ,we are free ,englishmen1 who keep ourselves to ourselves1 and think for ourselves1 each man in the depths of his own heart2 and who are the stronger and the wiser for not talking about our feelings to any man1 priest or layman4 ,but ask yourselves1 each of you1--,do ,i love ,god8 ,and if not1 why not8 ,there are two reasons1 ,i believe1 which are1 alas6 very common4 ,for one of them there are great excuses2 for the other1 there is no excuse whatsoever4 ,in the first place1 too many find it difficult to love ,god1 because they have not been taught that ,god is loveable1 and worthy of their love4 ,they have been taught dark and hard doctrines1 which have made them afraid of ,god4 ,they have been taught--too many are taught still--not merely that ,god will punish the wicked1 but that ,god will punish nine-tenths1 or ninety-nine-hundredths of the human race4 ,that ,he will send to endless torments not merely sinners who have rebelled against what they knew was right1 and ,his command2 who have stained themselves with crimes2 who wilfully injured their fellow-creatures3 but that ,he will do the same by little children1 by innocent young girls1 by honourable1 respectable1 moral men and women1 because they are not what is called sensibly converted1 or else what is called orthodox4 ,they have been taught to look on ,god1 not as a loving and merciful ,father1 but as a tyrant and a task-master1 who watches to set down against them the slightest mishap or neglect2 who is extreme to mark what is done amiss2 who wills the death of a sinner4 ,often--strangest notion of all--they have been told that1 though ,god intends to punish them1 they must still love ,him1 or they will be punished--as if such a notion1 so far from drawing them to ,god1 could do anything but drive them from ,him4 ,and it is no wonder if persons who have been taught in their youth such notions concerning ,god1 find it difficult to love ,him4 ,who can be frightened or threatened into loving any being8 ,how can we love any being who does not seem to us kind1 merciful1 amiable1 loving8 ,our love must be called out by ,god's love4 ,if we are to love ,god1 it must be because ,he has first loved us4 ,but ,he has first loved us1 my friends4 ,the dark and cruel notions about ,god--which are too common1 and have been too common in all ages--are not what the world about us teaches1 nor what ,scripture teaches us either4 ,look out on the world around you4 ,what witness does it bear concerning the ,god who made it8 ,who made the sunshine1 and the flowers1 and singing birds1 and little children1 and all that causes the joy of this life8 ,let ,christ ,himself speak1 and ,his apostles4 ,no one can say that their words are not true2 that they were mistaken in their view of this earth1 or of ,god who gave it to us that it might bear witness of ,him4 ,what said our ,lord to the poor folk of ,galilee1 of whom the ,scribes and the ,pharisees1 in their pride1 said1 #8,this people1 who knoweth not the law1 is accursed4'--,what said our ,lord1 very ,god of very ,god8 ,he told them to look on the world around1 and learn from it that they had in heaven not a tyrant1 not a destroyer1 but a ,father2 a ,father in heaven who is perfect in this1 that ,he causeth ,his sun to shine upon them1 and is good to the unthankful and the evil4 ,what of ,him did ,st4 ,paul say8--and that not to ,christians1 but to heathens--,that ,god had not left ,himself without a witness even to the heathen who knew ,him not--and what sort of witness8 ,the witness of ,his bounty and goodness4 ,the simple1 but perpetual witness of the yearly harvest--#8,in that ,he sends men rain and fruitful seasons1 filling their hearts with food and gladness4' ,this is ,st4 ,paul's witness4 ,and what is ,st4 ,james's8 ,he tells men of a ,father of lights1 from whom comes down every good and perfect gift2 who gives to all liberally1 and upbraideth not1 grudges not1 stints not1 but gives1 and delights in giving1--the same ,god1 in a word1 of whom the old psalmists and prophets spoke1 and said1 #8,thou openest ,thine hand1 and fillest all things with good4' ,and if natural religion tells us thus much1 and bears witness of a ,father who delights in the happiness of ,his creatures1 what does revealed religion and the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ tell us8 ,oh1 my friends1 dull indeed must be our hearts if we can feel no love for the ,god of whom the ,gospel speaks6 ,and perverse1 indeed1 must be our minds if we can twist the good news of ,christ's salvation into the bad news of condemnation6 ,what says ,st4 ,paul1--,that ,god is against us8 ,no4 ,but--#8,if ,god be for us1 who can be against us8 #8,who shall lay any thing to the charge of ,god's elect8 ,it is ,god that justifieth4 ,who is he that condemneth8 ,it is ,christ that died1 yea rather1 that is risen again1 who is even at the right hand of ,god1 who also maketh intercession for us4 #8,who shall separate us from the love of ,christ8 shall tribulation1 or distress1 or persecution1 or famine1 or nakedness1 or peril1 or sword8 #8,as it is written1 ,for ,thy sake we are killed all the day long2 we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter4 #8,nay1 in all these things we are more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4 #8,for ,i am persuaded1 that neither death1 nor life1 nor angels1 nor principalities1 nor powers1 nor things present1 nor things to come1 nor height1 nor depth1 nor any other creature1 shall be able to separate us from the love of ,god1 which is in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4' ,what says ,st4 ,john8 ,does he say that ,god the ,father desires to punish or slay us2 and that our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 or the ,virgin ,mary1 or the saints1 or any other being1 loves us better than ,god1 and will deliver us out of the hands of ,god8 ,god forbid6 #8,we have known and believed1' he says1 #8the love that ,god hath to us4 ,god is love1 and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god1 and ,god in him4' ,my friends1 if we could believe those blessed words--,i do not say in all their fulness--we shall never do that1 ,i believe1 in this mortal life--but if we could only believe them a little1 and know and believe even a little of the love that ,god has to us1 then love to ,him would spring up in our hearts1 and we should feel for ,him all that child ever felt for father4 ,if we really believed that ,god who made heaven and earth was even now calling to each and every one of us1 and beseeching us1 by the sacrifice of ,his well-beloved ,son1 crucified for us1 #8,my son1 give ,me thy heart1' we could not help giving up our hearts to ,him4 ,provided--and there is that second reason why people do not love ,god1 for which ,i said there was no excuse--provided only that we wish to be good1 and to obey ,god4 ,if we do not wish to do what ,god commands1 we shall never love ,god4 ,it must be so4 ,there can be no real love of ,god which is not based upon a love of virtue and goodness1 upon what our ,lord calls a hunger and thirst after righteousness4 #8,if ye love ,me1 keep ,my commandments1' is our ,lord's own rule and test4 ,and it is the only one possible4 ,if we habitually disobey any person1 we shall cease to love that person4 ,if a child is in the habit of disobeying its parents1 dark and angry feelings towards those parents are sure to arise in its heart4 ,the child tries to forget its parents1 to keep out of their way4 ,it tries to justify itself1 to excuse itself by fancying that its parents are hard upon it1 unjust1 grudge it pleasure1 or what not4 ,if its parents' commandments are grievous to a child1 it will try to make out that those commandments are unfair and unkind4 ,and so shall we do by ,god's commandments4 ,if ,god's commandments seem too grievous for us to obey1 then we shall begin to fancy them unjust and unkind4 ,and then1 farewell to any real love to ,god4 ,if we do not openly rebel against ,god1 we shall still try to forget ,him4 ,the thought of ,god will seem dark1 unpleasant1 and forbidding to us2 and we shall try1 in our short-sighted folly1 to live as far as we can without ,god in the world1 and1 like ,adam after his fall1 hide ourselves from the loving ,god1 just because we know we have disobeyed ,him4 ,but if1 in spite of many bad habits1 we desire to get rid of our bad habits2 if1 in spite of many faults1 we still desire to be faultless and perfect2 if1 in spite of many weaknesses1 we still desire to be strong2 if1 in one word1 we still hunger and thirst after righteousness1 and long to be good men2 then1 in due time1 the love of ,god will be shed abroad in our hearts by the ,holy ,spirit4 ,for that will happen to us which happens to all those who have the pure1 true1 and heroical love4 ,if we really love a person1 we shall first desire to please them1 and therefore the thought of disobeying and paining them will seem more and more grievous unto us4 ,but more4 ,we shall soon rise a step higher4 ,the more we love them1 and the more we see in them1 in their characters1 things worthy to be loved1 the more we shall desire to be like them1 to copy those parts of their characters which most delight us2 and we shall copy them3 though insensibly1 perhaps1 and unawares4 ,for no one can look up for any length of time with love and respect towards a person better1 wiser1 greater than themselves1 without becoming more or less like that person in character and in habit of thought and feeling2 and so it will be with us towards ,god4 ,if we really long to be good1 it will grow more and more easy to us to love ,god4 ,the more pure our hearts are1 the more pleasant the thought of ,god will be to us2 even as it is said1 #8,blessed are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god1'--in this life as well as in the life to come4 ,we shall not shrink from ,god1 because we shall know that we are not wilfully offending ,him4 ,but more4 ,the more we think of ,god1 the more we shall long to be like ,him4 ,how admirable in our eyes will seem ,his goodness1 how admirable ,his purity1 ,his justice1 and ,his bounty1 ,his long-suffering1 ,his magnanimity and greatness of heart4 ,for how great must be that heart of ,god1 of which it is written1 that #8,he hateth nothing that ,he hath made1 but ,his mercy is over all ,his works2' #8that ,he willeth that none should perish1 but that all should be saved1 and come to the knowledge of the truth4' ,although ,he be infinitely high and far off and we cannot attain to ,him1 yet we shall feel it our duty and our joy to copy ,him1 however faintly1 and however humbly2 and our highest hope will be that we may behold1 as in a glass1 the glory of the ,lord1 and be changed into ,his image from glory to glory1 even as by the ,spirit of the ,lord2 that so1 whether in this world or in the world to come1 we may at last be perfect1 even as our ,father in heaven is perfect1 and1 like ,him1 cause the sunlight of our love to slime upon the evil and on the good2 the kindly showers of our good deeds to fall upon the just and on the unjust2 and--like ,him who sent ,his only begotten ,son to save the world--be good to the unthankful and to the evil4 ,,sermon ,,xv4 ,,the ,,earthquake4 7,preached ,october #aa1 #ahfc47 ,,psalm xlvi4 #a1 #b4 ,god is our refuge and strength1 a very present help in trouble4 ,therefore will not we fear1 though the earth be removed1 and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea4 ,,no one1 my friends1 wishes less than ,i1 to frighten you1 or to take a dark and gloomy view of this world1 or of ,god's dealings with men4 ,but when ,god ,himself speaks1 men are bound to take heed1 even though the message be an awful one4 ,and last week's earthquake was an awful message1 reminding all reasonable souls how frail man is1 how frail his strongest works1 how frail this seemingly solid earth on which we stand2 what a thin crust there is between us and the nether fires1 how utterly it depends on ,god's mercy that we do not1 like ,korah1 ,dathan1 and ,abiram of old1 go down alive into the pit4 ,what do we know of earthquakes8 ,we know that they are connected with burning mountains2 that the eruption of a burning mountain is generally preceded by1 and accompanied with1 violent earthquakes4 ,indeed1 the burning mountains seem to be outlets1 by which the earthquake force is carried off4 ,we know that these burning mountains give out immense volumes of steam4 ,we know that the expanding power of steam is by far the strongest force in the world2 and1 therefore1 it is supposed reasonably1 that earthquakes are caused by steam underground4 ,we know concerning earthquakes two things3 first1 that they are quite uncertain in their effects2 secondly1 quite uncertain in their occurrence4 ,no one can tell what harm an earthquake will1 or will not1 do4 ,there are three kinds4 ,one which raises the ground up perpendicularly1 and sets it down again--which is the least hurtful2 one which sets it rolling in waves1 like the waves of the sea--which is more hurtful2 and one1 the most terrible of all1 which gives the ground a spinning motion1 so that things thrown down by it fall twisted from right to left1 or left to right4 ,but what kind of earthquake will take place1 no one can tell4 ,moreover1 a very slight earthquake may do fearful damage4 ,people who only read of them1 fancy that an earthquake1 to destroy man and his works1 must literally turn the earth upside down2 that the ground must open1 swallowing up houses1 vomiting fire and water2 that rocks must be cast into the sea1 and hills rise where valleys were before4 ,such awful things have happened1 and will happen again3 but it does not need them to lay a land utterly waste4 ,a very slight shock--a shock only a little stronger than was felt last ,wednesday morning1 might have--one hardly dare think of what it might have done in a country like this1 where houses are thinly built because we have no fear of earthquakes4 ,every manufactory and mill throughout the iron districts 7where the shock was felt most7 might have toppled to the earth in a moment4 ,whole rows of houses1 hastily and thinly built1 might have crumbled down like packs of cards2 and hundreds of thousands of sleeping human beings might have been buried in the ruins1 without time for a prayer or a cry4 ,a little more--a very little more--and all that or more might have happened2 millions' worth of property might have been destroyed in a few seconds1 and the prosperity and civilization of ,england have been thrown back for a whole generation4 ,there is absolutely no reason whatever1 ,i tell you1 save the mercy of ,god1 why that1 or worse1 should not have happened2 and it is only of the ,lord's mercies that we were not consumed4 ,next1 earthquakes are utterly uncertain as to time4 ,no one knows when they are coming4 ,they give no warning4 ,even in those unhappy countries in which they are most common there may not be a shock for months or years2 and then a sudden shock may hurl down whole towns4 ,or there may be many1 thirty or forty a-day for weeks1 as there happened in a part of ,south ,america a few years ago1 when day after day1 week after week1 terrible shocks went on with a perpetual underground roar1 as if brass and iron were crashing and clanging under the feet1 till the people were half mad with the continual noise and continual anxiety1 expecting every moment one shock1 stronger than the rest1 to swallow them up4 ,it is impossible1 ,i say1 to calculate when they will come4 ,they are altogether in the hand of ,god1--,his messengers1 whose time and place ,he alone knows1 and ,he alone directs4 ,our having had one last week is no reason for our not having another this week1 or any day this week2 and no reason1 happily1 against our having no more for one hundred years4 ,it is in ,god's hands1 and in ,god's hands we must leave it4 ,all we can say is1 that when one comes1 it is likely to be least severe in this part of ,england1 and most severe 7like this last7 in the coal and iron districts of the west and north-west1 where it is easy to see that earthquakes were once common1 by the cracks1 twists and settlements in the rocks1 and the lava streams1 poured out from fiery vents 7probably under water7 which pierce the rocks in many places4 ,beyond that we know nothing1 and can only say1--,it is of the ,lord's mercies that we are not consumed4 ,why do ,i say these things8 ,to frighten you8 ,no1 but to warn you4 ,when you say to yourselves1--,earthquakes are so uncommon and so harmless in ,england that there is no need to think of them1 you say on the whole what is true4 ,it has been1 as yet1 ,god's will that earthquakes should be uncommon and slight in ,england2 and therefore we have a reasonable ground of belief that such will be ,his will for the future4 ,certainly ,he does not wish us to fold our hands1 and say1 there is no use in building or improving the country1 if an earthquake may come and destroy it at any moment4 ,if there be an evil which man can neither prevent or foresee1 then1 if he be a wise man1 he will go on as if that evil would never happen4 ,we ever must work on in hope and in faith in ,god's goodness1 without tormenting and weakening ourselves by fears about what may happen4 ,but when ,god gives to a whole country a distinct and solemn warning1 especially after giving that country an enormous bounty in an abundant harvest1 ,he surely means that country to take the warning4 ,and1 if ,i dare so judge1 ,he means us perhaps to think of the earthquake1 and somewhat in this way4 ,there is hardly any country in the world in which man's labour has been so successful as in ,england4 ,owing to our having no earthquakes1 no really destructive storms1--and1 thank ,god1 no foreign invading armies1--the wealth of ,england has gone on increasing steadily and surely for centuries past1 to a degree unexampled4 ,we have never had to rebuild whole towns after an earthquake4 ,we have never seen 7except in small patches7 whole districts of fertile land ruined by the sea or by floods4 ,we have never seen every mill and house in a country blown down by a hurricane1 and the crops mown off the ground by the mere force of the wind1 as has happened again and again in our ,west ,india ,islands4 ,most blessed of all1 we have never seen a foreign army burning our villages1 sacking our towns1 carrying off our corn and cattle1 and driving us into the woods to starve4 ,from all these horrors1 which have1 one or other of them1 fallen on almost every nation upon earth1 ,god has of ,his great mercy preserved us4 ,ours is not the common lot of humanity4 ,we ,english do not know the sorrows which average men and women go through1 and have been going through1 alas6 ever since ,adam fell4 ,we have been an exception1 a favoured and peculiar people1 allowed to thrive and fatten quietly and safely for hundreds of years4 ,but what if that very security tempts us to forget ,god8 ,is it not so8 ,are we not--,i am sure ,i am--too apt to take ,god's blessings for granted1 without thanking ,him for them1 or remembering really that ,he gave them1 and that ,he can take them away8 ,do we not take good fortune for granted8 ,do we not take for granted that if we build a house it will endure for ever2 that if we buy a piece of land it will be called by our name long years hence2 that if we amass wealth we shall hand it down safely to our children8 ,of course we think we shall prosper4 ,we say to ourselves1 ,to-morrow shall be as to-day1 and yet more abundant4 ,nothing can happen to ,england1 is1 ,i fear1 the feeling of ,englishmen4 ,carnal security is the national sin to which we are tempted1 because we have not now for forty years felt anything like national distress2 and ,britain says1 like ,babylon of old1 the lady of kingdoms to whom foreigners so often compare her1--#8,i shall be a lady for ever2 ,i am1 there is none beside me4 ,i shall never sit as a widow1 nor know the loss of children4' ,what1 too1 if that same security and prosperity tempts us--as foreigners justly complain of us--to set our hearts on material wealth2 to believe that our life1 and the life of ,britain1 depends on the abundance of the things which she possesses8 ,to say--,corn and cattle1 coal and iron1 house and land1 shipping and rail-roads1 these make up ,great ,britain4 ,while she has these she will endure for ever4 ,ah1 my friends--to people in such a temptation1 is it wonderful that a good ,god should send a warning unmistakeable1 though only a warning2 most terrible1 though mercifully harmless2 a warning which says1 in a voice which the dullest can hear--,endure for ever8 ,the solid ground on which you stand cannot do that4 ,safe8 ,nothing on earth is safe for a moment1 save in the long-suffering and tender mercy of ,him of whom are all things1 and by whom are all things1 without whom not a sparrow falls to the ground4 ,is the wealth of ,britain1 then1 what she can see and handle8 ,the towns she builds1 the roads she makes1 the manufactures and goods she produces8 ,one touch of the finger of ,god1 and that might be all rolled into a heap of ruins1 and the labour of years scattered in the dust4 ,you trust in the sure solid earth8 ,you shall feel it1 if but for once1 reel and quiver under your feet1 and learn that it is not solid at all1 or sure at all2 that there is nothing solid1 sure1 or to be depended on1 but the mercy of the living ,god2 and that your solid-seeming earth on which you build is nothing less than a mine1 which may bubble1 and heave1 and burst beneath your feet1 charged for ever with an explosive force1 as much more terrible than that gunpowder which you have invented to kill each other withal1 as the works of ,god are greater than the works of man4 ,safe1 truly6 ,it is of ,god's mercy from day to day and hour to hour that we are not consumed4 ,this1 surely1 or something like this1 is what the earthquake says to us4 ,it speaks to us most gently1 and yet most awfully1 of a day in which the heavens may pass away with a great noise1 and the elements may melt with fervent heat1 and the earth and the works which are therein may be burnt up4 ,it tells us that this is no impossible fancy3 that the fires imprisoned below our feet can1 and may1 burst up and destroy mankind and the works of man in one great catastrophe1 to which the earthquake of ,lisbon in #agee--when #fj1jjj persons were killed1 crushed1 drowned1 or swallowed up in a few minutes--would be a merely paltry accident4 ,and it bids us think1 as ,st4 ,peter bids us3 #8,when therefore all these things are dissolved1 what manner of persons ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness8' ,what manner of persons8 ,remember1 that if an earthquake destroyed all ,england1 or the whole world2 if this earth on which we live crumbled to dust1 and were blotted out of the number of the stars1 there is one thing which earthquake1 and fire1 and all the forces of nature cannot destroy1 and that is--the human race4 ,we should still be4 ,we should still endure4 ,not1 indeed1 in flesh and blood3 but in some state or other2 each of us the same as now1 our characters1 our feelings1 our goodness or our badness2 our immortal spirits and very selves1 unchanged1 ready to receive1 and certain to receive1 the reward of the deeds done in the body1 whether they be good or evil4 ,yes1 we should still endure1 and ,god and ,christ would still endure4 ,but as our ,saviour1 or as our ,judge8 ,that is a very awful thought4 ,one day or other1 sooner or later1 each of us shall stand before the judgment-seat of ,christ1 stripped of all we ever had1 ever saw1 ever touched1 ever even imagined to ourselves1 alone with our own consciences1 alone with our own deserts4 ,what shall we be saying to ourselves then8 ,shall we be saying--,i have lost all3 ,the world is gone--the world1 in which were set all my hopes1 all my wishes2 the world in which were all my pleasures1 all my treasures2 the world1 which was the only thing ,i cared for1 though it warned me not to trust in it1 as it trembled beneath my feet8 ,but the world is gone1 and now ,i have nothing left6 ,or1 shall we be saying1--,the world is gone8 ,then let it go4 ,it was not a home4 ,i took its good things as thankfully as ,i could4 ,i took its sorrows and troubles as patiently as ,i could4 ,but ,i have not set my heart on the world4 ,my treasure1 my riches1 were not of the world4 ,my peace was a peace which the world did not give1 and could not take away4 ,and now the world is gone1 ,i keep my peace1 ,i keep my treasure still4 ,my peace is where it was1 in my own heart4 ,my peace is what it was3 my faith in ,god1--faith that my sins are forgiven me for ,christ's sake3 my faith that ,god my ,father loves me1 and cares for me2 and that nothing1--height or depth1 or time or space1 or life or death1 can part me from ,his love3 my faith that ,i have not been quite useless in the world2 that ,i have tried to do my duty in my place2 and that the good which ,i have done1 little as it has been1 will not go forgotten by that merciful ,god1 by whose help it was done1 who rewards all men according to the works which ,he gives them heart to perform4 ,and my treasure is where it was--in my heart2 and what it was1--the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 the spirit of goodness1 of faith and truth1 of mercy and justice1 of love to ,god and love to man1 which is everlasting life itself4 ,that ,i have4 ,that time cannot abate1 nor death abolish1 nor the world1 nor the destruction of the world1 nor of all worlds1 can take away4 ,choose1 my friends1 which of these two frames of mind would you rather be in when the great day of the ,lord comes1 foretold by that earthquake1 and by all earthquakes that ever were4 ,will you be then like those whom ,st4 ,john saw calling on the mountains to fall on them1 and the hills to hide them from the wrath of ,him that sat on the throne1 and from the anger of the ,lamb8 ,or will you be like him who saith--,god is my hope and strength1 my present help in trouble4 ,therefore will ,i not fear1 though the earth be shaken1 and though the mountains be carried into the depth of the sea8 ,,sermon ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,meteor ,,shower4 7,preached at the ,chapel ,royal1 ,st4 ,james's1 ,nov4 #bf1 #ahff47 ,,st4 ,,matthew x4 #bi1 #cj4 ,are not two sparrows sold for a farthing8 and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your ,father4 ,but the very hairs of your head are all numbered4 ,,it will be well for us to recollect1 once for all1 who spoke these words2 even ,jesus ,christ1 who declared that ,he was one with ,god the ,father2 ,jesus ,christ1 whom ,his apostles declared to be the ,creator of the universe4 ,if we believe this1 as ,christian men1 it will be well for us to take our ,lord's account of a universe which ,he ,himself created2 and to believe that in the most minute occurrence of nature1 there is a special providence1 by which not a sparrow falls to the ground without our ,father4 ,i confess that it is difficult to believe this heartily4 ,it was never anything but difficult4 ,in the earliest ages1 those who first thought about the universe found it so difficult that they took refuge in the fancy of special providence which was administered by the planets above their heads1 and believed that the affairs of men1 and of the world on which they lived1 were ruled by the aspects of the sun and moon1 and the host of heaven4 ,men found it so difficult in the ,middle ,age1 that they took refuge in the fancy of a special providence administered by certain demi-gods whom they called #8,the ,saints2' and believed that each special disease1 or accident1 was warded off from mankind1 from their cattle1 or from their crops1 by a special saint who overlooked their welfare4 ,men find it so difficult now-a-days1 that the great majority of civilized people believe in no special providence at all1 and take refuge in the belief that the universe is ruled by something which they call law4 ,therein1 doubtless1 they have hold of a great truth2 but one which will be only half-true1 and therefore injurious1 unless it be combined with other truths2 unless questions are answered which too many do not care to answer3 as1 for instance1--,can there be a law without a law-giver8 ,can a law work without one who administers the law8 ,are not the popular phrases of #8laws impressed on matter1' #8laws inherent in matter1' mere metaphors1 dangerous1 because inaccurate2 confirmed as little by experience and reason1 as by ,scripture8 ,does not all law imply a will8 ,does not an ,almighty ,will imply a special providence8 ,but these are questions for which most persons have neither time nor inclination4 ,indeed1 the whole matter is unimportant to them4 ,they have no special need of a special providence4 ,their lives and properties are very safe in this civilized country2 and their secret belief is that1 whatever influence ,god may have on the next world1 ,he has little or no influence on this world2 neither on the facts of nature1 nor on the events of history1 nor on the course of their own lives2 and that a special providence seems to them--if they dare confess as much--an unnecessary superstition4 ,only poor folk in cottages and garrets--and a few more who are1 happily1 poor in spirit1 though not in purse--grinding amid the iron facts of life1 and learning there by little sound science1 it may be1 but much sound theology--still believe that they have a ,father in heaven1 before whom the very hairs of their head are all numbered2 and that if they had not1 then this would not only be a bad world1 but a mad world likewise2 and that it were better for them that they had never been born4 ,nevertheless1 it is difficult to believe in the special providence of our ,father in heaven4 ,difficult3 though necessary4 ,just as it is difficult to believe that the earth moves round the sun4 ,contrary1 like that fact1 to a great deal of our seeming experience4 ,it is easy enough1 of course1 to believe that our ,father sends what is plainly good4 ,not so easy to believe that ,he sends what at least seems evil4 ,easy enough1 when we see spring-time and harvest1 sunshine and flowers1 to say--,here are #8acts of ,god's providence4' ,not so easy1 when we see blight and pestilence1 storm and earthquake1 to say1--,here are #8acts of ,god's providence' likewise4 ,for this innumerable multitude of things1 of which we now-a-days talk as if it were one thing1 and had an organic unity of its own1 or even as if it were one person1 and had a will of its own1 and call it ,nature--a word which will one day be forgotten by philosophers1 with the #8four elements1' and the #8animal spirits2'--this multitude of things1 ,i say1 which we miscall ,nature1 has its dark and ugly1 as well as its bright and fair side4 ,nature1 says some one1 is like the spotted panther--most playful1 and yet most treacherous2 most beautiful1 and yet most cruel4 ,it acts at times after a fashion most terrible1 undistinguishing1 wholesale1 seemingly pitiless4 ,it seems to go on its own way1 as in a storm or an earthquake1 careless of what it crushes4 ,terrible enough ,nature looks to the savage1 who thinks it crushes him from mere caprice4 ,more terrible still does ,science make ,nature look1 when she tells us that it crushes1 not by caprice1 but by brute necessity2 not by ill-will1 but by inevitable law4 ,science frees us in many ways 7and all thanks to her7 from the bodily terror which the savage feels4 ,but she replaces that1 in the minds of many1 by a moral terror which is far more overwhelming4 ,am ,i--a man is driven to ask--am ,i1 and all ,i love1 the victims of an organised tyranny1 from which there can be no escape--for there is not even a tyrant from whom ,i may perhaps beg mercy8 ,are we only helpless particles1 at best separate parts of the wheels of a vast machine1 which will use us till it has worn us away1 and ground us to powder8 ,are our bodies--and if so1 why not our souls8--the puppets1 yea1 the creatures of necessary circumstances1 and all our strivings and sorrows only vain beatings against the wires of our cage1 cries of #8,why hast thou made me1 then8' which are addressed to nothing8 ,tell us not that the world is governed by universal law2 the news is not comfortable1 but simply horrible1 unless you can tell us1 or allow others to tell us1 that there is a loving giver1 and a just administrator of that law4 ,horrible1 ,i say1 and increasingly horrible1 not merely to the sentimentalist1 but to the man of sound reason and of sound conscience1 must the scientific aspect of nature become1 if a mere abstraction called law is to be the sole ruler of the universe2 if--to quote the famous words of the ,german sage--#8,if1 instead of the ,divine ,eye1 there must glare on us an empty1 black1 bottomless eye-socket2' and the stars and galaxies of heaven1 in spite of all their present seeming regularity1 are but an #8everlasting storm which no man guides4' ,it was but a few days ago that we1 and this little planet on which we live1 caught a strange and startling glimpse of that everlasting storm which--shall ,i say it8--no one guides4 ,we were swept helpless1 astronomers tell us1 through a cloud of fiery stones1 to which all the cunning bolts which man invents to slay his fellow-man1 are but slow and weak engines of destruction4 ,we were free from the superstitious terror with which that meteor-shower would have been regarded in old times4 ,we could comfort ourselves1 too1 with the fact that heaven's artillery was not known as yet to have killed any one2 and with the scientific explanation of that fact1 namely1 that most of the bolts were small enough to be melted and dissipated by their rush through our atmosphere4 ,but did the thought occur to none of us1 how morally ghastly1 in spite of all its physical beauty1 was that grand sight1 unless we were sure that behind it all1 there was a living ,god8 ,unless we believed that not one of those bolts fell1 or did not fall to the ground without our ,father8 ,that ,he had appointed the path1 and the time1 and the destiny1 and the use of every atom of that matter1 of which science could only tell us that it was rushing without a purpose1 for ever through the homeless void8 ,we may believe that1 mind1 without denying scientific laws1 or their permanence in any way4 ,it is not a question1 this1 of a living ,god1 whether ,he interferes with ,his own laws now and then1 but whether interference is not the law of all laws itself4 ,it is not a question of special providences here and there1 in favour of this person or that2 but whether the whole universe and its history is not one perpetual and innumerable series of special providences4 ,whether the ,god who ordained the laws is not so administering them1 so making them interfere with1 balance1 and modify each other1 as to cause them to work together perpetually for good2 so that every minutest event 7excepting always the sin and folly of rational beings7 happens in the place1 time1 and manner1 where it is specially needed4 ,in one word1 the question is not whether there be a ,god1 but whether there be a living ,god1 who is in any true and practical sense ,master of the universe over which ,he presides2 a ,king who is actually ruling ,his kingdom1 or an ,epicurean deity who lets his kingdom rule itself4 ,is there a living ,god in the universe1 or is there none8 ,that is the greatest of all questions4 ,has our ,lord ,jesus ,christ answered it1 or has ,he not8 ,easy1 well-to-do people1 who find this world pleasant1 and whose chief concern is to live till they die1 care little about that question4 ,this world suits them well enough1 whether there be a living ,god or not2 and as for the next world1 they will be sure to find some preacher or confessor who will set their minds easy about it4 ,fanatics and bigots1 of all denominations1 care little about that question4 ,for they say in their hearts--#8,god is our ,father1 whosesoever ,father ,he is not4 ,we are ,his people1 and ,god performs acts of providence for us4 ,but as for the people outside1 who know not the law1 nor the ,gospel1 either1 they are accursed4 ,it is not our concern to discuss whether ,god performs acts of providence for them4' ,but here and there1 among rich and poor1 there are those whose heart and flesh--whose conscience and whose intellect--cry out for the living ,god1 and will know no peace till they have found ,him4 ,a living ,god2 a true ,god2 a real ,god2 a ,god worthy of the name2 a ,god who is working for ever1 everywhere1 and in all2 who hates nothing that ,he has made1 forgets nothing1 neglects nothing2 a ,god who satisfies not only their heads1 but their hearts2 not only their logical intellects1 but their higher reason--that pure reason1 which is one with the conscience and moral sense4 ,for ,him they cry out2 ,him they seek3 and if they cannot find ,him they know no rest4 ,for then they can find no explanation of the three great human questions--,where am ,i8 ,whither am ,i going8 ,what must ,i do8 ,men come to them and say1 #8,of course there is a ,god4--,he created the world long ago1 and set it spinning ever since by unchangeable laws4' ,but they answer1 #8,that may be true2 but ,i want more4 ,i want the living ,god4' ,other men come to them and say1 #8,of course there is a ,god2 and when the universe is destroyed1 ,he will save a certain number of the elect1 or orthodox4 ,do you take care that you are among that number1 and leave the rest to ,him4' ,but they answer1 #8,that may be true2 but ,i want more4 ,i want the living ,god4' ,they will say so very confusedly4 ,they will often not be able to make men understand their meaning4 ,nay1 they will say and do--driven by despair--very unwise things4 ,they will even fall down and worship the ,holy ,bread in the ,sacrament of the ,lord's ,supper1 and say1 #8,the living ,god is in that4 ,you have forbidden us1 with your theories1 to find the living ,god either in heaven or earth4 ,but somewhere ,he must be4 ,and in despair1 we will fall back upon the old belief that ,he is in the wafer on the altar1 and find there ,him whom our souls must find1 or be for ever without a home4' ,strange and sad1 that that should be the last outcome of the century of mechanical philosophy4 ,but before we blame the doctrine as materialistic1--which1 ,i fear1 it too truly is1--we should remember that1 for the last fifty years1 the young have been taught more and more to be materialists2 that they have been taught more and more to believe in a ,god who rules over ,sundays1 but not over week-day business2 over the next world1 but not over this2 a ,god1 in short1 in whom men do not live1 and move1 and have their being4 ,they have been brought up1 ,i say1 unconsciously1 but surely1 as practical materialists1 who make their senses the ground of all their knowledge2 and therefore1 when a revulsion happens to them1 they are awakened to look for the living ,god--they look for him instinctively in visible matter4 ,but for the living ,god thoughtful men will look more and more4 ,physical science is forcing on them the question1 ,do we live1 and move1 and have our being in ,god8 ,is there a real and perpetual communication between the visible and the invisible world1 or is there not8 ,are all the beliefs of man1 from the earliest ages1 that such there was1 dreams and nothing more8 ,is any religion whatsoever to be impossible henceforth8 ,and to find an answer1 men will go1 either backward to superstition1 or forward into pantheism2 for in atheism1 whether practical or theoretical1 they cannot abide4 ,the ,bible says that those old beliefs1 however partial or childish1 were no dreams1 but instincts of an eternal truth2 that there is such a communication between the universe and the living ,god4 ,prophets1 ,psalmists1 ,apostles1 speak--like our ,nicene ,creed--of a ,spirit of ,god1 the ,lord and ,giver of ,life1 in words which are not pantheism1 but are the very deliverance from pantheism1 because they tell us that that ,spirit proceeds1 not merely from a ,deity1 not merely from a ,creator1 but from a ,father in heaven1 and from a ,son who is ,his likeness and ,his ,word4 ,and from this ground ,natural ,theology must start1 if it is ever to revive again1 instead of remaining1 as now1 an extinct science4 ,it must begin from the keyword of the text1 #8,your ,father4' ,as long as ,natural ,theology begins from nature1 and not from ,god ,himself1 it will inevitably drift into pantheism1 as ,pope drifted1 in spite of himself1 when he tried to look from nature up to nature's ,god4 ,as long as men speculate on the dealings of a ,deity or of a ,creator1 they will find out nothing1 because they are searching under the wrong name1 and therefore1 as logicians will tell you1 for the wrong thing4 ,but when they begin to seek under the right name--the name which our ,lord revealed to the debased multitudes of ,juda1 when ,he told them that not a sparrow fell to the ground without--not the ,deity1 not the ,creator1 but their ,father2 then1 in ,god's good time1 all may come clear once more4 ,this at least will come clear1--a doubt which often presents itself to the mind of scientific men4 ,this earth--we know now that it is not the centre1 not the chief body1 of the universe1 but a tiny planet1 a speck1 an atom among millions of bodies far vaster than itself4 ,it was credible enough in old times1 when the earth was held to be all but the whole universe1 that ,god should descend on earth1 and take on ,him human nature1 to save human beings4 ,is it credible now8 ,this little corner of the systems and the galaxies8 ,this paltry race which we call man8 ,are they worthy of the interposition1 of the death1 of ,incarnate ,god--of the ,maker of such a universe as ,science has discovered8 ,yes4 ,if we will keep in mind that one word #8,father4' ,then we dare say ,yes1 in full assurance of ,faith4 ,for then we have taken the question off the mere material ground of size and of power2 to put it once and for ever on that spiritual ground of justice and love1 which is implied in the one word--#8,father4' ,if ,god be a perfect ,father1 then there must be a perpetual intercourse of some kind between ,him and ,his children2 between ,him and that planet1 however small1 on which ,he has set ,his children1 that they may be educated into ,his likeness4 ,if ,god be perfect justice1 the wrong1 and consequent misery of the universe1 how ever small1 must be intolerable to ,him4 ,if ,god be perfect love1 there is no sacrifice--remember that great word--which ,he may not condescend to make1 in order to right that wrong1 and alleviate that misery4 ,if ,god be the ,father of our spirits1 the spiritual welfare of ,his children may be more important to ,him than the fate of the whole brute matter of the universe4 ,think not to frighten us with the idols of size and height4 ,god is a ,spirit1 before whom all material things are equally great1 and equally small4 ,let us think of ,him as such1 and not merely as a ,being of physical power and inventive craft4 ,let us believe in our ,father in heaven4 ,for then that higher intellect1--that pure reason1 which dwells not in the heads1 but in the hearts of men1 will tell them that if they have a ,father in heaven1 ,he must be exercising a special providence over the minutest affairs of their lives1 by which ,he is striving to educate them into ,his likeness2 a special providence over the fate of every atom in the universe1 by which ,his laws shall work together for the moral improvement of every creature capable thereof2 that not a sparrow can fall to the ground without his knowledge2 and that not a hair of their head can be touched1 unless suffering is needed for the education of their souls4 ,,sermon ,,xvii4 ,,cholera1 #ahff4 ,,luke vii4 #af4 ,there came a fear on all3 and they glorified ,god1 saying1 ,that a great prophet is risen up among us2 and1 ,that ,god hath visited his people4 ,,you recollect to what the text refers8 ,how the ,lord visited ,his people8 ,by raising to life a widow's son at ,nain4 ,that was the result of our ,lord's visit to the little town of ,nain4 ,it is worth our while to think of that text1 and of that word1 #8visit1' just now4 ,for we are praying to ,god to remove the cholera from this land4 ,we are calling it a visitation of ,god2 and saying that ,god is visiting our sins on us thereby4 ,and we are saying the exact truth4 ,we are using the right and scriptural word4 ,we know that this cholera comes by no miracle1 but by natural causes4 ,we can more or less foretell where it will break out4 ,we know how to prevent its breaking out at all1 save in a scattered case here and there4 ,of this there is no doubt whatsoever in the mind of any well-informed person4 ,but that does not prevent its being a visitation of ,god2 yea1 in most awful and literal earnest1 a house-to-house visitation4 ,god uses the powers of nature to do ,his work3 of ,him it is written1 #8,he maketh the winds ,his angels1 and flames of fire ,his ministers4' ,and so this minute and invisible cholera-seed is the minister of ,god1 by which ,he is visiting from house to house1 searching out and punishing certain persons who have been guilty1 knowingly or not1 of the offence of dirt2 of filthy and careless habits of living2 and especially1 as has long been known by well-informed men1 of drinking poisoned water4 ,their sickness1 their deaths1 are ,god's judgment on that act of theirs1 whereby ,god says to men1--,you shall not drink water unfit for even dumb animals2 and if you do1 you shall die4 ,to this view there are two objections4 ,first1 the poor people themselves are not in fault1 but those who supply poisoned water1 and foul dwellings4 ,true3 but only half true4 ,if people demanded good water and good houses1 there would soon be a supply of them4 ,but there is not a sufficient supply2 because too many of the labouring classes in towns1 though they are earning very high wages1 are contented to live in a condition unfit for civilized men2 and of course1 if they are contented so to do1 there will be plenty of covetous or careless landlords who will supply the bad article with which they are satisfied2 and they will be punished by disease for not having taken care of themselves4 ,but as for the owners of filthy houses1 and the suppliers of poisoned water1 be sure that1 in ,his own way and ,his own time1 ,god will visit them2 that when ,he maketh inquisition for blood1 ,he will assuredly requite upon the guilty persons1 whoever they are1 the blood of those five or six thousand of her ,majesty's subjects who have been foully done to death by cholera in the last two months1 as ,he requited the blood of ,naboth1 or of any other innocent victim of whom we read in ,holy ,writ4 ,this outbreak of cholera in ,london1 considering what we now know about it1 and have known for twenty years past1 is a national shame1 scandal1 and sin1 which1 if man cannot and will not punish1 ,god can and will4 ,but there is another objection1 which is far more important and difficult to answer4 ,this cholera has not slain merely fathers and mothers of families1 who were more or less responsible for the bad state of their dwellings2 but little children1 aged widows1 and many other persons who cannot be blamed in the least4 ,true4 ,and we must therefore believe that to them--indeed to all--this has been a visitation not of anger but of love4 ,we must believe that they are taken away from some evil to come2 that ,god permits the destruction of their bodies1 to the saving of their souls4 ,his laws are inexorable2 and yet ,he hateth nothing that ,he hath made4 ,and we must believe that this cholera is an instance of the great law1 which fulfils itself again and again1 and will to the end of the world1--#8,it is expedient that one die for the people1 and that the whole nation perish not4' ,for the same dirt which produces cholera now and then1 is producing always1 and all day long1 stunted and diseased bodies1 drunkenness1 recklessness1 misery1 and sin of all kinds2 and the cholera will be a blessing1 a cheap price to have paid1 for the abolition of the evil spirit of dirt4 ,and thus much for this very painful subject--of which some of you may say--#8,what is it to us8 ,we cannot prevent cholera2 and1 blessed as we are with abundance of the purest water1 there is little or no fear of cholera ever coming into our parish4' ,that last is true1 my friends1 and you may thank ,god for it4 ,meanwhile1 take this lesson at least home with you1 and teach it your children day by day--that filthy1 careless1 and unwholesome habits of living are in the sight of ,almighty ,god so terrible an offence1 that ,he sometimes finds it necessary to visit them with a severity with which ,he visits hardly any sin2 namely1 by inflicting capital punishment on thousands of ,his beloved creatures4 ,but though we have not had the cholera among us1 has ,god therefore not visited us8 ,that would surely be evil news for us1 according to ,holy ,scripture4 ,for if ,god do not visit us1 then ,he must be far from us4 ,but the ,psalmist cries1 #8,go not far from me1 ,o ,lord4' ,his fear is1 again and again1 not that ,god should visit him1 but that ,god should desert him4 ,and more1 the word which is translated #8to visit1' in ,scripture has the sense of seeing to a man1 overseeing him1 being his bishop4 ,if ,god do not see to1 oversee us1 and be our bishop1 then ,he must turn ,his face from us1 which is what the ,psalmist beseeches ,him again and again not to do2 praying1 #8,hide not ,thy face from me1 ,o ,lord1' and crying out of the depths of anxiety and trouble1 #8,put thy trust in ,god1 for ,i shall yet give ,him thanks for the light of ,his countenance2' and again1 #8,in ,thy presence is'--not death1 but--#8life2 at ,thy right hand is fulness of days for evermore4' ,and again1 the ,psalmist prays to ,god to visit him1 and visit his thoughts1--#8,search me1 ,o ,lord1 and try the ground of my heart4 ,search me1 and examine my thoughts4 ,look well if there be any wickedness in me1 and lead me in the way everlasting4' ,shall we pray that prayer1 my friends8 ,shall we1 with the ,psalmist1 pray ,god to visit1 and1 if need be1 chasten and correct what ,he sees wrong in us8 ,or shall we1 with the superstitious1 pray to ,god not to visit us8 to keep away from us8 to leave its alone8 to forget us8 ,if ,he did answer that foolish prayer1 there would be an end of us and all created things2 for in ,god they live and move and have their being--as it is written1 #8,when ,thou hidest thy face1 they are troubled2 when ,thou takest away their breath1 they die1 and are turned again to their dust4' ,but1 happily for us1 ,god will not answer that foolish prayer4 ,for it is written1 #8,if ,i go up to heaven1 ,thou art there2 if ,i go down to hell1 ,thou art there also4' ,nowhither can we go from ,god's presence3 nowhither can we flee from ,his ,spirit4 ,this is the ,scripture language4 ,is ours like it8 ,have we not got to think of a visitation of ,god as a simple calamity8 ,if a man die suddenly and strangely1 he has died by the visitation of ,god4 ,but if he be saved from death strangely and suddenly1 it does not occur to us to call that a visitation1 and to say with ,scripture1 #8,the ,lord has visited the man with ,his salvation4' ,if the cholera comes1 or the crops fail1 we say1--,god is visiting us4 ,if we have an especially healthy year1 or a glorious harvest1 we never say with ,scripture1 #8,the ,lord has visited ,his people in giving them bread4' ,yet ,scripture1 if it says1 #8,i will visit their transgressions1' says also that the ,lord visited the children of ,israel to deliver them out of ,egypt4 ,if it talks of death as the visitation of all men1 it speaks of ,god visiting ,sarah and ,hannah to give them children4 ,if it says1 #8,i will visit the blood shed in ,jezreel1' it says also1 #8,thy visitation hath preserved my spirit4' ,if it says1 #8,at the time they are visited they shall be cast down1' it says also1 #8,the ,lord shall visit them1 and turn away their captivity4' ,if we look through ,scripture1 we find that the words #8visit' and #8visitation' are used about ninety times3 that in about fifty of them the meaning of the words is chastisement of some kind or other3 in about forty it is mercy and blessing3 and that in the ,new ,testament the words never mean anything but mercy and blessing1 though we have begun of late years to use them only in the sense of punishment and a curse4 ,now1 how is this1 my friends8 ,how is it that we1 who are not under the terrors of the ,law1 but under the ,gospel of grace1 have quite lost the ,gospel meaning of this word #8visitation1' and take a darker view of it than did even the old ,jews under the ,law8 ,have we1 whom ,god hath visited1 indeed1 in the person of ,his only-begotten ,son ,jesus ,christ1 any right or reason to think worse of a visitation of ,god than had the ,jews of old8 ,god forbid4 ,and yet we do so1 ,i fear2 and show daily that we do so by our use of the word3 for out of the abundance of the heart man's mouth speaketh4 ,by his words he is justified1 and by his words he is condemned2 and there is no surer sign of what a man's real belief is1 than the sense in which lie naturally1 as it were by instinct1 uses certain words4 ,and what is the cause8 ,shall ,i say it8 ,if ,i do1 ,i blame not you more than ,i blame myself1 more than ,i blame this generation4 ,but it seems to me that there is a little--or not a little--atheism among us now-a-days2 that we are growing to be #8without ,god in the world4' ,we are ready enough to believe that ,god has to do with the next world3 but we are not ready to believe that ,he has to do with this world4 ,we1 in this generation1 do not believe that in ,god we live1 and move1 and have our being4 ,nay1 some object to capital punishment1 because 7so they say7 #8it hurries men into the presence of their ,maker2' as if a human being could be in any better or safer place than the presence of his ,maker2 and as if his being there depended on us1 or on any man1 and not on ,god ,almighty alone1 who is surely not so much less powerful than an earthly monarch1 that ,he cannot keep out of ,his presence or in it whomsoever ,he chooses4 ,when we talk of being #8ushered into the presence of ,god1' we mean dying2 as if we were not all in the presence of ,god at this moment1 and all day long4 ,when we say1 #8,prepare to meet thy ,god1' we mean #8,prepare to die2' as if we did not meet our ,god every time we had the choice between doing a right thing and doing a wrong one--between yielding to our own lusts and tempers1 and yielding to the ,holy ,spirit of ,god4 ,for if the ,holy ,spirit of ,god be1 as the ,christian faith tells us1 ,god indeed1 do we not meet ,god every time a right1 and true1 and gracious thought arises in our hearts8 ,but we have all forgotten this1 and much more connected with this2 and our notion of this world is not that of ,holy ,scripture--of that grand #ajdth ,psalm1 for instance1 which sets forth the ,spirit of ,god as the ,lord and ,giver of life to all creation3 but our notion is this--that this world is a machine1 which would go on very well by itself1 if ,god would but leave it alone2 that if the course of nature1 as we atheistically call it1 is not interfered with1 then suns shine1 crops grow1 trade flourishes1 and all is well1 because ,god does not visit the earth4 ,ah6 blind that we are2 blind to the power and glory of ,god which is around us1 giving life and breath to all things1--,god1 without whom not a sparrow falls to the ground1--,god1 who visiteth the earth1 and maketh it very plenteous1--,god1 who giveth to all liberally1 and upbraideth not1--,god1 whose ever-creating and ever-sustaining ,spirit is the source1 not only of all goodness1 virtue1 knowledge1 but of all life1 health1 order1 fertility4 ,we see not ,god's witness in ,his sending rain and fruitful seasons1 filling our hearts with food and gladness4 ,and then comes the punishment4 ,because we will not keep up a wholesome and trustful belief in ,god in prosperity1 we are awakened out of our dream of unbelief1 to an unwholesome and mistrustful belief in ,him in adversity4 ,because we will not believe in a ,god of love and order1 we grow to believe in a ,god of anger and disorder4 ,because we will not fear a ,god who sends fruitful seasons1 we are grown to dread a ,god who sends famine and pestilence4 ,because we will not believe in the ,father in heaven1 we grow to believe in a destroyer who visits from heaven4 ,but we believe in ,him only as the destroyer4 ,we have forgotten that ,he is the ,giver1 the ,creator1 the ,redeemer4 ,we look on ,his visitations as something dark and ugly1 instead of rejoicing in the thought of ,god's presence1 as we should1 if we had remembered that ,he was about our path and about our bed1 and spying out all our ways1 whether for joy or for sorrow4 ,we shrink at the thought of ,his presence4 ,we look on ,his visitations as things not to be understood2 not to be searched out in childlike humility--and yet in childlike confidence--that we may understand why they are sent1 and what useful lesson our ,father means us to learn from them3 but we look on them as things to be merely prayed against1 if by any means ,god will1 as soon as possible1 cease to visit us1 and leave us to ourselves1 for we can earn our own bread comfortably enough1 if it were not for ,his interference and visitations4 ,we are too like the ,gadarenes of old1 to whom it mattered little that the ,lord had restored the madman to health and reason1 if ,he caused their swine to perish in the lake4 ,they were uneasy and terrified at such visitations of ,god incarnate4 ,he seemed to them a terrible and dangerous ,being1 and they besought ,him to depart out of their coasts4 ,it would have been wiser1 surely1 in those ,gadarenes1 and better for them1 had they cried--#8,lord1 what wilt ,thou have us to do8 ,we see that ,thou art a ,being of infinite power1 for mercy1 and for punishment likewise4 ,and ,thou art the very ,being whom we want1 to teach us our duty1 and to make us do it4 ,tell us what we ought to do1 and help us1 and1 if need be1 compel us to do it1 and so to prosper indeed4' ,and so should we pray in the case of this cholera4 ,we may ask ,god to take it away3 but we are bound to ask ,god also1 why ,he has sent it4 ,till then we have no reason to suppose that ,he will take it away2 we have no reason to suppose that it will be merciful in ,him to take it away1 till ,he has taught us why it was sent4 ,this question of cholera has come now to a crisis1 in which we must either learn why cholera comes1 or incur1 ,i hold1 lasting disgrace and guilt4 ,and--if ,i may dare to hint at the counsels of ,god--it seems as if the ,almighty ,lord had no mind to relieve us of that disgrace and guilt4 ,for months past we have been praying that this cholera should not enter ,england1 and our prayers have not been heard4 ,in spite of them the cholera has come2 and has slain thousands1 and seems likely to slay thousands more4 ,what plainer proof can there be to those who believe in the providence of ,god1 and the rule of ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 than that we are meant to learn some wholesome lesson from it1 which we have not learnt yet8 ,it cannot be that ,god means us to learn the physical cause of cholera1 for that we have known these twenty years4 ,foul lodging1 foul food1 and1 above all1 natural and physical1 foul water2 there is no doubt of the cause4 ,but why cannot we save ,english people from the curse and destruction which all this foulness brings8 ,that is the question4 ,that is our national scandal1 shame1 and sin at this moment4 ,perhaps the ,lord wills that we should learn that2 learn what is the moral and spiritual cause of our own miserable weakness1 negligence1 hardness of heart1 which1 sinning against light and knowledge1 has caused the death of thousands of innocent souls4 ,god grant that we may learn that lesson4 ,god grant that ,he may put into the hearts and minds of some man or men1 the wisdom and courage to deliver us from such scandals for the future4 ,but ,i have little hope that that will happen1 till we get rid of our secret atheism2 till we give up the notion that ,god only visits now and then1 to disorder and destroy ,his own handiwork1 and take back the old scriptural notion1 that ,god is visiting all day long for ever1 to give order and life to ,his own work1 to set it right whenever it goes wrong1 and re-create it whenever it decays4 ,till then we can expect only explanations of cholera and of ,god's other visitations of affliction1 which are so superstitious1 so irrational1 so little connected with the matter in hand1 that they would be ridiculous1 were they not somewhat blasphemous4 ,but when men arise in this land who believe truly in an ever-present ,god of order1 revealed in ,his ,son ,jesus ,christ2 when men shall arise in this land1 who will believe that faith with their whole hearts1 and will live and die for it and by it2 acting as if they really believed that in ,god we live1 and move1 and have our being2 as if they really believed that they were in the kingdom and rule of ,christ1--a rule of awful severity1 and yet of perfect love1--a rule1 meanwhile1 which men can understand1 and are meant to understand1 that they may not only obey the laws of ,god1 but know the mind of ,god1 and copy the dealings of ,god1 and do the will of ,god2 and when men arise in this land1 who have that holy faith in their hearts1 and courage to act upon it1 then cholera will vanish away1 and the physical and moral causes of a hundred other evils which torment poor human beings through no anger of ,god1 but simply through their own folly1 and greediness1 and ignorance4 ,all these shall vanish away1 in the day when the knowledge of the ,lord shall cover the land1 and men shall say1 in spirit and in truth1 as ,christ their ,lord has said before1--#8,sacrifice and burnt-offering thou wouldest not4 ,then said ,i1 ,lo1 ,i come4 ,in the volume of the book it is written of ,me1 that ,i should do the will of ,god4' ,and in those days shall be fulfilled once more1 the text which says1--#8,that the people glorified ,god1 saying1 ,a great ,prophet1 even ,christ the ,lord ,himself1 hath risen up among us1 and ,god hath visited ,his people4' ,,sermon ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,wicked ,,servant4 ,,st4 ,,matthew xviii4 #bc4 ,the kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain king1 which would take account of his servants4 ,,this parable1 which you heard in the ,gospel for this day1 you all know4 ,and ,i doubt not that all you who know it1 understand it well enough4 ,it is so human and so humane2 it is told with such simplicity1 and yet with such force and brilliancy that--if one dare praise our ,lord's words as we praise the words of men--all must see its meaning at once1 though it speaks of a state of society different from anything which we have ever seen1 or1 thank ,god1 ever shall see4 ,the ,eastern despotic king who has no law but his own will2 who puts his servant--literally his slave--into a post of such trust and honour1 that the slave can misappropriate and make away with the enormous sum of ten thousand talents2 who commands1 not only him1 but his wife and children to be sold to pay the debt2 who then forgives him all out of a sudden burst of pity1 and again1 when the wretched man has shown himself base and cruel1 unworthy of that pity1 revokes his pardon1 and delivers him to the tormentors till he shall pay all--all this is a state of things impossible in a free country1 though it is possible enough still in many countries of the ,east1 which are governed in this very despotic fashion2 and justice1 and very often injustice likewise1 is done in this rough1 uncertain way1 by the will of the king alone4 ,but1 however different the circumstances1 yet there is a lesson in this story which is universal and eternal1 true for all men1 and true for ever4 ,the same human nature1 for good and for evil1 is in us1 as was in that ,eastern king and his slave4 ,the same kingdom of heaven is over us as was over them1 its laws punishing sinners by their own sins2 the same ,spirit of ,god which strove with their hearts is striving with ours4 ,if it was not so1 the parable would mean nothing to us4 ,it would be a story of men who belonged to another moral world1 and were under another moral law1 not to be judged by our rules of right and wrong2 and therefore a story of men whom we need not copy4 ,but it is not so4 ,if the parable be--as ,i take for granted it is--a true story2 then it was ,christ1 the ,light who lights every man who cometh into the world1 who put into that king's heart the divine feeling of mercy1 and inspired him to forgive1 freely and utterly1 the wretched slave who worshipped him1 kneeling with his forehead to the ground1 and promising1 in his terror1 what he probably knew he could not perform--#8,lord1 have patience with me1 and ,i will pay thee all4' ,and it was ,christ1 the ,light of men1 who inspired that king with the feeling1 not of mere revenge1 but of just retribution2 who taught him that1 when the slave was unworthy of his mercy1 he had a right1 in a noble and divine indignation1 to withdraw his mercy2 and not to waste his favours on a bad man1 who would only turn them to fresh bad account1 but to keep them for those who had justice and honour enough in their hearts to forgive others1 when their ,lord had forgiven them4 ,we must bear in mind1 that the king must have been right1 and acting 7whether he knew it or not7 by the ,spirit of ,god2 else his conduct would never have been likened to the kingdom of heaven3 that is1 to the laws by which ,god governs both this world and the world to come4 ,the kingdom of heaven4 ,the kingdom of ,god--,would that men would believe in them a little more6 ,it seems1 at times1 as if all belief in them was dying out2 as if men1 throughout all civilized and ,christian countries1 had made up their minds to say--,there is no kingdom of ,god or of heaven4 ,there will be one hereafter1 in the next world4 ,this world is the kingdom of men1 and of what they can do for themselves without ,god's help1 and without ,god's laws4 ,my friends1 the ,jewish rulers of old said so1 and cried1 #8,we have no king but ,csar4' ,and they remain an example to all time1 of what happens to those who deny the kingdom of ,god4 ,christ came to tell them that the kingdom of heaven was at hand1 and the kingdom of ,god was among them4 ,but they would have none of it4 ,and what said our ,lord of them and their notion8 #8,the prince of this world1' said ,he1 #8cometh1 and hath nothing in me4 ,this is your hour and the power of darkness4' ,yes2 the hour in which men had determined to manage the world in their way1 and not in ,christ's1 was also the hour of the power of darkness4 ,that was what they had gained by having their own way2 by saying--,the kingdom is ours1 and not ,god's4 ,they had fallen under the power of darkness1 not of light4 ,the very light within them was darkness4 ,they utterly mistook their road on earth4 ,at the very moment that they were trying to make peace with the ,roman governor1 by denying that ,christ was their ,king1 and demanding that ,he should be crucified1--at that very moment the things which belonged to their peace were hid from their eyes4 ,never men made so fatal a mistake1 when they thought themselves most politic and prudent4 ,they said among themselves--#8,unless we put down this man1 the ,romans will come and take away our place1' i4e4 our privileges1 and power1 and our nation4 ,and what followed8 ,that the ,romans did come and take away their place and nation1 with horrible massacre and ruin3 and so they lost both the kingdom of this world1 and the kingdom of ,god likewise4 ,never1 ,i say1 did men make a more fatal mistake in the things of this world than those ,jews to whom the kingdom of ,god came1 and they rejected it4 ,and so shall we1 my friends1 if we forget that1 whether we like it or not1 the kingdom of ,god is within us1 and we within it likewise4 #a4 ,the kingdom of ,god is within us4 ,every gracious motive1 every noble1 just1 and merciful instinct within us1 is a sign to us that the kingdom of ,god is come to us2 that we are not as the brutes which perish2 not as the heathen who are too often past feeling1 being alienated from the life of ,god by reason of the ignorance which is in them3 but1 that we are ,god's children1 inheritors of the kingdom of heaven2 and that ,god's ,spirit is teaching us the laws of that kingdom2 so that in every child who is baptized1 educated1 and civilized1 is fulfilled the promise1 #8,i will write my laws upon their hearts1 and ,i will be to them a ,father4' ,god's ,spirit is teaching our hearts as ,he taught the heart of that old ,eastern king4 ,it may be1 it ought to be1 that ,he is teaching us far deeper lessons than ,he ever taught that king4 #b4 ,we are in the kingdom of ,god4 ,it is worth our while to remember that steadfastly just now4 ,many people are ready to agree that the kingdom of ,god is within them4 ,they will readily confess that religion is a spiritual matter1 and a matter of the heart3 but their fancy is that therefore religion1 and all just and noble and beautiful instincts and aspirations1 are very good things for those who have them3 but that1 if any one has them not1 it does not much matter4 ,they do not see that there are not only such things as feelings about ,god2 but that there are also such things as laws of ,god2 and that ,god can enforce those laws1 and does enforce them1 sometimes in a very terrible manner4 ,they do not believe enough in a living ,god1 an acting ,god1 a ,god who will not merely write ,his laws in our hearts1 if we will let ,him1 but may also destroy us off the face of the earth1 if we would not let ,him4 ,they fancy that ,god either cannot1 or will not1 enforce ,his own laws1 but leaves a man free to accept them1 or reject as he will4 ,there is no greater mistake4 ,be not deceived2 ,god is not mocked4 ,as a man sows1 so shall he reap4 ,god says to us1 to all men1--,copy ,me4 ,do as ,i do1 and be ,my children1 and be blest4 ,but if we will not2 if1 after all ,god's care and love1 the tree brings forth no fruit1 then1 soon or late1 the sentence goes forth against it in ,god's kingdom1 #8,cut it down2 why cumbereth it the ground8' ,there is a saying now-a-days1 that nations and tribes who will not live reasonable lives1 and behave as men should to their fellow-men1 must be civilized off the face of the earth4 ,the words are false1 if they mean that we1 or any other men1 have a right to exterminate their fellow-creatures4 ,but they are true1 and more true than the people who use them fancy1 if they are spoken not of man1 but of ,god4 ,for if men will not obey the laws of ,god's kingdom1 ,god does actually civilize them off the face of the earth4 ,great nations1 learned churches1 powerful aristocracies1 ancient institutions1 has ,god civilized off the face of the earth before now4 ,because they would not acknowledge ,god for their ,king1 and obey the laws of ,his kingdom1 in which alone are life1 and wealth1 and health1 ,god has taken ,his kingdom away from them1 and given it to others who would bring forth the fruits thereof4 ,the ,jews are the most awful and famous example of that terrible judgment of ,god1 but they are not the only ones4 ,it has happened again and again4 ,it may happen to you or me1 as well as to this whole nation of ,england1 if we forget that we are in ,god's kingdom1 and that only by living according to ,god's laws can we keep our place therein4 ,and this is what the parable teaches us4 ,the king tries to teach the servant one of the laws of his kingdom--that he rules according to boundless mercy and generosity4 ,god wishes to teach us the same4 ,the king does so1 not by word1 but by deed1 by actually forgiving the man his debt4 ,so does ,god forgive us freely in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,but more than this1 he wishes the servant to understand that he is to copy his king2 that if his king has behaved to him like a father to his child1 he must behave as a brother to his fellow-servants4 ,so does ,god wish to teach us4 ,but he does not tell the man so1 in so many words4 ,he does not say to him1 ,i command thee to forgive thy debtors as ,i have forgiven thee4 ,he leaves the man to his own sense of honour and good feeling4 ,it is a question not of the law1 but of the heart4 ,so does ,god with us4 ,he educates us1 not as children or slaves1 but as free men1 as moral agents4 ,he leaves us to our own reason and conscience1 to reap the fruit which we ourselves have sown4 ,therefore1 about a thousand matters in life ,he lays on us no special command4 ,he leaves us to act according to our good feeling1 to our own sense of honour4 ,it is a matter1 ,i say1 of the heart4 ,if ,god's law be written in our hearts1 our hearts will lead us to do the right thing4 ,if ,god's law be not in our hearts1 then mere outward commands will not make us do right1 for what we do will not be really right and good1 because it will not be done heartily and of our own will4 ,but the servant does not follow his lord's example4 ,fresh from his lord's presence1 he takes his fellow-servant by the throat1 saying--,pay me that thou owest4 ,his heart has not been touched4 ,his lord's example has not softened him4 ,he does not see how beautiful1 how noble1 how divine1 generosity and mercy are4 ,he is a hard-hearted1 worldly man4 ,the heavenly kingdom1 which is justice and love1 is not within him4 ,then1 if the kingdom of heaven is not in him1 he shall find out that he is in it2 and that in a very terrible way3--#8,thou wicked servant1 unworthy of my pity1 because there is no goodness in thine own heart4 ,thou wilt not take into thy heart my law1 which tells thee1 ,be merciful as ,i am merciful4 ,then thou shalt feel another and an equally universal law of mine4 ,as thou doest so shalt thou be done by4 ,if thou art merciful1 thou shalt find mercy4 ,if thou wilt have nothing but retribution1 then nothing but retribution thou shalt have4 ,if thou must needs do justice thyself1 ,i will do justice likewise4 ,because ,i am merciful1 dost thou think me careless8 ,because ,i sit still1 that ,i am patient8 ,dost thou think me such a one as thyself8' ,and his lord delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him4 ,my dear friends1 this is an awful story4 ,let us lay it to heart4 ,and to do that1 let us pray ,god to lay it to our hearts2 to write ,his laws in our hearts1 that we may not only fear them1 but love them2 not only see their profitableness1 but their fitness2 that we may obey them1 not grudgingly or of necessity1 but obey them because they look to us just1 and true1 and beautiful1 and as they are--,godlike4 ,let us pray1 ,i say1 that ,god would make us love what ,he commands1 lest we should neglect and despise what ,he commands1 and find it some day unexpectedly alive and terrible after all4 ,let us pray to ,god to keep alive ,his kingdom of grace within us1 lest ,his kingdom of retribution outside us should fall upon us1 and grind us to powder4 ,,sermon ,,xix4 ,,civilized ,,barbarism4 7,preached for the ,bishop of ,london's ,fund1 at ,st4 ,john's ,church1 ,notting ,hill1 ,june #ahff47 ,,st4 ,,matthew ix4 #ab4 ,they that be whole need not a physician1 but they that are sick4 ,i ,,have been honoured by an invitation to preach on behalf of the ,bishop of ,london's ,fund for providing for the spiritual wants of this metropolis4 ,by the bishop1 and a large number of landowners1 employers of labour1 and others who were aware of the increasing heathendom of the richest and happiest city of the world1 it was agreed that1 if possible1 a million sterling should be raised during the next ten years1 to do what money could do in wiping out this national disgrace4 ,it is a noble plan2 and it has been as yet--and ,i doubt not will be to the end--nobly responded to by the rich laity of this metropolis4 ,more than #ajj1jjjl4 was contributed during the first six months2 nearly #fj1jjjl4 in the ensuing year2 beside subscriptions which are promised for the whole1 or part of the ten years4 ,the money1 therefore1 does not flow in as rapidly as was desired3 but there is as yet no falling off4 ,and ,i believe that there will be1 on the contrary1 a gradual increase in the subscriptions as the objects of this fund are better understood1 and as its benefits are practically felt4 ,now1 it is unnecessary--it would be almost an impertinence--to enlarge on a spiritual destitution of which you are already well aware4 ,there are1 we shall all agree1 many thousands in ,london who are palpably sick of spiritual disease1 and need the physician4 ,but ,i have special reasons for not pressing this point4 ,if ,i attempted to draw subscriptions from you by painting tragical and revolting pictures of the vice1 heathendom1 and misery of this metropolis1 ,i might make you fancy that it was an altogether vicious1 heathen1 and miserable spot3 than which there can be no greater mistake4 ,these evils are not the rule1 but the exceptions4 ,were they not the exceptions1 then not merely the society of ,london1 and the industry of ,london1 and the wealth of ,london1 but the very buildings of ,london1 the brick and the mortar1 would crumble to the ground by natural and inevitable decay4 ,the unprecedentedly rapid increase of ,london is1 ,i firmly believe1 a sure sign that things in it are done on the whole not ill1 but well2 that ,god's blessing is on the place2 that1 because it is on the whole obeying the eternal laws of ,god1 therefore it is increasing1 and multiplying1 and replenishing the earth1 and subduing it4 ,and ,i do not hesitate to say1 that ,i have read of no spot of like size upon this earth1 on which there have ever been congregated so many human beings1 who are getting their bread so peaceably1 happily1 loyally1 and virtuously2 and doing their duty--ill enough1 no doubt1 as we all do it--but still doing it more or less1 by man and ,god4 ,i am well aware that many will differ from me2 that many men and many women--holy1 devoted1 spending their lives in noble and unselfish labours--persons whose shoes' latchet ,i am not worthy to unloose--take a far darker view of the state of this metropolis4 ,but the fact is1 that they are naturally brought in contact chiefly with its darker side4 ,their first duty is to seek out cases of misery3 and even if they do not1 the miserable will1 of their own accord1 come to them4 ,it is their first duty too--if they be clergymen--to rebuke1 and if possible1 to cure1 open vice1 open heathendom1 as well as to relieve present want and wretchedness3 and may ,god's blessing be on all who do that work4 ,but in doing it they are dealing daily--and ought to deal1 and must deal--with the exceptional1 and not with the normal2 with cases of palpable and shocking disease1 and not with cases of at least seeming health4 ,they see that1 into ,london1 as into a vast sewer1 gravitates yearly all manner of vice1 ignorance1 weakness1 poverty3 but they are apt to forget1 at times--and ,god knows ,i do not blame them for it in the least--that there gravitates into ,london1 not as into a sewer1 but as into a wholesome and fruitful garden1 a far greater amount of health1 strength1 intellect1 honesty1 industry1 virtue1 which makes ,london2 which composes1 ,i verily believe1 four-fifths of the population of ,london4 ,for if it did not1 as ,i have said already1 ,london would decay and die1 and not grow and live4 ,am ,i denying the spiritual destitution of this metropolis8 ,am ,i arguing against the necessity of the ,bishop of ,london's ,fund8 ,am ,i trying to cool your generosity towards it8 ,am ,i raising against it the text--#8,they that be whole need not a physician1 but they that are sick8' ,am ,i trying to prove that the sick are fewer than was fancied1 the healthy more numerous2 and1 therefore1 the physician less needed8 ,would to heaven that ,i dare so do4 ,would to heaven that ,i could prove this fund unnecessary and superfluous4 ,but instead thereof1 ,i fear that ,i must say--that the average of that health1 strength1 intellect1 honesty1 industry1 virtue1 which makes ,london--that the average of all that1 ,i verily believe1 is to be counted 7though it knows it not7 among the sick1 and not among the sound4 ,it is sick1 over and above those personal sins which are common to all classes2 it is sick of a great social disease2 of a disease which is very dangerous for the nation to which we belong2 which will increase more and more1 and become more and more dangerous1 unless it is stopped wholesale1 by some such wholesale measure as this4 ,that disease is 7paradoxical as it may seem7 ,want of ,civilization2 ,barbarism1 which is the child of ungodliness4 ,and that can1 ,i verily believe again1 be cured only 7as far as we in the nineteenth century have discovered7 by an extension of the parochial system4 ,and yet--let us beware of that expression--,parochial ,system4 ,it seems to imply that the parish is a mere system2 an artificial arrangement of man's invention4 ,now that is just what the parish is not4 ,it is founded on local ties2 and they are not a system1 but a fact4 ,you do not assemble men into parishes3 you find them already assembled by fact1 which is the will of ,god4 ,you take your stand upon the merest physical ground of their living next door to each other2 their being likely to witness each other's sayings and doings2 to help each other and like each other1 or to debauch each other and hate each other2 upon the fact that their children play in the same street1 and teach each other harm or good1 thereby influencing generations yet unborn2 upon the fact that if one takes cholera or fever1 the man who lives next door is liable to take it too--in short1 on the broad fact that they are members of each other1 for good or evil4 ,you take your stand on this physical ground of mere neighbourhood2 and say--,this bond of neighbourhood is1 after all1 one of the most human--yea1 of the most ,divine--of all bonds4 ,every man you meet is your brother1 and must be1 for good or evil3 you cannot live without him2 you must help1 or you must injure1 each other4 ,and1 therefore1 you must choose whether you will be a horde of isolated barbarians--your living in brick and mortar1 instead of huts and tents1 being a mere accident--barbarians1 ,i say1 at continual war with each other3 or whether you will go on to become civilized men2 that is1 fellow-citizens1 members of the same body1 confessing and exercising duties to each other which are not self-chosen1 not self-invented1 but real2 which encompass you whether you know them or not2 laid on you by ,almighty ,god1 by the mere fact of your being men and women living in contact with each other4 ,out of this great and true law arises the idea of a parish1 a local self-government for many civil purposes1 as well as ecclesiastical ones1 under a priest who--if he is to be considered as a little constitutional monarch--has his powers limited carefully both by the supreme law1 by his assessors the church-wardens1 and by the democratic constitution of the parish--influences which he is bound1 both by law and by ,christianity1 to obey4 ,arising1 in the first place1 from the fact that our forefathers colonized ,england in small separate families1 each with its own jurisdiction and worship2 our country parish churches being1 to this day1 often the sites of old heathen tribe-temples1 and this very place1 ,notting-hill1 being possibly a little colony of the ,nottingas--the same tribe which gave their name to the great city of ,nottingham2 arising from this fact1 and from the very ancient institution of frank-pledge between local neighbours1 this parochial system1 above all other ,english institutions1 has helped to teach us how to govern1 and therefore how to civilize1 ourselves4 ,it was overlaid1 all but extinguished1 by the monastic system1 during the latter part of the ,middle ,ages4 ,it re-asserted itself1 in fuller vigour than ever1 at the ,reformation4 ,but with its benefits1 its defects were restored likewise4 ,the tendency of the medival ,church had been to become merely a church for paupers4 ,the tendency of the ,church of ,england during the sixteenth1 seventeenth1 and eighteenth centuries1 was to become merely a church for burghers4 ,it has been1 of late1 to become merely a church for paupers again4 ,the causes of this reaction are simple enough4 ,population increased so rapidly that the old parish bounds were broken up2 the old parish staff became too small for working purposes4 ,the ,church had 7and1 alas6 has still7 to be again a missionary church1 as she became in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries1 when feudal violence had destroyed the self-government of the parishes--often the parishes themselves--and filled the land with pauperism and barbarism4 ,but that is but a transitional state4 ,her duty is now becoming more and more 7and those who wish her well must help her to fulfil her duty7 to reorganize the ancient parochial system on a deeper and sounder footing than ever2 on a footing which will ensure her being a church1 not merely for pauper1 nor merely for burgher1 but for pauper and for burgher equally and alike4 ,but some will say that parochial civilization is only a peculiar form of civilization1 because its centre is a church4 ,peculiar8 ,that is the last word which any one would apply to such a civilization1 if he knows history4 ,will any one mention any civilization1 past or present1 whose centre has not been 7as long as it has been living and progressive7 a church8 ,all past civilizations--whether heathen or ,mussulman1 ,jew or ,christian--have each and every one of them1 as a fact1 held that the common and local worship of a ,god was a sign to them of their common and local unity2 a sign to them of their religion1 that is1 the duties which bound them to each other1 whether they liked or not4 ,to all races and nations1 as yet1 their sacred grove1 church1 temple1 or other place of worship1 has been a sign to them that their unity and duties were not invented by themselves1 but were the will and command of an unseen ,being1 who would reward or punish them according as they did those duties or left them undone4 ,so it has been in the civilizations of the past4 ,so it will be in the civilization of the future4 ,if the ,christian religion were swept away--as it never will be1 for it is eternal--and a civilization founded on what is called ,nature put in its place1 then we should see a worship of something called ,nature1 and a temple thereof1 set up as the symbol of that ,natural civilization4 ,so the ,jacobins of ,france--when they tried to civilize ,france on the mere ground of what they called ,reason--had1 whether they liked it or not1 to instal a worship of ,reason1 and a goddess of ,reason1 for as long as they could contrive to last4 ,to the world's end1 a church of some kind or other will be the centre and symbol of every civilization which is worthy of the name2 of every civilization which signifies1 not merely that men live in somewhat better houses1 travel rather faster by railway1 and read a few more books 7which is the popular meaning of civilization71 but which means--as it meant among the ,greeks1 the ,romans1 the ,jews1 the ,christians1 among those who discovered the idea and the very words which express it--that each and every truly civilized man is a civis1 a citizen1 the conscious and obedient member of a corporate body which he did not make1 but which 7in as far as he is not a savage7 has made him4 ,how far from this idea are the great masses of our really wealthy and well-to-do ,londoners8 ,how much is it needed1 that wise men should try to re-awaken in them the sense of corporate life1 and literally civilize them once more6 ,consider the case1 not of the average wretched1 but of the average comfortable man4 ,the small shopkeeper1 the workman1 skilled or unskilled--how small a consciousness has he of citizenship4 ,what few incentives to regard civism as a solemn duty4 ,for consider1 of what is he a member8 ,he is a member of a family2 and1 in general1 he fulfils his family duties well4 ,yes1 thank ,god1 the family life of ,englishmen is sound4 ,the hearts of the children do not need to be turned to their fathers1 or the hearts of the fathers to the children1 as they did in ,judea of old4 ,family life1 which is the foundation of all national life--nay1 of all ,christian and church life--is1 on the whole1 sound4 ,and having that foundation we can build on it safely and well1 if we be wise4 ,but of what else is the average ,londoner a member8 ,of a benefit-club1 of a trades' union1 of a volunteer corps4 ,each will be a valuable element of education1 for it will teach him that self-government1 which is the school of all freedom1 of all loyalty1 of all true civilization4 ,or he may be a member of some ,nonconformist sect4 ,that1 too1 will be a valuable element1 for it will teach him the solemn fact of his own personality2 his direct responsibility to ,god for his own soul4 ,and ,i cannot pass this point of my sermon without expressing my sense of the great work which the ,dissenting sects have done1 and are doing1 for this land 7with which the ,bishop of ,london's plan will in no wise interfere71 in teaching this one thing1 which the ,church of ,england1 while trying to carry out her far deeper and higher conception of organization1 has often forgotten2 that1 after all1 and before all1 and throughout all1 each man stands alone1 face to face with ,almighty ,god4 ,this idea has helped to give the middle classes of ,england an independence1 a strong1 vigorous1 sharp-cut personality1 which is an invaluable wealth to the nation4 ,god forbid that we should try to weaken it1 even for reasons which may seem to some devout and orthodox4 ,but all these memberships1 after all1 are only voluntary ones1 not involuntary4 ,they are assumed by man himself--the worldly associations on the ground of mutual interest2 the spiritual associations on that of identity of opinions4 ,they are not instituted by ,god1 and nature1 and fact1 whether the man knows of them or not1 likes them or not4 ,they are of the nature of clubs1 not of citizenship4 ,they are not founded on that human ground which is1 by virtue of the ,incarnation1 the most divine ground of all4 ,and for the many they do not exist4 ,the majority of small shopkeepers1 and the majority of labourers too1 are members1 as far as they are aware1 of nothing1 unless it be a club at some neighbouring public-house4 ,the old feudal and burgher bonds of the ,middle ,age1 for good or for evil1 have perished by natural and necessary decay2 and nothing has taken their place4 ,each man is growing up more and more isolated2 tempted to selfishness1 to brutal independence2 tempted to regard his fellow-men as rivals in the struggle for existence2 tempted1 in short1 to incivism1 to a loss of the very soul and marrow of civilization1 while the outward results of it remain2 and therefore tempted to a loss of patriotism1 of the belief that he possesses here something far more precious than his private fortune1 or even his family2 even a country for which he must sacrifice1 if need be1 himself4 ,and if that grow to be the general temper of ,england1 or of ,london1 in some great day of the ,lord1 some crisis of perplexity1 want1 or danger1--then may the ,lord have mercy upon this land2 for it will have no mercy on itself3 but divided1 suspicious1 heartless1 cynical1 unpatriotic1 each class1 even each family1 even each individual man1 will run each his own way1 minding his own interest or safety2 content1 like the debased ,jews1 if he can find the life of his hand2 and-- #8,too happy if1 in that dread day1 ,his life he given him for a prey4' ,our fathers saw that happen throughout half ,europe1 at a crisis when1 while the outward crust of civilization was still kept up1 the life of it1 all patriotism1 corporate feeling1 duty to a common ,god1 and faith in a common ,saviour1 had rotted out unperceived4 ,at one blow the gay idol fell1 and broke2 and behold1 inside was not a soul1 but dust4 ,god grant that we may never see here the same catastrophe1 the same disgrace4 ,now1 one remedy--,i do not say the only remedy--there are no such things as panaceas2 all spiritual and social diseases are complicated1 and their remedies must be complicated likewise--but one remedy1 palpable1 easy1 and useful1 whenever and wherever it has been tried1 is this--to go to these great masses of brave1 honest1 industrious1 but isolated and uncivilized men1 after the method of the ,bishop of this diocese1 and his fund2 and to say to them1--#8,of whatever body you are1 or are not members1 you are members of that human family for which our ,lord ,jesus ,christ was contented to be betrayed1 and to suffer death upon the ,cross2 over which ,he now liveth and reigneth1 with the ,father and the ,holy ,ghost1 one ,god1 world without end4 ,you are children of ,god the ,father of spirits1 who wills that all should be saved1 and come to the knowledge of the truth4 ,you are inheritors--that is1 members not by your own will1 or the will of any man1 but by the will of ,god who has chosen you to be born in a ,christian land of ,christian parents--inheritors1 ,i say1 of the kingdom of heaven1 from your cradles to your graves1 and after that1 if you will1 for ever and ever4 ,behave as such4 ,claim your rights2 for they are yours already3 and not only claim your rights1 but confess your duties4 ,remember that every man1 woman1 and child in your street is1 prim facie1 just as much a member of ,christ as you are4 ,treat them as such2 associate yourselves with them as such4 ,accept the simple physical fact that they live next door to you1 as ,god's will toward you both1 and as ,god's sign to you that you and they are members of the same human and divine family4 ,enter with them1 in that plain form1 into the free corporate self-government of a ,christian parish4 ,fear no priestly tyranny2 from that danger you are guaranteed by the fact1 that the great majority of the promoters of this fund are laymen1 of all shades of opinion4 ,you are guaranteed1 still further1 by the fact1 that in the parochial system there can be no tyranny4 ,it is one of the very institutions by which ,englishmen have learnt those habits of self-government1 which are the admiration of ,europe4 #8,do1 then1 the duty which lies nearest you2 your duty to the man who lives next door1 and to the man who lives in the next street4 ,do your duty to your parish2 that you may learn to do your duty by your country and to all mankind1 and prove yourselves thereby civilized men4 #8,and confess your sins in this matter1 if not to us1 at least to ,god4 ,confess that while you1 in your sturdy1 comfortable independence1 have been fancying yourselves whole and sound1 you have been very sick1 and need the physician to cure you of the deadly and growing disease of selfish barbarism4 ,confess that1 while you have been priding yourselves on ,english self-help and independence1 you have not deigned to use them for those purposes of common organization1 common worship1 for which the very savages and heathens have1 for ages past1 used such freedom as they have had4 ,confess that1 while you have been talking loudly about the rights of humanity1 you have neglected too often its duties1 and lived as if the people in the same street had no more to do with you than the beasts which perish4 #8,confess your sins4 ,we monied men confess ours4 ,we ought to have foreseen the rapid growth of this city4 ,we ought to have planned and laboured more earnestly for its better organization4 ,and we freely offer our money1 as a sign of our repentance1 to build and establish for you institutions which you cannot afford to establish for yourselves4 ,we excuse you1 moreover1 in very great part4 ,you have been gathered together so suddenly into these vast new districts1 or rather chaos of houses1 and you have meanwhile shifted your dwellings so rapidly1 and under the pressure of such continual labour1 that you have not had time enough to organize yourselves4 ,but we1 too1 have our excuse4 ,we have actually been trying1 at vast expense and labour to ourselves1 for the last forty years1 to meet your new needs4 ,but you have outgrown all our efforts4 ,your increase has taken us by surprise4 ,your prosperity has outrun our goodwill4 ,it shall do so no more4 ,we are ready to do our part in the good work of repentance4 ,we ask you to do yours4 ,you are more able to do it than you ever were3 richer1 better educated1 more acquainted with the blessings of association4 ,we do not come to you as to paupers1 merely to help you4 ,we come to you as to free and independent citizens1 to teach you to help yourselves1 and show yourselves citizens indeed4' ,i hope1 ay1 ,i believe1 that such an appeal as this1 made in an honest and liberal spirit1 which proves its honesty and liberality by great and generous gifts out of such private wealth as no nation ever had before1 will be met by the masses of ,london1 in the same spirit as that in which it has been made4 ,i am certain of it1 if only the ecclesiastical staff employed by this ,fund will keep steadfastly in mind what they have to do4 ,true it is1 and happily true1 that they can do nothing but good4 ,if they confine themselves to the celebration of public worship1 to teaching children1 to giving the consolations of religion to those with whom want and wretchedness bring them in contact--all that will be gain1 clear gain1 vast gain4 ,but that1 valuable1 necessary as it is1 will not be sufficient to evoke a full response from the people of ,london4 ,but if they will1 not leaving the other undone1 do yet more2 if they will attempt the more difficult1 but the equally necessary and more permanent labour--that of attacking the disease of barbarism1 not merely in its symptoms1 but in its very roots and its causes2 if they will recognise the fact1 that with the disease there coexists a great deal of sturdy and useful health2 if they will have courage and address to face1 not merely the non-working1 non-earning1 and generally non-thinking hundreds1 but the working1 earning1 thinking thousands of each parish2 in fact1 the men and women who make ,london what it is2 if they will approach them with charity1 confidence1 and respect2 if they will remember that they are justly jealous of that personal independence1 that civil and religious liberty1 which is theirs by law and right2 if they will conduct themselves1 not as lords over ,god's heritage1 but as examples to the flock2 if they will treat that flock1 not as their subjects1 but as their friends1 their fellow-workers1 their fellow-counsellors--often their advisers2 if they will remember that #8,give and take1 live and let live1' are no mere worldly maxims1 but necessary1 though difficult ,christian duties2 then1 ,i believe1 they will after awhile receive an answer to their call such as they dare not as yet expect2 such an answer as our forefathers gave to the clergy of the early ,middle ,age1 when they showed them that the kingdom of ,god was the messenger of civilization1 of humanity1 of justice and peace1 of strength and well-being in this world1 as well as in the next4 ,the clergy would find in the men and women of ,london not merely disciples1 but helpers4 ,they would meet1 not with fanatical excitement1 not even with enthusiasm1 not even with much outward devotion2 but with co-operation1 hearty and practical though slow and quiet--co-operation all the more valuable1 in every possible sense1 because it will be free and voluntary2 and the ,bishop of ,london's ,fund would receive more and more assistance1 not merely of heads and hands1 but of money when money was needed1 from the inhabitants of the very poorest and most heathen districts1 as they began to feel that they were giving their money towards a common blessing1 and became proud to pay their share towards an organization which would belong to them1 and to their children after them4 ,so runs my dream4 ,this may be done3 ,god grant that it may6 ,for now1 it may be1 is our best chance of doing it4 ,now is the accepted time2 now is the day of salvation4 ,if these masses increase in numbers and in power for another generation1 in their present state of anarchy1 they may be lost for ever to ,christianity1 to order1 to civilization4 ,but if we can civilize1 in that sense which is both classical and ,christian1 the masses of ,london1 and of ,england1 by that parochial method which has been 7according to history7 the only method yet discovered1 then we shall have helped1 not only to save innumerable souls from sin1 and from that misery which is the inevitable and everlasting consequence of sin1 but we shall have helped to save them from a specious and tawdry barbarism1 such as corrupted and enervated the seemingly civilized masses of the later ,roman empire2 and to save our country1 within the next century1 from some such catastrophe as overtook the ,jewish monarchy in spite of all its outward religiosity2 the catastrophe which has overtaken every nation which has fancied itself sound and whole1 while it was really broken1 sick1 weak1 ripe for ruin4 ,for such1 every nation or empire becomes1 though the minority above be never so well organized1 civilized1 powerful1 educated1 even virtuous1 if the majority below are not a people of citizens1 but masses of incoherent atoms1 ready to fall to pieces before every storm4 ,from that1 and from all adversities1 may ,god deliver us1 and our children after us1 by graciously beholding this ,his ,family1 for which our ,lord ,jesus ,christ was content to suffer death upon the ,cross2 and by pouring out ,his ,spirit upon all estates of men in ,his holy ,church1 that every member of the same1 in his calling and ministry1 may freely and godly serve ,him2 till we have no longer the shame and sorrow of praying for ,english men and women1 as we do for ,jews1 ,turks1 infidels1 and heretics1 that ,god would take from them all ignorance1 hardness of heart1 and contempt of ,his ,word1 and fetch them home to that flock of ,his1 to which they all belong6 ,,sermon ,,xx4 ,,the ,,god ,,of ,,nature4 7,preached during a wet harvest47 ,,psalm cxlvii4 #g-i4 ,sing unto the ,lord with thanksgiving2 sing praise upon the harp unto our ,god3 who covereth the heaven with clouds1 who prepareth rain for the earth1 who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains4 ,he giveth to the beast his food1 and to the young ravens which cry4 ,,there is no reason why those who wrote this ,psalm1 and the one which follows it1 should have looked more cheerfully on the world about them than we have a right to do4 ,the country and climate of ,judea is not much superior to ours4 ,if we suffer at times from excess of rain and wind1 ,judea suffers from excess of drought and sunshine4 ,it suffers1 too1 at times1 from that most terrible of earthly calamities1 from which we are free--namely1 from earthquakes4 ,the sea1 moreover1 instead of being loved1 as it is by us1 as the highway of our commerce1 and the producer of vast stores of food--the sea1 ,i say1 was almost feared by the old ,jews1 who were no sailors4 ,they looked on it as a dangerous waste2 and were thankful to ,god that1 though the waves roared1 ,he had set them a bound which they could not pass4 ,so that there is no reason why the old ,jews should think and speak more cheerfully about the world than we here in ,england ought4 ,they had1 too1 the same human afflictions1 sicknesses1 dangers1 disappointments1 losses and chastisements as we have4 ,they had their full share of all the ills to which flesh is heir4 ,yet look1 ,i beg you1 at the cheerfulness of these two ,psalms1 the #adgth and #adhth4 ,in truth1 it is more than cheerfulness2 it is joy1 rejoicing which can only express itself in a song4 ,these ,psalms are songs1 to be sung to music1 and even in our translation they are songs still1 sounding like poetry1 and not like prose4 ,and why is this8 ,because the men who wrote these ,psalms had faith in ,god4 ,they trusted ,god4 ,they saw that ,he was worthy of their trust4 ,they saw that ,he was to be honoured1 not merely for ,his boundless wisdom and ,his boundless power3 for a being might have them1 and yet make a bad use of them4 ,but ,he was to be trusted1 because ,he was a good ,god4 ,he was to be honoured1 not for anything which men might get out of ,him 7as the heathen fancied7 by flattering ,him1 and begging of ,him3 but ,he was to be honoured for ,his own sake1 for what ,he was in ,himself--a just1 merciful1 kind1 generous1 magnanimous1 and utterly noble and perfect1 moral ,being1 worthy of all admiration1 praise1 honour1 and glory4 ,the ,psalmist saw that ,god was good1 and worthy to be praised4 ,but he saw1 too1 that he and his forefathers would never have found out that for themselves4 ,it was too great a discovery for man to make4 ,god must have showed it to them4 ,god had showed ,his word to ,jacob1 ,his statutes and ordinances to ,israel4 ,he had not done so to any other nation1 neither had the heathen knowledge of ,his laws4 ,and1 therefore1 they did not trust ,god2 they did not consider ,him a good ,god1 and so they worshipped ,baalim1 the sun and moon and stars1 with silly and foul ceremonies1 to procure from them good harvests2 and burnt their children in the fire to ,moloch1 the fire-king1 to keep off the earthquakes and the floods4 ,god had not taught them what ,he had taught ,israel--to trust in ,him1 and in ,his word which ran very swiftly1 and in ,his laws1 which could not be broken3 a faith which1 my friends1 we must do our best to keep up in ourselves1 and in our children after us4 ,for it is very easy to lose it1 this faith in ,god4 ,we are tempted to lose it1 all our lives long4 ,our forefathers1 in the days of ,popery1 lost it2 and because they did not trust in ,god as a good ,god1 who took good care of the world which ,he had made1 they fell to believing that the devil1 and witches1 the servants of the devil1 could raise storms1 blight crops1 strike cattle and human beings with disease4 ,and they began1 too1 to pray1 not to ,god1 but to certain saints in heaven1 to protect them against bodily ills4 ,one saint could cure one disease1 and one another2 one saint protected the cattle1 another kept off thunder1 and so forth--,i will not tell you more1 lest ,i should tempt you to smile in this holy place2 and tempt you1 too1 to look down on your forefathers1 who 7though they made these mistakes7 were just as honest and virtuous men as we4 ,and even lately1 up to this very time1 there are those who have not full faith in ,god2 though they be good and pious persons1 and good ,protestants too1 who would shrink with horror from worshipping saints1 or any being save ,god alone4 ,but they are apt to shut their eyes to the beauty and order of ,god's world1 and to the glory of ,god set forth therein1 and to excuse themselves by quoting unfairly texts of ,scripture4 ,they say that this world is all out of joint2 corrupt1 and cursed for ,adam's sin3 yet1 where it is out of joint1 and where it is corrupt1 they cannot show4 ,and1 as for its being cursed for ,adam's sin1 that is a dream which is contradicted by ,holy ,scripture itself4 ,for see4 ,we read in ,genesis iii4 #ag1 #8,cursed is the ground for thy sake2 in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life2 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee4' ,now1 that the ground does not now bring forth thorns and thistles to us1 we know4 ,for it brings forth whatsoever fair flower1 or useful herb1 we plant therein1 according to the laws of nature1 which are the laws of ,god4 ,neither do men eat thereof in sorrow2 but1 as ,solomon says1 #8eat their bread in joyfulness of heart4' ,and so did they in the ,psalmist's days2 who never speak of the tillage of the land without some expression of faith and confidence1 and thankfulness to that ,god who crowns the year with ,his goodness1 and ,his clouds drop fatness2 while the hills rejoice on every side1 and the valleys stand so thick with corn1 that they laugh and sing--of faith1 ,i say1 and gratitude toward that ,god who brings forth the grass for the cattle1 and green herb for the service of men2 who brings food out of the earth1 and wine to make glad the heart of man1 and oil to give him a cheerful countenance1 and bread to strengthen man's heart4 ,those well-known words are in the #ajdth ,psalm2 and ,i ask any reasonable person to read that ,psalm through--the ,psalm which contains the ,jewish natural theology1 the ,jew's view of this world1 and of ,god's will and dealings with it--and then say1 could a man have written it who thought that there was any curse upon this earth on account of man's sin8 ,but more4 ,the ,book of ,genesis says that there is none2 for1 after it has said in the third chapter1 #8,cursed is the ground for thy sake1' it says again1 in the eighth chapter1 verse #ba1 #8,and the ,lord said in ,his heart1 ,i will not again curse the ground for man's sake4 ,while the earth remaineth1 seed-time and harvest1 cold and heat1 summer and winter1 shall not cease4' ,can any words be plainer8 ,whatever the curse in ,adam's days may have been1 does not the ,book of ,genesis represent it as being formally abrogated and taken away in the days of ,noah1 that the regular course of nature1 fruitful and beneficent1 might endure thenceforth8 ,accordingly1 we hear no more in the ,bible anywhere of this same curse4 ,we hear instead the very opposite2 for one says1 in the #aaith ,psalm1 speaking indeed of ,god1 #8,o ,lord1 ,thy word endureth for ever in heaven4 ,thy truth also remaineth from one generation to another4 ,thou hast laid the foundation of the earth1 and it abideth4 ,they continue this day according to ,thine ordinance3 for all things serve ,thee4' ,and so in the #adhth ,psalm1 another speaks by the ,spirit of ,god2 #8,let all things praise the name of the ,lord3 for ,he commanded1 and they were created4 ,he hath also established them for ever and ever3 ,he hath given them a law which shall not be broken4' ,yes1 my friends1 ,god's law shall not be broken1 and it is not broken4 ,and that faith1 that the laws which govern the whole material universe1 cannot be broken1 will be to us faith full of hope1 and joy1 and confidence1 if we will remember1 with the ,psalmist1 that they are the laws of the living ,god1 and of the good ,god4 ,they are the laws of the living ,god3 not the laws of nature1 or fate1 or necessity--all three words which mean little or nothing--but of a living ,god in whom we live1 and move1 and have our being2 whose word--the creating1 organizing1 inspiring word--runneth very swiftly1 making all things to obey ,god1 and not themselves4 ,and they are the laws of a good ,god2 of a moral ,god2 of a generous1 loving1 just1 and merciful ,god1 who1 as the ,psalmist reminds us 7and that is the reason of his confidence and his joy71 while ,he telleth the number of the stars1 and calleth them all by their names1 condescends at the same time to heal those who are broken in heart2 of a ,god who1 while ,he giveth fodder to the cattle1 and feedeth the young ravens who call on ,him1 at the same time careth for those who fear ,him1 and put their trust in ,his mercy2 of a ,god who1 while ,his power is great and ,his wisdom infinite1 at the same time sets up the meek1 and brings the ungodly down to the ground2 of a ,father in heaven who is perfect in this--that ,he sends ,his sun and rain alike on the just and the unjust1 and is good to the unthankful and the evil2 of a ,father1 lastly1 who so loved the world1 that ,he spared not ,his only-begotten ,son1 but freely gave ,him for us1 and has committed to that ,son all power in heaven and earth2--all power over the material world1 which we call nature1 as well as over the moral world1 which is the hearts and spirits of men--to that ,word of ,god who runneth very swiftly1 who is sharper than a two-edged sword1 and yet more tender than the love of woman2 even ,jesus ,christ the ,saviour1 the ,word of ,god1 who was in the beginning with ,god1 and was ,god2 by whom all things were made2 who is the true ,light1 which lighteth every man that cometh into the world1 if by any means he will receive the light of ,god1 and see thereby the true and wise laws of ,nature and of ,spirit4 ,this is our ,god4 ,this is ,he who sends food and wealth1 rain and sunshine4 ,shall we not trust ,him8 ,if we thank ,him for plenty1 and fine weather1 which we see to be blessings without doubt1 shall we not trust ,him for scarcity and bad weather1 which do not seem to us to be blessings1 and yet may be blessings nevertheless8 ,shall we not believe that ,his very chastisements are mercies8 ,shall we not accept them in faith1 as the child takes from its parent's hand bitter medicine1 the use of which it cannot see2 but takes it in faith that its parent knows best1 and that its parent's purpose is only love and benevolence8 ,shall we not say with ,job--,though ,he slay me1 yet will ,i trust in ,him8 ,he cannot mean my harm2 ,he must mean my good1 and the good of all mankind4 ,he must--even by such seeming calamities as great rains1 or failure of crops--even by them ,he must be benefiting mankind4 ,recollect1 as a single instance1 that the great rains of #ahfj1 which terrified so many1 are proved now to have saved some thousands of lives in ,england from fever and similar diseases4 ,take courage2 and have1 as the old ,psalmist had1 faith in ,god4 ,believe that nothing goes wrong in this world1 save through the sin1 and folly1 and ignorance of man2 that ,god is always right1 always wise1 always benevolent3 and be sure that you1 each and all1 are-- #8,safe in the hand of one disposing ,power1 ,or in the natal1 or the mortal hour1 ,all nature is but art1 unknown to thee2 ,all chance1 discretion which thou can it not see4 ,all discord1 harmony not understood2 ,all partial evil1 universal good2 ,and spite of pride1 in erring reason's spite1 ,one truth is clear--whatever is1 is right4' ,and pray to ,god that ,he may fill you with ,his ,spirit1 the spirit of wisdom and understanding1 of knowledge and grace of the ,lord1 and show to you1 as ,he showed to the ,jews of old1 ,his laws and judgments1 and so teach you how to see that the only thing on earth which is not right1 is--the sin of man4